Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Hammerstein is at the cusp of finishing high school in his hometown of Los Alamos, NM. He has a seemingly ideal life and is blessed with loving parents, a cute baby sister, and great friends. Nicholas is a gifted student and martial artist who has dreams of leaving for college at the end of his senior year. But, living in a world of Emergent humans, he will soon find his life turned upside down as his life and the fate of a kingdom hang in the balance. His future and theirs will be determined by how he navigates the drastic changes in his body and the magical and superpowered Mergent population he joins.

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The Legal Stuff: Emerald Princess © 2016-2023 By Sofia Hammerstein
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016-2023 By Sofia Hammerstein. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
 
 
Chapter 7: Testing

MOM WOKE ME the following day, and life began again. I managed to find time between playing with Lily to work on my homework and catching up with the stuff I missed Friday. Sunday, Hannah came over and oohed and awed about my tiara and nursery. Sometime during all of this, Lily began to notice that I had a few more baby things, like a crib and started asking if she was going to be the big sister from now on. I just groaned.

‘I guess I’m going to have to accept that...’ I admitted to myself.

Before I knew it, Monday had come!

Lily and I were in our car seats with Dad driving and Mom up front. Due to the secret nature of a lot of the work at Los Alamos National Labs, the lab set up a testing facility in town for any personnel with kids that emerged. Mom changed our diapers before we walked in, with Dad carrying Lily and Mom carrying me.

It seemed like walking into a doctor’s office to me as we approached a receptionist. “Do you have an appointment?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Name?”

“Nicholas Hammerstein,” she said.

“Where is Nicholas?” She asked.

Mom patted my back, “Right here.”

She stared for a moment before saying, “Whoa… that’s different!” She shook her head and then said, “Okay, please fill out this questionnaire, and we’ll be calling… her back shortly.”

We sat and filled out the forms together, essentially telling them the various things that had changed about me, symptoms of powers, etc. Under ‘Any New Disabilities,’ we wrote down incontinence. Embarrassing! About fifteen minutes after our appointment, they called, “Nicholas Hammerstein?”

Mom walked with me and quietly asked, “May I go back with her?”

He hesitated for a moment as he looked at me but shook his head, “Sorry, he’s originally eighteen, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied.

“In that case, you’ll have to wait outside. I promise we’ll take good care of her.”

“Okay then,” Mom said, hugging me, “good luck.”

“Thanks,” I said.

I followed the gentleman dressed in military fatigues into an examination room that looked like a standard doctor’s office. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Fields. Let’s get you weighed and measured,” he said.

“Okay,” I responded.

Before he began interviewing me, we went through a typical doctor’s exam, including blood work. “So basically, when you emerged, your EFP turned you into a two-year-old baby girl?” He asked.

I nodded.

“Well, this is a first for me, maybe anywhere for that matter... I’m sure this has got to be really hard on you. So your survey states you cannot control your bladder or bowel movements?”

I shook my head, “And I have some really weird needs and addictions to things like pacifiers,” I told him about a few other things too.

“Well, let’s get going on the tests then. I have some staff members who will test you on different things for your levels for your EID card.”

The first room they led me to had a table of electronic components, gears, and other things sitting in various piles. The tester sat me down on the table so I could reach them. I played with them for about ten minutes. I probably looked like a typical two-year-old playing while trying to see how they went together. Still, I couldn’t make anything useful from the parts.

“Okay then,” the tester said as he opened a door and led me back down a hallway. “Did you bring a more practical set of clothing?” He asked.

I looked down and thought a dress probably wasn’t the most practical clothing. “Oh… umm…”

‘I’ll take care of it,’ Caireen said.

In a flash, my dress changed to an emerald-colored leotard with a tutu attached. ‘Really? A tutu?’ I groaned at her. I could feel the edges of my diaper sticking through the bottom of the leotard, showing it off. I also knew I had to look as adorable as my sister going to her beginning ballet class each week.

I sensed laughter from her.

“That’ll work, I guess,” the tester allowed with a smirk.

I was led into a room, and he simply said, “Do your best to not get hit and avoid the balls.”

