Tales from the Tuckerverse:  Wax Poetic

by Zero

Fetishist Wax Museum, Santa Monica, California

               “Hi girls, come on in,” greeted Chris Picket, the junior guard of one of the raciest museums in the world. A handsome dark-haired college drop-out, Chris had worked hard to get a security license and now was one of the two guards the museum had hired to handle their security. The two-guard system was fairly inane since the building had little in the shape of electronic surveillance, having cameras covering maybe ten of the rooms. The museum effectively relied on the idea that no one would seriously want to steal a wax mannequin, let alone one dressed up in a fetish costume.

               “Hi Chris, love what you did with your hair,” complimented Ayane Nakamura as she and Kat Vaughn entered the special side-door of the two-story building, the blond Asian handing her friend a bag containing a still-hot steak and bacon sandwich while her partner gave him a hot cup of coffee. The two blonds were both wearing large brown trench coats with black leather stiletto heels on their feet. Kat herself had a dark red duffel bag on her left shoulder.

               Chris led the two girls inside, quickly guiding them into the security office. The room consisted of two simple desks and a wall with ten monitors on it, each showing the view of a camera. The fetish museum, as one might expect, had displays pandering primarily to males with a massive collection of realistic female wax figures clad in all kinds of racy outfits. The cameras showed several blonds, many of them in black leather, in all kinds of erotic poses. It seemed like nearly every fetish was covered by the museum, at least the ones that didn't involve blatant nudity. It seemed odd to people since the museum celebrated sexual preferences but lacked the naked part in spite of parents being unlikely to bring their kids. Feet, sleeping, fighting, dominatrix, androids, breasts, and even urination was visible on the cameras alone, making the two girls wonder what else was there. “So do you know when they'll get here?” asked Chris, sitting down at one of the desks and taking a sip of coffee and opening the bag containing his sandwich.

               “Not long,” confirmed Kat, leaning against Chris's desk. “I was still surprised when Julie told me.”

               “Yeah, who knew Rachel wanted her own mannequin?” sighed Ayane, shaking her head.

               “Well, they're kind of neat in a way,” justified Chris, shrugging. “I guess stealing from us would generally be easy too. Carla's really the only security this place actually has.”

               “Well, a bitter thirty-something Latina can be deadly when angered,” chuckled Ayane. “Where is the she-beast?”

               “Downstairs doing rounds,” revealed Chris, taking a bite of his sandwich. “You two have a specific plan? If Carla catches them or you there will be hell to pay.”

               “Not a problem, we know what to do,” declared Kat, glancing at the monitors. Sure enough Carla suddenly walked by one of the cameras downstairs, the woman dressed like Chris: white buttoned shirt, navy pants, radio on belt as well as a gun. Carla, however, also had a flashlight in her left hand and was scanning the area intently. The woman was somewhat sexy for her age, her curly hair even when up in a bun somewhat cute, but her face and hips were a bit on the saggy side even though she was only barely on the wrong side of thirty. Chris knew and had once told the girls Carla had once been a nurse and married to a handsome doctor but they'd divorced and she'd been blacklisted due to unknown reasons thus her new career. The result of the change had made Carla a very angry woman, thus Ayane and Kat would need to avoid her lest they get in deep trouble. Luckily the pair had a plan for dealing with the woman.

               “Kat, why don't you go distract Carla?” suggested Ayane, sounding spontaneous though it was just a ruse to trick Chris. Kat and Ayane, with some help from Julie, had planned out the entire night. The hard part was the two girls both liked Chris thus they'd agreed to switch off the duty of distracting him.

               “Here, this card will open the locked doors,” revealed Chris, handing Kat the most sophisticated item of security the museum had: a key card.

               “Thanks, don't let this Asian femme fatale pull one over on you while I'm gone,” Kat warned jokingly as she left the room. The museum was a two-story building but the upper level was entirely administration and storage, the ground floor where all the exhibits were and thus one reason why there were only two guards. Kat carefully crept down the stairs, having memorized that Carla would be nearby when she got down, and opened her bag on route. Within the bag was what looked like a Polaroid camera but in reality something much more sinister.

               Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Kat put her ear to the door and listened. Not picking up any footsteps she quietly opened the door and kept out into the exhibit halls. The display in the particular room seemed to feature women who were wet, featuring a wax figure that had more than a passing resemblance to Asian actress and model Kayley Wu clad in only a white towel with a clear-plastic mist tube being used to mist the mannequin and give her the soaked effect. A few other figures dotted the display area, which had no security of any kind to prevent Kat from walking up onto it, just as she did. Now capable of hearing footsteps, Kat quickly stepped behind a shower curtain that had been pushed aside by a redheaded mannequin who was stepping out of the bathtub, another white towel being all there was to hide the statue's realistic lady-parts.

               Kat didn't move from behind the curtain as the footsteps came closer until finally Carla came into view, the tired-looking woman casually sweeping a flashlight over the display. Ideally she should of seen Kat's silhouette but since she was holding still and Carla didn't seem to care nothing came of it, the guard turning away and heading towards the nearby restrooms. Smiling to herself, Kat carefully stood up and stepped out from the cover of the shower, getting a good look at Carla's back. Pressing down the button on the camera, a bright flash filled the room and when it faded Carla was now standing as still as the mannequins, her flashlight raised in her left hand with her right at her side, her left foot slightly forward. A picture was then printed out of the Polaroid,depicting Carla in her pose. The camera, a magical item Kat and her sister Julie had stolen from a pair of wizards in the town of Stillsville, could freeze whoever was in the range of the camera's flash, leaving them like that until the picture was destroyed. Ayane was distracting Chris so he wouldn't see the magical device freeze his superior.

               Moving quickly, Kat hurried over to Carla and hooked her arms under the woman's shoulders, pulling her back and promptly dragging her backwards into the women's bathroom. Once inside the room Julie turned off Carla's flashlight and adjusted her legs, making her stand normally with what almost looked like a scowl on her face. “Take this, stone-face,” taunted Kat, pocketing the photo and leaving the bathroom in favor of going upstairs.

               “... and that's why she doesn't, oh, hi Kat!” greeted Ayane, stopping herself mid-sentence to greet her partner in crime, the camera back in the bag.

               “Carla will be busy in the bathroom for quite a while,” grinned Kat, causing Chris to shrug and swivel back towards the monitors. As if prompted it was then that a poorly locked window was opened and, one by one, six girls entered the museum, each dressed in an orange and white cheerleading uniform with white shoes.

               “You're kidding me, they're not even wearing black?” scoffed Chris, shaking his head.

               “Michelle probably wants Rachel to get caught and blamed for this,” suggested Kat, referring to the only Asian woman within the group of six. The squad's captain was Rachel Xanders, who had been voted within the top 10 of 'hottest girl on campus' at Decker State College three years in a row, though she'd never won thanks to sorority vote rigging. Rachel was a tall blond with a strong tan and excellent dance skills, having been a back-up dancer in several music videos as of late. Rachel was known for having an elitist attitude however, disliking it when her squad didn't listen to her. Rachel did possess natural charisma but lacked high intelligence thus if not for her superior dance skills she might not of been made captain. Redemption on Rachel's part was due to her refusing to play favorites with sorority girls and being a 'girl of the people,' rejecting sororities in favor of student apartments.

               While the cheerleaders had no official co-captain, it was essentially split between Julie Vaughn, Kat's twin sister, and Michelle Gim. Julie was one of the school's top math students and very good at probabilities as well as comebacks, able to crush any feeble insults hurled her way. Julie however didn't have the same charisma as Rachel, even with her greater mind, which was the main reason she was never voted the new captain, though generally the girls of the squad liked her over Rachel. Michelle, however, was one of the most loved women on campus and easily the most popular Asian student. A second generation Korean-American, Michelle's IQ was rumored to be near that of Einstein's and many non-cheerleaders called her Goldfinger in reference to the James Bond villain. Michelle had great charisma just like Rachel and effectively used the blond as a puppet, being the true leader of the squad but never voted in due to race issues. No matter how modern the times, it was unheard of for Decker State College to have an Asian cheerleader captain, very rarely having a non-blond in the role. Even Julie was oblivious to Michelle's cunning it seemed as she'd frequently told Kat how cool Michelle was. Kat could of pointed out the truth but she didn't really care about the squad, only her sister.

