Young Jimmy Swenson finds himself in some unusual circumstances. He looks so much like his twin sister, they call him her little sister. He is tormented by a hair dresser that has an agenda of her own,and is lusted by boy he knows. Then things get really strange.

A Whateley Fanfic

Fadeaway

by

Paula Dillon

Today was special for Jimmy and Tammy Swenson, it was their fourteenth birthday. Their mom was taking them out to eat to celebrate their birthdays at a nice restaurant. They were having a party but that wasn’t till Saturday, when school was out for the Christmas break. Their tests were already over but they had two days of school to go. All of Tammy’s friends couldn’t help referring to Jimmy as Tammy’s little sister. He hated that. For all this Jimmy and Tammy got along better than most brothers and sisters, they did love each other. They had their spats sure, but nobody picked on Tammy while Jimmy was around. He only wished it were the same for him.

They were as identical as twins could be considering that one was a boy and the other was a girl. They were five foot four inches tall. They both had blond hair (his cut in a short boy’s haircut ((that could easily pass as a girl’s pixie cut)), hers in a pageboy that just brushed the tops of her shoulders) and blue eyes. They clearly showed their Nordic decent. Their faces were perfect diamond shapes, being narrow at the chin, wide at their cheeks and slightly narrower at the forehead. The only real difference was that Tammy after her twelfth birthday had starting to develop different curves than Jimmy. Not that she was that different. She was a large A cup and beat Jimmy’s chest measurement by two inches, she was also two inches wider at hip and three inches narrower in the waist. She even out weighed him by five pounds.

Jimmy for his part had yet to hit puberty. This wasn’t unusual in his father’s family; their boys didn’t start puberty till late thirteen to early fifteen years old. Then they exploded in their development till they were tall, rugged and handsome men by the age of sixteen. His voice was still childlike, his body hair was thin or non-existent and of course he didn’t shave because there was nothing to shave. This irked Jimmy because Tammy was already shaving her legs.

Julia Swenson, their Mom got home for work, hugged her kids and headed to her room to cleanup a bit and change. Jimmy and Tammy were already dressed. Jimmy looked sharp in his navy blue suit that had gold buttons with the Swenson crest on them. Tammy was dressed in a very pretty baby blue floral print dress that clung to her body showing off her young curves, baby blue heels, a matching purse, suntan pantyhose, a silver heart shaped necklace and earring set and just a smidgen of makeup (as much as her mom would let her get away with).

Julia came out of her room looking dazzling in a sapphire blue silk chiffon dress, matching heels and suntan pantyhose. She had on a necklace and earrings that matched Tammy’s. She looked more like a twenty six year old woman rather than her thirty six years.

Jimmy’s eyes got real big, “Whoa Mom, you look good, really good.”

“Why thank you, kind sir. I must say you look dashing in that suit, and you look really nice too Tammy. We’ll talk about makeup later. I guess my little girl is growing up. Maybe you can wear a bit more makeup but nothing too sexy or sultry though, you still are my little girl.”

Tammy squealed with delight, “Thank you Momma.”

Jimmy had a far away sad look on his face. This didn’t escape the notice of his Mom. “What’s wrong Jimmy?”

“I just wish Dad was here.”

Eric Swenson had died on an oil derrick accident out in the Gulf of Mexico three years ago. He was pushing pipe when the chain that held a machine broke. The machine spun around on the drill stem and hit Eric in the chest crushing his ribcage and killing him instantly. Insurance and compensation from the company paid off all their debt and bills and made life comfortable for them, but it couldn’t fill the hole in their lives.

Julia hugged both of her kids fiercely, “I know sweetie. I miss him too, but let me tell you both; your father would be proud how both of the way you two have turned out. Are you guys ready,” she asked.

Both kids answered, “Yes Ma’am.”

Julia fumbled in her purse as she walked to the door. “Now where are my keys?” She said to herself.

“On the dresser next to your jewelry box,” Jimmy answered.

“Now how would you know that Mister?” Julia asked with emphasis on the mister.

“I don’t know, but I think they are there? I guess,” Jimmy wondered where that had come from himself.

Julia went to her bedroom and found her keys right where Jimmy had said they would be. She just shook her head and joined the kids at the car.

The Swenson’s weren’t unadept at eating out, they ate out at least once a week, but this place was a lot fancier than the restaurants they usually went to. The kids’ eyes got big as they looked around. They were taken to their table by a real maá®tre’d. Jimmy insisted on seating their Mom and Tammy stood by her chair till he helped her too.

They had a good time eating and talking, but towards the end Jimmy felt a little unwell. He thought he might have a slight fever and his stomach was a little unsettled. He made an effort not to show his discomfort and for the most part succeeded.

**************

The last two days of school came and went. On the last day they had an assembly where the Principal wished her students a Happy Holidays. She dismissed them directly from assembly.

Jimmy was glad to get home; he still wasn’t up to snuff. He had been feverish the last two nights. He thought he might have a mild case of the flu except he didn’t have any congestion.

**************

Early Saturday morning found Julia and her kids at the hair dressers. Jimmy was there for a trim while Julia and Tammy were there for makeovers.

Cindy took care of Jimmy’s hair. He wanted a more masculine look, but no matter what he said she kept his hair Metro sexual or somewhat androgynous. She liked him looking a little feminine. She even cleaned up his brow with just a bit of arch; his weren’t as thin or arched as Tammy’s and Julia’s brows but they were different from any boys Jimmy knew. It tickled Cindy that despite all his bluster, he never complained to his mom who kept bringing him back. She also took some of his hair to forward and made some fringe. She showed him pictures of famous guys who had bangs, so he relented a bit. She would pierce his ears and give him some lovely butterfly earrings she had in starter sets if she felt she could get away with it. Maybe later she thought.

Cindy stood back and looked at the boy. She thought he was so cute. If he were her child she would have him in dresses. His hair didn’t scream girl, but there was nothing he could do to it to make it more masculine short of cutting it off, into a flattop or buzz cut. This was fun for her.

Jimmy sat up front at the salon while he waited for his Mom and sister. It took them at least three or four times the amount of time to get their hair done.

There were some girls there that talked to him and asked his opinion on hair styles and color as they waited their turn. They just assumed he was a girl, albeit a little flat chested. He figured as much, but at least they were friendly to him and he liked sitting next to and talking with them. There was a very cute red head sitting next to him. She was a little too close for comfort actually; her hip and thigh were touching him. He thought she was hitting on him.

Julia and Tammy came around the corner and saw Jimmy before he saw them. His Mom couldn’t believe how much he looked like a girl. She had asked Cindy about his hair, she said that he had insisted on that look. Seeing how good he looked and how well he was getting along with the girls around him she kinda believed it. She also noticed his brows and wondered if he were gay or something. No matter she still loved him the same. She would just have to have a talk with him in the next week or so.

Jimmy looked up when he heard his name called. He looked up and smiled really big when he saw his Mom and sister. They looked even better than they had been on Wednesday.

“Wow Sis, you look incredible. You too Mom.”

Tammy was so pleased by the compliment he paid to her she squealed with delight and ran to her brother and giving him a big hug, “Thank you Jimmy, I really love my makeup.” The Makeup Technician had taken a lot of time and taught Tammy how to apply her makeup right and gave her a DVD to study. Her Mom finally let her use eye makeup; eye liner (only for special occasions), mascara, and eye shadow (as long as she didn’t go too dark); Jimmy honestly thought his sister looked incredible. He looked over her shoulder and just winked at his Mom, who smiled back at him.

Tammy stood back and looked at Jimmy; inside she was a little confused. He looked good, very good for a girl, not quite a silk and lace girl, but definitely not a tomboy girl. “You look… great too,” she said in an unconvinced manner.

Julia similarly agreed.

Jimmy was hurt a bit and it showed a little. He was hoping they would say enough of this and insist that he get it cut more like a boy.

Julia and Tammy saw the hurt and decided that if he wanted to look like this, they would accept him.

Julia paid up and they had to hurry home for the Party.

**************
Jimmy and Tammy dressed in identical red Polo shirts. Jimmy wore tan khaki slacks and white decks shoes. Tammy wore a Khaki mini, nude pantyhose, white deck shoes with pink piping and of course she used her new makeup. She wasn’t perfect, but achieved some nice results. Her Mom fixed the few flaws she could find.

They had fifteen guests, eleven girls and four boys. The girls fawned over Jimmy’s looks a bit; they were Jimmy’s friends as well as Tammy’s.

Three of the boys thought he looked gay, but hey they were there for the girls and one of the guys had the hots for Jimmy. Tom loved the way that Jimmy looked. This was not the time or place, he was still in the closet, but he couldn’t wait to get Jimmy alone.

They played games; the boys played GTA (Grand Theft Auto) on Jimmy’s X-box while the girls just had to try Tammy’s makeup. Julia served cake and ice cream after the twins blew out the candles. Lastly the two kids opened their presents. Jimmy got a pair of gold studs from one of the girls. He knew it was for him, because the same girl had given Tammy a pair of gold studs too. They were ok he supposed, he would have to get an ear pierced now.

**************

Jimmy got ready for bed early; his mom hugged him and then felt his head.

“Into the bathroom Jimmy, your head feels a little warm.”

Julia put a thermometer in his mouth and waited ten seconds before it beeped. She then read the digital display. It showed 100.5 degrees (38 degrees C).

“Honey you got a little fever, not too bad though. How are you feeling baby?”

“I have sort of been out of it for a couple of days, since Wednesday, I guess.”

Julia sent him to bed. As she tucked him into bed she said. “Stay in bed tomorrow, just get up to take care of your bathroom needs. Holler if you get to feeling worse.”

“OK Mom.”

**************

When Jimmy woke up he was sitting at a table leaning into a mirror putting on lipstick. He saw a girls face with a full face of makeup on. She had a frilly blouse on and really looked good. He also saw his sister in the mirror. She was sitting on her bed, wearing just her baby doll and panties, watching him. She had a concerned and amazed look on her face. He startled as he realized that the girl he saw in the mirror was him. He stood up fast to run out of the room, but stumbled when he caught a heel in the carpet.

Tammy jumped up when he stood and caught him when he fell. She helped him to walk over to her bed and to sit down. Then she sat down next to him putting her arm around his shoulder.

“What is going on Jimmy?”

“I don’t know. I was asleep till I woke up putting on that lipstick.”

“Yes you were sleep walking, but why were you putting on my clothes and makeup. What gives? Are you Ok?”

Jimmy hung his head down and started to cry lightly, “I don’t know what’s going on. Am I going crazy or something? I don’t know.”

“Let me look at you. I have been sitting here for forty minutes watching you get dressed. Let’s see how you turned out.”

Tammy helped Jimmy stand. He looked a little unstable in her heels now where just minutes ago he looked like he had been wearing them all his life. She couldn’t believe how well put together he was. Tammy liked how her brother looked and was a little jealous.

**************

Tammy had awoken moments after the light overhead came on. She figured he was sleepwalking; he had done it before just after their Dad had died and knew not to wake him. Tammy felt herself blush as she watched him take off his pajamas, but found she couldn’t turn away. Jimmy then started dressing in her clothes. He had his back to her as he pulled on a pair of her panties. Her mouth hung in an “O” as he gracefully slipped on one of her bras as easily as any girl she knew and better than some. He expertly pulled on some pantyhose, a half slip, and a camisole. He went to her closet and chose one of her best blouses and a cute mini skirt. He had a little trouble though with her shoes; her pumps were a little small for him. She handed him a pair of strappy sandals, which he put on.

Jimmy walked gracefully to her vanity, then sat and began by polishing his nail a pretty pale pink. He applied the polish flawlessly like he had done a hundred manicures. He then began working on his face. Tammy was only fair with makeup, she still had trouble getting her eyes right. Tammy couldn't believe how well Jimmy was putting on his makeup. It looked like he had been there with her as the technician had taught her. She paid attention to him so she could copy what he was doing.

She had seen the change that came over him as he finished putting on the lipstick.

“Jimmy I like the way you look. You put that outfit together quite nicely.”

Jimmy was scared and it showed. Tears fell from his eyes streaking his eye makeup. “Yes, but why did I do it?” He said in a trembling voice.

“I don’t know Jimmy; you have been looking more fem all the time. I mean look at your hair and eyebrows. I can’t believe you actually wanted to look that way.”

“I didn’t, Cindy said that this is the way Mom wanted my hair.”

“OMFG!!! That bitch eeewww,”

Jimmy was startled to hear his sister say that, he wondered if Tammy was mad at their Mom or at Cindy.

“I think that witch did that to you on purpose. She told Mom that that was the way you wanted your hair.”

“No, I swear, I didn’t ask to look like this. She even plucked my brows.”

“Well let me help you get cleaned up, so you can dress up as a guy again?”

“Thank you Sis.”

Tammy unbuttoned the blouse and took it off. Next she unbuttoned and unzipped the skirt. She helped Jimmy step out of the skirt. Her hands lightly brushed Jimmy’s legs. He jumped a bit and almost swooned at this brief contact. Tammy loved his legs; they were just as incredible as her legs were. Next off was the camisole. Tammy then looked strangely at her brother. Her bra fit Jimmy good, a little too good. The cups were a little loose but that was an A+ bra. She reached around him hugging him to her as she unhooked the bra. When she leaned back away from him she let out a gasp as she looked at his chest. He had two mounds on his chest and was probably a full A cup.

She snatched his hand and started towards their Mom’s room. Jimmy was frightened and stumbled after her, still wearing heels.

“MOM…MOM!!! You have got to see this!” Tammy shouted.

Julia woke at the noise and groggily looked at the clock on her nightstand it read 3:30 AM. She flicked on her bedside light just before her door burst open and her kids entered the room. For a second she couldn’t understand why her daughter was bare chested.

“Tammy cover yourself now young lady!... Jimmy!!! Why are you wearing your sister’s nightie?”

“Mom I am Tammy, and that is Jimmy, look at his chest!”

Julia was shocked wide awake now, she nervously looked at Tammy and then Jimmy. Her eyes nearly popped out as she looked at his chest, she had to get up to take a closer look. “Jimmy is this really you?” she asked rhetorically. She already knew in her heart that it was him. “Oh my, how long have you been like this?”

“Mom, you saw me last night. I didn’t look like this.”

“You were wearing a pajama shirt last night.”

“Yeah but it was tight enough I couldn’t hide these!!!” he said lifting his breasts up a bit. He looked like he was close to crying.

She touched the two mounds on his chest. “They certainly feel like breasts.” Julia then looked more closely at the way that Jimmy was made up and dressed. He looked good as a girl. What was she thinking, this was her son. “Why did you dress your brother up like this Tammy?”

“I didn’t. I think he was sleepwalking again. He came into my room and dressed himself. The only thing I did was hand him a pair of sandals I would have worn with this outfit. My pumps were two small for his feet. He dressed himself and did his own nails and makeup.”

Julia looked again at Jimmy. His nails were polished and his makeup looked very good even though it was streaked down his cheeks, “I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true; I recorded it on my web cam Mom.”

“Go outside a minute Tammy.”

“Mom No,” she said.

“Just do it. We’ll be just a minute. Go get dressed.”

Tammy pouted a bit then left.

“May I look at your boy parts Jimmy?” She asked.

Jimmy didn’t speak but just nodded.

As she raised the half slip and lowered the panties and pantyhose, she had to stifle a gasp as she uncovered him. Julia hadn’t seen his penis in a while, but it was smaller than she remembered and looked like the penis of a four or five year old boy. It was no more than an inch and a half. His testicles and scrotum were shrunken and looked like two peanuts in a shell.

“Go back to Tammy’s room and get dressed again. Get her to pick out a bra for you. I am going to get dressed. Come down to the kitchen when you’re dressed.”

In Tammy’s room Jimmy was too in shock to complain. Tammy dressed Jimmy back up in the clothes he had earlier put on. She did her own makeup and then fixed Jimmy’s face where his makeup had run. They headed on down to the kitchen. Tammy brought her laptop down with her.

Julia was boiling a pot of water for tea as the kids came in. Tammy set up her laptop.

“Tammy, go get the thermometer out of the bathroom. Jimmy was running a fever earlier.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Julia sat down and looked at her son. It was hard to think of him as her son looking so much like Tammy but for the hair.

After she checked his temperature which was now normal, she made them all a cup of Earl Grey. “Ok let’s talk about this. Start at the beginning Tammy.”

Tammy explained from the moment the lights woke her till she dragged Jimmy into her mom’s room. Jimmy said he didn’t know what was happening till he woke looking in the mirror with a lipstick in his hands. Tammy then showed what she had recorded on her laptop. Jimmy was just rolling up the pantyhose on his legs when she started recording. Julia noticed a far away or vacant expression in Jimmy’s eyes. He definitely wasn’t cognizant of what he was doing. Tammy kept the camera on her brother except for when she got him the sandals. He walked back and forth a couple of times in the heels, very confidently and had a sexy swagger as he walked. He then sat to do his face. Tammy positioned the camera on the vanity adjusting it to best show Jimmy at work. Julia saw Jimmy competently apply his makeup; she also saw how much attention Tammy was paying to his work. Tammy had a look of awe and concern on her face. The video showed when Jimmy snapped back into consciousness. Julia was proud of the way Tammy helped and comforted Jimmy.

“Ok, we have a problem. Make that several problems. First apparently you started sleepwalking again, your dressing in your sister’s clothes and your physical problem. Are you taking any hormones, pills or drugs of any kind?”

“No Mom.”

“Why have you been getting your hair and eyebrows done more femininely?”

“That wasn’t me Mom, Cindy said that was what you wanted.”

