Chapter Three – “Undercover”

Raven tresses cascaded over Jason’s shoulders, dancing freely in the humid jungle air. It was a unique experience for the usually short-haired male, now in the guise of a tall, shapely woman. She was amidst a train of similarly built women trudging their way through the spongy, decaying matter that made up the forest floor. At the head of the train was the basilisk, whose massive size left an easily traversed path in its wake. Its head bandied about as its large forelimbs pressed saplings flat in the soil. Jason thought it odd that the gigantic lizard suffered no indignity from wearing a harness that looked like it was fashioned from the hide of its kin. Instead, it looked all too comfortable having the Lady Justice-like rider seated behind its massive head. She was one of a kind amongst the statuesque tribe. She was the only one to carry a sword, which she would often slap the flat side of against her reptilian steed. None of the others wore white or went without armor, leaving Jason to believe that the rider was some sort of royalty. Jason’s own clothing was clearly meant for a gladiator of some kind. She wore woven sandals on her feet and padded guards on both her forearms and shins. A breastplate sat atop a belted toga and held her swaying bosoms in place. They tested Jason’s resolve with every step she took. It took a great deal of fortitude to keep her from getting distracted by the various complaints that were welling up in her mind.

The ceaseless marching was wearing on Jason quickly. When she walked at home, it was on a treadmill and in front of the TV. Where the hell do these women live? She asked herself. Her tunnel vision focused on the back in front of her, making her miss seeing the stone squirrel at her feet. She let out a yelp as she stubbed her toe on the rodent that must have caught the basilisk’s vision. Immediately, she checked on her injured toes, not realizing that her chest was about to crash into the woman in front of her.

“Clumsy whelp!” The infuriated Amazon shouted at her, bringing the line to a halt.

The woman seized Jason by the hair, twisting her neck into a painful position. Jason squealed in pain and her mind raced with thoughts of having her disguise revealed.

“What is the matter with you? You behave as if you were still a huntling! Do you have no pride as a warrioress? Look at me when I’m speaking to you!”

Jason shied away as if she were a child being picked on by the playground bully. She received a shove and stumbled to her hands and knees, looking up at her tormentor. The other women in the line whispered and giggled at her misery.

“Look at you, on the ground like a dog. When we get back, we’ll make sure you have a job more suited for your position.”

The woman spat right in Jason’s face to a refrain of laughter.

“Until then, get to the back of the line and tend to the prisoners!”

The regiment marched forward, leaving Jason behind in the dirt. She planted the butt of her spear in the ground and forced herself back to her feet before wiping away the insult she was given. She wondered how she let herself be put into this situation.

***

 

“Not exactly, you see I’m the Wo–” Anne started again, only to have Jason interrupt her this time.

“Do you float?”

“Holy potatoes, it’s impossible to get a simple explanation in with you two, isn’t it?” Anne sighed, hip to the ways of geeks. “Fine, for all intents and purposes, I’m a witch.”

“Well what you did just change a room full of men into women. You can’t really expect us to react pleasantly. I mean, I’m more than mildly disturbed that I’m not freaking out more about this.” Jason responded.

“That’s part of the spell. There would be no use hiding all of you if you just started panicking right after.”

“Not that I’m not grateful for being saved and all, but isn’t there some other kind of spell you could have used? Couldn’t you have turned the giant lizard into a kitten, or make all their weapons disappear or something? This is a rather lousy–”

“Don’t mind Jason, Anne. I’m sure you know what you’re capable of more than we do.”

“Suck up…” Jason muttered.

“I’m sorry, you must think I lead an exciting life, being a witch and all, but all of this is new to me too. I really thought I was the only one of my kind left, so I never bothered to learn any offensive magic. Anyway, we need to come up with a plan. I can’t keep changing every man they grab into a girl.”

Robin paced the hallway that was slightly out of view of the rest of the room. Instinctively, she knew it fell upon his shoulders to come up with something. It’s not right to rely on Anne to get us out of this. She thought. They’re taking prisoners, meaning we’re going to have to figure out some way of rescuing them. Even with Anne, we may not stand a chance. The flash of Jason’s camera interrupted Robin’s thought process.

“Jason! This isn’t the time to be…” Robin trailed off as a light bulb went off in her head.

