-----

Author's Note: Here's Eight, I'm really pumping these things out. It kind of throws a wrench into my planning process. I wasn't planning on writing this so long or nearly this fast but I'm passionate about it and love the characters so it seems to want to take on a life of itself. I'm not sure how many more chapters there's going be but things are going to move a little faster now. This one has a two day time jump and the next chapter will have an even bigger jump. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics once again for their great characters.

-----

Chapter Eight:

“Dude, you’re kicking my ass” groaned Paco as my character on the screen continued to pound the hell out of his.

“I think you’re letting me win,” I said, as it seemed his guy was doing nothing to block my attacks.

We were kicking in old school today. We dusted off the old Sega Genesis a couple of hours ago and were wailing on each other in Mortal Kombat 2. We used to play it all the time when we were kids. I know it’s probably a bit before our time but he found it in an old second hand store and just had to have it. Paco was like that sometimes, he loved the old stuff. He even had one of those ancient Nintendo systems, something he inherited from his father. It didn’t really work all that well anymore but it was still cool to display on a shelf.

Today was Paco’s day to play hooky. He tried doing it yesterday but his mother caught on to the game. This morning he was able to convince her that I was real sick and I needed some company. She didn’t believe it in the least, but she let it slide. Paco was a good kid and did a lot for his family, so one day off from school wasn’t going to hurt anything. His mother was cool like that. You’re probably wondering about the yesterday that I mentioned and that’s pretty simple, it’s been about two days since my mall incident. Hey, I can’t tell you every day of my life; that would be boring. That’s the real reason why I decided to forego talking about yesterday, because it was boring.

My parents argued some more, I’m still not sure what that’s about. My sister wanted to stay home from school with me but my mother wouldn’t allow it. I spent the whole day sitting around the house, watching them talk about me on TV. Well not me, really, it was actually the Blue Beetle. After my mall stunt, I was the new “It” girl. Every single station, local and national, was covering the story of my daring bank robbery foil. It was kind of flattery, though Khaji didn’t like it very much. She seemed to think that the Reach could monitor broadcasts and that it was only a matter of time before they picked up on the signals. I told her she was being paranoid but she told me we needed to keep a low profile for a while. That’s something I agreed with. The mall thing was a fluke as far as I was concerned. There was no way I was going to go out of my way to be a superhero.

Not that something like that wouldn’t be cool, it’s just not really for me. I’m still trying to get used to this body and there’s no way I’m going to flaunt it for the whole world to gawk at.

“GET OVER HERE!” My Scorpion shouted as he put his harpoon into Paco’s Kano, dragging him across the screen.

“Dude you suck.”

“And you’re letting me win.”

He had no response to that because it was the truth. When he showed up this morning and I answered the door, he showered me with compliments. He was kind of flabbergasted and shy too. It was kind of weird. He was my best friend and yet he was treating me like a stranger. For an hour, we sat on the couch, doing our best to mess up small talk. I’m not sure why things were so awkward now. What made things worse was the fact that he kept looking at my chest. I don’t think he was doing it intentionally or out of lust. I think it was one of those things where a guy doesn’t know where else to look, so he continues to stare at a girl’s breasts even though he doesn’t want to. Hey, it’s happened to me a couple of times so I know what I’m talking about.

He was the one who suggested the Genesis. When I told him it was a good idea, he jumped up and ran home to get it. When he came back and the two of us started playing, it was like old times again, except for the part where he kept letting me win. Paco was a killer in this game and before my change, there was no way I could beat him. He knew he was letting me win and I knew it. The only question was why, and as strange as it sounded, I think I knew the answer. I just didn’t want to say anything for fear that it might be the right one.

“So what are you going to do about school?”

I shrugged and paused the game. “We’re still waiting on the blood tests. If they say I’m a Meta then the government has some program in place where they’ll help out. They’ll get me a new birth certificate and social security number. It’ll be like I never existed.”

Paco sighed. “That sucks.” He bit his lip. “What happens if you’re not Meta?”

He knew all about Khaji of course. I shrugged. “Mom talked to Dr. Richards last night. Apparently, she has some government pull; her husband is a big scientist who works for the military. She said that even if I’m not Meta, she can pull some strings and still get the changes done."

“That’s cool. Have you decided on a new name?”

I groaned. This was a sore subject for me. Of course, as soon as I got home from the mall, Milagro told Mom all about how she decided I should be Josephina. I thought Mom was going to stand by me and tell her that I was going to be Jaime for a while. But Mom thought it was a wonderful idea, in fact if I had been born a girl that’s what she was going to name me. My mother and sister shared a knowing wink so I think they set me up. My mother decided yesterday that I was going to be Josephina Isabella Reyes, now and forever more. I asked if I had any say in the matter but apparently, I didn’t. She said that it was a mother’s prerogative to name her children. It was a shame really because I really liked my name, it didn’t matter that the jackasses at my old school used to say it was a girl’s name. Its Jaime, pronounced “hi-me”. No one seemed to get it but then again there was a very small Hispanic population there.

“I’m going to be Josephina from now on,” I said with a sigh.

Paco looked a little uneasy. “That’s a, uh, pretty name.”

I smiled. There was no doubt about it now. I took a deep breath and set down my controller. I turned on the couch, folding my jean-clad legs underneath me. Here goes nothing. “Paco, you want me to pull off my top or do you want to do it for me.” It was blunt but I needed to be blunt.

“WHAT!” He dropped his controller and jumped from the couch, staring at me like I’d grown another head.

“Don’t what me dude, it’s kind of obvious.”

His face turned crimson. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I groaned. So he’s still going to play dumb. “You’ve been staring at me since you got here. First, it was my boobs and now it’s my legs. Don’t you think I haven’t noticed?” I got up too, walking over to him so that we were standing a few inches apart. “So, out with it. You’re really freaking me out. It’s bad enough that my Dad won’t even look at me, my Mom and sister are having a ball and now it seems my best friend wants to jump my bones.”

“It’s not like thatttt” he stuttered, backing away.

I groaned angrily. I grabbed the end of my turtleneck and pulled it off in one quick, fluid motion. Now I was standing there shirtless, my boobs on perfect display for him to see. I was wearing one of my new bras. I was kind of wary about it this morning but my mother showed me how to put it on. I have to admit it is kind of comfortable. But I’m not going there at this moment. Right now, I needed to see how my supposed best friend was going to react.
Paco looked at my breasts and his face went red.

“What the hell is it, then?”

“I’m afraid it’s contagious,” he shouted, looking even more embarrassed than before.

We stared at each other, neither of us saying anything for a long time. I finally broke the silence by laughing. He cracked a smile and the only thing contagious was our laughter. We had a good laugh. I sat back down; put my turtleneck back on and explained things to him as clear as possible. I think I was able to convince him that there was no way I could pass my girlhood on to him. I think he sighed in relief. I went on to explain that I was the same person and that he needed to stop feeling sorry for me. That did it. We went back to our game and he stopped letting me win.

“You two have a very strange relationship.”

“Yes but it’s ours and that’s all that matters.”

“He was lying.”

I sighed. “I know.”

I let it go though. If my best friend wanted to have a little crush on the new me, I was fine with it. We played the game for a few more minutes and then got bored with it. There’s only so much old school we could do. After that, we went to my room; I kept the door open. Even though there was no one home, I wanted an exit in case he got a little nuts. I know it sounds crazy and he’s my best friend but I’m not exactly the guy he used to know. I sat on the bed and he sat at the desk. He asked me about the mall once again and once again, I had to explain everything. He was really interested in my new found superhero status. Yesterday on the phone, he tried to convince me to make it a full time thing. We were in a three-way conversation with Brenda as well. She didn’t think it was a good idea and I kind of agreed with her. I conceded that if a crime was happening and I was nearby I might try to stop it, but I wasn’t going to go out of my way to seek it out. Paco was a little upset by that, I think he liked the idea of having a superhero for a best friend.

“Dude what’s this?” he asked, picking up the crumbled Posse threat.

I groaned. “Nothing.”

I tried to snatch it from his hand but he held it out of my reach. I hate being short.

Paco uncrumpled the note and read it. “Dude, this is serious. They wrote it in red, do you know what this means?”

“It means they’re wasting their time, I have no intention of going anywhere near their territory.”

Paco groaned. “You already are, dumb-ass.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This entire neighborhood is their territory,” said Paco, running his fingers through his hair. “They’re really serious about this shit. They’re not like other gangs either. If there’s a Meta in the area where they operate and he or she’s not one of them then they give him two options: join or get lost.”

“I’m not a Meta.”

“They don’t know that.”

I sighed. This was nuts. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. So if I didn’t join these stupid people, they were going to try to run me out of the neighborhood. Fat chance of that ever happening. Posse was a nuisance; they were a bunch of street thugs with superpowers who thought they owned the whole damn area. It was kind of pathetic actually or at least it would have been if not for the fact that they were so deadly. The police were afraid of them and the only one they seemed to be afraid of was La Dama. To make matters worse, there was no one to keep the bastards in line. Back when Green Arrow was patrolling the streets, Posse kept to the shadows for fear that she might mess them up. But when she disappeared, it was like open season. It was so bad that a lot of people didn’t like to go outside after dark.

"What are you going to do about this?” asked Paco, waving the note in the air.

I made a decision when I crumpled it up and threw it away. “I’m doing nothing. If they want me out of this neighborhood then they’re going to have to do it themselves.”

The color drained from Paco’s face. “You’re serious?”

I nodded. “You haven’t seen the Blue Beetle in action.”

He couldn’t argue with that. In fact, the only ones who’d seen me in action were in the hospital. Not that I was happy with that. The bastards from the bank were all in ICU, two of them not so bad but the third guy was in a coma. It serves him right for trying to take my sister. The guys from the alley were in jail now, the one I messed up was in a prison hospital, expected to get out in a couple of days. What, I like to be informed. I actually called pretending to be an out of state relative. Just because the bastard tried to rape me, it doesn’t mean I can’t see how he’s doing. Besides, I thought he might have remembered my face. But apparently, none of the three alley bastards were talking. They didn’t even want to acknowledge they were beaten up by a girl.

Paco and I changed subjects. He wanted to know about school again. He and Brenda were in agreement with me, there was no way I was going back to my fancy school. I’ve had enough with it and I didn’t want to start back there again. Who cares if I was a girl now, the girls there were treated worse than the guys. Brenda and my Mom thought I should start fresh. They thought I might be able to get another scholarship; there was some fancy All Girls School upstate that they tried to talk me in to. Brenda said she’d even transfer if I wanted. But as interesting as that sounded, there was no way I was going to an All Girls School.

I think we decided on SCH---that’s Star City High. My mother called the school yesterday morning and explained the situation. Under new law, the school has to be discreet about it. Pending my supposed Meta human status, I have to take a few tests and should be able to start in a few days. My father was indifferent about it but I could see he was struggling with it. He grumbled a bit when my mother told him and stomped out of the room.

That was last night and he was still grumbling when he went off to work this morning. Oh, there is a silver lining to all of this. Since my gender change, my punishment is officially over. I’m kind of bummed because I liked working in the garage but my parents felt there was no correct way to explain what happened to me. They weren’t embarrassed by it but they just didn’t want people to know. So officially, Jaime was now living back in El Paso, unable to adjust to life here in California. I was now his cousin, at least as far as the neighbors and my soon-to-be classmates knew. Not that any of them knew Jaime anyway.

Paco and I talked for a few more hours. We talked about school mostly. He seemed to think that I’d hit it off pretty well with a lot of the male population and I punched him in the arm every time he mentioned it. I was about to tell him I wasn’t interested in guys when I heard the front door open. Paco looked at his watch and cursed.

“It's already four, I need to get home for my siblings, Mom’s working a double tonight.”

“You and Brenda coming by later?”

I followed him out of my bedroom and down the hall. When we went down the stairs, Milagro and Soledad were sitting on the couch. Soledad took one look at me and her mouth fell open.

“See” said Milagro with a smile. “I told you I have a sister now."

I groaned. Soledad was about to say something but Paco scooped her up into her arms and carried her out the door. I laughed, she squirmed and they were gone. I turned to Milagro and gave her a look.

“Really?”

She shrugged. “Can’t I tell people I have the coolest sister in the world now?”

“Mom and Dad didn’t want you telling anyone.”

Milagro ignored me and rifled through her backpack. She was pretty frantic about it. Then she dumped it on the couch, cursing. I ignored the curse and asked her what was wrong. She looked on the verge of tears. “Soledad and I cut through that alley, I tripped and my bag popped open. I think I left my English book there.”

I groaned and looked at the clock. Mom wanted me to stay inside until things were official and everything. It was about ten after four, she wasn’t going to be home for another hour or so. “If I go and get your book, do you promise to stay here and not tell anyone I left you alone?”

She nodded. “I’m not a baby you know.”

I walked over to the front entry and grabbed my new sneakers, slipping my feet into them. Then I took my keys off the hook near the door. “I’ll be right back. Lock this door behind me and don’t answer it unless it’s someone you know.”

“Duh.”

I rolled my eyes and went out the front door.

____________________________________

I had to take my mother’s bike from the shed because mine was still at Mario’s. The plan was to swing by there sometime today but as you can see nothing goes according to plan anymore. So I had to take my Mom’s. It’s not a bad bike; it’s just not very up to date. It was an old ten speed. Its gears were a little rusty and the chain was in dire need of a good oiling. Its brakes were shot too. I found that out the hard way when I made my first stop. I nearly plowed into traffic. Luckily, I was able to grab onto the nearby stop sign or I would have been a goner. Now I was half way between my house and the alley. I think you all remember the alley, it’s where this adventure of mine truly began. I couldn’t help but wonder how my life would have been If I hadn’t decided to take the short cut. Would I be like this, transformed now into a whole new person? Or would I be the same old me, little Jaime Reyes, the butt of all the rich kids jokes. The big question of the hour is: would I want to go back to that?

I stopped at another corner. I looked both ways but there was no traffic. Traffic was kind of light this time of day; most of the people were still at work. I looked at my new watch---I got it on my shopping spree---it was almost five. I groaned. My mother was probably home by now and probably pretty P.Oed that I wasn’t there. But she’d understand as soon as I explained it was for Milagro. I’d have to come up with another place where she dropped her book of course. My mother was pretty clear that my sister wasn’t allowed anywhere near the alley or the disused lot. The last time she followed me there; she slipped and cut her knee on a broken bottle. We spent three hours in the emergency room, getting a few stitches and making sure she wasn’t infected.

“We’re coming up on the lot, are you sure we need to go back there?”

I heard the edge in her voice. “I didn’t think you could get scared.”

“I’m not scared, just a little apprehensive about that place. The last time I was there and conscious, Ted died trying to keep me out of the wrong hands.”

“Were you close?”

“Ted had great potential but he just didn’t have the drive. I tried bonding with him but his heart wasn’t in it. It was different with Daniel and with you. Each of my hosts brings something or themselves to the equation but Ted had nothing to offer.”

“What about the Pharaoh?”

Khaji sighed. “Which one? I have been bonded with several and most were unsavory individuals. My last host, Kha-Ef-Re, was the best of them. He and I used our combined strengths to help the people and we really made a difference. I mourned for a century after his passing. When we were entombed together, I was hell bent to never bond with another person so long as I lived. You humans call it love but the Reach had no word for it.”

She sighed again. “Most of the artifacts in the tomb, including the Pharaoh were brought here to San Francisco; if we get the time I’d like to visit him.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

I pedaled across the street, moving at a brisk pace. Once on the other side, I spotted the lot. This side of it was out in the open for the world to see, the other side was hidden behind the buildings. If not for the alley, Milagro and many others would have to ride around the block to get to school. In case you’re wondering, the elementary and middle schools are in one building, the high school is right next door. Whereas there are several elementary schools in this part of the city, there’s only one high school. Most of the lower class and middle class kids in the neighborhood go there. I would have gone there too if not for the scholarship. I guess I’m going to go there now, though.

I pulled up to the lot and left the bike there. I stared at all the junk, a pang growing inside me. I’ve kind of neglected my art as of late, I guess I’ve been kind of busy. A part of me wanted to forget my reason for being here and just go right on looking for more junk. I was very tempted but I was able to keep myself on track. I did find a really good piece of scrap metal that looked promising. I stared at it for a few minutes before I forced myself away and down the alley. It didn’t take me long to spot the book but I could see how Milagro missed it. When she tripped and spilled her bag, the book must have slid away from her. It was half hidden under a cardboard box.

“There it is” said Khaji apprehensively. “Let’s get it and go.”

“This place really freaks you out, huh?”

"You would be scared too, if you watched your friend die here.”

I nodded, looking at the bloodstains. Earlier I thought they were kind of cool but now that I knew what they meant, I was kind of sad. The last bearer of Khaji died here, died trying to protect her. I felt a certain pang of guilt for being such an idiot about it before.

I sighed, saying a silent prayer and then went for the book. I approached it quickly, not wanting to waste any time. My mother was probably having a cow now as it was. I bent to pick it up and felt something. It wasn’t the book; it was something else. The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I grabbed the book and slowly stood up. I cast my eyes around a bit, my whole body tensed up. I think Khaji sensed it too, because she was mumbling some strange words. I think it might have been a curse in her native tongue. My shared bond translated it a few seconds later and I’m not going to repeat it.

“We have company.”

As soon as her words entered my head, they appeared. First, it was only the two of them and they scared the hell out of me. One of them was a black man, about twenty or so. He seemed to step out of the shadows, appearing almost in front of me. It was kind of creepy. I took a step backwards, wondering what the hell this was all about. I heard two more people appear after that. One on either end of the alley. I cast them both furtive glances. One end was blocked by a massive amount of man in red flannel. He was one of the biggest guys I’d ever seen in my life. The other end was blocked by a guy who looked like he bench pressed twenty four hours a day. Both of them looked to be quite formidable. There was a fourth person too. She stepped out of the shadows as well but they didn’t conceal her as well as the black guy.

When my eyes looked on her face, I groaned. It was my stalker, the creepy girl in black.

“Is this her, Probe?” asked the black guy, nodding at me.

The girl in the dark sunglasses looked me up and down. “That’s her, Damper. She’s the one that the news is calling the Blue Beetle.”

“How the hell do you know that? Who the hell are you people?”

“Quiet, little girl, we ask the questions around here” said the black guy... he was clearly in charge.

I looked at the girl, trying to read what was going on from her face. But it was like looking at a statue. Her skin was almost white, it was so pale, and when she looked at me, it made my skin crawl. There was something definitely up with her stare. I turned away, shivering. I looked back at the tall guy in front of me, the one she called Damper. What the hell kind of name was that? Then again what the hell kind of name was Probe. Who were these people?

“She’s doing something,” said Khaji “she’s got a power, she’s trying to scan us with it.”

“What kind of power?”

“I’m not sure, but she’s not human. I think she’s one of those Metahumans Dr. Richards was speaking of. In fact, all of them are.”

I groaned. It suddenly dawned on me who these people were. Shit, I was in trouble. “You’re Posse, aren’t you?”

Damper didn’t answer my question instead; he asked another one of Probe. “Are you sure she’s one of us?”

Probe stared at me again, my skin started to tingle. She cocked her head, seemingly perplexed. “Yes and no, it’s hard to tell. There’s something different about her. I’ve been watching her for a couple of days now, ever since the alley incident and she’s very strange indeed. I thought she was one of us but there’s something else, something inside of her.”

“We have to kill her. We have to kill them all.”

“Calm down and don’t panic.”

“They’re not going to let us walk out of here.”

“Well is she or isn’t she?” asked Damper, apparently wanting a yes or no answer.

Probe sighed and shook her head. “She’s human but she’s something else too. But it’s not Meta, it’s something alien.”

Damper finally turned back to me. He looked me up and down. “You’ve caused quite a bit of a stir lately, Little Miss Beetle Girl. I figured our note would have scared you off but apparently, you’re stupid or something. Because as you can see, this is definitely our territory.”

“My family lives here, I can’t very well leave.”

I don’t think he liked that very much. He turned to the big fat guy at the end of the alley and nodded. I gulped. My skin started to tingle and then it started. The armor activated, oozing up my skin faster than ever before. It was half way up my body before the others knew what was going on. Damper’s eyes widened and seemed to pop out of his head slightly. He gave me this look, backing away as he did so. He grabbed Probe by the arm, pulling her away too. The armor moved up my body, my blue vision kicked in and I scanned the Man Mountain as he came pounding toward me. He may have been a behemoth, but he still had vitals like everyone else. In fact, his vitals were a little lower than a normal persons, probably because he was so huge.

“Scour, mess her up a little bit. I still want her walking so she can drag her ass out of here.”

My armor finished covering my body. I turned and saw Damper drag Probe away, making a hasty exit down the other end of the alley. They passed the other guy. Damper nodded to him as he went by and this guy came for me too. I scanned him as well. He had increased adrenaline but other than that, he was pretty normal.

“Hey Thumper, what says you and me squash this little bug.”

The other guy, Thumper, laughed.

Scour moved first. I thought he was going to talk a swing at me but instead he spit the biggest logey I’ve ever seen. It sailed through the air and hit me right in the face. It was disgusting. I groaned and reached up to wipe it off. As soon as I did so, I heard a strange sizzling sound. I pulled my hand away from my face and saw the spit bubbling on my fingers. Whatever it was it was trying to eat through the armor but with no such luck. I groaned. The son of a bitch had acid spit. I flicked it off my fingers and watched as it ate through the concrete as soon as it hit it. Scour looked a little surprised that his spitball didn’t seem to have any effect on me.

He tried again but this time I was ready for him. I moved faster than lightning, dodging it long before it got to me. It nearly hit his partner, who also dodged it but just barely. I heard the bastard curse behind me. Then it was my turn. I charged Scour, running at him like a linebacker. I slammed head first into his gut. It sound have knocked me flat on my ass but instead I hit him with such force that I barreled him down the alley. He let out a huge gasp of air as he was flung onto his back, landing in a heap a good twenty feet away.
I turned on Thumper, who was now keeping his distance. Probably trying to decide if I was worth the effort or not. “You coming or not?’ I asked, curious as to what he planned on doing.

“You took him out in one blow; I’ve never seen anyone do that to Scour.”

“He had it coming. It’s not polite to spit in a lady’s face.”

Ok, it was a corny line, but it was kind of cool too, right?

Thumper decided after that and unfortunately for him he made the wrong choice. He charged me. I let him come; I wanted to see what he had to offer. He didn’t disappoint. He threw a nasty punch into my chest, probably as hard as he could. If I wasn’t wearing the armor, it probably would have hurt like hell, maybe even broken a few ribs. But as it was, the punch did nothing; I didn’t even feel it. Thumper did though. I think several bones in his hand cracked as soon as his fist impacted. He screamed as loud as he could a few seconds later, stumbling backwards and cursing. He held his wrist, crying out in pain, holding his severely swollen hand away from his body.

“What the fuck are you?’ he gasped, staggering away from me.

“A severely pissed off individual,” I said as I slowly walked toward him. “Do you want to make me a happy one?”

He nodded vigorously. “We’re sorry about trying to scare you off. But Damper doesn’t like competition. He thought you were trying to cut in on his turf. We thought you was Meta. There’s not a lot of us around here and he usually invites new ones into the group. He’s been especially cautious after Bonita and Esteban disappeared.”

Why did that sound familiar? Then it dawned on me. “You’re talking about the missing Metas on the news?”

He nodded. “They were members of our gang. They went to the corner store and never came back. We thought it was Green Arrow coming back but no one’s seen her for a while. Then we thought it might be you, especially after what you did at the mall.”

“I don’t go out of my way grabbing people off the streets, even thugs like you. In fact I’m not even in the hero biz.”

“Could have fooled me.”

I groaned. Were all gang bangers this paranoid? They thought I was taking their friends. That happened days ago, long before I found Khaji. But I wasn’t going to tell them that. Instead, I zipped over to Thumper at lightning speed. I grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground, making sure I got his undivided attention.”I want you to deliver a message to your boss.” He nodded vigorously. “Tell him that I’m not going anywhere, that this is my room. I won’t bother him as long as he stays away from my house and doesn’t bother my family either. If I so much as see or even sense one of you bastards near me, I’ll end the whole lot of you. Did you get all that.”

He nodded again. I dropped him; he landed with a groan on the ground. “If you’re not a Meta, than what are you?”

I gave the answer some thought. “I’m a whatever.”

Ok not the coolest thing to say but it was the only thing that made sense. Because frankly, I had no idea what I was.

He gave me a strange look. I turned away and walked back down the alley, toward where the book was. In all the excitement, I had dropped it. I bent and picked it back up, brushing off the mud and grime. I turned back to Thumper and glared at him.

“That went well,” said Khaji, sighing in relief. “I suspect your show of power will be enough to keep them at bay for now. But they’re like cockroaches; they won’t stay down for long.”

“I’ll deal with it then.”

I took a deep breath, extended my wings and took off.