The lamp glows with an inner, golden light. Arcane symbols etched along its surface flare brightly.
And a young woman in ornate jewelry and flowing fabrics is suddenly standing next to Derby. She looks down at her delicate hands, and sees what she's wearing.
"Aw, hell."
Wendy’s jaw drops. ”Oh… wow… heh, y-you’re gorgeous. Ummmm… I don’t mean to seem ungrateful —seriously, thank you so much for coming. I uhhh, might have rubbed the wrong number. Or wrong way. I’m looking for a friend—Arcanum.
“Or is that a common name, and one of those Chris or Pat kinda names?”
"Hey, no time for that," Tumbler muscles her way Wendy (Though really, comparatively she didn't move an inch to the ex-thief's strength) as she got up in the girl's face.
"Okay, this is one of those things where the person who let you out gets to make the wish, right? Which is Derby, so my question is, can you just pop someone over here if they're not on the same planet, or dimension or something like that to get them away from some cyber-demons? Wait, I've heard that voice before..." Tumbler peers at the girl's face, looking in her eyes.
The girl looks around in brief panic for an exit, then when Tumbler gets in her face she sighs in what sounds like embarrassment. She folds her arms protectively across her chest. "No. It-- It's me. This is an, um, side-effect."
She looks down and away, avoiding Tumbler's eyes.
"Keep it in your shorteralls, Derbs." If Lil Ziss were here then at least we could figure out if portals do this or... whatever the hell.
"This is the best you can expect using magic you don't understand."
Tumbler stares for a couple moments, baffled briefly before realization settles in. "Okay, so...uh..."
Her eyes flick down then up back again at her face. "...It's really you? You're not like, actually still stuck on an alien planet and this is some projection?" She asks, tapping her on the shoulder just to make sure that she was solid. "...I am...glad that you're back then."
She steadies herself, stepping back from the Doomed and looking away as well. "...So, uh. Victory selfie, right?" She asks Derby, trying to get the conversation away from uncomfortable topics.
Crimson Tide turns to give Tumbler a broad grin. "'S not a thing that happens over on the villain side? Brah, heroes and sidekicks getting turned into things by surprise is older than capes. Especially if you're poking a magic lamp. Hang loose Arcanum. We'll get it all sorted."
The Curator gets to choose what his servant looks like.
“You’re her? I mean him—I mean YOU?!” Wendy’s eyes grow wide. “Oh, oh—oh s+#%, Wes! You’re in full servitude now? This is how he wants you to look—it’s …Tumbler’s right. This is totally on me. I thought since you offered to heal me, and I refused, that wish could be used on you.”
Her lips tremble as she tries to form more words.
It takes Ziss a couple seconds to process the message she receives that "Arcanum is kinda back". When she does so she is in the middle of a crossing, and is almost hit by a truck. Her ears still ringing by the massive honk she received, she returns sheepishly to the park.
Once the others explain to her that the girl was indeed Arcanum, she finally allows herself to calm down. "I'm so sorry guys... it was my fault dat de Mishima clan came here. I had no idea dey would find me here, or dat dey were so pissed wif me to de point of opening a portal, which is very expensive I fink?"
Looking at Arcanum, Ziss asks, worried. "Is dis change permanent? I don't understand why it happened... I've never heard of a worldhopper to change like dis... I wish..."
Crimson Tide's hand covered Ziss's mouth, and most of her head in the bargain.
"Chill Lil Ziss. Let's go with the flow for a moment. We can always wish again soon if we want."
“Th-the the.. doubleyou-word!” When neither Ziss nor Crimson Tide accidentally wishes something, the Darling Derby relaxes.
She turns to the pretty genie girl. ”Arcanum, anything you need—help with Ashley, help with… well, this could be temporary. Never mind. Lady or gentleman, you’re a Bay Watchmen.
“Victory Selfie. Smile prettily.”
Girl Wesley shakes her head. "I... don't think I'm in his thrall yet? I mean, yes this is what happens from having a master who'd rather have a jinn than a djin." She furrows her brow and rubs her temple. "Wait. I didn't know that before."
Pushing that aside for the moment, she looks at herself again and throws up her hands to ward off the camera. "No, no selfies, not yet. This is embarrassing enough as it is. And please no wishes while I'm in earshot."
Wesley scurries away from the phone camera, wincing at the chimes created from her jangling jewelry. "Genie's out of the bottle anyway. First order of business: fix this." She closes her eyes and concentrates. Nothing happens. She peeks, shakes her head, and resumes concentrating, harder this time. She grits her teeth and her lovely brow furrows under the strain.
