A Tail tale
By Shrike

Nerio Scaluzzi was a rat. Well, not really one, as in a MORFS survivor. But he was small, did everything for a buck and betrayed people and changed sides as easy as changing his clothes. He had an Italian name, but left home and school at an early age. He did all kinds of odd jobs for several criminal organizations, but didn’t climb the social ladder very fast.

At the moment he was smuggling MORFS people and drugs to Freeventure. The old electric submarine they were using came from an environmental group that replaced it with a more modern one. Though Nerio didn’t have more than a high school diploma, he had a knack for driving vehicles and navigation. In no time he had learned how to drive the submarine and navigate it so well that he managed to circumnavigate all the checkpoints of the floating city. At the moment the sub was still far from anything that posed a danger to the sub or the mission, so it was on autopilot.

Nerio had been forced to clean up vomit and $&!% from one of his passengers. A little girl had started changing. She didn’t change much fortunately, but still had been sick. With all the medications the organization had on board, the girl went through her MORFS changes very fast and had already lapsed into stage 3.

A signal sounded on the console of the sub. It indicated that the netting had caught some fish. The sub had equipment to catch fish while going. It used to be part of the scientific equipment to get samples. Now it was used for catching some food for the smugglers and their refugee cargo. Nerio handled the equipment and brought the nets aboard. He fished out the caught fish and distributed them along the people. He was a bit hungry himself, but though he used to like fish, now he loathed it. Even being covered with fish scales made him feel dirty.

Suddenly a shriek attracted Nerio’s attention. He went over towards the sound and found the little girl that just had morphed clutching her hand. There were some drops of blood on the floor and the fish she had been given lay there as well. Nerio picked it up, but dropped it when he felt the spines of the fish pierce his hand. On closer scrutiny it turned out to be a fish with razor sharp and mildly poisonous spines. Nerio thought about leaving the girl like that, but he wasn’t a total inhuman being. Rudely he took the hand of the girl and examined it. She didn’t make a sound, but her tears were streaming soundlessly.

The spines of the fish had pierced the palm of the girl’s hand, so wiped the blood with his inured hand. He put a bandage on her hand and then washed looked at his own hand. He didn’t think too much about it, since he had always been tough on himself. Besides this poison wasn’t that potent, the most he would get from it was some inconvenience. After cleaning the wound, he put a bandage on it and went back to the cockpit. It wouldn’t be long anymore before he had to focus on avoiding the checkpoints and patrols around the floating city.

A while later the first patrols were avoided. Nerio was already well on his way to the secret docking point when he started to feel sick. He felt nauseous and had to go to a toilet urgently. Purely on willpower he managed to hold everything down and up, but got worried what was wrong. The poison from the fish shouldn’t have such an effect. He focused with all his attention on getting to the docking point but suddenly doubled over from the pain and lost most of his consciousness. Vaguely he saw the sub moving on, but lacked the power to do anything.

The submarine slowly plowed on through the water and without being steered was now headed straight for a collision with the large tube of the transatlantic tunnel. The automated collision alerts began to sound and a high speed submarine was dispatched to intercept the vehicle. Moments later the old electric submarine was hoisted out of the water and UN forces surrounded the submarine and opened it up. They found large quantities of the drug Inferno and several MORFS people. The driver, a known felon by the name of Nerio Scaluzzi was found unconscious in the driver’s seat and taken into custody. He was transported to the hospital as he appeared to be going through MORFS.

Doctor Forlain nodded to the guard at the door, she didn’t like criminal patients but they were patients none the less. She had sworn an oath to treat them. She needed to check what MORFS would do to him. The doctor and her colleagues were stumped as to why an adult had contracted the disease. He should’ve been too old to get it. As doctor Forlain looked at her unconscious patient, she noticed that he was shrinking and something strange was happening to his legs. Not only that, but his features seemed to soften. She understood that he might be going through a gender change with his MORFS.

Nerio woke up to a constant beeping sound. For a moment he thought that it was the alarm of the submarine trying to attend him to a imminent collision. He was about to swear that he fell asleep and missed his chance to dock undetected at Freeventure. He thought, ‘This may cost me my life. The boss won’t be happy losing another cargo. Even worse, if I lose the sub, he may dump me into the deepest abyss that he can find.’ But then he realized that this beeping was different and it seemed to change. It was accelerating slightly. Then he became aware of other things, like his body felt different and wet. ‘Did we spring a leak? But that alarm is quite different and more insistent. What is going on?’

But all those thought didn’t account for the weird feelings he got from his body. So he opened his eyes and looked down at himself. As he did he screamed a high pitched sound. It was even impossible high as it made the glass in the room resonate dangerously close to breaking. The sound made him shut up, and as he took in the view of his body, he fainted from the view that he saw.

The hospital staff came running into the room and found the patient once again unconscious. Doctor Forlain examined her patient again and found that she had lost consciousness, but otherwise was in perfect health. Well, as perfect as she could ascertain. She had never witnessed such a radical MORFS case nor a hybridation of this magnitude. She decided to replay the surveillance video that had been setup in this room. She noticed that the patient had woken up, screamed an impossible high sound and lost consciousness again.

Nerio woke up again, but this time felt something restraining his mouth. He wondered what was going on, before remembering what he had seen earlier. He wanted to scream again, but couldn’t utter more than a slight weezing sound this time. As he opened his eyes again, he noticed that his arms were tied to the side and that he appeared to lay in water. Nerio looked down at his body and the first thing he noticed were breasts. They looked nice enough, but they were on his chest. Or should that be her chest. As her eyes darted downwards she noticed skin with some weird pattern on it, almost like a tattoo, until a little past the bellybutton. There the skin seemed to change into dark grey scales. The scaly skin went downwards and downwards, without dividing into legs. Instead it seemed to go on forever till it flattened out and became a fishtail. Nerio thought,

‘This can’t be happening? I must be hallucinating or something.’

The door opened and a female doctor entered. “Hello, I see you woke up again. Sorry for the gag, but when you screamed, you almost broke every glass in the whole hospital.” Nerio blinked, but was unable to utter any sound more than a wheezing “Huh”

“I’m going to take off you gag, please don’t try to speak yet.” Said doctor Forlain. Nerio nodded a confirmation.

As the gag was taken off, Nerio felt a bit better and could breathe a whole lot better. The doctor said, “I’m doctor Forlain. I’m going to try to explain what has been happening. You were brought in from a captured submarine. Apparently you were the pilot and your name is or was Nerio Scaluzzi. Somehow you contracted MORFS and it changed you into a mermaid. You’re now fully female with a fish like body from the waist down. I would like you to try to talk softly to me.”

Nerio scraped her throat which sounded so very girly. Then she softly said with a soprano voice, “What do you want me to say?”

“Very good, I’m pleased that you can speak normally. I think you gained some extra vocal abilities to communicate under water. But without further testing and scanning I can’t be certain.”

Nerio asked in what he hoped would be a intimidating way, but really came out as timid, “What is going to happen to me now? Are you going to keep me captive here or can I go and where should I go, looking like this.”

A man’s voice from the door answered, “Well, ‘Miss’ Scaluzzi. That is something we need to discuss.”

Nerio looked at the person entering the room. He looked like a cop but not an ordinary one. His demeanor said, FBI or Interpol or something. A woman came in right after him and introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Chelsea Winters. I’m the police commissioner from Freeventure. This,” she pointed at the man, “is Inspector Miles Waverly from Interpol. We’re on a joint taskforce to stop the flow of Inferno coming and going to and from Freeventure.”

Nerio looked at Chelsea Winters. His instincts had been correct once again. The man was from Interpol. “What do you want from me,” she asked in a soft soprano voice. ‘Damn it,’ she thought, ‘this new voice of mine sucks.’

“Well,” said Waverly, “we do have you dead to rights with transporting illegal immigrants and a lot of Inferno. You’d be looking at a long prison sentence. However, we never had someone with a body like yours in custody. So, we don’t know what to do with you. I’m sure that you have a problem thinking about a future with this body as well.”

‘You got that right,’ thought Nerio. ‘What am I going to do with a mermaid’s body? Be in a freak show? I hardly think that would be a living. Maybe I could be an actor, no make that actress and do roles where they need a real mermaid. But do they still make movies like that? Even so the CGI’s are so advanced nowadays, that they don’t even need real people for that.’

“What do you have in mind then, Inspector Waverly?”

“Well,” started Waverly, “Since nobody but us here knows about your change, we could keep it a secret. We’d set you up with a job, a life and such. In turn you tell us all about the operation, that you know of.”

Nerio thought about it, ‘It sounds tempting.’ “What kind of job can I do. Look at me, I’m a frigging Mermaid.”

Chelsea Winters answered, “Well, you could be a courier between us and the deep sea operations. Or you could be a patrol guard under water. Maybe you can be both, I mean that would be up to you. Whatever you want. You could rent a place here on Freeventure. I think you’d need a special place though. What I understand is that you need constant water around you.”

Doctor Forlain stepped in, “That is correct, those gills on the side just below your arms need to be kept wet. You can be out of water for some time, but the longer they dry out, the more it would hurt for you I guess.”

‘I have gills now?’ thought an astonished Nerio. “I think I need to relearn a lot about my anatomy. So, my future is in your hands now? I mean, I do as you say or I’m hung out to dry like a caught fish?”

Waverly shrugged, “Not quite a good analogy, but close enough.”

“Fine, you win. How do we start? And could you please untie my arms?”

Waverly motioned to Doctor Forlain, who unbuckled the restraints. Waverly in the mean time said, “First I’d like you to come up with a new name for yourself. If you can’t find any, I’m sure I can find one. But I’m giving you first choice. Then you need to be tested at a MORFS center here. After that we will sit down, or rather in your case lay down, for you to tell us everything that you know.”

Nerio thought for a while, until Waverly said, “Did you understand what I said?”

“Yes, I did. I’d like my new name to be Nerissa Laymer.”

“Nice, why that one, does it have a meaning?”

“My old name Nerio means water. My new name means Nymph or Sea-sprite. Some say it means Sea goddess. I picked the last name from my best friend way back in the past.”

Waverly smiled, “Okay, Nerissa. Now, how are we getting you out of here and to the MORFS center.”

Doctor Forlain answered, “We can accommodate that. Just put Nerissa into a transport chair with Synergy Thrusters. We use them also to transport paralyzed patients to the pool. I advise to use some wet towels on her back and side. And cover up that nice tail of hers.”

Soon Nerissa, as she was now called, was on her way to the MORFS center of Freeventure. Both Waverly and Winters accompanied her and she was mostly under wraps to obscure her from any unwanted views. Inside the MORFS center a woman was waiting for them. “Hello, I’m Doctor Selma Butowski. Call me Selma. I’m going to ascertain your changes and if you have powers or not.”

Nerissa was put into a sling above a pool naked. She felt a little conscious about that. Then she remembered that Waverly had already seen her naked at the hospital. Strangely enough it didn’t even bother her that much. ‘Did I change into some kind of exhibitionist?’ she thought.

Waverly and Winters had left the room after Selma started her examination. Nerissa found out all kinds of things about her new body. She had webbing between her fingers, it would probably help her with swimming. Then there were some kind of flimsy but sturdy fins on her elbows and on the sides of her scaly lower body. Her ears were strangely looking with extra cartilage and flesh. They didn’t resemble any ears she had ever seen, not even on TV shows. Her hair was still black, but was now at a length just below her shoulders. After the physical examination was done, Selma started with questions. Nerissa answered them as best she could, but was uncertain about how she felt as a girl now, let alone part fish. As the question session dragged on, Nerissa started to feel itchy on her sides. She said so to Selma, who answered that it was intentional. She wanted to know how long Nerissa could stay out of the water. Nerissa was upset about it, but was quite stuck in the sling.

After some time her sides started to feel like burning and she asked, “Please can I have my gills wet now? It is starting to burn, I don’t want my gills to be damaged.”

Selma sighed, but released Nerissa into the pool. She got free from the sling and for the first time felt exhilarated to be swimming as a mermaid in the water. She swam under water for some time and her sides stopped feeling sore. Then she realized that she didn’t need to breathe. She just stayed under water and kept on going. ‘Must be the gills that I’m using to get oxygen into my blood.’

A speaker under water started blearing. Selma asked, “Can you please come to the surface again? I want to do some more tests please.”

Nerissa didn’t want to, but complied for now. She was so exhilarated to swim freely under water even in a pool that small. As she popped her head out of the water she asked Selma, “What do you want now?”

“I heard that you had a very high scream, when you first woke up at the hospital. I would like you to scream like that again, but intentional this time. So, please scream as high and loud as you can, just after I put on this protective headset.”

Selma put on some weird looking headgear, and motioned to Nerissa. She tried to recall how she had screamed the first time she woke up but decided that she just would try it. She screamed as high as she could and a mirror on the wall, as well as a window to another room exploded into pieces moments after she started. Fearing she did something wrong, Nerissa stopped screaming. She looked shocked at the destruction she had done. Selma took her headgear off. “Just as I thought. Your scream had components raging at 20 kHz up to 160 kHz with a level of 155 Decibel. You’re quite lethal with that throat of yours. I would like you to do that again, but this time under water please.”

Nerissa was only too happy to comply this time. She liked it a lot better under water. She screamed again as before, but this time it sounded a lot different. More like a beautiful note of music.

Moments later she popped up from the water again, “Why did it sound different now,” she asked Selma.

“The speed of sound is different in water. I think you can sing or ‘speak’ with under water mammals like dolphins and whales. It may be related to some sound elemental powers, but to know that for sure we would have to check with an expert on that. I don’t think we should get your existence out into the open yet though.”

Nerissa shuddered thinking that she might have to deal with her former employers if the news of her change got out. “I prefer that, yes.”
Selma changed the subject. “How’s the water? Not too cold or too warm?”

“It’s fine, why do you ask?”

Selma said looking at her monitor, “Well, the temperature reading is 10 degrees Centigrade. You should be freezing cold. I guess you don’t feel the temperature as we do. I have some other tests that I want to do, but I can’t do them here. For the pressure tests I need deeper water than this pool has. How about something to eat first? I guess you must be hungry after all these tests. How do you feel about fish?”

Nerissa started saying, “I used to like fish, but then I started to loath it. Shoot, I’m part fish now. Do you think that me eating fish is considered as cannibalism?”

Selma laughed, “I don’t think so, lots of fish eat other fish. Here, try this smoked salmon.” She gave a piece to Nerissa. She tried it but spat it out. “Yuck, that’s burned. I definitely don’t like that.”

Selma thought for a moment and then tapped something on her pad. A hatch opened in the pool and a few fish swam into the pool. “Try to catch those, if you please, Nerissa.”

Nerissa dove under and after a short chase caught the biggest fish. She didn’t hesitate and tore into it. Soon it was all gone. She went after the second fish and devoured it as fast as the first. The third went the same way soon after. Then Nerissa realized what she had done. She popped her head out of the water again, “I just ate live fish under water. What has happened to me? Am I some kind of freak?”

Selma tried to calm me down, “Not at all, you’re just listening to your new instincts. I think it is completely natural for a mermaid to eat live fish under water. I think your taste buds have been changed. You seem to find cooked foods not edible anymore.”

Nerissa shuddered, ‘I’ve changed so much, I’m part girl, part fish, I breathe under water, I eat live fish and have a killer voice.’ “I’m afraid about what I am now. Maybe it’s best that I die here and now.”

Selma yelled, “Don’t say that! You’re just a exotic hybrid. I think you’ve made a change for the best. I mean, I know you were a lowlife and bad guy. Now, you’ve got a chance of a whole new life ahead of you. Try to make it a good one. “

Nerissa backed down, “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m just so afraid of my future. What should I do when I can’t make it?”

“Oh, I have no doubt that you can make ‘it’. You have a survivors mindset. I just know you do. So, suck it up as they say and get on with your life.”

Nerissa felt a bit better about herself, but still had a lot of self doubt. Fortunately for her, their session was interrupted by the entry of Waverly and Winters. After dismissing Selma, they put up some equipment and started their interrogation of Nerissa about the criminal organization she had worked for in her previous life. Nerissa told them all she knew about loading places, check points, all the passwords and phrases she knew and more. Waverly was quite pleased with the information.
 
 
At the end of the interrogation, he conferred in private with Winters. She then came up to Nerissa, “We have to check out the information, but it already confirms some of the things we know. So, I’m releasing you from here to the ocean. We’ve converted a resort diving room to a place of residence for you. It has a minor airlock system for visitors and a chamber under a constant pressure for you to talk to visitors. It has been converted to a bedroom annex living room for you. There is a second chamber under water that was used for divers to group before setting out.”

Nerissa perked up hearing that news. She’d be getting out into the open. There she could really try out this new body in the water. And she’d get her own space to live in. “How do I find my place?”

Winters smiled, “Selma is waiting outside for you in a submarine. She wants to do some additional tests in the open water. She’ll also guide you to your new place.”

Winters used the sling to get Nerissa to different pool that was a lot smaller, but could be closed up. As Winters closed the pool, Nerissa felt claustrophobic, but the feeling soon disappeared as the pool opened a bottom door to the free water of the ocean. Nerissa shot out of the enclosure to the free waters with great speed and almost bumped into a small waiting sub. She quickly circled the sub and saw Selma inside the sub, trying to see where Nerissa was.

“Slow down a bit will you, Nerissa?” bleared a underwater speaker from the sub.

‘How am I to talk back to Selma?’ Nerissa thought.

Then she tried to talk, it sounded a bit low and too soft. However, Selma must have heard her, as she said, “Okay, Nerissa. Let’s try to see how deep you can go, shall we?”

The sub started to dive deeper, plunging head first and Nerissa followed. She felt she could swim circles around the sub at the speed they were going, but she just went a little ahead of the sub. They went deeper and deeper. Nerissa felt the pressure get higher, but didn’t feel any discomfort. She did feel the temperature drop though. It wasn’t getting really cold to her, but it wasn’t too pleasant as well. Suddenly the sub halted. Selma said through the speaker, “I can’t go any further, I’m already past the legal limit of this sub. We should go back up now. “

Nerissa sort of sighed, she would have rather gone on deeper. She hadn’t felt much discomfort. Just a little increase of pressure and lower temperature. She didn’t want to push herself too much though and she still had a lot to learn. For now she needed Selma to show her to her ‘apartment’, so she changed her direction upwards and slowly ascended alongside the sub towards Freeventure.

Nerissa started to feel bored going this slow, but she understood that the sub could not go any faster. She just had to endure it for now. Finally they reached the underside of Freeventure which Nerissa knew quite well from her old smuggling days. Selma set a course towards the moon pools of some hotels where located. Nerissa always had stayed clear from there as recreational divers would periodically emerge from there. However it seemed that her new home was located around there.

Selma halted the sub near a opening to a large tube and spoke to Nerissa through the speaker, “Nerissa, if you go inside this tube, the first underwater door to your right opens to your own wet porch. The door opens only to your handprint, so just press a hand to the scanning-plate to open the door. Have fun exploring your new home. I’ll stop by later from the other side to see how you’re doing.”

Nerissa nodded to Selma before quickly disappearing into the tube. The tube was lighted by soft yellow — white lights set into the walls and soon she found the first door on her left. She continued onwards till she saw a similar door on her right. It had a picture of a mermaid on it. Nerissa smiled a little. ‘They shouldn’t have done that.’

She saw the scanning-plate next to the door and pressed her right hand on it. The scanning light quickly flashed and the door opened abruptly and making very little noise. Nerissa swam through and pressed a button on the other side to close the door. As the door closed quickly, she looked around in the quite spacious round chamber. There was a circular bench almost all around the side. It was only interrupted by the doorway. There was little else in this chamber, except some light coming from above. The chamber had an opening in the ceiling. Nerissa went through it and emerged into a brightly lit room with a moon pool in the middle to the chamber below. To her left was a half open bathtub that she clambered into. It was roomy enough for her body with the tail. It left half her body underwater, keeping her gills and her tail wet.

As Nerissa settled down into this tub, she looked around. There was a TV screen in front of the tub and some controls to her right embedded into the wall. It was all water proofed. To her left the room had raised seatings with cushions covered with some kind of plastic to protected them from water.

Further investigation of the room revealed a small kitchen, a fridge and some closets. Nerissa tried the controls and managed to start the TV screen showing some kind of news item on Freeventure. Flipping through the channel, she watched CNN, ABC, NBC, SyFy, 13th Street, HBO, BBC, News of China and some other channels. A bit disappointed with the selections she switched off the TV screen and looked a bit more closely to a small closet in the back. There she found some blu ray discs with movies and books on it. She looked around and found a hidden player high enough to be protected from the water. She could just reach it if she sat on a cushion. She was about to select a disc, when a chime sounded.

For a moment Nerissa was startled and wanted to hide, then she chided herself. ‘This is your home now, someone is at the door, probably Selma.’
She didn’t know that she could see on a monitor who her visitor was, nor did she care at that moment. She was so sure that it was Selma at her door. So, Nerissa pressed the door release button. A guy dressed in black neolastane burst through the door and took out a mean looking gun.
Nerissa froze for a second, but before the guy could pull the trigger she dove into her pool and hastily went for her underwater door. As it opened, she shot out and saw two more figures coming at her in the corridor wearing scuba gear with communication masks. Though it was distorted, she heard one of them say, “Damn it, Cullen jumped the gun. She got out before we were in position.”

Without hesitation, Nerissa raced out of the tube into the open water. She shot past a fast scout submersible which turned as fast as it could to give chase to her. Going at top speed Nerissa swam out into the ocean going deeper and deeper, but then a spear fired from the submersible forcing her to go upwards again. As she banked sharply to avoid getting shot, she encountered her next fearsome surprise. A big shark was swimming straight towards her and was so close that all she could see was the many rows of teeth in its huge mouth.

Banking and weaving like crazy, Nerissa shot past the side of the shark, and started swimming for her life. The submersible avoided the shark and was still hot on her trail. Now she had two pursuers, one wanted to shoot her with a spear and the other wanting to eat her.

Nerissa began to panic, as the adrenaline started to wear off and she began to feel tired. She was still banking and changing course at random, managing to stay alive and in front of her pursuers. Then she heard a sounds from a group of killer whales out hunting. At least that is how she interpreted the sounds. ‘How do I know what the sounds mean? Can I suddenly understand whales and dolphins?’

It gave her an idea. She started calling out what she thought was a distress call. Apparently it was correct, she heard the ranging sounds from the killer whales getting closer. It wasn’t long before she could see first one and then more of them. The mammals must have been confused as to who called distress. There wasn’t a killer whale, only a submersible, a shark and a something unidentifiable being chased. Nerissa sensed their confusion and emitted the distress call again. Hearing it, the killer whales didn’t hesitate. Three of them attacked the great white shark ferociously effectively killing it soon. The other killer whales started bumping into the submersible with enough force to start a hairline fracture in the hull. That was enough to collapse the skin and moments later the craft imploded under the pressure, killing the two inhabitants directly.

Nerissa relaxed a bit, now that her pursuers were dead. The killer whales joined her side and made questioning sounds. Nerissa tried to inform them as best she could and somehow managed to relay to them what she was and that she was grateful for the rescue. The mammals gave her a sort of you’re welcome and goodbye sound before disappearing into the vast ocean again.

Nerissa saw them go with mixed feelings. She would have liked to stay with them, but knew that she couldn’t, she wasn’t a killer whale, although she felt a kindred feeling with them. With her attackers gone, she didn’t know what to do. There were still others after her. Probably from the organization she had been working for. ‘Should I run now and go somewhere where no one knows me? But how am I going to provide for myself. The only people I can trust are in Freeventure and they agreed to give me a life again.’

She worried about going there, other people were probably still waiting for her. She didn’t have enough visibility to spot them in time, and with their weapons they had the advantage. Suddenly Nerissa got an idea, she remembered hearing the ranging sounds from the killer whales. ‘Can I make those sounds and hear them well enough to interpret them to use them as my personal sonar?’ She started making the clicking sounds and upon hearing the return signals could make determine what was around her in the ocean.

Nerissa swam slowly back towards Freeventure and used her sonar to peer ahead for any obstacles or people waiting for her. She already determined the form of the city and some submarines around it. She was still too far to identify divers though. Before she could get close enough, she detected a submarine closing in on her. She looked for a place to hide from them, but realized that she was in the middle of only water. There wasn’t a place in sight to hide behind.

Frantically Nerissa looked around, then remembered that she could go deeper than any submarine around. Thought sprang into action and she dove down deeper and deeper. The submarine tried to follow her down, but fell behind quickly. Nerissa smiled and prepared to go even deeper, but heard a sound from the submarine. Faintly she could make out, “Nerissa, please …….. it is ………ters.”

Nerissa slowed down and saw that the submarine had stopped. It wasn’t threatening her it seemed. It wasn’t pointing at her and she didn’t see any armament. But the arms could be in a internal bay of course. She decided to give the occupants the benefit of the doubt and slowly went towards the sub, ready to bolt if they started threatening her.

When she got closer, Nerissa could make out the words from the sub better, a woman said, “Nerissa, it is all right. It is us, Waverly and Winters. We caught all the bad guys except for the submarine that was chasing you."

Nerissa recognized the voice of Chelsea and swam up to the submarine. In as high a voice as she could she said, “The submarine was destroyed when the killer whales came to my rescue. They also killed the shark that was trying to have me as dinner.”

With the submarine as an escort, Nerissa arrived safely at the tube to her apartment and Chelsea got out in scuba-gear to escort her into her apartment. Without her Nerissa didn’t dare to go in. Back in her ‘living-room’ Nerissa finally relaxed and settled down in her tub. Chelsea Winters removed her scuba gear and sat on a cushion. “I’m sorry for the problems you had to endure. We found Selma on the streets battered half to death. We arrived here just too late to warn you. We did catch Cullen Trench, a known gunman. We got from him all the information on the other members of the hit squad. The divers we got hanging around in the tunnels and the submarine, well you told us that they bought it. How did they die?”

“The killer whales rammed the sub and it imploded soon after,” said Nerissa dryly. “Are you sure that you got them all? I don’t want to look behind me all the time. How did they find out about me and what I am?”

“They pumped Selma for every bit of information she had. But we took care of that. Selma has been admitted in our Witsec program. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to find a new MORFS center trustee and a new doctor. We also had doctor Forlain replaced. We want to keep you alive and a secret. I do hope that you can help us more to take down the organization.”

Nerissa looked away for a moment, “I’ll try my best. I already did tell you all I know. But I do have good instincts on which routes smugglers would take. I could patrol those and alert you when I spot them. But I would also like to do some courier work. I like the freedom of swimming in open water and going deep. I haven’t even tried how deep I can go. I think I can go as deep as the bottom, but I still need to try it later.”

“Don’t overdo it. You might get too cold or too compressed. But I think we can accommodate you. So, I can say that you’re on board with us?”

Nerissa smiled, “Well, yes. I guess I am on ‘board’ with you. So, how do I start with my new life?”

Chelsea smiled as well, “Well, this is how it’s going to be,” and she grabbed her eCom.

The end for now.

"Alexander Tipton, you are accused of assault and battery on Mrs. Debra Tiessing. How do you plead?" asked the Judge.

Before I answered, I thought back to the events leading up to me standing trial here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Debra said to me, "Thank you for your help."

I had just helped her carry some boxes to her beat up old car. She was going to take it to the homeless shelter to give the contents to the people there. I warned her, "Be careful in the alley behind the shelter. I hear people get attacked there."

"I'll be careful, Alex," replied Debra with a smile.

I set off in my crappy old pickup towards the old docks. There might be some iron and copper laying around. With the prices these days it was lucrative to collect them and sell it to a scrap dealer. It wasn't making me rich, but it supplemented my meager salary from my part-time job. My parents, rest their souls, had been right. I should have gotten a good education. Now I had a crappy part-time job and had to scrounge old metals to get by each month.

Searching through the wreckage of ships, cars and other junk, I gradually got further away from where I had parked my car. I was about to give up and return to my car to park it closer to where I was heading, when I heard voices.

"... last time you crossed me." A deep man's voice said.

I didn't hear the reply well enough to understand. Then the deep voice spoke again, "I'm not worried about the police. I own most of them. Besides, they are looking for a male reporter, not a homeless prostitute. I’ve already got the paperwork ready for you."

I looked around a corner and saw a scene of one man kneeling in front of a big, slightly fatty man. He wasn't kneeling totally on his own as a few men stood behind him and probably helped him to kneel. The kneeling man said, "What do you mean? I’m not a… you are going to…?"

Then the big man put something to the neck of the kneeling man and he screamed out in pain. He started to spasm and the men around him restrained him somewhat. Then he screamed again, but during his scream the sound got higher, like a string being pulled taut. Astonished, I watched him turn into what looked like a young woman before collapsing into a heap on the ground.

A while ago some company called Girls R Us had invented a way to convert a man into a woman using some secret procedure. It had inspired some other companies to try the same, but they were less successful. The first uses of the successful transformation procedures were for trans-gender persons that wanted to switch from a male body to a female body. Then the government, faced with overflowing prisons, thought that this was also a good way to punish sex offenders. They had introduced this type of punishment to rapists at first. They added murderers to this type of punishment later. The public was never told the fate of the sentenced men, at least I never knew about any convicts after a Gender Conversion.

It actually worked too, violent crimes with weapons was down and sex offenders thought twice before even thinking of committing such a crime. Sexual assaults was at an all-time low since Gender Conversion or GenCon for short was introduced. The official name for someone that was sentenced to this treatment was Genetic Gender Conversion Convict. The general public never knew where GenCon's disappeared to. There were lots of rumors, but I hadn't paid attention to those.

As I saw the woman at the feet of the big fat man, I understood that he performed identity murder on his victim. I didn't even know that people could get their hands on the technology. It was supposedly all strictly regulated by the government. Because of what I just witnessed, I carelessly stepped back to get out of sight, however doing that made me knock a loose pipe from a ledge to the ground.

With a loud rattle the pipe hit the ground and immediately all eyes were in my direction. The big fat man said, "There’s someone there. Get him, you imbeciles."

Several of his men started running in my direction with guns drawn. I didn't wait, but sprinted towards my car myself. I had a good lead on them, and being in good shape, I managed to reach my car before any could get close. As I took my keys out of my pocket, I forced myself not to try unlocking and put the keys into the ignition too fast. I knew that you'd fumble and lose more time doing that. I still did it in record time and tore away with screeching tires and doused lights. In my rear view mirror I saw several flashes and bullets whizzed past my car. Fortunately none hit me or my car and I rode as fast as I could towards home.

Arriving home without incidents, I barely had time to get my heartbeat back to normal levels before someone started insistently knocking on my front door. Then a voice shouted, "Open up Mr. Tipton, CPD, we'd like to ask you some questions."

With dread I went to the door. Fearful of deception I peeked through the spy hole first. They seemed genuine police officers but that didn't mean they weren't on the payroll of that big fat man I had seen 'murdering' an enemy. One of the officers grew impatient and banged on my door again. "Open up Mr. Tipton, we know you're home. We ascertained that your car engine is still hot."

“Shit”, I swore silently in myself. That could give me away. Finally I opened the door with the chain still on. "Can I see some ID first please?"

Through the gap they showed me their Identity cards and I read Officer Pete Murphy and Officer Clara Bell. I almost chuckled at the second officer's name. She must have been harassed a lot in school. Satisfied with the knowledge that they were genuine police officers, I opened the door. I did get ready to slam it shut, should they be affiliated with the big fat man.

The female officer Bell asked me, "Can you tell me your whereabouts earlier this evening? About 1 to 2 hours ago?"

I hesitated to answer, since I didn't know if they knew about the gender conversion from the fat man or not. They mistook my hesitation for something else as the other officer Pete said. “All right, Mr. Tipton. I'm asking you to come with us for questioning. You're accused of raping your neighbor, Mrs. Debra Tiessing.”

I was shocked. 'Debra was raped?' "She was raped? Where? Was it in the alley behind the shelter? I warned her about that, you know."

Pete Murphy answered gruffly, "Yes, we know you warned her. That’s why we’re here to question you. Since you know it is dangerous there, you could easily be the perpetrator."

I was about to answer him how ridiculous that was, when I saw two men wearing overcoats looking at my car. They looked like the men I saw earlier with the big fat man, so I didn't say anything to the officers. I just went with them looking defeated.

During my questioning, I couldn't see anyone looking at me except the interrogators, due to a one way mirror in the wall. They probably had a video camera on me as well. I gave only sparingly information and asked for a lawyer to be present. When my lawyer arrived, I was surprised to see what looked like a very high priced lawyer. He asked to talk to me alone before the police resumed their questioning. I asked detective Sawyer, who had been questioning me, “Who is that lawyer. He doesn’t look like a public defender to me.”

Detective Sawyer answered, “That’s Mr. Braktovich. Usually he works for Senators and other high up people. You should be thankful. If anyone can get you off, it’ll be him.”

I had an idea who Mr. Braktovich was working for, my guess would be the big fat man that I had seen. Now I had two choices, I could explain where I had really been and get acquitted for the rape of Debra. In which case I could see a very short life ahead and be dead or worse within days if not hours. Or I could take the blame for the rape, which would most certainly get me a sentence of gender conversion. At least I would be alive and have a life without worrying about my fate at the hands of the big fat man. Or so I thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mr. Tipton, your answer, please!" The booming voice of the judge shook me from my flashback.

I tried to swallow and took a quick look at my lawyer. I couldn’t refuse his aid, as that would alert the big fat man. Nor could I claim my innocence. Stammering I said softly, “G.. g… guilty.”

“Please speak up a bit louder, Mr. Tipton,” the judge said sounding annoyed.

“Guilty!” I exclaimed loudly.

A loud murmur went through the court room. Nobody had expected that. Most people being tried for rape always said not guilty as they didn’t want to be gender converted. Even then they pleaded insanity or something like it to get out of it.

“You do know what the standard sentence in a case like this is, Mr. Tipton?” Asked the Judge.

“Yes, I do your honor.”

“So unless you have a secret desire to be a woman, which doesn’t show in your profile, why would you plead guilty? Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m sentencing you to the mandatory Gender Conversion and one year of service. Case closed.”

I was led out of the courtroom into a small waiting room. In there I got an unexpected visitor. It was my supposed victim, Debra Tiessing. She entered with a police detective, while my lawyer was saying loudly that he needed to be present in a meeting like that. He was kept out of the room thankfully, while Debra sat down in front of me. Softly she said, “I just heard you plead guilty to raping me. I couldn’t identify my attacker because of the mask and darkness, but I know you Alex. You wouldn’t rape me. So why would you plead guilty? What is going on? Did you kill someone or do some other heinous crime that you think this is an easy way out?”

I had to look at her. I couldn’t look away. “I’m sorry Debra. There is nothing else. I did it, now I have to pay the price.”

She kept looking at me. “I still don’t believe it. Please Alex, tell the truth. What’s going on?”

I was almost crying, I was almost breaking, but I had to stand firm. To save my life, I had to. “Please Debra, Go.”

Dejectedly she got to her feet and stepped to the door, there she hesitated and said, “I still don’t get it. I’ll continue to be your friend, even after you know what. Come and see me some time.”

A little later I found myself on a transport van with three other convicts. All of them GenCon’s to be, just like me. One of them asked me, “How much service time did you get?”

“One year,” I answered truthfully.

“Only one year? What did you do? Confess?” Fortunately he didn’t pursue the matter but went on to the others. “How much did you get?”

A big bruiser said, “None of your business, after this we’ll never know each other anymore. So shut it.”

The first man snorted, “I said that she was asking for it. Too bad the judge didn’t see it that way. At least I got to pork that bitch one last time, maybe I even knocked her up.”

The big guy said dryly, “Well, soon someone will knock you up. Then you can see how it is from that end.”

The fourth man in the van asked, “What do you mean knocked up? And what is that about service time? They gave me two and a half years of service, but nobody explained it to me.”

The first guy turned to him, “After the conversion, you’re sold as a slave. That’s how they keep the costs down. Your new owner can have you do lots of things for the time of your service contract. And it’s usually the brothels that buy the GenCons up. So you can look forward to getting screwed.”

This was news to me as well, involuntary I shuddered. I might have gotten myself into a life of being fucked for a living. That is till my looks ran out and I’d be out on the streets doing god knows what. The big guy asked, “How do you know this?”

“I porked a GenCon once that had been a friend of mine long ago. She told me everything.”

“But GenCons are always kept confidential. They never give their old Identity out.” Said the big guy.

“Yeah, but she revealed it to me after I gave her a good porking and she loved every minute of it. Afterwards she told me everything that had happened to her after she had gotten sentenced to GenCon.”

“How was she in bed?” asked the big guy.

“The best, never had a better one or hornier one. Must be something that happens with the change, they’ll do anything to get fucked,” said the first guy.

I shuddered again. I didn’t look forward to that. Maybe I had made a mistake after all. But I couldn’t go back anyhow. Once the sentence was final, there was no more appeal. The conversion was usually done the same day after sentencing.

With that thought, my time to contemplate was over. We had arrived at the conversion facility. It wasn’t what I expected. Sure there was some security around the place, but it wasn’t a prison.

We were ordered out of the van, and marched into the building. There a woman awaited us. “Hello GenCons. Welcome to Girls’R’Us. The government has outsourced the actual conversion to our company, since we already have the technology and experience with it.”

We were led to some cell like rooms, where we each got locked up alone in a separate room. I didn’t have to wait long, soon I was taken out of the room into a chamber with several tubes. I saw that one tube held the big guy I was with in the van. But he looked a bit smaller now. I didn’t have time to get a better look, as I was ordered to strip. Then after drinking a glass of cranberry juice, I was told it would be good for my system, I had to stand on a shelf inside the tube and a cap was placed over my head. As it filled up with something, I felt a moment of panic, though I could breathe normally. I started to feel sleepy and soon drifted off.

I woke up on an unfamiliar bed, not knowing where I was for a moment. Sitting up I wondered only briefly why my chest was jiggling. However I felt that I needed to go to the bathroom to relieve myself. I sat down on the toilet and did my business. I wiped carefully afterwards, not thinking anything of it. As I came back into my room I looked at the clothes laid out for me. I put on the panties and the matching bra. Then I donned the short pleated light blue skirt and matching blouse. I sat down in front of the vanity and put on some make-up as if I had done it all my life. Then I brushed out my long coal black hair to straighten it out from my sleep tousled look. Only after I checked myself and declared that I was ready, I realized what I had just done.

‘I just got ready to go out as a woman. But I’m not a woman. Yet I am a woman.’

Then I remembered, I was a GenCon. I had been made into a woman and now had lots of female instincts. As I thought this, the door of my room opened. A mature woman entered, “Hello Sabrina, I’m your counselor Maria.”

I looked around out of habit, though I knew that I was alone in here. “Who is Sabrina?” I asked and was startled hearing the nice soprano voice I said it in.

Maria smiled at me, “You’re name is now Sabrina Bishop. I’m here to get you trained and ready for your auction next week.”

‘My auction?’ I thought. ‘Oh, right. They said that we were sold as slaves for the duration of our service contract. My contract was only for one year. I really hope I don’t have to work as a prostitute.’

“What are you thinking, Sabrina? You’re awfully quiet.” Said Maria.

“I really hope I don’t have to work on my back as a hooker. Do you think my contract will be bought be a brothel?” ‘Oh no, I sound like a whining teeny bopper.’

Maria smiled again at me, “Have you seen your looks? You’re almost Miss Universe material. Usually girls with your looks get bought by escort services. Escort girls are not required to have sex with their customers, but most do anyway. It boosts their income a lot.”

I did look very pretty, I hoped I wouldn’t have to work as a prostitute. Maybe being an escort girl wouldn’t be so bad. If only I could hold off on the sex part. ‘Why am I so set against having sex as a girl? I thought that all GenCons were horny as hell.’

“Uhm, Maria? I heard from a fellow convict that GenCon’s are very horny and want to have sex a lot. Is that true? Because I don’t feel it, and don’t look forward to having sex as a woman.”

“Well, it’s true that most GenCon women have a high libido, that is how we tweak it. But it may also take some time to kick in. Some are horny straight away, but others take days to get to that. Of course every woman has a different libido, and because someone spoke on your behalf, we did lower yours to be less than we normally do. So, you may have a normal life to look forward to.”

‘Yeah right, a normal life as a GenCon. I’ll always be a woman with a man’s mind.’ Or so I thought.

The whole week Maria drilled me in adjusting to my new female body. How to care for my hair, my skin, how to deal with periods, how to walk, talk, sit, and many more things. By the end of the week I was indistinguishable from a regular born woman. I walked in high heels as if I had done for a long time. I acted and reacted as a woman and had mannerisms like a woman. Maria was very pleased with my progress and the end result. At our final talk she said, “I’ve never had a GenCon who picked it up as fast as you did. Most convicts fight the transition and even loathe their new body. Some of them are even bad enough with it that their body atrophies and they die a horrible death. I can tell that you’re different. I know that you pleaded guilty to your crime. Why did you to that?”

I felt ashamed and cast my eyes down, “I don’t want to talk about it, please don’t make me.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but there is something different about you. Well, this is it then. You’ll be going to the auction center soon.”

I shuddered thinking about it, what would it be like being sold into servitude? I had read books about the days of slavery in the distant past. Would it be that bad? These days there were laws in place to protect servitude slaves from being exploited, raped and sold at random. Still, there was a lot of leeway to the owners as well.

Climbing up to the stage I was shaking like a leaf from fear. I stood there for the crowd to see me as a young woman. They knew I was a GenCon, but they didn’t know my crime or my past identity. I waited for the auctioneer to start his talk and felt like I was going to throw up any moment.

“Ladies and Gentleman, number 83 on the lot who has been sentenced for a year of servitude. She’s a young woman with diverse skill sets and she’s good for cleaning, entertaining and a lot of other things. Cute and lovely Ms. Bishop, bidding starts at 1000. Do I have a bid?”

An old hag of a woman started the bidding with 700, but quickly a man raised. Several people raised the bid on me till a woman in the back offered 2500. There was a little more bidding and my price rose to 3400 before the auctioneer called, “Going once, going twice, sold to Mrs. Santone.”

I was taken of stage by a handler and just like that, I was sold to a woman for a year as a slave. I just hoped that she wasn’t from an escort agency or worse, a brothel.

Waiting for being picked up by my new owner was nerve-racking. I was fidgeting the whole time and felt sick about what was waiting for me. ‘I really hope I don’t have to fuck people every day for the next year. I don’t even want to think about having sex with a man. Maybe I’m a lesbian now? What am I going to do if I have to…?’ I didn’t even complete the thought as I shuddered imagining being a prostitute for a year.

A good looking woman entered the waiting room. She looked around the girls waiting to be picked up and then walked up to me. “Ms. Bishop?”

I nodded and lowered my eyes, I couldn’t look at her. She lifted my head, so I had to look up at her. “Hello, I’m Isabel Santone. Please follow me, we need to get home and get you squared away.”

Her voice was soft and nice, it didn’t seem like she was angry or businesslike. She sounded just like a mother taking a wayward daughter home.

I got up and picked up my purse. ‘Odd, a few days ago I wouldn’t even think about taking a purse anywhere. Now it was as if I had always had one and knew to take it with me everywhere.’ I didn’t have any clothes except what was on me, so I traveled very light. As I was following the woman out the door I was burning with desire to know what I was expected to do for her.

The woman walked up to a limo and motioned for me to get in. I quickly did, amazed that I did it in such a feminine way. I sat down with my legs together and swung both inside, so I wouldn’t flash anyone with my panties. Mrs. Santone got in right after me and the driver closed the door before going around to get in himself.

“I know you’re wondering what work you’ll have to do for me. Let me ease your mind, I’m not from an escort service or any such business. I needed a new maid and my husband said that I should look here. In fact he specifically asked me to have a look at you. I guess he looked at the pre-auction flyers and picked you.”

I swallowed, ‘What did this mean?’ “So what am I bought for? What work do you want me to do?”

Mrs. Santone smiled, “You’ll be a maid, you’ll clean, do household chores, watch the children and help with cooking and serving.”

