More Powers are revealed and then, The Heroes begin to meet one another.

Reckoning -5- More of Winter and Aura's stories and Tesseract finds Meagan/Starshield, and Janet/Graviton.

WINTER---Maggie Finson:

I woke up still on the floor, and still naked.

The odd thing was that I wasn't cold or sore at all, it was if I'd been in a comfortable bed since I'd passed out.

But why wasn't I cold? This crappy apartment had equally crappy heating and I'd always been cold in the winter since I'd moved in.

The dream I'd had while still awake tried coming back, but I resolutely refused it entry. The other time had been bad enough. I knew that it wasn't really a dream, that I'd seen a real thing, or at least the possibility of those things happening.

Had I even asked to see the future?

I don't think I was too specific at all about what I wanted to be when The Observer, damn the thing, had come to me.

I padded around the apartment, still nude and still not feeling the cold at all while I thought about things.

“I didn't ask for much of anything, did I?” I thoughtfully spoke to nothing in particular. “But I can see the future, or some version of it. Is that immutable, or can I help change it?”

I didn't know. “But I'll be damned if I just cave in, hide, and accept that is how things will be.”

With that decision made, I felt better, a little.

I left that alone and let my thoughts slow while I tried to think or not think about what any other abilities I had might be.

And found the answer.

Cold.

Ice, snow, sleet, rain of some kinds, wind, air. All of those were mine to play with, to manipulate, to use. Anything with moisture in it was my domain if I desired it.

“Well that might be useful given what I've seen.” I thoughtfully nodded to myself while saying it.

So I experimented.

I made ice cubes, then little ice sculptures. Then froze the water coming out of the shower and turned the steam from the once hot water into a freezing mist.

The heat from the water, and steam had felt normal enough to me. But the ice and mist...

Those felt wonderful.

And not once did I even feel even a bit chilled, even when I sat down on a chair I'd fashioned out of ice. Other than that it was kind of hard and uncomfortable on my softer backside.

“Note to self.” I muttered once I'd gotten up and let the ice chair dissipate. “Make some snow for a cushion next time.”

* * * *

I stood in front of the mirror giving myself a pretty dispassionate looking over again.

Pale skin, not white, more an ivory shade, hair so blonde it was nearly white, and my appropriately ice blue eyes.

“I look like an Ice Queen.” I muttered and thought about that as a name.

“Nah, too much like a damned comic book.”

So I thought about things for awhile and nodded at my new reflection with a thin smile. “Winter. I'll call myself Winter.”

Winter is thought of as cruel, a killer. Admittedly some things die during the season, the weak ones who would have done so in a less merciful way later in the year, but most just went dormant, waiting for the renewal that spring would bring. So winter was actually more a custodian in my mind. Something that held things ready for when life was ready to leap out again.

Yes, I know. I read a lot of poetry, philosophy, and fantasy. I couldn't afford cable, the TV reception sucked and there was a used book store right around the corner. So with all the time I had, I read a lot.

“Hello Winter.” I smiled at my reflection, and it felt right.

* * * *

On to other things.

I had noticed a beat up leather purse on my kitchen table, so went to look through it.

The first thing that caught my attention was the wad of cash. After counting it I had just a little over a thousand dollars there. Not much if I had to outfit my new form, I thought, but it was something.

Given the state of my apartment, unchanged, I just knew the Observer hadn't provided clothing that would go well with my new shape.

I found a bankbook that showed I had about five thousand in it, a Gold Master Card for an Elise M. Winters, and a driver's license for aforementioned Elise M. Winters. The M was for Morgan. There was a birth certificate there too.

Otherwise it was the usual clutter of a woman's purse. Odd cosmetics, tissues, loose change, keys, and — urk -- a couple of tampons. That was something I really preferred to not think about just then. But I was a young woman now, so knew it was more than likely something that I would have to deal with in time. Probably a lot sooner than I really wished to.

And I'd been right about the clothes.