A moment later, she was whispering to Anne, and much to Jason’s dismay, she was not being included in on the conversation. Before she knew it, her camera seemed to shrink in her hands and become the large center bead on a necklace. There was still a pin hole in the front and a little screen in the back, as if it was still a functioning camera, but it was clearly disguised well.

“Hey! That was my camera! Do you know how expensive that wa–”

Her body jolted as she grew rapidly, until she was taller than she had ever been as a male. She was the spitting image of one of the Amazons. The plan soon became apparent.

“Now remember, as long as you keep the necklace on your disguise will stay intact. You can click the top of the bead and it will take a picture.” Anne explained to her.

“I’m going to stay here and finish the head count we started before. We’ll need to be organized. Anne is going to change all the men back once the Amazons are out of range, so she’ll need to stay too. You’re our only hope Jason. There is no way we will be able to rescue anybody without knowing what we’re walking into.” Robin chimed in, before pushing Jason out to join the rest of the Amazons.

***

Why yes Robin, that is a brilliant plan! We’ll send Jason into the jungle looking like Diana Prince while you and Anne safely stay in the hotel. You’re our only hope? They act as if I’m Obi Wan Kenobi here. Oh? What’s that? All I have to do is take a few pictures? Freaking masterful! I swear this is the last convention I sign up to be on the staff of, that’s for sure. Jason cursed the plan as the Amazon warriors that passed her continued to give her dirty looks. When the prisoners finally started to pass and a short bald man with grey eyes looked at her, she had no choice but to follow the chain of screaming.

“What the hell are you looking at?!”

Even if the other Amazons did not buy her disguise, certainly their prisoners thought she was the real deal. She took her place flanking the back of the line, still wondering how a little reconnaissance was going to help them rescue these men. Even with a witch on their side, they were clearly outmatched. In all likelihood, even if she did make it back to the hotel after playing spy for a while, there would be little they could do. She sighed and looked up to see that the line was a good few paces ahead of her.

Leaves rustled in the undergrowth to her left, and she shivered with the feeling that she was being stalked. She stopped and tried to peer between the foliage, and then jumped when a dark shape leaped across her field of vision. I am not about to be eaten by a panther, she thought and then jogged quickly to catch up with the others.

“Wait for me!”

***

“Haley! I command you to stop messing around and go and retrieve my key right now!” Anibelle demanded.

The blonde girl pretended not to listen as she brandished a crowbar and shoved it underneath the lid of a nearly ten foot tall crate in front of her. The wood creaked and snapped as Haley pried the nails loose. Her demon companion fumed in the background.

“Are you even listening to me? I’ll toss you butt first into that jungle if you don’t listen to me! This is why I prefer henchlings.”

“Quit your yammering,” Haley stopped and stood up, looking Ani in the eyes. “Listen to me. I want to get Simon back even more than you do, but I am not about to go running through a jungle without any sort of protection.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Anibelle shouted at the girl. “I’m all the protection we need. I could tear apart one of those women without a second thought.”

“Sure, one. You probably even could have handled the three that took Simon, but how many can you take at a time? They had an entire army, and you’re unarmed, unless you’re holding out on me.”

The succubus pouted stubbornly. “So maybe I left my Colt in my other bra. What do you expect to find in some crate that’s going to be able to take on an army of menstruating women?”

“You’ll see.”

Haley grinned and returned to work at opening the crate. Anibelle paced back and forth behind her, often trying to find a position where she could look in through the widening gap between the lid and the rest of the box. She whimpered like a puppy waiting to be let out.

“You’re slow! Go faster! I could have ripped that lid off and had us half way there by now.”

The young inventor sighed and shook her head slightly, knowing that if she gave Ani the opportunity to open the crate for her, she would just insist that it was minion work. The last of the nails popped free and the lights in her forearm panel came to life. The lid was slowly lifted as if it were the Arc of the Covenant.

Anibelle oohed at what she saw in the crate. Standing upright in front of her was a mechanical golem. Its shoulders reached the roof of the crate and like a hunchback, were the highest point on the being. A small oval head rested just below, with a single large red lens centered on it. Both its arms were massive and it had four smaller finger-like appendages coming out from the rounded tips of each arm. The legs truncated in feet that buttressed out like the base of a tree.

“Haley, I take back every insulting thing that I was thinking about you. This is facemeltingly awesome!”

“Brute, power on.” Haley commanded.

