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

Note: Okay, this one sneaked out. I sorta got in the zone. Sorry, Whisper fans. Feel free to post a comment or two or three, good or bad. It all helps. A special thanks goes out to Lilith and all of the real CRU authors for providing such an interesting Universe to play in. Hope ya all enjoy. Thanks to djkauf for editing and my beta-readers for their advice. Any parts that stink are all my fault. Enjoy!

** Chapter 5 **

“Oh, wait. You probably don’t have anything to wear or conditioner for your hair.  Lemme run out to my car and grab my gym bag real quick.”  Jen says as she stops, turns, grabs her car keys and runs out of my apartment.

“Umm, okay, thanks.” I say without much enthusiasm. Conditioner is kind of a strange thing for her to be worrying about.

I’m not really sure that I am ready for this.  Yes, I do need a shower.  I really do, but it is easier to ignore my body when I’m not actively thinking or seeing it.  I know that I am a total babe, but I also know that I look like total jail bait too. You know, the girl that claims she is 18, but the guy who believes her and bangs her gets stuck as a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.  In my head, I’m that creepy pedophile guy, but I’m not because I am really the girl and now I’m completely confused.

Jen comes back with her gym bag in hand and smiling. “Here we go! I even have fresh clothes in here instead of the usual...”  She says, trailing off as she notices my lack of enthusiasm. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Umm, I’m not sure that I am really ready for this, but at the same time.” I gesture to my body. “This is really my body and not some underage girl’s body.”

“Oh, well, I have an idea or two that might help and I will be there with you. I mean, not in there with you because that would probably be even worse, but you know?” Jen says, smiling encouragingly.

I’m still not sure why she is being so supportive to her ex-boyfriend, but I would be totally lost without her here. “Okay, I guess we can try this.” I say.

“Awesome! Now, let’s get you into the bathroom and get started.” Jen says, holding up and shaking her gym bag.

We enter the bathroom together where she unzips her bag and pulls out a bottle of body wash and a thick and soft looking wash cloth. “Okay, strip.” She says.

“Umm, I can’t.  The zipper is stuck.” I say.

Jen sighs. “Okay, turn around.” She says.  She quickly unsticks the zipper and helps me out of my dress.

As I stand there wearing only my blood stained white bikini bottoms, she puts my dress in the sink and begins to fill it with cold water.  The cooler air causes my nipples to pop out and feeling self-conscious about it, I cross my arms to cover my breasts.  I’m not sure why she is trying to save the dress; I would rather we just threw it away, but I guess I will need something to wear.

“Okay, bikini too.” Jen says.

I hesitate for a second as she calmly looks at me.  I don’t see a bit of sexual interest or mockery in her eyes.  She’s acting very businesslike and I find that reassuring.

“Okay.” I say as I slip the bikini off while keeping my attention focused on Jen in an effort to avoid thinking about what I am doing.  I hand them to her and re-cover my breasts with one arm while using my hand in an attempt to cover up my groin without actually touching my groin.

Jen studies me in silence for a few seconds and I begin feel a little uncomfortable.  “What?” I ask.

“Just trying to decide on the best way to approach this. I’m not a psychologist or anything, so I’m just not sure, but here it goes.” Jen says, handing me the washcloth and bottle of body wash.  “Now, turn around, lemme get your pony tail.”  

Washcloth and body wash in hand, I turn and face the tub so Jen can undo my pony tail.  She quickly undoes it and I feel my hair against my shoulders and back.

“Okay, now hop in the tub.” Jen says.

I’m not sure how this is going to work.  I step partially into the tub and glance back towards Jen.

“Go on. It’s just a bathtub. It won’t bite.” Jen says.

“Okay, okay.” I say, frustrated with myself.  There is no way that I am going to let Jen see me be afraid of my own body.  I quickly close the shower curtain and start the water.  I close my eyes and let the hot water beat against my back.  This feels pretty good.

“How’s it going in there?” Jen asks.

“Umm, okay so far.” I say.

“Good. Now try using the washcloth instead of your hands to wash yourself.  It will help exfoliate your skin and I think that it might help some with your little problem.” Jen says.

“Okay.” I say as I reach down to grab the bottle of body wash and the washcloth.  The sight of my smooth wet skin and shapely legs cause me to pause.  This is so weird. It might not be so bad if my skin wasn’t blue.  The extreme difference just draws my eyes and makes me notice the differences even more.  

“Grrr.” I say and force myself to get the job down.  I soak some body wash into the washcloth and start scrubbing my skin. Hmm, this isn’t so bad and it kind of feels nice.

“So, after your shower failure, what did you do?” Jen asks.
 

I got out of the shower as fast as I could without falling on my butt, grabbed a towel and with my eyes firmly closed, I dried myself off.  Once dry, I quickly pulled on a fresh pair of panties and realized that I forgot to bring a fresh pair of clothes into the bathroom with me.  I sighed with frustration and pulled my old shirt over my head.  I had to pull my long wet hair out from the back of my shirt and cursed the fact that I got it wet because I had no idea what to do with it now, but I knew that it was a bad idea to put wet hair up into a pony tail.  

I debated putting my dirty jeans back on, but I decided to just take my chances. Instead, I walked out of the bathroom wearing only panties and my dirty shirt as I padded over to my suitcase to find something to clean to wear.  I pulled out a clean shirt, a pair of jeans, a bra and snuck back into the bathroom to change after a quick glance at the door to make sure no one was peeping.

