The Demented Collector As a detective, it was no surprise that Bethany came across many strange cases and people to go along with them. But while strange was the norm in her work life, every so often there would be a case that would shock even the detective herself. And even then, few were stranger than this one. It all started on a hot summer afternoon, Bethany was finishing some reports on her most recent cases when May barged into her office. The perky redhead pointed that someone wanted to see Bethany about a case and the detective was more than happy to welcome them. It was then that a young woman entered the office, couldn't had been more than 24 years old. Not only was the woman quite attractive, she could had easily posed as Bethany sister, as they shared many traits. "Good afternoon, detective Bethany Hunter at your service. How can I help you?" Bethany gestured for the woman to take a seat. "Thank you, my name is Vanessa Jones. I've come to you because I have a serious problem and nobody is willing to listen to me." Vanessa did in fact looked troubled. "That's what I'm here for. How can I help?" Bethany asked. "It's about my sister. She's been missing for almost two days and no one is helping me. I reported it to the police and they said they look into it but that it would take time because they have "more pressing cases" and that she could had just left on her own." Vanessa explain, showing her frustration. "I'm more than willing to help you, but I need details. What's her name, what does she look like, where does she work?" Bethany asked. "Her name is Melanie and I guess she looks like me, a bit taller, long brown hair, blue eyes. Actually she kind of looks like you. She works at art gallery in upper east side. The Vanderbilt Gallery." Vanessa replied. "Like me? Interesting. In any case had she told you anything strange, did she had a problem with someone or anything of the sort?" Bethany continued noting down the details. "Actually, she mentioned she had met a woman at work who kept making strange comments about her. She set that the woman offered her a job as a model, but that she felt something was odd about it." Vanessa replied. "That's a lead right there." Bethany noted, "Anything else?" "She did mentioned there were some strange things going on at the gallery. There was a collector obsessed with certain pieces and they had been very aggressive about acquiring them. She also mentioned how one of her coworkers quit under some very weird circumstances." Vanessa sighed. "I see, well Vanderbilt is clearly our best lead at the moment. Nevertheless, did she had any relationships or any other problems?" "Not that I can think of, she's a very gentle person, not the kind to have enemies." Vanessa replied. "I see, well I'll investigate the gallery and as soon as I find anything, I'll let you know." Bethany got up from her chair. "Thank you, Ms. Hunter, I'm glad there's someone willing to help me." Vanessa looked a bit more relieved. "Again, that's what we are here for." Bethany smiled. A short drive later, Bethany and May arrived at Vanderbilt Gallery. With next to no clues other than Vanessa's remarks, the detective had to trust her instincts and hope she could find something at the gallery. The detective made her way inside and took a quick look at the gallery. Truth be told it was quite an impressive showing, featuring many remarkable paintings from both recognized artists as well as those who were on the rise. Bethany made her way to the lobby desk, hoping to get something out of the receptionist. "Excuse me, I'm detective Bethany Hunter. I'm here conducting an investigation on a missing person who happens to work here. Her name is Melanie Jones. Is there anyone who might be able to answer some questions." Bethany said. "Ohh I'm sorry, I can't help with that, miss. I wasn't here when it happened." The receptionist replied. "Could you put me in contact with the person in charge?" Bethany asked. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. She is attending important matters at the moment." The receptionist replied nervously. "I'll come back some other time then." Bethany said, her tone expressing frustration. Bethany sighed in frustration and sat in a nearby bench along with May. This was the only lead they had and if they couldn't interrogate anyone here it would be near impossible to figure out what had happened to Melanie. "Crap....so what's the plan now?" May asked. "I don't know. I suppose we'll have to gather more information about the place, maybe ask Vanessa some more questions." Bethany crossed her arms. "If you don't mind, I'll take a quick look at the gallery." May said. "Sure, go ahead." Bethany replied. For a few minutes afterward, Bethany was lost in thought. Unaware that she had caught the attention of a woman clad in a red dress. "Excuse me...." The woman approached Bethany, "Pardon me for being