by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Sorry for the delay...its actually been one month since posting Ch.12. I'm not sure why it took so long to get this one to be honest. I was hoping to have it up sooner but truthfully I was just too lazy to write it lol. After this there will be two chapters of this current part of Clownfish left. I'm still going to write it but the rest of it will probably be published under a different title, sometime down the road in the future. I have a pretty good idea where I want to break the narrative too, some of you might be able to guess as soon as you read this chapter. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

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Ch.13

“I think you people thrive on torturing me”

I was standing in front of the mirror, trying my hardest to hide every bit of flesh that this so-called bathing suit was currently exposing. I mean whoever created this thing and thought a few pieces of fabric was proper swim wear should be shot. No matter which way I turned my body, there was no doubt that every bit of me was on display.

Bathing suit my ass.

“It’s not that bad sis,” said Carrie, suppressing one of those little girl giggles of hers.

I think she was enjoying it far too much.

“Not that bad, you’re kidding right?”

The look Clarissa was giving me was pretty similar. Both of them clearly thought I was being a prude or something. There was however nothing prudish about what I was wearing. Nor was there anything prudish about my attitude concerning it. I was perfectly in the right thinking that this thing was two tiny bits of cloth held up by tiny bits of string. I still couldn’t believe I let them talk me into this stupid thing in the first place.

The two of them had conspired against me.

Every year the whole of the Inter population in our Metro and others as well convened on Metro One for a big field trip. Of course, it wasn’t a field trip per se, more like a get together for all the Metros in the area. This year I think there were going to be three Metros in attendance, ours, Metro 36 and Metro 92. They were closest Metros to us. Most of the time we didn’t really interact with one another---the Metros I mean. So this was a pretty big deal.

Three days and two nights.

Of course nearly a day and a half of it is on board the zip line to get there.

It was an even bigger deal for me this year though.

Besides it being the first time I’d ever left our Metro to go anywhere, I wasn’t just going as a student. Last night I received word from Ryan. Apparently, our squad was chosen to provide security for the trip. So not only was I going to be there---not having a good time with my friends---I’d have to be working as well.

Of course, none of that seemed to get through my sister’s thick skull.

It was well known that Metro One had some of the best synthetic beaches around.

I’m not sure how she roped Clarissa into her little scheme though.

“I think it might be a little too much, you know, for your brother though.”

Clarissa, ever the voice of reason.

She got me, she understood. I might be a girl now but there was still the boy lurking inside. Sure, I’d been Beth for nearly a month now, hell, more than that now but I’m not sure I was ready for this. I think Carrie knew that too, at least a small part of her. She was just excited that I could be her life size doll again. What with school and Sentinel training on the weekends, she and I didn’t get to spend a lot of time together anymore. She practically had to drag me out of bed this morning for this little shopping excursion of hers.

It was her morning.

She had the whole thing planned out.

We were to spend all day in Z6; acting like the teenagers, we were supposed to be.

Well teens and one persistent little girl.

“It’s so perfect though. It shows off your body really well, I mean you’ll be beating them off with a stick in that”

That’s what I was afraid of.

“Tell you what,” I said, concealing the hologram of the suit. “You look for the bathing suit; I’ll go to the hardware store and get the stick.”

I stepped off the pad, sighing as I did so.

The hologram of the suit was bad enough but I could only imagine how embarrassed I’d be if I actually had to wear that in public. It was bad enough that I had to strip down to my underwear to stand on the holo pad in the first place. Most of the time I just did all my shopping from my wall vid. Seeing the outfits on my little avatar was a lot easier because if it looked bad there I knew it would look bad on me. Carrie however vetoed that idea immediately. She wanted me to experience shopping like most girls my age. It was a lie, of course. What she really wanted was an excuse to go to the mall.

What with both our parents working non-stop these days, I was stuck in babysitter mode again.

She used that against me.

She was going to the mall and if I wanted to make sure she was not in danger, I’d just have to go with her.

The conniving little snot.

“Are we done trying to find me the greatest swimsuit ever now?”

“It was the most amazing swimsuit ever” said my sister “and not by a long shot”

She coaxed me back up on the pad. I shot a pleading look at Clarissa but I wasn’t going to get any sympathy from her. She and Carrie were like two peas from the same pod. Things became a bit of a blur after that. I’m not sure how many suits I tried on afterwards but they were bound and determined to find one, regardless if I liked it or not. I couldn’t help but wonder who this trip was really for, them or me. Out of all the girl things, I don’t think I’ll ever understand the need to shop. Back when I was a guy, I’d go into a store, find some clothes and leave.

