sex: 1/10
violence: 6/10
profanity: 2/10

Categories: Hybrid, Elemental, PSI

Timeline: 2060

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Chapter Eleven: Home Again

A bit less than an hour later, we were walking through the front door. Grandma and Grandpa met us at the door. They had tears in their eyes as they greeted me with hugs and kisses. "We thought we were going to lose you," Grandma sobbed. She had to hold me at arm's length and look me over. Then, she made me twirl around and pose. She smiled and pulled me in for a hug. I could feel in her mind that she was profoundly relieved that I was cured.

We went to the living room, and I sat between Mom and Grandma on the couch. Gregory came and sat in my lap. I mused briefly about the ethics of infecting him without his knowledge or consent -- not that he would be able to have an opinion about it. Anyhow, we routinely neuter and declaw our pets without asking for their opinions. That is, some people do. Gregory has been neutered, but we would never declaw a cat; especially one that may have to defend itself outside.

I zapped him.

If he could make a decision, I'm sure that he would make the same one I did. He's going to enjoy flying with me. He might even enjoy the fact that MORFS is very likely to give him his balls back.

Before long, it was time for bed. I had kind of missed having Mom and Dad pray over me. This time, Grandma and Grandpa did, too.

The next morning, I showered off quickly and put on shorts and a tank top with an open back. The open back allowed my wings to emerge naturally without sleeves. Ginny came galloping up to the fence as soon as I emerged from the house. I ran to her and hugged her around the neck. I could read in her mind that she had missed me. I drained, rinsed, and filled her watering trough. Grandpa had used the tractor to put a round bale of hay in her feeder yesterday, so she still had plenty. I led her to the barn and let her munch on some oats and alfalfa pellets while I brushed her down.

By the time I was done, Grandma and Mom were finished with the goats. Mom smirked at me as she took a half gallon of fresh milk into the house. I went to the coop, tossed some scratch grain to the chickens, and collected the eggs. After cleaning them and putting them into the milking parlor refrigerator, I walked over and petted the goats. They had missed me, too. After that, I had to cuddle the barn cats. They seem to think that I'm their mascot or something.

By the time I got back into the house and washed my hands, breakfast was pretty much ready. We said grace and had a good farm-style breakfast of hot cakes, sausage gravy and biscuits, eggs, and whole wheat toast. It just doesn't get much better than that.

After breakfast, I went upstairs to study for a couple hours. The Professors Martin had emailed some online courses to me that I will try to get started before school. I have a week to assess where I am academically and try to make sure that I'm ready for my sophomore year. If I can make some good progress this coming year, I can start on the advanced placement classes in my junior and senior year.

But it's late summer, and the cold weather will be coming soon enough. Out here in the country, away from the extra heat generated by the city, winter starts sooner and hits harder.

On the plus side, there will be many summers in my future. I smile whenever I think about that.

My parents and grandparents were out in the back yard lounging around the table that sits under the old maple tree. I went over and hugged them all. Then, I broke out in a dead run, spread my wings, and leapt into the air. I pumped strongly to gain altitude, then swooped down by Ginny. She looked up at me, but wasn't alarmed. I gained altitude again, and flew back to the pond. I circled it twice and came in for a landing at Great Grandpa's picnic shelter. I sat there for a few minutes thinking of how things have changed.

Just over two weeks ago, I was looking at a dead end. I was still reeling from the bitter disappointment of spending all day on the exam table waiting for Betty Wilson to come heal me. Then, in a whirlwind of events, I got a glimmer of hope, then freedom from pain, a new body, and finally some really cool powers. I made new friends, lost a few phony ones, and managed to make myself an enemy of the radical anti-morfs movement. Instead of trying to smile past the pain and make the best of what little life I had left, I am reveling in my new freedom and making plans for a long future. Tears formed in my eyes as I though of prayers that were not just answered, but exceeded. I walked around the picnic area, enjoying the warm fall air. I'll have to bring a picnic lunch out here sometime soon, like before winter sets in.

