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Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *
Chapter 25 - Can You See The Future?

I woke up just before six o'clock. I'd almost forgotten to set my alarm the night before, and as tired as I felt this morning, I didn't think I would have been able to wake up without it.

After dragging myself out of bed, I managed to get through my new morning routine with enough time to grab some breakfast before my meeting with Dr. Weir.

Wearing the white jean shorts and a light pink baby doll tee (what can I say? I'd become a pinkaholic), I slipped into a pair of white strappy sandals that had a small heel and opened my door.

It surprised me when I realized I was nervous. This was the first time that I would be out on my own in public. I'd had Nikki with me every other time.

With a deep breath to help calm my nerves, I headed down the hallway to the lobby. The ride down the elevator was too quick, and I was soon stepping off into the courtyard by myself.

There were a number of people walking around the courtyard. As I made my way toward the cafeteria, many gave me a short nod and a friendly smile. Others wished me a good morning, and I realized that they were treating me like they would anyone else they might meet early on a Saturday morning.

With my confidence boosted, I entered the cafeteria and got my food. I had a slight moment of panic wondering where I should sit to minimize my social interactions (I still wasn't quite ready to face the world alone), when I saw Rock waving me over to his table.

"Good morning," he said as I was sitting down at the otherwise vacant table.

"Morning," I replied with a small smile. "I'm glad there's at least someone here I know. I'm not ready to be out on my own yet, I guess."

He smiled back. "I can imagine it could take some getting used to with all the changes you've gone through recently."

"So what are you doing up so early on a Saturday morning?" I asked around bites of my french toast.

"I'm a morning person, can't stand to sleep in. You?"

"Dr. Weir wants to try to learn more about a possible power I might have displayed yesterday."

"Well," he said while eating his own breakfast. "Dr. Weir is a morning person too. He likes to schedule meetings like this all the time unless you give him a better time."

"I'll have to remember that in the future," I said, mentally thanking him for the tip.

"Wow!" he said. "That's some powerful empathic abilities you have there. Is that what the two of you are working on this morning?"

I'd forgotten about my ability to pass my emotions on to others! "Sorry," I apologized. "I'm still trying to learn to control it, but that's only part of what we'll be working on."

"That's cool," he said showing he was okay with it. "What's the other part?"

"Some sort of precog ability. Almost like a Spidey sense."

He chuckled out loud at that and gave me a friendly smile.

*  *  *

Despite his intimidating size, Rock really was good at making people feel nice and relaxed. By the time we had finished breakfast and I was on my way to Medical, I knew he would be a good friend.

I met Dr. Weir in the Medical lobby, and he escorted me back to a lab room. There wasn't much in the room, just a comfortable looking chair and some machinery along the walls.

"Have a seat, Jaz," he said while motioning to the chair. "This room allows us to perform a number of different tests, and hopefully we can get a better read on your precog powers."

"Okay," I replied.

Once I was seated, he wheeled a small cart over near me, and then moved a small arm from the cart near my head. The end of the arm had a U-shaped extension that he placed around my head, surrounding it on all sides but the front.

"This thing," the doctor started, "among other uses, can be used to test hearing. We are going to use it to play a tone in your ears. I want you to raise your left hand if you hear it in your left ear, and raise your right hand if you hear it in your right ear. Got it?"

"Yeah, sounds easy enough," I replied.

The doctor then started the test. Left, right, right, left. It was easy to hear the tone and raise my hand. But eventually, I realized that I was starting to raise my hand before I heard the tone.

"That's good, Jaz. You're starting to feel it. Act instead of react."

I smiled at that. It was weird to know what was going to happen before it did. It was only a few seconds beforehand, but it could be a life saver at the right time.

The rest of the morning was spent doing much the same. One of the tests that I really enjoyed was when the doctor blindfolded me and had some of the nurses throwing nerf balls at me. It was fun to learn to block and catch them without being able to see them. It was even more fun to throw them back.

The doctor finally felt satisfied that we both understood the power well enough, and he let me go around 11:40.

I was wondering what I should do next. I wanted to find Nikki, but I wasn't sure where I should look. I decided to check the rooms first and started heading for the elevators.

I was surprised when I "felt" her presence as I was walking by the shopping section. I changed course and wandered between the shops until I found her with Theresa and Cary coming out of American Eagle.

"There you are," Nikki said as I approached. "We've been looking for you all morning!"

"I've been with Dr. Weir all morning," I replied.

"That was like four hours ago," she said. "What were you doing for so long?"

"He was running some tests and teaching me how to use some of my powers."

"Well, anyway, we've been looking for you, but gave up and did a little shopping. What are you doing here? Were you going to shop without me?" she said with a mock frown.

I laughed, but responded with the truth. "No, I was looking for you and "felt" you were in here."

"Felt?" she asked quizzically.

"Yeah," I replied. "My empath powers kind of pointed you out. Kind of like your emotions were unique like your voice or something."

"That's so cool," Cary said.

"Yeah," Nikki agreed. "Anyway, now that you're here, you can join us."

"Actually," Theresa interrupted. "If we're going to get some food before we meet up with the boys for swimming, we better go now."

Nikki groaned. I think she wanted to dress me up some more. On the other hand, I'd finally have a chance to try on my bikini.

"When are we going swimming?" I asked excitedly.

"Oh," Nikki said. That look was in her eye again. "We have the best day planned. You're going to love it."

I was a little apprehensive to learn more, but I felt better when I noticed Theresa and Cary were nodding their heads.

"Like what?" I asked, still with some apprehension.

"Well," Nikki started after taking a deep breath. "We're going to start with lunch at Brick Oven, and then we are going to meet the boys for some pool time around 12:30. After that, we have reservations at the spa at 3:00. After being pampered for a couple of hours, we'll catch a bite to eat and then head out for a night on the town."

She was beaming a smile at me, but I had to ask the only question that came to my mind.

"A night on the town?" As far as I knew, we were confined to the complex.

"Well, figuratively speaking," she clarified. "The boys want to go to a movie and then do some more dancing, and end the night at some lounge for a show or something."

"Oh," was my only reply.

"Don't worry, though," she said while reaching into one of the bags she was carrying. "I bought you the perfect dress."

I just rolled my eyes at her. Someday I would get to pick out my own clothes. I had to admit though, she did have good taste. She had bought me my first 'Little Black Dress.'

I couldn't wait to try it on, but Theresa made her put it back in the bag and led the way to the restaurant.

*  *  *
Chapter 26 - All Flowers Need Watering

Lunch with the girls was great. I didn't eat much, just a Caesar's salad and some garlic bread, which was to die for. But the conversation was unlike any conversation I’d ever had before.

This was my first experience with 'girl talk,' and it surprised me. We talked about everything from the latest fashion to even boys!

I surprised myself by how active I was in the conversation, especially the boys part. It was during lunch that I realized I truly was a girl now.

As if I didn't know before.

*  *  *

Once we left the restaurant, we headed back to the rooms to get our bathing suits.

I got my beautiful bikini out of the drawer I had put it in, and placed it in a beach bag Nikki had picked up for me. I added a towel and headed out the door to meet the other girls in the lobby.

Once we were all ready, we headed back down the elevators and toward the Gym.

We found the boys waiting for us in the lobby outside the locker rooms. They looked semi-bored, but perked up when we entered through the glass doors.

"We were beginning to wonder if you four were going to show up," Lary said as we approached.

We just smiled and headed toward our respective locker rooms.

It felt odd to enter the locker room again. This was the fourth time that I had entered, but it had been different every time. The first time I had been a boy pretending to be the girl I would eventually become. I was worried sick even though the locker room had been empty.

The second time, I had looked like a girl, but I wasn't, and we didn't do much but pass through. I hadn't even seen much of it on the way out.

The third time, I belonged there because I was a girl, but the locker room was empty.

Today was different. Since it was a Saturday, the locker room was fairly crowded. There were girls in here who were still in diapers and others who looked like they could be my grandmother. And there were girls and women from all ages in between.

But the best part was that I belonged! Not a single one of them could look at me and think otherwise.

Some of them watched us as we walked past to our lockers. I think some of them realized that Nikki and I were the new members of A2 and were curious about us.

As I reached my locker I noticed two girls around our age who were using the lockers across from us.

"Hi, Theresa," the brunette said as we approached. "Hi, Cary."

"Hi, Billie," Theresa said. Cary waved. "Have you met Nikki and Jasmine yet?"

"Yeah," Billie replied. "We met them here a couple of days ago."

"Are you feeling better, Jaz?" the blonde asked me.

I thought it was a weird question at first, until I recognized them as the girls we were swimming with the other day. They were both there when I passed out.

"Yeah," I replied. "I wasn't quite done with that stage of the procedure and overtaxed my limits."

"Well, you certainly look a lot better now," she said with a wink that made me blush.

"Thanks," I replied to the implied compliment.

"Are you guys working out?" Billie asked.

"We were going to go for a swim," Cary replied while opening her locker.

"Cool," Billie said as she took her bra off, which surprisingly didn't affect me like I thought it would. "Maybe we can join you?"

"It's fine with me," Theresa said. "But the boys will be here too."

"All the better," Suzanne said with a lustful grin that scared me.

Small talk continued as I opened my own locker and began to change. As I stripped off my bra, I started to feel vulnerable and embarrassed, but it passed quickly when the other girls did or said nothing.

I reverently pulled the bikini top out of my bag and started to put it on. I could see a knowing smile on the faces of the other team members, but Billie and Suzanne seemed oblivious to the heaven I was floating around in as I tied the strings behind my back.

I did the same with the bikini bottoms and then pulled my hair back into a ponytail.

"Wow," Nikki said in awe as I closed my locker and turned toward her. "I told you that bikini was designed for you."

That made the others look, and they all agreed, showering me with compliments that made me blush.

I walked over to the full length mirror near our lockers.

They were right, of course. I looked amazing! Once again Nikki had to pull me away from the mirror so that we could actually make it to the pool.

As we were heading out, I had to stop. "I can't go out there," I said.

"Why not?" Nikki asked.

"I don't think I can deal with him like this."

Nikki just rolled her eyes at me. "Girl, deal with it. He isn't going to go away. You have to deal with him, or you'll be running from boys all your life."

"Not all boys," I retorted. "Just him."

She rolled her eyes again and started tugging on my arm again. "Come on!"

I eventually gave in and decided to walk out with dignity.

*  *  *

I really wished I hadn't.

He was there, and he was staring harder than ever. So hard, in fact, that it was making me mad. I could tell the other girls felt the same way.

Once again, Nikki did what I could not. She slapped him.

For a second, I thought he was going to hit her back, but he finally showed some restraint.

"What the heck was that for?" he said staring at someone other than me for once.

"What do you think it was for, you idiot!" Nikki yelled.

"You really need to learn how to treat girls better," Cary snarled as she and the other girls pulled me past him and toward the pool area.

We placed our towels on the lounge chairs near the pool with the slides. I sat down on the chair and looked back toward the locker rooms.

Jay and the other boys were talking to Justin, but it didn't seem to be helping. He was pissed off. It didn't take my empathic abilities to notice that. The other 3 boys "felt" exasperated. Nothing they said seemed to be getting through to him.

Eventually, Justin shrugged them off and started walking toward us. He really wanted to hurt Nikki. I had never felt the kind of malice I felt coming from him in my entire life. I knew this could get ugly really quickly.

We just sat there, watching him approach. The other girls didn't know what was coming. They were hoping he would apologize. I knew better.

When he was about 10 feet away from us, I stopped him. A subtle telekinetic push was all it took. I made sure that I gave no outward sign of what I was doing.

"What the hell?" he screamed when he realized he couldn't get any closer to us. He was too angry to connect the dots, but the other team members seemed to catch on to what I was doing. Jay and Rock even seemed relieved as they approached him from behind.

"Calm down," I heard Jay say. "Making emotional decisions like this can lead to unintended consequences."

"I don't care!" he screamed while glaring at Nikki. "This bitch needs to learn to stay out of what isn't her business."

"My best friend's well being IS my business!" Nikki screamed back. It made me smile to realize that we had become such good friends in less than a week. I just wished I knew why Justin's attitude had flip-flopped again. He had been so nice yesterday.

Justin tried to move toward her again, but I pushed back.

"Arrgh!" he screamed, trying harder. "What the hell is going on!"

Agent Harris came running up to the boys then. He looked a little winded.

"Justin," he said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "How about we go talk about this in my office."

"Hell no!" Justin replied. "Not until I take care of her!"

"Fine," Agent Harris said. I then watched awestruck as Justin's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground.

Rock then picked up Justin, and Agent Harris and Rock walked back out of the gym.

"Thanks, Jaz," Jay said once they were out of sight. "I didn't know how we were going to be able to stop him from getting to Nikki before Rob could get here."

"What happened to him?" I asked in response.

It was Theresa who responded. "Agent Harris has the ability to overload the synaptic pathways in the brain. Effectively, it knocks the person out for a short time."

"Oh," I said. "What's going to happen to him now?"

"They'll take him down to Medical and see if there is anything they can do to help him control his mood swings," Jay answered. "He should be fine in a couple of hours."

"Now I see why Jaz was so scared to leave the locker room," Billie said. "I mean, she has a right to be scared of that guy."

"See," I said with a giggle as I turned to Nikki. "I told you I shouldn't have come out."

"Oh whatever," she said with mock seriousness. "You would have eventually. You've got too much exhibitionist in you not to show off that suit."

That just made me laugh, and served to break up the somber mood we had fallen into.

Despite the rough start, we actually had a fun time swimming. Billie and Suzanne's friends showed up a little bit later and added to the fun we had.

Despite being a mix of late teens and early twenties, we laughed and played like little kids. Time flew by, and we eventually all ended up lying on the lounge chairs, exhausted, but feeling rested at the same time.

*  *  *
Chapter 27 - Just Relax

Back in the locker room I took off my bikini and headed for the showers. Nikki and the other girls were right behind.

Part of me felt weird to be showering with girls, but there was a larger part of me that felt it was only natural now. I also wasn't getting aroused at the sight of their bodies either. It was once again apparent to me that I was no longer attracted to girls.

I saw Theresa watching me, but when I didn't show any signs of arousal or undue attention, she seemed to relax and accept me.

"So, what do you guys want to do until our appointment?" Theresa asked after we got back to the lockers.

"Where are you guys going?" Billie asked.

"We have spa appointments this afternoon," Nikki said with a big smile.

"Aww," Billie and Suzanne both said at the same time. "Lucky."

"We could always see if there's more room if you want to come," Theresa said.

"We can't today," Billie said with regret.

"Rain check then," Cary added. "It gives us another excuse to go back."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I need a suitcase," I said, bringing us back to the original topic. "Is there anywhere to get one?"

"Suitcase?" Nikki asked.

"Yeah, for all the new clothes I want to take home."

"I was just going to leave mine here until we came back. The rooms are ours." Nikki replied.

"That works for you," I said. "But I don't have any clothes at home to hold me over until then."

"Good point," she said.

"There is a store that sells luggage in the mall," Cary said. "We could stop by before the appointment."

"Okay," Theresa said.

We finished getting ready, and were on our way.

*  *  *

Thirty minutes later we were standing in the reception area for the spa. I'd managed to get a small suitcase that would suffice, and we had just enough time to drop it in my room before making our way down to the spa.

"Okay, girls," the receptionist said confirming our appointment. "We have you down for the full body massage followed by hair and nails."

Full body massage? That sounded good. Girls were always talking about how nice it is to get their hair and nails done too. It might be fun.

"Wait a second," I said as a thought popped into my head. "Do I even need to get my hair and nails done?"

I changed my hair and nail color a few times to emphasize my point, which caused the receptionist to gasp in astonishment.

"Jaz," Nikki said. "It doesn't matter if you need it or not. It's about the experience. Besides, you can't control anything but the color anyway. It will do you good."

"Trust us," Cary added. "It'll be worth it."

That was how I found myself in another locker room. This time we changed into very comfortable robes before being escorted into a room with five massage beds. We were instructed to remove our robes and lie on one of the tables.

Once we were all lying face down on the tables, with nothing but a small towel covering my posterior, I started to relax a little.

"Don't freak, Jaz. It'll be worth it," I heard from my left, but I couldn't tell which one of them said it.

"What?" I said while raising my head to see who spoke.

Instead I caught sight of the four masseurs who were coming through the door.

"Oh my gosh," I said and buried my head back into the table. "You could have warned me!"

All I could hear was laughter until one of the incredibly toned men spoke. "Hello, ladies, I take it we have a virgin here today?"

I swear I could even hear his sex appeal! I also couldn't stop laughing. But I did yelp when he placed a hand on my back.

"And this must be her."

I looked up and glanced at him. Bad idea! He was smiling down at me with that magnificent head topped with dark brown hair. I quickly buried my head again, but I couldn't stop giggling. All the other girls were giggling too.

"Well," my Greek god spoke. "Just lie there and relax. This will help rejuvenate your body and your mind."

He was right, too. I had never had a massage before, so I couldn't really compare it to anything. But when it ended, I did not want to get up.

Eventually, we managed to drag ourselves to our feet and were able to don our robes. We were then led down the hall to a salon.

The hair and nail work felt almost as good. I only let the stylist trim my hair, because I loved the length too much. After prompting from Nikki, I did let her style it. It felt pointless since I could easily have done the same thing myself with my power, but it did feel rather nice and it looked great when she was done. I ended up letting the nail and makeup artist have free reign also. My powers were not going to be used for tonight’s events.

With still an hour left to get ready, we headed back to our rooms to get dressed.

*  *  *
Chapter 28 - An Evening on the Town

Standing in front of the mirror, I was amazed at how beautiful I looked!

The ‘Little Black Dress’ that Nikki had purchased for me hugged my curves and displayed my new femininity like nothing else I had worn since my change.

The neckline showed a little cleavage, which was also a new experience. But Nikki, thankfully, opted for a less revealing dress than what she was wearing. My dress had spaghetti straps over the shoulders and an asymmetrical skirt that ended below the knee on my right, and just above on the left.

Nikki had also purchased a pair of 3-inch open toed pumps that showed off my red-tipped toes to perfection.

Combined with the smoky eyes and bright red glossy lips the makeup artist had given me, I was hot.

"Come on," Nikki said while pulling my arm again. "Put these on."

She handed me a small box that contained some jewelry. I finally had some accessories!

I put on a couple of small silver bracelets and a small necklace that had a silver rose on it. The matching earrings replaced the studs I had received earlier today when I had my ears pierced at the spa. The holes had already apparently healed. Nina had said that any healing my body would need to do over the weekend would be quick, because the retrovirus was still in my system.

She had to pull me away from the mirror again, but we eventually made it out to the lobby to meet the others.

We were going to treat tonight like an informal date night. I was afraid at first that I would end up being paired with Justin, so I was more than happy to learn that we were being paired with members of the opposite team.

I was paired with Lary, which was a significant improvement. I felt really bad for Cary, though, because she got stuck with Justin.

The others were pretty happy though. Apparently Theresa and Jay had a thing, so they got paired together. Fire and Ice, it must be some “opposites attract” thing. Nikki didn't seem too happy to learn that. I could also tell she was a bit apprehensive about going with Rock, but didn't seem adverse to it.

I could tell that Justin was VERY unhappy as we rode down in the elevator. He was glaring at me with hatred, almost as if he believed this pairing was my fault.

I tried my best to ignore him. At the same time, I tried to apologize mentally to Cary for having to be stuck with him. She must have felt it, because she squeezed my arm reassuringly and gave me a smile to let me know it was not my fault.

Once we stepped off the elevator, Theresa and Jay led us to The Garden. The Garden was in another enclave of the compound and was one of the few places that filtered in natural light for complete lighting.

During the day, its many flowers and trees made it a soothing place to relax. At night, it made a great dining experience with the candlelit tables and soft classical music that was being played. Our waiter led us to a table in a private grove of trees.
It was an amazing dinner. We talked and got to know each other better. I felt that I could call every one of these new teammates a friend.

All except for Justin. He sat there silently for most of the meal. He seemed to be glaring at every single one of us, and he was angry. I could feel his anger radiating from him. But I couldn’t pinpoint why he felt that way.

After dinner, the boys took us to the movie theater. They started showing a new romantic comedy earlier that day that even the boys were able to enjoy.

We ended up back in the Molten Core for a light snack and some more dancing afterward. That's when things really started to get crazy.

*  *  *
Chapter 29 - The Devil Within

We managed to get another table right off the dance floor, and the boys, except Justin, went to get us drinks. The rest of us just sat there in awkward silence as Justin glared at all four of us.

"Are you okay, Justin?" Theresa asked him after a bit.

"No," he replied and then continued glaring.

After another short awkward spell, Theresa asked another question. "What can we do to help?"

"Nothing."

The other boys eventually returned and there was a little normality as we sat and talked for a bit. Everyone was aware that Justin was in a bad mood.

"Would you like to dance, Jaz?" Lary asked me after the conversation died down a little.

Ignoring the spike of anger, or perhaps even hatred I felt coming from Justin, I smiled at Lary. "Sure."

I felt sorry for Cary again as I danced with Lary. Everyone was out on the dance floor except for her and Justin. She smiled when I caught her eye, but I could tell she wasn't having much fun.

After a couple of dances, I convinced Lary to give Cary a chance to have some fun. We headed back to the table.

I sat down as far away from Justin as possible and watched the twins head back out to the dance floor. Dancing with your brother might not be much, but it would be better than sitting with Justin.

I avoided even looking at him as I watched the others dancing. What was wrong with him anyway?

He had actually been normal earlier in the week, but now he seemed insane.

"Want to dance?" he asked.

Did I? "No," I found myself saying before I even realized it.

His anger spiked big time. It freaked me out it was so strong.

"No, Jaz," he said with more calm than I knew he was feeling. He stood up and walked around the table, standing in front of me. "You WILL dance with me."

That blew my mind! What made him think I was going to do what he said?

"No, Justin, I won't. You need to learn how to treat people better if you want them to do something for you."

His anger spiked even higher, and I realized I had gone too far. He freaked me out even more when he grabbed my neck with his right arm, and lifted me up!

I heard gasps all around me as I realized he was dangling me in mid-air by the neck. But I wasn't choking. I had unconsciously "pushed" myself up so that I wasn't hanging. The only problem breathing I had was coming from the crushing force of his hand. That wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I had managed to push back telekinetically there too, preventing any lasting damage.

"Don't argue with me!" he screamed at me. "You are my girl from now on, and you will do as I say!"

"No, Justin," I calmly stated, delighted at seeing his surprise at my ability to answer him. "Are you mental? I don't belong to you or anybody else."

He squeezed tighter, but it did no good, because my telekinesis was stronger.

"You don't scare me," I continued. "And you can't hurt me. Put me down before you get into too much trouble."

Unfortunately, instead of putting me down like I hoped he would, he raised his left fist and swung at my head. He really had gone insane!

He didn't connect. I had managed to create a wall of force between us, and his hand hit it like it was a brick wall.

Luckily, he didn't get a second chance. As he was shaking his hand in pain, he was broadsided by a bear. Or to be more exact, Rock.

Justin let go of my throat as he fell, preventing me from going with them. Instead, I hung in mid-air for a second before softly dropping to the ground.

It looked like Justin was out cold. Rock was holding him down, just in case, but either way, Justin wasn’t getting up.

"Are you okay, Jaz?" Nikki asked while wrapping me in a hug. "I was so scared when he was holding you like that!"

"I'm fine," I said, rubbing my neck but feeling no pain. "But something is definitely wrong with Justin."