I sighed from relief, I could do that, I might have to learn some things, but I knew how to clean and such. I didn’t know much about watching children, but I’d learn and I wouldn’t be all alone with them for long times anyway.

We arrived at a big mansion, where Mrs. Santone showed me around. A nice small room all for myself was waiting for me and already the maid uniforms and some casual clothes all in my size, were hanging in the closet. She told me, “Now dear, unless otherwise specified, you’ll be expected to wear a uniform at all times during working hours. The other clothes are for your off hours. You’ll be doing the laundry and I’ll expect you to keep your uniforms clean and crisp at all times.”

“Yes, I understand Mrs. Santone.”

“Good.” She was about to say more, but some kind of ruckus sounded from the front door. “Ah good, the children are home. I’ll introduce you and let you get acquainted with everyone.”

The children turned out to be a handful, but not too naughty. Mrs. Santone had them well drilled and she warned them that they couldn’t take advantage from me. I couldn’t punish them directly, but I could walk away if they asked something that I clearly felt wasn’t correct or went against other orders. The oldest one, a boy of 7 years old went by the name of Cary. The 6 year old girl was called Faith.

They gave me a few hours to get settled, and I changed into the uniform. The skirt was a bit too short for my taste, but it was adequate. Fortunately I didn’t show too much cleavage. The heels were not too high, but I still felt like I was walking on stilts the whole time. Due to my practice I didn’t have a problem with it though.

As I was serving the soup at the dinner table, Mr. Santone walked in. He gently said hello to his children and his wife before assessing me. As soon as I saw him, I froze for a moment. It was him, the man that was the reason I was in this predicament. ‘He performed the identity murder on that reporter and had his men chase after me. He must know who I really am.’

I forced myself to move again and act like I hadn’t recognized him. It wasn’t easy, and maybe they’d seen me freeze up. I sincerely wished that no one did. My hopes were squashed as Mrs. Santone said to me, “Sabrina? Is everything all right?”

“Yes, Mrs. Santone. I just realized that there might not be enough soup left for Mr. Santone.” I tried to explain myself with a lame excuse.

Mr. Santone sat down and said, “That’s okay, I’m not that hungry. So, Sabrina? You’re our new maid? I hope you’re better than the old one. She was lazy and very preoccupied with her failing looks.”

“Now, now.” Mrs. Santone said quasi embarrassed. “She wasn’t that bad. Please do remember that Sabrina is new at this and that she needs to learn several things.”

Mr. Santone grumbled something, while I made a hasty retreat from the room. Back in the kitchen I sighed from relief, that was a close one. Then I realized, Mrs. Santone had said that her husband had asked for me specifically. ‘Is he on to me? But he can’t know my real identity, can he?’ Those files were sealed and could only be accessed by the highest law enforcement authority. Then again someone like Mr. Santone shouldn’t be able to have his hands on gender conversion equipment, nor have police men on his payroll. So, it might be possible that he had access to my file and knew who I used to be. I was getting frightened all over again. I needed to get a grip, if I showed anything out of order, he would be even more suspicious. I breathed slowly in and out to get my nerves back in order, when the cook Svenson called out to me, “Didn’t you hear me, girl? The second course is ready, get it out there.”

The rest of dinner was rather plain, Mr. Santone didn’t show anything indicating that he knew something. The other family members were too busy with the food themselves.

After dinner I cleaned up the table and put everything in the washer before sitting down with Svenson for our own meal. He was quite a likeable guy, mostly quiet but forceful of food and his kitchen. I liked him, but kept my distance mentally. I was in no hurry to look for male companions and besides he was married.

The next day I didn’t see much of Mr. Santone. He was away on business and I only had to deal with Mrs. Santone and the children. They treated me well enough, and I picked up my duties fast and well enough. Mrs. Santone even praised me on my work that evening.

The next day I felt a little off in the morning and it only got worse as the day progressed. My breasts felt a bit fuller and I felt moist between my legs. It worsened to the point that I had an itch that I couldn’t scratch in public. I tried my best not to let anyone know how I felt, but I think Mrs. Santone found out.

Just after noon she called me to talk in private and said to me, “I think I know what you’re feeling. I want you to go to your room and unpack the box in the left bottom drawer of your vanity. Take your time and come back down when you’re done. Don’t forget to clean the thing before you come down though.”

I was a bit puzzled with what she meant, but I wasted no time into getting to my room. It took only moments to find the box she talked about and when I opened it, I was stunned. There was a dildo inside it.

I didn’t even undress, but hiked up my short skirt and threw my panties off in a hurry. I inserted the dildo into my sopping wet pussy and started shoving it in and out. As I was doing this, I noticed a button on the bottom and pressed it.

The damn thing started vibrating and sort of rotating inside me. I almost squealed out from pleasure but nipped it in the bud. A few times my clit got titillated and it drove me wild. Moments later I exploded in an orgasm like I never had before. Well, any orgasm I ever had as a man I mean. This was a lot different, because as a man that would be the spewing end of it. Now I felt a giant wave crash all over my body and subside very slowly. Before I could recover, the vibrating dildo brought me to a new height and I surged into another orgasm.

I pulled the fake cock out of me this time and came down from my very first exciting double orgasm as a woman. I couldn’t believe I liked sex from this angle so much. Maybe the change had made me much more into a sexual animal than I had even feared.

Several minutes later I managed to compose myself. After cleaning the dildo and myself, I dressed myself in a clean uniform and returned to my duties as a maid. Mrs. Santone just smiled at me and only when we were alone later she whispered to me, “I hope you enjoyed that, don’t be alarmed. I had been expecting it.”

I just smiled slightly to her and kept quiet. The rest of the day I didn’t have any problems, nor the days after that. Well, the next five days anyway, the sixth day it started again, but this time I recognized the signs and before the itch started, I pleasured myself into an orgasm and not even Mrs. Santone noticed anything about me later on.

As my days as a slave maid turned into regular working days, I found that I got horny every 5 to 7 days and needed some sexual relief before the feeling got to a level that I would almost do anything to get screwed. I still hadn’t found the courage to fuck with a real live man, though I could have. Mrs. Santone trusted me enough that she sent me out on errands every now and then. She had no reason to worry because a GenCon that ran before the contract was out, would have been hunted down and sold again, usually to a brothel with low standards.

I’ve been living as a woman for almost a year now and didn’t think much about my previous life. I was a woman now and had to live like one for the rest of my life. In fact I was even happy about being a woman now, though some things I really hated. The monthly visitor wasn’t something I didn’t looked forward to and occasionally I missed peeing standing up, as it was so much faster and easier.

Things almost went bad near the end of my servitude contract though. In my last week I got called into the office of Mr. Santone. This was unusual, since he ignored me almost always. Just a few times I had to serve food or drinks, like when he hosted a party or had a business meeting with some people.

I knocked on his door and heard him say, “Enter!”

“You asked to see me Mr. Santone?” I timidly asked.

“Please shut the door and have a seat.” Mr. Santone said in his gruff voice, while continuing to do something with some papers on his desk.

I didn’t like where this was going, and didn’t want to close the door. ‘Why does he want me to close the door? Is he going to do something to me?’

I decided to be on the cautious side and closed the door not totally but left it slightly ajar. Then I proceeded to a vacant chair not too close to his desk and sat down in my now totally engrained feminine way.

I didn’t have to wait long, Mr. Santone looked up at me and said bluntly, “So, Mr. Tipton how did you enjoy your stay at our house.”

I had been Sabrina for so long now that I didn’t even react to my old name. It was good that I didn’t too, or I would have given myself away right there. Now I had a little time to think and answered, “I’m sorry, my name is Sabrina Bishop, not Tipton. I did like my stay here well enough though, thank you.”

“So you’re claiming that your former name wasn’t Alexander Tipton? I know for a fact that you were.” Mr. Santone growled at me, rising out of his chair.

I shook my pretty little head, “I’m sorry, I don’t know who this Tipton guy is. I don’t much remember who I used to be. They erased most of my past memories I think.” I was lying my ass off of course, but I needed him to think that it was what they did during conversion.

Mr. Santone came around his desk, “Don’t play coy with me, little tramp. I know a lot more than you can imagine. I also know that you GenCons are always horny. So get over here and blow me.”

I had to restrain myself from obeying his command, I was already in my 6th day after my previous release and started to feel horny again. I did manage to control my urges and stayed seated. “I have no such inclination to do so and you can’t order me to do it. It is forbidden by the laws under which GenCons are sold into service. Only if we choose so or when the work demands it, are we compelled to perform sexual acts.”

Mr. Santone was visibly taken back by my response. “Why, you little whore! Come here right now or I’ll destroy your whole life. You may have copped out of my wrath before by confessing to rape. This time I’ll make sure you don’t get a chance to expose me.”

I was shaking like a leaf inside now. He knew who I had been and why I was a GenCon. If only I could have taped this conversation. He just admitted that I had seen him and that he was going to hurt me no matter what. Outward I showed only fear of him being a big man trying to goad a girl into performing sexual acts. “I’ll report this to the GenCon oversight committee. When they find out what you want me to do, they’ll make you see things from my side.”

Mr. Santone was about to step closer and hit me, saying loudly, “I’ll show you who is boss around here. Nobody will ever want to look at you again, if you manage to stay alive that is.”

I was about to run for my life, when the door slammed open and Mrs. Santone was there. “I’m the boss around here and don’t you forget it Marcello. You can pack a bag and stay away for a few weeks. If I ever hear that you bothered this nice young woman again, I’ll make sure that Papa Bellucci has your head presented on a platter.” Then to me she said softly, “Come, my dear. It is over now, you’re safe.”

I looked at Mr. Santone, he had a frightened look on his face, which was very red from anger. I had recognized the name Mrs. Santone said. Bellucci was the biggest crime boss around and nobody messed with him. ‘So, Mrs. Santone is the daughter of Bellucci?’ I didn’t believe I was safe however. Mr. Santone could easily hire a hitman to have me killed. I just had to hope that the doubt that I really was the former Alex Tipton was great enough for him not to risk it and that the threat of Mrs. Santone carried enough weight to keep me safe.

She told me to go to my room and put on some street clothes. She picked me up from my room about ten minutes later with, “Come on Sabrina, we’re going shopping.”

I was really surprised by this and it showed on my face. Mrs. Santone said, “Before I let you go from service, I want you to have at least a wardrobe. I don’t want you to go out on the streets without decent clothes.”

I was even more stunned. She was going to buy me clothes and release me from service? It was true that I only had a few days left, but she was letting me go early.

Shopping was a very pleasant experience, Mrs. Santone really had good taste and bought some quality clothes for me, that weren’t too expensive and chiq, but weren’t too shabby either. It made me look like a normal young woman that had a good job and good life. Now only if I could get a good job and a good life, things would be perfect. However, I was worried that I would be out on the streets soon without money and a job and was forced to prostitute myself to get enough money to sustain myself.

I didn’t show any of my worries to Mrs. Santone though. I just smiled and laughed with her as we continued shopping.

After we got home, I was ordered to pack my new belongings into the suitcases that she also bought for me and soon after a car drove up to the house with a woman inside. She announced herself as Mrs. Whittaker and told me that she was here to sign off on my release. She would take me to the office to handle the paperwork and then she would take me to where ever I wanted to go.

The paperwork only took a short while and soon I was released from service and a free woman. Mrs. Whittaker had asked Mrs. Santone why she released me early and had been told that I had done such a good job that she wanted to give me this as a going away present. She hadn’t said anything about the incident with Mr. Santone, and neither would I. Mrs. Whittaker was satisfied with the explanation and after signing off on me, drove me to Bus-station where I got on a bus towards Cedar Rapids. It was the first place I noticed and was far enough from Chicago, but close enough for easy travel.

It took quite some time on the bus to get to the city I wanted to live now, away from all the problems I had in the past. Here no one knew me and hopefully I could start a new life for myself. Well, nobody would know me anyway, since only Mr. Santone and the Gender Conversion authorities knew who I had been. Still I wanted to get away from Santone and everything that reminded me of my past.

Hours later I was walking on the streets, looking for a place to work and sleep. I had already seen several job agencies, but every time they asked for references or my past I had to tell I was a GenCon, which was a sure way to get shown to the door, or to lie about it which was even worse. I was getting frantic as I feared to be forced to sleep on the streets and soon be forced to prostitute myself for money. It was worsened by my horniness. I was already on my seventh day after relieving the buildup pressure to have sexual relief. I was almost ready to jump the first good looking man to get satisfied. My only inhibition was the fact that I had never done it with a real live male, and it was freaking me out to start now.

Walking past a restaurant and looking in, I started salivating seeing the customers eating. My stomach was rumbling and I knew I had better get something to eat soon. However my monetary funds were low and I would have to watch my expenses. Then my eye was attracted to the sign in the window, it said: ‘Help wanted’.

Upon entering the foyer, I put my suitcases in a corner and asked to see the manager. She quickly came over and asked, “Yes Miss? How can I help you?”

“Hello, I’m Sabrina Bishop and I want to ask if the opening for help is still open.” I said with a wary but firm smile on my face.

The woman looked at me before asking, “What are your qualifications? Do you have any references?”

My face fell, I was sure that I wouldn’t get a job again and I was desperately trying to hold back my tears that were already forming in eyes. The woman looked at me and said comfortingly, “Oh dear, please come with me.”

She took me to a small office next to the kitchen and sat me down on a chair opposite her desk. She sat down in front of me and asked, “So, tell me; what is the matter? Had a hard day today?”

I nodded and blurted, “I’ve been looking for a job all day and it always comes down to my past or lack there off.”

“Let me introduce myself, I’m Alesia Hardaway. Please tell me what happened.”

I started, “I just had a job for a year as a maid and I was good with serving, cleaning and even watching the kids. My employer was even very satisfied with me, but I can’t give her as reference without telling the story how I got the job.”

Alesia patted my arm, “Tell me, I won’t judge people in general. I’ve done things in my past that I’m not proud of. It did give me good judgment of character though.”

I looked at her and decided to tell her the truth. “I’m a GenCon. I was bought by my employer as a maid.”

Alesia smiled, “I already thought so, a pretty young woman like you not getting a job? Can you tell me anything about your past?”

“I dare not, I was convicted but with a lenient sentence. I am fearful of someone that I can’t mention nor talk about. I’m afraid I’ll have to go out on the streets and pleasure men to get some money to survive.” I was almost crying again.

“Listen Sabrina, you don’t have to go out there. I think you’ll do just fine working here. I’ll be watching you for a few days and if you can handle it, you have the job. Now, I also have a small apartment not too far from here that you can rent from me. My son was living there, but he had a fatal accident last year. I’ve never seen fit to sell it. I just kept it for some reason.”

I was astonished, here was a solution to all my problems handed to me on a platter. I gushed, “Thank you Mrs. Hardaway, you’re a lifesaver. How can I ever repay you for what you’re offering?”

She smiled again, “Just work hard and show me that my judge of character is still spot on. I believe that you can do this. But you have to start calling me Alesia. Can you start right away tonight? I’m desperate for some help.”

Before I had a chance to answer her, my stomach rumbled and Alesia hurried to say, “Well, first you need to eat something. Can’t have you start working on an empty stomach.”

I thanked her again and after a quick bite I changed into a uniform of the restaurant and started waiting on tables. That evening Alesia escorted me over to the apartment and as soon as she left I crashed on the bed feeling exhausted. Well, I didn’t go to sleep immediately, first I used a going away present from Mrs. Santone to pleasure myself to soaring heights and relieved my sexual stress so I could live like a normal woman again.

The work at the restaurant was nice and pleasant and soon I had shown Alesia that I was good at it. She gave me a contract for an indefinite period of time and introduced me to a friend of hers. Her friend, by the name of Linda Sommers, ran a daycare center and she was looking for some extra help in the mornings. As I didn’t start working till afternoon at the restaurant, I got hired and suddenly I had two jobs, one part time and the other one full.

Things were looking up for me, I had jobs, money and a place to live. Well, the apartment was very small and cramped, but it was enough and I didn’t need much space anyway. I did my best to help out at the restaurant, since Alesia had been so kind to give me a chance. She even raised my salary as I was doing such a great job, that more customers started to book reservations and most times the restaurant was so packed, Alesia had to disappoint people who wanted to get in.

One slow night I was bussing a table and walked back to kitchen when a young good looking man bumped into me and made me drop some dishes. As I shrieked from the shock, he apologized, “I’m sorry, I hadn’t seen you there.”

I knelt down to pick up the pieces and he knelt down next to me. “I’ll pay for the damages, it’s the least I can do.” I looked at him and my heart started fluttering. He was so handsome and I wanted him. I wanted him to kiss me and ravage me. ‘Oh shit, I’m so horny again. I should’ve relieved my sexual stress last night, but I was too tired.’ If I didn’t hold myself in check I would have jumped his bones right there and then.

He continued speaking and I almost didn’t hear what he said. “I should have noticed a beautiful woman like you, I can’t understand why I haven’t. Please accept my apologies and allow me to pay for the damages.”

Alesia had seen it and approached. “There’s no need for that young man. It was an accident and damages like these are calculated. You just be more careful next time.”

She went back to her station and I still hadn’t said anything. Nor could I move an inch from my spot. My eyes were riveted on him. He looked at me and said, “Miss, Are you okay? Can you tell me your name?”

In a husky voice I said, “Sabrina, I get off at eleven.” Immediately I could kick myself. ‘Why in the hell did I say that? I don’t want him to get any ideas. Or do I?’

He whispered to me, “I’ll pick you up at eleven then, Sabrina.”

In a daze I took the pieces and undamaged dirty things to the kitchen. I was still flabbergasted at what just happened. Alesia came up to me, “What was that all about Sabrina? Are you picking up men now here?”

“I’m sorry, Alesia. I don’t know what came over me. Well, there is one little thing I haven’t told you. Every week I get so horny and worked up that I need to release my sexual tension. I’m already peaking right now, which is why I misbehaved in there.”

Alesia smiled at me, “You didn’t misbehave, and I already know that you feel sexually frustrated once a week. I’ve seen women before with that itch that you can’t scratch in public. But there is something else isn’t there?”

I whispered to her, “I’m afraid, I’ve never been with a man before.”

“Just be yourself, don’t fret about it, it will all work out.”

I still wasn’t sure about what I was going to do and how to proceed, but I stopped thinking about it and concentrated on my job.

Just after eleven that night I went out the backdoor and found the handsome man waiting for me. For a moment I startled, though my heart was fluttering again in excitement. He walked up to me and said, “Hello again Sabrina, my name is Harvey Kearns.”

“Sabrina Bishop, nice to meet you Mr. Kearns.” I breathed huskily.

“Mr. Kearns is my father, call me Harvey. So, where can I take you tonight? Have you eaten already?” Harvey lightly responded.

I always had dinner in the kitchen at the restaurant, so I told him, “I had some dinner here, how about a drink somewhere?”

“Fine with me, do you have a place in mind? A favorite bar or club to go dancing?”

I had never been to a bar or a club, not even when I was still Alex Tipton, so I was a bit hesitant to answer. He asked me again and this time I breathed huskily, “How about your place.” ‘Shit, if I could I would kick myself. Why do I want to go to his place? My answer came from my over stimulated sex drive, I want to jump him and fuck both our brains out.’

Harvey blinked, before cocking his head. “Well, if that is what you want. I’m fine with it, right this way please.” He led the way to a sports-car and opened the door for me.

I was in shock at what I had proposed. ‘I’m so screwed, or at least I will be if I keep this up.’ I was frightened, but exhilarated at the same time. I was going on automatic, like a zombie without a free will to do anything about it.

Harvey drove me to a nice house in a good neighborhood and I wondered what he did for a living. As he helped me out of his car, I looked around, taking in the scenery. I hoped it would take my mind of the fact that I was very moist in my panties and that my nipples were very hard and trying to poke through my bra.

As he led me into the house I noticed that it was sparsely but tasteful furnished. He showed me into the living room with a nice big sofa and went to a cabinet. “So, what would you like to drink, Sabrina?”

Quickly I sauntered up to him and said while putting my arms around him, “How about you,” and started to kiss him.

He responded directly and French kissed me for a while till he broke off, “Wait a moment, this isn’t like you. Are you drunk or on some kind of stimulant? You’re behaving not like yourself, Sabrina.”

Alarm-bells started to go off in my head, “What do you mean, this is not how I usually behave? We just met, how can you know how I normally behave? I think you need to explain yourself or call me a cab.” My arousal had dissipated somewhat as I started to rethink about what I was doing here.

Harvey sagged down in a chair, “Okay, I confess. I have been watching you a few times in the restaurant. I wanted to approach you, but didn’t know how. That’s why I bumped into you on purpose. I didn’t mean for you to drop and break the dinnerware. I was afraid that you would laugh at me, if I just walked up to you and asked you out.”

I fell down on the sofa, “Why would I laugh at you?”

“Oh come on, a beautiful girl like you? You’ll probably have men asking you out all the time. How many dates did you have just last month?”

I felt my cheeks reddening, “I haven’t had any dates. I don’t go out with men. In fact you’re the first man I have kissed in my life.”

“You could have fooled me, in fact I don’t believe a word what you’re saying. How can you have never kissed a man before?” Harvey asked me, getting suspicious.

I desperately wanted to change the subject and feeling hot from the embarrassment, I had an idea. “Is it just me or is it hot in here.” I pulled my sweater off and forgot that my nipples were still very hard and very visible despite my bra and camisole.

Harvey couldn’t take his eyes of my encased breasts and just sat there almost drooling like a fool. My arousal spiked again from the attention to me and I started to feel my panties getting soaked. I hoped that it wouldn’t seep into my capris. I did have clean panties in my purse, but no clean pants.

Finally Harvey broke out of the spell and asked hoarsely, “Why are you acting like this Sabrina?”

“Because I’m so very horny, I just want to be fucked by you now.” ‘OMG, did I just say that out loud to him. Kill me now and be done with it.’

He licked his lips, judging from the bulge in his pants he really wanted to fuck me. I admired his restraints though. It just meant that I needed to take the initiative. I beckoned him with my finger and after a little hesitation he got up from the chair into my waiting arms. We kissed slowly and after we broke for air, I said to him, “Please be gentle, it’s my first time.”

He kissed me gently again and pulled the camisole upwards. As it was pulled with a whispering sound over my head, he whispered to me, “Trust me Sabrina, I’ll treat you like a queen.”

We rose from the sofa and made our way to his bedroom, while losing my pants and bra along the way. He lost his shirt and pants and socks the whole way towards his bed. As we stood kissing in front of his bed, I pushed against him and he fell backwards onto his bed.

He was about to protest, but I slithered on top of him and smothered his protest in kisses. My mouth left his mouth and went down to his hairy chest and even more down till I reached the top of his boxers. I freed the monster he hid in there and realized that indeed it was a monster cock. It was the biggest I had ever seen, well maybe that was because I was just a small female now and had never seen a cock from this angle.

I started stroking it a little with my whole hand and it rose up even bigger and harder. I felt myself attracted to it and knew what I had to do. My mouth took in the head and went a little further down and soon I was bobbing up and down on his cock making it even harder than it already was. I was sopping wet now, and my panties were so soaked that when I took them off, it landed with a wet splat on the floor.

I didn’t pay attention to my discarded clothing though, I was too busy taking in as much of that delicious cock as I could. Suddenly Harvey touched my head and said, “Please stop for a moment, Sabrina.”

Surprised I stopped what I was doing and asked him, “Am I doing it wrong? Is it hurting?”

Grinning like the Cheshire car he responded, “No, no. You’re doing it too well. If you keep this up I will shoot it all into your mouth. After that I can’t do much for a few hours and that won’t be fair to you.”

I grinned, “We can’t have that now, can we.” So I left his cock alone for now and slithered back up to his face where we kissed for a while. As we were doing that I suddenly felt a hand feeling its way near my pussy and then a finger was inserted into my snatch. I gasped from the feeling and kissed him so fiercely that he was taken by surprise and forgot to move his finger in and out of my wet pussy.

I pulled his hand back up and positioned it on my breast. He didn’t waste time and started kneading it with circular motions. I moaned my pleasure as it felt so good. But I had other plans. Carefully I positioned myself that my pussy lips were teasing the cock just below it and the friction of the head against my lips were enough to get me going again. I was feeling so many emotions at the same time, I was exhilarated, frightened, aroused, dreaded what I was about to do and lots more.

As I teased him more and more with my lips, he continued to knead my breasts with both hands on both breasts. Just as I thought I was going too far and the head was opening my lips slightly, he bucked up hard and buried half his cock inside my pussy.

The sharp pain of my hymen breaking, made me cry out for a moment, but then it subsided and I sank down willingly into his lap. His wonderful big cock was filling me up so well that it felt so good. I wanted this moment to last forever.

His hands left my breasts and I was about to protest, when they reappeared on my thighs and he started to lift me up slightly. It was enough to have him slide that wonderful cock out and then back in as he lowered me. It felt even better than before and I took my breasts in my own hands and arched my back from pleasure. We continued this pleasure ride for I don’t know how long, but it seemed like ages to me. Then Harvey sped up the motions and I knew that he was about to cum inside me. I wasn’t ready yet and tried to clamp down on his cock with my muscles. It did work as he grunted, “What are you doing? I was almost there.”

I bent down to his face and kissed him, “Not yet lover, we’re going to make this one count.” I lifted up from his cock and though it felt like a loss to me that his cock wasn’t filling me up anymore I was still high on arousal. “Are you willing to get me into the mood more?” I asked him.

He grinned, but didn’t say anything. He flipped me over on my back and started to go down with his head towards my pussy. Soon he was licking me with his tong and inserted a finger as well. It didn’t take me long to squeal from orgasmic bliss. The wave rolled through me and made me feel so very good. This was way better than pleasuring myself with a dildo, even if it was vibrating.

In my throws of the orgasm I didn’t even notice Harvey moving up again. But I did feel it when he plunged his thick wonderful cock back into my gushing snatch. Immediately I was stuffed again but I didn’t mind at all. I even welcomed it, it made me feel so wonderful full again. He started to slide in and out again, when his cock touched my clit and I exploded in orgasm again.

I was like quivering Jello beneath my lover and just underwent the fucking of my life as he rammed his cock home harder and faster till he tensed and grunted. I felt something splatter inside me and knew that he had cum. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, but I had a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something. Harvey fell down partially on top of me and cuddled with me as he pulled his deflating cock out of me. He mumbled something that I didn’t quite caught and then he fell asleep. I tried to stay awake, but fell into a slumber as well.

Waking up with something heavy on top of me, was unusual and for a moment I wondered what had happened. Then I remembered and smiled as I realized that my lover was still sleeping soundly. He even snored lightly and I quietly and gently tried to get out from under him.

As I slid from the bed I realized that my pussy was covered it dried jism and I smelled sweaty. Going around naked wasn’t my idea of fun, but I had no choice and after some tiptoeing around, I found the shower in Harvey’s home.

Waiting for the water to warm up, I suddenly startled from my pleasant memories and realized that I willingly had sex with a man. I had even loved it and instigated it mostly. I started shaking from realizing that I had been acting like a wanton slut and wanted to clean myself from the vile excretions of the man. ‘Not a man, his name is Harvey and he was gentle and loving and… Shit, now I´m thinking that he´s such a nice man and great lover. Oh no, I did it again, thinking that he´s a great lover. How am I ever going to live this down?´

Unwanted my mind started daydreaming of becoming his lover, wife and mother of his children. ´Oh shit, that´s what I forgot! He didn´t use any protection! What if I´m pregnant? I don’t want to be pregnant, I don’t even know if I can carry a baby inside me let alone take care of a child. Hell, I don’t know anything about babies. I only cared for some little children at the daycare. What am I going to do?’

Frantic now I stepped into the shower and scrubbed myself raw to get all the yucky stuff of me. I kept thinking horrid thoughts of being pregnant and ballooning my belly to a very large size. Then I started thinking about him in the next room. What if he wakes up and wants to do it again. I don’t want to do it again. ‘It was nice though making love with him.’ My thoughts kept going back and forth on how I hated having sex and how wonderful it had felt.

Finally I felt a bit clean and dried myself off. My skin was all red and rough from the furious scrubbing that I’d done and I didn’t have a stitch of clothing with me in the bathroom. ‘Oh no, I have to tiptoe naked through the house again to find my clothes. What if Harvey wakes up and sees me naked? What if there are other people living here?’ My mind started working overtime now and I was starting to get more and more into a panic.

I scrambled to the living room where I found my purse with clean panties inside. Quickly I donned it and found all my other clothes on the way back to the bedroom. My old panties were still soaked with dried pussy fluids and I found it disgusting. I threw it into the garbage and after getting fully dressed I quietly exited the house.

I took a cab back to my place and as soon as I was safely in my home, the shivering and shaking started. Soon I was crying full out and didn’t stop till I ran out of tears hours later.

As I picked myself up from the floor that I had been sitting on while crying, I noticed the time. I would never be ready in time for my shift, not with the red and puffy eyes I had now. Hastily I called Alesia and told her that I wasn’t feeling well. She asked me if I was all right or if I needed to go to a doctor. I declined her offer and told her that I just wasn’t feeling well in my stomach.

I made some soup for myself and climbed into bed where I curled up into fetal position and wept a little more till I fell asleep.

An insistent ringing of the doorbell woke me up and I chose to ignore it. However moments later I heard a key turning the lock, which made me get up in a hurry. ‘Who can this be? Is someone going to come in to steal whatever few things I have?’

I was frightened out of my wits as the door opened and sighed from relief as I recognized Alesia. ‘Of course she has a key, she’s the owner of the apartment.’

“Sabrina? How are you feeling? What is wrong? You look like a mess, have you been crying?”

I wilted under her barrage of questions. “I’m fine, I just don’t feel like going anywhere right now.”

“It’s because of the date with that young man isn’t it? Did he hurt you, or treat you badly? He came by the restaurant today asking for you. I told him that you’re home sick.” Alesia rambled on.

“Oh, it’s not him. It’s all my fault,” I quickly said to her. “He was wonderful and great and… and…” Suddenly I was a loss for words again.

“Then what is it? Please Sabrina, talk to me. You can tell me everything.”

I looked at her, “Why are you so nice to me all the time. I’m a stranger that came into your life a few months ago and you’re acting like you’re my mom or something.”

Alesia gave me a look with guilt written all over it, “You’re right, I kind of consider you like my daughter. She died when she was 2 years old. I always wanted to have a daughter to care for and nurture, but it wasn’t to be. Then you came along and in many ways you resemble her. I’m sorry that I substituted you for my daughter.”

I smiled a little, “That’s okay, but you could’ve told me earlier.”

“So, care to tell me why you feel so miserable?”

I told Alesia about my fears and thoughts and my fear of being pregnant. She was so understanding and helpful that I poured my heart out and finally felt like my normal self. Alesia had brought some food with her and I shared it with her. We agreed that I would return to work the next day and that we wouldn’t tell anyone about this.

I had a good working day the next day. The day after however, when I was clearing a table, I suddenly heard behind me, “Sabrina? Are you well again?”

I almost dropped the dinnerware again, as I recognized the voice of Harvey. I was conflicted in my emotions again as I didn’t know what to say or do. I really wanted to be with him, but I was also scared of repeating my performance from last time. At least I didn’t have the horny sex drive pushing me into his arms this time.

I turned around, “Hi Harvey, yes I’m fine now.”

“Was it something I did? I really hope not. In fact I want to ask you out again if you don’t mind.”

‘Oh shit, here we go again, should I accept? I mean I did like having sex with him. But I still feel upset about what I did. Not to mention that I might be pregnant. Should I tell him about my fears? Better not, a guy would drop a girl in a heartbeat if she was like that, right?’

“Sabrina? Are you sure you’re all right? It was something I did, wasn’t it.”

I couldn’t quite find the words, so I started stammering, “Uh, I.. uh I’m not sure. I mean…”

Harvey had a sad puppy look on his face, “You don’t like me, I get it. I’ll leave you alone then.”

Hurriedly I said, “No, no. That’s not it at all. I like you, it’s just that I’m not sure about myself at the moment. I’d like to go out with you again, but I have too much work today.”

Harvey smiled, “How about day after tomorrow then, we can go somewhere nice and just talk. That isn’t too much to ask is it?”

I agreed with him and like that I had set another date with Harvey. Alesia pulled me aside later and asked me if I knew what I was doing. I was really conflicted about the whole dating a man thing. But I assured her that I wasn’t going to let it make me into the mess I was before.

The day of our date I was walking to my work and there was a disturbance on the streets. I saw several police cars and ribbons cordoning off the entry to a house. I was curious and walked up to the ribbon where a few other were watching. A woman next to me said, “There was a shooting here, I heard it’s a real massacre in there.”

I didn’t know what to answer, so I kept quiet. I was just about to leave, when I saw Harvey coming out of the building. He was wearing a gold badge on his belt and looked straight at me as he walked down the stairs. He started to say, “Sabrina, hi. I can’t talk right now, but…”

I didn’t hear the rest of it as I turned and ran from the scene. I didn’t stop till I was at the restaurant. I tried not to show anything, but Alesia still noticed. I confessed to her that Harvey was a cop and that I ran away from him today. I really didn’t think I should go on a date with him that night.

Later that evening Harvey came in to eat dinner and I avoided him, asking a colleague to take over that table from me. I knew he would want to talk with me, but I really didn’t want to see him anymore.

After work he was waiting for me at the back door and started, “Sabrina? What is it? Why are you so erratic in your behavior with me? I don’t understand. Please come with me and we’ll have a quiet cup of coffee somewhere. I really want to talk this out with you.”

I was almost in tears, “I… I can’t. You’re a cop, why didn’t you tell me you are a cop.”

Harvey was really confused now. “Why does it matter what I do for a living?”

Tears were streaming from my eyes, “Because I’m a GenCon. I can’t be with you, ever.” With that I ran past him and left him standing there in confusion. I ran all the way home and cried my eyes out again. I had just told him the truth about me and now I was sure that he wouldn’t want anything to do with me. I was happy to end my budding relationship with a cop, but I was sad that I wouldn’t see that wonderful man anymore.

Harvey Kearns could only stand in the alley behind the restaurant and watch as the crying girl he liked ran away from him. ‘She is a GenCon? But she’s so much a regular girl. Oh, is that the reason she behaved like a sex starved girl last week? But she usually isn’t like that. I thought GenCons were all hookers or something like that.’

Harvey vowed to find out more about Sabrina’s past and why she was so at odds all the time.

Back at the station, he combed the records with a search query and soon found that Sabrina had been sold to a Mrs. Santone for a year’s service in Chicago. He knew that Mr. Santone was a big time gangster and that the woman herself was the daughter of an even bigger crime boss. It was suspect, but not unheard of.

Harvey knew that the records of GenCons were sealed, so that they could have a chance of a somewhat normal life after their punishment. It just meant that he had to use deeper and maybe illegal means of searching to find out more about her.

After gathering the records of all the men that were sentenced to one year of service after their conversion, Harvey discarded all records more than a month before and all after Sabrina had been sold. It left him with two possibilities. One man by the name of Bobby Lee Unger was sentenced to only one year for molesting an older woman. The other man by the name Alexander Tipton was sentenced for rape. He had pleaded guilty and got a reduced sentence because of it.

Harvey knew from observing Sabrina that she was a gentle kind girl and couldn’t picture her as someone who could have done either one of those crimes. He thought that Alex Tipton would be his best guess as the previous identity of Sabrina. He was going to confront her and ask her straight out if she had been Alex Tipton and why she had pleaded guilty. He just wanted to help her get over it and get a life back.

I hadn’t seen Harvey for a few days and hoped that he would leave me alone now. I was sure that he wouldn’t have anything to do with a former male turned female as punishment for a crime. After all I was a criminal and he was an officer of the law. Putting the whole situation behind me I continued doing my work as if nothing had happened. I should’ve known that my past life would come back to haunt me.

One evening I was working as usual when I saw Harvey enter. He looked around and when he saw me he started coming towards me. I panicked and ran into the kitchen and out the back door, straight into the arms of two very big men. They picked me up like a ragdoll and gagged me while carrying me to a waiting car.

Moments later I was gagged and bound and thrown into the back of a big SUV. As the car started going, I just managed to see Harvey get out the back door. He looked at the car, but probably didn’t see me. I wanted to shout or wave, but I couldn’t do anything. I was so wrapped up like a package that I could only lay still.

We drove all night and day long and late in the afternoon we arrived at our destination. I hadn’t been able to see where we had been going, so I was unpleasantly surprised to see that I was back in Chicago again. I was in the warehouse district, where I used to scrounge for metals in my previous life. The men simply carried me out of the car and into a small warehouse, where I wasn’t surprised to see Mr. Santone waiting for me.

“Welcome back Mr. Tipton. This time we’re not going to be interrupted by my wife or anyone else. I’m looking forward to do you before we make you disappear. It will be your last, you know.”

I shuddered as I realized he was going to rape me and then kill me. Frantically I looked around, but I couldn’t do anything. Not only was I still bound, but I was outnumbered and just a tiny girl in the presence of big beefy men that could break me in half without breaking a sweat.

Mr. Santone carried me to a sparsely decorated office where there was only a table, a chair and a worn-out sofa. He threw me on the sofa and took a knife from his pocket before slicing the ropes from me. He didn’t care that a few times he cut into my clothes and my skin, though I yelped from the pain. His smug expression told me that he even liked hurting me. I really thought that my time was up, I wasn’t going to get out of this.

He tore my waitress uniform from my body and slapped me around a bit. It wasn’t really necessary since I wasn’t resisting, but he did it anyway. The worst part was that I was getting closer to my normal cycle of being horny and felt my pussy getting moist. ‘I don’t want to be raped, but with my horniness I might even start to enjoy it.’ The fear of getting raped, both made me lose my horny feeling, as well as excite me. The emotions were conflicting inside me, and I didn’t know what I would do once he would start pounding his cock inside me.

Mr. Santone dropped his pants and said, “Don’t worry about not getting off. Once I’m done I’ll give you to my boys. They deserve a good fuck as well.”

He was about to grab me to get me into a good position for him to start fucking me, when there was a commotion at the entry to the warehouse. I think I heard a shot, and it distracted Mr. Santone. He looked back to where the sounds came from and I saw my opportunity. I swiftly kicked him where it hurts the most and while he sagged with a high squeal I got up. There was a dirty window to the outside and I managed to open it. It revealed a clear alley next to the building and I slipped through the opening dropping a good 7 feet to the ground.

I was still wearing my shoes, but nothing else. As naked as I was I ran away, expecting someone to come chasing me at any moment. I heard some more gunshots behind me and ducked, expecting them to shoot at me.

Other than getting winded from running at my top speed, I didn’t feel anything. Well, I did start to feel cold. I wasn’t wearing any clothes and it was getting chilly as the sun was setting. Besides they call it the windy city for a reason.

As I was running out of breath and feeling tired and hungry, I noticed the familiar surroundings. It wasn’t good however. I was near the homeless shelter and I clearly remembered telling Debra that it was dangerous there. It was also the place where she had been raped, which both saved my life and turned it upside down.

Looking for a place to hide, my eye fell on a familiar car parked in an alley, it was Debra’s car. ‘What is she doing here? I thought she would never go near here again. Can I even face her knowing that I have been sentenced for her rape?’

I felt the doors of her car, they were unlocked, well there wasn’t much to steal anyway. No one would want a crappy piece of car like this and there wasn’t anything valuable inside, except for me. There was a dirty blanket inside that I could use to cover myself and get a little warmer. As I took it and put it around myself, I heard a voice behind me, “If you asked, I would have given it to you. No need to steal it from my car.”

I turned around and looked Debra straight into her eyes. She still was a good looking woman even with everything that had happened to her. “Debra!” I exclaimed feeling elated and fearful at the same time.

Debra startled, “Do I know you Miss?”

“Of course you do, it’s me, Sabrina.” At her puzzled look I thought, ‘Shit I said my current name because I have been doing it for so long.’ Quickly I added, “I mean, it’s me, Alex.”

Now her eyes lit up, “Alex? Is that really you? Wait, is this some kind of trick? Are you putting me on?”

“Debra! It’s me. Didn’t you tell me that you would continue to be my friend and that I should look you up?”

Debra smiled, “Well, I did say that, but I didn’t mean in this condition. Look at you, a nice girl all dirty and stealing a blanket from my car.”

I looked down at myself, “I’m sorry for taking the blanket, but I’m naked under it.”

Debra went wide eyed and started fussing over me, “Oh dear, let’s go into the shelter and try to find you some clothes and food. Are you hungry?”

At my nodding she quickly took me into the building and sat me down in a corner. Soon I was eating some broth with bread, while Debra set of searching for clothes that would kind of fit me.

Just as she returned with clothing a group of three people, one woman and three men, entered the shelter looking around. They looked businesslike and marched straight for me as soon as they saw me. I got scared again, ‘His henchmen found me and I’m going to die. They’ll probably kill Debra and the others here as well, to leave no witnesses.’

As I was thinking it, I rose up from my seat ready to start running again. I wanted to warn Debra and the others too, but that would only get them to shoot me sooner I thought. The blanket caught on the chair I was sitting on and as I rose up it fell away from me, exposing me in my full naked glory to the public. The eyes of the men went wide open before they averted their gaze, which was good for me since it would give me time to slip away. The woman however quickened her pace towards me.

I got distracted from looking at her, when another person entered the shelter. My first glance made me flutter in my emotions between elation and fear. It was Harvey who had entered the shelter and he was looking at me standing naked in public!

The woman reached me and said, “I’m Detective Wells with the CPD, can you please put on some clothes? I’d hate to have you arrested for indecent exposure.”

Debra reached us and gave me some clothing. The three of us went into a room where I could get dressed.

Minutes later I was sitting down with the two police men, Detective Wells, Harvey and Debra. She wanted to be there for me, so they let her sit in. Detective Wells asked, “You’re Miss Sabrina Bishop, correct?”

At my nodding she continued, “On insistence of Detective Kearns here, we went to the Santone residence to ask if they knew your whereabouts. Mrs. Santone directed us to a warehouse, where we encountered armed resistance. We also found a torn waitress uniform with your nametag on it and an injured Mr. Santone. Apparently he had been kicked in the balls. He has been taken into custody and is awaiting charges after our investigation.”

I smiled slightly while blushing from embarrassment. Debra softly said, “Way to go girl.”

Harvey took over. “I found out who you were before your sentencing.” He looked around the table.

“You can say it, Debra knows about me.” I said softly.

“I never stopped believing in his innocence,” Debra added.

“Okay, I found your records that you were in service with the Santone family. That started ringing some bells as I know about them. From the accessible records I deduced that you had been one of two people and knowing your character, I decided that you had to have been Alexander Tipton. When you were kidnapped from the restaurant, I suspected that it was ordered by the Santone family, but I don’t know why. I suspect it has something to do with why you confessed to the rape of a woman named D. Tiessing.”

“That would be me, detective Kearns. I’m Debra Tiessing, I never believed that Alex had raped me. I was so disappointed that he confessed and didn’t want to tell me why he did. Alex always helped me and was there for me when I needed it.”

A tear escaped my left eye. “I had to confess to it. I’ll tell you why, because on that day after helping Debra with loading her car, I went to the docks to look for scrap metals. There I saw Mr. Santone do something to a man, he got turned into a woman and collapsed after the transformation. I overheard Mr. Santone say that he owned the police and that a dead male reporter would be investigated thoroughly, but a dead hooker wouldn’t.”

Detective Wells interrupted, “Why didn’t you tell that at hearing or trial?”

“I couldn’t say anything, I didn’t know who to trust, besides my attorney was someone that was probably paid by Santone. I didn’t want to become a woman, but I think it was and is better than the alternative of being dead. In some ways this life is better, since I have a nice job and…” I let my voice trail off while stealing a look at Harvey.

A few people were about to ask me more but I quickly continued, “Anyway, it turned out that Mr. Santone asked his wife to buy me specifically and near the end of my service confronted me that he knew who I had been, I don’t know how he knew. He was about to rape me there already, but his wife intervened and ended my service a few days early. I don’t know how, but he found me again, just as I was running away from Har… Detective Kearns. He was going to rape me, then give me to his goons and afterwards have me killed.”

