I had to drag Laura away when Melanie told us to run, but she didn’t argue when I told her to double back and watch from a distance so Melanie wouldn’t know we were there. I couldn’t sense her, so I hoped she couldn’t sense us. I didn’t want to distract her, but I wanted to be ready if she needed help.

“If it looks like she’s in trouble, I’ll hit him as fast as I can, then you grab Melanie and we’ll run for it.” I told Laura. She nodded.

We watched tensely as Melanie and Karl talked, then Karl took a swing at Melanie, but she caught it with difficulty. I tensed at that. He must be very strong. He took another swing, but Melanie caught it easily. Karl followed that up with a quick spinning kick that sent Melanie literally flying several feet!

Laura started forward but I grabbed her by the arm, “Not yet.” I said. “She’s tougher than she looks.”

I wasn’t as sure about that as I tried to sound, but I was proven right when Melanie suddenly shot forward so fast I could hardly see her and slammed into Karl with both hands. Karl flew even higher and farther than Melanie had, and slammed into the wall of a building with so much force it cracked!

“Whoa!” Laura whispered beside me. I could only nod; I had never seen Melanie cut loose like that before!

Karl yelled something at Melanie, and she repeated her attack. The wall almost gave way as Karl slammed into it again. It was starting to look like a war zone over there!

I think Laura and I both gasped when Karl seemed unfazed from that hit. Then he took another swing at Melanie, but it was just a feint and his foot connected with her stomach, sending her flying into the opposite wall. It didn’t look as impressive as the flight Karl took, but it still looked painful. Melanie came back with blinding speed, but ran right into his foot and they both took a tumble.

We both tensed, Melanie was obviously hurt, but she straightened up quickly and a change to her aura told me she was shielding now. Well, better late than never, I guess.

Karl came at her again, but Melanie dodged to the side and tripped him up. He rolled back to his feet and tried again with a feint, but Melanie spun around behind him and slammed him face first into another wall! His head went right through and he hung there a moment. Laura and I exchanged an incredulous glance, had she killed him?

He pulled himself free of the wall, obviously hurt, but recovered as quickly as Melanie had. He tried to kick Melanie, but the blow had no effect. This was the first time Laura or I had seen someone shielding during a fight (or Melanie, probably), so we were both shocked at how well it worked. So was Karl.

They yelled back and forth at each for a little while. It didn’t seem to accomplish much, as Karl charged Melanie again, only to get hoisted up in the air with the aid of a kick to the groin. I think Laura and I both winced as he crashed down after that blow. That’s really got to hurt!

Karl still got up quickly and they continued, but Melanie didn’t let Karl land any more blows. Karl must be insanely tough, or heal ridiculously quickly because he recovered quickly from each blow. After a few minutes of this, Karl paused and then said something to Melanie and started running right at us!

Just as Laura and I were getting ready to make a run for it, Melanie blurred forward faster than before, grabbed Karl by the arm, and threw him into the wall! The look on her face was frightening and I was relieved to see it pass rather quickly.

She turned to face Karl and said something in a voice so sad I could hardly believe it was coming out of her mouth. Then she held her hand flat with the fingers together and flew at Karl, burying her arm up to the elbow in his chest!

As horrified as I was that she would do such a thing, I was even more unnerved when she held him like that until he became limp and slid to the ground. My mouth was wide open, but no sound would come out. I turned to look at Laura in shock, but her expression was just as baffling. Instead of being shocked or horrified at what she was seeing, she was crying! Did she feel so strongly for others that his death would affect her so much?

Laura disabused me of that notion when she whispered, “We’d better go to her, she’s going to need our help.” I couldn’t understand why she was worried about Melanie now, when Karl was obviously dead. I turned to look at Melanie just in time to see her faint dead away.

---

 
I was so keyed up by the fight that my aura sight was working pretty reliably, unusual for me. When I saw Melanie stab Karl, and hold him until he died, I could see the change in her aura, and knew that killing him hurt her nearly as much as it did him. Just after I said that we should help her, she fainted and lay next to Karl’s corpse.

I sensed that Veronica didn’t understand the situation as well as I did, but she was no slower than I to run to Melanie when she collapsed. We didn’t have to discuss the dangers of anyone finding Melanie there like that. I picked Melanie up, my new muscles coming in handy. Despite her height, she looked like a child as we hurried home with her in my arms.

I knew that Jean’s friend had probably seen all of that, so Veronica and I split up to try and lose him. I soon felt his concentration focus on me, so I knew he was following me. With my newly enhanced muscles, I was able to run very fast, even while carrying Melanie. Especially once I threw her over my shoulder. He slowly fell behind, and my superior strength and endurance soon had us far enough apart for me to be able to lose him.

About fifteen minutes later Veronica and I met up at the apartment and hurried in. It was dark out, so I could only hope that no one saw us carrying Melanie in, or the blood she was covered in.

I laid her down on the couch as Veronica alternated between fussing over her and shying away from her. Her behavior was very strange. “What’s wrong, Veronica? You’re acting strangely.” I asked.

Veronica stopped moving, but was slow to answer. Finally, she said, “I’m worried about Melanie. And I’m worried about Jean’s friend. And…” she paused for several moments and I was about to ask what when she said, “I can’t believe Melanie did that!” This last was said with a weird mixture of incredulity and disgust.

