THE CASE OF THE GIRL IN YELLOW

"You know what's happened to you, right?" mom asked me. She was obviously worried.

My name is Marie. My mom - although she's my mom by adoption instead of birth - is Raven Darkholme. If you get away from our real names, folks call us Rogue and Mystique.

We were sitting in the bar of a hotel that's owned by a guy named Logan. He uses it as his home and headquarters. Logan is the biggest gangster in town and sometimes it seems like every woman I know has spent at least some time in his bed.

And, yeah, that includes me and my mom.

Uh... but not at the same time.

So, we were in the bar, nursing a pair of cocktails that mom had made. And we were alone.

"I know what happened to us," I told Raven, emphasizing the last word. Then I took a drink from the tall glass in my hand. I didn't know the cocktail but it was actually pretty good.

I'd gone to Logan's place to try and get my old job back. Once upon a time, I'd been Logan's lover and a member of his gang. Then one thing led to another and I moved on. After that, I ended up with a woman named Domino.

But now Domino and I were done.

Actually, the thing that Domino and I once had wasn't so much ended as it had been taken from us. I knew what had happened, but the fact was oddly numb to me. I still loved Domino in a distant and cool way - like a longtime friendship that had been lost because of time and distance. But Dom and I were the past, and that left the future for me and Logan.

We didn't have any choice about that.

I didn't have a choice about that.

Look, it's hard to explain but it was what it was.

"You're mind-controlled," mom told me. I hated the look she was giving me. It was a mix of pity and fear.

I immediately nodded my head in agreement. Mom had to talk this out and I had to give her the chance to do that.

"And everything you're thinking and doing... you can't quite trust it," mom continued carefully. "That Killgrave bastard did evil things to people. And when he got his hooks into you, he mixed up your mind. He changed what you believe and maybe even what you remember."

I nodded again. "But that doesn't change what I'm feeling, mom. Or what I'm going to do."

Mom considered that. The form she was wearing was that of a cute brown-haired woman with dark eyes, but now her skin color was becoming a little blue around the edges. She was losing control of her shape-shifted form and that only happens when she's upset.

"I could stop this," Mom said in a way that meant she really wasn't sure. "I could tell Logan what's happening. He won't take you back if he knows what Killgrave did to you."

I shook my head. "Oh, mom... how can you sleep with Logan for so long and not really know him? Telling Logan that I'm in trouble won't drive him away. Instead it will put him right in my corner. And once I get him into bed - and that's exactly one lifted skirt away from happening - that will settle things."

Mom stared at me for several long seconds. I knew what she was thinking. If she let me get back with Logan, I'd stick around and then she could keep an eye on me. But if she somehow drove me away, who the hell knew what I might do? I might even hurt myself. Just what were the limits of Killgrave's power?

Could he kill you from beyond the grave?

"I won't stop you," she said quietly.

With a smile, I leaned across the table and kissed her on the cheek.

I was in Logan's office. Given how powerful Logan is, his office is not what people imagine. It used to be the hotel manager's office and it's small and business-like. There aren't any guns, piles of money, crates of booze, or half-naked floozies.

Actually, I'd seen all of those in Logan's office at one time or another. And more than a few times, I'd been one of those half-naked - or completely naked - women. I'd liked that part.

"We had a deal," I told Logan.

Logan is short and has a powerful build. He wears his dark hair swept back along the sides and I swear that he's the only man I know who can pull off that look. You normally see him in white suits and only God knows how he manages to keep them clean. I should ask Emma how she manages that trick - she always dress in white.

Logan raised an eyebrow at me. "What deal? Wait... you mean..."

I nodded. "You made me promise that when Dom and I were through, I'd come back to your outfit. Well, Dom and I aren't together anymore. So when do I start?"

I think Logan made that deal believing I'd never really take him up on it. He was surprised and pleased and trying not to show it. And he was also doing his best not to ask questions.

"You start right now," he growled. "You'll work with Scotty."

Scott was one of Logan's top trouble-shooters. I was getting both a plum position and someone who could be trusted to keep an eye on me.

"Good," I said to Logan. "I've always liked him."

Scott and I had a guy tied to a chair and we'd beaten him pretty badly. He would be feeling it for a long time, but at least he wasn't going to end up crippled or dead. Scott's good at that sort of thing. I've always liked that about Scott - he does his job and he always uses just enough force to get the job done.

I like to think that I'm much the same.

"What do you think?" Scott asked me.

"I think we've made our point," I replied after critically looking over our victim.

Then I leaned over the poor guy in the chair. Tilting his face up, I gently kissed him on the forehead. He shivered in response as I took his recent memories.

Actually, as gangsters go, he didn't seem to be that bad of a guy. But he was also part of a team.

I stood up. "He's from Philly, but there are two more. The other two won't be too hard to find. They're here scoping out how we're getting our shipments from down south. Their job was just to find out how we're doing business. They weren't going to steal from us or anything else like that."

The gangs of Prohibition are always jostling up against each other. The guy in the chair and his two soon-to-be-unfortunate buddies were spies for the south-side Philadelphia mob.

"Witch," the guy in the chair gasped out. He had a heavy Italian accent and there were actually tears in his eyes - something that hadn't happened when Scotty was beating the crap out of him. He knew I'd used my powers on him and the fact he's been so easily compromised filled him with shame.

His face hard, Scott took an ominous step towards the guy in the chair.

