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Chapter 1

Three months later and I still couldn't deal. The simple grave marker that stood before me mocked the life and death of my best friend in the entire world, Andrew Post. We grew up together, literally, born only a week apart. Our mothers were best friends, living next door to each other, marrying in a double wedding to our fathers. They were inseparable, much like Drew and I, even in death. Both of our mothers died in childbirth to an unknown complication. Their hearts just gave out.

For now I sat there, in the dew covered grass, in front of his marker, playing over the same period of time before he died, in my mind.

He predicted it. One Monday morning on the way to school, Drew told me that he was going to get sick and life as he knew it was going to end. Now that's not normally something two sixteen year old guys talk about. Needless to say, I was kind of stunned and felt fear for my best friend. The weirdest thing about the whole experience was that Drew set his hand on my shoulder and then hugged me.

Okay, I'm not gay. In fact, I'm very heterosexual; very. But in that moment I wanted nothing but to comfort my friend.

"It's gonna be okay, Cameron. We'll see each other again, sooner than you think." When I broke in his crazy talk he just stopped me. "You gotta trust me, Cam. When it happens, don't be afraid, and don't worry about me. We'll both be fine."

That morning, when we separated to our different classes, was the last time I saw him. He grabbed my hand and said, "I love you, Cam."

A couple of classmates in passing heard that one, so I was teased to no end, all the way up until lunch when I was found by a student aide and told to go to the office. They couldn't get a hold of Drew's father, or my father, as they were listed in order of people to notify in case of an emergency, so it fell to me. He was dead.

Sometime during first period he went to the school nurse with a bloody nose. When his ears started bleeding they called an ambulance. By lunchtime the school had been quarantined by a special division of the CDC, and we were all tested before being allowed to go home for the day. The whole thing was a farce. Everyone was scared to death that they were next, and they let us go with nothing but a skin test.

I was out for the rest of the week, a wreck, a walking zombie.

Attempting to return to school was joke. By that time, everyone seemed to have put Drew's death behind them, and were back with their devil may care attitudes. The one thing they didn't forget was that I was now gay, and therefore treated appropriately or inappropriately as the case may be. I didn't even last the day.

Now, school was out for the summer and I spent the better portion of each day at the cemetery, staring at that pathetic grave marker with the same questions riding roughshod through my head. How did Drew know that he was going to get sick? If he knew he was going to be sick, why didn't he go straight to the hospital? Why did he tell me everything was going to be okay? Why did he tell me that we'd see each other again? Was I sick too? All of these unanswered question just piled on day after day, which in turn took its effect on me.

So, I'd sit there in the damp grass, one day after the next, being angry, and confused, but eventually it would all end up with me in tears before I’d had enough and dragged myself away.

Redfield Cemetery was relatively quiet in the mornings. Virtually nobody visited, except on the weekends when I would make myself scarce much earlier than normal. On this particular day, a Wednesday, a blacked-out SUV parked itself behind me on the narrow drive that wound itself around the somber place. I say behind me, but it was probably fifty yards away.

I wiped at my face, destroying any evidence that I possessed feelings of any sort for my best friend, and then I stood. A quick deduction gave me the idea that they were waiting for me to leave before visiting a friend or relative of their own. I understood the need for privacy, having insisted on it quite often over the course of the last three months. So I left.

When I made it halfway out of the cemetery I noted the time. Dad had still not left for work, as he had the swing shift on Wednesdays. If I went home I'd only wake him and he'd feel guilty that he hadn't spent enough time with me during my difficult trials, as he called them. So, I turned around and leaned on a nearby oak to wait out the Visitor from the SUV.

It wasn't long before a tiny girl emerged from the door behind the driver's side. Her skin was darker than normal, almost the shade of mocha, but not quite. Her hair brown, with streaks of blonde. She was, in my opinion, beautiful. The sundress she wore spoke of a curvy body, but the expression on her face showed traces of mild grief. What can I say? I was entranced, bewitched, stupefied by her presence and body language.

She held a small arrangement of daisies in her left hand, which she cupped with her right as she slowly approached one of the gravestones. Imagine my surprise when she stopped in front of Drew's. It made me take an involuntary step forward to investigate.

I knew all of Drew's friends and relatives, and she was not included in that very short list. We had the same friends, and her dad was his only living relative.

From tree to tree I concealed my presence from her downcast eyes and from whoever was still in the SUV. It wasn't hard; there were a lot of trees. However, the closest I could get to her, without being seen, was about fifteen feet away. That's when I noticed it wasn't Drew's grave she was standing before, but the grave of Drew's mother. The girl had set the daisies in the little container provided, centered in front of the marker. I heard little murmurs which I assumed was her talking to the dead woman.

It wasn't surprising. I often talked to Drew. Cussing him out for leaving me with so many questions, and problems. We were supposed to be best friends forever and he left me all alone. There was one thing that was interesting about the girl, besides the obvious physical attraction I had for her. Her hands moved in a familiar way as she spoke, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where I had seen those particular gestures before.

As I waited, a stray Calico cat found its way through my legs to relieve itself of an apparent body itch. I looked down and frowned, then lightly nudged it aside.

"Go on. I don't need fleas on top of everything else," I whispered. Instead of heeding my instructions it started to purr and rub itself harder against my leg. What can I say, I have a really soft spot for strays. With a mild grimace I bent down and picked up the cat under its front legs and brought it to my face. Its bright green eyes looked content as it flicked out a pink tongue and licked at its nose.

"Oh brother," I commented to the feline. "Word's gotten out about me, I suppose. A sucker for anything lost and alone."

Cradling my right arm, I made a place for it to sit while I scratched behind its ears. The sound of a twig being snapped alerted me that I had momentarily forgotten about the girl that had initially grabbed my attention.