An hour tops.

We’d been here nearly two hours and we were only in one store.

Crazy.

I’d been a girl for nearly a month or more and I still didn’t understand it.

Finally, we found the right one though.

It was black.

It also covered all my assets completely.

I’m not sure if the two of them were happy but this wasn’t about them in the end. It was my body and I’d wear what the hell I wanted.

“You sure we can’t look…,” asked my sister as we finally left the story.

“Carrie, I appreciate how much fun you’re having but the decision is made”

She looked a little hurt but she’d get over it.

Victory for me.

However short lived it was.

Because apparently we were far from done.

We flitted from store to store after that. The two of them were convinced I needed a whole new wardrobe even though the trip was only a few days. I mean how many damn times did they expect me to change my clothes? I tried to use that logic with them but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Carrie was loving it and Clarissa seemed to be on Cloud Nine. She confessed earlier that this was the first time she’d ever been “shopping with the girls”. I felt a little bad about it. I mean though Maddie had semi-hung with us before we “dated”, she still had girl friends. Of course, as soon as I changed she dumped them as fast as she dumped me.

Zee had all new buddies now.

An hour after leaving the Swim Suit Shack, we were on our third store.

Lingerie.

My sister had run off, leaving Clarissa and me alone browsing the bra section.

Color me embarrassed.

And trust me I was.

I usually did all this shopping on the Vid screen.

“Thanks” she said, smiling.

“For what?”

“Being my friend”

I hugged her. Girls apparently hugged a whole hell of a lot more than guys. Say what you will about not changing my behavior but I sure hugged a lot more lately. I couldn’t remember the last time either Joe or Ted hugged me. In fact, I’m not sure I ever hugged a guy before, besides my dad or grandfather. It felt kind of nice being on a friendly basis like that with someone. Though it was slightly comical too. Clarissa’s head rested under my breasts as we embraced.

She was a short one.

“This is the set,” said Carrie, returning with a pale pink panty and bra.

I couldn’t help but groan.

She handed them to me.

Unlike most other stores, there was no dressing pad. There were dressing rooms but there was no need. I knew my breast size and I also knew that the set she was handing me was going to fit. The good thing about Alphas was as soon as their body changed, it never adjusted itself. I would have this body for the rest of my life. Sure, I’d appear to age slightly but I’d never get older in the sense that humans would. Even Ted’s mom---she was my parents age---except she looked to be in her mid-twenties. I could never figure out how that didn’t freak Ted out. Sure he’d grown up with it but still having a hot and sexy Mom like that would have freaked me the hell out.

“Great” I said, grabbing several of the sets I was looking at, blushing. “We’re done here right!”

Carrie rolled her eyes. “You’re such a boy”

“Remind me to take you here when you start to develop and I’ll embarrass the hell out of you too”

“Really?” she asked enthusiastically.

I groaned as I went to pay for my purchases.

It was nearly noon by the time the three of us left the lingerie store. We made a bee line toward the food court.

Hey, a girl has to eat.

It was starting to get pretty packed, too. It was, after all, a mall. Sure the entire Zone was all commercial and there were several food courts here. This one however was more frequented by teenagers. There were several food shops spread over three levels. Back when I was Ben---when I actually came here---I frequented the ones on the second floor. They were usually the more greasier places. Now however I could barely stomach most of that crap. I had a much healthier diet now thanks in no small part to my need to be physically fit. Sure I could eat that crap and nothing would happen to my awesome figure but my body just couldn’t seem to take it anymore.

I dragged my two companions to a couple of nice healthy spots on the first level. I had a nice charge line when it came to food. Because I was an Alpha, the government gave me an allowance. It was a little unfair but they tried to do everything they could to make us comfortable. Everything to abide by the Truths after all. It was supposed to be just for me but that didn’t stop me from buying them lunch too. Hey if I had it, I was going to use it where I saw fit.

We found a table near the railing.

Carrie always liked to sit there.

“Where the hell do you put it all?” asked Clarissa as she looked at the food overflowing my tray.

“What do you mean?”

“If I ate that much it would all go to my butt”

“She’s a machine,” said my sister “She’s been eating us out of house and home. You should see her at dinner, she eats twice as much”

I gave her a playful shove which caused a girlish giggle.

