Day 17 of the 25 Days of TF-mas! (Contains 'stepfordization' themes, mental changes)
The world seemed so different now. Maybe that was due to the new power that coursed through Elliott’s body, maybe it was because of Kat, that shared her body experiencing true humanity for the first time, or maybe it was something neither of them could truly explain. Elliott’s clothing had become rather snug on her with the added height and size to her assets, but the cold barely seemed to even register for her. She was headed steadily into town, taking long, confident strides.
‘Where are we going?’ Kat’s voice chimed into Elliott’s head. Though Kat seemed to be a being of near limitless power, it sounded almost giddy asking. This sensation was totally new for Kat, and it was as though it refused to spoil the answers for itself by getting it from anywhere but Elliott’s mouth. To be fair, Elliott appreciated this aspect of their suddenly close relationship, since it let her maintain the illusion of privacy in her own thoughts.
“We’re going to work,” she said aloud, not even really considering that she sounded like she was talking to herself.
‘You want to work? I thought that was some kind of torture the wealthy inflicted on the lesser humans.’ Kat replied, apparently uninterested in working.
Luckily, Elliott shared the sentiment, “Social commentary aside, we’re not going to do any work… We’re going to see what we can do like this.” Elliott looked at her palm, clenching and unclenching her fist. She had no idea how to use this power she’d acquired, but she wanted to find out. She had to know if it was as exhilarating as it seemed from the outside.
Susan was a hard worker. She worked day in, day out, covered shifts, worked on her off days, the whole nine yards. It was little wonder that the company that owned the little café promoted her to a manager position. Susan was just the type to preach the family rhetoric that the company wanted to push so badly, and she never complained about her hours or pay. Instead, she complained about others not being as dedicated as she was. The manager of the café had a reputation as a bit of a hard ass, enforcing strict rules down to the letter of the employee manual, and though nobody really enjoyed working with her per se, she also stood up to rowdy customers on their behalf, and took the company’s no harassment policies seriously. Susan was far from a great boss if you asked her little troupe of employees, but they could pretty easily imagine worse. Susan hardly seemed to care what they thought of her as long as the café ran smoothly, though.
It was in this relative gray area that Elliott set her sights first. Elliott wanted to begin with someone she knew, but not someone she liked, for her first outing. Her mind went wild with the possibilities as she pushed open the door with a little more force than was necessary.
Susan looked up from the counter, “You’re late!” she called, loud, but not yelling, “Hurry up and get your apron on-” she cut herself off as Elliott approached, “What the hell’d ya do to your hair?” Susan didn’t much care for the girls dying their hair this way and that, and Elliott’s new look did nothing to sway her from that disposition.
‘What do you want to do?’ Kat’s voice bubbled up from the back of Elliott’s head, almost childlike in its eagerness. Elliott pondered the question. She still was a bit apprehensive about everything, driven forward mostly on morbid curiosity and the high she was riding from the immense amount of power she currently felt. What did she want to do with her boss? Nothing grotesque or overtly horrid…
“Are you listening to me?” Susan barked, a little annoyed at the girl’s vacant expression, “Sheesh, girl, if you’re still not feelin’ well just go home. Don’t need ya gettin’ me sick.”
‘Would it help if I asked for a wish?’ Kat pressed, having used this motif to get inspiration for its own purposes thus far. It felt a bit foolish, but Elliott agreed that she needed some sort of guidance to narrow the literally limitless possibilities. “I wish…” she began, searching for the words, and utterly ignoring the woman before her, “that you were nicer, more… festive and demure…” she settled on that for her wish. The thought that came to her mind for such a description was used as a template by Kat, who was already at work.
“What the hell are you talkin about?” Susan asked, getting exasperated.
In reply, Elliott gasped. Her body felt like it was on fire with that same supercharged energy she first felt when she and Kat became one. Her body shuddered with the force, and she saw her arm reach out to Susan. The moment her outstretched hand touched Susan’s head, she stopped talking, and her eyes seemed to glaze over. From Elliott’s point of view, it was like her will, that image in her head for Susan was traveling directly from her imagination, though her arm, and into Susan. Before Elliott could voice any worry for making a scene, Kat interjected. ‘Nobody thinks anything of it.’ It was almost like a command, and Elliott repeated it to herself. As if by that very practice, not a single person around batted an eye. It was just her and Susan in their own little space right now.