As if it were wearing neon suspenders, blue lights illuminated down from its shoulders, stopping about midway to its waist. Anibelle took a step to the side and the Brute lurched forward with a thunderous step.

“It’s time to kick a little ass!” Haley said with a grin, as she and Ani followed the mechanized soldier out into the jungle.

***

The shutter door to the storage area was torn from its hinges. From the looks of it, whatever tore through the heavy aluminum must not have had any more trouble with it than a can opener has on a tin can. A gaping hole, big enough to drive a truck through, was left behind. A lone Amazon, without her spear, was crouched down in the opening, caressing the smooth paved floor beneath her. Slowly, she touched her fingertips to her nostrils and sucked in the scent she was following.

“You’re close, Sister. You thought you could run away from me, but soon we’ll be together again.” She waxed sentimentally, though there did not seem to be anyone around to hear her.

Her ears perked up as she heard footsteps approaching her, not from behind, but from the other side of the corrugated metal door. The source of the footsteps had no notion of hiding its existence either. Through the opening, she saw a young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. While not as tall as the Amazon herself, the girl was still tall by normal human standards. Her long legs were accented by the cuffed cargo shorts she wore. By all accounts though, she was just an ordinary human girl. She wore a teal and grey baseball jersey with the word Squirrels scrawled across the front in a cursive font, had short hair that was a dark enough brown to look black in the shade, and had blue eyes which glared in such a way that the Amazon felt like she was trying to make her explode with her mind.

“I know what you are. Those women left over an hour ago. You’re not one of them.” The girl spoke expertly.

“How would you know anything about me?” The taller woman shot back.

She pointed to a small cross shaped scar that marred her otherwise perfect face, beneath her right eye. With the shade on the girl, it appeared as if the scar was radiating a soft orange glow, almost as if it were on fire.

“This never burns so brightly, except for when I’m in the presence of a demon. You may as well show yourself.”

The Amazon sighed, and her body seemed to mold itself into a new form. Unseen hands reshaped the woman and revealed her for what she was. Now more on the same level as the other girl, she showed her demon colors. Leathery wings unfurled behind her back, and menacing curved horns sprouted from her forehead, through her hair that was streaked with red.

“Happy? I’m a demon, whoop-de-freaking-do. Now what do you want?”

The girl squinted at her, and then let out a bored sigh.

“No, no, no. It’s all wrong. Your boobs are way too big for one thing. I mean you look like a Bactrian camel that fell over on its side with those things.”

“At least I’m not so flat that I look like a twelve year old boy.” The demon spat back.

“I really don’t have time to be trading insults back and forth. I’m looking for another demon. She has red hair with blonde bangs. She might be wearing a heart-shaped barrette. Do you know her?”

The shape-shifting demon thought on it, though there really was no need. She knew that the girl had to be talking about her sister. Since they arrived, the connection to Hell was cut off completely and the only demon around that even remotely matched that description was Anibelle.

“I might know her. It all depends on how much finding her means to–”

The girl turned around right in the middle of the demon’s proposition and started to head down the well-trodden path in the jungle.

“Where are you going? I was just about to tell you I knew her!”

“I don’t feel like being jerked around today. I’ll find her on my own.” The brunette shouted back at her, not even turning around.

“Aww, wait for me! My name’s Jenette, what’s yours?” Jenette asked the girl as she chased her down.

The girl just chuckled. “What kind of name is that for a demon? It sounds more like the name of a chipmunk.”

***

These things always happen to me. I’m shy. I’m weak. I’m useless. Just for once, I’d like to be Simon, the hero rather than Simon, the damsel in distress. I remember seeing the disappointment in Haley’s eyes the day she hired me. After all, why would anyone want to hire a five and a half foot tall weakling when they could have some strong dynamo of a man? Maybe that’s the reason why I try to give 110% all the time. I always tell myself that I can make up for my weakness with extra effort, but over the last couple of hours, I’m learning that I’m of no use in an emergency. Here we are on some other planet, or some other dimension, maybe even some other time and what’s the first thing I do? I freeze and stand staring out the window like a jackass while a demon holds us hostage. I didn’t even lift a finger to save Haley, and I’m pathetic for it. Instead, I bend to the demon’s will and take away our only bargaining chips. I mean, sure, she was really alluring. It’s still hard to get her out of my mind, but I know I should be ashamed of myself for walking around calling her Mistress or Overlord when I should be protecting Haley. Now, here I am again. I’ve become Anibelle’s pawn to be handed off on a whim, and all I can do is wait and hope that my cybernetic knight comes to save me.

