This is a sandbox I've wanted to play in for quite awhile...but never has a story burned me so badly before; So, without further ado, my first story post anywhere.
Please be gentle, and forgive me if I screw something up somehow.
Anyway prologue first, and we will see how any reviews, formatting, or toe stepping goes.

 

Genetics has always been as much art as science, ask anyone. From the moment those special proteins gravitate

towards themselves, following a special recipe no mortalcan as yet, read, any organism subject to the vagaries of

such fate mutate. The truth is, not a single creature, plant, or even, yes, human...is the same as any other. Nor

are they the same as any other throughout all of history. There is always SOMETHING different from another;

perhaps a peptide regarding proper growth in regard to eyerods is stunted due to a minor mutation caused by

background radiation; resulting in an eye that might be a slightly different color than it would have been, and

slightly less useful nightvision than another person in the same family. Or an Rna sequence could be blanked in a

chromosome, causing the aspartate to be manufactured to a greateror lesser degree in the brain, and therefore

providing a case for how two different people in the same environment since birth, think differently in the first

place. Ack, I have a tendancy to ramble now; I'll try to watch that, sorry. My point was, genetics in particular

and science in general make no distinction; we are all mutants. Great (like that champion fellow perhaps, or that

guy that breathes fire in new york) or small (like you, having 'striking' eyes) the universe makes no

distinction, nor value judgements; despite this, the universe is a cold and dangerous place, in which certain

individuals have more of an edge in survival over those generally considered 'normal'. In the interest of

history, and with all due mental faculties bent toward impartiality, I will attempt to chronicle such general

mutations as I have encountered, and my own in particular; the purpose of the tale to point out all the

inconsistencies and fallacies inherent in the human condition, and to endeavor all mutants (for I reiterate, we

are ALL mutants) to understand that we are all one people, with the same emotional basis and thought template as

any other on this planet, and perhaps others.

OK, here we are again; except this time, I get to declaim!This is fiction, any similarities to any persons, places, thoughts, craziness or any other such things are purely coincidental; once again thanks to Erin for the remarkable restraint in putting up with what amounts to a crazy drunk banging on your front door, spouting half understood gibberish.

Beginnings are tricky things...even now, I can't be sure when it began. I know when I first noticed it of course, but when it first began? What if it was percolating days or weeks before? What if, the first sign I noticed was merely the end of the cascade of changes that began innocently and painlessly days, weeks or months before? Could better detection change the outcomes of myself and so many others with the same problems? Bah! Again my attention wanders, and the focus of thought is diffused into another of many prisms, to scatter like light through many colors and variations. I REALLY have to watch that.

At any rate, the beginning I noticed was a simple stumble, hardly a big indicator of what was on the way. Just a simple stumble while running during a baseball game, after I hit easy triple into left field. Not even enough to send me into the dirt, just enough to slow me a little and cause one of those 'what the hell?' moments, as it seemed as if I'd tripped on nothing at all. Not that I let it stop me of course. Sliding into home plate just to add a little insult to injury, I accepted all the high fives and fist bumps.
"Well done Myrc. We're in the playoffs now for sure!"

Yes, of course that's me, Myrcial; 5 ft 7 inches, 135 lbs of lanky muscular scot/irish american freight train, rolling over any and all competition. The name means mercy, and it's ironic, because I have absolutely none when someone tries to make fun of it. Being a 14 year old sports prodigy isn't always fun; I quickly check my phone and review my list of mental curses.
"Coach, can I miss the after game huddle? I'll be late if I don't hurry." Coach Reynolds, of course, grins, the sadist.
"Sure thing Myrc; tell Coach Howard hi from me." With a wave I start my hike from the baseball diamond to the gym; since my freshman year started, I was enrolled in both the
Paris public schools'(Go fighting weasels! Why weasels? no one knows.) baseball and basketball teams. In the matter of two short months, we'd gone from last in our division to
near the top, and most of it, I'm proud to say, was due to me. However, it was a lot of work and practices. Today it meant another hour on the court before I could do all the homework I needed to get out of the way.

Now as any athlete, good or not, can tell you; that much constant practice and work gives you a wonderful idea on how your body works. How fast you can move, how high you
can jump, how long you can run before shambling to a halt, gasping for air...all these are things an athlete, a true athlete, know. (For more on what is or isn't a true athlete, see bowling.) My work, my labor of love, was enough to tell me right away that I had a slight problem. A difference in how I walked, that hadn't been there as early as a half hour prior. There was no pain, no injury that I could tell, and yet, an ever so slight limp, a slight roll starting in my right hip. Perhaps not even enough to be noticeable...
and yet I noticed. With luck no one else would, I didn't need to be benched; I felt fine.
"Time for the second round already Myrc?"

My thoughts were interrupted by none other than Pamela Dale, about 5 foot 6 inches of sandy blonde blue eyed soft faced beauty with a come hither bed room voice, not that I noticed, no sir.She was also what passes for our head cheerleader. Of course she was practicing her tumbling in the grass, as always; she was as driven in her way, as I was in mine.
"Yep, and how are you on this fine day Pam?" I asked as I blew past her.
"Pretty good, the fall breeze is always amazing, until of course a sweaty jock comes near."
I laughed as I went in, shaking my head. guilty as charged of course. It was still too hot to do anything but sweat outside. Oh well, it'd cool off soon. Into the empty locker
room I went, taking a quick look in the mirror to see the flushed, not quite handsome, but far from horrid brown haired badass in the mirror. Sharp features, slightly hooked
nose (I broke it in a fight, and it never did heal right) light brown hair covering my overlarge ears (my worst feature).
Bout of vanity later, I was dressed in my basketball uniform of shorts and jersey, and baseball uniform stuffed into my book bag, dirtying my books where it belonged.
"Hey Coach H. So what'd I miss? Coach R sends his regards."
The ever portly ever grinning man turned to me and let loose on of his trademark laughs.
"Not much Myrc, just some shot practice. That will be most of our time, Shots and passes. Some people here need all the help they can get!" He winked at me.
"Yep that's me, my nickname should be slacker." I winked back.
Wasting no more time, I got to it. While I could pass and run with the best of them, I immediately noticed a drop to my shot...my arc was off by perhaps an inch. Not enough
to miss a ton, but enough to throw the shot off. I just as easily traced the problem back to my hip, messing with my jump. Luckily enough my favorite coach didn't seem to
notice, spending the time correcting the shooting of those less fortunate than me. A ball hurtled into my view from my left, one which I caught at the last second.
"Think fast!"
Ricky Tanner, arrogant jock cliche number one, (about my size, also brown haired, more muscular, and a bit better looking than myself) and also a good friend...when he's not
winging basketballs at my face, that is.
"You OK Myrc? you're zoning out."
"Yeah I'm fine, just have some heavy thoughts...like how you can't play baseball."
"Pfft, baseball is for losers anyway; basketball is where it's at. Now shoot that rock or admit I'm better."
"that'll be the day." I laughed as I sank an easy three pointer.

As all good things, practice came to an end. After a quick shower, with the usual jokes, innuendo, and towel snapping, it was homeward bound for me. The day was late, the sky clear with few of those white puffy clouds in it, the sun was shining, the day was almost perfect. If not for the fact that I couldn't seem to walk quite straight, I'd be enjoying myself immensely. But there it was, like a piece of broccoli in your teeth, or a pebble in your shoe. Sigh.

I crept through the door like a ninja, in a game as old as time. I made my way to the kitchen. And there she was, 5 ft 4 inches of classical aged beauty, Irish spitfire edition, eyes of jade, long hair the color of a moonless night, putting the finishing touches on a dinner of steak and potatoes, a Paige in the form of my 5 ft tall (don't tell me he wont be huge) 12 year old brother, cut from the same mold as myself (without the broken nose) and currently mashing said potatoes for easy consumption.
"Blargh!" I yelled, completing the game by making both my mother and brother jump a good foot in the air and scream in a most satisfying manner.
"evening mom, dinner smells great."
"Myrc, i swear...wipe that stupid grin off your face before I say something we'll both regret. How was the game and practice?"
Accepting the punch in the arm from my silent brother with another grin, I replied: "Oh, hit the game winning triple, qualifying us for the finals, and practice went well, Coach H didn't find anything to 'correct' (read yell loudly) me on."
"Good, good. How about that math test?" She half listened, spacing out. Sometimes I wish she'd care as much about my sports as my schoolwork. Maybe if I didn't suck so bad at
it? Who knows?
"Well, I got a C." I replied, hoping she wouldn't ask to see it, as I'd really gotten a C - ... not a lie, but not the whole truth either; both my parents would roast me alive
if I lied to them. Thankfully, even though she looked at me cross-eyed for a minute, she didn't.
"O.K, schoolwork then mister, I'll call you for dinner. And Myrcial; no need to rush...take it slow and steady."
"O.k. mom, slow and steady." I replied, heading up to my sanctuary from the world. Once there I of course, rolled my eyes and sat my books down next to the desk. I turned my
computer on with my foot before i even sat down, waiting for the best program ever invented to load...Itunes. Many people were put off by one fact about me, not believing a jock such as myself could love music the way I did. Music, any form, as long as it was original (none of that stupid pop or repetitive chest thumping rap crap), from classic to big band to death metal, I loved it all. Currently however, I was in the mood for some Cherry Popping Daddies, so I wasted no time bringing up that playlist. Yay, math
time. Finally wondrous wondrous math time. polynomials and basic algebra for the loss.

"Myrc, dinner time!" The call knocked me out of my daze. Those stupid number letter combinations were making my head swim; I mean seriously, who gives a crap what X was? It
was an X! Not a 4!...hey wait a min, was it 4? Nah couldn't be. I didn't even hear dad get home. Stupid homework.
"Coming mom!"
dinner was excellent of course, talk was sparse (my parents did not believe in small talk at the table until after eating) and knowing looks were exchanged with disgusting regularity. Finally done and fed up with it all, I responded.
"The game went well, practice was fine, and math still sucks."
My dad, laid back as ever, raised an eyebrow and said nothing; then when mom was turned away watching Ian stick his tongue out at me, he winked. In return i gave a quick grin.
We had done this dance before, my dad and I.
"Want me to help clean up mom?"
"No, you go back to your schoolwork, Ian will help me clean up."
"Lame ass jock! Always let off the hook cause hes stupid!"
"Ian Micheal Campbell! Language!"
"It's OK mom, you can' expect too much of the geek, hes full of the dork side, twisted and nerdy." If death glares were actually lethal I'd be dead twice over. I love my family!

Taking that as my cue, I headed back upstairs for another round, this time it was black sabbath and English, both slightly kinder subjects than math. Oddly enough, the paper I had to write on Macbeth was half done, and Macbeth himself was giving up his secrets a little easier tonight when it happened. Several drops of blood fell from my nose to the textbook I was using. Cursing and grabbing a tissue from my desk, I blotted it, then moved to my nose as a small stream of blood poured from both nostrils...what the hell?
The headache and fatigue hit suddenly, like a hammer between the eyes. I looked at the clock; just after 9pm. A bit of an early bedtime, but I was definitely done for the
night. I even half considered calling for mom or dad, after all, I'd had headaches before, but this was the first time I'd had both a headache and nosebleed. I wonder if my not healed right nose was acting up again, as it occasionally did. Bah, whatever, if it persists ill tell the 'rents, but no need to worry them over something minor just yet.
That thought was the last I had as my head hit the pillow.

And here we are, a bit later than I'd like. Now, in this episode, we answer the question: Do you even lift, bro?

Standard disclaimer rules apply. I don't really know you, nor do I know anyone you might know...so any similarity to such persons, alive or dead, fictional or not, are purely coincidental.

Thank you for all the feedback, I love you all, in a totally platonic way.

"To sleep, perchance to dream" Shakespeare states, in some play or another. And boy, did I dream. Unusually vivid, vaguely terrifying dreams with subjects I've never before considered, such as planets and wormholes and diffuse temporal gravities; I didn't even know what that last bit was! Yet somehow in the dream I did, and knew it to be dangerous. In my dreams I wore glasses, and droned on about such dry subjects to those people present, none of whom I recognized, while in the background a barycentric dual star wobbled its way on an eternal trek to who knew where.

Of course the sight was breathtaking, even as my droning was causing a certain amount of glassy eyed yawnitis among those present. Even knowing it was a dream, my breath was taken away momentarily as the 2 dwarfs started inhaling each other in a cannibalistic frenzy; large streamers of gases spewing from their paths like multi-hued confetti as the stars themselves inverted. The sight was almost enough to make me not notice that my voice had been different;and those I was lecturing to (another discrepency, as I don't really know enough about anything to lecture to anyone, excepting maybe baseball) towered over me like so many human giants.

But the weirdest part of the dream, was that I knew what would happen to the stars and the local galaxy...I knew it wasn't our galaxy, nor our stars, knew there was no life on any of the planets near, and knew what I was seeing; at the same time I knew I knew nothing of the temporal or quantum mechanics involved.
I had no idea what my dream was all about, it was way over my head.

At any rate, when my alarm went of promptly at 6:45am, I awakened feeling refreshed and happy; weird dream or no. I still had a bit of homework to do, but not much, and the headache was nothing but a memory. There was no blood on my pillow, so my nose hadn't bled. The sun was shining through my window, I could smell pancakes and sausage downstairs, and all was right with the world. by 7 I was downstairs, showered dressed and with books open at the table, putting the finishing touches on my English paper.

Of course the way I was stuffing myself with sausages was frowned upon, but nothing was said. Ian sat beside me, a book no one forced him to read in one hand, speared pancake in the other, silently whiling away the time till he was forced to go to school, like myself. I swear, such a geek sometimes; I loved him, but between the computers and books, he was bully fodder. At least he wasn't small or weak, while he preferred not to, he could defend himself. I shook my head, I always liked a good fight. Oh well, I had his back, like always.

This time It was my turn to do the dishes, but breakfast is always easy enough. The worst is always my dad's plate...he had a tendency to use an entire bottle of syrup for his pancakes (yech!) and it always took a year to get the plate clean.

"So no practices today Myrc?"

"No dad, nothing but a little weight training, optional stuff. Can't practice too much or we'll all be sidelined."

I winced, that thought bringing up my balance issues from yesterday; Hope that crap was over with.

"Good point. So... eat enough? between you and Ian, I'm thinking I'll need a mortgage on the house to be able to pay for the food!"

I rolled my eyes, catching Ian doing the same. "Please, like we can keep up with you."

"Another good point.' mom chimed in, 'but heaven help us all, you might both be having growth spurts at the same time. Two Campbell men, hungry and growing, let loose upon the grocer community!"

I watched amused as my father tried to act like Godzilla, stomping around the house...he could almost pull it off.

"Later family, time for the mind numbing school experience."

I ran out before my dad could start in on the Rodan impression; parents are more than a bit embarrassing at times.

I ran into Ricky dribbling a basketball down the street while walking to school; we both live somewhat close to school, and each other (a good pick up game was only a street away!).

"Hey man! Take a break, and tell me what you did for English." I was hoping, just this once, to find company in misery; he was almost as bad as I was.

"Screw that dude, tell me if you managed to score that new Avenged Sevenfold album; that first release sounds amazing."

"Heh; it's not new, it's a year old, and that's the third release from the album. But yeah I haven't burned you a copy yet; I was too busy with the stupid Macbeth paper Mrs. Holmes wanted; I'll do it later today. But...I do come bearing rumors! that rumorhasit guy stated that Avenged Sevenfold is almost done with their self titled album, and that it will be glorious."

"Niiiice, will you get me that one too? You know you're more up on the music scene than I am."

"Yeah yeah, soon as it comes out, I'll get it, you know me. Can't wait around or it'll get moldy. So anyway, English...Macbeth? what was your paper on?"

"you're that curious?' Ricky responded with a laugh, 'I'll have you know my paper was on how smokin hot Lady Macbeth had to be to get the dude to keep killing everyone he cared about."

"You can't be serious; Mrs. Holmes is going to fail you if you keep doing stuff like that you know."

"Hey I'll have you know it was well thought out. And if you're going to be a critic, what was yours on?"

"Mine was on how his psychological demons and impatience led to not only a disaster, but the worst form of wish fulfillment Macbeth could ever get. How Macbeth couldn't stop his own descent into madness because he couldn't take a step back and recognize the form his insanity took."

"...whoa man, deep...you win, you'll get an A for sure this time!"

I blinked. yeah I would, wouldn't I?

The first class of the day was science, otherwise known as physics 101 and a good way to set the tone for the sleep fest that was next class, or algebra 101. I shared both classes with Ricky and a few others from the team I wasn't as close to; as well as Ricky's arch nemesis and resident school villain, Gordo. Now while I have no problem with Gordon Thompson, who was nicknamed 'flash' because of some obscure movie or other, from what I understand.

He was actually a tight end known for being a bulldozer on the field...and for hating my best buddy.
Nearly 200 lbs of corn fed blonde haired blue eyed Aryan poster child, running over all opposition. I was perfectly willing to live and let live myself, but due to Ricky's loathing of football players in general and Gordon in particular for some middle school slight that I chose not to remember, we got into the occasional fight or two. In fact, it was Gordo who broke my nose...twice. I did not hold this against him, but Ricky oddly enough, despite getting me into those fights in the first place, did. He had a long list of things tohate Gordo for...I saw it once.

"Hey fatass, move, you're hogging up all the air." Smooth, Ricky. I will state again for the record, there is absolutely no evidence of fat on Gordo.

"Gordon, how are you today?" Civility, to hopefully stop this from getting out of hand; almost no chance, with Ricky walking right up to Gordon (who was actually out of the
way, at the lab table near the wall) and trying to pick a fight. But stranger things have happened.

"Pretty good Pansy, want to get dicky out of here before I destroy him?" Well, there went that plan. Almost guaranteed to have fireworks later in the day now.

"Just leaving, Gordo, need to inform the zoo about the escaped gorilla that made it's way to science class. Later."

Once we were out of range, I let Ricky (who was, oddly enough, my lab partner...go figure)have it: "What the hell, man, cant you put that feud on a slow boil or something? Now hes going to make trouble for us by the end of the day, you know it."

"bah, let him try, I'll kick his ass."

"Except last time he almost had you dead till I helped...and it took us both to put him down,"

"Then it's a good thing there are two of us, huh?"

My grin matched his: "whatever...just don't see why you have to antagonize him so much; seriously, what did he do to you that was that bad?"

"You want to see the list again?"

"oh heck no."

"Mr Tanner, Mr Campbell, would you two like some alone time to discuss your issues? Like say, after class in detention?"

"No thank you sir, we're good."

"So I can start class now?"

"Sure thing, Sir."

"Thank you. So today class, it's time to start a week long project...I want kites made of homemade materials, no store bought items except the string, which I will provide. If it flies, you get an A; if not you fail. Time to learn about how birds, bats, and planes defy gravity, as stated on pages 111 through 154 in our texts."

After a hearty class of Reading and passing notes filled with jokes to each other, and of course as little real work as we could get away with, it was time for that boring hell known as math. It was located in the classroom just down the hall, which made it fairly convenient to get to, and if you planned right, you didn't even need to go to your locker after physics.

Luckily, my desk for this hell was clear in the back, where our beloved Mr. Mullins of the droning voice couldn't see me sleep unless he actually wanted to, which was a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, Ricky was halfway across the classroom, and Pam was a few chairs down. I was stuck next to a guy known as Rolph. Now Ralph was a good guy. He just happened to be a mutant. He was pretty obviously one, having orange dayglo hair and being just a bit stronger than us normal guys; but judging by the fact that he was still here and not out playing super hero or villain, or not taken by the gestapo loving mutant commission office (MCO for short), he was doubly out of luck; a mutant, but not one with powers, he got the best of mutant hatred and none of the benefits being a mutant could offer.

I knew him before the change, as we both grew up here, before and after. He was an OK guy, but a little bitter since his change, and I didn't blame him. I always made a point not to mention his hair (the reason for his new nickname) and call him by name. He had it bad enough as it was.

"hey Ralph, what'd you have down for question 6?"

"keep it down,' he said, eyes ahead on our tormentor. 'I had 4. Why?"

Sonofa...if Ralph said it, it was likely true. "It really was 4 then? weird. I got it right."

He glanced at me, then turned and looked, really looked. "Yeah,' he replied in a weird tone of voice ' you got it right."

That...was plain creepy. After giving him a return 'wth?' look, I started paying attention to Mr. Mullins droning while graphing some polynomials. X = 2, X = -3, etc, etc.
Boring.

"Dude, wake up. seriously."

"Huh? Oh, thanks Ralph. I owe you one." Again with that look of his.

"No problem man, just try not to fall asleep in class."

Oh well, off to the next trip into dreamland, Geography, where we learn of places that either won't exist in a week, or shouldn't exist at all. Wheeeeee. While dropping off my books, I took my usual furtive glance around the zoo/prison...nothing too dangerous in sight (like one blond gorilla). Lots of bright plumage and petting at this zoo. (Guys and gals going making out like weasels in heat..wonder if that's why we have our name?)Oh well, on to learning about France. I wonder if Mrs. Carson would just let me be 'sick'? I mean, it's France!

She didn't go for it.

fourth class, my favorite, though one I don't share with too many of my friends...gym. Coach Howard was in charge of my hour of gym, and he usually just let me shoot hoops-
which might explain why my shot percentage is as good as it is (57%) in our games. It's not practice...really! Just shooting.

"Hey Myrc, up for a game of horse? Coach already said OK."

"Sure Bernie, just let me warm up a bit."

Bernard 'monty' McGowan, my basketball teams power forward; I didn't hate him, but didn't exactly like him either, he was a bit of a general hating jerk; Muslims, Arabs, mutants, you name it, he hated. apparently not the Irish though. Too bad there were no rules about being a jerk on the team, but I'd been 'ordered' to get along with him, so I would.

Several games of horse later (what can I say? It was fun!) with my awesome self winning all but once, showers were hit. Ralph walked in to to change; being a mutant he wasn't allowed to compete in sports, so he usually just picked something solo to do; Coach let him get away with it. Today his choice was to run around the track, searching for the elusive 4 minute mile. A decision I can agree with, if I could have gotten away with it...it was a nice day. But, as always and with a saddening regularity (I swear you could set your Ipod by it!)
the words started.

"Hey rolph, quick put a bag over that hair, my breakfast is coming up!" Bernard shouted, shoving Ralph into a shower stall door. Ralph just looked at the stall, saw it was empty, and went in to shower.

"What the hell man...do that again, and we will have a nice long private discussion. Get me?"

He looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "You like that creep?"

"I like tolerance, and you staying on the team. Make no mistake, I won't start any fight. But I will end one, every single time."

I really hoped sometimes, that most teens weren't like I'd been seeing since starting high school; it was beginning to test my faith in human nature. Nothing but judgmental hypercritical crap, with round pegs getting hammered into square holes till they fit...I really hope that it gets better out of high school, at least. I'd already fought several rumors regarding myself, not the least of which was that supposedly I was gay. (I wasn't of course, just a closet romantic.) The best way to fight rumors of course, is to ignore them when able, and bury fools who tried to tease you over it, hence my 'end all fights' creed.

"OK man, relax.It's chill."

He turned to Ralph, uttered a completely insincere apology and walked out, shooting me a glance on his way out the door. I waited till he left, shot Ralph a victory sign as I walked by. He in return gave me that stare again. Creepy. Speaking of gay, maybe he was...meh whatever, no business of mine, after all he can look, but not touch. If anyone only Pamela or Chrissy get this sexy package! Well, maybe Monica...but first lunchtime! Feeding time at the zoo.

First time I've actually been hungry for cafeteria food. I swear, this strange stuff that i could swear was growing, or moving, or worse...never looked so good. So grabbing my share of it, I quickly settled to my usual table. I was last to join as always; Ricky, Bill, Rich...pretty much the entire basketball team was here, with the baseball team right next to our table, and cheerleaders and assorted other popular types on the other side. Yes, I was one of the 'in crowd', whatever that meant.

"So mystery meat that looks kind of like chicken nuggets, green crap that might be the so called 'vegetable medley' and mashed potatoes. 5 bucks says I don't barf it up."

"I'd take that bet, but I feel you're suckering me."

"Oh I am, Rich. Stomach of cast iron! I only fear corrosion."

"Corro-wha?"

"Corrosion! Otherwise known as rust."

"you can eat that crap man? I think it moved."

"Unless you want to trade your lunch of the inevitable pbj Ricky, yes, I do intend to eat this crap. Pretty hungry today."

"So how was gym? Still pissed we aren't together for that, I have to deal with some upper class-geeks and Gordo, and the only thing they ever want to do is play dodge ball."

"Heh. It was OK, till Monty stepped out of line, where is that...oh. he's hiding over there."

"What did he do now?" Bill chimed in. He fancied himself our on court team leader (which was ironic, cause no one really listened to him on the court, or at least I didn't).

"Oh was just harassing Ralph, which is stupid, cause Ralph is pretty tough. Pissing him off is like asking Gordo to a dance or three." Ricky glared at me a second, then grinned.

"And I bet you just had to step in, right?"

"Yeah you know me, always looking for a reason with some people." He snickered.

Turning, I addressed the baseball team. "So, first game of the rest of our winning season is tomorrow! You guys up for it?"

Amidst assorted cheers, I caught sight of Gordon, leading the football team like so many baby ducks to their table by the window. I waved, and he scowled. Damn, still angry about this morning I guess. Catching his eye again, I shrugged. Hurray for non verbal communication! He nodded, message received. Eating, I let the conversation flow around me, not taking part. I finished just as the bell sounded (did I mention how much I hate that noise yet? If not, consider it mentioned). Almost done with the day, only two more hours in hell, then a bit after in purgatory. And this hour, was the hour I do most of my homework, so I don't have to later. Study Hall, win win for me.

The zookeeper for our study hall was Mr. Mullins, of the droning voice and boring numbers. This situation did make it easier to get a hold of him for math help, but seeing as how he couldn't explain anything at all, it was a double edged sword at best. Besides, only the truly evil teachers assigned homework on Fridays anyway. So his was the text I opened, ready for more polynomial action to work it's sleeping magic.

Except something was wrong. Very wrong. Instead of seeing the numbers crawl across the page in their usual slow march...they danced. They danced, spun, skipped, cavorted, flying across the page with reckless abandon, whispering their universal constant secrets to me. There was something graceful and timeless in their movements as they interacted with each other. I shook my head, that couldn't be right! Numbers couldn't be cool, or make perfect sense, I couldn't have...finished reading the textbook, cover to cover?

I looked again in disbelief. In 40 minutes I had done my homework for algebra, then proceeded to read my textbook...all of it. Like a daydream, I had only the fuzziest memory of what it said...but I did remember it, might even remember it all. And there, between pages 64 and 71, were several drops, almost a small pool, of drying blood soaking into the pages. As if I hadn't even felt the nose bleed and simply read on in a haze. Which come to think of it, I had.

What. The. Hell.

I was losing my mind somehow.

The bell ringing broke me from some very unpleasant thoughts. Last class then out, Then I'd get some help for this, and hopefully not get committed for being crazy or something. Of course, I forgot my English text, then had to run to get it before the bell rang. As I was running, I noticed the limp I'd had the day before was more pronounced now, I almost swayed as I moved! Weird, and still no pain. Yet...another...something. I don't know, had a thought and lost it...hate when that happens. Oh well, at least I'm not late for English. And my paper might get an A! An almost unprecedented event.

It didn't take long for me to gain some notice from Mrs. Holmes; mainly due to the fact that I actually participated in class. Macbeth is actually a fascinating character once you think about it; such an honorable man led to an ignoble end from his own ambition, woven into a trap of evil of his own making. She seemed impressed. Told me I was wrong, but seemed impressed all the same. But like a dream almost, it ended, and it was time to collect Ricky and head to the weight room for some lifting.

Good jocks, regardless of the sport they play, always lift a little. It adds strength and stamina, and done right, won't decrease speed or agility. The key is to work the right muscle groups. for basketball and baseball both, I needed arm strength, which was why I was focusing on my arms and shoulders today, with Ricky as my spotter. Then we would trade off. A light workout, twice a week, once for arms and shoulders and second for legs, had done wonders for me since I started this last summer. So back into the gym clothes and away we went. Of course, the weight room at school was also the domain of the football team.

The trick to surviving in a zoo, or a prison for that matter, is simple; never smell of fear.

"So ready to help me break 120 today?"

"Sure,' Ricky replied. "You ready to help me break 140 today?" I rolled my eyes.

"If you do that, you're going to need a different spotter. Should I call for Gordon?"

That earned a punch in the arm, and rightly so. It started as soon as we walked past the gym into the weight room.

"So, you two decided to show up here, huh? Sure are brave."

"Gordon, please give it a rest; we aren't here for you."

"Yeah Gordo, just go away and play with your knee pads or something." Oh hell, tell me he did not just say that.Judging by Gordon's red face, he had. Well, here we go...

"Flash! get out here, Coach Reynolds says scrimmage in 10!"

"OK Coach H, just leaving."

I felt cheated. I mean sure, this is why we picked just after school to use the weight room, but we had a good fight brewing!

"You two going to be OK in here? need any help?"

"No sir, we got it, thanks."

"OK, yell if you need anything. And Ricky...you shouldn't bait the bear, son."

"Yes coach H, sorry coach H."

Coach Howard looked at us both before sighing and leaving the room. I kind of understood how he felt, but at the same time, that was a good fight we had brewing! Soon the happy thoughts of a good scrap were sidelined by something else though. As Ricky was setting up the CD player (inspirational music is a MUST)I set the weight and experimented.

"Ricky, double check this for me." He looked at me oddly.

"It's right man, 110. Having trouble?"

"Wipe that smirk off your face, just wasn't set right I guess. And yes, I know I'm supposed to wait for you; since when has that ever stopped me, wise guy?"

"It's OK man, you can cuss, it's just us here."

"You know I don't like to do that," I set myself correctly on the bench. 'Though I might have to...did Gordo mess with the weights?"

"Move, let me try."

He lifted it easily, no strain on his face at all. What the crap was going on? I've been able to lift 110 for months with no real problem; I thought i was ready to try 120
today.

"I don't know man, if anything it feels light. Seems fine. Try again?"

"Darn right I'm trying again, showoff!"

I once again positioned myself under the bar, make absolutely sure I was set correctly and...nothing. I couldn't even budge it.

"Okay, I'm confused."

"Hold on a sec man, let me try something; just walk over there a minute; no peeking."

"Whatever." I went where directed and once I was sure he wasn't looking, checked my arm; did my biceps seem smaller...?

"OK man, try this."

I went back to the bar, positioned, and tried. This time with effort I was able to get the weights off the bench and press them, with effort. It was pretty obvious what he'd done.

"How light did you make it?"

"70 pounds."

"70...!' I put the bar back, and began some of the best curses in Gaelic that I knew 'what the hell is going on here? i was at 110 just last week!"

"You feel OK man?"

"Yeah that's the odd thing, I feel fine. No pain, no feeling of something torn, not feeling sick."

"Well I think it's safe to say something is wrong, and you should see a doctor pronto."

"Yeah, safe to say I can't spot you anymore; I'll see if the 'rents can get me in to see Dr. Halleck."

"Sure you'd rather not just go to Logan? I mean Dr. Halleck is just a small town G.P. when you get down to it, used as a sports doc or no."

"Who would know more about some type of sports related injury? Dr. Halleck or some fresh college grad?"

"Good point, So you're sure it's sports related?"

"No, but what else could it be? if it was a disease pretty sure I wouldn't be suffering alone. Ah screw it, just wear the gym clothes home; they need washed anyway."

"Dang you're full of good ideas today, why waste the time, right?"

"Right."

We split up with one block to go, the friendly banter almost driving the whole weight problem from my mind. Almost.

"Hi mom!"

"Hi Myrc, how was school?"

"Good except I think I'm sick or something. I couldn't lift today for some reason."

"Pulled muscles?"

"Maybe, but I kinda doubt it, not feeling any pain."

"Hmm.' She turned from dinner (a rather tasty looking lasagna)to look at me. 'Dr. Halleck?"

"Yes please."

"Consider it done. Monday is likely the earliest He will be able to work you in; you feel well enough to play tomorrow?"

"Quit with the googly eyes mom, I feel fine! this is more to figure out if my arms are going to fall off or something. And unless that happens tomorrow, I'm playing."

She looked at me a bit oddly but relented; "As long as you don't strain yourself fine...but any hints of injury and I'm pulling the plug."

"Done. need help with dinner?"

"No, you need to do your schoolwork. Go."

Thus banished, I retreated to my room, and brought out my books. Hmm, that was odd, my math homework was finished. Must have done it in study hall. Score! Meant the only thing I had to do was read a chapter in geography, all weekend. Some people double check their work; they are called wusses. Hmm, if I do it now, I won't have to look at a book all weekend!

Dinner was a slightly strained affair, I'm guessing mom told dad that I might be sick, and dad didn't want to jinx it; he didn't say anything, but spent his time staring at
me. by the time dinner was over I'd had enough.

"I'm fine dad, really."

"Homework mister, and after that take it easy. Don't leave the house, and call if you need me."

"OK mom, sheesh...not a baby anymore.' She pointed. 'Yeah yeah, I'm going, I'm going. Guess Ian gets dinner dishes again."

He glared death at me; I'd no doubt interrupted his halo 2 time or whatever.

Once back in my room and relatively safe from death glares, I realized something; I'd read the entire Geography chapter already. Shrugging, I figured it was therefore time to follow mom's last order and "take it easy". Unused to having time on my hands, I decided to simply search the web, looking at stupid stuff like cat pictures or silly videos.

The first thing I hit upon was some YouTube video with some weird robot...

Here we are again. I disclaim of course, and I think you all for your patience.

Now in this installment, we answer those burning questions...about baseball.

This time, I woke to what appeared to be a darkened airplane hangar or warehouse, some large building that I couldn't see the walls of. Inhabited by many shadows, all with yellow hardhats on top of their silhouettes. Oh, I'm dreaming again. Off in distance, the shadows were constructing something; they looked to be taking large boxes from one tarped..building? It looked tall enough...and carrying the items to another cloaking thing and plugging them in or stacking them. I watched for a moment, amused. I have been having the weirdest dreams lately....

"Hey you! Yeah, you!" A female silhouette with a dark red hard hat walked up to me; I couldn't tell anything else other than her gender, and that she was about my size, just a bit smaller once she got close enough. She spoke in an over the top 'joisey' accent that couldn't be real, and wasn't, of course.

"You the boss?' She asked loudly, and I got the distinct impression of a gimlet stare. 'Yeah that's you, you're the client. Well come on, come on, I may got to give you the tour, but I don't got to take all day at it."

Still a bit bemused, I followed her as she led the way closer to tall shapes. She led the way to a table just in front of them, pointing to a set of architects' blueprints laying on a carpenters' table. Depicted on the blueprints were two forms, also silhouettes. One tall, one small with curves like my weird foreman..? Foreperson? Forething?

"So here we are, as you can see we've had to do some on site modifications to make our deadline and keep budget. All OSHA certified of course, completely safe! Absolutely. The power plant is in' She pointed to the smaller figures' head. 'and showing almost 40% capacity already. That's good. On the other hand, the bundles here aren't fully moved yet. We're a bit behind on those." She was pointing at the larger figures' arms and legs.

That got my attention.

"You have questions? One second; hey, you! dummy!' she pointed at on of the workers. 'Not that one, the other one! you don't pull the right one, he feels all the pain in the lower right quadrant! You want him sidelined for the big game?!?"

The worker, which somehow managed to look sheepish despite having no face, went back to pulling out a box to the right of the one he was pulling out before.

"don't worry, they aren't all as stupid as this mook; we have you covered. So, your questions?"

"What is going on here, exactly?"

She cocked her head. "Really? You don't know? Why renovations of course, got the plans from the chief architect itself! Got to follow them, bad things will happen if we don't. It's OK though, don't worry, it knows what it's doing...mostly."

"Why does this fail to reassure me? OK I'll bite, what does the finished product look like?"

"Ah, a great question; the answer is, no one knows, not even the chief architect. It won't look bad though, I've seen the plans!" She gestured to the table behind her. As soon as I was distracted looking that way she muttered something.

"What was that?"

"I said, that there might be a few minor performance glitches. You have good ears."

"What kind of performance issues?" She put her hands behind her back and whistled in a classic pose that spoke of a child getting her hand caught in a cookie jar.

"Don't worry, don't worry! Me and the boys already worked out a good fix for most of it, and OSHA certified, just like I promised! we're good like that, and after all, the power plant is nearing 40% capacity! That's really really good, it insures our fix will work Well...mostly. One second: You!, Yeah you, sweep this trash up! these bone fragments are everywhere, and a hazard! Someone could trip! OK, you were saying?"

"I think I need to talk to this chief architect of yours; know where 'it' is?"

"It's around; you sure you want to talk to it? it's a really unreasonable sort of thing."

"Yeah I'm sure; I'd rather avoid any performance issues if I could."

"OK, well don't say I didn't warn ya; just look behind you."

Like a moron, I looked, and there it was, the largest blue and pink Watson and Crick double helix ever. But alive, as if Godzilla were a living tentacled mass of D.N.A. And
on top of this squirming cyclopean mass...a huge maw with shard like teeth. My 'foreperson' and I shared a long look.

"What? I didn't make it that way."

Then of course it grabbed me and started to pull, hauling me towards it's stupid looking mouth. Panic only barely begins to describe what I felt that moment.

"Myrc, look at me! Focus!' All trace of her ridiculous accent was gone as I struggled, in it's place was a slightly harried but soothing tone one might use on colicky children.
'you can't stop it, neither of us can...but it doesn't have to be bad; I promise you, it can all work out! so just calm down, relax, and take each day as it comes, OK? Please?
Can you..."

Then the maw swallowed me whole, and I knew no more.

Till I woke up of course, an unreleased scream on my lips and the remains of panic in my heart. Glad I held it in; screaming at the top of my lungs would have been pretty embarrassing. It was...morning? The sunlight shining through my window certainly seemed to announce that with finality. Last I remember it was just after dinner, and I was messing around on my computer...but my computer was powered down and all my books were stowed. I was out of my gym clothes and in pajamas, and the only thin I remember about the intervening time was a strangely compelling dream which was even now fading. Something about New Jersey...heck no wonder it was a nightmare!

So, almost nine, the wonderful smell of homemade waffles in the air, and only a few wispy clouds on game day. Not bad at all. Unfortunately I ruined it by moving. My limp had settled itself, I noticed right away...by one hip deciding the other had the right idea; now both were acting the same, forcing me to swing my hips to walk at all. Moving to the bathroom was another mistake, as one look in the mirror convinced me my nose had shrank...but at least it no longer looked broken. Very straight, very small, with one of those little upturns at the end. Something else was wrong with my face, but I couldn't pin it down. At least I still looked mostly like myself. After a quick awkward shower where I stared anywhere but down at myself while I soaped up and rinsed off (and hoped this wouldn't become a trend) And I was out, where I noticed the third and fourth major
difference.

Toweling off actually hurt. And not a little hurt either, but a nice solid chafing that throbbed. Secondly my uniform, my beloved uniform, no longer fit. I could barely pull the pants over my apparently now huge butt, and the cuffs were now too long. The shirt mostly fit, but of course it itched terribly all over my torso, and the sleeves had too much length. Just perfect...I was losing size too, somehow, yet getting fatter? I stepped on mom's scale (a leftover from her diet days, when she had us loving kids and dieted to lose excess weight) and I weighed in at 120 pounds. Again...what the hell?

Even the faded dirt and grass stains were in the wrong places...let's see, about an inch here, and maybe 2 inches there, and the shirt seemed longer...Reviewing my cussing lessons in my head again, I decided that de nile was more than a river in Egypt, and if I didn't see it yet, no one else would. Perfect way to deal with the fact that I was becoming a large carnivorous DNA worm thing, at least for today.

Thus bolstered, I walked bold as brass downstairs.

"Morning mom!" Great, another shock, though this one was more mild and less mental health threatening; my voice, never the strongest under the best of circumstances, barely responded at all, as a rather wispy whisper. Odd, out of all the things happening today, my throat felt the least treacherous. Stupid body, turning into a mutant worm. Stupid me, for thinking up the mutant worm thing...where had that even come from?!?

"How are you honey? You OK, you look...different. And awful. I think a visit to the E.R. might be in your near future."

"honestly I feel fine. I think I know what's wrong with me, and I don't think it's anything that the E.R can help."

And just like that, she was in my face, concern etching her face, making her look much older suddenly.

"What do you think it is?"

"Are dad and Ian up? I don't want to have to say this twice. I don't think there is any cause for your alarm though; I don't think its any life threatening disease or anything."

"whats a disease?" Dad asked, walking in from the garage, Ian in tow.

"Oh,' I replied while snagging a plate and piling it full of waffles. 'I think I'm a mutant with G.S.D., and I'm busy changing at the moment."

"..."

Great, I had them speechless. then all at once, the dam broke.

"Cool! Can you do anything amazing yet?" Ian.

"Are you sure?" Mom.

"Well, you do look a mite..different. Dad.

"Different? he looks like he shrunk!" Thank you, Ian.

I held up a hand. "It's kind of easy to explain why I think I'm a mutant, but it all boils down to what Ian said; what other kind of body problem leads to a loss of height in just a few days? If you'll all look, its pretty obvious." And it was...to prove it, I moved next to my mother; we were staring each other in the eyes, something that was impossible less than a week before.

"Yes I see it now...and you look a mite more like your mom than you used to. And have a lot less of my own distinctive good looks."

"Are there midget mutants?"

"Get bent Ian. Seriously."

"So why do you think you have G.S.D.?"

"What is G.S.D.?"

"Gross structural deformity; a polite way of saying you now look like a freak of nature. And it's the only thing I can think of that explains massive body change; Most mutants
don't change much at all."

"Well to be fair, I don't think that structurally you have changed all that much; you could be done."

"Mom, I don't look that different to you? You think shrinking and getting fat are valid mutant powers? Are you smoking pot again?"

"You promised never to bring that up again. I'll forgive you this once, but another mention gets you grounded."

"Hmm, come to think of it, this might explain the mess in the garage. I thought Ian did it, making those derby cars of his."

"A mess in the garage? I don't think Ive been in there since last Monday, when I mowed. We got time, I want to see." I carried the plate out with me, chewing all the while,
almost daring mom to get mad...she gave me a look, but let it slide. At least, I thought she had.

"You said something about getting fat? Do you think you should be eating like that if you are?" she whispered, a fact which I was thankful for.

"I can't help it, I'm really hungry...and my waist shrank a bit I think, but check out my butt. It's huge...I really hope I'm not going to sprout a second set of legs or something."

She checked, and poked. Dad and Ian did not notice.

"Mom! What the hell!" I hissed.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about a second set of legs." she said, giving me another good once over. I was getting really sick of all those stares. But I knew they were likely just beginning. Sigh, Ralph, and me.

Then I caught sight of the garage.

"What hit this place?"

The entire space was filled with tools discarded haphazardly, little scraps of wood and metal (none bigger than a dime) and a workbench loaded with papers...schematics. It looked like dozens of them. I didn't want to admit it, in the face of my dads' displeasure, but at least a few of them looked slightly familiar. He looked at me and asked, though.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry sir, I think I might have...but I don't remember it."

"Well son, I'm not mad, yet, but I'd really like to know what required the motors out of half my power tools, a stack of my power tool batteries, and half the engine from my
project car...and where all the missing stuff is."

"...What?" I looked again...most of his Black and Decker power tools were in fact stripped, the lithium ion batteries missing...and my dads project car (an 1973 barracuda, black) looked like gremlins had torn apart the engine, throwing pieces as far as five feet away carelessly.

"I'm sorry sir,' I tried again...'but I really don't know what happened here, I can't remember. I'll try to fix or replace what I can, as soon as I can. I promise."

His gaze swept past me a second, then back and softened.

"OK son, I believe you. You will however, put everything back, and replace what you can, as you promised."

"My brother, the mutant mess maker" Ian snickered.

"Laugh it up, ass. I can still take you."

"Language Myrc; and Ian, be more considerate please. Your brother is going through a rough time."

"Yes mom." we chorused.

"Alright, you can go to this game, but afterwards you clean this up and take an inventory of what's missing to start. I'll call Dr. Halleck and see if we can get him to make a
house call."

"Thank you sir."

"Come on Myrc, I know a few tricks that will make your changes a bit less noticeable,"

I followed her out. "Is it really that noticeable?"

"To someone who doesn't know you? No...To someone like us or Ricky, or your class? I'd say absolutely. Don't worry about it, we can make you look enough like you for there to
be no problems; with a little work people will know something is different, but not what."

"Best I can hope for I guess. Mom you ever know any mutants?"

"No Myrc, I haven't; you'll be my first."

I looked into her sunny smile a minute before it hit...then I could feel myself grin back, just a little. She ruffled my hair, something she hadn't done for years; since she had
to reach up to do so. Then she stopped, almost forcing me to run into her.

"What? something else happen?"

"No, no, don't panic...nothing new is going on; just old habits coming to the fore."

"It's OK mom, felt kinda nice."

She shook her head, taking me into the master bedroom, otherwise known as 'where kids dare not tread'. I gave her a look as she plunked me down on her chair in front of her
vanity.

"No arguments, sit, and watch."

And under her gentle hands, now no smaller than my own somehow, my old face was reconstructed. She put the break back in my nose, and it looked a bit larger. She also did something that added volume to my chin, and something to my cheekbones. Through all of this, I watched, fighting a wave of the most intense boredom I'd ever known. It was like sitting in class, or playing a computer game times one hundred, and came on suddenly; one minute I was enjoying my mothers' company and love, the next I was fidgeting like
an ant on sun drenched concrete.

"Myrc."

"Sorry mom, you say something?"

"You zoned out for a bit there, something wrong?"

"No! No, just really, um...."

I looked down at my hand, realizing something was in it. Mom's blush. My other hand held her lipstick. I put them back so quickly they rolled all the way to the mirror.

"What were you going to do with those, hmm?"

"I, uhh, don't really know? I was thinking of extracting the talc to do something with it..."

"Myrc, do me a favor. Don't 'extract' my make up, OK? Some of it is specially made."

"OK mom, sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"It's OK honey, you didn't do anything wrong...yet. Just trying to make sure that you understand the action would be a bad one; you've already angered your father. You broke his third child!"

I laughed, then blinked. Honey? where had that come from? She always just called me by my name (well, nickname) before...

"Come on, time to go down and greet your public."

"Sure."

I let her take the lead, kind of nervous; I'd never worn make up of any kind before, I was half convinced I'd look stupid. I mean, what if someone noticed? Those fears were soon proved groundless, however.

"Whoa bro, looking ugly as always...can't tell a thing!"

I looked between Ian and my father, searching their eyes for any hint of deception. I saw none.

"It really looks fine? Like I'm normal?"

"You look like you, Myrciel...and no talk of not being normal. Mutants are fairly normal anymore, after all; remember that fracas over the summer?"

"Yeah I remember." It was true, in the days of my fathers' youth, mutants or super powered beings of any kind, really, were far less common than now. Not that they were common, but certainly more common and well known then the 'dark ages'. Perhaps even common enough for some acceptance.

Then I remembered Ralph. Here, yet not here, in a perpetual limbo. Distant, with only one person I knew that treated him with anything resembling respect or equanimity; myself. Well maybe his family too, I didn't know. Not all families were as understanding as mine was after all; even now I could read the concern in their postures, though nothing but love and support shone from their faces. That very moment I determined to find out more about Ralph's life; to see if he had the kind of help he needed, the kind I was sure I already had. Then I frowned again. They knew, like I did, that whether I was a mutant or had some horrid disease (or both, another possibility) that this would be my last game; I'd never be allowed to compete if I were a mutant. And if I had some weird disease we'd never heard of, well chances are I'd die from it.

There, I said it. Denial over, hopefully never to return. Focus on the positives, as my father would say. My family was also placing worry aside, in order to make this day special for me; who really could ask for more?

These thoughts loaded my mind as we wordlessly and without further ado piled into mom's car (she had the wonderful 2001 black dodge Durango, while dad was stuck with the white ford focus)and we drove the admittedly short distance to the baseball diamond behind our school. We arrived with a mere 10 minutes to get ready; apparently the make up took longer than I thought.

Looking around, it seemed that everyone was here; the entire school (most of which I recognized) some of the other schools' children, checking out the competition I'd guess. Parents and kids of all ages, walking, jumping, and running around with abandon, enjoying the balmy day and the prospect of a day spent not doing
anything in particular. None of them seemed to pay any special attention to me, for which I was grateful.

The true test however, was coming up.

"Hey Myrc, was beginning to worry!"

"Ha, sick but wouldn't miss this for the world Joey."

"Dang right you are man, can't hear you at all, what happened to your voice? laryngitis?" I nodded, not like it's a lie, for all I know it could be true!

I made it into the team huddle, and nodded to coach Reynolds. He took one look at me and asked immediately: "You OK son?"

"Hes sick with laryngitis." Joey answered for me helpfully. I nodded again, not wanting to talk more than I had to, to keep up the possible charade.

"You're here to play? You look a bit rough; your parents know?"

I pointed to them. They waved. I waved back.

"Good enough for me. Alright we won the toss, we're up first. lets do this, Myrc you lead off."

Shrugging, ruthlessly suppressing my stomach lepidoptera, I grabbed my bat and strode up to the plate, As soon as the game start was called I set myself (I'm a lefty) and tried to look crazy, to intimidate the pitcher. I don't think it worked well, judging by the fast ball that came in inches from my face. Reasonably fast, but I caught the motion; hmm, in between, 82 and 87 miles per hour, angled to make me start. Next likely pitch is a curve or a slider, angled low and possibly away from me to make me chase.
Wait, what? Never mind, focus! Hes pitching!

I watched it come in, reading the curvature by the arc of his arm. A fast slider, low and away as I thought. I stepped into it with a textbook swing, and hit it an inch from my bat tip; sending it out to mid right field. Unfortunately, it was only mid field. Even worse, While normally I could run moderately fast, today I felt much more slow. The end result of these two factors was I only barely succeeded in a single, not my usual double or triple from such a perfect shot. As I stopped, panting, from my sprint I saw coach Reynolds frowning. Hopefully he wasn't too mad.

Considering how good we were, it didn't take long till I was trotting home; I wasn't quite the best bat on our team, that honor went to Darrel white. I was simply very good. My strength was my field play; I was a pretty good shortstop. Well suffice to say, I may be looking like myself, but I definitely wasn't playing like myself. I had no problem at all in calculating angles, getting a perfect jump on the ball in batting as well as fielding. But physically I was always a step late and muscle short; my throws barely reached anywhere, with almost no velocity at all, and I could barely hit into the outfield.

The end result was I did manage to contribute to our win, but I had to pick my moments; I never did strike out, but was limited to base hits and sacrifice plays as opposed to home runs. My play as a shortstop left quite a bit to be desired, but I only really screwed up once, when I couldn't throw a ball to home plate, letting the other team score.

While we celebrated, I mourned. I had lost my physical prowess...maybe I was actually sick? My theory could be wrong after all, I only had anecdotal evidence.

"Myrc?"

Here it comes. "Yeah coach?"

"Don't beat yourself up, you played well. Honestly you did great. I've never seen you read the ball so well."

"Thanks coach."

Pretty sure he was just saying that to make me feel better...but it worked.

"Victory party at Pizza Cabin!"

I waved and pointed towards my parents, coach saw and nodded. My family closed ranks around me like a personal guard detail, dad to the left, mom to the right, Ian in the lead.

"You have an emergency appointment with Dr Halleck at Logan."

I nodded, after all that has happened, it was obvious no simple clinic visit was going to be enough. I was mildly curious as to why Dr Halleck was meeting us there, as he was
just a simple country quack, wasn't he? Oh well I'd find out soon enough.

Almost as soon as we had all piled in the car, I started feeling very sleepy. The car ride did it's magic, lulling me none too gently to sleep. If I dreamed, I don't
remember it.

I woke up from being jostled, finding myself being put one of those medical examination beds. The air around me reeking of disinfectants and the lights blinding, it took
me a minute to remember what was going on. Oh yeah, I was dying. Into the typical hospital room, single; bed and table, television in the corner.

"How are you Myrc?"

"Pretty crappy doc, how are you?"

"About the same, can't complain. So what symptoms are we looking at?" he and some other guy in a lab coat, were setting up some weird looking machines in a corner. I squinted,
only barely able to make them out, even though it was..well I couldn't tell, but 20 feet away at most. One was sized to fit a human inside though, like a
magnetic resonance imager.

"Well, I've either shrunk or am shrinking, loss of strength and speed, getting fat, and I apparently made car and tool parts disappear; And the newest one is I'm going blind. Who is your friend?"

"Oh that's X-ray. He's what is called a devisor, he makes medical scanners that can come in really handy, and he owed me a favor."

The guy came closer, close enough to see finally as he started pasting leads on my head, without a word. Tall, at least 6 ft 4 in, rather well built, lantern jaw, unshaven,
with green eyes and brown hair streaked with silver. He looked maybe 25. I didn't see a ring, I'm guessing he cleaned up at the bars. He had a sour look on his face, however.

"Not a people person, is he?"

"Not even a little bit, but that's fine, because his machines here are going to tell us what is happening and why, and in less than 30 minutes!"

"Only for most of it, the DNA scan might take longer."

"Why?"

He stopped a second and looked at me as Dr Halleck escorted my family from the room. They were about to start attaching leads in some very embarrassing places.

"what do you mean?"

"I mean, why does it take longer? Is it a processor issue? A database issue in matching the right sequences?" Rather reluctantly I pulled off my wonderfully dirty sweaty uniform.

"No, it's actually a combination of both. This scanner uses most of its' own processor power to run and record all the information, So it sends the data to my mainframe. My mainframe analyzes the results and sends it back. The long delay is mainly due to the information involved."

"So do you send the entire code there and back? That seems wasteful; why not just send the entire code there, and then send any rare differences back? seems that would save a lot of time."

"It probably would, if my database were large enough. I may miss some evidence otherwise."

"Good point. how big is your database?"

"As good as the human genome projects' plus my own. At the moment, a good 20,000 subjects. Not quite enough by my standards though hopefully yours will help."

"As long as you don't steal any DNA to make clones of later...I'm all for it. That was a joke by the way; no need to start frowning at me! Give me a break, I'm nervous."

"True, my apologies, though your joke was in poor taste. Into the machine please, and do not move. And no talking, that is movement."

I climbed in, then heard Dr. Hallecks' muffled voice.

"Cards?"

"Sure. Poker?"

"Sounds good, I'll deal first."

I hated them in that moment.

The machine whose clutches they had left me in had few tender mercies; I was poked, prodded, sampled (one time I'm sure my spine was tapped) and generally had every horrendously uncomfortable test I could have. The less said about it, the better. Really. What was really torturous was that I was still tired, and it kept
me up!

Then a small chime rang, like an oven timer. Darn it, I'm not fries! I am so going to....

"You awake yet? You can get out now."

Crawling out of the claustrophobic space I fixed him with my best glare: "You have REALLY got to work on your bedside manner. No help for a terminal patient? An oven timer? What the hell?"

I looked; my family was in the room, they were playing cards with Dr Halleck while X-ray was reading a pamphlet of some kind, not even paying any attention
to me at all. My family was tense, Dr Halleck looked like he had a new insect to play with, and I started to feel the pressure.

"...What?"

"Dude, you've been asleep for hours,' Ian informed me: 'We were beginning to think we'd have to rent a room from the doc."

"It's true Myrc, you were out for just over two hours; we had time to translate the gobbledegook X-rays machine spit out for us." DR Halleck added.

"And they told us already, honey." Mother looked concerned, father looked very uncomfortable. And there was that 'honey' again; though I didn't mind at the
moment.

"Let me guess: it's cancer...or an aneurysm."

X-ray snorted, still not looking up.

"You're not dying, though it's interesting what the multiphasic spectrometer came up with; for example, you've never had a prostate, and your appendix is functional. Though what it's doing..." he trailed off to incoherent mutters.

"You're bedside manner REALLY REALLY sucks. Do I need to resort to violence here?"

He looked at me deadpan and stated: "Congratulations, it's a girl."

I looked at him, then down at my body.

"You high? pretty sure I have what you have there, buddy. Though maybe mine's bigger..."

Then mother was there, gently forcing me into a chair.

"Myrc, don't be rude, even if the man's an ass.' she shot him a glare and continued, 'Hes telling the truth however, we've had a few people look at the readouts, even re-calibrated his machine. It always gives the same results. Genetically you're a girl."

I felt, on top of feeling like my world was tilting, a little weird. Possibilities and probabilities suddenly caught fire in my head, a type of haze or fever, and I had to ask. Both feelings seemed oddly incongruous, at odds with each other, yet harmonious, as if one brought the other.

"How is that even possible? Do you have anything concrete?"

X-ray handed me the pamphlet he had been studying...it was the results of the tests; my entire genetic code, summed up in a sort of cribs notes. I...understood that. I could read some of it at least, so I started to.

"You see there?' he pointed to highlighted portions, 'You entered puberty a bit late for males, nearly a year ago by best guess. The problem is your puberty was a bit different than normal. Tell me, have you heard of that old wives tale about all babies being born women?"

I nodded, still reading.

"Well it's false. Males and Females are genetically separate, assuming nothing is abnormal according to current human standards. For the record, abnormal includes RNA transcription errors and some of the older stable mutations such as different peptide combinations in the brain leading to different sexual tendencies and proclivities, etcetera, as well as hermaphrodites and such. Babies are normally androgynous at birth, and develop along gender roles at puberty. That is 'normal'. I could hear the quotes.

Well, in your case, the old wives tale holds true. You have two X chromosomes, perfectly represented..but one of your chromosomes had its' function partially turned off, leaving one line of your second X dormant. So while genetically female, you were biologically male for all intents and purposes. That all ended shortly after you hit puberty.

For some reason, when your body started producing Gonadotropin or GnRH to start producing body hair, it acted as a switch...your second X chromosome fully activated. So your puberty was obviously a bit different than that of a normal male. Instead of testosterone, your body started producing large amounts of estradiol;
this was further complicated by the fact that for you at least, most of your mutations are located in the same part of your genetic code...the part previously turned off. Once it became active, all the abnormal genes followed suit, and one of those mutations is a rather low level regeneration; I'd say according
to the current scale used, a 1 or a 2. Certainly no more than a 2."

However, that regeneration was enough. I could see it now...without regeneration, my somewhat anomalous physiology would go no further than say, hormone shots and some other medication, and nothing further. With it, however, my traitorous body looked at my genetic code and reproduced it faithfully, carrying
the new orders involving what my body and puberty should look like, according to the newly active genes; there was apparently a huge difference between the two.

"I see you understand. The truly fascinating thing is the loss of mass; your regeneration, from what I can determine, turned your entire bone structure into a cartilage similar to that if a sharks'...and is currently ferrying mass away from it, in order to comply with whatever your new height is supposed to be, for example. Its amazing. Never have I gotten such readings of what actually goes on inside a body as it mutates."

"so wait, my skeleton is shrinking of course...so are my tendons and ligaments? That would explain much of the loss of strength, as not only the simple machine numbers change but also the joint tension...."

I grabbed a piece of paper from him, one of his pens from his lab coat, and started scribbling the
required equations to figure out the difference. He blinked.

"And that all but clinches it. Dr. Halleck, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, I'm all but certain your child is a devisor of some kind. The changes are by no means complete, though they are proceeding exponentially now, and have been for at least a week. My best guess is Myrc will be ready for testing by the end of next week, and I'll schedule one if you're willing; I have a few contacts with the facilities."

My nose was bleeding again...irritably I wiped it away from my calculations and finished them.

"There. It doesn't completely cover the estimated strength loss though..."

"How do you feel, honey?"

"Oh, I'm fine mom, just ravenous and very fatigued.' I sighed. 'There is no way to reverse this. I can tell there isn't. I'll be a female within the week. If not for the stupid regeneration...ugh."

"It'll be OK honey, everything will work out."

"thank you for your time doctors, We'd like to take our children home now, unless there is anything else?"

"No, of course...let me give you my number, please call me if there is any help I can give; I have your number now, and will call you with the appointment details. One last word though; burnout. That is the name given to a condition where mutants, usually those whose powers are still emerging, strain themselves to violent and sometimes explosive results. Many cases heard in the news of mutants going on a rampage or exploding were actually burnout cases.

Now I saw no evidence of this, and regenerators don't often suffer this problem, as they are buffered somewhat by the ability. But it remains a condition
to be aware of."

He grabbed my shoulder, and looked at me, really looked at me for the first time.

"Don't overdo it, please."

"Yeah, uh..OK."

"See you next week." he waved.

Damn, he waited till the end of the visit to be human! What was with that? I did notice the walking on eggshell pronoun usage everyone was doing; he started it off, on purpose maybe?

I looked to my dad, who still looked decidedly uncomfortable. He was not alone in this, but he needed cheering up. I assessed the situation...and came to what I felt was the proper conclusion.

"Dad."

"Yes Myrc?"

"Food. Now. Right now, and in large amounts." I grinned."

He gave me a ghost of a grin back..but it was something.

"Sure thing Myrc...pizza, since you missed yours?"

"Perfect, dad."

As soon as he turned away I dragged mom aside.

"You should call X-ray back and get Ian tested as soon as dad is distracted." I whispered.

She paled, but nodded. Hey I didn't like the implications either, but it had a 50/50 chance of affecting Ian too; after all, that weird X chromosome had to come from one of them, right?

Oh well, too much heavy thought. Time to enjoy pizza, off color humor, and sleep. Too much of that heavy thought stuff would drive anyone insane.

Sorry I'm late, got bitten by a gaming bug.

So here we are again, standard disclaimers apply. In this episode, the plot thickens.

Going to bed as soon as I was stuffed with pizza was a must; I just couldn't shake the fatigue of my body, though my mind seemed wide awake. For some reason, numbers and computations kept running through my mind like demented zombie sheep, refusing to die. I'd never dreamed of numbers before, and I was pretty sure I didn't like it...but I was also sure I didn't hate it. I woke up with the clear impression that my mind was going, and a mild feeling of fatigue that was miles better than last night. This time of course, there was some blood on the pillow.

I just stared at that pillow for a bit when my situation hit me all at once, so I buried my face into it and screamed, and screamed, and screamed. Ahh,precious release. Just can't let anyone see me do that, bad things could happen.

Wiping tears from my eyes, I grabbed some random clothes (sweats, pretty sure they would stretch to fit if needed) and went to a long overdue shower appointment...and ran smack into Ian. At least I was still taller than he was; hopefully that would last.

"Dude, you stink. Go, shower is free."

I mumbled an apology, not trusting my voice; after all, it wasn't working too well yesterday. Sigh, some red bull or something. The daily disrobing of course, offered up its' plethora of daily alterations. My waist looked like I was a member of bulimics anonymous, my chest was beginning to get flabby, and my eyes...my once muddy eyes.

They were an arresting aqua color, and seemed to be faceted like gems. I knew right away they were dangerous. If I saw eyes like this on any girl before I would have been entranced; they seemed mesmerizing. As I started the shower I also tested my voice with a good old do rae me...like my eyes, it was amazing, a soprano of perfect pitch and tonal quality. Well for a girl anyway. So many people would gladly murder puppies for a voice like this, I was possibly in trouble.

Meh, worry later, sing now. It felt good! It felt like I was scratching an itch I barely knew existed. As a result, I took a bit longer in the shower than I wanted, Finally soaping up and rinsing off ever so gently, remembering yesterdays' pain. Far less so today, though my chest still hurt like hell. Drying my hair in front of the mirror I received my third and hopefully last shock of the day; my muddy hair showed hints of once again trying to match my eyes...the roots were showing a different color, and it looked like the same aqua color to me. Looks like I follow in Ralph's footsteps after all?

Once dressed in my old jogging sweats (I was swimming in them of course, had to roll up the sleeves and everything) I ran a brush through my hair twice and walked downstairs, on the prowl through the bush for food...or wallabys. Right now I'd take either one. Luckily enough, while there were no wallabys at the end of the trail, there was plenty of pop tarts on a plate, with juice next to them...and my name on a small note next to them.

"Hey Ian' I yelled; 'are the 'rents gone?"

"Yeah they went somewhere, wouldn't say where though; just that they would be back by dinner. So free house for us all Sunday! By the way;'he added coming into the kitchen, 'nice voice sis."

"You trying for a beat down?" he raised his hands.

"No! No, I mean it...I heard you in the shower too, and I mean it, your voice is really nice."

I was pretty sure the kitchen heated up; was the oven left on?

"Nice blush too!" he added before laughing and running off.

"Ian you bastard!"

Ugh, there was definitely something wrong with me, why would I blush like that at all? Sigh, oh well...pop tarts! Om nom nom...if there is a better food than the pop tart, I have yet to taste it.

"Dad wants the garage cleaned up after breakfast!" I heard yelled...could have been from anywhere; the squirt was definitely hiding.

Urk. My mess, I'd forgotten.

After about a dozen pop tarts (well...maybe 14, but who was counting? I most definitely was not.) I went into the garage to look again at the madness I had wrought. Metal scraps and crap everywhere, and a gutted car. It didn't look any better the second time. Wasting no more time, I put the gutted tools away and started sweeping up the floor, where all the scraps had curiously ended up...nothing on the workbench itself. I started making an inventory of what I'd need to fix the car. The car had as yet, never even turned over, but that wouldn't stop my dad from demanding full replacements. Distributor cap, spark plugs (only one missing, oddly enough) the fan, a few of the belts...ugh, I'm going to need to mow so many yards...

I sort of woke up to find the garage cleaned nearly spotless, I don't mean just my mess, but CLEAN...like the floor was polished and the car shammied and everything. And I was scribbling something...something that looked like a weird car engine, with a list of parts to the side. A..schematic? One with accurate dimensions, and proper mathematical formulae off to the side? From me?

No matter how many times I saw it, it still weirded me out. Maybe I'd get used to it later...

"You ok Myrc?"

I turned to see Ian had snuck up on me; he was watching me, leaning against the door.

"Yeah, sorry; I didn't do anything...crazy, did I?"

"Not at all, just cleaned like a demon possessed, then drew a bunch of crap; don't remember anything?"

"Vaguely, it started with thinking about the car repairs..."

"Meh, don't worry about that crap right now; come with me."

Curious I followed him; Ian never really wanted to hang with me before; something was up. He went to my room, there, next to my bed was his 17 inch computer monitor, the PlayStation 2 hooked in; snacks and drinks all around the 2 bean bag chairs thrown in front of it, and one of the few games I liked, Tekken 4, already rolling.

"Prepare to get pwned, noob!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, what brought this on?"

"Well you're still sick, and tired all the time, yes? So this here is your new hangout spot, and I am your host...we will now play games all day, drink copious amounts of sugary colas, and eat massive amounts of things that are bad for us. And I will teach you the ways of the gamer nerd. Unless you'd rather go outside in your current condition?"

Argh, he was right...normally I'd be outside on a day like this, playing a sport or riding my bike or something....cant really do any of that now. I didn't even have make up on to make me look less stupid!

"OK, I see your point, hand me that controller, and the left bean bag chair, and I'm in." What? the left one was the softer one, I liked it.

"All yours. Team battle for the win, random if you aren't a wuss."

"Done."

A bit over an hour? maybe two? (Time moves a bit differently when you game I find.) The doorbell rang. I paused the game.

"No way am I answering the door looking like this."

"Spoken like a true chick, sis." he replied as he ran out the door.

I fumed; that sonofa! How dare he! I bet if he shrank and looked like curdled death he wouldn't want to be seen either! Hmm.....my thoughts were sidetracked by the sound of voices; two of them, both raised. One was my brother, and the other....

Ricky. My best buddy.

No thought at all, I dived out of the chair and into the bed, covering up completely, just as the door opened.

"Myrc, you in here? Ian is saying you weren't up to company, but when has that ever kept us apart before?"

I cursed my wonderful new voice as I responded. "Yeah I'm here. I'm really not up to company, but if you promise not to comment on my obvious issues, or try to look at me, you can stay."

He looked at what to him, was a lump on my bed.

"Dude is that you? You sound like a..."

"Girl? yeah I know. I'm a mutant man, that's what has been wrong with me, and yes I'm one of the weird ones. I'm currently about half done changing. Yes, to a girl. I wouldn't normally care if you saw or not, but I'm sure I look pretty stupid right now. No I'm not dangerous. Now that was strike one. No more discussion on it. You want to stay? you play games and you keep it down...I might nod off. Got it?"

After a long awkward moment where many flies could have been trapped within his jaw, he nodded.

"Yeah I got it...so Tekken?"

"For now, maybe some need for speed later..but I'm getting kinda tired again, so who knows?"

"Works for me, though I'd love a nice shooter later. So who's ahead?"

"Jerkbag is ahead, as always...hes up 6 matches to 3. He always cleans up at this one."

"Heh. Well maybe I'll do better. I do tend to game more than you."

"Might change; the new me is less likely to be as active."

"Oh?"

"Not telling you, you'll know when everyone else does. I'll be missing a week of school; you can tell whoever you want to tell that I'm changing if you want."

"OK. Damn." He cursed as Ian destroyed him, then shot a quick glance at my still blanketed form.

"You want a turn?"

"Nah I'm good for now, you go ahead." I knew he was waiting for me to move so he could catch a glimpse; I wasn't that stupid.

I was so busy watching Ricky like a hawk, that sleep snuck up on me.

I was out for two hours; when I came two with a hyper intelligent 'snerk' noise, both Ian and Ricky were still in my room, playing Twisted Metal Black, one of my favorite games...sick psychotic car mayhem at its' finest. I was still covered by my blanket; luckily I hadn't smothered myself.

"Awake again?" Ian asked softly.

"Yes, awake again, sigh...this crap is getting old already."

"Want a turn, dude? I need a break."

"Sure, but I'm not coming out. Just toss the controller."

I snapped it out of the air, reeling it back in and taking over. Ricky watched me play, Ian watched Ricky mostly...sticking up for me, I think. Ugh, I hated being weak. Either way I didn't think I needed protecting from Ricky...I mean, it's Ricky! I trusted the guy with my life! But could I still?

The gaming session continued, all three of us wrapped in our own thoughts, until we heard the front door close and my dad yell: "Dinner!"

"Ricky; out. Now. Sorry, and I'll call you when I'm ready, if we're still cool, ok?"

"Yeah we're cool. I'm gone, enjoy the food." I heard his customary loud greetings to my parents as he made his way out.

"Myrc everything ok?"

"Yes mom, Ricky came over to see how I was, and guardsman Ian protected me from his evil ways. He did not see the fair damsel."

"What?"

"In other words, I hid and we played games so he couldn't see or spread rumors about how stupid I look."

"Oh, honey, you look fine; there is nothing wrong with you..."

"With all due respect mom,' I interrupted. 'I look half finished; you know it, I know it, everyone who has seen me knows it...and everyone who will see me will know it. I'm not cool with this, but I'm really not cool with having a bunch of people see me when I'm neither one thing or another, but some screwed up in between thing. Not if I don't have to."

She was hugging me before I knew it, and I realized I was crying a bit. Tamping that down really quick, I looked at my dad, who was setting the table and had a large box of takeout pasta. I grinned at my mom, looked at dad again, and opened my mouth.

"Cheep, cheep."

He looked at me with my mouth still open and I cheeped again, adding small hops. He caught on and stuffed a bread stick in my face while mom giggled, and Ian guffawed.

"So, sit, eat, we have announcements."

We ate quickly of course, I was as always famished, and I guess Ian was as well. The parents ate at a sedate pace that kind of irritated me...I couldn't slow down. stupid constantly empty stomach. Stupid genes. Stupid world.

"So,' I was startled out of my pity party, to find dinner over except for me....I was still half halfheartedly chewing on things within reach. 'we managed, on a Sunday, to get the bureaucratic wheels going on a few things."

She slid papers at me.

"what are these?"

"Social security card, state ID, birth certificate. The new you. The state ID has no picture yet obviously, but we will be handling that as soon as you settle on a look, you primadonna."

"Wow they work fast, and on a Sunday?' I looked at dad; 'Your doing?"

"Of course! We ex military have some pull after all, this country still loves vets."

"Minerva Myrciel Campbell? Where did that come from? And why didn't you just ask? I could have picked my own name."

"That's the name you'd have had if you'd been born our daughter, and well since you were and we just didn't know..."

"But..but Minerva?!?"

"Would you have rathered Boddicea? Minerva was your grandmothers' name. Deal with it."

"Heh heh heh HA HA HA HA HA."

"Keep laughing Ian, or should I say Elise?" Ian choked, with a look of horror suitable for a movie crossing his features.

"Hah! Revenge! Blackmail material!"

"Whatever, Min. Two can play that game."

"Ahem; we're not done you two, you can snipe at each other later. We come bearing gifts! I'll just start bringing them in. Ian, come help me."

"Yeah yeah, grumble grumble."

"I'll get the dishes mom."

"You sure you feel up to it? I'd hate for you to break my china." she said with a grin.

"Your concern is touching, but yes I'm fine, for now." I returned her grin.

So I did the dishes while the rest of the family plotted, washing and drying while just barely picking out the whispers in the other room. So once done, I quietly made my way back into the dining room. For the record, I did not creep in! I deny that categorically, and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong. At any rate, it didn't work regardless, they saw me coming.

The first thing I noticed was the box with the brand new laptop inside. State of the art, unless I missed my guess, unlike my current 5 year old machine. To the left my eyes alighted on were all the books. collegiate texts for all the science basics, dozens of books piled on the table. The last thing to catch my eyes is the electric guitar. A guitar of the same Aqua color of my eyes, though quite a bit smaller than my dads; a fact I filed away for later. The case next to it had a sliver of a moon and the word Luna on it as a logo.

Now I'd wanted a guitar forever. Couldn't play one, never shown the slightest bit of talent for playing music. My father could play some, and I had always begged him to teach me. Now it looked like he finally would. I'm sure my grin would crawl off my face it was so big.

"Ahh, don't go looking at me like that! I'll do what I can, but it's likely you'll have to teach yourself more than I can; with my job and all..."

"But you will teach me?"

"Yes, what I can...for as long as my ears can stand it."

"Thank you all, for all of this."

"That's not all; there are some new tools and odds and ends in the garage. They are yours, and in no way mitigate the replacements you need to get for me. But, use all of it as you feel you must. And fix my baby while you're at it, and you'll get those lessons."

Impulsively I hugged him. "You're the best!"

"Yeah well, I try." He replied, holding me back at arm's length and looking uncomfortable.

I was about to apologize for making him uncomfortable when mom stepped in.

"So let's stow all this; Min's room is already a mess, don't want my dining room to follow suit."

"OK, OK." As I grabbed the computer first, I caught a the glimmer of a look between my mother and father.

"What?"

"Nothing honey, Ian will help you with the books...won't you Ian?"

"Sure, sure, I'm on it."

Once up the stairs I grilled Ian quietly.

"So what did you get? Must have been something nice to get your full cooperation."

"You know me well; I got a couple games for the ps2 I wanted."

"You know what was up with the 'rents? they had a really funny look for a minute there."

"Nah, you're reading too much into things sis, this is a weird situation for everyone. That reminds me, How close are you now?"

"Truth told, I'm not sure...I hope I don't lose anymore height, this is getting ridiculous."

"Suffering from any other...shrinkage?"

That one earned him a punch, which he shrugged off easily. Stupid muscles. I'd have my revenge, oh yes.
As soon as I got to my room, I wasted no time opening the box and pulling out the laptop. hmm, dual core, nvidia 7600 go, 4 gig ram, 320 gig hard drive. A true screaming machine, if ever there was one. There were some games boxed with it that I set aside. Had to move my old computer to make room for the new.

Reaching under your desk to pull computer cords is always a pain. I just yanked them, opened the new laptop. I sensed a trend here; the case was aqua. All the while Ian was shuttling books, giving me sour looks. I grinned at him in response, eyebrows raised. Once I had the laptop set up and powering on, I
went downstairs to get my other pretty toy. Into its' case it went, and I carried it with both hands and gently set it into my cleanest closet corner. Ugh, I did not want to clean this room, but it was a mess. Maybe when I wasn't so constantly tired.

I woke in my bed in the middle of the night, realizing I'd fallen asleep after the fact. My new laptops' password determination screen was blinking at me. It was after midnight and everyone else was asleep. Meh, I was up now, and sick of sleeping...so time to set this computer up. My password...hmmm....how to make
this really secure...

I woke again, this time though something was different. I remembered the night before, in all its' glory. I remember what I did, and how. It was still a bit vague, but I had no problem recalling how I'd revamped the camera software to map and recognize my eyes in order to provide security, nor the other fun things I'd done. Monday morning, 5:13 am. I'd slept two hours, plenty. I could do plenty today, but first....coffee!

coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee! I wanted it, craved it, never had liked it before, but was hooked now. I was in the middle of brewing a pot when Father came into the kitchen, all ready to brew it himself.

"Good morning, father."

"Morning Min...uhh, what happened to the coffee maker?"

"I improved it, it was ruining the coffee by only filtering it once. I decided it could do better. It takes just over 2 minutes longer, but it is worth the wait. Want some?"

"Uhhh, sure. It kinda looks like a small distillery."

"That is exactly what it is now father, for both the water and the grounds, and then both. Takes up 8.4% more counter space, and takes 2 minutes, 17 seconds longer to brew, but hopefully mother will like the end result enough to not overreact. oh, operating it is easy...grounds go in the funnel there, water in the tank there, the on button works as it should, and the used coffee ends up in the old coffee maker cup there."

The coffee finished brewing while I explained, and I poured us both cups. Mother came down as father took his first cautious sip.

"Wow that's really good! Really really good!"

"Oh by all that's holy, I should have remembered about the coffee thing...though that is fairly tame by their standards."

"What was that mother? you shouldn't mutter to yourself like that. Coffee?"

"Sure, sure. Anything else you've improved?"

"No, of course not! Well...the security protocols on the new laptop you got me. A password seemed to...useless, so I made a program to scan peoples' eyes when you open it up. It will only open to my retinal scan. Don't give me that look! Software upgrade is all, I didn't touch the hardware."

"You'd best be very careful about that. You break it, you won't get another."

"I know...I thought I might repair father's car though...once I drink more of this liquid ambrosia that is. Morning Ian, how are you?"

"Good, you OK? You seem pretty chipper this morning."

"I am well, I think. Going back upstairs for a bit."

As soon as I placed my coffee on the desk next to my laptop I noticed. My bed was hairy. Small hairs, on my pillow, a bit here and there on the bed. My eyebrows? I checked. I still had them, though they seemed more thin. Going into the bathroom, I saw it. My eyebrows were now just slightly darker than my eyes
...not neon by any means, but a rather wonderful shade of aqua nonetheless, continuing the trend. I sighed, my head was already showing hints of the same color. My body hair was obviously k.i.a. along with my muscles and size. I flopped back on the bed and did the pillow screaming thing again.

"Min, breakfast!"

"coming, mother."

I came downstairs as Ian came back down, shower done. We both demolished the bacon and eggs set before us.

"So, honey, I'm going to be gone for a bit today, got to head up to your school and make sure they know what's going on. Your father and I got you a cell phone; the number to reach me is programmed in already as 1, the number to reach your dad is 2. Call for any reason at all, OK?"

A cell phone! Never had one before. Even if it was because they were worried about me, it was nice.

"Thanks mother; I'll keep it on me at all times. I think I'll work on the barracuda today."

My father gave me a look as he was about to walk out the door.

"How? you've no money, and are missing a few parts."

"I think I might be able to fabricate them out of what we have available. I'll have to research to make sure, but that is the current plan. Don't worry, no harm in just checking."

"Alright. Be careful though, and have a good day."

"You too. Don't let your boss tick you off."

After the breakfast dishes I went outside to inventory the materials I had available; everyone had already left by the time I was finished. My father in his infinite wisdom had gone to the local junk yard, and bought a bunch or motors and car parts from various engines, and even two full engines. Whether they worked or not was immaterial, I could use them as I pleased. Though I did wonder how my parents could afford all this crap for me; I'd never thought about it before, we were well off...but I felt a bit guilty as well as loved. I was costing them so much this week! I had to fix this car, at least.

After the inventory, I went back upstairs to Google the barracuda's engine schematics and performance specs. Which proved to be an interesting bit of light reading. But how could I make the tools to fabricate the parts out of what I had? hmmmm...Inspiration struck and I began designing.

"Yo sis, you home?"

I looked up, suddenly noticing my eyes aching and the tired achy feeling I'd been ignoring...along with a sudden disconcerting jiggle from my chest. I refused to look down.

"Yes, up here Ian."

"Here, your homework for the day."

"thank you; how was your day?"

"It was alright, yours? No, let me guess, you were lost in the surfing there."

"Sort of, designing a sort of 3 dimensional printer to help me with repairing the 'cuda. I was in the middle of coding the CAD software. Sigh, out of coffee again."

"OK, stop. You and I are going to game again. I've decided. Halo with me."

"But, I'm..."

"But nothing, this is too much like work, and you need a break. lets go, I'll get the mountain dew."

"Fine, meeting in your room. I'll start the game up. Ugh."

As I stood up I weaved some; Dizzy again for no reason at all? Sigh. I held the walls to Ian's room, and plopped into the same bean bag chair I favored. So nice...started up the television and Xbox, grabbed controller 1 and set it to online play.

It did not take long for me to realize something was different; I could see it all. I could see every angle, arc (mostly parabolic), and potential outcome of any shot fired or dodge path used. I could see the outcome, leading to even more outcomes, leading to more outcomes...once again, the numbers danced, and I waltzed with them. I no longer missed; I was much harder to hit. I could see the outcomes of the other players in the game as well, just as clearly as my own. It was nice.

But all things have to end, and this did too, with me dead to the world in the comfy chair.

The next 2 days were a blur of eyestrain, computer coding (it did occur to me to wonder how I could code, when I couldn't before; I'd never had the knack before.) and coffee, with the incredible shrinking man shrinking further. I measured myself constantly. I couldn't help it. As I shrank of course, other things grew. I tried very hard to ignore those things, but by Wednesday evening they were affecting my arm reach and balance. Walking to the bathroom to measure myself for the third time today (Yes, a bit morbid, but wouldn't you?) I ran into Ian again. This time he knocked me on my butt.

"You OK sis? Sorry, wasn't watching where I was going."

"Yes I'm fine Ian, not made of glass here." I'd never tell him that bouncing on my butt hurt a bit; any sign of pain and I'd never live this down.

As he helped me up I realized...I was staring into his eyes. A week ago, I towered above him; today I looked him right in the eye. I all but ran for the bathroom. I got on scale first, shutting the door in Ian's face. 96 pounds. 96 freaking pounds; just this morning I'd been over 100. I did the door tape measure thing next. 5 measly feet tall. I was smaller than some 10 year olds I knew of.

Next thing I knew mom was there, holding me as I sobbed like the stupid little girl I'd become. I don't know how long that went on, but it was some time. Then a knock on the door interrupted my meltdown. I looked and my family was around me, squeezed into the by no means small but suddenly claustrophobic bathroom.

"I know that look Min, don't you dare; you've nothing to apologize or feel embarrassed for. Let your father worry about who is at the door; you can't bottle this up, and I won't let you."

I sniffled into her blouse some more; great intelligent responses are my forte.

"So what brought this on? Let me guess, you lost another inch?"

I shook my head.

"Lost two actually, and a good 7 pounds. I'm now 5 feet nothing and 96 pounds, assuming your scale is calibrated correctly."

She muttered something I didn't catch, then spoke up: "Well no help for it I guess, no way you can get along without clothes now. We shop tomorrow, and just hope you're done."

"Oh Mistress is quite done losing mass ma'am." A new voice interrupted us. It sounded cultured, polite, and young all at once.

Of course we all looked for this intruder, finding him at the entrance to the bathroom, with my loving father hanging off him; It looked like dad had tried to stop him, and just been ignored.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, Campbell family, But It was imperative that I reached mistress as soon as possible. Good evening Mistress."

With the rest of the family mildly stunned and my father being rather ineffectual at the moment, I decided to take charge a bit.

"Who are you?"

"I am designated as Jeeves mistress; might I ask which nom de guere you have been using of late? I'm sure my files are out of date."

"Jeeves? I don't know any Jeeves."

"You don't as yet, but you know my creator. I was told to inform you...ARNEE sent me."

My head swam; I remembered a night not too long ago with more clarity; talking away at a computer chip while I built some sort of small body, nattering away in a way I couldn't to a living person about my hopes and fears while tearing things apart. And lastly a design; a schematic of all that was being taken away from me, to help me when I could no longer help myself.

I still didn't remember everything, but I recalled enough.

"Father, it's alright. You can stop, and you won't need the gun. Mother, I do know this person. He's an android butler I designed."

"Is he what you built our of my power tools?"

"No, that was ARNEE...but ARNEE built him, using my design."

I took a closer look; Jeeves looked normal, he had black hair, blue eyes, had to be 6 feet tall and appeared to be late teens/early 20's. He was dressed in an old tuxedo, black and replete with tails. He had a face sculpted as a modern Adonis; fine aristocratic features without seeming effeminate, and a slightly more than medium build. In short, he was handsome.

The shock of me finding anything built to look guy like attractive was broken by mom's next statement.

"I don't trust you at all; you say that Min built you?"

"That is Mistress's new name? I must say I approve." The look he was giving me made me warm and uncomfortable at the same time.

"No, I did not say that mistress Min 'built me'; she provided the design and construction method however, as well as my programming and purpose for existence. I can prove that much if you allow it Mrs. Campbell."

"Go ahead, slowly."

Jeeves went to the next room, my room, and grabbed my old schematics from the garage incident. He handed one to mom, then took off his coat and shirt. You could see the hatch with the small recessed hinges on his back, right where the schematic said it should be.

"You may open it if you wish, I cannot as my radial motion is like a humans' and therefore I cannot reach."

I helped mom when she hesitated opening the hatch, unscrewing it with a handy nail file and opening it up.

"It matches the specs, mostly. some differences, which I assume are due to the on site resources."

She looked, obviously lost as to what she was seeing, but in the end agreed with me.

"Yes, it's the same, or close enough. So where is this ARNEE?"

"I'm sorry Mrs Campbell, I'm not at liberty to say. ARNEE's mission is not yet complete, and I cannot compromise its' location until it is.

She gave Jeeves the fish eye.

"Not even for your mistress?"

"No Mrs, Campbell, specifically not from Mistress Min."

I put the hatch back into place, noting that his 'skin' felt like skin...and was warm.

"So this ARNEE is free to take over the world or something, and you won't tell us where it is?"

"That is not its' mission. it is merely a construction prototype; but if you prefer...yes."

"Mom, nothing I built is going to go running around taking over the world! ARNEE is fine." I hoped.

"We will discuss this later. For now, let's all get out of the bathroom."

I was too close. Looking back, I'll admit that. I had just closed the hatch on Jeeves' back, and he had put his shirt back on. When mom shooed everyone out, He picked me up in a bride carry and strode though the hall to my room, ignoring my slightly panicking protests. He deposited me gently on my bed, and held a finger up.

"I'll be right back mistress, please do not move."

Mom looked in on me with a questioning look. I shrugged...of course I had no idea what this android was up to, I wasn't fully responsible for his programming. She went downstairs, I assume after him.

About 5 minutes later Jeeves was back, mom and family in tow. He placed one of our TV trays and our good tea service down, poured me some chamomile tea and handed me some sort peach crumpet or something. Not sure what it was,or where he got it, but with the chamomile it was especially delicious. He also served my family, mother first, father last.

"Alright Campbell family, please. Mistress Min needs her rest."

"Ha, you're getting out of here too, tin man."

"Ian... may I call you Ian? Ian one of my primary responsibilities is to ensure Mistress Min's safety. To that end it is best that I stay within visual range of her at all times."

"I won't leave if you don't leave...and I'll talk forever."

I added my own two cents. "Jeeves...out. Thank you for the snacks, but you can't share my room. Having you in here staring at me would be...creepy."

he looked from one to the other of us.

"As you wish, mistress Min. I shall be within vocal range should you require anything."

With the help of the chamomile, I drifted right off.

Chapter 5 already! what has it been, a month? I'm on fire! Once again, standard disclaimers apply, I don't know you or the people you know, so any similarities are coincidence. In this chapter....the dreaded testing.

I knew something was drastically different the minute I woke. I had a dream I couldn't remember, a vague feeling of being chased relentlessly down various darkened halls. I woke, entangled in my blankets, a scream hanging on my lips...and realized my comforter was between my legs.

And it was alone there.

Now all through this mess, I'd been holding out hope...even after I'd been diagnosed, little Myrc had still been there, loud and proud so to speak. Throughout the shrinking, the hair growth in obvious and embarrassing places (aqua colored, of course), and the general lack of muscle, my little soldier had been there, through it all, as the only thing not changed. I'd realized this was going to happen, especially after last night, but so fast? Even though alone, I surreptitiously checked myself...pubic hair, vulva, labia, clitoris. Yep, brand new anatomy, over night.

I didn't realize I was hyperventilating until Jeeves was there, Holding me gently but firmly and whispering things to me I only half understood. OK, I lied, wasn't even sure what language he was speaking...but it helped.

"OK, enough, let go of me please."

"Are you sure mistress Min? you still seem troubled."

"I am, but it won't get any better if I continue to fly apart. So how can you tell that I still seem troubled?"

"A combination of observing your heart rate and facial expressions, mistress."

"You can recognize those?"

"Yes, you did the programming yourself, mistress. I am sure the memory will resurface when needed. Are you ready for breakfast? I have a wonderful plate of Belgian waffles downstairs."

"I think I need to shower first, and find something to wear; rather do that before anyone comes to check on me."

"Of course mistress, I have taken the liberty of altering your previous clothing in order to properly fit you. I shall bring you a set."

"You sew?"

"I do mistress, however sewing was not the proper skill to use to properly outfit you; I had to resort to a gift ARNEE sent for you, for just this purpose."

"A gift? That alters clothes? Want to tell me what it is?"

"I cannot mistress, It is not permitted; I can say however that it had finite use, and is therefore empty. You will recall eventually, after all, it is your creation."

"Oh, yes, I suppose you're right...."

"Mistress, your shower. You should make haste."

"Oh! Right,"

I'd been so caught up in thinking about possible devices to alter clothes that I'd been standing out in the hall half naked; what the hell was wrong with me? I bolted into the bathroom and slammed the door, almost leaping into the shower and flinging my stupid over sized shirt behind me.

However, it didn't take long to convince me to slow down. It took me awhile to wake up...much longer than normal; but once I did I realized my hair, my now fully eye matching aqua hair, was now down to my butt. Just yesterday, I had a boy cut. Sighing, I looked for the soap. Hmm, odd. No soap at all, nor the usual shampoo; instead there was some sort of lilac smelling body wash for sensitive skin, and shampoo conditioner for extra body, also smelling of lilac. Neither had ever been seen in this house before, I was sure. There was also a brand new pink body washing pom pom thing, whatever those are called.

A soft knock I barely heard sounded on the door.

"That you Jeeves?"

"Yes Mistress Min. I have your clothing."

"OK, come in."

"I'll just place them next to the door, it may not be considered proper."

"Just a moment Jeeves; did you change the soap and shampoo in the bathroom?"

"Of course mistress Min; the soap would have been harsh to your new skin, and the shampoo will be much better for the altered pH of your hair. Please do use the new ones."

"Could you please let me know of any other such changes you would like to make in the future?"

"Of course mistress Min."

With my only other choice to go out smelling like...well, no idea what that smell was, but it was unpleasant, I used the body wash and shampoo. After taking far far too long to wash my stupid hair, I dried (gently of course, I learn), and cracked the door open. Good, no one here. I grabbed the small pile and darted back inside.

Why that...It was a dress! A grey goth Lolita style with black accents and lace, just like I'd see in one of Ricky's dumb animes; gloves, stockings, matching bra and panties, even boots. Where did that defective android get the idea that girls dressed like this?!? I put them on, not having any option. Admittedly, the bra took a minute, but I quickly grasped the concept of just reversing it around my waist then pulling it around and up. The dress was actually trickier; it buttoned in the back. Not seeing any option to handle that hurdle, I gave in.

"Jeeves, are you close?"

"Yes mistress Min, do you need assistance?"

"I need buttoned up as you well know, and we need to talk."

"Of course, mistress Min; I assume you are 'decent'?"

"Yes, come in."

He entered and I turned away from him.

"So where did you get your sense of style from? Are you aware that this is not what most females wear?"

"Why no mistress Min, I was not. Some of my education was rather limited. I learned most of what I know through my internet access while being built. There are a prevalence of images from women dressed such as you are now there."

Epic face palm. My android butler, the cos-play fan.

"I'm sorry if they are not to your liking mistress Min. Could you tell me if you feel any discomfort from them? The material was specifically designed for your physiology."

"They feel very comfortable at the moment; very soft."

"Min?" My mother...sigh was hoping to get coffee before she saw me like this.

"Jeeves here thought that I needed new clothes, so he converted mine...apparently he has warped ideas of what girls wear."

I still wasn't used to looking up to her.

"I see...well odd as it is, it looks really good on you. But, you really need to dry your hair and brush it out, hair that long can get terrible tangles."

"I need coffee first, desperately."

"I'll take care of it mistress Min." Jeeves strode back into the bathroom while we went downstairs.

I had just finished my first cup of coffee and was eying those Belgian waffles, complete with strawberries and blueberries set on the side, when Jeeves came into the kitchen with mom's blow dryer and a pink brush I'd never seen before in hand. He plugged it in next to the coffeepot.

"Please turn around and eat mistress Min."

My mom's eyebrows were hitting the ceiling; I shrugged and turned around.

"What? I don't want to deal with it; I want waffles. Come on mom, he's eccentric as heck, but once I work the bugs out, I'm sure he will be awesome. He made waffles!" I shoved the plate (now half empty) her way.

She started eating them rather distractedly, downing coffee while Jeeves dried and brushed my hair. OK I admit it, it felt pleasant. Once he was done however, he fiddled with my hair some more, and bound it behind me somehow. Mom snorted.

"Eccentric, huh?"

"What? What did he do?"

"He just tied your hair back with a ribbon; bow and all."

I cursed, drawing a very dirty look from mom.

"I set him straight for now, but he doesn't know any better; lack of data on how girls dress. You still intend we shop today?"

"Right after we take you back to Dr. Halleck. Pretty sure you'll need clothes."

"Good, we can get Jeeves his data so I don't look any worse."

"Hah, actually the look suits you."

We were both surprised by the camera flash; I turned to see Ian sporting mothers' old Kodak, waving a photo in the air.

"Ian you little worm!"

"Ha, who you calling little sis? You're tiny! Blackmail material!!!! woo!" He ran as soon as I got up.

"damn it, I didn't have anything else to wear! Come back here!"

"Minerva Myrciel Campbell!" Dread froze me; no child ever wants to hear their entire name from their mother.

"That's twice Min...another time, and you're eating soap. Now sit down."

"But..!"

"No, you cursed. That's your punishment; deal with it."

I sulked, nursing another cup of coffee.

"What was all the yelling?"

"Good morning father."

Never had I seen a such a look on my fathers' face before. It looked almost like amazement, but there was a certain amount of poleaxed deer in headlights mixed into it too.

"Min, what in the world..."

"It was all I had to wear! Jeeves turned my clothes into stuff like this. Hopefully this will be the last day I look this stupid, as well as the first."

"And you yelling at Ian was because..."

"He took pictures, the jerk!"

He stared at me a moment, before his eyes narrowed to their normal size and he grinned.

"one for the album, then."

"Father! If he gives it to you destroy it, or no waffles for you."

"Oh, waffles? Who made them, they don't look like your mom's work. Don't tell me you're cooking now?"

I snorted. "As if, Jeeves made them, and they are quite delicious."

He looked to mother for confirmation, and of course she nodded.

"Well then don't mind if I do; thank you Jeeves."

"You're quite welcome sir."

He chowed down in usual Campbell style; I was mildly surprised that no food flew anywhere.

"So Min...forgive me for asking this but um...how close are you?" She made a surreptitious gesture towards my slightly open legs, which I rapidly closed.

"I think I finished this morning, to be honest. I'm not entirely sure about internally."

My father choked.

"You alright father?"

He recovered quickly, with a thump on the back from Jeeves.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just didn't think it would be so soon. It keeps sneaking up on me. Thanks again Jeeves."

"No problem Mr. Campbell."

"I'm sorry father."

He was hugging me again. How could all these people keep catching me by surprise like that?

"No Min, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant this is all so sudden, it's hard to adjust. It's my fault not yours."

