At The Wonderland Spa and Resort Pt. 02

The room was small and cylindrical. An alternating system of lights and reflecting mirrors lined the walls. A circular platform, made of glass, rested in the center, flush with the floor. Concentric circles were etched or painted on its surface.

Two glass columns rose from either side of the platform. Handles jutted out from both. Alex looked closer and saw they were adjustable for height. A clipboard with a paper hung from one. A strange pair of glasses and a bathing cap hung off the other.

"You done looking around kid?" a voice said, startling him. It rose from a hidden speaker. "Take the clipboard, read the paper, sign it."

Alex frowned but he took the clipboard. The paper contained the usual disclaimers.

Basically, if they fuck up, and fuck me up, they're not at fault.

Alex was young, but he knew the game. I shouldn't do this. I don't know what this place is. It's so weird... but it's six hundred dollars, and how bad can it be? He signed.

"Now put it in that slot to your left."

Alex complied.

"Now, go stand between the pillars. Put on the glasses and cap, and grasp the handles."

Alex did as instructed. Before he put them on, Alex took a brief look at himself in the mirror. How the fuck did I get into this?

Alex never considered himself handsome, or even cute. Other people thought the opposite for some reason he couldn't understand.

He had a well-cut bowl of reddish-brown hair, deep set green eyes, a pug nose, and full lips on a wide mouth.

His skin was lightly bronzed from lawn mowing work, he did for a neighbor two days earlier. He'd taken off his shirt, and only wore shorts and sandals for the hot, muggy day. "I shouldn't have done that," he thought with hindsight.

The neighbor, Miss Minnie Doramus, gave him some ice tea, but kept looking at him funny. Plus, he freckled easily in the sun, as evinced by the march of freckles across his face, upper shoulders, and forearms.

Also his skin was lighter around his groin and ass, giving him a distracting tan line.

His height was average, 5'8", with a body just above slender but less than stocky. He wasn't athletic. His muscle tone came more from yard work than sports. His erudite uncle liked to describe him as blue collar Celtic.

Alex's face annoyed him the most. It wasn't overly masculine, but round and smooth-cheeked, giving him a boyish appearance. Less mature than he wanted. His high school English teacher noted this feature, and his pug nose, saying Alex would make a good Huckleberry Finn, or Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream, or Peter Pan, or Artful Dodger.

Most of his body hair sat on his lower body, and underarms, with a mat of pubic hair, and hairy legs. The rest of his body, including his face, mostly contained peach fuzz. His forearms were especially fuzzy.

"If you can stop gawking at yourself, and put the glasses on, we can get this over with, and I can have my tea," the annoyed Amazon said, shaking Alex from his reverie.

"Dammit," he thought, examining the glasses. The lens were small and tinted, just large enough for his eyes. Two coverings spread from wires on either side.

"Put it on kid. It looks strange but it's designed to cover eyes and eyebrows. I adjusted them myself. The sticky pads will hold them in place. Hurry up, I don't have all day."

Alex put the glasses on and reached for the cap. He slicked back his still damp hair, and put the cap over his head. The tinted glasses darkened the view.

"Now, stand between the pillars and grasp the handles. Place your feet on the lit part of the platform."

The area between one of the outer concentric circles lit up with an impression of a foot on either side. Alex did as told. The handles raised slightly at his touch, so his arms were spread straight to either side of him. The placement of his feet spread his legs.

"Now, I'm going to take you through the procedure. Don't let go, no matter what. I might give you a bonus after this, if it works."

"That seems good," Alex thought, nervously.

"Hatta, begin."

"Turning on ultraviolet," a lightly accented voice said.

A darker, blue hue replaced the bright, silvery light illuminating the room. Alex's skin changed color.

"Shit!" he cursed, on seeing himself in the mirror. The hair on his body glowed. His invective stemmed from the thousands of black spots appearing on his skin, head to toe.

"Well, I see the dye worked, at least."

"Wait! That stuff you made me drink was dye?!"

"Of course. We needed a dye to highlight your hair follicles and cells. Don't worry, it's harmless. Now, close your mouth, and keep it closed. Hatta?"

"Commencing chemical hair removal."

"Hair removal," he thought, "This is it."

The inner circle under his body opened to expose a drain. Panels, in the wall and floor, slid back to reveal nozzles. The nozzles sprayed a fine mist on Alex's body. The mist smelled slightly acrid, and tingled when it landed on his skin.

Alex was sprayed until thoroughly drenched. Some mist entered his nose, causing a sneeze. The nozzles stopped. Alex had time to think, "That wasn't so ba... Yike!" An unnoticed nozzle spritzed his butt crack, balls, and taint. The close proximity, and jet force, put hair remover partially into his rectum.

