The Zappers Club
Part 3
From behind the curtain stepped a starkly tall man. He was dressed in a black formal suit with a white shirt showing underneath. On his head, he wore a glossy, tipped-back bowler hat. His skin was tanned, and his eyebrows arched like the wings of gulls in flight. His hair was black, close-cropped, and barely showed under the hat.
As soon as he stepped out onto the stage, he turned around, looked back, and then turned to look at the girls again. His mouth was curled in a tight shape, like he was about to take a drag on an imaginary cigarette.
His large, flat hands spread out as he held one hand in the air. He looked around, wrestled his tongue against his teeth, and stated, "Wait a minute…did I come out the wrong door? Cause this certainly doesn't look like the De Luca wedding. Although…"
He glanced around. His eyes traced over Cassandra with a smile. She returned a calm but hungry look. He curled a lip at Gloria but didn't begrudge her a quick appraisal. Cynthia also earned a curious look from him. And she gave him a deathly glower which didn't deter him.
"…the scenery ain't too bad. Heh. Except for weird-eyed no-tits over there…" He gestured with a thumb towards Katsumi, whose eyes bulged as she drew her gun on him. He backed away with his palms up and jaw clenched.
Katsumi (by Aisaku)
"Woah!…woah woah…uh. Maybe I sometimes say things a bit…too quickly. I'd appreciate not...making with the spaceman blaster. Whatever it is…"
Katsumi smirked and brushed her hair back. "Oh…you'll find out quite well what this is…but I know enough not to just point and shoot. I have something special in mind for you." Keeping her eyes on him, she reached back and picked up one of her attachments. She slipped it on and turned the slot on the side. It shifted colors and she watched it till it took on a light shade of purple. Her smirk widened and she focused all her attention on the target.
Sighing, the man asked, "Can we talk about this, chickie?"
It gave Katsumi great joy to squeeze the trigger. A massive wave of lavender energy immediately enveloped the man before he could move out of its way. It momentarily tinted his skin purple before moving on to his clothes.
He screamed, looking down at the shifting, undulating energy. In a span of a breath, his entire body changed. His skin looked brighter under the stage lights. His sleeves vanished, revealing narrow, hairless arms. Small, pink nails appeared on his diminishing fingers. The bowler on his head popped up and became a black top hat which sat loosely on his head. What had been his suit flowed down, losing its arms and forming a feminine-style neckline.
The man gasped as he was placed in a form-hugging, lavender women's dress down to his thighs. Light, traced flowers featured on the silken material. Further down, dark nylons and black flats completed the image. He was a man in drag, but he had enough of a shape to look like a flat tomboy in that condition. However, the energy wasn't about to leave him like that.
Hair cascaded from around the top hat like it was produced by a magic trick. The man gasped and touched it with his new hands before marveling at the other changes. As he explored himself, he felt, and the girls saw, his face shift. Gone was his lean, pointed nose. Instead, a small one spread widely. His cheeks puffed out, soft and full, with hairless, sensitive flesh. His lips, never large, dwindled and softened. Those gull eyebrows faded to a passing strike of cirrus cloud.
As he reached up to touch his face, he seemed to realize the form within the dress was changing too. He looked down, his girlish mouth open wide at the development of his chest against the front of the dress. While the dress didn't show cleavage, there was enough behind it for a conspicuous shadow. Touching his chest half in surprise and half in a vain effort to change its fate, he didn't realize other parts of him were beyond his control as well, like his narrowing waist and spreading hips.
No amount of hasty presses contained them either. His legs looked better in nylons with each passing moment and his feet felt looser in his little flats.
Looking up, he suddenly froze and squeaked out, in a high voice, a breathless and barely-heard, "No…." as he squirmed in place. No amount of gentle prodding could coax the new form cloaked behind the bottom of her dress into a familiar one.
Flipping her head up (along with a curtain of black hair) and nearly tossing off her top hat, she staggered back on the stage, looked aghast at Katsumi, and exclaimed, "You…turned me into a girl!"
Folding her arms, Katsumi put on a smug look and probed, "And what are you going to do about it?"
The new girl's expression tensed and she swallowed. "I…I'm a tough guy! I can still kick your butt and then make you turn me back!"
