Synopsis:

Scott was on his way west to meet up with his friends to start a new life in L A. What he came across in the desert after his car broke down would change him forever. He wondered if his friends would recognise him once they finally met again. He didn’t think this was what his friend’s intended when they said, "start a new life."

Chapter Fifteen

Sara stood holding the bracelet, wondering what she should do. She could easily take it and no one would be the wiser, especially Kim. But was it right to take something that she might need. Like the money, it wasn't something they couldn't do without. However, the risk of leaving such a device in the hands of someone they hardly knew was making the decision hard. As she pondered, it seemed as if a voice in her head was weighing the pros and cons. She had a sense that her decision would have lasting consequences, whatever she chose. A shiver ran down her back, and it seemed that the very air waited on her to make her choice.

She closed the drawer and touched the symbol again, reverting the vanity back into male guise. Walking out without the bracelet was the hardest thing she had ever done, as the temptation to take it, was very strong. Yet, there seemed be a presence in the room that seemed to rejoice in her decision. It wasn't anything definable, just a sense of rightness like the whispering of her conscience, somewhere in the back of her head.

Kim, relaxing in the Jacuzzi, had a Mona Lisa like smile on her face. She climbed out and wrapped a towel around herself, calling to the others, that she had finished in the Jacuzzi.

Sara met Kevin in the bedroom they had picked out to sleep in. He had the laptop with him, and seemed excited about something.

"Why have you taken that?" She inquired, curiously.

"This is really something else, besides a laptop." Kevin explained, trying to keep his obvious excitement from making his voice rise where Kim might overhear it. "Look at this," Kevin demonstrated, removing the power cord. Then taking out what looked like the battery. The laptop remained running. Then when Kevin covered what Sara guessed was a solar panel, two small filaments slid out at each side of the display and Sara heard a low crackle like static electricity. The laptop seemed to be perfectly happy to run on what seemed like nothing at all.

"Yeah, I know what your thinking, how does it work," Kevin pre-empted her unspoken question. "Well, I don't know what kind of battery this is, but it's much lighter than a conventional laptop battery. I'm assuming that the solar panel works in a similar fashion to the one on the car, but if that isn't enough; it has the ability to tap into the energy of the earth's magnetic field. I figured that out from the information Julie told us about how they power their spacecraft."

"But why?"

"Didn't they power the car the same way?" Kevin again voiced her next thought.

"Hey, get out of my head," laughed Sara, punching Kevin on his arm.

"Think about it a moment," Kevin continued, ignoring Sara's interruption. "If you were moving to Australia, would you take the kitchen sink, or just the basic essentials?"

"You're saying the car came with them, but the laptop came later?" she asked, seeing where he was heading.

"Sort of, the car came with them, but I think those extras where added later, laser speed guns are the latest development. I don't see that they needed those gadgets when they first arrived. Same for the bracelets, I'm sure this laptop is the latest development, either it was brought here or made here."

"Okay, assuming it was made later, why the need for it to have such a versatile power source?" Sara asked.

"It makes it truly portable. No need to be stuck near a source of power to recharge it," offered Kevin, waiting for Sara to answer the next question he could sense coming.

"Then it must be more than just a laptop. It must serve another purpose to go to those lengths."

"Correct," Kevin congratulated, knowing Sara had a head on her shoulders. "I found out that it's a communication device, a sort of video phone, I think the one William found is its twin."

"I need to ring them, and find out what else they have found, we can tell them about the laptop then," Sara stated, determinedly.

"You guys hungry?" Kim's voice asked from just outside the doorway.

"Sure, give us a minute and we'll be right out," Sara answered, watching Kevin put away the laptop.

They found fresh food in the fridge, just like Julie had in Huang's home, but decided to use it instead of buying their own like the others had. Sara figured food was food, and if it was cooked, then no harm was likely. Finding some steaks and some skinned chicken breast fillets, she decided to cook. Rummaging around in the pantry, she found what she needed. Kim offered to help, so Sara got her to get the deep fryer heated and peel some potatoes. Kevin was made a temporary dogs body, and sent to set the table and open some wine, she'd seen.

