----------=BigCloset Retro Classic!=----------
Xchanged - Body Thief

©2013 — Foxxe Wilder

 
Micheal Carols, a police detective in the near future runs into a problem while alone at a crime scene. Having been stunned into unconsciousness from behind, he wakes up in a strange woman’s body. Still on the crime scene, he is arrested for interfering with a crime scene as well as being a prime suspect in the theft of some experimental software from the crime scene.

The real owner of the body he is trapped in makes off with his police credentials and system access (coded to retinal scan, voice and thumbprint) and stirs up trouble for him. His best chance is the help of a female jail inmate that knew the original body’s inhabitant and a detective he barely knows.

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Admin Note: Originally published on BigCloset TopShelf on Tuesday 07-30-2013 at 05:59:51 am, this retro classic was pulled out of the closet, and re-presented for our newer readers. ~Sephrena
 

Chapter One: Intro

Carol Micheals looked in the mirror and adjusted her bra. She hated the damn thing but it came with the territory. If you had boobs any bigger than a B cup then it was better to wear one than to risk eventual back issues - or so they told her.

She was never quite sure about just how true that was but she was not going to risk it. She didn't know very much about the background of her body aside that it belonged to a 27 year old woman when he ‘moved in’, she had been barren, had a history of some chemical addictions as well as long history of criminal activities.

This body had been her home for almost 10 years now and her face was beginning to show signs of her physical age. Not her true age mind you, just the age of the body. Her true age was 59 as she was born as a man, Micheal Carols, who was 22 years older than the body she had now. She got a longer lease on life out of the deal but with that was the gender issues and almost months on end of bullshit of trying to re-establish her actual life to the courts and various other governmental department.

Then there were the attentions of men. That was the worst part. She had never had any attraction for any man and had often wondered since the body theft just why and how women put up with them at all. She had no libido to speak of before the theft of her natural body and had far less now, but it was not always like this.

She found herself, once again, thinking of how she got in this state.

= * * *=

Chapter Two: Scents of Smell

Micheal Carols had made the level of detective by the age of 33 after years of walking the beat in downtown Vancouver. With time he advanced his career to a level where he rarely had to actually leave his office but he still trusted his eyes and other senses on crime scenes and trusted far less in the virtual scans most detectives had become used to in more recent times. Quite often he'd see something that a scan just didn't pick up clearly enough or even a slight smell or odour would catch his attention and lead him to a vital discovery that a virtual scan system couldn't match as of yet.

The downtown core of Vancouver had changed quite a lot over the years. The old turn of the century yuppie built condominiums had been retaken by the poor and lower financial classes after the second real estate crash of 2021. In fact that was the only bonus the poor had ever made in that area. Over twenty thousand people were able to get homes almost over night due to provincial government take over of the bank owned properties.

It was on one of his personal visits to a crime scene, just after his forty-ninth birthday, where he ran into his life changing ordeal. It was a case where some very expensive software had been reported stolen after a late night break in and he was bored in his office with just pouring over the virtual scans. Virtual Reality scans were always taken from every crime scene and many cases have been successfully solved because almost all info could be saved for future reference. But as he could not see as much from it no matter how much he examined it and being an old fashioned trained detective, he decided to visit the crime scene in person.

The software in question had to do with medical equipment but was flagged as experimental and confidential so he really didn't know too much about it. Neither did he care. He didn't need to know the specifics about the software. All he needed to know was just a basic idea of what it was supposed to do and the means of identification of said softwares; the specifics were naturally not any of his business.

As always there were some things the scanners could not pick up nor replicate and he had a nose for it - literally. As he stepped into the office he immediately detected the slight odour of ozone, often left behind by the constant running of high energy computers.

There was something else that he detected that was out of the normal - a scent that he could not quite place. It was a slightly fruity smell, an odd smell for a software lab as it was not common for software engineers to eat in the workplace; that was a practice that was frowned upon since the early 2020's where software engineers commonly made mistakes while eating so it was decided that such activities would be simply banned from the environment to help to cut back on unnecessary distractions.

It was not overpowering though. In fact one could say that it was barely there, distant or subdued, as if someone had attempted to hide it for some reason - probably due to a programmer that was delinquent by nature, took a chance and ate in the lab. His curiosity being peaked by this oddity led him to check the waste baskets of the cubicles.

He smelled it much closer now; some odd mixture of strawberry and melons.

He was thinking that he was getting close to discovering the precise source of the smell when he was hit from behind with what felt to be a stunner - a common street issue hand tazer that worked on a finely tuned electromagnetic disruption of the nerve endings. It was used as a replacement for the old wired models that had become notoriously unhealthy with old police use at the turn of the century and as it was fine tuned for human nerve endings, it had no effect upon any magnetically sensitive materials.

The smell of strawberries and melons was almost overpowering him as he went down like a stone in water, and blacking out just as fast.

= * * *=

Chapter Three: The Unwilling Understudy

How long he laid there he could not tell for sure. His head was pounding like an ancient air hammer; there was also a feeling of slight nausea, often the after effects of stunner.

It was early morning when he got to the site and the sun was now somewhat high in the sky. The location of the office downtown did not offer any good view of sun's position nor of any view aside of other high-rise buildings. He could only guess that it was still daytime - perhaps midafternoon at best but he could not be entirely sure. He struggled to get upright but the room spun as he did so.

Vertigo? That was not a normal side effect of stunners; not any that he had heard of anyways. He lay back down rolling slightly to his side as he did so to try to orient his spinning senses. As he did so he heard distant voices coming down the hall. He'd left a note for his auto-secretary before he left his office to record his movements and whereabouts. Standard procedure.

He listened as the voices got closer and eventually they could be heard entering the room where he laid prone on the floor. Still nauseous and spinning from slight vertigo he let out a slight groan to assist them in locating him.

Moments later he felt himself flipped on his back and the security guard of the building hit his badge, spoke briefly into it and minutes later was joined by a pair of paramedics, and a beat cop joined them with his cuffs out.

He was injected with an adrenaline based shot and stood up rather roughly, just as his physical discomforts started to clear up, the cuffs were put on him and his arms yanked roughly behind his back.

The beat cop looked at him directly in the eyes and replied, "Okay missy, this is a closed crime scene and as such you are under arrest for interference in a criminal investigation. I suggest you keep all your statements to yourself and await legal counsel as you are most certainly going to need it."

He then turned to the security guard who seemed to be apparently wandering from cubicle to cubicle looking for other people, "Any signs?"

"Nope, no signs of him at all," he replied, "she must have been here alone."

"She?" Micheal thought, "Who the hell is this she they are speaking of?"

"Well that is just fine by me," the beat cop said as he grinned at Micheal, "No extra surprises then. Carols must have left then without reporting in," he then went very sombre faced and turned to face him again, "or at least he had better have for your sake, missy!"

There was that reference again, 'missy'. "What the hell is wrong with this flat foot?" Micheal wondered as he was forcibly shoved towards the door, There was no reason for this abusive treatment at all especially by a subordinate. On top of everything he could still smell that strawberry-melon smell, only it seemed extremely close now and just would not seem to go away no matter where he was moved to.

"I assure you that I will have your badge and your ass on a platter after this day is done, flat foot!" Micheal snapped out in a groggy voice. Further irritated by the odd sound of his voice Micheal cleared his throat but even that didn't seem to help at all. His voice sounded way off normal.

The beat cop just chuckled slightly, "yeah sure, anything you say!" and pushed him through the door where Micheal fell flat on his face his hands still bound behind his back. The beat cop lifted him back up on his feet just as easily as though he were hoisting a mere 50 pound sack of potatoes and stood Micheal on his feet.