I ended up struggling into a pair of kind of ratty blue sweats. The pants were to tight in the hips and bottom and the legs were too short, the top strained against even my modest breasts, but I was at least covered in a mostly appropriate way.

I pulled on a pair of socks and tried my shoes.

Sigh.

I hadn't had big feet as a male, about a size 8  ½, but they just wouldn't stay on at all when I tried to walk. Another three pairs of socks — on top of each other — and I could finally walk around without feeling like I was going to step out of my shoes.

I finger combed my mass of hair since the little comb I had broke the first time I tried to use it, into a semblance of civility, steeled myself, and set out to get some clothes that would at least fit me right.

* * * *

My beat up old Chevy had become a just about equally beat up little Honda Civic. Just like the Chevy the little Honda purred like a kitten and ran great. I gave the steering wheel a pat and told it. “I know, I got changed, too, but at least now you'll be easier on gas.”

Kansas City has a plethora of Wal Marts, K-marts, Costcos, and other big chain stores. I hit a Wal Mart for some underwear, a pair of jeans, and a top that actually fit and didn't show too much. Plus a pair of trainers that didn't take three or four pairs of socks to stay on.

I then went to the place where a person on a budget could buy really decent things without really going broke. Burlington Coat Factory.

Oh yeah, anyone who tells you a girl can just look at her sex down there without being a contortionist is a liar. I tried. I'm not a contortionist. You figure it out.

But I ended up with another four pairs of jeans that fit well, more tops, some shoes, socks, and underwear without maxing out the credit card. Yay me.

And still had over nine hundred in cash.

There were Police cars, and those unmistakable 'Government vehicles in front of my building when I got back. One thing I'd noticed right away was that I was more than a bit distinctive and stood out. Much to my discomfort.

“Damn.” I let out a sigh as rampant paranoia came to the fore as I sure they were there to find me.

And I knew I didn't really think that was such a wonderful idea.

So I just calmly drove past all the hubbub, and hit the interstate out of town headed west.

AURA---Erin Halfelven:

acing and stuff
My leap carried me high above the city, I clamped my mouth shut on a scream. None of the cars on the I-10 swerved or anything, I guess no one saw me flailing my arms and legs like a cartoon. I hit the top of my arc probably several hundred feet in the air and started down.

Then I did scream. "Oh, Shit! Son of a bitch! Goddamn alien insect! I'm supposed to be able to fly! This is not flying!"

Down I went. Before I hit the ground, I felt my aura expand below me and I landed gentle as a butterfly in the concrete bed of the Los Angeles River. And promptly fell on my ass next to the muddy stream that ran down the middle of the overgrown canal.

I did some more cursing. If you spend a lot of time with old street people, you learn some really colorful language. I wasn't hurt but that had really scared me. I sat there for a bit, exercising my vocabulary. "Meddling, lying potato bug," is about the most polite thing I called the Alien Observer.

After a bit, I stood up and examined myself for bruises. I seemed to have quite a bit of ass behind me but none of it was bruised. My ankles were fine, despite the skyscraper heels. Mom had dressed this way for work but she had actually had clothes on top of the bikini, most clubs she worked in only allowed her to strip down so far.

When I got control of my surprise and fear, I had to admit, jumping like that was kind of fun. My long blond hair had whipped in the wind and the big old breasts on my chest had bounced when I landed. Other than that, it was like I had jumped maybe a foot or two. My aura seemed to have spread the impact of my landing so I didn't leave a big Hulk-like divot in the ground.

I finally got up the nerve to try it again, this time not trying to jump so hard or so high. I'd actually forgotten about trying to fly for the moment. I took a step and jumped, aiming down the river, toward the next bridge overpass but not intending to jump that far. It was actually easy. I started out making jumps of ten or twenty feet and was practically skimming the ground, ten or fifteen feet up, a hundred or two hundred feet at a time.

I was really moving, like a cartoon of someone wearing seven league boots!

