This is the Art Reward given to Cogitory Thank you for participating in my previous Fan-Fiction Contest!
Atop a hill lit only by faded street lights, Miranda Vasquez glanced down at her compact mirror and took a moment adjusting her hair. Not that she needed to of course... Her bangs were a perfect hime cut across her brow, framing the light brown skin of her face and the beauty mark at the corner of her cheek. The rest of her long silvery hair flowed down her back to her waist, not a strand out of place. If all went as planned then Vera wouldn’t even see her tonight of course. But if she did, well, Miranda wouldn’t have herself caught unkempt... Satisfied, she clamped the little mirror shut and glanced behind her shoulder as her companion caught up to her, already out of breath. “We almost there Miri?” The petite young redhead gasped, nearly dropping her lopsided backpack as she stumbled to catch up. In comparison to Miranda, Tilly Holland was hardly the look of a federal agent. Between her short height and pale freckled face, she looked more like an intern halfway through her first year of college than one of the agency’s finest technicians. But Miranda wasn’t about to do this job without back-up, and beggars couldn’t be choosers. Miranda grimaced at Tilly’s panting. “For God’s sake Holland, show some decorum. We’re visiting an old friend after all...” “Yeah, right...” The shorter girl straightened up and adjusted her black thick-rimmed glasses with a sniff. Whereas Miranda wore a decked out utility belt and jet black zipper-up catsuit, Tilly’s idea of a stealth uniform was a dark turtleneck sweater and torn blue jeans. She had a black wool cap on as well, but it did little to conceal her long orange hair that spilled out at the sides and back. Miranda sighed. No matter. It would be a quick job. In and out. She glanced down at their target. A simple suburban home, no more standout than the houses on either side of it. “That the place?” Tilly asked, tilting her head. “Not what I expected… Most ex-agents end up somewhere more private. Like a log cabin at the frozen end of the world. Or some secluded mountain top. Or Wyoming...” Miranda nodded. “She’s hiding in plain sight… Agent Ivonov must have had her own reasons for retiring somewhere so… innocuous… Don’t let your guard down...” She began marching down the hill, Tilly trotting behind. Tilly glanced at her phone, scrolling through some data. “Weird to think that she’d have hauled any of the Agency’s tech here. Do you think she stole it when she left, or was it all part of her retirement package?” Miranda shrugged. “It’s classified, but who cares? It will be unregistered either way. And worth plenty on the black market.” Tilly beamed, batting her eyes. “And maybe a piece or two for my private collection?” “If you don’t slow me down…” Miranda signaled for them to stop at the edge of the yard. Funnily enough, there was no detection of security or surveillance equipment on any of their devices. Not outside anyway… On closer inspection the back door wasn’t even locked beyond a simple padlock. And with a quick flash of Miranda’s laser emitting wristwatch they were in. Stepping past the doorway, the house’a inside was just as plain and homely as it was on the outside. A kitchen with some dirty plates stacked by the sink, a cluttered coat rack, an open living room… Miranda didn’t like it. It was all too simple. Tilly gave a little gasp and tiptoed towards a couch facing the living room’s TV. Miranda raised an eyebrow and followed, already annoyed that her partner was getting distracted. “Aaw...” Tilly cooed and whispered under her breath, leaning in over the cushions. “Looks like Vera’s not the stone cold loner she always pretended to be...” “What’re you…?” Miranda stepped closer, ready to tell Tilly to keep quiet, but stopped short as soon as she saw what she was referring to. It was a young girl, curled up on the corner of the plushy couch. She couldn’t have been older than twelve or thirteen. She had a shock of white hair drifting to one side of her face and was curled up against a fluffy green vest that seemed to be doubling as her pillow. She was snoozing peacefully, murmuring a little as she snored and curled her toes in her sleep. Miranda balked for a moment before sneering in disgust. Agent Ivonov... Is that why you left? Did you really leave us to play house with this brat? Something in her resented the idea. A renowned agent leaving unceremoniously for something so mundane. What a joke… Subconsciously she reached out, hovering her hand overhead, ready to scoop up the kid by the back of her shirt like a kitten by the scruff of its neck.. “Maybe we should just