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.

---

---

 

---

 
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 42: Simulation

WITH A SIGH, I began to tell my story again. “I emerged this form like I told you all. Then, a week later, my mom, my grandma, my best friend Hannah, and my baby sister Lily were picking up some pictures at a photo studio in a mall in Albuquerque. Without warning, someone tried kidnapping me while we were waiting for the pictures. I think it was some sort of Sanguis Primum moron, but no one has ever told me,” she pulled the bottle out of the water and checked it on her wrist before setting it back in the water.

“How did you get away?”

“Well, my spirit had taught me a couple defense spells, but in the end, I instinctively used some sort of charge all over my body that made the guy drop me like a hot potato. I managed to bounce back up and ran toward where I hoped I could find my mom. Hannah was standing there at the entrance hallway to the food court, and I jumped into her arms.”

“And…?”

“Well, Hannah chose that time to emerge herself.”

Tigress nodded as if she’d heard stories like this before, “What happened?”

“Well, she sent this pyrokinetic blast toward some of the people chasing me. Simultaneously, her EFP became that of a mother…?”

“A mother…?”

I sighed, “The perfect mother for me as a baby. Her DNA changed to match mine, and she developed some other… attributes…?”

“So, I guess that’s why this milk smells like breast milk?”

“You can smell it?”

“Remember, I’m part kitty.” She smiled and squeezed me, “I’m not surprised her Emergence did that. You’re like the cutest baby girl ever! It would be impossible not to want to protect you.” She smiled and pulled the bottle out, and decided it was good. She walked to a nearby room with a couch and sat down before settling me down to feed me like any other baby. As she popped the bottle into my mouth, I relaxed in her furry arms. It wasn’t Hannah, but it was still very reassuring.

“Well, I can understand odd emerges. But, at least you’ve managed to stay ‘cute’ through this. I was so horrified when I emerged, and my fur began to grow in…” I looked up around my bottle at Tigress with wide eyes. “It was a lot easier when I switched to Bechtel - at least there, weird is almost normal - but it’s tough to have people see you like that.”

I pushed the hand holding the bottle in my mouth away, “But you’re so pretty!”

She pushed it back in and smiled at me, “I’m glad you think so. Some others have thought so too. The only real bad part is when you meet someone allergic to cats,” she said with a wink.

I giggled and nearly choked to death, so I returned to emptying my bottle. She told me a few stories while I did so, and I was almost sad when I finished the bottle and found myself on her shoulder when she burped me.

“Well, ready to go to work?” She asked me.

I shrugged, “This was supposed to be a vacation.”

She laughed, “Get used to it! I have a feeling you’re going to be one of those Mergents that will never really get a true break.”

I nodded and looked around curiously as she led me down the hallway and behind a false bookcase to a hidden elevator that took us some distance underground.

“So, this is the lair of a superhero group?” I joked with her when the door opened to reveal a shiny stainless-steel corridor that fit right in with every bad comic movie ever.

She laughed, “I think Doctor Bolt decorated it this way to live up to the cliché as much as anything.”

The walls reminded me of an Imperial design from Star Wars. Every so often, there would be metal supports that would jut out from the walls. At the same time, pipes ran along the side similarly to at Bechtel’s underground testing facility. Cameras appeared frequently, and an occasional interactive screen seemed to allow access to maintain systems. I noticed bunker doors with printed warnings that would swing closed in an emergency.

‘I guess when you’re worried about villains breaking in, you must put in some heavy security!’ I thought to myself. She carried me down a few corridors with the occasional sight of some mad experimental lab going by. Eventually, we arrived in a large room with an extended workbench filled with tools and guns and a range down one side. Dr. Bolt looked to be adjusting a sight on a small pistol.

“Everything taken care of?” she asked us.

I nodded as Tigress sat me down on my feet on the table. “For now… So, what did the Bureau want me to see you all for?”

“Well, first, they said they had a pistol you trained with at Bechtel this weekend, but they asked if I could come up with a better one for you and maybe some other firepower.”

I nodded and smiled, “Yay, toys!!!!!” I hopped up and down a little bit and enjoyed a look of concern from Dr. Bolt.

“You may be the smallest and youngest looking Mergent ever… but I think you may be the scariest too!”

I heard Tigress laugh to my side, where she was absentmindedly playing with some tool.

“You’re too kind,” I said and curtseyed.

“Well, before I start giving you’ toys,’ as you put it, I want to see if you can handle them safely.”

“Okay!” I said and walked over to her, “What’s first?”

“This is a special pistol that I’ve devised to shoot several different types of rounds,” she paused and picked up three different bullets. The first looked like an ordinary twenty-two-caliber round. “This first one is like a twenty-two-caliber round but has more powder behind it to give it an equivalent energy of a two-two-three rifle round.”

I held my hand out and looked at it, “How do you have that much energy behind it?”

