Cold I.R.O.N. (MCTF) Part 2 (Patreon)

Hey folks!

I hope all is well out there, as always. Things are getting a little busy over here, but hopefully nothing's going to get in the way of my writing. The next main-line Serenity episode is coming along pretty nicely - it's probably the biggest project I've attempted on here (or at least the most complicated) so it's an interesting learning experience! Looking forward to getting that out to you all.

I maaaay have forgotten to say that last week's story was a Part 1, but luckily, here's Part 2 for you right now! Please enjoy the transformational hijinks that will surely end well for everyone involved!

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The proud Spirit Warden that was Kelly Koizumi had a bad feeling about this one. She wasn’t sure why – it wasn’t like the sky was burning or the rivers were running with blood, the kind of stuff you’d expect in a major incursion. But something was tripping up her sixth sense.

Maybe it was this mansion. It was a creepy place, even in the full light of day. And not even in a spooky way. It was just kind of ick. Who had lived here? Was this supposed to be some kind of playboy mansion? There was so much lewd art around the place, so many pictures of women with their tops off, or stupidly slutty sculptures. Did someone seriously get off on this kind of thing? Kinda pathetic, wasn’t it?

… At least, that was what she had thought at first. But the deeper into the first floor she delved, the more she began to wonder if there was maybe more to all of this. There was something about all this lewd ‘art’. Some of the pieces didn’t feel right. It’d be small things. The odd pose of one statue’s feet, as if they were tenses to start running, despite the sculpture lounging against a wall. The way one painting’s eyes were looking off out of frame, just a touch too wide to be alluring, looking more alarmed instead. The art on a novelty deck of cards that looked more like the Queen was trying to escape her frame rather than show off her heart shaped cleavage window…

Hm. These were just pieces of art, right?

Frowning, the brunette paused in front of a mirror hanging on the wall and studied it, eyeing the gold frame. It was, like seemingly everything else in this stupid mansion, imbued with the female form. Specifically, it was two angels, naked save for their wings, hands clasped over the top, and their feet pressed against each other down below, the mirror sitting nearly within the hold between them. The whole thing was probably heretical in some way, but Kelly didn’t care about that kind of stuff.

What she cared about was the world – and the people – she had sworn to protect. And if her suspicions were correct, then…

The angels glittered in the light, having the odd kind of glow that cast their value as either solid 24 carat, or thinly painted tat, with no in-between. Biting her lip, she looked closer, squinting. The one on the left seemed normal enough. But the angel on the right – didn’t she look almost… familiar? Like she’d seen that face somewhere before.

A worrying feeling stole over the brunette spirit warden. For some reason she was suddenly reminded of a missing persons report from a few months ago. She kept track of those, looking for disappearances in the area, keeping an eye out for signs of other-worldly activity. And she could have sworn that some girl who’d disappeared while out hiking had just the same face…

A shudder ran through her as she glanced at all the ‘art’ in the hall, before looking back to the mirror. It sounded far too wild, but if what she suspected was true, dozens, perhaps even hundreds of people might have been-

“Hey there!”

“Gyah!” Even a well-trained spirit warden like Kelly wasn’t going to be able to stop herself from jumping at the arrival of Amanda Richards’ voice right next to their ear. She spun around to glare at the blonde. “Where the hell did you come from?!”

“The stairs.” Amanda jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, pointing towards the entrance hall. “I wasn’t even being subtle. What’s got you all distracted? Obsessing over your own reflection?”

“No!” The brunette huffed, her embarrassment making her irritable. “I was just… y’know, checking something.”

“Was it the target?” The blonde tilted her head, eyes flashing knowingly. “Because I’ve already covered the ground floor, and she isn’t down there. Figured I’d come see if I owed you a drink already.”

Ha. Sure she had. No, Amanda had definitely rushed up here to try and steal the win from her. So predictable.

“Well no luck so far,” Kelly chuckled with a shake of her head. “I’ve been up here this entire time, and I haven’t seen it. Even Rachel’s spell hasn’t…” She trailed off, brow folding.

Rachel’s spell was going off.

Damnit! She’d let herself be distracted by this stupid art, and then by Amanda, that she didn’t notice. This was a rookie mistake! Her senses jumped straight to high alert, searching for any sign of the source of the danger.

Suddenly, Amanda gasped, eyes wide with shock. “Over there!” She yelled, pointing over Kelly’s shoulder.

