In the shadowy recesses of what looks to be a parking garage, a young woman finally overcomes the lungful of numbing gas that filled her car when she entered it. The first thing her eye travels to, as if inexorably drawn that way, is a tall, well-built man wearing a skin-tight costume with a green "F" over the breast pocket area. He works at an unusual bank of machinery with wires leading to large acrylic tubes on the wall, containing people.
As he turns toward her, he says, "You're waking. Your physical makeup is extraordinary, it took more than the usual effort to duplicate it."
"Now, to be honest, I've no further use for you. For reasons I don't care to consider, one of my staff wishes to do some research and believes you are the perfect vessel. Please try to cooperate, it would be less painful."
Touching a contact at his bank of machinery sends the woman back into blissful slumber.

The crone chuckles hoarsely as the woman's eyes open. "Wake up, child, you have to eat."
"Just like my daughter, I bet. Won't eat because if you gain an ounce, the men won't be staring at you, I bet. Did you know that most men settle down with plump women? Something about the extra padding being more comfortable."
"Oh, I know. Why is the old biddy prattling on while I'm sitting here paralyzed?"
The old woman pushes closer, showing the wheelchair she sits in.
"It's not permanent, dear. I wouldn't hurt you for the world. You look just like my granddaughter, rest her soul. Anyway, that's what we're gonna do. I'm going to help you live through the lives of my daughter and her little girl. Through time and space I sent my consciousness, after they were taken from me, gathering the threads of their lives."
"We'll weave those threads together in you. I just hope you're not too squeamish, 'cause honey, if you can say one thing about my Laura, it's that she was NEVER squeamish. Nope, not at all."

Brooke mind was cloudy and dizy. So much, she could barely hold her head still, rolling it with the potent inhalations of gas she had been submitted to for days.

The sensation of floating, of been in a sort of blissful state, even if naked, merged her consciousness. She had hard time focusng on the words. On her memories. What happened ? Where she was.

The old hag voice echoed in her mind, and she glanced up at it, somewhre in space, before muttering back, weakly.

"I.. Where am I ?... I'm so weak... why am I feeling so numb ?.. huuh... what do you expect from this.. I'm going to free myself soon..."

Her glances then slided down, to her own feet, sp weak, and she realized she was wearing quite the slutty heels, in a very girly way "hhuuhnnn..."

The hospital is surprising. Andrea didn't know her daughter's insurance was that good. One of the nurses at the station had the radio on, and there was some drivel playing about a nameless horse. Andrea couldn't fault their voices, but you'd think people had more important things to think about. The Republicans were, literally, breaking the law to get an advantage over the Democrats. How long would it be before they started rigging the elections? And he'd done so well so far, even the Chinese were starting to loosen up. Imagine, an American President personally visiting Communist China!
Of course, that bit of diplomacy was nothing compared to what she had to do. She had done everything she could for Laura. The poor dear never knew her father, even though she carried his name. That's what war does. Andrea couldn't say whether or not little Arcturus would know. So far, she wasn't even sure Laura had any idea as to who he was.
But a baby is a baby and a mother is a mother. She knew this was true as soon as she stepped into the room and saw Laura feeding Turi. Yeah, that would work. But Laura probably had something else in mind. She usually did. From the doorway, Andrea quietly called out to Laura. "Can I come in, dear? I won't bother you, much, I just came to see the baby."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:21, Mon 23 Dec 2019.

As the mental fog seems to recede, Knockout realizes she's lying in what appears to be a hospital bed. Her body feels swollen and empty and her back feels weak. Her hips feel out of place and her legs seem to be shivering by themselves. Her head flops back to the pillow and she murmurs, "I'm glad that's over."
A nurse pushing an odd cart wheels it to beside the bed, and says, "here she is. The first feeding isn't really milk, but it's a good idea to develop the right habits early on."
As the nurse picks up the bundle from the cart, the thing begins to make little mewling noises. It sounds, almost, like a kitten.
Laura thinks, 'I'm in too much pain to have a kitten, right now. Take that away.' As she opens her mouth to tell the nurse what to do with the little bundle, the kitten fills its lungs and squawls. Her pain forgotten, Laura launches herself upright and reaches for the baby. Holding it to her, she begins the feeding as she murmurs "I got you, I got you, I got you."
Not long after she latches on, Laura's mother is there. Laura's tears are partly from realizing how much the baby means to her, and partly from realizing how much she must have meant to her own mother. Perhaps that's why her response to her mother's request is "oh, Mom. I'm so sorry. I need your help."
Knockout looks at her empty hands, expecting a baby. Then looks at Stargazer, seeing in the aged face what time has done to the woman in the hospital.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:22, Mon 23 Dec 2019.