"Hello Cameron."

Spinning in place I turned to the other side of the tree where she had snuck up on me while I was busy playing Dr. Doolittle. My mouth opened a little at how pretty she was up close, striking me temporarily mute. I blinked my eyes and tried to concentrate. "I'm sorry?"

She smiled and reached out to pet the Calico briefly. "Nothing to be sorry about. There's no crime in being curious."

The sound of a car door closing took my attention away from her amazing topaz colored eyes. Looking up I saw a guy standing by the SUV, looking decidedly official in his dark suit and matching dark sunglasses.

"Don't mind him. He's just here to make sure I don't get into anything I'm not supposed to."

That brought a smile to my face. "Like talking to stalkers in a graveyard?"

She smiled at me and I think my IQ dropped about twenty points. "Something like that."

The girl held out her hand, and I instinctively knew she wanted mine. Without a second thought I acquiesced. "Who are you?" I asked, so full of curiosity and wonder.

"A friend." The girl held my hand for a moment and then closed her eyes. "It will be this afternoon, Cameron."

I thought that I had missed something along the way. "I'm sorry?"

Her topaz eyes opened once more and I could see nothing but caring and tenderness in their depths. "It's gonna be okay, Cameron. We'll see each other again, sooner than you think." The words that came out of her mouth rocked me to the core of my being. It was the exact same words that Drew had said before he left me. "You gotta trust me, Cam. When it happens, don't be afraid."

With that, she released my hand and walked back to the SUV. The driver had the back door opened and she climbed inside before I could unstick my feet from the ground and actually do something. Dropping the Calico I ran up to the SUV and stood outside the back window as the engine was started.

"Wait! Who are you! What do you mean don't worry!"

I could hear the transmission being shifted into gear and I almost beat at the window. But a second before my hand landed it opened no more than half way. The pretty girl smiled at me, sadly at first. "I love you, Cameron."

Again I was stunned. I'd never met the girl before and now she was reciting the last words of my dead best friend.

~O~

The Calico followed me home. When I opened the door it darted through my legs and into the kitchen to stand next to the refrigerator. At this point I was operating solely on automatic, not thinking twice before grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, filling it halfway with milk and setting it on the table. My new-found pet jumped to a chair and then up atop the table to begin lapping up my offering as I absentmindedly thought of the mysterious girl.

"Hey, hot rod, back early today?"

"Huh?" I spun my head around to see my dad heading for the cereal that I had left on the counter from my breakfast from the morning.

"I asked if you were already back for the day." He stopped in mid pour and looked at me with a small amount of concern. "Hey, are you okay?" Setting the cereal down he stepped over and felt my forehead. "No fever." Lifting my head up a little, for better lighting, I suppose, he took me in. "You're looking awful pale. You feel okay?"

I nodded. "I was… out at the cemetery this morning. Just got spooked is all."

Dad shrugged in understanding and then he eyed the cat. "New friend?"

"Yeah, a stray followed me home."

He chuckled. "Not the first, and it won't be the last." Returning to his morning ritual, Dad set the cereal box back were it belonged, in the food cupboard, and then grabbed what was left of the milk. "Taking it to the pound later?"

The Calico looked up at the mention of imminent incarceration and then looked at me, almost waiting for my answer. I gave it an inquiring leer in return. "Maybe--it acts really smart."

At the curious glance from the cat, Dad chuckled again. "Looks like it. It's almost like she understands us."

Her meager amount of breakfast left in the bottom of the bowl left abandoned, my new friend sauntered up and rubbed its face along my cheek. I guessed I'd been adopted whether I wanted to be or not.

~O~

Dad left soon after he finished eating and made me promise to get some rest. He really didn't have to tell me twice. Reclined on the couch in the most comfortable position I could find, I grabbed the remote and flipped on the television, for about half a second. Something in the back of it popped and fizzled, the smell of ozone followed soon after. Great, the TV died.

"Awww, man."

The Calico sat, staring at me from the kitchen door. "Did you curse my TV?" I asked the cat. After another few second stare it raised its paw and licked. "I guess not."

Abandoning the comfort of the couch I tinkered with the remote and then pressed random buttons on the bottom front of the television like it was going to do any good. Not even a flicker of life. With a deep and resigned sigh I gave up and decided on music instead. I'd go grab a book and camp out on the couch, maybe get some sleep. Before heading to my room I flicked the power switch on the stereo amplifier. Right when I touched it is when things took a turn for the weird. A visible static shock jumped from my finger to the amp and it was like fireworks were set off all around the entertainment center.

The screen on the television exploded outward showering the room in glass. Sparks erupted from the top of the amplifier, the DVD player emitted a plume of smoke, while the receiver did the same.

The Calico wailed at me. Who could blame her?

During all of this there was a knock on the front door. What the hell is going on? Waving at the smoke in the air, so that I wouldn't choke too much, I made my way over to the door and fumbled with the dead bolt. "Dammit!" I remarked under a closed breath. No need in scaring away whoever was there. When I finally managed to swing open the door I almost lost it into the wall, because she was there, the girl from the cemetery.

Her eyes traveled to the side and behind me with mild curiosity. "Having problems?"

"Uh… yeah." I coughed once more and waved at the air in front of my face.

The smoking electronics forgotten, she looked at me much like when we were at the cemetery. "It's time, Cameron."

Nothing was making any sense. I looked at my watch to see what time it was, only the LCD display was completely black. What the hell? "Look, I've got to make sure the place doesn't burn down. Can you give me a second."

Reaching inside the doorway, like she'd lived there all her life, she flicked the power switch to the entertainment center. This was kind of odd, because there are four switches grouped on the wall. The third one was the correct one. How would she know that?

"Your father's house will be fine, Cameron. I've already seen it. You have to come with me now." Her voice was insistent with worry.

