McMillan Tech Industries Lake Point Branch, Public Relations Department
Samantha Duncan approached Jessie Clyborne and the three cheerleaders. She was closely followed by her companions Doug Sallow, Teresa Talton, and Milt Smukmeyer, and by PR Department employees Owen Graison and Neil Nallon.
The three cheerleaders appeared to be young women ranging from eighteen to their mid-to-late twenties. One was dressed in a Lake Point University Lions cheerleader uniform, another was dressed in a Peabody High School cheerleading uniform, and the third was dressed in a Brooklyn Banshees cheerleader uniform. The three of them were staring at each other, and chanting a few cheers.
"Four six eight ten - Peabody High will win again!"
"Oh, Banshees you're the best! So much better than the rest! Hey Banshees!"
"All the rest, get a clue! No one's better than Lake Point U!"
To be fair to the cheerleaders, they did show some enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm was tempered by the fact that there were three different cheerleaders, each doing a solo version of a cheerleading chant that would be far more effective when performed by a cheerleading squad. And it was clear from their body language that they knew it.
Jessie Clyborne was standing and observing the three cheerleaders with a look of fascination. The PR Department executive was carrying the Cheerleader Gun in her hands.
Samantha recognized it right away. The Cheerleader Gun had a special design that set it apart from many of the other Transformation Guns. Samantha recalled the discussion when the Cheerleader Gun had been originally imagined by her group.
Flashback: McMillan Tech Industries basement lab complex, break room, two days ago
By now, the group of six had spent enough time coming up with ridiculous ideas for the Transformation Gun concept that Randall Jeffries stated that it might be worth creating an entirely new tabletop RPG or video game or something to use said Transformation Guns in. After all, it wasn't likely that they were going to become real. They were just too absurd to ever really exist, right?
This was especially true of the latest Transformation Gun they had come up with, the Cheerleader Gun. Jeffries and Rachel mentioned it, and Ryan had asked "How does it work?"
"Well, it gives them all the skills needed to be an effective cheerleader - gymnastic skills, dance skills, agility, and good vocal projection skills." Jeffries said.
"And maybe a slight charisma boost." Rachel McLewis said.
"I don't know." Ryan said. "The cheerleaders over at Lake Point have been pretty mean to Kyla."
"Don't worry." Rachel said. "It doesn't increase mean-ness level, and it doesn't affect intelligence or libido for that matter. Just getting that out of the way before Dr. Chance hears about this one. Besides, cheerleaders are like everyone else. There's nice cheerleaders and mean cheerleaders, smart ones and not so smart ones, and so on."
They were glad that Dr. Jerry Chance was not in the room right now, because they needed a break from his sexism.
"You don't need to tell me that. I've seen the same cheerleader movies you two have." Samantha said. "But even in fictional universes - which is the only place such a thing like this could exist - no one team or organization has a monopoly on cheerleaders. Every cheerleader represents a school or a university or a team or an organization or something they're affiliated with."
"That's why the design of this one's a little different than most of the others." Jeffries said, showing the drawing of the Cheerleader Gun. "There's this readout screen and a dial where you can choose from one of a hundred different cheerleading teams, some of them even fictional teams. We even have a McMillan Tech Industries cheerleader team, even though in real life MTI doesn't have cheerleaders."
"Mr. McMillan's daughter doesn't count, I take it?" Mycroft Brewer said.
"Clearly not. Last I heard, she didn't have much interest in going into the family business." Samantha observed.
"Quick question: Is this another gender-swap transformation?" Ryan asked.
"It can be." Rachel said. "There are some male cheerleaders, after all. But if the one switch is set to the 'on' position, then the affected turns into a young woman physically around nineteen to twenty-nine, in excellent physical condition. If it's set to the 'off' position, then they don't turn into a young woman if they weren't already, but do get all the other skills we mentioned."
"And how does the 'team' dial work?" Samantha asked.
"When one is zapped, they have the compulsion to cheer for the indicated team, in addition to being dressed in a cheerleading outfit for that team. But in a few hours, the compulsion will wear off, and they'll be free to cheer for whoever they want while still remaining in the form granted by the Cheerleader Gun and having all the skills." Rachel explained. "There's also a 'Free Agent' option, where they're given a generic cheerleader outfit and can decide for themselves what they want to do with their cheerleader skills, or which cheerleading squad to join, or whatever."
Samantha laughed. "It's ridiculous how much thought we put into these things."
"Well, if MTI ever starts a Gaming Department, this would be a good starting point for an original game." Ryan observed.
"Or if they're not interested, we could create it outside of MTI." Jeffries said. "Anyway, yeah, we put a lot of work into these things so perhaps they shouldn't go to waste. I wish there was a way to introduce these things we've created in our break room to the rest of the world."
"Gaming is probably the best option for it." Samantha replied. "After all, there's no way anyone can really create these things. Anyway, let's get back to work."
Present Day: McMillan Tech Industries Lake Point Branch, Public Relations Department
How wrong Samantha had been back then. Two days ago, the Transformation Guns were an unrealistic fantasy. Now they were not only real, but they were everywhere, all over the world. And Samantha was now staring at PR Executive Jessie Clyborne who was carrying the Cheerleader Gun and staring at the three cheerleaders nearby practicing cheers intended for three different places.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Samantha blurted out, staring at Jessie.
"I'm just trying to figure out how this thing works." Jessie said. "I was a cheerleader in high school and in college, and I've said this place could use some cheerleaders, but Mr. McMillan wasn't interested."
"So you've been zapping random people with the Cheerleader Gun to make cheerleaders?" Samantha said.
"No. I zapped Tracy by accident, but Brittany J and Mitzi volunteered." Jessie said. "Brittany B chickened out, and I think she got zapped by some other weird ray gun that turned her emo."
"I shut that one up in a desk drawer." Neil Nallon, the practical joker and former user of the Clown Gun said. "It's way too gloomy and depressing for my tastes."
Samantha decided they would find the Emo Gun later. "Back to the Cheerleader Gun. You've been testing it on your co-workers. This has to stop. We're here to collect the Transformation Guns in this building and put them where they can't cause any more trouble."
"Hey, lighten up!" said the Brooklyn Banshees cheerleader. "Being a cheerleader beats being a boring secretary any day! Oh, I'm Mitzi, by the way."
"I'm Brittany J." the Lake Point University cheerleader said. "And we need more fun around here. I've wanted to do more than just paperwork for a while now."
"Leave us alone. We've got cheers to practice." the Peabody High cheerleader, presumably Tracy, said.
"No, you have jobs to do." Doug Sallow said. "Everyone is going to be needed in the days to come."
"What do you care anyway? You're not from this department." Jessie Clyborne said.
"No, but I AM on the Board, and I am friends with Ms. Sendletter." Doug Sallow said. "I"ve far too much respect for her to let her department degenerate into chaos when it'll be needed to deal with the crisis coming in the days ahead."
"What crisis? What are you talking about?" Jessie asked.
"The Transformation Guns." Milt Smukmeyer said. "They're all over the place. It's why I'm dressed in Steampunk clothes and my mind is full of ideas for steam-powered contraptions and super-scientific gadgets with a Victorian aesthetic. But they're not just here at MTI. They're everywhere now!"
"It's on all the news." Teresa Talton continued. "There was this weird event in the basement, and now the whole world is full of Transformation Guns."
"To make a long story short, the whole world has changed and it started here, at MTI." Samantha said. "It's only a matter of time before the press finds out, and we'll need all hands on deck to handle the situation. And that means we're going to have to put an end to this little test of yours."
"Nuh uh." Jessie said. "I"m not done testing this thing yet." She then turned a setting on the dial, and read the readout screen. "McMillan Tech Industries? Oh, this is something I've GOT to see!"
She raised the Cheerleader Gun, and Samantha jumped to stop her. The two struggled over the Cheerleader Gun, Samantha trying to pry it from Jessie's grasp, but Jessie was surprisingly strong. In the struggle, the Cheerleader Gun went off, and a blast from the Cheerleader Gun struck someone nearby.
