Amount

Recommend Print

In-Tune – Part 3

Written by Furlough :: [Tuesday, 27 March 2018 01:09] Last updated by :: [Tuesday, 27 March 2018 09:00]

Rose awoke with a start. At first she could not say for certain, but it took her only a few seconds to realize that the foundations of the world around her were crumbling — in more ways than one. Indeed, as she frantically scrambled to get up out of bed, now fully aware of the sudden, incredibly strong and very much unexpected earthquake that surrounded her, it seemed to her that her entire home was being shifted from its proper place, planted in the ground.

She had no time to question it, and could only thank the stars for the energy she now possessed, as she felt it was the only thing that got her out of the building fast enough to keep her life. However, even as she stood out on the street, bathed only in moonlight as it appeared the streetlamps had failed, she could not help but feel that the massive force shaking the ground around her seemed to be coming entirely from the direction of her home. Her former home, rather, as the building now trembled with such force that the walls came apart, and the whole thing was being quickly reduced to rubble.

However, as she stood there in a daze, joined by the neighbours who had also come out in wonderment and alarm, the powerful quake — which had already gone on for unusually long— began to recede, but did not stop completely. Rather than coming to an end, the tremendous vibrations continued on in a slightly subdued manner. But a few moments later, any doubt as to their origin was dispelled, as pieces of rubble and ruined furniture began flying up and away from the ruin of Rose’s home, as though someone were tossing them aside piecemeal.

I was obvious to Rose that there was something or someone inside the ruins of the building, rummaging and thrashing, responsible for all the tremors that surrounded her. Rose’s mind raced, unable to make any sense of what was happening, half-wanting to get a closer look, but not daring to in the midst of all the chaos. However, her bewilderment did not continue for much longer, for as suddenly as the sudden onslaught had come, it ceased.

In the span of a few moments, Rose became reasonably confident that the inexplicable business had stopped, and once again began considering taking a closer look. That proved unnecessary, as just a couple moments later, an enormous figure leapt up from the ruins of the building and landed squarely in front of her. The figure, a massive, hunched-over bulk of incredible girth, slowly straightened itself up and stretched, revealing herself to be a woman with a body similar to Rose’s, though noticeably larger, and with muscles that made even Rose’s immodest frame pale in comparison. Her face, which sported a smile of immense pleasure, was oddly familiar to Rose, though preternaturally beautiful, much like those of the women who had been enhanced by the box— the box which, Rose then noticed with a pang of horror, the woman was holding in one hand.

“Hello, girlfriend.”

Hearing the woman speak only amplified the terror which had taken hold of Rose, for though the voice was richer and more alluring, it removed any doubt left in her mind that the amazon before her was none other than Cassie. She had no idea how she had grown so powerful, but there was little doubt left that she had been responsible for demolishing the building. Rose couldn’t help but suspect that it had something to do with the box, but she herself had never imagined that it could make anyone as powerful as the juggernaut she now saw, as she had already experienced what it was like to take in a full dose of what she thought was its greatest output.

“You always were a simpleton, Rose,” Cassie said, as though having divined what was going through Rose’s mind. “You had so much in front of you, and yet you saw so little.”

“What… what are you talking about?” Rose stammered, feeling fear, it seemed, for the first time since she had been enhanced by the box’s blessing.

“Are you really going to make me explain?” Cassie asked with an annoyance made obviously fake by her grinning, condescending expression and a tone brimming with pompous confidence that left no doubt that she was in complete control. “You, who have partaken in the energy yourself, have no idea of how it was able to transform you so?”

“I-I…”

“Be silent, then, pest, and listen,” Cassie said, facing partially away from Rose and beginning a slow, deliberate strut along the damaged street, her every movement showcasing the awesome power her body now commanded. “Just take a moment and think, though it may be hard for you. How exactly are you hearing my words right now?”

While Rose had no real answer, what Cassie said led her to notice how, in spite of how she was facing away and putting more distance between them, she could hear her voice with no less clarity than when Cassie was right in front of her a few moments before. This served to make the power and reach of her voice all the more evident, which Rose felt was no accident.

“Of course, even that much escapes the grasp of a little gnat like yourself,” Cassie continued but a moment later, having received as much of an answer as she had been expecting. “It’s soundwaves, you little dimwit. Soundwaves, vibrations, are all energy — energy that, through its own nature, always continues to flow through space, undeterred, and is always met by a receiver. But the energy produced by this,” said Cassie while holding up the box as though it were a trophy of conquest, “is quite unlike any kind of energy this world has seen before. It is an energy that can transform and mold, give and take away, empower and weaken. It is an energy with limitless potential. This drab old thing, this antiquated little box, contains nothing less than the power of a GOD.”

