Notice: This is a fan fiction of based upon the stories in Lilith Langtree’s “Comics RetCon Universe”. The story is mine, but some of the characters are not. White Queen, Mystique, Wolverine, Magneto from Marvel Comics’ X-men are trademarks of Marvel Comics. All rights reserved. The Riddler and Green Arrow are trademarks of DC Comics. All rights reserved. To the best of my knowledge, all the other characters are fiction. Any resemblance to a living, dead or undead person is completely random.

Note:This one came out faster than I expected and a LOT more words than I expected. I really wish that I could write fewer words yet tell more story like EOF, MF, Morpheus, etc... I added a caution because there is some implied sex. Well, I hope it is just implied. I toned it down from what I originally wrote. Anyway, I hope ya all enjoy. Thanks to djkauf for editing.

** Chapter 9 **

“So, that’s pretty much where you came in.” I say as I watch Jen struggle to put together a suitable reply.

It takes her few seconds and a sip from her wine glass before she is able to put together something.  “Well, umm, that is certainly going to make things hard for you.”

Sadly, I can only nod my head in agreement.

“I mean, I guess I can sort of see how the cops would react the way that they did, but did you really have to attack them back?” Jen asks.

“I know!  But, what do I do now?” I ask as the full gravity of the situation takes hold of me. While I was telling Jen the story, I was sort of able to distance myself from what it really meant for me, but now, I can’t help it, I start crying again.

I am pissed at the bastard who tried to stab me in the hospital. I am pissed at the bastards who tried to kidnap me and killed the DMA agents plus who knows how many other innocent doctors and nurses. I am extra pissed by the fact that they decided to chase me through the tunnels and try to shoot Ed, Tom, Kristin and me as we escaped by the skin of our teeth.  I think that it goes without saying that The Riddler dude has earned a spot on my shit list too.

For the SWAT team, I am merely upset that they decided to shoot me and shoot at me because I can kind of see why they shot at me. Most of all though, I am super pissed at myself because I royally screwed up when I drained those two cops. I am so screwed that it isn’t even funny.

It takes me a few minutes of crying and cycling between feeling sorry for myself, pissed at myself and sometimes both at the same time before I realize that Jen has me in her arms. She is hugging me, while rocking my body back and forth as she says calming, reassuring words to me. It think that she has been trying to comfort me for more than a few minutes, but I sort of lost track of time and I have no idea what she has been saying to me. Just knowing that she has been trying to make me feel better, helps and tears begin to slow as I start paying closer attention to what she is saying to me.

“Shhh, it’s going to be okay Ally. I’m here...” Jen says, and then repeats it a few more times before I manage to get my tears fully under control.

Once again, I need some tissues for my nose and eyes. I return her hug as my body shudders one last time from all the emotion and my tears fully stop.  “Thanks Jen. I’m sorry...” I whisper to her, shamed by my outburst.  I am not some 16 year old girl. I’m 27 years old and I shouldn’t be acting like such a baby.  Except that now my nose is running, again. I sigh with frustration.

“I need to get some tissue.” I softly say as I pull away from her and sniff my nose in an attempt to prevent even more embarrassment.  Her eyes are looking a little puffy too.

“Okay...” Jen says as she intently searches my eyes to see how I am feeling, before she lets go of my hand.  

I make a beeline for the bathroom and after I take care of myself, I pull off a wad of tissue for Jen and return to the living room.  After she gratefully accepts the tissues, I return to my spot on the couch. I don’t know what to do now. So, I pull my knees up to my chest with my arms locked around my calves to help hold them in position as I rest my forehead on my knees and just think about what to do next.  I realize that my posture is a very girlish posture to take, but it helps me feel better; more in control somehow.  I am also pleased that I can even sit like this and that it is comfortable for me to do so. I am way more flexible than before my accident.

Every now and then, I look up and find that Jen hasn’t budged. She’s thinking furiously about how she can help me, but I don’t see any way out. I am going to go to jail as a cop killer and there is nothing that either one of us can do about it.  Her story, if she publishes it, might help, but probably not.  Plus, even if it did help, I still look like an evil dark elf version of the Mystique villain from the comic books.  No one is going to let me forget that little detail.

“Maybe I should just call the cops and turn myself in?” I half-heartedly ask since I am not sure if that would help. When Jen fails to reply, I sigh and I put my head back down on my knees.

“What if you didn’t look like Mystique?” Jen softly asks.

I look up and from her expression; I can tell that she has an idea. “What do you mean? How can I not look like Mystique?”

“DBO.” She notices my blank expression and points to my body. “Look! You are now Vylencia, your DBO Priest in Death Aspect. What about Vylencia in Life Aspect?  Have you tried changing yourself?”

“Umm, no?  I mean, yes, I tried back at the hospital, but nothing happened.” I say.

“And?” Jen asks as she just looks at me like I said something stupid.

I realize that she is right to think that way. I blush as I realize that a few things have changed since the last time I tried to change to Life Aspect.

“Okay.”  I say as I stand back up and move to the center of my living room to give myself some room.  “I’m going to try switching to Vylencia’s, I mean, my Life Aspect mode.”

Jen looks excited by my decision. She is sitting on the edge of the couch with rapt attention, but I am not sure how to change myself. Changing my aspect isn’t a spell that I cast. It is an ability, and on my PC, I just clicked a button to activate the ability. How in the hell do I do that now?  Maybe the same way I cast my spells earlier?  I focus my will on changing to Life Aspect.

At first, I don’t feel anything, but with that realization; I concentrate more on my body instead of my Essence and the spells that I can cast. I feel something click.  I start to feel a little dizzy. I sort of feel like I might pass out, but just before that happens, everything snaps back into focus.  It suddenly feels very breezy in my apartment.  I look over at Jenny and she is just sitting there looking at me as if she is seeing a ghost.

I look down at myself. “Oh shit!” I say with a stunned whisper.

Gone is my blue skin. Now, my skin is milky white while my breasts look a little smaller and I feel disturbed when I notice that I feel disappointed by that realization. My hair feels like it is a little longer, but it isn’t hanging loosely. I think it’s being held back with a pony tail or maybe even a braid.  Vylencia’s hair in the game was styled in an elaborate French braid that I now realize would be impossible for me to recreate for myself.  I also feel taller, and I think that my voice sounds different too.  The room is a bit darker, but it is still plenty bright enough for me.  High Elves don’t have the full Dark Vision like Dark Elves, but they do have a Low Light type of night vision.  Oh yeah, I’m also totally naked.

“Where did my clothes go?” I ask.

Yep. My voice is definitely different now.  It sounds like I am now an octave or two higher. I had an almost husky yet still a very sexy sounding contralto, but now I sound like I might be in the mezzo-soprano range.

Jen snaps out of her shock. “I don’t know.  They all disappeared with your other body.”

