After David is caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, his entire life changes in ways he never could have expected. This is a fan fiction taking place in the Whateley Universe.

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“What is it with you and coffee?” Jackie asked me with an amused look. The fact that she was holding her own cup of steaming caffeinated goodness only made me chuckle.

“I like it,” I answered with a grin, taking a sip from my caramel macchiato. It was the largest size they had at Starbucks and I’d even asked for a couple extra shots, so even with my regeneration I was starting to feel a slight buzz. Then I licked my lips in an exaggerated manner and said, “Yummy.”

Jackie and I had only been our road trip to New Hampshire for a couple hours and this was our second stop for espresso. Of course, the first one had been before we’d even left town so I wasn’t sure that one even counted. I’d also had a cup of regular coffee with cream and sugar for breakfast, but that wasn’t espresso so it didn’t count either.

“It’s a good thing you’re a mutant,” Jackie told me quietly, glancing around the Starbucks to make sure no one overheard that comment. “If it wasn’t for your regeneration and exemplar stamina, that much caffeine and sugar would give you a heart attack…or make you bounce off the walls.”

I grinned at that and responded, “Boing boing boing.” Then I added, “Why do you think my Mom never let me drink the stuff?”

Jackie let out a sigh, then pointed out, “You told me your parents let you drink as much as you wanted.”

I just smiled cheerfully as I told her, “I lied.”

“Someone has definitely been a bad influence on you,” she said with a shake of her head.

“Gee,” I mused with my best innocent look. “I wonder who that could be.”

As I took another sip of my drink, I thought about the fact that I’d originally started drinking go juice so I could be more grown-up and mature, or at least pretend that I was. However, it hadn’t taken long before I’d really developed a taste for the stuff, much to my Mom’s frequent complaints. Dad had never seemed to mind and would even buy me a mocha every once in awhile, though he did make sure to get me the smaller sized cups. Or at least, he used to.

We were about to leave the coffee shop when I took one more look around and realized that nearly everyone present was watching us, especially all the guys. Most of the attention was on Jackie since she was older and better built, but I was getting my share of the attention as well. There was one guy in his twenties who was sitting in the corner, watching me intently.

At the moment, I was wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide my odd colored eyes, and I suddenly wondered what would happen if I took them off. Would everyone stare at my eyes instead of my chest, or would they still be so caught up with my chest that they wouldn’t even notice? It occurred to me that I just might have to try that experiment someday…just not right now.

Jackie smiled faintly and commented, “I think he likes you.”

“Ewww,” I responded with a shudder of disgust, which seemed to amuse her.

“I know exactly what you mean,” she told me. “Now that cute barista… If I wasn’t with Emily, I’d probably ask her out.”

“I did notice her looking at you,” I admitted with a faint smile, trying very hard not to look at the guy who was staring at me.

Ever since Damocles confirmed that I’d be a girl for the rest of my life, I’d been doing my best to accept the fact and deal with it. The physical adjustments were probably the easiest since taking care of long hair, wearing a bra, and even sitting down to pee were annoying, but not really that big of a deal. And even though my body still felt a bit weird to me, especially with the way my chest pushed out and was so sensitive, I was like this twenty-four seven so was starting to get used to it. However, it was the other aspects of my change that still made me uncomfortable.

I was still caught by surprise whenever I looked into a mirror and saw a hot looking girl staring back at me. In spite of what I looked like physically, that still wasn’t how I pictured myself in my mind. And then there was the way that other people treated me whenever I was out in public. Having spent more than fifteen years of my life as a guy, I could completely understand why guys were staring at me, but that didn’t mean I really liked it. It made me feel self-conscious, like maybe I’d left my zipper down or was having a wardrobe malfunction.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to guys staring at me like that,” I told Jackie, thankful that I was with her since she tended to draw a lot of the attention away from me.

Jackie nodded in understanding, then said, “It helps if you think of the attention as being a compliment.”

“I can do without that kind of compliment,” I responded with a chuckle, feeling like a hypocrite as I did so. After all, I’d done my share of staring at hot girls, and for that matter, I still did.

“Then think of it this way,” Jackie pointed out with a grin. “If guys think that you’re hot enough to stare at, then so will some of the girls.”

Jackie and I returned to the car, and I was climbing into the passenger seat when I felt the now familiar pressure in my head. It wasn’t strong which suggested that the mutant was near the edge of my range. I slowly looked around, trying to see the source of my current pressure. Then I noticed a man who was climbing out of his truck. He looked perfectly normal to me, but as I’d learned, looks could be deceiving.

With a shrug, I climbed into Jackie’s car, the one that had previously been stored in the warehouse, and absently wondering what kind of powers that man might have. It didn’t matter, but I was a little curious. A minute later, Jackie and I were on our way again, though something kept nagging at the back of my mind, and it wasn’t the question of that man’s possible powers. It took a little longer but I finally realized exactly what it was.