That was his only instruction. So I sat there for several moments before hearing a pop from behind me and ducked just in time to see a rubber ball flying past me. After that, it seemed like they came non-stop. Somehow though, I could just sense them before they arrived, and I kept dodging for a long while before I finally got hit.

“Very good,” the tester said when he returned for me. “Let’s get the rest of the physical tests done.”

I thought for a moment about a feeling in my stomach and groaned. Then, without having any control over it, I squatted and messed my diaper. “Can I get a diaper change first?” I said with a whine and a groan.

He looked at me in shock and said… “Umm… just a minute. Let me… uh… Let me go ask what we should do.”

I stood in that spot with a poopy diaper, made worse by the leotard smushing it, for about ten minutes before Mom came in with the diaper bag. Finally, she picked me up, “Where should I change her?”

The man led her to a medical room where she lay me on the table. She giggled as she did so, “You realize your poopy diapee just about broke that poor man.”

“Huh?” I asked, sniffling, trying not to cry over the sticky state of my bottom as she popped some snaps that were in the crotch of my leotard.

“I don’t think they’ve ever had a two-year-old Mergent before… And I’m certain if they did, they were potty-trained,” Mom’s eyes twinkled.

I groaned and did my best not to cry or beg for my pacifier. I wanted to seem a little more grown up, so I had intentionally left it with Mom in our diaper bag... One poopy diaper certainly ruined any hope of that image!

“By the way, you look adorable in this leotard and tutu!”

After a few minutes of mom magic, she had me cleaned up and ready to move on with the rest of the testing. “All done?” a different tester asked as Mom returned me to where I was.

“Yes,” I said.

“Ma’am, if you’ll please go back out to the lobby… we’ll come to get you if she needs another change; otherwise, please wait there.” Mom sighed but turned and left while I followed the tester to a massive room with an obstacle course of ropes, beams, bars, and other things.

It was like the world’s largest playground in my mind as the lady described the path. It was really intimidating and scary with its massive size! I began thinking of it like a playground and just started running. I’m sure there were probably some stunned looks as I completed it in a respectable time, even with my size! While going through it, I discovered I could now leap some large distances. Combined with the strength I already had found, it meant I really was only held back by my short legs. I certainly wasn’t a speedster, but I could probably make it faster through the course than an average human.

This lady verified my lack of speed ability by setting me on a treadmill next. A ten-minute mile wasn’t too bad for a two-year-old, I thought! So I kept running for four miles before she told me I could stop.

“Okay, final physical test,” she told me skeptically as she took me to a weird weight setup. “We’re looking for single max reps,” she started the machine at my weight of twenty pounds.

“I can do this all day,” I told her as I pushed up. “You sure there’s my weight on there?

“Yes… let’s bump it up.”

We sat there for a long while, probably longer than necessary due to her caution, before I finally said we’d hit my limit after doing 550 pounds. “This should be impossible…” she told me.

“I know, right?” I shook my head. “Believe me, when you’re an eighteen-year-old thrown into the body of a two-year-old baby girl who’s not potty trained… it’s starting to seem less impossible!”

She laughed. “Speaking of which, do you need a change?”

I felt my diaper and sheepishly nodded. Whether it was pee or sweat, I did. “Can you get my Mom?”

“Or I could just change you?” She suggested. “I have one of my daughter’s diapers in my bag over there.”

I groaned but decided it would speed things up. “I guess…”

She returned from her bag by a desk with a different diaper brand but the correct size. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“Lara,” she said.

“Thank you for changing me,” I said as she finished.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I understand you changed your clothes yourself earlier?”

I nodded, “Sort of… that was Caireen.”

“Who is she?”

I was cautious, “She’s a spirit that I bonded with.”

“Diapers beyond her?”

“I don’t know; she and I need to have that conversation, though.” I noticed she was staying silent.

‘So?’

‘I can do it… but I’d rather you be dependent on your mom or another adult like a normal baby for now.’

“Apparently, she’s choosing not to,” I told Lara.

“If you want to get back dressed to regular clothes, we’re done with the sweaty portions.”

‘Please?’ I asked Caireen.

A moment later, I wasn’t dressed in the outfit from this morning, but instead, the first emerald dress from a few days ago. I could feel the tiara had also made its way back onto my head. ‘Any reason?’