No one was, at least not when I checked.  I managed to put on the bra without too much trouble. Kim’s bra training helped a ton and the rest of the clothes worked like I expected them to work. The wet hair was really getting on my nerves, so I walked back and grabbed the hair dryer and a brush from my suitcase before returning to the bathroom.  

My hair was a mess after I got done with it, but after a few tries; I was able to put it up into a decent pony tail so it didn’t matter.  It was dry and that was the important part.  Once done with that, I decided to grab my phone, just in case Kim tried to get a hold of me, and relax in the chair.  That lasted for ten minutes before I decided to climb onto and sit on the windowsill so that I could watch the Golden Gate Bridge better.

As I gazed at the bridge in the distance, the moon came out from behind the clouds and I felt myself relaxing even more as I let my mind drift. As I drifted lazily from one minor thought to the next, I felt the moonlight against my skin. It felt like the warming rays of the sun instead of moonlight. After about 15 minutes, I realized that I was also feeling something else. I felt full and not food full either.  I bolted upright as I realized what I was full of.

I was now full of Essence.
 

“Wow, really? It’s moonlight that gives you Essence?” Jen asks, jolting me out of my story.

I am surprised to discover that except for my face and hair, I have washed my entire body. I even realize that I washed around the outside of my vagina without even noticing it.  Hey, that wasn’t so bad.

“Yep.  Thanks for distracting me, Jen.” I say as I add some fresh soap to my washcloth and gently massage my face clean.

“Hey, no problem, Ally. I have your dress and bikini clean. Glad they are white. I was able to use some peroxide to help get the blood stains out. Next, I will toss them in the wash for you.” Jen says.

“Oh, okay, but you didn’t have to. I don’t plan on ever wearing that dress again.” I say just before I rinse the soap off my face.

Jen laughs at me. “You never know and it is a cool dress. Would hate to see it go to waste and just get thrown away.  You okay in there? I wanna toss this in your washer real fast.” Jen says.

The water feels pretty good against my skin and it is really nice to feel clean. I can’t believe that I was being such a big baby about it.  “Yeah, I’m good. Just need to wash my hair now.” I say.

“Good.  Here, use this first, then the conditioner.” Jen says as she reaches through the curtain to hand me her bottle of girl shampoo.

I know the answer, but I can’t resist asking. “Can’t I just use my stuff?” I ask.

“No.” Jen says.

“But, it’s shampoo plus conditioner. All the clean in half the time!” I say, mimicking a TV commercial voice.

“Ally...” Jen says, dangerously as she peeks into the shower and makes it a point to hand me her bottle of conditioner.

“Hey! Naked in here!” I say as I futilely attempt to cover myself up.

“Umm, duh and pfft, nothing that I haven’t seen.” Jen says as she sticks her tongue out at me before she closes the curtain back up.  

“I still hate you.  It’s just not fair.” Jen says as she leaves the bathroom.

The shampoo smells good and I reluctantly smile as I work it into my hair. Jenny returns just in time for me to start with the conditioner.  It smells all girly and nice too, so I decide to whine a little just to stay in character.  I can’t have Jen think that I actually like this stuff.  

“Jen, don’t you have any unscented stuff.  All this stuff is going to make me smell all girly.” I say with a calculated amount of whine added to my voice.

“Good.” Jen says not falling for my trap.  “How’s the water feel?”

“Good.  Can I rinse this smelly conditioner crap out yet?” I ask.

“Yep.  Now, what happened after you discovered that you were full of Essence? Did you cast any spells?” Jen asks.
 

As soon as I realized that I was full of Essence, I tried to cast my shield spell, but nothing happened.  I tried mimicking a dramatic pose as I whispered, “Shield!”.  Nothing again. Well, Vylencia never said anything when she cast spells in DBO.  What was I doing wrong?  I tried something simpler, like my Create Food spell. Nothing. Levitate, nothing again.  Not even a smidgen of something.

“Damn it!” I said with a frustrated whisper as I desperately tried to figure out what I was doing wrong.

Okay John, focus, breath, be the spell, na na na na.  Okay, breathe out and Levitate!

“Fuck!” I said with a frustrated growl as nothing happened, again.

I had no idea what I was doing wrong.  I had to be able to cast something.  Why else would I have Essence if I couldn’t do anything with it?  I tried everything and every way I could think of to cast a spell, but after 10 minutes of failing to achieve even a glimmer of a spell, I gave up and plopped back down into the chair. I felt just more than a little pissed as I crossed my arms over my chest, ignored the strange sensation and glared up at the moon.

There was only so much time that I could waste feeling angry at the moon before I got bored.  I wasn’t a bit tired so going to sleep wasn’t an option.  I wished that I had something to do or read.  Hell, even a magazine would be nice to have.  I sighed as I got up to check my suitcase with the faint hope that Kim snuck a magazine or book in there for me.

She did and when I pulled out the Cosmopolitan magazine, I was initially a little pissed at her sense of humor.  Why in the hell would I want to read that drivel?  How to please your man? Really?  I pulled it out anyway and underneath it was a Car magazine.  Sweet!  A review of the new Subaru WRX!  

By the time I was done with that, it was only 1am and I still felt wide awake.  I guessed that sleeping in the car was a bad idea.  I was going to be totally worthless tomorrow and even worse, the only magazine I had to read now was that Cosmo thing. I glared at it as it lay on my bed, mocking me with its photo shopped cover model and sappy headlines.  I looked over at the door and debated checking with the Agents guarding the door if they had any magazines.  I glanced back at the offending magazine.