As Micheal regained his footing he glanced down towards his feet to assure his footing. That was when he saw it. It all began to fit toget3her now. He saw breasts, a slightly bulging but not quite overweight waistline, widened hips and tiny feet. He was in the body of a woman!

"Oh shit!" was all he said, then he thought better of saying anything else.

He knew that some of these beat cops were corrupt enough to 'lose' people that pissed them off and in the body of a yet unknown woman and found on a crime scene as such, he had little hope for any immediate understanding by him and his true identity was going to be a real bitch to prove no matter what for some time.

The beat cop took him in custody with the security guard to the rear gate of the building and hit his badge activating the transceiver built within. By design it was similar to the security guard's but naturally worked on a differing bandwidth.

"This is number 718 - McMurtrey, Located at crime scene 412 south of Dunsmuir at Seymour Ave in the rear entrance. I need transport for one female age approximately mid to late twenties. - Better send a female unit for strip search. Charges to include possible disruption of a crime scene," the beat cop then looked at the security guard and nodded, "shouldn't be any more than a few minutes maximum."

"Not to worry," the security replied, "it's been real quiet this morning, I recorded Detective Carols entering the building about 3 hours ago but he must have slipped out while I was on break. I didn't see him leave at all."

= * * *=

Chapter Four: On the Inside

Micheal sat in the interview view - which was a nice way of say interrogation room - and looked at the one way mirrored window. The woman's face staring back at him from the reflection was no beauty queen but at the same time she was not exactly ugly either. She had a round face with full cheeks, medium high cheekbones, slightly pouty lips, blue-grey eyes and shoulder length chestnut hair. Her eyebrows were heavier in growth than he was used to seeing these days on women but he assumed that was partially due to the absence of vanity this woman had - an assumption he made when noticing she wore no makeup at all. The only vanity item she did use some sort of fruity cologne that smelled of strawberries and melon - the smell that originally gave her presence in the software lab away.

The identification process gave him a bit of other relevant information on her as well. She was five foot five inches tall, had a an almost slender build with a slight bulge on the belly indicating that she was not one for much exercise. She weighed in at one hundred and forty-four pounds.

During the strip search by the female officer that came along with the paddy wagon, he also learned the girl's body he was stuck in, never trimmed herself 'down there' and by the looks of it, her boobs were roughly a thirty eight double D cup.

It took five hours of constant grilling by the arresting officer and two junior detectives to ascertain that the woman that they had in custody had the mind of Detective Micheal Carols within it or at least a good knowledge of his life.

Her fingerprints were taken and she was identified as Shari Anne Canning; a recovering chemical addict with an extensive record of drugs and some minor robbery charges.

Micheal could already feel the rising tension in her body from the withdrawal she was going through. It was no picnic for him but he knew only too well that he had to keep a level head at this point. Although the interrogators had discovered that Micheal Carols might be the mind within the body, they still had to be sure of it and that could only be done over time and extensive interrogation to assure all answers they got were giving the same information on a constant basis.

Micheal had been on such interrogation teams in the past only too often where a victim's body was stolen for the purpose of a crime, or for hiding from a police dragnet. The victim within the accuser’s body could be in custody for up to a full week, constantly under the microscope to insure proper identification.

Meanwhile the name of the person they purported to be was recorded, tracked down and taken into custody to also prove identity. Most of the time the criminal with the stolen body would screw up after only a few days and the original body owner would be transferred back to their own body under medical supervision.

He knew that it could be quite a while in his case as the perpetrator now had access to his entire life, badge number and police clearances. With his retinal scan and a thumbprint his very job could be hacked into. He sighed aloud.

Ten minutes passed and two detectives entered the room; one male, one female. Micheal recognized the female detective as a newer addition to the division, by name of Detective Teri Jacobson. Although he had never actually met her in person before he had heard that she was rather thorough in her procedure. The male detective was just as new to him but a quick glance at his Precinct Ident Card told Micheal that his name was Detective Trent Canon.

“Well, Ms. Canning,” Teri addressed him, “for the moment that is who you have been physically identified. Now as know if you are the real detective Micheal Carols, you will be identified by the name of the body you are in.”

“We have contacted the body of Detective Carols and he has admitted to being on the crime scene. However he has reported nothing unusual. In fact his report has been validated by system security monitors. He was in the same room where you were found, he checked a trashcan and left the scene. You were seen on the security cam later apparently poking around in the computers looking for something,” Detective Jacobson continued.

“That’s impossible,” Micheal responded, “She must have hacked the security system. Altered the timestamps somehow.”

“That would take quite some advanced knowledge of computer software systems and according to our records, Ms. Canning, you don’t have any such talents and never had any formal training in that area at all,” the male detective replied, “why don’t you come clean and tell us what you were really after?”

”Dammit, why can’t you get it through your skull?” Micheal replied frustrated, “I am not Shari Canning, this is her body. She hit me with a stunner from behind and must have used a portable Xchange unit on me. When I came to I was in this body and on the crime scene still. I did look into the trashcan. That’s where I was when I got hit by the stunner. I know only too well the problems I am looking at for ident as well. I’ve sat in on such sessions many times.”

The female detective hit her badge and mumbled into it. Moments later the door lock clicked and another person joined them. Micheal was startled as it was Micheal’s own body grinning from ear to ear!

“So this is the little tart junkie that seems to want me for my body?” Micheal’s body smiled at him with an odd gleam in the eye, “Just why would a woman of your age want with an old fart’s broken down body like mine? I doubt you’d take me as attractive!”

Teri attempted a poorly stifled giggle and failed but for a moment, then rapidly regained her composure.

“Well apparently you have some sort of plan or you would not be here,” Micheal hissed angrily in Shari’s voice, “This is a good ruse by the way, but there are things you don’t know about me that are not on file and those will eventually be your undoing. In the meantime if you damage anything on that body…”

“That, my dear, is my business,” Micheal’s voice replied back, “and you aren’t going to do shit because you can’t do shit. I’ve seen your file. They showed me on the way in. You are delusional, a drug user and a habitual criminal with a record as long as my arm.”

“You showed her the files?” Micheal nearly screeched, “Are you two crazy? That is so far off procedure I could not begin to know where to start! You gave Canning the door to my life and everything! I demand you cap this at once for further investigation.”

The person within Micheal’s body smiled, pinched Micheal on the ass and activated his badge, calling for the door.

As Micheal watched his body leave the room, the female detective looked Micheal directly in the eyes and said. “You are going to be charged for tampering with a crime scene, Ms. Canning. You will be detained in a women’s cell block until your trial which can take up to 14 days minimum to process. At which time you will be required to present further valid proof of your identification claims, assuming of course that you can.”

“And you are going to set him free on his own recognizance?” Micheal began to feel the weight of his fruitless predicament. It was his word against the word of what appeared to be a much respected detective; a reputation he worked his ass off to achieve over the years, and here he was trapped against it.

“What if he runs and only afterward I can prove my innocence and Ident?” he continued, “Then you two numbskulls will have to find him and bring him in for corrective Xchange. I’d hate to be in your ass when that shit hits the fan!”

The male detective laughed, “Wow, that is some convincing delusion! I’d almost believe you, were it not for the fact that Detective Carols has already passed a lie detection hands down — I checked the results personally.”

A cold chill ran down Micheal’s spine; he knew what that meant. Shari Canning apparently had some help from the inside. Sighing heavily he looked up and replied, “Well then, that’s about it for now then. Any more questions will have to be made in the company of my lawyer.”

“As you wish Ms, Canning,” he replied as he straightened up and touched his badge to signal for the door, “A public defender will be assigned to you, until then you will have to return to your cell for processing then transferred to the **Worem centre. Clothing will be supplied.”