forget the tech, and nab this one instead…” she whispered. “If Vera’s really gone soft then a hefty ransom would be more lucrative than some unmarked salvage...” Tilly pouted and crossed her arms. “Hey, grab-bag her if you want, but I’m not leaving this house without something shiny to show for it.” Almost on cue, something shiny seemed to glint at the corner of the redhead’s vision. “Huh?” As if from nowhere, a tiny camera was jutting out of the wall, looking at her. Tilly’s eyes widened. It must have been motion-activated, able to slip past her sensors until it was too late. “M-Miranda-!” She turned on her heel but before they could even yell, the floor in front of the couch opened up beneath them and the two of them plummeted into darkness. The trap door slid shut just as quickly, leaving the sleeping young girl alone and none the wiser. Down below, things happened fast, and Miranda lost track of time. Was it a blow to the head? Chloroform? She wasn’t sure… But as soon as consciousness came back, she became aware of her surroundings all at once. She was bound to a vertical stretcher, and couldn’t move. The room around her was dark, but computer panels could be seen lighting the walls, and a small lamp glowed directly overhead. As her eyes adjusted she saw Tilly restrained in the same position, still unconscious and laid upright a few feet across from her. “The Hell Is This?!” Miranda tugged against her restraints, but could barely wiggle her arms with the clasps on her wrists. “Not your finest work Vasquez...” Miranda looked up with a start as a figure approached from the shadows. There she was, Agent Vera Ivonov. She wore civilian clothes now. Like a sporty biker with a red half-jacket that left her toned midriff bare, but she looked no less intimidating than she had in years past. Though if Miranda could describe Vera’s expression now in one word, it would be “unimpressed.” To the side, Tilly squeaked, clearly waking up as well. Miranda ignored her. “How did you know we were coming?” She snarled. Vera sighed. “You weren’t the only people I knew back at the agency… Now the real question is, which one of the higher-ups told you where I ended up?” Miranda scowled and averted her gaze. “N-Now hold on Agent Ivonov!” Tilly piped up, her voice a nervous squeak as she took in their situation. “This is all a huge misunderstanding! You know how the agency likes to keep tabs on their own, right? We were just checking in! You know, making sure you were doing okay!” Vera narrowed her eyes and flipped a switch on the wall. A monitor lit up with security footage from the living room. Footage from barely a few minutes ago… “Hey, grab-bag her if you want, but I’m not leaving this house without something shiny to show for it.” Tilly’s tinny recorded voice echoed through the room as the two agents on-screen hovered over the sleeping kid. Vera’s sleeping kid… Tilly gulped, fumbling over her words as sweat formed on her brow. “Uh well, okay I know that sounded bad! But listen! I wasn’t actually talking about taking anything, or well, anyone… More like, borrowing! Or renting even! We were just-What are you doing…?” Tilly’s words were cut off by Vera approaching her from the side and taking a clasp of the hem of her turtleneck. Without saying anything, she yanked up, prompting another yelp from Tilly as she folded up the cloth of her sweater and bared her freckled, pale belly from waist to ribs. Miranda narrowed her eyes in confusion as Vera stepped back, hovering a finger over a little remote hanging at her belt. Tilly’s eyes followed nervously as Vera ran her finger over a button at its center. “You wanted to see what tech I had, right?” She pressed it, and chaos ensued. Skinny mechanical arms shot out from behind Tilly’s table on either side, clicking small robotic fingers at the end of them. The girl screamed in shock as they descended on her. Miranda couldn’t help it, she turned away and closed her eyes, waiting for Tilly’s outcry. It came, but not what she was expecting. Was she… giggling? Miranda turned back to Tilly in disbelief, watching the robotic hands now running their countless fingers up and down the skin that Vera had bared. The redhead was beside herself, frantically shaking her head in a rising fit of laughter. “N-No! Hahah! Not that! NOT THAT!!” Her belly heaved and twitched as the fingers gently probed its shivering surface, raking up breathless shrieks and guffaws with every movement. Miranda’s jaw dropped. You’ve got to be joking… Tilly threw her head back in a shrill squeal as the fingers danced up her quivering midriff like a pair of mechanical spiders, not stopping for a moment as she heaved and bounced with