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Changes
by Prudence Walker
"Prue, Prue, we did it!" exclaimed Kim, as she bounced into the office of
the CEO of Hugglebugs limited.
"Kim calm down a second," warned the president of the company, as she
hung up the phone and activated the secure mode on the office.
The world had changed since 9/11. Cutting edge research could no longer
be discussed in normal offices without the worry that someone might be
eavesdropping. With the competition breathing down their necks trying to
duplicate their work, Prudence Walker took security very seriously. Her
office in the Auckland plant was more of a vault than an office. Solid steel
sheet was integrated into the floor, walls and ceiling, making it opaque to
all radio frequencies, should a bug ever get past the outer security level.
The window too, was part of the faraday cage that doubled as an office. Made
up of two separate layers of bombproof glass with a vacuum between them to
prevent voice vibrations being transmitted to directional microphones or
window mikes, it also was silvered on the outside to make it impossible to
see inside. The silvering being metal based, also acted as part of the
faraday shield.
"Okay, what did we do now?" Prue asked her head researcher, as she
isolated the room electrically and electronically.
Kim waited, until the UPS powered up the lights, as all electrical wiring
from the office leading to the rest of the building was physically isolated.
This included all network cables and phone lines. No infinity bugs or line
taps would ever find a path to this office once it was in secure mode.
"You know the research I've been doing into finding a way of reversing
the changes from the permanent nanites? Well I still haven't solved that,
but I think I've developed something new … psychic nanites."
Prue knew that mistakes sometimes happened. People selecting a permanent
change occasionally wanted to reverse or alter the first choice of form
given to them by the revolutionary nanite system affectionately named
Hugglebugs.
"Psychic nanites?" echoed Prue. "What do they do?"
"Well you know we usually program the nanites to the customer's
specifications… well these don't require that. Once injected, the nanites
feed on the mind's image of the form wanted and changes it to suit."
"Wow! That's potentially dangerous. What if you think of the wrong form,
or get distracted by something else and become a hybrid of some kind?"
muttered Prue.
"Well … there's more. The nanites remain active instead of becoming
dormant. You could change your body constantly becoming a sort of human
chameleon. The only limits imposed are the changes that deal with size.
Going from big to small takes the normal length of time, but going the other
way without supplements takes about a week," Kim explained.
"Are you sure of this?" Prue main fear being that if someone unscrupulous
got their hands on this batch they could become anyone, herself included.
Her life and the lives of others would then be in jeopardy.
"I tried it on myself," Kim volunteered, looking embarrassed.
"What! You tried an untested formula on yourself?" Prue shouted angrily.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist," confirmed a chastened Kim.
Prue waved off the apology, getting up and pacing back and forth across
the office floor.
"I'm only angry that you risked your life on an untested product, not
because you did it without consent from me. You know I like to ensure that
no harm befall anyone using our technology."
"No one else knows, not even Rose," Kim added hastily.
"Good, we need to keep this under wraps," Prue warned.
Rose was their redheaded receptionist who had formerly been a man. An
accidental contamination in the early development of the nanites had lead to
her former male self being transformed. One of the side effects was that she
was constantly lactating, due to the fact that the nanites then in
production were meant for increased milk production in cows
"Speaking of Rose, isn't she due anytime?" Prue asked.
"Yes, she's due next week. At least she won't have any trouble feeding
them," giggled Kim.
"Yeah, she did mention having twins." Prue smiled before turning her
attention to the matter in hand. "Can you demonstrate the nanite for me?"
"Sure," Kim replied, suddenly changing her form to a duplicate of Prue's.
Her clothes remained as they had been so were now somewhat ill fitting due
to the difference in body size between Prue and Kim, Prue not being as
large.
Prue noted that the extra mass had still been lost as water vapour from
Kim's mouth and nose, similar to how the normal nanite procedure worked.
"Oh my lord! This is eerie," Prue gasped seeing herself twinned so
easily.
"Isn't it wicked?" Grinned Kim, doing a twirl and nearly losing her skirt
in the process.
"Sure, but next time use a skirt with an elasticised waistline if you're
going to do me impressions," giggled Prue, as Kim grabbed at her falling
skirt.
"Are you saying I have fat hips?" retorted Kim, half seriously.
"No never, I'm just more petite than you," Prue hurried to reply.
"Good answer," smirked Kim with Prue's face.
"Um, hadn't we better change back?" Prue pointed out, seemingly
disconcerted at being smirked at by her own face.
Before she began changing back to herself Kim went over and poured
herself a large glass of the milk that Prue kept in her office fridge. It
took longer to do it this time, as her body had to assimilate energy from
the food in her stomach to make up the mass. Kim had to drink nearly all the
milk Prue had, before she finally regained her normal appearance.
"I see that part of the change is still the same," Prue remarked.
"You need to try this. It will solve your concerns over being transformed
by those who may have obtained a sample of Hugglebugs." Kim pressed,
thinking back to the batch of permanently programmed nanites that had been
stolen a month earlier.
Prue thought about it. It was true that someone might be able to inject
her with a permanent form not her own in order to disrupt or possibly take
over her company. She had thought of using a permanent nanite using her own
form, but that would mean she'd never be able to avail herself of her own
technology ever again.
"What happens if I use it and then come into contact with a new batch of
temp or permanent form of Hugglebugs?"
"We can find out soon enough," volunteered Kim, excitedly.