She just smiled, “I’m good at what I do,” she added with a shrug. The next round was longer and fatter. I learned that round was related to a nine-millimeter. Even though it looked similar, there was considerably more power behind it. “It acts more like a fifty-caliber round and can stop a car engine or cut through tank armor.” She told me. The final round looked as big as the gun barrel; I didn’t even know how it would fit inside, “This is an explosive round, Emerald. It’s the equivalent of a mortar shell upon impact.”

“How does…?”

“Better to just smile and nod,” Tigress advised, “I’ve long since given up figuring out how she does it. You can be sure, though, they’ll work as advertised!”

“Can I try them?” I asked tentatively.

“You can use the first two in here… Then, the last round, you can try back at Bechtel. Make sure you let Gunny know what you’re planning on shooting, and he’ll arrange a chance to try it out. I know he’ll be jealous,” she added with a smile.

For the next hour, I got to try out the pistol and the rounds. It was perfectly sized for my baby hands, and the weight felt comfortable. I could shoot the weapon all day long and not tire at all. When she thought I was past the point of needing to practice, she provided a cleaning kit for me. She watched as I carefully cleaned the weapon before loading it with twenty-two-caliber rounds. Somehow the gun changed the barrel’s opening depending on which round was chambered. The weapon’s clip allowed for rounds of both types to be loaded simultaneously, and a flip of the safety permitted the selection of the rounds. She provided several clips with larger rounds placed on one side too. I had no idea how, but a total of forty rounds were in each clip - it made no scientific sense, but that was just part of her Mergent abilities.

“Someone is stinky,” Tigress said as I put the gun away in a pocket of space along with the spare clips.

I groaned, “Of course I am.”

“Would you like some help?” she asked me.

I nodded, “Please?” I pulled my diaper bag back out of the space and found myself lying beside the cleaning kit on Dr. Bolt’s workbench. She looked at us both, a bit annoyed at us using it as a changing table but didn’t say anything. Her staring would have bothered me a week before, but at this point, it had become just another normal part of my day. I felt Caireen give me a mental hug and a pat on the head as I was redressed without a fuss.

“My baby sister never behaved that well…” Tigress said with a smile.

“No real kids for you then?”

She grimaced, “I’d say you wouldn’t understand, but I feel you do. Dating opportunities…”

“There’s someone out there for you,” I told her with a smile, “at least you’re not jailbait for life…?”

“More like lethal injection!” Dr. Bolt said, “Of course, it sounds like you’re getting ready to go into the lion’s den of people who don’t care. Are you sure you want to participate in the mission they’re preparing you for?”

I stood up then and walked to where she was tinkering with another project while she waited for my change. I looked at her face and said, “If those of us who can fight monsters choose to do nothing, then the innocent will be hurt. I may get hurt doing this, but I would rather it be me than a real baby.” I felt a tear come to my eye, but I forced it back.

She looked down at me thoughtfully before giving me a hug, “Then you better make it out of this safely.” Then, she let go and said, “Alright, are you ready for a few more toys and some training?”

I nodded and held my arms out to her, “Up?”

She laughed, picked me up, and then took me to a room marked ‘combat simulators.’ “Have you been in the simulators at Bechtel yet?” Dr. Bolt asked as she sat me down on the ground next to a disc-shaped platform with a rail surrounding it.

“Umm… I’ve heard about the Cube, but we’ve only been there a couple weeks, so I haven’t seen it yet.” I replied.

“Well then, you won’t have too high of expectations then,” she said with a smile. “Ours works well, but the ones Bechtel has are almost unmatched anywhere but in the military.”

I nodded, “Bechtel does seem to get a fair share of toys!”

Tigress laughed behind me, holding my diaper bag I had never gotten around to putting away. I decided it didn’t matter right then, “So what do I do?”

“Well, first, we must get you measured for a suit. Please stand over here?” Dr. Bolt asked, pointing to a transparent booth with a door attached to some box.

I followed her directions and jumped when a bright light scanned me quickly. “What now?”

“Pick a color,” she told me.

“Umm… purple,” I answered hesitantly.

A ding came from next to me a moment later, and I watched her pull out a shrink-wrapped purple outfit.

“Let’s get you dressed,” she said with a smile.

“Here, I’ll help her,” Tigress said. Quickly I was stripped of my clothes and my diaper, then she helped me squeeze into the skin-tight purple spandex suit. The suit covered my entire body, including my head. Only my face was left uncovered. The suit reminded me of the one at the testing center where I had made a mess in.

“Umm… you do realize I’m not potty trained, right?” I asked them both.

They both nodded, “The suit is washable and waterproof,” Dr. Bolt said.

“You wouldn’t be the only one to ever pee in one either,” Tigress added.

I just looked at them and waited, “Okay then… what now?”

“Now you come here and stand on this pad,” Dr. Bolt instructed.

I walked over, feeling it was weird to do so without the bulk of a diaper around my body. I just hoped I didn’t do more than pee in it! I took my position in the center of the circle, and she handed me a helmet that looked to have been hastily modified for my size. I saw only darkness for a moment before the simulator turned on. I was suddenly in a daycare facility with figures frozen all around me.

