Ann is a remarkable young woman. At an early age she discovers the ability to tap into the power of her spirit. With this power she can do amazing things. She is also an extremely caring person, more concerned about the well-being of others than she is about her own comfort. She travels the world, looking for people to help. But these stories aren’t about Ann. They’re about the people she helps. For in order to help them with their problems, Ann must pass on what she has learned.
I want to tell you about how I met Ann. I was living in a park at the time. I came out to my parents as transsexual a few weeks before this. They didn’t take it very well. Frankly, I’m amazed I made it all the way to the park with all the injuries I had. Did I mention they didn’t take it very well? Anyway, I was living off of what I could find at the orchards and farms near the park and sleeping in a *very* small cave at night. Seriously, I could barely move once I’d gotten myself wedged in there!
I wasn’t feeling very well at this point. I don’t know if it was the fruit diet, the primitive living conditions, or the injuries my ‘oh so loving’ parents bestowed upon me, but I felt like shit. I had just stumbled out of my little rock bed that morning, nearly tumbling down the very steep slope leading up to it in the process. I settled my backpack on my back and turned to walk down to the orchards for breakfast when I found myself face to face with this beautiful, petite little woman.
Okay, it wasn’t really face-to-face. She was only like five foot tall, and I was nearly six. But you get the idea. She was really thin, but not like malnourished thin. She just looked like you could knock her over by breathing too hard, you know? Anyway…yeah, I was really surprised. There usually wasn’t anyone this far back in the park this early in the morning, let alone up here.
See, this ‘cave’ (if you want to call it that), is at the top of a *very* steep hill. There’s nothing to hold onto, no steps or stairs, just this rather slick rock at like a 45 degree angle. I chose this spot to sleep because so few people knew about it, and most of those who did never came up here. I mean, why would they? Once you’ve seen this little niche in the rock, it doesn’t exactly hold a lot of interest.
So, yeah, surprised. And she’s just standing there with this concerned look on her face. Like she was really worried about me or something. I finally remembered that I’m still technically a minor and started to get worried she’d call the police and I’d get stuck in some foster home, or something. But it was like she could read my mind, because right then she said, “Don’t worry, you’re safe with me.”
Weird, huh? I mean, how many women are going to say something like that to some scruffy looking guy who’s like twice their size in that situation? Not too many, I bet. So there I am, looking like a fish out of water trying to get some air. I thought about running, until I remembered where I was. I mean, yeah, I know this hill really well, but I’d still probably break my neck trying to run away from her here. Then again, no great loss, right?
And again with the mind reading! “Please don’t think like that!” She said. What! How did she know what I was thinking? She looked even more concerned now, but with a little grin starting like she knew something I didn’t. Well, duh, of course she did, but what?
“Uh…what?” I asked. Yeah, real genius material here, right?
Laughing softly, she answered, “I was referring to the way you were putting yourself down. You really shouldn’t do that.”
Okaaay, so yeah, reading my mind. And did she have to have that smug little smile while she did it? “What do you want?” I asked.
“Just to help you help yourself.” She answered cryptically.
“Uh, mind explaining that?” I asked brilliantly.
“How about this?” she asked. She held her hands out like she was revealing…well, herself. I was just about to ask what that was supposed to mean when she started to kind of glow. The next thing I know I’m looking at a guy! A short guy, but a guy! He looked like her twin brother, only a little taller and more muscular. Still looked like a stiff wind could blow him away, though.
The thing is, he was still wearing her clothes. Soooo, the woman somehow became this man? What the hell?!
“It’s a bit shocking, I know,” he began, “but I thought a demonstration would help. This *is* what you want, isn’t it? Only in reverse?” he asked with this quizzical expression on his face. His voice sounded very similar, just deeper, you know? I knew it was the same person, but it was taking my brain a while to catch up with this.
Wait a minute! How did she know I was transsexual? My parents are the only ones I ever told, and they were so worried about what the neighbors would think that I doubt they told anyone. And even if she could somehow hear my thoughts, I hadn’t been thinking about that! Well, not really. Okay, okay, I guess I was *always* thinking about it at some level, but still!
Just then he changed back to she. “Look,” she started, “I’ll stop answering your thoughts if you’ll start talking to me, okay?” She had this cute pleading look on her face. You know the kind, where you’d feel like a heel to say no? Yeah, like that.
“Alright, alright, what do you want me to say?” I asked.
“Why don’t you start with introducing yourself?” she answered.
I grinned back, “You first.” Hey, she’s the one who snuck up on me, right?
“Deal,” she said, “I’m Ann.” And she held her hand out all business like.
“Joe.” I answered, and shook her hand. Why do people do that, anyway?
“So, Joe, would you like me to help you?” she asked.
Just about then the fact she had just changed from a woman into a man and back again, right in front of me finally penetrated. “How the *hell* did you do that!” I asked, exclaimed, whatever, with those fish eyes again.
“That,” she answered, “is what I want to teach you.”
“Oh.” How would you answer something like that? I mean, here’s some stranger doing magical things in front of you, and now she wants to teach me to do the same? How did I end up in the Twilight Zone?
Ann kind of looked around funny, like to bring my attention to where we were, you know? “Why don’t we get down off this ridiculously steep slope and find somewhere more comfortable to talk?” she asked.
Hmm, yeah, this isn’t the best place for a conversation. Especially if she turns out to be nuts and I need to make a run for it. “Sure, I know where there’s a bench near here that nobody ever uses.” I answered. I knew this park real well. My mother and I used to come here a lot. You know, before she knew I was a freak.
She kind of half frowned, like she didn’t like what she was hearing (or whatever it’s called when you’re reading thoughts), but decided not to say anything since she already said she wouldn’t. Respond to my thoughts, that is. And yeah, it’s weird to think of someone hearing your thoughts, but how else could you explain it?
So, I led her around the side of the hill and up to the top, ‘cause that’s a whole lot easier than climbing down that slope. What, you didn’t think I actually climbed that slope everyday, did you? I’m not that stupid! Well, usually.
From there it wasn’t far to the bench. Well, picnic table, actually. It’s in this clearing on top of a hill. There aren’t any trees near it, so it’s really exposed. But it’s blocked off from view by trees and steep hills, so most people never know it’s there. It’s really weird how it can be so open and still totally unknown, but whatever.
So, we sat down on opposite sides of the table. I just stared at her, trying to guess what kind of crazy explanation she was going to come up with. Aliens? Military experiments? Magic? Mutation? So many crazy possibilities, so little time!
She had that half-frown thing again. “I want you to try to keep an open mind, and remember what you’ve seen already.” Okay, yeah, that was pretty crazy. “What do you think it means when someone refers to their spirit?”
Okaaay. Not sure where that’s going. “Um, their soul, maybe?” I asked weakly.
“Okay,” she answered, “forget about religion for a moment. What do you think your spirit is? How does it relate to you and your body?”
I thought she was supposed to be explaining something to me, not interrogating me! Anyway, what is my spirit? Hmm, good question. “I guess my spirit is who I am, and it doesn’t relate to my body very well at all.” I answered. Well, it doesn’t!
She smiled, “Not a bad answer, actually. Your body is simply an extension of your spirit. Your spirit usually cannot interact with the physical world directly, so it works through a physical vessel to do that. That’s your body. Your mind is the interface between the two. Your mind reflects your spirit, and controls your body. Does that make sense to you?”
I thought that one over. Pretty simple, really. At least the way she said it. If she could explain everything that way, she’d probably make a pretty good teacher. Better than most, anyway. “I think so. But so what?” It’s not like my body and spirit were going to get along any time soon.
Smiling again, she answered, “So, your mind can channel the energy of your spirit to affect your body. I’ve learned to do this. That’s how I transformed into a male, and back again. I think I can teach you to do the same. Still think so what?”
Oh. Wow. Like, double wow! If she isn’t smoking something, this could be really awesome. Like, change the world awesome. Or at least mine. “Seriously? You really think you could teach me to do that? And it would last?” I asked, remembering that she changed back pretty quickly. Sure, she could have done that on purpose because, like me, she’d rather be a girl, but still.
“Don’t worry,” she answered, “it’s not an illusion. When I transformed into a man, I was physically male all the way. Staying male didn’t require any effort, because it was a complete physical transformation. Once you’ve learned how, you can be a girl for the rest of your life.” She had this big smile when she said the last, like she actually knew how important that was for me. Hell, maybe she did. She does read minds, after all.
I’m sure my smile was at least as big as hers at this point. Yeah, I should have been all skeptical and everything, but what did I have to lose? I mean, I’m homeless, my parents hate me, and I hate me. Why not give it a try? Still, it’s always good to keep your eyes open, right? “What’s the catch?” I asked.
“The catch,” she answered, “is that you have to work for it. I don’t want anything in return. You don’t have to sign over your soul, or anything else like that. But you have to work hard to learn everything I have to teach you. Also, I’ve never done this before. I trained myself, so I don’t even know of any other teacher that can help you. It’s even possible that you aren’t strong enough, spiritually, to learn this. I think you are, but like I said, I’ve never done this before.”
I went over everything she said in my mind, looking for anything out of place, but my heart wasn’t really in it. I didn’t really care if there was a catch; I was just going through the motions. Still, better not to let her know that. Oh yeah, she reads minds. Oh well. “Okay. How do we do this?”
“Well,” she answered, “the first thing is to get you cleaned up and fed properly. If you’re too sick you won’t be able to learn anything.” She said this while looking down at my dirt smeared, ragged clothes. Hey, you try sleeping in a rough rock cave and not getting your clothes messed up a bit!
“Uh, what did you have in mind?” I asked cautiously. I still hadn’t forgotten the whole foster care thing. I’d heard some pretty bad things about foster care. I didn’t want that.
“I don’t have a home either,” she answered, “but I’m not exactly broke. How about we rent a couple of hotel rooms and get you some clothes and food?”
Well, I wasn’t going to turn down food, now was I? Do you have any idea how old apples get after a few weeks? I mean, sure, I managed to snag a few other things now and then, but I was mostly living on apples. And I don’t even like apples all that much. “Okay, let’s go.”
We walked to the entrance of the park. It was a good thirty minute walk, we were way back there. She didn’t have a car, so we just kept walking. Along the way she picked up her pack. Apparently she’s been hiking for a while. It was a big pack, too. Must have weighed 50 pounds or more. It looked waaay too heavy for her. But she just picked it right up, one handed, and slung it on her back with ease.
She told me a little of the things she’d seen while we walked. She’d been hiking around the area for a while, just looking for people to help. It didn’t even sound conceited or anything, from her. Apparently I’m the first catch of the day, so to speak. She said that being depressed actually makes it easier to use the energy of your spirit to do things. Weird, huh? I mean, you’d think being depressed would sap your energy, but I guess not.
We walked for a long time. I was really not feeling very well, but I was used to it. I normally walk most of the day collecting whatever food and other useful items I could find. I knew I probably needed medical attention, but I never really cared, you know?
We were just passing this Mexican restaurant when I was thinking this, and Ann suggested we stop there. I had thought she wanted to get me cleaned up first, (I really did look like a bum, at best) but she decided I needed to eat, more. So, we stopped and I ate like a pig. Believe me, when your entire diet consists almost entirely of apples for weeks, you get real excited at a real meal. And I like Mexican, anyway.
She talked about all kinds of things until long after I’d finished eating. I got the impression she was trying to get me to relax and rest, and I wasn’t complaining. My stomach wasn’t handling all that food real well at first, but I started feeling pretty good by the time we left. Amazing what actually eating a full meal can do for you!
We still had quite a walk ahead of us, and we mostly talked about current events and whatever else she felt like talking about. Along the way she managed to get a little of my story out of me. She was amazingly ignorant of transsexuals considering she’d spotted me as one right off the bat. Apparently what she knew came exclusively from what she could read of my thoughts, she’d never even heard of it before meeting me.
Finally, we found a clothing store and bought some simple clothes for me. She said I didn’t want to get much right now, because it wouldn’t fit after I became female. That just made me feel all warm and fuzzy all over! No seriously, I loved to hear that. I still had lots of doubts, but I was really starting to believe that she could deliver, you know?
From there it wasn’t far to a hotel. She paid for a room for each of us for a week. Then I took a nice long shower and cleaned off all of the dried blood and dirt from the last few weeks. Wow, was I ever dirty! I guess I got used to it. Anyway, I got dressed in the new clothes Ann bought me and met her in her room.
We had adjoining rooms, so I was able to just walk right in. She was sitting on her bed like she was meditating or something. Wait a minute! She’s not on her bed, she’s floating above it! She must have heard my thoughts or something, ‘cause she got this big smile on her face just before she opened her eyes.
She looked me up and down and said, “You’re looking a lot better, Joe. How are you feeling?”
I grinned back, “Great!” Well, it wasn’t totally a lie! I still felt pretty screwed up physically, but at least there was hope now. However crazy! And being clean and fed did help.
She had this knowing look. Like, I know you’re lying through your teeth, but I’ll let it pass. She’s cool like that. “Want to get started?” she asked.
Well, duh! “Of course!” I answered.
Laughing she motioned for me to sit down on the bed next to her (she had stopped floating somewhere along the line). “Hold out your hands.” she said.
I held my hands out in front of me. She held onto each with hers and said, “Now I want you to close your eyes and try to find that part of yourself that is truly you. That part you hide away from everyone else. You’ve put barriers up around it to protect yourself, but you can still go there. Focus on that place.”
I thought I knew what she meant. I’d always felt like I was putting walls up around myself (in my mind, you know?). I tried to deny what I am, and these walls helped me to forget, for a while. But they always seemed to wear down, so I was always putting up new ones. I finally got tired of it and told my parents, and, well, you know the rest. So I tried to look inward like she said, but I had no idea if I was doing it right.
“Now no matter what happens, keep concentrating on that place.” she said. No matter what happens? What’s that supposed to mean? I was getting a little nervous, but I reminded myself that I had nothing to loose and tried to focus like she said.
“You’re right you know,” she started saying in this off-hand way, like what she’s saying means nothing to her, you know? “You are a freak. Your parents were right to kick you out. They don’t deserve the shame and humiliation you would have brought on them. I don’t know why you bothered to fight so hard to survive these last few weeks. There’s no point, really. You should have just walked right off that cliff overlooking the little hole in the wall you were living in.”
I was shocked at first. I mean, I never would have guessed she could be so cruel! She seemed so kind, before. But, maybe she was right? What am I saying, of course she’s right! I’ve certainly thought it often enough. My anger quickly turned to despair. Why did I keep going?
“Remember to focus!” Ann yelled, her voice suddenly filled with emotion.
I don’t think I was really thinking at this point, but I went back to that place she described, and found it. My world suddenly expanded. I could sense Ann’s emotions, she felt very guilty, and was worried about me! Huh? I even picked up a thought, I think. I’m sorry. At least, I think that’s what I heard, I was pretty confused at that point.
I felt a…pressure, I guess, inside me. I could feel all these weird emotions. They didn’t make any sense, like they were from other people. Strange thoughts flit through my mind that had nothing in common with me. Colors, sensations, all kinds of odd things. Was I going nuts, or what?
My eyes were still closed, and I wasn’t inclined to open them. Who knows what I would see? Pink elephants at the least, I figured. This was sooo confusing! Just then I felt arms around me and became aware of Ann holding me tightly. “It’s okay,” she said, “you’re spirit has been awoken. It’ll settle down soon. I’m sorry for what I said, I didn’t mean it. Your parents were wrong. You’re a beautiful woman, and I’ll help you bring that woman to the surface for all the world to see.”