               The other three cheerleaders present were typical followers: Kelli McAdams, Pamela Flipspatrick and Brianne Walsh. Kelli was a clueless blond who effectively defined the cheerleader cliché of dumb but cute girls who could dance really well. Pamela was Kelli's better half, being the wise roommate who looked out for Kelli like a little sister. The redhead was however known to be a bit of a coward thus Kelli was Pam's courage while she was her brains and common sense. Brianne was a brunette southern belle through and through, almost mystified by Asians due to growing up in a tiny town with only Caucasians and African-Americans. Brianne's lack of sophistication were negated however by her accent and mannerisms, making her one of the most sought-after girls on the entire squad and while not as smart as Julie or even Pamela she still held her own academically.

               The three in the security booth watched the group begin to wander the museum, heedless of the cameras. “Yeah, I'd say Michelle is trying to get Rachel busted so she can finally move up, or even worse get Julie up the ladder so she can be pushed off next,” mused Ayane, chewing on her index finger as she watched nervously. “What's your obligation here Chris?”

               “Look, just as long as Carla doesn't catch them and you make sure they actually don't steal something it should be fine,” insisted Chris, nodding firmly at Kat, knowing that the girl was worried about her twin. “I suggest you guys do your thing before too long.”

               “I got this one,” offered Ayane, taking the bag from Kat. Ideally Kat wouldn't normally loan out the camera but since Ayane had helped plan the prank Kat was fine with it, plus it also gave her a chance to flirt with Chris. Grinning, Ayane shed her jacket as she exited the room, revealing what was almost a black leather leotard underneath, the straps going behind the neck instead of just around the shoulders. Kat scowled as Chris turned his attention towards the Asian's ass, but her removing her own jacket to reveal a similar outfit got his attention back on the soccer captain.

               “We should of brought a flashlight,” moaned Pamela, the cheerleaders' resident coward as Ayane managed to easily get within earshot of them, camera in hand. The six were glancing around the wet exhibit Kat had ambushed Carla at earlier.

               “It would give us away,” pointed out Michelle, silencing the girl's complaint. “We can still see just fine. Just don't get too far away from the group. So which exhibit was it?”

               “The sleep one I think, might have been the knock-out one,” declared Rachel, shrugging. “The rooms all look the same to me.”

               “Well they all contain dummies,” remarked Kelli, managing to add little too the conversation as usual.

               “Why don't we just check the map?” asked Brianne.

               “Not even sure what room that's in,” sighed Michelle, rubbing her forehead. “Hey Vaughn, you're pretty quiet. What's wrong, don't think your geek of a boyfriend would like us sneaking in here?”

               “Tucker's easygoing, it's not that,” denied Julie, shaking her head. “It's the whole freaky concept. We're in a building full of mannequins after-hours. You guys ever seen that episode of the Twilight Zone where a woman has that happen and she turns into a mannequin?”

               “Oh man...” groaned Pamela, now shivering with Kelli suddenly joining in.

               “Mannequin?” asked Brianne, not familiar with the term.

               “A dummy,” sighed Rachel, shaking her head. “Come on Julie, that's science fiction! Do you really think we're going to become a part of a display?”

               “Well-” began Julie, getting suddenly cut-off as Ayane struck. The camera's magic flash lit up the room and froze all the cheerleaders where they stood, leaving Ayane to snicker as she walked over.

               “Before the night's over you'll see just how much of a prophet she is,” Ayane taunted Rachel. The soccer player was tempted to play with the cheerleaders or even just study their poses but she needed to hurry, lest they notice the time jump. Julie, whose mouth was open with her hands holding one another as she attempted to shrink away, was Ayane's target. Slipping her arms around the blond's waist Ayane dragged her towards the entrance to the stairs where she stopped to take another photo of the remaining cheerleaders. That done Ayane proceeded to tear up the original.

