Author's Note: Oh, hey, look, I can curse in this one. You know what's annoying as fuck? Insomnia and nightmares caused by an anti-anxiety medication. I hate my life.
This is the final chapter of Bad Touch. Synthesis, its sequel, will be coming next week while I also try to figure out where I'm going in Synthesis further down the line. -_-
Chapter Seven: 7 Minutes in Heaven
Tying her up hadn't worked as planned. Not only was Webby highly resistant to being bound, no one knew how to hold her long enough to complete tying her up. The triplets they'd managed, but Webby was another story altogether. Magica had to compel the Bloodhound Gang not to resort to their usual abhorrent behavior, which meant she couldn't focus on keeping Webby in line. And the young girl was bouncing all over the place, desperate to avoid capture and unwilling to let anyone put their hands on her again. Magica understood, even if it was getting highly irritating.
If she released her compulsion on the Bloodhound Gang, she could focus on restraining Webbigail. Unfortunately, that meant she'd have to seize control of them again soon after, lest they give into their bestial appetites. (And why did no one believe her when she said she wasn't a monster? Honestly. If she were a monster, she would've just let them have her and to hell with it).
If she hadn't wanted to kill the little brat before, she certainly did now. She pinned Webby in place with her magic and saw, out of the corner of her eye, the Bloodhound Gang leader approaching her with a club. She sighed, restraining him too, but in the process, losing sight of Webby again.
"Damn you, stay still!" she snapped.
"And I should do that why?" Webby countered, hands on her hips.
"You could just let us all go," Huey suggested and she glowered at him. She only knew their names because she'd been monitoring their dreams. And she hated that she knew that much about them. Huey, for example, tended to think of logistics and problem-solving. He was considered the most intelligent of the three, although Louie was a nerd too, even if it was only about treasure and gold.
Magica snarled, blasting Webby in the chest with a blow that slammed her into one of the pillars. With her stunned, she rounded on the Bloodhound Gang, her supposed "associates", and hit them with a compulsion to ignore their damned desires. She pinned them in place while she advanced on Webby. Webby groaned, forcing herself to her feet.
"You'll have to work harder than that…" Webby said and Magica suppressed a sigh. No wonder Scrooge was proud of this brat. She was a handful. Webby walked forward, despite the pain in her back and stomach, and Magica broke off a piece of the pillar to crash it onto Webby's head. The girl whirled, jumping clear of it. Holy. Shit. She was going to kill her. (On this note, no wonder it'd been hard to kill Mrs. Beakley-she must've gotten in a lucky shot).
"Stay still so I can capture you!" she commanded.
"Again, not seeing why I should do that," she retorted. She jumped behind the pillars holding the boys and undid their ties. Beyond pissed, Magica froze the entire area, sticking everyone's feet to the wooden stage planks. Frozen solid, no one could move and she broke the ice enough so she could glue Webby and the other brats to the floor. She kept the ice up so it'd reduce their temperature and induce hypothermia.
The boys remained confined now by the ice, and Magica freed the Bloodhound Gang. She let them approach Webby, who was still, unbelievably, attempting to wriggle free. Magica seethed, grabbing Webby by the throat and strangling her. She pressed tightly on Webby's trachea and listened, content, to the brat gasp for air. Unfortunately, if anything, her struggles grew stronger and cracks appeared in the ice. Magica applied pressure and considered snapping her neck. The boys were shouting and she tuned them out.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Webby had been trained for this eventuality too. She flailed, smacking Magica three times in the face and prompting the woman to seriously reconsider keeping her alive. She applied more pressure onto her throat, enough to damage her windpipe, and the boys' shouting reached a fever pitch. Webby was going limp due to oxygen deprivation and Magica snorted. Better. She liked her better when she was limp and unresponsive.
Webby's struggles ceased and she relinquished her grip on her throat. The girl was still breathing, albeit shallowly, and her color was poor. How upset would Lena and Scrooge be if she killed her right here and now?
The Bloodhound Gang was approaching the boys now and Magica hissed, praying they didn't have a predilection for boys too. That would be just peachy. She might have to kill Webby anyway in that case, just as a stress reliever.
"You four," she snapped. "You have more important matters on hand. Take the girl and get creative."
