As they left Spaulding said, “You’re going to need more clothes than just what you’re wearing and us shopping for teen girl clothes together would be funny but not particularly effective. Fortunately we have people who do this sort of thing.”

“The government employs personal shoppers?” she asked surprised.

“Not exactly, or at least that’s not all she does. She also helps when a twenty-something agent needs to look like a teen. She has been briefed on your situation and should be able to help you get adjusted. I am sure if you treat it as challenge you’ll rise to it.” He punched her shoulder lightly, “You’re tough where it counts kid. You’ll be an asset to the agency.”

“I think I got here just in time,” a new voice said. “Next thing you knew he’d be taking you to get a drink at a strip club.” The newcomer was about 5’6” with dyed blond hair and unlike everyone else they passed she wasn’t wearing a black suit. She laughed and stuck her hand out, “I’m just kidding. I’m Special Agent Carter, here to help you purchase an appropriate wardrobe that won’t make you stand out and help you acclimatize.”

Asuna shook her hand, “Yeah I guess I have to get used to all that suff sometime. Bring on the hot pink, high heels, and makeup.”

Agent Carter laughed, “Just because you are a girl doesn’t mean you have to like all that stuff. You’ll have things to learn but you don’t have to prove anything. Even in your old clothes no one would mistake you for a guy so if you want to be a tomboy you can. We can decide that at the shops later. You have testing first and I get to be your chaperone. We can chat on the way and get to know each other a little before we start trying to create a look for you.”

“Are you coming with us Spaulding?” she asked. “And what sort of testing?”

Spaulding nodded, “I’ll walk you there but unfortunately I have work piling up on my desk and things I have to do today. Carter here is a good woman and I know you’ll be safe in her hands. You can trust her about anything but jokes.” He smiled and gestured, “Testing means determining what level Exemplar and Manifestor you are and seeing if you might have any other abilities. They can’t test for everything but it’s a start. Once that’s done you’ll have a MID and be all set on the ID card front. Then you can go and get some clothes and gear.” He turned to Carter, “Zero expedited her payroll so she has her card. Get her everything she might need and I’ll get it authorized.”

Asuna hugged him again, “Thanks! You’re much nicer than any MIB on the TV.”

He blushed a bit, “SOP is all. Just making sure you have the tools to do the mission.” He shrugged, “Now let’s go.” He started off and the other two fell in beside him.

“So what’s your story?” Agent Carter asked. “We’re going to be spending the next few days together at least so I want to know more than the bare facts I got when I was briefed.”

“Well how about we start with first names agent Carter?” Asuna said as they entered an otherwise empty elevator. She held out her hand again and said, “I’m Asuna, formerly Akira, and you are?”

Carter looked faintly embarassed, “I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve taken a lot jokes and teasing because of my name so I’ve gotten into the habit of using either just the first or just the last and inside here it’s easy to just be ‘Carter’.”

Asuna nodded, “Well I can empathize with that. I used to have people shouting my name out in very dramatic fashions whenever I met Anime fans or geeks in general but I really would like to know you a bit better before I tell you my life story.”

Carter nodded back, “Very reasonable, and you are young enough that you might not get the joke. My full name is Linda Carter.”

As she was half expecting, Asuna laughed, “I may be too young to have seen Wonder Woman when it aired but I’ve caught reruns. There is a whole channel devoted to those old shows now you know. If we do end up hanging out together I’ll get you a copy of the anime with my name on it, my old name I mean.” She looked thoughtful, “Although I guess I should stop doing that now. It might give too much away.”

Agent Spaulding nods, “You’re right. On the bright side, nobody will be worrying about you blowing up Tokyo or confusing you with Tetsuo.” He smiles, “There a bright side to everything.”

“True, I won’t have to hear anyone shout Akira at me ever again,” she smiled. Once the elevator stopped they got out and again Spaulding took the lead while Carter hung back to chat.