"Yourself as the guinea pig again no doubt?" Prue asked.
"Well you know me, nothing's Kim possible," was the amused answer.
"You're ever the Kimmediene," Prue snorted as she shut down the secure
mode for the office.
~~~~~
"Well we know now," mused Kim, as she studied the readouts on her blood
toxicology.
"It looks as if any nanites introduced after the new batch, still have an
effect, but after the programmed change you can revert back to your original
form even if the sample was for a permanent change." Prue stated, looking
over Kim's shoulder.
"It stripped off the code markers that make it a permanent change,"
offered Kim, feeling pleased with herself.
"Okay, I'm willing to try the new batch, but after that, I want the
samples destroyed. It would be catastrophic if this got into the hands of
anyone else."
"Okay, you're the boss," agreed Kim.
"One more thing," Prue continued, as she checked the readings on the
computer screen. "Can the new strain be extracted from a blood sample and
transferred to someone else?"
"No, that I'm certain of," Kim replied confidently. "When I was designing
it, I made sure the nanites, once introduced to a DNA sample would only work
for the person selected. It's not transferable. In fact I was thinking of
putting that property in all our other batches."
"I guess we do need to do that these days. Our normal batches normally go
dormant after the change and are slowly broken down and excreted over time."
Prue mused. "But if someone was monitoring who was getting a sample, it's
conceivable they could extract a blood sample and use it on someone else."
"Yeah but what good will that do? They would only change into the
customer's choice of body." Kim argued.
"Ah, but if they then disposed of the original, they could pretend to be
that person. Remember we do supply a new set of documentation to go along
with the new form. Terrorists and criminals could become anyone and have a
new legal identity to continue their crimes." Prue pointed out.
"Ouchies, that would suck, but then I wouldn't mind seeing Ben Laden
stuck as a baby girl," laughed Kim.
"Don't even joke about that. I'd never consider rewarding him like that,"
Prue protested vehemently.
"Sorry, you're right of course. Punishment or reward, I guess it's all in
the POV."
"Has Michelle come up with any leads as to who stole the missing
shipment?" Kim asked, changing the subject.
"Not yet," answered Prue, with a pensive expression on her face. "She
said she had some leads, which is better than nothing."
"Well if anyone can crack the case, she can. With that mind and that body
…" Kim left the rest unsaid.
"Michael was a great detective before her change, and with that super
model body, she got even better." Prue agreed.
"Well with those bazookas of hers she's hardly unarmed, and when she does
the airhead bimbo act, she can get anyone to confess," Kim grinned.
"I think I'll give her a call, once we're finished here," Prue replied,
as she checked her cell phone for any messages.
A sharp rumble went through the underground laboratory, startling both
Prue and Kim. Alarms started sounding and they heard the emergency generator
kick in.
Prue raced to a desk and switched to the security camera server. She knew
that such a rumble in the specially constructed laboratory meant a
significant explosion upstairs. The external camera's that were still
working told the story. Someone had left a car bomb outside, or so the
wreckage suggested. Several of the cameras were blown off and a lot of
damage to the front of the factory could be seen from the PTZ camera. As
Prue panned and zoomed the camera with the joystick, she felt a sense of
relief that the main structure seemed intact, as well as the reception area
on the ground floor.
Most of the damage appeared to be to the factory across the street and
power lines lay in the street from the poles destroyed in the blast.
"I'm going up, stay here and finish," ordered Prue. She left, making sure
the hermetically sealed doors from the laboratory to the rest of the
building were sealed, and that the nanite containment systems were all fully
functional.
As Prue went upstairs, she heard the growing sounds of sirens as
emergency vehicles started arriving. "Everyone okay?" Prue shouted, as she
reached the reception area.
"Yes nobody hurt here," Rose's voice called from behind Prue. Prue spun
to see Rose bringing a first aid kit from the kitchenette.
"I'm going over the road to see if anyone over there needs help," Rose
explained, as she waddled past.
"Stop, it's not safe, especially in your condition," Prue ordered, taking
Rose's arm in a firm grip.
"But…"
"Look, the fire service and the ambulance are here, let them do it. It
was a bomb Rose! This wasn't an accident," explained Prue.
"Oh my," gasped Rose, quickly realising the significance of Prue's words.
Prue looked over the mess in reception. Some debris from the explosion
had entered the main door and left a trail of wreckage in the wind lobby
floor. The second door leading into the reception proper had withstood the
force of the explosion, as had the surrounding windows made of Alon, the new
transparent Aluminium just developed. The Aluminium Oxynitride windows had
cost a small fortune, but seeing the undamaged glass, Prue was glad of her
precautions.
Just then, her cell phone rang. It was Michelle.
"Prue? I think both you and Kim are in danger," Michelle told her over
the phone.
"Um, your news is a few minutes late," sighed Prue, who then filled
Michelle in on the current situation.
"Damn, they might have people watching the place. Maybe they hope to gain
entry in the confusion." Michelle speculated.
"If so, they will be disappointed that the place is relatively
undamaged," Prue pointed out.
"Yeah, but they might try snatching you or Kim," Michelle replied.
"So what did you find out?" asked Prue, moving to her office.
"I think the stolen shipment went missing from the courier van after it
arrived in the states. The word on the street is that a multinational
company in the U.S. is after the formula to Hugglebugs."
"I don't suppose that company had anything to do with that disaster in
Texas last year?" Asked Prue.