Glancing at the old woman face, Brooke isn’t sure if she’s still dreaming or if she’s really in a hospital bed. Anyway she feels quite weak and sighs aloud, resting her head onto the pillow as they both observe each other. Then she realize the feeling on her feet and glances down, to notice the pink metallic stiletto heels are still on her.

Her voice is croaked from drugs as she addresses Stargazer.

«  so what now? It is not in sending me into your daughter and granddaughter memories that they will be back. Listen, I am sorry for whatever happened, but this has to stop. »

"No, sweetie. Nothing will ever bring them back. Turi was only twelve, but she was a feisty little thing. Harped at my Laura for weeks to learn the guitar. They didn't have the money for real lessons. I was still working as a legal secretary, which isn't a very lucrative position. And even though Laura didn't go back to the commune after Turi was born, she had to rely on tips just to make ends meet."
"That's why they were driving to the 'y'. Turi got a second-hand guitar for her birthday and there were free lessons on Tuesday nights. I don't know who the other driver was, but I do know where he is. He had several previous convictions and was driving without a license. The laws, at that time, made it a felony for him to drive intoxicated. They stopped behind a tractor trailer at a light, and he didn't. If it's any consolation, they said, the two must have died instantly."
"If it's any consolation, they said, the other driver will be going to prison. For life. Something called a felony-murder law meant their deaths as a result of his felony put him on trial for murder one."
The old woman pushes a few buttons, and a mechanical arm whirs into motion. It lifts a spoon and begins to feed Brooke.
"I'm not sending you into their memories, dear. I'm placing those memories in you, beside your own. I've touched your thoughts, sweetie, and I know how hard you have to try to avoid, ummm, can we call it following your heart? I know that's not completely accurate, but I'm old enough to avoid saying some things out loud."
"Laura never had trouble following her heart. I'm going to give you her memories, because I think it will help you."
Bowing her head, Stargazer goes on, "I know I'm just a foolish old woman, but my time is coming, and I want to leave something of myself behind. Even if it's just a few memories. So, I hope you'll forgive me, dear. I do believe it will do you some good."

Brooke turned her head aside, so to avoid the automated spoon from feeding her. She frowned at what the old woman explained to her, but couldn’t restrain herself from feeling sad, empathetic with her loss, as her good natured heart always made her be. She glanced down at the heels on her feet, and at the white hospital drapes covering the rest of her body, unable to move.

«  This is madness, those are not her memories, but the idealized memories you made up about her. I am not your Laura, and this won’t end well. See, what about those heels ? There are not mine, so why am I wearing those ? I am not sure you can even answer to that,can you ? »
This message was last edited by the player at 12:33, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

As she turns her head, Knockout feels little tugs on her scalp. Quite quickly, she realizes there are fine wires running through her hair out to some sort of largish computer. She can almost see, as if in the back of her mind, the look of surprise on his face as a wrestler grabs the air beside her before she knee lifts him to the ceiling.

