Part 3: Mayhem at the Mansion
The forest at night is usually quiet, with darkness stretching out for miles. But tonight, that silence was broken, and a set of lights pierced through the darkness. A dark, slick luxury car glided through the forest along an old road. The car's dark green paint made it almost invisible against the backdrop of the trees. The stars above reflected and bended along the many curves of its body. It went steady, but it was capable of matching the speed of any other car on the planet. This was the car of Phantom Lady, who was heading to John Burnsley's mansion to deliver him and his men to justice.
Torchy sat in the passenger seat, wearing an old blanket Phantom Lady had in the car. She had no towels to help dry the both of them off, so they had to make do with that. As such, their hair and costumes were still damp, and both still felt a little cold. Phantom Lady could handle it though, so she gave the blanket to the younger woman.
"We should be coming up on the mansion soon," Phantom Lady said. "Do you remember what you have to do?"
"Yep," said Torchy. "Boy, this car sure is something. How do you get your hands on something like this? Does crime fighting pay this well?"
Phantom Lady chuckled. "No, it doesn't pay anything really. I can't really tell you about the car, though, as it could give away my secret".
"Oh, right," said Torchy. "So, then, you just do it for fun or something?"
"Honestly, kind of. I know a lot of us costumed types like to talk about 'freedom' and 'doing good'- and I do believe in all of that- but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a kick out of all of this too. I mean, I keep throwing myself into danger, so I'd have to have some deep desire to keep doing so".
Torchy sighed, "Well, I wish I was as good as you at handling myself in danger. I've never tried to hurt anyone or fight criminals, but I always seem to end up the worst situations".
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Torchy," Phantom Lady responded. "This life isn't for everyone, and when I started, I was just a girl who saw something that had to be done, and I was the person to do it. I didn't train for years before that. I wasn't given superpowers by some mystical force. I'm just a woman like you. What makes me a good hero is that I'm strong in here". Phantom Lady pointed to her chest. "Not in my body, but in my heart. If I'm strong here, then I can overcome anything. Any trap, any force, any fear, anything".
This speech caused a sense of pride and excitement to swell inside Torchy. "Alright, I think I can do that. Yeah!"
Phantom Lady patted Torchy on the leg. "I'm glad that helped".
It wasn't long before the pair got to the mansion. Phantom Lady cut the lights and drove slowly, in case anyone was looking outside.
"Ok, we're here. Now, I'll give you the keys," Phantom Lady said. "If you feel unsafe, or if you think you're about to get into trouble, run to the car and drive away".
"Wait, where are you going?" asked Torchy.
"I've cased this house once before. I know that there's a side-door I can go through. That's where I'll begin".
"Got it," said Torchy, and they both left the car.
Torchy walked through the front door. She had told Phantom Lady not to worry, but in truth, she was very worried that one of Big Boy's men would recognize her and kill her. Oh, her reasoning to the caped beauty was sound, but that didn't mean one of the men would go crazy and plug her with a gunshot right then and there. Focus, Torchy, she told herself. Right now, her task was to find her friends and get them out of there.
Meanwhile, Phantom Lady made her way to the door. It was a plain looking door that connected to the kitchen area. In front of it was a guard underneath a single light. Well, this won't be too tricky to take care of, thought Phantom Lady. She walked over to the side of the house, careful as to not get noticed by him. When she was close enough, she took out her blacklight projector and aimed it at the light. Thanks to its awesome power, the light-and the guard- were now enveloped in darkness. The guard looked up in confusion. With swiftness like lightning, Phantom Lady ran towards the guard and hit him in the head with the projector. The guard was knocked out immediately. Looking around to see if there was anyone else she should be worried about, Phantom Lady quietly went through the door.
Back in the main hall, Torchy entered to see a party that was still going on. While some guests had already left, the majority were still enjoying themselves. Torchy paced back and forth, looking for her friends. She made several laps around the hall until she felt a tap on her shoulder. Torchy turned in a fit of panic, only to see Tess.
"Torchy," she said, looking her friend up and down. "Jeez, did you ditch us to attend a pool party down the road?"
"Tess," said Torchy, "where's Ed?"
"Over in the other room. Why?"