"Very funny," Alex shouted to a brief burst of laughter from the speaker.

"Oh, don't be a baby kid," the Lady laughed back.

Alex fumed as the drenching continued for several more minutes. The spray stopped. Alex waited another minute.

"Commencing rinse."

The nozzles opened up again, this time with a shower. The water ran down the open drain, along with Alex's body hair.

"Commencing drying procedure."

The panels closed, the black light switched off. A ceiling fan pumped warm air into the chamber, while heating lamps in the walls switched on.

"I hope this place doesn't accidentally cook me," Alex thought. It took a few minutes for Alex and the room to dry.

"Is that it?" he asked. The lady stopped him before he could take his hands off the handles.

"Not yet. Hold that pose."

"Commencing laser/IPL process."

"Laser? IPL?"

"Intense pulsed light," answered Hatta. "The system uses a combination."

The room returned to ultraviolet. Alex heard an electric hum. The drain underneath his body slid aside to make way for a new object.

It rose out of the hole, looking like a bejeweled mushroom. Another object descended from the ceiling. A large, round ball, also bejeweled, and connected to a pole. It hovered close to his face.

Alex felt nervous. Like I'm in a microwave.

It didn't help when the panels slid back, to reveal an array of thousands of glowing objects. Like needles with jewels on their tips.

"Okay Alex, I'm going to explain. The 'mushroom' and ball are lasers. They'll take care of those tiny little stubs left behind by the chemicals. Like removing tree trunks."

"What are those little needles in the walls?"

"You'll find out in a moment. Hatta."

"Beginning laser treatment."

The jewels on the mushroom and ball glowed. A soft hum vibrated from both. Alex expected to hear laser sounds, like light sabers. Instead, the ball hovered close, the little lights winking on and off. The mushroom echoed the ball's function.

Tiny pinpoints of light flashed upon his skin. It wasn't comfortable; they felt like tiny pinpricks. It wasn't painful either.

The ball and mushroom maneuvered about his body. Alex realized, gradually, the shape of the ball and mushroom allowed the lasers to access all areas.

The mushroom moved between his spread legs to get his inner thighs, balls, taint, and lower butt crack. The ball moved across his face, underarms, and around his arms and back, down his chest, to his belly, groin, and legs.

The process repeated several times until the lasers switched off.

"Looks like the laser treatment works. How do you feel Alex?"

"Um, my skin kind of tingles. Are we done?"

"Wait a few minutes. Hold that pose. The lasers automatically switch off when they no longer detect hair. At least the hair not protected by your cap and glasses. Everything else, we have to scan to make sure."

"More lasers."

"Relax."

The laser scans came from the walls. Alex stood patiently until they finished.

"Scan complete. No hair stubs detected," Hatta said.

"Good, the laser treatment works. Hatta, start the electrolysis treatment."

"Electrolysis? What's that?" Alex asked, then shouted, "Geep!" Binders erupted from the platform and floor, and looped around his wrists and ankles.

"What the fuck?!" Alex yelled, squirming helplessly.

"Keep calm, Alex. It's just to keep you from moving too much during the process."

"Process?!"

The ball and mushroom retracted back into the ceiling and floor.

"Applying skin anesthetic," Hatta said.

Once again, Alex was drenched over every inch of his body.

"Okay, wait a few minutes to let it work," the Lady said.

"Think of the money, think of the money," Alex chanted like a mantra.

"Okay, long enough, rinse and dry him."

The water spray felt different. Alex noticed, "I don't feel it."

"The anesthetic will keep your skin numb for an hour or so," the Lady said. "It makes it easier on you."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"It won't take long, Alex."

The hot air and heating lamps followed a second later. Once he was dry, Hatta said, "Commencing electrolysis."

The curved panels with the needles came from the walls. Alex noticed thousands, possibly millions of needles randomly advancing and retracting. He was reminded of a stalking predator with gnashing teeth.

"I should have said no," he moaned.

"Hold still Alex. It helps if you keep your face blank."

"It's kind of difficult ma'am."

"It won't hurt... much."

"That's not comforting."

One of the panels moved to his face. Some of the needles retracted, while others configured into strange ridges and contours.

"What...?" Alex started, until realizing the needles were configuring to fit his face, like a mask.

"Your body and face have been thoroughly scanned," the Lady said, "So the needles know what to do."

"And what are they going to do?" he gulped.

"Just keep still."

The panels moved until they stopped bare millimeters from his body, from head to toe. Then the hair-thin needles began the work. The Lady was right. It didn't hurt... much.

"There are approximately five million hair follicles on the human body," the Lady said, "Looking Glass is designed to cover all of them."