I stopped Scott by putting a hand on his chest. A smile helped calm him down.

"He said 'witch', not 'bitch'," I told Scott softly.

Scott smiled back at me - he doesn't do that enough - and then raised his hands and stepped away.

I flicked open a switch-blade that I keep in my purse and cut our victim loose. At a gesture from me, he staggered to his feet. Scott actually handed him his hat. It had been knocked off during our recent disagreement.

That was such a Scott thing to do.

"Get out of town," Scott told him calmly. "Don't try to get smart or be a hero. Just go and don't come back. Make sure your buddies go with you."

The guy nodded shakily and then lurched out the door.

"Hell of a first day back on the job," I told Scott.

"You've got some blood on your skirt," Scott pointed out.

I looked down and cussed. Dammit, he was right.

Scotty chuckled as I tried to clean the blood-stain off with a handkerchief.

"Rogue, it's good to have you back," he told me.

The little Chinese girl who answered the door seemed surprised to see me.

I held up a bottle of the good stuff and gave it a suggestive shake. Her eyes brightened.

"How did you find out where I live?" she asked as she opened the door wide and I stepped inside. She was barefoot and wearing a thin yellow robe and I assumed she'd just got off work. She's a maid / waitress / harlot at the Hellfire club. We'd meet there and she'd made an interesting suggestion to me after I killed someone who needed killing.

"You gave me your phone number," I pointed out. "The phone company has reverse phone-books - they're a list of phone numbers and associated names and addresses. And there's a guy in the phone company who owed me a favor."

"Handy trick," she said with an impressed nod.

"I need a place to sleep for the night," I told her. "The bottle is payment. But if you want anything else from me, I'm willing."

That last part wasn't as crazy-forward as it might sound. She let me know she was interested right after we first met.

She laughed out loud. "Let's have a drink and I'll think it over."

Then she vanished into the kitchen. When she came back, she had a pair of shot glasses and had ditched her robe. So she was stark naked. I guess I had the answer to the second part of my offer.

She was one of those women who looked scrawny while dressed. But strip her naked and some modest but interesting curves are revealed. And - dressed or buck-naked - all of that tended to be overwhelmed by her strangely blue eyes.

I cracked open the bottle and poured for both of us. It seemed to me that she enjoyed having someone serve her a drink for a change. Her normal job is to wander the main party room of the Hellfire club, dressed immodestly, and offering booze, drugs, and her body to people who barely think of her as human.

We sat down on her ratty couch. "Should I call you Joy or Jubilation?" I asked as she took a sip from her drink. Joy's the name she uses at work. Jubilation is her real name.

She gave me an impish smile. That sort of thing coming from a naked girl was more than a little charming.

"Call me Jubes," she said.

I leaned over, cupped Jubes' chin in my hand, and kissed her. She tasted of whiskey, tobacco, and marijuana. There was also a musky aftertaste that suggested she had sucked a few cocks while at work. I loved all of it. The remnant of her perfume was inexpensive and mixed with her sweat, but it was also great. And Jubes wasn't idle. By the time our kiss broke, my blouse was unbuttoned, my bra was pushed over my breasts and Jubes was gently toying with my nipples.

Things developed from there.

Afterwards, we were tangled up on Jubes' tiny bed, both of us breathless and covered by a light coat of sweat. The blanket and sheet were a snarled mess on the bedroom floor.

For the last few years, the woman in bed next to me had been Domino. Mind you, there had been a few exceptions. The thing with Jean and Emma, for example, but that was a one-night event caused by strange mentalist circumstances. And then there was a woman named Bessie, but the circumstances there were even stranger.

Unfortunately, Bessie was dead. I was trying not to think about her.

My plan was to get close to Jubes and then mercilessly explore all of her nooks and crannies. I wanted to hear her moan, and scream, and then beg for more. Part of the reason for that was because I didn't want to think about Domino.

I didn't keep that a secret from Jubes. It's not smart to try and play a gal who puts out for a living. What they want is honesty and maybe a little kindness. The people at the Hellfire club who Jubes dealt with every day were brutally honest about what they wanted from her, but kindness was not really a priority for them.

"Wow, you're good," Jubes said shakily. Which was a pretty flattering thing to hear from a pro.

I settled deeper into her arms. "Sixty-nine is my favorite number," I told her impishly. Then I leaned down and kissed her just above her belly-button.

Jubes smiled. "This is what you make me feel like," she said. Then Jubes showed me her power - the ability to set off fireworks-like lights. I got the impression that she didn't show that to just anyone. I felt really good about her sharing it with me.

"Lemme get some sleep," she eventually told me. "I gotta be at work in a few hours."

"Fair enough," I said. Hell, I was tired too.

"Hello, Lady Emma," I heard Jubes say. That woke me up.

Emma Frost was in the bedroom, sitting on a wooden chair she'd brought in from the kitchen. She was looking at Jubes and I. There was a cold and disapproving expression on her face.

I could feel how uncomfortable Jubes was. She was as stiff as a board.

Reaching down, I pulled a blanket up over our bare bodies. Actually, that was more for Jubes' sake than mine.

"Enjoying the show?" I asked Emma. At that moment, it was hard to remember that she and I were friends. Well "friends" might be overdoing it. "Willing to tolerate each other" was a lot closer to the truth.

Emma shrugged, which made her cascade of white-blonde hair shimmer in interesting ways. "I think I missed the best part," she replied.

I chuckled. "Jealous?" I asked.