“Screw it!” I said with a whisper as I jumped down from my bed and stalked barefoot to the door.  

As I quietly opened the door, Agent Rollins turned his head to look at me.  “Sorry, but I can’t sleep. Are there any magazines out here that I can read?” I asked.

He nodded his head and pointed out to the lobby area. “Here, I’ll show ya.”

Agent Thompson was relaxing on one of the couches and  there were some magazines spread out on the table in front of him.  He calmly opened his eyes for a second before closing them again as I grabbed the top two magazines; a Guns & Ammo and a one month old Newsweek.  Nice, I hadn’t read a gun mag since high school.

“Thanks.” I said, whispering to Agent Rollins as he walked or escorted me back to my room.  

He just played it cool by nodding at me.

The gun mag took 30 minutes and the article about how to refurbish an M1911A was actually pretty interesting since the author was some ex-Navy Seal and he covered some of that pistol’s history.  The Newsweek mag got me to 2:30 am and I still wasn’t tired.  

“Oh, what the hell?” I asked with a frustrated whisper as I picked up the Cosmo mag.  

It was pretty damn funny. What your guy is really thinking.  Really?  No, he’s not thinking that.  He’s thinking, “Why in the hell are you asking me that?”, but he’s not going to tell you that.  Well, not unless he’s a moron.  

I started reading the article about how to pick the perfect bikini for your body because of the pictures and the next thing I knew, someone was rudely waking me up and the light in the room was set to blazing sun intensity levels.
 

And now the water is starting to get cold.  “Crap, I’m turning into a prune in here Jen, but the water feels so good.” I say as I quickly turn off the water.

Jen laughs. “Told ya.  I have a towel ready for you.” Jen says.

I open the curtain and Jen hands me my extra large beach towel. “Wrap this around you and I’ll help you with your hair.” Jen says.
I dry myself off a little before I wrap it around my chest, girl style.  Well, I have breasts now, so it’s what I have to do, right?  I glance at Jen, expecting her to say something about it.

Jen doesn’t comment on my girl towel style.

“Okay, now stand in front of the mirror and watch what I do while I work on your hair. You’re lucky that I wasn’t able to work out yesterday since I normally don’t leave my gym stuff in the car.” Jen says as she plugs in her hair dryer.  

My hair is still dripping wet as Jen combs it all straight back. Then, she takes a regular sized towel and wraps my hair into it and gives it a few twists.  Finally, she combs it again and starts to use the hair dryer with a brush.  It feels kind of good to have her brushing my hair.  I can see why women like going to hair salons so much now and why they pay so much just to have their hair cut. I’m paying very close attention to everything she is doing since she’s not going to be there all the time.  She catches me watching her and flashes me an encouraging smile.  

Jen turns off the dryer and turns to me. “Okay, You’re hair is absolutely beautiful, but I know that you hate having it all loose, but I don’t think that you should put it in a pony tail right away.” She says.

I twist my head back and forth. With Jen’s work, my hair doesn’t seem that out of control.  “Okay, I guess I can try it for a little while.” I say.

“Awesome!” Jen says smiling at me as she digs into her gym bag.  

I watch her as she pulls out a pair of black thong panties.  “Umm, you’re not thinking that I’m going to wear those, are you?” I ask.

“What? They’re clean and I know you liked it when I wore these, but I guess if you want to go commando, then okay.” Jen says as she turns to put the offending item back in her bag.

She’s right; I did like it when she wore them.  They looked hot on her, but I’m not so sure I want to have a string up my crack.  On the other hand, I’m also not so sure that I feel all that comfortable with going all tous naturels or however the French pronounce that.

Jen pulls out a pair of stretchy workout pants and holds them out to me.  “Here ya go, these are supposed to be one-size-fits-all, but they might be a little revealing in your new vagina area.” Jen says glancing meaningfully down at the general area of my towel covered crotch.

“Fine! Hand me the panties.” I say defeated. “And don’t gloat!”

Jen hands me the thong without smiling, but I can tell she is laughing her ass off inside.  It isn’t too hard to figure out which side is the front, but I’m still not happy about this idea.  I slide them up and snug them into place.  The sensation of having a string in my crack is extremely weird, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Next, I drop the towel and I slide on her black stretchy workout pants.  They look really good on me.

Jen pulls out her sports bra and after looking it over; she drops it back into her bag. “Okay, I am pretty sure that my sports bra would just hurt you, so I’m afraid that you’re going to have to go bra-less for now.”

“Umm, okay.” I say not feeling all that bad about not having to wear a bra. They can be a real pain in the chest.  Especially if you fall asleep while wearing one.

Jen hands me a dark purple zip up hoodie sweat jacket.  “Here, put this on.”

I put it on and it’s a little snug across my chest.  Jen unzips it a few inches, exposing some of my cleavage and relieving some of the tightness at the same time.  Jen brings her bag with her back into the living room while I check on my steaks.

They are defrosted, but now I don’t know if I want to cook them.  It’s almost 3 AM and I am surprised that Jen is still awake. Heck, I’m still kind of surprised that she’s even here. Well, it will only take me a few minutes to cook them, I am still hungry and they do look really good with all that blood in the bag.

God, I really am a carnivore, but at least I’m not a vampire. “Umm, Jen, do you want a steak?” I ask, raising my voice so that she will hear me from the kitchen.

Jen walks into the kitchen. “No thanks.  I’m not so sure that a steak at three in the morning is a good idea for me.”