“So your job is to keep up with pop culture and fashion so you can help people pretend to be teens?” Asuna asks.

“Mostly,” she replies back. “I also get called in to help Zero sometimes. I know about past cultures and fashions too so I can help his people keep things straight for older pictures. I also babysit VIP kids sometimes although my boss calls it ‘research for the next generation’.”

“I’m a big trivia buff, especially if it involves Anime, Manga, or old Warner Brothers cartoons. I can read and speak Japanese as well as English and I have been learning martial arts at dad’s dojo since I was five or so.”

“That will come in handy at Whateley,” she replied. “You’ll have a leg up on most of the others.”

“Martial Arts is part of the curriculum there?” Asuna asked surprised.

“Yeah, it’s optional but I’d definitely recommend taking it,” she replied.

“Oh I would have anyway. I’m just surprised,” Asuna replied. “Any other courses you’d recommend?”

“I’ll show you the course list later and we can talk about it, but I don’t remember everything off hand,” she replied.

“We are at the door,” Spaulding interjected, “and now I have to go. I hear my paperwork calling me and I want to call and find out how Lopez is doing.” He nodded to each of them and then left.

The door said “Main Testing Lab” and inside was a room with a small battered couch and three doors. They said, “Men’s locker room”, “Women’s locker room”, and “Lab” respectively. Carter threw an arm around Asuna and started steering her towards the correct locker room when she was stopped short by Asuna suddenly freezing as still as if she was a statue.

“That’s the girl’s lockers,” she said with eyes wide.

Carter stroked Asuna’s arm, “You’ve been doing so well I forget how new this is to you. Or were you just putting up a front with Spaulding?” She was thinking that maybe with Spaulding she’d been able to ignore her situation enough to function rather than actually dealing with it.

Asuna turned to her, “Can’t I use the guy’s room just this once? I promise I’ll use the ladies lockers next time!”

Carter shook her head and spoke in a soft voice, “No, I’m sorry but I couldn’t let you do that. Small steps are okay but backward steps are not. This is who you are now and if you don’t deal with it you’ll break and that won’t be good for you or anyone around you.” She stroked Asuna’s arm again, “It’s not that bad. I promise you I won’t bite.” She smiled, “Haven’t you ever wondered what a girl’s locker room looked like?”

“Yeah, I think every teenage boy has wondered,” Asuna replied.

“Well now’s your chance,” Carter said and grinned, “You can even peek if you want.”

“What?” to Carter’s well hidden amusement that seemed to do the trick and get through to Asuna.

“Yes,” she answered. Steering her towards the door again she continued, “I’ve lost any body modesty I had over the course of my missions and if it helps you deal then you look all you want. After all we’re all girls here right?”

Asuna followed along and stammered out, “D-Do girls u-usually...” she trailed off.

“Do we usually walk around naked in front of each and all the rest of the things teenage boys hope for?” Carter guessed.

Asuna nodded and blushed.

“Well yes and no,” Carter replied as they entered the locker room and she steered them to two lockers side by side. “Girls are a bit more complex than boys but in general they don’t care what another is wearing or not wearing unless, a) there are guys around, b) it’s a fashion disaster, or c) they have just met.” She opened both lockers to reveal something white and shapeless hanging on a hook. “Before I continue with that, these are standard testing suits. You aren’t allowed to wear anything under it and they are a pain to put on but they are state of the art.” She held one up and Asuna could see it looked like a unitard. All white with short sleeves and legholes at the bottom. “They are fireproof up to temps that melt steel, electricity proof up to full lightning bolt, don’t get brittle in extreme cold, stretch well enough to fit anyone from four foot to seven foot tall and are guaranteed to look equally ugly on everybody. They also have many sensors woven right into them that help the docs figure out exactly what you are doing.” She laid the both on the bench in front of the lockers and looked Asuna in the eyes, “We are both going to put them on and I’ll stay with all through your evaluation. We need to get it done as soon as possible to be aware of any possible problems but afterwards you’ll have a week or so to get used to things and I’ll help you all I can, okay?”