Torchy started to go to the other room, and then turned around. "Look, you need to leave here now. The guys here are no good".
"That's nothing new. Most guys anywhere are no good," Tess replied.
"No, I mean they are bad men. They literally tried to drown me just now!" Torchy said.
"They tried to drown you?" Tess said worriedly.
"Yeah," Torchy said in a hurry, "but then Phantom Lady came in and saved me, and she said that the Burnsley guy is a mobster and now she's coming here to beat all of them up and that's why we need to leave right now!"
Tess sighed. "You know, you did have me for a moment with that drowning bit. But adding Phantom Lady? That was too much".
"Tess, I'm serious," Torchy said, "There are men here who could kill us, and Phantom Lady is here to stop them, but it's going to get very hairy soon".
"Did somebody say 'kill'? Sounds perfect for Halloween," said a voice behind Torchy. She turned around to see Ed and Dick. "Where have you been, Torchy? And what happened with your costume?" Ed said.
"Torchy said she was drowned," said Tess. "And now Phantom Lady's coming to take every one to jail".
"Phantom Lady? Oh, I'd like to see that. Although, we have a pretty good replacement here in my opinion," said Dick.
Torchy was exasperated. "Guys, I'm not joking, I'm-" and then she froze. Behind Ed, in the distance, she saw a large man in a suit. Torchy knew who that man was, and the man knew who Torchy was. It was one of Big Boy's goons who tried to kill her that night. Torchy pointed at the man and stammered. Almost immediately, the goon turned around and ran through a nearby door.
"What's wrong?" asked Tess.
"Th-th-th-th-that man..." said Torchy.
"Oh, that man?" said Dick. "That man is Wallace. He's one of Mr. Burnsley's closest associates, and a very good friend of mine. Perhaps you would like to meet him?"
Torchy stared at Dick in disbelief. She couldn't believe this wretched little man would think that was a good idea. Are these really the men he associates with? With all of the fury she could muster, Torchy slapped Richard in the face. In a panic, Torchy spun around and started to run. She was still in a haze, running awkwardly, until she tripped and fell into another man. Torchy looked up to see it was. It was the man in the skeleton outfit.
"Well, look who it is!" he said excitedly. "We've been missing you for a while now". Torchy could feel more men start to surround her. This was beginning to feel exactly like what had happened to her at the beginning of the night, and how all this madness had started.
Damnit! thought Torchy. I'm gonna be stuck here until Burnsley's men come and get me. But maybe I can use this to my advantage.
"Well, I'm sorry to keep all of you waiting," she said. "Especially coming out here so disheveled. I've had- bar none- the worst night I have ever had in my entire life! But I know something you can do to help make it better".
While Torchy was speaking, Wallace went up to Burnsley office. He was at his desk while his other men stood around him.
"Boss," said Wallace. "It's tha Phantom Lady. She ain't dead!"
"Wallace, what are you talking about?" asked Burnsley exasperatedly.
"She came back! She's in tha big room wit everyone else!"
Burnsley stood up. "Fine, let's see what you're talking about. Donny, you stay here". Burnsley walked with Rocco, Wallace, and another man to the door, as Donny stayed by the desk. The group walked out the door into the dimly lit hallway as the last man turned around to close the door. As he turned to return to the group, a pair of hands emerged from the nearby shadows. The hands covered his mouth and wrapped around his neck, preventing any noise from coming from him. He struggled for a bit, but soon passed out. The man was laid out on the ground, and the shadow was lifted. The real Phantom Lady was revealed, who then picked up her projector.
Better check the office, she thought. I don't want anyone to get the jump on me. Phantom Lady stood to the side as she reached over and gently pushed the door in.
Donny heard the door open. "Boss, is that you?" he yelled. Donny, with a gun in hand, walked over to the door, now slightly opened.
Yep, there's someone else here, thought Phantom Lady. The woman held her breath as Donny approached the door. Almost there, she thought.
