This is so much fun! Love your take on the characters.
So many great scenes. I really enjoyed the scene with Gloria and Grace. As a huge fan of nerve pinches being used on sentries, I like the idea of two guards walking along and one of them getting a nerve pinch and the other gets taken out before she can react.
I really enjoyed the nerve pinch being described from Gloria's point of view. She feels the hand grab her on that sweet spot at the junction of her neck and shoulder. We have all watched enough Star Trek to know, as Gloria does, what is coming next! And I love her being cut off in mid-expletive as the pinch knocks her out. And the description of Gloria being knocked out "Gloria grimaced, had a spasm, then her eyes rolled back and she fell on the ground with a moan" is really great. It was nice of Gloria to have her hair in a bun to make access to her neck easier for Shayna to apply the pinch.
Interesting the way you leave Bobbi's take out of Grace to the imagination. Based on Shayna's comment "perhaps a little brutal, but effective" it sounds like Bobbi got a bit rough with poor Grace.
I also like the part where Shayna is sneaking up on the typical dumb guard on her smoke break only to watch the woman get grabbed and knocked out by someone else! And I love the fact the they are talking so much guard starts to wake up leading to the great comment from Shayna "but first, you should probably deal with this nice lady...”
Loved too Marla and Cara getting hit with knockout darts. Interesting too that the plan had been to knock Osana out with a dart too but Angel wanted to do it the physical way. And she did it so well.
The Claire knockout was so much fun. I love Angel holding her at gunpoint but not being able to shoot even the dart. Marie just casually shoots her instead. And I love Claire falling into Molly's cleavage.
The next scene with Gabriella is excellent. Poor girl just walks in and before she can process what is happening she gets a punch to the face from Bobbi and is knocked out.
The quick take out of Rebecca, Linda, Margo and Luna was quite impressive two.
Just such a fun story.
Protecting one's lifestyle
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rufusluciusivan
- Posts: 1228
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
Glad you enjoyed it!
Well, since I knew about your fondness for nerve pinch and knock out darts, it was logical that I'd sneak in one or two of each.
I thought it'd be interesting to feature a nerve pinch from the point of view of the sentry for once, showing her realizing what's going to happen next, but too late. She was indeed not inspired when she chose to have her hair into a bun.
In tirepanted's recent stories, Bobbi has been shown to be quite physical when it comes to some take outs, so yes Grace had it a bit more rough.
I simply couldn't resist a scenario where two infiltrators compete over the same sentry. It didn't happen as often as one might think, strangely. (It's actually a small reference to a similar situation happening in The Greatest Actress of All. Though outside of that case, I don't remember it happening somewhere.)
As shown in her home series, Angel still needs to overcome her trauma, so I thought it'd be interesting to add the little details of her insisting to try a sleeper-hold (since it partly looks like the lethal chokeholds she used to use, therefore she needs to overcome her trauma), and of her having troubles to use a weapon that looks like a gun.
Gabriella's indeed unlucky. But I needed to remind how efficient Bobbi and Felicia can be.
Claire falling into Molly's cleavage had a small Aika/Najica vibe I think. And it certainly is an enjoyable detail!
Well, since I knew about your fondness for nerve pinch and knock out darts, it was logical that I'd sneak in one or two of each.
I thought it'd be interesting to feature a nerve pinch from the point of view of the sentry for once, showing her realizing what's going to happen next, but too late. She was indeed not inspired when she chose to have her hair into a bun.
In tirepanted's recent stories, Bobbi has been shown to be quite physical when it comes to some take outs, so yes Grace had it a bit more rough.I simply couldn't resist a scenario where two infiltrators compete over the same sentry. It didn't happen as often as one might think, strangely. (It's actually a small reference to a similar situation happening in The Greatest Actress of All. Though outside of that case, I don't remember it happening somewhere.)
As shown in her home series, Angel still needs to overcome her trauma, so I thought it'd be interesting to add the little details of her insisting to try a sleeper-hold (since it partly looks like the lethal chokeholds she used to use, therefore she needs to overcome her trauma), and of her having troubles to use a weapon that looks like a gun.
Gabriella's indeed unlucky. But I needed to remind how efficient Bobbi and Felicia can be.
Claire falling into Molly's cleavage had a small Aika/Najica vibe I think. And it certainly is an enjoyable detail!
That's simultaneous take outs for you!The quick take out of Rebecca, Linda, Margo and Luna was quite impressive two.
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rufusluciusivan
- Posts: 1228
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
Note: This is the third part.
**************
Charlotte was feeling a little embarassed when she exited the stall of the building's restrooms.
Indeed, since officially this building was used to host events and gatherings, it contained functional public restrooms. Ones that were surprisingly pristine even!
I'm supposed to be part of a secret organization bent on the destruction of infiltrators and uniform stealings... Charlotte thought to herself. What kind of self-respecting member of a secret organization would go to the restrooms in the middle of the grand ceremony?
She shook her head.
Shouldn't have eaten spicy before coming here...
That was something she never read in stories featuring secret organizations... Though in hindsight, it was logical. Not everyone could stand and chant several hours without needing to relieve themselves at one point. Honestly, she was even surprised to be the only one.
Charlotte had a white skin, medium long blond hair tied in a cute ponytail, dark blue eyes, and was 32 years old. She was wearing the same clothes as the cultists in the main warehouse: black shoes, long white 'medieval-like' robes that were reaching up to the ankles with long sleeves and a hood, as well as a black masquerade mask that was hiding the top-half of her face. A black rope was tied around her waist.
She went to wash her hands at one of the sinks.
Charlotte smiled when she heard someone open the door as she was washing her hands. Well, maybe I'm not the only one who needs to use the restrooms right in the middle of the grand speech... The thought was giving her some solace.
However, certain that the newcomer was a fellow conspirator, she made the mistake of not looking at her.
“Have they been stripped yet?” Charlotte asked while refreshing her face. “I certainly don't want to miss the spectacle!” She was also secretly hoping that the team of infiltrators who mugged her and the squad of mercenaries she used to be part of would be the next.
“Oh, there's going to be a spectacle, all right...” a voice commented.
*crack* *crack*
The blonde raised an eyebrow. “Crack?”
It sounded like knuckles being cracked.
Charlotte turned. “That's not funny, you- OOOF!”
Soph punched her in the stomach. Charlotte bent forward. A clean hit of the edge of Soph's hand, between the shoulder and the neck, knocked her out.
“GAK!”
Charlotte fell face down on the floor, in front of the sink.
Soph turned off the tap to not waste water.
Felicia was standing behind her.
“The restrooms. Always a safe bet.” the redhead commented, remembering her humble beginnings. “It's good to see that some things never change... even in a secret cult.”
She then looked at Charlotte, who was completely out cold.
“A brutal style, but efficient.” Felicia added.
“It's not my best move, but thank you.” Soph answered with a small satsified smile.
They dragged Charlotte inside an empty stall, and removed her mask, her rope-belt, her shoes, and her robe. The cultist was wearing a pink t-shirt and beige thin trousers underneath. They also removed them, leaving the blonde clad in only a light pink t-shirt bra adorned with colourful little flowers, matching hipster panties, and white socks.
“You seem to be your team's brawler.” Felicia commented.
“I had a bad experience with gas and syringes. Plus, martial arts and hand-to-hand combat help me build my confidence” Soph answered. She looked at Charlotte. "Sure, it can be brutal sometimes, but I try to keep it clean and quick to not hurt them more than necessary."
“Reminds me a little of how Bobbi says she asserted herself thanks to our adventures...” Felicia commented.
Though, juding by her face, she was having slightly mixed feelings about the latest turns of events.
They sat Charlotte on a toilet bowl and wrapped tape around her shoulders and upper-arms, around her thighs and around her legs. They also taped her thighs to the bowl, securing her into a seated position. Since there wasn't a pipe onto which they could have bound Charlotte's hands, they instead mummified her fingers, hands and wrists in front of her, then taped them to her thighs and wrapped several layers to have her forearms taped to her thighs. They silenced her by wrapping several layers of tape around her lower face.
Felicia was putting on Charlotte's outfit when, suddenly, they heard someone approach the restrooms.
The two women quickly closed the door of the stall to conceal themselves. Between them both and Charlotte's trussed up body, the fit was very tight, but at least they wouldn't be seen.
They heard another woman hurriedly enter the restrooms. “Quick! Quick!” she was saying to herself. The newcomer rushed inside an inoccupied stall.
There was a short awkward pause.
“Should we... mug her?” Soph asked.
“Just give her a moment. You don't leave a woman who needs to go to the bathroom bound and gagged. There are some things you just don't do, even to your most bitter enemy.” Felicia answered.
**************
Heidi and Patricia used to be prison guards, until they were fired for their unneeded brutality towards inmates.
Still, even after joining this organization of anti-uniform stealers because they hadn't forgotten about the bimbos who had stripped and humiliated them during a prison break, it seemed that fate had decided to be cruelly ironic with them...
“I can't believe we were the ones who had to babysit the prisoners before the leader's grand speech!” Heidi complained. She was a woman with a tanned skin and blond hair tied in a braid.
“Why are you complaining? We had two gorgeous women at our mercy. Have you seen the boobs of the busty one? I wish the leader allowed me to do more than just giving them a few squeezes! I don't know who will be the one allowed to strip her, but she'll be one lucky gal!” Patricia laughed coarsely. She had a dark skin and light red hair.
“And we had to clean their cell! We have probably missed the most interesting part!” Heidi added.
“Not if we're in time to see the busty one stripped... What was her name again? Klenia? Now, that's a woman I'd like to get to know better... in private and with a prison warden baton...” Patricia commented.
Her partner snickered wickedly, remembering the good times they had when they were still wardens. They had a well-oiled routine back then...
Heidi and Patricia were wearing the same clothes as the other members of their anti-infiltrator organization: black shoes, a long hooded white robe with a rope belt tied around the waist, and a plain black masquerade mask covering the top half of the face.
The two cultists were walking in the part of the building in which the office rooms were located. They didn't know however that they were being watched from a secondary corridor.
“Oh, it is on!” Shayna harshly whispered. She pointed at Patricia. “That one's for me!” she said to her two teammates, BB and Bobbi.
Bobbi made a little curtesy. “After you.”
The blonde rushed, quickly followed by her new friend. BB ran behind them.
Patricia's eyes widened when she saw them. However, since they were wearing sentry uniforms, she mistook them for real sentries. It gave the infiltrators the few seconds they needed to get to her and Heidi.
“Hey, you, you're supposed to be outside! What are you-”
Shayna shut her up with a mean left hook, making her grunt. Then, the blonde followed with a violent stomach punch, a powerful uppercut, and a vicious kick. Out cold, Patricia fell on the floor.
Heidi opened her mouth to scream and raise the alarm.
Bobbi punched her in the stomach.
“Urf!”
Heidi's hood fell.
BB grabbed her neck with her glove and activated the electro shock.
“GAHGAHAGAHGAAHAHAHA!”
Heidi passed out, making a few moaning and groaning noises.
“Shocking. Positively shocking.” Bobbi commented.
Shayna snickered.
BB didn't. She had been desensitized to puns by Stasis' sense of humour. She picked up the two sentries, one under each arm. Being tall and strong defintively had a lot of advantages! “Where do you want them?” she asked.
“I think that this nice secondary corridor over there will do the trick, thank you very much.” Shayna answered with a huge smile.
“You're too kind.” Bobbi added.
This time, BB smiled slightly. “I aim to please.”
The tall clone carried the two unconscious sentries.
“You really did a number on that bimbo...” Bobbi commented while looking at Patricia's face.
“NO ONE can touch my wife and expect to make it unscathed!” Shayna answered. "She's lucky I'm in a hurry, or I'd have taken my sweet time..."
BB dropped her two burdens and listened in her earpiece. She had just received a message relayed by Tinker.
“Hey, Bobbi. I got a message from Angel. Posy's group says that there's a higher number of cultists in their part of the building. They need some back-up. Can you help them?”
“But I was just about to strip these two jerks...” Bobbi retorted.
“They said: 'Please.'”
“Fine. But, for the record, I'd like to say that I'm taking one for the team.”
Shayna sniffed Heidi's robe. “Trust me, it may be a blessing in disguise. These two cows don't seem to know what a shower is...”
Bobbi grimaced, then smiled. “You know what? I'm happy to take one for the team. Good luck!”
Shayna gave her the tumb-up. Bobbi did the same, then left.
Shayna sighed and exchanged a look with BB. “Well, there's no point in dragging things out... Might as well get over with that chore as quickly as possible... Just like if we had to rip off a bandage... Don't you agree, my tall friend?”
“Honestly, I'm just happy to come across a woman who's roughly my size.” BB answered while grabbing Heidi's robe.
“Well, if you put it that way...” Shayna said while unknotting Patricia's rope-belt.
The two uniform stealers removed the masks, the rope belts, the shoes, and the white robes. They also took off the sweaty t-shirts and the trousers Heidi and Patricia were wearing underneath, though only for the purpose of humiliating them. Shayna and BB would rather wear parts of their sentry uniforms under the robes than these sweaty things! Patricia was wearing black socks, white high-cut panties with red polka dots and a matching bra as undergarments, Heidi was clad in a mango triangle bra, orange hip-hugging panties, and grey socks.
Shayna took Patricia's panties and socks, then shoved them into her mouth. She knotted a tight cleave-gag to silence her with strips of the woman's discarded sweaty t-shirt, then added a few strips of tape just to be safe. She repeated the process with Heidi, gagging her with her own panties, socks, and t-shirt.
“There... Maybe they'll finally become aware of their terrible personal hygiene.” Shayna commented.
She grabbed a knife and cut their bras to leave them completely naked.
BB shuddered. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.” She was maybe a tall arse-kicking machine, but she also knew that one should NEVER hurt the lover of a uniform stealer.
Shayna smiled harshly.
They tightly ball-tied Heidi and Patricia with sturdy black electric cables that they were carrrying. Once they were done, the two naked women were bound in a seated position, their hands behind their back, with their knees pressed against their breasts and their chin resting on their knees. Shayna and BB dragged their victims to a nearby closet and threw them inside.
Then, they put on the robes and, more importantly, the masks. They used their hoods to conceal their hair.
“Klenia, hold on, we're almost there...” Shayna whispered to herself.
“We'll save her, and Bobbi's friend.” BB intervened. “Even if we have to punch our way through forty goons.”
Shayna smiled. “Thanks.”
The two women fist-bumped, then went on their way.
**************
Bobbi regrouped with Posy's team in the part of the building in which the office rooms were located.
The busty brunette was waiting for her alongside with Angel and Cleo.
Four women were gathered inside one of the office rooms of the warehouse. They were wearing the same outfits as the other cultists, but they had pulled down their hoods and removed their masks.
These women looked a little different from the ones gathered inside the main warehouse. They were looking more ill-at-ease.
One of them was seated on a chair. Her breathing was rough and wheezy. She was using an inhaler.
The three other women were concernedly surrounding her. The first one was tall and broad-shouldered, with a pale skin and straight dark hair that formed a V-shape at her back. The second one was slightly shorter, with a cherubic face, a light skin and short ginger curls. The third one was about the same height and build as the ginger-haired woman, with angular features, a tanned skin and her chestnut-brown hair in a bun.
Posy paled when she got a good glimpse of the seated woman.
“You alright?” Bobbi worriedly whispered to her.
Posy shook her head. No, she was not alright.
“I recognize the woman in the middle, the one on the chair.” she confessed.
Indeed, Posy would never forget that woman's face. The cultist had a light skin, brown eyes and light chestnut waist-long hair with a straight fringe. A light blue ribbon was tied in her hair.
She was called Shirley, worked in a bank, and had asthma.
She was also the woman who almost died because of Posy.
“It's because of me that she's here.” the brunette added.
**************
Octavia, the dark-haired tall broad-shouldered woman, gave Shirley a glass of water.
The latter accepted the glass with gratitude, took a few more breaths of her inhaler, then drank.
“Feeling better?” Harmony, the chestnut-brown-haired woman asked.
“Yes...”
“Can't blame you for feeling sick.” Melody, the ginger-haired woman, commented. “I was also feeling a little... wrong. I mean, I didn't think that things would become so harcore...”
Octiavia, Melody, and Harmony were working as musicians. They weren't used to violence.
“And who's to blame?” Octavia harshly asked the brunette.
Harmony raised her hands defensively. “Hey, it's easy for you to say that! That Baxter woman hurt me! She could have broken my jaw when she punched me! I'm a flutist, remember? I need my mouth in perfect condition for my job. Baxter punched me as if it was my fault for trying to call for help when she and her friends were MUGGING us for our musician outfits!”
“Because you think that her sleeper-hold was a better sensation?” Melody retorted. “I thought I was going to be choked to death!”
“Don' tell me that you don't want to see Baxter punished for what she did to us!” Harmony justified herself. “I just didn't anticipate they would go so far! I thought we were going to capture them, maybe to humiliate them a little, and then to give them to the police... I didn't think that the others would want to, you know, kill them!”
“Well you should have known better!” Melody barked.
“Stop arguing, please.” Shirley intervened. “We are all at fault. We were angry, revengeful, and made a mistake because of it. Playing the blame game won't help us. We need to get out of this situation.”
“It's too late to row back now! We're already complicit in two kidnappings!” Octavia intervened. She was nervously moving her hands in all directions while talking. “The others won't listen to us, they are galvanized by the Leader! And then we'll be complicit in two murders!”
**************
“They're distracted. We should strike now!” Bobbi hurridely whispered.
Posy grimaced and paled. She was hesitating. Her hands were shaking. “I... I can't... They're not... They're not criminals... Plus, if I gag Shirley... She'll... She'll...”
She was having a panic attack.
Angel reflexively put a hand on the brunette's shoulder to comfort her. She knew about that feeling. It wasn't exactly her PTSD, but it was close.
“Breathe slowly and deeply. Slowly and deeply.” she advised the brunette. The latter listened to her. Her body relaxed slightly. “There, that way...” She looked Posy into the eyes and tried to reassure her. “Don't worry, things will be alright.” It was a little weird for her to act this way. Usually, she was the one BEING reassured. Still, she tried her best, using the same tone and attitude as her sisters when they needed to calm her down after one of her nightmares. “Listen, I have a weapon that can put her to sleep for a few hours. We won't have to gag her.” Angel said.
Posy squeezed Angel's hand for support, and stammered: “But... They're not...”
“My friend's in danger!” Bobbi intervened. “We can't hesitate now just because some of them are having second-thoughts! I don't want Bridget to die!”
“An outside observer may decide that you're reaping what you have sowed.” Cleo, who until now had remained silent, suddenly commented. “These women have a legitimate grievance against you and your friend. Your friend did hurt them, and you can't blame people for wanting to get revenge on those who hurt them.” Contrary to Agria, she wasn't trying to provoke her teammates. Her voice was simply... neutral.
Bobbi ignored her. She looked at Posy and grabbed her arm. Her grip was gentle, but also firm. “Listen, if you can't do it, Angel and I will do it for you. I promise we won't be any more brutal than what's necessary. And I promise that we'll make sure to not inflict them serious injuries.”
Posy shook her head. "N-No! I won't be a burden for you! I-"
Ultimately however, they didn't have to make a choice. The women inside made it for them.
“Hey!” Harmony exclaimed. “Is there someone outsid-”
Cleo moved before she could finish her sentence. Before even Bobbi or Angel, in spite of their reflexes, could react. She entered the room and pointed a silenced pistol at the four women.
Bobbi, Posy and Angel paled. They hadn't even noticed that the blond-haired infiltrator was carrying a gun. Was she going to shoot the four women? Cleo wasn't mean-spirited like her partner, but she was still a special combattant trained to prioritize the success of the mission over casualties.
“No scream and no sudden move.” Cleo calmly commented. “Stay quiet, and everything will turn out fine.”
Her three partners breathed a small sigh of relief. They followed Cleo inside the room. Angel was still supporting Posy.
Shirley and the three musicians didn't try to fight or to scream for help. When they saw the silenced pistol, they let out small shrieks of fear, huddled together and recoiled, a clear proof that they were normal women who fell with a bad crowd.
“Who- Who are you?” Melody asked.
Cleo glared at her with an expressionless face. “Who I am is irrelevant. All you need to know is that I can shoot you at the first act of defiance and the law will still be on my side.”
The four women cowered in fear.
The blond-haired special combattant wasn't even raising her voice when threatening them.
Since Cleo was usually a nice good-natured person with her teammates, seeing her making threats was actually even scarier than with Agria. Especially since she was talking matter-of-factly without anger or passion.
“What do you want from us?” Melody finally asked.
“Given the kind of people you're working for, I think that the answer is obvious.” Cleo calmly answered.
The four women gulped and exchanged nervous glances. They briefly looked at their clothes.
"We'll cooperate." Shirley finally said. She was the one who seemed the less scared.
Cleo nodded. "Good. Then-"
“Wait a second, please.” Posy intervened. “There's something I need to do first.”
Cleo frowned, but didn't try to stop her.
Posy thanked Angel for her support, then walked on her own. She stood in front of Shirley.
The bank employee with light chestnut hair slightly recoiled in fear in her chair. She had recognized Posy.
There was a tense moment of silence.
“I'm sorry.” Posy finally said to her. She bowed her head.
Flabbergasted, Shirley raised an eyebrow. She was expecting any reaction but that. “S- Sorry?” she repeated. Her three musician friends were exchanging incredulous glances.
“I didn't know you were asthmatic. I didn't think I would hurt you so much. We were trying to stop a criminal, and I thought that you'd only spend a few uncomfortable hours at worst. These are not an excuse however. I still hurt you. So I want to apologize. It's my fault if you're here, in this situation.”
Shirley bit her lower lip.
“I won't ask your forgiveness, I know that you can't grant it to me.” Posy said in all honesty. “I made a mistake, and I now choose to face the consequences of my actions. You maybe have a weapon on yourself. If not, there's a knife on the belt I'm wearing. My friends won't hurt you, Cleo will make sure of that.”
"You can't do that!" Bobbi exclaimed. "You don't deserve to be punished for that!"
“Don't intervene, please.” Posy asked her. “I appreciate your concern, but I have the opportunity to take responsabilities for my actions. This is my decision. I did something bad. You may not agree with me and with my point of view when it comes to stealing the clothes of innocent people, but I ask you to respect my freedom of choice.”
Bobbi opened her mouth, but didn't find anything to say to convince her to renounce. She knew that it wasn't her choice to make. She nodded with a somber expression.
Angel hesitated to rush and grab Posy to pull her away. Ultimately, she didn't do it. She understood that some healings required risks to work.
Cleo's face was remaining neutral.
Melody, Octavia and Harmony were exchanging nervous glances.
Shirley was glaring at the combat knife with a grimace.
There was another moment of silence.
“I was angry at you.” Shirley then admitted. “I was angry because of what you did to me. I was angry that you got away. I wanted justice. That's why I joined them. But what they're doing...” She shook her head. “This is not justice, it's madness. They're not vigilantes, they're fanatics. And this is a cult.” Shirley hesitated once more, then finally said: “I also made a mistake. I shouldn't have listened to the Leader's hate-filled speeches. I should have known she'd turn out to be... a mere criminal and cult leader.”
She pushed away the knife.
Posy didn't know what to answer.
“Then if you know they're wrong, just help us!” Bobbi intervened.
Shirley shook her head. “I'd like to, but I'm not a fighter, I can't-” She interrupted herself and muttered. “Of course... I know what I can do...”
Suddenly, without any warning, she unlaced the rope-belt tied around her waist and kicked out her shoes. Then, she got up and released her shoulders from the robe.
Posy, Bobbi and Angel blinked in surprise. Even Cleo raised an eyebrow.
“Shirley, what are you doing?!” Octavia exclaimed. She and the other two musicians were looking at Shirley as if she just sprouted a second head.
“Isn't it obvious? I'm removing that blasted robe!” the other woman retorted.
“But why?”
After having released her shoulders, Shirley let the garment fell on the floor and walked out of it.
Underneath, she was wearing black socks, a white t-shirt and knee-long grey shorts. While these were technically undergarments, they still covered a good part of her body, as it simply looked like she was dressed for summer, thus protecting her modesty.
Everyone was staring at her.
“If you want to stop them, you will need some disguises, right?” Shirley asked the infiltrators. “Then you can have my robe and my mask. I don't want them anymore.”
“Are you sure-” Posy started to ask.
“What? You don't want them if you don't get to pummel me beforehand?” Shirley retorted.
“Of course not!” Bobbi said. Rescuing Bridget was her priority. She didn't care how she'd get the disguise she needed to do so. Even if it was under weird circumstances.
“Then take it!” Shirley insisted.
Posy picked up the discarded clothes. “Thank you.” she said.
Shirley glared daggers at her. “I'm not forgiving you. And I'm not doing it for you, or for your friends. I'm doing it because that cult is wrong and I don't want to be complicit in their crimes. I don't like you, but I know that you are not murderers. You're the best suited people to stop them.”
Posy bit her lip, but nodded. “I understand. And I still thank you.”
Shirley avoided her eyes.
“Well, that's one problem settled peacefully. What about you?” Cleo asked Octavia, Harmony, and Melody.
The three musicians exchanged a look.
Then, Octavia followed Shirley's example and started to remove her own robe.
“Octavia?!” Harmony exclaimed.
“I told you, I don't want to be complicit in murders!”
Melody muttered a swearword and started to remove her own robe as well. She looked at Harmony. “She's right, you know? Besides, it's better than being conked on the head!”
Harmony bit her lower lip and glared daggers at everyone. “You better tell your friend that she owes me!”
Then she started to strip as well.
“I can't believe we're doing it... I can't belive we're willingly GIVING our clothes...” Harmony grumbled to herself.
“Ladies, I'm working for the government.” Cleo said. “I'm the woman who will put in a good word for you. And this is the exact course of action that will plead on your behalf.”
This motivated Harmony a little more.
Soon, she and her two friends were out of their robes. Like Shirley, they weren't directly wearing their underwear under their robe. They were wearing t-shirts and thin trousers (sandy brown and black for Octiavia, pink and beige for Harmony, blue with a pattern of black musical notes and light blue for Melody). They were all wearing white socks adorned with a pattern of black musical notes. Since they gave their robes without a fuss, they were allowed to keep their t-shirts, trousers, and socks.
“So... What's happening now?” Harmony asked.
Cleo thought for one second.
“On the one hand I would like to believe that you're sincere when you say that you don't agree with the cult.” she said. “But on the other hand I don't want to take the risk of you raising the alarm. In case you were, you know, lying.”
“You're going to bind and gag us?!” the three musicians exclaimed.
“We could.” Bobbi commented. “Nothing too tight or painful. Just the bare minimum to keep you out of the picture.”
“We can't.” Posy intervened while looking at Shirley.
“I have the solution.” Angel intervened. “I have a gadget that can put a woman to sleep for one hour or two. It's painless and has no dangerous side-effect.”
“There you go, one small nap and once you wake up you will be witnesses taken under the care of the authorities.” Cleo commented. “Plus, if we fail, the others won't suspect you of having helped us.”
Melody, Octivia and Harmony shared one look and one grimace.
“We will leave you seated on office chairs. That way you'll be a little more comfortable.” Angel intervened.
“I guess it's better than being bound and gagged...” Melody finally commented.
“We'll follow your instructions.” Shirley concluded.
Under Cleo's watchful gaze, Shirley, Melody, Harmony, and Octavia all sat on one office chair.
Angel removed a few darts of the chamber of her modified revolved, since she didn't want to scare the four women. Then, she approached them.
“This will sting a little...” she warned them.
She stang each woman.
The darts were fast-acting. Soon, Shirley, Octavia, Melody, and Harmony were all deeply asleep.
Posy, Bobbi, Angel, and Cleo didn't need to do anything else. They simply tied one rope around their waist of each woman and the back of the chair to make sure they wouldn't fall of their chair, then they left them in peace.
The infiltrators dropped the jackets of their guard uniforms and removed the combat shoes, but kept the rest of the outfit. They put on the robes and the shoes of the cult, then grabbed the four discarded masks that were on a nearby desk.
Angel would have wanted to find something to cover the four sleeping women, but they didn't have the time to look for blankets and redressing them with the guard outfits would have looked suspiscious. Since they were indoors and the heating was on though, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.
The four infiltrators turned off the light and closed the door when they left.
Posy turned to Bobbi. “I'm sorry...” she said to her.
“Sorry? Why?”
“I messed up big time. We were lucky to solve things peacefully, but that's not an excuse. I shouldn't have hesitated. Not with Klenia and your friend in danger.”
Bobbi hesitated. “I guess I can't cast stones at you, I have the opposite problem. I can get carried away... It's just that I used to be so meek and timid... Now that I have asserted myself, I don't want to become again the person I used to be...”
Posy nodded. “I see what you mean.”
“Of course I don't want to inflict permanent damage to the women I mug.” Bobbi added. “It's just... There are... issues in my life... Things are very... complicated for me as of late. With my friends. With myself. Bridget's kidnapping didn't improve things.”
Posy took a deep breath to gather her determination. “We'll save her.” she said. “Most of these people are criminals. They have to be stopped.”
At the same time, Angel was talking with Cleo.
“There's one thing I don't understand...” she said to her. “I saw how you acted with these four women. And...” The clone hesitated.
“Yes?”
“You don't seem to appreciate being a black op. Not like Agria does. Why do you do it?”
The blonde shrugged. “Because someone has to do it.”
“Your friend Agria doesn't seem to like me very much...” Angel added.
“That's because she knows what you were before.”
Angel bit her lower lip. “How did she know?”
“By the way you fight, the way you walk, the way you move.” Cleo explained. “That's why she despises you. She thinks you're weak.”