"What? Why?"

She blinked and her face turned as if she were in pain. "Your friend, Drew?"

My eyes bugged. I had known something was off about her, with what she said earlier. "What about him?"

"The same thing is going to happen to you." Without any other words she turned and looked at the driver of the SUV, who was standing out of the way, so I hadn't seen him as of yet. He had one of those billfold identification wallets which he flashed in my face. I was aware enough to see some sort of badge and a picture ID, but not where it was issued from.

"CDC enforcement agent sir. I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."

I took a step backward. "Let me see that badge again. You can't just…"

Everything else was futile. The guy rushed me and sprayed something in my face. A few seconds after that I heard the Calico wail again and then the girl was hovering over my face as I was looking up at the ceiling from the floor.

"Don't be scared, Cameron. They won't hurt you. We're here to help. You're going to be f…"

~O~

It was the high whine that woke me, well that and the sleeping girl next to me, holding my hand, fingers intertwined with hers. The girl's head was propped up on my shoulder, her face snuggled in lightly along my upper arm. Strangely enough she looked at peace. I suppose most people look like that when they were asleep.

"She has had a very difficult day. Please don't wake her."

The henchman was standing to my right. A quick look around told me that we were in a small, probably private, jet, and if the clouds outside the window were any indication, we were probably pretty high up in the sky at the moment. He made himself comfortable at the chair cattycorner to me. I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so I chose to play it safe.

"You want to tell me why you kidnapped me?"

He didn't take my bait, but instead looked at his watch. "In approximately forty-seven minutes, you're going to be undergoing a few physical problems." Before I could get all angry and righteous he continued. "It will be something along the lines as your friend Andrew Marks had happen to him."

That little statement sent my heart beating.

"Cam?"

The hand that was holding mine, squeezed reassuringly. She was awake, looking up at me with those damn topaz eyes, looking like… tranquility. How could I be angry or scared when she looked at me like that? It took a moment, but the severity of the situation finally broke her hold on me. Shaking my head, I turned to the side, and as I did one of the lights in the center isle ceiling exploded.

"Cameron!" the girl almost yelled as she grabbed my arm. "You have to calm yourself or you'll kill us all!"

"Me?" I responded incredulously. "What do I have to do with…"

She shook me and forced me to look at her again. "It's your talent that is doing this, Cameron. You're an Electrokinetic. When you get upset or even when you aren't paying much attention you short things out. Being 20,000 feet in the air would be a bad thing without operable electronics."

"I'm a what?" I said with as much disbelief as humanly possible.

She didn't bother giving me Webster's definition. "You remember how your TV blew out, and your stereo?"

My eyebrows bunched with skepticism. "You're saying I did that?"

With a curt nod she pointed toward the ceiling. "Just like you did that. It was the first emergence of your talent."

A polite electronic tone sounded from the front of the plane. "We are on final approach. Please make sure you are buckled in and all loose items are secure."

So many things were happening all at once, I didn't know what to think.

"Cam, look at me. I can help calm you until we reach the ground. I don't want them to have to knock you out again. The transition doesn't go so well if you sleep through it."

I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. "What transition? Who the hell are you people…"

Her eyes captured me again. "Shh, I won't let anything bad happen to you." She had brushed against my cheek, and I felt like all the tension in the world dropped off my back. It was like as long as I could look at her face, nothing else mattered. It was filled with nothing but caring and love, things that had been missing from my life for as long as I could remember. Just as long as I could stare.

~O~

"We have seventeen minutes, Danielle."

The girl nodded, and in doing so broke the connection we had. I hadn't realized how dry my eyes were. It was as if I hadn't blinked in quite a long time. I rubbed at them to restore what normalcy I could.

"Cameron, we have to hurry. It would be bad to be near to any electricity this close to the beginning."

I wanted to scream, "The beginning of what?" but I just wanted this over with. If I was going to wind up dead like Drew, I just wanted it to end. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

The girl, Danielle I suppose, looked at me like I was nuts. "What? No. I told you that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, Cameron, and I meant it."

We were rushed down some steps and into a waiting SUV. As soon as the door was closed it took off, not even waiting for us to put on our seatbelts.

"That guy said that I was going through the same thing that Drew did. He died. You can probably see where I came up with the deduction."

Danielle looked at me with a sad kindness. "Drew isn't dead, Cam. It was a cover story. Nobody would believe the truth if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes."

I was of mixed feelings at the moment. To find out that I wasn't going to die, and to find out that my best friend wasn't dead was probably the best news I'd had in months. "Where is he?! What happened to him?! Can I see him?!"

Her face cracked a little smile. "You care for him, don't you?"

"What, are you nuts? He's my best friend!" I sat back in the seat and glanced out the shaded window. Drew was alive.

"Cameron, you have to listen to me right now."

I looked back at her, the thought that I might be able to see Drew again still prominent in my thoughts.

"I wasn't kidding before when I said you were an Electrokinetic. It means that when you are in control of your talent, you can pretty much have electricity do anything that you want, but when you don't have control…"

"What?"

"Well, there's no telling. I know you have the potential to be very powerful." She looked like she was bracing herself to tell me some bad news. "Imagine shooting lightning bolts out of your fingertips. That might give you an idea."

She got my furrowed brow for that bit of information.

"What's going to happen to you tonight is a very painful process, but you will survive, just like Drew did, and just like I did."

That shocked me, I have no idea why. I should have put it all together at the beginning.

"The place where we're taking you is more for everyone else's protection, not so much yours."

I could see how shooting lightning out of my hands might be a problem. "Uh…"

"They've got a special suit for you to wear during the transformation. It will help contain your abilities, the rest will be taken care of by a special bunker we have built for people with destructive powers, like you."

How does somebody process all of this and not think they are part of some really elaborate joke? "Okay."