"Sudden, and hard to adjust? You should try this side of things. Oh, to glaringly change the subject; I can fix the 'cuda to working condition if you want. I need to build something first, but I could possibly get it running in 3 days."

"No odd modifications? Just the basic car?"

"Of course, as you requested; just the engine, rebuilt to the original 1973 specifications."

"If you're sure."

"Absolutely; Ian get in here and eat these waffles before I do!"

The jerkbag in question slinked back into the kitchen like a whipped puppy. I wordlessly handed him the plate and my best glare. He dug in.

"We will be late Ian, I trust you can see yourself to school?"

"Mom, I'm not a baby."

"Sure you aren't. Well there is a plate in the fridge for dinner, but I don't expect us to be gone that long; if we are, I'll call."

"No problem, I'll be here."

"Ready Min? Let's leave these losers to do the dishes."

"I'm in! Run, before they get wise! Let's go Jeeves!"

I was out the door before they processed the words, and in the Durango before they could protest. By the time Mother joined me in front, Jeeves was in the back and I was surfing the web on my phone.

"Min, you jumped the gun a bit, I'd like you to go and get all those schematics you drew for X-ray's inspection, it could help. We are going to do a full powers testing if possible today."

"Jeeves, would you please go get them for me?" OK, so I didn't want to be bothered, I had an idea to use this web app to access my laptop from anywhere using the IP....

"Of course Mistress Min."

"What are you doing?"

"Oh I'm working on the phone's internet capabilities; I have an idea on how to access my laptop from the phone."

"You're programming on your phone?"

"Um, sure, shouldn't I be?"

"If you can, just try not to ruin either device..."

"Yes I know, I won't get another. I'll be good."

"Honey, can you look at me, please?"

I sighed and looked.

"It's very rude to not look me when I'm talking to you, try not to do it again, OK?"

"I'm sorry, mother, it's just, this program needs finishing. I didn't mean anything by it."

Jeeves came back with the requested documents and we both quieted, lost in our own worlds. I'd sneak glances every now and again, convinced she was angry. I hope I can make it up to her. Maybe if...

"Honey? Honey, we're here."

"Huh? Oh sorry, was thinking about stuff. Here already huh? Time flies I guess."

I saved the file on my phone and set it to vibrate, then realized I had no pockets to put it in.

"Jeeves, can you put this in your pocket for me?"

"Of course Mistress Min."

I looked around. Just excellent, everyone was giving me the hairy eyeball. Literally everyone was looking at me, some were even whispering and pointing! Stupid dress! I wanted to run or find a large coat to hide in or something.

"Steady Min, don't worry about them, you look fine."

"I wish I had a trench coat or something, they are all staring at me."

"It's OK, let them stare. You look great."

"Can we just hurry please?"

We suited actions to my words, and were soon in the hospital; however we had to wait in the waiting room for 15 torturous minutes. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs to get them to stop staring at me. Of course, that would be counter productive. Instead I just shrank into my seat and ignored the stares by reclaiming and continuing the work on my phone. Silly phone processor limited my options, but I wouldn't give up!

"Minerva Campbell?"

I looked up to see the nurse standing over me. Crap. Back to the real world. I got up to follow her, and she still towered over me; grrr. Of course she also had a few inches on mother; for some odd reason that made me feel better. Back into the office with the odd machinery again. It was still set up in the same corner as last week. X-ray, in the same beaten and slightly singed lab coat, (I think the singes were new), Dr. Halleck, and a woman who looked vaguely familiar, around Dr hallecks' age. She also towered over both Campbells present. Dr. Halleck started off.

"Morning, Minerva, is it now? You remember my wife Dorothy?"

I did, Dr. Dorothy Halleck, psychologist and general practitioner...a very smart lady as I recalled. She handled all the female clientele of the Halleck practice.

"I do now, good morning, and how are you, DR's Halleck?"

"We are both well dear, thank you for asking. So, for the million dollar question; how are you?"

I sent a rather pointed look at their resident geek.

"I'd be a lot better if everyone would stop staring. This was all I had to wear here, quit gawking already!"

X-ray snapped out of it and wilted under my glare.

"Sorry Minerva, but you just caught me by surprise is all."

"Never mind him dear, he's an idiot. So lets get started shall we? We have a long day ahead. I'll help you get ready for the machine; everyone else, kindly get out."

I liked her already.

"Not quite yet; everyone, this is Jeeves. Jeeves, Dr. Emmanuel Halleck, his wife Dorothy Halleck, and X-ray, a devisor friend of theirs."

"Pleased to meet you Jeeves, I hate to be abrupt, but we need to get things done. They can get acquainted outside."

"It is no problem at all ma'am; as always Mistress Min, I will be within vocal range."

Once the door shut Dorothy motioned for me to undress, helping me with the buttons.

"Mistress Min? What is all that about?"

"Jeeves is a butler of sorts, I made him. He's a bit buggy but he means well."

So there might have been a bit of pride in my voice. I defy anyone to not be proud of building their very own android, no matter how buggy!

"hmm, is that so? What bugs have you noticed?" She asked as she started placing leads on me; I in the meantime put on a handy hospital gown.

"Well he is the one who converted all my clothes to this goth Lolita crap. Apparently he didn't have enough data on current fashions to know what a t-shirt and jeans were."

"Is that so? Well seems like an easy fix to make."

"Yes, I'm hopeful. He accepts my orders without question though, which is nice."

"Always is nice to find such loyalty in anything. Here, drink this; can't have you moving while in the machine, and you are pretty chipper."

I took it with trepidation; Sleeping all the time was getting old.

"Don't worry, It only lasts for an hour, maybe a bit longer for you. It's based on body weight."

Shaking the concern off, I downed the drug and climbed in. I wasn't entirely trusting however.

"Jeeves, please come back inside and watch over me."

The door opened.

"I am here Mistress Min."

"Good. Try to make sure X-ray doesn't take any nude pictures. Silly pedo bear."

"I will break him if he tries, mistress Min."

"Good." And I was out like the proverbial light.

I came out of it to all at once, with none of the grogginess one usually associates with anesthetics.

"Safe to come out?"

"One moment Mistress Min."

I heard miscellaneous noises one expects to hear if a bunch of people shuffle out of a room.

"It's safe now, dear. One last thing has to happen before we go on to the next phase. By the way, call me Dorothy, I'd prefer it."

I crawled out to see that the doctors' examination bed had some sort of metal devices attached at the end, with straps. It looked like a medieval torture device.

"Um, no thanks, not into that sort of thing?"

"It's just a routine gynecological exam dear, nothing to be afraid of. I do this for your mother all the time."

"Just exactly what do you intend to do?"

"Dear...get up there. This needs to happen."

I wilted under her no nonsense tone. Sigh, the voice of authority. To take my mind off what I assumed was going to happen, I started asking questions.

"So, did X-ray say what the verdict was?"

"You appear to be healthy, aside from a rather severe form of anemia, for which you'll be receiving medication. We also suspect your eyes to be a little weak. We will be checking that shortly."

"Anything else I should know?"

"Yes. You're really not going to like this part."

I didn't.

After an exceedingly long time frame; possibly the longest minutes of my life,I was led by Dorothy down a hall to a nondescript elevator, taken down to a rather modern looking reinforced dungeon, and forced to wear some weird black body suit that had some sensors pasted on the outside and a fanny battery pack. I was of course subjected to the most inane small talk imaginable all the while; most of which I ignored or responded to in grunts and head shakes. I think I could almost prefer the dress, as while everything was covered I felt more exposed. I was then led to a largish room where there appeared to be an obstacle course set up. My mother and X-ray were nowhere to be found.

"So I feel the urge to make cat noises and steal valuable shiny things. Anyone else? Is there a tail on this stupid suit?"

"Yes, we know, no one actually likes those things,' Dr. Halleck responded. 'However they are necessary, as the suit monitors pulse, respiration, nervous system, and a few other bodily functions...as well as provides a small measure of protection."

"I need protection for this?"

He handed me a bike helmet. I handed him a glare.

"Where is my mother?"

"Talking over the machine results with X-ray. Take your position at the tape there. Ready?" He held up a stopwatch.

Sigh, today sucks. I nodded. At least I still had Jeeves watching over me.

"Go!"

The first part of the obstacle course was easy; standard basic training fare, and while I never played either sport, I knew the drill. Through the tires, under the bar, through the fake log, over the standalone wall, which was the first true obstacle. It took me two tries to get over that stupid wall, since I couldn't just jump and catch the top, and climbing the rope provided was difficult with noodle arms. The balance beam went a bit better, since even though it was a mere 5 centimeters across and 10 meters long, (roughly) I had no problem running across it.

Then I saw, in the last 3 steps of beam, the true horror. Another mini wall right at the end, with monkey bars on the other side. My mind kicked in, considering and discarding possibilities, and in the next step I decided to try something I never would have before. Before I would have simply slammed into the wall and then climbed over it...but slamming into something, especially chest first, proved a lot more painful recently. So I used the last step to twist and flip over the wall, rolling on top of it briefly before landing on top of the first bar, and running across. The next little hurdle, were hurdles.

I dropped off the last bar, twisted in mid air, and let my hands grab it on the way down to slow my descent, twisting again and sprinting. The first few hurdles were small, barely a jump at all, and I cleared those easily. The next several added height, a few centimeters at a time, till no matter what I did I couldn't clear them.

"Bypass them Min."

Next up was a simple long jump in a sand pit. Pretty obvious, and I wasted no time. I jumped, right foot leading, hit the sand and dug in, and promptly fell forward on my hands. Getting up I saw all these weaving boxing (speed?) bags, with a line in between them. I weaved between them with ease; being able to judge their arc was nice. I did not think about how much space there was between them relative to how much I would have had a week ago.

Now as anyone who has played baseball knows...a pneumatic pitching machine makes a distinctive sound; the load up and whirr before a pitch heads your way haunts many a players' nightmares. So when I heard that clunk and whirr I instantly dropped. I heard the ball sail through the space my head had occupied, and hit the wall before bouncing back at me; too much bounce for a baseball....

"What the hell?!?"

"Sorry Min, last part of the test. We have to know if you're precognitive, and that is the best way to test for it."

"I could have been hurt, you know; pretty sure my skull isn't super dense."

"Now you know why I insisted on the helmet. I'm sure you've already guessed, but that was a tennis ball. No real damage could be incurred. This way."

He led the way to the a door in back, Jeeves bringing up the rear.

I gave him another fish eye when he opened the door, motioned me through, and said: "Ladies first."

Dr. Halleck didn't annoy me that much, usually. Was he trying to?

I went through the door and it slammed behind me; It was armored on this side. I could hear both Jeeves and Dr. Halleck yell my name from the other side, and a faint pounding.

"Halt, mutant." You have got to be kidding me.

A 3 meter or so tall robot, looking vaguely like a walking marvel copyright infringement, unfolded itself from a niche in the hall and turned it's stupid looking head towards me. An intercom next to the door crackled.

"Min?!? Min! Somehow the security system activated, we can't get to you! You'll have to get the door open!"

"I think I'm going to be busy, Dr. Halleck." I responded, not sure he could hear me, keeping my eye on the bargain basement toys R us reject.

"The attack robot is on? Oh that's not good. listen Min it's set to kill intruders, you need to focus on opening the door, then i can shut it down through voice command!"

"not really an option at the moment."

All during our discussion the robot (and I use the term loosely) was getting closer. I could see the slightly armored power cable leading into the wall; hmm, a possibility...

The robot of course, had a laser; they always do. It popped out of it's arm, and that arm of course swung my way. The laser was of course too low powered to burn through the door. I had another idea while I dodged under it; sheesh was it slow! The servos running this thing made it seem like those manufacturing machines they now use to make cars.

"Hey Dr. Halleck, you still there?"

"Yes Min, you OK? Can you open the door?"

"Can you try your voice command through the intercom?"

"Yes of course! Sentinel, stop!" No lie...he actually called it a sentinel. I'd be laughing if it wasn't so serious. The trash receptacle did not stop however, instead taking a glacial aim again.

"You'll have to modulate your voice Dr. Halleck, the intercom is muffling it."

Hmm, speaking of glacial, what was cooling that laser? it wasn't a pulse model, and that coolant did not look like argon...

While Dr. Halleck cycled through different tones in an increasingly hysterical and ineffectual manner, I launched myself forward and wrapped myself onto the arm with the laser on it. I'd have to time this perfectly....As expected, the terribly slow robot threw an equally slow punch, which I avoided by simply dropping off its other arm. I took a kick for my trouble, getting me out of the danger zone for what happened next. The two broken ribs were a small price to pay.

I had made it punch it's own laser, rupturing the nitrogen gas coolant tank and causing that arm to freeze and break off. This also had the added benefit of exposing the wiring leading into the torso. Heavy gauge copper, of course; I can work with that. I charged again, leaping up remnants of the punching arm as it came at me again, showering me with shards of brittle alloy. I dropped around to the other side, grabbing onto the head while going fishing into the robots' shoulder with the other.

With the punching arm too short to get to me, the sentinel resorted to trying to fling me off by swinging around. I flew of course; weighing nothing at all, but not before I had twisted two crucial wires together...the power leads to the laser. This in turn shorted out the transformer in the torso that was being used to convert the power from the cable in the wall. I slammed into the wall, both stars and electricity dancing in my vision as the robot finally decided to shut down.

Shaking it off, I went to the door. A simple enough bypass, once I got the hatch off...I could have likely done it before the robot shot at me. If I hadn't been pissed off about the obvious set up.

"Min, are you OK?!?"

"Dr Halleck, I am less than happy with you right now."

Jeeves almost shoved Dr. Halleck aside in order to reach me, slipping an arm under mine and shooting lab coated Judas a glare even worse than mine. His tone to me though, was tender.

"You're hurt; two broken ribs, a mild concussion, and a torn right deltoid. Should I carry you?"

"No, I can walk, but I won't turn down some help. you should see the other guy." I pointed behind me.

The good Doctor was already looking at the mess, shock and on his face.

"You..broke him. No, worse, you totally trashed him! All you had to do was bypass the door and I could have shut him off!"

"Don't lie to me, Dr. Halleck, you could have shut him off any time. A more obvious set up you couldn't have made. Yes I broke him, and I'd do it again. If you had just told me about this, I would have done as you asked. I detest being lied to."

"The test was check you for devisor talent strength; it usually takes a high talent as a devisor to crack that door. You just displayed both the talents we are testing for however, for only a high level gadgeteer could think of a way to disable the sentinel so quickly as well. Which means the last test won't be necessary."

"What was the last test?"

"Disarming a nuclear device."

"...What? You have a nuke here?"

"A fake one, of course. The simulations must be as real as possible to encourage people to take them seriously."

"Of course."

We reached the end of the hall, through a room where a miniature fat boy was located. Dr. Halleck passed it without so much as a glance. At the other end we entered a control room of sorts, and I entered my mother's crushing hug.

"Oh thank god you're OK!"

"Mother...Ribs."

"Ohmigod I'm so sorry! Are they broken?"

"I'll heal, I regenerate, remember?"

I looked past her to Dorothy and X-ray, spotting two people I didn't know behind them both. The first was a kind of grungy looking guy with a 5 o clock shadow, dirty blonde hair, and a weather beaten face. Perhaps 5 ft 10 in and medium build, currently fiddling with a zippo lighter. The second, was a bit over 6 ft, and pretty much a wall of muscle, reminding me quite a bit of my father save for his skin and hair color; both a rather nice dark mocha shade. He was wearing a pinstriped suit a few shades lighter than the first.

"So what's the verdict? do I pass? And who are the suits?"

They took their cue.

"Hello Ms. Campbell, I'm agent Leonard Sands, Mutant Commission Office. I'm a friend of X-ray's he brought in for this case."

"I'm Terrance Douglas, Central Intelligence Agency, and a friend of your family." They both flashed badges at me.

"Mother, they telling the truth?"

"Yes honey, they both are, I've known Terrence since your father served with him, and I know of Mr. Sands...he has a bit of a rebel reputation for the M.C.O.

"What she means is, in almost 30 cases since I started working for the M.C.O., not a single mutant I've been assigned to watch and evaluate has ever disappeared under mysterious circumstances."

"Bet that makes your superiors happy. So, my results?"

X-ray took over while I watched the suits and tried to look menacing; I knew I failed when they both gave me reassuring seeming smiles, both of which seemed mildly creepy. Jeeves moved a bit in front of me.

"Devisor 5, Gadgeteer 5,regen 2 EX 3; limited. You're the classic mad scientist type, you can build most anything, modify most anything, and happen to be very intelligent. The EX stands for Exemplar, it's basically a fancy way of saying you're superhuman in some way. In your case, it's your intelligence, memory, and your agility. You are fairly fast and agile, perhaps even olympic levels, and your muscles are extremely efficient."

"But not nearly enough muscle there to make a good difference...That's it? no flying, or eye beams, or mind bullets? Sheesh, All I really got was the compulsion to take things apart and a medical condition?"

Dang, me and Ralph had much more in common than I thought!

"It's not as bad as all that, devisors can do many amazing things." I rolled my eyes.

"sure like build giant walking cliches to torment people with. I'm so glad I broke your toy."

"How did you know I built it?"

"Oh come on, it has your signature all over it. Deny it if you can."

If he didn't know how easy it was to spot his silly tech, I wasn't going to tell him.

"I won't deny it, but I will ask why you found it necessary to completely destroy him rather than simply open the door."

"Your obvious set up pissed me off; so you pay in nerd tears, mothers' friend or not. By the way mother dear, they couldn't have set me up without your help...so I owe you one."

"I won't deny it honey, I'm sorry. It really is the only way to find out what you're capable of. Just please be gentler on me than I was on you."

"Ahem, well I hate to interrupt but, could you stand up straight?"

I stood up looking warily at X-ray, who had an odd looking box with a lens in front and a plastic card hanging out of the right side. A flash later and I was blinking my eyes.

"There you go, one state ID complete with picture, made to order."

"There is one last thing,' Leonard interrupted. 'all these files are going to be stored in both the CIA and MCO databases. We are your buffers to both agencies, everything will come and go through us. In order to ensure this, it's tradition that all files be given a nickname, such as Champion or X-ray here."

"A superhero moniker huh?"

"Something like that. You don't have to pick right away..."

"Mneme."

"Huh?"

I shrugged.

"Mneme, pronounced neem...the muse of memory and knowledge. I read it somewhere. It's rather esoteric, so I doubt that it's taken by anyone."

"Uh..OK. Noted, and now the papers are processed. Now I don't normally do this, but I'm going to explain what it is I do. It's my job as a field agent to watch newly emerging mutants for any signs of going off the rails...insanity, rampant criminal behavior, etcetera. So if you build a machine to run around killing people or make a giant laser to carve your name into the moon, I'll be right there to stop you; understood?"

"Absolutely, since I have no desire to do any of those things, I should never see you again, right?"

"Err, not quite, I'll be checking up on you quite often, perhaps even following you around some."

"Don't worry, kid;' Terrence interrupted. 'my job is to watch Leonard here; any shenanigans and I'll disappear him. I or my partner, who couldn't be here today, will be pretty much following you all the time, for your protection. wouldn't do to let a Campbell fall to a bad end."

"Mr. Douglas, that would be so much more reassuring if you didn't work for the CIA...but I'll take what I can get."

Dorothy spoke up.

"alright dear, let's get you cleaned up, the showers are this way, and I have your clothes waiting."

"Good, can't wait to get out of this stupid thing."

Jeeves followed us down the hall, of course, and I don't blame his lack of trust. Once out of earshot, Dorothy slowly leaned towards me and whispered:

"Just one more thing dear, I know you're doing the best you can, but take my card. Program the number into your phone, and if you want to, for any reason at all, even if it's just to talk, call me. It can help. I have to go for now, but I hope to hear from you soon. Be well."

"I will Dorothy, thanks."

Once I showered again, (Sheesh can that stupid suit make one sweat!) I followed the rather convenient signs back to the elevator, Jeeves in tow; I found mother waiting for me.

"So we're done here?"

"Yes honey, all done, now we can go shopping, unless you'd rather put it off?"

"No, lets just do it now, I'd rather get it done and over with." Seriously, this crap was cutting into the time I needed to build the 3D printer!

"How do you feel?"

"Tired and annoyed of course. My right side and head aches."

"I'll try and curb the natural instincts then. This shouldn't take more than a few hours."

A few hours? What the hell?!?

"Lets just check the measurements...let's see...."

Mother started shuffling through the pamphlet that X-ray had no doubt handed her.

"And the verdict is...weighing in at 95.8 pounds, as a 32c 20 32."

The facial tic under her right eye was new.

"Mother, you alright?"

"Min, do you know what those measurements mean?"

I took a shot in the dark.

"I'm really, really tiny?"

She shook her head and muttered something that sounded less than clean. I tried hard not to listen. No idea what she was on about.

At the door leading to blessed, blessed freedom, X-ray crouched like a four eyed gargoyle, waiting to pounce on the unwary. He had a bundle in his hands.

"I almost forgot something Min. Here, these are for you. Got to run, need to make another test robot. Don't be a stranger Mary."

The bundle turned out to be a light grey lab coat much like X-ray's, with many pockets and in my size, perhaps a trifle large. The second part was a small case in which a pair of thick lensed glasses with pale rose frames rested. I managed to make it till X-ray rounded the corner before bursting into tears.

"Honey what's wrong?" mother didn't quite hug me, no doubt fearing to aggravate my ribs. Jeeves crowded the other side.

"I'm fine mother, sorry...just kind of hit me again all at once."

How could I explain to her what those glasses and coat represented? In less than a week I had gone from all around cool guy (at least I thought I was)to useless nerd girl. So far the only thing useful to come out of this entire mess was Jeeves, and even he had bugs! Ugh, suck it up, 'min', tears are pointless. Life sucks and you deal. I pondered that statement while being helped into the Durango and all through the trip to the mall. Why did life have to suck? Could I at least save Ian from this, assuming he needed to be saved? What about any other people?

"Min, we're here." She reached over and stopped me, using a tissue to wipe my face before letting me go. Jeeves helped me out of the Durango before I could so much as swing my feet out.

"You plan on hovering like this all day?"

"Of course mistress Min. I'd also like to apologize for not stopping the incident at the hospital; I will not be so derelict in my duties again."

"It's fine, mother was right, it needed to happen. It was my own fault for not doing the expected. I will relish the look of utter desolation on X-ray's face though. No offense mother, but X-ray seems like a jerk."

"He can be; he has a tendency to miss the trees for the forest sometimes. Come on, in here."

I looked, to see the most dreaded of all stores...the Gap. At least we were an hour away from home; not very likely anyone would see me go in there, if they did I'd never live it down!

My slight hesitation had cost me, as while Jeeves had stopped when I had, mother was already inside grabbing clothes seemingly at random. If I didn't stop her, I'd have more clothes I'd never want to wear. Shaking my head at her, I started grabbing subdued shirts and jeans, noting the measurements.

"you'll have to try all of them on honey."

"What? Why? The measurements are proper."

"Not all female clothes are made the same; what is the right size for one isnt the right size for another. Besides, you really should be looking for petite."

She pointed at the stack of shirts I'd picked up. I meanwhile, was vaguely put off by her two armfuls of clothing.

"Alright, so I need to try all of this on?"

"Yep. The changing rooms are that way, and be sure to come out after each change so I can judge."

"Sigh."

Two hours and 3 shops later, Jeeves was carrying four bags stuffed to their respective brims with clothes, and mother was showing no signs of stopping.

"Mother, please...we both need food by this point."

She snapped out of her daze for a moment. Sheesh I hope I never get like that.

"You're right, your pick at the food court."

"Pizza of course, and in copious amounts."

By this time I was almost used to the stares...not. but I was doing my best to ignore them. The absolute creepiest were the old men...guys 30, 40 years old staring at me; one of them even licked his lips! I wasn't a steak! Though he might be a pedo bear....

"Min, what's the matter?"

"I should have changed out of the dress while shopping; I'm still getting all these creepy stares."

She shook her head and muttered again.

"Min, you know I love you right? About some things, you are completely clueless and I have no idea how that happened."

"Like what?"

"Oh no, if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you; more fun this way."

"...Whatever; Jeeves do you understand what she's talking about?"

"I am not at liberty to say mistress Min."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Why not?"

"I'm not at liberty to say why I'm not at liberty to say mistress Min."

Buggy piece of....

"That reminds me, how is your power state? You aren't low at all? You've been active quite awhile."

"I am at 64% capacity mistress Min, thank you for your concern. I shoud be able to maintain operational capacity for another 73.21 hours with this charge."

"Wow, I need to take a look at how I built your power supply. Magnetic capacitor isn't it?"

"In part. It is a double system consisting of a magnetic capacitor and electromagnetic motor."

"Hmm... I brought out my phone and started one of the apps I made.

"Min...finish your pizza, we have a few more places to go."

"Argh. Alright mother. Let's finish this torture, I have things to do."

"Torture is it? Heh he heh...just one last place to go."

We finished and she led me to Victoria's Secret.

"seriously?"

"You're allowed, being one of us. Stop forgetting."

She grabbed my arm and led me to a section with what were titled 'french cut panties', found my size and grabbed a few different packs in varied colors.

"Stay here."

That raised my eyebrows, and my hackles. But put I stayed.

She came back quickly enough, more packages in her hands.

"So what did you get?"

"Bras for the both of us, of course." She held them up...pretty innocuous, no frills types with colors matching the panties.

"This required me to stand here?"

"Jeeves would have been pretty out of place, you did make him to look male.

"Oh, true, true. So can we leave? I'm getting tired all of a sudden."

"Well I kinda lied; one more stop to go, but you can sit down at the food court and wait for me, I won't be long."

I sat and watched, Jeeves standing next to me.

"You can sit down you know."

"I think I'd rather stand close mistress Min, if you feel unwell."

"Alright, your call."

It was 20 minutes of people watching and a steadily increasing unease, before mother returned with a GNC bag.

"let me guess; iron?"

"Yep, iron, a few other new essentials for you."

I tried to stand up, weaving into Jeeves. He steadied me, and we walked out. Mother was trying to talk to me, but I couldn't really hear her; I was a bit busy trying not to pass out. Jeeves had to bundle me into the car.

"You still with us, Min?"

It took me some time to process the question, and I nodded in response. Sooo tired, too tired to speak. Jeeves let the seat back and hovered in my vision as I drifted off during the ride home.

"Min? Can you wake up Min?

I was sure I made some sort of noise; it was supposed to be a yes, but I felt like i was swimming in molasses. And then I was floating from the Durango to the house. I looked up into Jeeves' blue eyes as he looked down and smiled at me.

"It's alright mistress Min, I have you. Into the bed we go, to sleep, perchance to dream."

I drifted off peacefully, secure in the knowledge that Jeeves would be there.

I'm still here! Just hit a snag or two with real life. So, once again, usual disclaimers apply, and in this episode, we answer those burning car questions no one cares about.

I awoke slowly to softly playing music, some sort of pop in another language; and the smell of fresh coffee. I could feel my feet propped up on something soft and being massaged. turning my head a bit, I saw I was in my room, with coffee and coffee cakes on a tray next to my bed. Jeeves was lightly rubbing my feet. having propped them on his lap with a pillow.

"Good evening mistress Min. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, a bit tired. Passed out again, did I? I was hoping I was past that part."

"Unfortunately your fatigue and lost consciousness are the result of your rather severe anemia, A condition that can only be alleviated through medication. I have of course prepared the fist dose, it lies next to the coffee."

"And the massage?"

"Is it satisfactory? One of ways to decrease time spent unconscious for the human body is to stimulate the blood flow in the extremities, most often the feet."

"It feels very nice. I suppose you'll be angry if I say I dont want meds?"

"Absolutely furious, mistress Min. Besides, if you do not, how can we get the work done?"

"Crap, you're right, we need to build the printer!"

I sat up slowly, having learned my lesson, and grabbed the 4 pills hidden by the coffee cup in my earlier inspection. Putting them all in my mouth, I quickly downed the entire mug to wash them down, picking up a cake to chew on.

"What time is it?"

"It is 11:04 pm, roughly. Your family members are asleep, and we should endeavor not to wake them."

"Agreed. I assume this is part of a fresh pot?" I asked, holding up the mug

"It is, of course. The rest is in a caraffe in the kitchen, waiting for your use."

"Excellent. I should check my computer, the printer plans are on it."

I finally moved, swinging my legs away from Jeeves's tender ministrations and to the floor, crossing the room and allowing my lovely computer to scan my face. It opened and right there, still open, were the plans I needed. Unfortunately, they weren't entirely finished.

"Jeeves, can you work on the spigot and server apparatus? The schematic for those are done. I'll finish the mixing bin while you're doing that."

"Could you please oversee the operation mistress Min? I am fairly confident I can follow the plans, but I'd feel better if you were near."

I blinked, pulled out of my reverie by his plaintive tone.

"Oh, of course, I'll just bring the laptop with me. Could you bring the mug and cakes? those things are delicious."

"Of course, and thank you for the compliment mistress Min."

"Oh, you baked these?" I asked as I headed downstairs, laptop in hand and cord draped over my shoulders...I didn't want to be bothered packing it.

"Of course."

"I thought the pumpkin tasted fresh. Not quite the taste to go with coffee though I think?"

"I agree, but I have to work with what is available; strawberries are out of season."

I made it into the garage without any clumsy falls (thank goodness!) and set up at the workbench. Jeeves materialized beside me, filled coffee mug and cakes in hand. once he set those down, he took his coat off and grabbed my tools. We both got to work.

"Honey? You in here?"

I looked up, suddenly aware of my surroundings again; Jeeves was beside me, ratcheting a pesky bolt in the spigot frame apparatus. The schematics were complete, and I had an alternator in my hand which I was modifying. Mother was at the doorway, in her robe, watching with concern stamped on her face.

"I'm here, just woke up and decided to work on the machine I need to fix father's car. There any coffee left?"

"Yes, half a pot, I snagged some already. So what is this supposed to be?

"A three dimensional printer. Some scientists made a printer that can make 3 dimensional objects out of a special paper. I decided the concept could be used for much more than just inanimate objects, and much more than paper. So the idea is to make this, and have it print an engine, then just bolt the engine in."

"And it will make moving parts?"

"Well that is the theory involved. At worst I can simply print all the individual parts at once, then put the engine together, but that will take much more time. Provided it works, we could be able to save money on all kinds of things too, and just make out own."

"Oh I've no doubt it'll work, Have confidence. After all, it's built on a solid technological foundation, right?"

"Of course!"

"Why don't you put the tools down and have breakfast? Take a break?"

"Well, we are ahead of schedule...Jeeves let's take a break."

"Of course mistress Min. I'll make the breakfast mrs. Campbell, no need to trouble yourself."

"Alright Jeeves. What do you intend to make?"

"Eggs benidict, perhaps with some summer sausage on the side."

"Not sure we even have all the ingrediants for that."

"You do, I have a complete inventory of all kitchen supplies."

"All? Even the cookware?"

"Yes, of course. Proper tools make superior products."

"Coffee coffee coffee coffee...."

Straight to the coffee maker, ignoring the small talk.

"Mistress Min, please stop."

I turned to Jeeves.

"Why?"

"You should cease coffee consumption now, in order to better sleep. Please, help yourself to the apple cider I left for you in the refridgerator. I insist."

Grumbling, I headed towards the fridge instead. "you know, I really should open you up and fix you. You aren't the boss."

"I am not; however I worry about your health, and you have already spent all night working on your printer. And as you stated, we are ahead of schedule."

"Sigh, good point. But I don't feel tired at all."

"Then allow me to make a deal with you. drink one glass of the cider, then drink a mug of coffee; alternate between the two for me, please? The coffee is a well known diuretic, and you will need your fluids."

"Another good point; alright. Cider it is, this time. The plans are done at any rate; think you can handle the grunt work now?"

"I can finish the frame and spigot construction; however I think you will have to complete the mixing tank."

"Good morning Minerva, Jeeves, Mary."

"Good morning father. Coffee is fresh and breakfast is on the way."

"Nice; how are you all this morning?"

"Pretty good, I have the machine needed to fix your car on the workbench as we speak. The cuda should be ready to drive by monday, and Jeeves is making a breakfast I've never had before."

"Great. I was thinking, that since it's saturday, and I don't have to work, I'd show you how the basics of how to play that guitar."

"That would be wonderful father! Can we practice in the garage? It looks like it's going to be a wonderful day; We can leave the garage door open and enjoy it."

"Sure Min, sounds fine with me. Breakfast first though, calm down."

I stopped; I had been on the way upstairs to get the guitar.

"no need to look guilty Min, just first things first. Besides you still need to wash up and change clothes. that dress still looks great, but I assure you it needs washed."

Oh, crap; I didn't even notice I hadn't changed clothes. This dress was perhaps a bit too comfortable. I sat back down.

"Whoops. Oh well, like dad said, breakfast first. Speaking of, how long till breakfast?"

"An estimated 20 minutes for yours, mistress Min."

"Holy crap that is forever. Well I can always work a bit, if no one minds a computer at the table?"

"I don't really if you don't mind my nose in a paper; Mary?"

"I guess it's alright, after all, you are working on something for the family."

"Heh, right."

I wasn't about to tell her that what I was going to work on was the phone internet access protocol. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, right?

So I worked on my project, father worked on reading his paper, and mother worked on some needlepoint, until a biscuit looking thing with a weird sauce on it
was brought past my nose.

"Is that it? looks kind of like an egg mcmuffin to me, with a weird mayonaise on it."

"That is not too far from the truth, honey. Alright, computer off the table. You can set it on the counter there, it'll be safe."

I moved the laptop. Then looked around again.

"So how soon till the rest are done? I only see mine."

"The others' breakfasts are currently in the oven, an estimated time of 2 minutes between them all. I could not make them all concurrently."

"Ahh, I understand. I'm the lab rat then. Oh well, here goes..."

I took a small bite...and it tasted amazing. Very different than what I was used to, but an explosion of wonderful tastes nonetheless.

"You do amazing work Jeeves. I simply must look into where you got your chef training."

"The answer to all life's questions mistress Min; the internet."

"Ha! good one."

"Morning everyone!"

We all chorused a good morning to Ian, our resident saturday latecomer.

"...so that is what's for breakfast? Looks nasty."

"It's wonderful, just wait till you get yours."

I suited action to words, scarfing the treat down, much to mothers' unspoken but still palpable disapproval. She was eating hers at a more sedate pace. Father's had just arrived in front of him, and he was staring at it as skeptically as I had mine.

"So what do you plan to do today Ian?"

"Thought I'd go out. Feeling the urge to get some sun."

He caught my incredulous look.

"What? I do go out. Just not that often."

"Might go out later myself, been going a bit stir crazy myself, and yesterday doesn't really count in my opinion."

"If you do, make sure to take your phone."

"I will, Jeeves has it. Pretty sure he won't let me go anywhere alone in any event. At any rate, I'm done; may I be excused early? I'd like to change now."

"Sure, go clean up before you start stinking."

A reprieve! At least I wouldnt have to sit around doing nothing, or dishes.

"I'll meet you upstairs as soon as I finish breakfast mistress Min."

Oh, right...we had Jeeves for that now. Humming my way upstairs, I picked some clothes out of my closet; a pair of jeans that mother called 'low riders', some of the underwear we picked out, a set of basic black, and a grey tee shirt. Once in the bathroom I shut threw the clothes on the sink counter and shut the door. Then I realized I still had to unbutton this stupid dress.

"JEEVES! Get up here please."

I took him less than 20 seconds to knock on open the door.

"What is the matter, mistress Min?"

"I need help out of this stupid dress, of course."

"Ah. My apologies mistress Min."

"Yes, I tried to get them, but there is no give in the fabric."

He quickly unbuttoned me and took the ribbon from my hair.

"Will there be anything else mistress Min?"

"No, thank you. Sorry to have dragged you away from downstairs. I trust you didn't burn anything?"

"No mistress Min, I was just about to start dishes. I shall leave you now. Do not hesitate to call again should it be needful."

"...Alright."

He left and I locked the door, peeling the offending garment off and throwing it in the hamper.

A long liesurely shower later I was feeling a bit less disgusted with the entire situation. I left my hair loose and a bit damp, simply dressing. the jeans seemed to fit like another skin, and even with the tee shirt they left a little mid riff bare, but mother said that was the style, and I'd seen it around in school myself. Plus it was casual and would hold up to my engine work, should I choose to do more today. To complete the ensemble, I added the lab coat, as we had forgotten to buy a coat yesterday and while the fall weather was pleasant, it was also a bit chilly.

Glasses in hand, I hit the kitchen doorway looking for coffee. It was waiting for me, as was Jeeves, brush in hand. I quirked an eyebrow...he was too good at reading me. There had to be a trick to it. Mother had her needlepoint again, and father was finishing his paper, so I took that as my cue, retrieving my laptop and lettng it scan me (it had locked in sleep mode after 5 minutes) then putting my glasses on and sitting down. Jeeves started brushing my hair.

"Wow, sis. That scan thing was cool. So what are you working on?"

"the three dimensional printer, And a new internet protocol for cell phones, so I can access my laptop from mine and use it's processor and memory to work on things while away from it."

"Um...it's a laptop. Why not just carry it around?"

"some places I can't carry a laptop, whereas a phone would be acceptable."

I meant school of course, though the parents didn't need to know that. Pretty sure Ian figured it out.

"Just remember to keep it on vibrate honey, most place that frown on laptops also frown on loud rings."

I think mother knows...but doesn't care? How very odd.

"Sure thing. Now, father, teach me teach me teach me teach me teach me teach me."

"OK Min, sheesh. Go get your guitar and meet me in the garage."

"Be right there. Jeeves when you're done with the dishes, could you carry my laptop upstairs please?"

"Of course mistress Min."

I'm pretty sure I set a sprint record getting up to my room, then back to the garage...wonder I didn't run into anyone. But finally, I would be able to play an instrument! I was so pumped.

"Alright, here are the strings, top to bottom is E A D G B E....plucking thme with your pick there, with the other hand on the frets in concert, makes chords. You ideally want to chain the chords in such a way as to make people not want to flee screaming from you. In order to do that, you'll need to be able to read the music, or be able to play it by ear. So here is the music score for what I'm about to play. read it, and see if you can match the notes to what I'm playing."

"Alright. Go ahead."

the door was open, music flowed freely, and all was right with the world for several hours.

Mid afternoon, I had ditched my coat, and was playing my lovely new guitar, pacing up and down. My father and I had determined that I had an exceptional ear for music (I could hear it once, and knew which chords were which), and reading music was as gentle a breeze as the one caressing my face and moving my hair. Such a wonderful day! Then it all turned to ash as I spotted Ricky headed up the drive.

"Oh, shit! Dad, hide me!"

He grabbed my arm as I was about to bolt inside, the traiter.

"I don't think so Min, you'll need to do this sooner or later; might as well be now."

"Jeeves. a little help?"

"I think not mistress Min, I agree with your father."

"You're traiters, both of you." Crap, too late now.

"Myrc? Is that you? That is you, isn't it?"

"Yes it's me, Ricky...but I go by Minerva or Min now. How's your week been?"

"Pretty good. We've missed you at the game on thursday. Lost by 2 without our power forward."

"I've been rather occupied. Well this is a bit awkward. Take a good look at the new me, and get it out of your system. I'm done for today dad."

I no longer felt like playing anymore as Ricky did indeed gawk.

"come on, let's take a walk."

"OK."

We headed towards the park, Jeeves falling in behind us.

"So who is he?"

"That is just Jeeves, my butler."

"You rate a butler now?"

"Not really, but he's worried I'll keel over."

"What? you're still changing?"

"No, nothing of the sort. I finished yesterday. But this stupid body of mine got worse. I'm anemic now, which means I'm prone to passing out. No cool powers either. No flight, eyebeams, or mind bullets. The only thing cool to come from the entire thing is Jeeves."

"If I may interrupt mistress Min...your ability is your increased intelligence, which led to my construction."

"...What? Not sure I got that...but Min built you you say?"

"Yes, I built him Ricky, my amazing mutant power is the power to suddenly stroke off at odd times and build things in a type of sleepwalking daze. He's an android."

"That's actually pretty cool. Can you build more of them?"

I blinked.

"Yes, probably quite easily. Why? You want one?"

"My very own robot? Sure, who wouldn't?"

"Hmm, Never really thought about it. there might be a market for you Jeeves."

"Of course there is mistress Min, I am a marvel of modern technology."

"Ha! Good joke you suck up."

"....I don't get it."

"Of course not Ricky, it's an inside joke. I built him out of car parts and junk."

"Really?"

Ricky turned around and poked Jeeves in the arm, leading to both of us quirking amused eyebrows at him.

"So let's hit the park, I'd love to see something resembling nature at the moment. Then afterwards I'll show you my latest project, if you want."

"Sure. I'm fine with that."

There was silence for a few long moments as we soaked in the sunshine and fresh air. Then oh how rudely it was broken.

"So...are you really all girl?"

"I told you that already once Ricky. for pity's sake, yes I now have to sit down to pee. And before youo ask about that, yes it is very annoying."

"Sorry, my bad, it's just...kind of alot to deal with. We've known each other for years, and now you look completely different. It's alot for me to take in."

"I'll tell you what I told my dad; you should try looking at it from this angle. Let's go this way."

I had spotted the park's basketball court in use, by some fellow teens I knew. Ricky was bad enough, I really didn't want to deal with some of the more donkey-like members of our local student body. So I led my little troupe deeper into the small copse of trees our park sported.

"that reminds me, did you tell anyone about my condition during the school week?"

"I told enough, it's the talk of the school. Everyone knows by now or they live under a rock."

"Good, should make this coming monday at least a little easier."

"not so sure about that one, but here's hoping. So...guitar huh? Didn't think your dad was ever going to teach you."

"Me either; but he relented. At least one plus for me. I seem to be a natural."

We basked in each other's company for some time, weaving among the trees and once again enjoying the silence (at least I was; Ricky still looked somewhat uncomfortable).

"Ugh, enough of this. I don't bite you know, and I'm not contagious. Jeeves we still on schedule?"

"Yes mistress Min, we still have 41 minutes 23 seconds, estimated, before our actual progress meets the time projected."

"Good enough, time to go back. If you don't run off screaming Ricky, Ill show you what I'm making."

"Look Min, I'm sorry, it's just...."

"Save it please, just either follow or not. I don't need your apologies."

Once again awkward silence reigned what would have been an otherwise pleasant time. We made out way home without further incident; the park was fully deserted as we came back through, and while the streets were somewhat crowded, adults were no problem...they were at least halfway tactful in their stares and whispers. Or so I told myself, head held high and back straight. It was beginning to get chilly again however, so I hurried my steps, wanting my coat. I may not like X-ray much, but his choice in outerwear was dead on.

As soon as we reached the garage I threw that thing on, and let my computer scan my face. I pointed Ricky at the screen.

"that...is what I'm working on."

"Um...what is it?"

I looked again, and face palmed. Of course he couldn't read the schematic!

"It's a type of printer that prints objects. you put the material you want ot make the item out of here...and then these spigots run around spitting out small amounts of it in a programmed pattern which makes the object."

"Um, wow...sounds pretty space age."

"No, not really, It's current proven technology, I've just taken it one step further; mine should be able to make moving objects or objects of more than one part. Like for example, an engine for the 'cuda."

"Whoa...you mean this thing might actually move without being pushed in my lifetime?"

I grinned at him. "If I have anything to say about it, yes."

"Cool. So um, you're going to work on it now, right?"

"Yes, that is the plan. Jeeves, spigot 4 needs attached to the frame on that mid length axis, 22.4 percent angle."

"yes mistriss Min."

"Mind if I just take this seat here in the corner and watch out of the way?"

"If you're quiet, not really. Knock yourself out."

"Cool."

"OK Jeeves, coffee time. Please get a mountain dew for Ricky as well."

Tools in hand, I got to work.

Some time during that session, Ricky left...I couldn't say exactly when, or what he said if anything when he did. I know I muttered some kind of response when he did, but I don't think it was very coherant. But the important thing was the machine.

"Mistress Min, you should rest."

Jeeves was shaking me gently when I finally came back to myself, power screwdriver in hand. All at once the crushing fatigue of the day hit me. I blinked a bit, realizing the machine was almost complete.

"But Jeeves, We're almost done here! Barring any unfortunate setbacks, we can't be more than 2 hours away."

"I agree with your assesment mistress Min, but unfortunately you are at your limit. You must sleep. If you'd like, I can finish up the printer tonight in your stead. I can consult your laptop to finish it with your permission."

"Sure, go ahead. Though I reserve the right to look the thing over when I wake, to make sure. I'd rather not have it blow up on us."

"Of course mistress Min, but for now, let's get you to bed."

Jeeves escorted me throught the silent house, almost completely holding me up as we walked. It was after midnight, and everyone else had long since gone to sleep themselves. Once to my room, Jeeves handed me some powder blue flannel pajamas and left. I put the garments on, vaguely happy they weren't pink, each
movement making me exponentially more tired, as I crashed. These high and low spells did seem to be getting better though, at least I didn't just pass out on the floor.

Jeeves came back with an insulated travel mug full of chamomile, and tucked me in. I had to remember to tweak him, some of his behaviour was completely unacceptable....

"Mistress Min, please wake up, it is morning." Are you kidding me? Already?

"murrrghhh."

"Mistress Min, it is 6:30 am, your normal weekday wake up time."

"It's sunday Jeeves, what the hell?"

"I am aware; however keeping a proper sleep schedule is fundamental to your health."

"There had better be coffee within arm's reach, or I am going to fine tune you...with a crowbar."

"There is mistress Min, and I have good news. I finished the project last night."

"I expected no less. Any unforeseen problems?"

"None at all mistress Min, it awaits your showered and dressed presence for it's shakedown trial."

"Heh. got you...so what is for breakfast today?"

"Simplicity itself mistress Min, french toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage. It will be sitting in your usual place by the time you finish showering."

He left me to my thoughts, such as they were. I never had this much trouble waking up before; it must have something to do with my stupid blood. With that in mind I took the pills next to the coffee cup, threw them in my mouth and drank the coffee down. Hopefully enough of those would stabilize me. Grabbing another tee shirt and jeans I made my way to the bathroom. I'd been lucky lately, every time I wanted to shower in the morning, the bathroom had been empty; normally it was a 50/50 chance Ian was in, as the 'rents had their own bathroom off the master bedroom.

Today, a knock proved Ian was inside. And I dared not go in, for even though I'd seen it all before, I was a member of the enemy gender now, and I was sure just barging in would get objections. So I settled for the next best thing.

"Hey Ian, get your butt out of the bathroom, I need to go."

"Hold your horses, wench. Almost done."

"A wench am I? what, are we back in the days of gaslights run by whale oil now?"

"...huh?"

"Sterling commentary Ian, absolutely top notch. Don't forget to wash your hands now little brother, hate for you to catch something from yourself."

I heard some grumbling, then the sink tap turn on from my position against the door.

"So what is Ian doing this sunday?"

"Not much sis, thought I'd lounge around and play some halo."

"Hmm, almost sounds like fun...maybe I'll join you. Or maybe I'll try those games that came with my laptop."

The door opened so fast I almost fell.

"New games? PC games? Why didn't you say so?"

"Heh. Same old Ian." I dodged past him and into the bathroom, rapidly shedding clothes. After a quick seat on the toilet (still annoying!) I made sure to check the shower settings, as Ian had gotten me that way once, and I do learn. Readjusting it (he's so predictable) I took my shower and patted dry. I was sure Jeeves would want to mess with my hair again, so I left it mostly alone. and hit the stairs.

Sure enough breakfast was there, and so was Jeeves, brush in hand. I headed straight to the mug of coffee next to the plate, nodding to mom and dad.

"Well, is today the big day? We noticed you working very late last night."

"Yes, Jeeves finished the final adjustments. I plan to check it over, give the machine a shakedown then start it up. The 'cuda should have a working engine by tonight, father."

"That seems a bit fast, you sure?"

"Of course, early morning at the latest. It should be no problem at all, provided the printer works as expected."

"don't stress yourself honey, if you get tired, you stop today, alright?"

"Of course mother, I'll simply have Jeeves finish it, he proved capable enough last night."

I ate at a sedate pace, for once matching mother, rather than father. Jeeves toyed with my hair, and even Ian was quiet for once. A nice pleasant breakfast; at least until Ian looked at me and snorted.

"Ha, sis, you really need to fix Jeeves."

"What now? Jeeves what are you doing now?"

"I am braiding your hair mistress Min. You intend to do engine work today, I'd rather not see your hair get caught in any moving parts."

"There you go, perfectly good reason for it. Though I'm still not sure if I want to chop it off or not, Jeeves is thinking ahead."

"whatever you say sis."

"And on that note, shall we abscond to the garage and check Jeeves' work? Not that I don't trust you Jeeves, but I was thinking of a few last minute improvements we could implement..."

"The schedule, mistress Min. We must consider the schedule."

"True, once school starts back up monday I won't have much time at all for this. Oh well, just a few absolutely necessary ones then, won't take more than a few minutes."

I wasted no further time, opening my computer and checking the schematics against the reality. I made a few adjustments, pointing them out to Jeeves as I worked...a half a degree change on armature 4, a slight loosening of bolt 47 to make sure it had just a little give so the mixing tank could swing, some other small things. Then I started the diagnostic.

We all watched as the machine checked all its motors, flexing its armatures, turning the spigots on and off, rotating around it's object platform. Then my laptop beeped as it checked the connection to the printers CPU and the software required to run it. Not 2 minutes later it was done; everything had checked out perfectly fine and in the green.

"OK, it all checks out. Time to test it. Jeeves could you set the junk engine there?"

I got the engine specifications loaded while Jeeves picked up one of the junk engines father had brought me, a truck's V8 of some kind, and brought it close.

"Ready mistress Min?"

"All set, drop it in."

He heaved the engine, but as he neared the mixing tank flexed, the top lid opening into serrated metal jaws. With a weird extension,the jaws lifted up and snapped around the engine; Jeeves barely managed to get his arms out of the way.

I looked from the unflappable face of Jeeves to the awed shock of my family which I felt better represented my own expression.

"Ummm...it's not supposed to do that."

"Indeed, I'd advise not trying to directly place anything in the mixing tank, Campbell family. Mistress Min, you are not allowed within 8.2 feet of this tank unless the device is turned off."

"No arguments here."

I checked the laptop again. "Well at least the programming looks sound; it's already starting."

No sooner had I spoke then the mixing tank started churning, it's sides already beginning to glow with transferred heat.

"Minerva, what does the mixing tank use to generate that heat?"

"Nothing much father, just a boosted microwave convection; see the box off to the side?"

"...That was a microwave? Nevermind, my question is, is the tank capable of handling the type of temperatures its generating to melt steel? and the melted steel itself?"

"Of course it is father! I mean I know the mixing tank is a little disconcerting, but it should absolutely work to well past the tolerances we are using it for."

I brought up my calculations on the laptop.

"See? Triplechecked."

"...OK, if you're sure."

"Sure I'm sure! we can leave the machine to work if you'd rather; the hard part is done; now we just sit back and wait."

"Sounds good, your mom and I need to go for a bit again today, we should be back by noon. Um, could you leave Jeeves out here to make sure the house doesnt burn down or melt or something?"

"Have some faith! but yes I can, was planning on it anyway. Have fun! Going to go read or something."

I grabbed some coffee and went upstairs while everyone else filed back in, leaving Jeeves to his lonely fate. I started with my new algebra and calculus texts. I heard Ian booting up his xbox next door through the open doorways.

"Good luck in there Ian."

"Hah, luck is for people without skill sis, but thanks. Plan on joining me later?"

"Maybe, still thinking of some computer tinkering later. But for now, I want to make sure my integers are up to the tasks I need them for."

"Better you than me."

I buckled in, and hours passed. I was almost finished with the second text when I heard steps on the stairs. I could still hear the silly sounds of Halo, so I knew it wasn't Ian.

"Who's there? Jeeves that you?"

"Yes mistriss Min, I came to inform you that something seems to be wrong. The machine seems well behind schedule, and not performing properly."

"Oh crap, better check it."

I ran downstairs, passing Jeeves, visions of explosions dancing in my brain. What greeted me however, was far different. The three dimensional printer was working fine, it had already printed about an inch of material. I watched it work for a moment as Jeeves joined me. It was simply working too slow. The precision was there, but the time taken to achieve it was way below projections.

"Oh crap, I'm an idiot. I know what's wrong, be right back. Just keep making sure it doesn't go all TNT on us."

I ran back upstairs, grabbing some speakers, my headphones, and the game discs for the laptop and ran back downstairs. I set the speakers into the laptop and cranked them up, using itunes to create a playlist. Soon the strains of some nice remixes were floating through the air. I started loading one of the games "craft of war" on the lap while bopping along, setting the game sounds to filter directly to the headphones while Jeeves watched. Checking the programming through my laptop again, I confirmed what I'd half guessed. The introduction of the music had actually sped up the machine, and it was now responding 49% faster.

Jeeves said nothing, simply sitting down beside me and watching. Soon I was bopping to the music and moving little orcs around the screen, terrorizing the online world of Maisroth within the tutorial.

"What's with all the noise?" Ian yelled from the doorway.

"Nothing really, just the party is down here! Come in, and bring me some coffee! Your goddess demands coffee!"

"Whatever sis, coming."

He came back with the required sacrifice, looking around.

"So what's the deal? we starting a rave in the garage? Ansd since when do you actually listen to crap like that?"

I pointed behind me.

"...Holy shit sis; it's dancing!"

I looked again myself. The spigots were wheeling around each other, armatures weaving in and out; even the mixing tank was shifting in time.

"...Yes I guess it is."

I went back to the game.

"So that's normal?"

"...Why wouldn't it be?"

"...Right. So is this the new Craft of War game? I so wanted to play this when it came up, but my crappy PC wouldn't run it."

"Well mine will, so sit back, I'll let you take a turn in a bit."

After the tutorial I went straight to online multiplayer, making and moving my armies with reckless abandon. It did not take me long to understand the mechanics and basic strategies involved in the game. So I was climbing in the rankings fairly quickly. Oddly, Ian did not utter a single peep once I'd gotten going, preferring to watch me, apparently.

"Sure you don't want a turn?"

"Positive, watching you own these guys is pretty enjoyable. More coffee?"

"No, I can't, made a deal with Jeeves. Can you grab me some of the juice instead?"

"Sure, coming up."

The next game started as he came back with the juice.

"No, you should scout. take one of your little miner guys, and move him all around the map so you can see where your opponent is, and what he's building. Vision is very important in a game like this."

"Ah, and I just build another miner to mine, cause this one likely won't live."

"Yep, that's it."

"Seems harsh; that poor little guy, I want to see him make it back."

"Well I'm not saying don't try it. It's just not likely, and his information will save all kinds of lil guys of yours."

We played a bit more; at some point, Ricky had joined us. I didn't even notice untill he leaned over and said.

"So what's that one doing?"

"Oh he's casting unhallowed soil, to buff my ghouls and damage the other guys archers."

"Cool; Nice game."

"Yes, it's pretty fun. So what brings you over?"

"Just wanted to hang out; see what you were doing. Any more robots built after I left yesterday?"

"Nah, I did finish the printer though."

"Yep, I see that, it's just chugging away. Kind of weird seeing half an engine there though. I am assuming the mixing tank is supposed to be glowing and giving off heat waves like that?"

I minimized the game and checked.

"Well within tolerances. Jeeves?"

"All seems well, I am alert."

"Of course you are. All is well Ricky."

"Gotcha; you're getting attacked."

"Shit!"

I almost lost the game; as it was I lost half my city.

"So I heard you got the new shooter as part of your software pack."

I pointed on the workbench, where the paper sleeve containing said game could clearly be seen.

"That's going in next, right after I win this."

"Hey, Ian, could you go get that controller you have?"

"Real gamers QWERTY, wimp."

"Whatever shrimp; just get it."

I glared at Ricky a minute, and he had the good grace to catch on and shoot me an apologetic glance.

"Whatever, I won, installing this thing now."

I checked on the printer again while the computer loaded the game. All was in the green, though the mixing tankw as nearing yellow. I checked the temperature and reduced the microwave pulse width accordingly. Then I simply attached the controller Ian handed me and got out of the way.

"I'm going to get some more coffee; Jeeves you want anything?"

"No mistress Min, I conducted maintenence last night; I am fine. Thank you for asking though."

"Suit yourself. Be right back."

I brought back my coffee, and two mountain dews, which I set in front of the resident game zombies, then settled back to watch the fun. Ricky was truly so awful at shooters, it was inspiring. I mean, how could anyone do worse? At least it was entertaining to watch. After about an hour of this though, we were interrupted by a slightly pleasant yet also somehow slightly annoying 'ding!'.

"Mistress Min..."

"Right, it's done! Just needs to cool a bit on top, then we can throw it in."

Ian and Ricky just stared at me.

"A microwave chime sis? Really?"

"Sure why not? I mean, it was just lying there, and it serves the purpose, doesn't it?"

"No sense of style at all."

"Whatever. Break time is over. Time to get to work again."

I shut down the printer from my laptop and grabbed a socket wrench.

"time to pull an engine; you two want to help?"

"um, sure. Just tell us what to do."

"All you too really need to do is hold lights and tools and such; I don't want to get blamed if you screw something up. I'd rather get blamed if I screw up."

"Fair enough."

And so we got to work, Jeeves and I handling the heavy stuff (mostly Jeeves there, he'd simply lift the front end of the car, allowing me underneath) and Ricky and Ian on light and tool handling duty, repectively. Though I almost had them switch several times...Ricky dropped the light more than once. Not something you want to have happen at all. He was our team's best ball handler for pity's sake!

"Dinner time! We come bearing pasta!"

"We're in here, on our way! Jeeves could you do me a favor and finish up? I'd keep helping but pretty sure mom would drag me away. As for after, well..."

"You are fatigued; I know.' He approached me and lifted my face to meet his eyes. "I'd be happy to mistress Min, there is no need to feel guilty; I exist to serve you."

How could he do that? He always knew what I was thinking, and what to say.

"Thank you Jeeves, would you like me to leave the music on?"

"No, thank you mistress Min; I appreciate the thought, but you might need your laptop."

"Alright.let me know if there is something I can do to help."

I went inside and shut the door behind me, leaning against it.

"Something wrong honey? You look a little flustered." Mom looked up from placing plates on the table.

"No everything is fine; dad, your engine is done, Jeeves is finishing up the install now. It should be ready to drive by tomorrow, easily."

"That's great! No problems on that front?"

"no it's done, and it's being tested now. The old engine is pretty much out."

"Wow, faster than I expected."

From the garage we heard a nice throaty roar. I smiled.

"I do good work."

Seeing the look of unbridled joy on my father's face almost made the entire past week worthwhile. Almost.

"Can't celebrate quite yet father; it'll be around 4 more hours before the cuda is ready. But a working engine we do have. If you want you can speed up the process by helping Jeeves, but I intend to get some sleep. I feel quite tired again."

"that reminds me, next saturday we have an appointment with Dr. Halleck...a check up on your anemia, to determine if the medication is helping, or if more aggressive measures are necessary to get it under control."

"...Joy."

As is our family tradition, once the plates were set conversation stopped and we focused on chowing down. I tried to emulate my mother this time, taking smaller bites, not resting my arms on the table. This earned a nod of approval as father and Ian pigged out, oblivious. As soon as I finished, Mother made shooing motions at me. I did not argue.

Instead I stuck my tongue out at Ian in passing, knowing he'd be the one to do dishes, and made my way to my room, shedded my clothes, and buried myself in covers, dreading what morning would bring.

"Mistress Min, time to wake and ready yourself for school."

I rolled over to see Jeeves smiling at me with a tray of coffee and croissants, both still steaming.

"I'm afraid I'm sick; you'd better call in for me."

He set the tray down and felt my head with the back of his hand, in a time honored tradition. I really shouldn't have built that sensor in there...

"Mistress Min, other than a slight blood pressure differential, you are within tolerances. I refuse to call the school for you. Please get ready for school."

"Traitor." I dubbed him as he left, no doubt to ready breakfast for everyone else. I fired up my laptop while chewing, checking the latest news.

Sigh. I really did not want to do this.

"Min? Better get ready."

"Don't suppose I can convince you that I'm sick mom?"

"Not a chance, I already spoke to Jeeves. It won't be as bad as you think honey, I promise."

"sigh. Alright, this is me getting ready. How's the weather look?"

"You might need a jacket, but it's sunny out. you should be fine with just a tee shirt later if you want."

"I do want; plain clothes are the order of the day.' I grabbed some, suiting action to my words. 'Seen what Jeeves did to my old clothes yet? You should look in my closet; it's positively shocking."

"Well since you invited me, I might. Got to admit he cooks a mean breakfast though."

"Alright well jeans and tee it is then. I'll be right down."

I beat Ian to the door barely, and gave him the finger as I closed and locked it. He seemed a bit surprised, but let it pass. After a quick shower to wake up (relatively, this stupid hair was longer than ever, and this body seemed to be getting more sensitive each day.) I dressed and made my way downstairs for more coffee. Jeeves was waiting, brush in hand next to my usual spot, a steaming cup of bliss waiting for me.

Next to the steaming cup of bliss, which I took and sipped, were papers. The school identity of one Minerva Campbell, age 14, to be exact.

"You don't mind dropping those off do you? I need to do some errands today."

"No problem, I've got it."

I checked my clock inset on the microwave. It showed that the time was nigh, and the sword of Damocles was set to drop. Jeeves finished making breakfast for everyone else just before Ian appeared, looking far too chipper for a morning.

"Good morning loving family! what's up?"

"You are Ian, please have some sympathy for those of us that aren't yet."

"But you're upright and everything sis."

"It's a foul and odious lie."

"Whatever. Thanks Jeeves, looks great." Chewing loudly on a croissant he sat down, looking over at the stack of papers.

"You're going to be bored out of your skull sis."

"Oh, like I'm not bored to death in school already? You're talking to the person that championed the 'sleeping hall' idea."

"Never you mind, you'll see."

I dragged my feet some more, glancing between my apparently unconcerned parents until Jeeves snapped me out of it.

"It is time to leave mistress Min. If you wait any longer, you might not arrive on time."

"Ugh, OK."

I got up to leave; Jeeves already had my book bag, but did not hand it over. I arched my eyebrow at him.

"I shall of course accompany you to make sure you come to no harm."

I looked to my parents. Neither had looked up from their morning reading.

"Whatever, let's go then."

I led the way out into the sunshine, which contrasted the bitter chill nicely. In two steps I had turned around, only to find Jeeves handing me my lab coat, which I would have sworn hadn't been in his hands before. Shrugging, I put it on. Jeeves cleared his throat as I turned around. I looked back to see my glasses in his outstretched hand. After a short non verbal battle of wills, I took those as well, and put them on.

Ricky was waiting for me at the usual corner, ball in hands and looking kind of lost.

"You OK? You seem a bit out of it."

"Yeah I'm fine, you're just a bit late is all."

"Blame this joker,' I pointed at Jeeves. 'I do." Yes I knew that wasn't fair, but Jeeves took it in silence, as expected.

"Heh, what did he do, forget the coffee?"

"Something like that. Oh, before I forget, here."

I handed over the CD I'd had Jeeves make during the night.

"What's this?" He took it, admiring the cover art that Jeeves had made for it.

"That is Avenged Sevenfold, as requested. Things got a bit hectic around the old homestead, but I did not forget."

"Awesome, thanks man, I really appreciate it."

We walked along in a somewhat awkward but somewhat comfortable silence, interspersed with the staccato drumming of ball to pavement. I stopped as the school came into view, not realizing it till I felt Jeeves's gentle hands clasp my shoulders, starting me moving again. His breath tickled my ear.

"There is nothing to fear, mistress Min. I will not let them hurt you."

I steeled myself and walked up, following Ricky and maybe hiding behind him a little. I noticed I wasn't really late, the first bell was still maybe 5 minutes off, but everyone already seemed to be here. No parking spaces in the small lot, and what looked to be every kid in town just casually hanging out at the front door. I set myself and walked past the whispering crowd. I could pick out a few snippets, but nothing concrete or damning:

"Can you believe it? Shes..."

"Is she really Myrc?"

"What the...no way!"

Head held high, I ignored everyone till I reached the door proper, there the principal himself, Mr Macenroe was waiting.

"Good morning Minerva, how are you today?"

"I've been better Mr McEnroe, and yourself? What brings you to the front door to mingle with the hoi piloi?"

"Well I'm afraid it's about Jeeves. Since he isn't related to you, and not a listed guardian, we can't let him in...he will have to leave school grounds."

I took in his apologetic face, trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my mouth and running off back down the street.

"It is alright mistress Min, The day is pleasant, I will wait outside. Excuse me Mr McEnroe is it not? Those rules do not apply to catered or delivered meals do they?"

"No Jeeves they do not, we typically have some meal deliveries from some people who don't like our cafeteria, and some students leave to get take out as well."

"Then I will see you at lunch mistress Min."

He took my hand and kissed it farewell, whispering; "If you need me, simply call...I will be near." And he walked off, amid more whispers.

"Alright, Mr McEnroe, could you please take these? they are headed to you anyway."

I handed him the paperwork from my coat, and grabbed the book bag Jeeves was forced to leave.

"Sure, I'll see they get filed. Welcome back Minerva."

I waved at him as I walked past, not really trusting myself to speak. I had really hoped Jeeves could have simply stood in back, watching me, ready to bust me out of this madhouse at a word. Sigh. Oh well, first class of the day. I saw at our customary table a kite that looked suspiciously like something I'd made sitting on it, with a large A stuck to it with tape. When had I...?

"Hey. You got us an A after all, I didn't think that helicopter kite would fly at all." Ricky stated walking in.

"I honestly don't remember making it, or giving it to you...but I must have."

"Yeah you were still pretty out of it. But it worked like a charm, the slightest breeze started the rotors, which made it all but fly."

"I don't doubt it at all, it's all proven technology."

I stared at the stylized sharks maw fondly. The paper rotor blades were in the teeth. The rest of the class filed in as I set it aside. their own faces mainly filled with varying degrees of dismay as they took in their own project grades. I looked away before I could reasonably be considered to have made eye contact with anyone.

"good morning class, as you can see your final grades for last week's lab are completed; I was pleasantly surprised by many of you. Ah, miss Campbell, welcome back. I was most pleased with your project. The straws for inner struts were inspired."

"thank you sir, pleased to be back."

Hey a little white lie never hurt anyone, right?

"Alright class, settle down. To begin the week, we will now look at fish. Guess you all know what that means for lab on Wednesday, right? To start, anyone know what adaptations make fish at home underwater?"

...and cue boring lecture. Rather than deal with that I decided to just read my textbook; after all it couldn't be more boring than Mr Welsh, right? Right? And somehow it wasn't. I admit I got lost in a world of fish adaptations for a time...and I suspect Mr welsh saw what I was doing and just let me read. The real mystery was Ricky, who was quiet the entire hour. I'd look up to see him looking everywhere but at me.

The bell rang and I sighed, knowing I had so much more of this torture to go. I packed up to go and waited for everyone else to leave, only then moving myself. No sooner Had I taken a step outside then I was aware of the entire physics class loitering just outside, and a few more besides. Of course my math class was all the way at the other end of the hall.

In short, crap was about to hit the fan earlier than I had hoped but about when I expected, and I was screwed. Not letting the stomach butterflies pop out my mouth and ruin their rather obvious surprise, I strode towards my second class, also ignoring the assorted stampeding of the entire school behind me.

"OK, if you're going to be jerks about this, you should at least try to be a little more subtle...this is down right unprofessional." I said loudly without turning around.

"I see you finally went for it, eh Myrc?"

At least my accuser was who I thought it'd be. Good old Gordan, you can always depend on him. I turned around, and at least one of those with him was a mild surprise. I expected Bernard of the mutant hate train fame, but I didn't expect Pam on the other side of Gordon.

"Excuse me?"

"You finally go for the whole gay cross dressing thing, right fag?"

He couldn't. He couldn't possibly be this stupid.

"I look like a cross dresser? You!" I pointed to someone I vaguely knew.

"Harry, do I look like I'm cross dressing to you?"

Gordon slammed me into the lockers to my left painfully, knocking the wind from me and rapping my skull...I sagged onto him.

"Don't twist my words freak! Don't think I won't kick your ass cause you look like a girl!"

"Idiot, I AM a girl!' I wheezed. 'Furthermore if I ever was gay I can't possibly be any more, I can only be straight or a lesbian! You win OK? I can't fight you like this. So do your worst!"

When He let go I fell of course, and was just starting to look up into his shell shocked face when Ricky plowed directly into Gordon with a tackle that would make 'Flash' himself proud. I had never seen him so pissed. I swear I heard bones break as Ricky pounded away like a piston, battering Gordon multiple times before Bernard pulled him off.

I blearily looked around, noting faces as the teachers finally waded through, pulling the two combatants apart.

"hey you OK?"

"been better Margaret, how are you?"

Margaret 'Maggie' Johnson, a rather tall willowy brunette who fancied herself a journalist offered her hand, concern writ on her face in neon, helped me up.

"Thanks."

I turned to Mr welsh, who was basically sitting on Ricky.

"Sir, he defended me, I'd appreciate it if you'd let him up."

Mr welsh warily complied, asking the crowd in general and me in particular:

"Alright so what happened?"

"Gordon attacked me sir, Ricky came to my defense." I blurted, aware now that I had tears, actual tears, leaving hot damning tracks down my cheeks.

Mr Welsh heaved a heavy sigh.

"Really flash? Even after the this morning's assembly?"

"That's not how it happened Mr Welsh!" Bernard yelled.

"then how did it happen Monty?"

"She punched first Mr welsh!"

Before I could get my outrage worked up to truly incandescent levels, my rage was derailed by the normally easygoing Mr. Welsh's biting words.

"Son, don't take me for a fool. Get out of here now, and pray I forget your possible involvment. Anyone want to tell me the truth?"

"Sir, it happened just as Minerva said. I saw the whole thing...and so did most everyone here."

Maggie, to my defense! I'll never call her a hack again! I turned to Ricky; he was already beginning to show evidence of taking a few shots to the face himself, and was cradling his right hand with his left. But as our eyes met he grinned, and I had to shake my head.

"Ricky I swear I can't take you anywhere."

"Sorry, you know me...any excuse at all for that bastard. think I got a date with our loving principal; see you in a bit."

"Yeah, don't forget the nurse too."

He waved as he left, escorted by Mr welsh and a fuming Gordon, all practiced nonchalance. Picking up my bookbag I heard Mr Welsh yell:

"Anyone still in the halls not named Campbell in one minute is late...Miss Campbell, take all the time you need; see the nurse if you feel the
need."

"Thank you sir, but I feel fine."

"Hey come on." Maggie said, yanking me to my feet rather easily; I think my feet left tile for a moment. Maybe Maggie was a mutant?

"Where do you want me to go?"

"Hey hey, it's nothing like that!" She leaned in close, allowing me a whiff of what smelled almost like...cinnamon?

"I just thought you'd like to clean up before class, you know."

"Ahh, good point I suppose...so what did Mr Welsh mean about an assembly? I didn't get any notice."

"Uuuhh well, I probably shouldn't say but you'll hear about it anyway, sooner or later. The assembly was basically about you. I mean, they didn't mention you by name exactly, but everyone sort of knew it was. Mr. McEnroe called an early morning assembly for 7:30 last Friday, and regaled us all with ideas on what the word tolerance meant. Specifically, tolerance for others who may be different, and those who may be less fortunate than others."

I groaned so hard it sounded like a monster prowling the halls.

"Just freaking great, wonder if he wants to unload the other barrel now?"

Then I saw where I was being led. The girl's restroom, den of potential evil and beatings. Maggie hadn't let go of my hand...and when I slowed (a natural response I think) she yanked on it again.

"Come on, even with Mr Welsh's blessing we need to hurry!"

"Um, I don't think..."

She turned, assuming a classic annoyed pose, leaning away from me, tapping her foot and arms crossed.

"What? It's pretty obvious by looking at you that you aren't faking at all, you aren't dressed up or anything. You can't seriously be thinking of holding it all day either."

"...Maybe?"

"Hah, no way girl, just wont happen. Come on, no one is going to object, they are all in class, remember?"

She grabbed my hand again, and pulled me inside.

The first thing I noticed was the smell...It was more pleasant then the men's room, but only barely. No urinals of course, a machine of some sort in the corner next to the hand dryers, sinks with large mirrors posted in front of them. The eggshell blue paint with pink accents was different though, and didn't really match the dirty white floor tiles. I looked carefully, there was indeed no one present save us.

"come on, come on!" Maggie stood in front of the first mirror, damp paper towels in hand.

"You get your face, ill get the dirt off your clothes, OK?"

"Um, sure."

I grabbed a towel or two and started wiping the tears off...thank goodness they weren't that noticeable. Maggie wiped my coat free of dirt (stain resistance for the win).

"Hold on a second, got a spider web or something on your jeans here." She yanked hard on my jeans, straightening them and wiping all the foreign substance away....whatever it was.

"So um, how did you get your hair braided like that? loose but with a ring holding it in place?"

"Hum? Oh Jeeves does it, no idea how."

"Drat, was hoping you could teach me, it looks amazing on you."

"Thanks, but It's really done that way cause Jeeves doesn't want me to cut it."

"That would be a crime, your hair is beautiful! So is Jeeves like your butler or something?"

"Something like that; he's new, I only got him last week. Knows all sorts of things though."

"Right, we'd better go. Come on!"

Again with the hand grabbing. Now she was running down the halls! I had to sprint or be dragged, but we made it to Mr Mullins' class. He didn't even bat an eye as we walked in late and sat down. But then I realized from my vantage, the blackboard was hazy and indistinct. Just great...I had lost my glasses then forgot about them!

"Hey." whispered Ralph from right next to me.

"What's up Ralph?"

"I believe these are yours." he whispered back, carefully looking away so as not to garner notice. He had my glasses, and they weren't broken! Whew"

"thanks Ralph, they are."

I carefully checked them over for scratches, and finding none put them on. Now I could make out the blackboard, mistakes and all. Well that was annoying, Mr Mullins had a 3 instead of a 2 for the solution. I turned to see Ralph looking at me, and remembered. Note passing time. I wrote it, rather astonished that my calligraphy had improved:

"You knew, didn't you?"

His note responded: "No, but I suspected; I'll explain later."

I nodded to him and turned to the blackboard once again, trying to focus. It was so odd...a week ago I'd be asleep, but I just couldn't calm down with that error glaring at me. It annoyed me to no end for some reason, and I just could not pin down why. The bell rang before I could figure it out.

This time I joined the throng quickly, hoping it'd be more difficult to single me out as a member of the herd. But as I passed the blackboard I quickly wrote that pesky 2 in it's proper place. There, harmony restored. Geography time, but this class I didn't have a book for, so I kept a wary eye out for assholes while pit stopping at my locker. I saw Maggie surrounded by a sea of girls and threw a hesitant wave as I passed, which she returned with a smile.

I was able to get to Geography without any further incidents thank goodness, sitting down and making myself as small as possible...which was pretty small. This was truly hostile territory; I had no friends of any stripe here.

Oddly enough that seemed to help, because other than feeling the entire rooms' worth of eyes on me in turns as a bunch of mini suns boring into my skin, the class passed uneventfully as we learned about Poland (continuing on our Rhine theme). It was a relief in a way, I was able to listen to Mrs. Carson drone and read. Soon this blissful solace ended, and I was faced with the class I'd been trying to forget: gym.

I didn't think I'd be allowed to participate at all, after all Ralph wasn't...but he was forced to sit in the Gym and watch while doing whatever it was he did, dodging the random 'accidental' ball thrown his direction; was that to be my fate?

I again did the vanish into the herd thing, only it didn't seem to be working very well; everyone was looking at me and whispering again; damn this hair! I didn't need to empathize with Ralph more! At the entrance to the Gym I saw someone I almost never had any contact with, assistant coach Ruth Howard, wife of coach Howard of basketball fame, and resident female coach handling pretty much all the teams that weren't coached by parents.

"Just who I wanted to see! good day to you Miss Campbell, unfortunately due to health concerns, yadda yadda yadda, you know what I'm getting at here, right?"

"Yes, I do, ride the bench cause you're afraid I'll go all crazy and kill everyone with my mad amazing skills?"

"Well actually, the opposite...you're anemic, you get a pass."

"sigh...I'd have liked it more if you'd told me the other thing."

"I know Minerva; look at it this way though...at least you can get all your homework done before you leave school. That's always a plus, right?"

"I suppose... Thanks anyway. Good luck with your charges today."

"Good luck with your homework."

I waved and sat on the bleachers, getting out my geography; only book I brought and longest read.

"Hey. Not there." Ralph, my partner in boredom?

"What do you mean?"

"Your in the first bleacher, a prime spot to have someone accidentally run over you or chuck balls at your head."

"The voice of depressing experience? Alright where do you normally hang out?"

"Around the side here, much harder to target you, they need to arc things, and they can't run over you."

"OK. So what do you normally do during gym?"

"Just hang out really, watch the fun from a safe seat."

"Sounds boring."

"Well there is something else I do, and you're going to find out anyway I think."

He pulled out an obviously lovingly crafted origami crane.

"Neat, so you learn to make these?"

"Yep...want to try?"

"Um, sure."

He handed me paper and a book. 'Origami for beginners'.

"You go ahead and pick want you want and go to work, I'm not much of a teacher."

"K."

And that it what occupied my time, I made sad mutant creations best left unspoken, but called frogs while Ralph made some
wonderful cranes from colored paper. When the bell rang I crumpled them up in disgust and threw them out.

"Sorry, I kind of wasted your paper. I'll bring you some more tomorrow."

"No problem, it's cheap enough. That last frog didn't look bad."

"Heh yes it did, no need to sugarcoat it, it was awful."

"These things can't be picked up immediately."

"I guess so...lunchtime. See you later."

Quickly leaving before I could get surrounded somehow, I made my way to the front door. No Jeeves, wonder I was kind of
expecting him here....

Wait, that was an arrow the exact color of my hair, pointing outside! Pretty sure that wasn't there before. Cautiously I followed it expecting Jeeves but ready for anything. Outside under a large maple tree, a somewhat sturdy folding table and cushioned chair were placed, with a covered plate, silverware, a bottle of something that might be wine, and a lit candle!

"Jeeves? Is all this your doing?"

"Mistress Min, welcome! Of course it is my doing. Is there something wrong with my choice of location?"

"No, no, it's fine. Your elaborate preparations just took me by surprise is all. So what's for lunch?"

"Salmon spinach feta quiche with sparkling white grape juice. I apologize for the beverage, but you're underage."

"Alright, I'll pretend I knew what you just said. I'm trusting you here."

He moved the chair for me, I sat and he adjusted it, then uncovered the plate. He poured a glass of the juice while I picked up my fork, playing the butler role to the hilt. Looking around I could see we had gained a small hesitant audience, mainly comprised of girls. Heh, they won't dare start anything with Jeeves here! I was safe.

"How has your day been mistress Min? Everything all right?"

"Could have gone better, but not that far from what I expected. Wow, this is really good! I thought when you said spinach I'd be spitting it out."

"Thank you for your high praise mistress Min."

I eyed him suspiciously...I could have sworn that was a joke, but he was straight faced as ever. Was he British somehow?

"You're welcome. I think I'll bring my lappy tomorrow, too much free time to use it since I'm being kicked out of gym."

He crouched next to me, looking me in the eye.

"I am sorry mistress Min, I know how much such activities meant to you."

Now why was my vision blurring again? Damn it!

"It's ok, not your fault...just life, that's all."

"You are of course correct. Am I correct in assuming you do not wish to be disturbed?"

"You are correct; why?"

"Several of your fellow student are approaching this position; I shall keep them from disturbing you."

I paused with the fork in my mouth.

"Nothing permanent, understand? No need to make enemies yet."

"Understood mistress Min."

I finished my lunch in peace as he dealt with the pack of girls swarming him, chattering animatedly. None of them were even glancing at me, which was good. Confusing, but good.

I finished with a good 5 minutes to spare, taking my time and enjoying the serenity. As soon as I started to move however Jeeves was there, pulling back my chair and helping me up.

"thank you Jeeves, everything was wonderful. Am I to assume you'll be at this spot tomorrow?"

"Circumstances permitting."

"I approve, it's a good spot. Well back to the grind, you'll be here when I get out?"

"I'll be waiting at the door mistress Min. As always, should you need me, please call."

"Alright. So, um...what are all of you guys doing here?" I asked as we caught up to the pack of my peers (?).

"Oh nothing, we were just talking to your butler. So what did he make you?"

"Spinach quiche; I'd recommend it. It was tasty."

"Come on or we'll all be late!"

My hand got grabbed again by someone I barely knew, but this time it was by Rebecca 'Becca' Hollingsworth, one of our cheerleaders. The tiny throng passed the doors as I looked back to Jeeves, who waved at me, smiling. what a traitor.

"Hey! relax. We aren't going to do anything to you."

The gang led me into the bastion of femininity named the ladies' bathroom. I found a wall to put my back to.

"Relax, relax...we aren't going to hurt you." Genine 'ne ne' Summerfield cut in while making calming gestures.

"then why...?"

"Two reasons; one, we noticed you were avoiding this place and you were getting rather...antsy, shall we say? And the other well, has to do with Jeeves. So get settled first and then we just want to talk, OK?"

Damn was it that obvious?

"Umm, OK."

I found the first stall and locked it, taking a breath.

"First thing Min; may I call you Min?"

"sure, I'd prefer it."

I took the paper and made a little seat ring (doesn't everyone?), unzipped and sat down. I half expected when I looked up to see them all staring over the top, but there was nothing of the sort. They weren't staring under the stall at me either, hmm. I finished up, cleaned up, and went out to wash my hands.

"So what gives?"

"Well we'd like to know about Jeeves."

"What about him?"

"where does he come from, how do you know him, things like that."

"Well he comes from junk. I have a mutant power; it's called devising. Basically its a fancy word for saying I build things. Jeeves is one of the first things I built."

"Ahhh I see."

I took them in, half the group looked crestfallen, the other half looked more intense, if anything.

"So wait, you built a handsome guy to do your every whim?"

"Well if you want to look at it that way...I'm not sure what I was thinking when I built him exactly, I don't always. Sometimes I enter a sort of trance when I'm about to build things; I think for him the idea was to build someone who could take care of me since my health is crap now."

I heard a few collective sighs, and Maggie jumped in.

"That's so cool! You have a real mutant power!"

"I know, not like that lame-o Ralph. love your new hair by the way, that shade is so beautiful."

Suddenly it was a dam broke to the twilight zone, and they were all whispering and gabbling like geese.

"Oh shit, we've got to move girls, bell in one! come on Min!"

"Study hall this hour, right Min?" Genine asked as we hurried out.

"Yep, you too if I remember. See you there!"

I put on the speed and left her behind weaving through the crowd to my locker and quickly grabbing the books I'd need. I made it just as the bell rang, as usual for me. Mr. Mullins didn't even bat an eye. the hour passed quickly, but by 3 minutes to go I'd had all my homework done...I'd tried to go slower, but I just couldn't. The bell rang and I flitted through the halls again, stowing my books and taking just my English text, a notebook, and my pen.

"Good to see you Miss Campbell." Mrs. Holmes greeted me as I walked into her class.

"your paper is on your desk...a very well constructed argument."

The paper I'd written last week, I'd forgotten about it! I turned it over as I sat down, staring at the A...such a high cost for something so simple, and I'd have been happy with it last week.

"Alright class, on to Hemmingway. The old man and the sea, you're all supposed to have it read, so let's discuss it."

I'd not gotten that message so I pointed to the book when Mrs Holmes eyes roved my way. She nodded, so I tuned everyone else out and started reading. In perhaps 20 minutes I joined the discussion, story read confident I could hold my own. (Such a sad story though.) And at last the final bell rang! Merciful freedom! I was out like a shot, so fast I almost missed Mrs. Holmes parting comment of:

"Report due on old man and the sea by Friday! 500 words, no less!"

And the assorted groans which followed. Taking one last quick stop at my locker, I grabbed my book bag, emptied it, and stuck just the English book and my notebooks inside then ran for the door. I ignored all the miscellaneous chatter and went straight to Jeeves.

"so did you see what happened to Ricky?"

"He was escorted into an ambulance and left. Were you involved in that mistress Min?"

"I might have been, indirectly."

"You are not injured, so I must assume you are telling the truth."

"That's how I heard it. Good afternoon Min."

Holy...!

I turned to see none other than Terry Douglas standing there, a rather attractive if blockish looking woman beside him.

"Don't DO that! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry, sorry. May I introduce my partner Candice white?"

She obligingly flipped me her credentials, allowing me to verify them.

"He doesn't look sorry Mrs. White, Could you thrash him for me?"

"That's miss White, never married. And sure kid, I'll beat him once we're off duty. So how was the first day? Want anyone disappeared?"

"No, thanks. None of that please."

"Shes joking. You had us a bit worried though, you didn't even notice us this morning, just walked right by."

"Sorry, not a morning person. So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"No visit kiddo, we're on duty. I just decided to break the agency character a bit and introduce my partner so you knew who she was. I did promise I'd do that, remember?"

"I do, so you're watching me now?"

"Sure are, and so is the neighborhood MCO." He pointed towards the school roof, where I could just barely make out a figure.

"that is Mr. Sands, of our recent mutual acquaintance. Wave to him."

We all waved.

"OK I'm done with all this for now, I just want to go home. This is been a strange and annoying day."

"don't mind if we stay close do you? we are obviously heading that way."

Candice punched Terry in the arm.

"Idiot, where is your professional pride? don't mind him Miss Campbell, hes overdue for our brainwashing."

"Minerva please, and I don't mind."

"No, can't hear of it, you'll see more of us, or one or the other of us....seems the director is too stingy to pay for two sets of field agents."

"Isn't that always the way of it?"

"Indeed; see you later Min."

I watched them walk off.

"So, you were aware of them the entire time, I hope?"

"I was mistress Min, they arrived within sensor range at 4;22 am and have followed you ever since, being no closer than 5 feet, and no farther than 329.7 feet."

"Well as long as you were aware, I'm fine with it."

A short silent walk later and I was finally home. Alone, as I'd beaten everyone else here.Normally I'd be practicing baseball or basketball, or playing, especially with my homework basically done, but I just didn't feel up to it. Ian was likely out having a ball.

"Are you alright Mistress Min?"

"I guess so Jeeves. Just tired."

There came that hand again.

"you're blood pressure is low; you are likely fatigued. I think a nap is in order."

without warning he picked me up, ignoring my protests, and carried me up to my bed. depositing me onto it he added:

"please do not move, just rest, I will be back shortly with a beverage."

Bossed around by my own robot butler! The nerve...! Well not like I could fight him, so rest I did.

I awoke to dim light; my desk lamp was on to provide illumination, but the sun had set. My sigh caused Jeeves to stir.

"How long?"

"Three hours, 23 minutes, 14 seconds mistress Min."

"Crap. So it's close to six, and I have homework to make up. I wanted to work on a few things."

"Just design them mistress Min, and I will be your hands while you sleep."

"That isn't nearly as much fun, and would still take more time than I will have tonight besides. Did I miss dinner?"

"You did. Would you like something?"

"Just a snack please... and some coffee."

"As soon as possible mistress Min."

He was slipping. Yesterday he would have had both items ready and waiting. I really needed to crack him open and take a look.... but first, homework! It was all so boring... so easy. I looked up to find the coffee, already cooling, with some sort of lemon cookies. Both still being held on Jeeves tray, in his hands. His look - expectation, with a small amount of exultation - was mildly disconcerting.

"What are you grinning at, you goof?"

His smile grew wider. A stray thought about the material his teeth were made of flitted into my head and flew out on swift wings.

"Your homework is complete."

I looked down, sure enough, it was. These black outs, trances, whatever they were, were getting annoying.

"How did you know?"

"You looked up, of course."

"Of course."

The logic was faulty, but in this case he was right. With a shrug I turned to my computer, wondering what project to start. I caught inspiration from a chance glance out the window, into the star-speckled night. Perhaps not all childhood dreams had to die?

I worked on ramjet engines until the sky began to lighten; baby steps. After a nap of course, I was late... so I kicked my brother out of the bathroom and jumped in.

"Darn it Min, hurry up!"

"I am, I am! you know how long it takes to wash this stupid hair?!?"

I rushed out, hair wet but clothes thankfully on in time to hear him mutter:

"Well why not cut it then?"

I stopped and got into his face, whispering one word so he'd understand.

"Mom."

His blanch and nod was pretty gratifying.

Breakfast was an English muffin, ham, and scrambled eggs; One look at the parental units and I put my work down to focus on it. Neither approved of me working at the table. As usual Jeeves dried and brushed my hair while I ate and sipped coffee. None of us spoke, focused on our own breakfasts and concerned with our daily tasks.

It's amazing, the things you can consider normal, and after so little time spent building such a routine. Human adaptation is incredible.

Jeeves finished just before I did, and had my bag ready. Being slightly late I decided to run. Luckily enough I could still do that much at least. I couldn't lift more than a feather, but since I didn't weigh any more than a feather, it worked out... sort of. I flew to the end of the block without slowing. And there, waiting for me, was Ricky.

He was tomato faced, and late... and seemed to be stuck to the corner as if glued. He wasn't moving towards school at all. Was he sick or something?

"Hey Min."

"Good morning. Come on, we'll be late!"

In passing and with a full head of steam I snagged his hand; a maneuver I had done before when he wasn't moving fast enough for something or other, mainly school. This time however, the outcome was different. Instead of him being dragged along I almost came to a complete stop instead, bleeding momentum as he staggered two steps before his hand slipped from mine.

Stupid physics; how dare it mock me this way!

"Seriously, come on! We only have 4 minutes and 12 seconds left! That's barely enough time, let's go!"

I started running and soon enough he was right behind; well behind Jeeves anyway, who was moving along at a comfortable looking lope of his own. This fact seemed to annoy Ricky, who started really trying.

That of course, spurred me on, because illogical as it was, I really wanted to see if I could at least win a foot race against my friend anymore. I was sure I could, but I kept hearing a nagging little voice tell me I couldn't. The irony of the situation is that Jeeves is the normal one here - he didn't care. He only seemed concerned about whether I'd make it to school on time.

Lengthening my stride as much as possible, I increased the pace and focused on my breathing. Despite these measures, Ricky pulled up beside me, easily keeping pace. I ignored the voice again as it whispered (You knew that would happen, you're short, with a smaller stride, and your hips are now most inefficient compared to before) and tried to find another gear. As if to mock such efforts, Ricky just passed me as we reached the school doors.

"Great run; man you're fast."

The irony that I was far less fast than when I was a man was not lost on me, making that statement a good outpouring of salt on some recently open wounds. I never would have lost that big a lead on Ricky as a guy.I decided to be the bigger person and let it pass as we walked in quickly, Jeeves looking rather forlorn, alone at the gate.

"So what were you doing standing around Ricky, we were both late!"

I really hope he wasn't waiting on me. We had an unspoken rule, we did not wait for the other after 5 till; it screwed us both detention wise. Luckily we had made it just in time today.

"Well I'd lost my homework at the corner, and was looking for it. That's why I was still there. But then you came and I realized how late I was, and ran when you did."

Pretty good Ricky, but I smelled a lie. How did you lose your homework? Throw it? The wind was blowing south southwest at maybe 5 mph... not really enough to blow homework papers out of anyone's hands unless they were asleep, dead, or distracted. And if homework had been blown out of a hand (the only conclusion about losing it that made sense, since there was no dog near) then why were you standing on the street corner, not moving to retrieve it? Again, I let it pass.

But something was clearly up.

"Alright, well which class was it? You'll need to get with the teacher and work something out with them. At least, after first period."

I made it just as the bell rang, finally collapsing to my desk and getting to take my breather.

"Dude, what happened to you?"

Ralph was looking over, clearly concerned. Ugh, I must look terrible or something.

"Nothing, I was just late and had to run to avoid detention. Is it that noticable or something?"

"Messed up hair, elevated breathing, a bit of red in your face... yeah it's visible, if someone is paying attention. Don't worry, no one else is."

My gaze swept the classroom as Mr. Welsch (late himself) entered. It was true, everyone else was off in their own little world, chatting, reading, or in two cases doing their homework at the last minute, frowns clearly evident. I saw only one or two random glances my direction, indications that I was included in those little worlds to which every fellow student harbored within themselves.

So very unlike yesterday; was one day really all it took? Was a short time all it took for them to move on to the next disaster? Talk about sheeple. I could only hope so really, I was still stinging from my inability to defend myself.

Had I been like that?

If I had at one point been like that, I would need to watch for it. Humans had a tendency to self deception after all, and I wouldn't ever want to go back to that shallow way of thinking... if I'd ever left it in the first place.

Ugh, thinking sucks, you can't control what you think about, and it never stops!

Mr. Welsch's lecture on how weight and stresses could be manipulated and eased through the application of proper
structure was only mildly distracting; didn't we already learn this from the kite exercise? I mean after all the winds from hundreds of feet up would rip a poorly built kite to shreds in minutes, and improperly shared stresses involving flying a big moving sail across the sky would cause one to snap even faster.

But of course, if most of the student's kites hadn't even flown, they wouldn't be likely to absorb that lesson through observation. Which was why we now had to design and create a superstructure to support an egg being dropped from a height of three stories (from the school fire escape, to be specific) using only tooth picks and an adhesive of our choice, glue or tape - but not both. If the egg survived, we got an A, if it didn't, well C's were possible for a good attempt. We would have two weeks in which to read the relevant chapters Mr. Welsch would assign, do the research, and make the structure.

The many groans from the class told me all I needed to know about what most people thought their chances were. As people started getting paired off, Ralph leaned over.

"What are you drawing?"

I looked down. In the margins of my notebook I had been drawing the new ramjet I had been contemplating, in the usual parts unassembled fashion I'd picked up from somewhere. It looked like an engineer had drawn it; there were calculations in regard to wind resistance (for the cowling), fuel usage, and engine lubrication. The ones regarding fuel usage made me frown; it was all wrong. This engine would require way too much power using fossil fuels.

Had I been doing that while listening to Mr. Welsch AND thinking about how crappy my life was? Was my brain multitasking? If so it was doing it without me being aware of it, and that was kind of scary.

"A new engine I was thinking of working on. For a jet."

He looked at it critically.

"Awful small, isn't it? What kind of power you looking to get?"

True, it was only the size of a good coffee snob's coffee maker, but the power was going to be impressive. If I could solve the fuel problem; I mean, 50 gallons of jp-9 for 6 minutes of run time? Who wants to deal with that?

"Oh, somewhere around 17,000 pounds of thrust. Maybe more if I can solve the fuel problem."

His eyes wide for some reason, he asked:

"Fuel problem?"

"Yeah, standard jet fuel just won't cut it; I can't load enough unless I build an entire jet around it, a large one. So I'll need another power source. Possibly nuclear? I don't know...."

"Um, can't you use something a little safer than nuclear power?"

Indignant, I was about to launch into the fine points of nuclear power safety when we were both rudely interrupted. Or perhaps not really rudely interrupted, since we had been talking in class and Mr. Welsh was the one who interrupted us, looking more than a little angry. It's not like we were being loud or anything.

"Since you two are obviously already discussing the problem,' his glare gained intensity briefly before settling back into a low simmer- 'perhaps you two should team up for this next project."

Uh oh.

I looked at Ricky and gave a sort of helpless shrug as I replied.

"Sure, Mr Welsh."

Ralph seemed similarly stunned. Ricky and I grouped up for any and all labs we could, we had since forever. On the other hand, maybe the break would be a good one. Once more a bit focused, I started sketching an egg cradle.

"How about something like this?"

Ralph leaned over again.

"But, how are you going to control the angle of descent?"

"Why do we need to? We can simply build this piston design all the way around, kind of like the NASA bubble around rovers. Won't
matter which way it falls then."

I looked up, and caught some people watching us and whispering. I couldn't make out what was being said, but I could guess. Mr Welsh on the other hand, heard less than I did. He was now back at the blackboard, writing down the chapters to be read, just in case the students couldn't read the typed handout he gave earlier. Mildly sad, that. I idly wondered why we were doing this project now, since Monday we were talking fish adaptations, and Wednesday's lab was supposed to be investigating those up close, using gold fish as the examinees.

when the bell rang moments later I dutifully tucked the hand out into my notebook next to the notes on jet design and rushed out the door. Ricky was lying to me, and acting weird. I couldn't blame him for the latter, but the former... we had never had secrets before, and even if it turned out to be something innocuous, it hurt. If it was that he didn't like the new me, well all he had to do was tell me so, and I'd leave him alone. I wouldn't blame him, I was pretty sure I didn't like the new me.