“Oh.  Well, that’s inconvenient, but at the same time, it could come in handy too.” I say with a mixture of frustration and consideration while refusing to be embarrassed about being bare-assed in front of her, again.

“Umm, why don’t you grab one of your old t-shirts from your room to umm, help cover yourself up?” Jen asks looking a touch flustered by my appearance.

“Maybe you could use your old baseball jersey?” She adds, as a suggestion.

I do remember that she wore it a lot and it looked really sexy on her. I would probably look stunning wearing it and with that somewhat disturbing realization, I force myself to walk calmly into my room so that I can find my jersey. I hold it up against my body and the longer torso length looks like it will allow the shirt to fall all the way to mid-thigh on me, but I can’t help thinking about how the last girl, Jen, looked while wearing this shirt.  She looked like a really hot girl wearing her boyfriend’s too large shirt after spending the night, if you know what I mean.  

The idea that I will now look like that is a bit disturbing to me, but I don’t really have any other choices since all my guy clothes are way too big for me now.  I sigh with frustration and slip the shirt over my head.  My braid catches a bit and I have to pull it out and flip it over the collar in the back.  I look over at myself in my dresser mirror.

“Holy shit!”  I say, gasping with surprise at the sight of my newer new self.

I’m a babe and I am ashamed to admit it, but I think that I look way hotter than Jen did in it. My old jersey hangs down to mid-thigh.  I am no expert, but I think that I could wear it as a dress.  If I added a belt to give it some structure and if no one got too close, someone might think I’m just another girl wearing a very short mini-dress.  Structure? Where did that fashion concept come from?

I mentally shrug my shoulders, not important right now, but on the plus side, I think that I’m back up to being 5’ 11” again. If not, I’m very close.  My eyes are a deep green and my hair is a very rich honey blonde color and I discover that I am correct about having a braid.  The braid looks very tight, structured and complicated.  I decide to leave it alone.  There is no way that I’m going to be able to duplicate that hair control feat anytime soon.  

I think that if it wasn’t for my pointy elf ears, I could easily pass as a normal super-model. If normal and super-model could actually go together. I will still get some attention, but not nearly as much as I would if I walked down the street looking like Mystique.  

Holy crap!

I really am a “shape shifter”.  Just not a real shape shifter.  Hmmm.  This could make hiding out a little easier.  Well, less hard than it would be as a Dark Elf, anyway. I am still checking myself out in the mirror when Jen walks back in and turns the room light on.  Ouch.  I blink my eyes a few times as they adjust to the light.    

She drops her gym bag on my bed. “Nice look, I think that it looks better on you than it did on me.” Jen says with a grin as she roots through her bag and pulls out her sports bra.  

I am glad that she said it and not me.

“This might actually fit you better now.  Out there, you looked like you might be a B cup now.” Jen says with a hint of a smile.

Is she  happy that I am the same size as her now?  Was she jealous of my Dark Elf boobs? I frown a little at that possibility and I am not sure how to put it on.  I know how to wear a regular bra now, but this looks more like a super tight t-shirt than a bra.

Jen notices my apparent confusion. “Just take your t-shirt off and put that on like it was a t-shirt.”

“Okay.” I follow her instructions and the sports bra fits pretty well.  It’s a bit snugger that a normal bra, but it also doesn’t dig into my shoulders as much.  “I think I like these better.”

“Oh, yeah. They are nice to exercise in, but you wouldn’t wanna wear them all the time.  They can smush your boobs at bit much and there aren’t too many outfits that a sports bra can be worn with.”

“Oh.” I say.  The smooshed breasts thing does not sound comfortable.

“Well, I don’t have anything else in here for you since all the stuff was with your Mystique body.”

“I’m not Mystique...” I say, protesting her calling my other body that name.

She ignores my protest. “Hmmm, I think that we should head over to my apartment now that you won’t attract so much attention.”

We’ve both been drinking wine. The bottle is mostly empty now. I’m not sure that it would be smart for either of us to drive right now.  I glance over at Jenny and notice that I can sense a poison and a disease status for her, but for myself, nothing. Even though I drank over three glasses to her one and a half; I am poison free.  I guess that my metabolism is more efficient now or something.

Okay.  The poison I can understand.  She’s been drinking wine. Alcohol is sort of a poison.  I’m more worried about her disease status.  I concentrate on that and I suddenly know that she is suffering from her normal spring allergies and that she has Breast Cancer.  Very early stages and it barely registers, but it is there.  Oh crap.

Jen noticed my expression change as I study her.  “What?  Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You are suffering from your allergies right now, right?”

“Yeah.  This season has been pretty bad, but the new meds work pretty well. Why?”

I really don’t know how she is going to take this.  “Ummm, I think that you have Breast Cancer.”

“What!?!?  That shit’s not funny, John!”  She says as she reflexively starts to reach for her breasts. Then, she realizes that she was going to and storms out of my room and back into the living room.

Yeah. She called me ‘John’ again. She’s pissed.

I follow her.  “Jenny, wait. I’m not joking.  I can somehow sense diseases and poisons now.  I think that it might be because when I am in Life Aspect, I can heal those things.  I couldn’t sense that before I switched.”

She has her arms wrapped tight around her chest. She softens a little, but she still looks pissed and now a little more worried.  “I do not have Breast Cancer!”

“Okay, when was the last time you had a, umm, breast exam?” I ask, feeling a little embarrassed to be asking about such a feminine condition, but I guess that I shouldn’t feel that way anymore.

She begins to look a little more uncertain. “Last year...”

I concentrate on my spells and discover that I can’t sense any of my Death Aspect spells, but I can sense all of my Life Aspect spells now. “Okay. Lemme try something?”

She looks at me suspiciously. “Umm, what?”

“Since we have been drinking, how about if I try my Purify spell on you?  If that works and gets rid of the alcohol in your system, then maybe the disease cure part of the spell will work too?”

“Hmmm. Okay.  What do I have to do?”

“Nothing?” I say, hesitantly. “I don’t know, just stand still and don’t run around the room screaming ‘heal me!’ like a pansy tank while I try casting it on ya, okay?”

The DBO reference makes her giggle. “Umm, wait.  I need to go to the bathroom and check something first.”  She gets up, runs into the bathroom and closes the door behind herself.  

I’m guessing that she wants to see if she can feel any lumps.  I follow her.  After a few minutes, I hear her start to cry.  “Jen?”

No answer.

“Jen? Are you okay?”

Still no answer, but I can definitely hear her crying now.  I open the door and find her sitting on the toilet seat with her legs pulled up into her chest as she cries into her legs.  

I hesitantly move towards her. “Jen?”  

She looks up at me with tear stained eyes.  “I felt a lump. I think...”

I can’t stand seeing her looking so miserable. I start to cry too. I reach out and wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly to my chest.  I ignore the strange sensation of my breasts getting smushed as I just hold her. She starts to sob in my arms.  “Shhh.  It’s going to be okay Jen.  Maybe I can cure you and if I can’t, maybe we caught it early enough?”