“You’re kidding, she did this to you.”

“She said you wanted me to look like this.”

Julia’s face filled with rage, “Why that bitch, how dare she do that to my child and then lie about it. I’ll claw her eyes out the next time I see her. No Jimmy, I didn’t give her any instructions about your hair or eyebrows.”

“Why didn’t you ask me about it, Mom? I thought you wanted me to look like this.”

“Jimmy you are my child, I don’t care, how you look, if you are straight, gay or whatever. I love you no matter what. I let that acceptance keep me from asking. In fact Cindy came to me and told me that this was what you wanted. I screwed up; I guess part of it is my fault.”

“You thought I was gay!” Jimmy half screamed, crying.

“I didn’t know what to think hon. Cindy had me convinced that you wanted to be more feminine. I was stupid for not talking to you about it. You seemed happy so I never asked. That was my bad and to the best of my ability it won’t happen again. You can kick my butt if I ever overlook something like that again. So you hated the haircut?”

“Yes and no. I hated being mistaken for Tammy’s sister, but the hair and all looked good. I wanted to look more like Dad. I look good though now. I don’t feel bad dressed like this. I hate not knowing why I did this to myself. I don’t know, I don’t understand, I am just so confused right now. Am I turning into a girl?”

“I don’t know. You’re body is going through some changes. Just like puberty, only a whole lot faster and yes you look like a girl right now. It’s Sunday and way too early to do anything. Tammy take your brother and help him clean off the makeup and he can dress in his own clothes. Jimmy you will need to wear a bra, for now.”

“Do I have too?”

“Yes you have to wear a bra?”

“No, I mean change my clothes?”

Julia sat aback in her chair astonished, “You mean… you want to look like a girl?”

“I don’t want to become a girl, but… I don’t know. I like how I look now. What upset me was thinking that you wanted to change me into a girl. I know that was Cindy now. I’m sorry I ever thought you would do something like that to me, Mom. I can’t explain it but I am comfortable dressed like I am now.”

Julia had a strange look on her face and shook her head, “I guess you don’t have to change. I think we need another cup of tea and we can talk things over in the living room.”

They talked like they hadn’t talked in a long while. Tammy sat on one side of Jimmy and Julia on the other, both huged him tightly.

Jimmy said he loved Mom and Tammy, but he was afraid that he was getting lost in the middle somehow. He had friends but they were also Tammy’s friends. He got along with girls easier than he did guys. What upset him was when their friends referred to him Tammy’s little sister instead of Jimmy. He was thirty minutes older than his sister anyway. Tammy apologized for not realizing that this bothered him. She said that they looked so much alike and her friends noticed the changes in his appearance. They liked how he looked and acted. They were just willing to accept him like this.

“I love you Tammy, but I just wanted to be me,” Jimmy said, just before a button between his breasts popped off the blouse and landed three feet away on the coffee table.

“Oh no you appear to be growing fast Jimmy. Tammy go get one of my bras and a tape measure. Jimmy take off that blouse.”

Julia hadn’t seen him in just a bra but he was really spilling out of the cups of Tammy’s bra right now, “Jimmy that bra can’t be comfortable.”

She saw that he was a little flushed and felt a little warm to the touch, as she stroked his cheek. When Tammy got back, Julia helped Jimmy change bras. She wore a 36 C cup bra and as she fastened it around Jimmy she saw he almost filled out the cups but the band was just too loose on him. She used the tape measure on him and after some calculation she figured Jimmy was a 34 C. She measured his hips and waist and came up with 34-28-35. She checked Tammy and got 33-27-34. “Oh my Jimmy, you’re as big as I was when I graduated from high school, except I had a 25 inch waist.”

“Yesterday my khaki’s with a 30 inch waist fit tightly Mom.”

“I know, son. Tammy leave the room for a bit.”

“Mom, he is my brother and I am worried about him too, can’t I stay?”

“I want to look at Jimmy’s privates.”

“Please,” Tammy said crying.

“It’s up to Jimmy.” Julia said giving up.

Tammy looked at him with her sad puppy dog eyes. She did that real good, Jimmy thought. It was hard to tell when she was sad or putting it on, but he knew she was probably not faking it now. He just nodded his head ok.

Jimmy pulled up the skirt and half slip and carefully peeled the pantyhose down. Julia gasped as she saw that his penis was barely larger than a big clit now. His scrotum had migrated back and was beginning to look like a labial fold. There was no sign of his testicles anywhere.

“Sit down Jimmy, I need to see something.”

Jimmy sat down and Julia raised his legs a bit. Jimmy’s scrotum definitely looked like a girl’s labia and it appeared to be thinning in the middle, but there was no vaginal opening, at least not yet.

“Tell me Mom, I am becoming a girl aren’t I.”

Julia considered what she might say; she started to lie but then stopped. He deserved the truth, at least as much as she knew. “I am not a doctor Jimmy, but as far as I can tell… Yes it appears like you’re becoming a girl.”

Jimmy didn’t know why he said what he said next. He was scared and confused, but what came out was, “That’s cool… I guess.” He was confused as to why he said it was cool; he added the rest because he was so unsure of himself.

“Get dressed Jimmy; I need to get you one of my blouses. Nothing else will fit you.”

Jimmy pulled up his panties and pantyhose up.

Tammy couldn’t help herself; she hugged Jimmy tightly and cried lightly on his shoulder, “I love you as a brother or sister Jimmy.”

Jimmy didn’t know what to think. He had always been close to his sister, he guessed he loved her even more now that she didn’t reject him, “I love you too sis. I love you too.” He then started crying on her shoulder. Julia had to smile as she saw her kids, she had done something right at least.

**************

Monday found them in the office of Julia’s OB/GYN. Julia had confirmed that morning that all visible traces of Jimmy were gone, ‘even the scar on his knee he’s got when he took a fall on his bike a last summer was gone,’ she marveled to herself. She didn’t know what the doctor would find, but on the outside Jimmy looked no different from Tammy or herself. The three of them had talked it over and decided that they should give Jimmy a girl’s name and not tell the doctor anything about what had happened, at least at the beginning

They had to wait from nine to a little after eleven before they could get Annette Renee Swenson (that was the name they came up with) in. Julia explained that her daughter hadn’t had a gynecological exam yet and her recent development convinced Julia of its necessity.

Dr. Brenda Gordon looked at Annette and severely admonished them both. She had her nurse take blood and she gave Annette a complete exam. She talked as she worked. She asked about periods. Annette said what her mom had prompted her that she had started two years ago. Her last period was two weeks ago. Dr. Gordon asked what had made them insist on coming in today. Julia stated that her daughter had gained a cup and a half in the last month.

“You’re kidding right?” she asked

“No Ma’am,” Julia said in all honesty.

“Well that kind of development, though extremely rare, it is not unheard of. Every thing looks good from down here. It’s good to see you’re still a virgin young lady.”

“There is only one problem Dr. Gordon, yesterday my daughter was my son.”

“Now I know you are lying, that girl has never had a sex change. She is as much a girl as you or I.”

“Brenda you know my son. You delivered him.”

The doctor had a lost expression on her face. She had indeed delivered Julia’s children and didn’t remember a son. Nurse get me Julia Swenson’s chart. She would end this farce here.

“You delivered my twins Jimmy and Tammy, don’t you remember.”

“Yes and surely this is Tammy that you are masquerading as Annette, I don’t remember a boy named Jimmy.”

“Tammy is in the lobby. I’ll go get her.”

The nurse brought Julia’s chart in. Looking back fourteen years she found her entry where she delivered twins, a girl 6 lbs 8 ounces and a boy 6 lbs 10 ounces. Both babies appeared normal, she noted. She also noted the name of the Pediatrician she handed them off to.

“Excuse me Annette, you may get dressed now. I will be right back.”

Tammy and Julia entered the room where Jimmy/Annette was finishing getting dressed.

“How are you Jimmy?” Tammy asked.

“Alright for a girl I guess.”

Dr. Gordon came back into the room and said, “Hello Julia and Tammy, who is this young lady?”

The Swenson’s looked at each other confused.

“That is Annette or Jimmy really. You just examined him!” Julia said, sounding irritated.

”I don’t think I have.”

“Check the notes you’re carrying!” Julia demanded.

Dr. Gordon read the notes and saw that she did indeed just a few minutes earlier had examined someone named Annette.

Dr Gordon called for her nurse who did blood work, “Did you draw blood from this girl Mandy?”

“No Ma’am do you want me too?”

“No check her arm.”

The nurse saw the bandage there but couldn’t remember drawing blood.

“Go get your blood tray and bring it here,” Dr. Gordon asked.

Mandy left and came back. “Do you want me to draw this girl’s blood?” she asked.

“You don’t remember drawing it?” The doctor asked going through the rack of tubes.

“No, I haven’t drawn her blood.”

“Then what are these tubes here?” she asked.

“I don’t know doctor. I don’t remember taking blood from anyone here.”

“This is your daughter Julia?” Dr. Gordon asked showing the tubes to Julia.

“Yes, that is her,” she said pointing to Jimmy, “and that nurse drew her blood. I was here when it was done.”

“Mandy Bring me the ultra sound unit, Annette I need you to put this gown on again.”

Annette started to go behind the screen to change.

“No I need to see you Annette!”

Annette was a little uncomfortable about changing in front of the Dr. She reasoned though that this woman had already seen everything she had, so she just undressed and put the gown back on.

Mandy brought the ultra sound machine in and got the things out to prep the girl.

“No Mandy I will do that. You can take care of your other duties. The girl’s Mom is with me. We will be ok.”

Dr. Gordon covered Annette’s legs and raised the gown above he navel. She then spread a cold gel all over her abdomen.

Annette flinched at the cold gel, “Geez,” she exclaimed. “What did you do refrigerate that stuff?”

“Certainly it’s required, just like we refrigerate our stethoscopes and speculums,” she teased.

“I don’t think she is kidding either,” Julia said giggling.

Dr. Gordon then began her examination. She started at the mons pubis and worked her way up. She pointed out the structures to the Swensons as she went, starting with the vagina. It was sometimes hard for the Swensons to tell what they were looking at, but Brenda’s practiced eye could easily tell. She was shocked though at what appeared to be immature ovaries. They should have matured years ago; in fact she would almost swear that they were growing as she watched.

“Get dressed Annette, please again in my presence. Julia I can’t believe what we just saw. You’re not pulling my leg are you?”

“No we aren’t,”

“Come with me to my office,” Dr. Gordon asked the Swenson’s.

Once in her office she said. “I don’t know what is going on, I never forget my patients. Especially one I have so intimately seen just minutes earlier. It’s also clear that Annette is a girl, at least from my tests. I am going to do a complete DNA breakdown on her and genetic comparisons to both you Julia and Tammy. Now start from the top and explain things to me.”

The Swenson’s explained how Jimmy came to be called Annette leaving nothing out. Even checking Julia’s records and finding a male birth to her, she could not remember a male birth.

Dr. Gordon called Mandy back in. “Do you know these people?”

“I know Tammy and Julia; I don’t know the other girl.”

“Did you draw blood from her?”

“Not yet, do you want me to?”

“No not right now.”

Mandy left.

“Something strange is going on,” Dr. Gordon said as she started writing notes furiously, “I need to call a friend.”

“Hi, Gina I need you to come to my office right now, stat. I have a case you might be able to help me with…. Ok see you in half an hour. Oh and bring a Polaroid camera and plenty of film.”

On the intercom Dr. Gordon called Mandy back in. “Mandy I want you to draw blood from all three ladies here,” she said as she handed the orders to the nurse. The nurse raised her brow when she saw Annette’s orders. She had never seen such a complete request from one patient before.

Mandy drew blood from all three ladies there; she raised an eyebrow as she saw the bandage on Annette’s arm. “Did you give blood today?”

Jimmy didn’t know what to say he was confused as it was.

“Don’t worry Mandy, just use the other arm,” Dr. Gordon said.

After the nurse left Julia clearly frustrated asked, “What is going on have all of you lost your minds,”

Dr. Gordon answered, “We may be doing just that. I have taken extensive notes on this. If what you say is true I may have an answer for you. You say this girl was Jimmy yesterday right?”

“Yes, we told you that at least four times,” Julia said.

“Well if what you have said is true then Jimmy/Annette may be a mutant and she has some kind of mind control powers that make people forget they even have seen her.”

“What?” Julia said.

“Jimmy/Annette is a mutant. When they hit puberty strange things can happen. Some mutations involve gender changes, almost all develop powers. You’ve seen them on TV surely.”

They had indeed seen them on TV, “Then why aren’t we affected?”

“I am not sure, maybe because you were there when she changed, maybe because you are genetically related, I just can’t say. All I can say is that according to my notes Annette is a healthy young lady. But for some reason people forget they ever saw her once they leave her.”

“Who is this person you called?”

“Gina McDonald, code name Stop Light. She is a mutant and a high order Esper/Telepath. She might be able to detect any powers Annette has.”

Julia had heard about Stop Light, supposedly she had the ability to mentally stop a fleeing person, or something like that. She wasn’t happy having a mutant come in to check her daughter. It wasn’t that she was prejudiced against mutants, many did a lot of good things... it was just that many also did bad things too.

A knock at the door signaled the arrival of Stop Light.

“Enter,” Dr. Gordon said.

A lady entered. Her appearance was remarkable. She was gorgeous and had tons of charisma. Julia found herself lusting for this lady and she knew in her heart she wasn’t that way.

“Hello Brenda,” Gina said, “Hello Julia, Tammy and Jimmy. I am Gina McDonald,” she said smiling, as she greeted everyone. She then turned back to Brenda and said, “Yes Dr. Gordon I felt her presence fifty yards away.”

“How did you know his name,” Julia asked, “everyone else seems to be forgetting him.”

“Mentally he is broadcasting ‘I am Jimmy. I am Annette. Somebody, anybody please recognize me!’ That mental shout is one thing he’ll need to control. He would have every high order telepath looking for him. So people meet Jimmy/Annette and forget about him, Dr. Gordon.”

“Yes I have been affected, and my nurse Mandy has been affected several times.

“Annette, can you calm down your inner turmoil? I want to see if I am affected.”

“I’ll try,” Annette said. She sat there for a couple of minutes and tried to find a calm place in her mind.”

“Good girl that is much better, but I can still sense you. So I wouldn’t be able to forget you, but then I am a TP 6 by mutant standards.”

“Julia, do I have permission to show Gina, Annette’s records.” Dr. Gordon asked.

“Yes,”

“Annette, is it okay with you?” Dr. Gordon asked.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Gina was a queen of speed reading. She read the seven pages of notes in ten seconds.

“Call Mandy back in; I want to see this happen.”

“Mandy,” Dr. Gordon called on the intercom, “Please come here I want to introduce a new patient to you.”

Mandy came in and acknowledged everyone but Annette. “Mandy do you know Annette?”

“No Ma’am,” She smiled. “It is nice to meet you Annette.”

“That will be all Mandy?”

Mandy left and all Stop Light could say was, “Wow, I didn’t sense anything, no deception, no recognition, nothing except a genuine sense of caring.”

“I have lost count on how many times Mandy has met Annette and each time is new all over again.”

“What other powers do you have? Annette, do you want to go by that name? We need to know if that is what you want to be known as, don’t you think?” She asked Jimmy.

“I guess so; Mom and Tammy helped me come up with that name. I don’t know what other powers I have?”

It came to Julia, “She knew exactly where my keys were, when she couldn’t possibly have known where they were?”

“Interesting,” Gina said. “Has she had blood drawn yet?”

“Twice,” Brenda said.

“Where is your blood now Annette?”

She thought for a second. “There are two tubes in the refrigerator here. Four tubes are on the way to Kelly Genetics, two tubes are on the way to Dyna Gen, and four tubes are going to Grayson labs.”

“Could she have known that Brenda?”

Dr. Gordon shook her head no, “I didn’t even know where they were going?”

“Interesting, Julia, Annette really needs to go some where so she can find out about her powers. She has some kind mind control power. Annette needs to get that power under control or she is going to lead a very, very lonely life. It is very important that she learns control. I can’t say that enough. Something like this could lead to suicide. Also she’ll need a place where she is safe, as her other known power, that is being a finder, could be highly coveted. I won’t candy coat this. Depending on how powerful her skill is, she could find herself at risk of being kidnapped or coerced to use that power for illicit purposes. Right now she is relatively safe, as only the five of us know. So keep your powers to yourself right now. If you develop some other powers, think before you share them.”

“Is there a place where she can be safe?” Julia asked.

“Yes, I went to such a place. There is a school that teaches mutants about their powers and protects them. They help the students there to achieve the most from their abilities, and to find their place in this world. I would like to see Annette go there too. The Whateley Academy. If you would like I can see about available space and a registration packet.”

(to be continued)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Note <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I intend to update this story every two weeks, give or take a few days. I hope you enjoy and look forward to your comments.

The Swenson’s have a lot on their plate. They try to sort out how their lives will be affected by what has happened. They worry about how family and friends will react. They suffer a little separation anxiety. Annette gets to meet someone special.

A Whateley Fanfic

Fadeaway 2
by
Paula Dillon

After that fateful meeting in Dr. Gordon’s office, Gina McDonald code named Stop Light went home with Julia and her daughters. They talked as Julia drove. They agreed that, while they would miss having Annette around home with them, it might be best if Annette went to this Whateley Academy.

“Is there anyway that Annette can ever revert back to Jimmy?” Julia asked

“Annette’s form is consistent with her BIT or Body Image Template, for whatever reason her BIT was that of the girl you see. I won’t say it is impossible stranger things can happen, for instance you could win the next four power ball drawings. It’s that kind of odds Julia,” Gina said.

