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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.

This story has been a long time in the making. I apologize to everyone that has been patiently waiting. This story started out as a semi-autobiographical story. Over the years that fact has made this story harder to write. There will be more after this, but I'm not sure how long it will take to write. I'm afraid that Sarah Carerra takes up most of my time, but I'll try to write more of this for those who want it.

I have broken this piece of the story into two parts. Together these two parts make up the first half of Book 2. I have the second half planned out, but I haven't started writing it yet. I promise to finish this at some point.

Enjoy,
Megan

*  *  *
Prologue

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 a headlock.

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

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 my 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."

*  *  *
Chapter 1 - Homecoming

"What do we do now?" Nikki asked when Justin was out of sight, as we sat in our seats again. Agent Harris was already on his cell phone, and Jill was looking at us, making sure that we were okay.

"We take you home," she said with a slightly somber tone. "A team will be dispatched to look for Justin, but there isn't anything we can do for the time being."

"What if he can't be found?" I asked.

"I don't know," she responded. "We've never had anything like this happen before. I'm sure that the Agency will put every effort into bringing him in to help him with the issues he is having, but it could be a while until he's better."

"What kind of issues?" Nikki asked warily; they hadn't given us much information.

"Like we mentioned in the meeting this morning, the Procedure changed his brain chemistry slightly, and the doctors gave him some medication to help him cope with the changes. However, it looks like the changes may be greater than they thought. I don't really know much more than that."

She grimaced at us before continuing.

"In the short term, you'll probably be getting a new team member to replace him." I was surprised at the relief I felt at hearing him say that, and I heard Nikki sigh in relief as well.

"Is there anything we can do?" Nikki asked.

"Not right now," she replied. "In your portfolio is a number that you can use to contact me while you are at home. Rob and I will be staying in an apartment nearby if there are any problems. If you see Justin, contact us immediately. Don't try to confront him or stop him, because he isn't thinking rationally right now and we don't fully know what he is capable of doing."

Nikki and I both looked at each other nervously, but there wasn't anything else we could do.

*  *  *

We landed shortly afterward, but the exuberance we expected to feel on returning home was stifled by the events on the plane. I think Nikki and I were still excited, but the events with Justin were still weighing heavily on our minds as we disembarked from the plane and climbed into the waiting car.

Agent Harris sat in the front seat with the driver and Jill joined us in the back. They of course made me sit in the middle because I was the tiny one. Grrr - I was not a happy camper at that moment.

"Just take it one day at a time," Jill said as we arrived at Nikki's house. "Remember, we're staying here in town and our numbers are in your portfolios. Call us if you need anything."

"I will," Nikki said while accepting a hug from Jill. She then turned to me and gave me a hug. "Call me later and tell me how it goes, okay?"

"Ok," I replied, hugging her back. "See you at school tomorrow."

"Bye," she waved as she got out of the car and headed for her front door.

Once she was inside the house and the car was moving again, I looked at Jill. "How is school going to work? I can't really tell them the truth about why I'm a girl now."

"I know," she replied. "We've enrolled you as a new student. It's uncommon to start a new school with only two weeks left, but it'll work out. Your schedule will still be the same. I'll meet you at the school tomorrow morning to make sure everything is sorted correctly."

"Ok," I said as I felt my trepidation rising. We were pulling up to my house.

"Do you want me to wait?" Jill asked.

I thought for a few seconds. "No," I finally answered. "My family is probably still at church. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Okay, Jaz," she said while giving me a hug. "I'll see you in the morning then."

I got out of the car and retrieved my suitcase from the trunk. I waved at Jill and Agent Harris as I walked up the driveway to our front door. Sure enough, the door was locked, and after opening it with my key I confirmed that nobody was home.

"Good," I said when I closed the front door behind me. I would have time to get prepared to meet them.

My parents’ house had two bedrooms on the main floor, plus the master bedroom, and two bedrooms in the basement. My room was downstairs because I was the oldest, but as I descended the stairs I began to wonder if I should switch with my youngest brother and move back up by my sister.

I walked down the hall in our basement and opened the door to my room. It wasn't “home” anymore. The walls were white and had a couple of Star Wars posters on them, but the room was otherwise undecorated. Nevertheless, this room did not fit me anymore. It was too masculine. There were little things that stood out, things that made me feel less at home since my change, and I realized that I would be throwing away the majority of the things in this room. Oddly enough, that thought didn't really trouble me.

Dropping my suitcase on the floor, I laid down on my bed, happy to be home. I looked at the alarm clock I kept on the stand next to the bed. My family should be home from church any minute.

I still wasn't sure how I was going to handle this. I knew my mom and my sister were okay with the changes I had gone through, but I didn't know how my brothers would take it. That thought also helped spur my decision to switch rooms with my little brother. Both rooms were the same size, and he had wanted to move down here for a long time. If nothing else, it would keep me further from them and I'd be sharing a bathroom with my sister.

I heard the door to the garage open upstairs.

"Jaz?" my sister yelled through the house. I then heard her footsteps heading away from the stairs. It was time to go up there and meet them.

Stepping out of my room, I literally walked right into my brother Adam. He was coming down to his room to change out of his church clothes, but he was left with a puzzled look on his face when I quickly muttered "Hi" and headed for the stairs.

"Jaz?" I heard my sister yell again as I was ascending.

"Who's Jaz?" my brother Ben asked from another room.

"Nobody," my sister said, entering the kitchen. Her excitement appeared to have died down when I didn't respond to her.

I stood waiting at the top of the stairs as she entered. Turning from where she had been talking to my brother, she gasped.

"Jaz?!" she practically screamed the question, already knowing the answer.

"Hi, Cami," I said with a broad smile I genuinely felt.

"Jaz!" she screamed again, not a question this time. She ran the length of the kitchen and threw her arms around me in a hug. I'd never felt small around my sister before, but I noticed that she was a good five inches taller than me. "You're so beautiful! And small! Welcome Home!"

I returned her hug, happy to be home with the people I loved. My family started to gather in the kitchen. Adam had apparently followed me up the stairs, no doubt wondering who I was. Ben, my youngest brother, walked into the kitchen after my sister, and I saw my mom and dad joining us behind him.

Mom smiled at me as she came to replace Cami in a hug. Dad had an astonished look on his face, and I reckoned my mom must have just told him what had happened to me. My brothers stood there looking confused.

"Who are you?" Adam asked from behind me. His accusatory tone made it seem like I shouldn't be here.

"Um," was all I could say before I was interrupted by Cami.

"This is Jasmine," she said directly to Adam. "Your new sister."

"What?" he said incredulously. He stared at me for a second before turning back to Cami for a longer explanation.

Cami looked at me, which caused everyone to also look at me.

"Um," I started again. I had been dreading this moment, and now that it had arrived, I still wasn't sure how to explain what had happened to me. "I became a bit more than just a special agent last week."

"Brett?" Ben asked a second later. He didn't seem to believe the assumption he had just voiced.

"Yeah, it's me," I said while dropping my gaze to the floor. "Except my name is Jasmine now, like Cami said."

It was quiet for a moment or two. Nobody seemed to be able to voice anything. Dad came over and wrapped me in another hug.

"I'm just glad you're safe," he said, generating a smile from me. I looked into his eyes as we separated, and I knew that he still loved me just as much now as he had before I had left over a week ago. He returned my smile while stepping back again.

"You let them do this to you?" Adam asked. His voice was raised, and he was turning slightly red or green depending on the angle. He looked sick, disgusted, and angry all at once, and I felt my worst fears about this moment returning. I looked at Ben; he seemed to be slightly disgusted, but at least he didn't look angry.

"Yes, I did," I said while turning back to Adam. "And I'm happy I did too."

"No guy in his right mind would ever let someone do that to them!" he yelled.

"You’re right. Maybe I'm not a guy then," I responded.

He sneered at me for a second before turning around and heading back downstairs. "Whatever."

I could still feel his hostility as he headed for his bedroom to change. I had feared that violence would occur during this conversation, so I was really happy that it hadn't come to that. I would have to watch myself around him, though.

I turned back toward Ben, who hadn't said a thing since he had found out I used to be his brother. "Are you okay?" I asked him. I felt his confusion, and he did feel disgusted at the thought of me being a girl, but at least he didn't feel hostile.

"I guess," he said.

"Can I have a hug?" I asked. I didn't want to push him too far, but I still loved him and was happy to see him again after a week away.

I guess," he repeated, but made no attempt to move. Instead, I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him. Even though he was the youngest, he was already taller than Cami and I had to stand on my tippy-toes to properly hug him.

"It's going to be alright," I said while giving him a hug. I augmented it by sending my love toward him, trying to let him know that I was still “family” and I still loved him. When I let go of him and stepped back he had a smile on his face.

"Besides," I said with a sly grin. "Now you can have that basement room you always wanted."

He lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really?"

"Really."

This time it was his turn to hug me. Stepping forward he wrapped his arms around me and actually lifted me off my feet.

"Awesome!" he said in an excited voice. "Wow, you're so small!"

"Yeah," I said with a small giggle as he set me back down on my feet. "I noticed."

"Let's start moving," he said immediately, heading for the stairs.

"After lunch," Mom quickly interrupted his plans, earning a groan from him.

I just smiled. I was happy to be home.

*  *  *
Chapter 2 - Family Times

After everyone had changed out of their church clothes, we met back in the dining room, where I had been waiting for them. Mom made grilled cheese sandwiches while we sat around the dining table. Adam, glaring at me as he passed, only came upstairs long enough to get his food before departing back to his dungeon.

Everyone wanted to know how my week had been, and I filled them in on as many details as I could. I left out most of the changes that I had gone through, because I didn't really want to talk about changing sex in front of my dad and my brother. The Agency had apparently come by the house while I was gone and had my family sign confidentiality agreements, which allowed me to even talk about my powers with them.

"Show us," Cami said after I mentioned some of what I could do.

I thought I'd start with the most visually appealing power I had, and I sat there and watched their jaws drop as my hair went from the beautiful blonde I loved to a raven black. "I can do the same with my finger nails too," I said while holding up my hand. I made the nails switch colors quickly and it was like a small light show in, well, the palm of my hand so to speak.

"Can somebody pass the chips?" I asked casually while I brought my hand back down. Before anybody could reach for them, however, I lifted the bag up with my mind and smiled as they watched it float through the air toward me.

"That is so cool!" Ben exclaimed a moment later, grinning like a mad man.

The rest of lunch really made me realize how much I had missed my family. I was starting to feel nervous about what would happen after I graduated. How often would I get to see them? We had not discussed this topic while I had been at the Alpha Complex.

"I love you guys," I found myself saying as we got up to help Mom wash the dishes. I felt myself beaming as they returned the sentiment, and the feelings I got from them amplified my good mood.

*  *  *

I stood in my old room; we were in the middle of moving me out and my brother in. I was trying to decide what I wanted to keep. I left my clothes in the closet; my brothers could fight over what they wanted and could dispose of the rest however they felt like. My computer was definitely going upstairs, and the bed. Definitely the bed. I wasn't going to switch my queen for my brother’s twin. Being the oldest still had its perks!

Other than those two items, which would be identical in either a boy’s or a girl’s room, I couldn’t think of anything else that I wanted to take. I'd packed up a small box of mementos I wanted to keep, but most of them were still from another life and I doubted that I would be putting them on display in my new room.

"Just the computer and the bed, I guess," I told my brother. "You can decide what to do with the rest."

"That's it?" he asked, not believing that I didn't want to take more.

"Yeah," I said confidently. "Nothing else really belongs to me now. It's from a different life."

He just shook his head and started boxing up stuff he didn't want in the room. "Give me a sec and we can move the bed then."

"Don’t worry about it," I said while reaching out with my mind again. "I can get it."

We'd removed the sheets and pillows already. My brother’s jaw dropped open and he nearly swore when the mattress started lifting itself off the box springs and turned on end to move out of the doorway. I followed behind it as it moved through our basement to the stairs, ignoring Adam's startled gaze as I passed by the couch he was watching TV on.

"What the..." I heard him exclaim. I wasn't really in the mood for talking to him, and left him staring behind me as the mattress turned the corner and headed up the stairs in front of me. I repeated the same steps with my box springs and computer, and then brought Ben's bed down for him. Adam just stared the whole time, but didn't say anything else.

I helped Ben box up or bag all of the things I didn't want any more to allow us to donate them to a local thrift store. My sister came down to help us, and we quickly got the room cleared out.

"I can't believe you don't want anything anymore," she said. I doubted she would even be helping us if she didn't want to spend time with me.

"I know, but like I told Ben, this is all from another life. It isn't ME anymore."

We then helped Ben move everything from upstairs down to his new room. Just before dinner Cami and I were laying on my newly made bed, in a barren room, getting to know each other properly for the first time in my life.

"I definitely need to get some new furniture," I said while looking at the shabby dresser that Ben had been using. "But at least the closet up here is bigger."

"Yeah, but you definitely need more clothes to fill it with," Cami mentioned, pointing to the open closet. There were quite a few outfits in the closet that I had picked up over the course of last week, but there was still much more empty space in the closet than there was filled space.

"We'll take care of that tomorrow," I reminded her, and she smiled in return. "I told Nikki she could come with us, if that's okay."

"Yeah," she said, but sounded down about it.

"I'm sorry, but she seems to want to go shopping with me nearly as much as you do. She's already kind of become my best friend, and she's the only girl my age I really know at the complex."

"It's okay," she said, sounding more upbeat. "I'd like to meet her anyway. You said such nice things about her on the phone."

"Dinner's ready!" I heard my mom yell from the kitchen.

"I'm glad you're here, Jaz," Cami said when we got off the bed.

"I am too," I replied, happy to be back with my family. I gave her a hug and then we walked together to the kitchen.

*  *  *

The rest of the night went by quickly. Mom was an excellent cook, and after we had all been filled with some great home cooking, we helped clear the dining table and spent the rest of the evening playing games together. I couldn't remember the last time we had done this, but we were having a blast.

I was glad that Ben seemed to be okay with my change. I knew that he was still queasy about it, and probably preferred that it had never happened, but he was kind to me and didn't offer any degrading remarks about the new me.

Adam, on the other hand, still refused to join us and stayed downstairs watching TV all night, something that was starting to become a regular occurrence with him. He'd been spending more and more time down there alone even before I had left for the Complex.

Around 10:00 that evening, I found myself back in my room looking at the outfits in my closet.

"Trying to figure out what to wear?" I heard Cami ask from the doorway.

"Yeah," I responded with a smile as she approached the closet. "I really wish I had a nice summer dress to wear, but all I have are separates."

"You want to start that girly, huh?" she said with a big smile.

"Yeah," I said with a small laugh. I pulled out a white pleated skirt and a pink top that had a rather deep v-neck and a number of flowers "growing" up the left side toward the letters AE above the left breast. "I was thinking about wearing this."

