The Zapper's Club

Part 4

The rugged man cracked a sideways grin. "Well, hello there pretty ladies…the name's Rick. Got anything that needs beating up, setting on fire…or loving?" Katsumi rolled her eyes as a reflex and almost grabbed for her gun. Rick winked at Katsumi, snapped his fingers, and gave a quick point with a little click of his tongue. Cassandra returned a soft laugh with her flame-curling hand in front of her mouth.

Rick stepped out and looked around. "And I mean it…any of you lovely maidens…if you need the least bit of saving…feel free to scream for help. Any time. Or any kind of screaming you like."  

Lynx's eye twitched a little and Cynthia fingered her bow and arrow. Gloria just wrote a note. Siana actually edged up to watch.

Stepping towards Rick, Cassandra swayed her hips as she remarked, "I'm more the quiet type. A soft embrace. A warm touch."

Looking down at Cassandra's hands, Rich cleared his throat and gave a little "hmm" before noting, "Ma'am…I don't want to alarm you…but if you were trying to light something on fire before…you've still got a little bit of it on you. But don't fret. I always have just the thing on hand." He moved to his canteen, but Cassandra slowly shook her head.

Cassandra (by Helrouis)

"That won't be necessary. You see…my flame is not a physical flame. Hasn't been for a long, long time. It's a part of my spirit. My energy. My touch…which I wish to share with you."

He gawked at her hands then looked her in the eye. "Quite kind of you. I do worry about it getting toasty. But then I've run through a field of hot coals during a volcanic explosion to get a priceless gem. So, I never mind the heat. But are you sure that's fine with you? I've seen mages of the old world…glow a bit. Then they're all tuckered out. Wouldn't want you to expend your life on my account. I'd rather you pass out due to one of my magnificent smiles." He flashed one to demonstrate.

Cassandra chuckled and leaned forward. "I assure you…this will do more for me than it'll take away. I live the flame. Just come close. Feel it embrace you…"

Step by careful step, as though he were looming over yet another natural danger, Rick approached Cassandra. A wobble in his legs betrayed a hint of nervousness. He seemed ready to offer some explanation about why now wasn't a good time. His eyes darted in thought. But it was much too late for that. Cassandra's flame-traced palm touched him on the shoulder and then reached over to caress his cheek. He shut his eyes and bent his head back.

She whispered to Rick, "I have known so many adventure men who have sought my mansion by cautious day or bold night. It is a beautiful mansion with more rooms on some days than others. Elegant, quiet, and mysterious. But all who approach it never leave the same. For while I admire a bold and courageous man, I feel the only reward I can grant him is to know and feel an adventure he thought he could never touch: The journey of a woman's life. Perhaps the greatest challenge for a man who truly seeks an experience beyond any he can imagine. A lifetime journey....your next journey."

The flame didn't spread violently, eating up his body. Instead, it rose and slipped across him like a curtain of water. It lapped at him teasingly.

The first changes were slow. The hairy shadows of his face dimmed and the hollows filled with soft, swelling roundness. His chin drew back and curved in but still ended in a firm, determined point.

A spinning bit of flame dripped up and seized upon the brim of his hat. Instantly, it seemed to melt and was no longer a hat but a pair of golden goggles perched upon his dark, close hair. Their warm, golden presence seemed to ignite the hair. It burst with a rich, golden texture. Soon, long straw locks formed a full, nest-like bed for the goggles. The hair draped across his neck. From there, other bits of flame did their work.

Rick gave a sudden gasp, like he'd spotted a tomb of treasure, even though his eyes were closed. With a curl of flame, the gasp rose higher but not smaller, like it had calmed. His voice retained an even, cool presence.

The muddy colors of his clothes tinted blue and silver beneath a small, green jacket perched over his dwindling shoulders. It had a chevron-shaped pocket on each side. A bit of leather wormed around his waist and clenched tight. He gasped and panted, until he took a long, deep breath. Golden straps constricted on the leather piece, which looked halfway between armor and a girdle.

The gray jeans appeared ruffled but soft. The canteen and other gear he possessed didn't change and his boots climbed higher with more numerous straps. From there, the flame seemed to dive into his skin.

Under his clothes, his body swiftly changed. The beefy, furry arms had been deforested and trimmed in their shape. They were lean but still strong arms. His hands flattened with slender, nimble fingers.

His musculature narrowed as well to the point Rick looked more like a swimmer than a rugged adventurer. The legs in his pants swelled athletically but still gained a feminine look. His hips spread, strong and jutting before the dive of his clenched waist. Bending back and panting from the feeling, Rick's top blossomed with obvious breasts. They gave a slight accent to his shape and looked modest, especially with his top buttoned up. The jeans tightened and everyone in the room knew that Cassandra's work was done.

As for Rick, she moved slowly and looked around. Katsumi seemed the most bored. Throughout Cassandra's turn, she leaned on her table with a fist propping her head up, sipping tea, and staring blankly ahead. Only when it came to the change itself did she start to pay attention.

Gloria marveled as she took a couple notes.

Lynx and Cynthia gave occasional looks throughout but they had been more preoccupied with inching towards one another. While they hadn't conveyed much, their motions were clear.

And Siana, much as before, had become like a pop-up doll, her head darting out whenever there was a bit of quiet and bolting down whenever Cassandra spoke or it seemed like she might. Lynx watched this for a while and had taken to rubbing her cheek from time to time when she looked over at Siana.

Cassandra brought her hand down on Rick's shoulder again. It was at her level. She told her, "Your name is now Valerie. Strong and bold. You are truer to yourself from my flame. Truer to your heart and spirit."

The newly-renamed Valerie looked to Cassandra. There may have been a moment where she could imagine a word of protest, but there was something in Cassandra's words which cooled any feeling of concern. She nodded once and said, "I will do honor to the name and the spirit of adventure. There's just one thing…I've always loved women…"

Cassandra gave a little smirk and said, "No reason to stop now, my dear." She blew a little bit of flame, which touched Valerie. A soft, spreading grin, accented with blush, traced her face and she winked at Cassandra.

Looking around, Valerie cast her view across the Club. "Well, girls...ladies, I suppose I could stay and…show a bit of that love but really…there are so many big wide worlds out there and my new eyes are anxious to see them…along with all the bounties they hold." She glanced over at Cassandra's bust, then tipped her goggles like a small hat, and receded through the stage curtains.

Touching her hands together, Cassandra's flames stilled. She looked out at the others and asked, "Your thoughts?"

Katsumi was the first. She hopped up from her chair and vented, "You're always so…same-y. You enchant and then you make people 'more themselves'. For changing an adventurer…that wasn't very adventurous."

Cassandra fluttered her blue-shadowed eyelids and asked, "Rather I give a firestorm like last week?"

Leaning her head, Katsumi curled her lips. "Well…see. It was different. How many times have you done this particular method without a lot of variation…except for the target?"

Bending her head back, Cassandra countered, "Didn't I give you notes like this just a few minutes ago?"

Katsumi gave her a more concentrated look. "Point taken…"

Cynthia's comments came with her bent forward in a crouch. "You seized upon your prey quite well. Lulling and luring them in with expectations. And you made them enjoy the result. Commendable."

Lynx nodded to this, pushed her glasses up, and added, "I would've liked to see more intensity and butt-kicking. But it worked."

Siana hid from the look Cassandra gave her. She didn't ask for her take, she just turned to Gloria.

Gloria looked up from her notes and thumbed her lip. "Quite clever, as always. And I enjoy non-typical results. Definitely outside the norm. Fascinating. Not sure what I can do in comparison. Even if you aren't in the running this week. I'd have to bring the house down. Not literally. Kersi would kill me. Or worse. Actually, she'd probably be fine, but I wouldn't want to tempt it."

Cassandra bowed to them all and then gestured to Gloria. "I'd love for you to go next…"

Gloria clenched her jaw and muttered, "Actually…Seriously, I am worried to follow you…"

With a smile, Cassandra urged her, "My dear, I'm sure whatever you do will be lovely."

Gloria gave a long sigh and grabbed her large bag. It took a lot of tugging (and some help from Cynthia) but eventually, she had it in a good position in front of the stage.

She dug around and came out with what looked like a small hand pump. She turned it around. Suddenly, she gasped and nearly dropped the thing. She swallowed roughly and said, to the group and no one in particular at the same time, "I really shouldn't use this one. Although, I do like gigantic, pink explosions. A pain to get the stains out though."

Fumbling a bit more, she didn't notice when the curtain opened and someone stepped through. As she straightened, she held out a bloated rubber chicken that looked like it had been painted blue. Her eyes widened as she got a good look at the person who had stepped through the curtains.

All Gloria could stammer out after a few, gurgled noises was, "Professor Daniels?! What are you doing here?"

The man standing before them looked older than any of the targets so far. His forehead seemed to spread almost to the back of his head. What hair he had was lily-white in sleek, combed ridges and to his shoulder.

If anyone asked Lynx, with her bespectacled gaze, she would've said he looked like Doc Brown from Back to the Future in a tacky vest and old-fashioned slacks.

He wore a long, gray tie over a white, collared shirt. The sleeves of his 'tacky' vest were also lengthy. The vest itself was striped brown like a banana nearly at the point of rotting. His 'old-fashioned' slacks were a chess pattern of tan and white which poofed out at the bottom with simple, gray shoes on his feet. His eyes barely showed their green tone through his squinted eyelids. It was soon clear his squinting was less an act of poor sight and more one of perpetual disdain. And it was focused on Gloria, who gave a slight tremble.

After a quick, hacking cough, the man Gloria addressed as Professor Daniels spoke with bitter contempt, "Ah, Miss Pie Zoo. I'm waiting for your so-called 'invention'. Not that I'm…expecting much. After all, I read your biochemistry master's dissertation. The very notion you think that a human being can be so fundamentally altered just with the application of this so-called 'weakly-acting electric force'…Well, should I expect every man who gets a static shock to suddenly…grow breasts?"

Gloria's hands fumbled, and she took a few deep breaths. Katsumi raised her gun and looked to Gloria, but she waved her off and approached Professor Daniels. She told him, "I know you're not the Professor Daniels who completely…completely crushed my spirit for two years. I prefer to think there's only one of him out there. And he's never getting near my cloning pods. Although seeing him spontaneously explode when the mix is incorrect would be…quite cathartic. However! You are…not him. However! I will make absolutely sure you see and experience how far I've come since grad school…"

She tossed the rubber chicken at him. He didn't flinch as it flew in an arc, half-floating. When it burst on his chest, it sprayed white foam which quickly congealed into something between packing peanuts and meringue, completely covering him from head to toe.

He blew a puff of it off and announced. "That's all? You should've just thrown a pie…Miss Pie Zoo…"

Gloria frowned and murmured, "It was supposed to come out purple…" After a few moments, the material seemed to vanish, like it was made of bubbles that had popped. The only sign anything had been there was a bit of glossiness to the professor's skin. A slight sizzling followed.

Shaking his head slowly, he only said, "Let me guess…a bit of slow acid to do me in finally?"

Reaching into her bag, she dug out a pair of goggles which looked like crystallized ash. Pulling them over her eyes, Gloria plugged her ears, and quipped, "You forget. I'm not one for acid. I like explosions!"