Spotlight...it puts emphasis right where you want it. Trying to draw the audience's attention? Hit it with a spotlight. Something important that you want to show off? Shine the brightest light you can onto it, while darkening the area around it. Mercy walks around the pedestal, examining the spotlight locations.

Her stiletto heels are the only sound in the room, as they click gently on the marble floor. Her well-manicured hands hold a tablet in front of her as she looks up at the statue on the pedestal. The female superhero stands there smiling, staring off into the darkness. The 6 small spotlights tucked into the ceiling hit the muscular figure from all sides, ensuring every angle of viewing is a good one. Mercy stops in the back, taking in the rather full rear end of the statue. She touches her tablet, and notices the light changing slightly, as it reflects off the curved shiny surface at eye level. She twists her wrist slowly, as the spotlight changes its location ever so slightly, making the shade of purple shift delicately. And then...sparkle...she gets that perfect light reflection to hit her eyes from the crease in the boots.

She turns her attention to the short, purple cape that seems to flow behind the statue. Mercy notes that the one corner of the cape seems to have been bumped, as it is not "flowing", but rather bent downwards. Using the tablet's corner, she pushes up on the cape, and it seems to ignore gravity as it bends upward. Like a piece of aluminum foil, the cape corner holds its new spot. Mercy walks around it again, checking the lighting to make sure it catches the spotlights properly.

Smiling proudly, she steps back and takes in the beautiful curves of the frozen superhero. She looks like she could jump right off of that platform, but Mercy knows she cannot. Her technology built into the pedestal, as well as what is being worn by the masked woman, keeps her in perfect stasis right where she is. Mercy gently reaches out to touch the very small waist of the statue.

"Oh dear," she says in a mocking tone, "You have a smudge on your shiny super suit. I'll need my maid to come in and clean that." With a laugh that borders on an evil cackle, she walks towards the door. With a flourish, she touches another button, illuminating the entire room. From marbled corner to marbled corner, the room shows off multiple similar pedestals that have multi-colored superheroes standing in various poses. Each one has a set of 6 small spotlights hitting them perfectly. Mercy puts her hand on her heart, catching her breath, "My favorite room in the house." She turns and walks away, as each spotlight starts to go out due to a different timer on each. The smiling faces and perfect female figures begin to disappear into the darkened room, unaware whether the lights are on or off.

The cool night has a stiff breeze that blows the leaves of the trees. The "treehouse" that is tucked up into the incredibly large tree looks to be the size of a full-sized house. The outside is painted like the tree holding it up, so it does not look that big from a distance. Once inside though, any visitor might think it is bigger on the outside than the inside, but we all know that is impossible.

Sitting on a hand carved wooden chair that appears to be made just for her curves, Black Swan sips a hot chocolate with some stiff Irish cream in it. Her legs are crossed in a proper way, as if she is attending a tea party at the palace. Her shoulders are back, and she gives off a grace like that of her namesake.

The exact opposite can be said for the other superheroine in the wood lined room. She paces back and forth like a caged animal. Her heels seem to make the treehouse shake with every step. Every time she turns around to restart her pacing, it is like the wind can sense it and changes direction as well. Stormhelm ignores the drink sitting on the table for her, as her face seems lost in concern.

The final "person" in the room is not a real person. The robot looks to be female in shape, but all of the curves are rather boxy and angled. The silver surface is highly reflective and provides a mirror if one needs it. Its arms have no muscle, but its casing is sculpted like a bodybuilder. Its legs look to be fashioned from the fastest sprinter in the world. The exact opposite of Stormhelm, the robot does not move at all. The only way to know it is active is its "face". Rather than eyes, nose, and mouth, the face is a smooth screen that is lit up with lines and lines of code scrolling past it.

"Stormie," Black Swan says calmly, "You are going to shake my hideout all the way to Oz if you don't calm down." Her smile is playful, but her tone feels serious.

The pacing superheroine almost seems to walk even faster as she replies, "Calm down? How can you be calm when we may have finally found the whereabouts of Sweet Note and our sister's trapped by the wicked and maniacal Mercy!" Stormhelm barely keeps her voice under a scream, as it elevates with each word.

Black Swan seems unphased by the outburst and sips her spiced hot chocolate, while Stormhelm's hair seems to fly randomly about by some unseen force. She had more to say, but the robot chimes in instead. "Okay, my code has run and it looks like we got something." The screen goes blank and then a totally different face shows up there. Like her namesake, MegaMeka's face completely fills the screen, as if she is too large for such a small screen. Her white teeth a sharp contrast to her dark skin, she continues, "Sweet Note's robot here seems to be running my tracking software, and we got a 98.7% match to her location. We know where she is, which means..."

Stormhelm breaks in, "We know where they all are. Let's go!" She pounds her fists together, which knocks her cup off of the table on the other side of the room, and it breaks on the floor. Black Swan does a heavy sigh, before MegaMeka responds, "I got it Swannie...this robot has a maid mode feature." MekaMeka's face turns from facing the screen, as the robot she controls begins to move to clean up the mess. Stormhelm seems to ignore that she did that, or maybe she did not realize she briefly lost control of her powers...again.