"That will look good," Cami agreed. "But why do you have so many flowers on your clothes?"

I laughed at that before I was able to answer. "Nikki picked all of these out while I was still recovering from the changes. She thought that flowers really suited me well because 'Flower' is my codename."

"Oh," she said with a slight smirk. "That's an odd codename for a secret agent."

"True, but it stuck way too easily. I hope to get some clothes tomorrow evening that don't have flowers on them. I'd also like to pick my own out for once too."

She laughed at my statement while I hung the outfit back up. We talked for a while before she said she needed to get ready for bed. After she left I changed into my nightgown, and climbed into my own bed.

*  *  *
Chapter 3 - Back to School

When the next morning arrived, I was very apprehensive about returning to school as a girl. I was supposed to be a new student, which meant I wouldn't be able to acknowledge the friendships I had. Since I only had 2 classes with Nikki, it would probably be a long day.

I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Unfortunately, my sister was already in there doing her makeup. "Sorry," I said. "I was going to take a shower."

"That's okay," she said while giving me a smile. "We're going to have to learn how to share the bathroom from now on, I guess. Do you want me to leave?"

"No, you don't have to; we're both girls after all." I smiled back at her while closing the door behind me.

She stopped doing her makeup and watched me as I started to undress. It was unnerving, but I could understand her curiosity. I removed my nightgown, and standing there with only my panties on in front of my sister, I felt...justified. There was no reason to be ashamed of being naked in front of her. She continued watching me as I opened the door to the shower and turned on the water before turning back to her and removing my panties.

"What do you think?" I asked after I had placed both my nightgown and panties in the hamper and turned toward her. "Am I enough of a girl?"

She seemed amazed at my body, and I understood why. The Procedure was designed to give me a well-built body, and it had done just that.

"Wow!" Cami finally found her voice. "You look amazing! I guess you truly are a girl, huh?"

"In every way that counts," I replied with a smile, and then stepped into the shower.

I showered quickly, wanting to have plenty of time to get ready before my first day of school. Trying to keep my hair from getting wet was really hard because it was so long, but I was able to gather it into a loose braid around my head to keep it out of the stream.

Cami was no longer in the bathroom when I got out of the shower and started drying off. Once dry, I wrapped the towel around my torso and opened the door, where Adam was passing by on his way to our parents’ room. He seemed shocked to see me like that, looking so feminine with the towel wrapped around me like that, and he quickly bolted for the relative safety of my parents’ room. I quickly sprinted across the hall to my door and practically slammed it shut.

It took me a second to come down from the adrenaline high that moment had caused me, and I opened my dresser and pulled out a nice light pink lacy bra and panty set. I knew that not all girls wore matching bras and panties, but this was all Nikki had purchased for me.

With a shrug, I slipped the panties on, clasped my bra around my breasts, and turned toward my closet. I removed the skirt, the v-neck, and a white camisole that had a nice lacy neckline. I stepped into the skirt and pulled it up my legs. I was suddenly washed away with the feeling of the feminine garment, and caught myself twirling around in front of the full length mirror attached to one of the closet doors. The skirt fit perfectly, hugging my tiny waist at the top and ending about an inch above my knees. It would flare out a bit when I spun.

I found myself giggling like a small girl for a second before turning back to my bed and picking up the cami. I slipped it on followed by the v-neck and gazed at myself in the mirror again. The lace from the camisole peeking out around the v-neck was beautiful, and helped to hide some of the cleavage that I wanted to suggest, but didn't want to show off while at school. Smiling, I turned to my hair and gathered it up into a ponytail that kept the hair off my neck. I thought it looked beautiful, and I was still amazed that my hair fell way down my back.

Smiling at myself in the mirror, I added some slight makeup to enhance my eyes and lips, and turned toward the door. I realized that my backpack would no longer work for me; it was just too masculine. Since all of my books were still at school, I grabbed my purse with the white jasmine on it, and headed for the kitchen.

"You look beautiful," Mom said after I entered the kitchen. She came over to me and kissed my cheek before turning back to the pancakes she was making. "I made pancakes and bacon for you."

"Thanks, Mom," I said while grabbing a plate and loading it with food. Adam sneered at me as I sat down across from him at the dining table. I ignored him and began eating my own food.

Cami and Ben had already caught the bus to the junior high, and Adam and I usually rode in together. Turning toward him, it was obvious that this was going to be a problem. I had bought an old Audi A4 with the earnings I had made at the local grocery store, but he didn't have a car.

"Are you coming with me?" I asked him.

"No," he said in a tone that seemed to indicate it was well beneath him to even consider the idea. "Reese is going to give me a ride."

"Okay," I replied, and turned back to my breakfast. I heard a horn blow out front, and he got up and walked out the door without another word.

"He'll come around," my mom said after he had left. "He just needs time."

"I don't know about that," I said while getting up and walking to the sink to clean my dishes. "I think it's too much for him, and he probably resents me for liking it."

"Give him time."

I finished cleaning my dishes and headed for the bathroom to brush my teeth. Then I returned to the kitchen, picked up my purse and gave Mom a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Mom, see you this afternoon."

"Bye, honey, have a great first day."

I smiled back at her while heading for the front door.

*  *  *

Despite being a "new" student, my car still had a parking permit, for which I was thankful. Jill had told me to meet her in the main office when I arrived at school, and I headed straight there.

"How are you doing?" Jill asked when I walked into the office.

"I'm doing great!" I said with a big smile.

"Everything okay with the family?" the concern in her voice was quite evident.

"Generally yes," I answered truthfully. "Adam won't talk to me, but we haven't had any fights or anything."

"Good," she replied, and then she turned toward the desk where a secretary was sitting.

"Sherry here knows all about Nikki and you, and she has helped get everything transferred over to your new identity. You have pretty much the same schedule and the same locker. Here."

"Good," I said with relief, taking my new schedule from her. "All of my books and stuff are still in there.

"We just need you to sign these two forms," Sherry said and indicated two forms on the desk.

"You look really pretty, Jaz," Sherry said as I took a seat to sign the forms.

"Thank you," I said, blushing. I was just happy that she was okay with what had happened to me. I signed the two forms and smiled as she took the forms.

"Have a good day," Sherry said with a big smile on her face. I smiled back at her while Jill and I headed out of the office.

"You have my cell number in case you need anything, right?" she asked me in the hallway.

"Yeah," I replied as the first bell rang.

"Do you need anything? Do you have P.E. today?"

P.E.? Geez, I hadn't even thought about P.E.! "Um," I said.

"Alright," Jill interrupted before I could answer. "I'll go get you some clothes; when does it start?"

"I have it right before lunch," I replied, trying to remember at what time the class actually started. "I think it starts at 10:30."

"Okay, I'll meet you outside the doors to the gym then. Have a good time in class." She gave me a quick hug and then walked out the doors.

The second bell rang while I was on my way to my locker. My school had an A/B schedule, 4 classes a day, 8 classes total. I picked up the books I needed for my first class, and headed that way.

*  *  *

"You're late, young lady," Mr. Compton said when I opened the door to the Math class.

"I'm sorry," I replied. The whole class was watching us closely. "I was in the office."

"That's no excuse," he said. He wasn't really the most likeable teacher. "And who are you?"

"Jasmine Campbell, I'm new to the school," I said, quickly glancing at my classmates. None of them seemed to make a jump to the obvious, and I didn't "feel" anything that would make me think they had guessed who I used to be.

"Ah, right," he grumbled while picking up the class roll. "It's not often new students show up with only two weeks left."

"It wasn't really my idea," I explained.

"Well," he said with an uncharacteristic smile. "Welcome to the class, I hope you were taught well wherever you came from. You can sit in that empty seat there."

He was pointing to my old seat on the third row, and I mumbled a thank you while quickly taking my familiar seat.

I quickly looked around the classroom. Many of my classmates were watching me, especially the boys. I could also feel some emotions heading my way from those boys - emotions that I didn't want to think about yet.

Mr. Compton was writing on the board, which gave the girl next to me time to lean over and introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Susan," she said with a smile that I knew she didn't mean.

"Jasmine," I replied, returning the smile. Susan wasn't exactly the type of girl I wanted to get involved with. She was the head cheerleader at the school, and acted like she was the queen. Some girls followed her around like an entourage, but most just tried to ignore her.

"Have you ever been a cheerleader?" she asked. I wondered why for a second until I realized how good I looked. She was obviously trying to gauge what kind of an impact I would have on her popularity. I didn't think it would matter with only two weeks left until graduation. Go figure.

"No," I replied sincerely. I didn't really have a desire to be one either.

"You should sit with us at lunch. I could introduce you to the important people at this school," she said in a way that made it seem like I should not disagree with her.

"Thanks," I said. Disagreeing with her was exactly what I was going to do. "But I'm probably going to be sitting with my friend Nikki."

"Nikki Fox?" she asked, incredulous at my refusal.

"Yeah," I said brightly, obviously not sharing her thoughts about Nikki.

"Okay class," Mr. Compton said, thankfully interrupting our conversation and starting the lesson for the day. Susan was still giving me a cold look when she turned to pay attention.

Throughout class I found it interesting to see how my learning techniques had changed with the Procedure. I knew that I had a photographic memory now- many post-Procs did - but actually applying that to my schooling was a new experience. I was remembering things that I had long forgotten before the Procedure, and the new things that Mr. Compton talked about during the lesson could be recalled at any time. I was really happy to realize that I could actually remember all of the math formulas that I had learned over the years. That would come in handy.

The rest of the math class was spent learning and working on our assignments, and I was starting to think that finishing school was not as exciting as I thought it would be while at the Complex.

Once the bell rang, I returned my math books to my locker and headed for the gym. If nothing else, P.E. would be a unique experience today.

As I approached the gym, I found Jill waiting for me just like she said she would. She smiled at me while handing me a bag emblazoned with the Under Armour logo.

"I spent a bit more than normal on these, but they'll come in handy when you return to the Complex for training after you graduate. Besides, your wardrobe funds cover it."

"Thanks," I said while taking the bag from her and briefly looking inside. She'd even provided a pair of shoes and socks.

"Sorry I couldn't get it all in pink," she said with a small smile.

I laughed before replying. "Not EVERYTHING has to be pink."

"Give me a call if you need anything else."

"Thanks, Jill," I said while opening the door to the girls locker room.

"You're welcome, Jaz."

After being in the women's locker room back at the Complex, I felt that I would be able to handle what awaited me beyond that door. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I would be, and I was glad that I had already gone through this experience.

I stopped at the office just inside the door, where Coach Jones was sitting at her desk. I'd had Coach Jones for P.E. last year. She was known for her tough workouts, but she was fair to her students and I was fortunate to be put in her girls’ class instead of staying with Coach Johnson, who was a mean man who liked to pick on the students in his class.

"Hi," I said when she looked up from what she was doing.

"Hi," she responded with a reassuring smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm new today, and I don't have a locker."

"Jasmine?" she asked after consulting a piece of paper on her desk. I nodded. "Welcome to the class, here is your locker assignment. Be dressed and ready to go five minutes after the bell rings."

She handed me a small piece of paper that contained a locker number and a combination. "Thank you," I said and started down the hall toward the lockers.

I got more than one stare while I walked toward my locker. Nikki was supposed to be in this class with me, and I was happy to note that our lockers were across the bench from each other.

"Hi," I said, setting my bag down on the bench between us.

"Hi, Jaz, how are you?" She was beaming at me, and I realized that I had forgotten to call her last night.

"I'm doing well," I said, her infectious smile spreading to my face. "Sorry about not calling last night; I got caught up with my family."

"That's okay," she said. "I did too. Everything go alright?"

I glanced at the other girls sharing our changing space. It was obvious that they were listening to Nikki and me, probably trying to learn more about the new girl.

"Yep, no issues," was all I said, hoping that it would be enough until we could talk in a more private setting.

"What's in the bag?" she asked me.

"Oh, I forgot to get some gym clothes. Jill went out this morning to pick them up for me. She said I could use them for training later."

I turned to my locker while Nikki, who was already dressed, started rummaging around in the bag. "Geez, she went all out. This stuff isn't cheap."

She rummaged through the bag some more before coming up with the receipt. "She spent $220 dollars on this stuff!"

That floored me! I was not expecting that much to be spent on my school gym clothes! "Are you serious?"

"Yeah look," she handed me the receipt. Sure enough, the exact amount was $224.96.

"Great," I said with a frown. "That's definitely not the type of first impression I want to make. People are going to think I'm spoiled or something."

"Don't worry about it," Nikki said while stripping tags off the items in the bag. The bell rang. "Hurry and get dressed though."

I turned back to my locker and started undressing. Jill had purchased a pink sports bra that I placed across my chest. She had also purchased a pair of black bikini style panties. I switched out my lacy pink ones quickly. She had also purchased a pair of shorts that fell to about 4 inches above my knee. Thankfully they weren't skin tight. They were loose, but still clung closely to my legs. To cover my sports bra she had purchased a black tee that looked snug when I put it on, but felt very loose. I was happy that it had a pink design along the left side of the shirt, preventing a totally black ensemble. The outfit was rounded out with a pair of pink, gray, and white trainers and matching socks.

"I feel overdressed for high school P.E." I told Nikki, who was still waiting for me. One of the girls who had been changing next to us laughed at the comment and gave us a smile.

"It's only for a short time, don't worry about it," Nikki said while I finished lacing up my shoes.

We walked out of the locker room and into the gym. The boys and girls classes were split up, one on either side of the basketball court. I followed Nikki over to where the other girls were milling about waiting for Coach Jones.

"Get in your lines, girls," the coach said shortly afterward. I followed Nikki and soon we were arranged in three lines across the court.

Coach Jones took roll call and then led us through a warm up stretch. I was once again amazed at how limber and flexible my new body was. I saw a couple of girls staring at Nikki and me in near awe a couple of times when we stretched much more comfortably than they could.

"Good news," Coach Jones said when we finished stretching. "Coach Johnson and I want to give you a day of fun for once." There was some chuckling from the students.

"Today, we are going to be playing dodge ball." Cheers erupted throughout the gym.

"To start," Coach Jones continued. "We are going to have a battle of the sexes, us versus the boys. Let's show them what we're made of!"

The other girls' enthusiasm for dodge ball died down with that announcement. Nikki looked at me and grinned, and I grinned back. This would be fun.

The game was confined to one half of the gym, width-wise. Coach Jones had us line up on one wall, Coach Johnson had the boys lined up on the other. Red balls were on the line in the middle.

"Everyone ready?" Coach Johnson yelled. Without waiting for a reply, he blew his whistle to start the game.

