The first Madam Principle story. It takes place after the "Into the Future" story about Lavender.

“I don’t think you understand your situation Madam Principle”, growled Longbow Agent Collins as he menacingly leaned his large, hulking frame over the interrogation room table. “This is the Zig”, he said with his face mere inches from hers. Breath stinking from something eaten hours ago, he continued, “Not only is it built to house scum like you but it is also known as the House of Pain. Your cooperation will go a long way towards your rehabilitation. It’s up to you. Tell me what I want to know. Where is Mikey?”

Chuckling, she sat back in the stark, wooden chair. “Beats me. Eating cereal?”

Collins glared at her. “Very funny. I bet you think this is a game. You know damned well I’m talking about ‘Mikey the Ear’! We saw you talking to him! When I sent my men in you took them out! Mikey escaped and good men were hurt because of you! Where is he!?!”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about!”

Collins growled and a smile, an evil smile, crossed his face. “All right. You’re gonna play it that way. Fine by me”, he said as he grabbed the table and flung it aside with great force. With a deafening sound it hit the wall, broke, and clattered to the floor in pieces.

Startled, she tried to stand up. Bad move. Collins lunged, grabbed her by the neck with one of his huge hands, and began squeezing. Choking and squirming, she tried to force his hand off her neck but he was too strong.

“I could pop your neck like a tick!” he bellowed as he hauled her into the air. “Those were MY men you skragged! This ain’t Paragon City! Ain’t no heroes gonna cry if there’s one less scum bag like you in the world!”

“I…I”, she choked out.

“What’s that!? You got something to say!?”

“Can’t…breathe!”

Snarling he threw her into the corner where she landed in a heap. Gasping for air and near blacking out she lay there.

“Mac”, Collins bellowed. “Get in here!”

The door opened and a guard stepped in. “Yes, Sir!”

“Take her to the Hole”, Collins said with a sneer. “Keep her there until I say so.”

“Yes, Sir!” said Mac as he motioned to several other guards in the hallway.

She tried to put up a fight but, in her weakened state, the result was never in any doubt. After knocking her unconscious they unceremoniously dragged her to the solitary confinement wing. Opening one of the cells, they threw her in and locked the door.

----------*----------

She sat alone in the dark with nothing but the passage of time. Give enough time and the mind starts playing tricks. Was the thing skittering across your arm just a bug? Was the flash of light awakening you real? That constant tapping sound at the verge of hearing...was it just your imagination? Time can also force you to think. Think about where you are, how you got here, and why. It was easy to see why time coupled with solitary confinement can drive a person insane.

Knowing how long she was here, the exact date and time down to the millisecond, wasn’t any comfort. That part of her which kept track of time was one of the few subsystems still operational. On one hand it was exactly 12 days, 4 hours, and 58 seconds. On the other, it was an eternity. But, time was the one thing she had plenty of. Ironically, it’s also what ultimately brought her here.

By her reckoning it should be the year 2043. Somehow, though, she ended up in 2005 and on a different Earth than the one she knew. Like her Earth, this one had suffered interstellar invasion and vast areas of the planet were now uninhabitable. On both Earths the human race slowly began pulling it all together. Steadily and surely, civilization was rising again. On this Earth, Paragon City was the crown jewel of that effort.

Aside from the similarities, however, her Earth’s history was different. Not one but three interstellar invasions had devastated the planet and the human race was at the brink of extinction. Many heroes fought and died during these invasions. A few survived to lead humanity away from the precipice, away from oblivion. She, Terri Hollingsworth (a.k.a. Lavender), was one of these heroes. Taking the name “Principle” she set about the task of leading the reconstruction.

Her vision of how the world should be left no room for dissent. The world had been divided for too long and this division had prevented it from fighting the invaders at maximum power. She vowed to never let this happen again. Those who raised their voices and/or stood in her way were eliminated. Corporations were created to handle the “details”. And, ultimately, at the helm of them all stood the Principle as CEO, President, and de-facto ruler of the world.

It didn’t happen overnight. To get there, friends in high and low places were cultivated and used. One such friend in a low place was Maggie Jensen, a.k.a. Breeze. Once a two-bit criminal she was now a rapidly rising star in the increasingly influential underworld. As the old saying goes, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”, so the Principle initiated contact. A deal was struck and the two formed an alliance. The Principle would continue the reconstruction and rule the high places. Breeze would rule the underworld, undisturbed, and with an iron fist. For a while all was well. Then the schemes began.

Breeze sought to overthrow the Principle and nearly succeeded. The Principle fought back and nearly destroyed Breeze. Back and forth over the course of years they fought behind the veils of corporations and third party agents. Ultimately, an equilibrium was reached. But, the writing was on the wall. As capable as the Principle was she could not match Breeze’s cunning and slyness. Ultimately, she would fall and a new dark age would be ushered in. She was determined that would not happen.

