Shortcuts

A paranormal superhero story with a supernatural twist

Costuming is tough!

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Shortcuts
by Terry Volkirch

Chapter 11

Conversation filled the car on the drive to the mall, with the main subject being how Sarah could change clothes and bodies from Sarah to Golden Girl and back again without being detected. It was more complicated than expected.

"We need to consider several things," Susan said. "First, the cold weather will require warmer clothing. Second, the significant change in body size will require at least some clothing that can stretch to accommodate both sizes. Third, a safe, secluded place will be needed to change bodies so she isn't seen. And fourth, a safe way of storing some of Sarah's possessions will be needed while she's out as Golden Girl."

"Right, Mom. I can't just wear something like boots and a spandex body stocking. The spandex could stretch to fit both of my girl bodies but I'd likely freeze to death wearing such a skimpy costume."

Erin spoke up then, surprising the other two. "You could wear the body stocking under a coat. The coat could be removed when the weather turned warm again."

"And gloves," added Susan. "Don't forget gloves. You'll want them for the cold and you don't want to scar your pretty knuckles when you beat up a bad guy."

Sarah sighed. "I'm not going to have to get physical with anybody, Mother. I'll most likely get away with just using telekinesis. But your first point is valid. I don't want my hands to get cold." She looked at her long, slender fingers, still trying to get used to them.

Susan summed up the costume, consisting of underwear or thermal underwear with tights under a black spandex body stocking, tall leather boots and a short leather jacket along with leather gloves. "Forget the mask. Everyone's already seen Golden Girl's face and the mask would probably just get in the way at some point."

The girls both nodded but Erin looked a little puzzled and spoke up. "Why all the leather?"

"It'll offer a little more protection. And it looks hot."

"Mother!"

"Well it does! And there's nothing wrong with that. Now we only need to decide on a color scheme and we're finished with the costume."

"Color scheme?" Sarah started getting nervous. She didn't realize how difficult it could be to pick out an outfit, even if it was the world's first true superhero costume.

They talked colors for the next ten minutes. Everything went well with black, making it a difficult decision. When it came down to two choices, they agreed to keep them in the back of their minds and decide later. Sarah leaned towards black and yellow stripes to create a bee look. She liked the idea of being small yet still respected for her sting. The other two pushed for using pink and gray for a more feminine look, something that Sarah didn't feel ready for.

The new girl growled. "Arg! Colors!"

Her mother smiled. "Isn't it fun?"

"No! It's… difficult. Colors are tough."

"Aw. My poor daughter. The way of the girl can be challenging, yes, but also rewarding. It will get easier, grasshopper."

Sarah giggled and quickly slapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide.

Susan laughed. "Yes, you did just giggle. Just go with it. It comes with the territory."

They moved on to changing looks at school next. Susan liked her daughter's plan to wear a sweat jacket over androgynous clothes to switch between Lester and Sarah, except she suggested that Sarah keep her original eye color and dark brown hair color to make it easier to remember. Then she had a thought. "What about Golden Girl?" she asked.

"Why do you keep calling me Golden Girl?! My name is Crystal." She sulked a little and quickly stopped, mentally chastising herself.

Her mother noticed and tried not to smile. "Golden Girl just sounds better, though it might be safer to use Crystal when we talk in public. Anyway, what about my question? Erin? Do you have any ideas?"

"I was just thinking it's too bad Sarah can't shapeshift clothes."

Sarah snorted. "This isn't like the movies."

"But if you can modify your body, why can't you modify your clothes?"

"That's actually a good question now that I think about it."

Susan's eyes lit up with an idea. "What about clothing with a natural material like cotton?"

"Or silk," Erin added, sighing. "I love the feel of silk."

The other two gave the redhead a curious look.

"Or silk," Susan agreed. "A natural fiber might be affected by your ability since it's organic."

Sarah thought about it and frowned. "But if that's true, it might mean I could change other people."