Emma sighed. "A little. But mostly I'm worried about you."

I shifted around until my shoulders were up against the headboard of Jubes' bed. That made my boobs pop back into view, but I wasn't really worried about that. It wasn't anything Emma hadn't seen before.

"Quit trying to babysit me," I told Emma. I tried to keep any real anger out of my voice. Emma was actually doing what she thought was right. And she was trying to help me.

Emma had on a nicely expensive dress and a pair of high-heels. As I watched her, she kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes. It's amazing how much that simple act turned me on.

"I don't remember your name," Emma said to Jubes.

"I'm Joy, my Lady," Jubes replied softly. "Joy" is the name she uses at work.

Then Emma looked back to me. "I just want to make sure you understand what you're doing."

I sighed and nodded. "This is part of what that Killgrave prick did to me. It's more of me giving up on Dom - which is one of the things he ordered me to do."

Emma nodded her head. Jubes held me tighter.

"It's weird," I continued quietly. "I know what's happening and I hate it, but..."

I couldn't continue.

Emma nodded her head. "Want me to try again? Get into your head and try to get rid of his influence?"

I shrugged. "You've tried before. It hasn't worked yet."

Emma nodded her head in agreement. She didn't look happy - Emma doesn't like to lose.

I couldn't think of anything else to say. Would I ever be done with Killgrave?

Would he ever be done with me?

Jubes hopped out of bed and slipped into her yellow silk robe. Emma ignored her. I wrapped the blanket around my body and sat up. Emma kept her eyes on me.

Poor Jubes wasn't sure how to act around Emma. The Hellfire Club loomed around those two - Jubes was a servant there, while Emma was one of the masters who ruled the place. God knows what they'd seen each other do in that place. Or what Emma had done to Jubes. Hell, just putting in an appearance there meant you were abusing your lessers.

Over the years, business has taken me to the Hellfire Club. Emma was supposedly there more often than not. Actually, it was a bit surprising we'd never seen each other there.

Emma got out of her chair and wandered the room - picking up my clothes. Then, holding them in her hands, she sat on the bed next to me. Her shoulder touched mine.

Jubes immediately left the room. It occurred to me that I was seeing some of her Hellfire Club training. When the important people got intimate, the not-important people take a hike.

"What's next?" I asked.

Emma shrugged. "While a threesome is a possibility, that's not to my taste at the moment. Why don't you get dressed, fix your makeup, and I'll take you to breakfast?"

I thought about that. Then I nodded my head and took the bundle of my clothes from Emma's hands.

There was a diner across the street from the building where Jubes lived. That's where Emma and I ended up. Jubes stayed at home, even though Emma and I made an awkward attempt to get her to go with us.

"I hope I haven't messed up things for you with Joy," Emma said as she broke the yolk of one of her eggs with some toast.

"I knew that the Hellfire Club would eventually enter the picture," I replied after I took a sip of coffee.

Emma took an unladylike bite out of her toast. Dammit, that turned me on, too. What is it about that woman?

"So how is Joy in bed?" Emma asked.

I ignored the crudity of the question. "She's really submissive," I replied. "If you like that, she's fantastic. Otherwise, she's just great."

Emma nodded as if that was the expected answer. "Has she asked you to beat her yet?"

And that was a hell of a question...

"No," I responded.

"She will," Emma said briskly. "The trick is to give her what she wants without hurting her too much. I recommend you stick with spankings at first. And use your bare hand - not a switch or belt. That will help make sure that you don't make any rookie mistakes where you injure her."

Dear God, I felt myself nodding in agreement.

"And despite the submissive part of her personality, don't forget she has needs, too," Emma continued. "Let her climax every now and then."

I made a face. "That hasn't been a problem so far," I told Emma wryly.

"Good," Emma replied with a quick grin. "Keep up the excellent work."

It was my turn to ask an awkward question. "Are you mad at me?" I asked.

Emma paused in demolishing her toast. "Mad about what?"

I laughed. "Don't be coy. Are you mad that I took up with Jubes instead of trying with you?"

Emma sighed. "Yes and no - and at least you aren't trying to take Jean from me. Can we leave it there?"

"No," I replied. "Tell you what, let's go back to Jubes' apartment and hop into her bed. Then we'll do our best to break it. Jubes will have to stand in the corner and watch. She'll fetch anything we want or need. And she'll lick us both clean once we're done. And afterwards maybe we'll take a belt to her scrawny ass - just for fun."

For a heart-freezing moment, Emma considered that. Then she decisively shook her head from side-to-side.

"No. It's not time yet. Maybe it never will be."

I drank some more coffee. "Okay," I said, "but it's on you now - you'll have to ask me. And you'll have to beg when you do. I'll expect you to be on your hands and knees."

Emma picked up her coffee cup and smiled into it. "That sounds fun. I'll keep it in mind."

"Okay," I replied with a nod. "So tell me, Emma, if you aren't interested in fucking, what do you want from me?"

Emma smiled. "Can't a girl drop by, see a friend, and ask how she's doing?"

That actually made me feel good. "That's great," I said.

Then I put a hand on her wrist. She responded by twisting her hand around and intertwining my fingers with hers.

That was ridiculously erotic.

Jubes entered the diner. She'd showered and was wearing a flowery one-piece dress - yellow, of course - and low heels. Spotting us, she walked over to our table. She didn't sit down. Instead, she knelt next to us. Her eyes were properly kept down and her hands were primly folded in her lap.

