The Great Makeover Adventure (aka: Talk about One Crazy Fairy Godmother)
A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with this crazy, over the top adventure/comedy/reality show story. Its something very different from what I usually do…so bear with me, I'm trying! I'm learning a lot about writing and what I feel I can do and pushing the envelope on what I'm not sure I can. It should get better (at least I hope so) as it develops. I'm making sure to be ahead of you (I'm starting on chapter six as I write this) so that there's not too much wait between chapters. I can't promise anything unfortunately, you all know how life has a way to wreck the best laid plans.
Warning: As usual, I'm warning you that as a French-Canadian, English is not my first language. Even with the tremendous help of my superb beta Jen, there is bound to be some mistakes here and there. I'm truly sorry for that and hope it does not impede the reading experience too much. Please be patient with me, I've just bought an English grammar book, and I swear I'm making progress!!! Lol.
Disclaimer: Ugly Betty, its characters and the overall plot belongs to ABC. No money is made with this piece. No infringement is intended. No yawning is intended either. What are fully intended are fun, laughter and the occasional shriek!
Chapter 1: Rebel with a cause
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. " C.P. Snow (1905 - 1980)
Betty Suarez walked to her boss' desk with her usual energy, "There you go, Daniel, it's the last report from accounting." She handed him the file over the desk with a big smile.
Betty was having a fine day; everything was, for a change, going right on schedule. They wrapped the June issue of Mode with little trepidation just last Friday, and things were going swiftly for the preparation of the next one. Everyone was feeling great because the vacations were just around the corner, and the weather was steadily warm and sunny. There was not a frown to be seen on anyone's face.
"Thanks Betty." Daniel Meade, editor in chief of Mode magazine and Betty's boss took the file, dropped it on his desk and leaned back in his chair with the inborn ease of a rake.
He gave her a small smile, "So, ready for some vacation time?" Handsome, rich and spoiled, he was everything Betty usually detested in a person, but somehow through necessity and adversity they had become close friends in the last year they had worked together.
"Yeah, you bet! I have about a millions thing to do at home. I can't wait!" Her eyes were alight with the prospect of staying home for her two weeks vacation.
Daniel shook his head with resignation, he knew that for her, laying about on a beach was the last thing she would think of for a vacation. "Betty, you've had a rough year...can't you just take it easy for once? You know, stay in bed late, read books for entertainment, laze about the pool…that kind of things."
She raised one eyebrow at him with some surprise, "That's your kind of stuff Daniel, not mine. Besides, you don't know how things are with a young teenager around, you need to keep them occupied or disaster looms." She smirked at him, "Just like a boss, so I have a lot of practice."
Daniel rolled his eyes, "Oh, very funny."
With a chuckle, Betty turned around to get back to her desk outside of Daniel's office but stopped when she heard a…there was no other word for it, a screech coming from the reception office.
Betty turned her head at the sound of the screaming coming out from the front desk and raised her eyebrows. Okay, looked like there was some unhappy people around after all. She finished straightening her desk and like many others made her way towards the fight out of curiosity.
She followed the growing commotion until she was standing with the crowd at the entrance to Wilhelmina Slater's office, the creative director here at Mode magazine. A skinny peroxide blonde all dress in black was screaming in Wilhelmina's calm face, almost sputtering in her rage. It took a few seconds before Betty was able to filter the screaming words from her coworkers' whispers around her and understand what the woman was saying.
"…it's perfect, you bitch! You have the fashion sense of a monkey! This dress would make Mode known to the whole world because of your association with me. You are not only obviously blind but also incredibly stupid to lose such an opportunity! I am the best new designer in the last decade at the very least! You will be very sorry for this, Wilhelmina Slater! I vow, the name of Mode magazine will be a laughing stock in all the industry by the end of the year!"
The woman looked around her at the snickering faces of the Mode staff with contempt, her face scarlet with anger. Betty was somewhat sorry for the designer, she knew all to well how it felt to be the butt of the joke in front of a crowd. She felt something like an electric shock as the woman eyes fell on her, going round with sudden inspiration.
Without warning, the woman sprang and caught Betty by the arm, jerking her forward to make her stand with her in the center of attention.