(**Worem Centre aka Women’s Remand Centre — a special correctional unit for the non-sentenced accused.)

= * * *=

Chapter Five: In the Mix

Michael sighed as he glanced at the pile of non-descript women's clothes then up at the female guard behind the clothing desk. Already he had seen more variations of female flesh than he'd ever dreamed of before and he hoped that this escapade would not sour his view of woman when he got his own body back.

The shower room contained a dozen women of various ages and sizes and none of them were what he would refer to as pretty in anyway. Due to some rather personal and highly invasive searches, he had already experienced a few of the pains that were female specific. He already new far more from experience about the vagina between his legs than he expected.

He put the clothes on as best as he could and joined the waiting line-up of similarly clad women. The next step they were all issued blankets, a pillow, bed sheets and a pair of towels. After the bedding issuance they were paraded out the door and escorted to an empty halfway room where there was not a stick of furniture, just one lone metal door with a small 10 inch square window. All prisoners were left there and the guards exited the room promptly. As the guards’ exit door clanged shut, the door opposite issued it’s own clang, then it swung open, allowing the inmates a view of the indoor courtyard beyond where a number of other female inmates were idly milling about.

As he entered he heard a voice call from the opposite side of the room, “Shari?” the woman’s voice cried out, “Dammit bitch, what the hell did you do to get here?”

For a moment he forgot himself then remembered the face he wore was not his own. He forced a smile and replied, “I was caught in a software lab.”

A slightly overweight short woman of about 32 years strolled up to him and dropped her voice to a whisper, “Okay who the hell are you? Shari would never admit what she was doing and she outright hated me, so fess up. Did she finally get the parts to repair that hot xchange unit of hers?”

Michael smiled briefly then answered cautiously, “well you are right on a few things. I am definitely not Shari despite my appearance, and as I am here in her body instead of my own, so I’d say that her search for replacement parts was a success. As you know my name, or at least the one this face goes by, may I inquire as to who you might be?”

“My name is Jessica Leon,” the blonde woman responded, “me and Shari did a few jobs years ago but things came to a head between us when she slept with my old man. She denied it and threatened to kick my ass everytime she saw me. She did exactly that a few times but every so often I got the best of her. I suppose that she must have made off with your body and left you in hers then?”

“That’s right,” Micheal replied, “and I will admit that it is a very odd state for a person like me to be caught in. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get used to all this woman stuff.”

“Oh my god,” Jessica exclaimed in a whisper, “You’re a man in there? You poor dear. What is your normal job, when you are in your own body I mean?”

Micheal thought quickly. He could not be identified as a cop of any kind in this environment. He’d never survive to ever see his own face again. He had to play it cool somehow.

“I’m into law,” he offered, “she nailed me on a crime scene and made off with my life leaving me stunned and unconscious on the crime scene. As I could not prove my identity, they put me in here, under her name and with the charges applied to her on my shoulders.”

“She always was a bitch,” Jessica replied, “so what are you? Forensics?”

“Crime scene virtual scanner,” Micheal lied, “I record crime scenes for crime scene vids.”

“Crime scene Photographer is what they used to call you guys before all the fancy holographing toys came out,” Jessica responded, “so she nailed you from behind and you woke up with tits?”

“Yeah something like that,” he replied, “any idea why she’d pick my body for this? I mean my body is almost 50 years old, this chick is 27. She’s not getting an upgrade in this trade off, that is for sure.”

“Well, Shari liked to use xchange to cover her tracks on various jobs,” Jessica replied as they sat down at a secluded table away from the general population, “she used to say that some day she’d Xchange with a guy for shits and giggles; just to see what it was like to be a man. I will admit I am a bit surprised that she settled for an older man’s body for that.”

“No more than I am,” Micheal replied, “I was never what you’d call a looker at all, well, not that I am aware of anyways. I never did that well with the ladies either, so I pretty well just stuck to my job and my boring life and just existed.”

“Well now you’re definitely getting out of your rut,” Jessica giggled.

“And right into someone else’s,” Micheal replied dryly, “It’s not really what I had in mind for a change of pace.” Micheal looked around and motioned adding, “and this is definitely not where I was planning to take my vacation.”

“Well hon,” Jessica sat back and stretched, “it looks like you are going to see how the other half lives and big time. As a woman and an inmate. Any idea on how long you will be in here?”

“Not precisely,” Micheal replied with a sigh, “they sent me direct from the station to here. I saw no judge nor administration at all. Legally I should not be here at all until a judge or Justice of the Peace sends me here. I suspect that there was some paper tampering involved.”

“Well,” Jessica scowled slightly, “if Shari’s behind this and she has access to a police computer, she’d be the one to find a way to hide you away for a while, to keep you out of her hair. It may not show up in her records but Shari has quite a talent with security systems on computers. It’s mostly self taught but she did have a boyfriend about years back who taught her a whole whack of stuff.”

“So that’s how she did it,” Micheal thought, “she hacked the admin files using my retinal scan, thumbprint and voice pattern; this is not going to be easy if she gets me moved into solitary somehow. I have to make sure I don’t end up there.”

“Well if and when you need help with any upcoming feminine issues, I’m here for you. If anyone bothers you just tell them that you are Jessie’s bitch.” Jessica smiled slyly, “There will be a price for my services but we can negotiate that at a later date. You have to contact someone with some pull on the outside if you can.”

“Feminine issues?” Micheal asked warily, “what kind of issues could those be?”

“Oh just the standard menstral period and hygiene issues, emotional problems, hell maybe even sex!” Jessica replied with a slight smile, “you’ve not thought of any of this, have you?”

“No, not at all,” Micheal replied suddenly feeling uncomfortable in this skin once again, “least of all sex! I was hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with any of that.”

“Ha!” Jessica laughed a bit louder than she meant to which turned almost every eye on the range in the direction where Jessica and Micheal chatted, “With Shari’s body you are more than likely to feel a bit bothered rather soon. She used to be a bit of a nympho.”

“Oh Christ,” Micheal felt a shiver go up his spine. Nothing about sexuality had even occurred to him. He had been more worried about his body and the fact it held all sorts of security access methods that without it, he was totally helpless. He barely noticed being female that much.

“Well all that aside, I’ll deal with that as it comes,” Micheal blushed at the unintended pun he made, “The big part of that is how do I prove to them who I am?” he wondered aloud, “it won’t be easy. I’ve seen a bit of Shari’s record, it’s lengthy and a bit wild to say the least.”

“Yeah there is one thing that might help you out with her,” Jessica pondered, “Shari had a run in with the cops in Winnipeg about 3 years ago involving Xchange units. She got caught red handed with 6 stolen units, she got off that charge scot free on a technicality. The charge should still be on the books but there was no guilty verdict. She lost the units to the cops but walked from the charges.”

“Well let’s get you set up in your cell before the good ones are taken up.” Jessica smiled, “we can talk business some other time. There is just one more thing I want from you at this time.”

Jessica pulled Micheal close and hugged him tightly while kissing him full on the lips and pronounced loud enough for the courtyard to hear, “You’re my bitch. You do as I say, when I say and to who I say — no questions!”

Jessica winked quickly at him and whispered low, “play along.”

Micheal got down on his knees in a submissive position and looking at Jessica’s feet replied, “as you wish ma’am.”

“Okay now get your ass up, grab your shit and follow me,” Jessica led him off to find his cell.

Later on that night Micheal laid in his cell frustrated and more than just a bit shaken. He had made a friend in jail, which was always a plus but she had her price. Micheal was not sure what she would ask for repayment but he was not sure he wanted to find out too quickly. Jessica made no motion to explain or even hint what that price would be but he was hoping that it would happen after he gained his freedom and his life back.

