A Vampire, but one of the distinctly powerful and sexy variety

Slowly, Penelope narrowed her focus.

As much as her fantasy-loving geek ass would absolutely love to become some sort of fantasy creature, that just didn't seem right for this party. But, y'know, maybe she could come by a second time, as a birthday treat? (Assuming her choice on this day didn't utterly change the course of her life.)

Looking among the assortment of monsters, a veritable who's who of horror stars, there were a number of strong contenders. Several of the wereanimal costumes caught her eye, since Delilah was a big fan of cute critters. The succubus costume was a bit obvious, but maybe turning into a sex demon would be sort of fun?

But no, none of those ended up being the prize she sought. Instead, she found a costume nestled among the vampires, and it made her eyes go wide with interest. It was labeled, 'Vampire Mistress', and came with fake teeth, an 1600's style doublet and trousers, make-up to make the face more pale, and contacts to turn the eyes red. Of course, she knew such props were only catalysts, tools for turning the wearer into a true creature of the night. And... something about it called to her.

"What sort of vampire is this? The name doesn't really give much away," she asked the store owner.

The witch was only too happy to answer, eyes sparkling with glee as she saw the choice. "Ah, now that is an excellent choice. That particular costume is a sort of best of both worlds. You get all the powers and noble bearing that comes from the classic Dracula type vampires, but with the sort of appearance more befitting something from one of Rice's works."

Penelope nodded, trying to imagine herself once she wore it... and finding she couldn't. After all, Penelope was a short, unimpressive, meek girl. The sort of woman this costume fit was near to her opposite. Which, she supposed, was the point.

Nonetheless, she still had another question. "And what sort of changing does this costume do? From what I've read, some of your costumes mostly restrict themselves to the physical, while others completely supplant your personality. And... w-while I'm not exactly happy with who I am, I don't want to throw away years of work I put into becoming myself, j-j-just to become some stereotypical hot vampire woman."

"Ah, a self-made woman I see." The witch smiled, though inside she couldn't help being just a little annoyed. The novelty of a customer who knew her tricks was quickly wearing off. What was the fun if she knew it all ahead of time? "Well, luckily for you, that costume largely restricts itself to a change of the body, only adjusting the mind in small ways."

"W-w-what sort of... of 'small ways'?" Penelope asked. After all, it was her mind that was being played with.

With a roll of her eyes, the store proprietress gave further details. "Exactly as you were wanting, it shall boost you self-esteem, along with making all of your new vampiric abilities feel natural and easy to use. It will diminish any human instincts that go against your new vampiric nature, but it won't take away any of your memories. You'll still be you... simply a different you." It was an accurate explanation, but also one that left out a few key points. After all, those would be more fun to discover later.

"And how do I change back? Is it... just as simple as taking off the clothes?"

The witch wiggled her hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "Yes and no. There's a specific order the components need to be removed in, but there's no penalty for messing it up. You'll only need to put them all on again and start from the beginning. The order is in the instructions, and if the costume is significantly damaged, you'll turn back to normal."

Looking at it, Penelope considered once more if this was really a good idea... before smiling to herself, and nodding. "I'll take it."

After spending half of her last paycheck on the costume, Penelope took it with her out of the mall, and off to her studio apartment.