"You got it."
"Look, I want you to come here, but first I need you to pick up some
clothing for us. Kim and I will be leaving the factory tonight in disguise."
"Female clothing, I gather?" asked Michelle curiously.
"Yeah, but something in our approximate size that we wouldn't be seen
dead in," replied Prue with a sigh.
"Okay, but don't get mad with what I come up with, boss."
Prue hung up and went back to see Kim with the news.
"Remember that disaster where nanites were used to try and cure cancer
patients in Texas?" Prue prompted once she and Kim were together again.
"The one where the patients died after turning into organic goo?" Kim
shuddered at the thought.
"Yes, well the company that tried that is now after our nanites. Michelle
seems to think they were responsible for our missing shipment."
"They are trying to get the secret of how we maintain the existing DNA
during the change?" Kim mused. "That's really the trick isn't it? Changing
the gene sequence to form the new body without it becoming organic soup."
"One we need to maintain at all costs," agreed Prue, as she outlined her
hastily conceived plan.
It was late in the day before the police had finished questioning the
local businesses and the emergency crews had finished clearing up the debris
and restored power. The people still in the factory had finished cleaning up
and began leaving for home. Prue had arranged private transport for everyone
and told them the factory was closing for a while.
The security detail which would be maintaining a 24-hour watch for the
foreseeable future logged in for the night shift, after being warned to be
on guard for possible intruders. Prue had arranged for new cameras to be
fitted to replace those lost in the explosion. Manning the security desk,
the guards saw two figures leaving the factory and climbing aboard a taxi
that had been summoned earlier. They would have been shocked to know that
one was the president of the company and the other was the chief researcher,
such was their disguises.
Once underway, the taxi driver took off her cap and let her blonde
tresses flow down her shoulders. She looked anxiously at her passengers,
waiting for the blowup she was expecting. They were unrecognisable as the
two she knew them to be.
The two mismatched women in the back seat of the taxi looked at each
other for a moment before bursting out into a fit of giggles.
"Where did you get these things from, the salvation army?" Asked the pink
plastic vinyl dressed teen.
"What about my Aunt Sadie outfit?" complained the older figure in her
matronly dress.
"You don't want to know … trust me," replied Michelle from the front of
the taxi.
"So which one of you is the boss? I didn't think we did old lady forms. I
can't see the appeal in it, must be a niche market," Michelle prattled on.
Keeping one eye on her passengers, she nearly ran a red light as both women
started changing back to their original forms, well, make that their faces
anyway.
"Whoah! How did you do that?" yelped Michelle, as she narrowly avoided a
pile up at the intersection. A blaring of horns behind her made her respond
to the disgruntled driver behind with a one fingered salute out the window.
Luckily the light changed, before the driver behind decided to take his
complaint further, as Michelle burned rubber.
Prue filled Michelle in about the new formula, after getting her promise
of silence on the discovery.
"Damn, I wish I could have that ability," she sighed. "It would make my
job a breeze. Talk about being under cover."
"Unfortunately, you took a permanent form of nanite, which guards against
all new nanites entering your body," explained Prue.
"If I can ever get past those nanite defenders, we could give you a
sample," Kim stated, getting a nod of acceptance from Prue.
"So what now? You two off to the land of the free?" Michelle asked,
keeping an eye on the following traffic as she wove through the busy streets
of Auckland.
"Want to join us? I'm sure we could do with your talent," enquired Prue
with a grin.
"Ah, the token blonde bimbo huh?" Michelle retorted, making smacking
sounds with her lips, simulating chewing gum.
"She's good," Kim giggled. "She can chew virtual gum and drive at the
same time."
"You call this driving," mocked Prue with a laugh, as the taxi swerved
dangerously around a bus, and pulled into a driveway that took the cab out
of sight of the road.
In the house used for their international visitors, the three planned
their next move. They came up with new disguises for Kim and Prue, while
Michelle booked the soonest flights out to the US for them.
"Wow! I didn't realise how many false identities you have built up over
the years," exclaimed Prue, as she looked over the mass of passports and
personal documentation laid out on the table.
"It's all valid and up to date. When I travel to the plant in Silicon
Valley, I alternate my identity so each gets used," grinned Michelle.
"Looks like we're all going to be blonde for the trip over," sighed Prue.
"I guess it will be hard playing a mindless bimbo," Kim giggled.
"Like, wow, y'all know what tah do, don'tcha. Disengage brain before
opening yah yapper," Prue replied in an awful rendition of valley girl.
"Anymore of that and you'll fly alone," Michelle promised with a grimace.
Prue squeaked, "Sorry," holding her hands up in surrender.
They all laughed, before going over plans for their next move.
Michelle decided to join them later. She wanted to poke around by the
factory to see if she could discover anything new. Prue and Kim would fly
out together using two of Michelle's alternate identities.
Michelle showed them her special arsenal that would pass the new airport
security measures. Prue looked at the innocent looking contraceptive foils
with several empty capsules showing it was in use. That, along with the foil
card of Midol looked innocent enough, belying the hidden potential of their
real properties. Both Kim and Prue added the small pen sized perfume
atomisers into their voluminous purses, checking that they both were on the
perfume setting and not the temporary nanite spray setting.
"Okay, we will contact you on our arrival," Prue told Michelle, knowing
no contact by cell phone would be possible while enroute in the aircraft.