Kevin was chastised for walking around with a can of beer in his hand, obviously purloined when he was getting the wine.

"You'll spoil your appetite with that," Sara pouted. "Why not checkout the backyard while we're busy," she added, shooing him out from under her feet.

"Women," was his one word retort.

Sara grinned, assuming that was a compliment, as she turned back to crumbing the chicken breasts. Asking if Kim wanted steak or chicken, she got her to cut some fries, for herself and Kevin, while Sara popped a washed potato for herself, into the microwave for 5 minutes, before transferring it into the oven to make the skin crispy. Sara made a small salad for herself and cut some tomatoes to be grilled with the steak. Once the food was ready, Kim called Kevin inside to eat, while Sara poured the wine. Sara did filch a piece of Kevin's steak and popped a bit of chicken in his mouth in exchange. Hardly any words were exchanged, as they enjoyed a home cooked meal. Kim made a perked coffee, as Sara found some Neapolitan ice cream for dessert.

Later, when things were cleaned away, Sara mentioned to Kim that they'd be heading on in the morning.

"We need to talk about your original body and whether you want to return to it." Sara broached the subject.

"Okay, fine. I haven't really thought about it a lot. I've been having fun just being female," Kim replied calmly.

"Well." Here, Sara paused, wondering if what she was going to reveal was the best thing. "I found something that you may need if you want to return to being male- after we leave of course."

"Oh," Kim replied curiously.

Sara took Kim upstairs to her uncle's bedroom and showed her the vanity. At first, the lovely gowns distracted Kim from paying attention, just as Sara had been. Sara showed her the money after getting her attention. Kim took the morphing vanity calmly, too calmly, again raising a niggling feeling at the back of Sara's brain. Sara showed her the bracelet and patiently explained its uses and abilities. Kim got excited and promised to use it wisely, giving Sara a measure of relief that she understood the responsibilities that came with having such a powerful device. Sara left Kim there to play, saying she was going to bed.

While Kevin was getting ready to join Sara in bed, she explained what she had revealed to Kim.

"You sure that's the right thing to let loose on the world?" Kevin asked.

"For all her odd behaviour, yes I do trust her to be circumspect with the bracelet...there's something about her."

"I know what you mean, I've felt it too," admitted Kevin, before climbing into bed, and reaching for the light switch.

"Wait, aren't you forgetting something," Sara said stopping his movement with her hand on his arm. "I know you're anxious to test the mattress, but we need to ring William and Julie, and find out how they got on."

Kevin reached for the phone on the wall near the bed and handed it to Sara, looking a little abashed at forgetting his friends.

Sara dialled the number William had given her for Huang's house. It rang for a while with no answer, before Sara slapped her head and hung up. She redialled, the cell phone this time, she had forgotten that William was in a different time zone and were probably at the beach, or shopping.

"Hello," answered a feminine voice.

"William?" Somehow, despite hearing Julie's voice, Sara knew it was William and not Julie speaking. "It's Sara, how are things going?"

"Oh hi, things are fine, we are at the beach at the moment, what's been happening to you?" Julie/William answered cheerfully.

Sara shrugged, figuring that the whole story, of why he was Julie would eventually be revealed, gave him a brief run down of the situation. She then passed the phone to Kevin, who wanted to mention the laptop.

"It's got a solar panel?" was William's first question. "Where?"

Sara listened to Kevin laugh, having heard Williams question by holding her head near the receiver.

"Think about it," Kevin grinned. "You're the computer whiz... well not at the moment." He added chuckling, thinking how he'd got one over on the expert. Sara hadn't thought about that point either, when Kevin was showing her. Either she was attuned to William's thoughts or he to hers, as she heard William/Julie exclaim just as the solution came to her.

"Its got to be the screen, it doubles as a energy collector," William yelled. "That's a neat trick, I would have guessed it soon enough, but I've had a hard day."

"Sure, sure, whatever," grumbled Kevin, not wanting to have his moment of triumph, diminished by excuses.

