"Gaaahhh!" Rich jumped back in shock as he stepped around the prop and came face to face with a woman who really shouldn't have been there.  "Hey!  We're not set up yet!" he said, more annoyed than angry. "You can't come in until after 11."

"I'm not here for the event you're MC'ing," the woman said. "Well, I guess I am in a way."  She stepped forward to match Rich's backstep.  "My name is Hannah, and I'm with the University Event Organization department."

"Yeah?  All the paperwork has been approved," Rich replied. "The people putting this on went through all the hoops you put out."

"Yes," Hanna replied, coming through her long brown hair with one hand, "The 'XXXtreme Magic Show'.  There's just one thing left that we need you for."  She produced a sheet of paper from the outside pocket of her short white jacket and waved it at him. "All performances need to be prescreened by an authorized member of my department, and I volunteered to check."

"This is bullshit," Rich snatched the paper away and read it through.  "Give me a moment, I need to call the organizers.  And you had to pick the day of the event to do this?"  His annoyance was slowly turning harsher.  "Stay here, and don't touch anything."

Hannah waited patiently for a few minutes before Rich returned.  "Well?" she asked.

"You're legit," Rich said flatly.  "Can we please get this over with?" he handed the paper back to her with a pen, just to save seconds of her getting one from her jacket.

"Of course!" Hannah said cheerfully. "Just show me around, and give me a couple demonstrations and I'll sign off on that!"

"Alright," Rich agreed sourly.  "I suppose I can test some last minute checks now." He looked around. "Where did you want to start?"

"What's that?" Hannah replied instantly.  She pointed to a long table that was up against one wall of the large room, beside which was a chair and a board running over it, attached at the back and handles.

"That," Rich informed her, "Is the head switcher.  Anyone can sit in the chair, have their head removed to the table, and walk off with the body." He made a gesture down the length of it. "And anyone can grab a new head and put it on a body to try on."

"Anyone can do that?  It doesn't need supervision?"

"Correct.  Once a person enters into this room, they can't leave the building until they are all back in proper order - to avoid 'accidents', you understand."

Hannah nodded.  "I do.  I would hate to have to deal with reports of sexual assault because of people tacking advantage like that."

Rich agreed with a nod of his own, as well as a frown. "Tell me about it.  Last time I heard about something like that was from a jackass in Vegas.  He's being punished for it."

Taking the moment of his distraction, Hannah sat down in the chair. "So, show me."

"You want me to cut off your head?" Rich asked with a tilt to his head that indicated he wasn't fully approving of the action. "Seriously?"

"Yes!" Hannah said with perhaps just a little excitement. "You are required to give demonstrations, you know."

Sighing, Rich gave in.  "Fine."  He looked her over. "You have to open up the front of the stock there," he said, indicating the latch and hinge on opposite sides.  Hannah did so, then backed into it, closing the stock around her neck, taking a moment to clear her hair out of the way.

"Done!"

"Next," Rich said as he stepped out of Hannah's reach and pulled a small-ish metal square out from a pile, "You get someone else to grab one of these, and slide it in," he stepped in front of Hannah and leaned forward, slipping the metal divider into a small gap in the stocks.  Pushing it in, he watched as Hannah gasped as her neck was cut through, leaving her with eyes wide open and a slight blush to her cheeks.

"That's... amazing!" She said. "Wait? How am I talking?"

Rich picked up her head gently and set it down on the table. "Magic," he replied.

"Can I still move my body?"

"Until someone puts a different head on it, yes."

To Rich's right, Hannah's body slowly slid out from under the stocks, then stood up straight.  It turned and took a couple wobbly steps forward until Hannah could see herself.  "Wow!" She spun around. "This is so neat! But if people can do this, what are you doing?"

"I'm supervising the more... esoteric devices," Rich admitted.

"Can you help me back together?"

"Sure," Rich complied, moving Hannah's body back to the chair and replacing her head before removing the metal stock.  Hannah then extracted herself, rubbing her neck where the blade had gone thorugh it.

"So, you mentioned something exotic?"

"Esoteric," Rich corrected her. "It means mysterious."

"What is it?"

"They," he corrected again, "are a few things.  And you want me to show you one, right?"

"Well, yes, that would be appreciated. One or two more before I sign the paper."

"If I must," he sighed.  Looking around, one particular object caught his eye. "This," he introduced it as he approached, Hannah right behind, "is the Swiss machine."

"Swiss?" Hanna looked at the vertical metal plate, over seven feet tall and three wide.  On one side was a semi-circular place to stand, with straps for the feet.  The other side had five red circles on it, magnets all.

"Yes, as in cheese," Rich said with a smirk. "The volunteer stands on that side," he indicated the side with the foot holders, "while someone else places these five circles on the other side.  Once they are done, the trick is activated, and the metal sheet here pushes out where the circles are." He went back and forth to point out both sides. "Then the volunter can step off, having been given a few new holes to work with."

