The cameras were barely hidden behind clear glass tiles in the shower stall. In any case, Kristin’s instruction to leave their masks on had been a dead giveaway.

They didn’t mind a bit. In fact, the idea of being watched gave them a delicious little thrill.

They turned on the water and adjusted it to an agreeable warmth. Then they began to play, progressing from cute nose touches to innocent little pecks on the cheek to affectionate kisses on the lips to passionate tongue-wrestling.

After a little while, they got down to the business of washing as well as pleasing each other. They settled into a steady rhythm of alternately turning their backs on each other, the one in back reaching around to rub gel soap onto the tits and belly and pubes and thighs of the one in front.

They then met face to face, pressing lips to lips and tits to tits and lips to lips as they rubbed the gel onto each other’s backs and backsides. They thrust into each other and wriggled just enough to feel a bit tingly down below but restrained themselves to save their erotic energies for their upcoming performance.

Finally, they shared another long deep kiss as the last of the soap and conditioner flowed down the drain.

As they toweled each other off. Kristin arrived with their freshly laundered costumes. The Leathergal watched appreciatively as they got dressed, then led them down a hallway—not to the stage, but to the front office of the VaVaVidd building.

-----

The Baroness sat at the desk. There were two tripod-mounted cameras operated by Leathergals and several more remote-controlled ones hanging from the ceiling on servo arms.

“Hello, Mistress.”

“Don’t call me ‘Mistress’ all the time. Save it for special occasions.” The overtones in her voice made it quite clear what sort of “special occasions” she had in mind.

Shield Lass looked around with a puzzled expression. “Is this where we’re filming the next scene?” she asked. “If we’re supposed to have sex on the desk, we’ll need to clear it off first.”

“I’m afraid your sex scenes will have to be postponed. For now, I need you to reconstruct the scenes you filmed earlier,” the Baroness explained. “Those recordings were lost when a hard drive suddenly failed.”

“I’m not sure I remember everything exactly,” Shield Lass objected. Her memories of coming here and accepting the Baroness’s deal a little while ago were fairly clear, but not photographic. “I definitely remember all the instructions Kristin gave us, and mostly remember what we did, but I don’t think I can get everything exactly the same.”

“Don’t worry about minor details. As long as your reenactment is reasonably faithful to the original events, it’ll be good enough to fill out the ‘Making of Intimate Initiation’ featurette.”

“All right, let’s get this done,” Vindiatrix said.

The Baroness opened the outside door. “Wait out front for a minute or so, ring the bell, and then we’ll get started.”

The heroines followed those instructions. One of the Leathergals opened the door to let them back into the building; a moment later, the Baroness reentered the room from the rear corridor.

“Hello, Vindiatrix, Shield Lass. I take it you got my invitation?”

Of course they’d gotten the Baroness’s invitation. That was why they’d come here in the first place. Vindiatrix clearly remembered that. For a moment, she had a stray recollection of arriving here angry and intent upon a confrontation. That didn’t make sense, though. In that case, it would have been stupid to just walk in the front door, and she distinctly remembered doing just that.

“Yes,” she replied.

“And you’ve decided to consider my proposal.”

Vindiatrix looked at Shield Lass for a long moment. Then she said, “We’ve decided to accept your proposal.” It was exactly what she remembered saying earlier this evening. It was the decision she remembered reaching after a brief but heartfelt discussion with her partner. Something felt vaguely “off” about the memories, but nothing that gave her real cause to doubt them.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

She opened a drawer and took out two clipboards, handing one to each heroine.

“If you’re absolutely sure that you wish to accept my offer, all you need to do is make it official, and then we can proceed.”

The duo began to read the documents.

“Take your time. Think about this carefully. Once you sign on the dotted line, there’s no turning back.”

The heroines had distinct recollections of reading these documents before. They didn’t remember every single detail, but the overall outline the contract was familiar. The document promised that they would not be expected to reveal their secret identities, and that the studio would take all reasonable steps to help safeguard them. They would receive generous pay and benefits and a twenty-hour workweek with considerable flexibility.

Their end of the bargain would be to grant Baroness Blackleather Productions the image rights to their superheroine personas, to promote the company via interviews and other publicity events, and to appear in at least a dozen full-length adult videos within the next two years.

“I’ll be bluntly honest with you,” the Baroness said. “These productions aren’t going to be demurely artistic peek-a-boo shows. They’re going to be explicit pornography, featuring full-frontal nudity and explicit lesbian sex.”