A glance out the front windshield and her attention was back to me. "We're almost there. I'll be right outside during your time in there and I'll be the first face you see when it's over, alright?"

I nodded, not knowing what to say.

She was twisting her hands together, looking very worried. Then she stopped and looked up at me. "Can I kiss you?"

I almost had to shake myself. "What?" This was so surreal.

She didn't wait any longer and almost jumped in my lap. "Like I said before, Cameron Spencer, I love you. I have for years." And just like that, her lips were on mine.

Feelings of love, tinged with quite a bit of lust leaped in my head. In the background I could feel guilt, satisfaction, worry, fear, and a number of other emotions that I couldn't place, because I was distracted by Danielle's mouth on mine and her hands tightening in my hair as it seemed like she was trying to pull me inside her.

"Twelve minutes, Danielle," the henchman upfront said in a slightly reluctant tone.

I felt the SUV lurch to a stop and Danielle pull away at the exact same moment.

Her topaz eyes bored into mine. "Do not fear, Cam. You will come out of this in perfect health. Some things will be different, but you will still be the same person inside. That's who I love."

I was still dazed by the rush of emotions I had just experienced when the door opened and I was pulled out. They hurried me inside the bunker and during my drunken trance I was stripped of my clothing and dressed in a padded outfit including some type of hood for my head. There wasn't a millimeter of skin exposed. They showed me a raised platform and had me lay down in the center, told me to stay right there until it was over. Someone was counting down the seconds from ten and the last person who was left leaned over me and gave me a thumbs up.

"Good luck."

I heard a heavy door close like so many movies I had seen in the past, namely sealing things left dead in a tomb. However I really didn't have time to think about being scared because that's when the world, as I knew it, came to an end.

~O~

The soft pinging of a heart monitor annoyed me awake.

"Hey, I told you not to worry."

It was her again. Danielle. I groaned, just a little. It wasn't from feeling bad, but from the memory of feeling like I was at ground zero for a test firing of a small thermonuclear warhead not too long ago. I started to say something but she held a finger to my mouth.

"Not just yet. I need to tell you some things first."

I hadn't noticed until then that I was strapped down. Slight tugging revealed what I was trying to do, namely test the bonds for strength.

"I'll undo them in a few minutes, but first I want to tell you what happened and the changes, so you don't freak out like I did."

I gave her a grimace, but nodded.

"The short version is easier, and then if you want I'll go into the long version later, okay?"

I nodded again, thinking only to myself, "Get on with it."

She smiled at me. "I feel your frustration. Just bear with me."

When she made herself comfortable on a neighboring stool she leaned over me a little so I didn't have to turn my head to see her. "A little over sixteen years ago there was an internal terrorist attack at a genetics lab, not too far away from a bottled water facility. In the simplest terms some of that water was tainted unbeknownst to the water plant. Those bottles got shipped around the U.S. and any women who were pregnant at the time wound up contaminating themselves."

Yeah, even people like me can put two and two together. My mom was one, and I'm guessing that Drew's mom was one as well.

"I see you've already made the connection."

I gave her an affirmative nod.

"Well, those babies that grew are us. The doctors are still unable to tell us what triggers the change, but they can tell us it is unavoidable. It will happen. It's just a matter of when." She shifted a little. "There are some kids that didn't make it until they were ten before they got zapped. It took you and me a little longer. It always manifests itself with a psychic gift at first and then within the day a physical change occurs. But that's the last of it. You've already gone through the worst part. So we can take our time from here. With me so far?"

With a breath I nodded again.

"Okay, now is the time for a decision." She smiled a little. "Good news or bad news?"

She held her finger over my lips and quirked a grin at me. "Good news, huh?"

I gave her an annoyed look. "You ready to see Drew?"

My body jumped within the restraints, and she backed off. "Calm down, Cameron. I'm right here."

Huh?

Danielle looked a tad pensive and then added a little regret to her face to top it off. "This was my physical change, Cam. It's me, Drew."

Okay, that was it. I was done being taunted. "You shut the hell up! Where's…"

Oh god. Something happened to me. Something bad. They had me strapped down so I wouldn't freak out, and now my voice is completely different. A high pitch, almost…

"Cam, you really need to calm down. I can feel you spazzing right now."

I jumped again, but the restraints held me tight. "What did you do to me?! Why do I sound like this?!"

"It was the water, Cam. We didn't have any choice in the matter. You would have changed whether you, or I, or anyone wanted. The only thing we did was prevent you from killing a lot of innocent people around you in the process."

I jumped again, struggling against the bonds that held me down. Then a series of lights exploded along the ceiling.

"Cameron, stop it. Doctor!"

"PUT ME BACK! PUT ME BACK!"

A sting at my arm warned me that someone with a needle was close by. A spasm shook my hand and the room lit up in brilliant blue and white light before darkness overcame me.

~O~

I was aware of everything upon awakening for a third time. Since I was curled up in the fetal position I knew the restraints had been removed. The mattress I was on was soft, not like those too firm hospital monstrosities. There was a scent in the air, like someone was burning incense, and there was definitely a presence behind me.

"Cam?"

Danielle… Drew, what ever her name was. From what she said, she used to be Drew, and now she was a chick. I moved my arms a little and felt what could only be described as breasts on my chest. It would probably be hard to avoid them, considering how much room they took up. A little self investigation of rubbing my legs together a little and I knew there was nothing down there that would even vaguely be considered male equipment. So, that meant that I had transformed like Drew did. I was now a chick.

My minds-eye attached large breasts to my chest and put me in a short skirt and heels. I looked ridiculous. There would be no way I would ever look normal dressed as a girl. I'd be some cross species freak for the rest of my life.

The mattress shifted and I felt Danielle spoon up beside me. Her hand petted my hair and her voice attempted to soothe my nerves.