Usually when playing dodge ball, I would hang back and wait for the initial rush to happen before getting into the game. That's why I was surprised to find myself sprinting toward the balls, and I had to mentally pull myself back before I ran too fast and gave away my special abilities. I still managed to get my hands on a ball and started to back up when my main advantage started to kick in.

I ducked and moved to the left, just in time to avoid the two balls that were heading my way. My own ball had already left my hands, and one of my attackers took it straight in the chest.

I quickly felt another ball heading my way, and I managed to get my hands out and caught it.

I couldn't feel anything else coming my way, and realized that I was reacting to the throws, instead of trying to anticipate them. I slowly made my way to the back of the girls’ side, and opened up my mind.

Immediately I could feel everyone around me. Jonothon was preparing to throw a ball at Jennifer. Katie was dodging one ball only to step into the path of a second. Jack caught a soft lob that Amy had attempted to hit him with. I could feel it all happening, and it was an amazing feeling!

Jason and Brady were both aiming for me. I had been standing still too long while I explored this aspect of my abilities. I watched both of them, from opposite directions, pull their arms back and release their ball. I somersaulted forward, cleanly missing both, and threw the ball with both hands at Brady, and immediately side-stepped a third flying at my head.

Exhilarated, I realized that the chance I was going to be hit was very small, because I knew where and when each ball was coming.

I scooped another ball off the ground and sent it flying at another boy, watching him scream out loud at being hit while ducking another ball.

The game continued this way for another five minutes, with boys trying to hit me while I was returning the favor. Eventually, Nikki and I appeared to be the only two girls standing, and there was a small pause in the game as the four boys left stopped to catch their breath.

Nikki and I hadn't even broken a sweat.

Almost in unison, Nikki and I let loose on the remaining boys. Two of them were hit immediately because they were not ready for the game to continue. The other two boys were quicker on the uptake, and both Nikki and I had balls heading our way. I dove for the ground, grabbed a ball and was back on my feet within an instant, as my attacker’s ball missed me by inches. I knew before it happened that Nikki had not been as lucky. A moment later she cried out in frustration when the ball hit her in the back. I was quick with the ball I had in my arms, and her attacker never saw it coming before it hit him in the side of the head.

I quickly grabbed another ball off the ground and turned toward the last boy standing.

"You better not lose to a girl, Williams," I heard Coach Johnson yell from the sideline. Mark Williams was a starting tight end for our school’s football team. He was also a fairly good quarterback on the off chance our first and second string quarterbacks were not able to play. Suffice it to say that Mark Williams was fast, maneuverable, and had an arm.

But he hadn't gone through the Procedure.

"Finish him off, Jaz!" I heard Nikki scream from behind me, but my eyes focused on Mark. We both stood, waiting for the other to make a move. He didn't know it, but I had the advantage here. I'd know the second he was ready to make his move, and I'd be ready for it.

He started to pace back and forth, but I didn't follow. I was content to stand right where I was in the middle of the girls’ side.

Faster than I thought possible, he threw his ball at me. It was easy to dodge. He had scooped up a second ball almost immediately, and that was the one that was supposed to be my undoing. I spun to my left as the second ball passed in front of my face, and continued the spin until I was facing Mark again. He had already started celebrating and the look of surprise on his face when the ball in my right hand came flying right at him was priceless, and I would remember it forever.

It connected with the bottom of his chin, throwing his head back and bringing his body with it. As he fell to the ground, I heard a loud girlish roar behind me and turned in time to catch Nikki as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"That was amazing!" I heard her say in my ear over the noise of the girls who had mobbed me. It was a simple game of dodge ball, but it had turned out to give me one of the best feelings I'd ever had while playing sports.

Eventually the girls were able to give me a high five or give me a short hug, anything to show how happy they were to beat the boys. When I got out of the mob, I saw Coach Johnson screaming at Mark. Coach Johnson was also the football coach, and he didn't tolerate failure from his players. Apparently he considered a loss to the girls to be a big failure on the part of his class, and he was taking it out on Mark personally. Not wanting to get involved, I headed over to the line that had formed for the drinking fountain.

A moment later it became apparent that dodge ball was over for the boys. Coach Johnson was screaming at them, and they were heading for the far door that led out to the track and the football field. I had a feeling that my win was going to cause them to run laps. I hoped they didn't blame me for it.

Coach Jones, however, was elated with our performance, and she let us finish the day with more dodge ball. She started by splitting us into teams, and then let us go at it. I was having fun, but I didn't want to be the last one standing for each game, and I decided to let some of the girls hit me instead of dodging their throws.

"Yes, I got her!" I heard one of the girls scream while taking her shot on my back. I grinned, I may have lost this game, but I had just made her day.

Coach Jones came over and sat next to me on the bleachers while I waited for the next game to start.

"That was very impressive," she told me with a big grin on her face. "I haven't seen Coach Johnson that upset since football season ended when we were blown out."

I smiled back. "Thanks."

"It's too bad you weren't here during some of the sports seasons, because you have excellent athletic ability, and you seemed to be very aware of what was happening. I don't know how you dodged some of those shots."

"I just tried my best," I responded, but she gave me a look that said she knew more than she was letting on.

"And thank you for letting some of these girls get you out. I didn't think their morale would be any higher after that win, but you certainly have made their day for a couple of them." She winked at me before standing up and walking away.

*  *  *

The rest of the period went by quickly, and it was a very tired, but very happy group of girls that were heading for the locker room. The boys were filing into the gym behind us, and they did not look happy. A couple of them glared at us when they passed on the way to their own locker room, and I felt a small twinge of guilt over the trouble I had caused them. But it was a very small twinge.

Once back at my locker, I started undressing, and decided that I had worked up enough of a sweat that I didn't want to put my clothes back on without a shower. Nikki followed me while I walked down the short hallway to the showers, pinning my hair to the top of my head with a pin that Nikki had loaned me.

"I think that's the most fun I've ever had in P.E." she said. I nodded in agreement while stepping under the stream.

"I can't believe you dodged that last ball Mark threw. I don't think I would have seen it coming." I just smiled back at her with a wink, and a look of understanding washed over her face. "Ohhhhh, I got ya. Still, very impressive."

We finished up in the showers, grabbed a towel and headed back to our lockers.

"You've learned to use them well, I see," Nikki said while we were drying off. The other girls who had been changing near us had already left, but we still wanted to be careful about how much information we gave away in our conversation.

"Dr. Young had some of the nurses throwing balls at me Saturday morning during those extra tests he ran. I'd already had some practice." Nikki just shook her head and turned to get dressed. I did the same.

"I just wish I could practice as easily as you can. Nobody even knows what you are doing. Everyone around would know if I used mine."

"I'm sorry Nik, I know that must be tough," I said trying to help her feel better. "Maybe we can find some place after school to give you a chance to do some practicing."

"Maybe," she said with a little smile, which grew larger before she spoke again. "But there probably won't be any time with all the shopping we have to do tonight."

There was no doubt about it, she was enthusiastic about shopping! I just hoped I didn't dampen her spirits when I refused to let her pick everything out for me.

We finished getting dressed in our regular clothes, and headed for the door.

"Come on," Nikki said, "I'm hungry."

*  *  *
Chapter 4 - From Whence Come These Feelings?

Mark Williams was sitting on a bench outside the locker rooms when we exited. Up close, I realized just how much bigger than me he was. And, boy, he was attractive! I hadn't noticed when I was trying to hit him with the ball, but his mussed up dark hair and strong handsome face were giving me chills that I had never felt about a boy before. He smiled at me, and I nearly lost it right there.

"Jaz?" he questioned me while standing up, obviously unsure of the new girl’s name. "Wow, you're tiny, no wonder it was so hard to hit you."

Any negative feelings I might have felt about my new size were drained straight out of me when he smiled at me. I couldn't help it. He was making me feel all warm and gooey inside. I had never really had this feeling before, not even before the Procedure.

"I'll save you a seat in the cafeteria," Nikki said from behind me and quickly ran off. I almost didn't even notice.

"I'm Mark Williams," he said while extending his hand for a handshake.

I placed my hand in his, and was amazed at the size difference. In fact, he was huge! I knew that Mark was 6'2" tall from my days before the Procedure. Fourteen inches and all of that muscle made me very aware of my new 5' stature, and he could probably bench press me with one hand. I decided to forget about the fact that I could probably bench press him for the time being.

"Jasmine Campbell," I said, staring into those gorgeous brown eyes.

"Are you related to Brett?" he asked the worst question he could have. I inwardly cringed, hoping that if he learned the truth he wouldn't run away from me.

"Yeah," I finally said, but left it at that. The less he knew the better for now.

"Cool, he's a nice guy." That was good to hear. At least he didn't hate who I had been before the Procedure. I noticed that we had started walking down the hallway together. With all the extra-sensory abilities I had gained from the Procedure, Mark seemed to be subverting all of them; something that had been impossible for him to do earlier.

"I'm sorry if I made you guys run laps," I said, remembering our earlier encounter with a smile. "And for making Coach Johnson chew you out."

"That's okay," he said with a reassuring smile that lit up the hallway. "I'm used to his ranting now, and doing laps for P.E. will help keep me in shape for the football camp I'm attending this summer. But those were some sweet moves you made today. I thought for sure I had you with that second ball. How did you dodge it?"

"Let's just say I'm very good at knowing my surroundings," I replied, trying to give a plausible answer that didn't involve my powers. "I saw you stop next to that ball, and had a good idea that it was following the first."

That seemed to be a good enough answer for him. "I must admit, I never expected that ball to come flying my way. It totally caught me off guard."

I let out a short, sweet laugh and smiled back at him. I was nearly at a loss for words, and didn't know quite how to respond to a boy in this position.

"Listen," he said, stopping in front of the doorway to the cafeteria and turning toward me. "I know this may be a bit forward, since we just met and all, but would you be willing to get a bite to eat with me tomorrow night?"

He was nervous; I could feel it pouring off him. Mark Williams, who was over a foot taller than me and probably more than twice my weight, was nervous about asking me out. Heck, even I was nervous about him asking me out. I had never really dated before the Procedure and never with someone whom I, well, felt this way about. I had never even felt this way about another person and I hadn't even really known him for more than the five minutes it took us to walk from the gym to the cafeteria.

"Yes," I found myself saying without even realizing it. "That sounds great."

"Great!" he repeated. His relief was profound, and then the nervousness was back quickly. "I, uh, I'll talk to you tomorrow to set up the details, okay?"

"Okay." Now it was my turn to repeat his last word. I just smiled at him as he turned toward the cafeteria. "I have to run home for lunch, but it was nice meeting you, Jaz."

He gave me a smile and then turned and walked to the exit doors next to the entrance to the cafeteria. I was still standing there mesmerized when he looked over his shoulder at me, smiled, and then was gone out the door.

"Earth to Jaz," I finally realized Nikki was standing next to me.

"Oh," I said, slightly startled. "Hi."

"Wow, he got you good. You're really out of your head right now." I just smiled at her, which caused her to roll her eyes.

"Come on," she said while pulling me into the cafeteria. "I need some food."

*  *  *

I followed Nikki through the lunch line, not really paying attention to what I put on my tray.

"Are you okay?" she asked when we had taken a seat at an empty table.

"Yeah," I replied, absently eating the food on my tray. "I've just never felt this way before."

"Awww, my little girl is having her first crush," Nikki said, smiling at me over her food.

"Maybe," I said, blushing slightly. "But I've had crushes before, and they never felt like this."

She smiled, before continuing. "Well, he is cute, and you definitely picked a winner."

"I didn't pick him," I replied with a frown. "I just hope that if he learns the truth about me, he'll be okay with it."

"Wow," she said, surprise filling her expression. "You really are thinking long term. I wouldn't worry about that for now, Jaz. If this goes somewhere, and he can't handle it, then he isn't worth it."

"Logically that makes sense," I agreed. "But my heart tells me otherwise."

Nikki just rolled her eyes and continued eating.

*  *  *

After lunch Nikki and I had Biology with Mr. Bailey. It wasn't one of my favorite classes, but I was worried about it for two other reasons. First, Mr. Bailey was aware of the arrangement The Agency had with those who had taken the test. He might not have known specifics about what occurred there, but I was concerned that he could figure it out.

The second reason...Mark Williams was in the class with us. It was the only class I shared with him, and I was worried about being able to pay attention to what was being taught.

Naturally, Nikki just laughed at me when I told her of my concerns.

"First," she said after we had retrieved our books from our lockers and were walking to the classroom. "Mr. Bailey may know about you, but I'm guessing that he won't say anything. If he does, he would be outing the whole Project, and I'm sure they must have had him sign a non-disclosure agreement or something.

"Second, you're going to have to learn how to handle Mark Williams on your own. If you really do like him the way you say you do, then you'll have plenty of time to get to know him in the future. Try to put that aside while we are in class, and then talk to him afterwards."

"Easier said than done," was the only thing I could say.

There weren't many students in the class when we arrived. Mr. Bailey stood up from his desk at the front of the class when he saw us enter and approached us.

"Nikki, it's wonderful to see you again. I hope everything went well last week?"

"Yes," she replied to him. "I'm totally glad that we took that test."

He nodded, and turned toward me. "And you must be Jasmine."

It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway. "Yes."

"Well, they sure did a number on you, didn't they," he said with a smile. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is perfect, Mr. Bailey," I said, glancing around the room. The other students were eyeing the way we were talking with Mr. Bailey suspiciously. I didn't really want to provide them with the information that would lead them to make the connection with my former life.

"Good, good," he said, smiling the whole time. "Nikki, you know your seat, Jaz, you can sit in that seat there. That spot is vacant."

He was pointing to a desk, but I didn't need to see which one. I knew already he was talking about my old seat. How was I going to get through two weeks of school without anyone making the connection? I was becoming scared to death the whole school would know before the end of the first day!

I took my seat and pulled out my biology book, briefly skimming over the material that they had covered while we were gone. I knew immediately when Mark entered the classroom. I could actually feel a difference in the air around me when he came in. Briefly I realized that it was a strong emotion coming from him, one that I shared.

I turned toward the door. He had stopped in the doorway, blocking a couple of kids trying to get past him. He was just watching me, and when our eyes met, he smiled.

My insides melted again, and as the bell rang I was desperately wishing that our desks were closer together. Instead, we were nearly on opposite sides of the room because Mr. Bailey made his seating chart alphabetically.

I was so lost in my feelings that I missed the wad of paper Nikki had thrown at me. It hit me on the side of the head, jolting me back to reality. I glared at her, which just made her burst out in laughter that was contagious. I noticed when turning back to Mark, who had taken his seat, that he was laughing with us.

I gave him a shy smile as I turned my attention to Mr. Bailey, who was calling the class to order.

"Jaz," he said after completing the roll call. "Since you weren't here when we did the genetic testing, you'll have to use this genetic sample for class."