Harvey said, “Are you going to testify to that? If you do, it will almost certainly mean a GenCon sentence for Santone.”

Detective Wells said before I could say anything, “It couldn’t happen to a more appropriate person. I’d be glad to see him off the streets.”

I giggled, “Maybe he’ll be even more on the streets turning tricks afterwards.”

That got a good laugh around the table. My statement was noted and I signed it before Harvey stood up and came to my side. I got up myself and looked up into his eyes. He said, “If I had known everything, I would have treated you a little differently. But I still would like to take you out. I love you Sabrina.”

For a moment I was a loss for words, then Debra nudged me, “Go on, kiss him. I know you got the hots for him.”

I was about to turn towards her and tell her what I thought of that, but Harvey bend down a little and kissed me tenderly on my lips. I eagerly responded and we stayed lip locked for what seemed like hours. My arousal spiked again since I was nearing my peak of being horny again and it took all my willpower not to grind myself against Harvey. I think he noticed, since he whispered, “I have a hotel room nearby, if you want we can go there.”

Moments later we had said goodbye to our company with the promise to see them all soon again. Harvey was leading me to his hotel room and I said to him, “You do know that I’m only doing this because of my spiking arousal, right?”

“Oh? So, you don’t like me at other times?” He mockingly asked me with a disappointed look.

With a grin I said, “I didn’t say that. Now, can we please hurry, I want you in me already.”

He hurried to open the hotel room and we stumbled in, with me holding him tightly. I never wanted to let him go again. He quickly undressed himself and removed my clean but old and worn clothes. I wanted him to throw me on the bed and ravage me, but he tenderly kissed me and lowered me slowly to the bed. His kisses changed from my lips to my breasts and downwards to my pussy, till I was all tingly and ready to receive him. As he went back up, I rolled him over and attacked him. I positioned myself on top of him and lowered myself eagerly on his hard cock.

Sinking willingly on his hard pole I felt wonderful full again and savored the feeling for a moment before moving up and down. He didn’t last long under my careful administrations and soon splattered his cum inside me. Feeling him cumming inside me triggered my orgasm that blasted through me in a crashing wave and I sighed from contentment.

As we basked in the afterglow of our love making, Harvey asked, “Why did you ran from me at my apartment and later in the restaurant?”

“I was afraid! Afraid that you wouldn’t want anything to do with a GenCon, once you knew what I was. Before that I was embarrassed and upset at what I had done in the heat of my horny mood. Not only that, but I was afraid that I might be pregnant. Oh shit we just fucked again without a condom!”

Harvey asked serious sounding now, “Why are you afraid of getting pregnant? I wouldn’t abandon you if you were.”

I bit my lower lip, “I don’t know if I have what it takes to carry a baby inside me for 9 months. Nor do I know how to care for a baby. I only had some experience with children at the daycare. What if I mess it up?”

“Every first time mother has those same fears and worries. You’ll know when it happens. I’ve never been a father before, but I’m not worried. We’ll do just fine.”

I looked at him, “Are you saying that you want me in your life?”

He just kissed me as an answer and I lost myself in his arms.

The next day Harvey was busy with the police business and I went to Debra to ask her if she wanted to go shopping with me. I still didn’t have clothes and needed it badly.

Later at the trial I found out that Santone had used a faulty transformation device from one of his companies. It did transform a male into a female, but the subjects would not survive the transformation. Now that the police knew what to look for they solved two open cases. The missing reporter case and the relatively unknown but registered hooker that they found dead on the streets. With my testimony and the other evidence, Santone and some of his men were quickly sentenced to Gender Conversion with several years of service.

Mrs. Santone saw me after the trial and apologized to me. I told her that it was okay and that I had no hard feelings towards her family. I said my goodbyes to her and to Debra, but promised to keep in touch.

Harvey took me back to Cedar Rapids, where I resumed my work with one change. Before starting, I showed Alesia the small but beautiful ring on my finger. She was so happy for me and wanted to host the wedding at her restaurant.

Magic exists!

Two boys borrow magic books from their mothers, who are witches.
Together with two friends they try to do magic with unexpected results.

Two lives will never be the same afterwards.
This is the start of a new story with multiple chapters.

Going Native
by Shrike.

Chapter 1. Something went wrong

“Hey Dean, are you there?” I whispered it quite loudly into the dark night. My best friend Phil and I were meeting up with Dean and Lenny at the shed where we held most of our get-togethers.

A voice that I recognized as Dean’s came back, “Yeah, that you T-man? Got Phil with you?”

I stepped forward with Phil in my wake, “Yeah we’re both here. Is Lenny there already?”

A nasal voice answered, “Yes I am. So did you get the book you said your Mom has?”

I stepped into the shed and the light with Phil right on my heels. Dean and Lenny already stood there waiting for us. Dean had a plastic bag with a book from his Mom with him, while I carried an old leather encased book that I had borrowed without permission from my Mom. A few days ago we had been talking amongst ourselves. Somehow it had slipped out that both Dean’s mom and my mom were witches who could do real magic. Phil and Lenny didn’t believe us and dared us to show them. They wanted a demonstration before believing that there is something like magic. So here all four of us were, with the books that hopefully would contain a spell that we could do and show them that Magic did really exist.

Lenny got impatient and said to Dean, “Quick let me see what is in there.”

Dean glared at him, “It’s my mom’s book, so I’ll read in it. I don’t want it damaged or anything. I’m in enough trouble as it is by borrowing it.”

Then he opened his mom’s book and started to read the various descriptions listed. I opened my Mom’s book and started doing the same while our two friends kept looking impatiently at us. I was reading something interesting when Dean closed his book rather loudly. “There isn’t anything interesting in this book.” He exclaimed. “Just some things about changing colors, repairing damage and other useless stuff. How about your book T?”

I looked up from my Mom’s magic book. “A bit more interesting I guess. There are some transformation spells in here.”

Phil perked up, “What kind of transformations?”

Slowly I answered him, “I read something about turning people into animals, ugly SOB’s, really good looking persons and maybe more interesting, changing boys into girls.”

Now Lenny was interested as well, “Did you say girls?”

I nodded, knowing why he was so interested all of a sudden. All four of us never had much luck with girls. But they really shunned Lenny. Dean snickered, “How about we turn you into a girl then, Lenny? You might understand why they are so mean to you all the time.”

Lenny snorted, “No way man, how about you being the girl for me? I would prefer that much better.”

I intervened to calm them down, like I usually did. “Stop it, you girls. You’re already fighting like them. Maybe we should turn the both of you into girls.”

Phil jumped in, “Why don’t we draw straws to see which two of us get turned into girls first.”

We all agreed with that, so moments later Phil had four straws in his hand giving each of us a chance to draw. First Lenny drew one. It turned out to be a long one. Then Dean drew a quite long straw. Phil looked at me, “Sorry man.” And he showed me that there were only two short straws left.

Silently I cursed inside myself. I wasn’t looking forward being turned into a girl, but we did have an agreement that first two of us would be transformed, and later the others. Dean and I examined the page with the spell carefully. There where several add-ons to the spell mentioned in the next pages and I said, “Guys, we need some input on how we are going to be looking as girls.”

Lenny started with a rude remark, “I want her to be really horny.”

Phil whacked him on the back of his head. “Dream on, fuck face, come up with something constructive or you get to take my place as a girl.”

Lenny scowled at Phil while rubbing the back of his head. Dean was already scribbling down something on a notepad though. He looked up to us, “Okay you guys, this is what we need to agree on. For the first girl, what should be her hair color, ethnicity, dimensions and such.”

Lenny couldn’t resist his usual rude comments, “I want her to be a blond Bimbo, with big titties”

Phil threatened to hit him again, “Stop it Lenny, and I mean it, or I’ll make you take my place for real.”

That shut him up real quick. Dean in the meantime was already writing something down again. I looked at the paper and he made a matrix of our names and possibilities. He just marked blond, Caucasian and voluptuous for Lenny. “Phil! What’re your preferences?” asked Dean.

Phil thought for a moment before saying, “I like blonds as well, but tone down on her breasts. I might be the one getting them. So I’d say a C-cup?”

Dean wrote it down and then asked me. I didn’t hesitate, “Brunette, with a bit of dark complexion. Italian or something, no wait, make that a Native American.”

After some arguing and compromising we agreed that one girl would be Caucasian and long blond hair. The other would be a Native American girl with long black hair. Both would have pert C-cup breasts and a figure that would make most girls envious. Dean had written the descriptions down on two pieces of paper and I translated it to a complete spell. I wrote that on the pieces of paper, so we could let fate decide who was going to be which.

We all hesitated at the point where Dean had put both pieces of paper in box. Phil always was the first to try something, so he reached in the box and pulled a piece of paper out. He read the spell out loud and then fell to his knees while grunting in pain.

He curled up into a fetal position, making it impossible for us to see what was happening to him. Well we did see that his hair lightened to honey blond and grew out a lot longer. He kept grunting though the sound began to sound daintier and higher. Then suddenly he, no make that she, stood up in her full stature. We all looked in wonder at the beautiful girl standing there in Phil’s ill fitting clothes. She looked back at us with a scowl, “What the hell are you looking at?,” Phil said in a high feminine sultry voice. We all looked at her with big eyes hearing her new voice. Even Phil put her dainty hand in front of her lovely face. “What the hell,” she started.

Dean found his voice first. “You sound as lovely as you look, Phil.”

Phil just stared at us with open mouth. Then she closed it but looked down her T-shirt into her cleavage. “Oh my god, I really am a girl now.” Her voice was really melodious now.

Lenny was getting impatient, “Now it’s your turn, T. Go and change as well for us.”

I hesitated, I didn’t want to turn into a girl, and though Native Americans were a favorite of mine I definitely didn’t look forward into becoming one myself as a girl. But we had made a pact, so I took the paper from the box and read the spell out loud.

Just as I said the last syllable, I felt a gut wrenching pain inside me. I fell to my knees in pain and curled up in a fetal position. My skin felt itchy and it felt like tiny feet crawled all over it. My insides were burning and I nearly passed out. Then suddenly I felt fine again. I got back to my feet and was shocked by the long black hair falling in front of my face. I stood up tall and looked at my friends gaping at me. “What are you gawking at?”

I nearly fell down in shock as I heard my new voice for the first time. I sounded like a really sexy girl. I looked down at myself and though I expected it, I still was shocked by the sight of breasts on my chest. They didn’t look like C-cups to me. They looked a whole lot bigger than that. Then again, I’d never thought I’d see breasts from this view. As I was inspecting myself, Dean and Lenny moved closer to us new girls. Dean asked, “So what does it feel like being a girl?”

I snapped out of the strange feelings I had, and indignantly told him, “Why don’t you try it out for yourself. Then you don’t have to ask me.”

He put his hands up defensively, “Hey, I was just a bit curious. And don’t worry, we agreed that we would take our turn.”

I realized that I reacted a bit harsh and hastily, “Okay, I do have to admit it feels a bit strange. How about you Phil?” I looked at my similarly transformed buddy.

She nodded and then snapped at Lenny, “Hey keep your hands away, buster.” I guessed that he was touching her.

Lenny responded defensively, “I didn’t do nothing. And why are you all ‘only look, no touching’ subject, I thought we were going to do something. Like, we all haven’t scored with a girl. This might be our chance. Once we have experience we won’t be so shy around other girls anymore. Right?”

I had my own thoughts about that, as did Phil, I reckoned. But Dean joined Lenny in his standpoint. “I think we should get some experience. I mean, if you do it for us, we’ll do it for you later. Ain’t that right Lenny?”

Lenny was thinking hard about that, as he didn’t want to lose his only chance at having sex with such a beautiful girl, I guessed. So he eagerly acknowledged it. I went closer to Phil and whispered, “What do you think Phil? Should we let them do it? I mean I would like to do them later, but if we don’t do it with them now, we might never get a chance, ever.”

Phil whispered back, “Well, I would rather not do it as a girl, but I’m also a bit curious as to what it would feel like as a girl.”

I looked at my best buddy, who now looked like a hot girl. Well, so did I for that matter. “Are you serious Phil?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it yet. I know you’re just as curious as me,” Phil whispered back at me, sounding indignantly.

Well I had to admit, I was a bit curious how girls felt being excited and such. Still, having sex as one with one of my friends? I had my objections. They were quickly quenched though when we gave our okay to the boys. But we also warned them, “No weird stuff, No blowjobs or back doors and wear a rubber.”

We all stripped out of our clothes and soon we were all kissing and fondling. I was kissing Dean and he wasn’t bad at it. Though I was a bit hesitant kissing a boy, ‘I’m not a queer, why am I kissing a boy?’ But my body was definitely female at the moment and it won out over my objections. Dean stopped kissing me on the mouth and his face went southwards. He kissed my breasts alternately, making me gasp with rapture. I had never thought that a woman’s breast could be so sensitive. He really made me hot and wanted. As he fumbled with the condom I wished he would hurry up and put it on, so we he could enter me with his weapon. As I thought this I caught myself at it. ‘What the hell am I thinking? I’m not a nymphomaniac am I?’ But then I realized that I was a horny girl at the moment. I looked to right at my friend Phil. She was already further along rutting happily with Lenny and obviously enjoying it.

Then the time for reflections were over, as Dean had finished putting on the condom. He kissed my breasts again and at the same time started to put a finger into my snatch. It was already moist, and the administrations made me even wetter. He pushed me down onto the couch and started to get ready to insert his cock into me. He’d stopped kissing me, but nibbled at my neck instead, increasing my pleasure immensely. I never thought that it would be so erotic for a girl. I would have to remember that.

Then he thrust forward with his hips and I felt something tear inside me with a sharp pain. I gasped from the feeling, and Dean frowned. He halted his motion, but I pulled him closer. The feeling of him inside me was better then the pain I felt. And even that was subsiding, so I whispered into his ear, “Don’t stop now, or you’ll be very sorry.” Dean smiled and continued to piston slowly at first into me. He sped up his motions and at the same time biting an earlobe of mine. I gasped again, but this time from pleasure. ‘I definitely need to remember that sensitive spot.’ I thought.

It wasn’t long before a first wave of pleasure washed over me. But Dean wasn’t done yet, and soon another wave of intense pleasure followed the first one. I even had a third orgasm before Dean filled the condom with his seed, and pulled out. I was a little disappointed at that, I could’ve gone on for some time, but I guess he was spent. As I came down from my high, it just dawned on me what I had done. I had sex as a girl with Dean and I liked it. I liked it so much that I wanted more and more.

Now that I was coming more to my senses, I was appalled at what I had done. I grabbed some of my clothes to cover myself somewhat. As I did that I glanced over at Phil, she had done the same and looked at me with a bewildered look. I guess she had the same thoughts I did and was embarrassed at what she had done. I nodded at her and picked up the book I had ‘borrowed’ from my mom. I read the counter spell for us and read it out loud. I was expecting the gut wrenching feeling again, but to my surprise nothing happened.

I wrote everything down on a piece of paper, making sure I had the correct spell and double checked it. I then gave it to Phil, who spoke it out loud, and again nothing happened. Now I was getting worried. ‘What the hell is going on, why can’t we change back? Did I make a mistake? No I checked it several times.’ I called Dean over and he checked it with me. It should work, but we still stayed in our girl bodies.

Lenny said sounding scared, “Why don’t you turn back? No way that I want to try that spell if you can’t turn back.”

Phil exclaimed in her high melodious voice, “Shut up, you wimp.” And she slapped his face. Lenny was about to stand up to her, when Dean told him to calm down. We looked in both the books that we had for a while longer, but nothing else but the failing spell was mentioned. I feared the worst now, as did Phil I guessed by the looks on her pretty face. Dean closed the book from his mom loudly, “I think it would be best if I went home and get another book, maybe there is a spell there that will change you two back. Now stay put and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

We didn’t have much of a choice, so I nodded. “But please hurry back, it’s getting late and I don’t want to be here all night.”

Phil supported me, “Please get back here soon. I don’t really want to stay like this. And I don’t want to walk home like this either. My parents wouldn’t even recognize me. They’d have me committed.”

Dean assured us that he would be back as fast as he could. Lenny told us the same, though he didn’t have a mom that did magic. I had a feeling he just wanted to go home and leave us here. I didn’t say anything about my suspicions though. They left, leaving us new girls naked in he shed. I felt a bit chilly, so I put on my clothes though they really didn’t fit me anymore. Phil watched me and then put on her clothes as well. We talked about a lot of things while waiting, but avoided talking about the sex or why we couldn’t change back.

Several hours later I was getting antsy, “They are sure taking their time, don’t you think so Phil?”

“Yes, I wish Dean would hurry up. He can even leave Lenny at home. I just want to get back to normal. I am regretting that we did this. I wish I had never heard that your mom can do magic. No offense T.”

“None taken Phil,” I said with trepidation creeping into my voice. I had noticed that my voice was now really good sounding. I wouldn’t mind dating a girl that looked and sounded like me. I just didn’t want to be a girl anymore. I also had enough of waiting. “Phil? I don’t want to wait here anymore. Maybe something happened to them. Let’s go out and look for them.”

Phil looked anxious, “But what if we miss them, and they come here while we are gone?”

“We’ll have to take that chance. What if they aren’t able to get back here? They might have been caught by their parents.”

Phil shivered, “Don’t talk to me about parents T. I have no idea what I’d do if we can’t turn back. I could never face them looking like this.”

“Well we can’t stay here for ever as well. Let’s go out and see if Dean is still at home or not. I don’t want to risk going home to my mother as well. She warned me not to do any magic.” I picked up Mom’s book and took Phil’s arm to pull her out of the shed. Together we started walking towards town.

Janice Eaton, Theo’s mom

Janice was getting worried, her son usually wasn’t this late getting home. Even if he forgot the time being with his friends, he always was home well before midnight. Now it was already past midnight and he still hadn’t shown up. Although it was very late, she decided to call the parents of his friends. First she called Mallory Lateson, a fellow witch, who was a single mom as well, with her son Dean. “Hi Mallory, this is Janice. I know it is late, but My son Theo isn’t home yet. I thought maybe he was with Dean?”

Mallory answered, “Dean is home already. He had been with Theo and friends. He wanted to go out again, but I grounded him for a month. I caught him with one of my special books.”

Janice knew that she meant a magic spell book, so didn’t ask any further. Instead she got an idea of what might have been the case. She called the Mendelson’s next and heard that Philip, their son hadn’t shown up at home too. Now she got really worried, she went down to her basement where she practiced most of her magic and looked in her bookcase. Immediately she noticed a book missing and feared the worst. From another book she picked out a locator spell and read it out loud.

She should get a sense of where Theo is located anywhere in the world, but got nothing. Mumbling in herself, “Now that is odd, this should have worked even when Theo is dead somewhere.” She knows that the spell can be blocked, but only with a powerful spell that would have been detected if it were in place.

Frantically she searched the book for something else she could use, and found a spell that allows the spell caster to send a message to the recipient. To direct it well, it comes with additions for a family member, distant or close, ascendants or descendants and more. She chose the direct all descendant family members part, since Theo was her only son. She cast the spell and spoke out loud a powerful and loud message.

T and Phil on the street

Walking with Phil on the back streets filled me a bit with fear as I was constantly reminded that I was a girl now. I never knew that girls are always fearful of getting mauled or raped or worse. We already had to fight off a drunk bastard, and weren’t looking forward to more encounters. Then as I looked around a corner to see if the path was clear, a loud voice, that I instantly recognized, sounded inside my head. “Theo, call me now if you’re able, or I will have to take more drastic measures!”

I grasped my head with both hands and even dropped the book from my mom. Phil asked worried, “T-man, what’s happening? Are you sick or something?”

I looked at Phil, “Or something. I have to make a phone call.”

“What? Now? Whom do you want to call, sounding like a sexy girl to boot.”

I hadn’t thought of that even. Still, I dreaded the drastic measures more. “I have to, my mom called me magically. If I don’t call her, she’ll take drastic measures and you don’t even want to think what that may be.”

Phil shuddered, I wondered what he was thinking about. I looked around and found a pay phone close by. Quickly I dialed home. It rang only once before it was answered, “Theo!”

I desperately tried to lower my voice and put in some coarseness into it. “Yeah, mom.”

“You come home this instant, or there will be dire consequences, young man. Why does your voice sound so strange? What have you been up to?”

“I’ll tell all when I get home, Mom.” I said with a quivering and in my ears too high sounding voice.

“See that you do. Is Philip with you? Bring him along as well. I’ll tell his parents that he is staying with us tonight.” Then the line went dead with a sharp dry click.

“We are going to my home. My mom will tell your parents that you’re staying with us.” I told Phil.

“Oh man, I’m so dead,” complained Phil in her sultry high voice.

Dryly I replied, “You might be. In fact, my mom may kill us both.”

It only drove Phil to even more agitation and fear. I thought Mom wouldn’t really kill us, but if she couldn’t find a way to change us back, then she might make us legally dead. I kept quiet however towards Phil.

It took us quite a while to reach my house, we had to travel through the backstreets and keep out of sight. We were both very afraid of getting mugged or hassled.

Finally we arrived at the back door and stepped into the kitchen. I tried to be as quiet as I could, because I was afraid of what Mom would say and do. We must have made some noise, because we barely got in as my Mom called from the living room, “Is that you Theo?”

I hesitantly stepped forward into the light of the living room and said with a wavering voice, “Hi Mom, something went wrong today.”

Mom looked at me, frozen at the sight, before the expression on her face turned to a sort of angry scowl, “So, you’ve been experimenting with magic.”

I looked down at the ground and started crying. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it. Must be the female hormones I read about. I guess Mom felt sorry for me, because she came over and started comforting me. “Now, come on girl. It’s not the end of the world. You look beautiful.”

“But I’m a girl now, Mom! We tried to change back, but it didn’t work.” I looked up into Mom’s eyes through my tears.

Mom pushed me a bit backwards, “Did you say ‘WE’ tried to change back?”

Phil stepped from the shadows of the kitchen into the light and said with tears in her eyes, “Hello Mrs. Eaton. I didn’t believe magic really existed till today. Now, I’ve seen what it can do and I wish that it hadn’t happened. Or even that magic is real.”

Mom looked at Phil and then back at me. “Well, first you two are taking a shower, while I scrounge up some decent clothes for you both to wear. Now, don’t take too long and shower only, no experimenting in the shower. I know how it feels in there, so I’m warning you.”

We were too afraid of my Mom to argue and just did as she told. I was happy to wash the dried stuff from my body. I even wanted to wash the whole having sex away from my body, but I realized that no matter how hard I tried, it would only make me rub my skin raw. I did however find out what Mom meant about how it feels in the shower. I never thought that taking a shower was feeling so wonderful in a girl’s body. I mean my skin was a lot more sensitive and when I felt the water hit my breasts they started tingling. I whispered, “Oh, wow. I should do this more often.” Phil heard me and asked, “What did you say?”

I got out of the shower and told her, “You need to experience it for yourself. Just hurry up and then tell me what you think.”

I dried off, though it was different from my normal routine. Usually I would rub myself dry fast and quick. Now, I had to pat it dry, rubbing it was too rough on my sensitive skin. Just as I put my long hair into the towel, Mom stepped into the bathroom. “That’s quite good, but here, let me help you dry that long beautiful hair. I guess you didn’t use conditioner on it?” At my confirmation on that, she said, “Well, you need to use a lot more shampoo, and afterwards conditioner to keep that hair looking good.”

As we stood there, we heard Phil cooing in rapture. Mom sharply said, “Hurry up in there. I know it feels good, but we have other things to do.”

I heard Phil moan in disappointment, but she shut the shower off and stepped out to dry off. Mom helped me dry my hair with a blow dryer and then helped Phil with hers. I tried on the panties that Mom had given me and they fit perfectly. Well, Mom isn’t a witch for nothing, I knew she would have magically made these to fit my new form. I didn’t particularly liked the feel of the soft feel of women’s underwear, but I could get used to it. I just hoped it wouldn’t be necessary to get used to it. After donning the panties, I found the bra Mom put there. The color matched the panties, so I guess it was a matching set. After some tries I finally found a way to put it on, and of course, it fit perfectly as well. it was supportive and not too constrictive on my breasts. ‘Gee, my breasts. I hope I don’t have to say that again in the future.’ I really didn’t look forward being a girl for a long period, let alone forever.

After Phil was dressed in her unmentionables, we were taken to my bedroom. On the bed were some clothes, Mom had picked them out from her own wardrobe and had them resized to our physiques. I wasn’t that much different from Mom, who still has a great figure at her age. But our sizes weren’t the same. Phil staggered as she saw what was laid out on the bed. “I’m not wearing a skirt,” she said.

It hadn’t even occurred to me that Mom wanted us to wear a skirt. It wasn’t my choice of clothing either, so I sort of whined, “Mom, do I have to…”

Mom interrupted, “Yes you have to. I want you both to be dressed as proper girls and you’ll both wear the turtle neck and the skirt. Now, hurry up and get dressed, so I can see what happened and what I can do about it.”

That shut us up well enough. We both wanted to get back to our own selves. So, we just put up with it and hoped it wouldn’t be for much longer. I had seen Mom put on a skirt before, so it wasn’t too big a challenge for me to do it. Phil had a bit more trouble with it and asked me to help her. After she had her skirt on, she twirled around and said, “This looks really good on me. And that skirt looks really good on you.” Then she slapped her hand on her mouth. “What did I just say? Oh my god, I’m reacting like a girl now.”

“Yeah, I noticed. You know what is troubling me even more? I’m standing here in my bedroom with a beautiful girl and all I can think off is, ‘I would look great in that skirt as well and feeling a bit envious at your good looks. Shouldn’t we be horny as hell and thinking about getting that girl into bed? I think our thought patterns have switched to female ones. I don’t know how you think about that, but it is really upsetting me.”

Phil thought about it for a second, before agreeing with me. I decided not to dwell on it for now, but made a note to talk about it to my Mom later. We exited my bedroom and joined Mom in the kitchen where she was waiting for us with some sandwiches. We sat down hastily, which got us a scowl on Mom’s face. Before we could get a sandwich, she scolded us. “You don’t plop down like that on a chair. You need to straighten your skirt out before sitting down and don’t dump your ass like a bag of potatoes, but sit down like you’re going to sit on eggs.”

She made us get up again and do it like she said we should. I grumbled under my breath, “What’s the use, I hope not to be a girl for much longer. Why would I need to know how a girl sits down?”

Mom looked at me, like she had heard me mutter. She didn’t say anything though. Instead she pushed the plate with food towards us both. I was ravenous and I guess Phil was too, since we both tore into a sandwich. Mom didn’t say anything about our eating, but I took a quick peek at her and she was shaking her head in a disapproving manner. ‘What did we do wrong now? Why can’t she give us a break? We’re having enough problems as it is.’

We polished the sandwiches of fairly quickly and drank the juice Mom had put in front of us. Then she took us both into the basement, into the room that I wasn’t supposed to ever get in. Well, I already had broken that rule, since I had borrowed the book which was now being carried back into the basement room by Mom. I had expected to get much more grief from breaking the rule and borrowing the book without her permission. Maybe she was saving it up for later. I didn’t really now.

Mom told us where to stand and to stand there silently and without moving too much. She took out some piece of wood and a book I hadn’t seen before. After reading a spell, she muttered something and then waved the piece of wood in front of us. After waving the piece of wood, she looked something up in the book before asking us, “Did you have sex after the transformation?”

I felt my head burning in what I thought was fire engine red, and I saw Phil blushing furiously as well. I admitted hesitantly, “Uhm, yes? I mean we were a bit curious and they promised to do the same for us later, only we couldn’t change back and then they went home and never came back.”

Mom snorted, “Let me guess, Dean and Lenny. Well, Dean got caught by his mother. He’ll be punished for his part in this. Now, I have found why you can’t change back. The act of sexual intercourse sealed your transformation. You are now permanently females. There is not anything that I, nor any other witch can do to change you back to your previous male lives.”

I was stunned and totally speechless at my Mom’s words. ‘I’m a girl forever? I can never go back? Oh shit, what now? I’m so fucked.’ The irony of what I had thought even escaped me. I literally was fucked. Dean fucked me into this new fucked up life. I could cry, in fact I would have started if Phil hadn’t already started bawling. I went over to her and tried to get her to stop. It did go down to some sniffling after a few minutes and she sniffed, “What am I going to do now? My parent don’t believe in magic. I can’t go home like this. They’ll lock me in a nuthouse. What about my life and school and … and…”

Mom interrupted her sniffled ravings, “Hush now. We will find a way to get through this. In fact we have two options, Philip Mendelson has disappeared. Now, we can tell your parents what happened and they can accept you as a foster daughter or a cousin. Or you can be adopted into a new family, and your family will always wonder what happened to you and never have any peace with your fate.”

Phil looked at Mom with fear and being lost in her gaze. I asked Mom, “What did you mean with a foster daughter or a cousin?”

“I can't change birth records without serious difficulty. With the computers today it is very easy to overlook something. That is why Theo Eaton will be presumed dead or missing and a cousin, Teani EagleEye will be living with me soon.” Mom explained.

I felt upset at her words and complained, “What? Are you calling me Teani EagleEye now? What gives you the right? Don’t I have a say in this?”

Mom started in a low threatening voice, which was never a good sign, “I’m still your mother, I named you once before, I can do it again. Have you looked into a mirror lately? You’re a Native American now and you need a female first name. So I’m naming you Teani. Do you have any problems with that?”

I backed down, “Not really, whatever you say, Mom.”

Phil tried to switch us back her interested topic of conversation, “So, what do you recommend we do, Mrs. Eaton. I’d like to be with my family again if possible.”

Mom relaxed a bit, “Well, I don’t want to hurt your parents, so I’ll call them here and have a talk with them. Depending on how the conversation goes I’ll explain things to them or fuddle their minds that they won’t recall the conversation has ever taken place. If you can’t live with your parents anymore, we can see about other arrangements. If necessary, you could even live here with Teani and me.”

I was about to get all riled up again hearing my new name, but one look from Mom made me cringe and back down again. She called the Mendelson’s and asked them to come over. They arrived fairly soon and asked in wonder if there was something wrong with their son. Mom had called them earlier that Phil would spend the night at our house. Mom had them sit down while Phil and I hid in the kitchen.

Mom asked, “Do you want something to drink before I tell you what is on my mind?” Both Phil’s Mom and Dad declined. “Okay, well, Philip isn’t hurt or anything, but something did happen to him.”

Phil’s Mom Chelsea, asked, “What is wrong with him. Can it be cured? He is our only child, you know.”

Mom eased her worries. “Philip is fine, just a bit not himself.”

“Yeah, right.” I muttered quietly. “He just crossed over to the other side of the gender fence.”

“Ssshh, quiet.” Said Phil.

Mom continued meanwhile, “Do you believe in magic?”

Phil’s Dad Barney, said with a frown, “You mean a magician doing his tricks? Or …”

Mom finished his sentence, “Or real magic as in sorcery, like you see in movies and such. I mean the second kind, real magic.”

Both Phil’s parents shook their heads. Then Chelsey thought of something, “You mean someone put a curse on my son? What happened?”

“No one put a curse on Philip. But before I come to him, let me explain something. Magic is real. Not many people know about it, even less know how to do it. Those that do know how to perform real magic use it sparingly and with great caution. This is because the amount of magic or essence is not that abundant, and the other point is that like in science, each action has a reaction. It is difficult to control everything doing magic.”

Barney slowly nodded, “I understand, now what does that have to do with Philip?”

Mom smiled, “I’m getting to that. You see, Theo, Phil, Dean and Lenny got hold of some books with real magic spells in them. They tried to do magic and something went wrong. My son Theo and Philip will have to deal with the consequences of that. All of them will be punished severely, I think and hope.”

Chelsey asked with a broken up voice, “What are the consequences? Philip is all right isn’t he?”

Mom didn’t answer her directly, but said, “Philip? Could you come in here please?”

Phil looked at me, “I can’t show myself to my parents like this? Please help me out T. I don’t want to face Mom and Dad like this.”

I used a dirty trick I once saw on TV and managed to shove Phil into the living room. She took a few steps as not to fall and ended up near Mom sitting in the chair, facing her parents.

“Uhm, hi Mom, Dad. I guess I changed a bit in appearance,” Phil managed to get out of her mouth.

I looked at Phil’s parents and saw that they were stunned seeing the beautiful girl standing in front of them, telling them that she had been their son. Then her mom looked like she was about to faint, while her dad half got up from the sofa and was about ready to kill someone. I hope he wouldn’t go after me. After all I was to blame for half of it. Barney growled, “Who is responsible for this?”

“Everyone is responsible,” replied Mom. “Not only the boys, but also the witches that the boys borrowed the books from.”

Fortunately Phil’s parents didn’t ask who the witches were. Chelsey asked instead, “What should we do now? I mean we can’t very well just exchange our son Philip for a girl and pretend she is our daughter, can we?”

“No, of course not. You will have to tell people that Philip went to live with relatives or that he went missing, maybe, is even dead. Then about a week later a cousin or foster daughter can come live with you.”

Barney said, “Well, that could work. I’ll see what we decide on that. I guess that Philip isn’t coming home with us then.”

Phil shook her pretty head making her hair fly all around her. “I’m staying with Teani for a while, till it’s safe to come home. And Dad, I’m not Philip anymore. Can I be called Philippa now?”

Chelsey hugged her new daughter, “Of course you can, Philippa. I’m just happy that you’re all right.”

Barney however picked up on what she said. “Who is Teani? Is she one of the witches?”

I stepped out from the kitchen, “I’m Teani now. I used to be Theo. I’m now a girl as well as you can see.”

Both Phil’s parents looked at me, stunned. Then they understood. Barney had one last question for Mom, “What if we hadn’t been so understanding about magic and didn’t accept what happened to our boys, girls, whatever?”

Mom smiled a little, “I would have made sure that you wouldn’t recall much of our conversation and it would seem to you that both Philip and Theo had gone missing. Then Philippa would have been adopted by either me or another family.”

Maybe I was the only one realizing that Mom just admitted to them that she was one of the witches, but Phil’s parents didn’t seem to get it. They just thought it over and were glad that they could keep their only child in their midst. Soon after the Mendelson’s said goodbye to their new daughter and left.

Mom made us prepare the guest room for Phil, so we got busy doing that...Phillipa was a bit lost doing a chore like that. She never had to make her bed at home. Mom had drilled me to do it all the time, so I was already an expert in it. I told Phil, “Take notes, I’m sure your mom will expect you to make your own bed soon as well.”

She looked questioningly at me, “Why would Mom expect me to make my bed? She never bothered to teach me before.”

“Because you’re a girl now, dummy. Girls always make their own beds. Or do you expect to marry a rich guy and have maids doing it for you?” I emphasized her new role in life.

Phil looked stricken, “I hadn’t thought of that. I’m not even ready for being a girl, how can you think about boys or guys, let alone marriage. I don’t think I will do that, ever!”

I snorted, “If you had paid attention to your feelings, you’d notice that you are not getting worked up anymore around naked women. Like I said before in my bedroom, our thought patterns have changed or are changing to female. Which means that we would be looking at, dating and even sleeping with guys within a few years.”

Phil shuddered at that prospect, and though I knew it was inevitable, I didn’t like the prospect either. Mom interrupted our talk, “Finished making the bed? Come with me to the bathroom. I’ve got some more explaining and instructions for you both.”

In wonder we followed Mom to the bathroom. She showed us what it meant being females during certain times of the month. Phil and I were grossed out, but we paid attention. We both knew that it would be inevitable to need the lessons.

Brushing my teeth afterward was a new experience as well. Gone were my teeth as I knew it. I’d had one bad tooth that I always paid extra attention to, but now my teeth were perfect. Pearly white and straight everywhere. It was like looking at a commercial for toothpaste.

As I got ready for bed, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I had a sort of tan color everywhere, and I looked stunningly beautiful. I would have liked to date such a girl, but would have been afraid of approaching such a killer beauty. Someone like that wouldn’t give the old me even a once over look. She would have guys fawning all over her all the time. But she was me, I was that girl. I could be a supermodel if I wanted to. ‘Do I want to be a supermodel? It isn’t a question anymore if I want to be a girl. That much is for certain now. I really need to learn how to be and act like a pretty girl. I wish I never took that book from Mom.’

Mom interrupted me, “I already put Philippa to sleep. Do you want to wear a nightgown or PJ’s?”

I thought about it, ‘Mom would have changed my PJ’s to my new body I guess. So I could wear them. However I might have to get used to gowns, maybe I should try it tonight.’ “Maybe I should try a nightgown?”

Mom smiled, “Excellent idea. Here is a nice sheer blue one. Go on and try it on.”

As I put on the flimsy material, Mom sat down on the chair in front of my computer. She motioned for me to sit on the bed and started, “We need to have a talk. I warned you several times not to go into my basement. Not only did you do that, but you also borrowed a book from me. These are severe transgressions on your part in our agreement. You’ll have to face the consequences of your actions. For starters, you’re grounded for at least a month, maybe longer.”

I whined, ‘Gee, I never whined before.’ “Mooom, I know I shouldn’t have done it. But I’m already paying the consequences. I’m a girl now, and I will be forever more. That should count for something? Shouldn’t it?”

Mom smiled evilly at me, “Not by a long shot. You may even be liking it, a lot!”

“Mooom, I really don’t think that I will. What about Dean and Lenny? Phil and I are already paying for it, we got our lives turned inside out. They just had their fun with us and split when it went south.”

“Good point, daughter,” Mom drove the point of my new gender home. “We’ll make a plan soon to punish those two as well. Now, get some sleep. It’s late and I need to think of where to send you two tomorrow.”

“Send us? What do you mean?” I asked.

“Both of you can’t stay here. In fact it’s better that you’re not even seen here, till you both are officially missing. We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Goodnight darling daughter.”

I really hated her saying that to me. But I couldn’t very well argue with her on it. Mom closed the door and I tried to sleep. I kept tossing and turning all the time though. The feelings from my altered body didn’t help. It was even making me feel weirder and out of sorts. My breasts were getting in the way lying down and as I lay in bed, the void between my legs drove the point of my view of life home. On top of everything else, my long shiny hair started to bother me in bed. It was in my face all the time and a lot of times it ended up under me, and it hurt to move my head till I lifted my body a bit to free the hair under me. It was so annoying that I got out of bed and went to my desk where I had left a pair of scissors. Standing in front of the mirror, which was illuminated enough by the moonlight that I could see myself well enough, I put the scissor to my hair well above my shoulder. For a moment I halted thinking, ‘If I cut it off, it will be a long time for it grows back to this length. The long hair does look nice on me. Shit, I shouldn’t be thinking like that. Off with it!’ With that I quickly cut the lengths of hair that hung almost down to my ass, from my head, till I had only a rough crew cut left. It didn’t look good, but I didn’t care that much. I would sort that out in the morning with Mom. I climbed back into bed and finally managed to fall asleep.

‘Boring!’ The voice of the history teacher was putting me to sleep. It was such a soft and comforting voice that it alone might put many people to sleep. And the topic he was rambling about, medieval Europe, made us even sleepier.

I perked up as the intercom started its announcement tone. “Walter Hartman to the Principal’s office, Walter Hartman to the Principal’s office.”

I groaned, ‘Damn I hate my name, why couldn’t they have given me a cool name like my big brother Mack or even like my kid brother Remo. But nooo, I had to be named after a grandfather I never even knew.’

Slowly I got up, with the teacher’s eye urging me to hurry up so he could continue torturing the rest of the class. I was relieved to be out of that classroom, but why was I called to the Principal’s office? All day long some students were called there and I’d hung out with most of them at one time or another.

I got to the office and the secretary opened the door for me before motioning me to get in right away. ‘That isn’t encouraging.’

Two men in suits were with Principal Lassiter. He introduced them as Detectives Meshinger and Davies. As soon as I was seated, they sat in front of me. One of them asked, “Mr. Hartman, What do you know about Marjorie Wise?”

I scowled, she was a girl that had turned into a badger hybrid a few weeks ago. I’d stayed away from her since it happened. it was too bad though, she had been a nice girl. While I was thinking I saw them eyeballing me as if they could pierce my thoughts. Coolly I said, “Sure, I knew her. She changed into an animal. What of it?”

Detective Meshinger rose a little, like he was going to do something to me. But his partner stopped him. Instead, Detective Meshinger growled, “She got raped, beaten almost to death and left out in the snow to die. That’s what!”

I squinted at the detectives, I had heard something about an attack on someone. But I didn’t know who or what. Instead I asked, “So?”

The detective Davies leaned over towards me, “So, talk to me boy. You and your friends tore her clothes off, tied her up, raped her and then left her to die.”

Hot tempered I responded, “I didn’t have anything to do with that.” And I meant it. I mean, I might tear her clothes off, I might even beat her, but not rape. And most certainly I wouldn’t leave her to die. Hey, I may be a bad boy and cruel, but even I have my limits.

Meshinger asked, “Any way to prove that Walter?” he said my name like an insult.

I calmed myself and coldly said, “This happened yesterday, right?” As they nodded, I continued, “Well yesterday I was in detention for making trouble in Ms. Porris’s class. You can check that.”

Detective Davies said, “We will, but we are talking to you now. So if you didn’t do it, how about your friends? Know anyone who would do such a thing? Would you do such a thing? Hmm?”

‘Actually I might help in some parts, but I wasn’t going to tell them. And I knew some guys that probably might do it.’ “Sorry haven’t got a clue. Besides, even if I did know, what kind of a friend would I be if I ratted on them?”

Detective Meshinger blew again, “A law abiding citizen, not a lowlife piece of scum that almost killed a young girl that just happened to have bad luck.”

My temper flared as well, “Bad luck? Getting MORFS is not bad luck. It’s punishment for the people who are bad. They should throw them out of this country!”

Now even Detective Davies looked angrily at me, “Getting MORFS isn’t punishment, it’s a sickness that lots of people can get. Even you can, young man.”

I wasn’t convinced of that, “I don’t think so. Now I told you what I know, or rather, what I don’t know. Can I go now?” I looked at them with a sneer.

With smoldering contempt the detectives dismissed me and began talking to the Principle about calling some other boys to come in. I stepped out of there, but didn’t return to my class.

Instead I decided to skip school the rest of the day. As I walked out of the school into the snowy outdoors, I saw some of my friends had decided to do the same. They were hanging out at the Burger Barn at the corner across the street and I went over to them.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey Walt. They got you for questioning, too?”

I nodded, “They can’t touch me though, I was in detention. Any of you?”

The guys looked among themselves, but nobody admitted to having anything to do with the attack. I looked at them, I had a suspicion that at least Gary and Phil were among the group that had done it, but I really couldn’t say for sure. Instead we changed the topic and started chatting about normal school stuff and about the plans for the upcoming holidays. We were planning to make a big snow hut and have a snowball battle. Before I knew it, it was already getting late. School started to let out, so when he came out, I joined my kid brother Remo for our walk home.

Remo asked, “Walter, why did you get asked into the Principle’s office? Did you do something bad?”

Curtly I sneered, “No I didn’t do anything wrong. Some guys did something and they thought I was with them. But you know I was in detention yesterday.”

He tried to get some more answers out of me, but I didn’t talk anymore the rest of the long walk to our home. Normally we would take our bikes to school, but with the amount of snow already on the roads it was too dangerous for us to do so. At long last we reached our ancestral home, a mixed farm of cattle, sheep, some pigs and a few other animals. But a big part of the business was the fields of grain and other plant products.

“Boys! You’re late.”

Both Remo and I groaned, of course we were late. We had been walking. “Sorry Mom, we’ll get right on our chores.” Dad counted on us to take over a lot of the daily workload. He hadn’t even hired extra help for a few years now. We didn’t mind the work, in fact I liked doing some of the chores. That night Dad and Mom wanted to have a word with me. I guess the school had called them about today. They grilled me about it for half an hour, but I really didn’t have anything to do with it. They did ask me if I knew who was responsible, but I said I didn’t know.