As the robot bends its impressive self in half to gather the pieces and suck up the fluid, Black Swan says, "But first, we need a plan. We cannot just bust in there without more information." Stormhelm takes a breath to rebuke her, but Swan keeps going, "I know you want to go now, but nothing is going to change their predicament. They are 'safe' where they are until we can get them out."

Stormhelm puts her hands on her hips, "Safe? Safe? You call being prisoner in their own body as a statue in Mercy's mansion safe?!" Stormhelm stomps out of the room waving her hands, as winds from random directions knock a couple of things off the wall. She never actually touched them, but that does not seem to matter. The robot makes an unusual sound that might be a heavy sigh.

"I got it," MegaMeka says through the robot's speaker, "You can work on the plan and we'll calm her down later." The robot has already started to move to the hallway to pick up what was knocked down. Black Swan stands and gracefully walks to the far wall, where a picture frame shows a large and beautiful swan in the process of landing on the water. She touches one of the drops that are being splashed away, causing the painting to disappear, showing a hidden touch screen within the gilded frame.

"Okay," she says under her breath, "Let's make a plan to get in and get out with no chance of failure." She lightly touches the screen and begins to plan a break-in and escape from the most feared woman in the superheroine world.

Mercy stands in front of her mirror, looking at her outfit. The sexy french maid costume fits her perfectly, which is why she had specific size requirements for her actual maid. Behind her, the maid stands at attention, wearing the gown that Mercy just had on. Power is a drug that Mercy loves to take, but the other side of that also entices her.

Once a week, she has to put herself in a submissive role for just a couple of hours. No one knows about this, other than her brainwashed maid, who used to be the superheroine, Femeleon. Late at night, usually during the end of a guard's shift, she has her maid come out of storage to her bedroom. She has them change clothes, which takes very little time as they are identical in size. The maid will then climb into Mercy's bed and get under the covers and lay there as if asleep. Mercy will then walk out into the mansion and clean one of her statues. They have already been cleaned that day, except for the one that she has instructed the maid to ignore.

Technically, she thinks to herself while adjusting her maid's tiara, I have 4 other maids, but they are not allowed in my bedroom or in my statue room. They have other duties to perform during the day, and should be in the storage beds at the moment in the basement. The biggest difference in the maids is Femeleon's super power. She can change her shape to look like any female, hence the name: female chameleon. With Femeleon's brain a lump of goo in Mercy's hands, she happily keeps her shape to match that of Mercy. She bends down and checks her tablet. "Okay, the early guard shift is about up, so now is a perfect time."

She picks up the cleaning basket that has what she will need to clean the statue. As she walks along the carpet floor, she can feel the cool air around her legs, that finds its way up to her almost exposed butt. Hmm, she thinks, feels a little chilly tonight, maybe I should have had her wear her winter outfit instead. The other thing one might note of Femeleon's powers is that they are slightly psychic, which allows her to read some of the thoughts of the person she is trying to look like. She does not fully understand it, but there is a bit of a two-way street with that mental connection.

Turning to the maid in her red silk nightgown, she says, "Mercy-Maid, it is bedtime." At the word 'bedtime', the maid turns and climbs into the very large bed. She slides under the covers easily, pulling them up to her neck. In her very soft, sweet voice, she commands, "Maid-Mercy, go clean Gilded Knight statue, you worthless slave." Mercy feels that tingle she longs for down her spine from being commanded, but only in a safe, private environment. She curtsies, feeling the wind rush up her very short skirt that feels much more natural now. "Yes, madam," she responds in her confident, commanding voice.

And with no other interaction, Maid-Mercy steps out into the dark hallway to do what she always does this time of the week. Closing the door softly so as not to disturb Mercy-Maid's slumber, she walks slowly and methodically down the hallway. Her hips do not sway as much as they usually do, walking down the hallway in her servant's uniform. The coolness of the night is lost as her heart beats faster with each step. A slight heat comes to her cheeks, giving her that almost-high feeling of being on a drug. She tries not to smile too much, but it is hard to contain her joy.

"Let's go over it again," Black Swan says to the trio around her ornate wooden table that has a touch screen built into it. Stormhelm sighs heavily, as if to say "why". MegaMeka speaks through the robot's speaker, "We know we cannot go tonight anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to make sure it all makes sense. No mistakes this time." She is referring to the last time a group of superheroines tried to get the best of Mercy at her mansion. Hopefully, they can undo that night's outcome.

Black Swan points to the map on the screen, "MekaBot, as we are calling you now, will be in the delivery truck at the next time Mercy has food delivered. Stormie and myself will be shrunk down to action figure size and inside MekaBot's storage compartments."

Stormhelm butts in, clearly uncomfortable with the deception or maybe the shrinking part, "I don't see why we have to do that. Why can't we just shrink down and run in some hole in the wall or open door?" Black Swan tries to hold in the sigh forming on her lips, as they have explained this a hundred times. "Mercy's security system is looking for human intruders, not robotic ones. If we go as is, no matter our size, we will trip the alarms, but if we are tucked inside MekaBot here, Mercy's sensors will not be able to detect us."

