The Misadventures of Agent Felicity Shagwell
Copyright© 2010 by Oberon
Chapter 2
Erotica Sex Story: Chapter 2 - Austin Powers fanfiction
Caution: This Erotica Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Consensual Reluctant Blackmail Lesbian BiSexual Fiction Fan Fiction Robot Mystery Petting Violence
It was a long time before Felicity Shagwell regained consciousness in the massage room after Agents Pultitzov and Krush had beaten her and taken Scott Evil away. The walls around her slowly came back into focus as her eyes fluttered and opened completely, narrowing a little as they tried to accustom themselves to the light. Slowly taking in her surroundings, Felicity realized she was still in the room where she fought Agents Ivana Pultitzov and Majesta Krush. Stirring, she moaned as the pain in her body washed over her from the scratches and punches her skin was subjected to from Dr. Evil's henchwomen, not to mention the constant compressions Felicity received from their arms and legs wrapped tight around her, mercilessly squeezing the breath from her body. Her ribs ached from the constant strain of the bearhugs and scissor locks they gave her to wear down her resistance as they sent her off to dreamland.
She stirred again, testing her energy as she felt things slowly but surely coming into sharper focus. Trying to breathe through her lips, she realized with shock and horror that something was stuffed inside her mouth. Almost gagging at the musty odor flowing in her nostrils and down her throat, Felicity spat out the damp bikini bottoms by pure reflex, disgusted by the thought that they had been there as she was passed out. She tried to turn over, wincing as the pain receptors in her brain registered her extreme physical torture. She rolled on her back, trying to move her arms before she realized she was still bound by the wrists. Resting until she worked up enough strength to try wriggling from her bonds, Felicity worked the bikini, twisting her wrists this way and that until she felt it loosening enough that she could pull her hands free.
It was even longer before Felicity could try moving again, as each move she tried resulted in more waves of pain coursing through her. The agony in her limbs and chest was almost too much to bear. With some effort, she struggled on the floor and finally managed to push herself back up to her knees, legs quivering with the motion. Felicity had to balance herself by leaning her open palm on a nearby wall until the shaking stopped. When the cobwebs in her head were gone, Felicity pondered her defeat, knowing she would have to explain her failure to obtain the information she promised the Ministry of Defense about Dr. Evil's latest plan to take over the world. All the while, she secretly hoped the opportunity would present itself for her to cross paths with those bitches that had made brutal work of her.
Wincing again as she moved, Felicity bent to retrieve both parts of her bikini, doing her best to shut out the waves of pain washing over her as she eased both pieces over her upper and lower body. Perhaps, she mused bitterly, some time spent in the sauna would clear her mind so she could decide how to benefit from this fiasco. Her bikini loosely repositioned over her sore breasts and crotch, Felicity forced herself to stand on shaky legs and quietly exited the massage room, ignoring the discomfort these movements caused as she peered both ways down the hall to see if there was anyone else present who would notice her scratched, bruised appearance and start asking questions. Seeing the hall was empty, she padded out, quietly shutting the door behind her. Wiping sweat from her face, Felicity did her best to hide the discoloration on her skin from the fists and fingernails of Dr. Evil's henchwomen as she headed unobtrusively through the hallways.
She thought of Scott Evil's agreement to meet her under the promise of a night of wild sex being found out by the Soviet agents in Dr. Evil's employ and couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt at the thought of what Dr. Evil might do to punish him for compromising the security of his evil operation once Pultitzov and Krush returned him to his headquarters at Virtucon. For all Felicity knew Dr. Evil might roast him alive in Mustafa's fire pit, or feed him to a horde of mutated ill-tempered sea bass to make him an example to the others! Felicity knew she was responsible for Scott's safety since it was her idea to get the necessary information from him, and resolved she would convince the Ministry of Defense to try and grant him immunity in some way, but first and foremost she decided she must devise a new strategy to infiltrate Dr. Evil's plans, all the while not knowing that there were plans that directly involved her being formulated at the moment.