“It's not true!” Posy intervened. She looked at Angel. “It takes great strength to support those in need, like you did with me. I want to thank you.”
She took Angel's hand and squeezed it. The latter smiled. The mere thought that she could be useful and help someone was making her feel good. It was a step in the direction of her own recovery...
“I wouldn't listen to that freak Agria to try to get an idea of my worth!” Bobbi added. “You shouldn't let what she thinks affect you.” she said to Angel, trying to lift her spirit.
Cleo looked at Bobbi. “The line between being 'tough' and being 'callous' is thin. What one woman calls toughness, another will consider it callousness In that regards, fighting isn't that different from uniform stealing.” she said, prompting a grimace from Bobbi. Her comment was maybe reasoning with the issues the black-haired woman mentioned earlier... Cleo added, talking to herself: “Agria had crossed the line long ago. One has to in the pits.”
“The pits?” Posy asked.
Cleo froze during one entire second, which for a special combattant was probably the equivalent of fainting. However, she kept talking. “The illegal bloodfights. That's where Hieron found her. There's a crowd for female fights. She was little more than a slave, kidnapped by the human trafficking rings and blackmailed by the mob to work for them. You shouldn't mention the topic in front of her.”
The blonde didn't add anything.
“That would explain a lot.” Bobbi finally commented.
She was looking thoughtful, though it was hard to tell if it was because of what Cleo said to her or because of what she learned about Agria.
They kept moving, because they had other priorities. They had people to rescue.
However, in spite of everything, Posy was feeling a little lighter.
Shirley would probably never forgive her. But there had been something between them.
Some understanding.
**************
The other ill-advised cultist who decided to use the restrooms was a twenty-something woman who had short black hair with silver highlights, and was a policewoman in real life. A policewoman who didn't forgive infiltrators for the time one of them knocked her out with a paperweight to steal her uniform and leave her bound-and-gagged with her partner.
Jury was still out on wether she'd see Felicia's sleeper-hold as an improvement or a downgrade however.
Ultimately, it didn't matter much. The end result was the same: She was out cold.
They stripped the cultist down to her rose-pink bra and blue panties. Then, they sat her on the toilet bowl of the stall next to Charlotte's. Just like with Charlotte, they wrapped tape around her shoulders and upper-arms, around her thighs and around her legs. They also taped her thighs to the bowl, securing her into a seated position. They mummified her fingers, hands and wrists in front of her, then taped them to her thighs and wrapped several layers to have her forearms taped to her thighs. The cultist was gagged with her socks, and her lips were sealed with tape. She was softly breathing through her nose.
Soph put on the cultist's clothes.
Once she was disguised, she and Felicia put on the masks and used the hoods to conceal their hair.
They closed the doors of the two stalls. Felicia used a hairpin to move the lock from the outside.
"Pretty resourceful." Soph commented.
"You have to be versatile when you're part of a small team." Felicia explained. "Here! Done! Let's regroup with the others!"
**************
Aster was partnered with Tina, Mikani, Clover, and Amber. Agria was following them.
The room in which members of the cult were monitoring the broadcast of Klenia's and Bridget's humiliation on the web was guarded by one woman. The infiltrators were watching her hidden behind a corner.
“Child's play.” Agria commented. She got ready to strike.
“Wait!” Aster interrupted her. “You'd have to walk a long distance in open view. She may see you.”
“You doubt my capacities?”
“I could use our knock-out ball...” Amber intervened. “But it might make too much noise...”
“I have a solution.” Tina intervened.
Agria glared at her. “Oh really? Are you going to play with your little dart-gun again? Even that gun may make too much noise.” she mocked.
Tina WAS going to propose using the dart-gun, but Agria's mockeries made her want to knock the special combattant down a peg. (She still hadn't forgiven Agria for doubting her sisters' capacities, nor had she forgiven her callous attitude towards Angel.)
“I have something much better than that gun.”
Tina pulled a blow dart pipe from her pocket and loaded a needle.
“Primitive.” Agria commented.
Tina ignored her.
Little hypno dart, it's been a long time since the last time I used you. Make your momma proud!
She lined up the shot and blew into the pipe to shoot the dart at the guard's neck.
The blowpipe was completely silent. No risk that the women inside the room could hear it.
**************
Kelly yawned. The sentry, who was a policewoman in her real life, was wearing the same bodyguard-like black suit, white button-up shirt and black trousers as Claire and her partners. Her gun was strapped onto her pistol belt and she was wearing black military combat shoes. She had a white skin, medium long blond hair and blue eyes. Her body was definitively attractive.
Then why do I have so much trouble finding a good lay? It's been months!
Sure, Kelly joined this anti-uniform stealers organization partly because she was the victim of one once. However, her main reason for doing it was because she thought that the whole secret organization-shtick was EXTREMELY arousing and erotic. And yet, she faced a rebuttal from all the sentries she tried to flirt with. Even Margo and Luna, the two horniest women Kelly had ever come across, refused. They said they were faithful to each other! That they were fiancees now!
Goodness! Is it so hard to find a woman who'd agree to take off my clothes?!
Something suddenly stang her neck.
Kelly let out a mumbled. “Ooofff!”
What the heck is- What's happening? My... head's... spinning...
Kelly started wobbling around and lent back against the wall.
Her mind was so cloudy all of the sudden. She was feeling so dizzy. There was a small voice in her head telling her that things weren't normal, that she should raise the alarm. But the rest of her brain was telling her to ignore that pesky voice. Everything was fine.
A woman stood in front of her.
“Can you hear me?” she asked while waving her hand in front of the guard's vacant eyes.
Kelly almost cried of joy. The woman's voice was so beautiful! The second she heard the woman talk, her brain gave her one simple thought: No matter what this woman was demanding, she'd have to do it. She wanted nothing more in the world than to please that woman.
The guard smiled vacantly.
“Yes mistress.” she answered.
**************
Tina grimaced.
Great... It already did the same thing with Phoebe the neon goon... Is it a side-effect of the dart or am I always coming across kinky women when I use one?
Still, she didn't show her embarassment in front of Agria.
Plus, she was enjoying Aster's and Clover's amazed expressions. Tina was normally a modest woman, but she wasn't going to lie: Being able to impress the leaders of other infiltrator teams was making her feel very good.
Tina knew she had to wait a few seconds, to be sure that the woman was entirely under the control of the hypno serum.
“What's your name?” she asked the woman to buy some time and to make sure that the guard was completely under her control.
“Kelly.”
“How many women are inside the room, Kelly?”
“Six, mistress.”
“Are they armed?”
“No mistress. They're technicians.”
“Okay. Thank you, Kelly.”
The blonde's smile widened. Her face was expressing a pure heartfelt joy when she heard the thanks. In her state, satisfying Tina was Kelly's only purpose.
Tina had long realized how dangerous her hypno darts could be under the wrong hands, hence why she kept them to herself.
“Right then Kelly, here is my next order... I need you to take off your clothes.”
There was a small pause, and Tina almost feared that a part of Kelly's mind was rebelling against the idea.
But then, for some reason, the blonde's expression became ecstatic.
“Thank you, mistress!” Kelly responded. “I thought no woman here would ever ask me that...”
Tina decided that she didn't want to know more about the blonde's reasons. The lustful spark in Kelly's eyes was already giving her way enough informations.
“Only down to the underwear.” Tina added, as she had the hunch that Kelly would remove everything if left unsupervised.
The guard removed her outer clothes one by one, and stopped once she was down to a black lacy G-string, a silver demi-bra, and white socks.
“Now Kelly, I will ask you to remain still. My friends and I will bind and gag you.”
Kelly's vacant smile didn't fade. “Yes, mistress.”
Aster, Mikani, Clover, and Amber approached the guard.
True to her word, Kelly allowed them to bind her limbs with the cables they were carrying. She was even obligingly moving her body in ways that were making things easier for the infiltrators. When the time came to gag her, she eagerly opened her mouth to allow them to shove a clean handkerchief inside.
“Impressive...” Aster commented while tying a cloth-gag over Kelly's mouth. "I appreciate working with such as resourceful other team leader..."
Tina smiled. “Thanks!”
She then turned towards Kelly. Bound and gagged, the guard was now seated on the floor.
“You were perfect.” Tina said to the trussed up woman, as she knew that in her state it would make her happy. (She saw Kelly grin in her gag.) “Thanks for all your help. Now, when I snap my fingers you are going to go to sleep. Then when you wake up, you will no longer be under my control.”
Kelly nodded.
Tina snapped her fingers. The blonde closed her eyes, rested her chin against her chest, and started to snore lightly through the nose.
Clover and Amber admiratively whistled between their teeth and Aster smiled.
Tina gave Agria her best satisfied smirk.
The special combattant remained silent.
“Now, let's deal with the women inside...” Mikani intervened. “Klenia probably doesn't have much time left...” The pale black-haired woman was very quiet during this mission, except to urge them to go faster. She too was very worried for Klenia. Almost as much as Shayna.
“We'll have to create a diversion if they are six.” Clover said. “Since they are monitoring the broadcast, we have to assume that they will have at hand headphones and microphones. We can't give them the opportunity to warn the leader.”
Aster looked at Kelly's discarded clothes.
“I have an idea. It's time for a good old-fashioned bluff.”
**************
The technicians monitoring the broadcast were wearing the same medieval-like white robes and black masks as the other cultists. Their clothes were offering a strange contrast with the high-tech computers on which they were working.
Wearing Kelly's uniform, Aster quickly entered the room. She was pretending to be in a hurry and to mean business.
“Sisters!” she said with an authoritative voice. “There's been a complication. You have to all remove your headsets and follow me!”
As Aster always said, the proper key to impersonate someone was confidence. If you acted like you knew what you were doing, as long as you had the appropriate clothes, most people wouldn't question you. At least not before it was too late. A simple disguise and the right attitude could fool almost everyone, even women who were actually part of an anti-infiltrator cult.
Because of her guard uniform and her natural authority, the six technicians reflexively obeyed her instructions. They got up from their chairs and removed the gears that were allowing them to communicate with the rest of the cult.
“What's happening?” one of them asked.
Her answer came in the form of five women who rushed inside the room.
Aster closed the door, which muffled the noises made by the short-lived struggle that happened afterwards, as well as all the various grunts, moans, 'Oof!', 'Ugh!', 'Urk!', and 'Ouch!' that accompanied the fight.
**************
Once the six cultists-technicians were down for the count, Tina briefly went outside, grabbed the slumbering Kelly by the shoulders, and dragged her inside the room to conceal her. She left her seated against a wall in a corner of the room.
"Now, these six were completely fooled..." she admiratively said to Aster. "They didn't even question your order. You're a born actress!"
"When push comes to shove, a good old-fashioned will be as efficient as the most high-tech gadget..." Aster commented with a smile.
"I do NOT agree with that statement." Tinker said in Tina's earpiece.
"Hush, Tink'. We don't have time for a debate." Tina whispered.
The next minutes were used to strip the six technicians of their outer garments, including the t-shirts and trousers they were wearing under their robes.
The first technician was a scientist called Ellen Lawrence, a tall, slim, and attractive woman with caramel skin and long dark hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a set of panties and bra that were white with light pink polka dots and edges, as well as light pink socks with dark pink polka dots and edges.
The second technician was a former guard of a lab called Julianna, who still remembered of the time an infiltrator left her bound and gagged naked. She had a body gym enthusiasts would kill for, with a couple of abs starting to peek through but that didn’t remove any of her good feminine looks at all. She also had medium length brunette hair and a tanned skin tone. She was wearing a white tank top but no bra and pink panties
The third technician was a female lab technician called Samantha who was roughly 25-27 years old. She had a quite pale white skin, and long ginger hair and freckles just on the tip of her nose, as well as emerald green eyes which were being slightly covered by her reading glasses. She was wearing white knickers, a white bralette, and white socks. All had a pattern of pink butterflies. (Tinker commented that they were so pretty and she would buy the same in Tina's earpiece.)
The fourth technician was a brown-haired former janitress who, because of a woman looking to sneak into the set of the Amazon Island movie for a juicy story, had to spend A LOT of time in a dumpster, hence her desire of revenge. She was wearing white bra and white panties with a little teddy bear head on the front and on the back.
The fifth technician was called Agnès Arrior and was a petite woman with bright red hair tied into a tight chignon. She was a computer scientist who, when she was still a student, was mugged once and never forgave the infiltrators. She was wearing a red full-cup bra and matching panties.
The sixth technician was another scientist, a tall light-skinned blue-eyed blonde whose hair were closely cropped into a pixie cut. A woman that never forgave infiltrators for the time one mugged her at the Phocas Institute. She was wearing plain faded blue cotton underwear.
They used the many cables of the installation the cult was using to broadcast their action to bind the technicians. That way, they were killing two birds with one stone: they were at the same time restraining the cultists and putting an end to the broadcast humiliating their friends. Each woman's wrists and ankles were therefore tied by thin but sturdy black cables. Aster and her partners even had enough spare cables to bind the thighs and the upper-arms as well. To gag the technicians, they cut the women's t-shirts and trousers into strips, and makeshift cleave-gags and cloth-gags.
They seated the underwear-clad bound-and-gagged technicians-cultists on a line against the wall with Kelly. Each woman's cheek was resting on the shoulder of the woman on her right, with Kelly at the end of the line.
Aster kept the guard uniform while the five other infiltrators each slipped into a robe and grabbed a mask. They realized at that point that they got overboard and stripped one woman too many, but then shrugged. They had other priorities...
As they were about to leave, Tina suddenly pointed at something.
“Look at that.” Tina commented.
The others complied.
On a notice board on the wall, photographs were pinned.
Aster recognized pictures of her, Klenia, Mikani, and Shayna. There were also Bridget, Bobbi, and Felicia. She was a little surprised to see pictures of Selena and Lucina as well, though she wasn't surprised to see photographs of Catalina and her accomplices. Next to pictures of Tina and some of her sisters, there was a note with: 'So many of them, and they're all similar-looking. Why?' written on it.
There were also photographs of women Aster didn't know, but notes with their identities were pinned nearby. Sometimes, there was the full identity of the woman: 'Laura Stern', 'Lexi Lockhart'. Sometimes, there was only a first name: 'Adelaide', 'Toshiko', 'Karen'... Sometimes, there only was a nickname: 'Blink' (with a 'Evie Ward' followed by a question mark nearby), 'Murmur'...
In a corner of the notice board, a note was reading in red letters: 'Ties with the human trafficking rings. KILL AT ALL COST!' Under it, there were several pictures of women. 'Carmela', 'Miranda', 'Liana', 'Alyssa'... Aster memorized them all. Hieron would be interested in their identities.
“So many infiltrators...” she commented. She was a little impressed, and worried, by the efficiency of the cult. They had managed to find out the identities of many uniform stealers, which was no small feat!
Mikani, Tina, Amber and Clover somberly nodded. Agria shrugged.
On the notice board, there were also ideas for plans to capture the various women.
Most of them were classic ideas: ambushes, blackmail, and traps.
Aster couldn't help but snicker when she saw under Adelaide's picture: 'Kidnap her DOG and use it as a hostage. THE DOG IS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING!' Then, she saw under Blink's picture: 'Kidnap her daughter.', and she felt her anger towards the cult go through the roof.
While not all of these women were saints, Aster was a little relieved to see that only Klenia's and Bridget's pictures were crossed out.
“They were only at the beginning of their plan, thankfully.” she commented. “Not that I carry all of these infiltrators in my heart, and I definitively would want to send some of them in jail, but still... We are lucky to have the opportunity to stop this cult while they're still small.”
Next to the notice board, there was a desk. On which there were papers.
“Are there clues?” Clover asked.
“Mostly boring lists of recruits and furnitures.” Amber said while quickly browsing through the papers. “Though there's also this...”
She pointed at a few photographs, depicting a small family consisting of a man, a woman, and a daughter. For some reason, the woman's face had been covered with black felt-tip on all the pictures.
There was also a locket with three S on it.
“Tinker? Can you do a search for me?” Tina asked in her hidden microphone.
“Already on it! I'm using my softwares to compare the general figure of the woman on the photographs with the administrative files and the police reports about a mother with an alliterative name with three S.”
Thinker's softwares were fast and efficient. It only took them a few seconds.
“I have a police report from four years ago about a missing woman called Sarah Sandy Summers.” Tinker finally said. “Her husband signalled her disappearance, but since all the clues pointed that she willingly ran away, the police closed the case. And... ah! interesting!”
“What?”
“Apparently, she used to work as a receptionist at a prestigious hotel. And shortly before her disappearance, she was involved in a heist. A woman stole her clothes and her identity. Sarah actually had to be hospitalized afterwards. She was locked in an airtight place, she almost died of suffocation.”
“I have maybe found our cult leader.” Tina said out loud to her partners.
Once again, Aster's and Clover's appreciative expressions made her feel warm and fuzzy.
“You think this might be useful?” Aster asked.
“Perhaps... It's always best to have as much informations as possible about your opponent...”
“That's true...”
“If she almost died because of an infiltrator, it may explain a lot of things about her goal with this secret organization.” Clover commented.
“Questions for later.” Mikani intervened. “Let's rescue Klenia and Bridget.”
The others nodded.
**************
Charlotte was feeling a little embarassed when she exited the stall of the building's restrooms.
Indeed, since officially this building was used to host events and gatherings, it contained functional public restrooms. Ones that were surprisingly pristine even!
I'm supposed to be part of a secret organization bent on the destruction of infiltrators and uniform stealings... Charlotte thought to herself. What kind of self-respecting member of a secret organization would go to the restrooms in the middle of the grand ceremony?
She shook her head.
Shouldn't have eaten spicy before coming here...
That was something she never read in stories featuring secret organizations... Though in hindsight, it was logical. Not everyone could stand and chant several hours without needing to relieve themselves at one point. Honestly, she was even surprised to be the only one.
Charlotte had a white skin, medium long blond hair tied in a cute ponytail, dark blue eyes, and was 32 years old. She was wearing the same clothes as the cultists in the main warehouse: black shoes, long white 'medieval-like' robes that were reaching up to the ankles with long sleeves and a hood, as well as a black masquerade mask that was hiding the top-half of her face. A black rope was tied around her waist.
She went to wash her hands at one of the sinks.
Charlotte smiled when she heard someone open the door as she was washing her hands. Well, maybe I'm not the only one who needs to use the restrooms right in the middle of the grand speech... The thought was giving her some solace.
However, certain that the newcomer was a fellow conspirator, she made the mistake of not looking at her.
“Have they been stripped yet?” Charlotte asked while refreshing her face. “I certainly don't want to miss the spectacle!” She was also secretly hoping that the team of infiltrators who mugged her and the squad of mercenaries she used to be part of would be the next.
“Oh, there's going to be a spectacle, all right...” a voice commented.
*crack* *crack*
The blonde raised an eyebrow. “Crack?”
It sounded like knuckles being cracked.
Charlotte turned. “That's not funny, you- OOOF!”
Soph punched her in the stomach. Charlotte bent forward. A clean hit of the edge of Soph's hand, between the shoulder and the neck, knocked her out.
“GAK!”
Charlotte fell face down on the floor, in front of the sink.
Soph turned off the tap to not waste water.
Felicia was standing behind her.
“The restrooms. Always a safe bet.” the redhead commented, remembering her humble beginnings. “It's good to see that some things never change... even in a secret cult.”
She then looked at Charlotte, who was completely out cold.
“A brutal style, but efficient.” Felicia added.
“It's not my best move, but thank you.” Soph answered with a small satsified smile.
They dragged Charlotte inside an empty stall, and removed her mask, her rope-belt, her shoes, and her robe. The cultist was wearing a pink t-shirt and beige thin trousers underneath. They also removed them, leaving the blonde clad in only a light pink t-shirt bra adorned with colourful little flowers, matching hipster panties, and white socks.
“You seem to be your team's brawler.” Felicia commented.
“I had a bad experience with gas and syringes. Plus, martial arts and hand-to-hand combat help me build my confidence” Soph answered. She looked at Charlotte. "Sure, it can be brutal sometimes, but I try to keep it clean and quick to not hurt them more than necessary."
“Reminds me a little of how Bobbi says she asserted herself thanks to our adventures...” Felicia commented.
Though, juding by her face, she was having slightly mixed feelings about the latest turns of events.
They sat Charlotte on a toilet bowl and wrapped tape around her shoulders and upper-arms, around her thighs and around her legs. They also taped her thighs to the bowl, securing her into a seated position. Since there wasn't a pipe onto which they could have bound Charlotte's hands, they instead mummified her fingers, hands and wrists in front of her, then taped them to her thighs and wrapped several layers to have her forearms taped to her thighs. They silenced her by wrapping several layers of tape around her lower face.
Felicia was putting on Charlotte's outfit when, suddenly, they heard someone approach the restrooms.
The two women quickly closed the door of the stall to conceal themselves. Between them both and Charlotte's trussed up body, the fit was very tight, but at least they wouldn't be seen.
They heard another woman hurriedly enter the restrooms. “Quick! Quick!” she was saying to herself. The newcomer rushed inside an inoccupied stall.
There was a short awkward pause.
“Should we... mug her?” Soph asked.
“Just give her a moment. You don't leave a woman who needs to go to the bathroom bound and gagged. There are some things you just don't do, even to your most bitter enemy.” Felicia answered.
**************
Heidi and Patricia used to be prison guards, until they were fired for their unneeded brutality towards inmates.
Still, even after joining this organization of anti-uniform stealers because they hadn't forgotten about the bimbos who had stripped and humiliated them during a prison break, it seemed that fate had decided to be cruelly ironic with them...
“I can't believe we were the ones who had to babysit the prisoners before the leader's grand speech!” Heidi complained. She was a woman with a tanned skin and blond hair tied in a braid.
“Why are you complaining? We had two gorgeous women at our mercy. Have you seen the boobs of the busty one? I wish the leader allowed me to do more than just giving them a few squeezes! I don't know who will be the one allowed to strip her, but she'll be one lucky gal!” Patricia laughed coarsely. She had a dark skin and light red hair.
“And we had to clean their cell! We have probably missed the most interesting part!” Heidi added.
“Not if we're in time to see the busty one stripped... What was her name again? Klenia? Now, that's a woman I'd like to get to know better... in private and with a prison warden baton...” Patricia commented.
Her partner snickered wickedly, remembering the good times they had when they were still wardens. They had a well-oiled routine back then...
Heidi and Patricia were wearing the same clothes as the other members of their anti-infiltrator organization: black shoes, a long hooded white robe with a rope belt tied around the waist, and a plain black masquerade mask covering the top half of the face.
The two cultists were walking in the part of the building in which the office rooms were located. They didn't know however that they were being watched from a secondary corridor.
“Oh, it is on!” Shayna harshly whispered. She pointed at Patricia. “That one's for me!” she said to her two teammates, BB and Bobbi.
Bobbi made a little curtesy. “After you.”
The blonde rushed, quickly followed by her new friend. BB ran behind them.
Patricia's eyes widened when she saw them. However, since they were wearing sentry uniforms, she mistook them for real sentries. It gave the infiltrators the few seconds they needed to get to her and Heidi.
“Hey, you, you're supposed to be outside! What are you-”
Shayna shut her up with a mean left hook, making her grunt. Then, the blonde followed with a violent stomach punch, a powerful uppercut, and a vicious kick. Out cold, Patricia fell on the floor.
Heidi opened her mouth to scream and raise the alarm.
Bobbi punched her in the stomach.
“Urf!”
Heidi's hood fell.
BB grabbed her neck with her glove and activated the electro shock.
“GAHGAHAGAHGAAHAHAHA!”
Heidi passed out, making a few moaning and groaning noises.
“Shocking. Positively shocking.” Bobbi commented.
Shayna snickered.
BB didn't. She had been desensitized to puns by Stasis' sense of humour. She picked up the two sentries, one under each arm. Being tall and strong defintively had a lot of advantages! “Where do you want them?” she asked.
“I think that this nice secondary corridor over there will do the trick, thank you very much.” Shayna answered with a huge smile.
“You're too kind.” Bobbi added.
This time, BB smiled slightly. “I aim to please.”
The tall clone carried the two unconscious sentries.
“You really did a number on that bimbo...” Bobbi commented while looking at Patricia's face.
“NO ONE can touch my wife and expect to make it unscathed!” Shayna answered. "She's lucky I'm in a hurry, or I'd have taken my sweet time..."
BB dropped her two burdens and listened in her earpiece. She had just received a message relayed by Tinker.
“Hey, Bobbi. I got a message from Angel. Posy's group says that there's a higher number of cultists in their part of the building. They need some back-up. Can you help them?”
“But I was just about to strip these two jerks...” Bobbi retorted.
“They said: 'Please.'”
“Fine. But, for the record, I'd like to say that I'm taking one for the team.”
Shayna sniffed Heidi's robe. “Trust me, it may be a blessing in disguise. These two cows don't seem to know what a shower is...”
Bobbi grimaced, then smiled. “You know what? I'm happy to take one for the team. Good luck!”
Shayna gave her the tumb-up. Bobbi did the same, then left.
Shayna sighed and exchanged a look with BB. “Well, there's no point in dragging things out... Might as well get over with that chore as quickly as possible... Just like if we had to rip off a bandage... Don't you agree, my tall friend?”
“Honestly, I'm just happy to come across a woman who's roughly my size.” BB answered while grabbing Heidi's robe.
“Well, if you put it that way...” Shayna said while unknotting Patricia's rope-belt.
The two uniform stealers removed the masks, the rope belts, the shoes, and the white robes. They also took off the sweaty t-shirts and the trousers Heidi and Patricia were wearing underneath, though only for the purpose of humiliating them. Shayna and BB would rather wear parts of their sentry uniforms under the robes than these sweaty things! Patricia was wearing black socks, white high-cut panties with red polka dots and a matching bra as undergarments, Heidi was clad in a mango triangle bra, orange hip-hugging panties, and grey socks.
Shayna took Patricia's panties and socks, then shoved them into her mouth. She knotted a tight cleave-gag to silence her with strips of the woman's discarded sweaty t-shirt, then added a few strips of tape just to be safe. She repeated the process with Heidi, gagging her with her own panties, socks, and t-shirt.
“There... Maybe they'll finally become aware of their terrible personal hygiene.” Shayna commented.
She grabbed a knife and cut their bras to leave them completely naked.
BB shuddered. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.” She was maybe a tall arse-kicking machine, but she also knew that one should NEVER hurt the lover of a uniform stealer.
Shayna smiled harshly.
They tightly ball-tied Heidi and Patricia with sturdy black electric cables that they were carrrying. Once they were done, the two naked women were bound in a seated position, their hands behind their back, with their knees pressed against their breasts and their chin resting on their knees. Shayna and BB dragged their victims to a nearby closet and threw them inside.
Then, they put on the robes and, more importantly, the masks. They used their hoods to conceal their hair.
“Klenia, hold on, we're almost there...” Shayna whispered to herself.
“We'll save her, and Bobbi's friend.” BB intervened. “Even if we have to punch our way through forty goons.”
Shayna smiled. “Thanks.”
The two women fist-bumped, then went on their way.
**************
Bobbi regrouped with Posy's team in the part of the building in which the office rooms were located.
The busty brunette was waiting for her alongside with Angel and Cleo.
Four women were gathered inside one of the office rooms of the warehouse. They were wearing the same outfits as the other cultists, but they had pulled down their hoods and removed their masks.
These women looked a little different from the ones gathered inside the main warehouse. They were looking more ill-at-ease.
One of them was seated on a chair. Her breathing was rough and wheezy. She was using an inhaler.
The three other women were concernedly surrounding her. The first one was tall and broad-shouldered, with a pale skin and straight dark hair that formed a V-shape at her back. The second one was slightly shorter, with a cherubic face, a light skin and short ginger curls. The third one was about the same height and build as the ginger-haired woman, with angular features, a tanned skin and her chestnut-brown hair in a bun.
Posy paled when she got a good glimpse of the seated woman.
“You alright?” Bobbi worriedly whispered to her.
Posy shook her head. No, she was not alright.
“I recognize the woman in the middle, the one on the chair.” she confessed.
Indeed, Posy would never forget that woman's face. The cultist had a light skin, brown eyes and light chestnut waist-long hair with a straight fringe. A light blue ribbon was tied in her hair.
She was called Shirley, worked in a bank, and had asthma.
She was also the woman who almost died because of Posy.
“It's because of me that she's here.” the brunette added.
**************
Octavia, the dark-haired tall broad-shouldered woman, gave Shirley a glass of water.
The latter accepted the glass with gratitude, took a few more breaths of her inhaler, then drank.
“Feeling better?” Harmony, the chestnut-brown-haired woman asked.
“Yes...”
“Can't blame you for feeling sick.” Melody, the ginger-haired woman, commented. “I was also feeling a little... wrong. I mean, I didn't think that things would become so harcore...”
Octiavia, Melody, and Harmony were working as musicians. They weren't used to violence.
“And who's to blame?” Octavia harshly asked the brunette.
Harmony raised her hands defensively. “Hey, it's easy for you to say that! That Baxter woman hurt me! She could have broken my jaw when she punched me! I'm a flutist, remember? I need my mouth in perfect condition for my job. Baxter punched me as if it was my fault for trying to call for help when she and her friends were MUGGING us for our musician outfits!”
“Because you think that her sleeper-hold was a better sensation?” Melody retorted. “I thought I was going to be choked to death!”
“Don' tell me that you don't want to see Baxter punished for what she did to us!” Harmony justified herself. “I just didn't anticipate they would go so far! I thought we were going to capture them, maybe to humiliate them a little, and then to give them to the police... I didn't think that the others would want to, you know, kill them!”
“Well you should have known better!” Melody barked.