He had made a friend, but not just any friend; one that had a vendetta upon the very person who owned the body he was stuck in. It was not much for help but it was a start. He could probably gain more info into what Shari’s life was like so he could track down her intentions. He was almost sure, by the sounds of the stories that Jessica had shared with him, that she could be helpful to ascertain Shari’s intentions.

Micheal had his suspicions that his body would be used for some sort of major crime and then she’d just drop his body for someone else’s, leaving someone else trapped within his body while Shari made off in their body.

He rolled onto his side and gazed idly out the door of his cell, more than just a little aware of the feeling of his breasts laying on top of each other. That was something that felt oddly comforting but he had no idea why. He hugged his boobs as he stared out the door and drifted off to sleep.

= * * *=

Chapter Six: The Frosted Window

Two days had passed without any incidents. Micheal was playing cards with Jessica and a few other inmates when a guard’s voice came over the intercom, “Canning, you have a visitor. Go to door 3b and wait.”

“Are you expecting someone hon?” Jessica asked him.

“Not that I am aware of,” he answered, “unless it’s him, but I don’t see that happening. He is not likely to be coming here anytime soon.”

“You might be right there,” Jessica smiled.

Micheal got up and went to door 3b and waited. After a few moments he saw the face of a guard on the other side of the glass and a slight buzz was heard as the door unlocked to allow him access.

As the door slammed shut behind him, the guard told him, “It seems the police want to ask you some more questions about your case. Do you want to have your attorney here for this?”

“No that’s okay,” he replied, “I don’t have anything to hide at all.”

He was led into an interview room with 2 chairs and a small table between them. Sitting at the table was a fellow detective that he knew by reputation although the two of them had never actually intermingled socially.

“Good morning Ms. Canning, My name is Detective Dave Frost,” he introduced himself with a handshake, “I am investigating your claims to be someone else. Could you elaborate a bit for me on this?”

Micheal told him everything. From the moment he left his office after viewing the virtual scan to the point where he lost consciousness only to wake up as a woman.

“Can you offer ME any proof as to who you claim to be?” the detective asked as he checked the statement recorder on the desk to assure its operation, “given your physical form we cannot go through the standard old school identification methods. Perhaps if you offered me some personal info on your early life that I could verify by way of researching older records. It would take a few days but it could help to verify who you claim to be and even help you to return to duty, if you are who you claim to be.”

“Oh yeah, look at me,” Micheal replied, “I’m in the body of a drug addict, I’ve been going through withdrawal for the past while and you are saying that they will just up and allow me to grab my badge and sidearm and return to duty? No, if at all, they are more likely going to stick me on desk duty until all ident questions are verified one way or another. Then if I can get this body to pass the physical, well you know the procedure I’m sure. No, I can’t see me doing that.”

“Well Ms. Canning, and I’m sorry for referring to you as such but until I can see proof that you might be Micheal Carols, I will continue to refer to you as the name that comes with your body,” the detective responded, “this is the fastest way we have at present, and to be honest with you, I saw the records of your initial interview. I was curious and checked them further. I found that you’ve been sent here without even seeing a Justice of the Peace?”

Micheal nodded, “That’s true. I was railroaded. Someone on the inside seems to be working with the real Shari Canning and helped to get me out of the way. I have as yet to understand why.”

“Well, I’ve come to a similar conclusion,” Det. Frost replied with a smile, “but they have police clearances and chasing this gossamer thread is going to take some time and patience but we should have some results that we can take to a judge to at least get you released.”

“Then what?” Micheal asked, “it’s not like I can go home at all. The security system is rigged to voice and thumbprint and my voice now won’t match up at all not to mention my thumbprint is not mine either.”

“I’ll arrange for accommodations and supplies under the federal witness act,” Det. Frost replied, “As you may know, we can cover you there as well as some fresh clothes, until the investigation is complete. You need only be honest and help me as much as you can. I can’t say that I’ve ever known Det. Micheal Carols personally but I have dealt with a few Xchange body thefts in the past. If I can verify who you claim to be, we can proceed from there and hopefully track down his location.”

“What do you mean by that?” Micheal felt panic rising.

“It’s just that Det. Micheal Canning has not reported for his shift for 2 days now and has not logged out of the system from the day when you were picked up.” Det. Frost replied, “Your story was examined on the interview room recorder because he was present for a time in that interview room and we detected a few oddities. Some of the records have been altered and we need to know what was changed and why.”

Micheal remembered that day all too well. It was quite a bit of a shock to see his own face like that. Then there was the pinch on the ass he got from his own fingers the last time he saw it.

“Well I’ll be more than willing to help out naturally,” Micheal responded as he motioned to his chest and downwards, “I am not exactly willing to be stuck like this, but I can man it out as they say, for a while I suppose.”

“Well then that is great!” Det. Frost smiled, “We should have you out of here within a few days with any luck, and into a witness protection shelter until we can get this case cracked. If you are anything at all like I’ve heard then you can’t wait to get this woman in custody.”

The detective picked up his paperwork and recorder and called for the door, “Well until next time we meet.”

Micheal smiled, “Thank you for your help, I was afraid I was going to rot in here and stuck as a woman at that.”

“Well we can’t have people stealing the bodies of police officers and detectives. God knows what kind of damage they could do to one’s career, never mind the reputation of the police ourselves.” Frost answered with a smile, “Don’t worry, we’ll get her.”

The door opened with a slight buzz and Detective Frost vanished through it leaving him alone. A few moments later a female guard showed up at the door, another slight buzz allowed Micheal to exit the room and the guard escorted him back to his cell range.

Micheal was all smiles when he got back to his cell.

= * * *=

Chapter Seven: Post Frosted

“Internal affairs,” Micheal thought as she sat in her cell a few days later, “Frost must be with internal affairs and someone in the station must be already be under investigation even before this shit started. Otherwise how the hell would they be able to respond so quickly? And it’s not like I’ve never taken a few unscheduled days off here and there. The fact that Micheal Carols has not shown up for work could not, in itself, be enough for Internal Affairs to have checked on my situation as this woman, Shari Canning.”

Micheal thought back to the night this occurred, Teri Jacobson and Trent Canon were definitely involved, Micheal had no doubt of that and what was worse was that they appeared that they had not a problem in the world of anyone finding out. How could they be that arrogant? Was their plan so intricate that they thought there was no chance of discovery? Yeah Shari was a very well known drug user and as such her reliability as a witness could easily be in question. Even now she fought off the shakes.

She looked at the calendar. She had been in this body almost a week now and she was getting oddly familiar with it. It seemed natural to refer to such things as her looks, her hands, her ass, her breasts, etc.

Xchange units had their legal and moral uses after all, it was not like they were outlawed. The radical liberals would not allow such things as absolute abolition these days. All technology available at all was purchasable one way or another. This was mostly to avoid the near-miss the US had of being totally overtaken by the military and declared a military regime some 15 years back.

Canada had immediately responded by shutting off the electrical power, water and all other imports to the US and called for a world wide ban on trading or doing any business with the US while the military was in power. After 6 months of severely reduced electrical power and no water imports or food imports, the military regime lost its leader by way of assassination and the military stepped down allowing the citizens to retake the country.

The US citizens re-enacted the US constitution and made some very much needed amendments to it. No technology, no matter what the intent was to become the sole property of the military and the military did not get run by anyone linked to any government. They were to answer to the people and only in times of actual defensive need; no more bullying of other countries was going to be tolerated.