With a little cackle, Stargazer resumes her story. "That's a bit complicated, honey, and we've got to keep you caught up with your own life. So this may be hard to follow. Please hold all questions till after the presentations."
Stargazer reaches out and strokes the shoes before she turns back and pats Knockout's shoulder, as if comforting her. As she tells Knockout the story, matching memories pop up in Knockout's head.
"That's a tale all its own. Laura left home when she was sixteen, so she didn't finish her schooling." Knockout remembers being a young girl in school, talking about the boys and curious as to what her, recently changed, body would do with theirs. "About the only thing she learned in the commune was how to cook and clean and dig in the dirt." Memories of cooking large meals with two or three other people, pulling weeds in an enormous garden, washing home-spun clothes by hand in a big tub. "After Turi was born she tried so hard to make her own way, but without a high school diploma there wasn't much work available." Into her head pop numerous faces indicating there are no openings, several speaking some variation of 'we don't need no filthy hippies here', and a small number suggesting, with and without words, that she could find employment in their bedroom. "She flipped burgers in one of them fast food joints." It was a Burger Chef, the originator of the 'flame broiler'. "Then washed dishes at a HoJo's." This is remembered as not a bad job, she rinsed the dishes and placed them in a tray to run through a large washer. The memory includes her figuring out the manager hired her so he could watch her work in a wet apron. "Then she started waiting tables." It was the smallest bit of flirting with the manager, and she had to promise to wash dishes on occasion, anyway. But she got what she wanted.
"It was the tips that made it work, you know. She started working as a cocktail waitress in one of the airport bars. That's when she made enough to get by." Memory serves, and sometimes it serves pain, regret, and remorse. She hadn't been able to tell Turi, and didn't want her mother to accidentally give it away. The bar wasn't even close to the airport, and had its own runway. Fortunately, she didn't have to use the runway unless they were short handed. The attention, and the money, was almost intoxicating. It was almost an out of body experience, in a way. She almost felt she was floating above herself, watching the ceremony that would turn her from human female into prey for the wolves throwing green at her. As she smiled and twirled and teased, getting more and more excited, something above her became more and more disgusted. What had she done for life to put her in this virtual prison? "She used to come home exhausted, her feet swollen from walking around for eight hours. We'd soak 'em in epsom salts, laughing about it as the lowest form of tender loving care." Memories, just like the life that writes them, can give both pleasure and pain. Laura remembers coming home with swollen feet, usually because the patrons were trying to get her to stumble for a glimpse into her top or up her skirt. Why they didn't just watch the stage she never understood. Tired and aching, disgusted with herself and determined to keep Turi away from it, she'd slog in the front door. Mom was there. Five in the morning, and her mother would have a foot bath ready for her hurting feet.
They would talk over coffee, about how Turi was doing in school, about whether or not Andrea (Laura was gone before Andrea became Stargazer) would sell the newest listing, about what the chances were that either of them would find a man (or woman, thought Laura). When Laura would get weepy, because everything was rigged against her and she felt like Turi wouldn't have a chance, her mother would sit beside her; Laura would lay her head on her mother's shoulder, and her mother would brush fingers through Laura's waves or curls or whatever they were wearing those days. That was what got her through her days. Knowing her mother felt the same way about her that she felt about Turi.
"But you've figured that out, by now. I didn't make up the memories, I'm not even seeing them. Laura had dressed for work, and was taking Turi to her guitar lesson on her way. Getting rammed by the other car was traumatic." Laura is driving through the dark, and Turi is excitedly listing all the songs she's going to learn to play. Her little girl is wearing a white t shirt, jeans, and sandals. No makeup and no sort of hairstyle, but Laura can tell as soon as she finishes filling out she'll have the guys following her around like wolves stalking a deer. There's a tractor trailer between her and the light, so she can't tell when it'll turn green. No matter, as soon as the truck moves they'll move along. Her last thought before the SUV plows into their car is that there's plenty of time to make it to work.
"I never did quite approve of that job. She dressed like a slut and gave expensive drinks to people waiting to go halfway across the country. Back in the day, nobody went to the airport bar when they arrived, only when they're waiting on a departure. The thing is probably closed down, now."
"Oh, you should've seen the stuff she would wear. Hot pink mini-skirts with white halter tops, and the shoes! Why anyone would EXPECT a waitress to walk around all day on high heels." After the crash, Laura opened her eyes and looked, immediately, for Turi. Her little girl had been wearing her seat belt, the air bags had deployed, she should be fine. "That last day, she had on this shiny pink sleeveless one piece that only made it half way to her knees. There were matching shoes, with these ridiculous heels."
"You know, when people experience trauma, their energies spike. They can write themselves on objects around them. Personal objects tend to gather the most energy." Turi had turn sideway to talk to her mother, and leaned back towards the door. When the SUV struck the car, the little girl's body was hurled forward faster than her head could match. Laura figured this out in the same moments that she looked into her little girl's eyes and saw... no one.
"That's where the memories are coming from. They couldn't give me back my babies, but they gave me all their personal effects." Laura's head began to droop, all she could think was 'why her and not me'. As her chin dropped to her chest, she blinked and looked down. The pink stiletto heels were pristine, as if nothing had happened. But there was a jagged, bloody piece of metal tearing into her dress, right where her heart would be. The last word Laura Hanlon's mind ever formed, was 'good'.
Just before unconsciousness takes her, Knockout realizes that under the hospital gown, she's wearing a sleeveless one-piece something, with a large hole in the center of the chest.