I just knelt there, next to the couch, my mouth gaping. “You sound like you’re ready to disown her!” I exclaimed.

Veronica seemed frustrated as she replied, “Well, you saw what she did! How could she kill him like that? I didn’t think Melanie was capable of something so…cold blooded!”

“Wow! And you’re the lawyer?! I thought you’d be cynical, not naíve!” I said. “I would have thought you’d know by now that anyone is capable of being cold blooded. Besides, she didn’t want to do that!”

“Then why did she do it?” she demanded.

“She felt that she didn’t have a choice. The police couldn’t hold that guy. He would have continued to hurt people as long as he could. Plus, he targeted us. In case you haven’t noticed, Melanie can be very protective, especially of you.” I said pointedly. I really couldn’t see why Veronica had such a big problem about this. I was as unhappy about Melanie having to kill someone as anyone, but I understood her reasons.

Veronica shook her head and started to leave the room, muttering under her breath. “Whether you agree with what she did or not,” I said to her back, “she’s going to need your help. She was very upset about what she did. She looks up to you.” Veronica paused after I said that, then left for her bedroom.

I sighed as I turned back to Melanie. I’d deal with Veronica later.

Melanie was mumbling to herself in her sleep and started thrashing around. “No! Don’t want to…please stop…I’m sorry…I’m sorry!” she cried out, sitting up with her eyes wide open at the last. She didn’t seem to see me at all. She sat there like that, tense but unseeing, for several seconds and then suddenly relaxed and laid back down. Her eyes were closed now, and I was sure she had never woken up.

I decided that Melanie probably wasn’t going to be awake any time soon, so I grabbed Melanie’s cell phone and looked up Ann’s number. I dialed it and hoped she would be awake, I wasn’t sure what the time was where Ann’s at, or even exactly where Ann is.

After a few rings Ann picked up and said, “Hi Melanie! How are you?” Her voice was pretty up beat, so I figured I hadn’t woke her up.

“It’s Laura.” I answered. “Something has happened, and I think Melanie needs your help. Especially since Veronica doesn’t seem so inclined. How soon could you get here, and how long could you stay?”

“What’s happened? Is she hurt? What’s wrong?!” Ann asked rapidly. She was sounding a bit panicked.

“Slow down, Ann. She’s not hurt. At least not physically. She had to do something she really didn’t want to, and I think it’s really hurt her. Veronica seems to have some kind of issue with it, so I don’t think I can count on her help right now.” I explained.

“What? Veronica and Melanie are like sisters, why would Veronica turn her back on Melanie?” Ann asked.

“I really don’t understand it, either, Ann. I think you need to get here as quickly as possible.” I answered.

“Alright. My student is doing well; I should be able to leave for as long as Melanie needs. I’ll be there in the morning.” Ann said. I thanked her and we said goodbye.

“Well Melanie,” I said, “the cavalry is on its way.” I went to my room and changed for bed. Then I collected a pillow and blankets and laid them out next to the couch. I wasn’t about to leave Melanie alone tonight.

I couldn’t sleep, so I whiled away the time tweaking my body. I was running out of things to change. I felt I was ready for changing my reproductive organs, but Melanie and Veronica had insisted that I not try that on my own. Apparently Melanie had almost managed to kill herself when she did it. So I spent the time experimenting.

I fell asleep eventually. I was woken with a start when Melanie started screaming and thrashing around. I jolted upright and grabbed on to her to try and calm her down. I held her to me and stroked her hair while making soothing sounds. She clung to me tightly for a long while, before she finally let go and fell back asleep.

I yawned as I lay back down and hoped Ann would arrive soon.

---

 
After leaving the living room I walked into my bedroom and flung myself on my bed. I was feeling so many things at once that I couldn’t make sense of them. How could Melanie kill someone, even a lunatic like Karl, so ruthlessly and watch him die? It made no sense to me. At the same time, I knew she was protecting Laura and I. Which was completely in character for her. After all, hadn’t she prevented me from killing myself twice?

But surely there was another way! Karl could have been helped. Maybe Ann could have done something? Melanie could have incapacitated him and called Ann, and she could have… Well, she would have come up with something! Ann would never condone killing anyone, no matter the situation. But no one, not even Melanie, could have kept him locked up for long. He was insanely strong and persistent. He shook off Melanie’s best hits like they were love taps!

I went on like this for what seemed hours. The next thing I knew, someone was knocking on the door. “Veronica, are you going to have breakfast with us?” was called through the door. Veronica was shocked, that was Ann’s voice!

“Ann! Why are you here?” I asked.

“I’d rather not have a conversation through a door, why don’t you come out for breakfast and we can talk at the table?” she asked. I agreed. I was still wearing the clothes I wore yesterday, so I quickly changed and walked out towards the kitchen. On the way I noticed that someone had slept on the floor by the couch, and that Melanie was still sleeping on it.

Ann and Laura were already eating and a plate was waiting for me. As I sat down I asked, “Did you sleep on the floor, Ann?”

“No, that was Laura. I just got here.” she answered. I glanced over at Laura, but she didn’t look at me.

“Why did you sleep on the floor, Laura?” I asked.

She still didn’t look at me as she answered, “To stay close to Melanie. She started screaming and thrashing around in her sleep more than once. I stayed to calm her down and make sure she didn’t do anything drastic.” Laura’s voice was cold as she said this; she obviously wasn’t too impressed with how I handled things.