I passed a couple of homeless encampments and waved as I went by. Not a smart thing to do, camping in the riverbed in the rainy season but sometimes people don't have much choice. I passed a construction crew repairing the bank in one place, and I waved at them too. I think one guy got whiplash trying to follow me as I bounced past.

When I heard traffic noise ahead, I realized that I was coming up on the 405 freeway and I put out my arms to try and stop myself. It was like the aura expanded from my sides to my hands and cupped the air like a parachute and I landed easily, still about a quarter of a mile from the freeway.

I was a long way from where I had started near the I-10 and the I-5. I'd paralleled the 710 most of the way and had passed under the 91 and 105 without really noticing but the 405 was a bigger freeway and not the river was not cut as deep under it. But I had never been down this far by myself. If I kept going, I'd be in the port area before you knew it and there would be boats and trains and trucks everywhere.

Once, a long time ago, Mom and I had come down to the ocean when she had a car and we had driven to San Pedro and had a sort of picnic near the boats. There had been a street fair and we bought kettle corn and barbecued sausages in little buns and ate under a big Ramada where a Mexican band was playing that music that sounds like polka but isn't. I just stood there, thinking about Mom for a minute. Then I glanced down at myself and realized that anyone looking at me might think that Molly Golden had come back.

Except I'm really golden.

I didn't want to start crying so I decided to get moving again. But first, I wanted to do some thinking. When the cape-like thing had appeared to help me stop, I realized I could shape the aura around me, In fact, I realized, I was probably shaping the bikini and heels. Why couldn't I make other clothes?

What I needed was a mirror. Off down the freeway, I saw the tall sign of a service station. They'd probably have a bathroom. Maybe I could conjure up some pants.

I tried to get a good look at myself without a mirror, but you know, that just can't be done. And the engine nacelles on my chest kept getting in the way. Maybe, if I could shape the aura, I could alter my own shape? Change back into a boy?

I jumped again, to go under the overpass out of sight while I tried various mental gymnastics. The first attempt made the bikini and aura itself disappear and I stood there naked in nothing. Even the high heels had disappeared. But my skin showed and I was just normal skin color, not all golden and glowing.

Still a girl though.

I gave in to curiosity and did a bit of exploring. Yikes. Nipples and event he skin around them is too sensitive to mess around with. That put me off completely doing anything else like that. In fact, I wanted to cover everything up.

I tried to imagine something else to wear. And so suddenly it startled me, I was wearing a pair of jeans that looked like they were made of gold lame and a sort of half t-shirt thing of the similar cloth up top. And I could feel something like boots on my feet. I checked, yup, gold lame boots. Well, it was better than the bikini.

I tried again. This time it came up gold leather mini-skirt with maxi-boots and this leather thing that pushed my chest together. "Yikes!" I said and everything disappeared and I was naked again.

One more try resulted in a shimmering golden gown cut down so low you could almost see my navel. That's when I got clued in. All of those things weren't imagined, they were remembered. They were things I had seem my Mom wear as stage outfits. Except in gold, the original of the gown had been ruby red.

I had Mom's body and I couldn't imagine dressing it in anything except Mom's working clothes.

"Oh, my god, I really am Stripperella."

--------------------------------------

STARSHIELD---Grover:

There were plenty of scared people out there and, being different, I knew how mobs worked. It would not be pretty, Better to let the mania die away some before public exposure. Which still didn't answer my dilemma of how to find these needles in a haystack.

Lost in thought, a knock on my window startled me. Oh great, just what I need. Just my luck to park in some kind of taboo and forbidden area. Expecting one of Atlanta's finest with ticket book in hand, I stared at the unusually dressed young woman smiling at me. She had on a green and gold outfit with a butterfly and a half-moon on her chest.

Cranking down my window, I wondered at why the costume as well as why she was here. I carefully didn't raise my hopes that I'd found another gifted already.

“Hi I'm one of the gifted and I sense that you may be one too.” She explained. “My name is Tessaract but you can call me Tess.”

