As the sound rang out through the room, they realized their search had ended. "Coming to you live from the Powden Museum for the Fine Arts, it's the demise of the Triple Threat." The trio heard this over the loudspeaker, and realized that the clues at the bank led them right to the Gasser’s hideout. Yesterday, the First Bank of Powden was robbed in an unusual heist. No police were summoned to the scene, no one was harmed, and the getaway occurred without any resistance. The gang was led by the latest super criminal to terrorize the city of Powden, known only as the Gasser. Using a special laughing gas to distract the patrons and employees of the bank, he pulled off a quick theft while the entirety of the bank was doubled over in helpless laughter. No one could reach the alarm button before succumbing to the vapors that removed all serious thought from their minds. They could do nothing but laugh as the gang emptied first the contents of the safe, and then their pocketbooks and wallets.
Only after the theft occurred and the perpetrators long gone did the recovering bank personnel summon the cops, who in turn summoned the greatest group of super heroines known to Powden: the Triple Threat. The team consisted of three women whose combined powers could overcome any threat. The group was counted on time and time again to save the city from the face of certain doom. The team consisted of: Tiffany Zales, AKA the Towering Inferno, who possessed unmatched super strength; Brittany Quest, AKA the Silver Sting, whose lightening fast speed could overcome any threat; and the leader Cindy Steel, AKA the Pendulum, possessing the mind powers and intelligence to outwit any foe.
From the bank heist, the trio used their abilities and the clues left behind to track down the Gasser to his hideout at the “Closed for Renovation” Powden Museum for the Fine Arts. However, little did they know that they were walking into a trap. A trap that started by robbing the bank and luring the trio to his hideout, where he planned to broadcast the demise of the Triple Threat to the whole world. The Gasser set up cameras throughout the museum; designed to capture the humiliating defeat of each member of the group and end their collective careers. Now, the plan could be put into action.
After his over the top introduction, the Gasser showed himself in the second floor balcony overlooking the Museum main hall. "Good evening, ladies. I present to you the end. I hope your bags are packed, because you’ll need to leave town after tonight." "Piss off," the Pendulum replied, "we have a nice cell block waiting for you with the rest of the Powden scum.” The Gasser, not impressed, clapped his hands loudly as if to acknowledge the challenge...and to summon his henchmen. The doors surrounding the main hall opened, and the Gasser’s henchmen entered the room wearing special gasmasks. “Let the battle commence,” flaunted the Gasser as a fight ensued between the Trio and their newly met foes. Immediately, it was clear to the Gasser from on high that his men were no match for the super group. The Towering Inferno wasted no time pounding his men into submission while the Pendelum used her mind powers to encourage the men to stop fighting and stare at her lovely legs. The Silver Sting, meanwhile, finished the job by speeding around the room and tying up the hypnotized henchmen. While in the midst of the fighting, however, no one noticed the three tiny spheres fall from the top floor balcony.
Reaching into his belt of tricks, the Gasser hurled the silver spheres down to the unsuspecting trio. The balls crashed into the ground, and a green mist filled the hall to the shock of the unsuspecting super heroines. The girls reached for the gasmasks in their utility belts to counteract the poison, but the quick working vapors they breathed in convinced them otherwise. Collectively, they forgot what purpose the masks served, and why, even, they brought them in the first place. The gas worked fast to cloud the girls’ minds, and everything around them appeared completely hilarious.
Soon the girls were smiling and laughing at everything in the main hall of the Powden Museum. "This, hahahaha, is the same stuff, hahaha, from the b-HA-b-HA-bank," noticed the Silver Sting as her super speed began to noticeably decline. The comment, while meant to be taken serious, proved to be all too funny to the super heroines, and their abilities to repel the attackers diminished along with their failing sobriety. Tiffany, the Towering Inferno, continued to beat back the henchmen between giggles, but soon her super strength abandoned her, replaced by laughter that forced her to double over and fall to her knees. The Gasser’s henchmen, protected by their gasmasks, quickly regained their composure and piled on top of the super heroine. "Ge..haha..get..haah..get off me," is all the helpless super heroines can mutter before a few more breaths of the gas stripped all thoughts of care from her mind. Cindy Steel, the tried leader of the group, also felt the effects after awhile. As her situation seems all the more funny, the men under her control broke out of the spell and pinned down the giggly super heroine.