As Knockout opens her eyes, she realizes that she's alone. Her head aches with tension, her eyes feel gritty, she's thirsty. She sits up in bed, swings her legs out and walks the four steps to the kitchen. It was her day to do the dishes, and winter was coming. The whole place was cold, the only heat source being the fire in the hearth. Several of the larger logs had been added prior to bed, and she had taken the largest metal tub, filled it with water, and placed it on the fire.
All of them had their own indulgences, mostly something they ate or drank to 'open their minds eyes'. Laura didn't want that. She didn't crave excitement, or experience. She was here only because it made her feel free. As free as she felt in Nadia's arms, or lying naked between Clem and Japheth. As free as she felt at the festival, when she had stashed her clothes at the booth and ran across the stage. Jerry hadn't even stopped strumming but she's pretty sure she got Phil to drop a note.
Laura pulled out the handmade wooden bathtub and carefully put most of the almost boiling water from the metal tub in it. After stirring the fire, she refilled the metal tub and replaced it there. Putting just enough water in the bathtub to cool it down so it wouldn't scald, she took her clothes off and got in. This will be the last time she manages one of these warm homespun baths. The soap she uses for both her hair and her body they make themselves from oils they press from walnuts and jojoba. She'll use a coarse cloth that she made from seed to wash with.
Almost done with her bath, here comes Eric just as she planned. He's tried to avoid her, but his habits are easy to track as anyone's. Every morning, about this time, he uses the boiling water from the tub to make coffee. This morning, he's going to walk right in on her. She won't act embarrassed, and neither will he. After some discussion, he'll get in for his own bath and she'll wash his back. The two will, eventually, make love in the tub. Eric would forget about the coffee.
In a month, she'll have to leave. Eric is so persistent, but she only wants to be free. She'll stay with him as long as she feels like it, and that's all the commitment she'll give. She didn't expect him to be so devastated. At his core, Eric never broke away from the man and all the crap that went with it. She left the commune so Eric wouldn't have to, by the time she found out he'd joined the service she had Turi to look out for. Afterwards?
Laura knew it was him the first time she saw him on the news. That little mask couldn't hide the face she stared at night after night. Little Turi had his eyes, and his chin, and a certain lopsidedness in the fullness of his upper lip made Turi constantly think she needed elaborate methods of wearing her lipstick. There he was again, on the news. The Crusaders? Well, maybe he could stick with them. It wasn't for me, I can only be free and I'll never be a Crusader, she thought.
Then she thought, but I am a Crusader! Me, Laura Hanlen, a Crusader? Yes, I am. I'm... I'm...
Knockout is standing by a sink in a bathroom. It appears she has taken a bath. A nondescript android is attempting to dress her.

Brooke took the opportunity to look the android over. She presented her the classic 'Little Black Dress' with the 'Little' emphasized, and made of shiny latex. Thin, not quite spaghetti straps over her shoulders, the back was open and the top barely contained her breasts. Docilely, she let the android dress her, like floating in an erotic dream.



Seeing her this way reinforced how conservatively she normally dressed and how well she usually hid what was now obviously a pretty hefty rack. The open back ruled out any bra and from what I could tell there were no cups sewn into the dress as it conformed to her breasts precisely.

The shoes were matching in sluttiness, but again she let the android attach them to her ankles.

Then it was time for makeup and hairstyling, and she inquired naively : "Should we go for heavy slut makeup and wild hair ?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:40, Sun 19 Jan 2020.