There was such sincerity in her voice, I found myself believing her. My emotions were all over the place. I think I was crying, but all those weird sensations kept me too confused to tell. What was going on? Hell if I know!
Somewhere along the line I fell asleep. With the day I had, can you blame me? My dreams were really weird. I mean, like drug trip weird! I couldn’t even begin to describe all the weird sights, sounds, and feelings in those dreams. It was a relief to wake up.
I think a little of those weird sensations were still with me when I woke. Ann was sitting in a chair next to the bed, and she seemed to be glowing slightly. And let me tell you, seeing someone glow pink is really weird. Well, the first few times, anyway.
“Feeling better?” Ann asked when she noticed I was awake.
“Ugghhh!” I answered oh so intelligently. “Why are you pink?” I finally asked, when my brain finally rebooted.
Smiling, she said “I wondered how you would see me. I should have known it would be pink. What you’re seeing is my aura. When you get used to it, the color will tell you a little about the person you’re looking at. I’m kind of surprised you’re aura sight is still active at this point, though. Your spirit must be stronger than I thought.”
“Uh, what?” I asked. Okay, maybe my brain isn’t finished rebooting yet. Aura? “What are you talking about?” I asked.
“You can do a lot more than just change your body with what I’ll teach you. Things like seeing auras are actually more of a byproduct. My aura sight was unreliable when I first started learning how to control this ability, but eventually it became constant. Crowds are always a rainbow of colors for me, no matter what they’re wearing.” She answered.
“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” I asked. I’ve been a freak for sixteen years; do I really want to give up being a freak in one way only to trade in for a new model? Wait a minute, what am I thinking? Of course I do!
She smiled, I’m sure at what I was thinking, and said, “It’s different. It was a little confusing at first, but I got used to it.”
My stomach started growling then, so Ann suggested we get something to eat. After getting some fast food we returned to the hotel for more training.
“So,” Ann started, “are you ready for another round? I promise it won’t be as bad as the first time.”
“What was that about? One minute I’m scum, then you’re all apologetic? Why did you do that?” I asked. Now that the psychedelic trip was over, I was confused for a different reason. Did she really believe all that stuff, or what?
Ann got this look on her face like her dog just died, or something. “I’m so sorry about that. Emotions have a strong affect on spiritual energy. Yours was too low to be awoken, so I needed you to experience very strong emotions in order to trigger it. I didn’t mean any of those horrible things I said to you. Please forgive me?”
I remembered hearing her say she was sorry (or was she thinking it?) last night. She did seem very upset about it. “I guess so. You won’t have to do anything like that again, will you?” I asked with dread. I didn’t ever want to feel that low again.
Sighing in relief she said, “No. You’re spirit has been awoken now. It will be a lot easier for you to feel it. I think you’re still feeling it now, a little. Which is more than I expected. I won’t ever do anything like that to you again.”
“Cool.” I said. “I could do without feeling like that again. Not that it was all that different from things I’ve felt before, but it was just so…intense, you know? I could have died right then and been happy.” I shivered, remembering how I felt last night.
“Well hopefully,” she began, “you won’t be feeling like that at any intensity when we’re through. This will take some time, though. I want you to be prepared for that. I’m not sure how much time, but months, at least. I’ll be getting an apartment for us to stay until you’re finished with your training. For now, we should concentrate on getting you to the point where you can feel your spirit. You did it last night, but you’ll probably still have to work to do it for a while. Are you ready?”
“Sure.” I answered. I didn’t really know what I was getting into, but it would be worth it, right? To be whole would be worth just about anything.
She gave me the same directions as yesterday. I was a little hesitant at first. Once bitten, and all that. Once I relaxed I found I could almost find my spirit. Like, I could feel it just around the corner, but couldn’t quite pin it down. Ann was holding my hands again, and started speaking. But not in that offhand way like before. “You’re going to be a beautiful woman. You won’t have to hide anymore. You won’t have to pretend anymore. You can just be, without all the filters you’ve had to use. People won’t look at you like you’re crazy when you’re just yourself. They’ll just see a beautiful young girl. Which you are.”
This time I knew what she was doing and kept my focus, but I couldn’t help be affected by her words. In this situation, with someone else, I don’t think I would have bought it. Somehow, coming from her, I did. She’s like that. I was getting this warm glow as she spoke. I hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Suddenly, everything came sharply into focus and I had found it again!
It wasn’t as disorienting this time. I knew I was sensing Ann’s emotions for sure. She hadn’t said anything about it, but if she could read minds, me sensing emotions didn’t seem that strange. And a clear thought came through, too, Good job. I opened my eyes, and she was smiling radiantly at me. She was glowing again, too. Pink, of course.
She had me relax after a while, and I sort of lost the connection. I mean, I could still feel it, but distantly. And all those extra senses faded mostly away. Then she had me make the connection again. And relax. And connect. You get the idea.
By lunchtime I was exhausted. We went out for a quick lunch, then I went to bed. I know, going to bed at lunch time? But I was tired! Seriously! Besides, it gave Ann time to go apartment hunting. I wasn’t real thrilled with having to train for months or years, but what can you do?
It was dark when I woke up. Ann was waiting in the chair again. Doesn’t this gal ever sleep? I guess she had an idea when I’d wake up, ‘cause there was Chinese takeout on the table next to her. Sweet and sour pork, by the smell of it. “Hmmm, smells good!” I mumbled drowsily.
“Well, if you can wake up all the way, you can eat some.” Ann said. It didn’t take me long.
“So how’d the apartment hunting go?” I asked, after polishing off the last of the Chinese.
“I found a good one not far from here. I’m not sure how long this will take, so I decided to get a three bedroom so we’ll have lots of room.” She answered.
“Uh, not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but how can you afford all this?” I asked. She’s homeless too, right? Aren’t homeless people usually like, really poor?
Smiling, she answered, “You are the first person I’ve trained, but not the first person I’ve helped. In my travels I’ve visited a few hospitals. I can’t heal people, normally, but when they’re near death I can stabilize them. One of those people I helped decided I needed some money and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
So she was poor, but not anymore? “But, how long will it last? I mean, it couldn’t have been that much, right?” Even thankful for their life, most people wouldn’t be able to give much.
“Well this particular person,” she answered, “happens to be very rich. So now, I’m somewhat rich, myself. I don’t usually spend a lot of money since I’m traveling all the time, so I haven’t put a dent in it yet. Don’t worry about money, I’m not.”
And here I was just starting to get a good guilt trip up over how much money I’m costing her! Some people just don’t cooperate, you know?
After dinner (and it was dinner time, I slept for hours!), we repeated the training we’d done earlier. It was coming really easily to me now. She didn’t even have to help me at all. Ann said this was because I have a strong spirit, or something. Whatever that means.
I slept like a baby that night. Apparently doing this stuff wears you out like exercise does. Or I’m just still in really bad shape. Or both. Whatever.
It was a good thing she rented our rooms for a week, because the apartment manager needed a few days to get the apartment cleaned up before he could let us move in. Move in? Makes it sound like we actually have something to move! Two bags isn’t exactly what I’d call a move! Ann said we’d go shopping for furniture and stuff once the apartment was ready.
For our second day of training, she said she wanted me to concentrate on feeling the shape of my body. Like inside and out. Sounds kind of gross, huh? Actually, it wasn’t that bad. Once I was ‘connected’ again, it was pretty easy to do. Apparently your spirit is constantly in contact with every part of your body, so all I had to do was sense that connection. Kind of boring, really.
“I know this is rather boring,” Ann said after the fifth repetition, “but it’s very important. You need to be intimately familiar with every part of your body for everything that comes after this. I tried to skip ahead a few times, and nearly killed myself in the process. If you don’t understand how your body works, you can’t change or fix it properly.”
I managed to last until dinner, this time, before crashing.
I woke the next morning to an empty chair. No Ann. Looking around, I noticed a lump under the blankets of the bed in the other room. So she does sleep, after all! I was really starting to wonder.
By the time I got cleaned up and into fresh clothes Ann was stirring. I decided to be helpful and wash our clothes. I hadn’t been able to do that at the park, because I didn’t have anything else to wear. I noticed my old clothes were gone; Ann probably tossed ‘em. I would!
After a quick trip to Jack’s for breakfast, we got back to my training. “We’re going to do the same thing as yesterday,” she began, rolling her eyes at my groan, “but a little different. Last time you just felt everything, all at once. This time I want you to focus on just one area. Let’s start with your bones.”
My bones? “What do you mean?” I asked.
“I want you to focus your attention on your skeletal structure. Just focusing your attention like that may be difficult, because you’ll still be feeling the rest of your body. The point is to filter out everything else.” She answered.
“Okay, I’ll try.” I said. So I ‘connected’ and again became aware of every cell of my body. Then I tried to focus just on my bones. It wasn’t easy.
Sensing my frustration, Ann suggested I concentrate on their texture. Sounds weird, but it worked. By ignoring everything with a different texture, I was able to focus on my bones. But, what’s that? There was something weird there. It didn’t feel right. “Um, Ann, is it supposed to feel like this? Something feels off.”
I could almost feel Ann focusing her attention on me, so she could see what I was saying through my thoughts and feelings. “No, that’s not normal. You have some bruised ribs, I think. And I think there might be a tiny fracture in your skull.” I started to feel really pissed off, but I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized it was Ann that was pissed off. Huh?
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She pulled back, mentally and physically, and it became easier to tell the anger was coming from her, and not me. “It just really upsets me what they did to you. For your injuries to be this bad now, weeks after the fact, they must have nearly beaten you to death!”
Oh, yeah. My parents. You might think my dad would be the one to do all the damage, that’s the stereotype, right? I think my mom did more. Maybe it was the cast iron frying pan? That could explain it. I was starting to feel really down again, remembering that day. And this building pressure, kind of like that first night of training. What’s that about?
“I’m sorry!” Ann exclaimed with tears running down her face. Why was she crying? “I didn’t mean to upset you. You don’t have to worry about your parents anymore. They’ll never hurt you again.” Then she wrapped me up in a fierce hug. Someone this small really shouldn’t be able to hug that fiercely! But she didn’t hurt me, and I did feel better.
I noticed her shoulder was wet when she pulled back, I hadn’t even noticed I’d been crying. Guess it still gets to me, huh? We both finally calmed down after a while, and Ann helped me to narrow things down even more and find the exact areas of my ribs and skull that didn’t feel right before.
“Soon you’ll be able to heal that.” Ann said. “Surprisingly enough, healing yourself is one of the easiest things to do. It’s too bad it doesn’t work so well on other people.” She had this wistful look on her face when she said that. “Healing yourself will also give you a better idea of how your body works, and how what you do affects it. That will help when you’re ready to start making changes.”
“Making changes?” I asked. “You mean like becoming a girl?”
“Yes, but we’ll start with minor changes and work our way up.”
She had me do the same sensing thing with other parts of my body. We found a few other things wrong, along with a lot of bruises. Big surprise, not!
Ann spent the rest of the week getting me ready to heal myself. She didn’t want me to try anything until we’d moved to the apartment, in case I screwed up. She didn’t say it like that, of course. Moving into the apartment was simple enough. We grabbed our bags, checked out of the hotel, walked over to the apartment, and walked in! If only moving were always so easy.
The apartment was nice, and spacious like Ann said. Ann had me lay down on her sleeping bag. Once I was settled she had me start to try healing myself. She was right, it was pretty easy. Basically, I threw energy at my injuries until they stopped feeling ‘off’. Ann said I would learn to be more precise in the future, but this would do for now.
“So, how do you feel now?” Ann asked after an exhausting healing session. I thought a bit, and I did feel a whole lot better. I could breathe way better. No more pain. Not bad!
“I feel a lot better. Except I’m really tired.” I answered, and yawned hugely. Like swallow the whole room big. I’m not even sure if I finished talking before I was out.
I must have been asleep for a long time, because when I woke up there was a small table, some chairs, and other stuff all piled up in the center of the room. Ann was sitting in one of the new chairs talking on her cell phone. She said good-bye and turned to look at me. “Finally awake, I see.” She said.
Glancing around I asked, “What’s all this?”
“Furniture.” She answered. “I went shopping while you slept. What I couldn’t carry will be delivered tomorrow morning. We’ve got pillows, sheets, and blankets enough to make a halfway decent bed for each of us to sleep on tonight. Want to help me set up the table and chairs?” she asked, pointing to boxes of chairs and a table that looked to require some assembly.
It took us a few hours to get everything she bought put together and set up. Ann insisted I use the sleeping bag, in addition to the blanks and pillows, while she made herself a bed with what was left. We now had a kitchen table, four chairs, a desk and desk chair, and enough bedding and towels to last us a while.
“We don’t have a refrigerator or stove yet, so we’ll have to go out to eat again for dinner, and probably breakfast and lunch tomorrow, too. Once the refrigerator arrives we can go grocery shopping. How about we go out and grab some dinner?” Ann asked.
We got some burgers and came back to eat them. After dinner Ann had me do the sensing thing again, both for practice and to see if there were any injuries or illnesses we’d missed. There weren’t. It was really weird to realize I could find and cure my own injuries and illnesses. It was almost too bad there weren’t any more injuries for me to practice on.
It was weird sleeping there that night. I’d be living here for months, maybe years. It was the first time in weeks I could say I had a home.
The next morning we got back into training after breakfast. Ann kept it simple; she wanted me awake for when the deliverymen got there. They didn’t get there until after lunch. I was amazed at how much stuff Ann had bought. We now each had a queen sized bed, dresser, and shelves. We had a refrigerator, stove, oven, and microwave. Dishes, pans, glasses. Everything!
We spent the rest of the day getting everything set up and put away. And shopping for groceries. Ann was really ornery about not buying any pre-packaged stuff. That’s the good stuff! She’s as bad as my mom. Ur…maybe not, on second thought.
Being healthy after weeks of pain is really cool. I almost felt like I could fly, I felt that good. When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to see Ann hadn’t gotten up yet. I felt so good I made us breakfast. Not being much of a cook, all I could do was bacon and eggs. Still, it’s the thought that counts, right?
Ann was pleasantly surprised when I had breakfast waiting for her when she got up. When I told her it was about the only thing I knew how to cook, she promised to teach me.
We alternated between more of the same training between meals, and cooking lessons at mealtimes. It was a great day!
At breakfast the next morning Ann told me I was ready to start learning to make changes to my body. I was just about bouncing off the walls until she reminded me we were doing little stuff first. Spoilsport!
She showed me how she could change her skin color, and had me try to do the same thing. I’d gotten pretty good at focusing on different parts of the body by this point, so it was easy to focus on my skin. Trying to figure out how to change its color was a different story. I wasn’t getting anywhere. My breakthrough happened when I burnt my hand cooking lunch. I went to heal it, and as the red color went away, I was able to see some different things I hadn’t seen before. It still took a few hours, but I was finally able to change its color.
We spent like a week on skin color changes. Boring! After the first time or two, there really wasn’t anything new there. But Ann insisted. Next we focused on hair. This was something I had some interest in. I was seriously hairy. When we met I had quite a beard going, which I hated. I shaved it off the first chance I got, of course, but still!