Asuna took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay.”

Carter grinned, “Good!” then she sat down and started unlacing her sneakers. “One of the good things about this job is that I get to wear pretty much anything I like to work. The infiltrators I train have to wear the usual black suit or black dress and heels when they are here but I’m one of the few who get to be comfortable and my feet thank me for it.” She put them in the locker and winked at Asuna who was doing the same, “I’ll show you how to walk in heels but I won’t require you to wear them much. You can get away with being a little awkward in them and in my opinion they should be avoided whenever possible. High heels do terrible things to your feet.”

She tucked her socks into the sneakers, “When I started here I wore a black suit and flat work shoes like the men. It started rumors that I was gay but I didn’t care. As long as you are good at your job they don’t give a damn about your home life here. You’ll eventually have to decide for yourself whether or not the pain of heels is worth fitting in to expectations but as young as you are you have years yet.”

Asuna nodded, “Thank you.” She had pulled off her shirt and hung it on a hook and now she slid her swim trunks down trying not to look at the woman stripping next to her. If someone had told her she’d be given a chance to see a beautiful woman strip and would try not to look … well knowing how shy she was she probably would have believed them. She was snapped out her introspection when Carter said, “No underwear at all?”

Asuna blushed, “These are the shirt and swim trunks I wore to the beach.”

“I thought you’d been asleep when you changed?”

“It started hurting long before,” Asuna said hanging up the trunks. “I passed out at the beach first and thought it was too much sun. The doctor sent me home and told me to drink lots of fluid and get lots of rest. I pretty much just passed out on the bed when I got home and was still wearing this when I got taken to hospital. Sorry, it’s all I have to wear.”

“No, I’m sorry. It’s fine, I was just surprised.” She gestured around, “So is it different then a boy’s locker room? Now that you’ve got a chance to see it?”

Asuna smiled, “No, not really. It just smells better.” She tried looking away as Carter unhooked her bra but her eyes kept coming back. Finally wanting to do more than just stare she asked, “How do you know what size bra to wear?”

Carter smiled, “Well most girls just try things on until they find something that sort of fits and go with that. A tape measure can tell you some of it but breasts vary a lot more than the numbers show. Most women wear bras that are ill-fitted but you're lucky, we'll get you a proper one. Even aside from the fact that most people don’t measure them right there are only 4 or 5 cup sizes on the rack in most stores and there a lot more than 5 sizes of breasts.”

“What? Why don’t they make more realistic sizes?” Asuna asked.

“Economics I guess, it would cost more to make more different sizes. Some women think it’s a conspiracy but I think it’s plain old fashioned greed,” Carter replied.

“Yeah, come to think of it when you get a cup for sparring practice they are only three sizes and that’s just as silly,” Asuna said.

Carter folded her panties and put them on top of her folded bra then turned to Asuna, “Okay, if you’re ready it’s time to put on the suits. The v neck in front helps you squeeze into them.” She grinned, “Or at least that’s they tell me.” She picked hers up, “Just do what I do and tell me if you’re having trouble. You might not since exemplars are generally well coordinated as well as strong.”

Once they got into the suits they walked over to the mirror on the wall. “This is something else that’s different, no mirror in the boy’s locker room,” Asuna said. “It’s nice to be able to see yourself before you go out.”

“Yes, and as you can see these things support but don’t conceal a damn thing,” Carter said and she was right. Every curve and muscle was clearly visible through the suit. “Whenever I have to wear one of these I wonder if the designers were just indifferent to possible embarrassment or if they were perverts.”

Asuna laughed, “I vote for perverts. I look more naked wearing this then I do naked.” She smiled at her companion, “Thank you for getting me over that hump Agent Carter.”

“You’re welcome and please call me Linda,” she replied. “Now let’s go get you evaluated.”