Future Girl in: The Gauntlet!

ZO- The Future Suit stopped in mid ZOIT, even as Future Girl cringed in anticipation of the next impact. Doctor Malevolent was back at his chair, fiddling with some buttons.

"Ah, yes, I should have told you earlier. The impetus for my invitation was an astounding discovery I made regarding your Future Suit. I'm nowhere near understanding its mechanisms completely, of course, but I believe I've reverse engineered a portion of its operation. Just a portion, mind you. Specifically, the portion that controls the release of absorbed energy."

Future Girl kept kicking helplessly, but Doctor Malevolent's monologue had given her an opportunity to reassert her superheroic mental training. She pushed the waves of pain still emanating from her twitching hinder aside and began to focus on getting out of her present predicament.

"It's all quite technical, and I wouldn't expect you to understand, but the short version of the story is that I've reversed the direction of outflow. The suit still functions the same way. It absorbs attacks, multiplies the energy, then unleashes that energy. Only now it will unleash it inwardly, on you, rather than outwardly. Oh, and for fun, I've figured out a way to modify the multiplier, overclock it, so to speak. It now multiplies force a hundred fold."

Future Girl started to panic. If what Doctor Malevolent said was true, and thus far the evidence seemed to support it, she was in deep trouble. With a press of a button, she had gone from an overwhelming powerhouse to an eggshell victim. Now, every blow struck against her would be made a hundred times more powerful! The fear she had pushed to the back of her mind welled up to the forefront. She felt terror she had not felt since she first donned the Future Suit. Her kicking became more insistent as she began to push upward on the ceiling with her still-wedged arms, trying to pry herself out of the hole she had made.

"Now, I don't want you bouncing around this room forever like a ping-pong ball, so I've temporarily stopped your suit's absorption mechanism. Only temporarily, though; your suit has defense mechanisms more clever than my traps, and it should be developing a countermeasure right about... Now!"

Future Girl felt a slight jolt as she felt the absorption mechanism reactivating. With all the pain in her ass, she had barely even registered that it was off. Now she had to tread very carefully...

"You seem to be in a bit of a jam! Perhaps I can be of assistance..."

Future Girl was getting exhausted from all the kicking and decided to see what Doctor Malevolent had planned for her next. The only thing more struggling would do would feed more kinetic energy into her future suit.

Doctor Malevolent snapped his fingers and a step ladder rose from a panel that slid aside in the floor. He carefully ascended the ladder until he was right beneath Future Girl's superior posterior.

"Now sit still so I can get you out of there. You won't feel a thing. At first. Then you'll feel it something fierce."

Future Girl cringed at the thought of what the doctor might be doing down there. If she could have seen him, she would have been even more worried. The doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small monogrammed cigarette lighter. He flipped it open, igniting a small flame, and placed it under Future Girl's perfectly round ass. He held it there a few seconds, until he heard the suit make a ZOIT sound, then scrambled as quickly as he could down the ladder in an attempt to get out of the way of Future Girl's expected reaction.

At first Future Girl thought nothing had happened. She had heard the ZOIT, but maybe it was just Doctor Malevolent playing with his little buttons again. In the mean time, her present position had made her legs and ass grow numb as her nerves were pinched by the tight hole she was lodged in. Suddenly, from out of the neck hole of her suit, a delicious smell emerged. A smell like... roasting ham. Future Girl enjoyed the smell for a second, then her eyes widened as she simultaneously realized what was going on and felt the fist wave of a renewed level of pain bursting through her pinched nerves.

"YYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOWWWWOOOOOOWWWWOOOOOOOOUUCH!!!!!!!!"

Future Girl felt like a jet engine had ignited in her pants. The heat from her ass was overwhelming, and for a while all she could see was white from the searing pain. Below, Doctor Malevolent enjoyed the show as her legs resumed kicking, this time with more urgency. He could see her shapely ass swelling as it pulsated from the intense heat being inflicted on it. Finally, all of Future Girl's struggles reached their fruition when the friction from her frantic flailing wore down the hole, widening it enough for her to slip out.