As I went to bed I didn’t lie down to sleep right away, I lay down on the floor boards first with my ear pressed against the hole in the board. I listened to my parents talking.

I heard my Dad say, “Alida, I think Walter knows who did that terrible thing to that poor young girl. How can we get him to tell us or the police?”

“Now, now, Casey. I’m sure that he doesn’t really know. He may have serious suspicions about the boys responsible, but they must be friends of his as well. I’m not saying I condone that sort of behavior, but if he rats them out he will lose all his friends at school.”

“I don’t care if he doesn’t have a friend in the world. That kind of friends he can miss like a toothache. I really wanted to beat it out of him tonight, you know?”

“Yes Casey, I know. But really let’s take this calm and easy. He will see his error sooner or later and then he will tell us who he thinks did it. Now let’s go to bed, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Ooh, lead the way girly.”

I stopped listening. ‘How gross, hearing your parents insinuating they are going to have sex. I knew they were going to do it. I heard the sounds sometimes. So they thought I would tell them someday? Well they might have to wait for a long time then.’
When I went to bed, I couldn’t sleep right away. I kept thinking about Marjorie. I had liked her a lot. But why did she have to change into such an abomination.

The next few days were uncomfortable at school, as everyone kept watching everyone. Now the whole school knew what had happened. It had been the main story in the local newspaper as well. The few MORFS survivors that we had at school kept close together with themselves. They were rather afraid that one of them might be next. We, on the other hand stayed far away from them, like they were infectious or something.

I tried chatting with one of the girls I liked, Bonny, but she turned away from me. Apparently she thought I’d had something to do with it as well. That really sucked. I released my frustrations during basketball practice. I even got benched as a penalty for a charging foul when I hit a defender in my overzealous try to score.

Finally we were free from school. It was nearing Christmas and with the snow predictions we were almost certain to have more snow days soon as well.

When I came in from doing my chores, mom asked me, “Walter, could you run up to the attic and get the ornaments for the tree? Your Dad will be home soon with the tree, and I want to start decorating right away.”

I was a bit puzzled. In the past she took the boxes with ornaments down herself. Only a few times when she was very busy had she asked us to do it. But she didn’t look too busy now. She must have guessed why I was wondering, as she explained, “I thought I saw some kind of animal in the attic. Since you are so good with animals, please get the boxes for me?”

Now she had me there, I was good with animals. Maybe because I really liked them. I know what you’re thinking, why don’t I like hybrids then? I considered them animals as well, right? Well, I can’t explain it.

So I went up to the attic with my flashlight and looked around. I didn’t see any animal, so I picked up the boxes. I already put one near the stairs when I saw it. A large squirrel was hiding between the boxes. Now that I took them away it became exposed. I reached out for the critter to catch it and take it out to the barn. However before I could get a good grip on it, it bit my hand and jumped away.

I yelled out in pain, and sucked on the wound before trying to chase the squirrel with my flashlight. I just managed to catch its tail in my light beam as it wrung itself through an impossibly small hole and disappeared.

I stumbled back down and went to the first aid cabinet. I wasn’t a wuss or something, but I knew that I needed to treat it well, or risk infections. Maybe I should go to the doc to get some tetanus shots, as well. Mom came out wondering about the ruckus and asked, “Show me your hand. I showed her my wound and she quickly put a bandage on it. Well I could have done it myself, but two hands work faster and better than one. And I only had one hand available to put on the bandage.

I checked the attic carefully for other hidden animals, but there were none there. I quickly took all the boxes down and put them ready for Mom. Moments later Dad came home with a fresh cut Christmas tree and we all got put to work to decorate it.

I did see Doc Lane the next day, and got a tetanus shot just to be safe and to have it checked after the holidays.

Christmas night came with the celebrating and good times, I was thinking that they all had forgotten about the whole hybrid bashing thing. My grandparents were supposed to come for Christmas, but they had already got snowed in. So we had just a family night with the four of us. My older brother Mack was still away in College, because he had to play football around New Years.

At Christmas morning I wanted to get out of bed early to look at my presents, but when I tried to rise, I immediately fell back down. I didn’t feel so hot. Or rather, I felt really hot, I decided I have a bit of a fever. I gritted my teeth, ‘Time for a second try.’ This time I got up okay. I decided not to show anything about my condition. Mom is very fussy when we do get sick. So I did my normal routine, though a few times I had to take it easier, I feigned being my normal self unpacking the gifts. Both Remo and I got the traditional gifts, sweaters and other clothes. But we also both got an Ecom. I was really happy with that. I knew it wasn’t the newest model, but this gadget would do just fine. Finally I had something equal to my friends at school and fit in right along with them.

Dad had another surprise for us, he already had been out to milk the cows and told us that it had snowed a lot during the night. We had to clear a new path to the barns and the road. Being the well brought up boys we are, we immediately got dressed for it and started our work. I was working alongside Remo and had trouble keeping up with him. ‘What is going on, normally I can outpace him by a mile.’ Even Remo started to notice, “Getting tired already Bro?”

I snarled back, “No of course not, you little creep. Now keep shoveling.” I did my best to out do him, but another couple of yards further I felt really sick. I threw up violently and then felt something else. I dropped the shovel and ran into the house. I barely made it in time to the toilet, before everything came pouring out.

When I finally came out of the toilet, Mom and Remo were waiting. I guess Dad was still busy. Mom felt my forehead, “You’re running a fever. Let’s get you to bed.”

I wanted to protest. I always put up a front of being strong, even when I was half dead from a sickness. But I knew that I couldn’t protest against Mom on this. Besides I didn’t feel like protesting. I felt worse than I ever had been before. I let them guide me to my bed and just fell down on it. Mom took my clothes off and sent Remo out to get my father.

I just managed to hear Mom tell him to get Doc Lane here, and to have him prepared, as she had suspected what was wrong with me. I didn’t quite hear what she suspected was wrong with me, and my befuddled mind didn’t have a clue. I was already unconscious when the doc finally arrived. They had to go by skidoo, as all the roads were closed by snowfall.

My parents told me later that while I was out of it, the doctor had performed some tests and soon confirmed their worst fear. I had MORFS. He gave mom the prescription sedatives and energy bars to feed me with, and then advised her to document the whole change, as some changes were so drastic that I would need changes in my registration at the county.

I woke up a few times, feeling like crap. And I didn’t really quite get what was happening with me. All I knew was that I had to eat some bad tasting bar and some pills. A few times I got put into the shower with someone holding me. And I could have sworn that they were using a blow-dryer to dry me off. ‘But I don’t have hair that long!’

After an undetermined time as far I knew, I woke up in the middle of the night again. I must have kicked away my blanket and covers as I began to feel cold. ‘But this time of winter I should be freezing already. Why am I only a bit cold? Did they put a heater in my room?’

I searched around me with my free hand to see if I could locate a blanket or something. My hand touched something warm, soft and seemingly made of fur. ‘Since when do I have a fur blanket?’ But I was still not fully awake so I just grabbed it and pulled it a bit over me to get warm. Strangely enough it was stuck a bit on my back side. ‘But I’m lying on my side. Maybe some corner is stuck under my side.’ I just pulled a bit more on it, but stopped when it started to hurt my lower back, like the blanket was kinda glued on me. I didn’t feel like looking at it, so I just pulled the blanket on top of me as much as I could and fell asleep again.

Later that morning I woke up feeling fine. Better than fine, no pain at all. No feelings of being sick. I felt refreshed and alive. Very much alive, I felt like jumping out of bed and run, jump and do lots of things. The blanket on top of me kinda moved and I remembered, ‘I have a fur blanket now?’ I looked at what was on top of me and saw a strange dark brown furry thing. I squeezed and I felt pain. ‘What the hell?’

Really waking up now, I sat up in my bed and looked at my body. That’s when I started screaming in a new, impossibly high voice, a really ear piercing scream I kept up for seconds till I fainted.

End of part one

To be continued...

Pixie by Shrike
Part 1 — The beginning

I was scared, really, really scared. I kept mumbling, “Oh god, please. Please, let me wake up.” A lot of good that did me though. I was already wide awake. Why was I hoping to be asleep? Well, I was so small that lint was like a huge cable. I had no idea how I got this small, nor why I seemed to be glowing like a dim light bulb. I could see it really well, since my clothes hadn’t shrunk with me. I was totally naked.

I had just waked up like that in my own bed. I mean, I went asleep like every evening. In the middle of the night I woke up because I had to go to the bathroom, but suddenly found myself drowning in a huge bed on an impossible hard mattress. My room was like a huge cathedral, and I still had to pee.

I stood up and ran towards the edge of the bed. ‘How small am I now?’ I thought with anxiety filling me up.

After what seemed forever, I reached the end of the bed and I looked down into an abyss. ‘The bed isn’t really all that high, I’m just so small. How did this happen? Did some mutant or other villain reduce everyone in height? Or did this only happen to our house or maybe even only to my room?’

I noticed a huge cable hanging down the side from a pillow. ‘Wait a moment, that’s not a cable, that is just a lose thread.’

I managed to use the string to slide down to the ground and looked around me. ‘So, now I’m on the ground, what am I going to do now? I still need to pee, and there is no way I can get to the bathroom in time. I can’t even use the toilet. I’m so friggin small that I can’t use anything normal in this house. If only I had a sister with a doll house or something.’

I really needed to pee now, so I looked around and saw a piece of fluff on the floor. It wasn’t big, but to me it was huge. I thought that it would absorb fluids, so I got a hold of my penis, which wasn’t as easy as I had thought. First things first though and I whizzed onto the fluff, feeling relieved while doing it. As I suspected the fluff absorbed the fluid and even kept the smell bearable. Now I had time to look why I had so much trouble finding my penis. I looked down and saw to my dismay that it looked a lot smaller than it should. ‘What the fuck! What is going on? Is this shrinking thing effecting my penis more than the rest of me?’ Then I noticed that my hands looked a bit thinner and my chest was a bit flabby.

I didn’t have more time to think about that as my door opened and I looked towards it in horror. ‘Who is that? Are the bad guys here? What should I do, get attention or hide?’ The light in my room was clicked on and I blinked against the harsh light shining in my room.

Next thing I heard was my father’s voice booming, “What the hell? Where is Keith? The alarm hasn’t gone off, so he should still be here.”

“Maybe he went to the bathroom, honey.” I heard my mom say.

“No way, I was in the bathroom for a long time. He never went there. I would have heard him if he went downstairs as well. I think some Mutant got him.”

Yep, that was my dad, always thinking bad things about mutants. Well, come to think of it, I wasn’t thinking much better about them as well. I did have an answer to my question though. The shrinking only happened to me. Neither my father nor my mom had been shrunk apparently. My little brother even woke up in his room. “Mom, dad? What is going on?”

“Someone or something took your brother away from his room. He’s disappeared. It must have been some mutant kidnapper,” my father told him.

He turned off the light of in my room, but as he was closing the door, our cat, Nibbles scooted inside. She immediately went towards me and I got really scared again. Jeez, that cat was huge now. Nibbles sniffed near me a little and then opened her gigantic mouth. ‘Oh, crap. She’s gonna eat me.’

I started running to get away from her, but with my small stature I didn’t make a lot of progress. As her mouth was closing over me I was even more frightened and felt something wrench inside of me. Suddenly I was shrinking again. I was getting smaller and smaller and fell down into a crack in the wooden floor. The mouth with the rough tongue closed above my head just clearing it by a foot or so. Well, what a foot would have been in my normal stature.

Nibbles was perplexed as she didn’t get something in her mouth and started looking around for her snack. I was so small however that she didn’t even notice me. I was still glowing however and that would attract her attention eventually. So I tried to get myself not to glow. It doused suddenly and that’s when I realized that I hadn’t been shrunk by a mutant. I was the mutant! I said out loud, “Oh crap, I’m a mutant.”

I should’ve kept my mouth shut though. Nibbles apparently heard me and began looking for me again. She came close to my hiding spot, but didn’t see me, fortunately. She backed off and searched around the room for me or anything else that she could find.

I relaxed a little for the first time. But as I looked down at me, I freaked out again. My chest had changed again. Now it looked like I had breasts. Small ones, but definitely breasts. I looked down at my penis and it was even smaller then before. ‘What the fuck is happening? Why am I looking like a friggin half girl and half boy now?’

I was so confused and down that I sat down and started to cry silently. I mean, I hadn’t cried since I was 4, and now I couldn’t stop crying. ‘I’m such a baby. What boy cries at 14 years old.’

After what seemed an eternity I stopped crying and decided that it was time to see what I could do to get out of this situation. I mean, if I could shrink, I should be able to grow as well, right? I stood up, and was about to see if I could grow, when I remembered Nibbles. ‘Is she still in the room? I can’t really start growing then. If I’m not fast enough she’ll see me as a snack and I’ll be a goner for sure.’

I climbed the edge of the crack I was in and carefully glanced over the top to see around. I almost fell down, as I saw that Nibbles the giant cat was lurking nearby and was looking straight at me. I let go and landed on my butt. I half expected the rough tongue of Nibbles to come probing into my hiding spot. But nothing happened. ‘Maybe she didn’t see me?’

I started waiting, but I’ve never been good at sitting still during waiting. When I got tired of it, I lay down and promptly fell asleep. I woke up from a loud noise and for a moment I didn’t recognize it, or where I was. ‘This isn’t my bed.’

Then it all came back to me. Somehow I had shrunk down to less than miniature proportions during the night. I was a mutant! The noise intensified and with dread I suddenly recognized it. It was the vacuum cleaner. Someone, probably my mom, was vacuuming my room. The noise got even louder and then I got sucked up out of the crack into the nozzle.

‘Oh, crap. Now I’m being sucked into the dust bag.’ I got banged against the walls of the hose before it opened into the big bag that was already half filled with dust. I was flung against the back and held there by the incredible force of the rushing air. Even worse, a lot of dust, skin cells and dead animals were thrown against me by the oncoming rush of air from the vacuuming. Just as I thought, that I should do something about it, the rush of air subsided, as did the deafening noise. For a moment I thought, ‘I’m saved, she stopped vacuuming.’ I was wrong though, the next thing I knew was that the bag was shaking and I was thrown around in it. ‘What is going on now?’

Well, I didn’t have to wait too long to find out. I got shaken out of the bag into the garbage bin. I landed in a big pile of goop that turned out to be sauce from the spaghetti that we had yesterday. ‘Yuck, I’m covered in spaghetti sauce. Can this get any worse?’

I learned that it could. The garbage bin was taken outside and I ended up with the rest of the garbage in the trashcan. Thrown around with all the garbage made my situation a lot worse. I was sticky, and lots of things clung to me. I was a walking garbage heap all by myself.

I tried to get out of the trashcan, but couldn’t climb well enough through all the stuff. It didn’t help that I got caught in everything I encountered and that my hands were slippery from the sauce. I was getting desperate, ‘Is today garbage collecting day?’ I didn’t remember, I feared that it was.

Maybe now it was time for me to find out if I could grow in size again. I tried to figure out how to do that, but nothing happened. I even said silly things like, “Grow. Up, up and away. Grow please. Big. Shazam. Grow sesame.” Of course nothing worked and I got scared. ‘What if I have to stay like this forever? I may never see people again and will always be hunted by any animal I encounter. If I don’t get dumped with the trash on the landfill first.’

As I got more and more frantic, I suddenly felt that wrenching feeling inside of me again. ‘Oh no, am I going to shrink even smaller?’ Well, my fears were justified, I did start shrinking again. It wasn’t all bad though. Being microscopic small allowed me to move around more freely. The sauce particles didn’t stick as much anymore and I found a small hole in the trash bag through which I could escape.

After crawling out of the trash bag, I still had to find a way out of the trashcan, but at least I wouldn’t be thrown with the trash onto the landfill. Well, I was mostly right anyway.

As I was contemplating on how I could escape the trashcan, or to grow bigger, I felt the trashcan being lifted. ‘Yep, it’s trash collecting day,’ I thought with some resignation. Well, at least I was out of the bag, so to say. But I wasn’t out of trouble, as I soon discovered.

The trash bag was forcefully yanked from the trashcan and little old me was yanked with it. As soon as I was out of the trashcan, I fell down into the grass, which were more like giant trees to me. I was sure that I would get killed hitting the ground, but my microscopic small statute must have included being very light, since my speed was relatively low, with the air currents breaking my fall. I still hit the ground quite hard, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I lay still for a while, before getting up. I didn’t feel any pains, but I decided to examine myself anyway. Another mistake on my part. I now sported real breasts on my chest! As I looked past them, my body had sort of an hourglass figure and then I noticed the worst that had happened to my body. My penis was almost all gone. ‘Shoot, I’m changing all the way to a girl? Why is this happening? What am I going to do?’ I looked around me for some shelter that I could use, but everything looked so big. A piece of dirt was the size of a huge boulder. I could probably hide in a ridge of a sole, easy!

Luck was with me this time and the sounds died down, meaning the garbage men were already gone. I wanted to sit down for a moment and catch my breath, before thinking on what to do now. I sat down in despair and started crying. I cried on feeling lost, small and insignificant. I hadn’t even been upset about running around naked yet. I cried for I don’t know how long, till suddenly I got splashed by a big splash of water. I sputtered and tried to get a breath back into my lungs. ‘What the hell happened? Was it going to rain?’

Then I noticed some other dew drops hanging on the blades of grass. It made me laugh for a moment. I was so small that a dew drop was like a pool to me. My laughing soon stopped as an ant grabbed my arm and tried to drag me away. I was screaming and kicking for all that I was worth. It wasn’t much, but I tried my best. The ant had a death grip on arm and dragged me towards I was sure would be the nest. ‘I better get out of this things clutches, or I’m a goner.’ I knew that once the other ants saw me, they’d subdued me fairly quickly and I’d be larva food moments later.

I planted my feet in the dirt and got a good grip on its mandible with my free hand. Then I tried to pry my arm out of the mandible. I didn’t get it out though, but instead I lifted the whole ant up into the air. I used a bit too much power and swung it over my head in a half circle and slammed the animal upside down into the ground on the other side. The ant let go of my arm at that point and I made sure to get out of there. I started running, but after a few paces I was bouncing up higher than I should be able to. ‘Am I super strong or something? I can leap higher than normal and I just swept an ant three times my size over my head without any problems.’

I jumped up a small flower and sat on a petal to think about these new revelations. My arm was hurting a bit, and I remembered that it had been mauled good by the ants mandible. I looked at my arm and was very surprised. There were only a few superficial wounds visible and those were even healing up right before my eyes. ‘What is this? Am I also a super healer? I should have a lot more and more serious wounds than this on my arm and my legs. But there is next to nothing anymore.’

Now I was really getting upset about everything that had been going on. I mean, I was a small as a grain of sand, I was quite strong for my size and I healed faster than Wolverine from the X-men. This was really getting weird. Mutant weird, and I was the mutant being weird.

Well, at least the water had managed to clean the sauce and other dirt from my body. I felt really clean again, except for my feet that had been in the mud while I was wrestling with the ant. I really needed to clean them again, but without shoes or anything, they would get dirty again moments later, so it would be pointless. As I thought of all this, I realized that I should be feeling cold. But I didn’t in the least. Well, I knew it wasn’t warm, but the cold didn’t bother me at all. Not the morning dew water drops, nor being outdoors naked in November. Things were getting weirder and weirder. I really wanted to get back inside, however dangerous that might be. In my current state I didn’t have to watch out that much for Nibbles eating me, as I was too small to be noticed by him, though some smaller animals might want to eat me. The ant was a good example of that. I did have to watch out for anything else, since I was too small to be noticed and someone or something could slam into me, hurting me a lot or even kill me.

I started jumping like a grasshopper towards the house and made good time getting there. I was so small now that I could just walk underneath the closed door. I said, and meant, walk, not crawl. I never knew that we had such a big gap between the door and the sill.

I didn’t encounter anyone on my jumps towards the stairs and quickly jumped on each step to get up to my room. I kept to the side, but not too close. I didn’t want to get jumped by a predator animal that wanted me for food. Without surprises though I reached the door to my room and walked in underneath the closed door. ‘Gee, no wonder it was drafty in here. There is enough room to drive a 18 wheeler through.’

Well, finally I was back in my room, but what was I going to do now? I had no idea at first, then I remembered. I was going to see if I could grow big again. It hadn’t worked for me earlier, but I had shrunk again. I tried to get that feeling again, and this time I found it easy enough. The wrenching feeling was there again, but not as bad as before. I shrunk a little more, but noted that I could control it somehow. I tried to get that feeling again, but somehow to direct it in reverse, if that made any sense.

Well, it worked, I started to grow slowly but surely. Soon I had reached a size that wasn’t too different from what I used to be, though I didn’t really know if I was the same height or not. I also didn’t know if I should be the same height, since I knew that girls usually were a bit smaller than boys. I didn’t worry too much about it anyway, I could grow a bit more I thought, if I needed. I just wanted to find some clothes that would still fit me. I’d had enough of running around naked.

I turned towards my closet and almost missed the door opening to the hall. The door hinges creaked a little and I turned towards it. In the doorway was my mom. She just stood there gaping at me standing buck naked in my room. I was painfully aware that I was naked and slammed a hand before my crotch. I was suddenly made aware that there wasn’t much there to hide. I then remembered that there was a lot more to hide higher up and slammed my other arm before my breasts.

As I stood there trying to cover my nakedness with my arms and hands, Mom seemed to come out of her stupor and screamed in a very shrill tone, “Mutant! There is a mutant in Keith’s room!”

I was really startled by that outcry. I mean, sure I look different, but to call me a mutant directly? Even if I was one, she didn’t know that. Mom was shoved aside moments later and my dad appeared, with a his 12 gauge in his hands. He saw me and pumped a round into the chamber. ‘Oh no, he’s gonna shoot me first and ask questions later.’

Before he could fire, I panicked and felt the wrenching feeling again. I quickly shrank to a miniature size and tried to get away as fast as I could. I guess I wasn’t shrinking fast enough though, since my dad pointed the gun towards the floor where I was standing. He fired a shot just as I jumped away behind my bed. Dad barged further into my room to find me again and surely to blast me again. I could hear him pump another round into the chamber. I thought, ‘What I wouldn’t give to be able to fly right now.’

Somehow my prayer was answered I think, because next thing I knew, was that there was a tearing sound and feeling in my back. I suddenly saw something appear on both sides of my peripheral vision. They appeared to be some kind of wings, so how to flap them and get under way? Again I was stunned that they seemed to have heard it. My wings started beating very fast and I soared up into the air. I quickly tried to make a turn and almost lost what was still in my stomach as I turned so fast that it felt like my internal organs were left on the old heading with my body going into a new one.

I felt scared and exhilarated at the same time. ‘I’m flying, I have wings and flying really fast.’ I had to react fast, too. I was heading towards the door, but straight towards the wall behind it. As I shot out of the doorway, I made a quick turn again towards the stairs and went downstairs. My dad was following me, fortunately a bit more slowly, but he still managed to get a shot off in my direction. I felt some pieces of buckshot hit me and my wings. ‘Oh no, I’m hit,’ I thought and imagined spiraling down to the floor and die in a horrible crash. I kept on flying however, and headed towards the door. The screen door was closed to keep bugs out, or me in, in this case. I crashed straight through the screen, ripping a big hole in it. This did damage the wing enough to send me spiraling out of control towards the ground. I landed at quite a high speed in the grass and careened off some boulders of dirt and sand before coming to a full stop. I even thought I heard some bones crack and snap, but I couldn’t be sure about that.

I was hurt and felt awful right after my crash landing. I lay still for quite some time. I heard my dad and my little brother coming out of the door searching for me. They didn’t find me though, and after things quieted down I groaned, “Owie, that really hurt.” Then I thought to myself, ‘Better inspect the damage. I hope I can recover from that and still be able to fly again later.’

As I got up to inspect myself, I got another surprise. My wings were all in perfect working order. I didn’t have any bruises, cuts or any other injuries visible. I checked for broken bones, but there didn’t seem to be any. ‘Now I know for a fact that at least one wing was damaged. So how come there isn’t any damage visible? Am I that fast a healer? That would be neat and very welcome.’

As I was thinking all of this and examining myself for injuries, the enormous impact of the events that just happened a short while ago, made me realize that now I was all alone in the world. My family had tried to kill me! I was a mutant and was considered dangerous. They thought I had kidnapped myself and was probably a wanted felon. And I was still naked to boot. Realizing all of that made me sag down and I started bawling. I really cried my heart out right then and there.

I stopped crying when it started to get dark. I looked up thinking, ‘It can’t be that late yet. It can’t be more than afternoon, I think.’ I was right about that, though I didn’t wear a watch. What I saw filled with dread again. A dark cloud had shown up in the sky and I realized that it would start to rain soon.

Damn, I hate to be right. As soon as I had thought of it, the raindrops started to fall already. Out of instinct I flew up and went for a tree to hide from the rain. I barely made it. Some drops hit me like a bathtub had been poured out over me, all at once. I almost fell out of the sky because of it. Somehow I just managed to right myself and get some altitude again. I was exhausted once I got under the leaves of the tree and sat down on a branch to rest.

Finally I could relax and let my guard down a bit, or so I thought. It was quiet out there and in the tree. So, I started to examine my body a bit more. I had only done a quick inspection of my skin and working order, but now I was going to be more thorough. As I started it, I was unpleasantly surprised again. My breasts had grown, I had real hooters now. My hourglass was even more pronounced, and I seemed to look like a Barbie doll come to life. Well, if Barbie had dragonfly wings that is. Below my waspy waist, I found that I didn’t have any penis left. I had never been very hairy down there and now it wasn’t any better. I could see a slit going down and realized that I now had a … Gee I can’t even think it.

I muttered out loud, “Don’t be such a pussy, you’ve got one now.” That made me laugh a bit, but it came out more like a giggle. ‘Oh boy, now I’m even giggling like a girl?’ Then I realized. I really was a girl now. I probably was all girl now! My mood swung back from laughing to being depressed. Dejected I continued my inspection. I really was a healthy girl now. Emphasis on Girl, that is. I couldn’t find anything wrong in the sense of injuries or flaws. I hadn’t realized it earlier, but my hair had grown out a lot. Not only was it down past my shoulders, it had also changed color from my chestnut brown to being a honey blond. ‘Gee, I really am a Barbie doll. Or maybe Tinkerbelle is more appropriate?’

My mood sank even more, and I felt a few tears leaking out of my eyes. Loudly I said, “No, I’m not going to cry again. I’m a big boy and I don’t cry.” Then I realized what I said. ‘I’m not a boy anymore, I’m a girl. Maybe that is why I’m crying so easily.’

I didn’t get more time to think or to feel miserable though. Suddenly a bird popped up on the same branch I was sitting and it started pecking in my direction. ‘Oh no, do I look like food to birds as well? I need to get out of here and find someplace to hide!’

I dropped from the branch and flew away from the tree, straight into the rain. The bird was following me closely and I had to weave and turn like crazy to avoid ending up in its beak and stomach. The falling raindrops made it even worse as I got hit by several of them, hampering my flight capability. The bird didn’t seem to suffer as much inconvenience as me from the rain, so I was starting to panic. I started thinking, ‘Is this it? Am I going to end as bird shit? Oh, what am I going to do?’

Then I saw a hole in a fence separating two gardens. I quickly made my way over there, still weaving and bobbing all the time. I dove through the small hole, only just clearing it with my wings. Then right behind me was a loud crash. I guess the bird didn’t make it and hit the fence. I didn’t look around though, I kept on flying at my highest speed. I was still weaving though, I didn’t want to take any chances that that bird or another was on my tail. I kept it up till I got to a hedge thick with leaves and branches. There I sat down on a branch and started shivering and shaking. I couldn’t believe that I made it. My adrenaline was subsiding and now I got the shakes of my narrow escape. Before I knew it, I was crying again. Damn these female hormones.

I don’t know how long I sat there sniveling and shaking, but eventually I pulled myself together and thought about what to do now. It was still light out and the rain had stopped. I flew down to a puddle and washed myself a bit. Frantically I kept looking around me, I was fearful that I would be noticed by a bird or other predator again. In this state I even had to watch for rats and mice. Nothing happened fortunately while I washed myself, and as soon as I was clean enough I flew back into the hedge to hide.

I thought hard about what I should do. Going home was out of the question. I was now effectually dead. Or rather missing and presumed dead. No one would believe I had been Keith Wallace. Not only was I now obviously a girl, almost everything had changed about me. I had now blond hair, curves that would make most girls green with envy, and naked. Even if that wasn’t a problem, I still had wings on my back, and I was only a few inches high at the moment. Well, I could probably change that, but would my wings disappear? I didn’t know, and didn’t want to find out. I mean I might need them soon again to escape another predator out for my flesh.

I waited in the hedge till it got a bit dark, keeping a look out for any animal big or small enough to get to me and that might pose a threat to my existence. When I deemed it dark enough I flew out again, keeping a watchful eye out for night birds and bats. I already knew that they were flying about in the area. I could hear the sonic cries with which they were hunting. I didn’t realize it immediately but apparently I could hear in the ultrasonic range of bats. I didn’t know if I could emit sounds like that, but I didn’t want to try, since it might attract unwanted attention to myself.

I just flew slow enough to see ahead, and in an erratic pattern. I didn’t know where I was going, and what I was looking for. Well, I was looking for a place to spend the night free of predators. But I didn’t have a clue as to what kind of place that might be. I was just trying to find something, anything that would provide me with enough shelter, so I could get some sleep.

I narrowly avoided getting caught by a bat while flying. I got just enough warning from the high frequency modulated tones that it was after me and quite close. I ducked behind a bucket and the bat swooped by immediately after I did that. I was shaking in fear again from my narrow escape and thought, ‘I can’t fly in the daytime because of the birds and people. I can’t fly at night because of the bats. Will this be my fate now? Going around scared to be eaten all the time, till it really happens?’

I really hoped that I would find a way out of this. But I didn’t have a clue yet as to how I could achieve that. I flew away from the cover of the bucket and got bombarded again with the high frequency tones of another bat. This one was even closer than the previous one, and with a utterly stupid dive I avoided it. It did however make me slam into the ground. I lay dazed for a moment, not knowing where I was, till everything came back to me. Just in time too, as a scurrying snake approached me looking for a tasty snack.

“Shit!” I exclaimed, flying up almost into the path of a nighthawk trying to catch insects. I think it was surprised to encounter me as well, but it still tried to catch me with its bill. I barely managed to avoid this threat and dove back into the cover of yet another hedge. There I sat shaking like a leaf again. This was getting ridiculous. I had to dodge attack after attack on my life. When was this going to end? I had the answer ready too, probably with my death.

I really had to find a place to hide now. I was getting tired and sleepy. I couldn’t hold out much longer and as soon as I let my guard down I might get eaten out here. I noticed a house nearby with a low light source in an upper window. Probably a nightlight or something. Probably a child was sleeping in that room, but I didn’t care. Besides, children would be sleeping right now.

I managed to fly to the house without too much trouble and the window and noticed that though the window was shut, there was quite a gap between the window and the frame. I shrunk myself down to half my last size and crawled into the room between the frame and the window. Inside I returned to my former size of Tinkerbelle and looked around in the room.

I noticed that this was a little girl’s room, and she seemed to be sound asleep. She had quite a collection of dolls standing or sitting around, and she even had a big doll house on a low table. Now this was what I needed. I quickly flew over to the house and noticed that the girl had everything in it. There was a bed in the bedroom that looked very realistic, with sheets and a blanket that looked like the real thing. I looked at the girl, but she just seemed sleeping and didn’t have a direct line of sight into this bedroom, so I thought I could risk it and sleep here.

I pulled the top sheets out a bit and tried the bed, expecting it to be hard like wood. But imagine my surprise when it felt like a real mattress. Overjoyed, I slid between the sheets and pulled the blanket over me. I was asleep moments later because I was very tired.

I awoke very refreshed and relaxed, when I saw a big head of the little girl looking straight at me. I jumped out of bed and tried to flee from sight. I couldn’t find a way out of the doll house in my scared state though. The girl started to whisper an apology, “I’m sorry I startled you, little fairy. I didn’t mean to.”

I hesitated. What I should do? Should I get out of here as fast as I could? Or should I talk to this little girl? I could end up being mauled and mutilated or worse. Or I could find some refuge here, and live a little. The bed sure had been nice to sleep in. I think that won me over in my considerations.

“Uhm, Hi?” I said hesitantly.

“You speak English,” said the little girl excitedly.

“Of course I do, I’m not a fairy like you think.” I said, and regretted saying that immediately.

Her eyes went wide, “You’re not a fairy? But you look just like one. What are you then? I’m not imagining you, am I?”

Maybe I should tell her that I am a figment of her imagination? That would be so much easier. But I decided to trust her and be open and honest with her. “No, I’m not a fairy. I think I’m a mutant of some kind.”

“A mutant? But how come you’re so small then?”

I sighed, “I really don’t have an answer for you. I wish I knew myself. I woke up yesterday being this small.” Then I stopped talking as my stomach rumbled. I asked her, “I’m sorry to trouble you, but do have something to eat? I’m starving. I haven’t had anything to eat for more than a day.”

She put s a smile on her face and said, “Of course. Well, I don’t have it here, but I’ll get something from the kitchen. What would you like?”

“Some fruit would be nice, I think.”

The girl disappeared out the door of her room and I looked around the doll house for places to hide should her mother or father or another sibling enter her room unexpectedly.

She came back quite fast with a small platter and looked around to see where I was. I was hiding underneath the stairwell, and as she didn’t see me, she asked, “Where are you? I have all kinds of fruit for you to choose from. Please show yourself. I am not going to hurt you or anything.”

Hesitantly I stepped out into the open and she smiled as she saw me. “Hi again. Here is some fruit for you.” She put down a platter with a strawberry, a grape and a slice of banana and apple. I looked at it with eagerness, I really was very hungry. As I flew to the platter, the girl squealed from excitement. “You can fly?” she said with surprise.

I didn’t answer as I was busy biting into the strawberry and chewing it before getting it down into my very empty stomach. I kept at it till most of the strawberry was gone. I wanted to try to other fruit, but I was already full. ‘Being this small sure cuts down on living costs,’ I thought.

I flew back to the doll house and the girl sat down before me, looking at me with eagerness. She said, “My name is Giselle. What is your name?”

“I’m Keith.” I replied curtly.

She giggled, “You can’t be a Keith. That is a boy’s name. You must be Keisha. No, that is an African American name. I’ve got it, your name is Kestra. You look like a Kestra to me.”

I shrugged, I knew that I couldn’t be Keith anymore. And Kestra did have a nice ring to it. So my new name would be Kestra then. “Okay, my name is Kestra.”

I looked around, “Do you mind me staying in this doll house? I like it, but I don’t know if I can stay here. Your parents might come in here and I don’t know if you have a brother or sister or even a pet.”

Giselle giggled at me, “Of course you can stay here. My mom does clean my room, but if you stay still inside the house, I’ll tell her that you’re just a new dolly that I got from Granma. As for the rest, I don’t have brothers or sisters and I don’t have a pet either.”

I relaxed a bit at that, so now I only had to worry about the rodents in the house that she didn’t know of. This might be not such a bad place to stay for a while. Giselle giggled again and said, “You do know that you don’t have any clothes on, do you Kestra?”

‘Oh no, I’m still naked. And in front of a little girl.’ I slammed my arms and hands before my genitals and tried to scurry away.

“Please Kestra, don’t go away. I don’t mind, I think you are beautiful like you are. You look kind of some of my dollies. In fact I think some of those clothes will fit you. If you want to take a bath or shower, my father made this house fully functional. He even installed a working shower in here.”

“Really?” I couldn’t believe it. I had to see that for myself. I went to the bathroom in the doll house and saw that it looked like a real porcelain bath tub was there. With a real showerhead above it. I stepped into the bathtub that had a real drain in it and turned the handle on the side. The water started to come out of the shower head and though it was cold, it was quite nice to shower and get clean.

As I turned the water off I shook myself dry and wanted to see where the water came from. I flew up a bit and saw a tank of water in the attic. Then I wondered where the water had gotten to after my shower and it appeared to go into another tank with water in the basement. Giselle’s hand went past me and she grabbed the tank of dirty water. She emptied it into a sink in the corner of her room.

As she replaced the tank back to accept more water, she put something on the floor near me. “Here you go, Kestra. I hope this dress will fit you. I’ll look for underwear. I think my Barbie has some.”

I was hesitant to put on a dress, but then again I was a girl now, so it should be normal for me to be wearing a dress. Still, as a former boy I had my aversion to wearing a dress. I didn’t know how to put it on anyway. ‘Should I step into it, or put it over my head. How do women put this on?’

Giselle already returned from the other side of the room and had some more items in her hand. “Kestra, don’t put on the dress yet. Oh, good. You haven’t started yet. You need to put on this bra and panties first. Mom said that big girls always wear a bra and panties.”

Now I was even more mortified, ‘Me wearing a bra?’ But I knew I had to. Women wear bras to support their breasts, well I didn’t really need that, did I? Well, better do as she suggested and I took the garments from her.

I expected it to be rough and like plastic, but it felt really nice and soft. “What are these made of, Giselle?”

Giselle beamed a big smile, “They’re silk, my mom made them for my dolls. She’s real good at making clothes for my dolls.”

After donning the bra and panties, which I had some difficulty putting on till Giselle helped me to do it, I picked up the dress. It too was made out of silk and felt really nice to the touch. Giselle helped me to put it on over my head and it fell real nice around my body. It had an open back which was nice for my wings, and I really liked how if fit on me. Giselle showed me where the mirror was and I looked into a full length mirror on the wall in the doll house.

I was stunned. there was a stunningly beautiful Tinkerbelle standing there in a silk dress that fit her like a glove. My wings were like those on a dragonfly, shiny and iridescent, but kind of see through. I didn’t understand how they could be so tough, they looked so delicate. But I knew they’d ripped through the screen door at my parents’ house like paper. They really are tougher then they appear to be.‘

“Giselle, breakfast is ready, are you dressed already?” came a voice from the other side of the door.

Giselle startled and quickly answered, “Almost mommy, I’ll be down in a moment. Do you want me to wear the blue or red dress today?”

“The blue dress, please honey. You look much better in that one.”

Giselle quickly got out of her P.J.’s and got dressed in a simple blue dress. “I’m going to have to leave you here for now, Kestra. I have to go to school. Will you be here when I get back?”

I nodded and even meant it. This was much safer for me to be than out there. Being out there, the size of a doll, meant I was fearful of my life almost every moment. Here I could relax and catch my breath. I probably could go out there at normal height, but I didn’t have any identification or a place to stay. I would probably get picked up by the police and put into a home or a foster family.

So I thought I was better off here living in a doll house as a Tinkerbelle or a fairy. Giselle went out the door of her room and I had the place to myself. I did some snooping around the room and familiarized myself with everything in it. Around noon I ate some of the banana and the apple, saving the grape for last if I got hungry again.

In the afternoon I was feeling a bit bored and sitting at the table in the doll house when suddenly the door opened and Giselle’s mother stepped in. I shrank down to microscopic proportions from the fright of getting caught. I didn’t know how to shrink my clothes with me, so once again I was naked. The clothes just sagged onto the chair I had been sitting on. I ran under a closet in the doll house room and hid there looking out towards the woman. She cleaned the room of her daughter and when she got to the doll house, she saw the clothes on the chair. I could hear her mutter, “Why did she leave these clothes out here in the doll house? She should be more careful with these delicate things. Maybe I should lock it away for a while. That‘ll teach her to take better care of them.”

I didn’t know what to think. On one side I was already used to flying around naked, but I liked those silk clothes a lot as well. ‘Oh, why do I shrink without shrinking my clothes with me? I should find a way to shrink my clothes with me.’

I saw the mom put the clothes into a small box and after dusting a little more, she left the room to do other things and I was alone again. I quickly grew to my Tinkerbelle height and flew towards the box. The lid looked heavy and I doubted that I had enough strength to lift it. As I pushed against the lid, it flew open to quite easy. ‘Gee, , I guess I don’t know my own strength.’

I took the clothes out of the box and put them on again. This time I knew how to do it, and it wasn’t any problem for me to do anymore. I closed the lid of the box and then thought of something. I got a good hold of the box and proceeded to lift the whole thing up without any effort.

Next I flew to a small chair in the room and got a good grip on a leg. I lifted the chair into the air as well, without too much effort, though it was a lot heavier than the box. How strong was I now? I had no idea. Then I thought of something. Maybe I still had the strength I had when I was my normal size, which meant that I was a lot stronger for this size. Well, that was good to know.

The rest of the afternoon I practiced my shrinking, I tried to shrink the clothes with me. And after a few failed attempts I got it right. Quickly I found that I could shrink anything I was touching. Even more, if I had shrunk something and afterwards shrank it again, it would be smaller all the time. And somehow everything still worked. I shrank a radio I found and put it into the doll house. It was still playing well enough, but how? I mean radio waves have a certain wavelength, and with the antenna shrunk to a much smaller size it should not be able to receive it. But it did somehow. It was weird time again. I put everything back like it had been before I thought that Giselle would come home and she arrived moments later.

He breezed into the room, “Hi Kestra, did you have a good day?”

“Well, good enough, how about you?” I asked.

She was overly excited and told me everything about her day at school. I listened with half an ear, as I wasn’t really that much interested. I played with her and her dollies for a while, till she was called down for dinner. She brought some vegetables and fruit to her room for me and I had a copious meal with the few scraps that she brought. It made me think. My strength was the same as a person of normal height, but my appetite fit the size I had. I wondered how that worked. But I wasn’t complaining. Giselle gave me a nightgown to sleep in. It was made of silk again. Though I wasn’t happy to wear a nightgown, it was nice to wear it. I could get used to that really easy. I shouldn’t though, I mean, why should I like wearing silk women’s clothing? Was I some kind of cross dresser? No, I was a girl now, so maybe it was just my new hormones and this body that liked it. It was very confusing for me to think about all that. At least I had some clothes on my back. Well, on my entire body actually. My back was a bit difficult with the clothing. The wings kept getting in the way. I’d better sleep a night on it. Giselle brushed her teeth and I tried to do something similar before retiring. Giselle was asleep quite fast, while I tossed and turned for a while till I finally fell in a deep sleep.

In the morning Giselle woke me up again, but this time it wasn’t such a shock to me. Well, I did had a fright, because I forgot for a moment where I was and how that big little girl was. But it came back soon enough and I greeted her, “Good morning, Giselle.”

“Good morning, Kestra. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you, and you?”

She bubbled from excitement, “I had such a weird but nice dream. You put some fairy dust on me and I shrunk down to your size and had wings as well. We flew through the flowers together and had a great time.”

“I’m sorry I have to tell you this, but I think that it is only a dream. I don’t have fairy dust. Nor can I give you wings,” I replied a bit sourly.

“Oh, I know that. Still it was a nice enough dream. Oh, I’m so happy that you chose my room to fly into. I hope we will be best friends forever.”

I thought, ‘Well, forever is a long time. Still, I will be her friend for quite some time. I do hope that I live as long as I should. Not only is the outside world dangerous for me, my small size might mean that I have a shorter lifespan as well.’

However I said to her, “Sure, we’ll be best friends. But please keep my existence a secret okay? I mean, nobody is allowed to know that I exist. They would take me away from you and do horrible things to me.”

“Of course I will keep you a secret. I would never betray you. You’re my best and only friend.”

That startled me, “ Don’t you have friends outside? In school?”

She shook her head. “They don’t want to play with me. They think I’m weird that I believe in fairy tales and such. Well, I can’t help that I do. And you’re the living proof that I was right.”

I sighed, “I’m not a fairy, I told you.”

She just sighed, “Yes, I know,” but she still looked at me very peculiarly.

‘Oh, what’s the use?’ I thought. ‘She’s never going to stop seeing me as fairy.’ Well, I did look like one with my size and my dragonfly wings.