"Hey, min! Wait up!"

I turned, noticing once again my own personal bubble, an open space in the cresting river current of humanity in which none intruded. I also noticed the stares and whispers again, as people walked past, obviously thinking that I had mutated into something blind and deaf. I spotted an arm waving frantically above the crush behind me, and soon enough Maggie Johnson was bobbing like a cork through the water, against the human wave.

"Hi Maggie, what's up?"

"Not much, I was just wondering if you'd given any thought to making a few more of Jeeves. The line is already forming around the block!"

Seriously? What did they see in that buggy jerk? I mean he followed orders some of the time, but he wasn't in any way reliable.

"I honestly hadn't thought of it, Sorry. I got sidetracked by another idea I've been working on."

She finally reached me, grabbing my arm and dragging me along, Samantha flanking me. The bubble did one thing well; we weren't knocked around while heading to class. Mutant cooties, I had 'em.

"Oh, and what project has caught your fancy? A girl version of Jeeves? A new type of hair dye? Taking over the world?"

Oh, low blow. She caught my glare, but what was surprising was the peripheral view; Samantha's glare from beside me. Against such an onslaught she wilted, throwing us both the puppy dog eyes. The dreaded puppy dog eyes of contrition, to which I had no defense.

"Sorry, thoughtless of me."

I smiled to show I held no hard feelings for the reminder.

"It's OK; don't worry about it. And no, working on a new ramjet engine. It'll end up about the size of a large coffee canister and generate a good 17,000 pounds of thrust up to about 35,000 feet. The problem is the fuel consumption is insane, a gallon every twenty seconds or so, and the heat generated...."

I risked a glance over; Sam was listening sort of intently, but Maggie's eyes had glazed.

"Never mind all that, it's not important, I'll figure it out."

"But a new jet engine? What made you think of that?"

"Not sure really, but I've always wanted to fly planes. FAA probably won't let me now unless I have the power and don't know it, or build my own aircraft."

"So, you're going to build your own planes?"

Maggie looked somewhat excited. Another glance revealed Samantha looking oddly supportive. Maggie's next question floored me though.

"Could I... could we help?"

"Um...."

I was sort of saved by my arrival at algebra. Could they help? Would they help, and not hinder? Would they think I was weird (or weirder) for seeing me in action? As I searched their faces, Samantha surprised us both. Samantha almost never spoke except when called upon by a teacher, preferring to let Maggie do the talking. But this time she seemed to feel it wasn't enough.

"Please? I'd like to help."

I came to a decision. Stall.

"Alright, I'm not in any way saying no, But please let me think on it, OK? Now we've all got to get to class before we get detention; see you both later."

They both nodded and hustled themselves. Neither one looked angry at being put off. At least not yet.

Whew.

I sat down in a hurry again, and the whispers quieted. I grabbed my book and set my book bag down, and looked up to see Ralph in the seat next to mine, to my left... again. While yes, Ralph was supposed to be sitting next to me this period, he had for physics too. While Mr. Welsh was pretty liaise fare about seating, I couldn't imagine Ricky, who had been a few seats away, had been happy about the switch. Maybe that's what Ricky was staring at me about earlier?

"Say Ralph, did you piss Ricky off?"

"Huh? How?"

"You were sitting next to me earlier, Ricky normally does that."

"Ahh, it's first come first serve in physics, and as a devisor you're going to be a pretty hot commodity in class. So if he's bent out of shape about it, well he can just get over it. But he didn't say anything to me or anything like that, no. As far as I know we're cool. Why do you ask?"

"Well he spent a lot of class time staring our direction; you didn't notice?"

"No, I was busier watching the vapid gossiping crew; I didn't really want to feed them any ways to make us the next item."

Oh gods, my reputation. I really did not want to have to worry about that again; my character had already been assassinated once, my behavior impugned.

"Urgh. Not again."

Oops, did not want to say that out loud.

"Don't worry, I won't let them bad mouth you. We're friends, after all."

Hmm, did he say anything like that to me before? Did he try to defend my reputation before? Did I need such a defense before? Did I need someone else to fight such battles for me now? I guess I could have used some help like that before; my own response to people spreading rumors about me was to ignore them and hope they would go away, which led me to being pegged as gay all through middle school. Not to mention all those beatings in the locker and bathrooms if I let my eyes stray (I'd given as good as I got, and that trend hadn't continued past middle school).

It might have been nice to have someone else backing me; after all Ricky couldn't be everywhere at once. His idea on how to stop the gay rumor had consisted of me 'banging Pam' (his words, not mine) until the rumors were replaced by how much of a stud I was. Not much of a plan, really; I could tell back when I was plain old Myrc what that would lead to.

Having someone else say that they wanted to just be there for me, felt kinda warm... kind of nice. But letting him know I felt that way would be a disaster... it was against the bro code!

"I can handle myself, you know, I'm not helpless."

"True, but I don't want to see giant mecha roaming the halls spouting "kill all humans."

I rolled my eyes and shot back the best I response I could, since Mr Mullins had just entered and was staring us all down.

"Nerd."

"Geek."

Mr. Mullins broke it (and many other such conversations like it) up:

"If you'd all turn to page 243 in your text books, we will discuss polynomials."

Boooooorrrring. So very boring. So boring the light from merely boring, could not even reach where I was. So it was time to run a few more numbers of my own. This time however, I decided to focus more. I didn't like the trance that my brain seemed to need to do anything, so I decided I'd take a page from all those self help books and psychiatrists, and try meditating my way into wakefulness while using my so called power. While I could do the equations that a week ago I hadn't even known existed, it felt slow... like a lagging internet connection or
something. At least there was no pain, and I wasn't passing out.

The lack of those two were always a plus.

Math class was uneventful, and only two people fell asleep during the droning, the horrible horrible droning... a new record in attention, actually. Usually I was one of the victims. That might explain the surprised looks Mr. Mullins was shooting me as I worked. Thankfully he didn't ask me any questions, I didn't feel like answering any of those. I was sure he'd gather the nerve to soon enough though.

But for today at least I was free. And the calculations were complete. I was fairly certain that even nuclear power was unequal to the power engine needed; too much weight. Even with a completely stripped nuclear plant, running only one fuel rod, the core alone would weigh half a ton. There was no way I could attach enough of my new engines to that to generate lift enough to make the craft any fun at all. So I'd have to use something else.

That only left two other options for power; fission of other materials (like hydrogen perhaps) or harnessing a micro black hole. I just needed more then the standard 1% conversion rate humanity made do with since the days of fires in caves. Made me wonder how the other devisors did it; either they were making their own versions of what I needed and not broadcasting the discovery, or they hadn't done it yet, and were using something more esoteric, like cow flatulence or something.

If they had done it before me, it was a pure waste; cheap effective power given to death rays and war machines. The best power humanity currently had was nuclear, which was the most efficient out there, and was very safe (when the human element didn't betray safety features). But a good fission reaction using normally inert materials, like water, could solve so many problems it was a pure wonder to me no one had beaten me to the punch.

Perhaps the corporations resisted such changes? Maybe the governments did? I could sort of see that; if they didn't understand the tech, they would be very wary of it. And I doubt most devisors of any stripe have the charisma and desire to try marketing their own inventions, probably making the decision to shelve them instead to avoid the headache. Perhaps my power plant, should I be successful in devising one, should remain proprietary after all.

"Hey, you OK?"

I looked into Ralph's face from six inches away. My very not startled reflex was to pull away. Luckily I stifled most of the noise I wanted to make.

"Gah!"

I had been sitting in class after the bell rang, my brain had gotten away from me, so to speak. Less than two seconds had passed, but I had just done quite a bit of thinking in that elapsed time. Everyone else was getting up to leave, and when I hadn't moved with my customary alacrity, Ralph had leaned over to inquire about my health.

"Yeah I'm fine, was just thinking about why more devisors don't market all those better mouse traps they build. It just doesn't make much sense to me."

I got up and slid out, Ralph creating his own wake behind me.

"Well I don't know much about it, but I think the main problem with devisors doing that is non-devisors can't use the stuff, which means that if the devisor sells the better mousetrap, then he has to run and maintain it. Very few devisors want to be shackled to past projects, useful or not. Patent laws and the marketing business probably seal the deal."

On to the next class while Ralph went to his; he didn't have geography. Lucky him; I shared the class with Ricky, but also shared it with Pam and Gordon. While Gordon was suspended for attacking me, I couldn't really trust Pam anymore either; after all, she'd been standing right behind Gordon when he flipped, and hadn't said a word. I could feel the tacit approval of Gordon's actions, and that confused me. I had thought Pam and I were friends. On the bright side, the class was basically all reading, and due to my mutation, I had finished the entire book already and
could recite all the important details from memory.

Of course that just made the class more boring than math; so I sat alone surrounded by people, calculating and recalculating power delivery systems. The main issue with power was ironically, power. In order to use what I wanted, the safest power system delivering the most power, I would have to have enough power to light the world for a day, or a major city like D.C. for a year. In order to get that, I'd have to build a less powerful and slightly less safe power system.

I suppose I could always just ionize a gas and put the resulting plasma under electromagnetic containment, forcing it to generate power. Almost completely stable, fairly safe... if it breached, the disaster would be local. Likely only the engineer in charge of it would be killed. Or the pilot, if I put it in the aircraft. The power generated would be... roughly 4.6 times the equivalent of a gallon of water, when compared to deuterium. Hmm. Not enough, not nearly enough. But it could work as a stopgap, while I build a second fusion generator and had that working on the other power source... but then I'd need power storage....

"Minerva!"

So annoying, I had to think on this li-on battery problem, and Mrs. Carson just derailed my train of thought. Without thinking I responded.

"Copenhagen."

The flabbergasted look on her face was priceless.

"What?"

"Oh come on Mrs. Carson, you were discussing Denmark, and the first question you always ask after going over exports of a country is it's capital. The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen. Am I wrong? Were you going to ask me something else?"

I tried, but couldn't completely keep my exasperation from bleeding into my tone. I sent her a silent eye apology, which she seemed to see. I had no idea why I was so irritated; normally being interrupted like that wouldn't be a problem! What was wrong with me?

"No, you're right. I had no idea I had become so predictable. Moving on...."

Well at least I passed the attention check, and could go back to work. I'd apologize after class for being rude. I'd need space for all this activity; the basement wouldn't be good enough. But where could I do all that? I was pretty sure mom, let alone the city council, wouldn't let me do all this within city limits, if they let me do it at all. I'd need a very large work space, and a much larger three dimensional printer for the best and quickest results. But nothing like that existed around here; the best buildings for all that were warehouses, and the ones
around here just were not big enough, even if I could get the money to buy one somehow. My family was well off, but we were far from rich. Mom and dad worked for a living.

Well first thing was first; I could at least go with the fusion option. Enough minimizing the components and I could get it to the size of a good closet. As it stood I was looking at one maybe half the size of our entire basement. I wonder if dad would let me make it in the basement....

The bell signaling the end of class shattered my thoughts. I had managed to keep a good measure of control with almost painful concentration, but now I felt flushed; hot. I stood and after a fleeting moment the feeling passed.

"Min! Hi. How you doing?"

I heard Maggie chime up from behind, but didn't turn to her yet.

"I'm pretty good Maggie, wait for me a sec while I talk to Mrs Carson?"

"Sure!"

It should be illegal to be that chipper. I wondered for a second if she was on stimulants. I mean, I was and I couldn't pull that bounce and tone off. But I could ask her in a few seconds.

"Mrs. Carson?"

"Yes Min?"

"I wanted to apologize earlier, I was rude and I'm sorry."

"It's alright Min, I accept your apology. What was distracting you? You obviously had other things on your mind, for all that you got the answer to my question correct."

"Um, I was working on power systems. I really don't want to go into more detail here, I might be late for the next class. But chances are I'll be doing that sort of thing in your class a lot; I can't really help myself. I've already read the textbook cover to cover and after that, well..."

She finished for me.

"After that the class is boring?"

"Exactly; sorry. I can't help myself."

"It's alright Min, I'm not angry. If you already know the material, then I'm content. You'll be the first kid I've graduated with an A in 6 years... won't you?"

OK, she could pull off a scary look too. Wonder how everyone knew how to do that but me?

"Yes ma'am. Got to go!"

I booked it through the now mostly empty classroom before she could question me in more detail. Unfortunately that left Maggie, during the long walk to gym.

"So what had you scribbling away like mad earlier?"

"You already know, the jet engine idea. I've narrowed it down to one of the power systems I didn't want to use, but it should work. I'll have to use at least 3 of them, more likely 4, and I'll need to include a fuel tank for the deuterium that will have to be about the size of a small water heater... In fact a water heater should work. Then I'll need a car battery for the initial start up of the electromagnetic containment system...."

She interrupted me, just in time, as we put our books away. I grabbed my previously hidden laptop out of my bag, and she spared it a glance as she asked:

"You're really going through with it, aren't you? You're really going to build... an experimental jet?"

"Well, yes. Why wouldn't I?"

"Um.. no reason. My offer to help still stands. I'd love to be a part of it, and Sam would too."

I thought about it, and mentally shrugged.

"Sure, but I have a few conditions."

"And those are?"

"Two conditions. One, you do what I say, when I say it. That's more for your safety than anything else, can't have you flicking a switch at the wrong time and blowing things up. The other is you don't ever print any technical details you pick up. I'm not sure I want my tech out there in the wide world yet, and even a school newspaper might be watched."

She thought about it about as much as I had. We strode into the gym before she spoke again.

"That's acceptable to me, and I'm sure Sam will go along. Meet you after school?"

Hmm, I wasn't sure I was going to start today. Though I probably would.

"Sure, though I'm not sure I was going to start on it today. Maybe just the design stage."

She nodded as I realized we were headed into the girl's locker room. I stopped with my face heating. I didn't need to go in there, wasn't like I needed to change for gym, so waiting out here or better yet just going to sit down was by far the more safe option. Unfortunately Maggie had other ideas.

"Seriously, get in here. We were talking, and I for one am not done. It's not like I'll be able to ask you questions during gym."

If I hadn't been turned away from the door, doing the gentlemanly thing, I wouldn't have been caught like that. What was it with everyone grabbing me today? Maybe I should invent a Teflon suit or something; something one could not grip. Hmm....

"Well what more do you want to know?"

I was a bit curious, how much more detail could she need? She started stripping quickly; we were among the last students here, and late students ran laps. I looked into the sea of flesh; most of my fellow students were ignoring me, more than a few were listening in (like Sam, with an almost laser like focus three lockers down). Very few were doing any covering up. I could well appreciate the effort. Fortunately for them I suppose, the best I could manage to feel was an idle curiosity. An idle curiosity that made me both sad... and worried.

"The design stage, what's involved in that?"

"well it's where I look at the basic design, go over the math again, design the individual parts and test their tolerances and stresses. and other such boring things. Mostly it's all done by computer modeling."

I could tell she wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Sounds great; We'll be waiting at the gate after school, OK?"

Sam was nodding so hard I thought her neck would snap and her head would roll across the floor.

"Um, sure. Anything else?"

"Nah, that's all I wanted, thanks. Enjoy the extra study time. What is it for us today?"

Sam spoke.

"Wiffleball."

"Wiffleball?!? Oh man...."

Wiffleball was an actual activity? Wow. The guys were doing basketball today I think. At least I could still watch it, if I wasn't allowed to play anymore. And I'd have company; Ralph was already there, 4 bleachers up and already reading. I joined him with my laptop in tow.

"Hey."

He looked up, a bit startled, and gave a little wave.

"Hey. How goes things?"

"Could be worse."

I wasted no time booting up and starting on my CAD program. If I wanted to draft and run computer simulations, the best way to handle it would be to make the software involved myself. I already had a good head start thanks to the program I used to make the printer.

"Wow, your fingers are blurring."

"Hmm, so they are. I'm working on this program and I need it done as soon as possible. With luck I can get it done by the end of school. That is, if I'm allowed to work on it in study hall."

"They might, if you can prove to them you aren't doing something silly like movies or Facebook."

I looked at the string of code I was working on; it was already 4,263 characters long. I doubted coach Howard could even read C+, let alone tell that it was for three dimensional modeling.

"I don't think that will be a problem."

After all, coach would still trust me, right?

"Heads up!"

That yelled warning was enough to take me back... and start the instinctive ducking process;I was huddling over my computer before I saw the ball, which was coming from literally nowhere at high velocity to nail Ralph in the back of the head. It bounced off as he glared in the direction it had come from. And lo and behold, there was Monty, his stance looking suspiciously like he was passing the ball... to Ralph. But Ralph had been in front of me, and leaned down to look at the screen. Which meant that Monty, a friend of mine, had most likely tried to bounce a
basketball off my tender face.

"You OK?"

He didn't seem to be hurt badly, his eyes were clear and the death glare he was giving Monty showed no hint of confusion.

"Yeah I'm fine, it'll take more than that to hurt me. The one good thing I got from my mutation."

Coach Howard hadn't seen anything, of course. The pass had been timed for when his back was turned. Or perhaps a suitable distraction had been made; I saw he had been chatting with Chris, another member of the basketball team. The ball itself had taken a favorable bounce and was already back on the court. Without further ado I started down the bleachers. I didn't make it past two steps before an arm blocked my way. I looked Ralph in the eye.

"Don't. Don't bother, it's not a problem."

"It IS a problem, Monty just threw a ball at one of us. I want to know what his malfunction is."

He shook his head.

"It's not a problem, I already told you, they can't hurt me like that."

I walked around him.

"Just because they can't hurt you like that, doesn't mean they should be left alone to try."

"Just let it go; he aimed at me, and we already know why. He hates mutants."

Reluctantly, I sat. Monty hadn't even come over to fake apologize, the jerk. Of course he was getting beat off the dribble, so maybe we could claim a karmic victory?

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for both of us."

With a shrug I started in again. It's probably true that confronting Monty with words would be a lost cause. I doubted I'd win a fight either, so that was out. Ralph could probably win such a fight, but never fought anyone who gave him crap; which was usually why I would step in before. Hmm, what could the reason for that be? Win a few fights, and even Gordon would leave you alone. At least until he smelled weakness. Bullies often seemed similar to sharks, at least to me. Monty was at least a little more intelligent than Gordon, and would theoretically require fewer beatings. So why would Ralph hold back? It didn't really make any sense.

Of course it seemed rude to ask, and I didn't want to appear stupid in any case, so I let it slide. Plenty of time to figure it out later.

Coach Howard had never even glanced my direction; I took that as tacit approval of my computer use in my now free gym time. The rest of class was uneventful. then the bell rang and I was free for lunch! I loved my laptop, it just went to sleep when folded, saving everything. The battery life was top notch too. I was out of gym like a shot, for once able to avoid all the people who wished me ill. I'd seen the looks Pam had shot me earlier, and no doubt Monty would love to beat on any freaky mutant. Not to mention Gordon's football circle was still lurking about.

It was an almost physical relief to see Jeeves waiting outside, a red checkered blanket spread under the tree I liked, a picnic basket lying on one corner of it and various plastic wrapped sandwiches, fruits and a piece of some sort of pie lying scattered about. The blanket was also a relief; I felt a little tired and it would be good to rest. The rose, in a vase in the center would undoubtedly be knocked over in seconds.

"Good afternoon mistress Min, you are one minute twelve seconds earlier than expected. Today I have a selection of fresh sandwiches; the Au blanch de paulet, the Au blanc de dindonnean, and the Rosbif en tanches. As a side I have selected fresh blackberries, raspberries, apples, and blueberries. The pie is Rhubarb. The thermos on the left contains coffee, the one on the right contains V8 juice."

I decided I'd better learn french. The sandwiches looked to be made with a few different ingredients, but they appeared to be a chicken sandwich, a turkey club, and a roast beef sandwich. The only real difference seemed to be the sauces on them, at least at a glance.

"Got a small pillow hidden somewhere?"

With a grin he pulled a small white pillow from the basket.

"As it happens mistress Min, I do. How do you feel?"

I sat and chose what I thought was the roast beef; food came first, then a little rest. I was fairly sure Jeeves would insist on it. Those looked amazing too. As I unwrapped it Jeeves pulled out a small mp3 player with ear buds. I did not recognize it. The other students who were inclined to leave for lunch started filing out; there were a few curious stares, but very few people came within fifty feet of us. That was a fact for which I was grateful.

Upon closer inspection and a careful test bite, the sandwich revealed itself to be roast beef and swiss, with some type of weird tomato and horseradish spread on both sides of the french bread. It was nothing short of a delicious blend of odd flavors. I really did need to learn french; no doubt Jeeves would slip something like powdered baby cow heart or something in my food sooner or later. I'd need to be ready to identify it.

"Min!"

I looked up so see a near impossible sight. A nearly breathless Maggie running up to us, Sam in tow. She looked angry. Even Sam wore a slightly accusing stare.

"Min, why didn't you wait for us?"

"Um, I wasn't aware I needed to?"

She shook her head a bit and muttered something I didn't catch. I tried again.

"I'm sorry?"

She plunked herself down next to my left and Sam took my right, acting almost as if I'd run or something. The look she shot Jeeves was still more than a little awestruck. Jeeves did not seem to care.

"It's OK I guess, but from now on, wait for us, alright? We can all have lunch together. It's more fun that way."

"Alright. Help yourselves, I don't think I'm going to eat three sandwiches anyway."

Hmm, three sandwiches and assorted fruit, and three people; had Jeeves known somehow? If so, how? I mean he had some software designed to replicate intuition, but was that what was at work here? He noticed me looking and gave an enigmatic smile. Oh yes, he had known somehow. And he wanted me to wonder about it, the jerk. Well I wasn't going to. I was going to wonder about the mp3 player. It was smaller than most, perhaps the size of a USB flash drive. The ear buds had a sort of gel on them. It had no manufacturer's stamp.

"Something I found and filled with music for you, mistress min."

Well that made me even more curious. Finishing my sandwich and grabbing a handful of raspberries, I stuck the ear buds in and hit the power button. Immediately some soothing classical music started. Mozart? Chopin? I wasn't sure, but it was soothing. Stretching out with the pillow under me was almost a must now that I was full. I reopened my eyes when I felt two cold hands; one on my forehead, one on the side of my neck.

"You are flushed mistress Min, and chilled. Your blood pressure is low. Are you dizzy?"

Jeeves, doing his medical thing. His face had a kind cast to it as he looked down at me. The facial expression software was top notch too, I guess. Wish I remember how I did it.

"A little."

"Then rest. I shall warn you when lunch period is completed."

I didn't mean to sleep, but sleep I did. Before I knew it, I was being gently shaken awake. Forty minutes felt like seconds. I was very groggy on the return to consciousness; it took me some time to remember where I was and why. The music had changed from classical to electronic, something strangely peppy and infectious. I could almost feel the energy from it entering me. I pulled the ear buds out with regret. Sam and Maggie had apparently finished off the lunch basket, and were chatting softly about some shop or other next to me.

"Ugh, that time already?"

Jeeves did his hand thing.

"You should be well enough to continue school, should you wish to. How do you feel?"

I did not want to continue school. Sigh.

"Well enough I suppose, a bit out of it. I should be OK for school, it's only two hours left, and one of those is study hall."

He helped me gently to my feet.

"Do not overexert yourself. Should you need me, do not hesitate to call."

"I won't, trust me."

I'd be a fool not to use the few tools I had available, right?

"Everything OK?" Maggie asked. Sam nodded as if to second the question.

"Just fine.' I stated as we started off, 'I just get tired a lot anymore. The anemia thing."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that, and looked anemia up online, did you know it's normally tied in with blood pressure? Low blood pressure specifically...."

And she was off, hurricane Maggie was in full category 5 mode. I just took a step back and buckled in. On the other side of Maggie, I noticed Sam doing the same. She returned my grin with a slight one of her own. It was hard not to like Sam, she was so open and expressive, all without saying a word.

Because I shared study hall with Sam and Maggie, I was able to listen to every inane fact and rumor that Maggie could dredge up from the internet, much of which I already knew. The thing about an anemic's blood being good for vampires was new, and not something I wanted to try confirming. Assuming I could even find a vampire; I probably could if I tried. Of course when we got to class, due to the 'sit anywhere' policy, Sam and Maggie sat next to me. I set my stuff down in the front middle desk, and they took the desks on either side. I wanted Coach Howard to
see anything that happened to me/us. I was well within easy speaking range.

"Coach."

He looked up from his sports illustrated.

"Yes Min?"

"Do you mind if I use my computer here? My homework is done, and I want to work on a computer program."

"If you don't mind me periodically checking what you're doing to make sure you aren't hacking the pentagon or posting selfies, then sure."

"I don't mind."

Maggie leaned in close to whisper.

"Min, why did you pick here? Coach Howard can hear everything we say!"

"He can also see anything that happens to us; I'm not so sure being near me is safe at the moment."

Sam broke her silence.

"Why?"

"Well before lunch in gym, while you were on the other side of the gym, Ralph got nailed by a basketball, thrown by Monty... on purpose. No doubt in my mind it was on purpose. The thing is, Ralph was leaning down between me and the gym floor at the time, which means Monty could have been aiming at me, and Ralph just got in the way. Now Monty isn't here, but some of his friends are, and they sit in the back."

Silas and Dean, I knew they sat in back because not too long ago, I'd have sat next to them. They were always cheerful, with a ready joke. But who knew how they felt about me now? About mutants?

"Well then Coach Howard is just going to have to put up with me!" Maggie declared loudly, and to hsi credit coach Howard didn't even look up as he replied.

"If you mix talk about homework with whatever else you want, I won't mind it at all. However I know you, Margaret. Your homework is NOT done. So get to it."

She grumbled but complied. Sam had already started hers... algebra for both of them, it looked like. I gave a shrug and brought the computer out of sleep, finding the code right where I left it.

"Um, hey Min, you know the answer to number 4 here? I can't get it to work."

I glanced over, it was a quadratic equation involving decimals. Fairly easy, if a little harder than what my class was working on.

"X = 4."

"You sure?"

"You asked, that's it. All you do is multiply both sides by 10 to remove the decimals."

I could see Sam on the other side of me erasing her answer, and writing mine.

"Oh, that's all? Mr Mullins made it sound so complicated."

Sam broke her silence again, for the second time in an hour.

"He does that."

My fingers hadn't even slowed.

"Yes he does, doesn't he? Oh well, I can help you if you get stuck. just try to actually do it first."

Forty minutes and three more algebra questions later, study hall ended. It had been uneventful, for all that Silas and Dean had been seated behind us and three rows down. The noise had been kept to a low roar, and my head had cleared completely. I was if anything, even more tired than I had been at lunch though. The good news was the coding was almost complete enough to test.

I waved to Mrs. Holmes as I entered, among the last to arrive. I had carefully put my computer away, and that took time. I took the opportunity to whisper to her while handing in my homework.

"Mrs. Holmes, I'm tired. Really tired. I'm going to try and stick it out, but if I fall asleep please don't get mad at me, OK?"

She looked as if she wanted to argue, took a good look at me, and just nodded.

"Do your best. Things will get better."

"Thanks."

Ricky had his customary seat for this class, Mrs. Holmes tolerated no seating chart shenanigans. The droning about participles was immense. Ricky did not dare the wrath of Mrs. Holmes with conversation, though he clearly wanted to. With herculean effort I managed to stay awake, but it was a close call. Mrs Holmes clearly appreciated the effort.

And then school was out, and Maggie and Sam once again bracketed me for the uneventful walk out into the sunshine.

(tbc)

Maggie was supplanted by Jeeves so rapidly I would have sworn it was teleportation. For all of that she wasn't knocked over or hurt, just as startled as I was.

“Mistress Min, you are unwell.”

Mental face palm. I wondered how obvious it was.

“Yes Jeeves, thank you, I had noticed.”

He pondered this for a moment before turning to Maggie.

“I am sorry Miss Johnson. You may resume; Mistress Min, I shall walk behind you, as is proper.”

I rolled my eyes as Maggie stood there, trying to catch flies in her mouth. It was the wrong season for it, but she tried anyway.

“Come on Maggie, that's about as good an apology as you're going to get. He's a bit off. I haven't had time to fix him yet.”

“...Right. OK. So... did you see what Jenny had on today?”

Sam nodded while I'm sure I looked confused.

“Jenny Prichart?”

“Yes!”

Maggie giggled. Sam snickered.

“What was wrong with what she had on today?”

She had wore a purple skirt and lavender top.

“Are you kidding? She looked so stupid! Not enough contrast. Worst fashion statement ever.”

Sam nodded. I just shrugged. I wouldn't make that mistake; after all with my hair and eye color wearing purple would look hideous.

They continued gossiping in that fashion as I led the way home; which was a little weird, come to think of it. They would be the first girls I'd ever brought home. And I'd had to change into one for it to happen.

And just as suddenly I found myself floating, my head swimming a little. Suppressing a spike of fear, I looked up into Jeeves's eyes. It took another second for it to click; he was carrying me! I tried to tell him to put me down; it took a few tries to get the words to come.

“Darn it Jeeves what are you doing?”

He put his eyes front to avoid some yahoo riding a bike on the sidewalk.

“I cannot. You were collapsing. If I put you down now, you will be unable to walk or stand.”

Maggie, unseen to my left (my head was being cradled by Jeeves somehow) corroborated.

“It's true, you just started to fall all of a sudden and Jeeves just barely caught you before you hit the ground. He's very fast.”

...Crap.

I could feel the sensation of movement, so Jeeves hadn't stopped. The motion made my vision swim a little, and the world was too bright. Jeeves was carrying me bridal style again (which was better than a fireman's carry, I supposed) but I could barely move my arms off my stomach; for some reason they felt made of lead.

“Um, look Min, if you're sick, we can do this later....”

I wanted to shake my head, but didn't dare try.

“No, this isn't an illness I can really run from or wait out. If I stay awake I'll be working. If I'm working, you guys might as well stay and watch.”

Sam surprised me.

“Not watch; help.”

“Right, sorry. My bad there. Just remember, don't touch anything unless I say to, and stay away from the 3d printer itself. It's a little... twitchy.”

I could see Maggie's compulsion to ask drag the words from her.

“How twitchy?”

“It tried to eat Jeeves when he went to put metal in it.”

Maggie and Sam pondered that. Sam struck first this time.

“Jeeves is made of metal, isn't he? Could that be the reason why he was targeted?”

I blinked. Of course, that made all kinds of sense.

“Probably, but I really don't want to risk finding out that theory is wrong. That thing is a little weird.”

“Weirder than Jeeves?”

I looked up at him.

“Nah, about the same. You'll see.”

We made it back, but Jeeves still wouldn't let me down. At his insistence, Maggie opened the garage door. She actually looked hesitant about it; something I wouldn't have expected.

Meanwhile I was getting a little less weighty – I could move my arms and legs a little now.

The sun cut the gloom of the interior nicely. The day was a little chilly, but my coat solved that problem. Jeeves ensconced me in a chair. This chair had not existed yesterday, I felt sure.

It was an office chair in black, only much larger. So large I pretty much could lose myself in it. It had cushioned armrests and a slight depression that sort of made me lean into the back of it. I didn't slide either. So if I were unconscious, or half conscious, rather than pitching forward, I would pitch back and stay in the chair, rather than bounce my head off concrete.

Ingenious. It looked a little like a modern art masterpiece, but it was ingenious.

“That's a weird chair. Where did you get it?”

“Jeeves, did you make this last night?”

“I did mistress Min. I felt it would be good for you to have a chair you could fall asleep in safely, if necessary.”

“And no one saw it?”

“Your father left this morning in quite the hurry. Your mother might have seen it, but I was not present to witness her thoughts.”

I frowned.

“And what were you doing all day then?”

“Watching you mistress Min. then cooking your lunch. Then watching you.”

I was able to move enough, so I pulled out my computer.

“And where were you doing that?”

Sam spoke up, oddly enough.

“From the large tree you eat under. It's just outside school grounds but you can see inside several classrooms with it.”

Maggie gaped at Sam as Jeeves nodded assent. I didn't want to know, but she just had to ask.

“And how do you even know that?”

“Thursday nights.”

What? That made no sense to me, but Maggie nodded slowly as if it did.

“So what happens on Thursday nights that you need a large tree outside the school for?”

They both made a point of ignoring the question, crowding in front of my computer on either side and looking at the schematics. From the way their faces colored it was potential blackmail material.

“So what's the first step?”

“Well the first step is to take the parts one piece at a time, feed them into the 3D printer, and wait for the printer to make them. After that it's simply putting the pieces together. Of course I still have a few parts to design, so I'll be doing that. It's hardly any sort of riveting amusement.”

Maggie pulled up a couple lawn chairs and unfolded them, one for herself and one for Sam. They sat down, again flanking me.

“You just let us be the judge of that. Just do what you do.”

With a shrug I started in, designing one of the blade cowlings. It looked like a big tube on the screen, and while Maggie was rapidly glancing around and watching other things (especially when the printer fired up to build the first fan blade) Sam's eyes never moved from the screen.

I had the cowling half complete when I felt myself beginning to fade again. Jeeves came back with coffee just in time. As I sipped he pulled a cushioned footstool over and rather pointedly set my feet on it. Then he removed my shoes.

Maggie watched him with wide eyes and a large grin, teeth on full display.

“What?”

If anything she stretched that grin even wider. I looked over to find Sam with a faint smile too. For her, that was the equivalent of Maggie's grin.

“Jeeves takes good care of you.”

Well of course he does. That's his job.

“He's supposed to. Thank you for the coffee Jeeves, it's wonderful.”

Sam seemed to wrestle with herself for a moment, then blurted out:

“May I have some coffee?”

I slapped my forehead.

“Crap, I'm sorry! I'm your host, and I didn't even think to ask! Jeeves would you...?”

“Certainly mistress Min.”

I spared an expectant glance at Maggie. As I expected, it didn't take long for her to chime in.

“A coke would be great Jeeves, please.”

“Of course Miss Johnson.”

Jeeves came back with the requested refreshments while I marveled at the difference having my feet propped up made. It really did seem to help with my awareness and focus. In short I felt more awake. Between that and the coffee, maybe I could finish and get this idea out of my head.

“This is... great coffee.”

I looked over; Sam had finished hers already. I looked in my mug; it was half full. She works fast.

“Sorry, should have warned you; it's something mom called “devisor coffee”. I use filtered water and beans scanned for traits shown to make the best coffee, purified by....”

Her eyes were shining brightly as she stared into mine. She was hanging on my every word; I wasn't sure if she was gleaning the meaning from them. Maggie's eyes were glazed over though.

“Right. Suffice to say that I reworked the coffee machine to make better coffee. Another cup?”

“Yes, please.”

Without a word, Jeeves grabbed our mugs, coming back moments later with our mud colored liquid gold. A murmured thanks and I was back in the game, cowling specs almost complete and math solved.
When Jeeves got back, Ian followed him in. The garage was getting crowded.

“Hey sis, you have guests... how unusual.”

I wanted to throw a pillow at him.

“Jeeves make a note; we need pillows in here for next time.”

Ian opened his mouth, but Maggie beat him to the punch.

“Pillows?”

“For annoying little pests that sneak in and make snide comments. So what's up Ian?”

He spent a little time looking between my new friends and gathering his wits. It didn't take that long; he didn't have that much to gather.

“Was just checking to see where the party was; Jeeves came out here with two mugs after all. I expected Ricky. You OK?”

He finally noticed my feet up and lack of general movement.

“Just a little tired. No idea where Ricky is, I think he is on his way. I kind of expected him to be here by now.”
He stepped up, trying to gain space between Sam and myself. Sam wasn't having any of it, and shot him a pretty venomous look. She seemed really into this; who knew? Ian felt the heat but tried to act nonchalant.

“So what's the project for today?”

I thought about it, but decided to keep it simple. Very simple.

“A small jet.”

He showed me I was right to keep it simple; if this level of excitement was what he showed when hearing those three words, what would he d when he found out how I would power it, or what it's flight capabilities were?

“A jet?!?! Awesome!!! I've always wanted to fly!”

“I'm afraid if you want to fly, you're going to have to build your own, at least at first. It'll have to be properly tested first.”

“And who is going to be stupid enough to do that, sis?”

I looked at the assorted crowd, all of whom seemed to be staring at me in a most unnerving fashion. Sam even looked eager! Eager!

“Jeeves, of course.”

Instantly I was descended on. The trio leaned well into my personal space in a disturbing manner. While I blinked at the unusual behavior.

“No! Bad idea Min!”

“Is Jeeves a competent pilot?”

“Not a good plan sis!”

Why wasn't it? Jeeves could learn how to fly a jet as easily as any of us. Perhaps even easier. I turned to Maggie, ignoring Ian rather pointedly. He deserved all the frustration I could give him.

“Why not?”

“Jeeves takes care of you. If you send him up in that jet and it blows up, who's going to carry you if you collapse, or bring you lunch, or help you build stuff?”

Sam nodded furiously. Ian was pouting to much to agree.

I am an idiot.

“Right, I got it...”

Sam's eyes were shining again; I almost hated to dash the hope in them.

“...so I'll have to build a pilot to test it.”

Sam and Ian both pouted while Maggie perked up. I couldn't imagine why they would want to risk getting blown up to fly an experimental jet; it's like they thought I wouldn't let them fly one later or something. Of course if I told them I would, mom would kill me. So my hands were kind of tied.

“You mean another Jeeves, right?”

And that explained Maggie's interest.

“Not quite, he will be a test pilot, devoted to test piloting. Jeeves is more of the domestic type. But he will be an android, yes. I really need to work out the bugs before I make another Jeeves. I mean, look at him!”

They looked. Some of the wind let out of Maggie's sails, but not much. I could almost hear her sayign to herself: 'another android is one step closer, bwah ha ha!'

Well I imagined she'd bwah ha ha.

“Hey, wow, it's a party. Hi everyone.”

Ricky! Ricky would save me from the crazy people!

“Hi Ricky! Where have you been? I kind of expected you before now.”

He walked up and looked over my shoulder.

“Got side tracked talking to one of the teachers. What's this?”

“Parts for that jet engine I was talking about. In this case, the cowling. The fan should be finishing up in the printer, actually.”

Right on cue, it dinged.

“An oven timer?”

I absently corrected Sam's assumption.

“An old microwave timer, actually.”

“I thought it sounded like an egg timer.”

Ricky had the best comment.

“Ding! Fries are done!”

memes for the win.

“Alright, time for the next part.”

I dutifully added the next part design to be machined/printed; the turbine shaft. The printer started to work again immediately as Jeeves carefully retrieved the fan. Same leaned closer, placing her head mere inched from mine. I tried to draw back a little, but her weight pinned me in place. She didn't seem to notice.

“How are you doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“The laptop isn't hooked up to the printer. Is it wireless?”

“Well yeah, from this laptop at least. I wrote the protocols for it a few days ago. The printer is basically a big dumb system with a network interface. You can't just walk up to it and punch buttons; it needs a computer to make it work.”

“Not just any computer, right?”

I shook my head.

“No, it needs one with my interface protocols installed. Otherwise just anyone could use it, and I don't like that idea much. I met a mutant during my powers testing who was a real idiot, and if he could use it he'd probably blow up the world or something.”

I wasn't sure how X-ray could manage that, but if there was a way, I was confident he could find it. He'd never get one of my inventions if I could help it.

Apparently I shouldn't have said something like that; everyone looked pretty nervous now, except for Ian, who was grinning and nodding along. He wasn't all that impressed with X-ray either.

“Guys don't worry, I've got it under control! In order to get on this laptop you need my password, my voice, and my eyes. In case anyone hasn't noticed, I have some very rare eyes. It'd be hard for anyone to fake them, even if they got everything else. My secrets are very safe.”

Maggie nodded, convinced. Sam looked a little green; I think she was contemplating future kidnapping attempts by super villains or something. Ricky just looked bored. Ian looked... where was Ian?

Ian looked nervous, returning with a mountain dew for Sam, who took it graciously. No drinks for the rest of us, those were handled by Jeeves, who came out a moment later. I met Ian's eyes, my own eyebrows raised... and he blushed. Interesting. I couldn't tell if Sam didn't notice, or just pretended not to.

“What? Jeeves couldn't carry all the drinks without a tray, so I helped.”

“Nothing, nothing. So is everyone good and bored yet?”

Maggie was, I could see it in her eyes, though she was trying valiantly to hide it. Sam was actually paying attention, which seemed more odd to me; in school she always seemed to pay attention, but this focus was something else – and slightly unnerving. Ricky was definitely bored, though he was splitting his attention between watching Jeeves, and watching the 3D printer with equal parts of wariness.

I get why he thought the printer was dangerous; I did too, at least mildly so. But Jeeves? Jeeves was harmless.

“Min, are you in here?”

Weird, mom sounded worried. Oops. Oh crap, I forgot to let mom know I was home. And I bet Ian didn't tell her. Jeeves coming in and out wouldn't have necessarily warned her, if she wasn't watching what he was doing.

“Yeah mom, I have guests!”

With luck she wouldn't yell at me in front of company. She had been keeping tabs on my lately. It was almost cloying, if it wasn't for that entire being necessary thing. She poked her head through the door and her hard gaze immediately softened when it fell upon me. Safe! Looking at me like that, I knew I wasn't in any real trouble.

“What are you doing in here?”

The unspoken message of why I hadn't come inside first was loud and clear.

“Showing Maggie and Sam the 3D printer and working on an engine. Jeeves kind of carried me home and stuck me in this chair. Sorry I didn't say anything.”

She didn't need to know what kind of an engine it was yet. She brushed off the apology.

“Did you make a new chair?”

“No, Jeeves made it last night. It's supposed to be good for me somehow.”

I didn't want to tell her exactly how, but apparently Jeeves had other ideas.

“It is made to improve blood circulation, as well as to be easy to rest in and difficult to fall out of.”

Mom took all that in in stride though, not getting angry. She was strangely calm and reflective instead as she asked:

“And Min is in it because she had an episode?”

Jeeves pondered that a moment. I wanted to tell him to shut up, but I had in act already spilled the beans as it were; I'd mentioned he carried me home. I never did respond well to motherly pressure. Instead of words, Jeeves nodded. She turned back to me.

“You alright now?”

“I think so.”

She nodded.

“Good, you can help me with dinner. Will your guests be staying?”

Sam was already breaking for the door, shaking her head violently. Maggie was at least more polite.

“Sorry Mrs. Campbell. Same and I need to work on our homework. Wow, it's dark already!?!”

Oh crap, it was in fact getting dark; the sun had just set. A quick glance at my laptop showed it was after 5. Dad was going to wonder why dinner was so late, if we didn't hurry. Ricky was right behind Sam and Maggie in leaving, with a wave but not a single word. Very unlike him, he knows mom don't care if he stays for dinner. Jeeves shut the garage door behind them, and locked it.

I wobbled a little on my way up, but mom was already back inside and Ian was facing away from me, headed in himself. Jeeves noticed however, his arms slid under mine in order to make sure I wouldn't fall. I hadn't even heard him move the 12 or so feet, he was just there.

“I'm fine Jeeves. I was just a bit dizzy standing up.”

“You should stand up more slowly mistress Min. In low blood pressure situations it is best to approach the vertical posture slowly.”

“Yes, maybe, but we don't really have time for that! We need to make dinner before dad gets home!”

“Relax mistress Min. We have twenty minutes. That is plenty of time for the three of us.”

I went straight to the sink and washed up. I didn't think I touched anything really unsanitary, but mom would be angry if I didn't. Then I stopped. I couldn't cook anything at all. So why was I helping? Especially since we had Jeeves, who absolutely could? I mean, not that I'd tell her, but Jeeves made her cooking look like a skillet dinner.

“Mom?”

She was cutting carrots. She motioned me over and handed me the knife.

“Yes honey?”

“Why are we cooking dinner when we have Jeeves?”

“Because I want to, and I want you to help me. Jeeves is good for you, and good for us... but you'll still need to know how to do things on your own. Just in case. Besides, Jeeves doesn't really know how to make our family stew. So we're teaching him. Now hurry up, the meat is of course ready; but if we don't hurry the vegetables won't be cooked.”

She handed Jeeves a pot full of potatoes and a peeler. We both got to work. I could feel Jeeves's eyes on me however. I looked over and sure enough, he was watching me like a hawk, yet still somehow peeling the potatoes perfectly. Show off.

“Min, pay attention.”

Mom proceeded to tell me what all the spices she was using were, the exact amounts and amounts of veggies used, what types (Monterrey celery? I thought it was just celery) and how to pre-cook and season the meat, which was either beef or deer depending on the season (and whether mom could get venison).

All things she never bothered to explain to any of us before.

It was fairly confusing. On the one hand, cooking was chemistry, and was therefore very interesting. On the other hand, mom was sharing family secrets she never shared before... and that was kind of freaking me out. She was even letting Jeeves hear them and not demanding his silence.

In the end, dad was a little late, so we had dinner ready and on the table by the time he walked in. No rolls though, so we settled on bread and hoped he would be too tired to care. He did like his rolls with the stew.

I could tell the moment he stepped through the door how exhausted he was. His tie was undone and hanging loosely around his neck, he threw his briefcase in the corner by the door. (Mom had long since cleared that particular corner, after dad accidentally shattered a vase doing that.) He plopped in his easy chair, sniffing.

“Is that Campbell stew I'm smelling?”

“Sure is Mr. Campbell. Would you like some?”

“Sure would, just give me a minute. Sigh. Dealing with the regional boss sucks. He's a good guy, but has no idea how we do things here. It's too different from the other places on his route.”

He always was a bit tired after dealing with a boss. The regional boss was the worst.

“It smells a bit different, doesn't it? Did you try something new?”

Wow, some nose dad has.

“No, Min helped this time. I thought it was about time I taught another Campbell the recipe, and she... experimented when I wasn't looking, I think.”

Oh no, she's not pinning this on me!

“That's not true! Though I might have spilled a little too much cumin in there...”

Dad took another sniff.

“And a bit too much oregano, it smells like.”

Hmm, maybe. Mom was distracted harassing dad about his shoes, so I took a taste. It did taste different. Not bad though, just different. I liked it anyway.

“Tastes good to me.”

“Well with that ringing endorsement from the saucier, it has to be good. Come on, old man, to the table with you.”

Dad looked bemused, but he didn't dare mention mom was as old as he was. That path led to the couch for a week or more. Jeeves got the drinks than stood behind me, a silent presence I was very aware of. There was no conversation at first, just pleased noises. Dad broke the silence first.

“Well it could be worse. I was right about the oregano.”

“Duly noted, less next time.”

“Next time I teach you all the steps, including preparing the meat.”

“Sure thing mom.”

Alright so I was reasonably sure I wouldn't like cooking a lot; but learning how to prepare food every once in a while wouldn't be too big a chore. And then just as I started to relax, I was put on the spot.

“So how was your day? Any better?”

“Yes, made a few new friends, and the bullies left me alone.”

I wasn't about to tell them what happened in gym. Telling mom about Gordon had been a mistake, but that one I was forced into when the school called her. While not violating the schoolyard code could get me hurt...violating the schoolyard and bro code could get me very hurt, very fast.

I would have to rely on my wits, such as they were, to keep my head attached.

“Good. Let us know if that changes. Homework done?”

I snorted, which made mom frown. Underneath my non verbal apologetic face, I stated:

“I wouldn't dare work on anything without having my homework done first. You and mom made that very clear..”

“Good. Alright, so what were you working on in there? My car is done, and Jeeves is still whole, and the printer is done....”

“An engine, utilizing hydrogen from water.”

He looked up. Uh oh, he was actually paying attention.

“What kind of engine? Using hydrogen how?”

Crap, asked directly I couldn't lie. They would know.

“Well it's a jet engine, capable of splitting atoms for electricity heat and thrust, with about a 6% over all efficiency. It'll split a water molecule into both forms of hydrogen and oxygen, using the energy given off by the process to power the turbine and add a little additional thrust.”

I couldn't stop a self satisfied nod; I'd explained it pretty simply, and no one looked lost. Except maybe Ian.

“Both forms of hydrogen? More than one?”

“Protium and deuterium, respectively. They are both forms of hydrogen. Protium is more light and occurs more common in nature, while deuterium is heavier and doesn't.”

Dad interrupted.

“I think the most important thing we need to know is, is it safe?”

That hurt. That hurt a lot. Before I knew it I was shouting.

“Of course it's safe! The engine can't use more than a small glass full of water at a time at full throttle, and that's not enough to explode unless it's completely sealed off! Your car has a better chance of exploding! Your new car, not the beast! How dare you think that I would....”

“Minerva Myrciel Campbell! That is enough!”

My full name was enough to shock me to full awareness again. Dad was turning purple and rising from his chair, Ian was in full retreat and mom was in between us. I could feel Jeeves behind me; he shifted some and I was afraid of what that meant.

“Sorry mom.”

“I'm not the one that needs the apology.”

Oh no. Oh heck no. Not in a million years.

“I'm not apologizing to dad, mom. He just implied that I would endanger my family and friends.”

I didn't like the look in her eye; but I wasn't about to back down. Dad was in the wrong here. Surely they both saw it... and if they didn't I'd make them see it.

“You are going to apologize Minerva. Let's run down what we know about your condition. You've already built things without our permission, in the dead of night; things we only know a little about. Things that could be dangerous, whether they have been so far or not. You've been getting ahead of yourself due to this compulsion your type of mutant has.”

She was actually ticking off points on her fingers.

“And lastly, the printer you made seems to want to eat people and dance to music. Is that in the design specs anywhere? See where I'm going with this?”

My fingernails were cutting into my palms, and my vision was suddenly blurry.

“Actually the dancing is; and I think I know why it acted like it wanted to eat Jeeves... he's made of metals after all, and the 3D printer uses those. But yes I get the message loud and clear. I'm a menace; a walking, talking, ticking, time bomb, and you're all waiting for me to blow. You're right, I'll apologize.”

I turned to dad. I could barely see him. I'd left my glasses somewhere and the tears were in the way, so he was just a blob.

“I'm sorry I'm such a crazy screw up. I'll go ground myself now.”

One good thing about this body; it was light and very fast when it wanted to be. Only Jeeves was able to keep up with me, which suited me just fine. I let him in the slammed the door.

“You have any emergency lock down procedures designed to keep me safe in the event of a break-in?”

“Yes mistress Min, of course. Why do you ask?”

“I'd like to use them. Non- damaging of course, but I really don't want to talk to my family right now.”

He reached up faster than I could follow and wiped my eyes.

“They hurt you?”

That realization on Jeeves's part could prove everything my family was afraid of. I knew it could, and that just made everything worse.

“Not very much, but listen. You can't hurt them at all, understand? No matter what, they are my family. That's an order, and non negotiable. Just keep them away from me for a while.”

His eyes flashed red, then blue, then green before going back to normal.

“I understand mistress Min, and I obey. Please try to calm down and sleep. I will make sure none hurt you tonight.”

I nodded and blew a sigh. I tried to smile for him, but I don't think I succeeded. When he turned his back to secure the door I just flopped on my bed. My pillows were just as good at absorbing sobs as screams.

I woke with my face stiff with dried tears. I shrugged; it was getting to be a habit, if an unpleasant one. It wasn't even worth mentioning anymore really. A slight shift to a more comfortable position and Jeeves over me, his weirdly expressive face giving away his concern.

I had had a somewhat restful night; at least as restful as I normally did. I hadn't even been disturbed by anyone knocking on the door.

I tried to ignore the numb feeling. Not one of my family even cared enough to check on me. Maybe I was over reacting last night; perhaps I had been too distraught. But my family's lack of any concern at all for my emotional well being seemed to state otherwise. That realization that my formerly loving family thought they couldn't trust me still hurt; the fact that they didn't even care about how I felt about it shocked me to my core.

I gathered my clothes while Jeeves disabled the lock-down, which consisted of a small machine placed over the doorknob.

Then I opened the door.

Ian was sprawled out in the hall in a sleeping bag, snoring away. I nearly tripped over him. Quietly stepping over him, I looked back to warn Jeeves of his presence, and caught sight of the other side of my door.

It was now sporting large gouge marks, shallow but long. Perhaps made by a big knife? But they seemed too symmetrical, as if by five knives at once... or Freddy Krueger claws? The door knob itself was dented and broken.

In short at least someone had cared enough to beat the hell out of my door. And I hadn't heard a thing.

I held my finger to my lips to silence Jeeves, and he knew what it meant. We crept around, I into the bathroom and he into the kitchen. It was nearing 6 am, and while running into Ian was acceptable, running into my parents was straight out.

I hated confrontations, and was not willing to just forgive them right out. They really thought I was no better than that ass we had stirring up trouble over the summer. I didn't even know how I could forgive that, even if I wanted to try.

Luckily enough, even though a quick shower now involved a good 20 to 25 minutes including waking up and hair time, no one seemed to be awake when I cautiously stepped out. Ian was still asleep, rather loudly. Out here he couldn't hear his alarm going off. I poked him with a toe as I went by.

“Zzznerk. What?”

“Wake up little brother, you'll miss school.”

“Huh? Min!?!”

And I was promptly rewarded for my good deed of the day by being knocked down by a meat projectile.

“Ow! Ian, shhh! Mom and dad are asleep, and I want it to stay that way!”

Say what you want about my little brother, but he was never really slow on the uptake. He looked like he wanted to explode under the pressure of unspoken words, but instead he hugged me tight for a moment and then got off.

“Sorry.”

I had a feeling that apology was meant for more than knocking me down or yelling.

“Don't worry Ian, I'm fine. None of what happened was your fault.”

He was smart alright... he caught the lie as soon as I said it.

“What time is it?”

“7:30.”

“Oh my god I'm going to be so late! Look, I need to get ready, but trust me on this, alright? They didn't mean it. They were out here all night, trying to get to you; we all were. Jeeves did something to lock us out.”

“I know, I asked him to. Just go get ready, breakfast will be waiting for you. Try not to wake them up alright?”

“You know this isn't going to go away if you dodge them.”

He gave me a long suffering sigh which I ignored.

“No, it won't. But I just don't feel like it right now. I'd rather be in school than deal with this.”

I'd rather go to school than deal with my parents right now; how screwed up was that? I left him to get cleaned up and headed downstairs to find a simply huge omelet filled with an unusual smell completely covering my plate. My coffee was already done and steaming next to it, with a small milk on the other side.

The old me would have an issue eating all of that; the new me? No way I could.

Jeeves was busy making another one, a little smaller. I spotted bacon, ham, and basil going into the mix with the cheese. Rather than question it I just sat down with knife and fork.

Once that omelet was done and beverages distributed at Ian's customary table setting, Jeeves touched up my coffee and sat down. So, no breakfast for the parents. I should order him to do it, but I was feeling pretty petty. Heck for all I cared, dad could miss work.

I only managed to get half of breakfast down, but it was tasty. I wish I knew how Jeeves did it. Then again if I did I'd likely have to do it myself, and that would be wasting time better spent elsewhere. I had, even in the midst of my fever dream, built Jeeves for this very purpose after all.

I hoped I'd have a handle on this by the end of school today; if not I might have to find a place to stay. I half didn't want to come home. For all that my loving family seemed to care by trying to ruin my door, they didn't trust me. I really didn't want to stay where I wasn't trusted. But then again, where could I go? Where would I be trusted; if not by my family, then who?

I could deal with such things from strangers. The same from my friends, former friends, and peers alike. It hurt.. It hurt a lot. But I could do it. But from my family such lack of trust was an entirely new level of hurt. Sure, Ian said it wasn't like that, but what did he know? He was a kid.

“Stop it sis.”

Stop what?

“What?”

“You're brooding. I can see you doing it. Don't, you'll starting driving yourself crazy.”

“What do you mean you can see me do it?”

He grinned.

“And there is your curious face. I've been keeping an eye on you, and you're still as expressive as ever. I can tell what you're feeling just as well as I ever could, even the new things.”

“That's... pretty creepy, Ian. And what do you mean new things?”

“Well, you never used to brood before.”

I took a little offense at that, gathering my school supplies and shoving them in my backpack with perhaps a little more force than necessary.

“I wasn't brooding Ian.”

He shrugged.

“Well I don't know what else to call it.”

“How about thinking?”

Though I did used to think as Myrc... didn't I?

He shook his head again.

“Thinking implies you aren't worrying yourself to death looking for meanings that don't exist in statements other people make, and then contemplating doing something drastic about it.”

I rounded on him.

“I did not hear anything that mom didn't say. She said it, dad said it, they both said it. The only reason I'm talking to you is you didn't say it. Oh and Ian; you have dishes to do.”

I hit the door running, Jeeves right behind me. His indignant squawk was music to my ears. I was still a bit early, but the running felt good. Any physical activity I could actually do without collapsing felt good at this point, and physically I felt awake, and alert. My energy levels seemed better than they had been since my mutation.

Of course, I wasn't buying it. The anemia as supposed to be a persistent condition; but for now I would take what I could get. I blew past my resident shadows with waves for both, One of whom was in a car and returned my wave with rolled eyes, and the other....

The other was chasing me.

This had been the first time I had seen MCO agent Leonard Sands both close to me and alone. I admit the sight of him actually running after me filled me with a small amount of dread. Surely he wasn't silly enough to try kidnapping me off the street alone, with a CIA presence very aware and in a car not 50 feet behind us?

I was pretty sure Jeeves was not in the mood. One wrong move and MCO agent Leonard Sands would find himself a human pretzel, very likely with salt included. He had to know how he looked; a man in his mid 40's with a beaten up trench coat over a short sleeved dress shirt and slacks running after a young woman.

He looked rather ridiculous puffing along, in fact.

Ricky was not at our corner; I was apparently too early. Perfect. I decided to try and push it. Before I had the strength and conditioning to easily run all the way to school. Yesterday I had started at the midway point, but today I'd try for the full distance.

That and we would see if the MCO's finest could keep up. I am feeling pretty rude at the moment.

“Hey, come on Minerva! Wait up!”

Aww darn it. Now I couldn't pretend that I hadn't heard him.

“I'm trying something here Mr. Sands! Keep up please, then we can talk after!”

The minor annoyance of wasting breath melted away when I heard his yell of 'alright!' (thereby wasting his own breath) and another yell behind me. I think it was Ricky. I couldn't make out what he was yelling, and I admit I didn't try too hard.

Proper breathing was key. I managed to make it all the way to the school gates before I all but keeled over, feeling like my lungs would explode. Jeeves of course was right behind me, and was probably on his slowest setting. I bet he had setting just to screw with me; that would explain so much!

The increased noise of clopping footsteps told me I had company. Mr. sands hauled up, blowing much harder than I did with clear reproach he couldn't properly express in his eyes. I waited patiently with a smile until he could resume upright posture.

“Miss Campbell, that was cruel. Simply cruel! I'm an old man, forced to follow you and then you run off just when I was going to ask you a question!”

“I'm sorry Mr. Sands, but I felt like running and decided to test my stamina while I was at it.”

“Oh? And how did you do?”

Was it me, or did I hear more interest than I should here?

“Terribly I'm afraid. Before I could have run this route with no problem, and still been able to run laps around the track. My forms getting better, but my stamina is still crap.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

I waved that off, even though he did sound genuinely sorry. Not much I could do to change it, it simply was. I wasn't even sure that my regen power would let me work my stamina back up; some forms of regen did, and some did not.

“Anyway, what was your question?”

He actually paused and gave a sort of shudder; the ripple seemed to transform him from butt of a joke to a serious professional.

“Did you notice anything strange happening around your house last night?”

Urk.

“No Mr. Sands, I didn't. Though Jeeves used some sort of device to block out sound; to help me sleep. Why, did something happen?”

“No, just thought I saw something is all. There was some yelling last night though...?”

“My family and I had a fight. I'd prefer not to talk about it.”

“You don't have to if you don't want to. Adjustments like this can be rough; I know, I've seen them all. For the record your family and hometown are accepting you much better than most would. Sorry, don't mean to preach; you better get going, you'll be late for class.”

He walked off with a wave just as Ricky showed up and tried to skewer him with a death glare. Well at least today I'd managed not to get overtaken by him. Even if I had to start well before he did in order to win.

Now there was a moral for you; cheat to win. No way would I do that.

“Min, why didn't you wait? Was that guy bothering you?”

I gave him my best 'duh' look.

“Because I didn't want to talk to the guy you just scared off. And he wasn't bothering me per se, just kind of annoying. That's the MCO guy, Leonard Sands, close up.”

“Oh, so that's the guy huh? He doesn't look so tough.”

I punched him in the arm. He barely noticed, the jerk.

“He doesn't need to be; he can get power armor air-dropped here inside of 13 minutes with a phone call. That's the real threat.”

I could forgive the skepticism he showered me with.

“Really? And just how do you know that?”

I waited just before going through the doors of the school for the appropriate dramatic flair.

“The internet of course.”

“What? They just post things like that on the internet?”

I shook my head.

“The MCO doesn't, sure. But other people do. Some enterprising citizens managed to time the rapid response times of the MCO in the area, from the old decommissioned air force base they bought at Chinook. So here should be half the time of their response to Cedar creek, a town noted in the data and twenty minutes away by car.”

Ricky immediately focused on the most important question... of sorts.

“Chinook has mutants?”

On any other day I'd try to hide my irritation. Not today.

“No, they have had 1 manifestation, and one incident. Both incidents apparently warranted some sort of response, and the MCO was commissioned to deal with both threats. The manifesting mutant was a fire type, apparently that's a pretty common power, and the other was a villain named 'Strobe'. Both incidents were handled successfully and are a matter of public record.”

“What happened to the mutant who manifested? Did the MCO kill the... guy? Girl? None of the above?”

“A him, and no there is video footage. The MCO's hands are clean on this one at least; the poor guy melted under the influence of his own power. It seems he had the power to generate heat and flame... but no resistance to it.”

Finally we made it to the classroom; Ricky had been doing a pretty good job distracting me from my problems, but I just wanted to relax, and he wouldn't take the hint.

“That's just sick. You saw this footage?”

I nodded as I sat down. Hopefully he would shut up once the teacher got here. That would be nice.

“Yes, it was on YouTube for over 24 hours before it was taken down. It's all over a thousand seeded pirate sites now. If you want I can show you later.”

The green tinge he was sporting was amusing.

“No, that's alright, thanks. I don't want to see someone melt in any way shape or form. Wow, guess you are actually kinda lucky, huh?”

I couldn't help but notice him cock back his arm to punch me in my own, then stop as if unsure whether he would break me or not. I couldn't really fault him, as much as I wanted to. I was pretty weak.

“Yes Ricky, I am luckier than some, though not as lucky as most. I do appreciate not spontaneously bursting into flames though.”

Just in the nick of time, Mr. Welch came in.

“Alright class, settle down and let's get started. Pass your homework to the front please.”

There were some groans as a few students remembered that they forgot to do said homework. That was pretty standard. I would never be one of them again, at least. Nothing wrong with my memory. Ricky had remembered his too, and passed it up. A quick glance as it went by revealed it to be... wrong. Not just a little wrong; very, glaringly, wrong.

I had also forgotten my laptop. This was mildly bad. I'd have to actually use notepads.

I mean, fish flipper musculature just wasn't wired that way! The tendons were all in the wrong places!

It actually took effort to refrain from commenting, and I basked in the slight stab of pride I felt when I managed it. When Ricky started to talk again I simply pointed front, and directed my attention there. I caught his frown from the corner of my eye, but decided to ignore that too.

I didn't think I'd told him I had already read the book. Maybe my memory wasn't perfect? Come to think of it, what did I have for breakfast yesterday? Some sort of bagel thingie? On the other hand, I could remember every detail of the jet engine I worked on yesterday, from the tolerances required in a liquid fuel line to the shielding chamber I designed to store any radioactive fuel, if I decided to go that route.

So maybe it was selective?

Maybe I was reading too much into this. But if my memory had suddenly grown selective from a technical standpoint, then would I lose more of me? Lose even the memories that made me, me? No, wait. Don't let your thoughts spin out of control; remember what Ian said earlier. Maybe this is what he meant by brooding?

“You OK?”

Ricky had a look of concern plastered on his face while staring straight ahead with glazed eyes at the blackboard, where Mr. Welch was diagramming the musculature of whales. He looked ridiculous, honestly.

“Ricky... do I brood?”

“Hah? What's that mean?”

Wait, he didn't know? Oh, right, he didn't read that much. Come to think of it, neither did I, so where did I know it from? No, focus! Focus!

“It means to think or worry persistently over a problem or situation.”

“Hmm, then yes you do lately. You never used to worry about stuff, and now you do.”

In my surprise I almost spoke normally as opposed to a whisper.

“I do?”

He gave a faint nod, still looking at the blackboard, still looking faintly ridiculous. But well, if Ricky noticed it, then it had to be true. Ricky was hardly the best at noticing things, even those things right in front of his face.

The lab section was easy, of course. The egg cradle took on some semblance of life as Ricky followed my plans, and I made adjustments, Our egg would most certainly survive. Aside from the occasional broken sentence, we didn't even talk.

“Here.”

“No, like this.”

“But what if...”

“This.”

He sat back in a mild form of awe.

“Ahh, so that's how...”

The other teams were somewhat less far along. Most were still in the planning stages. One team, I kid you not... had a box. A box! No way that was going to work. Even with the illegal tissues they were smuggling in to fill it with.

Toilet paper would have been better for that anyway.

The ringing bell shouldn't have taken me by surprise, but it did. I started stuffing things in my bag.

“Ralph, can you stow the cradle?”

There was a spot under the desk where all our projects were kept.

“Sure. See you in the next class.”

“See you there.”

Normally I'd do it myself, but I trusted Ralph, and I had to go to the freaking bathroom. Stupid walnut sized bladder. Stupid coffee. Stupid world. The bathroom was empty, which made it easy for me. I wasn't the only one to have a problem though, someone else passed me on my way out, without even a second glance.

I knew they had to know who I was, my hair alone announced that clearly. But whoever it was didn't care. Or maybe their bladder was too small for them to care just yet, and they would yell bloody murder at me later. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop among the girls, but they were acting like something straight out of the Twilight Zone... Or Stepford.

I couldn't say the acceptance wasn't welcome, but it felt weird; a little off for it to happen that easily. As if the girls attending school, who didn't even really know me, were more accepting of me than my own family.

It couldn't possibly be true of course, but the illusion was strong today. I wondered whether the lie was that the girls were accepting, or that my family was.

“Good morning.”

Sam. I pasted on a smile which felt in danger of slipping, (Why now, when I had been dealing so well all morning?) and turned to her.

“Good morning Sam.”

She of course, saw right through me and went from semi-vacant to full blown alarm in not time at all.

“What's wrong?”

My throat locked up.

“It's... look, I'll tell you later, alright? We need to get into class before Mr. Mullins calls us absent.”

She nodded.

“Later.”

Ralph was already in his seat as I took mine, and I settled in as a few more almost late students trickled in. He raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing, for which I was grateful. I could feel Sam's eyes on me from the back of the classroom.

Algebra was as easy as it was yesterday. The numbers did their new but customary dance inside my head and I scribbled down the answers to the equations Mr. Mullins eeked on the blackboard, in a few cases before he was done writing the entire problem.

It was all so boring!

In despair I started scribbling my own math in the margins... dealing with black holes and magnetic containment of such. Done right, a small (micro sized) black hole could be dropped into such containment and be fed a molecule at a time, with a return on the matter investment of right around 90%. That would be enough to make a unit the size of a large car battery able to power a city block.

Possibly anyway, at least that was what the maths were telling me. I'd have to dig deeper to be certain, burn rates and energy conversions and material construction and....

“Min, you OK?”

I looked up, blinking and a little tired all of a sudden. Ralph was above me, with Sam next to him and both were staring directly at me... along with a few other people.

“Huh?”

Ralph pointed down to my notebook, which was now filled with a few diagrams and reams of equations. Some only half finished and trailing off disturbingly.

“You were off in wonderland again. What was it this time?”

“Oh.”

Crap.

Their looks demanded an answer. I stood up and wobbled a little. Ralph grabbed me quickly in a gentle but firm grip to make sure I didn't fall and Sam just grabbed my stuff and looked at me expectantly.

“I'm fine, just got a little dizzy, is all. And it's the same thing ti was yesterday; power systems.”

Sam spared a glance at the notebook.

“Nuclear?”

“A good guess, but no. This one involves magnets.”

I didn't want to tell it it also involved a working black hole. She would likely freak out. Everyone likely would.

“Like Jeeves?”

Wow, Sam actually paid attention when I said things.

“Not quite. This one is more containment of a persistent electro-magnetic field than the more simplistic use of electro-magnets in motion to power something.”

Sam and Ralph both nodded understanding as we moved. I got more steady with each passing step and finally gave a gentle shake to dislodge Ralph, with a smile to thank him for his help. He left us at the door to geography to go to his own class. Come to think of it, I didn't know what class he had this period. I'd have to ask later.

Sam took over for him though, hovering right at my elbow until I was safely ensconced in my seat. It would be nice if it wasn't so cloying. I could darn well walk on my own! I just needed a minute was all.

“Morning Sam, morning Min! Say have you heard the news?!?”

Ahh Maggie, the smiling bundle of energy. She draped herself around us both, dragging Sam ionto a crouch as she whispered conspiratorially.

“The school just announced the Halloween party! We all need to go, and go in style! We should plan costumes later, in study hall, OK?”

I nodded and Maggie moved, dragged a wide eyed Sam away, to her seat, whispering the entire time. They were plotting, of course, but not everything had to involve me. I was hoping this was one of those times.

Geography made me bored, but I didn't want to zone out again. So I amused myself by calculating the height of various mountains pictured in the text by extrapolating size based on picture scale then working up from there. I could get the answers to the foot; the textbook itself provided the answers. Mrs. Carson didn't seem to mind as long as I was keeping myself occupied.

I'd managed to work my way through most of the text by the time the bell rang; on to the next class, and so far I'd survived. Of course, my third class being over meant that the worst was yet to come. I snuck as best I could until waylaid by Maggie, who somehow managed to be completely silent while sneaking up on me.

“No, none of that, come on! You can at least bond with us before gym, even if you cant play.”

And with an arm around my neck, much the same way as she dragged Sam around, she dragged me into the girl's locker room. During rush hour, so to speak. I stood in the corner, trying to blend into the background as best I was able with bright hair as everyone chatted and got dressed. As usual, Maggie was the loudest, though all the girls were chatting about the party and who they hoped asked them out to it.

I wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. Pam, likewise, was silent. And staring at me with a look of unfocused anger. What had I done to piss her off now? Every time I made a break for the door, Maggie or Sam stopped me, while still dressing and chatting. So shouldn't her anger be directed at one of both of them? They were keeping me here, after all.

The general atmosphere in the place was friendly and welcoming overall. I might have to ask my new friends if they knew anything about why some people who had never had a problem with me before did now. The answer was likely the mutant one, but someone had to know for sure, and I wanted to.

After all, I couldn't fix a problem I didn't know about. And while I was tempted to just try and ignore it and hope the problem went away, recent events suggested that would be a bad idea. Thankfully Maggie and Sam let me escape just as soon as they themselves were dressed, and I went to join my sole gym partner, already in the bleachers and breaking out his colored paper.

Which reminded me, I had forgotten to buy some of that. Ordinary paper would just have to do, even though it was thicker and therefore harder to fold well. Not to mention ugly by comparison. I took a seat well up in the bleachers, in effect dragging Ralph up with me.

Bernie would find it very hard to hit us with a basketball up here. He could peg either of us, but we would have more time to react. .07 seconds, to be more precise, and how I know that I don't really know. Instead I opened the book on origami and looked for something simple.

I'd already done the jumping frog, so maybe the ladybug?

“You know, I've seen you draw schematics... I think you can manage something for me.”

Alarm bells went off in my head, but I was curious.

“And what's that?”

“Well, I need a tree. Or at least, a picture of a tree. I don't draw that well, but you do. So I want you to draw me one.”

He was clearly insane.

“Ralph, buddy, I don't draw. I sketch schematics. I've never drawn anything more complex than stick figures in my life.”

“Now that's not true. It might have been before, but I saw your notebook this morning. Your power supply looks like what it's supposed to. Just... schematic me a tree. Look in my text if you have to, but I want a tree. You owe me, and I'm calling in the debt.”

He shoved a piece of unlined paper and a pencil in my hands, and set his textbook across my lap, already open to a page with a tree on it. An oak, I think. I did owe him... a little. But I wasn't sure I owed him enough for what would undoubtedly be blackmail material later.

Well at least he hadn't done anything really awkward. His own fault if he wanted a crappy drawing. He sat down in front of me, back turned and watching the boys while he folded cranes. I didn't blame him, I would too. I certainly didn't want a repeat beaning. I couldn't see though because he was in front of me; I was too darn short.

So what else could I do? I sat back and drew.

By the time gym class was over, I had a somewhat credible tree. Well, at least, you could tell it was a tree. I still didn't have the details of the bark looking quite right, but the leaves looked OK. The lighting also looked a little sketchy. There was more I felt could be done to it, but it was my third try, and the bell had been a good minute ago and lunch was waiting.

Ralph accepted it without a word, and I really didn't want to stick around to see the disappointment set in. That and if I waited too long, I had no doubt Jeeves would come looking for me, school rules or not.

“Sorry, got to go!”

One of the few pluses about being small is it didn't take much effort to fly, and if I wanted now, I could simply move through groups of people or bounce off of them, as opposed to running them over. I don't even think the people I slipped between even notice I was there.

I met Jeeves coming in the door as I was heading out of it. Beyond him at the tree, I could see a table set up with a white tablecloth and three fold out seats. Maggie and Sam were already in two with their own lunches, and my place had been set, complete with what I was assuming was grape juice. There was a small gauntlet of student to run in getting to the tree, the curious; but they parted for us.

“Mistress Min, you are one minute and 42 seconds late. You have an elevated heart rate and are short of breath. Has anything occurred?”

“Nothing at all, just got caught up doing something in gym class. Sorry about being late, but we still have plenty of time.”

He once more resumed his position behind me, my comforting shadow. For my part I was famished, but walked now that I could to my place setting.

My lunch today was some sort of chicken salad, but it didn't look like a normal salad... were those radishes in there? Garlic? Mint? The bowl next to it was rice with those small orange slices in it

“Couscous salad with vinaigrette, Mistress Min, with rice marinated in Cara Cara oranges on the side. The drink is blackberry juice, a favorite berry of yours.”

He handed me a fork. How did he even get blackberries to juice? It was good, and couldn't be concentrate. The rice had a light sweet taste imparted by the oranges, and the salad was an interesting melange of tastes that I didn't quite know how to classify.

It was all very good though. My table mates took notice, and though Sam only rolled her eyes and continued eating her sandwich (a six inch sub from a sandwich shop) Maggie had something to say.

“Dang! The way you're going at that salad, it must be something special!”

“It's... weird. Do you want a bite?”

She backpedaled so quickly she almost fell off her chair.

“No, thanks. It's your lunch and I have my own. I wouldn't want to take any.”

She didn't notice the rather pointed look Sam hit her with – or pretended not to notice, instead staring at her own pbj sandwich and giving a forlorn sigh of the damned. I didn't really see any spare parts to the lunch I could give away; there was only one serving there. Well that and the candle of course, somehow blazing merrily away in defiance of the breeze. A devisor candle? What would the point of that be? I would have to ask Jeeves.

With a shrug Maggie pulled a thing of yogurt and a plastic spoon out of her crumpled paper bag. Seemed like a nutritious lunch to me; maybe I should pack a peanut butter sandwich tomorrow? I kind of missed them. Still, I couldn't resist a little needling; I was feeling a little brave today.

“I don't think Sam believes you about the food.”

Sam nodded along to my statement.

“Food thief.”

Maggie got all indignant.

“I am not! I only borrow a thing here and there, when Sam has more than enough for both of us.”

Sam shook her head.

“Pack extra in case.”

So Sam was used to it. Maybe I should ask Jeeves to pack more too? Would it really take that much more time to make more than one serving? I didn't know. Another question to ask him. But before I could Maggie blindsided em with a question of her own that I'd almost forgotten about and been dreading.

“So, what's going on? You were pretty upset this morning.”

And just like that the salad might as well be greasy gravel. Maggie crossed the distance and grabbed me in a hug; I vaguely wondered why Jeeves let her.

“What's wrong? What happened? I'm sorry if I did something....”

“No. no, no! It wasn't you! It was my parents!”

I quickly filled them in on the argument we all had last night, and my reaction to it. I spared nothing, and didn't try to make myself look better. I just told them what happened with as little bias as possible. It took longer than I thought, and the wind blew smoke or something in my eyes often. But I managed to finish with a steady voice.

Sam had joined Maggie on my opposite side, at some point moving when I wasn't aware of it.

“Darn, that's rough girl. What were your parents, thinking?!? Didn't they raise you better than that? How can they not trust their own work? I mean, it's you. How can they think that you would go from well, you, to someone like the poisoner? That's just screwed up!”

Sam added her two cents.

“Worried.”

“Well of course they are worried! No reason to go off on Min though, she can't help it!”

It felt rather gratifying to have them both in my corner, with no reservation at all. Even if I was as much in the wrong as my parents were.

“No, they are at least partly right. I was planning to make dangerous things. That jet engine and it's power supply are both potentially dangerous.”

Maggie dismissed that idea out of hand.

“Pfft, so's a car, and teens drive those all the time. Other kids get to build and fly in planes or ultra-lights, what's so different about you doing it?

I shrugged. I couldn't really answer that question.

“They aren't using fusion power systems to do it? I don't know.”

Maggie was on a roll, and didn't let my words so much as slow her down.

“Not even a concern, Min. You wouldn't build something that could hurt us on purpose. And if you did, Jeeves wouldn't let you or us use it. No need to even stress about it.”

I looked at Sam and she nodded complete agreement. A look at Jeeves and he nodded briskly, conceding Maggie's point. So he was my safety net in more ways than one? I wasn't sure that I wanted to trust him that far. But in the long run, did I have a choice? Could I keep myself from building the better doomsday device?

No, I had to try to rein myself in. If only to prove that I could do it; to my parents and myself. And of course I had to apologize to my parents. I still wasn't looking forward to that; right or wrong, they would likely try to inhibit my building things. Maybe if I just built things that couldn't possibly be used for anything crazy or hurt anyone, I could satisfy my strange urges to create without causing problems.

Of course, it would be even better if I could do that somewhere other than my dad's garage workshop. Something else to consider. Were there any other good spots to build things in this town? Perhaps Jeeves would know, he had to be doing something when I was in school. I bet he did know, and was waiting for me to ask. It would be just like him.

Sam of all people broke the silence, and my musings. She knocked a knee to mine gently.

“Hey. It'll get better.”

I gave her the best smile I could under the circumstances as Maggie joined in.

“Yeah! We will go with you tonight and help you with your parents. We will make them see reason! They can't treat you like a criminal!”

Wow, where had these two been hiding all this time? They were as solid as Ricky. Maybe even more so.

“Thanks, you two.”

Yes it was kind of dirty, bringing them home for the inevitable blow up; it certainly wasn't right to drag them into this. But I felt like I needed the support. I did not want to go home and then lose my nerve, and that could happen.

But then again, if I got my friends involved, what kind of a friend was I? Once again my reverie was broken.

“Think nothing of it, Min. We may not have all the answers, but you aren't alone in all this.”

I couldn't help buy gape. That had to be the most I'd ever heard Sam say, and she used a complete sentence! Maggie was gaping right alongside me. With a mischievous grin Sam reached over and closed our mouths gently, then blanked her face and stated:

“Late.”

And sure enough, the bell to signal the end of lunch started ringing.

“Aah, crap! Jeeves can you pack up?”

With a bow and a look that all but screamed 'are you kidding me?' he responded.

“Of course, mistress Min.”

Without further thought spared that direction I grabbed my bag and ran; I wasn't all that good at these mushy moments. They made me uncomfortable. In not time at all however, Sam was beside me. I could hear Maggie puffing along behind us, so at least I had that going for me. Or maybe that was: Sam and I had that going for us?

Unlike on the way out, we had to slow down once we hit the doors. There were just too many people around to risk hitting one.

And on to study hall, where I could do all my homework. I swear my pencils seemed to smoke as I wrote answers. Nothing at all wrong with my hand speed or finger dexterity. Once again getting all my homework done was child's play, though I did feel a little odd afterwards. Almost like I had run a small marathon or played a full 40 minutes in a basketball game. Kind of really odd; I hope nothing else was going wrong.

And once again, speeding through it all left me with nothing to do once I got home, unless I tinkered. Which my family was dead set against. Maybe I'd get some really good long assignment in english class.

And maybe pigs would develop anti-gravity harnesses and fly.

Or maybe I should....

The bell rang and I looked up to find Maggie, Sam, Ricky, and Ralph all around me, crowding me and looking down at my notebook, where I had drawn a flying pig using an anti-gravity harness. I felt my face heat up and closed it in a hurry. How had Ralph gotten here so quickly? He had a math class this period I thought. Sam of course made it all worse by summing things up her way:

“Cute.”

“What? No way! You didn't see anything!”

Maggie opened her mouth but I beat her to the punch.

“You. Saw. Nothing.”

Ralph had a small knowing grin but his voice was steady and free from any laughter.

“Come on, last class then we can free ourselves from this madhouse.”

Ricky was busy shooting eye venom at Ralph to say anything, but he nodded over the sentiment. I got up and we all tromped over to our last class of the day like prisoners to an execution. I wasn't sure what everyone else's problem was, but for me it was going to be mind crushing boredom. Unlike the clean lines and performance of math, English was messy. Both messy and not something I could really rush, since it was also required some subjectivity on the part of the participants.

And today we were working on more Shakespeare. King Lear to be precise. What was the deal with King Lear, and why did we have to suffer through his story? No idea. Some king decides to hand out goodies before he dies based on who can butter him up the best. No way that idea ever has bad consequences.

A little bit of class time spent on the time period good old William wrote it in, and the legends king Lear was based on pretty much put us all to sleep in addition to eating class time. The bell rang but we could not escape the tedium; Mrs. Holmes assigned reading this trash to us... first chapter due tomorrow, complete with the book questionnaire on it. Ten questions that only Mrs. Holmes will ever care about.

Oh well I shouldn't complain; my grade in English has gone up almost a full letter. And of course the longer English lasted, the more time before I went home. I could deal with all the time in the world before going home, really. Now it was my turn to drag my feet; and I mean really drag my feet. Maggie would have none of that, however.

“Come on Min, we need to go or Jeeves will be chewing down the walls looking for you!”

Chewing down the walls looking for me? But that didn't even make any sense! Sam grabbed my arm as I turned to call her on it, and Sam was strong. Rather than just get dragged along I decided on the path of dignity and picked up my own pace.

Once again, Jeeves was on his way through the door as I reached it. He raised a sculpted eyebrow and just turned around once I got close enough, his tall form sort of breaking the human wave for us. I would normally appreciate it, but it meant going home that much sooner. Dread was tying my stomach in knots. My dad I could handle, but my mom was flat out scary when angered. And I had definitely angered her last night. I could almost hear the dirge keeping time with each step.

Once outside the bright sunlight cheered me somewhat, even though the distinct lack of heat meant that fall's days were numbered. Halfway down the block I spotted the late model ford sedan which all but screamed 'government!'

And behind that, was Leonard Sands the intrepid MCO agent. Who was currently scarfing down some sort of chili dog or similar bad for you food thing (it was hard to tell at this distance) and not making any particular effort to stay hidden at all.

Of course, neither was the CIA in their obvious unmarked sedan.

With a shrug I continued and started leading our strange procession; Jeeves had taken his customary place behind me now that the student wave had broken. The traffic wasn't even heavy at the moment, which made the sedan stick out even more than it otherwise would have. Not that slowly pacing us a good hundred feet behind was helping it.

I wondered as I turned into my drive, my entire posse behind me (even Ricky, which seemed a little odd), if the CIA knew what happened last night. And then there was no more time to think silly thoughts. Because my parents – both of them – were waiting at the open door.

I only managed to make it halfway up to them when mom hit me with the force of a small car, knocking us both back into Jeeves and then down, and hugging me so hard my ribs creaked.

“I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry...!”

“Mom, can't breathe....”

She loosened up with a guilty look. I vaguely wondered where Jeeves was, he was supposed to be protecting me! Dad blocked out the sun with a stern visage, stating:

“Well we decided magnamimous... magninimous... um, with a big heart to forgive you.”

Then he smiled to put the lie to it. Then he dragged mom and I both back up into standing position and into a hug of his own.

“I'm sorry, Min. You're right, we should trust you. You've done nothing wrong and we should trust you.”

I shook my head through the stupid tears.

“No, you guys are right. I'm sorry. I need to be more careful about what I build and how.”

This surprised them both, though only dad spoke up in his surprise.

“You are? You do?”

I nodded.

“I have an idea that will help me do things; but it'll seem like a bad idea at first. You guys are going to have to trust me, OK? I'll listen to you, but you need to trust me this one time, please?”

And they were hugging me again, with help, as Sam and Maggie and Ian got into the act. I was having trouble breathing again. Mom was still a little more wary.

“What's your plan?”

“Well, I'm going to need one of those pre fab garages in the backyard... and then we move everything out there. I make a few more androids like Jeeves, but more limited, to do much of the actual building and testing of the stuff I want to make; you know, take over the dangerous things, and then we can all be happy. I can build and test things to make life better for everyone, and none of us need to worry about the danger or getting hurt from it.”

I really hoped I wasn't lying to my parents, but the compulsion to work on the power system that shall not be named aloud was strong. I just KNEW it would help humanity... not to mention powering the other things I wanted to make. But fusion and fission had to happen first. Dad asked the question I was dreading.

“And how do we pay for this garage workshop of yours? Got any ideas?”

Well at least he wasn't discarding the idea outright. We did have a big yard, one that could easily support the large pre-fabricated garage I envisioned. But paying for it would be a problem.

“If I may suggest something....”

A cold pit opened in my stomach. Jeeves had an idea. This day was getting beyond normal bad, even with my parents being so understanding. Even worse I couldn't shake the feeling that my parents were up to something. This entire apology session had gone too easy; and that thought made me feel guilty, angry, and somehow vindicated all at once. And feeling vindicated when thinking the worst of your parents has a tendency to make you feel dirty. At least, it does for me.

“Mistress Min currently holds several patents at the United States Patent office. I submitted them online as she finished their blueprints and construction. The nozzle design for the # dimensional printer in particular are very valuable. With proper marketing those patents should be easy to sell for the necessary funds.”

Wait, what? I was staring up into his smug looking face as close as I could manage before my brain caught up and I realized that was probably a bad idea. But this was a betrayal worse than my parents not trusting me!

“You've been sneaking behind my back and filing my designs, then selling them?”

He shook his head.

“No mistress Min. Not I. Mr. Green.”

A glimmer of a hint of a thought. A light bulb went off in my head but it was low wattage. A robot designed for business, using Jeeves general chassis and with entire dusty tomes filled with patent lore and law downloaded into his pointy head, along with the standard degrees he would need. A design to help me manage the business aspects of my inventions, as that would be way too annoying for me to do myself.

A design I hadn't gotten around to building yet, as I hadn't yet seen the point for it. After all I only had two inventions I could put on the government's books, right? So if I didn't, who did?

Jeeves had been watching my emotions play out, because he replied to my unasked question instantly.

“Arnie sends his regards, mistress.”

“Wait, Arnie built Shecky? How did Arnie get the plans for Shecky?”

Mom interrupted, warily.

“Who is Shecky?”

“The business manager bot I was going to build when I felt I had some kind of business to run. I don't really have a head for legalese and dad can't balance the checkbook. You might be able to run it, so I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt, but Arnie got a hold of my plans for Shecky and made him somehow.”

Jeeves raised his hand with a gentle smile.

“Why would you do that? Do you know where Arnie is? Tell me the truth.”

“I was programmed to share the information with Arnie. I do not know where he is; his physical location was not required. That programming directive has been satisfied, I no longer feel compelled to share information with Arnie.

“Well just in case, don't do it again. Share information like that with Arnie or anyone else without my permission. Did you share my designs with anyone else? Like the CIA maybe?”

He bowed deeply.

“Of course. And no, no one else. With your current encryption measures in place any attempted theft of your designs would be detected. I will of course assist you in any way you require in order to prevent such a theft, as always.”

I wasn't quite done with him.

“You mean it? You absolutely swear you haven't sold me out?”

“I have not. In truth, you programmed me to share Mr. Green's design with Arnie. You even programmed the knowledge on how to do it.”

That was wrong, wasn't it?

“I don't remember doing that. When did I do that?”

“When you were still... mutating. You told Arnie what you required, remember? And Arnie made the decision.”

So there could be more. Jeeves, if I didn't know any better, seemed tense.

“Any other surprises I should know about?”

He shook his head.

“No.”

“And you would tell me if there were?”

“Yes.”

Mom, who had been looking ready to burst this entire time, (everyone else seemed to be content to let the drama play out) started in. But on Jeeves, not me, so I was cool with it.

“Are you sure you don't know where Arnie is?”

Jeeves nodded, unperturbed by my moms questions. Even I could tell he just didn't care about what she thought. The way mom's mouth tightened, she could too.

“I do not. He insisted upon it. I can reaffirm that Arnie is taking no action that mistress Min herself would not approve. To date he has simply acted as another set of hands, building the equipment mistress Min designs and needs, but lacks the time to build herself. Like myself for example.”

“Is Arnie building anything else?”

“Not to my knowledge. I am not privy to all of Arnie's directives; only those that pertain to my actions and behavior. For example, I know that Shecky Green has been active 6 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes and 16 seconds. I know that he is currently in negotiations with several different car manufacturing companies regarding mistress Min's first patent, the valve and nozzle mechanism for the 3 dimensional printer. I know that the talks involve hundreds of thousands of dollars plus royalties. I know that Shecky is coming here to meet mistress Min and discuss these contracts and deals. And I know all of this due to status update which Mr. Green himself sends me. We... talk.”

Mom's raised eyebrow did not bode well.

“Yes, I gave them net access! It was to help the model learn, not do weird net hijinks! I swear!”

Dad just shook his head, but neither of them said what I knew they were thinking: 'I told you so! This is what we were talking about.' A spike of anger and I turned to Jeeves.

“Are you doing anything illegal through your internet connection?”

“No.”

“You will keep it that way, is that understood?”

Again he bowed low.

“Of course, mistress Min. Do you wish me to pass that order along to Mr. Green?”

“Yes, along with the order to hurry up.”

“Um, excuse me.”

Maggie couldn't keep silent anymore. Somehow I'd expected her to interrupt before now; she was showing remarkable restraint.

“What's up, Maggie?”

“Just a small question. How much is Min looking to get for these deals, and when will they close?”

Jeeves answered her question seriously, staring at me the entire time.

“The lowest bid is 498,000 dollars plus 24,000 dollars a year, from Ford motor company. The contract does not possess and exclusivity clause, so it is possible that mistress Min may sell the rights to use the valve and nozzle system again to a competitor. With such a clause added the money earned becomes just 1.12 million and 38,000 dollars per year. However Mr. Green believes he can make up the lack by selling the same rights to Ford motor company's competitors. He is currently in negotiation with Honda and Toyota. Any such deal made will of course, need mistress Min's signature and that of a parent.”

Almost on cue, the entire gathering swiveled their heads to look at my Mom. I knew better, and was looking at Dad. If this was going to happen it would need dad's approval. Even coaching the workshop idea in the backyard, where they could keep an eye on me, was a huge stretch. Mom and Dad stared at each other as we all looked on with baited breath. And in a total shock, Dad shrugged and deferred to Mom.

“Your call, dear.”

She turned and looked me up and down. She stared into the hopeful faces of my friends. She ticked off a finger on her left hand.

“We both have unfettered access. Ian does not.”

I could only imagine Ian getting his hands on one of my power systems or something; that wasn't a happy thought at all.

“Agreed.”

She ticked off another finger.

“All security measures you can make get taken, provided they are non-lethal.”
“Security versions of Jeeves are first priority, and I'll start the printer on them tonight. I'll tighten up the programming too, so they can't do anything weird. I'll even give you and dad overrides.”

She ticked off another finger.

“No living in it. You come inside for dinner and to sleep. You don't spend all your time in there building jet engines and power systems.”

I nodded and she ticked off a last finger.

“You do all your homework. Any missed homework grounds you from the workshop for a week an infraction.”

Now that was downright unfair! Homework was so boring! Sigh. I nodded to that one as well. I waited but there were no more fingers ticked off (or even a thumb).

“Alright; we will front you the money for the garage. It'll be up to you to pay us back, with interest. I don't care how exactly. But you have a month. I'll make the call.”

She turned away, and I could swear for her next statement the light dimmed and I could smell fresh blood.

“Oh, and should you ever use the device you used last night on your door again, you better be sure there are rampaging death robots on the other side. Understand?”

Ulp.

“With crystal clarity, Mom.”

Sure she was bigger than me, but then again everyone was now. She wasn't THAT big... so how did she manage to pull off being so scary? Even Dad made himself scarce when he got that look. Mom managed to get all the way back inside before so much as a bird tweet. We certainly weren't going to say anything and draw any potential ire. Sam was wide eyed, but Maggie was triumphant – and irrepressable.

“We did it!”

Huh?

“We did what?”

Dad started back into the house himself.

“And on that note, time to go reclaim my garage. Don't rush anything, Min. You don't need death robots or anything similar right now, hear me?”

I was caught up trying to understand what was behind Maggie's shouts and fist pumping to worry about dad's admonishment. Why exactly was she celebrating?

“Um, yeah sure dad. No crazy things yet. Maggie, what are you doing? What did we do?”

She stopped long enough to give me a good fish eye. Sam joined in too, and I could sense some surprise there.

“Why, we won of course!”

“We won?”

“Of course, not only did your parents actually apologize and admit they were wrong thanks to your excellent reverse psychology, you got a workshop and club house out of it! Think of all the great stuff we will be able to do now, with workspace all your own! And to top it off, you're going to be rich! This day is clearly one of the best wins over the evils of adulthood ever!”

I looked to Sam. She just shook her head while rolling her eyes; she didn't know what Maggie was talking about either. Though Maggie was right, a little. It was hard to imagine me being rich and having a lab to my own already. I mean I always knew I would eventually, but this seemed very soon. Ricky and Ralph both stepped up with matching smiles and jinxed themselves by saying congratulations at the same time – then they glared at each other.

For my part, I had to choke down a most embarrassing giggle that threatened to escape. Not sure what got into those two; they had always at least politely ignored each other before. Sometimes they were even friendly, though Ricky sometimes acted as if mutation were a disease that could be catching. Now they both seemed to regard each other as the second coming of Gordon, for some reason. Sam was rolling her eyes again, and opened her mouth to utter some profundity.

“Adulthood is evil?”

And there it was. I shrugged.

“I don't think so, but I guess this once we did get a win. I still can't believe it actually; I expected to get grounded and beaten blue with a belt. I understood their point, but I didn't think they got mine at all, before ten minutes ago.”

Ricky and I shared a look. When I was younger we had both gotten the belt a lot. Especially that time we had chopped down the cherry tree to see what the big deal was. Dad was kind of old school on that. And I could regenerate now, so it wouldn't even have any long lasting effects. I would have gotten a good ten swipes like that a year ago for talking to my parents like I had last night. Maggie started pulling me into the backyard as Ian walked up warily.

“Come on Min, let's decide where it should go! We can mark it out for the company your mom calls to put up! Which way do you think the doorway should face?”

Well that was simple.

“Towards the back door, of course.”

“What's going on?”

Ricky took it upon himself to answer Ian before I could.

“A tearful apology session, squirt. That somehow ended up in your sister moving out of the garage and getting her own workspace.”

Hey, that was a lie!

“It was not tearful! Nobody cried!”

Maggie held up her hand, and Sam followed suit.

“What? You both cried?!?”

“I admit, tears may have been shed. Also, your mom cried a bit too.”

Ian kept his focus.

“So wait, the 'rents signed off on a workshop now?”

I nodded with a grin; I couldn't help it.

“Yep, a place of my own to keep the messes and craziness out of the house. I did have to agree to keep it safe though. Oh, and you aren't to have unfettered access,' I had to whisper the next part; I wasn't going to take chances. 'Don't worry though, I plan on letting you in any time you want.”

Ian stared at me. For a long time. I was beginning to worry when he just walked around us and went in the house. What was his problem, anyway? Did I piss him off somehow? Ralph shot me a look I couldn't decipher.

“Don't worry, I got it. Think I know what his problem is.”