The two traded friendly insults, and the fact that William was female at the moment, didn't seem to alter their friendly banter, Sara was thinking about the screen doubling as a light collector. Was there some kind of feed back loop from the emitted display back to the collector cells... or whatever they used, almost like a perpetual motion machine, using the energy it produced to re-power itself. Maybe that's why it worked indoors under low levels of artificial light. It only needed a little extra energy to keep it working. Trying to understand alien technology was starting to give her a headache, of biblical proportions, so she turned her attention back to what William was saying.

"After I rang you to tell you what Julie had found out, she wanted to try the motorbike again." William started to explain. "I told her no, of course." William then related what was said next.

"No, you just had an experience to end all experiences," William argued.

"But we need to see if it changes like the truck," insisted Julie, not to be put off. "The Shelke did say we could use it," she continued with irrefutable logic.

"Okay, okay, but I'm doing it. What happened to you scared the crap out of me. I thought I'd lost you there for a moment." William conceded, reluctantly.

What followed, was very similar to what the truck was capable of, only the selections were different. The energy ball effect didn't occur this time, showing it must have be a one off. The first setting turned the bike into a gleaming silver Lamborghini. William in Huang's body form didn't change, nor did he change at the second setting, a red Ferrari. Checking a hunch out, William asked Julie to sit in the Ferrari, set the knob to the Lamborghini, and then back to the second setting.

Julie wasn't impressed when she ended up in Huang's form for both settings. She got out of the car and used her bracelet to set things right again.

"Satisfied?" she asked sourly, not wanting to be reminded of her male beginnings.

"Sorry honey, I just needed to be sure. It seems our Mr Huang owns both these cars. Believe me I like the body you have now much better, he wheedled, making goo goo eyes at her. She laughed and punched him on the chest.

"You just like my tit's, I think it's time you had a pair of your own to give mine a rest," she giggled, playfully.

"Awwwwh!"

The next setting he tried, granted Julie's wish, and she roared with laughter at his/her disgusted look. William had found a new form in the shape of a raven-haired Asian beauty. William, or Mi Ling, as it turned out, was Huang's wife, so her documentation stated. She struggled out of the yellow corvette, trying to move in a very tight kimono. The emerald satin gown, with its fancy woven designs outlined in red, covered her like a glove, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Mi ling was half a head shorter than Julie, a fact she gleefully pointed out. Her hair fell like an inky waterfall to the middle of her back, its blue-black sheen glistened in silky perfection. To Williams's credit, he didn't try changing back by using the bracelet immediately. Walking Mi Ling's body inside, in a dainty short paced shuffle, William looked at her new body in the hall mirror.

"Wow! She's hot," he/she exclaimed, with an accent, posing a little while admiring her form.

"You're hot, you mean," corrected Julie with a wistful look. Julie made sure she captured the body in her bracelet, as it looked like a neat body to visit later. Mi ling blushed and a fan seemingly flashing out of nowhere, snapped open, covering her face.

"Nice reflexes," Julie commented, amused at seeing the epitome of femininity, which stood before her.

"Sheesh! Talk about automatic responses," William in his Mi Ling's sweet accented voice, grumbled, feeling embarrassed by his actions.

"Well, are you Huang's wife? Is there any memories to go with that body?" Julie asked.

"Weird, but I can’t seem to find any memory that confirms it. Even in Huang's body, I thought he was still single. It's almost like this is a blank form, which was never used. Maybe it was intended for someone that hadn't arrived yet, who knows," William put forward.

William ran her hands down over her silken clad form, wishing that he could be on the outside doing this. 'Maybe Julie would-' his thoughts trailed off.

Julie could see the direction Williams's thoughts were heading, as if she was reading a map. Feeling generous, knowing that she wanted to try it out, she flicked her bracelet, becoming William's twin. William was so engrossed in his reflection, that he didn't notice the change till she spoke.

"Hey don't wear the mirror out, I want to see myself too, you know." She giggled, seeing her lover spin around in surprise.

"Oh boy!" William gasped, lost for words.

"Boy? Sheesh, do you ever need glasses," laughed Julie/Mi Ling.

"Can we I mean, you know?" William nodded upstairs, towards the bedroom.

"Sure, I'm just as horny as you are," Julie grinned, with a gleam in her eye.

"Let me change," William went to finger her bracelet.