The needles probed every square inch, from his face, to his feet, front, and back; over and under his arms; his groin, his pubic area, ass, crack, even his taint and balls. The panels bent, tilted, and warped, making sure to insert the hair fine needles into all his follicles.

Each needle emitted a spark of electricity, for less than a split second, before withdrawing. The process was performed thousands of times per second, by thousands of needles. The electricity destroyed the germ cells in the follicles.

There were brief pauses while Alex's body was scanned for remaining germ cells, displayed in a layout on a screen, in the control room.

The electrolysis machine went over his body several times, until scans showed all germ cells were destroyed.

"Okay Alex, it looks like we're done. Do you want another probe, Hatta?"

"Yes ma'am, just to be sure."

"Wait Alex."

"Damn," Alex thought.

The final probe did turn up a few missed follicles. The machine took care of them. Final scans satisfied Hatta.

"I think we're finally done, Ma'am."

"Good, okay. Alex, you can come out now."

The panels withdrew back into the wall. The binders unclasped.

Alex took off the cap and glasses. He was not happy. His skin tingled, and he seriously questioned not asking for more money.

"Leave the cap and glasses in the bin," the Lady said, from the speaker.

Alex stomped, actually padded, nude and barefoot, out of the hair removal chamber.

The Lady was there, as was another woman. The Lady wore a superior smirk on her face. The other woman was obviously younger, Asian, dressed in a bright purple tee, jeans with a splattered paint design, and horn-rimmed glasses. She wore a gold-colored baseball cap, the words "Style 10/6" emblazoned in rainbow colors on its side.

"Figures she'd buy clothes from that store," Alex thought, with some disdain. Style 10/6 was one of those youth pandering clothing outfits all the "cool" kids went to. As it stood, the girl was pixie cute. Her face held no expression, but Alex noticed a hint of amusement.

Alex knew he should be embarrassed. Another girl was seeing him naked, but he didn't care at this stage. He wanted an explanation.

"What were those needle things?!"

"It looks like the treatment worked, Ms. Hart."

"It does indeed. We're going to make a fortune." Ms. Hart, the Lady, the scarlet-headed Amazon, whose name seemed familiar to Alex, strode up to the young man, smiling wryly.

"Congrats kid. You just became the first to experience the Looking Glass Epilation and Electrolysis Chamber."

"Epilation? That's what they call hair removal?"

"Yep, and you experienced all the levels, chemical, laser, and electrolysis for free, and you're male, and you're getting paid."

Alex knew about chemical and laser hair removal, but not electrolysis. He asked again.

"It's an old procedure, over a century old. Basically, tiny needles are inserted into your hair follicles, and use electricity to kill the cells that make hair. It's permanent. You're not going to worry about shaving for the rest of your life."

Alex dropped his jaw. He brought his hands to his face; smooth, without a hint of stubble or peach fuzz. He looked down, at his bare, hairless chest, his hairless belly, his hairless pubes, his smooth, hairless legs. He didn't know what to think.

Alex wasn't a fan of beards or mustaches but, sometimes, the idea of growing one or the other popped into his head; just to see what it would look like. The thought of no longer having hair on his body, excepting his head and eyebrows, seemed strange.

"You signed the waiver, Alex. Look on the bright side. You'll save tons of money on razors and shaving cream."

"This... isn't... quite what I... uh."

"You just tested out a new machine and got out intact. It usually takes days, even weeks, to get rid of hair, permanently. This machine does it in just two hours. Tell you what, I'll give you a four hundred dollar bonus for being a good sport. That's an even thou. How do you like that?"

Alex did indeed like that. It alleviated the embarrassment and outrage a little.

The Double Dees steal my clothes. The world's hottest model saves my ass from getting arrested. And a smoking hot redhead sticks me in a machine that takes away most of my body hair. How much weirder can the day get?

"So how do you feel?" Ms. Hart asked.

"Huh?"

"Any problems?"

"Um, my skin tingles, and it's starting to itch a little."

"Hatta, get the oil from the locker room."

"Oil?"

"Just wait a second, Alex."

Hatta returned with a bottle and tossed it to Alex. "Rub this on."

Alex opened the bottle and sniffed. It smelled like lavender.

"Go on," Ms. Hart said.

Alex rubbed himself from head to toe. The itch and tingle subsided. After getting his back (with some help from Hatta, a somewhat brief, but awkward rub on), he handed her the bottle.

"Well," Ms. Hart said, "Come along. I've got to show you to the investors."

"Huh?"

"You're still in my employ. If you're good, I might even give you another bonus."

Alex's head spun. His instincts told him to start running, screw the cops, but weirdness, plus curiosity, overrode them. He didn't resist as Ms. Hart grabbed his arm and, with Hatta following, led him away.

To Be Continued.