The spirit warden spun around, seals raised, ready to fight – but instead she just found herself facing the mirror again, with no sign of any threat. In fact, the only change was a note that hadn’t been there before, pinned just under the mirror. It read ‘Gotcha~’.

Then, before she could process what she was seeing, something slammed hard into the middle of her back, almost lifting her off her feet. She wobbled wildly, trying to rebalance herself and respond to the attack, but to her horror, her body had suddenly stopped responding to her. She couldn’t move a muscle.

So instead she rocked on her toes for a moment, before settling back into a standing position, her legs locked straight underneath her, her hands raised up, seals held between her fingers, mid-way between surprise and defensive. Her eyes could still shoot about, darting from side to side, and her mouth worked just barely, struggling to open and close as though her mouth was full of chewing gum, but that was all she could manage.

At her side, she saw Amanda flash her a smile in the mirror – but it wasn’t an Amanda smile. There was a vicious edge around it, and her eyes were dark with malevolence. Far too late, heart sinking like a stone, Kelly realised where the real danger had been coming from.

“Tut tut, little solider,” the blonde scolded her, waggling a finger in her face. But her voice was sounding less and less like Amanda’s by the second. “What are you doing, getting so distracted on the job like that? Anyone could take advantage!”

Kelly grunted, shooting daggers at the imposter with her eyes, but that only served to make that vile smirk grow wider.

“Don’t worry,” the fake blonde continued,  I’ve given you just the thing to fix you up. You’ll never have to worry about getting distracted again~” She grabbed the spirit warden’s shoulders and rotated her to the right, facing down the hall, before reaching around to hook a finger under her chin and guide her head back around to look at the mirror. “Take a look.”

The brunette couldn’t do anything but. Her gaze swept over the mirror, trying to work out what this creature had done to her. For better or worse, it wasn’t hard to spot.

There was a key sticking out of her back. It was made of metal – silver perhaps? Or maybe just steel. The shaft was thick and round, but not very long. It only extended maybe half a foot from her before it came to an end, spreading into a bow with two rounded wings and little holes in the middle. There didn’t seem to be a wound under it, no blood – the key just plugged straight into the middle of her back like there was a hold there for it to fit into…

And something bothered her about the design. It felt familiar. Where had she seen it before? Wait…

“Here.” Not-Amanda grabbed the key with both hands, gripping tight. “Let me help tighten your focus~!” Then she gave it a hearty spin, forcing it to turn despite obvious resistance-

And Kelly felt something inside her twist.

A sudden tension filled her chest, a kind of tightness, like she couldn’t breathe, even though her lungs worked fine. They proved that as a gasp burst from her lips, and she somehow stood up even straighter, her arms clamping to her sides, legs slamming together. Her head shuddered for a moment, her neck stiffening as well, but her gaze remained pointed at the mirror.

That was how she could see the wave of bright red spreading across her back, going outwards from where the key was buried in her spine. The colour was covering over her fatigues, spilling out as far as her shoulders and the small of her back, before slowing to a halt. To her slightly dazed eye, it didn’t look like it was just dying her clothes red. There were no fabric folds under that red wave, no rumbles or creases. Everything looked strangely… smooth. Almost-

The fake blonde gave the key another twist.

Kelly’s body rocked again, another gasp echoing from her lips. This one was quieter, though, and it was accompanied by a grunt as her head snapped forwards, facing down the corridor, her neck stiffening like the rest of her body. The tension in her chest grew, tightened, began to spread. She could feel it slipping into her arms and winding into her legs, this strange, building restless energy.

She tried to look down, tried to force her head to move enough to see what was happening. It won her about a centimetre, but that was enough. Now the brunette could see the red wave slipping over her shoulders, transforming her clothing into that strange smooth surface. Was that supposed to be red paint? The skin underneath it was tingling, the colour dripping down her front, slowly covering her clea… Wait.

Was her chest getting bi-?

Twwwwist!

There was no gasp this time, no shock or wobble, save from the slight rock as her head straightened up again. The stiffness had spread through her swelling chest now, solidifying it all under a coating of red paint – the same paint that was dripping down her thighs and running down her elbows.

But more importantly, the tightness had spread up into her head.

Kell’s eyes locked in place, staring straight forwards, her lips sealing themselves together. Her mind grew cloudy as it began to grow tighter too. Her racing thoughts slowed, struggling to move as her head grew stiffer and stiffer. The tightness was winding up her brain, all of her ideas and plans getting caught them up on twisting spokes and reeled into solid nothingness.