Locating the sauna in a hallway on the other side of the health spa, Felicity pushed the door open, wincing again as the scratches on her skin acted up again with the movement of her arm and entered. Almost immediately, the waves of damp, hot air washed over her body, soothing her discomfort somewhat, but not by too much. The air felt good, but it also made her feel woozy and lightheaded, as if she might pass out again from the abrupt change in temperature. Fighting to keep her balance, Felicity headed for a bench situated on the far side of the sauna. Reaching it, she had to sit carefully so as not to hyperventilate as she regained her breath and not to inflame her throbbing wounds. Finding a comfortable position, Felicity immediately closed her eyes and tried to think of a way that she could present to the Ministry of Defense as to how to salvage her mission. She imagined if her path crossed with Pultitzov and Krush again, she would need backup from the other two agents from the Ministry of Defense. As much as she wanted to come across them again, Felicity wasn't sure if she could handle another encounter, for a few reasons that seemed painfully obvious to her, despite how she wanted to deny it.
As she leaned her head against the wall behind her, easing herself into more of a comfortable position, Felicity found her mind wandering back to the savage fight she had with Agents Pultitzov and Krush, that began with the massage Ivana had given her before raking her nails down her back and rudely jarring her from the state of near-ecstasy she had been in, before prodding her with an Uzi automatic to the room where she was forced to fight Pultitzov and her partner Krush until she was sent to dreamland to allow time for them to escape with Scott. Felicity thought back to the part of her fight when she inadvertently grew excited during the fight's more "intimate" moments, during the times she was caught in an agent's squeezing grasp, air being progressively forced from her body as bare skin ground against bare skin in close quarters.
As the memory of this grew clearer in her mind, Felicity found herself wondering whether the excitement she received as Agent Pultitzov gave her that stimulating massage, and the excitement that actually spurred her to assist the Evil agents in stimulating her to orgasm was simply her body reacting to the constant physical contact between them, or perhaps the result of desire she hadn't suspected existed. Part of Felicity questioned her body's reaction to their powers of seduction, but another part found the idea of competing against them sexually stimulating in itself, as if drinking in those powers of theirs, welcoming the effect they had on her. As she considered the latter, she closed her eyes and tried to relax herself more, absently beginning to run the fingers of her right hand along her inner thigh. Her fingers almost reached her crotch when her senses were suddenly alerted to the door being yanked open from the outside.
As Felicity regained her senses, focusing her eyes on the open door to the sauna entrance, two women whom she didn't immediately recognize walked boldly inside; one blonde, the other brunette; followed by a third figure whose features were obscured by a black latex mask and matching bodysuit that covered every inch of his, or her, body. For their part, the first women who entered the sauna were dressed in tight fitting black latex bikinis that clung to them like an additional layer of skin. Seeing Felicity sitting on the bench at the far end of the sauna, they smiled slightly, apparently eager to make her acquaintance. Judging by their demeanor and the confident way they regarded her, it was obvious that these newcomers meant trouble. Though her body ached after her thrashing by the Evil agents, she still was in no mood to be disturbed this soon afterward, especially if they were here for the reason she suspected they might be.
Straightening with some effort and glaring at the newcomers, Felicity's eyes narrowed to slits as she looked them over. "Go away, this is my time," she snapped, hoping she sounded bitchy and intimidating enough despite her exhaustion
"Agent Felicity Shagwell, of the Ministry of Defense, I presume?" the blonde inquired with a Soviet accent as the brunette followed, looking straight into Felicity's eyes. The third newcomer stood by the door, not moving. But at the moment, this was of no consequence for Felicity. Obviously, the first two women had an idea who she was. Not good.
"Whose asking?" Felicity snapped again, figuring an attempt to cover her identity may prove fruitless since the newcomers had such an easy time finding her here. Tilting her head upward as she tensed, she returned the icy stares crawling over her face, trying to ready herself in case the women made any aggressive move toward her. "And how did you manage to find me here, may I ask?"
"Before we answer your questions, Agent Shagwell," the blonde replied, taking a tentative step closer as if warning Felicity to remain silent, "an introduction on our part is in order. I am Agent Sascha Squeeze, and this," she indicated the brunette standing alongside her, "is my partner, Agent Serena Squeeze. We are from the Soviet Union."
"We received top secret orders by Dr. Evil after Agents Pultitzov and Krush were dispatched to intercept your meeting with Scott," the brunette explained. "As such we have heard about your unfortunate encounter with them." She smiled coldly as the information registered in Felicity's mind. "They were ordered to leave you here. For reasons not even revealed to them we were sent to introduce you to someone who is going to help us foil the Ministry of Defense's plan to thwart Dr. Evil."