It was militant conservatives with their closed minded thinking that was thought to have brought on the military coup in the first place so the citizens set safeguards in place. Instead of blindly following orders, they supported the questioning of orders for sanity reasons. All too often in history military forces took over any given country because no one questioned the nature of the orders and the system that operated under such foolish measures.

Now the strongest forces anywhere in the world were the Terran Militia; a multinational force that went to the aide of any country, allied or not, to help to keep the peace. That was their only job; it was not to invade over land or resources.

The cities were free from active troops, the people that kept the peace there were, of course, the police. That had not changed much at all. Some individuals would always try to make someone else’s life miserable or take advantage of the weaker. The criminal element had not be abolished; there were always plenty of them around.

Micheal tried to picture Shari at an earlier age. Sure, she was 27 now, but after god knows how many years she had started taking all those chemicals, her face was looking older. Micheal would have guessed that she looked closer to 35 or more. Shari’s face bore the signature of a hard life.

Shari’s health was not unrecoverable but it was plain that she’d never attempted to recognize what she was doing to herself. Micheal looked at her body in the mirror and sighed. She could have been a real looker if she could clean up. Well maybe not a looker but at least pleasantly presentable.

Shari had a bit of a paunch on her belly. It was nothing major; nothing that a few morning crunches couldn’t trim up. It might also feel good to get some upper and lower exercises going, if not for no other reason but to give her something to do. Micheal couldn’t see anything wrong with getting into shape even if it was a woman’s body.

= * * *=

Chapter Eight: Damsel in This Dress

“Geez you’re makin’ me tired just watchin’ you there, Shari,” Jessica greeted Micheal as she started her workout, “I could never imagine a healthy version of that body but there has been improvement!”

“Well coming out of withdrawal takes a lot out of you, and this body almost didn’t survive it” Micheal smiled slightly, “or at least that’s how it appears to me. So I considered it realistically. There ain’t nothing I can do about correcting things at this time, right? I mean not at this time, so I may as well do as best as I can with what I got.”

“Yeah, true, but your life” Jessica asked, “for this one? Ain’t that sort of like replacing a Masserati with a Toyota Corolla? Sure both will do the same job with similar results…”

“Hey, cool off now,” Micheal smiled as she straightened up, “I’ve had some good luck with this first week of exercise, almost to the point of feeling personal pride. I feel sort of recharged when I exercise anyways. It is pretty much the same with this body only it was a bit slower in start-up.”

Micheal giggled and returned to her arm curls.

Jessica studied Micheal as she exercised, “it truly is amazing you know. You have her body but somehow it doesn’t seem like hers at all. It’s like it’s all you and not her at all. Did you exercise this much before all this happened?”

“Wait a minute, I don’t look like Shari?” Micheal asked, “How is that so?”

“I don’t know, you just don’t carry yourself the same, way as she did. There’s something different in the walk too,” Jessica pointed out, “Like confidence levels. It’s like you’re the ‘I’m proud to be woman I am” version of Shari, whereas the real one seemed almost ashamed to be a girl.”

“Wow, sounds like a wonderful girl,” Micheal replied dryly, “what with the drugs and crime elements in her life I am not surprised this body looks as old as it does.”

“Well believe it or not,” Jessica smiled, “Just over the past few weeks you have never looked better.”

“Umm thanks, I think,” Micheal smiled, “I’m not sure if I should feel complimented or Shari should be.”

“And no, in my own body I’ve not exercised for years,” Micheal giggled with a twinkle in her eyes, “I think I must have just given up on how I looked and just let everything go to pot.”

“And you being in Shari’s body brings a new respect for life?” Jessica tilted her head, “how the hell does that work?”

“Well, my body is one of a 49 year old man and admittedly it’s not in very good shape,” Micheal smiled sheepishly, “it’s the typical male cop physique.”

“Ha ha ha,” Jessica laughed as she slapped Micheal on the ass, “Too many years of donuts and coffee?”

“Yeah something’ like that,” Micheal replied, “I never thought of my health going all going downhill like that but I got so engrossed in the job that I just plain forgot. Being in a younger body after all this time, even that of a junkie sort of brings back a feeling of… umm… I don’t know…”

“Self Esteem?” Jessica prodded with a slight smirk.

“Well for lack of a better term, yeah,” Micheal replied as she ran her hands down her frame, “Yeah, self esteem would describe it best.”

“So you are liking it there with all that estrogen?” Jessica teased.

“Well I’ll be honest and admit that it’s not as bad as I first feared,” Micheal replied as she started up another set of crunches, “I’m out of withdrawal, well the worst part anyways, and I’m stronger than I expected this body to be. It is hard to believe that men actually believe women to be the weaker gender of the species. Hell I feel stronger and healthier than I’ve ever felt in my body.”

Jessica smiled and eyed Shari’s flattened stomach, “well some parts are looking far better. It appears that body is doing better with the new driver than with the old one. So, tell me honestly, do you think this experience will make you a better lover as a man?”

“How do you figure?” Micheal asked feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“Well you’ve been a woman for about 3 weeks now,” Jessica prodded, “when you get back to your body do you think this will improve things for you, by way of love making?”

“I can’t see how,” Micheal answered, “I’ve not had to deal with my plumbing that way at all. Anyways, I’d feel far too self conscious about it.”

“Do you think for a moment that Shari has not checked out your plumbing?” Jessica laughed, “I know that perv well enough and trust me, by now she has. If not only on her own, if you know what I mean.”

“Well I doubt she’d have any opportunity to use it on any woman,” Micheal smiled, “I never had that sort of luck.

”

“Yeah but you were not a woman taking a man’s body,” Jessica countered.

“No, I’m the other way around,” Micheal replied, “and I’ve not had the least interest in sex at all since I got became this girl. I don’t see how it would affect Shari in my body so much.”

“Ha, a lot you know,” Jessica laughed, “testosterone is the hormone for sex drive and aggression, or did you not know that? The influence of those levels of testosterone on Shari’s head… well, let’s just say that if your body was virgin before, it certainly won’t be now!”

“Now, that would be just my luck too,” Micheal laughed almost sweetly, “My ass gets laid and I’m not even there to enjoy it. That’s not all, it seems to be a lot easier to think since I’ve been here in Shari’s body than in my own. It’s like this body has less resistance.”

“But to sum it all up for you simply,” Micheal giggled, “No I’ve not so much as touched myself in an improper manner. Strictly business.”

“He he he! You are an optimist though!” Jessica laughed, “Shari probably had yours long before you even knew it was gone!”

“You are a truly sick girl you know that Jessica?” Micheal joked.

“Yeah laugh it up little girl.” Jessica’s face did not smile at all, “Shari’s got your body, all your parts to do as she wishes, when she wishes. She could seriously fuck up your life by just becoming a father! Hell a woman’s mind under the influence of those testes, could easily lose all control over her desires and become like most men; a slave to the dick. If that happens she could avoid running into you for years!”

= * * *=

Chapter Nine: The Constable On Patrol

A mere few minutes later Detective Micheal Carol’s body rose up from the floor smiling strangely as he gazed at the motionless body of a woman beside him.

There was an odd stirring within him that verified what he thought. He grabbed the bag from around the girl’s shoulder and paused a moment looking at the girl’s face.

He bent down to her on one knee, leaning closely and smiled; “Now you be a good girl now. Daddy’s got some business to do and some money to make for good girls.” He then dropped the girl’s identification wallet landing just by her chest. “and we can’t have a girl loose out in this part of town all without her purse and stuff, can we? It’s just not safe.”

Shari looked at the Detective’s reflection in the monitor’s glass as she peered at it. In the man’s own deep voice she smiled and spoke aloud to herself, “Yeah I can put up with you for a few days I guess. It should be about a week before this joker gets enough evidence to convince them that she’s not just some hyped out chick with delusions. By then I’ve got the gun, I hit the bank and this face is dumped for someone else. I find me, jump back and I’m safe!”