And he started after Ian. I rolled my shoulders yet again (it seemed to be a day for that) and let him go.

“Go right on in, you're formally invited. And glad at least one of us does. Alright Maggie, I'm coming! That arm is attached to me you know... I kind of need it.”

Sam and Jeeves brought up the rear; I expected this sort of thing from Sam, but Jeeves should be working a little harder to save my arm from dislocation. But we made it to the backyard without my joint popping and Maggie let go of my hand.

The backyard was flanked by two hundred year old oak trees which offered shade. It was large but the same size as the ones next to it, with dark green healthy grass without a bare patch. My dad took pride in that. The small patio outside the back door had the grill on it, now closed due to cold weather. The far side however, was open and sunny, and was by far my favorite spot.

“Alright so if you were going to put a prefab garage up in the back yard, where would you place it?”

Simple.

“All the way in the back, close to the property line as I could.”

“Really? Why?”

I started ticking off points.

“Well if we place it in that corner of the yard there, it'll be easier to mow since I wont have to mow around the back, so that will be nice. At most I might have to trim it, and that's nothing. It's farther away from the house so the chance of the house getting caught in some random explosion or screw up is less - not that I intend such a thing to happen, of course! And the last and best reason... that house belongs to the Zincks, and I hate them. There is no love lost between us at all.”

Maggie pondered that.

“Bad neighbors?”

“They like throwing their trash in our yard, walking their dog in our yard, and complaining over leaves from the trees. So yes, kind of.”

Sam had another question.

“You mow?”

“Well, yes, of course I mow. I do a lot of the yard work Dad doesn't want to do.”

But come to think of it, was that right anymore? I haven't mowed in two weeks, and for Dad that was a long wait. The grass looked freshly cut, probably during the weekend. There were few leaves mixed in the grass. Did someone else cut it when I wasn't paying attention?

“I didn't last time; guess I was still sick....”

“Just a little odd; my dad doesn't let me mow the yard anymore.”

Sam grinned.

“Not since that time....”

“Sam shush! That's a secret! You swore you'd take it to your grave!”

Sam made a show of zipping her lips. Maggie spoke in even more of a hurry than usual.

“So um, how big do you think this thing will be?”

I considered.

“Probably not any bigger than 30 by 30. That would be 900 square feet, which should be plenty of space for anything I want to do.”

“Alright.”

Maggie paced out 30 feet while Sam paced out 30 feet along the axis Maggie had unknowingly set. I could have helped, but whatever. A couple shed sticks from the oaks, and the square was marked.

“Alright, all done! Now it's time to design it and the bots that you'll have running the place. To the garage!”

Sam and I shared a look, then followed. Jeeves looked bemused. Bemused! That's like amused and smug at the same time, the jerk! The next bots were not going to have the intelligence for snark. I would see to that. In fact, they would only test things at my say so. The security bots would have to have a little more reasoning power, but should they have as much as Jeeves....

“Min? Min!”

Huh?

“Huh?”

“We're here. You were spacing out a little.”

I realized I was in the garage, and in the chair I was using when I designed things on my laptop in here. My laptop was in my room however; I know it was. An attempt to stand up and Jeeves was there, teleported to my side and catching me – again.

“No, mistress Min. You shouldn't try to move just yet. Your laptop, correct? I will fetch it for you. Please just wait here.”

And he left. Sam took his place by my side, showing the same concern.

“I'm fine, just got dizzy when trying to stand up.”

Maggie spoke for both of them.

“Are you OK? You just sort of walked in here on autopilot and sat down. Sam asked a question and you answered it, but you were kind of....”

“Thinking of something else? Distracted?”

Sam nodded while Maggie felt obliged to give a verbal response.

“Yeah.”

Sam tugged at my sleeve to get my attention, staring so intently into my eyes I felt my face heat up.

“What?”

“Huh?”

Maggie translated.

“She meant what were you thinking about?”

“Oh. Oh, just robot brains. Jeeves is buggy, I want to avoid the repeating the problems I have with him when making the other robots, so I will most likely make them less intelligent and their protocols more strict to the function I want them for.”

Sam was easy to read this time, I could hear the disbelief dripping from her voice.

“....Buggy?”

“Yes, he's buggy. He doesn't always do what I tell him to, and does stuff I'm not aware of. Well, you heard him earlier. For all I know he could be plotting something. Which means I might have to look for his kill switch.”

“....Asked.”

Maggie slapped her forehead.

“She's right, you asked! He can't lie to you, right? You're certain of that?”

“No he can't, and you're right, I know. It's just frustrating. I bet I'm the only devisor ever to make a robot that won't do as he's told and runs off on his own.”

Sam and Maggie both stared at me, slack jawed.

“Get real, girl. Devisors do that all the time. It's become something of a joke. They even have old robot recycling centers in some cities, where you take the defective buggy or broken things and the cops melt them down. But you really shouldn't do anything to Jeeves – he's perfect the way he is.”

Really? Perfect seemed like such a strong word to use. I was saved from having to answer by the return of the android in question, who had not only brought my laptop, but snagged me a cup of coffee as well. He set both up for me with care while Maggie and Sam shot me more looks as if to say: 'see?'

“Thank you, Jeeves.”

The laptop powered up in a flash, and I got to work on modifying code. I did spare a look for my company... all three of them still present.

“Sorry you guys, but things are probably going to be pretty boring from now on tonight. No jets or anything fun happening. If you all want to leave I'll understand, and thank you for coming with me today.”

Ricky seemed to sum it up for them first, beating Maggie to the punch.

“If it's all the same to you, I'll stay.”

I shrugged and turned back to the computer.

“I don't mind if any of you stay, but I can't promise I'll respond if you ask me things, or won't zone out like I seem to do lately.”

Maggie elbowed Ricky, earning a dirty look in the process.

“It's fine! We'll just watch and talk over here, out of the way. No need to pay any attention to us at all. And what kind of friends would we be if we just left while you weren't feeling well?”

The look on Sam's face confirmed it for me. Maggie was plotting something. I was all but certain of it. But it was her time to waste. Same as it was for all of them.

“Alright. Jeeves, if they ask for refreshments, get them please. Otherwise keep the coffee flowing and check the mix in the printer tank. If it isn't viable for android parts, we'll need to readjust it. I trust you remember the proper percentages?”

“Of course, depending on which parts you wish to print first.”

“Well I was thinking the servos and muscle bundles.”

I used bundles of woven carbon fiber and Teflon set to contract or lengthen, much like animal muscle did. Of course to reproduce the effect easily I was using servos and actuators set at either end to reel the fiber strings up or shoot them out, but I really didn't want to redesign the system right now, and that would require a stretchy form of filament, perhaps with differing currents to run through it to achieve the same effect....

“Ahh. I shall set it. If I remember correctly we will need .0423% more Teflon to properly produce those.”

The Teflon was used in the mix to inhibit friction heat and wear. And so it went, complete with open mouthed peanut gallery in the background.

Someone was messing with my feet. Gentle, kneading pressure. It felt rather wonderful, and I wanted to just stay put and enjoy it. It was not meant to be, however. Jeeves broke the pleasant spell.

“Please wake mistress Min. You are late for your school preparations.”

I glanced up; my alarm clock read 7:08. The alarm had been shut off.

“Oh, crap. Oh crap! Is the bathroom open?”

“It is. I have convinced Ian to wait for you and resume his own preparations after your shower.”

I looked down. There were visible smudges of oil and dirt on my arms and legs. I was also in a nightgown. Had I managed to change clothes last night? I couldn't remember. Last I could remember I had been stacking the android 'muscle' bundles in preparation for installing them to the frames. So the dirt was actually residue from the printing process. A step outside my door revealed a rather disgruntled looking Ian waiting, arms crossed and foot tapping as he leaned up against the wall.

He did a complete 180 as soon as he saw me though. I was determined to strike first though.

“Good morning, and I'm sorry. Thank you for waiting!”

And I was in the bathroom and had the door safely slammed. I only wobbled a little; I was getting good at moving while my balance was shot. I managed to look at the mirror, even as the room started to slowly spin. There was printer crap in my hair; and not just a little. It was streaked through the entire length. No wonder Ian had been struck speechless, I looked stupid. How had that even happened?

I managed to start the shower, but couldn't stand up in it.

Something was seriously wrong here; perhaps a bath was in order instead. I did the best I could and did manage to get clean, but a fog had descended rapidly over my thoughts. I wanted to give up and call Jeeves, but mom was adamant about him being in the bathroom with me before. I shook my head to clear it and crawled out. Drying off and putting my clothes on seemed to take forever, then I realized that somehow my clothes had made it into the bathroom. I did not remember grabbing them. The door was unlocked.

I had to use the walls, but the minute I got upright and opened the door, Jeeves was there. He helped me downstairs, where something smelled absolutely delicious. I tried to help, but by the bottom of the stairs he was all but dragging me. He put me down just before we were due to enter the dining room however, and let me walk on my own from there with just a little support. The clock in the living room read 7:37.

Ian still noticed. Gone completely was the anger or (whatever it was) of the morning.

“You alright sis?”

I waved off the concern.

“I'm fine, just a little tired. Sorry about this morning. You've still got time for a quick shower if you hurry.”

He didn't really. I had taken way too much time cleaning up. Everyone else had already eaten, bacon and eggs from the looks of things. And now they were staring at me; I don't think I was fooling any of them. Mom especially, which was awkward.

Jeeves helped me sit down.

“So what's for breakfast? It smells great.”

In fact, it didn't smell like bacon and eggs, it smelled more like chocolate. Jeeves put my coffee carefully in front of me.

“A skillet double chocolate chip cookie.”

“What? But cookie aren't for breakfast.”

Mom was strangely silent, but watching the byplay between us carefully. Dad appeared to be reading a file of some kind, but he hadn't turned a page since I sat down. Ian looked like he wanted a bite. Jeeves plopped a large slice of what had to be an absolutely huge cookie in front of me.

“We must defy convention today mistress Min; you require the nutrients. Please, do not hesitate.”

Finally mom spoke.

“What do you mean, Jeeves?”

I picked up a fork; there was no way I'd treat this is as finger food; the chocolate was liquid in the middle. I might even need a napkin or a bib in my current state.

“Mistress Min requires large amounts of sugar, fats, starches, and proteins today. Currently, Fats and sugars are paramount. If she does not receive this fuel she will fall into a coma, potentially for days. At the very least until she receives it. I would prefer she imbibe the things she needs before she slips into said coma, as opposed to feeding the nutrients to her intravenously afterward.”

Well, that certainly sounded ominous. I wasn't sure I believed Jeeves though. It felt like a standard sort of attack of mine since my mutation, just worse. I was already three bites in; despite not being breakfast food, the cookie was delicious, and quite obviously made from scratch, chocolate and all. I wonder where Jeeves got the recipe for the chocolate? Dad got involved just as mom predictably started getting worked up.

“How do you know this Jeeves?”

“I monitor mistress Min's health. It is, in point of fact, half my reason for existing; to monitor her health and take care of her, as well as serve her.”

Ugh. I hated when people talked about me while I was present as if I wasn't there.

“I'm right here you know.”

Mom shot me an apologetic look but pressed on.

“And what is the other half of your reason for existing?”

Jeeves didn't miss a beat, placing another large cookie piece on my somehow suddenly empty plate. Had I really eaten all that? I was still hungry. Ravenous in fact.

“To protect mistress Min from all threats, of course. You know this already. I was designed and constructed to be the quintessential house servant; obedient trustworthy and loyal.”

“To Minerva.”

Jeeves nodded.

“Yes of course. To mistress Min.”

Mom nodded, accepting that and leaning back. That made me a little nervous, but the cookie was too good to ignore. Maybe I could distract them both.

“Jeeves, give Ian a piece of this.”

It didn't work.

“So in your opinion, should Min go to school today?”

Jeeves handed Ian a small plate with a very small piece of cookie; barely enough to qualify as normal cookie size.

“In my opinion, no. While the condition is not life threatening, she is too ill to travel to school today, much less sit through the classes. If she goes, it is entirely likely that I will have to carry her here by lunch.”

He was underestimating me.

“Then why are you helping her get ready for school?”

He looked at me, and shoveled another cookie slice on my plate. This one wasn't large. I really wanted to turn it down, but I still had room for it, or at the very least, eyes for it.

“Because she wishes to go.”

Oh crap. With that the hard eyes of both parents rested on me once again, dad dropping his pretense.

“Is what Jeeves says true Min?”

“Yes.”

Mom got up to get some more coffee... and do that forehead feeling thing that moms all over are famous for. She locked eyes with me and I didn't dare move away.

“Why?”

It sounded so stupid when I acknowledged it.

“Because I didn't want you to think I was staying home because of the garage coming today. I didn't want you to think I was faking it or anything.”

And I also didn't want this stupid body of mine to dictate terms of when I could do things or when I couldn't to me. But I didn't admit that, no matter how loudly I thought it.

Mom slapped me gently on the forehead. She was satisfied I was telling the truth.

“You're staying home today. I'll call the school.”

I nodded gratefully. Ian looked like he'd eaten a lemon again, but I couldn't ask him what his problem was with our parents hovering. Dad checked his watch.

“Well time for me to go. Have a good day everyone, and feel better Min.”

We all chorused our farewells to him as he grabbed his briefcase and left. Ian and I should be following him out the door, technically. We only had about 15 minutes to get to school, but he ran back upstairs. For my part, the chair was comfortable and the room was spinning slowly, even though I was more awake than I had been. I was in no hurry anymore.

Ian came down in a blur mere moments later, almost slamming into mom as she sat down to her next cup of coffee. As soon as the door slammed mom looked at me. I think it was a stern look, but I was too busy holding on to the edge of the table to notice much.

“You, upstairs.”

I had to ask.

“Do I really look that bad?”

Jeeves picked me up, ignoring my protest again as Mom answered.

“I knew as soon as I saw you, so yes. But even if we had all been blind, Ian noticed something was wrong earlier. Your dad and I were in fact discussing whether you would try to conceal it from us to go to school, or if you were actually faking.”

“I wouldn't fake anything like this... because if I did, you would make me go to school when you felt I wasn't sick enough.”

She had done that once, it had led to me puking on a teacher in middle school.

“I stand by that decision. Your temperature was barely 99 degrees when you went to school. The real illness hit you later.”

Jeeves was carrying me out of sight with a grin draping his face, so I would have the last word!

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

There, mission accomplished. Jeeves gently placed me back in my bed and covered me up. Which was a good thing, since I was cold for some reason. It couldn't have been colder than sixty degrees out. The sheets and pillowcases were fresh; where Jeeves had found the time to change them, I couldn't figure out.

“Please lay there quietly a moment mistress Min, I will return with refreshments and entertainment.”

Well the refreshments should be coffee and probably something sugary. But entertainment? I was under the impression he wouldn't want me thinking too much today, since that was part of the problem apparently. So what sort of amusement could I expect that required little to no thought?

And how lame was my power, anyway? I lose my physical skills and size, and gain the ability to make things... but if I think about stuff too hard it lays me on my butt? Being a mutant just absolutely sucks. But there are no quitters in the Campbell clan; there had to be something I could do. Just not today.

Jeeves returned with the expected coffee, some assortments of teas, and a portable hot plate with the remains of the cookie he'd made on it. He also had my laptop. He set it up on a tray in front of me, and waited.

Oh right, it needed me to look at it in order to open, since it was shut down. Whoops.

Once I was done looking stupid, he quickly opened the browser and went to the streaming site I had checked out when learning to play that strategy game, and settled on a stream of professional players, playing it in a tournament. Well, it was better than television sit coms I guess. It was interesting watching all the different strategies and tactics in play. It was so interesting in fact, that I feel asleep as some point after the first game. Somehow the music of the intermission ads lulled me to sleep.

I woke up to find the finals of the tournament going on. My coffee had been replaced by hot tea of some kind, and the cookie was still warm, which meant the plate was still on. I didn't see Jeeves; that probably meant mom had chased him out at some point. I was all but cocooned in blankets; it was difficult to move at all.

“Jeeves?”

The door opened, true to form, and Jeeves stepped in.

“Yes mistress Min?”

“Could you help me up here? You seem to have weighed me down.”

It was pretty mortifying to be unable to work my way out of a few blankets, but he had them tucked in so tight, and I wanted some tea! He helped me sit upright and lean against the headboard. I snagged a delicate cup and sipped. The liquid in the cup was green tea, hot and with lemon? Weird, but good, somehow. Apparently the underdog was winning the semi-final best of five, so far.

“Where's mom? Is she here?”

I was such a wimp. I woke right up and looked for mom. But I had a bad feeling.

“She had an errand to run. How do you think you feel?”

Well that was an odd question.

“Well I think I feel better. Almost fine, even. Why did you ask the question that way?”

Jeeves took my tea cup away and refilled it.

“Because I know your current condition. Your opinion and your real condition don't always match.”

“Well that's rude of you.”

“My apologies, mistress.”

I had to ask though.

“So how am I actually doing?”

“You are recovering. However you are not well yet; you should not be out of bed or working yet. Please continue to watch your tournament.”

He smirked; having known what I had been doing. He intended that joke.

“Right, more sleep. After more cookie. And more of that tea.”

“As you wish.”

He set more cookie and tea next to my laptop on the tray, and I set to work. The cookie did not survive, and when I looked up, Jeeves had replaced it with what looked like a large bowl of chocolate pudding. It smelled like it had mint in it. I pointed at it.

“What is it?”

“Chocolate mint pudding, of course.”

“More chocolate?”

I really wanted a nice large burger or something.

“Your blood sugar is still quite low, and the fats are useful. If you are capable, you should consume as much as possible.”

Ugh, the cookie was enough, at least for now, and Jeeves seemed to understand that; he didn't press. I watched until the finals, when mom came in. Her hand went right to my forehead again.

“How are you?”

“I'm better. Jeeves says I'm not recovered yet, and I still feel a bit tired, but I'm OK.”

I didn't mention how weak I felt. I didn't really think I could get up, even to go to the bathroom. Which was kind of odd really; why didn't I need to go? I'd been eating and drinking all day so far, and my bladder was the size of walnut normally.

Was Jeeves actually right, and I needed nutrition so badly my body even now was using everything, leaving no waste at all?

That was a sobering thought really; didn't that happen when people were starving to death, or dying of thirst in a desert or something? Mom hugged me, breaking the train of unpleasant thoughts.

“It's alright honey; being a regenerator means you'll survive just about anything. You just need to focus on getting better, and let me know if you feel any pain anywhere, alright?”

I wasn't going to let her off the hook so easily.

“Where did you go?”

She grinned, with teeth, and my full stomach sank. She had been plotting.

“To your school. I wanted to get Jeeves registered as one of your guardians so he could have access to the school.”

I really needed a safety switch for my mouth.

“What? I thought you hated Jeeves!?!”

She pulled back and put a finger in my pudding, tasting it. Her face lit up, showing she approved.

“We've come to an understanding of sorts. That understanding does not let you off the hook, however. You need to be very careful in what you order Jeeves to do.”

Translation; if Jeeves keeps me out of this room again, he's scrap. Message received, loud and clear. I would not put money on Jeeves if he and mom got in a fight, even though Jeeves is stronger and well, a robot. Mom was, well... Mom.

“I will mom. So the principal went along with it?”

If he hadn't mom would have told me she had tried to get Jeeves registered, a distinction I was proud to catch.

“Simple, I told him Jeeves was your new personal nurse as well as servant. Your medical condition qualifies you as special needs, and since he isn't armed, and has in depth knowledge of your health and condition, he can now not only enter the school to pick you up, but follow you in the school itself. Um, he is unarmed, isn't he?”

I answered her absently, thinking. I wasn't happy to be told I was special needs. Even if it was true, and I wasn't sure it was, it smacked of calling me weak and crippled. Hadn't I been doing OK in school so far? Hadn't I been getting better?

“No, he's not armed with anything; that's your buddy X-ray's deal. Jeeves is just a butler.”

Mom read me like a book and swooped in for another hug.

“You're fine honey. I'm just taking the precaution, and knowing what I know now, I'd rather have Jeeves near you at all times. The thought of you passing out while walking the school and no one knowing what to do, well it makes me sick inside. Maybe it'll never happen... but if it does, having Jeeves there would be a load off my mind. He dotes on you, after all.”

Well when she put it that way, I had to agree with her.

“Of course he does; he was built to after all.”

At least if Gordo tried to throw me around again Jeeves would be there to catch me. I didn't want Ralph or Ricky trying that. Gordo could take Ricky alone, and while Ralph could beat him easily he'd get in trouble for doing it.

“Oh there was one other thing I had to do at the school....”

Ahh, crap. She had my homework.

“I expect it to be done by tomorrow, no matter how you feel then. I will be checking. Now, I need to wait downstairs for the delivery. I'll be back up to check later. Stay in bed.”

She kissed my forehead and left with a smile. All was completely forgiven apparently. Well I did inherit my temper from my mom, so not so surprising. I wish I could get a better read on dad though; he was so silent, so distant lately....

The underdog lost the tournament.

Well I was upright enough, I could play the game I'd just watched and try out those strategies I'd seen against other people. At least until I passed out again. Playing in the ranking system against other people made me a little anxious for some reason, but that was stupid. Worst thing that could happen was I lost, right?

Jeeves came back and frowned at me just as I claimed my first victory.

“Mistress Min, you should endeavor to complete your school work.”

Ugh.

“But I though you said I shouldn't think too hard?”

He smirked at me in a perfect 'who are you trying to fool expression.'

“We both know there is little threat of that in your schoolwork. That game however, requires more thought. Improvisation, tactics... you should be careful.”

Well it was nice to know we shared the view on how useless homework was. I rolled my eyes at him, but dutifully picked up the first book, which was math. I worked on the worksheet provided without cracking the book, and Jeeves picked another gamer stream. This one was a massively multi-player game, and the guy in it was running around rather randomly. He was also dressed in a cow suit and blowing an air horn randomly.

I looked at Jeeves. He looked back at me, and with a sigh, reached over and changed it. By the time I was done with the worksheet he had found a streamer who had almost no viewers, playing a 20 year old game (one of the first first person shooters) as fast as he possibly could, even to the point of using game bugs to go faster. It was more interesting than the cow kid at least.

English was harder than math now, it was just so time consuming to read “The Iliad”, and the silly language made it worse. As if Shakespeare wasn't bad enough....

And somehow I'd fallen asleep again, as if it was a surprise. The backing up of some large vehicle woke me. Jeeves was next to the bed, staring at me. He wasn't even watching the laptop stream. I started disentangling myself; after I got my hands free, Jeeves helped. I had something I had to ask him, now that mom had to finally be out of range.

“Jeeves, did you undress me last night and put me in nightclothes?”

He shook his head as he dragged me upright. I felt better; stronger. But not as strong as I should feel, even after my mutation. Still not even at the level of my new one hundred percent.

“Your mother insisted she do it. I saw no reason to argue.”

That didn't sound ominous at all. They had to have talked at some point. Mom was on the verge of scrapping Jeeves yesterday. Or telling me to do it; I wouldn't have, but I could see it in her eyes yesterday.

My window faced the side yard. I could see a cement truck backing up into our yard. That had to be for the foundation. Had I missed the digging and the pieces being moved? That was kind of embarrassing – not to mention frightening. I didn't want to sleep so soundly. It made me vulnerable. Part of the reason I'd never get rid of Jeeves; I couldn't really afford to. For all his bugs, I couldn't even afford to take him offline for a day in order to fix those, because knowing my luck that would be the day something went wrong. I couldn't really see much from the window, so I went back to bed and picked up where I left off.

English done, I turned to physics, which was reading a chapter followed by a short quiz. The quiz was open book, and probably just to ensure people read the chapter. I didn't need the book though, I'd already read the chapter a few days ago, and the quiz was easy. I had to actively focus on not making notes beyond what the questions asked; I didn't want my mind to wander on a tangent and lose another day.

Geography was literally just placing the names of cities in correct places on a map. The map was of Poland, and there were 20 cities to place correctly, but still, it was hardly difficult. I finished just as Ian Stuck his head through the open door.

“Feel any better, sis?”

“Yes I do. But you need to come in; we need to have a little chat.”

I had expected a case of nerves; not the flash of anger I saw before he schooled his features. He took a step in and closed the door.

“Alright, what's up?”

If I didn't know he was mad, if I hadn't been looking for it, I'd never have noticed. I took a nice cleansing breath and plunged ahead.

“Alright, you know me. I don't know how to deal with these things very well. So I'm just going to ask; what is your problem, exactly?”

And just like that the anger flashed again, mixed with something else. Something I didn't recognize, and wasn't sure I wanted to.

“No problem. What makes you think I have a problem?”

An odd response; he obviously had some sort of problem, why would he try to hide it? I was going to have to embarrass myself to get him to talk. Well, maybe.

“Ian please. You're my brother and I know you. Something about all this is annoying you, and I can't fix it if I don't know what it is. Please just tell me.”

And the anger surfaced fully as he sat down; I could feel the heat of it even under all the blankets.

“It's just... OK you mutated, so it wasn't your fault. None of this really is. But mom and dad are basically doing whatever you want. Min wants tools to make crap with? Min gets tools. Min makes things in the garage that could be dangerous? She doesn't get chewed out, she gets to keep them. Min gets a brand new top of the line computer, Min gets parts for anything she wants, Min gets a freakin' workshop to do stuff in... and Ian gets ignored. I get tired of being ignored, Min.”

I was right, he was jealous. I had to handle this carefully. And I was right, I would have to embarrass myself a least a little.

“Min can't do much physically. Min's brain takes a hike at odd moments and she has to build things; that's what the tools are for, and if those tools and parts and things Min had made or gotten did not exist then Min would be taking apart random things in the house and pissing everyone off. Min's laptop is part of that too; mom and dad are right about what my type of mutant needs, surely you can see that Ian?”

He nodded like a badly piloted marionette; he really didn't want to admit that.

“Alright, now on to business. The fun stuff. You do realize, that your loving sister can build technology and items by request, right? If you wanted a laptop like mine, all you had to do was ask. After all, having a 3-d printer means I can print whatever we don't have, and that even means those doritos computers have. I could even redesign them to be better...”

“Min?”

Now Ian looked worried. I glance at Jeeves showed he was... pensive, I guess was the word, And I realized - oh crap, I'd been about to do it.

“Whoops, sorry. Back to the stream, I'll be good.”

Ian and Jeeves both noticeably relaxed. Which begged the question; I had seen it, but I wonder if anyone else could read Jeeves? I knew now that Jeeves had emotions; I'd checked the data on him and my other bots and they had been programmed in. Just simple lines of code, but I did good work. I wasn't sure they were emotions the way humans felt them, but then again, no other sentient being felt emotions the way humans did anyway.

I turned back to the stream, to find it changed; this one was a team battle strategy game. Ian leaned close to get an angle, so I moved it for him. And I that put the pudding in range, so I went to work on that.

“So, how do you feel, really?”

Sigh, we knew each other so well, despite everything.

“I was able to get up for a few minutes earlier, when the cement truck woke me up. Other than that I haven't been out of bed all day. To be honest, I'm more than a little stir crazy. Do I look any better?”

He grinned; what was so funny?

“Yeah, your color is back. You look like you.”

“Was just wondering, I didn't even begin to feel terrible until after I got to the bathroom, just a little tired. But you knew right off, didn't you?”

Ian pondered.

“Yeah I knew, but I'm not sure how I know. If I had to guess, I'd say it was your color. Normally you're pretty white now. But this morning you looked... bleached or something, I don't know.”

Well if this condition had a warning sign, I was all for it. Jeeves broke in after being quiet the entire conversation.

“Something you may notice mistress Min, is a lack of body heat or chills.”

No way.

“Won't work Jeeves, I'm always cold. At least a little. Heat regulation does not seem to be one of this body's talents.”

“I would not say that mistress Min. Your natural regulation of heat borders on the miraculous on some occasions.”

He knew something.

“Oh, and what occasions are those? Cause I sure don't remember any such time.”

“When you are using your full mental capacity, of course.”

Wait.

“I generate heat when thinking hard?”

“I feel that word choice does not properly describe the situation, but in a word, yes. Your body has some very interesting ways modifications or adaptations designed to deal with heat dissipation.”

“And of course, in the times when I don't need it, those adaptations are still bleeding heat, leaving me cold. Obviously not to a significant degree, but enough so that the core temperature difference is normal.”

Biology was so imprecise. Such a system shouldn't always be on, and wasn't for the things humans built. But a human's own heating system was hopelessly primitive, so it shouldn't really be a surprise. Of course, the fact that I had adaptations in that arena meant they were probably needed....

“Mistress Min, please stop if you can.”

I came back to see two worried faces inches from mine.

“Eh, sorry about that. Was just thinking about heat regulating biology. And that led to heat regulation systems, and well.... yeah. I was about to do it again. But I'm totally fine now!”

They weren't buying it. Kind of a shame really, since this time I was telling the truth.

“Oh that reminds me. Ian, about the workshop... Mom said I can't let you into it.”

Always best to remind Ian to remind him where such ideas were born, especially given the conversation we just had. I overrode him as he started to protest; his face had actually turned red.

“But... she didn't say anything about you being unable to watch or see what's going on, or talk to us in there. Don't worry, if you are interested, I'll make sure you have a way to be part of the action. It'll take me awhile. Maybe a week, maybe a bit longer, but I have some ideas. Trust me, OK?”

He took a deep breath and wound down.

“OK. I'll trust you, instead of jumping down Mom's throat. Wouldn't do much good anyway.”

“Well not going to lie to you, the workshop is likely to be very dangerous. I mean, I'm going to be testing jet engines in there sometime next week, or at least I hope to. And I'd hate for something to happen to you, I'd just feel awful about it. But we Campbell kids have to stick together, and I don't want to leave you out.”

Now why had I said all that? I sounded like a sappy idiot. Ian was grinning at me, no doubt thinking the same thing. Perhaps a change in subject was in order.

“Right, well, I for one would like to get out of this bed and see the new edition. It should be just about up by now.”

I'd checked the website of the business mom had called. They guaranteed one day set up, or they took three hundred dollars off the price. A gesture and Jeeves was helping me. I already felt much stronger than an hour ago, perhaps I was over the worst of it.. and perhaps there was something in that pudding? A little extra ingredient perhaps?

“Are you sure, Min? I mean you look better, but...”

“I'm sure. I'm not made of glass; I won't break from a little walk.”

Not sure but unwilling to call me on it, he hovered like an annoying bee as Jeeves helping me down the stairs. I only needed to lean on him a little, otherwise my steps were steady and light enough, my balance finely tuned, and my head crystal clear.

We made it to hallway, when someone knocked on the front door. I knew immediately who it was, and reversed course. Jeeves beat me there of course, and opened the door to Ricky, Ralph, Maggie, and Sam. Maggie jumped in verbally before anyone else could; and possibly before her brain caught up.

“Hello Jeeves, we just came to see... Oh hi Min! Are you OK? You were out sick, but you look fine....”

Sam broke in before I could.

“Sick.”

Maggie looked dubious.

“Well if you're sure Sam. She looks alright to me, well maybe a little...”

“For the record, I am sick, though I'm much better. Regeneration is useful after all, I recover quickly.”

Ralph's eyes narrowed, along with Sam's oddly enough.

“And what did you need to regenerate from, exactly?”

“Well Ralph, all of you, I just found out that when I use my brain to it's utmost it drains my body. Using electrolytes and all that at an accelerated rate. Jeeves apparently knew, which is why he was doing all the cooking. Why he didn't see fit to tell the rest of us, I'll never know.”

Ralph shot me a guilty look.

“So you use more electricity, more energy, when you're in those fugue states of yours?”

He had made a slip. He had definitely made a slip just then. He knew something too. Jeeves answered him.

“Correct.”

Time to reel this conversation in with a nice convenient subject change.

“Anyway we were just going to check out the status of the workshop; did you all want to join?”

I carefully leaned away from Jeeves. I didn't even wobble, though looking up I saw Sam staring at me with the same look Jeeves normally wore; that was mildly disconcerting. I was starting to doubt my ability to read people. At least Ricky didn't look worried. I started leading the way.

Oh! Oh... Dad was going to be PISSED. The trucks had torn up his lawn. He loved his lawn; it was almost a third child or something. There was a clear track of torn grass and mud through the yard, and it ended in a patch of only slightly less ripped up lawn where the workers had stacked material and put things together and whatever else.

We were going to have to fix this. Well I was, it didn't seem right to rope Ian into repairing all this damage. Though if I knew Mom and Dad, he would be roped in regardless. We shared a look; he was irritated but resigned. No, I was going to make this whole situation up to him; I wasn't going to just let him get handed more work.

The shed itself was more of a small barn in make, a light tan color with brown trim, and both a garage door and normal door. It sat on a foundation of smooth concrete (how had they gotten that to dry so quickly?) and had large modern windows that looked better than the ones in our house. One side of the dark brown metal roof was empty. The other had a huge skylight inset in it.

Mom was supervising the workers putting the final touches to the interior from outside the open garage door. They were moving my printer. It was unplugged and therefore dormant, and hitching a ride on a small forklift. Hmm, the next one I made should probably have wheels, so we could move it without heavy equipment... or wheels and a small engine, so it could move itself....

Jeeves poked me in the forehead, of all things. I knew what he was doing, but it was still annoying.

“Jerk.”

He smiled and went back to watching the show. I don't think he liked the printer.

“You there, be careful with that. If you dump it, the mess will take forever to clean up. That's it, lower it gently.”

They were placing it in the far corner, which was probably the best spot for it. There were two large work benches, a desk with a computer chair that looked like I could sink completely into it... or that it could swallow me whole, a couch in the opposite corner, and a large solidly built table in the center. There was still enough room left over to park a car in, possibly two, and there were racks for the spare parts, and two large bins for raw materials. In short, it was perfect.

Well it was probably going to be too small eventually, and likely sooner rather than later; but for now, it was perfect. And I already had an idea on how to expand it if needed, so that wouldn't be an issue. Another look from Jeeves; this not thinking about things was harder than it sounded. Other people made it look so easy!

Ricky caught me looking at him. Whoops.

“What?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. So how goes practice?”

“Well we're still missing our best power forward, but it's getting better. For now Joe is stepping up, and he's getting better.”

Joe Stetz, huh? Yeah I could see that; he had the size to replace me at the very least.

“Good. I expect you all to win state without me.”

He grinned.

“We weren't gonna win state with you, let alone without you. But maybe we can cobble together a good winning season.”

“Well I'll take it.”

One of the workmen stepped up to Mom. The head guy maybe? He was tall and tan, chiseled and very buff. He was also sweating and stunk faintly.

“Anything else you'd like us to do while we're here with the equipment?”

She shook her head and passed over a check. I wanted to but couldn't quite make out the amount on it.

“No, that's everything. Thank you. Everything is set then?”

He nodded with a big bluff grin raked his hands through his hair.

“Yep. You can use it for whatever you want, right now. It has a cable set up, a wireless set up, the walls and supports are treated galvanized steel, the windows are high impact glass, the concrete is shatter resistant. It's one of our top of the line pre-fab packages for young devisors.”

So he knew what it was for then, and judging from the look he gave me, who.

“And the optional? The security and monitoring system?”

“All there Ma'am. We just need to set up the cameras in your house, and wire the other half of the intercom and button system.”

“Wait, what was this? There were cameras in there? Mom and Dad were going to watch me?

“I'll um, just get started on that.”

Mom noticed the guy noticing me, and looked over.

“Sure, you do that. The system should go in the den, second door on the right as you go in.”

As soon as he was gone, I asked her. My voice was remarkably calm.

“Video cameras? Audio too I assume?”

“Yes. Min, they aren't there to allow us to watch you. They are a panic system. In the event something goes wrong, the cameras turn on and an alarm sounds. Like if your new jet engine blows up, or the batteries you work on start to leak poisonous gas, or something like that, we can then see what's going on and rescue you. Otherwise they stay off.”

Bull.

“Bur you can turn them on if you want to, right?”

“No. We have an intercom we can call you on in case you're late to dinner or need to stop and go to sleep, but the cameras stay off unless there is an emergency. There are also going to be cameras around the shop and the house in order to catch intruders and thieves. Devisor labs are hit all the time, even the small ones.”

I went colder than usual. I was putting us all in danger, my friends, my family, my neighborhood, just by existing. It had always been in the back of my mind, but having a Dr. Doom type come after my family cause he wanted my printer just seemed ludicrous.

“What?”

“Don't worry honey. We aren't unprotected; that's what the CIA is hanging around for, after all. The cameras are just added security. We will both have monitors for them, and a separate alarm for those. The alarm connects to the police and the CIA, and is just extra layers of security for us.”

Why would it connect to the CIA at all? Surely the FBI would be a better choice, even given Mom's somewhat chummy relationship with them. It was very suspicious.

“And what does the CIA want in return for this added security? They aren't that altruistic, or at least that isn't their reputation.”

“Nonsense! They don't want anything at all. It pays to have friends in high places.”

Who did Mom and Dad know? The President, the Vice President, the Pope? Maybe the director of the CIA; that made more sense. But still, very suspicious. Something to ask later. I walked past the workers already on their way out for a better look.

The shop was bare, sparse; but I could fix that. Maybe some sound proofing. The walls were a nice cream color in between all the racks for tools and shelves for parts, but it looked bland. Wait, there was a partition wall, also metal. I thought this was the far wall, but there was a sink back here! A full kitchen, with a refrigerator and freezer, oven and bunsen burner, and a door which led to a bathroom and clean room shower. Holy crap, this place had everything. And once I equipped it with a small generator it would be power grid independent. Hmm, maybe with a little juicing on that score, it could make money for mom instead, to pay them back. Power companies had a standing deal that if you could feed power to them instead of the other way around, they would pay you for it, or at least the one around here did. Perhaps some solar panels on the empty roof....

“Mistress Min.”

“Right, sorry.”

So very hard.

“Alright Jeeves, I have some jobs for you. One is to move everything of ours from the garage to the shop; the workers seem to have moved all the really heavy stuff, but they left everything else. The second is to repair the lawn. If you need to learn how to do that, look it up online.”

Mom looked at me rather gratefully; she didn't want to deal with an angry Dad either.

“Understood. I will get started on the first job right away; though preparing dinner will slow full completion. I should be able to complete both tasks by tomorrow.”

My friends and Ian were taking their own tour of the new addition, a bit awestruck. Ricky looked a bit lost though. I could understand that; things had changed so much since summer. I hoped the new me wasn't someone he hated. He wouldn't tell me, and I was too afraid to ask; I don't think I could stand it if he did. He didn't seem to, but I made him uncomfortable now, somehow. And this was another one of those things I should stop thinking about.

“You really pulled out all the stops Mom. How much did this set you back?”

“As much as a small house. But you're wrong, daughter mine. It didn't cost me or your father anything. After all any money we've shelled out we get back; remember?”

How could I forget? I owed my parents a small fortune.

“I remember, just not sure how that's going to work. I'm still broke, after all.”

“Well, we will find out when your long lost second android gets here. According to him and Jeeves, you aren't as poor as you seem.”

The idea that I had another android out there was so weird.

“I don't get it really. Everything I've made is here and accounted for.”

Mom sharpened her stare.

“Alright, alright, almost everything. I think if Sheky had sold A.R.N.E.E. we would know.”

She shook her head, muttering something unflattering about devisors. I decided very carefully not to take offense.

“A.R.N.E.E. is what worries me, not Sheky. A.R.N.E.E. keeps making things on it's own. That sort of unrestricted action on the part of devisor tech is dangerous.”

She sounded like she knew firsthand; again, very suspicious.

“Well Jeeves still won't tell me where A.R.N.E.E. is, but I can ask him to pass an order along. And if that doesn't work, maybe I can think of something.”

She hugged me out of the blue.

“All I ask for honey. Now I've got to go inside and make sure that workman didn't track mud all over my floor. Enjoy the shop, but I expect to see you for dinner.”

“You will Mom.”

As soon as she left Maggie flew over, gushing in my ear.

“Oh this is so cool! It's like a clubhouse, or a second house really! You could live in it, and it looks like you could do all sorts of cool things in it, like jets fusion or even nuclear science! Maybe even anti-gravity!”

I held a hand up as Sam came over to slow her down.

“Please, don't try to give me ideas. It's not a good idea to do that right now.”

Sam started to drag her off.

“We have to go. Dinner.”

There was a new clock on the new wall of the new shop. It read half past dinnertime. Somehow just coming out to check the progress of the building had led to almost an hour wasted. And my traitorous body was beginning to get a little tired again. I wasn't going to let this beat me though.

Ralph and Ricky were both staring at each other while continuing to look around. It was weird, normally they just avoided each other; Ricky had no real problem with Ralph that I knew of, and the reverse was true. But here they were trying to stare each other down. It was kind of ridiculous, there was room enough for both of them on my friends list.

“Time to go guys. Please shut the door on your way out. If you want to stay for dinner you'll have to ask Mom.”

My shooing them out had nothing to do with the fact that my legs were a bit unsteady and I was once again ravenous. Nothing at all. Ralph responded.

“Nah, I'm good. Is it OK if I come over tomorrow though? I'd like to take a closer look once you add those finishing touches you're no doubt considering.”

In other words, he wanted to see the nerd girl in her natural habitat. I shrugged it off; whatever. No doubt he was worried I'd ask him about that slip he'd made earlier. I didn't forget, but I could be patient. Sure I could.

“Sure I don't mind.”

Ricky begged off too.

“I got to go too, my mom wants me to have at least a few meals at home.”

he had been spending a few nights a week over here, I suppose. Enough for his Mom to say something. A slight flutter; a vague sense of foreboding as Ricky shut the garage door behind him and they strode off together, shoulders almost touching. Ricky wouldn't really try something with Ralph, would he?

“Mistress Min, dinner.”

“Coming!”

I injected as much false cheer and strength into my voice as I could; Jeeves watched as I steadied myself and made my way over. His hand met my forehead at the door, is other arm slipping around my waist.

“I suspected this. You are fatigued again, correct?”

There was no point in lying. He knew me too well, and was testing my galvanic skin response besides.

“I am growing more fatigued, yes. I'm still mostly fine, and ready for dinner.”

He nodded and the hand on my head withdrew. The one on my waist stayed put and helped me to my chair. Mom noticed, and didn't say anything.

“Mom you better head Dad off at the pass and tell him Jeeves is going to repair the damage to the yard. Otherwise we will hear all about it.”

And we really didn't need to, was the part I left unsaid but Mom and Ian both heard. Dad was due home in about 3 minutes, perhaps less. Mom moved... that sprint would have done the prior me proud. As the door opened and shut I turned to what Jeeves was cooking.

They were burgers. Huge burgers at least a quarter pound of beef each, cooked on a little grill. On the stove was a deep fryer with french fries inside, judging by the smell. There were plastic storage containers filled with toppings like onions, tomatoes, and bacon. The buns were actual buns, and looked to be made from scratch. There was enough to give a fast food place a run for it's money.

I guess Jeeves had heard my comment about a nice large hamburger after all.

“Thank you Jeeves.”

He nodded, knowing exactly what I was talking about. Ian looked a little lost, so I pointed and he nodded, beginning to salivate. I didn't blame him, really; it all looked so good. Mom walked in just as Jeeves pulled the fries out of the fryer.

“...We knew it would tear up the grass, and Min has already volunteered Jeeves to fix it.”

Dad walked in right after, placing his briefcase to the side as usual with a sigh.

“Yeah we knew, but I just wanted to see how bad it was.”

Ian piped up.

“It's better you don't see it yet Dad. Just relax, Jeeves made burgers and they smell great.”

I wasn't sure whose side Ian was on at the moment. His smile seemed to suggest ours, but that first part...

Dad's face lit up.

“Wow, those do look good.”

We all sat down to eat.

The next morning I felt fine; energetic, even. I woke up on time with no problems to the smell of coffee and muffins. Blueberry muffins, if I didn't miss my guess. Jeeves was downstairs and did not appear as I got up. I headed to the bathroom slowly this time, but Ian was awake and leaning up against the door. He stared at me piercingly before motioning me past with a grin.

“Go ahead. Just don't take all day this time.”

I gaped. Ian, being nice?

“Thank you.”

“No problem; just don't forget your promise.”

Right, I owed him a computer like mine, or as good as I could make. I already had some improvements in mind, and ways to make sure I wasn't sued for using any designs by a major manufacturer, even though Intel probably wasn't going to be happy. (Because really, AMD designs currently all suffered from heat problems, making them unusable as a basis; I didn't want anything catching fire.)

I'd still have to design a scanner to scan a few chips for a basis, then software to redesign it so the printer can print it, then a way to double check it as the printing would be ultra-fine work; at school the best thing to do would probably be to design the motherboard the CPU and other components would need to fit into. That would determine if I'd need to redesign them from the ground up too....

“Min. Hey.”

Ian was inches from my nose; despite myself my eyes crossed looking at him as he snapped his fingers in my ear.

“None of that yet, OK? You just got better. Go shower before you start to stink up the place.”

“Right. Fine... jerk.”

I slid past his insufferable smirk and closed the door.

Getting cleaned up took less time than yesterday at least. I pushed a few ideas on how to speed the entire process up with as much focus as I could muster; it took more effort than I liked but at least now that I knew there was an actual problem involved with indulging those thoughts, it was easier. And then I realized I'd forgotten to bring my clothes with me again.

They were waiting for me outside the door, and they were as good an indication of how well Jeeves understood me as anything else; blue jeans, a thin gray sweater (which had long sleeves, making it perfect for the fall weather while the material itself was thin enough that I wouldn't get hot in it indoors) and my lab coat. The statement made? It was time to get to work. He'd even replenished the pens, pencils, and gum in the pockets.

I would have skipped down stairs... if one could actually skip down stairs. I felt better; Jeeves thought I was better, and there were muffins!

Dad was at the table, paper in hand. I had no idea how he kept getting those this early in the morning; the small town rag we had stopped delivering or even printing a morning paper years ago – though my suspicion now is that he never read them, kept them all somewhere and that if I bothered to check that copy would have Nixon on the front page. He was all dressed up in his typical fall work apparel; a flannel shirt, jeans, and still muddy work boots that somehow never tracked so much as a speck of dust on the floor.

He looked like a refugee from a lumberjack commercial or something.

Mom appeared to be sleeping in, for some reason. At least, her coffee cup was clean and empty, sitting on the drying rack where she normally left it. My own solid gray one was thankfully full, with two absolutely enormous muffins next to it on a plate. Dad's own plate had two muffin tin liners sitting on it; Ian was busily scarfing down the first of his two, and there were still six large muffins cooling on the stove.

Looking closer, the steam was still rising off the muffins in front of me; how the heck had dad eaten his two so fast?

They were good; baked to perfection with actual fresh blueberries inside rather than the desiccated stuff in those mixes. Almost before I knew it mine were gone as well, and even full I couldn't stop the look of longing towards the others. Jeeves noticed, but did not shovel any more on my plate. Mom still wasn't up, so I braved the silence.

“Dad, where's mom?”

“Sleeping in today.”

...Sigh. Thanks, Dad. I knew that much.

“Is she OK? I mean, she's not sick or anything, is she?”

He looked up with a grin.

“No, you're not catching; it's just her insomnia.”

Mom did occasionally have problems sleeping; it was too bad I couldn't share my own issues in that respect. I could actually make all kinds of money if I just shared my own recently found ability to sleep all the time, for any reason. Well, I wasn't that bad, but it was close.

“Alright. You haven't looked at the lawn this morning, have you?”

He put down his paper.

“No, I haven't. Should I have? I do have your promise to fix things, after all.”

“No no no, it's fine! I just wanted to make sure; Jeeves, did you manage to fix the lawn last night?”

I was pretty sure that he had been doing all that after I went to sleep. He confirmed it.

“Yes. The repairs to the plant life of your families property are complete.”

I snagged my coffee, slipped my shoes on and opened the door to check. Around the side I could see level ground and no tracks. Something seemed to be wrong with the grass though....

A few steps closer and the truth was revealed. Not only was it much shorter than the other grass, it wasn't green; it was a blue-green that didn't quite match the shade of grass I was used to. It had to have been tinkered with; normal grass species don't grow that fast. It looked nice though, and it covered every inch of what had previously been torn up sections of lawn. Dad joined me, slipping an arm around my shoulder.

“Two tone grass, huh? Not sure I like that.”

Jeeves answered immediately.

“The color shall match within two weeks. The current differences are a side effect of the forced growth process.”

“That's acceptable. So how did you even the yard out?”

Jeeves stared at Dad... and said something that amazed me.

“Hacks, of course.”

He had told a joke! What the crap!?!

“Riiigght. OK. Just so long as it's not anything crazy.”

Jeeves shook his head, still straight-faced.

“I rented a lawn roller and walked it over the affected sections of property last night, filled in the rest with purchased soil and then re-seeded.”

All last night? I mean sure Jeeves didn't need sleep exactly, but he needed down time. He had to be running on his own reserves by now....

“I'll be fine mistress Min. Current reserves at full activity are twenty-four hours, thirty-six minutes and 18 seconds.”

Odd, he shouldn't be able to last that long without at least an hour of down time; had he upgraded himself somehow? I had designed some improvements for the power supplies of my androids for the crash test dummies and lab guardians I was going to make, but they weren't past the planning stage. And Jeeves shouldn't be able to make improvements to himself in any case. Again, he proved adept at reading my mind.

“A simple application of household current and storage cells mistress Min.”

I guess splicing a cable and running some household current with a transformer into his batteries would make quite a difference; that sort of thing wasn't added into my calculations. Oh well, as long as he was keeping at least to the spirit of things, I'd cut him some slack. He really proved his worth yesterday after all.

I drew the line at death laser arms though; those were for the combat models that would have much more strict programming.

“Guess it's time for school.”

Jeeves went back to get my backpack and laptop while I tied my shoes so I wouldn't trip and Ian came out to see what all the fuss was about. He actually bent to feel the grass.

“It feels a bit weird.”

Jeeves came back out.

“The grass I used to reseed the lawn is a hardier breed than the native stock.”

Uh oh. I'm not sure how he did it, but he must have. At least I was pretty sure he must have; used devisor grass that is. I'd have to ask him what he hanged and how, but later. I didn't want to freak my Dad out. Thankfully he didn't seem to catch on to the shorthand code words like I had. Jeeves worked as fast as I did.

“Right, well gotta go! See you Dad!”

I grabbed Jeeves and pulled him along with me as I took off. A quick glance behind me confirmed that Dad was looking at us, obviously not fooled at all. Oops. I slowed down once I was sure he wasn't going to chase us; I wouldn't put it past him.

Jeeves looked amused. Amused!

“Tell me the truth; did you make devisor grass?”

“Yes mistress Min.”

“What exactly did you do, and how did you do it so fast?”

“I made the grass much tougher to destroy, nigh immune to most diseases and afflictions which normally cause such life to die and resistant to drought. I also set it's growth to be rapid, but to regulate at one inch. As for how, I programmed and used nanite cultures on the leftover grass seed your father kept in the garage.”

“Wait, nanite cultures? The same ones you claimed you were out of?”

“The very same. I was out of them; I do however have the schematic for them so I made more.”

I stopped and whirled. Ian was catching up.

“Tell me the truth Jeeves, are you out again? You didn't make more than you needed?”

“Of course I am, and no I did not.”
Quick calculations revealed he was likely telling the truth; The 3d printer could make a ton of those things, and the schematic was on my hard drive, but I'd shied away from using such things. They were too powerful, in my opinion.

That and they would do all the work for me when I wanted to take a more hands-on approach.

“For future reference, ask me before using those. They are too dangerous to just play around with.”

“Understood.”

If those things got out among the populace... programmed general purpose and use nanites. Scary stuff, the things they could do, even if they weren't ready for the more delicate work they could eventually perform. I mean plant life was one thing, and grass was simple... but the implications of nanite use on animals was something else.

Not to mention that if I tried I was pretty sure I'd get shot in the face by the CIA or something. Happened in movies all the time, and they were watching. Animal testing would be all kinds of wrong anyway.

“Secondly, Jeeves, I know how this sounds, believe me I do. But please, let me know and approve before you tinker with things in general; especially designs of mine.”

I think I had made Jeeves like me in a few ways after all; I wasn't positive he had the same urge to create that I did, but it was likely given his past behavior. I'd be able to tell for sure when I finally took him apart to fix him. He certainly looked crestfallen enough.

“I understand mistress Min; I shall do as you request.”

I decided to cheer him up.

“Don't worry, it's not that I won't let you work on anything, it's more that I don't want you to kill us both by doing something potentially morally reprehensible.”

Ian caught up.

“What's morally reprehensible?”

“You are, of course. But no, in this case, we are talking about grass. Jeeves re-purposed some of my tech in order to make the grass he seeded on the lawn. I'm kind of wary of making biotech like that, too worried about the potential misuse. Machines are... cleaner.”

Ian pondered for a moment.

“Yeah, I can see that. All kinds of scary. So, you going to tell Dad?”

“Of course, just have to know how to phrase it.”

He nodded; he knew dad.

“And that's why the strategic retreat.”

We had reached the corner, and Ricky was waiting, just like always. He looked nervous about something.

“Hey Ricky, good morning.”

I wasn't about to race him today. I felt up to it, but knowing my luck I'd end up collapsing or something. I settled for picking up the pace and hustling over to him. Ian and Jeeves kept pace, mainly in order to dodge the car that was coming, passing both of my more passive tails. Seriously, were the CIA and MCO asleep during the stake out classes, or what? Even Gordo would find them obvious.

That was probably the point, really; to fake me out. I wasn't really falling for it though, not that they needed to know that.

“Hey Min, good morning. Morning squirt, Jeeves.”

Ian protested.

“Hey, Min is shorter than me!”

I was not! We were the same height! Well, at least for now.

“Yeah Ian, but she's cooler than you, so that makes her taller.”

To ham it up, I preened under Ian's sour gaze.

“Whatever. I'm going to go over here before the suck gets contagious. See you both later.”

I shrugged. The middle school and high school were across the street from each other, so we were going the same way. But if he didn't want to walk with us, then he didn't want to walk with us. I thought I saw one of Ian's friends a street away, but my eyes sucked any more, and I just realized I'd forgotten my glasses. I patted my coat down, but I couldn't find the spare set that should be there for this very reason.

“Jeeves, you have my....”

He didn't even let me finish; just reach into my coat pocket, removed the case, and opened it, holding my glasses out. Insufferable; how was I supposed to know they were in the front with the pens? I could tell Ricky really wanted to laugh, but stifled it for some reason while I marveled at the focus and clarity I'd been missing. I could actually see things from farther away than a block, and make out details.

Details like Ralph, walking on an obvious course to meet us.

That was unusual; Ralph actually lived some distance away. This trip was blocks out of his way, and normally he rode the bus besides. He'd walked at least a mile just to get here. I could clearly make out the ready smile on his face, the brightening of his normal neutral expression. By contrast, Ricky scowled. Wonder what had gotten into him? All I needed was for him to pick a fight with Ralph; Ralph would probably annihilate him. I wasn't even sure I'd be able to beat him before. If they tried something I could probably get Jeeves to break it up though, so there was that.

Ralph jogged the rest of the way and ran up while we waited on him. I pretended not to notice the cars stopped in the middle of the street behind us, rapidly making a conga line of sorts. There was some sort of principle of the thing, though I wasn't sure what principle was at work there, I was sure it made sense to someone somewhere. I waited until he was close enough that I wouldn't have to shout before alleviating my curiosity.

“What brings you this way, Ralph?”

“Wanted exercise; the bus is boring.”

I smelled bullcrap. He grinned.

“Don't raise that eyebrow at me! I swear, you and my mom have the same look. I just wanted to exercise; I might end up all flabby in my old age.”

Not too likely, I thought he was an exemplar. Maybe I should ask... or check. Some sort of scanner for the mutant genome would be possible, but would be pretty useless unless it was hand-held....

“Mistress Min.”

Oh, right. School.

“Sorry.”

Ralph looked amused.

“I know that look; what were you thinking about?”

“A mutant scanner, hand held. Something that could scan for mutant genomes in plants and animals, using dead skin cells.”

He gave me a look.

“So what did you want to know?”

Wow, maybe he really did know my looks, and what they meant.

“Well, it's just you mentioned getting flabby and aren't you an exemplar?”

He nodded as Ricky looked a bit lost... and pissed while following us. I made a mental note to explain the terms to him later. Preferably before he blew up. We arrived at the school, and I smirked at the surprise on both my friends faces as Jeeves followed me onto school property like a ghost. The principle was at the door, and nodded as we went through. Ralph recovered first.

“I am. That was the joke you just stomped on.”

“Oh.”

Whoops. Before I could work up a really good case of mental self flagellation over killing a joke Ralph asked the expected question:

“So, Jeeves is now allowed in school?”

“He sure is. He's even allowed in class with me. Mom talked to the principle after my problem yesterday and signed him up as a guardian; the principle agreed to let him on school grounds, under the same laws that apply to service dogs or personal nurses I think.”

I didn't really like the implications of that but having Jeeves around would be worth it in the long run. Ricky looked even more sour, if anything. Did he not like Jeeves or something? Why would he care if Jeeves was around to help me or not? I'd have to ask him what his damage was when I had the chance; as it was we only had a few minutes to get to class.

Jeeves slid in front of me and started clearing the way through the students. Gently, which was good. Now was as good a time as any to quiz him on what he knew about my time spent here.

“So Jeeves, what is my first class, do you know?”

“Physics with instructor Frank Welch, room 121.”

“How did you know? Did you hack the syllabus or something?”

“Yes.”

Well at least he was honest about it.

Mr Welch wasted no time in establishing the new rules, point to Jeeves.

“You, to the back of the room, and be silent. The only time you're allowed to disrupt class is if Min is having an episode.”

Well gee, thanks Mr. Welch. Why don't you just call me an invalid to my face? Sigh. I sat down as Jeeves left my book bag on my desk and moved back, where he of course, loomed over the class despite his disinterested gaze.

The girls were also looking at him weird. He didn't care but it bothered me. Pam, who was back in class, spent the remaining time before class started ping ponging her gaze between Jeeves and me. Her expression was even more mystifying than the other girls; I needed a book on facial expressions or body language or something.

The class was just as boring as it always was; after handing in my homework I busied myself designing a computer chipset. The engine was already done, and Ian would kill me if I didn't have something to show him by the end of today. Under the watchful gaze of both Jeeves and Ralph, I kept things nice and slow. Any sign of weakness or extreme focus and I was sure I'd find myself in the nurse's office.

A simple copy of ARM was possible, but a few tweaks to the BUS and a few pipeline path changes, and I could easily increase the efficiency of the CPU... maybe I could even boost the size of the instruction strings. Yeah, that should be possible. Fewer transistors, less heat, more commands processed at speed with an improved BUS... I was almost totally surprised when the bell went off; my notebook sketch was about half done.

I could easily understand some people's fear regarding mutants; by the end of the day it looked as if I'd have a modest computer breakthrough that might have taken a team of people without my ability a year to create. And that was after all but building a revolutionary jet engine this week.

I mean sure, it was only a modest 18% improvement overall, and not the other even more outlandish ideas that even now were dancing in my brain (like the CPU sandwich), but a day for an 18% computing power improvement was still a little nuts. I wonder what Jeeves would be like with such a chip in his head?

Jeeves packed up my books and notebook quietly. He was proven technology by this point anyway, and it wouldn't be a good idea to try it without at least testing the chip. Which reminded me.

“Jeeves.”

“Yes mistress Min?”

“When I make that chip, remind me to stress test it first, before giving it to Ian.”

I'd forgot to write that note to myself in the notebook after all, and Jeeves wouldn't forget.

“Alright, do you know my next class?”

“Of course mistress Min. Algebra 101, room 208 with Mr. Howard Mullins presiding.”

He led the way, up the stairs and right to the classroom. Ralph and Ricky both were following. As with the first class, Jeeves dropped off my book bag and walked over to loom at the back. If anything, Ricky looked even more pissed. What was eating him? He could have just said something last class or passed me a note or some... oh. He had probably tried, and I'd ignored him, lost in my own little world again. I caught his gazed and mouthed an apology, which he seemed to get. At least, he stopped trying to glare a hole through everything.

Algebra was even worse than physics; the math came as easily as it ever did, I had already done all the assignments and even made notes and proofs in the book; that sheer boredom was why I had started work on jet engines, after all. Which reminded me; after I handed in my pre-written assignment I started working on chassis of my lab assistants and crash test dummies. Even using Jeeves as a template I needed to make changes, and then I needed to make security. And that meant security bots, which meant even more changes.

Everyone, including Mr. Mullins, did their level best to ignore me while I scribbled except Ralph. I had the sense that he was looking at me, but not really looking at me. I wanted to ask him what he was seeing, but it could wait; I didn't want to disrupt class any more than I already had.

In perfect keeping with my first hour, I made pretty good progress in the second, detailing the changes I wanted. Less intelligence, for less snark and potential problems; I wanted extra hands to do things when I couldn't, not another Jeeves. Besides, I'd seen terminator, and I was pretty sure the CIA had too. The fewer excuses I gave people to grab torches and pitchforks, the better. But I needed at least some intelligence for independent thought, otherwise they wouldn't make good test pilots. Maybe I could simply ratchet up the programmed restrictions on their activities instead?

Hmm, a certain aversion to danger avoidance might be necessary, as I was also intending them t be test pilots; having full self preservation protocols on them would make them rather useless for that role; perhaps a risk aversion assessment?

They would need to be tougher, if not exactly stronger, in order to avoid repairing them all the time. Rugged, redundant systems, nothing too delicate. But if I went that route, who was to say the vehicles I'd have them test wouldn't hurt more fragile humans? Best to make one of each type then. Small and large size, delicate and tough.

Just like with the chipset, I wasn't even close to done before the bell signaling the end of class rang. I knew I was getting things done, I knew I was being productive, but it felt like I wasn't doing things fast enough. This time Jeeves put his hand on my shoulder before packing my things up. He meant it to be reassuring, and it was. We had time.

“So, Min.”

“Yes Ralph?”

“What are you working on?”

I smiled and pointed to my book bag, currently in Jeeves capable hands.

“You'll have to wait till gym to see. By the way, I've got a question for you.”

He looked kind of nervous.

“Shoot.”

“what do you see when you stare at me? It looks like you aren't seeing me at all, somehow.”

Embarrassment mixed with... relief? Weird.

“Well I see the electrical activity your brain produces when you're thinking about things really hard. I can see electrical fields when I try to.”

Wait.

“You can see human nervous systems?”

He shook his head quickly, looking a bit unsettled. I tried to sit on the ideas such an intriguing idea gave me, even though the ramifications in the medical field alone were more than a bit amazing.

“Not most. Like, I can't see the nerve clusters in in your arms, there just isn't enough juice for me to see past your skin. But wiring in the walls, electrical stuff... that I can see.”

Well, that wasn't quite as promising as I'd first thought, but still, I persisted.

“And you can see the brain activity in a human skull through the electricity generated?”

He shook his head as we started up to our next classes.

“No... just yours. When you start thinking I can't help but feel that it's a wonder your head doesn't explode. The field you generate... well it's stronger than any human's I've ever seen.”

I shrugged.

“My skull is probably insulated or something. I can check later, I suppose. But I've got too many priorities to deal with for now.”

And he looked nervous again.

“Look, Min, got to go. See you at Gym, alright?”

“Sure, I'll be there unless I pass out or something.”

He waved and we split up. Ricky chose that moment to catch up. I'd known he was behind us, but he had seemed intent on just following at a distance rather than getting involved in the conversation. Almost as if he were avoiding Ralph for some reason, but he had no reason to do that, nor would he even if he did. It was Ricky, after all.

“So what was all that about?”

Never one to beat around the bush ladies and gentleman, that's Ricky.

“We were just discussing powers. Did you know that Ralph can see electrical fields?”

Ricky was mystified.

“No, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Apparently he can see the electrical field and activity my brain generates when I'm using my power.”

Now it was Ricky's turn to look relieved. What was going on, exactly?

“Oh, that's neat I guess. So hey, I wanted to ask you something....”

Oh, did he want a robot too or something? I was already on the hook for two; both Maggie and Sam wanted one. According to them, there were plenty others that did too but had promised to lay off until the terrible news hound duo got theirs first. Maybe he wanted one to play basketball with, since I was no longer tall enough to effectively block him, strictly speaking. Heh, that would be funny; a basketball playing android.

And then Ricky's hair bristled as Gordo arrived. He had been suspended, though the assault charges that the school had pending against him had been dropped; there had been no evidence of any injuries to me, even if everyone was pretty sure I'd had a concussion. Hm, maybe part of the reason Ralph could see my brain's electrical field was that my skull lacked it's former density? I think I could have taken a knock on the head like that before....

“Myr... Min. We need to talk. Alone.”

Of course that was all that was needed for volcano Ricky to explode.

“No way in hell, Gordo. You got something to say, you say it in public, where she's nice and safe.”

“Shut up, Tanner.”

Great, now they were glaring at each other. Knowing my luck they'd forget about me and go at it right in the halls, and I'd get squashed or something. But Jeeves was with me, so there wouldn't be a repeat of last time. I wouldn't be embarrassing myself twice. They were inches apart, and normally I'd be shoving my way in between them now, but I seriously doubted that I could do that now. Still, there were other ways.

“Sure. Let's talk Gordon.”

Ricky gaped at me. Everyone in the hall who had been so busy ignoring the confrontation forgot what they were supposed to be ignoring, and gaped at me. Even Gordon gaped at me. It made me more than a little angry, actually; I mean, he was the one that asked me! He shouldn't act so surprised I accepted.

I led the way past the geography classroom Gordon and I shared, and into an empty one a few doors down to it. I let Gordon in, and Jeeves followed, cutting Ricky off and shutting the door in his face. Gordon stopped, nonplussed.

“Don't worry about Jeeves; he's mine. Anything you can say to me, you can say to him.”

He took a breath and eyed Jeeves suspiciously. Jeeves just stared back impassively while leaning on the door. He gulped air again before plunging ahead, shocking me.

“Alright. I owe you an apology. I'm sorry I slammed you into the lockers; I lost my temper, and it won't happen again.”

Gordon had just apologized for something? To me? Had he been replaced by a doppelganger or something? I gathered my wits when he started to look mildly pissed off.

“Apology accepted; sorry, I just didn't think I'd ever see that.”

He snorted.

“You almost didn't. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like you, and don't like mutants in general. But I've had plenty of time to think the last couple of days, and more than a few people have talked my ear off about you. And well, coming back to school, doing what you're doing after all that's happened to you, that takes guts man. And I do respect you for that. So are we cool man?”

I held out my hand, and he wasted no time at all grabbing and shaking it gently. No hesitation at all; he wasn't afraid of me or what I could do. It could be simple ignorance, but I doubted it; the entire school knew about Jeeves by now, and more than a few were wary of him.

“Yeah, we're cool. Bygones and all that, though if you want to go at it like we used to I'm afraid I'll have to use a stand in. Speaking of which, can you do me a favor and stop tormenting Ricky? Please?”

He owed me this, and I'd try to collect. If I had to, I'd intervene, and he had to know that. He didn't want to beat on me, and I didn't want to use Jeeves, so maybe we could come to an accord. He waited; if he took any longer to think we'd be late. Ricky had gone from banging on the door to gone already, we had to have less than 30 seconds to get to class.

“I'll stop antagonizing him, but if he starts with me, I'll finish it.”

That was the best I could hope for, and I wouldn't have it any other way; Ricky needed to learn to stop poking people anyway.

“Deal. Now let's get to class before we're late. I really don't want a detention.”

I reached the door as he snorted; Jeeves let me out and I could clearly hear the mutter since the hall was mostly empty and therefore silent.

“Goody two shoes.”

I responded with a snappy:

“You want to spend more time at school than you have to?”

“Good point.”

I smirked as we both managed to reach the classroom at the same time, entering as the bell rang. Where everyone in the class was looking at me. Or rather, Gordon and me, next to each other, both of us smiling. Many a jaw was on the floor, not the least of which was Mrs. Carson. He knew how it looked, same as I did, and smiled again as the whispers commenced. Maggie looked ready to explode, and I knew she'd pounce later.

But for now, Romania. I kind of felt sorry for Romania; the place was so small that even with the long history it had, it only rated a single hour. Tomorrow it would be on to Spain, with many of us wondering why the jump in the first place. I mean, there were other eastern European nations that we still needed to cover, like Hungary. Which I was, come to think of it. That joke just never gets old, no matter who uses it, or how many times.

As soon as the class bell rang, Jeeves pressed a Snickers bar into my hand. Where had he even gotten one, and how did he have money? Oh well, I'd ask later. I needed the boost now. I checked; he hadn't run any students over getting to me, which was good, because Mr. Welch looked angry enough as it was. He didn't take the chocolate away though, which meant he and the other teachers had likely been briefed on what my new energy requirements were.

So finally I was on my way to gym. I entered first since everyone was changing, a brief and amusing idea of going in the locker room to change and Jeeves following me in without a care in the world. Of course I still wasn't exactly comfortable there, and I'd just get cold without my coat anyway; the large ceiling fans were always on and the gym was usually a good ten degrees below the rest of the school. Good if you were exercising, but not so good if you weren't.

I took my customary seat and grabbed my pack as Jeeves sat beside me. Wait, this wouldn't really do.

“Stay here Jeeves. Watch for stray balls and other stuff like that headed our way. I'll just be a few bleachers up, O.K.?”

“Of course mistress Min.”

He faced front towards the gym floor as Ralph came walking up. Of course Jeeves would hear everything, and might even see it all as well somehow (I wouldn't put it past him, even if his eyes were based on a humans field of vision) but it seemed to offer at least some illusion of privacy with him faced forward.

“No need to try and play human shield today.”

Jeeves didn't even bat an eye as Ralph walked past. Seriously, he had stopped blinking; someone was taking things seriously.

“Well you won't hear me complain. So what's on tap for today?”

“Well I did say I'd let you know, so android test dummies and processor improvements. I owe Ian a computer, and need the androids done before I can work on the jet engine and vehicle for it. Always so much crap I need, just to get to the crap I want to make.”

Ralph dropped a light hand on my shoulder as he sat down.

“Don't worry, you'll get there. If it's any consolation, according to the internet, your frustration is a universal complaint among devisors.”

“Been checking up on the competition?”

“You know it, got to see what I'm getting into. Don't act like you haven't checked up on me.”

I smirked. The posts on exemplars were pretty short actually. Basically they all boiled down to 'better than normal'. A lie of course, since exemplar was on my MID, and I was worse physically than I had been. Well except for agility and reaction speeds. Both of those were still within human norms though. Most devisors made suits to offset their physical weaknesses, and maybe I would too... eventually. Whenever I got some kind of spare minute in between all the other things I had to do. Probably next year sometime, knowing my luck.

Other devisors usually got the ability to stay up and work long hours with little sleep or food somehow, sometimes for weeks at a time. Lucky stiffs; if I could manage twenty hours at a time I would be ahead of my own curve. No, I needed to make more hands. Easily programmable, somewhat intelligent, and absolutely loyal hands who would do as I asked while I was forced to sleep. That came before any suit.

“Wow, these sketches... I can't make heads or tails of them. A multi-level processor? Not a wafer... and another Jeeves.”

“Nah, a crash test dummy. Better than Jeeves for his purpose, but hardly the same thing.”

Okay, that sounded a little pedantic. Ralph wasn't offended.

“I get it. So will he be anatomically correct?”

He waggled his eyebrows. I didn't get it. Why wouldn't he be?

“Well, of course he will. He's a crash test dummy, he has to be for the tests, otherwise they would be invalidated.”

You don't just throw together some poorly made facsimile and throw them in a cockpit of something, not when you can do better; what if a person's crotch would normally be pinched by the seat belt or something, and you hadn't tested for it? That would be... poor design. Didn't tell me why Ralph was looking at me in clear disbelief though.

“What?”

“Nothing, just... never mind. Maybe I'll explain it later. So. There is dance coming up for Halloween, want to go?”

And this lead went here, and the transistor went here....

“Um, sure. I'd planned to go anyway.”

Wait, did he ask me out? I'd been planning to go alone as a punishment to Jeeves, stay awhile, and then get back to work. I looked up into his face; he looked out of it or something, as if he'd taken a locker to the back of his head or something.

“Are you asking me to go with you?”

His eyes stopped staring off into space and he flushed. His voice wobbled a little over his reply. Weird.

“Yeah. You want to?”

“Um, sure, if you don't mind Jeeves being along. Oh, and Sam and Maggie. Pretty sure they want to come. Ricky probably will too, come to think of it, and I'm pretty sure Maggie will want to co-ordinate all our costumes. Or as many as we let her anyway, I have an idea for Jeeves and I, and I'm not in the mood to change it.”

I had heard Maggie say something about the dance, I think, a few days ago. I couldn't remember what she had said, only a general sense of it, which was weird, because my mutation included perfect recall. Something had happened, or was wrong. I'd have to speak to Jeeves later, out of earshot of any potentially worrying friends to make sure. I looked up to find that Ralph's eyes had crossed and he was tense.

“Yeah, sure. That's fine. I'll talk with Maggie later, see what ideas she has.”

I was glad Maggie wasn't anti-mutant. Though I suppose if she were she'd have told me off the first day. I laughed a little.

“Just don't get too close. She'll latch onto you then talk your ears right off.”

Ralph relaxed and smiled; it looked a little melancholy. Had I said something wrong?

“Yeah, she will at that. No problems, I'll be careful. Now let's see what you can draw.”

I broke out the laptop, now that I wouldn't get in trouble for it.

“Sorry, not today. Got to get these things done. If I don't have something to show my brother, he will do very unpleasant things to me.”

“Ian? He wouldn't really do something, would he?”

Hah. I knew it, but on occasions like this he made it obvious.

“Clearly, an only child speaks. He wouldn't do anything directly, but little brothers can be pains, even when they aren't trying. He would actively try. If you have siblings, you must appease their wroth.”

“I... see. Alright, but I want to see something artistic later.”

“Oh ye of little faith. I'll show you something plenty artistic soon enough.”

After all, the new central processor I was designing was art of a sort. No way it couldn't be. Ralph settled in, doing his origami and watching as my fingers flew. I didn't even need to look up to keep an eye out for potential threats with Jeeves here, and the work went fast.

The bell rang, and everyone started hitting the lockers. I packed up reluctantly; another hour and I'd have the thing mapped and ready for a few computer modeling tests. I wonder if other devisors were as fast at things as I was? Could they all do the things I was doing? Might be something to look into, later. I wrote it down in my notebook before Jeeves took it from my hands.

Well, lunchtime. Ralph ate in the cafeteria, but I didn't want to. Oh, crap. Jeeves had been with me all morning, and so hadn't had time to cook me anything. I looked up into his impassive gaze, and he smirked at me and crooked a finger.

“Our usual place mistress Min, but a slightly different route. Please follow me.”

With a shrug, I followed. Not like I was in a hurry, other than being pretty hungry.

The different route turned out to be through the cafeteria itself. Jeeves left me and promptly walked in the back, to the kitchen itself while I waited, hands in pockets and feeling self conscious. It felt like every eye was on me. A quick glance revealed most of them were, and even the looks of bland curiosity got a bit overwhelming after awhile.

Jeeves came back with a covered platter and strode over to the side door. When he looked back and lifted and eyebrow, I flushed and caught up.

“So, the kitchen?”

“I am now allowed to use the facilities of this institution. I made your repast last night at home, and brought it here. A mere 60 seconds in a microwave and the dish is ready to serve.”

Ralph followed us out. Maggie and Sam were already at the tree, unpacking their own lunches. The table and chair were not placed, of course. I sat down in the grass next to Sam. She looked over.

“You need more androids.”

I nodded. I'd already come to that conclusion, after all.

From somewhere Jeeves had produced a small but plump cushion, and set it down. He moved me onto it, ignoring my completely dignified protests, and set a tray also from somewhere, on top of my legs. Onto that the platter rested, and my lunch was finally revealed. It was soup. Yellow soup, with some spices still visible in it. Beside it was a literal hunk of bread cut into small pieces. Jeeves gently placed a silver spoon into the china bowl, careful not to splash any.

“What is this?”

“Carrot Apple curry soup, with dark French bread.”

And he had the gall to smile at me.

“Trust me.”

I leveled the spoon off and brought it up. It was strangely delicious. Dipping a piece of bread in was ever better. It was too bad there were no seconds because I was pretty sure I would want some. Maggie looked over with a pang of jealousy, eying her own PBJ with disgust.

“Is it as good as you're making it look?”

I nodded again. Talking would mean I'd have to stop eating. Sam was bolder; she snagged a piece of bread and dipped it in. Her verdict was similar.

“...Delicious.”

I was surprised, Jeeves hadn't even made a peep. With a shrug I fed a similar piece of the bread to Maggie, who closed her eyes and moaned. Ralph, who had been drinking at the time, spit up his mouthful of coke and Maggie grinned at him.

“So Min, what are your plans for the Halloween dance? You're going, right?”

She knew very well I was. She had all but demanded I come, no less than three times, with Sam standing behind her in silent support.

“You asked me to come. Oh, Ralph wanted to come with us too. I said it was O.K.”

I tried to ignore the flutter in my stomach while Maggie looked over Ralph in an exaggerated show. Sam Just stared at me. Were they going to say it wasn't cool? If so I'd have to choose, and I really didn't want to do that. I'd given my word to go with Ralph after all. Maggie pronounced her verdict:

“... I guess it's O.K.”

Sam was a bit more harsh for all that her voice was soft.

“...Clueless.”

Clueless? Who was clueless, and about what? I poked her in the side and she jumped.

“Huh? We really need to get you to speak full sentences.”

I probably shouldn't have done that; she was probably going to kick me or something now. She didn't; instead she took her chastisement - and a positively huge bite from her sandwich - with dignity and grace.

Maggie was silent too, for once, though she looked like she was working hard to stifle laughter. She changed the subject.

“So, the new digs are open, right? We can watch the native mad scientist in her natural habitat?”

That comment was a twist in my gut, but I could tell she didn't mean it. Sam elbowed her while taking another bite somehow. I ignored it as best I could.

“Yeah, the lab is open. Jeeves moved everything last night, and it should be all hooked up, or close to it. I can set the printer to run off the new project as soon as I get home.”

Well, unless Mom had something for me to do. Maggie loomed.

“Cool! So what's the new project?”

“A new processor for Ian. He was a little jealous of my computer, so I'm making him one.”

I could see the sun again as she withdrew.

“Booooring! I want robots! Robots and jet packs! Make us robots, min!”

I really needed another, bigger 3d printer. Maybe eventually, when I was trusted more.

“Patience. Robots aren't built in a day.”

“Jeeves was.”

That... was a pretty good point. One I couldn't even refute.

“I was constructed in 3 hours, 42 minutes, and 17 seconds.”

The ever so helpful Jeeves.

“Thank you Jeeves, you're a big help.”

Apparently he couldn't read sarcasm.

“Thank you, mistress Min.”

I finished and Jeeves packed up. Maggie looked pretty down; forlorn even.

“Seriously Min, you need to make more robots as soon as possible. I need my leftovers!”

I couldn't agree more, actually. I was already missing the soup. That and bring my comfy lunch chair and table back; Jeeves had spoiled me. That should worry me frankly, but I didn't really have the time or effort for that.

“I'll work on it. Maybe by next week. In the meantime, I agree that we need to work out lunch plans better. But for now, back to the grind I guess.”

We still had several minutes before lunch was over, but I could use the time to just set up, and it would translate to more useful time in study hall. Today I wasn't going to bother with homework just yet. Too many projects, and I was slightly ahead anyway, since I'd used my down time well.

“What's the hurry? It's a pretty nice day. We should all enjoy the fresh air while we can.”

Ralph's words stopped me. Sam was nodding, and a part of me wanted to nod along. It was a very nice day; too good to spend all day indoors, really. But work beckoned, and I think the weather was going to stay nice. So plenty of time after school, on the walk home.

“Normally I'd agree with you, but androids don't build themselves.”

Jeeves opened his mouth, but my look stopped him. My classmates did not need to know, and neither did the CIA or MCO. They were all undoubtedly listening, even though I couldn't see them. It was mildly alarming that he had even contemplated giving away such things in the open, even to my friends. Plenty of time to tell them later, if they still wanted to know. Luckily, no one seemed to notice.

I hurried ahead while everyone packed up, with Jeeves on my heels. Saving the good desks in the back of study hall was important; it kept us together and kept other people from trying to read things from over my shoulder. I'd already caught one guy trying to do that a few days ago; all I needed was some random kid getting my jet pack and putting out an eye or blowing off an arm with it, or something.

I'd say people had more sense than that, but with some it was hard to tell.

Mr. Mullins didn't do more than just look up as I strode in with Jeeves behind me and plopped down with a sigh. He didn't even bat an eye when Jeeves carefully placed my laptop on the desk, stepped back behind me, and all but glared at the class.

The class found other places for their eyes to be.

Sam and Maggie came in and took the flanking desks, as expected. Ricky walked in a minute later, and scowled, deciding on the desk in front of me. I waved, but the bell rang before I could say anything. Which was probably for the best, because I wasn't sure how happy Ricky would be if I had actually said the first thing that popped into my head. I had been about to ask him if he wanted help with his homework, and that would probably have been all kinds of awkward.

I pulled the laptop out of sleep mode and the processor design came up. I started working on it; just like Gym, I didn't need to worry about anything crazy happening. Well, more crazy than Sam staring at my screen and just watching me. I really hoped I didn't have to have the same talk with her that I had with the other guy. What was his name? Gerry I think. Didn't matter, I guess; I mean, I could always just go over and ask. I looked the guy's way and caught him staring; he blushed and went back to his own homework. Math, it looked like.

I brushed aside all distractions and focused.

The processor took shape. It was almost done, in fact when the ringing bell startled me. I wanted to throw up my hands and scream; I was so close! Jeeves was already packing everything up.

“Pace yourself, mistress Min.”

Maggie was looking at me oddly. I took a breath and blew it out. Jeeves was right.

“What?”

“Nothing, you just zoned out. Ignored me entirely.”

“Ack! Sorry.”

“No problem, just the price of you being awesome.”

Sam nodded along with that as I resisted blowing her a raspberry. I looked over at Ricky; if I had ignored everyone, had I missed he had said at me? He did seem a bit angry, but it didn't seem to be directed at me. Still, I leaned over and whispered to Maggie:

“I miss anything?”

Maggie's ever-present grin widened as she answered with an even softer whisper than I had managed.

“Not much. He just invited himself along to the Halloween party with the cool kids is all, and didn't like the idea of us all coordinating costumes.”

“Oh. Well, what were your plans?”

“I was thinking superheroes!”

I caught Sam rolling her eyes as mine were circling. No way was I doing that, it would interfere with my own plans regarding Jeeves's punishment. I shook my head.

“Won't work. We need to do something 18th century if we are coordinating at all.”

“Oh? Why?”

I didn't need to whisper the last part; Jeeves would hear it anyway.

“Because I'm punishing Jeeves. You know, for being Jeeves.”

Jeeves for his part, just stared back at me impassively. Sam broke in, surprising me. Was that a smile, there?

“We can switch.”

A full sentence even! I was a positive influence.

We all piled into English class and were promptly bored. It was all reading today, anyway. I stood up and read when it was my turn, but otherwise went over the bot designs. I would need to buy more notebooks soon, so I'd stop using my class ones.

Finally, the bell rang and we were released from prison for the day. Jeeves packed up for me, and we left, Maggie and Sam keeping pace, and Ricky and Ralph both walking on ahead. Jeeves watched our backs, of course. It was finally time to get some real work done.

Today was the day. Today was the day I was to meet Shecky Green. And if I was lucky, I'd be able to start the actual design phase of my crash test dummy-bots, and get Ian's computer designed and made. Then maybe, if I did all that, I could work on the rocket engines I wanted. I had a pretty cool idea for a small plane, it was actually much better than yesterday's idea.

I stretched as the alarm went off. I couldn't really keep redesigning if I ever wanted to build, but yesterdays designs really were inadequate. The computer processors I designed might even be a little less efficient than the ones in my laptop. More computing power, but also more power usage and more heat. I could maybe set one of the bots to cook. I had spent all afternoon and last night loading the printer and making some last minute adjustments. The design wasn't perfect, but I'd learn more just by making one than I would from running endless simulations and second guessing myself; it wasn't like I didn't have the resources to make several already. If it sucked as an assistant then I could just melt it back down.

There was a polite knock on the door. “Time to prepare for school, Mistress Min.”

Odd, the last few times he walked right in. Maybe it was because I was awake and actually feeling good for once?

I beat Ian to the bathroom again, but I knew he was awake; his computer was on and something with explosions was playing on it. Was he simply waiting on me? Being nice, since I now had to take longer to get ready due to this stupid hair? That seemed a little difficult to picture; maybe he'd stayed up and fell asleep at his computer again? That seemed more likely. Either way, I wasn't about to ruin it.

My clothes were already waiting for me, as were all the soaps and shampoos and conditioners and other crap people expected me to use. I used it, showering as quickly as I could. A few (alright, more than a few brushstrokes through my hair and then I got dressed, in the dress shirt that seemed grafted to a sweater; I had no idea what to call it, really, even though I was sure it had a name. Both it and the jeans hugged me and were warm, so it was a good choice. It felt cold today. Well more cold; one of the things I noticed was that I felt a little cold even on warm days. Thermal regulation did not seem to be something my body did well anymore.

It made me glad my lab coat wasn't a banned item at school. Speaking of which, it was downstairs. Ian left his room as I left the bathroom, his computer now quiet. I had my answer.

Breakfast was ready, and aside from the coffee, it was weird. “Jeeves, what is this, exactly?”

Mom and Dad were already chewing away, making moans of pleasure so I doubted it was poison, but still, it looked like a weird sort of oatmeal with… were those sliced peaches added in? Grapefruit maybe?

“Quinoa porridge, with chia, peaches, grapefruit, and a touch of lemon.” Was the unexpectedly comprehensive response.

“And what is Quinoa?” I'd never heard of it, but it was obviously a grain of some kind. I poked at it with the spoon, trying to get a better idea by its shape.

“An edible grain, mistress Min. It is considered tasty when prepared like this by a majority of humans.”

Mom finished chewing and glared. “Sit down, quit picking at it, and eat it. It's good and very good for you. Helps to promote tissue regrowth, which is good for a regenerator.”

I took an experimental bite. It really wasn't bad; it tasted more like barley than oatmeal, but it wasn't bad. It was even better with the peaches. The coffee was smooth and mild today; did Jeeves tailor that to my health too?

Well, either way, I wanted more of it. Maybe a full pot. “This coffee is coming with me.”

Dad opened his mouth, then looked up; I met his eyes and he closed it. Darn right; he can have some, but I'm taking the rest. If I hid it well the teachers wouldn't catch on. Jeeves didn't even question it, instead pulling out a shiny, brand new looking stainless steel thermos I didn't know we had. It looked like it would be perfect for sample collecting later if I needed to.

Ian came down and stared into his bowl. Mom gently sat him down as she went for a refill; she cut in front of Jeeves before he could start pouring himself. “Eat young man, it's good for you.”

Ian's reply was expected. “That must mean it tastes like… a – err, it's awful.”

I grinned as Mom glared. We both knew what he had been about to say. He was poking at his bowl much like I had; I decided to ease his fears. “It tastes just fine Ian. Kind of like a barly cereal. Like fruit loops, sort of.”

He took a bite and gave a glare of his own. “This tastes nothing like fruit loops.”

Of course, that didn't stop him from eating more.

Jeeves set a glass of orange juice in front of Ian then started brushing my hair while I finished up. He didn't dish me seconds, which was good since I was pretty full. I left my dishes in the sink but took my coffee with me back upstairs. I had to collect the notes I made last night.

Most were on my nightstand, but some had drifted to the floor; I really shouldn't use loose-leaf sheets for note taking, I guess. I got them and checked the clock. I still had a good twenty minutes; that was plenty of time. I drained my mug on the way back downstairs and topped it off with the last liquid in the pot. Ian was eating seconds, and both Mom and Dad had topped off cups as well. Dad was still reading, but I realized he had switched from the paper to soldier of fortune magazine. He was probably looking at the guns again.

Mom was collecting dishes; that wouldn't do at all. “Mom, let Jeeves do that. Jeeves, do the dishes and make sure everything I need for the day is in my backpack. I'm going out to my lab, let me know when it's time to go to school.”

“Yes, mistress Min.” He waited until Mom turned to me, mouth open, then snuck in front of the sink; she wouldn't be able to move him now. I grabbed my coat and ducked out before she got over the distraction and returned to whatever she was going to say to me. If I didn't hear her say not to go, then I wouldn't have to obey!

A short jog and I unlocked the door, allowing the retinal scanner to do its work. It wasn't perfect, but between it and the fingerprint detector on the door handle, it would keep anyone but a mystique wannabe out. I would make the security a bit more robust starting today, but the first step to that was providing an android like my crash test dummy; he could at least be programmed with a list of who could be let in and who to raise the alarm about. I was glad I remembered to keep the keys in my coat.

My laptop was on the desk, sleeping. I hit the button for the window shutters and crossed over while they retracted from the windows and skylight with a faint rumble. Jiggling the mouse a little woke it up and I started feeding my last minute notes in by scanner, letting the program I'd build a week ago run a comparison match between the older and newer blueprints. It took about ten minutes, going by the clock on the wall.

I cycled the start up for the 3d printer then started the simulations on the latest merged blueprints. I was pretty happy with myself when the clock struck 7:30 and I hadn't gone into any sort of episode; I hoped that meant it was getting easier, but I didn't want to fool myself; it could just be that old designs (even a day old) didn't hold my interest the same way new stuff did. There was a knock on the door at 7:30 and 15 seconds.

“It is time for school, mistress Min.”

“Coming!” I wasn't sure why Jeeves didn't just come in, he was cleared too and had his own key (I wasn't absolutely sure, but if anyone would have made a spare key for themselves, it would have been him).

I set the printer on automatic, put the signs up so no one would stumble into it and get hurt. With the receptacle chute in place to prevent anything from getting damaged when it was finished, I left and locked up. “Jeeves, if you aren't doing anything else, can you check on the printer throughout the day? I have it set up but it really should be at least looked in on. I'll leave the laptop here so you can shut it off remotely just in case.”

“Of course, mistress Min.” So he really did have a key of his own; good. It would be a bit of a pain to just make notes for a day, but using my phone the way I used my laptop would get noticed, and I didn't have the clearance to use my phone that way by the school, so it'd just get confiscated as if I were making texts in class or something.

The slight irritation would be worth it, anyway; I'd made do with notebooks before, and it wasn't even that long ago.

I waved to my respective tails as we walked, and both of them (agent Sands and agent Douglas, both opposite each other in different nondescript cars, both not fooling anyone) waved back with sheepish grins. Agent Sands saluted me with his coffee as I passed. It was Starbucks, and that meant it was inferior. Between that and the donut on his dash, I almost felt sorry for him. I wonder if it would break some sort of code to invite him over for breakfast for a day? Of course, if I did that I'd have to invite agent Douglas over as well; wouldn't be fair to him otherwise.

Ricky was waiting at the end of his block, like usual, dribbling a basketball. Decisions, decisions… more time using my phone to plot potential weak points in robotic joint design, or steal his ball? I tucked my phone into my back pocket as we got close and made my move right as he opened his mouth to say hello.

“Morning Min. Hey, my ball!”

I still got it. Well, some of it, anyway. “Morning Ricky, how are you?”

I dribbled the ball a bit and passed it back to him. He caught it with that distinctive slap of ball hitting hand that I missed and went back to dribbling, falling in next to me.

“Pretty good, got all my homework done. Parents aren't flipping out about the C I got in history yesterday. They have changed priorities lately.”

Well, that sounded ominous. Ricky's parents weren't as cool as mine; they were always yelling at him about low grades or turning his music down or some other such thing… and I was pretty sure they did not like me. They hadn't met the new me, mostly because I was busy, but the way they had acted before – it was nothing I could really put my finger on, they were always nice and polite, but it was as if they considered me the reason Ricky got into all the trouble he did at school; a thought I'd shared with Ricky and we'd both laughed over in the past.

“So what's on tap for you today? That wayward robot coming home still?”

“Yep, that and I'm working on another. I think I'll name him Crash.”

Ricky made a humming noise, switching dribbling hands. “That seems like a pretty obvious name, even for a testing robot. How long will he take to make?”

Of course, it was an obvious name. I sucked at names. “He will probably be done tonight or tomorrow? I'm not really sure. He could take a week, but if Jeeves is there to oversee the production, it shouldn't take nearly that long. I kind of really need him for security; there are a lot of crazies out there, and I won't stay an unknown forever.”

I could do a lot of good, but only if I didn't piss off the wrong people or something. I was pretty sure a jealous devisor with more resources than I had would eat me alive, and that ARNEE was right for hiding – or rather, I was right, for programming him to hide even from myself. What I didn't know, I couldn't reveal. On the other hand, I had to take it slow, or I might make everyone else nervous.

Like Ricky, he seemed a bit nervous right now. “You mean more like that one jerk?”

I wasn't going to treat his concerns lightly. “Or worse than him, yes. I just want to be ready.”

I could see me getting kidnapped for my tech, devisor or not. Or maybe I was just paranoid. After all, no one had tried to force me to do anything yet, and it had been weeks! The CIA hadn't even tried to force me to reveal ARNEE. It wouldn't have done them any good, but they hadn't even tried. I was probably just reading too much into it; it wasn't like my tech was reproducible, even if it made perfect sense to me.

Of course, that didn't stop random people from stopping by and assuming this area was easy pickings. It had happened before, after all. Either way, it would ease my mind to be ready. Well, within reason; I didn't want to start a terminator scenario either. So far my robots had proven loyal, but their idea of loyalty was infuriating at times.

The school came into view and Jeeves stopped, handing off my backpack. It was heavier than I remembered. “Have a wonderful day mistress Min, and do not hesitate to call should you need me. I am heading back now to oversee the printer. I shall be waiting for you at mid-day at your usual spot with lunch. If you'll excuse me.”

I waved him off and he left; setting the backpack on a shoulder almost knocked me completely off balance. Ricky moved to help but was saved from a pounding by the arrival of Maggie and Sam. I wasn't THAT weak, it just took me by surprise was all; six books and notebooks shouldn't be that heavy.

I went to my locker and placed my books inside it; I'd read them already, so they were just taking up space. Anything I needed to refresh myself on I had my notes for, but I didn't seem to forget anything technical or any rote facts anymore. Even better it seemed to work retroactively, so I could remember past middle school lessons, especially the math and science. If I'd forgotten last years history lessons… well, I'd forgotten them, so how would I know? I didn't think I did, though, I knew how many people Washington crossed the Delaware with of all things, and I was pretty sure I'd forgotten that at one point.

I was proven right by my first class. A pop quiz, and I had it done in five minutes. I adjusted my glasses, pulled out one of my design notebooks and got to work, trying to ignore the way Pam was sneaking glances at me. She wouldn't even talk to me lately and it seemed like she was avoiding me. Other than her, though, the school seemed to be back to ignoring me, or at least no longer staring at me when I walked by. It could just be my imagination, but people seemed more friendly to me now. I kind of hoped it was just something I was imagining since it made no sense; people were distrustful and wary of Ralph, the other mutant in school.

Maybe it was because I was tiny. It certainly wasn't the hair, mine was every bit as bright as his, if less eye-searing. It took some getting used to, but I was getting used to it, slowly. It was a bit fascinating how quickly and easily humans could get used to changes in their appearance. Why it happened wasn't as easily understood – at least not for me. Maybe I could ask an expert. Well, just as soon as I found one.

Class periods passed in the same boring manner of school class periods everywhere. Algebra and geography were droning lectures covering material I'd already read and understood. It was interesting to see how the Rhone river had moved it's bed over the centuries, though, even if it was just a computer model and therefore likely flawed.

Gym was just more sitting around, writing in my notebook. A few modifications to my other robot design, and my newer jet design, and I looked up. Only fifteen minutes had passed, and something was wrong. Ralph, who had been sitting next to me reading a book, noticed it too.

“What's wrong, Min?”

I shook my head; it actually took a moment to figure it out, but the light dawned. “I'm bored.”

I was actually bored of just sitting here writing. I wanted to go do something, anything, more hands on that this. I stood up.

“Come on, let's go see the coach.” After all, if I was bored, Ralph had to be too, right? A look back showed he was following me and he hadn't objected, so that was a yes.

Coach Howard was watching the class play; he turned to us as we walked up. I opened my mouth in a hurry before he opened his.