For some reason, the agents' thick Soviet accents became unbearable to Felicity. "Why do you two have to have Russian accents? First Pultitzov and Krush, now you two. Come on; the Cold War ended in the eighties for God's sake!"
"As I said," Serena offered Felicity in explanation, "we're from the Soviet Union. Besides," she added with a wicked smile, "we think Russian accents give us an air of sexuality unmatched by anything YOU have to offer, Agent Shagwell," Sascha placed her hands on her hips as she spoke, staring down condescendingly at Felicity. "Exotic accents always do so for an evil agent, especially while they are in a confrontation with the good guys."
"Never mind that. Why bother to tell me about all this?" Felicity demanded, snapping back to the situation at hand and still not making complete sense of what was being said. She was not able to take her eyes off the mysterious figure standing motionless by the door, but something about the person made her uneasy.
"Because it's highly unlikely that you will live to tell anyone about Dr. Evil's plans!" exclaimed Sascha, as she signaled the figure by the door to come forward, moving off to the side to allow an unobstructed path as Serena did the same.
Heading toward Felicity, the mystery guest who arrived with Dr. Evil's agents removed the latex mask, letting it drop to the floor. Watching her do this, Felicity experienced a few instants of confused vertigo, as if she was staring into a mirror! The smirking face staring into her eyes was exactly identical to her own, as if this doppelganger of Felicity was somehow cloned from her DNA by Dr. Evil's scientists in his underground laboratory. Felicity's eyes widened in shock as this carbon copy of her stepped closer; before she could utter any questions as to what the meaning of this was, the doppelganger moved close enough to her to deliver a devastating slap across Felicity's face that knocked her off her feet and sent her reeling across the sauna and to the floor, standing over her haughtily as Felicity fought to clear her head of the cobwebs
"Meet the woman who is going to help Dr. Evil rule the world!" Serena shouted jubilantly as she looked down on Felicity. "I am afraid there's been a change of plans as to your being allowed to return to the Ministry of Defense," she continued, her words leaving very little room for interpretation. "Dr. Evil decided he should have you in his company, to show you how he plans to defeat the plans the Ministry of Defense have to infiltrate his plot to control the media and the world's finances."
When she recovered from her shock, Felicity became angry upon hearing Serena's words. This was a development the Ministry of Defense had not anticipated, and therefore Felicity had not been briefed on the possibility. But she knew now that Dr. Evil had taken great pains to engage the Ministry at their own game and perform an act of counter-intelligence that would lead to undermining their efforts to thwart Dr. Evil's plans to rule the world. Apart from that, Felicity was pissed enough that she had not only been thwarted on her mission, not to mention being humiliated by being tied up inescapably with her own bikini, but now she was to be taken to Dr. Evil and forced to take part in his evil plot some way. And all this was happening despite her agreement with the other agents that she would be allowed to leave if she fought them!
Feeling her anger rising despite her physically weakened condition, Felicity hardened her face as she ignored the woman standing over her. Glaring up at the Evil agents who were now standing at either side of Felicity's doppelganger to prevent escape, if Felicity had considered escape an option. Clearing her head from the slap and rising from where she sat on the floor, she narrowed her eyes at Sascha and Serena. "Well," Felicity intoned, ready for a confrontation, "let me get up again; then you can come here an' try to take me in if you can. But, be advised that you won't take me without a fight!"
"There is no need to fight you, Agent Shagwell," Sascha assured her, "at least not to take you with us!" That said, Sascha and her partner stepped back and watched as Felicity saw her doppelganger pull a small, cylindrical object from inside her tight catsuit. Smiling into Felicity's eyes, the doppelganger pressed a small button on its side; an instant later, Felicity began to thrash convulsively on the sauna floor as the small cylindrical object in the woman's hand turned out to be a miniature taser. Fired into her chest, it frazzled Felicity's insides until she was shoved past the borders of dreamland.
The Soviet agents continued their evil laughter at her expense. Seeing she was now completely unconscious, the woman released the button on the taser and the business end of it extracted from her body. Knowing it was time to leave, they signaled their friend who bent and hoisted Felicity's unconscious body to her feet, lifting her like a rag doll and preparing to carry her from the sauna. As they left with their mysterious friend following close behind, carrying Felicity's unconscious body over her shoulder Sascha intoned, "Dr. Evil will surely be pleased to send a message to the Ministry of Defense that we have one of their finest agents in our possession!" punctuating her statement with some evil laughter.