Growing abruptly quiet, Cassie stopped and turned back to face Rose, directing toward her a stare of pure, unbridled malice that kept the smaller woman pinned to the spot as she approached. Rather than the peacock-like gait she had displayed before, Cassie now walked with the imperturbable swagger of a mother who had caught her infant child red-handed, or of a hungry lion closing in on a prey that had nowhere left to run. Each step caused a small but noticeable tremor that spread throughout the whole street.

“And you,” Cassie said, her voice deep as a low growl without losing any power or becoming less alluring for it, “you used it to play beauty queen with your little buddies. A meaningless diversion I was conveniently left out of, I might add.”

A heavy silence took hold of the street for the next several moments. Rose, despite possessing all the physical might a normal human could realistically aspire to, found herself unable to fully process the scene unfolding before her, or the words of the conceited superwoman that had somehow come to possess a power that was evidently far greater than even hers. An unconscious effort from her to make sense of all this found itself suddenly interrupted as she noticed Cassie’s expression transform from a subtle scowl to an evil grin.

“However, there’s no reason to be upset. Not anymore. All is now as it should be, for I have become the rightful mistress of this limitless power. No more wrong shall be done once I take my rightful place as the true and unquestionable ruler of this world.”

That did something to jog Rose’s consciousness. Though she still could not pretend to fully understand what was happening before her, she knew she did not like the idea of someone like Cassie being powerful enough to rule the world unopposed. Though she had not outright hated her before the box came into her life, Rose knew very well that Cassie had the mindset of a bratty high school drama queen, and the demeanour of a wannabe sexpot that had always been bitter towards everybody for not playing along. If she truly possessed that kind of limitless, unrestrained power, the scars her rule would leave upon the world would never heal — and the way in which she was talking herself up made Rose doubtful of whether that rule would ever end, or if Cassie’s power could possibly defy mortality itself.

However, Rose forced her mind to snap back to the present as she concentrated on the only possible explanation for how Cassie could possibly have become so powerful: the box she held in her hand. Though she did not know how Cassie could have tapped into a power far greater than the box had ever bestowed upon her, Rose could not deny the box’s mysterious empowering nature. Putting her faith in the strength the box had already given her, Rose crouched as subtly as she could, then suddenly sprang forth into the air, her hand outstretched toward the box held in Cassie’s hand.

Rose’s journey came to an abrupt end, however, as she was struck down by a force far greater than her own in the form of the back of Cassie’s free hand, which struck her face faster than the eye could see. Rose could do nothing but lie on the ground in frustrated pain for a few moments before looking up again, only to see that Cassie’s expression had not changed.

“Now that’s rich,” Cassie offered, “and far more predictable than I’d expected. Naïve, as well. Did I not say that I was the rightful mistress of the box’s power? It dwells within me. This battered old vessel is no good to anyone anymore. As a matter of fact, why don’t I treat you to a demonstration of my supremacy?”

In just a moment, Cassie raised her free arm and pointed it forward, not at Rose, but at the street behind her — a street which was still populated with a number of confused and amazed bystanders. The next moment, someone from the crowd suddenly bolted forward through the air, as though drawn by an invisible rope, though staying upright. In a few moments, they came to a halt just in front of Cassie, so still that they were kept from even falling to the ground. Rose recognised the one Cassie had somehow pulled towards her: it was the building’s custodian, a short, stocky woman in her sixties whose only joy in life was gathering inflammatory gossip and sharing it with the building’s cattier tenants. The woman had an expression of pure fear on her face as Cassie’s invisible force held her at her mercy, completely frozen in place and unable to react at all as Cassie suddenly reached forth and touched her shoulder.

What happened then, however, was far different from what anyone had expected: the old woman’s terrified expression suddenly faded away as she adopted a wide-eyed but otherwise blank face that made her appear as though she were in a trance. At the same time, she slowly but noticeably became surrounded by a sort of golden glow, while a soft hissing and crackling as if from arcing electricity rang through the air. In the next few moments, the old woman closed her eyes, giving her aged, rugged face a look that suggested tiredness or exhaustion, as she doubled over forward partially, still floating in the air.