Shari had just stood back up when she heard the security guard come in. The guard took a quick glance at Shari, now well hidden within the Detective’s body. “We’d tracked a break and enter to this area but we lost the female suspect. She was last seen coming in here.”

Shari thought quickly, “Ah yes, the bitch tried to stun me but I must have been pregrounded or something.”

“Fucking lucky I’d say,” the security guard replied, “we’ve seen this chick here before, she’s going away this time.”

“Hmm.” Shari looked at the comatose detective in the female form and smiled slightly speaking aloud in Micheal’s voice, “It would certainly suck to be her.”

“Well I’d love to stay but I can’t hang out all night, bud,” the voice of the Detective told the security guard, as the body of the girl seemed to begin to stir, “I still have shitloads of paperwork I need to get to at the office and I should get to it quickly while it’s fresh.”

“Yeah I hear ya bud,” the guard replied, “I have a bit here as well but it’s not as bad as yours. I feel for ya, I really do. Have a good one!”

Shari took one last quick glance at her nearly conscious form taking in the sight. She’d done a quite her share of gender xchanges before, mostly for fun, but this one felt different somehow. It was nothing she could point a finger on for sure. Something felt off. He shrugged, and thought to himself “bah, it’s probably just hormones and stuff. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been a man.”

“Thanks, I’m probably just getting old,” Shari said in the detective’s voice calmly, “Good night.”

Shari desperately fought off an urge to bolt and it was well that she did not for as she rounded the next turn in the halls on her way out, she came upon the sheriff there to pick up the guilty party found on the crime scene. That was her body, sure, but it was not her problem for now. She now had the body of a cop, with all his genetic markers for security accesses and all. She wanted to keep this one for just a bit longer. He had things to do for her.

= * * *=

Chapter Ten: Call of Duty

The heat was on. After almost a week, the cop in her body was chattering up a storm on the inside and the law were beginning to consider her ramblings to hold some possible truths. What was worse is that Shari’s inside sources said that ‘Shari Canning’ had hooked up with her old working buddy, Jessica Leon and they seemed to be quite close. Shari knew better than to trust Jessica again. That bitch fucked her over numerous times on jobs in the past and she was not going to fuck this one up if she could help it.

No, Shari had to bump her plans ahead by days and she was not close to ready. She wanted to have at least a month to set things up but the game had changed too much. She had the bank targetted and most of the security detail marked out but not in it’s entirety. There was a gaping hole in her plan and for some odd reason she was not sure where the problem was. It looked good but her instincts told her something was off and dangerously so.

Shari looked in the mirror. The old detective’s face was quite overgrown as she had not bothered to shave his face since she got the body. She knew how to shave her legs as well as various other parts but shaving those parts was not normal for a man and she had no experienced shaving a face. She might need the extra disguise. All this body hair and the penis and the constant sense of over aggression she felt was beginning to make her wish she didn’t swap at all.

There was something that felt excessively odd this time. It was like over time, this man’s body was beginning to feel more comfortable to be in; maybe even too comfortable.

There were times that waking up with a penis was beginning to bother her. She was beginning to think of it rather fondly and looking at girls with an uncomfortable interest. She’d done the sex thing in a man’s body before but it was always with her lover at the time. It was also always her own body she was penetrating. This felt different though. She knew it was not her penis but it felt like it was to her. There was that very odd sense of familiarity with it. That bit of a paradox bothered her most of all.

Sex was slowly becoming an overriding interest to her. Shari often caught her mind wandering just in the simple act of watching tv to thoughts of sexual affairs with women.

Upon the 19th day, just short of the 3rd week, Shari woke up with a morning hard on that started her day off frustrated. Then to add fuel to the fire, she then found out that the police were letting Shari Canning free on her own recognizance. Shari sighed, thinking of the morning wood and decided then and there, “To hell with this, I’m doing this today and getting away from this damned guy. Maybe I can swap into someone inconspicuous and hide out for a while. Someone not so old this time, and definitely not a guy either.

Micheal Carols’ face smiled as Shari stepped out the door. “Just another hour tops and I can dump this guy.”

= * * *=

Chapter Eleven: Restrain Thyself

A one hundred foot radius from the body of Detective Micheal Carols; that was the restrictions that Shari Canning’s body could not be seen within. They had set a peace bond that placed a 100 foot radius of protection around the body of Michael Carols from him. Ever since this entire thing started up, Michael was being screwed, debased and ridiculed; reduced to the level of a convict. After a few days in jail, he had learned a lot from Jessica. He became the nice girl, cooperative and gentle while he sweated out the nastiness that came from Shari’s withdrawals.

She couldn’t be seen anywhere near her own body. That was crazy! The courts had found that there was enough evidence to suggest that Shari was not the person in her body. But they rejected his claim to being a cop as he had forgotten valid passwords and such that would help to prove his claims.

The judge’s words still echoed in her ears, “We cannot proceed to assume that you are Michael Carols as we have evidence of him working and carrying on as he always has. We have no proof to believe that he is not whom he seems to be. Now young lady,“ the judge continued, “Your Identification stays as Shari Canning but an XCIdent is active on your files. Until we can find absolute proof of your identification claims, then locate your actual body, you will remain in that body. You had best make the best of your time and efforts while you are free.”

The city helped her get a small hotel room with little more than a bath, hotplate and a TV. That and a voucher for used clothing access at a local Salvation Army thrift shop. Michael had learned on the inside, mostly with Jessica’s help, that he need not be idle during this “altered imprisonment” as Jessica referred to it as.

A no-go order with her own body, and the question of identity. She was basically a Jane Doe officially for the moment. A near nobody. In order for Michael to get anything happening with his identification issues, he’d need a helping hand. He needed someone that could access official records; someone involved in shady law practices, or failing that he could take the risks himself, encased as he is, in a woman’s body of questionable health at best. Sure, he had tackled Shari’s crack addiction head on and was still feeling the flack from that battle but he was not going to go down that road no matter who he was. He’d seen far too many dead bodies from crack addiction over the years.

He had to go it honestly somehow. The courts gave him the identity of Shari Canning for the time being as he did possess that body, however permanent records showed of his existence as Shari. This was more to protect the true Shari Canning in case something illegal was attempted while in her form. Naturally Michael was not at all like that but he was grateful for the sentiments. This girl’s life was a shambles and he couldn’t live like that so it was either improve her life or suffer in it and Michael was not one to suffer.

He leaned back on the bed idly gazing at the old TV in deep thought.

He could help her with her corrections as he strove to regain his life back. Of course much of this depended upon just how influential each other’s life was upon their body. For instance, Michael was highly aware of Shari’s developed sexual appetite but he was quite determined that he did not want to try it out for himself.

What bothered him more was the thought of what the girl might be doing with his body. He’d long discounted sexual issues as he was sure she could have ensnared some younger guy for her passions. No, she had to have another idea in mind. All he could thing of was his job and his legal accesses. In the wrong hands his job and access could gain a criminal…

Michael’s thoughts trailed off as he realized what was up. There was obviously money to be made with his body by its possessor.

But bank jobs were no push over these days. Special electromagnetic fields cancelled out all but local electronic devices. No weapons or non-shielded devices could help in any bank. They were all rendered inert. No, only very few police and an extreme few, specially licensed citizens had weapons that could operate in a bank. But his body had them close at hand.

Then his eyes caught a glimpse of something happening live on the TV news that involved a rarely heard of incident, live gunfire at a bank. Such attempts at bank robbery were often considered as ‘twisted people attempting suicide’ as most that attempted it, died in the attempt.