Okay maybe it was that easy. For ease and comfort of traveling I had on a t-shirt and a pair of comfortable jeans. However, since I really couldn’t wear a billboard advertizing for other Gifted I'd instead went with something a little more subtle.

I twisted around so she could read the printing on my t-shirt. 'I got visited by the Observer and all I got was this t-shirt.'

“Okay maybe I got a bit more than that.” I returned her smile. “Dressed like this, I go by Meagan.”

“At least you kept your sense of humor.” Tess giggled.

“Hmm... maybe you should get in.” I suggested. “We don't want to attract too much attention.”

“Good idea.” She replied walking, around to climb in.

Not being able to help myself any longer, I had to know.

"So what's with the costume?" I asked, glancing around to see if we had an audience or not. “That's what people in Atlanta are wearing these days?"

“Only during Dragon Con.” Tess said. “I don't want anyone to know who I am.”

“Really?” I sighed. “I've wanted to go to Dragon Con, but Atlanta is too far away and the money was never there.”

The girl in green and gold nodded in understanding. “Do you trust me?” She then asked.

“Well I did stop for a complete stranger, and I do believe you might be a Gifted.” I pointed out.

“Then take my hand and we'll step into my office.” Tess said.

“”Can I leave my car here?” I asked, thinking we had really got lucky with me stopping so close to where she worked. “It's not much, but it's all I got.”

“We'll take it with us...” She answered. “We may need it where we are going.”

Okay so we're not going to her office after all. She did know this city better than me. “I hope it's not too far. We may or may not make it. These wheels aren't the most reliable ones in the world.”

Then she touched my shoulder.

How can I best say this? The whole world went away! There was total silence except for the cooling dings and pops from my old Ford. We appeared to be in the center of some kind of cube, but as I looked out into the distance prospective got kinda wonky. We were in the middle of a cube within a cube within... well you get the idea. All the sparkling lights didn't help one damn bit. I closed my eyes because it was really making my head hurt.

“You can get out now.” Tess explained, “Time has stopped relative to the earth while we are here.”

Dazed, I asked, “Question, is the surrounding area in time freeze then?”

“No,” she shook her head. “Inside the Tessaract we are outside of normal space time until we go back into the real world.”

Then she got this faraway look. “I'm sensing another Gifted, North of Georgia. We need to find her.” She got out of my car, walking across the 'floor' of this Tesseract thing as if nothing unusual was up.

“So we can see out?” I asked, gingerly following her. As long as I didn't focus into the distance it wasn't too bad. Not being able to help myself, I glanced down. Think of walking across a glass floor with a mirror underneath. Swaying and more than a little disoriented I amended my thought. Okay and don't look down!

“Yes. Just think of a window and you can see out.” Tess directed, unaffected by this four dimensional fun-house of hers.

“So that's it? You're going to wiggle your nose and pop us to the next gifted?” I remarked awed. This girl had some real power.

“Well we have to find her...” She had that far away look again. “I can sense that she is north of us, but that is all ... We need to find the window to where she is.”

“Well Tess,” I pointed out. “I may have the car, but you're driving this thing. Do I dare ask how we find one of these windows of yours?”

“I guess I ought to demonstrate that too, so you would know how to do it.” She walked over to the 'wall.'

“Meagan, just go out to a point, then wave your hand at the sparkling lights and you will be able to see out into normal space/time Just think, while you are waving, where you would like to look out on, say Tennessee.” Tess directed. “Then I'll come to your window and see if we need to go further north.”

“Okay,” I replied. “I've never been to there, but if you say so. Tennessee!” Suddenly, I was looking out over tree covered mountains.

Looking over my shoulder she said. “Okay, needs to be further north … Kentucky.

Feeling very surreal about this whole thing I said, “Alright Col. Sander's land!”

She laughed out loud. “Do you need to stop to get something to eat... I forgot to ask when you last ate something. My bad.”