Defying all expectation, her body then began to strain and expand, growing several metres taller in a matter of moments. The doughy, flabby consistency of her midsection and appendages was quickly ironed over as her entire body stretched, growing sleeker, tighter and more defined. The glow that surrounded her suddenly grew in brilliance, and seemed to ignite all of the clothes on her, which were fulminated in a second and somehow disappeared without leaving a particle of smoke or ash. The otherworldly light enveloping her body allowed Rose and the others to see that the woman that not one minute ago had been an unremarkable old crone had just had her body transformed into that of an unbelievably beautiful fitness model, with a frame covered in muscles that accentuated her curves and feminine figure while leaving little doubt that she now possessed incredible physical power, perhaps second only to Cassie’s. Any excess fat that may have remained on her seemed to have been concentrated into her breasts, which complemented the raw sexuality she now exuded while defying gravity as well as the rest of her did. In but a few moments, by virtue of Cassie’s incredible new powers, she had somehow become even more magnificent than Rose herself had been after being exposed to the box’s full output. Not only that, but she suddenly threw her head back, revealing that even her pug-like facial features had been smoothed out into a visage worthy of a sex-symbol actress, whose close-eyed expression now left no doubt that it was one of immense pleasure. As her head was thrown back, even her hair, which had grown significantly more voluminous along with the rest of her, had broken free of the band that had tied it into a ponytail and seemed to dance around her frame, with an energetic, youthful sheen.

The very moment Rose finished taking in the transformation that had just taken place before her, the floating woman opened her eyes but partially, her expression suggesting a lusty daze. She now seemed able to move around, and began looking down at herself, contorting her frame to examine as much as herself as possible, seemingly unaware that she was still floating. However, once she was done looking, her hands began wandering all over her new body, taking particular interest in her new breasts and the six-pack that had come to crown her abdomen. She began moaning in pleasure as she explored herself, her new, powerful and utterly seductive voice echoing through the air. Rose forgot herself momentarily as she was faced with this spectacle, taking it all in rather than paying any mind to Cassie — towards whom the other woman had slowly, subtly begun to glide, closing the bit of distance between them.

As she came up right next to Cassie, the woman suddenly interrupted her entranced self-worship and opened her eyes, admiring the one who had apparently granted her this body and power. As everyone watched, Cassie herself suddenly left the ground and hovered before the other woman. The other’s lusty breathing, which had not stopped for the past minute or so, momentarily grew more intense as she saw Cassie’s display of power. Unable to help herself any longer, she lunged forth and embraced Cassie, who spread her arms and legs outward to allow the other woman to worship her however she desired.

As the spectacle of superhuman lovemaking continued, it appeared as though even Cassie herself could not help but become entranced by the unbelievable pleasure she was experiencing. Her demeanour of complete control and dominance gradually gave way as she surrendered to the onslaught of passion coming from her creation, and she found it more and more difficult to keep cool. Giving in, Cassie let go of the box in her hand, though in yet another display of her power, it did not fall to the ground, but instead hovered beside her, giving her free rein to join the other woman in an all-out super makeout session that kept the full attention of all who lay eyes upon it.

All, that is, except Rose; though she found it hard to tear her eyes away from the erotic spectacle before her, she could not ignore the fact that the box was now within her reach. Moving quickly, she repeated the very same leaping motion she had attempted before, only now she was not met with any opposition, and managed to quite literally grab the box out of thin air.

However, she hardly had any time to celebrate her success, for the very moment she landed, she looked back at the two flying women, and saw that they were both now looking at her with expressions that said half-annoyed at being interrupted, half-extremely pissed off. Cassie broke away from her partner, still keeping from touching the ground, and turned to face Rose, crossing her arms as she adopted a disdainful expression.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Cassie said, “what are you doing, Rose? Didn’t I already say that old thing is a waste of time?”

“If it’s no good, why are you so concerned with keeping it from me?” Rose finally brought herself to speak, trying to find any kind of confidence with which to stand up to Cassie’s awesome power.

“Because I don’t feel like letting you have it,” Cassie spat back, her face changing to a condescending smirk. “And in case you haven’t gotten the message yet, from this day forward, anything I want goes. Anything at all.”

“Then what’s stopping you from taking this back?” Rose grew bolder, being reasonably sure that in spite of how powerful Cassie had grown, she was not as all-powerful as she claimed. The next moment, Rose felt a strange pulling sensation along her arm, as though a giant magnet were puling on it. It did not take her long to figure out that it was Cassie’s attempt to rip the box from her with her apparent telekinesis, so she held on to the box more adamantly. Her suspicions as to the doubtfulness of Cassie’s boasts were further confirmed, as in spite of having the power to lift an ordinary person, she could not manage to win her invisible tug-of-war with the strengthened Rose.