Giselle got dressed as did I after a short shower, then she went out the door to get breakfast. She returned for a moment later to give me some fruit and disappeared again for school. During the daytime I practiced my power of shrinking and growing again. I got better and better at it with my clothes and other things. Then I tried growing to my original height. Well, as close as I could get to what I thought was my original height. My wings stayed on me! I briefly tried to fly and they still worked!\r

In the afternoon I thought, ‘These wings are great, but sometimes they are a hindrance. I can never wear normal clothes. I will always have to have something with an open back, like my silk dress and silk nightgown.’ As I was thinking those thoughts, I felt a scrunching sound at my back and suddenly I didn’t see my wings anymore. I quickly went to the big mirror in my doll house and sure enough. My wings were gone. I was panicking now. What if they are gone forever? Giselle wouldn’t want to play with me anymore and I would be out there again in the big bad world without anything.

I desperately wanted my wings back and as I was thinking it, I heard the tearing sound again on my back and my wings were back. ‘So I can hide my wings and make them appear again? Yes, this is good. Now I can maybe have some kind of life again.’ But then I would have to disappoint Giselle. I didn’t want to do that. What was I going to do?

I didn’t tell Giselle anything about my discoveries, but I did grew myself to her height and played with her in her room that evening. We had to be careful that her parents didn’t enter though. Giselle was ecstatic that I was able to play with her as a normal girlfriend. But she preferred to have me get back to my Tinkerbelle height and play with me and her dolls. I let her do that. I liked being that size better as well. I didn’t know why I was more comfortable as just a few inch high girl. After we went to bed, I kept thinking about it till sleep claimed me.

The next morning Giselle was surprised that I didn’t have my wings. I was sleeping better when I didn’t have them in bed, so I had hidden them when I went to bed. I quickly brought them back out and Giselle squealed again. I think she liked that I could appear to be a normal girl, albeit in miniature size, or appear as a fairy for her. The rest of the day was more of the same like the previous days. I also washed my clothes by hand and hung them to dry out of sight. Giselle had given me some more clothes to wear and I now had 4 sets of underwear and 3 dresses to choose from.

Over the weekend I had more time to play with Giselle but we had to look out for her parents. They almost surprised us once as we were playing in her room. I froze and Giselle told her father that I was a fairy doll that she got from her grandmother. We barely got away that time.

The week after I got even better with my powers. I could now shrink objects without shrinking myself in the process. I shrank some books that I found in her dad’s library and started studying a bit. How weird was that? I used to hate studying, but now I did it of my own free will. Even weirder was that I could remember the stuff I read much better.

The next weekend I was even more lonely. Giselle was away with her parents to visit relatives. I read more books from the library and enjoyed it even. I never thought I would find reading science books and economics that interesting.

Another week past with me being mostly alone and reading books. I think her father suspected something as he asked Giselle if she had borrowed some of his books. She said she did not to know of any books, but asked me to be more careful. We had lots of fun playing in her room, but I asked her why she wouldn’t want to play with other children. She said that they still didn’t want anything to do with her. But I wasn’t so sure that she was giving me the entire truth.

Another weekend of playing went by quickly and I couldn’t even imagine another life than that of being a real life playing doll for Giselle. I was there for her and she made sure I had everything I could want. Well, not everything. It wasn’t a real life that I had right now. But I had a place to stay, food, enough time and material to study, and a friend. I should have known that it wouldn’t last.

On a Thursday Giselle was teary eyed when she came into our room. I asked her, “Giselle? What is the matter?”

She looked at me with a glum face, “Betsy made fun of me. She said that her fairy doll is the best of the world. She said that it was the most expensive doll ever made. She dared me to take my fairy doll and compare it to hers.”

I was shocked, “You want me to go with you to school? Are you crazy?”

“Hey, you can’t talk like that to me!” Giselle sounded upset.

“Yes, I can! I can’t go with you to your school. What if they find out I’m real? They’d put me in a lab or give me to the MCO. We’d never see each other again,” I explained.

“Oh,” Giselle said, “I hadn’t thought of that yet. But tomorrow we only have a half day. I’ll only show you to Betsy for a few minutes. You’d be hidden from view most of the time. Please, can you do it for me?”

I thought about it, which I shouldn’t have done, of course. It signaled that I was about to cave in. Giselle took control, “I’ll let you have another soak in my mom’s bubble bath, and I’ll brush out your hair.”

Now she had me, I’d had a bubble bath in her mom’s soap before and liked it a lot. And when she brushed my hair, it felt so wonderful that I really wanted that again. “Okay, but only for a few minutes, and only to Betsy, Okay?”

“Sure, only to Betsy,” said an excited Giselle.

I should have known better and stand tall with all of my 5 inches. I never should have allowed her to take me to her school and to others. But what can I say? Mistakes are made all the time.

That evening I was about to get ready for my bubble bath and I showed Giselle a new trick. I shrank very fast without shrinking my clothes and flew out of them and grew back to my former size. I was undressed in a second. I took a long bath, while Giselle got ready for bed. After drying off, which I did by shrinking smaller than the water droplets and growing a little further, Giselle brushed my hair out with her Barbie comb. We talked a little more about the next morning and though I was still worried, the plan looked sound.

The next morning I dressed in a pale green outfit with matching underwear. I hid in a small purse that Giselle usually had with her and sat back for the ride. It wasn’t too bad and I dozed off a few times. Giselle checked on me several times and I gave her a thumbs up every time.

At last the time had come, Giselle looked at me and gave me a wink. Then she picked me up out of the purse and set me down on her desk. I just stood still like a real doll and could see the other girl, Betsy, with her doll. She put it next to me and though it looked very good, it couldn’t compare to a real live one of course. Betsy started to curse and was about to get ugly when a teacher noticed the commotion and got closer. She took both girls and their dolls out of the classroom to an office.

Betsy was scolded for cursing and got send to another teacher for punishment, while the teacher had Giselle sit down. The woman started, “Giselle, I know you don’t like making friends. But I think you should try harder. Why did you bring your doll to school? Betsy’s parents are extremely wealthy, I’m even surprised that your doll looks so much better than hers. Usually she has the best and most beautiful things available.” Then she looked at me again and took another closer look.

‘Uh oh, I didn’t like that. Did she notice something? Did I move?’

Suddenly she poked me with a pencil that she was holding into my stomach. I lurched, “Hey, that hurt!”

Oops, I let the cat out of the bag so to speak. The teacher was stunned for a moment. Then she regained her wits. “What the … Giselle? Is this a living fairy?”

Giselle tried to answer, “Uhm… well. Uhm…you see. Uhm…Miss Boucher, it’s like uhm….”

Miss Boucher stormed out of the office and Giselle picked me up to put me back into her purse. Neither one of us noticed something about me. Giselle was about to open the door when Miss Boucher returned with a woman.

“Giselle! Where is the fairy? Take her out of your purse. Now!”

Giselle reluctantly complied and once again I was standing on the desk. Miss Boucher took Giselle out of the room and the woman sat down at the desk.

I pretended to be just a doll and stood still. I wondered how long I could keep it up though.

Then the woman said, “You’re not really a fairy are you?”

I was shocked and in my normal reaction to surprises shrank down to microscopic proportions. Fortunately with my clothes still on.

The woman said surprised, “Oh my, I startled you too much, didn’t I? Please, can you go back to your normal height?”

I pretended not to have heard her, and looked for a way out. But she continued, “Where are my manners? I’m Lisa Felder. Please, don’t be alarmed. I have seen much weirder things before.”

I hesitated a little longer but grew back to 5 inches tall again.

“That’s better, but I would like it if you grew to your normal height. I know you’re not a fairy. I’ve met some. Please come sit with me and talk as normal people.”

I answered hesitantly, “I don’t know what my normal height is any more. Ever since I manifested I have changed a lot.”

Lisa smiled, “Just to a size that is comfortable and what you think is normal for a girl your age.”

I grew myself slowly to a height of 5’3” and sat down on the chair that she offered.

“Now that is much better, don’t you think? Lisa said. “I would like to have a talk with you. I’ll ask you some questions, and I would like you to be totally honest with me. You can lie or hide things of course. But since I’m an empath, I’ll know if you do.”

Then she noticed something, “How long have you been a girl?”

I looked at her very surprised. ‘How did she know that?’ “Uh, about 4 weeks, why?”

“Because you’re spotting, dear.” At my confused look she added while pointing at my crotch. “You have started bleeding.”

“I’m bleeding?” I looked down at myself. I didn’t see anything, but then I saw a few spots on my underwear. “Oh no, what can I do? I can’t go to a hospital. Please, can you help me?”

Lisa smiled again, “Oh my dear, it’s not that bad. You’re having your menses.” At my blank look, she added, “Your period, you know, the time when a girl menstruates?”

Now I got it. I hid my wings at her request and Lisa took me to the bathroom. She instructed me in a whole new activity of women that I didn’t like. Afterwards I followed her back to the same room.

Lisa gave me something to drink and started again, “So, what is your name dear?”

“Keith Wallace,” I answered quite truthfully.

She smiled, “You don’t look like a Keith to me, what do you call yourself now?”

“Giselle called me Kestra. It is as good a name as any other I think.”

“Okay, Kestra! Well, that is a pretty name. You’re a mutant, right? Because fairies don’t shrink and grow. I was curious about your wings, but seeing that you can hide them at will would make that another part of you mutant power I guess. Why were you posing as a fairy doll?”

“Well…” I started, “I was flying around as a Tinkerbelle, but I was being attacked by birds, bats and all kinds of other animals. I took refuge in Giselle’s room. She has this amazing doll house. I went to sleep there in a nice comfy bed. The next morning she was looking at me when I woke up, and I kind of stayed that way to be a friend to her.”

“Don’t you want to have a normal life? I mean, you need to go to school and prepare for a job and a life afterward.”

I didn’t answer and she continued, “Where are your parents? You’ve been missing for 4 weeks now, right?”

I snarled, “They think that I kidnapped myself. My father shot at me. He even hit me and destroyed a wing. If not for my healing power, I’d already be dead.”

“Oh dear. I had no idea” Lisa said to me worriedly. “So, that’s why you stayed as a fairy doll with Giselle.”

I nodded. She smiled again. “Well, I can help you get back on your feet. I know of a school where you’d fit right in. It is a school for mutants and such. Maybe I can even help you get back in touch with your family. They might want to know what happened to you.”

“I really don’t think so. My father is a Humanity First guy. He really hates mutants. My guess is that he would shoot me on sight. I don’t think I can go to that school, either. I don’t have any money. It must be expensive, and that is without the costs of food and clothing. No, I think I’m better off being a fairy doll for Giselle.”

Lisa shook her head. “I disagree. The school has scholarships and I think something can be arranged for your other costs. I just need to know if that would be something you’d want. I completely understand if you refuse it, though I would advise against it.”

I was really in doubt now. I didn’t want to leave Giselle, but could I get a life of my own again? Was that possible? “If I say yes, would I ever see Giselle again?”

Lisa smiled at me, “Of course. She could visit you, or you could visit her. Friends are important. I would never ask you to choose between them or the school.”

I smiled at Lisa, “Well, okay then. I will go to the school if I can. So, what happens now? Can I say goodbye to Giselle first?”

“And that is how I ended up at Whateley,” I told Dr. Bellows. He was counseling me about my tendencies to shrink and hide whenever I was surprised. This was our first session and he had asked me to tell me what had led me to Whateley Academy.

This story is in (US) English, but it mostly is situated in the Netherlands. Several times the conversation is written in Dutch (my second native language), with the translation directly trailing it between straight brackets. I have done this because many readers will not understand the Dutch language, but I feel that the conversation in a country should be original as spoken in that country.

Cursing I walked with my trashed bicycle towards home. Someone on a moped had ran me of the road, making me crash into a tree. I had been able to leap of the bike and escaped injury, but my bike didn’t survive the impact. I didn’t even see who did it, but I had a pretty good idea who it was. Bram had been harassing me since I started going to High School. I really had no idea why he picked on me.

Finally I arrived home and Mom got on my case, “Marc, waarom ben je zo laat thuis? ” [Marc, Why are you home so late?]

I really didn’t want to go into that, so I made up an excuse and got sent to my room as punishment. She so didn’t understand the troubles I had to deal with in school. I spent a little time working on my tablet, till she called me down for dinner. With just the two of us, it wasn’t really sociable, Mom tried to get me to talk about school and I just evaded her questions as best I could.

The next day I had to take the bus to school, my bike was ruined and before I could get another one, I would have to save up some money first. Mom was upset with me about crashing my bike, but I didn’t dare explain to her what really had happened. She so doesn’t understand situations for High school persons. At least I wasn’t being bothered by my personal bully while taking the bus. If only they wouldn’t keep raising the prices on the ride. Sometimes I envied the school bus system in America. In my country we don’t have those kind of things.

Getting into school was a task into itself, as I had to watch out for the bully and walk with my large bag of books into the school. I would have liked to take only a backpack to school, but my Mom insisted that I took my books in the old style bag, which looked more like a leather case than a bag.
It was very sturdy though, it had survived my father’s schooldays and still didn’t look too bad.

My luck ran out as soon as I got into the school building. My personal bully, Bram, was waiting for me. He smashed my bag out of my hands and shoved me up the stairs and through the hall towards the lockers where I had my locker. Some students were watching us, but didn’t do anything, probably afraid that they would be next on the harassment list. Too bad there wasn’t a teacher in sight. One of them might have stopped this abuse. Bram growled, “Jij moet maar eens een tijdje in jouw kast. Mischien laat ik je er vanmiddag wel weer uit.” [You need to be inside your locker for a while. Maybe I’ll let you out this afternoon.]

I protested vehemently, “Alsjeblieft, niet doen. Ik ben claustrofobisch!” [Please, don’t do it. I’m claustrophobic!]

He only commented, “Jammer dan.” [What a pity.] Then he proceeded stuffing me inside the locker.

I tried banging on the door, but didn’t accomplish more than a knock, since the locker was so cramped that I didn’t have any room to put power to my arm movement to bang on the door. This was creeping me out. I couldn’t breathe and broke out in sweat. A memory of getting locked accidentally in a box crept into my mind and I relived the panic that I experienced so long ago. I started screaming, “La me er uit!” [Lemme out!]
There wasn’t any reaction from outside of the locker and I panicked even more. Something happened inside my head and I got a killer headache from it. Then suddenly I pushed away everything around me and everything went black as I passed out.

Antonius Highschool in the Netherlands

A few minutes after the boy Mark had been stuffed in a locker by his bully Bram, something happened to the locker. In a fraction of a second, the locker exploded silently outwards with a force so great that it wasn’t contained by the steel of the locker. The walls of the hallway were pushed back and the ceiling was blown upwards. A fraction of a second later, the silent blast pushed every wall and everything in between outwards beyond the structure of the school and the upper level of the building being the roof was blown upwards up to about 5 meters. The first floor ceiling was blasted downwards and it ended up as rubble on the ground. The first floor walls managed to stay upright, though they were badly damaged.

As the blast subsided, the roof came crashing downwards unto the rubble that was left of the second floor. Fortunately school hadn’t started yet, and there weren’t too many students caught inside the building. As the dust settled, the first screams of pain and anguish started. Quite a few persons were trapped beneath the rubble and a few were thrown out of the second floor and lay on the ground with various injuries.

Moments later the first sirens indicated that help was underway. First a couple of Police cars arrived, followed closely by Fire trucks and Ambulances. Chaos ensued as helpers tried to help people, but were unsure where to start. A Fire department chief took charge and organized the police to keep spectators away, and look for survivors further away from the demolished building. The firemen were tasked with finding survivors and arranging EMT’s to assess the injuries. A passing doctor got drafted into performing triage and emergency surgery.

As time passed by, more Fire crews, police and medical personnel arrived to help out. The most critically injured got airlifted to nearby hospitals, people with minor injuries were collected and treated in a nearby gym. Just as Rescue crews found an unconscious naked androgynous person buried beneath some rubble, two black vans rolled onto the scene. Police initially stopped them, but after showing credentials they were allowed to enter the area. The EMT looking over the naked person found the person puzzling. It seemed to be hermaphroditic as it had a small penis, as well as small but definite breasts. The person didn’t seem to be too injured, but didn’t show signs of regaining consciousness.

Several men dressed in black exited the black vans and moved towards the EMT with the unconscious person. They showed an Identification to the EMT and took the young person between two beefy guys and disappeared into a van. Both vans tore out of the area and as they disappeared from view, a Fireman asked the EMT, “Wie waren die lui?” [Who were those guys?]

The short answer of the EMT was, “MCO!”

Somewhere in a secured facility

I woke up with a dizzy feeling and was confused. Where was I? Whatever it was I was laying on was very hard. The walls that I could see where plain black without any markings or things to focus on. I tried to get up, but my hands and feet were tied to whatever I was laying on. My mind was a bit fuzzy and I had to really focus on my thoughts to think clearly. ‘Where am I?’ I thought. ‘Why am I tied to a hard table? Last thing I know was being stuck inside that locker.’

My mind began to clear a bit and I started to notice more things. Like the fact that I seemed to be completely naked. My head was tied to the table as well and I could only move it a little to each side, but not up. Then my feeling indicated that there was something on my chest, but wasn’t I naked? I couldn’t see, so I had to guess. Also something didn’t seem right between my legs. My penis was still there I think but I couldn’t feel it much. I started yelling, “Help. Alsjeblieft, help me, Ik moet naar de WC.” [Help, please help me, I need to go to the toilet.]

I heard a door open but I didn’t get a good look at the person entering the room. The door closed again and I couldn’t even see where it had been. The person approached me out of sight and a rough male voice asked, “Tell us who you are and what you did at the school.”

I was fluent in English, but I didn’t want him to know that. “Ik begrijp je niet!” [I don’t understand you!]

A rather unpleasant looking male face appeared above my head, “I know you can speak English. Answer me now! Who are you and what did you do at the school!”

I sighed, “Fine, my name is Marc Bandsma. I didn’t do anything to the school. I was locked in a locker by a bully and then I blacked out. I’m claustrophobic you know.”

The man spoke again, “You don’t look like Marc Brandsma. In fact you don’t look like a boy anymore. We think you caused all of it. You’ll be charged with willful destruction of property and several counts of attempted manslaughter.”

I thought, ‘What? What happened? Wait, I’m not a boy anymore? What am I? What happened at the school? All I remember is getting a headache and blacking out.’

“Got nothing more to say, have you?” The man asked.

“Yes I do, I want to see a lawyer.” I said.

“Too bad, stinkin mutiescum don’t get to see a lawyer. We put them away directly.” The man snarled at me.

“That is quite enough, Sergio.” A new voice, female this time, sounded from where I guessed the door was.

“Come on, Gloria! I’ve barely begun with him, her, whatever.” Sergio whined. Yes, he actually whined. The woman was probably his superior or something.

She must have motioned, because Sergio disappeared. The woman’s face came into my field of vision and she was quite beautiful, if not for the scowl on her face.

For a moment I had a thought that I would get a better treatment, but now my hopes sank again.

She did untie me, so that I could sit up. That didn’t do much for my confidence and sanity though. I looked myself over and nearly fainted. There was a flabbiness on my chest that looked like budding breasts. That couldn’t be right could it? And my penis was a lot smaller. There was some kind of crease beneath it as well. ‘Oh shit, are they turning me into a girl?’

Then I noticed that my hair was longer, it was brushing my shoulders. ‘What the hell is happening here?’

The woman threw an overall at me, which I quickly donned. Then she spoke to me, “You’re in a lot of trouble Marc. Why don’t you just confess to what you did to the school!”

I was getting upset again. “I didn’t do anything. I already told the other asswipe, I was stuffed inside a locker and I blacked out. I don’t even know what happened at school. I don’t even know where I am now and how I got here.”

“Well, I think it’s obvious that you’re a mutant and that you destroyed your school.”

‘What? My school is destroyed? Wait, they think I’m a mutant?’ “I didn’t do anything. I can’t be a mutant.” I snarled at her.

“Oh but you are a mutant. The fact that you’re turning into a girl is already prove of that.” The woman simply stated.

“I don’t believe you. Somehow you’re doing this to me. Why are you turning me into a girl? I want to be a boy again. I want out of here and away from your stupid questions. Let me go!” I was yelling at the end.

The woman glowered at me, “You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to tell me what you did and how you did it.”

“Ik wil naar huis!” [I want to go home] I yelled, before a weird sensation started in my head. Suddenly everything was moving away from me, even my overall was blown to shreds and I blacked out again.

Somewhere in the secured facility

The woman, whose name was Gloria Besson, suddenly felt something push against her and everything flew away from the boy/girl at great speed. She was thrown against the wall before it buckled and flew out against another wall. The second wall couldn’t contain the blast as well and buckled. Only the third re-enforced wall held and Gloria slammed against the debris, losing her consciousness.

Alarms started blaring and people started crawling out from under the debris or running up to the affected area of destruction. Somehow the ceiling was re-enforced enough that it had held against the blast. It was buckled but still in one piece. One man had his foot crushed between walls, and another had an arm trapped. Most injuries were minor fortunately. Near the epicenter of the blast, the operative Gloria Besson was found unconscious and crumpled against a wall. At the epicenter, a naked androgynous person, who looked more like a girl than a boy, was found unconscious on the floor. She was taken to a different facility drugged into a coma and under guard.

Somewhere in another secured and armored facility

I came to my senses again feeling woozy and fuzzy. I was lying on a cold hard surface. ‘Why am I lying on a cold hard surface?’ I had trouble thinking, everything was out of focus. ‘Where am I? Who am I? Why can’t I think straight?’ I had so many questions and needed answers.

“Hallo? Is daar iemand?” [Hello? Is someone there?] I asked out loud.

From a speaker that I couldn’t see came the reply. “Welcome back to the real world. How are you feeling?”

I checked myself, other than the weird fuzzy feeling in my head I felt fine. A bit strange, like there was something not right with my body, but fine. “Okay I guess. Where am I? Who am I? Why am I here? Please tell me!”

“You’re patient M. You’re in this room because you are very dangerous. You blew up a school and an interrogation room.”

I didn’t even noticed that they spoke English instead of Dutch. I thought, ‘I blew up a school? What happened, why can’t I remember? What did they do to me? Oh no, what if I had killed people?’ I was dumbfounded with even more questions now. I started crying softly. As I did that I sat up and noticed that my breasts were getting in the way. I was totally naked on the hard metal table. It didn’t even bother me that much, I wondered why though.

For a quite some time I was left alone in my crying. No one bothered to speak to me, nor did anyone come by. After I was done crying, I felt hungry and thirsty. I spoke up, “I’m hungry and thirsty, can I have something please?”

“It is not safe to give you anything. Just lie down and sleep. We’ll see if we can get you something later.” Came the speaker voice again.

I was enraged and suddenly something clicked in my brain. I knew somehow that I could do something. I let go with all that I had and I pushed against everything in the room. Well, not pushed with my hands or something, but with some kind of invisible powerful force. The ceiling dented a little, but bounced back after my pushing force diminished.

The use of my power cleared my head though. I felt great and invigorated. Suddenly I remembered again, I was Marc Bandsma, a boy that was harassed in school by bullies. Then my current situation dawned on me. As I looked at my naked body, I felt a dread passing through me. ‘Why am I looking like a girl?’

I screamed, “Nee!” and pushed outraged against everything around me. The metal table buckled beneath me and the walls of the room started to crack. The ceiling even lifted off a couple of centimeters as I released my fury in my pushing power. Somehow I knew that I had some kind of mutant pushing power. Pushing this hard with my power burned up my rage pretty well and I sank down on the ruined table totally exhausted. My head was pounding with a bad headache and I wanted to sleep.

I heard some hiss and looked up to see some gas being pumped into the room. Before I could do anything, like holding my breath or pushing with my new found power, I saw stars and blacked out again.

Somewhere in secure and armored bedroom in the facility

Coming too was a renewed experience, I felt really good. A bit fuzzy, but smiling at the good feeling. I even giggled. That woke me up a bit more. ‘I giggled? But I’m a boy aren’t I? Boys don’t giggle.’ Then I remembered, I’m changing into a girl. Somehow this didn’t even bother me. I just giggled again. Waking up totally now, I noticed that I was dressed in sort of coverall and laying on a bed of some kind. A door opened and a woman came in. I looked at her, somehow recognizing her.

I has seen her before and hadn’t she been interrogating me? ‘Oh now I remember, she was relieving the annoying man. He called her Gloria. Gee, since when do I have such a good memory?’ “Hallo, Gloria.” I said a bit too cheerfully. ‘Why did I feel so cheerful, maybe it was because I felt so good. There was something that I needed to remember, but it was too fuzzy for me to grasp it. But my memory was so good or was it?’

Gloria scowled at me, “Can it Miss Bandsma.” She pronounced it wrong, it sounded like ‘Bendsmae’.
But I didn’t feel like correcting her. She continued, “That is twice you blew up a room, apart from the school. You’re obviously very dangerous. I’ll have no choice but to transfer you to one of our most secure testing facilities. They’ll find out what makes you tick and if you survive, you’ll be a much more compliant subject.”

Suddenly the door opened again and a man appeared in the opening. “Miss Besson, I’m sorry to interrupt, but the mother of the kid is here. She has a signed document of the local justice department to take custody of her child.”

Gloria Besson glowered at the man, “Stall her, we need more time to get this specimen out of here. I don’t want to lose her to some ignorant parent that sets her loose on the unsuspecting outside world.”

A familiar sounding voice came from behind the man, “You’ll do no such thing. I’m taking my child back home and you’re not stalling nor hindering me. I’ll sue your asses off.”

I saw my mom appear in the door opening. “Mam!” I cried.

“Marc? Ben jij dat?” [Marc? Is that you?] asked my mom.

“Ja, sorry dat ik er iets anders uitzie.” [Yes, sorry that I look a bit different.] I replied to her.

Mom hastily got in the room and unbuckled my restraints. I hadn’t even noticed the restraints in my stupor. As she helped me get from the bed, she glowered at Gloria, “There has been ample proof of MCO’s abuse of helpless mutants that need help, instead of being treated as criminals.”

Gloria glowered back at Mom, “Your child has destroyed one school with casualties and two rooms in an MCO facility. She’s dangerous and should be locked up for her own good.”

“That’s not for you to decide. She is entitled to a fair hearing, not a persecution by an organization that is known for their mistreatment of human beings.”

Gloria was even more enraged, “That is not a human being, it is mutant filth! Nothing more.”

For a moment I thought Mom was going to slap her. “That’s it, we’re leaving. I dare you to stop us. You’re already facing charges as is.”

She guided me out of the room and quickly rushed me through corridors and halls. I barely registered where we were going. Of course I had never seen this building before and I was a bit out of it from the medication that I had been on.

While we were walking, well in my case more dragged, I noticed a glass wall. On the other side was a strange woman dragging a strange girl in a hospital gown along. I waved and immediately she waved back at me. ‘That is odd, it was like a mirror. But I don’t have long black hair past my shoulders. My hair was as they call it a dirty blond. Do I look like a girl now? I do have the beginning of breasts I noticed. But she was an attractive looking brunette. And that woman didn’t look like Mom at all.’

I looked at Mom and for a moment her image shimmered, but then was Mom again. ‘I’m sure that it is the drugs they gave me. How can it not be Mom! Only she would get me away from here, right?’ Now I was starting to think of conspiracy theories myself. I giggled again, which was strange. After all I wasn’t a girl, or so I thought.

We exited the building through a gated entrance, with some guards glowering at us. Hey, what can I say, my Mom rocks. She managed to get me out of there without any problems. I smiled at the guards and waved. They looked like they were about to draw their weapons at little old me. ‘What am I thinking? Did I just thought of me as a little girl? That can’t be right! Must be the drugs again.’

I didn’t see our usual car waiting outside, she must have parked it somewhere else. Mom was dragging me to a corner of the building, where a dark blue van was waiting with its engine still running. I found it a bit strange, but didn’t think anything of it. Mom however went straight for the van and wasn’t surprised, like I was, when the side door slid open. A strange man stood there, “Everything went okay?” He asked.

“Sure,” Mom replied.

I looked up at her and suddenly her image shifted from the familiar visage of my Mother to a strange woman. Wait, she looked like the woman I had seen in that mirror glass in the building. Before I could react or say anything, the man from the van sprayed something in my face and I blacked out again.

Somewhere in a moving van on the road

I woke up partially, or at least still groggy from whatever drugs was still in my system. With a detached mind, I looked around me. There was a man driving the car, another man sitting in the back doing something and a strange woman reading something from a laptop. They didn’t notice that I had was conscious, well at least partially conscious. I wasn’t up to doing anything, including thinking straight. I looked down at myself and noticed that I was wearing a pale pink dress. ‘Why am I wearing a dress? Oh, I’m a girl. No, that isn’t right, I am a boy. Or am I? Let me check, Long hair – check. Breasts? Small but there – check. Well, I must be a girl then. But I wasn’t I think. What did they give me? Did they gave me mind altering drugs? Why did I think I had been a boy? Why am I thinking so slowly and fuzzy.’

There was a bump in the road or something and I shot up a few feet, coming down I bumped my head against the side of the van. The resulting pain of hitting my head woke me up more and suddenly I knew everything that had happened. I had been a boy, somehow I was turning into a girl and these people in the van had dressed me as a girl. They were kidnapping me!

I was enraged and very angry all of a sudden. I pushed out with all my might, but this time managed to keep my clothes on. The van couldn’t withstand my power and literally exploded on the road.

Suddenly I was sitting on a seat on a bare strip of metal with wheels attached. It was still moving on a road, but I saw a turn coming up towards an exit with a mall close by.

I couldn’t steer or break the remains of the demolished vehicle, so for a moment I panicked. Then it occurred to me, I had a mutant power that involved pushing. I pushed outwards as hard as I could and the remnants of the van slowed down considerably. On the other side of the road, several cars skidded of the road and trees and signs on my side were blown over by my power.

As the wreckage of the van struck a curb gently, it stopped completely and I got off the remains of the van. I looked around and didn’t even see my kidnappers anywhere around. There was a pile up of cars way back where I had come from, but that was it.

Fearful for my sanity and life, I jumped clear of the wreckage and ran towards the mall. I ran all the way and arrived at the mall gasping for air and feeling stitches in my side from running too fast. I dashed inside expecting to find shelter and a place to hide from whomever was hunting for me. ‘How can I be a wanted person all of a sudden?’ I wanted to call home, but I didn’t have a cell phone on me. Nor did I have any money for a public payphone. Even if I could find one. With all the cell phones nowadays, they were in the process of being removed everywhere.

I found an out of the way corner where I couldn’t be seen and hid there from everyone. I sagged down against the wall and silently started crying into my arms wrapped around my face.

I woke up when a loud sound came my way. ‘Shit, I must have fallen asleep. That is a cleaning machine coming my way.’

Just as I rose up from the floor in my corner, a man pushing a cleaning machine came into view. He startled seeing someone in the corner and I ran past him fearing he would hurt me or hand me over to those MCO goons again. I ran through the now empty mall and ignored the shouting from the cleaning guy.

Hiding from view I rested for a moment. No one seemed to be hunting me for now. The cleaning guy must have thought that I had already gone out, I hoped. I waited till the lights went out and the doors got locked. Now I was really all alone in the mall. Well, maybe not, maybe they had security guards walking around in here. I hoped they only patrolled the area from outside in the cars. The malls didn’t employ a full service of mall security I think.

Walking around the empty mall made me realize that I was hungry and thirsty. There were a few vending machines still on, but I didn’t have any money. I was contemplating to use my power to just open such a machine up and get what I wanted, but I was afraid that I would totally trash everything inside it. I still didn’t know how my power operated and how I could control it.

Strolling along the mall I noticed the food court. They would have some things I could eat and drink. And if I was careful enough I might be able to just blow out the doors and not damage the goods. Desperately I aimed a hand at the door and tried to use my power. At first it didn’t do anything. Then just as I was about to give up, a powerful blast from my hand blew out the door with the whole frame and part of the wall. Even the inner door was blown 10 meters away. “Wauw!” I exclaimed seeing the carnage I just caused.

But then the alarms started to go off. I quickly ran in and grabbed some sandwiches and bottles, before running out again.

I hid in a dark corner of the women’s toilets and quickly ate some sandwiches and drank from a bottle. I hoped the security that were going to investigate wouldn’t bother to look in here. My hopes were crushed as the door swung open and some guy said loudly, “Is er iemand hierbinnen?”[Is there someone in here?]

I kept quiet as I could and tried to hide. It was no use though the man started swinging open doors and soon saw me crouching on a toilet seat. “Daar hebben we dan onze dief. Hoe heb je die deuren zo kunnen vernielen, meisje?” [There we have our thief. How did you trash those doors like that, girlie?]

Then he called out to someone else that he found me and was about to grab me. In total panic now I pushed out with all my power and the guy flew away from me into the sturdy wall. He hit with a loud thud and sagged down to the floor.

I totally lost it now, I thought I had killed him. I ran out from the toilets, straight into the arms of another man. This one held on to me, but I pushed out again with my power, trashing the not so sturdy walls and pushing the man that held me through one of those walls.

Free again I starting running, looking for a way out. I thought I finally found one when several men in black poured in through the entrance and pointed guns at me. I pushed out with my power again and managed to push them all out of the building along with the doors and part of the wall. Even I was astonished with the result and was about to run towards the exit. I never saw where the dart came from, I only felt it hitting my back.

As I reached around at what hit me in my back, I thought, ‘Oh no, not again.’ But then I blacked out again and sagged into a heap on the floor.

Somewhere in secure and armored bedroom in the facility

Waking up in a strange bed, being tied down was getting really old and boring. I sighed from frustration. I was probably back in the clutches of that mutant hating organization again. I was tied down securely on the bed and couldn’t move more than my fingers. I did the only thing I could do, I started crying. I don’t know why, but it felt good crying. But I had never cried so easily and this much before. Why didn’t I have a problem crying now?

Then it hit me, again. I had been turning into a girl. I thought that it was something that those people had done to me, but they said that I was a mutant and that I was doing it to myself. ‘That can’t be right, can it? Am I a mutant? But why am I turning into a girl then? I’ve never heard of a manifesting mutant, getting turned into a girl.’

As I was crying, someone stepped into my room. I looked up and saw to my dismay that it was that bitch Gloria again. She snapped at me, “Stop crying you little brat! You destroyed another building after escaping from here. Not to mention the van that you were in was totaled and all the damage that you did to the other vehicles. I guess you killed or drove your mother away with your dangerous powers.”

I just kept crying and didn’t say anything. I wanted to tell her that the woman hadn’t been my mother. And I did know that I didn’t destroyed the mall. I only blew the front out of the shop and the doors. ‘They shouldn’t come after me like that, it’s their fault that I had to blow the wall with the doors.’

I didn’t tell her anything though. Finally I realized that telling her the truth wasn’t going to help me any. She would spin it to her advantage and consider anything I said as an admission of guilt. I just kept in crying, sniveling and sobbing. Gloria got tired of me doing that and left not too long afterwards. A few other men and women tried to get me to talk or something, but I didn’t do anything other than cry or sob. One woman was kind enough to untie me, so I could sit up and bury my head in my knees. I got a stale ham and cheese sandwich after a while and a paper cup with water.

A very long time later I ran out of tears to cry and looked around me. I was in a totally white nondescript room with only a sturdy steel bed with a thin very hard mattress on it. I didn’t have blankets or a pillow. I really wanted to get out of here, but somehow I doubted that would happen soon. I tried to sleep and even succeeded in that for a while.

Something woke me up and I shot up to a sitting position. It was dark in the room, but I could see someone approaching my bed. “Who is there?” I asked frantically.

A man’s voice sounded, “I advise you to be quiet. Though there is no one around to hear you, but I don’t like it when girls get too loud.”

“What … Who are you and what do you want?” I was getting more concerned and frightened.

I could see his face now, he smirked. “You’re such a pushover, I’m gonna have my way with you. I’ve been doing it to several others before. Nobody believes a dangerous mutant like you anyway. I’m going to have to sedate you a bit, now hold still, you pushover brat.”

I struggled against the groping hands of the man. Desperately avoiding getting hit with the needle that he was trying to stick me with. Suddenly it dawned on me, if I’m so dangerous, why don’t I just use my power on this asshole, instead of wrestling with someone much stronger than me.

I tried to push against him, but nothing happened. I panicked and thought, ‘Did he already kill my power? Is that a drug to only incapacitate me? Can they take my power away just like that?’

Then something clicked in my head again and I pushed my attacker away very hard and fast. He smacked against the wall of my bedroom and slid down the wall leaving a smear of something dark, probably blood on the white wall.

‘Oh shit, did I kill him?’ I wanted to check his vitals, but I was afraid to go near him. I just crept into the corner of the room and sat there silently looking that the dead man on the other side.

Suddenly a squad of men burst into my room and started waving weird looking guns at me. One asked threateningly, “What did you do to him?”

I hiccupped before answering, “’Hiccup’…he… he…’hiccup’… rape… drugs…’hiccup’…scared… self-defense…’hiccup’…scared… dead?”

The man was a bit perplexed at my babbling answers and lowered his gun. Some kept theirs trained on me though, so I still wasn’t clear whether they were going to shoot me or not.

A woman entered the room, and motioned to the men to stand down or something. They lowered their guns and most exited the room. She approached me with a cup and said softly, “Alsjeblieft, drink dit.” [Please drink this]

I looked at her, with suspicion. Where they going to drug me again?

She simply said, “Het is water.” [It’s water]

I drank the water with little sips straight after each other, which I knew would get my hiccups to disappear. As I finished the water, she guided me back to the bed making me look at her, not at the wall, where the men were picking up the dead guy.

She talked to me for a while and I told her what had happened. I had been really scared. I mean I wasn’t used to being a girl. Hell, I wasn’t even fully a girl. I still had a small penis down there. I poured my heart out to the kind woman, not even realizing that she might use this as a way to get information out of me.

It took a while, but finally I calmed down enough to try to sleep. The woman, who still hadn’t told me her name, had been kind enough to give me a blanket and a thin pillow. As I lay there waiting for sleep to take me away from all this misery, I thought about what that man had said. He called me Pushover, I liked that name. It wasn’t that I was a pushover, though some people might think that. To me it referred to my power to push everything away.

Waking up wasn’t that unpleasant for a change. Though the strange bedroom still wasn’t to my liking. As I stretched my muscles to get things starting, the woman from last night came in. “Hallo, hoe voel je je nu?” [Hello, how are you feeling now?]

I smiled at her, “Beter, dank je.” [Better, thank you.]

She sat down on the bed, “Ik wil graag met je praten, je zit erg in de nesten. Waarom werk je niet mee met deze mensen? Ze kunnen je helpen met je problemen.” [I want to talk to you, you’re in a lot of trouble. Why don’t you cooperate with these people? They can help you with your problems.]

Suddenly I got very suspicious, I had seen enough TV series where they play bad cop and good cop. Her demeanour started ringing all kinds of alarm bells. Carefully I asked her, “Waarom zou ik meewerken, zo goed hebben ze me niet behandeld. Ik wil naar huis!” [Why should I cooperate, they didn’t treat me that well. I want to go home.]

My suspicions were proven correct as she stood up with a dirty look on her face and silently strode out of the room. Gloria and a big beefy man came in at the same time she exited and Gloria snarled, “Why don’t you just do as we tell you. It will go a lot easier for all of us.”

I snarled back, “I want to go home, and away from you freaking morons.”

The big beefy man smacked with an open hand on the side of my face, knocking me clear from the bed. I felt my cheek stinging with the imprint and was about to use my power on him as I got up. But I halted all plans in that direction as a big nasty gun was aimed at me.

I sagged back to the floor and hid my head in my hands and knees again. Gloria kept yelling how I would be locked up here forever and started cussing at me for some time. I don’t know how long, but finally she gave up, she had the big man drag me across the floor, so I had to uncurl and tried to counter him. He just dragged me out of the room.

He was manhandled through a hallway towards a cellblock, when I heard a familiar voice.

My mom said in a loud tone, “Where is my son, I know that you’re holding him here!”

A different voice said, “I can honestly say that we don’t have a boy with the description of your son in this building, nor anywhere else in our custody.”

‘Well, he’s not lying, I’ll give him that. I’m well on my way to being a girl now.’ This was my one chance, I hoped this was really my mom and not an imposter again. “Mam, Ik ben hier!” I yelled at my loudest volume. [Mom, I’m here!]

Mom quickly looked in my direction, and ran past the man that had tried to keep her from entering the halls. He still tried to grab Mom, but she was out of his reach and a policeman prevented him from going after her.

Mom quickly reached me and asked, “What hebben ze met jou gedaan? Je ziet er uit als een meisje.” [What did they do to you? You look like a girl.]

“Ze zeggen dat ik een mutant ben en dat mijn manifestatie dit veroorzaakte.” [They told that I’m a mutant and that my manifestation caused this.]

Mom held me and spoke quietly to me that it didn’t matter. She would still love me as her daughter. I quickly looked into a mirror that I saw hanging and this time the reflection showed my mom holding my new body in an embrace. I relaxed finally, Mom was here and everything was going to be okay now.

Gloria strode up to us, “This mutant is dangerous and needs to be isolated. We’ll have to keep her in a secured room at all times.”

Mom snarled furiously, “She’s not dangerous and I know about all the other cases where you tried to kidnap manifesting mutant children. You’re not getting my girl.”

I added softly, “I’m not dangerous, only when I’m extremely agitated and harassed do I lash out with my power. I don’t do it by accident. You provoked me several times into using it.”

Another man came towards us, “I’m the District Attorney and I have here a document ordering you to release the child into her mother’s care. If you don’t comply we’ll have you arrested and seize any and all files in this building.”

Gloria finally saw that she was outgunned and glowered for a moment at me before walking away angrily.

Mom kissed me on my forehead, “Ik ben blij dat ik je weer terug heb, Marc.” [I’m glad to have you back, Marc.]

“Misschien kun je me nu beter Marcy noemen.” I said hesitantly. [Maybe you should now call me Marcy.]

“Marie,” Mom said confidently.

“Wat?” I asked her.

“Ik zou je Marie hebben genoemd.” [I would have named you Marie.]

It took some time before Mom could take me out of the building. The MCO still tried to keep me there, claiming I was too dangerous to be out in public. But the DA countered all of their arguments and managed to get me released.

In a big car with tinted windows we drove off, but we didn’t go towards home. “Mam? Waar gaan we heen? Ik ben al eens eerder door een bedriegster ontvoert!” [Mom? Where are we going? I’ve been abducted by an imposter before!]

She explained to me that we were on our way to a safe house. There I would be questioned on everything that had happened and get a physical examination by a doctor. I was still apprehensive about it, but it did make sense. Then again so it had the previous time, when I was abducted. ‘Am I getting paranoid about everything now? Jeez I hope I don’t become a basket case in dire need of psychiatric help.’

The debriefing was tedious, but not too stressful. Mom stayed with me the whole time and was shocked a few times about what I had done and what I had endured. Getting examined was a whole other story. I even threatened the woman doctor when she wanted to inspect my privates. I was ready to blast her into the wall! Mom calmed me down fortunately and after some embarrassing moments I was declared fit and healthy. Well, not counting the fact that I was now a shemale on the way of becoming a full girl.

Coming home was anticlimactic. Since it was just Mom and me living there, no one was there to meet us and Mom ordered me to my bed very early. I stayed awake for a while thinking over everything that had happened. I was back home, but now everything had changed for me. I felt like crying, but didn’t want to. I fought it for a long time, but finally I couldn’t hold it any longer and started crying softly into my pillow. I cried myself to sleep that evening.

I think Mom knew I had been crying, she had me sit down early the next morning and made me talk over everything. Before I knew it, I poured my heart out to her, about my change, about having powers and potentially being dangerous. Mom just listened and supported me in ways I hadn’t seen her do before. Then she dropped a bombshell on me. “Ik denk dat je naar een andere school moet. Je eigen school is opgeblazen, door jou. Bovendien zal je je beter thuis voelen op de school waar ik je heen wil sturen. Het is een kostschool, dus je zult op jezelf moeten leven daar.” [I think that you need to go to another school. Your own school was blown up, by you. Besides you’ll feel better at home at the school where I want to send you. It’s a boarding school, so you’ll have to live on your own there.]

“Wat voor school?” I managed to squeak out. [What kind of school?]