“I have a different metabolism than you guys. I burn a lot more energy now too so I need to eat like an elephant”

“Must be nice. Eating all you want and not gaining a pound”

I shrugged. “I don’t really care about things like that”

“I find that hard to believe”

I shrugged again. “This is who I am now. The perks of being me”

No point getting jealous Rissa, we can’t compete with Miss Super Pants here”

Both girls laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at them.

Which of course caused them to laugh harder.

It was kind of infectious because I was laughing too.

We were half way through the merriment when I sensed a disturbance in the force.

Yes, I said Force.

Hey, Star Wars is still around.

Out of nowhere, they seemed to come, the flock following their demented leader. I’m not sure why they stopped at our table though.

“Wow Sasquatch, piggy much”

“Good afternoon to you too, Natalie” I said, not really meaning it.

She ignored the greeting. “I mean I’ve Alphas are pigs but that’s just excessive, you should really consider seeing someone about that”

I promised myself I wasn’t going to let her push me into a fight. It was petty to argue with her. She was a gnat to me. I could squish her like a bug, literally.

“Oh I see you brought the loser squad with you,” she said, looking at Clarissa. Then she directed her attention to Carrie. “Oh is this a Junior Loser in training?”

Ok, insult me all you want but going after my sister.

I opened my mouth to reply but Carrie beat me to it.

“Says the girl wearing that skirt with that top. News flash, missy, that look went out of style two days ago. And don’t get me started on those shoes. You call me a loser, look in the mirror the next time you dress yourself.”

The look on Natalie’s face was priceless but not as priceless as her two friends who smirked and actually laughed slightly. Her glaring shut them up. She was beet red though. I would be too if I just got owned by an eight year old. It was classic though. I didn’t know Carrie had it in her, but apparently, when she went into a fight she went in guns blazing.

You could almost see the smoke coming out of Natalie’s ears.

“Listen here you little bitch” she snapped.

“Watch it” I warned grabbing the edge of the table. “Choose your next words carefully, human”

Ok so I didn’t pull the species card much.

In fact never.

But this girl was starting to piss me off.

A look of fear was clearly present on the faces of her friends.

“Come on Nat, let’s go”

“Yeah, Three Truths”

Natalie fumed. “This is worthless anyways. John is waiting. You know John, My Boyfriend. Not that you know anything about that, you freak”

As if on cue, he appeared. I’m not sure where he’d been hiding but suddenly I felt him come up behind me. He wrapped his strong arms around me from behind, kissing me on the cheek before dropping into the chair next to me.

“Hey babe” said Ryan, grabbing one of fries. “Sorry I’m late”

My whole body was stiff.

What the.

Where the.

Heart racing, tingling with excitement.

“Hi” I said, recovering quickly, taking his hand gently in mine.

The look on Natalie’s face was priceless. She stood there, mouth slightly open.

“Didn’t you have somewhere to be?” asked Clarissa, sensing we now had the upper hand.

“This is far from over” she said before turning and storming off.

Her two friends continued to stare at Ryan as they walked away. One of which---unbeknownst to Natalie---gave me the thumbs up.

Ryan held my hand and kept his arm around me until they were out of sight. Then rather abruptly, he moved away. My body twitched, longing for the contact again.

“Sorry about that Enigma” he said “I saw you there and them and never leave a team mate when they’re down.”

I’m not sure I was down per se.

“Thanks for the save boss” I said softly.

He nodded, standing as he did so. “Well I’ll see you at training later”

With that he was gone, just as quickly as he appeared.

I couldn’t help but watch him go, shuddering slightly.

Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me.

I wasn’t the only one watching as both my companions watched him leave too.

“Who was that?” asked Clarissa, smiling.

“No one” I said, blushing.

“No one just doesn’t come out of nowhere to rescue you,” said my sister with a sinister smile of her own.

I shrugged. “He’s my Training Officer.”

“Sign me up for the Sentinels then,” said Clarissa dreamily.

I rolled my eyes.

I couldn’t take these two anywhere.

Though I’m not sure I like the way she said that. Not about my Ryan.

My Ryan?

I mean Ryan.

Damn it.

“Can we go now please? I have to be at the Center in an hour”

We finished our lunch as fast as we could. The whole time I couldn’t help but think about his rescue and how much I liked it when he touched me. Especially the kiss on the cheek. I stopped myself from touching said cheek in case they ridiculed me. Thinking about it sent my heart fluttering though. Which scared the living hell out of me.