Shield Lass was the first to respond. “I’m an adult. I’m allowed to do that if I want.” She looked her partner in the eye. “Is it really so wrong to let people see us do what we both know we want to do?”

Just like last time, Vindiatrix had no answer to that. “You’re right,” she finally said.

The three women sat at the desk, the heroines looking uncertain, the Baroness keeping a calm poker face.

Finally, the Baroness spoke. “If you don’t really want my help, you’re free to just walk away. I can absorb the losses; after all, I arranged all this without knowing for certain that you’d even consider the offer. The question is whether or not you can accept the loss of this unique opportunity.”

She looked Vindiatrix in the eye, and then Shield Lass. Her expression was warm and sympathetic. “I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but right now I really do want to help you, if you’ll only admit to yourselves that you want and need my help.”

Her demeanor turned more businesslike as she pointed out the scheduling clauses in the contract. “Just to sweeten the deal, I’m offering you a way to make a living while you fight crime and have time for yourselves. I’m sure it’s much more accommodating than whatever day job you have in your secret identities. Consider that before you reach a final decision.”

Tracy’s freelance software engineering gigs gave her considerable leeway in that regard, but it was often difficult to juggle it with her superheroic responsibilities. Jenny’s college course load didn’t interfere as much with her time, but tuition wasn’t cheap. The offered pay and profit-sharing arrangements were generous enough to solve both problems.

Vindiatrix and Shield Lass looked at the contracts again. The more they looked, the more familiar they seemed. Only the final pages looked wrong. The Baroness’s signature was there, but theirs were missing.

A few strokes of two pens later, the contracts looked like they were supposed to.

The Baroness got to her feet; the heroines did likewise. “Congratulations, and welcome to Baroness Blackleather Productions!” she said as she stepped out from behind the desk to give each of them a handshake and a kiss.

“Follow me.”

They walked down a hallway toward the main stage, the Baroness in the lead, Vindiatrix and Shield Lass behind, and two Leathergals bringing up the rear with handheld cameras.

They arrived at the entrance to the main stage. “You remember what to do, ladies.”

Indeed they did. They remembered Kristin’s voice from last time telling them to take their places at center stage, strip away their costumes bit by bit until only their masks remained, and then walk hand in hand to the Scissor-Matic to be strapped in.

The stage looked almost exactly as they’d left it. The only obvious difference was that the cords and clips were gone from the platforms to which they’d been bound, with only attachment rings remaining to indicate where they had been.

The Baroness took a seat on a folding director’s chair near a set of control panels where several Leathergals maneuvered lights and cameras for optimum coverage of the strip show.

Vindiatrix and Shield Lass stood at center stage, waiting for the signal to begin.

The Baroness raised her hand, and the signal was given.

Muscle memory took over as they began to recapitulate the scene they remembered. They bent lower than strictly necessary to remove their boots and socks. The cameras pivoted to view their rear ends. The skintight spandex stretched across their bottoms gave a clear preview of coming attractions.

Imitating coquettish displays they’d seen in various TV shows and movies, they assumed mock-demure expressions as they peeled off and discarded their gloves.

In unison they hooked their thumbs under the waistbands of their tights and pushed downward. As the leggings slid down their thighs, they shimmied their hips to help work the leggings loose and to show off their hips.

They continued their synchronized stripping as they took off their tops inch by inch, baring their midriffs, displaying their bra-clad bosoms, and finally yanking their heads and arms free.

Now down to masks and underwear, another memory came to the forefront. Rather than continue peeling away the last of their own clothes, they began to strip each other.

Shield Lass made a show of pulling back Vindiatrix’s bra strap as though she were about to snap it. After two fake-outs where she twiddled the strap without actually releasing it, she undid the fasteners and sent the garment flying away with a comically dramatic cry of “Ta-tas!”

Vindiatrix turned around and moved in behind Shield Lass. She undid the blonde’s bra clasp with one quick motion. She then reached around, alternately squeezing the blonde’s tits and lifting them from below to better present them to the cameras.

Finally, Vindiatrix let her hands slide down to her partner’s flanks. Shield Lass stepped away and turned around. Vindiatrix went down on her knees before her and reached up to slowly lower her panties. As the younger heroine’s blonde bush and pink pussy lips came into view, her mentor stared almost as intently as the cameras that maneuvered into position.