"For Pete's sake, sit down," I said hurriedly.

Jubes did as she was told. As she moved, I noticed from the lines of her body that she wasn't wearing anything under her dress. The dress and her shoes was all she had on.

It occurred to me that she was dressed so she could get quickly and efficiently naked - just kick off the shoes and then pull the dress over her head. That was probably a work thing.

A startled-looking waitress appeared.

Emma took charge. "Get her a cup of tea and some toast," she ordered. "Wheat bread. Butter, but no jelly."

The still startled waitress jotted something down on a notepad and left.

"Lady Emma, thank you for allowing me to eat," Jubes said softly. She still wasn't looking at Emma.

Emma smiled. "So how is work, Jubilation?"

"Sucking cock, eating pussy, fetching drinks, and being beaten," Jubes replied after thinking it over for a second. "The usual."

Jubes paused for a moment. "It's all I'm good for, ma'am," she said softly. "Please use me the next time you're at the club."

"I'll do that," Emma replied just as softly.

Jubes leaned forward and tapped her forehead against the table. It took me a second of remember that was how a Hellfire Club concubine bowed if she happened to be sitting down. I'd seen it before.

Then Jubes straightened up and said, "Thank you, Lady Emma. I'm looking forward to it. Please be cruel to me."

Meanwhile, I sat there like a dummy. I couldn't think of anything to say or do.

Jubes emptied her tea cup and choked down her toast. Then she glanced out the diner's plate-glass window when she heard the whoosh of her bus arriving.

"You can go," Emma said crisply.

Jubes jumped her feet and turned to leave...

"Joy!" Emma said preemptively.

Jubes froze.

"Kiss your mistresses goodbye," Emma added. There was a smile of cat-like cruelty on her face...

Given the amount of tongue Jubes crammed into my mouth, we might as well have still been in the bedroom. Then Jubes did the same thing to Emma. Emma took the chance to boldly run her hands up and down Jube's body, squeezing her butt and finally cupping her breasts. There were gasps throughout the diner - that was way too public of a display for even this town.

Then Jubes babbled her goodbyes and fled. Through the window, I saw her board the bus. Nothing as mundane as a bus went to the Hellfire Club, so I assumed it would drop her somewhere that was within reasonable walking distance.

"Don't do that to her ever again," I told Emma carefully. I hope she knew how serious I was.

"You'll have to do worse if you want to keep her," Emma answered back.

That brought me up short.

"The Hellfire Club is in her now - a part of her heart and her soul," Emma added. "Remember I can read minds. I can see what she truly wants and needs."

Emma paused to take a drink from her coffee and then looked up thoughtfully. "Right now, Jubes is sitting in the very back of the bus. As soon as she's sufficiently alone, she'll masturbate while thinking of you being as strict with her as I was. She doesn't want a girlfriend, Marie. She want's a mistress."

"Is that how you treat Simone?" I asked. Simone is the Haitian maid that lives with Emma and Jean.

Emma shook her head. "No. Simone isn't as far along as Jubes. I toy with it, but Simone just isn't submissive enough. Essex treated her badly, but didn't really alter the way she thinks. Neither have Jean or I."

Then Emma gritted her teeth, winced, and moaned out a semi-loud, "Ah!"

"What?" I asked.

Emma twisted her lips into a wry expression. "Remember how I said that Jubes would masturbate as soon as she had the opportunity? Well, that was her having an orgasm. I forgot to sever our mental link."

Emma sighed and wiped her brow with a napkin. "That little whore," she said distantly. "I'll take a crop to her bare ass the next chance I get."

This time, work was pretty straightforward. Scott and I collected some receipts from various parts of the Logan gang. Then we dropped them off with Bobby - he's the gang accountant. After that, I reported to Logan.

Mariko insisted I take my clothes off before I entered Logan's office.

"And remember to blow him," Mariko told me.

Yeah, she takes her job seriously.

"Yes, ma'am," I said to her.

There was some history to all of that. Long ago, I escorted Mariko into Logan's office. She'd just recently come to the States and was running a grocery store that had an opium den in the back room. And she was running it right in the middle of Logan's territory without his permission.

I dragged her and her brother in to have a "talk" with Logan. The brother didn't survive. Mariko went the naked blowjob route and ended up running the opium den for Logan. After a while, she made the jump to being one of the gang's inner circle.

So she was paying me back for what I had once done to her. I understood that.

I yanked my clothes off.

Mariko held the door open for me. Then she slapped me on my bare ass as I entered the office.

Logan looked up from the newspaper he was studying and took a long moment to study the naked curves of my body.

Then he grinned. "Is this Mariko's doing?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

Logan shook his head. "I'll talk to her - and Yuriko and Raven. I want all of you to get along."

Then he sighed. "I suppose it was inevitable that somebody would resent your coming back."

I shrugged. "You want your blowjob now or later?"

He thought that over for a second. "Let's not hurry it. Did you come here for some other reason?"

I came around Logan's desk and sat in his lap. His arms automatically went around me. One hand ended up on my ass. The other was between my shoulder-blades. Is it crazy to say that the hand on my back somehow felt more intimate?

I gave Logan a long, long, kiss. Then, when we finally separated I whispered. "Oh, daddy, Scotty and I brought in the day's receipts from the north-side. Scotty and Bobby said everything looked fine. I hope you're happy, daddy."