“Stop arguing, please.” Shirley intervened. “We are all at fault. We were angry, revengeful, and made a mistake because of it. Playing the blame game won't help us. We need to get out of this situation.”
“It's too late to row back now! We're already complicit in two kidnappings!” Octavia intervened. She was nervously moving her hands in all directions while talking. “The others won't listen to us, they are galvanized by the Leader! And then we'll be complicit in two murders!”
**************
“They're distracted. We should strike now!” Bobbi hurridely whispered.
Posy grimaced and paled. She was hesitating. Her hands were shaking. “I... I can't... They're not... They're not criminals... Plus, if I gag Shirley... She'll... She'll...”
She was having a panic attack.
Angel reflexively put a hand on the brunette's shoulder to comfort her. She knew about that feeling. It wasn't exactly her PTSD, but it was close.
“Breathe slowly and deeply. Slowly and deeply.” she advised the brunette. The latter listened to her. Her body relaxed slightly. “There, that way...” She looked Posy into the eyes and tried to reassure her. “Don't worry, things will be alright.” It was a little weird for her to act this way. Usually, she was the one BEING reassured. Still, she tried her best, using the same tone and attitude as her sisters when they needed to calm her down after one of her nightmares. “Listen, I have a weapon that can put her to sleep for a few hours. We won't have to gag her.” Angel said.
Posy squeezed Angel's hand for support, and stammered: “But... They're not...”
“My friend's in danger!” Bobbi intervened. “We can't hesitate now just because some of them are having second-thoughts! I don't want Bridget to die!”
“An outside observer may decide that you're reaping what you have sowed.” Cleo, who until now had remained silent, suddenly commented. “These women have a legitimate grievance against you and your friend. Your friend did hurt them, and you can't blame people for wanting to get revenge on those who hurt them.” Contrary to Agria, she wasn't trying to provoke her teammates. Her voice was simply... neutral.
Bobbi ignored her. She looked at Posy and grabbed her arm. Her grip was gentle, but also firm. “Listen, if you can't do it, Angel and I will do it for you. I promise we won't be any more brutal than what's necessary. And I promise that we'll make sure to not inflict them serious injuries.”
Posy shook her head. "N-No! I won't be a burden for you! I-"
Ultimately however, they didn't have to make a choice. The women inside made it for them.
“Hey!” Harmony exclaimed. “Is there someone outsid-”
Cleo moved before she could finish her sentence. Before even Bobbi or Angel, in spite of their reflexes, could react. She entered the room and pointed a silenced pistol at the four women.
Bobbi, Posy and Angel paled. They hadn't even noticed that the blond-haired infiltrator was carrying a gun. Was she going to shoot the four women? Cleo wasn't mean-spirited like her partner, but she was still a special combattant trained to prioritize the success of the mission over casualties.
“No scream and no sudden move.” Cleo calmly commented. “Stay quiet, and everything will turn out fine.”
Her three partners breathed a small sigh of relief. They followed Cleo inside the room. Angel was still supporting Posy.
Shirley and the three musicians didn't try to fight or to scream for help. When they saw the silenced pistol, they let out small shrieks of fear, huddled together and recoiled, a clear proof that they were normal women who fell with a bad crowd.
“Who- Who are you?” Melody asked.
Cleo glared at her with an expressionless face. “Who I am is irrelevant. All you need to know is that I can shoot you at the first act of defiance and the law will still be on my side.”
The four women cowered in fear.
The blond-haired special combattant wasn't even raising her voice when threatening them.
Since Cleo was usually a nice good-natured person with her teammates, seeing her making threats was actually even scarier than with Agria. Especially since she was talking matter-of-factly without anger or passion.
“What do you want from us?” Melody finally asked.
“Given the kind of people you're working for, I think that the answer is obvious.” Cleo calmly answered.
The four women gulped and exchanged nervous glances. They briefly looked at their clothes.
"We'll cooperate." Shirley finally said. She was the one who seemed the less scared.
Cleo nodded. "Good. Then-"
“Wait a second, please.” Posy intervened. “There's something I need to do first.”
Cleo frowned, but didn't try to stop her.
Posy thanked Angel for her support, then walked on her own. She stood in front of Shirley.
The bank employee with light chestnut hair slightly recoiled in fear in her chair. She had recognized Posy.
There was a tense moment of silence.
“I'm sorry.” Posy finally said to her. She bowed her head.
Flabbergasted, Shirley raised an eyebrow. She was expecting any reaction but that. “S- Sorry?” she repeated. Her three musician friends were exchanging incredulous glances.
“I didn't know you were asthmatic. I didn't think I would hurt you so much. We were trying to stop a criminal, and I thought that you'd only spend a few uncomfortable hours at worst. These are not an excuse however. I still hurt you. So I want to apologize. It's my fault if you're here, in this situation.”
Shirley bit her lower lip.
“I won't ask your forgiveness, I know that you can't grant it to me.” Posy said in all honesty. “I made a mistake, and I now choose to face the consequences of my actions. You maybe have a weapon on yourself. If not, there's a knife on the belt I'm wearing. My friends won't hurt you, Cleo will make sure of that.”
"You can't do that!" Bobbi exclaimed. "You don't deserve to be punished for that!"
“Don't intervene, please.” Posy asked her. “I appreciate your concern, but I have the opportunity to take responsabilities for my actions. This is my decision. I did something bad. You may not agree with me and with my point of view when it comes to stealing the clothes of innocent people, but I ask you to respect my freedom of choice.”
Bobbi opened her mouth, but didn't find anything to say to convince her to renounce. She knew that it wasn't her choice to make. She nodded with a somber expression.
Angel hesitated to rush and grab Posy to pull her away. Ultimately, she didn't do it. She understood that some healings required risks to work.
Cleo's face was remaining neutral.
Melody, Octavia and Harmony were exchanging nervous glances.
Shirley was glaring at the combat knife with a grimace.
There was another moment of silence.
“I was angry at you.” Shirley then admitted. “I was angry because of what you did to me. I was angry that you got away. I wanted justice. That's why I joined them. But what they're doing...” She shook her head. “This is not justice, it's madness. They're not vigilantes, they're fanatics. And this is a cult.” Shirley hesitated once more, then finally said: “I also made a mistake. I shouldn't have listened to the Leader's hate-filled speeches. I should have known she'd turn out to be... a mere criminal and cult leader.”
She pushed away the knife.
Posy didn't know what to answer.
“Then if you know they're wrong, just help us!” Bobbi intervened.
Shirley shook her head. “I'd like to, but I'm not a fighter, I can't-” She interrupted herself and muttered. “Of course... I know what I can do...”
Suddenly, without any warning, she unlaced the rope-belt tied around her waist and kicked out her shoes. Then, she got up and released her shoulders from the robe.
Posy, Bobbi and Angel blinked in surprise. Even Cleo raised an eyebrow.
“Shirley, what are you doing?!” Octavia exclaimed. She and the other two musicians were looking at Shirley as if she just sprouted a second head.
“Isn't it obvious? I'm removing that blasted robe!” the other woman retorted.
“But why?”
After having released her shoulders, Shirley let the garment fell on the floor and walked out of it.
Underneath, she was wearing black socks, a white t-shirt and knee-long grey shorts. While these were technically undergarments, they still covered a good part of her body, as it simply looked like she was dressed for summer, thus protecting her modesty.
Everyone was staring at her.
“If you want to stop them, you will need some disguises, right?” Shirley asked the infiltrators. “Then you can have my robe and my mask. I don't want them anymore.”
“Are you sure-” Posy started to ask.
“What? You don't want them if you don't get to pummel me beforehand?” Shirley retorted.
“Of course not!” Bobbi said. Rescuing Bridget was her priority. She didn't care how she'd get the disguise she needed to do so. Even if it was under weird circumstances.
“Then take it!” Shirley insisted.
Posy picked up the discarded clothes. “Thank you.” she said.
Shirley glared daggers at her. “I'm not forgiving you. And I'm not doing it for you, or for your friends. I'm doing it because that cult is wrong and I don't want to be complicit in their crimes. I don't like you, but I know that you are not murderers. You're the best suited people to stop them.”
Posy bit her lip, but nodded. “I understand. And I still thank you.”
Shirley avoided her eyes.
“Well, that's one problem settled peacefully. What about you?” Cleo asked Octavia, Harmony, and Melody.
The three musicians exchanged a look.
Then, Octavia followed Shirley's example and started to remove her own robe.
“Octavia?!” Harmony exclaimed.
“I told you, I don't want to be complicit in murders!”
Melody muttered a swearword and started to remove her own robe as well. She looked at Harmony. “She's right, you know? Besides, it's better than being conked on the head!”
Harmony bit her lower lip and glared daggers at everyone. “You better tell your friend that she owes me!”
Then she started to strip as well.
“I can't believe we're doing it... I can't belive we're willingly GIVING our clothes...” Harmony grumbled to herself.
“Ladies, I'm working for the government.” Cleo said. “I'm the woman who will put in a good word for you. And this is the exact course of action that will plead on your behalf.”
This motivated Harmony a little more.
Soon, she and her two friends were out of their robes. Like Shirley, they weren't directly wearing their underwear under their robe. They were wearing t-shirts and thin trousers (sandy brown and black for Octiavia, pink and beige for Harmony, blue with a pattern of black musical notes and light blue for Melody). They were all wearing white socks adorned with a pattern of black musical notes. Since they gave their robes without a fuss, they were allowed to keep their t-shirts, trousers, and socks.
“So... What's happening now?” Harmony asked.
Cleo thought for one second.
“On the one hand I would like to believe that you're sincere when you say that you don't agree with the cult.” she said. “But on the other hand I don't want to take the risk of you raising the alarm. In case you were, you know, lying.”
“You're going to bind and gag us?!” the three musicians exclaimed.
“We could.” Bobbi commented. “Nothing too tight or painful. Just the bare minimum to keep you out of the picture.”
“We can't.” Posy intervened while looking at Shirley.
“I have the solution.” Angel intervened. “I have a gadget that can put a woman to sleep for one hour or two. It's painless and has no dangerous side-effect.”
“There you go, one small nap and once you wake up you will be witnesses taken under the care of the authorities.” Cleo commented. “Plus, if we fail, the others won't suspect you of having helped us.”
Melody, Octivia and Harmony shared one look and one grimace.
“We will leave you seated on office chairs. That way you'll be a little more comfortable.” Angel intervened.
“I guess it's better than being bound and gagged...” Melody finally commented.
“We'll follow your instructions.” Shirley concluded.
Under Cleo's watchful gaze, Shirley, Melody, Harmony, and Octavia all sat on one office chair.
Angel removed a few darts of the chamber of her modified revolved, since she didn't want to scare the four women. Then, she approached them.
“This will sting a little...” she warned them.
She stang each woman.
The darts were fast-acting. Soon, Shirley, Octavia, Melody, and Harmony were all deeply asleep.
Posy, Bobbi, Angel, and Cleo didn't need to do anything else. They simply tied one rope around their waist of each woman and the back of the chair to make sure they wouldn't fall of their chair, then they left them in peace.
The infiltrators dropped the jackets of their guard uniforms and removed the combat shoes, but kept the rest of the outfit. They put on the robes and the shoes of the cult, then grabbed the four discarded masks that were on a nearby desk.
Angel would have wanted to find something to cover the four sleeping women, but they didn't have the time to look for blankets and redressing them with the guard outfits would have looked suspiscious. Since they were indoors and the heating was on though, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.
The four infiltrators turned off the light and closed the door when they left.
Posy turned to Bobbi. “I'm sorry...” she said to her.
“Sorry? Why?”
“I messed up big time. We were lucky to solve things peacefully, but that's not an excuse. I shouldn't have hesitated. Not with Klenia and your friend in danger.”
Bobbi hesitated. “I guess I can't cast stones at you, I have the opposite problem. I can get carried away... It's just that I used to be so meek and timid... Now that I have asserted myself, I don't want to become again the person I used to be...”
Posy nodded. “I see what you mean.”
“Of course I don't want to inflict permanent damage to the women I mug.” Bobbi added. “It's just... There are... issues in my life... Things are very... complicated for me as of late. With my friends. With myself. Bridget's kidnapping didn't improve things.”
Posy took a deep breath to gather her determination. “We'll save her.” she said. “Most of these people are criminals. They have to be stopped.”
At the same time, Angel was talking with Cleo.
“There's one thing I don't understand...” she said to her. “I saw how you acted with these four women. And...” The clone hesitated.
“Yes?”
“You don't seem to appreciate being a black op. Not like Agria does. Why do you do it?”
The blonde shrugged. “Because someone has to do it.”
“Your friend Agria doesn't seem to like me very much...” Angel added.
“That's because she knows what you were before.”
Angel bit her lower lip. “How did she know?”
“By the way you fight, the way you walk, the way you move.” Cleo explained. “That's why she despises you. She thinks you're weak.”
“It's not true!” Posy intervened. She looked at Angel. “It takes great strength to support those in need, like you did with me. I want to thank you.”
She took Angel's hand and squeezed it. The latter smiled. The mere thought that she could be useful and help someone was making her feel good. It was a step in the direction of her own recovery...
“I wouldn't listen to that freak Agria to try to get an idea of my worth!” Bobbi added. “You shouldn't let what she thinks affect you.” she said to Angel, trying to lift her spirit.
Cleo looked at Bobbi. “The line between being 'tough' and being 'callous' is thin. What one woman calls toughness, another will consider it callousness In that regards, fighting isn't that different from uniform stealing.” she said, prompting a grimace from Bobbi. Her comment was maybe reasoning with the issues the black-haired woman mentioned earlier... Cleo added, talking to herself: “Agria had crossed the line long ago. One has to in the pits.”
“The pits?” Posy asked.
Cleo froze during one entire second, which for a special combattant was probably the equivalent of fainting. However, she kept talking. “The illegal bloodfights. That's where Hieron found her. There's a crowd for female fights. She was little more than a slave, kidnapped by the human trafficking rings and blackmailed by the mob to work for them. You shouldn't mention the topic in front of her.”
The blonde didn't add anything.
“That would explain a lot.” Bobbi finally commented.
She was looking thoughtful, though it was hard to tell if it was because of what Cleo said to her or because of what she learned about Agria.
They kept moving, because they had other priorities. They had people to rescue.
However, in spite of everything, Posy was feeling a little lighter.
Shirley would probably never forgive her. But there had been something between them.
Some understanding.
**************
The other ill-advised cultist who decided to use the restrooms was a twenty-something woman who had short black hair with silver highlights, and was a policewoman in real life. A policewoman who didn't forgive infiltrators for the time one of them knocked her out with a paperweight to steal her uniform and leave her bound-and-gagged with her partner.
Jury was still out on wether she'd see Felicia's sleeper-hold as an improvement or a downgrade however.
Ultimately, it didn't matter much. The end result was the same: She was out cold.
They stripped the cultist down to her rose-pink bra and blue panties. Then, they sat her on the toilet bowl of the stall next to Charlotte's. Just like with Charlotte, they wrapped tape around her shoulders and upper-arms, around her thighs and around her legs. They also taped her thighs to the bowl, securing her into a seated position. They mummified her fingers, hands and wrists in front of her, then taped them to her thighs and wrapped several layers to have her forearms taped to her thighs. The cultist was gagged with her socks, and her lips were sealed with tape. She was softly breathing through her nose.
Soph put on the cultist's clothes.
Once she was disguised, she and Felicia put on the masks and used the hoods to conceal their hair.
They closed the doors of the two stalls. Felicia used a hairpin to move the lock from the outside.
"Pretty resourceful." Soph commented.
"You have to be versatile when you're part of a small team." Felicia explained. "Here! Done! Let's regroup with the others!"
**************
Aster was partnered with Tina, Mikani, Clover, and Amber. Agria was following them.
The room in which members of the cult were monitoring the broadcast of Klenia's and Bridget's humiliation on the web was guarded by one woman. The infiltrators were watching her hidden behind a corner.
“Child's play.” Agria commented. She got ready to strike.
“Wait!” Aster interrupted her. “You'd have to walk a long distance in open view. She may see you.”
“You doubt my capacities?”
“I could use our knock-out ball...” Amber intervened. “But it might make too much noise...”
“I have a solution.” Tina intervened.
Agria glared at her. “Oh really? Are you going to play with your little dart-gun again? Even that gun may make too much noise.” she mocked.
Tina WAS going to propose using the dart-gun, but Agria's mockeries made her want to knock the special combattant down a peg. (She still hadn't forgiven Agria for doubting her sisters' capacities, nor had she forgiven her callous attitude towards Angel.)
“I have something much better than that gun.”
Tina pulled a blow dart pipe from her pocket and loaded a needle.
“Primitive.” Agria commented.
Tina ignored her.
Little hypno dart, it's been a long time since the last time I used you. Make your momma proud!
She lined up the shot and blew into the pipe to shoot the dart at the guard's neck.
The blowpipe was completely silent. No risk that the women inside the room could hear it.
**************
Kelly yawned. The sentry, who was a policewoman in her real life, was wearing the same bodyguard-like black suit, white button-up shirt and black trousers as Claire and her partners. Her gun was strapped onto her pistol belt and she was wearing black military combat shoes. She had a white skin, medium long blond hair and blue eyes. Her body was definitively attractive.
Then why do I have so much trouble finding a good lay? It's been months!
Sure, Kelly joined this anti-uniform stealers organization partly because she was the victim of one once. However, her main reason for doing it was because she thought that the whole secret organization-shtick was EXTREMELY arousing and erotic. And yet, she faced a rebuttal from all the sentries she tried to flirt with. Even Margo and Luna, the two horniest women Kelly had ever come across, refused. They said they were faithful to each other! That they were fiancees now!
Goodness! Is it so hard to find a woman who'd agree to take off my clothes?!
Something suddenly stang her neck.
Kelly let out a mumbled. “Ooofff!”
What the heck is- What's happening? My... head's... spinning...
Kelly started wobbling around and lent back against the wall.
Her mind was so cloudy all of the sudden. She was feeling so dizzy. There was a small voice in her head telling her that things weren't normal, that she should raise the alarm. But the rest of her brain was telling her to ignore that pesky voice. Everything was fine.
A woman stood in front of her.
“Can you hear me?” she asked while waving her hand in front of the guard's vacant eyes.
Kelly almost cried of joy. The woman's voice was so beautiful! The second she heard the woman talk, her brain gave her one simple thought: No matter what this woman was demanding, she'd have to do it. She wanted nothing more in the world than to please that woman.
The guard smiled vacantly.
“Yes mistress.” she answered.
**************
Tina grimaced.
Great... It already did the same thing with Phoebe the neon goon... Is it a side-effect of the dart or am I always coming across kinky women when I use one?
Still, she didn't show her embarassment in front of Agria.
Plus, she was enjoying Aster's and Clover's amazed expressions. Tina was normally a modest woman, but she wasn't going to lie: Being able to impress the leaders of other infiltrator teams was making her feel very good.
Tina knew she had to wait a few seconds, to be sure that the woman was entirely under the control of the hypno serum.
“What's your name?” she asked the woman to buy some time and to make sure that the guard was completely under her control.
“Kelly.”
“How many women are inside the room, Kelly?”
“Six, mistress.”
“Are they armed?”
“No mistress. They're technicians.”
“Okay. Thank you, Kelly.”
The blonde's smile widened. Her face was expressing a pure heartfelt joy when she heard the thanks. In her state, satisfying Tina was Kelly's only purpose.
Tina had long realized how dangerous her hypno darts could be under the wrong hands, hence why she kept them to herself.
“Right then Kelly, here is my next order... I need you to take off your clothes.”
There was a small pause, and Tina almost feared that a part of Kelly's mind was rebelling against the idea.
But then, for some reason, the blonde's expression became ecstatic.
“Thank you, mistress!” Kelly responded. “I thought no woman here would ever ask me that...”
Tina decided that she didn't want to know more about the blonde's reasons. The lustful spark in Kelly's eyes was already giving her way enough informations.
“Only down to the underwear.” Tina added, as she had the hunch that Kelly would remove everything if left unsupervised.
The guard removed her outer clothes one by one, and stopped once she was down to a black lacy G-string, a silver demi-bra, and white socks.
“Now Kelly, I will ask you to remain still. My friends and I will bind and gag you.”
Kelly's vacant smile didn't fade. “Yes, mistress.”
Aster, Mikani, Clover, and Amber approached the guard.
True to her word, Kelly allowed them to bind her limbs with the cables they were carrying. She was even obligingly moving her body in ways that were making things easier for the infiltrators. When the time came to gag her, she eagerly opened her mouth to allow them to shove a clean handkerchief inside.
“Impressive...” Aster commented while tying a cloth-gag over Kelly's mouth. "I appreciate working with such as resourceful other team leader..."
Tina smiled. “Thanks!”
She then turned towards Kelly. Bound and gagged, the guard was now seated on the floor.
“You were perfect.” Tina said to the trussed up woman, as she knew that in her state it would make her happy. (She saw Kelly grin in her gag.) “Thanks for all your help. Now, when I snap my fingers you are going to go to sleep. Then when you wake up, you will no longer be under my control.”
Kelly nodded.
Tina snapped her fingers. The blonde closed her eyes, rested her chin against her chest, and started to snore lightly through the nose.
Clover and Amber admiratively whistled between their teeth and Aster smiled.
Tina gave Agria her best satisfied smirk.
The special combattant remained silent.
“Now, let's deal with the women inside...” Mikani intervened. “Klenia probably doesn't have much time left...” The pale black-haired woman was very quiet during this mission, except to urge them to go faster. She too was very worried for Klenia. Almost as much as Shayna.
“We'll have to create a diversion if they are six.” Clover said. “Since they are monitoring the broadcast, we have to assume that they will have at hand headphones and microphones. We can't give them the opportunity to warn the leader.”
Aster looked at Kelly's discarded clothes.
“I have an idea. It's time for a good old-fashioned bluff.”
**************
The technicians monitoring the broadcast were wearing the same medieval-like white robes and black masks as the other cultists. Their clothes were offering a strange contrast with the high-tech computers on which they were working.
Wearing Kelly's uniform, Aster quickly entered the room. She was pretending to be in a hurry and to mean business.
“Sisters!” she said with an authoritative voice. “There's been a complication. You have to all remove your headsets and follow me!”
As Aster always said, the proper key to impersonate someone was confidence. If you acted like you knew what you were doing, as long as you had the appropriate clothes, most people wouldn't question you. At least not before it was too late. A simple disguise and the right attitude could fool almost everyone, even women who were actually part of an anti-infiltrator cult.
Because of her guard uniform and her natural authority, the six technicians reflexively obeyed her instructions. They got up from their chairs and removed the gears that were allowing them to communicate with the rest of the cult.
“What's happening?” one of them asked.
Her answer came in the form of five women who rushed inside the room.
Aster closed the door, which muffled the noises made by the short-lived struggle that happened afterwards, as well as all the various grunts, moans, 'Oof!', 'Ugh!', 'Urk!', and 'Ouch!' that accompanied the fight.
**************
Once the six cultists-technicians were down for the count, Tina briefly went outside, grabbed the slumbering Kelly by the shoulders, and dragged her inside the room to conceal her. She left her seated against a wall in a corner of the room.
"Now, these six were completely fooled..." she admiratively said to Aster. "They didn't even question your order. You're a born actress!"
"When push comes to shove, a good old-fashioned will be as efficient as the most high-tech gadget..." Aster commented with a smile.
"I do NOT agree with that statement." Tinker said in Tina's earpiece.
"Hush, Tink'. We don't have time for a debate." Tina whispered.
The next minutes were used to strip the six technicians of their outer garments, including the t-shirts and trousers they were wearing under their robes.
The first technician was a scientist called Ellen Lawrence, a tall, slim, and attractive woman with caramel skin and long dark hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a set of panties and bra that were white with light pink polka dots and edges, as well as light pink socks with dark pink polka dots and edges.
The second technician was a former guard of a lab called Julianna, who still remembered of the time an infiltrator left her bound and gagged naked. She had a body gym enthusiasts would kill for, with a couple of abs starting to peek through but that didn’t remove any of her good feminine looks at all. She also had medium length brunette hair and a tanned skin tone. She was wearing a white tank top but no bra and pink panties
The third technician was a female lab technician called Samantha who was roughly 25-27 years old. She had a quite pale white skin, and long ginger hair and freckles just on the tip of her nose, as well as emerald green eyes which were being slightly covered by her reading glasses. She was wearing white knickers, a white bralette, and white socks. All had a pattern of pink butterflies. (Tinker commented that they were so pretty and she would buy the same in Tina's earpiece.)
The fourth technician was a brown-haired former janitress who, because of a woman looking to sneak into the set of the Amazon Island movie for a juicy story, had to spend A LOT of time in a dumpster, hence her desire of revenge. She was wearing white bra and white panties with a little teddy bear head on the front and on the back.
The fifth technician was called Agnès Arrior and was a petite woman with bright red hair tied into a tight chignon. She was a computer scientist who, when she was still a student, was mugged once and never forgave the infiltrators. She was wearing a red full-cup bra and matching panties.
The sixth technician was another scientist, a tall light-skinned blue-eyed blonde whose hair were closely cropped into a pixie cut. A woman that never forgave infiltrators for the time one mugged her at the Phocas Institute. She was wearing plain faded blue cotton underwear.
They used the many cables of the installation the cult was using to broadcast their action to bind the technicians. That way, they were killing two birds with one stone: they were at the same time restraining the cultists and putting an end to the broadcast humiliating their friends. Each woman's wrists and ankles were therefore tied by thin but sturdy black cables. Aster and her partners even had enough spare cables to bind the thighs and the upper-arms as well. To gag the technicians, they cut the women's t-shirts and trousers into strips, and makeshift cleave-gags and cloth-gags.
They seated the underwear-clad bound-and-gagged technicians-cultists on a line against the wall with Kelly. Each woman's cheek was resting on the shoulder of the woman on her right, with Kelly at the end of the line.
Aster kept the guard uniform while the five other infiltrators each slipped into a robe and grabbed a mask. They realized at that point that they got overboard and stripped one woman too many, but then shrugged. They had other priorities...
As they were about to leave, Tina suddenly pointed at something.
“Look at that.” Tina commented.
The others complied.
On a notice board on the wall, photographs were pinned.
Aster recognized pictures of her, Klenia, Mikani, and Shayna. There were also Bridget, Bobbi, and Felicia. She was a little surprised to see pictures of Selena and Lucina as well, though she wasn't surprised to see photographs of Catalina and her accomplices. Next to pictures of Tina and some of her sisters, there was a note with: 'So many of them, and they're all similar-looking. Why?' written on it.
There were also photographs of women Aster didn't know, but notes with their identities were pinned nearby. Sometimes, there was the full identity of the woman: 'Laura Stern', 'Lexi Lockhart'. Sometimes, there was only a first name: 'Adelaide', 'Toshiko', 'Karen'... Sometimes, there only was a nickname: 'Blink' (with a 'Evie Ward' followed by a question mark nearby), 'Murmur'...
In a corner of the notice board, a note was reading in red letters: 'Ties with the human trafficking rings. KILL AT ALL COST!' Under it, there were several pictures of women. 'Carmela', 'Miranda', 'Liana', 'Alyssa'... Aster memorized them all. Hieron would be interested in their identities.
“So many infiltrators...” she commented. She was a little impressed, and worried, by the efficiency of the cult. They had managed to find out the identities of many uniform stealers, which was no small feat!
Mikani, Tina, Amber and Clover somberly nodded. Agria shrugged.
On the notice board, there were also ideas for plans to capture the various women.
Most of them were classic ideas: ambushes, blackmail, and traps.
Aster couldn't help but snicker when she saw under Adelaide's picture: 'Kidnap her DOG and use it as a hostage. THE DOG IS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING!' Then, she saw under Blink's picture: 'Kidnap her daughter.', and she felt her anger towards the cult go through the roof.
While not all of these women were saints, Aster was a little relieved to see that only Klenia's and Bridget's pictures were crossed out.
“They were only at the beginning of their plan, thankfully.” she commented. “Not that I carry all of these infiltrators in my heart, and I definitively would want to send some of them in jail, but still... We are lucky to have the opportunity to stop this cult while they're still small.”
Next to the notice board, there was a desk. On which there were papers.
“Are there clues?” Clover asked.
“Mostly boring lists of recruits and furnitures.” Amber said while quickly browsing through the papers. “Though there's also this...”
She pointed at a few photographs, depicting a small family consisting of a man, a woman, and a daughter. For some reason, the woman's face had been covered with black felt-tip on all the pictures.
There was also a locket with three S on it.
“Tinker? Can you do a search for me?” Tina asked in her hidden microphone.
“Already on it! I'm using my softwares to compare the general figure of the woman on the photographs with the administrative files and the police reports about a mother with an alliterative name with three S.”
Thinker's softwares were fast and efficient. It only took them a few seconds.
“I have a police report from four years ago about a missing woman called Sarah Sandy Summers.” Tinker finally said. “Her husband signalled her disappearance, but since all the clues pointed that she willingly ran away, the police closed the case. And... ah! interesting!”
“What?”
“Apparently, she used to work as a receptionist at a prestigious hotel. And shortly before her disappearance, she was involved in a heist. A woman stole her clothes and her identity. Sarah actually had to be hospitalized afterwards. She was locked in an airtight place, she almost died of suffocation.”
“I have maybe found our cult leader.” Tina said out loud to her partners.
Once again, Aster's and Clover's appreciative expressions made her feel warm and fuzzy.
“You think this might be useful?” Aster asked.
“Perhaps... It's always best to have as much informations as possible about your opponent...”
“That's true...”
“If she almost died because of an infiltrator, it may explain a lot of things about her goal with this secret organization.” Clover commented.