“Ok boys and girl, gather around,” said Ryan.

Our squad was in the one of the training room, looking no worse for wear. We’d just suited up and were ready for action. Well, the boys were ready anyway. Me, I still couldn’t get over how tight these suits were. Actually how tight mine was. Apparently, I wasn’t the only woman in the Sentinels of course but I was the first Alpha. Most of the suits designed for women were different but I had to have one specially designed due to height and proportions.

Honesty time.

I’m too tall and my ass is too big.

There I said it.

The tightness wasn’t the only difference either though. The top brass felt that because I was different I didn’t need as much “bulk” as the other suits carried either. Unbeknownst to me---over the last two weeks or so---an R&D team had been completely redesigning the suit to fit my needs. They were so impressed with the redesign they labeled them Mark 2’s and were already in the process of mass production. Mine was currently the only model though. Sleeker, more streamlined and as tight as hell. It breathed as I moved though. Over the last hour or so---before the boys had arrived---Ryan and I ran it through its paces.

I passed every test.

“You look umm…,” said Spider, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and toeing the ground.

I gave him a look. “However I look, imagine how it feels.”

He turned a shade of crimson and looked away.

Yeah, this isn’t going to be distracting.

“As you all know, the Inters of this Metro are going on a field trip to Metro One next week” We all nodded and murmured. “Our squad and squad 3 have been assigned to be escorts”

More murmuring.

They broke the news to us last week actually.

To say we were surprised was an understatement. There was no way in hell any of us were ready for something like that. Especially going to Metro One. That was Guardian territory. I don’t think I need to mention how much Guardians and Sentinels don’t get along again. However, that was only half the problem. The other problem---the most immediate---problem was yours truly.

Me.

Alpha.

You see, not only was Metro One the seat of our government, it was the seat of the Human government. Emphasis on human. While most Metros had at least one or two Alphas in some position of power, Metro One had zero. Ok not totally rare or unheard of but this next bit I’m about to mention is where things get bad. You see not only do they have no Alphas in the government, they have no Alphas anywhere.

Nada.

Zilch.

None.

There’s no Cube, no Three Truths, no anything.

After the little uprising---the one that created the Sentinels in the first place---the government ran scared. Sure, they now had a force to protect the public but they were afraid of what might happen if an Alpha managed to get in charge of everything. The Grand Chancellor---our highest position in power---had to remain “pure”. He was the head of the Council, the ruling body of the government. If anything were to happen to him, the Council had to vote one of their members to replace him. Humans began to grow afraid that if an Alpha gained that position that oppression would happen. So it was deemed that no Alpha could hold a position on the Council.

This of course led to other prejudices.

With an all-human Council, Alphas started losing other rights in Metro One. Slowly, every single one of their individual rights were taken away. Eventually they no longer wanted to live there. So ten years ago, the Cube there was abandoned. It was now the base of power for the Guardians actually. It was the base of power for something else too.

The Humanity First Initiative.

I know that sounds made up. Like something out of those 20th century comic books, my grandfather used to collect but trust me it’s very real. The HFI sprang up out of fear that Alphas would gain too much power. They were a tiny little organization at first, a bunch of “concerned” citizens. Eventually those concerned grew and grew. Now there were hundreds of them. They were led by a man named Fairbanks, the CEO of Fair Corp, one of the largest software manufacturers around. Hell he’s the guy who mass-produced everything, including Bios.

My parents were both technically Fair Corp employees.

Most people were.

And when one of the most powerful men in the world is a “Huffer”, it’s hard not to take the group seriously.

The Guardians were his brainchild.

A group of soldiers meant to keep us safe.

Us as in the “human race”.

Fairbanks uses his incredible wealth to back the HFI, enabling them to do just about anything they want. Within the confines of the law of course. After the Alphas in Metro One fled and abandoned the Cube, he bought it up. Not long after, the Guardians came on the scene. The HFI rose through the ranks quickly after that. They started influencing government decisions and mandates; they passed stricter laws and legislation. They managed to nab a seat on the Council, too. From there they gained real power. It, the HFI, that maneuvered and got most of the Sentinels disbanded. Fairbanks feared they were “too sympathetic” to the plight of the Alpha.

Bull shit if you ask me.

He was just like the rest.

Charismatic, slimy and well loved.

It sure helped that he was one handsome son of a bitch too.