Her eyes flashed. "And not what you did last time. I'll be watching you."
"What are we supposed to do, then?" the leader protested.
"You really have no idea?" Magica huffed. "Are you that daft? Torture her. Wake her up and make her scream and beg for mercy."
"It's more likely that they'll be doing that, not her," Louie commented and Magica slapped ice over their mouths. She could still hear him, muffled, but not his words. Fine. She wanted to hear them howl when Webby was mauled.
The Bloodhound Gang leader snorted and slashed Webby's shirt. "Wake up, princess!"
Webby groaned, eyelids fluttering. Then, to Magica's disgust and shock, she jumped into an offensive position. She was panting, working on regaining her breath, but she was still ready and willing to fight. At least, she was until the leader brought out his favorite toy. Then Webby's eyes grew wide and Magica smiled. Yes, that was right, don't fight guns.
Webby jumped just as the guy fired and, although her knees buckled, still woozy from her previous strangulation, she knocked the gun out of his hands and, after a couple kicks, into the ocean nearby. It sank immediately.
"Webby!" the boys cried as the younger girl collapsed, gasping. Magica could see the marks on her throat where she'd strangled her and smirked.
"Are you so sure you can win this?" Magica taunted, raising her staff and pointing it at her.
"You took away my granny and you tried to take away Lena," Webby snapped. Her voice was hoarse. "Are you so sure you can win this?"
"The only reason you're still alive is that I'm waiting for an audience," Magica returned. "And the brats don't count."
Webby glanced at them, just for a second, but it was enough for Magica to blast her. The younger girl noticed it at the last instant and spun away, causing one of the pillars to creak ominously and then sheer off. Magica cursed.
"Do something, you idiots!" she snapped at the Bloodhound Gang. "You were supposed to paralyze her with fear, not let her run rampant!"
"Yeah, about that," Webby said in an offhand voice. "Fear is a great motivator too."
Magica's eyes narrowed and she scrutinized her. Webby was panting, the bruises livid against her throat, and she was trembling. Magica smiled. She couldn't blast her with magic, but if she could anticipate where she would be, she could cast a fear spell strong enough to freeze her in place as effectively as the ice. It wouldn't require much, just a little amplification. She could practically smell the brat's terror.
She feinted right and Webby fell for it. Ice slicked the floorboards and Webby skidded, spinning around and colliding straight with Magica's next attack. As she did, she crumpled and struggled to draw breath. The triplets were moving in concert, trying to break through the ice and Magica thickened it. She advanced on Webby.
Webby's eyes were huge and round in her face. Yes, Magica knew the taste of the girl's fear. It had spiked and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Magica snapped her fingers, beckoning the Bloodhound Gang near.
"Torture her," Magica instructed. Her eyes narrowed. "Just don't rape her. And keep her
conscious. I want her to know when her so-called 'salvation' comes."
One of the Bloodhound Gang members pulled out a switchblade and slashed at Webby's cheeks. Webby kicked up, the effort feeble but enough to dislodge the weapon. It, too, went flying through the air. Magica hissed, clamping down on Webby's fear and doubling it. She heard ice cracking and growled; the triplets were back to trying to stomp their way through and reach their honorary sibling.
"Gonna have to try...harder than that..." Webby panted and Magica strode forward and punched her in the stomach. It stole Webby's breath away and the girl doubled over, diaphragm spasming. That would put an end to her fighting for a little while.
One of the Bloodhound Gang pinned her to the floor with their knife in her skirt. They were giving each other lecherous looks and Webby struggled, attempting to fend them off while simultaneously trying to draw breath. She failed at both. The boys were suspiciously silent and Magica looked at them. Still trying to break the ice.
Waving her staff, Magica covered them in ice up to their shoulders. Let them get through that. Little brats.
"I told you that was off-limits!" Magica snarled, returning her gaze to the Bloodhound Gang, who were inching Webby's skirt up. On the plus side, Webby's breathing had gone shallow, panic suffusing her features. The boys were back to shouting. But damn it, this was not how Magica had wanted to control her, even if it was effective.
"You said torture her," the leader sneered. "Maybe a little reminder will help."
Webby snarled again, wrenching the blade from her skirt, and sank the blade in the closest place she could reach. Magica took it the girl wasn't thinking, blindly reacting according to her grandmother's training. There was no other way that the girl would've stabbed the leader in the chest otherwise.