“Questions for later.” Mikani intervened. “Let's rescue Klenia and Bridget.”
The others nodded.
-
rufusluciusivan
- Posts: 1228
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
Importante Note: This is the fourth part, I had to divide the final part into two posts. Don't forget to check the previous post first.
**************
Stasis was watching Claire's anime.
The red-haired amber-eyed bronzed-skinned protagonist was standing victorious.
“Ce-Acatl! You lost because you didn't believe in the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP! That was your mistake! With my FRIENDS by my side, I know that I will always prevail!”
“Man... I don't know if this anime is 'So Bad it's Good' or 'So Bad it's Terrible'...” the clone commented. “I mean, they turned the brooding loner with a tragic backstory into a girl-scout spouting 'power of friendship' speeches at every single turn... Talk about pure character assassination!”
Mag and Marie were too busy watching Libido to bother debating with her. Indeed, their sister had already tried twice to sneak inside the closet in which Claire, Molly, June, and Gabriella were locked to try to get an eyeful.
“That's the reason why you should read the books.” BB suddenly commented, as she and Shayna (now disguised) were arriving.
“I'd rather read the menu of a restaurant, thank you very much! I leave the books and poetry to you, sis'.”
BB indulgently rolled her eyes.
“Looks like we're the first.” Shayna commented.
“Placed equal first.” Felicia intervened, as she and Soph were also regrouping with everyone.
She had a little impish smile.
“So the 'restrooms plan' truly worked out?” Shayna increduously asked.
Soph nodded. “Yep! Like clockwork!”
“Had the situation not be so serious, I'd have taken the time to make a bet with you.” Felicia added to Shayna.
“What kind of self-respecting cultist goes to the restrooms in the middle of a grand ceremony?” Bobbi intervened, as she, Angel, Posy, and Cleo were also arriving. “Really, putting these losers out of commission is going to be a service we do to them, before they embarrass themselves any further.”
“I take it everything went without a hitch on your side as well?” Mag asked Angel.
“Things went a little differently than expected, but they ultimately turned out for the best.” the latter answered.
Angel and Posy exchanged a knowing look. They were smiling.
“Now, I'm glad to hear that!” Clover intervened.
Aster, Tina, Clover, Agria, and Amber were arriving as well.
Clover and Amber shared a look with Posy. They understood that something had happened, something positive. The three Vigilantes silently agreed that they would discuss it once Klenia and Bridget were safe and sound.
“Looks like you're last.” Bobbi remarked to Agria with a sly satisfied smile.
The special combattant glared daggers at her, but Aster and Tina walked in front of her to prevent her from speaking.
“Let's not waste any more time! Let's deal with this cult once and for all!” they both said together.
**************
They entered the main warehouse in small groups to not alert the people inside.
Since everyone's attention was focused on the leader, Klenia and Bridget who were all on the stage, nobody noticed their ploy.
The two infiltrators had been stripped down to their white underwear and were forced to stand in front of everyone. The crowd was revelling in their humiliation. They were getting an eyeful and shouting insults. Some of them were taking pictures, others were throwing balls of paper at them to humiliate them.
The masked leader was still rambling about the war she intended to wage on infiltrators everywhere. The rescue team was welcoming her speech, as it was allowing them to have enough time to set their plan into motion.
Klenia and Bridget were still standing proud and dignified, even if they were stripped, gagged, and with their hands tied behind their back.
Shayna gritted her teeth, Bobbi clenched her fists so tightly that her joints became white, Felicia bit her lower lip out of anger, and Mikani's glare became hate-filled. They however managed to control themselves in extremis. They exchanged a meaningful look.
Soon.
Aster and Tina sent the women of their extended group at different parts of the warehouse.
The different teams of disguised infiltrators discreetly deployed. The gathered cultists still didn't notice their ploy. They were too bloodthirsty, too overconfident, and too fixated on the sight of their masked leader and the two underwear-clad women.
The moment of the sacrifice was approaching. The crowd was feverish.
Aster, Mikani, Agria, Cleo, BB, Soph, Marie, Clover and Posy approached the women armed with machine guns that were watching the crowd. Most of them were also getting an eyeful of what was happening on the stage, therefore they didn't see the threat.
Amber went in the middle of the crowd. She was carrying the knock-out bas bomb disguised as a ball under her robe. The other members of Tina's team deployed in the crowd.
Shayna, Bobbi, and Felicia went near the stage itself.
Aster, Tina, and Felicia exchanged a look. They nodded.
Unaware of their silent exchange, the masked leader raised her arms to require the silence.
Mentally, the infiltrators counted the seconds.
The masked leader pulled out a dagger.
“Sisters!...”
Three.
“… The time has come...”
Two.
“… to give these monsters...”
One.
“… what they deserve!”
“NOW!” Aster, Felicia, and Tina shouted.
The masked leader was interrupted in the middle of her speech.
“WHO DARES?!” she bellowed.
The answer came in the form of simultaneous takedowns of the armed women posted at the corners of the warehouse to watch the crowd.
Agria, Cleo, and Mikani knocked out their respective guard with one nerve-pinch each.
BB used her glove. She grabbed the neck of her guard and gave her a vibrating shock that knocked her out.
Aster's guard heard the 'Bbbbbzzzzzttttttttt!' of her colleague and turned her head. Aster took advantage of her inattention to hit her exposed neck with one swift jab of the edge of her hand. A perfect neck-chop. The woman grunted and passed out.
Soph didn't bother with sophisticated neck-chops of gadgets. A few good old punches put her guard out of commission before she could even use her machine gun.
Marie used her pen once more, realizing that this was probably the most useful and less situational of her gadgets, to knock out her guard.
Clover and Posy worked together to neutralize the final armed guard. While the busty brunette was immobilizing her from behind, the black woman hit the side of her head with a clean jab that knocked her out instantly.
While the guards were simultaneously neutralized, at the same moment, Amber threw in the middle of the group of cultists the ball that the Vigilantes already used to put Zoe, Edwige and Gillian to sleep. She pressed a button of the remote and the ball released a thick white odorous smoke right at their faces. Eight women nearby coughed and staggered, with their eyes crying, and fell one after another on the floor. Deeply asleep, they started to snore.
Chaos erupted when the cultists saw their guards being taken out and the white smoke. They realized that infiltrators were among them.
The masked leader took a few steps back to put herself out of reach.
The two women wearing military fatigues that were on the stage with the leader moved to grab Klenia and Bridget. They were intending to use them as hostages. The first was hit in the face by a green ball that exploded, releasing a knock-out gas that put her out of commission, courtesy of Stasis. Mag caught the second one with her rope launcher and made her fall from the stage. One swift jab to the temple knocked her out cold.
Libido wrapped her whip around two cultists, actually binding them together face-to-face. When their bodies were pressed against each other, the women's mouths accidentally came into contact as if they were kissing each other. Libido grinned widly, as she saw that the two cultists couldn't help but blush when they realized their predicament. “Match made!” she commented before pressing the button releasing her gadget's knock-out gas to send them to slumberland. They fell on top of each other, theirs lips still in contact.
Half-a-dozen of cultists tried to regroup in another corner of the room to mount a counter-attack. However, a drone suddenly destroyed one of the warehouse's windows by crashing into it. Then, a swarm of robotic wasps, controlled by Tinker of course, flew inside the building and stang the group of women with darts filled with knock-out serums.
Tina was fighting a cultist who was probably a soldier in real life, as the woman clearly knew how to use the combat knife she was holding. The clone dodged several slashes, then hit the woman in the jaw with the palm of her right hand. She didn't put enough strength to break the woman's jaw, but enough to daze her. A roundhouse kick threw the woman on the floor. Before she could get up, Tina hit her on the forehead with her hand, right between the eyes, sending her to slumberland.
Another cultist, who was also probably a soldier in real life too, picked up a discarded machine gun. She tried to shoot Tina from behind, but Angel noticed her just in time. “No!” Without any hesitation, she raised her revolver and shot a paralyzing dart at the woman's neck. This time, no traumatic flashback distracted her. Her sister was in danger! The pain of the sting actually distracted the woman, preventing her from shooting. And when she finally recovered, it was too late. Her body was already paralyzed.
Two cultists, probably policewomen in real life, were actually carrying small handguns on them. When they saw that the infiltrators were getting the upper hand, they decided that they might as well take Bridget and Klenia (who were still on the stage) with them. They raised their handguns to shoot the two prisoners. Bobbi appeared suddenly behind them, grabbed each woman's head with one hand, and conked their heads together, knocking them out instantly.
A cultist who was a former gang member tried to shank the black-haired woman from behind. Shayna kicked the knife out of her hand. Then, a second kick in the stomach made the woman bend double and a punch to the temple sent her to slumberland.
Felicia grabbed by the shoulder the cultist who tried to assault Shayna while the latter was busy with her own opponent. A quick jab to the face put her out of commission.
The three women exchanged a determined look and a harsh smile of satisfaction. They saw an opening. They rushed to climb the stage and rescue the two prisoners.
Unfortunately, another cultist outran them. She was probably some kind of athlete or of sportswoman in her real life, as she managed to reach her destination before them. She climbed on the stage and drew a small pocket knife.
However, while Klenia's and Bridget's hands were tied, they were far from defenseless. Indeed, to be able to have them stand in open view, the cultists didn't bind their legs. A foolish mistake.
Klenia stomped on the cultist's left foot when the latter tried to grab her. The athlete shouted in pain: Contrary to the guards, she was not wearing thick shoes. Bridget took advantage of the woman's plight to violently hit her with her shoulder. The unfortunate cultist fell from the stage, right in Bobbi's and Shayna's hands. Needless to say, she was swiftly sent to slumberland.
While her two friends were dealing with the athletic cultist, Felicia climbed on the stage and cut the ropes binding Bridget's wrists. She was soon joined by Bobbi, who helped her free Bridget, and by Shayna who released Klenia.
“My heroine!” Klenia exclaimed once untied and ungagged.
She grabbed Shayna and gave her a passionate kiss, not caring about the fact that she was still in her undergarments, or that the battle was raging around them.
At the same time, a free Bridget embraced her two friends. “Girls, next time I insist on doing things solo, stop me from doing it... Restrain me with ropes if you have to...”
“Careful! It didn't fall on deaf ears!” Bobbi answered. Her joke was her way to release the tension. She was maybe a tough girl, but she couldn't hold back one tear of relief.
Felicia was laughing, also a way to ease the nervous tension.
“The leader's trying to flee!” Amber suddenly shouted.
Indeed, the masked woman was running through a small door.
However, most of the infiltrators were busy fighting the last remaining cultists.
“I'll go after her!” Aster exclaimed.
She ran after the masked leader while the battle inside the warehouse was still raging.
**************
Aster caught up with the leader of the cult in the part of the warehouse where the trucks used to be loaded and unloaded. Currently, the loading zone was of course empty.
The runaway realized that she could't escape her pursuer in time, even if she exited the building through its emergency door. She stopped running to face her enemy.
“It's no use!” Aster exclaimed. “Spare yourself a beating and give yourself up quietly!”
The leader had lost her mask during her flight and her hood had fallen.
The petty part of Aster's mind was tempted to think that the so-called 'glorious leader' didn't choose to wear a mask for nothing. That woman indeed didn't have a very charismatic face, with her prominent ears and her crooked nose. (She probably broke it at some point.) Her shoulder-long hair were stringy and red. Her eyes were plain brown. Her skin was light and there were a few freckles on her cheeks. The woman's body was tall and lanky, with a long neck, an oval-shaped face and absolutely no curves.
The red-haired woman smiled harshly. “Surrender? To you?” she mockingly commented.
She grabbed something under her robe.
Aster immediately sensed the danger and started to run around the leader.
The redhead pulled out a small handgun and started to shoot.
Aster managed to avoid being hit by the bullets by running in a circle around the woman without stopping. At the same time, she was approaching her enemy.
Once the redhead was within reach, Aster jumped her before she could shoot her point-blank and tackled her to the floor. With one hand, she grabbed the woman's hand that was holding the gun.
“I'm glad you chose the hard way.” Aster growled at the redhead she brought down to the ground.
The cult leader snarled like a trapped animal. However, she couldn't shoot Aster as the latter was blocking her hand.
Therefore, she shot next to her. More precisely, near her ear.
A gun bang was loud. Hearing a gun shoot next to one's ear was NOT a pleasant experience.
Aster groaned in pain and her grip loosened.
“You think you've caught me already?” the redhead barked.
The cult leader used her two feet to push Aster back, and got up. She took aim at the disoriented woman with her pistol. Aster was clutching her left ear with her two hands.
“Fool! You shall be the first to die!” the leader exclaimed.
However, she couldn't shoot at her.
A violent kick sent her handgun flying.
Bobbi was here.
“Just in the nick of time.” she commented.
The cult leader quickly put herself out of reach. She was quicker and more athletic than she looked.
“So. It looks like Baxter wasn't brave enough to come herself.” she snarled.
The black-haired woman smiled harshly. “She's putting some clothes on. We have plenty of choice between your dumb guards and your dumb cultists. Don't worry, once she's done she'll have a talk with you.”
The red-haired leader glared at her. The flames of hatred danced in her eyes with murderous zeal. “I know what you degenerates would like to do to me.”
Bobbi charged.
The redhead grabbed something in an inner pocket of her clothes.
Apparently, a loose-fitting robe was the perfect garment to conceal weapons.
As Bobbi was jumping her, the cult leader pulled out a small canister of pepper spray. She raised her weapon and sprayed the paralyzing gas at the black-haired infiltrator.
She managed to hit Bobbi in the eyes, but not quickly enough. The black-haired woman violently crashed into her and both women rolled on the floor.
The red-haired cult leader was the first to get up, as she didn't have pepper gas in the eyes. However, she had lost her canister of pepper spray in the scuffle.
Aster's ear was still ringing because of the gun shot. She had a hard time recovering.
“You stealers don't know what it's like! For you, we are merely a means to an end! You don't care about our names or our well-being! You don't care that you hurt us!” the cult leader barked at Bobbi and Aster. “You don't know what it's like to feel powerless! To be at the mercy of someone who could do ANYTHING to you! Who could KILL you if she feels like it!”
The redhead looked around, trying to locate her canister of pepper spray or her handgun.
“I was just a low-life nobody for HER!” she added. “A simple means to an end! She locked me in a small airtight closet! It was dark, and with each passing hour I could feel my oxygen supply dwindle! I almost DIED there! But then... then... I saw the light! I realized what my true purpose was!”
“What you lived... It doesn't give you the right to kill people... It doesn't give you the right to hurt our friends...” Bobbi retorted.
The redhead smiled when she saw the handgun.
“I have ALL the rights when it comes to KILL you!” the cult leader shouted. “You selfish little twats who hurt us just to get a good story! You monsters who hurt us for your selfish goals or your childhish amusement!”
She lunged to grab the weapon.
But another woman beated her to the draw and kicked the firearm away.
“Leave them alone!” Tina intervened.
The redhead stopped in her tracks and ran away.
However, she suddenly noticed an old fireaxe still hung on the wall near the exit. Before Tina could catch her, she ran and grabbed the improvised weapon.
She brandished the axe, and tried to hit Tina when the latter approached her.
The clone dodged by taking a few steps back.
The redhead caught sight of Bobbi, who was still recovering from the pepper gas, and moved to hit her with her axe.
Tina reflexively tried to find a way to distract her to prevent her from attacking Bobbi. She remembered the photographs and the locket what she saw in the office.
“Sarah Summers! It's over! Give yourself up!”
She was hoping that using the woman's name would distract her. And she was right.
“How do you know that name?” the cult leader asked, temporarily forgetting about Aster and Bobbi.
“My sister Tinker searched your file. Sarah Sandy Summers. Used to work as a receptionist. Your husband, your daughter, your parents... Even after four years, your entire family is still looking for you, Sarah.”
“Stop calling me that! Sarah Summers was a weak worthless woman! Living a worthless life, with worthless dreams and worthless ambitions! I am the Leader now! I am so much more!”
“It's over. Your cult's been defeated. There's no need for any more violence!” Tina exclaimed to try to make her give up. “I heard what you said. I know how you felt. You were alone, scared, and you thought that nobody would help you. You experienced true despair. True fear. Right?”
“How do you know?”
“I went through there. A crazy woman captured me. She injected me toxins to make me live my worst fears. She tried to break me. I know what you felt. But you can't take out your anger on everyone! There's only one woman who's responsible of what happened to you. And it's the job of the law to arrest her. There are infiltrators who make sure that their victims will be rescued in time. There are infiltrators who work to catch criminals or to make the world a better place. Not everyone is as callous as the woman who mugged you.”
The red-haired women frowned and briefly hesitated.
“So you know what it's like...” she muttered.
Her face then contorted with boundless anger and rage.
“And yet you're still on THEIR side?! You're still stealing OUR clothes?! You self-righteous twat! It only makes me want to KILL you more!”
She lunged at her, brandishing her axe.
Tina was forced to remain on the defensive and to dodge.
“There's no such thing as a good infiltrator! Only hypocrites who try to ease their conscience! You think the women you mug see a difference with your gentle approach?”
The redhead was enraged. Tina avoided several circular strikes that could have broken or cut her jaw.
“Catching criminals? Making the world a better place? Don't make me laugh! What do you call a woman who mugs innocent women for a scoop? Or a woman who assaults someone just because she wants to try her clothes? Criminals! Monsters!”
“You're oversimplifying their personalities and their actions. The world isn't black-and-white.” Tina retorted.
The clone couldn't see an opening. Contrary to most people, the Leader's raging anger was not disrupting her concentration. On the contrary, it was fueling her strength and her speed, and enhancing her reflexes.
One swing of the axe almost crushed her chest.
“The law will deal with your kind?! Don't make me laugh! You escape the authorities at every turn!”
The Leader nearly bashed Tina's skull with one vertical strike. The clone quickly stepped to the side to avoid the blow.
Tina imagined a plan.
“Someone has to take things in hand to FINALLY get rid of your spawn!” the red-haired Leader shouted. “So that uniformed women can finally do their job in peace again!”
This time, when the cult leader brandished her axe, Tina didn't try to dodge. She came into contact. When the cult leader tried to hit her with her axe, she grabbed the handle of the weapon.
Tina used the Leader's own strength against her, and violently threw her on the floor.
The redhead yelped in pain. She had let go of the fireaxe, and Tina was now holding the weapon.
The Leader cowered and started to sob. “You monsters... You monsters... selfish horrid murderers...” she was muttering to herself.
Tina threw away the fireaxe and approached her defeated opponent. She looked at her with pity in her eyes.
“Sarah, it's over. Please surrender. I don't want to have to hurt you. Think of your husband, of your daughter.”
She realized her mistake too late.
The redhead's cries were fake. She had taken advantage of Tina's good nature.
In an inner pocket of her robe, the cult leader was hiding a knife. When Tina went within reach, she striked.
The clone barely dodged at the last time. The redhead wounded her in the arm. Because of the surprise, Tina lost balance and fell on her backside.
The Leader nimbly got up.
“Fool!”
However, she hadn't noticed that Aster and Bobbi were recovering from their own predicament.
The Leader approached Tina, who was trying to crawl backwards.
“I've never been able to know WHICH ONE OF YOU did this to me... But I know that if I go through EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, then I'll manage to get her eventually...” the Leader barked.
She raised her knife for the killing blow.
“Now!” Aster shouted.
“Uh?”
Bobbi's eyes were still hurting, but she was charging with Aster, and the latter was helping her finding her way.
The two women lunged together at the red-haired cult leader. Aster blocked the hand that was holding the knife, and Bobbi violently tackled her.
Still lying on the ground, Tina extended her legs. The cult leader tripped on them and fell on her back.
Aster and Bobbi pinned her to the floor and immobilized her.
The Leader thrashed and cursed, but all in vain. This time, she had lost.
“Good teamwork...” Aster commented. “Good teamwork...”
Tina smiled at her.
**************
In the main warehouse, the battle was over. All across the room, moaning guards and cultists were lying unconscious on the floor, with their mouths tape-gagged and their wrists and ankles zip-tied.
Klenia and Bridget chose to take the military fatigues of the two women who escorted them and manhandled them on the stage. Therefore, these two specific cultists had been stripped.
The first one had a tanned skin, medium-long brown hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a black bandeau bra with frilly red edges and a scarlet red string. For some reason, Libido was looking very satisfied to see her humiliated. When asked why, she simply answered: “I'm sure Sergeant Evans will know why. Besides, now she won't be able to hide any longer her true face to her colleagues.”
The second one was an attractive blonde with a fair skin and ice blue eyes. She was wearing a mulberry sports bra and magenta boyshorts. Felicia shook her head when the woman casted her a mean glare. “Look, Lieutenant, I'm sorry for the time I punched your lights out in the restrooms of the Space Center to steal your uniform, honestly. But I won't forgive you for going after my friend. And I defintively won't feel sorry for you because your kidnapping came back to bite you. You should have gone after me and faced me like a woman.”
Contrary to the other cultists, these two women were hogtied with ropes instead of just being bound. Their socks had been shoved into their mouths before their lips were sealed with tape.
The victorious infiltrators were walking across the room, making sure that all their opponents were immobilized.
Everyone cheered when Aster, Bobbi, and Tina returned with the captured cult leader. They had zip-tied the redhead's hands behind her back.
"For Aster, Bobbi, and Tina! Hip hip hip! Hurray!"
The Leader glared daggers at everyone.
“You think this is over?! My message is already spreading! Policewomen security guards, wardens, maids, janitresses, chauffeurs... Each woman you mug is another potential recruit! One day, you'll come across one of my followers! And she'll greet you with a gu-ffffmmmmhhhh!”
Bridget and Klenia shoved a rag into her mouth, then knotted a piece of cloth around her mouth and lower face.
“Apologies, but her rant was getting on my nerves.” Bridget commented. “I've had enough of psychos trying to kill me, and of their grand speeches of revenge.”
The cult leader thrashed and grunted muffled threats and insults in her gag.
Tina looked at the rabid redhead, and shook her head sadly. Soph and Marie were treating their sister's wounded arm. “Poor woman.” she commented. Sarah's eyes were burning with unbounded rage. The cult leader had crossed the point of no return. She would never overcome the blind hatred and the thirst of revenge that were now driving her life. Tina couldn't help but feel pity towards the redhead, and even more pity towards her family and her lover. Somewhere, a husband, a daughter and an entire family were still looking for Sarah, hoping for her return. But she was too far gone to care anymore. As the redhead said herself, Sarah was gone. There was only the Leader now.
“What do we do with her?” Posy finally asked.
“We should let the police deal with her.” Tina proposed.
“I admit that I'm tempted to give her some payback beforehand...” Bridget said.
“Uniform stealing-syle...” Klenia added while putting a hand on Bridget's shoulder.
Bobbi and Shayna nodded in approval. They certainly hadn't forgiven the cult for kidnapping their friend and their wife respectively.
“You'd better kill her instead of your traditional childish bondage humiliations.” Agria intervened from afar. “She'll never give up. She'll never forgive you. If you spare her, she'll come after you again. You should kill her before she can make a second attempt on your life.”
There was a short moment of silence.
“She has a way of killing the mood...” Bobbi finally commented.
“Yep...” Shayna agreed. “Even a uniform stealing-related revenge has lost its appeal now. Way to go, Agria...”
The special combattant glared daggers at them.
“I am tempted to be rooting for her.” the special combattant finally said.
They all ignored her.
“Let's just do what Tina said.” Aster concluded. “I'll call Hieron. Now that Klenia and Bridget are safe, we can have the police come here with their loud sirens and unsubtle approach.” She looked at the furious red-haired cult leader. “We will let them choose what to do with her.”
**************
They left Sarah trussed up and gagged in the middle of her defeated army of moaning unconscious women. Their last vision of the Leader was of her eyes burning with anger.
Posy and Angel insisted to pick up Shirley, Harmony, Melody, and Octavia before leaving the building. The others couldn't resist their pleading eyes. The four women were still sleeping, therefore they gently untied them from the chairs and carried them outside. They laid them inside one of the cars Aster's team used to come here, and covered them with blankets. Therefore, they wouldn't be found half-naked by the police.
Aster called Hieron to tell them about the four women, giving him instructions to treat them as state witnesses and not as criminals.
She and the other infiltrators also took the time to tell Hieron about the location of all the sentries they mugged outside of the warehouse, so that the police could release them. After all, most of the outer sentries weren't criminals, therefore they wanted to make sure they would be found as soon as possible.
Once they were done, Aster closed her phone.
“Hieron says he's glad you're safe Klenia. And also that you owe him a box of chocolates.”
Klenia chuckled. “I'll buy him two.”
“And one for me please!” Stasis exclaimed.
“You should all leave before the police arrives.” Cleo intervened. She looked at Tina's team. “Especially you eight. It will make things easier, and I don't think you want to be questioned by the authorities.”
“Yes indeed.”
“Agria and I will stay with Shirley and her friends until the police arrives, to make sure that they are safe.” Cleo added.
Aster nodded. “Thanks. We'll let you handle everything from here.”
Cleo smiled and waved good-bye at them. They waved back at her.
“By the way, they say you owe them one, since they willingly donated their clothes to help your friends rescue you.” the blond special combattant genially said to Bridget.
The latter smiled awkwardly.
Agria didn't bother looking at them when they left.
**************
The three teams of infiltrators gathered together for one final good-bye before they left.
“Well, I guess that this is the end of our little unexpected adventure together...” Aster commented. “I for sure appreciated a lot working with you!”
Her friends approved.
“The pleasure was shared.” Tina answered.
Bobbi and Felicia nodded.
“So, is this good-bye or is this farewell?” Shayna asked.
Bridget shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Yep. It'll probably depend on OUTSIDE forces.” Stasis commented while winking.
All was said.
It was finally time for the good-byes.
Shayna, Bobbi and Felicia embraced and gave each other fist-bumps.
Aster and Tina shook hands.
Posy and Angel hugged each other.
Klenia and Bridget pressed each other's shoulder. Being kidnapped together by a cult of crazy anti-uniform stealers tended to do bring people closer.
Many embraces were exchanged.
“We wish you the very best for the future.” Aster said in the name of all her teammates.
“Good luck, yes!” Bridget answered.
“Good luck to you too.” Tina said. “We still have a few things to do before we leave, so don't wait for us!”
The three groups of women parted ways.
**************
Bobbi, Felicia, and Bridget went to the car Bobbi 'borrowed' after an encounter with a very rude driver.
“You know, given how our adventures seem to NEVER go as planned, I'm glad that for once the unexpected event turned out in our favour.” Bobbi commented.
“And to think that you and Shayna almost jumped at each other's throat when you first met...” Felicia teased her.
“Talk about a bad first impression!” Bobbi couldn't help but admit.
“Though some beautiful friendships had a rocky beginning.” Bridget commented.
The black-haired woman nodded. “I wonder if we'll come across them again... I hope so.”
“Maybe. Who knows what the future is made of?”
They entered Bobbi's and Felicia's car.
Bobbi and Felicia noticed that there was something on Bridget's mind.
“You're feeling a little awkward because now you owe something to Harmony and Melody.” the redhead commented.
“Well... Yes.” Bridget admitted.
“I admit that I wasn't expecting to face THAT kind of opponents...” Bobbi commented, referring to the cult. “If all the women victims of uniform stealings start to join a crazy cult of psychos, we're screwed...”
The black-haired hadn't forgotten about Cleo's remark about how these women had a legitimate grievance, and about the difference between 'toughness' and 'callousness'. She hadn't forgotten about Posy's confrontation with Shirley, and about Agria's remarks of the bad fate that could befall on victims of uniform stealing. Nor had she forgotten about the raging madness of Sarah. It was making her think. Bobbi sighed. Well, she'd just have to add it to the list of all the other things she would have to deal with when she'd have to try to adjust with the recent changes in her life...
“I don't want to inflict long-lasting harm on people, but that tactic is just too good to renounce it...” Bridget commented. “I'm not doing it because I like dominating them. I'm doing it because it's efficient.”
“We'll figure out something.” Felicia said to lift their spirit. “If we need to. For now, what's important is we're safe and together.”
They drove away.
**************
Since they didn't want the members of the cult to escape, Tina and her sisters chose to briefly check all the sentries that had been mugged outside the building before the police would arrive, to make sure that they were all still bound and gagged. Indeed, while these women weren't members of the cult, they also had no idea that their employers were criminals, therefore they would most likely release them if they broke free before the authorities would find them.
Of course, in an ideal world, they would have explained everything to them. However, they didn't have the time to convince them of their honesty, especially since they and their allies had mugged all these women. Sure, it was to rescue their friends. But the sentries didn't know that.
Angel was the one who proposed the idea and, while she didn't say it explicitly, she was also regarding it as a good excuse to briefly check that all these women were fine. (Well, as fine as a bound-and-gagged woman could be.)
She arrived near three familiar figures.
“You're hanging in there?”
Cara and Marla were still sleeping. Osana was still vacantly staring in front of her, trying to process what happened. The redhead blinked, then shrugged.
Angel translated her shrug. I've already felt better, but it could've been worst I guess.
She gave her an encouraging smile.
“Don't worry. It's almost over. Police will soon take care of you.”
**************
Libido was supposed to watch their minibus with Stasis, but she couldn't resist the temptation to quickly go take a peak at two familiar bushes.
She had to know...
The clone held her breath and eavesdropped.
She smiled when she heard faint rustles coming from the two bushes in which two couples of trussed up sentries were hidden. She was sure to hear soft moans as well...
Libido blew a kiss in their direction. Enjoy yourselves, cuties. We've left a message about your predicament that the authorities will find, so they can rescue you... But you'll still have some time ahead of you to make the most of your situation...
**************
Stasis was waiting on her own near the sisters' minibus for her siblings to be done with whatever they were doing.