Thinking about him, I couldn’t help but glance over at Hawk and Falcon---my Z1 “squad mates”. It was pretty common knowledge that most Z1ers were Huffers. Ok so maybe not them personally but definitely their families. At least the human ones anyway. They were discreet about it of course. Huffers weren’t illegal around here, hell they weren’t illegal anyway. Here in Metro 656 though, they weren’t nearly as common. We did after all have a large Alpha population, one of the biggest, actually. Plus we had the Sentinels, too. So most Huffers here kept a much lower profile. They held rallies and demonstrations, and some recruitment campaigns, but it never really panned out.

The Three Truths ruled here.

No one knew anything different.

I’d be a liar if I said I was one hundred percent against the Huffers, though. Yes, they were nut jobs but some of the stuff made a small bit of sense. Sure, the Alphas weren’t evil nor did I think they wanted to rule the world but they were arrogant. Just looking at Ted’s mother would give you proof to that. Did I think they needed to be locked up in boxes and shipped out to sea or whatever, NO WAY. I did think the Cube was necessary though but only because it was safe for everyone.

Ok now I’m just a hypocrite.

Damn I hate politics.

“This is so cool,” said Spider, smiling wickedly.

Shit, now I’m clueless.

I had no idea what he was talking about because I hadn’t been paying attention.

“Sorry” I whispered back.

“The whole Bio link thing”

Bio link?

I gave him a blank look, which caused him to groan. Like Joe, Mark was a bit of a techie. Unlike Joe, most of his tech stuff was more like something my father would be interested in. The two of them were still friends though, outside of the friendship Joe had with Ted and me, of course. My point, Mark seemed to know a little bit more about Bios than any of us assembled here.

“Bio links are something a lot of Sentinel squads do,” he said, explaining it to me and in turn the whole group. “Basically two people interface their Bios with one another, linking the two of them together. They share thoughts, feelings, sometimes even dreams. In essence, it’s like having another person in your head.”

“Nicely put, Spider” said Ryan with a nod.

“Wait, he’s serious?” asked Hawk, looking a little pale. “You mean someone is going to know what I’m thinking, all the time?”

“Yes and no” said Ryan. He held up a small silver capsule. “Inside here are two blue pills, they have a technical name but we usually call them Blues. These pills create a link between those who swallow them. I’m going to pair you off with one of these capsules; each of you takes a pill. The effects only last a few hours but while they are in effect, you will be linked to your partner.”

“You’re sure it’s only for a few hours?” asked Falcon nervously, looking at me.

Yeah I knew what he was afraid of.

He didn’t want a girl in his head.

Hell, I definitely didn’t want that Spooner in mine.

“Yes” said Ryan, tossing the capsule he was holding at Falcon who caught it clumsily.

He paired us off after that.

It was no surprise how it went either. The two Spooners---Hawk and Falcon were one pair, Stretch and Ox became the second and by process of elimination that left Spider and I as the third. Ryan handed the capsule to me, our hands touching for the briefest of moments. A small spark shot down my body, sending tingle shivers.

My heart skipped its usual beat. Damn it.

I stopped myself from blushing, though.

“Thanks” I said softly before he walked off.

I snapped open the capsule, dumped the pills into my hands and passed one to Mark.

“Now before you swallow it, a few things. These pills are linked to one another. So as soon as you swallow it, you and only you will be linked to your particular partner. It’s going to be a little disconcerting at first, you might even feel slightly sick. Trust me, it will pass. After that, you’re going to feel a bit of a rush, might even feeling a bit euphoric. Ignore it. Some guys like to abuse Blues because of the rush, you will not be those guys. If I catch anyone with these pills outside of this program, I’ll will drop you in an instant” He looked directly at the Spooners. “No objections, no favors, no nothing. One instance of abuse and you’re done. Do I make myself clear?”

We all nodded.

“Ok then, pop those pills”

I sighed, looking at the little pill in my hand. Then looked at Spider, who looked just as nervous.

“On three” I said, he nodded.

I counted it off then popped the pill. He quickly followed. I’m not sure what was supposed to happen because whatever it was, it didn’t start right away. I turned to him and shrugged. He was just as confused as I was. Looking at the others, they seemed to share similar attitudes. Looking at Ryan however I couldn’t help but feel a little concerned by his smile. I was about to make a comment but then I felt it. A massive headache, I doubled over in pain. Somewhere I heard someone moan in pain. The room began to spin.