That led to an experiment with Erin but the redhead's appearance couldn't be changed in any way. She suggested that her unique condition of being stuck as a human might keep her from being changed so Susan became the next guinea pig. Sarah gently touched her mother's ear and concentrated for a full minute, trying to make it pointed.

"Still nothing," the auburn-haired girl said, almost crying with frustration.

"Hey, honey. It's okay. We'll come up with alternatives. And I think we should still see if you can modify an all cotton shirt. Oh, and there's wool too. That might be even better since it's from an animal instead of a plant. It'll be more like changing your hair."

Erin tried one last idea. "Even if you can't change clothes now, you might find a way to do it in the Akashic records."

Sarah shrugged. "I'll try looking but I had to dive deep to find shapeshifting, and once I found it, I got everything about it I could find in the same area. There was nothing about changing anything other than my own body. A shapeshifter would wear an animal skin to help visualize becoming that same animal but the skin wouldn't be part of their animal body. They'd always grow their own fur."

"Wait," Susan said, a little shaken. "You can change into animals too?"

"I haven't tried it yet, but yes, I'm sure I can."

"Wow," the woman slumped down in her car seat, once again amazed at what her daughter could do.

They pulled into the mall's parking lot, ending the conversation. They had some shopping goals in mind and a lot of things to think about. Being a superhero required a lot of work.

* * *

The three of them split into two groups in the mall, just in case, as paranoia crept in a little. They saw eyes watching everywhere, trying to discover the true identify of Golden Girl. It was a healthy paranoia for the most part. They managed to stop themselves short of trying to destroy the mall's video surveillance tapes, though they needn't have worried about them. People are fairly unobservant for the most part. The scrutiny would come later, after Golden Girl established a regular presence.

Susan went off to get the spandex body stocking, along with some things for herself, and the two girls shopped for various other parts of the costume starting with underwear. Sarah never blushed so much.

"Does it ever get easier?" the auburn-haired girl asked her friend.

"Does what get easier?"

"Shopping!"

"Shopping is easy, as long as you have some money." Erin reached in a small pocket of her hobo bag and fingered several twenty dollar bills that Susan had given her.

"Never mind. Let's look for gloves next."

All their talk about colors seemed a fruitless exercise to Sarah. They couldn't find any yellow or pink leather gloves and it didn't seem wise to special order them. That would make it easier to trace the purchases back to Golden Girl. Purple leather gloves seemed fairly easy to come by though, and Erin got an idea.

"You like purple, don't you, Sarah?"

"It's okay."

"Then why not stick with purple and black?"

Sarah paused a moment, slowly nodding and smiling. "Works for me."

The girls went up separately to buy two pairs of purple gloves each, enough to easily last Golden Girl through the colder months for many years. They also got several pairs of purple tights and Sarah tried on a couple different pairs of tall, black leather boots that they'd need more money for. After they got the body stocking and boots, they'd have a complete costume. Golden Girl would continue using the same short purple jacket instead of a black leather one. The purple jacket would be warmer, something Sarah insisted on.

"What's next?" Sarah asked, feeling some relief at making good progress towards one of their goals.

Erin's stomach gurgled and the girls laughed. Lunch time called and they texted Susan to meet up for a little food in the mall. It would slow them down. Sarah still had a lot of shopping to do and they didn't want to take a lot of time for lunch, but they had to eat sometime.

The three of them sat in white plastic chairs in the middle of the food court of the mall, far from anyone else so they could talk more freely. In between sentences, they enjoyed bites of some inauthentic but normally tasty Mexican food, or at least they tried. Erin picked at a couple of new things, like the nachos, but she made sure to get a shredded chicken taco. She knew she liked the tacos having tried them at school. Sarah didn't have as much luck.

"Not again," Sarah complained after taking a bite of nachos. They didn't taste nearly as good as they normally did.

"What's the matter, honey?" Susan asked.

"Different taste buds again. I'm going to have to make a chart to keep track of everything I like and don't like." Erin let her sample the chicken taco and she liked that so the two girls shared it after making a mess breaking it in half. Sarah also got some of her mother's grilled chicken salad. She liked that too.