Jen starts to calm down. She leans back and looks into my face. “You’re crying too?”

That forces a broken laugh from me. “Umm, yeah. Sorry.  I just saw you there and it broke my heart.”  Now I have the sniffles too. “Can you pass me some tissues?”

She smiles as she grabs me a tissue and one for herself too.  “That’s okay.  It’s just that, until tonight, I’ve just never seen you cry before. I know that we have both been burning up the tissues together, but I just never thought about it until now.”

“I think it comes with the new plumbing or something.  I’ve cried a lot since I woke up and found out that I was a girl.”

She giggles and her face brightens up.  “Well, thanks for being here for me girlfriend.”

That makes me feel weird and I have no idea how to respond.  “Well, yeah. Umm, what else are, umm, girlfriends for?”

Jen grins at my confusion and lets out a huge sigh. “Okay. Go. Cast your spell.”  She says with a slight cringe in the anticipation of pain as she closes her eyes.

I feel the energy build up again and then, release as I cast my spell on her.  Her body glows for a second and she giggles.

“What?”  I ask, concerned that something went wrong.

“That tickled.”  She pauses for a second and pouts.

“What?  Is everything okay?” I ask, worried that something went wrong.

“Damn. I had a nice little buzz going on there.  Now it’s gone.”

I’m relieved.  It worked. I can’t believe that it worked.  This is incredible!  Think of all the people I could help!  “Okay.  That worked.  What about the Breast Cancer?” I ask as I study her again with my new found senses.  

She starts to reach for her breasts again, but stops with me in there.

“Umm, well, I think it’s gone.  Your hay fever, too.” I say, smiling happily for her and at her reaction to me.

She gives me a confused look, but performs a few large test inhales and when no coughing or sneezing happens she looks at me with wonder and excitement.  She is so excited that she totally forgets that I am standing right beside her and she examines her breasts.

“Hey Jen?” I ask to get her attention.

She distractedly looks up at me as she’s feeling her breasts.  “Yeah?”

“Are you finding anything?”

“No.  I can’t find the lump that I felt earlier.”

“That’s good.”  I can’t help it.  I leer at her and raise my hands to reach for her boobs. “Here, lemme help and make sure.”

Until she notices my expression, she almost lets me.  “John! I mean Ally!  You perv!”

“Hey, I am sort of a doctor. My interest is purely clinical.”  I laugh, until I realize something about myself.  It is purely clinical.  I didn’t feel anything at the sight of her touching her boobs. As strange as it sounds, I can sorta understand why I might not get all hot and bothered about the sight of my own boobs, but I used to love seeing and touching her boobs. Maybe now that I have my own set, they aren’t so forbidden and amazing anymore? My eyes instantly begin to tear up.

Jen notices my abrupt change in expression. She reaches for my arm. “Ally? What’s wrong?”

“I think that I’m gay now.”  I begin to cry.

Now it’s her turn to hug me again.  “Oh, Ally.  It’s okay.”

I interrupt her. “No! It’s not okay. Nothing is okay anymore!  I don’t even know myself anymore.  Even my name isn’t my name anymore.  I love you, but when I look at you; I don’t feel anything.  Not like I used too. I still think that you’re beautiful, but nothing happens!” I gesture down to my crotch area. “I can’t like guys!  I just can’t!”  

I break down in her arms and my legs give out on me, causing us both to sink to the floor.  She doesn’t say anything.  She just continues to gently hug me as I cry into her naked shoulder.

What can she say?  I know that she likes guys and that’s normal, but she has been a girl her entire life.  How can I possibly like guys now?  Maybe I don’t.  Maybe I’m just feeling stressed and that’s blocking my mojo or something?  I start to feel better. Maybe I can fool myself enough to really believe that?  Is she bi?  I don’t think so, but I could be wrong.

“Jen?” I ask, softly.

“Yes, Ally?” She asks, patiently.

“What if...”  

She stops me.  “Shhh. If it happens, it happens. I’ll still be your friend. No, your best friend.  The kind of friend that will help you hide a body. As amazing as it is, you are a girl now.  I wouldn’t worry about who you might like or not like right now.  You’ve still got time to figure all that stuff out.”

Okay, It sounds like she thinks of me in a ‘girl who is a friend’ way versus a ‘girlfriend/boyfriend’ kind of way. So, I think I can answer the bi question now. “A body huh?” I ask with the beginnings of an amused smirk.

Jen smiles and looks down. “Well...maybe.  Guess it depends on if they deserved it or not.”  

We both break down and laugh on each other’s shoulders as we hug each other tighter before we untangle ourselves and stand back up.

“So? Lump gone?” I ask.

She smiles and nods her head. “Yep and I think my Hay Fever too. That’s some pretty potent magic ya got there!”

“Yeah, I’m glad I was able to cure you.”  I say as we walk back into the living room holding hands before we break apart to sit back down on the couch.

She looks at me before glancing out the window.  I turn my head and notice that it’s starting to get lighter outside.  Morning is coming.  She looks back to me and bites her lip.  She has that look again. She is thinking about something serious and I don’t want to interrupt her.  She looks back outside for a second before she nods her head in agreement with whatever it is that she thought about.

“Okay, we need to leave, now.” She says.

“What?”

“We need to leave your apartment right now, before it’s too late.”

I think that she is worried about the cops. “Jen.  It’s five AM and everyone probably thinks that I’m still in California.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but this will be the first place that they come to look for you.  They might not think to check with the ex-girlfriend.  Not right away anyway.”

“Hmmm, okay.  You’re probably right, but what if someone sees me with you?”

“What about it?  You’re not a Dark Elf.”

“Yeah, but what about my ears?”

“Oh, here.” She reaches over. “Lemme undo your braid.”  She untangles the thing and it feels good to have her messing with my hair.  My head feels lighter as the braid comes undone, but now my hair is all over.  My hair really is longer in this form.  She grabs her brush and tells me to bend over.  She flips my hair over and brushes it all forward before she has me toss my head back as fast as I can.  I feel my hair swing back, fall over my shoulders and around my face.

She hands me her mirror. “Looks good.  Here, look.”

I check myself out and my long blond hair is now covering my ears completely and it looks good.  I think that I can totally pass as a normal girl now. Without my hair in the braid, my hair falls to just above my butt.  It’s about six inches longer than my Dark Elf hair.  Hmmm, that’s going to take some getting used to and I doubt that I will be able to get it cut now.  It might be hard to hide my ears without it.

She takes some hairspray out of her purse and sprays some in my hair. “There and now we are good.  Change back to Mystique.”

“What?!?” I ask, shocked that she wants me to change now.

Jen sighs with exasperation. “Just change back to Mystique for a bit.”

“I’m not Mystique and why?”