               “-remember that the writers... nice,” continued Julie, then stopped after seeing what had happened. “So disappearing act first, just like we planned?”

               “Yeah, it'll give you some free time to help us,” confirmed Ayane. “Kat and I have our disguises so you can go relieve her.”

               “Works for me, give me a ten second head-start,” insisted Julie, heading out of the room via the stairway access. Smiling to herself, Ayane moved to hide behind the same curtain Julie had used earlier and dropped the camera carefully. Ready, she tore up the new picture.

               Screams echoed loudly as all the cheerleaders noticed Julie vanishing into thin air. “Oh my god!” was Pamela's loud shriek, the redhead then fainting into Kelli's arms. Ayane was standing behind the curtain but thanks to her vantage point could still see all the details.

               “Okay, now I'm a little freaked out,” remarked Michelle. “Rachel, should we look for her?”

               “No, I think she planned this,” suggested Rachel, not far off base. “Lets just keep going, I'm sure she'll show up to spook us again when she's ready.”

               “Ah, that's low,” agreed Michelle, nodding.

               “She's some kind of sorcerer, that's all I know!” exclaimed Brianne.

               “Yeah, she should work for David Cooperfield!” added Kelli as the girls headed towards the next room, the bubbly blond dragging along Pamela. Ayane watched carefully and, as soon as they entered the doorway, she snapped another photo and froze the group in their tracks.

               “Good timing,” remarked Kat, surprising Ayane as the athletic twin emerged from the stairwell, grinning. “Julie's got Chris for us. I gotta say I trust her more now knowing she's got a boyfriend.”

               “Yeah, and its nice that she's finally going out with Tucker, he's a good guy,” agreed Ayane, nodding thoughtfully. While the cheerleaders didn't think much of Julie's beau the Lady Raptors had all been friends with him for over a year, initially meeting him through Chrissy Pak, another member of the anime club. Julie had held a long-standing crush on the guy for quite a while. “So the light trick?”

               “That or spook them with a stone-face Carla, but its too soon,” suggested Kat, getting a nod from her partner. The two in agreement, Kat moved and moved around the solidified quint and entered the new room, which was conveniently all about leather. Women and a couple of men in outfits both racy and clean dotted the elevated display areas. Ignoring the tableaux Kat found the light switch and flicked it on, instantly turning a dark room into a bright one, causing both her and Ayane to squint for a moment. While it wasn't instant, to the cheerleaders it would look like the lights had magically come on.

               “Hang on, I got a great idea!” exclaimed Ayane, who'd joined Kat in the room, holding out the camera. “You freeze me in a display, then when you freeze them again later you can let me move and I'll take up a new pose further down the way. It'll be classic!”

               “I like it,” agreed Kat, nodding and taking the camera. With a smile, Ayane jumped up onto a platform and wrapped an arm around the shoulders of a guy mannequin in biker leather. One in place the Asian girl changed her face to the casual glazed and neutral look all the mannequins in the building had, at which point Kat snapped a freeze photo. Pleased with the resulting statue, Kat moved back past the cheerleaders and returned to the popular hiding spot behind the shower where she tore up the first photo.

               Once again screams echoed as the girls suddenly found the room fully illuminated, Kelli even accidentally dropping Pamela, who was still out of it. “Relax, its probably motion sensitive!” hissed Michelle as the rest of the girls, even Rachel, shook a bit. “That or Julie did it.”

               “I'm not gonna have her doing this to us all night, I'm going to find her!” exclaimed Brianne, suddenly turning around and entering the previous room with quick speed. Panicking, Kat moved without thinking and fired off another picture, getting all five cheerleaders before Brianne got too far away.

               “Too close,” breathed Kat. After thinking for a moment Kat came up with how to proceed. First off Kat moved towards the remaining four in the group and scooped up Pamela, who was still sprawled on the floor. Kat then proceeded to take pictures of the trio, Brianne and then one of the stunned redhead, promptly tearing up the original. Kelli was looking down at the floor in embarrassment where Pamela had been dropped, her face a bit red. Rachel was looking around the leather room, fear visible on her normally expressionless face, and Michelle was looking back at Brianne, her left arm raised and her lips parted in a clear attempt to call her back. Brianne was in the middle of a run, her arms up and her left leg the only one on the ground, her right far behind her. Kat was fairly certain it wouldn't take more than a touch to make Brianne topple over, but she didn't want that. Adjusting Pamela so she could be easily transported in a fireman's carry, Kat took the girl up the stairwell and left the frozen scene behind her.