Once Ann was comfortable with my ability to change the color of my hair (being blond was way weird!), we concentrated on facial hair. This was a little tougher, because all of my hair has more or less the same texture. Focusing on it based on texture and location was tricky. I think it took two days just to get that right!
Funny thing was, once I got the hang of it, it only took an hour to kill all of the hair follicles on my face and neck (except my eyebrows and eyelashes, of course!). The rest of my body hair soon followed. Way cool! I really hated having to shave.
The next thing we did was reshape my eyebrows. That might sound simple, but remember I was doing it from the inside! Killing all the hair follicles would have been easy. But I had to kill only certain ones. The thing that did the trick was when Ann plucked them for me. With those hair follicles empty, it was easy to isolate them. It was still hard, because only like a third of your hair is growing at any one time, but I finally got it.
Next we grew my hair (on my head, of course!). It was already pretty long, but I wanted it longer and Ann thought it would be good practice. Ann thought it was extreme, but I grew it down to my ankles. It wasn’t practical at all, I just wanted to see what it would be like, you know? Naturally I cut it back from that length. I cut a bit everyday until it was at a length I liked, at my waist. Ann still thought it was extreme, but I thought it was great!
My hair was naturally this mousy brown color, but I managed to change it to this shiny, sort of metallic, white. It stood out like crazy, which made me really self-conscious, but it just looked too cool! It was also kind of thin, I thought, so I caused it to grow in more thickly. By the time I was done I could have gone topless and not shown any skin, practically.
From there we changed my skin. I went with a really pale, but healthy looking, white. I know it makes me stand out a lot, but so what? Isn’t it more important to like how you look than to look just like everybody else? I think so. Ann just shook her head and smiled every time I did something like that. I think she kind of disapproved, but she never said anything.
Oh, I also made my skin really soft and smooth, and got rid of my acne and a few scars. That took weeks! But I learned all kinds of things about my skin from that. By then I looked pretty feminine, which I loved. I was still wearing androgynous clothes, but people usually thought I was a girl. Cool or what?!
I still got kind of depressed at times, still being male physically. Ann was always there with a hug and a smile.
We’d been training for weeks, and I could tell Ann was getting restless. One morning she was up, made breakfast, and ate all before I even woke up. She was impatient to get started as soon as I showed my face. I finally asked what was bugging her, and she admitted that she wasn’t used to staying in one place so long. She’d been hiking around the area for over a year by the time she found me.
“It’s not just that I’m used to moving around a lot,” she finally explained, “but that I got to meet lots of new people. I was able to help people sometimes, too. I love helping you, I just feel sometimes like I’m letting everyone else down by staying in one place so long.”
Wow! Hero complex, or what? I didn’t say it, but…mind reader! Of course she heard it. Oh, did I mention? I could hear her thoughts about a third of the time, now. Emotions, too. Her aura kind of flickered in and out of my vision, too. Kind of annoying, really. I usually only got that from her, though. Everyone else was just as much of a blank as they were before, usually.
Anyway, I heard her thinking, I’m not like that! I figured there was no point arguing the point so said, “Would it make you feel better to visit a hospital or two? Maybe save a life or two?”
Ann brightened up at that for a moment, then kind of sagged back. “I couldn’t leave you alone like that! In order to get anything done, I would have to wander around the hospital for hours. I can do it without anyone noticing me, but you can’t.”
Really?! I wonder what that means? Can she make herself invisible? “I can practice what we’ve already done while you’re gone, it’s no big deal. I’ll even promise not to try anything new, if you want.” Ouch, that promise hurt. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at changing my bone structure next, but Ann said I wasn’t ready.
Ann caught that, of course. “Well, if it means that much to you that you’ll promise that, I guess I could take a day off from teaching you to visit a hospital. Are you sure you’re okay with that, though?” she asked.
“Sure.” I said, “One day isn’t a big deal.”
So Ann spent that day at the nearest hospital, and managed to save the lives of three people. She seemed much happier after that. From then on she would take a day off every week to visit one of the local hospitals. I’m still not sure why it means so much to her, but it does. I mean, I can appreciate wanting to help people, but it’s such a compulsion for her! Weird, right?
Anyway, we soon moved on to bones, then muscles and fat distribution. It was really cool to think that I could pig out all I want and the fat would go wherever I wanted, including not being absorbed at all! Some people would kill for a diet like that.
Somewhere along the line I changed my eyes to silver. I know, weird, right? But I like it. Ann was worried I would stand out too much, but compared to all the piercings and stuff people my age were doing, it didn’t stand out that much.
Anyway, we finally got to the point of changing the parts I wanted changing the most. Breasts and reproductive organs! I could shove fat to my breasts (and did), but that didn’t make real breasts, just gave me convincing curves. Real breasts have ducts and things that would be difficult to make from scratch. I could, but why do it when I can let my body do it for me?
Ann was really worried about me changing my reproductive organs. She knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I did, she just worried that I’d hurt myself. But she had done it before, so she was able to guide me through it with the help of lots of medical texts. It’s a lot easier when you know what’s supposed to be there and how it works!
It took me three weeks to get it right. I’m glad Ann was so paranoid about it; I did nearly kill myself at one point (on accident, of course!). Finally, it was done. All that was left now was to grow breasts. Everything else was female, right down to DNA (Don’t ask me how we managed that, I still don’t really understand it). Once I had all that estrogen flooding through my system, it was child’s play to finish my breasts. I had to actually reduce them in size because of all the fat I had moved there to help me pass as a girl.
Not that passing as a girl was hard. My hair and skin pretty well took care of that. Anyway, by the time we were done 6 months had passed, I was 3 inches shorter, and I was all girl. I still towered over Ann, though!
The next day after I completed my transformation, I heard the words I had been waiting for, “Are you ready to buy a new wardrobe?” Hmm, I wonder, am I? Duh!
I’m glad that Ann is rich, or that trip would have broken her bank account for sure. I admit it, I went a little crazy. Ann didn’t seem to mind, though!
After that we began advanced training, as Ann liked to call it. She taught me all kinds of cool tricks! She showed me a little of what she’s capable of, and it’s scary! If she wasn’t such a good person, I’d be worried. As it was, I was just as glad that I’m not as powerful. Oh, I could be pretty scary too, just not as much as Ann.
It’s now been a little over a year since I met Ann. She spends most of her time traveling again, like she did before she found me. But we keep in touch. She pays all my expenses, because we haven’t figured out how to get me a new identity yet (although I go by Melanie now). I don’t look anything like I used to, thankfully.
Hmm, what did you say? Oh, you’re wondering why I’m telling you all of this? Didn’t I mention that I can read minds? I can tell that you’re like me. I know you’re a lot older, and you have a job and stuff that will complicate things, but I think you need my help just as much as I needed Ann’s.
She’s only ever asked one thing of me, in return for all of the help she’s given me, and is still giving me. Just before she left this last time she said, “There are other people in bad situations like you were in, Melanie. The best way you can thank me for helping you, is to pass on what you have learned. Will you do that Melanie?” I, of course, said yes. So, will you let me help you, Gerald?
I was in line at the coffee shop when I saw her. Everyone else in the store was staying as far from her as they could, as if she were a leper. The poor woman must have just started her transition, because she couldn’t pass in a dark room. Her gaze was glued to the coffee held between her hands on the table. If she noticed the way everyone was avoiding her, she didn’t show it. I caught a brief flash of darkness around her, as if she were suddenly drenched in shadow which was as suddenly dispersed.
I immediately pulled my cell phone from my purse and hit the speed dial. “Hello?” I heard after it rang a couple times.
“Melanie, I think I’ve found you another student. Do you think you or Ann could get down here soon? I’ll try to talk to her, but I can’t tell for sure if she’s a good candidate. You know how much trouble I have with that.” I said. It was awkward discussing aura sight in public without everyone thinking I was crazy.
“You just need more confidence.” I heard from Melanie for the umpteenth time. It’s strange getting lectured by someone half your age, but I’ve gotten used to it. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the coffee shop.” I answered.
“Okay,” she said, “I’ll be there in half an hour, I think. I’ll call Ann on the way. Just keep her occupied and try not to freak her out until we get there. We’ll get a different table and keep an eye on you in case you need us.”
“Thanks! I hope you can help her, she looks rather miserable.” I said. The person in front of me in line was ordering their drink now. “I’m just about up to the counter, I’d better go.”
“Okay. And don’t worry, you’ll be able to help her just fine!” she said, and hung up. Wait, did she say I would be able to help her? I thought.
I put my phone away and walked up to the counter. After getting my drink I wandered over to her table. “Excuse me, miss. May I sit here?” I asked.
She didn’t react at first, so I repeated myself. She look around furtively without lifting her head, trying to see if there was someone else there I could be talking to. Seeing no one, she slowly shrugged her shoulders and went back to contemplating her drink.
I sat down and glanced over at her. I needed a way to break the ice. The truth usually works best, I think. “You may think this strange, but I admire you.” I said.
This was obviously not what she expected, as she looked at me as if I was very strange, indeed. “Why?” she whispered.
I almost didn’t hear her, it was so soft. “Because I never had the courage to do what you’re doing.” I answered.
She took a better look at me as comprehension dawned. And made the wrong assumption. “You want to be a man?” she asked.
I smiled, as it was not an unfamiliar reaction. Whenever my being transgendered came up in conversation people always made that assumption. To be fair, in their place I probably would have, too. “No,” I answered, “I’ve already been there and there’s no way I’m going back.”
This obviously shocked her as she took another look at me. My corset top and short, tight skirt showed off my feminine ’assets’ well. “No way!” she breathed. “You must have been the most feminine man ever to look that good now!”
“Actually I wasn’t.” I answered. “That’s part of why I never got the courage, I knew I couldn’t pass without major surgery. Even then, I would have been rather homely, I think. I was cursed with very masculine features.”
Her disbelief was quite evident. I could hardly blame her. I still find it hard to believe, sometimes. “This is some sort of joke, isn’t it?” she asked, her voice rising. I could see why she had been whispering now, as her voice rose in volume, it became distinctly masculine.
“No!” I hastened to assure her. “I wouldn’t do that. If you’ll listen I’ll explain it. It’s a long story, and you probably won’t believe it, but will you listen?” I asked.
She had obviously already gotten a bit worked up, and I was afraid she’d storm out. Instead, her shoulders drooped and she dropped back in her chair with a deep sigh. “Why not?” she said. “I’ve got nothing better to do. I lost my job, my parents kicked me out, and my friends won’t speak to me. I might as well listen to your fairy tale.”
That was as positive a reaction as I could reasonably expect, so I was quite relieved. At the same time I was horrified, as it was clear that moment of darkness I saw was her despair over her situation. I had probably found her just in the nick of time!
I took a long drink while I ordered my thoughts, and then began.
“As I said, I was born male. I was aware that I should have been female from an early age, 3 or 4 I think. I knew it was strange and different and was sure that nobody would ever accept it, or me, if they knew. I tried very hard to fit in every way I could. Frankly, I wasn’t very good at it. Trying to act like a boy seemed to be more damaging than not, as I really had no idea how to do that. I could copy the reactions of boys to certain things, but I rarely got them right because I didn’t understand the reasons behind them.
I knew acting in any way feminine would be a very bad thing, though I didn’t really understand why, just that it was. So I avoided anything overtly feminine. This worked okay for the first ten years or so, but it wasn’t enough to really fit in. In the end, I settled for being as invisible as I could manage. It wasn’t perfect, but I managed to avoid too much negative attention, which seemed the only kind I received.
After high school I continued to try to blend in as best I could, even going so far as to go to law school as my parents wanted, even though I had no interest in it. To my surprise I actually enjoyed it. I don’t think it was my calling in life, but it wasn’t bad. After graduation I went to work at a small law firm and played the good little drone. I never rocked the boat and always assisted other lawyers on their cases, rather than taking a lead position myself. I avoided the court room like the plague, because there I couldn’t blend in. I would be in the spotlight there and unable to hide.
Although I enjoyed some aspects of my work, I hated the office politics and the cutthroat strategies my coworkers often employed. I became disillusioned with the law, and my employer in particular. I began to wonder what the point was. I was not happy with my job or my life, and I could not imagine ever being so, trapped in my male body. It became more and more difficult just to get out of bed in the morning.
My depression began to affect my work. Only three weeks after my thirtieth birthday I was fired. If I cleaned up my act, I probably could have gotten another job, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I took to drinking the pain away. I was never a big fan of alcohol, but then I was never a big fan of pain, either.
Without a job, my funds ran out quickly. It never occurred to me to ask my parents or siblings for help. I wasn’t certain I deserved any. Before long I was evicted and left with nothing but the shirt on my back. I wandered the city for hours, not really caring where I was or where I was going. I was in a sort of trance, not really aware of my surroundings.
I finally came out of my mental fog and found myself at the building where I used to work. It’s a large building with many offices and over a dozen floors. It wasn’t a decision, so much as an inevitability that brought me to the roof. All my life, it seemed, had been leading to this moment. I was never really alive, just pretending to be. Now I could stop pretending. Or so I thought.
“Stop!” I heard a female voice yell at me. I had my hand on the railing at the edge of the roof and jerked it back as if I’d been burned. I looked around wildly and there, just leaving the stairwell, was a beautiful young girl with silvery white hair that shone in the waning sunlight. Her silver eyes were locked on me and her face was set determinedly. “I know you feel all miserable and everything,” she continued, “but that just means your life can get that much better, you know?”
I felt a sudden surge of jealously. This beautiful girl was everything I ever wanted to be, but couldn’t. This was followed quickly by anger. What could she possibly know about how miserable my life was? “Leave me alone!” I replied.
“Not likely!” she snorted. “Ann would kill me if she knew I found someone in this state and didn’t try to help.” She stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Okay, she’d just be all disappointed and let down, but still. She wouldn’t like it. And I owe her waaay too much to be letting her down now. So you, buddy, are going to live. No arguments!” She admonished, pointing her finger at me.
“Who are you, who is Ann, and why do I even care?!” I finished angrily, as I turned back to the railing and started to climb over. There was a flash of white and silver, and she was standing on the other side of the railing right in front of me!
“Ah ah ah!” she admonished, shaking her finger in my face. “None of that now! Be a good boy and get down off that railing.” Then she crossed her arms and started tapping her foot impatiently.
I was astonished. How could she have gotten there so quickly? I was so shocked I did as she asked without thinking. In a flash she was over the railing and in my face. “Yeah, I know, how did I do that, why am I here, yadda yadda yadda! Questions later! Now get your ass down those stairs, and don’t even think about trying to get away from me!” she said, as she started pushing me towards the stairs.
In a daze I turned and started down the stairs. Every time I started to try to ask a question or go a different way, she would start pushing impatiently at my back until I continued down. I couldn’t figure out what was with this girl! Why was she so insistent, and why was I meekly allowing her to guide me out of the building?
Next thing I know we’re in front of an apartment complex and she’s pushing me up the stairs. She finally stops pushing me and starts to fumble in her purse for her keys. I took the opportunity to get away from this crazy girl, but she just latched onto my arm with her free hand. I tried to pull away, but her grip was like iron and I couldn’t budge it. I tried pulling with my entire body, but other than bracing herself with a wider stance, she didn’t seem to take any notice! That shouldn’t have been possible, as I was several inches taller than her, and quite a bit heavier, as well.