“The clothes and your costume.”

“My costume? What about my costume?”

“You can change back to Mystique...”

“I’m not Mystique!” I say with a bit more force as I cross my arms with frustration.

“Whatever...change back, take off my sweat pants and top, then put on the Mystique dress, grab your fake gun, put your boots and gloves back on.  Then, change back.”

“Why?”

“You need something to wear other than your ‘we just had sex’ jersey and we need to take your Mystique stuff with us. Do you want the cops to find that stuff here when they search your apartment?”

“Oh, yeah.”  How did she get so damn sneaky?  “Do you hide people from the law on a regular basis or something?”

“No, but I do watch CSI.”

I hope that she realizes that the tech on that show isn’t real. Well, most of it anyway. “Oh. Okay.  Anything else?”

“Yeah. I’m going to grab the wine bottle, glasses, that bloody washcloth and the trash before we leave. Also, we should wipe down anything we touched to remove the fingerprints, but is there anything else that might let someone know you were here?”

I think about it for a second.  “Other than the dirty pan and dish, I can’t think of anything else, but lemme check my carpet. I might have dripped some blood on it.”  As she runs into the kitchen, I get up and carefully begin my search of the carpet.  I don’t spot any drops.  I guess I got lucky.

She returns to the living room carrying my fake gun, my gloves and a garbage bag that chinks and rattles a little from the wine glasses hitting the metal pan inside of it.  “Anything on the carpet?”

“Nope.  Couldn’t find anything.”

“Okay.  Switch to Mystique.”  She smirks at me.

“I’m not Mystique!” I mutter under my breath as I initiate the switch.  It’s much easier the second time.  I stumble a bit, but quickly regain my bearings.

“Okay. Lemme get out of this stuff. Can you grab my dress?” I ask while feeling a little weird about asking her to get me my dress.

I am just getting the thong panties off when she walks back into the living room with my dress and bikini fresh from the dryer.  

“I still hate you.” Jen says as she hands me the warm clothing.

I slide the bikini on first and it feels strange for the initial second or two when compared to the thong I was wearing and compared to the commando feeling from while I was in High Elf form.  Jen has to help me zip the dress back up.  That zipper is such a pain.  I also put back on the skull belt and all the other matching jewelry.  Changing back into the heels sucks.  I’m glad that I won’t actually have to walk in them.

Jen holds my gloves out. “Okay, come grab your gloves and the gun.  Then, change back again.”

I look up at her. I can’t believe that she’s going to make me walk over to her. “Can’t you just bring them here?”

She smiles at me.  “Nah. I wanna see you walk one more time in those heels.”

“Bitch.” I say under my breath as I get up and walk over to her.

Her grin just gets bigger as she watches me.

I grab the gloves, put them on and follow that up by grabbing the gun.  She hands me the trash bag too.  Confused, I look at her.

“Maybe we can hide the evidence?”

“Okay, here goes nothing.” I say as I activate the switch again.  Once again, I stumble as the change happens. The gun and costume is gone, but I’m still holding the trash bag of evidence.

She just frowns. “How does ‘it’ know what to take?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Beats me. I’m just amazed that it worked at all.”  I miss my Dark Elf voice. I think that I sound just a touch royal and stuck up, but maybe that is just me because of how regal and aloof she looked when I created her.

“Okay. Put the panties and sweat pants back on, with the top.  I also want to see if you can squeeze into my tennis shoes for just long enough to get to the car, and then let’s get out of here.  We will find some random trash can on the way to my apartment to dump the bag in.”  She says as I force my feet into her one size too small for me tennis shoes.  

“Ouch, these are worse than the heels.” I say as I try to walk normally and follow her out of my apartment. I stop at the door and take one last look at my apartment and all my belongings.  I feel my eyes begin to tear up.

Jen stops and puts her hand on my shoulder. “I know, but it’s just stuff. Right?”

I grab her hand and hold it. “Yeah.  Just stuff.”  I say as I gently close the door using the bag instead of touching it directly and hear it lock behind me. Jen gently guides me down the hall and to her car. The parking lot is completely dead.  Not a soul is up and moving around at this hour. Well, there are a few other apartment lights on in the other units, but no one is getting into their cars right now.  The street facing the lot is pretty much dead too.  Only two cars go by as we casually walk to her car and get in.

I place the mostly empty trash bag on the floorboard between my legs as I sit down in the passenger seat with a heavy sigh.  It’s pretty sad really.  The only thing that I have left of my life is a trash bag that we have to throw away. I want to cry again, but I can’t because if anyone is watching us; they will for sure remember seeing a crying chick driving away at five in the morning.

Jen seems to sense my mood and she doesn’t say anything as we drive out of my apartment’s parking lot. Once we are on the street and driving away, she reaches over and gently holds my hand.  

I look at her and tears start to slowly roll down my face as she studies the road. I would be so lost without her.  What is it about all the women in my life since I changed? Why have they been so helpful?  Complete strangers have gone out of their way to help me and I find myself lacking because I am not so sure that I would have done the same for them if the roles had been reversed.

I mean, if Jen showed up at my apartment as a dude and on the run from the law, I would have turned her ass in right away.  That is, if I even believed the dude’s crazy story. That kind of crazy shit just doesn’t happen in real life.

“Thanks Jen.  I....”  I manage to choke out before my throat closes down on me as I am overwhelmed by my appreciation of just how good of a person that Jen is compared to me.

Jen just squeezes my hand and thankfully for our safety, concentrates on her driving.  “Oh! There! A trash dumpster behind that store!” She fiercely whispers to me.

I am not sure why she didn’t just scream it out. It is not like anyone would hear her.  She circles back around and after we fail to spot any cameras or witnesses, I jump out and toss the bag into the dumpster.  Jen casually drives off and once we reach the safety of the main road, we both start laughing due to the pent up anxiety.

Well, that is until a pair of police cars scream past us heading in the direction that we just came from with their lights and sirens ablaze.  We are a few miles away from my apartment and they could be responding to something else, but they serve as a reminder of my situation.

We both are silent for the next few miles. “Is this really going to work Jen?” I ask.

“Honestly, I don’t know, but at least now we have options.” Jen says with a quick glance my way.

I want to ask her, “What options?” and why “We?”, but traffic is starting to get a bit thicker and I don’t want to distract her.  She looks pretty tired now that she is coming down from the excitement and I don’t want to think about it right now either.  Ahead of us, the sun is starting to rise and the world is taking on a fresh glow. People, animals and even the trees are starting to stir and I can somehow sense that life, that vitality. It makes me feel a little hopeful that maybe we can figure out a solution to my current ‘little’ problem.

Jen is really fighting the z-monsters when we pull into her apartment’s parking lot and she sighs with relief when she turns off her car’s ignition.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She turns and smiles wanly at me. “Yeah, just super tired all of a sudden. It is like I just hit a wall, but, honestly, I am surprised that I didn’t hit it sooner.”