Michelle ran them to the airport in her own car and let them out at the
international departure entry.
"Good luck," she offered as she said goodbye.
"See you there," Prue offered, waving goodbye to Michelle.
Michelle drove to a local diner to get some dinner, knowing she'd likely
to be working late. Afterwards, she drove directly to the factory and parked
down the street. She walked the last hundred metres, ducking under the
warning tapes that still cordoned off the road in front of the factory. She
had to flash her company investigator's badge to the forensic guys still
poking around. They let her through reluctantly, after getting her promise
not to disturb anything.
After walking around the marked out areas representing the exploded car
and the debris field, Michelle was struck by something odd. For what
remained of the vehicle, there was surprisingly little damage to the
surrounding buildings. While the factory bore the brunt of the attack the
relatively non-reinforced buildings nearby only had superficial damage, with
mainly broken window damage being the obvious signs.
Michelle then walked to the factory, inspecting the reception door that
had been checked for damage by the security door specialists. Guards
patrolling inside opened the door for her after checking her security
clearance. Michelle checked Prue's office with a scanner, but found it was
still bug free and secure. She went down to the lab, only to hear a howl
from the protection measures as she opened the outer door of the hermetic
airlock and stepped inside. She sealed the outer door quickly and checked
the readouts there to check that the lab was still secure.
The readouts indicated an unknown nanite had entered the airlock from the
outside, obviously entering when she did. Michelle activated the cleaning
systems and then she went into the decontamination booth and stripped out of
her clothes. Those went into a furnace chute and she stepped into a special
shower that stung her skin as it stripped off any remaining contaminants.
She was then blow dried in the booth, and diagnostics checked she was free
of any nanites, before she donned sterile clothing from sealed bags.
In the airlock itself, the air was pumped through special filters that
collected anything detrimental to security. Once the air had been flushed
several times, the room was flooded with microwaves and then flushed again.
Michelle was allowed back into the airlock once the place was cleared as
secure again. Only then did Michelle open the inner door to the lab and go
to the section where the unknown nanites had been collected.
Although not an expert on nanites, Michelle did have a working knowledge
of the equipment and procedures to analyse the properties of rogue nanites.
She took the sealed container from the collector and took it to the
analysing machine, making sure everything was sealed before a sample was
taken.
The first procedure was a visual one. Under a high magnification scope,
she could see that some of the nanites were inactive, probably from the last
flush after being exposed to the magnetron field. The active ones were very
crude compared with those the company produced. With relief, Michelle saw
that these were not transformational nanites, but rather designed to clump
together a form a tiny device.
Michelle then had the live sample analysed by a specialist machine that
would interrogate the nanites and determine their purpose. Once the results
came in, Michelle gasped as she realised these were a tracker bug, designed
to attach to people and send out a low power radio pulse. She reached for
her cell phone before realising that Prue wouldn't be able to receive the
warning while in flight because of the ban on cell phone use in aircraft.
Michelle did a few tests on the device the nanites made of themselves.
One test was to find how to destroy them and or stop them working. Armed
with a way to stop them, Michelle destroyed the nanites in situ and made her
way out of the lab. Knowing that once the outer door was opened the airlock
would be flooded again, Michelle set the cleaner cycle to operate after she
left.
"Bob? I need a favour," Michelle pleaded over her cell. "No nothing like
that, I need a jet to fly me to the states. Prue's in trouble," she told her
friend.
The flight was long, but uneventful for Prue and Kim. They sat in
different rows to minimise the possibility of being recognised as twins.
Even though Kim was now a blonde and Prue was a red head, their similar
faces might trigger questions from the hostesses that plied their trade
along the aisles. They landed at L.A. and collected their luggage before
they passed through customs.
They had a 30 minute wait before their next flight to Houston. It was a
flight they never caught. Two men came up to them, and without warning,
sprayed both Prue and Kim in the face with some sort of aerosol. Prue was
already inhaling at that moment and the effects hit immediately. Her senses
reeled and things got very fuzzy. She could hear the man whisper in her ear,
telling her to obey their commands. She felt dissociated from her body as it
started to walk seemingly on its own. Deep in her mind, she realised they
had been sprayed with some kind of powerful hypnotic.
Michelle knew she was cutting it close. The jet she was on had landed
only 5 minutes after the one her friends were on. Having bought nothing but
hand baggage, she knew she would pass customs quickly. Once she was clear of
customs she retrieved her cell phone and tried calling Prue, but all she got
was her voice mail. Kim's phone responded similarly. Obviously they were
still turned off. She dashed from the private terminal where she'd gone
through customs, hoping that her friends would take longer to process
through the main customs area.
Michelle hurried through the throng of passengers as best she could
looking around for Prue and Kim. She had a hand tracker tuned to the nanite
bugs pulsed frequency and with it turned on; she closed on their current
position. Unfortunately, she was seconds too late as she saw them with two
men who were holding them close and leading them away.
Michelle instinctively knew her friends were in danger, but on the other
hand, she knew this was just the kind of situation that could crack this
case. Deciding that it would be foolish to attempt a rescue against two men,
she decided to follow.
Prue and Kim were led to a blue Ford panel van, where their luggage was
tossed into the rear. One man got in the drivers door while the women were
bundled into the side door with other man. Michelle watched all this as she
hailed a cab from the rank. Once on the road, Michelle made a few calls.
Prue's awareness of her surroundings was like looking though a long
tunnel with just a small opening at the end, showing the world around her.