She could feel it. The key in her back. So tight. So stiff. But it still had a bit more give in it. And she could feel it starting to turn.

Tw-

It clicked around, one tooth of a gear ticking, the mechanisms winding through her solid body winding just that bit tighter. Her lips, frozen in stony stoicism, twitched, the corners of her mouth pulling up ever so slightly.

-w-

She couldn’t struggle. She couldn’t resist. She couldn’t think! All of her thoughts had been wound up so, so tight, so tight that they’d disappeared. All she could do was feel this incredible, impossible pressure inside her, begging to be released.

-w-

The paint had covered her from the neck down now. Her top had turned into a red uniform jacket with golden buttons, while her pants had become pitch black, matching with her shoes, which now swelled thick and solid to balance her wobbly frame – a counterweight to the proud chest she now sported, bigger than her head.

-w-

With each click of the key that echoed through her body, her smile grew wider and wider, the light behind her eyes growing dimmer and dimmer. With her thoughts wound up and silent, her head felt almost as hollow as it was stiff. She couldn’t care about what was happening, couldn’t worry or fight. The only thing that she could feel was the tension, the wound-up energy that filled her to the brim.

She just wanted release!

-ist!

The key locked into place, just as her smile reached its peak. In that moment, the paint finally swept up her neck, covering her face and hair, setting them in place permanently. A second later, and all she had was a silly, frozen smile on a painted face, and hair made of brown string.

But she didn’t care. She was practically vibrating, there was so much tension. She just needed- She just needed-!

The woman with her key giggled, leaning forwards to whisper in her ear. “Off you go then.”

And then she let go!

Instantly the tension unwound

A single word filled her head. One thought, over and over and over.

March!

Her left leg swung out, lunging forwards, arms swinging. She took a single step. Bliss! Her empty head filled with delight as she fulfilled her purpose.

Another step. Yes! It felt so good! March!

March!

March! March! March! March!

Without a thought or care, Kelly marched down the hall, her legs taking perfectly even strides, her feet clunking against the floor with metallic clangs. Her smiling face bobbled from side to side as she swayed with each step.

March! March! March! March!

Unnoticed by her, every mechanical stride was covering less ground. Not because she was shortening her steps, though, no, perish the thought! It was simply because her legs were shortening themselves.

March! … March! … March!

With each step she was shrinking, her entire body losing mass. After five steps she’d lost a foot. After ten she’d lost three. By the time she hit fifteen she was less than a quarter of her original size, and was showing no sign of slowing down – nor of caring.

March… March…

Her pace was starting to plod, though. The key in her back spinning slower and slower with each rotation. The mechanisms inside her were running out of power, out of tension. The release had been incredible, but now she was running on empty, despite her smaller frame.

Ma-

And finally, she stopped. Frozen in place, with her left leg on the floor, her right raised, mid-step, at a height of just about six inches tall.

“There you go.” Footsteps echoed around her, so loud when she was so small, though she didn’t notice. “A proper little soldier now, aren’t you?”

Kelly just smiled.

The imposter chuckled, plucking the key out of the toy’s back, and placed both down on a nearby shelf. “That should keep you out of trouble. But my, you’re not making this very difficult, are you? I expected more out of your humans… Oh, so sorry. Almost forgot – you’re not human anymore, are you?”

Kelly just smiled.

“Delightful.” The fake blonde gave her one last sadistic smile, before walking away. “I’ll leave you to it then. And don’t worry, dear, I’m sure no one will ever disturb you up there.”

She left, footsteps slowly fading in her wake.

The tin soldier that had once been Kelly Koizumi stood on the shelf, smiling blankly, her head devoid of all thought – and so she would remain, until someone finally wound her key, and let her march again.

-

Rachel Bell was feeling paranoid.

It was getting close to the end of the 30 minutes she’d given the group, and she hadn’t found anything, nor had she seen a trace of anyone living here. This entire mansion felt empty, like it had been abandoned – but even if the trail hadn’t led here, even if the SWAT team hadn’t ended up like they had, it was obvious that couldn’t be the case. The building was filled with far too many valuables – if it was abandoned, someone would have stolen some of this stuff.

Instead, she had a feeling that anyone trying might have joined the collection…

Either way, there weren’t many rooms left to check. If it hadn’t been for the fact that neither of her teammates had radioed in yet, she would have assumed that someone else must have found the target by now. But yeah, there was no way they wouldn’t be bragging if they had. The hunt was still on. The prey was just being elusive.

