Disclaimer: The images of persons and fandoms used in this section belong to their respective corporations and most certainly not me.
Total Apocalypse
"All right, if there are no further complaints or questions, let's go to the Imaging Chamber."
The room he spoke of was spherical, containing a large bank of consoles in the center. As it turned out, the walls were screens, and Zondo rapidly opened ten different frames. "I prefer it if you use creatures we can find in the database, but an exceptionally good mental picture can work as well. Who's first?" He pointed to a blue triangle lit up on the floor.
Ants drew a deep breath. "I was sort of an elected leader for these guys, so I'll take the plunge, so to speak." He scrubbed his hands against his plaid pants as if his palms were sweaty and moved to stand in the triangle. "I'll be a Tuskan Raider, straight out of Star Wars, if that's all right."
There were a couple of disturbing gurgles from the console as Zondo put in the information required. Ants' name appeared in one of the ten frames, along with a picture. A picture of a fierce-looking creature holding a long rifle, its head wrapped in brown bandages but not hiding the mask it wore. "Will that work?" the small man asked.
Ants scrutinized the image, then nodded his satisfaction, adjusting the utility belt at his waist. "Beam me up."
"As you wish," Zondo replied, punching a large violet button. There was a flash of light, a puff of smoke, and the slightly-pudgy balding man Ants had been was gone, replaced by a six-and-a-half foot Tuskan Raider. The creature lifted its rifle above his head and let out the gorilla-like cry of the Tuskan Raiders, before speaking normally, "Ah, I've always wanted to do that."
Twink was cowering behind Chalupa, HD had turned faintly green, and Masked Lorcan was digging her fingernails into her cheeks.
"A-Ants?" Sith finally asked. "Are you all right?"
The raider slung his rifle over his shoulder and struck a jaunty pose. "Of course. I've always wanted to be this tall. Pity this didn't come with a Bantha for me to ride, but beggars can't be choosers." Ants hopped lightly out of the triangle and moved back to join the group. HD, Sith, and Psychadelio each examined him up and down, from the dun-colored robes to the horns poking out of the brown strips that wrapped his head.
"Tubular," Psych said. "I'm game." He strode quickly to the lit spot on the floor. "Wolfrider, from Elfquest by Richard and Wendy Pini."
"Just a moment, I need to scan through the archives for this," Zondo said. A selection of thumbnails came up in the frame labeled with Psychadelio's name. "You may pick and choose your appearance, if you like."
Psych folded his arms and squinted up at the pictures. "Let's use Redlance's body as a base with Skywise's hair but Pike's face and hair color. Then Cutter's leggings and shoes with Treebeard's tunic." The others looked between themselves in cluelessness, unable to follow Psychadelio's rapid train of thought.
Zondo's fingers flew across various buttons and switches, until a single image resolved on the screen. It was a short, red-headed elf with a button nose and eyes bright as stars, with muscular arms and clothing made of tanned hides. Not to be confused with the tall, slender elves in The Lord of the Rings, this elf was short, solidly built, and had a daring gleam in its eye that was almost feral.
"Far out," Psych breathed.
"Did you want a wolf with that?" Zondo asked. He made it sound so much like a side order of fries that Twink and Kade belatedly stifled their snorts.
"Starjumper with Choplicker's colors." Zondo made the final adjustment, waited for Psych's confirming nod, and palmed the violet button. And Psychadelio was gone, replaced with a creature only slightly taller than a hobbit, a white and gray wolf at his side. Unhesitatingly, Psych mounted the wolf and the two moved back to the group.
The other authors were watching in a combination of awe and eagerness. They could see things they had only read or seen come to life before their eyes. Fear was quickly melting, and OrangeSith moved forward next. He came away as a dog-sized slug, utility belt expanded to fit around his blubberous midsection.
"May I just ask why?" Lor said, eyeing his eye-stalks.
Sith's wide, toothless mouth split into a grin. "Because this alien can shapeshift, sort of. Watch." And a protrusion like an arm came out from the side of Sith's body to shake Lor's hand.
"Come on people, we can't waste time," Zondo said. "Next!"
Chalupa landed with a bound on the triangle before anybody else could move. "Gatomon from Digimon, but let's make all the purple on her turquoise, and lose those clawed gloves, but keep the claws." She nodded in satisfaction at the little white cat with deceptive blue eyes. ZAP! The now two-feet-tall Chalupa trotted over to Ants and climbed his robe to sit on his shoulder. "Nice, limber, sleek," she said, and let out a purr.
Encouraged, Twink sprang forward and came away a Tangean, straight out of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. She strongly resembled Mira Nova, but her blue skin was a touch darker and her orange hair had strong blonde streaks. Everyone watched as she stuck her hands and head through the nearest wall. "Sweet," she said once she'd pulled herself back through.
Wonky was next, hemming and hawing over different vampire bodies until she settled on a plump woman with skin whiter than milk. Her hair was dark and fell in thick ringlets around her face, and the dark shadows around her eyes matched her deep plum velvet gown. Zondo manipulated the image and the woman turned in a circle on the screen, revealing two leathery wings that looked like shadows. Wonky came away testing her fangs with her tongue and smiling in a rather predatory manner.