In her confused state she could hear voices, but they sounded like garble,
as if spoken underwater. Eventually, they were taken to a large building
where the light in the van grew dim as it drove inside.
The men took both women and lead them into an office where they were
securely tied to the office chairs. One started asking questions, which were
in turn answered by the somnolent women. The part of Prue that remained
alert in her head couldn't hear the questions clearly, but obviously the
answers didn't need her co-operation, as her unconscious mind under the
hypnotic control clearly answered them for her. It seemed the answers the
men heard satisfied them for the moment and they then left, after checking
that the ropes were still firmly binding them.
Michelle had followed the van in the cab to a warehouse. Once she was
satisfied that the signal on her tracer was stationary, she made another
call. She had the driver of the cab stop further up the street, while she
waited for the rental car to be delivered to her location.
Inside, the women could feel the drug beginning to wear off. For Prue,
the tunnel end seemed to be getting nearer as her body became more aware.
The knots around her hands were firm and resisted all her efforts.
"Kim, are you awake?" she called softly to her companion.
"Yeah, I still feel groggy though," complained Kim, shaking her head
warily.
"Can you get free?" Prue asked hopefully.
Kim tested her bonds, then seemed to relax for a moment. After a minute
she had one hand free and Prue had a moments fear she'd injured herself,
before realisation sank in. When Kim had pulled her hand free, she didn't
actually have a hand, only a stump. Prue realised with relief that Kim had
used her transforming powers to free herself by absorbing her hand into a
stump that slid free from her bonds.
It only took a minute more before Kim was free and she helped untie Prue
from the chair. Prue could see Kim was already rebuilding her hand, as
fingers were again forming. Decision time once more. Prue tested the door,
finding it unlocked. She eased it open, hearing the two men talking nearby.
"We have two women from the company. One is apparently a secretary and
the other one is from sales. No I don't think so, they don't fit the
descriptions," she heard one say.
"They should be out for another hour or two," the man continued,
obviously using a phone to inform his boss. "You'd better get here soon if
you wish to question them further," he added to the person on the phone.
Prue grinned. It seemed that the hypnotic interrogation hadn't broken the
false personas her friend from the UK had installed for just such a
situation. Sara was an accomplished hypnotist in her own right, and was part
of the UK branch of the company working as a contact for Hugglebug clients.
Prue eased the door wider. The van was parked a few feet away with its
sliding door still open. Seeing the men were somewhere out of sight on the
far side, Prue took a gamble. She slipped off her shoes and padded barefoot
to the van. Inside she found both of their purses lying inside. She grabbed
them and retreated to the office, easing the door closed again.
Michelle had just taken possession of the rental and the driver had taken
the cab back to his depot. Now she was alone, she pulled out her one piece
of luggage and began assembly of her specially modified weapon from the
assorted junk pile of electronics she carried. Once the Tazer was assembled,
she wondered if she should try her friend's cell phones again. As she picked
it up to do just that, it began to ring.
"Hello?" Michelle listened to Prue's hurried conversation, relief warring
with concern, as her friend outlined the plan she had concocted. "Why not
just call the cops?" She asked, thinking Prue's plan was a bit harebrained.
"I heard the two men talking to their boss. It's likely he will be coming
here, so I'd like to catch up with him," Prue answered.
"Okay, but if you need me, just hit the speed dial and I'll be right
there," Michelle promised.
Prue hung up, overjoyed that Michelle was outside waiting. She whispered
her news to Kim as they pulled various items from their handbags.
The two abductors heard shouts coming from the office where the two women
were being held. Although distance isolated the captives so that their
voices wouldn't be overheard by anyone outside, it was annoying, so they
decided to gag them till their boss arrived. Picking up some duct tape, they
re-entered the office to see the two women struggling in their seats. The
man with the tape tore off a piece and handed it to his accomplice before
moving towards Prue. As both men leaned close to tape the women's mouths,
both Prue and Kim sprayed the two men with the aerosol perfume they had
concealed behind their backs. The two men stiffened under the influence of
the paralysing neural toxin/hypnotic Kim had developed.
Immediately, both women got out of their chairs, the ropes they had
arranged to look like they were still fastened securely, falling away as
they stood up. They caught the two men before they folded to the floor,
easing them down without injury. Next, Prue called Michelle who came in like
a flash. They stripped the two men down to their underwear and then both
Prue and Kim did the same, leaving only their panties on.
Concentrating for a few minutes, the two women became carbon copies of
the men closest to their original body sizes. This meant that Prue became
the shorter more intelligent looking man, and Kim became the heavier set
man.
Then they donned the appropriate man's clothing. "Why do I suddenly feel
like eating a banana?" Kim quipped as she pulled the coat over her suddenly
huge shoulders.
"Maybe because it's APE propriate," chuckled Prue, making fun of Kim's
new form.
Both Kim and Prue had experienced being men before, using special
non-permanent Hugglebugs so it wasn't too much to of a surprise.
Michelle laughed, seeing what was coming next, as Prue opened her Midol
packet. Each pill in the pack held a particular Hugglebug nanite form.
Michelle helped slip a pill under the tongues of the men, who then started
their own transformation. The larger of the two started to shrink across the
shoulders and has arms shortened. Soon he was looking less like an ape man
than he'd been, eventually looking like Kim in her Michelle form. The other
shrank too, but his final form was different. He ended up as a redhead about
the same physical size as and with the appearance of Prue's borrowed form.