"Let's see how eager Agent Shagwell is to fight AFTER she has recovered!" Serena agreed, adding some evil laughter of her own to the mix. "After all, fighting oneself is in itself a strange task; that much is certain..."
"Agent Felicity Shagwell, welcome to my underground lair..."
Felicity knew that voice. Turning her head to locate the source of it from where she stood in the makeshift fighting pit she was escorted to and ordered to wait, she beheld Dr. Evil and his henchmen staring down at her from a raised platform that was a fair distance away. Alongside of him were the members of his evil cabinet, all of whom she had been briefed on at the Ministry of Defense. As she looked closer, she saw the agents who had captured Scott and taken part in capturing her to bring her here; Ivana Pultitzov, Majesta Krush and Sascha and Serena Squeeze. They wore identical expressions of amusement and anticipation as they watched her wait in the pit for the show Dr. Evil arranged to begin. Upon awakening here she had been escorted from her room by two armed guards who made sure she showered and changed her clothes for her appearance where she was now, in an undisclosed area in Dr. Evil's Virtucon-fronted base of operations. The fighting pit Felicity was in and the room around her was as sparse and sophisticated as Dr. Evil's dining room. She wore a metallic silver miniskirt and top, and so far was alone in the fighting pit, but she wouldn't be for long.
"I hope you like your quasi-futuristic designer clothes, Agent Shagwell," Dr. Evil continued, "because they're the last thing you'll ever wear," raising his pinkie to the corner of his mouth as he realized the last words in both his sentences rhymed.
"Where's Scott Evil?" Felicity demanded, casting an icy, arrogant glare at Pultitzov, Krush and the Squeeze Sisters before turning to look directly at Dr. Evil himself, her eyes seeming to demand an answer. "What have you done with him?"
"The location of Scott is inconsequential, as far as you're concerned," Dr. Evil responded. "Even if you did know you would be unable to inform the Ministry of Defense of his whereabouts. What's important is you're to take part in a demonstration of our Evil technological advancements. We have been watching your movements for a long time, and we arranged for my agents to intercept you at the right moment, when you could be captured and taken here without the knowledge of Austin Powers and the Ministry. And now, we are about to show you why we went to such great pains to have you brought here." Turning to his left, he addressed the short woman standing alongside him, allowing her to call the other woman to show up at his little get together in his Virtucon headquarters. "Frau Farbissina?" he trailed off.
"Thank you, Dr. Evil," Frau Farbissina graciously conceded. Then, "Bring in the FEMBOT!"
As he'd done when she introduced Agents Pultitzov and Krush to his evil cabinet, Dr. Evil cringed at the grating sound of Frau Farbissina's voice as two armed guards present moved to a door on the other side of the room and admitted the final guest of the night's festivities. It was the woman who Agent Shagwell saw was perfectly identical in appearance when she was first introduced to her by the Squeeze Sisters. The woman was dressed in garb likewise identical to what Felicity was wearing, right down to the metallic silver boots she was wearing as she headed for the edge of the fighting pit where she stopped, regarding Felicity with her eyes before turning her gaze toward Farbissina and Dr. Evil, as if awaiting an order.
"Agent Felicity Shagwell," Frau Farbissina began carefully, "Allow me to familiarize you personally with the ultimate fembot technology. In order to defeat Austin Powers, we have constructed a fembot that resembles you in every way, right down to your appearance, your personality, your habits, everything. Once she has defeated you in this combat, we will send her back to the Ministry of Defense to infiltrate their intelligence network, and put an end to their meddling ways once and for all when we finally take over the world's finances. Of course," Farbissina concluded, "you won't be alive to see it happen, since this fight is to the death!"
"Your fembot replica will return to the Ministry of Defense, and no one will know she has replaced you until it's too late!"
"You'll never get away with this, I swear it!" Felicity exclaimed indignantly. "I'll find a way to beat your creation, and then I'll find Scott before I leave to tell the Ministry of Defense everything you've kept secret from them!"