“If the MCO and these Liberty League guys are mostly looking for you,” I said thoughtfully, “wouldn’t it have been safer for Emily to drive me to Whateley instead? I mean, if they don’t know about her, they wouldn’t be on the lookout for her…and I could wear a blonde wig or something.”

Jackie was silent for a moment, then admitted, “The MCO might be a little more interested in you than I indicated. They don’t know who you are, but they aren’t happy that a teenage girl took out two of their operatives…with one of them in power armor. In a way, you embarrassed them even more than I did because I’m a known threat with training and experience.”

“And I’m a complete rookie who got lucky,” I added.

“They are looking for you,” Jackie continued. “And being with me definitely increases the chance of them finding you. However, my presence also greatly increases your chance of being able escape them. If you were with Emily when they found you, she wouldn’t have been able to help you very much and probably would have been more of a liability than an asset.”

“And she would have been in even more danger,” I said in understanding.

“In spite of what Emily would have you believe,” Jackie told me with a chuckle. “She does have a criminal record, though it’s all been sealed up in her juvenile records. However, if the MCO caught her and had even a hint of criminal intent, they’d be able to get her records unsealed and use that to ‘prove’ that she’s a dangerous threat.” She snorted at that and added, “There is no way I’m going to let that happen to Emily. She’s worked too long and hard to build up a legitimate life. It’s bad enough that she insists on doing crowd control for some of my jobs.”

“Do you really think this is going to be that dangerous?” I asked her, suddenly getting worried. Of course, the MCO, FBI, and even a group of super heroes were involved, so that was probably a dumb question.

“Possibly,” she responded grimly. “It depends entirely on whether or not anyone is able to find us. The truth is, none of the people who are after us have any idea of where we are, which is to our advantage. My biggest concern is that someone might use magic to do just that.”

“Magic?” I asked in surprise. “Magic is real?”

“The MCO isn’t above using baseline mages…or even the occasional mutant,” Jackie continued. “And I know for certain that the Liberty League has a magic user. It’s hard to predict what a magic user can or can’t do, so it’s a good idea to expect the unexpected.”

“Oh shit,” I gasped.

Jackie gave me a reassuring smile and added, “But we might get lucky and have a peaceful trip all the way to New Hampshire. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry, which is why I’ve made some preparations. Do you have that list I gave you?”

“Sure,” I responded with a smirk. “I had it tattooed on my butt so I wouldn’t lose it.”

“Then how are you going to read it?” Jackie asked with a chuckle.

After this, Jackie told me a little more about Whateley, obviously trying to build my excitement about going there. She didn’t really need to do that though as I was already excited, just as I was also nervous and even a bit afraid.

Who wouldn’t want to go to a school where they taught martial arts, students built death rays, and everyone had super powers? It sounded like something straight out of the comic book, which made me wonder if maybe Professor Xavier was secretly running the place.

On the other hand, it was a school for mutants, and even though I didn’t have my Mom’s views about them, I had no doubts that some mutants could indeed be very dangerous. Every school had bullies, so I’d imagine the ones at Whateley would have to be on another level from the ones I was used to dealing with.

And then there was the fact that I was leaving all my friends and family behind and going to a strange place where I didn’t know anyone at all. I was already having a hard time dealing with my family situation, but now I wouldn’t even have my new surrogate family either.

Jackie seemed to guess what I was thinking because she told me, “Don’t worry. You’ll love it there, and you’ll make new friends in no time.”

I just grunted non-committedly at that. I was a little skeptical about that, but wasn’t about to rule anything out. After all, not that long ago, I would have laughed my ass off if someone told me that my closest friend would be a mutant super villain.

In spite of Jackie’s concerns that the FBI and MCO were after us, we continued traveling for the rest of the day without seeing a single black helicopter or van with MCO markings. Just after lunch, I did catch sight of someone actually flying off in the distance, but that could have just been a bird and my own overactive imagination.

Later that evening, after traveling a lot of miles and making more than a couple stops for food and coffee, we decided that it was time to get some sleep. We pulled into a motel parking lot and got out of the car. I was thankful for the chance to stretch my legs again, especially after spending all day cooped up like that. I wasn’t looking forward to continuing the drive tomorrow.

“I always thought road trips were supposed to be more fun,” I grumbled as I bent over and began stretching my body. “I mean, we didn’t stop to see the world’s largest ball of twine or any other kind of tourist trap.”

“Doesn’t this count?” Jackie asked me as she gestured to the motel.

“I said tourist trap, not roach trap,” I pointed out with a chuckle. “I wonder if there’s a coffee shop nearby…”

Jackie rolled her eyes at that, then said, “You might want to put your glasses on before we go inside.”