On the way back, I decided to see how fast I could fly. Our 160 acre parcel of land is a quarter mile wide by a mile long. The house and pond are near opposite corners, and they are just over a mile apart. I flew past the pond, turned around, and pressed the stopwatch button on my watch just as I passed over it. I clicked it again as I passed over the house.

Forty seconds. That's 90 miles per hour! I wonder what I can do if I really try to sprint, or if I give myself a boost with TK.

I circled around, came in low under the maple tree, flared, and landed in front of my parents and grandparents.

"Trying to race the hawks?" asked Dad.

"Just doing a time trial," I replied. "It looks like I can maintain a speed of 90 miles per hour without overdoing it."

Dad let out a low whistle. "Does this mean that you won't be needing to borrow the car much?" I just smirked at him.

Grandpa started to get up out of his chair, but a crick in his back forced him to sit back down. I could feel the sharp pain as he collapsed in his seat. I was at his side in an instant.

"Don't worry about me. Old age does that to you."

I put my hand on his. *Let me help,* I sent to him. I quickly scanned him with all my senses. I let my bio elemental nature process the data. His back was out of alignment, and some of his nerves were pinched. A few were inflamed. I reached in and moved things around a bit and cured the inflammation. Then, I led him into the house and asked him to lay on the couch.

"I'm feeling OK now, dear."

"I know, Grandpa, but it'll come back if we don't do something about it."

I called my friends at the Kitty Mansion and let them scan Grandpa through my senses. After some discussion, we healed all the places where there was damage. We realigned joints, strengthened muscles, tightened connecting tissue, and regenerated cells. In general, we gave him a tune-up. After we were done with him, we rested, then did Grandma. I thanked my friends, then quipped to Grandma and Grandpa, "Now, you need to come visit me every few weeks for a tune-up."

I rested by going up to my room and firing up my computer. I read through some of my course material for an hour or so, then got on the web. Jerry Wright, one of the guys from the support group, was on line. He was home alone and feeling kind of depressed. He had a condition known as tubular sclerosis that is generally nonlethal. In his case, though, it looked like it was rapidly becoming lethal. The growths were spreading.

I tried to cheer him up, but it wasn't working. Still, he was glad that I was there to talk to him.

After a while, he had to leave. I made him promise to get back online later, and to call me through my eCom. When we exchanged voice information, I looked up his home address. It turns out that he is only about ten miles from here. I might just drop by for a visit sometime.

I went downstairs and suggested to Mom that we have a picnic out by the pond. I figured that Grandma and Grandpa could ride there in the ute, but they told me that they feel fine, and that a nice walk would do them good.

I helped Mom and Grandma get everything together. Instead of the traditional picnic basket, we put everything into containers that would fit into Ginny's saddle bags. Ginny had been telling me, in no uncertain terms, that she wanted to be ridden, and she wanted to be ridden soon.

Everyone got a head start while I brushed Ginny down and saddled her up. I decided to take the long way around, so we rode along the creek that runs between the planted CNT pine forest and the natural forest. Near the edge of the property, there was a wide shallow section that we could wade easily. We then walked along the property line until we met the creek as it turned back into our property. We followed it through the natural forest until we got to the pond. My family wasn't there yet, so I took the food out of Ginny's saddle bags, then let her graze.

By the time everyone arrived, I had the table set. We had a nice lunch, and enjoyed lounging around the pond. Grandma and Grandpa told us about the things that they did when they were younger. We had a good laugh over some of their antics.

Grandma was a bit tired, so I suggested that she ride back on Ginny. She hadn't ridden in years, but allowed that she felt good enough to give it a try. Ginny was a perfect lady, of course. She walked sedately behind us. Grandma really enjoyed the ride.

After unsaddling Ginny, brushing her, and spoiling her rotten, I helped Mom milk the goats. Once all the chores were done, I flew around for a while to strengthen my wings and build endurance I pulled up a map on my eCom and flew over to Jerry's house. He was still the only person inside. He was sleeping, and his dreams weren't all that pleasant. I circled a couple times and went home.

On Tuesday afternoon, Gregory started to get sick. The Martins had given me some carnivore stim packs from their lab, so I gave one to Gregory. If they can make tasty stim packs for cats, why can't they do it for humans?