"No." She resumes her effort, straining and exerting. Her body bursts into flames, becomes like liquid, solidifies into a marble statue, and becomes wispy as smoke, but always reverts to the lovely girl.
Dervish teleports away briefly, before returning, minus one club, and approaches. ”Yo…your magic has side effects dude. FYI: never magic me if this is what happens, ‘kay?”
Tumbler looks torn, but she looks at Crimson Tide as she consoles her for the screw-up that she caused. "...I tried to protect him. Instead, I made things worse. I should have been more careful," She admits to the shark girl, before getting quieter. "I've seen his lamp before. I stole it, months ago for a job."
She looks on as Arcana tries to revert back to Wesley - to no luck. Which was strange as she could become fire, water, steam, but always assumed the feminine form that had come out of the lamp. "Hey...Hey! It's going to be okay," She calls out to her. "Maybe it's just for a little while? You'll get your handsome face back soon enough, just need to try and recharge your batteries...I hope?"
"Why are you covering my face, Meg? What can't I see?" She asks and ducks under her hand. "I'm not a child... I just look like one." She says, frowning at Megan.
"Why can't we say dat word? And what is a thrall, genie, djin, jinn, arrrggh! So much I don't know... kuso!" She seems bummed, since the reason appears to be something everyone should know.
Turning to Arcanum and Diego, Ziss adds. "What is so bad about being a girl? Aside from not being able to easily pee anywhere?"
The Darling Derby turns to the jinn-not-djin. “Wesley… you don’t have to be in the selfie. Or we can wait a bit, or you can create a doppelgänger.
“But this is nothing to be ashamed of, being—or looking like—one of the girls. For now, not forever. You’re like me…” “…except for the way you turn to stone and water and look way prettier… umm, sorry. Didn’t wanna be called ‘prettier,’ did you?
“Anyway, you’re home and among friends. Even if you won’t pose for the camera, you’ve got something to smile about.”
Dervish shrugs to Ziss. ”Nothin’s wrong with it. But this is how I was born, this is how I wanna stay.”
When she doesn't change, Wesley sinks down to her knees and stares at her body. Everyone's words and side discussions barely seem to register with her.
She wavers between screaming in impotent rage and just curling up into a ball and sobbing. Both options seem equally enticing.
"Can you all just... give me a minute?" she says hoarsely. Without waiting for permission, she turns to a small whirlwind and is drawn into the lamp.
The Derby takes the lamp in hand.
“The selfie can wait… just please… give it a minute. I’m trying to do publicity for us, not me. And I get that turning into a girl sucks extra the day after a first da… oh, hell.”
With a kinda guilty look, she turns to Tumbler. “I meant to ask… probably not a good time, now, but now’s not really a good time for anything anyway. The night with Daphne was sufficiently entertaining?”
"...Wow, okay," Tumbler laughs mirthlessly as Derby tries to change the subject. "Jealous much? We had dinner, she shut down a whole fancy restaurant just for the two of us. Honestly already off-putting there for me. She's not a bad person, but there was no spark really aside from that gut attraction."
Normally she wouldn't have told so much, except she figured that worrying over Wesley now she was in the lamp was pointless. Even if she did worry.
"Look, nothing says that I can't date who I want while part of this team. Whether it's Megan or Diego, that stupid hot shawarma guy on the corner of Palm and Meadow, or Praetoria herself. So I'll go and have a good time with whoever I want, whenever I want. As long as they're paying."
The Darling Derby is a little weirded out. “Sorry it didn’t work out.
“The only rule for dating is never to text a civilian. Video calls only. I’ll get you all secure private lines later. Just keep the selfies going if you want the perks.” With a frown, she adds, “Smiles preferred.”
At the mention of his name, he puts an arm around Tumbler and says ”I knew you’d come around!”
Huh.
"Oh, uh, sorry Lil- Sorry Ziss. Wasn't trying to block your view, but loose lips sink ships. And saying the... double-u-word, might make things worse for Wes. Since apparently he's a genie who grants wish- uh, double-u-words."
"...Diego. You got the nod because I needed a male example on the team. You're all right, but if you want a chance, you have to step up your game," She tells him, gently easing out from under his arms.
"Anyways...you know where to take that lamp?" She asks Derby. "I could keep it safe until Arcanum comes back out..."
Inside the rapidly-becoming-familiar lamp, Wesley screamed. It was rather truncated, because the scream was so feminine that it surprised her. It made her want to scream again, but she didn't want to hear it coming out of her mouth.
