Chapter 5 - Late night at the museum
The skylight in the museum roof cracked open slightly
allowing a sliver of moonlight to shine down on a deserted exhibit floor.
A few moments later, a thin beam of light flickered from a handheld flashlight
that extended through the opening. After a minute or two, a long rope
was extended down stopping short of the floor by about 30 feet or so.
A slinky female figure started to scramble down the rope clad in skin-tight
black latex. She had a bag slung around her neck as her eyes seemed to
dart around looking for any movements while she slowly descended. The
woman known as the Catwoman had not gained her reputation as a master cat burglar
by being unprepared or foolhardy.
Once she reached the end of the rope, she took out a
tiny bag from her satchel and sprinkled dust downward as she twirled acrobatically
in a circle, looking like a performer in a circus act. Catwoman looked
down as she spun, expecting to see the faint beams of the museum's alarm system
become visible but none showed up. Puzzled yet still extremely aware,
she leapt off the rope towards the floor. She landed lightly, catlike,
in a squat position ready to jump for the dangling rope the instant the wails
of an alarm sounded. Hearing nothing save for her own breathing, Catwoman
stood up and glanced around the shadow filled gallery. "This is almost
too purrfect!" she thought to herself. She then turned her flashlight upwards
towards the skylight and flicked it off and on several times rapidly.
Several seconds later, a long green vine began to unfurl
through the open skylight. As it stretched downward, a lithe woman could
be seen clinging to it. Clad in a bright olive green body suit with matching
boots, she smiled as she looked around the deserted area. Known
to law enforcement officials worldwide as the insane criminal going by the name
Poison Ivy, she was widely known for her fanatical devotion to all plants to
the point where she valued them far above humanity - who she regarded in general
as not worthy of sharing the earth with her beloved plants.
Once she neared the floor, Ivy hopped off the vine, paused
a moment, then looked at her fellow criminal. "Did you take care of the alarms
and any guards here already, my dear?" she asked her feline counterpart.
Catwoman looked back at Ivy with an evil grin on her
face. " Nothing to take care of - no alarms or signs of security guards anywhere.
This is going to be sooo easy!" she purred.
Ivy looked around warily, noting "I don't care how deserted
this place looks. Keep on your toes 'till we both get what we came for
and get the heck out of here. This place gives me the creeps..." she whispered
as she pulled out a small photo to glance at with her flashlight.
Catwoman looked over the villainous plant lady's shoulder.
" You're breaking into a museum with me and all you want to take is some rock
with a dead plant embedded in it? Why don't ya steal something that's
worth something, like a nice golden sculpture?" she hissed.
The green-clad Ivy glanced at her fellow criminal with
a steely look of disdain. "That rock - as you put it - is a fossilized
plant that has been extinct for millions of years. I have a friend in
the scientific community who, with an adequate supply of money and equipment,
may be able to extract the DNA and possibly help me bring the plant back to
life." Ivy said with determination.
"That woman's watched way too many Jurassic
dinosaur flicks if she really believes that!" Catwoman thought to herself.
"Well, while you're off doing that, I'll be picking up a rare statue recently
found during an archeological dig in lower Egypt. It's said to be one
of the earliest depictions of the rulers' devotion to Bast, the cat goddess,
and its value has yet to be determined. I intend to display it in a far
more appropriate place than in this garish hall to be gawked at by people who
don't appreciate cats like I do." She said as she coiled up her cat-of-nine
tails whip.
"Always with those damn cats! I wish she'd
just shut up and leave me to getting my precious plant already." Poison
Ivy seethed as she stalked off towards the opposite end of the museum.
She passed several displays featuring prominent contemporary artists and
another diorama that celebrated women's work past and present with figures wearing
everything from maid and settler attire to present day figures of women in today's
business professions.
If Ivy had stopped for a second, she might have noticed
a recent addition to the still figures depicting women in the police and nursing
professions. Dressed in a security guard's uniform a tall female stood
next to them, motionless, with a flashlight gripped in her rigid right hand.
Her red hair seemed tussled and out of place next to the carefully prepared
dummies in the display. Also her uniform jacket and blouse were both unbuttoned
down to just above her plastic breasts, showing ample cleavage. If the
light had been a little brighter, Ivy might have noticed too the rings, necklace,
watch and other jewelry that would have looked out of place on a normal mannequin.
The look of surprise captured on the figure 's face
might have also given Poison Ivy some clue to the fate that awaited her but
she was so set upon her rescue mission that she completed ignored everything
around her as she made her way to the area which displayed the fossilized fern
she wanted.
The plant-obsessed villainess found several displays
dedicated to various plant species throughout history with showcases set up
to display rare types. Poison Ivy immediately started looking into these
cases with the flashlight she held in her right hand, moving back in time with
every step to the left. She was interrupted by a booming voice from across
the room that caused her to flinch momentarily.
"Poison Ivy! Thank you for showing up with your fellow
criminal Catwoman here tonight. You gave me just enough notice to shut
down the alarm system and remove any other - obstacles - that might have interfered
with our meeting." the fake Power Girl shouted.
Poison Ivy glared at the sarcastic lycra-clad woman
and gasped a little when she saw the sneering face of Power Girl. "What
the hell are you doing here? Isn't this a little off your normal beat?