Stormhelm flexes her fists, as if to say she does not agree with this part of the plan, but she simply nods her reply as her hair briefly shoots up before settling down. "Once the security guards change shifts, MekaBot will come out into the main area from the basement delivery room. After getting us out and restoring our true size with Sweet Note's device built into MekaBot, we can then make our way to the statue room. We have a good idea where it is, so it should not take long."

MegaMeka nods her head on the screen, but MekaBot does not change position, "Sounds like a good plan to me. I think each of you will fit into one chest compartment of MekaBot, so hopefully we can get two heroines out in one trip." Stormhelm hits her palms together, inadvertently knocking another picture off the wall, "And then we bust Mercy up for what she has been doing." Black Swan nods slowly, "After we have more help, and now know her tactics, yes...we bust Mercy up."

Maid-Mercy breathes out a contented sigh. Besides admiring my collection, this is my favorite way to decompress from the week. She has a soft bristled toothbrush in hand, as she slowly scrubs the shiny suit of armor of the superheroine frozen on the pedestal next to her. Maid-Mercy takes careful strokes as she works under the impressive breast size that is completely encased in shiny, gold metal.

Maid-Mercy can feel each tight muscle in her body loosening with each brush. Every so often, she gazes into the glassy eyes of the superheroine looking back at her. You look so happy there, Mercy notes, don't you? Mercy smiles internally, while Maid-Mercy shows no outward change. Frozen in time, on display forever for me and me alone, Mercy states to herself while she stands on a step stool reaching out to clean the statue.

She has no idea how long she has been here, as it does not matter to her. However, there are two others who are interested in the time. Two male guards who just finished their shift are walking down the main hallway to their exit point of the mansion in the basement. They know that if tonight is like the same night last week, they might get a little action.

Walking by the statue room, they look in without saying a word. They tilt their heads to see the maid cleaning a statue over to one side. Both guys look at each other in silence. Nodding their heads, they walk quietly into the room. They can see all of the other spotlights are out, except the ones illuminating the golden knight on the stand and the french maid on the ladder. They can easily make out her perfect butt cheeks as they shimmy under her too-short skirt.

They have done this every week, and have learned how to get away with this without causing alarm. Their predecessors tried to go beyond a simple touch, and both of them are out in the garden scaring away the crows. These guys are not wanting to become part of Mercy's collection, but how can they ignore fully appreciating the display in front of them once a week.

Maid-Mercy does not hear them, but she feels them when they arrive. One hand softly cups her left butt cheek, at about the same time, she feels a different hand caress her right butt cheek. She does not gasp like she did the first time, as she has come to expect them each time. With her every move, she can feel their hands gently squeezing her rump. Mercy wants to turn on them both and kill them where they stand, but Maid-Mercy is content to be touched as she is just a slave to the system.

She can feel the usual conflict in her. She senses her blood boiling, while at the same time she experiences a cool sensation of tingling from their hands matching to her butt's shape. She finds she can ignore them as she continues to work, like this is just a part of her task. They do not speak to her, and she does not acknowledge them. If either were to happen, they would both be in trouble. It is an uneasy partnership, that she would not have picked, but the guards have no qualms with what they are doing, so why should the "maid".

She has finished this part of the statue and needs to descend the couple of steps of the short ladder. As she shifts, she feels two firm squeezes on her butt, then they are gone. She backs down the ladder and turns slightly to catch a view of the two guards exiting the room quietly. She does not linger her gaze, but she does narrow her eyes slightly as they fist bump each other as they turn the corner to the basement. Mercy would show no mercy to them, she thinks grimly.

Later that evening, Maid-Mercy walks back up to her room. She finds the walk slow and steady in the darkened hallways that she knows so well. She opens the bedroom door to hear Mercy-Maid sleeping soundly. As easy as this has become to do, I'm not sure I want to do this again. There has to be another way for me to find some release of the stress, beyond pretending to be a maid, Mercy thinks with a frown.

She turns on the bedside table light, causing Mercy-Maid to wake up. "How dare you disturb my...oh, Maid-Mercy, you are done already." Mercy-Maid smiles at the perfect personality reaction that her maid made at being awakened. She is almost too good of a copy of me. "Out of bed, Mercy-Maid and let's switch clothes and roles." The two "twins" say nothing as they swap back to their original clothes. 

Mercy thinks of voicing her ending of this "game", but then the maid says, "Mistress will be doing this again soon?" Mercy holds her tongue for a split second, as if what she was about to say did not sound quite right. With an imperceptible change, she responds with, "Yes, but of course, I will wait until the time is right for me." Maid nods her agreement and asks, "Anything else for Mistress this early morning?" Mercy shakes her head and climbs into bed, tired from her work. "No, go join the other maids in storage." Maid curtsies, straightens her tiara on her head, and retreats out of the room silently.

"Are those chairs?" Stormhelm points her gloved finger into MekaBot's chest compartment. MegaMeka keeps the robot's arm in place, holding the shiny metal squared-off-mound that is hinged like a door, as she responds, "Well, I figure it might get kinda rough riding there with me walking and moving about, so I bought a toy from the thrift store that had plastic seats with tiny seat belts." Black Swan looks inside, noting the seats appear to be "army man" green with a hard molded surface. The "seat belts" look like zip ties that come over the shoulder and slip into a loop near the seat of the toy chair.