I debate telling her that I could try my Refresh spell, but I am feeling a little tired myself now and I think that we could both use a good nap.  A peaceful and uninterrupted nap for me, please.  “Well, I am feeling a little tired myself. How about if we go inside and take a short nap or something?” I say as I shake her shoulder to help keep her awake.  I might have to try that spell on her anyway; if only to avoid having to carry her.  

“I’m coming, I’m coming...” Jen protests as she yawns and struggles to push her door open.

I exit the car and walk over to her side to help her out. It is almost like old times for us with me helping her out of the car, but that is just another reminder of how it isn’t the same, at all.  None the less, she gratefully accepts my hand and we walk, arm in arm together into her apartment complex; looking for all intents and purposes, like two girlfriends returning home from the gym.

Well, I look like it with her exercise clothes on and the one or two people who are up and about early enough to spot us barely even look at Jen.  One, they were both guys and two; I am wearing much tighter clothing than Jen is.  Yeah, that is why they mentally rip my clothes off with their eyes while totally ignoring Jen.  Why are all men, except for me, when I was a guy, pervs?

“Make yourself comfortable. I know that the couch sucks for sleeping on. So, you’re welcome to crash on my bed with me if you feel like it. If not, you know where the couch is.” Jen says as she strips off her clothes on item at a time until she is down to just her panties, leaving a trail of cast off clothes all the way to her bedroom.

By the way, they are blue and I think that they look very pretty on her.  I feel something inside of me tingle and briefly wonder if I am finding her sexually attractive. I can’t help it. I sigh with both confusion and appreciation as she obviously stumbles into her bedroom and flops down on her bed.  I follow her and sit down beside her. I intend to talk to her for a few minutes before she falls asleep, but she is out. I pull up her blanket and snuggle her in. She rouses just enough to smile a little at me. I want to kiss her on her lips, but instead, I give her a fond kiss on her forehead and make my way out of her room.

Now, I am really confused about my sexuality.  Did I just find her more than just pretty? Did I just feel attracted to her like I did when I was a guy? Why didn’t I feel anything for her when I sort of pretended to try and feel her up? I am not sure what to think now. Was that tingle like the start of what a woman feels when they are aroused?

I lay down on Jen’s couch and try to get comfortable, but it is just too soft for me.  I hated it when we watched movies together because it just never provided good support. It looks nice, but isn’t very functional. I give up and turn her TV on. Maybe they will have more news about me. Maybe it will just be a big mistake, a joke and no one actually got hurt. A training exercise and all that for the police. Okay, probably not.  

I tune her TV to one of the 24 hour news shows and wouldn’t you know it, I am just in time for them to start the piece where I am the reluctant star.  They have a very high quality picture of me looking my best at looking my evilest.  It was when I was posing during the contest and purposefully trying to look all sexy and sinister, like the real Mystique.

“Police are still searching for the newest alleged super villain who is going by the name of, Mystique.”

Crap! I am still the villain in this story.  Well, at least I am now just an “alleged” super villain. That’s a positive, right?

“However; some new details and eyewitness accounts are emerging that paints a different picture for this troubled young woman at the center of attention.”

The evil picture of me is replaced with the happy and smiling picture of me when I was posing with some other convention goers. They also flash the picture of me and the fake Wolverine snarling at each other with obvious fake anger.

“Is she really just an innocent victim of The Riddler and The Joker’s evil plot that led to the successful heist of 300 million dollars from the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank last night?“

Oh shit.  The police and the feds are really going to be upset about that.  I am so so screwed.

“Or, was she planted at the Comic Convention to help scout out the security while pretending to just be a normal person in a costume?  We have here someone who claims that she knows who this Mystique person really is...”

The screen behind the talking head comes to life and there is Kristen standing anxiously by, ready to be interviewed from the wreckage of the convention floor by another reporter.

“She’s not Mystique!” Kristen says.

Finally! Someone that can tell them what I’ve been trying to tell them all along.

“Well, who is she then?”

Rut Roh!

Kristen pauses in her defense of me. “I can’t tell you. It would ruin her secret identity, but...”

The report pounces. “You do realize that the police could charge you with obstructing justice, right?  Two police officers are in critical condition right now and hundreds of millions of dollars have been stolen from the Federal Reserve Bank.”

Bless her heart, but Kristen stands by me. “I don’t care. She is not a villain.  She saved us all and she had people with machine....”

She is cut off before she can explain what really happened. “Sorry to interrupt you Kristen, but my producers just told me that someone from the FBI would like to have a word with you.”

Kristen doesn’t crack. Instead, she surprises me by getting angry. “I don’t care! She’s not a villain and she didn’t mean to...”  She manages to get out before they cut the feed on her.

Bastards!

They cut back to the studio talking head. “Well, there you have it.  The FBI is officially on the case and we have received reliable reports that the DMA is also actively investigating this incident.”

Oh yeah!  That should help.  Special Agent Helligan was there. She saw what happened.  Why can’t she just tell them and fix everything right now?

Apparently, I am the newest big star because they completely ignore the fact that The Riddler was even at the freaking convention just so that they can ask more clueless eyewitnesses about me while showing more pictures of me in various poses.  They end it with two pictures of me side by side. A sexy evil pose picture with me looking like I am about to attack the photographer along with a nice, friendly smiling picture of me with a group of fans.  “Femme Fatale” or “Innocent Victim” is the caption.

I reach for the remote so that I can shut off the TV before I can get even more frustrated when the next story catches my eye.  The

“...and in related news.  The San Francisco VA Hospital was attacked last night by an unknown group of gunmen armed with assault rifles and wearing military grade body armor.  Two DMA agents and one security guard are confirmed dead with an unknown number of staff and patients wounded. One patient has been confirmed to be missing, but citing patient confidentiality and an ongoing investigation by both the FBI and the DMA, a hospital spokesperson has been unwilling to release that patient’s name.”

Umm, that would be me and if the DMA and the FBI know that I was at the hospital; why am I still linked to The Riddler thing?  Can’t they just come out and admit it so that people won’t think that I was with that asshole?  I can admit to being stupid, but I am not a villain!  Well, I didn’t mean to be a villain.

They don’t have much on that story, so they cut to some super important update about another movie star that did something stupid at a nightclub. Why in the hell can’t they be a ‘super villain’ for being stupid? I turn off the TV and sigh with frustration. I guess that it could be worse.  They could just be showing all the evil pictures of me.

I try to get comfortable on the couch again, but after five minutes of frustration, I finally break down and venture into Jen’s room.  She looks so peaceful.  I feel a warm, tingling sensation from down below and this time, even my nipples seem to get into the act.  Yep, I am definitely feeling aroused by the sight of Jen. Why now? Why didn’t I feel this way earlier?