“So there is no cure?”

“What is there to cure? Is Tammy sick because she is a girl, of course not? Jimmy is Annette now I’m afraid there is probably no going back now. The sooner Annette absorbs all that entails the sooner she can get on with her life. In fact she is already doing so well, far ahead of the norm. I am surprised. Did you ever want to be a girl, Annette?”

“No Ma’am. I still would like to be a boy. I can’t explain why I am comfortable with the way I am. I don’t hate being a girl, I think Tammy looks great and it’s ok looking like her I guess.”

“Annette, I wished I looked half as good as you do now!”

“The only difference between what I look like and you look like is curves Tammy. Look at Mom I am sure you will develop just as much as she.”

“That is very insightful, Annette, and yes Tammy, she is more than likely right. It is possible though that Annette will always look better; I suspect that she is an exemplar. Exemplars exhibit exceptional physical, mental and appearance traits. That isn’t going to be a problem for you is it?”

“I am jealous of how nice she looks, but she is my sister now and I love her. Just don’t be stealing my boyfriends,” Tammy giggled, hugging Annette.

Gina told them, “I would like to extend an invitation to all of you, to spend some time at the Gulf Coast Champions Association’s headquarters. We really need to perform other tests. It will take about three days for the tests. We have some excellent accommodations. You guys can relax there, while we begin to get a handle on just how special Annette is.”

“When? Christmas is just around the corner. We would like to spend time with family,” Julia said.

“We can do it after Christmas, say the twenty seventh. It will give you time to relax, get some information from your family and get Annette use to being a girl. Mutations are often found in family groups. We would like to know if there have been other Mutants in the family. Why didn’t Tammy mutate? Are you a mutant Julia, I mean you really don’t look old enough to have two teenagers that are fourteen years old? There are a lot of questions we would like to answer.”

At home Gina was like one of those CSI types you see on TV. She looked about and tried to collect remnants of Jimmy’s DNA before his transformation. She took his toothbrush, hair brush, sheets from his bed and the shoes he had worn. She hunted for anything that might have a trace of the old Jimmy.

After she left Julia sat with her children in the living room. “It has been an interesting day. I am beginning to understand that ancient Chinese curse, ‘May you live in interesting times.’”

“Tell me about it Mom. I am living it. I am so scared; I don’t know what to do.”

“Well you certainly don’t show it. You know what we need to do next don’t you? We need to call your Grandparents, I don’t know if they will remember you or not. If they don’t, how do we explain you to them when they come here for Christmas?”

“Oh shit!” Annette said. “I hadn’t thought about that and what about our friends. Who knows and who doesn’t, if they do remember me will they accept Annette?”

“Annette I won’t have a daughter who talks like that, but yes you are right. Your true friends will accept what you have become; it may take some of them a while to come around. We will just have to see dear. Let’s just take one thing at a time though.”

The call to Grandma and Grandpa Erickson, while a shock, went as well as it could. They remembered Jimmy and Tammy and asked about how they were doing. Julia only knew one way to break it to them and just flat out told them what had happened. There was disbelief, crying, arguing and finally acceptance. They told Julia, that whatever Annette was, she was still family. They would come down on the 24th to see their grandchildren.

The talk with Grandma Swenson was a little different. Julia picked up quickly that she didn’t seem as surprised to hear about Jimmy.

“Ok Margaret spill it, I know you know more than you are saying.”

There was a silence on the phone for several seconds, “Well I don’t know for sure, you see. Magnus’s family didn’t talk too much about their heritage, but I delved into family records a bit. I wanted to know about our family genealogy. There was a boy on Magnus’ father’s side of the family, a Samuel Swenson I believe, that disappeared around age thirteen. He would have been an uncle to Magnus. Yet there was a woman that appeared around at family times some years later. They called her Aunt Inga Bruhn. I thought it might have been an honorary thing you know like sorority sisters or close friends of the family. I thought it odd though because she had the Swenson look about her. I haven’t seen her but twice since Magnus died twelve years ago. She’s a remarkable woman, Julia. She really doesn’t look her age. She must be eighty now but I bet she won’t look fifty. I think I might contact her. She left me her contact number the last time we met.”

“Please do, Margaret; I would be interested to find out if she were Magnus’ uncle. Well you are still coming down on the 24th aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t miss seeing my granddaughters, Julia, I will be there. What are her sizes?”

“Well she would be a junior size 11 in dresses and blouses, a junior size 9 in pants, six and a half in shoes, a 36 C in bras and a size 5 in panties, if her figure has stabilized. Her growth has been rapid but she hasn’t expanded in the last few hours.”

“Well that sounds like full grown. I think Inga is only a little bigger than that. Let me go, I have a lot to do. If it is alright I may come down this Friday.”

“Of course we would love to have you. Bye we love you.”

“I love you and the kids too. Bye.”

“Well kids, you don’t have to worry about the Grands they all know you Annette.

“Yeah that is good, but what about our friends?” Tammy asked.

“We will go with the cover story that Annette is a distant cousin and Jimmy traded places with her, but that can wait. We will try to connect with some of your best friends later to see how that goes. Tonight and tomorrow we need some mother/daughters time. We need to shop tomorrow. Annette doesn’t have anything now besides my clothes.”

Julia and Tammy began teaching Annette about all things girl. They worked on how to eat, how to act, how to move as a girl and do all the things girls do without thinking. Julia was surprised to see Annette doing makeup. She had seen her new daughter expertly apply makeup in a video Tammy shot, but Annette struggled to get her eyes right. When she walked in her Moms heels she had difficulty but was slowly picking it up.

“Mom what am I going to wear for bed. Nothing I have fits and Tammy’s stuff won’t fit these,” Annette said, hefting her boobs.

“I guess, you can wear one of my nighties, they are a little sexier than I would like you wearing, but I guess they will have to do for now.”

Annette just blushed, she had never seen her mom wear her nighties, but she had seen them hanging in her bathroom.

“Can I wear one too?” Tammy excitedly asked.

“I guess so Tammy, I can’t treat you any differently than your sister now can I.”

Annette borrowed a nightie from Mom, and met in the living room to eat popcorn and watch girl type movies.

Hours after they went to sleep Annette got up and headed towards the bed rooms. Tammy woke and saw Annette, she whispered her name but she didn’t respond. She then woke her Mom and they followed her to Julia’s bed room. There she began to get dressed; Gone was the awkwardness of her earlier practice. After she dressed in a smart outfit she did her makeup flawlessly. She awoke after she had finished her makeup.

“Oh my,” Annette said as she looked in the mirror.

She was startled a bit when her Mom said, “Oh my yes. You dressed and put your makeup on just as nicely as I or any woman would Annette.”

“I was sleepwalking again wasn’t I?”

“Yes you were. Stand up let us look at you.”

“She looks good, Mom,” Tammy said.

“Yes she does,”

“Mom, why am I sleepwalking again?”

“It’s probably the stress that you are under dear. Don’t worry we will get you some help for that too.”

**************

Annette thought, 'letting Tammy and Mom have their head in shopping might have been a mistake.' It wasn’t that she was averse to shopping and she had been shopping with her Mom and Sister before, but it was the feral look on the two women’s faces as they hit the racks that scared Annette.

Julia started them off at the Junior’s section: pants, tops, blouses and dresses. Annette was in shock, she thought Jimmy had a pretty eclectic selection of guy’s clothes. It was nothing like she saw now in the Junior’s section. Differences in fabrics, colors, textures, collars, sleeves, lengths, fits, linings, buttons, where it buttons, zippers, belts, broaches, scarves, layers and decorations be it print, bead, embroidery, appliqué, silk screened, jeweled and so on seemed almost overwhelming, yet part of her loved it. Annette was confused but tried keeping her game face on. She helped her Mon and sister pick at first but she was so overwhelmed with clothes the first time she hit the changing room she didn’t get out for two hours. As she sorted keepers from losers, after Tammy, Mom and she got their say, other clothes took their place.

At one point Annette sought refuge in the electronics department while her Mom was busy paying for everything. They had big screen TV’s and everything. She noticed that there had to be a video camera somewhere because she could see herself approaching the area. She looked at herself turning left and right and she could even see what she looked like behind.

She checked herself out on the TV’s. She kinda wished that she could hide herself from the camera. She was startled that her image actually disappeared from view. Annette jumped when she saw that. She looked down at herself worried that she just actually disappeared, but she could see herself and her reflection on glass. Looking back at the TV’s she saw it was just on the video she disappeared. “Appear damn it,” Annette said to herself. Her image slowly appeared back on the screens. Annette promised herself that that is one thing she would keep to herself.

All in all Annette wound up with seven bags of clothes and Julia was down nearly a thousand dollars.

Next came shoes. Annette couldn’t go in and just select shoes. She had to match shoes to outfits. There were heels; short, medium, high and really high (Mom didn’t buy any of these but she had fun watching her daughters try to walk in them) in every shape from blocky to spiky, flats, lounge, sports, slippers, sandals, and boots. Jimmy had just four pair of shoes, Annette came out with ten pairs and four purses at just over six hundred dollars.

Next Tammy and Annette got upgrades to their makeup, Lancá´me, Estee Lauder, Channel, and Dior. Then all three hauled in complete skin care products, Julia was getting into this deal too.

Annette was exhausted from all the shopping, but the most traumatic shopping was yet to come as Julia headed her daughters into a lingerie shop. Annette was professionally fitted for bras. The intimate contact of the sales lady lit up her cheeks. The sales lady just giggled and tried to comfort Annette.

The sales lady came up with either a 34D or a 36C whichever was more comfortable. She said in most bras the D cup would give her breasts better support, but she might find the band too tight on some.

“The most important property of a bra is the comfort. If it doesn’t feel good, it’s tight, pinches or is too loose don’t buy it. If there isn’t enough support your breasts well don’t buy it. If the shoulder straps can’t be adjusted to give comfort don’t buy it. A bra should feel good as well as look good. Always try your bras on before buying them young lady,” the sales lady admonished.

All of that was more information than Jimmy wanted to know about bras, but Annette knew that she would have to live by what she learned. She surprised herself, her Mom and her Sister, in the bras she chose. She choice some very pretty bras in silk, lace and satin (nothing too sexy or exotic though), some plain but cute T shirt bras along with several sensible bras that were fit for exercise and yard work. Then she got matching panties; bikinis, hipsters, thongs and briefs, slips, half slips, camisoles, pantyhose and nighties.

Tammy was fitted too and wound up buying about a half dozen bras in a 34B. In a way she was jealous of Annette’s figure, but she was glad she wasn’t a D cup. She thought Annette looked too big up top in a way.

**************

At home Annette received a not so short lesson in the care of her things. Jimmy, while not a slob, had been a little haphazard with his clothes. Those were bundled away to be shipped to Goodwill. Annette learened she had to take care of her expensive clothes, especially her lingerie. She learned to hand wash rather than launder her skimpies.

Annette also turned Jimmy’s desk into a makeshift makeup table and took down some of Jimmy’s things to make her room appear a little more feminine. Into storage went her prized collection of baseball rookie cards, his autographed Killer B’s poster.

Tammy took some of the many things that made her room special to her and arranged them in Annette’s room, including a couple of her favorite porcelain dolls on stands she collected. This surprised Annette because she had been so protective of them and some of the dolls cost a couple of hundred dollars. Annette hugged Tammy and was surprised when Tammy held on tight and started crying on her shoulder.

**************

Wednesday and Thursday were just as Annette feared. Tammy and Jimmy’s friends knew Tammy, but didn’t have a clue as to who Jimmy/Annette was. Annette was introduced as a cousin of Tammy’s. The girls readily accepted Annette but couldn’t remember her if they lost sight of her for more than a couple of seconds. One of their girlfriends, Brenda, absolutely fawned over Annette and was overly affectionate. That didn’t help Brenda’s memory though. Tammy gave her sister a knowing smile.

Tom came over and looked at Annette strangely. He didn’t know her and wasn’t attracted to her but there was something about her he just couldn’t put his finger on. Tom was as subject to forgetting Annette as all the rest of their friends.

After those early contacts Julia figured it was best that they avoid contact at least, till Annette got a handle on her power.

Annette sat by herself on the couch and began crying, “Mom, what am I going to do? Nobody seems to know me except family? Is it always going to be this way?”

“I don’t know dear, I would like to say that one day you will get this thing under control,” Julie said crying a bit herself.

“Am I going to be alone my whole life?”

“No you will always have us with you, for as long as you need dear.”

“And why am I crying so much, Jimmy never cried… or at least hardly cried.”

“That is easy, Annette. You probably cry so easily now, because of hormones dear. That is why girls can cry so much.”

Thursday afternoon Julia and the kids spent most of their time getting the house ready for guests. They cleaned the two guest rooms, did the laundry, dusted, vacuumed, and cleaned every inch of their home.

Julia could see that Annette was becoming more comfortable at being a girl and was quickly learning her girl 101 lessons. She was better at makeup than Tammy and could put together her clothes into smart appropriate outfits. Annette still had some of Jimmy’s quirks. Annette still read the sports page and comics in the local paper. She still liked her Xbox games. Julia was grateful for the things she saw that were still Jimmy. Those were the things that made Jimmy stand out.

Tammy also noted that Annette was different from Jimmy, but Annette seemed to still like many of the things Jimmy did.

**************

Friday found a flurry of activity in the Swenson home. Everybody was busy getting dressed, and fixing one of Grandma Swenson’s favorite meals. The girls wore their best outfits and paid extra attention to their makeup. Julia inspected the twins and fixed any flaws she found in their appearance, but she took exquisite care of her looks too.

Tammy and Annette stationed themselves by the picture window after helping their Mom in the kitchen and setting the table. A few minutes after noon grandma’s car appeared. The kids hollered out to their mom as they hurried out the door to greet their Grandmother.

The kids swarmed the lady who stepped out of the car shouting, “Mammaw!”

“Ok kids, calm down. My haven’t the two of you grown. Tammy you are so adorable. Annette, you do look so grown up, and just as pretty as your sister,” Margaret said, inspecting and correctly identifying her grandkids. “You two are almost identical, I see.”

“Margaret, it is so good seeing you,” Julia said, coming out to greet her mother-in-law. “Kids, get grandma’s things out of her car and take them to her room.”

Margaret popped open the trunk and left the doors to the car unlocked. Tammy and Annette were stunned to see everything. There didn’t seem to be room for Grandma Swenson to have been in the car. Almost every square inch was filled with presents, packages and luggage. It took the two kids almost half an hour to empty the car, a full sized Buick Lucerne.

Margaret directed where everything went. Presents went under the tree, luggage in her room and packages went here or there. They had just about gotten everything sorted, when the rumble of a well tuned auto caught their attention. It came up the highway next to their subdivision and turned in. They were all standing outside as they saw a Corvette turn on their road. The car slowed and turned into the Swenson’s drive way parking next to the Buick. The Vette was painted in a metal flake orange/red and gold. Inside sat an incredibly gorgeous lady in her 40’s.

“Inga, it is so good to see you,” Margaret said, after the lady exited her car.

“Oh! It is so good to see you too, Margaret. You are still looking so good, dear.”

“Harrumph, I wished I looked half as good as you at my age. Inga this is my Daughter-in-law Julia, and her twins Tammy and Annette. Girls this is your great, great Aunt Inga Bruhn.”

Tammy and Annette gawked at Inga, except for her age she could have been their sister. On top of that her looks outshone everyone there, only Annette came close to her in that department.

Inga hugged the speechless kids and kissed their cheeks in the way Aunts have done for ages. As the adults greeted each other the kids turned and looked at the Vette. They thought the car was awesome.

“Oh my,” Annette said. “That’s not just a Vette that is a Calloway Sledgehammer.”

“A what?” Tammy asked.

“A Calloway Sledgehammer, Tammy,” Inga said. “I took it out to Bonneville last year and ran it up to an average of 262.58 mph on my two way run on the salt flats.”

“Tammy, Annette, get her bags out and into the other guest room,” Julia said.

“You don’t have too, Julia, I can stay at a local hotel.”

“Nonsense, Inga, you’re family. We would be honored to have you stay with us.”

Inga tossed Annette the keys to her Vette. “In that case, please do Annette. Be a dear, Tammy; don’t forget my sable, please,” She said in a playful manner.

Tammy was almost drooling like a cat on catnip, as she picked up the full length sable and rubbed the soft fur on her cheeks. Annette could hear her sister purring.

“Keep that up and you’ll turn into a catgirl, Sis,” Annette said giggling as she got two of Inga’s bags there just wasn’t much room for too many suitcases in Inga’s car.

“Oh hush Annette; I just never felt anything so incredibly soft before.” Tammy put on the fur and grabbed the other two cases and followed her sister in.

Inside Inga noticed Tammy wearing the sable coat. You know, Tammy, if you were ten years older I would let you have that coat, it looks good on you.

“Sorry, Aunt Inga, it was easier to carry your cases wearing the coat.”

“Don’t be sorry, Tammy, it’s ok for a girl your age to dream. I know I dream a lot when I wear that coat.”

Annette set another place at the table, while Julia and Tammy began bringing lunch. Julia broke out a bottle of wine and poured a half glass for Tammy and Annette and full portions for the adults.

The ladies sat around the table and had some pleasant conversation as they ate. The kids talked about school and their friends, Julia talked about her job, and Margaret talked about family happenings. Inga got to know Julia and the kids.

After lunch Inga insisted that she and Annette be allowed to clean up. Julia put on a pot of coffee, Tammy put some biscotti on a tray. Inga washed while Annette dried.