It was interesting watching him grow and change. His gray striped fur fell out and was replaced with beautiful seal point fur. His wings started as little nubs just behind his front legs, and grew rapidly over the next two days. The tip of his tail sprouted little feathers that grew quickly.

On Friday morning, he was up and wandering around my room. I picked him up and cuddled him, then gave him some food. I could feel the link form in his mind. Now I know why Cara is so attached to Markus.

*It's great, isn't it?*

*You startled me!* I sent to Cara. *Was I thinking that loud?*

Amy sent me a telepathic giggle. *We both knew what to expect when I gave you that virus packet.*

*Thank you!* I sent to her. *Gregory has just become the best pet I ever had. I hope Ginny doesn't get too jealous.*

*Should I make her morf into a Pegasus?*

*I would love it, but I'm afraid that something like that would attract too much attention.*

*I'm afraid so,* sighed Amy.

I took Gregory into the bathroom. He was a bit nervous because he doesn't like water, but I calmed him with a thought. I adjusted the faucet in the bathtub to a small stream of warm water, and set him next to it. I projected to him the pleasant feelings of a warm shower, and diverted the stream to his skin. I caused it to flow along next to his skin and lift off the crud that he picked up during his transformation. Once he was clean, I turned off the water and dried him with TK. His fur came out wonderfully silky and soft.

I carried him downstairs and outside. I calmed him again and leapt into the air with him in my arms. He was all claws for a second, but soon calmed down. I held him around the chest and allowed his wings to extend themselves. He was enjoying himself, but wasn't quite ready for me to release him.

I landed and set him on the ground, then took off and flew a few feet away and called him. He came running, spread his wings, leapt, and did a somersault. I tried not to giggle as he righted himself and looked at me indignantly. He kind of shook himself and gave me that cat look that means, 'I meant to do it that way.' He sat down and licked himself with great dignity for a while. He finally decided to walk toward me, so I hopped up and took to the air. I swooped low over him and called to him. He ran after me, spread his wings, and leapt. He glided for a few feet, bumped down hard, leapt again, bounced, and was finally in the air. He flapped his wings hard as I encouraged him.

Soon, he was flying as if he had been doing it all his life. He surged ahead of me, so I lost a little altitude, flipped over, came up under him, and tickled his soft belly. He took a swipe at me, but I was too fast for him. Besides, I could read the intent in his mind before he made a move. We flew around for about half an hour, then I landed. He landed in my arms and started purring.

The next day, when I was gathering the eggs, a fat buff orpington hen puffed up her feathers and growled at me.

Yes, hens growl. It sounds about like you would expect.

I petted her and said, "Give me your eggs, you grouchy old thing." She stared daggers at me, but didn't peck me. Most breeds of hen would have given me at least a few half-hearted pecks, if not some seriously painful jabs, but buff orpingtons tend to be rather easy going.

After I collected the eggs and set them aside, I picked up miss grouchy pants and put her into a brood pen. Then, I went back to the eggs. As I was sorting through them, I realized that I could tell whether the eggs would hatch into hens or roosters. Then, my bio senses gave me a picture of the chicken inside and the color of her eggs.

I saw a light pinkish egg that contained rooster that had genetics that would result in lavender eggs -- if roosters laid eggs. Well, I can fix that! A few changes in the genes, and he became a she. Much encouraged, I started goofing with the rest of the eggs. Using the genes for blue eggs from Araucana hens, along with those from leghorns (for white eggs,) and from various American breeds (for brown, tan, and pinkish eggs,) I was able to come up with quite a variety of egg colors. By the time I was done, I had modified about three dozen eggs.

Oops.

It's easy to get a hen to hatch about a dozen eggs, and maybe a few more for a fat girl like a Buff Orpington, but there's no way I'm going to be able to put three dozen eggs under her feathered butt. Too bad I can't get more broodies.

Or can I?

I went back out to the coop and started reading the hens. I found a couple that were starting to produce the hormones that cause a hen to go broody. I tossed them each into a nest box in the brooder pen and changed their biochemistry a bit. It took about ten minutes for them to start acting broody. I divided the eggs out between the three hens.