"Boys, that stuff was designed to be potent, but not long lasting," warned the Gasser, "get them into their rooms." On the order, the henchmen picked up the helpless super heroines and separated them into different rooms of the museum. Unable to resist, the girls were carried and dragged off apart from their team members...giggling all the way.
Within moments, the giggling trio was locked away into separate chambers, forced to face alone the dangers that awaited them at the hands of the cruel Gasser. The deadly combination of their combined strengths had been negated.
Part I - The Challenge of the Towering Inferno
Tiffany landed in the room with a thud still under the effects of the laughing mist. Her head began to clear as she heard the click of the door lock. Her strength soon returned to normal, and she worked her way to her feet to access the situation. A bash to the unyielding door convinced her that she was trapped in the room for the moment. Even with her super-strength, the reinforced door was not budging. Looking around the room, she realized that she was in a large hall with an empty throne at the far end of the room. The artwork in this room particularly caught her attention. Portraits of all of her previous conquests surrounded the room. Above the door she was so recently thrown through was a well done painting of her defeat of the Titan Horde. She took a moment to admire the picture of her towering above the three muscular men that she had pounded into submission last year.
“Quite a gallery, eh,” came a voice from behind her. Tiffany spun around to see none other then the Gasser, now seated in the previously empty throne. “Your time ends here, I’m afraid“ he continued, “no more portraits, except this last tribute.” He pointed to a painting over his head that was shrouded by a black cloth. “YOU BASTARD,” she shouted as she ran towards her matched foe with the intent of ripping her head off. With the flick of his wrist, the Gasser revealed the painting, which stopped the Towering Inferno dead in her tracks. Before her, was a two slide painting, similar to a comic book. The topmost slide pictured Tiffany, on her knees, apparently begging to the Gasser for her life. The bubble above her head, labeled “Please don’t hurt me”, confirmed this. The bottommost slide showed Tiffany bent over the throne in what looked like the same room she was in with a yellow stripe painted across her back. The Gasser, also pictured, happily paddled the Inferno on her ass while tears streamed down her face. At the bottom of the painting read the title of the painting, “The Inferno Shows Her True Colors”.
Tiffany stared at the painting for a moment, and then couldn’t help to laugh a little at the confidence of the Gasser. “That’s almost as funny as your laughing gas,” she said, “I’m going to beat the shit out of you after I tear down that painting.” Living up to her promise, Tiffany walked up the throne and cracked the Gasser straight in the jaw. Then in one swift move, she grabbed him by his shirt and hurled him away from the humiliating painting. With another call of “Bastard”, she proceeded to mount the throne with the indent of launching the painting from the wall...preferably at the Gasser. However, in her fit of rage, she failed to notice at close inspection the tiny perforations built into the painting.
As she reached up to grasp the painting, a yellow fog shot out of the holes in the portrait and hit her square in the jaw. Reeling in surprise and shock at the speed of the motion, she fell from the left arm of the throne and landed with a loud “thump”. As the mist continued to shroud her, her first reaction was that she was again to fall victim to more of his laughing gas. However, after a few moments, she did not started to laugh uncontrollably as before. But she did feel different. She turned around to face the Gasser, but instead before her stood a blonde haired little girl who couldn’t have been more than 12 years old. “Where’s the Gasser?” Tiffany sheepishly asked. The girl, who completed the schoolgirl look with the familiar plaid dress and white knee high socks replied, “Shut up, bitch”.
Normally, Tiffany would have been infuriated, and deep inside her she was quite pissed off, but instead, she felt a slight yet building twinge in her stomach. She could even feel her knees buckle a little. Regaining her composure, Tiffany asked, “What did you say to me?” To which the girl snapped back, “I told you to shut the fuck up. What are you going to do about it?” Surprisingly to her, Tiffany automatically replied back, “Nothing.” She then felt her knees begin to shake again and felt her mind recoil to the untappable reaches of her mind. For a moment, she sat in shock at what came over her, but soon she began to realize what was happening.
