The Wolf, The Witch, and Sherlock Holmes

A Futonastic Day

    It was a cold day in New York. The streets were filled with rain as I flew over to the house of my dear friend Sherlock Holmes.
    I knocked on the door, and a woman with bright, neon yellow hair opened it.
“Yes, what do you want,” she sputtered with contempt, “You know it’s your fault he’s like this.
“Leia, I know you blame me, but I’m trying to help.”
We stood across from one another, glaring deep into the pupils of the other. She studied my gaze, trying to find my intentions, before she relented.
“Fine, come in,” Leia said as she opened the door. “But I want you out as soon as possible, you understand?”
I sighed, “Yes Leia. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you much anymore after this.”
I stepped inside the door, opening my suit’s soles so that they can touch the floor. It’s rude to walk with shoes on, after all.
    I continued walking to the room farthest to the left, before being stopped in my tracks by a sickly sticky feeling tickling my feet. Still have that sheep rug, it seems.”
    I walked into the room of my destination, and saw my friend lying there. Held down on that accursed mat.
    “Hello Sherlock,” I said with guilt in my voice. “I think I might have found a lead to help you escape.”
    He raised his head and looked at me with a gaze equal parts fury and hope.
    “H… Ho… Holy flashbang? Holy flashbang! HOLY FLASHBANG!” He screamed at me.
    Sherlock grabbed the cup of water next to it and threw it at my head. It hurt having it thrown at me.
    Not physically, mind, my suit protects me from simple physical blows like that, but seeing him be so enraged in a feeble attempt to show his rage.
    I went over and sat down next to him, making sure to avoid stepping on the futon Sherlock was bound to, “I understand you may be upset, but don’t worry. I think I know who locked you to this thing.”
    Less than a month ago, when I was out adventuring, I found a futon. It was a beautiful piece; a deep regal blue mat emblazoned with a neon yellow wolf. But more importantly, it was magical.
    The futon had the ability to fly, and had minor shapeshifting properties allowing it to shrink and grow in size in accordance to its surroundings.
    However, with all magic comes a price, as was the case with this futon. Whoever was to step on it was cursed to be stuck to the futon, unable to say anything but the cursed words “Holy flashbang”, as the futon would slowly absorb the person stepping on it.
    When I found it, I brought it back with me and gave it to Leia, unaware of the curse. I caused this.
    But there is hope still; in my research I discovered that the futon was linked to the person who made it; an ancient witch who remains alive by absorbing the energy of the beings the futon devours.
    If I killed the witch, the siphoning of the futon would stop, and the captive released.
    And I knew who it was.
    I hugged my dear friend, and left the room again.
    “Leia! I’m leaving again!” I shouted.
    “Good. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, and don’t come back!” She yelled from the kitchen.
    I walked towards the front door, putting my soles on again, preparing my fighting procedure, and ignored the front door entirely as I walked into the room to the right.
    I made sure to move as stealthily as possible as I walked over to the kitchen.
    When I entered the kitchen, I saw her tasting some soup. Amazing how she was able to stay normal even through this terrible predicament.
    I launched a missile at her.
    Though it appears to have taken its effect, leaving a gaping hole within her, her flesh swiftly grew back. But it was not Leia’s flesh that grew back; it was that of an old man with grey hair and obviously bad eyesight.
    I looked at it with shock, before the eldritch abomination that was a mangled mishmash between the woman called Leia and a decrepit old man opened its mouth.
    “Now look what you’ve done. You robbed me of this form I worked so hard to obtain,” the thing said to me, before opening its mouth and hitting me with its long extended tongue.
    Upon closer inspection, it was not a single tongue, it was many tongues attached to one another, but I could not take a close look as the thing pulled it back in.
    “You know my secret now, Iron Man. I had truly hoped I could have gotten you to step on that futon eventually so I could take on your body, Stark’s quite a lot hotter than this boring old hag.”
I shot another missile at her. As I did so, her form changed even further, becoming a mangled mesh of various forms. Every time I shot at the thing’s body, it would leave massive wounds, before its body would recreate itself using the flesh of yet another person that the futon absorbed.
Eventually, the body started to recreate itself not just using humans but animals as well; the limbs of chickens, sheep, and cows all joining in to form the amalgamation.
“Give up,” the thing snarled, “I have absorbed decennia worth of creatures. You cannot undo my work.”
It was true. I would get nowhere continuing this. But I had a plan.
I stunned the thing and grabbed it, and quickly flew to the room where my friend was passed out; all this body-draining must have left my friend weakened severely.
The thing struggled weakly against its paralysis as it saw the futon. My suspicions had been confirmed.
I threw the thing onto the futon next to my friend, the tendrils of the futon releasing the thing from its paralysis.
“What? No. No! NO! You can’t do this! Please! I can give you life everlasting with me! Please! Don’t… Don’t do this! Save me! I beg yooooooooly flashbang! Holy flashbang! HOLY FLASHBANG! HOLY FLASHBANG!”
The creature cycled through various forms before settling on its true form for a couple seconds; a humanoid magical wolfman, and then burned away into nothingness with the futon, releasing my friend.
I watched at my friend, changing appearance from Sherlock Holmes into her true appearance; Leia Holmes, wife of Sherlock.
“Iron Man, thank you for saving me,” Leia hugged me. “But, how did you know it was me? And where is Sherlock?”
I knew that she would ask this. And I also knew that there was only one answer.
I opened the suit’s faceplate, with Leia reacting in a gasp.
“Hello, my wife. It’s me, Sherlock,” I said as I leaned in and gave her a kiss. “I am so glad you’re finally safe.”