As everyone relaxed in the living room Inga began.

“I know you are probably dying to know about me so I will start since no one else here has the courage to.” Inga smiled and they laughed at her joke. They all were relived Inga had taken the monkey off their backs. “

"I was born Samuel Swenson to Rudolf and Helga Swenson. My father was a brother of Svenne Swenson Magnus’s father. I am, believe it or not, eighty three years old. I am what they now call a mutant; I didn’t know what to call it when it happened to me. Unfortunately my father knew what to call me and I can never forget his words and how they hurt. When I transformed I had it rough, my dad kicked me out of the family right in the middle of winter. I thought I was going to die. He thought I was demon possessed or something like that."

"Anyway Momma had some old family friends. Eberatt and Urika Bruhn took me in and raised me. I had to make my way from Sigtuna to Upsala Sweden that is near Stockholm Sweden, in the dead of winter through snow two to three feet deep in places, with only some provisions my mother gave me. At least Dad let me take my winter clothes. Still it was a harrowing journey. Eber and Urika were sweat people they were in their fifties and had never had any children. They were happy to take me in. They didn’t understand anything about my transformation, and they couldn’t fathom how Rudolf could just turn out his daughter like that."

"They took me in and named me Inga Bruhn, they told everyone I was their niece and that my parents had passed on. This was in I guess 1938. The war in Europe was beginning to ramp up. So Poppa Bruhn sold everything and got up all the money he could and we emigrated to the U. S. Years later I learned that the Swenson clan did too. It was a terrible time in Europe you see."

"Poppa found a good job in the defense industry. He had been what would be called here a 1st class Machinist, but he started out here in the states as an apprentice machinist. It didn’t take him long though, in 6 months he became a foreman. He worked hard for ten years till he died. Momma passed two years later."

"I didn’t keep up with the Swensons till Helga tracked me down. At least Momma still loved me. She said it nearly killed her when father threw me out. That was two years after Rudolf died. I met with the family off and on through out the years, I was just a friend of a friend from the homeland. There were too many bridges that had been burnt for me to come out to the family. We felt it was best this way."

"You are probably wondering about my appearance and not believing that I am an old as I say I am. A week or two after my transformation, I looked much like Annette. I aged normally till I was about twenty two. I didn’t notice it at first, but now I seem to age about one year for every three I live. That has been a real blessing and a curse. I had to learn to use makeup to make myself look a lot older, so I wouldn’t look out of place."

"I did very good in school here in the US. I found that I could learn anything at an amazing pace; I just had to put my mind into it. After high school I got a full scholarship to Dartmouth. I was one of four women who went there to study Business, in 1946. It was hard to get in because women back then were being pushed back into the home after the war. I graduated in the top five percent of my class. I knew I would never find a job in business but I was able to use what I learned to invest money."

"I took care of Momma Bruhn after Poppa died in 49. Momma was just a shell of a woman after that; she would have just given up if I wasn’t there. Don’t get me wrong we were happy together, but I could tell she really missed Poppa. I know she died of a broken heart. She only kept on going because of me, I think. After I got my MBA in 52 it was only a year and a half when she passed away."

"I have never married, but I came close a couple of times. I didn’t because I was afraid that I would out live everyone. This Sable had been given to me by a fiancé. Dave was a wonderful man. We were going to marry in 57, but he died a couple of months before the wedding. There were a couple of others, but I was afraid. I could tell by that time that I was aging very slowly. So I kind of gave up on love, I was going to live my life alone till Margaret called; I knew I couldn’t live alone then. I came here to help Annette in anyway that I can, and I have considerable resources now."

Tammy and Annette had snuggled up to Aunt Inga as she told her story. Inga covered herself and the kids with the sable. There wasn’t a dry eye in the living room. Julia had gotten up and passed a box of tissues as Inga had told her story.

When Inga finished, Margaret then began, “I have known Inga for 47 years, so I believe her story. I always suspected there was something special about her. Oh, you hid it well, Inga, but those few times I saw you I knew you weren’t aging anywhere near as fast as you should. This is actually the first time I have heard the true story of your past and it is more amazing than I imagined. The part about the transformation would have been hard to swallow except for Annette. I called Inga right after I spoke with you, Julia, I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, no I appreciate you doing that. I was going crazy with worry about what was going on. That you, Inga, have managed so well is a great relief to me and to my lovely daughters I imagine.” They all smiled and the twins giggled softly. “It is good to know that Annette might have a bright future after this.”

Margaret looked tired the long drive had taken a lot out of her, “I need a nap, six hours on the road can take a lot out of you.” She got up and headed to her room.

“Ok you have heard my story, now tell me Annette’s story.”

Annette, Tammy and Julia each told the story from their point of view. Inga was surprised to hear about the mutant school.

“It would have been nice,” she said, “if I could have gone to such a school. I was just stupefied by my mutation; there was no one around to help me. I remembered reading about some of these heroes; I just didn’t know that what I went through was the same thing that many of them had gone through.”

“So Annette, you sleep walk too?” Inga asked.

“You sleep walk too, Aunt Inga?” Annette asked. She smiled in an odd way when she heard Inga’s reply.

“Yes I do, let me tell you about it, but this has to stay between the four of us. Do I have your word on that?”

After everyone agreed Inga began,

“Well sleep walking is related to an ability I have. When I was young I think that my sleep walking helped me learn what I needed to do to fit in. You know girl things. After Poppa died, I was worried about how to keep me and Momma going, they had been frugal and saved but he had no pension and the savings wouldn’t have lasted long. One morning when I woke, I was dressed up with a newspaper in my hand open to the financial section.

“Apparently I had made some notes from the paper about certain stocks. When I checked my data I found that nothing matched up with what I saw. So I tracked the stocks. It was two weeks later that everything matched up. In the meantime I had had three more similar episodes. This time the data included the dates that for that data. I kept this up for two months till I was sure I was a hundred percent correct. I didn’t want to invest what money Poppa left us and loose every penny we had."

“When I finally started investing, I had pushed my vision about six months ahead. From my notes I saw a stock that was going to skyrocket. I invested twenty thousand on that stock and was sitting on pins and needles. The stock slowly started to rise and then the company announced they had landed a big government contract. The stock I had bought at twelve dollars a share jumped to forty, I sold. I set back the original twenty and began working with the balance. I started buying small shares in a lot of companies, through several brokers. I didn’t want to draw attention to what I was doing. I even bought small options in some losers.”

"Why, Aunt Inga?” Tammy wondered

“So no one would catch on that you were picking stock like you knew the future, right Aunt Inga,” Annette said.

“Exactly, Annette.”

Annette stuck her tongue out at Tammy and they giggled.

”I took out enough money for Me and Momma to live on and I reinvested the rest."

“Nowadays I can see about eighteen months into the future and I am still one hundred percent correct. I didn’t know at the time but from what I have read since that ability makes me a precognitive. The slow aging makes me a regen or regenerator. It is rumored there are a few regenerators that are all but immortal. If you are like me, and I think that you are, you are a very special girl, Annette.”

“I heard about mutants and powers on a TV show and in science class. A regen and a precog that makes you really special Aunt Inga,” Tammy pointed out.

“Getting back to my story, it didn’t take but a couple of years before money started rolling in. I wasn’t greedy I never bought a whole lot of stock in any one company. I am extremely diverse right now.”

“How often do you sleep walk?” Julia asked.

“Two or three times a week. At least I never have left the house. I set an alarm that sounds when I open the outside door without entering a code in the alarm panel.”

“Is it just stocks and financial stuff that you can see, or can you see other events happening, like to avoid bad stuff?” Tammy asked.

“I don’t know Tammy, I just never thought about it.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you worth, Aunt Inga?” Annette asked.

“Annette, it’s not polite to ask that kind of questions,” Julia said.

“That is ok, Julia, I don’t mind telling family. In fact it might help me with a problem. I am worth forty five million in stock and about another ten in cash, property, and other assets.”

“How can we knowing that help you Inga?” Julia asked.

“Well I am eighty three years old. I have pretty much stayed off anybody’s radar. How long do you imagine I can stay that way? I might live till I am a hundred sixty, maybe two hundred. Helping your family can help me. This way I don’t have to try and assume a new identity. I can just be myself. Julia, with my help you can assume and manage my stocks and keep me in the money I need. It will be work; I have a lot of different stock that I own. I will send you the information and you can make the deals. As time goes on, Tammy and later Annette can take over the responsibility. That way we will all be financially secure and no one will suspect about Annette and my real ages.”

“Let me think about it Inga. I don’t know a whole lot about investing, and I don’t know about taking money from you.”

“Julia, I have lived, a long lonely life. I was afraid that the people I know would grow old and I hate funerals. When I was kicked out by my father I missed being part of a family. The Bruhns were wonderful people but it was not the same being an only child to an older couple. You have two wonderful kids; I would like to be a part of their lives. I want to be a part of your life, Julia, please let me.”

“The Whateley Academy is an expensive school. I read a brochure Gina had given her. There are many scholarships that might be available, but still it would be a strain.” Julia said. “I will seriously consider it Inga. I can see how it would benefit the both of us.”

“Now tell me about this school, Julia.”

Julia handed Inga the packet of information that Gina had provided her.

Inga chuckled as she read.

“What so funny Inga,” Annette asked.

“I have a summer home in Providence, Rhode Island. I know the area pretty well Annette. Julia, you could sell or lease this home out and move to New Hampshire. There is a small city nearby, a Berlin, NH. You could buy a house there and visit Annette there regularly, to keep her and yourself from being so lonely. There are some major cities within a couple of hours drive from there. It’s really pretty country up Julia. Tammy could go to public or private schools up there. I guarantee she will get a better education In New Hampshire or Rhode Island. At the least you will be seventeen hundred miles closer to Annette if you stayed in Providence.” Inga knew just how to play the heart strings and damn it she liked this family. Inga was tired of being alone and she really did want to see them succeed.

“Inga you really know how to play hardball.”

“As a woman in a man’s world you learn pretty quickly, Julia. You can even take care of your Mother and Father on what I will pay you, when they get to the point where they need help. Also I want us to watch for other Swenson boys who change. I know now that I wasn’t the first Mutant and I don’t think Annette will be the last. Rudolf was an ass, excuse the French and he isn’t the only one.”

“Does it only happen to boys in our family?”

“As far as I know, yes, I haven’t found any girls that were affected, but maybe girls don’t change sexes if they mutated. Regardless, if they are out there, we need someone to be there for them too.” She winked at Tammy; Inga didn’t want the girl to feel left out.

“Ok I give up. You sold me.”

Inga smiled and hugged the kids, “Oh it is going to be so much fun having a real family again.”

**************

Annette woke up in the middle of the night thirsty, so she headed down stairs to the kitchen. Aunt Inga was there making some hot chocolate, two mugs sat on the table, “Hi sweetie couldn’t sleep?”

“I was thirsty.”

“Want a cup of hot chocolate?”

“Yes, ma’am that would be nice.”

Inga poured two cups of hot chocolate and said, “Let’s drink this in the living room. Do you want to talk?”

Annette took her cup and nodded. She followed Inga into the living room and sat on sofa next to her.

“Why did this happen to me? I was happy as a boy.”

“I don’t know Annette. Why did it happen to any of us? It’s just the luck of the draw. I’ve researched this a great deal and becoming a mutant is a rare and special thing dear, at most one in a few hundred thousand people. In a way that make us special. It might help you to feel better about what happened by thinking of it in that way. I have to say you appear to be a normal girl to me, Annette. I am impressed how well you are taking the change.”

“Mom and sis think I am taking this well. To tell the truth I am doing better than I thought I would, but inside I am more scared than I have ever been.”

“I was scared too; on top of that I was kicked out of the home I grew up in. I had to travel thirty miles on foot in the dead of winter. I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it but I did. You are stronger than you think Annette; I can see it in your eyes. Yes it will be hard, but I have faith in you. I know it won’t be easy, you have to be strong for your family and yourself.”

“If you could would you change back?”

Inga laughed when Annette asked that question, “When I first changed, I would have been more than happy to go back to being a boy. That only lasted a year or so. Now though I wouldn’t change back for all the gold in Fort Knox. I like being a lady!”

Inga smiled wistfully. Annette giggled in response, guessing why Aunt Inga liked being a lady. Jimmy had been at the stage where boys started *noticing* girls. She knew that now she would be the one being noticed and a part of her, a growing part, was happy and scared.

“I took a long time for me to adjust, the Bruhns, God bless them, helped me so much. You are a lucky girl,” Inga said, emphasizing ‘lucky girl’. “You already have a loving family and that is on top of people that want to help you. Just be careful who you let help you, there are some unscrupulous people out there.”

“Do you hate your real father?”

“I don’t hate him anymore. It took me a long time to get over it. I still feel bad about what happened at times. I loved him as a father; I couldn’t understand why he forced me out of the house. I know more now, it was how he was raised. It was too much for him to accept. I wish we could have reconciled or at least spoken to him again but that never happened. I won’t say I love him now, but I let go of the hate.”

“How am I ever going to do this, I don’t know anything about being a girl or a mutant?” Annette cried as she snuggled up to Inga?

“You are going to be smashing as a girl. Your strength and determination are going to carry you through. We are more than enough to succeed dear.”

“You mean that? I mean about the ‘We’ part”

“I can’t let my favorite niece down now can I. I really meant what I said about helping you succeed.”

Annette fell asleep in Inga’s warm embrace. She really hoped what she said rang true.

**************

Breakfast was interesting. The five ladies discussed what they would do that day.

“Let me ask you a question,” Inga addressed Julia. “Do you intend to send Annette to this Whateley Academy?”

“Yes I do. I realized that she needs to get this mind thing under control or she’ll never have any friends but family. From what Gina the young mutant who evaluated Annette said, Whateley is the school best equipped to help her adapt to her change and to train her to control her powers.”

“Ok we have that settled. Now what about moving nearer to New Hampshire?”

“My daughter needs to be able to reach us. If it wasn’t for the problem of her being forgotten I might not move. As it is she will need to be close enough to reach out to us. For her sake I think it best.”

“Good I agree. if that is your intent we need to go shopping.”

“Why do I need more clothes I already have a whole new wardrobe?” Annette stated flatly.

“How cold is it outside here Annette?”

“I don’t know forty maybe forty five degrees.”

“It’s a balmy ten degrees in Concord, NH right now and it hasn’t really gotten cold yet. Do you think your clothes would keep you warm there? We won’t really go overboard here; they don’t really have a lot of cold weather clothes here in south Texas. You will need enough so you don’t freeze to death getting off the plane. You’ll need three or four changes of clothes. We can buy the rest when we get there.”

“Damn I thought it was cold when it got down to the low twenties here last year.”

“Annette, watch your tongue young lady,” Julia admonished her daughter. “We will all need some additional wardrobe.” Julia paled as she began to calculate how much that would cost.

Inga knew what put the furrow in Julia’s brow. “Don’t worry about the cost Julia we aren’t going to dress them in sable and Versace. Consider this an advance.”

**************

Annette thought shopping had been scary with her Mom and Tammy. She found out they were rookies compared to Grandma and Inga. Delta force had nothing that could compare to those two women.

Annette, Julia and Tammy learned about layering clothes for warmth and that warmth was a relative term.

“If clothes are warm they were probably too warm. It is better to be a little cool, than to sweat in your clothes, during the winter,” Inga said.

They each got a large set of luggage, so they could travel. There was almost no room in the Caravan for anything else.

Julia was graced with two laptops on top of everything. One was to use online and the other was forbidden from being online. Together with all the software that Inga wanted installed on them the bill was over twelve grand. Inga ordered a laser printer, scanner and other essentials to be delivered to Julia’s home.

**************

Things were a little tense on Christmas Eve as the Erikssons arrived. Julia’s mother Britta and father Bjá¶rn didn’t quite know how to react to Annette. Inga kept back and tried not to stir the pot too much. To Annette’s credit she really turned on her charm, taking a page out of Tammy’s play book. Tammy winked at Annette as she put on her best puppy dog face and hugged her Grandpa and Grandma. It was her Grandpa who cracked first. The tears in Annette’s eyes then melted the heart of Bjá¶rn.

They had a long family conference. Annette told her story, leaving out the parts that could be construed unseemly, to the Erikssons. She didn’t say anything about the mutant school, about Stop Light and being tested. Then Julia filled in what she knew and learned from the doctor. She followed Annette’s lead, her mom and dad had already had a shock to their system, they didn’t need anymore. When they asked about how Annette was going to be able to go to school, Julia told them the plan she had. The Grandparents listened as Julia laid out the idea.

“Mom, Dad, I hope you understand that it is best for Annette, if we moved. She would have a hard time going to school here. We found a school that will accept Annette as she is and help her in many ways. Unfortunately that school is in New Hampshire.”

Grandma Eriksson cried a bit, she really would miss her daughter and grandkids.

“You can come up to my place in Providence Britta, the grandkids could meet all of you there,” Inga added.

With the Eriksson Grands, Grandma Swenson and Inga there Annette slept with Tammy. Tammy was happy to share as little kids they had slept often together, but that had stopped eight years earlier. Tammy was dreading going to school without her brother/sister there with her. She relished the warmth her sister provided her as she spooned with Annette.

**************

Christmas, Annette woke Tammy up early and together they headed downstairs to the kitchen. They decided to surprise everyone by having breakfast ready for everyone. They planed on having OJ, biscuits, sausage, gravy, eggs, and pancakes. They sorted out the jobs and got to work.

Inga was down next and started a large pot of coffee and then she began setting the table. Julia was surprised to find breakfast almost ready and poured herself a cup of coffee. The rest of the family was drawn to the kitchen by the wonderful odors wafting up from the kitchen.