Ann looked back and forth between us in confusion. “What exactly happened last night?” she asked.

“We met up with another user, someone you trained. He was unstable and had decided to kill off all the criminals he could find. Melanie had helped a couple of the people he attacked. They fought.” Laura didn’t look up the whole time she was speaking, and seemed reluctant to tell Ann everything that happened.

Ann was clearly upset, but still confused. “Who was this? You three are the only students I’ve had in the US. And why would fighting him upset Melanie so much?” she asked.

I started to answer, but Laura glared at me and said, “He wasn’t fully trained. We figured you must have trained him just enough to heal himself. He complained that you had held out on him. He figured out a few things for himself, so he was really strong and tough, although he didn’t seem to know how to make himself faster like Melanie does.”

I glared back at Laura, why was she holding back? Didn’t she call Ann to begin with? I was about to say something when Ann said, “There were a couple of people like that. I could heal them enough to survive for a while longer, but their injuries or illnesses would still have killed them. So I taught them enough to heal themselves. They were both homeless, and one in particular was a bit strange. What was his name…” she mused aloud.

“It was Karl.” I answered. Laura made shushing motions at me, but I ignored her. “Melanie killed him. She shoved her arm through his heart and held him like that so he couldn’t heal himself and watched him die!” I spat out. Even I was surprised by how angry I was.

Ann sat back in shock. Laura snapped, “Shut *up*, Veronica!” She then turned to Ann and said more calmly, “She didn’t have a choice. He was on some insane crusade and he was too strong for the police. He would have kept coming until he killed someone. She was protecting everyone, especially the ungrateful bitch sitting next to me!”

Ann and I were both shocked at this last outburst. Laura is usually so calm! She never seems to lose her cool or give up. “What is going on between you two?” Ann demanded.

“Veronica seems to think Melanie is some sort of monster! She didn’t want to kill him, she tried everything she could to avoid it! You saw her, her aura turned black when she killed him! I think she hates herself for doing it.” Laura ranted. I looked up in surprise when she talked about Melanie’s aura.

“Her aura turned black? You saw that?” I asked.

Laura looked at me strangely. “Well, of course I saw it! I know my aura sight isn’t usually that reliable, but it was crystal clear that night. Her aura matched how she described yours when you tried to kill yourself.” she said pointedly.

“Are you saying you think Melanie is suicidal?” Ann asked. Laura nodded. “Then I can see why you called me here. I’m a little shocked that Melanie would kill anyone, though. Are you sure there wasn’t any other way?” I couldn’t tell from her tone whether she wanted there to have been or not.

Laura rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure there wasn’t any other way. Unless you know of a way that the police could restrain a user strong enough to throw Melanie ten feet with a single kick?” she asked sarcastically.

Ann blinked owlishly. “Oh, he was that strong?” she asked. We both nodded this time. “Well, I guess she probably did the only thing she could then. This is why I haven’t taught more students, I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t abuse their powers like Karl apparently did. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have trained Karl. This is my fault.” Ann said and hung her head down.

Laura put her hand on Ann’s shoulder comfortingly and said, “Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t know how crazy he’d end up being. You were just trying to help him. We’ll just have to be more selective in the future who we help. We probably shouldn’t have helped that reporter, either. Now her friend has seen Melanie in action, he’s going to be a real problem.”

Ann’s head shot up at that. “Melanie was seen?! Were any pictures or recordings taken?” she asked in a panic.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. There were no flashes from a camera, and it was dark enough that he probably wouldn’t have gotten anything useable even if he had a video camera. The main problem is he saw Melanie without her illusionary disguise.” I explained.

After that we explained everything that had happened with Jean, her friend, and Karl. All the while I was mulling over what Laura had said. Melanie suicidal? Was that possible? She’s usually such an upbeat, positive person; it was hard to imagine her being suicidal. But if she was really that upset, maybe I had misjudged her?

After the explanations were over, we returned to the living room to check on Melanie. She was still sleeping, but fitfully. She was moaning, “I’m sorry.” over and over again. Ann sighed and kneeled next to Melanie.

“You’re right, Laura.” she said after a few moments. “She’s very depressed. We can’t leave her alone until she recovers from this. I think it’s about time we woke her up.”

Laura nodded, then looked over at me angrily, “You’d better leave the room, Veronica, your attitude is just going to make things worse.”

This time it was Ann putting her hand on Laura’s shoulder to calm her. “Veronica understands a little better now. I don’t think she’ll cause a problem, and Melanie will be happier if Veronica’s here when she wakes up.” Ann gave me a look at that, which told me I’d better behave. She rarely acts so aggressively, so I knew she wasn’t happy with me.

Laura looked skeptical, but nodded. Ann shook Melanie awake, which might have been a blessing for Melanie, as she seemed to be having some kind of nightmare. Melanie took a long time to wake up, and an even longer time to really become aware of her surroundings. “What’s up guys?” she finally asked, looking confused and a little concerned.

Had she forgotten what happened last night? She seemed normal, as if it never happened. “I thought we should talk about what happened last night.” Ann said cautiously.

Melanie still looked confused. “What about last night? We went out for pizza and came home. Nothing interesting happened. I had some crazy dreams though.” she answered.

We all exchanged worried glances at that. She was obviously in denial or something. Ann put her hand on Melanie’s and asked, “Honey, were any of your dreams about Karl?”