He handed me a booklet much like the first one I had received before my life took such a twist. I opened it and started looking through it as he explained what we were going to be talking about for the day. I was fascinated by the information the packet contained. It seemed so familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint why. It took me nearly until the end of class to understand what I was seeing.

He hadn't given me a generic sample; that was just a show for the class. The name on the sample was Jane Doe, but I knew without a doubt that it was really my DNA! My new DNA! It was definitely the DNA of a female, but I started to see the similarities with my pre-Procedure set. I didn't have my original booklet with me, but I could easily recall the gene sets in my mind.

It was fascinating to see where the changes occurred, and to try to understand why this set was different than my previous one. I was so engrossed with these changes that I was surprised when the bell rang, and then slightly disappointed with myself when I realized that I hadn't even thought about Mark throughout nearly the whole class period.

That didn't seem to bother him too much, though. He was standing just inside the door while I picked up my books and Nikki and I walked toward him.

"I'll see you after school, Jaz," Nikki said before smiling at me and rushing out of the classroom.

"Hi," I said shyly to Mark. I couldn't believe how different he could make me feel!

"Hi," he responded more confidently. I found myself gazing into those eyes again, and I was starting to get lost when he brought me back to reality. "What's your next class?"

"Um," I said, my brain actually started working for once around him and I looked at my schedule, hoping to keep up the pretense that I was a new student. "History in Room 225."

"Can I walk you to class then? My class is across the hall."

"I would like that," I replied while we stepped out the door and turned in the opposite direction of Nikki. "But I need to stop at my locker and get my book."

"Okay," he responded with another smile.

Most students were hurrying because there were only five minutes between classes. But Mark and I were slowly walking down the hall. At this pace we were both going to be late for class. I didn't really care at that moment.

We didn't really say anything while walking to my locker. I think both of us were confused about these new feelings that we were having, and didn't know how to express them. Just being in each other’s presence seemed to be enough for the time being.

"Wasn't this Brett's locker?" he asked when I stopped and started opening the locker I had been using all year.

"I don't know, maybe," I replied. I really felt bad about lying to him. It sort of felt like a knife was being stabbed into my chest; I didn't want to keep any secrets from him. "They practically gave me his whole schedule, and his books and everything. They probably gave me his locker too."

He just paused at my words, not saying anything. I dreaded that he would jump to the conclusion that I desperately hoped he wouldn't learn - at least not until I was sure he could handle it.

"How are you two related?" He finally spoke, but it was one of the worst questions that he could have asked! I felt dread enter my body, and I tried to keep my emotions bottled up to keep him from feeling them. The last thing I needed now was to project my fear on him!

"It's complicated," was all I could come up with. He didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but we both jumped slightly when the bell rang. It seemed to break us out of whatever dimension we were in together, and we quickly started walking down the hall toward our classes.

"You're an odd mystery, Jaz," he told me outside of my classroom. I didn't know how to respond to that, and before I got a chance he turned and walked across the hall, opening the door on the other side. With a backwards glance and smile, he walked into his class.

I opened the door to my history class, and Mrs. Wagner was already taking roll.

"Welcome to class. Are you Jasmine Campbell?" I nodded at her and she checked something off on her roll. "There's no seating chart here, find an empty seat, and try to make it on time to class next time."

"Sorry," I replied, matching the smile she was giving me. "I'm still getting to know where all my classes are."

I heard a snort from one of the girls in the back row, and I heard more than one person whisper Mark's name. I guess our...relationship, or whatever we had developed in such a short amount of time, was already starting to be common knowledge around the school.

The ‘hot new girl hooking up with the most eligible bachelor on the football team during her first day’ is probably good gossip.

I quickly sat in the first empty seat I arrived at and then tried to ignore the giggling that had started on the back row.

*  *  *
Chapter 5 - Light Shopping

Nikki was waiting for me when I got to my car after class.

"Are you excited?" she asked. I saw that familiar gleam in her eye.

"Yeah," I said with a wry smile. "It will be nice to be able to pick out my own clothes for once."

She mock frowned, but couldn't hold it for long before she started laughing. "I'm sorry. I guess I have been a bit overbearing."

"It's okay," I told her. "You've got good style. I just would like to have some input too."

We soon arrived at my house, where Cami was waiting for us.

"Finally," she said when we walked inside. "I thought you two left without me."

"We came straight home from school," I told her. "We would never leave without you."

She smiled at me and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to be left out."

"You won't, Cami," I told her. "I promise. Come on, let's get going. We've got a lot to do."

*  *  *

I became nervous when we entered the local mall, even though I'd been here many times before. I had this overwhelming feeling that somebody was going to recognize me. I couldn't explain it. I hadn't been this nervous when I went to school earlier today.

Perhaps it was because I was going to be taking off my clothes here.

Sure, I would be in a private changing room, but something about undressing where strangers could possibly see me left me feeling odd. Even at school, I at least knew most of the girls in the dressing room during PE. It just felt natural there.

But the dread wouldn't go away as we stepped through the doors and into 'Girl Alley'.

'Girl Alley' was the nickname that many of the kids my age gave to a stretch of the mall that only contained shops that catered to young women or women in general. Victoria's Secret, Sephora, Shade, Bath and Body Works, and similar stores would sometimes see a male client, but were dominated by the fairer sex.

I had never spent any time in this section of the mall before. Now, it was our major destination for the first half of the trip.

I was immediately pulled into Victoria's Secret. I had confessed my desire to shop there to Nikki last week when we were picking up my limited wardrobe. Now, she wanted to make that desire come true.

Inside the store, I immediately felt overwhelmed and in awe. I'd never been in Victoria's Secret before. I'd always yearned to enter, but always felt out of place.

I stopped just inside the door. I couldn't believe that I was here! I couldn't believe that my life had taken such a drastic turn! I couldn't believe how happy I was! What a great day it had been - first I met Mark, and now I was living a dream. What more could I ask for?

The next four hours were amazing. We started with the intimates in Victoria's Secret, before moving on to a few other stores to pick up underwear and layering items. Then we hit department stores, and other shops to round out my wardrobe.

I was nervous when I entered the first few changing rooms. But after the first couple of stores, it became routine and I started to feel better. By the time we were done, I was having no problem stepping into one of the rooms and undressing.

Eventually, we took the last of the bags out to the car before heading to the food court to get something to eat.

"That was fun," I sighed as I sat down with my food.

Both Nikki and Cami laughed.

"That makes it official then," Cami said. "You really are my sister now. No guy would want to shop like that."

I smiled back at her. I was lucky to have a family that seemed to be so accepting of me.

We sat and talked while we ate. Cami and Nikki seemed to be hitting it off, for which I was very glad. Having my sister and my best friend become friends would definitely make my life easier.

"Uh oh," - I "felt" something just before Nikki had spoken the words. Someone was looking at us, and they didn't have very good intentions. "Don't look now, but those guys are staring at us."

Unfortunately, I had to look. Sure enough, there was a group of about five guys sitting at a table not too far away. All of them were leering at the three of us.

"Come on," I said immediately. I could feel the lust that was pouring off of that table. It was not a feeling I wanted to be around. "Let's go."

Nikki and Cami nodded and stood up. We grabbed our purses and started heading for the exit of the mall.

Fortunately, the guys didn't follow.

*  *  *

When we got home, we unloaded the many bags of clothes into my closet. Then I pulled the two of them into the backyard.

"What are we doing out here?" Cami asked. Nikki looked like she was wondering the same thing.

"How dim can you make your powers?" I asked Nikki. She smiled immediately. She then held up her arm and I watched as it started to glow. Under the light of the late evening sky, it wasn't nearly as bright as it had been back at the Complex.

"Wow," Cami said in awe as she saw Nikki's powers for the first time. "What else can you do?"

Nikki turned, looking around the yard. She found what she was looking for and pointed her arm, palm out, toward a large rock at the far end of the yard. Without warning, she shot a blast of light that flashed through the air and hit the rock. A small pit formed. From the dimness of the blast and the fact that I wasn't blinded, I guessed that it was a low-powered shot.

"Cool!" Cami exclaimed. Nikki then proceeded to release all the frustrations she had at not being able to use her powers in public. She fired at a number of other objects around the backyard.

None of the shots were powerful enough to cause damage, but the relief and happiness on her face was certainly worth a small knick in a rock or tree stump.

Eventually, I started moving rocks around in the air and let her try to hit them. I started by leaving them in a single place, and then let her graduate to slow moving targets before finally trying to make the rocks avoid her blasts entirely.

She was starting to hit the targets almost every time when Ben came outside.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously. I was nearly sure that he'd seen us practicing before he came out.

Unfortunately, he shocked Nikki. She was just about to shoot another rock, but instead she yelped, and her entire arm turned black. That's when she screamed.

"Jaz! Make it stop!" she yelled, staring in horror at her totally black arm. It was almost as if the whole arm was absorbing the light around it.

She was hysterical, and I immediately started sending calm emotions her way. As she started to calm down, her arm began to revert to normal. With tears in her eyes, she turned to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Thank you," she sobbed into my shoulder. I hadn't really done anything other than help her calm down.

"What happened?" I asked. She lifted her head from my shoulder and let go of the hug. She still looked scared, but she looked calm enough to discuss it.

"I was about to shoot, and then HE came out," she started before glaring at Ben. Suddenly she stopped talking, and I realized that Nikki didn't want to talk about this around him.

"It's alright," I told her. "Nikki, this is Ben, my brother. Ben, this is Nikki. He's signed a non-disclosure document. We can talk about our powers with him around."

Nikki nodded before continuing her explanation. "I was about to shoot. I could feel the energy starting to leave me. When he spoke, I tried to pull the shot back. I didn't want him to see my powers. I felt the energy come back, and then more energy started coming too!"

She looked frustrated for a moment as she tried to find the right words. Finally, she spoke again. "It was like I was pulling the energy in instead of shooting it out."

"Do you want to try again?" I knew that this was a new manifestation of her powers. It was definitely something we should try and explore. I was certain Jill and Rob would tell us not to experiment alone, but this was too exciting to not continue.

"I...I guess," she said, but she looked very nervous and unsure of herself.

"Remember what they taught us in training - start small," I told her with a smile. She returned my grin with a small smile.

"Ok," she said before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She then held out her arm, and we watched entranced as the area in the middle of her palm started to turn black. She opened her eyes and looked in amazement at the small, black area. It was almost like looking at nothing. It was such a pitch black that there didn't appear to be any definition to it at all.

After a moment she got a look of concentration on her face, and I watched as the small black area expanded, slowly inching its way across her skin and around to the back of her hand and fingers. Soon, it encompassed and surrounded her whole hand. She wiggled her fingers, and the blackness moved along with her.

"It tingles," she said. She then looked back at the rock she had originally shot. I immediately got a bad feeling. I could feel the energy on the tips of her fingers, and I knew what she was planning to do.

"Wait!" I screamed, but it was too late. She was already shooting at the rock! Without even realizing what I was doing, I shut my eyes as hard as I could and reached out for Cami and Ben, turning them away from Nikki with my powers.

Even with my eyes closed, I could see a bright orange haze filtering through my eyelids. Then I heard the explosion. It wasn't a huge fireball, but rock shards went flying everywhere. Fortunately, none of us were standing in the debris zone. Those shards probably would have done some serious damage if we had been in their path.

"Whoa!" I heard Nikki exclaim, and I lifted one eyelid, peering out to make sure I wasn't going to be blinded by a second shot. She was standing there, mouth agape at the rock. I opened my eyes completely and turned to look myself.

Instead of a rock, there was now a small crater. I was trying to figure out if Dad would be mad or not. He had tried to remove that rock a few years ago, but had given up and left it in place. But he sure wouldn't be too happy about the new crater.

"Everyone okay?" I asked, turning back around to look at the others. Cami and Ben were pulling themselves off the ground. I grimaced. I must have been more forceful in turning them than I thought.

"Yeah," Cami replied. "But that spun me around really hard." I noticed that she had a small scrape on her palm where she had placed her hand down to catch her fall. Ben just nodded, but he was staring at the crater with wide eyes.

"Sorry," I told the two of them. "I was just trying to turn you away from Nikki. Her powers are really bright, and I didn't want you two to be blinded."

I then turned back to Nikki. She was staring at her hand now. Thankfully, it was completely flesh-toned. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yes," she replied softly. "But I think I'm done for the day. I'm not ready to mess with that again."

I nodded. We learned a lesson - this was a good example of why we shouldn't be experimenting alone. But our new powers were amazing, and the desire to understand them was very strong.

"I don't know what happened," she said. "I was only trying to use a small portion of the energy, like I'd been doing the whole time."

"Nikki," I whispered truthfully. "I think you did."

*  *  *

"Sorry about your rock, Mr. Campbell," Nikki apologized again.

"That's okay, Nikki," he replied with a small laugh. "I really, really hated that rock."

I laughed with him. He really did hate that rock. He'd mentioned many times that he'd like to blow the thing up. He was probably jealous that he hadn't been there when it happened.

"I'll be back in a bit," I told my parents, and Nikki and I stepped out of the house.

"Bye, Nikki," Cami said from behind me.

"Bye, Cami," she replied with a look and a quick wave over her shoulder. I pulled the door closed, and the two of us walked to my car and got in.

"That was exciting," I quipped while backing out of my driveway.

Nikki laughed lightly. She was finally starting to come out of the shock she had felt at her new-found ability. Before I'd let her stop for the evening, I made sure that she practiced releasing the energy safely. She'd already shown that she could accomplish such a task when I'd had to calm her down after her whole arm turned black. She just needed to practice in case it happened again.

"Thanks, Jaz," she responded a moment later. "I'm not sure what would have happened if you weren't there to help me calm down. I was so scared that first time."

"You're welcome, Nikki. That's what friends are for."

"I know, but I don't think a normal friend would have been able to help me like you did," she replied. "Your ability to project emotions at a person is a powerful thing. It’s almost as powerful as that black energy."

I thought about that for a moment. That was probably the truth. Playing with another's emotions certainly had proven to have a big impact.

"Do you know what it is?" I asked her. "The black energy?"

"I don't think it's really black energy," she explained. "It felt more like I was absorbing all of the light around my hand and concentrating it. That blast was way more powerful than anything I had felt before."

"Just be careful," I told her, the concern obvious in my voice.

"I will," she promised. "I'm going to call Jill and tell her what happened. Hopefully she can help me figure out what to do next."

"Okay," I replied, happy with her plan. Jill would know what to do.

I pulled into her driveway. It had been a good day, and I was happy that I could call Nikki my friend.

"Are you going to pick me up in the morning?" she asked while opening her door.

I smiled. "Sure, I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Jaz," she said while stepping out of my car.

"Good night, Nikki," I replied.

*  *  *
Chapter 6 - Le Cauchemar Vivant

The following morning was pretty routine, as far as my new life was concerned. I picked up Nikki and we headed to school for my second day.