rather impolite and eavesdropping, but is it true that you are looking for Melanie Jones?" "Yes, but who are you?" Bethany asked, taking a good look at the woman. The woman sported an aura of elegance, the dress highlighted her features rather well. She had long black hair and green eyes to match. Her mannerisms and elegance showed that she was no ordinary woman. "Pardon my manners, my name is Juliette Crawford. I have my own concerns regarding Ms. Jones." Juliette replied. "Is that so? How come?" Bethany asked. "I've been a patron of this establishment for a while now and Ms. Jones has been a fantastic confidant. Her disappearance preoccupies me as I know that she is not someone who would miss work. I believe something strange is going on here and if you are interested in finding Ms. Jones, I would be more than happy to assist you however way I can." Juliette replied. "I see. Do you have any information that could help me?" Bethany asked. "At the moment no. But I have many resources and connections, give me an hour or two and I should have something for you." Juliette replied. "Alright, here's my card. Contact me if you get anything." Bethany handed her a card. "Very well, I shall contact you as soon as I have something. Until then, good day." Juliette departed with an air of elegance. With no other options or leads, Bethany left the gallery and headed to a nearby cafe to drink a good cup of coffee and collect her thoughts. Meanwhile she had tasked May with finding as much information as she could online involving anything related to the Vanderbilt gallery. May was enthralled in her investigation as Bethany drank her coffee and hoped for the best. She wondered about the woman who had offered to help, her motivations and agenda. She didn't want to trust or rely on her but at the moment she had no other option. "You got anything?" Bethany asked as she sipped a bit more of her coffee. "Seems like Vanderbilt has been involved in a few scandals. They reported some art pieces were stolen and there were some financial issues to boot." May said, her eyes still focused on her phone. "Interesting info, though I fear I can't do much with it, unless we can connect these things somehow." Bethany sighed. "Maybe the financial issues are related to the missing pieces?" May asked. "Yes, but how does that relate to Melanie's disappearance is the question...unless..." Bethany's train of thought was interrupted when her phone began to ring, "Hello, who is it?" She asked. "It's Juliette. Detective, I did some digging and I got something you might find interesting." Juliette said. "What did you find?" Bethany asked. "As I said, I have many sources that can track things rather efficiently. I believe Ms. Jones might have fallen victim to a smuggling ring. My sources gave me the address of an abandoned warehouse that serves as one of their base of operations, it might prove useful to investigate that place. I should warn you, however, that it may prove dangerous." Juliette said. "Send me the address and I'll head there immediately." Bethany replied. "Very well, good luck." Juliette replied. "May let's go, we got a lead." Bethany got up and headed to the car. With no other options, the detective headed to the location Juliette mentioned. She didn't know much about the woman, much less about where she was heading, but if she wanted to uncover the truth she had no other choice but to follow the lead. Nevertheless, her instincts had raised many questions. After a short drive, they arrived at the abandoned warehouse, ready to investigate. "Are you sure you want to do this? Don't you think it could be a trap?" May asked. "It most likely is a trap. Which is why I'm going to need you." Bethany replied. "Huh?" May looked puzzled. "Even a trap can prove to be an excellent lead. I'm gonna head on and check the place. If I don't come back in an hour, I'll need your help." Bethany said calmly. "Wait what?!?" May looked at Bethany worried. "I trust you. Wish me luck!" Beth smiled before stepping out of the car. Without hesitation, the detective pushed forward and headed to the warehouse. She scanned the area and didn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, there were no patrols or anything of the sort, which prompted her to head inside the warehouse. Once inside she began to look for any clues that could prove useful, as she looked around she noticed a lot of strange molding devices. There were human sized frames composed of a transparent latex like material. "What the hell?" Bethany asked as she looked at the frames, but before she could investigate them, a loud bang was heard in the room and smoke began to cloud the room, "What the?!?! Ughhh need....to...get...out....." Bethany felt as her body got weak and collapse in the floor. As she began to lose consciousness, she saw some figures approaching her, among them a woman clad in a red dress. When the