We have an incubator and brooder, but I much prefer letting a hen do the job. Babysitting a bunch of eggs and young chicks is fun and educational, but it gets old after a while. Besides, a hen calling to her little puff ball chicks is just too cute.

I went to bed satisfied that we would have another three dozen hens and three roosters in twenty-one days. Being a mommy is kind of neat.

I woke up in the middle of the night to a feeling of hot desire. The feeling was centered around a body part that I don't have. As the fog of sleep left my mind, I realized that it was coming from Gregory. I guess he got his balls back when he morfed.

I looked through his eyes and saw him advancing upon Snowpuff, a beautiful white long-haired barn cat. She was caterwauling at him and displaying her receptiveness. I could detect her pheromones through Gregory's senses. He wasted no time.

I blushed. As a farm girl, mating behavior is by no means new to me. Still, I had never seen it from the inside. Gregory got the job done and hopped off. Snowpuff turned around and swatted him. He walked off with a silly grin on his face. He didn't go very far, though. Queens are known to mate with several toms when they are in heat, but Gregory wasn't going let that happen. He guarded her until she went out of heat.

I slept in the next morning. I explained to Mom and Dad that the caterwauling in the barn kept me up. I didn't lie, exactly. I just didn't divulge all the details.

"That's never bothered you before," she said.

"Gregory was in the middle of it," I replied with a sigh.

She raised her eyebrows, thought for a second, then said, "Was it good for you, too?"

I put my hands on my hips and glared at her. "Mother!"

She didn't make a sound, but her shoulders were shaking. I didn't need to use my empathic powers to tell that she was way too amused. Finally, she snickered, "My little girl is growing up."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Mother!"

She couldn't hold it any more. She started laughing so hard she almost fell down. I finally sighed and walked out to do the chores.

I checked on the mother hens and the eggs. The zygote in one of them was failing to divide. It still was alive, though. I decided to leave it there for at least another day. The eggs under the induced broodies were behind the others by about twelve hours because the hens had still had their breast feathers. The feathers were gone now, so the new broodies can now keep the eggs warm and incubate them properly.

After taking care of all the animals, I found Snowpuff and picked her up. She was still feeling the effects of having been in heat, so she was extra friendly, and tended to lift her butt, move her tail to the side, and take on a bow-legged stance when I petted her. Still, she was no longer receptive and had seven little embryos growing. While I have seen litters of up to eight kittens, four is the most common number. I guess Gregory and Snowpuff are a fertile couple.

I looked carefully at the genetics. It was easy to see which chromosomes came from Gregory, and which came from Snowpuff. I tried to figure out which genes gave Gregory his wings and powers. I managed to figure most of it out, and Amy was only too happy to help. I copied the genes in question to the chromosomes that came from Snowpuff. Then, Amy helped me find and fix all the genetic errors. Finally, Amy designed a change to the psi-linking code. She modified it so that the kittens won't link to a person until a telepath forges the link. That'll make it easy for us to keep the kittens with the mother until they are old enough to give away, then forge the link.

The kittens are going to be gorgeous. Snowpuff will be giving birth to a male and two female seal points, a male red point, a female cream point, a male chocolate point, and a pure white female. All of the kittens will have long fur and be very silky to the touch.

We decided to make a few more changes. I changed Snowpuff's pheromones so that she will attract Gregory, but won't have any effect on a normal tomcat. I also copied Gregory's changes to her ovaries and cleaned up the genetics.

*For the sake of genetic diversity, maybe we ought to give Gregory a couple more mates,* I sent to Amy. I found and called Coalpuff and Creampuff -- the rest of the 'Puff Sisters.' Coalpuff is a beautiful long-haired black cat, and Creampuff's long silky fur is the same color as the points of a cream point Siamese.

*So much for genetic diversity,* Amy snickered.

*They aren't really sisters,* I said. *Creampuff was born here, Snowpuff was a stray that we found half-dead at church, and Coalpuff was given to us by one of our customers.*

The week passed pleasantly. I enjoyed spending time with my grandparents. I also enjoyed flying, riding Ginny, studying without pain, and generally living the rural life. I was starting to settle into a new routine, but it wasn't to last. In just a few days, I would be starting my sophomore year.

Chapter Twelve: Rejection, and Shaking Off the Dust

We said our goodbyes to Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday, and went to church the next morning. I attracted a few stares as I walked in with my parents. I could sense a fair amount of animosity. Apparently, there's a reason that there are no obvious morfs at our church.

The sermon was insipid. He managed to work up a bit of passion when talking about purity, but the message was otherwise dead. I hadn't realized before how lifeless our preacher's messages were. Was it my newfound empathic senses? Was it the fact that I am no longer distracted by the pain? Maybe I have been spoiled by listening to the passionate and sincere messages delivered by Pastor Dan.

After church, we tried mixing with our friends. Some seemed to still like us, but appeared to be embarrassed to be seen talking with us. Some were downright hostile. Even the preacher didn't want anything to do with us. I wanted to share the joy of my cure, but nobody cared.

The Church of the Frozen Chosen.

Sadly, we walked out the door. Some of the teens were hanging out in the parking lot. As we headed for our car, they surrounded us. "We don't want your kind here."

"We noticed," my dad said.

"If you'll excuse us, we'll go to a church where love is not just preached, but practiced," I said as I shook the dust from my sandals. Sadly, none of them got it.

*Just keep walking,* I sent to Mom and Dad. We headed straight for our car, and the teens in front of us found themselves being gently pushed aside. They were forced to leave a path just wide enough for us to pass. *Don't worry. They can't touch us,* I assured my parents.

"I'm not going back," I said to them with a sob. They assured me that they felt the same way.

"It's worth a two hour round trip to go where we are loved," Mom said.

I smiled, thinking of all the good times ahead. I'll be joining the youth group and hanging out with the Martins, the Joneses, Carol, Linda, and all the cute boys. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad can spend time with Kim and Sara and Sue.

I spent the last day of summer vacation just hanging out -- flying, riding Ginny, and playing with the animals. Gregory was my constant companion, and did a good job of keeping up with me. I got a little studying done, too.

Whenever my treatment at church started to get me depressed, I thought about the future good times at my new church.

After putting my book bag together and laying out my clothes, I snuggled down into my bed. As always, Mom and Dad prayed over me. I closed my eyes and was out.

Chapter Thirteen: School Days

The next morning found me waiting at the usual bus stop on the corner. When I was a kid, I used to walk the half mile down our dead-end dirt road. After I got the cancer, Mom or Dad would drive me. Now, I have the choice of walking or flying. I have to carry my backpack in my arms because it would otherwise interfere with my wings. I managed to attract a few stares on the bus. I wasn't dressed provocatively, but neither was I hiding inside the frumpy shapeless clothes that I used to favor. I felt like every eye was on me as I settled my wings and sat.

A couple of the guys were undressing me with their eyes, but Cindy had warned me about that. Besides, they weren't as bad as some of the people at the mall. If anything, it was flattering. Anyhow, fair is fair. After all, I don't have to use my imagination to look under their clothes. It's gotten to be pretty much routine, actually. I wasn't even looking at them. I looked around the bus so that I could practice my telesense, not to go boy watching.

The first day of school was hectic, as usual. I think someone programmed the computer to arrange the schedules for maximum distance. It seemed like I had to go across the entire school to get to each class. Someone referred to it as 'hidden PE.' Instead of regular gym class, I had to report to advanced gym class for testing. As predicted by the Martins, I passed the tests and will qualify for advanced PE.

For some reason, I was signed up for home economics. I have been helping Mom cook for so long that a basic cooking class isn't likely to teach me anything new. The teacher pointed out that sewing will come in handy because I'm going to find myself modifying clothes to accommodate my tail and wings. In the end, we decided that I should take the class. The teacher will allow me to concentrate on sewing and art, and to act as a teacher's assistant during cooking class.

As I was washing up before lunch, I was accosted by a group of girls, some of whom used to be my friends. "This bathroom is for humans, kitty bitch!"

This is getting really old.