"Um wait," Julie grasped her twin's hand preventing the move. "I want to try a little girl on girl action. I figure that body knows some great moves," Julie said wickedly, pulling her lover upstairs.

The next few hours were a revelation to both of them. Mi Ling knew a lot of moves, and they were nearly all tried out, before exhaustion from too much sex overtook them. William roused first, and had to force himself to revert to his male body before he took a shower. Mi Ling's body seemed to be one huge erogenous zone, and taking a shower in her body, would send him back into an orgasmic ooze of boneless flesh.

Getting an idea, William changed back into Huang's body, and slipped back into bed where 'his wife's' body lay asleep. He had to feel for her bracelet as it was in the invisible mode and slipped it off, silently thanking the Shelke for making it possible for another wearer to remove someone else's bracelet as he slipped it under the pillow. Feeling deliciously evil, for trapping Julie in Mi Ling's body temporarily, he woke her up with a kiss.

"Hey dear wife of mine, how about we go out for lunch?"

"Hmmmmm, sounds nice," the new Mi Ling, yawned, stretching the kinks out of her body. "But I don't think I have anything to wear," she added seeing she was now several sizes smaller than Julie.

"I like the kimono, or we could get the car to alter your outfit," he offered, giving her a long kiss.

Julie never missed the bracelet, as once it was invisible, it didn't feel as if you were wearing anything. It wasn't until trouble loomed at the restaurant, that she realised it was missing.

William in Huang mode has driven them to a select Chinese restaurant in his Lamborghini. The car had attracted the attention of some unsavoury gentlemen. Huang, as a bodyguard, had roughed up these same men as part of his duties. One of the men had thought it a great opportunity for some payback, especially as Huang had company. The thug had called up for some of his pals to help out, while the pair inside enjoyed their meal.

Huang and Mi Ling were attacked once they had exited the restaurant and were moving to their car. What happened then could only be described as being on the film set of 'Enter The Dragon,' in fact bystanders stood by, thinking it was a movie shoot, and failed to realise the situation till it was over. It was only after the bodies lay bleeding on the floor with no, "Cut," that they called the police. Although seriously outnumbered, Huang's reflexes took control, as the surprise attack began. Julie, in Mi Ling's fancy attire, was grabbed from behind. She struggled to use her bracelet, before realising it wasn't there. As she saw her loved one being attacked with a pipe, something snapped inside her. No longer was she going to allow herself the coy kitten, no, a tigress was born in those fleeting seconds, a tigress, determined to protect her own.

Mi Ling flicked her wrists in an action that brought out two silver fans. In her hands, these became weapons, not something one simpered behind coyly. The man holding her didn't have time to react, as she flashed her fans in his face. Instantly blood curtained his vision, as the deadly fighting fans drew first blood. Julie was a passenger in her own... well Mi Ling's body, as the fighting skills of her host took over. Flick, flick went her fans, leaving the man's face in ribbons. When she turned to help Huang, she saw she wasn't the only one to draw blood.

One man lay groaning, bleeding from a broken nose and a lacerated scalp, the result of having his piece of pipe used against him. Another had a broken arm where Huang had snapped it like a dried twig forcing the bone to protrude from the skin. He was trying to crawl away, from where Huang had thrown the last attacker. Huang straightened his jacket and took Mi Ling's arm as if nothing had happened. They didn't see the man in a dark suit that had been looking at them very intently from across the street. He gaze fixed on the couple, seemed to awaken an awareness of his scrutiny in Julie, as they walked to their car. Julie turned, seeking the source of the unaccountable itch. He eyes passed over the spot where moments ago the man had been standing. Seeing nothing and feeling the end of the odd sensation, Julie dismissed it as nerves. Julie, having returned from her alter ego's mindset, heard some applause from the bystanders. Just to be sure, William switched the cars settings to the red Ferrari, in case the police arrived, as soon as they were out of sight.

"Where's my bracelet?" you idiot? I could have helped you," demanded Julie, as reaction set in.

"Calm down honey you did help, I think you might have been in more trouble had you tried to change, especially in front of those witnesses," William tried to placate her.

Julie realised he was right, but couldn't stop the tears from starting, realising how close it had been.