I just do not know what to make of all of my conflicting emotions right now, but I do know that Jen makes me feel good, warm and safe. I want to show her how I feel about her. I want to touch her and make her feel good. I want her to feel loved and the more I think about those feelings, the more aroused that I feel myself getting. My groin feels very warm and my nipples feel like they are about to explode from the pressure that the sports bra is putting on them.

I feel myself biting my lip as the conflict builds up inside of me. I want to just rip off all my clothes and ravish her right now, but I doubt very much that she would feel grateful if I did that.  I glance back to her living room and the couch, and then back to her.  Then, back to her living room.  When we were dating, we made out a lot on that couch.

Umm, maybe the couch isn’t that good  a place to be right now. Too many memories of us together with me as a guy.  I decide to just bite the bullet and lay down with her. If I stay on the edge of the bed and face away from her, maybe it won’t be so bad.  

Decision reached, I quickly strip down to my panties and Jen doesn’t even register my presence as I pull up the covers and slide my mostly naked body under the sheets, joining her. She is still dead to the world. I lean over and once again, I fondly kiss her on the cheek. Then, I roll onto my side, with my back facing her and give her plenty of room so that she won’t think that I tried to make a move on her while she was sleeping.  I sigh as I exhale a calming breath.  Then, I close my eyes and the world with all my problems fade away as sleep overtakes me.

I feel myself climbing back to awareness and I feel so warm and comfortable that I never want to move.  A warm body is snuggled up to my back and I have an arm wrapped possessively around my stomach with a smooth leg entangled with my smooth legs. It has to be Jen. I don’t think that I moved and it feels wonderful being hugged by Jen as I slowly wake up.  What a nice way to wake up compared to being pulled out of the bed due to people trying to kidnap and/or kill you.

I look over to her alarm clock and notice that it is 11:32 AM.  I slept for five hours and she is still asleep. I awkwardly twist my neck to turn and look back at Jen. I don’t want to wake her up, but I need to get out of the bed. I need to go to the bathroom.  I try to extricate myself from her, but in doing so, she wakes.  Then, she happily smiles at me and my heart skips a beat until she realizes who I am, where she is and what she is doing.  

Jen fully awakens as she scrambles away from my side. “Oh my god, Ally!  I am so sorry!  I didn’t mean too, umm, you know.” She says as she also uses her arm to cover her exposed breasts from me.  

Now, that she no longer has me trapped with her body, I slowly roll over to face her and prop myself up with my left arm.  I ignore the fact that my breasts are completely exposed to her as I smile up at her. “Jen. It’s fine, really. It actually felt kind of nice waking up with you snuggled up against me.”  I feel my heart sink with disappointment, but I can’t let her know that. She would be weirded out if she knew just how much attraction I felt for her right now. “I know that you didn’t mean it. It was just an accident.”

Jen relaxes and drops the arm covering her breasts. It takes a lot of willpower to remain focused on her eyes.  “Oh, thank god!” She blushes. “I don’t know what came over me.  I think I had this dream with you in it and I kind of remember snuggling up to you while you slept, sorry.”

“Really, Jen, it’s fine.” I say as I reach up to her face and affectionately move a stray strand of hair out of her eyes for her.  

She closes her eyes and shudders briefly when my fingertips brush against the skin of her face. I notice her nipples start to stiffen and as much as I would love to follow up on her cue right now, I fear Jen’s rejection even more once she realizes what she is doing.  “Jen! You’re freezing!” I say as I quickly get out of her bed, and then pull her comforter up and around her shoulders.  She watches me with a slightly confused expression as I do that for her while also being mostly naked.  I don’t think that thong panties really count.

“You’re beautiful.” She says with a note of wonder in her voice.

Now it is my turn to blush and this time my pale skin doesn’t hide that reaction in the slightest.  “Umm, yeah.” I say as I look around the room for something to wear.  No oversized baseball jerseys conveniently hung over the back of a chair for me.

She giggles at me. “And you’re blushing!”

With that observation, I grab my borrowed clothes off the floor, rush out of her room and into the bathroom so that I can make myself more presentable.  After dressing, I take care of my original reason for wanting to get out of bed. Then, I follow that up by washing my hands and taking more than a few deep breaths to calm myself.

I turn to open the door to her bathroom when Jen surprises me by rushing in. “Oh! Thank god! I thought that you would never finish in here. I need to go pee!” She says as she runs over to her toilet, pulls her panties down, sits and promptly sighs with relief.

I feel a certain amount of pleasure when I note that she is comfortable enough with my presence to not bother with covering herself with a shirt before she ran in here.  I pause for a second, then grab her brush and use it to quickly and efficiently put my hair up into a ponytail as she finishes up.

I take a polite step back as she approaches the sink so that she can wash her hands. I pretend to ignore her body and as I focus on making my ponytail tighter. It is a little bit trickier with High Elf Vylencia’s longer hair.

Jen seems to take an extra long time washing her hands.

I look at her via the mirror and she seems lost in thought as she mechanically goes through the motions of washing her hands, followed by drying her hands.  She glances at the mirror and notices my concerned gaze.

“Jen, are you okay?” I softly ask.

Jen blinks once with surprise, but then she nervously bites her lip as she turns to fully face me, wrapping her arms around her chest in an attempt to cover herself. She looks a little nervous for some reason.

I reach past her, set the brush down, and then I take a half-step back before I place my hands on her bare shoulders.  I can’t completely see her face. She is looking down at the floor and I am not sure if it is because she is nervous or afraid or something else. “Jen? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know...” She says in a whisper that even with my elf ears, I have a hard time hearing.

“What?” I ask.

She looks up to me and I see that her eyes are looking a little moist. She is on the verge of crying and not only does my heart skip a beat, but my stomach also twists around and into a few knots.  I pull her to me and affectionately wrap her in my arms.  She surprises me when she returns my hug, but I feel the pang of regret when I feel her start to pull away.  I look back down and into her eyes as she pulls away just far enough to allow her to look up at me without straining her neck.

Jen is intently studying my face and eyes. She is looking for something, but I am not sure what because if I didn’t know any better; I would swear that she is searching my face to see how I might feel about her.  She has to know that I do, but I know that she can’t love me anymore. Well, not in a sexual way.

“Kiss me.” She whispers.

Okay, I did not expect her to ask me to do that and I am sure that my eyes widen beyond what is normal as the surprise kicks in.  

“Kiss me...” She says once again and I don’t need to be told twice.  I do.

I am somewhat hesitant at first because I am still not sure what is happening. Maybe she is just being nice to me out of old times’ sake. Maybe she under some weird type of sleepwalking spell, but I don’t ever remember her sleep walking or saying that she has ever walked in her sleep before.  Her lips feel nice against my lips, soft against soft.  Her delicate scent fills my nostrils and she surprises me again when she passionately returns my initial, hesitant kiss.  Her eyes are as wide open as my own eyes as we both study each other’s face for any hint of rejection or discomfort.  