It must have hidden itself really well – or perhaps it had already fled when it sensed them coming? Either way, it clearly wasn’t showing itself. As she opened the door to one last conference room, she couldn’t help but feel like this mission was probably going to take an absolute age to-

A red-haired fox woman was sitting at the other end of the conference room, waving towards the door. “Hi there, cutie~!”

Rachel stared. The woman was clearly inhuman. If the pointed ears and the orange fur didn’t give that away, surely the three fluffy orange tails behind her did the job, flicking up behind her shoulders like flames. There wasn’t even a question that this was the target.

So why wasn’t her warning spell wasn’t going off? Surely she was in danger right now?

But the fox woman didn’t seem to be looking to attack her. Instead, she just kept her hands in full view, one waving, the other playing with a weird green mask on the table. “So, the last two of you didn’t last long, and I thought that maybe I’d try to take a different approach with you. Hi. I’m Kit. The kitsune. Obviously.” She gestured to the tails.

“Now, humans are fascinating to me, but I admit, I struggle with you sometimes. I make mistakes, or I don’t understand something you guys find simple. Cultural issues, you know? I could really use someone to help me avoid that kind of thing. A human translator, if you will. And you seem pretty well informed on both my kind and yours. How would you like to make a deal?”

The dark haired woman raised an eyebrow. There was only one way to answer a question like that.

“Lighting blast!” She fired a bolt of pure electricity from her finger straight up the table.

The fox dodged it, flipping to the side and landing neatly on the table. “Tch. Humans.”

“What kind of idiot do you take me for? Only a fool makes a deal with your kind!” It would be like giving one of these things her name – or maybe worse. Once you agreed to a deal with them, they could do practically anything with you! Twist your mind and body as they pleased! “Lighting blast!”

Kit sidestepped this one, swirling around the attack in a blur of tails, before sticking out her hand, one finger waggling. “Ah ah ah! Careful, sweetie – keep firing like that and you might hit the hostage.” She grinned.

Rachel, who had been a half-second from firing again, paused. “What?”

The fox gestured to herself – specifically, to the golden chain hanging around her neck. “You’re here for the good Senator, right? She was getting in the way of a few games I’ve been playing with your world, so I decided to teach her a lesson about what happens to stubborn bitches who won’t take a hint.” She pushed out her chest. “I think she’s enjoying herself.”

Rachel squinted. Hanging from the chain, almost buried between the inhuman creature’s breasts, was a golden coin. It had an odd shaped engraving…

“Want a better look?” Kit pulled the chain over her head in a quick, smooth motion, and dangled it in front of the I.R.O.N. agent’s face for her to see clearly. “Here – I’m not lying~”

The dark-haired witch jolted backwards, surprised at how close the fox had gotten so suddenly, but her eyes focused on the necklace anyway. From here, she could definitely see the coin, though its design was still hard to pick out with it swinging about like that.

Swish…

She could see a woman’s face… Tch, but before she could get a good look the coin swung around, and now all she could see was an engraving of an entirely too fat pair of ass cheeks. This thing definitely wasn’t legal tender.

Swish…

It spun around again, and Rachel squinted. That face… Was it the Senators? If she’d lost a couple of decades somehow, at least. She looked like a woman in her early 20s, if anything – and that vapid smile on her face made her look like a total bimbo…

Swish…

Oh for-!

“Stop moving it,” the witch grunted, trying to focus.

“Oh, is this difficult for you?” Kit asked innocently. “Can’t you follow as it swings back and forth…?

Swish…

“No, I-”

“But it’s so easy!” The fox woman interrupted. “It’s just going back and forth in a steady rhythm. Back and forth. Left and right. Just follow it with your eyes, don’t stress out.”

Swish…

Rachel growled, but she found herself doing as the creature said anyway. Just let herself relax, stop straining her eyes, and follow the coin…

Swish…

“That’s it. It’s not hard. Just focus on the coin as it swings back and forth, left to right…” Kit’s voice took on a soothing tone. “Focus on the coin, block out everything else…”

Despite herself, the witch followed her advice. Focus on the coin, block out everything else…

Swish…

“Let everything else fall away…”

Everything else… fall away…

Swish…

“Isn’t it relaxing?”

Re-relaxing…? It… kinda was, actually… The nice, easy rhythm of the coin… following the glittering golden arc… Kinda…  soothing…

Swish…

“You must be so tired after coming all this way, right?”