Everyone else was busy doing something. Even Libido, who was supposed to watch the vehicle with Stasis, found an excuse to go away and do her own thing.
“Well, I for sure am very content that this adventure is finished and that I can finally relax...” Stasis commented to herself.
She unwrapped a bag of crisps.
Then she froze when she heard the click of a gun.
“That's right... The fourth act 'à la Alien'...” Stasis commented to herself. “Dang it!”
She slowly turned around to face her foe during a post-climax confrontation.
**************
Amai had maybe a cute appearance, with her short chubby stature, her light brown wavy hair held by an orange kerchief and her chestnut eyes. However, she was also holding a nasty-looking handgun. Her uniform was a little messy, as if she had to slip it on in a hurry. One rope was actually still tied to her left wrist, and was dangling limply.
“Jerk! You thought you were done with me, right?” Amai barked.
Stasis sighed. “To tell you the truth, yes. You were one of the many one-note sentries here to provide us a set of clothes and we left you bound-and-gagged stashed somewhere. Your character archetype usually doesn't come back at the end of the story, except for a brief cameo to show you still bound-and-gagged.”
“Well, you shouldn't have made the mistake of binding me with ropes and of leaving my discarded uniform in the warehouse when you put on Midori's clothes!”
It was hard to look credible while making an evil laugh when one also had the cute chubby appearance that would suit more a clerk of a bakery store. However, Amai tried her best.
“Can we skip the exposition, please?” Stasis intervened. “I mean, your explanations would give more realism to the story, but they'd also break the pace.”
Amai stopped laughing. “Suit yourself. First, you will hand me your bag of crisps. Let's see if you appreciate getting a taste of your own medicine... You owe me one snack!”
Normally, Stasis would have been horrified to have to be forced to give her precious food.
However, this time, she smiled.
Amai frowned.
“Why aren't you scared? I have a gun!”
“Maybe because my seven angry sisters are about to jump you from behind to protect me?” Stasis said.
Amai paled.
“It's great to be so loved, don't you think?” Stasis commented.
Seven pairs of arms grabbed the chubby sentry.
“YEEEEEEEPPPPP!” Amai shrieked.
Since they bum-rushed her seven-to-one with absolutely no honour or dignity, the sisters chose to be merciful and to simply immobilize Amai instead of punching her lights out. Though they still took her uniform. First because they wanted to give her some kind of punishment after she threatened Stasis. And second because that simply was how infiltrators defeated sentries. Four of them held the sentry by a limb, and the three others removed the clothes. Stasis supervised.
Therefore, for the second time of the day, Amai was stripped down to her candy pink full-cup t-shirt bra and matching control briefs. Her wrists and ankles were bound with ropes.
The short chubby woman squirmed. Her complaints were muffled by her gag. The sisters had used Amai's own hair kerchief as a cleave-gag to prevent her from spitting the clean rag shoved into her mouth. (“I can't believe I didn't think of it the first time.” Stasis commented.)
“Do we have room for this one in the minibus?” Tina asked.
“Yes.” Soph answered. “Though we'll be a little crowded.”
Stasis smiled and looked at Amai. “Don't worry! Mama Stasis will sit you on her lap, and tell you the story of her best puns...”
“Stasis leave her alone.” Mag said.
There were just some things you didn't do, even to your worst enemy...
“Besides, I meant to transport her in a place where she'll be found by the police.” Tina added. “I don't want her to be left forgotten or, worst, to fall under the wrong hands.”
Stasis complained: “Oh! Can we bring her with us to Heartfelt City? I've gotten kind of attached to her...”
“Stasis, she's not a stray kitten.”
“Come on! I need another gag-villain for my side-adventures. Bianca's fine, but a rogue gallery with only one rogue is no fun! Why is it that only Tina gets the cool rogue gallery of supervillainesses? I want one too!”
“Stasis, don't throw a temper tantrum please.”
“Fine! I'll wait for the authors to decide then...”
“Come on, don't be mad. Tell you what. We'll order pizza. The bill's on me.” Tina said.
Stasis forgot about her complaints. She rubbed her hands together.
Foolish mistake... she thought to herself, ready to order the most expansive dishes.
BB grabbed Amai under her arm and carried her inside the vehicle, as if the senty weighted nothing. The eight sisters climbed into the minibus.
“Now gang, let's go!” Tina said, as if they were returning from a field trip.
Soph, Mag, Angel, Stasis, BB, Marie, and Libido all exchanged a glance. They grinned impishly.
“YES MOM!” Tina's eight sisters exclaimed. (Tinker said it in their earpieces.)
Tina's cheeks reddened slightly. “Come on! Don't call me that!”
She sat behind the wheel and all her sisters sat down.
“But sometimes, you DO act with us like a mother hen with her chicks...” Soph insisted to tease her.
“A bit like Aster with her team...” Marie added with the same teasing tone.
“Speaking of which, have you noticed how happy she was looking when Aster was complimenting her?” Mag said.
“Stop teasing me! I was just appreciating the compliments coming from another professional leader of an infiltrator team!” Tina retorted. She was bright red now.
She heard Tinker snicker in her earpiece. “Of course...” her sister joked.
“Not you too, Tink'! Please!”
She knew however that her sisters were NOT going to let that one go...
In the back seats of the minibus, Libido was thoughtfully looking through the window. She was thinking of the two couples of sentries in their bushes, and she knew that she was going to keep the bathroom to herself for a while once they'd be back home.
Stasis was loudly eating her crisps.
Angel helped Amai get more comfortable, reasoning that a woman whose idea of an 'evil action' was to force someone to give her a bag of crisps couldn't be that evil to begin with.
And BB was reading a book.
The sisters' mission didn't go the way they planned, but they certainly enjoyed this strange turn of event!
**************
In the Vigilantes' car, Amber was driving. Clover and Posy were sitting on the back seats.
The Vigilantes didn't live in the same town as Aster and her team. Therefore, they said good-bye to them, asked Mikani to kiss Zoé for them, and promised to come visit tomorrow. Then, they climbed into their own car.
“You seem more at peace with yourself.” Clover said to Posy.
The busty brunette smiled. “That's because I am.”
“That woman... The one we picked up with the three musicians... It was her, wasn't it?”
“It was Shirley, yes. I was able to talk to her.”
“Did she forgive you?”
“Of course not. But I told her that I was sorry. I think we have come to some sort of agreement. There was an understanding.”
Clover took her hand. “I'm so glad... Maybe it will help you recover...”
Behind her wheel, Amber smiled.
“It has already helped me recover.” Posy said.
She looked at the city through the window.
“Though I stand by my decision, Clover. I refuse to mug innocent people anymore.”
The black woman nodded. “I understand.”
“So it means that the Vigilantes are retiring?” Amber asked.
“In their current form, yes.” Clover answered. “Though I think we shouldn't see it as an end.”
“It's simply a new beginning.” Posy added.
**************
On the back seats of Aster's car, Shayna and Klenia were very busy snuggling and making out.
They wanted to celebrate their reunion.
Now, Aster and Mikani weren't prudes, and they understood that their friends needed to relieve the nervous tension and the worries of the past few days. However, they were hoping to be back home before the two lovers' clothes would start flying...
“You do remember that Zoé is waiting for us.” Mikani commented from the front passenger seat, referring to their adoptive daughter. “I'd prefer for you two to be decent when she sees you. And to still have your clothes on”
“No worries!” Shayna exclaimed between two passionate kisses. “I wouldn't want to...” She bit her lower lip to hold back a moan when Klenia sucked on her neck. Then she said: “I wouldn't want to traumatize her...”
“Besides, you should prepare yourselves.” Klenia added as Shayna was carressing her back under her clothes. “Soon, Zoé will be the one who brings a boy – or a girl – home.”
Mikani and Aster exchanged a look.
THAT was a threat they weren't ready to face yet! Not even with the help of two other teams of infiltrators!
**************
When Sarah Sandy Summers was still Sarah Sandy Summers, she used to have dreams. She used to have fears. She used to have people she loved.
However, she wasn't Sarah anymore. Now, she was the Leader. Now, she didn't have dreams, fears or loves. Her husband, her daughter and her family were now faint foggy figures in her mind. In their stead, she had a purpose. An end goal driving her entire life.
In four years, she came a long way. From a mere no-name receptionist to the leader of a secret group bent on the annihilation of a century-long practice. The feat was indeed impressive. Though to tell the truth, the Leader didn't have a lot of merit. She simply took advantage of existing structures.
Indeed, several associations had been created during the past few years by former victims of uniform stealings. They were support groups meant to help them cope with their ordeal. The two best-known ones had been founded by two friends called Macha Etaine and Hana Izani, and by a couple of women called Atsuko and Carolyn. The Leader became an active member of one of the lesser-known groups, and quickly became its leader until they were all under her influence. She avoided getting in contact with the big support groups, as she knew that strong-willed people such as their founders wouldn't want to follow her. She then used her own support group to recruit more and more members all across the countries.
However, the uniform stealers were unaware of one thing.
Outside of the core members of her cult, the Leader had other sympathizers. They weren't exactly dormant agents, more like people who believed in her cause and would be willing to give a hand to her if the need arised, even though they weren't actively working for her.
The policewoman seated next to the prisoner suddenly leant towards the Leader.
“Do not worry, my leader. We will find a way to break you out.” the policewoman whispered. “A warden of the jail where they'll send you before your trial is one of us.”
The Leader smiled.
It wasn't over.
**************
THE END
**************
Stasis was watching Claire's anime.
The red-haired amber-eyed bronzed-skinned protagonist was standing victorious.
“Ce-Acatl! You lost because you didn't believe in the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP! That was your mistake! With my FRIENDS by my side, I know that I will always prevail!”
“Man... I don't know if this anime is 'So Bad it's Good' or 'So Bad it's Terrible'...” the clone commented. “I mean, they turned the brooding loner with a tragic backstory into a girl-scout spouting 'power of friendship' speeches at every single turn... Talk about pure character assassination!”
Mag and Marie were too busy watching Libido to bother debating with her. Indeed, their sister had already tried twice to sneak inside the closet in which Claire, Molly, June, and Gabriella were locked to try to get an eyeful.
“That's the reason why you should read the books.” BB suddenly commented, as she and Shayna (now disguised) were arriving.
“I'd rather read the menu of a restaurant, thank you very much! I leave the books and poetry to you, sis'.”
BB indulgently rolled her eyes.
“Looks like we're the first.” Shayna commented.
“Placed equal first.” Felicia intervened, as she and Soph were also regrouping with everyone.
She had a little impish smile.
“So the 'restrooms plan' truly worked out?” Shayna increduously asked.
Soph nodded. “Yep! Like clockwork!”
“Had the situation not be so serious, I'd have taken the time to make a bet with you.” Felicia added to Shayna.
“What kind of self-respecting cultist goes to the restrooms in the middle of a grand ceremony?” Bobbi intervened, as she, Angel, Posy, and Cleo were also arriving. “Really, putting these losers out of commission is going to be a service we do to them, before they embarrass themselves any further.”
“I take it everything went without a hitch on your side as well?” Mag asked Angel.
“Things went a little differently than expected, but they ultimately turned out for the best.” the latter answered.
Angel and Posy exchanged a knowing look. They were smiling.
“Now, I'm glad to hear that!” Clover intervened.
Aster, Tina, Clover, Agria, and Amber were arriving as well.
Clover and Amber shared a look with Posy. They understood that something had happened, something positive. The three Vigilantes silently agreed that they would discuss it once Klenia and Bridget were safe and sound.
“Looks like you're last.” Bobbi remarked to Agria with a sly satisfied smile.
The special combattant glared daggers at her, but Aster and Tina walked in front of her to prevent her from speaking.
“Let's not waste any more time! Let's deal with this cult once and for all!” they both said together.
**************
They entered the main warehouse in small groups to not alert the people inside.
Since everyone's attention was focused on the leader, Klenia and Bridget who were all on the stage, nobody noticed their ploy.
The two infiltrators had been stripped down to their white underwear and were forced to stand in front of everyone. The crowd was revelling in their humiliation. They were getting an eyeful and shouting insults. Some of them were taking pictures, others were throwing balls of paper at them to humiliate them.
The masked leader was still rambling about the war she intended to wage on infiltrators everywhere. The rescue team was welcoming her speech, as it was allowing them to have enough time to set their plan into motion.
Klenia and Bridget were still standing proud and dignified, even if they were stripped, gagged, and with their hands tied behind their back.
Shayna gritted her teeth, Bobbi clenched her fists so tightly that her joints became white, Felicia bit her lower lip out of anger, and Mikani's glare became hate-filled. They however managed to control themselves in extremis. They exchanged a meaningful look.
Soon.
Aster and Tina sent the women of their extended group at different parts of the warehouse.
The different teams of disguised infiltrators discreetly deployed. The gathered cultists still didn't notice their ploy. They were too bloodthirsty, too overconfident, and too fixated on the sight of their masked leader and the two underwear-clad women.
The moment of the sacrifice was approaching. The crowd was feverish.
Aster, Mikani, Agria, Cleo, BB, Soph, Marie, Clover and Posy approached the women armed with machine guns that were watching the crowd. Most of them were also getting an eyeful of what was happening on the stage, therefore they didn't see the threat.
Amber went in the middle of the crowd. She was carrying the knock-out bas bomb disguised as a ball under her robe. The other members of Tina's team deployed in the crowd.
Shayna, Bobbi, and Felicia went near the stage itself.
Aster, Tina, and Felicia exchanged a look. They nodded.
Unaware of their silent exchange, the masked leader raised her arms to require the silence.
Mentally, the infiltrators counted the seconds.
The masked leader pulled out a dagger.
“Sisters!...”
Three.
“… The time has come...”
Two.
“… to give these monsters...”
One.
“… what they deserve!”
“NOW!” Aster, Felicia, and Tina shouted.
The masked leader was interrupted in the middle of her speech.
“WHO DARES?!” she bellowed.
The answer came in the form of simultaneous takedowns of the armed women posted at the corners of the warehouse to watch the crowd.
Agria, Cleo, and Mikani knocked out their respective guard with one nerve-pinch each.
BB used her glove. She grabbed the neck of her guard and gave her a vibrating shock that knocked her out.
Aster's guard heard the 'Bbbbbzzzzzttttttttt!' of her colleague and turned her head. Aster took advantage of her inattention to hit her exposed neck with one swift jab of the edge of her hand. A perfect neck-chop. The woman grunted and passed out.
Soph didn't bother with sophisticated neck-chops of gadgets. A few good old punches put her guard out of commission before she could even use her machine gun.
Marie used her pen once more, realizing that this was probably the most useful and less situational of her gadgets, to knock out her guard.
Clover and Posy worked together to neutralize the final armed guard. While the busty brunette was immobilizing her from behind, the black woman hit the side of her head with a clean jab that knocked her out instantly.
While the guards were simultaneously neutralized, at the same moment, Amber threw in the middle of the group of cultists the ball that the Vigilantes already used to put Zoe, Edwige and Gillian to sleep. She pressed a button of the remote and the ball released a thick white odorous smoke right at their faces. Eight women nearby coughed and staggered, with their eyes crying, and fell one after another on the floor. Deeply asleep, they started to snore.
Chaos erupted when the cultists saw their guards being taken out and the white smoke. They realized that infiltrators were among them.
The masked leader took a few steps back to put herself out of reach.
The two women wearing military fatigues that were on the stage with the leader moved to grab Klenia and Bridget. They were intending to use them as hostages. The first was hit in the face by a green ball that exploded, releasing a knock-out gas that put her out of commission, courtesy of Stasis. Mag caught the second one with her rope launcher and made her fall from the stage. One swift jab to the temple knocked her out cold.
Libido wrapped her whip around two cultists, actually binding them together face-to-face. When their bodies were pressed against each other, the women's mouths accidentally came into contact as if they were kissing each other. Libido grinned widly, as she saw that the two cultists couldn't help but blush when they realized their predicament. “Match made!” she commented before pressing the button releasing her gadget's knock-out gas to send them to slumberland. They fell on top of each other, theirs lips still in contact.
Half-a-dozen of cultists tried to regroup in another corner of the room to mount a counter-attack. However, a drone suddenly destroyed one of the warehouse's windows by crashing into it. Then, a swarm of robotic wasps, controlled by Tinker of course, flew inside the building and stang the group of women with darts filled with knock-out serums.
Tina was fighting a cultist who was probably a soldier in real life, as the woman clearly knew how to use the combat knife she was holding. The clone dodged several slashes, then hit the woman in the jaw with the palm of her right hand. She didn't put enough strength to break the woman's jaw, but enough to daze her. A roundhouse kick threw the woman on the floor. Before she could get up, Tina hit her on the forehead with her hand, right between the eyes, sending her to slumberland.
Another cultist, who was also probably a soldier in real life too, picked up a discarded machine gun. She tried to shoot Tina from behind, but Angel noticed her just in time. “No!” Without any hesitation, she raised her revolver and shot a paralyzing dart at the woman's neck. This time, no traumatic flashback distracted her. Her sister was in danger! The pain of the sting actually distracted the woman, preventing her from shooting. And when she finally recovered, it was too late. Her body was already paralyzed.
Two cultists, probably policewomen in real life, were actually carrying small handguns on them. When they saw that the infiltrators were getting the upper hand, they decided that they might as well take Bridget and Klenia (who were still on the stage) with them. They raised their handguns to shoot the two prisoners. Bobbi appeared suddenly behind them, grabbed each woman's head with one hand, and conked their heads together, knocking them out instantly.
A cultist who was a former gang member tried to shank the black-haired woman from behind. Shayna kicked the knife out of her hand. Then, a second kick in the stomach made the woman bend double and a punch to the temple sent her to slumberland.
Felicia grabbed by the shoulder the cultist who tried to assault Shayna while the latter was busy with her own opponent. A quick jab to the face put her out of commission.
The three women exchanged a determined look and a harsh smile of satisfaction. They saw an opening. They rushed to climb the stage and rescue the two prisoners.
Unfortunately, another cultist outran them. She was probably some kind of athlete or of sportswoman in her real life, as she managed to reach her destination before them. She climbed on the stage and drew a small pocket knife.
However, while Klenia's and Bridget's hands were tied, they were far from defenseless. Indeed, to be able to have them stand in open view, the cultists didn't bind their legs. A foolish mistake.
Klenia stomped on the cultist's left foot when the latter tried to grab her. The athlete shouted in pain: Contrary to the guards, she was not wearing thick shoes. Bridget took advantage of the woman's plight to violently hit her with her shoulder. The unfortunate cultist fell from the stage, right in Bobbi's and Shayna's hands. Needless to say, she was swiftly sent to slumberland.
While her two friends were dealing with the athletic cultist, Felicia climbed on the stage and cut the ropes binding Bridget's wrists. She was soon joined by Bobbi, who helped her free Bridget, and by Shayna who released Klenia.
“My heroine!” Klenia exclaimed once untied and ungagged.
She grabbed Shayna and gave her a passionate kiss, not caring about the fact that she was still in her undergarments, or that the battle was raging around them.
At the same time, a free Bridget embraced her two friends. “Girls, next time I insist on doing things solo, stop me from doing it... Restrain me with ropes if you have to...”
“Careful! It didn't fall on deaf ears!” Bobbi answered. Her joke was her way to release the tension. She was maybe a tough girl, but she couldn't hold back one tear of relief.
Felicia was laughing, also a way to ease the nervous tension.
“The leader's trying to flee!” Amber suddenly shouted.
Indeed, the masked woman was running through a small door.
However, most of the infiltrators were busy fighting the last remaining cultists.
“I'll go after her!” Aster exclaimed.
She ran after the masked leader while the battle inside the warehouse was still raging.
**************
Aster caught up with the leader of the cult in the part of the warehouse where the trucks used to be loaded and unloaded. Currently, the loading zone was of course empty.
The runaway realized that she could't escape her pursuer in time, even if she exited the building through its emergency door. She stopped running to face her enemy.
“It's no use!” Aster exclaimed. “Spare yourself a beating and give yourself up quietly!”
The leader had lost her mask during her flight and her hood had fallen.
The petty part of Aster's mind was tempted to think that the so-called 'glorious leader' didn't choose to wear a mask for nothing. That woman indeed didn't have a very charismatic face, with her prominent ears and her crooked nose. (She probably broke it at some point.) Her shoulder-long hair were stringy and red. Her eyes were plain brown. Her skin was light and there were a few freckles on her cheeks. The woman's body was tall and lanky, with a long neck, an oval-shaped face and absolutely no curves.
The red-haired woman smiled harshly. “Surrender? To you?” she mockingly commented.
She grabbed something under her robe.
Aster immediately sensed the danger and started to run around the leader.
The redhead pulled out a small handgun and started to shoot.
Aster managed to avoid being hit by the bullets by running in a circle around the woman without stopping. At the same time, she was approaching her enemy.
Once the redhead was within reach, Aster jumped her before she could shoot her point-blank and tackled her to the floor. With one hand, she grabbed the woman's hand that was holding the gun.
“I'm glad you chose the hard way.” Aster growled at the redhead she brought down to the ground.
The cult leader snarled like a trapped animal. However, she couldn't shoot Aster as the latter was blocking her hand.
Therefore, she shot next to her. More precisely, near her ear.
A gun bang was loud. Hearing a gun shoot next to one's ear was NOT a pleasant experience.
Aster groaned in pain and her grip loosened.
“You think you've caught me already?” the redhead barked.
The cult leader used her two feet to push Aster back, and got up. She took aim at the disoriented woman with her pistol. Aster was clutching her left ear with her two hands.
“Fool! You shall be the first to die!” the leader exclaimed.
However, she couldn't shoot at her.
A violent kick sent her handgun flying.
Bobbi was here.
“Just in the nick of time.” she commented.
The cult leader quickly put herself out of reach. She was quicker and more athletic than she looked.
“So. It looks like Baxter wasn't brave enough to come herself.” she snarled.
The black-haired woman smiled harshly. “She's putting some clothes on. We have plenty of choice between your dumb guards and your dumb cultists. Don't worry, once she's done she'll have a talk with you.”
The red-haired leader glared at her. The flames of hatred danced in her eyes with murderous zeal. “I know what you degenerates would like to do to me.”
Bobbi charged.
The redhead grabbed something in an inner pocket of her clothes.
Apparently, a loose-fitting robe was the perfect garment to conceal weapons.
As Bobbi was jumping her, the cult leader pulled out a small canister of pepper spray. She raised her weapon and sprayed the paralyzing gas at the black-haired infiltrator.
She managed to hit Bobbi in the eyes, but not quickly enough. The black-haired woman violently crashed into her and both women rolled on the floor.
The red-haired cult leader was the first to get up, as she didn't have pepper gas in the eyes. However, she had lost her canister of pepper spray in the scuffle.
Aster's ear was still ringing because of the gun shot. She had a hard time recovering.
“You stealers don't know what it's like! For you, we are merely a means to an end! You don't care about our names or our well-being! You don't care that you hurt us!” the cult leader barked at Bobbi and Aster. “You don't know what it's like to feel powerless! To be at the mercy of someone who could do ANYTHING to you! Who could KILL you if she feels like it!”
The redhead looked around, trying to locate her canister of pepper spray or her handgun.
“I was just a low-life nobody for HER!” she added. “A simple means to an end! She locked me in a small airtight closet! It was dark, and with each passing hour I could feel my oxygen supply dwindle! I almost DIED there! But then... then... I saw the light! I realized what my true purpose was!”
“What you lived... It doesn't give you the right to kill people... It doesn't give you the right to hurt our friends...” Bobbi retorted.
The redhead smiled when she saw the handgun.
“I have ALL the rights when it comes to KILL you!” the cult leader shouted. “You selfish little twats who hurt us just to get a good story! You monsters who hurt us for your selfish goals or your childhish amusement!”
She lunged to grab the weapon.
But another woman beated her to the draw and kicked the firearm away.
“Leave them alone!” Tina intervened.
The redhead stopped in her tracks and ran away.
However, she suddenly noticed an old fireaxe still hung on the wall near the exit. Before Tina could catch her, she ran and grabbed the improvised weapon.
She brandished the axe, and tried to hit Tina when the latter approached her.
The clone dodged by taking a few steps back.
The redhead caught sight of Bobbi, who was still recovering from the pepper gas, and moved to hit her with her axe.
Tina reflexively tried to find a way to distract her to prevent her from attacking Bobbi. She remembered the photographs and the locket what she saw in the office.
“Sarah Summers! It's over! Give yourself up!”
She was hoping that using the woman's name would distract her. And she was right.
“How do you know that name?” the cult leader asked, temporarily forgetting about Aster and Bobbi.
“My sister Tinker searched your file. Sarah Sandy Summers. Used to work as a receptionist. Your husband, your daughter, your parents... Even after four years, your entire family is still looking for you, Sarah.”
“Stop calling me that! Sarah Summers was a weak worthless woman! Living a worthless life, with worthless dreams and worthless ambitions! I am the Leader now! I am so much more!”
“It's over. Your cult's been defeated. There's no need for any more violence!” Tina exclaimed to try to make her give up. “I heard what you said. I know how you felt. You were alone, scared, and you thought that nobody would help you. You experienced true despair. True fear. Right?”
“How do you know?”
“I went through there. A crazy woman captured me. She injected me toxins to make me live my worst fears. She tried to break me. I know what you felt. But you can't take out your anger on everyone! There's only one woman who's responsible of what happened to you. And it's the job of the law to arrest her. There are infiltrators who make sure that their victims will be rescued in time. There are infiltrators who work to catch criminals or to make the world a better place. Not everyone is as callous as the woman who mugged you.”
The red-haired women frowned and briefly hesitated.
“So you know what it's like...” she muttered.
Her face then contorted with boundless anger and rage.
“And yet you're still on THEIR side?! You're still stealing OUR clothes?! You self-righteous twat! It only makes me want to KILL you more!”
She lunged at her, brandishing her axe.
Tina was forced to remain on the defensive and to dodge.
“There's no such thing as a good infiltrator! Only hypocrites who try to ease their conscience! You think the women you mug see a difference with your gentle approach?”
The redhead was enraged. Tina avoided several circular strikes that could have broken or cut her jaw.
“Catching criminals? Making the world a better place? Don't make me laugh! What do you call a woman who mugs innocent women for a scoop? Or a woman who assaults someone just because she wants to try her clothes? Criminals! Monsters!”
“You're oversimplifying their personalities and their actions. The world isn't black-and-white.” Tina retorted.
The clone couldn't see an opening. Contrary to most people, the Leader's raging anger was not disrupting her concentration. On the contrary, it was fueling her strength and her speed, and enhancing her reflexes.
One swing of the axe almost crushed her chest.
“The law will deal with your kind?! Don't make me laugh! You escape the authorities at every turn!”
The Leader nearly bashed Tina's skull with one vertical strike. The clone quickly stepped to the side to avoid the blow.
Tina imagined a plan.
“Someone has to take things in hand to FINALLY get rid of your spawn!” the red-haired Leader shouted. “So that uniformed women can finally do their job in peace again!”
This time, when the cult leader brandished her axe, Tina didn't try to dodge. She came into contact. When the cult leader tried to hit her with her axe, she grabbed the handle of the weapon.
Tina used the Leader's own strength against her, and violently threw her on the floor.
The redhead yelped in pain. She had let go of the fireaxe, and Tina was now holding the weapon.
The Leader cowered and started to sob. “You monsters... You monsters... selfish horrid murderers...” she was muttering to herself.
Tina threw away the fireaxe and approached her defeated opponent. She looked at her with pity in her eyes.
“Sarah, it's over. Please surrender. I don't want to have to hurt you. Think of your husband, of your daughter.”
She realized her mistake too late.
The redhead's cries were fake. She had taken advantage of Tina's good nature.
In an inner pocket of her robe, the cult leader was hiding a knife. When Tina went within reach, she striked.
The clone barely dodged at the last time. The redhead wounded her in the arm. Because of the surprise, Tina lost balance and fell on her backside.
The Leader nimbly got up.
“Fool!”
However, she hadn't noticed that Aster and Bobbi were recovering from their own predicament.
The Leader approached Tina, who was trying to crawl backwards.
“I've never been able to know WHICH ONE OF YOU did this to me... But I know that if I go through EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, then I'll manage to get her eventually...” the Leader barked.
She raised her knife for the killing blow.
“Now!” Aster shouted.
“Uh?”
Bobbi's eyes were still hurting, but she was charging with Aster, and the latter was helping her finding her way.
The two women lunged together at the red-haired cult leader. Aster blocked the hand that was holding the knife, and Bobbi violently tackled her.
Still lying on the ground, Tina extended her legs. The cult leader tripped on them and fell on her back.
Aster and Bobbi pinned her to the floor and immobilized her.
The Leader thrashed and cursed, but all in vain. This time, she had lost.
“Good teamwork...” Aster commented. “Good teamwork...”
Tina smiled at her.
**************
In the main warehouse, the battle was over. All across the room, moaning guards and cultists were lying unconscious on the floor, with their mouths tape-gagged and their wrists and ankles zip-tied.
Klenia and Bridget chose to take the military fatigues of the two women who escorted them and manhandled them on the stage. Therefore, these two specific cultists had been stripped.
The first one had a tanned skin, medium-long brown hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a black bandeau bra with frilly red edges and a scarlet red string. For some reason, Libido was looking very satisfied to see her humiliated. When asked why, she simply answered: “I'm sure Sergeant Evans will know why. Besides, now she won't be able to hide any longer her true face to her colleagues.”