"Shh, baby. It'll be okay."

I didn't realize what she was talking about until I felt tears run across my eyes and drop to the pillow below. Great, now I was crying.

"It happened to all of us. Boys and girls alike. You aren't alone," she almost whispered.

My mind raced to find a way to get past looking like a crybaby, which was almost as bad as being turned into a chick. "How many?"

"Hmm?"

I cleared my new throat and repeated myself a little louder. "How many?"

"Oh, um… I think fourteen at last count. You'll make fifteen."

I would have thought more would have been affected. "Why so few?"

Feeling her shrug, I noted that her breasts were pressing up against my back. It was a new sensation. I hadn't really experienced sex as of yet. Yeah, I was a little behind the learning curve for your average teenager, but I had gotten to third base with Maria Delgado by the end of Christmas break. Now I have my own third base, not to mention a first, second, and home plate. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on task.

"Well you have to keep in mind that only pregnant women that drank the water were affected. It doesn't bother men or other women. Not to mention that the bottled water craze was just starting to hit it big back then, and the fact it was a relatively new company. Not that many women were exposed." She sighed a little. "If you keep in mind statistics of the distributed areas, the bean counters estimate that maybe one to two hundred women had a chance of exposure before they were informed about the meltdown at Genetech."

We lay there in silence for a few more minutes before Danielle stopped fingering my hair. "You about ready to have a look?"

I was so tempted to just shake my head and lay in bed for the rest of the day that I shrank in on myself. But what was done, was done. The only chance I'd have to reverse what happened to me was to face it head on and start learning how it happened in the first place. So, I nodded.

The mattress shifted again and out of the corner of my eye I could see Danielle holding out a hand for me. "I'll be right here, Cam, with you every step of the way."

With a resigned sigh I pushed myself up. The breasts on my chest shifted and I could feel their weight immediately. The second thing I noticed was the hair that fell in my face, and down to the tops of those mounds on my chest. I fingered a few locks and moved them out so I could see better. It was brown instead of my normal strawberry-blonde, and it was considerably longer.

"It happens to all of us, Cam." She pulled a little of her hair forward. "Remember I used to have black hair? There are a couple of us that have green and lavender. At least we're somewhat normal in the regard."

My legs were next on the list of most obvious changed portion of my body. They were long, skinny, and smooth, with proportional feet attached at the end. Two hands and two feet — I'm still human.

"Another good thing about the change? In the three months I've been here I've only had to shave my legs once. Though with your electrokinesis you could probably just zap all your hair…" Seeing the are you crazy look on my face, Danielle amended her last statement. "Though you probably don't really care about grooming tips at the moment, sorry."

I closed my eyes and gave my head a shake. If anything could prove that it was Drew sitting in front of me with a new girly body, that was it. He always had a bad habit of sticking his foot in his mouth. But at least he was aware of it and tried to apologize.

She stood and held out both her hands. "Come on, there's a mirror over here."

Taking hold of her hands I pushed up from the bed and almost immediately fell over. Danielle gigged at me. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you that the first step is a bit different. Remember, you have an entirely new body now. All your weight has been redistributed to your chest and hips instead of your entire torso." At my questioning look she added, "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it really quick."

The t-shirt I was wearing dropped to about mid thigh. I remembered how sexy I thought that look was on girls, the whole rumpled, just out of bed look, and I frowned before taking in the room I was currently residing.

The bed I was sleeping in was a bunk style and the room itself couldn't have been larger than a decent sized motel room. A partner's desk sat sideways under a window on one wall with one side looking like it was lived in, while the other side only had a desk organizer and a computer monitor.

"Is this your room?"

Danielle smiled. "It's our room now. I insisted on having you as my roommate." The smile dropped and I could see she was holding back a frown. "But if you want, you can have your own room. There's enough here until we start getting a lot of new arrivals."

I shook my head. "Sharing's cool for now." At that announcement, she brightened up again.

"Cool!"

There were two sets of dressers with small adjoining tables attached to one side. I looked at Danielle's and figured out right away that it was for putting on her make up. Now I have my own. For some reason, I didn't see painting my face every morning in the near future.

"Are you stalling?"

Why, yes, I was. "Um, no… I just wanted to look around."

One of her eyebrows lifted in doubt. "I'll tell you right off that I can tell when you're lying. It's part of my power."

Oh, yeah. "What is it you do?"

She smiled again, teasingly. "Still stalling I see." She giggled. "It's okay. I understand, really. Um, okay what do I do? I'm an Empath. Meaning I share whatever emotions that you have. If you're angry, I can feel it like it was my own anger. Plus I can push my own emotions on to others. That's what I did in the plane at the end to calm you down so we didn't crash. "

"Whoa."

"Neat, huh?"

I nodded.

"Also in certain regards I'm a Precog."

That sparked a memory of mine, but I couldn't place it. "I've heard of that one. Like a movie or something."

She rolled her eyes. "Minority Report, Tom Cruise. No, I'm not like that. If I have a strong emotional bond with someone I can see into their future, not to mention my own. That's how I knew what would happen that day I disappeared."

That made me a little angry. "You knew all of this was going to happen and you didn't say anything?"

A heavy sigh escaped her mouth. "Would you have believed me? I gave you want I could. I tried to give you hope that we'd see each other again."

"Dude, all you gave me was a shitload of questions I've been torturing myself with for three months." A look came over her face and I figured out where I'd seen that before. "You're black?" Only a black woman could give you that look where you feel like the stupidest person in the world. I have no idea why. I guess it was a whole face, shoulders, hands thing.

"I'm mixed in the racial category, Cameron." She shook her head. "I never thought you were racist."

