[Dronification]

Trinity City. A city populated by three equal forces. Those of good. Those of evil. And those that both want to exploit. Superheroes, Supervillains, and Civilians. And despite the inherent imbalance between the three, it didn’t stop life from going on as usual.

Whenever a villain tried something, a hero would no doubt show up to stop them. And when a hero would take interest in a civilian, a villain would take care of them within the next few days. Much like if a villain confided in a civilian, the heroes would take advantage of this bond and find them and throw them behind bars. Because that’s just how the city worked.

Sometimes, the heroes were swept up into schemes that were beyond their control. Because the villains were so much stronger than them. Or perhaps not stronger, as much as they were… Persuasive in their own unique way.

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that letter.”

Standing in the spotlight was a black-haired young woman wearing a domino mask to hide away her identity. There was a good reason for that, and it all had to do with the fortune she had inherited.

Her name was Camilla Fontaine, the latest and last head of the Fontaine family. Upon the death of her dear parents, who gave their lives in an incident that many would consider an unlucky happenstance, she was propelled into the limelight.

With that capital, and a desire for vengeance, she became Umbra. A vigilante with enough gadgets to make even the smartest hero start rolling their eyes. She wanted nothing more than to blanket this city and make sure that the ones that ordered the hit on her parents would answer to justice.

“Oh, you got one too? Weird, I didn’t think they knew we were pals!”

The other woman currently standing in the spotlight was a lot cheerier than her vengeance-riddled ally. Whether it was because her dress sense was a lot brighter and less worried about the aesthetics, or because she simply didn’t understand what it meant to be a downer, she clearly looked out of place next to Umbra.

She was Sol. At least, that’s what she called herself. She didn’t really bother giving out her real name because she didn’t think it fit herself anymore. Ever since she got her powers, right when she hit her teens, she wanted to use them for good. And she used them well, especially considering she was like a living sun.

“We’re not pals.” Umbra replied as she dusted off her ornate gothic dress, adjusting the various hidden compartments on her body. “We’re barely even rivals. I don’t want anything to do with you, Sol.” She muttered, as she glared out at the world around her. “And you, villain. Don’t you think it’s time to reveal yourself?”

Sol pouted a little, her bright-white bodysuit contrasting the stylized sun painted across her chest. “But I want things to do with you, Umbra. You can’t just be all grumpy all the time. It’s not good for you!”

“Quiet.” Umbra shot back as she adjusted her wrist, the sound of a gun being primed echoed through the darkness. She was ready to fight.

A laugh echoed as the rest of the lights quickly turned on, revealing a live studio audience packed around them. And the fact that both women were currently standing at the very end of a rather long looking obstacle course, filled to the brim with traps that would slow them down if they got nicked by even a single bit of the substance they contained.

“Sol and Umbra! The dueling Day and Night partners! I’m glad to have you as the guests of my brand new show!” The voice of a practiced entertainer echoed through the massive studio, as a platform lowered from the ceiling.

Standing upon that platform was a woman wearing a red suit with a wonderfully garish black and white tophat resting upon her head. Her equally black-and-white locks made her look just disgusting to look at for an extended period of time, which was exactly why she was enjoying every moment of the camera being focused on her. Just so she could torment her viewers that little bit longer.

“I know my audience knows who I am, but I’ll remind you two lovely ladies as well! I am Presenter! And as long as you’re in my studio, you’re going to have fun trying to follow the script. Don’t worry, I’ve made sure that you both have more than enough wriggle room, and nothing’s set in stone yet!” The villainess introduced herself, tipping her hat, as the cameras focused on the two heroines.

Umbra wasn’t having any of it. She aimed straight up at Presenter and let the hidden gun fire… Only for it to jam, causing her to repeatedly twist her wrist in an attempt to make the mechanism unjam.

“Ah-ah! No cheating! That goes for you too, Sol! As long as you’re a part of the program, you’re not able to use your powers when you’re not prompted!” Presenter giggled as she twirled a little cane of hers, the lights from above shining on the rest of the course. “Now, I hope you two ladies are as physically fit as you are great at being heroes, because otherwise you’re going to be covered in gunk by the end of the timeslot!”

Sol laughed a little as she looked up at the villainess, and then at her fellow hero. “It’ll be easy, Umbra! What’s a little obstacle ever done to ruin our fun?” She chimed, as she started sprinting ahead. She wasn’t about to waste too much time. The less time they spent under the villainess’ thumb, the less time Umbra’d spend being all mopey and angry!

“You try running an obstacle in high heels, you superpowered idiot!” The black-haired woman cried out as she chased after her fellow heroine, hiking up her dress in the process. By the time she was done with all of this, she was going to make sure she understood just how angry she was at her.

