Flexible Thinking for a Modern Life: Chapter 12

Summary: A commission series for Alfalfa. Iris Fleurs, the stretchy daughter of a slime mother and a human father, tries to live her best life and feel comfortable in her own skin. Teenage rebellion ensues.

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CHAPTER 12

The whole motley crew was together one again, back in their secret hideout. Kamika double checked to make sure the way inside was secure.

"Double Double, keep an eye out for any other unwanted guests. Iris needs some private consultation." Kamika smiled, sauntering over to Iris. The succubus raised a hand to Iris' shoulder, tugging at the fabric of her uniform. 

"...Um... What are you doing?" Iris wondered, staring at Kamika's nails with concern. 

"Nothing. Just... oh, this material won't do." Kamika stepped back. "I'll have to work from scratch."

Her devilish tail spring to life, flexing and writing with some degree of energetic menace. Iris glanced at it, only mildly concerned. 

"Material? Material for what-"

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about it. All I need you to do is to stand completely still."

Iris yelped as Kamika's tail shot out at her. It danced about her, wrapping around her hips, then raising her arms, then slipping along her legs, across the side of her body. All the while, Kamika simply stared with an attentive eye, rubbing her chin.

"Mmhm... alright... tch, seriously? ...Well..." Kamika muttered to herself; Iris couldn't shake the feeling that Kamika was passing judgement on her. 

"W-what are you doing, Kamika? Th-this is, pfft, ah, that tickles...!" Iris had to try desperately to stifle her laughter as Kamika's tail whipped back and forth.

"Taking your measurements. I think I got a look that'll work for you..." Kamika looked slightly down.

"Hey Iris! I think the Mistress's jealous of your knockers!" Toil blurted with a laugh.

Smack!

Kamika's tail whipped off to the side and, with a crack, jolted Toil right on the nose.

"OW! Sheesh... it's the truth..." Toil rubbed his face. 

"Oh, Kamika, that's not fair..." Iris pouted.

"What? He said something stupid. And patently wrong, at that."

"Oh, no, you just left me out, that's all." Iris corrected Kamika.

"...What??" Toil muttered quizzically. "What do you mean-"

THWACK!

Iris effortlessly extended an enclosed fist across the length of the room, decking Toil right in the face. The gargoyle flew back into a stack of mattresses with a painful groan. 

"....Nya ha ha! Iris, baby! You're a girl after my own heart~" Kamika raised her hand for a high five; Iris reciprocated, never a stranger to a good slap of the palm. 

The two of them had a good laugh over it. None of the gargoyles seemed to find it funny; Trouble was busy trying to fish his mate out of a mattress avalanche, and Double Double... well, he didn't really have a sense of humour in the first place. 

"Alright, alright, so the way I see it, if you're gonna hit the streets doing daring-do, you need to look the part. And this school uniform? Ain't gotta cut it. It barely makes any kind of fashion statement..." Kamika tugged at the hem of Iris' skirt; for a moment, Iris worried that her tugging would make the tear worse. 

"U-um, fashion statement? Isn't the important part just, well, stopping crime? And defending those who need it?" Iris tilted her head.

"Well, yeah, yadda yadda, but no one said you can't look good doing it." Kamika grinned. "I think I can make just the hot-ticket item for you~"

Kamika's eyes narrowed, looking towards the shelves. "...But I'll need a little something to start with... ah, bedsheets will do in a pinch!"

"...You're... going to make a crime-fighting costume out of a bedsheet?" Iris' initial optimism was quickly waning.

"Oh, have some imagination! With just a little bit of magic, anything can happen! Watch!" 

Kamika flourished the bedsheet in front of her, fluffing it like she was making a bed. With a mighty wave, she unfurled it and released it into the air. As it drifted lazily in the air, she snapped her fingers...

Snap!

And all of a sudden, the bedsheet had been suspended, all on its own. The white bedsheet was glowing in a faint, pink aura, pulsating with energy. Iris staggered back, her eyes transfixed and full of intense curiosity. 

Kamika's hands waved back and forth, as if she were a sculptor moulding clay, and the bedsheet began to fold, twist and distort. The light only grew brighter and brighter, but Kamika continued her work, unblinkingly, unflinchingly. It was getting to the point that Iris had to shield her eyes...

A resonance filled the room as magical energy swept through the middle of the warehouse. It intensified, more and more, until, eventually...

"It's ready!" Kamika beamed, placing her hands on her hips. "What do you think?"

Iris lowered her hands. She was stunned to see a one-piece suit, patterned with slick black and pink patterns. It floated in place, waiting for Iris to take it in her hands. 

She staggered forward, her hands feeling the material. It had changed completely in its transformation; instead of a soft, cotton-y bedsheet, the material was now firm, tough, and flexible, like some kind of super-leather. 

"This... this is so cool!" Iris was on the verge of screaming; she had to make a strong effort not to make herself look like an ass in front of Kamika. Her wide eyes looked up. "H, how did you-"

"Basic transfiguration magic. Easy trick for a fourth-degree demon. You can't just teach it to just anyone~" Kamika smiled, folding her arms with a confident smirk.

"Believe me, they tried. Took the mistress years of extra cred to-"

Trouble was immediately silenced by an unfriendly, insistent glare from Kamika. Her tail hovered, poised to strike. Trouble grunted, before scrambling back to cover. Kamika turned back to Iris, with her friendly, familiar smile. 

"The material should be tough, but easy to move around in. Sleek, yet practical. Designed with an eye for fashion, and-"

"H-hey, Kamika, this is super, super amazing and all, but..." Iris was turning the costume around in her hands. "I-I don't see a zipper or anything..."

"...shit." Kamika muttered under her breath. "W-well, uh, you're flexible, right? Just... look, there's the opening, right there."

"...The neckhole??" Iris blinked.

"Yeah! Just slide in that way. It's not a defect, it's a feature!" Kamika beamed.

"I guess a zipper could break... I-I'm gonna try it on, right now!" Iris looked around for a safe spot to do so.

"There's an office near the front. If any of the guys walk in on you, they respond best to physical thrashings, so don't waste your time with verbal warnings." Kamika advised with a wink. 

"O-okay!" Iris hurried over to find some much needed privacy. "Thank you so much!"

---

Locking the door behind her, Iris unfurled her outfit to give it a better look. Part of her was in awe that something like this could exist...

...And another part was rather flummoxed by the practical applications. Namely, how she was ever going to fit into the tiny thing. It looked like it had been shrunk in a washing machine, relative to the rest of her body.

Still, she was itching to give it a shot... somehow. She took a few moments to remove her uniform, leaving her underwear and bra on to protect her modesty. She realized she was in the company of demons, after all; chivalry wasn't exactly their strong point. 

She looked at the collar line once more, examining it with uncertainty. "This hole's no wider than my wrist..." She tsked, flourishing it one more time. She glanced down to her foot, wriggling her toes anxiously. It was gonna be cramped in there...

She took a deep breath, reflexively sucking her gut in. She crossed her legs...

And then crossed them again.

And again... and again. They were wrapping themselves together like a rope, the length of her body stretching out and growing thinner and thinner. Her feet and her thighs were lost to the narrow shape of her lower torso as her pseudopod-like limbs descended into the neckhole.

Her eyes lit up as she felt her legs bonelessly slip right in without a hitch, and watched as the rest of her body slowly rippled inward to catch up with the legs. She could feel her bellybutton stretch, trying to slip into the narrow space. 

As this happened, her legs split apart, sliding down each of the sleeves for her lower torso. The tight fabric, as exaggeratedly tiny as it was, was proving to be just as flexible as her. She watched as the suit began to fill out, contouring to the figure she was so familiar with. 

Her eyes sparkled as her chest followed suit, watching the suit inflate to normal human proportions like a balloon. She loved how intimately the costume hugged her curves; it was almost like having a second layer of skin. Her hands and arms were beginning to slip into their sleeves as well; she raised a black, gloved hand to her face, wiggling her fingertips. She giggled to herself as she did so, coming to terms that this was really, truly happening.