Bolder than ever, Rose dared to offer a smirk of her own in Cassie’s direction, visibly angering the larger woman, if only for a moment. However, Cassie quickly recovered and spoke once more:

“You’re a cute one, you know that? To think that resisting a tiny sliver of force means you’ve won. The fact remains that you’re naught but a pathetic worm, Rose. All of your strength is nothing compared to mine. Why don’t I show you what just a little more force can do?”

Rose braced herself momentarily, expecting Cassie to try and invisibly wrest the box from her once more, but instead she grew nervous as she divined the true nature of Cassie’s next plan, as she turned toward the one she had just turned into a super-powered bombshell.

“Slave,” Cassie said, adopting a seductive tone, “the box that scrawny woman has is mine. It is my desire that I should have it. Now, go and get it for me.”

“Yes, mistress,” the other woman finally spoke, letting her deep, rich, sultry voice ring through the night air. She turned to face Rose, narrowing her eyes then shot forward through the air, seemingly propelled by nothing more than her newfound power of flight. In less than a second, she delivered a tremendous uppercut to Rose’s abdomen. The blow sent the smaller woman careening through the air, landing with a loud thud several streets away— whereupon the other woman noted with annoyance that she had somehow managed to hold on the box. Without delay, the newly empowered superwoman flew up into the air and rushed forward, searching for her mark.

Meanwhile, Rose scrambled to recover from her landing, slowly lifting herself up from the small crater she had created on the pavement below. She certainly felt weakened, but was surprised at the relative mobility she had managed to retain. She was sure that kind of impact would have killed her if she had never been enhanced by the box’s energies. The thought immediately brought her attention to the box in her hand, which seemed to have miraculously made the journey without so much as a scratch.

transform herself into a power-crazed megalomaniac, but Rose simply had no idea how. She ran her hands all over the box’s surface, turned its dials, flipped its switch, and probed the headphone jack — but nothing happened. Rose momentarily thought that perhaps some kind of sound implement would be needed, but that made no sense, as if Cassie had managed to use anything like that during the brief time she was at her apartment, Rose surely would have noticed. In the end, Rose’s attempts at making sense out of Cassie’s rise to power bore no fruit, instead leaving her more and more perplexed.

However, she did not have to concern herself over her frustration for much longer, as she heard a massive object approaching, flying through the air. A quick look skyward showed that the newly empowered woman was on her way to her landing spot, no doubt intent on killing her and retrieving the box. That notion gave her a spark of motivation, as she figured that even if she did not yet know how, the box had to be the key, or else Cassie would not want it so badly.

Fighting against the pain brought by her impact, Rose scrambled to get off the street and hide in the shadow of the nearby buildings. She managed to hide herself just in time, as the very moment she turned back to watch, there was another great impact on the street as the superwoman hunting her touched down on the ground with a massive stomp, creating yet another momentary earthquake.

Rose watched on with acute interest, expecting the other woman to come after her immediately, but instead was met with a somewhat unexpected sight. The newly landed superwoman did indeed look around momentarily after getting up, but once she determined that Rose was nowhere in plain sight, she did not immediately begin looking for her as Rose thought she would. Instead, she turned her attention to her own, newly enhanced body once more. Rather than outright touching herself as she did before, however, she seemed to admire the incredible strength she had acquired, lending special attention to her toned, powerful arms with a devious smile on her face. Rose’s suspicion that this was merely a superficial admiration, however, was suddenly dashed, as the other woman extended one of her arms towards a nearby parked car, pointing at it with her index finger. A mere moment or two later, there was a sudden flash of light and a loud, booming noise as what looked like a lightning bolt was produced from the woman’s extended finger and hit the car, making it explode instantly.

Thought the sight came as an unpleasant surprise to Rose, she did not let it bother her for long, with all the things she had already seen that night. Still looking on, Rose heard the woman give a smug, satisfied chuckle as she wiggled her fingers, admiring the destruction her handiwork had caused. This only lasted for a few moments, as the woman then murmured a playful, impish “hmmm…”, as though wondering which of her new toys to try out next. Adopting a playful pose wherein she put her hands together behind her back and swayed one of her feet behind the other, the woman seemed to stare intently at the wreck she had just created. This time, she broke her silence the very moment before her next show of power, as she shouted a triumphant “HA!” which preceded a twin stream of thick, red-hot beams which originated from her eyes, disintegrating what was left of the car wreck and boring deeply into the concrete of the pavement and the walls of the buildings that lay behind it in a matter of moments.