Hamster Dancer appeared to muster most, if not all, of his courage as he stepped forward. "A mutant from X-Men," he said. "Let's take a page from Colossus' book, with skin that can harden on command, but make him taller. And he should resemble Wolverine."
"Not very imaginative, but it's what I expect from someone who's only read comic books his whole life," Zondo muttered, pushing the violet button. HD flexed his now-impressive muscles, and a silver sheen rippled over his skin before returning to its normal coloring. That left Kade, Darby, and Masked Lorcan.
"Well, any volunteers?" Kade muttered to the others, not looking particularly eager at the moment.
"I'm still thinking," Lor confessed. "There's lots of things I've wanted to experience. I'm sort of stuck between Twi'lek and Sivaoan."
"I suppose it depends entirely on which fandoms I'm going to be working in, doesn't it?" Darby murmured. "What are the odds I get a heads-up on that?"
"None whatsoever, because I can almost guarantee you'll get a taste of all of them," Zondo interrupted their little conference. "Kade, you're next."
Darby glanced sideways at Lor, asking in an undertone, "Still thinking?"
"Mm," was the only reply. Zondo tapped his foot impatiently.
"Right," Darby took a few unenthusiastic steps forward. "So, no elves?"
"Not even if you were to go as blind, deaf, dumb, and with both legs missing," Zondo said. "Believe me, it's been done. Apparently there's nothing Elrond can't fix."
Darby paused, visibly crossing species after species off her mental list. After a good ninety seconds, she looked up. "How about a Trill?"
Zondo opened his mouth, paused, cocked his head to one side as if considering, and input something into his console. After a moment it beeped. A new square came up for Darby, right beside Kade's crimson dragon form. "Huh. I suppose the idea of another person being inside one does turn off the Mary Sue factor. Any requests as to appearance?"
Darby grinned for the first time. "Can you make my spots glow-in-the-dark?"
There was a squelching of titters from the eight transformed onlookers, but Zondo keyed in the commands. Darby's appearance on the screen was no different from her current one, save for the dark speckles that ran down the sides of her face and neck. "What about wardrobe?" he asked.
Darby considered the screen. "I'll be needing a hood," she said, still grinning. "Can't sneak up on Sues if they see me coming. Um... Let me see…a blue-grey V-neck tunic, navy trousers, and a navy cloak with a hood."
Someone else, at the mention of sneaking up on Sues, cackled ominously. More laughter was quickly stifled as the requested outfit was applied to the image. Zondo looked at Darby as if for approval.
"Decent," she nodded, then smiled mischievously. "Can we make me half-Betazoid?"
"I don't see why not," Zondo said with the air of a person restraining himself. Bloop, went his console. "Are you the host?"
"Yes. Unassigned."
Darby's crisp reply set Zondo's eyebrows up a little, but he motioned with one hand. "If you'll just step onto the blue triangle…"
"Okay, I'm in," she said, doing as she was told. Zondo pounded the large violet button, the light flashed, and once the smoke cleared, Darby emerged in her prescribed regalia. Stepping down, she squinted, then removed her glasses and blinked. "Sweet! I don't need them!" she exclaimed, tucking them on her head. "You're up, Lorcan."
Lor gulped. "That's what I'm afraid of," she muttered, gingerly stepping into the blue triangle. Zondo cleared his throat. "Right, um…" she faltered for a moment before getting her train of thought back. "A book called Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan. Should be some cover art, but there's the description in there of a Sivaoan. You know, cheetah-sized but with more of a house-cat shape and personality?"
Zondo was busily pressing buttons and flipping switches. Masked Lorcan's square was awash with several small icons. Finally the image settled into a rather ordinary-looking cat, brown with white paws. Lor gulped again. "Well, the shape's right, but I don't like the paint job. How about Milo from Milo and Otis? Oh, but with a white mask around the eyes."
The image changed and the felinoid became a marmalade-striped cat. "Okay, well…okay." Lorcan nodded and took a deep breath. "I can live with that." Chunk, went the large violet button. A feeling like a small tremor ran through Lor's body. And then she sneezed.
"Lorcan? You okay?" Twink called. Lor blinked and shook her head. Something on top of her head registered the rapid air movement. She put up one hand to feel what it was. A five-fingered paw met her vision. Lor looked down at her hands. Paws. She swung around. A tail. Orange stripes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Lor sauntered calmly out of the smoke-cloud, her tail wrapped around her utility belt. "I love it! Can I take it home with me?"
Zondo made some final adjustments on his computer. "You're all set to go in. If you're ready, we'll go to the Portal. Any last minute questions?"
"Are we all going to the same place?" Darby wanted to know.
"Ah, glad you asked. No, you will be paired in groups of two. We're unsure at this point how far the damage has spread, so I think you'll get more ground covered if you don't move about as a large group. You will be assigned a starting point to begin with. Do not forget, though, that your surroundings are liable to change at any moment." Zondo looked out at the various disguised faces before him. "All right, this way please!" And he strode off jauntily.