The second one was an attractive blonde with a fair skin and ice blue eyes. She was wearing a mulberry sports bra and magenta boyshorts. Felicia shook her head when the woman casted her a mean glare. “Look, Lieutenant, I'm sorry for the time I punched your lights out in the restrooms of the Space Center to steal your uniform, honestly. But I won't forgive you for going after my friend. And I defintively won't feel sorry for you because your kidnapping came back to bite you. You should have gone after me and faced me like a woman.”
Contrary to the other cultists, these two women were hogtied with ropes instead of just being bound. Their socks had been shoved into their mouths before their lips were sealed with tape.
The victorious infiltrators were walking across the room, making sure that all their opponents were immobilized.
Everyone cheered when Aster, Bobbi, and Tina returned with the captured cult leader. They had zip-tied the redhead's hands behind her back.
"For Aster, Bobbi, and Tina! Hip hip hip! Hurray!"
The Leader glared daggers at everyone.
“You think this is over?! My message is already spreading! Policewomen security guards, wardens, maids, janitresses, chauffeurs... Each woman you mug is another potential recruit! One day, you'll come across one of my followers! And she'll greet you with a gu-ffffmmmmhhhh!”
Bridget and Klenia shoved a rag into her mouth, then knotted a piece of cloth around her mouth and lower face.
“Apologies, but her rant was getting on my nerves.” Bridget commented. “I've had enough of psychos trying to kill me, and of their grand speeches of revenge.”
The cult leader thrashed and grunted muffled threats and insults in her gag.
Tina looked at the rabid redhead, and shook her head sadly. Soph and Marie were treating their sister's wounded arm. “Poor woman.” she commented. Sarah's eyes were burning with unbounded rage. The cult leader had crossed the point of no return. She would never overcome the blind hatred and the thirst of revenge that were now driving her life. Tina couldn't help but feel pity towards the redhead, and even more pity towards her family and her lover. Somewhere, a husband, a daughter and an entire family were still looking for Sarah, hoping for her return. But she was too far gone to care anymore. As the redhead said herself, Sarah was gone. There was only the Leader now.
“What do we do with her?” Posy finally asked.
“We should let the police deal with her.” Tina proposed.
“I admit that I'm tempted to give her some payback beforehand...” Bridget said.
“Uniform stealing-syle...” Klenia added while putting a hand on Bridget's shoulder.
Bobbi and Shayna nodded in approval. They certainly hadn't forgiven the cult for kidnapping their friend and their wife respectively.
“You'd better kill her instead of your traditional childish bondage humiliations.” Agria intervened from afar. “She'll never give up. She'll never forgive you. If you spare her, she'll come after you again. You should kill her before she can make a second attempt on your life.”
There was a short moment of silence.
“She has a way of killing the mood...” Bobbi finally commented.
“Yep...” Shayna agreed. “Even a uniform stealing-related revenge has lost its appeal now. Way to go, Agria...”
The special combattant glared daggers at them.
“I am tempted to be rooting for her.” the special combattant finally said.
They all ignored her.
“Let's just do what Tina said.” Aster concluded. “I'll call Hieron. Now that Klenia and Bridget are safe, we can have the police come here with their loud sirens and unsubtle approach.” She looked at the furious red-haired cult leader. “We will let them choose what to do with her.”
**************
They left Sarah trussed up and gagged in the middle of her defeated army of moaning unconscious women. Their last vision of the Leader was of her eyes burning with anger.
Posy and Angel insisted to pick up Shirley, Harmony, Melody, and Octavia before leaving the building. The others couldn't resist their pleading eyes. The four women were still sleeping, therefore they gently untied them from the chairs and carried them outside. They laid them inside one of the cars Aster's team used to come here, and covered them with blankets. Therefore, they wouldn't be found half-naked by the police.
Aster called Hieron to tell them about the four women, giving him instructions to treat them as state witnesses and not as criminals.
She and the other infiltrators also took the time to tell Hieron about the location of all the sentries they mugged outside of the warehouse, so that the police could release them. After all, most of the outer sentries weren't criminals, therefore they wanted to make sure they would be found as soon as possible.
Once they were done, Aster closed her phone.
“Hieron says he's glad you're safe Klenia. And also that you owe him a box of chocolates.”
Klenia chuckled. “I'll buy him two.”
“And one for me please!” Stasis exclaimed.
“You should all leave before the police arrives.” Cleo intervened. She looked at Tina's team. “Especially you eight. It will make things easier, and I don't think you want to be questioned by the authorities.”
“Yes indeed.”
“Agria and I will stay with Shirley and her friends until the police arrives, to make sure that they are safe.” Cleo added.
Aster nodded. “Thanks. We'll let you handle everything from here.”
Cleo smiled and waved good-bye at them. They waved back at her.
“By the way, they say you owe them one, since they willingly donated their clothes to help your friends rescue you.” the blond special combattant genially said to Bridget.
The latter smiled awkwardly.
Agria didn't bother looking at them when they left.
**************
The three teams of infiltrators gathered together for one final good-bye before they left.
“Well, I guess that this is the end of our little unexpected adventure together...” Aster commented. “I for sure appreciated a lot working with you!”
Her friends approved.
“The pleasure was shared.” Tina answered.
Bobbi and Felicia nodded.
“So, is this good-bye or is this farewell?” Shayna asked.
Bridget shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Yep. It'll probably depend on OUTSIDE forces.” Stasis commented while winking.
All was said.
It was finally time for the good-byes.
Shayna, Bobbi and Felicia embraced and gave each other fist-bumps.
Aster and Tina shook hands.
Posy and Angel hugged each other.
Klenia and Bridget pressed each other's shoulder. Being kidnapped together by a cult of crazy anti-uniform stealers tended to do bring people closer.
Many embraces were exchanged.
“We wish you the very best for the future.” Aster said in the name of all her teammates.
“Good luck, yes!” Bridget answered.
“Good luck to you too.” Tina said. “We still have a few things to do before we leave, so don't wait for us!”
The three groups of women parted ways.
**************
Bobbi, Felicia, and Bridget went to the car Bobbi 'borrowed' after an encounter with a very rude driver.
“You know, given how our adventures seem to NEVER go as planned, I'm glad that for once the unexpected event turned out in our favour.” Bobbi commented.
“And to think that you and Shayna almost jumped at each other's throat when you first met...” Felicia teased her.
“Talk about a bad first impression!” Bobbi couldn't help but admit.
“Though some beautiful friendships had a rocky beginning.” Bridget commented.
The black-haired woman nodded. “I wonder if we'll come across them again... I hope so.”
“Maybe. Who knows what the future is made of?”
They entered Bobbi's and Felicia's car.
Bobbi and Felicia noticed that there was something on Bridget's mind.
“You're feeling a little awkward because now you owe something to Harmony and Melody.” the redhead commented.
“Well... Yes.” Bridget admitted.
“I admit that I wasn't expecting to face THAT kind of opponents...” Bobbi commented, referring to the cult. “If all the women victims of uniform stealings start to join a crazy cult of psychos, we're screwed...”
The black-haired hadn't forgotten about Cleo's remark about how these women had a legitimate grievance, and about the difference between 'toughness' and 'callousness'. She hadn't forgotten about Posy's confrontation with Shirley, and about Agria's remarks of the bad fate that could befall on victims of uniform stealing. Nor had she forgotten about the raging madness of Sarah. It was making her think. Bobbi sighed. Well, she'd just have to add it to the list of all the other things she would have to deal with when she'd have to try to adjust with the recent changes in her life...
“I don't want to inflict long-lasting harm on people, but that tactic is just too good to renounce it...” Bridget commented. “I'm not doing it because I like dominating them. I'm doing it because it's efficient.”
“We'll figure out something.” Felicia said to lift their spirit. “If we need to. For now, what's important is we're safe and together.”
They drove away.
**************
Since they didn't want the members of the cult to escape, Tina and her sisters chose to briefly check all the sentries that had been mugged outside the building before the police would arrive, to make sure that they were all still bound and gagged. Indeed, while these women weren't members of the cult, they also had no idea that their employers were criminals, therefore they would most likely release them if they broke free before the authorities would find them.
Of course, in an ideal world, they would have explained everything to them. However, they didn't have the time to convince them of their honesty, especially since they and their allies had mugged all these women. Sure, it was to rescue their friends. But the sentries didn't know that.
Angel was the one who proposed the idea and, while she didn't say it explicitly, she was also regarding it as a good excuse to briefly check that all these women were fine. (Well, as fine as a bound-and-gagged woman could be.)
She arrived near three familiar figures.
“You're hanging in there?”
Cara and Marla were still sleeping. Osana was still vacantly staring in front of her, trying to process what happened. The redhead blinked, then shrugged.
Angel translated her shrug. I've already felt better, but it could've been worst I guess.
She gave her an encouraging smile.
“Don't worry. It's almost over. Police will soon take care of you.”
**************
Libido was supposed to watch their minibus with Stasis, but she couldn't resist the temptation to quickly go take a peak at two familiar bushes.
She had to know...
The clone held her breath and eavesdropped.
She smiled when she heard faint rustles coming from the two bushes in which two couples of trussed up sentries were hidden. She was sure to hear soft moans as well...
Libido blew a kiss in their direction. Enjoy yourselves, cuties. We've left a message about your predicament that the authorities will find, so they can rescue you... But you'll still have some time ahead of you to make the most of your situation...
**************
Stasis was waiting on her own near the sisters' minibus for her siblings to be done with whatever they were doing.
Everyone else was busy doing something. Even Libido, who was supposed to watch the vehicle with Stasis, found an excuse to go away and do her own thing.
“Well, I for sure am very content that this adventure is finished and that I can finally relax...” Stasis commented to herself.
She unwrapped a bag of crisps.
Then she froze when she heard the click of a gun.
“That's right... The fourth act 'à la Alien'...” Stasis commented to herself. “Dang it!”
She slowly turned around to face her foe during a post-climax confrontation.
**************
Amai had maybe a cute appearance, with her short chubby stature, her light brown wavy hair held by an orange kerchief and her chestnut eyes. However, she was also holding a nasty-looking handgun. Her uniform was a little messy, as if she had to slip it on in a hurry. One rope was actually still tied to her left wrist, and was dangling limply.
“Jerk! You thought you were done with me, right?” Amai barked.
Stasis sighed. “To tell you the truth, yes. You were one of the many one-note sentries here to provide us a set of clothes and we left you bound-and-gagged stashed somewhere. Your character archetype usually doesn't come back at the end of the story, except for a brief cameo to show you still bound-and-gagged.”
“Well, you shouldn't have made the mistake of binding me with ropes and of leaving my discarded uniform in the warehouse when you put on Midori's clothes!”
It was hard to look credible while making an evil laugh when one also had the cute chubby appearance that would suit more a clerk of a bakery store. However, Amai tried her best.
“Can we skip the exposition, please?” Stasis intervened. “I mean, your explanations would give more realism to the story, but they'd also break the pace.”
Amai stopped laughing. “Suit yourself. First, you will hand me your bag of crisps. Let's see if you appreciate getting a taste of your own medicine... You owe me one snack!”
Normally, Stasis would have been horrified to have to be forced to give her precious food.
However, this time, she smiled.
Amai frowned.
“Why aren't you scared? I have a gun!”
“Maybe because my seven angry sisters are about to jump you from behind to protect me?” Stasis said.
Amai paled.
“It's great to be so loved, don't you think?” Stasis commented.
Seven pairs of arms grabbed the chubby sentry.
“YEEEEEEEPPPPP!” Amai shrieked.
Since they bum-rushed her seven-to-one with absolutely no honour or dignity, the sisters chose to be merciful and to simply immobilize Amai instead of punching her lights out. Though they still took her uniform. First because they wanted to give her some kind of punishment after she threatened Stasis. And second because that simply was how infiltrators defeated sentries. Four of them held the sentry by a limb, and the three others removed the clothes. Stasis supervised.
Therefore, for the second time of the day, Amai was stripped down to her candy pink full-cup t-shirt bra and matching control briefs. Her wrists and ankles were bound with ropes.
The short chubby woman squirmed. Her complaints were muffled by her gag. The sisters had used Amai's own hair kerchief as a cleave-gag to prevent her from spitting the clean rag shoved into her mouth. (“I can't believe I didn't think of it the first time.” Stasis commented.)
“Do we have room for this one in the minibus?” Tina asked.
“Yes.” Soph answered. “Though we'll be a little crowded.”
Stasis smiled and looked at Amai. “Don't worry! Mama Stasis will sit you on her lap, and tell you the story of her best puns...”
“Stasis leave her alone.” Mag said.
There were just some things you didn't do, even to your worst enemy...
“Besides, I meant to transport her in a place where she'll be found by the police.” Tina added. “I don't want her to be left forgotten or, worst, to fall under the wrong hands.”
Stasis complained: “Oh! Can we bring her with us to Heartfelt City? I've gotten kind of attached to her...”
“Stasis, she's not a stray kitten.”
“Come on! I need another gag-villain for my side-adventures. Bianca's fine, but a rogue gallery with only one rogue is no fun! Why is it that only Tina gets the cool rogue gallery of supervillainesses? I want one too!”
“Stasis, don't throw a temper tantrum please.”
“Fine! I'll wait for the authors to decide then...”
“Come on, don't be mad. Tell you what. We'll order pizza. The bill's on me.” Tina said.
Stasis forgot about her complaints. She rubbed her hands together.
Foolish mistake... she thought to herself, ready to order the most expansive dishes.
BB grabbed Amai under her arm and carried her inside the vehicle, as if the senty weighted nothing. The eight sisters climbed into the minibus.
“Now gang, let's go!” Tina said, as if they were returning from a field trip.
Soph, Mag, Angel, Stasis, BB, Marie, and Libido all exchanged a glance. They grinned impishly.
“YES MOM!” Tina's eight sisters exclaimed. (Tinker said it in their earpieces.)
Tina's cheeks reddened slightly. “Come on! Don't call me that!”
She sat behind the wheel and all her sisters sat down.
“But sometimes, you DO act with us like a mother hen with her chicks...” Soph insisted to tease her.
“A bit like Aster with her team...” Marie added with the same teasing tone.
“Speaking of which, have you noticed how happy she was looking when Aster was complimenting her?” Mag said.
“Stop teasing me! I was just appreciating the compliments coming from another professional leader of an infiltrator team!” Tina retorted. She was bright red now.
She heard Tinker snicker in her earpiece. “Of course...” her sister joked.
“Not you too, Tink'! Please!”
She knew however that her sisters were NOT going to let that one go...
In the back seats of the minibus, Libido was thoughtfully looking through the window. She was thinking of the two couples of sentries in their bushes, and she knew that she was going to keep the bathroom to herself for a while once they'd be back home.
Stasis was loudly eating her crisps.
Angel helped Amai get more comfortable, reasoning that a woman whose idea of an 'evil action' was to force someone to give her a bag of crisps couldn't be that evil to begin with.
And BB was reading a book.
The sisters' mission didn't go the way they planned, but they certainly enjoyed this strange turn of event!
**************
In the Vigilantes' car, Amber was driving. Clover and Posy were sitting on the back seats.
The Vigilantes didn't live in the same town as Aster and her team. Therefore, they said good-bye to them, asked Mikani to kiss Zoé for them, and promised to come visit tomorrow. Then, they climbed into their own car.
“You seem more at peace with yourself.” Clover said to Posy.
The busty brunette smiled. “That's because I am.”
“That woman... The one we picked up with the three musicians... It was her, wasn't it?”
“It was Shirley, yes. I was able to talk to her.”
“Did she forgive you?”
“Of course not. But I told her that I was sorry. I think we have come to some sort of agreement. There was an understanding.”
Clover took her hand. “I'm so glad... Maybe it will help you recover...”
Behind her wheel, Amber smiled.
“It has already helped me recover.” Posy said.
She looked at the city through the window.
“Though I stand by my decision, Clover. I refuse to mug innocent people anymore.”
The black woman nodded. “I understand.”
“So it means that the Vigilantes are retiring?” Amber asked.
“In their current form, yes.” Clover answered. “Though I think we shouldn't see it as an end.”
“It's simply a new beginning.” Posy added.
**************
On the back seats of Aster's car, Shayna and Klenia were very busy snuggling and making out.
They wanted to celebrate their reunion.
Now, Aster and Mikani weren't prudes, and they understood that their friends needed to relieve the nervous tension and the worries of the past few days. However, they were hoping to be back home before the two lovers' clothes would start flying...
“You do remember that Zoé is waiting for us.” Mikani commented from the front passenger seat, referring to their adoptive daughter. “I'd prefer for you two to be decent when she sees you. And to still have your clothes on”
“No worries!” Shayna exclaimed between two passionate kisses. “I wouldn't want to...” She bit her lower lip to hold back a moan when Klenia sucked on her neck. Then she said: “I wouldn't want to traumatize her...”
“Besides, you should prepare yourselves.” Klenia added as Shayna was carressing her back under her clothes. “Soon, Zoé will be the one who brings a boy – or a girl – home.”
Mikani and Aster exchanged a look.
THAT was a threat they weren't ready to face yet! Not even with the help of two other teams of infiltrators!
**************
When Sarah Sandy Summers was still Sarah Sandy Summers, she used to have dreams. She used to have fears. She used to have people she loved.
However, she wasn't Sarah anymore. Now, she was the Leader. Now, she didn't have dreams, fears or loves. Her husband, her daughter and her family were now faint foggy figures in her mind. In their stead, she had a purpose. An end goal driving her entire life.
In four years, she came a long way. From a mere no-name receptionist to the leader of a secret group bent on the annihilation of a century-long practice. The feat was indeed impressive. Though to tell the truth, the Leader didn't have a lot of merit. She simply took advantage of existing structures.
Indeed, several associations had been created during the past few years by former victims of uniform stealings. They were support groups meant to help them cope with their ordeal. The two best-known ones had been founded by two friends called Macha Etaine and Hana Izani, and by a couple of women called Atsuko and Carolyn. The Leader became an active member of one of the lesser-known groups, and quickly became its leader until they were all under her influence. She avoided getting in contact with the big support groups, as she knew that strong-willed people such as their founders wouldn't want to follow her. She then used her own support group to recruit more and more members all across the countries.
However, the uniform stealers were unaware of one thing.
Outside of the core members of her cult, the Leader had other sympathizers. They weren't exactly dormant agents, more like people who believed in her cause and would be willing to give a hand to her if the need arised, even though they weren't actively working for her.
The policewoman seated next to the prisoner suddenly leant towards the Leader.
“Do not worry, my leader. We will find a way to break you out.” the policewoman whispered. “A warden of the jail where they'll send you before your trial is one of us.”
The Leader smiled.
It wasn't over.
**************
THE END
-
Trackman281
- Posts: 1600
- Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:08 am
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
Oh sweet, part's three and four are live, heck yeah. 
Hahahaha, that opening though, good grief, indeed poor Charlotte shouldn't of eaten spicy food!
Very, very interesting concept of seeing Felicia and Soph being together in the same scene, I must admit i never thought about what would happen if those appeared together, but I am very grateful you chose this, because they certainly had an interesting conversation there, plus you captured both Soph's mental state perfectly as well as Felicia's concern for Bobbi. I really liked it, further proving that you really did dig deep into all these characters heads and mental state, honestly a very, VERY well done.
Plus Felicia is right, let the cultist have her moment first, as it's true what she said, there are some things an infiltrator should just never do haha.
Heck yeah, Heidi and Patricia, there scene was one of my favourite moments from,"To Steal A Spacesuit" so this is going to be awesome. Damn those two are evil.......I love it. 
...............Amazing takedown, the powerhouses all given these two a well deserved beating was truly a delight to see and yes indeed BB is certainly used to bad jokes, courtesy of Stasis, but that "Shocking" pun was VERY welcome.......hahaha, well played, well played indeed.
Bobbi and Shayna are just awesome characters they really are, there extremely awesome in their own respective worlds and seeing them together making awesome banter and worrying about their friends and loved one's really is a reminder of just how awesome these two infiltrators actually are. This entire scene really put a massive smile on my face. ...........Damn straight you should never hurt a uniform stealer's lover, because if they find out, my god they'll make you pay dearly, ......nice job as well with how Heidi and Patricia were bound and gagged in that position, that was cool, plus seeing BB as well have a little moment with Shayna was a nice touch, again another brilliant scene........I have no idea how you keep doing this, but it's awesome!
Here go, things are about to get real here aren't they now that Shirley has appeared for another round...........Definitely an eye opener of a scene here featuring Melody, Harmony, Octavia and Shirley, there dialogue was spot on and it's true what they said, if that punch had originally broken Harmony's jaw then who knows what would have happened to her career......Lot's of morally decisive moments happening in this scene, truly beautiful.
Beautiful scene their with Posy, her fear is very well placed and very genuine, she's not a killer, she doesn't hurt those who don't need it, I loved the way to portrayed her emotions and her reflection on everything, absolutely beautiful..........Cleo's neutral response is great, she isn't picking sides, just giving an observation, Bobbi's response was spot on too and fully understandable given the fact that this is Bridget that these cultists have prisoner, plus Angel would naturally support Posy as she knows full well what Posy is going through. Truly, truly a wonderful scene to behold.
Damn in truth even I wasn't expecting Cleo to suddenly do that, nice little twist there. ...............WOW!.......What a scene there with Posy and Shirley, that even had my eyes wide open with anticipation as I genuinely couldn't wait to see how that was going to go down, what a moving and breath taking scene..........Also the way you handled the aftermath of that scene was phenomenal, it was something unique and something different, these four women weren't evil, they had just literally gotten involved with a bad crowd, plus of how they were treated was great too, they weren't evil, they didn't want to do evil, so they didn't deserved to be punished, over all that was such an enjoyable scene and I truly TRULY hope that this brings some closure to Posy and she can have some peace of mind now.
Lovely little scene with there with Posy and Bobbi, it's nice seeing them exchange their thoughts and views, plus seeing them exchange their pasts with one another was really nice. Nice scene that follows too, naturally Agria could probably sense that Angel is a former killer because of those traits, her movements, her skills, things like this are hard to hide.....It was interesting though seeing how all these women would react to Agria being the way she is, another delightful little scene there. Plus it is as I said, I hope Posy can start her road to recovery now, she had earned it.........your pushing the boat out on this one.
Haha, I was wondering when we were going to get back to the other cultist, although something tells me, she won't see it as a downgrade or an upgrade as to how she was knocked out, I have a feeling she'll still wake up pretty angry and annoyed. Plus Soph is right, Felicia is certainly a resourceful woman, she is awesome!
You cheeky devil, .......It certainly has been a hell of a longtime since we've seen Tina's hypno blow pipe, it's only made that one appearance so far in her entire universe and yet you remembered it, well done, you really have gotten deep into the sister's lore and everything that's happened in their world. Honestly, amazing work, I'm genuinely surprised you remembered it.
Of course good old Phoebe gets a shout out, she seems to a neon goon that is highly remembered, hhmm I wonder why? ...........honestly though that scene was a hell of a throwback and it reminded me when I was just starting to ponder all the neat little gadgets that the sisters are known for to this day. I mean come on you even got the "Yes Mistress" line from the hypno darts original appearance, plus that scene with the hypnotized Kelly, was quite HOT I'm not going to lie. see now THAT's attention to detail, I both salute and bend to the knee to your writing skills.
Awesome follow up as well, Tina and her sisters had a lot to prove seeing as how they were the newest infiltrators of all the teams, so it's nice to see Tina try her hardest to impress the other infiltrator leaders, they'd have the most to prove because their rolling with absolute Veteran teams and masters of the infiltrator world.
Haha, I was wondering if Tinker was going to chip after that statement............Tina would naturally view these leaders of all these other infiltrators as opportunities to learn and be amazed by their own ways of handling situations, so Tina would of course naturally be both extremely pleased and excited to see Aster working her magic the good old fashioned way of infiltrating and showing her some new tricks of the trade.
Ah my god those six lab technicians hahaha, yes before you say anything, I actually do remember each and every single one of them, so many joyful scenes, it's nice to take a trip down memory lane, I like remembering these former victims, it shows just far everyone's come.
Good gravy!!!!!! That whiteboard, so many names of so many other infiltrators, these are the sort of things that Easter egg junkies like me look out for, so many little snippets and so many names, seriously WOW, you didn't hold back on the punches, literally EVERYONE is here........I might have to reconsider my views on this cult, the know everyone and I mean EVERYONE.......My god.......What else do they know..........SO AWESOME!!!!!! ....................Oh and nice work in getting Blinks real name on there too.
Hahaha, I remember Adelaide's dog, even remember commenting over how awesome that dog was, even if her dog only made a brief appearance hahaha......................This cult have been bust haven't they, especially if they know that Blinks only true weakness is that of her daughter, damn these are shaping up to be some real memorable villains.
So our main villainesses name has been revealed, interesting indeed and I can't wait to see what happens next........
BUT what am I saying, the next part is directly below me.........I'm not waiting......I'm too engrossed in this story to stop......I'M READING ON!
HAHAHA! Of course Stasis would be watching TV and of course naturally Libido would still be trying to get a peek at all those women bound and gagged in their underwear, she's just too horny the little minx haha. Good idea having Mag and Marie keep an eye on her though, with so many women bound gagged and wriggling around, that's just one massive slice of temptation cake that we know Libido would love to take a bite out of hahahaha.
Mmm, truly a sight to behold, seeing them all reuniting together again in that one room, with all of them having their own different interactions with characters either similar to one another or different from another, it truly is a scene that only someone with your abilities could write, absolute perfection in a bottle.
This is going to be great, you just know that Bobbi, Shayna, Felicia and Mikani are just going to go beast mode on these cultists, this is going to be awesome.
So many simultaneous takedowns in once scene, we may need to check the record book on this one, because I think you've just broke the record for the amount of guards knocked out simultaneously in one scene. That was incredible and so worth the wait!
Hahaha that should definitely be Libido's thing every time she whips two women together and they accidentally kiss she should shout something like that shouldn't see, like the true little cupid she see's herself as hahahaha!
WHOE! Now that was one hell of a battle, seeing all those cultists of all those different stories get their little cameo's was amazing, watching how all the different teams handled their opponents was outstanding, the sheer amount of detail is absolutely brilliant, everything here just screamed perfection, this was truly, TRULY worth the wait, watching battle unfold was mind blowing and just flat out awesome!
See Klenia reunited with Shayna and giving her a passionate kiss was really sweet and seeing Felicia and Bobbi freeing Bridget only made it sweeter, it felt really good seeing them freed and together again once more.
Well what are you waiting for Aster......God get the prize!
What a final stand off, it was just incredible watching the three toughest characters from their own worlds tackle and fight Sarah was absolutely stunning and got the adrenaline pumping with joy, I literally held my breath at one point over how awesome it was! Bobbi and Aster are simply awesome as per usual and Tina's ability to try and see and see the good in people still rains through, I liked the way she used her confrontations with Kuebiko as a jumping point for her conversation to try and make Sarah see reason, it was a nice touch, then come on I got to see Aster guiding and still semi blinded Bobbi as they got to lead a final charge against Sarah........Hell YEAH! That's how's it's done!!!!!
Sergeant Evans eh? Why doesn't that surprise me that, that vile and disgrace of a police officer was a part of this cult, it seems that her beat down by the hands of Blink wasn't enough to sway her from her evil ways, but this pleases me that it was her who not only got a second beat down but she was one of the two that got specifically stripped, maybe this time she'll learn..........Although with her, probably not.
The lieutenant who gave Felicia a mean glare brought back some fond memories, I remember that scene from Tirepanted's series very fondly indeed so it double pleases me that she is involved with this cult and has been brought back into the fray too.
Sarah is indeed too far gone now, it is a shame that this has happened to her, but she has become the Leader, there's no going back now, her mind is broken beyond all repair, she'll never learn though, she's doomed to make the mistakes over and over again........She is the definition of insanity.
I really liked Angel's and Posy's wanting and need to go back and retrieve Shirley, Harmony, Melody and Octavia. That of course is exactly what these two women would do, they'd naturally still fear for their safeties and naturally want to make sure they are safe, nice little scene thrown in there, it was very nice.
Good grief Stasis, let them have their moment, Tina will buy you a box of chocolates on the way home hahahaha!
Beautiful little goodbye's there from all three respected infiltrator teams and their leaders, wonderful indeed.
Now that was a lovely ending scene for Bridget, Bobbi and Felicia, seeing these three together really warms the heart, they are truly wonderful these three amazing ladies, indeed Bobbi still has a lot on her mind, but she'll get through it, she always does, I have a lot of confidence in her and I always will.
Now that sounds like Angel whole heartily, she would check on all the out sentries seeing as how they were technically naive and didn't know what was going on inside the actual buildings, heck yeah, that's Angel at her best.
Haha, of course Libido the forever horny one would naturally go and check to see how Rebecca, Linda, Luna and Margo were doing, she just wouldn't be able to resist and the face that she's heard.......Rustling and faint moans, would only make Libido realize, she's done her job proudly.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Oh my god that was just brilliant, I wasn't expecting that little post confrontation there between Stasis and Amai, honestly what surprise and for her to then be simply bum rushed and taken down by the sisters while Stasis watched triumphantly munching her bag of crisps, was nothing of absolute PERFECTION!
Seriously, wow Stasis held no punches there with the fourth wall breaking did she, do you ever get the feeling like sometimes Stasis is subtly hinting that she wants more of certain things hahahaha!
Honestly the sisters end scene was phenomenal, they all had their own amazing moments there.......Libido is definitely going to be hogging the shower when she gets back isn't she. ..........Stasis keeps on hinting about her lack of a rogue's gallery, hhhmmm we might have to do something about that won't we. ...........Angel being able to connect with Post whose going through the same type of pain that she's going through really was nice and hopefully both Angel and Posy can soon begin their road to recoveries.........Tina's joyfulness about getting some recognition from veteran infiltrator leaders was great, things can be so dark in the sisters world at times, that seeing them get these moments of sheer joy and happiness, really makes it all the more special.........I wonder what they'll do with dear old Amai, will she make it to Heartfelt City or will the sisters drop her of somewhere, ooohhh the choices. ...........Plus that is a very bad idea telling Stasis that you'll be the one who flips the bill on the pizza order, Tina's poor credit card hahahaha.