Simon sighed, trying not to make eye contact with the Amazon to his left. A beaded necklace that none of the others wore, hung around her neck. The woman seemed to be on edge, and had been ever since her compatriots turned her into the outcast of the group. Simon was convinced that she wanted to take it out on him, as he could not help but notice out of the corner of his eye, the nasty glares she kept giving him. The hapless man was having trouble keeping his gaze in front of him however. Despite the situation, there was his fetish for tall, muscular women that he had to deal with, and for some reason he could not shake the fantasies that bubbled in his brain.

To Simon, it felt like they had been marching through the jungle for hours, though there was no way of telling exactly how long it has been when Amazon village finally came into view. Upon arrival, an impenetrable wall of logs, that were sharpened into points at the top, greeted them. It was an intimidating sight to behold, and Simon found himself staring slack-jawed up at the twenty foot wall.

“What are they keeping in there? King Kong?” The Amazon that was watching over Simon muttered.

Simon turned, giving her a quizzical stare.

“Don’t look at me, you bald twerp!” She shouted back at him.

The rope around his wrists tugged him forward before he could give her a second thought. The train crept slowly through the impressive gates, as the basilisk was led around the side of the wall and out of view. The returning warriors were greeted with a clamor of cheers, and they quickly began to disperse amongst the crowd. Simon could not find a man in sight, other than the prisoners that were shackled to him. Most of the women were tall, just like the warriors. Even the children looked strong for their ages, and they wrestled and chased one another around as young boys would, rather than little girls. The few small, human-sized, women around were clothed in next to nothing. Only a few shreds of cloth covered their breasts, and a loincloth was all there was to cover their privates. They followed some of the more opulently dressed women around like cats, rubbing against their masters’ legs.

Simon lost track of the one with the beads. He thought that she must have run off to her family, like so many of the others. Before he knew it, the ground beneath him became hard. Inside the city, the roads were paved with cobblestone. He watched his tattered sneakers make one step after another over it as if he were in a trance, before the sounding of a gong caught his attention.

“Prepare for the Great Changing!” A woman dressed in silk and gold announced.

The prisoners were quickly lined up, as if being prepared to face a firing squad. Simon took a deep breath and closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable, but instead of having an arrow shot through his heart, he felt himself being poked and prodded. They jabbed him in his groin, squeezed his arms, and bent him over. It was reminiscent of a nightmarish version of a routine doctor’s visit.

“This one is not of suitable breeding stock. Lock him in one of the vats. He’ll take place in the Great Changing.”

Forced forward once again, his jailer and a few of her deputies dragged Simon to a cast iron pot, big enough to hold a man twice his size. The brew inside of it had the scent of freshly cut flowers. If it was not for the fact that he was being dipped into it, it might have been quite pleasant. They dunked his head beneath the percolating liquid. Simon gasped for air, only to find that a lid was sliding into place, sealing him in the iron womb.

There’s no light. I can’t breathe! Simon immediately started to panic. He sent wave after wave of punches into the side of the cannister, only to end up with bruised knuckles for his effort. Instinctively, his body curled itself into the foetal position. Part of him wanted to suck his thumb, as if he were a child again. They’re going to cook me and then eat me at whatever ceremony they have planned. This is all because I’m a small, pathetic bald weakling. Simon cursed his existence. His body started to feel numb. I should be stronger than this. My only accomplishment in life is being everybody else’s doormat. I’m not ready to die, especially not like this. I should go out with some dignity rather than sniveling in here like a coward again. Oh great, now the walls are closing in on me. Don’t panic Simon!

Simon’s anxiety peaked as he felt his iron encasement get smaller. He whimpered and swung his fist at the side once more, this time feeling the metal give just a little and echo with a clang. His prison was not getting smaller. He was becoming larger. Wavy locks of hair started to tickle his eyes, which saw nothing but black. In the moments before his death, all his dreams were coming true. The surge of power was invigorating. He tested his confinement once more, receiving an even louder clang than the first one. His chest seemed to swell, and the pain in his crotch subsided, leaving him with a tingle that he had never experienced before. He suspected he was gaining muscle and becoming more potent than he could ever have hoped. It’s my time to be the hero now, he thought, as his fists pounded at the container’s walls. I’ll never be the damsel again.