She finally found her key and opened the door. Then she started walking inside, never once letting go of my arm. I found myself following her to prevent her from pulling my arm out of its socket! She closed the door and then dragged me over to the couch and practically threw me onto it. I sat rubbing my sore arm and glaring at her.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re mad, I get it! I’m sorry if I hurt your arm, but really! I was just trying to keep you from killing yourself! Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t we introduce ourselves? My name is Melanie, what’s yours?” she asked sweetly.
“Gerald?” I answered hesitantly. Was I imagining things, or did I just get abducted by a teenage girl?
“Nice to meet you Gerald!” she replied happily. “And yes, you did just get kidnapped by a teenage girl! Cool, huh? How I moved almost faster than you could see, and nearly broke your arm holding you in place with one hand? I just love being able to do this stuff!”
She was certainly a teenaged girl, alright. Where do kids get all that energy from, anyway? “What do you want?” I asked fearfully.
She seemed to calm down very quickly at that, “Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you. Just didn’t want you offing yourself like that. I just want to tell you my story so maybe yours will end a little differently! Hey, this is like a superhero origin story in the comics! Cool!”
I was thoroughly confused at that point. “What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Okay, here goes…” she started, and proceeded to tell me a crazy tale about being a homeless transsexual who was nearly beaten to death by her parents when she came out to them. Then she meets this woman named Ann, who somehow teachers her how to transform her body to become fully female. And she learns some tricks along the way, like moving very fast and greatly increasing her strength. If I hadn’t experienced her speed and strength myself, I would have thought she was insane. As it was, I was undecided.
“Why are you telling me this insane story?” I asked incredulously.
“Hmm, what did you say?” she asked as she came out of the trance she’d been in while telling her story. “Oh, you’re wondering why I’m telling you all of this? Didn’t I mention that I can read minds? I can tell that you’re like me. I know you’re a lot older, and you have a job and stuff that will complicate things, but I think you need my help just as much as I needed Ann’s.”
“She’s only ever asked one thing of me,” she continued, “in return for all of the help she’s given me, and is still giving me. Just before she left this last time she said, “There are other people in bad situations like you were in, Melanie. The best way you can thank me for helping you, is to pass on what you have learned. Will you do that Melanie?” I, of course, said yes. So, will you let me help you, Gerald?” she asked.
“You can’t really expect me to believe all of that, can you?” I asked. Only then did I realize that she had implied that I am transsexual. How could she know that? Could she really read minds?
“Sure!” she smiled, “Why not? Seriously, though, I have done some fairly amazing things already. How about this?” she asked, as her skin slowly changed from chalk white to obsidian. “Is that convincing enough?”
That was one of the strangest things I had ever seen. Just as I thought that, her skin changed back to white. “Yes, I’m convinced. Convinced that I have finally lost my mind.” I answered.
Giggling, she said, “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I thought when I first met Ann. But I took a chance, and look at me now!” She twirled around, letting her skirt flare out around her. She is a beautiful girl.
I thought about all she had shown and told me. It still seemed crazy, but either I was insane, or it was real. I realized that I didn’t really have anything to lose. I was just about to kill myself, after all. If she was crazy, I could always go back to that roof. If not, there might not be any reason to jump anymore. I realized it really wasn’t much of a choice, much like when I went up to the roof.
“Okay, I’ll suspend my disbelief. Now what?” I asked.
“Cool!” she exclaimed, “I knew you’d come around. Now I get to play teacher. The first thing Ann did was ‘awaken’ my spirit, as she called it. This could get a little rough.” she said, as she sat next to me on the couch. She turned to me and held her hands out, palms up. “Take my hands and close your eyes.”
I turned towards her and held her hands. I closed my eyes and asked, “Now what?”
“Now you have to find your core. The part of you that you have hidden from everybody all your life. Focus on that, even if you don’t find it right away. Keep your eyes closed and focus on that place no matter what happens.”
I didn’t like the sound of that ‘no matter what happens’, but I did as she said.
“So,” she began with an audible sneer, “you want to die, huh? Going to just give up? What a loser! So you’re a girly sissy, so what? You’ve got an education, had a good job, and you just throw it all away? But I guess that’s what I should expect from a freak like you!” she screamed.
I remembered what she said about how Ann got her started, so I wasn’t too shocked when she started in on me. Although she managed to manufacture scorn and disdain exceptionally well. When she screamed freak at me I jumped and tried to pull away, but her grip was as strong as before. Old fears came back, of someone finding out about me, and what they might do. She was so strong, there wouldn’t be anything I could do if she attacked me.
Melanie’s words echoed around in my skull. Loser, sissy, freak. Over and over. I imagined her delicate hands crushing my windpipe. At that moment I knew she was going to kill me, and I didn’t care. She was right! I had everything going for me. My family never tried to kill me. I was never thrown out by my parents. I had a well paying job. I threw it all away. I didn’t deserve to live. I would be doing the world a favor to die. I relaxed and waited for her to put me out of my misery.
“Focus!” she suddenly screamed, her former scorn completely absent. “Look inside yourself! Focus!”
I was confused. Why wasn’t she putting me out of my misery? But she said to focus. I tried to, but it was difficult. I thought, for a moment, that I glimpsed something. Something inside me. But then it was gone. Or perhaps it was never there. I couldn’t tell.
I felt Melanie’s grip on my hands relax just before she released them entirely and leaned across and clutched me tightly to her. “I’m so sorry!” she wailed, “I just said those things to wake your spirit! You’re not a freak! Please forgive me!”
I was too shocked to react at first. Then I trembled in fear for a few minutes, before I finally started to calm down. Her words finally penetrated, and I realized I was in no danger from her. In fact, I realized she was crying on my shoulder from the moisture I was feeling there. “What just happened?” I asked hesitantly.
It took Melanie a few moments to compose herself enough to answer. Finally, she pulled back far enough to look me in the eye and answered, “I tried to wake up your spirit, but I failed. I’m not sure why. Maybe I did something wrong?” she wondered out loud. Then she muttered under her breath, “Or your spirit isn’t strong enough.”
My spirit isn’t strong enough. Would that mean that she couldn’t help me, after all? I think she heard those thoughts, as her breath caught for a moment before she said, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I’m sure I just screwed up! I’ll call Ann. She can help you. She has way more experience than I do.” She fit action to words as she walked over to where she had left her purse and pulled out her cell phone.
As she was dialing, I thought about what she had said. She seemed to be trying to convince herself, as well as me. Ann had told her that a weak spirited person would not be able to learn. Could I be one of those people? Unable to be helped even by these super-human people?
Melanie began talking into her phone, but I wasn’t paying attention any more. I became convinced that she couldn’t help me. And even if she could, I would have to go through another ordeal like I just had. Would it be worth it? I didn’t think I could take that again. As I considered this, I wandered out of Melanie’s apartment.
Once again I found myself in front of the office building I used to work at. It was getting late and the building was largely deserted. Enough people worked late hours that the doors were still open, though. I wandered in and up the stairs slowly. There was no hurry.
I strolled almost leisurely across the roof after climbing the stairs and stopped at the railing. My life just seemed to keep getting worse. The longer I stretched things out, the worse it would be. Better to end it now and get it over with. I slowly climbed over the railing and looked down over the edge of the building. It was a dizzying view. I thought I saw a silvery white blur go into the building, but I dismissed it as my imagination.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. No more pain, no more fear. This was the right…no, the only choice. I stepped forward and jumped. I didn’t bother trying to control my fall. I felt the air whistling by me as I fell. My eyes were open, but I saw nothing but a blur.
I felt a pain in my arm and everything spun around dizzyingly. A sharp pain in my head, and then blackness.
I began to awaken, confused. Where was I? Why did my head hurt? Then I remembered. Shouldn’t I be dead? If I’m dead I shouldn’t be feeling pain. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. Groaning, I looked around to see myself back on Melanie’s couch. Melanie was sitting on a chair nearby, talking to a shorter woman.
“…didn’t it work? I did everything just like you did for me. He was certainly emotional enough. What did I do wrong, Ann?” Melanie was asking.
The other woman, Ann I guess, answered, “His spirit isn’t as strong as yours. But judging by his energy levels, I think it could still work with a little help. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to help many people if their spirit wasn’t strong like yours. I think…” she trailed off, as she turned to look at me. “I think our guest is awake.” she finished.
Groaning again, I tried to sit up, but Ann was there in an instant, pushing me back down. “Don’t try to move. You got a nasty bump on your head. I’m Ann. Melanie called me just before you left. How are you feeling?” she asked.
“How did I get here?” I asked, “I should be dead on the sidewalk.”
Ann laid her hand on mine as she said, “Melanie saved you. She realized you’d left as soon as she finished talking to me, and ran after you. She got to the roof just as you were jumping and jumped after you. She caught you in mid-fall and twisted you around so that she took the full impact instead of you. Your head bounced against hers when you landed, and that’s why you were knocked out.” she explained softly.
I glanced over at Melanie. She looked scared and furious at the same time. “Why did you stop me?” I asked. “I’m weak and useless. You should have let me die.” I continued, oblivious to the tears running down my face.
Melanie’s strained expression melted to one of concern as she knelt down next to me and laid her hand on my chest. “You’re not weak or useless.” she whispered with tears streaking down her face, “It was my fault you felt that way. I couldn’t let you kill yourself. I’m sorry I screwed up your training. I think Ann can still help you though?” she said hopefully, glancing at Ann.
Ann was looking at Melanie when she said this and sighed, turning to me, “I can’t guarantee anything, but I do have an idea. However,” she admonished, “you need your rest. You have had an extremely stressful day and a blow to the head. I want you to sleep. In the morning, if you’re feeling better, we can see about trying my idea.”
Hope and despair swirled around in my mind, but exhaustion won out over both, and I was soon asleep.
I awoke to sunlight streaming through the window. My head was feeling a lot better, though still sore. I got up off the couch and winced. My body was sore all over. I wandered around the apartment until I found a bathroom. After stepping inside I started to close the door, only to have it jerk to a stop. I tried to pull it shut the rest of the way, but it wouldn’t budge. “Sorry,” I heard Melanie say from the other side of the door. “We’re not letting you out of our sight until we’re sure you’re not suicidal anymore.”
She glanced around the door at me and shrugged apologetically, then turned her head to give me some semblance of privacy. Sighing, I completed my business and left the bathroom. Melanie guided me to the kitchen, where Ann was cooking breakfast. After pancakes and bacon, we all returned to the living room and sat on the couch with Melanie and Ann on either side of me.
“As I was telling Melanie last night,” Ann began, “I have an idea that might help you. I can’t affect your body directly, because your spirit blocks me. I’ve tried to align my spirit with that of another so that I could, but that didn’t work. However, I think I could align my spirit enough to feed you energy. From what Melanie told me, you came pretty close to awakening, so it shouldn’t take much of a boost from me to work. The hard part is the emotional boost that is required. That’s why Melanie said the things she did. Strong emotions raise the level of your spiritual energy much more than what I think I could feed to you. So we’ll have to do both.” she finished apologetically.
I winced at that. But I would know what they were doing this time, wouldn’t that make it easier? Then again, “Wouldn’t my knowledge of what you’re doing blunt it too much to be useful?” I asked.
Ann smiled sadly, “Normally, it might. But in the state you’re in, it won’t take that much. I think this can work, but I can’t guarantee anything. If you don’t want to try, I’ll understand.”
Melanie snorted, “You might, but I wouldn’t! What’s he got to lose? Makes more sense to go for it, if you ask me.”
I thought about what they had said. Ann was trying not to push me, but although crude, Melanie was correct. There was nothing to lose. The only question was whether there was something to gain. “Alright,” I sighed, “I’ll give it another try.”
“There’s one more thing,” Ann began, “I want Melanie to do this.”
Melanie gaped at Ann in shock, “What?! You haven’t even done this yet, and you want me to?”
“I’ll start it off,” Ann answered, “but I want you to watch what I’m doing and finish it. If this works, it will be an important skill for you to learn. So we’ll do this together, so we can both learn this. I hope you don’t mind being our guinea pig Gerald?”
I shrugged, “It doesn’t matter to me.” I answered. Either it worked or it didn’t, the means were unimportant.
With that decided, they had me relax back into the couch and they each took one of my hands in theirs. They told me to close my eyes and focus as before. Once we were all ready, they began speaking:
“One little set back and you just give up, huh?” Melanie asked with scorn. It wasn’t quite as convincing as last time, but I admit it didn’t need to be. I was feeling so low that I just accepted it as true.
“Oh, don’t be so hard on him.” Ann said offhandedly, “He doesn’t know any better. He’s a coward. Cowards always run when things get tough. It’s in his nature.”
“That’s no excuse!” Melanie yelled back. “Only losers give up without a fight!”
“Well, I did say he was a coward. What else would you call a coward?” Ann answered carelessly.
They continued in that vein for a few minutes. Melanie’s tone was getting to me, but it was how Ann spoke that seemed to affect me the most. Like I was some bug that she was above even noticing. A minor encumbrance of no significance. I managed, with difficulty, to retain my focus, but I could feel myself falling into a very dark place. There were no thoughts this time, only self-loathing and despair.
As I fell farther within, I felt a building pressure which, for lack of a better description, had a flavor of Ann to it. This was followed shortly by another wave of pressure that smelled/tasted/felt like Melanie. It was strange and confusing and I almost lost my concentration. Somehow I persevered.
I was just about ready to give up when I suddenly felt a barrage of odd feelings bombarding me. They were similar to feelings I had experienced before, but with a strange…texture?…to them. Hope, fear, guilt, and others. Words flitted through my mind that made no sense to me. They weren’t my thoughts, or were they? Nothing made sense anymore.
Through the fog I felt Ann and Melanie holding me from each side. “You did it!” Melanie squealed joyfully.
“Try opening your eyes now.” Ann suggested.
Hesitantly, I opened them. Despite the strangeness within, the world without was unchanged. Except…as I glanced at them I noticed that Ann and Melanie were glowing! And there was color, too, along with more strange feelings that I couldn’t identify. Melanie was surrounded by a brilliant yellow light. Ann was surrounded by a luminous array of pink. Had I gone crazy?
“So,” Melanie began excitedly, “what colors do you see? I see Ann as pink, and she sees me as a fiery orange/yellow color.”
“What you’re seeing,” Ann began, looking at Melanie reproachfully, “is our auras. They are the…public face…I guess, of each spirit. With experience they will tell you something about people.”
The strange feelings were starting to calm down a bit, and the glow was fading a little, as well. It helped me think more clearly. “This is very strange.” I said. “I also see Ann as pink, although it seems to be every shade of pink all mixed together, if that makes any sense. Melanie is a bright yellow. What does that mean?” I asked.
Melanie frowned in thought, “I only see one shade of pink in Ann’s aura. Why would we see different things? Shouldn’t we perceive auras the same colors?” she asked.
“I think I know why.” Ann answered. “I’ve noticed you see things a little differently than me, Melanie. I think what you see when you look at another person’s aura is different for each person. Your personality and spirit filter what you see. Basically, the aura reflects not only the most dominant trait of that person, but also a little of how you perceive them. I suspect it could change over time.”
The sensations faded yet more, and their auras flickered in my sight and disappeared. “I can’t see them anymore! Why’s that?” I asked.