I agree, this is NOT the end of the vigilantes, oh no far from it, this is them just becoming a new and improved team, I can't wait to see what you have in store for this trio in the future!
Hahahaha! Oh god yes I don't think all the infiltrator teams in the world could prepare Mikani and Aster for......"The talk".......the talk about the birds, the bee's and the honey tree seeds hahahaha.
Nice round off though, it really was lovely seeing Shayna and Klenia back in each other's arms, there such a wonderful couple, so it's lovely seeing them reunited again as I say, that entire scene there was simply beautiful, it really was.
OH! Now that is is a cliff hanger at the end, a possibility for things to come, an idea, The Leader (Sarah) isn't done yet, her hatred and her will to continue will keep her going and judging by the ending, she maybe out of jail a lot sooner that what we may think.
Well......WOW! Talk about a masterpiece, this was simply one of THEE BEST things I'll ever read in my entire life, this was absolutely perfection, if I must say, you truly captured everything about Tina and her sisters........their mental states, their motives, their sisterhood, their own individualities, their gadgets, their quirks, their fears, their joys......EVERYTHING........I mean hell, you even managed to properly dig deep into their lore and make references to things in their world that hasn't been seen in such a long time, now THAT'S attention to detail.
Seeing so many characters on the screen sharing different scenes together and how they'd all react to one another was a dream come true, so many possibilities and so many outcomes, it was wonderful and I truly believe that you did all the characters from all the different worlds absolute JUSTICE. You did everything perfectly, everything was spot on and everything was crafted into perfection. Many, MANY thanks for this truly TRULY gem of a beautiful story, it was everything we could have wanted and more!!
Oh and before I finish this essay long review, I know Stasis would want me to answer straight away, otherwise I wouldn't hear the end of it.......my answer is YES, without a shadow of a doubt, YES........If you ever want to use The Sisters in anything ever again or if you do eventually want to do a sort of sequel to this epic story then heck yeah........You have my full permission to use the Sisters again for another adventure, if you ever so wish too. You know their mindsets, you have a great idea as to how they work, so yeah you have my full permission.
Hahahaha, that opening though, good grief, indeed poor Charlotte shouldn't of eaten spicy food!
Very, very interesting concept of seeing Felicia and Soph being together in the same scene, I must admit i never thought about what would happen if those appeared together, but I am very grateful you chose this, because they certainly had an interesting conversation there, plus you captured both Soph's mental state perfectly as well as Felicia's concern for Bobbi. I really liked it, further proving that you really did dig deep into all these characters heads and mental state, honestly a very, VERY well done.
Plus Felicia is right, let the cultist have her moment first, as it's true what she said, there are some things an infiltrator should just never do haha.
Heck yeah, Heidi and Patricia, there scene was one of my favourite moments from,"To Steal A Spacesuit" so this is going to be awesome.
Damn those two are evil.......I love it. ...............Amazing takedown, the powerhouses all given these two a well deserved beating was truly a delight to see and yes indeed BB is certainly used to bad jokes, courtesy of Stasis, but that "Shocking" pun was VERY welcome.......hahaha, well played, well played indeed. Bobbi and Shayna are just awesome characters they really are, there extremely awesome in their own respective worlds and seeing them together making awesome banter and worrying about their friends and loved one's really is a reminder of just how awesome these two infiltrators actually are. This entire scene really put a massive smile on my face.
...........Damn straight you should never hurt a uniform stealer's lover, because if they find out, my god they'll make you pay dearly, ......nice job as well with how Heidi and Patricia were bound and gagged in that position, that was cool, plus seeing BB as well have a little moment with Shayna was a nice touch, again another brilliant scene........I have no idea how you keep doing this, but it's awesome! Here go, things are about to get real here aren't they now that Shirley has appeared for another round...........Definitely an eye opener of a scene here featuring Melody, Harmony, Octavia and Shirley, there dialogue was spot on and it's true what they said, if that punch had originally broken Harmony's jaw then who knows what would have happened to her career......Lot's of morally decisive moments happening in this scene, truly beautiful.
Beautiful scene their with Posy, her fear is very well placed and very genuine, she's not a killer, she doesn't hurt those who don't need it, I loved the way to portrayed her emotions and her reflection on everything, absolutely beautiful..........Cleo's neutral response is great, she isn't picking sides, just giving an observation, Bobbi's response was spot on too and fully understandable given the fact that this is Bridget that these cultists have prisoner, plus Angel would naturally support Posy as she knows full well what Posy is going through. Truly, truly a wonderful scene to behold.
Damn in truth even I wasn't expecting Cleo to suddenly do that, nice little twist there.
...............WOW!.......What a scene there with Posy and Shirley, that even had my eyes wide open with anticipation as I genuinely couldn't wait to see how that was going to go down, what a moving and breath taking scene..........Also the way you handled the aftermath of that scene was phenomenal, it was something unique and something different, these four women weren't evil, they had just literally gotten involved with a bad crowd, plus of how they were treated was great too, they weren't evil, they didn't want to do evil, so they didn't deserved to be punished, over all that was such an enjoyable scene and I truly TRULY hope that this brings some closure to Posy and she can have some peace of mind now. Lovely little scene with there with Posy and Bobbi, it's nice seeing them exchange their thoughts and views, plus seeing them exchange their pasts with one another was really nice.
Nice scene that follows too, naturally Agria could probably sense that Angel is a former killer because of those traits, her movements, her skills, things like this are hard to hide.....It was interesting though seeing how all these women would react to Agria being the way she is, another delightful little scene there. Plus it is as I said, I hope Posy can start her road to recovery now, she had earned it.........your pushing the boat out on this one. Haha, I was wondering when we were going to get back to the other cultist, although something tells me, she won't see it as a downgrade or an upgrade as to how she was knocked out, I have a feeling she'll still wake up pretty angry and annoyed.
Plus Soph is right, Felicia is certainly a resourceful woman, she is awesome! You cheeky devil,
.......It certainly has been a hell of a longtime since we've seen Tina's hypno blow pipe, it's only made that one appearance so far in her entire universe and yet you remembered it, well done, you really have gotten deep into the sister's lore and everything that's happened in their world. Honestly, amazing work, I'm genuinely surprised you remembered it. Of course good old Phoebe gets a shout out, she seems to a neon goon that is highly remembered, hhmm I wonder why?
...........honestly though that scene was a hell of a throwback and it reminded me when I was just starting to ponder all the neat little gadgets that the sisters are known for to this day. I mean come on you even got the "Yes Mistress" line from the hypno darts original appearance, plus that scene with the hypnotized Kelly, was quite HOT I'm not going to lie. see now THAT's attention to detail, I both salute and bend to the knee to your writing skills. Awesome follow up as well, Tina and her sisters had a lot to prove seeing as how they were the newest infiltrators of all the teams, so it's nice to see Tina try her hardest to impress the other infiltrator leaders, they'd have the most to prove because their rolling with absolute Veteran teams and masters of the infiltrator world.
Haha, I was wondering if Tinker was going to chip after that statement.
...........Tina would naturally view these leaders of all these other infiltrators as opportunities to learn and be amazed by their own ways of handling situations, so Tina would of course naturally be both extremely pleased and excited to see Aster working her magic the good old fashioned way of infiltrating and showing her some new tricks of the trade. Ah my god those six lab technicians hahaha, yes before you say anything, I actually do remember each and every single one of them, so many joyful scenes, it's nice to take a trip down memory lane, I like remembering these former victims, it shows just far everyone's come.
Good gravy!!!!!! That whiteboard, so many names of so many other infiltrators, these are the sort of things that Easter egg junkies like me look out for, so many little snippets and so many names, seriously WOW, you didn't hold back on the punches, literally EVERYONE is here........I might have to reconsider my views on this cult, the know everyone and I mean EVERYONE.......My god.......What else do they know..........SO AWESOME!!!!!!
....................Oh and nice work in getting Blinks real name on there too. Hahaha, I remember Adelaide's dog, even remember commenting over how awesome that dog was, even if her dog only made a brief appearance hahaha.
.....................This cult have been bust haven't they, especially if they know that Blinks only true weakness is that of her daughter, damn these are shaping up to be some real memorable villains. So our main villainesses name has been revealed, interesting indeed and I can't wait to see what happens next........
BUT what am I saying, the next part is directly below me.........I'm not waiting......I'm too engrossed in this story to stop......I'M READING ON!
HAHAHA! Of course Stasis would be watching TV and of course naturally Libido would still be trying to get a peek at all those women bound and gagged in their underwear, she's just too horny the little minx haha.
Good idea having Mag and Marie keep an eye on her though, with so many women bound gagged and wriggling around, that's just one massive slice of temptation cake that we know Libido would love to take a bite out of hahahaha. Mmm, truly a sight to behold, seeing them all reuniting together again in that one room, with all of them having their own different interactions with characters either similar to one another or different from another, it truly is a scene that only someone with your abilities could write, absolute perfection in a bottle.
This is going to be great, you just know that Bobbi, Shayna, Felicia and Mikani are just going to go beast mode on these cultists, this is going to be awesome.
So many simultaneous takedowns in once scene, we may need to check the record book on this one, because I think you've just broke the record for the amount of guards knocked out simultaneously in one scene. That was incredible and so worth the wait!
Hahaha that should definitely be Libido's thing every time she whips two women together and they accidentally kiss she should shout something like that shouldn't see, like the true little cupid she see's herself as hahahaha!
WHOE! Now that was one hell of a battle, seeing all those cultists of all those different stories get their little cameo's was amazing, watching how all the different teams handled their opponents was outstanding, the sheer amount of detail is absolutely brilliant, everything here just screamed perfection, this was truly, TRULY worth the wait, watching battle unfold was mind blowing and just flat out awesome!
See Klenia reunited with Shayna and giving her a passionate kiss was really sweet and seeing Felicia and Bobbi freeing Bridget only made it sweeter, it felt really good seeing them freed and together again once more.
Well what are you waiting for Aster......God get the prize!
What a final stand off, it was just incredible watching the three toughest characters from their own worlds tackle and fight Sarah was absolutely stunning and got the adrenaline pumping with joy, I literally held my breath at one point over how awesome it was! Bobbi and Aster are simply awesome as per usual and Tina's ability to try and see and see the good in people still rains through, I liked the way she used her confrontations with Kuebiko as a jumping point for her conversation to try and make Sarah see reason, it was a nice touch, then come on I got to see Aster guiding and still semi blinded Bobbi as they got to lead a final charge against Sarah........Hell YEAH! That's how's it's done!!!!!
Sergeant Evans eh? Why doesn't that surprise me that, that vile and disgrace of a police officer was a part of this cult, it seems that her beat down by the hands of Blink wasn't enough to sway her from her evil ways, but this pleases me that it was her who not only got a second beat down but she was one of the two that got specifically stripped, maybe this time she'll learn..........Although with her, probably not.
The lieutenant who gave Felicia a mean glare brought back some fond memories, I remember that scene from Tirepanted's series very fondly indeed so it double pleases me that she is involved with this cult and has been brought back into the fray too.
Sarah is indeed too far gone now, it is a shame that this has happened to her, but she has become the Leader, there's no going back now, her mind is broken beyond all repair, she'll never learn though, she's doomed to make the mistakes over and over again........She is the definition of insanity.
I really liked Angel's and Posy's wanting and need to go back and retrieve Shirley, Harmony, Melody and Octavia. That of course is exactly what these two women would do, they'd naturally still fear for their safeties and naturally want to make sure they are safe, nice little scene thrown in there, it was very nice.
Good grief Stasis, let them have their moment, Tina will buy you a box of chocolates on the way home hahahaha!
Beautiful little goodbye's there from all three respected infiltrator teams and their leaders, wonderful indeed.
Now that was a lovely ending scene for Bridget, Bobbi and Felicia, seeing these three together really warms the heart, they are truly wonderful these three amazing ladies, indeed Bobbi still has a lot on her mind, but she'll get through it, she always does, I have a lot of confidence in her and I always will.
Now that sounds like Angel whole heartily, she would check on all the out sentries seeing as how they were technically naive and didn't know what was going on inside the actual buildings, heck yeah, that's Angel at her best.
Haha, of course Libido the forever horny one would naturally go and check to see how Rebecca, Linda, Luna and Margo were doing, she just wouldn't be able to resist and the face that she's heard.......Rustling and faint moans, would only make Libido realize, she's done her job proudly.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Oh my god that was just brilliant, I wasn't expecting that little post confrontation there between Stasis and Amai, honestly what surprise and for her to then be simply bum rushed and taken down by the sisters while Stasis watched triumphantly munching her bag of crisps, was nothing of absolute PERFECTION!
Seriously, wow Stasis held no punches there with the fourth wall breaking did she, do you ever get the feeling like sometimes Stasis is subtly hinting that she wants more of certain things hahahaha!
Honestly the sisters end scene was phenomenal, they all had their own amazing moments there.......Libido is definitely going to be hogging the shower when she gets back isn't she.
..........Stasis keeps on hinting about her lack of a rogue's gallery, hhhmmm we might have to do something about that won't we. ...........Angel being able to connect with Post whose going through the same type of pain that she's going through really was nice and hopefully both Angel and Posy can soon begin their road to recoveries.........Tina's joyfulness about getting some recognition from veteran infiltrator leaders was great, things can be so dark in the sisters world at times, that seeing them get these moments of sheer joy and happiness, really makes it all the more special.........I wonder what they'll do with dear old Amai, will she make it to Heartfelt City or will the sisters drop her of somewhere, ooohhh the choices. ...........Plus that is a very bad idea telling Stasis that you'll be the one who flips the bill on the pizza order, Tina's poor credit card hahahaha. I agree, this is NOT the end of the vigilantes, oh no far from it, this is them just becoming a new and improved team, I can't wait to see what you have in store for this trio in the future!
Hahahaha! Oh god yes I don't think all the infiltrator teams in the world could prepare Mikani and Aster for......"The talk".......the talk about the birds, the bee's and the honey tree seeds hahahaha.
Nice round off though, it really was lovely seeing Shayna and Klenia back in each other's arms, there such a wonderful couple, so it's lovely seeing them reunited again as I say, that entire scene there was simply beautiful, it really was.
OH! Now that is is a cliff hanger at the end, a possibility for things to come, an idea, The Leader (Sarah) isn't done yet, her hatred and her will to continue will keep her going and judging by the ending, she maybe out of jail a lot sooner that what we may think.
Well......WOW! Talk about a masterpiece, this was simply one of THEE BEST things I'll ever read in my entire life, this was absolutely perfection, if I must say, you truly captured everything about Tina and her sisters........their mental states, their motives, their sisterhood, their own individualities, their gadgets, their quirks, their fears, their joys......EVERYTHING........I mean hell, you even managed to properly dig deep into their lore and make references to things in their world that hasn't been seen in such a long time, now THAT'S attention to detail.
Seeing so many characters on the screen sharing different scenes together and how they'd all react to one another was a dream come true, so many possibilities and so many outcomes, it was wonderful and I truly believe that you did all the characters from all the different worlds absolute JUSTICE. You did everything perfectly, everything was spot on and everything was crafted into perfection. Many, MANY thanks for this truly TRULY gem of a beautiful story, it was everything we could have wanted and more!!
Oh and before I finish this essay long review, I know Stasis would want me to answer straight away, otherwise I wouldn't hear the end of it.......my answer is YES, without a shadow of a doubt, YES........If you ever want to use The Sisters in anything ever again or if you do eventually want to do a sort of sequel to this epic story then heck yeah........You have my full permission to use the Sisters again for another adventure, if you ever so wish too. You know their mindsets, you have a great idea as to how they work, so yeah you have my full permission.
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esercito sconfitto
- Posts: 7148
- Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:06 pm
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
really enjoyable concept, the melding of three "USB " universes into one ( or maybe just a "comic book intercompany crossover"? ) ...after taking note of the fact that the victims of uniform stealing scenario's created a Cult , the next step and response of the now assembled main protagonists will be the birth of a Church of Uniform Stealers... 
I appreciated especially Libido. but all the other characters are well presented ... Chapeau! the whole thing is a surprising turning point!
I appreciated especially Libido. but all the other characters are well presented ... Chapeau! the whole thing is a surprising turning point!
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rufusluciusivan
- Posts: 1228
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
To Trackmann:
Thanks a lot for all your detailed reviews! And thank you for your compliments at the end. I'm glad I nailed down their personalities, though I admit that I didn't have much merit: you described them pretty well in your stories. (I duly make note of your permission. Who knows, if the inspiration comes back one day? I certainly wasn't expecting to get THAT motivated by this little project! Writing your characters is a ton of fun: they have colourful personalities that allow for great banters and funny scenes. Plus, I can feature character interactions and most importantly takedowns with gadgets that I can't really feature with my own characters.)
As for the story...
I couldn't feature as much interactions between different characters as I would have wanted, because I also wanted to keep this a short side-project, hence why there weren't many 'more original' interactions such as between Soph and Felicia, BB and Shayna, or Bobbi and Angel, but it was nice to feature some. I had ideas for the basics (Posy/Bobbi, Shayna/Bobbi and Felicia, Aster/Tina, Angel/Posy, Angel/Agria...), and for some interactions with sentries (Amai/Stasis, and of course Libido being the perfect mugger for Luna and Margo to give a few instances). Therefore, I focused on them.
Being able to bring back some favorite USB-victims of mine (from my stories and from other stories such as Cara and Marla, Rebecca and Linda, Heidi and Patricia, or Octavia, Harmony, and Melody, Evans just to have her receive another good pummeling) was certainly a dream come true. You seem to have recognized a lot of them, well-done. Once of this story's 'game' will indeed be to locate the story and series in which each of these damsels appear. Some of them indeed come from old stories. The lieutenant and the six cultists-technicians are all actually from some of the very first stories of their respective series.
Couldn't feature as many Easter Eggs as I wanted, but I was glad to be able to sneak in this little notice board. Plus, Macha, Hana, Carolyn and Atsuko are referenced at some point.
The hypno blow pipe indeed had not been used for a long time. Hence why I insisted on its return here. I guess it helped the scene make quite the impression. A bit of a memory trigger...
After three parts of build-up, with sentries, guards and cultists being discreetly neutralized one after the other, it certainly was a delight for me while writing to end the story with a huge full-on battle, especially when I came up for one thing for each character to do. (Libido's detail being of course a favorite.) Glad you foud the battle satisfying as well!
The final fight with Sarah was a little challenging, in the sense that she had to look like a credible threat while having to face some of the best uniform stealers out there. She's not a combattant by training, so she compensates by her resourcefulness and by fighting dirty. I really enjoyed the conclusion of the fight, with the three characters working together to defeat their foe. Tina trying to reason with her felt like a logical decision, especially since there's this whole tragedy around her character. (Given your comments, I suspected that Tina would be sensible to the fact that Sarah used to be married, and her disappearance hit hard her lover and her family.)
The good bye scenes were the hardest to write. I just couldn't find good interactions that wouldn't sound generic, hence why they're shorter than I would have wanted them to be! Adding little details such as Posy and Angel insisting to pick up Shirley, Octavia, Melody and Harmony, the sisters going to check on all the sentries both to make sure that they're still fine (and that they don't break free before the police can arrive to explain the situation ), Libido who's not able to resist getting on sneak peak at how her lovebirds are doing... All of these are details I loved adding.
I tried to give a little conclusive epilogue to each team of infiltrators. I almost regret having done it that way with the Vigilantes... because now what Epilogue will I be able to use in their own story?! OOPS! Writing the one for the sisters was enjoyable. (Poor Tina who's teased by her sisters... ) Though the one with Aster's team was my favorite. Indeed, Zoé's a teenager now... Her adoptive mothers will have to face their most dangerous threat ever! The first loves of their adoptive daughter!
As for the characters...
I guess that in a way, this project was a focus on Shayna as far as my characters are concerned. Indeed, you never hurt the lover of a uniform stealer! Going back to my earlier stories, with the experience that I now have, my main regret would probably that I wished I insisted more on and gave more details to the birth of their relationship.
Posy's character development is the part of the story I'll consider canon . Just imagine that it happened in slightly different circumstances with different companions. (Though Bobbi and Angel were the perfect companions to accompany that specific development.) I enjoyed a lot writing the part revolving around Shriley, Octavia, Melody, and Harmony, especially since it allowed me to address once more the moral questions surrounding uniform stealings, something I really enjoyed exploring lately (with Posy's character arc, but also by reading other stories such as with Angel's subplot or in with Carolyn's parts in Sisters in Arms; and I'm still hoping to see these thematics being one day explored with Bobbi and/or Bridget one day ).
Though the scene with Shirley, Octavia, Melody, and Harmony is also the one that shows that this story has a very optimistic tone. All things considered, things turned out to have the best possible outcome. Still, it gives this scene its own identity, as the 'uniform stealing' part is very different from usual.
While Bobbi is tirepanted's character that I wanted to write the most, I didn't want to have Felicia completely left out, hence why I added little details here and there for her (the comment on her resourcefulness, the brief mention of her tempted to make a bet, her brief interaction with the Lieutnant...).
Ultimately, Tina and Aster didn't interact as much as I'd have wanted. I couldn't find that many good lines, so I kept it concise and efficient.
The identity of the Leader of the cult was the most difficult part of this story. At the very beginning, she was supposed to be a gag. (At first, this story was supposed to be a lot lighter and end on an April's Fools and the reveal of her identity was a huge joke. However, the more I kept writing Angel's and Posy's subplots, the more I realized I wouldn't be able to keep it completely comical. While the enemies aren't the most realistic group out there, the character interactions were too serious for the story to just be a gag.) Then, I thought she would be a no-name: a woman with a generic description whose identity isn't revealed, making each character wonder if she's one of her victim. (This would even have been meta, in the sense that even the readers would have been left wondering if she was - just like everyone else - a returning victim from another story or an original character.) Ultimately, to make the final confrontation more impactful, I chose to give her a clear-cut name and backstory. And while I enjoy her tragic villain appeal, I'm ultimately not entirely satisfied with her, as I couldn't keep that ambiguity of wether she was or not a victim of one of the characters.
Will Amai make it to Heartfelt City? I don't think the sisters would bring her here themselves: it would be a kidnapping, and Tina and Angel wouldn't agree with it. (Though there's the possibility that they are so engrossed with their victory celebration that they forget about her. I can picture the: 'Yeah, we're home! Oops we forgot to leave Amai at the police station. Dang it!') Now, more seriously, I don't think that anything could prevent her from going to Hearfelt City once she's been rescued by the police to try to have her revenge. That's the advantage of being a minor side character: you can jump worlds and stories without risking to destroy the fabric of reality. To quote Stasis, I guess it depends on the authors now. It will depend on her comedic potential...
To esercito sconfitto:
After almost three years of writing (from my part), things are coming full-circle with this crossover, aren't they? A way to celebrate the vitality of the story section, in a way, and to celebrate as my 'big series' are slowly but gently getting their arcs resolved.
The Church of Uniform Stealers. We now need the Ten Commandements of the Uniform Stealing Board.
Libido is certainly one of the characters that has the potential to bring the hottest scenes.
Thanks for your compliments!
Thanks a lot for all your detailed reviews! And thank you for your compliments at the end. I'm glad I nailed down their personalities, though I admit that I didn't have much merit: you described them pretty well in your stories. (I duly make note of your permission. Who knows, if the inspiration comes back one day? I certainly wasn't expecting to get THAT motivated by this little project! Writing your characters is a ton of fun: they have colourful personalities that allow for great banters and funny scenes. Plus, I can feature character interactions and most importantly takedowns with gadgets that I can't really feature with my own characters.)
As for the story...
I couldn't feature as much interactions between different characters as I would have wanted, because I also wanted to keep this a short side-project, hence why there weren't many 'more original' interactions such as between Soph and Felicia, BB and Shayna, or Bobbi and Angel, but it was nice to feature some. I had ideas for the basics (Posy/Bobbi, Shayna/Bobbi and Felicia, Aster/Tina, Angel/Posy, Angel/Agria...), and for some interactions with sentries (Amai/Stasis, and of course Libido being the perfect mugger for Luna and Margo to give a few instances). Therefore, I focused on them.
Being able to bring back some favorite USB-victims of mine (from my stories and from other stories such as Cara and Marla, Rebecca and Linda, Heidi and Patricia, or Octavia, Harmony, and Melody, Evans just to have her receive another good pummeling) was certainly a dream come true. You seem to have recognized a lot of them, well-done.
Once of this story's 'game' will indeed be to locate the story and series in which each of these damsels appear. Some of them indeed come from old stories. The lieutenant and the six cultists-technicians are all actually from some of the very first stories of their respective series.Couldn't feature as many Easter Eggs as I wanted, but I was glad to be able to sneak in this little notice board. Plus, Macha, Hana, Carolyn and Atsuko are referenced at some point.
The hypno blow pipe indeed had not been used for a long time. Hence why I insisted on its return here.
I guess it helped the scene make quite the impression. A bit of a memory trigger...After three parts of build-up, with sentries, guards and cultists being discreetly neutralized one after the other, it certainly was a delight for me while writing to end the story with a huge full-on battle, especially when I came up for one thing for each character to do. (Libido's detail being of course a favorite.) Glad you foud the battle satisfying as well!
The final fight with Sarah was a little challenging, in the sense that she had to look like a credible threat while having to face some of the best uniform stealers out there. She's not a combattant by training, so she compensates by her resourcefulness and by fighting dirty. I really enjoyed the conclusion of the fight, with the three characters working together to defeat their foe. Tina trying to reason with her felt like a logical decision, especially since there's this whole tragedy around her character. (Given your comments, I suspected that Tina would be sensible to the fact that Sarah used to be married, and her disappearance hit hard her lover and her family.)
The good bye scenes were the hardest to write. I just couldn't find good interactions that wouldn't sound generic, hence why they're shorter than I would have wanted them to be! Adding little details such as Posy and Angel insisting to pick up Shirley, Octavia, Melody and Harmony, the sisters going to check on all the sentries both to make sure that they're still fine (and that they don't break free before the police can arrive to explain the situation
), Libido who's not able to resist getting on sneak peak at how her lovebirds are doing... All of these are details I loved adding.I tried to give a little conclusive epilogue to each team of infiltrators. I almost regret having done it that way with the Vigilantes... because now what Epilogue will I be able to use in their own story?! OOPS!
Writing the one for the sisters was enjoyable. (Poor Tina who's teased by her sisters... ) Though the one with Aster's team was my favorite. Indeed, Zoé's a teenager now... Her adoptive mothers will have to face their most dangerous threat ever! The first loves of their adoptive daughter!As for the characters...
I guess that in a way, this project was a focus on Shayna as far as my characters are concerned. Indeed, you never hurt the lover of a uniform stealer! Going back to my earlier stories, with the experience that I now have, my main regret would probably that I wished I insisted more on and gave more details to the birth of their relationship.
Posy's character development is the part of the story I'll consider canon
. Just imagine that it happened in slightly different circumstances with different companions. (Though Bobbi and Angel were the perfect companions to accompany that specific development.) I enjoyed a lot writing the part revolving around Shriley, Octavia, Melody, and Harmony, especially since it allowed me to address once more the moral questions surrounding uniform stealings, something I really enjoyed exploring lately (with Posy's character arc, but also by reading other stories such as with Angel's subplot or in with Carolyn's parts in Sisters in Arms; and I'm still hoping to see these thematics being one day explored with Bobbi and/or Bridget one day ). Though the scene with Shirley, Octavia, Melody, and Harmony is also the one that shows that this story has a very optimistic tone. All things considered, things turned out to have the best possible outcome. Still, it gives this scene its own identity, as the 'uniform stealing' part is very different from usual.
While Bobbi is tirepanted's character that I wanted to write the most, I didn't want to have Felicia completely left out, hence why I added little details here and there for her (the comment on her resourcefulness, the brief mention of her tempted to make a bet, her brief interaction with the Lieutnant...).
Ultimately, Tina and Aster didn't interact as much as I'd have wanted. I couldn't find that many good lines, so I kept it concise and efficient.
The identity of the Leader of the cult was the most difficult part of this story. At the very beginning, she was supposed to be a gag. (At first, this story was supposed to be a lot lighter and end on an April's Fools and the reveal of her identity was a huge joke. However, the more I kept writing Angel's and Posy's subplots, the more I realized I wouldn't be able to keep it completely comical. While the enemies aren't the most realistic group out there, the character interactions were too serious for the story to just be a gag.) Then, I thought she would be a no-name: a woman with a generic description whose identity isn't revealed, making each character wonder if she's one of her victim. (This would even have been meta, in the sense that even the readers would have been left wondering if she was - just like everyone else - a returning victim from another story or an original character.) Ultimately, to make the final confrontation more impactful, I chose to give her a clear-cut name and backstory. And while I enjoy her tragic villain appeal, I'm ultimately not entirely satisfied with her, as I couldn't keep that ambiguity of wether she was or not a victim of one of the characters.
Amai wasn't supposed to come back at first. As Stasis said, she had served her purpose in the story. Though I had so much fun writing their first scene that I couldn't resist bringing her for a second round. Plus, I found very amusing to tease a potential final fight, only for the sentry to have her moment of glory denied when seven sisters bum-rush her from behind. Plus indeed, Stasis is breaking the fourth wall like there's no tomorrow.Trackman281 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:55 pm
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Oh my god that was just brilliant, I wasn't expecting that little post confrontation there between Stasis and Amai, honestly what surprise and for her to then be simply bum rushed and taken down by the sisters while Stasis watched triumphantly munching her bag of crisps, was nothing of absolute PERFECTION!