               When Kat got to the top of the stairs she quietly put down Pamela and readied the camera after spying Julie and Chris talking though the glass, both of them standing. Carefully inching the door open, Kat was able to snap off another picture with neither of them noticing, freezing the duo in mid-conversation. Pleased, Kat then entered the room with Pamela and placed her on Chris's chair. Pamela was now sprawled in an unconscious woman would if placed on a chair, her head tilted back and her arms hanging at her sides. Julie stood with her left arm reaching across her body, her right in a thoughtful palm-up pointing gesture, her lips together bit a slight smile on her face. Chris meanwhile had his thumbs hooked into his pants and had a bigger grin on his face, his mouth open. With the scenario she now had Kat couldn't help but play a little, putting down the camera and touching Chris's smooth face before planting a kiss on his lips.

               “Eat your heart out, Ayane,” giggled Kat, then proceeding to slide her hands down Chris's back. Kat then quickly stopped herself, remembering that while people were frozen time itself wasn't so she needed to be quick. After glancing around the room momentarily Kat found a good hiding spot behind a filing cabinet and huddled down, then tearing up the picture of Pamela.

               It took a minute or two for Pamela to stir and sit up groggily, but when she did it another scream echoed. “Oh my god, Julie!” exclaimed the redhead, jumping up from the chair and moving to touch the motionless Vaughn twin. “She's... she's... this is...” stammered Pamela, looking like she might faint again. “I gotta get out of here!” With that Pamela was off like a lightning bolt, racing towards the stairwell and hurrying down them. Kat smiled to herself as she followed.

               “Oh god, everyone!” screamed Pamela when downstairs, audible even to Kat. The blond soccer player arrived on the first floor and carefully glanced out the door. Pamela was frantically shaking Kelli's shoulders. “Kelli, speak to me!” she was crying, actual tears running down her face. Trying not to laugh, Kat raised the photo of the stiffened trio and quietly tore it in half.

               “Wha?!” exclaimed Kelli, falling backwards in shock as Rachel and Michelle looked around, confused. Quick chatter and happy cries followed as Kat silently tore up the photos of Chris and Julie as well as Brianne before heading upstairs.

               “They look pretty scared,” remarked Chris as Kat entered the room, glancing at the monitors that showed the five cheerleaders huddled around each other. “I don't see Ayane, is she controlling the lights?”

               “Yeah, Julie you might want to head back downstairs,” confirmed Kat, then nodding at her twin. “If they ask, tell them you were distracting the guard.”

               “Got it,” nodded Julie, quickly running past her sister and down the stairs.

               “You two are good,” whistled Chris, shaking his head and reaching for his coffee. “By the way, that outfit looks great on you.”

               “Oh sure, compliment the girl in leather,” giggled Kat, coming up next to the guard and quietly putting an arm around his shoulders. What was nice was Chris didn't seem to mind the gesture, promptly letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

               “I've missed you girls, you know?” remarked Chris, turning to look at the blond with a certain look in his eyes. Kat smiled weakly and was tempted to try something but movement on the camera monitors distracted her. Figures, sighed Kat internally, standing.

               “I'm going to go give them something really surprising,” declared Kat with a devious grin. Chris nodded and appeared a bit disappointed as the girl left the room. No sooner did he turn around did Kat reluctantly train the camera on him again and snap a photo, fixing him in place so he wouldn't be trouble when no one was watching him.

               Once again back on the first floor Kat arrived just in time to hear the group of six finishing a discussion. “She was just upstairs, this place isn't haunted,” insisted Michelle, clearly annoyed.

               “How do you explain me finding you all standing like statues?!” exclaimed Pamela, shaking with Kelli holding her gently, an almost erotic gesture until one remembered they were like sisters, not lovers.