Once they'd all got a good start on satisfying their hunger, they started reporting on their progress. Susan had picked up three black body stockings, and she liked the idea of sticking with purple and black, especially since she also got a purple scarf and matching ski hat without a ball on top for Sarah. "Accessories," the woman said, smiling at her daughter.

The subject of a black leather jacket came up, starting a heated discussion.

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice comfort to look good, honey. The purple accessories will look better with a black jacket. Otherwise, you'll just be a purple blob with blonde hair and black boots."

"But I hate being cold!" Sarah said.

Susan stopped a moment and smiled. "Okay. How about this? Who said you have to have just one costume?"

They stayed together, getting a short leather jacket for Golden Girl and a long black woolen coat for Sarah. They also ended up getting gloves, tights, a scarf and hat, all in black. The black accessories would be worn with the purple jacket in the coldest weather, and when the weather warmed up enough, the purple accessories would be worn with the black leather jacket. They refused to consider a cape.

"Problem solved," Susan said.

After picking up the two pairs of boots that Sarah wanted, they moved on to shop for a general wardrobe for Sarah as well as perform several shapeshifting experiments on clothes with natural fibers, none of which could be changed. They were stuck with their ideas for limited clothing changes, though they managed to add more ideas as they went. A very stretchy sports bra was a must. Sarah needed a bra that could accommodate her when she changed into Crystal. The cup and band sizes remained about the same but the straps needed to stretch for her shoulders. They also bought a small black backpack to hold a change of clothes and reluctantly had to restrict Golden Girl to nighttime activities. Changing under cover of darkness seemed to be the only safe alternative. Sarah could walk to the park, levitate up through a dense stand of fir trees, change coats, add accessories and fly off, leaving the backpack high in the trees. None of them were happy about it but secrecy came first.

* * *

They got home from the mall and Erin stayed for dinner, taking Matthew's place at the table since he was staying out for an extended night with his buddies. Sarah didn't change back to Lester at her mother's insistence.

"You need to get used to being a girl," she told her daughter.

"Not happening."

"Well, not yet. Give it a chance."

Sarah didn't say any more. She just picked at her food, still trying to get used to her new taste buds, and it wasn't long before the two girls went to Sarah's bedroom to try on everything. Erin got herself a few things and she had fun with them. She'd try something on, run to the bathroom to look in the mirror and run back, giggling.

Sarah just shook her head as she slipped on a pair of her new boots over black tights, muttering, "I still don't get it."

"You need a mirror in your room," the redhead told her friend. "Preferably full-length so you can see everything."

"Yeah. I'll get right on it."

"Aw, Sarah. Don't be such a mope." Then she finally noticed how her friend was dressed. "I see you're wearing the warm weather version of your costume. Turn around for me. Let's see how it looks."

The reluctant girl wore just a body stocking, tights and boots. She turned slowly all the way around and stopped with her arms awkwardly at her sides. "Well?"

"Nice! But it's still missing something." She paused a moment and added, "I think a pair of black fingerless gloves would nicely finish it off. Try on your full gloves a minute."

Sarah did as directed and Erin nodded. "Yes, I'll tell your mother."

"Uh. Thanks. I guess."

"You're not having fun, are you?"

"What was your first clue?"

"Aw. I'm sorry you're still not liking this, Sarah. Maybe tomorrow."

"Maybe."

Sarah didn't try everything for size before she needed a break, and Erin had already finished, not having as many new things. Both girls sat next to each other on Sarah's bed in silence for a few minutes until Sarah abruptly stood up and started shedding all of her clothes.

"What are you doing?" the redhead asked.

"Something that we talked about earlier. I want to try changing into different animals. See what I'm capable of."

Erin didn't say anything. She just stared and waited until her suddenly nude friend quickly changed into a wolf, a she-wolf.

"Wow! You did it! You're a wolf! Can you talk?"

