Strapped To A Bed

Slowly, Lois realized that more than lassitude tied her to the bed. Straps, broad belts of nylon, pressed down across her chest above and below her breasts, across her thighs and shins. She could feel the weight of padded manacles at wrist and ankle. The reporter blinked and breathed, feeling the straps draw tight against her body—her naked body.

There was a pressure...a feeling of terrible weight...inside her stomach. Achingly, Lois tried to lift her head. It was an effort of will that seemed almost impossible, some unseen **** fighting her at every turn. But eventually, painfully, her chin lifted until it rested on her breastbone...and she stared without comprehension at the taut mound that was her stomach.

Movement in the room around her, but she couldn't turn her head. A cool hand pressed against her forehead, and gently **** it back down. Lois wanted to fight it. Wanted to speak, to do anything, but she couldn't move...

"She's awake." The person speaking was familiar...green eyes and a bald head...and something in Lois recoiled at his touch. She recognized him instantly. Lex Luthor. The raven-haired report could feel the muscles in her jaw work as she tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Hmm, bit of lingering paralysis. That should pass soon." Lex didn't look into her eyes, but ran his gaze down her body. "If you can, blink twice."

Surprised, Lois blinked...and then did it again, as much to confirm that she could as anything else.

"Good. Some motor control function remaining. However, we don't quite have time for you to regain your full faculties. I take it you saw your current condition? If so, blink twice."

Lois struggled to speak, to move her jaw...but although some of the muscles bunched, nothing came out. Her tongue lay like a dead thing in her mouth. She opened and closed her eyes, slowly, deliberately, twice.

"I make a point of monitoring the activities of extraterrestrials on this planet. Recently, certain unusual transmissions have been emanating from the vicinity of this club, and I decided to investigate. I imagine you were working on the same case, from another angle—the women that had gone missing, correct?"

The bound, naked woman blinked twice. She wondered where Luthor was going with this...and how much she could trust his take on events.

"The woman you met, Maria, was under the influence of an alien life form. An extraterrestrial that incubates its young inside other creatures. Maria implanted these creatures in egg form during otherwise consensual sexual encounters with women, although I understand **** and **** played their part."

Lois struggled not to blink. The events of the night washed over her. Minus the aliens, it was sounding disturbingly accurate.

"The paralysis is a side-effect of the eggs growing in your body. The young feed off of neural electricity. The fact that it is wearing off suggests they are going to hatch soon." He took a breath, and their eyes met. "I can remove them before that happens. Blink twice if you wish me to do so."