“Het is een school voor mutanten en andere kinderen met bijzondere gaven.” [It’s a school for mutants and other children with special gifts.]

I looked at her with a suspicious look, “En hoe je weet van deze school?” [And how do you know about this school?]

Mom smiled at me, “Omdat ik vroeger naar deze school ben geweest. Ik ben een Avatar, ik heb bijna geen gaven, maar toch was ik daar op school.” [Because I used to go to that school. I’m an Avatar, I barely have any gifts, but I was still in school there.]

I was flabbergasted, Mom was an Avatar? ‘What the hell is an Avatar?‘ Mom seemed to guess my thoughts as she explained what an Avatar was. She could trap a spirit inside her and she did. The spirit gave her more stamina and reflexes and a much better memory. She told me a lot about all the things that people on that school where like and the different kinds of people I might encounter. My mind reeled from all the information that I got. ‘And I’m supposed to go to that school?’

The next weeks flew by in blur as I had to get ready for transferring to a new school. Lucky for me that it was the summer holiday. I could stay at home and not get bothered about my new looks from anyone that might know me. Well, I think they wouldn’t know me now if they met me on the street anyhow. I was well on my way into girlhood, Mom even instructed me into behaving and acting like a girl. She bought some dresses and skirts for me, but I still refused to wear them. Though I think I will have to soon. Mom threatened to throw away all my pants if I didn’t start wearing some of them soon.

Finally the day arrived for me to go to America and go to a very expensive boarding school. Well, I did get a scholarship from some organization I had never heard of, but Mom still had to pay a hefty fee. She also put money into an account for my every day expenses and for emergencies.

Mom took me to Schiphol and after a very emotional goodbye where we both cried a lot, I got singled out by security and had to wait in a small room. Two people in suits that screamed MCO, joined me there after a few minutes. I was about to get angry, but didn’t want to start a scene at the airport. ‘I may knock a plane out of the sky by accident.’

The man and the woman of the MCO were very professional, but I had to endure a strip search and they questioned me for half an hour about my control of my power. I had to get photographed, fingerprinted and they even drew blood from me for as they said: security measures.

After that embarrassing incident, I finally got to board the plane and had an uneventful flight to the United States of America. Well, I did see someone that I thought was MCO on board, I’m sure they had someone watching me all the time. It was something that I would do, so I wasn’t surprised that they did.

A long journey on several planes, interrupted by further hassles from MCO personnel, and a train ride later I found myself on a platform of a small station in a town called Dunwich. I saw several other kids my age exit the train and go through a wooden door with frosted windows.

I hesitated only slightly before going through the door myself and saw a bunch of kids sitting or standing in the room. There were some vending machines and a few kids were busy with an old pinball machine. There was a blonde girl standing a bit out of the way and I thought I should ask her if she knew anything what was going on here.

I tapped her shoulder to get her attention, when she startled and suddenly disappeared from her clothes! I mean she literally was gone, while her clothes just fell down in a heap on the floor. I startled and for a moment thought that I had a new undiscovered power. Then it dawned on me, these were all mutants or something and probably had powers themselves. Maybe she teleported, but why didn’t she take her clothes with her?

A boy behind me said, “Geez, I hope you’re not a disintegrator. You’d be thrown to the MCO if you killed a kid before you even got to the school.”

I turned to him, “I’m not a disintegrator. I didn’t do anything. I just tapped her shoulder.”

He turned around, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He walked off like he didn’t care about what just happened. ‘Well maybe he didn’t.’

As I turned back to where the blond girl had been standing I heard a tiny voice in my right ear, “Excuse me, but since you scared me out of my clothes, can you help me to rectify the situation?”

I looked around, but there was no one in sight. “Sorry? Who …”

The tiny voice spoke again. “I’m currently only as big as your fingernail and stark naked. So, if you would gather all my clothes and take them to the restroom so I can get dressed.”

Now I understood, she had shrunk to a teeny tiny size and forgot to include her clothes in the change. I gathered up all her clothes from the floor and made my way to the restroom. In a mostly clean stall I closed the door and suddenly the blond girl grew back to the size she was before.

She was totally naked indeed, however it did nothing to me anymore, since I was as much a girl as she was. I gave her the clothing piece by piece and she got dressed. When she was almost done, I asked, “So, why did you shrink, but not your clothes?”

“That was your fault, I was scared out of my wits because of you and by instinct shrunk. Normally I shrink my clothes with me.”

I looked glumly at her, “Sorry, I didn’t know. I just wanted to ask you if you knew anything about what we were to do there and such.”

The girl smiled, “Hey, it’s okay. You couldn’t have known about my reaction, my name is Kestra.” She held her hand out to me.

I shook her hand, “I’m Marie Bandsma, but you can also call me Pushover.”

Kestra looked strangely at me, “Why do you call yourself that?”

“My mom explained that we need a codename at the school, and my power is pushing stuff away, but I’m by no means a pushover.” I said to her with a smile on my face.

“Oh, well I guess you can call me Pixie then. Because the first time I shrunk, I turned into a size of a Pixie and I have retracted wings as well.”

I smiled again, “Okay, Pixie. So, about this place?”

“I think you know more about it than me. I didn’t hear about this place till Mrs. Felder discovered that I existed and that I was a mutant.”

“My mom only told me what she knew about the school. She was there herself in the past she said.” I explained to Kestra. “How about your parents?”

Kestra suddenly had a sad expression on her face. “My parents tried to kill me. They think I’m dead. You see I didn’t look like this before my change and suddenly I was gone from my room as it appeared, in fact I just shrunk to such a small size that they didn’t see me. Later when I returned to my room in a relative normal size, they thought I was a mutant that killed their son. I haven’t been back since.”

I looked crestfallen, “I’m sorry, I had no idea. I can relate a little though, I used to be a boy as well. Now we’re both good looking girls.”

“Mrs. Felder said that I’m probably an Exemplar, she didn’t explain to me what that meant.”

I thought back to what my mom had told me, “Mom said that an exemplar is a mutant whose power slowly shapes their body according to an ideal that they've formed somewhere in their subconscious. It usually makes them stronger, faster, tougher, smarter and most times good looking. Well, according to my Mom. She also said that I’m an Exemplar.”

Kestra smiled at me, “Okay, so you know a lot about this then?”

“Well, I’m smarter I think and better looking, but I still have a lot to learn myself about all this. Oh, by the way. Another thing my Mom told me is that we have to stay with two people in a room. Do you think we could be rooming together?” I looked hopeful at her. “If you don’t object that is of course.”

Kestra kept smiling, “I wouldn’t mind, you’re not so bad to be around I think, despite our first bad encounter.”

Mockingly I said, “I said I was sorry already.”

Kestra hushed me with a hug. “I’m just teasing you Marie, it really was my fault for being so jumpy. You did help me well enough afterwards.”

Together we went back out to the waiting room, where only moments later a tall Asian woman came in and asked for attention with, “Okay, listen up! My name is Mrs. Shugendo; I’m the Dean of Students at Whateley Academy. There are two shuttles here to take you to the school. I’m going to call off your names alphabetically. When I call out your name, let me know who you are, and then go out to the vans. Now, I know that you have a lot of questions, but unless it’s an Emergency, save it for when we get to the school.”

To be continued …
For more information about Whateley and the powers used, please read other stories in the Whateley universe and my first fanfic Whateley story: Pixie.

Any author is allowed to use my character though I appreciate a heads up and a draft before posting.
 
 
The Lead Up

My father is a terrific specialist in his field of oil drilling. But his racism has always gotten him into trouble. And even worse he dragged me and my younger brother with him. He infused us with his ideas for so long that we were also racists. Even my mother didn't like people of other races that much. But she worked quite well enough with most of them.

Things changed a little a while ago, my dad's employer had enough of his racism and sent him to Louisiana, to New Orleans to be precise. My father was now partially in charge of the rigs in the gulf. But it meant he had to tone down on his beliefs because of the many black people living here. I also had to keep a lower profile in my expressions.

Still I got myself a scholarship to get into law school at Tulane. Why did I get the scholarship? Well first I was a big jock, capable of holding my own in a football game. But that isn't enough. You have to have a good throwing arm, running speed or a large mass to block. I didn't have all of that, but I had something else. A few years ago, I secretly did a Webster & Kline test. I scored only moderate in my magic abilities, but they said it is normal for a male. They said it was something about the Y-chromosome blocking magic. Females did far better in magic.

I did find out my magic talent or power. I didn't tell anyone though. You may ask why, well maybe the same reason that whisperers don't tell. If people know that you are a whisperer, and are aware, then your power doesn't work. I didn't have that problem, but I would be disqualified to play the sports that I did. You see, I'm a precognitive. I can see in the future. Not very far mind you, my power is just a weak one. And it isn't actually like seeing it. It is more a feeling or hunch to me. So somehow I just know where the ball is going to be or what a person is about to do. Because of this I could play a whole range of positions on the field. Mostly I was a wide receiver or running back. Sometimes I was backup quarterback, though my arm wasn't good enough to play full time in that position. Hell I could even play defense sometimes as an interceptor. Sometimes a coach used me just for that. I think they guessed my magic talent. Anyway it paid my way through college and I got a great physique doing the sports. Because of that I never lacked a girlfriend. Right now Elise Jameson, one of the cheerleaders had attached herself to me. And I really liked her too. I was making progress with her, but still hadn't gone past first base. That was ok with me, I was in no rush. I wasn't a virgin anymore, my previous girlfriends had seen to that. I didn't have them as friends anymore though. They were repulsed by my racist remarks that I sometimes uttered. Hopefully I didn't screw it up with Elise.

The day everything changed, I was barging my way through the hall in a hurry. I had just finished my morning run and showered. I didn't want to be too late for Professor Sanderson's lesson and my watch said that it was already too late.

I made my way without so much of a thought about other people. I didn't shy away from a fight anyway. Did I already mention that my magic talent is also very useful in a fight? Well it's very practical. But I digress. As I came to my destination, I noticed that I wasn't late at all, in fact I was early. The previous class was just exiting. I looked at my watch, the damn thing was apparently broken. I moved without watching towards the entrance and bumped into a cute little black girl.

Without thinking I said, "Watch it, Cocoa."

The big black guy next to her started to take offence, "Who do you think you are calling my girlfriend Cocoa."

I wasn't in a good mood and was looking for an outlet. So I looked back with a menacing grin.

"Bring it on, nigger." Now I really had him going.

He started coming at me, but the girl said, "No Brett, he's not worth it." Then she pulled him away from me. Where did she get to power to do that? Oh well I could find myself another victim later and went inside the classroom.

Sanderson started his class very soon after that and I forgot my issues when he started talking about faults. Now this had my interest. This was because of something I had experienced during a holiday in September in New York.

Soon there was an opportunity and I spoke up, "Professor. I have a friend with precognitive power. He was near the WMTC in New York on 9 September. He claimed to have a vision of a big grey cloud trying to smother him just before he fainted."

This started the discussion on the disturbance in New York. We arrived at a possible scenario that a big explosion or something happened in a parallel world, causing the disturbance in ours.

I really liked this class, it gave me possible answers on some of the visions I had been getting. Of course I didn't tell anyone I was the one having the vision. That would ruin my sports participation and my reputation. Imagine if someone knew I had fainted.

A few hours later I found my victim for a fight. I just finished lunch and was watching some of the girls. One girl in particular looked hot. She was Asian with a very revealing outfit. I know what you're thinking. If I'm such a racist, then why would I look at an Asian chick? Well the ideas were pumped in by my dad. But secretly some girls from other races looked very appealing. A few even looked better than white girls. Anyway some Asian guys didn't appreciate my leering stare and decided to do something about it.

"He gweijai, stop looking at my girl."

And I knew I had just found my fight. "I look where I want, gook."

"What did you call me?"

"Are you deaf as well as dumb, I said gook, you chink."

Now he was pissed. He swung his arm in a karate chop, but sensing it, I blocked and slapped his face hard. So hard actually that he fell down. He jumped up quickly enough and tried a high kick to my head. I stepped in and punched him hard in his stomach. This took the air and the fight right out of him, another easy victory for me. I left him crumpled on the ground and went to my next class while his buddy, a big guy, knelt down with him asking, "Lee, say something."

During that evening on football practice I noticed that guy Lee sitting on the bleachers. He was giving some conspiratorial looks at someone on the field. Of course I knew the defense players. One of them, Chao, was a big Asian guy. He was bigger than me and had been with Lee at the fight. So now I could expect a revenge attempt from his friend. During the practice run of a new play the coach was trying out, I caught the ball and sure enough I felt someone threatening to crash into me. Thank you Webster & Kline for giving me the precog sense magic.

With a quick sidestep like I was dancing, I slipped out of harms way and saw Chao slam into the ground. He expected to land on me, but now connected with the much harder and unforgiving turf.

With a glee I taunted, " Missed me."

He got up very quickly considering his bulk and was about to attack me again, when Coach Silver shouted, "Chao, quit foolin around. Get your butt over here."

Grumbling the big bruiser complied while I smiled at his failure to hurt me. I went back to my assigned space and threw the ball back to the quarterback. Later I walked to the locker rooms when the coach called me in his office.

"I know your talent, Wood. I don't mind using it, but don't flaunt it too much. And I know your problem also. I do not condone any racism here. So stop taunting others and no remarks either. Or you're off the team."

Shit, I had to be more careful. I still needed this football team membership to keep my scholarship. Fortune was with me though as I only got a warning. It was only too bad that I wasn't privy to the conversation taking place outside at the bleachers between Chao and Lee.

"I thought you said it would be easy to have Wood get into an accident. Why didn't you take him on harder."

Chao shrugged, "I can't just go out and punch him. Not with Coach and the guys watching. I would be off the team."

"So what now, we still owe a world of hurt to him," said Lee.

"I have something else in mind. It will not only get us even with Wood, but settle a score with someone else for me also."

Lee looked questioningly, "What are you up to?"

"Better you don't know. What you don't know you can't tell."
 
 
The Trap

A couple of days later early in the morning I was preparing to go to class. I just finished breakfast and reached for the doorknob when my warning sense from my precog power buzzed insistently. I jerked open the door expecting someone to attack me. Well I was half right anyway. I froze as I stared into the barrels of several guns. The police were right outside the house with their guns all pointing at me. I dropped my bag and slowly raised my hands to shoulder level holding my palms forward.

A guy in a suit to my right asked, "Are you Douglas Wood?"

I nodded, "Uh huh."

"Douglas Wood, you are under arrest for assault and rape."

Then he continued reading my rights while another police officer handcuffed me behind my back. Meanwhile my mind was working overtime. What did they mean with rape? I hadn't had sex in months. And as for assault, I had only defended myself against attackers. Granted I had provoked every one of them, but that wasn't assault. And I did know; I wasn't a law student for nothing.

My parents came looking alerted by the noise and got all upset about me being arrested. I told them that I didn't do anything wrong. The cops quickly put me in a car while dad shouted that he would do whatever it took to get me out. Soon I arrived at the station and was led to the booking desk. After removing all my pocket contents, shoelaces and other things like my watch, I got thrown in a jail cell to wait for interrogation. I guess they talked to some other people first, because I waited for quite some time. Of course without my watch, I just had to guess at the time by the position of the sun. I didn't get anything to eat from anyone, so I was quite hungry when they finally came for me. I was put in a bare concrete room with two detectives and a black mirror imbedded in the wall. That was probably the one way mirror, and people were watching us.

One detective had a beard and asked, "Tell me, boy, why did you rape Kathy? Was she unwilling or did you just not care that she didn't want to have sex." I just kept quiet.

"Just talk to us, son," said the other older man. "We already found her panties in your room."

They kept badgering me and asking me those questions and where I was last night for some time. Then Beard got relieved by another detective with a cross-eyed look. First this new guy just looked on as the old guy kept asking why I did it.

Then Cross-eye asked with a soft voice, "Why don't you just admit that you raped poor Kathy?"

At the first sound out of his mouth, my warning sense screamed 'bloody murder' and I braced myself for the whisper. I barely blocked it in time and with enough force.

I got really angry and yelled, "Don't you fucking try to whisper me into a confession."

Now Cross-eye was shaken. He didn't expect me to know about the whisper, much less block it.

But I was so pissed that I continued, "I don't know this Kathy. I didn't assault anyone. I don't know how those panties ended up in my room. I haven't been close with a girl except my girlfriend Elise and I haven't had any sex in months."

Two men entered the room during my tirade and as I finished. One of the men told Cross-eye to leave the room.

The other man said, "I'm your lawyer, Greg Heumer. I advise you to say no more to them and that we have a private talk first."

I concurred and asked if I could get something to eat. Greg was outraged that they hadn't given me anything to eat or drink and shortly later I was munching on a burger while we started talking about the case. He told me to answer truthfully to him and asked me to tell my side of the events. I outlined all the things I did the previous day and told him that I had no clue about the girl. He asked me about the found undergarments. I explained that I was only told that they found it in my room. Greg told me according to the file that the panty they found from the raped girl was torn up and lay in a corner of my room like it was tossed there. A half hour later we were both back in the interrogation room questioned by Beard, who identified himself now as Sergeant Vá¶ller and a Detective Baker.

Vá¶ller asked with his deep calm voice, "Douglas, I apologize for Rizman's try to whisper you into anything. He should not do that and will be punished. But we would like to know how you knew about his whisper and how you could resist him that easily."

Well it had been anything but easy. Damn, that man was powerful with his whisper.

"Well I kind of sensed it and got a headache blocking it."

Baker jumped in, "Are you a whisperer too, Douglas?"

"No," I answered coldly. "If I was, I would not be here accused of rape. Any girl would gladly sleep with me."

Vá¶ller responded, "Not all, if she resisted a whisper, then the attacker might rape her. But what is your magical talent then?"

"I am a precognitive, but I didn't score high on my test. Just between 50 and 60."

Baker interrupted, "So you couldn't whisper Kathy Hsu into having sex with you and you just did it the only other way, rape."

I fumed again, "Who is this Kathy Sue? I don't know her."

Greg intervened, "Let's stay calm and go over the events."

Vá¶ller agreed, "Why don't you just tell us about your day yesterday."

I closed my eyes for a second, taking in a long breath. "After classes I had football practice till about six thirty. Then I went home, had dinner and went to my room to study."

"You never went back down to the others or out of the house?"

"I did go down once to get a soda."

Baker asked again, "What time was that?"

"I don't exactly know the time. But I did see that someone scored a homerun in the game on TV. My dad can confirm that."

"I'm afraid that family members are not that much of use."

Greg asked, "Now who is the girl that Douglas supposedly raped?"

Vá¶ller answered, "Her name is Kathy Hsu, not Sue. She is the daughter of a Chinese restaurant owner. Douglas should know her she is a student at his college."

Greg gave me a sign to keep quiet. "Why is she so sure that Douglas attacked her? Did she see him clearly enough to identify him?"

"No, but she said that he told her 'For Douglas Wood all Chinese girls are just fuck toys'," said Vá¶ller.

I was about to blow up again, but Greg hushed me. Instead they kept asking questions about my whereabouts, trying to break my story. But I didn't stray from my story. Why should I? It was the truth. Then they said that they found the panties.

"You had her panties in your room; did you just toss it in the corner?"

"I don't rape girls and take their panties."

They didn't believe me of course and kept asking and accusing me. Later that night I got a visit from my father and brother in the jail. They told me that mom was too upset to come see me. They asked me about things and I told them in short explicit sentences what I was accused of and what really happened. They had some trouble with my story because of the evidence against me, but they did trust me enough to believe I was innocent. The police kept questioning me almost every day the next two days, but I never cracked. A few days later I was put on trial already.
 
 
The Trial

In the courtroom I saw Kathy Hsu for the first time consciously. She's a very good looking Asian girl. I had seen her a few times before at college, but I had never talked to her. She was put on the stand very early in the proceedings. With tears in her eyes she answered the questions of the prosecutor and repeated her earlier quote 'For Douglas Wood all Chinese girls are just fuck toys'. We all felt sorry for her and even I had doubts about my own innocence. Greg was totally professional though and had put together a good defense. He asked her to listen well and had me say the same line. Then he asked if my voice was the same as the one she heard. Kathy couldn't tell and Greg told the jury that anyone could have said that to implicate me. Then Greg asked if she had more reason to suspect me. Kathy said that the attacker was about my height, which meant towering over her. Some testimonies of crime investigators were heard after that and the panties were brought up as evidence against me. They already established that they had belonged to Kathy both by her confirmation and the outcome of the tests in the lab. Greg asked the investigator if there had been traces of me on the panties. They admitted that no epidermis or other cells had been found matching my DNA, so this evidence was made more or less harmless. Then the judge adjourned for the day. The next day I was put on the stand by Greg as the first person.

He asked me, "What do you think about the quote from Miss Hsu?"

In a calm tone I replied, "I would never say something like that because of three things. First: My mom taught me to respect girls. I would never attack one. Second: I would not say Chinese. I wouldn't know the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese. I would have said Asian. Third: As a Law Student I would not be so stupid to say my own name. So someone just said that to implicate me."

Greg continued with, "How about the panties that the police found in your room."

"I don't know how the panties from Miss Hsu got into my room,. I do have a window open most of the time, so the panties could have been thrown in I guess. Again I can only emphasize that as a Law Student I wouldn't leave something like that in my room."

Greg asked me a few more questions and then it was the prosecutor's turn.

He paced a few times before me and then asked, "Doesn't Miss Hsu look hot to you?"

"Yes and no."

"Why do you say both, Douglas?"

I sighed, "Yes, she is a good looking girl. No, because I don't date Asian people."

The prosecutor turned to me, "Are you saying that you are a racist"

"I do not call myself a racist, but I just don't mingle with some other people."

The prosecutor tried to corner me more, but Greg objected and the Judge told the prosecutor to move on.

He looked into some papers and then asked, "Do you have a magic talent, Douglas?"

I hesitated with my answer, looking to Greg for what to say. He nodded affirmatively.

"Please answer the question," said the Judge.

"Yes, I do have a magic talent."

"And what is your specific talent? Is it perhaps whispering and didn't it work as well as you wanted?"

Again I was forced to answer, "I am a precognitive."

"Please elaborate for us ignorant people here."

"I can sense where someone is going to hit me and how. I can also feel a whisperer trying to goad me, like one of the policemen did."

The prosecutor ignored my accusation, "How about sports, do you use it there too?"

Now I was squirming, "Ok, I can feel where a ball is probably going and what my opponent will do."

Shit, now my football days were over.

"So you were cheating in the games that you played. What was your plan, get lots of money playing it?"

"No, I play for the sport and to go to school. It is not something I asked for, and it isn't that strong."

He tried to corner me again, but with Greg's help the Judge had him move on again.

After that there were some more trivial questions, which were anticlimactic. Some other witnesses were put on the stand, including my dad and brother. They confirmed my alibi, but the value wasn't that high it seemed. Everyone would expect my family to cover for me.
 
 
Punishment

The jury was sent out to deliberate on the verdict while we waited. It seemed like ages, but in fact they were back quite early. To my surprise I was found not guilty by the jury. The verdict was greeted with lots of booing from the public. About half of them were my classmates and most others were Asian people. I got escorted out of the courtroom and still didn't feel ok when I arrived home. I went straight to my room trying to read a bit in my class books.

My brother Gordon came in soon, "I don't believe you did it, Douglas."

"Thanks, Flash." I always called Gordon Flash whenever I meant it.

It started right after we saw the movie Flash Gordon. I accidentally hit him, and apologized sincerely. I called him Flash then jokingly for the first time. Since then I used it sparingly only whenever I really meant it and was serious.

A few days later I had to go back to school. I went there with lead in my shoes and with good reasons as I found out.

In short, my return to school was one big disaster. Wherever I walked, I got called racist and pervert behind my back. I didn't even try to look around anymore to spot who said it. My locker got spray painted with Racist and Rapist. Even worse, everyone I looked at, looked away or looked back with a menacing glare, disapproving looks or outright contempt.

Already the first day Coach Silver called me into his office. "Sorry, Douglas. But now that your secret of your magical talent is out, I can't keep you on the team. You are out of the football."

As I expected, the next call came from the head office. I already figured what they would say and went there sullenly.

"Douglas Wood, because your recent dismissal from the football team, we cannot allow you to keep your scholarship. I'm sorry, but we have no choice. You can of course finish this semester."

The semester was already mostly over, just a few weeks left. Well at least they didn't kick me out because of the false accusation. The first few days after this dreadful news, I still showed up in class, though it was uncomfortable being stared at by the others with their contempt and hatred. Even the teachers avoided me, they didn't speak openly to me anymore.

But as the days went by I grew more indifferent. I would never complete my education for passing the bar exams. I would not become a lawyer, my parents couldn't afford it and I would never get a loan to continue the school. Even if I had the prospects of paying it back.

So I had to look forward taking jobs as a worker in a factory or something menial. So it was no wonder that I started drinking. It started with a few beers in the bars, then a few more at home. It quickly wasn't enough and I changed over to the more potent stuff. Within a week I was more drunk than sober all day long.

My parents watched it with disgust and pity. But although they tried to keep me from drinking too much, they were far from successful. Gordon tried to keep me from drinking but even he gave up after I swore at him and tried to hit him. He knew I didn't mean to hurt him or his feelings, but he could do nothing more than see me going down to the level of the gutter.

Ever since I started drinking the hard liquor, I didn't bother to shave or shower much and soon I looked more like a hobo than a student. A couple of times I got thrown in jail again for public intoxication. It was fortunate that I didn't own a car or I might have faced more serious charges like for DUI or worse. During my weeks-long binge, Elise decided I wasn't good enough for her or any other girl and with a terrible fight we broke up. She told me that she would be gone for several weeks on a vacation and that I should be out of her life when she got back. Well she would get her wish, but not as anyone thought it would.

One night I was walking, well not exactly walking, more like staggering along some obscure street. I was very drunk again and lost in the city and my thoughts. I didn't know or didn't care where I was and where I was going. Then at some point my warning sense started to alert me that I was in danger. I didn't pay attention and ignored it. It got louder and louder, but my drunken stupor was so big that I still failed to react. Then it got so loud that my head started to hurt and finally I woke from my stupor. My reaction time was very slow in my drunken state, but even in peak performance I might not have escaped the attack. Someone froze me from behind. Then still from behind a bag was thrown over my head and I couldn't see a thing anymore. Someone started carrying me to another place and from the echoing sounds, I assumed it to be an abandoned building. I was strapped down to an inclining hard surface while a little feeling crept back into my nerves and muscles. After I was bound securely, the bag was pulled from my head and I could see barely that I lay on a sort of bench that had broken down on one end, making it angle to the floor. The bench was illuminated by some lamp outside, while the rest of the place stayed dark. Someone, presumably my attacker, put something up to my face while staying in the dark himself. Vaguely I could make out a form of another person further away, but I couldn't make out who or what it was. The something near my face turned out to be a cup with a foul smelling concoction. My mouth was forced open and the liquid was poured into my throat. I tried to block it, but had to swallow. As my face was released, I tried to heave, but I couldn't do it. A gravely throaty voice came from the man behind me.

"It's no use trying to get the potion out of you. By now it has already been absorbed. Now you get to feel what it is to be a fuck toy."

Now I was scared; were they planning to sodomize me? But then the man and the other person just left. I mean they just went away like that. They left me behind, tied up, alone without any help. It was then, thanks to the returning feeling in my extremities, that I noticed that my bonds weren't that tight. I twisted my right wrist and managed to free it. The freeze was wearing off well now and though I was still drunk, I relatively easily managed to free myself. I tottered out of the building, an abandoned factory it seemed, and made my way swaying and reeling towards a road. I almost made it when I started to feel sick. My guts felt like they were on fire and I started retching everything in my stomach. There wasn't much in there, but what there was came out. I was sobering up quickly now, but whatever disease I now had, made me still feel and look as awful like a drunk.

As I stumbled out into a road, a police car happened to pass by. The officers stopped and recognized me as the regular drunk kid. They took me in for another night in the holding tank to sober up. I just felt so sick that I rolled up into a fetal ball and stayed like that till they checked up on me. The officer looking in on me realized that I wasn't drunk but sick. He had me released and had a squad car drive me home. It was already well into the morning as I arrived home, and everyone in the house had gone to work or school. I had the place to myself.

I felt quite filthy and after throwing all my clothes into a hamper (was it my imagination or were my clothes bigger than they should be?), I took a long warm bath. I should have noticed that my height wasn't the same anymore or that my body hair wasn't as thick as it used to be. But I didn't pay attention, because although I still wasn't feeling well, it was getting better. After my bath, my skin got raw from rubbing it dry. Then I dove straight into bed and slept for a very long time. I slept through everyone coming home and dinner. I wasn't even hungry. My parents assumed that I already had a liquid dinner, so they didn't ask me to join them. The whole night I was engulfed in a restless sleep, filled with nightmares. I can recall all of them, which is weird, because before I never could remember any of my dreams. Though being dreams, I could not recall them exactly, more like wispy images.

Anyway, one type of dream was about me assaulting a girl. That was probably put into my head with the spells. So were the others put in also? Other types of dreams were about me being assaulted as a girl. Now this was strange. The few dreams that weren't about assaults on girls were about some people talking to me in a strange language. But I could kind of understand what they said. How weird, I don't even know what language they spoke.
 
 
The Change

The next morning I was still half asleep through the noise the family made. My mom started to enter my room, but stayed in the doorway.

"Douglas, we are going out of town to look for another house. We'll be gone for at least two days. You can make something to eat for yourself if you want." She paused for a moment and looked caringly at me. "I'm glad to see that you finally decided to shave, but you could use a haircut."

Her words didn't fully register with me and I just groaned. Mom closed the door and moments later I heard the car pull out. It took another five minutes before the words sank in and suddenly I jumped up with a start. What did she mean 'decided to shave'? I hadn't shaved last night. I should still have a day's beard. I stepped out of bed wearing only my boxer shorts and they promptly slid down my legs. I had to hold them up while I made my way to the bathroom. In the bathroom I looked closely in the mirror and saw my face, but it wasn't quite my face. All the hair on my cheeks and chin was gone. There was no trace whatsoever that I ever had a beard. Worse, my brows didn't look right. It seemed as if they had been plucked a bit. Then I noticed that my eyes weren't their usual blue, but were getting darker. And they didn't look as round anymore, more almond shaped. Then I stepped back a bit and it hit me like a sledgehammer. My muscles weren't as prominent anymore. My height seemed to have diminished and my skin looked as smooth as a...

Fuck, now I got the meaning of the words that the man had said. I was changing into a girl. I didn't realize yet how diabolical they were with all the spells they put on me, but I would find out soon enough. I was thinking hard and fast now. The almond shape of my eyes indicated that I would probably end up as an Asian, no make that Chinese girl. I now had a pretty good guess as to who the other person in the abandoned factory had been. It probably was the father or mother of Kathy. Maybe it even had been Kathy herself.

I had read up on transformation spells after a class about it. Some sensationalist newspapers said that boys were being turned into girls by attaching a spell or multiple spells to a virus. My readings also revealed that once a spell like that was in motion, it could not be stopped or countered. Even worse, a boy could be turned into a girl, but a girl could not be turned into a boy. So it meant that I would be stuck as a girl forever. Now I had something to worry about, my family would find an unknown girl instead of their son at home and it would be a Chinese girl to boot. My father would never accept it or me. I had to get away from here. I grabbed a few of my old clothes that I had outgrown. Now they fit me, they were even a bit too large. I then collected all my class books and notes and some personal items that I wanted to keep, including my cuddle toy Mr. Gorilla. I know, a grown young man with a cuddle toy? So what, laugh all you want, now as a girl it was perfectly all right to have it.

With difficulty I managed to get the boxes with my stuff into my personal storage, a small hiding place no one knew about. I went back in the house and scrounged the place for cash. My search came up empty, probably everyone thought to hide it from me so I wouldn't be able to buy booze. I didn't feel very hungry, but made myself an egg sandwich anyway. Slowly chewing my sandwich I pondered what to do now. I knew I couldn't stay here, so where could I go? I didn't have any friends I could trust with this. Then in an epiphany it came to me. I remembered word for word that Elise had said: "I will be gone for several weeks on a vacation and I expect you to be out of my life when I get back." Strange, I never had a memory that good before. Usually I had to write down things to remember them.

Elise had her own apartment, she had no roommates, it was secluded and I knew where she hid the spare key. I should be able to stay there till the changes were all finished. Then I could start making plans for the future if I still had any left.

I made my way to Elise's apartment as inconspicuously as I could and reached it quite uneventfully. As I arrived in her apartment, I felt tired and sleepy, so I plopped down on her bed and fell asleep in seconds. My sleep was still filled with nightmares that were similar as the ones I had before.

During the next few days I slept a lot, watched some TV and saw myself changing. My clothes didn't fit me anymore and since I was alone here I didn't bother trying anything on. I just went about the house naked. So I could see myself change very well all the time that I was awake and looked at parts of myself. My hair went from sandy brown to deep dark black and grew a lot longer.

The first day I cut it short, but it grew longer even faster so I decided no more cutting. I didn't try to cut my nails for the same reason. I soon developed breasts which to my observation were huge. Maybe it looked like that because I wasn't used to them and my body was getting a lot smaller. That might explain why I didn't feel hungry.

I noticed something more troubling in the days. I had a problem following the English on TV. Was I getting dumber? With some concentration I still could follow it well enough, but it was like hearing a foreign language.

One day I saw a newscast about me. It stated that I was reported missing and people were asked to search for me. Well good luck with that, I didn't look like that anymore.

Last to disappear was my penis. It shrunk everyday more and more, till it disappeared inside some delicate folds that I didn't want to probe just yet. I had done enough of it with some girlfriends, but doing it to myself? I waited one more day after that and since no more changes happened that I could detect, I figured that I had now finished changing. Still stark naked I stood before a wall size mirror and examined myself fully. I was small, really small compared to my previous height. My hair was deep dark black but unkempt and would need conditioning and brushing. Now where did that thought come from?

My face was quite nice to look at, but not spectacular, with some make up it could be beautiful. Aarrgh, another strange feminine thought. My breasts felt huge as I held them with my dainty feminine hands but looked like they fit just right with my new body. They were not too small, but not too big either. My tummy was flat and trim and my arms looked very femininely thin. All my muscles seemed to have disappeared, along with all my body hair. My legs looked very long and nice, leading up to wide female hips and a great looking ass. Through a neatly trimmed bush I could see the outer lips of my vagina and felt a cold creepy shiver go up my spine. I now had all the equipment to receive a man's cock inside me and produce babies. I almost felt like crying, when a thought entered my mind. Shouldn't I get aroused looking at such a hot looking naked girl? I didn't feel anything like that at all. Was I going to be attracted to boys now? I swallowed and tried to speak for the first time since my transformation.

I wanted to say, "Hello Douglas Wood." But in a melodious soprano voice it came out like, "Ná® há¢o Woo Sjia."

This was strange, I tried again, I still thought to say, "My name is Douglas." But I said, "Wo jiao Xia."

Suddenly it clicked in my mind, I wasn't thinking English, but Chinese. And I was talking Chinese. My name wasn't Douglas anymore, it was Xia Wu. I understood also were it came from, Wu meant something like sorcery among other things and Xia meaning Rosy clouds. Wu would be my family name and Xia my given name. I felt tears forming in my eyes. After losing my reputation and future, now I was robbed of my manhood and race among other things. Then I thought by myself, "Don't lose it now."

I wiped my beginning tears away and toughened myself up. I would do no good to succumb to self pity. I vowed to myself to find the ones responsible for all of this and make them pay.

God, I needed a drink right now. Maybe I shouldn't as I was a drunk just a week ago. Had it been that long already? I went to the liquor cabinet and poured myself a finger of scotch. I started drinking it, but the taste in my mouth was so foul, I spewed it back out almost immediately. I had already ingested some of it, and I puked my guts out to get it out of me. How could a little alcohol make me that sick? Did they put another spell on me making me sick from alcohol, so I couldn't hide myself in booze?

I would have to clean the mess I made up, but first I wanted to see if I could find something to wear. As I went to Elise's closet, my eye fell on a poster of a famous rock star on the wall. Now the really nasty spell that was put on me must have activated. I felt like saying something, but this was only a poster, so I kept quiet. But I did feel extremely horny. My hands started fondling my breasts, making me hot and tingly all over. My pussy was already so wet, it almost dribbled out of me. I just ached to have a cock buried inside it. I needed to be fucked now! Then I remembered that Elise had a multi speed vibrator in her bedroom drawer. In a hurry I grabbed it, flopped on the bed and inserted the thing. There was a short sharp pang of pain as the vibrator broke through my hymen, (God, was I still a virgin?), but then it started to feel so good.

Just inserting the phallic object wasn't enough. I needed more stimulation. I switched the vibrator on and without hesitation cranked it up to full speed. Soon I was writhing in pleasure on the bed and orgasmed within moments later. This left me feeling energetic but also a bit lazy and sleepy, and I forgot to turn the vibrator off. It hummed happily on, extending my orgasm and I felt a second wave of orgasmic pleasure wash over me. I realized that I had to take it out or continue having orgasms all day and night long making me very exhausted. Alas I was too late again, my fingers already touched the vibrator as it aroused me so much again that I couldn't make myself turn it off. I experienced my third orgasm as a young woman already and this time managed to switch the thing off. With trembling fingers I pulled the with juices coated vibrator out of my spasming pussy and lay back to catch my breath.

Hours later I woke up, (when did I fall asleep?) and discovered that my pussy, legs and sheets were all covered with dried juices. I took a shower trying to rub myself so clean that my skin got red. I guess I was trying to clean myself from the shame being so fucking horny and pleasuring myself. After I patted myself dry and discovered that I should do something with my hair besides drying it, I cleaned the bed, bedroom and everything else inside the house I had used or dirtied. After I was done, it looked like I had not even been there. I went back to Elise's closet, this time avoiding looking at any poster, I didn't want a repeat performance doing sexual acts. Almost all her clothes were too big for my new small frame, so I had to search for a long time. I found an old worn white skirt and a small see-through thong panty. Both were too small for Elise, so why did she have them? Well at least I could wear them well enough and together with a cut checkered halter blouse that tied in the back, I was dressed well enough to go out in public. I didn't bother with a bra, as Elise had much bigger breasts than I now sported. Besides, the blouse could hold my breasts in check well enough anyway. I had looked at her shoes but nothing would fit my tiny feet, till all the way in the back I found some very old white clogs. They were small enough for my feet and I needed them to go out. I felt the need to go out and see what had happened out there for myself. Besides how else would I find out who was responsible for all this. Little did I know what lay in store for me?

As I went out, it was already nearing dinnertime and the streets weren't that full, at least not in the part of town I was in. I didn't want to be noticed, so it was ok with me. I walked to my parents' home, but everything was quiet and dark. It looked like no one was home. That struck me as odd, but I didn't want to go there and ask now anyhow. Lost in my thoughts I wandered towards a park and on the way I only once saw another person. A woman was walking her dog and only glancing looked at me. Then in a secluded lane I met my first male person. As soon as I saw him, the nasty spell kicked in again and I sashayed over to him.

In a husky voice with very accented English I breathed, "You want fucky fucky? Me give you good time."

Now what did possess me to say that? That was the first time I said that so much hated sentence. And to make matters worse, the man's eyes glazed over like he was under a spell.

Then he answered, "Sure honey, start with blowing me."

He swiftly opened his fly and pulled his cock out. Totally out of control I sank on my knees and stroked and licked that thing. Soon I was sucking his inflating dick as if my life depended on it, till he started groaning.

Suddenly he pulled his big cock out of my mouth, saying, "Give me your cunt, babe."

I stood up, unable to resist and bent over leaning on a bench at the side of the lane. He didn't undress himself or me. He just hiked my skirt up and pulled my thong to the side. Then he shoved his big cock forcefully into my already very wet pussy. He untied my halter-top and began massaging my naked breasts. I should have felt repulsed, and in a small portion of my mind I did. But the feeling of being fucked was so good that it overrode all my inhibitions and made me moan and say obscene things like "harder" and "fuck me good."

I could do nothing but ride out the fucking and try to hang on to my sanity after it was over. I orgasmed first, and was already winding down from that, when he spurted his cum inside me making me orgasm again. As he pulled out, the spell wore off and I felt disgusted at myself. He put his cock back in his pants and walked away fast, like he had just peed and wanted to get back on his way. He didn't even say anything to me or cared about me. I felt so dirty and so very degraded. I tore a piece of my halter-top and tried to clean myself as well as I could before tying my top back on and straightening my thong and skirt. Then I sat down on the bench crying softly in my anguish. I didn't even hear the young couple walking towards me.

Only when the young woman said, "Hi miss, why are you crying?", did I look up.

I recognized her. She was in my school, actually both of them were, I remembered that I tried to have a fight with him. He was standing beside her and I felt the nasty spell activate again. Against my will I rose from the bench, put on a happy smile on my face while sauntering over to him.

Then I said that hated sentence again, "You want fucky fucky? Me give you good time."

The young black man first had an alarmed look in his eyes, like he noticed that I was under a spell or about to cast one to him. Then his eyes glazed over and he had fallen under the spell.

He said, "Sure honey, come here."

The woman saw it happen with disgust and surprise. Then she quickly acted, she slapped both her boyfriend and me, the pain waking us both out of the spells. Her slap was quite powerful and sent me reeling away from them. Immediately I started to cry again and sagged into a heap on the bench.

Meanwhile the young woman began arguing with her boyfriend, "What the hell was that all about, Brett?"

"Cassie, calm down please. It wasn't her fault," said Brett. "I can sense the spells inside her, I wasn't prepared for the really vicious one that just activated when she saw me. It's making her behave like a nymphomaniac and also causing her to cast a powerful combined attractor – whisper spell. There was nothing she - or I - could do. Fortunately you were able to break us out of it."

Cassie looked at me and than sat down beside me, "Hi, I am Cassie, who are you?"

I sniffed and said with a sobbing voice, "Wo shi Wu Xia."

Cassie frowned and asked, "English please, I don't speak Chinese."

I had to think very hard before I could answer slowly, "My name is Wu Xia."

"What happened to you, Wu?"

I had to formulate the English words meticulous again, "No, given name is Xia."

"Oh ok, Xia what happened to you?"

With my tears flowing I answered slowly in broken English, "Someone forced potion and changed me from boy in girl. Now lose all: self control, legal identity, name, maleness, family, money, education, career, race, friends and no staying permit."

I buried my head in my dainty hands, "I feel like slut, but can not help it. The spell stronger than will. I even lose magic talent."

Cassie put her arm around me and said in a soothing tone, "Your magic will come back in time, how long ago were you transformed?"

"Me finished day before yesterday I think."

Brett spoke up for the first time, "Who were you before you got changed?"

It took all my will power not to look up to him. I got very wet in my pussy already again from just hearing his voice. Fortunately the spell didn't activate as long as I didn't see him. Instead I concentrated on saying my old name, but it was so hard. If I tried to say it just like that it would come out Wu Xia.

Finally I managed to utter, "Douglas Wood."

Brett raged, "The rapist and troublemaker?"

I bowed my head down in shame, "I been racist and asshole, never rape. Now I other race self."

Cassie managed to calm down Brett a bit and said, "I believe that she was innocent. I know from personal experience what people will do to get revenge."

Brett toned down his anger, "Ok, he was found not guilty, I'll give you that."

"Don't you think that making him into an unwilling helpless slut is too much?"

Brett hesitated, but agreed again.

I didn't think anything could be done about my condition, so I said, "Guess I live with this, go to Jimmy Saxon work as whore."

Both Cassie and Brett exclaimed, "No you don't need to do that."

Cassie added, "We know a doctor who can reduce or eliminate some spells."

I looked up with a glimmer of hope in my tone, "Really? I would like that."