“Nah, I'm good.” I edged the truth. I honestly wanted to get this over with so I could be back where I could trust my own senses.

“Ok, then onward... whats above Kentucky? Ohio?” Tess asked thinking.

“Here, let me get a quick pick me up.” I told her, walking by to my car. I put my finger in the cigarette lighter socket. “Don't do this at home.” I warned. This wasn't very efficient, but it let me use my energy thing to sustain my physical body.

“Oh, now that's impressive.” She raised a brow. “I wont try that at home.”

“It's like sugar.” I explained. “Good for a quick burst, but no lasting power.” Rummaging in the back seat I pulled out my road atlas.”

“I knew it was a good idea to bring your car.” She giggled

What can I say? It's been very long time since I'd named and labeled all the states. So what if I'm not smarter than a 5th Grader.

“Yeah, Ohio sounds good.” I confirmed, after checking the map and walking back over to those darn willow-wisps.

“Ohio... Further north and to the east,” Tess did her oracle thing again.

Flipping the pages of the atlas, I asked, “West Virginia or Pennsylvania?

“Lets try PA.” She decided.

“Sounds good to me.” I commanded the portal, “Pennsylvania.”

“Right state,” she commented, as much to herself then as to me. “Lets get out here so I can get my bearings ... I think she in the southwest. Lets get back in the car and I'll bring us out into normal space/time.

“Just wait til we have to put gas into this thing.” I said trying to be humorous. “Gas prices are crazy!

We got back in my car. “You got it Captain. Dropping out of warp!”

Despite no sensation of moving, I had both hands on my steering wheel. One eye blink it was sparkles, and the next we were in the parking lot of a Walmart.

“Okay what course do we set, Captain?” I grinned. It was nice to be back in reality!

“She's on the expressway, going south it feels like.” It was that faraway look again. “Meagan can you wait here for me? I'll pop inside her car and bring her back here.

“You've talked me into it.” I remembered I was hungry. “While you do that I'll do a munchie run here at Wally World.

“Sounds like a plan... Wish me luck.. I don't want to make her wreck.” Tess blurted out.

“Luck!” I shouted to the empty seat beside me. She was gone. “Well Crap!” I muttered. “Now you see her, and now you don't.” I wasn't even certain where I was, but if you've been in one Wally World, you've been in them all. My cheater charge I stole from my car's electrical system had taken the edge off of my appetite, but I still needed food.

Rolling my shopping cart though Walmart, I hit the deli and whatever snacks that caught my eye. It was so nice to be able to just throw it in the cart without a running account of how much it cost.

Since I knew Tess could find me whenever she finished picking up our next teammate, I wasn't in a hurry. Thinking about useful stuff, I stopped by Electronics and picked up three pre-paid cell phones complete with those Bluetooth headset things. Being dirt poor I'd never had a cell before, but figured these would do until we found something better. If we're lucky, we would have an inventor type who could take care of the equipment problem.

That made me think about my powers. I was really pretty self-sufficient. I could transform my clothes into just about any clothing I needed. My experimentation back home had informed me that I could even make things that were a part of uniform, but anything with moving parts ended up as a solid movie-like prop... a very realistic prop, but it still didn't work.

Not that it needed to. With my forcefields and energy blasts, I was the equal of anyone short of a tank, and I wouldn't bet against myself even against a main battle tank. What would make or break a fight like that was my energy battery. I could feel the light bulb go on over my head. Water was about the easiest thing for me to convert directly into energy. It might be very wise to stock up on the H2O.

Pushing my purchases back to the food section, I loaded a couple cases of bottled water, along with the rest of my stuff. With that done I was drifting towards the checkout when I saw a sorta, kinda familiar face.

It was Tess, dressed normally this time, but she had a friend with her.

I couldn’t keep from smiling and then there were three! Gifted Assemble!

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JANET/GRAVITON Catherine Linda Michel.