"Human is as human does," I said to them. Then, I finished what I was doing, walked past them, and left. They wanted to come after me, but somehow couldn't work up the ambition.

*I wish I had thought of that,* Cindy sent to me. *I kind of like Cara's artery pinching trick, but using empathy to sap their enthusiasm has a certain elegance to it.*

Cara, Larry, Jim, Amy, and Carol agreed. I sent them a telepathic bow.

Even though they're forty miles away, I still have friends with me. A tear leaked from my eye. They sent me a telepathic smile. *Hey, we'll see you this Sunday. I'm so excited that you're joining us!*

I walked into the lunchroom and felt a familiar mental touch. I couldn't place it at first. I have never talked to this person, but I felt his touch recently...

Then, it hit me. I had felt Jerry Wright's mental touch as I circled his house last week. He had been sleeping, so I didn't drop in.

I located him. He was sitting alone in the corner of the lunchroom. That area has often been dubbed, 'the misfit corner.' I walked over and sat next to him. He turned to look at me. I could see the confusion in his eyes. "You don't happen to know any recently morfed flying kitty girls, do you?"

His eyes lit up. "Tina?"

"Got it in one!" I said with a smile. I hugged him gently, remembering all too well how painful it can be. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Be my guest," he smiled.

We compared our class schedules. Since he was a junior, we didn't have any classes in common.

I could feel the envy of some of the guys; wondering how this bedraggled looking guy in the misfit corner rated the attention of a cute kitty girl. Most of them were guys who wouldn't have given me a second glance last year.

As I was talking to Jerry, I scanned him and conferred with my friends. I found some of the more dangerous and painful tumors, then quietly liquefied them and drew them out. I kept the goop together in a ball under the table, then quietly levitated it over to the garbage. I sterilized it so that it couldn't be considered a biohazard.

Over the next couple weeks, we made it a point to meet at 'our' table for lunch. He would often comment that he always felt better after seeing me. I just smiled. If he only knew.

A couple times, someone from the supers table or a popular clique table would come and tell me that I don't need to sit in the misfit corner. I would just smile and thank them. A couple of the jocks tried to hit on me, too.

I kept my powers mostly quiet, but it was never a deep, dark secret. I ended up healing some cuts and burns in home economics class. On occasion, a student will come to me and ask for help with a boo-boo. I even ended up zapping a few zits. Jerry was privy to more than the rest of the students because we liked to communicate telepathically.

*That guy at the jock table is undressing you with his eyes,* Jerry sent to me. We looked at each other in puzzlement.

*Wait a minute! I thought you were a pure.*

*None of my parents or grandparents have morfed,* he agreed. *How the heck did that happen?*

I called up my friends at the Kitty Mansion so that we could figure out what is going on. It turns out that I trust Jerry so much that I unconsciously look for his mental touch and allow him to read my natural and metaphysical senses. They have been doing that with each other for quite a while, so they were able to teach us to improve and solidify the link.

When I got home, I told Mom and Dad what had happened. We decided to try an experiment, and I did the same thing with them. The process required a good amount of trust, and I would never be able to do it with someone that I don't like.

A couple days later, I could tell as soon as I got to school that Jerry wasn't feeling good. I could feel it. When lunch time finally came, he came over to our table and plopped himself down with a sigh. "I don't know why, but I'm just dragging butt today!"

I looked him over. "Oh, it's not a big mystery," I told him. "You're coming down with MORFS."

I didn't tell him that it's actually the AMORFS bug that was biting him. Since he wouldn't have naturally morfed into a hybrid, he would be getting the simian genes that come with AMORFS. I don't think he would like waking up as an absolute monkey hybrid. I'm sure that neither of us want him to wake up as a girl. I kinda like him as a boy. I called to my friends for help as I tended to him.

I could sense the panic rising in him. "But Mom and Dad are staunch pures! This can't be happening to me! Nobody ever morfs in our church!" He heaved all over the table.

Making sure that nobody saw me, I used TK to remove the little bits of vomit that had hit him and me. I helped him up and led him to the nurse's office. By the time we got there, they were ready for us. Apparently, one of the lunchroom monitors had called ahead.