Wolf Sarah shook her head and tried walking around her room. She went to the closed door and tapped a paw to it, as if asking to be let out.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sarah. You might scare your mother."

Sarah turned back into a girl and agreed with her friend. Then she tried other animals to get an idea of what range of sizes she could achieve. She started with a bobcat and ended up as a little white mouse on her bed.

Erin held out her open hand, palm up, and Mouse Sarah jumped onto it to let her friend get a good look at her. "You're so cute!"

Sarah gave her friend a loud, indignant squeak and Erin placed her back on the bed. "Sorry, little mousie. There you go."

After trying the smaller sizes, she quickly moved to larger animals, including a lion, tiger and black bear. Her last try was an African elephant, though she couldn't increase her size to a full-grown elephant. She seemed to be limited to about half size which was just as well. The ceiling wasn't tall enough to accommodate full size. As an elephant, she stood about six feet tall at the shoulder and her long trunk could easily reach the ceiling. She touched the ceiling once and then trumpeted loudly with glee, startling Erin and causing her mother to come running to the bedroom.

Susan opened the door and shrieked when she saw an elephant.

"It's okay, Mrs. McHenry. It's just Sarah."

The trembling woman slowly walked into the room and approached her daughter, talking softly to her. "Is that really you, Sarah?"

The elephant vigorously bobbed her head up and down, telling her yes.

Susan plopped down on her daughter's bed, half in shock.

It took another fifteen minutes or so for Sarah to rest enough to change back to her girl self. She'd used up too much energy with all of the shapeshifting and extreme changes of mass. During that time, her mother ever so slowly got used to her daughter being an elephant. Susan even stood up at one point and stroked the elephant's very large ears, truly in awe of what Sarah could do.

Life just kept getting more interesting.

* * *

Changing into so many different shapes tired Sarah out, and she begged off any more visiting so she could go to bed. Erin stayed to talk with Susan in the living room for a while and left the tired girl to slip into her bed, wearing only one of her boy tee shirts and panties. Sarah felt too tired to shapeshift back into a boy and was soon fast asleep and wandering through the Akashic records, still looking like a girl.

"Hello Sarah," the Dark Librarian said, appearing suddenly in front of her. "Welcome to the Akashic records."

Sarah looked down at herself and frowned at still being a girl, but she minded her manners. "Hello Mister Guile. Imagine meeting you here."

The man laughed. "Here, I'm simply the Librarian."

"Yeah. I don't suppose Mister Guile is your real name."

He grinned but didn't say anything.

"So," she started.

"So," he parroted.

"Did you mean for this to happen?"

"Mean for what to happen, dear girl?"

"Mean for me to become a superhero? Why else are we here?"

"I never meant for anything to happen other than for you to learn. What you do with what you learn is your business."

Sarah snorted.

"You must have guessed it would happen," she told him.

"Ah. Actually, to be truthful, I expected a different result. But there's still plenty of time for that."

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. You must mean that wager that you have with Erin. What exactly is that wager? I know it has something to do with me."

"Oh, no, my dear. That would be telling. Can't do that." He gave her his creepiest grin, making her shiver with dread.

"Okay. If you can't tell me that. What about this? Got anything to help me shapeshift my clothes?"

"I don't think that's possible, my girl," he said. "Or necessary. There are other, better ways to escape detection," he said, suddenly looking down at their feet to get Sarah to do the same.

A wide, glowing yellow line could be seen, hovering just under the transparent surface that passed for the floor on which she stood. It started just under her and stretched out far away into the distance.

"You know what they like to say in Oz," the man said, grinning as he slowly faded away.

"Follow the yellow brick road," Sarah said quietly. And she did. She even skipped a little at one point, just to see what it was like. It didn't last long. So far, there was nothing about being a girl that she could fully appreciate. She resumed walking, and when that seemed to take too long, she imagined herself flying, and she sped along to a most amazing ability that she absorbed without thinking, only to regret it after she realized its potential.

"Oh, dear," she muttered. "Now I've done it."

* * *

© 2015 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.