Ideas morphed into plans and plans into action. The result was the Time Project. Time travel was now possible but only to the past. For reasons she never really understood, it was neither possible to go forward in time nor view future events. However, minor changes to the past had effects on the present. These changes could be quantified and predicted with a high degree of accuracy. The more experimentation, the higher degree of accuracy obtained.

Wholesale changes were contemplated until something terrible was discovered. Even the slightest manipulation of the past created ripple effects. While the time line could absorb a few ripples, once a certain threshold was reached these ripples would begin amplifying each other until the time line was destroyed. The threshold had already been crossed. It was too late. Doomsday was coming. Nothing could be done. Not even aborting the Time Project in the past could avert total destruction. Doomsday would strike at 3:12 pm GMT on May 18, 2043. At that moment everything would cease to exist. The one glimmer of hope was the discovery of alternate time lines. However, before a way could be found to safely explore these lines, Breeze struck.

On March 15, 2042 a coup was initiated. With the help of the underworld the coup was quickly fanned into a rebellion. If the Time Project fell into Breeze’s hands it could be used as the ultimate weapon. And, if Breeze somehow discovered a way of migrating to another time line with the Time Project then she would be unstoppable. She must be stopped, but how?

The Principle’s agents ran several calculations and a course of action was chosen. It was risky but, if successful, then Breeze would be destroyed. The coup would be allowed to succeed but not before the Time Project was thoroughly hidden until the time was right. Her CTO and Chief Research Officer would run the project until the doomsday event.

On May 3rd the coup ended with the Principle’s capture. In a highly publicized trial, the Principle was found guilty of crimes against the state and sentenced to life in stasis.

----------*----------

Her revery was suddenly interrupted by the cell door opening. Several guards rushed in and pinned her to the ground. Quickly and efficiently they put her arms and legs into irons. After hauling her to a standing position they pushed and prodded her out the door.

The light was blinding at first but after a few minutes her vision cleared. She began taking note of her surroundings and memorized the route her captors were leading her down. A few minutes later she was shuffled into a room with several others. All were as bound as she was.

They were told to stand in a line and up against the wall. Bright lights shone in their faces. “The classic criminal lineup”, she thought. For some reason she thought this was extremely funny and it was all she could do to keep from laughing.

The speakers in the room crackled for a moment and a voice told them to face forward. Commands were given to face right, then left, etc. Then they were left for several minutes to sweat under the hot, blinding lights.

Standing next to her was a tall, lanky man with a desiccated face. And, yet, for some reason he exuded a sophisticated airing. He leaned toward her. Moving his lips ever so slightly he asked, “So, what are you in for?”

Following his example of little or no lip movement she answered, “I tangled with some Longbows and lost. You?”

“Beats me. I was minding my own business. A bunch of Longbows just walked up and beat the crap out of me. Next thing I’m know here. I’ve done nothing wrong”, he said with a wink. “What’s your name, doll?”

“I’m not a doll, you rotting sack of flesh!”

“Whoa, whoa! Sorry. I meant no offense.”

She sighed. “Sorry. I’ve been in solitary for 12 days. My name is Principle.”

His eyes widened and he took a small step back. “Principle? Madam Principle? THE Madam Principle? The one who took out over 50 Longbows before being captured?”

“Uh…I didn’t think it was that many.” Muttering under her breath she added, “No wonder Collins was pissed.” Resuming a normal voice she asked, “Who are you?”

“Doc Samedi is the name.” He leaned closer. “Listen, the scuttlebutt here is that something big is about to go down. Be ready when it comes. If you make your way to the outside, look me up.”

“Got it, Doc. Thanks for the intel. My lips are sealed.”

A few minutes later the guards returned and shuffled her back to the Hole.

----------*----------

She awoke screaming into the darkness. The nightmare was always the same – the last day of 2043. Only it wasn’t just a nightmare, it happened. It was real.

Doomsday had hit. All that remained were a few acres of land and buildings protected by a massive chronal field.

Improvements had been made to the Time Project since she was placed into stasis. Her Chief Research Officer succeeded in bringing a group of heroes forward from 2003 to free her. Not only did they succeed in freeing her, as an added bonus they also defeated Breeze. Now Breeze was in stasis and the Principle was free.

After sending the heroes back to 2003 she stood alone in a gigantic room in one of the buildings on the Time Project campus. Silence. Unbelievable, nearly unbearable, silence. For several minutes she stood there, her thoughts a million miles away.