The nurse was about to shoo me out of the room when Jerry asked her, "Please! I want her to stay with me!" She didn't want to, but I reminded her that I was a bio elemental. The nurse got a stim pack from her stores and gave it to Jim. "I can't prescribe a sleeping pill, but I can at least start you on the stim packs," she told him. He ate it, but he didn't enjoy it.

I had kind of kept a remote eye on our book bags as I was sitting with him. Someone came over and started to rifle through his bag, so I flung some of his vomit on the perpetrator's face. I asked the nurse if she could have someone rescue our bags. Soon, my home economics teacher came in and set them down.

One of our topics of discussion over the past few weeks had been MORFS, and what he would like if he were to morf. I linked with Amy. *AMORFS, eh? Looks like he's been hanging out with a bad crowd.*

*Can you help him?* I asked. *I hope it isn't too late!*

She took the preferences that I had gathered from Jerry and did the best she could. She got rid of the facial changes, forced sex change, most of the fur, and added wings and technopath powers. Without the tubular sclerosis, he'll reach his genetic destiny of being a well-muscled six foot two or six foot four; along with the enhanced musculature needed to move his big golden feathered wings. Like me, he'll have fur on his back.

I waited with him until his mother arrived. I smiled at her as she entered.

"Jerry is going to be fine," I said. "MORFS tends to clear up genetic disease and rebuild the body, so his tuberous sclerosis complex is as good as history. He's going to he healthy as a horse and almost as strong."

I could sense the conflict in her mind -- her love for her son against the teachings of her church.

"You have to choose between your son and the doctrine of the genetic purity church," I said gently as I enhanced her feelings of love for Jerry. "You don't have to choose between Jerry and God. MORFS isn't a judgment on Jerry. It's a blessing."

I took Jerry's hand and looked him in the eye. "The tubular sclerosis is as good as gone. You won't even be passing it on to your children. Furthermore, you're going to love your new form."

"You can see what I'm going to look like?"

"It's a bio elemental thing," I told him. "Some of us can do it, anyhow."

"Can you change the direction of MORFS?"

I gave him a wry grin. "Unfortunately, no. The doctors Martin tell me that it would take a lot more processing power than is available in a standard human brain."

I looked up at his mom again. "I know what Jerry has been going through for all these years. I had terminal cancer, and was in pain all the time. Just getting rid of the pain is intoxicating."

"So don't keep me in suspense! What am I going to look like?"

"You're going to be a hunk," I told him with a smirk. "I'm definitely asking you to the Sadie Hawkins dance."

His mother was still wrestling with herself inside. I gave her love for her son another nudge, and slipped her an image of what he will look like.

"My parents pray over me every night. I have been praying for Jerry. What's happening is definitely a blessing. He's going to be so happy with his new life!" I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

I helped Jerry off of the cot and led him to the door while his mother brought the car around. "If you have any problems at all, give me a call," I said to them. *Keep in touch and let me know how things are going,* I sent to Jerry privately. After they were gone, I used my eCom to send Officer Saouda a message. There's not much they can do legally about the situation, but they can at least keep an eye on things.

*Thanks for the heads-up,* she sent to me. *Can you contact him now and get permission for me to monitor him?*

*Hey, Jerry. How ya doing?*

*Lousy,* He replied. *We're almost to the doctor's office, though.*

*Do you mind if a police telepath monitors you for safety reasons? After what happened to Amy and Cara, they don't want to take chances.*

*Sure, no problem,* he sent to me. *I'll be able to relax better if I know that someone's watching.*

I introduced them and let them hash things out. Then, I called the Martins and the Joneses.

Obviously, I was late for my fourth hour class. I was only half paying attention, anyhow, because I was busy monitoring Jerry.

Jerry made it home without any mishaps. I watched through his eyes as his mother tenderly put him to bed and prayed over him. Apparently, she took some of the things I said to heart. She pressed the 'go to sleep' button, and he went unconscious. I listened to the mutterings of his sleeping brain for a moment, then let my awareness of him fade into the background.

(End of part three)

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