"Hmm, that's actually a good idea. I had not thought of our ride there. Thanks, MegaMeka." The screen fills with her white teeth, appreciating the compliment from her new teammate. Black Swan looks at the dark "room" on the right of the robot's chest. Once MekaBot's "boob door" is closed, there will not be much room but those two chairs and their occupants. Black Swan wonders if she really wants to be stuck in that small of a space with Stormhelm.

Almost like reading her mind, MekaBot states, "I think we are ready to try it. Stormhelm, you first." Obviously uncomfortable still, she replies, "I'm always ready for action, and you know I want this more than anything right now. It would..." Her voice trails off as she begins to shrink from the red glow coming from MekaBot's face screen. Stormhelm appears to become smaller and smaller in a proportionate way. She looks just as she always does, but only smaller. However, Black Swan's observational skills note that Stormhelm starts to look a little different. She can see something forming on her knees and elbows, as well as around her neck. She wants to look closer, but does not want to get in the path of the shrinking red ray.

After a few seconds, MekaBot straightens up, leaving Stormhelm standing on the ground, no bigger than an action figure. Black Swan is amazed by this, "That is incredible! I'll admit that I'm surprised Sweet Note has access to such technology." MekaBot bends down, her face screen now showing MegaMeka, and picks up Stormhelm like a giant. Stormhelm does not move or react to this act. "Indeed," MegaMeka says, "And, she even had a section in the code to physically alter the person's molecular structure to help with the matter reformation, as she called it." 

Black Swan looks at Stormhelm, who looks to be standing still and holding her pose in the robot's giant hand. "You can hold her, but she's heavy," MekaBot states. Holding out her hand, she takes the tiny frozen heroine in her hand. "Oh my," she exclaims, "This is the heaviest action figure I have ever held." MegaMeka nods her head, "So Stormhelm is now a metal-composite, fully articulated action figure. Sweet Note had originally had it simply shrinking the person, with the robot absorbing the added mass. But I added the lines of code to do this instead." 

Black Swan nods her head, slowly rolling Stormhelm around in both of her hands, as the tiny hero keeps the same facial expression as when she was first hit with the shrinking ray. Her hair is stiff and unmoving, as is her costume. It appears to have been injection molded like any action figure might be. Using her fingers, she bends the knees of Stormhelm, putting her in a seated position. "I figured this would make your trip quieter," MegaMeka says with a chuckle, "And it would probably be safer, if things get extra bumpy." Black Swan nods her head in agreement.

"Well?" She asks, as MekaBot turns to face her, opening her "boob door". Like a strange girl with an equally strange doll house, Black Swan places the seated Stormhelm in the tiny room. She fits perfectly in the chair, and Black Swan then "buckles" the seat belt as snug as she can. She removes her hands from the robot's chest, noting a slight tilt now. "Hang on," MegaMeka says thoughtfully, "I need to adjust the servos in the robot...this added weight to one side is throwing it off."

Black Swan turns around to check her equipment while the robot makes some clicking sounds. Flashlight, feather blades, beak rebreather, night pellets, stun web...alright, she thinks, I got it all. When she looks back up again, she can see the red face screen of the robot. "I can keep you human if you like," MekaBot states, "This frame can handle one human's added mass from shrinking." Black Swan thinks on that. They did not give Stormhelm a choice, and maybe she should be human in case something happens. Although, there is no way to effectively communicate two-way from her shrunken state inside MekaBot. 

"Thanks, but..." She does not get to continue, as MekaBot hits her with the red ray's full blast, assuming she knew the answer. Black Swan was going to say "thanks, but maybe I should stay human after all." She realizes she should have started that sentence differently, but now it is...

She does not get to finish her thought, as her entire body is now metal-composite material, so no brain cells to be thinking right now. MekaBot picks her up, checking the articulation in her elbows, wrists, and neck. "Ah, that program worked perfectly, She has full mobility." Bending her knees, MekaBot then places her inside her chest, seated right in front of the Stormhelm "doll". MekaBot "buckles her seat belt" and closes her "boob door", locking it.

With them stored away, she now opens the other chest compartment to reveal two other plastic chairs. These look to be from some science fiction spaceship, as their seat belt comes over the head and "buckles" between the legs of the doll. "All checked out," MekaBot states to the empty room, "Time to get myself loaded onto the delivery truck." She turns out the lights to the treehouse lair and takes the concealed elevator down to the ground level. It will be a 3 mile jog to the food service warehouse, and knowing her teammates are tucked away safely, she can run at full speed.

Maid-Mercy sprays the polisher on the exposed leg of the statue. She had just wiped the smudge off the white and purple waistband, and now she needed to get the exposed thighs polished. She had told herself last week that she was not going to do this again, yet somehow, the maid convinced her that it was necessary. I don't recall programming Mercy-Maid to have my well-being in mind, but I guess I should be thankful, Maid-Mercy thinks to herself, no one looks after me but me, usually.

