The Center: Taking Wing
Chapter 2

Jack was just an ordinary high school student, trying to get by the bullies and through his classes. But, all of that is about to change as a result of something that happened a long time ago.

Disclaimer:
~The Center universe and any original characters from it that appear here belong to Lilith Langtree.
~Characters or lines taken or paraphrased from published works are their creators’ property.
~Any characters I create for The Center universe are open for use by anyone else, just ask first.

Chapter 2

Raven awoke later that morning after getting some sleep after her nighttime stroll with Dani. Raven had wanted to stretch her legs a little bit, and so the two of them walked through the dormitories for a short time, before getting some sleep. It was a little bit before eight in the morning on that Saturday, and she didn’t know what to do with herself now. Dani had told her that she and another girl named Heather would be along today to help her pick out some decent clothes for her to wear, considering that all she had to wear was a pair of sweats and a baggy tee shirt.

She just laid there in bed, after she had woken up. She didn’t get to sleep until about three in the morning. Although she had only had five hours of sleep, she did feel rested. Her thoughts were in a whirl after the events of the past twenty-four hours. This time yesterday, she was a guy and attending high school back in her home town. Now, she was a girl, had abilities that she didn’t know how to use or control, and on a strange campus with others that were similar to her. She thought to herself, as she continued to
stare at the ceiling, ‘Life is definitely full of strange surprises.’

She was still lying on her bed in the sweats that she was wearing earlier, when there was a knock at her door.

“Come in,” Raven said, she rolled over on to her side to see who it was.

The door opened, and she saw Dani poke her head in. “Hey there, Miss Sleepyhead. Can we come in?”

“Sure,” Raven replied, as she sat up on the bed.

Dani and another girl walked into the room. This girl looked like the other girls that Raven had seen around her school, but her hair was white as a sheet.

“Raven, I’d like for you to meet Heather,” Dani introduced us.

Heather moved to shake Raven’s hand, and said, “Welcome to the party, fellow PK.”

“Uhh…thanks,” she replied. “What is a PK?”

“Psychokinetics,” Heather said, as though she thought I knew that already. “I’m a
photokinetic, which means that I can manipulate light.”

Raven suddenly had the realization that she did have an inkling of what Heather was talking about, “You mean like how I can manipulate plants?”

“Sort of, it’s different from person to person. The power trainer should help you figure that part of yourself out,” Dani explained.

Raven nodded in understanding. She thought, ‘Makes sense since everyone is uniquely different already.’

“Well, Raven,” Dani said, interrupting Raven’s thoughts. “Would you like to get some new clothes?”

“Yeah, I could definitely use some now,” Raven acknowledged.

“Then, let’s get going,” Heather said, helping Raven to her feet.

Heather was very eager to help this new girl pick out clothes. However, she pulled Raven up to quickly and she bonked her head against the upper bunk of the beds.

“Ouch!” Raven said. “I guess I gotta remember that I’m a little taller than I used to be.”

“How tall were you and now?” Heather asked as she began to lead Raven down the hall towards the wardrobe section of the facility.

“I was about five foot, five, but I think I picked a few more inches up, maybe around five foot eight, or five foot, nine, I think,” she replied.

“I guess that explains why you’re so scrawny,” Dani interjected. “Your change must have used up a lot of your body fat to grow and mold itself into your new form.”

“Probably also explains why I’m starting to feel very hungry again,” Raven commented. She was so hungry that she could eat at least three plates full at a dinner buffet and go back for thirds.

“First, we will get you some new clothes, then we’ll go see about sating your ravenous appetite,” Heather said.

The three of them continued down the hallway for a bit, before they entered a room that was massive. There were rows upon rows of different clothing all of which were various sizes, types, colors, and styles. There were also shelves of different kinds of shoes, as well as stacks of packaged undergarments.

“Whoa,” Raven said. Even when Raven had visited clothing department stores, she had never seen so many clothes in one place.

“Yeah, we have a lot of stuff, don’t we?” Heather joked.

“That’s definitely an understatement.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Heather said, as she dragged Raven towards the clothes. “We need to get you a set of undergarments, a couple of uniforms, exercise outfits, and some street clothes.”

Raven felt that her head was starting to spin around like crazy, as she was being swept around by the whirlwind that was Heather. Dani just smiled as she just stood back and watched, so that she wouldn’t interfere with them and let Heather work her fashion magic. Heather took her through every aisle and rack that she could get her hands on or see for that matter. She first took Raven and measured her arms and legs, and then her chest. Raven seemed to be okay with all the measurements she was taking, and wasn’t too disturbed when Heather measured her chest, which she realized how much went into measuring just that. She had Raven try on various clothes all in what seemed random sizes to her, until Raven seemed to get a better idea on the tightness which fit her mostly comfortably.

After what seemed like hours to Raven, she now had clothing for everything that she would possibly do and need at the Center for the immediate future, such as going to class and exercising both her abilities and mind. She didn’t mind some of the new clothing items that Heather had given her, such as the blouses and panties, which in fact felt very comfortable to wear. However, Raven still didn’t feel too good about the heels and bras, as she realized and was told that those would definitely take some getting used to, and maybe some pain from wearing the heels. She did like the sneakers that Heather suggested, as they were a lot more comfortable than the heels she would have to endure on days when she would have class.

Heather and Dani both insisted that Raven wear the uniform today, including the heels, so that she could get used to new clothes that she would be wearing most of the time, along with the new body. Raven felt completely out of her element while wearing this odd outfit, but knew that it looked good from what Heather and Dani told her.

She thought to herself, ‘The skirt and these heels are certainly different than what I’m used to. Trying not to kill myself in these is going to be a challenge.’