Presenter kicked back and watched the show unfold, grinning as she had banked up an hour for the two heroines to humiliate themselves…

---

There were very few things in life that Umbra hated more than the man that had killed her parents. Math. Running the Fontaine Foundation. Being told no. All of those paled in comparison to what she was feeling right this very moment.

As it turned out, her usual hero outfit was awful for running through an obstacle course. Not even breaking her heels, something that she only did in case of emergencies, was enough to make it bearable.

Whether it was jumping across small platforms over a pool of gunk, or climbing up a ladder with missing and unstable bars, or being forced to use a bar to leap up the steps of the ladder… There were so many obstacles, and she was but one girl. There was no way that she could do all of them and not end up exhausted.

It was how she ended up getting absolutely covered in that reddish jam-like substance. It was so sticky that there was no way for her to get it off… But that wasn’t the bad part. No, the bad part was how it stuck to her.

Umbra cursed inside her mind as she tried to yank the red gunk off her hips. But it wouldn’t budge. Neither did the stuff on her chest, or the stuff that hung off her behind. It was all stuck in such humiliating spots. Making her look much more erotic than she really was.

And what could make it worse, than when she looked at her ‘ally’ and saw that she hadn’t failed a single obstacle. And she had done all the hard ones too!

Sol, ever the optimist, threw herself at every obstacle without even flinching. Whether it was leaping from one wall to the other, or running up a steep incline and pulling herself up, or climbing a set of stairs from the bottom. She was like a machine that wouldn’t stop!

And every time she finished an obstacle, she waited for the darker heroine. Because sure, she didn’t want to waste time, but she also didn’t want her to get ambushed or abused by anything. Especially not those extras that looked like they could toss her back into the gunk at any moment!

“Looks like our heroes have made it alllll the way to the final obstacle! And what a tough time they’ve had! Umbra’s been launched into so many obstacles that I’m surprised the course even has traps left for her to trip, while Sol’s been able to clear them all at record pace! Maybe she should sign up for next week’s programme with all the athletic heroines as we find out who’s the ultimate warrior!” Presenter’s voice echoed throughout the studio, and the audience cheered for the two idiots walking down the path towards the final obstacle.

Umbra was ready to quit. She was ready to just throw the red-suited woman into the gunk. And Sol too. She really just wanted to go home, shower, maybe take an extended bubblebath, get the old maid to massage her until she passed out, and then make sure this would never happen again.

But there was still one thing left. A wall with two very tight looking holes in it. All they had to do was jump through it. Then they’d be homefree. But compared to the rest of the obstacles, didn’t it seem a little… Simple?

“Let’s go, Umbra!” Sol cried out as she sprinted forward, leaping straight into one of the holes with perfect form, slipping through it with absolutely no problem whatsoever. Even as her friend struggled to catch up and match her pace.

Umbra scowled as she leapt into the other hole, only to end up stuck. And why was she stuck? Why, it was simple. It was that damned gunk that clung to her body. Sure, she could get her head and her torso through, but then she got stuck on her hips. And since her bosom was also rather exaggerated as a result of all this strange red stuff, she couldn’t pull herself back out. She was just utterly stuck.

“What a shame! Umbra has gotten herself stuck and thus is disqualified from finishing the course! But not to worry, she’s in the perfect position to see what her friend’s won!”

As Presenter’s words echoed through the studio, the black-haired heroine looked straight ahead… And realized that there was a pane of latex hanging right in front of her. One that she had been dangerously close to jumping through. Did she save herself by being this terrible at some dumb obstacle course?

Not quite. At least, not when she took her fellow heroine into account. Because on the other side of that latex was Sol. Or rather, the woman that had once been Sol.

Standing in front of the gothic heroine was a woman clad in nothing but shiny black latex. Her entire personality, her entire existence, sealed away underneath a layer of that shiny black stuff. And judging by the slight imprint around her neck depicting a simple number… It was like she had been made into part of the studio’s props.

“That’s right! As a reward for her perfect completion of today’s show, Sol has earned the right to be a permanent stay in my shows! Or, should I say, Prop Drone #5?” Presenter laughed, only to turn her head towards the cameras hovering near her and realizing just how much time they had spent on the course.

Little by little, the lights shut off. “Sorry folks! That’ll be all for tonight! Tune in tomorrow, and you might just see what’s happened to Umbra in the meantime!”

Umbra felt dread filling her stomach as she kept looking at the dronified version of her ‘ally’, and only one thought remained in her mind as darkness took hold of the studio.

‘Damnit. She looks good in black too…’