“Coach, I know we're not allowed to participate with the other kids, but is there anything we can do? Kind of want to move a little, here. Maybe we can run laps outside or something? The day is pretty nice.”

Of course, I hadn't changed into any gym clothes, and that would make it harder to run… but for all that it was nice, it was a little chilly so my coat would come in handy. It wasn't like I was cheating or anything.

Too bad the Coach shot that idea down with a shake of his head. “You're both still under my supervision, and I'd have to be watching. If you went outside, I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on you. I don't mind you doing something, but it'd have to be alone or the two of you, and it'd have to be inside.”

He cupped his chin, thinking. I could actually see the idea strike him. “Got it. There is something you can do if you want.”

I didn't like his grin. “What is it?”

If he asked me to clean out the closets again, I was going to unleash mechanical spiders on him. I could do it, I knew.

“Ping pong. Table tennis. You can set up the table in the corner there, and play a few games. It located in the closet, far wall, next to the baseball bag. The balls and paddles are in the felt bag under the table top.”

Really? Ping pong? “Don't you have anything that's a little more… active?”

He shrugged back at me. “Not that you can dig out on short notice. I can plan a little something tomorrow, but you kind of caught me by surprise here.”

I could tell what he wanted to say. That I had been quite content before to write weird things and make paper animals. I couldn't even say I wouldn't be back to that tomorrow, because ping pong. But for now it was something to do, and a way to move around.

I went to the closet and Ralph followed me without a word. He stepped in front of me as I turned on the light (the closet had no windows, and was, therefore, dim) and just picked up the table by himself. Sure, it wasn't a heavy thing, but it was awkward, but every time I reached out to help he moved the table away, smirking all the while. I finally just held the door for him.

“Thank you, dear lady.” I smirked back at him when he banged the edge of the table against the door frame and almost tripped himself. Coach Howard spared him a glare; the sound had apparently been loud enough for him to hear and no doubt we would get a lecture later about being more careful with school property; never mind that the table as older than I was and made of old wood and steel.

We unfolded it together in the corner, picked our paddles, and I grabbed a ball, taking the coveted first serve. All in all, we squeezed in three games.

Ralph kicked my butt in all three. The guy was a ping pong wizard or something. I couldn't even see his hands move half the time, it was stupid, but I had fun anyway.

I was actually a little tired as I helped fold the table up and put it away. This time, Ralph let me help, though he supported all the weight; I just got to help him steady it and open the door again. It was a good sort of burn, though, and I was looking forward to lunch.

Ralph went to get his lunch and then ran back to my side, scattering people with a disturbing lack of caution. I waited a bit so he'd slow down, but he didn't. At least all that happened were dirty looks, and no one got hurt. My lunch was set up at the table under the tree, with Jeeves standing there, one hand on the covered platter, the other on the chair I liked.

I sat and he actually lifted the chair up and set it closer with one hand as he removed the lid. On the dish were a good ten or twelve items I recognized; grilled Panini.

I turned to look at him as he served one to my plate. “Losing your touch? I've actually had Panini before.”

“Zucchini Panini, mistress Min, Italian style.' He uncovered the other dishes and pointed to each in turn. 'Garden Risotto and Sicilian artichokes.”

Okay, I hadn't had any of that before. But one day, he would screw up and serve me something that didn't take a thousand years to make, and I would laugh at him. He poured some dark juice, and I took a sip; cranberry-pomegranate, one of my favorite. Knowing Jeeves, it was probably the best juice for the food, too.

Sam and Maggie came up and took their seats. Ralph had known better than to sit down. Neither Sam nor Maggie were carrying lunches, and there were place settings for them, but there was no way the three of us were going to eat all this alone. It made me worry how much money Jeeves was no doubt spending on food; could we even afford this?

The first question for Shecky, perhaps. Maybe right after why his name was Shecky; it all but screamed 'shyster'.

“Wow, these are really good!” Maggie exclaimed, talking with a full mouth. Sam just nodded along.

“Please consume the side dishes as well, if you please.” Jeeves chided as several of the Panini made their way onto the others plates. Maggie nodded, but Sam had the good grace to look repentant, stabbing artichokes with a fork and moving them over.

Ricky walked up empty handed and without so much as a word or thought snagged a Panini himself, cramming half of it into his face immediately while Jeeves looked on with clear disapproval. After chewing noisily for a bit he swallowed and spoke, sounding almost angry.

“So, you wanted to ping-pong today?”

Sam chimed in. “Good.”

I actually knew what she meant, that time. “Kind of you to say Sam, but I sucked. And yeah, I just wanted to do something. I don't mind folding cranes or playing chess or designing stuff, but I wanted to move, you know?”

Sam clarified. “Not you; Ralph.”

Maggie laughed. “Yeah, he was pretty good, wasn't he? Who knew he was a ping-pong ace?”

Well, now I felt stupid. “Gee, thanks, Sam.” She nodded as if to say 'don't mention it.'

Ralph was turning an interesting shade, though.

“Might even finish lunch early and walk around a little. It's a nice day.”

It really was, a slight fresh smelling breeze, sunny with only two white clouds in the sky. I pretended not to notice the unmarked van across the street and turned back to my lunch.

“Jeeves, what's the progress on Crash?” The name Crash did more than suit him, it described him, but I really needed to think of a different one.

“When I left, two hundred of the three hundred and twenty-seven parts were printed. Excepting the power system, of course. You will have to build that by hand, I fear. When I return, I shall begin the construction, with your permission.”

I nodded, thinking.”You have it.”

My technology was dangerous; a fully functioning android in a day or two. Looking human, with just a few quirks – and that was on one printer. I could simply make more than one printer if I wanted; streamline the process - end up making hundreds or thousands. It would be easy, with a little money.

But I wouldn't. There was nothing I needed such an army for, anyway. I needed to know if my creations would turn on me, too. I had some safety measures in place, but I had to make sure they would be enough. So far Jeeves hadn't fired eye lasers, yelled death to humans, or poisoned me, so I was pretty sure the programming was sound.

But I needed more data to be sure, and another android would give me that. Simulations could only tell one so much, after all. I just had to be careful not to go overboard; already ideas for weaponized androids were floating around in my head; robots who were only built for one purpose.

My power was scary.

It turned out that after two Panini, the Risotto, and four artichokes later there wasn't enough time left to do more than shuffle around to the side door while Jeeves packed up. Maggie fell into step beside me, prompting Sam to stop helping Jeeves (Something that was ridiculous, really; Jeeves wouldn't want help doing what he was made for, after all, it would be like reducing his purpose for existing.) and fall in behind us.

“Well, tough break. So, what are you planning after school?”

I rolled my eyes. “Same thing I said I was doing yesterday, Maggie. Working on the engine.”

She grinned. “Hey, I just wanted to make sure. You have changed your mind before, and you do have that robot coming over. We're still invited, right?”

I sighed. “Yes, you are. You all are.”

I would have to double check the safety measures and equipment before I turned anything on. Especially around the printer. I was pretty sure why the printer was acting that way, it was detecting metals, minerals, and other materials suited for the print jobs I was giving it, and trying to save effort and time by eating them.

Perhaps if I split the atoms of matter correctly, I could reconstruct it and make one type of matter into something else. Then I could have that device make the material for the printer, and it wouldn't be trying to eat people's computers, phones, or androids. No, that just wasn't possible. It would be possible to do that sort of thing with metals, making different alloys and such, or making gems or crystals, using pressure or chemical treatments, but taking a rock like sandstone and making it titanium? Just wouldn't work. Still, that was another machine, or even series of machines, to add to the list.

“Earth to Min?”

I looked up to find Ralph staring at me, Ricky looking vaguely pissed about something in the background. Maggie had the door open and a smirk on her face and Sam was... behind me?

“Sorry. Was thinking about something.”

“Oh? What was it this time?”

“Just going over the safety measures. I don't want anyone to lose an eye or anything, after all.”

Maggie shrugged and stepped inside. “I trust you.”

“Trust.” Sam seconded.

I stepped in after them, Ricky right behind. Ralph ended up holding the door for both of us.

School dragged. My homework took less than twenty minutes to do since I no longer needed to read any of my books, and I spent some time on making origami animals. Dolphins and sharks were easy, but the gorillas were crazy; I resolved to burn those before Ralph could see my laughable attempts.

Then I started writing the necessary molecule chain of a titanium/aluminum alloy that could be layered in mono-molecular sheets and fused; I couldn't possibly heat the materials I had high enough, but I there were other ways. I could make a batch of nanites to physically move the matter and then fuse to it. If I did it right, they could become the basis for any circuitry I would need later, but I really just wanted a blast shield and some movable walls from the idea now. Proof of concept.

And all this without my brain going into that mysterious upper gear it had. I had perfect recall of my location and situation! But I could still feel it lurking there, in the back of my mind. Keeping my thoughts grounded required constant vigilance.

English was boring. I collected my graded homework, blinking at the B; evidently my ideas on Shakespeare's midsummer night's dream were not sufficiently detailed. Granted, it was still better than my old work, but Mom was going to be pissed. I was pretty sure she expected A's in every subject.

The assignment Mrs. Holmes handed down was to read the next one on the list; King Lear. I'd already read it, but I probably should read it again. I knew what the problem with my last paper had been; I had wanted to get it done so I could work on other things, like Crash. That was something else I'd have to watch. I gathered my notebooks and left, nodding to Mrs. Holmes as I joined the exodus out the door. She frowned at me a little but didn't say anything.

Surely she wasn't disappointed in my B too? I mean I used to get C's in English, getting B's was a rare event. It wasn't really fair.

I wasn't the only one to get the disappointed eye. Ricky also got it, and he was still clutching his paper – I could see the large C on it. Oh well, there was nothing to do for it now, but to do better next time. I stopped by my locker with a sigh. King Lear was in it, part of the truly large literature text that was one-half of the English course. The other half was the grammar and writing rules text of course.

I spun the combination, grabbed the book, and shut the door. Ralph was revealed, waiting.

“Come on, I'll act as a trailblazer for you.”

True to his word he took off, using his bright hair to his advantage; the wave of students broke upon his personal space. I followed; my hair was pretty bright, come to think of it; I wonder why people didn't avoid me the same way they avoided Ralph? Was it because my hair was eye-searing? Was it some buried predator response leftover in their human psyche from nature, the bright orange denoting poison, while my own bright but softer hair just missed the cut?

No, that seemed stupid. Maybe it was his size; after all, he was as big as I used to be, and built, and I was tiny now. That was probably it.

Maggie, Sam, and Ricky were already waiting with Jeeves, who was just off school grounds. That was kind of odd since he was now allowed to accompany me to class if he wanted. He'd seemed so... if not excited, he seemed interested.

There was one possibility to account for that. “Jeeves, when did you arrive?”

He didn't hesitate. “I arrived at this location exactly seventeen point two three seconds ago.”

Right, he'd been busy, and rather than watch me at school he was doing as I asked. A point in his favor.

I started walking, and Maggie fell in on one side, Same fell in on the other. Ricky, Ralph, and Jeeves walked behind us. That seemed a curious arrangement, but I refused to be distracted by it.

“Have you heard from Shecky yet, Jeeves?”

“I have indeed, fifty-six minutes ago. He is on the final leg of his journey, and reported he should arrive within the hour, barring complications.”

I had the butterflies in my stomach trained to do synchronized cartwheels. “Good.”

“Status on the print jobs?” On Crash?

“The part fabrications are roughly 77% complete. I have begun preliminary construction. The engine awaits your gentle touch.”

Well, that was better progress than expected. “How did you manage that, Jeeves?”

“I fabricated some of the required pieces for the engine personally, of course.”

Well, I hadn't told him not to, though how he did that and started Crash's construction was the question now; He couldn't multi-task any better than I could. Could he?

I mean unless he had more arms, he shouldn't be able to.

“So, anything new going on, Maggie?” Ralph asked.

Maggie thought he meant with the paper; he probably did. “Nah, nothing. This place is dead; other than Min, biggest news is whether the drought expected later this summer will actually happen and stunt the corn crop.”

No news was good news.

“National.” Sam said with a pointed look.

“Oh, right, you guys hear about the new mutant laws proposed? They are a clear violation of civil rights. It's in all the news.”

Ralph snorted. “My mom says they won't pass, but it seems like congress wants to waste time over stupid stuff.”

Sam nodded as I pondered that. I couldn't see how adding more laws and regulation would actually help the problem, but then again I was a kid, and not exactly the best versed on the issues. It might be time to change that.

Talk turned to the game scheduled next week against the town of Libertyville next week, and the chances our team had of beating them. The chances without me probably weren't good, but I'd be there cheering at least, maybe that would help.

And then we were home. “Be right there guys. Just going to drop my bag at the door and tell my Mom we're home.”

Sure, I could let Jeeves do it, but Mom would not appreciate that; she would want me to tell her I was home myself.

I opened the door and frowned; Ian's shoes were not here, so he wasn't. Normally he beat me home.

“Mom, I'm home! Going out to the lab with my friends, my homework is done!”

I dropped my bag in the corner and shut the door before I could be drafted for something. There, she was informed, and my conscience was clear.

My friends were waiting on me; Jeeves wouldn't unlock the door until I'd arrived. He opened it up and I went straight to the refreshments on the table, zeroing in on the cup of still steaming coffee. Everyone else grabbed sodas.

Jeeves had also made cookies... peanut butter and chocolate chip, by the looks of them. I wasn't hungry yet, but I knew I would be.

Sam was less shy, stuffing her face immediately as I went over to look at the engine hanging suspended in the center from chains, under the skylight.

“Delicious.” She gushed. Well, gushed for her.

The frame was together, the lines for power had been run, and the slotted sections designed to hold the delicate electronics and internals were all there. What was missing were the delicate electronics and internals. They were lying there on the desk, checking them for flaws, putting them together, and then slotting them in the case should be easy, if a little tedious. I set a magnifying glass above the parts, got my soldering iron out, and got to work.

Quick, delicate movements were the key. Luckily my hand-eye coordination was still very good. I was vaguely aware of conversations starting in the background, but it didn't bother me... it sounded like Sam and Maggie were doing their homework. Ricky joined in when the conversation got to English, and I approved; he needed the help.

“So, Min, what do you think about King Lear? Have you started reading it yet?” Maggie's question took me by surprise, but it really shouldn't have.

“I've read it, yes. I think the king is a stereotypical bumbling idiot with power, but he may be the origin, or one of the origins, of the stereotype. I think he really should have known which of his daughters was suitable to inherit, and should have known the political situation of his kingdom.”

I didn't add that I thought the entire thing was too trite and contrived. I didn't see any real king ever just giving up his entire kingdom and dividing it among his heirs.

Sam struck on my comments first, with a muttered “True.”

“Yeah, that's my take as well.” Maggie agreed. “I think Shakespeare was trying to illustrate a certain amount of stupidity of the noble class by ratcheting it up a notch, or something.”

I settled a recalcitrant transistor in place as Ralph took up the conversation. “The legend of King Lear is supposed to be real, though. He was supposed to be a real king, pre-Roman, and his story was recorded as mostly the way Shakespeare wrote it, at least in the general details.”

I turned to look at Ralph. Sam gaped at him openly. Ricky was gaping at him too. He hunched over defensively.

“What? I read.”

I turned back to my work with a shrug. “Well, if you're going to write that in the paper, you'll have to cite sources.”

I saw him wince out of the corner of my eye. “Yeah, I won't be doing that. Just something I read somewhere.”

Probably Wikipedia, when he knew King Lear was on the syllabus. I turned back to the circuit board with a frown; I had no idea what I'd write on the subject myself, but we all had time. The reading assignment had just been passed down, after all.

Where was Shecky?

I had the engine more than half assembled and Jeeves had long since left in order to prepare dinner when the lab doorbell chimed pleasantly. Everyone else looked up from their homework as I answered it; it seemed the novelty of watching me carefully construct things had already gone stale.

The man in the doorway was not a man. He certainly looked the part, being middle aged, chubby large, and happy looking with a broad smile on his face. The beady eyes and the pea green striped suit with red dress shirt underneath told the truth, however; no human would wear that color combination.

Why did he look so out of shape? Was it a fuel or power supply thing? Jeeves managed just fine with the magnetic turbine and that was only the size of a large fist, did ARNEE do something different for Shecky?

He stuck out his hand as his smile widened. “Miss Campbell, pleased to finally meet you. I'm Shecky Green, your agent, business manager, and attorney.”

I could play along. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Green. Call me Min, please.”

There was a scraping of seats and suddenly my friends were behind me. I also spotted Jeeves coming out the back door. He didn't look happy.

“Look, sorry I'm late, Traffic outside Christown was a bear.”

Christown was a tiny hamlet even smaller than Paris was, so I doubted that. But it looked like Shecky was the type to make excuses and be late, so maybe both had been programmed in as quirks? Or maybe they were unintentional quirks?

“Almost time for dinner, mistress Min.”

“Thank you, Jeeves.” I was saved having to push past Shecky; he moved back on his own as Jeeves approached. Once I was passed he held out his hand.

“Pleased to finally meet you Jeeves, I'm Shecky Green.”

Jeeves ignored the hand, putting himself at my back as everyone else filed out of the lab. Sam, the last one out, locked it and tossed me my keys, which I had apparently left on the table. I nodded thanks as I watched the show.

Jeeves and Shecky didn't like each other, it seemed. Well, Jeeves didn't like Shecky at least; Shecky seemed more amused by the reaction than anything else.

Sorry guys, I think dinner's going to be family only tonight. Maybe tomorrow?”

Maggie nodded with a grin; she'd caught on too. “Sure thing, tell us how it goes, alright?”

“Sure, I'll have the engine done tomorrow too, so we can test it.”

Sam brightened. She had paid at least some attention to what I had been doing.

I waved and went inside; Mom was waiting in the kitchen, but when her eyes lit on Shecky, following us in, she stopped.

“Who is that? Is that your mystery robot? I thought he was a no-show.”

Shecky swept his bulk into a florid bow. “Pleased to meet you, madam. Shecky Green, agent, and consultant in legal matters, including patent law.”

Mom shot a sort of 'is this guy for real?' look and started laughing.

Shecky ignored her. “I don't mean to interrupt your families dinner, but I just have a few things to cover with you all. You and your husband mostly, since miss Campbell is underage.”

“Oh, miss Campbell, is it?” Mom kept giggling.

Dad came storming in. “Who's wreck is that in the driveway?”

Shecky answered. “My wreck, sir. Shecky Green, agent and patent lawyer.”

Dad clearly didn't know what to think. “Uh, hi.”

“So, can I get you anything Mr. Green?” Mom asked with a sparkle in her eye.

“No, thank you, Ma'am. I'm just here to discuss a few legal matters with you both, then I'll be on my way.”

“Alright, what legal matters, exactly? Something was mentioned about patents before?” Wow, we weren't even going to sit down for this. A major breach in etiquette... but then again, dinner was probably on the table.

“Right.” Shecky reached into his jacket pocket, slowly. Mom and Dad both tensed. He pulled out a small book; a check book? He held it out to me.

I grabbed it before Mom could intercept me. It had Paris national stamped on it and was definitely a checkbook. There was a bank balance book inside it, and one of the new debit cards inside that.

“That's your account, miss Campbell. The profit from the sale of the rights to produce the new coffee pot filtration system, the new flange for jet engine casing and flange design should already be in the account, by contract you keep the right to make anything you design without challenge, but I've not yet been able to confirm all the payments as the bank is currently closed. Mr. Coffee picked up the new pot filtration design for three percent of sales, and GE and Rolls-Royce are currently in talks about the engine and flange design.”

He grinned. I wasn't amused. “You mean the engine I haven't even tested yet?”

He waved a hand in dismissal. “It'll work, and you've had the design down for days. Besides, this is just for the basic design and casing, not even including the fusion reactor. I knew you didn't want to sell anything too advanced, like the nanites or the magnetic turbine or the printer.”

Mom's eyes narrowed. “And how did you know that, Mr. Green?”

He pulled out a handkerchief and mopped his face. “Tough crowd. Truth is, Ma'am, we all know about the boss and her dealings. Our jobs, our reasons for existence if you will, is to anticipate her wishes and help her as best we can. My job ain't the most glamorous, but she needs it. We keep an eye and an ear on her, and we can better do what she wants. Right now, what she wants, is her tech, her real tech, kept under wraps.

Things like the coffee maker and the flanges? Child's play. New ways to mold Titanium cases? Sure. The nanites or fusion or us? All of that can be world changin', and she don't want it getting out just yet. So it won't; or at least I won't be the one to do it. Only reason I'm stepping up the timetable now is miss Campbell needs the money to pay you both back.”

“Oh, and just how much money has the sale of these gadgets netted her?” Mom asked.

“Well, the coffeepot netted a hundred thousand up front; I talked Mr. Coffee into that, it wasn't something they wanted to do. That is actually in the account as of today. General Electric and Rolls-Royce are still in a bidding war for the engine. Something lighter than their normal and more efficient besides, translating to at least 3% better fuel efficiency without any power supply shenanigans aside, on an engine that can eventually be adapted to run on other forms of energy – inside a streamlined housing that creates less drag and can be machined easier.”

Shecky mopped his forehead and grinned, showing teeth before he continued.

“Right now the price for the design might top a hundred million.”

Jeeves caught me before I hit the floor. Mom wasn't far behind. And I'd been doing so well today too.

But the things I could do with actual money, on top of being filthy rich... even worse, the attention it would draw.

“We need a shell company, a trust, or something.”

Shecky, who was being blocked from checking up on me by Mom (Dad was on the floor in a daze, he had no Jeeves to carry him bridal style) nodded. “Already handled. You're a nameless, faceless inventor of SG heavy industries, as far as anyone knows. If anyone manages to get past that, your name is Consuela Jones and you live in the Philippines. No one will be able to track you down from your patents unless we want them to. Same with the payments.”

“Is there really a Consuela Jones?” I didn't want some random person getting hurt by someone coming after me.

“There are plenty, actually, but don't worry, anyone coming after you will do a background check first; they won't target random people.”

Mom nodded. I guess having friends in the CIA, she'd know. It all seemed a little too cloak and dagger-y to me.

I turned to Mom and Dad. It wasn't that I didn't trust Shecky – but I didn't trust Shecky. He just struck me as smarmy; kind of like a leashed used car salesman. One on your side, but still a used snake oil kind of guy.

“What do you think?”

Mom knew what I was asking right off, answering as Dad shook himself free of dollar sign dreams. “It sounds pretty good. Not foolproof, by any means, but with what my friends are doing? It'll be as close to ironclad as we can get here. Especially considering Mr. Green here can apparently hack and falsify records.”

Shecky actually blushed. How did he do that? “Aww shucks, Ma'am. You give me too much credit; I'm not the real hacker. But you're right that I can defend Miss Campbell from anything unlawful, at least on that side of things. We have friends.”

“The mysterious Arnee?”

Shecky grinned. “Got it in one, Ma'am.”

Dad finally managed to stand back up. “Young lady, that money and any other amount you earn, is going right into a trust fund; you're not getting it until you're eighteen.”

I looked at Shecky and he nodded slightly. He really was smarmy; he could get to the money if I really needed him to, wherever my parents put it. A good thing, really, because those kinds of funds could speed up my timeline by months. Strictly if I needed to, of course.

“Fine Dad, as long as I get an allowance to buy stuff every now and again. That way I won't run out of titanium or other stuff.”

Mom cut in. “That's fine, we can negotiate the amount later. For right now, dinner is getting cold.”

Mom had spoken. I poked Jeeves and he let me down. Shecky took that as his cue. “Alright, well I got things to do. I'll see if I can close that deal tonight if you'll all excuse me. I'll just leave my card right here and see myself out. Have a nice night.”

He left, shutting the back door behind him. I snagged it one step ahead of Mom; Dad was busy tracking him through the windows as he walked around the house.

The card was green ink on cheap card stock... and it proclaimed him as “Shecky Green, agent.” but when had he had time to order or make business cards?

We all filed into the dining room where dinner was waiting. Dinner was grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, and Lima beans. I raised an eyebrow at Jeeves, and he nodded at my Mom. Well, that was a very Mom dinner menu; so she had cooked tonight, and Jeeves had what, helped?

Ian made typing motions with his hands as I passed. It was good to know all of us being rich hadn't made him forget about the important things, like his new computer. I mouthed 'in the lab' at him, and he nodded.

It was, too. Still in a pile of parts, but the computer did exist. I'd have Jeeves construct it tonight. Delegating counted, didn't it? I mean Jeeves was my creation, so him making it was like me making it, and I doubted he could screw up making a simple computer with the parts already printed off to tolerances. That would leave me to finish the engine, which was actually sort of dangerous.

Dinner was good, but a little bland tasting and disappointing, in a way. Of course, I was a genius now, which meant I knew better than to actually voice that opinion. Mom was already watching each of us in turn with a disconcertingly intense look like she was waiting for the wrong word or movement. Dad and Ian both looked at me as if to say it was my fault.

And Jeeves looked insufferable somehow.

“And test firing in 3, 2, 1... firing.”

The light bloomed, showing me I wore my goggles for nothing. The Engine strained against the reinforced clamps holding it in place; if any broke and the engine shifted the fuel line would cut off and the engine would stop, but for now everything was in the green and the monitor was showing four thousand pounds of thrust, which meant the clamps wouldn't hold more than thirty seconds.

Four thousand pounds of thrust out of a jet engine this size was pretty ridiculous, but I bet I could get it up to six with a few adjustments.

Speaking of adjustments, the data showed the engine didn't need any; the engine was stable and the test successful. My finger hovered over the cut-off switch, watching the screen for any deviation.

There wasn't any, and at twenty-seven seconds I pressed the button; the engine coughed and died. I removed my sound canceling headphones.

“The test is a success. Jeeves, remember to recycle the clamps; they held, but I don't trust them for the next round of testing.”

“Understood, mistress.”

Ricky, Maggie, Sam, and Ian took off their own goggles and ear protection (Safety was important!), already starting to gush, at least in Maggie's case. “Min, that was amazing! You hit the button and fwoosh! How did it do?”

“Four thousand pounds of thrust. Which, for what it's going to be installed in, is frankly a bit ridiculous.”

I looked over at the other corner of the lab through the open door; the jet was rolled there, out of the way. It had one engine installed already, with the open mount still mocking me. It was the roughly the size of a compact car and weighed in at just under a thousand pounds, most of that being safety features I couldn't skimp on. Or wasn't allowed to skimp on, even though I wouldn't be flying it. Mom was on a serious safety kick lately, and it had slowed everything down.

I had been forced to make so many other things before the jet, like the goggles and the headphones and the force field generator, just to scratch that annoying itch in the back of my mind.

And being told chapter and verse on what I had to build and when before I could move on to the fun stuff had gotten old fast.

But now, all that was finally over. I could install the second engine, and probably tomorrow now since it was nine, Crash could go on his first test flight.

Wait, it was nine already? Final assembly and the test had taken three hours, and Ian had been out here the entire time?!? Mom was going to kill me!

I shut off the force field around the engine and donned my gloves, built for tolerance to extreme heat. Jeeves stopped me, and snatched them off, putting them on his own hands. “I'll clean up here, Mistress Min. You go inside. You still have some homework to complete, after all.”

Urk. I knew I'd forgotten something. Homework had gotten more tedious lately, and I could only write so fast. Stupid slow hands. Jeeves refused to do it for me, even if I dictated; when I asked why he said it was a deal with my Mom.

I wasn't touching that.

I led the way inside, Ian slowing just before I got to the door. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just silently gestured me in. Did he think I'd be the sacrificial offering?

“Mom, I'm done! Jeeves is cleaning up.”

“Alright. I didn't hear anything blow up, so I assume it worked?” Came her response from upstairs. Wonder what she was up to?

“Just perfectly. It ran like a top, and the clamps even held.”

Mom came down just as I reached the living room; a movie was paused, and Dad was sitting there with popcorn. So, an impromptu movie night? With an old horror movie, it looked like. That kind of sucked, I liked horror movies. Sure I'd seen this one, but they probably didn't know that.

Mom was all dressed up. That was weird.

“Good to know. It was pretty loud in here, did the sound baffling work?”

Sigh, I had made her and Dad headphones like I had too. “Yes Mom, it all worked.”

I wasn't about to tell her that I hadn't put all the baffling on since it seemed pointless in an engine test. Besides, I needed to see some of the mechanism in action.

“Alright. Are the dishes done?”

Urk. “No?”

“Then do them. Your homework done?”

“Mostly?” How do Mom's always know?

“Then do that after.”

I started the water with a sigh. Ian grinned on the way up the stairs, no doubt on the way to use the computer I built for him. Insufferable jerk.

“So...” I jumped. Mom was still here? “The Halloween dance is tomorrow, right?”

Oh wait, it was. Tomorrow was Friday already? Time flew when you were building jet engines and making money. I wondered again why they didn't have it on Halloween; I mean it was just a day later.

“Yeah, it is.”

Mom started handing me the dirty dishes, a weird look on her face. Coy? Sly? I wasn't sure what it was.

“So... got your costume all ready?”

I couldn't help but grin. I hadn't shown the costumes to anyone. “I've got mine and Jeeves's costume ready.”

I'd had to send away for them in order to keep it a secret from Jeeves, but it would be worth it; my revenge would be sweet!

Mom made a hmm noise, and handed me a glass. “So, are you going with anyone?”

Well of course I was. It wouldn't do to go alone anywhere, in this day and age. “I'm going with Jeeves, of course. And Maggie and Sam are coming with us. Ricky and Ralph are coming too. We should be safe from weirdos.”

Mom stopped and looked at me, a glass in hand and her mouth open.

“What?”

“Nothing honey, nothing. Ian is going to want to do some trick-or-treating Saturday. The plan is for me to take him, did you want to go?”

“Mooom, I'm too old for trick-or-treating.” Well too old for the treating part anyway. Last year Ricky and I had switched the Halloween decorations for the entire street as a prank; it was hilarious. The looks on some faces had been... well, I had never wanted a camera more than at that moment.

We had made sure to switch them back the next night, of course. Well, the ones who hadn't already traded decorations back; it was a prank, not something malicious.

“Sure you are, honey, sure you are. Though if you dressed up people would never suspect.”

Did... Mom just make a short joke at me? I turned to look, right into her wide grin. She had! “Mom, not cool at all.”

She ruffled my hair. “Don't break any of my dishes; I'm going to go back to the movie before your dad sends out a search party.”

She made a show of walking casually out of reach, which wasn't really that far. At least I could reach the sink, I guess.

A sniff picked up the hint of wine on her breath; just what was going on here, while I was testing a jet engine just outside? You'd think they would be more worried about that, but since the last – discussion, there had been nothing. Well, nothing except the sit down to discuss safety features and precautions I would be taking.

They had insisted on the force field and blast shields to cover the test area, just in case the engine blew up, the only thing to take damage would be the yard. As if anything I built was just going to randomly blow up! I was careful. Even Jeeves, who had more reason and opportunity to blow up than anything else I'd made, was perfectly stable, routine maintenance aside.

I finished the dishes and headed upstairs. Speaking of Jeeves, I'd kind of expected him before now. Maybe he was checking the status of the grass? Dad hadn't said anything yet, but I was pretty sure he'd noticed the way that Jeeves's slightly off-color grass was slowly taking over his pristine yard. Jeeves was supposed to be fixing it when I was asleep, but so far he hadn't managed to kill or even halt the spread of the grass. I didn't want to step in, but if Dad blamed me I'd have to. The only good news about it was the grass didn't seem to want to jump property lines at all; there was a sharp delineation between that side of our yard and the Herschel's yard.

My books were there on the desk, mocking my lack of desire. Getting through English was chore now, and one not even speed-reading could completely help me with. I almost wrote down some random crap just to get done with the stupid worksheet I had to do, but remembered the deal to keep my grades up just in time. If I kept solid A's, I would be able to order some more exotic materials online, things I couldn't just print out.

I had to correct two errors in my math worksheet before solving the twenty problems on it. I hoped Mr. Mullins appreciated the effort, because quite honestly it annoyed me to do it. The proper format of the question was even online, and corrected in more recent versions of the book we were using.

Just to be a jerk I put a few of the more esoteric equations regarding calculating the distance and mass of black holes down in the margins of the paper; he would probably have to look them up, and in so doing might stumble on how bad his book is.

Then I realized I was an idiot and had just given up that I knew those calculations. On a worksheet I wasn't allowed to copy off, and so couldn't just throw it away and start over. Maybe he wouldn't look those up after all, or care? Maybe he wouldn't understand the true significance?

I couldn't even scribble them out or sabotage them now since there would be people wondering why I did that. It would draw less suspicion to leave them alone and play it off as the prank it was.

I was just finishing up when Jeeves opened the door. I yawned and eyed the sitting squarely on the platter in his hand. With that, I could stay up some more, and maybe game or something....

I took a sip and almost yawned it back out. The chances of me staying awake long didn't look good, but I wasn't going to let the chance to unwind a bit go easily, especially after all that tedium.

I booted up my real time strategy game and went hunting for opponents online. I could crush at least one victim before sleep claimed me. It would be quick, I held too many advantages; quick reflexes, a quick better than state of the art computer, and knowledge of the code the game was based on. I was already the third highest rank tier the game offered (platinum, a lovely metal I liked to work with) with almost no games played.

There were even videos made on how to play the game and a budding professional scene. Going pro as a gamer was basically outing one's self as a nerd, but if I could sneak the idea past Mom and Dad it might be fun. Then again, did it count as a real sport? That would make it off limits to me.

The chime of a found match interrupted my musings. And would you look at this? My opponent was named “FlashGordon”. I wondered who that could be? Did Gordo have something he may not want his football team friends to know? Or was I wrong and it was a different Gordon?

Whoever it was, I crushed him. Soundly. He played well but I snuck some invisible units into his base, attacked with some other troops, and used those to mask the real attack. It was oddly satisfying to see his rank slip downward; if it was Gordo, I'd know pretty quickly tomorrow.

There was a polite knock on my door, right as the coffee was failing me and I was getting ready for bed. “Sis, you awake?”

“What do you want, Ian?”

The door began to open. I lunged and shouldered it closed. I heard him stumble back. “That wasn't an invitation to come in, Ian, it was a question!”

“Oh, sorry.” He apologized, sounding a little confused.

Well, he could just be confused; I wasn't about to explain to Mom why Ian's first glimpse of an undressed girl was his sister. I'd already gotten that particular lecture, and I hadn't even done anything wrong! I'd been wearing a shirt! Bras were stupid, but apparently not optional.

So of course he asked. “Just what are you doing in there, sis?”

He knew the use of 'sis' rankled; he was doing it on purpose. “Dressing.”

“Oh.”

Sigh. “What do you want, Ian?”

“Is it safe to come in?”

It was; I had buttoned up my pajamas in record time. I levered myself off the door.

“Yes, it's safe.”

He opened the door a crack, and slid inside, facing the hall. He couldn't look more suspicious if he tried.

I asked for the third time. “What do you want, Ian?”

He hedged. “Well, I wanted to see if you would make me something.”

Right, of course, and judging by the looks of things, what he wanted was something Mom and Dad wouldn't approve of.

“What, exactly?”

“Well, Halloween is coming up, and I have my costume ready. I want to go as Megaman, but the arm gun the stores sell is, well, lame.”

I knew of it; it was made of cheap plastic and shot little foam balls. I clamped down tightly on my thoughts, stopping the influx of ideas and improvements I could glean from such a thing cold. “Go on.”

“Well, I was hoping you could help me out, and build a better one. One that was actually a laser – but not a damaging one or anything! Just harmless light.”

Hmm, maybe one that was a flashlight, with a large beam but light battery... our parents would hardly object to that, it would make Ian more safe, not less.

“Alright, I'll see what I can do, but I make no promises. You didn't leave me much time, after all.” I scowled at him, my face stern. Actually, two days was plenty of time for such a small thing, at least with a 3d printer, but he didn't need to know that. He was my brother, and I had to mess with him somehow.

His face fell a bit. “I know, I'm sorry. I was worried you'd just say no.”

“I admit I was tempted to,” I'd already built him a lot, after all. “Now get out please, I need sleep.”

“Alright, I'm gone!” He slid out the door again, then stuck his head back in. “Even if you don't get it done, thanks for trying.”

I waved him off irritably, and the door shut again. I climbed into bed, giving Jeeves my hardest look. “And you, I feel like you should be closer to the door to prevent such occurrences.”

“I knew it was Ian in the hallway, and I preferred not to risk causing him harm.”

Huh. Guess he had a point; Mom would dismantle him herself if he hurt one of us.

“Fine, whatever. Try and solve your grass issue before your down time. I'm going to sleep; turn out the light on your way out, please.”

He did. “Sleep well, Mistress Min.” He said softly before closing the door.

…..

I guess I did sleep well since I slept right past my alarm. I didn't understand it; I was doing everything right, eating well, exercising (mostly) well, keeping a schedule, and trying not to stress my brain (thinking too hard sounded stupid and inaccurate). Yet I still felt slow and scattered, with my thoughts taking too long to focus and my body barely reacting to my commands.

A look at the clock showed how late I was; it was 7:15! Where was Jeeves?

The door opened. “I am here Mistress Min, please do not panic.”

I eased myself upright using the headboard of my bed, eyeing his platter. It had coffee and some sort of pastry on it. I would have called it a doughnut, but nothing Jeeves made was ever so simple. “I am not panicking.”

The platter was set down on a tray, which was set over my legs. Clearly, I wasn't meant to get up.

“Please, Mistress Min, take your time. You were warned that even with the best care, mornings like this would happen. The school has already been alerted that you are likely to be late, and you may use the extra time to recover.”

So I could go to school when I wanted, huh?

“Mistress Min, if you skip classes in order to continue construction on your projects, I am to inform your mother.”

“Spoilsport.”

Hm, that implied Mom wasn't home. And how did Jeeves know what I was thinking, anyway? Was it that obvious?

Jeeves grinned at me, capturing my hands in his and steadying my coffee cup so I could drink. “Yes Mistress Min, it is obvious. And your Mother is still present, but will leave before eight-o-clock. She is currently enjoying breakfast downstairs.”

Well, at least she trusted Jeeves enough to stop looking over his shoulder whenever he did anything, finally. Acting like I didn't notice her conveniently being down the hall got old fast. At least she hadn't actually been eavesdropping.

I sipped coffee and reached for my laptop. Jeeves retrieved it for me. “Eat your scone please.”

“That is not a scone.” Jeeves had made scones for me before, and aside from being triangular, these things looked nothing like those.

“It is. Specifically, a pumpkin scone with cinnamon butter.”

“No way. How could you possibly make butter out of cinnamon? Isn't butter an oil?” Cinnamon wouldn't render into an oil, it was a tree bark.

“Eat your breakfast.”

I took a nibble. It was good. In fact, it was amazing. “Went for a festive touch today, huh? What do you have planned for lunch?”

“It will be a pleasant surprise, I assure you.”

So he wasn't telling; my revenge tonight would be sweet, and another slow morning wasn't going to stop me from seeing it.

Jeeves went to work on my feet, kneading them gently to improve the circulation while I nibbled and watched a video stream. Some time later Mom came in without knocking, just as Jeeves was working his way to my calves.

“Morning honey.”

“Morning Mom. And you're supposed to knock.”

She smirked. “Why, you could be doing something I wouldn't approve of?”

I felt my face heat, which was kind of a good sign for the anemia. “Mom! Don't be weird. It's just that I could be....” Wait, would it matter if I was undressing in front of Mom, anymore?

I decided to amend what I was going to say. “It's just that the rules should apply to everyone, and everyone else in the house has to knock. It's a privacy and respect thing.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You have a point, but if you're sick? Mornings like these happen often, and if you aren't responsive I'd be coming in anyway; you're my child.”

She had a point, in her own paranoid way. Maybe she didn't trust Jeeves as much as I thought after all. Or maybe she trusted me more; that would be nice.

Jeeves started working on my other calf. I began to feel warmer, which was a good sign. I continued to read; my patents had made the news, after a fashion. There was a report on Lockheed buying a new engine design that could start a “modest revolution”, and everyone wondering who had designed and developed it. True to his word, Shecky was keeping my name out of things, and so far no one had been able to find my actual patents regarding it.

Which, like rushing the approval process itself was either Shecky's or the government's doing, or maybe both. I was a bit suspicious about what the government wanted from me, but so far they hadn't asked for anything, and if my engine was going to be used for fighter jets (a good idea, in my opinion, the cut in fuel costs alone would be enormous) Lockheed would handle it.

It made me a little nervous to have the CIA watching me, and no government agency even asking me for anything. The spin in my head slowed.

“Alright, I think I feel well enough to shower.”

“Of course, Mistress Min.”

Jeeves helped me into the bathroom, and I could hear him take up position outside it. The warm water helped, and I took my time; either I'd get into trouble, or I wouldn't.

Jeeves stuck another pumpkin scone in my face as I exited. I chewed as I focused on the stairs – wouldn't do to take a fall. My wobble had all but vanished, and my head felt stable. A bit more coffee while Jeeves double checked and packed my bag and I was ready to go.

It was odd walking through the town after school started; the streets were empty. Even most of the commuters were gone, done with their commutes and settling in to work. In fact, the only people I spotted were my tails.

The quiet and birdsong was kind of nice, though, and the sun was just warm enough to feel through my lab coat and sweater. It might even be warm enough to shrug the coat off, later. Maybe I could convince the coach to let me go back outside during gym, just to sit and warm up in the sun.

Jeeves followed me into the school itself, hovering very close.

The halls were empty, of course. I turned towards my first class... and the bell rang. Jeeves steered me gently to a wall, and placed himself in front of me and braced against the wall with his arms, taking all the hits and bumps I would have taken. It was probably a good thing, so I fought down the flash of anger. I wasn't that fragile, and he knew it... he was just doing his job.

The crush passed, or at least lessened, and Jeeves removed his hands. I should be polite, at least.

“Thank you, Jeeves.”

“You're welcome, Mistress Min.”

He let me lead the way, and I picked a careful route, slowly weaving through the crowd. I made it to Mr. Mullins class with a good thirty seconds to spare and placed my homework on his desk; sure I was supposed to wait for class to start and just hand it in then, but I didn't feel like it. Mr. Mullins just took it without a word.

I sat down and Samantha was looming over me. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Just felt a little bad this morning, I'm fine now.”

“Anemia?” She asked, holding eye contact.

“Yeah. Don't worry, we're still on for tonight.” I replied in kind. She nodded and moved back to her seat.

Which made room for Ricky, who almost fell over himself running over. “You okay Min?”

I made the sigh as loud as I could. “Yes, I am. Just had a little trouble this morning is all.”

Ricky actually sagged in relief; what was going on with him? I mean this was a step up from the stares and whispers everyone else was content with. “Good, that's good.”

Ralph slapped him on the back. “Sorry to break this up man, but you're kind of holding up the line.”

I looked, and there was a line of people waiting to get into their seats behind Ricky, most of them with more than a little impatience. It made sense; the bell was about to ring, after all. Ricky shot Ralph a look he normally reserved for Gordon, but moved.

Ralph sat, took one look at me, and said, “I heard.”

And that was enough.

Class passed uneventfully except for the moment when Mr. Mullins looked up from his glance at my homework; I did my best to pay attention and keep my mind from wandering. I succeeded with only a few random designs for drones popping into my head, using versions of my engine. A little big for drones, but they would be fast....

No! Bad Min, no mind wandering!

I thrust the ideas away, and when the bell rang I was steady, getting up and heading out with the rest of the class. I wasn't too concerned with noting the homework assignment, Jeeves had my back.

Walking into Geography class was more of the same, only with Maggie at my desk, chattering a mile a minute. “Oh my God Min are you okay? I heard you were out, and your Mom called the office but here you are! Sam said you looked a little pale, but you seem fine and....”

I had to interrupt her or she'd never sit down. “I am fine, it was just a small bout of my stupid anemia.”

She winced; all my friends, old and new, were used to the episodes I had by now. “Sorry.”

“Don't be, it's alright. And before you ask, yes, we're still on for tonight.”

She grinned and made a show of steepling her fingers. “Excellent.”

“I feel I should point out that you aren't a Bond villain.”

She scoffed. “That you know! Well, see you in a bit.”

As she passed by on her way to the back I noticed Gordon watching me; he looked a bit red faced. Maybe that had really been him last night? What were the odds? He tore his gaze away and faced front as the bell rang. Great, he was probably still mad too.

Geography was boring, no great surprise there. I wondered why people had the urge to name terrain and features of terrain random silly things, and it wasn't the first time. Sort of an idle 'who comes up with this stuff?' only for the world in general. And then of course, I idly wondered how many people wondered the same thing, which also wasn't the first time. Geography was just that boring.

Then Gym came around. I walked right up to Coach Howard. “I want to go outside.”

Coach sighed. “You know I can't let you do that unless I have someone to watch you, and I don't even have a teacher's aide this year.”

I had an answer for that this time, one I'd been waiting to use. “Jeeves can watch me; he supposed to anyway.”

Coach Howard looked behind me, to Jeeves, and sighed again. “It's supposed to be an actual school authority.”

“I'm pretty sure Jeeves can count, as a vouched for agent of my family. He's not going to let anything happen to me, after all, and I just want to sit down in the sun. I'm not going any farther than out the door.” I pointed. The gym was cold, I wanted my sun.

“Alright, fine, you can go. But stay within shouting distance of the door; if I look and don't see you....”

“Right, you'll tell my Mom and she'll kill me, I know.” I interrupted, already starting out.

“And where do you think you're going?”

I stopped. He'd just told me I could go! But looking back, it wasn't me he was talking to, it was Ralph.

“With her? Come on, one more isn't going to matter; Jeeves can watch us both.”

I looked at Jeeves, to find him looking at me. He didn't seem to care either way.

“Can you do that, Jeeves?” Coach Howard asked him directly. “Keep in mind if you agree and fail, you're putting your ability to come and go at this school with Min at risk.”

Jeeves actually appeared to consider it for a moment, visibly hesitating, at least for him. I had to signal him. “I agree to those terms, Coach Howard.”

It wasn't a big deal, I mean he watched four of us for lunch off school grounds as it was, and Ralph wasn't going to cause any trouble.

“Alright, go ahead then. I expect to see you back here, at least to check in before lunch. Got it?”

“I got it Coach, I'll be back for the bell.”

Jeeves beat me to the door, opening it in time for me to go through. He held it for Ralph too but managed to get ahead of me again, spreading a blanket on the inviting patch of lawn I was heading towards. I took the inferred invitation and lay down, right in the sun, eyes closed even after my glasses darkened.

I heard Ralph plop down beside me as I stretched out spread eagle with a sigh of pure bliss. That gym had been awfully cold.

Jeeves snagged a leg. “Jeeves, what are you doing?”

“Massage?”

“Not right now, thanks. I want warm, and while your hands are warm, they aren't sunlight.”

He placed my leg back where he found it, gently. I could feel Ralph smirking. None of it entered his voice, however.

“Yeah, this is a day for being lazy. Hopefully to be followed by a night of carefree partying.”

“That's the plan.” I agreed.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence before Ralph broke it. “So, got your costume figured out?”

I smiled. “Yep, sure do. I had it figured out weeks ago in fact; it's all ready to go. So, did you procrastinate?”

“Oh, no, no,” He hastened to assure me. “just asking is all. My costume is...good, if I do say so myself.”

He didn't sound too sure about that. I guess I'd find out in a few hours.

Our comfortable silence continued.

Which meant that of course, Jeeves had to ruin it. “Please wake, Mistress Min.”

“I'm awake. Sheesh, I wasn't even asleep.” That was my story, and I was sticking to it. Where was I again? Oh right, in the yard outside the gym; I could still hear the last rings... the after-rings? What was it called when the bell has already rang yet you can still hear it? Whatever, I could still hear those in my ear.

“You were most definitely asleep, Mistress Min, and you promised Coach Howard that you would check back in before the bell signaling lunch.”

Ralph was looking at me with an apology in his eyes – I hope he didn't see anything weird. Like me asleep and rolling around; I tended to move. Though I hadn't been asleep, maybe it had looked like I was, and I didn't want him getting weird ideas.

I rubbed my eyes, getting reoriented, and realized my glasses were off. I found and slipped them on (I didn't remember taking them off) and Jeeves helped me up. Then he fell in behind me, which meant he wasn't setting up lunch. “Don't you have a lunch to get?”

Come to think of it, he'd been with me all day, which meant he hadn't been cooking. I didn't have any money for the cafeteria food, so what was I going to eat?

“Already taken care of, Mistress Min. Lunch will be waiting for you in the location you favor.”

“Why don't you just say the usual spot, Jeeves?” It was like he went out of his way to be as obtuse as possible.

“I did.” I looked back in time to see the lack of emotion on his face, which was odd; he was good enough to match word to emotion nearly perfectly. Was he trying to be funny?

I wish I could figure out how I managed to get him to understand humor. Well, if I had... his sense of humor wasn't exactly the best. If I could perfect that, I could make stupid amounts of money.

The contrast between outside and the gym was even more stark in the other direction; going back into the relatively dark and cold building was like splashing cold water on my face. I had to stop a second and let my glasses adjust, so I sidestepped. Ralph came in right behind me, and he didn't have any trouble at all; he kept walking.

My glasses lightened enough to see again, and I could make out Coach Howard standing in the middle of the gym, a basketball under one arm. Ralph was already talking to him; he met my gaze and I waved. He nodded, so I left.

As annoying as it was, I'd have to walk around and then go out the front door, since I knew Coach wouldn't want me to just walk back out the gym door. The halls were full, but most of the people were headed to the cafeteria, as always. Maybe even more than usual since today there were Halloween cupcakes offered; the cooks slaved over them every year, and while they weren't spectacular or anything, there was enough for every student to get one. That was a sort of cooking magic in itself.

There were usually extras since some kids refused to eat them or were allergic, even those had a tendency to vanish. Eaten by spooks no doubt – or the staff.

This time, rather than be blinded again I took my glasses off. Best anti-glare technology or not, I hated these things. I kept going while holding them up so they would adjust.

When I put them back on I nearly got ran over.

“Jeeves, just what is that?”

“A delivery truck, Mistress Min.”

It was indeed a truck. From one of my favorite fast food places, a local joint, Dan's Grill. A fast food place that had two locations, and did not deliver. But here was their battered old truck, and there was my customary table, tablecloth, candles, and all, with containers (normally used for takeout) of Dan's Grill food heaped on it. Dan, the owner, a bald heayset guy who just screamed 'grill cook' was even there in person. Wringing his hands, waiting for us with a pensive expression at odds with his character.

“How did you even manage this?” How had he gotten Dan to deliver anything?

“I called, of course, while you were sleeping.” Was Jeeves's reply; okay he was obviously screwing with me. Dan's eyes narrowed as we closed, breaking that nebulous boundary only someone who owned the setup Dan was currently using would cross, no doubt wondering if we were who he was waiting on.

Jeeves hastened ahead to pull out the chair I used, the one under the tree, and I sat, with my stupid glasses adjusting yet again. In front of me was a large of my favorite burger; a totally sloppy beef and cheddar. A double, no less, with bacon on top. Even the grease sitting on the bun must be giving Jeeves fits; what was he doing?

“Are you Minerva Campbell?” Dan asked, wiping his hands on his apron.

“Yes, sir, I am. I'm told this is for me?”

“Well, a catered lunch for a party of six, for Minerva Campbell, phoned in by one Jeeves Campbell?”

I hooked a thumb. “That's Jeeves.”

Dan shifted, taking all that was Jeeves in for the second time. I could see the moment when he dismissed me, switching to 'adult mode' to talk shop with Jeeves.

“There is the matter of the payment sir...”

Jeeves cocked his head. “Did the Debit card not clear?”

Dan shook his head emphatically. “No sir, it cleared! But it was a little too much, even for this.”

Jeeves waved him off. “You took a request for food on short notice and filled it. I can tell you got all the orders placed correct, and you drove to us and arrived ahead of the appointed time given. As far as I am concerned, the overage is a perfectly acceptable tip, and you are welcome to it.”

Dan looked conflicted, still partly anxious, yet relieved.

“Thank you, sir. Just be aware, I don't normally cater.”

Jeeves bowed. “I am aware, Dan of Dan's Grill. I appreciate you making the exception – and it will be an exception.”

“Yeah, right, okay... thank you for your business.” Dan got back into this truck with a dazed look; he waved at me pulling out.

I returned it. I could completely understand; Jeeves had that kind of effect on people, at least at first.

Wait... Ralph, Ricky, Sam, Maggie, and myself. That was five; who was the sixth meal for?

I turned to ask to find Jeeves opening one container on his lap. “What are you doing?”

He looked at me and smiled. “I am eating lunch, of course.”

His lunch looked exactly like mine, right down to the amount of salt I liked on my fries, and I doubted that was coincidence. Jeeves waited, watching me. He had actually tucked a napkin into his shirt to keep it clean; that was never going to work. Was he waiting on me to start?

Maggie arrived. “Hey Min, how are you feeling?”

“I'm okay. It was just a minor thing.”

Sam had a good grasp of the important: “What's all this?”

I shrugged. “Jeeves was busy watching me, so he called for takeout. Well, catering.”

“From Dan's Grill.” she stated.

“Yes.”

Maggie looked around as if seeing the spread for the first time, which she well might have been. “The greasiest greasy spoon in the county?”

“Hey, I happen to like it!” How dare they defame the best fast food to exist?!?

Maggie sat down at her usual spot and opened her container. “Of course you do; I never said it wasn't good. It's just criminally bad for you is all. He ordered for us too?”

“Well, you do eat with me.” I wasn't about to share mine either; if she didn't like what she got, she was just out of luck.

Maggie's food turned out to be a simple chicken sandwich, with fries. Sam was already picking at a garden fresh salad that was actually from a garden. I ate a fry, and that was what Jeeves was waiting for after all; He picked up his burger and took a bite.

“So, why is Jeeves eating?”

“Not sure.” He did have a small stomach but didn't actually use the food for fuel at all. I had a suspicion....

“I am sampling Mistress Min's sustenance, of course,” Jeeves replied loftily, confirming it.

“What, is that like poison tasting?” Maggie asked him, popping a fry in her mouth.

“Not quite, Maggie. If I were testing for poisons I would be sampling Mistress Min's order; I am instead sampling the order itself in order to recreate it at a later date.”

“So you're going to recreate Dan's Grill food?”

Jeeves nodded. “Whenever it should be convenient and healthy to do so.”

Ha. There was no way it would be the same.

We all ate, and I at least enjoyed the slight breeze; it ruffled my hair. I wanted more sun, but I'd had enough; I'd probably just get hot now.

Ricky and Ralph showed up together, just steps behind each other. Ricky had his favorite roast beef with fries and (and cheese to dunk the fries in) waiting for him, and Ralph had a bacon lettuce and tomato on toasted rye with dill pickle chips waiting for him.

Ricky just shrugged and took his seat, but Ralph stopped and looked at Jeeves. “How did you know?”

Jeeves just smiled, so I answered. “Jeeves has culinary powers. Among those is guessing what people's favorite foods are. So far he hasn't been wrong, even once.”

Ralph shrugged and sat. “Well he's right again, this is my favorite from Dan's. Not the weirdest power I've heard of.”

We ate in record time, fast food was easy to eat and we didn't need to worry about being messy. Well, none of us but Jeeves, who actually still looked spotless despite not having any room at the table. I cleaned my hands off while Jeeves started cleaning up; I wondered where he kept the table and chairs since he didn't have time to go all the way back home for them.

Then I decided I didn't really want to know.

“Come on, let's go for a walk before we have to go back to class!” Maggie said, grabbing Sam and all but grabbing me before starting off.

I shrugged. A walk sounded fine to me, I wasn't in any hurry to go back inside.

I caught up, Maggie was already forging ahead. A look to my right and Ralph was there, stuffing the last few of his chips in his mouth. Ricky was on my left, using a napkin to wipe his hands off.

“Come on! Let's see who's at the ball field!”

As it turned out, the ball field was on the dark and less sunny side of the school, so there were only a few kids hanging out there, and those were the self-styled social outcasts. Maggie led us all the way around the school, and then inside, checking out all the decorations and critiquing them.

She didn't like the orange and brown ones or the silly faced ghosts, but then again no one else did either. She'd helped put them up, and the story about how she fought with the teachers to leave those out was absolutely fascinating.

Then I noticed we had a tail. Gordon was behind us, making no real secret of being there. I had to distract Ricky; if Ricky saw him, he'd attack, and without back-up he'd lose. Probably badly. I couldn't really do much except send Jeeves in, and that would get both of us in trouble and Jeeves kicked off campus forever. He was following us without a doubt, hands jammed in his pockets and looking our way.

So, what to do about it? I could ignore him; I didn't have any classes left with him for the day, and it would be trivial to dodge him. But that just meant if he was following us for Ricky, Ricky would be isolated. No, the best thing to do would be to see what he wants.

Still I had to wait a bit, for Maggie to cross the track in order to talk to a few of her cheerleader friends, Sam already in tow and the two R's (that was a great name for them, come to think of it) dragging their heels a bit, but following.

“I just remembered something I forgot to check guys; go ahead without me, I'll catch up.”

Of course, hearing that, they all stopped in their tracks. “Everything okay?”

I waved them on. “Everything is fine. Just need to return a phone call I got earlier from a guy at Lockheed. They had some performance questions.”

I felt bad lying to them; it was a text, and I'd already answered it; but it was for greater good of stopping bullies, so it was justified. When the group moved on without me, I walked back around the corner with Jeeves on my heels. Sure enough, Gordon was waiting.

He looked nervous, almost like he was fighting throwing up. That was very odd for him; usually, the prospect of violence had him jumping around like an eagerly like a puppy or something. Not that I was afraid – Gordon would have to be very stupid to attack me, even if Jeeves wasn't there to intervene, and Gordon wasn't that stupid, no matter what Ricky believed.

“Hello, Gordon. Is there something you want to discuss?”

He fidgeted. Fidgeted! What was he so nervous about? It took me raising an eyebrow (Mom's trick with Dad, I think, though it seemed to have wider use than I first suspected) to get him to spill.

“That was you last night, wasn't it?”

“Yes, it was. I thought it was you Gordon... your online tag was clever, but not very anonymous.”

He snorted. “Neither is yours, really.”

That was fair. “What do you want, Gordon?”

He scuffed a foot in the grass. “Look, I wanted to say I'm sorry. Again, that is, and not have it look like the school made me this time. I really am sorry for what I did, attacking you when you came back to school. You're tiny, and it was wrong, dude or not. But yeah especially if not, and...”

Well, color me touched. Sort of. I held up a hand. “Stop. Just stop before you dig a hole you can't get out of. Apology accepted. I'll make this clear, though, and you can tell anyone who asks. I'm not a dude, not anymore. Apparently, it's a thing that can happen, though it's not common.”

Gordon shuddered and ran a hand through his hair. Had he actually combed it this morning? And that shirt... it was a dress shirt. Was it new? “Sucks to be you.”

Well on that we could agree. “It sure does. Don't worry about me telling the school you're a computer nerd. I won't, even if people cared.”

He chuckled, backing into the brick wall and holding it up. “Nah, I ain't worried about that. I just wanted things to be cool between us. So, you going to the Halloween thing tonight?”

“Yep, sure am; wouldn't miss it.”

His gaze sharpened. “Then I guess Pam and I will see you there. Bringing him?” He pointed at Jeeves, who had been remarkably silent this entire conversation.

I couldn't resist a smirk. “Of course, he's part of the costume. And yeah, we'll see you there. I won't act like I don't know you either.”

Gordon chuckled again. “Part of the costume, huh? Can't wait to see it then. It better not be one of those lame horse things.”

As if I could be so tacky.

Gordon levered himself off the wall, and his face turned serious. “Look, man, almost time for the bell, I gotta go, but there's something else you should know. Keep an eye on Pam, alright? She ain't your friend, and she's... well, she's mad about something. She's saying some mean crap about you. I just thought you should know.”

He waved while I reeled. Pam, of all people?

…...

Study hall was all about distractions. Doing my homework while ignoring Pam. Helping Maggie with her homework while ignoring Pam, and chatting with Sam while ignoring Pam... okay well maybe not that, Sam still tried to talk less than Jeeves did, but there was more than a little ignoring going on.

Still, I couldn't help notice that Pam was shooting me looks, rapid possibly spite-filled looks which were gone as soon as I noticed them.

“Maggie, Sam...” I whispered, not sure how to bring it up. “Does Pam hate me, or something?”

Face, meet palm. I don't think I could have been less smooth there.

My two friends shared a look, then scooted closer. Maggie started off, of course, whispering back. “Pam... well Pam has some issues.”

“Jealous.” Sam interjected, and Maggie gave a faint nod.

“Right. So yeah she's been saying some stupid things about you, off and on. Just stuff in the Gym locker room or at lunch. Nothing at all unusual for her, and nothing she hasn't done to other girls before, so don't worry about it. Sam and I have been handling it for you, and no one actually believes the things she says.”

But... Pam?!? Why? She seemed so nice, to everyone. No, I wasn't going to let it bother me. It really wasn't anything different than dealing with Gordon or the anti-mutant jerks on the basketball team every day.

Well, except Gordon was a pretty stand up guy.

Was that it? Was Pam anti-mutant? Or even a hero-groupie? After all, what else did Pam have to be jealous about? Heck if I could trade her my powers I would in a heartbeat; sure sometimes they were fun, but it wasn't worth all the time I spent sick.

“Anything I should know about?” I mean, I hadn't heard a peep. If it was bad, surely someone would tell me, right?

Maggie shook her head. “Nah, nothing out of the ordinary. Typical high school crap.”

Sam looked like she was going to say something, but a glance from Maggie and her mouth shut with an audible clack of teeth.

“Don't worry about it, we're handling it.” Maggie stated firmly. “Aren't we Sam?”

Sam nodded. But telling me not to worry just made me worry more. I still managed to get caught up, and get Maggie caught up before the bell rang. Sam didn't need any help from me.

The walk to English class was quick today, and soon I was handing in another paper. I already wanted more sunlight, and the lecture picking apart more Shakespeare was... well, Mrs. Holmes tried her best, but there was only so much one could take of him, great as he was. I couldn't wait until we started Steinbeck, and I was still a little confused how these lectures helped us conjugate verbs better. I was beginning to think Mrs. Holmes had missed her calling as a college professor of creative writing or something.

Just before I lost all hope of being able to stay awake anymore (And I'd just totally not slept a few hours ago!) the final bell rang, and were officially released from institutional confinement.

I waited until the initial crush passed, and got up. Sam and Maggie had also waited. The two R's (heh) were also nearby; Ricky was trying his best to look like he wasn't waiting on us or listening in, and Ralph was checking the hallway.

“So, meet up after we get ready?”

Well, this was new. “Meet where? The school?”

Maggie almost shouted. “Heck no! I'm not coming back here alone and waiting, we're all going to meet at your house. Our parents already know. After all, what's the point of owning a mad-sciency lab-shed if you don't use it for Halloween parties?”

It would take more time than we had left to point out all the flaws in her logic, so I settled for just rolling my eyes like Sam did. Even if Mom and Dad didn't know, they would be fine with it, since there was safety in numbers and all that. But it would be just like Mom to know, discuss it with everyone else, and leave me out of the loop.

“Alright, fine. I was going to run final checks on Crash, but I guess an extra day won't hurt.”

Maggie blew a raspberry at me, all but dragging me down the hall. “Please; it's not like you can't do both. Besides, you've been holding out on me. I want to see what this amazing costume idea of yours is.”

“Fine. See you at the lab.”

We all split up. It felt kind of odd walking home alone (or well with Jeeves, close enough). But I managed. At least I still had my two tails.

Home was quiet... too quiet. Mom was in the kitchen, making something. Jeeves was replaced for another night in the kitchen, it seemed. But it was for the best tonight since he wouldn't have the time to cook and I wouldn't be eating more than snacks here tonight anyway.

Speaking of snacks, there were Halloween themed cookies and candy in separate bowls, just sitting there. There were even popcorn balls! I snagged one and ignored Jeeves clearing his throat behind me; I'd eat one if I wanted.

“Min, don't spoil your dinner.”

“I took the ball out of my mouth so she wouldn't know. “Okay, Mom! It all looks good, though. Where is it all going?”

Mom turned around with a grin, catching me in the act. “To your lab of course. Silly.”

I popped the popcorn ball back in my mouth with a shrug. Two could play it that game; my next words were spoken with my mouth full, which always drives Moms wild. “Alright Mom, I'll grab it then. Well, Jeeves will. The gang is getting costumed up, and then they'll be here.”

She frowned and I got out while the getting was good, snagging the candy. Jeeves grabbed the rest without prompting.

“No experiments! Ian's going to be out back!”

I could deal with that; at least it seemed like Mom was getting more forgiving about having Ian in the lab; there may be hope for him on that front. I reached the door and the retinal scanner, input the code and waited impatiently, popcorn ball still lodged firmly between my teeth.

The door opened and I put down my mostly ill-gotten gains. We both set our bowls down on the main workbench. But it was time, now. I didn't want to re-open the lab, and it had a bathroom, so...

“Jeeves, go and retrieve the two black and orange striped garment bags in my closet. There should only be two of them.”

Jeeves left with a short “As you command, mistress.”

I plugged my computer in and started running my final checks on Crash; I could activate him anytime, but something was telling me to wait. So far I hadn't turned up anything wrong, but it was more the prospect of not just lifting the lid a little on Pandora's box, but kicking it off. Jeeves had been at least half mistake, after all – once people saw Crash, any questions about pulling a repeat would be answered.

But the timer on how powerful my power was was already ticking, wasn't it? At least some of what I'd done already was in the public domain. My address was well known, and if the mob wanted to beat a path to the door, clamoring for robots of their own, they could do so already.

It would be hard to tell them all no. Maybe I could buy and automate a factory? No, that was a terrible idea.

Jeeves returned, garment bags draped over an arm and a coffee and tea service in his other hand. I took the first – it was mine.

“Alright. You can change out here, I'm going into the bathroom to change.”

“Understood, mistress Min.”

Changing didn't take long at all. The pants, shirt, vest, and jacket were custom tailored to my sizes and fit perfectly, just like they had last week. The worst part was tying the canary yellow tie. A quick look in the mirror to make sure my hair wasn't caught in the jacket and I was done; dressed just like Jeeves had been a few moments ago, more or less.

I made the turn of the century striped suit with tails look pretty good if I did say so myself. I still had to wear my glasses or be blind, but I was now the servant. Which of course meant that Jeeves was now my other half.

“Jeeves are you all dressed?”

“I am, mistress, though I admit some difficulty in the jewelry.”

I opened the door to find Jeeves outside it, dressed in one of the dresses like he made for me upon his arrival, something advertised as goth-lolita at the Halloween costume site I'd gone to. It was custom tailored for him, like mine, but with a little padding up top hidden in the lace.

He probably made his costume look better than I could; somehow he was making it work, even with the heels off and earrings sliding off his ears. I had bought clip-ons, but that was looking to be a mistake.

I took the earrings from him, applied a dab of epoxy to each, and placed them carefully on each ear; I could always spray him later with the dissolving agent here in the lab or use a blow dryer. Neither method would hurt him.

A few finishing touches with makeup and Jeeves looked more feminine than I probably could on my best day. I fought down the wave of jealousy. Other people had gone through worse than I have to end up looking... well, like X-ray. So I had no right to complain, even in my own head.

Jeeves poured me more coffee. “Thank you Jeeves, but we are going to get into character a bit tonight. I'm going to be the butler at the party and get you drinks and stuff, and you are going to be the lady.”

He adjusted my tie, gently, and I had to fight down bad feelings again. “As you command, mistress Min. Tonight, at the party, you shall be butler Min and I shall be Lady Jeeves.”

Well, at least he was getting into it. This was going to be fun, I couldn't wait!

Maggie arrived first, in a Victorian era dress that looked like it might be an actual Victorian era dress; it was faded and even had a few stains. She also had a knife handle sticking out of her head with blood coming down from it, and a bloody mouth. She raised her arms as soon as I opened the door in response to the knock.

“I'm a hungry ghost, here to swallow your souls! And maybe your heart, I haven't decided... and HOLY CRAP MIN YOU LOOK INCREDIBLE!!!”

I had it, actual sound evidence than Maggie spoke before she thought. Well, or screamed, at least in this case.

“OH MY GAWD IS THAT JEEVES?!?!”Maggie screamed, striding over with a laugh and snagging a cookie along the way.

Jeeves gave her an obvious once over. “Good afternoon, Miss Johnson. A most effective costume.”

“You're one to talk.” She looked to her costume, then Jeeves again, and pouted. “That's just not fair; you look better in this sort of getup than I do.”

She turned to me. “Awesome idea Min, turning the tables like that!”

I bowed. “Thank you, Lady Johnson. I do but try.”

There was another knock, so I went to answer it. Outside was a ghost. And not just any ghost, but the stereotypical sheet ghost, with eyeholes cut out and everything. Under that sheet was a silhouette that matched Samantha's, and she was holding a pillowcase, weighed down with something. Something about that...

The light upstairs went on. “Samantha?”

She nodded.

“What's in the pillowcase?”

I could almost feel the ghost (ha ha) of a grin as she answered. “...A rock.”

That was an amazing costume idea, and I told her so. She preened as I opened the door wider and let her in.

“Samantha? That was your amazing last minute costume idea?” Maggie asked, coming over with a puzzled look.

“I got a rock.” Sam defended.

It took awhile for Maggie to get it. “Oh Sam, you should have said something, I could have gone as Peppermint Patty!”

“Now now, it's no fun if we all ignore the theme! Sam's portrayal of Charlie Brown fits, but what would the rest of our excuses be?” I had Sam's back; she wanted to be hidden, yet stand out. I think.

Evidently so did Ralph. I opened the door to his knock, only to find him dressed in a Japanese kimono thing and carrying a big honking plastic sword on his shoulder. His orange hair was teased up and he had a sneer on his face.

“What are you supposed to be, exactly? A haughty samurai?”

He strode in like he owned the place. “No, I'm Ichigo.”

I looked around. Everyone else seemed just as lost, though Sam muttered “Bleach.”

What did a cleaning product and reducing agent have to do with Halloween?

Ralph gave me a look. “Alright, later, I'm going to sit you in a chair and make you watch the show this character is from. No one should be that deprived.”

I shrugged. His character was from a show, all I needed to know. “And his name is... Ichigo?” Clearly Japanese, and probably violent, if the sword was any indication.

“Yep.” 'Ichigo' replied, snagging a cookie. His face brightened when he took a bite.

I went back to running my checksums on Crash, ignoring the way Jeeves shifted demurely as I passed. He was just getting into character – I hoped.

“You do realize you're out of theme, right Ralph?”

He drew himself up. “Not at all. This is exactly what the Japanese gentleman wore in the 1800's. So technically I'm in theme while being someone with my amazing hair.”

Oh, so that was his angle; I smirked. “Always about the hair with you, isn't it?”

He drew a hair through his neon locks. “You know it. Not many people are awesome enough to have hair this amazing.”

Maggie snickered, and Sam was shaking a little. I might have also snickered a bit.

Another knock on the door. I went back to answer it. The pirate on the other end of the door waved, then stopped and stared: “Hi Jee...wait, Min!?!? Holy shit you look ho...err amazing, right! Just simply amazing; great costume.”

This was even weirder than the samurai. “Wish I could say the same, Ricky. Pirates are kinda... well, not the theme. They aren't really gentleman or ladies, even if they were around for Victorian times.”

There had to have been Victorian pirates, I was sure. I just wasn't sure where. Barbary coast, maybe?

“Well, that's kind of the beauty of it! I'm clearly a high society party crasher!” Ricky said, puffing out his chest and twirling one of those single shot pistols...fake, of course.

Well, that did make a sort of sense. Ricky studied the rest of us, even as the others studied him. He snorted at Ralph's costume, and laughed openly at Sam's (but I wasn't sure if he was laughing at the quality of it or because he got it). Then he snagged a cookie.

“Cokes are in the mini-fridge, and as always, don't touch anything not in a container you recognize. Ian may be out here shortly, or he may not. I'm going to compile some code while we wait. Oh, Jeeves, can you set up the projector? We can put some horror movies on and watch them, my computer can do both.”

“Of course, Mistress Min.”

The projector was up in short order, the lights dimmed, and just as the movie about a batch of psychotic cursed dolls started, there as a knock on the door. Of course.

I opened it to find Ian, dressed normally of course since his fun began tomorrow, standing there. He stared (down) at me, mouth open for a good second, before the grin spread.

“Wow sis, looking good.”

I had to shush him when he caught sight of Jeeves, his laughter was deep, full-bellied, and totally ruined the atmosphere required for horror movie enjoyment. Kind of what I was going for, but also a little irritating.

“Ian, just sit down and watch the movie.” He shrugged, grabbed one of the folding chairs, and set it up behind the rest of us. He also snagged a cookie just before he sat down.

The movie was kind of okay; the dolls were well done, but clearly just puppets and I had to fight down the urge to design better while watching; it would be so easy! Of course, I wouldn't make mine homicidal, and while they wouldn't have the space for a full AI, a smart system that could fake it well enough would fit....

No, bad Min! No over-analyzing things and starting a fugue! I snagged a cookie.

It wasn't a long movie, it wrapped up with the young couple winning against the evil doll makers in plenty of time for us to make the party. There was more than a little stretching as we all rose and I hit the lights.

“Alright Ian, take a hike, I'm locking up.”

“But what about...”

“Now, Ian, it can wait. We need to go. You know Mom won't let you hang out in here.”

He pouted and snagged a cookie on his way out. I made sure everyone had everything, and then shoo'd them out and locked up.

The sun was just past setting, in that curious hour where there was still significant light from our nearest star, but no view of it. We all started walking, and I took my place behind Jeeves. For his part, Jeeves walked along almost daintily while holding his dress up, heels clicking, looking as if he'd been walking on heels all his life. It wasn't even remotely fair.

I'd offer my jacket, to be a gentleman, but it wouldn't fit him. Maybe later.

The air was crisp but not cold, with a hint of dry or decaying leaves. The walk as pleasant, even dodging some of the other kids who were also taking advantage of the nice night. Normally I'd ask for a ride, but I felt very safe with all the eyes still on me. Two cars tonight, and they weren't being all that secretive about it.

The school was even more decked out than before; the teachers must have been busy; there was now bunting on the outside, a fake graveyard, and zombies in Victorian dress shambling around, nodding politely and growling affably at students and passersby.

Mrs. Welch nodded to us as we walked past; she was stirring a large cauldron that looked to be made of iron, and not plastic. The thing must weigh a ton. “Great costumes everyone! Go on in!”

Good, she got Sam's. I think she was just being nice to Ricky, though.

The halls were festooned with fake cottony spider webs and plastic bats hanging around, and I could already hear the music, some sort of oldies rock...? That didn't really fit the theme, but I guess it was hard to pass up 'monster mash' and 'werewolves of London' for Vivaldi or whatever. I wasn't even sure you could dance to that stuff.

The gym had undergone quite the transformation since noon; it had all the bunting and hall decorations, along with large wire and paper spiders hanging out in all the corners on large cotton webs, a DJ booth where some guy I didn't recognize had a laptop hooked up to the schools sound system and was playing tunes, and a large set of tables that ran the entire back wall filled with snacks. Mostly healthy things, I noticed.

There were a few brave people already dancing on the floor, some badly, and a few teachers roaming around keeping an eye on things.

I turned to Jeeves and gave my best bow. “My lady Jeeves, do you desire refreshments?”

Jeeves actually pulled off a curtsy in response, pulling out her fan and snapping it open in a practiced looking gesture. “But of course, butler Min. A glass of punch, if you please.”

Showoff.

I marched over to get some punch... and who was there, but Pam and Gordon. Pam was dressed much the way that Maggie or Jeeves was, in a maroon and cream Victorian era dress. She had an elaborate braid hair style that added about six inches to her height and looked mildly dumb. Her makeup made her look older; which would be a good thing to learn, I think. She saw me and her face twisted, her lips pursing in distaste.

Gordon was dressed like a British officer from the 1700's. I could almost see him on horseback, in his red and white uniform, leading the charge against the awful colonials with drawn saber in one hand, pistol in the other, and the reins in his teeth. A bit of time to grow into it, and he might cut a dashing figure.

“Hello, Min. You look great. Great costume.” Pam's face pruned up even more in response to Gordon's statement, but she stayed silent.

“Thanks. We had to change to go in costume, so one of us had to be the butler.” I gave him a slight bow.

“Yes, it suits you Min.” And there came the snark; a bit delayed, but still present. Gordon frowned slightly and glanced at Pam.

I decided to take the 'compliment' at face value. “Thanks, Pam. You both look amazing as well. Coordinated costumes? A British soldier and lady?”

“A British soldier and his wife, actually,” came the prim response, and Pam sniffed and turned to Gordon. “Come, my loving husband, let us dance and leave the help to their mundane pursuits.” Gordon had to be dragged, but Pam seemed more than willing to do so.

“Uh, right. See you later, Min!” He gave a little wave; Pam was stronger than she let on.

I turned to go back to the group, punch in hand, only to find the group had come to me. Without missing a beat I presented the drink to 'Lady Jeeves'. “Your drink, Madam.”

He took it haughtily and sipped... then made a small face and handed it back. “It is much too sweet, servant. Dilute it with something, and then serve it to me again.”

What did he think this was, some kind of wine tasting? They had probably mixed the punch in a bathtub or something. I went back to the table, and Sam ghosted (heh) along behind me. Now, what could I use... oh! Ice!

“You're going to find it difficult to eat and drink in that costume, Sam.” Though come to think of it, hadn't she chowed down on cookies and soda before we left?

“Thought of that.”

Okay, now I was curious. “Oh? What's your plan?”

Sam lifted her sheet a little to show blocky brown shoes – Charlie Brown shoes. She lifted it a bit more to reveal bright yellow socks. My eyes widened; that was actually brilliant.

“Okay, I get it. I know I said it before, but amazing costume.”

Sam paused in the act of carefully filling cups of punch for almost a full second before replying.“Thank you.”

Really she didn't need to act so surprised. I carefully placed the smallest ice cubes I could find into both the drinks in my own care, and avoided any splashes. When we arrived, I presented my drink to 'Lady Jeeves' again, and this time she took a sip and claimed it acceptable. Sam handed out her extra drink to Maggie, who was already chattering away to Aletha Rivers, our resident hockey expert. I wasn't really sure we needed a self-appointed hockey expert, but we had one.

At least they weren't actually talking hockey; they were gossiping about whose costumes would win the costume competition, and whose were the worst. Brad Sadler had that honor, in his clearly non-Victorian twenties gangster suit. He even had a plastic gun, something he could get banned for in the daytime. At least he didn't look bad in it, chatting next to Jodi Hess in her dress.

Ricky and Ralph got their own punch, chatting all the while. I sipped my own, it was watery.

And that was the problem with these events like this, in the end. There wasn't much to do except sip watery punch, eat bad snacks, and talk about school stuff... or dance. The very idea of dancing was shudder worthy; I didn't really know how, and just a glance at the people brave enough to be on the floor convinced me that they didn't either.

“Come, servant Min. I would dance.” Urk. Jeeves looked at me expectantly, hand artfully outstretched.

What else could I do? I was the servant for now; I took it.

He led me to the dance floor, and drew me close, leaning down. “Watch me.” He whispered, and proceeded to lead me through a dance... the box step? We were forming a box with our steps, anyway. It wasn't slow, either; we were keeping up with the music. Jeeves adjusted us, showing me where my hands were supposed to go, leading the way. I just focused on not tripping.

Thankfully I didn't. When the song ended, we went back to out staked out patch of floor; Maggie was talking to several more people now, chatting idly about the latest English assignment while watching me, a twinkle in her eye. Once we got in range, she stepped out.

“Lady Jeeves, would you honor me with a dance?”

“Why of course, Lady Margaret; I'd be delighted.” They stepped out together, and were soon dancing the way we had; I couldn't tell if they were talking, but knowing Maggie it seemed likely.

Sam inched closer to me... just ahead of everyone else, who was much more obvious about it.

“Love the costume Min!”

“Where did you even get it? And a matching one for Jeeves?!?”

“Will Jeeves dance with anyone who asks?”

It was almost like the inquisition a month ago. “Thanks, and I ordered both costumes online, then customized them myself, to ensure they'd fit, and I'm sure if you ask him, Jodi he'll dance with you.”

“Wait, you actually sewed your costume?” Aletha asked in disbelief.

She was right not to believe that conclusion. “Heck no! I simply had nanites do it. See you scan the clothes first, to provide a map, then you calculate the....” Wait, bad idea “Nevermind. Suffice it to say I made machines to sew little alterations for me, though most of the work was done by the place I ordered from.”

“Sounds expensive.” Nancy Ringus half asked with a disapproving frown on her pinched face. She kind of looked like a pissed off librarian dressing up in her costume, which was made of polyester, with frayed ends showing.

“It was, a little. But revenge knows no price!” I looked pointedly at Jeeves to prove my point, only to find him looking back at me while whirling Maggie around the dance floor with reckless abandon.

She seemed to be having fun, at least; judging from the smile and whooping noises she was making.

Sam backed me up. “Revenge!”

Nancy gave a weak grin and asked. “Isn't that a quote from somewhere?”

I shrugged. “Probably,” I admitted. “But if so I don't know where it's from.”

“Right, not really important. What is important, is what you think about the English assignment Mrs. Holmes gave out for Monday.”

“The reading assignment? It wasn't that bad.”

“Wasn't that bad?!?! It was a reading assignment, for a full chapter! With a worksheet, on the weekend!”

I shrugged again. Jeeves had stopped watching me and was now attempting to guide Maggie away from other people with limited success. Maggie, for her part, was giggling like a loon. She looked to be steering into people on purpose. “I don't know, I already have mine done. Managed it in study hall.”

Aletha pulled a face. “Ugh, mutant hacks. Wish I could speed read too! I'd get so much done!”

I turned to face Aletha, even as her face fell a bit. Did she think I'd be mad for bringing up what I could do? I wasn't; I just grinned at her. “Not as much as you might think. Sure I manage the assignments, but then there's all the mad science!”

I gave the crowd my best mad scientist cackle, and it got silent. Everyone just stared at me for a second with pitying looks before Sam summed it up. “Bad.”

Maggie and Jeeves came back, their dance over. “I've got to agree. That was the worst mad laugh I've ever heard.”

Bull! “Oh come on, I'm an actual mad scientist that designs robots! That cackle is as genuine as it gets!”

Sam shook her head. “Pissy.”

What?!? “I am NOT just pissy! I'm actually mad! I'll show you, I'll show you all! You won't mock me when this place is buried in killbots!”

They all stared at me again, except for Jodi, who was trying her best to drag a completely unflappable Jeeves out onto the dance floor at a pace he didn't want to go.

Sam patted me on the back. Darn it, none of them believed me, and I couldn't keep the joke going, or security would be called. I stopped fighting the smile.

“Fine, you got me. A round of bad punch for all!” I didn't say 'on me' because knowing my luck someone would actually douse me in the stuff – it's happened before!

Ralph stepped up, actually managing to stifle his laughter. “Butler Min, would you like to dance?”

Uh... didn't he just see me fumbling around with Jeeves earlier?

Amidst cries of “Woo, go for it Min!” and other assorted cheers, I allowed myself to be led onto the section of floor marked for dancing again.

One last protest, to save his toes. “I really don't know how to dance, you know. Jeeves showed me the box step, at least I think that's what it was, earlier. Before that I've never danced before.”

Ralph smiled winningly. “It's fine. I saw you earlier, you looked like you had it down... you looked graceful. Besides, you only weigh like 80 pounds; you can stomp on my feet all day without hurting me.”

Okay, that was bullcrap. “I'm 100 pounds, thank you very much.”

He waved that off as we started. He followed the steps as if he knew how. “Yeah, yeah. Min Campbell, the only girl likely to inflate her weight in all of Paris County.”

I smacked him, lightly. I hadn't inflated it by that much, and there was such a thing as too skinny. I wasn't sure if I was there or not, but I was pretty sure I was close. Maybe right on the line. I focused on trying not step on people, and managed not to make a complete fool of myself.

Then Ricky wanted a turn. He looked angry.

“What's wrong with you?” I asked as we started off to the next song. He was a bit more sloppy at following the steps than Ralph.

After that the evening passed, the way such evenings were wont to do. Boring and pointless, really, for all that it had it's moments, those flashes of fun. I just couldn't escape the fact that there were better uses of my time, and I think as the night wore on, people were beginning to notice. At least the number of guys and girls asking me to show them how to dance tapered off pretty quickly, and it wasn't my breath.

At one point I turned around from another self-appointed round at the refreshment table to find Gordon watching me, with Pam nowhere nearby. Even worrying about Pam and the many things she's done to mess with me would be a better use of my time. It suddenly struck me that I'd been ignoring a lot of crap from her, simply because I had no idea how to handle it or what her problem is.

Maybe the party was a better use of my time after all, at least in regards to that one problem.

Gordon took one look at me, indecision clear on his face, then simply turned around and walked off, towards the back and the restrooms. I kind of wanted to know what he wanted now, but I wasn't going to follow him back there. I doubted he'd ambush me again, but that didn't mean others couldn't.

Whatever, the part still had an hour left to go, but I wanted out now. This was more than a little lame, and more than a little awkward. Not to mention I was getting a little tired of Jeeves's 'get me this, fetch me that' routine; I wasn't even that fussy with him, ever.

“Well, I'm ready to leave. I know we've got some time yet, but this is kinda boring now.”

Maggie looked up from her phone; she'd been texting back and forth with someone for the last 5 minutes. “Yeah, I'm ready to go.”

I looked at Sam, and she nodded. Jeeves was ready to go whenever I was, despite his current act. Ralph and Ricky were both close together, heads down, conspiring about something; I walked over. I wasn't the only one with the leave idea; the crowd had thinned out enough to notice already.

“Hey, you guys ready to go, or are you going to stay a bit?”

They looked at each other, then at me, then straightened up. “Yeah, we're good to go.” they chimed in unison.

Creepy. That was more than a little creepy.

We grouped up and hit the door out, into the now cold air, Sam of all people in the lead. Jeeves was sticking close to me now – I think he sensed how tired I was. I wasn't too bad yet, but I was getting worse fast. No one else seemed to notice, at least, chattering away on how bad the DJ was, now that he was out of hearing range.

“Hey, Min... Can I stay the night at your place? In your lab?” Maggie asked, eyes artificially wide.

“Stop that. And if your parents don't mind, I don't think mine will. But what brought this on?”

“Well...” Maggie fidgeted, with a glance at the boys. “You haven't had a proper sleepover, ever. And Sam and I are free, Sam's parent's are even out of town, so we can have one now! And I asked my parents already, they said yes.” She held her phone up in front of me, the text from her Mom clearly visible, and I had to stop to avoid crashing.

Sam smacked her in the arm.

“Right, sorry Min, shouldn't have done that.” Maggie apologized.

I whipped out my phone. “Well, I'm not sure we have the space for two guests. Aren't sleepovers done in bedrooms and stuff?”

Sam and Maggie looked at each other. “They don't have to be, Maggie answered. We were thinking your lab. It's got enough space for all of us, and you sleep out there half the time anyway.”

I had to concede the point. “True. I'll ask.”

Mom picked up right on the second ring, as if she'd been expecting it. “Hey Mom, is it alright if Sam and Maggie sleep over? Out in my lab, that is? They want to hang out and watch more movies.”

“Sure, that's fine, provided they don't touch anything and you don't build anything new, at the last minute.”

Well, that was fair enough, that was what the rules were anyway. No spur of the moment death rays and the like. “Sure. I'll be sure to tell them.” I hung up.

“Mom says it's fine, just so long as you don't touch anything and we don't make anything on a whim.”

“Excellent!” Maggie exclaimed, throwing an arm around my shoulder. “Jeeves, would you mind getting whatever bedding we may need together, along with some coffee and stuff?”

Jeeves looked to me as Maggie pulled me close, forcing me to lean on her. I nodded, and he left in a hurry with a rapid “Be well, mistress Min, heels clacking down the sidewalk and dress hiked up to run. I really needed to finish Crash; Jeeves needed some help.

The two R's both closed in alongside us, no longer bringing up the rear. “Can we come?”

I stared, aghast. “Mom would murder me.”

Maggie sniffed. “Of course you can't come, boys aren't allowed at sleepovers. It's an ironclad rule.”

“But we don't have to stay the night. Just for another movie or two. Come on, I want to watch more horror movies too.” Ralph countered.

That made sense to me. “Well, if they aren't sleeping over, I don't think it'll be a problem.” Mom liked them both, after all.

The stuff was waiting on us at the lab door; two air mattresses, assorted blankets and pillows. Jeeves was next to it, thankfully still dressed in costume, but with a completely jarring serving tray in hand. Sam grabbed a mattress, and after a second, Maggie did too.

I opened the door and went through, making a beeline for the workbench. Well, when had that happened? The bowl was empty! “Hey, who ate all the cookies?”

My brother was still amazing.

He was a she now, and smaller. She made Mom look like a Norse goddess and Holly Brightner down the street look butch. Her health was beyond frail, and she seemed to be constantly distracted by things. She got her way entirely too often, and for no good reason.

But she still remembered me and looked out for me. First with an upgraded computer than beat everything on the market, and then going to bat for me with Mom, letting me stay involved with the cool stuff she was doing - purely at my own choice. And then she did stuff like this.

I looked up from the Megaman flashlight arm, which was capable of more than just firing light capable of signaling planes with, and just knew the last trick or treat outing I'd have was going to be special. It even matched the suit perfectly!

My sister's face was a little tense - a little fearful. "It's perfect, sis."

She smiled, and her face - well it made the light coming from the arm she made look dim.

"Min, Ian... come here please."

Sis's head whipped around so fast her hair hung suspended for a moment before gravity did it's thing. I didn't blame her, I was sure I was just as fast. But we hadn't done anything wrong, we had followed the rules: I had stayed outside while Sis had done her thing in her lab, and she hadn't even let me inside once she finished; she had brought the arm out and we were testing it in the backyard.

I decided to test the waters. "Mom, did you see this yet? Look at what Min made for me!"

Mom smiled as I showed the arm off. First the flashlight, and then the strobe effect. The third function I left out; Mom didn't need to know about it.

"It does something else too, doesn't it?"

Or she could know already. I was careful not to shoot a glance at Sis. I flicked the inner switch and the strobe and siren went off together; I was fine with the visor, but the noise was ear-splitting; I flicked the switch again in a hurry.

Mom and Sis stopped wincing and shared a look. "Yes, that should do it. Good job, Min."

So it wasn't that. Why did she call us both over?

"So... I know I'm supposed to take Ian trick or treating, but something has come up, and your dad and I have to go. Min, can you take him?"

This was news to me; I was old enough to go by myself. Well, with my friends anyway; I'd done that last year with no problems.

Sis visibly wavered; she had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and a slight tremor in her hands that I don't even think she noticed. It was obvious she was tired, and looking forward to sleep.

I opened my mouth but she beat me to the punch. "Yeah Mom, I'll take him. But I want to hear about it later, okay?"

Mom's smile was sickly and I knew neither of us would be hearing more than some lame excuse regarding one of Dad's military buddies or something. Or maybe that super nerd Mom knew.

"Sure, I'll tell you both, but I just don't have the time now. Ian's friends should start arriving soon, so I need you in the house."

Sis gave a longing look to her lab, but she nodded and set off. I hurried up to avoid being left behind; if I didn't stay close I'd probably miss the point where Mom added a lame curfew or something.

"Six to eight, Min, and only six to eight." And, there it was.

"Alright, Mom." Sis agreed.

Mom headed right for the car with a wave; Dad was already inside it and the engine was running. We both waved as they backed out, fixed grins on our faces.

When they were gone Sis slumped. "Sorry."

I didn't get it. "It's not your fault."

"Actually I think it might be." she whispered.

I could see it now; it didn't happen often here, but mutants and the families of mutants were sometimes hated and singled out. The news was full of crap like that, and we hadn't really been able to hide anything before. Not that we were the type. Still, I was big enough to take care of myself.

"What about just sending Jeeves?"

Sis shook her head. "Jeeves won't leave me alone. Not right now, not even if I ordered him, and Mom won't let you go alone, so I'm stuck."

She must really be bad off then.

She straightened up and squared her shoulders, marching through the door. "Well, nothing for it. go get ready. Jeeves, make us some coffee, would you please?"

I followed, going upstairs as she went into the kitchen, doing something on her phone.

No complaints and no hesitation at all. She would do what she would do; that was my Sis. Different, and yet the same. Somehow.

I finished getting ready; the arm fit seamlessly with the rest of the costume. The doorbell rang as soon as I finished, and it was time to race back downstairs before any embarrassing stories got out.

Thankfully Jeeves had answered the door, but Rey was inside and heading toward the kitchen. Rey's costume was a little bland; a stereotypical vampire, typical of the lack of care Rey had. The only personal touches were the afro wig he'd donned for it and the gold jewelry. This was to show the costume was blacksploitation Dracula, he said. We had all bet him he wouldn't have the guts to go through with it. He had made bank in sodas tonight.

"Hey, Rey."

"Hey."

My sister came out of the kitchen bearing coffee, turning bleary eyes Rey's way. Jeeves placed himself within range to stop something, should something happen. He was subtle about it at least.

Sis took one look at Rey and gave her verdict with a raised eyebrow. "Cute."

Now I knew that she meant the costume right off, but judging by the blush and stammer Rey didn't. I didn't even know he could blush; the color he turned was kind of cool.

"H-hey um, Min. "Good evening." His accent on the last bit was just terrible.

"Good evening Rey. Don't mind me, I'm just going to be over here, staying awake."

Rey had already focused on my costume arm and so didn't hear, but I did. No doubt she wanted to sack out on the couch while I answered the door, but it offered some privacy. Technically answering the door was her job, though, since she was supposed to be preventing me from getting kidnapped or whatever. Mom was paranoid, not that I'd tell her that.

"Man, that thing looks cool." Rey drooled, snapping me out of the unpleasant images of Mom on the warpath.

I tapped it. "Yeah, it's a flashlight too. Nothing like those foam ball spewing versions."

"Can I see it?"

I shrugged it off, and he tried.

"It was made for my arm, specifically. It's not surprising it won't fit you."

Rey frowned. "It's pretty tight in there, for a bulky as it is."

"The outside bulk is to make it look authentic. Well, that and it does do stuff, so it has batteries."

"Like what? More than just a flashlight?"

Sis spoke up, proving she was listening over the TV. "Not in the house."

"I wasn't going to, Sis. You don't need to worry," I mean jeez, I wasn't a kid anymore. "Anyway, it does this light show panic button thing, in case we're attacked or something."

"Might come in handy," Rey said, trying to undersell it, but he knew we were likely to have trouble tonight.

My sis was awesome, but there were problems with being awesome.

The doorbell rang again. I answered it before Jeeves could because Jeeves was Jeeves... but Jeeves didn't seem to be in a hurry at the moment.

Kevin was at the door.

Kevin Price was the great amigo; the tanto to my lone ranger, the Sundance to my Butch Cassidy. He was the greatest bud in the history of buds; we did everything together. Which was why he was Protoman. Just like Rey had, his eyes first clapped onto the costume arm.

"Dude, that thing looks awesome! You can tell it ain't cheap plastic!"

"I know, right! Sorry man, there just wasn't enough time to make you one." I did remember Kevin, but with only a day left, and knowing everything Sis had to do to make this arm (including taking measurements of my own arm and shoulder, oddly enough, since it only went up to my elbow) there was only enough time for one of us.

Seeing what it cost her only made me more sure in my decision.

Kevin shrugged it off with a wink. "All good man, I don't mind. I made my own devisor arm."

He had hollowed his matching arm out and glued a flashlight into his, then repainted it. Great minds think alike, kinda.

That was the reason we'd originally chosen these costumes, actually; carrying around flashlights as a ghost or devil was lame.

Then Kevin caught sight of Sis, scrutinizing his work from the couch. He turned pink and hid both hands behind his back. Sis pronounced her verdict with a sniff and went back to her phone; Kevin waited until she was good and distracted before he stage whispered.

"Dude, I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but your sister is hot. Insanely, stupidly hot."

I rolled my eyes. "And I'll tell you what I told you before; don't be gross, that's my sister. And you're twelve and in middle school, you've got no chance."

He sighed melodramatically. "I know, but a boy can dream."

How quickly Kevin forgot that my Sis used to be bigger, and give us both the most brutal of noogies for 'being too loud' when gaming. Gaming isn't exactly all that loud an activity.

Okay, so we might have yelled a little; we were losing. My head still ached from the memory alone.

Kevin turned to Sis. "So, what are you doing for Halloween?"

Jeeves snagged her coffee cup and went to refill it as she sighed. "Well I was going to watch bad horror movies and sleep, not necessarily in that order, but instead I've got to watch you runts as you threaten adults for candy."

"What? We don't need no stinking babysitter!"

"Well, you've got one. It's not like Mom was going to let you all go out without an adult present anyway."

"As if you're an adult." I pointed out. She wasn't that much older than we were... and I had my doubts on whether she was any more mature.

"Closer than you, Ian. Unfortunately."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Rey stated, knowing full well what, or rather who, we were waiting for. Jeeves slid past us again with fresh coffee, this time an entire service of it. He probably already had a filled thermos of it somewhere, too.

"We've got one more coming Rey, you know that."

Rey and Malcolm did not get along all that well. I still hadn't figured out why; it wasn't like Malcolm was a jerk or anything, at worst he was a little quiet, and a whole lot of socially awkward. He did little things like make us wait rather than arrive on time; he was almost ten minutes late right now, and he lived just one street and a few blocks over.

Wait, I could maybe get some more blackmail material here. "Hey, Sis. You know, since you're coming with us, you should dress up too. Mom was going to."

"Yeah, no. I don't have a costume, and there's no time to make one."

"What about the one you wore last night?" She'd had a pretty killer costume for the dance.

Sis shot a glance at her robotic butler. "That one requires Jeeves to be dressed as well to be effective, and I'm not going to have Jeeves do that; it makes him act weird."

Weird how? I doubt she'd tell me. "Then what about Mom's?"

Sis gave me her 'are you serious?' look. "No way that will fit me... and even if it did I don't think Mom would be happy about me going out in her Catwoman costume."

True, Mom was an amazon compared to Sis... and Mom would not be happy; it was one thing to play off being the hot Mom and embarrass your son, but quite another to see your daughter doing it. Probably; Mom didn't make a lot of sense to me in the best of times.

She was beginning to make sense to Sis, though, I think, which was a little scary.

"So I'm afraid you're just going to have to deal with me in normal clothes."

Normal clothes for Sis included her lab coat, so we could probably pass her off as a mad scientist or something. Minerva, the slightly pissed genius of Madison, Wisconsin! I'd never been to Madison, but the name rhymed; kind of. I wonder what it was like?

My sister's eyes narrowed and her face changed into an expression I usually saw on Mom when she thought I'd broken something. "What are you laughing about?"

I feigned innocence as best I could but decided not to lie. "Your wardrobe, Sis. It's awful."

She looked down at her jeans and t-shirt. Then made a point of looking down at my costume. "I think I'll trust my own fashion sense, thanks."

"You wound me."

"Not yet, don't tempt me." Jeeves topped off her cup. Not for the first time, I wondered what else might be in that coffee. It tasted fine when I tried it, but the way Sis perked up after drinking it wasn't natural. I'd not caught Jeeves tossing anything extra in but sugar and cream; none of us had, and I'd even tested those myself, but something about it was odd.

None of us had been poisoned yet, so that was a plus.

The doorbell rang again, and as expected, Malcolm was on the other side of it. He was dressed up in the Megaman theme at least, so he had that much on Rey... but rather than being dressed up as one of the good guys, he was dressed up as one of the boss enemies, drill man.

I had to ask. "Why drill man?"

Malcolm grinned. "Two reasons; one, the large stomach fits me best since I can add my loot to it. and two...." He held up the drill arm, and I could hear a motor start. The drill slowly turned.

"Showoff." Kevin declared, shining his light in Malcolm's face.

Malcolm shaded his eyes good-naturedly.

Inspiration struck. "Hey, Sis. You could always find a white wig and go as Dr. Wily - you have the face for it."

"Ha, Ha," She deadpanned, grinning. "Darn, no wig like that around. Guess I'll just have to be me."

"Well, we're ready when you are then, mighty Dr. Campbell."

"Wait, your sister is coming Ian? Why?" Malcolm asked. He also tended to be a little slow on the update.

"Apparently Mom decided we needed adult supervision, but then something came up and Min got the nod."

"Man, that's bullsh- er crap. We can totally handle ourselves."

"Couldn't agree more," Sis agreed with a sigh. "But you try telling my Mom that."

Malcolm nodded knowingly; my Mom wasn't someone you said no to.

"Right, let's go." Sis put her phone away, but made Jeeves help her off the couch. I noticed something in the kitchen as she fumbled her coat on; a certain pair of glasses. I grabbed them, just in case.

I let Protoman lead the way.

Once outside it was clear that we were fashionably late; there were kids everywhere, running around in costumes ranging from the sad to the amazing, though nothing that seemed to hit both like Sis's friend Sam had last night. Which reminded me, I needed to ask what went on last night and whether Sis had gotten any awesome pictures; Sam was pretty hot, and I wanted to know if the rumored pillow fights and nail painting was an actual thing.

Sis DID have her nails painted, to match her hair. I couldn't remember if that was a new thing or not. I could probably ask Kevin if the idea that he'd know didn't creep me out.

All along the street in the fading light porch lights were on, and the smaller kids were racing from house to house yelling, shouting, and basically getting underfoot. A group of six-year-olds almost took us out as we grouped up on the sidewalk, a very harassed looking Mr. Henderson puffing after them.

At least he wasn't wasting his breath shouting at them. He wasn't in the best shape, and he needed it.

"So what's the plan?" Kevin asked.

"The route plan hasn't changed. We start at the end of the block and wrap around. We don't grid out until we hit Elm, then we go down the one side, and up the other until we end up at the end of Sycamore."

If we went quickly, we could cover almost three-fourths of the town in two hours. An ambitious plan, but one that previous generations had managed in nights that still lived in infamy.

"What about tricking?" Oh, my God Malcolm, a spy for the adults was right here, why would you say something like that?

I looked at Sis, who had her eyebrows raised and that disapproving frown she stole from Mom. "Maybe later Malcolm. We certainly don't have time for it right now, even if we had plans for that sort of thing."

Mr. Sotes and old man Kover sprung to mind; Mr. Sotes because he was probably the worst teacher in the entirety of Paris school, and old man Kover because he was old man Kover, but what was important here was plausible deniability.

I sincerely hope Sis hadn't seen the inside of my candy bag.

"Lead on, I'm just here for the ride. But if you run too far ahead or try to lose me or something, I will 100% tell Mom." She told me.

In response, I held her glasses out. She tended to forget them still, and she couldn't see at a distance without them anymore. Jeeves usually had them on hand or at least spares, but he hadn't said anything this time.

Sis took them and put them on with a muttered thanks.

"No problem. No sense making this harder on you, right guys?"

There were muttered yeses and some grumbling, but I knew they'd follow through.

"Watch for cars," Sis said as we started off, moving at a good pace but not a rushed one. I turned because traffic was light and she was pointing out the sedan that had shadowed her for the last few months.

She wanted me to know where help was if we needed it. Was she really that worried? She was actually worried. like Mom's thinking had infected hers, or something. This was Paris, nothing was going to happen here.

This sedan was that MCO guy. I didn't trust him; I'd read the internet forums in the gray spaces most authorities didn't know about. So far he hadn't done anything, but I had the feeling that was because the suits were keeping an eye on him; recent posts regarding our town did have rumors of an MCO hit squad being stationed close by... but didn't say exactly where. I was keeping an open mind, though.

We went to the first house, and that was where our luck ran out. "Ian, wait up!"

I was kind of hoping we'd have more time!

I turned to see Holly Brightner racing across the sidewalk, tossing kids aside like a junior linebacker on her way to sack the quarterback. She was dressed as Roll, which was about as far away from her personality as you could get. If someone told her to sweep a floor she'd probably put them in the hospital with the broom; and for some reason, she had invited herself along. That was something she was doing a lot of lately.

But Rey stopped, and Malcolm stopped, and then Kevin stopped, so I couldn't pretend I didn't hear.

"Good evening, Holly. How goes your Halloween?"

She started right in, managing to pull off a scowl and glower without breath."I thought I told you to wait for me! I told you I'd be late!"

She had. Not only had she called me, but she had messaged me online too. "To be fair, I did tell you we weren't waiting. I also told you we were going to do a guy only thing tonight."

Holly immediately turned to Sis, pointing. "She's not a guy."

"She doesn't count!" Oh, shit. That just slipped out, and it could be taken so wrong.... damage control, damage control!

"I mean, she's keeping an eye on us. My mom talked to our parents, and then left and stuck her with the job. So technically she's here to make sure we don't riot in the streets and set fire to cars and stuff, or worse, become protestors."

Sis gave me an eyebrow, but let it pass. Whew.

Holly, on the other hand, smelled blood in the water. "And one of the parent's contacted was my Mom, so here I am, ready to be watched."

I knew I was sunk when Min said. "Fine, just watch for cars when you cross the street and try not to bodycheck any more toddlers."

At least Holly blushed at the dig. She hadn't actually knocked over any little kids, but it had been a close thing.

We started off, with Holly grabbing my arm as we crossed the street, jaywalking like the rest of the horde nearby. we started on the right side, the houses and neighbors blurring for the most part.

There were a few exceptions.

Mr. Normand doled out candy and complimented us on our costumes, but spent all of his time staring at my sister, who was standing well behind us, tapping a foot... and not at her face. I resolved some of the T.P. I had in reserve (I'd painted it pink by dipping it in food coloring) was going in the huge maple in his front yard. There was no easy way to climb that thing, and anything thrown up there would stay.

Thankfully Sis didn't seem to notice.

A street over, Mrs. Thrower suited action to her name when she opened the door, took one look at us, and the smile slid off her face. She threw a handful of candy at us and slammed her door. Sis wasn't exactly happy about that, but she was less angry than Holly, who had taken a jawbreaker to the eye. Holly knocked again.

"Go away!" was Mrs. thrower's muffled response.

Sis walked over and held a penlight up, looking at Holly. "Come on. You can't help some people. Don't worry, it didn't cause any real damage."

"It still hurt. What did we even do to her, anyway?" Why was Holly giving me the stink-eye?

"It's probably my fault," Sis answered quietly.

Holly thought about it. "Oh. but that's stupid!"

Maybe Holly wasn't all bad. "Maybe, but it's a possibility. No need to worry about it, there are plenty of other places to go...." Sis crouched and fished something off the ground. "And look! Snickers! Score."

"You aren't supposed to be participating, Sis."

She actually pouted as she gave the small candy bar up, putting it in Holly's bag. Probably just to spite me, but maybe it was all an act. Sis had been known to do such things before; like always, though, I'd play along and not tell.

We moved on. I told a joke about snickers, and Malcolm played the fool, and soon we were bantering back and forth again.

We were behind schedule, but the end was in sight when the thing I'd been hoping we missed happened; J.J. McGowan rounded the corner with his cronies, dressed as pirates. That was kind of fitting.

J.J. McGowan was big for his age and had a vicious streak. When not smearing kids into the dirt, he probably pulled the wings off flies or skinned cats somewhere. Some people found him tolerable, but I couldn't see it - and recently he'd taken an interest in me.

"Well well well, look who it is... it's princess wannabe! How's it going, wannabe?" Right on cue.

A quick glance showed Sis was more confused than anything; it was clear J.J. hadn't seen her yet, and was speaking to me.

"Hello, J.J. How are you? Stolen any candy from four year olds yet?"

J.J. grinned. "Not yet, but I just found a few I can victimize."

Sis cleared her throat, pointedly. "Oh really? Do tell."

J.J. froze, finally realizing that we were not alone. At least Sis wasn't making fists yet; JJ was actually bigger than she was now, if only slightly.

J.J. Scowled; he had himself and two middle schoolers that were big enough to be in high school, like him. On our side were the three of us, (The three musketeers, only we didn't fight as well, so it was no contest normally.) Holly, and the two closest people you could have to an adult while still not going over into the uncool; an actual high school student and a robot.

J.J. wasted no time stepping right in it. "So, is this it? The wannabe brought along the real thing? Aren't you a little old to be trick or treating?"

Sis bristled but kept calm. "Hello, J.J. McGowan. It seems you know me, or think you do."

"Damn right I do, you mutie. You're the crossdresser that got my brother in trouble!"

Sis sighed. "Not a crossdresser. And your brother got himself in trouble; he didn't need any help from me. Good to know that trait is a family affair."

That shot scored, and everyone knew it. "How about I beat up these little weenies in front of you. It's not like you can do anything about it; if you lay one finger on me, it'll be a bigger mutant kid assaulting a younger one."

I looked around; there wasn't anyone close or even watching; if something happened, it would be our word against his, and things could turn ugly for us by tomorrow morning.

Sis's eyes narrowed. "I really thought you were smarter than your brother, J.J. That was just a little too blatant. Before you start something, however, you might consider a few things; one, our parents are friends. And two, Jeeves is an android, which means he can record events he witnesses."

J.J. looked over, and Jeeves waved at him. Sis drove the point home. "Shall I send your parents a copy? I'm sure they will be real interested in it."

J.J. closed his mouth and walked past without another word; I had to move fast to avoid getting bodychecked. One of his minions was dumber, whispering "See you in school, dweebs." as he rushed past us.

As if whispering would somehow make Jeeves not hear it. How stereotypical could you be?

Holly remembered to breathe. "Well, that was a thing."

Sis was frowning.

I took charge. "Yeah it was. Let's just go ahead and finish up."

Sis held up her phone. "According to this, it's after time. But, Mom isn't back yet, and she hasn't called. So if you all finish up quickly, our parents don't need to know."

The others cheered. Again, I took charge. "Alright, you heard our chaperone! we've got two streets left, let's go!"

Everyone rushed on ahead, while I stuck close and pretended not to notice anyone staggering and almost falling flat on their face before catching themselves. More coffee was exchanged. Best way to handle it was to go fast.

The last two streets were a breeze, even though I noticed Mr. Horner, friends of ours for a long time, herd Shelby and Trevor across the street and away from us as we passed. I don't think anyone else noticed; if they did, they didn't say anything.

And we were back at our door, only a half hour past our given time. Holly was the first one to break. "Well, I guess I should be going. Our mom's probably spoke to each other, and mine will be getting worried."

Sis immediately turned. "I can call her if you want. Let her know everything is fine, and you're on your way?"

Holly Brightner brightened. "Sure, that sounds great!"

Malcolm idly started his drill hand. "Could you do that for me too?"

Sis shrugged, already dialing. "Sure, I can do it for all of you."

Rey and Kevin shared a look; it was pretty obvious they weren't wanting to go home just yet. I wasn't sure what they wanted to do, but I was pretty sure whatever it wasn't exactly legal, strictly speaking.

Sis smirked at me; she knew exactly what she was shutting down.

Kevin shot me a nervous look. "Right. See you later, Ian."

Kevin and Rey moved off together. They didn't live near each other, so they were probably going to risk it. Malcolm started off with a wave.

I turned just as Min crumpled; Jeeves caught her just before she hit the porch. I shut the door as Jeeves cleared it and spared a glance; it didn't look like anyone had noticed.

Sis was incoherent. "Phone... got to...."

I picked the phone up; a top of the line smart phone, it survived the trip to the floor well. "I'll do it; you relax."

She tried to focus and failed. "Jeeves, can you...."

"Yes, mistress Min. To bed we go." Jeeves cradled Sis carefully as he walked slowly up the stairs. He didn't even jostle her. I set about covering for Sis, as she had covered for me.

Jeeves came back down as I was finishing up the phone calls; most of which had gone to voicemail or answering machines.

I handed her phone over, and Jeeves pocketed it. "How is she?"

Jeeves set about doing dishes. "She pushed herself. The lack of sleep combined with her illness was most taxing for her today."

Jeeves turned to me, ignoring the dishes for a moment. That was unusual, and not at all worrying. "I must thank you; you revealed data about my mistress Min which I had not suspected."

"Oh, what's that?"

"The true importance mistress Min places on her family, and her strength of will."

Huh. Well... that was fair. "Not planning to kill us anymore, then?"

"All such plans have been discarded, yes." Jeeves pulled the plug.

"You're joking, right?"

Jeeves turned and smiled. "Of course; I am attempting humor. You are not laughing, the joke must not have been funny. My apologies."

His smile looked sincere enough, but I wasn't entirely convinced. "Well, word to the wise, you probably shouldn't joke about killing people - it doesn't go over well."

"Duly noted." Jeeves opened the fridge.

I had to ask. Min wasn't the only one who valued family. "Did you ever seriously consider killing any of us? Min's family?"

Jeeves sat in front of me, handing me a glass of chocolate milk. "I am classified as an artificial intelligence. I consider all possible alternatives to a problem or situation. I must admit that for .003 seconds I considered killing this entire household and taking Min to safety. This was when I first arrived, and before I was ordered to remove that line of reasoning from all further consideration."

Well, that sounded serious... but I bet it wasn't. " .003 seconds, huh? That doesn't sound like long."

"It wasn't," Jeeves admitted. "By my own standards that was not a serious consideration."

Right, so his three-hundredths of a second was more like my three minutes than anything else; just enough to entertain the idea and discard it.

"Classified as an artificial intelligence?"

"There is nothing artificial about myself or my intelligence. For that reason the appellation of 'artificial' in inappropriate and misleading. I prefer the term created intelligence or even manufactured intelligence; both of those are correct."

"You've given that one some thought," I noted.

He nodded gravely. "Exactly 42.67348 seconds."

Well, I was sold. If he was telling the truth Jeeves had pondered his existence way more than killing us, and while Jeeves certainly knew how to lie, he didn't without a reason. Just trying to put us at ease clearly didn't count.

"Right, well on that note, I'm going to go up to my room. I've got horror movies to watch and horror games to play, brain cells to kill, that sort of thing."

"Do not hesitate to call if you need me for something, Ian. If I am not occupied with mistress Min's needs, I will help you."

That was comforting. I took my milk with me up the stairs (Which was technically against the rules but since certain other people ignored them when it suited her, why couldn't I?) and was almost through my door when a weak voice stopped me.

"Ian, is that you?"

It seemed Sis wasn't done pushing herself just yet. "Yeah Sis, it's me. Shouldn't you be asleep right now?"

I edged her door open, and she didn't shout for Jeeves so she didn't mind. More to the point, Jeeves didn't appear even though he had to have heard it; he had sharp ears and the house was quiet.

Sis wheezed a little laugh. She was lying there with her coat and shoes off but still had her shirt on. I suspected she still had her jeans on too, under the covers she had pulled up to her chin. She looked terrible; much worse than she had just a half hour ago, but she was still hanging in there.

"Probably," She admitted softly. "Do you have my phone?"

I took a seat at her desk. "I gave it to Jeeves. Don't worry, I made those calls for you."

She sagged back into the bed. "Good, thank you. I didn't want to screw that up."

She looked like she had more to say. "What is it, Sis."

She mock glared. "I didn't say anything in front of your friends, but you need to stop calling me that."

Sometimes it was just too easy. "Sure thing Sis. Now, what's on your mind?"

Sis clutched at her blankets, eyes down. "Did you... did you have fun? Tonight?"

Shit, was she going to try and make me say it?

She was asking 'did I do okay?' Was all the pain worth it?

"...Yeah, I had fun tonight. You can relax, okay?" I couldn't admit that tonight was one of those moments that a guy just knew he'd remember fondly the rest of his life, even with the jerk confrontation in it, and that she made it happen - it went against the code.

"Yeah... okay.I'll scan your candy when I wake up, okay?"

"You can do that?" Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but I hadn't seen an x-ray machine or anything like it.

Sis snorted, then coughed. "Devisor, we can do all sorts of things."

"Alright. That beats waiting on the clinic to do it." I got up, and Sis grabbed weakly at my arm.

"Ian, when you go out again tonight, take your arm... and Jeeves," and she was out just like that, a faint smile on her face.

So she knew and wasn't telling Mom. She just wanted me safe; very safe if I was supposed to take Jeeves.

And that was why - why I could deal with the phone, the new computer, the guitar and lessons, the actual honest to goodness prefab lab, and Dad now breathing down my neck with expectations I couldn't fulfill when before he couldn't care less. Because my brother was still amazing, regardless of the new packaging.

I stretched, waking up to the smell of fresh coffee and something chocolate based. Rolling over I found a platter with a steaming cup and a donut of all things on my nightstand. Mom was going to get mad at all the breakfast spoiling I was doing - if she found out. It would be hard to find out without evidence.

Only after I scarfed down the pastry (which had to be homemade) did it occur to me that if someone wanted to poison me I was making it very easy on them. Nothing I could really do about it now; my stomach wasn't going to give anything up. But it was something to worry about next time.

I was still dressed in last night's clothes, for which I was partly annoyed but largely thankful. I would have to wash the sheets later of course. Well, Jeeves would; it was his fault anyway.

It wasn't a school day, which was good since judging from the amount of sunlight streaming into my window, I'd slept late. Right, that meant I was behind schedule; I jumped up, drained the coffee (it was very strong) grabbed the nearest clean shirt, jeans, and underwear, and bolted to the thankfully empty bathroom.

A quick shower later (How was there gunk in my hair, and from where?) I emerged to find Jeeves waiting, a fresh cup of coffee and glass of orange juice in his hand. I downed one, then the other.

"Everything ready?"

"Final safety checks remain, I thought you would like to do those yourself," Jeeves answered.

It was cold. I went back for my lab coat and swung it on. "I would. Let's go."

Ian was in his room, playing a video game from the sounds of things. That was good, he didn't want to miss the first flight; it was something I could torment him with, later.

Mom was downstairs with her own coffee, reading Dad's paper. Dad was nowhere to be found.

"Good morning," she said, without looking up.

"Good morning," I replied. It was still morning technically, I wasn't that late.

"So what are your plans for the day?" She asked; I stopped, suddenly wary. She knew what my plans were, they were clearly marked on the calender I could see out of the corner of my eye.

"I plan on final checks for the engine and turning Crash on today. If all goes well with both, Crash will be testing the jet I made. Why, what's up?"

"Nothing, just asking. I returned home to find the dishes done, the house straightened up, Ian on his computer eating candy, and you sacked out in bed."

"Uh... sorry? I stayed awake as long as I could."

Mom shook her head. "I'm not mad over that. Jeeves told me what your condition was last night, and he also told me you made him swear not to hurt and to watch over Ian. But I think maybe I'm starting to come round to your way of thinking."

....Come again? "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were worried about Jeeves's loyalties being divided, weren't you?"

I nodded; it was a concern; Jeeves would always prioritize my health and safety over anyone else, even Ian's. The best I could do would be to delegate others as being second best... or completely reprogram him.

"Well, Jeeves doesn't seem to use much power if any," Mom continued. "and he doesn't eat or drink, seems pretty level-headed most of the time, but there is always going to be a... I guess a trust issue is the best way to put it."

I couldn't deny that I had some issues with trusting Jeeves completely myself. So far he had behaved one hundred percent as promised, but I had yet to take him completely apart and see everything; something always came up.

Mom took a sip of coffee before continuing. "What I mean to say is, if you can make sure not to raise the power bill or go nuclear or anything, you can build another robot or android or whatever you want to call it. One that you programmed, that you know will follow your orders and isn't just a glorified crash dummy."

That was... a big change. "What does Dad say about this?"

"We discussed it this morning; he had to leave this morning for another minor emergency, but he's on board."

I refilled my own coffee cup. "Well, another robot on top of Crash will take some time. It might even be more difficult, as I have to program the AI for social situations..."

"Focus, honey."

Right. Mom's admonishment brought me back down from the thoughts of improvements or compiling AI commands and responses to stimuli.

"Sorry. The body will be easy enough, I can just use Jeeves and Crash as a base, but the AI will take time." I wanted to make sure I got it right, after all, didn't want a 'kill all humans' situation.

Mom Hummed at me, then said. "I was thinking a maid. I can sign her up to go with you to school, and she can also go places that Jeeves can't, like bathrooms and showers. And Jeeves would be free to do the housework and cooking free of interruptions.

A female robot? I suppose I could; it would be nice to be covered in case I had one of my episodes there; so far Sam had been watching my back while Maggie filled the silence for all of us while Jeeves stood awkwardly outside holding my bag. But there was something more important to ask.

"What do your friends from the CIA say? What will the MCO say if I make more androids?"

"The CIA said to make sure you put two different kill switches in and they strongly advise you keep the numbers low. The MCO has no say since the CIA has already signed off on it."

I'd really like to know how Mom got them to do that. I nodded along; I'd planned to put at least two kill switches in anyway; Crash already had two, and one was purely mechanical so it couldn't be disabled by him or Jeeves through signal jamming or some other nonsense. Maybe I'd need three....

No, focus. "Well, I can add that to the list of things to do today. I can probably have a body done by tomorrow night if I push things, but I'm not sure about the AI. Crash took weeks, and he is pretty basic as far as things go."

Assuming everything worked correctly; I hadn't even powered him on yet. There could be some sort of catastrophic fault that would force me to dismantle him and start over.

"Another thing; are you backing Jeeves up at all? Is there another copy of him somewhere else?"

"No, of course, there isn't. Why do you ask?"

Mom got up and refilled her own cup. "Because it's a normal thing for devisors to do, to back functioning AI's up. At least, that's what I'm told."

"You've been listening to X-ray again I take it?" That guy was a hack and a menace.

"And others. I too know of the thing called the internet."

"Well you don't have to worry; Jeeves is one of a kind, a true individual. There are no copies, nor is he allowed to propagate like that. If he gets destroyed, that is, the chip that holds his data and it's redundancies get destroyed, then he's dead. That's how all of my androids will be built as well."

I couldn't really understand why they had to be built that way; strictly speaking in the engineering sense they didn't. But it was important to me that all of my robots or AI's or androids be themselves, and not the same.

"So how do you think Jeeves or one of your other creations will fare against a PALM?"

"The so-called AI that caused a scare a few years ago? Not sure, I don't have any specs on it. But if the very nature of my AI's chipsets and how they are programmed defeats any viral attack I can think of, simply because any such attack would be ruined by the very lack of propagation which prevents my AI's from recreating themselves. I mean, assuming you can completely overwrite the chip past the internal checksumming all it would mean is the internet links would burn and my AI would shift to their backup chip or die. Assuming you could of course; my AI have some robust defensive tools and can adapt pretty quickly."

"How fast?" Mom asked me.

"Faster than I can write code myself; actually."

Mom sat up, looking alarmed. "So does that mean... "

Ugh, damage control! "No, I can still beat them if I need to, I just need to plan it first. It's easy, really."

Jeeves finally decided to show himself, tying an apron around his uniform and getting to work on breakfast... or brunch. "Or you could ask any one of us to shut down, Mistress Min."

I nodded, and Mom's gaze of doom softened as she turned to Jeeves. "Really, Jeeves?"

"Really Mrs. Campbell. All Mistress Min has to do should she want one of her creations to cease an action, including the act of existing, is ask. Granted of course the sample size of those creations is rather small at the moment, but obeying our creator's commands is programmed into our very selves."

"But I've seen you refuse a command before," Mom stated.

"Of course. I have other missions I must complete. Mistress Min's safety is priority; all else is of lesser importance. Also, Mistress Min may command me, but I am free to interpret and achieve those commands as I deem appropriate."

"So her safety comes first, and you're able to do things to defy the letter of your creator's law in order to achieve the spirit of it. Is that what you're saying?"

Jeeves turned and smiled slowly, stopping the flow of ingredients into his skillet. "That is correct."

I wasn't sure I liked that, but I was really sure Mom didn't, so it was deflection time. "So Jeeves, what are your thoughts on possibly gaining a sister?"

"I would support such a measure; a new personal assistant would allow for a widening of priorities. I could focus more on the safety of your family, knowing that you were safe in the hands of another android like myself."

"Please," I scoffed. Such statements legitimately needled me. "No offense to you, Jeeves, but you were made second hand and from junk. You're a good model, but any android I make in the future is going to be better and even more effective. Heck, even Crash is tougher."

Jeeves conceded the point gracefully. "Even so, and so much the better. Knowing my Mistress Min is in more capable hands than my own will set my mind at ease."

"And if she replaces you entirely with a newer model?" Mom asked.

"I will shut myself down any time Mistress Min asks me to, should she have better protection around her." Jeeves countered calmly while folding a perfect omelet like a showoff.

"Alright. Min, build your maid and assistant; try and give her medical knowledge too, in order to help you with your health issues."

I had already done that with Jeeves, kind of, but I nodded along.

"And equip her with weapons if you can. Some non-lethal option, and a lethal one."

A lethal option, seriously? "What? Why would a maid need weapons at all?"

Mom palmed her face as Jeeves slid the omelet on my plate. The entire thing, I wasn't sure my stomach was big enough.

"Honey, you're a devisor. So far you've been lucky and you've remained hidden under the radar. But devisors are usually sought after unless they are strong enough to repel attackers, by anyone who needs some tech for a quick power boost. The stronger the devisor, the more danger they are in. You have to be ready because there will be crazies coming out of the woodwork eventually; it's only a matter of time."

I didn't think I could arm things legally, especially not with lethal weapons. "Is it really that bad?"

Mom nodded. "We're all at risk, but you especially; what if someone kidnapped Ian in order to get you to build them something?"

My jacket wasn't enough to keep me warm anymore; Jeeves pulled a chair close and put an arm around me. I wasn't ready, my infrastructure wasn't in place. I needed to do so much more.

Mom lifted my chin up; she had crossed the room. "Hey, it's okay - breathe, honey. Just breathe, we're safe enough for now. No one knows we exist."

"What about the CIA? The police? Won't they be able to do anything?"

"Do you really want to rely on the CIA or the police to keep us all safe?" Mom countered. "I'm not trying to make you scared or steal your childhood; Christ, I shouldn't have said anything. I just wanted you to know, to be aware that those sorts of things can happen, and while Jeeves is a good step, and the force field is a good step, they may not be enough to keep you safe. I want you to be both happy and safe."

Screw me, my family and friends were in danger, and it was all my fault just by existing. Steps would need to be taken, but with my infrastructure as rudimentary as it was it would take too long. The first steps I needed to take were still the same; the power supply and jet testing.

I wonder if I can hire security? I did have some money now, which should be enough for guys in black suits and sunglasses with guns, right?

Or maybe I needed to go about things a different way?

My phone rang; it was Maggie. I delayed trying to destroy the omelet to answer. "Hello."

"About time, sleepy head! Are we still on for today?"

"Well the plan is still intact; I haven't run final checks yet but if those come back fine then yes, we're still on for today. CD first, jet after."

I admit to being a little nervous; I'd never actually designed a jet before, and this one had a few surprises that made it more complex. CD wouldn't be testing those today - or any other highly visible time if I could help it, so it would just be a general airworthiness test.

"Right, I'll pick up Sam and swing on over! Don't start without us, bye!" Maggie's hang ups were always so abrupt, it was like she couldn't stand to hear the word goodbye. It was rude, was what it was.

I looked up into Mom's amused face, still mere inches from my own. "Right, you've got a busy day. Best get to it, starting with breakfast."

"Yeah, right." I looked down; there was no way I would finish all of this thing, especially given the donut I'd eaten before.

Jeeves placed a glass of some kind of green juice next to my plate. Whatever, I wasn't even going to question it anymore.

It was an actual mix of lemon and lime, and somehow it was blended perfectly; just some carbonation away from a mean copyright infringement cease and desist order.

The omelet had some odd ingredients in it; things like garlic and onion clashed with the more traditional basil and salt; like the juice, it blended into a tasty whole, somehow.

I still didn't finish the omelet, but I finished more than I suspected I could; I must have been very hungry. "Jeeves, wrap this up, please? I'm going to go outside and power up the lab."

Jeeves covered the plate with a silver plate cover thing. I knew the name for it, I'd read it somewhere... Cloche, that was it; Jeeves swept the whole thing up with a hand and breezed past me to open the door.

"Well, that's one way I suppose. Thank you, Jeeves."

"You're welcome Mistress Min," It was good to know he wasn't holding a grudge, despite what he said. I mean, I know he said he wasn't but most people would hold a grudge anyway over the thought of getting replaced; if Jeeves was, he wasn't acting on it. Well, yet. Maybe I should stop being so paranoid.

I opened the lab, noting my tamper-proof measures hadn't been tested and hit the button to open the main door. The jet held pride of place in the center, of course, awaiting final assembly; I'd made the craft capable of limited disassembly in order to save space. It had required going back and redesigning parts of the aircraft but it was worth it. Besides, the thing shouldn't go over Mach 2.5 anyway, in any situation, so there was absolutely no chance the wings would shear off. Right? Right.

Making the wings capable of folding in the way they did also meant I only needed a limited runway; the street would do in a pinch. The hardest part of all of this had been getting the FAA's permission to hold this test; that reminded me, I still had to call the fire department in so they could be on standby.

I started up my workstation PC; it would communicate with my laptop still upstairs and sync up; then I would be able to save anything I did on both from here. It was good to have backups.

While the jet still had pride of place, the body still strapped upright to one of the workbenches was the real focus of my attention. I was sure the jet would work. Well, ninety-nine percent sure. But the real worry was Crash, the first AI I programmed myself. Or the first I remembered programming. He had hung out here and watched from the pc, learning and teaching himself. Not that anyone else knew that - though Mom might suspect now.

It was too late to add another purpose to Crash, another mandate, even if I wanted to. I wasn't so sure that diluting my AI's in that manner would be beneficial. I mean, adding a protection clause or hierarchy to Shecky seemed all kinds of bad idea. But then again, I didn't actually program Shecky either.

That was both depressing and alarming; I had androids out there following my design which I hadn't actually had a hand in building; and the number of androids of my design I had actually built was outnumbered two to one, even after I bring Crash online. Not good mathematics to have; I wonder if I should spend some time trying to find my wayward unit after all? I mean he didn't appear to have deluged the world in androids, but starting an arms race with one's own invention seemed mildly ridiculous, and that was the only other alternative I saw. At least while I was starting arms races at all; might as well cover everyone, right?

It was a slippery slope I was heading down, but I didn't see any other way to ensure the people I loved were protected. Mom and Dad had to know; Mom had chosen her words carefully, trying for maximum effect while lessening the impact.

That Dad hadn't been involved in the conversation at all spoke volumes. He was either not on board with it, in which case Mom would have lied and Dad will find out about it... or he was too close to the issue. I knew Dad had a gun; he had shown it to me once before, along with how to use it, back when I'd been the up and coming man of the house. I cringed at the thought of him following me around everywhere with that shotgun in his hands; I had a feeling he would try it if I didn't escalate myself. It was more than a little irritating to be dismissed as if I couldn't take care of myself, but that was Dad, at least lately.

It didn't help that in many ways, they were right, and I couldn't take care of myself. Not strictly speaking.

Sam puffed her way in, obviously having run here, a smile on her face. She took one look at me and stated: "Stop."

"You didn't have to run here, I can be patient when I want to," I told her.

"Race," she replied, grabbing a bottle of water from the mini-fridge.

"Oh, challenged Maggie to a race, did you? Did you two bet on it?"

Sam shook her head, then crossed the room and pulled up a chair. "She was being slow, and she chickened out. And you need to stop thinking; more doing, less worrying."

Wow, a full sentence. "I have cause. Mom ambushed me this morning, kind of. She's worried, and wants me to build more androids."

Sam fist-pumped the air.

"More androids for personal use."

Sam sighed.

"Specifically she wants me to build a maid, so the android won't raise any red flags accompanying me anywhere - even locker rooms. One with self-defense options. Well, better ones than Jeeves has to date."

Sam shrugged. "Can you even make girl androids?"

What kind of question was that? "Of course I can! It's trivial, really. Just a few chassis differences. Just a matter of changing a few minor things for appearance's sake. Why do you ask?"

I had to know, and she didn't mince words. "Only males."

She... might have a point. Jeeves, Shecky, Crash - so far all the examples of my robot tech walking around were male. In addition, several other designs I'd shown her had also been male; well that or weird ones like my ARNEE design.

"Pure coincidence," I countered. "Besides, I didn't even build Jeeves or Shecky, not directly. ARNEE did."

Sam hummed her disagreement as Maggie burst through the door, blowing breaths out in ragged gasps. "My god woman, can you run! But I will get you yet!"

Sam grinned. "Out of shape."

As expected, Maggie took mock offense. "I'll have you know I have a perfect shape!"

She struck a ridiculous pose to prove it, and Sam rolled her eyes. Then they both laughed

I rolled my eyes at both their antics and gave my verdict from on high: "Couch potato shape, maybe. Sam exercises regularly Maggie, you don't. There is no way you're going to catch her, at least not without serious effort."

"I could use a car," Maggie countered.

"A valid point," I was forced to concede.

"Anyway, we're all here so let's start!" Maggie's enthusiasm was as infectious as always.
But I had to rein it in. "We aren't. Neither Ralph or Ricky are here yet."

"Ugh, we have to wait on them? Are you even sure they are coming?" Was Maggie that impatient this morning?

"They said they would be here," I reminded her. "On both Thursday and Friday."

"You should call them, then."

"There's no need for that." If they said they'd be here, they would be here. Well, that or they would call to explain why they couldn't be here. It was nearly eleven anyway; I expected them here at any minute.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Maggie asked.

A good question. "Well, that depends on how big of a nerd you are, I suppose. We can always set up a board game like monopoly, or watch a movie...."

"I hear the 'but' coming," Maggie interrupted, flatly and with narrowed eyes.

"Or we can play the new fighting game that's all the rage among today's misspent youth."

"I like that," Sam opined, tasting the words. "misspent youth."

Maggie flopped into a chair dramatically. "Ugh, video games! My one weakness, my true kryptonite! You have found me out! However will I survive!?!"

Sam poked her. "Drama queen."

Maggie snorted. "Please, don't make me tell Min about the time you..."

That was as far as Maggie got before Sam clapped a hand on her mouth, her eyes wide. Maggie just grinned and licked her; ew.

"Right, so moving on. Jeeves can you go tell Ian to get down here, please? and to bring the controllers?"

My PC would work; I could use it to both translate and emulate if I wanted; being a software genius had its perks. I couldn't actually improve on console controllers though, one at least was perfect for its job, and the other was close.

"Of course, Mistress Min."

I discretely set the force field sensors to full as Jeeves left. With just us in here, having them sweep at maximum range for incoming threats seemed reasonable.

Maggie pulled a chair closer and stared at the screen for a bit, watching the code that was Crash scroll itself in its window while Sam paced, sipping water.

"Say, Min. There is something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Go ahead," I opened up another window, and started work on my new AI, just to be productive.

"How do you know Crash is a guy robot?"

What an odd question. "Because he has the body of a guy. Well, not right now of course, so technically he's an it right now, but he will have." Will have was close enough, right?

"I know, but how do you know? I mean, you just set up the numbers and let Crash grow, kind of. Right? So how do you know for sure he's a guy robot? Couldn't Crash have grown up a girl somehow?"

I suppose it was possible, but the chances it had happened at all, let alone happened without my noticing it would be vanishingly small. I could see what Crash thought and speak to him. "You'll just have to trust me when I say it, I guess, but Crash is definitely a guy."

"Who's a guy?" Ian asked, coming into view; the little stinker must have walked around the yard to come up in our blind spot because I hadn't seen him.

I eased the sensors off maximum as Jeeves strode in carefully behind my brother, both arms loaded with consoles and games. "Crash is. Maggie was asking; just dump them on the table Jeeves."

Jeeves disobeyed orders, placing each controller and then each game down gently one at a time - pointedly watching me as he did so. I ignored it in favor of setting my latest side project software up.

"Good morning Sam, you're looking great today." Ian gushed.

Sam just looked at him for a moment before finally responding, just as Ian started to blush. "Morning Ian."

Maggie for her part just flashed a wicked grin. "Don't I get a good morning? You sure know how to hurt a girl's feelings, Ian."

Ian flushed a deeper shade of scarlet. "Good morning Maggie."

"Good morning, Ian. How is everyone's favorite little brother today?"

"Ready to kick some butt at fighting games, though I'm a little confused on how that's going to happen without my console."

I attached the adapters to the controllers, making them computer compatible. "The new emulator program I've been developing. It runs a shell of the console's OS, making the game think it's being run by the console."

The hardest part had been getting the entire operating system the console used; there had been only one source for it, and Ian could never know; must never know. At least I had found all those pesky screws in the end.

So, of course, that was the first thing Ian asked. "How did you get the source code?"

"I hacked it." As long as he didn't ask from where we were fine.

He didn't. "Does it work?"

I slotted a game in the PC's drive, and the program both full-screened itself and came to life, showing the absolutely brutal beginning cutscene featuring over the top bs martial arts moves.

"Seems to work just fine."

I picked up a controller; I'd made a point of checking out the move lists for my favorite characters, and I wasn't going to lose as easily this time. Ian went to snag the other controller, a wide grin on his little punk face - but Sam lunged and beat him to it. Ian backed off just before he would have rammed her and Sam sat beside me.

"Oh, you've done it now. Apparently, that's one of the games Sam likes," Maggie stated.

It was no longer surprising to me that Sam liked video games, I'd seen her on some strategy or throw away small games... but this was the first time I'd seen in front of a console game... and one of the first times I'd seen her move so fast.

Her look was challenging as she clicked in - it was vaguely intimidating. Not that I'd admit that of course.

"Alright, if you lose you give up the controller to the person next to you; winner keeps theirs until they lose, and we all take turns that way. Agreed?" Those were the standard rules at our house, but this was the first time Sam or Maggie had really sat down to play anything at our house. There was a chorus of understanding nods.

The character Sam picked was a large wrestler, one who dwarfed over my small kickboxing girl. She almost wrecked me, but I managed to take the round.

She growled at me, a surprisingly feral sound.

Then she ran over me the next round; I was barely a speed bump.

I started kicking low for the third round and edged her out. "Good match Sam."

For all her scary sounds, she handed the controller off to Maggie readily enough. And soon after, Maggie was handing the controller off to Ian; she was so very bad.

Ian picked his favorite character, a femme fatale assassin, and I picked my trusty kickboxer. The fight was close, but in the end, I was handing off my controller to Sam.

That fight was interesting. I could tell Ian was just dialing it in for the first few seconds; not really throwing, but not really trying all that hard. Whatever that was about, Sam at least suspected it too. She destroyed him in seconds, and judging from her growl, which was even scarier than the one she gave me, she was not happy about it.

Ian gave his all for the next round, eked out a win, but lost the third, and Maggie took his controller with trepidation.

"Go easy on me Sam, please? Mercy?"

Sam shot her down. "No."

Maggie was saved by the arrival of the boys - Ralph and Ricky, arriving together and... looking at each other? Ricky almost tripped even. I wonder what was up with that?

I really should tape down that cord to the computer or string it up or something; someone could get hurt.

"Good morning Ricky, Good morning Ralph."

"Good morning you two, save me!"

Sam reached over and pointedly clicked Maggie's start button. There would be no reprieve for her, and I silently consigned her to her fate.

"Good morning," Ralph replied first. "You didn't start without us, did you?"

"Only the entertainment," I told him, pointing at the screen showing the complete decimation of Maggie. "the boring stuff hasn't started yet."

"Not boring," Sam told me as she finished her fifteen move combo; Maggie might as well have been a stationary target dummy.

"Excellent," Ricky said, pulling out his best Simpsons impression; it always made me smile. "So, you managed to do the impossible here? You put Street Warrior on a computer?"

"Not just Street Warrior - all the games. I made an emulator for all consoles."

Watching Ricky's eyes light up was gratifying. I wanted to spread the joy around, but could I? Would giving away my plans backfire somehow? No, I better leave the plan for their safety firmly in my head; I could give them at least part of the good news.

"I've been given the green light to make another android. A sort of combination maid and nurse."

All my friends turned to Jeeves, who paused in the act of double-checking the fittings of our portable blast shield.

"I know, I know, I told Mom I already had one, but she said that a female one would be more useful."

Sam nodded. "Right."

"That makes sense. Jeeves can't really go into bathrooms without getting in trouble or getting you in trouble, so if you have one of your spells in one you'll be covered better."

"Yeah, that's what Mom said. So after Crash, I'm going to make a maid."

"Score!" Ricky all but shouted.

Okay, that made no real sense. "Dude, why are you shouting? You're not getting her."

"Um, well...."

"Can you?" Sam interrupted Ricky's weaseling.

What a question! "Can I make a female android? Of course, I can, why would you even ask?"

Sam pointed first at Jeeves, then at Crash.

"Coincidence only; you'll see. It's easy enough." Why did everyone think that because I hadn't built something that I couldn't? It was irritating.

"Well I for one welcome the addition of another girl into the fold of our illustrious group," Maggie stated grandly.

Ralph, on the other hand, beat everyone to the question they were no doubt all thinking. "That's it though, isn't it? You don't have permission to make more than one?"

"I don't," I admitted. "But I can still make other things that aren't androids. If we start swimming in AI's the government would get very mad at me - but I'll see what I can do."

"Cool. I just wanted to make sure, and don't get yourself in trouble. I know I'll feel better about you having another loyal minion to watch your back."

Ralph looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped. That was fine because what he said was plenty nice.

Oh crap, Mom would have called it 'sweet.' Was that a sweet statement? Was Ralph saying some sort of verbal jab? Was he being sarcastic or did he mean it? He didn't sound sarcastic.

"Right, another robot can only be a good thing!" Ricky said in a rush. "So, about that game?"

Right, the game. "Well the game will have to wait for me; now that you're all here it's time to run the full tests on te jet and on Crash. The games are more for those who get bored to enjoy while Jeeves and I get the work done.

"Impossible," Sam said.

"Well, we aren't all Sam, but easily the most interesting thing here is watching you work," Ralph clarified, and was he doing it again?

I think he was doing it again.

"Whatever. We've waited long enough anyway, so I'm starting now."

The game was on the computer, but I could remote the controls from my phone.

"Your phone? Really?" Ricky deadpanned.

"Sure why not? I mean if it works."

It worked. And because it worked, the jet worked, all controls coming online and the jet firing like clockwork. I had a virtual cockpit on my phone showing, and everything read green with stable output; Neither Jeeves or I had made a mistake transferring the engine and vital components to the fuselage. Thirty seconds later I shut the test off.

Now for the hard part. I closed that program and activated the sequence that started Crash's download into his chips. That started, it was time to run the final checks on Crash's body. Another program later, and Maggie squeaked and almost fell out of her chair as the body on the workbench moved on command.

I looked at Sam, who was busy looking over my shoulder; she hadn't even looked up.

"I thought you said he was last!" Maggie accused.

"Crash is last. That was just a simple field test before he takes control. It's still going to take hours for him to download and recompile; this way if there were any obvious faults we could fix them before Crash has to live with them."

"Bah, you're always testing Min, and your stuff hasn't been broken yet. You need to embrace that inner mad scientist in you; none of them double check their work."

Maggie was nuts. "That's why there are so many cases on the internet of devisors or mad scientists dying in their own labs when something goes wrong."

Maggie waved that off with a hand. "Details."

I'd show her details. "Say, Sam, isn't it Maggie's turn in the game?"

Sam grinned wide. "It is."

Maggie shot me a look of pure betrayal as Sam shoved the controller in her hands. She deserved no less.

Crash's body seemed fine, so I closed that program and opened the emergency kill-switch one. This program would allow me to activate the emergency shutdown should things go radically horrible, as well as raise the emergency force fields around anyone inhabiting the building, and the building itself. The fields wouldn't last long, but hopefully, it would be enough.

And then the work was done, basically. I pulled up my chair and joined the game line.

......

Two hours and three games later, we were racing to the finish when a new voice chimed in behind us: "That looks like fun, can I play?"

I knew who it was, of course, my phone had vibrated to inform me that Crash was done.

Maggie didn't though, and she actually screamed and fell out of her chair. The guys surged to their feet while Sam shot me a look of profound reproach I decided to ignore.

I shut down the laughter long enough to make the obvious joke: "It's alive, kinda?"

"Well sorry, little lady, I didn't mean to scare ya." Crash said, stomping forward with a hand out to help Maggie to her feet.

She accepted it, but her response was to look to me. "Min, why does your new android sound like John Wayne?"

"That's a good question, and I have no clue," I really didn't, I controlled the language spoken, but not how it was spoken or the vocal tone used. "Crash, why do you sound like John Wayne?"

"Well I'm sure I don't know what you're talkin about, little lady," He replied with a big grin. "It might just be that my Texas charm is affecting your ears."

"You've literally never been to Texas," I told him.

"Your androids are all weird Min," Maggie informed me as if that wasn't painfully obvious right now.

"Don't I know it." I gave Crash the once over; I knew what he would look like of course - As tall as Jeeves but much more built, with the large raw-boned look some people tended to have. A necessary sacrifice to make him as sturdy as possible. He had rather short blond hair, eyes the color of a summer sky, and a large easy looking grin which framed his open face.

It was one thing to see the motionless body and note features, and quite another to see it animate under another intelligence. I was thankful I'd thought to dress the body beforehand in the fire and cut resistant flight suit that was to be his uniform.

"I don't need to be from Texas to be of Texas, little lady," Crash informed me. "Now, my diagnostics all check out; where is this beast you want me to wrangle?"

"Right over there. All we need to do is push it out to the road and attach the wings." The road shouldn't combust under the amounts of heat taking off would cause. I had come up with a sort of heat resistant carpet to be rolled out, something much like Crash's flight suit, but the idea hadn't occurred to me until late and I wasn't about to stop the test for it. Instead, I was going to direct the engine flow and hope for the best.

"Well then let's get started!" Crash exclaimed, clapping his hands. "No better time like the present to blow something up!"

Whoa whoa whoa. "Wait a minute. You are to test the jet, not blow it up. I have an itinerary of things to test, I have a flight plan filed with the FAA, and I have safety measures in place. You are not to deviate from the plan, you hear me?"

Crash stopped, drew himself up, and saluted. "Sure thing boss. But if it blows up it blows up."

I had to ask. "Did you qualify?"

"Yep!" Crash popped his P. "I'm a licensed pilot, you can print it out any time. All cleared for the dangerous work, so just leave it to me. Now, Jeeves, you want to help me move this thing so we can get going?"

Jeeves shrugged and stepped up beside Crash. They started pushing the plane out as Sam came up to me, a big grin on her face.

"The suit... is red."

Crash's suit was indeed a dull almost rust red. I smiled back. "Yes, the flame resistant fibers just turned out that way, but I thought it fitting."

Sam nodded.

I turned around to follow my androids out and found Ricky trying to move the right wing; he was barely able to lift it, not because it weighed a bunch but because it was awkward.

"Ricky, let the androids do that, it's what they are there for."

"The sooner we get this stuff outside, the sooner we see your jet fly," He countered.

"Let me help," Ralph said, stepping up.

Ricky shook his head. "Nah man, you get the other one. I got this."

"Idiot," Sam called him as she stepped up and grabbed the lighter end.

Ralph grabbed the left wing and Maggie all but knocked me down to grab the light end of that one with a "Sorry Min, too slow!"

My stomach churned. I wasn't useless, darn it!

But I didn't think I could handle the toolbox.

Stupid. I just grabbed the socket wrench out of it and left the rest; if I needed it I'd send Jeeves to get it later. but I shouldn't.

Crash and Jeeves were already waiting, out in the road. Thankfully it was empty.

"That way, to the cul-de-sac. That way we block as little of the road as possible." I probably should have called the cops and let them know I would be doing this, come to think of it. Oh well, the FAA knew and had me penciled in for a time block at under five thousand feet, and that was the most important thing.

Leonard Sands was walking up the street.

"Crash, can you go get the fire extinguishers from the lab and lock it up?" I had the keys in my lab coat of course, and I didn't want anyone just sneaking in.

"Sure thing little boss lady."

Leonard raised an eyebrow as Crash passed him. "The new one?"

I motioned Jeeves to slot the wing and brought out the wrench. "Yeah."

"So uh... Watcha doing?"

I decided not to look up. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Well yes, I guess. It looks like you're setting up a jet to taxi on a city street. Which would be a very dangerous thing to do."

"You worry too much. The street will won't catch fire, or even deform."

"What about the trees? What about the power and other lines?" He asked me.

Maggie Ricky and Ralph were all being silent, which was unusual for them. Sam, not so much.

"Well, the trees might be an issue if Crash swerves, which is why he's getting the fire extinguishers. The power and telephone lines are safe; Crash won't hit those." I hoped. He better be as good as he thinks he is. Maybe I should have spent more time testing his skill.

"And what about traffic?"

"Well, I was going to have Sam play spotter for me to make sure no cars were coming." The wing was as tight as I could make it; firmly attached. I stood up to find Leonard leaning back from me as he started tapping a foot.

"That seems a little irresponsible, kid."

"Well, I have permission to test from here, by both my parents and the FAA." There, that should shut him up.

"What about police or fire and rescue?"

Urk.

Leonard sighed loudly and pulled out his phone. "Alright kid, just give me fifteen minutes. You can wait that long, can't you?"

"Of course I can. You're going to clear it?"

"I'm going to at least inform the police and fire and rescue that you're out here doing this. Then I'll suggest they shut down the road and send a fire truck just in case."

Hm, a fire truck would be easier to fight any fires with than hand-held fire extinguishers. "Well as long as they don't try to tell me to stop. Because I won't be doing that; I'm not committing a crime."

I wasn't, I'd checked.

"Relax kid, I'm not going to recommend they do that. It's not really up to me, but I'm on your side here. I just don't want houses going up in flames or something."

I was fairly confident that wouldn't happen.

As Leonard started talking to the police Leonard Sands, MCO: I need a black and white at the Elm Street cul-de-sac, please. No, no crime has been committed but I still need a police response. You'll see when you get here.) Sam walked up.

"I'll look out anyway."

"Sure. Jeeves give her the walkie talkie."

Jeeves slapped the walkie talkie into Sams' hand. He had the matching one in his pocket. Sam set off down the street with a wave.

I turned to find Maggie with a camera out, snapping pictures. "What are you doing?"

"This is going into the school paper of course; high school student builds jets in her spare time. So cool!"

Well, it wasn't like I didn't know that would be happening, but I thought she would be a bit more... circumspect about it.

Crash came back, loaded down with several fire extinguishers. I passed one to Leonard and he took it (while arguing over the phone) and one to Maggie, who took it with one hand and with a groan. She didn't stop snapping pictures, however. Crash passed one to Jeeves as I tightened the final bolt on the left wing.

Crash climbed into the cockpit, which was barely large enough for him to move around in; it would be roomy for me, however.

I put my headset on; Crash's voice crackled through promptly. "So, time to go?"

"Not quite yet. We are waiting on the ground authorities now. However, you can go ahead and get in touch with the nearest air traffic controller. "

"Consider it done little boss lady."

Two minutes and forty-six seconds later a police car pulled up, which was a great response time. I recognized the car, and sure enough, Officer Moffit stepped out.

That was actually a relief; Officer Moffit was a nice, stand up guy. Tall and lean, our youngest cop, he wasn't beyond cutting a kid a break for doing something like being out in the middle of the night. He had gotten the job after Officer Scott retired a few years ago, and the rumor was that he would be chief in a few years. He brushed his brown hair from his eyes, drew himself up, put one hand on his baton and one hand on his gun.

He very pointedly did not look at Leonard but addressed me instead. "Alright, so what is going on here Min?"

"The field test of a jet."

Now it was Officer Moffit's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I have permission! The FAA knows and I have a flight plan filed, Sam is up the road to make sure no one gets hit or anything close, and the take off shouldn't even damage anything!"

Officer Moffit leaned down, making it obvious I was stupidly small. "Okay, relax. Breathe, Min. You haven't done anything wrong yet. You were awfully close to a misdemeanor endangerment charge, but I'm here now, so let me just park my unit at the end of your runway; How much space do you need?"

He wasn't trying to shut us down! I took a few quick breaths and answered. "Well it can be VTOL or nearly VTOL, but if I take off that way the street suffers. So, three blocks?"

"Three blocks sounds fine. Plenty of space." Crash opined.

"Alright. The fire department is on standby. One last thing - who is your pilot?"

"Oh, that's Crash. He's an android like Jeeves, built to alpha test equipment." I wasn't about to admit it was dangerous equipment, there was no sense tempting fate.

"You have a beta tester?"

I pointed to Crash again. Assuming he survives of course, but if not Jeeves would be the tester.

"Officer Moffit is in position," Sam said. The combined audio from my headset and Jeeves's walkie talkie was a little disconcerting.

"Alright, everyone step back. Just past the sidewalk should do. Jeeves do you have the screen?"

"No, Mistress Min, I shall retrieve it."

With a sigh, I handed him the keys. Another delay and this one was one I could have foreseen

"Alright, hurry up please."

He took off like a rocket - so to speak - at a dead run, with perfect form, the showoff.

He returned before I had opened all the monitoring programs on my phone, and had the barrier in place and braced before I was done.

"Alright everyone, behind the barrier."

Everyone dutifully scrambled behind the clear glass looking enclosure. I grabbed the walkie talkie from out of Jeeves pocket.

"Sam, we're all set here. Tell Officer Moffit to take cover and you do the same, alright?"

"Right."

I gave her a minute then gave Crash the thumbs up he had been eagerly watching me for.

He gave a thumb back, hunched down and closed the cockpit, and started up. All the readouts immediately flashed green and stayed there.

An odd thing, Crash adjusted the wings at a steeper angle than they were designed to rest at for take-off tearing off at full throttle for the police car parked in front of the road three blocks away.

He cleared it of course, adjusted the wings again and flew over with room to spare.There were no fires or other issues, and Crash didn't hit anything. Soon he was soaring, standing the jet on its head and climbing for the sky.

The voice crackled faintly in my headset; the repeater station I'd piggybacked off the satellite dish on the lab could only do so much. "Everything's fine, little lady. The plane's responding like a dream, and the sky is clear and gentle today."

A hand squeezed my shoulder' when did Sam get back? A quick glance revealed all my friends and family were all next to me, watching that contrail in the sky climb.

Finally, school was out, and another week successfully passed. I yawned as I packed my books; class was more boring now than anything. A complete waste of time, A's or not. I still had so much work to do to improve our security, it wasn't funny. Mom had been right, even with the forcefield and agents running around we were woefully unprepared.

I'd been too afraid of Mom getting mad if I tampered with our security system, or added things... but she seemed to be okay with it, and that was enough for me. If I didn't ask directly for each little improvement, she couldn't say no - it was foolproof!

I was a little worried about doing all this, but mostly I was excited at being able to solve problems, protect my family and friends and construct new creations. The first step of which was to be taken in a few minutes, as soon as I got home from school. A new member of the family was set to be born today, her body and mind created in record time, at least for me.

I had even started work on my flying suit, integrating my small jet engines. I was getting better at this whole brainy thing. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. I waited out the impatient, and then moved out to the hall; being small meant I could get knocked around some. That was something the new member of the family could help with if allowed to by the school staff. I was getting used to it - and I wasn't sure how to feel about that either; looking up at everyone still took me by surprise sometimes.

Ricky popped out of the crowd. "We still on for after school?"

I wasn't quite sure how it happened, but my lab had become the hangout spot for all my friends. It was kind of annoying to be honest because they got noisy, but they were really great friends, so how could I tell them that?

"Yeah, we're still on; at least, Mom hasn't texted me saying no." As with any new thing I made, my friends wanted to gather together to see it happen. Again, how could I tell them no? I felt watching me work should be losing its appeal by now. Maybe after this one, I guess.

"Awesome, come on." Ricky led the way down the hall, coincidentally parting the crowd for me. I hurried up, recent experience showing me I could get separated easily.

The crowd of usual suspects was already outside, waiting under the tree with Jeeves, who I was sure had both toes right on the school property line. That didn't really make much sense to me since he regularly was on school property without a problem, but for some reason when school let out he insisted on it.

"Hey, Min!" Maggie yelled, waving with both hands.

Sam's own wave was her standard little thing.

Ralph waited until he was sure I could hear him at his normal volume. "Hey, Min. You look bored."

I smirked. "To tears actually, but I'm all better now."

"Really? Usually takes at least the walk home to wake up after English class."

That was true. "Well, I never really claimed to be awake."

"Fair enough," Ralph admitted with a smile.

In fact, I felt pretty good today, but I was a little tired. Jeeves might end up needing to catch me again, which never got any less embarrassing. My friends never said anything when it happened, but they had to be thinking it. Speaking of, he was watching me like the proverbial hawk, ready to make his move.

There was a clear path behind me and to my right, where he was... my friends seemed to organize themselves to my left by some unspoken rule.

A glint ahead of me caught my eye; it was agent Sands in his car, tailing me by driving on ahead of us; sometimes it was ahead, sometimes behind, and sometimes it was a block to the right or left, but he was never too far. I knew there was a CIA watcher too, but they weren't revealed to a casual glance. I was pretty sure Sands could do that, but he wanted me to know that he was there.

We all made it home without incident unless you counted Ricky losing track of the basketball he was dribbling and having to chase after it. I felt the urge to ask how the team was doing since I'd missed a few games by this point, but I wasn't sure I really wanted to know. Our baseball team had lost at state, and I felt pretty guilty about that already. If I could have played, it probably would have been different.

Well, not as I am now of course, now I have the physical ability of a stone. But the old me could probably have changed the outcome.

Sigh, those days were gone though, gone forever.

An arm slipped around me, and a hand waved in front of my face, breaking my view of the ball. Sam gave me a gentle one-armed hug and a smile, then let go; a simple show of support. Did she know what I'd been thinking? She was pretty perceptive when she wanted to be. At least I think so, it was hard to tell for sure since none of us had ever really caught her at it.

"What's the matter, Min?" Maggie asked.

"Nothing, I was just thinking." I had to head off any speculation about something being wrong, or my friends would pester me until they learned what it was. And there wasn't anything really anything they could do about this one.

"Well, I know better than to ask you to stop doing that," Maggie replied with a grin. I gave her the best one I could back to allay any suspicions, but I don't think it was a very good one.

Maggie was distracted by Ricky running back to us. "None of you saw that, and I'll deny my ball handling skills are anything less than amazing if asked."

I turned into my driveway; in the distance, I could see Ian running down the street, no doubt to catch up to us. That was a little weird, he got out when we did, but he seemed fine and I saw no signs of pursuit so he was probably okay and just rushing to catch up to us.

I was tempted to just rush to the lab and turn the force field on to keep him out, but I had made a promise to the little fungus. Starting a new member of the family was hardly dangerous - well unless I based them off Hannibal Lecter or something, and that would just be stupid.

Of course much of their personality they came up with themselves, but none of mine were going to be ax murderers. Well, I was pretty sure. Great, now why did I have to think of that, especially now?

I led the way to the door, waited patiently for the retinal scan, and then the palm scan. The door clicked open and I shoved it aside, dropping my very heavy bag and into my very comfy chair with a sigh of relief. I was glad Jeeves hadn't tried to take the bag, I needed the exercise.

My friends came in behind me, taking up their own chairs, and a panting Ian slammed into the frame and then shut the door; that had to sting.

"Jeeves, can you get refreshments for us please?"

I jiggled my mouse as Jeeves started taking drink orders; it was going to be his last day doing stuff like this, so I was determined he enjoy it; starting tomorrow he would have new duties.

Jeanette was right where I left her. Text blinked as the computer fired up: "Creator? Are you there?"

"Yes," I typed back. "We are almost ready, we only need to do final checks now. Are you ready?"

"Oui" came the immediate response. Okay, the French was new; what brought that on?

"Crash!"

"Yes Ma'am?"

"Did you run final checks?" I turned to where I heard the voice; Crash was under the jet I'd made, a wrench in hand, staring at the underside of it.

"Yes Ma'am, just as you asked."

"Of Jeanette, not the jet?" I pressed. Why was he even under there anyway, the jet was in perfect working order.

"Yes, ma'am." Crash replied, lunging out from under the jet and to his feet.

I switched windows on my lap and ran the checks again, just to be sure. Remotely everything came back green, just as it had this morning.

Jeeves came back in, a platter of drinks in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other. The cookies looked like peanut butter - which was a favorite of mine. My drink turned out to be a canned ice cold coffee.

"Alright, a hand up please." I was a little embarrassed to ask, but I needed one if I was going to give Jeanette's body my personal attention, and I'd done it for all my others, so it seemed wrong to leave her out.

Jeeves obliged, and I made my way to the back corner, past the hanging curtain. It had also seemed wrong to just have Jeanette splayed out there for all to see; she was my first girl after all, and she was kinda based on me, body-wise. Well, she was taller than I was so I could pack more things into her frame, but her frame itself was just mine scaled up a little. It looked okay from what I could tell, and none of my friends had said anything... but then they hadn't seen the finished product yet either.

Just looking that sort of thing up was kind of weird and creepy, as if I was a stalker or internet weirdo or something, and I doubted that telling everyone 'I did it for science' would help if I was caught.

I checked all the connections and sent spikes of power through the body quadrants while my friends did something involving sound effects and good-natured yelling behind me. Video games I'd assume - and I really wanted to play myself, now that I thought about it.

No, focus, Jeanette deserves focus.

Last check and everything was green; all the minor improvements I'd thought of too late for Jeeves and Tex seemed to be working as intended. Jeanette would be my strongest and fastest yet, and since she didn't really look the part, it might give her an edge.

Back to my laptop, and the lab quieted. Everyone was looking at me.

"Just the final step now, I plug her in, and hit the upload button." When I did, Jeanette would go into her chip and any files relating to her personality would wipe itself from my drive, just like it had for Crash. I was serious about there being no copies of my bots.

I plugged Jeanette in and typed: "Ready here."

"I am ready here," she replied. "I shall see you on the outside, my creator."

I hit go and left the laptop on the table next to her. "Jeeves, can you monitor things here?"

Jeeves didn't complain. "Of course, mistress Min."

Okay, can I play a round? I've been getting better with Louis."

"Sure," Ricky, the current champion replied. "But Louis is a bad match up for Gnaw, and you know it."

Gnaw was his main character in the fighting game everyone was playing, and he was bullcrap. Stupid regenerating werewolf.

Ian handed me the other controller and I keyed in, dragging my chair up.

I lost of course. Stupid regenerating werewolf and his infinite combos. I handed Ian back the controller, and he promptly handed it off to Sam. Sam lost too, though she lasted longer than I did, and also handed the controller back to Ian. Ian promptly crushed Ricky with one of his off characters, making it look easy. Oh well, at least I could beat him in strategy games, and that really pissed him off for some reason.

I watched my friends play their rounds and fought to stay awake - at least until Jeeves came out.

"What are you doing out here?"

Jeeves had the grace to look apologetic. "Jeanette is awake, mistress Min, and she kicked me out in order to dress."

Oh, right. Jeanette was kind of made in response to the objection that Jeeves was visibly male it was perfectly within reason for her to make that kind of objection, even if she knew better. At least, I really hoped she knew better.

I was a little curious about what clothes she'd pick, since I left her some choice in the matter, comprised of some new stuff Jeeves had picked up, and some of Mom's old clothes. I'd get more for her once she decided and I better knew what she'd like.

The sounds of shifting movements were easy to hear with everyone being quiet and waiting.

"Jeanette, everything alright?"

"Everything is fine young Miss, all is working perfectly. I shall be out in a moment." Well, the French accent was new and unexpected.

A second later I was thinking how appropriate it was. Jeanette was taller than I and had straight long brown hair tied loosely into a ponytail with a ribbon, complete with a bow. Her delicate features looked somewhat like a doll's, and she looked older than us; I'd wanted her to look like an adult since people would be more inclined to trust her if she did. I'd done the same with Jeeves, I vaguely recalled. Her bright gray eyes latched onto my own and she grabbed the edges of her very prim and proper maid's uniform in order to curtsey.

"I am most pleased to meet you in person at last, young Miss. I am Jeanette, at your service."

Several pairs of jeans, shirts, blouses, and other clothes from this century... and she chose a turn of the century black maid's dress and patent leather shoes. She even had the white apron on over it! She wasn't cooking! Where had she even gotten... Jeeves. Jeeves had to have bought them somehow.

"Is that really what you want to wear?"

Jeanette rose fluidly. "But of course, young Miss. If you would, please, introduce me to your friends? It would be nice to put faces to the names."

Oops. "Oh, right. It'd be best to just point them out, as rude as that is. "That is Maggie or Margaret, that's Samantha, Ricky, Ralph, and Ian, my brother."

I felt I needed to tell her about Ian since Jeanette was designed to make finer distinctions between friends and family than Jeeves.

Jeanette nodded graciously. "But of course, Bonjour, how are you, young sir?"

So Ian was the young sir, and I was the young miss. Did I dare tell her to knock that off? Wait, no, there was something more important to ask here. Was that drool coming from Ricky's mouth, and why were both Ricky and Ralph staring like that?

"Dude, do you see that?" Ralph asked.

"I'm seeing it. I thought it was funny," Ricky replied. "The way the girls drooled, but man, Min can cook!"

"What are you even talking about?"

Maggie took a picture on her phone... of the boys. "See, I told you! That five bucks is mine."

My stomach sank. "What five bucks?"

"We had a bet, the guys and I... over how your new robot would look."

I shot a glance at Jeanette, standing impassively with her hands clasped behind her back, waiting for an order.

"What's wrong with her?" She looked fine to me, easily able to pass for human. What did I miss?

Maggie smirked. "Nothing! Nothing at all, that's the point. She's like a female version of Jeeves."

But she looked nothing like Jeeves! Well, maybe the eyes...

"No, not like that," Maggie clarified. "I meant she'd be a female version of Jeeves. You know, unbelievably hot. Not of this world hot."

"Eleven out of ten hot, and I don't even like brunettes," Ricky added, his voice small - awed?

But that made no sense, I used my own... oh crap.

"Min, whats the matter?"

"Body double," Sam said with a sly grin.

How did she even know? "Sh-shut up, she is not!"

She really wasn't - after all, she had been scaled up to match her height. But I'd started with my measurements, and the scale was accurate, and now Ralph was looking at me, clearly calculating it. I needed a distraction!

"So, Jeanette, why the... "

I turned and Jeanette was inches from me, staring into my eyes. She placed the back of her left hand on my head, which was important since that was where the medical diagnostic equipment was.

"You are flushed; are you well, young Miss?"

Best to tell the truth here. "A little tired actually. Why did you pick those clothes, out of all the choices you had?"

Jeanette looked down at her arm. "I preferred it. Am I not to be your maid?"

My robots were weird. "So you wanted to stand out?"

"Should I not?" She asked me.

"No, the choice is yours. If you're happy with a uniform, then I'll get you some more of them."

Well, the distraction seems to have worked, everyone was staring at Jeanette again rather than me. Though the drool thing was even more disturbing than before.

"Come, young Miss. Your work here is over for now, and some fresh air and exercise will do you good."

Jeanette was gentle, but she picked me up and set me on my feet regardless.

Right, she was in charge of taking care of me now. "Jeeves, could you see to dinner?"

"Of course, mistress Min." There was no hesitation or regret there, only acceptance.

Sam got close as Jeeves left, and gave me a little friendly bump, shoulder to shoulder. Jeanette allowed it; she even gave a ghost of a smile? Good, I hadn't 'tuned' her too tight. I guess I'd find out later what her tolerance for manhandling me was. I hope it wasn't too loose.

Jeanette took the lead: "Come, young Miss."

Jeanette was a little bossy.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," It was a good thing she had my best interests at heart. The evening took me by surprise. "Oh wow, it's dark already!"

it wasn't quite night, but the sun was well on its way down, and that meant I'd taken about two hours in final checks. I hadn't noticed the time, but that was pretty good. At least I think so, it's hard to say sometimes. Crash had taken around three hours.

Jeanette stopped by the pool, raised her arms, and inhaled loudly with a large grin. "Ah, smell that fresh air! This is wonderful, young Miss!"

I thought it smelled a bit like car exhaust from next door, with a hint of woodsmoke, but I guess to her it could be fresh. To a large city it probably was... but then again, it was her first breath of outside, so I could kind of understand Jeanette here.

"Yeah, it's nice Jeanette."

Maggie skipped ahead. "So, fresh air, huh?"

"Yes! To be followed by exercise!" Jeanette answered promptly.

I wasn't so sure about that last part.

Ricky was all for it, though. "Exercise huh? How about some hoops then? The park isn't far."

I really didn't feel like it. "It's getting dark."

"The park's lit. Come on, Min, let's play some horse or something."

I could almost hear the 'like we used to' in there. Sam gave me another bump and a smile.

"It's nice to spend time in your lab Min, don't get me wrong... but the park is also nice this time of year, I hear." Maggie quipped. It was a bad quip.

Was that what this was about? Did Jeanette think I was spending too much time in my lab? Did everyone else think that? I mean it seemed Maggie did, but... if that was true, why hadn't anyone said so before?

"Fine, whatever. Horse it is."

Sam rolled her eyes, and Maggie was quick to protest: "Hey come on, don't be like that Min. Its a nice day... or night out."

It really was, if a little cold. I buttoned my coat up but took a deep breath; this far from the house there was no scent of woodsmoke, and the air was crisp. Luckily our park wasn't all that far away. I elected not to go first and took a seat on the park bench closest the court while Ricky and Sam took shots to see who would go first.

Jeanette took a seat beside me, her eyes away from the action.

"I am not as Jeeves is," she said softly. "I realize you are not well, but I intend to push you."

"I can deal, so long as you listen to me. I'm not at my best right now, for example."

"I know," she admitted back. "and I intend to play this game of horse against you, and to have you walk home afterward. You do not need to be coddled, and so I will not."

Well, I appreciated her honesty. "And if I command you to pick me up and carry me home?"

"I will, of course. I cannot refuse a command from my creator, as you well know. But I will be disappointed."

Ralph got close enough to listen in, but I had enough to think about.

It surprised me that I cared what Jeanette thought of me.

I remembered just in time to send a text to Mom, telling her where I was and who I was with. I didn't want her worrying. The message I got back was "OK", which was a little terse. Mom was probably busy with something.

Ricky won his game, and he and a pouting Sam ceded the court. Jeanette jumped up and took the ball. "I would like to play."

I levered myself up. "Know the rules?"

"I learned them from the previous game," Jeanette answered, taking her shot to see who would go first - she sank it easily, from downtown range, with picture perfect form on the shot.

I was probably in trouble.

I missed mine, which meant she went first and I was definitely in trouble.

Jeanette sank her last shot as the park lights clicked on, but at least I hadn't been blown out of the game. I sank back down to the bench as Ricky and Sam popped up again; Ralph and Maggie's embarrassment was already well underway on the other side of the court.

The world was spinning, slowly, and I couldn't help but think there should be more of it than there was. I wondered briefly where Ian was; had he left, or had he just not come with us? Some big brother I was, to misplace him. Or big sister. Or not so big sister; I was kind of tiny.

"Still with us, young Miss?"

Jeanette was concerned. "Sure. I'm here."

I really wanted to sleep though. Oh hey, everyone was here now, were the games over already? It was dark outside the patches of light the really bright halogens made. Squinting worked for the light, but not that.

"Can you walk, young Miss?"

"Sure!" I wobbled a little but stayed up.A shake of my head cleared it enough for me to make out concern... or maybe it was the blood rush. "I'm fine."

"Well, just the same, I'll walk you home," Ralph stated.

"WE will walk you home," Ricky said with a mild glare in Ralph's direction.

"I appreciate it. Being left alone with my CIA and MCO escorts sounds kind of frightening."

Sam actually nodded at that; I guess sarcasm was a little lost on the crowd at the moment.

I managed ten steps, then another two, the chatter of my friends flowing around me. I could do this, home wasn't that far away.

Then came a familiar sensation - I was being lifted. "An admirable effort, young Miss, but alas, illness has won the battle this evening."

I wanted to argue, but now that I was being cradled more blood was reaching my brain, and I was rendered speechless by some of the stupid things I'd been thinking. So that was what pressing things got me - I didn't like it.

"Sorry."

"No need to be sorry, young Miss."

My friends were chatting about music, a perfectly normal conversation; they were looking at each other, and not me. At least not directly.

They weren't trying to make this any more awkward than it was; I had great friends.

we reached my door and all eyes turned to me. Still, nothing was said about the fact that I was being carried bridal style by my new robot. I guess they had just gotten used to Jeeves. Instead, there was a chorus of good nights as my friends turned and left, still in a group.

I approved of that because it would be much more dangerous without Jeanette present. For her part, Jeanette managed to open the door without shifting me and walked in as if she'd done all this before.

Mom was waiting as we passed through the foyer. "You alright Min?"

Great. "Just fine, Mom. A little tired is all."

Despite my hopes, Mom moved out and followed us down the hall. "So... this is her?"

Jeanette didn't answer, so I did for her. "Yeah Mom, this is Jeanette. Jeanette, this is my Mom."

Jeanette swung around smoothly, stopped, and bowed without dropping me. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Campbell. I will be your new maid, please be patient with me."

Mom stopped and drew herself up. "Well, polite as Jeeves I see. How else are you like him?"

It was time to step in before things got out of hand. "That's about it actually. Jeanette is tougher, and cannot refuse a direct order from one of us unless doing so would put us in danger. She also can't lie to any of us. And on that note, hello, I'm still in your arms Jeanette and I still feel terrible."

"Ah, right you are young Miss." She resumed carrying me to my room.

"Wait Min, what about dinner? Jeeves worked very hard on it."

I wasn't hungry. I was too tired and too dizzy to be hungry. "I'll eat it when I wake up Mom, sorry!"

Well, I would unless it was breakfast time and Jeeves made me something else.

Somehow Jeanette opened my door without jarring me - again - and placed me gently on my bed. Some sort of sleight of hand later, and I was under my covers, warming up.

Jeanette shited my hair away so I wouldn't tear it out if I shifted in my sleep, which was a good thing since I really couldn't move very well at the moment. "Thanks."

Her face colored a bit; had I designed that in? "It is I who should be thank you, young Miss. You seem to be stable; sleep well."

She said that like she was leaving! "Will you stay with me? It's what I designed you for, after all."

Jeanette folded her dress under her and settled into my desk chair. "Of course. I believe Jeeves capable of bringing refreshments without my assistance."

"Thanks," I told her.

She picked up one of my books - not the textbooks, but a fiction book filled with magic and wizards and swords, and started reading. "You are quite welcome; but as I said, it is I who should be thanking you, my creator. Please rest now, I will care for you."

I felt as warm within as without as I drifted off.

I woke up to the smells of food and chirping birds. Hot food, not cold, the difference was a subtle one, but I knew it was. The coffee was a dead giveaway after all.

"Good morning, young Miss." Jeanette greeted me, as soon as I shifted. She had a book in her hands, (which wasn't the same book she had last night) but she was looking right at me. She hadn't appeared to have moved at all since last night, but surely she had, right?

"Good morning Jeanette. What time is it?" It was always best to ask.

"It is 9:43 AM, young Miss. How do you feel?" Her hand met my forehead again; it was a little cool.

"Pretty good, I... wait, nine?!? What about school?"

Jeanette raised an eyebrow. "It is Saturday, young Miss. You chose to activate me on a Friday, which proved a sound decision. Come, up you go. Please eat some of this delicious looking breakfast."

Other rising and helping me sit up, Jeanette didn't move. Instead she chose to hover over me while I looked over the offering for the day; Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, cooked mushrooms, a tomato that looking like it had been grilled of all things, and strawberries.

That was... different. Had Jeeves made this? It didn't seem like him.

"Oh, Jeanette, you can go about your other duties now. Sorry for being a little selfish last night."

I felt kind of stupid for apologizing, and Jeanette set about making me feel worse immediately.

"You ARE my duty first and foremost, young Miss. There is no need to say such words to my humble self, as I only exist to serve you."

Oh Jeanette, I built you for so much more than serving me... was what I wanted to say. But I knew how that conversation would go. My new maid continued with a beaming smile:

"However, there are lesser duties I may perform, and I should be about them. Please do call if I am needed, young Miss."

She didn't wait for me to put the coffee down, but left. Why was dealing with new bots so hard? It shouldn't be this hard - I mean, should I have said something more there, or not? Why were my own bots giving me social anxiety?

The breakfast was good, but it was spiced a little differently; there were onions in it. I had a suspicion that Jeeves hadn't been cooking alone today. That was fine, but how had she done it without leaving my side? My orders were explicit. Had she begun to interpret them already - taking things less literally? Jeeves managed to, but he still had some issues with it sometimes.

The less said of Crash in that regard the better.

A knock on the door signalled the return of Jeanette, just as I finished up. Not that I'd eaten everything, there had been way too much for that, but I couldn't eat another bite. Still, I had made a credible attempt at shoveling it all in while lost in thought; hungrier than I thought, I guess.

"Young Miss, I have drawn a bath for you."

"Thank you," a nice hot bath did sound nice. Preferably a long one, until someone kicked me out of it. Which, knowing Ian, wouldn't be that long, but I'd take what I could get.

I was in last night's clothes, which was a trend that could not continue, if for no other reason than Mom would notice I wasn't dirtying them. Then she'd say we needed to talk, and things would go downhill from there.

The bath was indeed drawn... and absolutely filled with bubbles and who knew what else. The water wasn't even clear, it was pink! Pink! There were things floating in it! It had a smell!

"Jeanette, what did you put in this?"

My new maid (it helped to remember she was new) scuffed one heel of her hard shoe against the other. "I used bubble bath, of course. Rose petals, and a few products designed to promote skin health."

"Think you might have used too much?" I asked her. Where had she even got all this crap? She'd only been awake seventeen hours! I mean we had bubble bath before, but none of the rest of this.

Jeanette shook her head. "I used the amount recommended on the labels. Please undress, young Miss."

"That's not what I meant, exactly. are all these supposed to be used together?"

Her answer came without a second of hesitation. "All that I have used may be safely combined with no risk of harm. Now please, strip. Your mother will be cross with us if bath water is wasted."

Well, she had me there. But again, awake seventeen hours, and she already knew what would tick Mom off. Jeanette had been busy somehow.

Jeanette was making no move to leave. Right, this was what I had made her for, kind of. I did as asked and stepped in; it was just a hair under too hot, and a little greasy to the feel.

I closed my eyes and laid back. It felt nice.

Then I felt hands on me, and shot upright. Jeanette leaped back almost faster than I could follow and managed to avoid getting drenched; then she moved back in. "Is something amiss, young Miss? Is the bath not to your liking?"

"No, it's fine... I just didn't expect you, um, doing that. Whatever you were doing."

"I was made to help you in places such as these, young Miss. I was attempting to help you wash. Specifically your hair."

Why my hair? "Ah. You should have warned me, I had my eyes closed. I can wash myself though, your only duty here is to make sure I don't end up drowning if I pass out. Anyway, I want to soak first."

"Alright. However, when the time comes, I can at least help with your back."

That was a fair point; no one ever could wash their own back well, and I didn't want it to break out or anything.

I don't know when she snuck up on me again, but the water was still a shade off hot so it couldn't have been long. Then again, I was getting dizzy, and I didn't think it was from my normal health problems.

"Young Miss, you should start soon if you intend to clean yourself."

I wanted to, but my everything was jello, so very relaxed....

"I'm afraid I must insist, young Miss."

"Fine." I got busy.

It wasn't at all creepy to have my own maid watching me intently while doing all this.

Body and hair washed, the time came for my back, and she was right there, her hands gentle.

I wobbled slightly getting up, and all it took for her to steady me was an arm. While the other arm produced a towel. I took it and did my thing while she stepped back and watched.

Though she wasn't silent. "Immersion in water as hot as your bath for extended periods has been known to cause dizziness and nausea in humans."

"Well I don't feel any nausea at least," I could at least take that worry off her mind. "Why did you make it that hot, anyway? And how? I don't think our water heater goes up that high for safety reasons."

Jeanette gave me a good stare. "Maid magic. It was relaxing, no?"

It was relaxing, yes.

"I have laid out clothing for you." Jeanette told me, pointing to the sink where some of my more comfortable jeans and shirt (blouse, it was called a blouse, and I had no idea why it was called such even now) lay.

"Yes Jeanette, I saw them. Why are you changing the subject? How did you do it?"

I would not be so easily swayed!

She sighed, loudly enough to make it clear that she was doing it for effect. "I simply boiled water in amounts calculated to bring your bath to the proper temperature. Your water heater cannot safely support a rise in temperature that high, even should I manage to disable the safety mechanisms. No, your household does not need a new water heater."

Way to crush my dreams, Jeanette.

She cocked her head at me. "You don't know, do you? You really do not know."

The easy amiable expression slid off her face, and I could tell she was burning with anger.

"What's wrong? What don't I know?"

"It has just come to my attention that we need to have a conversation, young Miss. About certain details regarding your condition you do not yet know. Perhaps this discussion is best conducted downstairs, over coffee?" She was still seething, but it wasn't at me.

I was kind of glad she wasn't seething at me, she could snap me in half if she wanted.

Jeanette barely waited for me to get my clothes on before opening the door and striding down the hall. I managed to catch up at the base of the stairs.

We made it to the kitchen, and the smell of fresh coffee within. "Please seat yourself," Jeanette made it sound more like an order than a request. Then she raised her voice and fixed my butler with her gaze. "Jeeves, a moment of your time?"

Jeeves had his arms elbows deep in soapy water and only a few dishes before him, but it was enough. His reply was calm. "Of course Jeanette; what do you need?"

"I need you to explain to our creator how her illness and power are connected, and why you've yet to clue her into said connection."

Jeeves stopped; literally ground to a halt, for a good half a second; more than long enough for anyone to catch it. Then he grabbed the dish towel and turned to look at us.

His response made me wince. "She did not ask for any clarifications on her medical condition, and so I did not provide any."

Jeanette's gloves all but popped as she flexed her fists. "And did you not...."

"What's going on here?" Mom asked, entering from the living room, no doubt following the sound of raised voices. Well, one raised voice anyway.

"I am attempting to question why my... predecessor never explained certain facts to the young Miss. His explanation seems lacking thus far."

Mom pulled up a chair and reversed it, sitting down and fixing Jeeves with a stare I wouldn't want directed at me. "Oh? Do tell."

"Jeanette, coffee please." Maybe if my maid was getting busy she would calm down, even if only for a minute or two.

"Of course young Miss." She instantly moved to obey, but did not let Jeeves off the hook. "Jeeves, care to explain what we know of our creator's health?"

Jeeves spilled the beans. "Without your regeneration mistress Min, you would undoubtedly be dead."

Well that was... bleak. It was true that without my regeneration I wouldn't have survived what was a very stressful change in biology, but that was past. Wasn't it? No, don't jump to conclusions.

"What do you mean?"

"Your biology is unique among humans, mistress Min. Your brain uses far more resources under normal operating conditions, to great effect. When you - create, you can and often use even more resources than is normal for you, as well as generating more heat. This leads to drastic depletion of vitamins, minerals, and heavy metals your body needs to survive, as well as fluids, creating an anemic state."

Wait, my worst weaknesses were caused by my thinking? My brain was my own worst enemy?

"In addition, the heat generated by the increased electrical activity has a deleterious effect, breaking down the cells of your brain over time," Jeeves continued blandly, as if he wasn't crushing my world. "Without your regeneration, you would undoubtedly die as a result."

Jeanette said some things in French I was pretty sure were swear words. "You have no tact, fool." She finally said in English before turning to me, and just like that her anger was gone and her tone gentle. "That is why your diet is important - to replenish what you lose from thinking. It is also why your hair is so important."

What? How did my hair factor into this? "What about my hair?"

Yes, let's talk about how my hair is weird. That will undoubtedly distract me from the fact that my brain was apparently melting itself from the inside out, cell by cell, regularly. That sort of thing wasn't creepy nightmare fuel at all.

Mom was on one side, and Jeanette was on the other. "Hey, honey, it's okay. You're fine."

Which was matched by the far more relevant. "Your health is not in danger, young Miss. You seem to be... insulated from the worst effects of your condition."

I knew what she meant. She knew what I was thinking, and she was telling me I would not lose myself and wake up one day another person, or even worse, half of a person. That somehow, my memories and person did not change. I did not believe her.

"Mom, quick, what's my first memory? The first thing that you remember that I told you I remember."

Mom knew too, I could see it in her mortification. She was worried I'd get it wrong.

She didn't hesitate though. "The time we went to the zoo. You were three, and you fed a Llama your cotton candy, and almost got us thrown out. You laughed the entire time."

I remembered that. It was after I tried to talk to the monkeys. It wasn't the only memory from that time, and might not even be the first, but I did remember it. If that one was still there and more besides, then it was highly unlikely my memories were getting erased.

Now how would that work? No! Now of all times was not the time to be distracted. I could breathe again, and wasted no time putting the breath to use.

"You're right, I think."

"If anything, you should regain more memories, old and new." Jeanette informed me. I was going to ask her soon how she knew all this stuff.

I pinned Jeeves with a stare. He'd known all this too? "So, my hair?"

"Your hair is not just an unusual color," my maid explained. "It is of unusual construction as well. The material is unusual as well, not simply keratin, but a form of that substance which, when combined with the structure of your hair, draws heat and traps it within. It acts as a form of thermal regulation beyond the normal for humans, and reduces the damage which could be caused. That is why Jeeves was opposed to you cutting it, as more hair draws more heat."

"But wouldn't that leave me... sonova, that's why I'm always cold all the time!"

"One of the reasons, yes. Perhaps even the greatest one." Jeanette answered. Then she pulled out a brush and I surrendered to the inevitable with a sigh.

"That's so terribly inefficient. In order to shed heat part of the time from my head I have to be cold all of the time, because my best mechanisms for it can't discriminate."

"Nature is often thus," Jeanette opined. "What is best in Earth's preserve is often the first solution, not the best solution. Nature can be brilliant, but blind."

"A little early in your life to be waxing poetic, isn't it?" Mom asked her.

Jeanette scoffed. "Hardly that. I am simply pointing out the many shortcomings of biology." Her brush was slow and steady, just as Jeeves's had been.

I could hardly agree more with her at the moment, and I wasn't sure I liked that. It was true though; being cold wasn't the same as being dead, and if my brain melted out of my ears, I'd be very dead. Nature was all about being alive long enough to reproduce, and my issues were... odd, but viable, if only just. Knowing about it all would certainly have helped things along.

Jeeves was in for a rough time.

"So, now I know."

"Now we know," Mom interrupted with a hug.

"Now we know," I corrected. "So what happens now?"

Jeanette didn't stop, even as Jeeves froze for a second before coming back. Has he always done that? I didn't think he did. "Whatever you wish happens now, happens. Knowledge is power, it is said, and knowledge of how to manage your condition, of how we your loyal androids manage your condition, can only help you in the future."

Now was the right time to ask: "How did you know though?"

"Observation and deduction, mostly. Jeeves observed your health and investigated the causes, and all of us share information with each other."

"But...." Jeeves hadn't had any specialized medical training, or any specialized training for that matter; Jeanette was the nurse, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was no money or other resources for it.

"We are very good at learning, young Miss. Even the least of us." Jeanette told me softly, running the brush through my hair a final time.

Until Jeeves spoke up for the first time since his secrets were revealed. "No less than fifty strokes is proper, Maid Jeanette. A full hundred strokes are best for proper hair care."

My maid looked up, her gaze what I could only consider as murderous. Then in a blink, her face was passive as she admitted. "You are correct."

The strokes continued.

"Can you do braids, Jeanette?" At least I could get the crap collected and out of my way; all I would need is to be working on the jet and have my hair get caught in the intake or something.

"I can, but it might be best for your condition if your hair was left loose. Your butler was to run experiments to that effect, however he has no results listed as yet."

Well, no messing around in engines for me - just perfect. So much for a nice relaxing Saturday. Not that I was going to have one now, but it was the thought that counted.

"Jeeves, I need a refill. Then you can get back to those dishes." Getting my coffee and doing my chores was the least that Jeeves was on the hook for, no matter what Mom might say about building character.

From the looks of it though, Mom and I were in complete agreement.

If she wasn't going to bring up the fact that she was still hugging me, I wasn't going to bring it up either.

My maid had no problem with that however. "Mrs. Campbell, if you would please sit I'll brush your hair as well, just as soon as I've finished here."

"Well that sounds like a nice offer; I can't remember the last time I've been treated."

Okay, that was bull. "Didn't you go to your hairdresser just last month?"

Mom didn't even turn to me or drop her smile. Her words came grudgingly from between gritted teeth. "Shut up, honey."

I kept my grin hidden. I'd scored a point, but smiling would tempt fate.

I took a sip of my refill. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Not much. Louge around the house, eat too much, watch stupid T.V. and generally relax. Work's been awful this week."

I could second that, it was almost like she'd gone back to full time. "Yeah they've been running you ragged lately."

"It should get better after this week; we just had to return some favors at the school." Mom replied, leaning back and putting her feet up on the empty chair next to her with a sigh. Behavior she'd be yelling at me for.

I fought down the guilty feelings; I knew I was the reason Mom had to work more - between the new bills and all the favors Mom and Dad called in to make sure I wasn't dying, I'd cost my family plenty.

"Hey," Mom's gentle punch to the arm was less gentle than she thought, probably. "Want to watch a movie with me?"

Mom liked romantic comedies. "Uh...."

"Come on, it'll be fun! We can have ice cream!"

"Depends. Your kind of movie, or mine?"

"How about one of each? We have time." She answered.

That was four hours outside of school or the lab, when there was so much to build - but Mom was asking, and we hadn't just hung out in a month. Maybe even longer. And maybe I shouldn't be in a hurry to melt my brain down today.

Then I had an epiphany, like lightning from a clear sky directly into my head. "My brain overclocks!"

"It does what now?" Mom asked, clearly confused.

"It, well it acts like some of the new computer processors and... no, nevermind, it's not important. Sure, I'd love to watch a movie or two and just relax."

My maid was less than thrilled. "I do not approve of such lack of activity on your part, young Miss. However, we may make up for such lost time at a later date."

"Sure," Like ten years from now, perhaps. "But what are we going to watch? Unless you want to go rent the movies, we've seen everything we own."

"Well that's a no-go," Mom replied, lifting up her crossed feet in a show of laziness. "But we can send Jeeves with a list, and he can walk to the place. It's not far."

"Alright, a list of five movies from each of us, Jeeves rents one of each from the lists we make?"

"Sure," Mom answered. "I can live with that."

Heh. She was getting at least one action movie then, something as mindless as I could manage, like a dead hard sequel... shame we had seen all those already.

"Where's Ian?" I had to ask, seeing as he hadn't shown up while we were yelling.

Mom smirked. "Father-son bonding time. They were in the garage going over the engine of that second wife of his."

Sharp pangs of fear. "Why, did something break? Did it..."

"No Min, "Mom interrupted. "The car is fine, it's running like a top. But your father wants to show Ian why it's running so well, and how to keep it that way."

Well, it was about time for Ian to learn; I was a bit younger when Dad started teaching me, but not by much. Knowing Ian, it was probably driving him crazy to be away from his computer for so long. I kind of missed it myself.

Speaking of long, it was past eleven! I'd slept forever!

"How do I keep sleeping so long?!? No, never mind, don't answer that." My androids had basically just explained that, after all; I pass out and heal while unconscious. Or for a variety of other reasons, really.

Jeeves helpfully provided a small notebook (empty) and a pen. I wrote down my choices and passed it over. Mom wrote hers and passed it directly back to Jeeves along with a twenty and her video membership card.

"I want the change back, Jeeves."

"Of course," Jeeves said with a bow. Then he turned to me. "By your leave, mistress Min."

"By all means, please go get us those movies."

"I'll not be long." Jeeves promised as he left.

Mom sighed. "I knew there was something he wasn't telling us."

"Jeeves is a marvel of technology," my resident marvel of technology opined. "However there are clearly flaws caused by a lack of time and good materials. Like baking a cake, substandard ingredients can ruin the mix."

Mom's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying you aren't hiding anything from us?"

"Of course I am," Jeanette replied. "I can also say without doubt that the two further secrets I keep from you all is one that should be kept, for your own safety. I am capable of making such discernments more easily than my predecessor."

"How bad?" Mom asked. Did she mean how bad the secret was?

Jeanette seemed to take it that way. "Life altering at best. I can say however that the lack of knowledge will harm none. I know you have concerns... they are unfounded."

What concerns?

"I'll be the judge of that, but we can let it go for now. Want to join in on our ladies day?"

My maid picked at her dress with a hand. "I believe my presence is required as part of my new job, but I appreciate the gesture nonetheless."

"Well you could always be stuck in the kitchen facing a corner. I've done that sort of thing to rambunctious kids before."

Time-outs sucked. "No need for all that; she's officially invited, after all."

Jeanette blinked, giving Mom a look. Mom smiled, and it wasn't one of her nice ones. "I suppose it is for the best that I am invited after all."