               “You fainted, your memory might be messed up,” suggested Rachel, shrugging. “Whatever, if you're too scared you can just leave now. Come on, the room we want is this way.” The cheerleader captain then, in bold defiance, took a step away from the group, Michelle and Brianne quickly stepping in line. Julie uneasily followed next, Kelli dragging Pamela along last. Kat watched quietly, carefully entering the wet fetish room but making sure not to be seen by someone looking behind them. It was right when Brianne turned to look at the Ayane mannequin that Kat struck, snapping yet another photo that froze all six cheerleaders.

               Wanting to really make Rachel and her squad squeal, Kat had a double-whammy planned. First up she headed for the bathroom and retrieved Carla, dragging her on her heels into the leather room and positioning her off to the side, the female guard still standing like an Easter Island statue but with a full body. Next Kat produced her picture of Ayane and simply shredded a corner, the action being enough to unfreeze her ally. “Nice, the bumpkin is looking right at me,” noted Ayane, walking over to Brianne as she stood there in mid-step, her face looking in curiosity at the mannequin that was no longer there. “Oh, I see you brought out Carla! Good stuff, but what about Chris?”

               “I had to snap him, though I hated to do it,” sighed Kat, shaking her head.

               “Yeah, he's really cute huh?” agreed Ayane, nodding knowingly. “Okay, I'll stand where I was before but change my pose, that work?”

               “Yeah, but drag that other one over and stand between them,” suggested Julie, ignoring her friend's remark and indicating another leather-clad female mannequin. Ayane did as was suggested, returning to the display and pulling the two real mannequins close together before taking up a position between them, her arms around their shoulders and a glazed look on her face. After a quick exchange of nods Julie snapped a picture and froze Ayane once again, sliding the picture into her boot with the others and producing the one of the cheerleaders. After taking up a position in a display behind a table that a dominatrix was sprawled on, thus where she couldn't be seen, Kat tore up the photo.

               “Woah!” exclaimed Brianne, suddenly jumping and nearly knocking over Julie. “I swear that dummy just moved!”

               “Oh shit, run!” Michelle suddenly exclaimed, turning and bolting as she no doubt spotted Carla. Julie watched from under the table and grinned as she saw the Asian cheerleader 'accidentally' push her captain as she ran, the other five quickly heading for the exit to the room while Rachel struggled to stand. Grinning to herself, Julie managed to get a wide shot and took a picture, the flash hitting more than half of the room but still managing to not hit Ayane or Carla, who Kat was on the same side of the room as. No sooner than did she stand up did Julie tear up the picture of her ally, who saw the frozen scene and laughed.

               “Oh, that's awesome!” howled the blond Asian, jumping up and down. “Please tell me Michelle was the one that sacrificed Rachel...”

               “Who else?” giggled Kat, examining the five panicking cheerleaders in their frozen running poses while Rachel was almost standing with fear frozen on her own face. The pair drifted over to the head cheerleader and playfully poked her.

               “We should put her someplace special,” remarked Ayane, Julie nodding in agreement. Working together the pair made Rachel stand up at attention and then carried her by her legs and shoulders into the next room, which happened to be the sleep one. Over a dozen mannequins, virtually all female, were sprawled around the room as if asleep. The crowning mannequin was one that resembled African-American modeling sensation Tonya Cash with a rag being held over her mouth as her arms were raised in alarm, her eyes wide as she wore nothing but a black two-piece bikini while the statue behind her resembled Jessica Alfa and was dressed the same way, a smiling face visible as she held the cloth in place. The pair carried Rachel and onto the display, carefully removing the Tonya mannequin from Jessica's grip and placing Rachel there instead, making the cheerleader appear to slump into her arms with her eyes closed now. The Tonya statue was then casually dumped behind a nearby bed where it wouldn't be seen. A picture was then taken of Rachel as she was.

               “Hang on, I just came up with an idea to make this better,” Kat suddenly realized, gesturing for Ayane to follow. Shrugging, the Japanese girl followed Kat to where she was dragging her running sister Julie away from the cheerleaders and taking a picture of the rest. Getting the idea, Ayane proceeded to tear up the original which now only caused Julie to unfreeze.