detective came back to her senses, she noticed she was now in a larger room and surrounded by figures. Her blazer had been removed and she was on the floor, resting against a plastic like material, her extremities had been stretched as far as they could. "What..s....going...on?" Bethany barely managed to utter. "My little detective, so naive." A woman replied. "You......I...knew you were.....up...to something...." Bethany said as she realized the woman was no other than Juliette. "I was afraid you wouldn't come, but your desperation to find a lead proved useful." Juliette laughed. "What....do....you....want?" Bethany asked. "I'm a collector of fine art and you see, I believe the female body is the highest form of art. You my little detective will be my masterpiece!" Juliette laughed maniacally. "What?!" Bethany was stunned. "Oh yes, your glorious body will be the crown jewel of my collection. Compared to you, Melanie is nothing! I will immortalize your beauty and preserve you as my greatest victory!" Juliette kept on laughing maniacally. "You...can't....do...that!!" Bethany said in exasperation. "Oh but I will and there's nothing you can do about it! But enough about that, let's discard those garments that hide your true beauty...." Juliette said as she began to strip Bethany. Bethany's body wasn't responding to her no matter how hard she tried to move. Unable to defend herself, Juliette was free to strip the detective of her garments, beginning by removing her heels and pantyhose. Juliette then moved to her chest and undid the bottoms of her shirt, removing it and revealing her purple bra. Not satisfied just yet, Juliette unzipped her skirt and pull it off along with her garter-belt, leaving the detective in nothing but her undergarments. Juliette looked at her with a devious grin and continue the stripping, unhooking the bra and finally pulling down the panties, leaving the detective completely nude. "Such a beautiful body, curvaceous yet firm, seductive and athletic. The pinnacle of perfection. You will make a fine addition indeed! Now begin the process!" Juliette shouted and soon enough a transparent latex like frame began to descend. "Noooooo..stooooop!!" Bethany watched in horror as the contraption came ever so close to her. "Nooooooooooo hmmmmmmm!" The material finally descended and trapped the detective in a transparent frame. It wrapped all over her body and no matter how hard she could try, she wouldn't be able to break it. There was only an opening with a gag of sorts to allow her to breathe. Bethany had been turned into a human portrait and the frame's transparent nature didn't do much to cover her modesty. "Beautiful! Splendid! I can't wait to display you in my private collection!" Juliette laughed maniacally once more, "Now lift her up and begin preparations to transport her, I'm eager to see how she'll fit in my collection!" "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" Bethany could only watch in horror as Juliette's henchmen lifted her frame and put her in a van, ready to transport her to her new life as a human portrait. After what seemed like an eternity in the darkness of the storage, Bethany was carried into a large art room. With her limited mobility she tried to scan her surroundings and was disturbed by what she saw. The art room looked like the mind of an mad man, filled with all sorts of strange paintings and sculptures. To her horror, she noticed there were four more human portraits. She was placed in the center of the room, with two human portraits at each side. "Yes! I can already tell this please feels enlightened with the new addition! My crowning jewel!" Juliette ran her hand over Bethany's body, "I hope you are more than happy with the accommodations I made for you. Bask in the glory of being the center of my collection!" "MMMmmmmmmm!" Bethany protested. "I will give you time to get used to your new life as my piece of art. I will come back later to enjoy my fine work." Juliette said as she left Bethany in the art room. "MmmmMM!!" Bethany wailed against her bindings to no avail. She sighed and resigned to her fate for the moment, saving her strength in the meantime. Although it seemed like things were quite dire for her, she was counting on her cavalry to save her from a life as a human portrait. Hope was not lost for the detective, as May had managed to track her whereabouts. Fearing the worst, May had decided to check the warehouse when she saw Bethany being loaded into a truck. The intrepid assistant tailed the truck and managed to find the location of Juliette's mansion and saw once again how Bethany was transported into the mansion. May decided to gear up and return as Nightshade, planning to take on Juliette with the element of surprise. "Oh lord, I hope this works..." Nightshade said as she took vantage point near the mansion, "Alright so there's a bit of security in the garden, but