‘I think they’ll take a picture later; honestly, this would be a good costume for you.’

“You’re so adorable!” Lara let out a squeal before looking a bit sheepish. Seeing her act like that with her lab coat on was funny.

“I know…” I sighed. “So, where to next?”

She led me to another tester that tested my magic ability with several crystals and other devices. Things kept happening with every test, so I’m pretty sure the tester was impressed. Finally, I was asked some questions and described seeing the lines and being able to interact with them. “Whoa…” He said, and I guessed that was a big deal.

“Now, about this spirit, you bonded with?”

‘Should I be honest?’ I asked.

‘Yes, in this case,’ Caireen responded.

“She’s not really a spirit... “I started, “she’s actually a goddess.”

I watched the blood drain from the guy’s face as he kept making notes on his tablet. “Her name?”

“Caireen.”

“Culture?”

“Irish.”

I watched as he searched for several minutes, and then he asked a dozen more other questions. Finally, he sat down his tablet, “Okay… let me take you to the last stop.”

The final part of the testing was my regeneration. Those doctors started by pricking my finger and eventually making cuts on my arm that healed quickly. This sucked, as it hurt! I really wanted my pacifier by the time he was done cutting me. However, each time it didn’t take too long for the wound to heal. Finally, when they wanted to cut off one of my fingers, I said, “No more!”

They made some final notes before I was again led to an office with Lieutenant Commander Fields. “Okay, you want your new name to be Sofia Elizabeth Hammerstein, correct?”

I nodded.

“Okay, just to explain a few things to you. Due to your father’s work for the lab, you’re being given a Government Emergent ID card instead of a standard EID. Quite frankly, it can save you a lot of hassle from the EPC.” He shook his head in disdain at that organization. “On your card, I’m listing your actual birthdate and age of 18, as well as your apparent age of two years old.”

I grimaced, “So, which am I legally?”

“Both,” he said with a smile. “I guess your parents can take advantage of free admission and kid’s meal pricing at many places with you! But, in theory, you could get your driver’s license if you get a car adapted to your size.”

“Cool!” I said. “Somehow, I don’t think my parents will go for that anytime soon.”

“I can understand that,” he paused, “You’d probably get pulled over by the police every other block!” He laughed, and I giggled a little bit at that picture. “I’d like you to review the information we’re placing in your file, but there’s one more thing we’ll need, and that’s a code name.”

I thought for a moment and responded, “Emerald Baby.”

“You don’t think that might be a problem name?”

I shook my head, “I’m a baby, probably for the rest of my life. If I embrace the nickname, maybe I’ll get less grief for it.”

“Fair enough.” He smiled, “Okay, this will all be listed in our file. However, none of this information will show on your card. We choose not to share everything with the EPC if we can avoid it.”

“Okay,” I said as I looked at the tablet screen, he showed me.

GOVERNMENT EID 99-382385-3928-5
Name: Sofia Elizabeth Hammerstein
Code Name: Emerald Baby
Birth Date: 11-3-1997
Apparent Age: 2 Years
Height: 35” Weight: 20lbs
Avatar: Level 5, Esens: Level 3, Regen: Level 3, Magic: Level 4+, Paradigm: Level 4

Legally recognized as both original birth age and apparent age per her requests.

Additional information was stored about Caireen in the database but not listed on the card itself. A picture of me in my ‘costume’ was also on the card. “Okay, now for some of the ground rules. You must always have this card with you to show the EPC - if you don’t, they will arrest you. Keep in mind that with your size, I really don’t think you want to be dealing with them any more than you have to.

“Do they have any way of recognizing me as a Mergent on sight?” I asked, curious.

“Facial scanners will pick you up now that you’re in the system. Also, sweetie, I hate to tell you - those beautiful emerald eyes of yours just aren’t quite natural.”

I nodded. “Am I done now?”

“Yes, you are,” he handed me a packet of information on some other laws and resources. “Follow that hallway, and it’ll lead you to your family.”

I skipped out of there, so happy to be done!

I leaped up to Mom when I saw her and showed her my card. “Good, glad we have that done!” Mom said. “Do you need changed? It’s been a long time?”