"That is very unlikely," Farbissina admonished her, indicating the fembot at the edge of the fighting pit, "because this is the most powerful fembot we have created so far. She can outfight the top crack agents in the Ministry of Defense, and she is efficiently trained in many forms of lethal combat. Trying to defeat her would be like trying to stop a hurricane, as you are about to learn, Agent Shagwell." As she finished, Farbissina was about to order the fembot Shagwell to enter the pit, when she was suddenly interrupted as Sascha sidled closer to Dr. Evil, nudging his arm to draw his attention away from the pit.
"Before she dies, Dr. Evil," Sascha cooed seductively in her thick Russian accent, "may Serena and I have some fun with her first?" Looking over, she saw the expectant expression on Serena's face and knew she'd be amenable to the idea.
"Yes," Serena eagerly agreed. "Felicity has had plenty of time to recover from her beating at the hands of Agents Pultitzov and Krush, and since she made our acquaintance as well it would be appropriate for us to weaken her before your fembot finishes her off."
"As you wish," Dr. Evil conceded them the opportunity to fight Agent Shagwell before the demonstration of their creation's power. "I know how much you like to toy with your prey before its impending destruction. You may begin."
Grinning at one another, Sascha and Serena approached the pit as his henchmen moved away at a respectful distance. A moment later they jumped in to confront Felicity, beginning to warily circle her as if expecting an immediate response. For Felicity's part, she wasn't intimidated and still determined as ever to emerge from this encounter in one piece.
"Come on, you bitches!" she barked with more arrogant haughtiness than she'd spoken with since meeting them. "You won't stop me from warning the Ministry of Defense!"
Grinning wryly at Felicity's persistent defiance, Sascha and Serena exchanged another look as if they had been expecting such a reaction from her, even now. Looking back at her with unflinching eyes, as if wordlessly telling her they knew of her physically depleted condition and she didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of fighting them off. Stretching their arms and legs with seductive airs as they physically and mentally prepared themselves for the task at hand, they spread out to move to either side of Felicity as their lazy circling continued and Felicity's fembot doppelganger looked on patiently.
Felicity kept her eyes on both agents as they slowly circled her, dropping into a defensive posture as she mentally readied herself for what might be a grueling physical contest. Carefully watching for any sudden movements that either agent may decide to make, Felicity tried to look in every direction at once, always managing to keep at least one of the agents in her line of vision at any time. Sascha and Serena stayed out of striking distance for the time being, stalking Felicity, testing her speed and reaction time with an occasional feint, but never directly attacking. The lights above the fighting pit reflected brightly off the quasi-futuristic black miniskirts and tops they wore as they wordlessly continued the game, eyes narrowed, expressions calculating as they worked together to determine the most effective course of action. Finally, they rushed Felicity in unison, fists raised, meaning to knock her to the floor where they could make better use of their fighting abilities!
As they came within range, Sascha aiming punches to Felicity's back and Serena kicking her leg between Felicity's calves to trip her to the floor, Felicity unexpectedly surged forward, enduring the painful blows to her back as her sudden motion caught both agents completely by surprise! Felicity ducked another series of punches from Sascha, swinging her fist to hit Sascha in the head as she used Serena's momentum and lack of balance to trip her to the floor in her place while her leg kicked out to trip her. As Felicity somehow lost her balance and fell on top of Serena's prone body, bare skin slamming together, Sascha descended upon her to retaliate. Burying her fingers in Felicity's hair from behind before she could do something to capitalize on her advantage over Serena, Sascha harshly yanked her from atop her partner and hauled her to her feet. Spinning Felicity around and wrapping her arms around her waist, Sascha applied a rib crunching bearhug!
Felicity's scream was abruptly cut off by the strong arms compressing her waist; she found herself gasping and fighting to regain air as the bearhug tightened around her midriff. Their half-naked bodies ground harshly as Felicity squirmed to escape Sascha's grasp. Sascha's clenched fists pressed remorselessly into the small of Felicity's back, fists pressing into her navel, muscles and forearms constricting tightly around her ribs, the tight grasp pushing its way into Felicity's yielding waist and forcing more oxygen from her lungs. Having regained her feet, Serena walked forward, slamming her fists into Felicity's shoulder blades as Sascha renewed her efforts to squeeze the fight out of her. Frustrated by her predicament, Felicity screamed in rage and agony, reared back to ram her forehead hard into Sascha's nose! Sascha's head snapped back and the bearhug loosened as Felicity drew in a long huff of air through her mouth and nostrils.