When Donny got to the door, she sprung her trap. Phantom Lady turned the flashlight setting of her projector on and shone it right in Donny's face. Donny quickly turned away, blinded by the light. Phantom Lady tackled Donny to the ground, knocking the gun out. Phantom Lady punched him several times in the face and body until he hit her back. Donny slipped out from underneath Phantom Lady and looked for his gun. Before he could find it, Phantom Lady grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Phantom Lady kneed him in the gut and tried to choke him out from the front. Donny, however, lifted her up, and with a huge effort, slammed her on top of the desk. Dazed, Phantom Lady slid behind it, needing to recover. Donny turned his back on Phantom Lady, and found the gun. Donny went down to pick it up as Phantom Lady began to stand up. Oh no, she thought, I have to do something quick!
As Donny turned around and aimed his gun, Phantom Lady grabbed a file of papers and threw them into Donny's face. As Donny tried to deal with the papers flying in front of him, Phantom Lady rolled over the desk and delivered a giant uppercut to his chin. Donny crumpled to the floor, practically dazed. Phantom Lady stood over him, grabbed his gun, and began to dismantle it.
"Like what you see?" she asked the goon below her, but before he could respond, Phantom Lady kicked him in the head, knocking him out.
While all of this was going on, Burnsley came out to a balcony overlooking the hall. What he saw greatly surprised him. Below him were many men surrounding someone. A voice cried out, "Look! There he is!" Everyone turned around to look and Burnsley and started cheering. Burnsley then saw who was in the middle of them. It was Torchy.
"Hey Johnny! Come on down!" she yelled, and the rest of the party egged him on.
Burnsley was very agitated. "What is this?" he asked Rocco and Wallace.
"It's Phantom Lady!" said Wallace.
"Yeah, I see that, dummy! I mean what is going on with this?"
"I honestly can't tell you, Boss," said Rocco.
Right now, all Burnsley wanted to do was run down there and beat Phantom Lady- or whoever it was- to death. But with all these people here, that was impossible. Maybe that was what she wanted? Regardless, eliminating her would be more complicated- though not impossible.
"When I give the signal, cut the lights," said Burnsley. "Then take her out". Burnsley put on a big smile and walked down the stairs. He made his way through the throngs of people applauding him, with his two henchmen behind him. He got to the center of the room where Torchy was. She was smiling, radiating happiness, as she gently took Burnsley's arm. Torchy led him to the band area. Burnsley was utterly confused as to what was going on. He normally would've loved being adulated like this. But he was not expecting the apparent leader of such a stunt to be a woman he thought he killed. Actually, was this the same woman? Burnsley turned to look at Torchy's face. Torchy looked back and giggled at him. This was definitely the same woman. And maybe it was only his imagination, but Burnsley swore that, in that giggle, he saw just a flash of pure menace.
The pair made their way to front so that everyone could see them. Rocco and Wallace stood several feet away from them on either side. They slowly separated from Torchy and Burnsley, with Wallace approaching a set of light switches. Torchy grabbed the microphone.
"Now, boys," Torchy said, "let's have another round of applause for our wonderful host!" The room cheered again. Torchy held the microphone in front of his face. People began chanting "Speech! Speech!"
Burnsley stammered. "Well, I... just wanted to thank you all for... showing up here. You know... I always felt that... someone in my position... should show his gratitude to all of his friends... and I am... happy that... you are able to... join me on such an occasion. Thank you". Everyone politely clapped at this clearly improvised speech. Burnsley breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to walk away, but Torchy pulled him back by his arm.
"Oh, we're not done with you yet, big boy," she said.
Big Boy?! thought Burnsley. What does she know? Why is she doing this to me?
"You know," said Torchy, "I was speaking to a couple of the nice fellas here tonight-" Torchy pointed to the audience- "and they told me something quite special".
Burnsley began to panic silently. Is this it? Is she going to expose my secret to everyone? That bitch!
"We all know that this is a Halloween party- I mean, obviously, do you think I pick up groceries looking like this?" Torchy pointed to herself and writhed, showing off her Phantom Lady costume, as the crowd laughed and hollered. "But this could double as another type of party. Because, I learned that today is actually your birthday!" A great cheer came up through the hall. Granted, some of the audience was confused- specifically, those who knew Burnsley's real birthday wasn't for several more months. This fact didn't bother most of the people there though, either because they didn't know this fact, or because they were too smitten by Torchy.
"So," continued Torchy, "let me just say, from all of us, and from the bottom of my heart..."