The faceless android first states, in monotone, "you already know that, Laura" before transforming. As Brooke watches the blank android shrink and morph into a five-year old girl, she hears Laura's voice telling her "that's my girl. No, that's OUR girl, I hope. I can't believe Eric wants to see me!"
Turi isn't real sure where Mom is going, but she can tell it's making Mom happy and excited. Which of course makes her feel the same. Through her excitement, she can see the dress is something special. "Mom! You look like a superhero!"
Laura tousled Turi's hair, and said, "I'm meeting someone very special to me, I'm hoping he'll be special to you, too."
The goodbye hugs and the cab ride barely register in memory. The smarmy maître d' is remembered only because he is ("I mean, really, how do you keep your job if one little cocktail dress causes you to slam the door on Mrs. Hoi Polloi's poodle?"). The restaurant had rave reviews for its ambiance, which isn't remembered. Eric's face, when she sees him, this she remembers. It's not because his nose is just the right size or his eyes are clear and focused on hers. It's not because his cheekbones are just prominent enough and his ears match and he's built like an athlete. She remembers because she can see in his eyes that he won't allow her to get away, again.
Eric confirmed her thoughts as soon as he saw her. "Hello, Laura. It's been too long. I'm sorry about that, and I guess I should warn you I don't intend to let it happen again."
Laura smiled back at Eric, already falling into his eyes, knowing he was falling into hers, and said "That would be somewhat frightening if I didn't feel the same. But we have to talk, there's a lot to catch up on."

The whole scene becomes more and more confusing for Brooke as she gets slowly brainwashed in becoming Laura, the slut-mother. Her grasp on reality looses its firmness as they merge in personality, her empathic self absorbing more and more of the "Laura".

Eric adored Turi, and apparently had always adored Laura. For Laura, the days swept by. Time flew is it never had before. Breakfast as a family, then off to work and school, then dinner of an evening. Weekends, and occasionally longer times when schedules permitted, were spent at events, and with parties. At least once a month, Eric took Laura on a date. It wasn't always the same day, or the same date. As Eric was fond of saying, "The Company tells you what company you keep, and when."
Then Eric was sent to Europe. It was to be a week, two at the most. After three, Laura called his office. He was missing. There was nothing she could do. Mom moved back in, and Laura filled out the forms to get a passport. There were delays, constantly, and Eric had been gone for two months while she waited. If it were a movie, Eric would have returned mysteriously in the middle of the night. But it was morning, of a bright, sunny day, when the taxi dropped him off.
Laura ran to him on the sidewalk, grabbed him and squeezed so hard he moaned. Eric was skin and bones, and looked terrible. Less than fifteen minutes after he arrived he was in bed, propped up, with a cup of tea. Finally, he told Laura the truth. When he said he was working for The Company, it wasn't a joke. They had recruited him from the college he had attended as soon as he left the commune. His last assignment had been to guard a scientist, and the job had gone bad. Now, the scientist was dead and Eric was the only example of his work. As soon as he had his strength back he would be starting a new position, with The Crusaders.
Though Eric had changed, nothing had changed between the two of them. Their second child, a boy, was neither surprise nor burden. Turi loved having a little brother. It was one of the reasons she wanted to learn the violin. The kid had a special ear for music. He played his little plastic guitar and made up the neatest tunes. Just waiting to see where William and Turi would go made life worth living. Well, that and evenings with Eric. Anxiously anticipating date night, when she could try a new outfit, or a new way of showing her affection, was more excitement than she ever needed.
It had been Eric's turn to drive Turi to violin lessons, but Bull had been spotted in the city and Eric had to leave. Now, the brakes wouldn't work, the car wouldn't stop, and she would never get to see what Turi and Billy would grow up to be.