With careful strokes, she wipes the smooth thigh with a squeak. Each circle of polishing gives Maid-Mercy a little shimmy, so her ruffle skirt sways, as does her mostly-exposed butt cheeks. Her chest might do the same, if the built-in corset did not keep her girls high and tight. She almost does not hear the thump from the hallway, or the female voices. Female? When did I hire female security guards? Struck by curiosity, she steps down from the step stool, even though she knows she should ignore it.

"All I'm saying is, I should have been told about the whole 'you'll be just like a real action figure' thing." Stormhelm says with a forced whisper. Black Swan walks in front of her, crouched down with a feather blade in one hand and her flashlight in the other. "Sshhh, less talk, more walk. We have to find the statue room quickly. The security guards are changing shifts soon." The third 'person' says nothing, but walks as quietly as a 7-foot tall robot can. The face screen is dimmer, so only the white of MegaMeka's eyes can be easily seen.

Turning the corner into the main hallway, Black Swan says, "Trouble." At that moment, two security guards come into view across the broad hallway. Stormhelm steps up and shoots a tornado blast at them. The one guard does not see it, and takes the full tornadic winds in the chest. He flies back 30 feet down the hallway he just walked along, sliding to a stop eventually.

The other reacted quicker and leaned out of the way. His right hand moves awkwardly to his sidearm, as a hissing sound can be heard. Before he can even grasp his weapon, three "black feathers" stick into his chest. His eyes go wide, looking at the blades sticking into him, with a feathery handle facing out from the blade. He notices that he feels no pain and really wants to know why, but the chemical on the blade is very potent from a tropical bird in the rainforest. He is snoring loudly already, even though he just hit the floor.

The first guard is struggling to get up, when Stormhelm hits him again with a wind blast. His head bangs against the hard floor, and he loses consciousness in a much more violent way than his friend. Stormhelm shakes her fist, "That's how you do it." Black Swan adds while walking quicker now, "That's how you call attention to the whole 'secret' mission. Come on!"

The three of them rush to the only room with a light on the main floor. The wide arched opening could only be to something grand, and the statue room is very grand. They can see brightly colored statues on pedestals as they get closer, each one in a different heroic pose. The spotlights are perfectly placed, giving each statue the best light possible, making the rescuers stare in awe. Entering the room, they bump into someone else: a maid.

"What are you doing..." The maid starts to say, but her face is now a glow with a purple swirling light coming from the face screen of MekaBot. "Just relax, maid. We are supposed to be here." Maid-Mercy knows that is not right, and she tries to say so, but the spiral in the purple light is just so pretty to look at.

"You are a maid," MekaBot says. "I am a maid," Maid-Mercy responds.

"We are supposed to be here, "MekaBot says. "You are supposed to be here," Maid-Mercy responds.

 "You want to help us," MekaBot says. "I want to help you," Maid-Mercy responds.

Looking around the room, Stormhelm is overwhelmed, "Who do we start with? We can't get them all!" Black Swan says with a heavy sigh, "Let's get the latest person, as she might be the easiest to pull out of the hold Mercy has on her." MegaMeka agrees quickly, "Right." She keeps facing the maid and orders, "Take us to Songbird." The maid curtsies and turns around on her high heeled shoes.

She slowly walks down one of the aisles, then turns to walk towards a small step ladder and cleaning supplies. "Power Strike...Gilded Knight...Madam Mouse...I have not seen them in months," Black Swan exclaims, "I had no idea they were all here." Each of the trio feels an overwhelming responsibility now to complete this mission. It was something they knew they wanted, but walking along the silent "statues" of their super "sisters", their resolve has never been stronger.

The maid stops at one statue, wearing a purple and white costume. Her face is somewhat strained with an open mouth, like she was taking in a breath to yell or scream. "Songbird," the maid states while pointing to her. Acting before thinking, Stormhelm reaches out and grabs the purple boots of Songbird. "Ugh," she grunts, straining to move her, "She's stuck tight." Black Swan waves her back as she pulls out some tools from her belt, "We knew that and are prepared."

MekaBot adds, "Maybe we should see if the maid could help us." With a few simple questions, the maid turns off the pedestal's grip, allowing Songbird to be removed. "When will she wake up," Stormhelm asks while waving her hand in front of the frozen female's face. Black swan responds, "Not until we get her back to Sweet Note's lab. We have all we need there."

Turning from the maid, MekaBot faces Songbird. "Alright, one Songbird action figure coming up...uh, going down." Switching the facescreen to red, SongBird shrinks down into a handheld statue. Black Swan bends down to retrieve and notes, "Interesting...no articulation." MekaBot notes, "Evidently, Mercy's tech is messing with mine. I had...actually, the robot had to take on the added mass. We are only going to be able to take one of them."

With the trio focused on Songbird, the maid feels some clarity coming back to her mind. Wait, why are these statues not on their pedestals? The Maid-Mercy tries to focus on that. Or, are they moving? She blinks long and hard, focusing her mind. She wants to ask "what is going on", but she has another thought that might get her what she wants.