Melanie looked worried, but Ann seemed unfazed as she replied, “I expected that. You are exhausted from your awakening, as Melanie was, but you have also used up the energy we gave you. I wouldn’t worry about it. After some rest you should be able to see auras again, with a little help.”
Help? “Do you mean we have to do this every time?!” I asked incredulously.
“Oh, no!” Ann hastened to assure me. “We may have to feed you energy, but not the other. We shouldn’t ever have to do that again. After her initial awakening, Melanie was able to re-connect with just a little positive reinforcement. We’ll have to help you a little extra with our energy, but otherwise it shouldn’t be too difficult for you. Over time Melanie’s energy levels rose to the point where it was effortless for her. You may take a little longer to get there, but I’m sure you will.”
At this point all of the odd sensations were gone and things had returned to normal. Except that I was utterly exhausted. I tried to reply, but all that came out was an enormous yawn. I was so tired I passed right out on the couch.
Once more I awoke on Melanie’s couch. This time it was dark outside. I noticed that there were no lights on inside and realized they must have gone to bed. I thought about getting up, but I was still very tired. I quite fighting it and went back to sleep, hopeful for the first time in a long time.
When I awoke again, Melanie was just placing a tray with a plate of bacon and eggs on it beside the couch. Ann was sitting in a chair eating her own breakfast. “Good morning!” Melanie said. “Have some breakfast, if you’re anything like me, you must be starving by now.”
I was, so I did. While I ate Melanie went to the kitchen and returned with her own plate. After breakfast I asked if I could take a shower, and they agreed and even let me close the door this time. When I got out, I found my clothes were gone, but a large robe was waiting for me. I put it on and went out to the living room, where Melanie and Ann were waiting patiently. “Where are my clothes?” I asked.
Ann smiled, “Don’t worry, I haven’t thrown them out. I just put them in to wash. Once they’re clean and dry you can get dressed.”
Melanie giggled, “Yeah, not like with me! She did throw my clothes out! But they were pretty messed up, you know?” I remembered that Melanie had said she was living in a small cave for weeks before meeting Ann, and could imagine the state her clothes must have been in.
“Only after I bought you some new ones.” Ann reminded her. “So, Gerald, would you like to continue your training now, or are you still tired?” she asked.
I was a little hesitant, still remembering how horrible I felt the last two times, but remembered that Ann had said they wouldn’t have to do that again. “I guess so.” I answered uncertainly.
So we all got back on the couch with me in the middle again. I laid back and closed my eyes, and they held my hands. I once more focused on that place I’d found yesterday, but couldn’t find it. I was getting a little frustrated when Melanie said, “It’s okay if it’s not easy. You’ve had a really tough time. But it will get better now. Me and Ann will make sure of it!” she finished in an upbeat tone.
“Yes we will.” Ann said compassionately. “And you’ll succeed. Before you know it, you’ll be looking and feeling as good as Melanie there.” I felt Ann hug me, and Melanie follow suit from the other side. I felt very warm inside. I hadn’t experienced this kind of care and acceptance in a long time, and never from someone who knew about me. I felt like a cloud had lifted.
I tried harder to find that place I’d found before, but it still eluded me. I could feel it inside me, but I couldn’t find it. Then I felt that pressure building up inside me again, with a definite flavor of Ann and Melanie mixed in. With that help, it suddenly became obvious where it was, and I was there. Once again I felt thoughts and feelings flitting around and through me that didn’t seem to belong to me.
“Go ahead and open your eyes.” Ann said.
I did, and she was glowing again. I turned my head to look at Melanie, and she was, too. “You’re glowing again.” I said in awe. It truly was amazing, and without the despair of the previous day, I could better appreciate it.
“It is kind of neat, isn’t it?” Melanie giggled. “And you got there a lot easier this time. I didn’t give you as much energy as yesterday. How about you Ann?” Melanie asked, looking across to her.
“I also didn’t give as much energy this time.” Ann agreed. “In time, we won’t have to give any at all. Now, why don’t you relax, Gerald, and let it go?”
Puzzled, I did. The feelings and auras flickered and then faded away. Then, she had me do it again. And again. And again! I’m not sure how long we were at it, but it seemed like several hours. Finally Ann called a halt to it.
“That’s enough for now.” Ann said. “Gerald’s about out of energy, and I think we’re getting a little drained, as well. Why don’t we have lunch?”
Melanie groaned, “I don’t think I’ve got the energy to get up.” she said. I grunted my agreement.
“Okay.” Ann answered. “Why don’t you two get some rest, and I’ll go get some lunch for us.” With that she grabbed her purse and left.
Melanie flopped onto the floor and stretched out. “I didn’t think it would tire me out this much! Good thing Ann was here to help.”
I decided to follow her example, and stretched out on the couch. The next thing I knew, Ann was shaking me awake.
“I know you’re tired,” she said, “but you need to eat. Sit up and eat this.” she said, and handed me a plate of Chinese food. Then she knelt down next to Melanie and shook her awake, as well.
I was rather hungry, and devoured the food like a starving man. Melanie was pretty enthusiastic, too. I think she passed out again afterwards, but I’m not sure because I did, too.
We woke up in time for dinner. Afterwards we trained some more. We didn’t go as long this time, so as not to exhaust ourselves quite so much. Still, I didn’t seem to need nearly as much help as before by the time we were done. This time I was led back to a guestroom, so I could sleep on a bed instead of the couch.
For the next three weeks we continued like that. Apparently that’s a lot longer than it took Melanie, but I had to get to the point where I didn’t need help to connect. Then we moved on to sensing the body. Now that I didn’t need to be fed energy or even encouraged to get my energy levels up, this was easy. Focusing on different parts of the body was a bit more difficult, however.
Things progressed rather well from there. Slowly my confidence increased, and I began to feel a lot better about myself. Healing was actually a little more difficult for me than for Melanie, not because of my lower power level, but because I had no injuries to heal! Melanie decided to change the order of my training to give me some help.
“Ann,” she began one day after another frustrating session, “maybe we should try something else? I mean, without injuries to heal, how is he going to learn? What if you took him on one of your healing trips, and he could observe?” she asked hopefully.
“But he would be seen.” Ann answered.
“I know,” Melanie said, “but not if he were invisible.”
Ann frowned, “Don’t you think it’s a bit early to try and teach him that? Invisibility is not an easy skill to learn.”
I looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out what they were talking about. “Invisibility? What are you saying? Can you really make yourself invisible?” I asked.
Melanie smiled, “Sure! I forgot we hadn’t told you that. That’s why she wouldn’t let me come with her on her trips at first, because she does her healer bit while invisible! It took me forever to get that right, but I can do it too!” And just like that, she disappeared! I looked around, thinking maybe she had just moved too fast to see, but she was nowhere in sight.
“I don’t know…” Ann said. “It would take a lot of time. It would mean it would take that much longer before you get to the point where you can transform yourself.” Ann said to me.
Melanie reappeared, exactly where she had disappeared. Perhaps she hadn’t moved at all? “Like he’s going to get there anytime soon at the rate we’re going? I learned lots about how the body works when I healed my own injuries. He needs that! If he can’t heal his own, he can watch you heal someone else’s.”
“But how would watching her help me?” I asked.
“Not with your eyes, silly!” Melanie answered, “With your mind. If you stay really close to Ann, and focus your mind on her thoughts and feelings, you’ll be able to experience what she’s doing just like if you were doing it yourself.”
Ann seemed deep in thought, and finally said, “Okay, this could work. I don’t like skipping ahead, but there shouldn’t be any harm in this, since it doesn’t affect the body. How about you, Gerald? Are you up for it?”
I just wanted to keep moving forward, so I answered, “Okay. How does this work?”
“It’s a little different from what you’ve done so far. You have to force some of your energy outside your body. You use it to form a second skin around you and your clothes. You then use it to affect how light reflects off of you. Changing your appearance is fairly easy that way, though you have to concentrate on it to keep it going. Invisibility is a little different, though. You have to bend light around you, so that it doesn’t actually touch you at all.”
And so began another round of training. It was very difficult, and I often became frustrated. I finally started to make some progress at the end of the first week. It took another couple of weeks before I could managed true invisibility. That’s when we hit a snag.
“I can’t see!” I yelled in panic when I had finally managed to become invisible. There was no light at all, as if I were blind.
“Calm down.” Ann said, “It’s alright. Because you are bending all light around you, none of it is touching you. With no light reaching your eyes, you can’t see. I’m blind when I’m invisible, too. What you’ll have to do is use the auras of those around you, in combination with information you can gain from their thoughts, to see.”
“Uh, that could be a problem, teach.” Melanie said. “Gerald can’t see auras reliably yet, and has even more trouble with sensing the thoughts and feelings of others. I don’t know if he could navigate that way, yet.”
“Oh, yes.” Ann mused. “That would be a problem. But those senses can’t be taught, they develop as you learn how to use your spirit.” She paused for a few moments in thought. “I guess we’ll all have to go.” she finally said.
“Huh?” Melanie asked.
“If we all go, then I can do the healing, and you can guide Gerald. I think that’s the only way this is going to work.” Ann answered.
“Oh, okay.” Melanie said. “But I think Gerald needs some more training, first.” Melanie pointed at me as she said this. I had become visible again, which was kind of a relief because it meant I could see.
So we continued training. Another three weeks later, they judged me able to maintain invisibility long enough to proceed. I would have been ready sooner, but I needed to be able to mesh with Ann at the same time, and that took some work.
We waited until the next day to go, so I would be well rested. We stayed visible until after entering the hospital, then found an empty corner and became invisible. It was very strange feeling Melanie’s hand on my arm guiding me, but seeing nothing. I occasionally saw hers or Ann’s aura, but otherwise nothing. We seemed to wander about for hours, but it was probably only a few minutes.
Ann must have found someone who needed her help, because Melanie pushed me forwards and guided my hand onto Ann’s where it presumably rested on someone who was dying. I meshed my mind with hers as best I could, and watched as she healed them. It was very strange, as Ann could see all that was wrong with this woman, but could only do so much. Once the woman was healed enough to be stable, her own spirit reasserted itself and forced Ann out.
We didn’t speak, since our invisibility doesn’t affect sound, and moved on. Ann found one other person who was far enough along that she could help them. This one was a man, who had cancer through most of his body. Because the problem was so wide-spread, it took quite a bit to heal him. By the time his own spirit forced us out, I had seen quite a bit.
Ann couldn’t find anyone else she could help, so we found another empty place near the entrance of the hospital, and became visible again. It was a relief to be able to see.
Back at the apartment we talked about what I had seen, and what it meant. Melanie was right, I did learn a lot from those healings. I don’t know if I ever would have been able to progress without that help.
Training resumed in earnest after that. I finally mastered identifying the different parts of the body, and began making small changes. That’s when another problem showed up. I realized that if I continued with these changes, I would soon look too different for anybody who knows me to recognize me. Melanie already had no legal identity, because she had no way of proving she had been Joe. If I continued, I would be in the same position.
To prevent this problem, I changed my name to Veronica, legally. Then came the hard part, telling my parents and siblings. Melanie and Ann both said they thought I should, but I was terrified. I was sure my family would never accept me. What’s worse, if they did accept me, Ann and Melanie wanted to tell them everything. They wanted to tell them how I was changing. They figured that I would have to keep my changes small, like hormones would have, otherwise. And we all knew I would never be able to pass very well that way.
They finally convinced me, but only because they both promised to come with me. There was no chance I was going to do this alone! So that’s how I found myself on my parents doorstep with my two new friends/teachers. The only changes I had made thus far were to my skin (clearer and softer), hair (brown to glossy blue-black and much longer), and body hair (got rid of most of it, especially beard and mustache area). I didn’t look like a woman, but I certainly looked different.
When my mother answered the door, she clearly didn’t recognize me at first. She started to ask me what I wanted, but then her eyes widened and she said, “Gerald, is that you?!”
And so began another stressful day. My mother was shocked, and my father was…confused. I had called my brother and sisters, and they all managed to come out. We were the first ones there. One by one they arrived, and were told about me. My brothers only reaction was, “Weird!”. My older sister Tracy seemed rather uncomfortable, but didn’t say anything. My youngest sister Michelle said, “That explains a lot!” I was not the only one shocked at that.
Once Michelle had explained that I was much nicer and more considerate than the older brothers of any of her friends, and how her friends all thought I was gay, there were many knowing glances being exchanged between my family. Apparently, her friends weren’t the only ones who thought that way. I was a bit shocked, as I thought I’d hidden things better than that.
We talked for a couple of hours, before Melanie and Ann got involved (we had introduced them as my roommates). “There’s something else you need to know.” Ann said.
“Yeah,” Melanie added, “things are even stranger than you know. Veronica’s going to be all girl when she’s through. She’ll look really different.”
This caused a lot of confusion. We tried to explain, but finally resorted to Ann becoming male right in front of their eyes. I hadn’t seen this trick yet, myself, so was similarly stunned. I had made a few minor changes, and knew that Melanie had made much larger ones over time, but this was all but instantaneous!
We were there all day explaining that one. We ended up spending the night and continuing the discussion in the morning. Despite Ann’s demonstration (she had since changed back, of course), my family was having a lot of trouble accepting this. Melanie thought it would help if they could see me make some more changes to myself.
I soon found myself the center of attention while everyone waited for me to do something. Ann suggested I start with my eyes. I had expressed an interest in dark blue eyes, rather than my current hazel color. It was very difficult to keep my eyes open while doing it, but I finally managed it. It was such a small change, though, that it didn’t do much to convince them.
Melanie then suggested I redistribute the fat in my body to where it collects on women. They talked me through it, and soon I had a more feminine shape, complete with small breasts! I think my family was as shocked by my gleeful reaction as they were to the change itself!
Fortunately, they were satisfied by that, because I was exhausted! Everyone insisted on regular photographic updates, so they would know how I look. I got everyone’s e-mail address (I lost my computer when I was evicted), and we returned to the apartment, where I immediately crashed.
With my identity secured (and me a lot happier knowing my family could accept me!), we got back to my training. I was feeling much more positive about things, and found it easier than before. Over the next four months I completed my transformation. Much to my surprise, my brother came to visit a couple of times to see how I was changing and just to catch up. Tracy visited several times, her discomfort seemed to have vanished entirely. Michelle visited every chance she got, and was very supportive. My parents were a little more standoffish, but did visit once.
Once my transformation was complete, I saw a doctor to get proof of my gender, so I could get it legally changed as well. I just pretended I’d had surgery and he accepted it, thankfully. I got a new birth certificate, drivers license, everything.
Melanie insisted on taking me shopping. They had bought me some simple clothes as I changed too much to wear what I had, but I didn‘t have much. I was nervous about it. I had remained mostly indoors and hadn’t mixed much with strangers as Veronica. My enthusiasm was greatly lacking until I discovered my new style. Melanie thought it was ‘way cool’, but Ann thought it a bit odd that a thirty year old lawyer would want to dress Goth. I was quite surprised myself, but with Melanie’s encouragement, I gave it a try.
So that’s my story.” I finished. I looked over at her and wondered what she was thinking. I noticed Ann enter out of the corner of my eye and join Melanie, who must have arrived while I was talking. “So,” I asked hesitantly, “What do you think?”
I thought I had it all figured out. I had my grand plan and executed it flawlessly. Or so I believed. It all started to fall apart after work one day when I explained what I was going to do to my boss…
“…So I’d liked to come to work on Monday as Laura.” I finished explaining. I was feeling a little faint from nerves, but I’d gotten it out. I wouldn’t have to pretend anymore!