“We should get you some clothes...” Jen whispers as she brushes her lips against my neck, causing me to shiver with anticipation.

“Yeah...” I say as I return the favor for her.

“We should head to the mall, now...” Jen says before I kiss one of her nipples, causing her to gasp for air.

“Mmmm, good idea...” I say as she helps me remove the sports bra that I just put back on.

Jen places both her hands down the back of my pants. Then slides her hands to the sides of my hips, hooking her fingers under my panties just before she slowly pushes down to slide my pants and panties down my legs in one smooth motion. All while she kisses her way down the front of my chest before teasing me by blowing softly on the outer edges of my labia. Yes, I did pay attention when Dr. Keller educated me on my new parts and I refuse to refer to that part of my anatomy by using any term that can be used with a cat.  I never felt comfortable using that slightly derogatory term, but at the same time I wrack my brain for something else to use instead.   Coochie is the only cutesy word that springs to mind, but that word sounds too cute.

“Oh my god!” I shudder as my entire body tingles and my knees start to feel weak from the anticipation of her touch.  

What was I just trying to figure out?

Finally free of all of my clothes, I return the favor for her with her panties. Then, Jen coyly leads me to her bed and all that I can think to myself over and over is, “OMG! OMG! OMG!”  We start out slow and hesitant at first because neither one of us are exactly sure what to do.  I find Jen’s body utterly irresistible and sexy.  Given my earlier freak out over Jen’s self breast exam, I also find the fact that I am having those feelings for her a little confusing. Why didn’t I feel anything for her then?

So, I am a little worried that this is just some temporary insanity on my part and that Jen is just experimenting with this and will quickly discover that she just can’t overcome the fact that I am not a man anymore.  I know that if our roles were reversed, that there would be no way that I could even attempt to make love to another man.

After we both share an orgasm or two or three together, all of those doubts fly out the window and I concentrate every fiber of my being on making Jen feel as good, if not better, than she is making me feel.  I never, ever, not in a million years could have imagined that sex as a woman could feel so fulfilling. Why couldn’t I have been shocked to death sooner?

We finally collapse in each other’s arms after almost an hour. I sort of recall feeling a little scared when she brought out a toy, but now I am having trouble even remembering why I liked having sex as a man. Why do women even have sex with men when they have those amazing battery powered things? My entire body feels like jello and how she finds the energy to prop herself up enough to lean over and kiss me once more, I will never know.  

“Thanks.” Jen says with wonder in her eyes.

“Umm, for what?” I say as I struggle not to pant from exhaustion. I am sure that I look like a smiling, happy fool because I can’t recall ever feeling this good before. I can’t believe that she just had sex with me. Afterglow? Hell, how about total and complete mind numbing, bone deep satisfaction? It wasn’t just sex.  I have never felt so connected and a part of another person until now. I feel completely and utterly star struck in love with her.

Jen smiles as she reads the expression on my face. “For being you and for loving me.  I have never even kissed another girl before and I never had the desire to either, but you made it...” She closes her eyes as if savoring a memory. “...magical and I love you, Valerie Allison Wilson.”

I can’t help it, I start to cry. “I love you too Jennifer Marie Ittner.” I manage to choke out before I completely lose it.  She pulls me into a hug and kisses me until I stop crying.  I can’t help trying to compare sex with Jen as a girl with sex with Jen as a man and I fail.  The experience is not even close to the same.  I never once felt like she was giving herself to me or that I was forcing myself onto her. Instead, it felt like we shared ourselves with each other, totally and completely with neither one of us giving up anything to each other.

“I need to take a shower.” Jen says breaking my line of thought.

“Me too...” I whisper.

Half an hour later, my knees feel like jello again, but we are both clean.  It takes us another half an hour before our hair is dry and we are once again fully clothed and presentable to the public. This time, instead of her painfully small sneakers, she hands me a pair of flip-flop sandals to wear.  Unfortunately, they are pink, but they also don’t hurt my toes when I walk in them.

During the drive to the mall, neither one of us can stop singing that “I kissed a girl...” song then breaking out into giggles and laughing at each other. Not even the occasional sight of a police car can break our mood.

We enter the mall, arm in arm and giggling at each other like silly school girls.  No one looks at us like we are doing something immoral. If two guys walked around like we are, pretty much everyone would be turning up their noses with disgust at their flagrant display of affection for each other.  I guess that our happy and touchy feelie behavior is normal for girls.  

We are both pretty hungry so we make a beeline for a sit down restaurant. Neither one of us find the idea of eating in the food court all that appealing.  I just want to be as alone with her as possible for as long as possible. It is a little difficult to do it, but I manage to force myself to sit across from her.  We both receive plenty of second looks from the guys and Jen takes great pride and pleasure in informing me that they are all looking at me, her hot and sexy girlfriend.

This time, when she says girlfriend, she is saying like I am her girlfriend versus just a girl who is her friend and that makes me smile almost uncontrollably.  Seriously, I have never felt happier in my entire life than I am feeling right this second.  Nothing can bring me down, not even the nationwide manhunt for me.

Then, I see the boy and his mother sitting a few spots away from us and my mood instantly crashes. The mother is facing away from me and I can sense her bone crushing fatigue. She is so tired, but her son is so very sick. He has pancreatic cancer and it has spread into his other organs.  It is killing him and his health is down to 50%, but he seems to be happy despite the pain that he has to be suffering.  

Jen notices my expression falter as she looks up from the menu that she is studying.  “Ally? What’s wrong?” She asks as she reaches for and grabs my hand.                        

Point with my eyes and Jen risks a quick glance behind her. “That boy over there. He has cancer. He is dying and there is probably nothing that his doctors can do for him.  The cancer has spread through most of his body and his mom is practically falling asleep.”  I say as I dab my eyes with my napkin.

Jen turns back to me. “Can you cure him?”

“Hi! I’m Michelle and I will be your server today. Is there anything that I can get you ladies to drink right away?” A cute, young blonde girl who looks to be about 18 asks us.

That distracts me from answering Jen right away. “Umm, sure Michelle, can I have an ice tea?” I ask.

“Sure!” Michelle then turns to Jen. “And for you?”

“I’ll take the same, thanks.” Jen says, smiling at the server.

I wait until our server leaves before I turn back to Jen. “Yes, I think that I can cure him, but I saw you smile at our server. You better not be thinking about cheating on me already!” I say, followed by an almost embarrassing giggle at her shocked expression.

I glance at my menu and the sight of a juicy steak does nothing for me, but the salad does. Now that I am a high elf, maybe I am now a herbivore instead of a carnivore. I decide to not question my instincts.  When our server, Michelle returns with our drinks; I order the salad while Jen surprises me and orders the same.