I thought about it, “Probably, but I was changed again by a nice lady who was testing me.” I told her. “May I please have my pacifier?” I asked in my next breath with the voice of an addict.

Mom smiled and put one in my mouth before finding a bathroom where she could change me. I felt really embarrassed as another teenage Mergent with fur on her arms came in and went to the bathroom while mom had me on the changing table. She smiled at me, though, probably thinking I was an ordinary baby girl. After she had me changed, Mom helped me put my coat on before I was reunited with my dad and sister in the car. They had to leave the waiting area because Lily was getting bored and started to cause a scene.

“All done?” Dad asked me as Mom buckled me into my seat.

“Uh-huh.”

We waited until we drove home and were inside on the couch before they started asking me about the testing. “I can’t believe I pooped my diaper there…?” I wrinkled my nose.

“Sweetie, your body is a two-year-old’s body. Trust me, you’ll go poopy at the most embarrassing times!”

“I wish Caireen would just change me or teach me a spell to do so, though!”

Mom laughed, “She said she would eventually last night when we talked to her.”

“She did?”

“You were asleep by then.” Mom told me.

“Oh.”

“So how did the rest of the testing go besides your poopy diapee?” Mom asked with a smirk.

I was half tempted to throw my pacifier at her that I had a death grip on, but I thought better of that. “Do you really want to know it all?” I asked hesitantly.

Mom and Dad nodded.

“Okay…. Well, they started by showing me a bunch of electronic junk parts that apparently were supposed to do something. Don’t ask me what!” I said, a little embarrassed, “After a while, they decided I was clueless. So they asked me if I had another change of clothes, and Caireen changed me into that leotard and tutu.”

Mom grinned, “You looked soooooo cute!”

I stuck my tongue out at her, “I always look cute!”

Lily laughed at that. She was sitting in Dad’s lap right then while I was sitting on the opposite side of the couch from Mom so I could look at everyone.

“You do,” Mom agreed. “As does Princess Lily,” she smiled at my sister to keep her from feeling left out.

“Anyway,” I said with some exaggeration, “they took me into a room and didn’t really tell me what was going on other than, ‘dodge the balls.’” I paused for a drink out of the sippy cup of juice I was holding in my other hand. “It took them a while, I have a feeling they were re-calibrating it for my height or something, but I sensed a ball coming and dodged it. A lot more followed before I finally got hit when there was a lot in the air at once.”

“What was that supposed to test?” Mom asked.

“Danger sense and being able to tell the future or something,” I told her.

“After that, he was going to take me to the next test when I embarrassed myself… So after you changed me, I was taken into this huge rope and obstacle course room. I didn’t think I could do anything with it due to my size, but it was no problem at all. In fact, besides the parts where running happened, and my legs don’t give me a long stride, I apparently did pretty well above average.”

“You got to play?” Lili asked jealously.

“Sort of, Lily,” I told her, “It wasn’t a lot of fun, though,” I lied to her. “They had me run on a treadmill then. I’ve slowed down there as I’m only running a ten-minute mile… but I guess for my height, that’s pretty good.”

Dad nodded, “I think you’re probably much faster than any other two-year-old!”

“Well, and I was able to run the distance too. I think they had me run like four miles without stopping.”

“What else did they do?” Dad asked.

“Well, they ran me through a bench press test.”

“How much?” He asked. He had sensed my smile.

“550 pounds,” I said with a smile.

Dad whistled, and Mom looked a little uneasy. “How is that even physically possible, I wonder…?” Dad said thoughtfully. “Within all reason, a twenty-pound body should never be able to do that…?”

“They were just as confused, Dad,” I smiled. “The lady there was nice enough to change me then, and Caireen switched my clothes back out to this dress. Apparently, she wanted me to look good for the picture on my card,” I felt her mentally smirk and nod to me. “They then did some magic tests. I guess I’m a weirdo there, too, because I got the impression that they couldn’t test higher than that.” I debated about the healing test but said, “Then they tested my regeneration.” Dad flinched at that; he apparently knew what they did. Mom looked a little lost. “They tested how well I could heal from cuts.”

“They cut you?!?!?” Mom asked, concerned.

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