Part 1 - Strangers in the night
Thunder and lightning lit up the sky as the storm shook and
battered against the ships and buildings that lined the port area. The
torrential rain that accompanied it assured an almost completely deserted location
save for a lone figure walking along towards a building nearby . If anyone
had been around, they would have noticed the tall woman walking by and dismissed
her as another desperate prostitute or thief that frequented the dregs of back
alleys and shelters.
However, underneath the long raincoat was the woman
who quite literally appeared in this world just a short while ago. Created
as a clone of an existing heroine, her ability to transform other heroines into
a variety of lifeless objects proved quite fearsome in combat. Her list
of vanquished opponents read like a who's who of the crime fighting heroines
as she easily collected them for her master to assist in his grand scheme.
Things changed abruptly for them however; in a short
time the Auctioneer was defeated by luck and she was on the run. Worse
still, her plan to deliver a statuefied Shimmer to a rich collector went awry
as the collector disappeared without a trace, leaving her very low on funds
and lugging around an erotic female statue from place to place.
Tonight, she left the canvas-cloaked frozen figure behind
at her rented room as she ventured forth to check out a local bar that supposedly
catered to villains almost exclusively. Shapeshifter figured there must
be a few folks there in need of a woman with her special talents in a profitable
venture. Once she had obtained enough money, she figured she could set
up a base from which she could plan her revenge against Power Girl and Catwoman,
the architects of her current predicament.
Shapeshifter finally arrived at a two story building
where two burly men stood outside the only entrance leading inside. The rain
had not let up; if anything the wind was even worse. She approached the taller
of the two and handed him her credentials, which consisted of newspaper clippings
as well as a photo of her transforming a hapless hotel maid into a immobile
statue made of red clay. The look of horror on the redhead's face over
her impending fate was enough to cause the burly man to unconsciously step back
and nod to his fellow doorman. The second man pulled out a piece of paper
and, after handing it carefully to the villainess, he opened the door for Shapehifter
to walk in. Both tried to keep well out of her reach.
The villainess boldly strode through the doorway into
a large lobby area that looked far more elaborate than she had expected .
Glancing down at the piece of paper she was handed, Shapeshifter saw it was
a set of rules for the establishment:
Rules :
1 ) No use of energy based powers are allowed inside the premises. Other weapons are allowed but patrons must not involve others in their use; that is, shooting of bystanders is discouraged.
2 ) If disagreements arise, patrons are encouraged to settle the dispute inside the building and are expected to assist in the clean-up / disposal of the aftermath.
3 ) There is no Rule #3. Questioning this fact is not recommended.
4 ) Any damage or injuries that are incurred by the employees or building as a result of your visit must be resolved and/or repaid before you leave. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Shapeshifter shook her head as she walked
down the white tiled corridor. This place sounded a lot tougher than she had
been led to believe but, she reasoned to herself, desperate times called
for desperate measures. Her black leather thigh-high boots clattered on
the hard floor as she reached the main meeting area and handed her soaking wet
hat and coat to the coat check girl. The villainess sauntered into the
large common area of the business amazed by the sights she took in.
There were roughly two dozen people scattered
around the large high-ceilinged room, clad in a variety of costumes ranging
from the routine to the ridiculous. She heard several arguing over who
was the closest to achieving their plan of world domination before intervention
by heroes or heroines. In the far left corner, she saw two men dragging
a third man away. Dressed in a bright green turtle type costume, the man
had obviously died from the gleaming knife sticking out of his back. The
thrower, a tall thin man dressed in a blue outfit with bulls-eyes painted all
over it, was muttering, "Consider your final debt paid, turtle freak!"
Nobody else in the vast room seemed to be paying them the least bit of attention.
Trying to ignore the chaos around her, Shapeshifter
approached the bar with as much swagger as she could muster. After ordering
a rum and coke, she casually asked if there was anyone looking to acquire services
such as hers. The bartender, a coarse-looking mid 30's woman with
brown hair, looked around. "Well, the gentleman in the corner with
the iron mask is recruiting for a planned visit to the country he was thrown
out of. There's a few fellows looking for help in a diamond heist they're
planning in Zurich. Oh, there is that new fellow in the booth off in the corner,"
the bartender said, nodding towards the table in question. "He's kind of a strange
fellow.... calls himself the Puppet Master. He came in with two women a couple
of hours ago and left word he was looking to hire a few people for a plan of
his, but only those with unusual powers."
"Really? I'll have to chat with him and see if
I can fit into his plans," the villainess murmured as she took her
drink and walked over towards the indicated booth. Before she could get
there, a outrageously attired extremely shapely woman stepped in the way, blocking
her path to the table.
Shapeshifter was startled by the sight of this woman
dressed completely in bright green from her form-fitting unitard to her shining
gloves and boots. She had her hair and lipstick colored to match her bizarre
outfit with her hair worn in a stylized flip partly covering the left side of
her face. Shapeshifter did notice a look of pure evil on her lovely face unlike
that of anyone else she saw in the bar and decided to tread lightly before dismissing
this green gamine as a kook.