"What did Jill say?" I asked her while we were in the car.

"I couldn't reach her," Nikki replied. "But Rob wasn't very happy that we experimented with a new power on our own. He said we should have called him over first."

I shrugged my shoulders. I knew that was going to be their response. But I thought we had taken enough precautions to keep ourselves from getting into trouble.

"He said he'd come over to my house tonight and help me learn more about it," she said.

"That's good," I replied. I was slightly disappointed I wouldn't be there to help, but just picturing Mark was enough to overcome that disappointment. I definitely preferred to go on my date!

The rest of the morning went smoothly. I had English and Photography. In both classes I was introduced as a new student, and there seemed to be no recognition from my classmates that I was anything else. My worries about being recognized as Brett seemed to be unfounded.

Lunch was depressing. I had hoped that I would be able to eat lunch with Mark, but he was nowhere to be found. I had been looking for him all morning, but I hadn't seen him. I wished I had more classes with him.

"Get over it," Nikki finally said. "I mean, I know you're in love or you think you are, but you can't be yearning for him all the time."

"I know," I replied truthfully. I knew that I was more obsessed with him than I should be, but I couldn't help my feelings. "But he said he would talk to me to set up our date."

Then I had the most horrible feeling overcome me! "You don't think he's trying to back out, do you?" I asked Nikki in a worried tone. He wouldn't do that - we had made a connection!

"I doubt it," she replied, scowling like she didn't believe for an instant what I had suggested. "I bet he's just busy or something. Give him time."

"Okay," I replied, but it still hurt.

By the end of lunch, I still hadn't found him, and I had to go to my French class. Halfway through the class, Mrs. Swenson was teaching us the nuance of some particular conjugation when I felt something that chilled me to the bone.

The door to the classroom creaked open. I instantly ducked even before I heard the gunshot. I felt the bullet pass over my head before it embedded itself in the concrete wall next to where I was sitting! Everyone was screaming as I looked toward the door to the classroom. Justin was there, and he had a gun. Another shot rang out, but this one hit the ceiling, and I realized I had forced his arm upward without even thinking about it.

My concern turned toward the other students in the classroom. It was apparent that Justin didn't care about them, and I was worried that he might turn the gun on one of them next.

I yanked on the gun, but his grip was strong. My second pull had the gun flying across the room, clattering against the wall opposite the door. Another scream rang out as it landed in front of a girl crouched there next to the wall.

I tried to send out a feeling of calm to everyone in the classroom, to keep them from panicking. The excitement level in the classroom died down slightly, but the spike of anger from the door was increasing.

"You're dead, Jasmine!" he screamed, before striding forward a step. "I gave you a chance to be at my side, but your refusal comes with a price! Death is that price!"

In all of the confrontations I'd had with him since the Procedure finished, I had never felt him as angry as he was then! Thinking quickly, I stopped him from continuing any further into the room. This only made him angrier, and he started pushing against my invisible hold.

He was stronger now, stronger than when I stopped him next to the pool. But he was still not strong enough. I found myself wishing Nikki was here. It was taking too much concentration to keep him from advancing to be able to get out my phone and call Jill. I didn't know what to do to help him. I didn't know what to do to even stop him. His gaze on me was so intense I was certain that he wasn't going to stop until he had his hands on me.

"Justin," I said, hoping to help calm him. Instead it just seemed to increase his anger.

"Don't talk to me!" he spat at me. "You no longer get that privilege!"

Now my anger was starting to rise. He was drawing too much attention to us. I was starting to realize that my life was not currently in danger, but he could tell everyone about the powers that Nikki and I had! Mine were not visible, but people might ask why a muscular teenager was unable to move forward. Nikki's powers, on the other hand, would be very noticeable if she were to show up.

"Justin," I started again. "You need help. Let them take you back; they can help you."

"NO!" He screamed. "They don't understand! There's nothing they can do to help me!"

I didn't know what else to say or do. My skill set as a negotiator was very lacking. We stood there facing one another for the next 5 minutes, with me concentrating on preventing him from getting farther into the classroom, and he trying to find a way past my invisible wall.

That's when we heard the sirens. While I was not able to use my own cell phone, I realized that a number of the students in the classroom were on the phone. Thank goodness!

Suddenly, Justin seemed to realize that the police were coming, and sneered at the sound. "This isn't over, Jasmine. You’d better watch your back!" With that he turned and fled down the hall. I rushed to the door, but he was already exiting the doors at the far end; he was fast.

I could feel him continuing to run long after he was out of sight. Once I felt the immediate danger was removed, I turned back to the classroom.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked. The other students and Mrs. Swenson were starting to get up from where they had been hiding behind their desks or against the wall. They all looked shaken, but nobody seemed to be harmed in any way. Everyone was nodding their head or responding positively.

I placed my back against the wall and slid down to the floor. With Justin gone, I didn't know what to do next. I was surprised to realize that tears were coming to my eyes, and the next thing I knew, I was a sobbing mess. Nikki and Agent Harris found me there. Nikki crouched down next to me and enveloped me in a hug that only caused me to cry harder.

"It's okay, Jaz," she soothed. "He's gone."

*  *  *

If my classmates and teachers hadn't guessed my true identity already, I was beginning to feel it was only a matter of time, despite my thoughts to the contrary earlier that morning. I had already proven that I knew Nikki. I was finishing all of the classes that Brett was taking. Heck, I even had the same last name! Now I had been attacked by the third student who had gone with Brett and Nikki, and they had seen me with Agent Harris. Nobody had come out and asked me yet if I was Brett, or if I had been Brett, but I knew it was going to happen soon.

Nikki helped me up so I could sit in a chair. As I sat there in the classroom waiting for my turn to give the police my statement, all of these thoughts were running through my head. Some of my classmates who were still in the classroom were giving me funny looks. Because they suspected who I was, because Nikki was still doting on me, and because I was the target of the attack they had just participated in, it didn't matter. I couldn't wait for the school year to be over! I felt an urgent need to get out of here.

Agent Harris had taken charge the minute he came in. He was with the police obtaining statements from my classmates. Once they provided their statements they were allowed to leave. The rest of the school had already been released for the day.

As soon as the last student had been released, Agent Harris and the police walked over to where Nikki and I were sitting.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. I noticed then how much he was like Jill. I didn't really know him as well, but I still felt at ease with him.

"Yes," I sighed in reply. I was ready to go home or do anything other than stay here in this classroom.

A shadow fell across the door to the classroom at that moment, and I flinched slightly at the thought that Justin might be back. Instead, when I looked at the door, my heart fluttered.

Mark Williams was standing there, looking shocked at the scene inside the classroom, and at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, staring into my eyes. I just nodded. He came over to me then, lifted me up, and wrapped me in a hug, pulling me hard into his chest. The love and support he was giving me caused me to burst into tears again, and I found myself trying to cradle myself in his arms.

He stood there holding me, supporting me while I cried myself dry for the second time that day. I didn't want him to let go. I had finally found a place where I felt safe, where I felt Justin had no way to get to me. Where there was no way for him to try to hurt me again. I looked up into Mark's eyes, clearing the tears out of my own with my hands.

"Thank you," I told him, and his smile wrapped me in a warmth that made all my worries disappear.

"You're welcome, Jaz," he returned my smile with one that lit up the room. "I'm here for you."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two," Agent Harris broke in. I could have killed him right then. "But I need to talk to Mark privately for a minute. Is that okay?"

Mark looked at me, and I nodded my head. I couldn't believe I had fallen for a boy so quickly after returning home! Nikki stayed with me while Mark and Agent Harris went into the hall.

"I guess he does feel the same way about you," Nikki said, squeezing my hand in reassurance.

We gave our statements to the police officer while waiting for the two of them to return. When they did, Mark had a big smile on his face, and Agent Harris' was nearly as big.

"Jasmine," Mark said, taking my hand from Nikki. "I have to go with Agent Harris for a bit, but if you're still up for it, I'd still like to take you to dinner this evening."

"I'd like that," I said, returning the infectious smile that he was giving me, driving away all of the bad again.

"Great," he said, squeezing my hand gently. "How about I pick you up at six?"

"I'll be ready."

Agent Harris and Mark left, and Nikki and I grabbed our things and started for home.

*  *  *

Nikki wanted to come over to my house and help me get ready for my date. After the events of this afternoon, the thought of going on a date did not sound appealing. If it had been with anyone other than Mark, I probably would have cancelled.

It was nearly five by the time we got home. Mark hadn't left me with much time to get ready, especially since he had told me to dress nicely.

"The little black dress?" I asked Nikki, pulling the dress she had purchased for me at the Complex out of my closet.

"Sure, that will work," she responded.

I laid the dress out on my bed and turned to my dresser. A lacy black bra and panty soon joined it.

"Stockings or hose?"

"Neither," Nikki replied. "I think bare legs will be okay for tonight, unless you need to shave them."

"I don't think I need to," I said, but I was not certain because my jeans were still on. Once I had them off, I knew I was still okay. "Just shaved last night, they still feel smooth."

"Alright, hurry and get dressed then, I need to use the restroom."

While Nikki went across the hall to the bathroom, I finished undressing and replaced my underwear with the lingerie I had set out. There was no way to call the bra and panty anything else.

I quickly slid the dress over my head and once again, Nikki found me staring at myself in the mirror.

"Gosh, Jaz!" she exclaimed frantically when she found me. "Do you ever stop staring at yourself?"

"Not yet," I replied with a small laugh. "It's still feels like a dream."

I saw her roll her eyes while I finished a similar look to the one I had last Saturday during our night on the town. With smoky eyes, light pink lipstick and my blonde hair framing my face, I felt like a supermodel.

"I still envy how quickly you can get ready," Nikki said while frowning at me. "It would take me another half an hour to do my hair and makeup."

I smiled. "I still need to learn how to do both. It's not like I can use my powers in public if I need to change my hair or makeup."

"Good point," she said. "I can teach you some time if you want."

"I'd like that."

I grabbed the matching 3-inch pumps from my closet and slipped them on.

"Plenty of time left," I said, checking the time on my alarm clock. "I've still got fifteen minutes."

"Where's Cami?" Nikki said, changing the subject. "She'll be mad if you don't show her before you leave."

"I don't know. I haven't seen her all day."

I walked out of my room and looked into hers. Empty.

"Jaz?" I heard my mom ask from the kitchen. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," I said when she poked her head into the hallway. "What do you think?"

I gave her a twirl and when I made it back around, her mouth was agape.

"Wow!" she eventually said. "You are beautiful!"

I smiled and gave her a hug. That's the best thing I could have heard from her! She truly was accepting me for who I really am.

"Where's Cami?" I asked.

"I'm not sure; she said she'd be at a friend’s house."

"Oh," I said, disappointed.

"WHAT THE HECK!"

I was jolted by the emotional impact that felt like it was boring a hole in my brain. Adam was standing behind Mom, and he looked furious. Oddly, after what I had gone through earlier, he didn't really scare me.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, glaring at me in a way that I was sure he meant to be intimidating.

"What do you mean?" I calmly asked, trying to project an aura of calm his way. Unfortunately, manipulating his emotions did not seem to be working.

"Why are you dressed like that?" he practically spat. The disgust on his face evidence enough of the feelings he'd kept bottled up since I returned home.

"I have a date tonight," I told him, trying again to project some calm his way. It still didn't seem to be working.

"With who?" he screamed. "A boy?"

This was it. He could take me turning into a girl, maybe. But liking boys? He must have felt that it was the same thing as being gay, even if I was no longer a boy myself. He'd always had a negative reaction to gays and lesbians.

"Yes, Adam," I said calmly. He needed to hear this. "A boy. Get this through your head - I'm not a boy anymore. I might not have ever been a boy."

He glared at me, fury on his face. But he didn't do anything. He stared like he was trying to figure out who I was. Finally, I felt more than saw the change in his eyes.

"Whatever," he said roughly, and turned and walked back down the stairs. I grinned slightly.

*  *  *
Chapter 7 - Love is in the Air

Ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Nikki refused to let me answer the door, but I was still standing close by when she opened it.

"Hi, Mark," Nikki said with a big smile.

"Hi," he replied back. He broke into a big smile when he saw me. He was wearing a black sport coat and pants over a white button up shirt, which was left open at the top without a tie.

"Wow!" was all he could say as he stared at me. My smile was just as big as his. "You look absolutely amazing!"

"Thank you," I said with a slight blush. "You clean up pretty well yourself."

I felt lost staring into those chocolate brown eyes for a moment.

"Shall we go?" he asked while extending his hand toward me.

"Yes," I said while taking it. I saw Nikki roll her eyes in my peripheral vision, but mine stayed locked on Mark while he escorted me out the door to his car.

Mark normally drove a black Toyota Tacoma truck that had an impressive lift on it. But tonight there was a black BMW waiting for us in the driveway. He walked me to the passenger door and opened it for me. I slid in and watched him close the door and walk around to the driver’s side.

"My dad let me borrow his car," he said by way of explanation when he got in. "I thought it would be easier for you to get into than my truck."

I smiled at him while he started the car and began driving down the road. I had heard that it could be difficult to get into high vehicles while wearing a dress, and I was glad that I was not going to add it to my experiences just yet.

We engaged in some small talk while he drove us to an unknown destination. While I hadn't known him well before the Procedure, I had always thought he was a nice guy. He was certainly living up to those expectations now.

After a few minutes of driving we pulled up in front of an Italian restaurant that I had never been to before. He parked and then rushed around to my door to help me out.

He offered me his elbow, and with my arm in his we walked into the restaurant.

"Reservation for Williams," he told the hostess when we walked in.

"This way please," she said and passed us off to a cute young woman to lead us to our table.

We were led to a table in a small alcove off a dimly lit room. The lighting made it feel almost as if the room was lit by candles, and set a very romantic mood. I was worried for a second that Mark was expecting much more of me than I was willing to give, but as I slid onto the bench on my side of the table, he gave me a smile that melted my will and reassured me at the same time that he respected me. He wouldn't force me into anything I wasn't ready for.

"This place is amazing," I told him after we were told that our waiter would be right with us. "I didn't even know this place existed."

"My dad is a part owner," Mark said, but he said it as an explanation rather than trying to boast. "I grew up eating here for birthdays and family gatherings. They try to keep it low-key so that it doesn't get very crowded."

"I like it," I said, smiling at him again.

"I'm glad," he said, returning my smile and taking my hand in his on top of the table. "I wanted tonight to be special."

I blushed at that and lowered my eyes to the table. I had never felt this way about someone before, especially not a boy. But it felt so right, and I never wanted this feeling to end.

"Jasmine," he said softly, prompting me to look into his eyes. "There's something I need to tell you."

I gazed into his loving face, waiting for him to continue. But before he could we were interrupted by a young man who stepped closer to our table. Disappointed, I turned toward him.

