Cars honked, and pedestrians pointed, stared, and made lewd comments. Hannah suddenly realized that she was standing naked in the middle of Times Square.
“Shit!” she cried, trying unsuccessfully to cover her lady parts and her massive breasts with her hands. The Goddess was clearly having some fun at her expense.
“Hey, Smurfette! You look a lot hotter than you do in the movies!” one New York wit ventured.
“Yo, Devil Girl! I’ll forget four commandments for a half-hour with you!” another shouted. This was not how Hannah imagined her first mission going. Her cheeks turned midnight blue as she blushed as she thought of a way to extricate herself with dignity.
In the end, she decided to use her superhuman speed to do a little shoplifting. She was technically on a mission from God, so she didn’t worry too much about the ethics of it. Besides, she made a mental commitment to pay for everything when she got the chance.
Hannah’s real problem was geography. The clothing shops on Times Square were pretty much department store chains, and she didn’t think that Old Navy sent the proper “divine emissary” vibes. So she scouted around for better options. However, she had only been to New York once, on a family trip when she was eleven, so she had only the haziest notion where places like Fifth Avenue and Greenwich Village were. So in the end she covered miles before she found something she likes, moving almost too fast for the naked eye to track. Her passage was marked by a sudden burst of wind that snatched hats, made cyclones of newspapers, and startled dogs.
She found that Victoria’s Secret could not accommodate her cartoonishly large breasts, and the only options that fit looked like medical devices. Fortunately, the Goddess had made them supernaturally perky, and she could do just fine without. She found a boutique in the village that had clubbing styles. Hannah had never been flashy before, but she had an urge to draw attention and show off her new curves. She was lucky to find a shimmering silver minidress with a diamond cutout panel over her midriff, showing off both top and bottom cleavage. The fit was tight but flattering around her curve, and the high hemline gave her tail ample room to sway. It was much easier to find a pair of matching stiletto heels. WIth her ability to fly and her enhanced sense of balance, she walked in them like a pro.
Leaving a chain of stunned clerks in her wake, she returned to times square. She hovered two feet in the air to make herself visible above the crowds, then announced in her loudest voice:
“Good tourists and citizens of New York! I bring you good news! The one true goddess has returned to earth and walks among us. She heralds in an age of peace and prosperity which she gives as a gift to all humanity. But she seeks willing followers, those like me who hear the call. She offers great gifts to those who answer the call and help to spread the word.”
By now Hannah had gathered a small crowd of about two dozen, and more were starting to drift her way. One Evangelical mother from the Midwest shouted something like “Satanic pervert!” before ushering her two children into an overpriced chain restaurant. That drew laughter from others in the crowd, sho started to pepper Hannah with questions.
“How are you flying like that? I ain’t ever seen anything like it!”
“So are you supposed to be a devil or something? Like is this a promo for the Satanic temple? ‘Cause I saw you guys on the news and think you’re all right.”
“Can I get a picture with you? I’ll pay you five bucks.”
This last comment got her attention. “Uh, sure.” She drifted down to the Asian teen, who handed her a bill and took a quick selfie with her. With nothing even resembling a pocked, she tucked the money in her cleavage.
Soon a line formed. Hannah realized that people were treating her like the other costumed figures on Times Square and she knew she had to change the tone somehow.
“So would you like to join the Cult of the Goddess?” she asked the teen who had asked for a photo. “You will get a wonderful sexy new body like mine and powers that will set you above other mortals.”
“A body just like yours…?” the kid looked hesitant.
“The Goddess prefers women with a certain body type. She also wants to restore many of the creatures of myth to the world.”
“Uh, no thanks,” the teen said before melting back into the crowd.
“Their loss!” a neatly groomed gay man on his late 20’s said. He wore a tight t-shirt and skinny jeans and had the air of a Broadway actor on his way to work. “Darling, you could really give me a body like yours?”
Hannah shivered a bit at the prospect of her first convert. But fair was fair, and she wanted this guy to make the choice with open eyes. “Yes. It’s all true. But once you’re in, there’s no going back. And you have to commit to the Goddess completely. Because it’s forever. Are you really ready to make that choice?”
The man laughed. “I’m a twenty-nine year old chorus member with maybe another three years before I’m too old for that. My love life is shit and my family refuses to even say my name. What have I got to lose?”
Hannah smiled and said a quick “Yay!” before laying her hand on the man’s head, who seemed to know to kneel as part of his commitment. The crowd drew close, curious to see what would transpire.
“Do you accept the will of the Goddess above your own? Do you surrender this body to embrace the one granted you by the Goddess?"
"You know it, blue girl!" The man's enthusiasm was contagious. Hannah hoped he was prepared for what came next.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Andy."
"Then, arise, Andy, servant of the new Goddess. Behold her power, all who bear witness!"
Hannah had no idea how to convert someone, or even if she had the ability to do so. Mark had granted her some unspecified powers to win converts. She had faith. Then she remembered she had faith in a being that sent her naked to Times Square, and she started to worry.
She needn't have. Andy's changes began immediately. His already slender frame grew smaller, and he shrank right out of his clothes until he stood no more than a foot tall. His spiked blond hair turned a rich chestnut color and cascaded down his back. His hips flared a little, and his tiny penis shrank away, leaving a pink, hairless slit. Andy's face became cute and feminine, but he still wore the same wide infectious grin. Then, predictably, his chest exploded into two small melons, each the size of a golf ball but looking huge on his time frame. His ears extended above his hair, tapering into elven points, and as a finale, large dragonfly wings erupted from his shoulder blades.
"Mom was right!" Andy laughed with his new melodic voice. "I am a dirty little fairy!"
Immediately the crowd erupted. One woman screamed and ran. Others furiously snapped photos of the naked and sexy fairy. One nervous looking older man edged closer to Hannah.
"I think…I think I'm ready to do what he did," he said nervously.
One little girl jumped in front of him. "No, do me! I want to be a fairy, too!"
Hannah grinned. The crowd had grown to over a hundred, and many were clamoring for their own metamorphosis.