“Actually, I am surprised that you haven’t already fallen asleep yet.” I say as I make it a point to look at the clock.

“Well, I am a little tired, but I really wanna hear your story. I am also a little disappointed in you.” Jen says with a smirk.

“What? Why?” I ask feeling a little concerned.  I know that she’s not really serious, but what if she is?

Jen giggles at my reaction.  “I can’t believe that you feel asleep while reading a Cosmo! Now, how will you find out what kind of bikini to get?” She asks.

“Ha Ha, not.” I say as I stick my tongue out at her before I turn back to get to work on the steaks.

“You know? I am kind of surprised that you read that gun magazine. I mean, I didn’t realize that you were  a gun nut.” Jen says, sounding surprised.

“Oh, I’m not a ‘gun nut’. Hell, I don’t even own a weapon, but I have played a ton of shooter games and my friend, Jason, has a few pistols.  We went shooting a few times and it was kind of fun.” I say as I open the steak package and drain the blood down the sink.  I can smell the blood and it makes my mouth water.

“Okay, I guess so, but I still don’t see how the article about that M1911 gun thing didn’t put you to sleep.”  Jen says with a dismissive wave of her hands.

“It’s an M1911A1 and it is not a ‘gun’.  Those so called ‘gun nuts’ really hate it with you refer to their pistols or rifles as ‘guns’.” I say with a sharp glance over my shoulder.

“Fine, the pistol thing. Now, tell me more while you work on those steaks.” Jen says as she leans up against the counter and crosses her arms impatiently.
 

The damn light was too ‘effing bright.  Who in the hell decided to turn them on at this time of the night?  “Go away; it’s too early, turn off the lights.” I said as I tried to bury my head under the pillow in an attempt to block the light.

“Come on, Miss Wilson, it’s eight, we need to draw some more blood before you eat and the doctors are anxious to get started.” A woman’s voice said encouragingly.

The eating part helped rouse me, a little, but I felt so tired and my breasts felt like they were being squeezed in a vice. I didn’t realize that falling asleep wearing a bra would be so uncomfortable.  “Uhhhgg. Can you turn off the light?  Too bright.” I asked.

“Okay, lights off.” The woman said from the other side of the room.

I tried to open my eyes and it was still too bright. The sunlight pouring into the room was painfully bright. “Curtains too?” I asked as I hunted for my purse while squinting my eyes.  I put on my sunglasses as the woman closed the curtains for me.  

“Thanks.” I said as I finally got a better look at her.  She was wearing light blue scrubs, had long curly black hair and looked like she was in her mid-twenties.  I thought that she was very pretty and almost too young to be a nurse.

“Are you a nurse?” I asked.  I wasn’t trying to be rude, but in my defense, I was pretty tired.  I knew that a nurse didn’t have to be in their thirties or forties, but since I woke up; all my nurses had been older and more experienced looking.

She smiled and laughed at me. “Of course, why else would a girl be caught dead in these ugly powder blue things?” She asked, tugging on her pant legs.

I didn’t know what to say. My brain was still moving like pond water, I really needed to adjust my bra and I needed to pee.  “Okay, umm, I have to pee.” I said as I trudged like a zombie toward the bathroom.

“Oh! Hold it for a second. I’ll grab a sample jar. We need to get another urine sample.” She said way too cheerfully.

I groaned and decided to try and adjust my bra while also trying to avoid peeing in my pants. I did manage to fix my bra, but I saw in the mirror that my hair was a disaster and my blood red eyes were not helping me feel more alive either.  

The smiling nurse tapped on the open bathroom door and handed me the dreaded plastic sample jar. “Here you go!” She said.

I was able to spot her name on her employee badge.  Stephanie Grainger is what her badge said her name was, but I was too tired to bother trying to be nice and use her name. I grumpily grabbed the jar from her hand and stumbled over to the toilet.  I just wanted to pee without making a mess all over myself.  Why did they need another fucking urine sample from me?  Yes, I was feeling just a little bit crabby, sorry.

I tried to be careful, but I still got pee all over my hand, damn it.  I decided right there, that the first chance I got, I would totally invent something that I could use to pee standing up again.  If I did that, I could be a millionaire, because why wouldn’t every woman want to be able to pee standing up?  

After I washed my hands, I decided to wash my face to help get the sleep out of my eyes and wake me up.  I felt a little more alive after that, so I fixed my hair as best I could since I messed it up last night with my aborted shower attempt.

The way too cheerful and young nurse decided to try and befriend me with girl talk. “Oh, hey, I just got that Cosmo.  Isn’t the story about what your man is really thinking the best?” She asked.

I couldn’t believe what she just asked me that. That story was pure crap. “Umm, not really.” I said looking at her and glad that I had my sunglasses on so that she couldn’t see the disdain in my eyes.

“What?  I never knew that when my boyfriend doesn’t hold my hand tight, that it means he isn’t interested me anymore.”  She said with total conviction.

I just wished that she would stop talking. I’ve already had a bad morning and I can’t see how it’s going to get any better. “That’s bullshit. It means that he’s tired of holding your hand for hours on end.” I said, probably a little more negatively than I should have.

She looked a little shocked at my reply and that made me start to feel a little guilty. “Look, Stephanie?  I’m sorry. I’m really really tired and not only that, the last few days have really sucked for me. I got the shit shocked out of me and almost died, but instead of dying, I somehow got turned into a fucking girl.  Not just any fucking girl, but a 16 year old Dark Elf jail-bait hottie.  My own damn parents walked out of the hospital and abandoned me, and to add insult to injury, some wacko with a big ass knife tried to kill me yesterday.” I said as my voice got louder from all the hurt, anger and frustration while poor Stephanie stood rooted in place with shock and maybe a little bit of fear.