Katsumi shook her head calmly and answered, "You're a lady forever. I made sure to include a personality shift. Machismo will no longer be a part of your identity…ever again! And, as for turning back…my gun only works one way. And there is no chance of restoration…EVER!" She threw in a cackle. Cassandra sighed and rolled her eyes.
At that, the girl staggered back and asked, "So…this is forever?" It seemed she could barely say the words. Her voice cracked. Katsumi gave a firm nod.
With that confirmation, the new girl's entire demeanor changed and her face lit up.
"Yay! I was worried it was one of those temporary dealies…but it's permanent! I've been waiting for one of these all my life! Thank you so much for picking me! It's the dream of everyone where I live to be randomly transformed into the opposite sex. It's what we live for…and putting on a good show. I hope I wasn't too macho about it. Oh…uh…sorry. I wasn't sure if this was over yet. Should I still be denying this?" She drew her hands back from exploring her chest with a concerned look.
Katsumi's eyes narrowed but only slightly. "Ah…so that's what Kersi meant by all she said. Better than nothing…"
The new girl touched her chin. "Oh! No no no. Please don't be disappointed. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break character or harm the mood. I'm just so excited. I'm really new to all this. I didn't expect to be picked so soon. I've just started the whole…Italian ladies' man shtick. I hope it wasn't too corny. You can name me. Whatever you like…if that makes you feel better."
Her eyes relaxed and Katsumi nodded. "It's fine. It's for the best that our targets are secretly willing but I much prefer the secretly part…"
Cassandra chimed in, "I don't mind willing or unwilling, so long as they're giddy new girls."
Katsumi tossed her head. The new girl looked around and approached slowly, asking, "Shall I go back into character? I'm really sorry about this. You can blast me again if it helps. Wipe my memory. I don't even mind identity death. I'm here to be transformed utterly and totally into a pretty girl for your joy." Her wide, dark-brown eyes looked glossy, as though at the brink of tears.
Relaxing her shoulders, Katsumi admitted, "No…I'm happy. But I think you owe me a bit more pleading for your manhood…"
On cue, the girl's expression turned mournful. A roughness evocative of her previous, manly voice returned. "Oh please…lady. There's gotta be a way to turn me back. I'll do anything ya want! I just want to be a man again. Anything! I'll wear whatever dresses you want. I'll be as girly and shit as you could ever imagine. Please! Just turn me back. This can't be permanent. There has got to be a way! Pleeeeease!" She was off the stage and before Katsumi on her hands and knees. She looked like she was ready to kiss Katsumi's feet.
Katsumi stroked her chin theatrically. "Hmm…but you make such a good girl now…"
She shook her head. "But I'm not meant for it! I'm sure to make all sorts of mistakes. Be a disgrace to all other ladies. I'm just not one of them. I'll make an embarrassment out of ya gender. A dumb, rough man like me. I could never be like this…like you. You'll want to toss me out someday…"
Katsumi smirked. "Well…I guess...I could turn you back…"
Her eyes appeared to have some fleeting trace of hope in them, which Katsumi swiftly squashed by saying, "But I won't. Not ever. I don't care if you're not a good girl. I'll make you a good girl. I'll teach you all. I'll make it like you never ever existed as a man! And when I'm done with you…no one…not even you…will be able to tell you were ever anything but a lovely maiden in every respect…FOR ALL TIME!" She raised a finger to the sky for emphasis. Cassandra leaned back in amusement.
The new girl trembled. As a final note, Katsumi added, "And your name is also FOREVER… Liliana. You will never even be able to think your name as anything but 'Liliana'!"
The newly-named Liliana gasped and touched her head, fearful and reverent of Katsumi.
After a quiet moment, Katsumi smirked again and noted, "I almost want to take her home and make good on that…Good save, new girl. That will be sufficient."
Liliana leaned back with a wide smile. "Alrighty! Glad I could make it so good for you! Should I go now...?"
Katsumi jumped over to her bags and pulled out a small cell phone. "Just one last thing. I want pictures. Give me your happy face and then your 'afraid for your manhood' face." Liliana offered up both, waved goodbye to everyone, and then disappeared behind the curtain at the back of the stage.
With a soft sigh, Katsumi asked the rest of the Club, "Well, so how was that one?"
Cassandra was the first to offer her opinion. "I know I've told you this before, but I just find guns so…inelegant. You set a setting and fire away. No creativity…"
Katsumi set her gun down and gave a tense fold of her arms before brushing back her long hair. "And what about just burning things? Doesn't that seem more…inelegant?"
Cassandra gave a slow wave of her hand. "Oh, my dear. Have you not been paying attention to my little demonstrations? Fire is pure elegance. Dancing. Consuming. Embracing. Flowing. Into all places and reaching all things. Touching the soul and destroying all doubt. Numbing and revealing. But…we're only talking method. I quite enjoyed where you took it in your…characteristic manner of domineering conquest."
Katsumi raised an eyebrow and settled down in her seat. "Uh…thanks?"
Cassandra returned a little bow of her head. "But I'd love to see you experiment a bit with your technique for your second. A cool but still crushing presence would be quite lovely on you."
With a nod, Katsumi looked to Gloria and asked, "What say you?"
Gloria clenched her fingers around her mouth and looked at the place where the first target had been. "You made a nifty version of his original outfit. At least, I'm assuming that was intentional and not incidental. Curious too how it was someone who really…got your goat. In the metaphorical sense. I'm assuming you don't really have a goat…and if you did I really doubt he would've physically acquired it. But!...I wonder if Kersi has similar subjects planned. Because last time was very much…the common archetype. Although that makes for a good baseline. Even if we aren't doing this all by the scientific method. Although we could. I could write it up…"
She gave a quick look around. No words.
"…Probably best not", she murmured. "I've only tried repeated experiments with clones. More trouble than they're worth. Especially when they start violently discharging…."
Katsumi interrupted her with a quick look over to Cynthia to inquire, "How about from the hunter?"
Cynthia bent her hands on the table as though she wished to throttle it and subdue it to the ground. "He's not really the type I'd bother with. Just chase him out of my territory. But if he were to seek ill for a maiden…I would rapidly strike him down….As for your technique, I agree…guns have no beauty to them, but the results are the same. You made something lovely of a rather boorish form. It was satisfactory."
From there, it was only Lynx, who arched her shoulders up and said, "I still think nothing matches your mermaid a couple weeks back. She looked like a dumb…magician's assistant or something. I'm not sure I like this new set. Men who just put on that they want to be saved. Wusses. A real man should fight for his manhood. Really fight. And when I take it from him it will be all the sweeter because it wasn't just given to me. He didn't bother to grovel on the ground but relented his balls like a real girl." Cassandra tilted her glass towards Lynx with a smirk. Lynx looked away.
As for Siana, Katsumi noticed she was hiding behind her table with her eyes peering over. Cassandra noticed as well and softly tapped at her cheek with a calm but persistent gaze. If they had looked before, they would've seen that Siana spent the entire transformation Katsumi had done (till the new girl left) in such a manner. Lynx didn't even give her a stare. But Cassandra started to trace a slow finger over her table until Katsumi cleared her throat and said, "So…with that done…you wanna go next, Miss Flamer?"
Cassandra cracked her knuckles, tossed a look back to the cowering Aibora, and gracefully stood. "I'd love to."
The stage shifted. Cassandra brought her hands up. Long curls of blue flame passed between her knuckles and over her palms. As she stood there, the curtain pulled back again and someone new emerged from behind.
This man was taller than the last one. He gave a look around the room and immediately said, "Oh my…this isn't the Amazon River…but the view is just as nice."
He had on a brown safari hat. His jaw jutted out like a ledge. His flesh clung to the hollows of his cheeks and he had a deep field of facial hair. He seemed close to bald from what the girls could tell with his hat on.
His shirt was rough and deep amber with a decoration of water splash around the rolled-up sleeves. His arms had an absolute forest of dense, dark hair to rival the foliage of a rainforest. The buttons looked like he'd carved them himself. A small flare gun sat in a holster on his right side, just above a heavy canteen hooked to his jet-black belt with a marble buckle. Across his back, he wore a dull-green, non-descript pack.
In a belt around his meaty thigh, he had a sheath for a long, silver knife. His pants looked as rough as his shirt and his tan shoes were mud-caked and soaked through.
Bringing her hands together, Cassandra remarked, "Oh goodie. I do so love adventurers."
Cassandra (by Goose)