Tess blinked out of Meagan's sight, concentrating on the feeling she had. As she homed in on the new gifted one, she got clearer and clearer impressions. Finally she believed that she had pinpointed her and, to Tess' relief it did seem like the car she was looking for had stopped at a rest area.

She opened a window and. Looking out, saw a deep red, older model Ford Crown Victoria with a well built, young woman standing next to it, smoking a cigarette and drinking a soft drink, while singing softly. Seeing that the rest area was empty save for one woman and a car, Tess stepped out into the parking area in front of the woman, smiling warmly.

“Aqualung my friend....don't you start away uneasy. You poor old sod, don't you see, it's only meEEEEP! Holy crap! Who the hell are you and where did you come from?” the woman screeched.

“Please don't be alarmed,” Tess said, holding her hands up and open. “I'm not here to hurt you. I'm Tesseract, one of the gifted ones. I sensed that you are one of us and I came here to meet you and invite you to accompany me back to meet another member of the team.”

“Jeezuss woman! You about scared the shit outta me! I damn near swallowed my smoke, for God's sake! The woman yelled. "Damn!”

“I'm sorry.” Tess said. “I had hoped that wouldn't happen, but I had to meet you and there really was no gentle way to do it. We have to get us all together and working as a team if we're going to succeed at stopping whatever threat the Observer told us about. I'd like to take you back with me to meet the other gifted one I've already located. Is there room in your car for me? I noticed that it seems really crowded in there”

“Yeah, I think I can move some stuff around so you can fit in. So you can take me AND Martha with you?”

“Who's Martha?” Tess questioned.

“Martha's my car! She and I have been through some really rough times together before getting zapped by that Observer guy. I'd really hate to desert her. By the way, you can call me Janet.”

“That's not a problem, Janet. I can easily take you both with me. Shall we get going? Just put your hand on my shoulder while I put my hand on Martha and concentrate.”

Tess closed her eyes and the air began to sparkle a bit around her, Janet and the car. A 'doorway' opened in front of Tess, then it enclosed the two women and the car and, in another second, the rest area parking area was empty again.

The next thing Janet saw was a weird area that defied description. “I guess this thing defines your gift and your name, Tess?”

“Yes it does, Janet. What we're inside is a tesseract and I can control it and open doorways to see where I'm going. It's also a healing aid. While inside it, anyone who might be injured or sick will be healed, coming out of it fit and healthy.”

“Pretty cool Tess.” Janet said. “That could come in really handy if this mission we're supposed to be on gets dangerous.”

“Yeah. I figured that too Janet. So, I'm taking you to meet Meagan, another one of the gifted. She's waiting for us at a Walmart store south of Pittsburgh.”

“So how are you gonna set us down there without anyone seeing us “pop in'?”

“Like I told you, I can open a window to see where we're going. I can pinpoint an area where nobody is around, or just not looking. It's gotten easier with practice.”

Tess opened a window in her construct and, seeing a good chance, she set them down next to a rather beat up Ford Escort wagon, with a huge van on the other side of the parking spot she put them into.

“Jeezus, Tess!” Man, that's gonna take some getting used to! I like the sparklies though.” she giggled.

“Yeah, it took a bit before I got used to it, let me tell you. So, you wanna head inside the store and meet Meagan?”

“Um, lemme have a quick smoke before we go in, okay? My nerves gotta recover before I'm ready to battle a Walmart mob. Before you say it, I know smoking is bad for people, but since the Observer gifted me, I'm pretty much immune to getting sick or hurt, so I figure smoking won't hurt me at all. Besides, it calms me down and helps me think.”

“Okay Janet.” Tess said. “If Meagan gets done shopping before we go in, she'll just come out to her car...this dirty Ford next to your car.”

Janet lit her smoke and quickly took several deep drags on it, calming visibly. “I don't know if I'll ever get used to traveling in your tesseract, Tess, but it sure saves time and gas! Martha has never been an economy car!” she giggled. “She's comfortable though and rides like a dream.”