My boss looked at me as if I was bat shit crazy for several long moments, and then said, “I’m afraid we’ll have to let you go, then.” In this deceptively quiet, sneering voice.
I just stood there a minute, my jaw bouncing off his desk, “What?! You can’t fire me for being transgendered!” I croaked.
“Oh, I’m not firing you for being transgendered.” He assured me tauntingly. “I’m firing you for being a disruptive influence. Ever since you got here I’ve had complaints from your coworkers about your behavior.” His voice just oozed sincerity. That was sarcasm, by the way.
“Oh, come on!” I replied indignantly, “Just yesterday Mr. Morris was saying I was doing a good job! You’re just making that up to get rid of me!” Mr. Morris was my supervisor, and always seemed quite pleased with my work. I got along with everybody, in fact, until now.
Contempt was written all over his face. “Mr. Morris was simply trying to encourage you. However, your work today shows that you simply don’t care about this job. If you were a better worker, I might be able to overlook your disruptive nature, but…” He shrugged his shoulders helplessly, as if he actually cared.
I was torn between a desire to throttle him, and an urgent need to never come in physical contact with this slime ball. “I’ll sue you!” I threatened.
He shrugged carelessly, “You could try.”
I felt like I was going to explode. “Argh!” I finally yelled, and stormed out.
I stomped my way home, cursing the entire time. That little swine! I thought, There’s nothing I can do, and he knows it. If I tried to sue, his lies would get him out of it, and I couldn’t afford a lawyer anyway, even if I still had a job!
Back in my apartment, I paced back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. Fuck him! I thought, I’ll go full time as planned and find another job as Laura!
By the time I had finally calmed down it was getting rather late, and I was worn out. I decided to let tomorrow take care of itself.
The next morning I got all my male clothes together and threw them in the trash. It’s Laura from now on! I thought. I got myself dressed, as Laura of course, and got to work on my resume. Then I opened up the newspaper and started looking through it.
There wasn’t much. Before long I had a list of possibles, my stack of resumes, and was ready to go. I kept checking to make sure I had everything; keys, resumes, list of possible jobs, etc. I checked myself in the mirror half a dozen times. Finally, I stopped procrastinating and stepped out into the world as Laura for the first time.
I made it half a block before it started. “Hey, look at that fag!” muttered one man to his friends. Minutes later a woman walking with her daughter crossed the street to avoid me. Everyone else who saw me studiously looked away and kept their distance.
I walked the rest of the way with my eyes glued to the pavement. I didn’t want to see their reactions anymore, or see the disgust on their faces when they did look at me. I stepped inside the building, grateful to be away from all of that. Except that I wasn’t.
This was an electronics store. I was hoping to get a tech support job here. It wouldn’t be as good as what I had, but something’s better than nothing. As soon as I walked in everything seemed to come to a stop around me. More stares, more muttered comments, and even a few loud ones. Somehow, I walked forward farther into the store. Everywhere I went that same silence followed, punctuated by the occasional insult or taunt.
I went to the service desk and asked about the job opening. I kept my voice soft to try and sound feminine, but I knew my voice needed a lot of work.
The woman at the service desk stared open mouthed at me a moment, before saying she’d get her manager. I didn’t have much hope at this point, but I waited as patiently as I could.
Several minutes later, the manager arrived. He was an older man and looked like he frowned a lot. He was certainly doing so now. “What do you want, sir?” he asked rudely.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I answered, “I’m here about the tech support job.”
He looked me up and down contemptuously, “I’m sorry, sir, but that position has been filled.” With that, he turned around and stalked off. The woman at the service desk looked at me apologetically and shrugged her shoulders helplessly. Well, I thought, at least someone here has a heart.
I fled the store as quickly as I could without running. One down, three to go. I thought.
The longer I spent in public, the more depressed and afraid I became. Some of the comments I was getting were downright hateful. I knew this was going to be tough, but not *this* tough. I’d thought in this day and age things would be different. More fool I.
Each stop seemed to get worse than the last (to be fair, the third stop the manager was very apologetic about it and might actually have been telling the truth about filling the job already). I’d been shoved several times now, in addition to all the insults, taunts, and occasional threats I’d received.
As soon as I’d finished at the last store I started back home as fast as I could. I’m not sure if things really got worse at that point, but it sure felt like it. I almost ran the last block to my apartment. I did run once the door was in sight, and locked myself in as quickly as I could.
I dropped my bag as I walked to my bedroom, where I collapsed on my bed in tears. I tried to get myself under control, but it just wasn’t happening. Somewhere along the line, I fell asleep.
The next day was more of the same. And the next day, and the next. I began to inquire by telephone instead of walking there, but that didn’t help much. My voice was just as bad as my appearance. Finally, I settled on e-mailing my resume to any prospective employers I could find. This got a few responses, but they dried up quickly once they’d seen me in person or talked to me on the phone.
After a couple weeks of this, I had all but given up. I just couldn’t pass, and nobody could see past that. Perhaps if I had been on hormones longer before going full time things might have been better.
My savings were meager, at best, so I realized I had to do something quickly or I’d be out on the street. Getting a job in that time seemed unlikely, so I did what I had been dreading doing. I called my parents.
I arrived at my parents’ house the next day with all my worldly possessions (which consisted of my clothes and a laptop and that’s about it). I knocked and waited anxiously, wondering how they would react. My fear had gotten the better of me, and I hadn’t told my mother why I’d lost my job when I talked to her on the phone. Pretty stupid, I know, but I didn’t. So the first she was going to learn about me being female was seeing me standing there wearing a dress.
I didn’t have to wonder about her reaction long, as the door opened and there stood my mother, staring at me with her eyes bulging out of their sockets. “Kevin!” she squeaked, “What are you doing wearing that?!”
“Well, Mom, I…” I started to explain, but she shushed me and dragged me inside.
“This isn’t Halloween! What if the neighbors had seen you?!” she asked, loudly.
“I’m sorry to spring this on you like this, Mom, but this is who I am.” I tried to explain. I don’t think she heard all of it, because she threw her hands up and shrieked in frustration.
“This is not who you are! How many times do I have to tell you that you’re not a girl?!” she screamed at me.
“Wait a minute…when did this happen?!” I asked, bewildered.
She flopped down on the couch and explained exasperatedly, “Every other year, it seems like. Don’t you remember?”
“Uh…no!” I answered.
Sighing, she ticked them off on her fingers, “The first time was when you were five. You insisted you were a girl, and I explained why you couldn’t be. The second time was when you were nine, same thing. Third time was at 12. So I guess this is only the fourth time. How can you not remember all that? I spent hours drilling into your head why you couldn’t be a girl, and the last time your father explained it, too.”
Oh. “Mom, I don’t remember the first two times, and the only thing I remember from the third time was waking up in the hospital not knowing how I got there. If I hadn’t heard you two arguing about it later, I never would have known that Dad did it!” I answered. That explains sooo much! I thought.
She rolled her eyes, “Alright, I’ll explain it again, then. When you were in the hospital I had you tested, just to make sure. You are 100% genetically male. You are not a girl, not even intersexed! You are a man, and you need to get used to that fact! This stupid fantasy of yours is going to get you killed.” She finished with tears brimming in her eyes.
I felt crushed. They’d known. All along they’d known, and actively worked to prevent me from being myself. Could they ever accept me? “I’m sorry this upsets you, Mom. I’m sorry I can’t be the man you want me to be. But this is who I am. My name is Laura, now.”
“Your name is Kevin!” she screamed at me. “Get out of those ridiculous clothes before your father gets home.”
Sighing in defeat, I grabbed my bags and trudged back to my old room. I couldn’t be a boy anymore, that just wasn’t happening. Besides, I’d thrown all my male clothes away. What was I going to do?
I answered that question by crying myself to sleep on my old bed. I never heard my father get home, but the argument that started between them woke me. “He WHAT!” My father shouted. “I thought I straightened him out years ago! This time it damn well better take!”
I heard his thudding footsteps approaching, then stop as my mother yelled back, “Don’t you dare do that again! He doesn’t even remember what happened last time, thanks to you! Maybe if you hadn’t given him a concussion he might have remembered and we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
“NO!” My father thundered, “You’re not blaming this on me! If you hadn’t held me back all these years, he never would have gotten this crazy idea in his head. It’s a miracle his brother isn’t as screwed up as he is!”
That was enough for me. I didn’t remember the beating that resulted in me being in the hospital, but I didn’t want to experience a repeat. I grabbed my purse, jumped out the window, and ran around to the front of the house. I paused at the kitchen window when I saw my mother standing there with tears streaming down her face. She saw me and mouthed ‘GO’. I went.
I ran for as long as I could. I didn’t really think my father would follow me, but I ran anyway. I went over everything my parents had said in my mind. It was clear, now, that my father would never accept me. I’d kind of thought so, but I never thought it would be this bad. I wasn’t sure about my mother.
She’d obviously tried very hard to keep me from following this path, but some of the things she said and did made me think she was looking out for me the best way she knew how. And maybe that was as much protecting me from my father as from anyone else. Then again, maybe she was as bad as Dad. I just didn’t know, but I wasn’t about to go back to find out.
I finally collapsed on a park bench to catch my breath several blocks from my childhood home. I guess I’ll never be able to call that home, again. I thought.
I was a real mess; gasping for air, tears streaming down my face, and shaking like a leaf. It felt like hours before I was able to calm down and get myself under control. I wasn’t usually so prone to tears, but I had been on hormones for a month or so now.
I finally got myself under control and reluctantly called my brother. I wasn’t really expecting a better reaction, but I had to try something.
“Hi Kevin, what’s up?” he answered. Well, that answers the question of whether our parents had talked to him yet or not.
“Hi George. I, uh, don’t suppose you have room for a roommate?” I asked.
“Why, who’d you have in mind?” he answered cluelessly, as usual.
“Me. I lost my job and I need a place to stay until I can get another job.” I said.
“How’d that happen?” he asked. “And why does your voice sounds so funny?”
Sighing, I answered, “Turns out my boss isn’t exactly transgender friendly. I’ve changed my name to Laura, and he fired me when I told him about it.” I held my breath, waiting to see how he’d respond. Badly, I assumed.
“You what?!” he yelled, “You still going on about that girlie shit? What is wrong with you, man? Dad’s going to blow a gasket if you show up at home in a dress!”
“Uh, yeah, kind of late to be saying that.” I answered, wincing at his tone. “I went to the house, but I had to make a run for it out the window when Dad got home.”
“Well, duh! I would’ve thought you would have learned your lesson after the last time! He gave you a concussion, man! What were you thinking?!” he demanded.
“I didn’t know that was why he gave me the concussion! The only reason I even knew he was responsible for it was that I heard him and Mom arguing about it afterwards!” I answered defensively.
He snorted, “That figures! So I guess you want to move in with me and wear dresses and skirts, huh? Well forget it! If you can leave the girls clothes behind I’ll let you stay for a while, but that’s it.”
“I only have women’s clothes, now, George. I’m not going back to being Kevin, no matter what.” I said. Come to think of it, all of my clothes were at my parents’ house. Maybe I could sneak in while my Dad was at work or something?
“Then forget it, man,” he answered, “I’m not getting involved in this. Bye.” He hung up without waiting for a response.
Well, I hadn’t really expected anything else. From there I went down my contact list on my cell phone. I had three friends I could ask. I called each in turn, but their reactions were much the same as my brother. Now what?
I sat there on that bench and stewed over my situation. No home, no job, no family, no friends. There had to be something I could do…didn’t there? Some way to salvage this situation? But what?
I realized I was shivering. I decided to head over to the nearest coffee shop and get something warm to drink. Maybe if I thawed myself out I’d be able to figure this out.
As usual, everything stopped when I walked in. I furtively shuffled up to the counter and ordered a large coffee. I tried my best to ignore the stares and comments as I waited for it. As soon as it was in my hand I retreated to the most remote corner of the room I could and sat down.
I’m not sure how long I sat there, hunched over my drink with my hands wrapped around it to warm them. Most people were staying well away from me, but occasionally someone would stray close enough to make a snide comment. So I didn’t pay attention at first when someone asked if they could sit at my table.
“Excuse me, miss. May I sit here?” she asked again. I glanced around furtively to see if she was talking to someone else, but there was no one anywhere near me. I shrugged my shoulders and continued to ignore everything.
She sat down and said, “You may think this strange, but I admire you.”
I stared at her in disbelief. Did she really just say that?! Why would anyone admire me? “Why?” I asked softly.
“Because I never had the courage to do what you’re doing.” she answered.
I took a better look at the woman sat across from me. She was a Goth, wearing all black with a corset top and short black skirt. There was no doubt whatsoever that she was female, but maybe she didn’t want to be? “You want to be a man?” I asked.
She smiled and said, “No, I’ve already been there and there’s no way I’m going back.”
My jaw bounced off the table as I gaped at her. Her clothes were pretty form fitting and she had all the right curves in all the right places, if you know what I mean. Another words, total babe! “No way!” I breathed, “You must have been the most feminine man ever to look that good now!”
“Actually I wasn’t.” she answered. “That’s part of why I never got the courage, I knew I couldn’t pass without major surgery. Even then, I would have been rather homely, I think. I was cursed with very masculine features.”
Yeah, right. No way this babe could have ever had ‘very masculine features’. Not possible. “This is some joke, isn’t it?” I asked, my voice rising involuntarily. I winced internally at how masculine it sounded.
“No!” she assured me hastily. “I wouldn’t do that. If you’ll listen I’ll explain it. It’s a long story, and you probably won’t believe it, but will you at least listen?” she asked.
I was getting angry at the thought that she was just teasing me. Women are always able to get to me like that easier, because I tend to trust them more (which is to say, at all). And what’s with that explanation? She tells me it’s a long, unbelievable story, but then asks me to listen? Not very convincing, if that’s what she was trying to do.
I was about to tell her what she could do with her story, when I remembered just what kind of situation I was in. I still needed to figure out how to salvage my life, and still had no ideas. Worrying about whether she was messing with me suddenly didn’t seem all that important.
I dropped back in my chair and sighed, hunching back over my now cold drink. “Why not?” I said. “I’ve got nothing better to do. I lost my job, my parents kicked me out, and my friends won’t speak to me. I might as well listen to your fairy tale.”
She took a long drink and then began to tell me an insane story about magical transformations, healing, invisibility, and all kinds of other impossible things. “So that’s my story.” she finished. “So,” she asked hesitantly, “what do you think?”
I just sat there for a moment, absorbing it all. If it were actually true, it would be the greatest thing ever for people like me. If it were true. I started to get angry again. Why was she messing with me like this? I angrily stood and strode towards the door, cold coffee in hand. As I dumped my cup in the garbage I noticed the Goth, Veronica, following me.
Two other people had stood up at a nearby table and were moving towards me, as well, and I started feeling very paranoid. I sped up and headed out, but just before I could open the door the youngest one grabbed my arm just above the elbow. She was fairly tall, but slim. I ignored her grip and kept moving, or tried to.
I turned back to look at the slim white haired girl in shock, as she hadn’t budged an inch, but my arm felt like it was just about pulled from the socket. It reminded me of part of the Goth girl’s story. I wracked my brains and remembered the name of the girl she claimed prevented her from ending her life. “Melanie?!” I whispered in astonishment.
She smiled impishly. “Got it in one! She called us before she talked to you. I guess from the hurry you were in that she freaked you out after all, huh?”
The third woman stepped up beside Melanie. She was the smallest woman I had ever seen. Not that she was *that* short, but that she was just so thin. Yet somehow she didn’t look unhealthy. This must be Ann, I mused. “Hello. I’m Ann, as you’ve guessed. I want to assure you that Veronica was not making fun of you in any way. What she told you is the truth. I know it’s hard to believe, but if you’ll give us a chance, we can prove it to you.”
By this time Goth girl…I mean Veronica, had caught up with us. “Are you alright?” she asked.
I glanced around at these three beautiful women who, they wanted me to believe, were all able to do magical things like transform their bodies any way they wanted. Their beauty made that a little easier to believe than it might otherwise be. After all, most women who look like that have had some help!
Still, what they were asking me to believe was pretty extreme. “Okay,” I said, “let’s see you prove it.”
“Okay.” Melanie said. “Let’s go.” She opened the door and walked through, still holding onto my arm. Being a fast learner, I walked with her before she could dislocate it. The others followed.
“Where are we going?” I asked hesitantly as we walked.
“Oh, we’re going a looong way. All the way back to that bench in the park.” Melanie answered impishly. I groaned, I’d spent entirely too much time on that bench today.
We soon found ourselves in the park and I sat on the bench and looked at them expectantly. “Well?” I asked.
Melanie and Veronica looked at Ann. She grimaced. “Okay, you want me to do the honors again, don’t you?” She asked. At their nod she sighed and her body became male right before my eyes! “Well, are you satisfied now?” Ann asked after a few moments of my bulging eyes staring at her. I nodded numbly and she changed back.
“So, do you need to see anything else?” Veronica asked.
“Uh, no, I guess not.” I answered. “So, are you saying you can teach me this stuff, too?”
Veronica looked to Melanie and Ann, who both nodded. “Your spirit is fairly strong, so I have no doubt you can learn.” Ann answered.
Melanie was just about bouncing off the walls, if there were any. “It takes a while to learn, but it’s really cool! And I know how to teach this stuff better now, so I can help you a lot. Between me, Ann, and Veronica, you’ll be in good hands!”
Ann looked a little uncomfortable as she said, “Actually, I can’t stay long.” She was about to continue when Melanie interrupted.
“What?! Why not? You stayed with me for months when you trained me, and you were around for most of Veronica’s training, too. Why not now?” she asked, clearly uncomfortable with Ann’s revelation.
“I have another student…in Europe.” Ann answered apologetically.
“Europe!” Veronica gasped. “How could you have a student in Europe?”
Melanie looked as shocked as Veronica at first, then comprehension dawned. “You perfected it, didn’t you?” she whispered excitedly.
Ann fidgeted as she answered, “Well, I don’t know about perfected. There’s still a lot of room for improvement…”
Melanie turned to Veronica and said, “She has! She can fly!”
I sat there gaping at this strange conversation. “What are you on about?” I asked in bewilderment.
“Ann travels a lot to find more people to help.” Melanie started explaining. “I knew she was practicing flying to travel farther faster. The last she talked about it, she was only able to fly about twenty miles an hour while remaining invisible. She comes and visits with us every week or two, so if she has a student in Europe, and was able to come back with just an hour’s notice, that means she can fly much faster.”
“Well, not quite *that* fast.” Ann countered. “I was already on my way back to tell you about my new student and let you know that I wouldn’t be around as much for a while. It would have taken several hours otherwise.”
Melanie dismissed this, “You’re just modest! You still increased your speed several times over! I wonder how fast I could get?” she mused.
“Wait a minute!” Veronica interrupted. “I know Melanie said she’d seen you levitate, but are you saying you can actually fly? And at supersonic speeds?!”
“Flying is just an advanced application of levitation. And I only fly about 950 miles per hour.” Ann answered self-consciously.
I was still sitting there with my jaw in my lap and my eyes bugging out of my head listening to this crazy conversation. “You can fly 950 miles per hour?! That is supersonic! How can you survive flying at that speed?”
Melanie looked thoughtful at that and gasped, “No! Are you actually invisible, flying, and shielding all at the same time?!”
Veronica plopped down on the bench besides me. “Shielding? What are you talking about?”
“It’s a really advanced technique.” Melanie started to explain excitedly. “You don’t have enough energy to do it yet. I can only hold it for a few seconds at a time. I knew Ann could shield really well, but I didn’t know she could fly and be invisible while shielding! That’s just awesome!”
Ann didn’t seem too comfortable with all this praise. She shuffled over to sit next to Veronica. “I’m sure you’ll learn it eventually. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have. But we’re not here to talk about that, we’re here to talk about helping you.” she said, and pointed at me. “By the way, what is your name?”
“I’m Laura.” I answered. “It’s really nice that you all want to help me, but that still doesn’t solve my problems. I still need to find a job and a place to stay.” I was starting to get bummed again. What they were offering was just starting to sink in, but it wouldn’t do me any good if I didn’t have anywhere to live while they taught me.
Their attention shifted back to me at that. “Well…” began Veronica, “If Ann’s not going to be around, maybe you could use her room?” This last part was directed at Ann uncertainly. Ann smiled and nodded for her to continue. “So a place to stay is settled, and you don’t have to worry about a job right away, you’ll be pretty busy training anyway.”
Melanie smiled at this. “Yeah, you can stay with us! I would have suggested it, anyway. Sometimes we get real bushed training, so it’s better that you don’t have to travel far to get to bed, right?”
I nodded numbly at this. Was I understanding them right, were they offering me a place to stay free of charge? I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “If you’re all okay with that, then I’ll do it.” I said.
“Don’t worry about money.” Ann said. “I pay for the rent on the apartment, so you don’t have to worry about that. And I don’t want you even considering getting a job for a while, you’ll be very busy with training for several months at least. I’ll help get you started, but Melanie and Veronica really don’t need it. They’ll take good care of you.”
“How long are you going to be here, Ann?” Veronica asked.
“Just a couple of days.” she answered. “I can’t leave my new student alone for too long. Then I’ll have to fly back.”
“How long will you be gone?” Melanie asked. She looked pretty down, which for this girl was probably saying something.
“A few months, at least.” Ann answered apologetically. “Even then I probably won’t be around as much as I have been. I’ll have to split my time between here and there, and I’ll still want to visit other parts of the world, too.”
Melanie sighed sadly. “I guess I should have known this would happen, but I’ve just gotten used to you being around, you know? You’re the closest thing to family I have.” I could certainly empathize with that!
Veronica cleared her throat uncertainly. “Um…you’re kind of like a little sister to me, Melanie. Even if you are the one teaching me all of this…” She trailed off uncertainly, waiting for Melanie’s reaction.
Melanie looked at Veronica in shock. “Really?! I didn’t think you even liked me! I know I can be kind of pushy at times…”
Veronica chuckled. “Well, yes, you can be a little annoying sometimes. But isn’t that how little sister’s are supposed to be? Besides, my family all love you. I think they’re a little intimidated by Ann, but not you.”
I glanced across at Ann and noticed she looked sad when Veronica said that. I didn’t really know these people yet, but something about Ann made me want to help her. “Hey, don’t feel bad, Ann. I think most people would be intimidated knowing what you can do. Besides, they’re obviously confused as Melanie is clearly the intimidating one.”
Ann smiled while Melanie spluttered. “What do you mean I’m intimidating?!” Melanie finally asked.
“Well, you are the one almost ripping people’s arms out of their sockets all the time, aren’t you?” I asked reasonably.
“She’s got a point there, little sister.” Veronica said teasingly. “I had hand prints on my arm for days after I first met you.”
“Well!” Melanie huffed. “If I’m so intimidating I’ll just get out of the way, then!” With that she disappeared.
I looked around in shock, not having seen their invisibility trick yet. At least, I thought that was what she did… “Did I go too far?” I asked fearfully.
Veronica looked a little worried, too, but Ann was smiling as she said, “Don’t worry. She’s not really upset; she’s just playing with you. She hasn’t even left.”
Veronica and I both relaxed, but then Ann tensed up and yelled, “Melanie! Don’t you dare!” while seemingly glaring at me. I turned to see where Melanie was, only to find her fading back into sight right behind me with arms outstretched like she was about to grab me!
“Aw, Ann, you ruin all my fun!” she pouted. Then started giggling. Ann rolled her eyes and stood.
“I think we’d better get back to the apartment before we start attracting attention.” she said, looking at Melanie meaningfully. Melanie stopped giggling and looked contrite. For all of 5 seconds. Then she started giggling again as we all stood and left the park. I could tell this was going to be very…interesting.
Veronica took advantage of the walk back to the apartment to warn me about the first part of training. What she called ‘awakening your spirit’. It sounded downright cruel to me. Melanie seemed to think it was a bad idea to warn me about it, thinking it would lessen its effectiveness, but Ann said that my spirit is stronger than Veronica’s, so with them feeding me energy I wouldn’t need to be as distressed as Veronica did.
I asked how my spirit could possibly be stronger than Veronica, what with everything she had been through, and her already being trained. Turns out each person’s spirit is different, and although training could strengthen it, that could only accomplish so much.
So, basically, I’m spiritually well endowed. Veronica’s more average, and Melanie is very well endowed. And Ann is just ridiculously well endowed. Which just sounds like a really weird conversation to be having. Even in my head.
It was getting pretty late by now, so we picked up some Chinese on the way (Turns out that’s Ann’s favorite). After eating I was all for going to bed, but Ann suggested that awakening my spirit now, while I was physically and emotionally tired, would work better.
“Besides,” she added, “I’d like to get you started before I leave, and you’ll need to rest after awakening your spirit. This way we have all of tomorrow to work with you before I have to go back.” This made sense to me, so I agreed.
What came next was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. They each took turns saying things to upset me. I knew what they were doing, but they hit more than a few buttons. And the being fed energy thing just felt weird! Of course, that was nothing compared to when we finally managed to pull it off.
Apparently sensing the thoughts and emotions of those around you, along with seeing their auras, is par for the course. Lucky me, I got to have three trained spirit…users?… or whatever you want to call them at hand to sense that stuff from. Ann told me later that the thoughts and emotions of people trained to use their spirit energy tend to be ‘louder’ and more distinct than the untrained. Also, their auras are much…brighter, for lack of a better term.
Anyway, it was pretty overwhelming. Once I ‘relaxed’, as they called it, things mostly returned to normal. Still, it was also exhilarating, because it meant that I was one big step closer to being me!
“So, how are you feeling now?” Ann asked after I had some time to recover.
“Hopeful.” I admitted. “I hadn’t really given up, per se, but I was close. I don’t know how I can thank you for what you’re doing. I think you’ve saved my life.” Melanie and Veronica shared knowing glances when I said that. I guess they felt much the same when they started. Especially Veronica, since she actually tried to kill herself. I thought.
Veronica nodded somberly to me, and I realized she’d caught that thought. It was going to take some getting used to, living with people who could literally read my mind.
“Hey, don’t sweat it!” Melanie said. “Veronica only hears people’s thoughts some of the time. And I usually won’t respond to your thoughts. It really weirded me out when Ann did that when we first met.” I nodded back, and yawned.
“I think it’s time for bed.” Ann said. “I need to do some packing, will you be alright on the couch tonight Laura?”
Seeing as how I’d been contemplating sleeping outdoors tonight, I wasn’t about to complain about a couch! “Sure, Ann! It’s a comfy couch.” I answered. And it was.
I awoke to the smell of pancakes. I wandered groggily into the kitchen to find Melanie cooking away. She smiled brightly at me with a “good morning” and returned to her work.
As I was sitting down at the table Ann walked in carrying two large boxes. I offered to help her with them but she smiled and said, “It’s alright, they’re too heavy for you, anyway.” It was surreal to hear that from someone so small, but I took her word for it.
Veronica finally dragged herself in just before Melanie finished with the pancakes. Evidently not a morning person. They all looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they had peanut butter. The barbarians had never heard of putting peanut butter on pancakes!
After breakfast Ann gave me the rundown on how spirit energy works, what you can do with it, etc. She, Melanie, and Veronica would take turns demonstrating things. Apparently Veronica had never seen anyone levitate before, because she looked as shocked as me when Ann did it. Not to be outdone, Melanie joined her.
After that little demonstration Ann said, “Since I’m not going to be around as much anymore, there’re a few things you need to know. First off, every spirit is different. Some spirits are simply too undeveloped to be awakened. Veronica’s spirit is at the low end. Anybody with a weaker spirit won’t be able to be awakened. That’s important, because you may find someone else like yourselves who’s spirit is too weak to be awakened. In that case telling them about what you can do would be counter productive because you couldn’t help them.”
Melanie and Veronica were both thoughtful at this, and I think we were all a little sad, thinking about how many desperate people there might be out there that could not be helped in this way. Depressing as it was, I was glad Ann told us about it, or we might have made a tragic mistake.
“Another thing,” Ann continued, “is that you need to be careful not to try something that is beyond you. For instance, Veronica, I would not suggest you try to fly. I’m sure you can learn to levitate, but flying takes too much power for you. Similarly, while Melanie is perfectly capable of learning to fly, she needs to understand her limits or she could end up flying over an ocean and running out of energy.”
Melanie gulped at that, with her enthusiasm about flying and her abilities in general, I figured this was a much needed caution.
After that little talk, it was training time. It was just the same as what we’d done last night, just over and over again. Ann had Melanie supply most of the power because she needed to save hers up for her flight. Veronica wanted to help, but Ann cautioned that this was another thing that Veronica should keep away from.
I felt a little bad for Veronica; she seemed so much more limited than the others. Or even me, once I’m fully trained. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t seem too bothered.
After exhausting ourselves training, Ann and Veronica made up lunch for all of us. Melanie and I scarfed ours, then crashed.
I woke up a few hours later. They were all watching TV and, presumably, waiting for me to wake up. Ann congratulated me on already reaching the point where I didn’t need extra energy to connect. Apparently it took Veronica a lot longer to reach that point. Then she explained what I’d be doing next in my training.
“Well, I’ve done about as much as I can.” Ann said. “Melanie and Veronica will finish your training. Now I’ve got to get going. Do you have any questions for me before I go?”
“No, I can’t think of any.” I answered.
“Okay. By the time I see you again, you should be well on your way to fixing your birth defect. Good luck.” She said, and gave me a hug goodbye. She did the same with Veronica and then approached Melanie.
“I’m going to miss you.” Melanie said with tears in her eyes. “You’ve been like a mother to me, much better than the woman who gave birth to me.”
Ann was looking a bit teary-eyed, too. “I’m going to miss you too. It’s been a pleasure to watch you grow these last two years. You were already an extraordinary girl when I met you, and you’ve grown into a wonderful woman.”
They embraced tearfully and just held on to each other for a while. I kind of felt like I was intruding and I think Veronica did, too. We gave them a little space to say goodbye. Eventually they let go, said goodbye, and Ann left.
Veronica and I tried to cheer Melanie up, not a task either of us ever thought would be necessary, I think. Veronica was starting to get a little down, too. I could see they weren’t going to get anywhere like this, so I took a look at their DVD collection.
“Anybody up for a movie?” I asked as I looked.
“Whatever.” Melanie answered.
