Plasted! (part 1 of 2)

Author's Notes: According to the file date, this story file was created in August of 2000. Back then, when I started a new story, I had a bad habit of using save as on an existing story to create a new story file. So that date is suspicious to me. More factually valid is that the first release of this story to my tumblr happened in May of 2012, with part two a year later. You can tell this is an old story as Henry has a landline in part 2.

The mouse was moving. Henry dropped his notepad and rushed over to the lab bench. He picked the mouse up and examined it. It seemed no worse for its ordeal. He put it back in its cage and picked up his composition book. "Ignore prior entry. Death did not occur. Some form of plasticized suspended animation occurred instead."

Henry turned around and went over to the compound jar. He did not know how it had turned the mouse to plastic and then back to normal, but he was going to find out.

Over the next few days he administered a variety of doses to his mice. All of them reacted the same way: freezing in place, their flesh taking on a plastic feel and hardness. Sometimes it would last for minutes, sometimes for hours. But every time they turned back to normal, they would shiver. He thought it might have something to do with their body temperature but none of his experiments with the lab’s thermal imaging system were conclusive. He also noticed that if he trained the mice to move a certain direction when they heard a certain noise, when he played the noise while they were plasted (as he started calling it) they would move that way after they returned to normal. He needed a human test subject, but he did not know where he would find one.

A few weeks later, Henry was shopping at the mall minding his own business when he noticed a small crowd pointing and talking in front of a woman’s clothing store. Curiosity got the better of him and he entered the crowd. In the window of the store was a single mannequin wearing something he guessed was fashionable. He could not figure out what everyone was looking at until he heard someone say, "Told you it was a real person." A few people left the crowd. He looked again at the mannequin and it had changed position. Something clicked in his mind and he entered the store.

He went up to the clerk and asked, pointing at the storefront window, "Is that very common? Having a someone stand in the window, pretending to be a mannequin?"

"It is becoming common," the clerk replied.

"Why? Does it help sales?"

"Oh, absolutely. Look at that crowd. We get more walk-ins when we have a living mannequin in the window. Besides, people like seeing what the clothes look like on a real person."

"A living mannequin? Is that what she calls herself?"

"Yes. I need to help a customer. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Oh, no, thanks."

Henry left the store and found a bench not far from the store to watch the living mannequin. She changed pose every fifteen to twenty minutes. Every time she did, the gathered crowd would disperse a little. He spent most of his time trying to figure out how to meet her without sounding like a nut.

After spending two hours watching her, he came up with a plan. He went down to the mall card store and printed a few business cards. He ran a few more errands before returning to the clothing store. He waited until he saw the sales clerk he spoke to earlier go into the back room before approaching the other clerk.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm a photographer and I was hoping you might give my card to the live model in the front window when you get a chance." He handed her the business card. "I'm hoping to make use of her experience as a living mannequin in a set of photos I'm going to take."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be interested. I'll give it to her when her shift is over."

"Thank you. Tell her to call me so we can set of a lunch meeting."

"I will."

"Thanks again."

Coolly, he hoped, he turned and left the store. He drove home in anticipation.

The phone rang, again. He had to make himself wait a second so it would not seem like he had been waiting for the phone call. "Hello?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Quinn Photography Studios. Is this the right number?"

"Yes, this is Henry."

"Hi, you left your card at the mall yesterday. My name's Beth. You said you had a modeling job."

"Yes, would you like to meet for lunch tomorrow to discuss it?"

"I won't be available tomorrow. How about right now at a diner?"

"Oh, um, okay. Where would you like to meet?"

"Do you know the diner on 14th street?"

"Yes."

"How about we meet in about fifteen minutes there?"

"Okay, I'll see you there."

"Bye."

He hung up the phone in disbelief. That had been pretty easy. Now he just had to decide how he would tell her the truth.

He arrived at the diner in ten minutes and got a quiet booth. He saw her enter and called out to her, "Beth!"

Hearing him, she headed for his booth. She was prettier in person than he remembered. He indicated that she should sit down, then joined her. She was wearing a tight, white sweater and a short, denim skirt. Her hair was brushed back in a ponytail. He had not noticed her shoes. "Weren't you?" she asked.

"What?" he was startled. He had not heard what she had just said.

"You were watching me from a bench in the mall for like an hour, weren't you?" She smiled playfully.

"Yes, I was," he admitted.

"You aren't a photographer, either. Are you?" She was not smiling as much now.

"Sorry, no. But this isn't a date. I have a business proposition for you."

She had been about to get up, but she figured this proposition might be amusing.

"Proposition? What king of proposition?"

"I'm a scientist and I think I've invented something that would make it easier for you to do your job."

She stopped leaning and sat down normally again. He had caught her by surprise. "Easier how?"

"Well, as I was observing you yesterday, I noticed that every time you changed pose the gathered crowd would disperse. They were only waiting for you to move. Well, what if you went an hour or two without moving? More people might go into the store."