"Hello, Shapeshifter. My name is Viper.
I am so glad to make your acquaintance," Viper stated venomously
as she stared into the tall brunette's face.
Shapeshifter was a little surprised. "How do you
know my name? I only recent beca—er—started out in my career,"
she inquired of the green clad woman. She wasn't about to reveal to Viper
the fact that she was a clone of someone else.
Viper arched her eyebrow. "When you are
head of a criminal super-organization that stretches from the suburbs of Los
Angeles to the sewers of Istanbul, there is little that does not escape my attention;
especially with regard to one such as you who came so close to defeating
so many, " she murmured as she nodded to an acquaintance waving to her from
across the bar.
Shapeshifter mentally twitched at the thought
of unseen faces watching her actions. "I'm just about to talk to someone
about a business transaction. Is there something I can help you with
beforehand?" she said with as much confidence as she could muster.
Viper glared at her. "Be careful, dear.
Dismissing me lightly when I desire to talk with you can prove to be most disruptive
to your future. Please keep that in mind before you leave tonight!" the
green-clad vixen threatened before stalking off towards other sinister characters
in the bar.
"That is one scary bitch!" thought Shapeshifter
as she resumed her path to Puppet Master's booth. When she neared it,
she saw a fairly short bald man sitting in middle of the seating arc with a
woman on either side of him. The one on the left was a striking redhead
wearing a thin blue blouse that clearly showed she had no bra on underneath.
Shapeshifter thought she recognized the actress from a few B-movies seen on
the late night movie channels where the woman seemed to always be playing a
busty sexpot type character.
Shapeshifter immediately recognized the woman
on the right, a dishwater-blonde woman in her mid 20's, as a regular player
on the professional tennis circuit whose success on the courts was far less
prominent than the famous men she was seen wining and dining afterward.
She seemed oblivious to the fact that her blouse was unbuttoned to the point
that her firm, tanned, chest was clearly visible to anyone around and her miniskirt
had ridden up her muscular thighs to the point where it her thong panties could
be glimpsed.
The thing the transmuting villainess found strangest
of all was how this rather homely bald man, with no discernible signs of wealth
or charisma, had two beautiful women fawning all over him. She coughed
briefly as she stood before the trio before extending her gloved hand forward.
"Excuse me for intruding but I am known as Shapeshifter.
I believe you're looking for people with unusual abilities to help you out with
some plan or goal of yours and I'm glad to introduce myself as just the person
you've been searching for," the villainess said boldly as she passed over the
credentials she had shown the doorman.
The bald man leaned forward and accepted the papers
offered to him. " Shapeshifter, is it? I must admit I've never heard of
you or know anything about what you can do," he muttered as he glanced through
the papers he held in one hand while openly fondling and caressing the redhead's
voluptuous body. She snuggled closer to the unlikely villain and sneaked a peek
at the pictures he held.
Trying not to notice the blank looks on the two
women's faces, Shapshifter looked down at the man. "I may not be the most dangerous
or well known person in this bar tonight, but I can surely acquit myself in
a fight pretty well." she boasted loudly.
Puppet Master nodded slightly as he looked through
the news clippings and photos. "Yes, judging by these items you can handle yourself
against most heroes quite effectively. However, it 's your ability to
transform the people that you fight that has me most intrigued. Going
by the vague interviews a few of your "victims" gave after being restored, yours
seems to be a most powerful capacity indeed. Of course, I will want to
see evidence first-hand of your transforming someone I select before I would
consider letting you sign on for my undertaking," he said assertively.
Slightly annoyed by the thought of having to prove
herself, Shapeshifter decided to turn the discussion around. "Before we discuss
that, how about you tell me about yourself instead. For example, how did
you get these two women to accompany you and accept your advances? Drugs?
Hypnosis? Something else maybe?" she inquired. "It certainly isn't your
looks or charm!"
Puppet Master arched his left eyebrow in mild
surprise. "You are quite the brash one, Shapeshifter. Well, I'll tell you a
little about myself. My father some years ago acquired a quantity of radioactive
clay which he found had very unusual properties. He found that when he sculpted
the clay into the likeness of someone he recently had contact with, he could
control that person's physical actions like they were puppets on a string.
Under that control, they could be made to do literally anything without regard
to life or limb. Armed with this ability, he set out to take revenge on those
who had shunned or looked down upon him in the past. In the process he
came into conflict with several well-known groups of heroes," the bald man related.
" After numerous defeats, he retreated in shame to his estate and now lives
in seclusion. He passed on the secret of the clay to me which, with a
few modifications, I now use for my own benefit and amusement," he said, running
his hand down the blonde's face to her neck and chest before resting it on top
of her mounded breasts.
"Now, then, to prove..." Puppet Master started
to say before he was interrupted by the approach of Viper who handed him a piece
of paper.