BANG! She landed on her feet and immediately started running. At this point, the pain had overwhelmed her higher consciousness and all she could think about was escape and dousing the fire. She ran circles around the room frantically searching for an exit, her hands clasping her enflamed buttocks. "AAAAAAHHHJEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZ" ZOIT! The suit's energy redirection catapulted her into the air using the energy absorbed from her fall. She was running at the time, and it looked like she had hopped onto a trampoline, tracing an arc through the air as her legs continued to pump. She landed on her feet and kept going.

"I believe, once again, that I may be able to offer some assistance," said Doctor Malevolent as he calmly cleaned his glasses, "If, that is, you want it."

"YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES," Future Girl kept repeating the word, her mind a broken record unable to do anything but grasp at the thin reed of hope the Doctor proffered.

The doctor stood up, in his right hand a glass of water.

"Now hold still a moment, you silly girl!"

Future Girl stopped running and began jogging in place, her hands still firmly on her flaming buttocks.

"Move the hands."

She took her hands off her ass and shoved them into her moth, biting down hard in the hopes that the pain in her hands would distract her from the fiery inferno in her pants. It didn't.

The doctor stood behind Future Girl and reached out with his left hand to lift up her cape. Taking careful aim, he reared his right hand back, then tossed the water out of the cup and onto Future Girl's ass.

The suit, as the suit was wont to do, absorbed the water. ZOIT!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DO SOMETHING! MAKE THE PAIN STOP NOWWW!!!"

And, as suddenly as it started, the burning pain in Future Girl's rear vanished, replaced with a smoldering, lingering ache. Future girl stopped running and leaned forward to catch her breath. Her hands were on her knees, her sensitive butt pushed out behind her. She now felt a wetness on her rear. A wetness that was increasing. It trickled down her legs into her boots. And the wetness kept growing, and grew more intense. She looked down and saw the pant legs of her future suit starting to bulge out, filling up with what she now realized was water.

"Oh, dear," she thought, "this is going to get worse before it gets better." The suit slowly inflated under the interior water pressure and Future Girl expanded like a water balloon. First her calves filled out, then the knees, the hips, the buttocks and crotch, the torso, the chest. As the expansion passed her waist, her belt struggled to contain her expanding girth before finally giving up the ghost. The buckle burst and sent the belt flying across the room like a bolt from a crossbow. The water began pouring into her sleeves and those began expanding as well, the wrists, the forearms, the elbows, the upper arms, the shoulders. The suit was now full to bursting. She looked like she was wearing one of those novelty inflatable sumo suits, her relatively tiny blonde head poking out of a big round body.

The pressure inside was building; she wasn't sure she could stand it much longer, pushing inward on her breasts, still sensitive from their earlier smashing, her ass, still singed, and the rest of her body. Then, as tends to happen, the laws of physics found a way to equalize the pressure. Water came bursting from the neck hole of her Future Suit, a mighty geyser shooting straight upward. Future Girl couldn't breath as the water flew up her nose and into her mouth, the flow cutting off her oxygen supply.

As the water ran out the pressure diminished. The geyser weakened, then ceased. Future Girl collapsed to her knees, hands on the floor, gasping for breath. The neck of her Future Suit had stretched and deformed, so that where it once fit tightly about her neck it now hung loosely from her shoulders, running about halfway down her back and displaying a generous amount of cleavage in the front.

Doctor Malevolent's heart raced as he looked at her coughing form on the floor. If he moved slightly he might just be able to see... but no. All in good time. He had work to do, now.

"I'm terribly sorry to leave you in such a state, but I'm afraid I have some other business to attend to. So if you'll just freeze right there for a moment..."

At that, Doctor Malevolent playfully tossed an ice cube at the soggy superheroine, hitting her on her back. She groggily turned her head to look at what had hit her.

ZOIT! "What the-" Suddenly, Future Girl felt chilly. It started with her back, then spread. She had never felt as cold in her life as she felt then, and it was only getting worse. As she realized what was happening, it dawned on her that she was suddenly being subjected to extreme cold while sitting in a pool of water, soaked from head to toe, with a Future Suit still retaining liquid. He eyes widened as she started trying to crawl away, hoping that this might improve her situation, without really having any idea of how. But in a flash, it was over. "NOOO-"

SHHHHIINK! Future Girl was frozen solid mid-crawl, on her hands and knees, her round ass thrust into the air, her back arched, her distended Super Suit barely covering the nipples of her pert breasts. Her mouth made an O while her eyes were wide open in horror.

