You and your friends have had this discussion lots of time, and your three powers of choice flash through your mind in a heartbeat. The paper in your fingers starts to get warm and out of shock you drop it. It bursts into flame and is gone in a flash of light and a wisp of smoke before it hits the floor. The runes on the costume start to heat up and it feels like they are grafting onto your skin. The feeling is unpleasant but not painful, but it is surprising as hell.
You leave the changing room to ask Madame Vi...viv...whatever the hell her name was...exactly what is going on. She's still at the counter and doesn't seem to be paying attention to you. You feel your courage rise as you take the few steps through the racks to get to the counter and she looks up at you.
"Oh Oui! Zat is an exzellent fit!" she says, her eyes roaming over your body.
"The costume felt...there was this slip of paper..." you say, your words falling on deaf ears as her eyes fall to your spandex covered crotch.
"Ooh la la," you hear her whisper and then her face snaps back to yours. "Zis is a very special costume shop," she says in her thick accent. "It has very special costumes, no?"
"No...er...yes," you say, your brain wrapping around what she's saying. "Are you trying to tell me...the paper..."
"Why don't you try zem?" she says with a knowing look and a twinkle in her eye.
You quickly look to one of the mirrors in the shop and concentrate on becoming invisible. You start to feel foolish after three seconds when nothing happens and then you realize you don't see your reflection in the mirror! You focus on becoming visible again and there you are!
"Invisibility, very good choice," she says in her accent.
Looking around for something heavy, you find one of the props for another costume, a replica of Thor's Hammer, and you tap it against your hand. You feel it, but it doesn't hurt. Looking at the clerk, then back at your hand, you raise the hammer and bring it down on your hand, hard.
"OH FUCKING CHRIST!" you scream in pain. You hit it hard enough to shatter the bones in your hand but they remain intact, but it hurts like a motherfucker.
"tsk tsk tsk...Indestructability does not mean painleznez. Be careful," she taunted. You look at her and throw her a stern look.
"What waz your third zelection?" she asked, leaning on the counter, her gauzy blouse falling open, revealing a lot of cleavage under those 60's clothes.
|