Brett went to get his car while Cassie guided me towards where he would pick us up. Meanwhile she asked me to describe all the spells that I had noticed on me. I told her that I now had both memories of my old life and a life as a girl. My English was now suppressed so that I had trouble speaking, reading, writing or understand it. Also I now had an extensive knowledge of Chinese Mandarin language. Then I told her about the urges I got from hearing or seeing a male, coupled with the nasty soliciting spell. And lastly I told her that I got sick from even tasting alcohol. By that time we reached the car with Brett waiting, I managed to get in and not look at him, though knowing that he was there drove me nuts with anticipation. I wanted to have sex with someone badly. I was squirming in the car the whole time and I was sure that my dribbling pussy gave off a very strong scent that everybody could smell. Well if they could smell it, they didn't say anything about it.
 
 
Saved

We drove to a secluded big house with a big garden and Cassie lead me to the house. Cassie greeted the man as Papa Bob, but I don't think it was her father. I didn't dare look at him for fear of the spell activating again. Cassie told him about all the spells that had been inflicted on me, and he didn't quite believe the soliciting spell. He approached me and I looked up to a distinguished gentleman who looked like a banker.

Immediately the spell activated and I took on a seductive pose, "You want fucky fucky? Me give you good time."

Even though he had been warned, he still fell victim to the attractor-whisper spell. Fortunately Cassie saw him succumb and came between us breaking the spell's effect. Papa Bob came back to his senses and said, "That really is a very devious spell, I've not seen something like this before."

My hopes got crushed as I thought that it could not be broken and I would be forced to live like a whore for the rest of my life. It must have shown on my face that I was so dejected, because he then added, "I think I can lift that spell though."

Papa Bob had me undress completely and then put me in some kind of trance. I vaguely remember him performing some rituals on me as I stood naked before him, but the first conscious thing I heard was: "Awake".

I woke up and wobbled on my legs as I crumbled into a heap. At least I would have, if not for the pair of hands that caught me. Both pair were female which made we wonder who else was there. I didn't get introduced yet though. My strength returned soon and Cassie gave me underwear including a bra, pants and a blouse. The clothes were a little too big, but I could wear them well enough. Cassie confirmed my suspicion that she gave me some of her clothes. Then the other woman who had been calling someone introduced herself as Helen Davis.

She said to Cassie, "I know you don't like them, but I think it is best if we involve the FBM in this."

"You're right, Helen, I don't like it, but maybe it is for the best for Xia. So if you don't mind I'll keep my distance."

I was about to ask what that was about, but Papa Bob entered the room. "Hi Xia, I managed to lift two of the spells, reduce the effects of two other spells but left the remaining two spells intact."

Before I could ask which spells he meant, he continued, "I can't lift the urges because it would make you frigid, but I reduced it to normal high levels of a girl. Also consuming alcohol will not make you sick anymore, though I think it will not taste good to you. The spell making you throw yourself at a man coupled with the attractor-whisper spell are gone. Your English is back at the level it was before. I left the memories of language and being a girl that were forced into you intact. First they are useful to you in this new life. Second I'm afraid that they may have interacted with your magic talent. You are a precog, right?"

I just nodded.

"I think they are permanently imprinted into you. I wouldn't be surprised that you have a better memory as well."

I thought about this and said softly, "I can word for word repeat what was said much earlier. Could I have a photographic memory now?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. The whisper part of the forced spell was quite strong, so don't be surprised if that shows up as a power too."

Now I got scared, "Could I be an attractor also?"

"I sincerely hope not for your sake. But please have yourself checked in a few days when your powers return, just to be safe."

Cassie had already left during my talk with Papa Bob, and Helen asked me to go with her. She drove me to an office building that I recognized as the FBM building. There I had to tell the whole story from my trial to now again. I only left out Papa Bob on insistence of Helen. The case detective said that they would look into it, to catch the spell maker - especially because of the potential harm the attractor-whisper spell could do. I told him that probably the Chinese family would know, and I would be willing to go undercover to find out who was responsible.

The detective told me, "Thanks, but no thanks."

He did provide me with a legal identity and a green card, for which I thanked him profusely. My name Xia Wu was now my legal name and I was listed as 17 years old, though probably I was more like 16. Then he gave me a little spending money to get myself on my feet again. Helen asked what my plans were.

"I don't know, I'm a bit younger now and don't have any proof of my education. I would still like to become a lawyer, but I don't have the money or scholarship to do the study. I don't even have a place to stay."

The detective said that the FBM could arrange for getting me into school again, but funding and residence would be my problem.

Helen escorted me out after that and said, "Come with me for a moment."

She drove us to an apartment, where Cassie was waiting for us. She welcomed me into Helen's apartment. We talked about my situation now, I told Cassie about my new identity and repeated that I didn't have money or prospects.

Cassie said, "How about I loan you the tuition?"

My jaw dropped, "I cannot accept that, it is too much."

Cassie just smiled, "I can afford it, besides the fact that you flat out refused to take it, shows me that you are a good person who needs some help."

Reluctantly I agreed, "But it is a loan, I will pay you back with interest."

Helen decided to put in her charity, "For the moment, you can stay here in this apartment for a few weeks, just till you find yourself a place to stay."

This time I had to object even stronger, "I really don't deserve this. Why are you helping me so much, because I was a bully and racist in the past."

Cassie replied for them, "That is it, it was in the past. And I think it had a lot to do with your upbringing, not who you really are."

Still I wanted to object to taking up the room in Helen's apartment, but she said that she stayed with her boyfriend more often these days. Also it would be nice to have someone watch her apartment instead of it being empty and prone to break-in.

I felt so grateful that I just started to cry, but this time it was from happiness.
 
 
Undercover

Days later I found myself standing in front of the Chinese restaurant of the family Hsu. I was wearing new clothes consisting of skirt and blouse with 2 inch high heeled sandals. Helen and Cassie insisted on shopping with me. They bought me a whole new wardrobe. It was quite extensive for me, but they claimed it was just the basic necessities. It mostly consisted of skirts, blouses and dresses with just two pairs of pants among them. For some reason they felt constricting when I tried them on. It must have been the girl memories that were forced on me. Because my all too male mind balked at all the feminine clothes I now possessed. Helen also instructed me all about being, moving and acting like a girl, including putting on make up and such. But it was relatively easy, as my new memory as girl helped a lot with that. Now here I was, a young attractive girl dressed to impress, about to go into the lions' den. What waited for me there? Would they know who I was, or consider me a total stranger? Well only one way to find out.

The sign in the window said, 'Help wanted.' So I went in and greeted with apprehension the man I recognized as Kathy's father. I swallowed my nervousness and said, "Ná® há¢o, wo shi Wang Meili." I chose to use an assumed name, they might know my real new name.

He replied, "Ná® há¢o, huan yin."

We sat down and I switched to English, " I'm here for the job."

He told me that one of his waitresses got sick and that they were a little short handed. Soon I was accepted for the job and was asked to start right away. I changed into the uniform they used, a pretty red with gold embroidery Chinese dress, and waited on tables like I had done it all my life. Late that night I finished and prepared to go back to Helen's apartment, when Mr. Hsu said that they weren't happy with me going out into the night all alone. He asked where I lived and I told him I was staying with a friend till I could find a place. Then he offered for me to stay with them in a guest room. I hesitated, but on his insistence accepted. I did tell him that I would move the next day as I had to get my things first.

That night I called Helen about my exploits that day and that I would be staying with the family. She wasn't too happy about it. She told me that as it was already in progress, I could go ahead, but I had to be careful and call her if something went wrong. She applauded my resolve and guts, but warned me not to be too forward and rash in my actions. I just had a feeling - or was it a premonition? - that it would all work out well. The next day I moved into the guest room and noticed someone looking at me from a room with the door ajar. I knew that it was probably Kathy, so I didn't give any sign that I noticed her. After my shift ended I surprised her coming out of the bathroom. She looked a bit frightened, so I just shyly approached her.

"Hi, I'm Meili," I said and extended a hand towards her.

I must have looked innocent enough to her, because she shook my hand shortly, "Kathy." Then she quickly went back to her room closing the room in a hurry.

I went down to see her parents and asked, "I just saw a girl named Kathy."

Mrs. Hsu quickly replied, "She's our daughter. Kathy isn't feeling well, you'll have to excuse her."

I wanted to ask what was wrong with her, as if I didn't know already, but I could sense that I shouldn't ask now. So I kept quiet and retired for the night. In the next few days Kathy joined us more and more at the meals and social get-togethers. She got used to seeing me and even started to talk to me. We hit it off quite well and I learned that Kathy was a very intelligent and nice person. I wished I could have dated her when I was still a boy. She would have been the one I really could talk and connect with. Not like the girlfriends I had; they only were superficial and shallow. While we talked, I noticed that she still had lots of issues to deal with from being raped and violated. I pretended not to know, and she didn't open up on that subject yet. I did gain her confidence and we could talk about almost everything already.

Meanwhile I had a problem of my own. My new photographic memory wouldn't let me forget anything and I vividly remembered all the sexual acts I had performed. I didn't relish the memories, but they did make me horny at times. One night was really bad, as I was watching news footage on a celebrity party when I recognized the rock star as the one on the poster on the wall at Elise's bedroom. The memories of my first sexual adventure as a girl flooded back into my consciousness and I started to feel so very horny. I excused myself and went to my room to make myself orgasm again and again. As I was busy doing just that, Kathy suddenly came in and saw me fingering myself to an orgasm. Caught in the act I stared at her and tried to cover myself. She stared back at my half naked body and turned, fleeing back to her room. My arousal disappeared because of this and I cleaned myself quickly, then I donned my nightgown and went over to Kathy's room. I knocked on her door, but heard nothing. Slowly I opened the door and saw Kathy face down on her bed sobbing. I thought about leaving, but instead sat down next to her on her bed.

"Kathy, talk to me please. Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"

Kathy sat up to face me with her tear stained eyes. "I'm sorry, Meili, I shouldn't be mad at you. It's just my past making me lash out at you."

I reached out to her, "Why don't you tell me about it? I heard that sharing bad experiences can make people feel better and deal better with the problems."

As I said it to her, I gently touched her hand. Big mistake on my part, as this was the moment my magic power chose to return. And it didn't just simply return at full power, but it overloaded me with a much increased raw power that was my cross to bear from now on. I knew that I couldn't see images from the past, but it seemed like that, when I saw Kathy being attacked and raped. The images flooded my mind, and kind of blurred, though I did see a large cartoonish bad guy figure doing the raping. The jumble of images scared me out of my mind and made me feel so vulnerable. Just as vulnerable as Kathy had been, and probably still was.

With a scream I jerked back, breaking the connection and my vision. I fell backwards on Kathy's bed closing my eyes and hoping my anxiety would soon go away. I already felt very sorry for Kathy as she had to go through this over and over in her mind. My vision slowly vanished and subsided, now I was afraid that my secret would come out and that Kathy's parents heard my scream. Kathy was looking worried and surprised at me when I opened my eyes, but was too stunned to ask me anything. Slowly I recovered enough to sit back up and compose myself. I think Kathy's parents didn't hear my cry, because they didn't show up.

Kathy was still staring at me when I asked her, "Why are you still reliving the attack?"

Kathy's eyes widened, "What are you, a telepath? Stay out of my head."

Now I looked away, "I'm not a telepath, I have premonitions. Usually from the future, so since your attack was in the past, I thought first that I saw that. But then I gathered that you still think of it all the time."

"How much did you see?" asked Kathy with a trembling voice.

"Mostly a jumble of images of the attack and the rape by a cartoon bad guy. It made me feel dirty, unsafe and vulnerable."

Kathy sighed, "That's pretty much how I feel."

In my mind I sighed, at least I took her thoughts away from my power. Softly I hugged her, "Maybe if you talk to someone about it, it can help you deal with things. I don't mean that you have to talk to me, but I'll listen if you want me to."

Kathy started crying again on my small shoulder. Then she poured her heart out to me. Her parents understood, but didn't really know how she felt. She still felt so degraded some times. I told her how I felt after I fell under the spell and fucked that a guy for the first time in the park and she knew that I could really relate to her feelings. After she stopped crying, we had become so much closer, I felt like I had a sister now. Kathy thanked me for being there for her.

I shrugged and said softly, "Any time."

For the next few weeks we grew even closer. We shared everything and talked about almost everything. Still I wasn't getting any closer to finding out whom the person was that changed me into my current body, or the one responsible for the rape and the whole damn affair.

I had looked through the papers to find a connection to the one who made the potion, but I could not find even a small clue.
 
 
The Truth

I dreaded the start of the new school season, as I had to tell Kathy that I had lied to her. I would have to reveal to her who I really was and am now. She would be able to guess I didn't tell her the truth after I started using my real name Xia Wu in the school. I knew I had to tell her soon, but I feared that we were going to have a fight or break up our sister-like relationship. Then my only apparent opportunity arose, as her parents went out for a weekend to some party at a relative's, leaving the two of us alone to watch the place. Kathy, cheerful as she was nowadays again, breezed into my room.

"Hi Meili, what do you want to do today?"

I looked with a glum face at her, "I need you to sit down. I have something to tell you."

With a crestfallen face Kathy sat down. "Are you going to leave?" asked Kathy, disappointment seeping through her voice.

Inadvertently I let a quick smile flash my pretty face. She was worried about losing me and our friendship, while I worried about losing hers.

"No Kathy, I'm not going away if you don't want me to."

I sighed between sentences, "I never want to hurt you, Kathy. You're like a sister to me. But I have to confess the truth to you about me and my past. Even if you'll hate me after what you are about to hear."

Kathy was now confused, anxious and more than a little frightened.

"What secrets do you have, Meili?"

"Kathy, I just recently look like this. I used to look quite different. My real name now is Wu Xia."

Kathy interrupted, "Why did you tell us your name was Meili, when it is Xia?"

I cast my eyes down, "I didn't want your parents to know my real name, because they or one of them hired the person responsible for changing me into this."

Kathy got really upset now, "What do you mean responsible? What are you talking about, what change?"

I couldn't back out now. I had to tell her everything. Like they say, after you say A, you have to say B.

"Kathy, listen to my story and please don't interrupt or walk away till the end. I hope you won't be mad or upset when you know the truth."

I felt a tear forming and rolling down my cheek.

With a trembling voice I started, "Kathy, I used to be Douglas Wood."

Kathy gasped in shock, and got up from the bed to go away. I tried to use a magic power that I might have now, Papa Bob said I might have whisper power now, so I said, "Please sit down, Kathy, and hear me out."

I could feel that I used my power, weak as it was. Kathy did sit down and then frowned. "Did you just whisper me into sitting down?"

I looked away, "Yes, since my transformation not only my precog power increased, but also I gained a weak whisper power. Sorry."

"It is ok, but don't do it again please, Xia."

I looked up to her and told her that I wouldn't. Then I told her all about the pitiful state I found myself in after the trial and the treatment at school. I explained that I was feeling broken and looked into a bottle for solace. Then I continued with that fateful night, how I got frozen and given the virus. I left out the jail time for being drunk, but told her once I got home I started noticing the changes and how I kept changing. I continued with the discovery of how I finally looked at Elise's place and the discovery of the curse. When I arrived at the rape fuck in the park, Kathy was also crying a little with me. I left out the identities of all the people that helped me, and just summarized how I got help. I told her about my resolve with the FBM to find the really guilty ones and why I went undercover working here.

As I finished Kathy asked, "So everything we shared was based on a lie."

I was crying again, "No Kathy, it is true that I used it to get close to you. But I really wanted to help you. I care a great deal about you."

I looked to the ground, "Wo ai ni."

I didn't dare look up to Kathy. She stood up, walked a few paces away and turned to return a pace. "Why did you decide to tell me all this now?" said Kathy.

I looked up to her again. "School starts soon. You would find out my real name and I don't want you to get upset with me. Besides I was already getting frustrated lying to you about my name and not tell you everything."

I turned away from her, "If you hate me now, I understand and hope that one day you can forgive me."

Kathy grabbed my arm and spun me around to face her. Then she hugged me tightly. "I already forgive you, my sister."

I hugged her back and whispered, "Thank you."

After we sat down again Kathy said that she wanted to help me with my search for the real culprits. I told her that it might get dangerous or remind her too much again of the experiences that plagued her in her dreams. Kathy was adamant and waved my objections away. We started making plans to look for and identify both the rapist and the potion maker. We suspected that the rapist went to school with us, so we would keep our eyes and ears open to other girls and observe the boys which fell into the category of our wanted man. Kathy said she would ask her parents subtly about their friends in the hope of finding out who hired the potion maker and find out his identity. I didn't think we had any chance of finding out, but I kept quiet about it.
 
 
Back in School

Once again I walked through the hallway as the center of attention. The difference was that this time the attitude towards me was quite different. When I walked here as Douglas after the trial, I was shunned and looked at with contempt. Now the boys looked admiring and gave me wolf whistles. The girls either looked at me as competition or a possible new friend. I ignored the whistles and just answered the hello's demurely. I'm sure a lot of the attention was also due to the dress I was wearing. I bought a new mini Cheongsam in gold silver color with a dragon motive. It showed all my body curves at their best and left my shoulders and back bare. That was just what I needed with the heat in the summer and autumn. During my parade in the hall I passed Kathy. Before we went there, we had a long debate whether we would pretend not to know each other or show that we were like sisters. I was more in favor of the first, as it increased our chances of finding out the rapist. He would be more hesitant to talk to me or around me if he knew that I was close to Kathy. Kathy really wanted to have my support there, and wanted to show that we were very close. She argued that we already would know each other, as I was living in the same house with her and I worked in the restaurant. The rapist could have seen me there and would know that Kathy and I knew each other. I conceded to that point, but made a compromise. We would act like we knew each other, but only as not too close friends. So I just gave her a nod and smile as I passed her.

In the weeks before school started, the school administration had a visit from the detective from the FBM. In strictest confidence they agreed to have my credits from last year transferred to me as coming from another school and to enroll me into my next semester although I was of a much younger age now. This enabled me to go to my classes and continue my studies as if I had never left.

The first few days were not so much different from last semester. Not counting the attention of the boys of course. More disturbing to me was that some boys looked good to me. And I caught myself staring at some of them a few times. Classes weren't that difficult with my new perfect memory, though it did cause me headaches if I didn't get enough sleep. But more problematic was my enhanced cognitive power. For each action I was about to take, an outcome would present itself in my mind. I really had to focus on blocking it, or I would keep seeing things all the time. Sometimes I didn't block it enough, and then I just didn't do anything. I just stood motionless for a while. I practiced a lot to keep my power in check and it paid off as my control grew. Still it kept draining me to focus.

But I enjoyed my time in classes again. Nobody knew who I used to be and life seemed good again. In the back of my mind however I kept thinking which of my fellow students did the crime that changed my whole life forever. I was certain that the real culprit was someone in the school. Unfortunately my previous self had too many enemies.

One morning early I just put some books into my locker and prepared to go to the study hall, when behind someone said, "Hello there, beautiful."

Damn didn't any of the guys get the hint? I already had turned down every boy asking me out on a date. I turned around and saw the big Chinese guy Chao standing in front of me. Shit, he tried to clobber me the last time we met. Oh I forgot, that was the old me. Apparently he thought that I was waiting for him to talk.

So he continued, "Let's go out tomorrow night. If you're not busy that is."

I puffed, "I am busy and even if I weren't, I still wouldn't go out with you."

His face changed from a leering smile to angrily astonishment. "What? You think you are too good for me? Just like the other?"

With that he grabbed my bare arm and Bingo, I got a forceful premonition. I saw him beat me senseless and then rape me. The scene was awfully familiar to me. I searched my brain for when I saw this before and my photographic memory obliged of course. It was almost the same scene as what I had seen in my premonition of Kathy.

I yanked my arm free and backed away from him. My voice trembled with fear and anger as I said, "You. You were the one that raped Kathy."

Chao's eyes widened as I said it, and looked around him to see if anyone had heard what I said. Because it was still so early, no one was within earshot and I realized my mistake in telling him my knowledge. He turned back towards me with a murderous glare in his eyes. Without hesitation I bolted from the spot and ran for my life as I heard him following me. My power wasn't much of a help now with me in a panic. I had chosen a wrong direction as there were only empty storage rooms and a flight of stairs. I quickly started down the stairs in the hope I would come across someone who could help me. Meanwhile I grabbed my cell phone and speed dialed Helen.

She answered soon enough and I yelled, "Helen, help me. I found him."

Then Chao was close enough to me to slap the phone out of my hand sending it skittering across a floor. I doubled my efforts going down the stairs till I reached the bottom. I raced to the doors leading outside, but they were locked. I didn't have much time to look around for my next direction, as Chao bounded down the stairs towards me.

In a blind panic I ran from the locked doors deeper into the building. Because of my panic I missed the turn to the emergency stairs and ended up running through the hallway towards the locker rooms. I soon realized my mistake as I passed the locker rooms and found myself in a blind alley. I turned around for another way out, but Chao already blocked the exit.

I managed to slip into the boys locker room and for a moment thought about hiding inside a locker. But it would take time to find an open locker. My precoq power wasn't showing me which locker was unlocked, but instead showed me a preview of me getting caught, being raped and killed. I shook myself out of those thoughts and continued into the PE court. Briefly touching the handlebar on the door confirmed to me that the emergency doors were locked as well, and I proceeded towards the other end of the court. Chao was coming towards me already, but breathing heavily, he didn't have the stamina for a long run. With my light weight I had a slight advantage. Chao was too close for me to hide out of sight, so I slipped between the bars of the collapsible bleachers. I knew his bulk was too great to follow me, so I was relatively safe.

Chao screamed out in frustration, "Damn it, I'm gonna get you, you rotten bitch."

I could catch my breath and think of my next move. I didn't get much time to think however, as I had to run for my life again. Chao was pushing the bleachers into their collapsed state against the wall, trying to squish me like a bug. I just cleared each section as it closed up, emerging at the far end moments later.

Chao was waiting for me there, "Now I've got you."

I didn't make a sound and could just slip between him and the wall towards the girls locker room. Almost out of breath I ran through the room, the fear giving me the incentive to keep on going. As I reached the door to the hallway, my luck ran out. The door was locked. Frantically I looked around for a place to hide or escape through, but there was nothing. Chao already reached the doorway to the room and closed off the only exit. Breathing heavily he paused for a moment with an evil grin on his face like a hideous mask. I backed up against the wall and my precog power decided to kick in with full force again.

I saw myself getting beaten to a pulp, viciously raped and could almost feel the big hands on me squeezing the life out of me. While this went on in my mind, I sagged down the wall crying, ending up in a puddle of misery and in a catatonic state. I was totally oblivious to the outside world now.
 
 
Redemption

Chao slowly pounded his way towards me, sure that he could have his way with such a helpless victim. It was still early enough that no one was around to disturb him. He intended to have some fun with the girl before killing this incriminating witness.

He was so caught up in his plans, that he didn't notice the people coming up behind him. He first noticed someone else was there when a hand fell heavily on his shoulder. By then it was too late for him as the agents of the FBM already put the handcuffs on him.

I was so caught in my premonition that I was oblivious to the event. I cringed even more when I felt a hand on my shoulder I expected pain, or my clothes torn. But strangely it didn't hurt. A soft voice tried to get through to me at that time. At first I didn't hear it well enough, but it was insistent.

Then I heard, "Xia it's all right. You're safe now."

It took me awhile to recognize the voice as Helen's voice. But once I did, it woke me out of my state of catatonic fear. I hugged Helen and cried again. This time I cried from happiness and relief that it was over.

Helen and an unknown man helped me to get up from the floor. I saw Chao being led away in cuffs. The man next to me introduced himself as Agent Duff.

He asked, "He isn't the one responsible for your change, right?"

Through my tears I answered, "Not directly no, but he is the reason everything happened. He raped Kathy Hsu instead of Douglas Wood."

It was strange but it felt better speaking of my past self in the third person. I am not him anymore. I still have the memories of him, but I'm the Chinese girl Xia Wu now.

Helen asked, "Are you sure about that, Xia?"

"Yes Helen, he told me, not asked, that he wanted to go out with me. When I refused, he got upset and said and I quote, 'You think you are too good for me? Just like the other?' Then he grabbed my arm and I had a premonition of him raping me. It was almost identical to what I saw from Kathy. I then made the mistake that I knew that he raped Kathy. He looked murderously at me, I ran and he chased after me."

As I gave my statement to Helen and the agent, Kathy appeared in the hallway and came running at me.

"Xia, are you all right? I heard someone was chasing you."

I hugged Kathy, "I'm fine now. I finally found the one responsible. It was Chao. He was the one that raped you and set me up for it. I just found out when he tried to take me out on a date. I refused and he intended to rape me as well. After I blurted that I knew, he came after me to kill me."

Kathy started crying now from anguish hearing my ordeal and relief that it was all over. She continued to hug me which I returned to her as well. Agent Duff interrupted, "Miss Hsu, Miss Wu, I know this might not be an opportune time, but I really need to know who was the spell maker that put the spells on Miss Wu."

I turned to him, "I have a pretty good idea. Kathy, do you mind that we tell everything to your parents and ask them now?"

Agent Duff asked a bit surprised to Kathy, "You knew already about the Miss Wu being the former Douglas Wood?"

I answered for her, "Before school started, I told Kathy everything. She knows who I used to be, how I became like this and has been trying to help me find the person that made the potion and spells."

Helen showed a little surprise on her face, while Agent Duff kept his face neutral.

"I see. I'm not sure that it was wise, but I guess you had your reasons. It's done, no use to complain. Now if you don't mind I would like to have a talk with Miss Hsu's parents. Another agent will accompany us. Miss Davis, would you like to be there as well?"

Helen confirmed and Agent Duff continued, "I would prefer to have the conversation at our office."

Helen didn't agree, "I think it is better not to intimidate the family too much. May I suggest that we go to the restaurant for our talk?"

I nodded my agreement and Kathy did also. Agent Duff grudgingly agreed and together with another agent we all set out to the restaurant. I didn't feel like taking any more lessons today anymore anyway.

At this hour the restaurant was still closed of course, but we let ourselves in. Kathy called for her parents, who came quickly a bit afraid of all the people accompanying us two girls. Kathy told them to sit down and listen first. On the way over I convinced the others that prior to asking them straight about the potion and spell maker, I would explain to them all about today's events and who I was.

I sat down opposite both parents and started.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hsu, please hear me out without interruption."

They looked puzzled towards both me and Kathy, but nodded in agreement.

I continued, "First I have a confession to make. My name isn't Wang Meili. It's Wu Xia."

Did I see a hint of recognition fly over Mr. Hsu's face? I couldn't be certain.

"I'm certain you have questions about why I used a fake name. Well it will become clear soon. Today by accident I found out the real culprit who raped Kathy. It was Henry Chao, not Douglas Wood."

Now the emotions were flashing across the faces of both parents. But Mr. Hsu looked a bit more concerned than distraught. He would be my best bet as the one who hired the spell maker.

"After I found out, Chao was going to rape me as well and then kill me. But Miss Davis here and agents of the FBM intervened just in time to prevent that from happening."

Mrs. Hsu was almost in tears by listening to my story. Now I came to the part of why we were here.

"As you understand by now, Douglas Wood was innocent of the crime he was accused of. But he was punished nonetheless."

Mrs. Hsu couldn't keep quiet anymore and spoke up, "What do you mean? He walked out of the court room a free man."

Mr. Hsu kept quiet, but his face showed all the signs of distress and guilt.

I raised my hand to stop Mrs. Hsu from speaking. "Douglas was shunned by everyone at school and started drinking. Then he got ambushed and was forced to drink a potion containing a spell virus."

Mrs. Hsu squinted her eyes hearing my statement.

"Those spells transformed him into a young Chinese girl, with some very nasty and devious spells making her a nymphomaniac and slut."

Mrs. Hsu was now totally in shock, while her husband bowed his head slightly.

"Fortunately a special doctor was able to change the spells so that I could live a normal life."

Mrs. Hsu opened her eyes wide from the shock, "You were Douglas Wood."

Grimly I answered, "Yes I was."

Both parents looked at Kathy, who responded, "Xia already confided in me some time ago."

Agent Duff spoke up, "We would like to know who put the spells on Douglas Wood."

Mrs. Hsu asked, "Why ask us?"

Softly I responded instead, "Because I saw someone in the building when the potion was forced on me. I'm pretty sure it was Mr. Hsu. Am I right?" and I looked intensely at him.

He cringed, while his wife turned to him, "Li is this true? Did you hire someone?"

Hsu Li sagged in his chair showing guilt on his face before speaking up. "Yes I hired a specialist from the old country. His name is Liaw Wen. He already returned to China and I don't know where he is now. I don't even know if there is any antidote for what he used."

Then he sagged even more in his chair. Mrs. Hsu started to curse and swear in Chinese till I said in Chinese for her to stop.

She asked, "Are you not angry at Li for what has been done to you?"

I looked down and said in a soft voice, "Yes I was, but I knew he did it for revenge of what was done to his daughter that he loves. He really believed I was guilty and had gotten away with it. At present I have reconciled myself to it. It is done and nothing can be done to undo it. I'm a Chinese woman till the day I die."

Both parents looked at me in shock. Mr. Hsu said, "I can't believe that it cannot be reversed."

Both Helen and Kathy said, "Believe it. The change is permanent and Xia can never become a man again."

Agent Duff added, "We just want those kinds of spells out of this world, they are too dangerous."

Mrs. Hsu asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Duff?"

I responded before he could, "Liaw Wen included a spell that made me go to any male in my sight and cast an Attractor / Whisper spell. This meant that every time I saw a man, I would get fucked and afterwards cast away like trash."

This statement drew even more gasps of astonishment from both parents.

I continued, "And coupled with my already existing power it gave me a photographic memory, so I can never forget what I did either."

After this Mr. Hsu gave all the information he had to agent Duff. The FBM agents soon after that left to file their reports. Helen Davis made sure I was ok with the family before departing as well. The restaurant stayed closed that day as we had a lot to discuss. Both parents insisted on making reparations and wanted to know what they could offer me.

I told them, "I lost everything I ever was and on top of that I lost my entire family. Now the first isn't all that bad, I wasn't a good boy. But I would have liked to say goodbye to my mom and brother. Unfortunately they moved away while I was changing."

I paused to wipe a tear from my cheek, "I think I'm happy now as a girl. And I have a best friend in Kathy."

Mrs. Hsu didn't agree with me. "No way you are going to be alone on this world. We will be your family from now on."

Kathy piped in, "I do think of you as the sister I never had, Xia."

Both her parents kept insisting that I accept their offer, so after thinking it over carefully, I found myself with a new family that would take care of me and support me in whatever I now would choose to do.
 

It could be useful to read the story Synergy first, but it is not really necessary. All the important data is repeated in this story. Also the story Synergy is not available in full online. This is because it is published as a paperback book. For interested people see: Merchandising page under Resources at morfs.nowhere2go.org.

Februari 13th, morning, Maren

Since I had missed Gabe in our morning walk to school, I was now looking in the college library for him. At first I didn’t see him, but walking around a bit provided me with the view of him sitting with a girl at a table. They were talking and laughing together. ‘Who is she? What are they doing?’

Okay, so I’m a bit jealous. I hadn’t spend as much time with Gabe in the past month as I had liked. We were both busy with college and work. He was getting more and more involved with the day to day operation of the restaurant while I had been working on my Thrusters after hours at the college workshop. I had to do my work mostly in private, since my work had been classified and restricted.

Now I was seeing Gabe in the company of some girl and he hadn’t even mentioned anything about her in our brief conversations walking to school earlier in the week. I was ready to go barging into their little get together, but just as I was about to go over, the girl leaned over to him and kissed him on his cheek. ‘That does it! I’m done with him. That two timing dog…!’ I didn’t finish my thoughts about him, but just got the hell out of the library. Walking back to classes I reflected back to I came to be into this situation.

Less than two years ago I had been a boy myself. I had been sickly with a short life expectancy and really didn’t like my life. After I had gotten MORFS, I changed into a healthy exotic beautiful hybrid girl. For a while I stumbled around trying to find out what my sexual preference would be. Then I had met Gabe and I was convinced that I was going to be a heterosexual girl. I even thought about living the rest of my life with him. Now I wasn’t that sure. Oh, I wasn’t questioning my girlhood anymore, and girls didn’t attract me in the least. But wasn’t it a given that the first crush or love interest never panned out?

A class later I was on my way to my next lecture, when Gabe showed up next to me. He sounded really casual saying, “Hi Maren. I’m sorry about this morning, but Paco made a problem that I needed to fix before coming to school. So, what do you say about dinner later today?”

I huffed and walked on quickly to my next class. Gabe still followed me, puzzled to my reaction. He asked, “Is there something the matter, Maren?”

Regally I replied, “Nope, nothing. I’m just busy, is all. Excuse me I’m almost late for class.”

I left Gabe standing in the hallway perplexed, while thinking, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have acted like that to him. But he should’ve explained to me about that girl.’

Staring at a disappearing Maren walking away from me, I wondered, ‘What is her problem? Did I do something wrong? I already apologized for missing her this morning. Why is she reacting like that. I haven’t even told her that I’m tutoring Harriet on her Geography.’ It never occurred to me that I should have told her that first. I really didn’t think that it would be such big news. I mean, I had helped several people in the school with some problem or something they struggled with.

It got me thinking about how I had gotten here in this situation. ‘I changed from a full hybrid into an almost non-hybrid and with the hidden hybrid traits at that. Maren changed from a boy with poor health into this beautiful girl. Maybe the gender change is catching up with her now. Should I give her some breathing room? Then again, I didn’t take those secret dance lessons just for the fun of it. I really needed them too. I still suck at dancing. Why did I agree to start dancing lessons anyway. I will never be as good as Maren.’

I was still thinking about it when I got into workshop. I needed to finish my special project, I was making. It was a trinket for Maren for tomorrow. I didn’t tell her about it, because I wanted it to be a special surprise.

I met Gabe again during lunchtime. I sat down on the seat that he had kept for me and started on my salad. I was trying to keep my figure. I had noticed that I had started to put on some weight. There was a dance contest at the end of the month, so I needed to be in shape and wear the nice dress for it.

Gabe didn’t say much of anything to me, and I was wondering if he was mad at me for giving him the cold treatment this morning. My mood had lifted some, so I started, “So, Gabe? What are your plans for tomorrow?”

He looked at me innocently and asked, “Why? Is there something special tomorrow? It’s February 14th isn’t it? Nope, I’ve got nothing planned except a dinner in the evening with you. But that is almost standard.”

Oh, I could hit him over the head. He could be so infuriating sometimes. He thought there was nothing special about tomorrow. Well, I should show him. I dug into my salad and didn’t speak for the entire meal anymore. I didn’t notice the faint smile on Gabe’s face though. If I would, I might have done things differently.

I almost blew it, seeing Maren getting upset with my casual answer. I couldn’t let her know that I had three surprises waiting for her. Maybe I should give her some clues, but I decided not to. My mistake.

Maren didn’t speak at all to me during lunch anymore and left in a hurry for her next class. I tried to follow her, but she quickly got out of sight as a student asked me something. I vowed to make it up to her, but you know how it goes with the best laid plans, something always happens to screw it up.

After classes I went to the dance classes that Maren was in. Well, she was more of a teacher than a student actually. She used the time to practice a lot with Lance for a contest. She was also the assistant teacher, helping out the dance teacher. I arrived a bit too early and watched them all dance. It was depressing me a little. I would never be that good at dancing. Then I saw Lance grab Maren’s ass in an inappropriate manner. I was expecting Maren to hit him or something. Instead she stood on her toes and seemed to be kissing him. I started thinking, ‘Is she so mad at me that she is looking for another boyfriend? I thought she said she didn’t like Lance that way. I better get out of here before she sees me. I don’t want to talk to her right now. Besides I need to get to work.’

During dancing in class, Lance suddenly grabbed my ass. Maybe I should’ve zapped him, but instead I rose up on my toes and whispered to his ear, “If you don’t get your hand away right now, you’re going to lose it forever.”

Lance quickly put his hand back to the small of my back and apologized, “Sorry Maren, I slipped with my hand. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Damn right it won’t happen again. You know I’m not interested in you romantically. You’re getting off with a warning this time. Next time I’m using my power on you.”

Lance swallowed hard and just kept on dancing with me. I smiled inward, I scared him good.

After dance class ended I was looking around for Gabe, but didn’t see him anywhere. Was he upset with me for my second cold treatment at lunch? Normally he never holds a grudge, certainly not this long. I was really disappointed that he wasn’t there to take me home.

Lance offered to take me home, but I said I was taking the public transportation. I was so distressed that I didn’t even see the mugger waiting for me as I walked to last part towards home. Suddenly he appeared in front of me. He was a very big hybrid man, possibly a hybrid of a bear or something. He stuck out his hands with vicious looking claws towards me and growled, “Hand over your purse girly, or I’ll maul you to pieces.”

I simply pointed my left hand at him and powered up a lot by disintegrating a several air-molecules around my hand. I zapped him with my patented maser-lightning and give him a huge jolt. He twitched for several seconds with his hair or fur spiking out from his skin, before falling down like a log. He was still sizzling as I stepped past him. “You shouldn’t threaten girls like that. Some can take good care of themselves,” I sneered at him.

Arriving back home I was still upset enough that my family noticed. Well, Isabel would always notice of course. She’s an Empath, so she notices every mood I’m in. She kept quiet about it though, I was certain that she would ask me all about it later. Mom definitely noticed, but she kept quiet. She just raised her eyebrow at me.

“So, why are you ready to kill someone?” asked my sister when we were alone in my room. “I could sense it from across the street.”

“It’s nothing,” I tried to dismiss it.

“You’re not getting out of it that easy. I know there is something bugging you.” Isabel pried on.

“I can’t get out of this, can I?” I asked. Isabel shook her head. “Well, if you must know, I think Gabe and I are drifting apart. We had a bit of an argument and he wasn’t waiting for me to take me home. On top of that I almost got mugged on the way home.”

“Dare I ask if the poor sap needs to be buried or just ended up in the hospital.” Isabel said with fear all over her face.

“He was still breathing when I walked past him. So I think hospital. I just didn’t care enough to call 911.”

Isabel put her arm around me for a hug and I leaned in to her. “Why are men such idiots?” I murmured.

Isabel answered me softly, “They are men. That’s all the explanation you need. You were one of them not too long ago, you should know. Though I think Gabe is one of the exceptions to the rule. I know that he cares a whole lot for you. Just give him a chance to explain and apologize. I think you both just need to sit down and talk things out.”

“Thanks Isabel. So, how are your studies for being a councilor coming along?”

She screwed her face, “Don’t remind me. I think they want me to be a doctor first and a shrink later. You’ve got it easy with your engineering study.”

“Don’t count on it. I’ve got my own problems with that.”

Later I thought things over while waiting to fall asleep. ‘Isabel is right, I should sit down with Gabe and talk it out. I know he’s not the kind of guy to cheat on me.’

Februari 14th, Valentine’s Day, morning, Maren

In the morning I had another disappointment. Gabe wasn’t at our usual meeting point. I walked by myself to school and was nearly there when Gabe came running up from behind. He said a bit out of breath, “Sorry for not being on time...”

I looked at him, his hair was still wet, so I guess he worked out and had a shower. “Did you have a nice workout?”

“Yeah, I did. I had to get something out of my system. I think…”

I interrupted him, “We need to have a talk about things. Soon!”

Gabe looked at me, “I agree, but we’re almost late for class. So, when do you want to meet? But don’t forget that we have the dinner appointment tonight.”

I was about to answer when the first bell rang and we had to hurry to get to class. The professor was a bit annoyed at the late arrivals. Another girl was in late with me and we both got the ‘very annoyed’ look from the professor. He really had it in for us. He kept asking us questions all the time. Fortunately I had prepared the lesson and answered everything correctly.

Near lunchtime I looked for Gabe and I found him alright. He was talking to that same girl again and this time she did more than just talking. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. I watched it for a second before turning around and running out of the building. I was so mad that I even drained the batteries of the present I had made for Gabe.

A little later I was sitting on a bench and a familiar voice sounded behind me. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

I turned around towards Gabe. “I bet you have. What lame lie are you going to put on me? No, save it, I don’t even want to hear. Some of my friends were right. We are not compatible. You’re a dog hybrid and I’m a cat. We don’t belong together. I don’t want to see you anymore.” With that I powered up and gave him a large jolt of electricity, completely forgetting that it only fueled his power as an electrical elemental.

I left him standing there and ran away with tears in my eyes. I didn’t want him to see it. I was hurting inside from my own words. I had really loved Gabe. Now, I practically told him to stay away from me. I skipped the rest of the classes and went for a long walk and some Ice-cream. The Ice-cream from the mall wasn’t as good as Everybody’s Place. But I didn’t want to talk to any of Gabe’s co-workers or even worse himself if he was out of school early.

I had just finished my Ice-cream, when my eCom started vibrating. Caller ID said that it was Gavin, so I picked up, “Hello Gavin. How can I help you?”

“Maybe the question is, how can I help you.” Said a cheerful sounding Gavin. “I got a report of a big Kodiak bear hybrid found severely injured on the street. He was identified as a mugger by several people, so the police is happy to have him out of action. Did you by any chance happen to run into him?”

I sighed, “Yes, he tried to mug me. I was in a foul mood and just tasered him. I felt really upset at the time, so I didn’t act on it any further.”

Gavin chuckled, “Well, next time call 911 or me or even your stepfather. He was on the scene when I got the call. We both had a thought that it might have been you. You should know that if he wasn’t as strong as a ‘ahem’ bear, he might not have made it alive.”

I sighed again, “I’m really sorry Gavin. But like I said, I was really upset at the time. His attempt to mug me was just too much. I lost it for a moment. Next time I’ll call 911 and have the mugger picked up.”

Gavin laughed, “Okay, well I just needed to tell you. It wasn’t a big deal. Just be a bit careful and make up with Gabe if you can. You really shouldn’t be fighting so much.”

“How did you… You promised not to look into my head.” I sputtered.

“I didn’t need to read your mind Maren. It was easy to guess. Besides, I have other sources that keep me informed you know.”

I remembered, Lance also reported to Gavin. “Oh well, okay then. But please keep out of my personal life, please with a cherry on top.”

Gavin laughed again, “Sure, as long as you don’t taser every guy that bothers you on the street.”

“I don’t…” I quit talking as I heard his laughter. “Fine, I’ll keep it down a bit.”

Gavin wished me a good day before hanging up. I thought about what he had said. Maybe I should ask Gabe what it was all about. But then I thought about him kissing that girl. I was ready to hurt him badly. But I also still loved him. ‘What am I going to do about this?’

I got back into school just after classes ended. I knew that Gabe would be out already. He needed to get to his job. I still had work to do on my thrusters. I was close to understanding why my thrusters worked against hard surfaces, but not against water or air molecules. I really needed to fix that. Robin Gazarra had delivered on his promise to send me some new materials from DARPA and I needed to do some tests on them. Maybe one of those would solve the repulsing thrust against water or air. Maybe even against both.

As I walked through the deserted hallways towards my restricted workshop, I heard some faint noise. It sounded like someone was crying. Since I wanted no one near me when I was about to enter my restricted workshop, I started to go towards the sound. I found a girl sitting on the floor in a corner hiding her head in her arms. She was still crying a bit when I was nearing her position, so I guess she didn’t hear me coming.

“Hello, is there something the matter? Do you need any help?” I asked in a comforting tone.

The girl looked up at me and I recognized her. She was the girl that I had seen kissing Gabe. I wanted to yell at her for stealing my boyfriend. But she was crying, so that would be cruel. She said in between sobs, “I don’t want to trouble you.”

I felt a bit guilty, so I took her with me to an empty classroom. On my insistence, she sat down on a chair and I asked her, “Why don’t you tell me what is troubling you. Why are you crying?”

She took the hanky that I offered her and blew her nose. She said, “You wouldn’t understand. I’m not a regular girl. I morfed quite recently.”

I sat down next to her, “You’d be surprised how much I understand. Please tell me what is bothering you. What is your name?”

“Well,” she started, “my name is Harriet, or at least it is now. A couple of months ago I was a boy named Harry. I got MORFS and I changed into this body with hidden dog hybrid traits.”