While the paralyzing toxin was wearing off, Prue and Kim took advantage
of the hypnotic to program some responses and added a few trigger words for
good measure. Once the newly minted women began to shrug off the toxin, Prue
commanded them to get dressed in the female apparel that Prue and Kim had
been wearing.
Due to the hypnotic commands, the two former men were forced to act like
the females they now were. They seemed distraught that they were wearing
men's underwear, so Kim went out to the van and produced two pairs of
panties from their luggage
It took a lot of control not to laugh as the "women" struggled into their
bras. The dichotomy between the thought and action seemed hilarious, as the
two, who now thought of themselves as female, couldn't understand why they
were having so much trouble putting on something they should be used to
wearing everyday.
Michelle finally took pity on them and aided them, while Kim and Prue
went outside for a minute or so to get the amusement out of their system.
"Sandra and Catherine are dressed now," Michelle announced after about
five minutes.
The two women had been given the names that Prue and Kim had used on
their false passports. Prue and Kim came back in to see the women putting on
lipstick that Michelle had given them from the purses Prue had brought
inside.
They waited till they finished before giving the code phrase that would
turn the women's minds back into their former male identities.
At once, their posture changed and protests burst forth at what had
happened to them.
"QUIET," thundered Prue, knowing that due to the programming earlier, the
former men would have to obey them.
The women fell silent, but distress showed in their eyes at the sight of
their current bodies and the clothes they were wearing.
They answered the questions Prue asked about their former lives and the
situation with their bosses' arrival, without fuss, having been commanded to
tell the truth. Armed with the new information, plans had to be made. Prue,
being the person she was, didn't want to stress the male egos hidden inside
their new feminine exterior too much, even though in her mind they deserved
some punishment. She spoke the code word that sent the two men back into
their false personas, easing the stresses on the new women's minds.
Prue, Kim and Michelle went outside to discuss what to do next.
"There's something fishy going on here," Prue muttered, feeling that
something the two newly transformed had confessed was warning her of danger.
"Why? Because he's from the Middle East?" asked Kim expectantly.
"No it wasn't that," Prue answered, trying not to let cultural
differences colour her thoughts. "He wanted 'us' so he can get the secret of
changing men into women."
"So? That's what we do," replied Michelle.
"But we don't just do male to female. He didn't seem interested in female
to male changes. Given that the majority of women are treated like second
class citizens in the Middle East, why would he be interested in that
particular transformation?"
"I see what you mean," agreed Kim. "Those two inside, said he lives in
the Middle East and is only here visiting. If he holds the regions biased
views about women being less than a man, I can't see much point in his
interest."
"It might be why he wasn't interested in the female to male
transformation though," Michelle pointed out. He wouldn't want women
climbing up to the status of being men," she suggested.
"We need question him further …" agreed Prue, "much further."
Plans were made and discarded, as the flaws in them were pointed out.
Knowing that Raymond Hammond, the name the boss was currently going by would
probably have several bodyguards, interrogating him here would be out of the
question.
Everyone took their positions, as the cell phone in Prue's hand announced
the arrival of their target. Blessing the special nanites that precisely
mimicked the voice belonging to the body she now wore, she answered the
phone.
"Boss, I suggest leaving the car outside," she answered, as part of her
plan.
Prue waved to Kim to open the personnel door next to the closed roller
door, as she outlined her reasons. "We are now criminals in the eyes of the
law with the abduction of our captives. I suggest having the car readied for
a quick exit, and have the driver stay at the wheel."
Seeing Kim signal that there were two bodyguards and a driver with
Raymond, Prue further suggested leaving one guard outside the warehouse.
Raymond grumbled, but agreed, seeing the reason behind it. Then he hung
up the phone and exited the limo, leaving instructions with the driver. His
bodyguards got out too, scouring the area for threats with grim
determination. Kim shook hands with Raymond and escorted him and one guard
inside. The other guard stood outside, looking unhappy at leaving his charge
side.
"Hello Ray," greeted Prue, as the three men walked over to the van where
she/he was standing. "I have the women inside with my expert interrogator."
"Interrogator?" asked a disturbed Raymond, not liking to be surprised by
the news that there was a stranger present.
"She's an ex-girlfriend of mine, and one of the best there is." Prue
stated. "I thought a female might get more out of them than a man could,"
she explained.
Raymond signalled to his guard to check out the office where the women
were being held. Prue opened the door to allow the guard to check out the
room thoroughly. The guard seemed satisfied after patting Michelle down for
any weapons. Of course, Michelle played up to him, moaning a little as his
hands ran up her legs.
"Everything checks out boss," the guard called out to Raymond.
Raymond then entered the office with Prue and Kim right on his tail.
Raymond at once checked out Michelle, running his eyes up and down her form,
seemingly satisfied that she was no threat and dismissing her from his
attention.
"I suggest your guard remain outside, unless you want him privy to what
the women know," Prue began as the captives looked fearfully on as
previously instructed by hypnotic command.
Raymond nodded, and waved the guard's protests aside, telling him to wait
outside till he called. As soon as the guard was outside and the door
closed, Raymond found himself in trouble. While Prue held him and kept him
from yelling, Michelle sprayed him with the hypnotic spray from her perfume
bottle. Unlike the one that Prue had used on their abductors, this didn't
contain a paralysing agent. Both Prue and Kim had to hold him still while it
took effect.