Hannah didn't hide her grin. "Neat!" She stepped up and slid her feet into the anchor points. "I assume these are to hold me in place," she examined them, then turned to Rich, "but why do the whole 'behind' thing?"

Rich plucked a circle from the backside and held it in his hand. "Because the thing won't activate until someone is standing against it, and the volunteer can pose, giving a sense of guesswork for the person behind."

"Ah, that makes sense."  Hannah straightened herself up and pressed her back against the sheet, feeling it tingle as she tried to make herself comfortable.  "Ready!" she called out, arms to each side, palms down.  It was like static electricity.

She felt, rather than heard the clink of the first magnet behind her, then she called out a question. "What happens to my clothes?"

"Wrecked," Rich said calmly as he laid out a second magnet, then a third.  "You know, what with the whole 'Triple X' thing going on."

Hannah sighed. "Alright. Fine."

A fourth and fifth slap hit the back of the metal slab. "Ready?" Rich called out. "I mean, if you want to keep your clothes intact and just sign the paper, that's fine too."

"Yes," she said. "I'm fine with this. I did volunteer to check this out."

"Alright," Rich tapped the first magnet, and on the other end, Hanna looked down in shock and amazement as a circular section of metal protruded from her stomach, the fist-sized cylindar painlessly stopping a few inches out from her tummy.  "Whoa," she breathed.

The next one was unannounced, but she was able to tilt her head down far enough to see the next protrusion come out half-in her leg, the outer thigh of her right leg vanishing as Rich's contraption did its work.  Her pants didn't react to the loss of the fabric, as though it had always been that way.

The third one was on her left side, except this time the magnet was ill placed, and the new formation emerged between her arm and her chest.  "You missed!" she yelled out, knowing there were two more to go.

"Damn," Rich replied, then tapped both remaining magnets at the same time. "These won't!"

For a split second, she felt nothing.  Then she froze in surprise as the two last protrusions pushed through her back and out her breasts.  The metal melted its way through her, though the circles behind were not enough to completely obliterate them. "Oh my," she said, "oh my, oh my oh my!"

Rich stepped around out front and took in his work.  He smirked.  "Now, step away."

Carefully, Hanna stepped forward, the carved out section of her leg not impeding her at all as she pulled herself free.  With some hesitation, she examined her missing chest with her hands, finding the gaps where they used to be something she couldn't quite wrap her head around.

So Rich took advantage of her in ability to cope and stuck his arm through her stomach from behind, waving his hand up at her as he stood right at her back.  "Neat, huh?"

Still unable to form words, Hannah gingerly pushed her hands into the space formerly occupied by her breasts.  She could see clearly the skin on the bottom of the holes in her even where Rich occupied one, and the curvature of her leg that wasn't there before.

Then she violated the space she formerly occupied, crossing her arms to stick her hands into the voids in her chest. "Holy shit!" she swore as she reacehd through herself.  The edges of her breasts folded inward under the pressure of her arms, and Rich stepped back to give her room to examine herself.

"Holy shit!" she repeated as she withdrew her arms and leaned forward to check the other hole in her torso.  "That's amazing!"

"I know," Rich said.  "Look, can we just get this over with?"

"Sure... sure.. how do I get back to normal?"

"Step back onto the plate," he explained, "and when you're in position, I'll withdraw the metal, and your body will be restored."

Doing as he said, Hannah slid back into position.  Her leg was easy enough to place, but it took a moment to align her torso properly.  Once she was in position, marvelling at the impossibilities around, Rich removed the magnets and the metal protrusions melted back into the backing she stood against.

"oooh," Hanna moaned as her body was restored.  Looking down, she saw that her pant leg had vanished, leaving the inside of her thigh visible.  Her shirt had a hole in it over her tummy, the threads looking like they were cut without being damaged.

And both her breasts were exposed to the air, the cool currents playing at their tips as Hannah realized now that her bra, shirt and jacket were all damaged.  She shrugged.  "So," she said instead, "what next?"

Rich didn't let his annoyance show.  What more did this woman want?  Well, if she wanted something... "I can show you, but I think you'll need to sign off on that permission sheet first."

"Oh? Why would I want to do that?" Hanna turned to him, showing off the results of his previous choices. "I was thinking one more thing...?"

"And I agree," Rich noted, "but I'm thinking it would make for a nice... starter, shall we say?  Sign off now, and you can be the first person to be a participant tonight."

"Oh?" Hannah approached him with her arms behind her back. "What did you have planned?"

-----

Those entering the premesis had their ID checked twice - once outside, and once again before they could get into the large room for the event.  But once they passed the guardians and gained the inner sanctum, they were met with an odd thing that made it quite clear what the tone for the rest of the night was going to be.

A nude woman stood just inside the doors, missing her head.  Her legs were stiff, the cunt and breasts displayed in all their sexual glory.  In her hands, resting under her tits was a small white message board on which was written the following:

"Free use of this body for the weekend goes to the first person to guess my name! Man or Woman OK! Head optional. Nothing forbidden. Place guesses with Rich. "