Melanie’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “How did you know? It was really horrible. I dreamed I fought with him and killed him!” she answered. She seemed horrified at the idea, but tears were streaming out of her eyes.

Laura and I both moved closer and put our hands on Melanie to let her know we were there for her as Ann said sadly, “I’m sorry, honey, but that wasn’t a dream. Karl really is dead.”

Melanie stared at all of us in shock. “I…it was real?” she asked in a small, childlike voice. My heart nearly broke seeing her like this, and I wanted to throttle myself for what I had been thinking before. How could I have thought that Melanie was like that? I should have known better!

Laura glanced at me and I realized she had heard my thoughts. She put her free hand on my shoulder, and I knew that all was forgiven. We returned our attention to Melanie as Ann said, “I’m sorry honey, but it was real. Veronica and Laura have been telling me all about what’s been happening since I left. They saw the fight, they didn’t leave as you told them too, and they doubled back so they could come to your rescue if you needed it.”

Melanie looked horrified. “You…you saw me…do that?” she asked, looking right at me. I nodded mutely. Melanie burst into tears and wailed, “You must hate me now! I’m a monster!” I grabbed onto her and held her as tight as I could.

“I don’t hate you, Melanie. I know you didn’t want to do it. You’re not a monster.” I told her as I stroked her hair. She continued to cry on my shoulder. Her tears eventually slowed, then stopped. When I pulled away I saw she had fallen asleep again. I laid her back down on the couch and covered her back up with the blanket.

Ann was smiling proudly at me, and Laura was looking pretty happy, too. “You handled that well, Veronica.” Ann said. “Now we should let her rest for a while before we try to talk to her again. Hopefully knowing you’re on her side will help her to recover from this.” We all returned to the kitchen, though we made sure we could see Melanie from where we were sitting.

“Is she any better now?” Laura asked. I realized that Laura’s aura sight was as unreliable as mine. Neither of us had the advantage of being able to feel what Melanie is feeling.

Ann sighed. “A little, but not nearly enough. She’s still in worse shape than when I found her. Laura, why don’t you go to bed and get some sleep, I know you couldn’t have gotten much last night. Veronica and I will watch over Melanie.” Laura reluctantly agreed and went to bed.

Once Laura was gone Ann turned to me. “So,” she started sternly, “what was your problem, anyway?”

I fidgeted, unable to meet Ann’s gaze. “I…I thought…that Melanie wanted to kill Karl.” I admitted softly.

Ann frowned. “Veronica, you should know better than that. Melanie can be a bit rash, but she really cares about people. She doesn’t like to see people get hurt, let alone cause it. How could you think that of her?” Ann asked.

My head hung down as I replied, “I didn’t think Melanie would ever hurt anybody. She’s such a kind, happy person, I just couldn’t imagine it. When she killed Karl, I felt…I felt like she wasn’t what I thought she was. Like she had…deceived me, I guess.” It sounded so ridiculous once I said it out loud. Here I had been thinking that Melanie was a monster, but I was the monster.

Ann nodded as I explained myself. Then, frowning, she said, “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Veronica. You made a mistake, that’s all.”

“I guess.” I answered.

Ann sighed. “Why don’t you try and get some more sleep, too, Veronica? I think you could use it.” she suggested.

I hadn’t slept much and agreed. I went back to bed, but it took me quite a while to get any sleep.

---

 
I seemed to be trapped in one long nightmare, where I killed Karl over and over again. Blood was dripping constantly off of me. I kept seeing the life leave Karl, his aura snuffed out. Slowly those horrible images faded away. I began to sense Ann’s presence near me, and her concern.

“Ann?” I mumbled, as I became fully awake and realized I was lying on the couch. Hadn’t I woken here earlier? Oh, yeah. Ann was here then, too.

“Hell Melanie.” she said. “How are you feeling now?”

I thought about the last time I woke up, and remembered. I killed him, didn’t I? I watched him die. It really happened. I suddenly became aware of my blood drenched clothing. “I need a shower.” I mumbled, as I tried to get up. Ann placed a hand on my chest and pushed me back down.

“Relax, Melanie,” she said, “I want to talk to you.”

“Okay.” I said fearfully. She’s going to kick me out, I know it. She’s so caring and loving, how can she tolerate a murderer like me?

“Oh, Melanie!” she cried, and grabbed me in a fierce hug. Huh, why’s she hugging me? “You’re not a murderer. You did what you had to do, that’s all. You’re a good person.” I started bawling at that, and Ann soon joined me. I don’t know how long that lasted, but it seemed like forever.

“I’m sorry, Ann! You taught me all this wonderful stuff, and I used it to kill someone. I don’t deserve all you’ve done for me!” I blubbered.

“No Melanie.” Ann answered firmly. “It’s Karl who misused his powers, and it’s my fault for teaching him. I knew he was unbalanced, but I thought it would be safe so long as I only taught him to heal himself. I should have realized that even that could be misused. And I should have anticipated that he could figure out other abilities on his own. After all, I learned everything I know on my own.”

“But you were just trying to help! You saved his life!” I protested.

“And you were just protecting Laura and Veronica, not to mention untold numbers of other people Karl might have killed if you hadn’t stopped him. You saved their lives. You did more good than I ever did.” Ann answered.

I just gaped at her. How could she believe that? “But I *killed* someone! You heal people all the time. How could what I did do more good than that!” I asked.