“Whoa,” I said. “What’s going on?”

Over an intercom in the helmet, I heard Dr. Bolt’s voice, “Emerald, we’ve been asked to run you through a couple of scenarios at the daycare you’ll be inserted into. Unfortunately, we’ll only have time for one today; you’ll come back on Friday. Your mission objective is to blend in and only break cover in case of danger to you or another baby.”

I nodded, “Roger that.”

“Beginning simulation,” she said, “good luck!”

I assumed she pushed a button on her end because I suddenly found myself being carried towards a desk by someone. “I’m here to drop off my baby girl for her first day of daycare,” she said.

“She’s adorable!”

“Thanks! Umm… I filled out forms the other day; what else do you need from me?”

“Well, it looks like you have her diaper bag there. Do you have any bottles that need to be refrigerated?” She asked her and then cooed at me for a moment. “Aren’t you just the sweetest little thing!”

I hid my head back in my ‘mommy’s’ shoulder then. “Sorry, she’s a bit shy. I think we’re both going to have a tough morning here.”

“It’s okay, everyone experiences it at some point, and she’ll be right here for you when you’re ready to pick her up.”

“Here are her bottles. I brought five of my milk; she can drink regular formula powder I left in there or whole milk too. However, she prefers mommy’s milk still, huh?” my virtual mommy tickled me a little, and I smiled at her.

“Well, they say it’s still best for them until the age of two if you can keep doing it. There aren’t a lot of mothers who pull that off, though.”

“Don’t I know it!”

“Well, looks like your little princess has everything she needs. I see she’s even got a bear here in her bag. Why don’t you bring her down to the crawler room, and we’ll let her play for a few minutes and talk,” the lady said.

With that said, a typical ruse to drop off a baby who had never really been away from her mother was played on me. I was dropped off in a room of about ten other babies. The walls were covered with ‘ABCs’ and painted in primary colors, with murals of babies being carried by storks. Caregivers seemed to follow the other crawling babies around to play with them.

The woman carrying me sat me down on the floor, away from the others, and handed me a cloth doll. “Here you go, sweetie, you can play with this dolly!” she told me.

I smiled and began playing with the arms and poking at it while my ‘mommy’ disappeared. Then, several minutes later, I felt my diaper fill in back, and I did what a good baby would do and screamed at the top of my lungs, “Mama!”

One of the ladies working in the room came over and said, “Oh baby, what’s wrong?” in a typical mothering voice. I soon found myself at a changing table getting cleaned up, but I refused to stop crying.

“Mama!” I cried.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay,” the lady tried to reassure me. “Hey, did her mother drop off any bottles by chance?”

“Whose?”

“The new girl that’s having a meltdown in my arms,” the lady said, a bit annoyed.

“I think so; let me look.” I cried until a nipple was pushed into my mouth with milk. Amazingly, the simulator somehow made me feel like I was drinking milk, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t. I played for the next couple of hours - making sure to mainly crawl and only occasionally toddle around. Before I knew it, I was being pulled away from some dolls to be fed lunch of softer foods. It was a bit of an assembly line, with the workers not giving me the attention I would have expected from any of the mothers in my life. Afterward, I was given a bottle and brought to a crib for a nap. While I was lying there, the caregivers began having a whispered conversation that I could still hear.

“He wants the new girl done today.”

“Why in the world would we move that fast?”

“It’s a traumatic day for her, and she doesn’t talk yet. Mama and baba are all I’ve heard from her so far.”

“When?”

“As soon as she is asleep,” I heard the voice respond.

I kept my eyes closed and pretended to sleep while I was picked up and carried down the hallway and through a couple turns. When my clothes started getting unbuttoned, I opened my eyes and saw I was in the abuser’s photo studio. The lady and a man were in there, and I felt like throwing up as I saw several things around the room that had no business being in a daycare. Finally, the man started to try and take my diaper off, and I decided enough was enough.

I let loose a spell that sent him flying backward while I reached into the pocket of space where I had placed the pistol and grabbed it. “FBI, don’t move!” I yelled.

The man launched himself at me, and I fired, or at least tried to. But, unfortunately, I’d forgotten the safety! A moment later, he was on top of me, wrestling the gun from my hands. I used my enhanced strength to hit him in the groin, and he backed off for a moment. He took the gun then and aimed it at me. A moment later the simulator went dark.

 
 

Thank you for reading! Please press the ‘Like’ Button if you’ve enjoyed it! I would really really really appreciate it you would leave one! I do really appreciate the Kudos button, but please consider leaving a comment if you’re reading? Some of you are doing a fine job of commenting, and I really do appreciate it! Please keep up the good work! New commentators are always REALLY loved too!!!! I will fully admit to feeling neglected when there’s none…? (Pretty Please? With a cherry on top?!?)

I am now posting this on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday for the remainder of the chapters.

If you're someone who must finish a good story 'now,' consider purchasing the full book on Amazon Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTBTTGX1 I will be posting a chapter about every other day until the complete 62 Chapters and the Epilogue are reposted.