"Um, I'm not. I was just trying to figure out who you remind me of." Really, I wasn't racist! I just have a really bad habit of trying to label things. With the withering look I received I don't think she believed me. What about her whole truth detector thing she had going? "You don't think I'm lying do you? When have you ever seen me be cruel because of something like that?"

She still had me with that disappointed look. "You're going to have to watch your mouth around here, Cameron. I'm not the only one who doesn't look like their original breed." With a glance down my body I figured out what she was saying, and it felt like there was a stone in my stomach.

"I'm Asian, aren't I?" Drew knew about my dislike of Japanese anime that he was so fond of. Wouldn't it be karma for me to have been changed into some Japanese school girl, manga wanna be. I suddenly had a very strong desire to look in that mirror she talked about earlier.

Another giggle escaped her lips. "Tell you the truth? I don't have a clue what you are." Following her pointy finger, I saw a three-quarter length mirror attached to the back of what I was assuming was a closet door. I looked back at Danielle and watched as she took my hand to lead me to my newest revelation.

There I was. The new me. My hair was straight and kind of thin, falling to either side of my face with an offset part. A fairly oval shaped face had replaced my previous square shape that I had enjoyed as a guy. At least my nose was straight and proportional, and my eyes were a very pretty blue/gray… that I'd never thought I'd ever hear myself say about myself. Pretty. I kind of looked Spanish, with some European mix in there to mess everything up. I understood why Danielle couldn't peg me.

"I'll give you a few minutes to explore. I need to use the restroom."

I absentmindedly nodded before I heard the door close. With a glance I confirmed I was alone and did what anyone else in my place would have done. A calming breath later, and I lifted up my t-shirt. Cameron, that is most definitely not your old body.

It barely looked like had an ounce of fat on my torso. The outline of my ribs showed, not boney, but you could see the shape of them quite clearly. Right below them I could tell that I was well on the way to having very well defined abs. This doesn't even mention what was sitting on top of my chest. They were kind of round, but firm, with upturned brown areolas looking like they wanted to point to the ceiling. I wasn't centerfold material, but damn close. Maybe Girls Gone Wild: Sorority Edition. My waist was neatly tucked and the hips flared, but not too much. I had curves, that was evident, but I wasn't full figured. I could see that from the hip bones sticking out. I looked a little underfed.

Before I had a chance to explore down below, a soft knock sounded at the door. I dropped my t-shirt down my new body and felt my ears start to burn. What must have been a five count later and the door opened. Danielle poked her head in.

"Sorry, I want to make sure you had time to slip your nightshirt back on." At that, my face joined in with the humiliation by heating up. She saw my predicament. "Cameron, don't worry. We all did the exact same thing." With a little giggle she added, "They had to drag me out from in front of the mirror. I couldn't quit looking."

That made me feel a little better. But I wanted nothing more, at the moment, than to be covered head to toe in real clothes. "Can I have my…" On second thought, "Is there something I can wear?"

Danielle smiled and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm being a ditz. Yes, I went down to Wardrobe and picked out a generic outfit for you. We can go down later and you can choose your own clothes. Sound okay?" During all of this she had crossed over to what I assumed was my dresser and opened one of the drawers, only to pull out a stack of dark colored clothes. "I decided to go with blue. I don't think you're quite ready to embrace the pink as of yet."

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically. A quick look around and I found that there was no place to really change privately. Danielle jumped a little. "Oh, sorry. I'll turn around. You might need help with something, so I won't disappear on you."

It was a yoga outfit, or not quite a pair of sweats, I was going with yoga. The top part and the bottom part I could figure out on my own. Even cringing a little at the matching panties, I knew what to do with those. However, the bra, or more to the point, the sports bra was a puzzle. I assumed that it was just a short tight version of a t-shirt, made to contain a girl's breasts so she wouldn't get black eyes on a morning run. What I wasn't prepared for was the added garment inside that looked like it was sewn in. I flipped it around and inside out before finally figuring it out.

"Oh, okay."

"Lemmie guess, the sports bra?" Danielle said with a little mirth in her voice.

"Yeah." Fine, rub it in.

I struggled with it for a minute before thinking of a better way of putting it on and then adjusted my breasts after. This had to be the weirdest feeling I'd ever experienced, and that is saying something after going through the Jell-O in the jock strap incident when school started the previous year. We're not going to talk about that particular embarrassment.

Once I had that particular puzzle solved, the rest was cake; clothes were clothes, girls clothes seemed to just be softer and thinner. No wonder they were constantly freezing all the time.

"Okay, I think I've got it."

Danielle turned around and smiled at me while she gave me the once over. "Everything… supported? Nothing pinches?"

My ears started to burn again. "Yeah, fine."

She shrugged. "It's better to find out now instead of being in the cafeteria trying to adjust your bra in the middle of lunch. Believe me." The thought of attracting more attention to what I was wearing underneath my clothes and I was nodding right along with her. I may have boobs now, but I didn't have to advertise the fact… not that I needed to. I wasn't exactly flat-chested. They were 3-D advertisements all by themselves.

"Okay, feel up to taking a walk down to Wardrobe and getting you some real clothes or are you hungry?"

There was an ache in my stomach that pretty much announced that food would be good, not to mention I was virtually skin and bones. Five or ten pounds wouldn't go amiss on my new body.

"Food sounds pretty good."

Danielle looked down at my feet. "We're about the same size shoe." She disappeared into the closet and returned with a pair of flip-flops that I winced a little at. I hate the stupid sound they make when you walk, sue me. Flip-flop-flip-flop-squish-flop. The squish part was when you inevitably step in some sort of liquid and it splashes up under your arch and you have to stop to make sure it was water, because if it wasn't then you'd have some nasty… never mind.

Once I was reasonably attired Danielle led the way out the door. I stopped and looked at the light switch and then up to the door frame. "Dammit, I'm short!"