I had been trying to not call attention to the fact that I used to be a guy. Not because I liked being a girl, but because I didn’t want people to think I was one of those weirdo dudes who secretly or not so secretly wanted to be a girl.  I had zero desire to be a girl and I hated it. I hated feeling smaller, weaker, helpless and dependant on everyone. I hated going to the bathroom. I hated having people look at me like I was some freak. I hated people treating me like I was a damn teenage girl.  I hated feeling like I was walking on eggshells with my emotions.  The damn crying was really getting on my nerves. I hated not being able to just blow some crap up with the non-existent super-powers that I should have.

I was completely pissed when Stephanie ran past me and out of the room, crying.  I started to feel bad about dumping on her, but Agent Helligan chose that moment to make her appearance.

“Well, that could have gone better.” Agent Helligan said sarcastically from the open doorway.

I turned to face her. “Fuck you.” I said as I started to walk towards the door to leave the room.

With her arms crossed, Agent Helligan leaned calmly against the open door frame.

“Just take me to your damn doctors and let’s get this fucking over with.” I said as I brushed past her and into the hallway.

Agent Fergusson and Agent Kramer were standing outside and they looked a little on edge. I guessed that having a nurse run out of the room crying after the freak girl yelled at her caused them to be a little more alert.  I had no idea which way to go, so I set course for the elevators.  Agent Fergusson fell in beside me. I kept my eyes forward and refused to acknowledge my warden’s presence.

“Val, you need to chill.” Agent Fergusson whispered to me.

Without stopping, I turned to look at him and raised my sunglasses so that he could see my eyes.  I had tears leaking down my face.  “I am, chill.” I said as I lowered my sunglasses and turned back to watch where I was walking. I refused to wipe the tears from my face.  That would just show everyone how weak I was.

I impatiently crossed my arms over my chest and that sensation just pissed me off a little bit more.  Agent Helligan pressed the button to take us up to the 8th floor.  That surprised me some since everyone knows that mad scientist labs are always in the basement.  When we arrived at the nursing station on that floor, everyone looked a little tense.  I guessed that the news of my meltdown traveled fast. I couldn’t wait to have some pissed off nurse stick me with needles to draw more of my blood.

The nurse who ended up taking more of my blood was all business, but she didn’t make any mistakes or purposefully screw up. I never said a word and neither did she, beyond what she needed me to do. After the second vial was filled, she wordlessly handed me a tissue and I used it to calmly wipe my eyes. Two more filled vials later, a different and older nurse arrived to show us to a room where I would wait for one of their quack doctors to examine me.

I refused to crack under the pressure as Agent Helligan silently studied me as we sat in the examination room.  I also refused to slouch in my chair like some petulant teen. I did use that time to look around at some of the room’s decor.  The room I sort of slept in last night was pretty nice, but the rest of the place had a very governmental feel to it.  I thought that this was a meta-human research facility, so the memo on the door with the “Department of Veterans Affairs” letterhead looked out of place.

“I need to get started on your ID.  Have you thought about a middle name yet?” She asked.

“No.” I said without looking at her.

“I will need to know by Monday morning. I assume that you will want to talk it over with Mrs. Elletson first, right?”  Agent Helligan asked.

I turned my head to look at her.  “Yes.” I said as I turned back to stare at the wall.

“Here’s my card.” Agent Helligan said as she held it out for me to take from her.  

That made me look at her again since I had to reach over to take it from her.

Agent Helligan didn’t look as pissed at me as I thought she would.  She looked very calm and I think that she may have even had a touch of sympathy in her expression. “Call me as soon as you two have figured something out.” She said.

I nodded at her as I took the card from her fingers. “Okay, Thanks.” I said with a whisper.

Without looking at it, I tucked her card safely in my purse and sighed as I relaxed just enough to lean back into my chair.  It took me a second to realize that I somehow remembered to grab my purse before I stormed out of my room.  Kim would be so proud of me.

“Sorry.” I said, turning my head to look at her.

A smile reached Agent Helligan’s eyes. “I’ve had worse things said to me by people with less cause, but it’s not me you need to apologize to.” She said.

“This sucks.” I said just as someone gently knocked on the door.

The door slowly swung open to reveal a man that fit the doctor stereotype perfectly.  Not that it would be hard since all you really need is a white lab coat and a stethoscope.  “Valerie Wilson?”  The man asked as he looked from Agent Helligan to me.

I was still feeling a little peeved, but I resisted the urge to say, “Duh”.  Instead, I just nodded my head in acknowledgement.

“Hi, I’m Doctor Gregson. I’m here to perform a basic physical examination before my colleagues downstairs get their hands on you.” Dr. Gregson said with a cautious smile as tried to crack a joke.

I’m pretty sure that the entire building has heard about my explosion now. It took me a few seconds to catch his last part.  The “hands on” statement kind of threw me, but he did say “downstairs”.  I knew that there would be a basement involved with this somehow.  

Now that I was starting to not be as pissed, my stomach growled loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. “Umm, will I have a chance to eat some breakfast before that?” I asked.
 

That reminds me that I need to stop talking and cook my steaks.  “Hold on, I really need to get these steaks started.” I say as I dig out a frying pan.  

“Okay.  I’m kinda surprised that you blew up on that nurse like that.” Jen says with a concerned expression.