"Maid can help," Maid-Mercy says, "With anything regarding Mercy's Mansion." The trio turn to face her. Black Swan says, "You know, we can take her to help us when we come back." Stormhelm adds, "And she can be shrank...uh, shrunk...shrinked like we were since she is not a statue." MekaBot agrees, "You are right, Stormie, let's take her and Songbird then come back for more."

Shrink? Maid-Mercy questions what that could mean, as a red light hits her. Perhaps, I should have... Maid-Mercy does not finish that thought, as she now stands just a few inches high on the floor. She takes no note of the giant hand that picks her up and reposes her to fit into the chest compartment of a giant robot. With Songbird being unable to be posed, the maid is placed tightly against Songbird. Black Swan moves her arms and legs around until it is hard to tell where Songbird ends and the maid begins. With some extra force, they wedge them into the chest compartment. With two hands, Black Swan gets the "boob door" closed.

"Whew," she exclaims, "That was close. Let's get going before Mercy is alerted." Unaware they have actually captured Mercy herself, Stormhelm and Black Swan are both seated in the other chest compartment after a quick shrinking, buckled as before. They show no care to be closed into the tight dark space. MekaBot notes movement in the hallway and male voices saying something into a radio. She turns on her metal feet and runs out of the room. Pulling up the incomplete floor plans, she easily ducks down another side hallway and out the exterior door. The cool night does not affect her, as she turns up the speed. With everyone tucked tightly in her, she sprints across the dark green grass. Her feet sink into the ground, leaving noticeable footprints. "I don't know how heavy I am," MegaMeka says to no one, "But I have clearly put on quite a bit of weight."

Back at Black Swan's lair, Songbird is laying on the couch, still frozen in her statue state. Black Swan is sitting at her table that is almost entirely a touch screen. Stormhelm is making laps around it, seemingly ready to spring into action at any time. MekaBot is bent over, plugged into a small generator. The screen on the wall shows MegaMeka wearing a form-fitting blacksuit, very different from her usual superhero costume. Standing next to Black Swan is Maid-Mercy, holding a tray of drinks and snacks.

"The maid is probably telling us a lie," Stormhelm comments, as she continues lapping the table with her quick steps. Black Swan does not look up from her work and replies, "Why would she lie? Her brain is about the consistency of oatmeal after Mercy's handiwork." If Maid-Mercy felt offended, she does not show it by the comment. MegaMeka can be heard through the screen on the wall, "I'm more in line with Black Swan on this one. She has no reason to not obey us. I mean, she has been nothing but docile since we met her."

On the outside, Maid-Mercy keeps her submissive pose while holding the food and drinks, but on the inside, she grins wickedly. Yes, she says to herself, just keep thinking that super fools. You will see that no one gets the best of Mercy. As she stands there, she begins thinking where she would like to put each of them, after she gets Songbird back where she belongs.

Stormhelm keeps talking while walking, "But, she says we have to go back to free Songbird. So our trip was a waste, and now we have to go back in to fix it. I'm all about action, but this seems like a dumb one." Maid-Mercy wants to defend her statements earlier, but knows she has not been inquired of, so she must hold her tongue...for now.

"If we had Sweet Note," Black Swan says while still looking intently at a screen of virtual buttons, knobs, and switches, "She could describe what we are seeing here, but I overestimated our ability to understand how to free Songbird and the others from Mercy's hold."

MekaBot does not move, but MegaMeka adds, "Yeah, this is some intense stuff on the screen, and while I could make some good suggestions on how to use it, I would not want to experiment with Songbird's life." MegaMeka's face turns to face the couch, but since she can only see through the camera in MekaBot's head, she does not actually see Songbird's "frozen" body leaning against the couch. MegaMeka grimaces slightly, realizing what she has done, but no one seems to notice her 'mistake'. Controlling a robot remotely is becoming easier than it used to be, she tells herself, but I still forget that it is not linked to my movements, but rather the console in front of me.

Stormhelm responds, "I heard the explanation the first time. I just don't trust her." Stormhelm points animatedly at the maid, who continues to remain in a submissive stance with the tray of food and drinks. The maid makes no outward show of being offended, but on the inside, Maid-Mercy laughs wickedly. Oh yes, she thinks to herself, I've got them in my collection already, and they don't even know it.

The wind blows the tree branches, making a whistling sound that seems foreboding to the mission. However, none of the members of the mission can actually hear it. MekaBot has narrowed the audio receiver for human movements, while the rest of the team is miniaturized inside of the metal chest of the robot. MekaBot follows the basic path that the maid outlined. According to her, there is another service entrance for clothing. Mercy has an addiction for fine outfits, but she has to try them on before she will wear them in public. But, she also wants to see them on others, so she has a room of clothes and mannequins that is just for her to carefully examine any outfit.

MekaBot finds the access door along one side of the mansion just as it was explained to her. So far, so good, MegaMeka thinks from her console hundreds of miles away, this maid has been our best stroke of luck. With that thought, she gives no second thought when she opens the small door. She pauses a second for an alarm, but it does not happen.