Tess waited while Janet smoked quickly. While waiting, Tess made some hand motions and her outfit changed from a spandex looking uniform thing, into a skirt and top.

Then, when Janet was finished with her smoke, Tess said, You ready to go inside?”

“Yeah Tess. Let me field strip this butt and we can head in. It's an old habit from my time in the military, and I don't like to litter anyway.”

“Field strip?” Tess asked.

“Yeah.” Janet responded. “You just take a spent cigarette, strip the paper and tobacco that's left, stick the filter in a pocket and dispose of it in a trash can. You learn to do that when you're in the military, because if you don't, you can spend a lot of time on cleanup, as punishment.”

The two women walked into the store, Tess searching for her new friend, Meagan. Before very long, Tess spotted her and led Janet over to where Megan was pushing a loaded shopping cart. When they got near her, Tess greeted her and introduced Janet.

“Hey Meagan.” Janet said. Glad to meetcha. I guess you're one of the fortunate ones to get zapped by the Observer?” She said quietly so as not to be overheard by other shoppers.

“Yes I am. Good to meet you too. How'd you like your ride here?” She giggled.

“Very fast, but very weird.” Janet said, shaking her head. I guess I'll get used to it, but damn... it's disconcerting!”

“I see you've been busy, Meagan.” said Tess, gesturing at the loaded shopping cart Meagan was pushing.

“Yeah. I spotted a bunch of stuff I thought we might need other than the load of snack stuff I know we'll need!” she said with a smile.

“OOH!” Janet suddenly said. “Giant Hershey bars! CHOCOLATE!! I gotta get some of those!” as she grabbed a handful of them from a nearby shelf. “You want some Tess? Meagan?”

“DO they have the dark chocolate ones?” asked Tess. “Get some of those too, okay?”

Janet grabbed some of those as well, touching all of them and watching them float off the shelf, into her hands.

“Oops!” Janet said. “I'd better not do that where so many people can see it. Sometimes I forget about my new gifts and use them without thinking first.”

Tess looked around and, seeing that she wasn't observed, reached into her tesseract and pulled out a shopping basket. Janet quickly maneuvered the candy bars into the basket and withdrew her power from them so they stayed in the basket.

“Good save, Tess.” Janet said quietly. “Well, lets head for the checkout lines and get outta here. We got a lot to talk about.”

The women went to the checkouts, with Janet remarking, “Hey! Let's use the 20 items of less line. With what Megan's got, and 20 Hershey bars, they only count as one item, don't they?” she giggled. Anyway, I've got this trip. I got a lot of loot from Observer, so I'll just use the credit card he gave me.

“Cool. Thanks.” Meagan said.

The women checked out and headed outside to their cars. Janet said, “Hey, can we go to Atlanta? I wanted to see if I could find some info there from the news agencies about other gifted ones,and I really wanted to maybe get to meet Robin Meade, the newsreader for HLN? She is sooooo hot!”

Tess said that she had sensed a couple more gifted ones off to the west in the U.S. And wanted to try to home in on them, but she wasn't keen on going to Atlanta. She said she had a place where we could go that would be secluded, away from prying eyes.

The women got to talking about what they could do, and Meagan produced a marble sized ball of what looked like pure energy in her hand. She passed it to Janet, who hesitantly took it into her hand, expecting to get shocked or something, but nothing happened.

Meagan explained that it was absorbing ambient energy to make it stabilize. She said also that she could produce much bigger ones that would act as shields or she could throw them like grenades that would explode. The bigger the ball, the bigger the explosion, she said.

Tess explained her powers a bit more on the way outside the store. She said that she could tesser all of us and our cars to the place she had in mind.

“Great!” said Janet. “Martha goes where I go! I'd hate to have to leave her behind.”

“Martha is your car, I take it?” Meagan questioned.

“Oh yes!” “Plus, she's chock full of clothes and stuff I bought before I left Buffalo. I spent a heap of money on all that stuff and I damn sure ain't gonna leave all that stuff behind. Besides, Martha and I have sorta bonded, you know?”

