Of course, Hunter had earned another demerit.

They paced in Natalie’s office, waiting for their supervisor to come back. Simon was slumped over on one of the side chairs, no doubt attempting to stay calm.

The only thing the two of them were guilty of was being slower than Dan at ordering a bunch of equipment and clothes that were totally not going to find their way back to them in any manner. The reason for being hit with a demerit didn’t make any sense on its own; so instead Hunter had to recontextualize that with the entire situation they were placed in.

Obviously, demerits were going to keep accumulating no matter how well or poorly they actually performed. Each one would gradually amp up the humiliation and depravity, resulting in a brand new secretary, encased in a straitjacket of femininity, never allowed to escape as she embraced her new life.

Hunter was starting to get forced feminization down to a science.

A knock at the door brought Hunter back to attention, and in came Natalie with a few surprises.

Felix was with her, and Natalie was carrying a bag containing a bunch of unidentifiable fabrics. Hunter instinctively raised an eyebrow at that; how far was Natalie going to push them down that hill today?

…Not that Hunter was looking forward to any new additions to their wardrobe, of course. Their heart leaping ever-so-slightly was purely a coincidence.

Natalie cleared her throat. "So, I go back to tell the others to get to work. And Felix, here,” Natalie leaned her head in Felix’s direction as the guy rolled his eyes, “decided to dismantle one of the staplers. What a waste of precious office equipment, wouldn’t you say?”

The three of them nodded their heads together in unison.

“I can think of nothing better than for you to spend some time together getting things ship-shape,” Natalie said as she took a few items out of her bag, laying them out in sets of three. Hunter and even Felix took a couple steps closer to get a good view of what was about to be inflicted on them.

Classic French maid uniforms.

“Sonofabitch,” Hunter groaned.

Felix let out a muted “No…” as he turned his back on everyone else and retreated to a corner. “Just like my housekeeper’s…”

“What’s the big deal--oh. Is that for me?” Simon had jumped off his chair and joined Hunter and Felix in their collective befuddlement.

Hunter was under no illusions the uniforms were intended to be worn for them. What was even more interesting, was that both Simon and Felix had immediate reactions to it. Natalie hadn’t even said anything yet beyond a vague implication, but the guys seemed to (correctly) assume they were tasked with putting on the uniforms.

“Wow, do they only sell feather dusters when they’re packaged with Halloween costumes these days? Must be strange shopping for cleaning supplies in those party stores,” Hunter said loudly, attempting to give the group an out.

“They’re for us, dumbass.” Felix glared at Hunter. 

“And how can you be so sure?” Hunter met Felix's gaze.

“It's obvious. We fucked up. So as a form of hazing, we have to play by their rules. It's very common to use maid outfits for that.”

“Is it?” Hunter’s voice raised in pitch. He glanced at Simon for support, but the other guy just looked bored.

“Fine, I'll wear the outfit,” Simon grumbled as he took a set of clothes. “I'll go along with this, but I'm going to complain the entire way through.”

“Most people DON’T go along with this, they run away screaming!” Hunter said with a hysterical edge.

“Nah, bro. Especially with guys, we do this quite a bit. You know, a quick dare here or there and you're suddenly wearing panties when you lose. It's no harm, really. Just guys being guys.”

“I wasn't like this!” Hunter protested, thinking back to their past.

Sure, Hunter preferred to be gender-neutral now. But their story wasn’t a classical ‘egg falling into femininity’ story. He knew that.

Wait. They screwed up their pronouns again. Why was Hunter slipping back into using masculine ones for himself?

Themself, damnit!

No, Felix was straight up wrong. Hunter didn't end up in casual crossdressing scenarios when they thought they were strictly a guy. Artemis notwithstanding. There were no bets, no looking up online stories, no suspicious circumstances or opportunities to suddenly be wearing a dress. 

Well, there was a school play where Hunter was offered a girl's role. They turned it down, though, and their buddy Eric stepped in instead.

But they’d actively made the choice to turn that opportunity down! One choice didn't mean much, anyone could be anything. People were too multifaceted to have one decision define their whole character. That said, if Felix actually had decided to do some gender bending on several occasions, maybe the guy could benefit from a reality check.

“Wasn’t like what?” Simon turned Hunter’s previous declaration into a question.

“Shut up,” Hunter snapped, and focused on Felix.

If there was at least one conclusion they could draw, it was that Felix definitely had a skewed perspective on what guys were usually up to.

“You know what, put on the fucking dress, Felix.” Hunter squared his shoulders and adopted a very aggressive, taking-up-space posture. “Be a man and put it all on. I'll even do it with you in solidarity.”

“See, that's what I'm talking about, dude. See, that right there is how you prove you’re the toughest guy around. We’ve got the courage to dare to be men even surrounded by all the dumb crap women use.” Felix looked proud, as if his mental gymnastics had wrapped all the way back around to making sense.

Hunter begrudgingly grabbed his new, frilly uniform. Of course, it was eggs all the way down.