Hawk puked.

Someone screamed, I think.

Ox was busy trying to stay on his feet while at the same time trying to keep Stretch on his. I looked at Spider, I found my partner leaning against the wall, panting. Then suddenly I was panting, too. It was strange though because I didn’t feel the least bit out of breath. I also realized that my head didn’t hurt either. Sure it felt like it was supposed to hurt but it didn’t actually hurt. I stared at Spider closer and realized he was rubbing his temples. I gasped, realizing what that meant. The headache was actually his. I was panting like him too. I wasn’t actually rubbing my temples but I felt like I wanted to.

Wow.

Son of a bitch.

The thought was mine but not mine.

It wasn’t my voice either.

I looked at him and my eyes widened.

It was Spider’s.

“Can you hear me?” I thought back at him.

He stopped rubbing his temples and looked at me, his eyes widened.

“Holy shit” he thought back. “No fucking way”

No fucking way indeed.

“This is freaky,” he said, looking down “I can feel your body. I mean I can feel the weight of your chest as if it was”

He reached up to touch his chest.

“Perv”

I could almost feel him groping me, it was disgusting.

“Sorry, it’s a little confusing”

“Well stop now, please”

He lowered his hands, blushing.

I could his body too, almost as if it was my own. Unlike him though, it didn’t feel nearly as foreign. It felt familiar, like an old friend. I suppressed the urge to grope myself though. Unlike him though, it appeared that my concept of my own body didn’t go away. I could still feel my boobs too. It just felt like I had a penis again.
“Do you feel the rush?”

He looked like he was on cloud nine, a big smile on his face.

Whatever he was feeling though, I felt none of it.

No euphoria like Ryan described.

So apparently, it was the one thing we didn’t currently share.

I did feel his need to squeeze my boobs though. I also felt him stiffen when he looked at me too. There was a mix of emotions there too, lust being the chief one among them.

Ugh, fucking pig.

I wonder if he could feel my disgust.

“Sorry” he thought, a moment later.

Yep, he could definitely feel it.

“I find it hard to believe though. I mean I feel your body, its freaky being a dude one sec and feeling like a chick the next”

“Don’t I know it?”

I felt his shame.

“Oh shit, sorry. I didn’t…”

“It’s ok. I’m used to all of this now. I’ve adjusted quickly”

He nodded. “Your body is incredible though. I mean do you feel this good all the time. The strength, the energy?”

I guess I never really thought about it. I was just me. I couldn’t even begin to wonder what he was feeling though. He was flexing his muscles though, preening like a fool. It was clear that my body was having a bigger effect on him then his was having on me. I did feel something though, slightly less of myself. It was like trying to walk underwater. Not that I was sluggish, just slow or at least felt that way now. I flexed my hands, feeling no strength or rather a lack of it.

“Come here a sec,” I said, knowing he knew what I was thinking.

We both walked over to the free weight rack against the wall. He nervously looked down at the weights. I felt it, I also felt confidence too. I grabbed the heaviest weight. His apprehension and fear was there but I was able to override it. I lifted the weight without a problem even though his mind told me there was no way I actually could. He tried the same. He had my confidence and his fear. His fear and his only body ruled him though. He wasn’t even able to budge it.

“Just as I suspected. We’re still ourselves even if we feel like one another”

“Well that’s disappointing”

“Only from your point of view” I thought and laughed.

I laughed out loud, he did the same.

He followed his laugh with a dirty look.

“Ok boys and girl” said a voice, it took me a second to realize it wasn’t in my head nor was it Mark’s.

I turned to look at Ryan; Mark seemed to do the same.

It was kind of creepy.

“Now that you’ve taken a few moment to get acquainted with one another, I think we can begin,” he said this with a big smile.

“Begin what?” asked Hawk and Falcon together, both of whom looked shocked when they did so.

“Sparring”

There was an evil glint in Ryan’s eye.

Apparently, there was a method to his madness, which he quickly explained. This was just the first of several initial tests. He wanted us to get used to be being one mind in two bodies. It was the whole purpose of the pills to begin with. They were meant to link you with your squad in battle. Eventually he would graduate us to pills that made all of us linked together but first we needed to get used to the link. So it was the pairing. As soon as we could prove to him that we could handle that then he’d move us up to the “heavier stuff”.

“Wait you mean I’ll eventually be linked to that thing?” asked Hawk, pointing at me, a look of disgust on his face.