Logan nodded - which meant nobody had to die - and leaned his forehead against my chin. I could feel his nice, firm, erection through his pants. I wiggled my ass a bit and Logan sighed in reaction.

Then I slid off his lap until I was on my knees before him. I felt a thrill flitter through me. This was where Erik had wanted me to be. If he was alive, he would be happy.

"Who's the last woman who did this for you?" I asked as I unbuckled Logan's pants.

"Mariko has the 9-in-the-morning shift. But Ororo got a little frisky later on," he said. His eyes were closed.

"Ummph," I replied. I couldn't say much more because my mouth was busy.

Once I got out of Logan's office, Mariko helped me get dressed. And that was a fairly touchy-feely experience. It occurred to me that Mariko was looking forward to the day when we serviced Logan together.

Before she helped me put on my bra, Mariko cupped my breasts and ran her thumbs around my nipples. Her eyes met mine, there was gentle smile traced across her lips, and suddenly I was looking forward to the same thing.

"From now on, you have the 3 PM shift," she told me.

It was late as I banged on Jubes' door. She should be back from work.

There was no answer.

I frowned. Then I waited outside on the bus-stop bench until the buses stopped running.

Still no Jubes.

Well, as I understood it, a member of the Hellfire club could always have a concubine stay the night with him or her. So that might be where she was.

I got a hotel room.

The next morning, I checked at Jubes' apartment one more time. She was still gone.

"She's not here," Nigel told me.

I was at work and I had Nigel on the phone. He was the senior servant at the Hellfire club and not a lot happened there that he didn't know about. He'd looked the other way when Dom, Emma, and Jean killed Erik. He also got rid of Erik's body.

"She left last night at regular closing hours," Nigel added thoughtfully. "She usually walks to the nearest road and catches the bus back into town."

"Could she be with a club member?" I asked.

I could almost see Nigel's shrug. "Could be - someone might have picked her up in the parking lot. Some members like to take a concubine home for whatever reason. A fair number of our girls make extra money that way."

"Does Jubes have a regular customer?"

Nigel paused. Then he slowly said, "Yes."

Then Nigel named a name that I really didn't want to hear.

"She's not here," Janet said worriedly.

Janet van Dyne is the... well... "girlfriend" I suppose you could say, of both Hank Pym and Bolivar Trask.

Hank and Bolivar hate and fear people who are born with powers - "mutants" as some folks call them. And they both have a taste for abusing that kind of woman. Janet is powered and, according to Dom, they liked to whip Janet before they took turns with her body. And Janet, God help her, loves that.

Nigel had told me that Jubes sometimes hooked up with Hank Pym, and that took my imagination to all kinds of scary places.

"Hank sometimes brings Joy over so she and I can put on a show for him," Janet continued. "Hank likes Chinese girls."

"C... could you check with Hank and ask if he's seen her?" I asked. Dear God, I was asking Hank Pym for a favor.

"Sure!" Janet said brightly.

That night, Jubes was still missing.

The next morning, Nigel and I had a late breakfast together.

"She's officially fired," Nigel told me with a sigh. He was picking at an over-priced souffle.

I didn't say anything. Jubes had missed work and the Hellfire club didn't like that sort of thing. Which was no surprise.

"I talked to the King," Nigel continued. "He doesn't like the idea that one of our girls has gone missing. So at least that's something."

The Hellfire club is run by a guy knows as the "Black King". Yeah, that's pompous, but then again so is the Hellfire club.

In case you're curious, Emma is the "White Queen". I understand that there's a "Black Queen" and a "White King", but I'm not really sure who they are.

"But if she shows up again and has a good excuse, she might get her job back," Nigel finished.

Great! Jubes might get to go back to servicing her betters!

I was so delighted for her.

After Nigel and I were done, I stopped off to see Emma.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Emma, but as always she surprised me.

"She's missing?" Emma said ominously.

"Vanished the night before last," I said. "She left work and didn't make it home."

Emma was clearly pissed. "Have you talked to Pym? As much as that misogynist likes anyone, he likes Joy."

I shook my head. "I talked to Janet. She seems sure that Jubes... Joy... isn't with Hank. Any other club members with yellow fever?"

Emma actually snorted. "They wouldn't dare keep her from work," she said.

"I swear," Emma then muttered mostly to herself. "When I get her back I'm going to brand my mark on her skinny ass. That'll keep her from getting lost."

"Can you find her?" I asked.

Emma knew what I meant. We'd already established that she and Jean had problems finding a single person in something as big and complex as a city, but we had done it in the past.

With a pang, I opened a paper bag. It contained Jubes yellow silk robe. She was such a small girl, that her robe folded into a tiny packet. I felt tears appearing in my eyes at that thought.

Emma didn't hesitate. She snatched the robe from my hands, shoved it into her face, and took a deep sniff. Why that helps a mentalist, I don't know. If you ask them, Emma and Jean like to talk about "psychic imprints".

Emma dropped the robe - I hastily grabbed it before it hit the floor - closed her eyes and concentrated.

I tried not to nag, but as the seconds dragged into minutes, I got edgy.

"Well?" I eventually asked.

"Nothing," Emma said after opening her eyes.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked helplessly.

Emma smiled at me. "I need to relax. Why don't you take off your clothes, make me some tea, give me a foot massage, and then eat my pussy?"

"That's my job," Jean said as she entered the room. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"A Hellfire club girl is missing," I told Jean. "You probably know her as Joy - a little Chinese girl."

Jean frowned as she took Jubes' robe from my hands. "Is this hers?" she asked.

I nodded. Jean sat down next to Emma and did the same thing as Emma had done. And after a few minutes she also admitted that she wasn't having any luck.

"Shit," I said in frustration.

"There's something else we can try," Jean said thoughtfully. She still had the robe in her hands.

"Do I have to do both of you?" I asked tiredly.

That made Jean smile. "That's close to what I have in mind, but not quite."

I was naked except of Jubes' robe - which was way too small for me. I couldn't belt it, so it hung open and I was showing Emma and Jean everything from my neck to my thighs.

And, naturally, I was about to get in bed with the two of them.

Emma was wearing a shirt from an all-white set of woman's pajamas. It only barely covered her quim. Jean had on a transparent red negligee - and, holy cow, she was breath-taking.

"Who do I eat first?" I asked nervously.

Emma shook her head. "Stop being so literal. You'll get in bed between us. You're standing in for Jubilation as we try to find her psychic signature. We'll have to touch you a lot. Try not to get difficult about that."

"Okay..." I said slowly.

"Yeah, it's weird," Jean admitted to me. "But it just might work."

Then Emma took the edge of Jubes' robe, lifted it up, and gave it a sniff. "I know this fragrance..." she said uncertainly. "Do you know what perfumes Joy wears? It'll help if we put some on you."

I shook my head no.

Jean chuckled. "You've smelled it on me, Emma. It's from Sears."

Emma frowned. "You are far too good for something so common. I'll make you an appointment with my perfumer. Listen to what Isabelle tells you and don't be dreary about prices."

"And I'll do my best to drive you broke," Jean laughed. "But in the mean time..."

Then Jean left the room. She returned with a tiny bottle of Sears' best.

"This will help," she told me.

Then Jean delicately put some of her perfume on my neck, wrists, breasts, and belly.

Simone was doing a great job of keeping a straight face. She took down the bed covers and actually held Emma's hand as Emma got into bed. Jean just jumped in like an excited kid. Then they created a comfortable-looking space between them.

Simone smiled and kissed me on the cheek. "I love you," she said to me in the gutter French that she knows I can speak. "I hope if I am ever missing I will have a friend like you."

I got between Emma and Jean - and I'm willing to admit that I was actually trembling.

Jean unabashedly squeezed my tits. Emma, always more direct, put one of her hands between my legs.

"Feel free to have an orgasm," Emma told me in a clinical tone. "That will relax all of us and help the process along."

Damn, Emma was good with her hands. And having her tickling my neck and ear with her tongue as Jean explored the inside of my mouth with hers was quite the experience.

I climaxed in no time and I climaxed more than once. And I like to think I gave as good as I got.

It went on and on, but eventually we tired ourselves out and dropped off to sleep.

We were in a wrecked train car. A screaming and crying Jubilation - just a little girl - was hanging onto her mother's blood-soaked body.

That memory vanished and was replaced by another. Jubes was in some kind of orphanage and she was being molested every night by the old man who ran it.

Next was the Hellfire club. And, as terrible as it sounds, that was actually an improvement. Jubes was handed around and used by the older servants, but they treated her reasonably well. It was the members of the club who were cruel and uncompromising.

Simon Bolivar beat Jubes with a belt while snarling insults at her. He hurt her soul even more than her body.

Henry Pym, his eyes so terribly intent, slowly masturbated while Jubes and Janet made love in what I assumed was the bedroom in Pym's house. He made a point of climaxing on Jubes' face, then had Janet lick Jubes clean. Jubes liked that.

Erik Killgrave appeared at the club. He wasn't too interested in Jubes - he only had eyes for Bessie, and later Bessie and me. Jubes watched Erik make use of us and envied our more mature bodies. I wanted to hold her and tell her that she would someday be more beautiful than us.

She joyfully watched us kill Erik. Erik had only used her for voyeuristic purposes, but he had been so cruel to people who Jubes considered friends.

I appeared at Jubes' front door. She was happy to see me and have me come inside...

The day's work was done, and Jubes was wearing real clothes and walking down the forest path that would take her to the bus-stop. That was when a monster appeared - a giant of an Asian man. He slapped Jubes into submission and bundled her into a waiting car. Her fireworks didn't work for some reason.

I woke up crying and desperately holding Jean. Simone put a steaming bowl of warm water on the nightstand, and than sat down next to us. After that, she soaked a washrag in the water, squeezed it out, and wiped our tears away. Then, after pulling down the bed-clothes, she washed our bodies.

Frowning in concentration, Emma was sitting in an upholstered chair by the window. She had a tablet in her hand and it looked like she was drawing something.

When Simone was done with Jean and I, she knelt next to Emma and washed and kissed Emma's bare feet. Not for the first time, I wondered what kind of relationship Emma had with Simone. I understand that Simone has a boyfriend, and I couldn't imagine Jean allowing Emma to take advantage of Simone. But after a night of seeing a helpless girl being abused again and again, my thoughts had become dark.

Emma smiled at Simone and then got up. Snuggling back into bed, Emma cuddled next to me and handed over the tablet.

Who knew that Emma was actually an artist? She'd drawn a damn-good picture of the man who had kidnapped Jubes. She'd also drawn his car - a late model four-door Packard.

"Wow!" I said in surprise. "You're good!"

Emma kissed my bare shoulder, then rested her head on it.