Julia smiled as she saw all her family sitting around the table and wondered if this would ever happen again. The food was surprisingly good, considering that the kids had fixed it. The mood at the table was joyous and pleasant.

The kids had fun opening presents. Annette was overwhelmed by all the clothes she had gotten. “Dang it I have more lingerie now than Jimmy had clothes and underwear,” Annette said.

Grandma Swenson had bought Annette a black lace thingy that had four straps hanging down. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out what it was, till her sister whispered in her ear. That caused Annette’s face to glow like a Christmas tree and everybody else to giggle and laugh.

“No Fair! Tammy, you have to say it out loud,” Inga said.
Annette was beat red as Tammy said. “It’s a garter belt to hold fancy stockings, Annette. So you can look sexy for some guy.”

Tammy and Annette also received iPods, iTune cards, games, books and jewelry. The kids then passed out the presents to their Mom and Grandparents.

Mom and the Grandmas retired to the kitchen to fix their Christmas dinner, while Tammy and Annette cleaned up the mess in the living room, while Bjá¶rn and Inga watched TV.

At lunch Grandma Eriksson wanted to know more about the change.

“I don’t know much. I guess it started on the twelfth, our birthday. I started to get a bit sick that day. From Wednesday through Sunday I was feverish at night. Not a high fever but enough to cause some discomfort. I also had a sour stomach and mild cramping on those days. Saturday night I woke up feeling different. Most of the changes had started to be apparent by then. By Monday I was completely a female,” Annette explained.

“Completely female you say?” Grandpa asked.

“Yes, Mom’s doctor did an ultra-sound and checked my lower tummy and stuff.”

“You mean you’re going to have periods and be able to get pregnant?” Grandma asked.

Annette looked terrified at the thought of being pregnant, “I don’t know? I am still having some tests done. Thursday through Sunday I am suppose to be staying at a clinic,” Annette didn’t think they needed to know what kind of tests.

“Is there anything that they can do to change you back?”

“That is what some of the tests are about, but they don’t think so. Grandma, I really want to be a boy, I didn’t ask for this change, but living as a girl is better than not living. That is why we are moving to New Hampshire. I would never be accepted as a girl in my old school and this new school will be able to help me.”

Britta was visibly shaken by what Annette implied; she hadn’t taken the time to think that through. She desperately wanted her grandson back, but she was unwilling to see Annette die over this.

“Yes Annette, you’re right, living is better than dieing. While I would love to see Jimmy again, you are a precious life Annette. Don’t waste that life, please,” she said shedding tears from her eyes. “I am surprised though you seem so natural, for so short a time.”

“I guess a part of that is due to my change. The first time I dressed as a girl, I really didn’t need that much help. Inside I was screaming that I want to be Jimmy, but I seemed to know the basics about of being Annette.”

“Well you are a lovely young lady,” Britta said. “We’ll love you no matter what.”

The Erikssons had to leave the next day; everyone shared tearful goodbyes and hugs as they got into their car. Grandma Margaret could only stay for a few more hours. Inga planned to stay till they were ready to leave for New Hampshire.

Inga and Julia got together and started working on their computers. Inga transferred files from her laptop to Julia’s. They then went over their encryption routines, how she wanted the data handled and how they would communicate, when they were apart. Inga showed Julia how to send and receive encrypted emails, how to import the data received into her Excel spreadsheets and how to run comparisons on that data.

“I was never as aggressive as I could have been in investing my money, but if we are going to do research and possibly help other Swenson’s, we will need to be a little more aggressive.”

“That should be easy; you know what the results are before they come out.”

“The SEC keeps up with anyone making too much money too fast in the stock market. I try to avoid the appearance of trading using inside information. I don’t always buy stocks at their lowest and I generally sell before they peak out. Lately I have been letting the stocks sit in companies I know will be earners. I am very diversified, I always make sure to make some bad choices and I avoid buying too many stocks that skyrocket, especially if they skyrocket and then plummet. I also extensively research stocks before I buy or sell them. So it will look like I did my homework, because in fact I did my homework. Research is where I can use the most help. I have a lot of stuff to teach you Julia.”

Tammy and Annette got together working on girl things. They did each others makeup and had a fashion show with their new clothes. Logged on to some fashion sites some teen chat rooms, and hit the iTune site to download their favorite music to their new iPods.

At bedtime Tammy wanted Annette to sleep with her in her room. She was afraid it would be a long time before they could be this close again what with her sister going off to that school. They were always close but it took the fear of separation for Tammy to realize how much she had depended on Jimmy and now Annette. They fell asleep in each others arms and Tammy’s fears eased for a while.

(to be continued)

Annette goes to the Gulf Coast Champions headquarters and finds out a bit about herself.

Fadeaway 3

by

Paula Dillon

At ten Gina showed up at the Swenson’s home, in a stretch Hummer with another lady.

Gina introduced herself and her friend Angel Chapman, code name Hot Tamale.

“Gina this is Inga Bruhn. Inga is a distant Aunt of Annette’s and she is a lot like Annette,” Julia said.

“I use to be named Samuel Swenson, till my father kicked me out of the house because I mutated into Inga.”

“That happens all too often with mutant children. Its sad how many families can’t accept that their child is a mutant. How old are you by the way?”

“Let’s just say I am older than Julia.”

‘Probably a lot older,’ Gina thought. ‘Damn that lady looks fine.’ “What powers do you have?”

“I don’t know. I do know I don’t have any earth shattering powers. I seem to age slower and I am very lucky. I have a very good memory, not quite photographic, I can’t quote what I read word for word, but I know the meat of what I read.”

“Lucky yeah, is that your Sledgehammer out front?” Gina said giving Inga a knowing smile. ’Lucky my ass, I’ll bet she’s some kind of a precog. With that sexy body, maybe she’s an exemplar and a regen.’ Gina speculated.

“It might be.”

“Would you care to join us, so we can check you out?”

“I’m not super at anything; I have managed to stay off anybody’s radar. I don’t really want to be identified as a mutant. I have heard horror stories about how mutants are treated.”

“We won’t make your identity known to anyone! Our staff and doctor’s will just know you are a relative of interest.”

“Can I drive down there? I would hate to leave my baby sitting here. I have a state of the art security system, but still.”

“Can you store it in Houston? You don’t want to leave it in Galveston for three days.”

“Alrighty, I have some people there that I use.”

Gina and the Swensons got their bags and piled into the Hummer and followed Inga in her car. It was easy to see that this was no normal Hummer, as the speed kept creeping up and up and up.

Annette paled as she looked at the speedometer then decided that was a bad idea. ‘We’re going THAT fast? I’d better think about something else. I wonder what my period will be like?’ she thought.

At least Inga slowed a bit near Houston’s city limits. That helped the ladies relax. They followed her into a secure parking garage.

After picking up Inga, they drove for about an hour and a half more, the last half hour of the drive the windows magically darkened and a dark partition popped up behind the driver. The Swensons couldn’t see where they were going. They stopped and heard a garage door open and the vehicle drove about thirty feet more. When they heard the garage door finally close they were let out. They found themselves at a security checkpoint. Gina introduced them to the Gulf Coast Champions Association security personnel that photographed, fingerprinted and did retinal scans of everybody.

“Ok, just follow me. We have an orientation planned for you. You will meet with the Doctors who will be testing all of you. We want to be able to compare how Annette measures up compared to a normal, I mean non-mutant, sibling/parent baseline. We also want to compare her with Inga,” Gina said. “I will be Annette’s mentor and we will have someone who will be at each of your sides throughout the test. They will be happy to answer any questions any of you have.”

“Why all the security,” Julia asked.

“The security is there to help keep the location of our base secret. We deal with a lot of new mutants. There are hate groups and other nefarious types out there who would love to get their hands on these mutants. You have heard of the Humans First group haven’t you? They are infamous for their torture of mutants. Other groups would eagerly enslave mutants with lucrative talents given the opportunity.”

“Being a mutant is that dangerous?” Annette asked in alarm.

“Sometimes but then that’s what all this testing and your schooling at Whateley is for, to prepare you for such risks. Non-mutants face risks everyday too, it’s just a matter of perception and scale.”

They were led to a conference room with seven other people there. Julia, Tammy and Inga were introduced to their mentors, and the testers were introduced.

One of the testers, Dr. David Creighton stood and addressed them, “I want to welcome all of you here. It is always a privilege to get to work with new mutants. I am informed that you, Inga, are a mutant too. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I think I am. I used to be a boy like Jimmy was.”

“Excellent, we like to test and compare related mutants. It’s suspected that mutant traits are inherited but with the small numbers involved research is difficult. We are very fortunate you came along, Ms. Bruhn. You all have nothing to fear here. Though not all of us here are mutants, we are very understanding of what mutants go through. We want to help Annette identify her powers and begin to gain some control over them. We already know to heavily document any interaction with Annette. I already understand one of your powers due to the excellent data Gina provided. I hope you will learn something new about yourself and your family, Ms. Bruhn. I’m sure your stay here will both educational and, I hope, enjoyable.”

Inga smiled at the younger doctor’s attempt to put her at ease. She noticed he was attracted to her; she didn’t need mutant powers to see the signs. She also made note of how the testers reacted to Annette. ‘Annette will need to learn how to evaluate both men and women soon with her looks. At least I’ve decades of experience handing their overtures. She’s going to need all the help she can get,’ she thought

Tomorrow is Thursday and will be medical tests for all of you. Saturday will consist of physical tests; Sunday will be mental acuity, psychic, and other powers tests. Monday we will summarize everything we find informing only those present of our determinations. With your permission we will then make our recommendations to Whateley Academy’s Administration and then assist in filling out her application if that is your desire. Today since you are all ladies we have a special spa treatment for all of you. We want you to be relaxed and in a good mood for your tests, you’ll need it” They laughed at his joke. “Your bags are in your rooms and your mentors will assist you.”

Tammy held up her hand to speak.

“This is not school Miss Swenson. You don’t have to raise your hand to speak.”

“Can I stay in Annette’s room? I want to be there for her.”

David thought for a few seconds before answering her. “I have just one request first. I want you to promise not to reveal how you did on your tests, till Monday. That goes for all of you, and then if you chose to reveal your results to the others, you may do so,” he said giving Inga a glance. He was certain Inga was holding back information about her history and powers but he needed her cooperation if the research was to be of any value. “We don’t want our results skewed, but given Annette’s problem it might be best that you comfort her.” He suspected it was more for Tammy’s benefit but if it helped Annette cope with the testing it was all good too.

Everyone agreed not to reveal their results.

They were led to a dinning room and found an amazing buffet of delectable treats there for them to eat. Even Inga, who was use to such culinary delights, found them excellent.

After lunch they were led to their rooms. Annette and Tammy saw two bikinis on their bed with matching cover-ups; one bikini was dark blue with red and white stripes extending from the sides of the cups meeting in the middle and the left leg on the panty. The other bikini was white with similar blue and red stripes. There was no mistaking which was for whom. The white bikini’s top was definitely Annette’s size.

They found their mentors outside, when they finished dressing. Julia was wearing a bikini that matched Tammy and Inga matched Annette. Annette knew that she and Inga had been tagged mutants at that moment. She was shocked and pleased at how young Aunt Inga appeared and how much she and Tammy resembled her. ‘Mom is quite the looker too. I see why dad married her,’ she thought.

The spa treatment consisted of mud baths with masks on their faces, massages, and a full beauty treatment. Annette and Inga sensed things going on during the treatments, the testing had begun, but everything felt so wonderful. Several times during the treatments Annette found herself trembling with delight at the sensations. Except maybe for the eyebrow plucking, that was one thing she was not thrilled with. She was uncomfortable when her hair which had grown at least four inches since the change was rolled tightly on rods. The chemical smells were horrible and oh the waxing was pure torture too. She figured that they were gauging her pain tolerance.

Annette was giddy to the point of giggling, that her fingernails were extended a quarter of an inch and painted the same as her toenails, her eyebrows thin and highly arched and her hair was a mass of pretty curls and her makeup was expertly applied.

All four of them were giggling and squealing with delight as they inspected each other’s appearances. ‘None of them had ever looked better than this,’ Inga thought. She wanted to give their attendants a big tip for their work, but they turned it down, she settled with giving them all big hugs. All four ladies shared hugs with their attendants.

The staff informed the ladies that dinner was a dress up affair and that they had gowns waiting for them in their rooms so they hurried to their rooms to get dressed.

On their bed they saw two gowns and lingerie laid out for them. One set was blue and the other white. The girls helped each other dress in strapless basques, stockings, heels and halter top gowns. Again the white set had the extra room in the top.

Annette was glad to have Tammy with her; she was unsure how to dress properly.

“I need your help, Sis. I don’t know what to do and I don’t have the time to *sleepwalk* the solution. I am at your mercy,” she pouted and Tammy giggled.

“’Kay, *sis* but you owe me.” Tammy was thrilled her twin wanted her help. She had been so afraid they might drift apart what with Annette being a mutant and all. It wasn’t like she was jealous of her siblings powers or looks, just that she wished they were twins in every sense, that things could be like they were before she entered puberty or since he became a she. That would be so ‘Kewl!

They found Julia in a similar blue and Inga again in white. Their mentors were all in red.

The dinner was excellent. Annette had to stifle a giggle at seeing one guy, Inga’s male escort, in a Tux. He was well over six feet tall and maybe five feet wide. She knew he was a mutant and didn’t want to make him feel bad. Each of them had a male escort, Tammy and Annette’s escorts were older than they were but still appeared to be teens. They sat boy, girl, mentor, boy around a long table. Dr. Creighton sat at one end and a Doctor Karen Silsbee at the other end. A toast was offered to the guests, Dom Pérignon for the adults and sparkling grape juice for the teens. A recording of violin, clarinet, cello and piano played throughout dinner.

After dinner they were escorted to a lounge area and separated into adult/kids groups. The guys with Tammy and Annette were real gentlemen. Tammy was absolutely fawning over her guy and Annette was surprised how comfortable she was with hers. The four of them talked about everything and nothing for a couple of hours. They each talked about themselves. Tammy’s date was a brick whatever that was and Annette’s was a flyer of some sort. Annette got the feeling that they were being gently interrogated, in an *I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours* kind of way. She also felt that they were being observed. She had felt that off and on all day but now she was certain. ‘At least,’ she thought to herself ‘This is a pleasant way to be tested.’

At eleven they were encouraged to get plenty of rest; the next three days would be extremely busy for them. As they lay in bed Tammy talked excitedly about her date, “Shaun was such a dream. You should have felt his arms. I bet he is incredibly strong. What did you think about your date Annette?”

“I don’t know; I liked the way he treated me. He didn’t talk down to me and he seemed to appreciate what I was saying. I have to admit though he was a handsome guy.”

Annette had a good time; it felt good being with William, that scared her a bit. She had never felt like that with anyone before. She was also surprised to see how animated her sister could be. They had been close as brother and sister, but Tammy had never talked with her like this.

**************

After breakfast the tests were overwhelming. At various times throughout the day the four of them were poked, prodded, bled, EKGed, EEGed, MRIed, CTed, PETed, full immersion BMIed, Allergy Scratch Tested, sonogramed and had their heads shrunk. They only had time for a brief lunch and dinner, before they headed to bed. Julia and Tammy were very tired, Annette and Inga not so much tired but mentally exhausted.

The next day found them up at six, all wearing long sleeve unitards and cross trainers by six thirty. Julia and Tammy in dark blue with red and white stripes going from their underarms, crossing under their breasts and tapering to an end at their hips. Inga and Annette were in white with blue and red stripes. The suits molded to their figures like a second skin, they hid nothing at all except for the nipple shields in the built in bras. Tammy was excited by their appearance, Julia was a little embarrassed and a little proud of her figure, Inga was all smiles, and Annette was shy and a bit confused.

Annette was proud of her 50kg bench press, but was astounded to see 1000 kg weights and 500 kg weight bars in the gym. The weight room didn’t take long. She just wasn’t overly strong.

Next they had her run 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 10000m. She was surprised at how well she did. She got tired but then she recovered faster than she remembered.

Then she was the target for a hellacious dodge ball game. She found herself a hard to hit target, but the few times she tried to throw the balls back, her efforts to hit the players on the other side were so feeble she quit trying.

At one point she found herself in a crossfire. The balls were coming in from many directions and were traveling way too fast to avoid getting hit. She couldn’t find a safe place to avoid being hit; she panicked then went sort of shadowy. The game was brought to an end after that.

Gina debriefed her for ten minutes asking her; what happened, what she felt, did she actively want to disappear, did she sense where the balls were going to be, and a myriad of other questions.

Next Annette was run through gymnastics. During warm-up she found that she was very limber. Instead of just touching her toes she was able to touch her forehead to her knees, her palms flat on the floor. With very little instruction she was amazing. She could tumble; do some simple balance bar routines, vaults, rope climbs and jumps.

At the self defense section, she was good and bad. For the most part she was able to prevent herself from being hit; only super fast opponents could touch her, but she was unable to effectively strike her sparring partner. She faded away, ducked, dodged and avoided the strikes launched at her to keep from being hurt.

At one point Gina gave Annette a hand full of smoke bombs. She was told to avoid being hit as long as possible, then cast the smoke bombs between her and her opponent, wait a few seconds then walk calmly past her opponent. They sent in a brick to the mat. For five minutes she dodged, ducked and avoided her opponent. She cast the smoke bombs, a huge cloud of smoke engulfed her and then she calmly walked by the brick. He had forgotten she was his target.