"I'll prove it to you all! You see this poor ugly girl in her uninspired, disgustingly plain clothes? I will transform her into the most fashionable girl in town in less than two months! My designs are like magic and can transform the most ugly ducklings into the most envied girl there is!"
The crowd was now laughing with glee at the show, and Betty wanted to die from embarrassment, trying to free herself from the crazy designer's deadly grasp. To her chagrin, the more she struggled, the tighter the woman's grip on her became.
"Come on girl, we have a lot of work to do to prove these fools wrong!" The woman started to walk away, dragging Betty with her.
Betty dug her heels, stopping their progression. "What? Wait! What are you doing? I can't go with you. I already have a job here and responsibilities."
"Don't be an idiot as well as ugly girl! It's your destiny! You were born only so you can show the world my genius! Now, come!" She jerked Betty forward again, intent on getting her to move. Betty resisted.
"No. I don't want to go. Find someone else." Suddenly Betty was no longer finding this woman pitying or funny. Suddenly, she was scared. This crazy designer was stronger than her thin figure suggested, and Betty did not seem to be able to free herself. The woman seemed obsessed with her idea and was crazed enough to actually try and do it.
Fortunately, Daniel had just at that moment the wonderful idea to appear in front of them both, blocking their path toward the elevator. He cleared his throat, eyeing the woman a little nervously. "Hum…My assistant cannot go right now. I have need of her this afternoon for a meeting. You can always come back later if you still want her."
The woman scowled darkly at Daniel. "No. She's the one. I need her now. You can't stop me so close to my moment of greatness. The girl will be my star, my Sistine Chapel, and my best creation." Out of nowhere, the crazy designer took out a gun and placed it on Betty's side, just under her rib cage. The crowd gasped and screamed with surprise and horror as the joke turned into a definitely less funny moment.
Daniel took a step back, looking at the gun in astonishment. "What are you doing? This is crazy! You can't just come here and kidnap my assistant!" He took a deep breath, "Look, maybe we can arrange something. If you put the gun down, I'll make sure your designs have a place of choice in the next issue."
"Too late, sweet face! Mode had its chance and blew it. Now I'll make fashion history all by myself." She dig the gun deeper in Betty's side and waved Daniel aside with a movement of her head, "Now, stand aside or I'll put a hole in her, one that will hurt her without causing prejudice to my plans."
Reluctantly, Daniel moved out of their way and the two women, one dragging her feet all the way, went toward the elevator. When it opened, it was to reveal the image of a very shocked Henry, the accountant who had gone away from Betty's life after learning he was the father of his ex girlfriend's baby. Betty groaned inwardly. This was the worst time for him to come back.
"Wha…what?" Henry mumbled, too surprised to say anything else. Betty's kidnapper reacted by pointing her gun in Henry's direction. "Out of the elevator! NOW!"
Skittishly, Henry complied while the two women, with the gun once again on Betty, went into the cabin.
Daniel turned to Henry as soon as the elevator's doors closed. "Call security downstairs, and tell them that a woman has kidnapped Betty. Tell them she is armed with a gun and quite crazy, so they better be careful. If they can't stop her, tell them to call the police and direct them to Wilhelmina's office…and mine."
At the rather stunned nod from Henry, Daniel went to look for answers for the last Mode crisis down the hall toward Wilhelmina Slater.
"So, who is this crazed woman who thinks she is the next best thing in fashion?"
Comfortably sitting in Wilhelmina's white office, sipping a coffee, Daniel was keen on learning what had started it all. He was not really worried about his assistant. In the slight chance the security guards weren't able to stop the woman downstairs, the police should have no trouble finding her. The woman was a lunatic after all, she probably didn't have enough brain to hide from the police. She also needed Betty for her so called great plan, so she would probably not hurt her. All in all, Betty was in for a possible traumatic experience but should not suffer more than that. Good thing his assistant vacation was coming up! She was going to need it.
"She claims her name is Belinda Leona Bremen-Constantin, but I suspect that's her designer's signature. She signs BLBC on her designs. Her real name is not listed in her file, but her home address is." Wilhelmina flicked her wrist in an elegant, dismissing wave, "I believe the police will not have any problems finding her." She pointed at the pages of drawing littering her desk, "I knew she was crazy as soon as I saw her designs. They're not exactly wrong, but the cut and the details are slightly off. Of course, only someone with an exquisite eye for fashion would be able to detect it."