A few moments later, Raven had managed to put all the new clothes on that she was told to wear on and came out to show Dani and Heather what she looked like in them. Heather had her walk around in them, and do a turn around like a fashion model. She observed Raven and asked Raven if the clothes fit and were comfortable.

“You look cute in that outfit,” Dani said, applauding after Raven finished with the impromptu fashion show.

“Cute?” Raven said, skeptically.

“Oh yeah, people are going to have a hard time keeping their eyes off of you,” Heather complimented her.

“Oh boy,” Raven replied, rolling her eyes.

Raven felt her stomach growl loudly, and both of the other girls giggled when they also heard it.

“Come on,” Dani said, managing to stifle her giggles. “Let’s go get some breakfast like we promised.”

-----

After the three of them left the Wardrobe, Heather and Dani both led her to the cafeteria so they could get some breakfast. The three of them entered the line for food, and Raven saw a variety of things to choose from, all of which were making her mouth water from the hunger. Even with all this food, for now, she decided on a stack of pancakes with maple syrup, several sausage links, and some hash browns. To drink, she decided on a very tall glass of orange juice.

They all sat down at a nearby table and began to dig into their meal. A short time later, other people began entering the cafeteria for some breakfast on that sunny Saturday. Dani and Heather waved to a group of people to come over and join the three of them, as they ate their good food.

Raven watched as the group of girls came over and joined them, one of which had her nose buried deeply in a worn leather and blood-stained book. They all sat down at the table with Raven, and began to chat with Dani and Heather, seeming to not care much about Raven at the moment, before Heather started to introduce them, and what all of their powers were.

The first was Heather’s roommate, Debbie, which was the girl that had her nose deeply buried in the old book. Debbie was an Omni-Linguist, which meant that she was able to read virtually anything, in any language. Next in line was Sheri, the Token-Reader, who possessed a head full of rich purple-colored hair. A Token-Reader could sense imprints that emotions and memories left on objects or people. Raven recognized Lili and Lara from when they had picked her up. Heather explained that Lili was a telepath, while Lara was a Pathfinder, someone who was even better than a bloodhound. Rita, the Eraser, was the next to be introduced. She was good at erasing any memories from people that she wanted. The last three girls of the group then took their seats at the table. The first of this bunch was Samantha; she had arrived at the Center about three weeks ago, and she was a Memory Psion, a person able to attack a person’s mind by trapping them within their own memories. Alistaria was the next person to have a seat and be introduced; she very closely resembled a Valkyrie from Norse mythology. She also was a Psychokinetic, but more specifically an Aerokinetic, the ability to manipulate air. Finally, there was Luna, whom had arrived with Raven at the Center and had formally gone by Brian. Luna has silvery hair, much like the full moon on a clear starry night; it even shined brightly when the light caught it. From what they knew about her so far, she was also a Psychokinetic. Heather had the ability to manipulate light, while she had the ability to manipulate shadows. They thought up the name Umbrakinetic for her, for the shadows.

Raven noticed that all of the girls, except for Dani, were wearing some sort of tight, black gym clothing, as well as a pair of tennis shoes, instead of heels. These all had the effect of outlining their bodies more than normal, and if Raven were still Jack right now, he would be shifting in his seat to hide his embarrassment of being around so many beautiful women dressed in ways that exemplified their natural beauty. While a part of Raven was still turned on at the sight of seeing a bunch of beautiful women around, it wasn’t as much as it would have been before.

Raven felt nervous about being around so many people at the same time. As Jack, he had kept to himself a lot at school, even in small groups, and when he was not getting beat up by Harold and his gang of bullies. She concentrated on her food at the moment, since she didn’t feel like jumping into the conversation right away. She also had no idea of what to say, since she had never been a part of a group this big.

She was snapped out of her reverie when the girl sitting next to her said, “Could you please pass the pepper?”

Raven snapped her head up and said, “Oh, the pepper? Yeah, sure.”

She looked around at the table, found it, and handed to the girl who requested it. She then saw that it was the silver-haired girl, Luna.

“Here you go,” Raven said.

“Thanks. So, how are you adjusting to the new body?” she replied.

“Okay, for the most part. I’m not a huge fan of the heels though.”

“Tell me about it. Between them and the bra, I’m not sure which is harder to get used to. I saw you on the plane last night; by the way, I was Brian.”

“Well, you’re certainly definitely much different now than how you looked before,” Raven retorted.

“Yeah, I lost about four inches in height, and I’m much more petite and delicate, and I can do crazy things with shadows, or so they tell me that I can.”

“For me, I seemed to have gained four inches, and have the body of a model now. If I was still a guy, I’d be scared to even talk to someone like me.”

Luna giggled at that. “You’re still on the scrawny side. Probably when you put some more meat on those bones, then you’ll have the body of a real model.”

Raven laughed, and then thought to herself, ‘Great, just what I need. To have all sorts of guys ogling over me.’

“So, what’s your specialty?” Luna asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“I’m a Chlorokinetic, or so they have told tell me,”

“Plants?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You’d be surprised what you unintentionally did yesterday,” Lara interjected into their
conversation.

“Huh?”

“Your abilities tried to conceal you by making the plants grow to cover your tracks, and
even to partly hide your location. I’m a Pathfinder, which means that I can track someone, no matter what they do or where they go. I also know enough about tracking that nothing can move easily through dense foliage, and not leave a visible sign of it being disturbed I anyway, but you did a little bit.”

“Wow, I just thought that I was hyped up on adrenaline when I saw all that,” Raven replied, taking a drink of her orange juice.

“Also,” Dani added, “when you changed, all the plants in the immediate vicinity of the bunker grew like crazy; they must’ve all grown by at least a good four to six inches. The groundskeepers have been complaining since they saw how tall the grass had become, considering that they had just mowed the lawn the day before.”