Smiling to herself, she pushes MekaBot further into the doorway, closing it behind her. She walks slowly, barely fitting within the tight hallway. She exits it shortly into a larger room. The lights come on automatically, as the maid said. Around her, there are racks and racks of clothes, hanging in disarray, as if someone had a temper tantrum. Huh, I wonder if it always looks like this.

MegaMeka then notices the various female mannequins around the room. Each looks to be the exact same size and pose. "Well," MegaMeka mumbles, "They look the same, if they weren't all broken into pieces along the floor." She has MekaBot do a quick sweep of the "giant closet". Seeing all is clear, she pulls out her passengers. 

Using her right hand, she opens her right compartment to remove Songbird and the maid. Since Songbird cannot stand on her own, she lays her on her back and enlarges her. With her now to full size and laying motionless on the ground, she does the same for the maid. Upon being restored, she shakes her head, as if to clear her head.

"You okay?" MekaBot asks. The maid, with a confused look on her face, replies, "Uh, yes, the changing size is rather...disorienting." MegaMeka nods her head on the screen, "I'm sure. Sit tight while I get the others." Turning her back on the maid, MekaBot uses her left hand to open the other chest compartment. The maid side steps out of the way towards the wall of clothes.

MekaBot carefully takes out Black Swan and Stormhelm. She uses her robot hands to unpose them from their sitting position. Straightening out each leg, she notices Black Swan has the smile she wore at the shrinking, while Stormhelm has her mouth open, still voicing her displeasure over this process. MegaMeka snickers at her frozen facial expression.

Bathing them both in light from the facescreen, Black Swan becomes full sized. She stretches her arms and does a complete back bend. "Oh, I feel so stiff from that," she says more to herself than to anyone else. Stormhelm is the last to be restored, but she does the same once enlarged. Of course, when she stretches and twists, small pockets of wind are thrown around the room, knocking some clothes off the hangers.

Black Swan then asks, "Any problems getting in?" MekaBot responds in the usual monotone, "None. Everything went exactly as the maid said." Black Swan nods her head while checking her gear again. Should not need it this time, but you never know...ow, felt like something pinched by butt.

Stormhelm moves to the door. "Good, let's get going. I'm ready to start pounding some bad guys." MekaBot holds up her hands, "Ease up, Stormie. We need to wait another minute until the guards change shift again. We are a little early, right Swannie?" Stormhelm huffs impatiently, as they wait for a reply from their leader. When none comes, they turn to look at her.

She looks just like she did a few moments ago. Except, that is the problem: she looks exactly like she did a few moments ago. Why hasn't she moved, MegaMeka wonders. She moves MekaBot closer to her, which blocks Stormhelm's view. It looked like Black Swan was still checking her gear. If she had real super powers like me, she would not need to prepare and always be ready for...ow, what was that?

"Strange," MegaMeka says, "It is like she was paused, but that makes no sense. She's a regular human." MekaBot is quickly ordered to check the room for anything harmful or dangerous. The room scan takes just seconds. MegaMeka looks over the info coming through her screen. Huh, she thinks, nothing in here that is automated or dangerous. Mannequins, clothes, hangers, racks, lights, air ducts, Black Swan, me, and Stormhelm. 

"Wait," MekaBot asks quickly, "Where's the maid?" She turns around to face Stormhelm who she thinks will answer her question. Except, Stormhelm has a pinched look on her face, like maybe something surprised her. MegaMeka notes that she is not moving either, like she was paused in mid motion or thought. What is going on?

From a set of speakers in the ceiling, a soft pleasing voice says, "Mannequins have stopped their illegal moving. Would you like them posed, Mistress Mercy?" MekaBot completely turns around looking for the maid or Mercy, yet no one seems to be moving in the room but her. "Maid, where are you? Did you activate the voice?" The room remains silent, as if MekaBot is the only thing in the room that can move on their own.

MegaMeka picks up movement to one side, so she turns MekaBot to face the maid coming out of the rack of clothes, dressed in a very fine dress. The skin-tight red dress is off one shoulder, and has a slit that comes up almost to her waist. She is teasing her hair with her left hand, as it drops down by her shoulders. MekaBot does not react, but MegaMeka does. She knows that look, that face.

"Mercy," she whispers.

"Ha ha ha," the gorgeous woman says with a laugh, "Oh, I don't think I will be showing any mercy tonight." She takes an extra moment to slip on a pair of shiny red high-heels. "But, a history lesson might be fun." Mercy takes a moment to wrap her mostly exposed leg around Black Swan's stiffening form. "Mmm," she almost purrs as she wraps her arm around her rigid shoulders, "She has just a beautiful shape." MekaBot flexes her robotic fingers, thinking about when the best time to strike would be.

"You see," Mercy continues unaware of MekaBot's plans, "I had originally planned to mannequinize each heroine, but this chemical is only a temporary fix. See?" She pushes her finger into Black Swan's left breast, then releases it. Her smooth mound holds that intrusion, and slowly fills back into normal.  "Even with two more treatments, she will never get much stiffer than that. Not much of a mannequin," she adds while cupping the "frozen" chin of the unaware superheroine.

