Shortcuts

A paranormal superhero story with a supernatural twist

All things sugar and spice

Comments have been blocked for this story but kudos and private messages are always welcome. Even highly critical private messages are welcome. I don't mind criticism when it's private.

Shortcuts
by Terry Volkirch

Chapter 14

The group continued on to a small store in the mall that sold inexpensive jewelry and hair care accessories. Susan mentioned something about getting Sarah's ears pierced but the girl beat her to it, using her shapeshifting ability to create small holes in her earlobes. All they had to do was pick out earrings.

"No long dangly things," Sarah insisted.

"Don't worry, dear. You're in good hands. I'm a professional, remember?"

The reluctant girl got several pairs of rhinestone stud earrings in several different colors and didn't question it. She'd already received some coaching about color coordinating her jewelry, makeup and clothing, and she'd receive a whole lot more help as time went by.

They went to an upscale jewelry store next and when Susan noticed Erin longing for a necklace with a tiny, delicate silver cross, she bought it for her. The woman smiled when she saw the joy on the redhead's face. "That's a peace offering," she told the girl, who thanked her profusely.

The slightly frustrated mother tried to get her daughter to pick out something but after the girl passed over everything in the store, she bought a small black pearl pendant on a short silver chain. "This should make it easier for you. Black goes with anything."

With little time to spare, Susan rushed the two girls back to the car and on to a nice Greek restaurant for dinner, where Sarah would have more new flavors to try out with her different taste buds. They ordered a large combination platter that had a little of everything to make sure the tall girl would have enough to eat. Erin hadn't had Greek food before either so it was a good experience for her as well.

While they waited for the food to arrive, Susan had one more quick lesson for her daughter. She took her to the rest room so they could both remove their lipstick.

"Why are we doing this again?" Sarah asked.

"So we don't end up eating it. Lipstick does tend to rub off when you eat."

The girl shrugged and followed her mother's lead, wiping off her lipstick and checking herself in the mirror to make sure she got it all.

"And," Susan said. "We get to come back here after we eat and reapply our lipstick."

"I have class to go to, Mother."

"You need the practice."

"I'm not wearing makeup in class."

"Oh. That reminds me. We'll have to stop at the drug store for a little makeup remover."

"What do you mean? The lipstick came off easily enough."

"I've got two words for you, dear: Waterproof mascara."

* * *

After dinner, Susan agreed that they didn't have time for any more makeup lessons. The girls ate too slowly as they picked at their food, trying to decide what they liked, so they practically ran through the corner drug store and Sarah had her makeup quickly removed by her mother. She transformed and put on her, then his, gi only a few minutes before class.

"We've got to get to class earlier," Lester complained once he joined Erin inside the dojo. "These last minute changes are too stressful."

The redhead had changed into her gi using the rest room inside the building. She was ready and eager to start, having already charged ahead to do her warmup exercises.

After both of the newest students had warmed up, their sensei ran them through their first complete kata together. The man was so impressed with how well they did, that he left them alone to practice and promised to come back soon to teach them another kata and some separate self-defense techniques.

By the time class had ended, Lester and Erin were relaxed and happy. They'd received a short anatomy lesson and learned several nerve pressure points to use against attackers. They also breezed through their first kata well enough to be taught a second one. Lester moved through it flawlessly having already learned it from the Akashic records, and Erin did very well with his help.

They impressed Sensei Wilson enough to ask, "Are you sure you haven't taken aikido before? You're both naturals."

They shyly looked down and shook their heads in unison, making the man think he was watching twin girls. "Very strange, those two," he muttered to himself as he walked away.

Erin changed back into her street clothes while Lester texted his mother and waited to be picked up. He didn't bother changing out of his gi. It was easier that way. He expected more lessons in being a young lady when he got home.

"Bye Erin," he called as she left the building.

"Bye Lester. Have fun with your mother." She meant well.

* * *

It took forever for the boy to drop off to sleep that night after having had two straight hours of lessons in all things feminine. He was plagued by daydreams. Visions of women's clothing danced through his head, enticing him to wear them, and small, round mirrors occasionally floated by in mid air to show him as a girl wearing makeup. Only extreme exhaustion finally sent him off to browse the Akashic records, but he didn't get much rest there either.

Various styles and techniques of very violent martial arts kept agitating him as he absorbed their every detail. He didn't want to use such harmful techniques but he knew that his body could act reflexively and still lash out to injure an attacker. And in general, the more severe the attack, the more likely a severe self-defense technique would be used.

He woke up the next morning with the corners of his eyes feeling crusty after all of the yawning he did before he fell asleep. The boy wandered through his house and just barely got ready and left his house in time to catch the bus. He didn't even notice as Brian plopped down in the seat next to him on the bus until the boy spoke quietly to him.

"Dude. Are you okay? You look like hell. You've got dark circles under your eyes."

"Nothing a little concealer couldn't fix," Lester said without thinking.

Brian looked confused. "Concealer? Is that like invisibility?"

Lester snorted. "It's makeup. But never mind. Forget I said it. I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night so I'm not going to be very good company this morning. Sorry."

"It's okay. How did class go last night?"

"Very well, thanks. It's easy after I learned everything about aikido in that weird library."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. What about Erin? Any progress with her?"

"None. But she did help me get a job."

"You got a job?"

Lester nodded. "Selling makeup and women's clothes."

Brian looked confused again for a moment. "I don't get it," he said, and then erupted with laughter, earning him several dirty looks from other students on the bus.

After the boy's laughter died down, Lester filled him in on Sarah's little adventure at the mall, ending with her getting the job.

"At least it's a good paying one," Brian pointed out.

"Thanks," Lester said with a little sarcasm. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem, dude."

* * *

Government class breezed by and ended like it did once before, with the door sealing shut while Mister Guile held a private conference with Erin. It annoyed Lester to no end but he quietly tolerated it, waiting just outside the classroom door.

Mister Guile sat on the front edge of his desk as usual while Erin sat at the nearest desk in front of him.

"What are you up to, Miss MacCloud?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"Getting Lester that job? Really, Miss MacCloud."

"I didn't get any job for him. He got it on his own merit."

"As a girl."

"Yes. As a tall, wonderful, beautiful girl. What's wrong with that?"

"I know you had more to do with it than you're letting on. I know you're getting help. You told me about your friends in high places. Remember?"

"We're just trying to make a little honest money. There's nothing wrong with that. Lester's mother inspired me with her entrepreneurial spirit and I suggested that some of my friends open a store."

"I thought you didn't like greedy businesses."

"We're not greedy," Erin said, holding her head high. "We pay the employees a good wage and give them full benefits. They're all quite happy."

Mister Guile snorted. "Okay. Enough. I was amused when Lester made his public debut as Golden Girl. But I'm not amused by you turning our boy into a sissy." The man snarled as he spoke the last word.

Erin shivered, but she didn't back down. "I don't know what you mean. I haven't forced Lester to do anything."

"You've been with him, guiding him, pushing him into your feminine playground, and I cry foul."

"I saw an opportunity and I took it," she said, glaring at him. "I didn't plan any of this."

"You set him up!" he shouted, glaring back.

"He has free will. Like all humans, he has free will. And I think it's better this way."

"Yes, you do seem to like it. I can see how getting him in touch with his feminine side might make him less likely to go bad. And I guess I can't really do anything about it, can I?"

"Yes, well, your interference hasn't gone unnoticed," she told him.

"I don't know what you mean," he said, looking away.

Erin narrowed her eyes. "Don't worry. I didn't expect a confession."

"I have nothing to confess," he said as he turned back to face her. "I'm keeping to the terms of our wager."

"We both are, and I'm satisfied so far. Lester's been turned into a freak of nature with all of those paranormal abilities and yet he still carries that divine spark. He hasn't been tainted." She sighed.

"I wouldn't be too sure of myself if I were you. He's human and there's still a lot of time left."

"I'm currently human."

The man's eyes glistened with a look of triumph. "And you've been less than perfect, haven't you, my dear."

Erin didn't reply and they both glared at each other for a short time, until the girl finally got up from the desk and walked over to the door, waiting a short moment until it opened on its own. She walked out and joined Lester for a very quiet walk to their Advanced Literature class.

Mister Guile quietly fumed as students filtered in for the next class. In spite of pointing out a serious flaw in Erin's logic and getting the last word, he felt the odds shifting in her favor. He decided it was time to step up his game a little.

* * *

Lester and Erin made it to their lunch hour without much conversation. The boy could see a little anger in her eyes so he waited until they had time to talk about it before he said anything. They plopped down at a lunch table together and he asked if she was okay.

"I'm fine, Lester. Really. It's just that man again."

"Mister Guile."