Luna and Lara both giggled at this, while Raven looked embarrassed by what she didn’t mean to do the people and the plants.

“Don’t feel too bad,” Dani said, sympathetically. “At least you didn’t blow the power grid like someone had done.”

Raven laughed at that. “Who could do that?”

“Kristyn did,” Dani replied, “a few times actually, when she was just beginning to learn her powers.”

Raven looked shocked when Dani told her that. She saw how powerful Kristyn was when she stopped those guys at the river yesterday, but she didn’t realize that Kristyn was even that powerful.

“Well, you’d better hurry up and eat. You have your physical right after breakfast.”

“Physical?” Raven said.

“Yeah, we have to make sure that you are in good health and that everything in your new
body is working.”

Luna gave a consoling look, and placed her hand on Raven’s shoulder before saying, “Don’t worry to much. But, it’s not the most pleasant of experiences to go through.”

Raven now looked a bit worried about what the doctors were going to do to her. But, she didn’t dwell too much on it, because she figured that it might be a bit too much to think about. She was broken from those thoughts when Kristyn and Liz joined the table.

Kristyn looked the part of a professional business type woman, with what appeared to be a United States military identification on her outfit, from what Raven could see of it. She could also barely make out the words, US Army and Warrant Officer on the identification tag. Liz, who seemed to be looking very happy and dressed similarly to the other ladies at the table, sat down next to her mother and immediately started to engage Raven in a conversation.

“So, how are you feeling today, Raven?” she asked buoyantly.

“Fine, thanks,” she replied. “It’s Liz, right?”

“Yep, I see you remembered.”

“Well, how could I forget? You have an excellent bedside manner.”

“Thank you. I must say, you look very pretty. I’m guessing Heather helped you with your
clothes, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did.”

“Good. She has a good eye for clothes and other things like that.”

Kristyn had just finished up a quick conversation with Dani when she turned her attention to Raven to talk about a few business matters.

“So, Raven, are you adjusting well to your new life?”

“I guess so,” she meekly replied.

“Don’t worry. It’s not so bad,” she reassured. “After your physical, I would like for you to come to my office, so we can just chat for a bit. I’ve been in your shoes before, and I want to make sure that I can make sure that you can adjust and enjoy yourself here.”

Raven felt a little better after Kristyn had said that. It made her feel like she could make this place into a new home for herself there and may be happy. However, she did miss Jessica and her father very much.

-----

Liz was chosen to escort Raven to the infirmary, where Raven would have her physical exam. Just to make sure everything was in working order after she had undergone her change. Along the way, Liz did her best to keep Raven’s spirits up and to not let her worry about it too much; however, it wasn’t working very well. Raven’s mind was wondering what was going to happen during this doctor visit, and how different was it from the one she had when she was a male.

After a few minutes of walking through the drab military-style corridors, they arrived at the Center’s infirmary. They both walked in, and Raven found that it looked very much like a doctor’s office; it even had the smell of one. Liz quickly introduced Raven to Dr. Litchburg, when they entered. The doctor shook her hand, and handed her a pink hospital gown, and told her to go with Liz to change. Liz took her to where she could get changed, which was a small annex just off to the examination room.

The exam, for the most part, was like the checkups that Raven had experienced as Jack, with one notable exception. Liz led Raven to the room where all the gynecological exams were held. Raven took a loud gulp, as Liz helped her adjust the stirrups for her height. Most girls would have just lain down and the nurse would have the stirrups come up to them. However, Raven was taller than the average girl, and Liz had to instruct on her where to best position her body for the doctor.

“Don’t worry. This is all a part of being a girl now. For me, it wasn’t as bad as I was told it was. But, then again, I always wanted to be a girl.”

After Raven was situated and the nurse had sterilized the instruments that the doctor was going to need to perform the exam, the nurse went out to call him in to perform the exam. The doctor locked the door after entering, out of concern for privacy. He had a look on his face that said that he never enjoyed this part.

Liz held Raven hand’s the whole way through the process as she felt things that she had never wanted to feel at all. The nurse and doctor explained how this exam was vital for her health, but Raven just tried to ignore everything she was feeling so that she could get through it as quickly as possible. The doctor did his best to reassure Raven that everything would be okay and for her to relax.

After what seemed like an eternity to Raven, the doctor pronounced that he was finished, and quietly left the room. The doctor looked apologetic for what he had to do, in the interests of Raven’s health. While Raven looked like she never wanted anything like that to happen again.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Liz asked.

Raven nodded. “That did not feel good at all!”

Raven began to cry feeling like she had been violated in some way, and Liz did her best to try to comfort her, bringing Raven her clothes so she could get out of there. After Raven was dressed again, Liz walked over to her and gave her a hug to try to make her feel better from that.

-----

After a few minutes, Liz took Raven to the doctor’s personal office, and did her best to make Raven feel better after that exam. The doctor motioned for the two of them to take a seat in the comfy armchairs across from his desk. The doctor looked like he was staring intently on Raven’s file, with his elbows were on the desk with his hands together with his forehead leaning on his hands.

“First, Raven, I apologize for the nature of the women’s physical examination. I know it can be disconcerting and more embarrassing to what you were used to as a man. However, it is necessary to make sure you are in good health and nothing is wrong. It’s a good method to find things that other tests may miss, and it happens again with your yearly physical.
Raven nodded solemnly, as she tried to understand everything.

“On a lighter note, you are in perfect health. Comparing your file from your previous body, it seems that your change ate up most of your body fat since you actually grew a few inches to become a full five foot, nine. Your weight is at one hundred and thirty pounds, I would like for you to bring that up by at least fifteen or twenty pounds, due to the nature of your physical change.