***

“If I knew how to whistle, I’d be whistling right now.” Felix gave Hunter a knowing smirk as they adjusted the hem of their dress.

“Yeah, well, your legs look fabulous in fishnets,” Hunter shot back and instantly regretted opening their mouth.

“Really?” Felix’s face scrunched up as his pea brain started firing on all cylinders.

“They actually look pretty killer,” Simon commented, giving Hunter an elbow. “I mean, I’d hit that. Not that I’m uh, gay, I just appreciate the finer details in life.”

“Sure. The finer details. Of fishnet stockings.” Hunter’s eyes started glazing over as Simon turned back to Felix.

“Anyway, I don’t actually mind this. I mean, this sucks and all, but maybe it’s a chance to see how the other side lives, right? I mean, I wouldn’t actually hit on anyone right now since clothes make the man…or woman.”

“Most women AND men don’t put on maid outfits unquestioningly,” Hunter said right before they bit their fist, attempting to hold it in as he fixated on the wall in a desperate attempt to ride out the situation without screaming ‘YOU ARE TRANS, IDIOTS!’

“No, no, Simon is onto something.” Felix idly twirled the dress as he attempted to conceal his smile with masculine bravado. “You see, I want to pick up chicks. Well, not while I’m in a dress, that seems like it would be counterproductive.”

“What about lesbians?”

“Nah, that’s gay,” Felix blurted out, and then speedily resumed talking as he failed to realize his uncharacteristic display of self-awareness. “Or straight. Okay, hear me out. If I spend a little bit of time as the kind of chick I’d want to date, then obviously, I’m only going to get better at picking up chicks after all is said and done!”

“That makes sense!” Simon perked up. “Not only that, but you gotta go all the way, if you know what I mean. Like, get the makeup out and the really nice perfume or whatever the girls wear. I mean, if I’m going to be a girl, I might as well be a hot one.”

Ah, good to see unrealistic beauty standards come roaring in.

How were these the same two guys that argued incessantly about what body parts they would rather be stuck with? It was like putting on the maid outfit made them different people, completely subject to the stereotypes and other trappings that cis women were stuck dealing with.

Was that how they viewed women and femininity? A walking set of eye candy only good for cooking and cleaning? Were they simply incapable of any critical thinking on the subject, didn’t know how to act, and defaulted to the only set of behaviors they could think of, which included adopting those very same behaviors they’d come to expect women to exhibit?

Or perhaps they both were putting on brave faces in front of each other, and were secretly going through their own internal crisis as the pressure of being forced to present femininely collided with the familiar masculine culture in a particularly harsh manner.

How was Hunter themself faring with all that, anyway? Were they an overly stereotypical, shallow person following their own preset path? They felt stuck in that they were in the middle of an antagonistic situation with NewU and were afraid to present themselves too much as an authority to Felix and Simon. They were confident they could help them if Felix and Simon wanted help, but the two of them seemed a bit…spikier than the other trans people Hunter had interacted with.

Besides, did Hunter even qualify as an authority? What if they actually knew very little about gender themselves, and were just as blind as most of the rest of the world? Or worse, that they would set a bad example for Felix and Simon and sabotage their fellow interns’ gender journeys by being ineffective? Combined with Hunter’s own confusion with how they should gender themselves in their head at the moment, were they even qualified enough to help right now?

Felix started speaking again, making Hunter snap back to attention. “Dude, we could totally be hot girls pretty effortlessly. I mean, us guys get it easy. We throw on some stuff and we’re good. Women have to work for it. So now we gotta make sure we go through all that work too, yeah?

Then we can get the full experience.”

“Right? I can see the value in showering more as a woman, since people care more about how you smell if you’re a girl, too.“ Simon added.

“Funny if you think self care is more important if you’re a girl. Strange how that works out, huh?” Hunter said with disdain. Both Hunter and Dan had discussed among themselves that it suddenly became a lot easier to practice self-care after they had their respective realizations.

However, there are a few moments in life where one realizes they are trapped in an utterly hopeless, unrelentingly oppressive situation. For example, the moment where they see the look on a dangerous animal or perhaps a dangerous lover’s face that says ‘I’m going to pounce on you’. 

Hunter realized he was in one of those situations as he stared vacantly ahead amidst the incessant arguing between two moderately toxic eggs who would definitely sink if placed in water.

“There is no way for me to easily express how disappointed I am in the two of you,” Hunter said vaguely.

Before Simon and Felix could protest, Natalie finally made her appearance with her own disapproving look. She was probably upset that she barely had to lift a finger and all three of them had basically taken the packages and fought to get them on first. 

“Okay, you’ve had your fun getting dressed, now, come along, girls, you have work to do,” Natalie said with a roll of her eyes.

“I see, you’re calling us ladies to humiliate and demean us. Very good, as we all know, women are lesser than men and to debase ourselves like this means we’re obviously not part of the superior and stronger gender,“ Hunter cracked, with the sarcasm oozing out of their voice.

“Just for that, I’m making you work extra hard,” Natalie snapped as she motioned for them to follow her.

***

The next few hours went fast. After the initial rush had worn off, Felix and Simon had both gotten very quiet, sneaking glances at each other and each trying to take up as little space as possible, especially when they had to balance on the tiptoes of their flats to dust all of the high shelves strategically placed to make them feel as vulnerable as possible.

Hunter couldn’t even begin to place what the point of all of this was beyond humiliating them; everything looked spotless already because of the little cleaning robots. All Natalie had done was make the point of the internship painfully clear without any hint of subtlety. Hunter could only hope Felix and Simon, and Carter for that matter, weren’t as dense as they were appearing to be and eventually could pick up the hint that gender was afoot.

“Put your back into it, Hunter. If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean,” Natalie commented.

“Alright, fine.” Hunter stamped their foot on the ground and glared at Natalie. “I need to know. Why do you have to single me out all the time?”

“For one, you can’t seem to walk two steps without either a snide comment or a condescending glance. It’s like everything here is beneath you. Even now, with this ridiculous ensemble you talked yourselves into wearing, you’re still thumbing your nose at it all. So of course I’m going to single you out.”

“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation right now,” Hunter grumbled. “Aren’t you supposed to feminize me or something?”

With a blink, Natalie was right at Hunter’s side, whispering in their ear. “To what end? It’s obviously not working on you, which is a mystery to me because I certainly wouldn’t have brought anyone on here that was too self-aware to have any of this work. I have my role to play, and so do you.”

“What?” Hunter said numbly while fighting to comprehend the idea that Natalie knew more than she let on.

“I’m not an idiot, and I certainly don’t believe in the ridiculous, demeaning dogma you so-eloquently skewered. So what better than to keep you by my side? You know what’s going to happen here, and you’ve chosen to keep your mouth shut. So I suggest that you find a creative way to enjoy the ride you’re stuck on, because carrying that smug sense of superiority is only going to get you unwanted attention and ruin any chance you had of having any fun while you’re here. I’m certainly trying to enjoy myself even though I’m stuck with you complaining all the time.” Natalie finished her speech with a pat on Hunter’s back and a quick “Make sure to get all around the dresser” as a final thought.

Hunter could only manage to stand there in silence for a few moments, absorbing all of what Natalie had told him.

Of course he didn’t want to be the serious one all of the time, but being so quickly and viciously called out by someone he’d previously written off as a generic ‘feminizer’ was…humbling. 

Maybe he didn’t have to be the person deconstructing the world around him all of the time. Or the person to glare disapprovingly at everyone. Natalie was obviously working with her own agenda, but enough of what she said rang true. He had some serious questions about her true motives, now.

Maybe he should focus on what he could be, instead of what he wasn’t. Natalie was right and had laid it all out on the table; they were all going to be turned into obedient secretaries, and Hunter was just along for the ride. As far as anyone knew, anyway, since they hadn’t managed to find the Lunaris device they were looking for yet.

Maybe Hunter could let themself have a little bit of fun. Or himself, considering he kept slipping up on his pronouns.

Or perhaps that was the point. What if Hunter fully threw himself into the role of the clueless guy who had a time limit on the amount of time he would remain a guy? If Natalie considered forced feminization to be fun, maybe Hunter could think of it as fun too. After all, if he suspected he could secretly enjoy being feminized, why did he have to keep ruining it with snide comments?

Was it a bad thing to partake in the fantasy? Did it mean he wasn’t drinking the respect women juice? After all, this was a fantasy that by definition did not respect consent, and in this case, was definitely playing into gender stereotypes in a really reductive and uncomfortable way. People were being affected by this, and yet…they all were eggs, weren’t they? In a sense, could this be giving an opportunity to better help them all understand gender?

It would be as long as Hunter was involved. Even with the concessions Hunter was about to make, at the end of the day nobody from the NewU Corporation would get away with whatever their dangerous end goals were. 

With his divine abilities, Hunter could waltz out with Lunaris at any time he wanted. It wasn’t like he was giving up all of his power, it was more…on loan with strings attached to it. Hunter could take the power back at any point, if he or the poor eggs sucked into this got in any serious danger. The fantasy could be allowed to exist in a controlled manner, with an understanding that if the bounds of the fantasy were broken, all bets were off.

Hunter took a few deep breaths and relaxed his shoulders. Maybe, just maybe, he could be the guy about to be turned into an obedient, female secretary for a bit. As a treat. Dan certainly enjoyed the fantasies, right?

Maybe he could too.

Hunter refocused on the world around him, and noticed that there were a few extra people in the room now. At some point, Carter and Dan had walked in, escorted by none other than mister CEO himself, Anthony Blake.

Felix and Simon were cowering in a corner, Natalie was staring up at Blake with a very annoyed expression, and Carter and Dan had multiple layers of bewilderment etched onto their faces.

Hunter, keeping in mind his newfound resolve, shyly let out a giggle.

AdeptLamia

That's how you know someone's being changed; they start letting out giggles, not chuckles!

Expect another chapter in a couple days, there are plenty more giggles where that comes from!