"Yes. Mister Guile. I think he likes conflict. I have to remind myself not to take his bait but it's difficult."

"Yeah. I can see that."

She playfully swatted his arm but still had a grim look on her face.

"Seriously, Erin. Let it go. He's not all bad."

"What are you talking about?!" she raised her voice, making the boy cringe a little.

"He fended off Big Jim not so long ago." Lester turned away as he added, "And he's been helping me learn a lot."

The redhead snorted at that. "He's got a hidden agenda. Please don't trust him."

"Is this about your wager again?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said, turning away.

"Right. Never mind."

Erin quickly changed the subject. "When do you start your job?" she said with a slight grin.

"This coming Monday."

"And?"

"And what?"

The girl exploded with questions. "Are you ready for it? Did your mother give you some lessons last night? How did they go? Are you looking forward to the job?"

Lester just gave her a steady look that answered all of her questions and she sulked a little, but she didn't give up on the subject.

"I want to see about getting a job at the same store. Wouldn't it be great to work together?"

The boy sighed.

"Come on, Lester. Don't be that way. It'll be great. You'll see."

"You sound like you've already got the job."

"I have my connections," she smiled enigmatically.

"Like how you pulled Sarah's identification out of a hat? I suppose you did the same for yourself."

She looked a little puzzled at first. "It wasn't a hat. It was a purse." She paused and finally said, "Oh!" and then shrugged.

They finished eating their lunches and became mostly quiet again. They went through their remaining classes and soon went their separate ways after school. Lester had more finishing school lessons with his mother, after he changed into Sarah of course. He didn't enjoy the mother-daughter time, but he tolerated it well as usual.

* * *

Lester laid on his bed late that night, his head swimming with new feminine knowledge.

'It's almost like the Akashic library,' he thought.

He tried zoning out for awhile but when that didn't prevent him from having feminine thoughts, he used his clairvoyance to check out the city, and what he saw appalled him. A gang of young men wandered through one alley after another, knocking over every dumpster they came across, mugging the occasional citizen and generally making a big nuisance of themselves. They very cleverly avoided the police and the boy, soon girl, couldn't let it go.

Crystal got dressed in record time, deciding on her black leather jacket look for the evening. The chill in the air didn't bother her all that much when her blood boiled with anger so she didn't consider wearing her purple jacket or even a hat. Her only purple accessories were her tights and gloves.

After turning invisible and leaving the house, she zipped through the air and took some deep, calming breaths. She had to make sure that she didn't hurt anyone in anger, no matter how much they seemed to ask for it. When she thought back to her first encounter with a gang, she realized that she got lucky that she didn't hurt any of them. She flew directly into four of them, slowing down at the last second to try preventing any injury. Still, it was hard to predict what would happen.

'No plan survives contact with the enemy,' her father often said, and truer words were never spoken.

When she arrived at the scene of the latest criminal activity, she hovered directly over the six young men, trying to decide what to do. None of the young gang members thought to look up so they didn't see her. She didn't need to be invisible. Simply stopping them with telekinesis wasn't an option. She couldn't hold them all night. She needed a plan.

Finding the nearest police car wasn't too difficult. She hovered next to the driver's side window of the parked car and rapped on the window to get the officer's attention. The startled woman quickly rolled down her window and sputtered a little.

"Hello officer. I'd like to report a crime. Several crimes, actually."

"Golden Girl! Hey Mike! It's Golden Girl!"

The policeman in the passenger seat looked over and gave the girl a big grin.

She waved to the man and continued. "Please. Call me Crystal. My name is Crystal."

The man frowned then. "You shouldn't tell us your real name, miss."

She smiled. "Don't worry. No one will find me."

The policewoman interrupted. "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You mentioned crimes?"

"Oh! Yes. Please follow me." The girl flew slowly ahead of the car and waited for it to follow her. Using clairvoyance, she tracked down the gang's latest whereabouts and led the car to them, pacing herself to catch them in the act of tipping over a dumpster.

The policewoman tooted the siren to get the gang's attention and got out of the car. "Okay, you miscreants. Either put that dumpster back the way you found it, or I'm going to arrest you."

Golden Girl hadn't escaped the notice of the gang. They ignored the police for the moment and stared at the floating girl. One of them pointed at her and they all leered.