Daniel was very careful to keep his features completely blank as he answered, "Of course."
Wilhelmina stood and with a few swishing steps went to pour herself some water from the designer bottle standing on a side table, before swirling around to elegantly lean on the table, her ankle crossed to show her long legs better. She thoughtfully sipped her water while looking at Daniel before finally stating, "You know, we could use this little incident to our advantage. The story of a gunpoint kidnapping in our office could both be damaging or free positive publicity, depending on the angle used in the story. If this go to the police, there is no way it can be shushed, you know that. Better than we establish the truth of the matter ourselves with a tight control on the information we leak, give the right angle to the media to use. If we do it correctly, and if we're lucky, we could even make it last for a good week before some other scandal take its place. It would put Mode's name in people's mind. Free publicity is always nice. What do you think?"
Daniel was very sure he didn't like her tone, at all. He was well-aware that she hated him with a passion because his father had put him in charge of Mode out of nowhere when Daniel knew nothing of the fashion business. Wilhemina had been working here for years and had taken for granted that she would be the next editor in chief; Daniel couldn't blame her. She was much more competent to do the job than he was. The first months in had been hell, and it's only due to Betty's efficiency, hard work, and good ideas that he had come through more or less unscathed. Still, Wilhelmina had a bone to chew with him and every time she was even slightly polite or agreeable around him, he could not help the shiver of dread worming up his spine. The fact that she was right about the media and that she was actually giving him advice while asking for his opinion was more than just suspicious, it was downright frightening. Especially so since she was Meade Senior's new fiancée and due to marry his dad in a few months, what was she up to now? If there was one thing Wilhelmina Slater was a world champion at, it was scheming.
He took a pen on the desk and started to twirl it in his fingers; two could play at nonchalance, he thought. "Why, Wilhelmina, I had no idea you were such an expert in marketing. You really are a woman of many talents. Of course, I too know a few tricks about how to handle the media, I'm sure you are aware of my long standing, hmm, affiliation with them. I've been playing the game with and around them for years. They seem to have a strange fondness for me. Of course, I'm sure my knowledge of how to control information isn't near as complete as yours."
He had been looking at her closely to try and catch the tiniest change in her features. He noticed a tiny tightening at the corner of her everlasting charming smile that disappeared so fast he wondered for a moment if he had imagined it.
"What kind of angle are you suggesting we use, then?" Daniel leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. "The unstable, poor designer unhinged by constant denying of what she perceives as her talent? A young, hardworking, normal, victimized secretary who was taken by force from her family and friends? The gun angle, to reignite the controversy around weapons control? Perhaps the whole 'Meade Inc. is a good, employee-centered company and will offer free psychological help to anyone in need of it' stuff?"
"Well, some of that will have to be used, of course, but I was thinking more in the direction of…" Wilhelmina was interrupted by a knock at the door, and Henry's face appearing in the overture.
"So...sorry to interrupt, Mr. Meade, but the security guards were unable to stop the women downstairs…the police is on its way here."
Daniel felt the first twinge of real worry then. He hoped that Betty was okay. She was stronger than most, but even the stoutest character would weaken in a situation like this. Glancing in Wilhemina's direction, he could not help but notice the sudden animation in her eyes. She was glad the scandal was growing bigger. As she had pointed out earlier, with the involvement of the police, there was no way the media circus could be avoided. Daniel resigned himself for a long evening…
With a sigh he turned around toward the door, "Thank you, Henry. When they arrive, send them in here."
Betty was not feeling to well, to tell the truth. The gun pointed in her direction was being wildly waved around to emphasize her kidnapper's finer points all through the long monologue about what a genius she was and how much the world misunderstood her. She went from one topic to the other, from depressed and teary to enthusiast about her big plans.