               “Nice job on the security guard statue, it fooled everyone from the looks of things,” remarked Julie with a smile, glancing at her four companions and then frowning when she couldn't see Rachel. “What's the deal?”

               “When we unfreeze them I want you to head back, seemingly trying to save Rachel,” explained Kat. “We'll move Carla to the wet room so the girls will want to turn back even if they don't want to follow you. Rachel's in the sleep room and now a part of the display. Whenever one of you steps onto the elevated area we'll freeze the one who did so, making it look like its turning you into mannequins.”

               “I like it,” smiled Julie, nodding. “Okay, lets do it.” Handing Ayane the camera, Julie and Kat moved and grabbed Carla, putting her exactly where it was planned. After that the twins returned and both took up positions. Kat was now standing where Ayane had been in more or less the same pose while Julie casually walked in place next to Michelle. Knowing the plan, Ayane froze Kat and then hid with the Tonya mannequin, promptly tearing up the photo of the four cheerleaders.

               “Rachel!” Julie suddenly exclaimed. Ayane watched with glee as Julie turned around and rushed back in an apparent attempt to aid the head cheerleader.

               “Julie, don't, you'll just-oh crap, turn!” shouted Michelle, clearly planning to ignore her teammate until she saw the Carla ambush that was in place. The plan had clearly worked when the four turned to follow Julie, how had arrived in the sleep room and was now looking at Rachel in fake concern.

               “What's Rachel playing at?” asked Kelli, confused.

               “Oh god, its happening again!” wailed Pamela, clearly ready to faint once more, her nerves long since shot.

               “She's just having fun I think,” remarked Brianne, who was glancing back at where Kat was standing in the other room.

               “Lets just grab her and get out of here,” insisted Michelle, stepping up onto the platform with Julie in tow. As soon as the duo had both feet on the display area Ayane fired off a flash, freezing the five cheerleaders as they were. Pamela was leaning on Kelli for support as both seemed unfocused on the pair set to retrieve their captain while Brianne was still looking back at Kat. Michelle was about to step forward, her arms semi-raised as she looked at Rachel in annoyance, clearly thinking it was a prank. Julie meanwhile stood still, no kind of stepping from her legs, her right hand brushing the side of her head while her left gestured forward slightly, caution being her look. It was an easy matter for Ayane to step out and take a new picture of just the two adventurous cheerleaders. Following this Kat's picture was torn up and the blond came over to inspect the scene.

               “Yes, this is perfect,” smiled Kat, crouching down behind the bed with Ayane.

The Japanese girl grinned and tore up the former photo of the five, causing Brianne to immediately jump. “What in tarnation...?” began the southern belle.

               “Julie, Michelle?!” Pamela suddenly shrieked, completing her fainting cycle by doing so again when neither of the named cheerleaders moved.

               “Oh, nice one girls, now she's all but wet herself,” groaned Kelli, carefully putting her friend down as Brianne looked at her friends in confusion. “Okay, seriously, knock it-” Kelli was cut-off in mid-sentence as she stepped up onto the display, reaching out to touch Michelle when the camera flash-froze her and Brianne, though Pamela was most likely not since she'd fallen below eye-level.

               “Fast,” warned Ayane as Kat got up and quickly moved, getting a lone picture of Kelli and then ducking back down behind the bed to tear up the original.

               “Come on Pammy, wake up,” insisted Brianne, shaking her friend once she was unfrozen. “Kelli, can you... wait, oh no...” The brunette groaned loudly as she saw what had become of the other blond and stood up from where Pamela was. “Okay, are you all in on this?” Brianne reached out and touched Kelli's leg, which Kat figured was good enough. Sure enough the girl's eyes went wide when she realized Kelli wasn't playing and fell backwards, a flash going off as she went. The brunette clattered against the floor, sounding more like a fallen toy than a person due to the sudden rigidity.