Once Raymond stopped struggling, they knew they had to work fast. Prue
gave him some commands that would force him to trust them and obey her
instructions. Once that, and a trigger phrase to go back into a deep trance
was done, they released him after ensuring that he forgot the last few
minutes.
Prue then told Raymond that they should go to a more secure area where
they could question the captives without fear of interruption or having cops
come looking for the stolen van they'd used.
"We can use the car Miranda rented to help ferry our passengers,"
suggested Prue, having hastily changed Michelle's name to Miranda.
"I'll drive and one of your guards can keep the women company," Miranda
urged, giving Prue a sour look at her instant name change.
Prue shrugged an apology at her once Raymond turned away from her and was
heading for the door. Soon, the newly minted women were escorted to
Miranda's car, along with one of the guards. Prue and Kim sat in the limo
with Raymond and the other guard, while the driver moved out.
Prue knew this part was going to be very risky, but trusted her hypnotic
command for Raymond to go somewhere where they could have some privacy. The
driver got his instructions to drive to an address in Long Beach.
When they arrived, Michelle was waved through the gate, following on the
heels of the limo on instructions conveyed by the driver via Raymond. Both
cars drove into the underground garage of the villa like dwelling.
Everyone got out and Raymond took the lead, taking them to another room
on the same level as the garage. Prue noticed that the door was solid, and
much thicker than normal, so she assumed that this was a soundproofed room.
This was confirmed once they got inside, by the bondage gear fitted to the
walls. The guard led the two women to chairs which were fitted with
restraints and bolted to the floor. Once they were secured there, the guard
went over and stood by the door.
Prue whispered to Raymond about having too many ears listening, tilting
her head towards the guard. Raymond nodded, not even needing the hypnotic
command to see that was a good idea.
"Steven, I want you to seal this area and allow no one inside this level
till I tell you to," Raymond commanded authoritatively.
The guard acknowledged the order and left, leaving them alone. Although
they were now deep in enemy territory, Prue felt a sense of relief that they
wouldn't be disturbed for some time. Now hopefully, they could find out what
Raymond intended.
It was worse than she'd feared. Raymond was a terrorist. Once back in a
hypnotic trance, he revealed that he had plans to spread an aerial borne
nanite plague that would transform men living in America to women, his
reasoning being that suddenly becoming women, and demoralised at becoming
what he regarded as second class citizens would make them easily defeated.
Prue fumed and paced furiously across the room, her mind trying to find a
solution that would take care of Raymond and his cohorts without
jeopardising their own safety.
Probing further, Prue found out that Raymond was to leave the states soon
with a progress report to his backers on this novel concept of his. Somehow,
Prue wanted to have them infected with a particular type of nanite that
would teach them the error of their ways, and take care of the threat they
posed at the same time.
She pulled Michelle over to one side and talked quietly for a few minutes
before bringing Raymond out of the trance.
"Let these two leave, then come back here and feed the prisoners,"
ordered Raymond, as he indicated Michelle and Kim. "I expect them to come
back tomorrow, so bring them directly to the house," he added as Prue
followed Raymond up the stairs to the house.
Prue knew that staying with Raymond added to the risks she was taking
even though she was in the guise of one of his trusted men, but having Kim
stay as well only doubled those chances. No, it was better that Kim go with
Michelle to get the nanite solution she wanted from the Hugglebug satellite
plant in the States.
Of course Raymond was under the impression that Michelle was going to
bring back what he wanted, "having extracted the information" from the
prisoners.
Prue dined well that evening, although the company left much to be
desired. Once Raymond had assigned a room for her to sleep in, she begged
off the evening's entertainment, pleading fatigue and a mild headache. In
the morning, after breakfast, she was allowed to check on the prisoners.
They were slumped in the same chairs as the night before, obviously having
been kept that way all night. Prue felt awful that she hadn't insisted they
be treated more humanely. All this only steeled her resolve to go through
with her plan. She wondered how many of the guards knew of Raymond's
ultimate plan. Most of them were not of Middle Eastern extraction, probably
just hired locally from various nefarious sources.
Kim came back alone late afternoon. Michelle wisely stayed away as a
backup for "just in case." Kim carried a carton of Coors under one arm and a
small plain box in the other hand. Prue took the box and passed it on to
Raymond, while Kim distributed the beer among the guards. Raymond put the
box into his safe, and there, Prue triggered the hypnotic phrase that sent
him under for the last time. She gave him very specific instructions before
bringing him out of his trance. Prue then gave him bogus instructions on the
nanites deployment, supposedly given by the prisoners.
Prue gathered the two prisoners, along with Kim, and left Raymond's
house, using the car Kim had driven. Raymond was of course under the
impression that all three, now that they were of no more use, were to be
terminated by her at an undisclosed location.
Kim sat quietly beside Prue as they drove away, but Prue could see Kim's
relief as they put distance between Raymond and themselves. Prue noticed a
cab tailing them, so she slowed and as it pulled along side, Michelle waved
at them from the rear. So Prue stopped and Michelle transferred to their
car, after paying off the cabbie.
They drove directly to the plant where Kim had programmed the nanites
Raymond wanted for his plan. Before they arrived, Prue triggered the
hypnotic trigger that sent the two changed women into a trance. Prue didn't
want to take the chance of them knowing the whereabouts of the US branch
even though they would soon be embarking on a far different life than
before. Now that they were out of public view, Kim and Prue morphed back
into their own bodies again.