“Yeah, I felt bad about that later, but in my defense, I was only running on 4 hours of sleep and I later found out why I felt even more tired than normal during the day.” I say as I get the pan warming up and drizzle some olive oil into the pan.

“Oh, why were you more tired during the day?  Are you really a vampire?” Jen asks sounding a little concerned.

After dropping both steaks into the pan, I turn back to look at her. “Does, I vant to suck ya blud! scare you? ” I ask with a horrible Dracula accent as I smile to expose my fangs more.

Jenny responds by faking panic while giggling at the same time.  She’s not very convincing, but then again, neither am I.  My steaks start to sizzle, so I flip them and sprinkle some garlic salt over the slightly browned side as the other side begins to sizzle too.  I pull down a plate, grab a fork and steak knife out and by the time I have done that, the steaks are ready.

I considered cooking them to well done like I normally like my steaks, but the smell of them cooking just made me too hungry to wait that long.  Jenny doesn’t say a word as I devour my bloody steaks.  

“Gawd, they taste so good Jen!  Are you sure you don’t want one?” I ask as some steak juice dribbles out the side of my face. I catch the drops with my fingers and greedily lick them clean.   

“Thanks. I’m good. It looks like you’re enjoying them enough for the both of us.”  Jen says, giggling at me.

It tastes so good. Maybe I over-cooked them. Maybe uncooked will taste even better. It sounds a little gross, but maybe I will have to try that next time.  

“So, why are you more tired during the day?” Jen asks after I rinse my plate off in the sink.

I debated licking it clean, but figured Jen would laugh at me even more.

“Well, now that I am done eating, how about we go back into the living room and I will tell you?” I ask.
 

Doctor Gregson’s examination of me was pretty simple. Just the normal open your mouth and say, “ahhh” with the rubber mallet on the knee cap thing.  I did have to take off my top so that he could use his cold stethoscope, but I didn’t have to take off my bra or my jeans.

“Okay, all done here, Miss Wilson. You can put your top back on now. I’ll let the mad scientists know that you need to eat first.” Dr. Gregson said with a smile as stood up and logged out of his computer.

“Okay.” I said as I pulled my top over my head.

“Did you have any questions?” Dr. Gregson asked.

“Umm, I don’t think so?” I asked with a tentative smile.

“Okay then, good luck.” Dr. Gregson said as he left the room.

I decided to not wear my sunglasses inside the building. Now that I was a little more awake, the light wasn’t as painful.  Agent Helligan and I headed back to the elevators.  Agents Fergusson and Kramer rejoined the two of us just before the doors opened.  

“Holy shit!” An older man said as he jumped back in shock as the elevator doors slid open..

Agent Helligan grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side.  “It’s okay sir, she’s with us.” She said.

The man started to calm down after he saw the three agents hovering protectively over me.  Maybe he thought they were protecting him.  

“Shit. Sorry. Are you one of those new meta’s or is there a movie being filmed here?” He asked, looking at Agent Helligan with shame and gratitude before turning to study me a bit more closely.

“Umm, would you believe, a movie?” I asked, glancing at Agent Helligan and back to him with a hopeful expression.

The man actually chuckled and relaxed completely.  “I got it, need to know and all that. Don’t worry, if anyone asks, I’ll say that I thought that you looked like one of those girls I’ve seen on those horrible teen shows that my granddaughter likes to watch.” He said with a smile as he walked out of the elevator without a backward glance humming the theme to Hannah Montana.

If he could hum the theme, he has had to have been forced to watch that show more than once, but I’ve only accidentally heard the theme a few times.  What was my excuse for knowing what show the theme song was for?

Agent Helligan pressed the first floor button, but as the doors started to close, I reached over and hit the sixth floor button.  Agent Helligan looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“I wanna see if Stephanie, the nurse I chewed out, is around. I want tell her that I’m sorry. Is that okay?” I asked.

Agent Helligan simply nodded her head affirmatively.

As soon as the doors opened, I spotted Stephanie standing behind the nursing station.  Her posture stiffened up as soon as she spotted me, but she didn’t run as I purposely walked over to her.  Agent Helligan and her men gave me my space and privacy by not following me.

“Umm, Stephanie?” I asked when I reached the desk.

“Yes, Miss Wilson?” Stephanie asked through a mask of professionalism.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dumped on you like that. It wasn’t your fault.” I said as my eyes started to betray me by getting wet again.  Damn dust.

Stephanie looked shocked.  She didn’t say anything in return. After 10 seconds of silence, I turned away feeling like crap because I just knew that she hated me.

“Umm, Valerie?” I heard a soft voice behind me ask.

I turned back to look at Stephanie.

“I’m sorry too.  We don’t get many meta’s on this level. I didn’t realize, umm, you know?” Stephanie said, looking a little ashamed at herself.

“Yeah, I’m kinda new to this too.” I said with a ghost of a smile as she returned a tentative smile.

I walked back to the waiting agents and they all wordlessly accompanied me into the waiting elevator.  Agent Helligan hit the first floor button and remained facing the doors. “Good job, Wilson.” Agent Helligan said without turning around.

The elevator reminded me of the man I scared the crap out of and all the Veteran’s Administration literature I noticed all over the place. “I know that this might be a stupid question to ask, but is this a VA hospital?  Because, I thought we were at that S.T.A.R. labs research place or something.” I asked.