MekaBot wants to say something to keep her talking, as she edges slightly closer, but that is not really an issue. Mercy seems to be caught in her own retelling of the story. "And trying to give regular injections to my collection somewhat took away from the inanimate lure I enjoy so much. I had to seek out something newer and more futuristic." Mercy takes her arms off of Black Swan and walks over to Stormhelm.

"Youth is so impatient, and they can devise the simplest plans, yet," Mercy takes a moment to plant a gentle kiss on the young heroine's firm cheek, "They can hammer out the stasis fields with a simple flick," a quick brush of lips on an ear, "And you add a fluxing power supply," and resting her head on the stiff shoulder, "You have a perfect statue where a heroine once stood. Delicious!"

MekaBot decides her moment is now, and it has to be all or nothing. Mercy always has help in being intimidating, MegaMeka reasons from hundreds of miles away, but it's just the robot and her now. "Your friends will be in my collection before the Sun rises, and you will be in the recycling bin at the road."

MekaBot raises both arms and steps towards Mercy to subdue her at lightning speed. Mercy puts one hand on her hip casually, still leaning on Stormhelm's shoulder. She appears to be not worried, MegaMeka thinks as she moves closer for the hit, it is like she has...uh oh.

MekaBot's head takes a blast from the back, detaching it from the rest of the body. Mercy holds up the other arm that is not on her hip, as she casually catches the head effortlessly in her hand as it sails just past Stormhelm's head. Stormhelm did not even flinch or react, as Mercy looks down at the facescreen, noting that the robot body has stopped moving the instant the head was removed, as she thought it might.

"Making a note of this," she tells the facescreen with MegaMeka's horrified face on it, "I'll not be stopped or deterred. All you do-gooders will be in my collection sooner or later, but keep resisting, as that makes the win all the more fun." MegaMeka can do nothing, as she sees the head turned over and dropped to the ground. The last thing she sees on the screen is the hard ground coming up fast and everything going dark on her console. Oh no, she thinks in defeat while dropping her own head into her hands, not again!

The only sound in the room is that of high heels on marble. The shiny black heels make a perfect clicking sound on the floor, and when she stops, you can hear the swish of her dress as it comes to a stop soon after. The ruffles are silk and satin and sparkly, making her look like a princess, or more exactly, a queen.

Mercy looks up to see Songbird back where she belongs. Feels like I was just here, she recalls, setting these spotlights to the perfect spot. She grins slightly, when she gets the last spotlight to hit that perfect curve of her hip. Ah, just the right amount of glint, she smiles triumphantly.

She turns to see a new display over to one side. This one is different from the others, as it has two standing on the same platform. The platforms are not designed for this, so they are very close to each other. Black Swan is kneeling with her arms circling one leg of Stormhelm. Stormhelm has one boot on the pedestal facing Black Swan, with the other boot resting on Black Swan's shoulder. The widespread of her legs seems out of character for the rather modest Stormhelm. And the way Black Swan is kissing her boot while hugging it is not something you would expect from someone who is used to being in charge. Stormhelm has her hands in her suit, like she might rip it off herself to reveal way more than she would ever want in public.

Mercy walks closer to them. She tilts her head, looking at the two standing there like the rest in the room. "I know you can hear me," she says softly, "Or at least you can get my meaning as your brains get softer and softer from the pedestal you are standing on. Of course, you are kneeling, aren't you, Black Swan?" Mercy chuckles as she reaches out to touch Black Swan's side. "I guess I should call you, Swannie, since we were on the same team together." Mercy laughs playfully, running her hand down the exposed thigh of her captive.

Hmm, she notes, that should be buckled. She takes both hands, and re-snaps an open comportment on her belt. "I can't lose any of your accessories," she jokes, "You might be worth something someday, and I want you to be complete." She continues her circuit around the pair, putting her hand on the boot of Black Swan's desire. "And Stormie, so quick to rush in, right? Now, you cannot rush anywhere. You cannot even hurry to get that suit off, huh?" Mercy enjoys her taunting, taking in the young heroine's body. "But don't worry, I will not leave you like this. I'm not used to capturing so many at one time, so I have to think about how I want you properly displayed."

Mercy hears footsteps at the entrance and turns to see her most trusted maid. "What do you want?" She says with minor annoyance. The maid curtsies and bows her head. "Mistress Mercy, there is a call for you from a Mr Yen." Mercy nods her head and begins to leave the room. She does not bother to turn off the lights, as they will do so once she leaves.

Turning around the corner, she says over her shoulder. "Get working on those stairs, worthless female, they are filthy." The maid curtsies and bows again. Before she leaves the room, she takes a quick glance at the latest conquest of her mistress. The look on her face changes slightly from passive like it usually is to pain. Her face seems to say, "I'm sorry it didn't work. I tried to help." Unable to hold her mistress' command any longer, she turns to clean the filthy stairs like the worthless maid she is. 

As she kneels just across the hall, she fills the hallway with the sound of scrubbing. With each brush, the "filthy" stairs become "clean". Not far from her, Stormhelm and Black Swan can feel their free will being scrubbed clean as well, like each brush stroke from the maid is taking that much more of their resolve away.