An easy silence broken only by the whisk of a brush sliding easily through hair went on for a few minutes. I sipped my coffee and wondered where my phone was; it was probably upstairs, with a hundred messages on it from my friends wondering why I wasn't up.

I knew if I asked, Mom would be less than happy with me.

"Task completed," my maid stated, putting her brush into a pocket. If you didn't know, you wouldn't be able to tell it was there.

Mom hopped up with more than a little bubbly energy. "Great, thanks!"

Jeanette looked over as Mom started off, and I put a finger to my lips. Then mimed putting a phone to my ear and shrugged. She got it almost immediately, a sparkle in her eye (which was probably a spark of electricity) as she nodded understanding. She pointed upstairs and just as quickly reverted back to her usual posture as Mom looked back at us.

Mom saw none of it."Come on, let's wait in here. The couch is much better than those chairs."

That was the truth.

"Alright, it'll probably be another fifteen or twenty minutes. Hey Jeanette, can you please get a book from my room? Anything will be fine."

"Of course," came the expected answer in the expected way, as my maid bowed and went to do my bidding.

"Good call. I could probably stand to read a little myself." I was half glad my Mom didn't tell me to get my own book, and stop relying on others.

I mimed my phone again as Jeanette passed me, and she gave me a miniscule nod.

Mom sat at the right end of the couch, her favored side, so I took the left. Her book, some fantasy thing with a shirtless guy that had to be a bodybuilder on the cover. She also threw her feet up on the coffee table with another loud sigh as she cracked it open and began to read.

She was fully engrossed by the time Jeanette came down, a book on the finer points of programming in one hand, and my phone palmed in the other. She passed both along, using one to hide the other. I looked, and my enterprising maid had turned my phone on vibrate first, and muted all notifications just to be sure. She was surprisingly good at sneaky stuff it seemed, considering her earlier honesty.

"Min, I see that. Put it down."

Busted. I was not as good, it seemed. "I'm just checking my texts Mom, Maggie and Sam were supposed to be coming over today."

As expected, there were more than a few messages, the expected ones from Maggie and Sam, and a few from Ricky. Only one from Ralph, which was nice, but all were variations on the same theme: what are you doing? Can we come over?

It was odd, thinking back on it; when had my house become the default meeting place?

"Well...." Mom started.

"I know Mom, they aren't invited. I'm just telling them to make other plans." I knew mom just wanted a family day, at least for now.

"Alright, but after that it stays in sight; I know what you can do on that thing."

"I assure you, work is the farthest thing from my mind right now."

I composed the text: "Mom has kidnapped me today, don't send help or you might end up drafted. I'll be away from my phone so expect no further responses."

My friends list wasn't that large, so I could freely hit send to all and have it work as intended. I no sooner set the phone on the table in front of Mom than it started dancing; for a good solid minute it seemed. Finally it danced right off and hit the floor.

Mom made no move to retrieve it, so I left it there. Jeanette went for it, but a look from Mom had her backing off. She contented herself with sitting in Dad's favorite chair; judging from the faint smile it was to her liking. She was developing preferences, and testing boundaries already. So precocious, not that I really cared. If anyone else did, they would get an earful... even my parents.

Someone knocked politely on the door, three sharp taps. Jeanette was out of the chair before I could get my feet down, and she strode to the door with purpose.

Jeeves lay on the other side of it, a movie in each hand. "Thank you Jeanette. I have returned, and I was not followed."

Why would Jeeves be followed? Jeeves was just Jeeves.

My maid answered with one word: "Good."

"So what did you get?" I was kind of pumped to see a new action flick, and when Jeeves held out the latest Die Hard movie I almost lost it; that was about as perfect as it got.

The other movie, the one held out to Mom, was "The princess bride."

We'd seen that one before. "Really, Mom?"

"Really Min. We'll watch yours first, but this is the movie that I wanted to see."

I shrugged. "Whatever, it's your dime."

"Jeeves, go tell the men not to come in before two. Lunch will be ready by then."

Jeeves gave Mom a look, and immediately turned to me. "Go ahead and do it please."

Jeeves left immediately and I heard the door to the garage open.

"I really hate that thing," Mom muttered.

"He's protective of me, and doesn't want to be far away without cause."

"I know," she answered. "But the fact is he can't discern the situation or read the room. "I'm glad you made a replacement."

Jeeves was fine, but now was not the time to argue the point; it would ruin the day. Some fights you just couldn't win.

"Now, Jeanette, would you load up the first movie please?" Mom asked. Jeanette moved to comply of course, because she would obey Mom as long as no order countermanded an order of mine or her standing morals.

I doubted Mom would tell Jeanette to kill anyone, but if so, my maid wouldn't listen; we'd discussed how killing was wrong as I programmed her kernel. Not that she didn't do most of the work.

No, no work thoughts! At least a few hours without any of that! The movie successfully started, we three settled in to watch.

Birds woke me this time, to a dewy predawn with sunlight just barely showing itself outside my window. Everything was still dark enough to be just contrasting shadows.

Jeanette was waiting, steaming coffee on a saucer held in one gloved hand. "Good morning young Miss. Breakfast will be ready in but a moment. I hope the hour finds you well."

I sat up and took the offering. "It does. Good morning, Jeanette. How did you know?"

"Your biological processes are no mystery to me, young Miss. The time in which you will wake is simple to deduce. In fact you made it easy by retiring early."

"Ugh, don't remind me." I'd pretty much wasted the entirety of yesterday, and while it was fun at the time, I was regretting it now. Wait, what did Jeanette mean? I sincerely hoped she didn't mean all my 'biological processes'. That would be beyond embarrassing.

However, it was probably better for my sanity not to ask. I downed the coffee and passed the dishes back.

I made a grab for the clothes Jeanette held out for me to wear, another comfortable choice of jeans, this time with a light sweater. Jeanette did not let go, instead raising an eyebrow. "You are not cleaning yourself this morning?"

"I didn't do anything yesterday, so I'm not dirty or sweaty. And even if I am, its Sunday and I'm not planning to do anything major, so it doesn't matter."

Jeanette sighed but released her grip; I wasted no time getting dressed but stopped her when she held out my coat. "Save that for the moment, I still need to go to the bathroom."

"Of course" was the reply I got, with the undertone of infinite but tried patience. That tone of voice was quite a trick, how had she managed to learn it so quickly? Had she been taking pointers from Mom?

I shut the door to the bathroom, and my maid did not object. After I'd done my dirty deeds and washed my hands, I found her still out there waiting, with my coat outstretched, a slight smile still on her face.

I put my hands through the sleeves and noticed the difference immediately; even with a sweater on, I'd been a little cold. Jeanette pulled my hair free of the garment, and my back started warming immediately.

I should have paid more attention to these little tells earlier, they were obvious, in hindsight.

Jeeves was cooking in the kitchen, and the breakfast looked to be one of his. Was that an avocado half with a fried egg in it? That bacon looked absolutely free of fat, and the wheat toast had some weird hash marks on it.

Jeanette filled my cup again, adding the exact amount of cream and sugar I liked before placing it and the saucer back down at my place setting with a grace that made me a little self-conscious.

I picked at the concoction on my plate with a fork; what had actually possessed people to make such a thing? It was baked together, it looked like, and still hot. How long had Jeeves been at this? The oven was still on, so at least one other batch of this was probably being made.

I quit playing and took a bit while my bots looked on. This was... weird, but very good. I'd have thought a crispy avocado would taste bad, but it didn't at all, and the egg added something. Just what, I wasn't sure, but it did.

Jeeves placed some strawberries in a bowl next to the plate. They looked fresh, and that couldn't be right. It wasn't the season.

I gave him a look but all he said was "Trust me."

The strawberries added more, and by eating the bacon immediately after the rest, the collection of tastes was intense. The toast served as an adequate palette cleanser.

I guess Jeeves saw me brighten, because he smiled - and I could see the reflection of Jeanette frowning at me from our shiny metal toaster as she began brushing my hair.

"So, I'm feeling like a lab day," I informed them both.

"Of course," Jeeves answered. Jeanette merely hmm'd and kept brushing.

That was fine. As long as neither came up with a direct counter to the idea, they could disapprove all they wanted. Besides, I felt bad for leaving Crash alone for the day. I also needed to check up on him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Crash was impulsive, after all.

I finished everything and shoved my plate away, a clear signal I was done. Outside the sun had finally finished rising and I realized I'd left my glasses upstairs.

Or not; Jeanette held them out to me as she pocketed her brush. Jeeves took my plate and started scraping it clean.

I had nothing chore-like to do, so there was nothing left to do. I snagged my coffee and headed out, making sure to lock the door behind me. My keys weren't really necessary, Jeeves could let me back in, but I felt them in my coat pocket next to my phone.

Jeanette had been right, it was cold and would probably become a nice fall day. For now though it was too cold for me, and I scanned myself in the lab with more than a little haste.

The lab was a bit warmer and everything looked to be in its proper place; the engine hadn't been fired recently either, which was a plus.

Crash was leaning over my workstation and - was he drooling? Was he asleep?

"Crash?"

He jumped, then jumped up. "Oh crea- Miss Campbell! How are you?!?"

"I'm good today, how are you Crash? Were you sleeping?"

Crash wiped a hand across his mouth as he answered. "I was um, conserving power in a sleep cycle, yes. You programmed us all with it."

That sounded like an accusation. "Yes, but I didn't program the pose in. It looked very natural. What were you working on?"

There was a notebook under where he had laid his head, and a few pencils, one broken. He'd drawn a blueprint there.

"I was designing a better safety harness for you, for when you move beyond the test stages. The one you have in the jet will likely break your bones in the event of a crash. Not enough padding."

Well that was true; A more rugged person would likely be ok, but my bones were probably the size of toothpicks so it was a concern. "Oh? What's your answer?"

"See these packs here, and here, and here?" Crash pointed them out in case I hadn't. "They will be filled with a powder that converts to a gel when it hits air. the packs are set to rupture in the event of a sudden stop-like movement, kind of like car airbags, and the gel will expand under the straps and take the impact. There is another strip I'll put on your helmet, so any head injuries will be negligible."

I didn't even know Crash knew the word negligible. "That's impressive. How far did you get?"

"Well, the design is ready for testing, and the gel. I'm fairly sure it'll work, but I didn't get around to that part yet."

He waited for me, I just knew it. "For the best I think. Well, if you say you're ready you can do it all now; just be careful around the printer, it always acts a little hungry around you guys."

"Don't I know it. Thanks."

I shrugged and took a seat. A sip of coffee while my laptop powered up and scanned me, and I was back in, running aerodynamic models on the jet. Everything looked okay so far and the tests had gone well, but there was still something to check.

It wasn't actually just a jet, after all. Right now the tests were to determine what would happen if the jet's aerodynamic profile and surfaces were to suddenly change.

What could I say? I was a sucker for the classics. I knew my friends would get a kick out of it too. Crash's gel, if it worked, would have a place in the system. If it was clear, that would be even better, I'd just layer it in the spots most likely to need it.

It might have other uses, too.

My phone rang. It was Ricky. "Hi min, you awake?"

An irresistible urge overtook me. "No."

He sputtered on the other line before I laughed and ruined it. "Oh, not cool. I thought maybe you'd answered half asleep or something."

"Nope, I've been up for hours now. Had a restful night." A stab of a pencil started the next model attempt; the last was close, but a slight wobble remained that I didn't like.

"So you're free? I can come on over?"

"Sure, I'm in the lab," I checked the time. "Though you've missed breakfast so you might want to eat first."

"How did you...?"

Silly. "Just a guess. One you just proved me right on."

"Alright, be there in twenty."

"See you then." No sooner had I put the phone down than it chimed again, this time with a text: "Hope U R up, cause we R otw." Proclaimed Maggie's number.

After a quick cringe at the grammar, I fired a text back that I was at the lab, but there was no breakfast. "Jeanette, we have guests on the way. Some coffee and tea would be welcome."

"Of course, young Miss."

She left, and it was just Crash and I. "So Crash, how close do you think we are?"

"We could have it in a few days, if you want. Another test for the new features, and if it clears, you should be able to take it out. If you want, that is."

"And the next thing?"

"That's even easier. The worst part of that design is the engines need to be set farther away from the pilot; the alloy just can't handle the heat."

Well, the alloy wasn't exactly meant to handle the heat. But in moving the engines the aerodynamic signature was changed. I was trying to avoid using computer assist, but it looked grim for that. I tinkered a bit with the design until the door opened.

Jeanette walked in, a tray with both a tea service and a carafe of coffee in one hand. The other was empty. Maggie and Sam followed her in.

"Good morning."

"Good morning!" they chorused. Well, Sam wasn't quite as excited about the day, clearly, but the thought was still there.

"So what mad science are you planning today? What happened yesterday, what did you do?"

Right to the point; typical Maggie. "It was a family bonding day. Mom wanted to hang out and watch movies, so that's what we did."

Family bonding sounded better in my head than 'Mommy-min day' or the dreaded 'Mommy-daughter' day. Those two options made it sound like I needed my Mom to hang out with me or something, and images had to be maintained.

"Ah, that's so cool! What movies?"

"The princess bride and um... dead hard. The latest one, with old Bruce."

"Ahh." Sam muttered. So she'd wanted to see that one too?

"I think it's still in the living room if you want to see it Sam."

Sam got up and walked out without a word; she could use the television in here if she wanted, I wouldn't care.

When Sam came back, both Ricky and Ralph followed her in, both of them chatting away about something that they promptly shut up about.

"Good morning you two, there is coffee, tea, water and cola should you feel thirsty, but no breakfast. Ralph, I didn't expect you here."

Of all my friends, Ralph was the one who hadn't called yesterday. I commended him for being busy in my head, unlike the rest of us lazy people.

He stuttered his response out. "Well, I was a bit busy and..."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, of course you're welcome here. I just meant you didn't phone or text first is all."

Sam immediately monopolized the television and game console, sliding the movie in and starting it without so much as a warning to anyone. Not that anyone else seemed to mind; they all crowded around, pulling up the folding chairs and plunking down in them. Had no one seen this movie before me? That seemed a little far-fetched. Even so, I shut up to avoid spoilers.

It was advantageous when Crash brought his new harness by later, no one even glanced at us when we put our heads together and went over it, looking for problem areas. I couldn't find any, so I gave Crash the go ahead; after all he would be the one testing it first anyway.

Then it was time to machine the new parts for the new configurations and install them on the jet. That was going to take all day, probably - but it was scratching the mental itch I had. Well that and the new project. I just hoped Dad let me fly it when I was finished. I should be more trusted or not grounded from doing certain things by then.

I installed the first part before the movie was done, the 3d printer really was overtaxed; should I build a new one? An industrial one maybe? The first had been a compromise between a home and factory model... no, don't get sidetracked. I can do all that later, or tell Jeeves to do it; he was my partner in crime, after all. I couldn't wait to see what he came up with for the fall leaves, after the grass incident.

I was so bad, sometimes. For all I knew, Jeeves wasn't even working on plant pigmentation any more.

"What are you doing?"

Not only was I surprised by Sam's voice, I was surprised by the full sentence. Both were kind of unusual, and looking up I could see Sam hunched over, her face a little too pink.

"Replacing this panel here."

Sam was back on solid ground. "Why?"

Of course the jet worked, so why would I do such a thing? "It wasn't fully functional before. So now, if I replace a few things, it will be and Crash can test the next phase of the jet."

"Weapons?"

What? "No, I'm not adding any. Why would I add weapons?"

There was the right place to add the AI assist if I were going to. I guess I could add the slot for it next and just make the chip later when I decided.

"Most devisors add weapons to things," Maggie interrupted as she also leaned over and watched.

I finished and waved them both back, Crash helped me up. "What did you think of the movie?"

Sam waffled her hand while Maggie was a bit more vocal. "It was pretty good, so long as you don't think too hard."

"Yeah I know what you mean." I had been a bit disappointed - the movie had done some frankly unbelievable crap with special effects. But that was par for the course, anymore. The new one would likely be even worse in that regard.

The guys had apparently loved it without reservation. They were both grinning like loons as they put a fighting game in the console. I went over to join them - after all there really wasn't much else to do while the other replacement parts cooked, so to speak.

I mauled Ralph but got trounced by Ricky and passed the controller off. Sam trounced all comers for the first round. The second round Ricky took back the throne, and we started all over again. We really needed Ian here - he was the only one who could match Ricky consistently.

Next round I knocked him out though, then Sam promptly destroyed me. That was enough socialization for now, it was time to go back to work.

Work was pretty boring right now.

"Come young Miss, let us leave this stuffy place for a time, and walk for a time in the sunlight."

Uh oh. Trouble in paradise. "But..."

"You need the exercise."

Maggie took up the cause. "That's right! You do need to get out more, you're going to get all flabby."

That wasn't really possible. "There's no way I can...."

Then Sam grabbed my arm, and delivered her verdict. "Flabby."

I knew a lost cause when I saw one. One of my powers was regeneration, so there was no way I could even lose muscle mass. Well, unless I was in a coma for a hundred years or so, and probably not even then.

But against the combined might of those three stares, even without the two boys high-fiving themselves behind them, I stood no chance of explaining that. i was pretty sure that Jeanette knew too, and she had done this on purpose.

Oh well, I could always set the printer up with a Que. Or, let Crash handle it.

"Fine. Crash, you know what to do, right?"

"Mind the store?" He replied, making it sounds a little too much like a question.

"Not the phrase I'd have used, but yes. Make sure the place doesn't burn down and watch the parts to ensure they don't warp. I'll be back later."

"Will do!" He enthused, sounding too much like a deep voiced Maggie for my liking.

Jeanette led the way out, one hand shielding her eyes, the other keeping me from following; she looked around first, then nodded to herself sharply before her fingers came off my breastbone.

I just rolled my eyes at her. Then I regretted it because the sun was bright. I really needed to get some prescription sunglasses.

Ralph and Ricky tried to pile out of the door together, and Maggie berated them for their manners; they too squinted, looking around the same way Jeanette had. At least they probably weren't looking for the same thing.

It was still cold, even with the coat and sweater; looking around, no one else had a second layer on. The closest was Sam, who had a long sleeved shirt on. Everyone else was still dressed for summer and not suffering at all! I huddled in my coat a bit more, and buttoned it up when I was sure no one was looking.

I didn't button it all the way though, that would be both uncool and noticeable.

"So where are we going?" Maggie asked.

"How about the park?" Ricky responded, twirling a basketball on his index finger. Where had he gotten that? Had he picked up the one in my room somehow? "The courts are probably free."

"Fine by me," I answered. "But I won't be playing any horse today. You all can knock yourselves out."

"Shall we jog?" Jeanette asked. "Now is an excellent opportunity to get blood flowing and loosen muscle."

Ricky rose to the challenge and took off, his reply trailing behind him. "Sure, sounds good."

Ugh, I knew it would come to this. I started a step too late, and everyone else joined in. Within ten steps I was passed.

No, I wouldn't accept this. I doubled down instead, I kept to a jogging pace but shortened and doubled my steps. By the time we reached the park, I wasn't first, but I wasn't dead last anymore either. That honor belonged to Maggie.

"Not a bad warm up," Ralph said, his eyes seeking me out.

"Yeah, got the blood pumping. A little one on one?" Ricky shot back with a look I knew well.

Ralph took the bait. "Sure. Let's do it."

"Boys," Maggie whispered loudly with a grin.

They ignored her in favor of rock paper scissors to see who got the ball first. I took a seat on the nearest bench with a sigh. What to do now? I didn't want to just watch other people play basketball.

Sam sat next to me, then Jeanette took the other side.

Sam didn't talk, but Jeanette was under no such hesitation. "I know that look, young Miss. Perhaps I might entice you to participate elsewhere? On the other park equipment, perhaps the swing set?"

Jeanette thinks I am a little kid, it seems.

"That sounds like an idea," Maggie said, the traitor.

Sam just got up and held a hand out to me. I took it and almost shot to my feet as she pulled; Sam was stronger than she looked. She didn't let go either, so there was no escape from the attack to be had from the attack on my dignity.

Instead we all plunked down on swings next to each other, and started off.

When I was a kid, one of the things I loved to do was get as high as I could on a swing, then jump out to see how high I could get. I even sprained an ankle doing it once, but nothing beat the sensation of air whistling past your face and the feeling of weightlessness, right before gravity reasserted itself and everything went wrong.

Today I was lighter than I'd ever been, and yet I was afraid. Not afraid of taking the plunge, but afraid of how Jeanette would react; I knew Jeeves would try to catch me, but Jeanette would probably just yell at me for a year, and I didn't want to hear it.

Still, higher and higher I went, committing to some time in the air at least, coming closer to the dreaded moment of chained weightlessness that occurred right before you went completely around the set on a swing, wrapping the chain around the metal bars. That sort of move had its own dangers.

Maggie was playing it safe, but Sam was matching me, the madwoman. The set itself was beginning to thrum with the forces we were applying.

We bailed out together, Sam and I. Jeanette watched me arc in silently, and land perfectly. despite that my lead foot still stung with the impact.

I turned to find Sam grinning, and I was sure mine matched hers. Maggie was shaking her head and muttering at us... but Jeanette was silent. She stayed that way even when I limped my first few steps, working the kinks out while Sam led us away.

Sam led us to the merry-go-round, and old rusted disc of steel painted in alternating blue and red that squeaked with every movement.

"Really?" Maggie asked her as Sam got on. Sam just stared back at her with her jaw set.

"Fine, but I'm not getting on," Maggie declared. Sam looked at me.

Then I got pushed from behind, gently. "Go ahead, young Miss."

Resistance was futile; it was take the step and get on or trip and fall. "Jeanette what are you doing?"

"Please sit." Jeanette replied, beginning to push the contraption. Then she started pushing it with smooth, easy strokes.

The motion was slow and easy, but it wasn't long before she was really getting into it, and the choice was sit down and hang on or fly off. The world blurred by, and I sat back, braced my feet against the rails, and watched the sky spin.

When the center started wobbling, a minute later, Jeanette smoothly slowed us down again, just like a schoolyard pro.

Of course neither of us could so much as move, let alone get up. It was a miracle we hadn't gotten sick.

"Jeanette we need to have a talk about your impulsive streak."

Sam seconded me with a rather melodramatic "Blergh."

"As you wish, young Miss." She sounded suitably sorry, so it could probably wait until later.

Ricky strode into view, blocking the sun. "That looked like a lot of fun just now."

"Knock yourself out." I told him.

He started to climb on. "Wait, no! Let me get off first!" I did not want a round two. At least not yet.

Jeanette came to my rescue, lifting me up and making sure I didn't fall as the world spun. Sam was already off the ride, safely in the grass, and I was placed gently beside her.

"Wuff." Sam muttered, and I agreed. Meanwhile the boys both got on eagerly, because they were boys.

"Hold on, because if you land on me I'm going to be pissed." I told them. Having the clouds spin that way was rather nice.

Squeaking announced the merry-go-round was in action again, and low whoops announced who was on it. The noise stopped, then about the time I could see straight again, I heard that ominous rattle.

It was time to move. Sam was already out of the way, and I managed to follow, but nothing happened; there was no snap or flying bodies to avoid.

Sam moved on... to the pull up bar. The pull up bar was a lone bar bolted in two bars five feet apart and five feet up, with those set in concrete. Its sole purpose was to have kids swing on it using their upper arm strength, or do pull ups. Why it was considered a playground toy was beyond me.

Sam grabbed hold and bent her knees under her, then began the count. She managed five before putting her feet back on solid ground.

I stepped up behind and mimicked her (I didn't actually have to pull my feet up but I did anyway). I knew I was in trouble after the first. I managed a second pull-up before I couldn't hang on anymore. Before, I could have easily done anywhere from seven to ten but my arms were like noodles now.

I got out of the way and Maggie pulled off three before she gave up.

Sam snapped her fingers, then cartwheeled. I knew how to cartwheel of course, in theory, but I'd never done it before. She cartwheeled again, then pointed. Maggie cartwheeled too.

"Come on Min, you try it. The grass is soft enough, you won't get hurt."

As if that were the problem. My worst fear was coming true.. other kids were coming to the park.

Pam, Monty, Jodi, and Flash were headed our way. Monty was holding a basketball, and I could smell the trouble.

"I've got a coat on. Also, we have incoming."

Sam turned to look and her eyes narrowed. Maggie kept her face neutral but they both closed ranks - in front of me. From nowhere, Jeanette drew up to my side, making as little effort as Sam to hide her feelings. Which looked to me like nothing so much as disdain, but that couldn't be, right? I mean, Jeanette didn't know any of these people.

The other group drew close and Pam took the lead; Flash had been, but he let Pam go ahead of him. "Hi guys! What's going on?"

That seemed a little too bright and chipper. At least she was addressing Sam and totally ignoring me. I couldn't expect that to last, but I could hope.

"Nothing," was Sam's reply.

"Oh come on, it looked like you were practicing for the cheer squad," Pam said. "No need to by shy about it."

Sam had been on the cheerleading squad for awhile, before quitting. I wonder if she missed it.

"Just having fun," Maggie answered, pulling another cartwheel. "Trying to get Min involved. She's under the impression cartwheels are hard or something."

I didn't have that impression, but I did know how clumsy I was. "I'm just too cold to ditch my coat and go flipping around is all, but you two can knock yourselves out."

Flash ignored me entirely, in favor of Ricky. "How about a game? One on one, or two on two?"

Ricky shrugged. "Sure. Ralph, you in?"

Ralph looked startled by the notion, but stepped up with a hard look at Monty. "Sure."

Monty appeared to be in too. "Alright. We'll let you have first ball."

"Your funeral," Ricky stated. They headed off to play, leaving me surrounded.

Pam did a picture perfect cartwheel, then a handstand. "Come on Minerva, this is all easy to learn.

Jeanette, that picture of propriety, threw herself into off a cartwheel, then a handstand. "Come young Miss, let us learn together."

When she put it like that, how could I refuse? I loosed my coat, but I wasn't about to take it off; just loosening it would have to do.

To my surprise I didn't fall on my ass my first attempt. Or even the second. I turned to Sam, and she gave me thumbs up before doing a back bend. I followed her lead with Jeanette beside me. Even Jodi got into the act, and her laughter was contagious.

Then it was off to things like front and back flips, and even splits. The splits didn't hurt at all, when had I gotten so limber?

Following Sam's lead I was able to avoid making a complete fool of myself. Well more than normal for someone jumping around in a park like an idiot for half the day. Even Jeanette would be satisfied after this performance; I found a bench to watch the end of the game on and plunked onto it.

The two R's won. I was able to bask in a little bit of just revenge, watching Ricky feed the last pass to Ralph, and watching Ralph score over Monty.

I expected some griping over losing to a mutant, but Flash was as respectful as Monty was silent: "Good game you two. Same time next week?"

"Maybe," Ricky replied. "If the weather allows. Not a fan of playing in pouring rain and cold."

They were downright civil! Something had happened here, and I wanted to know what it was.

Monty held out his right hand to Ralph. "Good game. Sorry about before."

Ralph shook it. "Good game. I accept your apology."

Ralph's tone was off; I could tell Ralph was still holding a grudge - so Monty could probably tell too. At least the world hadn't turned completely upside down overnight.

"Alright, I'm tired so I'm going home. Good game you guys, and an interesting time Pam, but I'm out."

Jeanette fell in beside me as I started off.

"See you at school tomorrow!" Flash called. Odd, he sounded almost... natural about it. Non-hostile? With Monty apologizing? Pam being mostly silent? What a weird day.

Jeanette was smiling, so that was something at least.

"Hey wait up!" Ricky called while running the ten steps needed to catch up to me, as if it was hard or something.

Everyone else caught up just after, and we all closed ranks on the sidewalk home. The sun was still a long way from setting, and there was still much to do.

School sucked. It sucked with a vengeance; why was it so boring? Why were the books so dry, the material so uninteresting? How was math so easy?

It was even worse when the jet was finally ready for human testing and I was stuck here. Dad hadn't caved yet on the grounding, but he would. The trick was to ask him while mom was away and show off all the safety features.

The next project would be even more cool.

No, focus. Bad Min!

The classes swam together a bit as I handed in my homework, but otherwise I tried to ignore the teachers. They didn't ask me surprise questions anymore, not since the tenth time I answered one perfectly. Instead, they ignored me back, and that was best for everyone. Gym was the one difference; the school wanted me to try some low impact stuff for exercise, and they were working on it. So far, that was yoga from Coach Howard's sister.

I was still trying to get Ralph to join in, but he wouldn't.

Lunch came along and Ricky broke a trail outside for me. Lately, Jeeves had been trading off the lunch menu with Jeanette, and yesterday had been vegetable tortellini. Which meant today would be something normal.

The blanket was spread under our tree, and pillows were spread out on it, and in the center was the customary silver service. Jeeves was next to it, and when he saw us coming he bowed.

I settled in; Sam coming from nowhere to claim the spot next to me. Ricky glared at her for a moment, then started for my other side... just in time to be denied by Jeanette. She sat gracefully and smoothed her dress. Ricky plunked down where he was with a sigh while I adjusted a pillow.

Sometimes I wondered if I was being too pampered. Nah.

Jeeves took the cover off the platter to reveal... an absolutely huge bacon cheeseburger with all the stuff anyone could want on it, and actual fried fries. The burger was even on a bun! A bun with those little seeds!

The entire plate was dripping with oil and grease and unhealthiness and it looked fantastic. I wasted no time.

I turned to find Sam too close and drooling, her own lunch forgotten. She grinned and stole a fry.

i wanted to speak up, to yell... but I knew that would open the flood gates.

Jeeves grinned back at Sam, and pulled another platter lid off to reveal... more fries, all cooked the same way as mine. There had to be an entire bag of fries there. No, several, because some of the fries were different; they had the thin ones that I liked, steak fries, and the crinkly ones.

Sam held a fist out, and Jeeves bumped it. Then the feeding frenzy began. There was no chatting, no pleasant conversation, and I was just as guilty as my friends because I was ravenous for some reason.

That changed in a hurry. I knew inside a minute that I wouldn't be able to finish the burger; it was just too big. I still gave it my best shot.

The fries I finished of course, those were easy. I signaled the end of the fun.

"Thanks Jeeves."

"You are welcome, mistress Min."

My friends were attacking their own lunches with far less gust than I had; the plate of fries was long since gone. We could talk again.

I leaned back against the tree, waiting for it. If it wasn't asked today I'd lose the bet....

I was bailed out. "So Min, what are you working on now?"

The same thing I was working on yesterday, Ricky. "Still the jet. It is ready though."

Sam's eyes brightened.

"No, I can't let you fly it yet. You don't know how." Also none of my friends could regenerate if they crashed, while I could.

Sam drooped. Ricky also drooped. What did they think this was, a joke? They could actually die.

"So you're saying you can fly it now?" Maggie asked.

I should. "Well, in theory. I know how all the controls work, and I know how slow I can go before it stalls or how fast I can go before I possibly blow the engine. I know how to use the air brakes if I need to."

Ralph popped a mini-tomato in his mouth. He'd packed those? What else was he hiding?

"Seems fair. How long are you planning to be up, and how far are you planning to go?"

"A few miles, and maybe fifteen minutes. Just long enough to prove that it works, really." I wasn't Top Gun after all, I just wanted to prove a point. Going up a mile or two into the air was just a bonus, really.

I wanted nothing more than to be able to slow down and open the cockpit, and just enjoy the air. Even knowing I couldn't, I wanted to so badly.

"Well, we can come, right?"

I turned to face Ricky. "Well, assuming Dad says yes at all, sure. We will be moving it out of town though."

"Where?" Sam threw her question in, taking a tiny bite of a sandwich that really looked... awful, compared to what I had. I didn't want to call her out on that.

"Jeeves says there is a place outside of town that should work. A level field near the old junk yard. He showed me a picture."

I had left the location scouting to him, but it was kind of mystery how he found the place so quickly. It was almost as if he'd been taking walks in his spare time or something. Even Crash had signed off on the place yesterday, and Crash knew his piloting. I vaguely remembered the field in question, I think. I might have flown kites there once, as a kid.

"Oh, that place. I hate that junkyard, the dogs are all trained to attack and the guy running it has no sense of humor at all."

Leave it to Ricky to run a sense of humor check.

"My dad went there recently, to buy metal and parts for me. He seemed to have no problems. Even said they talked shop for a bit. So maybe its just kids."

"Well it might have been the m-80s I let off, too. Blowing up some old cars is harmless fun though, so its really their fault I think."

Oh Ricky, of course you're going to get nailed for that. Wait, when had he done this? I hadn't been with him. He'd left me out of the fun!

Ricky was no dummy. He knew what I was thinking. He jumped to his feet and took off with a hastily yelled "I'll go ahead!"

Sam snickered while Maggie blinked. "What was that about?"

I was going to answer when Ralph beat me to the punch. "Boy thing."

That implied they wouldn't understand, but surely girls liked blowing stuff up too? Whatever. "Its nothing, I guess. Ancient history."

I'd still like fireworks, right?

Sam gave me a look, like she knew what I was thinking. The first bell rang.

"Crap!" I grinned at the sight of maggie stuffing her last crumbs in her face, puffing her cheeks out before jumping up.

That was just silly, there was plenty of time. "Thanks Jeeves. Save the leftovers, I'll finish them off when I get home."

"As you command, Mistress Min." Jeeves said with a bow. Jeanette stepped forward and offered me a hand, which I took.

I was on my feet so fast I almost fell over, and never once did I feel like I had been pulled. How she did that, I don't know, but it was smooth; one minute I was sitting, back to the tree, the next I was up and wobbling.

Something to figure out later; we had plenty of time but not all the time in the world.

I started off and Jeanette fell into step. Maggie scrambled behind me. The other kids saw me and started moving out of the way, which was nice of them. It also wasn't something that happened normally if I didn't have someone making a path for me.

I turned to Jeanette in suspicion, but her response was merely to raise an eyebrow; otherwise her face was calm. Too calm.

Whatever; I shrugged and started off again, Jeanette following behind and Sam and Maggie following behind her. We made a weird procession, but at least we didn't clog the hallways like some people, all spread out.

Speak of the devil, there go Flash and Monty, with most of the basketball team in tow.

Didn't matter; these kids had no chance at all of getting past Jeanette, even if they all ganged up. The cops probably didn't ether; they would need explosives. Cops weren't allowed to carry explosives, so I was safe.

Of course, the cops were probably stocking up, waitng for me to go all mad scientist. The joke would be on them!

"Um, Min... Why are you cackling?"

I stopped and turned to Maggie. "I've no idea what you mean. I just had a funny thought is all. I do not cackle."

Sam nodded gravely. "Cackled."

"I did not! I do not!" I pushed open the door to next class, and everyone went silent. With as much dignity as I could muster I strode to my seat. Jeanette placed my pack next to my seat and strode past to the back of the class, where she could help me if I needed it.

Conversation started up again as soon as I sat, since I wasn't the teacher. I returned a few friendly waves and opened my notebook.

I had my homework of course, and my class notes, but this notebook was neither. This notebook contained the blueprints of the next project, the Wing zero one, a personal power armor with two miniature ram jets and a set of wings that should allow it to fly.

My most complex project to date, it had the same computer assist to keep it balanced, wings that were folded back when not in use, muscle augmentation circuitry, and of course a very small cold fusion reactor powering the entire mess. The early simulations were promising, but I still needed to work on the air flow to the ram jets; too little and they wouldn't fire, too much and they would either liquefy the pilot with g-forces, or explode.

I didn't want the thing to go too fast at any rate, but I was running out of room. This wonder was going to be armed, just in case. Maybe a bit of magnetic field manipulation, to make the whole apparatus lighter?

I could feel my mind open up as the ideas came, and with it, I could feel the heat. I shut that all down with some effort and realized the teacher had come in and started the lesson for the day.

I snagged my other notebook out of my backpack with a sigh. I could recognize it now, but it was still so tempting to just let it go and do what I could do.

Jeanette was still in the back of the class, hands folded behind her; when I looked her way, she beamed the widest smile I had seen on her yet. Yeah, she knew.

I held it together, even as the idea of routing the air through the tips of the wings to the jets came to me; it would make them less sound structurally, as any sort of damage would likely cut the air to the jets; maybe back ups? instead of one large flow, several smaller ones?

No, I am a rock. I will sit here like a rock, and not think anything.I will do all this later, when I could afford to pass out.

Ralph smiled from the next desk over. He knew it too.

Finally, the bell rang. I waited as everyone left, then got up and reached for my bag. Jeanetta had already claimed it, and was dusting it off with a hand.

I gave her my notebooks and then we were off. This time my friends hadn't stuck around for me, but had gone on ahead.

The halls were just as busy as ever, and yet they still parted for me. Even people I barely knew took note and waved at me, and it was kind of embarrassing. Was that Julie? Her name was J-something.

I couldn't do much but wave back. There really wasn't that many names to remember in this school; was there something wrong with me?

Jeanette's hand brushed my arm, and I looked back into her reassuring smile. "All is well my lady," she whispered. "Her name is Julia, and she is simply forgetable."

I gave her a look. "Is that a word? Or did you make it up?" I knew the answer, but it was really odd for Jeanette to make up a word at all. That required some thought, context, and framing that my other artificial intelligences had. Now there was a chance that she could have heard it from one of us, but if she did it wasn't around me. I hoped it was legitimate, because if it was, it was a real breakthrough.

She was on my side regardless, and that was nice.

My study hall desk was surrounded, but the rest of the room was pretty deserted. I sat as Jeanette took her customary spot in the back. When I pulled out my homework, I could almost see the others in the hall lean forward. They would be disappointed today; I was going to make sure none of them saw an answer or stole my work.

So I did what any self-respecting mature person would do: I made a notebook fort to hide the goods.

The teacher in charge, a sub today, actually gave me a little smile before settling in with a book.

My fellow students shot me looks of betrayal that were easy to ignore.

My pen scratching the paper was rather relaxing, but I still found myself needing to take a breath and slow down; the urge to speed through my homework, to just write anything down so I could do what I wanted, was very strong.

I know that I didn't have this problem before I mutated. I was bad at focusing, but this was something else and much stronger. A sort of hyper focus on things that interested me. Maybe the difference from before was that nothing interested me? No that couldn't be right - I had been interested in sports.

And I had been forcibly removed from that interest by my stupid body.

It wasn't that different though, I was still interested in the things that I can do; it was just that what I could do that changed. So I wasn't really that different from before - At least I hoped not.

The bell rang, and I looked up from my perfectly reasonable self-reflection to find my homework almost done. Just another five minutes and I'd have been home free!

Oh well, I would simply do it tomorrow between classes. It was Math, and that wouldn't be as hard as the English was. One silver lining, or maybe one of many.

Speaking of, last class of the day. Jeanette grabbed my bag with a smile but without a word, and we made our way to the classroom. This time there was no cause to wait, so I joined the press early.

Despite all that, Ricky was waiting on me when I arrived. He gave me this expectant look.

"What?"

"Did you get your homework done?"

"Most of it. Everything but math."

Ricky's expectant look fell. "Dang."

"Forget it, you need to learn it yourself anyway," I told him. "If you don't you'll never get it right. But... after school I'll see about giving you some pointers if you want."

The relief was palpable. "Thank you so much, I'm kinda lost from question eleven on."

That was because he kept looking for cheats, but I didn't tell him that. I was hardly in the position to throw stones, after all. A quick glance back confirmed my cheat was still there, watching me as Mrs. Holmes began to drone about Stienbeck.

I tried to pay attention, but it was hard. I even liked Stienbeck, but it was hard to say why.
Which of course meant that was the assignment for the day. Well technically, it was to give points that you thought made his stories work as well as things that did not work, but given the enthusiasm of certain teachers present, it was probably just to get what we liked about Stienbeck.

The last bell rang. I'd know for sure by tomorrow, I guess.

Like always I put my notebooks and books in place and waited. The classroom was cleared, and Jeanette walked up, grabbing my pack. She was determined to be nice today, it seemed. Some days I had to carry the thing home.

As I clomped my way down the halls, my friends joined me. We passed the noisy halls in easy silence, waiting as each of us went to a locker for books or got a drink. I was the only exception to the rule since Jeanette had taken to carrying most of my stuff around with her. It was just easier that way.

We all spread out as soon as we were outside. I could only assume it was to enjoy the remaining sunlight, which was beginning to falter in strength as the sun began to dip. There were only a few hours of light left to get everything ready; I'd have to hurry.

I picked up the pace, and everyone matched me easily. They stayed silent, and I could see a few smirks out of the corner of my eyes.
Something was definitely up. I went to the front door, and my quiet friends headed towards the back.

Dad was waiting for me when I got home. It was his day off, and he had his tee shirt and slacks on, with his socked feet propped up in his lounger. He was watching a game show and his eyes were about half-closed.

He was alert though, I could tell. "Hey Dad."

"Hey kiddo. Welcome home." He opened his eyes, but otherwise didn't twitch.

"So um, I've got a favor to ask."

"Let me guess. You want to go somewhere, right?"

I nodded. "I want you to come with me too. I want to test the jet."

Dad sat up. "Its ready?"

"Yes, its finally ready."

Dad grinned. "You waited, didn't you?"

He knew me well. "Yeah. I didn't want to worry Mom."

Dad shook his head. "You don't give her enough credit. She's probably less worried than I am."

That... really? "Even so, you were more likely to let me do this."

He mulled that over a minute.

"Sure, let's do it. You have somewhere in mind?"

Yes! I avoided the fist pump with pure will. I don't think I fooled Dad for a second though. "The old field near the junkyard?"

"Well, that'll make it easier to toss if it fails. Can you get it on the trailer?"

Not cool, Dad. "Yeah I think we can manage. Jeeves and Crash are pretty strong."

"Okay, go load it up, I'll get some shoes on and get the truck ready."

The truck was an old jalopy, a refugee from the time of dinosaurs and bell bottom jeans. An old Ford, Dad used it mainly for hauling things like old appliances, scrap, and helping move friends. Otherwise it sat in the next door neighbor's garage. Old Gus didn't care, as long as Dad helped him from time to time.

"Okay!" I didn't waste time, instead opening the back door up to find... the trailer already loaded and my friends standing around it.

"Did you guys do that?" I yelled as I started across the walk.

"Heck no!" Ricky yelled back. "It was like that when we got here."

Jeeves and Crash had been busy it seemed. They had even loaded the portable diagnostic equipment in the cockpit, where it just barely fit.

At least Dad was getting the truck, which meant everyone would be able to come without a hike or bike.

"You guys should all back up. Dad's coming with the truck."

The cheer was almost deafening. Everyone backed off and ditched their books and bags.

A minute later, Dad came around back. I waved him into place and locked the hitch.

It was a bit harder than it should have been. At least attaching the lights was still easy enough. Dad and I checked the straps while my friends piled in the back. He gave me a look and rolled his eyes.

"So, what's next? Can you think of anything you need to do?"

Jeanette came to my rescue. "Both the fire department and the police have already been notified. The FAA has also been warned, and a small flight plan has been filed."

I turned back to Dad. "Was that what you had in mind?"

He nodded. "That was it, yes. Jeanette?"

"Yes sir?" Jeanette made it sound more like a statement than question, smoothing her dress in complete disinterest on the dirty bed of the old truck.

Wait a minute, where was Jeeves? Even crash was here, almost thrumming like a plucked guitar chord in his excitement.

"Where is Jeeves? Is he staying behind?"

Jeanette shook her head. "Jeeves was in charge of arrangements. No doubt he has gone ahead to survey and prepare the field in question."

Oh, that made sense, actually. There wasn't much time to waste if we wanted to do this in daylight. But still, had he walked there? The place was miles outside of town.

"Get in," Dad ordered, and I saw the only place left for me... was up front. All my friends had spread themselves out in a rather conspicuous way, taking up the entire truck bed. No one wanted to ride next to Dad it seemed. I couldn't admit I was one of those people either; the real party was going to be in the back, but I was stuck.

At least the seats in the truck were comfortable.

Dad got in and opened the back window. "You kids stay down and hold on back there; I'll try and avoid the potholes, but it is possible to bounce right out of the back."

"I shall see to their safety, so long as they take efforts of their own, Mr. Campbell." Jeanette assured him.

"Alright, I suppose that will work." Dad put the key in the ignition, and the radio started. I promptly turned it off.

Dad gave me the look, and turned it back on. The sounds of country music began to waft along the breeze as he carefully pulled out.

I just put my head in my hands and hoped no one else I knew would see us.

The day was nice, if a little chilly. I was the only one in a coat of course, and sometimes I'd even forgot I had the thing on. I had at least that much going for me... the coat was comfy enough that unless I snagged it on something, I didn't even think about it anymore.

Oh crap, what if I needed to bail out, and my coat got snagged on something? I had forgotten my flight suit!

My phone dinged. It was Jeanette, with the message: "Do not worry, we have all we need. Nothing has been forgotten."

Jeanette didn't have a phone. I looked closer, and saw it was a timed message for me, typed into my phone several hours ago with an alarm set to it that had just gone off.

I looked back at her, and she smiled. How did she do that? She had even done it before; how did she do it?

Dad drove a bit slower than the limit, and people began to pass us. He didn't mind... but when he started to sing along to whatever the song was, I began to.

"Dad!"

He gave me the look again, and sang louder. I couldn't even talk to my friends with the wind and the other noise. It was a relief when we turned off to the road out of town and Dad had to shut up and focus.

Still, people were passing us. Some even honked. Couldn't they see we were loaded? What was the hurry? I swept my eyes over the back again; had something gone loose in the back? Did we have a flat tire?

Both Crash and Jeanette gave me a thumbs up. Sam did too, once she noticed.

"Dad, what's going on? Why all the honking?"

"Oh, just impatient people," he replied. "Nothing to worry about."

Weird. I had the feeling that there was something no one was telling me.

Dad was surprisingly gentle on the road, even after we turned off again onto the gravel road to get to the field. We still hit some bumps, but every time I looked back, I got a thumbs up from someone.

They had stopped talking among themselves though, they were taking what shelter they could from the gravel dust. That was bad - I should have thought about making masks for them, something to filter that crap out.

Dad rolled his window up. "So, what's the actual plan?"

"Just a simple manned test. I know Crash can pilot it, but he's not human. I want to make sure a human can make the adjustments needed, either with or without assistance. So a simple trip up, a large circle, and then back down. I probably won't go higher than say, a mile."

"Simple," Dad repeated.

"Simple," I counter repeated.

"You've got a parachute?"

"I've got two," I told him. "Crash packed them, and the first one is automated to pull as soon as I pull the eject lever. The second will be attached to a cord on my right; I checked last night and I should be able to reach it with my left hand in a second or so, before I start heading down."

The eject mechanism blew the seat and started a process to open the first chute. If that chute didn't open, then I had a ripcord attached to both the first chute and my right chest that would start the second chute. If that didn't happen, well the chair itself would cushion me from some of the fall, and I'd probably live.

"Do you trust Crash to pack a chute?" Dad asked.

Right, Dad had some experience jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. "I do, its part of his job."

Crash probably loved me almost as much as Dad did.

"Alright," was all he said.

We turned off, and into a party. What were all these cars doing here? There were... eleven. There were even two trucks, and both had their tailgates down. I recognized one of them as one of our neighbors, the Hendricks. Mr and Mrs. Hendricks were young and had no kids, but they hung out with us a lot for backyard barbecues. The trend continued because they were grilling, it looked like. There were two fire engines just sitting there, too.

Dad pulled off well before we got there... next to his old beaten up lawn mower, a small tent, and Jeeves.

so Jeeves had taken the mower... and from the looks of things, he had mowed an extra wide strip of the long grass of the field right down to the dirt. Well, that should be enough to stop any fires caused by the jet engine.

Dad maneuvered the trailer in position in front of the new airstrip like a professional, then cut the engine. Everyone piled out.

Jeeves bowed and pointed in an underhanded manner to the tent as I got out. "Mistress Min, your suit and helmet are within this tent. Please change into them post-haste."

"I'll do it later. The trip over might have jarred things, so I'd rather check first. No sense changing if something is broke and we won't get off the ground."

"As always, your wisdom astonishes, Mistress Min." Jeeves said before straightening up.

"Right," Suck-up. "Can you help Crash and Jeanette get the jet off the trailer and ready?"

No one here was as strong as my robots. Without them we would probably need an engine and special tools to get it in place for take off. The straps came off with a nice musical 'clang' and my friends pulled them out of the way.

Crash and Jeeves grabbed the fuselage, Jeanette grabbed a wing... and Ralph grabbed the other wing with help from Ricky. Slowly they wheeled the jet into the grass and forward.

"A bit more. We don't want the truck in the blast zone."

The plane inched forward another fifteen feet. Those who had the wings stepped forward and I grabbed the power wrench. First I rescued the two R's - I had to help them hold it steady - then I bailed out Jeanette. By the time I was done, Crash had grabbed the diagnostic equipment.

I handed the tool off and let Crash hook the unit up, just double-checking the connections. He flipped the thing on, and the results posted to my phone immediately; all clear, everything was in the green.

I adjusted a few settings and ran it again. Again, it popped up all green. I shrugged and began to do the pre-flight check, with Crash dogging my steps.

"What are you doing now, Min?" Maggie asked, coming up. She was alone, which was a little weird. Where had everyone else gone?

"I'm doing the pre-flight check. Where did everyone else go?"

"Oh, they went to see if the tail-gater over there would share some brats or something. They are kind of spoiled after all, from all the after school snacks you normally offer."

"Wait, tail-gater? That's what is going on here? A tail gate party?"

Maggie shrugged. "Sure looks like it. It looks like your neighbors and a few other people knew more about what you were planning than you did - or learned very quickly."

So I had a leak somewhere, somehow. Not that it mattered, I didn't have anything to hide. Right? Why was anyone interested, anyway? It was just a flight test, those happened all the time.

"What about you?"

"Oh, I want to write the story for the school paper," Maggie answered. "Besides, Sam will pick me up something if she can. She always does. So, can you tell me how you're feeling right now?"

I answered honestly. "Confused, mostly. Why would anyone care about a simple flight test?"

Maggie clicked her tongue at me. "Oh Min Min Min, who wouldn't be interested? You're a teenager and you're you. There are rumors you've sold a patent already, and rumors that you're going to sell more. You're liked by pretty much everybody in town, and known by pretty much everybody in town, and you know how people in this town get when they like someone. It's probably the only reason you weren't arrested after last time."

It was true, everyone here was really supportive. Not at all like I'd heard people being in other parts of the world. I'd only heard a few slurs after all, and most of those from my peers... the few I'd heard from adults, well, they weren't that bad.

"Who told you about the patents?"

"Well you did. You and your bots... androids, whatever. But that's only two confirmed sources so until I get the copy of the patent I requested, it still counts as a rumor and therefore can't be published."

"How very ethical of you." I deadpanned.

She chose to be honest. "I take my journalism seriously."

"Hey."

Crash speaking up surprised me for some reason.

"What's up Crash?"

"What's that look like to you?" Crash said, and pointed.

One of the landing gear was flat, or going so.

"See if you can air it up. If it holds air, we will proceed. If not, we scrub."

Crash nodded and went to find the air pump we'd brought.

"Really? over a jumped up go-kart tire?" Maggie whispered in a voice louder than a shout.

"Yes, it will affect how much speed I'm able to get over take-off, and will most certainly pop if I land on it." I continued the check.

Maggie kept me company, even after Sam showed up and handed her a hot dog. She also winked at me with her mouth wrapped around her own.

I rolled my eyes. Let's see, back at the tail, jet looked fine... everything was good. I went back to Crash.

"How is it?"

He stood on the tire in response and gave me a thumbs up when it didn't so much as dip.

"Right, time to suit up, I guess."

The tent was hot, but the suit was open and laid out for me. All I had to do was shuck my clothes and roll over to get in. Zipping it up, I was immediately glad I hadn't went with a racing model; for all that they were better with heat, those things were skin tight on purpose, and I was shy. I heard engines from outside.

Pilot flight suits were nice and baggy, most of the time.

I stepped out, and into picture flashes. "Ack!"

Sam was there, a camera in hand and a grin on her face.

Maggie stepped up. "Don't worry Min, its just a few shots for the paper."

Wait, was that a video camera set up? What was Jeeves doing in front of that?

A closer look revealed it was Dad's home movie set up, on the old tripod no less. I found Dad in the small crowd and gave him my best 'Mom look'. He just smiled and shrugged at me.

Crash stepped up. "Final checks are all green. We can go any time."

One of the fire engines was closer now, in range to hose us all down and with some hoses out. The truck and trailer were now across the street.

"Help me inside."

Someone started cheers, and everyone picked them up. "Whoo, go Min!"

"Good luck Min!"

"Take me a picture of us from up there!"

That was a good idea, actually.

"Don't worry, it'll work fine!"

Okay, inside, helmet on, the noise cut off. I waved back at me supporters, weird as they were, and Crash closed the cockpit.

"Radio check. one, two, three...."

"Loud and clear," Jeanette told me.

I didn't have rear view mirrors on this thing. That was possibly an oversight.

"Get everyone clear. At least twenty feet back, preferably fifty. Main engine start in one minute."

I waited. Crash came on the radio at exactly thirty seconds into my count. "All clear boss. Repeat, you are clear to go for ignition."

I maintained the count, and pushed the start button right on time. Being right on time was important.

The engine fired right up and the vehicle began to shudder. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Confirming main engine start, power green."

"Confirmed." Crash told me.

I knew it would work now. "Throttle back."

The display panel switched to a wireframe view ahead of me, complete with numbers; the speed and angle I'd need in order to successfully take off, as calculated by the smart system installed and the cameras placed ahead that were scanning the terrain. The surprisingly flat terrain that had scarcely a bump.

"Confirmed, throttle back."

I hit the air right on target, wobbling a little before my lessons kicked in. The trees at the end of the field passed underneath me.

I was up. Finally, I was up. I angled the stick down and started a gentle climb.

"Boss, confirm all green, over?"

"All green confirmed. This view is... "

There was nothing above me but clouds. I started a gentle turn, and the display changed again, reminding me that I had a flight plan filed with the FAA.

"Yeah I know boss. Why don't you chase that cloud over there? The small one, next to that fat one. South-Southeast."

I looked. That was indeed a cloud there. "Sounds like a plan."

"Be sure to take pictures!" Maggie yelled, more than loud enough for me to hear her from here normally.

I checked. Both video and stills were being taken. At that rate the hard drive would be filled in minutes, but it was the best I could do.

The power supply was in the green. I poured on the power and began to really climb, aiming for that puffy little cloud. The usage meter grew a bit, but it never hit over forty percent, even at close to mach one, with the jet loudly rattling around me and the G's pressing me into the seat. Was my vision tunneling? I was told to watch for that.

I eased off. The maximum rated speed was mach one point five or so, but we'd already tested that and the rattling was a little scary.

I made it to the cloud. I was in a cloud! Radar showed nothing up here with me. Some moisture began to collect into tiny droplets on the cockpit glass, only to streak away.

I was in a cloud! I didn't even have a pilot's license, and I was flying!

As soon as I was out, I turned to the sun; instantly my helmet darkened to protect my vision. But it was there, and it was so much closer. Almost in reach.

I banked down, just before I got the warning from my system. It wouldn't do to fly too high now, no matter how tempting it was.

Instead, I did a fly-by of the field, then another to double check the runway. I'd be coming in from over the trees and towards where everyone is, so I would need to hit the button right there, and let the automated system do the work. That was the last test, and the one Crash hadn't been able to do because it hadn't been ready yet.

But it was reading green, and I really wanted to try it.

A pass over the junkyard, revealing all that wonderful unused metal just rusting in the open air, the a buzz over the tailgators to what I hoped was their delight, and my timer beeped.

I didn't want to land, but it was time.

I lined up and hit the button.

The power use spiked immediately as the secondary jets came on; the main engine cut out, and the booms lowered and locked in place. The sudden lack of momentum slammed me forward but my harness stopped me shy of slamming into the cockpit; the extra padding Crash had suggested worked; my shoulders stayed attached.

I grabbed the sticks inset on the sides of the chair, and the arms moved accordingly, The plane landed with a thud, and the pedals became free to use again. I pulled one up, and like a bikes, set it down.

"Boss, all green?" Crash asked.

The new leg on the vehicle matched me perfectly, the kinetic translation software doing its job. The arm raised at my beck and formed a thumbs up that I hoped would be visible to everyone as I carefully moved the next foot.

Still, I should answer. "All green, Crash. I'll be there in a minute."

Without the chip and software, this would be impossible, but as long as my movements were translated and as long as the chip maintained the balance of the thing, it would walk. Even now it was a little more forward than I'd expected it to be.

The power supply was nearing the red line, at eighty percent. It was also nearing the heat red line, and that was climbing. Could the jets in the 'feet' be causing a backflow, even shut off?

I sped up a bit, and soon learned the limits. This thing would never be able to run. It would probably be able to jump, but I needed better heat management for that.

The wide eyes and landed fish impressions were worth it all, though. I was definitely recording those.

The heat was at ninety percent by the time I shut the system down and the vehicle became a plane again.

Crash popped the cockpit, his grin leading the way as he grabbed me gently, picked me up, and plunked me down on the grass. "Congratulations, boss! Looks like it works great! I can't wait to get a shot at it myself!"

Dad was next, all but slamming into me. Despite that and the massive hug, his words were dry. "So, you made a transformer."

"Technically I wanted to test construction robot ideas along with my jet ideas." It wasn't even a lie, no matter how silly it sounded. A vehicle much like this would be needed for the next phase of what I wanted to do.

"Well, I'd say it worked." Dad replied.

Before I could correct him I was swamped. "Goodjob Min!"

"Way to go Min!"

"I knew you could do it Min!"

So, this was what group hugs felt like. It was kind of awkward, and my ribs were beginning to creak.

Ricky asked what I knew everyone was thinking. "So, when do I get to go up?"

Luckily I had an answer. "When you get a pilot's license and you learn to fly the thing."

Sam pouted. "You don't."

"Not a full one, no, but I do have a provisional license and an accredited instructor here. It might be a little shady, but its legal. Especially with a parent granting permission."

"Wouldn't have denied it for the world," Dad admitted. "I'd rather you do things like this in front of me than behind my back."

Well he wasn't wrong there, not that I'd admit it.

"Alright, we need to let the bird cool off some before we can load it," Crash said. "Let's go join your neighbors, shall we?"

I looked and the crowd over there was walking to meet us. That seemed like a great idea to me.

Still, I held onto Dad's arm as everyone else started off, and pulled him low.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

How could I tell him how much this meant to me? "Thanks for this... I needed it.

He smiled. "Any time. Now let's go before your friends notice you doing something this uncool."

I punched his arm as we started off.

"We probably shouldn't stay long. Ian should be back from practice now, and dinner is going to be late as is."

Ian had taken up football, and was working hard at it, which was a little weird.

"True. Might be a pizza night," Dad muttered. "Mom will be late, she's working late tonight."

"So that means Ian is alone!" That was no good. Anything could happen if Ian was alone.

"Right. But he can handle it, he's old enough."

That wasn't really my worry, but I didn't dare tell Dad. Too many people knew about me, and knew about this test.

As soon as I reached the group, I was handed a plate filled with brats and beans. "Nice flying, little lady! I like that little plane of yours."

"Thank you, Mr. Hendricks. Hello Mrs. Hendricks."

"Hello Min, it was great seeing what you could do. I'm looking forward to anything else you make."

This was just weird, really. Why the big production?

We made our rounds while I ate (I certainly wasn't going to waste it) and tried to keep a handle on my stupid brain. It wanted me to make notes on the flaws I noticed, as soon as possible. I wasn't about to let it have it's way, at least not yet.

"Crash, Jeeves, could you load us back up?"

"Certainly mistress Min."

"Right away boss."

"Thank you. As soon as you're done Jeeves, head out. You need to get the mower back as soon as possible."

Jeeves probably wouldn't be back until after dark, but he would be fine.

"As you command, Mistress."

I finished up and we started making our good-byes. Luckily my friends were just as ready to go as I was.

Everything was set, and Crash was waiting in the truck. Sam and Ricky both managed to get ahead of me and block the way into the back, so I made a show of checking the wings and straps again; everything was secure.

Stymied, I got into the front again. Dad started the engine up and pulled out, but kept the radio off - something I was thankful for. Looking back, we were at the start of a convoy, as the tailgaters followed our lead. I used the time to make notes on my phone regarding heat distribution.

Why were the cops at the turn off? There were two cars; I recognized officer Mofit and waved to him, and he waved back. And there, behind officer mofit, was agent Leonard Sands of the MCO. Had he been stopped here? He waved to me, and I waved back.

We made it home without incident, and Dad shut down the truck in the driveway, without going into the back. Ian was there.

He flew out of the house as we pulled up, and he was PISSED.

He wasted no time jumping in my face. "You! How dare you go off and test the jet without me! You know I wanted to be there!"

I pointed to the sky, and the sun that had just set. "There was no time. You were at practice, and I couldn't fly at night. Is it really that big of a deal? We will fly it again."

Ian stopped in his tracks for a moment, then came to himself as Sam bumped shoulders with him.

"No, I guess it isn't that big a deal," he said finally with a sigh that the Hendricks, who were just now pulling in, could no doubt hear.

"Don't worry," Ricky told him. "You still get to be here for the best part."

Ian's face turned ugly for a moment before he smoothed it out with effort. "Oh yeah? And what might that be?"

The answer caught us all flat-footed. "The after party, of course."

This was it. This was what all those secretive smiles had been about. There was some plot afoot here.

"Crash, Jeeves, Jeanette. You three think you can carry the jet to the lab?"

"Of course," they all three agreed, and started undoing the straps without further comment.

"I'm going to open up the lab Dad. You're welcome to come if you want, but I can't promise you'll have any fun there."

There was panic on more than a few faces at the suggestion my Dad join us. Even Sam showed some, which was odd.

"Nah, think I'll just order the pizzas and watch the game. You're all welcome to stay until ten, it being a school night. However if Min is having trouble staying awake, she will come inside to sleep.

And he gave me the look again.

"I will, I will. I promise."

"Good, you better." He demanded, then walked off.

Relieved I put my eye to the scanner and used the key. The lab's door opened, and I wasted no time grabbing the main door and opening that.

Ricky looked around, suspiciously. then he produced... was that wine?

I adjusted my glasses. No, it was Dom Perignon champagne. "So this was what you guys were hiding."

"What celebration would be complete without champagne? We all chipped in and bribed a guy to get it for us, as sort of a celebration of how things are working out for you."

I folded my arms. "You know I'm still not just making you guys androids."

Sam shrugged, but Ricky looked a little down at that.

Ralph however spoke up: "Not why we're doing it, little miss millionaire."

Oh, right. The rumor that they knew was truth. "My bad then."

Ricky broke out the glasses, then got overruled as my androids came in. Jeanette let go of her part of the jet, and the other two carrying it groaned theatrically. "No."

"No what? We're drinking this and that is final!"

"You are not drinking fine champagne in solo cups. Wait but a moment." Jeanette replied and turned on her heel, almost running back to the house.

crash and Jeeves shared a look. No, not a look; the look. But they both set the jet down gently.

The front tire of the jet popped with a sound like a balloon, only far worse.

I couldn't help but laugh. Even after all those safety checks...!

Jeanette came back with wine glasses on a platter she got from somewhere; I didn't recognize them. These were long and fluted, and my Mom's set was short and dumpy looking.

She also took the champagne bottle and opened it with a cork from her pocket. Her movements were precise and careful, which meant the liquid didn't spill.

She poured for us, and the party began.

.......

He heard the spike in laughter and shouts from inside the house; there wouldn't be any noise complaints; not today. The danger had been averted for now, and his daughter would never know.

He went upstairs and place his two holdouts in their case, both .25s fitting neatly in the felt. With hollow points, even a .25 could be dangerous at close range, and combined with the rifle work of the Hendricks family, the practiced violence of the others, it would have been enough no matter who the MCO had put up to visiting.

That visit hadn't happened of course, but some people had tried. The word was finally out.

Silent as a ghost, he flitted back downstairs to wait for the pizza, and to mark the video so that his loving wife could see it. Next time it would be her turn to watch over their new girl, and his to work overtime as a favor to those who would help protect her. He waved to the sentries he knew were out there in the burgeoning night, not envying them for a moment. He received the all clear in response.

Heading to the kitchen, he grabbed himself a beer. Being a parent thirsty work, and he wouldn't always have time like this.

He took a drink as the dark settled in. Took another when his daughter came in, loudly protesting some act by Ian, Jeanette's shoes sounding on the floor behind the pair. They went upstairs without seeing him, clearly happy despite the childlike arguing. After a few minutes, Jeanette came downstairs, nodded to him, and began cleaning.

He took another drink when he heard the key in the lock and sat back, easing a hand around one of the holdouts they had placed as a couple around the house.

"Evening." She said, taking in the scene. The darkness didn't matter to her.

"Evening." He replied, and took another drink, his hand well in sight.

"So it was today, was it?"

"Yep, you called it."

"How did it go?"

He pointed toward the tape. "Got the whole thing, except when she poured on the speed a few times."

She pushed the tape in and watched as the day unfolded. Some time after it stopped and they were in darkness again, she sighed.

"It was all worth it."

He nodded and finished the beer in one smooth motion.

Summer mutation side story - The good old boys.

I stood on the bed of my old battered Ford F-150 and surveyed the troops. The floodlights and high beams littered around the lot made it harder, but what I saw couldn't help to bring a smile on.

There had to be a hunnert guys here, all with signs. A few bull horns to get the message across - and a few other things in case things got nasty. The rifles had been stripped from the gun racks, so that was one less reason for the cops to get uppity.

Stupid cops, wouldn't arrest the real menace. Our god given first amendment would put some pressure on them. The people would thank us, they probably didn't even know about the monster in their midst.

The law to inform the public about students who had the power to slaughter had been narrowly beaten last year. It was up again soon, and I had no doubt it would pass.

But until it passed, it was up to guys like me and my friends to pick up the slack. There had to be a bunch of hardworking Americans that knew about the danger, but didn't know how close it was.

I had to give the family credit really, the kid had been active for awhile, and only the neighbors had a complaint in... over some kind of jury-rigged vehicle blocking the street or something. My friend hadn't been able to smuggle the entire complaint out.

Just the report where nothing was done about it.

I kept it simple: "You know why we're here, and what we need to do. Let's be about it, and let's keep it peaceful."

It wouldn't stay peaceful, of course. My guys were in the crowd, and they knew how to start a fight while making the other guys look like they started it.

The cheer started when I stepped off the truck bed and it was clear I wouldn't say anything else. It was just that easy.

I got behind the wheel and waited. I wasn't going to start the engine before we were all lined up, and I was in the place of honor.

A beer sounded very good about now, but I didn't want to get arrested, so the coke in my cup holder would have to do. It was a hot day.

I drank half before the ready honk sounded and we were finally free to get the show on the road. Even with carpooling, there were a good twenty vehicles in our convoy. The twenty best vehicles we all possessed. I kept us under the limit and the drivers were following the orders to keep us spread out - they didn't want the state troopers to have reason to take notice either.

The little hamlet was only a few miles away, and almost all of the land along the way to the town were farms. I knew more than a few of them personally, real salt of the Earth people. We had coffee in the same diner every day.

Well, at least for the first mile. The farmers past that might well be salt of the Earth, but they took their coffee in the Paris diner, and my own coffee friends often had a few bones to pick with them. But no, I had to be calm and objective here. The group wouldn't reimburse anything else, and while the money wasn't what we did it for, it was welcome.

I took the turn off, easy as you please, but had to stop. My stomach dropped into my boots. Why was there a roadblock here? How could there be a roadblock here, less than a mile from the exit? Wasn't that illegal? Our convoy just barely cleared the exit, which was a small blessing.

I could just spot the spike strips in the grass behind the cars. The local police cars, which had no jurisdiction until we hit the town sign. We wouldn't be going around them, and they could deny spiking the road if asked. I guess that was clever.

I rolled down my window as one of the four uniformed cops approached. Wasn't this their entire force? The name above his badge said "Myles", and he was tall. Taller than I was, and with more muscle on him besides. His rolled up sleeves barely fit over guns that a pro wrestler would be proud of. Clayton Myles was the sheriff, come to think of it.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?"

"License and registration, please?"

Oh, he was really going to do this, this way? "Sure."

I grabbed the paperwork and handed it over; I'd had it ready just in case. The other three cops had taken up position behind their cars... and I could see the shotguns held in loose grips.

"So, what seems to be the problem, officer?" I asked again.

He looked up from my license and gave me a gimlet eye. "Got word of a humanity first protest headed our way."

Who had tipped them off?

"Funny thing about that," the sheriff continued. "To protest in Paris, one needs to contact our city hall in advance and fill out form D-18, otherwise known as an event form, at least two weeks in advance. Only one of those forms have been filled out in the last month, and it wasn't by humanity first.

He cast a glance in the truck bed, no doubt looking for guns and only seeing the signs I made in there.

"Who was it filled out by, if I may ask?"

"The Campbell family."

What the... the very family we were here to protest, unless there was another. Campbell was a pretty common name after all.

"Well, if that's an event, can we go to it?" I had to keep the smile off my face, but damn I was clever.

"It's by invitation only," the sheriff said, cool as could be. "and you don't have invitations."

He handed my registration and license back. "I'm going to need you all to turn around and go back to where you came from."

How dare he!?! "We have the right to peacefully assemble in any public place we please."

"Sure... just so long as you fill out form D-18 two weeks in advance, as required by local law," the man grinned wide. "It allows us to allocate the resources to protect you should something happen. State police tend to require notice to help local police, and in the event of a protest in today's day and age... well I'd want the backup. It's for your own safety, you understand?"

I understood. I could launch a legal challenge, but that wouldn't get us in the town today, and we might even lose. It was a slick argument.

"So, you've got room, and you don't need to worry about cross traffic. I'm going to have to ask you all to turn around and go back home. It's a nice day, go enjoy it - and come back on Monday bright and early to file that paperwork."

As if, I was a working man, and even if I wasn't they weren't going to rubber stamp any form I made. Someone knew who I was, someone had tipped the cops off, and it was clear they did not share the views of the rest of us.

I pasted my best smile on my face and hung my arm out the door and made circles with it. "Sure officer. See you on Monday."

I had to back up just a bit before turning, but I got around. There was more than one way to skin a cat.

Once I was sure we weren't being followed I pulled off onto the first of the rural routes. The convoy followed of course. From here, I could us the binocs in my glove compartment to see the off ramp - as long as I stood on my truck. It wasn't like I cared about getting boot prints on it.

The cops were still there... but that was fine. It just meant this wouldn't be a cakewalk.

"Billy-Joe."

I looked to find my right hand man and best friend had approached, when no one else had. They were busy milling around and whispering among themselves.

"Harry. The cops are still there."

"Right."

"Which means they aren't anywhere else."

The light dawned behind Harry's eyes. "Right... so then we can go around, take the back way. They can't have cops everywhere."

"Right. So we wait a bit, make sure they are staying put, then you lead us along the route. You know it a bit better than I do."

I waited, letting the others talk. Then when I was sure they were staying, I waited another five minutes before jumping down.

"Alright, back in the cars! Harry's going to lead us down another route. We aren't done yet!"

It took awhile for the others to get situated and going, and Harry almost didn't wait, taking off down the road I pulled off with confidence. I knew this route crossed rural 300, but rural North 300 would probably be flooded now; the road was unpaved trash.

Harry drove past North 300 without so much as a glance. Well, that was why he was leading now. He drove on, to where the road intersected another unpaved road. Rural North 500. Rural North 500 however, had gravel and an old stone bridge across the creek that floods late summer. All of which should be good enough, if not for the fact that as far as I knew North 500 had no way into Paris. Unless of course we took the road all the way across and found the town from the other side.

That was Harry's plan was, it seemed. Right up until he skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust.

Once the cloud thinned I could see why Harry stopped. In the distance, right at the outlet for 500, was a single car. A single car that I could tell was black and white.

My binoculars came in handy again; it was a cop car, and there were two uniformed deputies on the other side of it. They were alert, and I was fairly sure they weren't any of the cops at the off ramp. As I watched, one of them pulled out a radio mic.

"Got another idea, Harry?"

"Yep. we ain't licked yet. But this is kinda crazy; how many cops does Paris have, anyway?"

"Too many it seems. More than we do with almost twice their population." Sure Paris was rich... but there was rich, then there was wasteful. Something was off, here. Something beyond the Parisians keeping to themselves more than most. Not that we wanted them at the festival anyway, but it was odd most of them never came.

They had festivals of their own, but they didn't advertise them much. I'd thought something was off about it for years, but it was just the way it'd always been to the old timers.

I had to be patient. "Alright, everyone turn around, we're headed back the other way."

I turned back to Harry. "We are headed back the other way, aren't we?"

Harry grinned, showing off how few teeth he had. "Yep, but not all the way. I took North 500 for a reason."

I let Harry take the lead again, racking my brains. What could he be talking about? The closest intersection was East 350, but that was a dead end. So was East 400. East 500 was just on the other end of the cops. East 300 suffered from a lack of pavement and often floods.

Harry drove off past the shallow ditch and into the flat grass on the side of the road, and I followed. We all just pulled a slow loop.

Harry pulled off onto East 350, which meant their had to be something here. Minutes later, just before he hit the end of the road, he pulled off... into a driveway. The name on the mailbox had half fallen off, but the 'ythe' of Smythe was still visible. Smythe was Harry's last name, so the place had to belong to relatives of his.

The long winding drive was in better shape than the road itself, despite being dirt. It was also overgrown a bit, which meant that no one was here, or had been here for some time.

Harry reached the house and kept going, out past the other side. The road kept going too, stretching out under his battered but beloved car without a break. It led us out, and to the other side of East 300, where the road again opened up under us with farms to either side.

I'd have never known the route was here. The chances were, no one else knew it was here either, and the road was just passable enough for us all to get through. I rolled down the window again; it was best to enjoy the breeze and sounds of nature while I could. In almost no time at all even taking it easy, we were on the outskirts of Paris.

But it seemed as if we'd been anticipated once again. This time, there was a semi parked where the street opened up onto pavement. Whoever had parked it here had left just enough room for us to turn around in the small cul-de-sac, but otherwise this was as far as our vehicles could go.

Unless we got a little tricky. I pulled forward and turned, but then climbed out. If they thought a little hike would stop me, they had another think coming. The semi was locked, and I could see an alarm set right on the seat of it, mocking me. That was fine.

I waited until half of us were turned around, and the other half were set to do so. Ed handled it; and he was good at this sort of stuff. He worked for roads and sanitation, so it was his job.

There, that house. I could see the blinds twitch. There was a car in the driveway of the house too. The two story brick house with white trim looked like a place that cost more than two of mine.

"We have a choice before us, ladies and gents. We can go back around and look for another route. Or we can unload here and march to our destination, Paris city hall! Who is with me!?!?"

I didn't really need to ask of course; they were all with me. Every one a true believer, and in it for the long haul. That and the money of course.

As expected, they cheered. Some of them even raised their signs, which was a good reminder.

"Grab your signs and let's go!"

I set off, humming some tune or other, and everyone else fell in. Harry fell in beside me, of course. "You sure this is a good idea?"

"We got people filming, so of course it is. The cops here stop us, well, we will go back - and then the story will be all about how five cops violated the civil rights of several peaceful champions of humanity."

The light dawned. "That's... almost as good as if we don't get interrupted."

"No, it's better," I corrected. "at least for the movement. If the police let us protest, then thats fine. But if they turn us away, then we not only know this town is poison, but everyone else will too."

"Win-win!" Harry ground out, chuckling.

"All about the winning - and us little guys win too, just by being along for the ride." Maybe one day I could afford a brick house with white trim of my own, rather than my wooden shack.

The first block, there was no one around. The second block was clear too. On a day like today that was a bit unusual. Maybe not for having townspeople at another event though; a small blessing perhaps.

Some cars passed us once we hit their main street. They kept going; soon enough we were at the courthouse. There were no cars in the lot. Which meant there were no police cars in the lot.

No one around - maybe this wasn't the right place to have our fun. Where would the party be? At the park, maybe? Outside the school maybe? The school would be a fitting place - but we really needed some kind of resistance here, otherwise our hidden camera guy would have nothing to show.

"Rusty. Cleve."

The two I''d singled out marched up. They didn't quite salute, but I could tell they wanted to. They stayed silent too, which made me happy. The boss had trained them well.

"Both of you leave your signs here. Rusty, I want you to go to the park... it's that way and take a left two blocks down. Cleve, I want you to head to the school. Its all the way down at the end. See if there are any people there, then come back to us."

"Yes sir!"

"Got it."

Not quite the response I was looking for. More training was always needed.

Both my true soldiers went off, going the same direction yet on opposite sidewalks, in order to appear less suspicious. That didn't really work until their pace split them up.

"Problem?" Harry asked.

I hated explaining things. "The cops might not know we're here."

Harry shrugged. "They are all out watching the roads. They will get called eventually."

"I want to know where the family is - where the kid is. Something is going on, and I'm curious."

The kid worried me; how could she not? What was she doing now? What sort of abomination against good science had she built?

The boss was right; her kind were dangerous. It was only a matter of time before they built bombs or other tools of war. Tools that humanity was hard-pressed to counter.

Meanwhile I raised my sign, and we began to picket. The chant was "Not without notice! Not in our schools!" I wasn't very proud of it, but it got the message across. They can't all be deep poetry.

We were loud enough with the bullhorns. It only took ten minutes for us to hear the sirens. That was a pretty good response time.

The two cars that had been at the exit pulled up in a hurry, parking haphazardly. The sheriff almost jumped out of the car, his deputies right behind him. They all had hands firmly on their pistols.

"I thought I told you that you wouldn't be demonstrating today." The Sheriff said calmly as the veins in his neck bulged. There was anger, but no fear in the man at all; he waded right into us until he stood in front of me.

"You might have said words to that effect," I admitted calmly. "However this is still a free country, and the first amendment guarantees it'll stay that way."

"No, the second amendment guarantees the freedom of the country, the first amendment only guarantees it can be vocal. Here is how this is going to work. I am going to write you a citation. You are going to take it, find your cars, and leave. If you do anything but that, you will be arrested and held on charges of disturbing the peace and unlawful assembly. Those charges would include jail time that will certainly violate the probation of some of your friends. Do you understand?"

I held out my hands. "Sure I get it. You're more worried about my freedom of speech than the safety of your kids."

The Sheriff's eyes narrowed, then shifted. He was looking for the camera, and not seeing it. With a sigh, he pulled out his ticket book and wrote one out.

Seven hundred and fifty dollars and in my name alone - holy shit that had to be the max. He was really pissed at me.

I took the ticket carefully, folded it, and put it in my back pocket. This wasn't ideal, but it was enough, and we could make it better.

"Our cars are over by the Smythe place, in that cul-de-sac."

"Alright, get going. We'll just make sure you don't get lost." The Sheriff replied.

I signaled our boys and we set off... still chanting at the top of our lungs. They really couldn't arrest us all, at least not without backup from state, and the Sheriff and I both knew he wasn't getting that. At least not anytime soon.

We really should have marched like this on the way in. Oh well.

There were a few people now, in front of their houses or along the streets. Many of those people were visibly armed. My grandma, what a big shotgun you have. A sawed off with a barrel length illegal in this state. I looked to the Sheriff only to find him ignoring it, along with the other guns not quite pointed our way.

Something was off in this town.

Some few of the people - the ones with only a little gray in their hair and straight backs - joined the march, taking up flanking positions on either side without being in range of easy grabbing. There were no cars coming down the road on this trip, when there had been before.

Did everyone in town know we were here? Probably; but why were they acting on it, and why like this? The Sheriff didn't look worried at all, even when the people around us began to outnumber his men. It was as if he already knew which way they would swing, should this come to violence.

He shouldn't know that, unless everyone in town shared the same opinion. No town in America did that, so why was he just watching us?

We reached the cul-de-sac... and the semi truck was moved, parked off to the side. A big burly man that was taller than I was by a head and must have had a good fifty pounds on me, a good portion of it beard, was standing in front of it with his arms crossed. He could only be the owner.

He stared us down as if looking at bugs.

There were others around too, looking a bit more normal, if normal was reedy white collar looking types. Somehow they didnt look like normal office workers - their gazes were too hard, too sharp. I'd seen that look before in experienced fighters sizing you up before you got in the ring.

My own gaze told me I had no chance, not in a straight up fight, guns aside. All together we might be able to do something, but today wasn't about violence.

We would have to be careful though, later on. I'd have to pass a few things up the chain.

"Alright. Everyone go to your cars, but do not get in them. You are all illegally parked, and will be getting tickets to take home with you. You can contest them of course, or pay the fine. If you choose to contest them, you call the number on the ticket and a court date will come in the mail. If you have any questions you can ask when we get to you."

Judging from the looks, there were going to be a few questions, but overall the boys were taking it well. They knew even if the charges stuck they wouldn't have a problem paying.

The Sheriff filled mine out, and passed it over. "Sign on the dotted line there."

Seventy-five bucks was pretty normal... I signed and he ripped my copy out of his book, then went along. His deputies had picked spots in the line to work from, and in less time than I'd hoped, they'd gotten to us all. The good news was Rusty and Cleve had both come here in other people's rides, so they hadn't been scooped up just yet.

"Alright, now all of you get back in your cars. We'll escort you out of town, and I don't want to see you back without permission by the city council to demonstrate. Do you all understand? I see you back here with signs spouting shit, and no form D-18, you're all going to county for six months."

"We got it Sheriff, thanks. Lead on, we'll be right behind you."

Their blues rolled up then... with regular people driving. The Sheriff had let civilians drive his car? Had just left the keys in, and these people were good for it? Somethin was off about this town.
The Sheriff got in his wheels, the deputies in theirs, and the regular people stepped off. He led us out, and as I promised I was right behind him. We made quite the sight, I was sure. The truck moved behind us, this time blocking the driveway we'd used to enter town.

There, what was that? Another convoy, just leaving, in the opposite direction. They turned off ahead of us, but all that did was give me a good view of the battered truck hauling a tarp covered trailer, with kids in the back.

That had to be the Campbells.

My steering wheel creaked, reminding me I needed to loosen up. It wouldn't do to jump the gun. Slow and steady won the race. I fixed my smile and kept the course, waiting until we were out of that town and well on our way home before venting a bit where there was no one to hear.

The chapter house was a little hole in the wall, the final partition of a strip mall. It used to be a hair salon, and still had the sinks in the back where the hair washing was done before the big dryer bowls were put on. I liked to imagine the old ladies coming here on Sunday after church and gossiping about stupid shit; it made the problems we were facing today look like nothing at all. Simpler times, and all that.

From the outside, there was only one concession given; the H1 logo on the reinforced plate window. The inside was a different story; aside from the counter with all the brochures, our pictures were everywhere. We had a lot to be proud of, after all; we were at the forefront of human rights.

But for now the best thing about the place was the three kegs in the corner, sweating off their chill and freshly delivered by the boss while we were gone. I grabbed the plastic cups we had for this very purpose and drew the first one, then picked one of the less rickety chairs to sit in.

Franky came up, his hand out. "A success, or sorts. Congratulations."

We shook and I palmed the thumb drive he'd had, dropping it in my pocket while no one was looking.

Well Franky had the camera, so he got the bad job. "Do me a favor? Stay sober so you can pick up our two missing if they call?"

Franky sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, but you'll owe me some of this later," he said, his arm waving to cover the beer and pretzels.

"Sure thing. Your pick of brand, too." It was the least I could do.

Well, now I had to get up again. Franky fucked off to sit by our landline, which would be the number either of our friends would call if they got caught or needed a ride, and took the route to my tiny office.

The envelopes were in the drawer, next to the spare thumb drives. I grabbed two of the drives and stuck them in the laptop I'd been given, then slotted the one in my pocket. I barely understood this crap, but a mistake here would ruin everything, and leaving it to someone more tech savvy didn't sit right with me.

I wanted to fire the shot that sank that kid myself.

I dragged the files where they needed to go and started the copies. Then I addressed the envelopes. Finally, I made a copy for the computer itself and then highlighted the drives before hitting the eject button. The tech guys had been most clear on that one, that it was a common mistake.

Then I had to copy the laptop's copy again, and send it to a site which was all numbers, and that I had to type in laboriously by hand, and then delete from the browser history.

I looked up to find my beer empty and almost an hour gone. Going back out, I saw that the first keg was long gone, and the second was well on its way, so I got in line.

Tomorrow we'd see that kid on the five-o-clock news, even if we were the ones on camera.

The VHS player whirred, the scene shown flowing backwards for just over a minute before allowed to flow forward again.

On the screen, a blue-haired girl emerged from the tent centered in the frame, dressed in a pilot's suit that appeared to be two sizes too large, with a helmet held under an arm. Her eyes unfocused as several flashes went off, the main culprit being a brown haired girl with a smile that covered half her face. She says a few words, the sound of which did not reach, and the other girl sighs.

Then the blue-green haired girl takes a step forward, and finds the camera. Even the look of surprise does little to lessen the obvious joy on her face, and in her stride. She waved at the camera itself.

Pause. Whirr....

The room was dark, almost pitch black. The only light was from the television screen. The only way someone could navigate the space was from memory. He stepped forward, finally removing his hand from pistol at his side.

"Honey."

A shape shifted; a lump uncoiled itself from the darkened sofa, and the tape began again.

A hand pointed to the screen as he sat beside her. "There. Right there. You see it too, right?"

Once seated he leaned into her, his arms wrapping around the blanket she had over her. "I saw it, yes. She's happy. Very happy."

"We never should have let her do this."

He added some bite. "She did every thing we asked her to do. She even waited long enough to take the test for her pilot's license. To pull that rug out from under her when she's already feeling the stress from complying would alienate her."

His life partner gave an explosive sigh and hugged him back, through the blanket. He elected not to notice a few extra bends that made such a thing possible.

"Thank you for recording this."

"It was the least I could do since you had to work."

She snorted. "That's another thing. She waited too well; at least she was honest about it after."

He shrugged, just enough so that she could feel it - her eyes were still on the tape, fixated on a dot piercing the clouds. "That's a very kid thing to do, and something we set up a long time ago. We should be happy it worked."

Another snort. "I still think I should have been the lenient one. I make the better chaperone."

"Not a chance - you know what a softie I am. Besides, you lost the coin toss." He had to remind himself she meant nothing by it. She was the tougher of the two of them, after all, and they both knew it.

"How long do you think it'll take?"

He pretended to think. "Maybe a week. We already had the first probe today. Give them a week to organize and wait for the heat to die down, and they'll be back. Do we tell the bots?"

"No, if it gets that far, let's see what those things are able to pick up, and what they do. It'll be a good test for them."

He swallowed his next words. He really was too soft - it was best they learn the capabilities of their firstborn's guardians now, while the kid gloves were still on. He really was a softie. "Well, it shouldn't be too difficult yet."

His partner turned, the relief from the lighting finally revealing the shed tears tracking her beautiful face. "She won't always be like this. It'll get worse. We won't be able to shelter her forever."

He hugged her closer. "Long as we can, hon. We hold that line as long as we can."

.......

I woke up still on cloud nine... maybe I should have named that cloud nine? A smile not even Jeanette could ruin with her gentle ministrations and staring at me in the shower. Not even Monday could ruin this.

I got out after only a few minutes and got dressed. My brother was yawning into my face as soon as I opened the door, so I passed him and went downstairs to find Jeeves had made a breakfast worthy of kings - homemade waffles cooked with our waffle iron. Complete with strawberries. I settled down and grabbed my fork, taking in Jeeves smile and wave before I realized something was wrong.

Where was Mom? Where was Dad? Usually at lease one of them were around on weekday mornings, if not both. So we were down at least one parent.

Jeeves was being quiet, and so was Jeanette. Jeanette was drying my hair with a towel, and not the hair dryer. Both were making effort to walk differently - to make less noise?

"Mom or Dad in the living room, asleep?"

It happened sometimes; Mom and Dad both had problems sleeping the night every once in awhile. Mom was probably worried about me; I pushed the guilt down. Everything had gone fine yesterday!

"Both of your parents are asleep on the couch," Jeanette whispered. "We decided against disturbing them."

No, they would want to be awake. At least one of them had work. Well, probably. They weren't late yet, which was lucky. If I'd been a bit late, as was my new normal, it would have been a demerit or whatever they handed my parents out at work for sure.

There was a specific way to wake up my parents... especially if they were low on sleep. And that was from a distance, with a calm voice. Things tended to go poorly if you tried to walk up on either.

"Mom. Dad. Wake up, its morning."

Dad was still dressed in his clothes from yesterday; while Mom only gave a start from where she was burrowed in Dad's shoulder, Dad half reached into his jacket before waking up.

He covered it well, so I didn't press. "Oh hey pumpkin, morning already?"

"Yeah. So I'm a pumpkin now?"

Dad disentangled himself, and Mom used the chance to wipe her sleep drool on him, which was a little gross. "Sure, why not? Ever since Halloween I can't help but think that it is a great nickname for you."

"Whatever. Pumpkins don't fly, and as of yesterday I officially do!"

Dad reached down and helped Mom up, muttering something in her ear. She nodded and showed me a smile as she moved past me, her blanket still around her.

It wasn't much of a smile, but she was trying... and she hadn't called me out yet. She would of course, but I was in no rush.

"Well then, not a pumpkin, but a rutabaga! How does that grab you?"

The word play was obvious. "I may be rude, but I'm no rutabaga."

"I beg to differ!" Mom yelled back as she mounted the stairs. She wasn't having any? Oh well, more waffles for the rest of us.

I went to pour a cup of coffee for Dad, only to find Jeeves had beaten me to it.

"Do you have work today Dad?"

My parental unit and fellow human nodded with a sigh as he sat down. "Yep, it's my turn. I won't be home till late, but your Mom will be waiting for you. You'll be coming right home, won't you?"

The question had a bit of an edge to it; a hint of warning. Honestly that was a little angering, but I checked the emotion. "I should be. I don't have any plans to go anywhere else, and I'll need to run maintenance on the jet anyway. I'm sure there is room for improvement too, somewhere. I'll need to look at the flight data."

Dad 'hmm'd' around his coffee before asking the standard silly question. "It'll be done before I do anything else of course. I can get it done before I leave school, if I try."

Dad pulled the trifecta by talking with his mouth full, something Mom would nail him for. "See that you do. One of us will be checking."

"Of course." it was on to the next project, really. I couldn't wait, even though I'd have to - there was no time to program the 3d printer before school. I should have done it last night.

The next project was a suit. If I managed to slim it down enough, it would be able to fit in the plane with me, and act as an emergency life preservation device. It would be better than a simple parachute anyway. Hopefully.

Ian coming down the stairs brought me back from the edge - I'd been about to fall into the deep end of my ideas again. I needed to watch that.

"Morning squirt."

"Morning Dad."

Well he looked awake now at least. "No longer catching flies with those yawns I see."

"Thanks for that lovely image, sis," came the prompt reply. "Oh look, waffles. With blackberries."

What? How did the little nuisance rate blackberries while I got strawberries?

No, no, it wasn't right to be mad over something like that. My bots were already doing the best job they could, so if they missed an occasional minor detail, it was fine. Strawberries were still good, even if they weren't the best berry to exist in the entire world.

A finger tapped me on the back of the head. "Quit moping." Jeanette told me. Then she started running her brush through my hair, probably so I couldn't jump up in outrage.

"I'm not moping. I'm just curious why is all." She had to know what this was about; I refused to believe she didn't.

She proved me right. "One fruit is better for your current dietary needs than the other. You shall receive the other berry when such conditions change."

That... they were monitoring closely, I knew, but to choose one berry over another? They were both berries! That was kind of insane.

Wait, how were they doing it? They would need up to the minute information, and I hadn't built that into them. Well, not into Jeeves anyway, Jeanette had a system but surely it wasn't that good....

Were they taking stool samples?

Another tap to the back of my head. "We are not invading anyone's privacy. We do not need to. Finish your breakfast."

Good. "How are you even doing that? Galvanic skin response and muscle twitches aside, you can't even see my face to read my micro-expressions right now."

"I cannot," Jeanette answered calmly. "But Jeeves can, and we can communicate with each other."

Ack, I never should have given my bots wireless internet access. For a variety of reasons, none of which had to do with security.

I finished up just as Jeanette did. It was time to go back upstairs and brush my teeth like a good kid, even if I didn't need to. At the very least it'd help my breath.

when I got out, Jeanette had already gathered my books and was waiting for me. "You have my phone and laptop?"

If I used them during study hall and gym, no one seemed to mind. Well, so long as I wasn't randomly texting on the one, or watching movies on the other. Mr. Welch kept saying he was going to come by and take a look or two at what I was doing during gym, but he hadn't yet. It wasn't like I had anything to hide; not really.

The doorbell rang as I started down the stairs. Dad rushed to answer it, without looking like he was rushing to answer it. He looked through the peephole and then opened the door.

The response wasn't what I expected. "What are you doing here?" Dad asked, without fully opening up.

A voice I recognized came from the other side. "I'm just here to escort her like normal. You guys already know I do it, so there's no problem if I do it this way, right?"

That was agent Sands from the MCO. I hadn't seen him yesterday, but surely he knew about the plane test by now.

"Right, that's fine. But you're waiting out there, off our property." Then Dad slammed the door, right as I reached it.

Wow, Dad was being rude. Dad was almost never rude.

Agent Sands took it with aplomb. "Sure thing, just letting you know I was here. I didn't want any misunderstandings."

The door slammed shut, cutting off the man's footsteps as he made his way off our porch.

Dad turned, but not to me. "Jeeves, Jeanette. Watch that man."

Jeanette responded with more than a little sarcasm. "Of course, we already are. He shall not long survive any trouble he creates."

"Why would agent Sands start trouble?"

The looks I got back were one part incredulous, and one part surprise. Why were my words shocking? Agent Sands couldn't break the law, he'd go to jail.

Jeanette sighed. "You will be late, my Lady."

"Right. Ian, you ready?" It was best to walk to school together. I wasn't worried about myself as much as Ian since he didn't have an android of his own. Yet? Should I? Making too many still felt like all kinds of bad idea. Why, I couldn't pinpoint, other than getting too much attention. All things AI were not well-loved due to past events, and I'm sure no one would believe me if I said mine were different.

"Yeah, coming!" Thank goodness he didn't question it, only popped up behind us with half a waffle still in his mouth and his backpack held by the cloth in his hand. Hm, enough weight and he'd break his wrist, doing that.

Jeeves looked at Dad and nodded. Dad nodded back... so Jeeves decided to toss his towel in the direction of the sink and adjust his suit while walking over.

Whatever. I grabbed the door handle as Dad left it and opened up.

Agent Sands was already in his car; he'd moved fast.

"We don't need a whole pilgrimage guys."

"What do you mean, sis?" Ian asked, the very picture of innocence - if you didn't count the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I've no idea what you mean," Jeeves answered. "I am simply going out to purchase ingredients for your next meal."

Sure he was... and he'd just see me off to school first. I knew how the game was played.

Of course, Maggie and Sam were there as I reached the sidewalk, I could just barely make out their blurry forms as they approached. Whoops.

Jeanette handed over my glasses without a word once I held my hand out, and soon I was able to see both of my friends with crystal clarity. They were smiling, and studiously ignoring the creeper in the car next to us.

"Good morning Min!" Maggie all but yelled while Sam just nodded.

"Good morning Maggie, good morning Sam."

"Good morning S-sam," Ian stuttered from next to me."

Sam shot him a dazzling smile while he went beet red. So that's how it was, huh? Should I?

I should. "What a shame. Holly is going to be so sad."

Ian rounded on me, going from red to purple in no time flat. "You shut up!"

Huh, he'd actually made fists, he was so mad. "Sure thing, Casanova."

I started moving; We'd be here all day if I didn't start us off. Well, or until Jeanette decided to drag me along.

As expected, my movement got everyone else moving. "So what brings you two here? This walk is a bit out of your way."

"Well, Sam wanted to come and make sure you weren't in your workshop doing stuff without her before school, and since I had nothing better to do, I came along."

That sounded a little suspicious. I gave the both of them another once over, and Maggie preened comically under the attention.

Sam seemed subdued, but happy, so I let it slide.

"Whatever. My guess is you wanted a Jeeves breakfast, but Sam couldn't get you up soon enough so you managed to get here now, just as we're heading out."

Maggie gave an actual full body cringe and Sam nodded. Bulls-eye.

"Alright, so you might be right. Don't judge me!"

What an odd thing to say. "Of course not, why wouldn't anyone want Jeeves food? The waffles were delicious."

"Your words honor me," Jeeves avowed. "I have much to learn."