Now I knew why I had an adverse reaction to her, my cat hybrid instinct reacted to her dog hybridism. I didn’t let her notice it, but said to her, “Well, that’s not that uncommon. It sure doesn’t look like a reason to cry I think.”

“There is more, I had some problems adjusting to college here. A young man noticed and started to tutor me a little and was very nice to me. I tried to get him interested in me, but he kept a distance. I even tried to kiss him, but he blocked me and said that he already had a girlfriend. I feel so awful that I tried to get him to cheat on her. And I’m not even sure about my feelings. I mean, I’m all girl now, but my head and hart still need to make up their minds. I think I’m going too much towards my feminine side. I don’t want to, but I notice all those cute boys looking at me. You would be used to that, but I haven’t been a girl that long.”

Grabbing her shoulders I made her look at me, “I do know how you feel. Let me tell you my secret. Up till some two years ago I was a boy myself. I also changed into a full girl. I even got my cat eyes and tail along with it. That is why I was feeling a bit hostile to you earlier.”

Harriet interrupted, “I didn’t notice any of that. But now that you mention it, I can see your cat eyes. They look really beautiful. Do you hate dog hybrids?”

I laughed, “No, I don’t hate dog hybrids. I do feel some tension around them, but I’m dating a dog hybrid.”

Harriet looked at me, “Please don’t tell me that you’re the girlfriend of Gabe Kramer. I don’t think that I can handle it if the girl I was trying to steal a boyfriend from, was sitting here being nice to me.”

With a painful expression I answered, “Sorry, but I am Maren, Gabe’s girlfriend. I had been very angry at you for seeing you with Gabe and I took it out on him already. But now I know that he was just being helpful and chivalrous, like always. I have wronged him, but since I know why, I hope I can make it up to him. If you hadn’t talked to me about your problems I would still be angry with Gabe and maybe I would even have broken up with him. Then you’d feel even more upset, wouldn’t you?”

Harriet just nodded at my words. I think she really was sorry for all that she had caused. I felt really awful myself. I had judged Gabe on what I had seen and thought what happened. I shouldn’t have doubted him. I decided to cancel my plans for testing the materials and go over to our planned dinner early. To Harriet I said, “I’d like it if you would be my friend, as well as Gabe’s friend. I know it isn’t all your fault. You have all those hormones screaming inside your body, and they make you all girly now. I know, because I had the same after I had changed. With some help you can get over it and find stability in who you are. So, what do you say?”

Harriet looked up at me, “You really mean that? I would love to have you as a friend, I think. Can I ask you to help me adjusting to my new life? Maybe I’m asking too much, I don’t want to bother you.”

Hastily I interrupted her, “It’s not a bother, I’d be happy to help you. If you want help with your feelings though, I have to refer you to my sister. She’s an Empath and is studying to be a councilor. ON the other hand if you want some help integrating in society and get to know other people, I’d recommend dancing. You do know that this college has a dance class?”

“I did see some notification, but I’m not good at dancing. Do you know anything about it?” Harriet asked.

Laughingly I told her, “I should, I am an assistant teacher here. My mom has a dance school in the city and with my partner Lance I won a few contests.”

Harriet looked puzzled at me, “Your partner Lance? But I thought you said you were Gabe’s girlfriend.”

I explained, “Gabe is my boyfriend, but Lance is my dance partner. Gabe is a terrible dancer, even he himself says so. Lance and Gabe tried fighting over me, but I made it clear to them that I was Gabe’s girlfriend and only danced in contests with Lance. They are both happy with the solution, I think.”

“Oh, okay then. I have to think about it though.” Harriet said thoughtfully.

“No rush, just keep it in mind. Now, I need to go find Gabe and apologize to him.”

Harriet said goodbye to me and took off, while I thought, ‘I need to take my present with me as well. Oh no, I drained the batteries. Do I still have time to recharge them?’

Arriving at the home of Gabe’s uncle, I checked if I had everything I needed. Little black dress, check. Present, check. Smile, I put a smile on my face and stepped up to the door to ring the bell.

Just after one ring the door opened and a casual dressed Gabe answered. He said, “Yes? Anything I can do for you, miss Johns?”

My face fell, ‘He is still angry with me? Have I really blown it with him? I really need to apologize.’ “Uhm, we are still on for the dinner are we? I have a present for you, although I think the batteries are dead.”

Gabe smirked at me, “I was just teasing you, Maren. Of course dinner is on. Come on in. Here let me take your coat.”

As he hung my coat up, he commented, “You look really nice in that dress. Now, what kind of batteries and how many do you need for your present?”

“Uh, two triple-A batteries.” Then I get my senses back in order. “Thanks for the compliment, I really don’t deserve it. I said some things that I shouldn’t. Please let me apologize.”

Gabe interrupted, “No apology needed just yet. Have a seat, I’ll get the food.”

I sat down and waited for things to come. Gabe put on some trays with covers on the table. He sat down himself and said, “Shall we eat first?”

Stunned into silence, I let Gabe serve me and ate his exquisite food with pleasure . He really had out done himself on it. It wasn’t in great volumes, but it was filling me up very well. As we got to dessert, he waited for a moment. He said, “This is special for today. He lifted the cover and said, “You’re my Valentine and this is my special gift number one for you.”

I looked at the hart shaped cake with a strawberrie frosting and couldn’t find any words to express myself. Then I remembered my present and gave it to Gabe. “You are my Valentine, Gabe and I made this for you.”

He unpacked it, and found the heart shaped media player. He turned it around and put in fresh batteries. After selecting a song on it, he pulled me up from the chair and said, “Care to dance?”

I was perplexed. ‘Was this Gabe? He never would have asked me to dance. He didn’t know how to.’ “I’d love to, but I thought you didn’t know how to dance.”

“Oh, I managed to talk your mom into giving me some secret lessons. My special gift number two.”

I was about to say something, but he kissed me on my mouth, which shut me up quite well. He started dancing and I went along. He still was very rough in his dancing and wasn’t even close to Lance’s performance. He did his best though and I really enjoyed it. The song ended and he sat me down on my chair again.

I was about to say something, but he shushed me with, “Please, let me continue. I made this for you as well. My special gift number three.”

He pulled out a small box and gave it to me. I opened it with trepidation. Inside it was a heart shape locket. I opened it and found both our pictures in it. I got up and kissed him long and hard.

After we had some of the cake, I said softly in a wavering tone, “Please hear me out, Gabe. I saw you with Harriet and made some wrong conclusions. I said some things I didn’t mean.” Gabe was about to say something, but I shushed him and continued, “I had a talk with Harriet earlier and now I know that you kept her at bay. She felt bad at trying to get you interested in her. I offered her our friendship and I think she’ll take it. Please, forgive me for being such a…”

Gabe interrupted me, “There is nothing to forgive. I knew that it would have been a misunderstanding. Besides I’m at fault as well. I should have told you about my tutoring Harriet. Then I made things worse in my attempts to keep all of this a secret. I love you Maren, nothing will ever change that.”

I replied with a throaty voice, “I love you too and nothing will ever change that. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

The people gathered at the news conference were anxious to know what the press officer Guzman at mission control from UESC (United Earth Space Consortium) had to tell them. I wasn’t that curious, as I already knew what he was going to say. I was there when the disaster happened with the first space test that was done with the new Dimensional Drive Thrusters and a Dimensional Power Module to power a vehicle in space. Of course I had been invited, as I had invented the DPM and was a consultant with the team that had developed the DDT. I’ll never forget hearing the voice of Sanjiro Wakami, as he described what happened during his testflight.

**********************************
A week earlier, during the DDT test

“Sanjiro, give us the stats please?”

“Hai, Synergy thrusters just shut down, rocket boosters have fired and are propelling me with 1000 kps outwards. The DPM has been checked and is online. I’m checking the DDT’s now; they appear to be in order and standing by.”

Moments later his voice came again, “I’ve shut down the rocket boosters, but will keep them on standby, just in case the DDT’s don’t fire. Hold on, firing up the DDT’s now. No… that is… Oh my…” Then there was a screeching noise and the transmission cut off.

“Sanjiro, what is happening, talk to us. Sanjiro?”

**********************************
Current time at press conference UESC

The press officer Guzman said, “We are still trying to ascertain what really happened, but all indications are that a piece of equipment failed.”

Immediately the question started, “Was it the new thruster?” and “Did the power generator explode?”

“Please, we can’t make any comments on what exactly failed and how. All I can say is that we are still investigating the matter.” Guzman hastily interrupted all the questions.

As the reporters fired more questions at Guzman, who would be getting frustrated, I turned away and left the press conference. The UESC had asked me to sit in on the inquiry board of the accident. Partly, since I was present at the mishap and mostly as one of the leading scientists in the field.

I was worried about my children though. I had been away from them for a few days now. I knew they would be in good care with Gabe and his Mom, but still I liked being with them and taking care of them. Especially little Tommy, he was teething and though Mom in law is good with her bio powers, it still is a troubling time for kids.

However I also was anxious to see this project through. The DPM was my latest project and I was integral connected to the development of the DDT’s. Nothing should have gone wrong, but it did and I wanted to know what and why.

I was so convinced that these developments where the ticket for our people to get out to the stars, and now it seemed to fall dead before it even started. I knew there were other companies trying to create technology that would allow mankind to reach the stars, but ours had more potential. Or at least I and some of my colleagues thought so.

Waiting for the next meeting of the UESC inquiry board, I relaxed in the luxury seat of the VIP lounge. Behind me I heard people whispering to each other. “They’re going to kill the program. I just know it,” a man said.

“I don’t know, but I fear they may scrap most of it. You heard what they said, they couldn’t find anything from the craft. It was totally destroyed. Like, it was transported out of there.”

“Maybe it was aliens? They could’ve warped in and taken it. Then they warped out before anything could be seen from down here.”

“Don’t be daft, there’s no such thing as aliens or Warp engines. No, I think the Chinese blew it out of space and it all got covered up.”

A soft chime signaled the starting of the meeting and I got up fluidly from my seat. Those people back there were guessing wildly at what had happened. Though there might be some truth with it, the UESC might cancel the whole program and go with a competitor that had more crude, slow and more costly technology to propel vehicles through space. They didn’t like it when people got killed which meant the better technology would be foregone in favor for more proven but more costly technology. I thought that there was something fishy about it all and wanted to see this through if only to satisfy my longing for knowledge and understanding.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This inquiry of the mishap from flight SES 34 is now in session.” The leader of the inquiry board, Ronald Mosey said to the assembled crowd. (SES= Space Exploration Systems)

I was sitting next to Sarah McIntyre. Since our adventure from Tenkei, I had been in regular contact with her and I was glad that she was involved with the DDT program. I could clearly recall how we got started on the idea and the start of the program. I was having a quiet afternoon tea with Sarah just talking about technology.

**********************************
Afternoon tea at Everybody’s Place in Tenkei months earlier

“Did you hear about the new ideas they’re launching for interstellar travel?”

“Aye, they’ll no’ get far with today’s technology. The engines just ain’t powerful enough, nae fast enough. Let alone fuel consumption. If only those thrusters of yours could work.”

“Sadly my thrusters only work with pushing against something. In space there’s just not enough stuff to push against. It’s too bad since my new project the DPM might solve the fuel and power problem.”

“DPM stands for Dimensional Power Module, right?”

At my nodding, Sarah continued, “But what if we could push against somethin’ else?”

“What are you thinking of, Sarah?”

“Dimensions, I mean there are dimension boundaries everywhere, what if we could somehow push against those. I know we cannae see them or even know where and how they are, but we dinnae need that, we just need somethin’ to push against.”

“You might be on to something, unfortunately I have my hands full with the kids and my DPM, I can’t take on another project like that.”

“You dinnae have to, I’d like to explore this myself, if you dinnae mind.”

“Why would I mind? Go for it. Can you use a sparring partner as a consultant?”

“I wouldnae dream of tryin’ the project without your help now and again.”

**********************************
Current time at inquiry of flight SES 34, UESC

“As you can see, after we targeted some telescopes on the area, there was just a little debris in the general area. It seems like the craft piloted by Sanjiro Wakami disintegrated or vanished without a trace.” Ronald Mosey concluded his presentation of the findings.

Someone directly asked the question I dreaded, “Do you think the Dimension doohickeys failed catastrophic and sucked the craft into another dimension?”

“There is no indication that something like that happened. But I’m not an expert in that field. I’ll leave the answering of that to the leading scientists present here. Mrs. Kramer and Miss McIntyre, would you come forward please and answer these questions?” Ronald Mosey looked straight at us and though I didn’t want to be in the spotlights, I realized that I had no choice.

Together with Sarah I got up and walked to the stage accepting a nano-clip microphone for the sound.

“I’ll be answering any questions about the Dimensional Power Module or DPM for short.” I said clearly to everyone. “My friend Miss McIntyre is head of the project Dimensional Drive Thrusters or DDT for short and will answer questions about that.”

“Did your DPM fail aboard the craft?” an older man asked.

“Till everything has been examined and tested I can’t be 100% sure, but all my tests didn’t show anything like that.”

“But this was the first time your DPM went into space?” A woman asked.

“Yes it is true that a DPM hasn’t been in space before. Due to regulations and fear of unknown technology I haven’t been allowed to have it tested in space yet. However it was tested with cosmic radiation and every other kind of possible hazards, short of hard vacuum. Since the DPM is installed inside a craft it would not have been in a vacuum.”

More questions were about to be fired at me, but I continued, “However to make sure this wasn’t the cause of any mishap I’m having a DPM transported to Tenkei soon with special preparations, where it will be undergoing more tests.”

Some technical questions were quickly dismissed by the classic answer ‘Classified’ or ‘read the manual’. I had prepared a short manual of the DPM that didn’t reveal the workings, just what it was and how it operated.

Sarah got grilled afterwards about the DDT and fortunately she kept it low tech, as most people wouldn’t understand her if she began to speak about how it would work. As it was, her accent already made following it a bit difficult for some people.

After the meeting we had another private conversation with Ronald Mosey in his office. He started with an apology. “I’m sorry that I have to tell you this.”

I interrupted him, “You’re not thinking of cancelling our projects, are you?”

He looked aggrieved at us, “Well, you see…”

Sarah looked like she was about to explode, “No! You're no shut this project down, not now! They're blaming it on us and we're going to prove 'em wrong. With or without your funding. If you cannae give us a little time, we’ll find a way to do it ourselves. When we succeed, we’ll sell it very expensive to every competitor we can find.”

I looked at Sarah, we made a good tag team like this. Mosey looked even more pained in his expression. “You can’t do that, all the research is classified and guarded. We can’t have you take it somewhere else.”

Softly with a steel undertone I answered him, “We can and we will. We both own the patents and rights of these devices. We are the only ones with the knowledge to make it and how it can be made to work. I don’t want to threaten you, but if you can’t give us time to prove our devices had nothing to do with what happened, we have no other choice to do what we need to.”

Mosey looked at his desk for a moment before looking back at us. “The board already made up their minds about it, and they’ll probably have my head for this, but I’m going to stonewall the paperwork for a few weeks. You have until then to prove your point. I hope you have an opening for a manager by that time if you fail in your efforts.”

Once we were alone in an office, Sarah asked, “What are you proposin’ to do now. We have nae go’ a vessel to put our devices in.”

“I know that, how about Todd? Can he help us out? Maybe he knows someone who has a space worthy plane for sale.”

“Aye, that he might. I’ll go ask him abou’ it then. Are ye lookin’ for somethin’ special?”

I smiled, “Just big enough to put Synergy thrusters, DDT’s and the DPM in along with a pilot and connections to a booster rocket to get us into orbit. It also needs to have a cooling system for the exterior, for the re-entry procedure.”

“Aye, as if I didnae know tha’. I’ll go give Todd a call, how are ye going to tell yer husband about this.” Sarah smirked.

I frowned, I hadn’t thought that far yet. I knew that I would have a tough time selling it to Gabe. But it was something that I wanted to do. To prevent anything going wrong I wanted to pilot the craft myself this time, which would only make talking to Gabe more difficult. I knew he would try blackmailing me out of it by using the children that I was responsible for. I do love my children, and I would give up almost everything for them, but this was something I had to do. I didn’t underestimate the dangers, but felt sure that it wasn’t as bad as everyone feared.

**********************************
Kramer’s family home in Sun City

A few hours later I was in a heated discussion with Gabe. I had just told him what I was planning to do and he reacted as I suspected. “How can you even think of doing something harebrained like that? I forbid you to do it.”

I sighed, “You can’t forbid me anything.”

He was still fuming, “Think about our children, do you want them to grow up without a mother? You do love your children do you?”

‘Just as I suspected, he is using the children to keep me from doing what I thought I had to do.’ “Gabe, you know I love our children, and I love you, but this is something I just have to do. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t prove them wrong and held back humanity on this earth.”

“But why does it have to be you, why can’t you find someone else to pilot the ship.”

I tried to kiss him, but he evaded me, “I’m the best qualified person for controlling the DPM and DDT’s in action. I know the most about the systems and I can generate enough power if something isn’t right. You know me, I can do this and I am the best qualified.”

Gabe bowed his head, “Fine, go do it if you want. But don’t expect me to be happy about it. I’m going to Amsterdam to fix some problems and I’m taking the kids and my mom with me. Mem wants to visit some old friends and she wants to show the kids around in Fryslận.”

It was that I heard him use the name of his birthplace before, else I might think that he was angry with me. Well, he was upset, but not really angry with me. Softly I said to him, “Let me talk to them first. I’ll explain as well as possible what I have to do.”

Later we sat down for dinner minus Gabe. He went out saying that he had to do something at the restaurant and wouldn’t be home till very late. Jessica, being the oldest of my children, knew that something was not right and Caitlin felt it as well. Jessica asked, “Memmy, are you and Heity fighting?”

I looked at Gabe’s mom. She stared back with disdain, but stayed quiet. I turned to Jessica and Caitlin, “I have to do something that is a bit dangerous…” I snort from Gabe’s mom interrupted me but I continued, “… and Heit doesn’t want me to do it. I love you all dearly, and wish I could leave it to someone else, but I feel that I’m the best and maybe the only one who can do this successfully. If I don’t do this, my project will be cancelled and other people can never explore space like you see in the movies.”

“Will you promise to be careful?” Jessica asked in a serious tone.

“Of course I will honey. I will be very careful and have a video talk with you every day.”

Gabe’s mom had a talk with me as well, after the children finally got into bed. “I know Gabe is upset with your decision. I’m not happy with it as well. But I do think you’re old and wise enough to make your own decision. Please be careful.”

I thanked her and explained to her what we wanted to do and how. She still didn’t like the dangers involved for me, but knew that I had thought it trough and that Sarah would watch over the project to keep me save.

Gabe crawled in bed after I had already fallen asleep, and I only vaguely noticed that he was back.

The next morning I said my goodbyes and hugged and kissed my children. I turned to Gabe who still scowled at me, but didn’t flinch when I kissed him. He was a bit hesitant at first, but then kissed me back. “I love you Maren, and I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

“Nothing will happen to me, I’ll be fine. Just be careful in Nederland yourself.”

Gabe smiled wryly, “Okay then, I know you well enough that I can’t change your mind. Just be careful and take your uncle Feral with you. I’d feel better with him watching over you and your equipment.”

I hadn’t thought of that, it was a good idea. As my family went to the airport with our car I quickly went to the restaurant where I could find my uncle. He readily agreed to come with me and would keep an eye out for anything that might pose a threat to me.

**********************************
Somewhere in Kourou, French Guiana

A day later I entered a hangar in Kourou, French Guiana. We could’ve rented a space in Florida as well, but this was cheaper and even closer to the equator. Though technically we didn’t need as much of an extra push from the Earths spin as the old style launches did, it was still helpful.

I greeted Sarah who was waiting for me and saw Todd standing a bit further away next to something under a tarp. It peeked my curiosity, but I was patient enough to talk with Sarah first. “Hi Sarah, no problems in getting in here?”

“Ach, you’d think they’d never seen a hybrid before. If Todd werenae with me I’d still be waiting at security.”

I smiled, they were a bit more lenient with me, since I was well known as a scientist. Still they were curious about me being a hybrid as well. Especially since they knew I had a power. “So, what’s Todd got under the tarp?” I asked her.

“I’ll let him tell you himself. He’s looking forward to showing you.” Sarah smiled back at me.

Together we walked up to Todd and he smiled warmly at me. “Hello Synergy, nice to see you again. It’s been too long.”

I snorted, “Yeah, a whole two weeks since last we saw each other.”

“Like I said, an awful long time not to gaze on your beautiful you.”

Sarah swatted at him, “Down boy, you’re mine and she’s married.”

Todd just laughed, “So Maren, I was going to wait till your birthday to give you this, but you two forced my hand with this harebrained idea of yours.”

He pulled the tarp from the thing under it. There was an elegant double box tail spacecraft revealed before us. “I am happy to give you this Synergy Spacecraft, that I procured from McGinnis III himself. It is the latest incarnation of his original Synergy aircraft. He assured me that it is perfect for what you want to do with it, provided that we enhance it in terms of cooling systems for re-entry, self-sealing skin and vacuum proofing it. You also need to take the engine out and install the thrusters and the DPM.”

“I didn’t know there was a plane called Synergy Aircraft. Thank you so much.” I gave him a quick kiss on his cheek,” eliciting a harrumph from Sarah.

But when I turned to her she was smiling. Quickly things turned technical as we started talking about the cooling and other stuff that we needed for our test flight into space. We started work on it right away and got so involved into our work that we forgot time. If not for Todd bringing us some food, we’d have gone hungry.

Near the end of the day, a big black panther strolled into the hangar and both Sarah and Todd backed out of the way in fear of seeing a ferocious predator slinking towards them. I looked up from what I was doing as I noticed Sarah backing up seemingly in fear for her life. Turning around to look at what was making her act like that I casually said, “Hi uncle Feral, did you have any problems getting here?”

In his gruff voice he answered softly, “They did try to stop me at the gate, but I quickly convinced them who I am and what I’m going to do here.”

Sarah looked at me, “Yer uncle?”

“Oh, I forgot, you haven’t met him yet. This is my uncle Lando Johns, also known as Feral. I asked him to do security at night. He’s the best in that line of work. Don’t worry about him, he’s a real pussycat at heart.”

Feral growled, “Hey!” But then hugged me as a greeting.

“Careful, you’re so big and heavy.” I warned him.

He extended his hand to both Todd and Sarah, and told them to relax.

They still were a bit apprehensive of him, but relaxed as he took a cat nap in a quiet corner and only watched us quietly. Only Sarah was still on edge, I didn’t blame her, being a sheep hybrid, it was probably in her nature to be wary of big top predators. Sarah whispered to me, “He looks quite scary, your uncle, especially when he licks around his muzzle like that.”

I looked up and saw Feral licking around his muzzle, staring at us. “Feral! Don’t antagonize poor Sarah like that.”

Feral muttered, “What? I’m not doing anything.”

I turned to Sarah, “Don’t pay attention to him. He’s just teasing you.”

Sara shuddered, “I still feel edgy. Don’t worry, I’ll get over it. Please tell me, are you a cat hybrid because it runs in the family?”

I laughed, “No, my uncle had some sort of accident or mishap which caused him to morf on a later time than me. Him being a cat is just a coincidence. He did have some problems afterwards but he’s a valued member of our family. Especially the kids love having him around.”

Feral growled from his spot, “Annoying little brats.”

Sarah was spooked that he responded to our quiet conversation. But I reassured her, “He has exceptional good hearing, sense of smell and sight. But don’t let his comment fool you, he loves kids and wouldn’t do anything to harm them.”

Sarah looked over her shoulder to my uncle and shuddered a little. I didn’t blame her though; my uncle does look scary, which comes in handy in his line of work of course.

The next morning a truck delivered parts for our cooling system and Sarah started cursing. “How can they be doin this, dinnea they follow our specs?”

Quickly I went over to her, “What’s wrong?”

“See for yerself, these tubin’s are too short, they’re no’ as we specified them.”

The man unloading the parts came to us with papers. “These are copies of the specs as the factory got them.”

I looked them over and they weren’t the same as ours. “These are not the same specs we sent them. Look here, this number is wrong and this one and this too.” I pointed at the papers to point it out.

“I’m sorry,” the delivery man said, “but this is as we have it. I don’t know why they are different.”

I did have a thought about that. “Someone has been changing them after we send them. This is sabotage. Some people want us not to succeed with this test. That is why I asked my uncle to guard the hangar at night as well. We need to oversee these things more closely or more things like this will happen.”

Sarah agreed with me, “Aye, we need to be present at several stages of the parts production, but we cannae do all that and make the plane ready in time.”

Feral slinked up to us, “Maybe I can help with that. I got some extra time and can watch some of the parts production for you.”

Sarah jumped a bit hearing his voice, she hadn’t anticipated it. I knew my uncle for a long time, and knew he would be close by all the time. “If you can, please help us out uncle. We can’t afford these setbacks. We only have a few weeks and limited funds.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Feral said determinately and stalked off out of the hangar.

Late in the afternoon he returned with a truck with the correct parts this time and we started working again on the cooling systems. We only stopped when Feral told us to quit for dinner and have a goodnights sleep. I felt much better having him around. The plane would be safe with him guarding it, and he was helping quite well with parts we needed. Todd offered to oversee parts production and delivery as well, so we were set for getting our plane ready in time.

With our helpers overseeing the production and delivery of parts, we made good progress in making the spaceship ready. Of course it helped that with my powers I could emulate tools for welding, cooling and even check inside materials with x-rays. I couldn’t have done it without Sarah though. She was incredible with her meticulous approach and ability to think out all the problems before they could even arise.

Just as we were putting in the last systems before getting it ready, there was a commotion at the Hangar door. Feral went to check it out and within moments bounded back to me. “Maren! There are several reporters demanding answers and a view of your ship. I don’t know how they found out, but I can get rid of them if you want me to.”

I sighed and heard another sigh next to me. “How did they find out about our plans,” Sarah asked to no one in particular.

“It is probably that mysterious saboteur again. He couldn’t keep us from the launch by withholding the parts or destroy it here in the hangar. So now they’re trying with the media.”

I sighed again, “I guess we have to show them the ship, but at least we can keep them at a distance.”

Sarah didn’t like, well I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t see we had any other choice. Uncle Feral liked it even less. He positioned himself right in front of the spaceship to deter anyone from trying sabotage.

Together with Sarah I went to the hangar door and we found ourselves bombarded with questions. I cut them all off with, “Quiet everyone! I’ll select a few of you that will be allowed inside and can ask us some questions.”

Sarah selected a few reporters that she knew to be legit and favorable to our project, while I did the same with some of the people I knew. Soon we went inside the hangar with 7 reporters and press officer Guzman who was just as anxious to see our craft and hear what we were planning.

As all of us neared the craft, most of them were taken aback with the large black panther standing in front of it. One reporter asked, “Don’t you think it is dangerous to have a wild animal guarding your space craft here? I mean, it might damage it without wanting to, or it could attack even you if you make a wrong move.”

Uncle Feral growled hearing it before answering himself, “She’s family, and I’m not a dumb animal as you might think. So keep your bigotry to yourself and grow up into today’s world of hybrids.”

The reporter went pale hearing the threatening tone from my uncle, so I quickly intervened, “Well, that answers that question. Feral is here to make sure no one is tampering with this spacecraft. We already had some sabotage efforts, so please keep your distance and direct your questions about the craft and our intended flight to us.”

Moments after I had said that, Sarah and I got bombarded with questions. I picked out the ones I wanted to answer as did Sarah and we ignored the others. We told them a little about the systems and protection that we installed.

Then one older reporter asked, “I don’t see any shielding against cosmic rays and other harmful radiation. Don’t you think that may pose a problem or have you found a different way of shielding against that?”

I sighed, “You are right, there is no shielding against radiation. That is also why I’m one of the few persons suitable for flying this spacecraft. I’m an energy converter and I am able to withstand radiation. It even fuels my internal stores, so I thrive on it, instead of being harmed. Doing it this way also helps keeping down the costs and construction time.

While we were answering the questions everyone crept unnoticed closer to the space craft, till suddenly Feral roared and everyone backed away. Press officer Guzman was even on the other side of our space craft and jumped back so fast that he stumbled and fell down on his butt. One reporter managed a quick snapshot of that and most of them laughed. I tried to catch my uncle’s attention, but he didn’t seem to notice it. He roared again and together with Sarah I managed to herd the people out of the hangar.

As the peace and quiet returned, I went to uncle Feral and asked, “What was that all about?”

“They were getting too close and thought I smelled something peculiar. I tried to find the source but I can’t seem to smell it anymore. I don’t like it; you should do a full inspection of the craft, Maren!”

I thought it over but couldn’t find a way to do it. “We can’t do a complete inspection as we would have to take everything apart. But I will inspect everything that I can without disassembly.”

Sarah contributed, “Aye, it would take too much time to take it apart now. We cannae afford that in the time we have.”

We spent the whole afternoon searching the space craft, till Sarah told me to get some rest and sleep. “You’ll be piloting the craft, so you have to be at your best. You go on and sleep, while I’ll go over it again with yer uncle.”

I was surprised that she volunteered to work with my uncle Feral. I knew she would have to overcome her innate fear of him to do so. It just showed to me what importance she put into this and I knew she was right. I had to get some rest and sleep if I was going to be piloting the next morning at my peak performance.

The next morning I got up early, but found out that Sarah had gotten up even earlier and of course uncle Feral didn’t sleep at nights. Sarah took me for a light breakfast and last minute details to the cafeteria. We went over the mission in minute detail again and again, till we were satisfied that I could execute it in my sleep. Sarah reported that they hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary inside the plane and as far as she was concerned the mission was a go. I agreed with her, “Maybe we are all just paranoid with all the sabotage we had in the past.”

“Aye, but we should consider that our adversaries haven’t given up on ruining our flight.”

I sighed, “I’ll keep my eyes open for anything unusual, but let’s get back to the plane and roll it out onto the tarmac.”

Unlike conventional rockets, our space plane wasn’t launched vertically with the help of a tower. It would lift off like a plane and accelerate straight up by synergy thrusters first and then with the help of a booster. It needed a booster since the synergy thrusters needed something, in this case gas molecules like Oxygen, Nitrogen and such, to push against. At higher altitudes the atmosphere was too thin for the thrusters to push against and we needed a boost from a rocket engine. We didn’t think it was entirely safe to use the DDT’s in the atmosphere and I didn’t want to risk it.

Stepping into the cockpit Sarah said, “We’ll keep in radio contact all the time, don’t take any chances, if something is wrong, you abort and get back you hear?”

“Yes mom,” I said sarcastically.

“And don’t you be forgettin it.” Sarah said mockingly.

Then she laughed and helped me into my suit. We did the last preparations before sealing me into my space flight suit and closing the cockpit up. Finally alone I performed the last checks and found the seals all in order. I was good to go and waited for clearance to take off.

I found it taking a little too long as I waited and waited. I called flight control, “Synergy 1 to control, what is the hold up?”

“Control here, a commercial plane has entered the fly zone, we’ve scrambled the chase planes to escort it out of here.”

‘Darn it, must be another attempt to thwart our flight.’ I switched channels. “Sarah? Is this another attempt to make us give up?”

“Aye, ye might be right about it. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I have a feeling it is.”

Switching channels again, I said to Control, “This has gone on long enough. I’m taking off now, please have a chase plane follow me as long as it can.”

“Synergy 1, you do not have clearance yet. Hold your position!”

“Sorry, but I had enough sabotage already, I’m taking off now or we’d never get up there. Clear a path for me.”

Thought sprang into action for me and I started the synergy thrusters for lift off. My craft rose vertically into the air and starting thrusters to get me up to speed got me flying away from the tarmac.

“What’s the latest on the intruder?” I asked.

“Two Rafale 33’s intercepted it and are escorting it away. It is a charter for sightseeing.”

“I want charges brought against the pilot and the one who hired it, they intentionally entered restricted airspace.”

“Copy that, we are already preparing that.”

Moments later I flew upwards at an increasing incline and started to go vertical. I started using my power to decrease the gravity around the craft, so I wouldn’t need as much speed as normally was required to escape the earth’s gravity well.

Going through the height of 75 km, I knew soon I would be leaving the mesosphere and the air would get too thin for my thrusters to function. I said to Control, “Leaving Mesosphere, going for throttle up.”

“Roger that Synergy 1, you are clear for throttle up.”

I started the booster rockets and as the jolt in my back signaled that they had fired, I cut the power to the Synergy thrusters.

The G-force was pinning me into my seat, but it wasn’t too bad. Since my power lowered the gravity pull I didn’t feel it too much.

A while later, I exited the Exosphere and was officially in space. “Leaving the Exosphere now, everything is still okay and in the green.”

After a little while longer I cut the booster rockets; I was glad that we inserted hybrid rockets that could be turned off and on at will. My radio started, “Synergy, how did the ascending go?”

I replied to Sarah in Control, “Everything is fine, just turned off the boosters and I’m just above GEO. All systems are green and I’m good to go.”

“I’m checking telemetry please wait before starting your test run.” Sarah wasn’t taking any chances and wanted to check the data that my systems automatically send to her.

My radio started again, but this time it was a different voice. “Synergy 1, this is Tenkei station. Do you need assistance?”

I smiled; I knew that Alice, Tetsuo or both would be monitoring my flight. I was happy that they provided me with a safety option, but using it would mean I didn’t complete my flight and would lose the validity of the test flight. “Negative Tenkei. Thank you for the offer, but I’m good to go here.”

“Roger that, Synergy 1. Don’t hesitate to call us if there is a serious problem.”

“Will do, Tenkei.”

Immediately Sarah came back on the radio, “Synergy, telemetry checks out, you have a go.”

“Roger that Control, I’m starting with low power to see if I can cruise around.”

Leaving the radio connection open, I fed some power from the DPM into the DDT’s and saw the number move up slowly from 0 to 1 and then 2 percent power. The space craft started moving slowly forward and using the stick I could change the direction of the DDT’s to change my course. It all worked quite well and for a moment I reveled in flying in micro gravity in space. This would already be a great break through, astronauts, cosmonauts and taikonauts could use this instead of rockets or compressed air to fly around. It would be safer, and longer lasting than the older systems. No more running out of fuel, only out of power and with a solar panel that could be recharged.

I reported to Sarah, “Cruising at low power and slow speed is working perfectly, going to put some more power to it and see what happens.”

“Roger that, Synergy. Please be careful with the throttle. Don’t want you shooting off into space.”

I just laughed at that. I knew the risks and what I could do. I was feeling charged and fed some power into the DDT’s myself. The cosmic radiation was charging me up. The numbers slowly went up into higher percentages as I increased the power to the DDT’s and my speed increased a lot as well.

I made a large turn around the moon still increasing the power and I was half way back to my home planet when the gauge read 88 %. I didn’t see anything, but sort of sensed something forming in front of the craft. The space craft started to buffet and I felt gravity forces increasing, threatening to tear the craft apart. Instinctively I countered the forces with my power while at the same time shut down the power to the DDT’s and swerved out of the way of what I sensed in front of me.

My craft shook and buffeted, but it held together though it creaked and groaned in the atmosphere inside. Just as sudden as it appeared, the phenomenon disappeared and I was flying normally in space again. Just talking in myself, I said; “What the hell was that?”

Sarah immediately responded, “Synergy, what is happening? Telemetry went wild, we have several stress loads in the red, what did ye do?”

I answered, “I’m not really sure, something weird happened, but I need to see the data before I can say what it was.” I already had an idea, and it most likely was what happened to Sanjiro. The gravity forces would have torn his spacecraft to pieces if his DDT’s were at 88% of more. I had a suspicion that his craft had been sabotaged to do just that, but I needed proof or a confession of someone.
However if we could make a craft strong enough to counter the forces or put a gravity disrupter on board, this might give a new direction to space travel. Also the inertia of the sudden acceleration, if what I think it might be, would be too much. We would need to develop some kind of inertial dampeners or travel incased in fluid to counteract that.

My radio started again, “Synergy 1, this is Tenkei. Is everything okay? Do you need assistance?”

“Tenkei, Synergy here. Everything is still good, thank you again for the offer.”

As I traveled back towards Earth, a cold shiver ran down my spine. Something wasn’t right. I looked around the cockpit. ‘Sarah and Feral already searched it totally. They couldn’t have missed anything, could they?’

My eye fell on something moving and I looked at the small mandatory fire extinguisher mounted on the side. The gauge was moving slowly but surely. ‘Is the pressure going down from the extinguisher? But I would see some escaping powder, shouldn’t I? No, it is moving like the hand of a clock.’

I realized at that time that this was what was wrong. It wasn’t an extinguisher. It was a bomb.

I reached for the thing and quickly yanked it out of the holder. The hand of the clock almost reached the end of the clock and my heart almost stopped realizing that it would explode any moment. Just as I reached this conclusion the reaction started.

I didn’t hesitate, but used my power to the limits of what I could do, absorbing the blast energy and the kinetic energy of the expanding gases. I knew I couldn’t contain all the gas in the confined space of the cockpit but managed to keep it compressed till I could dump it into an inspection hole for one of the booster engines. The gas blew out spectacular from the nozzle whipping me around in weird wobble and I struggled to get the craft back in control.

Just after I managed just that, Control radioed me again, “Synergy! What is happening, I have a lot of weird readings on the telemetry, are you all right?”

It gave me an idea and though I hated scaring Sarah like that, I turned off all the telemetry transmissions and cut the radio. I wanted to surprise the saboteur at the base and confront him with my suspicions after my safe return. The phony extinguisher tank was mostly intact and I was pretty sure that the saboteur left his fingerprints on it. It would prove who did it, though I already knew.

Now I still had too much energy inside me from absorbing the blast, so I used it to increase the stored power in the DPM. As far as I know I’m the only one who can do it all by myself. It needs magnetism, electrical energy and kinetic energy or compression all at the same time to store the energy inside the dimensional pocket and taking it out with a 100 fold increase. I’m still struggling with the science behind that particular feat.

Normally re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere is done with slowing down the spacecraft by friction of the atmosphere. In my case I couldn’t do it just like that, because my craft didn’t have the heat shields that normal spacecraft have. I did however have the advantage of DDT thrusters and my power to diminish the gravity pull. This resulted in a much lower speed of entry and thus the friction wasn’t as high. The cooling system Sarah and I installed, took care of most of the heat, though it started to get very warm inside the craft. My power to absorb heat took care of that while powering the DDT’s to provide some breaking thrust to slow descend down even more.

After reaching high altitude inside the atmosphere, I cut the thrusters and glided back towards my base of operations in Kourou. I took a different route towards the base, since I didn’t want to get noticed. Flying low and slow I neared the base from the water and used the Synergy thrusters to make a vertical landing in a clearing not too far from the base, but out of sight. As I climbed out of the cockpit and opened up my space flight suit, I noticed something black and fast coming towards me. Just as I realized who it was, he reached me and Uncle Feral said, “Welcome back Maren. What’s the reason for going dark and landing out here?”

“Hi Uncle Feral, someone slipped a bomb into the space craft and I wanted to surprise the one responsible.”

Feral sighed, “You know who it is?”

“I have a pretty good idea, I just need a confession. Though the prints on the tank might be enough evidence. Can you get me in undetected?”

“Sure, though I’ve got to warn you, Gabe is in there and he’s not happy with your actions.”

Now I sighed, “Why is he here? I thought he was still in Nederland. Didn’t you tell him you heard my craft? You came here because you heard the Synergy thrusters, right?”

“Didn’t have the time to get to him and didn’t want to attract attention. I just slipped out when I heard the thrusters. Let’s go and I’ll get you in somehow.”

Uncle Feral took point and we quickly marched onto the base and into the building where all the crew and even the press were gathered. I stood hidden behind a curtain, while Uncle Feral made his way slowly towards Gabe and Sarah. He stood up and whispered into both their ears for a while. They looked around, but didn’t see me. Gabe’s expression went from worry to a slight smile, while Sarah showed relief in her expression.

Press officer Guzman went up to the podium and started to speak. “Ladies and Gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I am not in an official capacity here, but I was present in the control center. I have been asked to make a statement. It appears that there was an accident with Mrs. Kramer’s space craft and it was obliterated out there. We haven’t been able to find any pieces as of yet, so I can’t tell you what really happened. I can promise you that a full investigation will be conducted and that we will share the findings with you.”

I stepped from behind the curtain, “Why don’t you just say the truth, Guzman? You sabotaged our flight and even put a bomb in it. I’m willing to bet that you are responsible for the mishap with Sanjiro’s flight as well.”

Guzman was nailed in place by my accusation, while everyone else turned towards me. A young woman reporter was closest and started, “What makes you say that Mrs. Kramer? Where did you come from and what happened?”

I explained loudly, “I have pieces of a bomb that was put into my space craft. I think we will find prints on it from the saboteur. And I am willing to bet that those prints match Mr. Guzman’s prints.”

Guzman reacted now and got his muscles under control. He tried to make a break for it and ran towards a door near the back of the podium. He couldn’t go towards the main doors, as my uncle was blocking his path there. He tried for a small door where no one could reach him. Well, I think my uncle would be able to catch him easily, but he didn’t even have to try. Gabe beat him to it and pointed the maser I built for him at Guzman and tasered him to a twitching stand still before he collapsed on the ground.

We were standing around him when he came back to his senses. I growled at him, “Who are you working for? Tell us now!”

Guzman tried to be stubborn, but Uncle Feral said, “Can I have him? I promise I won’t eat too much of him and he can still talk.”

Guzman looked in fear at my uncle, while Gabe and I barely managed to keep from laughing. I said in a reticent tone, “Please Feral, you can’t eat everyone that doesn’t want to cooperate.”

He growled disappointed, “You never let me have any fun with my prey anymore.”

I repeated my question to Guzman and this time he spilled his thoughts. “RIO, it was RIO. They said that I would get a position on their board if I managed to get them the contracts for space travel.”

I knew RIO, it was the Reaction and Inter Orbital conglomerate that wanted the contracts for their space planes.

“What did you do to Sanjiro’s systems? You sabotaged his DDT’s, didn’t you.”

Guzman really broke down as Feral growled near his ear. “Yes, I set his DDT’s at 100% output. I hoped he would shoot away so far into space that he couldn’t make it back. I didn’t count on what happened. I don’t even know what happened. That is the truth, I swear it.”

I said to some Interpol agents, “Take him away and charge him with murder and attempted murder please. He’s got a lot to answer for.”

A few days later I was back at UESC being debriefed about what happened and what I thought had happened to Sanjiro.

Ronald Mosey said, “So, you pushed the DDT’s to 88% thrust and something happened. And this is what happened to Sanjiro as well?”

“Yes, at 88% or more, there is a strange phenomenon happening in space. I can't tell you what it is, because I don't know!"

"Can you speculate then, you're the scientist and most qualified person on topic of dimensions and such."

"Fine, it could be a wormhole, or a window to hyperspace or another dimension. It wouldn't surprise me if it was a hole in space-time fabric that leads into I don't know where. I simply don't know. What I do know is that any probe or whatever you want to sent through, it had better be structurally reinforced against very large gravitational forces. I felt them when whatever it was, was trying to pull me in. If not for my power to absorb the gravitational energy, I would have been sucked in and pulled apart by the forces on the event horizon."

"You make it sound like it's a black hole"

"Maybe it has similar qualities, I don't know. I can only tell you what I felt."

"So that was what happened to Sanchiro?"

"Yes, if his DDT was set higher than 88 % and it was, he would have no chance against being pulled in and almost directly pulled apart in a matter of seconds."

Mosey sighed, “Okay, I think we know enough now. Your project and Sarah’s are back on track and we’re going to start exploring our solar system. I do want the DDT”s limited in power though. And I want to propose a new project. We need to design and build a ship that can withstand the forces you described.”

I smiled, “Not only that, but you also need to find a way to combat the G-force at an immense acceleration. If it is a doorway or wormhole to somewhere else, the acceleration would be tremendous and the G-force would splat everyone in the craft like overripe grapes.”

“Okay, so would you like to spear head this new project?”Mosey asked me casually.

I smiled mysteriously, “I don’t know yet, I have to think about it.” Though I was interested at the very least.