Her earlier self was one of the heroes from the past. It was good to see herself in this way. To think she was once that young and innocent brought back many memories. They talked at length for a while. Then, lending her a tiny fraction of her power, she showed her past self some of the things she would be able to do as her powers further developed. She even showed her a trick she could do right now. With a little practice and patience she had no doubt Terri would get the hang of it. It was too bad she had to be sent back so soon. So much remained untold.

An alert caught her attention. The Base AI needed more power to maintain the chronal field. “I need a list of systems”, she said. In her mind’s eye the list appeared. Checking off the choices, she nodded and the list disappeared. A few moments later, the lights slowly dimmed and then went out. She was now in total darkness.

“It won’t be long now”, she thought. All power was being diverted to the chronal field. This included the power holding Breeze in stasis.

As if on queue, the air started to move. Softly at first and then with increasing force it swirled around her. “I can feel you breathing, wench”, said Breeze as she flew into the room. “You think the darkness will hide you, but you’re wrong! I know where you are. Your pitiful followers with their little toys cannot save you now! We ARE alone! Today I will reign supreme!”

“Hello Maggie,” the Principle replied. “Let’s light things up a bit”, she said as she stood and started glowing with a dazzling brilliance, lighting up the entire room.

Breeze’s eyes narrowed both from the light and from suspicion. “Impressive, bitch. But, it won’t save you.” Ominously, she added, “And, I told you to never call me by that name!”

The Principle laughed. Mockingly, she added, “Oh, yes, almighty Breeze! Ruler of the world! I’m so sorry, Maggie, but your rule has ended.”

Breeze growled, “Kneel! Pledge your undying loyalty to me and I may yet spare your life!”

“No, Maggie. I will never, ever kneel to you.”

Breeze pointed. A bolt of lightning lanced out and struck the Principle. Knocked over by the attack and groaning from the pain, the Principle stood and counterattacked. Breeze screamed as the area in and around her turned into white-hot incandescence.

Attack, counterattack, regroup, retaliate. They fought for a long time, neither one gaining a decided advantage over the other. Eventually, battered, bruised, and powers exhausted it came down to a wrestling match. In between the punches, throws, kicks, and gasping for breath they talked.

“You will never defeat me, Terri. Eventually, my minions will break through the force dome and it will all be over. I will rule and you will not stop me.”

“That ‘force dome’ is not a force dome at all, Maggie. It’s a chronal field. Everything has gone according to plan. You were maneuvered into this.”

“Nonsense. It was I who maneuvered you. I planned and executed the coup. It came off without a hitch. You’ve lost and your time is at hand!”

The Principle laughed. “You’re so predictable. That’s the one thing I can always count on.”

“What?”

“I let you take over, Maggie. I had to distract you. Otherwise, you’d have undone everything. I knew you’d be so engrossed in your rule that you’d never find out about the Time Project until it was too late. The chronal field protects all that is left of our time line, our reality.”

Stunned by a sudden revelation, Breeze hesitated for a moment. “You destroyed our time line???!!!”

“Yes!” yelled the Principle as she punched Breeze, knocking her down.

Breeze worked her way into a partially sitting position. Wiping the blood away from her mouth she smiled wickedly. “You’re more diabolical than I thought. I didn’t know you had it in you.” Looking around she said, “So, this is it, huh?”

“Yes. I couldn’t let you rule. It was either sacrifice our time line or you would have been unstoppable anytime, anywhere. I created the events which led to this and then just let it happen.”

Breeze laughed. “That’s even worse! By allowing this to happen, you’re even worse than diabolical! You’ve just proven yourself my equal! Nobody has ever done that! Tell me, how does it feel?”

The Principle slumped and sat down. “Terrible.”

They sat, each wrapped up in their own thoughts for a moment. The Principle broke the silence. “The chronal field will collapse soon. Do you want me to count down the seconds?”

Breeze sighed. “No, it’s better not knowing. Terri?”

“Yes?”

“How do we get out of this?”

“We don’t.”

“What do you mean, ‘We don’t?’ Surely you, Miss ‘I’ve always got a contingency plan’, have a contingency plan!?”

“Nope. Not this time. There’s no way out of this.”

“No way out?” Breeze asked. “No! I refuse to accept that! There has to…be...something?” Frantically, she looked around. “Terri? The lights. They’re on! They’ve been on! Did you…?”

“No,” the Principle said as her eyes widened. “I didn't turn them on!” Mentally, she contacted the Base AI. “Neither did the AI! In fact, it says that the lights are off!” They both stood up.

The ground shook as the chronal field collapsed. Like ripples in a pond after a stone was thrown in but in reverse motion, they watched as the waves approached from all sides. Everything the waves touched disappeared.

They clung to each other as the waves reached them. An instant before oblivion everything stopped. Then there was a wrenching feeling, pain, and darkness.