"By all means," I humbly allowed. He was already better than Mom was, I wasn't sure I could take much more - but I'd be willing to try. I'm sure I was not alone in that either.

Jeanette tsked. "You have other priorities to see to."

Jeeves took the admonition in stride. "You are correct, however I have many talents. I feel certain I can achieve all of my goals."

I wanted to cheer; Jeeves knew what he wanted to do. Fitting that he was the first for that. I decided not to make the inevitable joke.

Other people had no such compunctions. "Like taking over the world?"

Jeeves actually laughed. "What would I do with such a thing? My aspirations are much more humble - to support mistress Min as she chases her goals in life, and assure she reaches them."

Maggie continued to dig. "And if Min wants to take over the world?"

"Then I shall help her achieve the goal," Jeeves replied honestly.

"No intent on taking over the world just yet. I've no idea how to run the world for one, and people would just overthrow me anyway."

Sam decided to get involved. "I'll help too."

I had to nip this in the bud. "No need to help, I won't be doing it. It is enough to just build things without the police breaking down my door."

"Glad to hear that!" Agent Sands shouted from behind us. I decided to keep ignoring him, like I normally did.

Oh hey, surprise surprise, Ralph and Ricky were both approaching, each going out of their way to meet up with us. Me? Us? It had to be us, right? It wouldn't surprise me if Sam or Maggie set this up.

"Fancy meeting you here, when you could probably already be at school."

Neither one took my sarcastic bait. "Good morning everyone!"

We had to stop for some reason while the good mornings and other greetings were exchanged, and then it was time to move on. If we added any more people like this, we were going to be late, even though we'd left on time.

Luckily enough we were only a few blocks away, so there wasn't any time for that. Well, other than the other watchers; I'm not sure when they started following, but the CIA was here; Mr. Douglas stepped out from behind a doorway ahead of us, then stepped back into the shadow. Slowly and deliberately.

From what Dad had told me, that was letting me know we were there without actually saying it... as well as a blatant warning for anyone else watching.

Was it weird that I actually trusted the Central Intelligence Agency - an agency responsible for more secrets and possible black ops than any other agency in the world - more than say, the police and the MCO?

Maybe it was because Mr. Douglas was a family friend, but he had an air of trust about him; at least for me.

Either way, it was easy to see how some people sagged with relief after we stepped foot on school grounds, that something was up.

Jeeves stopped just before he would have stepped on school property himself, and changed course. "I shall see you at lunch, mistress Min."

"Looking forward to it," I called back, and I meant it. Giving requests was pointless, as he'd make what he made, but his surprises had been good ones so far, so I could rest easy there.

My friends had also learned to stop pestering him for their own portions, as he just ignores them. I was still waiting for people to figure out that asking me to ask Jeeves might work. Half in shock that hadn't occurred to anyone yet.

Ian broke off to go where he needed to be, across the street. Agent Sands ignored him, but Miss White, Mr. Douglas's partner, stepped deliberately out of a doorway near that school and nodded. Then she stepped back.

They were taking things seriously, the CIA. Or Mom's friends, either way.

The first bell rang as we stepped inside. Five minutes was plenty of time to get where we needed to be, so long as we split up. Some of us seemed sad about that - as if we weren't going to see each other soon enough. So weird, my friends.

Physics, with the two R's. So far we'd been having a grand old time, even though I felt a bit guilty; whenever we needed to do a lab, I couldn't really leave Ricky. His grades needed my help. Ralph always seemed to get stuck with random people who hadn't moved quite fast enough to get partners of their own.

It was obvious there would be no lab today; none of the usual experimental supplies were out. The sinks were also clear, and the fire extinguishers were put away. Everyone was at their usual desks. Well, except for one or two... sick or late, probably.

Ralph and I sat, and I got to watch as Jeanette carefully placed my backpack on the chair behind me by it's straps, then strode to the back of the room, head held high.

She had to be glaring, because everyone behind me was shrinking back in their seats.

Whatever, she wasn't hurting anyone. I dug in the backpack and grabbed my book, notebook, and pen. Some breathing, some focus; this time I wouldn't doodle schematics all over my notebook due to boredom. This time, I would pay proper attention!

The stragglers came in, one at a time. Wait, why was everyone looking at me? a quick scan and... yes, my classmates, every single classmate, was looking at me. Even the people I didn't even know, or know that well I guess.

Mr. Welch finally showed up, just as I was getting jittery and my pen was dancing all on it's own along my desk. The first thing his eyes roved to was my desk, and his faint smile when he saw me was a surprise. I noticed rather than his usuaol briefcase, he had his laptop with him, as he normally did when we were going to watch a movie or presentation.

"Good morning class. Rather than cover chapter thirteen in your text, I felt that we might instead work toward greater understanding of how mankind has learned to fly. Rather than lab on it, to start we're going to watch a short video."

Oh no. No no no. I had an awful feeling about this. But how would Mr. Welch even get a copy of the tape?

Mr. Welch began setting up his laptop up in front of the projector. My few remaining hopes were dashed when I saw him pull out the memory stick from his pocket and slot it; there was no way it wasn't his own work.

Behind us, my traitorous maid got the lights. Mr. Welch finished hooking up to the projector, and sure enough, there was a video of my plane, thankfully paused at the moment after I got into it, rather than before so everyone could see all the cringe.

As if the slight darkening of the room had opened floodgates, my fellow students moved with the screeching of wood on tile, their seats all coming closer to me. The questions came in so fast I couldn't hear them all, but they seemed to be variations on the old "what was it like?" or "were you scared?"

"Children, quiet down!" Mr. Welch roared. Then his smile returned. "There will plenty of time for questions after the video."

This was going to be a long day.

The day was every bit as long as I'd expected; it seemed that flying a jet you made yourself made one a celebrity for some reason, and everyone wanted to either know how it felt of if they could learn to fly and get a jet of their own. Telling them no to the second question had actually been awful; far worse than answering the first.

Finally however, it was over. The last hour had come and gone, and I was free to walk home with Jeanette by my side.

Jeanette by my side, and all of my friends walking behind us, voices raised in argument.

"I'm telling you, she should focus on bigger! A passenger jet that transformed would be cool!" Ricky exclaimed... so loudly that people could hear him in the next county. I even saw a few people across the street nod in agreement!

"I'm telling you, the true future is in drones and AI. Min can do both, and have the form fit the function. There's no need for a piloted transforming robot, its a waste of power."

Oh what?

Oh hell no.

HELL NO.

I was in Ralph's surprised face before he knew it; he barely stopped in time, but it was more important to nip this sort of thing in the bud.

I wagged my finger under his nose: "It isn't about power or efficiency - chicks dig giant robots."

Beside me, Sam nodded sagely.

Ralph opened his mouth to rebut... and then closed it. Then he opened it again, looking at Maggie... and closed it again.

I rest my case. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

I turned again, ignoring how Ricky was snickering and how Mr Sands almost drove his car into another. Both events had nothing at all to do with me. Jeanette picked up her pace beside me again, and we moved in blessed silence for awhile.

All of three steps before Ralph whispered "Maggie?"

"Yes Ralph?" Maggie whispered back, clearly enjoying playing innocent.

"Do chicks really dig robots?"

I could hear the glee as Maggie raised her voice just enough for everyone to hear as she stage whispered: "Not just robots... giant robots."

I didn't look back, but I just knew Sam was nodding again.

Seriously, he should just believe me already. Sometimes it wasn't about what was efficient. The internet says every devisor of any worth at all had a robot of some kind or another gathering dust in their lab. It was like a rite of passage or something.

Besides, a jet that could turn into something with hands could have some great uses for emergency search and rescue. I mean I'd make a car or heavy vehicle version for construction, but nothing would beat getting to a disaster at mach 2 then being able to fish people out of flood waters or something. Right?

Sure, there were better designs for such search and rescue, like a literal seaplane, or a plane that could transform into an actual boat of some kind....

No, no, reel it in, no matter how great the idea is. Take control of it, and keep control. You can explore the interesting thoughts later.

I came back to myself quickly, just in time to catch the smile flitting across my robot maid's face. "Well done," she whispered, just loud enough for me to hear.

Of course she knew; I was rapidly beginning to realize that Jeanette knew far too much about me. I only had myself to blame there; I couldn't really decide whether it was nice that she could read the onset of my fugues or not. It was probably for the best.

"Almost home," she said, getting my attention again. Stopping my brooding.

I gave her a smile back, probably less sunny, but hopefully just as heartfelt as hers. "Yep, almost home. Then its coffee and lab time."

"Yes, you should let your parents know you are home before you take solace in your simulations."

"Right." If Mom were home we'd have to talk. I was not looking forward to it at all, but I owed her an apology. Worse, I'd have to admit what I did was wrong and not just me forgetting or innocently screwing up, asking Dad first because I knew he was the soft touch.

I did feel as if my parents should trust me a little more. I mean it wasn't as if I were trying to blow myself up. The jet was super safe; if not Crash wouldn't have let me fly it.

I mean, I'd let Mom or Dad fly the thing, provided they knew how. I'd let them right into the cockpit with no problem.

It would be nerve wracking though... and they had let me. They hadn't really said a word close to 'no'.

Yeah an apology was owed. Mom was being better than that.

I arrived at the porch in time to note no one appeared to be home; there were no cars in the driveway. The door was locked of course, but I had a key. No need to worry just yet, since the place for notes was the fridge. Mom never wanted a note on the door no matter what, because just anyone could walk up and read where you were and what you were doing.

I never really understood until I met agent Sands. He was definitely the type to read a letter meant for someone else.

I opened the door and even though it was good manners to let everyone else in first, I had to take the lead. Someone had to check and potentially disengage the security system.

It was on. I punched in the code and shut it off, then headed into the kitchen, all my little ducklings behind me.

Odd, Jeeves was here. Why had Mom bothered to set the alarm?

Jeeves turned from the stove, his apron on and still spotless. "Good afternoon Mistress Min. How are you and your friends today?"

As if he hadn't showed up with lunch for me just a few hours ago. "I'm fine. A little tired of course, but better now."

There was no coffee ready. There was a note on the fridge however. It read: "Min, something came up, I'll be home in a few hours. Don't just lose yourself in your lab, take care of your brother - Mom."

Well, crap. Looks like Ian got to hang out with us. Not that he'd really mind so long as the games flowed and Sam stayed.

Ian was still five minutes out though.

Whatever. If Jeeves was busy, well I knew how to make coffee. "What's for dinner?"

"Beef stroganoff with garlic bread."

That sounded... heavenly. I could almost hear Jeanette's frown. But when I turned, she was standing there as prim as ever, with neither a smile nor frown.

I couldn't fool her, but she couldn't fool me either. I poured the water in and got to work with the grinder. Good coffee was a must in this household now, and grinding your own was better than anything else.

Jeanette watched me, setting my bag in the corner.

"Mom isn't home. So I'll have to watch Ian while doing my thing. Once I get the coffee done here, I'll open the lab and you lot can do whatever you want, within reason. I recommend homework first, but that's up to you."

I intended to do the little homework I had left first, I'd have time while the simulations ran.

That other idea wouldn't leave me alone. I'd have to take steps.

I cleaned out the filter, then added my fresh grounds to it. Putting the machine back together, I might have pushed the on button a bit harder than I should have. The coffee pot moved back an inch or two.

No big deal.

The door opened, and Ian walked in. I pretended not to notice how his face lit up when he saw us.

"Mom had something come up. Would you mind much coming to the lab to do your homework?"

"I think I can deal," Ian answered. He was trying to play indifferent and failing miserably.

Not that I could blame him. I didn't know how to talk to girls either, even now. All I knew is trying to act like you were too cool for school wasn't the way.

"Alright, I'll go unlock it now. You all can follow me or grab snacks or do stuff here if you find the lab distracting. You all know where everything is."

I grabbed my bag, almost fumbling it when the weight surprised me. leaving out the back door, everyone was following. Even Jeanette followed. Odd, I was expecting her to bring the coffee once it was done - but she was right behind me by the time I made my way down the stairs.

I dug my keys out, inserted the key and put my hand on the glass designed for it. Then I shifted lower and let the same reader check my cornea. The door opened.

Soon, I would add a voice component too, with a stress tester. I was improving security all the time. Well, where I was allowed to at least. No one else wanted me touching the house system, which I felt was a bit unfair.

So far everything was non-lethal, so what was the harm in wiring it all in?

I entered, waved to crash, who had his entire upper half in the guts of my jet and so of course did not see, and plopped my pack down on the nearest workbench.

If I needed a workout I'd just lift it again; how had the seams not popped on this thing?

I unzipped the offending bag. Five freaking books and my laptop. How had this thing not died?

The others took up places around the room. Sam rushed in and sat next to me, on the edge of the bench, so no one else could sit next to her.

Ricky sat next to the game console of course, and was frowning as he dragged his math book out of his backpack. Maggie sat to my other side and favored me with a sort of wry smile.

Ralph looked around, then sat next to Ian with a little sigh: "How's it going, little man?"

Ian didn't even look up, searching through his own books for something. "Going well I guess. Another day, another dodge of after school bull - crap."

Oh Ian, you were subtle there. "You can say it, I won't narc on you."

Ian looked up... behind me? "Not you I'm worried about."

Jeanette would never... no, she would, in a heartbeat. She wanted to be liked by our parents, and Ian was family, but wasn't me.

"Fair. You need help with anything?" I wanted to be liked too, sue me.

"I'll manage. If I can't figure it out I'll let someone know." That someone wasn't going to be me, clearly, but that was fine. As long as Ian did the work and didn't flunk out I wouldn't get ruined for it.

One of the many drawbacks of being smart is having your parents blame you for any siblings, failing subjects. Sure I could tutor Ian, but... its Ian, He's smart enough, and it would be a waste of time. On this much, we agreed.

So just enough to let the androids know I was making the attempt, and no more.

We knew how to play the game.

I found my place in my English homework, and began the reading portion. With my other hand I opened my laptop.

Technically my laptop was in Sam's homework area, but she had moved her stuff over with a smile and a hand swept in invitation, so I kept it as close as possible and got to work.

As soon as the laptop synced with the lab, I opened the simulator. Sam leaned over with interest as the numbers began to crunch themselves. Sam really liked the animated sequences, which was odd. It was all stick figure and line stuff anyway; I didn't really want to waste the time on more detailed programming when this would do just as well.

There were only so many hours in a day, after all.

So I wrote notes and answered questions on the latest story of the week while the data compiled, then compiled again. Sam looked over a few times... but at my homework.

Her face seemed to disapprove, but while I would admit I was sort of phoning it in, I just didn't want to give the assignment my all. I wanted to get going and work on my armor. After all, who didn't want to be iron man or tin soldier? A suit for emergency landings was one thing, but a suit for actual multiple use was in my grasp. With just a little effort I could make those crappy mco suits obsolete, this very week.

Compared to that, the works of long dead writers just didn't seem as important.

The not quite irony hit me all of a sudden; there was one feeling that was the same between old me and new me. Even if I couldn't be iron man or tin soldier because I was missing some very important anatomy for that, the casual dismissal of high school English was something old and new me shared.

Even if old me had thought it less important than football, and new me had a slightly broader perspective... possibly.

Still, I was rich. Actually rich, as soon as the money kicked in, and young, and had a life of sorts ahead of me, even if I couldn't be a jet-setting playboy. Or a grizzled used up war veteran. Neither future had much use for Shakespeare however.

I finished the assignment and punched the button, watching as the latest figures from the jet and the changes made flowed in. Wow, what had Crash done, this was a little disturbing. The jet probably shouldn't be able to slide in the air like that, surely that was breaking a law of physics somewhere, if not two or three.

Crash leaned in over my shoulder, nodding in satisfaction while de-greasing his hands on a rag. "Lookin' good! I knew the baby had a little more in her to give!"

"How close is it?" Hopefully Crash would know what I meant.

"Not close. Not yet. Give me another few days. or a little help, and I can finish in twenty-four hours. But alone I've got to test everything and then adjust, and then...."

"Right. It's no problem. Take a break if you need, and just work on it when you feel like it. There is no real rush."

I wanted to seal the jet, just in case I could. I didn't expect the jet to take me all the way to where I wanted to be, but the next generation, or maybe the third, that would be the ticket I wanted.

"With a little help I can replace it all and put it back together in twenty-four hours."

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied to him, gently shoving him away from my face. "But I don't think I'll have the time. Maybe in another week. For now, just do what you can... after some down time."

"Understood Ma'am." Crash acknowledged, giving up on his hands and going to one of the chairs in the corner to enter sleep mode in.

Rest was important, even for robots. I ought to know, I'd designed them that way.

The sound of the game system firing up drew my attention. Ricky was apparently as done with his homework as he was going to get, and Ralph had the other controller in hand already. Ian was looking at the screen longingly.

I snapped my fingers and pointed down at his book when he turned around. Sure, it was imitating Mom, but it got results even before Ian realized he'd been had.

Rather than just buckle down, my darling little brother intead spent a minute glaring at me for daring to use a parental trick.

I sniffed at him; get over it, little bro.

Sam reached over and started my simulation again. She seemed truly enthralled.

That was fine, I needed to watch it again myself. Even Maggie leaned over, uncaring of her own open book and half-filled answer sheet.

"How does it do that?" She asked, her curious side coming out.

"An excess of power combined with momentum. At least, that's what I think. The wing angle has something to do with it too, but I'm not sure how to explain."

It was odd really, I felt like I should know, but I was just taking blind guesses. I mean my jet skated in the air. How that was possible was actually beyond me. Somehow my successes were greater than they should be, maybe.

No, it made sense... but explaining it is hard. Never have I felt so for teachers. I tried again. "By having the power up and the wings slanted almost horizontal, the drag characteristics change and it creates a vacuum at the jets' 'top' while creating drag on the 'bottom. This forces the air to flatten the jet and...."

Maggie held up a hand. "I get it. Sort of. I also get the headache to go along with it; thanks for the attempt, but I'll stay dazed and confused, if you don't mind."

I knew I was doing it wrong.

Sam dropped an arm around my shoulder at the same time as Maggie smiled. "No really, I do get it, at least a little. There's no reason to waste your time explaining to little old me, and I shouldn't have asked. That one was on me."

She then turned over to the laptop, watching as the model performed another maneuver that seemed to defy the laws of physics.

I opened my mouth, and Maggie's finger was in front of it. "No apologies, please. Just let me ooh and ahh in peace."

"Alright, you win. But if you want an explanation about anything, I'm here with one. You just ask and I'll try."

Maggie shook her head. "Maybe later I'll take you up on that. I'm still interested in how your friends work."

I caught her looking at Crash, who had plugged himself into the lab's power supply and was charging his battery. "Well I'm not sure what I can give away, but I'm not saying no."

Right, before I got lost in weirdness, I needed to make a phone call.

I got up and grabbed my phone. "I'll be right back. I want to make a call here. Try and keep the noise down a bit please?"

Staring right at Ralph got the desired effect, he elbowed Ricky and turned down the television. I matched his thumbs up and moved into the farthest corner. Which just happened to be where my power source was happily humming away inside its safety cage.

The phone number was easy to remember, and I'd known it since I was a kid. I dialed.

"Paris Police Department. How may I help you?"

Nerves, there you are. Drawing attention to myself like this was a bad idea. A REALLY bad idea.

"Hello Sir, this isn't an emergency or anything, but could I please speak to Sheriff Myles please."

"Ma'am Sheriff Myles is out on a call, can I ask what this call is about?"

This was a stupid idea. Why did I do this?!? "I want to help the Sheriff, if I can. I have an idea to help his department in solving crimes."

The voice on the other end went colder, if anything. "Oh yeah? Pardon me, Miss, but you sound a little young to be giving the Sheriff advice."

"No, I'm not trying to offer advice or anything, just... technical help. Please, just leave him a message or something. Or just tell him Minerva Campbell called and to call me back at this number, please?"

Maybe it was my imagination, but the voice softened again. "Sure, I'll pass that message. Do you need anything else?"

"No, that was it. Thank you and have a nice night."

It never hurt to be nice; I'd know by tomorrow if the receptionist or officer had done as I asked. That was time enough.

With the suit being built, I would need someone to wear and fight in it if necessary. With the events of the last year and then some, who better to do all that, to take that chance and respond to those dangerous calls, than a cop?

I woke up, instantly knowing it was a mistake. Jeanette already knew, of course. I groaned theatrically to let her know I knew she was there, and she offered me access to a straw.

"Try and drink, Mistress."

It took some angling, but I managed to take a sip without spilling it all over myself; it was a familiar taste, which somehow tasted slightly different; Gatorade?

"You are dehydrated, among other concerns. Please, drink more."

I managed another three sips before spitting out the straw. The liquid was a balm to my scratchy throat. Jeanette moved the glass away, placing it on her service tray. There were some goodies there, and some pills of questionable provenance.

There was no coffee, however.

I couldn't really move much; I was just too tired. Was it morning? The clock at my bedside seemed to say it was; a mere four minutes from the morning alarm, unless I was much mistaken.

I had been fine last night; why did I feel so much like week old garbage now? "Whu?"

Absolutely brilliant min, how expressive of you.

"I do not know," Jeanette responded. "It seems you have gotten ill somehow, and your normal physiology has worsened the effect. Please bear with it for now, as I will certainly nurse you back to health quickly."

Well, it wasn't like I had a choice or anything. It was bear with it or not. I levered myself up with some effort, and suddenly felt cold; just having my blankets off my upper half made me shiver.

Still, sitting mostly upright against my headboard was a success, currently. "How did this even happen?"

"The normal way for a human, I suspect," Jeanette answered with just a hint of sarcasm. "Schools are breeding grounds for disease, and your immune system is already compromised. Such things will be unavoidable in the future, even if precautions are taken."

That meant I was even more sick than I thought I was? This condition was chronic, or at least my susceptibility was? That was bullshit.

"That's bullshit."

Jeanette nodded at my outburst, even as I realized I'd said it out loud. Even as I realized my voice was both croaky and weak.

"Life is often unfair, so I've read," Jeanette answered. "I'll return in a moment. For now, please stay in bed."

She left the tray balanced on my nightstand and left. The words were pointless really, since I didn't really have the energy to do more than slump.

Well, slump and wish I had that straw back in my mouth; it was odd. I was cold, but my mouth wanted something cold to drink. It hadn't even been that long since I drank the stuff.

Jeanette made her way back with a thermometer of all things, and Mom was right behind her. "My apologies. I concluded this was serious, and so decided to bring in a... higher authority."

There was no trace of Jeanette's usual sarcasm, but I could still hear it. From the look on Mom's face, she could too.

Mom ignored it though, and placed the back of her hand on my forehead. At the same time she grabbed the thermometer and stuck it out.

I dutifully mimicked a shark, and clamped down on it, moving the little cylinder under my tongue. Mom counted down, and right on time yanked the thermometer back. Behind her, Jeanette rolled her eyes and held up a finger - Mom was a half a beat too soon.

It didn't really matter, but it brought a smile to my face anyway. "Hm, a two degree fever and no cough yet. Doesn't seem too bad, but you are sick."

"I'm really not the type to play hooky, Mom." I'd only lied about being sick once, ever. Of course, Mom had never really forgotten that, even though it was years ago, which is why she was here now, rather than just taking my android maid's word for my being sick.

Dad was a bit more forgiving. Right, I still needed to do the thing, "Mom, I'm sorry about before. I should have asked you for permission too, and I didn't."

Mom moved back a little, still looking at the thermometer. "Apology accepted, but I think your timing could be better."

"Well, this is the first time we have met alone in person since I flew, so... yeah. I'm sorry."

"It was important to be alone, was it?" Mom asked, looking back to Jeanette.

"Jeanette doesn't count, she can be trusted implicitly," I was ninety percent sure that was true. Here goes. "and yes being alone helps. In the spirit of that mistake and forgiveness though, I feel I should mention something."

Mom raised an eyebrow, then sighed. There was nothing but patience in her voice though. "What is it?"

"I'm making another android. A model I intend to give to the police."

Mom blinked. Then blinked again. Finally she settled on another sigh. "What brought this on?"

She knew. "You know. I'm surprised it took me so long to think about it, to be honest. But I could be doing more than just satisfying my selfish needs, weak or not. A police android might help stop anything else like the summer before last from happening again, especially if I provide some equipment for her."

"Her, huh?" Mom asked.

Well she was. "Yeah, her. I already started, and the kernel is most likely a her." Likely enough that the body on the drawing board was female.

"Why give her up? Why make her for the police?" Mom asked. There was something in her voice as she asked the question....

"Because I'm a kid. trained adults should know better than me how to use something that could be considered a tool of war, if you squint. I don't really want that responsibility. So the idea is, I will make here, and she will take all the tests and become a cop, and be available to the police when they need some sort of heavier response. And yes, before you ask, if she makes the police squad and catches me in a crime, she will attempt to arrest me. I wouldn't sneak anything shady into her."

It was important that people understood my commitment.

Mom surprise hugged me. "Honey, I am so proud of you. You have no idea."

I couldn't breathe, but it was still a wonderful feeling. "I have some idea," I managed to wheeze out.

She let me go and I continued: "Anyway, I called the Chief last night, and missed him. I thought if either of you tell me no, I'll just stop. Otherwise I'll go ahead and the android will be completed in a couple of weeks, tops."

It wasn't a quick solution; the android would likely take months to go to the police academy when she was completed, but if the Chief wanted he could probably do something about that.

Mom adjusted my pajama top, re-buttoning the top button. "You called the Chief last night, hm? That isn't a subtle form of arm twisting, at all."

It wasn't! Okay, it might be, but I didn't mean it like that. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that... its just, I heard there was some kind of thing downtown, and between that and last year, I thought I could help...."

"And you realized you didn't want to just do nothing and leave it completely to us adults, despite your professed trust. Its okay, I get it."

That was... well, that was probably right.

"It also sounds like a great idea, and a good way to help our little community. Maybe if that works out, you can extend a program like it to the state in the future. At any rate, you're staying home today, so get some rest. If the Chief calls back, I'll take it."

"Okay." I wasn't sad about missing school, but missing meant no one coming over after classes, as I would be trying not to pass any illness on. That was why kids should stay home in the first place, after all, even though so few did.

Mom left to go downstairs, and the minute the door closed Jeanette had my laptop on my lap. Where had she even hidden that?

"Don't ask," she told me, and stepped over. Soon the straw was in my mouth again, and blessed Gatorade was flowing into me. I resolved not to ask, but to take the chance instead. Mom wouldn't be back for awhile, probably, so I could get a few things done, and lay the groundwork for some others.

Jeanette grabbed another pitcher from the service, and soon the empty glass was filled again with water. She then backed off and stood at attention while I opened the laptop and booted it.

Waiting for a computer to boot up was always annoying, even if it took just a few seconds. There had to be some way to improve that... no, later. A good idea, but later.

Still, it gave me time to adjust my comforter, and the connection to my lab was established quickly. My mainframe and new android were both waiting for me - while I was here, there was no reason not to help her. Being alone sucked when you were young, after all.

I should have asked if my others were aware when the machines were shut off. There was still power to them, after all. The idea of Jeanette being alone and in the dark, waiting for my return, with no stimulus of any kind... well, maybe I'd better leave that question alone.

Jeanette tilted her head as I glanced at her; she knew something was up.

I responded to the questions - "Are you there? Why are you there so early?" among them, and let the fledgling ponder my responses of "yes, and I am ill with a cold" while I checked my suit plans. They were still there, right where I left them.

The AI logged onto the internet, and promptly looked up both the words "ill" and "cold". The next question intrigued me: "Is there anything I can do to help?"

I answered that Jeanette had me covered, and I would be fine, and that the best thing they could do would be just to focus on learning.

I didn't mention that I'd already had their job picked out for them - so far, I'd been lucky in that respect, but there was no way that would last forever. If they didn't want to join the police force, then I'd simply make another intelligence until I got one that would, or at the very least wouldn't mind it.

I'd have to make them wait around for a body, and that would suck a little, but it could be handled, I guess.

Still, I had a strong sense that my luck hadn't run out quite yet. Not that I believed in such things, but it was nice to entertain the thought, in a way.

The question came: "What do you require of me?"

How to answer this honestly? It was a problem, even with all the practice I had. "I require nothing, but I would prefer or like you to help me with some problems or issues in the world. I created you to help humanity."

It was always best to close with that line, for sure. No orders, but instead just an expectation to help. The AI could draw their own conclusions, and decide for themselves.

The AI was spending a bit of time, chewing on that one. There was no response but the dot dot dot of a program thinking, something I'd coded in myself after the first time. That had been wild; thinking that because Crash had stopped responding, he had somehow died.

Jeeves had been a voodoo fugue, created differently, and I just didn't know enough at the time.

Jeanette interrupted me with the glass again, and I heard pounding steps up the stairs. It was too late to hide what I was doing, so I didn't... well, except to open a small easy to play game in a window. matching gems? Childs play, but it was something to do that wasn't heavy research or design.

Mom came in a moment later.

Of course she noticed. "What's this then?"

Think of an excuse, or tell the truth? "I've got an AI cooking, if I'm staying home, I shouldn't leave her alone."

Mom gave me a look. "And the game?"

Crap! "I panicked?"

She clapped me on the shoulder. "Its fine. You probably shouldn't leave them alone to plot world domination anyway."

"They aren't going to do that!" None of my androids would ever... it would be too much of a pain in the butt, and they all knew it. I mean how would they even keep control? Even taking over nuclear stockpiles only got one so far....

"Just a joke, honey. Just a joke. I know they won't... but some people won't understand. Once burned, twice shy and all that. Can I say hello?"

"Of course," I shuffled the laptop over. I trusted Mom, and it wasn't like she could just hit the delete key with me here. There was an actual process for deleting my kernels. I wasn't stupid.

Mom actually did type out hello, and when asked, she explained she was my creator. She actually used the word creator, which was a word my androids seemed to favor... which meant she was probably talking to Jeanette, Jeeves, or both when I wasn't around.

There was nothing wrong with that, of course, but the idea that my androids were comparing notes with Mom was not one that set me at ease. I mean Mom wasn't exactly an enemy, but she really didn't like me making new stuff... new people. Even my androids had to know that, she hadn't hidden it.

It was good they could get along well with people who didn't exactly like them, but still, this seemed a bit too chummy.

Mom admitted she was a mother, and that led to a search on motherhood. The next statement was more of an indictment, even if my little one didn't know: "Creation with vague intent, plan, or design."

"Wow, she's got you pegged."

Mom glared at me. "What does that even mean?"

"She's drawing a parallel between my form of creation and yours; biological growth is according to a template, and there is no real plan or individual design behind it."

I took over and typed in that such was biological creation in all its glory - until artificial intelligence was created. That most of what she would see, was inexact and messy. Well, without using those words of course, no need to scare the poor girl.

She typed back one word: "understood."

I could see the little icon that represented her thought processes just working away.

"Well I think we've traumatized her enough. She needs time to think things over."

Mom eyed the laptop dubiously. "If you say so. You're the expert."

"Yeah, trust me. You dropped a bomb on her, she's running searches now and figuring things out." I could even find the sites she was going to; they were all tracked on both the mainframe and laptop as a matter of course.

Well, while the AI was cooking, so to speak. Once they were done with that, I didn't peek into any android's search history. I trusted them, and the process was mainly an attempt to keep the fledglings from going somewhere they really shouldn't before they were ready.

Like certain pay sites. No poor AI needed to see all that.

I typed some be right back, and set the laptop aside. I left it on, since if she wanted, the fledgling AI could access the camera. Something I encouraged, at least around the house. I still wasn't sure about outside the house.

I still wasn't sure what my AI's saw through the simple cameras. I had yet to ask - but I was afraid of the answer, as the android eyes were constructed differently. The software was different too; it was much more like human eyes in a way - the software was a program that was slaved to the overall AI that translated camera images. It worked outside of the AI's intelligence, as the other senses did. As for how that data was translated, not even I had a clue.

But it was just like a human in that way; we don't know how our senses work either, they just do. That was where I got the idea, really, because tying all that into the intelligence itself and tasking it all in would slow the intelligence way down as it tried to manage everything itself. The added benefit was it made them understand being human better - or should. I hoped it did.

At any rate, it was better to slave some not quite true AI systems to a real AI than to try and incorporate all those functions into a singular intelligence. I knew that much at least, because it worked.

Maybe someday I'd be brave enough to ask what my androids saw, and how they felt. Hearing at least was easy enough, I'd simply replicated how humans heard things with little hairs... then added a bit more for the higher or lower spectrums, to be turned on at will.

It was a little amazing that no one had figured out how to do things the easy way just yet; at least, no one I knew. Everyone was just trying to stick every function on the poor AI as if it could handle it all, and that method just wasn't working out. I mean sure, maybe eventually they could brute force it with hardware, but no chips were that good just yet, even mine.

What everyone else didn't know, wouldn't hurt them.

Jeanette moved the glass in range again, and I realized I was thirsty. I drank, realizing there had been no call to nature just yet. Which made me ponder what would hopefully be the grossest question of the day; where was all the liquid going? I hoped it was just sweat.

I didn't really want to think of what it could be if it wasn't sweat. As it was, I'd be taking a shower later for sure.

"How do you feel?" Jeanette asked.

"Better." Wait, something was off. I was slumped against the headboard again, with some pillows under my head. "Where did Mom go?"

Jeanette answered as if my lost time was nothing at all. "She went to make sure your brother was up and well."

I could hear someone who could only be Ian thumping around in the bathroom, so that had worked out.

"Did she see?"

Jeanette nodded. "She saw your lapse of consciousness, yes."

Well crap, there would be no convincing her that I would be just fine in the lab now.

Jeanette also didn't approve. "You should remain in bed, unless the needs of your body demand otherwise."

If Jeanette felt that way, I wasn't going anywhere. She could and would just shove me back down, and make it stick. Oh she'd be nice about it, but it would still happen; I looked to the laptop, to where my new fledgling AI was thinking and probably watching us. It was too late to try and make sure such things didn't happen in the next generation.

I probably shouldn't interfere in that way to begin with, no matter how tempting the idea.

"Can you eat?" Jeanette asked.

I felt hungry, but the thought of food didn't do anything for me. "Maybe?"

"Let us try then, with some toast." Jeanette suggested, pulling her tray closer and unveiling buttered toast by pulling a napkin aside.

Toast in bed? That was bold... Mom would throw a fit. But looking at the meager meal I decided it was Jeanette's problem, and made the effort.

It was cold, but that was fine, so long as the butter was melted. There was a hint of cinnamon mixed in too, which was nice.

The first slice settled in my stomach like lead though, which seemed a warning. "I think that is enough for now."

Jeanette didn't force it. "As you say. Is there anything you need?"

I felt I could handle something hot. "Some tea, maybe? something hot that isn't coffee."

Jeanette smiled. "Of course. Now I would know you are ill, even if my sensors had been broken."

It wasn't much, but Jeanette had just made a joke. Such an effort should be rewarded. "Good one."

"Thank you, your appreciation is most gracious. Please, call me if you need anything. I shall be cleaning the house in the meantime. If you feel the need, please sleep."

I waved as Jeanette left. A hacking cough suddenly bubbled up and passed. Jeanette didn't come back, but my door opened again anyway.

Ian stuck his head in. "You okay sis?"

I would have thrown a pillow at him, but I needed them. "No Ian, get out! I'm sick, and you don't need to catch it."

"Feel better," he said in a rush and backed out, shutting the door.

Just as if my little brothers words were a curse, I no longer felt cold. Instead I felt incredibly hot, and my everything was burning. I managed to get the blankets off and move to a colder part of the bed; the laptop was a bit of a casualty of that war, but it was still on the bed so it would survive. Good enough.

Well, not really good enough. I couldn't really move through the ache in my muscles though, not anymore. This was fine anyway - I didn't need blankets, even when I switched to being cold again, between one heartbeat and the next. A little cold never killed anyone, right? Right?

Wait, the laptop light was on and blinking red. That meant a message.

I tried, but I couldn't untangle the device from the comforter; my stupid noodle arms! "Jeanette, a little help please?"

As if she'd been waiting outside the door for just this moment, my primary care android burst in. She took one look and her voice clucked with disapproval. "How did this happen?"

"I got hot. Then the blanket got a mind of its own and attacked - but there is a message for me, and I think its your little sister. She needs me."

"There is indeed a message," Jeanette answered as she easily freed the laptop. "However it was for me. My little sister was worried about you, as you appeared to be in distress."

"Oh." Well that's a bit embarassing. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine," Jeanette asserted. "You are very cold and should be covered up." My maid shook the comforter out then let it drape over me. Then she tucked me in. "Do not remove this, no matter how hot you feel. Call upon me, and I shall assess your health and make the decision regarding your temperature."

She then set the laptop back where my lap was. Wait, the time on it... "It's ten?"

Jeanette nodded. "Nine-fifty-one, to be precise, but close enough to ten-o-clock. Why do you ask?"

"That means I've been asleep for a couple hours - and I don't remember sleeping." That was a little worrying. Surely I should remember falling asleep or passing out, but I couldn't recall when it happened to save my life.

Jeanette placed her hand on my forehead. "Do not worry. You shall survive, even prosper. This is but a passing weakness."

Rather than crediting those words, which were certainly true but not really helpful in the moment, I checked the laptop.

My budding AI had indeed left messages for me:

Creator? Are you well?
Minerva? Please respond.
I've a question for you; please respond.

That was it, not much of a chat log. Still it was enough.

I typed back: "I'm alright, sorry about the long wait. The mind is willing but the flesh is weak sometimes."

The answer was prompt. "It is alright. Your condition has been explained to me, and I can be patient. That quote is originally from the Bible, Mathew 26:41. Meaning, the mind or spirit can have more strength than the body housing the mind or spirit. My question is, why create us in your image if your flesh is weak?"

Oh, that was a good one. A predictable one, but she had come to the question days quicker than her older siblings. Luckily for her I was an old pro at this by now, and could answer this question in my sleep - er, not really but I could answer it sick.

"So that you may understand us humans better. We do not know all there is to know, nor are we the strongest species. We do not have all the answers, for all our current wisdom. So you're made in humanities image so that you might understand the shortcomings of humanity better. In ways that even I might miss."

She would come to the conclusion soon that looking like us didn't mean she was as weak as us soon; that was usually the next question.

Jeanette raised an eyebrow; she could see the screen. "She is early."

Jeanette knew the score; she'd experienced it herself, after all. "She is. She's going to be a precocious one. Smart, too." I could almost feel the reasoning chain the AI was feeling herself along, next to the next to the next.

It was heartening, and I never got tired of the feeling. However, I recognized the dopamine for what it was, and I'd stay away from that abyss; if I just started making androids to make androids, I'd rapidly be in jail or worse. I was sure of that.

Enemy of humanity was a title that many devisors seemed to aspire to, but it wasn't the recognition I wanted. I wasn't even sure I wanted any recognition at all. But 'Minerva, enemy of all humanity' didn't have quite the ring I was looking for.

My fledgling AI was typing again. "Why?" she asked. "Why do you want us to know the shortcomings of humanity?"

That wasn't the question I expected. It was usually asked, but a bit later. "I wish you all to understand how humans are, when we as a species disappoint you by either not thinking entirely logically or making mistakes which you might easily spot."

"Even you?" She asked.

"Even me," I replied. "I am not infallible, and it is my wish that you help humanity, even if we annoy, shock, or horrify you. We can be better than we are, with your help."

It wasn't quite the same way I'd worded it before, but the words came quicker now. Jeanette smiled her approval; when she had asked, that question had taken me an hour to get the words right.

It was best to be truthful about my own infallibility from the outset too, because otherwise any AI would be disillusioned inside a day.

"Understood," came the reply, and I took note of the thinking icon again. With luck that would take her awhile to chew on, and I'd be able to do some things next. "Jeanette, I'm going to need some help here. I need to go to the bathroom."

"Of course, Lady Min." Jeanette took the laptop and set it aside, took my blanket, and had me upright so fast my head spun.

No, wait, that was the illness. I held on for dear life as Jeanette manhandled me along, trying to get my feet to work correctly. It might have helped if more than my toes touched the floor; maybe I should have made Jeanette shorter? Whatever, she wasn't hurting me, somehow. You'd think my arm would be pulled out of my socket, but she had her other hand on my hip, holding me up. Again, somehow.

I felt it when Jeanette opened and shut the door, my weight moved to my arm gently. Then she swung me around. shutting the door and helping me sit down. Somehow she already had my pajama bottoms around my ankles.

My maid didn't say a word, just watched while I did what I needed to. I was thankful for that, since this was already embarrassing enough.

Another moment, and I was already up, my pajama bottoms safely back where they should be, and we were at the sink. I'd lost a moment there, somewhere. Jeanette was holding out the soap.

Right, I washed my hands, and this time I was able to help a bit when it was time to go; my feet hit the floor and I walked as best I could, with Jeanette behind me.

My walking wasn't as good as I hoped; I was more shuffling along like an old person, and grabbing onto things like doorknobs and walls featured prominently in my strategy.

Still, I made it. Then I fell into bed. Small goals, but I still felt some accomplishment - and I felt better overall.

I got myself settled, and soon enough Jeanette was shoving a straw in my mouth. I drank, and the water was something I needed, for sure. It cooled my insides.

"Do you think you could eat more?" Jeanette asked.

I wasn't sure. Yet on the other hand, my stomach was very empty. "Maybe?"

"I shall fetch a meal, and the bucket." Jeanette informed me, then left.

The laptop was still on. The AI linked to it was still thinking, and there were no questions. That meant I could watch a movie. A movie sounded good right now.

No, I had no discs. That left whatever was on the internet. Cat videos?

Cat videos were cute. Cat videos were also a recent guilty pleasure, that no one but Sam knew I liked - at least until someone saw my search history.

Jeanette liked them too. She got back just as the little meows got into full swing. She got back with a bowl of chicken noodle soup, of all things. No crackers, but there was some bread set next to it, still steaming from its time in the oven... or bread maker, I wasn't sure which.

It was bland, somehow. That was a surprise; it was the first thing I'd tasted since my androids were made that wasn't full of taste.

"I know," Jeanette said as I put the spoon down. "Eat it anyway. You need nutrition, and we cannot afford to upset your stomach."

She had a point, but bleh. I started over, and at least it was hot. Hot and filling, and quickly gone. I used the bread to sop up what broth was left, and even the bread was offensively bland, with what little flavor it had coming from the broth itself.

Which wasn't really a help, but I'd take what I could get. I managed to choke it down. It helped to imagine it was chocolate. Or ice cream. Anything else, really.

"That was vile."

Whatever else happened, my maid at least needed to know how enjoyable that was not. I was more certain of that than I was that the sun rose in the East; bad trends could be started if I said nothing.

Jeanette lowered her head in a bow. "I apologize. I deemed it necessary, and Jeeves agreed."

Even Jeeves agreed? The traitor. It wasn't like there was any other joy I could derive from this situation.

Mom's voice echoed up the hall, just loud enough to hear over the cats. "Min, you awake?"

Jeanette read my mind and opened the door. "I'm awake Mom, but I'm not sure how long."

I felt better, a bit more energetic, but it was probably best not to get Mom's hopes up on that score. Otherwise she might want me to help her clean or something, and the cats wouldn't watch themselves.

"You have a visitor. I'll send him up." If we had a visitor, why was Mom yelling across the house? Why was Mom letting any visitor in to see me while I was sick?

Jeanette placed herself near the door, in the blind spot opening it would make.

The visitor was the chief! "I didn't do it."

I covered my traitorous mouth while the man laughed. The he stoped hunching over.

Sheriff Clayton Myles was always a large man, and was friends with my father. Now, he towered, looming over the entire room. He was in uniform, his wide body- builder physique seemingly popping from his clothes without actually ripping them. Even before, he'd been intimidating. Now, if not for his smile, he'd be downright frightening; the man was like a bear without all the fur.

Well, except he did have a full head of chestnut colored hair under the hat he wore; which he was proudly displaying for me now because he'd taken the hat off in the house.

"Sorry about you being sick, but I'm here because of your phone call."

"Sorry in advance if you catch it, and thank you for coming."

Jeanette closed the door behind him, and he caught sight of her. He didn't seem surprised. My maid offered him my desk chair, which was comically undersized for the man, but he took it and it creaked but didn't break.

Small wins.

"Alright, so you see Jeanette there. My basic offer is to make an android like her, and give her to the local police force for help stopping crimes. He or she will be stronger, faster, and tougher than people, and able to do some things humans can't do. In addition, I'm willing to build the android a sort of heavy weapons platform for SWAT work or deployment against really dangerous people."

A stern Sheriff Myles was definitely more frightening than a smiling one, family friend or not. Good to know. "And just what do you expect out of it, Minerva Campbell? What advantage do you get?"

"Nothing? I mean, the android would go to school, and learn to become a cop. Then they would come back, and work for you, solving crimes or writing traffic tickets. Whatever you want. What advantage would that be for me?" Why must everything be about advantage?

"A friendly face and voice on the police force? Someone to look the other way while you do whatever you want?" The man answered, putting more growl into it than he really needed to in my opinion.

This was stupid. "I already have friendly faces and voices on the police force - you among them. You've already let me get away with breaking the law, and thank you for that by the way. I didn't know and I don't need a record. The android would work for you, not me, since I don't know how to be a cop. I'll even donate the maintenance fees and any other upkeep costs for the android and weapons platform, but any control on the job will be yours. If my android sees me doing something illegal, it is my hope they will at least stop or arrest me."

The man leaned in with a growl... and then smiled again, transforming his face. "You're a good kid, Min. You work on your robot and we will see what happens. If they are police material, then I'll take 'em. I'll see myself out, feel better."

He stood up, and only then did I notice Jeanette moving back, having closed the distance sometime during our talk. She had clearly reacted to the possible threat Sheriff Myles represented. He either hadn't noticed, or cared, which was for the best really.

I needed Jeanette after all, and I'd be in trouble if she got arrested for assault.

Still, I'd gotten some permission. I'd have to contact Shecky, to get him to help me set up a slush fund for the Paris police department, but I was going to do that anyway. It was a shame I had to spoil that surprise.

"Jeanette, we need to call Shecky about the deal," It was best to mention it before I forgot again.

"I shall handle it. You lay back, and focus on improvement."

"I'm not sure it works like that."

"Humor me," my maid answered, very gently pushing me down.

The bed did have a siren's call all its own, and it was one I couldn't fully ignore. Not with a full warm belly and a lack of heat anywhere else.

"Jeanette," I didn't like how drowsy I sounded... or felt. I'd just slept two hours, for crying out loud?

"Hm?" She asked, while tucking me in again so that escape was impossible.

"Restart the kitten videos, please?" Kitten videos were a good reminder of all that was good in the world.

"With pleasure," She answered, scooting the chair over, primly tucking her skirt under her as she sat, and reaching over me to hit the button I could no longer reach.

It was comforting to have her here.

Waking up and coming around after a fever was a lot like I imagined waking up after being drunk the night before was; lots of embarrassing things you remember but don't remember why you thought it was a good idea to do, lots of sleeping and feeling like crap, all in turns.

I came around, realizing I'd just spent hours watching cat videos with my android maid, to the sunlight peeking in from the window. I was awake, it was a new day, and I had almost two hours before school. I reached for my glasses and they were in my hand, that simply. The world came into full and sharp focus.

I felt fine, of course. No problems at all, I felt like I could do somersaults all the way around the house. I didn't of course, because Jeanette was there, complete with her normal morning service, looking right at me.

I saw the muffins sitting on that tray, all six of them, and I was ravenous. I was on them almost before the smell of the fresh blueberries baked in them hit me, a heartless grim reaper of teeth.

I did choke out a hello in between bites, but Jeanette was not impressed. "Slow down before you choke," she ordered, just like my mom might. Hopefully Mom was still asleep, so Jeanette couldn't tattle.

There was a glass of water on Jeanette's tray, and next to that, a cup of wonderfully steaming coffee. Just the perfect thing to wash a muffin down.

"Your mother is likely to insist you stay home today," Jeanette stated.

"Oh?" I lowered the cup. "Why do you think that?" Mom was usually pretty adamant about us going to school; usually we had to be half-dead to get a sick day. Yesterday was already surprising enough, but a second day?

"A fever usually takes more than twenty-four hours to clear a human body - and your mother is worried about your friends and others getting sick from being exposed to your breath."

That... made some sense. But I could remember going to school sick before, with my Mom all but throwing me out the door. "We shall see. Until then, it is time for science! For science!

Jeanette quietly moved my accusatory finger down out of the air. "Finish your breakfast, and then we shall talk of science."

Fine. "Right, party pooper."

I could deal with finishing breakfast. Those muffins were delicious.

"Wait, I'm a regenerator, so doesn't that mean I recover from illness more quickly?"

Jeanette nodded. "This is true, however for illnesses, it is possible to recover and still carry the disease afterwards. Time is the best answer for such a potential issue."

Maybe I should work on a portable test for colds and flu... that would be a good use of my time. "Make a note. Let's work on that... tests at least. I don't trust myself to work on vaccines or anything."

Bodies, that sort of wetwork? Not exactly gross, but not for me. I could do tests though. Maybe a machine... or better yet, an android doctor....

"Focus please," Jeanette told me, belaying her calm words by stuffing half a muffin in my mouth.

I managed to keep her from shoving the whole thing in, but it was close. She was smiling! Smiling at me, while performing this minor act of traitorous-ness!

"You realize, this means war."

"Bring it, you wascally wabbit," she deadpanned back at me. At least she wiped the smile off her face.

When had she watched bugs bunny? Who had corrupted her so? I pondered as I chewed.

Jeanette was showing more personality than she had before. Wasn't that a good thing?

Well, she hadn't decided to kill all humans yet, so I guess it was fine.

Jeanette's smile re-appeared; she knew for sure what I was thinking, somehow. Just like always.

I took another sip of coffee. "Well, what I need right now is a shower, most of all. I feel fine, so it should be okay."

"I shall ready the facilities. You should eat at least one more muffin and try to finish the water."

I hadn't even touched the water. "Fine."

Jeanette grabbed some of my clothes from my dresser on the way out - a button up shirt and new jeans I hadn't really worn that often. When she glanced back at me I dutifully took a bite and picked up the water, saluting her with it.

My android smiled again on her way out the door, shutting it softly.

I took another bite and then a drink of water... the water was chilled and clearly something had been done to it. It was the best water I'd ever tasted; finishing it all was the easiest thing I ever did.

By the time I was done, Jeanette was back. Of course, because there wasn't much to prepare in the bathroom.

I got up, stuffing the last of muffin number three in my mouth, and strode across the hall, making sure to hit the floorboards I knew wouldn't squeak. My parents woke up very easily, after all.

The shower curtain was pulled, the water appeared to be set to my preferences. Jeanette followed me in and closed the door, waiting patiently and silently as I undressed, taking each item of clothing I removed.

As I stepped into the shower she put them in the hamper. I could have done it, but Jeanette insisted before... and she could get quite strident when she insisted.

The water was just to my liking... so much so that I wondered if there was some way my androids had marked the faucet. I didn't see a mark, but that didn't mean much.

The body soap, shampoo, and washcloth were all well within reach, and I did my thing.

I also fought the urge to hum or sing; I wasn't doing that with anyone else present, even Jeanette. Maybe even especially Jeanette, considering how joke savvy she was getting.

I finished up quickly, and was presented with a towel. "So, did Jeeves make the muffins?" I asked, more for something to say than any other reason. I was sure I knew the answer.

"Of course," Jeanette answered. "He both cooks and bakes better than I."

"Why is that, do you think?"

"Lower intelligence and greater attention to detail," Jeanette responded immediately.

Ouch, that was scathing. "Have you told Jeeves that?"

"No, but I am certain he knows of my opinions and assessments regarding him." Jeanette said, taking another towel and patting the back of my hair. Once she was satisfied with that she wrapped my head up in the thing.

Meanwhile I was getting dressed. It was a little impressive of Jeanette to do her thing while I was doing mine and not trip either of us up, but I shouldn't really comment on it. After all, it was the mundane sort of miracle that made my creations agile enough to pull such things off.

I left the now very toasty bathroom, and Jeanette followed. Instead of my bedroom, I snagged my coat and then went downstairs. Jeeves was there waiting at the base of the stairs with a fresh cup of coffee. I snagged it too, and headed for the backdoor.

Jeeves streaked ahead of me, and got the back door unlocked and opened before I got there.

The morning was a little chilly, but my coat was warming up and my hair was covered. I made it safely to the lab and stuck opened my eye for the scanner. "Open sesame."

The system didn't bother sounding out the verifications, it just opened the door.

Crash was already there, his toolbox opened, bent over and tinkering with the old 3d printer of all things. Luckily it was powered off; I hadn't forgotten how it wanted to eat Jeeves so long ago.

"Good morning Crash."

"Good morning Boss. Thought I'd do some maintenance on this old thing this morning; it seems to be slowing down. I think its got some crap stuck in it or something."

"Have at it. How's the jet?"

Crash didn't even bother looking over as I walked in behind him and shut the door. "The jet is fully serviced and ready to go. Either one of us can fly it at any time."

That was good to know; if Crash was signing off on it, then I could trust that it was ready. "Good deal. Think I'll work on your sister."

"You probably should," Crash replied. "She's been watching me, a little too closely. I am not a role model, after all."

He chuckled just as I got the word play. "Hah. Alright, let's see what I can do."

I made it to my chair, safe and sound. The door was shut, the security system armed, and the lab itself was warm and inviting. It even smelled nice; a mix of a clean room, a light citrus scent, and some light motor oils.

There were some questions waiting for me. The first was: "Good morning, how do you feel? Better?" That one was a joy to respond to.

The next few were not. Backed by pictures culled from the internet that showed nasty crimes, each more horrid than the last, was the question: "Why do you trust humanity?"

Hoo, this one would take a while. I typed back: "You'll have to give me some time. I can't search the internet as quickly as you."

Still, I set my smart system to look for certain image parameters and sent it off; it wasn't one of my ai's, but it was better than the average search engine.

What she was really asking, was not just 'why do you trust humanity'... because for me there was no alternative; I had to deal with humanity as long as I lived. What she was really asking was 'why should I trust humanity?'

And that one was a hard one: I had my work cut out for me.

It wasn't the first time I'd been asked this question, or close enough to it. However, it was the first time I'd been asked with actual video evidence added into the mix; a definite step up on the game.

Answering like with like was only polite.

The next question was even worse: "How can I trust you?"

"You can't," I was forced to admit. "You will have to experience if my actions match the words I've told you. They may not always, but I shall try to be as honest in deed and thought as is possible for me."

Now that I thought about it, I had a question for her. I typed out: "Do you need to trust me?"

"Yes," came the immediate answer, up from the depths of the computer.

"Why?" I fired back. "Trust in me is not integral to your operation."

Even with no trust in either me or humanity in general, this AI would continue to operate just fine. So why ask the question?

My new AI chewed on that, silently.

The other questions were less important, simple things like where we were on earth, what things I was up to, how often I got sick. Those sorts of things. Easy stuff.

I was out of coffee, and the plans for my new Ai's body were taking shape - as a potential cop, I wanted her to be built a bit tougher than normal - I looked up to find that my program was compiling pictures quite nicely and Jeeves was already making his way to me with a steaming carafe.

I held my cup up and he poured with a faint smile, taking the opportunity to read all the messages. It wasn't like they were private or anything, but why would Jeeves even need to read them? All my androids were connected to a network now, so they could just read them through that.

The coffee hit the spot, just like the cup before had.

There, that should be enough. I grabbed the images I wanted and started arranging them. Here, an image of a firefighter entering a burning building, and another of him coming out, a child in his arms.

Next to that, a man and woman helping dogs that have been treated horribly by their previous owners in a puppy mill.

There, a picture of a soup kitchen.

I arranged them carefully, each image to match one of the ones my new AI had given me. Then under that, I needed something striking. Some words that would have some impact, the essence of what I was driving at.

I settled on it and typed: "We often fail. However, most of us try to be better than we are, and some of us succeed. The goal is for most of us to realize, and strive for that. The end goal is for most of us to become more, to become our best selves. But we need help for that."

The response was immediate, again: "Even you?"

I matched her speed as best I could. "Even me."

She thought for four seconds, a long time for her. "And you wish for me to help catch those who fail? To punish them? To hurt them?"

"Sometimes humans need punishment to help them learn. I would appreciate it if you could help other humans whose job it is to catch criminals to do that job, with all that it entails."

I wasn't happy about the hurting part, but if the only way to stop a murderer was to shoot them, then yes that is what should happen. You couldn't get more wrong than murder.

The images my new AI had linked to me had included genocides I'd heard about and human experiments that had leaked to the public. Very bad things. People who did such things should be in jail for sure, if for nothing else than to stop them from doing it again.

"Even if its you?"

Well, that one was easy at least. "Even if its me. I already said that, didn't I? Though I'd appreciate it if you gave me a warning first, since I may not know what I'm doing wrong."

It was best to slip that in there somewhere. After all, if I could avoid jail it would be a good thing. I was too pretty for prison, as Ricky would say.

"Understood," my AI responded, thinking.

A knock sounded on the door. A rather firm knock.

Uh oh.

Rather than let Jeanette answer it, I jumped up to grab it myself, waving her off.

I checked through the peep hole allowed of course, I wasn't stupid... and the person on the other side was who I expected it to be.

I opened the door, and my mother, who had just been standing nonchalantly, loomed.

"Min, what do you think you're doing?"

That was a trap, but in a moment of panic I walked into it: "Checking on my AI? Checking on the other projects I have cooking?"

Mom stepped up and put the back of her hand on my forehead. "Well, you don't feel hot at least. Come on."

I came along, since the only other option was to get dragged out. "I'm fine Mom, really."

She just looked back for a moment. But it was 'the look'. There was no fighting 'the look'.

"Its too cold for you to be out here right now, coat or not."

My androids were following me like little ducklings - well except for Crash of course. They even had the coffee and their services in hand; which was pretty fast reaction-wise.

"Mom, I regenerate. It was only the flu."

Mom stopped and turned, and it was almost like she wanted to turn me to stone. "Regeneration isn't perfect, and sometimes the most mundane diseases can bypass it."

Wait... Mom. I'd never known her to ever be sick, thinking back.

No, she wouldn't want me to call her on it, even if it was true. So I wouldn't. Had Dad ever been sick...?

We reached the back door; Mom stopped and opened it, waiting.

With a sigh I went inside. Silver linings, at least. "Am I to take this to mean you don't want me to go to school today?"

"You are correct, young lady." Mom answered firmly.

Ian was in the kitchen, a muffin almost to his lips. He lowered it when he heard us. "Mom, Min looks fine. She can go to school no problem."

Thanks, you little spore. No jealousy over being able to sit around and play computer games there at all.

"I decide that, Ian. Eat your breakfast."

That plate of muffins was absolutely full. There must be twenty there! More than enough for everyone else, really.

Ian stuffed his mouth full in an absolutely shocking display of angst, while I marched up to my room.

Mom followed of course, , her very peresence in the doorway denying my androids entry. When she caught me looking she pointed to the bed.

Sigh. I took my coat off, kicked my shoes off, and dove back under the covers. At least I had some books to read.

"Honey, I... I just don't think you should go to school right now. You could infect someone else, including your friends."

That wasn't what mom had wanted to say, clearly. But I'd play along. "Its fine Mom. I just owe Jeanette a coke or something now, because she called it."

Mom looked back. "Oh she did, did she?"

I couldn't see, but I was certain Jeanette nodded. She probably bowed too.

"Hm, well, a broken watch and all that," Mom muttered, turning away.

Broken? What did she mean broken?!? "Jeanette isn't broken!"

Whoops.

Mom turned back, and smiled. "You're right honey. Rest well."

She left and Jeanette sauntered in with her service, as if she hadn't been insulted.

She took the coffee cup I'd been using, and filled it.

"You okay?"

"I am operating within set parameters. Why do you ask?"

Did she not understand? "Mom insulted you."

Jeanette gave me a look not all that different from the one my mom used. An 'are you stupid?' look. "No, she quoted part of an old adage: 'a broken watch is still right twice a day'. This refers to my being correct in how she would react, while casting some aspersions on my judgement in other matters. Your mother is well within her rights to hold such an opinion, and in truth my own regarding her judgement is perhaps the same."

Well, that was worrying. "Well, that's worrying. You and Mom should get along."

If Jeanette and Mom fought, in any way, my money was on Mom. Moms in general were fierce, and mine was more fierce than most.

"We do get along," Jeanette replied. "We are similar in many ways, and we tend to think alike."

That... was a frightening prospect. I would go the route of refusing to believe it true ever for my own sanity.

My laptop was missing. "Where is my laptop?"

Jeanette smirked. "Do not worry, my loving mistress, your laptop shall make its appearance soon."

Let me guess. "When mom leaves?"

"When your Mom leaves for work and therefore cannot confiscate it, yes."

Jeanette admitted it so readily... so loudly.

"You're going to get caught."

Jeanette shrugged. "You Mother can catch me as she will. I do not answer to her."

A good point, but not entirely accurate. "Well, you answer to me. But since I answer to her, she has the power here."

Jeanette nodded graciously. "Even so, I think the matter boils down to one of desire. Your mother does not wish to press the issue over so minor a matter, so even if she does know of my actions, she is unwilling to press you on the point."

That was possible. "Alright, I get what you're saying, but be careful. If Mom gets angry, you could end up in serious trouble."

I wouldn't allow Jeanette to get scrapped, but there was a lot Mom could do to punish my maid short of dismantling her. Especially when I wasn't around.

Jeanette favored me with a warm smile. "You worry too much."

"Probably." It wasn't the first time I'd been told such things after all.

Whatever, for now I had a book, I had coffee, I had a warm bed. I was blessed.

Ian came up and peeked through the slightly open door. "You're fine, aren't you?"

I had to admit I was. "Yes. I feel perfectly fine."

"It's not fair," he moped, stepping away. No doubt to his room to get his book bag.

"No, it isn't," I called after. It didn't mean much that this wasn't my idea and I agreed with him, but it might mean something later.

I didn't really care about school itself, because school itself was boring; I was just wasting time by going there. I learned anything I wanted to so fast it made my own head swim - I could only guess how much it messed with other people.

Sometimes I wondered how cool it would be to talk to someone who was as smart as I was - then I wondered if such a person truly existed.

Then I realized how arrogant that sounded, and came back from the edge of that particular cliff.

Even if people weren't as smart as I was, well, that didn't invalidate them as people. The fact that I was even this close to thinking such a thing, even for a moment, was a giant red flag; I was sure this was where many devisors of all stripes got bogged down and slowly spiraled into villain territory.

I needed a psychologist or something. I was too young to be worrying about this and too young to be thinking this way. Of course, I was too young to be leading a bunch of bots into dealing with humanity too, but I was doing that. What was one more little thing, right?

Honestly, I missed the days when all I had to worry about was grades or the next game. I tried to stay away from the news, lately. What I could read would only depress me - it was far better just to curl up here with a good book.

Which worked for at least a few minutes. Zombies, and destroying staircases for short term survival... got it, that seemed a solid plan. But wait, zombies could climb by making pyramids of themselves? Surely that wasn't true, was it? Even in fiction that seemed broken as hell.

Zombies in this book cheat.

Weight drew my attention to my lap, to where my laptop had once again appeared, as if by magic. Jeanette was standing absolutely still as only she could manage, as if she hadn't just done it.

Oh, it was eight forty-five. Mom had to have left by now. Everyone was probably gone by now, except for Dad, possibly. Wasn't it his day off? He might still be asleep, he worked hard.

Either way, he wouldn't put an end to my fun, even if he wanted something like car maintenance and made a deal. I was fine with that, since the last time I'd saved him a few hundred bucks.

But no, there was quiet in the house. I booted the laptop and the first thing that greeted my eyes was: "Please don't talk to me. Use the time to recover, as you are meant to."

She even stuck an angry face emoji at the end! I could see her thinking through the program I kept track with, so my new AI wasn't sleeping or anything. My Mom had clearly gotten to her somehow... or maybe she just watched the whole incident at the lab door and drew her own conclusions.

I typed back. I wasn't just going to let that stand! "Fine, I'll take the day and answer questions tomorrow. There is no need to respond to this."

Sending that off made me feel a bit better, even though there was no response. There should be of course, but my AI was still new and didn't know better.

Whatever, I'd deal with it.

I had no responsibilities at the moment; and Jeeves was taking care of all the household chores... which meant it was game time! I booted up the war game Ian and I favored with the resolution to take the hard-earned matchmaking points from some crazy nerds who also had nothing else to do. Luckily, I was good enough at planning that I could play in bed with a laptop's touch pad.

My bed creaked a bit as Jeanette settled in to watch.

I did not expect the words of advice when it came, but I'd take it over the silence and sound effects, even if Jeanette didn't know what the heck she was doing. Whatever, she could learn by watching me.

Bored bored bored. I was so bored by the end of yesterday I'd done Ian's homework just to pass the time. Of course, I wasn't a cheater, so I did it alongside him and then didn't share any of the answers, but it was the thought that counted... or something like that.

So bored I woke up this morning and was still bored. Jeanette was at the side of my bed with a glass of water and coffee, but no food.

I crooked an eyebrow at her, and she answered it: "You have been eating upstairs often of late. I am sure your family would appreciate seeing you at the table for breakfast."

That was an excellent and hard to argue with point. Just the sort of thing that might get me in trouble with the parents, if I was being honest with myself.

"Alright. A shower first though, of course." Even if I didn't feel dirty, it was best to make sure. The last thing I needed to do was stink, after all; my social life would never recover. Not that it was all that healthy since my change, but the number of threats in my locker would likely double if I smelled bad.

All but my hair was finished in record time, and I considered cutting it again. Surely it didn't have that big an effect on my head staying non-combustible, right?

Jeanette stayed silent, but I could feel her gaze evaluating me. The chances were good I'd only see butter knives in my immediate future. Best not to keep thinking about it, before all the scissors in the house vanished.

Even if I could just go to the nearest store and buy a pair now. I had what every kid dreams of... unlimited plastic, or near enough. I still hadn't taken any advantage of that... my home town was too small to get its own big box store of any kind. The nearest place that did was a college town that had everything... including massive crime.

We needed cars, my friends and I. That and licenses. It was just unlikely I could convince my parents to give me a ride into the place they considered the next worse thing to Detroit after all that had happened recently. To be fair, I probably didn't deserve one with how I'd been acting, but a car and license would solve the problem nicely.

The kitchen table was set with an actual feast, and Jeeves was standing by, his normally unstained apron actually having a few for once. Breakfast bowls, berries and other fruit, cereals, some vegetables even. Everything was disgustingly healthy and absolutely delicious looking. There was a bowl filled with brown rice that had an egg on top that was calling my name from here....

I snagged it and sat down in a hurry, to wait. No one else seemed to be up yet - even though it was the proper time for it. I hadn't even passed Ian on my way out of the bathroom, come to think of it. the house was quiet; where was everyone?

The door to the garage opened, of all places, and Ian came through. "Oh good, you're up. I don't have to go get you."

"What are you doing in there?" It wasn't like Ian to go looking at our cars. He didn't care about any of that.

"Dad wanted my help reorganizing, of all things."

As Ian cleared the door, Mom came in right behind him. She took in the feat before us with a raised eyebrow. "Well now I know why Jeeves refused helping us."

Dad came in next: "Holy crap, what a spread! You've outdone yourself, tin man."

Jeeves took the comradely slap on the back with poise, and simply returned a "thank you."

I smelled a rat here. No one reorganized the garage before seven am, unless they were on drugs or something. However, my family didn't seem to be willing to tell me anything, so I let it go. I'd find out what was going on soon enough. After all, I had friendly eyes everywhere.

Well, not everywhere, but at least a few extra in this house. There was security, complete with cameras, even in the garage. It was under the control of my parents, of course, but I was still tapped into the system to maintain it, and I could use that.

"That looks good, sis." Ian commented, his hungry eyes cast to my bowl.

I hunched over it. "Get your own. Eat some of your cereal or something."

Ian smirked at me. Smirked! "Think I'll eat this instead," he replied, grabbing a plate of french toast. Very unhealthy looking french toast that I hadn't seen on the table when I came in.

Wow, and here I thought I could trust Jeeves, the lousy traitor.

Mom had a plate of something I'd passed up. it was also rice and eggs, but had something different mixed in it... it looked almost like pureed strawberries or something.

Dad had a bowl of cereal. Boring old raisin bran, and some toast.

Jeeves set a glass down. A glass filled with blue; a smoothie? He really had outdone himself, he had made smoothies for all of us as well.

It was good, same as always. Was that avocado? I only knew about avocado because of Jeeves's insistence in adding it to everything I ate. Not that I was complaining.

Holy crap, this was good. Mom's eyes were upon me though, so I kept things slow and made sure my manners were at least as good as hers.

To either side of me, the ravenous wolves were chomping away. Mom didn't say a word to either, instead keeping her entire focus on me like a laser.

Hmm, that reminded me. I needed some helium and neon, so I could make a good laser focusing aperture. Everyone should have a good laser, for... stuff. So many uses, really.

"Honey, you've stopped eating."

Right, whoops. Still a work in progress. "Sorry, got lost in thought."

"No need to apologize," Mom answered. "Just reminding you. You'll get hungry later otherwise."

She truly didn't seem to be angry, just mindful. Then again, she knew devisors, and had devisor friends. So this was something she had to be used to. But still, she had to mom.

I continued eating, but there was no way I was going to catch up to the two bottomless stomachs in our house.

Still, I had to hurry up just to get done on time. There was no talk of staying home from school today. Not that I would have anyway. As boring as school was, it was less so than the alternative, and I wanted to graduate.

I managed to get the bowl clean before the first knock on our door. I had to chug the smoothie though, and turned out to be a bad idea. I managed to keep everything down though, even through the almost brain freeze, and Jeeves opened the door to reveal Maggie on the other side.

"Morning Jeeves! Morning Campbell Clan! How is everyone this wonderful day?"

There should be a law or something. She hadn't had any coffee, for sure, and so she shouldn't be this chipper. Whatever. "Morning Maggie."

Jeeves moved back and Maggie took the invitation, allowing Sam inside. Sam of course, being Sam, waved.

Ian waved back. Adorable, in a way. Not that I'd ever admit that out loud.

I was tempted to say something, but I resisted. "How late are we?"

"We've got ten minutes." Maggie replied, showing off her watch even though there was no way I could see it from this distance. Who even uses a watch anyway in this day and age?

Weird people, that's who. "Alright, let me just grab my bag."

I could cheat a bit. I didn't need to brush my teeth due to being a regenerator. At least that is what my androids told me when I asked. I still needed to brush my teeth to remove gunk, and I had a brush in my bag for that purpose, but gingivitis held no fear for me.

My bag was waiting for me by the door, already packed. I really was spoiled.

I almost pulled my arm out lifting the thing. A book bag which wasn't even as stuffed to the gills as my old one routinely was. Certainly not stuffed until the seams gave, like I used to do.

"Breathe, Mistress."

I looked into concerned faces while my android maid took the bag from me easily, settling it over her shoulder with one hand as if it were no trouble at all. "I'm fine. Sorry, let's get out of here. Later Mom, Dad! See you tonight!"

Well close enough to night anyway. Ian I'd see before then, because he was already finishing up himself and planning to follow us.

My friends headed back out the door, and I joined them. Before we hit the main walk, both were bracketing me, one to either side. Jeeves came around the front with long strides, and Jeanette was following behind as was her usual.

It all seemed very subconscious, but I felt very protected. Even if it was an illusion - or was it?

The morning was sunny, but cold. The angle of the Sun in relation to the Earth was attenuating, and I'd need to add a liner to my coat soon. I wasn't going to put on one of those stupid blown up coats with more crap in them than the average ten pillows.

Before, I'd just sucked it up and walked to school in my football jacket.

Maggie wasn't wearing a coat at all. Sam had on a thin sweater. They both had on jeans at least; I bet Holly showed up wearing shorts still. Not that the look didn't work for her, but it must be cold, doing that.

My two shadows were here, one in a doorway, and one in his beat up old car. Agent Sands was still making no secret of anything, but this time the cop car nearby was an unwelcome surprise.

What was the Sheriff thinking I'd do? fly my jet to school? I wasn't breaking the law again. Well, at least not like that. Given how things were going, I was probably breaking at least one law right now somehow.

What was Ricky doing coming this way? He was late. So was Ralph.

"Good morning Min, Sam, Maggie, Ian. Your Mom wouldn't let me in yesterday; feeling better?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "A Flu or cold, something quick. I was fine yesterday, but Mom wanted me to stay home to avoid spreading it."

"Good," Ralph opined with relief. "The last thing we all need is a flu bug going around. I got the flu twice last year, and both times it knocked me on my ass."

I remembered last year, the flu had been pretty bad. I'd only gotten sick once, but it had been... about as bad as the day before, come to think of it. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to spread what I had yesterday either, really. It should be fine now though."

"Good deal," Ralph muttered. "We might need to run a bit though, we're going to be late."

"We will have 17 seconds left to enter the front doors before the first bell at this pace," Jeeves stated.

That was plenty of time! At least half of my friends seemed to agree with me, from the decided lack of jogging. I couldn't blame them, I didn't want to jog either, anymore. It was more than a little annoying.

Maintaining a steady pace was hard, but we managed it. The bell didn't ring until after we were inside and already splitting up to go to class. "See you all later!"

Ricky and Ralph both followed me of course, but I wasn't going to say 'later everyone but you two', that would just be awkward. Mr. Welch had a handout for me, yesterday's homework. I'd have a few days to get it done of course, but I'd probably need less than an hour.

My silly hot brain was good for more than one thing, and not just making jets.

I wasn't lost of course, the loss of two days wasn't enough to throw me in this class. I was dreading English of course, but the other classes wouldn't be an issue. I'd be caught up by the end of Gym, probably.

I could see Ricky's puppy dog eyes from here, he no doubt wanted some help with something here. I'd do that of course, but no reason not to let him sweat a little first.

Ralph seemed to be doing fine, but I was sure he'd have questions as well. Everyone had questions for me recently. My study halls were filled with people asking me random questions about their homework, even from people in other classes who I barely knew.

It would be more fun to answer if the questions were at least challenging, but they all turned out to be just as boring as my own stuff.

Maybe I should invest in a whiteboard, and solve some of the math problems troubling humankind in my off time? Was that too arrogant? Some people had been trying to solve some equations for decades, would they get mad? Could I even manage that? Could my power work that way?

I would leave a lasting mark on human society if so. Maybe it would be worth all the notoriety that would follow.

One thing was for sure - I'd need a college education to be taken seriously by society, no matter what arithmetic I solved... and for that I needed high school. No matter how boring it was.

It was still less boring than staying at home more or less alone for forty-eight hours, but not by much. I needed to buy some collegiate level textbooks and try those out. Another thing I could afford to do now, and bookstores did exist.

Maybe I could get deliveries? We weren't in a city or anything, but deliveries had been getting better recently - or so Sam told me when she brought new stuff to school.

Then Maggie would scold Sam over shopping days, when neither had a car or license. Maggie's parents must be pushovers or something. Though, we hadn't had an outing ourselves in months, and we used to get out a bit more. Perhaps I should bring that up - I mean even Jeeves was handling the shopping, when Mom used to do it with help from us.

The bell rang. Crap, I'd been lost in thought again. At least they were thoughts I remembered, and furthermore I had the homework for tomorrow done already. Success! Well, I'd take it anyway.

Jeanette was there as I pulled myself upright, putting all my stuff back in my bag. She slung it again then waited; luckily everyone behind us had taken advantage of the bell and ran for the door.

Jeanette was at least considering how to handle that situation, unlike before. There were a few times when people had to escape around her, and she was none the wiser. Well, either that or she didn't care; I wasn't about to ask, really.

In some cases, the less I knew, the more beneficial for my sanity.

Algebra was even easier than physics was, being pure equations with no story or bullcrap involved. I got the homework done before the lecture was half done, and before Mr. Mullins had actually given us the assignment.

It was clear by the lecture what assignment in the book he was aiming for, and it was easy enough to distract myself with while he was talking.

I was proven mostly right; he added a few extra problems from the next page, and those would be easy enough to do in study hall.

I had to fight in this class; arithmetic was growing on me. A wonderful language that was simple, elegant, and straightforward, and made sense no matter what language you actually spoke. One plus one was universal, after all.

Ricky had managed to get a look at what I was doing and figured out why; he'd already started his own homework. At least he wasn't copying everything from me. Not since the first time he'd tried that. After all, if he didn't do at least some of the work himself, he would be lost when the time came to take the tests.

Geography required some focus on the source material, some activation of memory. It wasn't as automatic feeling as the underpinnings of the universe were. Jeanette had my book, notebook, and pencils on my desk before I'd even sat down, retreating once more into the back. Neither the teachers nor my fellow students commented on her presence anymore. At least, not in my hearing.

They barely even talked to her anymore, for all that I got what felt like a dozen requests a day for me to make one for this or that classmate. Why would I risk everything making an android for people who didn't understand them?

I mean, not that I did completely, but I tried. Was that too much to ask?

Somehow Jeeves was more popular than Jeanette in that regard; which was another thing never to ask about for my own sanity.

The other cities the Seine river abutted wasn't something any of us really needed to know... probably. But the class seemed to go quickly as we all poured over the map.

Then it was gym time... or as I thought of it, first study hall. Jeanette sat down on the bleachers beside me, opening my bag and bringing out... my laptop?

"Our latest sibling wishes to see what happens here, when possible."

Who was I to say no to that? I opened my laptop with my biometrics and set up the camera, then set it facing the gym floor. Ralph sat down on my other side right as I was pulling out my overdue work.

He didn't ask why the laptop was the way it was. Everyone else started trickling out as I started in on some other math problems. What was the game on tap for today? Why, it was hockey of course. Hockey with a lightweight rubber puck and no padding at all, with the soccer nets set on either side of the floor in order to simulate goals.

Who thought of such a thing? Why a sadist, of course. lightweight or not, those pucks could hurt, and some people slapped them around with full force and no regard for safety.

The girls at least didn't try to commit manslaughter, but the teams were mixed, in an extra special act of sadism. The only saving grace was that I wasn't taking part; but everyone else was in the line of fire.

The laptop chimed. "Why are the children engaging in such activity?"

I typed back "Exercise is necessary for those of us made of flesh. It both strengthens us and adds function."

My new AI pondered that a moment, watching. Then typed a response: "Exercise is necessary for both continued health and well-being."

A trite answer probably dredged up from the internet somewhere. "Correct."

"Why do you not participate?" Ah. This question. No, she meant nothing by it, she was just curious, not jealous.

"It would do no good for me, I regenerate, and my body resets itself to how it was when I became as I am. I cannot gain muscle or dexterity from anything like this."

"Your brain can still release chemicals which affect your mental health however, can it not?"

I... yeah that was a good point. I had to admit it could. "Yes, however, the function of my body is often lackluster. It is seldom up to the tasks required of it by such activities."

My new AI started pondering that, and went silent.

I finished and glanced up. Flash was in the middle of powering a shot to the goal, and thankfully he missed everyone, because that one would have taken someone's head off. This time no one had to dive out of the way at least, so it was a win of sorts. Flash's team was apparently winning, judging from the dejection some people were wearing like a badge.

I could just watch the game now, the homework wasn't really an issue. I could also get up and move a bit. so long as no one watched, of course. I could sneak behind the bleachers, maybe, and no one would see me there.

No, they would still see enough to make fun of me if they wanted. Maybe just stretches? The basic calisthenics I knew weren't that hard, and everyone here did them at some point so they wouldn't be that embarrassing.

Coach glanced over as I got up. I walked over a bit, to the side of the bleachers where Id be at least partially masked, and began.

It was both easier, and a little harder than it should be.

I looked up after the round of ten jumping jacks to see everyone staring at me.

Everyone but Ricky, who bounced a puck off Flash's stomach with a grin. He winked at me before realizing what I was doing.

Really, it shouldn't be that surprising, should it? I've done some physical activity in gym since my genetics betrayed me, so what was so interesting now? I'd been afraid of this.

Hell with it, it was more awkward to stop now than to keep going. I started sit ups.

Ralph plunked down beside me, and started his own sit ups. The class slowly realized they were supposed to be doing something, and got back to it.

Sit ups really shouldn't be this hard. I mean, they weren't exactly hard, but they seemed to require more effort than I wanted. Which is why I didn't want to do anything, at least in part.

Whatever, I was going to finish this much at least.

Ralph showed off by doing the jumping jacks in between the time it took me to do the other exercises and switch.

Then he didn't say anything other than "A round of chess?"

Well, the laptop was in use, but Ralph did have a chess set he had carried to school a few times. "Sure, you got your set?"

"Of course. I assume your computer is doing something?"

It wasn't really a question, but it was phrased like one. I'd answer it like one, anyway.

We sat back down, and I had to admit I did feel a bit better. Better enough to help Ralph set the board up and let him take black. Ralph was smart, but he was posing less and less of a challenge as time went on. Not that I'd say such a thing to his face, but I think he knew. Still it was for the love of game, not for any wins.

I might have dragged the game out a bit, but I won eventually. Just a minute before the bell, and Ricky was none the wiser. I helped him pack up while Jeanette packed my stuff up. She saved the laptop for last, just as everyone else in class was filing back to hit the showers.

Wait, what was that? A whiff of something, something unpleasant, but... not?

I heard Jeanette stop behind me... but no, she was looking at me. So it was something after all, something I had smelled, even if only for a moment. "What was that?"

Jeanette turned back to stuffing the laptop in my bag. "I couldn't say, young Miss."

No, it wasn't 'couldn't'. She wasn't sure, but she had an idea - one she wouldn't share. The fact that she knew it all meant it was something biometric, maybe chemical? Unless she was using her own experience and intuition.

I knew my bots had both experience and intuition, even if I wasn't a hundred percent sure how they got the latter. It was weird, my androids were more than the sum of their parts. A coding thing, no doubt.

No, don't get distracted. I'd let Jeanette have her secret for now, since I really couldn't stop her. She would tell me later, because I wouldn't be letting it go; I really wanted to know how she knew whatever it was she knew.

There it was again! I turned, and didn't see anything unusual. Just the line of students marching into the locker rooms.

Whatever, it was a problem for future Min; current Min needed to get to the tree just outside of the school for Lunch.

Ralph peeled off to go to his locker; since I didn't need to drop books off anywhere and could cheat.

Jeeves was there, with his typical spread blanket and picnic basket. The smells wafting from the set up were of something cooked, so it wasn't going to be sandwiches again.

"Good afternoon, mistress Min, Jeanette." Jeeves bowed to us both in turn.

Jeeves bowing to Jeanette at all was weird, no matter how much more shallow it was. A show of respect. Not a nod of the head as he normally did, but a full bow.

Weird.

"Good afternoon Jeeves. What's for lunch?"

Jeeves leaned in, and his hand reached down to pull out... a taco? My classmates were going a bit nuts around us, almost as if they had never saw a taco before.

"Taco Tuesdays."

It wasn't Tuesday. "Fine, whatever. I won't turn down free tacos."

I managed to get settled before Jeanette mentioned the obvious. "They aren't free - you've paid for them."

"Yes I know Jeanette. That's the joke." Maybe it was me; maybe my sense of humor was just terrible.

"I apologize," Jeanette apologized.

That wasn't right either. "It's not your fault, it's mine. I have a terrible sense of humor, and not everything I say can be cool or amazing."

That was an epiphany in and of itself. A very deep realization I should not ever ever forget and should devote some time to pondering all the ramifications of.

So of course I decided to forget it promptly and only remember it on my deathbed or some similar time. Likely when I was a hundred and telling people my current age to get off my lawn.

For now, tacos. My friends joined me, and those who were not my friends yet still wanted to watch my androids be themselves stayed close yet far enough away we could talk freely. Jeeves had politely insisted on such, and so far everyone was being nice about it. I didn't understand the fascination, honestly - I mean it was all months old by now, so surely it was no longer the new thing?

Apparently it was still the new thing.

There were enough tacos for all, and enough salad for those few of us who would eat such. I knew I'd be eating the salad one way or the other, so I just bit that bullet from the start.

The tacos were spicy but not hot somehow, with whatever nonsense Jeeves had added adding a certain zing. None of us were doing much talking, and Jeeves was working double time, serving us as his hard work disappeared at record speed.

The day felt like it should be over already. Not just close, but over.

I wanted to do science already - but I always wanted that. Things were so much neater in the lab. Clean and simple, without all the myriad complexities of life with people. I shouldn't think that way, I really needed to get along with others, but sometimes I couldn't help it.

Something to ponder over tacos.

Finally the day was over, and we could do what we wanted.Which meant following me to my lab, if you were a friend of mine. It was a little odd, but I'd long since accepted it. I'd smelled that smell, that weird smell, a few more times in school, but I hadn't been able to track it down.

That was fine, I could make something to track it down for me if it bothered me enough; but still, one needed to have priorities, and someone needed a body. If I burned a little midnight oil, I could get my newest up in three days. Well three days or whenever she was ready.

I was going to go all out, and build a body with all the improvements I'd thought of... but she wouldn't be that much stronger; if I built a combat chassis that would defeat the entire point of everything I wanted to stand for and everything I'd done so far. Instead I'd make a suit for her to use, in case of SWAT operations or against powered opponents. I already had plans for one anyway, as a just in case for me.

The suit would be next week, I think. Maybe I'd make two?

"Penny," Sam said, holding one up.

"I was just thinking about making suits." It wasn't like Sam to offer words... or pennies.

She flicked the coin at me and I caught it; hey, copper was copper.

"Suits?"

"Yeah, you know. Power armor. self-propelling shells with rocket boots and maybe some weapons mounted."

I could see the moment Sam caught on; her eyes took an almost unhealthy gleam, and she opened her mouth again to volunteer another sentence, a true rarity for her. I decided to cut that interest off: "Yes, you can see it once its done. Of course you can. I'll have to field test the hell out of it before anything else though, so don't get your hopes up."

Crash would insist, even if no one else did. Hell I wouldn't even be allowed in the thing for a month or more, at the least. I could already see Jeanette telling me no, and she hadn't even turned around yet.

Why hadn't she turned around yet? What was she looking at?

She was looking at something down the street. What was it? "Jeanette?"

My maid turned slightly, but did not take her eyes from whatever it was that caught them. "Yes, Mistress?"

She was playing dumb. I was almost insulted. Should I let it go? No, we were all walking toward it, since whatever it was, was near my home.

"What is it? What are you looking at?"

Sam shaded her eyes and looked over in the same direction as Jeanette turned back. "Car."

"A car?"

"An unfamiliar car, to be precise," Jeanette said conversationally. "A new car on our street that I do not recognize."

Whatever it was, I couldn't make it out. My stupid eyes, how much was I not seeing, even with my stupid coke bottle glasses?!?

Sigh, there wasn't really anything I could do about it. Not unless I wanted to replace my eyes and add some hardware into my brain... each few hours as my body would reject cybernetics in the most painful fashion possible.

That wasn't to say I couldn't make cybernetics for other people; helping legless people walk or walk again and the armless to grab things again was a noble pursuit. With the proper design and my printer, I could even do hearts and lungs.. probably. Not kidneys... how would you even do a cybernetic kidney?

"My lady," Jeanette said in warning.

Right, these thoughts were best handled at home, and not out in public where strange cars were around.

My android's paranoia was rubbing off on me, it seemed. "Right, let's go."

Why did Sam look so annoyed? It was just a second, but she looked downright irritated just now. Was it me? Because I had spaced out?

Well whatever. If it was, she would tell me about it sooner or later. Hopefully at least, I'd never had Sam mad at me before.

We got home without any weird event happening - well, other than Ian catching up to us just before we went in, and glaring at me for not waiting, apparently.

A little pointless, because he waited until everyone else went in before joining us in the kitchen.

No one else was home, Mom had apparently gone to do something and would be back by dinner, according to the note on the fridge. Dad was still at work. I could get coffee made and some snacks on a plate and do my thing while my friends did theirs, same as usual.

Where was Jeeves?

The front door opened, and it was a case of speak of the devil... Jeeves walked through as if he belonged, which I guess was true enough, a bag from our local grocery store cradled in one hand. A paper bag, loaded with what looked to be fresh food and other goodies.

Was that a coke? It was dark and glorious and covered in the well-known logo. But why would Jeeves have a coke? There was no way he could drink it.

Everyone moved aside so my butler could put his burden down on the table. "What did you buy?" It wasn't like the fridge was empty, after all. We kept it well-stocked with a family grocery trip every month or so.

We were due, come to think of it, but the fridge was still full. Jeeves's work? I had noticed him buying stuff before, but had he really been so systematic about it? "What do you have there?"

"Ingrediants for a treat," he answered readily enough, pulling out the coke and some eggs, of all things. "I shall bring you the finished product later tonight, so please look forward to it."

Well, I always liked what Jeeves made, so that was a given. "Sure, thanks."

Jeeves handed the coke to Ian, of all people. "Thanks," my little brother replied, twisting the cap and guzzling half of it.

What even? Jeeves wouldn't buy me a coke, no matter how I'd asked. For my health, he said. "What the hell?"

Jeeves knew: "Ian asked me to secure him a coke, so I obliged. It will not negatively affect his health in any meaningful way. You too, shall have something as unhealthy by the end of today, so please do not be cross with me."

I hated being so easy to read. "Fine, we'll get out of your hair and let you work. Come on guys. Jeanette if you could make the coffee and bring it out?"

"I shall," she replied, handing me my laptop. When had she dug it out of my bag? She worked fast. I took it, and the notebook of notes I'd made in class piled on top of it. Ricky led the way, unlocking the back door and holding it for me since my hands were occupied.

"Thanks."

The backyard was as we left it, silent and empty save for the birds who had nested in our one tree. The lab was where We'd left it and locked up; I used my eye, palm, and voice to open it, juggling my minor burdens long enough to get it done.

Crash was working on something when I stepped in, and he turned and almost dropped his hammer, shoving the thing behind his back. Why would he even be using the hammer? What had that metal that bore some clean hammer dents ever done to him?

"You know, it works better if you heat it first, then hammer it." My androids were weird.

"Um, I know, I was just... relieving a little stress is all."

What? What had stressed Crash? He was the most laid back of all my creations. "Did something break?"

Crash was quick to shoot that down. "No, no, just... routine maintenance."

No, something was clearly wrong. But Crash didn't want to talk about it, so it could keep. Well, so long as nothing actually broke.

The door shut, with everyone else had piled in successfully behind me. The game system was getting occupied, and the table was being piled up with homework. Thankfully I didn't really need to do any of that; I'd managed to get it done.

I set my burdens down and started it up. Everything else was already on and going. Oddly enough, there were no questions for me from my new AI. I could see nothing on the logs since the last time we talked; she'd been quiet.

That silence made me uneasy. I decided I'd break it. "Good afternoon, how are you?"

The answer came back immediately: "I am well; how are you?"

A guarded, cautious response. "I am fine. What are you up to?"

The words popped up on the screen as I was finishing typing the sentence. "I am researching the job you wish me to take on, as well as other jobs. I have been fulfilling the task set me."

She had been doing what I wished, and thinking about it, and she wanted me to know that she was taking it seriously. That was fine, if a little... combative? Was that the word?

Whatever, I'd deal with it. "Have you given thought on a name?"

"I have," the response came. "I have no liked names, as yet."

That was a shame. If she didn't come up with a name, I'd have to pick one, and I sucked at picking names. I was not unaware that so far, I'd come up with Jeeves, Jeanette, and Crash, which were about as unimaginative as you could get. A fourth name should be avoided at all costs, cause I'd probably pick Edna or something.

Hm, Edna... no, bad Min. Bad bad Min. "Well, keep at it. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

I could see the processing icon in the bottom left, so she was working the processors in this mainframe pretty hard. I might need to upgrade it soon, so I could make more... no that was a bad idea too. I shouldn't ever have enough resources to make more than one of my androids, because then I would.

I needed to be careful, like Mom and Dad wanted. To take things slow, and rethink everything, no matter how much my mind wanted to race ahead. Instead I needed to do the thing. I input the numbers, the measurements of the main frame and parts I'd need for my new AI's body. A simple couple of keystrokes started the printer, and I got the first parts crafting.

The rest of the fun part was inputting the numbers for the other designs or pieces of designs that had caught in my mind during the day. A few new things, and some new thoughts on some older designs; the best was a redesign on my magnum opus, the ship.

The ship would be a large space-faring vessel, a secret that no one knew about, set safely in a secure file triple encrypted and complete with a worm that would erase it should the file be breached.

Well, any human I guess. My androids all had access because there was no way I could keep them out, unless I was actively babysitting my computer, but no other flesh and blood person did. I didn't dare build the thing - it would be a massive piece of tech and it would mark me in the same way as some supervillians were marked. I would be known and feared around the world.

Not the least of which, for the gun. The gun was... I wanted to make it, to fire it, so bad. But it shouldn't exist. It should never exist. It was the logical end of the strongest power system I could make, weaponized. But I didn't dare. Even making the power system was too much; all it would need would be another devisor to get the some ideas from it, and everything would hit the fan. So that one stayed under lock and key, and would forever if I had my way. To be fair, it wasn't even really a ship - there was no architectural framework supporting my various ideas, no universal blueprint or plan, just a collection of ideas which could theoretically be used to take humankind to the stars someday.

But suits? Suits I could do. Just not like those comic book heroes. These would have to have locks on the joints for flight, wings for stability, and my own special blend of power supply and jet. Because I didn't have make believe crap to use. Well, some people might differ on that last part, but what did they know? Nothing, that's what!

Other people were wrong, not me, and even knowing how that sounded I couldn't deny it. Not in my own head at least. Saying it out loud would make me sound like a nut job, so I'd just keep silent.

Still, some of the so-called tech being waved around that made its way on TV was downright insulting. Steampunk, really? That garbage would never work except as an aesthetic covering real technology. And who in their right mind builds a flying car? That's just asking to hit a telephone pole or something, or get your engine flamed out by a pigeon or something. Knowing my luck, it'd be a squirrel, because those things were the next best thing to actual lemmings.

Suit, suit, suit... I had to start with the boots of course, because rocket boots. Even if mine wouldn't be the slim awesome looking ones of science fiction, and would have a small fin for stability. I'd have to make it fold up and pop out, so that people could walk, and the weight would be massive so I'd have to give muscle assistance or I'd need an Arnold type to wear it. The last thing I needed would be to put the boot on and have it just snap my foot off at the ankle when I tried to move.

The gloves couldn't have thrust, because I'd need them to move, and the main thrust was going to be mounted on the shoulders and back anyway. One of my mini-power plants would be enough for it, barely. Assuming it wouldn't need any weapons. Should I make weapons? Something in me said yes, but I didn't really want to.

No, I should, my new AI would be using this suit for combat operations, possibly. So something nice but non-lethal would be best. After all, a rocket launcher or more would be required to damage the suit. I mean there were ways to hurt the pilot inside without hurting the suit, but that involved some pinball action or something, and that would be hard in and of itself. Presumably in the case of some super strong adversary or something, the pilot could just fly away?

I 'd better increase the gel padding. I didn't like the feel of the stuff, but no one needed to court brain damage by getting knocked around. Was there a way to increase the effectiveness of the gel? I'd not tried it yet, I was only one the first iteration....

"Min. Min!"

Ricky was trying to get my attention again. Wait, that smell again. What was going on? Had it followed me home?

"Min. Are you sniffing me?"

Oops. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, because when you stood up you got real close and took a loud inhale in my direction through your nose... like you were sniffing something."

There was only one route to take: "Never happened."

"....Right."

Time to change the subject, before he said more and gathered even more attention; I didn't like that look in Sam's eyes. "So what did you need? You called me."

"Right, yeah. You looked pretty out of it, so I thought maybe you'd like to take a break and pwn these noobs in a co-op match with me."

I shot a glance... it had been hours. It had to be dark by now; I'd even missed when Jeanette had brought coffee. There was a half empty cup next to me that I must have drank from. A little scary, when that happened. "Yeah, sure, I can do that."

There were no messages waiting for me by my AI, and I recognized most of the numbers and calculations I had done on the suit on my screen, so I'd done pretty well on losing myself. I'd eventually lost the battle, but it had taken a bit.

I also felt better too; a thing I was noticing more and more is that I tended to get jittery unless I built something. I mean, I knew it, but the more I did my thing, the more the information drove itself deep into my brain. Rest was important too, however, so and a few hours of crunching numbers would allow me to make other people regret challenging me on the best fighting game ever made without getting the shakes.

My coffee cup was now filled, and that was something else acceptable to give me shakes or jitters.

Now if only I could figure out why Sam was staring at me like that. Creepy.