While Michelle hustled up documentation for the new additions to the
sisterhood, they used a new nanite, designed to wear off a year later to
give them different forms than their own. Prue and Kim didn't want an extra
set of their bodies running around unsupervised. Prue supplied them both
with enough identification and money to live as the women they appeared to
be. They also gave them a pocket edition of their new lives while under
hypnosis and a small aerosol can.
They took them back out to the car as Michelle drove them to the bus
depot and then brought the two women out of the trance. The two women
separated due to the hypnotic prompting, set off into their new lives.
"What do you think will happen when the nanites start to reverse the
changes in a year?" asked Michelle, once she was reunited with the others.
"Attractive as they are, and having all memories of being men locked
away, I should think they will end up with boyfriends, or even lovers." Prue
grinned.
"What if they get pregnant?"
"Can't happen," Kim interrupted. "The nanite will prevent fertilisation
during their time as women. Only if they want to continue as women, will we
give them that choice."
"We hope that the time they spend as women will change their attitudes.
Just before the changes reverse, their memories of being men will resurface
while they will retain all their memories of their time as women. That's
when they each will have to make a choice. They both have been given
hypnotic incentives to get a job and build a life as women. Once their
memories return they will know that within a week they will become men
again. If at that time, they want to remain female, they will remember the
small aerosol can we gave them with a permanent version nanite of their
female forms."
"I'd love to be there then," giggled Michelle.
"Wouldn't we all," agreed Prue and Kim simultaneously, making everyone
laugh.
"I still say that they are being rewarded, rather than punished," Kim
grumbled.
"I think the agony of their ultimate decision will be enough. If they opt
for remaining a man, how will they reconcile they way they felt as a women
and having sex with a male?" Prue posed the question.
"Let's get out of here. I want to get home and eat a tub of Hokey Pokey
ice cream," Michelle urged, licking her lips.
"Just as well your form is fixed, otherwise you'd probably look like a
whale, the amount of ice cream you eat," laughed Prue, as she set the
security alarms prior to leaving.
"Whale, she does that on porpoise, you know," chuckled Kim, as they all
headed to the car.
Four days later in the Auckland lab, Kim once again ran excitedly into
Prue's office.
"I think I cracked it," Kim rejoiced.
"Your head?" quipped Prue with a grin.
"No. The answer to Michelle's permanent nanite form. "Kim replied, the
joke passing her notice completely.
"Great, how did you bypass the nanites defences against new intrusions of
nanites?" Asked Prue interestedly.
"Well… they sneak in under disguise." Began Kim. "Michelle stands naked
in front of a mirror while the morphing nanite is injected. She then
concentrates her mind on her form as it is, making the new nanites mimic the
nanites already in her body. The old nanites won't attack themselves, and
while they think the new nanites are just like themselves, they will leave
them alone. I set up an extra program within the new nanites so they attach
to the old nanites. They are all attached in about 15 minutes and then the
new nanites infect the old nanites with a logic bomb virus, destroying
them."
"Do you think this will work?" asked Prue, having followed Kim's logic.
"See for yourself," Kim grinned as Michelle walked into the office.
Prue watched, as Michelle's form shimmered and altered, becoming a twin
to Prue's.
"Tah dah!" Michelle cried, doing a twirl and nearly tripping over her
skirt which had slipped off her smaller form and lay in a tangle at her
feet.
"Oops!"
Prue and Kim giggled at the sight of Michelle's suddenly red face.
"Kim? I want this made available to any staff that have the permanent
form of nanites," ordered Prue.
"Can I get a pay rise, or a clothing allowance, seeing I'll be able to
change sizes now?" Michelle pleaded hopefully.
"Out!" Prue thundered, pointing at the door. She grinned at the sight of
them both trying to scramble out the door first. When they were gone, Prue
made a note to increase their wages, as they certainly both deserved it.
The end
Postscript. In a small room somewhere in Iraq, a group of men gathered.
They were called together to discuss the plans that their leader Raymond
Hammond had come up with. Once all the men were seated, Raymond secured the
door for security reasons, never knowing that it was all part of post
hypnotic command given to him a week ago. Once the door was secure, he went
over and sat at the table where a small box sat.
"Welcome. Today we have the means to rid ourselves of the tyranny of the
hated Americans," he boasted with a grin on his face.
Raymond leaned forward and broke the seal on the box. As he opened the
lid, he suddenly wondered why he'd never even thought to open it until now.
A hiss ensued and a white vapour filled the room, as the nanite can was
triggered to release its promised cargo. Chaos ensued, as men began
shouting, and scrambled towards the now locked door. Raymond stood paralysed
as he realised the import of the gas. Too late, he turned towards the door
to escape his fate. Men began falling as the anaesthetic gas containing the
nanites took its toll. Soon silence reigned as the forms on the floor slowly
changed.
The guards outside the complex were puzzled by the appearance of the
strange women when they finally decided to break the door down some hours
later. Even dressed in men's clothes, they were still obviously beautiful.
The guards hauled the unconscious women out and handed them to their
womenfolk to be properly dressed in Abayahs and the scarf-like Hejab. Of the
men thought to be in the room, no sign was ever found. Needless to say, the
threat to change the men of America never arose…oops, sorry about
that…giggle.
*********************************************
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