This is it. This is who I am. Wesley's gone. I'm gone. What was I doing thinking I could be a super hero? Wesley's mind ran around and around, spinning in barely-restrained panic.
She retreated to the lamp because she didn't want her teammates to see the mental breakdown. But thoughts of them continued to intrude upon her panic attack -- that they had been trying to help, to understand, and to comfort.
Wallowing in despair wouldn't do her any good. She'd known about this eventuality since she became bound to the lamp. It happened too soon, obviously, but... there had been mental preparations.
I'm still not his. Not yet.
Wesley's previous resolution to face his fate with courage rang in her mind. She felt sick, and her body felt foreign, but she wasn't going to be able to hide in this place forever.
Wesley appears standing next to Derby. She looks the same, still adorned in jewelry and wearing gauzy fabrics that draw the eye to the shapely figure beneath.
"Sorry, everyone."
”Nothing to be sorry about.” DD has her cell phone in hand, but doesn’t rush the issue.
"Hum, but you just said de word and nofing happened... Oh, perhaps it just works if you say somefing like 'I nanana dat I was a foot taller and had actual boobs.'" She says, betraying some of her own insecurities.
Reminding of Wendy's words about Diego not being a bad person, Ziss decides to cut him some slack. "Hey Diego, sorry for snapping at you, asking what was wrong about being a girl. I'm sure dat you'd not chase girls dat much if you tought dere was somefing bad about us."
"Now... can I look at de stuff you took from de Razzaran cyborgs? Perhaps dere is somefing cool in dere, and I love cool new toys."
As soon as Wesley returns, she soon rushes towards him/her and grabs his/her hands. "Wesley, you have nothing to be sorry about. De cyborgs came here looking for me. You were sent to Razzara because of me, and den I was de one who trapped you dere... and now you are a girl because of me... please, let me help you until you get back to being yourself. It would be extremely dishonorable on my part to not help you." She says, bowing to him/her.
Wesley starts to reach out to Ziss to stop her from bowing, but pauses since she wasn't sure that it would be improper to interrupt a bow. So she shakes her head. "No, it's not your fault. I was stupid and overconfident. I got too close when I didn't have to. And I'm a girl because of a sick f@%! who wants a piece of eye candy to make his every desire come true."
Eyeing the cell phone in Derby's hand, Wesley wrings her own. "I-- I can't. Not yet. Let me try..." Her eyes go out of focus for a moment as she tries to call forth an Arcanum doppelganger.
Once the selfie's taken she lets the construct dissipate. She still looks sick to her stomach. "Can we go someplace private? If we're going to talk about what's next... I'd like it to be just us."
"What stuff? Oh that stuff. I just teleported it away somewhere quick. Wasn't really payin' attention as to where. Just so long as it was away from those guys," Dervish replies. "But yeah, thanks for gettin' it. Definitely ain't nothin' wrong with girls. In fact, I think everythin' with the ladies is juuuuuuuuuust right," he adds with a wink.
The Darling Derby posts the selfie and says, “We head to Cups & Capes—my family bought the old Infinibucks, so our base has a legit front.
“Wes, the dockside bistro we entered through before isn’t open to the public yet. Let’s head in that way. We can even use the bistro as our ‘base’ with an ocean view. But upstairs or down, the fembots will serve us coffee and a bite.”
Hearing Diego again talk about his infatuation with all things female, Wes takes an unconscious half-step away from him.
Wesley hands off the lamp to Derby. "Give it a flick when you're somewhere private. I don't care where, just... wherever. Don't rub it. Just a tap. Okay?"
She fades into mist, which swirls back into the lamp's spout.
Before they leave, Ziss looks around for anything that could have come from Razzara. "Before we leave, make sure we got everyfing the cyborgs brought wif dem. We do not want tech from one world to interfere wif anoder, ok?"
She lifts one of the clubs, but then realizes they are really heavy, mentally praising Wendy to being able to swing with them. She catches herself looking at Wendy's good physical form, before blushing slightly and shaking her head in disapproval of herself. She drags the club close to Megan. "Do you mind carrying dem?"
A shadowy figure watches the teenage heroes as they leave the park. The figure smirks to themself. The jade figurine did exactly what they were told it would. A portal to another world... And there were plenty more where that came from.
Yes. This will be quite entertaining...
***
Thrilling action! Startling revelations! What lies ahead for the Bay Watchmen? We’ll find out in the next issue!
Wesley catches her reflection in the reflection of a chrome piece of equipment and her breath catches. For a few heartbeats, she just stares in fascination. Then she makes a few funny faces, turns to the left and right, and twists to get a look at her backside.