"Here are the names of my operatives you inquired
about and their prices. Please contact me if you wish to employ any of
them," Viper stated. After shooting Shapshifter a menacing look, she stalked
off towards the rest room without waiting for a reply.
"Cold bitch!" thought Shapeshifter
to herself. Suddenly, she realized a way of proving herself to the Puppet
Master and teach the green clad witch a lesson. She leaned forward and whispered
for a few seconds to the Puppet Master, gesturing in the direction of the washroom.
After waiting for about 30 seconds or so, she walked towards the washroom herself
carrying a small disposable camera in her left hand.
"...listen to me, you stupid bimbos, either
you carry out your job and eliminate that bothersome Spider-Woman or the money
I paid you will be used by your next of kin in the near future— to pay
for your funerals!!" Viper snarled into her cell phone before she slammed it
back into her purse. "I must have been out of my mind when I hired those
idiots who call themselves the Sisters Grimm to assassinate one of my foes.
Next time, I'll do the job myself and be sure it's done right!"
Seething, Viper walked to the sinks in the
deserted washroom and began to check over her makeup for her next confrontation
with the Puppet Master. "Maybe I'll set it up so I can get rid of Spider-Woman
and that Shapeshifter at the same time," she thought to herself as she applied
a fresh coat of green lipstick while gazing into the mirror. Suddenly
she found it quite odd that, despite the fact she knew she was the only person
in the washroom, it felt like there was a pair of hands were moving up and down
her trim body; lingering on and caressing her in certain private areas.
To her further puzzlement, she noticed her nipples were growing hard and poked
against the stretchy nylon top of her outfit.
Mentally dismissing the erotic experience as a
little too much to drink, Viper turned to leave but found her legs unresponsive.
Her feet remained rooted to the spot. Worse still, she found herself growing
cold despite the warm spotlights in the ceiling, as though someone was dripping
an ice cube down her back. She tried to reach down with her arms, but
they also were not moving in the slightest. She was completely paralyzed!
Viper tried yelling out to one of her aides or
bodygaurds but found herself unable to speak at all. As she stared at herself
in the mirror, she saw her smooth skin changing from flesh color to transparent
ice with fracture lines running all up and down her arms. Suddenly, a
familiar face appeared out of the shdows in the mirror behindthe transfixed
villainess. Shapeshifter !
"Hello, Viper. You thought you were
going to be teaching me a lesson for not bowing to you or kissing your ample
ass. Well, the tables have turned and it looks like I'm going to be the
one putting you... on ice!" Shapeshifter chucked mockingly as she began to strip
the frozen woman of her outfit. The icy effect had turned her lips,
eyeshadow, and hair a glacial blue-green.
"Her..life.. won't..be worth.. colldd...killll...
rrrgghh...shhhap.. bbbb.." thought Viper to herself before the icy transformation
completely engulfed her. Her face was frozen solid with a look of anger
and shock at her state with her hands partly brought up still in front of her.
The only trace of her humanity was the earrings she still wore and a skull tattoo
that was still visible on her left buttock.
After stripping the motionless semi-transparent
statue of all her clothes and throwing them in the washroom's garbage can, Shapeshifter
lingered for a second to inspect her latest masterpiece. She ran her hands
down the smooth glistening torso of the sculpture, marveling at how perfect
it looked. She flicked her tongue over the hard nipples, sucking gently
on the slowly melting nubs before moving down to the frozen strands over the
statue's sex. She bit one off like a kid biting off an icicle and savored
it slowly, relishing in the helplessness of her victim.
Standing back up, Shapeshifter took a few quick
photos of the Viper ice statue before she headed back out of the washroom.
She stopped at the door and looked back. "Take care, Ice Princess! I hope things
don't get too warm for you or you'll wind up cooling off someone's vodka martini!
Hahaha!! " she chortled.
Stopping just after leaving the washroom, Shapeshifter
turned and slightly wrenched on the bathroom door, effectively wedging it closed
to everyone temporarily. She then walked out of the bar where the Puppet
Master was waiting with his two enthralled "dates".
"Thanks for making Viper think she was alone in
the washroom, Puppet Master. As requested, here's your proof of my powers,"
Shapeshifter exclaimed, tossing him the disposable camera. "Shall we be going,
before Viper's aides discover her current state and try to liquidate her assets?"
Puppet Master nodded with a smile. "Call me Carl,
Shapeshifter. If these pictures show what you said you can do, you'll work quite
nicely for my plans. We'll meet again tomorrow to discuss things.
Is there somewhere I can drive you in the meantime?" he asked as he climbed
into the waiting limousine.
"The Reid Motel, if you don't mind," Shapeshifter
replied. " Oh, and a small favor, if it's not too much to ask..."
Puppet Master looked up from caressing the redhead's
long nylon clad legs."Yes?"
"Can you lend me your blonde tonight, for some...
FUN?" Shapeshifter whispered slyly.
Next : The plan and its first steps