The physical portion didn’t end till way after dark. She had put in a twelve hour day; it was nearly eight before she got an opportunity to eat. While exhausted, she quickly began to recover as she ate. She had eaten more power bars then she could remember through out the day, but this last meal was more satisfying.

The testers had kept an accurate record of her caloric, vitamin, mineral, electrolyte and water intakes. They were surprised a little at the totals, but it made sense. She had a very high metabolism and was burning a lot of energy. The heat exchange left the air around her five to ten degrees higher than ambient. Suit sensors showed little fluctuations in core body temperature only during extreme exercise. Her skin had acted almost as efficiently as an aluminum heat sink to dissipate heat.

The next day found them dressed in casual clothes. After breakfast, each of them took IQ tests, memory tests, MMPI test (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory), reading comprehension tests, manual dexterity tests and visual acuity tests.

Annette was given a large box of parts and instructed to make what ever out of it. She built several things out of the parts that worked. The most ingenious of them were a spring loaded ejector that could launch the smoke bombs she had used the day before and a CO2 cartridge powered water gun that had incredible range and accuracy.

She then found herself being questioned about where certain objects were, like Jimmy Hoffa, the hope diamond and various other people and about 40 other items were located. She pulled up google earth on a computer and pointed out a spot in New Jersey for Hoffa (who ever he was), Fort Knox, Kentucky for the Hope Diamond, and various places for the remaining items. There were ten items where she had no idea where they were.

At six that afternoon Gina asked Annette to give her account of the testing. She thought a few seconds and then said,

“Well, I think testing started shortly after we got here. I could sense strange things happening from the time we hit the spa till just a short while ago.”

“I don’t know what to make out of the medical, except that maybe I heal a little faster than normal. The scratches from the allergy test on my back were hard to see after I showered yesterday afternoon. The scratches seemed to be deeper and larger than necessary, but now they are gone.”

“I am quick but not overly fast, I am not very strong. The dodge ball game scared the hell out of me. I couldn’t believe how fast the balls were coming at me and how fast they were traveling. I seem to know where not to be, to keep from being hit, if you know what I mean.

“I discovered another power. I didn’t quite disappear, but I faded to shadow.

“I am incredibly agile; I have never been like that before. I couldn’t climb ropes or tumble. I use to have fair balance but nothing like what I have done here. My standing jump measured twelve feet, I didn’t know that was possible.

“Mentally I am brighter, genius level I think. I read faster than I ever read before and remembered more. I have always liked building things, so I liked working with those parts, that was fun, but I never built anything from scratch like that before.”

Gina smiled at Annette in a knowing manner, “Well you are very bright. I can’t make any comments right now, but we will inform everyone tomorrow about their tests. You need to get back to your room and change for dinner. We are going to have a farewell dinner for all of you.”

The next day everyone was in the conference room at nine. Dr. Creighton took a position at the head of the table; the Swensons sat with their mentors.

He began;

“I will start with Julia and Tammy. Julia you are the mother to these two wonderful girls. You are baseline normal, meaning you are a normal person. You are very healthy; your IQ comes out at about 125. Almost all your test were high baseline or baseline. You could stand to get some more exercise, you don’t need to lose any weight. Your bad cholesterol was a little above average but not high.”

“Tammy, you are a normal teenage girl, you are healthy, in good physical condition, and you can cuss like a sailor after getting hit by two dodge balls. Your IQ is about 130, normal ability on reading and comprehension. You have good dexterity, agility and endurance.”

“They hit my boobs and my butt. It really hurt,” Tammy complained.

“Inga we are glad you came in. As a mutant you are borderline baseline except in several key areas. I would say you are:”

Exemplar 2: meaning 1. your appearance is above average. 2. You heal faster than normal, maybe a low level regen. 3. You are above baseline in strength for a non body builder, and you can run well, not quite world class, but very good and your recovery is very good. Your IQ is higher than you tested out we think. Our tests indicated an IQ in the 150’s, but I would be surprised that further testing might place you a lot higher. Your math and science scores were radically higher than your linguistic scores.

ESPer 1: You have some Esper traits such as danger sense and Precog. We have tentatively classed you as Precog 2 and Danger sense 1.

We think you have Precog and danger sense because you lasted five minutes in the dodge ball test. A normal human wouldn’t have lasted a fraction of that even if frightfully fit.

TK 2: You mentally sent a 220 lb. brick flying into a wall after you got hit at your dodge ball test.

“I don’t know what happened, I just got mad at the guy and the next thing I knew he was flying through the air,” Inga said in her defense. “Is he alright? I’d hate to think I hurt him.”

“That is why we use mutants that can take some serious hits for these tests Inga. He’s fine though embarrassed that a beautiful woman *took him out* so to speak. These are all rough just estimates of your abilities. We would need to do some more thorough tests to better classify you.”

“We also want to thank you Inga for the lock of Samuel’s hair you donated to us. We possibly have an interesting connection, to you and Annette, but we will talk of that later.”

“That brings us to Annette. You are healthy even by mutant standards. Your IQ is between 160 and 170. You score better in math and science related areas of the tests and not as well in the linguistic sections of the tests, although both were in the genius range. You read at about 7kwpm and have a high retention level.”

“You also have to understand the following classification is just tentative. You really do need more testing to firm it out. Also one tester might rate you one way while another might have a different rating, but here is what we came up with.”

Exemplar 2 or 3: Due to the many traits we found in you. These are quite similar to the traits we explained for Inga.

Regen 1: You were right about the scratch test Annette, Sensors in your clothing indicated that you were a low level regen. We are interested in how you deduced that, but we only had a limited amount of time to test you.

Esper 1: meaning you can’t control when you use some of your powers.

Precog 2 or 3: We haven’t plumbed the depths of this ability yet. You seem to know where not to be.

Psi 3 or 4

Finder 5: you are a high level finder, Annette.

Danger sense 3: this is tied into your precog

Gadgeteer 1 or 2: you seem to know how things should go together.

“For your information Annette out of our staff of thirty only three people were able to keep up with who you are: me, Stop Light, and Minds Eye.”

“You are also possibly a shifter, but more likely a warper, we need more tests to determine. This is just a preliminary ranking and needs more study. I won’t go into the specifics for you Annette. The scientist at Whateley can explain in better detail after they do more testing.”

“I will say this, you answered a lingering question about where Jimmy Hoffa is. We couldn’t confirm that the Hope Diamond was at the repository at Fort Knox, but a super in DC confirmed that the diamond on display at the Smithsonian was paste.”

“Who is Hoffa?” Annette asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” Inga said.

“We faxed all our findings to Whateley to facilitate your application there, Annette and we have completed pages four to eleven of that application. If you and your Mom will fill out pages 1 to 3, we will get that off by special courier.”

Julia and Annette began filling out the forms. They had never seen male, female or complicated on a form for sex before. Julia teasingly scolded Annette a bit, when she wanted to say yes to that question. They decided to be honest and check complicated.

Julia asked a question while she was filling out the forms, “You said something about a connection between Inga and Annette earlier, can you explain?”

“Yes I was saving that for impact. Now is as good as any time I guess. You are Swedish, are you not Mrs. Swenson?”

“Yes my family emigrated sometime in the 1880’s.”

“That might confirm what we have found. It will take a bit more work to authenticate. It is harder tracking the maternal linage, Julia, but we think that somewhere in that line, your matriarchy and Annette’s patriarchy crossed paths before. Our preliminary genealogical explorations indicate that yours and Inga’s linage may cross at a town called Bá¶rlange.”
“You mean Grandmother Filippa Elofsdotter?” Inga asked.

“Yes your mitochondrial DNA is 99% percent consistent with Julia’s. Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to children without the usual genetic mix up at the ovaries. It is subject only to genetic drift and periodic genetic mutation. You two might have met at Filippa’s X chromosome, in other words she may be a common ancestor to both of you.”

“I can’t go back quite that far in my memory, Dr. Creighton,” Julia said. “I could ask my mom, but I don’t really want to.”

“I understand, Mrs. Swenson. We have some excellent genealogists who were able to find Britta Eriksson’s lineage. While we aren’t 100% sure at this point, that it was at Filippa where the cross occurred, the records are kind of sketchy, but we are certain that you did cross near her. In Nordic countries the naming system gives us fits. Prior to 1900’s, the sons took their fathers first name and add son to it. Hence Swenson was the son of Swen X. The girls would be Swensdotter. Therefore Filippa Elofsdotter was the daughter of Elof X. Girls also retained their last name in marriage. Filippa Elofsdotter was married to a Hans Niklasson. It is quite an adventure doing family genealogy in Nordic countries. We will be more certain of things in a few weeks as our record checks come in.”

“Girls can be either single or double recessive for what we are calling the “Filippa X trait”. If what we suspect is true Inga and Annette, are both double carriers. If either of you married into the Swenson Y linage, all your males would probably be mutants. Of course there may need to be other dominant or recessive genes needed for a mutation to occur. Tammy has a 25% chance of having that trait. We are running genotype tests on all of your X chromosomes. We want to isolate the “Filippa X trait”; your family has helped in that endeavor immensely. Guys can carry the “Filippa X trait” too; they get it from their mothers and can only pass it on to their daughters.”

“All Swenson males in your linage Inga might carry what we are calling the “Swenson Y”. Where your two families cross we would expect that one in two or better males would have the potential to mutate. We really would like to see more Swenson Y chromosomes.”

“I will help you on one condition,” Inga said. “We want to help other relatives who mutated because of this. I have done a lot of research on the Swensons. I may have identified a couple of other males, who just disappeared so to speak.”

“We would welcome working with you Ms. Bruhn. We would have some additional security concerns before we establish open communications with you, but at the present we see no complications to it.”

Julia and Annette finished their work and handed the forms to Dr. Creighton, who stuck them in a fax machine, before handing them off to a courier.

“Our fax machine will take a few minutes shaking hands in a secure encryption routine before it transmits your application Annette. Julia you should hear from Whateley shortly. There is only a one in ten million chance she won’t be accepted. The nature of you mutation, the family history and the nature of you powers all make you a prime candidate for admission, Annette. They may wish to test you, Inga, as well or through an associated but independent lab studying mutants called ARC. So go home and pack your bags.”

Everyone met with their mentors before leaving. Annette actually found herself a little sad for leaving. She gave Gina a big hug.

Gina and Angel rode with them on the way back to the secure storage lot. Instead of just dropping Inga off, she had them all get out. Inga called for her other car at the lot and in a few minutes a 2006 Lincoln Town Car pulled up to them. Annette suspected it was as much a stock Lincoln as the *Hammer* was a stock ‘vette but kept quite.

Tammy asked, “How many cars do you own Aunt Inga?” as they drove home.

“A little over a dozen in various cities, Tammy. The sledgehammer is my favorite though. I just hate renting cars.”

At home Inga convinced them, that they should get dressed and head out for a New Year’s Eve celebration somewhere. Tammy complained that they didn’t have the striking gowns they had worn at the Gulf Coast Champions Association fancy dress dinner, but each of them had some really nice clothes to dress in.

Their preparations were interrupted at six thirty by a knock at the door. They found a courier standing there; he had correspondence from Whateley.

“Oh my,” said Julia. “It couldn’t be an acceptance letter. It has only been five hours since we left that facility.”

Opening the letter she found that it was indeed an acceptance letter dated today.

“My god they would’ve had to fly it out here shortly after the application was faxed to them, or they were already certain that you would be accepted. Either way I like their organizational skills,” Inga said.

“Annette they want you there five days before school starts,” Julia said. “We will have to pack tomorrow, fly on Tuesday and to get to school on Wednesday.”

Annette wasn’t entirely comfortable with all the attention she got that night at the Hilton Hotel. She didn’t want to dance with the guys that flocked around her and her sister. Tammy wanted to dance, but wouldn’t if her sister didn’t. Annette relented when a tall handsome boy asked her.

Jimmy had never been much of a dancer; he suffered from two left feet syndrome. Annette though seemed to flow with the music. She surprised herself at how graceful she was. Once she got on the dance floor she wasn’t allowed to sit by the guys already on the dance floor. She began to enjoy the attention she was getting.

Tammy, Julia and Inga, oh Inga had scads of men eighteen to eighty vying for her attention, were never without partners either. Annette was surprised to see how good Inga danced. Inga could really shake her booty.

Annette was surprised at midnight. She had been standing with her family watching the New York ball fall replay on a big screen, when she found herself spun around and a kiss planted on her lips by some boy. He held the kiss through the countdown from ten to zero and a few seconds after.

Annette struggled in the boy’s strong arms. She nearly freaked as he started to force his tongue into her mouth, but she was able to resist that. She was furious about his actions.

When he finally let Annette go he was smiling at her; she promptly left her hand print on his face when he broke the kiss. She came close to knocking the boy down and said, “Ask before you kiss someone, you pervert!”

The boy, an eighteen year old jackass in a tux, moved to slug Annette. Inga reacted in a flash; she grabbed the wrist that he was going to punch with, rotated that arm sending the boy to the ground and trapping him in a pronating wrist lock and said. “You touch my niece again and you might wind up missing something very dear to you!” The sole of her heel was on his butt and her stiletto spike inches from a very tender spot.

“Tom get your no good, sorry ass to the car now,” an older man said, pulling the boy’s collar. “Sorry Ma’am, young lady, I apologize for my son’s atrocious behavior. I am Thomas Beckham and that boy “was” Tom Jr.”

“I am Inga Bruhn, and your son was manhandling my fourteen year old niece Annette,” Inga said.

This caused Mr. Beckham to blanch. ‘That dumb ass son of his chose to assault a minor,’ Mr. Beckham nervously thought to himself.

“This is Julia Swenson, her Mom, and Tammy, her sister.”

“I saw that ma’am and if you will allow me to handle it, he will be dealt with. I offer my heartfelt apologies to you and your family Annette, that boy ain’t got a lick of sense in his skull. I have even threatened to cut him off if he didn’t straighten up. Then he goes and pulls a stunt like that. I think I am going to put him to work rough necking in the oil fields next week rather than sending him back to Rice University.”

“That might make him a strong, tough, slob Mr. Beckham,” Julia said.

“He’ll be a dead broke, strong, tough, slob, but I think my foreman can give him an attitude adjustment. I’ll shut off the well that keeps him afloat. As it is he just earned a ten year old chevy to replace his new BMW.”

“As for whether to call the authorities that is up to Annette and her Mom,” Inga said.

“Just keep him away from me Mr. Beckham, that is all I ask.”

“He needs to be taught a lesson Mr. Beckham,” a furious Julia said.

“Thank you Annette. Again I offer you my apologies. If he acts up again, I may wind up gelding that boy and he’ll never see a penny of my money. I don’t know why he thinks he is entitled, just because his daddy is rich. The money just goes to his head. I never raised him to act that way and his dear mother, God rest her soul, would have skint that boy alive,” Thomas said bowing to the lady’s and making an exit.

Tammy and Julia flanked Annette, trying to comfort her. Annette was not disturbed as much as she was angry.

“Annette I am sorry you had to face a slob like that,” Inga said. “I think you handled yourself well. I would have hit the SOB a lot lower for doing that.”

“Thank you Inga for keeping that boy from hurting Annette,” Julia said.

“No problem, I didn’t want Annette to do her thing with all those people around,”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Annette said.

“It’s not something to be ashamed about, but you don’t need to be advertising it either. I haven’t lived this long, ‘flying under the radar,’ without learning the importance of keeping a low profile power wise. Use them when you need too, preferably when you can’t be discovered or identified,” Inga said.

“Where did you learn to do that thing, Aunt Inga?” Tammy asked.

“Oh that was nothing. An old boyfriend of mine was a Navy Seal, a Commander Shaun O’Dougal. I dated him for a couple of years when I lived in San Diego.” Inga said blushing. “Seals have amazing stamina.”

“Where is he now?” Annette asked

“I don’t know, last I heard was something about him being an Assistant Chief of Naval Operations.”

Annette had a lot to ponder as she and Tammy went to bed that night.

(to be continued)

Annette and family finally leave Texas and head Up to New Hampshire.

A Whateley Fanfic

Fadeaway 4

by

Paula Dillon

Morning found them up about 10 am and started a flurry of activity in the Swenson household. After a good breakfast the kids were given their tasks. Inga helped everyone select appropriate attire for the weather up north and then made quite a few calls on her cell phone. She informed them that they had to fly tonight; she had gotten four seats on Continental leaving IAH at 10:45 pm arriving in Providence just after 4 am. She then left to find some boxes, taking Julia’s minivan. Inga decided to go to Providence first as she wanted to change the clothes she had with her and to pick up a vehicle.

Julia made sure she had all their important documents packed in her bags and made a list of what she wanted to have shipped to her back east. She would have to come back to the old house after the kids were in school to finish what she needed to do.

The kids began packing their bags; they were told that they could take three bags each. They were allowed two full size suit cases and their carry on in which they were to have a full change of clothes in case their bags got lost. Anymore and the airline would have charged them an exorbitant excess baggage fee. Since Mom told them they would buy cold weather and school clothes up north, the girls didn’t object too much. The rest of their belongings would be packed up and sent by moving van.

Annette had a hard time packing, the three bags would only a small portion of her new clothes. She thought it unfair, what with having been a girl such a short time. Tammy *knows* what suits her best, I’m all new at this. But she realized that was being selfish and Tammy was in the same boat, so to speak plus she had to choose among a lot more clothes. That would not be easy for her sister. The thought made Annette giggle. She chose some of her best clothes considering the weather and added some of her jeans and knock around clothes. She did include most of her lingerie. There was very little of Jimmy had that she wanted to keep, but she kept her most valuable baseball cards and her Nolan Ryan autographed Astro and Ranger ball caps.