"Good evening," he said, oblivious to what he had just interrupted. "My name is Trevor and I will be your waiter this evening."

He smiled at us, but I could feel the boredom that he was truly feeling. He didn't really enjoy his job, and fortunately my pity for him held back the words that were ready to come out because of the bad timing on his part.

"Can I start you with some drinks?"

"I'll have a root beer," Mark said to him. I could feel his irritation at being interrupted, but he didn't let the waiter see it. "Jaz?"

"I'll have a root beer also."

The waiter quickly left us, and Mark turned back to me.

"Jaz," he started again. "I've never felt this way about someone before. When I saw you, when I truly saw you for the first time after the dodge ball game, my heart skipped a beat. There's something magical about you."

"I know what you mean, Mark. When I first saw you standing there outside the locker rooms, well, I've never felt my insides melt like that before. I don't know what this means, but I don't want the feelings to end."

Before either of us could continue, Trevor was back with our drinks, irritating both of us even more. I was ready to strangle him!

"Here you go," he said placing two root beers down between us. "Have you had a chance to look at our menu?"

"No," Mark said, and Trevor left to give us a few more minutes to decide what we wanted to eat.

Instead of continuing our conversation, we opened our menus to decide what we wanted to eat. By the time Trevor had returned, I had decided on a Caesars salad.

"I'll have the chicken alfredo," Mark told Trevor.

"And for the lady?" Trevor asked, turning towards me.

"I'll have a Caesars salad," I replied while handing him my menu.

"We'll also take an order of garlic bread," Mark told the waiter while giving me a smile. "It's spectacular."

I smiled back at him. I had wanted to try the garlic bread, which was one of my favorite foods, but I didn't want to have bad breath. Mark seemed to have read my mind.

"Great, I'll be back with your order shortly," Trevor said and left us alone again.

I found myself staring into Mark's eyes again, and my hand was in his.

"Jaz," he started for the third time this evening. He was radiating affection for me, and I loved bathing myself in the emotions that he was emitting. "I talked with Rob this afternoon, and he told me some things."

I panicked immediately, and I saw Mark wince with the emotions that I must have been projecting on him. What had Agent Harris told him? He wouldn't divulge my original identity, would he? He had no right!

"It's okay," Mark said, taking my hand again. I hadn't realized that I had jerked it out of his. "It's okay."

How could it be okay? Once he found out the truth, he would leave me! I could feel the tears welling up, but before they could come Mark caught my eyes with his.

"It's okay," he repeated, and smiled. That smile nearly broke my heart. I couldn't lose this, whatever this was. I couldn't.

"He told me everything, and it doesn't matter to me. I don't care who you were before. You mean everything to me now."

This time the tears did come. But instead of the tears of despair that were welling up just moments before, these were of relief, of happiness, of...love?

I'd skirted the thought in my head before, but now I had dived into the deep end. I loved Mark Williams. How could this be happening? I'd only been a girl for less than two weeks and I was already in love!

"Wow!" he exclaimed with the most blissful look on his face. "This is an amazing feeling! Rob said you could share your emotions with others, but it's something completely different to FEEL it. You scared me to death with that stab of fear; I thought I had lost you. But now, well, now I know you truly feel the same way about me that I feel about you."

He smiled at me again, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. We stared at each other for a few minutes. We didn't need words to express what we were communicating.

Once again, however, we were interrupted by Trevor. This time I couldn't stop the emotional pain his appearance caused, and he involuntarily took a step back from the table, quickly sidestepping to keep the tray with our orders from falling.

"Whoa," he said. He had a perplexed look on his face while he regained his balance. "Sorry about that."

He was not apologizing for interrupting us, no matter how much I wanted him to. He was clueless about that. He was apologizing about the odd misstep he had taken which almost caused him to drop our orders.

"Chicken alfredo for you," he said placing a large bowl in front of Mark. Then picking up the other bowl he placed it down in front of me. "And a Caesar salad for the lady."

He then placed a basket of garlic bread between us and quickly retreated from the table, his embarrassment over nearly dumping an order hastening his speed. I felt only slightly guilty about that. I didn't realize until now quite how much of an effect the emotions that I project could have on other people. Once again I reminded myself that I needed to be careful.

"What was that?" Mark asked me with a sly grin on his face.

"Oh," I said with a slight blush. "I accidently focused my irritation on him when he interrupted us."

"You truly are amazing," he said, then took a bite from his dinner.

I smiled back and took a bite of my own food. It was definitely worth the price.

"Why would he tell you?" I asked Mark a few moments later, continuing our conversation. "I mean, what right did he have?"

"Jaz," Mark said, slightly guarded. "Don't blame Rob for this. He didn't want to tell me, especially after he learned of our, um, involvement.

"Look," he said, setting down his fork and looking me straight in the eye. "The truth is, most of the students know that something odd is going on with Nikki and you, and now Justin. I mean Nikki and Brett go away for a week after talking to unknown government-looking agents. Then Nikki comes back with a girl who has the same last name as Brett's, and she is taking all of his classes. Who starts a new school with two weeks remaining in the school year?"

I just looked at him. My worst fears about finishing the school year were about others learning who I used to be, and Mark confirmed that everyone had suspicions. This was not good! Tears started to well in my eyes again.

"I think the only reason nobody has said anything about it is because you are so tiny," he continued. "There's no way you could be Brett, because you're way too small. I don't know what the others are thinking after this afternoon."

I really didn't like hearing my old name coming from him. It just seemed wrong, and he seemed to feel the same way, cringing when he had to say it. But he had a point. My return to school wasn't exactly low key.

Before I had a chance to respond, and after he took another bite of food, he continued.

"When Rob asked to talk to me earlier today , I thought he was going to try to keep me from seeing you. With the moves that Nikki and you showed in dodge ball, moves she didn't have before, it was clear that you two were special in some way. Having a government agent show up right after the shooting this afternoon only helped to clarify it for me."

He frowned slightly and took another mouthful of food. I did the same, giving him the time he needed to collect his thoughts. He obviously needed to tell me these things.

"I was ready to tell him that there was no way I was going to stay away from you," he said after swallowing. "But he didn't say anything about you, at least not at first. He said that he had a job offer for me and asked me to come with him to talk about it."

A job offer? What kind of job? My heart started to beat faster as he continued his explanation.

"After saying goodbye to you we headed to an empty classroom, where he handed me a binder."

I couldn't help it - I gasped!

"A binder?" I asked him, not believing what I was hearing.

"Yes," he said with another large smile. "Apparently Agent Harris was already at the school waiting for me to get out of class. He didn't even know we were involved in any way until I showed up outside the classroom after, well, you know."

I nodded, not wanting to dwell on the events of this afternoon.

"He told me about the Procedure, about the job I would have afterward, and asked me if I was willing to join. I hesitated at first, but he used ‘dirty tricks’ to convince me."

"You joined?" I asked with glee readily apparent in my voice.

"How could I not, when he told me that we could be together more often if we worked together?"

I was staring at him in shock now. "Working together?"

"That's what he said. I will admit that the idea of being some kind of secret agent was exciting, and the limited details they give you about the Procedure before you sign were intriguing. But the thought of being able to spend more time with you was the clincher.

"After I had signed my contract, he told me about Justin. He told me that there were risks involved in the Procedure, and that Justin had been affected by the Procedure, altering his brain chemistry. They needed a replacement for him to fill out the new team that Nikki and you were on."

I was beaming at him now! I hadn't even considered what would happen when I had to go back to the Complex after graduation, how I would have to leave him behind. The realization that I wouldn't have to leave him was overwhelming!

"But why you?" I asked, wondering if there was a reason.

"Coincidence mostly," he said. "My recruitment had nothing to do with you if that's what you were wondering. Rob said that I had the next highest rating after Nikki, Justin, and you. I was the next logical choice."

"Wow!" I stammered. Having Mark on the team instead of Justin would be a big upgrade! I pondered it for a few seconds and then said, "That still doesn't explain why Agent Harris told you about me."

"Like I said earlier," Mark explained with a slight grimace. "He didn't want to. He did tell me who was on the team, but he didn't go into details. I asked about you."

"Why?"

"Well, I had feelings for you, and the answer to the mystery of who you are was staring me straight in the face. I asked if you had been Brett. Agent Harris flinched immediately. By that time he knew we were involved, and I think he was afraid that the information of who you used to be would drive a wedge between us, causing us to not mesh together as a team. He reluctantly admitted the truth, sure that I would be trying to break my contract."

"But you didn't, right?" I asked him. I was truly afraid to lose what I didn't even know I had hours earlier.

"Of course not. I told you that I don't care. I have never truly believed in love at first sight, but you already mean so much to me, and I just met you yesterday. Rob was relieved when he finally understood that your previous identity didn't matter to me."

He was smiling at me again, and I was melting once more. I couldn't believe how great my life had become in such a short amount of time! I wanted to hug him right then and there!

"What happens now?" I asked him.

"Now, we finish our date." I chuckled at his obvious answer. "I'll be flying back with you and Nikki after graduation and will go through the Procedure then. He wanted me to go this week so we could start training immediately, but there isn't enough time before finals."

"Finals," I grumbled at the reminder. I still hated tests.

"Yeah, ‘finals’ was the excuse I gave him, but there was a bigger reason."

I wasn't sure what he was talking about, and my quizzical expression made him laugh lightly.

"Jaz," he said while taking both of my hands in his and staring straight into my eyes. "You know what this Saturday is, right?"

Saturday. Saturday. I drew a blank. I couldn't think of anything that was happening on Saturday.

"The Gala?" he suggested, trying to jog my memory.

Understanding lit my face. The biggest dance of the year for most high schools is the prom. And while the prom was still big at my school, it didn't hold a candle to the End of Year Gala. I hadn't planned on attending before the Procedure, and I hadn't even thought about it since returning from the Complex. A big smile spread across my entire face.

"Will you go with me?" Mark asked when he realized I understood.

"Of course," I told him, already thinking about what I would have to do to get ready. I truly was a girl, I thought while quickly considering where I would get a dress, what to do with my hair, etc.

"Jaz," Mark said a few moments later, pulling me out of the zone I had fallen into in my head. "I'm really glad you came into my life."

*  *  *

I was so glad that I wasn't wearing any makeup. Standing in front of the mirror in the restroom, I realized just how bad my face would look if the color on my face wasn't a part of my powers. I'd done enough crying over dinner to wash most of it away if it had been applied, but other than a slight puffiness under my eyes, there was no indication that I had been crying.

Dinner had been amazing, I thought while exiting the restroom. Mark was there and offered me his arm, which I readily latched onto.

Walking arm in arm out of the restaurant, I thought back to how much of an emotional roller coaster this day had been. The events of this afternoon, and the despair I had felt then, had turned into love and understanding. A friendship had been born, and I felt certain that this friendship was going to last a long time. I did not know why I was attracted to Mark the way I was. I did not know why we hit it off so well together. I did know, now, that I was in love with him.

The thought still felt slightly funny to me. The events over the past week and a half had definitely proved to me that I truly was a young woman, and emotionally I felt that way. Intellectually, being in love with a young man still had a negative stigma to it. I'd spent 18 years of my life as a male, and these feelings were taught to be wrong to me. Thankfully, that part of my life, and the thoughts that came with it, were retreating rapidly.

I never wanted to lose the feelings I had for Mark.

Mark led me back to his car and opened my door for me. After I was in he closed my door and walked around to his side and got in. With another one of those heart-melting smiles, he started the car and we were heading out of the parking lot.

It was already eight o'clock. We'd been talking for quite a while before we felt it was time to leave. Because June was quickly approaching, the sun was still quite high in the sky and I knew that we had at least another hour before the sun would set.

I didn't know where Mark was taking me, other than it obviously was not my house. But I didn't care. At that moment I would have followed him anywhere.

He started driving up the canyon, and eventually turned onto a private road that led to a small cabin which had a brilliant view over the town and the lake on the other side.

"Where are we?" I asked when the car had come to a stop in the cabin's driveway. A better look at it showed me that it wasn't a cabin, but a house with log siding, giving it a cabinesque feel.

"This is my house," he told me with a large grin before opening his door and getting out of the car. I was left stunned for a minute wondering what it would be like to live up here. It only took us ten minutes to get here from the city, but it still felt like a mountain retreat.

"You live here?" leapt from my mouth when he opened my door and offered his hand to help me out.

"No," he said while leading me closer to the overlook. "At least, not yet. I still live in my parents’ house because it's closer to school. But my dad has been teaching me about the real estate business, and this is the first piece of property I was able to purchase with the money I have made with his help."

"Wow!" I stammered. I hadn't realized he was already working in real estate.

"Yeah, it's pretty impressive. I hope to move into it someday with my wife at my side." He gave me a look that made me blush. We'd just expressed our love for each other for the first time, but he was already hinting at marriage!

I wasn't sure where this relationship was going yet. For all intents and purposes, we just met yesterday. But the thought that it might come to that conclusion sometime in the future was surprisingly reassuring. Granted, it would be a long time in the future. I still needed to learn more about myself before I dove that far into a relationship.

"Sorry," he said while watching the feelings displayed on my face. I hoped I wasn't conveying my emotions to him. "That's too much too soon."

"It's okay," I told him. "The idea isn't unappealing. But I just need to learn more about myself and who I am now before I can commit to a relationship like that."

"I understand," he said while wrapping me in a hug. "I'm not going to rush you. I love you, Jasmine Campbell, and I don't want to jeopardize that."

I squeezed him back while luxuriating in his warmth and the smell of the cologne he was wearing. How lucky could I be?

"I thought we could watch the sunset together, and then I would take you home," he said after we had released the hug. I nodded at him to show I liked the idea. "But first, you have to show me these powers that Rob spoke of."

I couldn't help it, and he laughed at the large smile that spread across my face.

"Oh really," I said coyly to him, pressing my index finger into his chest. "I'm tonight's entertainment then?"

He let out an even louder laugh at that point. We seemed to be on the same wavelength, and it was quite obvious to him how playful this attitude was.

"So," I said to him while taking a small step backwards. "What's your preference? Brunette? Black? Hot pink?"

He gasped at me when my hair, which had been framing my face and lying across my shoulders and down my back loosely this evening, started to change colors to match my descriptions.

"Perhaps you prefer my hair up?" I asked him, and saw him watching in wonder as my hair lifted itself up onto my head in an elegant style while returning to its original blonde.

"That is amazing!" he exclaimed, staring at me with awe. "How do you do that?"

"This little thing?" I asked with a wave of dismissal while returning to my original hairstyle of the evening. "It's nothing, only a minor power."

"A minor power?" he asked, obviously not believing it was very minor.

"Yeah," I said before giving him a sly grin. "This is what you would call a major power."