= * * *=

Chapter Twelve: Banking on Everything

Shari was pinned down behind the bank teller cage. Her accomplice, D-Dawg had already gotten himself shot low in the shoulder area and it looked real bad for him from Shari’s position.

The entire bank job was a disaster from the top. Michael Carol’s sidearm did pass security as it was legally in his possession or at least genetically speaking. Despite that, the history on D-Dawg’s sidearm was not as good as they were alerted and the bank security raised the alarm. D-Dawg raised the pistol as if to fire but as it had been deactivated at the door due to it’s status, the police were alerted to the bank robbery.

Outside she could see the TV remote hover cameras all over the place trying to get a good view of what was going on. “I have to get out of this place somehow. D-Dawg ain’t gonna make it and I have to watch my ass well this one anyways, at least until I can get back to it. I don’t think I will be able to do that from the inside of a jail cell in a men’s prison so I have to be careful."

Shari clutched his bag that held the portable xchange unit and looked desperately around the bank for possible bodies to xchange into. He didn’t see anyone viable though. The only people in the bank aside from personel, were an elderly couple with their toddler grandchild in an infant’s hoverchair.

“Damn!” Shari exclaimed aloud in Micheal’s voice.

He sat for a few moments thinking, looking at Michael Carol’s sidearm in his hand. Then a smile appeared on Detective Carol’s face. He cocked the pistol turned off the safety and walked to the bank doors with his hands on his head. Surely there would be one cop out there that would recognize Michael’s face and help him to escape the moment.

It almost worked too. Shari was recognized as Detective Michael Carol and allowed to leave the bank unharmed. Shari claimed exhaustion and the duty sergeant on site had just given the ‘detective’ leave to go home for the day. Shari grinned as she patted the multiple packets of bills hidden within her jacket

Then as the hostages poured out of the bank led by the bank manager yelling, “The robber is a cop! That robber is a cop!” then the pistol was spied in Shari’s right hand behind her head, “He’s got a gun!” another shouted. Then came the hail of gunfire…

The life force within Detective Michael Carol ended tragically that afternoon ending his life.

= * * *=

Chapter Thirteen: Rewriting the Books

Meanwhile about 3 miles across town, a very kindred spirit to the Detective viewed it all on an old TV in horror. As she watched she realized with a very cold reality that there was no going back now. His body had been killed on TV with the whole world watching.

The detective sat there for a while just staring blankly down at her hands upon her lap. She was going to be with this body and would eventually have to accept it as her own. There was a very sudden feeling of finality when he looked down at his hands. The hands of a woman; a woman just coming off crack and still on fragile ground about it.

The phone rang, breaking him out of his stupor, “Hello?”

“It’s Jess, you saw the news? It don’t look like you’ll be going home after all hon.” Jessica’s voice replied over the phone, “but hey, you did her far better in a month than I’ve seen her do in years.”

“Yeah, fucking hurray for me,” Michael sighed as he idly stared down at his own cleavage, “Now this is all mine. Her life, looks and legacy are all mine.”

“Well, hey,” Jessica replied cheerily, “You do gain something out of this. You get an extra 22 years of life plus out of the deal. You know, women do live longer.”

“Oh yeah, extra bonus, I get to be a woman for a longer time than I had been previously allotted on earth.” Michael’s voice began to crack and waver, “I just can’t believe it. Why me?”

“Hey. You’re also in a lot better health than Shari was when she got your old ass killed. She must have put some pounds on your ass. It sure looked like hell on TV.”

“I almost didn’t recognize it, to be honest,” Michael sniffled giving the true emotions within him a release, “He looked so wide and clumsy! That was definitely not me. It’s impossible to imagine that body was me at one time.”

“Well you know way better than that now girl!” Jessica smirked, “you are the driver, not the vehicle itself. Otherwise you would not be here, you’d have gone with the body right?”

“Yeah, I suppose that is true enough,” Michael repeated through the tears, “Now I exist as her.”

Michael barely slept at all that night but then how could anyone sleep at all after seeing their own body die without them? When he did, it was all childhood stuff, and not from his own life but from the eyes of a little girl. He knew this was his mind attempting to deal with the shock of being permanently separated from his own life and the addition of a new, permanent life, and one very different from his own.

= * * *=

Chapter Fourteen: Sleeping Beauty Awakes

He woke up confused; lost for a few moments as he struggled to get his focus. Oh yeah, he had curled up with Jessica the previous evening and fell asleep in her arms apparently. Jessica had turned out to become a very close friend for him and a very valuable one now. Jessica had been his tutor at every turn since they met. When he experienced Shari’s menstruation for the first time, Jessica was there to help and be a moral support. In fact, if he didn’t know better he’d swear that she was acting like a girl friend would.

“Morning coffee!” Jessica greeted him cheerily, “I was going to put some breakfast on but I’d thought that maybe I should check with you first. I know the body far better than I know the inhabitant. Do you feel like eating at all?”

Michael sipped on the coffee savouring the flavour and aroma, “This is just fine for now. I’m not sure if I’m hungry or not.” He glanced down at himself and sighed heavily, “I’m going to be a woman for the rest of my life. My old life is totally gone. Crapped out and left with a life with no direction or hope.”

“Hey now that’s not true hon,” Jessica chided, “you, or rather your new body, is younger, a bit more vibrant and has you in control of it now. The old Shari was a total loss, a nearly worthless soul and the life she followed was towards ruin. Now here you are, a mere month after having her body thrust upon you, having surmounted hurdles that many would have fallen victim to.”

“You beat the one monkey that kept the original Shari in its grasp; her addiction to crack,” Jessica continued, “and you’ve improved your looks big time since then!”

“They are not my looks,” Michael argued, “they are her looks, her face, her arms, her hands, her feet, and her,” he paused for a moment, “everything else. I am the only thing that remains of me! Whatever it was that made me Michael Carols is a woman.”

“Well anyways, you’ve improved her lot ever since you got in there, and she’s done nothing but ruin everything she’s ever touched; your life included. Given the facts and all, I’d say you came out far ahead with this as your lot in life.”

“I can think of numerous advantages you have over some other people now. Heck, you’ve lived life as a man all those years and you still hold all that experience and knowledge, and now, as the new Shari Canning you’ve received heck of a software upgrade in so many ways!” Jessica laughed lightly, “You’ve got a younger albeit a female body to put that extended experience as a man into. With a bit of luck we can get you back working as a cop again, if that is what you want. You need only to try. Who knows you might be able to scoot right in where you left off. We don’t know for sure yet.”

“I need to get to the station and talk to someone there. I need to establish my actual identity, the news reports have already reported that there have been rumours that my old body was reported to have been behaving very out of sort. Smoking, Drinking and acting very belligerent. Then there was the shape my body was in at death. He put at least 20 pounds on my body in a mere month!”

“And you, my sweet,” Jessica murmured, “lost at least 15 and gained some tone and perkiness!” She slapped Michael on the butt to empathize her point, “just look at that ass and those boobs! Those tits are far happier with you and it shows ! You make that body look good!”

Michael suddenly felt an odd mixture of feelings. He felt a bit of pride for what he had been successful with as far as this woman’s body he had. He couldn’t live with an addiction of any kind no matter where he was. He didn’t like the idea of having to depend upon anything that much, something that would literally weaken him to intolerable levels.

He looked down judgementally at the body he wore now as if for the first time.

It was true. He did tone it up a bit but firmed the boobs? He wasn’t sure about that. To him they looked the same, at least from his angle, and her ass didn’t reveal too much to his viewing either. He’d have to take Jessica’s word for it.