               “Okay, time for the big finish,” decreed Ayane, standing up and walking over as Kat took a snapshot of the still unconscious Pamela. Nodding in agreement, the two blonds went to work. First Rachel was removed from the Jessica Alfa mannequin's grasp and the Tonya statue was returned to her place. Next all six cheerleaders were returned, one at a time, to the wet room where Carla still stood, all six posed to be standing at attention for simplicity. Next Carla was moved into the sleep room, well out of sight. Following this after a brief discussion a picture was taken of Julie before anything else was done. Michelle, Brianne, Kelli and Pamela were then positioned to be standing in front of a different display, Michelle holding Brianne and Kelli grasping Pamela as both girls were in a state of fainting. Rachel and Julie, meanwhile were put up on the display and made to assume artificial-looking poses. Julie stood leaning to her right with her right hand up near her ear, her fingers spread as if she'd just flicked a bang, her left arm raised at the elbow and seemingly gesturing towards Rachel while no clear expression was on her face. Rachel meanwhile had her left hand on her hip with her right arm gesturing upwards at the elbow, her index finger extended with the rest of her hand in a sort of loose fist. Rachel, like Julie, had no real expression, making them both look like real mannequins.

               “I love it, sighed Kat, smiling as she and Ayane moved to hide behind the Kayley Wu shower display from earlier. When ready the pair tore up the necessary pictures to free the four that weren't on the platform area.

               Confused exclamations sounded as the four girls tried to access the situation and both Ayane and Kat tried hard not to laugh from their hiding spot. “I'm getting the hell out of here!” screamed Michelle at last, dashing for the door along with Kelli, the latter carrying Pamela. As the three exited Brianne stirred, stood, screamed and followed the same actions as the others, running off into the night.

               “Score one for the Raptors!” cheered Ayane, standing up and dancing in happiness after it was over.

               “Yeah!” agreed Kat. “Okay, if you can unfreeze Julie and get her to help you with Rachel as well as unfreeze Carla I'll go handle Chris,” insisted the athletic twin, handing her friend the camera. Ayane nodded and the plan was put into practice.

               Arriving upstairs Kat smiled as she tore up the picture of Chris and walked in, casually tossing the picture scraps she'd collected over the night into a nearby bin. “Hey, did you catch it?” asked the blond, walking up to her friend.

               “No, what happened?” asked Chris, shrugging.

               “Classic stuff, they ditched some of their own,” grinned Kat, shifting a bit as she stood in front of the guard. “They're all gone now and Carla doesn't seem to know so we're good.”

               “Hilarious,” chuckled Chris, shaking his head. “Always nice to put that bitch Rachel in her place. Yeah she does those charity events but she does that for her, not the community.”

               “Not to mention she shot you down twice,” recalled Kat, nodding thoughtfully.

               “Well yeah, there's that too,” agreed Chris, who was then surprised by a warm hug by the soccer player. The guard awkwardly returned the sentiment and a moment later their arms parted but they remained standing close, the pair easily sharing each other's air. There was silence for several seconds.

               “I should probably make sure Ayane and Julie are out safely,” remarked Kat, reluctantly stepping away.

               “Yeah...” agreed Chris, nodding and suppressing a sigh. “Take care of yourself, Kat.”

               “You too Chris,” offered Kat as she left, making sure to collect the two coats.

               Outside Kat was surprised to see Ayane but no Julie, the blond standing by the truck they'd borrowed from Chrissy Pak. The plan had been to freeze Rachel and then release her in the morning out in the middle of campus with no shoes, making it look like she was taking a walk of shame. “Where's Julie?” Kat asked curiously, only to realize too late that the girl was holding the camera behind her back. With a flash the blond was frozen in place, her eyebrow raised and her arms at her sides, her right foot forward.

               “Surprise, I'm going to have a little bit of fun before we return to the plan,” revealed Ayane to her stiffened companion, who walked over and give her a lingering kiss. “This is for calling dibs on saying goodbye to Chris.” Almost exploding with excitement at being able to play with the soccer captain and head cheerleader, Ayane lifted up Kat and dropped her into the back on top of her sister aad Rachel, both still in their earlier mannequin poses.

The End