Torchy turned to look Burnsley directly in the face. In a sultry voice, she began to sing "Happy Birthday to You...". Some people cheered; others sang along. Torchy was making many men in the audience jealous of Burnsley at that moment.
But while the crowd were having the time of their lives, Burnsley was sweating bullets. You would think that having a beautiful woman sing to you would be a fun experience to a guy like Burnsley. But these were clearly (at least to anyone who knew what had happened before) not ordinary circumstances. Burnsley wasn't a man keen to the spotlight. All of his public activities up to this point were really the bare minimum necessary to keep up a legitimate front. So, to be brought up here completely out of the blue- even with a crowd already on his side- felt humiliating and horrifying. Add to this the fact that the ringleader of this show was someone who he was sure was dead less than an hour ago, and it was beginning to seem like a sick joke.
As Torchy finished up the song, Burnsley looked over to Wallace. This was the signal to cut the lights. Wallace, a man hired for reasons other than his intellect, didn't understand. Burnsley nodded his head furiously and said in an angry whisper, "Cut the lights!"
Torchy hit the final note and saw Burnsley communicating with his dim henchman. Over his shoulder, she saw Rocco reach into his coat for something. Oh no! she thought Is this-
Before she could finish, Wallace shut the lights off. A cry went out over the audience. Out of instinct, Torchy dropped to the floor. Gunshots rang out across the room. The crowd jostled a bit: some were worried about what was possibly happening, others were convinced that this was all just a big show. The room was illuminated by the outside, resulting in everyone appearing as silhouettes.
This chaos was just fine for Burnsley. Seeing what looked like a body lying in front of him, he reached down to examine it. Instead of poking limp flesh, Burnsley found that the body reacted immediately to his touch. Torchy was still alive. In a blind panic, Torchy swung at what she thought was Burnsley's face. Burnsley staggered backwards from the hit. "She's not dead!" he yelled. Rocco and Wallace walked around in the dark, trying to get to their boss, but not entirely sure where he was.
After hitting Burnsley, Torchy's instinct was to escape. She saw the outline of another door and ran for it. Rocco saw what he thought was a cape flapping through the dark and fired his gun at it. Now, people were screaming in fear. Burnsley yelled at Rocco, "What are you doing?!". Burnsley took chase to Torchy.
At that moment, Phantom Lady, who had already left the office, emerged on the balcony. She could see from that angle and vantage point that the entire room was panicking. Soon after, someone turned the lights back on. The crowd calmed down a bit at this. Then, someone yelled out, "Hey! She's up there now!" The partygoers turned and went "ooh" and "ah". It was as if Torchy had done a magic trick.
Phantom Lady, though, was not pleased with this. Damnit, Torchy! She was even less pleased with what she saw. Across the room, Wallace and Rocco were arguing with each other. Phantom Lady knew they were coming to get her at any moment. Looks like I need to beat them to the punch! Phantom Lady looked to the side. Tied to the side balcony were some decorative cloth streamers that went up to the chandelier in the center of the room. In a flash, Phantom Lady ran to the streamer, ripped it off the balcony, and leapt over the railing holding onto it. Like an old Errol Flynn movie, Phantom Lady swung through the room just above everybody's head. As she started going up on the other side, Phantom Lady let go and propelled herself into her adversaries. She delivered a flying kick into Wallace's head, while clotheslining Rocco. The crowd cheered at this daredevil stunt. Phantom Lady sprung up, barely winded from her actions so far. Rocco got up next, bleeding from the mouth and groggy from the attack. Wallace didn't get up at all.
"Rocco," said Phantom Lady, "long time, no see. I will say, though, that it is disappointing to see you back to your old ways".
"Listen, whore!" he yelled, "the only thing I wanted to do while I was in the slammer was get back at you!"
"Hey! Language, buddy! That's no way to talk in polite society!"
"Yeah, well, it's true. You think you can tease men dressed like that, then go about beating them up!" he said.