“You prevented many people from being injured in the first place. Besides, most of Karl’s victims probably wouldn’t have lived long enough to be saved. I’m sorry that you had to experience this, but you did the right thing.” Ann insisted.

I just couldn’t get my head around what she was saying. How could killing someone be a good thing? And coming from Ann, it was doubling confusing. She’s like the most caring person ever.

Ann sighed in resignation. “Okay, Melanie, why don’t you go ahead and get washed up? Maybe that will help you feel better.” Ann suggested. This reminded me of the fact that I was covered in dried blood, the blood of my victim. I couldn’t get to the bathroom fast enough!

I threw my clothes in the garbage, but I really felt like burning them. I washed and washed. The blood came off, but it didn’t, you know? I just couldn’t get the feeling of it off of me. I knew I’d always be stained with Karl’s blood. I could never forget seeing the life go out of his eyes. Despite Ann’s words, I knew I screwed up, big time. When the water turned cold I just stood under it. I felt like I deserved to be punished. The cold water stung my skin and left me shivering and my teeth chattering, but I still stood under it.

There was a loud banging on the door and Ann’s muffled voice called, “Melanie! I’m coming in!” Then the door opened. I wondered briefly how she’d opened the door, it was locked, but the screwdriver in her hand answered that question. She was holding most of the door knob in her hand as she stepped in. “I called, but you didn’t answer. Are you alright Melanie?” she asked.

“I’m fine, Ann.” I answered. I thought back and vaguely recalled hearing something.

Ann walked over and turned off the water. She stared into my eyes for several seconds before saying, “No, you’re not. You’re freezing! Come on out of there.” She practically dragged me out of the water and wrapped me up in a towel. She dried me off and then wrapped me in a dry towel. “Come on, lets get you dressed.” Ann said as she dragged me out of the bathroom.

Ann led me over to my bedroom and went through my drawers and closet, putting together an outfit for me to wear. I numbly let Ann dress me and lead me back out to the living room. The couch didn’t show any signs of the blood it must have been stained with. I was glad for that as Ann led me to sit on the love seat. She told me to stay there and walked back towards Laura’s room.

I sort of zoned out for a moment and the next thing I knew Ann, Veronica, and Laura were all standing in front of me. “Melanie…Melanie!” Laura was calling, sounding rather agitated.

“What’s up?” I asked.

They all exchanged a glance before Laura said, “We’re going out for lunch.”

“Okay, have fun.” I answered. Why were they bothering me, I wondered.

They all exchanged worried glances again. “You’re coming with us.” Veronica said.

“I’m not hungry.” I said.

“You’re coming anyway.” Ann said. She and Laura each grabbed an arm and hoisted me up. They kept a hold of me and practically dragged me out of the apartment with Veronica opening doors for us. They led me to a Chinese restaurant. Once our food arrived they took turns feeding me. Then they led me back to the apartment. Along the way I sensed Jean’s friend, but it didn’t seem important anymore.

Back at the apartment they all kept asking me questions. I answered them as shortly as I could. I really didn’t want to deal with them right now, but I knew they wouldn’t leave me alone. They kept trying to get me involved in conversation for hours. Finally they gave up and ordered me to stay put while Ann helped Laura complete her transformation and Veronica cooked dinner.

I guess I zoned out again. The next thing I knew was Veronica trying to feed me. I guess I hadn’t been responding, because she seemed relieved when I started eating. She kept an eye on me while I ate, so I made sure to eat it all.

I tried to keep them from hearing when I threw it all up later, but that didn’t work. Veronica was very annoyed with me.

Ann went to sleep on the couch shortly after dinner. Laura and Veronica tried to talk to me again, but I wasn’t paying attention. Finally, they dragged me off to my room and watched to make sure I got changed and into bed. Veronica brought a chair in from the kitchen and sat in it at the foot of my bed while Laura went off to her bed. I laid there on my back for some time before falling asleep.

---

 
I was exhausted after spending the whole day trying to get anything out of Melanie. She was like a robot most of the time. I don’t think she even noticed the tears that occasionally dripped down her face. Ann went to sleep after dinner; she’d been up a long time what with flying over from Europe. Veronica and I decided to sleep in shifts to keep an eye on Melanie. From what Ann said, Melanie was definitely suicidal, so we couldn’t leave her alone for a moment.

Veronica took the first shift, and I gratefully went off to bed. Naturally it took me a while to get to sleep. I kept worrying about Melanie. She needed some real help, but who could we turn to? A psychiatrist would have to report a murder, which is how they would see it. Besides, they’d never believe the way that Melanie killed him, anyway. We’d all probably end up in the loony bin.

I did get some sleep before Veronica came in to tell me it was my turn. I sat down at the foot of Melanie’s bed and watched her. She wasn’t sleeping; at least I don’t think she was. Her eyes were staring straight at the ceiling. She was laying flat on her back, her body stiff as a board. I was almost feeling like killing myself before I realized it was Melanie’s feelings I was picking up. While I was glad my extra senses were getting stronger, I really didn’t want to feel that. Both because it was extremely unsettling, and because I didn’t want Melanie to be feeling that way to start with.

After a few hours Ann came and took a turn so I could get a little more rest. I didn’t get much more sleep, but some. After a few hours I gave up on getting any more sleep and got up and dressed. When I came out of my room I found Ann had gotten Melanie dressed and out on the sofa again, while she was working away in the kitchen. Veronica was just coming out of her room. I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and then heard the door close. I looked over and Melanie was gone! Before I could even react the door opened and closed again, and Ann was gone, too.

Veronica and I exchanged glances and wordlessly agreed that there was nothing we could do to catch Melanie, she’s just too fast. Veronica took over in the kitchen and I sat at the table. “Is she going to get over this?” I asked, fearing the answer.

Veronica’s shoulders slumped before she answered, “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her like this. She doesn’t seem to have any will to live left. She hates herself for what she did and won’t listen to anything we say. I wish I knew some way to help her, but I don’t know what to do.” By the time she stopped speaking she was leaning against the counter and her shoulders were shaking. Realizing she was crying I got up and walked over to her and hugged her from behind.

“We’ll figure something out.” I tried to reassure her. I’m not sure if I believed it, but I wanted to.

I helped Veronica get breakfast sorted and then we ate. Melanie and Ann still weren’t back, so we prepared plates for both of them and put them in the refrigerator. We both sat on the couch after that at a total loss of what to do.

Some time later there was a knock at the door. We both jumped and hurried to the door before realizing that it couldn’t be Ann or Melanie, they wouldn’t knock. We glanced at each other and shrugged. I opened the door and there stood Jean and a man that I quickly realized had to be her friend who had been shadowing Melanie.

I gaped for a moment. “Uh, what can I do for you?” I finally asked.

“There’s no point in playing dumb, I know you’re a friend of Lisa’s.” Jean said. “Jon saw you carry her off after that fight. I’d like to talk to her about it, and you.” I was expecting her to be acting like she had all the cards, but she was almost as hesitant as me.

“Why?” was I all could think to say.

Jean smiled sadly. “I don’t want to do a story on her anymore, but we need to understand what happened that night. I think that she probably had good reasons for what she did, but I have to be sure.” Jon snorted at that.

“Like there’s a good reason for murder?” Jon asked sarcastically.

“That wasn’t murder.” I growled at him. My female voice was still sufficiently deep enough to make a decent growl. My height and obvious muscles probably helped to make it more menacing. Either way, he flinched back from me.

“Why don’t we talk about this inside?” Jean suggested hopefully. I glanced back at Veronica and she nodded. Reluctantly I allowed them in and closed the door behind them. We all sat down in the living room.

“You said that you don’t want to do a story on Lisa anymore. Why is that?” Veronica asked politely. I guess she was trying to keep things civil.

“Because after Jon told me about that fight and what Lisa and that man were able to do, I wondered if I could do the same with what Lisa taught me. I didn’t get far, but I quickly realized that in time I could. I quit as soon as I realized this, I didn’t want the responsibility of that kind of power. But I realized that if I did write a story on Lisa it would cause a huge problem for her, and me. Once the public knew that people like her exists, they’d go on a witch hunt. Everyone would want their miracle cures, or to be super strong or fast. And being able to do a little of that myself, I would probably find myself in the same position as Lisa.” Jean answered.

“But how would anyone know that you have the same ability?” Veronica asked.

Jean smiled ruefully. “My miraculous recovery didn’t go unnoticed. Nobody suspects anything supernatural, but they would if Lisa’s abilities became common knowledge. So, you see, I have as much reason to keep this under wraps as she does.” Jean explained.

My nervousness caused my senses to be heightened, so I knew she was being truthful. “So if we can explain that fight to your satisfaction, you’ll just walk away?” I asked.

“Not exactly.” Jean answered. She held her hand up when I started to speak. “If there’s a good explanation, then I want to help her. I can find other people that need her help, and are trustworthy. I can also help to keep her abilities out of the news, or at least warn her if someone has seen something we don’t want them to.” Jean explained.

Once again I could sense that she was being honest. I glanced over at Veronica and she nodded to me. “Okay. What about Jon?” I asked, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He didn’t look to happy.

“Jon,” Jean answered, “is a very good friend of mine. He doesn’t want anything to happen to me, so he’ll keep what he knows to himself. He’s inclined to go to the police about what Lisa did, but I managed to convince him to give her a chance to explain first.”

“Okay,” I began, “I can explain what happened.” I was about to go on when Jean interrupted me.

“I’d like to hear it from Lisa.” she said.

I sighed, this could get difficult. “She’s not here, and I don’t know where she is. She’s very upset over what happened. She ran out of here and a friend of ours is trying to track her down.” I explained.

Jean mulled that over in her mind before comprehension dawned. “She’s not going to hurt herself, is she?” she asked worriedly.

“Not if our friend can help it.” Veronica answered.

Jon was looking pretty confused at this. “I think I know where you’re coming from on this.” Veronica said to Jon. “I assure you that Lisa is not a murderer. She doesn’t like to see anybody in pain. She tried everything she could, but the only way to stop Karl was to kill him.”

Jon scowled, hardly convinced. “Why did she have to stop him, then?” he demanded.

I sighed again. “She had to stop him because he had already tried to kill two people. Then he tried to kill Lisa. When that didn’t work, he decided to go after us. Not only that, but he was on some crazy crusade to rid the city of criminals. He was dead set on killing every criminal in the city. Somehow I doubt only criminals would have been victims of his rampage, though.” I replied.

Jon didn’t look convinced, but Jean put a hand on his arm. “They’re telling the truth, Jon.” she told him. I wondered if her senses were active and reliable enough to hear our thoughts.

Jean glanced over at me and shrugged. “Sometimes they’re there, sometimes they’re not. I find that when I’m stressed they’re more reliable.” she answered my unspoken question.

Jon looked confused again, until Jean explained what had just happened. “So he was insane?” he asked, considerably less hostile.

Veronica nodded. “Yes. He was taught how to heal himself just as Jean was, but he wanted more. He taught himself how to make himself stronger and tougher, and used that to hurt people. He would have killed someone soon enough if Lisa hadn’t stopped him, assuming he hadn’t already. We know he attacked two other people before Lisa ran into him.” Veronica explained.

Jon and Jean nodded, then Jean looked at Veronica sharply. “Lisa isn’t her name, is it?” she asked.

Veronica glanced at me and I shrugged. They already knew more than we wanted them to, including how to find us. “Her name is Melanie.” Veronica answered.

Jean smiled. “Thank you. It’s good to know the real name of the person who saved your life. Now,” she continued, “there’s another reason I came here. I didn’t want to bring it up unless Li…Melanie had a good reason for what she did. I have a friend who is in really bad shape. I suspect she may be suicidal, and I also suspect that Melanie may be able to help her.”

“Why do you think Melanie can help her?” I asked.

“It’s just a feeling, but after gaining all these extra senses, I’ve begun to trust my feelings a lot more. You see, my friend wants to be a guy.” Jean explained.

I was shocked, to say the least. Why would anyone want to be a guy? Oh yeah, for the same reason I wanted to be a girl! I realized my mistake when I saw the shocked look on Jean’s face. I glanced over at Jon and she seemed to get the idea I didn’t want to talk about it, because she relaxed and didn’t say anything. “So, uh, what did you think Melanie could do for her?” I asked.

“Well, my first thought was that she could fix my friends brain so that she could be happy being female.” Jean answered. She was considerably less confident about that idea than she had been, I suspected. I noticed that Veronica was rather upset about that idea.

“You would do that to your friend?” Veronica asked in outrage.

Jean spread her hands helplessly, looking to me beseechingly. “I don’t know, I just want to help her.” she answered.

“Even if Melanie were willing to do something like that, which I seriously doubt, I don’t think your friend would be too happy about it. The better solution might be for her to become male, physically.” I said.

Jean looked shocked despite what she had obviously read from my mind. If this were a cartoon I think Jon’s eyes would be the size of dinner plates and his jaw would be bouncing along the ground right about now! “Th…that’s possible?” Jon gasped.

“Yes it is.” I answered while Veronica smirked at their reaction. “It depends on your friend, though. There are certain conditions that have to be met.”

“What do you mean, conditions?” Jon asked angrily.

“Not the kind of conditions you’re thinking about.” I answered calmly. “If she doesn’t have a strong enough spirit, it can’t be awakened. If it isn’t awakened, she can’t learn even as much as Jean has. Nobody has any control over that, not even your friend.”

“So Melanie might not be able to help?” Jean asked, frowning.

I shrugged and Veronica answered, “She can’t, anyway. But we might.” I was a little surprised that she was revealing the fact that we are similarly skilled, but I guess with Jean reading our minds it was silly to think we could keep any secrets.

Jean and Jon both looked stunned. “You mean you can both do the same things Melanie can do?” Jon asked.

“Not exactly. Veronica can do all of that stuff, but not as well or as much because her spirit is a lot weaker. I haven’t learned a lot of that stuff yet.” I answered.

Just then the door opened and Ann walked in, carrying an unconscious Melanie over her shoulder. I jumped up to help her set Melanie down. “What happened, is she alright?” I asked.

“Not really.” Ann answered. “I had to chase her down and knock her out to get her to come back. I think she was set on killing herself.”

Jean gasped and Ann looked sharply over at her. “Who are you?” she asked.

Veronica and I explained who they were and why they were there. “We were just telling them that Melanie can’t help their friend right now, but we might.” I finished.

Ann stared off into space for a moment before she said, “Actually, I think Melanie can help, and be helped in the process.”

“Uh, Ann, didn’t you just say that Melanie wants to kill herself? We’ll all be busy just keeping her alive. How is she supposed to help anyone else?” I asked incredulously.

Ann smiled to herself and nodded. “Yes, I think that will work. It’s Melanie’s caring for others that led her to kill Karl in the first place. If we can get her to help Jean’s friend, it just might restore her self-worth. Or at least enough so that she won’t be trying to kill herself anymore.” she explained.

“How are you going to get her to help in the first place?” Jon asked cautiously. He was clearly in awe of Ann. Considering what he had seen Melanie do, and the fact that Ann was able to chase her down and knock her out, I could understand why.

Ann frowned at that. “That’s the hard part. I haven’t figured it out yet.” she admitted.

“I think I might have an idea.” Veronica said. “We could guilt her into it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, like you said, we’ll all be busy just keeping Melanie alive. So we won’t be able to help Jean’s friend. So unless Melanie does it, her friend could end up killing herself or something. She won’t have any choice but to help.” Veronica explained.

Ann and I nodded. “Yeah, that could work.” I agreed.

So, we arranged for Jean to bring her friend over the next day. Jean and Jon left and Veronica, Ann and I spent the rest of the day and night taking turns watching over Melanie. She woke up a few hours after Jean left. She was furious with Ann and tried to get away again, but Ann knocked her right back out. I could tell Ann was really upset about having to do that, but what else could she do?