Shield Lass smirked and reached out to take hold of Vindiatrix’s head, keeping her in position to look but not touch.

The Baroness smiled. That detail wasn’t part of the false memory imprinting. The fact that her new thralls were coming up with spontaneous bits of business to accentuate their performances was a very encouraging sign.

Her attention returned to the scene playing out on the stage as the blonde kicked her doffed panties aside and moved in behind her partner. Vindiatrix got back onto her feet while Shield Lass went down on her knees. As the brunette’s panties slid down her thighs, the blonde puckered her lips and gently blew on her neatly trimmed bush—another unscripted flourish.

It made sense, the Baroness realized; the previous Remodulator readings showed that the younger heroine already had definite lesbian inclinations. As her new sexual imprinting took root, her formerly straight partner would learn to be equally spontaneous and creative with another woman.

Now naked from the neck down, each heroine put her hands on her hips and did a half-turn. Their limber athleticism and voluptuous curves enabled them to smoothly carry off the classic boobs-and-butt pose.

That was one advantage to recruiting real superheroines, the Baroness mused. They carried off the look almost as impressively as a comic-book panel unconstrained by real-world anatomical limitations. The image might be a good choice for the cover art.

After holding the stance for a few seconds, the duo turned toward each other, stepped close, and embraced. They leaned into each other to share a long passionate kiss. They remembered Kristin’s voice talking them through this scene and followed the same pattern, alternately pressing their mouths tight together and pulling back far enough to catch their breath and give the cameras glimpses of their open mouths and waggling tongues.

“Oh, Tracy...,” Shield Lass whispered into Vindatrix’s ear, too softly for the microphones to pick up. Much as she trusted Mistress, this was one thing that was still theirs.

Vindiatrix shifted position to bring her mouth close to Shield Lass’s ear. “Oh, Jenny...,” she replied. “I don’t think it matters if the microphones pick this up,” she continued reassuringly. “I don’t think Mistress wants to know.”

She gently nibbled on her partner’s earlobe. Shield Lass giggled.

The Baroness took note that, as she expected, Vindiatrix was learning to add personal touches to her lesbian lovemaking technique.

Finally, the duo broke off the kiss and walked hand-in-hand toward the Scissor-Matic.

Each of them was met by two Leathergal attendants. Straps were fitted around their calves and thighs, belts were buckled around their bodies, and collars were fastened around their necks. Once that was finished and double-checked, they mounted the platforms and allowed themselves to be guided into position.

Their leg bands were fastened to the support rods. Vindiatrix and Shield Lass spread their legs wide, and the rod joints were locked to hold them in that position. Fingerless mitts were slipped onto their hands and buckled tight around their forearms. Cords were clipped to loops on the mitts and D-rings bolted to the sides of the framework, holding their arms firmly in place.

More latches clicked as the belts and collar were tied down. The Leathergals made a few last-minute adjustments to get their bodies precisely aligned for their coming rendezvous.

Finally, each of them was fitted with her headband and ballgag. The last few cords were connected, and Kristin declared the Scissor-Matic ready for operation.

“Remember to put on a good show of trying to escape. That really spices up this kind of hardcore bondage scene.”

Both heroines nodded. That was the exact same instruction they remembered from the first time.

Two Leathergals moved in to apply the binary lubricant. Once that was done, the Baroness pressed a button on her belt. The platforms began to move as the machinery came to life.

“When you’re done here, the gals will untie you and Kristin will escort you to Stage Three to record a few more scenes,” the Baroness said as she left them to their pleasure. “See you in half an hour.”

-----

Everything was proceeding precisely according to plan.

Vindiatrix and Shield Lass had smoothly “reconstructed” scenes from their imprinted false memories, reinforcing them and infusing them with a wealth of sensory detail beyond anything the Remodulator could create. They now firmly believed that they had voluntarily chosen to accept the Baroness’s invitation to become pornographic performers. They were on camera reading the agreement and signing on the dotted line after being candidly warned about what they were getting into. They had willingly, even eagerly, accepted their new roles.

She was above suspicion, and her new recruits would be the first to defend her from any accusations of wrongdoing.

In a few days, the world would learn about the offer. For the time being, she would instruct the heroines to refer questions to her. She intended to neither confirm nor deny anything until the time was right for the big public announcement.

The Baroness did another quick walk-though on Stage Three, confirming that everything was ready to begin filming.

All that remained was to await the arrival of the performers, any minute now.