Despite having been a functioning woman for over a month, she didn’t know how to be a girl. There was a lot that she learned in the first month including a full blown menstruation but that was just scratching the surface of this new life. There was so much more involved in being a woman.

All she knew was the law; it had been her career for over 20 years at least. She didn’t know how to do anything else. But it was true, in these times there were no reasons why she couldn’t continue with being a cop. Sure the uniform was going to be different but the job would be pretty much the same, once she overcame the gender issues.

That would be one solid thing she could base this new life around, one way or another. She just had to be recognized as who she was in truth. At this point they had her listed officially as Shari Anne Canning since leaving jail. There was no distinction from the normal status of the body. Her bonus was that at least they recognized that she was a new spirit and hence a new person. Shari Anne Canning’s history was only hers when it came down to factors related to her physical health. She had no actual memories from the body’s past.

After that, what? Who would she be then? She possessed a woman’s body now; she couldn’t be referred to as Michael Carols any more, not that the government would let him act in Shari’s body under the name of Micheal Carols. That would be too confusing for the records. She wasn’t crazy about being referred to as Shari either, no matter what face she had. Shari was the person that got her into this predicament and she was not crazy about having anything more to do with her. What she had experienced was far worse than any type of rape or other physical abuse. Her body was stolen from him, tossing her spirit into the body of the thief herself.

Yeah he’d have to get used to the pronouns, the life, and mannerisms, but before all that, he had to establish just who he was, or rather was becoming. He needed a name that fit.

When Michael looked up from his pondering, barely noticing his coffee mug empty already, he saw Jessica chatting on her mobile, “Look Les you owe me big time and I am pulling in all favours on this one. This chick is an old friend and I want to see her get through this. It’s no fault of hers that Shari stole her body and got fucked over and killed in it. Now she’s stuck in Shari’s body and she needs to make some connections in the upper offices. I know you can do this Les. I know you can.”

She sat there for a few moments and then, having suddenly cheered up, she replied, “Great thanks a lot Les. I’ll give you a special treat sometime for your troubles.” Jessica giggled, “I’m sure she will be glad to hear there are helping hands now. She’s been in a real bad way for over a month now and the system isn’t helping very much.”

“Okay then call me back when you hear anything, or get some ideas.” Jessica smiled as she hung up and looked at Michael who was on his second cup of coffee by this time, “Well there you go. We got the ball rolling. If all goes right I’ll have a connection at the office of records with a JP. I’m hoping we can swing it that you can undergo some verbal and mental examinations to compare with the files of your body.”

“Do you have to put it that way?” Michael complained, “It makes it sound like I belong to the body.”

“Oh I’m sorry dear,” Jessica smiled, “I didn’t mean it like that, but to be honest I’ve been looking at that body, and I just can’t picture talking to anyone but you in it. I can’t picture you as that older man, and to be just as honest, I like talking to this face more these days. You are far more expressive and easy to deal with. Shari was a bitch.”

“Hence the reason why you wanted to kill me at first sight!?” Michael responded.

“Precisely,” Jess replied, “She’d long since told me about how some day she was going to use an xchange unit to pull off a bank robbery. I never expected her to actually try it though much less meet her poor victim.”

Michael sipped on his coffee in thought as Jessica continued on, “nor admittedly fall in love with them.”

Caught totally unaware, Michael sprayed a mouthful of black coffee then turned and shared his look of surprise with a pleading, sheepish look from Jessica.

“I beg your pardon?” he asked, not believing what was said, “Did you just say…?”

“Yes, I did and I’m not exactly without experience with that body, or parts of it.” Jessica smiled with a slight blush, “and you know I don’t just want you for your body but all things considered, this could be a bit of an eye opening experience for you.”

“As for my sexuality, well,” Michael said as he thought for a moment looking surprisingly effeminate doing it, “it was rather non-existent before the swap. I was a man and as such I loved the ladies; I just never had much luck with them.”

“And now?” Jessica prodded.

“Not much has changed, interest-wise,” Michael smiled slowly, “I mean my interests are the same as before; just the plumbing has. I’ll be the first one to admit that I’d have no idea how to get started there anyways, not that I had really thought that way.”

“Oh come on!” Jessica laughed, “Are you trying to tell me that an older man suddenly in the body of a younger woman, doesn’t have certain curiosities? I’ll bet you groped yourself pretty thoroughly already! Trust me, if I suddenly found myself with a penis I’d be checking it out as best as I could.”

“I suppose you might,” Michael admitted, “this has been very odd for me. It’s the pelvic differences that hits me the most. My jeans feel almost empty now, and then there are these tiny fucking hands.”

“So you’re okay with the tits?” Jess giggled teasingly.

Michael scooped them up in his hands and replied, “These things? I barely notice them for all that they are.”

“You can ignore a double D cup that quickly?” Jess asked incredulously, “Holy shit.”

“I suppose that Shari’s body got used to them so long ago that I barely notice them,” he cocked his head thoughtfully for a moment.

“But you notice the vagina quick enough?” Jess giggled.

“Well admittedly only that once-a-month time and before that it was just that I did sort of miss having erections. You do sort of get used to those, umm, intrusions, and when they are not there anymore; yeah I do miss them in an odd way.”

“Hmph,” Jess snorted, “it sounds to me like you are settling in quick enough.”

“Well, what choice do I have now?” Michael replied almost absently as he indicated his current body, “this seems to be my home base now. I have the advantage of being physically younger by about 20 years and being female, well statistically I’ll also live longer. But still, I have to be a girl to do that?”

“Hell no baby,” Jess reached over and hugged Michael over the shoulder, “you’re a woman now, not just a girl and you’re a major improvement on the last tenant. Ha ha ha!”

“Hey, you’ve mentioned an interest in a new name and I’ve had an idea for your new name. I assume naturally you won’t want to keep Shari,” Jess smiled.

“Yeah?,” Michael looked at her as he felt an odd hollow emptiness somewhere deep inside.

To accept a new name meant he would have to fully accept this femininity as his own.

“Okay, what’s the name you have in mind?” Michael steeled himself from within.

Jess smiled, “I thought it was obvious from the start to you! Switch your name around and change the middle name from Allen to Anna and there you go!”

Michael got up and looked into the dresser mirror and voiced it for the first time trying to get a feel for it, “Carol Anna Michaels. Hmm.”

Jess smiled, “It suits you much better. Besides I’ve got issues with me calling you Shari all the time. I know it was her body and all but I don’t see you as Shari at all despite the face. Hence the idea for your own name.”

The form of Shari sat up straight, chest out proudly, and smiled, “yes, I definitely like it. I’m going to drop the name of Shari and get my badge back. Living in identification limbo is hell. Just to be able to look into the mirror and find something of myself in the reflection. If I rename the image, perhaps it will become more of my own in my head some time soon.”

“I’m sure you’ll pass the tests to get your old job back as a detective,” Jess smiled and hugged her, Welcome to my nightmare Carol Anna Michaels!”

= * * *=

Epilogue

Carol Anna Michaels was eventually found innocent of the crimes that her new body was accused of that day in the lab and compensation was paid for her misplacement as well as a grant to restart her life. Identification of who she was previously was a longer process than expected but after 2 years of red tape and other physical related issues, Carol once again wore a badge and a sidearm. She’d got part of her life back but the man she knew was gone for ever.

Perhaps it was fate or divine providence but in the end, Detective Carol Michaels turned out to be the top Xchange Identification expert within the force and she pioneered techniques to help Xchanged victims identify themselves and even helped to set up a special unit for Xchange crimes.

As for Jessica, she straightened out her life and eventually joined the force as a securities consultant.

= * End *=