My gaze keeps being drawn to the boy. I feel so bad for him and his mom. It has got to be heartbreaking to watch your child practically die in front of your eyes and feel powerless to help him.  I feel Jen holding my hand again as my eyes begin to sting.

“Why don’t you go talk to him? Maybe you can sneak a heal?” She asks.

“I dunno if I can sneak a heal. You glowed when I cured you. I am pretty sure that people would notice that.” I say.

“I glowed?” Jen asks looking down at herself with confusion.

“Well, yeah....didn’t you see it?” I ask.

“Umm, no?”  Jen says as her expression settles into her ‘I have an idea’ look.

“What?” I ask.

“Let’s run to the bathroom and if no one is in there, you can try casting a cure on me again while I look at myself in the mirror to see if I glow.” Jen says just loud enough for me to hear as she pulls me out of our booth and towards the bathroom.

Luckily, there is no one else in the bathroom when we enter it, so I quickly cast my Purify spell on her while she watches herself in the mirror.  I see a glow.

“Did you see it?” I ask.

Jen shakes her head, “no”.  Then, she smiles at me. “Well, it looks like you can cure him now, right?” She asks.

I nod my head and smile with pleasure. I can’t wait to help the boy.  We sneak a quick kiss before we exit the bathroom and return to our table.  Our food has not arrived and even though a salad shouldn’t take that long to make, I don’t expect it to arrive for another five or ten minutes.

I walk over to the boy’s table and that is when I notice that he is happily reading a worn out Wolverine comic book as his mom just stares at him with a fragile smile on her face.  “Oh my god! Is that a Wolverine comic book?” I ask the boy.  

He looks up at me and his smile almost breaks my heart right then and there.  “Yeah! It’s the one where Wolverine fights Spiderman!” He says before he starts to lightly cough.

It’s hard, but I ignore his cough instead of casting my Purify spell on him right then and there. “Oh! I heard about that one!  Can I sit with you and read some of it with you while I wait for my food to arrive?” I ask him while glancing at his mom to see if it will really be okay. Her smile and quick nod tells me that it will be okay with her. It is also hard to not cast my Refresh spell on her right then too.

The boy is very excited about having me sitting next to him and showing an interest in his comic book. “You’re very pretty.  Can you be my girlfriend?” He asks with childlike innocence that makes his mom’s eyes begin to water.  

She almost loses it when I give him a gentle hug and kiss him on his cheek. “Sure! I am officially your girlfriend for today, but I don’t think that we will be able to spend much time together doing all the boyfriend and girlfriend things today.” I say with a gentle smile as I steal quick glances at his mom to make sure that I am not crossing the line with her.

“Oh, that’s okay. I am too sick anyway, plus I don’t want to get girl cooties.” He says as he struggles not to cough again.

“Umm, I’m sorry, umm...” His mom pauses with a pained expression on her face.

“Allison. Sorry that I didn’t introduce myself.” I say as I supply her with my name.

She smiles and waves my apology away. “Oh that’s okay, Allison, but would you mind if I leave Cody with you while I run to the bathroom real quick?” She asks.

Awesome!  That is just what I need to make sure she doesn’t notice me trying to cure her son. I smile at her. “Sure, umm?” I ask, prompting her for her name.

“Sorry. I’m Heather. Are you sure that you don’t mind?” She asks, almost like she expects me to refuse her for some reason. Sure, I know that her son is sick, but he’s not contagious or anything.

“No, not at all. Besides, how else can I be alone with my boyfriend on our first date?” I ask as I give Cody a hug and smile at her.

Cody pushes me away. “Ewww!”

The pain fades from her face as her smile reaches her eyes.  “Thanks!” She says as she rushes past me and heads towards the bathrooms.  

I spot Jen intently watching my little adventure while trying not to look like she is watching.  “So, Cody, why do you like Wolverine so much?” I ask.

“Because he can heal from any wound, never ever get sick and he has wicked cool claws that can slice through anything!” Cody says with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

I find myself nodding my head with agreement. “Plus, he is stubborn and he never gives up on a friend.” I say, adding my own two cents.

“Yeah! I wish that I was like him so that I wouldn't be so sick all the time.” Cody says without any bitterness, just longing.

I can’t handle it any longer. “Well, maybe the doctors will be wrong this time.” I say as I release my Purify spell on him.  I see him glow very very brightly as the magic works its way through his body, burning out the cancer.  I can’t believe that no one else can see it, but no one yells about the bright light or anything.

“That tickles.” He says with a giggle as his eyes brighten as the cancer is flushed from his body.

“What tickles?” I ask, pretending to not know what he is talking about.

He looks at me with even more wonder in his eyes. “Are you an angel?” He asks as the glow finally fades from my sight.

Oh crap!

It takes everything I have to not bolt on him right then and there. “Umm, nope. I’m just your girlfriend.” I say with a nervous smile and a glance at Jen.

Cody looks a little disappointed with my denial, but he powers through it and seems to accept it at face value. “Oh. Oh well. Maybe when I am older you can be my girlfriend for real?” He asks.

I can’t help it. I grab a spare napkin and use it to blot my eyes before the tears really get bad. “Sure, Cody. I would like that.” I say and amazingly, I actually feel like I mean it.

Heather chooses that moment to return to the table and my food also arrives. “Thanks Allison!” She says as she slides back into her seat and looks back to my table. “It looks like your food has arrived.”

I ambush Cody with another kiss on his cheek and a quick hug before he can object. Then, I slide out of their booth.  “Thanks, Heather!  Cody is a keeper. Maybe the doctors will have better news for you at his next visit.” I say as I attempt to escape from their table before they realize that something just happened or that I knew just how sick he really was.

Heather stops me by grabbing my hand before I can leave.  “Thanks Allison. You didn’t have to do that, but you really made his day with your little visit.” She gently says before letting my hand go with a thankful squeeze.

I manage to nod and smile at her as I slowly turn away and walk back to our table. My eyes are full of happy tears that threaten to burst at any second. I dab my eyes a few times with the napkin to prevent that as I slide back into my seat and smile appreciatively at Jen.

“Did it work?” Jen softly asks as she pauses with her fork poised to spear a juicy cherry tomato in her salad.

“Yep!” I excitedly whisper as I reach for my fork.  Yep, I am a vegetarian when I am in this body.  The salad is freaking awesome tasting and I find that the smell of the meat dishes from the surrounding tables upsets my stomach a little.

The rest of our meal passes uneventfully, but I start get a little worried when I hear Cody trying to explain to his mom about how he feels better and that he wants to hurry up and get home so that he can play in the playground with his friends.

We finish before they do and I can’t resist giving Cody one last ninja hug on our way out.  

Heather laughs at her son’s reaction as he pushes me away with a disgusted look on his face.  “Thanks again Allison!  You really are an angel!” She says, much to my consternation.

Jen struggles to stifle a laugh.

“It’s not funny!” I whisper as I finally escape the restaurant.