These eye beams lasted only a few moments before being interrupted, leaving the woman laughing with wicked delight at the wondrous power that was now hers to command. Giggling like a conceited cheerleader getting her way, the woman proceeded to unleash several more blasts of her lightning bolts and heat vision on her surroundings, severely threatening the stability of the buildings that lined the sides of the street. To Rose’s horror, she noticed that the woman was gradually turning to look in her direction, and while she still had not noticed her presence, that would not matter if in the next few moments there were no buildings left for her to hide behind. As the woman’s destructive light show came dangerously close to her position, Rose could not help but to let loose a cry of distress, dashing backward to avoid the destruction surrounding her.

The relative silence that followed only increased Rose’s terror, as it made it terribly clear that the other woman had to have heard her. Still struggling with the soreness from her landing, Rose struggled to put more distance between herself and the street she had just fled, having little faith in her chances against a woman with that kind of superhuman power. She struggled to hold on to the thought that Cassie, whose power had to be even greater than that, was not invincible; that there had to be a way to bring her down to size, or better yet, to get on equal footing with her. Rose could not deny that seeing the display of raw power put forth both by Cassie and the empowered old woman was indescribably alluring, something she would not ever deny herself given the opportunity. And boy would she ever love to square off against Cassie while wielding that kind of power; to put her in her place, and then show her what a truly incredible place, free of any of her childish scheming, the world could become if that kind of power were under her command. If only…

Rose’s momentary distraction proved to be a critical mistake, as before she even had time to process it, she found herself lying face down on the ground, in even greater pain than before. She had been sent there by a blow to her back from the superwoman who was after her, sending her scraping along the ground like a meteor hitting the Earth’s surface. She painfully realised that running was not an option, as whatever strength she had left after the first blow had all but left her, leaving her to merely squirm on the ground. She soon spotted her pursuer approaching her, with even the woman’s casual gait being like that of the world’s most expensive runway model, so preternaturally beautiful had she become.

Without the time or even the strength to react, Rose lay helplessly on the ground as the other woman swiped the box from her grip in an instant. She then turned it over in her hand, eyeing it curiously yet cautiously, like an outsider being allowed to handle a museum exhibit.

How does it work?”

The woman’s voice was equal parts inquisitive and threatening, but the impression the question left on Rose was mostly one of confusion,

Wha-what…?”

I said, how does it work?”

Weren’t you gonna bring it back to…”

Sure, she seemed like a fun enough gal, and I do have her to thank for this fucking incredible super-body, but the way she was talking made it obvious that she got all her power from this. Can’t say I think she’s the sharpest pencil in the box after she sent me alone to get it back, however. Sue me for thinking I’m a better candidate for becoming the all-powerful goddess of the Earth.”

The woman turned her gaze from the box to Rose, her eyes disdainfully half-shut. She raised one of her feet and brought it down slowly on Rose’s chest, pinning her to the ground and applying tremendous pressure that brought the smaller woman to cry out as her pain became ever greater.

I’m only going to ask one more time. How does it work?”

But Rose had no way to answer. Not only did she have no idea how Cassie had fashioned her own ascension, but even if she did, the pressure being exerted upon her chest made it quite impossible for her to speak. Rose was left with no choice but to whine and writhe on the ground, barely managing to hold on to her consciousness, with the other woman exerting an immeasurably greater might upon her.

Before too long, it dawned on the other woman that she was not going to get an answer. Frustrated, she let out an annoyed sigh as she kicked Rose away further down the street, leaving her limp on the ground like a ragdoll.

Doesn’t fucking matter. I’ll figure it out myself. That other bitch sure didn’t sound like a genius or anything anyway. Now I just gotta…”

The relief of no longer being stepped on with the strength of a mammoth was all that led Rose to try and get up again, to at least try to look at what the other woman was doing. Sitting up with some effort, she saw the superwoman across the street trying to pry open the box, producing small flashes and explosions with her hands, and even firing her heat vision at it — but despite all her attempts, the box remained completely unaffected, with nary a sign on its surface to indicate that it had ever been mishandled even slightly. The woman grew more and more frustrated, culminating in her throwing the box down onto the pavement in a rage, leaving a huge dent where it had hit, but still remaining in perfect state.