“To help build your body mass back up to around average levels, I strongly suggest that you eat some complex carbohydrates, white meat and some fruits. Go sparingly on sweets and junk food for awhile, since those are just empty calories and they won’t help you very much at the moment, and they can cause more harm than good at the moment. Any questions?”
Raven shook her head, and said, “No. Thank you, doctor.”

The doctor nodded, and closed up the file. As Liz and Raven were exiting the room, the doctor said, “If you have any other questions regarding any aspect of your health, my door is always open.”

In the hallway, Liz turned to Raven and said, “Look at it this way, the worst part of your day is over with now.”

Raven smiled weakly, and replied softly, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Hey,” Liz continued in an upbeat tone, “at least there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Raven laughed briefly, “You’re right about that.”

“Okay, then. Stop being so down. If you feel like you need a rest, I’ll escort you back to your room, for a short nap. Then, we can get you to my mom’s office.”

Raven agreed with taking a little rest at the moment. That was an experience that she needed to put behind her, if she wanted a level head.

She then asked, “Liz, why do you keep calling Kristyn your mom? She looks as old as you are.”

“Well, that’s because she’s both.”

“Huh?”

“Kris was there with me the whole time that I underwent my change. She cared for me like a mother would. During the change, we developed some sort of emotional imprint on each other that bonded us in a mother-daughter kind of role. We both enjoy the role, and Kris enjoys being a mother to the rest of us here, not just me.”

Raven sighed and thought, ‘Is that why she’s acting so nice to everyone, not just because she’s friends with them?’

Raven then brought up another question that was on her mind since breakfast. “Liz, how come most of the girls were wearing tight fitting uniforms, instead of the school uniform that I’m wearing?”

“That’s simple. Friday afternoons and Saturdays are for special training of our individual powers. The school uniform is too cumbersome for those kinds of exercises, so
we wear these. They are much more practical as well.”

“So, when do I start learning about my powers?”

“Soon, I would guess, from what I’ve been told from everyone else here. Since, everyone has unique abilities, they each do something different. Since I’m a healer, I don’t need as much training as some people, with the exception of learning anatomy and other medical information since I want to help out in the infirmary here. The doctor finally relented, and is helping me learn what I need to know.”

Raven look changed to one of deep thought, but Liz headed her off quickly by saying, “I’m sure that you’ll enjoy learning about your powers. I know that everyone has fun with learning those.”

-----

An hour later, after Raven had a quick nap, the two of them arrived at Kristyn’s office, in the administration area of the facility a few minutes later. The secretary ushered them into the office, after checking with Kristyn to make sure that she was ready for them.
Kristyn’s office looked and felt like a government office. Inside the office, there were a couple of filing cabinets behind the desk that Kristyn sat at, while there were two chairs in front of the desk for guests. Kristyn was sitting behind a wooden desk, with various office supplies scattered upon it, as well as a computer. The desk also had some flowers in a potted plant sitting upon it, which contained a few sunflowers that were beginning to bud. Her attention focused on the monitor at the moment.

“Do you need for me to do anything else, Mom?”

“No, thank you for helping her, Liz. I’ll see you at dinner.”

Liz left the office, and headed for where she was supposed to be, after being Raven’s guide.

“Please, have a seat, Raven,” Kristyn said.

Raven took one of the chairs that were across from Kristyn, and her eyes passed by the sunflowers sitting on the desktop. For some reason to her, Raven felt like the flowers were feeling a little neglected by Kristyn. If there was some way that Raven could make them feel better, she would do it.

‘They would look better if they were in bloom,’ Raven thought.

“So, Raven, how are you? Did the physical go well?” Kristyn asked.
Raven shifted in her seat when that topic came up. She didn’t enjoy the physical, but did understand that it was necessary.

“As far I know, Kristyn, I’m in perfect health. Just need to pick up some weight to rebuild what my body used during the physical change.”

Kristyn nodded, and then said, “I still remember my first physical with this body, and I do understand what you felt, both physically and emotionally. Also, you can call me Kris, if you’d like, if that would make things easier.”

Kristyn leaned back in her chair and sighed. She continued, “Anyway, let’s move on to nicer topics.”

She sat back up in the chair, and placed her hands and arms on the desk before saying,
“First, do you have any questions that you want answered from what you have seen so far?”
Raven thought for a moment before she said, “Well, I was wondering; when will I get to start learning about my powers?”

Kristyn explained, “Well, you will start learning about your powers after we take care of a few more things to get you completely settled in and ready for school. Since, we still want you to get a good education.”

She went on, “First, you are going to take some standardized tests, so we know where your strengths are academically, and in some other areas. Also, you are going to take a psychological evaluation to make sure that you are adjusting well to the new you. There are also going to be some fitness tests to see what your new body can do, and you’ll need to meet with our new counselor so that they can also help you adjust to the new you. After all that, you’ll meet with the power trainers and start figuring out your powers, as well as pick anything else up that you will want to do, such as learning one of the martial arts.”

Raven nodded in understanding as she began to digest all the information that Kristyn had given her. She thought, ‘Damn, I was hoping I could start learning about my powers sooner than that.’

“Also, to help you get around the facility, and keep everything organized, here’s your new phone.”

Kristyn pulled out what looked like an iPhone out of her desk drawer and handed it to Raven. Raven looked at it, she never had an iPhone, or any cell phone before, so she was a little in the dark about how to use it.

Kristyn laughed a little when she saw Raven’s difficulty, “Never used one of those before?”

“Umm…no. I have never had a cell phone.”

Kristyn looked a little wide-eyed. “Never? Really?”