forced mirth. Her pale skin began to glisten under the light as she grew more flushed and exerted herself with laughter. In the midst of this sheer ridicule playing out before her, Miranda was lost in sudden memory. She was back in high school. Had just made captain of the cheer squad alongside several other honors. Juggling all of that alongside homework had made her usual chores at home more and more of a nuisance... That was where her little sister Tambry came in. Miranda had stolen her diary and threatened to photocopy it unless she covered her chores at home until further notice. All of them. It worked! For a time…. But one day, Tambry seemed to have had quite enough. Bringing half a dozen of her friends over under the guise of helping her clean Miranda’s room, they were in the perfect position to surround her while she was busy studying, completely unthreatened by their presence... With a single cry from Tambry, they had swarmed her like a pack of hyenas, tilting her out of her chair and piling on her limbs as she fell to the floor. Miranda had cursed and snarled, but her little sister, that little demon with cutesy ribbons in her hair… She had just straddled her waist and dove her fingers beneath her armpits. Coochie coochie coo!! She had tittered. Miranda’s fury had dissolved into shameful hilarity, and the taunting kids surrounding her took turns filming the onslaught from every angle. Whatever her reputation, her superior age and strength, none of it mattered in the face of these brats scrabbling their tiny digits into her bare underarms and wiggling feet. Long story short, her plan to recruit some free labor had backfired catastrophically, and ended in her having to drive her sister and her annoying friends wherever they wanted for the rest of the year. Lest they share enough pictures of her laughing her ass off to fill a flip-book... And now that stupid childhood memory was re-surging in real-time right in front of her. Why? Surely she hadn’t told Vera that story… Tilly’s hair whipped from side to side as she shook her head wildly, tears beginning to stream down her flushed cheeks on either side of a wild smile. “M-Miri! Ahah!! Miri Help!! Hel-Hahahahh!!” Miranda ignored her once more and turned back to Vera, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “All the tech at the Agency’s disposal and you hoard a tickle machine? Is this supposed to be a joke?” But Vera wasn’t the one laughing… She stepped closer, taking a grip of the zipper at Miranda’s collar and tugged down. Miranda gasped indignantly as a V-shaped window bared her sternum all the way down to the navel. “How dare you!” She growled, gritting her teeth. With a familiar, cold, distant expression, Vera ran a single finger down Miranda’s neck, prompting her to fight back a shiver. “Why did you come here…?” Vera asked, sounding annoyed. “M-Money!! TECH!!” Tilly all but shrieked behind them, shaking and bouncing against the table as the tickling hands pursued her stomach without fail. “W-We... Haahah!! We Just Wanted To Nab Some Tehehehech!!” Vera rolled her eyes and pressed the remote at her belt again, sending the fingers at Tilly’s midriff into a faster frenzy and drowning her excuses in more laughter. “OH GA-HAHAHAAaD!!” Vera casually turned back to Miranda. “Why did you really come here Vasquez? You had plenty of ways to make cash. But to come looking for me out here? I knew you were petty, but this just seems desperate… Still trying to one-up me after all this time?” Miranda glared, practically hissing as she bared her teeth. “You think this is all about you-!” Miranda’s words stopped with a gasp as her former rival’s finger drifted down her front, tracing the top of her firm abs and making her stomach quiver at the touch. “Don’t You!-Hahah!” Miranda’s cheeks instantly flushed red with shame as she suddenly barked with laughter. All Vera had done was given her finger a little wiggle to the side of her navel and she had cracked so easily… Vera gave Vasquez a knowing look, not raising her finger from her twitching skin. “Now about who told you where I was…” Miranda steeled her resolve. “Go To He-Heehehah!” Another wiggle… Miranda was sweating now. Her eyes shifted from side to side, trying to look anywhere but Vera’s cold gaze, or her partner still laughing like an absolute maniac behind her... Maybe she should just talk… It’s not like Tilly is going to stay quiet… She could just… “Time’s up…” Vera began digging into the front of Miranda’s belly with one hand, and slipped her fingers within the catsuit to torment her armpit with the other…. Miranda clasped her mouth shut as her eyes bulged with surprise. But like the jaws of life pulling