Conner entered the address Ricardo provided into Google Maps and followed it to Carter Halbrook's house. The house was located in the suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, right at the end of a cul de sac. When Conner parked his car, Ricardo pulled up right behind him.

"So this is it," said Zoe. "This is where we'll find out what Carter really wants."

"I just hope you're right about this," said Olivia.

A Guide to Paradise Cove
The directions were simple: "second star to the right, and straight on till morning."

Thinking back Donna fondly recalled that it was The Stranger's smile that had first caught her attention; or was it the shaggy haired 'naughty boy' arrogance that exuded from his firm but pale body? This guy was 'good trouble' looking for a place to happen. The fact that he was a Brit on vacation was an extra bonus. Donna’s boy-bump reflexively came to life at her recollections of that fateful day.

The Beginning

The next morning, Zack woke up to the sound of Lanie dropping her phone and cursing. Zack blinked and rose out of the bed he was sleeping in.

"Hey, Zoe's up," said Miles.

"What?" Zack looked down and realized that he'd shifted to Zoe in his sleep.

Lanie looked over and realized Zoe was now female. "Oh," she said. "I guess you changed before you went to bed?"

"No, sometimes I just shift gender in my sleep without intending to," said Zoe. "Want me to change back?"

"It's okay, you can be a girl for right now," said Lanie.

QUICK NOTE: I apologize for the rude tone I used in my blog post last night. It was really late, and I was feeling pretty tired, hence why the technical issues I ran into with the site irritated me as much as they did. But I definitely should've been more polite in my wording, and also refrained from using the word "fuck" (in its asterisked form, no less) in the blog's header. And I also apologize for my salty attitude about the previous chapters getting relatively few reads. Going forward, I will try to have a better attitude and take criticism better.

***

Life seems to throw changes at Jane, in changes to her body, her career, and family relationships.

Once they'd all gotten out of the Genetics Engineering compound, the companions all piled into their separate cars. Lanie, Conner, and Rachel got into Conner's car while Saige, Olivia, Zack, and Miles all got into Saige's car. Conner followed Saige as she drove off into the night.

Inside Saige's car, Olivia had broken down crying again. Seeing Bailey die right before her eyes had broken something inside of her. She hadn't felt this way since Christina dumped her. "She died," Olivia sobbed. "We came all this way...for nothing."

November 16th 2022
Signing on…configuring 3-D Avatar…
Avatar complete:

Circe, Lauren, and Josie escorted the four companions back to the lab room where Bailey and Rachel had had their blood drawn. "Just like I predicted," said Circe. "These girls' friends did indeed come to rescue them."

"Of course, the real question is whether this chick has the right kind of DNA," Lauren said, looking down on Olivia like she was a science experiment gone wrong.

Beachfront
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

November 13, 2022
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Keir sat on his horse, grateful for the green cloak that covered him. There'd been a nasty cold snap the day before, there wasn't any snow yet, but it would be coming soon.

Kassidy leans back in the worn passenger seat inside the van. She looks over toward Jerry as he drives the van. She glances toward the back of the van and notices the rest of their band drunk or stoned out of their minds.

“Tonight was a total mess, Jerry.” Kassidy couldn’t believe how terrible the group sounded.

“I know, and I wish I had an explanation for what happened, but I don’t.” Jerry was pissed that the band did so badly tonight.

So the last chapter hasn't even cracked 200 reads at this time. Wow. I really jinxed things with that comment at the end, didn't I? Anyway, back to the story.

***

Part Nine

Vic was trying something she had read about once. Starting a little less than an hour before class, with only a worried Michelle present, she climbed nimbly to the top of one of the basketball goals. Vic paused for a moment, balanced easily on the balls of her bare feet, eyes closed, at one end of the backboard. She had learned from a trial that the rim wasn't stiff or strong enough for what she wanted. Largely because of the flexible attachment.

She let herself fall forward, then pushed off and dove headfirst towards the hardwood floor. Eyes still closed.

Living my life on the edge of what is and is not legal sort of happened without a plan or deliberate action on my part. It just happened and … well it took a car crash to make me take stock of my life.

"Conner, I need you to drive me to Mississippi."

"What?"

"Jackson, Mississippi," Lanie repeated. She was standing on Conner's front porch, having gone straight to him after leaving Genetics Engineering. "That's where they took Rachel."

"How do you know?" Conner asked.

"I just went to Genetics Engineering and asked a few questions," Lanie answered. "It looks like they might've taken Rachel to their lab in Jackson, Mississippi."

Conner's eyebrows knit together. "You didn't find out why they took her, did you?" he asked.

Sorry this is a bit late. The contractor was here and his electrician kept turning off the electricity without warning. Fortunately, my computer is on a UPS but I still shut it down while they were doing electrical work.

Part Eight

Vic checked the mats, then straightened and nodded.

Josie gripped her car's steering wheel, driving down the highway and following the gray Honda Civic. Josie had stalked the young blonde-haired woman since yesterday and watched as she got together with her other friends today. Now she was following them, albeit discreetly, down the highway to Kentucky.

As she drove, Josie heard her phone ringing. She wasn't going to answer it, but then she saw that the call was from Circe Reyna. So she reluctantly tapped the green button and put it on Speaker. "Hello, my lady."

The Twelve Days of Christmas By Tiffany B. Quinn I am exhausted when I finally slip into my new flannel nightgown and fall into my own bed. As sleep creeps up to me, all that I can think of is: what I can wear for my date with Sam!?!?

Tuesday Jan 3, Day 9

*Unless otherwise noted, all speaking is in French.
This is also a Christmas prequel story for Mille, who can be found here.

Paris, France
Early morning
December 24th, 1988

Part Seven

Captain Spaulding turned out to be Dr. Marie Spaulding. She was careful to explain that T.O.W.E.R.'s field medical people were referred to as Corpsmen (even though T.O.W.E.R. was not a corps) and were very well trained in both normal medicine and the medical needs of supers.

"That's good news," said Vic, nodding. "What about their - not just the medical people but all the T.O.W.E.R. personnel - physical conditioning?"

The last year or so had been hard for Saige, but she always found a crumb of comfort when she went to spend time at home. After graduating high school in 2021, Saige had started college at Harvard in Massachusetts with a major in psychology. Just weeks before, Saige had passed her finals with a GPA of 3.1 and then came home for Christmas. Now it was New Year's Day, and she was visiting the University Of Chicago campus where an old friend was attending.