Seeing no other choice, the woman began furiously striding towards Rose once more, leaving the helpless smaller woman to be overtaken by a sense of despair. Even with her enhanced frame, Rose did not expect to survive another round of abuse from her attacker, and the latter obviously had no concern for whether or not she did. However, both women were surprised when they were faced with yet another extraordinary occurrence.

As the super-powered woman approached Rose with an unflinching pace, she suddenly tripped and fell. Rose could merely watch in stupefaction, and the other woman could not explain it, for she knew without a doubt that her new super-body had given her balance and reflexes far beyond what any ordinary human could ever aspire to. Furthermore, there were no obstacles or debris in the street, not that they would have been an issue for her even if they had been there. There was no explanation for it, unless she had somehow been tripped by an invisible rope.

The realisation must have come to Rose first, as the other woman, who had much better chances to react, did nothing between that moment and what came a few seconds later. In the blink of an eye, Cassie, having appeared as if from nowhere, came to occupy the middle of the street, hovering several feet above the ground and holding the woman she had previously empowered by the throat with one hand.

What a shame. Seems like we have not just one, but two pathetic worms who think they can defy a goddess. Take a good look, Rose, for you are about to learn just what an apostate’s reward is.”

The other woman thrashed about in Cassie’s grip, trying to attack her captor as best she could, dealing a series of deafening blows that did nothing to perturb so much as Cassie’s expression. Her gasps for breath suddenly turned into a cry of agony which filled the night air with oppressive intensity, but gradually diminished. Rose thought she saw a slight glow of light ebbing from the spot at which Cassie had her hold on the other woman, which led her to notice what has happening: The woman whose body Cassie had transformed and infused with incredible powers was now shrinking in her grip, all of the superhuman power she once possessed being sapped from her. In just a few moments, her superior size and muscle definition was gone, though much like what had happened to Rose before, she had managed to retain her more youthful features. Her body had gone from that of a superhuman amazon to a lightweight pornstar or cheerleader, certainly a far cry from the aged, weathered frame she had before Cassie had her way with her.

NOOOOO!” She shouted, her voice far higher pitched and whinier sounding than the powerful, seductive tone she had once possessed. “You fucking BITCH! Give me my power back NOW!”

That’s no way to talk to your goddess, insect,” Cassie retorted. “Have you forgotten already? Only I am the mistress of all that is. It was never your power to start with. Do I need to remind your insignificant self of who truly holds the cards here?”

As she finished speaking, Cassie’s eyes lit up, both figuratively and literally— the other woman quickly recognised what had to be the way they looked just before unleashing a blast of heat vision. Suddenly fearing for her life, she stepped back frantically, her quick, impulsive steps leading her to lose her balance and fall on her ass. Nearly hyperventilating, the other woman quickly scrambled to get up and set off at a panicked run in the opposite direction, having abandoned any pretense of control.

Serves that little idiot right. I’ll see to it she ends up among the more pathetic ranks of my slaves. Not that anyone else on this wretched mudball of a planet will fare much better.” Cassie paused, turning back to the only other person left on the street.

How…” Rose struggled to speak, so bad was the state she had been left in.

What, this?” Cassie offered, levitating the box toward her with an absent-minded wave of her hand. “Well, thinking back on it, I can’t really blame you. This was what enabled me to claim my rightful place above everyone else, after all. But like I told you, now that I am risen, this piece of junk is no good to anyone.”

But… how…?”

Does it really bother you that much? Or are you just kicking yourself because this power could have been yours, but you were too stupid to see, or even suspect it?” Cassie paused for a moment, letting loose with a peal of mocking laughter. “There once was a spark inside this box, Rose. A spark with the power to change everything, even your lousy old self. Some small-minded fool must have found it and contained it. The box’s mechanisms merely amplified and attuned its power up to a point where it could be used by humans. But that spark belongs to me now. It dwells within me and only me, enabling me to mold myself into whatever I please. A vessel with such dynamic capabilities is a far more fitting host for a power such as this, don’t you think?”

Cassie struck a power pose in midair accompanied by a mocking smile, letting Rose take in her absolute dominance and superiority.

“Don’t you see, Rose? Nothing can stop me now. Already I possess such might that all of the world’s armies could not hope to leave so much as a scratch on me. In time, I WILL be all-powerful. I’ve just decided that I don’t need anybody joining me. Not you, not those other bitches from the office— nobody. In fact, once I find them, and believe me when I say I will, I intend to bring them back down to size, just like I did to that pathetic upstart back there. And then, the entire world will bow to me. Nobody will ever come close to my magnificence, except for maybe some more pathetic sycophants I may share a trillionth of my power with to help them keep the rowdier worms in line. Not that you’ll have the chance to take part in anything like that— I’ll be keeping you, and, oh, just about anyone else whose name I care to remember, as my personal slaves, to worship me and lick my feet every morning. What could be a more perfect way to start the day, than to step on the face of any remnants of yesterday’s world, with an unending reminder of the all-conquering POWER I now possess?”