I started floating up in front of him, spinning slowly in a circle. Now he was in total shock at what I was doing.

"You can fly?" he asked in a voice that showed he totally couldn't believe what was happening.

"Fly?" That was an interesting thought. Could I fly?

Landing back in front of him and giving it some thought I said "No, I can't fly, but I can definitely float. Exerting this power costs me some amount of energy. I can feel it kind of get used up. I might be able to soar for a short amount of time, but I don't think I could sustain holding myself in the air for very long. It seems to recharge pretty quickly when I don't use it, but not that quickly."

"Wow!" was all Mark could say. He looked like a young kid in a candy store. "That's still amazing!"

"Yeah," I agreed with him. "I'm telekinetic. I can move things around with my mind, like pushing myself off the ground, or other things." I had a sly smile on my face.

He let out an uncharacteristic gasp of fright when he realized his legs were no longer on the ground. I nearly dropped him back quickly because I didn't want to frighten him, but his startled expression turned into one of wonder as I slowly moved him around the small grassy area.

"And I thought you couldn't get any more amazing." He grinned at me, and my heart melted again.

"Is this how you won dodge ball?" he asked suddenly, eliciting a short laugh from me.

"No," I said still chuckling. "I never did anything to change the trajectory of the balls. But I do have some kind of precognition ability. I knew you were going to be throwing two balls at me at about the same moment you did."

"Like a spidey-sense" he said, not quite a question.

"That's a close description," I replied.

"What else can you do?" He asked with genuine excitement. I think that if he was reluctant about joining the team earlier, he probably didn't have quite the same feelings now.

"I can interface with computers somehow. Holding my hand close to a wire or other electronic device seems to let me manipulate it, but I haven't really had much of a chance to explore that one yet. That's pretty much it."

"Still," he said while wrapping his arms around my waist and gazing down into my eyes. "You're an amazing woman, and I'll be honored to be by your side."

We played around with my powers for nearly 45 minutes before I started feeling drained, after which he led me over to a bench near the edge of the overlook. Sitting down, I laid my head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around mine. We watched the sun set across the valley, not speaking but just enjoying each other’s company.

"Nearly as beautiful as you?" Mark said when the sun had sunk behind the mountains on the far side and the shadows started to bathe us in darkness.

I smiled and looked up into his eyes. Without realizing it, our mouths met and for the first time in my life, I was kissing a boy! It was wonderful, it was more than I could have imagined, and it was short.

It wasn't a peck on the lips by any means, but Mark pulled back a bit sooner than I would have liked, leaving both of us wanting more. I was about to object, but then I realized that he didn't want to rush our relationship too quickly.

Mark was a perfect gentleman. After our shared kiss he drove me home and walked me to the door. Despite my desire to repeat what had happened earlier, he only gave my hand a kiss before he allowed me to enter my house.

Mom and Cami made me relate everything that had happened before they would let me go to bed, and I left them while they were still talking about what had happened. I was in such a blissful state that I was quickly asleep, even though it was hours earlier than I normally went to bed.

*  *  *
Chapter 8 - Where Art Thou, Justin

The next morning was completely different.

It started out okay. I had awakened feeling more refreshed than I had in a long time. I picked out a sundress to wear to school today. It was a nice shade of yellow that seemed to offset the color of my hair. Despite my love for pink, it felt oddly liberating to be wearing something that did not contain one iota of that color.

Everybody had left for the day already, and I was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal when there was a knock on my front door.

When I looked through the peephole I saw Jill and Nikki on my front steps. After I had opened the front door, it was obvious that Nikki desperately wanted to talk about my date, but she waited for Jill to speak first.

"Good morning, Jaz," Jill said and gave me a reassuring smile. But her emotions hinted at something that I felt I didn't want to hear.

"What is it?" I asked her warily. Her smile dropped slightly.

"First, I want to apologize for not being there yesterday," she said with regret. "It was the first day off I've had since the week before you two started the Procedure. I was at home with my family and nobody informed me of what had happened until I returned last night."

"It's okay," I said, trying to keep her from feeling so regretful. "There were many people around to help me get through what Justin did, especially Mark."

Her smile returned at my mention of Mark's name. "I'm glad you're accepting your womanhood so easily. It'll be good to help you adjust."

It was my turn to smile now.

"Unfortunately," Jill continued, removing the smile from my face. "We will need to wait until later to discuss it. Right now A2 is being assigned a mission, and I need you to come with us."

I nodded at her. "I need five minutes to clean up my breakfast."

"Alright," she allowed. "I'll be in the car." She gestured at the black SUV in my driveway.

I stepped back inside the house and held the door open for Nikki, whom I knew wasn't going to drop the subject of last night's date so easily.

"So?" she asked while we walked back toward the kitchen.

"It was amazing!" I said, eliciting a small squeal from her. I quickly cleaned up from my breakfast and placed my dishes in the dishwasher while relating the evening once again. It seemed just as magical now as it was last night when I described it for my mom and Cami.

"He's joining the team?" Nikki asked in an incredulous tone as we stepped out the front door and headed for the SUV.

"That's what he said."

"You are so lucky, you know that! I'm going to be the only girl there without a boyfriend," she pouted.

"Don't forget Cary," I said, eliciting a small laugh from her.

We settled into the back seat of the SUV. Rob was driving and Jill was sitting in the passenger seat. We pulled out of my driveway and headed down the street. Jill and Rob were discussing something up front which left Nikki and I to continue our discussion.

We pulled up to another house about five minutes later and Rob got out and walked to the front door.

"Nikki, you stay in the middle," Jill said while turning to face us. "We need to teach these two how to be separated."

She chuckled, but when I saw Mark coming out with Rob, I was ready to push Nikki out of the way. She wouldn't let me though, and I watched helplessly as Mark got into the opposite door, leaving Nikki between us.

"Hi," he said. He obviously wasn't expecting to see me so early in the morning, and his face showed surprise.

"Hi," I returned. I was already melting because he was giving me that smile again.

"Please, get a room," Nikki said, laughing. Mark and I joined in and I even saw Jill give a chuckle.

There was a lot that I wanted to say to Mark, but it felt awkward with the others in the car, and we mostly sat in silence while Rob drove us to a small office complex. We pulled up in front of a building that looked abandoned and we parked next to three identical SUVs.

"Welcome to the command center," Jill said to us while we exited the car. "This is where we've been working while you three finish school. Now it will also serve as the central hub for the operation."

Inside, the building was much more modern, and far cleaner, than I expected it to be. We followed our two handlers inside and down a short hall to a conference room. I was surprised to see A1, the other team based at the Alpha Complex, and eight other people waiting for us in the conference room. Four of the people looked like another team, and the last four looked like they could be the other two sets of handlers. Jill, Nikki, Mark and I took seats next to Jay, our team leader who had already graduated and was living at the Alpha complex. He nodded at us while we took our seats, and I made sure I was sitting next to Mark this time. Rob stood at the front of the table.

"Welcome, everyone," he said with a smile. "I'm glad all of you could be here this morning. We don't want to waste time, so I will get right to the business of the day.”

He pressed a button on a remote that he was holding, and a screen behind him lit up. A picture of Justin was displayed.

"This is Justin Holmes," he explained. "Last week he went through the Procedure, which altered his brain chemistry. Dr. Young believes that the alterations can be handled with medication, but it has become apparent that Justin has not been taking this medication during the week."

I grimaced. We had been told that they had him on medication. I wondered how effective it would have been. Would he still be on the team if he had been taking it?

That led to another thought that made me feel guilty. I was happy he was no longer on the team, and I felt his replacement (who was sitting right next to me) was a much better team member. I squeezed his arm and he smiled back down at me.

"Consequently," Rob continued. "He is not thinking straight, and he has gone rogue."

"Are you serious?" a young Asian man said from the far end of the table. His black hair reached to the bottom of his neck and was streaked with strips of red. "Why?"

"We don't know for sure, Jonathon," Rob replied, providing a name to the new face. "What we do know is that he is in the city. Our goal is to find him, capture him by any means necessary, and return him to the Alpha Complex where Doctor Young's team can work with him to help him cope with the changes he has gone through."

"Capture only?" asked one of the handlers whom I didn't know. She looked like the thought of harming one of our own was very repulsive.

"Yes, capture only. Deadly force is not authorized on this mission. Justin is one of us. We want to keep him unharmed if at all possible. But we MUST capture him." Rob grimaced at that thought before continuing. "A2 is only available to help today, which makes today our best chance at finding him."

The young Asian spoke up again. "I still don't think A2 should be helping on this mission. They have not received any training. We have no idea how they will react."

Rob glared at him and then raised his hand in our direction. "Jay has undergone full training, and the other members of A2 will follow his lead. With the exception of Mark who is here only as an observer today, they have all gone through the skills labs, and they all have passed the psych exams with flying colors. They will perform their jobs."

"I still don't like it," Jonathon said while ignoring us completely.

"I understand," Rob said with a slight frown. "But they are here because they spent a week with Justin, and they know better than any of us how he thinks."

How he thinks? I definitely thought Rob got that one wrong. I didn't think anyone knew how Justin thought.

"More to the point," Rob said while gesturing at me this time. "A2 is here because we want Jaz to be here."

The handler sitting next to Jonathon snorted derisively at that statement. He was older than the rest of us if the streaks of gray in his black hair were any indication.

"Of course," he said. "We want to throw a mission at the prodigy as quickly as possible. She'll make it easy."

I was shocked at and resented his statement! Everyone I had met who was involved with Project Genesis had been very kind and courteous to me. I did not know what I had done to earn his disapproval. Mark also stiffened next to me and I had to give his arm another squeeze to prevent him from doing anything he would regret.

Jill stood up immediately to address him. "Jaz's involvement in this operation has nothing to do with her being a prodigy."

"Sure it does," the man countered. "You and Harris caught the lucky draw and now you want to show it off."

His use of 'it' to describe me was very degrading, and I felt myself become agitated.

Rob quickly spoke, trying to pull the meeting back into some form of order. "Like Agent Johnson said, Jasmine's skills in this operation are not the primary reason she is being included. Justin is fixated on her. Many times over the course of last week he showed romantic interest in her. On more than one occasion he had to be physically removed from her presence because of his actions toward her. He even tried to pull her out of the plane with him when he went rogue. Yesterday afternoon, he tried to kill her while she was attending school. Her presence alone in that classroom combined with her abilities prevented Justin from harming any other student or the teacher until reinforcements arrived.

"Jasmine's presence here is to help us reel him in. We believe he is here in the city for the sole purpose of killing or harming Jasmine in some way, like he attempted to do yesterday. Her presence will give us our best chance at finding him."

The handler seemed mollified at Rob's explanation and sat back in his seat. But I was agitated at the prospect of being the bait in this operation.

"Are there any other questions?" Rob asked. When no one ventured anything more he spoke again. "Good. Everyone will find their gear down the hall in the two changing rooms. Once everyone is geared we will meet back in here for the tactical briefing."

The handlers remained seated, and everyone else except Mark stood up and headed down the hall. I gave him a smile before exiting the room behind Nikki. He gave me a smile of encouragement and turned back toward Rob for his instructions for the operation.

Down the hall there were two rooms. The guys broke off and entered one of the rooms and I followed Nikki and the girls into the other. It turned out to be a makeshift locker room. There were a number of chairs scattered around the wall of the room, each with a large black container with one of our names printed on top. There was even a small shower stall and a toilet through a curtained partition on one wall of the room.

"How are you doing?" Theresa, a tall redhead who went by the codename of Fire, asked me when I found the container with my name on it between Nikki and her. Theresa was the team leader for A1.

"Fine," I replied with a smile that I didn't completely feel. "Searching for Justin is definitely the last thing I wanted to do today."

Theresa gave me a grim smile. It was obvious that she agreed with me. "It'll be okay, Jaz. Once we find him and get him back to the Complex the doctors will help stabilize him. He won't be trying to kill you anymore."

I returned her grim smile. I didn't think it would be that easy. I was happy that I had found Mark. I felt safe with him; even though I knew he would be defenseless against Justin until he completed the Procedure.

"The new guy is cute though," Theresa said, trying to change the subject and improve the mood of the room.

Without meaning to, the pang of jealousy that I felt slipped out into the room.

"Oh," Theresa exclaimed with understanding. "Sorry, Jaz, I didn't know he was taken. Besides, I still have Jay."

"What was that?" asked a brunette who was sitting on the other side of the room. Other than me, she was the shortest girl in the room. Like the rest of us, she was also gorgeous.

"Sorry," I told her apologetically. "I can project my feelings onto others and I'm still trying to learn to control it."

"Oh," she responded. "I remember how hard it can be the first couple of weeks. Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it."

She walked over to me and stuck out her hand. "My name is Stephanie, I'm on B2."

"Jasmine," I responded with a smile. Pointing at Nikki I continued the introductions. "This is Nikki."

Nikki stopped removing items from her container long enough to give her a small wave.

"It's nice to meet you, Jasmine. I've heard a lot about you, and it will be an honor to see you in action." She pointed at the other member of her team in the room. "That's Heather."

Heather looked up at her unexpected introduction, but instead of waving she gave me a malicious scowl that surprised me.

"You'll have to forgive her and the rest of my team," Stephanie explained. "Michael, our handler, is not exactly a fan of Agent Harris. My team members can't seem to get past his discrimination of you to see that you’re just another agent."

"I must admit, I don't like being considered a prodigy," I said truthfully. "I want to earn my praises, not get them because of some rating on a piece of paper."

Stephanie smiled at that and then turned back to Heather. "See, she's not a stuck-up bitch."

"Whatever," Heather replied, and continued to get ready.

"You two better get ready," Theresa interjected. She was the only team leader in the room, and I knew it would be a good idea to follow her advice. Stephanie nodded at her and returned to her container.

I looked at my own container. It was smooth all around, and there was no visible means of opening it. On the top was a picture of a hand, and experimentally pressing my hand to the picture caused the lid to pop open.

Inside was everything that I had picked out when we were doing the capture the flag exercise last week. I pulled out the white and pink Chameleon Tactical suit and set it on the chair. I then removed my dress and hung it on the hangar that was provided next to the chair. Not being prepared for this unexpected change in plans, I was grateful to find a sports bra in the container, so I replaced the lacy yellow one I was wearing before I stepped into the Tac suit. The accompanying boots soon followed.

Next I pulled out two smaller cases and a belt harness. I strapped the currently white harness around my waist and then turned my attention to the two smaller cases. They required my thumbprint to open, but inside each case were a small pistol and three ammo clips coated in the same material that gave my Chameleon suit its signature ability to change color.

Pulling the first gun out of its case I gave it an admiring glance before pulling out a clip and locking it into place. Once it was in my belt harness I took the two extra clips and slipped them into their designated area on the harness. I then repeated the steps with the second gun.