Blood slicked the knife and Webby retreated, staring in horror. The boys fell silent, thankfully, and the Bloodhound Gang gaped at Webby. Magica knew without investigating that it was a mortal wound the girl had dealt.
"I didn't mean to..." Webby squeaked. Blood spurted all over the floor and splashed her in the face, as well as coating the boards and soaking her clothes. Horrified, she looked toward the triplets.
"Holy shit..." Louie said and his brothers stared at him. "What? If now isn't the time to curse, I don't know when is."
The leader stared at the younger girl for a half minute before collapsing, facefirst, onto the theatre floor at her feet. His blood proceeded to soak the floorboards and Webby whimpered, stumbling backward and away as fast as she could considering that her hands and feet were slicked with blood. She skidded and fell onto her rear; she was close to hyperventilating.
Perfect. Well, okay, not quite, this was not at all how Magica pictured things going, but at least Webby was too shocked and disconcerted to do anything now.
Meanwhile, the remaining Bloodhound Gang, perhaps seeing their demise before their eyes, bolted. They scurried in all directions and Magica rolled her eyes. Useless. They couldn't handle real violence.
She scooped Webby up by her collar and smirked at her. "I knew you'd come to see things my way eventually."
It was a measure of how much her previous actions had immobilized her that she didn't fight the woman's grip. Webby's eyes had gone wide and her breathing was shallow, accompanied by a slight wheeze from the earlier strangulation.
"Your first kill, isn't it?" Magica sneered. "Bet you never thought that would happen, huh?"
"Unhand my grand-niece at once," Scrooge snapped and Magica smiled. Right on time. She'd been worried that the Beagle Boys might delay them-what rotten timing on their part. Lena rushed to Webby and Magica hit her with a magical blast that sent the teenager spinning into Launchpad. They both careened off to the side.
"...what in the blazes is going on?" Scrooge added, staring around them. Lena's gaze flicked from the body to Webby and back.
"Good to see you, too, Scroogie," Magica said and Scrooge's face darkened. He glanced at Webby, who was trembling and looked like she'd been doused in blood. Her lips were trembling and she was whimpering.
"Webby, did you...?" He seemed at a loss for words.
Webby swallowed convulsively and tried to speak. Nothing came out. Her throat clicked.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Magica crooned. "There's always such a rush when you take a life."
Webby gagged and Magica released her in time for the girl to throw up at her feet. Magica moved to the side to avoid the splatter and rolled her eyes. Pathetic.
"It'd be more impressive, of course, if she hadn't vomited," Magica said, disapproving. "You need to own your rage, child."
"I didn't mean to do it!" Webby protested weakly and looked at Lena. She and Launchpad had struggled to their feet. That gave Magica an idea. It'd been a while since she'd had a good puppet.
She seized control of Webby's body and shoved the girl's thoughts to the background of her mind. Considering how horrified the girl was by her actions, that was simpler than it might otherwise have been.
Webby moved like a puppet, the one that Lena should have used instead of...Magica perused her niece's mind and scoffed in disgust.
"You fell in love with the brat?" she asked Lena. "You still love her after what she's done?"
"She acted in self-defense, unlike you," Lena said and Magica could detect her heart rate kicking up a notch. She was already on edge over what they'd stumbled into. Would Lena still care for her now that she'd shed what was left of her innocence?
"You're useless and stupid. Right, Webbigail?" Magica swirled her finger and the girl about-faced, turning to Scrooge and Lena. "Tell them exactly what I mean."
"I can't believe you thought I'd forgiven you," Webby said to Lena. "You used me just to get Scrooge's number one dime. And at least I had the guts to get rid of someone. You couldn't even manage that."
"She didn't do it on purpose!" Lena retorted, but her voice quivered. Magica raised her eyebrows.
"And you believe that?" she countered. "You believe that deep down, Webbigail hasn't always wanted to know what it felt like to take someone's life?"
Lena didn't respond and Scrooge snarled.
"No, she hasn't," he snapped. "She was defending herself and she didn't mean to kill him if that's what happened. Stop spinning this to suit yourself."