After Tammy packed her clothes, she packed her prized collection of porcelain dolls. She wouldn’t take them on the airplane; she had heard horror stories of how suitcases were treated. She would hand carry some of them to be safe.

Inga bought fifteen new boxes and packing material from a storage locker place. She gave Tammy and Annette two each. The rest of their clothes were packed into them. Tammy packed a suitcase with her dolls and padded out the case with her clothes.

After they packed and marked their own boxes with their names and contents, they helped their Mom and Inga pack their family things. At four that afternoon they all came to the conclusion that anything else would have to wait till later.

They had several pizzas and drinks delivered. As they ate they talked.

“Julia, I found a boarding school for Tammy as well. An old friend of mine is headmistress at a girl’s school, Elizabeth Caldwell’s Preparatory School for Girls just north of Concord, New Hampshire. They have girls from twelve to eighteen. She said that they could board Tammy there.”

“Great, I was wondering what I was going to do about Tammy, with the move and all. This will give me time to get our stuff settled here after school starts,” Julia said with a tear in her eyes. “I will hate not having my kids around me all the time though.”

“I don’t think we look forward to being on our own either Mom,” Tammy added. “But we know you will have a lot to do after school starts.”

“I have checked Concord out on the internet. It is only an hour and a half away from Whateley and from what you have said Inga, close to where Tammy will go to school. I think I want to get a home for us there.”

“That is pretty country up there girls, I think you will all like living up there once you get use to the winters.”

All of them shivered at the thought of how cold it was there.

“I get cold just thinking about the weather up there,” Tammy said. “What about you Aunt Inga?”

“Oh I have seen my share of cold weather; I remember having to go out to get wood when it is thirty below, or getting dressed for the weather to use the outhouse.” Inga shivered so much as sh said that, that it sent chills up everybody’s back. “I can survive in the cold, but I don’t have to love it.”

“Outhouse you had to use one of those things?” Annette asked.

“Honey we are talking about the nineteen thirties and out in the boondocks. Everyone had outhouses back then.”

**************

Inga made sure the home was secure and Julia informed a neighbor of where they were going and why (a highly edited story that is). The neighbor was sad to see them go, but she understood. She told Julia that she and her husband would look after the house.

Piling into an airport limousine they headed to the airport at seven thirty. It was a good thing they left so early, Bush Intercontinental Airport was swamped. It took them nearly two hours and a half hours to get through security there. They arrived at their gate with fifteen minutes to spare.

The four of them were scattered all over the aircraft. Julia and Tammy were in separate seats in first class and Inga and Annette were assigned separate seats back in coach.

**************

It was a chilly windy ten degrees in Providence when they landed in Providence when they landed. A quick taxi ride brought them to Inga’s home. Their first stop was the garage where they loaded their gear into a Yukon Denali.

“What no Lincoln,” Annette joked.

Inga replied, “Of course I have a Lincoln here Annette, it’s in a secure storage facility in town. I use the Yukon in the winter when there may be snow on the roads. Julia this is your car while you work for me.”

Everyone was glad to hit a bed in Inga’s house; it had been a long, tiring night. They didn’t even care to explore. Tammy and Annette didn’t bother getting undressed; they just found a bed and collapsed.

Tammy woke before Annette, at about ten and found Inga dressed sitting at her kitchen table. She had the financial section of the WSJ she had picked up at the airport. She was staring blankly at the paper. Her right hand was making notes in a notebook. Inga didn’t acknowledge Tammy’s presence. Tammy looked at her Aunt and thought about how it was so like the way Annette looked and acted when she sleepwalked, so she just sat and observed her.

Inga had worked up pages and pages of notes that she had written. Inga finally made a squiggle at the bottom of one page and laid her head down. After about two minutes she sat up and saw Tammy.

Smiling she said, “Morning Tammy, you caught me doing my thing, didn’t you?”

“Yes Ma’am. What is it like, when you are doing what you did?”

“I don’t know. I just see the results when I wake up. I have no recollection of what I was doing or thinking. I don’t think I even dream when I do it. As to what I feel, I just can’t say. Want to help me enter this data.”

“Sure.”

Inga got her secure computer out and booted up after scanning her thumb and typing a password. She decrypted her Excel file and with Tammy’s help started entering the data. Inga let Tammy enter some data when she felt she knew what she was doing. Tammy saw in some of the hand written notes the reason for whatever caused the changes Inga noted in the Excel spread sheet. This company released a new product that became a hot seller, or a company had quality control problems, another announced better or worse than expected results over the last quarter, while another had conflict in the boardroom.

Tammy didn’t know too much about why people picked one stock over another in the stock market. But looking at Inga’s notes she began to gleen out little tidbits.

Inga then booted up her internet computer and downloaded the last stock market closing data. She transferred that to a smart drive. After checking it for nasties she showed Tammy how she merged data.

“Now this is how I work my magic Tammy. I take the information I have gleened from my sessions and merge it with the last closing of the market. I look for stocks that are well below the new data I collected. I shoot for companies that show between twenty and thirty percent growth over that period.”

Inga saw that she had three new listings for companies she had yet to foresee any data on. One was a company that just recently announced their IPO (Initial Public Offering) for this Wednesday. Ten million shares were to be offered at two dollars a share, eighteen months in the future the stock would be up at thirty-eight fifty a share. Inga would put in a buy order for two million shares. She set up a spider to gather all the information it could about the corporation it could on her internet computer.

“When I see an IPO that looks really good, like this one, I often buy in. It is harder to make cases of insider trading in IPO’s.”

The other two showed well above average growth over the next eighteen months. She flagged those stocks for action. She would invest heavily into the new company, and buy big into the other two also. She made notes on the stocks she owned, which to buy and which to sell. She intended to operate more in the green.

Julia and Annette showed up at about eleven thirty to see Inga and Tammy busy. Inga got Julia up to speed on what they were doing.

Annette checked the kitchen for food, but alas the cupboards were bare. She thought that was strange then realized with Aunt Inga traveling so much food might spoil. Well this was no good. She was hungry.

“Mom I am hungry can I have the car keys so I can get something to eat?”

Annette was surprised when her Mom actually handed the keys to her. She took the keys, went to her room to get her purse and coat before going into the garage. She used the key fob to unlock the Yukon’s doors and turn off the alarm system and then she hit a button on the wall to open the garage door. She got in the passenger seat started the car and counted to five.

Inga and Julia looked up at each other when they heard the car start.

“Annette doesn’t drive yet does she?” Inga asked.

“No she is still too young to get her license,” Julia said.

Julia and Inga rushed into the garage to see Annette smiling with a got cha smile on her face.

“There is no food in the house. I am hungry and I bet you are too.”

Inga laughed and said, “Julia, stay here with Tammy, Annette and I will get something for all of us to eat.”

It was cold and the wind was brisk and out of the northwest, but the streets were dry. Inga drove to the nearest golden arches about a mile and a half away. Inside she and Annette ordered enough food to feed a girls basketball team.

At home they ate the food that Inga bought. Inga and Julia talked about stocks, Julia told her the she and Tammy had already started to research the three companies that Inga had listed. On paper the companies looked good, not great but good. Inga then took Julia over to her internet computer to show her how to make the trades she wanted and to check what information the spiders had gleaned. She put Julia on the account as a trader and they executed the appropriate trades.

Tammy and Annette talked about the house. They were impressed at what they saw. The home wasn’t overly large but it was very nicely appointed. It had four bedrooms and three and a half baths. The kitchen wasn’t any bigger than the one they had, but everything in it was top shelf.

“Kids, your mother and I want to get closer to Dunwich so we won’t have to drive so far to Whateley. So look around and have fun for about an hour and then we hit the road.”

The twins did explore the place, starting in the bedrooms. They found Inga’s and poked their head into the closet. It was positively huge and lined everywhere with dresses, skirts, blouses, slacks and racks of shoes. There were even more fur coats to lust over, but none as extravagant as the sable.

The outside was like the rest of the homes in the area. It was like someone took a cookie cutter and built three dozen homes. There was little variation in color and trim. They would find out later that the homeowners association had to approve of any landscaping, exterior renovations and painting. The back side of the house had a deck, stairs leading down a grassy backyard to the beach and a pier on the Providence River. Also out back was a swimming pool, not as big as their school’s pool but larger than they had ever seen in a backyard.

The kid’s exploration of the grounds was cut short by the cold. They were glad to get in the car that had already been warmed up for the trip.

Julia drove tentatively at first, till she got out of town and then with more confidence. Driving a small tank takes some getting use too. They left Providence, skirted around Boston and into New Hampshire. The drive to Concord had taken about two and a half hours, due to traffic on the loop around Boston.

As they neared Concord Annette said, “Stop here Mom, please,” with a worried sound to her voice.

“Why dear.”

“Just stop here Mom please; I need to use the rest room,” again a little more emphatically than the request suggested.

“I hate these tourist trap gas stations, but I guess we can stop. I need to put some gas into this monster.”

Tammy and Annette went inside and briefly visited the ladies’ room. They then went about browsing, while Julia and Inga tended to gas and food. Almost as soon as Annette started browsing, she felt her senses resonate. She made a bee line to a display that had all sort of quartz, hematite, malachite, agate, pyrite, obsidian, cat’s eye, coral, onyx, beads and crystals.

Annette took a bag and started picking through the display. Tammy watched open mouthed as Annette picked through the stones. She had about a pound of stones when a display of necklaces and earrings along with some individual stones and geodes caught her attention.

“Tammy, get Aunt Inga please,” Annette said almost frantically. She had enough money to pay for what was in the bags, but not for what was resonating with her right now. She was buzzing so much she appeared hyper.

“Ok, but you’re acting strange.”

Inga and Julia came in following Tammy.

“What do you need Annette?” Inga asked.

“I know I shouldn’t ask this, but I have too. You can take my iPod, my laptop and whatever else. I need to buy some of this stuff,” she said pointing to the displays. “It’s hard to explain Aunt Inga, It relates to things *we* know about.”

Inga didn’t know what Annette was feeling but she could sense it was important to Annette, “Point out what you need dear,” she said.

Annette went to the display and pointed the things she wanted out. A clerk pulled down six geodes, four rose quartz necklace/earring sets, some Amethyst jewelry, a large obsidian obelisk and two smaller ones along with some assorted objects.

“That is just too much Annette, put some of that stuff back,” Julia said.

Annette looked absolutely heartbroken when she heard that.

Inga whispered into Julia’s ear, “I think it is important enough to her to get them, Julia. It’s strong enough that I can feel her need.”

“Ok, but we have to pay you back for this.”

Inga smiled knowingly. They had already paid her back.

The final tab for all the stuff that Annette picked out was over three thousand dollars. She felt bad about it, but Inga just smiled at her.

Back in the car Annette was putting on all four rose quartz necklaces underneath her sweater and blouse touching her skin. She then tucked the earrings into her bra.

“Ok, what is going on Annette?” Julia asked.

“All these stones were resonating with me. I can’t explain it. I feel bigger in a manner of speaking since I put the stones on. I think it is another ability of mine. I didn’t buy all the stones there just the ones that seemed to feel right.”

“Why did you put all those necklaces on and those earrings in your bra?” Tammy asked.

“I don’t know, I think it’s like I am charging a battery and attuning the crystals to me. I got one set for each of you. I don’t know why at this point but it feels right. I think that tomorrow I will give each of you one set and we will trade them everyday till I have to go to school. I don’t know what that will do but I need to do it.”

Julia was confused about what Annette was saying, but she felt the sincerity with which she was speaking.

“Once they are attuned, I think that we will like feel strong emotions one of us is giving off or something. I just don’t know at this point.”

Julia didn’t know if she believed what Annette said or not, but Inga and Tammy, believed everything she said.

“Okay, say I believe that, what about those geodes and obelisks? They were very expensive.”

“I am not sure right now, but I feel safer having them. It doesn’t make much sense right now, but I feel I will know more about it. I see myself placing the geodes about my room, making necklaces of some of the stones and making jewelry with some of the stones, Mom. I don’t know why right now, but I feel I will know.”

“Is that precognitive?” Inga asked.

“Yes Ma’am, I think so. I know I will need them at some point. I will feel better that you guy’s have some of them. I just can’t say why right now.”

“I believe everything she has said Julia. I don’t feel what she feels but, I do feel what she is saying is true. It won’t hurt to trust her.”

A few miles down the road the traffic came to a slow crawl. It took twenty minutes to get to the scene of a logging truck that had flipped over. Annette gave a sigh of relief.

Another hour and twenty minutes and they were near Dunwich. Julia nearly drove right by it. It was a small town by small town standards, but Inga’s sharp eyes caught a store front that said ‘School Uniforms’.

“Stop here Julia, we can get uniforms for both girls here I think.” Inga said.

They pulled up to Rogers’ Fabric shop. Inside they met Miss Rogers.

She said, “Welcome to my store. What can I do for you ladies?” with a warm smile on her face.

“I have two nieces going to private schools, they will need uniforms. Can you help them?” Inga asked.

“Certainly, which schools?”

“Annette here is going to Whateley, and Tammy is going to Elizabeth Caldwell’s,”

“I can handle both of them. Tammy, if you will please, just step inside this booth and take all of your clothes off. The booth is a machine that will calculate your sizes and produce your uniforms. You don’t have to come out. When the machine is through it will tell you when you can get dressed and come out. There are drawers you can put your clothes in.”

“All of my clothes?” she asked, a little embarrassed.

“Yes dear, all of them. You don’t have to come out as the machine will fit you.”

After about fifteen minutes Tammy came out and Annette went in. When Annette came out the lady was handing Tammy a uniform to try on.

“Annette I will have a uniform ready for you in about fifteen minutes.”

“You mean you remember me.”

“Of course I do, I never forget a client.”

All four of them thought at that moment that there was more to this lady, than they had thought.

Tammy found a complete uniform from skin out. The fit of the uniform amazed her. She was between sizes in bra and panties, but the ones the lady handed her fit like they were custom made. Not only the fit surprised her, the lingerie enhanced her own assets. The bra lifted and maximized her bust and the panties gave a shapelier tush. The skirt, was a pleated red plaid similar to the Royal Stewart tartan with a couple of differences, it came to just above the knee, longer than she usually wore her skirts. She liked to push the school districts three inch rule, when she chose to wear one. The jacket was a navy blue, three button jacket with gold buttons on the sleeves and the school patch on the breast pocket. It struck her just at the top of the hips. The shoes were navy Mary Janes. Everything worked together to make her look terrific. She came out to show her mother.

“What do you think Mom?”

Julia and Inga closely inspected the uniform. The fit was superb and was demure enough for their tastes. They felt of the fabrics, but could not identify the material, but the two women could tell it was a very high quality material.

“That looks better than the school uniforms, I wore. I am impressed with the material and construction. I like it; I may come here later to have some clothes made for myself. You look wonderful in it,” Julia said.

“Red plaid is not my favorite, but I like these clothes. The jacket fits better than any other jacket I have worn. The skirt is longer than I like.”

“They are very strict about skirt length at Elizabeth Caldwell’s, Tammy. If you show up and the skirt is too short… well you would never forget to triple check your skirt length the next day,” Miss Rogers said.

She left the room and came back after a few minutes. She handed Annette a uniform. Tammy and Annette went back into the dressing rooms. Tammy left her new underwear on except for the slip as she dressed in her jeans and blouse.

Annette dressed in her school uniform. Like Tammy had said everything fit so nicely. Annette did like skirts, but she wasn’t crazy about dressing in skirts all the time. Most girls at her old school rarely wore skirts. They preferred jeans when it was cold and shorts when it was warmer. She did absolutely dread wearing one in this cold weather.

When Annette was dressed she made her appearance. She looked very nice in her uniform too. Inga and Julia checked her over very thoroughly.

“Now I know I am definitely coming back.”

“Me too Julia,” Inga replied. “I have had designers who couldn’t make clothes half as well or quickly. Tell us Ms. Rogers who made these clothes and fabrics?”

“My machine makes the clothes, I have a trade secret that I will carry to my grave. Would you two like to step into the booth so I will already have your body size on file? Then you can call me when you want something.”

“Julia is my new personal assistant; I would like to get her several business suits.”

“Business ladies, what do you do now?”

“We handle investments for a limited group.”

“Ok, Julia, step into the booth if you will.”

“I want five uniforms each for the girls and three suits for Julia, Inga said.”

“I can one suit ready for Julia, the girls have one uniform each now and I can have the rest by Friday. Shall I have them delivered?”

“No we will pick them up by closing on Friday. We are here early to take Annette in for testing. She will be with us at night. I want to get us each a gown later; I need to find out where the GCCA had them made. Those halter top gowns were simply scrumptious.”

“The Gulf Coast Champions Association? I made those gowns for them; they keep them on hand for special guests. I can have those ready by the next Friday also,” she said.

“Ok white for me, scarlet red for Julia, royal blue for Tammy and kelly green for Annette. Will we need to come in for a fitting?”

“No the clothes I make fit right, first time, every time. Where are you going to be staying?”

“I think in Berlin, for now. Julia is moving from Texas to New Hampshire. She likes the area around Concord and will probably move there.”

“It is lovely country up here.”

Julia came out and Inga took her turn in the booth. The girls told their Mom that this is the lady who made the gowns they wore last week. She was excited to hear that and happy that she would be getting a gown too.

By the time that Inga came out of the booth, the lady handed Julia a hanger that had a ladies business suit, blouse, lingerie, hosiery and heels. Julia had to try it on. She couldn’t remember a suit that fit her better and the hosiery and lingerie were the best she had ever worn.