Then she catches everyone staring (or pretending not to) and she blushes furiously.
Recovering from the embarrassment and trying to accept that she's the center of attention, she points to the brass lamp. "Well, you've probably all guessed it by now, since it's pretty damn obvious. I'm a genie. That's where my powers are coming from. That's why I can do... just about anything."
Wesley looks down at herself again. "I'm not one hundred percent a genie yet. I don't know how far along I am... but I'll only get more powerful. And when I'm finally done..." She looks up with her large eyes ringed with dark eyelashes. "That's it. I lose my free will. I become a slave to the owner of the lamp.
"And in this case, possession is not nine-tenths of the law. I can't just let one of you keep it with a promise you'll use me for good. It goes back to him. Professor Braithwaite. The museum Curator."
“We’re going to find a way, Arcanum. I think one among us has a lead, and you know who the curator is… so I’ll set up the supercomputer to keep tabs on him.
“Right now, you need to literally be comfortable in your own skin. You’re welcome to crash here, or if you do sleep in the lamp, R.B. can keep the lamp concealed under her apron.”
DD points out a six-foot-tall fembot, who looks like a life size Barbie doll in a maid’s outfit.
“We’re going to work together to figure this out.”
Tumbler has a pair of ear pods in while waiting on Arcanum to speak up. She shuts off the music when she sees her speak to them. She listens, her face stony as she looks Wesley over. Her new body.
"...So, when you made me that temporary arm," She speaks up to her, "Did you have to use your genie powers to make it work? It drove you towards completing your genie-hood?" She asks, looking over the lamp.
"And, the reason you did that instead of something more...miraculous, is because it would have cost you far more?" Tumbler adds, wanting to get the facts.
The Darling Derby did notice Tumbler trying to hide her arm from her cousin.
Can’t keep that charade up forever without a ‘miraculous’ permanent arm. I suppose that explains the lack of a second date. And here I was worried that…
…still am.
Wesley tries to share Wendy's optimism, but only musters a halfhearted smile. "Maybe. I just got a burst of knowledge with that last wish, so maybe something will be revealed. I don't think there's any real hope, but it means a lot that you are willing to try.
"Just be careful when dealing with the Curator. I can't do anything to him unless he allows it."
"Great," Wes says flatly in response to being told to get comfortable in her skin. "I've never slept in my lamp. Too worried someone will take it. So maybe I'll just crash here?" She fidgits with the clothes and jewelry. "And change clothes."
Wesley nods her head to Tumbler's question. "Yes. Just a little." Guilt flashes in her eyes as she looks at the Reformed. "I don't think I could give you... what you want, not without pushing myself along. Like, really far along. And I want to, I really do. I'm just..." Her voice falters as she's overcome with emotion. "I mean, look at me! I'm losing! I'm not Wesley anymore! I can't even be Arcanum!" She hugs herself and shudders as her breasts are squeezed under her arms. She curls up and turns away from the eyes on her.
DD snaps her fingers. She points at her fembot, then at Arcana. She holds her palm flat and makes a slight downward motion.
The fembot skates to another room, returns with a blanket, and says, ”There, there.”
Tumbler nods, running her fingers through her hair and getting up from the couch. "Hold on a moment. Hey Derby, want to apologize in advance, but I stashed a go bag here in the case I needed a quick change," She said as she walks over to where there was a metal air duct, unscrewing the bolts easily with her powers and lifting off the cover, before reaching deep within and pulling out a black duffel bag.
"Now I have to find a new place to stash this all," She says as she unzips it. They all see a bunch of steel ball bearings, several school uniforms of different designs, fat stacks of unmarked bills, a bottle of blond hair-dye and what looks like a foreign passport. She reaches in and pulls out a boys' uniform with an odd cut to it. It seems to be made to look natural on a girls' body while hiding their more feminine features.
She brings the uniform over to Wesley, draping it onto the couch. "You can wear this to start. It'll be a lot more comfortable than the gauze you've got on right now," She tells her. "...Don't worry about my arm. There's other pokers in the fire right now anyways. I don't keep all the eggs in one basket," She says before going to grab her bag. "Call me if you need a private room, okay? Got plenty of places for you to use."
"Yeah sure, I can carry those, Ziss."
***
Megan shrugs, not really on sure ground when it comes to mystical stuff. "'S kinda how changes happen though. I go through them pretty much every day. Wasn't my idea to start with, but I wouldn't change anything that happened. 'Sides, you've got all the magic, right? So all we need to do is give the Curator a thump, maybe two, and then we're all jawesome, right?"