Rachel’s eyelids fluttered, but she managed to keep watching the coin. Tired? Yeah, maybe a little…

Swish…

“You have such a difficult job, and you’ve been working so hard. It’s fine to take a break and relax a little, isn’t it?”

The witch yawned, eyes almost closing again, just barely staying open. Yeah… she had been working… hard, hadn’t she? A small break would be… fine… just… a little one…

Swish…

She’d slumped forwards now, head bobbing as she followed the coin. At some point her arms had drooped to hang limply at her sides, her lips growing damp as her jaw began to drop. Everything felt so hazy…

But the fox’s voice still filled her ears clearly.

“Just follow the coin and relax…”

Swish…

“Empty your mind of stress.”

Yeah… That sounded… nice… Rachel’s lips began to pull into a sleepy smile as she felt all the weight she’d been carrying just slough off of her shoulders. All that stress, slipping away…

Swish…

“Empty your mind of worry.”

Her eyelids fluttered again, drooping down so close to closed as all of her worries faded away. The captured senator, her missing team, her fear of the creature, all of it evaporated as she let herself relax.

Swish…

“Empty your mind completely.”

Her smile was wide and vacant, her eyes half-lidded and glazed. The last of her dizzy, tired thoughts vanished, leaving her perfectly empty. Perfectly relaxed. Perfectly focused on the coin.

Swi-

“And sleep.”

With a snap, the coin vanished up into Kit’s hand – and Rachel’s head dropped, her eyes slamming shut as sleep took her. She stood there, swaying in place, her arms dangling at her sides, mouth hanging open, drool dripping down onto the floor. Her head was completely empty. She was totally relaxed.

And the fox woman was delighted to see it.

“That’s a good girl!” She said, gently petting the witch’s curly locks. “Now, I know you didn’t like that last deal I offered, but how about this: You let me do whatever I like with you, and in return, I’ll do whatever I like~ Say yes, dear.”

“Yes dear…” Rachel mumbled, the words easily filling her empty head.

Kit’s eyes lit up with evil delight as the contract was sealed. “Perfect! Ah, wonderful. Look at you, you sleepy little thing. I’d let you sit down, but none of these chairs are very good. What this place really needs is a good comfy chair…” She put a finger to her lips, looking around conspicuously, a malicious smile spreading over her face. “Say, would you do me a favour?”

The fox slid up close, arm around the witch’s shoulders. Then, loudly, she spoke right into the entranced woman’s ear.

“Forget everything you’ve ever known,” she ordered, her voice ringing with contractual command. “You’re a just chair.” Her fingers snapped.

Rachel gasped, a shock rolling through her body, but her empty mind could provide no objection. Everything she’d ever known – her memories, her training, her magic, her friends, her family, her identity – popped out of existence in an instant. She was a chair… She was a chair… She- It was a chair!

Its eyes rolled up in its head and turned into golden spirals as it fell backwards, catching itself on its palms, body pressing up to make itself into an arch. Then its limbs began to stiffen, her dark skin turning the colour of varnished wood, grain-like patterns running through her skin.

With a groan, its upper thighs merged together, forming into a seat as its lower legs solidified into wooden chair legs. Its back straightened up, pushing out its chest as its breasts puffed out into padded green cushioning. Its arms rose up stiffly in front of it, soon set in place as wooden armrests. Its head rose up and then flattened, freezing in place – now nothing more than a headrest with a stupid smile.

Rachel Bell was feeling nothing. It was a chair.

“There we go!” Kit hopped right in, stretching out in her newest furniture, tails tickling the former Rachel’s face. “Mmm, that’s the stuff. Much more comfortable. The perfect place to work from. And speaking of, I’d better get back to it – can’t be messing around with a silly old chair all day~”

Giggling to herself – for there was certainly no one else around - she slipped her Amanda mask back on. One shower of green sparks later, the blonde was reaching for her radio.

“Commander, this is Richards, calling in to confirm the kill on the interloper,” she said, exactly as Amanda Richards would have done, if Amdanda Richards was not an empty-headed mannequin left gathering dust in a forgotten storage room. “Nasty critter, but I got it. Looks like it got Koizumi and Bell, though.”

There was some chatter from the other end, and the imposter nodded, her tone sombre.

“Yes sir. They knew the job. I’ll try and figure out what happened to them, but in the meantime - I think I’ve got the Senator back. Unfortunately her condition is complicated…” She grinned, holding up her golden coin and spinning it in the light. “I think you’re going to want to see this for yourself…”

Oh, this was going to be fun~