“Nope. There was no need for one, since there was barely any signal strength in the foothills, from what Jessica has told me.”

“Jessica?”

“She was my best friend, when I was Jack. She also gave me this.”

When Raven went to grab the necklace that she remembered as Jack having around her neck,
she realized that it wasn’t there anymore.

“Where is it?” she said frantically.

“Where’s what?” Kristyn asked.

“The necklace! The silver necklace that she gave me!”

“Were you wearing it when we picked you up?”

“Yes! I’m pretty sure that I was.”

“Hold on a second,” Kristyn grabbed the phone, and began hit one of the speed dial buttons on the phone.

As Kristyn began talking into the phone, inquiring about the necklace that Jack had come in with, Raven was thinking that she now had nothing to link her to her past life.

She thought, ‘On the one hand, I now have a clean break from my old life. But, on the other hand, I miss Jessica and my dad. They were the only people that I could ever talk to.’

Raven was on the verge of tears when she heard the phone click. She looked up at Kristyn with puppy dog eyes, hoping.

“The doctors say they have found your necklace. It was removed from your body before the change so that it wouldn’t get in the way. It is currently on its way back to your room.”
Raven breathed a sigh of relief. Of her past life, she did care a lot for Jessica, and that necklace served as a reminder of a good friendship.

“Thank you,” Raven said, before a series of questions popped into her mind. “What about my dad? How is he? Isn’t he wondering where I am?”

“Your father has been told that the CDC had to rush in to collect and quarantine you from a new disease.”

Kristyn sighed and the look on her face said that she didn’t like having to tell people this part.

“He was told that you weren’t expected to survive. Currently, you are a new person. He probably wouldn’t believe you if you told him.”

“So,” Raven said, as tears were starting to well up into her eyes again, “he thinks I’m dead.”

Kristyn nodded. Raven started crying after that confirmation.

Raven got along well with her father. The two of them would go on trips together, play catch in the yard, and enjoyed each other’s company. Also, her dad was very helpful in allowing her to say everything that was on her mind, especially when it came to the beatings that she would get at school.

Kristyn got up from her desk, and went over to comfort Raven. She hugged her, and whispered into her ear, “We all had to go through that. I miss my dad, too.”

Kristyn looked into her eyes, and then said, “Don’t worry. You will get to see him again. We can arrange for that in the future.”

“You mean that?” Raven said, through the sobs.

“Yes, I mean that. You will get to see him again.”

This time it was Raven that gave her a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.

It felt like Raven’s happiness at one day seeing her father and best friend was permeating the room. After a while, Kristyn managed to break free of Raven’s grasp, and regained control of the conversation.

“We will let you know when you will be able to see them again. It may not be soon, but it will happen.” Kristyn rubbed her hand against Raven’s shoulder as she said that to her.
Raven nodded, and then said, “So, what happens to me now?”

Kristyn glanced at her watch, and saw that it was approaching dinner time. Most of the day had gone by, and she had accomplished her task of helping Raven settle in to her new home.

“Now, we go get some dinner.”

“Yeah, I am kind of hungry.”

As the two of them left Kristyn’s office, Kristyn noticed the sunflowers she has on her desk. She remembered that they were just beginning to bud as Raven walked in. However, as they were leaving, they were a good six inches taller and were in full bloom. She paused for a second, and looked more closely at the flowers, amazed at how quickly they had grown, and how beautiful they now looked. She surmised that Raven must have influenced their growth somehow through her powers, and she began to wonder at what else Raven could possibly do.

-----

Raven was enjoying the steak, mashed potatoes, and Caesar Salad that she had picked up to eat. She was sitting near Kristyn, Liz, Dani, Alistaria, and Luna at one of the tables enjoying her meal. She hadn’t had a good steak in weeks, and was really enjoying this at the moment.

As she sat and ate her meal, she watched and listened to the conversation that the others were engaged in. Raven still wasn’t ready to jump into the conversation just yet, but she did answer questions that were posed to her by the group.

Raven was still content to keep to herself for the time being. She still had no interest to open up to anyone. She was content to keep to her old habits for now.

Kristyn also wasn’t talking much, but she was watching Raven closely. From the reports she had on her, from her time as Jack, she knew that she kept to herself a lot and didn’t socialize often. Also, she knew that she had originally had only one friend in this world. She surmised that even though Raven could eventually see that friend again someday, Raven was still going to be partially cut off from her, due to the nature and secrecy of their kind, which was imposed by the government. Kristyn thought that she could help Raven meet some new friends, and what better time to crack that shell that she had built up for so many years than do so right now.

“So, Raven,” Kristyn began, after setting down a roll. “What are some of your interests?”
Raven swallowed what she was eating before replying, “Reading, writing some of my own stories, and playing a few online games.” She trailed off after saying this, as it was a little embarrassing to her.

Alistaria set down her fork near her dinner of pepperoni pizza, lasagna, mashed potatoes, and a dinner salad loaded with vegetables, croutons, bacon, and cheese, topped off with ranch salad dressing. She was drinking an iced tea to wash it all down. Alistaria thought that Raven might be an interesting person to get to know.

“You're a writer? That’s awesome, I've always wanted to write a book but I just don’t have the knack for it. Also, what kind of games do you play?” Alistaria said with an interest, all the while trying to engage Raven further, so she could try to get to know her.

Raven hesitated before answering Alistaria, “I write mostly science fiction or fantasy type stories, and play those kinds of games. You’re Alistaria, right?”

She nodded and said, “But you can call me Ali, everyone close to me does.”

She had some more of her lasagna and added, “Did you ever try World of Warcraft?”
Raven nodded. “I played a blood elf paladin, named Drakiara. I had a lot of fun playing
as her.”