They were in a cozy limo with tinted windows. The driver did not seemed at all worried with the wild way the gun was handled. Unfazed, he had only asked where to drive them. The unhelpful answer had been only, "Home". Wherever that was. It seemed Betty could not expect help from the driver, and there was no way she could signal someone outside. As soon as the car had started to run, the partition between them and the driver had gone up, she could not see where they were headed. She had surreptitiously tried the door, but it was locked and she could see no way to unlock it. It must be controlled by the chauffeur. She hoped that someone had had the idea to take the plate number of the car, or that "home" was a place where the police could easily find her.
Why? Why did she have to go and see what the commotion was about? Her blasted curiosity was going to be the death of her… Betty gulped. She hoped the saying was not going to prove true. She only had two day left at work before her vacation time! Why did this have to happen now? Weren't things difficult enough as it was? Her father still in Mexico, her sister and nephew grieving Santos, Henry being gone, Daniel's accident a month ago…She had hoped to used her two week vacation to try and put the family minds off the endless problems. She had made a list of all the places in New York where they could have fun and have a change of scenery without taxing their limited funds too much.
After what seemed an eternity to Betty, the car finally stopped. The skinny blonde, still holding the gun, grinned evilly. "Home, at last."
They got out of the car in an interior garage. Betty had no idea where she was, it could be the Meade building garage for all she knew. There was no one around she could see, no policemen, no cameras, no nothing, just two other cars. With the hand of the designer firmly holding her arm and the gun punching a hole in the small of her back, she started to feel the first tendrils of panic etching its way down her suddenly dry throat toward her already clenching belly.
Betty was thrust forward by the strong arm of her kidnapper toward an elevator. The blond opened the doors with a key, it looked like the woman had enough money to buy herself a very private apartment. She pressed the one and only button by inserting her key in it. Betty heart sank further, there was going to be no easy escape if even the elevator button needed a key to work. She had to keep thinking in a positive way. That was her strong point, she had an ability to see the good side in things, it kept hope and faith alive, Betty knew she would need both.
Her positive thinking deserted her as soon as the elevator doors opened into hell on the floor. The only thought that came through the horror was a feeble "Oh my God!"
In front of her was a hall decorated like the dream of a very gothic vampire. All was black, the lights were dim and there was a stream of black flimsy fabric hanging from every corner and from the ceiling like so many spider webs. A beautiful woman in a black form fitting dress and heavy makeup and piercing was walking nearby with a leash in her hand that was attached to the collar of a man wearing only a mask and black boxer shorts. The two passed before them, the woman viciously pulling on the leash while the man staggered behind.
Her mouth hanging with shock and her mind blank, Betty let herself be pushed in the hall in the direction of what looked like a transparent coffin with a woman inside…fortunately, as they approached, Betty could see that the woman was only a mannequin and that the false coffin served as a receptionist desk. Her mind still swirling without being able to latch on a coherent though, Betty could only follow the direction she was pushed to like a puppet without free will.
Behind the desk, the receptionist in a skimpy black suit that left very little to the imagination shrieked and jump up to run toward them. Finally! Someone was coming to her rescue!
No such chance…the girl beamed at her captor and exclaimed in what seemed fluent French, "Bely, chérie! C'est génial de te revoir! On ne t'attendait pas avant la semaine prochaine, j'espère que tout va bien?! On a reçu ton courriel…tout est prêt comme convenu."
The two women did the three kisses in the air near each other's cheeks that the European seems to favor. All this time, the gun had been quite clearly pointed at Betty but the receptionist didn't seem to find it at all dangerous or even odd. By the look of the place, this kind of thing might be common enough not to warrant a second glance. So this was "home"? Gosh, was she in deep trouble or what! The two women chatted with animation for a moment in French before turning toward Betty.
"Is this your new plaything, chérie?" enquired the receptionist, looking Betty up and down with a frown.
"In a way, yes darling, she will do for me what no other can, propel me to the highest level of the fashion industry." She smiled sweetly at Betty, "I have a very special plan in mind for her. Let's lock her up while I go explain to Madame Minou what I need exactly, shall we?"
Her heart in her throat, Betty had no choices but to let herself be led to a small chamber where she was left alone to sink in her misery. The last words her captor said to her didn't do anything to cheer her up any, "Welcome to the very secret and exclusive Black Leather Bondage Club sweetie, no one but its members know it exists. Make yourself comfortable, you're in for the long haul!"