----------*----------

She lay on the pavement in the rain. It beat down upon her and there was a rumble of thunder in the distance. Groggily, she opened her eyes and tried to sit up but didn’t have the energy. Slowly she gathered her wits and strength.

Internally, she queried her personal AI and received no response. Cursing under her breath she began running a wetware diagnostic. She hated doing that. It was much slower and drew power directly from HER – the organic side of her being. She was going to feel even more like hell when it was done.

A few minutes later the diagnostic was complete and results were mixed. The organics were undamaged, that was the good news. The bad news was that her AI was totally unresponsive and only a few subsystems were operational. She attempted rebooting the AI anyway. And, amazingly, after a few moments it came online.

“Systems check”, she croaked out.

“Initiating”, it said in Maggie’s voice.

“Wait, stop!” Terri said in alarm. “Re-modulate voice. Use profile ‘Drake’.”

“Profile ‘Drake’ not found.”

“Use profile ‘Rollins’.”

“Profile ‘Rollins’ not found. No profiles found.”

“Randomize.”

“Randomization complete.”

“You still sound like Maggie, dammit!”

So engrossed in the conversation was she that she didn’t hear the sound of footsteps coming up next to her. Hands roughly hauled her to her feet. A masked man in red and white tights was holding her up. “Who are you?” he barked out. Behind him were three armed and similarly garbed agents.

“P-Principle.”

“Forget her, Keith”, said one of the others. “She’s just some two-bit whore working the streets. We got more important things to do.”

“Well, Madam Principle,” Keith said with a wry smile as he released her. “Today is your lucky day. Get off the street and take your business elsewhere. Don’t let me catch you here again.” With that said he backed away and started running down the street. For a moment his comrades eyed her warily and then followed.

She stood there in indignation, thoughts racing. “Whore?! I’m not a whore you overblown, pretentious, pea-brained lummox!”

The door cracked open behind her. A voice from within asked, “Are they gone?”

Startled, she spun around. “What?!”

“Are they gone?” the voice repeated.

She looked around, “Yeah, they’re gone.”

The door opened and a scruffy looking man stepped out. “Thanks!”

Suddenly his eyes widened. “Uh oh!” he said as he ducked back in. Down the block, several red and white clad agents were pointing in her direction. They started moving towards her with their weapons drawn. Then they began firing.

“Fools!” she said as she tried to take flight but nothing happened. “Great!” she spat out.

“Warning: Flight systems not operational at this time. Warning: Power levels fluctuating. Warning: This system is damaged and needs repair.”

A blaster bolt struck the building behind her. The concussive force knocked her off her feet. “Tell me something I don’t already know! Give me all you got!”

A force bubble appeared around her. Hands glowing, she advanced on the agents. With four shots she took them down. But, there were shouts from the surrounding buildings and the sound of many running footsteps. Dozens of agents poured into the street from all directions and began converging on her.

“Warning: Power drain critical” intoned the AI. “System must shut down to maintain integrity.”

“No! No shutdown!” she said as she dodged a volley of incoming blaster fire. “Override!”

“Command accepted. Warning: Burnout factor at 85%.”

With each Longbow agent she took down, the burnout factor increased until her AI fell silent. She then attempted to access her personal reserves but found nothing. Whatever brought her to this place apparently also took those away.

Dodging energy blasts she tried rebooting her AI several times. Silence was all she heard from it. Then, a blaster bolt connected and knocked her in to a wall. Stunned, she tried to rise to her feet. Another bolt struck her and put her out of commission.

“Who is she?” asked one of the Longbow agents.

“I think Keith said her name is ‘Madam Principle’”, said another.

“What kind of name is that?”

“I don’t know. Lieutenant! What should we do with her?”

“You and you”, the Lieutenant pointed. “Take her to the Zig. They’ll know what to do. The rest of you, keep looking for Mikey.”

----------*----------

She awoke suddenly. Something didn’t seem right. Then she identified it. The tapping noise she’d been hearing for days was no longer there. She shrugged and lay back down. Then, all hell broke loose.

A muffled explosion rocked the complex and the ground shook. At first the blaster fire was far away. Then it came closer, and closer, and closer. Finally, her cell door was blasted in. A black-clad, armored man appeared in the doorway. “Get up!” he yelled. “Get out of here! Don’t you know a jail break when you see one?!”

Eagerly, she ran out the door and down the hall. Inmates were being released and they were running everywhere. As she made her way through the Zig several thoughts crossed her mind. One was the name “Madam Principle”. It kind of grew on her. She liked it. Another was power. Having seen the dregs of this society she knew the only way she had to go was up. She’d ruled the world before and there was no reason why she couldn’t do it again. Oh, the possibilities… With a delightfully evil smile, she made her way to freedom.

Copyright © by Bill Selwa, all rights reserved.