***

Jason wandered through the Amazon city aimlessly. She had been through a whirlwind of activities since arriving. She received a second tongue lashing from the regiment’s commander, and then was whisked away and told to change into her ceremonial whites. They consisted of a white toga of Roman style, with a golden lasso tied around the waist. The shin and arm pads were also removed, leaving her in a slightly more comfortable pair of sandals. An older woman brushed her hair out as she complained about how warriors are always such a mess. Jason wondered what the woman must have been because she looked just as powerful as any of those that marched with her. She could see that everyone was busy in preparation for The Great Changing, as they called it. It seemed like any other homecoming festival to her though. The hustle and bustle, fortunately allowed her the time to complete her scouting mission.

She took pictures of the half-naked hand maidens, of the large temple that was the center of the city, of the warriors’ quarters and of the start of the ceremony itself. Huge cast iron vats were lined up at the top of the steps at the temple. Amazons in white cloaks stood beside the pots as the crowd watched in anticipation. It was difficult to see from Jason’s position amongst the crowd, but there was an hourglass that seemed embedded in a central pillar. Grains of sand poured through it and Jason could feel the excitement grow around her as the top emptied into the bottom.

“I do hope we have a good crop this time. There were too many brown-hairs in the last batch. I always like when they come out yellow.” She could hear whispers behind her as the last bits ticked away.

CLANG!

The sound echoed across the square. Jason thought that someone was banging on the gong again, but then the sound came again. The murmur of the masses became a shout.

“Look! The one on the right!”

The one they were pointing to was second from the end to be exact. It rocked about and seemed as if it would tip over with each mighty ring. The metal swelled at the points of impact, looking as if it were about to burst from each tiny protuberance that was created.

Finally, the vat rolled from its stand and tumbled down the steps, landing at the foot of the audience. The women all took a step back and gasped, well all except for Jason. The next few moments were like a blur. The lid burst forth like the cork on a bottle of champagne, and a figure began to emerge. She could hear scrambling behind her, but was frozen in her place. A woman with wavy shoulder-length hair loomed over her. Jason thought she was at least a foot taller than her now, if not more. Her muscles bulged, and her chest heaved with breasts appropriate for a woman of her size. It appeared as if she was looking down at Jason, but that was not the case.

“Holy crap, I’m a woman!” She said, flexing her muscles and examining herself, ignorant of the gladiators that were surrounding her in full armor.

“Please do not say ‘Hulk smash puny women’. Please do not say ‘Hulk smash puny women’.” Jason mumbled over and over again as if it was her mantra.

The woman finally caught a glimpse of the enclosing circle of warriors. She grinned and cracked her knuckles.

“Oh no, not this time! You may have been able to push Simon around, but nobody is going to put Simone in a corner!” The giantess stated loudly.

Simone sprang forward, pushing off her muscular legs, which were only covered by the tattered remains of her formerly masculine clothing. Jason placed both hands over her head and ducked down, expecting to be the target of the Hulk’s rage. In one leap, Simon launched right into the fray, not even giving Jason a glance. Jason stood, though perhaps at the wrong moment as Simone had one of the Amazon warriors clutched by the neck and swung her like a baseball bat, knocking Jason across the square and into a stack of wooden barrels.

Jason slowly stood as Simone raged out of control. Spears were jabbed at the large woman, who shrugged them off with little effort, snapping them in her fists. Bodies were flying as Jason rubbed his chin. The distinct feeling of being unshaven was unmistakable. His hands grasped for his camera, but before he could slip it back around his neck, he was discovered.

“A male! One of the prisoners escaped, seize–!” The whistle blower gurgled as she tried to finish her cry.

Jason, once again dressed in his Phoenix tee and trench coat, couldn’t believe his eyes. The woman who tried to give his location slumped to her knees. He could see right through the hole that was burned in her neck. In one end, and out the other, without a drop of blood. The wound cauterized instantly.

“Oops, that was only supposed to be a warning shot!” A blonde girl standing next to a robot that was even taller than Simone was, called out. A woman with tiny horns, wings, and a spade-tipped tail leaped from the mechanical soldier’s shoulders and looked like she was about to join the fight.

“Don’t worry about it Haley. They started the party without us. I say it’s time we even up the odds a little!”