Supervillains Exposed: Mistress Barbie

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Welcome Readers,

this is Cassandra Beckstein. Your top journalists at the pulse of time. Today's expose on Supervillains Exposed is number thirty-seven: Mistress Barbie.

Helen Barker grew up a normal girl on a farm in Arkansas. In school, she didn't stand out. In fact, most of her friends described her later as just a tad too shy. Helen later attended a local community college. Switching several times her major.

It all changed as The Event happened. Just like the other five percent of humans, her hair changed to an unnatural color - in her case bright neon pink - and she gained a superpower. However, she managed to keep hers hidden from friends and family for over two years. Citing her power was embarrassing.

Her power was revealed by the "power registration" law the Senate passed. Helen - who by now interned at a fashion company - was required to reveal her power to a panel of judges. Put on the spot she used her power to make an attending police officer sing "Barbie Girl". A song by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua. Helen insisted that her power only manifested in this way - making someone sing "Barbie Girl" - and nothing else. She also claimed that this was the only song she could make people sing.

The police officer in question - Jamie Russell - later stated in an interview that it felt like a strong compulsion:" I knew what I was doing. It was just every other action felt trivial compared to continuing to sing Barbie Girl. Funny thing is that I am pretty sure that I never had heard the song before. Yet, I knew the lyrics. I sang the whole song and then started anew until Miss Barker released me."

It was established that victims of Helen Barker's power would continue to sing until Miss Barker would release them. Because of Helen's reluctance to use her power and the apparent lack of harm to a person a serious lack of judgment transpired. Her power was evaluated on the lower end of strength as E-Rank.

Further two years passed without incident. However, an unfortunate event - a back alley robbery - forced Miss Barker to defend herself using her power. The assailant - Seth Dunlap - was forced to sing "Barbie Girl" until the police arrived. He had dropped his gun and even started to dance while singing. Mister Dunlap was a small-time criminal who was already wanted for other offenses.

While incarcerated, cellmates of Mister Dunlap first noticed that he often still would sing "Barbie Girl" from time to time. Quoting to them that this song was just an earworm he couldn't get rid off. However, soon changes made themselves noticeable. It started with behavior. When Muster Dunlop first set foot into the prison he was aggressive and easily provoked. Not one month after he was a stellar example of compliance. Along with the change of behavior came a slow transition of the body. Developing secondary female organs and a female physique. One year after his admittance to the prison Mister Dunlop legally became Misses Dunlop and was transferred to a correctional facility for women. While not a complete woman yet, doctors judged Miss Dunlop's body to have gone past the half-way point from male to female.

"It was eerie," Doctor Welsh later stated in an interview. "Each day she not just looked more like a woman, but an exaggerated version of the female body. Before our eyes, she turned to a life-sized Barbie doll."

Miss Dunlop was released after two years served for model behavior. Stating she wanted to be a role model for future generations. After the changing of Miss Dunlop the original assessment of Miss Barker's power rank was pulled into question. It was reclassified as a Rank C and Miss Barker was advised to not use her power.

Within a half year, Miss Dunlop made a comeback. This time as an up and coming Youtube celebrity. She soon became famous for wholesome content in the categories cooking, makeup, and fashion. But her rising star was already set to fall. Her fans soon noted the next steps in Miss Dunlop's transition. Most noticeable was the loss of height and slow decay of mobility. Soon her skin developed an unnatural sheen of plastic. In a last live stream, the audience witnessed Miss Dunlop shrinking down to the exact measurements and bodily details of a Barbie doll. To outside apprentice, she was an exact duplicate of the famous children's toy. Her body had turned to plastic.

She was presumed dead until a telepathic superpowered was able to make contact. On her wishes, Miss Dunlop was "donated" to a kindergarten.

As the case of Miss Dunlop became public outrage erupted and Miss Barker was put under pressure. Various media outlets dubbed her Mistress Barbie. Experts state that this might have put Miss Barker at the edge of collapse. The tragedy unfolded as the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua became aware of Mistress Barbie's ability using their song. As they feared bad press the group decided to sure Helen Barker for copyright infringement. This was the match to light the powder keg. In a pre-trial meeting, Miss Barker snapped and made not just the lawyers of the accusing side sing Barbie Girl, but her own lawyer too.

While Miss Barker escaped the building another detail of her ability become obvious. The longer the original singing of a victim lasted the stronger and faster their transition to a toy Barbie Doll was. In this case, the lawyers were never released from the first compulsion and finished their change before the day was done.

An all-out APB for Miss Barker was released and Helen was soon cornered. However, she was done being hesitant with her use of the ability. "You want a Mistress Barbie? I then I'll give you one!" This shout caught on a cellphone by a bystander was the beginning of a massacre. Miss Barker, now fully embracing the name given to her by the press, used her power not just on the two dozen police officers, but on one hundred and eight civilians.