"Teasing?" Phantom Lady said in a shocked voice. "Actually, yeah, I'm teasing. I'm teasing you, Rocco. Jealous much?" Rocco growled in anger. "Good," she said. Rocco lunged towards Phantom Lady, but she side-stepped him easily. Rocco tried again, but this time Phantom Lady caught him and threw him into a wall. Rocco got up and slowly approached Phantom Lady. Phantom Lady proceeded to punch him in the gut, then in the face. Finally, she spun around and hit him in the face with a giant kick. Rocco was finally out cold.
The crowd cheered at Phantom Lady's actions. Phantom Lady sighed. "Why is it that I can't find a man who won't fall asleep within minutes?" she joked. The rest of the crowd laughed and cheered some more. One person who wasn't cheering was Tess.
Ed looked at his girlfriend. "Hey, that was a pretty good show, huh, Tess?" he asked.
"I don't think this was a show, Ed," she replied. "Why the heck would Torchy say those things to us- and only us- but then act completely fine when Burnsley showed up?"
"Yeah," said Ed, "and I'm pretty sure it wasn't his birthday either. I mean, Dick probably would've told me".
Tess looked back at Phantom Lady, whose initial proud mood had shifted into one of concern and exasperation, as it looked as if she was looking for something. "Either this was the most elaborate and convoluted prank ever put on us," Tess said, "or Torchy was telling the truth about everything".
"So, what should we do?" asked Ed.
"The only thing we can do," Tess said.
Ed looked in the direction Tess was looking. "Oh, I see. We call on Phantom Lady!"
"Er, no," said Tess. "We should call the cops".
"Oh... right," said an embarrassed Ed.
Meanwhile, Torchy ran through the halls of the mansion. It seemed that the whole place was a maze of fake doors and corridors that turned in on themselves. Torchy ran through a seeming endless hallway, only to stop by a window. She hunched over out of exhaustion, nearly heaving out of nervousness. Torchy looked around, seeing if there was some landmark to tell where she was. All she could see was the front lawn and some other closed doors. If she had some sort of weapon, she would use it to break the window and get back to the car. Alas, all she had were the keys. She went to the window, examined it, then checked her keys to see if they would be useful, and then concluded that they wouldn't work. As she was doing this, she heard a door open. She turned to see something terrifying: Burnsley. Torchy tried to escape, but he cut her off. She screamed, only to have Burnsley cover her mouth.
"Now, then," he said, "you think you can embarrass me like that? I'll show you!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. "I am personally going to end your miserable life. And it'll be so bad, it'll make drowning in the ocean seem like a nice bath". Torchy's eyes went wide as Burnsley brought the knife closer to her face. As he did this, Torchy saw some odd lights reflect off of Burnsley's face. Burnsley turned to where those lights were coming from. Out of the window, he saw a police car drive up to the front of the house.
"Godamnit!" he said through gritted teeth. Burnsley pulled Torchy by the neck. "You're gonna help me get out of here. Let's go!"
The pair went through door after door, Torchy getting dragged every step of the way. Finally, they emerged outside. Torchy saw the ocean in front of them. Oh great, she thought, Another trip to the sea. Out into the sea was a small dock, with a motorboat tied to the end of it. Burnsley took Torchy to the dock.
Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Stop!". Burnsley turned around to see Phantom Lady running down the back lawn. Several party guests were walking a bit behind her.
Burnsley brought the knife to Torchy's throat. "Stay back! You wouldn't want anything to happen to our fine guest," he said.
"Big Boy, there's no escape," said Phantom Lady. "The police are here, and even if you escape, you'll be found. It's over".
"Escape?" said Burnsley, walking backwards down the dock, "No, I'm just gonna take my cute friend here for a quick ride. Maybe we'll stop in Mexico, heh".
Phantom Lady got closer. "Torchy, just relax," she said, "I got this".
"Oh, look at you," said Burnsley, pointing his blade at the heroine. "Always thinking you can save the day. You've been nothing but a giant annoyance since the moment I first saw you!"
He's distracted! thought Torchy. Now's my chance! Torchy ducked down, nearly slipping out of Burnsley's grasp. She spun around, turning them both and freeing herself from the mobster's clutches. Burnsley lunged towards Torchy. She let out a small yelp as she dodged the switchblade. He tried to attack her again, but then Phantom Lady came over and delivered a punch to his head. Phantom Lady continued to hit and kick Burnsley, forcing him to the end of the dock. Phantom Lady elbowed Burnsley in the side of his head, then walked behind him. Burnsley looked up to see Torchy come to him. With a voice that dripped in contempt, she said, "How does a nice bath sound?"