“Well,  S.T.A.R. lab is leasing their space here because it’s convenient and it’s a government run facility. A bit more privacy since it’s not a public hospital.  Plus, if something goes wrong, there is a fully equipped hospital to handle the crisis.” Agent Helligan said matter-of-factually.

That bit of information both relieved and worried me. “What could go wrong?” I thought to myself.

We arrived at the cafeteria during the tail end of the breakfast service. As a result, the pickings were kind of slim, but on the plus side, the place was almost empty of people.  I loaded my plate up with a ham and cheese omelet and six slices of bacon.  The bacon smelt so good that I couldn’t stop at the normal two slices. They were almost out of the hash-browns, but after my French fry experience, they didn’t look all that appealing to me. So, I skipped them. I topped off my breakfast with a cup of coffee to help wake me up and I was feeling pretty happy.

I still got a few double takes by the cooks, staff and the smattering of diners still eating.  The omelet tasted pretty good, but the bacon was to die for.  I used to drink my coffee black, but either this stuff was real bitter or my tastes had changed.  As I poured sugar and creamer into my cup until I could drink it, I decided that it was both.  The caffeine was appreciated by me, though.  It was a nice boost for all of 30 minutes.

After breakfast, I was escorted back to the elevators and we went down to the basement.  The doors opened to a completely modern and high tech looking hallway that ended 20 feet away at a pair of frosted glass doors with “Science and Technology Advanced Research Laboratories - Meta-Human Research Branch - San Francisco” stenciled in white onto the outside of them.

I was surprised. I expected to see more of the standard hospital decor present on the upper floors.  As we walked through the doorway, we were greeted by a smiling and professionally dressed receptionist. As she stood to greet us, I was surprised by the sight of her. I was expecting a nurse wearing scrubs. Not a twenty something woman with perfectly styled hair, make-up and  wearing a matching dark blue ladies business jacket and skirt.

“Hi, I’m Brenda. You must be Miss Wilson.” She said with a smile as she extended her hand, expecting me to shake it.

I went ahead and shook her hand. I didn’t want to be rude.

“Okay, we have you scheduled for a full body MRI first, that will then be followed by,” Brenda grimaced. “,the always popular pelvic examine with Doctor Keller.That will end with an hour for lunch. After lunch, Doctor Wiles and Doctor Keller will go over some of the results of you lab work with you and since your origins indicate the possibility of magical powers, Doctor Random will interview you starting at two pm.  Depending on how that goes, we may require some additional tests.” Brenda said as she went through her checklist.

“Holy crap!” I said, accidentally speaking out loud what I meant to only think to myself.

Brenda laughed.  She had a nice laugh. “Yeah, it is a bit much, but we believe in being thorough.  The meta phenomenon has everyone excited and scared at the same time.” Brenda said.

“I’ll leave my men here, if that is okay?” Agent Helligan asked.

Brenda nodded her head yes. “Sure, not a problem Helen.”

I was a little surprised that Brenda used Agent Helligan’s first name. I had only heard her say it once and since then, everyone had addressed her as “Agent Helligan”.  

“If you will follow me, Miss Wilson?”  Brenda asked, snapping me out of my shock.

Brenda led me down the hall and everything looked new, except for one door. Instead of a modern wood door with brushed aluminum handles and etched metal door numbers, this door looked like it was made of solid steel and it looked old.  I couldn’t help my curiosity; I paused next to the door and studied it. The door had “Maintenance Use Only” stenciled in white spray paint and unlike the other doors, its heavy duty hinges were on  this side of the door, meaning that this door opened into the hallway. Even stranger was the fact that it had a solid steel bar lodged over the door to prevent it from being opened from the other-side.  All that isn’t what caused the most of my curiosity.  I don’t know how I knew it, but I just felt like the other side of the door led to larger underground area that ultimately led to an exit.  

Brenda stopped a few feet ahead of me after she noticed that I was no longer following her.  

“Where does this go?” I asked.

Brenda looked at the door curiously. “You know, I don’t know. I’ve never thought to ask, but it must lead to the old boilers and plumbing for this place. I’ve never seen anyone open it. It’s probably rather messy.”

“Oh, okay.” I gave the door a tap with my knuckle. It sounded very solid.  “Weird.” I said, shaking my head with confusion as I rejoined Brenda.

She led me to and left me in a changing room where a female nurse was waiting for us. I was asked to strip down to my panties and don a crappy paper hospital gown for the MRI scan. The MRI wasn’t that bad.  The scan itself was over before I knew it, but that was because I fell asleep almost as soon as my head touched the MRI’s foam headrest. The scan took an hour, so I was glad that I was able to take a nap.  They got a little worried about me after it took the nurse more than a few shakes to wake me up. After stumbling back to the changing room, it took me a few minutes before I was able to dredge up enough energy to put my clothes back on.

Don’t know why I bothered.  The next exam was my very first pelvic exam. Well, the first one I was conscious for anyway. I was pretty sure that the doctors back in L.A. looked down there more than a few times during my transformation.  I just wished I could have been knocked out for this one too.

I felt a little reassured when Doctor Keller turned out to be a female doctor. She helped me feel comfortable right from the start by asking me how I preferred to be addressed.  She seemed a little surprised when I told her that “Valerie” was fine. She was very gentle with me, but I still hated the experience.  She didn’t talk much during the exam, but she did keep me informed of her every movement and pending touch in an effort to help keep me from freaking out.  She was mostly successful.

Once she was done, Dr. Keller pointed toward the room’s private bathroom. “You can go ahead and put your clothes back on. There are some sanitary wipes in there to help you clean up.  Once you’re dressed and feeling more human, we can over your results together.” She said.