Raven recalled the times that she played online with Jessica, who would often play as a tauren druid. They were a good combination in the two versus two arenas.

Ali continued, “Horde, eh? I played Alliance as a night elf death knight named Alistaria. They were a fun class to play as.”

“Isn’t that your name though?” Raven asked, with a puzzled look .

“Yep, I kept the name for myself after I became a girl.”

“Why did you take the name?”

“I used that name for my female persona in role-playing; it was always comfortable for me. It just felt right,” Ali said, through the pizza she was eating.

“It must have made things a little easier, to adapt to the situation.”

“That it did what about you? How did you come up with the name Raven? Were you a fan of the Teen Titans or something?”

“I chose the name in honor of two friends of mine,” Raven said, with a note of fondness in her voice.

She picked up her utensils, and cut a piece of the steak to munch on. Raven was amazed at all the food that Ali was putting away.

‘Ali has a nice figure,’ Raven thought to herself, ‘why is she eating so much?’

“Awesome, I’d like to hear more about them,” Alistaria said, after taking a sip of her iced tea.

“What would you like to hear?” Raven nervously replied.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning? I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she added with a smile.

Ali twirled her fingers creating a small swirl of air to spin the spoon she had in the cup, to stir in some of the sugar she added to the drink.

“Shortly before I was on my way here, and before I met Kris and the others, my best friend Jessica came over to my house. We talked about what happened at school that day, and before she left she gave a silver necklace with a raven on it.”

Alistaria nodded to show that she was still listening, not wanting to interrupt Raven telling her story.

“Then, during the chase with these strange men, after I had ran scared into the forest behind my house and hearing what was going to happen from Kris and Lili, there was this raven that seemed to be looking after me. It seemed that it was like a kind of animal guide.”

“I have one of those, he’s a dragon,” Ali replied.

Raven choked on her food after hearing that.

She cleared her throat and then replied, “You’re kidding, right?”

“Yeah, but you thought I was serious for a second there,” she replied with a chuckle.

“Well, I sometimes listened to the native Miwoks in the area, when they would hold one of their powwows on the school campus. So, I know a little about animal spirit guides.”

“I studied my Cherokee heritage a lot myself, so I know a fair bit as well.”

“The Miwoks offered to help me on a spirit quest to find mine, but I declined their offer. And, you’re part Cherokee? How? You look like you’re from Scandinavia.”
Ali nodded, and then replied, “The whole transformation thing changes a lot.”

“Yeah, I know. I used to be shorter and looked like I was from there. Now, I look like I’m from somewhere in the Mediterranean.”

“Exactly my point, though to be honest I was an overweight hairy nerd, and I looked like I was German. I much prefer the way I am now,” she said with a smile.

“But, doesn’t it feel weird to be a girl now?” Raven asked with some curiosity.

“It felt weird to be a guy before; it just feels right to me now. If that can make any sense to you.”

“If it makes sense to you, then I’m fine with that,” Raven said, as she took another bite
of her juicy steak.

“Whatever works,” she said, as she stirred her drink with another burst of air.

Alistaria took another sip of her tea after she swirled it, before she began eating some of her salad.

“I’m not sure if I can get used to it though. Although, I was never really much of a guy to begin with,” Raven admitted.

“I’m sure you will in time, from what I’ve been told almost everyone has trouble at first.”

“I guess. But, I don’t know what to do at times with this body. And, these heels aren’t helping too much.”

“I wear sneakers,” she replied.

“How is that possible? I thought heels were a part of the uniform.”

“They are. But, my arches make them more difficult to wear, and I’m six feet tall, so heels are a little superfluous to be adding any more height. Besides, I have men’s size nine feet. It’s difficult to find heels my size anyway.”

Kristyn interjected and said, “They’re not so bad once you get used to them though.”

“I guess,” Raven said sullenly, “but, they’re going to make things difficult for the next few days.”

“So, what are your abilities?” Ali asked.

“I’ve been told I’m a Chlorokinetic, plant manipulation.”

“Interesting, I’m an Aerokinetic, as you can probably tell from the way I’m stirring my tea.”

“I had noticed a little breeze every once and a while,” Raven replied. “I only I wish I knew how to do something like that, I have no clue how to use my powers yet.”

“Oh, I’m sure that you’ll enjoy your abilities, once you begin to learn them.”

“I hope so,” Raven said hopefully.

Raven was looking forward to learning about her abilities, but she didn’t know what they would be capable of, since it wasn’t as cool as manipulating electricity or air.

Raven and Ali continued to talk for a while. After about another half an hour of talking about various things they headed back to their rooms for the night.

Kristyn thought to herself, after she saw their conversation, ‘Looks like the start of a beautiful friendship.’

-----

The next day, Raven woke up in her new bed, oddly feeling well rested and happy. She was wearing the necklace that Jessica had given her the other day, after it had been finally returned to her. It was currently the only link to her past life, and she treasured it deeply and knew she would be lost without it.

Raven turned over, and in doing so, still held the necklace in her hands. She knew that this day would certainly be an interesting one. From what she was told last night, she would be taking a tour of the Center and had an appointment at the salon. But, she wouldn’t be spending much time there, since she also had a counseling session with Dr. Tipps today. So, between all these things, it was going to be a busy day for her.

Raven hoped that she would meet her prior acquaintances from yesterday, but knew for sure that she would be seeing at least one of them. She couldn’t remember their name at the moment, but was told that the girl would find her. They would have a quick breakfast and be on their tour from there. They were going to end their tour with Raven’s salon appointment, and after that she would have her counseling session, her final appointment for the day.