For a moment, she didn't realize that her neck had been dawdling behind; her head was outstretched six feet, content to watch the rest of her body settle into the suit's small space, transforming before her very eyes. It seemed to confirm to her strange, marvellous powers too; she followed the streaks of black and pink as her arm effortlessly extended to meet her face. She rubbed her cheek - the material was tough, but soft to the touch. It felt nice.

As she relaxed, the length of her neck shortened more and more, until finally, it popped down, just over the neckline. She opened to her feet. Looking at herself all over; her torso even helped her twist beyond 240 degrees, just so she could view herself from all over. As tight a fit as this outfit was, and for however much it accentuated her curves and other proportions, it definitely felt like it fit her like a glove.

"Woooow..." Iris cooed. "Doesn't leave anything to the imagination, does it? I guess that's how superheroes dress..."

She cupped her breasts, giving a mental nod to allow her breasts to grow a size or two. She laughed to herself at how easy it was for a few moments, before letting them settle and shrink down to a tasteful B-cup. That's what she was used to, after all, and she didn't want to attract a very different kind of attention...

But it was a fun little thing to do, on her own time. And it didn't hurt anyone...

"Superheroes are always changing outfits, right? Kamika could probably make me a new one, if I asked. With a cool cape. And goggles..." She couldn't help herself from smiling. She felt so, strong... empowered. Free to be exactly the sort of person she wanted to be. 

She performed one last stretch upwards, her outfit perfectly conforming to her motions, stretching as she did. Her torso spiralled upwards towards the ceiling, and she smiled to herself, no longer feeling a telltale draft brushing her midriff. She looked down, admiring her own abilities with a huge smile spreading her dimpled cheeks.

"Totally. Awesome." 

---

"Hey, Mistress, you sure the girl's gonna fit in that skimpy suit?" Trouble muttered as they waited around for Iris to come out. 

"Easily," Kamika scoffed. "I gave it an enchantment so it could stretch like she does. She won't have any problems."

"Physically, sure..." Toil pointed out. "But what about emotionally?"

"...What." Kamika rolled her eyes, clicking her heels as she turned towards the gargoyles. "What in blazes are you talking about, emotionally??"

"Well, it looked like it was made for a doll when we saw it. That's, like, talking about unrealistic proportions for a woman, right?" Toil pointed out. "She's still people, yeah??"

"...I'm not sure how pertinent it is to discuss 'realistic body proportions' when dealing with a girl like Iris." Double Double chimed it, his arms folded as he stared at the front door. 

"I dunno about you guys, but I don't wanna be called out for fat-shaming a growing girl, right??" Trouble murmured. "That can reeeeally go and damage their psyche, and at such a vulnerable age too..."

"What??" Kamika sputtered. "Guys, you're literal hellspawn, where's this discourse coming from?"

"Hey, just because we're scum-suckin' gargoyles, doesn't mean we can't be feminists!" Trouble declared with a thump of his chest.

"Yeah! What he said!" Toil followed after his mate, raising his hand for a high five. 

"She decked you in the face not even ten minutes ago..." Kamika rubbed her face in exasperation.

"Guys! It fits like a glove!!"

Iris made a dramatic re-entrance, swinging in on an elongated arm from the piping above, kicking her legs up and bracing for a landing. She stuck the landing like a champ, tumbling in front of Kamika and wrapping her arms around her in a big, giddy hug.

"This is amaaaazing! You're the best, Kamika!!" Iris squealed, squeezing Kamika tighter and tighter. Kamika raised her arms in trepidation, not reciprocating the gesture right away.

"R-right, uh... glad you like it." Kamika recoiled, not used to platonic affection of this sort. She gingerly patted Iris on the back. 

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Iris took Kamika's shoulders, bouncing up and down excitedly—her outfit seemed to squeak emphatically with every bounce. Bouncing around the warehouse, she looked around.

"We could set up an entire base here! And we can listen in on the police radio, and get to crimes scenes, and set up a big old command center here, put the gargoyles on it-"

"Iris," Kamika interrupted Iris' gushing. "You still need your mask."

"...Eh?" 

