So, she traveled to New York City with her most spectacular designs, and began working with the pageant organizers and beauty contestants. To her surprise and delight, three of her gowns and two of her bathing suits were chosen to be worn during the contest. This was a huge accomplishment for Fatima, as her designs would be displayed to millions of people. She spent the next couple of weeks working with the women in preparation for the pageant, most closely with Miss Kansas, Esther Clark. Esther was an extremely kind and friendly young lady, with lots of wit and a highly intuitive sort of intelligence. It’s like she always knew exactly the right thing to say. Fatima absolutely loved her. She designed a stunning gown and an incredible bathing suit for Esther, and was very confident in her chances of winning the crown.

But then the weekend of the pageant came, and everything fell apart. Fatima sat in the audience with great anticipation and excitement, as Esther walked on stage wearing the bathing suit she had designed for her. However, the beauty queen was also wearing a shoulder holster with two guns. And before anyone could figure out what was going on, she brandished the weapons and opened fire! All hell broke loose, as she she took aim at the contestant organizers. They tried to run for cover and dodge the bullets, but it soon became apparent that Esther was a hyper-being with telekinetic powers – which meant she could direct the bullets with her mind, to ensure they found their targets.

Fatima watched in horror, as the woman wearing her designs laid waste to the entire auditorium! The police showed up and attempted to shoot her down, but Esther’s telekinetic abilities allowed her to turn the bullets back toward the officers. After several more terrifying moments, Esther, who would go on to become the vigilante anti-hero Ecstasy, ended the massacre, and fled the scene. The pageant, however, was totally ruined, and the Qatastrophe Clothing never got its chance to gain the notoriety Fatima had hoped for. She had spent tons of her company’s cash reserves to participate in this opportunity, and now it was all for naught. For all intents and purposes, Fatima was ruined.

She caught a train from New York back to Platinum City, but during her trip she spotted something that would change her life. As the train traveled through a region on the eastern outskirts of southern Platinum City, Fatima spotted an abandoned shopping mall. Actually, it was one of dozens of structures and facilities that had been abandoned in the wake of the construction of the massive megalopolis that was Platinum City. Fatima decided to get off the train before reaching her original destination, then rented a car and drove out to the mall. Inside the storeroom of one of the stores, she found a collection of “mystical” textile machines and knitting tools.

Over the next few days she got the machines up and running, and began putting some garments together. She learned of the “mystical” nature of the machines when she put on one of the new garments, and was infused with the ability to fly. It seemed all of the machines and materials, when used in different combinations, could produce any number of hyper-abilities and/or feelings. She had officially had a new business model. She set out to create two new clothing lines – the first would be a series of women’s wear, which induced euphoric feelings in whomever put them on. And the second would be a hyper-wear line, which she would market to superheroes and hyper-villains who wanted a little extra boost, so to speak.

The women’s line of clothing made her a millionaire… but it was the hyper-line that had the potential to make her a billionaire! Hyper-villains were willing to pay extreme amounts of money to gain more power. One of her biggest customers was the villain Labyrinth, with whom she formed an on-again-off-again partnership. She hired a business team to manage the women’s line, which kept the “Qatastrophe” name, and operated out of Southern Platinum City; while transforming the abandoned mall into a fully operational home base, where she continued to produce hyper-garments, and stacked lots and lots of cash.

She also began kidnapping people, – mostly fashion models – and used specially-made gray outfits to transform them into nameless, faceless, mannequin-like henchmen and henchwomen. Before long, her mall base was filled with an army of mannequin assistants, who were all under her control. She used them for everything, from test models for her designs to armed hyper-guards.

Her troops came in especially handy, when it became quite clear that a number of superheroes and vigilantes made it a priority to take her down. Ecstasy was her most bothersome adversary, and the two of them clashed in dozens of battles. For her part, Qatastrophe was not content to stand on the sidelines, and watch her mannequin troops get smashed; instead, she jumped into many a, fight using her specially designed gear to give her hyper-abilities of her own. Not only that, but a collection of mystical needles and threads provided her with an arsenal of sharp, projectile weapons she could wield with deadly precision.

She was also hounded by the Sista Clique, with whom she had a complicated relationship. They absolutely loved her Qatastrophe Clothing line, and often wore her designs, but were opposed to her efforts to supply hyper-villains with enhancement gear. The issue actually split the Clique down the middle at different times, as Kharma Lucky and Cybernetica were dead set on bringing her down, while Ember Brook and Girl Six had a lot more lenient stance on her. Madam Deadhead, on the other hand, would actually secretly contact Qatastrophe from time to time, and commission her for enhancement armor. It caused conflict within the team, but at the end of the day, it was going to take more than a few incredible outfits to tear the Clique apart.

One of Qatastrophe’s greatest capers was an event that came to be known as “Eminent Thread”. A Korean fashion designer by the name of Mi-Na Lee was able to win a number of big contracts out from under her, and as revenge, Qatastrophe set out to have an air-raid bombing carried out against Mi-Na’s hometown of Seoul. The fashion femme fatale was able to replace a number of military uniforms worn by high-ranking officials at the Pentagon, with replicates made from her machines. These replicas secreted a mind-control agent. She then used her influence over them to coordinate and manufacture the mandates and intel needed to carry out the strike. She, of course, would also need the approval of the highest ranking military mind in the United States, General Hank Garrison, and the Commander-in-Chief herself, President Enid Remington. It took some time, but she was finally able to replace Garrison’s uniform with one of her replicas, and Enid could not resist wearing a very professional outfit that came to her in the form of a gift from one of the top designers in the world.

All the pieces were in place, so she set her plan in motion, with Hank and Enid giving orders that others around them didn’t fully understand. The intel, however, matched up, thanks to the officials who were also working under Qatastrophe’s control, and it became pretty clear the Seoul was an eminent threat that needed to be taken out. At the time, Lt. Rashard Bonds and the Alpha Initiative were dealing with the global hyper-villain cabal of Edgar Lockhart, London Omega and Ramses Hondo, so they were not in position to see exactly what was going on. Alejandro “The Asset” Garza, however, was working inside the Pentagon, and when he became suspicious of Garrison’s decisions, he moved quickly to investigate. He soon found evidence of Qatastrophe’s manipulation, and set out to stop her, for he knew if Korea was hit with bombs, they would surely retaliate. It seemed the fashionable hyper-villain hadn’t been concerned with the potential fallout from her beef with a rival designer. Garza teamed up with the Sista Clique, and they went to work. But by the time they managed to relieve Garrison and Remington of their mind-controlling gear, over a dozen bomber jets had already been deployed. Garrison, with his faculties back under control, attempted to call off the strike, but the pilots were wearing Qatastrophe’s mind-controlling flight suits.

It was time to enact Plan B. Sista Clique members Ember Brook and Cybernetica were sent to stop the bombers. They took flight and blasted off, soon catching up to the jets. Qatastophe ordered the pilots to attack the heroines, and after a lengthy mid-air battle, Cybernetica and Ember Brook were able to destroy the bombers while saving the pilots, and stopping the events that could have led to a nuclear war. The “Eminent Threads” were eventually rooted out, allowing everyone to regain control of their own minds. Quatastrophe, however, managed to escape, and continues to be the thorn in the sides of the Sista Clique and other heroes, while providing functional fashion for the feverishly fiendish.

‍