I can use the bushes to my advantage. My best bet is to then infiltrate through the backside. Alright, let's do this!" Nightshade descended from her vantage point and began her infiltration of the mansion. Sticking to her plan, she decided to start by passing through a garden with tall bushes. There were three guards patrolling the area, so Nightshade used the bushes to her advantage, hiding as the guards patrolled. Like a predator hunting for prey, Nightshade stalked the guards and the moment they were distracted, she incapacitated them with sleeping darts. Having taken cared of the security at the garden, Nightshade moved to the backside of the mansion or rather the pool side. She spotted two guards patrolling the area, but thankfully she took cover and managed to silently take them down with sleeping darts again. With her perimeter cleared, she made her way inside. Nightshade managed to enter the mansion through the kitchen. A quick scan revealed that there were no guards in the kitchen, so Nightshade continue making her way to the lobby, sticking to the shadows. As she made her way to the lobby, she noticed one guard was coming her way and she had no time to prepare and launch a dart. So with no other alternative, Nightshade used her speed and jumped at the guard, using the momentum to smash his head with her knee, rendering him unconscious. The noise attracted the attention of another guard, so Nightshade used her momentum to tackled and strike the guard with a punch straight to the face. Three more guards were coming her way but Nightshade was fired up and threw a smoke pellet in the lobby, clouding the room. This gave her an opportunity to strike down the three guards with ease. As the smoke cleared, Nightshade was the only one standing. With the security taken care of, Nightshade now had to find where Bethany was trapped, but the mansion was quite big so finding the room could prove to be a difficult task. To her fortune, however, she heard as Juliette spoke with Nocturne which gave Nightshade an opportunity to track her down. "Mmmmmmm!" Bethany protested as Juliette ran her fingers over her exposed stomach all the way down to her womanhood. "Enough!" Juliette said as she spanked the detective, the fabric of the material only helping in intensifying the sensations, "As my masterpiece you must learn to behave!" "MMmmmmMMMmmmMMM!" Bethany protested again. "That's enough!" Nightshade shouted, "I had enough of your bullshit. You are going down!" "Who goes there??" Juliette shouted. "A special delivery of whoop ass!" Nightshade shouted as she ran towards Juliette and punched her straight in the face. "HOW INSOLENT!" Juliette recovered and got up, "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR STUPIDITY!" "Ugh, you won't go down without being a pain in the ass will you?" Nightshade said, irritated. "You are not worthy of joining my collection. The only way I work an art piece from you....." Juliette drew a knife that was hidden in her left leg, "IS BY SPILLING YOUR BLOOD IN A CANVAS!" The demented collector launched at Nightshade with the blade, aiming to cut her throat. Nightshade dodged all her attacks, but Juliette hadn't given her an opportunity to launch a counterattack. The demented collector continued her barrage of attacks, still failing to connect with the heroine. Nightshade was able to time a knife thrust at her chest and caught the collector's arm, painfully wrenching it behind her back till Juliette was forced to drop the knife. However Juliette was not giving up and was able to spin free and elbow Nightshade in the face. The demented collector and Nightshade circled each other for a moment as they looked for a moment to strike. Nightshade took the offensive with a punch straight to the face. The attack staggered Juliette, which gave Nightshade and opportunity to send a kick right into her abdomen. Juliette took a defensive stance, blocking Nightshade's punches with her elbows. Juliette retaliated with a kick aimed between Nightshade's legs. Nightshade was able to avoid the kick to her groin but Juliette followed up by seizing her by the shoulders and slamming a knee into her stomach that made her cheeks puff as the air got knocked out of her lungs. Juliette twisted her elegant body to the side, wrapping an arm around her opponent's neck and at the same time shoving a hip in Nightshade's stomach, tossing the redhead to the floor and going down with her, still keeping the Headlock on. Juliette tried to keep Nightshade pinned on her back while applying more pressure to the headlock however the redhead was able to slither free and get back to her feet. Juliette threw an elbow strike however Nightshade blocked it and replied with a punch that reeled the collector. Nightshade threw another punch but Juliette ducked undeath it and wrapped her arms around Nightshade's body. Juliette threw herself backwards and