Rose was left speechless. There was not enough strength left in here to even consider contradicting Cassie’s words. Though she still could not accept Cassie’s supremacy as undeniable, she could not help but admit to herself that she was right in that regard: Her power was greater than any other. If only she, too could possess that kind of power, she thought once again, only then…

“Ah, and speaking of stomping out the uselessness of the past,” Cassie said, turning her attention to the box once more, “let’s do away with this thing once and for all, shall we? Can’t have rumours about what this thing can’t do letting anyone doubt my absolute power over all.”

Now Rose’s interest perked up. She could never truly figure out all the box’s secrets, and she had seen a woman who had commanded one of the greatest powers the world had ever seen completely fail to put so much as a dent in it. Even if whatever was about to happen was the last thing she ever saw, she was determined to see how it would turn out.

Cassie used her telekinesis to place the box gingerly on the ground in front of her, though she did not place it upright— rather, it lay with one of its sides face down, and its top part, where the headphone jack was located, was coincidentally pointed in Rose’s direction. Touching down on the ground for what had to have been the first time since she first took flight, Cassie raised one of her feet up, then brought it down on the box with a stomp so powerful that every building on the street rocked back and forth, creaking audibly. It had been an impact strong enough to completely obliterate any substance known to man.

Any, that is, except whatever the box was made of, as Cassie was surprised to find that the box was still perfectly intact when she looked down, her expression going from smug confidence to annoyed surprise. The sight perplexed her so that she did not even think to look before her, at the length of the street where Rose still lay on the ground.

For her own part, Rose had intently been watching Cassie’s attempt to destroy the box, but all her attention had been diverted the moment of the impact, as a flood of strange sensations pervaded her being. She thought she felt an odd buzzing noise, like a ringing in one’s ears after hearing an exceedingly loud sound, but rather than just perceiving it with her ears, she felt as though it was somehow expanding throughout her entire body. The sensation, which she could have hardly described as anything less than “electrifying”, seemed to take over her entire being, leading her into a trance that dictated her next course of action, with naught she could do to deny it.

Cassie was dumbstruck, trying frantically to come up with some kind of explanation for how it was that her own power, limitless, had failed to destroy the box, and with it, any hope of ever removing her from her rightful place as mistress of all. However, much as with every other person who had tried to divine the whole truth about the box, she never got the chance, as she suddenly lifted her head up to see Rose standing before her— now sporting eyes of pure white, which Cassie was pretty sure had not been there before. Before Cassie could utter another of her domineering remarks, Rose lifted up one of her arms and a massive outburst of arcing electricity appeared between the two women— this time, going from Cassie over to the smaller woman.

Cassie thrashed about in rage and confusion, though in spite of all her violent movements, the flow of energy between her and Rose was not interrupted even for an instant. Falling to the ground, she punched the pavement for a few moments, before composing herself as she realised that the bizarre spectacle had concluded. Looking up, she saw Rose, now seemingly healed of her wounds but otherwise exactly the same as before, pure-white eyes gone. The sight made her angry. Just like everyone else, Rose was her enemy; a pathetic, inferior wretch who did not deserve an ounce of power, but merely to stay in her place as a subject and servant to her whims.

Cassie swiftly got up to try and correct the situation, but was met with one unpleasant surprise after another: she had lost her mastery of flight, one of her favourite powers, as it made her superiority above all others far more evident. She felt that she could not use her telekinesis anymore, forcing her to debase herself by actually using her hands to manipulate the world around her. As she got up, she noticed that the spot she had been punching in her rage was not damaged in the slightest, meaning even her physical strength had been brought back down to that of a mortal. As she came to the realisation that the world where everything was hers to do with as she pleased, her world, was crumbling around her, her rage only grew more intense, still focused on Rose.

Who cares, she thought. I’m still bigger than that little bitch. Even if this is the end, even if I take the fall, I’ll beat her to a bloody pulp with my own two hands, and I’ll enjoy every moment of it. With no other thoughts in her mind, Rose used her still titanic frame to sprint forward through the street, swinging her arm back to deliver a punch of incredible power directly into Rose’s face.