open a broken car, the hilarious feeling dancing across her skin started to pry her lips apart, leaving a wide open smile in its wake. “PFfft-S-Stop! STOP!” Miranda jerked back and forth as if she was being electrocuted. Vera’s lithe fingers stroking up and down the smooth curve of her underarm, as well as the shaking contour of her abs. Her resolve dribbled away with every stroke and prod, and as soon as the first giggle left her lips she was moments away from laughing as hard as Tilly. “NO! Gaahahad! S-STOP!” She had to get out of this. Her frenzied mind raced as she looked about herself. Any openings, any tools…. Her watch!! Of course! Vera must have overlooked it when the thick restraints locked themselves over the top of it. She just had to activate it. Easier said than done, the torture had lasted nearly an hour by the time she was able to turn her wrist just right and put pressure on the right spot of the gadget... The watch flashed for just a moment beneath the shackle, but it was all Miranda needed to pull up from her restraint. Her freed hand dove forward, grasping at Vera’s own bare midriff. Miranda bared her teeth as her fingers instinctually wiggled into Vera’s skin. She suddenly longed to see her former rival restrained, to pay her back for this night tenfold! But it only lasted a moment before Vera bounced backwards, a rare second of surprised mirth on her face as she reflexively put some distance between them. At that moment, Miranda turned the watch on the other restraints, melting them away and spilling forward to her feet. She did her best to stumble into a defensive stance mirroring Vera’s, but after hours of tickling her limbs felt like wet noodles... She cursed under her breath and threw down a pellet from her belt. The room filled with smoke, and Miranda ran for the staircase at the back of the room, dignity be damned. Vera stumbled back, covering her mouth and groaning at her mistake. It seems that some of the gadgetry had updated since she was gone, and she had let her guard down. Next time she’d frisk them properly... Running upstairs after Miranda, she only found Lapis, left alone and still sleeping on the couch next to the open doorway. Miranda closed the door with a grimac and returned back to the basement to regain her bearings. It took her a moment before noting an increasingly distracting noise. Of course. Tilly was still there, laughing up a storm. The mechanical hands had appeared to have discarded her shoes, and were playing “This little piggy,” at quadruple speed. With a long sigh, Vera killed the power with her remote and crossed her arms. Tilly went limp in her restraints, gasping for breath and feebly kicking away at the hand still gently gripping her pinky toe. “Haah… Is it… Is it over…? Miri..?” “Miri’s left…” The redhead blinked, her dazed expression flipping between nervous and pissed off. “She… Left? Without me??” “Yep. She clearly wanted us to be able to chat privately…” Vera pulled over a stool and sat in front of the still panting redhead. “So let’s chat...” Tilly swallowed hard. - As morning finally came Lapis stretched her arms and rolled off the couch with a dramatic yawn. A stack of fresh pancakes was on the table for her, but the kitchen was empty... “Vera?” Lapis called out, snatching up one of the cakes and applying an irresponsible amount of grape jelly. “Where’d you get to?” She trotted down the stairs, nibbling happily as she skipped her way into Vera’s office. “Vera?” Vera was there, but she wasn’t alone. Another woman was bound up on a table. She looked dazed... Her cheeks were flushed and her bared belly was rising and falling with deep breaths, as if she had just gone on a long run. To her side Vera was writing something down in a notepad before quickly pocketing it and turning to Lapis. “Good morning.” “Good Morning!” Lapis tilted her head, curious but otherwise seemingly unbothered by their new house guest. “Who’s this?” “Oh, this is Tilly.” Vera followed Lapis’s gaze, as if just remembering that the other woman was there. “An old friend of mine from work…” The redhead bound to the table bit her lip and didn’t say anything. Her eyes shifted nervously from Vera to Lapis. “Your work?” Lapis asked, looking incredulously at the young woman. “Mhmm…!” Vera forced a smile. Tilly winced. Lapis crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “So, why’s she locked up…?” “Oh!” Vera clasped her hands together, awkwardly trying to sound excited. “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, but she is just the biggest fan of streaming! She’s shy, but we thought she’d be a great guest on your show!” Lapis’s big blue eyes went wide as any doubt