When I finally exited the bathroom, Dr. Keller didn’t seem surprised that it took me a long time to just get dressed.  “Why don’t we retire to my office? I have found that there is nothing more distracting than the sight of those things,” She said, pointing to the exam table and the stirrups. “, to stifle a doctor and patient conversation.”

Her office, very conveniently, adjoined the exam room. She had the standard looking doctor office with the big desk, executive office chair, nice computer terminal and so-so guest chairs. I’m glad we didn’t have far to walk since I was still feeling pretty not-good down there.  

Dr. Keller nodded with sympathy as I very carefully sat down in one of the guest chairs. “I know that you probably don’t want to hear this, but I do have to caution you about the use of contraceptives.”  She must have seen the panicked expression on my face.  “Whoa, settle down.  It’s not like that.  I am pretty sure that you know all about the birds and the bees and how things work. Maybe not from a female perspective, but you’re not the usual girl having her first pelvic exam by her gynecologist, are you?”  She asked.

I nodded my head yes and her explanation helped calm me, a little.

“Okay, I would normally prescribe or at least recommend a contraceptive dosage and brand for you to try, but until we can do more tests on your genome and hormone levels; I am not sure if any of the female contraceptives on the market would be safe for you to take.” Dr. Keller said.

I was surprised that I didn’t freak out.  “Oh, not that I want to even think about that right now, but why is that?” I asked, but deep down, I think that I already knew what she was going to say.

She paused for a few seconds to gather her thoughts. “Well, I’m not sure exactly how to say this, so I will just go ahead and say it.  Based on the blood work sent to us earlier this week, you have tested positive for the meta-gene. However; based on those same tests, your rather unique genetic structure has me and Doctor Wiles concerned.”

“Who is Doctor Wiles and is this about that quantum entanglement stuff?” I asked, while trying to remember what the doctors back at Kim’s hospital said about ‘quantum entanglement’.  I was feeling a little confused.

“Yes, Doctor Wiles was pretty excited about that, but he understands the quantum theory more than I, so he will have to explain it to both of us this afternoon.” Dr. Keller said, waving her hands with frustration.

“Oh, okay.” I said.

“What I can tell you know though, is that while your appearance is rather striking and quantum mumbo jumbo aside,” Dr. Keller used her fingers to provide air quotes. “, your DNA is more human than not, but there some differences and it are those that cause me the most concern.  Also, based on your sluggishness and your nap in the MRI scanner, on a hunch, I checked your recent blood samples for your adenosine and melatonin levels. Your ratios currently indicate that you may be nocturnal, which...” She said.

I knew it. I was a vampire or something. Since I was stressing out over that, I missed her next few words.

“Valerie!” Dr. Keller said, touching my arm and snapping me out of my internal conflict. She smiled at me. “Now, as I was saying, those differences may not mean anything since there are rather large variations in the human norm, but there could be differences, subtle differences in your physiology that could be dangerous for you.  Your body may respond differently to treatment programs that we consider safe.”

“Umm, so I could get sick from taking some aspirin for a headache?” I asked.

Dr. Keller shrugged her shoulders. “Possibly, but I can’t say for sure until the results from the more complete DNA testing come back and after we have been able to perform some basic allergic response tests.”

“How long will those tests take?” I asked.

“Normally, one to two weeks, but we couriered some of your DNA samples off to a specialist at Berkeley who may be able to give us some answers sooner than that.” Dr. Keller said, trying to reassure me.

“Oh, okay.” I said.

Dr. Keller glanced at her watch. “It looks like it is close to lunch time now.  Do you have any further questions from me?” She asked.

While Dr. Keller seemed pretty nice and I didn’t want to spend any more time in that room than I absolutely had to, I couldn’t help wondering why a gynecologist seemed to know so much about my meta-human or meta-non-human results.  “Okay, sorry, but aren’t you just a gynecologist? Why do you know so much about the rest of my results?” I asked.

She smiled at me.  “I’m not just a gynecologist.  That just happens to be one of the specialties that I am licensed for.  I’m also a licensed endocrinologist.”

I felt kind of stunned. She was really smart. “Oh.” I said, simply.

Dr. Keller laughed at my response. “Well, my first specialty also lets me be the one who gets to tell you about your new reproductive organs due to the rest of my male colleagues being more than a little chicken.” She said with a grin.

“Chicken? Why?” I asked.

“Well, while we have learned a lot about how the meta-gene works, there is still a lot more that we don’t know about the meta-gene. However; in the cases reported thus far, the majority of the victims have been male and those males have had their gender reversed.  We don’t know why and to tell you the truth, I think my male colleagues are a little freaked out by that, even if they will never consciously admit it.”

That was a surprise. I didn’t realize that there were other people who have gone through or are going through the same thing that I was.  I had a lot to think about.  “Umm, okay.  Thanks Doctor Keller.  Sorry about the ‘just a gynecologist’ thing.” I said as I got up to leave her office.

“No problem Valerie and if you think of something later, feel free to let me know.  I’m sure that I will see you a few more times before you are done here.” Dr. Keller said with a cheerful smile as she pulled out some paperwork to work on.

Before I could leave her office, I couldn’t help it, I stopped to ask her another question. There was just one more teeny tiny thing that I just had to know. “Umm, Dr. Keller?”

“Yes Valerie?” She asked, looking up from the paperwork on her desk.

“Am I a vampire?” I asked as I ran my tongue across my fangs.