The next morning, the girls all wandered down to find Beth sipping coffee at a table that was already set up with a grid map and screen, all ready for their game.

“Good morning girls!” Smiled Beth. “Pancakes are in the kitchen, eat up as destroying evil requires a lot of energy!”

The girls all let out various excited noises as they dashed to the kitchen and brought their breakfast in, all of them quickly devouring their food.

Once they were done they all looked to Beth.

“Should we go change?” Asked Zoey, hardly able to contain her excitement.

“I can’t wait for you to see my outfit!” Beamed Kim.

“Sure, go change and I’ll do the dishes,” smiled Beth as the girls quickly ran back to the bedrooms and started to pull off their clothes.

Beth quickly threw the dishes into the sink before grabbing a small bag from under the counter and running back to the table, making sure the bag was totally hidden from prying eyes.

One by one the girls came out of the bedrooms, posing and twirling for Beth who sat in awe. She was genuinely impressed with the effort the girls had put into their costumes.

Once they were all sat down Beth slapped the table. “Well, before we start, why don’t you give everyone a rundown of your costume!” Grinned Beth. “I want to hear all about them!”

Kim stood up first, holding up her massive paw-shaped gloves as she did. “Space Kitty is all about being cute and cat-like! Hence the gloves and ears!” She smiled. “I went for shiny silver accents on my clothes to convey her space theme!”

“Lady Aria is styled like a vampiric countess,” smiled Karen. “So I’ve gone for a formal gothic dress and veil, as well as red contact lenses!”

Zoey stood up and pulled her hat on. “The Express Knight is all about trains! So I’ve gone for a full Bullet train conductor’s uniform!” Grinned Zoey. “Well the colors are brighter than the official one, but it fits the genre!”

Finally, Lucy rose up from her seat, her blonde wig bouncing slightly as she did, her sparkly dress catching the light. “Gaim is all about the golden age of Hollywood, the 1920s and 30s, she is basically a high powered flapper, hence this dress!” She smiled as she shook her hips a little.

“Glorious! Wonderful! You all look amazing!” Applauded Beth, causing all of her players to blush slightly. “And I have a little gift for you all!”

“Oh, my!” Giggled Zoey, watching as Beth reached under the table and threw a small velvet bag at each girl.

“It’s heavy!” Grinned Karen as everyone opened up their bag and watched as a small glowing ball rolled out. Instantly the girls’ eyes fixated on glowing balls, their curiosity blended with a strange inability to look away from the illuminated spheres. Slowly but surely the girls found themselves getting drawn into the colors, their eyes glazing over as they watched.

Beth just smiled and admired their faces, the blinking colors reflecting in each girl’s eyes. “Just look into the ball girls, just look into the ball, let its colors wash over you,” purred Beth, her voice dropping into a low, soothing coo. “Let your mind fall into the pretty colors, let your mind just sink.” She continued, watching as the girls slowly slumped forward, their noses pressing into the balls. “It is almost like your thoughts are being tied to pretty colorful balloons and those balloons are floating away.” She continued.

The girls just let Beth’s words flow into their minds, their own thoughts slowly dissolving into the pretty colors that radiated from the balls. Each of them felt their muscles growing heavier and heavier, almost like they were sinking into the floor.

Beth nodded to herself as she pulled out her phone and tapped on it. Within a few moments, a recording of Beth’s voice started to play. This recording continued to talk the girls deeper and deeper into a trance.

As the recording played Beth went and pulled out her second suitcase, quickly changing into the armor and cape that had sat inside of it.

Once she was dressed she looked in the mirror and posed. “Queen Mechanica, pleased to me you!” She smiled before laughing theatrically and walking back to the girls.

By now the girls were mentally gone, so lost in the trance that they couldn’t form thoughts of their own, their whole world nothing but the pretty balls and Beth’s voice.

Beth turned her phone off and smirked. “Follow me,” she said gently, leading the girls into the center of the room.