Doctor Malevolent inspected his new ice sculpture.

"Why my dear, that's no position for a modest young superheroine to be in! In fact, if I didn't know better, I would say it looked like you were frozen in the middle of the climax of coitus in a most canine-like position! Obscene!"

Doctor Malevolent chuckled to himself. He wished he could stop right now and keep this obnoxious superheroine as she is, perhaps put her in the entryway as a warning to other meddlers. But no, her suit's self-preservation mechanisms would soon kick in, and then where would he be? He hobbled out of the room, rubbing his hands in anticipation of the icy heroine's next challenge.

About half an hour later, Future Girl blinked back into consciousness. She was still on the floor, mostly frozen, but she could feel warmth radiating from her Future Suit. Of course! The suit had self-preservation mechanisms built in to restore it to its original form in case the suit itself suffered damage! The suit was gradually defrosting itself and its occupant. Future Girl shivered as she pondered the mess she was in. What more horrors could the doctor have in store for her? She began to doubt the wisdom, not just of this adventure, but of superheroing in general.

Eventually the ice fully melted and she was free. She took her boots and gloves off to release the remaining water from her Future Suit, then replaced them. Her hair was a soaking mess, and she was still damp all over, but at least she was unfrozen and could look for a way out. Once fully defrosted, her suit began returning to its original shape. It was designed to mold itself to the form of its wearer, so in short order it was back to its usual skin-tight state.

Future Girl did another self-assessment. Her suit looked fine, though obviously Doctor Malevolent had perverted its programming. She had to find a way to reverse his interference. She had lost her belt. Her cape was soggy and stretched, but still wearable. Her domino mask was still affixed. She had on her soaking boots and gloves. As for herself, her face still smarted from the slap that started all of this, and her tits were sore from the subsequent blow. Her ass, though, was in ruins. She gingerly gave it a poke. "Owowowowow!" She gritted her teeth as pain shot through her rear. Pounded, seared, pressed by water, then frozen. She'd always been proud of her butt; she considered it one of her best features. Now it throbbed with pain at the slightest touch. If she got out of this alive, she probably wouldn't be able to sit for a month.

Future Girl inspected her surroundings. Plain white room. Puddle of water on the floor. The chair had disappeared, but now there was a door on the far wall. It seemed strangely out of place, a wooden door with a brass knob.

Future Girl walked toward the door. Her memory was hazy from all the physical abuse she had taken, but hadn't the Doctor said something about a door knob? She walked over to the door cautiously. She flattened herself against the wall next to the door, in case something nasty was waiting on the other side in ambush. Slowly, carefully, she inched her right hand toward the knob, gripped it lightly between two fingers, and turned.

Nothing.

She peeked into the room. Inside was a long hallway, sumptuously appointed, with portraits lining the walls. At least one was recognizably Doctor Malevolent, though notably younger. Future Girl walked into the room.

She sunk several inches with her first step. What is this on the ground?

"Ah, you're awake. Excellent. There are just a few more challenges for you, but I suspect they will be too much. Now, you've shown me that you could tackle my Tesla coils, but can you conquer... A SHAG CARPET?"

Future Girl looked more closely at the floor. Oh! It IS a shag carpet, in a rich green color. She stared quizzically, then shrugged. Maybe she was giving the doctor too much credit. Maybe he really was going senile and had gotten lucky with whatever he had done to her suit. She began to walk down the hall.

SLAM! The door closed shut behind her. She looked back, concerned. Still, there was nothing for her in the previous room. Onward and upward! Future Girl steeled her courage. She was a superhero! Even if her suit was malfunctioning, she still had the experience, the training, the heart of a hero. She would triumph! She had to!

Future Girl stood up straight and strode down the hall, making a bee-line to the door at the other end. It looked identical to the one she had entered through, solid wood, brass door handle. If Future Girl had been a little less courageous and a little more cautious, she might have noticed the hair on her head rising straight up as static from walking across the shag carpet built up in her body.

She reached out to grab the door handle.

ZZZT!

"Huh? What was..." ZOIT! "Oh no."

ZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!!! A sudden jolt of electricity shot through Future Girl's right arm, sending her flying backwards, her cape covering her head and fluttering in front of her as she flew with her arms and legs stretched forward. She hit the ground then slid along the shag, ten feet, fifteen feet, twenty feet, before coming to a stop when she hit the door she had come in through.

ZOIT!

"What could that bOOOOOOOOWWWWWCCCHHH!"

The most intense rug burn that any human has ever experienced was suddenly transferred by the Future Suit into Future Girl's already sensitive ass. The pain was unbearable, sharp and spread over the entire length of her butt. She began rubbing her butt furiously, still seated, her hands brushing the carpet as she went.

"JEEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-ZUS!"

As she kept rubbing her ass, her now-singed hair began rising again. The pain eventually subsided to a dull ache. Future Girl cautiously picked herself up off the floor, setting her hands on the ground to steady herself, then stretching her legs up to lift her butt off the ground.

"YAH!" shouted the voice of Doctor Malevolent through the now amplified speakers.

"Wha?!" the sudden loud noise startled Future Girl, and she stumbled backwards into the door, her ass striking the knob.

ZZT!

"Oh dear."

ZZZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPPP! Another bolt surged through Future Girl's ravaged buttocks, propelling her through the air and down the hall, her hands clasped to her ass.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

This time she flew a greater distance. She seemed about to crash into the far door when it suddenly swung open. She landed in a dark room on a hard floor, the momentum from her flight causing her to somersault forward until she came to a halt, face on the ground, ass in the air.

"Ow."

Future Girl had reached a point where she could no longer remember a time in her life when her ass was not the source of indescribable, unrelenting pain. It throbbed beneath her Future Suit with each beat of her heart, to the point where a nurse could take her pulse just by watching her hiney. The rest of her wasn't in much better shape. Her muscles ached from the electricity that had so recently surged through her body. Her face was slack, her boobs, mush. She lifted a trembling arm and began trying to push herself up. After a few failed attempts she managed to sit back on her haunches.

"SSSSSSSSS!"

This was a mistake. Her ass was in no state to be touched in any way. She repositioned herself onto her hands and knees. A few black strands found their way in front of her face. Future Girl grabbed them curiously. It took a few seconds for it to register that this was her hair, now singed beyond recognition. She put her hand up and rubbed her head, causing the ashen strands to crumble and fall off. Where she once had luxurious, shoulder-length blonde hair she now had a frayed, uneven, black-tinged pixie cut.

With a herculean effort, she managed to get back up onto her feet. Her vision was fuzzy, but she still tried to make sense of her surroundings. The only thing she could make out was a white-grey-yellow blob, roughly shaped like Doctor Malevolent. She slowly stumbled toward him, with an uneven, halting gait. It took her fully five minutes to traverse the ten feet between where she had risen and the mad doctor. She stood before him, her shoulders slack, her arms limp, her knees bent inward touching each other, her feet spread out. Her face looked dazed, her eyes crossed and glassy. After a few more moments, she reached deep within herself, summoned every last ounce of strength in her superheroic body, and prepared to let forth a stunning rebuke of the blurry blob that she assumed to be her tormentor.

"Puhf!" A small puff of smoke escaped her mouth. Distracted, her eyes followed it up to the ceiling. Finding she quite liked that position, her eyes kept rolling back into her head. She collapsed. First she fell to her knees, then her face slammed to the floor, leaving her prostrate before her arch enemy, her silver-clad ass waving in the air like a white flag of surrender.

"Well, I believe we're just about done here! But I'm afraid there are still a few small matters to take care of."

Future Girl's battered brain took a few seconds to process this. She struggled to focus her eyes on the doctor-blob, then gave up and settled for muttering a surprised "Guh?"

"Oh, yes, you've suffered, but that was all part of the gauntlet, a risk of the trade. Occupational hazard, you know. But there's one thing I can't abide: Insults to my mental faculties! I am, as you pointed out, the fourth smartest man in the world (and if all goes to plan with my operation in Kiev, soon to be the third smartest man in the world!) and I do not take insults to my intelligence from be-caped bimbos lightly."

"Zuh." Future Girl retorted.

"Now in my day, young persons never spoke to their elders as you have, and the only proper way to deal with them was to put them back into their place. And nothing served to humble an upstart such as yourself like a good spanking!"