she expressed was replaced with excitement. “Really!?” “Really...” So if you could just keep her entertained while I run a few errands, that would be great…” Lapis nodded eagerly as Vera passed her and ruffled her hair as she moved towards the door. “So you two have fun… Pizza is in the fridge, the remote for her stretcher is on the counter, and you have me on speed dial…” “But where are ya going this early?” Lapis asked, finishing the last mouthful of pancake. “Just visiting another old friend… Back soon!” Vera gave a little wave and was out the door. Waiting a moment for the familiar sound of a motorcycle leaving the garage, Lapis turned to Tilly, cheeks still full with the last of breakfast. Tilly chuckled nervously and smiled down at Lapis. With Vera gone, she felt a surge of hope. What was Agent Ivonov thinking, putting this naive little girl in charge of her? Night of Hellish tickles aside, maybe this heist wasn’t going to be a flop after all? She put on her most endearing grin and tilted her head innocently. “Heya cutie! Vera told me so much about you! But this prank of hers has gone a little far… So if you could just-AAH!” She yelped as Lapis suddenly dove forward, scrawling her nails up and down her abs, gently digging in like a kitten excited to play with a new scratching post. Tilly rattled in her restraints as the skittering hands danced in a furious little circle at the center of her midriff.“S-Stop! HAHHAH! STOP!!” Lapis did, but her blue doe-like eyes were narrowed as she backed up and let the redhead catch her breath. “So who are you really?” Tilly raised an eyebrow. “H-Huh…?” “Vera never mentioned you before. And she like, never lets me mess around with her gadgets…” Lapis gazed down, running a finger down Tilly’s waist like she was drawing pictures on a foggy window.” Sooo you either did something real bad… Or real dumb...” Tilly’s eyes went wide as her hip jerked away at the girl’s light touch. “I-I don’t know what you mean pumpkin!” Lapis shrugged. “That’s fine. Vera protects me. But I wanna protect her too... So it’d be super cool to have a legit spy interrogation on my show!” “Show?” Tilly’s eyes followed as Lapis darted out the room. “Interrogation...?” Lapis didn’t answer as she came back rolling over a little cart covered with a laptop and several webcams. A livestream feed appeared on the screen, showing Tilly her own face, complete with an already scrolling comment section starting up beside it. -Haaappy Saturday lol -Ooh, whose that?! -Fresh victim XD -Shes Cute!! -Where’s Lapis? Lapis dove in front of the feed, putting up peace signs. “What’s up Guys!” Welcome back for a surprise fresh installment of Loving Lapis! We have a very special guest today to help us with a new segment of the show. So don’t forget to subscribe if you like what ya see!” Lapis turned, suddenly frowning at the redhead and putting on a faux gruff voice. “So Tilly, what are you doing on our turf?” Tilly blinked and cleared her throat. This is NOT where she expected things to go... “Uh… I don’t...” “Wrong answer!” Lapis took a familiar remote out of her pocket and slammed the button at its center. “No-No-Not-Again!” Tilly rapidly cried out as she was descended upon once more by the mechanical hands as they eagerly returned to her bare belly and feet, picking up where they left off as one explored her navel and the other massaged her toes. “W-Wait! PFFT-Waahaha!!” “Now Talk!” Lapis glowered for a moment before dropping the serious voice to cover her mouth and giggle excitedly. She quickly turned to mug for the camera. “Remember! Top donations get to choose the next tool, technique, and target!” Y-You Little! Haahahha!!” Tilly nearly tipped the whole stretcher over, arching her back and shimmying her hips from one side to the other like a hyper-active hula dancer. “Mercyyy-Ahahaha!! Someone Help!!” After last night, no torture would quite compare to Agent Ivonov’s. But Vera had an agenda with a clear beginning and end, and seemed to take very little joy in it. This little monster was different… Giggling up a storm like she had just found a favorite new video game… Like it or not, Miri would have to fess up and send some semblance of a retrieval team soon. But it wouldn’t be soon enough for Tilly to escape the infamous title of, “Lapis’s Guest Star~”
![[Contest Winner] The... Interrogation?](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5563/5563927_KitlaValkyrie_contest_vera_tickled_noncustom.jpg "[Contest Winner] The... Interrogation?")
![[Contest Winner] Arbitration](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5563/5563946_KitlaValkyrie_contest_lapis_shocks_noncustom.jpg "[Contest Winner] Arbitration")