The next time she woke up she just laid there and stared off into space, refusing to acknowledge any of us. It was really stressful.

---

 
None of us got much sleep, as we took turns watching Melanie. She wasn’t responding to any of us. We kept trying to tell her she did what she had to, but she wouldn’t listen. We just had cereal for breakfast, none of us felt like cooking. It was starting to feel like a funeral parlor here. Melanie refused to eat anything.

Thankfully Jean and her friend arrived not too long after we finished eating. After we let them in we all took seats around the kitchen table.

“So, everyone, this is Michelle. We went to school together.” Jean said, and then introduced us to her. Michelle had a palpable aura of sadness around her and wasn’t very responsive. “So, Michelle, the reason I dragged you out here is because these people want to try and help you.” Jean continued after introductions were done.

Michelle frowned and looked at Jean in puzzlement. “Help me with what?” she asked.

“Fixing your birth defect.” Jean explained.

“What are you talking about?!” Michelle growled at her.

“Please don’t be angry with Jean.” I interrupted. “She’s just trying to help you. And you don’t have to worry about us being judgmental, with the exception of Ann we’ve all suffered with a similar birth defect.”

Michelle looked over at me in surprise. “Are you trying to tell me that you three used to be guys?” she asked incredulously, indicating Laura, Melanie and myself.

Laura and I nodded. “Yes, physically.” I answered.

“I guess I could buy the amazon being a guy, but you two couldn’t have been!” she exclaimed, referring to Laura as ‘the Amazon’. She is rather tall and muscular, although not in a body builder sort of way.

Laura bristled at that and said, “I’m not a guy, any more than you are a girl!”

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that!” Michelle backpedaled, “I just meant that it’s believable that you were born male because of your size, that’s all. You’re still too beautiful to be a guy.”

Laura seemed mollified by that. “I’ve been studying your aura,” Ann spoke up suddenly, “and you are a good candidate. We should be able to help you.”

“Aura?!” Michelle exclaimed, “What are you talking about?”

Ann went on to explain about auras, spirits, etc. As usual, a demonstration was necessary to convince her. Then she was only too eager to be trained. That’s where the hard part came in. “We have a problem, though.” Ann said after Michelle agreed to be trained. “The three of us,” she pointed to Laura, me, and herself, “are going to be too busy. The only one who will have time to train you is that lump over on the sofa.” And she pointed out Melanie, who was lying on the sofa gazing at the ceiling as usual.

Michelle frowned over at Melanie, then looked back to us and asked, “What’s her damage?”

I sighed and explained, “She met up with a rogue user,” that term of Laura’s was adopted by everyone by now, “and was forced to kill him to protect Laura and I. We’ve been running a suicide watch on her ever since. She got away once, but Ann managed to drag her back.”

“So you’re telling me that the only reason you can’t help me is because you’re too busy keeping her from offing herself?” Michelle asked incredulously. We all nodded and she got up and started walking towards Melanie, muttering, “We’ll see about that!” as she went. I started to get up to intercept her, but Ann held me back.

I settled back in my chair and we all turned to watch Michelle and Melanie. Michelle was standing in front of the sofa now, tapping one foot impatiently. “I’m not going to let you get in the way of my big chance at happiness!” she growled at Melanie. Melanie didn’t respond, until Michelle slapped her face, hard. “Look at me when I’m talking to you!” she yelled in Melanie’s face.

Melanie seemed shocked for a moment, then turned her gaze to Michelle. “You don’t want to mess with me.” she said in a dead voice. I shivered to hear her talk like that. Whatever happened to the carefree Melanie who laughed all the time?

To my surprise, Michelle laughed in her face. “You think you’re all tough and dangerous because you killed a man?” she asked mockingly. “Destroying things is easy, creating and repairing them, that’s hard. If you have this much trouble with killing one psycho, you probably couldn’t help me if your life depended on it, or something more valuable to you than that.” She dismissed Melanie with a wave and turned back towards us. She was smirking, so I knew she was playing an angle. I just couldn’t see it.

To my surprise Melanie didn’t go back to gazing at the ceiling. There was a spark of life in her eyes as she glared at Michelle’s back. “Shows what you know!” Melanie spat, “I trained Veronica, and helped her train Laura. I’ve healed people; I even saved your friend Jean’s life! You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Melanie was yelling by the end. It was the most emotion she’d shown since Ann brought her back.

Michelle spun around and smirked at her. “That was the old Melanie, I’ve never met her. The new Melanie is a whiny cry baby who couldn’t cross the street on her own. The old Melanie sounds like someone who could help me but she’s gone, right?”

Melanie glared at her silently for several seconds before replying. “We’ll see about that.” she said quietly.

“Oh, you think you can help me then?” Michelle asked mockingly.

“It would be easy.” Melanie stated confidently. “But why should I help a pushy bitch like you?”

Michelle just smiled at that. “Well once I’m all male I won’t be a bitch anymore, will I?” she asked pleasantly.

We were all just watching the conversation go back and forth in awe. Somehow Michelle was getting through to Melanie! I didn’t know how she was doing it, but I couldn’t be more grateful.

Melanie smiled! “Okay, you’re on, Michelle.” she said.

“Alright, Melanie, but call me Michael.”

---

 To Be Continued...