It was a warm, cloudy December night in Austin. Doctor Mercurial paced the rooftops of the more moderate-height buildings overlooking the river, eyeing the people as they went by. Every now and then she’d pop down into the branches of one of the trees for a closer look, then return to the rooftops. Every now and then she’d be seen, and have to pull the branches together, making the leaves conceal her before she could teleport. Clad all in black with long, slender limbs, many would be able to convince themselves they hadn’t seen anyone. It was easier if she wasn’t seen.


It wasn’t until well after midnight that she saw something she wanted. A long, strong, unblemished pair of legs framed between daisy dukes and ankle boots. This young woman had legs to be proud of, or envied. Nothing above the waist put the magician off either, and she wondered how that face would look with her natural hair color, or a natural blonde.


She also had two friends, clustered close by her sides, chattering constantly. This complicated things a bit. Still, once they had passed and Merc got a good look from the rear, she’d made up her mind.


First she vanished, reappearing in a tree just ahead of the three. Then, she stepped out, drifting to the sidewalk in front of them. Two of them gasped. One shrieked and reached into her purse. Mercurial clapped her hands together, a sheet of purple silk appearing between them as she drew them apart. A can of pepper spray emerged as she threw it. The sheet fluttered open as it flew at the faces of the frightened and confused friends.


Mercurial smirked. This might be easier than she expected. Everything must have happening too fast for the one with the pepper spray to process, as she sprayed it directly into the incoming cloth. As it reached their faces, it split in the middle, as if a fold had been concealing that it had been two sheets all along, passing around the face of the target, then rejoined on the other side. The other two shrieked and started swearing and crying at the effects of their attempted defense. The bleach-blonde beauty just stared up into the sky vacantly, already halfway gone.


The magician dashed up, raising her hand up first into her victim’s field of view, then slowly dragged it down, uttering a soft but firm “Sleep.” Following the hand down, the hypnotized woman bowed her head, then closed her eyes. Merc squatted down, placing her shoulder against her hips, and pulled her in to tip her over. Arms wrapped securely around the other woman’s thighs, she hurried off, leaving the still-blinded pair behind.


Minutes later, she ducked into a side room at the Center for the Performing Arts. Two servants, Jackie and Jefry, waited for her with a pair of sawing-in-half boxes. The sides of the boxes were designed with simple designs styled similarly to Nordic knots, leaving a broad notch at each end, so that shins and shoulders would show. One was red, the other blue. As for the assisting servants themselves, Jackie was a pale freckled red-head in a red bikini, though her knees were wrinkled and bore a different kind of spots, noticeably older than her brightly beaming face. Jefry was a Peruvian man in shining silver pants, and shirtless. Both stood and folded their hands behind their backs as the Doctor entered, smiling and puffing their chests out proudly. Jackie bounced on her toes with nervous energy.


With a long, groaning sigh, Merc lowered herself to one knee, and carefully placed the abducted woman back on her feet. She was careful to keep her hands on woman’s shoulders until she was sure she was standing on her own. Unfocused eyes drifted around the room, taking in her surroundings, no doubt not yet coherent enough to question how she got here. She’d follow along, like in a dream, making up her own excuses for why she was doing this as more of her faculties returned to her. The human mind was amazing at lying to itself.


Mercurial strutted between the two boxes, and whirled around, extending an arm to either box, presenting them, with a bright smile on her face. Harp music flowed from speakers arranged in the back corners. The dazed woman followed, glancing slowly at one box, then the other, before returning her eyes to the magician guiding her.


Jefry took Jackie’s hand, and Merc took the stranger’s. As Jefry helped Jackie into the red box, the stranger followed along, allowing Merc to help her into the blue one. The lids of the boxes were lifted, Jackie and the stranger climbed in, and the boxes were closed again.


One by one, Merc and Jefry retrieved four broad, rectangular blades from where they leaned against the walls, easing them down through the middle of the boxes. The stranger gasped as the blade touched her, her eyes becoming more focused and alert, but mostly just puzzled. After the second blade went in, it was too late to do anything even if she’d tried.


Jackie giggled gleefully as the process continued, but held still as the blades were inserted. As the last blade was placed, it met more resistance than expected, pinning in place before it had managed to pass all the way through the grinning servant. Merc turned a level, mildly annoyed gaze at her. “I will cut your fingertips off.” At that, the blade dropped the rest of the way though.


Merc stepped back to the blue box, pulling away the head-end as Jefry moved the red, placing it against the blue leg portion without ceremony. Merc’s whole body tingled with heated excitement as she strode over to join her servants. She always loved this part. The upper half of her victim was left on its own to stare in rising confusion, though simple curiosity remained.


The two standing yanked out one blade, then the other, as Jackie squealed with delight. Merc relinquished the blades to Jefry as she tossed the box open, revealing the night’s prize. Jackie kicked up her gorgeous, flawless, booted, tanned legs, then rolled up to a seated position, taking her master’s hand so she could help her down. Just below her butt, fair skin gave way to tan in a sharp line. She gave a twirl, then wrapped herself around Mercurial’s arm.


A wooden creak behind her drew Merc’s attention, and she turned, the servant dancing quickly on her new legs to move with her. Time to gauge reactions. What the legless woman did next would have a big impact on her future. She’d probably send her home with the old legs, having no use for either. She might put her in some form of storage, taking other parts as she found a place for them. She might just dispose of her.


As the woman rose up in the box she’d opened herself, she stared at the legs which had been taken from her. Jackie was more than pleased to pose, crossing one knee in front to present them. The stranger’s face was a mix of confusion, fear, and awe. She reached out toward the legs. Intrigued, Mercurial gave Jackie a nudge forward, and the servant obediently stepped up to within reach. She touched the legs, tentatively at first, then ran a hand down the side, affirming to herself they were hers.


She stared at her stolen legs, repeatedly glancing and the tiny amount of skin still visible below the edge of her daisy dukes, then at the magician who took them from her. There was a question in those eyes. A question she dared not ask. It was a look Mercurial knew well. She’d seen it years ago on Jackie, years before on Jefry, and at various times from all her other servants. She suspected she’d had the same look once herself. The look of someone with a powerful desire for something she knew might destroy her.


Doctor Mercurial smiled the biggest, most purely happy smile she’d had all night, and extended a hand to the stranger. “Would you like to come with me?”


That was the thing about shopping. You always found much more than you were looking for.