"We're going to take him down to Medical again. You guys wait here," Jay said. He and Rock then left the club carrying Justin between them.

*  *  *

Nina and a couple of security guys showed up a short time later. She was concerned about my neck, but finally decided I was okay.

The security guys wanted to know if I wanted to press charges. I hadn't really thought about that, but declined to do so.

He hadn't scared me or caused me any lasting physical harm. I just wanted to see him get the help he obviously needed.

We eventually managed to calm down. When Jay and Rock returned, they told us that Justin would be all right. Dr. Weir was running some tests, and would keep him overnight for observation.

Not wanting to end the night on such a low note, we decided to continue with the planned evening.

We danced for a little while longer before Jay showed us the way to the Bolero's Lounge.

The Bolero's Lounge was well furnished and gave a trendy feel to the Latin music that was playing.

The Dueling Piano show with Steve and Rick started shortly after we found seats, and it was a blast.

The two musicians knew the songs and lyrics to hundreds of rock songs, and rocked us out with the pianos well into the morning.

By the time we made it back to the rooms we were all beat, but we felt a lot better after the earlier incident.

I called my sister before getting ready for bed. She didn't answer, and was probably sleeping, but I left her a message about when I would be home.

After that I quickly got ready for bed, anticipating the trip home.

*  *  *
Chapter 30 - Home Blossoms

The next morning was hectic. We were supposed to have a short meeting at nine before we left at nine-thirty.

I managed to get up early enough to take a nice shower, get ready for the day, and even pack my suitcase before heading down to breakfast.

Justin wasn't at breakfast, but everyone else was. Apparently the doctors were running some more tests this morning. It was beginning to look like he wouldn't be heading home with us this morning.

It was a little somber as we ate, and the mood continued into the conference room.

Both teams, including Justin, and our handlers were there. Jill smiled at me as I sat down, and I smiled back.

"Well," Agent Harris started. "Congratulations for getting this far. It looks like A2 is going to be a great team. The powers and abilities that you have received complement each other and will lend to great teamwork in the future.

"Now," he continued. "You have a little time to get used to the changes as you finish the school year."

"What about Justin?" Nikki asked. Justin just sneered back at her.

"The procedure changed his brain chemistry slightly, but the doctors have him on some medication that will help. He'll be able to finish out the school year as well."

Jill then gave the three of us a small portfolio. "These are things we would like you to do while you are back at home. They are exercises to help you develop your body, mind, and powers. In general, try not to show anyone your powers.

"You've all changed, and that will be hard to hide, but the less people know, the better for you and for your families. Understand?"

We all nodded.

"Good. Are you ready to go home?"

We all enthusiastically said yes.

"All right then," Agent Harris said. "Grab your things, and let's head up to the plane."

A quick stop by my room for my luggage and I was outside next to the plane. Everyone was there, and I was surprised at how emotional I was.

I'd known these people for less than a week, but it already felt like I was leaving family, especially the girls!

After many tearful goodbye hugs, Nikki and I boarded the plane to join Justin who was already on board.

"About time," he said impatiently. He had just said goodbye and boarded the plane.

Once Jill and Agent Harris were on board, we were on our way.

*  *  *

We were flying over a small city when Justin surprised us.

"You are all going to pay for denying me what is mine!" he screamed and grabbed me over my seat in headlock.

I screamed, and had the weirdest sensation that I was sinking through the seat. I screamed harder when I realized that I was sinking!

Justin was pulling me out of the bottom of the plane!

"Justin, stop!" someone yelled from the front of the plane as I finally had the sense of mind to fight back.

I 'pushed' against Justin as hard as I could, feeling myself break free from his grip and go flying hard into the ceiling of the plane.

I landed with a thud on the floor, but immediately looked for Justin. Everyone else was staring out the windows.

Looking out myself, I caught a glimpse of Justin slowly falling toward the ground.

"It looks like he's gained control of his powers," Agent Harris said as Jill and Nikki turned toward me.

"Are you okay?" Nikki asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "What happened?"

Agent Harris expressed all of our fears when he spoke. "I think Justin has gone rogue."

*  *  *