Susan’s mind was scattered. It was becoming very difficult to focus on anything. She stared at Elliott, who seemed so much bigger and imposing than she had previously, and her mouth simply did not form words of protest. She knew she ought to protest but was quickly distracted from the reason why by a thought echoing through her head. It wasn’t her thought, though. It was Elliott’s. An image of a much nicer Susan popped into her head. One that always smiled and said please and thank you. One that didn’t fuss over silly things like her work and the work of others. One that instead focused on helping out with the holiday preparations. Goodness, there was so much to do, wasn’t there? Susan’s hair began to unravel from its tight ponytail, coiling and curling into a rather cute, if outdated hairstyle that surely required curlers, which Susan had never owned… had she? Of course, she had! She spent hours on her hair – to think shed forgotten about her curlers. Her functional slacks and shirt melded together and fluffed out into a red and white checkered dress that flared out at the hips and shortened to reveal her perfectly shaved legs while remaining long enough to stay modest. Her work apron had a much smaller change, simply gaining frills, losing the café’s logo, and shrinking to match with her new dress. Simple, dainty white gloves covered her now manicured hands. Now? She’d gotten her manicure yesterday… right? All this pomp and circumstance had left Susan’s head hazy and confused. Thankfully, Elliott was there to remind her of the important things. Cleaning, cooking, smiling, and overall, just getting things ready! Goodness the holidays were right around the corner! She couldn’t waste time gabbing here much longer.
Elliott was amazed. Simply by imagining it and placing her hand on Susan’s head, she’d practically made the strict manager the exact opposite – an old-fashioned homebody straight out of the vintage posters. As the changes progressed, she pressed further, wanting to see how far she could go. She watched makeup wash over Susan’s face, and a sleepy smile part her lips. She looked dazed and ditzy. Susan’s bag changed and shifted nearby into a classy little purse, and when Elliott finally let go her heart was racing. The woman before her shook her head a bit as if to clear the fog she’d been engulfed in, causing her new hoop earrings to jingle a bit.
“How… do you feel?” Elliott prodded, biting her lip in anticipation. She had to admit, whatever meltdown might be coming when Susan saw what she’d done, Elliott really made her pretty.
“Oh… dear,” She spoke in a breathy, soft voice, completely departed from the harsh tone she had but a moment ago, “I’m alright, thank you ever so much for asking.” Susan smiled brightly at Elliott, who might’ve needed a hand picking her jaw up from the floor at such a response. Had she really changed her boss so thoroughly as to overwrite her mind as well? The implications of such a thing were difficult for the girl to parse at the moment.
“Hey, ma’am? Could you step out a bit? Employees only behind the counter,” one of Susan’s employees ushered her out onto the main floor. Elliott expected a meltdown from Susan, but then maybe she shouldn’t have.
“Oh my! I do apologize,” she fretted, taking her little purse and moving out of the way, her heels clicking on the floor, “I wouldn’t want to impose on people working so hard,” she giggled. Then, she turned to Elliott again, “I should head home and get cleaning! We have a lot to do, don’t we sweetie?” she hurried past Elliott’s stunned expression and down the street. Notably, she was heading towards Vanessa’s house.
Frankly, Elliott didn’t know what to think about all of this. The rush she felt from manipulating Susan in body and mind was finally starting to subside, and she contemplated the ramifications of her actions. Was what she did ethical? Probably not, so why did it feel so good? Why did she want to keep doing it? Was it Kat’s influence on her or was it her own innermost desires finally given the power to act? It all bothered Elliott quite a bit, but for now, she figured she ought to not leave Susan alone for too long, so she hurried to follow her back to Vanessa’s home.
Kat would have smiled if it had a body to smile with. This was all becoming much more interesting…