She threw a look over her should at me. " At least you only lost a few inches. Try being five-one after just making it to six foot. I was pissed."

The sound of the door closing behind us brought Danielle up short. "Oh, I forgot. We need to pick a feminine name for you. Nobody is allowed to use their original gender name. It's supposed to acclimate us to the change quicker."

I looked down the hall of doors with embossed plaques on each. Judging from the names inscribed I assumed they were the names of the occupants. "Uh… What do I look like to you?"

She turned to me and studied my face for a few seconds. "Maybe a Jessica?"

That was a little too girlie for me, so I shook my head.

"Maria?"

Another shake. "Something less… I dunno, less."

She frowned in thought. "How about Kristyn, we can call you Kris for short. That's pretty androgynous."

I was about to poopoo that suggestion too, but I really didn't have a reason. "Yeah, that's fine, I guess."

"It's going to be your name. You should be happy with it."

"Kristyn's fine. I'll survive with a girl's name. It's not the worst thing that's ever happened to me." Looking down at my breasts protruding out from my chest, that was saying quite a lot.

She nodded. "Okay, Kristyn it is." Danielle took my hand and laced her fingers with mine like it was second nature to her. "Cafeteria's this way."

The halls were mostly deserted which made me wonder what time it was. "Is everyone else asleep?"

"Probably. It's about eleven, but we might run into a night owl or two on the way. There's always someone up and about."

The cafeteria wasn't located too far away from the dorm rooms, which I suppose was good. At least I wouldn't starve from not being able to find it. It was big, like High school big, but since there weren't many students attending I saw that they had sectioned it off into a type of multi-purpose room. There were support columns along either side that sectioned the room off into quarters, one quarter being the seating area for dining. The closest wall near there was what looked like your typical a la cart line like in high school, but cattycorner to that was what looked to be heaven: a self serve snack bar. I could almost hear the angels singing Hallelujah.

"Hot meals are breakfast and dinner. For lunch or snacks, you're on your own," Danielle informed me.

My eyes widened at the set up. There were little see though windows with ready made cold meals behind them, three rows and about ten columns worth that included everything from sandwiches to desserts. To one side was a table set up with several baskets of fruit, microwave popcorn, energy bars, and a variety of chocolate bars.

"They rotate the snacks out so if you see something you really can't live without, I firmly suggest hording." She proved an excellent role model by picking through the bowl of sweets and swiping several Hershey's Dark Chocolates. I think that was the first time I had smiled since I got there.

"What's the food like?"

She shrugged. "It doesn't suck. Although stay away from the chili-cheese dogs--heartburn city. I don't know what kind of chili they used, but it will come back to haunt you well into the night, and we're roomies, so if you aren't kind to me…" She got a really evil look to her face. "Well, I could always lean toward the boiled cabbage and cucumber diet."

I wrinkled up my face. "Maybe I should look into a private room."

She laughed with me as I tried to make my choice. Turkey and Swiss sub it was! After I removed it from the refrigerated window unit and watched as it was replaced with something completely different via some kind of automated system I popped it into a microwave and nuked it for a minute. A fountain drink dispenser held my favorite soda, Pepsi! I don't know what I would do without my sugar and caffeine.

We found a table and I watched Danielle sift through a bag of baked potato chips and a bottled water while I made with the destruction of my sandwich. Her eyes flicked to the side and for some reason I knew we weren't alone, and my best friend was not happy.

"New meat?" came a masculine voice over my left shoulder.

I laid the remains of my sandwich down and looked over my shoulder. Two boys, roughly our age approached.

"Go away Brian," Danielle warned. "I'll tell Mrs. Fine, and you'll be punished again."

The look on his face told me all I wanted to know. Apparently Danielle had busted the boy at one time or another. There was a grudge there. It was obvious.

"Dani, we're all supposed to welcome every new arrival. You know that's part of the rules. Gotta be one big happy family after all."

Danielle's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Brian, Kristyn — Kristen, this is Brian, otherwise known as someone that can't suppress his need to show everyone exactly how much testosterone he can produce in one sitting." She said through almost gritted teeth. "He's a Kything."

"A what?"

Brian smirked. "It means I can read your thoughts."

"It's more than that, and you know it," Danielle accused. "A Kything can create a link between two minds and experience everything that you can. If for instance someone was having sex, he can pop right in there and feel what its like to be you. Touch, taste, memories, knowledge. It's all there for the pervert to take advantage of."

Brian yawned dramatically. "What can I say? Male orgasms just can't compete with female's."

Then it clicked in my head. "You used to be a girl."

Brian heaved back and his laugh echoed in the almost empty room. "Oh, Dani, we've got an Einstein here."

Dani leaned back and a thought crossed her face. "You better keep your power away from Kristyn. She's an Electrokinetic. Go in without warning and she could fry your tiny little brain into soup."

"Is that what happened to the lights earlier?" the other boy asked from behind Brian.

"Kris, this is Christopher, a much less annoying person. He's an Empath like me."

The blonde haired boy shook his head. "Not like you. I can't project like you can."

"Please, Chris," Brian said in over exaggerated disgust. "Your crush on little miss perfect is making me ill."

That brought my eyebrows up. Drew was now little Miss perfect?

"Christopher, you're welcome to join us," Danielle said with perfect poise. "Brian, you're welcome to go somewhere else, that isn't here, and masturbate."

I leaned back and sipped at my Pepsi. It was just like old times at school, except I was Christopher at the time and Brian was the BMOC jerk that always annoyed me.

"You wish sweet cheeks," he cracked.

Christopher sidestepped around the table and went to fetch something to snack on, and Brian let his eyes rove over my body. I suddenly had a lot of sympathy for women around the world and what I used to do to them. Granted, I wasn't as obvious as Brian was, but still. The only thing that didn't make any sense was that he used to be a girl. Shouldn't he have some idea of what a jerk he was being?