"Who were those guys, and why did they want to hurt us?" Julie sniffled, trying to regain control of her wayward emotions.

"I don't know, obviously, someone Huang had pissed off. I hope that's the end of that, I don't want to be looking over my shoulder while I'm in this body," William sighed.

They had driven straight home, and once there, they spent the day checking the other settings of the bike. They found that there was an overlap of the settings found on the truck, which produced the Volvo and the Trans Am. Getting tired of the constant changes, and seeing the day was hot, they decided to eat out for dinner. They decide to check out the beach, and pick out someplace there to find dinner. Julie wanted to go swimming, and wanted to have some feminine company for a while.

William grumbled a little, but not too much, as he looked at Julie in the mirror. Going, as twins had been Julie's idea, she thought it would be fun, and that maybe they might get a free meal out of it from some would be suitor.

"But we can afford to spend, it's not like we're poor or anything." William had complained.

"I know, but think of it as a challenge. To get a free meal, just for looking pretty," Julie had urged. "I promise to be your Mi Ling for you tonight."

That was enough of a bribe for William, so here he stood, checking his/her makeup, before they headed out. Finding a nice spot wasn't hard, but finding a place to spread a towel and just sunbathe was another on the crowded beach. Walking along in matching swimsuits, and carrying identical coloured towels, (Julie insisted on buying them on the way) had certainly made them stand out. Julie alone was a match for any of the other lovely beauty's on the beach, but wouldn't have stood out in the crowd on the beach. However, two identical Julie's made everyone sit up and gawk. Once they claimed a piece of beach for themselves, a parade of single (and married) men seemed to become very interested in the real estate the girl's had claimed. They had been sunbathing for an hour, fending off the over enthusiastic come-ons from men with only one thing written on their faces... and a little lower than that, when the cell phone they always carried rang. William answered it.

"So that's what's happened so far," William, explained. We are just looking for some nice men to feed us dinner," h/she laughed.

"I bet they'll want to feed you something else after dinner," Kevin replied pointedly.

"We just want to find a nice mark, with lots of money," grinned Julie/Julie.

"Ah you don't want someone with a little tent in their pants, you're after bigger fish with a marquee in their pants," whipped back Kevin with a laugh. "Don't go pole fishing, you might end up with a groper." Kevin added, laughing harder.

"Whale eel be put in his plaice, if he does it on porpoise," retorted William, reeling the puns off quickly. William giggled at the punishment s/he was handing back. "Anyway, it looks like our meal ticket has arrived, I'll contact you later," William finished, as two shadows loomed over them. Looking up, William saw two guys in casual clothes; one had one of those lens things that simulate a camera viewpoint. He was looking at the girls though it as if imagining them in front of a camera.

"These two would make excellent actresses, the camera will love them." The one with the lens enthused.

"I trust your judgement," the other said, smiling at the twins. "Would the two of you be interested in taking part in a movie?"

Julie looked at Julie/William, and their thoughts meshed silently. Both knew it was possibly a con, to get them into bed as part of a promise to star them in a movie. There was still the chance it was genuine, either way, they knew a free meal was theirs if they said yes.

"Sure," they spoke in unison, startling the others as well as themselves. "We were" - 'Just going to' - "Buy dinner." They spoke in sequence, each completing the others sentence. It was as if one brain was connected to the two bodies, sharing the sentence. It was eerie. However, inside their heads, they were laughing at the expressions of the two guys.

"Let us buy you dinner and we can discuss it." The leader of the two finally said.

The girl's made sure they ordered well, in the restaurant the guys had taken them to. The twins had changed out of the swimsuits and back into the slinky dresses that they had worn at the start. They had fun leading the guys on, flirting harmlessly while promising nothing, but the right to turn them down. The two guys were so enamoured with them, that when the meal was over and paid for. They never even grumbled when the twins just pecked them on the cheeks and said they'd let them know. They got back to their car, walking arm in arm, and drove off home where Julie fulfilled her promise to William.

To be continued.

    

*********************************************
 © 2005 by Prudence Walker. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, and compilation design) may be printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without the express written consent of the copyright holder.