**************

They eventually made it to Berlin and found a decent motel. They took one room for five days and another for two weeks, explaining that they would be in and out over the next two weeks.

After showers and a change of clothes they went out to eat. When Inga got out of the car she found herself drooling over an Old Indian motorcycle that was parked outside the restaurant.

“I can’t believe how nice, that Indian motorcycle looks. It’s really old, but it looks almost in showroom condition,” Inga said.

“It might be a rebuild or a reproduction of an old motorcycle,” Annette said.

“I don’t think so Annette. I believe it is authentic and in original condition.”

“Do you ride?” Tammy asked.

“No, I don’t. You know what doctors call motorcycle riders? Organ donors.”

**************

Wednesday found everyone headed to Whateley Academy. Julia insisted that Annette wear her new uniform. Before they left to eat Annette passed out a set of jewelry to everyone and asked that they put it on. They then headed to the restaurant to eat. They had a good breakfast and then headed back to Dunwich.

At Dunwich they followed the signs to Whateley. They parked in the visitor’s parking lot. The Admin Building was easy to find, out front there were three flags, the US flag, the New Hampshire flag and the Whateley flag trimmed in red.

Inside Shuster Hall they found the offices. A very proper lady sat at the nearest desk. She had a lapel pin that was a stylized ‘A’ on her suit lapel. She was busily working at her computer.

Julia walked up to her desk and said, “Excuse me Ma’am; we have an appointment to see a Ms. Carson.”

The lady looked disgruntled at being disturbed, “All appointments to see Ms. Carson go through me. I am Ms. Hartford, what do you need,” she said, somewhat brusquely.

“We are here to register my daughter, here at Whateley. We were sent an acceptance letter that said for us to meet a Ms. Carson today.”

“May I see the letter please?”

Julia dug into her purse for the acceptance letter while Inga read the nameplate on the desk.

Inga knew the Hartfords in Providence; they lived just a short distance away from her. Ms Hartford’s Mom worked for some of the same charitable organizations that she did. If Amelia was anything like her Mom, oh brother, if they were the same Hartfords.

“Excuse me, you’re Amelia Hartford, is that right?” Inga said.

Ms. Hartford looked up at the Lady who spoke to her. She recognized the look she had seen so many times, “Yes, that is my name.”

“You’re not the Amelia Hartford, the computer genius I have read about are you.”

Ms. Hartford sat up a little straighter if that were possible. She always sat like she had a ramrod shove up her backside to her skull. She sounded a little friendlier, up to only slightly disturbed that these people dared bother her. “Yes, that is me Ms…”

“Inga Bruhn, it is my niece registering here today. It is such an honor to meet you. I have read so much about you in the trade magazines.”

Julia handed Ms. Harford the letter. She brusquely took it and read it before making a few keystrokes on her keyboard, “That is funny; I don’t see anything about Annette on my computer.”

“I will handle that, Ms Hartford,” a voice said from behind Ms. Hartford. “This way please, Mrs. Swenson, Ms. Bruhn and kids. I am Mrs. Carson.”

Inga noted the way Ms. Hartford and Mrs. Carson looked at each other; it was easy to see that they just tolerated each others presence. She had Amelia pegged in her mind, she knew the type of person she was.

“I want to welcome you to Whateley Academy. It is so good to see you’re already in your uniform Annette. You look so good in it. It looks like it was made for you.”

“Thank you. Yes Ma’am, it was, Ms. Rogers made it to fit...”

“I thought so it has her touch to it. Well have a seat. You must be Julia Swenson and these must be your daughters,” she said to Inga.

Julia smiled and said, “I am Julia, but then you already knew that. This is Inga Bruhn, Annette and Tammy’s Aunt, and of course this is Annette and this is Tammy.”

“Yes of course, but you don’t look old enough to have two such lovely young daughters. I did get a report from the GCCA that included pictures of all of you. I am so glad that you decided to send Annette here.”

“I am afraid that I and my daughters are new to all this mutant stuff. I was so happy to hear that there was a place where Annette could go and learn to survive and thrive.”

“That is our goal here at Whateley. As important as survival is to a mutant, they should also thrive and excel to the best of their abilities.”

“She really needs to get a hold of a problem she has.”

“I know of that problem. I have had several discussions with staff of how we can operate around it and how she can use it to her advantage.”

“Advantage, Ms. Carson?” Annette asked.

“Yes it can be an advantage. Just consider that there will be fewer people who will have a grudge against you. If you accidentally insult someone, while not good, you can start all over again. Anyway we want to start with some tests with Annette this afternoon and running through Saturday afternoon. This afternoon we will give you academic tests. Tomorrow through Saturday will be powers tests.”

Annette groaned and frowned at hearing this, “Why so many tests Ms. Carson, Did GCCA mess something up?”

“Of course not Annette, I am sure the GCCA did a fine job of testing. We at Whateley like to do our own tests and I am proud to say we are by far the best at testing the abilities of our mutant students.”

“From the information we glean we will come up with Annette’s courses and schedule. Students start coming back on Sunday and school here starts Tuesday. The campus is all but deserted right now, but there are a few students and staff here already. I have a student coming in a couple of minutes to give you, ‘the nickel tour’ Annette, while your mom and aunt hammer out the rest of the details.” Mrs Carson said winking at Inga.

“About the details, how are most of the teachers and staff going to know me?”

“A couple of your teachers should have no problems; they are a lot like Gina and immune to your autonomic selective memory blanking defense or ASMBD. We may need to change that definition to get you a better acronym.” Annette giggled at Ms Carson’s joke.” Good, you were too tense, child. Whateley can be intimidating at first, it need not be. You have a wonderful smile when you laugh, you need to do that more. For those that are susceptible to your power we have started a hard copy system we think should allow you to take classes and get credit. That will be explained to you later.”

“We are staying in Berlin till Monday. We want to take Annette home with us and we will drop her off on Sunday night,” Julia said.

“That is perfectly alright.”

“Can I go with my sister?” Tammy asked.

“I have no problem with that,” Mrs. Carson said.

A knock at the door announced an arrival. Mrs. Carson said, “Enter.”

A girl who looked to be ten or twelve entered and said, “Am I late, Mrs. Carson?”

“No, Jade, you are just in time. Jade Sinclair, this is Annette Swenson and her sister Tammy. Annette will be joining us this semester. After your tour, please take her to the Crystal Hall cafeteria, she needs to be ready to begin academic testing at one.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Jade, Annette and Tammy left Mrs. Carson’s office. Jade chatted with the two girls as they toured the academic areas, showed them where security was and a place she called the “Hall of Heroes”. She showed them the tunnels that connected the facilities and walked them by the various dorms.

“Your dorm will be Poe, which just happens to be my dorm.” Jade said, as she pointed to a bust of Edgar Allen Poe. “People have tried to steal that bust, but they didn’t count on us resisting them.”

Just inside the dorm door they ran into Ms. Horton, “Annette, this is Ms. Horton, she is the dorm mother for Poe Cottage. Ms. Horton, this is our new student Annette Swenson and her sister Tammy.”

“Hello, Ms. Horton, it’s so nice to meet you.

“It’s so nice to meet you too,” Ms. Horton said, smiled and went over the dorm rules with her. She said, “Annette, the dorm is currently full, last semester we actually had to put someone in the third-floor linen closet, but they built a room up in the storage area of the attic for you. Don’t worry; you actually have more room than most of the freshman rooms here, though you will have to use the freshman bathroom on the second floor.”

She led the group of girls up to the room slated to be Annette’s, pointing out the restroom and showers on the second floor. Annette’s room was above the fourth floor. It was rather bare, and smaller than her room back in Texas, but Annette could see that it was serviceable. It was nice and toasty without being too hot.

“Are you staying tonight, Annette?”

“No Ma’am, I am going to be staying with my Mom, Aunt and sister in Berlin till Sunday. I will be bringing a lot of my stuff over during the week.”

“That is fine, we will do a bit more to make this room livable in the meantime. I can’t guarantee you won’t have a roommate. We are always getting new students at odd times, if you know what I mean.”

“I think I understand. This will be all new to me. It is the first time that I have been separated from my family, but I am going to try to make the most of it.”

Lunch time came around and Jade led them to Crystal Hall.

“The food is pretty good compared to some schools I have seen and there is plenty of it,” Jade said.

“That is good. Let me ask you a question, we been separated a couple of times and considering my powers, how have you been able to keep up with who I am?”

“Oh that was easy, it deals with my powers.”

“Are you a psychic?”

“That isn’t how I have kept up with you. I have the… ah… spirits of my sisters… so to speak and they don’t seem to be affected by you.”

“Spirits as in Ghosts?”

“Close enough for government work. Oh another thing I would like to explain about our dorm, before we get around other people. All the students at Poe are a little different. Some are gay, others are lesbian and some are ah… different.”

“You mean boys that are now girls and vice versa?”

“Exactly. That is our secret; please don’t let that slip out to the other students. Many of us have enough problems without being picked on for more things.”

“I know, I use to be a guy.”

“Me, too. Don’t be asking about it, though. The kids may tell you when they get to know you.”

“If they get to know me.”

“Oh yeah, right.”

“Well this is the chow hall, let’s eat.”

Annette and Tammy found their Mom and Aunt already there. They followed Jade through the short lines.

“Oh one other thing about the chow hall, be careful where you sit. The students are pretty territorial around here,” Jade said pointing to a couple of neutral areas.

Annette felt that there was a lot that Jade wasn’t saying because of Tammy. She figured that she would learn a lot more starting Monday.

“Avoid certain areas too,” she said pointing out where groups like the Alphas sat. “It is ok today nobody is here hardly. Oh, just a word of warning, don’t let appearances fool you. There are a whole lot of students that have the exemplar trait. They look good and can be quite charismatic. Just because they look good and feel good, it doesn’t mean they are good. And just because they might look like a monster or demon doesn’t mean they are *EVIL*.”
“The Bible says that Lucifer can appear as an angel of light, so I guess that makes sense,” Annette said.

At their table, Annette told her mom all about what they did and saw. She left out certain topics, because she didn’t want to worry her Mom and Aunt.

They finished eating and Annette was taking to where her testing was to take place. Despite the boost to her IQ, the tests that they gave her had been hard. She knew nothing about Theoretical Geometry, Quantum Mechanics and only a little about Relativity, but seeing a section on Alchemy really threw her. She had thought that all that was hogwash or was it Hogwarts.

Annette was mentally exhausted when she finally finished the last test. She was amazed at how fast it had gone. What she knew she was able to recall fast and zipped through the tests. The tests she took were on a computer. She could see the grading she received as she finished each module. Figuring out what the grading meant puzzled her. She blessed the powers that be; her speed reading and recall were really great. Annette thought, ‘If the tests are this hard, then maybe they are really smart enough here to help me.’

Annette was glad to see her family drive up to pick her up. They drove into Dunwich and stopped to get something to eat. Annette had to tell them about all how thorough all the tests were.

“Tammy has to go to her school after we drop you off tomorrow, Annette, for her to register and be tested. So if I am not here to pick you up, Aunt Inga will be. Also I am going to start house hunting in Concord tomorrow. Do you have any special requests for a house?”

“I would like to have an area that I could work in. I think I am going to start learning how to make jewelry.”

That raised a few eyebrows around the table.

“I think that would be a very good idea,” Inga interjected. “It is always fun to have a hobby that can become a well paid job.

“I guess we can work that one out,” Julia said.

**************

Over the next four days Annette registered her codename, Fadeaway, and was tested in every manner conceivable, Physical, Mental, Sensory, Extra sensory and Powers. The tests were more extensive than she had at the GCCA HQ. Everyday she was glad to be joining her family. The tests were mentally exhausting more than anything else, except when she was taken to Hawthorne to meet Lou. Lou was something else. He called himself Fubar. Annette felt something strange when she first saw the man.

“This isn’t you is it?”

“No it isn’t, I suffer from a GSD that leaves most people feeling disgusted. This body you see is just a mental construct.”

“Can I see you?”

“Maybe in the future, but we need to get to work on you.”

Fubar spent the better part of two hours getting Annette used to controlling her mental state. With his assistance she got where she could stop her broadcasting to where she could keep her mind under a virtual Master Lock. He then began to assess just what her mental powers were.

Annette met with Fubar everyday for an hour. She came out of her meetings feeling better about herself. On Saturday Fubar let her come through the door to see him. She steeled herself for the worst and was in control enough not to be disgusted or revolted. She couldn’t feel anything but gratitude for what he was doing for her.

Another of her memorable contacts here at Whateley came when she met Sensei Ito. He had brought another of his students with him. He introduced himself as Stark Raven Vlad. He looked to be a cross between Jackie Chan and Marilyn Manson. He wore a black karategi and a brown belt. He had white makeup and red lips like Annette had seen in a Kabuki theater play her school had gone to see. Sensei Ito asked Annette not to use any of her powers to avoid being hit, just what she could do physically.

Vlad, as good as he seemed, and he was good, couldn’t lay a hand on Annette, but then neither was she able to make an offensive attack on him. She was able to dodge, avoid and move out of the students attack. The poor boy was showing clear signs of frustration, as his attacks became more furious and at the same time sloppy.

Sensei Ito sensibly called a halt and then took the students place. Annette knew she was in trouble when she couldn’t sense what she usually sensed. She didn’t know where to go to avoid him. The only things that kept her from getting hurt were her excellent reactions and that she felt Sensei Ito wasn’t going a hundred percent with her. She thought he wasn’t even going fifty percent. Annette found herself hit, thrown and restrained. At least she was able to quickly recover when she went down.

Inwardly Sensei Ito was impressed by her reactions and her spirit, she never gave up, she just worked harder.

“What was different from my student and myself?” Sensei Ito asked.

“Against Vlad, I could sense where not to be and I had the ability to avoid harm. Against you, I don’t know, you were like a black hole to me. I couldn’t sense from where the attack was coming from or where to go to get out of the way, Sensei.”

“Despite your miserable efforts, Fadeaway, you may be trainable. I am putting you in my baseline Basic Martial Arts class.”

The testers tried every way to get her to fade away; the only way she did it was under threat of harm, which the testers happily supplied at least until tazer darts passed through where she was into another tester. They determined that she had a minor warping ability. One tech told her, that according to their instruments she was 99 and 44/100ths (yes he was a geek who watched too many shows about old commercials) percent on another plain when she faded away, leaving only her mentality, a semi-transparent, permeable form of herself and a link to her physical self. It wasn’t astral projection with its silver thread and it wasn’t like shadow power. She couldn’t control how long she was faded either. She stayed faded from twenty seconds to ten minutes. In her faded form she couldn’t go through walls and wasn’t affected by wind. She could blend into shadows and become virtually invisible and gave off no IR (infra-red) signature in her faded form.

In the physical training room they found that Annette scored about ten percent higher than in her initial tests back at GCCA, still she was far from super. Though not blessed with exceptional speed or strength, she did have an exceptional resistance to fatigue. Blood tests taken before and after exertion showed abnormally low Lactose Acid levels from what was expected. She didn’t show the normal oxygen debt, but did show lower glycogen levels than expected.

Although Annette held back on some tests, so she wouldn’t score too highly, the testers’ instruments sometimes picked up synaptic response to some tests. They just scored her for what they could prove though.

The testers tried several tests for clairvoyance and psychometry, they suspected a strong tie to her finder ability, the results were ambiguous, but hopeful. She couldn’t quite profile a killer known by the testers when handed an object that was tied to a known victim. She got bits and pieces of the crime and the bad guy but nothing definitive, not quite enough to specifically identify the killer.

They also tried remote vision tests on her, her finder ability allowed her to know where the test subjects were, she could pin point them on a map or go to them on Google Earth, but as to what they were seeing the results were somewhat dismal. In other words if they were in a building she could point out the building, floor and room much like a GPS locator, but she couldn’t identify features, people or security inside the building that were visible to the subject.

Again the telepathic tests had some unusual negative results. The tests revealed a less than chance results. On a multiple choice test, a complete idiot is likely to achieve between twenty five to thirty five percent correct answers depending on the number of available choices. Her scores were well below normal probability. She showed no TK, mind control, or mental projection abilities. The testers didn’t know if she was playing with them and had telepathic abilities or that she had antitelephatic power, with the results being so spectacularly negegative. Of magic the tests showed that she couldn’t use it, but she seemed to have an ability to detect when it was used in her vicinity.

Annette was glad when Saturday was over. She couldn’t remember all the tests she was given. A lot of the time she knew that what was being tested wasn’t what she was told was being tested.

**************

Annette and Tammy were taken for some last minute shopping to make her dorm life more bearable. They bought their linens, towels, toiletries and a lot of other miscellanea students need. Julia and Inga made sure that that the kids had everything they needed and then some. Inga got everyone cell phones with the family locator capabilities, webcams for their computers so they could meet up on the net and see each online.

After the shopping trip they went to eat, before heading back to the motel. They got all their stuff that they would take to school sorted out and then it was bedtime.

Tammy was clinging on Annette as they lay there they talked.

“I am so going to miss being with you Sis. We have never been apart like we are going to be,” Tammy said.

“I know, I will miss you too, but I think this will be good for both of us. You are so independent you will do alright.”

“I just seemed like that, when you were my brother, I knew that if I got into something too deep that you would be there for me.”

“Well you are a strong girl, Tammy. I know that you will do all right. I just don’t know about what it is going to be like for me. This is all so strange still to me.”

“Well we can call each other on our cell phones, and we can get together, see each other and talk on the internet.”

“Yeah let’s do that.”

That night the two girls slept in each others arms.

(to be continued)