"Let's do this again some time," she softly said to me. "But without the fear, pain, and horrible memories. Just the three of us. Just for fun. Just to be together."

Then Emma, that stern lady of ice and steel, looked up and kissed me tenderly.

Jean murmured in agreement and tweaked one of my nipples. Then she put an image in my head of Simone taking turns spanking our bare asses with one of Emma's riding crops.

I wasn't the only one who saw it. Emma chuckled like the nasty wench she is. Simone, standing at the foot of the bed, shook head and said. "And you harlots will deserve every bit of that. I'll have breakfast out for you soon. Eggs, grilled potatoes, croissants, and coffee. How do you want your Eggs Benedict?"

My stomach growled eagerly. "You're a saint," I told Simone. And I meant it.

I showed Hank McCoy the picture Emma had drawn. He took a long look at it, but eventually shook his head.

"Nobody I know," he admitted. Then he handed the drawing back to me.

"This guy is Asian," he said thoughtfully. "Have you tried Mariko and Yuriko? They have a lot of contacts in the Chinese and Japanese parts of town."

That was a damn good idea.

"His name is Hachi," Yuriko said. Mariko nodded in solid agreement.

"He's a slaver," Yuriko added with a frown.

"Huh?" I asked brilliantly.

"He kidnaps girls and sends them to other cities to be sold. Usually as prostitutes," Mariko explained.

"Damn. So much for the Civil War," I grumbled.

"He's taken a friend of mine," I added.

"He's dangerous," Yuriko warned. "Hachi is big and powerful, is a trained warrior, and he has the ability to cancel the powers of others."

I frowned as I remembered Jubes' memory of her power not working.

"Dammit," I muttered.

"The three of us should be able to take him," Mariko added thoughtfully.

Yuriko nodded in agreement.

"Do you know where we can find him?"

Mariko shrugged. "It's a poor businessman who doesn't show his wares."

Hachi's showroom was a combination of an opium den and a whore house. It was located in a part of town that was claimed by neither Logan or Lehnsherr. The customers were mostly male and Asian, but there were a few whites. Naked attendants, all so very young, delivered pipes of opium while at the same time offering their bodies to clients.

Mariko, Yuriko, and I stuck out in the crowd. Especially since the locals all knew Mariko and Yuriko. They're important in the Asian parts of town.

An older man approached us. Then he hesitated for a long moment as he tried to deal with the fact that he might have to be polite to a mere woman.

Eventually, he bowed to us. Then he began talking to Yuriko in Chinese.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar form. It was Jubes. She was as naked as the rest of the girls, but she was "decorated" with a black eye, a split lip, and a scatter of miscellaneous bruises. There were also lash marks all up and down her back. She was staring at us as a guy who was high as a kite slobberingly groped her bare body.

Suddenly, Jubes realized that we could see what was being done to her. The look of sheer shame that came over her was a terrible thing to see. I'm not sure if even the Hellfire club had managed to do that to her. And those jackasses think that degrading other human beings is an art-form.

Mariko took my hand, but it was still everything I could do not to stalk over to the asshole who was molesting Jubes and kick his ass into next Sunday.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Yuriko and the older fellow was turning into something I could only describe as "politely heated". I looked at Mariko.

"Yuriko is offering to buy Jubilation," Mariko told me. "But the old man is being stubborn about the price."

"We gotta get her outta here," I said. My voice was tight with broken emotion. "I can come up with the money, just give him what he wants."

Mariko squeezed my hand tight. "For now, we play this their way."

I nodded miserably and tried not to look at Jubes. If that old bastard figured out that I was attached to her, God only knows what he might do to her in order to drive up the price.

The haggling was getting nowhere when Hachi finally appeared.

Hachi was just as big as Jubes had remembered him. He was wearing canvas pants and a loose, sleeveless, shirt that showed the fine muscles of his upper body. There was an actual sword hanging from his belt. His face had what looked like a permanent sneer on it.

Every woman, and more than a few men, flinched when Hachi appeared. Some of the girls tried to find something, anything, to hide behind without making it obvious what they were doing. I saw what looked like a naked twelve-year old, holding a lit opium pipe in her hands, jump behind Jubes.

A strangely hollow feeling came over me. I could tell that something was wrong... something was missing. I wondered if that had something to do with Hachi's supposed ability to take away people's powers.

Mariko was still holding my hand. I tried to summon the barest trickle of my power and use it on her. It shouldn't hurt her, but should have given me a glimpse inside of her mind.

Nothing happened.

Hachi coldly looked us over. Then he barked a command to the older man who was arguing with Yuriko. The older man visibly gulped, went quiet, and stepped back.

"Unless you bitches want a pipe or to make use of a girl, get out," he grated at us.

Yuriko, who was really not used to being talked to that way, blinked in surprise. Mariko stepped in front of me.

After two or three seconds of intense staring, Yuriko and Hachi exploded into a fight.

Yuriko is unnaturally strong, fast, and tough. But as I understood it, only some of that is due to a mutant power. Instead, she also has what has been described to me as "magical machinery" surgically implanted in her body. I don't really know what people mean when they say that.

But as she fought Hachi, I could tell that something was off with her. However, the metal claws that came out of the tips of her fingers were definitely still there and working fine.

I flipped open my purse and pulled out the .44 I normally keep there. Then - shooting high in order to avoid hitting Yuriko - I fired at Hachi. Two shots flew past him, but one hit him in the forehead. However, instead of the grisly flower-like pattern of blood and brains that I'd expected, it simply snapped his head backwards. But that was all Yuriko needed to slash open Hachi's throat.

Incredibly, his throat gaping wide and blood pouring down his body like a river, Hachi kept fighting.

Then I turned my gun on the guy who was molesting Jubes - he was holding onto her arm and keeping her in place. He went down with a bullet in his chest. Jubes took off at a dead run towards Mariko and I. I grabbed her by the shoulders and started pushing her towards the door. Meanwhile Mariko, who has no powers but is really good with her fists and feet, battered customers and underlings out of the way to clear a path for us.

We got out the door and bee-lined for our car. I shoved Jubes into the front seat, got behind the wheel, and started the engine. Mariko paused near the back door. We were both looking anxiously for Yuriko.

Yuriko and Hachi crashed out onto the sidewalk - taking the door and most of its frame with them. Several of Hachi's flunkies, waving sharp iron cutlery, followed them out the door.

My window was down and I used the last two bullets in my revolver to drop the flunkies. Then I tossed my purse and gun into Jubes' lap and yelled, "Reload!"

She began to do that, but she didn't know guns and was painfully slow.

Mariko ran towards Yuriko and Hachi. She then did an impressively illegal version of a football tackle on Hachi's legs. But there was nobody around to blow a whistle and give our side a 15 yard penalty.

Hachi crashed to the ground. Yuriko dived onto him claws-first. I winced at the sound of cutting and tearing flesh. When Yuriko gets going, she's one savage lady.

Mariko yanked Yuriko off of Hachi, then she dragged a spitting and cursing Yuriko back to the car.

Logan's office was filled with people who were all trying to talk at once.

Sam Guthrie gave Jubes an old pair of his long and lanky blue-jeans. Dani Moonstar gave her a very pretty red and blue blouse. Laura - Logan's daughter - donated a pair of well-worn leather sandals that actually fit Jubes pretty well. Jubes looked indescribably grateful as she dressed.

Logan looked tired as Yuriko and Mariko delivered their report in rapid-fire Japanese. Yuriko looked like the floor of a butcher shop. Mariko has some bumps and bruises.

Hank and Scotty and my mom waited just outside the door, watching all of us in amazement.

Eventually, Logan held up a broad hand and everyone shut up. "Go shut down Hachi's operation," he told Hank and Scotty. "Kill him if he's still alive. See if any of his girls want to go home and help them if it's possible. Give the others some kind of job that doesn't involve spreading their legs. Tell anyone who asks that Hachi pissed me off and it's a reminder who really runs this town."

Hank and Scotty nodded and walked away.

Then his gaze swept over the rest of us. He finally focused on Mariko, Yuriko, and me.

"Tomorrow morning I expect all of you to show up here at seven. Be bent over my desk, with your bare asses sticking up, when I come in the door. I'm going to take a belt to all of you. Don't ever do anything like this again without talking to me about it."

Mariko sighed. Yuriko looked grumpy, but interested. I did my best not to react.

Then he looked at Jubes. "That doesn't apply to you. I have a bar downstairs. You're working there now. Have Raven show you how to mix some basic drinks. Oh, and you're expected to dress like a young lady and not like a stripper."

"Yes, my Lord," Jubes answered respectfully.

"Just call me 'boss'," Logan sighed.

"Yes, boss."

Logan actually smiled.

"Boss?" Jubes continued carefully.

"Yeah, kid?"

Jubes took a deep breath and put her arms around me and a very startled Yuriko. "Please don't whip my friends. They helped me."

Logan looked deep into Jubes' big blue eyes. Then he smiled again.

"Okay," he said.

So that was the case of the Girl in Yellow. It wasn't really complex, but we did what we should have done - we followed the leads till we got to the end. Just like I'd been taught by Dom.

But that case had a really busy aftermath.

Hachi was already dead when Hank and Scotty showed up at his former place of business. Some of the girls had taken the opportunity to run, while Hachi's flunkies had divided into sides and were fighting to settle who would be the new boss. Our gang sorted out that little war without much of a problem.

Most of the girls in Hachi's place just wanted to go home. Hank took care of that. A few had no place to go and Scotty put them to work as dealers or waitresses in our gambling outfits. Yeah, they sometimes had to work topless, but they didn't have to screw anyone.

It turned out that there was a second servant's bedroom in Emma's apartment. Emma insisted that Jubes move in. Jubes kept her job at Logan's place, but now she backs-up Simone as a maid for Emma and Jean.

Emma gave me permission to visit Jubes and to stay overnight if we wanted. And we both definitely wanted that.

Emma, Jean, and I haven't got around to trying another three-in-a-bed. To tell you the truth, I'm both scared and eager. I wonder if Emma and Jean feel the same way.

Jean took me with her to Emma's perfume-lady. Her name is Isabelle and she's from Spain. I tried to keep my mouth shut and stay in the background, but Jean made me take off my blouse and then she and Isabelle excitedly tried out Isabelle's elegant wares on me. They were both ridiculously kind to a Mississippi river-rat trying to pretend she was a lady. And Isabelle gave me a bunch of sample bottles!

I took one of the bottles Isabelle gave me and mailed it to Dom. She usually doesn't wear perfume, but I knew it would be perfect for her.

That night, I dreamed of giving Dom a long and hot bath, putting makeup and scent on her, and dressing her in a beautiful gown that I knew she would hate.

I'm not sure what that meant.