Don't you have jaywalkers or treed cats to save somewhere else?" the red-haired
villainess snapped as her free hand slithered into the shoulder bag she was
carrying.
The clone stepped forward into the light and pointed
at Ivy. "You are on the selection list provided to me by the Auctioneer.
Prepare to changed into what he desires for his auction, plant lady! " she snarled.
"I don't plan on being rooted to the ground like a California
redwood just yet. Change this, bitch! " Poison Ivy shouted as she threw
a green object towards the ersatz heroine.
When the object made contact with Power Girl's arm,
it started to expand - seeming to unwrap itself - and grow larger by the second
becoming a long green vine with sharp barbs visible all over. In a matter
of seconds, the vine had stretched and wrapped itself around the squirming woman,
completely encasing her lithe body within a green net that was quickly contracting.
Poison Ivy smiled an evil satisfied grin. "I traded
up for this little pretty quite some time ago. The woman whom I obtained
it from says it's supposed to originate from the same planet you originally
came from. The vine snake is carnivorous in nature, using those barbs
to paralyze its victims before dragging them off for slow digestion while slowly
squeezing the air out of them. That unpleasant fate should keep you occupied
for quite some time while I obtain what I came for," she sneered at the prone
super hero lying on the floor, dragged down by the weight of the vines that
were writhing all over her.
Ivy then turned back to the showcase row and, after
locating the one she desired, began to work the simple lock with a slender pick
that resembled a rose thorn. She had just opened the display case when
she heard a loud RIPP!!!! sound behind her.
She looked up then around to see Power Girl picking
herself off the ground and throwing the remains of the vines aside. Before
Ivy could reach into her bag for another weapon or even move away, Power Girl
had closed the few steps that separated them, seized Ivy by the throat, and
thrown her through the air as if she were a rag doll. Ivy impacted hard
against a tall pedestal that stood in the center of a large ornamental fountain
and fell at its base. The statue on top of the pedestal teetered for a
second, then slowly toppled over and crashed into the water just missing the
dazed woman but soaking her green leotard.
As Ivy slowly staggered to her feet, she began to feel
extremely weary as the strength started to drain from her limbs. Suddenly,
she felt herself being grabbed by Power Girl in a viselike grip. As she
struggled weakly, Ivy felt her costume being ripped from her body with a few
swipes from Power Girl's strong hands. Nude and now completely unable
to move or talk at all, Ivy felt her arms being positioned for her as
her left hand was placed at her hip and her right hand placed on her ass in
a seductive pose. Her head was being tilted upward with her mouth slightly
opened and pursed into a smile. Ivy was powerless to stop what was being done
to her.
At the same time, she felt her skin starting to change as
it was growing taut and stiff. "What is she doing to me? She's
never had this kind of ability before... my skin.. changing color... turning
white!!" thought Ivy frantically as she felt herself being
lifted onto the pedestal by Power Girl. All blemishes and freckles disappeared
from her skin as the marbleizing transformation enveloped her body. Her nipples
grew erect and rock hard as the effect spread to her chest, turning her bosom
into twin mounds of smooth stone. Between her legs, her sex had smoothed
over with the few remaining strands of pubic hair now hardened into streaks
of polished carved marble.
"Statue..no... plant.... must.... ooohhh... nooooo!!!!!"
Ivy mentally screamed incoherently as the petrifying wave enveloped her head.
Her eyes paled into two orbs of pure white. Ivy's mind finally turned
to stone; any internal thoughts of her plight were frozen as her stupefying
transformation into an erotic work of art was complete.
The evil clone reached up and gently touched the smooth
mouth of the new statue for several seconds. When she pulled back her
hand, a stream of clear water streamed forth from Ivy's open marble mouth into
the fountain pool, creating an awe inspiring sight. Power Girl smiled
wickedly. "I think she turned out even better than the Auctioneer had intended.
Perhaps I'll wrap some of those vines around her bosom later on for an artistic
touch! Good-bye, Plant Girl - Ha Ha!!" she laughed maniacally. The statue that
was Poison Ivy continued to spurt water into the air.
The evil clone then turned to leave the hall with a
determined look on her lovely face. "One down; one to go. Now for a perfect
porcelain pussycat, methinks! Heere, kitty, kitty, kitty..." she sneered as
she stalked forward, searching for her next victim. Suddenly, alarms went
off throughout the building and the lights came on full force all over the museum.
"Damn! That stupid cat bitch must have turned the
power back on..." thought Power Girl as she ran out into the main foyer
of the museum building. She quickly looked around but saw no sign of the
latex clad villainess. Shrugging, she quickly retrieved the fountain where
the lifelike statue stood and, hefting the whole thing on her shoulder like
a paperweight, splashing water all over the floor, she flew out the building's
skylight with a mighty CRASH!!
A few minutes later, a shadowy figure emerged from the bushes
just outside the museum. Catwoman looked deep in her bag at the statue
of Bast she had taken before fleeing at the last moment, then said to herself:
"Power Girl and the Auctioneer working together and transforming people into
frozen artworks are not part of this kitty's plans," she purred, looking
towards the sky. "I'll have to make a few arrangements and then skip town for
a while before they try to take any more of this cat's nine lives..."
Catwoman stalked off to the accompaniment of approaching police sirens knowing
just how close she had come to sharing Poison Ivy's stony fate.
Next : Big and brawny..... plus the fate of the original Power Girl