Torchy slapped Burnsley in the face. As Burnsley tumbled backwards, he hit Phantom Lady in the legs, who was on all hands and knees behind him. Burnsley tripped over her and fell into the water. Phantom Lady stood up as Torchy went to her. Phantom Lady looked at her partner, and Torchy nodded. In complete synchronicity, and with form like Olympians, the two ladies dove off the dock into the water.
Burnsley surfaced, splashing around feebly. Torchy and Phantom Lady emerged on both sides of him. Together, they grabbed onto Burnsley and dunked him under. He surfaced, spitting out water and screaming, "Help! Help!"
"Shut it, Big Boy! It's over!" said Phantom Lady. "Either stop struggling, or we'll put you back under and keep you there!"
"Fine! You win!" said Burnsley. Torchy giggled in joy as Phantom Lady wrapped her arms around Burnsley's neck and began to drag him through the water. Torchy swam alongside them, as a crowd soon gathered on the beach.
"So, what happened with you and Burnsley, Torchy?" asked Phantom Lady.
"Well, I was talking to my friends, but then one of his goons spotted me. I tried to escape, but again a crowd started to form around me".
"Again?" asked Phantom Lady. "Then again, that's not too unbelievable. I had one forming when I came in".
"Anyway, I knew I couldn't get away in time, but I also knew that they wouldn't try to kill me in the open. They needed to kidnap me and send me away again. So, I realized that if I had many witnesses, I couldn't be hurt. I was the center of attention, and for once it helped me!"
"But then the lights went out, right?"
"Yep. It turns out Burnsley realized that too, so he had his men turn the lights out and try to shoot me! That's when I ran, but I got caught unfortunately," said Torchy.
"Well, that was still some smart thinking. Plus, you had a pretty nifty move getting away from Burnsley just then. For your first time, you weren't too shabby".
"Thanks," said Torchy. "You know, even after everything that happened, I'm still glad it happened and that I met you".
Phantom Lady smiled. "Torchy, I'm glad I met you too".
The group reached the beach, with the two ladies standing up and dragging a lying Burnsley on the sand. Two police officers walked up to them.
"There's the crook, officers," said Phantom Lady. "You can take him in on kidnapping and attempted murder of my friend here".
"Gee, thanks, Phantom Lady," said one of the officers looking at the superheroine on the left, "and... er... uh" he said, looking at Torchy.
"Oh, right, I'm not Phantom Lady, I'm just a big fan".
"Wait, you're not Phantom Lady?" said Wallace, currently in handcuffs.
"No, I told you this! My name is Torchy. Torchy Todd!" Torchy ripped her wig off, revealing damp blond hair. "See?"
"Well, it could be a trick," said a man in the crowd.
"No, it's definitely Torchy," said Tess. "I should know".
"Well, that could be a lie too!" someone else said.
"The girl on the left couldn't be Phantom Lady! She's not hot enough!" a voice yelled.
"What?!" said Phantom Lady.
"I'm just saying, everyone know Phantom Lady is the hottest superhero in the world," the voice said. "And the girl on the right is hotter than the girl on the left. So, it has to be her!".
"Whadya mean 'she's hotter'?" someone else said. Soon, the whole crowd was arguing.
Phantom Lady was looking at the crowd in disbelief as Torchy sighed. "You'd think we'd be done with this by now," she said.
"Well, we won't be able to get out of here going through this crowd," Phantom Lady said. She looked back and then looked at Torchy. "Torchy, would you mind another swim?"
Torchy's eyebrows arched. "Not if it's with you," she said. Phantom Lady and Torchy turned around and grabbed each other's hand. Unnoticed by the crowd, the two women walked into the sea, dove under, and disappeared into the night.
It's so wonderful to see love and friendship defeat hate! Torchy may not be up to the crimefighting standards of Phantom Lady, but she still has her tricks. Who knows what other adventures these lovely ladies will have in the future- apart OR together? Whatever it may be, we know you will love to see it!