I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and turned to pull out the last piece of equipment from my container. The small eyeglass case opened to reveal the same thin pair of shades I had used last week, white with pink lenses. Slipping them over my eyes caused the now familiar HUD to become visible. I oddly felt happy about being back in what would become my regular combat uniform.

Then I placed the small cases back into the large container and closed it. Turning back to the others I noticed that they were all still strapping tools and weapons to their Tac suits. I hadn't realized how minimalistic I was with nothing more than my suit and two weapons.

Heather was the first to finish, and oddly enough she started laughing when she saw me for the first time. The others paused to see what she was laughing at.

"A Chameleon suit?" she asked and gave another small laugh.

"Yeah," I said in an irritated tone. "You have a problem with it?"

She laughed again at my response and then shook her head. "No, no, don't get me wrong. I'm sure you want to look pretty while you're out there, but that thing won't help you once the enemy sees you."

"And what makes you think that they will see me?" I asked her with a smug expression. She obviously didn't know what my powers were, just like I didn't know hers.

"How could they not with such a crazy color scheme. White and pink? Why don't you just shout at them?"

It clearly was an unorthodox color combination for combat armor, but it was just the default setting. It could be any color I wanted. I knew that the standard Tac suits that everyone else was wearing came in three different colors: black, green camouflage and a gray urban camouflage. Each of them was wearing black suits for this operation.

I just smiled at Heather before saying, "Well, this is only a default scheme. I'm very versatile."

I then switched the suit through a number of color combinations including some different camouflages before turning the suit entirely black.

"Is this better?" I asked her while changing my hair color to a deep black for emphasis. I saw her inhale sharply at that move through my black shades, and felt her surprise.

"Jaz is a stealth expert," Theresa stated.

"And she's really good at what she does," Nikki added.

"Whatever," Heather stated again before marching out of the room.

Stephanie laughed at her antics once she was out the door. "Wow Jaz, I haven't seen her that pissed off in a long time! You really showed her. Impressive power by the way."

"Thanks," I said with a smile while letting my hair change back to blonde. I decided to leave the suit black to match the others, and pulled my shades off my eyes and rested them on the top of my head.

The other girls finished getting ready and together we walked back to the conference room.

The guys were already in their seats when we entered, and I marveled at how it could take us longer than them to put on the same uniform. Was it just human nature that girls took so long to get ready?

I noticed that Jonathon, the other boy from B2, and Michael their handler smirked slightly when they saw me. Whether they had the same reaction as Heather about my Chameleon suit or if she had told them about it, I didn't know. I was the only one in the room wearing one.

I took my seat next to Mark and he leaned over to me.

"You look hot," he whispered into my ear, causing me to turn a shade of red that I didn't really want the members of B2 to see. But the compliment from him was worth the embarrassment.

"Wow, Rob," Michael started when we had taken our seats. "You certainly believe in her abilities, don't you? I can't believe you would force her into a stealth suit."

I glared at him. This was not the way I wanted to spend my first operation, having half the people battle over how superior or inferior I was. I wanted to reach out and slap him!

"No, Michael," Rob said from the seat he had taken at the head of the table. "She picked the suit herself and she proved that she could use it effectively. You keep talking about how much confidence I have in her. Well, I'll tell you why I do. She managed to get the flag in the Urban scenario during her powers lab on the first try.

"And," he continued, "She managed to do it without us capturing any of her movements on video except for a short two second window when she was in the flag room. So yes, I do have extreme confidence in her stealth abilities."

Michael's face had turned red, but not with embarrassment as mine had. I didn't know what kind of bad blood was going on between these two, but I didn't want to be in the middle of it. I sat quietly in my chair, watching the argument unfold with everyone else.

"Look," Rob said, once again trying to calm the mood that was developing in the room before Michael could say anything else. "You and I have a bad history, but my team does not need to pay for what happened between us. They are a good team and deserve respect, just as your team does. We were assigned to work together on this operation, and I sincerely hope we can put our differences aside at least long enough to accomplish our goal."

Michael was just as angry as his face implied, but he seemed to grudgingly accept that their argument was not helping us on the operation and he gave Rob a curt nod to indicate his willingness to continue.

"Okay then, shall we get started with the briefing?" Everyone was nodding their heads in readiness, and Rob turned back to the screen on the wall behind him.

"Like I said before, Justin has gone rogue and it is our mission to return him to Alpha Complex for medical treatment."

The screen changed from a picture of Justin to a satellite picture of the city. Two red squares outlined two different sections of the city map, a small one and a much larger one.

"We were able to track him to this warehouse district after his attack on the school yesterday," Rob said and the map zoomed in on the larger square. "We believe that he is living or staying in this area and A1 and B2 will start their search here."

The map then zoomed out before zooming in on the smaller red square, which turned out to be a single house. "A2 will start at this location. This is Justin's parents’ house where he was staying before he underwent the Procedure. I talked to his parents on Monday and they said he had not returned home. We do have a search warrant to allow us access to the house to make sure that is still the case. We don't expect him to be at his parents’ house and A2 will join the other teams at the warehouse after their search.

"Everyone's ammunition has been loaded with taser rounds for this operation. Use them if you can. Use whatever powers you deem necessary if they don't work. Remember that we are trying to keep a low profile here, so try not to let civilians see you using your powers and try to prevent collateral damage."

"What are his powers?" Michael asked.

"Powers," Rob repeated and the screen changed from the map to a file on Justin's information. "Justin can change the density of his body. He can make himself or parts of himself very dense, absorbing bullet impacts or providing a lot of force to a punch or kick. He can also lighten his body, allowing him to jump quite high. He also apparently has the ability to make his body intangible because he managed to leave the plane we were returning in by sinking through the floor and then floating lightly to the ground. Anything else he exhibits was not documented before he left the Complex."

"He's stronger now," I said.

"Stronger?" Rob asked, looking for more clarification.

"Yes," I replied. "It was much harder to hold him in place yesterday than it was when he confronted us at the pool last week. It was quite easy to hold him back from reaching Nikki at the pool. Yesterday it required enough of my concentration that I couldn't do anything else."

"He's stronger," Rob repeated to everyone in the room. "From that description I'm going to assume that it's physical, so be aware of that."

Rob looked down at his notes before continuing. "When he's been subdued, try to get him to the airport. We have a plane standing by to get him to Alpha Complex as quickly as we can. Any other questions?"

When nobody voiced a question Rob stood up. "Great, let's get to work. The sooner we get him back to Alpha Complex, the better. Tactical updates will be available through your HUD interfaces."

The rest of us stood up. I turned to Mark and saw the concern in his eyes.

"Jaz," he said before wrapping me in a big hug. "I just met you and I don't want to lose you. Be careful, okay?"

"I will," I replied while returning his hug.

"Rob said each of you has a camera in your glasses. I'll be watching."

I smiled at the thought that even if he couldn't be out there with us yet, at least he could see what was happening.

"Come on, Jaz," I heard Nikki say with urgency from the door. "We don't have all day to let you say goodbye."

"See you when we get back," I said to Mark and turned to follow Nikki and Jay out the door.

"I'll be here."

*  *  *

Justin's parents’ house turned out to be a nice-sized home located in a well-to-do neighborhood. Jay pulled the black SUV into the driveway.

"Anything?" he asked while turning toward where I was sitting in the backseat. He was aware of my ability to feel when people I know were around me. Each person’s feelings seemed to have their own “flavor” to them. Spending enough time around a person allowed me to start to recognize that person’s flavor, and after a while I could pick them out of a crowd without even seeing them. I had used this ability last Saturday when I was trying to find Nikki in the mall.

"No, I don't feel him," I said while frowning. "But I might not recognize him anymore."

"Well, it was worth a shot," he replied.

Jay then handed Nikki and me a small item that looked like a passport. "These are your identifications for this operation. Don't lose them."

I opened it up and found an official looking badge and ID card with my name on it. Both the card and the badge were emblazoned with "Department of Homeland Security."

At our confused looks Jay elaborated. "While we aren't technically agents, we do have identifications for each of the major government agencies: CIA, FBI, you get the idea. They are official and will hold up under investigation."

That was surprising, and Nikki and I gave each other a confused look as Jay exited the car. Nikki and I joined him and we walked to the front door. Jay had the warrant in his hand in case Justin's family did not co-operate.

I pulled my shades down over my eyes while we waited for someone to respond to the doorbell. Nikki had done the same but Jay left his own on his head to provide a more personal feeling to whoever opened the door.

After a short wait the door opened and a small girl around seven or eight was standing there looking at us. She bore a stark resemblance to Justin, and I felt myself tremble slightly at the thought of what he would do to us if anything happened to his family. We would need to be very careful if he was here.

"Hi," Jay said to her. She was apparently lost for words at the sight of us. We must have been intimidating. "Is your mommy or your daddy home?"

The little girl nodded her head shyly, sending her dark curly tresses bouncing. She turned and ran down a hall, leaving the door open in her wake.

"Mommy," I heard her say after she turned a corner. "There are people at the door for you."

The little girl returned a moment later, following a woman who must have been Justin's mom. She smiled at us while she approached, but I could feel her apprehension. I wanted to inform Jay, but there was no time before she opened the door fully and gave us a smile that she didn't really mean.

"Hi," she said cheerily. "How can I help you?"

"Ms. Holmes?" Jay asked. At her nod he continued. "My name is Agent Johnson and these are Agents Fox and Campbell."

She eyed us and the badge that Jay was showing her warily before speaking. "What can I do for you?"

"Is your son Justin home?" Jay said bluntly. The shot of fear she felt from the question didn't require my abilities to notice.

"No," she finally said. I was surprised to recognize that she was telling the truth. I wasn't quite sure how I knew, but she was. Something in the feelings she was portraying seemed to tell me so.

"All the same," Jay continued, clearly not fazed by the answer he expected to receive. "Would you mind if we had a look around to make sure?"

"Is he in some kind of trouble?" she asked.

"Ms. Holmes," Jay said without answering her question. "Have you seen your son since he left last week?"

"No," she repeated, but this time it was a lie. Whatever part of my power was telling me this, I felt it completely. Justin had been home.

"I'm sorry," Justin's mom said while taking a step back. She seemed frantic now. "But I don't have time for these questions right now."

She started to close the door, but Jay had his armored boot in the way. "I'm afraid that we have a warrant to search the premises," he said while showing her the new document. She nodded and opened the door, but her face had lost all of its color.

"Who else is in the home right now, Ms. Holmes?" Jay asked her while stepping into the house. Justin's mom retreated a few steps when we entered and hugged the little girl to her.

"Just my daughter and me," she replied. Her voice was very shaky and she looked very scared.

Jay nodded at her. "Please step outside with her and wait for us out front. We'll make this as quick as possible."

She nodded at him again and the two of them stepped outside and sat down on a chair on the porch.

Jay turned back to us, pulling his shades over his eyes. "Nikki, take upstairs, I'll check this floor. Jaz, you find the basement."

He pulled out his gun and turned to start the search.

"He's been here," I said, stopping Jay and Nikki in their tracks.

"How do you know?" Nikki asked.

"I'm not sure, but I am certain she was lying when she said she hadn't seen him. She did seem to be telling the truth about him not being here now though."

Jay nodded. "Okay. Move out, we'll ask her about it after we're done in here. Stay alert and radio the rest of us if you find anything."

Nikki and I both nodded at him and Nikki turned toward the staircase to our right that led up to the top floor, pulling out her own gun in the process.

I pulled one of mine out of its holster and followed Jay down the short hallway to the first door. Most of the houses in this area had a basement, but the way down was not visible from the main entrance.

Justin and I cleared out much of the first floor before we found the kitchen, where a set of stairs led down. Jay pointed at them and I broke off and headed down.

It was dark at the bottom. I flipped the switch at the bottom of the staircase, and it lit up a hall that ran the length of the basement. There were three doors off to each side.

I opened myself up to my surroundings, but I couldn't feel anyone else down here with me. Cautiously I started down the hall, with my gun leading the way. Even though I had no formal training in the use of the weapon, I had seen enough cop shows to know how to clear an area. The Urban exercise during powers lab also gave me the confidence to know that I could use it.

The first two doors I encountered were facing each other across the hall. I did not want to leave my back exposed to one of them, but I had no choice. Opening the door on the right I reached out with my mind. I knew it was a bathroom before I mentally grasped the light switch and turned on the light. It was empty. A quick glance around the small room proved that.

The door on the other side of the hall led to a den that seemed to run most of the length of the basement. The room was well furnished but just as empty as the bathroom had been.

The next pair of doors also faced each other across the hall. I knew the one on the left led back into the den I had already checked. The other door led to a small office that was also well appointed, but also empty of anything significant to my search.

The last two doors in the hallway were once again facing each other. The door on the right led into a bedroom. The yellow walls and frilly bedspread along with the vanity on one wall and the dirty clothes strewn about were enough to indicate that it belonged to a young girl, possibly even the one we had already met. However, she seemed too young to have a room in the basement, and I wondered how many siblings Justin had.

Turning my attention to the last door, I turned the knob and pushed the door open. I heard a small click. Nothing happened immediately and I stepped into the room. It was Justin's bedroom. I recognized many items in the room that seemed to indicate it was his. Lying on the bed were the clothes he had worn when he jumped out of the plane. It was also empty like the other rooms.

But something was different. The click I had heard wasn't natural. Looking back at the door I saw a small wire running down from the faceplate to the floor. Following it with my eyes, it led half way around the room to a computer, which was powered up. The computer beeped.

Walking over to it I placed my hand on the mouse and moved it. The dark screen leapt into life, asking for a password.

I reached out, trying to use the computer skills that I had only begun to develop. I was able to bypass the login and see the information stored on the computer, but I was not entirely sure how I did it. It took me nearly five minutes to find and understand what had happened. Amazed at my ability to operate and get information from the computer without even logging in, I found the small program that had started when I opened the door to Justin's room. I had set off a silent alarm, and it had relayed the message to a cell phone. A search of the records on the phone company's files showed me that it was Justin's!

He knew we were here!

Quickly accessing my HUD controls I opened the communications menu and found Jay and Nikki.

"He knows we're here," I said, not sure if my message would go through.

"How do you know?" Jay responded, answering my question in the process.

"I set off a silent alarm when I opened his bedroom door."

"Okay," Jay responded. "Everyone meet back at the front door."

Before I even had a chance to respond I heard a loud crash from upstairs. Stepping out of Justin's room I turned toward the stairs, but he was already racing down them.

"Jaz!" he roared as he rounded the corner at the bottom and stared down the hall at me. His anger was washing over me in intense waves.

He didn't give me a chance to respond; he just started racing toward me, with an evil look in his eye.

I didn't hesitate. Before he had taken two steps I raised my arm.

The recoil of my gun seemed to have an extra kick this time.

*  *  *