She turned around. Kamika raised a small, black mask up with one hand. She had her other hand on her hip, and her eyebrow perked up quizzically. Iris stared for a moment, before laughing to herself, her cheeks flushing red.

"O-oh, right, uh... secret identity, stuff. Hehe. Forgot myself for a second there..." Her arm doubled in length, stretching forward to take the mask. As soon as it was in her fingers, it zipped right back, returning to normal proportions, as she affixed the mask to her face. After a little fussing with her hair, she felt good and ready.

"Tada!~" Iris flourished her hands. "Now I'm ready! We heading out?"

"...Hmm... well, we did have some errands that needed doing." Kamika folded her arms pensively. "Trouble! What's the state of our pantry?"

"Uhhhh..."

The skinnier of the gargoyles hobbled over to a corner of the warehouse. Discarded wrappers, emptied boxes of food, and piles of crumbs dotted the floor. It was a pretty gross sight—Iris' mouth scrunched up in apparent disgust.

"Mmmmmm, s'empty." Trouble muttered with a shrug. 

"...Oh my g- why is the kitchen a goddamn mess!?" Kamika sputtered, giving the dirty eye to the gargoyles. "Whose turn was it this week!?"

"Uh... yours, ma'am." Toil noted. 

"Ugh, do I have to do everything around here!? I train the newbie, work some magic, and this is what I come back to... ugh, why do I even bother." Kamika groaned. "You two! Clean this up! Iris..."

Kamika clasped Iris' shoulder firmly.

"I got a special mission for you. Our pantry's rather bare, wouldn't you agree?"

"...And dirty." Iris noted, crinkling her nose.

"So! What do you say? We'll hit up the Big 'N Bargain, hit up some of their stock, eh? Five finger discount?" Kamika grinned, wiggling her fingers.

Iris stared, not sure what she was hearing. Her eyebrows furrowed, giving Kamika a confused look.

"But... that's stealing, isn't it? That's... that's not what a superhero does, it's not-"

"Not heroic? Well... it's all a matter of perspective, dear." Kamika pondered the thought, her tail swishing back and forth. "It's all about those evil mega-corporations, putting the local mom-and-pop shops out of business, exploiting the working class, propping up a monopoly... and we're supposed to support these exploitative practices? Hmmmm?"

Iris' mouth opened to say something, but she paused. Something about this felt wrong, but... she couldn't really disagree with Kamika's argument either. Corporations weren't their friends.

"...R-right, but... what if I get caught? I can't just-"

"Oh! Here's a fun fact about that!~" Kamika leaned closer. "Those pooooor, minimum-wage cronies they pay to loiter about? They can't stop you from shoplifting. Small losses are covered by their insurance, see? So nobody's going to mind if you walk out with a few items for the road~"

...Was it really that easy? Iris wondered. Would nobody mind if Iris went in and... took something?

"You seem conflicted, dearie, but think of it this way. You're not stealing, you're just... redistributing the wealth for the little people, right?" Kamika tilted her head, fluttering her eyelashes. "In a sense... that's heroic, in its own way!"

"...I'm not sure if my parents would agree with that..." Iris muttered.

"Oh? The same ones that wouldn't let you live your best life? Come on, Iris... this is a chance to really enjoy your freedom. I know how long you've waited for your chance..."

Kamika let the words linger in the air for a few, anxious moments, before removing her hand from Iris' shoulder. She turned her back to Iris, her devilish tail wagging slowly back and forth.

"Of course... you could always just go back to your old, boring, sheltered life. Cooped up in your dumb home, under house rules, never allowed to stretch out and reach your limits~..."

Iris was silent. She fidgeted to herself. The more she thought about it, the more she was tempted to just... throw caution to the wind and to go for it.

It was just a bit of food. Nobody would miss it. It'd be fine...

"...And if I do this one thing... you'll keep training me?" Iris' eyes rose up cautiously. 

"Of course! I couldn't leave you behind! You have so much potential, Iris!" Kamika turned to her with a wide, inviting smile. Iris studied her expression carefully... and sighed, steeling her resolve and pumping herself up.

"Okay. I'm in."

---

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