suplexed Nightshade hard on the floor. Stunned by the impact Nightshade was a tad to slow and Juliette was able to slither behind her and started to apply a sleeper hold. As Nightshade struggled to break free Juliette rolled to her back and pulled Nightshade on top of her. Scissoring her legs around Nightshade's waist to keep her immobile Juliette managed to get her arm underneath Nightshade's chin and began to apply pressure to her windpipe. Nightshade gasped for air the collector's forearm was pressing against her windpipe while she felt the pressure on her sides increase by Juliette's powerful legs. "Thinking you could come here and spoil my work. I will kill you and paint a painting with your blood." Juliette smiled wickedly while increasing the pressure on Nightshade's throat, forcing her to let out a gurgling sound. Nightshade felt her vision already starting to dim by lack of oxygen. However by rolling to the side while prying at Juliette's arm she was able to slither out of the hold. Nightshade crawled back to her feet while holding her sore throat. Juliette attacked agressively but Nightshade intercepted her with a few swift punches that stunned her. She then threw the collector to the floor by sweeping her legs from underneath her. Juliette got back to her feet and made a run for the knife, but Nightshade threw a smoke pellet, engulfing the room in darkness. Nightshade recovered and jumped at Juliette once more, she attacked with a combination of punches that landed directly on Juliette's face, finally sending her to sleep. With Juliette taken care of and the smoke cleared, Nightshade shifted her attention to Bethany. She took Juliette's knife and used it to cut open Bethany's frame, releasing the detective from her prison. Bethany landed on the floor, her body still completely exposed. "Beth, are you alright?" Nightshade asked, helping her stand up. "I'm itchy, but I'll be fine. Quick, let's go release the others too." Bethany instructed. The duo released the others who had been held captive, curiously enough, Bethany noted that all of them shared physical traits with her. With the women freed, Nightshade called the PD to come and clean up the scene. "Man, that was a close one. Honestly though, you make a fine painting, Beth." Nightshade's tease was met with a slap to the back of her head. "Don't get any funny ideas or I'll decorate the office with you." Bethany teased back, "Anyway, thanks for the rescue. Though I would appreciate if you had brought me some clothes." "Weeeeeellll if you stopped hitting me and let me speak, I would had told you that I brought you some of your clothes." Nightshade stuck her tongue out. "Ah so you are learning a thing or two about preparation. Very nice." Bethany joked. Shortly after, the police arrived and took Juliette under custody after a fully dressed Bethany explained what had transpired. Melanie Jones was found among the captives, though Bethany didn't know who the others were. Afterwards, the police searched Juliette's mansion and found a plethora of incriminating evidence that showed Juliette's twisted nature. Apparently this was only her most recent twisted venture and the police were beginning to realize that she might have been behind other twisted crimes. "Well, we found Melanie and stopped a psychopath. I'm more than happy to put an end to this case." Bethany said. "I still don't get it. Why would she do something like that?" Nightshade asked. "I don't think we will be able to understand her reasons, suffice to say that she had a very strange interpretation of art. And being the heir of a powerful family, she had both the power and resources to act on it." Bethany replied, "I shudder to think what else she might have done." "Will the others be alright?" Nightshade wondered. "I hope so. They were there far longer than me, so I imagine it will take them some time to put the ordeal behind them. I'm glad we were able to rescue Melanie and the others.....even if I had to become a portrait myself." Bethany sighed. "I told you it was a trap!" Nightshade exclaimed with a degree of pride due to being right. "And I told you that I knew it too, but I also told you that even a trap can be a useful lead." Bethany replied. "Pretty gutsy of you to go straight into a trap without hesitating." Nightshade noted. "Like I said, I trust you." Bethany smiled. ".....Thanks." Nightshade couldn't be happier. Hearing that Bethany trusted her with her own life meant the world to her. "How about we go back home? I like to take a shower and forget that this ever happened...." Bethany yawned. "Sounds like a plan!" Nightshade smiled. The duo sped off into the night, heading back home for a well deserved rest. The demented collector's plans had been stopped and the day had been saved. Although with someone as powerful and demented as Juliette, one had to wonder if this was truly the end of her twisted schemes.