As Tumbler leaves, Wendy worries about that arm. Pokers in the fire…
She moves to the nearest fire. The hottest. She sits on the floor and places a hand over one of Arcanum’s. She tells herself she’d have done the same if he were in his own male body. She accuses herself of lying.
“Megan’s partially correct. We can thump him. He can control you and you’ll be very dangerous… but only until someone severs the puppet strings. With many rows of sharp teeth.
“As for the boy-clothes and blonde dye… it’s your choice to disguise your body or flaunt it. Let me tell you why I wore a bikini the other day. It’s a beach. I work very hard to keep in shape. I dress appropriately for time, place and occasion. I’m not my cousin… I can never be as elegant, never have her curves—or yours. But I accentuate what I’ve got.
“You cannot have full make-up, Egyptian facial features and complexion, and look like Wes. I have the whiteness, blondness and lack of credible bosoms to pass for Wes’ Mini-Me. You…” She gives the smooth feminine hand a pat. “Your nails, wow, I wear press-ons.”
Train of thought departing, switching to the side-track! All aboard?
Wendy refocuses—“Sleep on it, Arcanum. But let’s assume that the boy uniform makes you look like a gorgeous bombshell in pants, and you ultimately choose effortlessly-look-like-a-girl attire. Would you then prefer we call you something more feminine than Wesley or Arcanum?”
Ziss sits nearby in silence as the others try to cheer Wesley up. She keeps to herself, believing that piling up on her would not be helpful and she isn't the best one with words anyway... time and time again she was reminded of how little she knows about Earth, and time and time again she was accused of being rude for something she thought as innocent.
As Wendy speaks to Wesley, however, Ziss stomach sinks, since Ziss's body is quite similar to Wendy's. She looks to herself, then to Wendy... then to Wesley's girl body, then to Tumbler's and Megan's. So this is... this is good. Wendy will not ever want me as her girl... I'm not elegant, and I don't have the curves she likes...
When Ziss got her phone and was able to get a handle and reading and writing in English, she searched on Infinigle and discovered what was a bombshell. I'm not this bombshell they are all so interested about. The only one that wanted me... She feels her heart rate increasing, and shakes her head, trying to distance herself from terrible thoughts.
Wesley examines the boy's uniform and casts a side eye glance to the girl's uniforms. "Thanks," she mumbles.
Wendy's sudden closeness causes her ears to burn. She listens closely to the Legacy's suggested two options: hide her body or flaunt it. Wendy's word choices kept smacking Wes in the face. Elegant. Curves. Gorgeous. Bombshell.
The moment Wendy confessed to Ziss about liking girls when Wesley was in earshot, he'd wondered about this moment. Now that she was sitting next to her, gushing over her beauty, patting her hand... Stop it. Yeah, she likes girls. She likes pretty girls and I'm a pretty girl at the moment, but that's it! Correlation does not imply causality! That's not the correct analogy, but this is my mind and I know what I meant!
Wendy's suggestion about sleeping on it and deciding on taking a more feminine name (Wesley is masculine?!?) has her again considering the boy's uniform and comparing it to the girls' school outfits. She hated how much she'd like to see her body in one of them. Playing dress-up, Wes?
"How about just a t-shirt and some shorts?"
Dervish had been absent most of the next day. But eventually, Tumbler gets a call on a private channel. ”Hey, chica. Wanna go for a ride?”
Wendy smiles, relieved that Wes isn’t going to cover up in a way that really won’t fool anyone.
“Smart choice.” With a few clicks, the holotheater has a display of not overly feminine, relatively modest babydoll tees and long shorts.
R.B. (the yet-to-be-properly-introduced fembot) reaches under her apron and, from a hidden compartment where a belly would be, she produces a brown babydoll tee with the Cups & Capes logo on it.
“If you can magic some shorts on, go for it. Else, try this tee-shirt. I can avert my eyes—I need to know if the Curator is forcing a body on you, or the outfit too.”
Wendy is clearly attracted, but has no trouble looking away if Arcana needs privacy to dress. The fembot will even hold up the blanket as a changing screen, unless Wes would rather not have the ‘screen’.
"Actually, yeah. I could use a ride," Tumbler calls him back via the ear buddies. "I need to get to Hidden Valley. It's a short trip out of the city, only thirty miles or so. An actual ride, not a 'port. We'll be picking some things up." She doesn't elaborate as her call ends.
Diego will find Tumbler hanging by a corner bodega in her St. Trina's uniform waiting for him. Her injured arm is currently cover by a long sock, though it is still strange enough to get people staring at her from a distance while she checks her phone.