I nodded at that and put on my sunglasses, feeling just a little ridiculous since the sun had already set. Fortunately, the parking lot was fairly well lit so I didn’t have to worry about not being able to see where I was going. That old song ‘Sunglasses at Night’ ran through my head and I began humming it as we went to the front office to check in.

The motel lobby was grungy and a bit dirty, which didn’t make me feel very optimistic about the rooms. The man working the front desk was a perfect match for the lobby, looking a bit greasy and staring at Jackie and me with an odd smirk. He kept looking back and forth at us, and I was sure that he was going to lick his lips at any moment. He made me so uncomfortable that I almost missed the faint pressure in my head, the pressure I was sure was caused by him. Mister Greasy here was a mutant.

“Can I help you ladies?” Mister Greasy asked, staring right at Jackie’s breasts.

Jackie acted as though she didn’t notice the attention and merely replied, “I’d like a room with two beds for me and my sister.”

“Sure thing,” he agreed, still looking Jackie’s breasts while he did the paperwork.

When Mister Greasy finally held out the room key, I reached out and grabbed it before Jackie could, making sure that I touched his hand in the process. I didn’t really want to touch him, but I was definitely curious what his power was. As soon as I felt the tingle that told me I’d copied his powers, I yanked my hand back. Jackie gave me a curious look but didn’t say anything.

As we left the office and went back outside so we could find our room, I noticed that my vision had changed. Everything I looked at had an odd tint and texture to it. In fact, some of the cars actually seemed slightly transparent, as though they weren’t quite real. I was so distracted by this that I tripped and fell flat on my face.

“Are you okay?” Jackie asked me, not really concerned since even if I’d skinned a knee or bruised myself, I’d heal up pretty quickly.

“I just bruised my pride is all,” I responded as I got back to my feet, noticing that I had a faint golden glow around myself. I immediately willed it to fade again.

This was the first time that I’d begun to glow like that in several days, or at least the first time I glowed when I wasn’t used my force field powers. Ever since Jackie had begun teaching me to control my powers, that unconscious glow thing didn’t happen nearly as much. Of course, it still came out a little when I was surprised, as though my force field was on the verge of activating, but I was definitely getting better at preventing that.

The whole golden glow thing was a little odd though, and I knew it was part of my primary power, not the one I’d copied from Jackie. Or at least, I assumed that was the case since I’d begun glowing at the bank before I’d ever copied her powers. Of course, Jackie had also told me that she didn’t glow like that, not even when she’d first gained her powers and hadn’t yet learned to control them.

“Maybe I should have chosen Nightlight as my codename,” I joked.

“I used to know someone with that name,” Jackie mused with a chuckle. “An Underdog who glowed non-stop and couldn’t turn it off. Nice girl but a bit skittish.”

“I think I would be too if I was a constant target,” I commented.

Just then, I realized that someone was watching us. A middle-aged and overweight woman was standing outside of one of the motel room doors, smoking a cigarette and staring straight at us. As soon as she realized that I’d noticed her, she dropped the cigarette and hurried inside the room, almost slamming the door behind her.

“I think we’ve scared enough locals for tonight,” Jackie told me with a smirk. “Come on. I want to get up and on the road early.”

A minute later, we’d located our room and brought our bags inside. I looked around, relieved that the inside of the room wasn’t nearly as bad as the lobby had made me fear. It wasn’t nice, but it wasn’t a total rathole either.

But as I looked around, I couldn’t help but noticing that everything still looked odd and slightly transparent. When I stared at the wall, it became even more transparent, until I was seeing through it as easily as if it had been made of clear glass.

“Cool,” I exclaimed. “X ray vision.”

“What’s that?” Jackie asked me curiously.

“The power I got from the guy at the front desk,” I explained, feeling a little smug at knowing something she didn’t. “Didn’t you know he was a mutant?”

Then I slowly looked around, staring through all the walls and feeling excited by this new ability. However, when I looked into the room beside ours, I saw that Mister Greasy was standing there, staring right at us through the wall with an eager grin on his face. I gasped, suddenly realizing exactly why he’d been smirking while staring at Jackie and me in the lobby, and I was NOT happy about it.

“Hey pervert,” I exclaimed loud enough to be heard through the thin wall, while glaring at the surprised Mister Greasy and flipping him the bird.

Mister Greasy went pale as his eyes went wide. Then he turned and ran away, as though expecting me to burst through the wall and attack him. Then again, since I was able to see him, for all he knew I might have been able to. I just hoped he didn’t decide to come back and start spying on us again because his powers were already starting to fade, and if he came back, I’d never know it.

“What was that?” Jackie asked me with a curious look.

“Just scaring off a cockroach,” I answered cheerfully.

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself for the way I’d scared off Mister Greasy, but then I realized a very uncomfortable truth. If I had that power permanently, I didn’t think that I’d be able to resist the temptation to use it the same way. That thought was an unpleasant one, and as I got ready for bed, I couldn’t help but feeling just a little guilty.