"Listen, Kris, if you ever feel the need to test run that hummin' body of yours, you know where to find me."

I couldn't hold back. "Every wonder what it would feel like to have 10,000 volts of electricity pass through your penis, Brian." At his little flinch I saw that he was currently visualizing that moment. "Keep pushing and you will."

Danielle let loose with a high bark of laughter as Brian tried to retreat as manly as possible.

"Jesus, what an asshole," I said as I shook my head. My best friend was having a grand ole time. "So, I have a hummin' body?"

Her eyes lit up as she giggled some more, but it tapered down a little when Christopher joined us. "Sorry about him. Ever since he started to go through puberty he's been a gargantuan ass."

"Puberty?"

Danielle nodded. "Christopher and Brian have been here the longest."

Christopher thumbed at Danielle. "What she said. I was ten when I went through my thing and Brian was eight. From what I heard he, or rather she at the time was a serious tomboy in the first place. I figure she was always a he anyway."

That would explain a few things, I suppose. "What about you?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I liked being a girl. I still do on occasion."

I blinked at that. "You can change back?"

Christopher chuckled a bit at that. "No, I mean…" He looked at Danielle and she shook her head.

"We haven't gotten that far yet."

He shrugged and then explained. "They allow us to dress how we want around here. You'll sometimes see others do it."

I sat up and leaned into the table. "You mean dress in girls clothes?"

He nodded. "You learn not to judge around here… well, except for Brian that is. A lot of us know that we are in the body of the wrong gender. Dressing up allows us to," he struggled for the term. "Release some steam?" He sighed, looking melancholy. "I miss my Easter dresses the most."

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't imagine the boy sitting in front of me wearing a frilly pink Easter dress. It made me extremely aware of my own body and how much it had changed. Danielle had her eye on me, almost studying me.

"Marks here took to it like a fish to water though," Christopher commented.

"Marks?" I asked.

"Danielle Marks, or Dani for short if you prefer," my friend clarified. "And you know why it took me only a week to adjust, Christopher. I was always a girl inside."

I think my brain just short circuited, and considering my power, that wasn't out of the realm of possibility. "You were a girl… inside?"

Dani looked nervous. "Explain a few things about our childhood, Kris?"

Now that she mentioned it, yeah.

"Hold on," Christopher almost spilled his drink. "You two know each other… from like outside?"

Dani nodded without taking her eyes off mine. "All our lives. Best friends, inseparable."

That was the word to describe it; inseparable. Except now I knew what my best friend had really thought of me all those years. It wasn't friendship for him. It was actual love. That also explained those feelings I was overwhelmed with when she kissed me before my transformation. Those were his, hers — now I was confusing myself. The weird part? I wasn't freaked out by it. Now if Drew had been the one to lay a big smackaroo on my lips there would have probably been an issue, but I had been more than attracted to Danielle. Now? I have no idea.

Her eyes told me she was reading my emotions. I think I have that look down pat by now. She was still very beautiful to me. Beautiful enough to have a relationship with? I don't know, seeing as how I'm a girl now too.

"Oww!" Dani almost yelled as she grabbed for her shin.

Christopher gave her a disapproving look. "You didn't like it when Brian used his powers on you without your permission."

"He what?" I almost demanded.

Dani scowled. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

There was definitely a story behind that look on her face.

~O~

Upon our return to the room, Dani produced a set of clean sheets and offered to make my bunk. Since I was the taller of the two, she volunteered me for the top bunk. Her reasoning was that If I fell off I would have a shorter fall. I chalked it up to Drew's personality. He was always an off the wall thinker.

The one thing I wasn't expecting as I sat on the lower bunk was to see up the skirt of my best friend while she was on the little wooden ladder that led upward. That was the first time I realized that her skirt was really short and showed off a really nice feature about her. Granted, she was petit, but she had really nice and toned legs which led all the way up to… whoa… she was wearing a thong.

Well that answered that question about my sexuality. Yep, still attracted to girls. Thank -- god. I looked away soon thereafter. While what I saw turned me on, I wasn't very sure about trying to hook up with a person that was, in my mind, a guy less than twenty-four hours ago. When I saw Dani make her way down the steps I turned back and saw a disappointed face turn into a small smile. Well that confirmed that thought. She flashed me on purpose.

"I have to be in class by eight tomorrow morning, so lets get up early and we can go raid the wardrobe together."

I gave her an assenting nod. "Alright." I really wanted something to do with my hands and women's clothes apparently didn't include anything useful in the way of actual pockets for private fidgeting.

Dani looked a little nervous. "Um… did you want to borrow one of my nightgowns? I have a perfect little babydoll…"

"I can just wear the t-shirt I slept in earlier."

"Oh… okay."

Before everything became entirely uncomfortable I crossed the room and grabbed the shirt in question and went into the closet to change. Maybe this roommate thing wasn't such a good idea after all. I love Dani — well, I loved Drew like a brother, but that was it. But Dani. Sigh. At first I was so attracted to her, which was weird. Then a really bad thought came into my head. Maybe she had used her Empathy powers to… No, Drew wouldn't do that.

I pushed that thought straight out of my head. It was stupid to even contemplate. My friend was made of better stuff than that. This whole being a girl thing was obviously making me insane. It had to be the hormones. Female hormones made guys idiots when they were being used on them by actual girls. I couldn't imagine what it would make out of a guy if he were subjected to them 24/7. I was way beyond help. Just keep your cool and work through this. I'd already seen what would happen if I overreacted and lost my focus. Boom.

Hopefully the people here can help me get my powers under control so I can concentrate on reversing whatever had happened to me.

Photo Credit: Kristin K.