Seriously, wow Stasis held no punches there with the fourth wall breaking did she, do you ever get the feeling like sometimes Stasis is subtly hinting that she wants more of certain things hahahaha!
Honestly the sisters end scene was phenomenal, they all had their own amazing moments there.......Libido is definitely going to be hogging the shower when she gets back isn't she.
Will Amai make it to Heartfelt City? I don't think the sisters would bring her here themselves: it would be a kidnapping, and Tina and Angel wouldn't agree with it. (Though there's the possibility that they are so engrossed with their victory celebration that they forget about her. I can picture the: 'Yeah, we're home! Oops we forgot to leave Amai at the police station. Dang it!') Now, more seriously, I don't think that anything could prevent her from going to Hearfelt City once she's been rescued by the police to try to have her revenge. That's the advantage of being a minor side character: you can jump worlds and stories without risking to destroy the fabric of reality.
To quote Stasis, I guess it depends on the authors now. It will depend on her comedic potential...To esercito sconfitto:
After almost three years of writing (from my part), things are coming full-circle with this crossover, aren't they?
A way to celebrate the vitality of the story section, in a way, and to celebrate as my 'big series' are slowly but gently getting their arcs resolved.The Church of Uniform Stealers. We now need the Ten Commandements of the Uniform Stealing Board.
Libido is certainly one of the characters that has the potential to bring the hottest scenes.
Thanks for your compliments!
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tirepanted3
- Posts: 1940
- Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:40 am
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
I've been very busy these last few weeks (hence the lack of posting), but I finally found the time to sit down and start reading through some of these stories. Decided to start with this one, since I obviously have a stake in some of these characters.
Overall, I'm flattered my characters left so much of an impression on you. I've always tried to populate my stories with interesting and complex women, and it's great that you were inspired by them to include them in your story. It was so interesting to see them in a story written by someone else. You appear to have captured their voices very well.
It was also great to see so many references to my and many other writers' USB stories over the years - really gives it the feel of being at the center of an interconnected universe. Obviously, the story is not and could not be part of regular continuity, but it was an incredibly fun read all the same.
I have a lot of specific thoughts about the story, and it may start to ramble after a while, so I'm going to structure them as a numbered list to try and keep things coherent. Here we go:
1. I like how the story begins in a familiar, "classic" setting. Your characters (Aster, Mikani, Shayna) doing what they do best, mugging some hapless guards for their clothes. A nice way to set a reliable tone before you start to subvert expectations by bringing in the "guest stars".
2. I immediately recognized Edith, and chuckled. She is of course the luckless Guard #3 from "To Steal a Spacesuit, Vol. 2" - the one who unwittingly charges into the interrogation room with an overconfident "Never fear, help is here." Poor woman, she doesn't even get to make another rhyme before Aster chloroforms her.
3. The scene where Bobbi and Felicia bicker with Shayna over the sentry uniform did remind me of the scene in "The Greatest Actress of All" where Carla and Liana argue over a maid uniform. I also wish those types of scenes were more common; the "finders keepers" debate has a lot of good comedic potential.
4. Good rapport between Bobbi and Shayna; feels natural and they play off each other well. Drawing parallels between Bobbi and Klenia/Emery provides a nice contrast between the different characters and arcs. Bobbi's arc is probably tricky to nail down, since she's continually evolving, but you did a good job of capturing where she is at the current point.
5. The opening scene with Stasis is delightful - you really capture her character perfectly. The chocolate bar, the tussle, the fourth-wall breaking - a great use of humor all around. She's one of the more unique USB characters on the board, and you adapted her from Trackman's stories into your setting very well.
6. It's a little strange to see a bunch of the guards from "Vigilante" make an appearance in this story, since "Vigilante" has not yet concluded. Obviously this story is not in continuity, but it just seemed a little strange to see these guards walking free when they were so recently (to my mind) bound and gagged in Roxanne's mansion. Not a real problem, just something that stuck out to me.
7. Agria and Cleo remain two of my favorite characters in your saga. I love their contrasting approach to infiltrations, despite both being special combatants. And they're nicely contrasted with Janette and Sophia from Trackman's story - great turn by having Janette being the one with the questionable underwear.
8. Poor Gabriella, this has been an unlucky month for her. And June and Molly as well - a lot of these USB victims are easy to recognize, as they are from relatively recent stories.
9. Molly rattling off the names of several older USB stories is a nice tribute - there have been so many talented writers on this board over the years.
10. Again, I'm biased, but seeing Bridget be humiliated this way really hits hard. Great way to make me hate the villains in this story and root for their failure.
11. Heidi and Patricia are quite obnoxious, so I was glad to see them receive another comeuppance. Also a nice continuity reference to the smell of their uniforms. Not sure how many people notice these connections, but I did, and was quite appreciative of them.
12. Ditto with Octavia, Harmony, and Melody. Looking back, it was a bit mean-spirited of Bridget to punch a flutist in the jaw. Can't really blame Harmony for turning to the dark side.
13. I'm not sure Posy truly redeemed herself for what she did to Shirley, but the conversation between her and Bobbi was a nice way to highlight and develop her character. Hopefully, this maintains in future stories, even if the rest of this story is non-canon. And you do a good job here of capturing Bobbi's voice again; it really feels like she's the woman from my stories.
14. The little comment about Felicia being resourceful. Good to see her thinking quick and creatively. (Also interesting to see her stealing uniforms given the bet she currently has going on.)
15. The technician scene is excellent. Loved the mixing of technician characters from so many different stories (including the first victim of the first Spacesuit story, and the first from Greatest Actress). And the photos on the wall! So many in-jokes and references. I can't help feeling concerned for the human trafficking girls, though - hopefully they don't have to worry about being killed.
16. The identity of the Leader was a bit of a letdown, honestly. I was trying to figure out which story she was from, but it doesn't seem like she's from any prior tale. Just feels like there was a chance for something a little funnier and/or more unexpected there. A good climactic fight, though.
17. Some nice character spotlighting for Bobbi and Bridget at the end. Captures their attitudes well. Now I'll juts have to forget about these developments when I'm writing my own stories, so as not to mess with my own continuity.
18. The extra climax with Stasis and Amai is hilarious, particularly its comical conclusion. Stasis provided some much-appreciated humor, so props to Trackman for introducing her and you for utilizing her so well.
19. I sense another elaborate prison break on the horizon. It's never truly over...
20. Oops, forgot to mention Cara and Marla! Well-seasoned USB victims who can never catch a break. But at least they were taken out by knockout darts - certainly one of the more stylish ways to render a victim unconscious.
All in all, this was a very fun story, and I'm once again glad that my characters have resonated so well. Hopefully I can find some more time to continuing my stories, and reading some of the other new ones on the board.
Overall, I'm flattered my characters left so much of an impression on you. I've always tried to populate my stories with interesting and complex women, and it's great that you were inspired by them to include them in your story. It was so interesting to see them in a story written by someone else. You appear to have captured their voices very well.
It was also great to see so many references to my and many other writers' USB stories over the years - really gives it the feel of being at the center of an interconnected universe. Obviously, the story is not and could not be part of regular continuity, but it was an incredibly fun read all the same.
I have a lot of specific thoughts about the story, and it may start to ramble after a while, so I'm going to structure them as a numbered list to try and keep things coherent. Here we go:
1. I like how the story begins in a familiar, "classic" setting. Your characters (Aster, Mikani, Shayna) doing what they do best, mugging some hapless guards for their clothes. A nice way to set a reliable tone before you start to subvert expectations by bringing in the "guest stars".
2. I immediately recognized Edith, and chuckled. She is of course the luckless Guard #3 from "To Steal a Spacesuit, Vol. 2" - the one who unwittingly charges into the interrogation room with an overconfident "Never fear, help is here." Poor woman, she doesn't even get to make another rhyme before Aster chloroforms her.
3. The scene where Bobbi and Felicia bicker with Shayna over the sentry uniform did remind me of the scene in "The Greatest Actress of All" where Carla and Liana argue over a maid uniform. I also wish those types of scenes were more common; the "finders keepers" debate has a lot of good comedic potential.
4. Good rapport between Bobbi and Shayna; feels natural and they play off each other well. Drawing parallels between Bobbi and Klenia/Emery provides a nice contrast between the different characters and arcs. Bobbi's arc is probably tricky to nail down, since she's continually evolving, but you did a good job of capturing where she is at the current point.
5. The opening scene with Stasis is delightful - you really capture her character perfectly. The chocolate bar, the tussle, the fourth-wall breaking - a great use of humor all around. She's one of the more unique USB characters on the board, and you adapted her from Trackman's stories into your setting very well.
6. It's a little strange to see a bunch of the guards from "Vigilante" make an appearance in this story, since "Vigilante" has not yet concluded. Obviously this story is not in continuity, but it just seemed a little strange to see these guards walking free when they were so recently (to my mind) bound and gagged in Roxanne's mansion. Not a real problem, just something that stuck out to me.
7. Agria and Cleo remain two of my favorite characters in your saga. I love their contrasting approach to infiltrations, despite both being special combatants. And they're nicely contrasted with Janette and Sophia from Trackman's story - great turn by having Janette being the one with the questionable underwear.
8. Poor Gabriella, this has been an unlucky month for her. And June and Molly as well - a lot of these USB victims are easy to recognize, as they are from relatively recent stories.
9. Molly rattling off the names of several older USB stories is a nice tribute - there have been so many talented writers on this board over the years.
10. Again, I'm biased, but seeing Bridget be humiliated this way really hits hard. Great way to make me hate the villains in this story and root for their failure.
11. Heidi and Patricia are quite obnoxious, so I was glad to see them receive another comeuppance.
Also a nice continuity reference to the smell of their uniforms. Not sure how many people notice these connections, but I did, and was quite appreciative of them. 12. Ditto with Octavia, Harmony, and Melody. Looking back, it was a bit mean-spirited of Bridget to punch a flutist in the jaw. Can't really blame Harmony for turning to the dark side.
13. I'm not sure Posy truly redeemed herself for what she did to Shirley, but the conversation between her and Bobbi was a nice way to highlight and develop her character. Hopefully, this maintains in future stories, even if the rest of this story is non-canon. And you do a good job here of capturing Bobbi's voice again; it really feels like she's the woman from my stories.
14. The little comment about Felicia being resourceful. Good to see her thinking quick and creatively. (Also interesting to see her stealing uniforms given the bet she currently has going on.
)15. The technician scene is excellent. Loved the mixing of technician characters from so many different stories (including the first victim of the first Spacesuit story, and the first from Greatest Actress). And the photos on the wall! So many in-jokes and references. I can't help feeling concerned for the human trafficking girls, though - hopefully they don't have to worry about being killed.
16. The identity of the Leader was a bit of a letdown, honestly. I was trying to figure out which story she was from, but it doesn't seem like she's from any prior tale. Just feels like there was a chance for something a little funnier and/or more unexpected there. A good climactic fight, though.
17. Some nice character spotlighting for Bobbi and Bridget at the end. Captures their attitudes well. Now I'll juts have to forget about these developments when I'm writing my own stories, so as not to mess with my own continuity.
18. The extra climax with Stasis and Amai is hilarious, particularly its comical conclusion. Stasis provided some much-appreciated humor, so props to Trackman for introducing her and you for utilizing her so well.
19. I sense another elaborate prison break on the horizon. It's never truly over...
20. Oops, forgot to mention Cara and Marla! Well-seasoned USB victims who can never catch a break. But at least they were taken out by knockout darts - certainly one of the more stylish ways to render a victim unconscious.
All in all, this was a very fun story, and I'm once again glad that my characters have resonated so well. Hopefully I can find some more time to continuing my stories, and reading some of the other new ones on the board.
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Trackman281
- Posts: 1600
- Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:08 am
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
I know you said you couldn't feature as many easter eggs as you wanted, but I still think you did a fantastic job with what you did include, you included just enough to spark the memories of all those that have read these awesome stories over the years, whilst keeping some tucked away, should you ever feel inspired to write another one.
Yes you are right, Tina would have naturally tried somehow to see if she could get through to Sarah and make her see that her family was waiting for her, now naturally of course Sarah (Leader) is so lost, that she is too far gone, but Tina still would have tried anyway as that's just the sort of person she is and I think you captured that side of her tremendously well in that scene.
It really does make sense for her sister's to tease Tina in a jokey way, because they all know what she's like, we all know what she's like, heck even all the "guests" on this forum know what Tina's like.......She just cares and loves her sisters more than anything.
You had so many characters, so many sentries, so much lore and so many easter eggs and references to juggle with from all these different storied worlds and universes, I personally think you handled it all extremely well and I think you've done an outstanding and a perfect job incorporating it all so successfully.
Yes you are right, Tina would have naturally tried somehow to see if she could get through to Sarah and make her see that her family was waiting for her, now naturally of course Sarah (Leader) is so lost, that she is too far gone, but Tina still would have tried anyway as that's just the sort of person she is and I think you captured that side of her tremendously well in that scene.
It really does make sense for her sister's to tease Tina in a jokey way, because they all know what she's like, we all know what she's like, heck even all the "guests" on this forum know what Tina's like.......She just cares and loves her sisters more than anything.
You had so many characters, so many sentries, so much lore and so many easter eggs and references to juggle with from all these different storied worlds and universes, I personally think you handled it all extremely well and I think you've done an outstanding and a perfect job incorporating it all so successfully.
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rufusluciusivan
- Posts: 1228
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm
Re: Protecting one's lifestyle
Trackman: While she doesn't have the comedic potential of Stasis or Libido, I still had a ton of fun writing Tina. She's such a 'positive' character, kind of the supporting sister/leader we'd all want.
One thing is certain, if one day I try my hand again at writing your characters (or even a full-crossover), Sarah would be the perfect antagonist for Tina.
Maybe one day a collaborative story...
Tirepanted:
I'm flattered that you chose to start with this one.
I'm glad to have managed to capture their voices, I admit that the challenge proved to be harder with your characters, so I'm quite relieved to hear that they didn't feel out-of-character. Honestly, I wish I was able to feature more of your characters, but I couldn't find a way to properly incorporate them.
The point of the story was indeed to have lots of fun and to make plenty of references without worrying about continuity or canonicity. (Though I'll keep Posy's character development. )
1. This story was a call-back to the classics in many ways... I wanted to start this story as if it was a 'normal' story, with the reveal of the guest stars being a suprise.
2. I'm happy you recognized her. For a nameless sentry, she left quite the impression on me! Plus, the little backstory you gave her in a comment is now featured in a story.
3. Wow! You actually got that reference? Congratulations!
4. Thanks! I've said it plenty of times, but Bobbi's arc is my favorite subplot of yours. Being able to adress it and give my take on it was a bit of a dream come true.
5. Stasis is a ton of fun to write. I understand now even better why she's so popular and whu Trackmann features her so much.
6. I think you can blame by laziness for not having finished Vigilante's story sooner... But I wanted to finish the crossover story before April 1st for a reason that will be detailed below. Plus, I really enjoyed these guards and, if I had to feature returning characters as my sentries, I wanted it to be them. Osana's and Zoe's inner-thoughts hint that this story happens some time after Vigilante's ending, in a continuity where Roxane was arrested.
7. Agria and Cleo are favorite of mine as well. They have a nice duality, plus their bluntness allows for great interactions. As for Janette... Well, until now in Trackman's stories, it was always the daughter who ended up with the 'raunchy' undergarments, so I figured out that this time it would be the mother.
8. I admit that I sometimes chose the easy way and used sentries from recent stories, because I remembered them better.
9. Yes indeed.
10. Objectively the villains have a sympathetic motivation and legitimate grievances (well, most of them), but I wanted to highlight that they are still the antagonists and still bad persons. Also highlighting Bridget's and Klenia's strength of character and nerves of steel: they don't even flinch.
11. Yes indeed! (The smell of their uniforms is your story was actually what set their scene apart, so of course it would be referenced. Not the most pleasant detail, but a very realistic one.)
12. I really wanted to see these three a chance to be brought back. For innocent people, they were quite unlucky (especially Harmony), so I wanted to adress that. Though I didn't want to diabolize Bridget, so I had her later give her thought on the process of uniform stealings. Still, it was a mean-spirited move.
13. The point was more to show that she's taking a first step in the direction of recovery. I guess the story and Shirley let Posy go rather easily because she didn't do her actions for an entirely selfish reason: Her goal was to stop a criminal, and while it's partly for revenge, it's also because she genuinely wants to make the world a better place. Plus, she's genuinely remorseful for what she did and is now aiming to become a better person by refusing to mug an innocent woman for her clothes again, while most uniform stealers have a rather unapologetic attitude towards the people they mug (even 'positive' ones such as Klenia). Shirley acknowledged that.
14. Well, as it is said, it's non-canon, so I didn't take the bet into account.
15. With the technicians, the point was to bring victims of first stories of some series. The photos was the best way to bring as many easter eggs as possible. As for the human trafficking girls... honestly, I believe that human traffickers are among the worst scums of the Earth, so having the cult hell-bent on eliminating them was more a way to make them more morally grey (while still showing that they aren't people you should root for). A bit like: 'hey, even the crazy cult thinks that human traffickers are the worst'. Though I guess they were lucky that the cult was stopped before they could get their hands on them. However, now that the government has their identities and pictures, they might end up one day in jail...
17. Thanks! I tried to give them a slight development, but without contradicting your stories, hence why technically they don't take any decision. They just take note of everything they've learned, but ultimately don't take any decision yet. Honestly, this was a bit of a dream to be able to have them confronted by thematics I'm craving to see them confront, but I wanted to respect their character by not having them make a decision that would contradict their (past and future) actions in your stories. Maybe one day in your own stories... One thing's certain, I'm really invested in seeing more of them and their potential developments! Honestly, I'd be curious to see what kind of potential developments could happen to Bridget and her friends if they faced the sort of confrontations they had in this crossover. Of course, I'd perfectly understand if you said that you wanted to take the characters elsewhere, but I'm not going to lie: this is the kind of situations I'm secretly dreaming of coming across in your stories with your style. A part of me is wondering if Ashley's return won't feature a confrontation with Bridget... (Though either way I'm still happy to have been able to briefly address these potential developments at least once... )
18. Poor Amai... But the joke was too hilarious to pass.
19. While I'm not entirely satisfied by the way Sarah's character was handled, her personality and moral complexity make her a compelling antagonist. So I definitively wanted to keep THAT door open.
20. Well, given their status as recurring victims, it would have been a crime to forget about Cara and Marla...
I'll finish with your point number 16. At first, the Leader was supposed to be one huge gag-character. However, since I couldn't help but feature more serious elements (with Posy's subplot especially), it didn't work out. Then, I was really tempted to make her a non-character: to give her no name, no identity, and a very non-descript appearance. Though the twist would still be that she wasn't from a previous story: making readers unsuccessfully try to find her and keeping it ambiguous wether or not she was a returning character all along. The fact that until now all the characters were returning characters from a previous story would have been a false lead. It was a bit of a meta twist since the whole point of the cult is for the anonymous victims of uniform stealings to try to get their revenge. However, I feared that keeping her an anonymous woman with no backstory would have made the confrotnation with her less impactful. So I gave her a real backstory and motivation to turn her into a tragic villainess.
Speaking of the fact that the leader was supposed to be one huge gag, in my time zone at least, this is the perfect day to show you the draft of the original reveal scene of the leader and the original ending. Apolgies, as it's a really crude first draft though:
**************
The infiltrators gathered around the defeated masked leader, who was tightly trussed up with ropes.
"All right, gang! Let's see who this glorious leader REALLY is!”
Klenia removed the mask.
“GASP!” everyone exclaimed.
“Ashley?! From To Steal a Spacesuit!”
The dark-haired woman glared daggers at them.
“Yes, Ashley!” she exclaimed. “Ashley who's tired of being a recurring victim in these stories! Now, I'm even shown ambushed and stripped in other universes! Who would be twisted enough to feature WORLD-JUMPING just to have an excuse to feature a cameo of me after I was mugged for disguise?! I'm tired of being treated so unfairly! I mean come on, my eye colour hasn't even been revealed yet! (Or if it had, blame the author for having butched his research when he binge-read previous stories to find my description.) People know more about the colour of my underwear than about the colour of my eyes! Do you trully think that my small development in Part 5 would satiate me? FOOLISH FOOLS!”
“But... You're supposed to be on the side of the law!”
“And what good did it bring me?” Ashley loooked at Bridget. “In Part 2, I released her from her bonds, and what did I get in return? I was knocked out, stripped of my uniform, bound, gagged, and left alone!”
“So you decided to gather an army to put an end to uniform stealings forever?”
“EXACTLY! And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling uniform stealers!”
“No Ashley, you never stood a chance against us. Do you want to know why? It's because you treated your companions like guards and sentries, like mere subordinates. You didn't believe in the power of FRIENDSHIP, and UNIFORM STEALINGS. THIS is why you lost.”
“You think you're so smart? Well, I'll have you know that I contacted the author of the story and convinced him that it was more rewarding to spend the rest of his life writing MALE-TO-MALE UNIFORM STEALINGS! MALE-TO-MALE!” Ashley laughed mockingly. "Yes! It's the perfect revenge! Soon, your universe will be put to a halt and your story arcs will never be concluded! Mwahahahahahaha!"
“But Ashley. You forgot one important detail. What day is it? What is the the day this story was published in the author's time zone?”
Ashley frowned.
“Uh? It's April 1st...”
Ashley's eyes widened as the horrible truth dawned on her.
“Oh no. Oh you motherfu-”
“APRIL FOOLS!” all the uniform stealers happily exclaimed.
One thing is certain, if one day I try my hand again at writing your characters (or even a full-crossover), Sarah would be the perfect antagonist for Tina.
Maybe one day a collaborative story...
Tirepanted:
I'm flattered that you chose to start with this one.
I'm glad to have managed to capture their voices, I admit that the challenge proved to be harder with your characters, so I'm quite relieved to hear that they didn't feel out-of-character. Honestly, I wish I was able to feature more of your characters, but I couldn't find a way to properly incorporate them.
The point of the story was indeed to have lots of fun and to make plenty of references without worrying about continuity or canonicity. (Though I'll keep Posy's character development.
)1. This story was a call-back to the classics in many ways... I wanted to start this story as if it was a 'normal' story, with the reveal of the guest stars being a suprise.
2. I'm happy you recognized her. For a nameless sentry, she left quite the impression on me! Plus, the little backstory you gave her in a comment is now featured in a story.
3. Wow! You actually got that reference? Congratulations!
4. Thanks! I've said it plenty of times, but Bobbi's arc is my favorite subplot of yours. Being able to adress it and give my take on it was a bit of a dream come true.
5. Stasis is a ton of fun to write. I understand now even better why she's so popular and whu Trackmann features her so much.
6. I think you can blame by laziness for not having finished Vigilante's story sooner... But I wanted to finish the crossover story before April 1st for a reason that will be detailed below. Plus, I really enjoyed these guards and, if I had to feature returning characters as my sentries, I wanted it to be them. Osana's and Zoe's inner-thoughts hint that this story happens some time after Vigilante's ending, in a continuity where Roxane was arrested.
7. Agria and Cleo are favorite of mine as well. They have a nice duality, plus their bluntness allows for great interactions. As for Janette... Well, until now in Trackman's stories, it was always the daughter who ended up with the 'raunchy' undergarments, so I figured out that this time it would be the mother.
8. I admit that I sometimes chose the easy way and used sentries from recent stories, because I remembered them better.
9. Yes indeed.
10. Objectively the villains have a sympathetic motivation and legitimate grievances (well, most of them), but I wanted to highlight that they are still the antagonists and still bad persons. Also highlighting Bridget's and Klenia's strength of character and nerves of steel: they don't even flinch.
11. Yes indeed! (The smell of their uniforms is your story was actually what set their scene apart, so of course it would be referenced. Not the most pleasant detail, but a very realistic one.)
12. I really wanted to see these three a chance to be brought back. For innocent people, they were quite unlucky (especially Harmony), so I wanted to adress that. Though I didn't want to diabolize Bridget, so I had her later give her thought on the process of uniform stealings. Still, it was a mean-spirited move.
13. The point was more to show that she's taking a first step in the direction of recovery. I guess the story and Shirley let Posy go rather easily because she didn't do her actions for an entirely selfish reason: Her goal was to stop a criminal, and while it's partly for revenge, it's also because she genuinely wants to make the world a better place. Plus, she's genuinely remorseful for what she did and is now aiming to become a better person by refusing to mug an innocent woman for her clothes again, while most uniform stealers have a rather unapologetic attitude towards the people they mug (even 'positive' ones such as Klenia). Shirley acknowledged that.
14. Well, as it is said, it's non-canon, so I didn't take the bet into account.
15. With the technicians, the point was to bring victims of first stories of some series. The photos was the best way to bring as many easter eggs as possible. As for the human trafficking girls... honestly, I believe that human traffickers are among the worst scums of the Earth, so having the cult hell-bent on eliminating them was more a way to make them more morally grey (while still showing that they aren't people you should root for). A bit like: 'hey, even the crazy cult thinks that human traffickers are the worst'. Though I guess they were lucky that the cult was stopped before they could get their hands on them. However, now that the government has their identities and pictures, they might end up one day in jail...
17. Thanks! I tried to give them a slight development, but without contradicting your stories, hence why technically they don't take any decision. They just take note of everything they've learned, but ultimately don't take any decision yet. Honestly, this was a bit of a dream to be able to have them confronted by thematics I'm craving to see them confront, but I wanted to respect their character by not having them make a decision that would contradict their (past and future) actions in your stories. Maybe one day in your own stories...
One thing's certain, I'm really invested in seeing more of them and their potential developments! Honestly, I'd be curious to see what kind of potential developments could happen to Bridget and her friends if they faced the sort of confrontations they had in this crossover. Of course, I'd perfectly understand if you said that you wanted to take the characters elsewhere, but I'm not going to lie: this is the kind of situations I'm secretly dreaming of coming across in your stories with your style. A part of me is wondering if Ashley's return won't feature a confrontation with Bridget... (Though either way I'm still happy to have been able to briefly address these potential developments at least once... )18. Poor Amai... But the joke was too hilarious to pass.
19. While I'm not entirely satisfied by the way Sarah's character was handled, her personality and moral complexity make her a compelling antagonist. So I definitively wanted to keep THAT door open.
20. Well, given their status as recurring victims, it would have been a crime to forget about Cara and Marla...
I'll finish with your point number 16. At first, the Leader was supposed to be one huge gag-character. However, since I couldn't help but feature more serious elements (with Posy's subplot especially), it didn't work out. Then, I was really tempted to make her a non-character: to give her no name, no identity, and a very non-descript appearance. Though the twist would still be that she wasn't from a previous story: making readers unsuccessfully try to find her and keeping it ambiguous wether or not she was a returning character all along. The fact that until now all the characters were returning characters from a previous story would have been a false lead. It was a bit of a meta twist since the whole point of the cult is for the anonymous victims of uniform stealings to try to get their revenge. However, I feared that keeping her an anonymous woman with no backstory would have made the confrotnation with her less impactful. So I gave her a real backstory and motivation to turn her into a tragic villainess.
Speaking of the fact that the leader was supposed to be one huge gag, in my time zone at least, this is the perfect day to show you the draft of the original reveal scene of the leader and the original ending. Apolgies, as it's a really crude first draft though:
**************
The infiltrators gathered around the defeated masked leader, who was tightly trussed up with ropes.
"All right, gang! Let's see who this glorious leader REALLY is!”
Klenia removed the mask.
“GASP!” everyone exclaimed.
“Ashley?! From To Steal a Spacesuit!”
The dark-haired woman glared daggers at them.
“Yes, Ashley!” she exclaimed. “Ashley who's tired of being a recurring victim in these stories! Now, I'm even shown ambushed and stripped in other universes! Who would be twisted enough to feature WORLD-JUMPING just to have an excuse to feature a cameo of me after I was mugged for disguise?! I'm tired of being treated so unfairly! I mean come on, my eye colour hasn't even been revealed yet! (Or if it had, blame the author for having butched his research when he binge-read previous stories to find my description.) People know more about the colour of my underwear than about the colour of my eyes! Do you trully think that my small development in Part 5 would satiate me? FOOLISH FOOLS!”
“But... You're supposed to be on the side of the law!”
“And what good did it bring me?” Ashley loooked at Bridget. “In Part 2, I released her from her bonds, and what did I get in return? I was knocked out, stripped of my uniform, bound, gagged, and left alone!”
“So you decided to gather an army to put an end to uniform stealings forever?”
“EXACTLY! And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling uniform stealers!”
“No Ashley, you never stood a chance against us. Do you want to know why? It's because you treated your companions like guards and sentries, like mere subordinates. You didn't believe in the power of FRIENDSHIP, and UNIFORM STEALINGS. THIS is why you lost.”
“You think you're so smart? Well, I'll have you know that I contacted the author of the story and convinced him that it was more rewarding to spend the rest of his life writing MALE-TO-MALE UNIFORM STEALINGS! MALE-TO-MALE!” Ashley laughed mockingly. "Yes! It's the perfect revenge! Soon, your universe will be put to a halt and your story arcs will never be concluded! Mwahahahahahaha!"
“But Ashley. You forgot one important detail. What day is it? What is the the day this story was published in the author's time zone?”
Ashley frowned.
“Uh? It's April 1st...”
Ashley's eyes widened as the horrible truth dawned on her.
“Oh no. Oh you motherfu-”
“APRIL FOOLS!” all the uniform stealers happily exclaimed.