Raven climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom to go take a quick shower before meeting with the others a short time later. Raven hadn’t had a shower in a couple of days. She knew that she had to get cleaned up, since she definitely felt like needed a good scrub.
She found the washcloth, soap, shampoo, and conditioner that she had been given easily enough. She slipped out of the dark blue nightie that she had picked out with Heather and Dani yesterday, grabbed the toiletries and two towels, and turned on the warm water.

As soon as the water hit her skin, she had a kneejerk reaction to it. She remembered that the water had never aggravated her like needles driving into her skin or be stimulating in the erotic sense. Eventually, she managed to ease into the water and get used to it. Although, when she started to scrub herself down, her body reacted to what she was doing. She began to realize that her skin was a lot more sensitive than it used to be as a man. She gently washed her skin, and then started to apply the shampoo to her hair.

It took a lot longer to lather up her long black locks of hair, but she managed to get it all worked in. She worked it through as best she could, and then she applied the conditioner in a similar manner. She figured that she would need both, since both bottles were there for her. After finishing with the conditioner, she let the warm water caress her body for a bit, as it was now feeling good on her skin.

After she got out of the shower, she tried drying herself off with a fluffy purple towel the same way she had always done before. But, her hair was still soaking wet. She tried wringing it out, and managed to do so, but only after several minutes of applying a death grip on her thick hair. She wrapped the towels around her hair and her body, and went back into her room so that she could put some clothes on.

She was told that Sundays were free days, so she picked out a red blouse and some blue jeans to go with the socks and white sneakers. It was a simple outfit, and something that she would have worn in the male equivalents in her former life was oddly comfortable and relaxing, which is what she felt like she needed at a time like this. She wasn’t quite ready to be more girly just yet, but she was ready to go at least some of the way.

Her hair was still damp, but not dripping, as she entered the cafeteria. She went over and grabbed a stack of pancakes, toast, bacon, and sausage, as well as a tall glass of orange juice. She sat down near some of the other girls she had met yesterday, and had seen them already sitting there, except for one girl that she did not recognize. She was talking adamantly with Dani.

Raven didn’t catch much of the conversation between the two, since it wasn’t her business and she didn’t want to seem like she was eavesdropping on them. They seemed to be enjoying each other’s company, from what Raven could see anyways. If they were involved, Raven couldn’t tell, since she had never been close to anyone except for Jessica, and she didn’t like to spy on other people or gossip about them when she was at her old high school.

She was just starting to dig into her meal, when suddenly Dani said, “Hey Raven, did you have a good evening?”

Raven was taken a little by surprise, but she didn’t jump or lose her breakfast. She replied, “It was okay.”

“Oh! This is Tina,” Dani said, introducing her companion.

Tina said, “Hello, Raven, how are you adjusting?”

“Nice to meet you, Tina, and I’m adjusting well enough, I think.”

“It can be a challenge to adjust to the new body, although some of us prefer to hang on to various parts of our old lives,” Tina replied.

Raven looked down at the necklace she was wearing, and thought of Jessica briefly, before Tina continued.

“Would it shock you to know that my name is actually Christopher?” Tina said.

That statement Tina just said had given Raven a look of shock on her face, as she dropped her fork on to her plate.

“What?” Raven said.

“I was a girl before the change, and now I’m a guy. But, I still prefer to be a girl,” Tina explained.

“And, she’s a lot cuter when she acts the part, too,” Dani added.

“Whatever works, I guess,” Raven said.

Tina quickly changed the subject, “Well, when you’re done with your meal, Dani and I will take you on a tour of the Center and to the salon.”

Raven nodded, and went back to eating her breakfast, not knowing that it would be two people giving the tour, but she didn’t care much about that trivial fact. She respected Tina’s decision to remain true to herself, and was glad to know from Tina’s example, that she didn’t have to act anyway she didn’t want to.

-----

After the three of them had finished their breakfasts, Raven was led on a tour of the Center. She was already familiar with Wardrobe, the cafeteria, and the dormitories. So, they started with the administration offices.

They explained that the entire operation was run by an Army colonel by the name of Harris. He had been around since the beginning of the program. The other offices were Kristyn’s, which Raven had already been to, the admissions office, and the security office. The offices were pretty simple and ran efficiently from what Dani told Raven.

From there, they walked by the armory and the mission briefing room. They explained that this is where the people would stop there before going on retrieval missions to find other people like them, and take them to the Center.

They continued on and they eventually reached the research laboratories. These were rarely used since the Center didn’t have the necessary resources to keep a staff of scientists on hand all the time. They had the basic research facilities for chemical and biological research. This piqued Raven’s interest a bit, since she always into biology was now into molecular biology from what she had been reading recently. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much time to spend there, due to the salon appointment.

They walked by the classrooms next, where Raven would be joining them for classes in the coming days, after she had finished with her testing to determine her abilities.
The three of them continued on, showing Raven the gymnasium next. For the most part, it was a normal gym that one could find anywhere, but this gym also had private training facilities for some of the more powerful kinetics and a power training room for general usage.

Raven said very little as the Tina and Dani explained everything to her as they walked around the Center. It was an impressive facility, but Raven felt like she was being a little overwhelmed with everything that she was seeing and hearing. Eventually, they made their way to the salon for Raven’s appointment. The two ladies, Sandra and Minnie, had just finished setting up shop when the three of them arrived.

“Sandra, Minnie,” Dani began. “This is Raven.”

“Well, isn’t she a beauty,” Minnie said.

“You got that right,” Sandra added, with some giddiness. “I’m going to have some fun with her.”

Raven gulped when she said that. She had never been to a salon before, but assumed it was like a barber shop for women to go and get their hair done.

“What are you going to do?” Raven asked meekly.