As Andrea checks the restraints, Brooke starts to think they're getting flimsier. Stargazer's knowing nod creates more confusion than it eliminates.
"Before you ask, I didn't cut the brake lines. That was done by Jimmy 'The Mullet' Frobisher. This mob boss, they called him Sledgehammer because that's what he named his gun, had hired Jimmy to slow down Eric. It was a pretty big mob. They ran pretty much anything to do with contraband down in Augusta."
"That's why I hid him, and let Eric think the boy had been in the car. Two months later, they took him. Just a bunch of freaks in a van seein' a kid on the road playin' his plastic guitar. Of course, I didn't know at the time. I was so wrapped up in grief I let my grandson vanish."
"That was what sent me over the edge. They called it Kahlbaum syndrome, and said I exhibited waxy flexibility. But I wasn't. I was searching. Left my body and sped through the web of action and intention that define reality, looking for the children I had lost. Little by little I found them. A memory of a parking lot attendant here. A scene witnessed by a curious bystander there. Even the memories left in objects. Once I had the whole story, I went to Augusta. You've never heard of 'The Mullet', or Sledgehammer and his gang. I know because I wiped them from existence."
"I also found the boy. That's when I realized how long I'd been searching. Billy had grown up. He was famous. Everybody was saying how that Billy Klang was going all the way to the top. He might have, if his legacy hadn't kicked in. Father Kinkaid found him in a bar, despondent. He persuaded the boy to join him, but I've made sure he hasn't done anything wrong. So, if you manage to get out, go easy on Clamor."
"And if you get a chance, tell Enforcer he still has a son. He deserves to know."
Stargazer turns her wheelchair and rolls away.

Without returning, Stargazer continues to 'gift' Brooke with Laura's memories. Laura feeding little Arcturus before buttoning her sleeveless shirt with just the bottom two buttons. The baby hardly ever cries, and when it does there's always another of the girls there to calm it. Besides, the walls of the locker room are meant to dampen sound. Otherwise the noise from the arena would keep the girls from thinking on their way to the track. It was especially quiet for a Thursday, which meant there wasn't much of a crowd. Steamy Roller was expounding on this fact.
"Look, ladies, the attendance is falling and we need a show so these yahoos will spread the word. If you're not dressed for an equipment malfunction, then get that way. Everybody loses their buttons tonight!"
Laura looked down, suddenly aware that she hadn't changed from her nursing bra. "They'll just have to wonder about the buckles," she mumbled. Besides the more she showed the more they watched. As long as she remained popular, she could skate everynight. That paid the rent and waiting tables at The Crabbee Shoppeeee (it's all about the e's) became food and mad money. In any case, Laura had figured out she liked being looked at from afar.
That's where Eric was, far from here, he had gone afar. When he returned, he was different. By that time, so was she. She remembered modeling here roller derby uniform for him. The shirt with the velcro buttons because real ones would have caused trouble on the track. The denim bikini shorts. She had even put on the skates, and they had skated. Round and round through the moonlight in the parking lot, staring into each other's eyes. Laughing like children, till  Laura raced away while calling back "catch me if you can."
Eric's change was instantaneous. The horror in his eyes and the pain on his visage were almost a wonder to behold, as he shouted "LAURA! NO!"
She had been almost across the parking lot, at least 100 yards away, and Eric had covered the ground in less than ten seconds. Laura didn't see that, she couldn't move. As he walked in front of her, and she saw the energy that had wrapped her up pulsing from his hand, she realized it was him and said, "Eric, you're."
Stepping in front of her, Eric gestures and her arms came down onto his shoulders as he tucked his head under her chin. Laura continued "NOT hurting me. This is comfortable."
Smiling, Eric said, "and bulletproof."
"Laura, I can't lose you again. My enemies are many, and powerful. They do horrific things to people. I can't subject you to that, but I can't go on without you. I'll only feel right if I can keep you locked away."
Stepping away, he looked at his feet. Laura almost shouted at him, but once she began to speak, she, too looked away. "Eric William Forrest, don't you dare be ashamed! I'll never be afraid with you protecting me."
It was Laura's turn to look down, but her tone was exultant. "I like this."
"I feel so safe from the world, knowing I can only be touched by you. I trust you, Eric, with everything. Take me home, please."
Eric looked at her and nodded. "Ok, we can call it a night. I'll just call a cab and let you out."
Laura blushed, and said, breathily, "that's not what I asked for."