Mistress Barbie was soon up-ranked to S-rank and put on the most dangerous list issued by the FBI. Over the course of the next two years, her modus operandi changed. At first, she used her talents to rob banks. When people started to recognize her buying food or other groceries she was forced to drop robbing banks and instead rob whatever she needed. As the hunt for her lengthened - and with it, the list of law enforcement officers transformed - she started to make her ability a hobby. Her first mad hunt was for collector item Barbies. Namely people of rare jobs that she could transform into corresponding Barbie dolls. Everything from astronauts to state senators. Gradually she shifted to her second streak: famous movie stars. Eventually shifting to singers and models.

Mistress Barbie is still on the run and presumed extremely dangerous. If encountered authorities advice to back away calm and slowly. With special emphasis on not annoying her. Only contact authorities after you are out of her line of sight.

Mistress Barbie was last seen - or rather caught on camera - at the small stadium of Banksville where she made the whole audience of an amateur softball game sing Barbie Girl until their transformation was complete. While some speculated that Mistress Barbie singing along with her victims indicates that she used her own ability on her self authorities caution that this guess might be wrong. Telepath interviewed every victim and they all appear to be local.

While the fate of the victims is horrific to us many made their peace with it. Police Officer Janie Russel - the first victim and formerly James Russel - remark this in an interview: "When I found out the full scope of Mistress Barbie I was mad with anger. It seemed like pure horror. However, I had a lot of time to think about it. Me, being the oldest victim and with the least exposure, has the slowest change of all. It gave me time to come to terms with first becoming a woman and now the gradual change into a doll. I get to live on and be a role model for those that need it the most: the little girls of this and future generations."

At this point the last stages of Officer Janie Russel are evident. Her former impressive height of six foot and two inches had calcified to a just about five foot and three inches. However, as the final stage started her height dwindled further. Miss Russel is for now bound to a desk job as her dwindling height of just about four foot and decreasing mobility make patrol work impossible for her.

Despite those circumstances, Officer Russel seems to be content. "To be honest, sometimes I wish the change would be faster. My niece is turning four this summer and once my transformation is done I will be hers. Then, when she outgrows me, I will be donated to a local kindergarten. Something I recently started to look forward to."

For now, no new victims surfaced recently. But do be vigilant. If you spot Mistress Barbie clear the area first and then contact the authorities.

This was Cassandra Beckstein for Supervillains Exposed.

Don't miss the next issue about "Doctor Midas". A man you don't want to shake hands with.

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Comments

Mistress Barbie

The strength of a power is in the details. I am surprised she hasn't encountered a sniper yet. That would seem to be the answer. On the other hand she hasn't killed anybody yet either so maybe deadly force isn't authorized in her case. If anyone she uses her power on changes then how did she know before she affected that first policeman? Thanks for a new story, sorry about the nitpicking.

Time is the longest distance to your destination.

She Didn't Know.

Daphne Xu's picture

She Didn't Know at the start. All she knew at the start was that she could make someone sing, "Barbie Girl".

That's probably right. A sniper could take her out before she realized she was under attack.

-- Daphne Xu

-- Try saying freefloating three times rapidly.

Maybe she did...

I left that a little ambiguous on purpose.

Think about it. As stated in the courtroom where she had to demonstrate her powers she knew that she could make someone sing "Barbie Girl" by Aqua and nothing else. That indicates she experimented with her power and there had to be other victims. Yet officially no other victims before Jamie Russel are known. Which means ...

As for a sniper: If I were Mistress Barbie - in a way I am as I wrote her XD - she would be probably aware of the fact. So the tactic would be either to do hit and runs so the police couldn't mobilize fast enough or do make sure that no one calls the cops. Which would mean more victims.

...we never did find out how

...we never did find out how she discovered her power, or about her family or friends. Guess we know why ;)

As for snipers: it takes a good half hour or longer to get them to the scene and setup and finally get a clear shot that doesn't hurt anyone else around her. That's too long, even in the largest cities where you might have multiple snipers employed by departments she'd be long gone. On the flip side- what about a "wall of lead" from cops? That might be more likely. Even if it kills a hostage or two, the alternative is hundreds of people "killed" by dollification...it might be better for all to just outright kill her despite collateral deaths.

I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime

Nice!

Daphne Xu's picture

The ear-worm nature of "Barbie Girl" makes this super-powered lady quite dangerous. At least she didn't make them sing, "I love you, you love me, ..."

-- Daphne Xu

-- Try saying freefloating three times rapidly.

No not Barney

Or even Baby Shark, I would want some-one to put me out of my misery If I was stuck singing Baby Shark!

Huh?

Query

Daphne Xu's picture

If she got them to sing "Baby Shark", would they turn into toy sharks, real sharks, or 2D brightly-colored cartoon sharks? Similar question about Barney.

-- Daphne Xu

-- Try saying freefloating three times rapidly.

At least it's not "The Song

At least it's not "The Song That Doesn't End" which would last until the poor singer died from exhaustion or dehydration, whichever comes first.

I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime