Chapter Two

Thank you to Lillith Langtree for creating this universe, and Marvel Comics for creating this character.

Bouncing around the globe mentally must have really taken it out of me. I slept until noon that day. I lay in bed, thinking about the events of last night. I must have been dreaming about that creepy Shadow King. There’s no one–I mean no one, who has a grill like that.

There was a light knock on my bedroom door. It was my mother “Betsy? Honey, are you up yet?”

“Yes, Mom. Come in.”

“She opened the door and walked in. “How are you feeling, dear? Okay? You slept in a long time this morning”

Yawning, I answered her “I’m just tired, Mom. I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I must have been over tired or something.”

“Well, I guess I can understand that, considering what you’ve been through. You know, this Tuesday is your first day back at school. Are you sure you are ready to go back?”

I sighed. “Physically, yes, I guess. Mentally, I’m not so sure. I mean, my change isn’t exactly a big secret anymore. I haven’t been outed as a meta yet, and I don’t intend to be. I just wonder why the media hasn’t picked up on the story yet. I mean, it isn’t every day that your average boy next door comes back to school as the girl next door.”

Mom reached over to give me a hug. “I know, Betsy. I wish I could do this for you, but I have a feeling you’ll be just fine.” She got up from my bed and turned around. “Oh, your Sensei called and said he expects you at the dojo after school on Tuesday.”

“He did? He does?” I was excited to finally get back into my old routine, or as close as it could get to my old routine. My cell phone rang. It was Tracy.

“Hello, Trace! How are you doing this fine morning? Still thinking about your number one lover girl?”

She giggled. “Why, Betsy! How did you know that? Have you been sneaking around in my brain?”

“Sort of,” I said with a smile “Why don’t you come over and we can talk about it. I need to go potty and shower so I can be ready when you get here. Okay?”

“I guess so. Geez, you women can be so high maintenance!”

It was my turn to giggle. “Well, I did learn from the best!”

I heard Tracy sigh into the phone. “Ok, girl, I give up. But you had better be worth the trip.”

I giggled again “Okay, mistress! I’ll be all pretty for you when you arrive. Bye.”

I stood there a moment, looking at the phone. Tracy had been so patient with me through the recovery period I went through. She taught me the fine art of makeup and hair care and the finer points of being a girl that I had no clue about. Things like which clothes to wear for what season, what colors went together with my coloring. What makeup goes with purple eyes?

I took care of my potty business–why did I start calling it the potty?–and got into the shower. We were scheduled to go to the salon today for a day of pampering, she said. I really didn’t know what she was talking about She said not to worry about makeup or hair this morning. I didn’t know how I was going to be beautiful for her if I didn’t put on makeup, so I just used my special shower gel. It smelled like vanilla–I loved the smell of vanilla–Tracy said it made her hungry for me.

I finished my shower and put my hair up in a turban. I wore a simple white bra and panties. I wasn’t sure what I was going to wear over my undies. I ended up choosing a pair of jeans and a white tee with white sandals.

I was just putting the finishing touches on my outfit when Tracy came into the room. I spun around and ran over to her and gave her a big kiss on the lips. “Hello, babe! So glad you could make it.” I stepped back and did my best models pose. “So do I pass inspection?

“Well, I guess you’ll do” she giggled. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“Hey! I haven’t eaten yet, Speedy. I just got up forty five minutes ago!”

“What? How many times have I told you the days of sleeping in are over! You can’t just roll out of bed and stumble into a tee shirt and pair of pants anymore. There are steps you have to take to get ready.”

“She said to the girl in the tee shirt and pair of pants. Besides, I need my sleep.”

She looked at me in mock disgust. “Okay, sissy girl, if you have to have your beauty sleep.”

We walked downstairs. Mom had a light breakfast of yogurt and grapes waiting for me.

“Thanks, Mom. This is just what I needed”

Mom shook her head and looked at Tracy. “Before all of this happened, I couldn’t keep enough food in the house. Now, she barely eats at all.”

I looked at Mom incredulously “Hey, I eat plenty, Mom. I just don’t want to get fat”

Mom rolled her eyes and said “Not a girl for four months, and already has an eating disorder”

Tracy giggled. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t throw up on the way to the spa”

“Tracy! I have never done that! At least around you!” We all laughed at that one.

I finished eating and Tracy and I got into my Prius. We drove to Sarah’s, a spa and salon that catered to upscale clientele. I wouldn’t normally go here, but hey, I had to something with the ten thousand dollars Uncle Sam gave me.

The girl at the counter introduced herself. “Hi! I’m Cara, how can I help you today?”

“I’m Betsy Braddock and this is Tracy Moore, and we have hair, makeover and a massage scheduled.”

“And a waxing.” added Tracy.

She looked in her appointment book “Okay, Miss Braddock. She looked up the pricing, that will be four hundred forty five dollars.”

“For both of us?” I asked.

“No, for each of you. Will that be a problem?”

“No, it won’t. I just wanted to make sure I had it right.” I opened my purse and gave her my debit card.

She ran the card and looked a little surprised that it cleared. I wasn’t surprised. After all, there was over eleven thousand dollars in my account.

We went in, and were met by a striking redhead. “My name’s Ava and I’ll be your esthetician for today. Are you ready?” I looked at Tracy, as I expected her to say something, since she requested it.

“Yes. We’ll have the full Brazilian, and my Sasquatch girlfriend here will have the whole nine yards, including the Brazilian.”

I’m sure I looked a lot like Barney Fife on The old Andy Griffith show. My eyes bugged out and I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t think my body hair was that bad.

“Okay, girls. I’ll need you to take your clothes off and put on these robes.” I walked like a zombie to the dressing room a full waxing? What did that entail? A Brazilian? I didn’t like the sound of that.

We got undressed and went into the room. Tracy smiled evilly at me and said “You first, beautiful.”

Ava looked at me and said “Take your robe off, and hop up onto the table, sweetie, and we’ll get started.” Tracy gave me a couple of Tylenol and said, “Here, you’ll want to take these.”

I took the Tylenol and Ava got started on the longest hour of my life. She started on my legs and then worked her way to my underarms, then my eyebrows. She formed them into slight arches that I had to admit really set off my face. Then she asked me to lie down.

“What’s next? I asked innocently.”

“Your Brazilian wax.”

I suddenly realized what she was talking about. Tracy knew what was coming next and whispered in my ear. “No girl of mine is going to walk around like a hairy ape. Your little patch looks like a jungle that I refuse to get lost in”

I looked at her with panic in my eyes. “I’ll hold your hand the whole time you big baby”

Ava was remarkably gentle, until the first pull. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was all I could do not to scream. Ava worked me over, and moved me into so many men’s magazine poses to get every follicle that I was sure my bottom was a disaster area. She finished me off with an oil rubdown which did help the sting. I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a little girl. I didn’t have one speck of hair on my body. Putting my robe back on, I turned to Tracy who was preparing to be tortured herself. She didn’t act one bit scared, and was talking to Ava like nothing was wrong.

I watched the process repeated on Tracy, who didn’t flinch once as her light hair was pulled out by the roots. She looked at me and smiled. The first time is the worst, Betsy. It gets easier with time, and you’ll love the way your bikini looks on you.

Bikini? I didn’t know if I was ready for that. It was one thing to be with the other girls, but to have all of those male eyes looking at me? That was another thing altogether. “But I don’t have a bikini, Trace.”

“Not yet, darling. Not yet” she replied with her best mischievous smile.

When Tracy was finished, we went to our massage. It was just the thing after the torment of the waxing. I never appreciated what women did to look pretty for the world. It wasn’t easy to be a woman, that much I knew for sure. The Masseuses really worked us over, and by the time they were done, I was putty in their hands.

When we were finished with the massage, we had a bottle of water and headed to the salon for our hair appointments. My black hair was long, straight and to the middle of my back. I normally wore it parted down the middle, but the stylist, Marie, worked some body into the top and parted it to the right side and swept it across my face. My new ‘do was totally hot. I looked two years older. My boobs had leveled off at a small D–thank God–and my hips and waist had pretty much stayed the same. I hated to call myself hot, but I was hot.

Tracy was finished, and her blonde hair was done in her usual full bodied straight style. Her hair was also about as long as mine and she was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to kiss her right there, but I held myself back, as I didn’t want to cause a scene. I concentrated on listening to Tracy. My hair looks great! Sarah’s is the best place to go for hair. I filtered out some of the mental humming, as she couldn’t carry a tune in her head, either. I then caught Tracy looking at me through the corner of my eye. Betsy looks sooo good. I have GOT to get her alone soon!