“Nothing too much,” Sandra said. “We’ll just do your hair and nails today and makeup if you want to go for that.”

Raven didn’t want to go very girly, so she said, “I think no makeup for me today.”

“Very well,” Sandra said, “If you would just have a seat here, we can get started.”

Raven walked over to the seat Sandra indicated, and tried to relax. It was difficult for her, since this was all new to her.

“Uhh…,” Raven said, as Sandra attached the smock to her, “what exactly are you going to do my hair?”

“Well, besides give it your hair a little trim, I’m going to wash it and style it a bit, so that way you can look like the princess that you have hiding underneath your simple appearance. You’re also getting a manicure and a pedicure.”

‘Princess?’ Raven thought.

She then soaked Raven’s hair, and began lathering it up with a fruity scented shampoo. However, Raven had felt nothing like this as Sandra began to work her magic. Even though Raven had washed her hair this morning, it hadn’t felt anything like what they she was doing. The feelings that Raven were feeling were incredible, as they were shooting through her body. Raven just felt so much more relaxed as Sandra continued on.

After a while, Sandra began working on Raven’s nails. Like most of the other new girls, she had her nails extended by just an inch. It was definitely a new experience for Raven, since she had been a nail biter before, but now she didn’t want to anymore, since they looked so good. She also had her nails painted red to match her blouse.

When she saw herself in the mirror, after Sandra had finished with her, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It looked like there was a beautiful, young woman looking back at her, even without any makeup to amplify the features of her face.

“Wow,” Raven said.

“See, I told you that you were going to look like a princess,” Sandra said, as she put her hands on Raven’s shoulders and smiled in the mirror at her.

When she showed Tina and Dani, who had decided to wait outside to see what she was going to look like, they were blown away. Tina immediately suggested that they do her makeup now, but Raven still didn’t want to. Tina looked a little disappointed, but understood.

-----

After Dani and Tina had left to go meet with Kristyn, Raven made her way to Dr. Tipps’ office for her counseling session with him. Raven suddenly had a large group of butterflies fluttering around her stomach. This was the one thing that she had not been looking forward to today.

The secretary showed her in to the office, and said that the doctor would be back soon, after a meeting with Colonel Harris. Raven took a seat across from the psychologist’s desk, as she patiently waited for the doctor to arrive.

She wondered what he would do to her, hoping that he wouldn’t hypnotize her into some kind of walking automaton to do his bidding, or some of the other things that she had read about. She didn’t know for certain what a psychologist did, but she did know that it had something to do with the mind.

The door opened a few minutes later, and in walked a middle-aged woman wearing a professional looking blouse and skirt. She had brown shoulder length hair.

“Ah, Miss Raven,” she said with a bit of a gravelly voice.

She extended a hand out to her to shake it, and continued, “I am Doctor Tipps, the Center’s psychologist. I’m sorry that I’m a little late, as I was meeting with the Center’s CO. However, it is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Thanks, it’s nice to meet you, too. What’s a CO?” Raven replied.

The doctor took her seat behind her desk and then said, “A CO is the acronym for commanding officer. I’m former US Army, so I tend to throw the acronyms around. In any case, I’m here to help you make the transition from male to female psychologically. It must be somewhat difficult to get used to the fact that your gender has been switched and your identity started anew.”

“Yeah, it has been difficult,” Raven said.

“How so?” Tipps asked.

“Well, I have to change most of my old habits now. A five minute shower no longer does the job anymore. Also, there are a lot of different sensations that I seem to be processing, now that my body is wired differently.”

“Such as?”

“Umm…,” she said, “when I was at the salon earlier today. When Sandra was washing my hair, it seemed more pleasurable than when I washed my hair as a guy.”

“Okay. Also, you need to keep in mind about refraining to use ‘um’s.’ Women generally don’t use such terminology. They think about what they are going to say, and then say it.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

“What else is difficult about the change?”

“The clothes, getting ready for things. Everything seems to take much longer than it used to,” Raven went on.

“That’s because of the culture we live in,” Tipps explained. “Women, in modern Western culture, are generally supposed to look nice, wherever they go. Of course, the more important the occasion, the nicer they are supposed to look.”

“Sexism?” she asked.

“A bit of it. But, women have made it into their own style. They are also able to use it to their advantage at times as well.”

“Wow,” Raven said, as she was beginning to realize that being a girl may not be so bad.

“It is important to immerse yourself into your new gender. Otherwise, things could get a little messy.”

Raven thought for a second, ‘Yeah, it wouldn’t go over well acting like a guy in a girl’s body. Although, I did know of a few tomboys back at my old school.’

“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it. A lot of people here made the adjustment very well.”

She changed the subject to something that Raven didn’t expect. “So, do you have the rest of your name figured out?”

“Rest of my name?”

“Yes, you are going to need a new last name, middle is optional, to finish your paperwork.”
Raven thought about for a while, and then said, “Raven Melissa Hawkins.”

Dr. Tipps nodded, and then reached into her desk for the rest of Raven’s paperwork for her to sign. The name change, new birth certificates, social security number, and the whole nine yards.

“Congratulations, Miss Hawkins, you fully exist in the eyes of the bureaucrats again,” Tipps said, with a poor taste in humor.

“Like they’re really even that important,” Raven said sarcastically, “But, paperwork does make the world go around.”

“All too often.”

Dr. Tipps filed the paperwork into Raven’s file and then said, “I’ll get these over to Colonel Harris, so he can get your identifications and everything else made up in a short while.”

“Thank you.”

“If there is nothing else on your mind, you can return to your room, or walk around if you wish. Also, my door is always open if you just would like to talk.”

Raven nodded politely at the doctor, and left the office, as she headed back to her room.