A look mirrored by his partner.

I smirked. “Afraid of all this?” I asked, moving my hands rather seductively down my body.

I said---I mean the words came out of my mouth---but I wasn’t thinking it. Nor did I move my hands. I shot a nasty glance over at Mark, feeling his sudden shock and embarrassment. He put a hand to him mouth, flushing red as did so.

What the hell was that?

Ryan was smiling and clapping. He walked over and stood between us, placing his hands on our shoulders. “Did you see that, guys? That’s what I’m talking about. That’s the link these exercises are going to form between you all. One mind, six bodies. I know these two did it on accident but it’s the kind of thing that all of you will be doing when we’re done.”

Great, just great.

“This is scary, I heard about these pills. There’s nightmare stories about people who take them. Some guys have even reported having residual effects after long exposure. You know acting without thinking, mimicking the movements of someone even when they’re not on the pill. Almost as if their bodies become linked all the time. It’s scary shit”

I nodded at Mark.

Then I verbally expressed his concerns.

“It happens,” said Ryan with a frown. “That’s why we do it in a safe environment and why we don’t overdo it. It’s one of the dangers. It only happens though if you don’t know what you’re doing and you abuse the pills, especially abusing them with the same partner. So I’m going to make myself very clear. You will NOT use these pills with the same partner. Next exercise you will be using them with someone else.”

“What about when we all take them?” asked Stretch, looking nervous?

Ox looked a bit scared and nervous too, which in turn looked silly for him.

“Different pills” said Ryan. “The group pills are Greens”

I suppose that made a slight bit of sense.

I had a thought, which I’m not sure was actually mine or Mark’s now that I thought about it. I was the one who expressed it though.

“What happens when we do take the Greens and we’re not able to mesh with one another?”

Ryan smiled and nodded. “Good question and the answer to which is if one of you fails, all of you fail. If you can’t work as a team---as one---then you can’t work at all. Do I make myself clear on that?”

We all gave our affirmatives.

After that, he ordered us off into our pairs.

Then we started sparring.

It was a little hard at first. I mean both of us wanted to do different things. More than once, I found myself tangled up with Mark on the floor. I tried to punch, he tried to kick. Unfortunately our bodies---working against one another---tried to do both things. It was hell for nearly an hour. We weren’t the only ones having that problem though. The others were on the ground too, cursing and moaning. Eventually though, Mark and I thought it through. It was Mark who actually came up with it. It wasn’t about trying to beat your partner in the fight; it was about anticipating the moves and copying them. Using each of our strengths to the other’s advantage.

So when I kicked, he kicked.

When he punched, I punched.

It became almost a dance.

He threw a punch while I instinctively blocked it. I tried to kick him and he countered it. Almost as if he knew it was going to happen before I did it.

Now I understood the purpose of the exercise.

Ryan was watching the two of us closely, smiling and nodding as did so. It didn’t take long for the others to stop what they were doing and watching us too. I didn’t really notice until Ryan stopped us. Then he had us explain to the others what we were doing. As soon as we did, he ordered the others to try the same. Another hour or sparring---of being linked with our partner---and the others seemed to get the hang of it too.

We quit after that.

“Totally freaky” thought Mark as we toweled off our sweat, seemingly in synch with one another.

“Tell me about it,” I thought.

I bent to tie my shoe. Mark bent to do the same and stopped. I saw the look on his face and realized that I couldn’t feel him anymore. I finished tying my shoes and looked at him, waving my hand, flexing my fingers. I realized he wasn’t doing the same. For the last two hours, the two of us had been literally copies of one another.

“You didn’t hear me when I thought, did you?” he asked.

“Nope”

“Well, all good things” he said, laughing.

I laughed. “That’s a relief because I definitely didn’t want you in my head when I was in the locker room changing.”

I saw him working it out, realizing what he just missed. I patted him on the cheek when I saw the look of disappointment on his face.

“Maybe next time” I said with a playful wink.

He frowned when he realized there wouldn’t be a next which one got me to laugh at his expense.

I went to the locker room alone.

I undressed alone.

I showered alone.

I redressed alone.

Boy did it feel good not to have anyone else in my head again.

BE CAREFUL WITH THOSE PILLS BETHANY.

It was the numbers again this time though, Joe’s little program translated them for me; unfortunately it didn’t make me feel any better.

I groaned.

At least I’d been alone for a moment.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF