Silk Spectre II's Terrible Luck

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Lilah was not stupid.

Although she and Valentina seemed to have gotten along well during this period, Valentina had never truly relaxed around them or trusted them. Vandal Savage had not visited, but he certainly knew what happened here every day.

Lilah wanted to prove that she had value at Damon's side. She did not want to betray him.

If she told Valentina that Firestorm required two people, how would that be any different from betraying Damon?

"I will hand the person over to you in three days," Valentina said after considering it.

"Do not let Master know," Lilah reminded her.

Three days later, in the afternoon, while Damon was focused on studying, Valentina brought Lilah to a warehouse at the far side of the villa grounds. Beneath it was a basement with excellent soundproofing.

Lilah saw Laurie in her yellow-and-black costume. She had been fixed spread-eagle to a wooden frame shaped like a cross. Iron rings secured her wrists and ankles, and her head hung as if she had fainted.

"There was some trouble taking her," Valentina said. "She had a group of partners dressed just as strangely as her. The CIA noticed as well. So whatever you plan to do, you had better do it quickly."

Lilah nodded.

Valentina turned and left. She had taken only a few steps when Laurie's voice sounded behind her.

Night deepened.

Lilah returned to the room exhausted and helpless.

Laurie was harder to deal with than she had imagined.

"You have changed."

Damon lowered his book and looked at Lilah as she entered, smiling faintly.

"Ah?"

Lilah froze and immediately grew nervous.

"You have become cruel. One woman turning on another. Laurie has truly had terrible luck. I could hear her cries from this far away."

Damon spoke with an amused smile.

Thud.

Lilah dropped to her knees.

"Master, I am sorry. I should not have hidden it from you."

"Up, up. What are you doing? I am not blaming you."

Damon waved at her with a laugh.

"I am actually quite satisfied with your ambition. Your interrogation methods are lacking, though. Rough, but inefficient."

"I... I do not know what to do," Lilah explained softly.

"Learn more from Valentina. Or visit the Gulag camp and see how they treat prisoners there. Maybe you can go from pillow to assistant."

Damon chuckled.

"I will work hard and not disappoint you, Master," Lilah said, overjoyed.

After speaking, however, she seemed to remember something and hesitated.

"But Master, I may have caused trouble. Valentina was discovered while capturing her. Laurie's partners saw it, and so did people from the CIA."

"If you released her now, would she let the matter go? Would they?" Damon asked.

Lilah shook her head.

"Then once something cannot be undone, the only choice is to pursue your goal as far as you can. Besides, you are my pillow. As long as I have not lost interest in you, nothing will happen to you."

Damon paused, then smiled brightly.

"And congratulations. You have extended your life. Now I am looking forward to what other surprises you can bring me."

Lilah finally relaxed. She was also grateful that she had made the right choice.

At Damon's side, staying unchanged meant being eliminated.

Lilah carved that lesson into her heart.

The next day, Lilah had Valentina take her to the Gulag camp.

Damon went to the basement beneath the warehouse.

"Hello. Long time no see."

Damon greeted Laurie with a smile and clicked his tongue.

She looked miserable.

Lilah had truly changed. Her past environment, her own experiences, and the influence of spending time with Valentina had pushed her toward the path of a villainous woman. Just look at Laurie. Lilah had been ruthless.

"What do you want?" Laurie demanded weakly, glaring at Damon.

"If I said I had already forgotten about you, and that my pillow acted on her own by bringing you here, would you believe me?"

Damon carried a chair over, sat down in front of her, and asked casually.

"Do you think I would?"

Laurie gave a cold laugh.

Damon spread his hands.

"Believe it or not. It does not matter either way. I thought about it last night. If Dr. Manhattan can foresee the future, and I scared him into leaving Earth, then he should know everything I might do in order to find him. Yet he still ran. Do you know what that means?"

"It means no matter what I do, he will not appear. Not unless, one day, I become stronger and gain more powers, strong enough to find him myself."

"The amusing part is that he should know that too, but he cannot stop it. He can only run. Because the moment he appears, the moment he tries to stop me, I have succeeded. All he can do is run and delay the day he fails."

"Look at that. Even someone as powerful as Dr. Manhattan can only run from me, unable to change the outcome of his defeat. What are you still resisting?"

Damon slowly stood and, under Laurie's dazed gaze, unfastened the restraints on her wrists and ankles. Freed, Laurie stumbled, steadied herself, and looked at him in confusion.

"You really did not order them to capture me?"

Damon shrugged without answering and looked her up and down.

The change in costume gave Laurie more appeal. It had to be said, equality between men and women could be a joke in practice. A man in a tight outfit that showed his legs would be called a deviant, but a woman dressed like that could gain points for charm.

After a moment of silence, Laurie asked, "Where is this? Can I leave now?"

"You are free to come and go. But this is Soviet territory. Dressed like that, you will have a hard time returning to the United States. And with your personality, even if you do get back, you probably will not pretend nothing happened. You will still investigate me, will you not?"

Damon walked to a nearby table, swept everything off it, and dragged it in front of Laurie.

"What are you doing?"

Laurie looked at him warily, confused.

"I can have someone send you back, but before that, I need to give you something to occupy yourself with. For example..."

Damon suddenly grabbed Laurie, forced her down against the table, twisted her arms behind her, and tore the costume open.

Laurie froze in horror.

She struggled with all her strength, but an electric current surged through Damon's hand. Her body shuddered, collapsed forward, and lost its strength.

"Back when your mother was still a superhero, someone pinned her to a table like this while she was wearing her costume. And then..."

"Ah..."

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