Tiffany felt afraid, a feeling unfamiliar to the super heroine. A part of her will wanted her to be brave as always, but for some reason her consciousness did not respond. A wimpy shell remained behind, lacking the nerve to stand up and fight these feelings back. “Finally figuring it out, eh?” replied the schoolgirl. “That yellow mist my uncle gave you was his patented fear gas. With that stopping you, you’re just a little crybaby. He had to go take care of your other friends, but he’s left you with ME...” She rushed Tiffany and slapped her quivering body in the back of the head. Tiffany tried to cover the blow, but in such a defensive manner that served to convince her that she couldn’t stand up for herself. “I bet inside you’re probably saying, ‘hit her back’,” taunted the little girl, “Well go ahead. Your 10 times stronger for me. I couldn’t possible stop you.”
Tiffany indeed screamed inside to defend herself. She dreamed of spinning the girl around and slapping her on her little behind. These thoughts stirred inside her, and she felt as if she could rise to the challenge of the fear gas; she just needed to get a hold of herself. Perhaps, she though, the initial effects of the gas were short lived, and she could overcome this obstacle. However, her body and mind still did not respond to this fading will. Although she could clearly envision winning the fight, any attempts to react to her thoughts brought a new wave of fear upon her. Tiffany felt that if she didn’t act fast, she would find herself at the mercy of the Gasser.
Already, Tiffany could feel the gas eating away at the last reserves in her inner mind. “Maybe she is too tough for me”, she began to ponder. “Maybe if I do what she says, she’ll leave me along”. She looked up at the comic painting that angered her only a moment earlier, but all she could think of now was going home and crawling under her bed. With her last will clinging to sanity, Tiffany reached out to block a kick to her stomach. “Ouch,” screamed the little girl as she recoiled from the hit and fell to the ground. For a moment, the schoolgirl just lay there, recovering from the shot of the blow. “NOW”, Tiffany’s mind begged. She saw her chance. “We can take this back, but we must act NOW”. However, hesitate she did, allowing the schoolgirl to get to her feet. Tiffany knew she could win with one punch, and then she could go to save her friends. But she was too afraid, the little girl proved to be too much for her.
“Now I remember,” said the little girl. “You think you’re stronger than the gas. My uncle told me what to do in situations like this. Last chance, want to take another shot?” Tiffany did within, but she needed another moment. The gas wouldn’t let her take the chance she needed. To her, the girl towered over her as she approached the Inferno. “Okay then,” the little girl said, “Let’s see if we can distract your efforts.”
With little resistance, the schoolgirl began to tickle Tiffany’s sides. “Kootchie kootchie koo,” she teased as she increased the intensity. As the little girl tickled her, Tiffany’s confused mind began to lose its fighting will. “You see,” the schoolgirl explained, “You’re will can eventually overcome the gas, but not if I play with you a little.” Tiffany really started to giggle when the schoolgirl moved to her armpits, and when the girl commanded that she raise her arms - Tiffany willing did so. Anything to please this big bully picking on her. “Don’t fight it little baby,” the girl continued, “it will be easier to just give in.” As the schoolgirl relentlessly continued her tickle attack, Tiffany laughed away the last grip she had on fighting back. She had succumbed to the gas and was now at the mercy of the Gasser and his niece.
For good measure, the tickle torture continued for five more minutes...just to be sure that Tiffany wouldn’t put up any more resistance. She asked Tiffany all sorts of questions, from simple ones like where she was most ticklish, to more important queries such as who she really was underneath that mask. Powerless to stop the onslaught, at least to Tiffany, she willingly gave up any requested information. When the schoolgirl had gotten everything she needed that her uncle has wanted, she let up the tickling.
“That’s all you needed,” taunted the girl as she continued the onslaught, “A little rib-tickling to convince you who’s the strongest. Now, to mark you as the “fraidy” cat that you are...hold still.” Now completely broken, Tiffany stood helplessly as the schoolgirl produced a brush and painted a long yellow stripe down her back...marking her conquest rightfully. Then, on the order of "march", Tiffany “willingly” waltzed over to the throne and proceeded to take a spanking at the hands of the little schoolgirl. She had failed to rise to the challenge, and would do anything she was told out of her new fear. Soon the Gasser would be around to take his turn, but he had two other super heroines to break in. Hopefully they would fair better. But Tiffany’s fate was now sealed, as she was humiliated in the throne room of the Powden museum while the camera mounted on the ceiling watched it all.