The minute he walks into the room, Brooke knows she's never really seen the man. He has a personal magnetism that dwarfs any other man she's ever met. "Hello, Laura. Your mother has told me a lot about you. She thinks you could help me."
"You see, you've been in an accident, and we've had to do make some changes. There won't be much visible difference, but you should be stronger and faster and more resilient than you ever were before. Now, I know the world hasn't treated you well. There's a lot of that going around. I'm trying to fix it. There are some people that don't want it fixed. I'm afraid one of those people is Eric."
"So, he's coming here, for me, and I don't want to stop him. I want to meet him, and tell him why I'm doing the right thing. If I can't convince him that I'm building a better world, he can take me in. But I won't get a chance to talk to him unless someone heroic steps up and gets his attention. I need a heroine, Laura, and I think you could be that heroine."
There's some equipment here, that you could use. Once you've had some sleep, your injuries should be healed, and you can prepare for him."
As he turns to go, just as Brooke starts to open her mouth, he holds up a hand and says, "don't tell me."
"I don't need to know your decision, I'll just keep working, believing you'll do the right thing."
FORCE leaves, and soon there is a noise as if an elevator is moving.

OOC: FORCE has a 45 PRE. His casual PRE is enough to make someone hesitate and listen to him.
In addition, FORCE used a special attack to give Knockout a new 15 point Psychological Complication - Believes FORCE is doing the right thing. This lasts until some OTHER psychological complication is activated.
Then, to complete the effort, he used a mind control (vs ED) to implant the belief that he's telling the truth in Knockout's head. The mind control will fade after a few minutes, and Knockout will realize FORCE did so, but she'll still believe he's doing the right thing.

She looked down at the equipment and costume left for her after FORCE spoke and departed. Hesitatingly, she picked up the suit, piece by piece and soon she was naked to try it on.

The crimson red skimpy bikini suit, with a high collar. The ebony black gloves, reinforced on knuckles and forearms. She snapped the black leather harness around her chest, and waist, that would support her garter belt like suspensers, which would be strapped to her thighs highs boots. Black ebony eight inches stilleto boots, reinforced aswell, and giving her a sultry, erotic look.

The final touch coming from the leatherish black domino mask he left for her. Laura. The superheroine to save the world.

Once she'd have applied some makeup, she'd be ready...

Alarms ring, and people scurry. The glowing new guy, code name Phantasm, comes to tell Laura about the intruders. [Language unknown: Evca nomofo she rom houughnot pr der repedi, are be enilur stitheher.]
He starts to walk away, then turns back, apparently expecting her to follow. "Gott im himmel! Dunt you Americauns even try vhat to talk to da rest uv de werld!"
Slowly, the man tells her again, "your mission ovjective iss on de south end of de island. Ve vill go there, now."
The man levitates and flies away, Laura-Knockout staring after him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:30, Thu 05 Mar 2020.

Taking an unconscious sultry pose, she scratches her head, tasting the ruby red gloss of her lipstick, and grumbles. "Dang.. Who was this guy ? He had like a german or such accent. But.. and I didn't even chose a codename!"

She anyhow runs towards the south island exit with  her powerful stiletto heeled boots.

Returning to her, the man in the multi-colored costume smiles, and says, "I'm just having a jest, my English isn't bad and my prejudices fewer. If you'll allow me to, I'll fashion a harness from light and you can wear it to fly with me. That will allow us to reach the location much quicker."
He raises his hand, and beams of light shoot from it to coalesce into hard glowing rope-like pieces. "My code name is Phantasm. I asked what you would be called, and, although no one actually knew, the young man they call Clamor said you looked like a model. That seemed good enough, so if you hear anyone refer to The Model on your radio, they mean you."
The harness is done, quickly, and Phantasm says, "are you ready to fly, now?"

Ready to fly ? She looked down at herself, in her tight skn tight revealing costume. The harness of light ensaring her nicely, she got a shiver of naughty nature. Of course she was ready to fly. She ever wanted to be a heroine!

"huh..Err Alright .. Phantasm.. Me, the Model, am ready. Not sure how this works though." she said with her incredible smile that would melt any heart. And she followed him to where they were needed.

You now have a second character. It will have the capability of posting in the thread titled "A Flying Cargo Container". Please use "The Model" to post in this thread. Please continue to use "Knockout" to post in the "On San Sebastian Island" thread. You should be able to choose between the characters in a drop down at the "Name" field when posting.

sir, yes sir ! :p