However, before she could follow up on her counter attack, Serena slammed a fist into her temple, then surged forward, clamping another bearhug around her waist, building on Sascha's previous efforts to force the wind from Felicity's lungs. The sudden shock of her waist being crushed again as Serena's breasts ground into her own caused Felicity to squirm in protest at the crushing pressure mounting around her waist. Spurred by the sight of Felicity being compressed in Serena's arms, Sascha lunged at her from behind again, twisting her hands into claws as she reached around and plunged her fingers into Felicity's face! Her fingers sought Felicity's eyes as Serena maintained the brutally tight bearhug, raking her nails down in a harsh scratching motion as she found them before subjecting Felicity's back to the same treatment!
Felicity screamed in agony again, the cry being cut off by the bearhug around her waist as Sascha's fingernails assaulted her unsuspecting face, tearing into her eyes, nostrils and cheeks. Feeling the grasp around her midsection tightening as the pain of those fingernails assaulted her sensitive back, Felicity desperately twisted her body in an effort to escape the tight bearhug so that she might mount a counter-offense, her legs pumping furiously until they caught Serena in the crotch more by pure luck than calculated skill. Her eyes bugging wide open, she loosened her arms from around Felicity's waist and staggered backward to regain her breath as Felicity spun around to contend with Sascha, who was reaching for her hair with both hands. Ducking the outstretched fingers, Felicity used her legs like pistons, charging Sascha with her head ducked low, trying to ram it into her stomach. But Sascha lifted her knee at the last instant, slamming it into Felicity's chest as Serena charged her from behind!
Serena jumped on Felicity's back, deftly coiled an arm around her throat and pulled backward harshly. As her forearm pressed her windpipe, Felicity struggled furiously to escape until their legs became entangled and they crashed to the floor. Making sure she maintained a firm enough purchase on Felicity as they fell, Serena signaled Sascha with her eyes to wait until the right time to contribute to the assault and threw herself backward, wrapping her legs around Felicity's waist and squeezing down hard! Feeling Felicity give between her muscular legs, Serena beamed a smile as her grip on Felicity grew stronger, her legs resetting themselves each time Felicity whipped convulsively to get out from in between the crushing vice grip on her midsection. Screeching from the tight legs around her waist, she tried to move her head to the side in order to bite at the arm choking off her air, but Serena just chuckled and pulled the choke tighter as her legs kicked outward, squeezing Felicity's waist even more as the inertia of the kick brought her legs closer together.
Gagging as Serena compressed her body and throat tighter, Felicity desperately tried clawing her back in an effort to take her focus off the energy she poured into her painful holds. Seeing this was to no avail, she used her other arm to strike at the exposed waist of her brunette tormentor, her balled fist plunging into the yielding area of her midsection, hearing grunt after grunt as her fist connected with Serena's flesh. As Serena tried to shift position to where she could maintain a tighter hold on her, Felicity used the inertia to roll Serena onto her back, coiling an arm around her neck in retaliation. But Serena reset her legs again and squeezed harder, pulling her head closer as she rolled Felicity on her back. Pouring more energy into the brutal scissors, she laughed in the trapped blonde's face as she leaned in and sank her teeth into Felicity's nose, pulsing the legs around her waist tighter still as Felicity's fruitless struggles to free herself intensified.
Crying out from the teeth sinking into her nose, Felicity grabbed hold of a handful of dark hair, yanking backward fiercely in an effort to force Serena to relinquish her grip. But Serena responded by compressing her legs tighter still around her, releasing a savage roar of excitement as she suppressed Felicity's feverish struggling, delighting in feeling her soft waist giving way farther between her powerful thighs. Seeing Serena had Felicity trapped in the dual holds with no chance of escape, Sascha approached her prone body as Felicity glared defiantly in her eyes. When she came within range, Sascha proceeded to repeatedly stomp the trapped agent's chest! "How's that feel, Agent Shagwell? Find it difficult to breathe?" Serena taunted from underneath her as Sascha continued her merciless stomping of her sore chest, chuckling at Felicity's predicament as the trapped agent sandwiched between them began to squirm like a fish out of water, fighting to regain her breathing, even more desperate to escape their clutches!