"There's no way I could hold a pose for two hours," she said, shaking her head. "Muscle fatigue would set in after the first hour."

"Not with my invention."

"What does your invention do?"

"Well, you would have to see it. But I've had a subject stand perfectly still for two hours without any ill effects."

"Really?"

"Yes. You could come to my lab and see for yourself."

"Is it far from here?"

"Um, no. Just a few minutes from here."

"Let's go."

They got up. He left a couple of bucks even though they hadn’t ordered anything. On the street he talked about the immobilizing capabilities of the compound. He told her that his lab was in his basement. As they entered his home, he told her that he was hoping he could turn his invention into a product. He did not tell her that the other test subjects were mice.

"Mice?" She stared at him incredulously. "You've never tested this on humans?"

"Um, no." He had closed the door to the basement behind him and now he was not sure whether he should have bolted it. "I know it sounds dangerous but watch what happens to the mouse."

He picked up a cage and took the mouse out. He placed the mouse in the center area of a maze and rubbed its back until the mouse lay down. Then, he moved a few grains of his compound to a scale with a pair of tweezers until he had a certain reading on the scale. From there, he scooped it into an eyedropper mixed with water. He placed the eyedropper into the mouse's mouth and squeezed, tapping the mouse on the rear.

The mouse stood up and took a few steps. Then it stopped, motionless.

Henry stepped back and bumped into Beth, who had been watching intently over his shoulder. "Here," he said picking the mouse up. "Feel him."

Beth took the frozen mouse in her hand. Its hair was soft like normal hair but its body was solid as if it had been made of molded plastic. The skin even had sheen like plastic. "If I hadn't seen it move before, I'd have sworn this was just some kind of toy or something." She turned it over tried to move its limbs gently. "I don't know if this would help my job. But I might try it."

"You will?"

"Well," she said directly, "you don't get into the living mannequin business without having fantasies about being made of plastic."

"This turns you on?"

She nodded.

He reached out for the mouse. She handed it to him and he put it down. He looked at his watch. "It should turn back to normal in a moment."

They waited silently. After a moment, the mouse seemed to lean forward, and then it shivered. The shivering stopped after a second and the mouse continued walking as if nothing had happened.

"What was that shiver?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I’ve done temperature tests, intelligence tests, motor skills tests and none of the tests indicate that the mouse has been harmed by the procedure. Since the mouse cannot speak, I don't know what the shiver means."

She said nothing for a moment. Then she said, "Let's do it. Let's do it now before I change my mind."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but let's do it."

"Okay, I need to know your weight so I can measure out a proper dose." He pointed to a corner. "There's a scale over there."

She went over to the scale and he took down her weight and made a few calculations on a piece of paper. He measured out some of the compound and pulled it into a fresh eyedropper.

He turned back to her. She was standing in one of the poses she had used in the mall. "Tip your head back," he instructed. "Ready?"

"Yes."

He put the dropper in her mouth and squeezed. She closed her mouth after he took it out and she steadied herself.

He watched as she solidified, her skin taking on a plastic sheen. He snapped a couple pictures of her. After a little over a minute, she shifted position and shuddered. "OOoo," she moaned and then she stood up straight.

"Well, how do you feel?" He asked impatiently.

"Oh." She looked around and spotted a stool. Noticing her gaze he helped her onto the stool. "That felt incredible."

"Incredible? Incredible? Incredible how?"

"First, it felt like a big skin-tight glove was sliding onto my body then I felt nothing. I remember not being able to move and it being a little boring but then there was this warmth throughout my body and suddenly I was orgasming uncontrollably. Right as the orgasm ended the immobility ended and I couldn't help but shudder in pleasure." She wiped her forehead. "That felt so good."

"An orgasm? I never thought to measure the mice's sexual level."

"Well, you should have," she paused. "How long was I immobilized?"

"Only ninety seconds or so."

"That's all?"

"I intended for it to last five minutes. So I guess more of the compound is absorbed by a human. If you'll do it again, I could make some calculations to more accurately gauge the duration."

"Like I would say no," she laughed. "If you can separate the orgasmic part from the immobilizing part, you could make a lot of money selling drugs."

"I have a confession," he grinned. "That's a bonus. The immobility was always the goal of this research. I liked watching you stand there."

"Well, thank you."

“Here, look at the pictures I took while I prepare another eyedropper.”

“Wow, my skin looks so unreal.”

"I think this will either last five minutes or about an hour."

"That's not very reassuring."

"I know. I only added a little bit to the prior dose so it should not last too long. Okay?"

"Okay. Do it."

He squirted it into her waiting mouth. She placed her left hand one her hip, bent her right arm with her hand at the height of her mouth and pursed her lips as if she was blowing something out of her open hand. Suddenly, she felt a certain tightness and was immobilized.