Yeah, I do know.” Megan answered. Me and my little Escort are sort of like that too. That's why I've kept pouring money into it to keep it running. It's probably worth more as parts than as a whole car.”

“Honey, any ride is a good ride if it gets you from point A to point B with a minimum of fuss. Besides, even third class riding is better than first class walking, right?”

“You got that right! Walking sucks!” Megan responded.

Tess said, “When we get back to the cars, I'll pop over and warn Tanisha that she is having guests tonight then bring you all over... she's not gifted but she's done everything for me... saved my life, in fact.”

“Hey Tess,” Janet said, “If she's a friend of yours, then she's a friend of mine. Does she know about your... um, gifts? Nobody except you two knows about mine.”

“Yeah she discovered me when I changed... it was kinda funny... I was almost dead so they had me being monitored remotely with little stickons on my chest, and when they became breasts, well, Tanisha thought I had flat lined and she found me out. She helped me sew my costume and it was when I took her for a Tesseract ride we found out that it healed.. all her scars were gone and her COPD went away too. So she knows all about what I can do and she has sworn to keep our secret.”

“Okay girls. Are you both ready to get out of here?

”You bet Tess. Let's ride!” Meagan and Janet responded.

“Ok. Let me pop in on her first by herself... she said she wanted some warning before I brought friends over.”

“Hmmm... Engage?” Meagan said.

“Oh no! You're a trekkor too?” Said Janet.

Both Tess and Meagan said they were, indeed, trek fans. “Maybe that's why the Observer picked us, you think?” said Tess.

“Now wouldn't THAT be a kick in the head? Janet quipped.

Tess popped out and Janet offered Meagan a Mountain dew from her cooler in the car. Meagan accepted and Janet got a Pepsi for herself, while they waited for Tess to return.

Tess popped back in quickly, saying, “Honey! I'm home!” startling both women.

“Damn, Tess!” You gotta quit doing that! Janet said, testily.

Meagan said, “Yeah! Besides, I'm freaking out a little . This morning I was in Tampa Fl. and now ...where the hell am I right now anyways?”

“South of Pittsburgh, hon. Anyway, Tanisha said that any friends of mine were friends of hers, and she would be pleased to show you both some southern hospitality.”

“So let's' go.” said Janet. “ Weeeee re OFF to save the worrrlld... the wonderful world of earth... and me without my Ruby Slippers” she sang.

Meagan quipped, “The first ass that says, 'I'll get you, my pretty.' is toast!”

“We're going to Tanisha's new house in Covington... she bought it from a really cool lady there who is going to Saint Simons to live with her brother, to be closer to her family”

“We got a full tank of gas, and a half a pack of cigarettes.” Said Meagan.

“We're on a mission from...Observer? Oh never mind. To Infinity, and Bey...oh forget it.” said Janet.

Tess said, “Now we have to arrange ourselves so I can transport both of you and your cars. You two have to touch me, while I touch your cars.”

Janet got a good hold on Tess, but Tess said, “Uh. That isn't my shoulder, Janet!”

“Well, it was close!” Janet said apologetically.

“Well, even though I enjoyed it, lets try to stay professional here, okay?” Tess admonished.

“Jeeze! A girl tries to have a little fun and...whoooOOAAA!” Janet complained, as Tess activated her tesseract powers.

Within just a few seconds, they all arrived in a parking area in front of what looked all the world like a castle!

“You gotta be kidding me! A freaking castle?” Janet mumbled.

“Tanisha has plenty of room for us all inside. I'll just ring the doorbell tolet her know we're here.” said Tess.

She walked up to the door, rang the doorbell and waited. Eventually, a woman opened the door and invited us in. Janet made certain Martha was comfortably parked in the lot and followed the other women inside. 'Why am I thinking, Frau Blucher?' she wondered, hoping she didn't hear a horse whinny.

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