"Hey little super girl," the leader said. "How about a super blow job?" The man stood near the back, directing his fellow members to tip the dumpster back up and put all of the trash back into it. He silently appreciated that the girl wore a black leather jacket like he did, but he wasn't going to tell her that, especially since his jacket was stolen from someone earlier that night.

"That'll never happen," she said. "How about confessing to all of your crimes?"

The man laughed. "I'll confess to anything if it'll get me that blow job."

She scowled at the man and then turned to the policewoman. "These men have been committing crimes all evening, officer. They need to be locked up."

The woman sighed. "Do you have any proof? Any video? If not, then it's just your word against yours and I can't do anything."

The frustrated girl growled and paused a moment. She then thought to use her clairvoyance to inspect the men's clothes and found that four of them carried weapons. "They're carrying guns, officer, and I bet they're not legal."

The policeman started to get out of the car when he heard that, and the other officer reached to pull her gun but she wasn't fast enough. The gang leader had his gun out as soon as he heard Golden Girl start to give him away. A shot rang out and the superheroine barely deflected the bullet in time, guiding it just enough to graze the policewoman's jacket without harming her.

"No more guns!" the girl shouted. She telekinetically grabbed all of the illegal guns, made sure the safeties were engaged and slammed them all hard on the pavement at the feet of the gang members.

The men started to run after that, but they didn't get far before Golden Girl froze them in place. The girl continued to float a couple of feet off the ground and waited while the two police officers called for a van to take the men off to jail. The van arrived within minutes and after the gang members were all safely incarcerated, the policewoman addressed the superherione.

"You might consider taking some law enforcement classes. You haven't given me a lot of confidence in how you helped us apprehend the criminals."

"I'm new at this," she said as she slowly rose in the air. "But I'll consider your suggestion. Thanks!" With that, she flew off to the east, quickly accelerating until she created what was becoming her signature sonic boom.

* * *

Crystal got back home very late, sneaked inside invisibly and closed her bedroom door behind her. Her mother was already asleep and her father watched TV in the living room. After spying on him with her clairvoyance, she could tell he wouldn't be up much longer. His head started nodding. She felt safe to turn visible and change clothes.

She changed her clothes and shapeshifted, but out of habit, she became Sarah instead of Lester. The girl felt too low on energy to shapeshift again so she shrugged into one of her longer boy tee shirts, a pair of panties and slipped into bed. The girl's thoughts briefly turned to Golden Girl's unimpressive results and she vowed to do better next time as she quickly fell asleep.

"You again," the Dark Librarian said, a scowl on his face and his hands on his hips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked, nonplussed.

"Nothing. It means next to nothing in this whole humongous universe. We're all just dust motes flitting about inside an infinitely large barn full of shit."

"Hey. Watch your language, please. And where's that attitude coming from?"

The librarian snorted. "I'll speak as I please, dear girl. Now are you ready to learn something new or am I just wasting my time? There are still many paranormal abilities you have yet to discover."

"I don't know," she said. "I haven't thought about it, really. Haven't I already learned enough?"

"Your performance this evening could use some improvement," he said, then added, "Yes. I noticed," when he saw her puzzled look.

"Fine. What do you recommend?"

"Ah. I don't normally recommend anything. It's not allowed, remember?" His eyes warily flicked left and right several times.

"What about those nudges of yours?" she asked.

"Never mind that. Better left unsaid. But back to what I said about learning something new. Do you remember about a certain lecture that got interrupted by the fair Erin? There was talk about a wager and dire consequences of some sort if the lecture continued."

"I remember. What about it?"

"Do you remember the subject of the secret message? Use your special control ability if you have to."

Sarah paused to think and did retrieve the full memory. "I still don't think I'm ready for mind reading. Is that what you're up to tonight?"

"I'm not up to anything, dear girl. I'm just a poor handcuffed librarian. But since you brought up the subject of mind reading, just think how that could help you apprehend all of those nasty criminals in the world."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you could read the thoughts of criminals, it would make it easier to gather evidence against them. Don't you think?"

"I think that would be an especially bad idea. I don't want to get inside any criminal's head. Yuck. Just… yuck."

The dark man swore to himself. "Do as you will then. Until next time." He faded away, leaving the girl to wander on her own. She stayed at the highest, most recent levels of human history in an attempt to avoid anything paranormal, and simply by chance, came across enough makeup techniques to pursue a career as a professional makeup artist if she wanted.

'It'll come in handy for work at least,' she thought, trying to put a positive spin on it.

* * *

© 2015 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.