Magica snorted and twirled Webby around again, just to prove that she could and that Webby, along with the others, was powerless to stop her. "I can always break her little neck. Would you love her then, I wonder?"
She turned when she saw movement again out of the corner of her eye. Somehow, the boys had broken free from the ice, which admittedly Magica hadn't been keeping an eye on or paying the slightest bit of attention to. She couldn't handle multiple spells at once without something falling apart. The boys had snuck up behind her and she let Webby thud to the ground. She fixed the four brats in place, although since Webby was still a deer in the headlights, she didn't put up a fight.
A cane slammed into her side, knocking the breath out of her, and Scrooge was in her face. He'd moved faster than she'd thought possible, but then again, he wasn't as old as he pretended to be. Okay, yes, he was over a hundred years old, but he was agile and adroit. And she'd taken her eyes off him. To be fair, though, how were you supposed to keep track of everyone at once?
Before Scrooge had a chance to retaliate further, Magica countered, throwing up her staff to block his next attack. They parried, exchanging blows that didn't connect to each other's frustration, and Magica decided she was done playing fair. She seized Webby as a shield and held her in front of her.
"Attack me again and I'll kill her," Magica swore. She still had control over her and the girl blinked blearily. Ugh, the girl's shirt was wet and Magica was getting that disgusting dog's blood on her hands.
"Well?" Magica queried. "What do you intend to do?"
Something large slammed into her head and she released her grasp on Webby. Her vision dimmed and she heard Huey say, "Junior Woodchuck Guide rule number 6: always be prepared."
He'd hit her with the part of the pillar that had broken off. She'd be infuriated if her limbs hadn't gone leaden. Webby gasped for air beside her and Scrooge patted Huey on the shoulder.
"Good job, lad," he said. Magica attempted to rise and Scrooge placed a knee in her back. "We'll be taking her back to the prison, this time in a magical-less cell."
Magica huffed, about the best she could do at present. She vowed revenge. It might not happen again soon, but it would. And this time, she'd figure out how to account for all the variables. For all that she'd studied Webbigail's nightmares, she hadn't anticipated her proficiency at protecting herself and attacking others. That self-defense murder was an interesting sidenote, though. Magica wondered whether she could use that...
"Are you all right, lass?" Scrooge asked, peering at Webby in consternation. Now that the fighting was over and Magica was down for the count, Webby was shaking. She looked, unfortunately, like someone who could use her grandmother. Since Mrs. Beakley was no longer with them, however...he hugged Webby tightly and Webby whimpered.
Yes, that meant that he got blood all over his outfit, but he was also wearing raggedy gear courtesy of Lena's suggestion. He'd have to burn the clothes afterward, along with Webby's.
Webby was trembling so badly in his arms that she almost felt like she was having a seizure. Her attempts to breathe were broken by hoarse sobs.
"I don't know," Webby managed after a minute. After what she'd gone through, he'd almost expected her not to speak at all.
"That was insane," Huey said, subdued.
"I didn't know you could do that," Dewey added.
"Neither did I," Webby muttered. She closed her eyes and Lena stroked her hair. It was sticky with blood and didn't move right.
"What do we do now?" Huey asked, staring around them. He touched Webby's hand; although he looked shaken up too, he and the other boys came closer to protect Webby. From what, Scrooge didn't know, but he appreciated their concern for he/r.
"Leave it to me," Scrooge reassured them. Yeah, he'd definitely have to look into a therapist for Webby. Right after he figured a way to tastefully make that scum disappear, lest Webby get in a lot of legal trouble over it.
"Can we go home now?" Webby asked, voice muffled.
"Of course, lass," he said and stroked her hair too.
He nudged Magica's unconscious form with his foot. He liked her better that way than terrorizing his family. Lena's eyes narrowed and Scrooge affected an innocent look.
"Why don't we get you five home and cleaned up," he decided. "The rest can come later."
He strongly suspected that the person Webby had stabbed was the one that had attacked her. He could hardly say that he hadn't deserved it. It left him in a bit of a bind, but there were few things you couldn't throw money at to make disappear. Or reappear.
Except for Della. His chest was tight thinking of his niece. He pushed her to the side for now. There were more important things at hand.
And anyway, whatever had become of Della could wait for now. For all he knew, she was on the dark side of the moon...