When her fist connected, Cassie was sent careening, immediately losing her balance and tumbling to the ground. Completely unfazed by the impact, Rose turned to look at Cassie, crossing her arms and putting on a disappointed face.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” she echoed, “And for a while I actually thought you understood the things you were saying.”

“What the fuck!?” Was all that Cassie could bring herself to say.

“You, the only one who holds the spark? Seriously?” Now it was Rose’s turn to mock her opponent. “Afraid it doesn’t work like that. Besides, weren’t you the one who said the box still had the amplification mechanism inside it, ready to relay an output from any sounds or vibrations that triggered it? I really don’t know how you managed to gather that much, but failed to realise the box was indestructible.”

Cassie could barely understand what Rose was saying, but she thought she managed to understand that there was something about the box that had helped Rose turn the tables after all, even after the box’s original energy source had been removed. Acting on instinct more than anything, eager to restore herself to the godhood that was rightfully hers and crush her hated opponent once and for all, Cassie made a run for the spot where the box was still lying on the ground. She lunged towards it in a mad, feral dive, only to meet with a faceful of nothing but bare pavement. For just a moment earlier, Rose had snapped her fingers, and the box had vanished with a barely audible phoop.

“What…” Cassie stammered. “WHERE THE FUCK IS IT?”

“I put it away,” Rose replied, matter-of-factly. “No point in trying to destroy it, that much should be obvious by now. But I stowed it in a nice, safe place, where cockroaches like yourself won’t ever be able to touch it again. I think it’s caused enough unpredictable excitement. Better to let someone who knows what they’re doing run the show from here on out.”

As she finished speaking, what looked like a lightning bolt shot down from the heavens with no warning. It enveloped Rose in a blinding light that grew brighter and larger for several moments, before fading away just as quickly. Cassie was left to stare in denial and bewilderment as the street was no longer occupied by Rose, or even Rose the good-for-nothing bimbo musclehead, but rather what even she could only think to describe as a creature not unlike the mythical gods of old— physically perfect in every way, with a soft yet bright light emanating from her very being, standing at an incredible 20 feet tall, her features and clothing being the potential result of a teenage boy tasked with exaggerating Rose’s old frame into his perfect sexual fantasy. In the presence of this being, far more divine than even the empowered Cassie could ever have claimed she was, Cassie could feel her own combativeness fading away, being replaced with an irresistible desire to please and worship the true, genuine goddess that had just ascended before her eyes.

“Atta girl,” the one that had once been Rose said with a smile that was both undeniably stern and incredibly compassionate. “Now, don’t you think this is much better for everyone than some silly old-fashioned worldwide tyranny?”

“Yes, goddess,” Cassie replied. Unlike her, Rose had the power to tell beyond any doubt that there was no insincerity in her voice.

“No need to be so formal, now. Don’t think I don’t know how to have fun!”

Rose snapped her fingers once more. Another bolt of lightning came down from the heavens, this time hitting Cassie. Once its light faded, Cassie felt immense pleasure in the knowledge that all her powers had been restored, and she had even gained all sorts of new ones, as well as a strength that far surpassed that which had once been hers — but even after this, the strongest feeling in her mind remained as her love for the goddess who had granted her this boon.

“Thank you ever so much, my goddess!” Cassie said, joyfully flying through the air

“It is no problem, child. You need only prove you understand that my will is absolute and good, and this power shall never abandon you.”

Cassie would once have responded to such a notion with rudeness and mockery, but Rose’s influence on her mind made it quite impossible for her to even consider voicing any kind of opposition.

“Of course, my goddess. I live only to do your will and fulfil your wishes.”

“You would never even consider going against my wishes, would you?”

Cassie told the truth: She could not.

“You would find it quite impossible to deny my will, even if you really wanted to, wouldn’t you?”

Cassie told the truth: She would.

“This is wonderful news. Our wonderful new world can now be born.”

Rose clapped her hands twice. As before, lightning rained down from the sky, only it did so in multiple locations— not only around the city, but around the entire world. Each bolt that came down struck a woman, who was immediately blessed with incredible powers, as well as an irresistible desire to serve Rose’s will. In just a few moments, the entire world came to be under Rose’s dominion. All thought it good, for Rose’s own influence spread so far and reached so many, there remained none who would ever even consider claiming otherwise.

As for Rose herself, she was pleased. The only concern left to her now was how to please herself further.

The End?

Add comment

Security code
Refresh

Comments (0)
There are no comments posted here yet