That thought surprised me, and got my motor running too. She was getting horny looking at me. I looked at her and smiled. She looked at me and blushed. She knew she had been read. She then got a strange look on her face and shook her head. I think I was in trouble.

We were getting ready to leave, and I noticed something was off. Two men walked in to the building wearing hoodies. This was unusual, as men were generally not guests on the spa. They brushed by me without as much as a hello. I reached out to one of them mentally.

This is going to be easy. A bunch of stupid women and a lot of money. Well, here goes nothin’

In a flash, both of them pulled pistols and yelled “Nobody move! Get down! Down on the damn floor, bitches.” He pointed his weapon at the girl at the counter. “Lock the doors!”

There were a lot of women screaming at this point, and I’m not too proud to admit I was one of them. I didn’t know what to do. I looked at Tracy who pointed at her head. I focused on her. Hey, girl. You’re the one with the mind powers. Can you do anything besides trespass on my mind? Get them!

Oh, yeah. Silly me. What could I do? I focused on the mouthy one. There is a lot of fine pussy in this place. We’ll be taking more than their money before this is done. He looked at Tracy and me and smiled, showing yellow teeth.

Oh, hell no. This creep is not going to be humping on me or my girlfriend. Maybe I could scare him for a change. Focusing my mind on his, I projected instead of reading. Get the hell out of here you dirtbags! Dirtbag number one stopped smiling and suddenly looked nervously around.

Dirtbag number two looked to his pal and said, “What’s the problem G-Mo?”

“You didn’t hear that? Who the hell said that?” He swung his pistol around wildly, causing more screams. I had to stop this now.

Focusing harder, I projected. LEAVE NOW! With all I had. Dirtbag number one collapsed to the floor holding his head, screaming, them fell over. Number two looked around, panicked, unlocked the door and bolted.

Tracy was already on her phone dialing 911 and I went over to the would-be thief. He was out like a light. I took his pistol gingerly and threw it away from him. One of the ladies picked it up and pointed it at him. This unnerved me as I was close to the person she was pointing the gun at. “Hey! Easy with that thing! I don’t want to get shot.”

She assured me she knew what she was doing, but I got the heck out of the way just the same. I heard the wail of sirens and a couple of minutes later the police came into the spa. The robber was still out and the customers were getting over their panic. There were about fifteen crying women that they had to deal with. Okay, one of them was me. Tracy was one of the few who were calm. She was holding me while I cried the tension out. Damn hormones. I hated being a crybaby.

Interviews with the police followed for about the next hour as the ambulance came and went, taking the still comatose idiot away. We told our story, and they let us go. I was still a little shaky and asked Tracy to drive me home.

“What did you do back there, Betsy?” she asked. I was slumped in the front passenger side, leaning my head against the window.

I replied sullenly, “I don’t know, Trace. I just kind of shouted into his mind, or at least that’s what it felt like, and he dropped”

“Well, that’s interesting, almost as interesting as you reading my mind when I didn’t ask you to. If you weren’t so upset, I’d really lay into you, Betsy”

“I know, I know, Trace. Sometimes I can’t control what I hear.”

“Well control it with me, okay? I was quite embarrassed when you found out what I wanted to do with you.”

“Forgive me?” I pouted.

“Yes, I forgive you” she replied. “Just please control yourself around me and your mom and dad. Sometimes you don’t want to hear what we are thinking, and it’s very impolite.”

I looked at her and gave her my best sad puppy face. “I’m really sorry, Tracy.”

Rolling her eyes, she punched me in the arm. "That doesn’t work on me, you boob. You should know that already”

Half a world away, in Cairo, Egypt, a man was looking out at the vista his money had bought him. His name was Amahl Farouk. A leader of the Egyptian underground crime syndicate, he was worth millions. He was a large man, with a rather unique face. He had a large mouth with large white teeth. This feature was intimidating to his rivals, who thought he looked as if he could eat them.

Taking a sip of the Irish single-malt he had poured himself, He considered the contact he had with the child. She wasn’t in contact long enough for him to find out her identity, but he sensed power in her. He drained the glass, and continued his reverie. She was invading his realm, and he couldn’t have that. She would have to be found, and eliminated. The Astral Plane was his. He and his minions controlled that universe, and he would tolerate no intrusions into his solitude. But how could he find this child…

He allowed the psionic disguise he created for himself to fade away. He grew in stature to approximately eight feet. His skin turned an iridescent black, like a blackbird’s feather. His eyes were glowing yellow orbs, and his mouth, if you could call it that was a lipless chasm of razor sharp teeth, forming a permanent grin. He laughed, a humorless cackle that sounded like he was gargling with razor blades.

With a gesture a portal appeared before him, leading to a dark realm. He walked through it and was gone, the portal fading away to nothingness.

By the time the girls had made it home, the news of the attempted robbery had hit the airwaves. Tracy and Betsy watched the report and saw themselves walk out of the spa. The reporter had wanted them to do an interview, but Betsy was in no shape to talk and Tracy didn’t want to.

Mom gave us both a big hug and asked us how we were. We were all right, but the thing that was weighing on my mind was what I had done to the robber. I said as much to Mom after I had explained what happened.

“What if I killed him, Mom? What does that make me?” I said, with my head in my hands.

“How do you know you did anything to him, honey? What if he had a brain aneurism or something like that? It’s possible. Let’s just see what happens over the next few days. And if you did do something to him, you were defending yourself, and let’s face it. If you hadn’t done anything, he would have violated you and Tracy, and possibly others in the spa”

Sighing, I replied, “I guess you’re right, Mom. This is just so crazy! I just want to live whatever life I’ve got. The more these powers manifest themselves, the more responsibility I have. I don’t want that to cost me my family or Tracy.”

Mom and Tracy both came close to me. Mom said, “We’re with you all the way, Betsy. All the way.” They both hugged me, which made me feel much better. Why didn’t hugs do that for me as a boy?

I told Tracy to take my car so she could get back home. I didn’t feel like driving yet, and if I couldn’t trust my girlfriend with my car, who could I trust? I went to bed early, too exhausted to think.

Sunday dawned, and my cell phone rang at eight o’clock. It was Tracy. “Get up sleepyhead, and get ready to go to the mall. We’ve got to get you a swimsuit to wear to the lake. It’s the last chance we’ll have to get wet before school starts.”

“Tracy! It’s Sunday! Can’t I sleep in just a little bit today?” I whined.

“NO! Mom and Dad are taking the boat to the lake for the last time, and we have to get you a suit. So get up and get going, girl, I’ll be there in one hour.”

“But…”

“But nothing! Go!”

I ran to the bathroom to get my shower. It felt a lot different with all the hair taken care of. My skin was a lot more sensitive, and I really felt the difference “down south.” I used my hand to clean myself, and got a little jolt for my trouble. Easy, girl. No time for that right now.

After finishing with my shower, I did my hair into a high ponytail and a little makeup. My underwear consisted of a lace demi-cup bra and a pair of low rise bikinis. I chose a tank top and a cute pair of short shorts. I wanted to get a little sun today. The one thing I loved about being a girl was the choices of clothes that were available. I had a great body, and I guess I didn’t really mind showing at least some of it. Looking at myself in the mirror, I thought I didn’t look half bad.

I went downstairs to grab a bite to eat. I really wasn’t that hungry, so I grabbed a couple of granola bars and a class of orange juice. Mom and Dad were eating breakfast together. Dad was eating his eggs when I came in, and when he saw me, he choked.

“Are you all right, Dad?” I asked, concerned.

After taking a drink of his coffee, he looked at me and said “Don’t you think you need some more clothes on?” Mom was looking into her section of the paper. I could see she was enjoying this. I could also sense she was going to be of absolutely no help. I guess I was going to have to deal with the over-protective father now.

Taking a deep breath, I said. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“It’s a bit revealing, isn’t it?”

I looked at myself back and front. “Why? Is there something showing that shouldn’t be”

“You know exactly what I’m saying, young lady. You look like a stripper.”

That hurt. Now I was starting to get angry. “I do not look like a stripper, Daddy. How could you even think such a thing?” My eyes began to brim with tears. “I’m not dressing any differently than Tracy dressed when she came to see me when I was Brian. You never said anything to her!”

“She’s not my daughter. You are. Get changed into something decent.”

I stamped my foot in a thoroughly feminine display of anger Ooooooohhh! Mother! SAY something. This isn’t fair! “It’s not fair! MOM!”

“Ok, Jim. That’s enough. Betsy looks fine.”

“Liz, look at her. Do you think that her clothing is fine? Look at her…her…”

“Boobs? Yes, Jim, she has them, just like every other girl. What’s your point?”

“It’s just that they are so…”

“So what, Jim? Choose your next words carefully. You aren’t giving Betsy a complex about her body, so If I were you, I’d let it go”

Dad’s eyes flashed “So you are taking her side, Liz?”

Mom remained calm. “Only as far as you are willing to be unreasonable. Soooo, yes, I guess I am. Betsy, go outside. Your father and I have to talk.”

“Tracy is bringing my car back and we were planning to go to the lake with her parents. Is that okay”

Mom looked at me. “Yes dear, it is. Now give your father and me a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, Mom” I ran upstairs to get my bag. I almost felt sorry for Dad.

Exactly one hour after she called, Tracy was pulling in to our driveway. I was waiting on the porch swing, and hurriedly walked out to my car. Tracy scooted over so I could drive.

Just before I got to the car, the next door neighbor’s twenty two year old son Lance gave me a long wolf whistle. “Hey babe! Would you like some fries with that shake?” He was shining his vintage 1979 Trans Am, a gift from his parents for his high school graduation.

I turned around and glared at him. He was a loser who couldn’t get a job and was living out of his parent’s home until he got something going. “Lance Barrick, if you looked at job listings as hard as you looked at my ass, you’d have a job by now.”

That apparently shot the air out of his sails. I heard a burst of laughter from his front porch. His dad was sitting on the porch where I couldn’t see and had heard what I had said. “Score one for the girl!” He continued laughing and Lance muttered something under his breath.

Tracy was giggling in the car as I got in. “Pwned! Way shoot the loser down, Betsy!” She leaned over and gave me a kiss on the lips. She threw in some tongue. Lance was looking right at us. “That’ll give him something to think about tonight!”

I flushed. “That’ll give me something to think about tonight, Trace. And, ewww! I don’t want that creep thinking about me when he’s doing his…thing.”

She smiled at me and then announced. “Okay, babe, I found an absolutely darling bikini for you online last week and ordered it, I also got you a cute cover-up to wear with it. It came in Friday, and I’ve been dying to see you in it all weekend. It’s my turn to look hard at your ass”

“You’re going to embarrass me to death, aren’t you?”

“Who, moi?” then she laughed an evil laugh that got me going too.

When we got to her house, the boat was already hooked up to her dad’s pickup. He was in construction, and the truck was a big four door diesel. The boat was fairly good sized, enough for an indoor cabin. It was a real party cruiser, one that they used on a regular basis in the summer.

Tracy’s mom was a stunning woman, who had had Tracy when she was nineteen. At thirty five, she looked more like Tracy’s sister. Her dad was a workout freak, and was in great shape too. Her parents were the original Ken and Barbie couple.

Her dad saw us coming and waved. “Hello, girls! Are you ready to get going? We’ve got a thirty minute drive to the lake.”

“We’re ready Daddy!” chirped Tracy. “Where’s Mom?”

Mrs. Moore appeared at the top of the boat. “Right here, sweetie. Hello, Betsy! Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore. I can’t wait!” I said enthusiastically.

“I saw your new suit, girl. I think Sports Illustrated will be calling once you are seen in public. Very hot!”

I blushed again. Smiling shyly, I said “Stop! I’m not used to this yet.”

Mrs. Moore shook her head. “Whatever, Betsy. I see you already know how to dress to get noticed.”

“All right, ladies.” Mr. Moore interrupted. “Save the fashion talk for the trip. Mary, Let me help you down.”

“Why, thank you, Mr. Moore! I don’t mind if you do!” He reached up and pinched her rear end, eliciting a squeal from Mrs. Moore. After helping her down the ladder, she gave him a big kiss.

I really liked Tracy’s folks. They were open and obviously still very much in love after seventeen years of marriage. A lot of Tracy’s no nonsense attitude came from her dad, and her playfulness came from her mom.

We got in the truck and were off to the lake. There were some subtle differences from the last time I was with them. Mr. Moore was quiet most of the time, and we three girls were chattering the whole time. I realized that he wasn’t talking to me like he did when I was the prospective son in law. A part of me really missed that. But things change I guess. I wanted to listen to what he was thinking, but I had resolved not to intrude on my friend’s thoughts.

Mrs. Moore was giving me advice on my new role. “It’s going to be a little different for you at the lake than it used to be, obviously. Betsy. You are an amazingly attractive woman now, and you need to watch out for new things.”

Tracy interjected, “I don’t think anyone will be able to pull the wool over Betsy’s eyes, Mom. You know…”

“Ohh, yeah. That is right. Okay, maybe we can learn something from you. Keep your ears on, then. I’d like to know what some of these drunken idiots are thinking.

I gave Mrs. Moore a strange look. “Keep my ears on? Huh?”

“Never mind, Betsy. It just means keep listening” My dad always used to say that.

I looked at Tracy who was having a hard time keeping a straight face. We burst out laughing. Mrs. Moore had to start laughing too.

When we got to the lake, Mr. Moore had Tracy and me get in the boat. She knew how to steer the thing or whatever, and I was along for the ride. I sat towards the back of the boat while Mr. and Mrs. Moore got everything ready to go. They worked together like a well oiled machine. About ten minutes after we got to the dock, the boat was in the water. Mr. Moore pulled the trailer out and Mrs. Moore was in the boat. Tracy drove the boat out of the way, and Mr. Moore got in. Soon, we were off to the races. Tracy and I went below to put on our suits. She had a skimpy little light blue number with a halter top and a boy cut bottom that showed off her cute bottom. Mine was a light pink string bikini with a regular connected bra and a full cut bottom. I put it on, and gave Tracy a pinup pose.

“You like?” I asked.

“Oh, I like! Come here.” She gave me another one of those toe curlers, and swiped her hand between my legs. That caused me to buckle a bit.

I moaned a little and said, “Please, Tracy. Don’t do that! I don’t want to be excited all day, and your mom and dad are upstairs. That waxing you made me do has got me on edge anyway. Just wearing underwear feels like I have a hand on myself all day.”

She pouted a bit and gave me a little kiss. “Ok, Betsy. I’m sorry. Lets go up on deck and get some sun.”

Tracy’s dad put us on a shallow end of the lake. The water was only about two feet deep at the shallow point and got progressively deeper. The boats were packed in like sardines Tracy started putting sunscreen on my back as I put it on the rest of my body. I decided to kind of reach out to see if there were any pervs out there getting off on Tracy and myself. I needed to know who to avoid. A couple of jerks two boats down had spied us and were thinking thoughts that I won’t repeat suffice it to say they were disgusting.

It was different being on the radar of men. I felt somehow violated at some of the thoughts directed at us. I decided to ask Mrs. Moore how she dealt with it.

“Betsy, it’s just a part of life. Men are stimulated by what they see. We women are stimulated by touch and relationships. We can’t give our bodies to someone we don’t have a connection to. I guess some women can, but they end up having problems hating men, and I guess I don't blame them. You are a beautiful girl with a beautiful body. You could wear a burlap bag out here and men would still lust. So, you may as well be comfortable. How do you like your bikini?”

“I like it. It’s more comfortable than a one piece, and the bottoms are really more comfortable than my board shorts were.”

“See? You may as well be comfortable, and let the men do what they do. They are going to look no matter what you wear. If they cross the line, make them pay.”

I felt better after talking to Tracy’s mom. Tracy and I laid out for about an hour, listening to the radio on the boat. After that, I suggested we get into the water to cool down. We climbed down the ladder, and got into the water. It was about knee deep and we went for a walk in the water. We held hands in a very innocent way, talking about the events of the summer, and our plans for school. I was really enjoying talking to her, and we were just getting lost in the moment. That was interrupted by a cold shock to our systems as a couple of Hispanic men ran by and splashed us “accidentally”.

“Hey, chicas! How’s about you coming over to our barge for a little party? The beer is cold and free to lovely ladies such as you.”

Looking him in the eye, Tracy politely said, “No thank you, guys, we’re a little young to be drinking. We’re only sixteen.”

Jackpot! Raul will love these bitches. I squeezed Tracy’s hand. “We need to get back to Mom and Dad.” I waited for his next thought.

Damn! Sisters! I have got to get these two to Raul. The Beer is cold and the roofies are hot. These two bitches won’t know what hit them.

“We really need to get going, guys. Thanks but no thanks” Tracy said.

“Aww, come on, we won’t bite, much! C’mon, you’ll have fun”

I focused on Juan or whatever his name was. Go back to your boat call the police and sit there until they come. Then show them the stash you have and confess to every wrong thing you have ever done. I did the same thing to his friend and then found Raul and shut him down.

“We’re going back to the boat, now. You girls have a nice day. Sorry to have bothered you.” They went back to their boat and sat there drinking.

Tracy looked at me and shook her head. “What kind of Jedi mind trick was that?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. They just got tired of bothering us, I guess.” We looked at each other and got a case of the giggles. This might not be so bad.

We walked back to the area where the boat was anchored about 45 minutes later. We got whistled at a few more times, but we were mostly left alone, if not unnoticed from the thoughts I could pick up. Kinda restored my faith in humanity.

We got back to the boat, and climbed back on board. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were on the boat next to us; talking to some people they knew. A snack and a bottle of water later, we were back in the water for a swim. Swimming in a bikini is a fumy thing. It almost seems like you are naked. Quite a different feeling than I had with the old swim trunks. I felt like I was slipping through the water.

Tracy and I swam for about another half hour, and then retreated back to the boat to dry off and reapply out sunscreen. I was starting to get a little burned, as I hadn’t been out all summer. Tracy was nicely tanned, and hot as hell. She oiled me back up, and we sat on the stern of the boat, soaking in the sun and looking at the people all having a good time. I relaxed, and let the rocking of the boat lull me to sleep.

I dreamed about floating in a dark pool. I wasn’t cold or hot, just perfect. There were no stars in the sky, just me floating. Kind of like one of those sensory deprivation whatsits that people go nuts about must be. Then I sensed someone with me. I couldn’t move, just like I had been in the hospital. I was naked, and getting very scared. Then that grinning face appeared over my head. That horrid mouth didn’t move. Hello, child. Welcome to my domain. You don’t know it yet, but you’re dead already. I am The Shadow King.

I was helpless. I couldn’t move, and my heart was going crazy. I was panicking, trying to move something. Tears were streaming down my face. The nightmare wouldn’t stop.

There, there, child. It will all be over soon. Relax, let the water do its work. He started laughing, which pissed me off. I focused every bit of my energy on moving. The wings appeared at my eyes and began to flutter, growing larger. My arms began to move, followed by my legs. My entire body started to glow, and I floated up out of the water. I faced the beast, and his face never changed. I was floating in front of him. The Shadow King was immense. He had to be 40 feet tall, and could have squashed me like a bug.

“Leave me alone, you freak!” I raised my hands and directed them to him. He came closer.

What are you going to do, child. I rule here, and I do what I will.

“Not with me, you ass.” As I said those words, twin beams of energy erupted out of my hands, hitting him full in the chest. He roared in pain. Everything faded to black and was gone.

My eyes flew open and I was back on the boat. I shot up and looked around. Tracy was asleep under the shade, and nothing else seemed out of place. I was breathing hard, and was still in a state of panic. I realized it was just a dream and began to calm down. That was too weird. I stood up and put my tunic top on. Then I sat down and cried.

Shadow King reeled from the blast the girl had given him. His chest was badly burned from the energy. He roared again, causing his minions to flee in terror. This child injured me. This can not be possible. How can she continue to intrude on my realm. I must ponder this. She has a budding power that rivals my own. This cannot be allowed to continue. Perhaps I can find this girl through my connections in the United States government. Yes…this might be the course to take.

Tracy woke up and saw me crying. “What’s wrong, baby? Bad dream?”

“The worst, Trace. I think I may have gotten into something I shouldn’t have.”

“What do you mean, Betsy?” she asked.

“I was exploring my abilities the other night, and I contacted a mind. Something powerful and very evil. He called himself the Shadow King, and he was very bad. Tracy, I’m scared. This thing, whatever it is, knows how to get to me. I have to get to the government guy and tell him what is happening.”

“Are you sure? I mean, it could have been just a dream.” She offered.

“Maybe, but somehow, I don’t think so.”

Tracy brightened “Well, let’s not let it ruin the day. There’s still a lot of sun left, and I haven’t taken you below yet.”

I blushed, looking around for her mother or father. “Tracy, watch what you say! Someone may be listening.”

Tracy felt up one of my boobs. “Oh relax, you prude. Mom and Dad already know we’re raging lesbians”

I pushed her hand down. “Tracy!” I said in a hoarse whisper. Stop it! We’re only sixteen.”

“It didn’t stop you when you were Brian, baby girl” she smiled. “I’ve always wanted to put you on the spot. This is fun!”

I hoped the fun could continue….