Veronica looked at me like I was crazy for a moment, but then I think she figured out what I was trying to do, as she said, “Sure, what did you have in mind?”
“Hmm, how about this?” I asked, holding up a DVD case.
“Spaceballs? What’s that?” Melanie asked.
Veronica smiled, so I knew she was familiar with the movie. “It’s a parody on Star Wars. It’s hilarious!” she said.
Melanie shrugged, so I put it in the machine and we settled down to watch it. It was just as funny as I remembered it. Melanie was a little slow to warm up to it, still being sad about Ann leaving I’m sure, but soon she was rolling on the floor laughing.
After the movie Veronica started making dinner while Melanie ran me ragged with more training. She seemed to be her old self again, so I didn’t mind.
Dinner was a welcome break. Afterwards training resumed. I only lasted a couple of hours.
After a trip to the bathroom and getting changed for bed I was about to climb into my, well Ann’s, bed when there was a knock on the door. I felt a bit self-conscious being seen in my nightgown, knowing how incongruous I looked, but I answered it.
Veronica was on the other side of the door. “Hi Laura. I just wanted to say goodnight, and to thank you for helping to cheer Melanie up. She’s usually so upbeat that it’s easy to forget that she’s really had it pretty rough. Her parents rejected her violently, so Ann and I are all she has.”
I thought back to what I had learned about my own father. “Yeah, I can relate to that. I’m glad I could help.” With that we said goodnight and I was about to close the door when Melanie called for me to wait.
“Hi Laura. I’m sorry I got all moody on you guys like that. It’s just really weird not to have Ann here, or at least really close like she has been, you know?” Melanie said, or asked, I’m not sure.
I smiled, “It’s no problem Melanie. I think I understand how you feel. It would be easy to get attached to someone as nice as Ann. She seems to be about as close to an angel as we’re ever likely to meet.”
Melanie beamed back at me, “Yeah, she’s really cool! She kind of has a hero complex, I think, but in a good way. Like, she doesn’t want recognition or anything, she just feels compelled to help people. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize, and say thanks.”
“Thanks? For what?” I asked innocently.
Melanie tapped the side of her head and said, grinning, “Mind reader, remember? I didn’t notice at the time because I was all upset, but I know you and Veronica were trying to cheer me up, and that movie did the trick. So thanks, and goodnight!” With that Melanie skipped back to her room.
I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to this mind reading business, I thought, as I climbed into bed and drifted off.
We settled into a routine after that. They took turns talking me through each step of my training. Whoever wasn’t working with me did the cooking and cleaning. I got out of it because the training was a whole lot more tiring for me, than for them. In fact, since they didn’t need to feed me energy, I was the one doing all of the work.
It was at least a month before I was ready to learn about healing. Like Veronica, I had no injuries to heal, so I was going to piggyback on Melanie while she did it. I learned invisibility as Veronica had, and how to align my senses with Melanie’s.
“Have you ever done this before?” I asked Melanie as we were walking towards the nearest hospital. I was referring to healing. I had fallen into the habit of abbreviating what I said to her, because with her ability to hear my thoughts, I didn’t really need to extrapolate.
“No, I haven’t. I’ve seen Ann do it a lot, and I’ve healed myself, but that’s it.” Melanie answered. “Don’t worry though,” she added, “I can totally do this. It’s really not that complicated.”
I nodded and we continued on. I was keeping my head down and trying not to attract attention. The girls had helped me find some better clothes, and to figure out better makeup techniques, so I looked a little better than before. I was still very nervous about it, though. I knew I didn’t pass well at all.
It didn’t take long to reach the hospital. Once inside we became invisible, and I gave out a sigh of relief. I was now totally blind, true, but now nobody could see me!
We wandered around the hospital for a while. I suspect we got a little lost, but I couldn’t ask because invisibility doesn’t include inaudibility. Eventually Veronica pulled me to a halt and placed my hand on Melanie’s. I synched up with her and ‘watched’ as she patched up some poor guy’s heart enough to keep him alive. She did seem to know what she was doing.
After healing two more people, we came across a woman in *really* bad shape. There didn’t seem to be a single organ or system in her body that wasn’t affected. Melanie spent quite a bit of time working on her. Once Melanie had done all she could, I expected us to move on, but we didn’t. She kept her concentration on the sick woman for a long time. I couldn’t tell what she was doing, though.
“This is bad.” I heard Melanie whisper. I could only guess we were in a private room if she was willing to risk speaking.
“What is it?” Veronica asked, also whispering.
“This woman, she had a really bad degenerative disease. She was in such bad shape, I was able to completely cure the disease, and then repair the worst of the damage before her spirit forced me out.” Melanie paused for a moment before saying, “It didn’t do any good.”
“Huh?” I whispered.
“How could that not do any good?” Veronica asked.
Melanie sighed sadly and said, “She has a really powerful spirit, stronger than mine.”
“How is that a bad thing?” Veronica asked incredulously.
Still synched with Melanie, I could feel the sadness and frustration coming from her. “She’s given up. She just wants to die, to get away from the pain. Her spirit is acting on that wish. She’s killing herself.”
Well, Ann didn’t prepare me for this situation. This gal was ‘awake’, but probably didn’t know it. And that ignorance was killing her! Now what?
“How is she killing herself?” Laura asked.
Her voice kinda brought me back to the present and I said, “She’s been hurtin’ for a long time. She’s gotten really depressed. All that emotion combined with her strong spirit woke it up.”
“You mean her spirit awoke spontaneously?!” Veronica asked.
“Yep. I don’t think she knows it, though. Whatever she felt she probably put down to side effects of her disease, or something.” I answered.
“That doesn’t explain how she’s killing herself.” Laura pointed out.
“Well, actually it kinda does.” I replied. “Her spirit’s awake, but wild. It’s reacting to her emotions, mostly. Since she’s all depressed and waiting to die, her spirit’s trying to make it happen faster.”
“Well, this should be easy enough to take care of, then.” Veronica said. “If she’s trained, her spirit won’t react that way anymore, and she can heal herself.”
“Yeah, normally that’s all it would take. But there’s another problem.” I explained.
“What problem?” Laura asked.
“I’m pretty sure she’s some kind of journalist.” I answered. I couldn’t really read her mind, it doesn’t work that way. But I could pick up active thoughts and emotions. Her dreams were making it pretty clear she would consider us news.
Veronica sucked in a breath in surprise and said, “She can’t find out about us! We’d lose our freedom, at the very least!”
I wasn’t sure if that’s how it would really happen, but Veronica was getting really worried, so I figured maybe there was something to her fears. “Well, if we only trained her far enough to get her spirit under control, we could disappear afterwards. Then she could write all she wants and not accomplish anything.”
“But we can’t just disappear! What about Veronicas’ family, or her job? Besides, where would we go?” Laura asked frantically.
She wasn’t saying it, but I could tell Laura was worried Veronica and I would up and disappear and leave her on her own. I hurried to reassure her, “Oh, we won’t disappear. The people who train her will disappear!”
“Melanie, if you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, I’m afraid you’re going to be on your own. I can’t hold illusions, yet.” Veronica pointed out.
Oops! “Oh. Yeah. I guess that would be a problem. And there’s no way Laura is going to be able to disguise herself any time soon. I guess we might as well go home for now.”
I could tell Laura wanted to ask questions, but was feeling pretty insecure with the whole blindness thing. Couldn’t say I blamed her, I wasn’t real thrilled with it, either. We went back towards the entrance of the hospital and found ourselves another quiet corner to become visible again in. We all sighed in relief, at that, but Laura was also getting all tense about going back outside.
“Don’t worry, Laura.” I reassured her. “Just stay with us and nobody will hurt you. You’ve seen how strong I am when I want to be. I can also move really fast. If anybody tries to give you trouble we’ll protect you.”
“Thanks, Melanie. But I’ll be glad when I don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Laura answered.
“With what you’ve seen today, you should be able to make lots of progress.” Veronica said. “From now on you should be able to stay inside until you’re comfortable with going out.”
Laura took a deep breath to settle her nerves and said, “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”
With that, we left the hospital and started the walk home. Laura was all hunched up, trying to keep attention from herself. Unfortunately, that tends to have the opposite effect. A couple of guys got the bright idea to try and say something to her, but Veronica headed them off with a glare that could melt stone.
We got home without any problems. Laura slumped down onto the couch. Looking at Veronica and me she asked, “So what was all that, anyway? How could the person who trains her disappear, without you disappearing?”
Veronica looked at me, probably because she wasn’t sure if her assumption earlier was right. “The person who trains her won’t be any of us. Or at least, they won’t look like any of us.” I explained.
I almost laughed at the perplexed look on Laura’s face. “What?” she asked.
“What Melanie meant,” Veronica answered with a weird look at me. “is that the person who trains her will be disguised. I assumed with illusion, which I am not very good at. It’s both easier and harder than invisibility. It takes less power, but more skill and concentration.”
“Illusion?!” Laura exclaimed. “You mean you can make yourself look anyway you want?”
“Not really.” Veronica explained. “Like invisibility, you’re changing how light interacts with you. But instead of redirecting light around you without touching you, you’re changing how it reflects off of you. It can be as simple as changing the apparent color of your shirt, to something as complex as changing your apparent size and shape, within limits, and also the color, texture, and style of your clothes.”
“Yeah, it’s actually pretty limited.” I said. “Like with invisibility, you have to wear form fitting clothes, or the field or whatever you want to call it, will not affect them. You can make yourself seem smaller, but not larger. Texture and color are the easiest. The hardest part is keeping track of it all, because it’s not one thing, it’s lots of different pieces all at once.”
Laura had this really funny look on her face as she tried to figure it out all. I tried not to giggle. I *really* did. Veronica gave me a dirty look and said, “Invisibility is simple, because it’s all the same. Light bends around you without touching you. With illusion you are changing the color of one article of clothing to one thing, changing the shape of another, changing the texture of yet something else, and the color of one or more other things all at the same time. It can be a real headache, and I can’t do it reliably.”
“So Melanie will have to train this woman on her own?” Laura asked.
“Well, that’s up to Veronica.” I answered.
“What are you talking about?” Veronica asked, bewildered.
I smiled as I said, “You can still disguise yourself. It’ll just take longer. But you won’t have to concentrate to keep it up.”
“Oh.” Veronica said. “You mean for me to transform myself. I don’t know about that. It would take me all day at best, and leave me exhausted.” She didn’t add, and leave Laura on her own, but I heard it (in my mind, I mean, I really need new words for this stuff).
I decided to put Veronica out of her misery. “That’s okay. She doesn’t need too much help to get things under control. I can take care of it.”
Laura was still looking pretty confused. “Doesn’t training take an awfully long time?” she asked.
“Usually, sure. But we can’t afford to train somebody like this all the way. It’s better if she doesn’t know what we’re capable of. If she knew, she would try to track us down.” I explained. I felt kind of bad about it, really. She’s got a really powerful spirit; she could do lodes of things if she was fully trained. If I could trust her.
“So does that mean my training is on hold?” Laura asked fearfully.
“Oh no!” I rushed to reassure her. “You don’t need to be fed energy anymore, so Veronica can train you. And I’ll be done with the woman at the hospital before long.”
“I’m not completely useless.” Veronica grumped.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it like that.” Laura said apologetically.
“So, do you want me to stick around for a while, or should I go ahead and take care of our little problem?” I asked to change the subject.
“Go ahead.” Laura said with a glance at Veronica. “I’m sure Veronica and I can get lots done while you’re gone.”
Veronica looked somewhat mollified and agreed.
“Okay, I’ll see you later, then.” I said. They both said goodbye and I started off back towards the hospital.
After Melanie left, and a little lunch, Veronica and I started going over what I’d seen while Melanie was healing people. I learned a lot, and didn’t get exhausted. A nice change.
It was amazing what a difference watching Melanie heal people made. I learned sooo much about the way the body works, and how it reacts to different things. It still took a lot of work to figure out what to do with that knowledge, though.
By the time we were ready for a break, Melanie still hadn’t showed. Veronica figured that Melanie was trying to get the journalist taken care of as quickly as possible so we went ahead and had dinner without her. After dinner we got back into training and lost all track of time.
“Well, I think that’s enough for tonight.” Veronica said after several hours. She looked at the clock and frowned. “Melanie should have been back by now. Maybe I should go look for her.”
“Doesn’t Melanie have a phone?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine Melanie getting into any real trouble; she was just too strong for that.
“Yes, she does. I suppose she would call if there were trouble. Maybe she’s just staying long enough to complete that woman’s training in one shot.” Veronica mused. “You look tired, why don’t you go to bed, and I’ll wait up for Melanie.”
Despite what she said, I could tell Veronica was worried. She really does think of Melanie like a little sister. I thought. “Alright if I crash on the couch?” I asked. I could keep her company, I figured.
“I don’t mind.” Veronica answered with a smile.
After grabbing a blanket and pillow I laid out on the couch and watched a movie with Veronica until I fell asleep.
I awoke suddenly when the door closed, loudly. “I can’t believe that woman!” Melanie growled. “She had me followed!”
I shook my head and blinked, trying to reboot my brain. Veronica must have fallen asleep at some point, too, as she was just sitting up from where she had slumped over. Veronica got her bearings before me and exclaimed, “Do they know where we live?”
My heart sank. If we were discovered, what would happen to us? I had just begun my training, I couldn’t protect myself the way Melanie, and probably Veronica, could.
Melanie rushed over and put her arm around me as she said, “No, they don’t know where we live. I kept up the illusion after leaving the hospital, just in case. I felt like I was being followed, so I went the wrong way. I didn’t want to reveal my ability to become invisible, so I led him away for a while until I could find a way to lose him.”
I was starting to relax until Veronica said, “Are you sure?”
Melanie must have felt me tense because she gave me another squeeze. “Yeah, I’m sure. There was nobody around who was thinking about me after I lost him. I kept going for a few blocks, listening for trackers, then dropped the illusion and made my way back here. They don’t know who or where we are.”
“Who was following you?” I asked. Obviously it wasn’t the woman at the hospital; they wouldn’t have released her that quickly.
Melanie shrugged. “I don’t know his name or anything, but he’s friends with Jean, the woman at the hospital, I think.”
“So other than being followed, how did things go with Jean?” Veronica asked.
Melanie groaned. “Lousy. She’s really skeptical. I guess I should have expected it, with her being a journalist and everything. I spent the whole time trying to convince her that I could help her. I finally had to cut myself and heal it right in front of her before she would even consider that I might be telling the truth.”
“So you’ll have to go back?” Veronica asked, clearly concerned.
Melanie nodded. “Yeah, I do. I think she might try to draw it out, in order to find out more about me. I’ll get things done as fast as I can, though. In the meantime, you two should continue without me. You don’t really need my help, anyway.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I asked. How could she be so blasé about this?
“Don’t worry! She’ll never see the real me.” Melanie assured me.
“She’s right.” Veronica agreed. “So long as she’s careful,” she continued with emphasis and a stern look, “she won’t have any trouble.”
Melanie grimaced and laughed at the same time. I’m not sure how she managed it, but she did. “Okay, mom, I’ll be careful.” she said.
Veronica rolled her eyes. “At any rate, I think it’s time we all went to bed.” We agreed and I carried the blanket and pillow back to bed with me.
I was really tired after all that walking, so I slept like a baby. Laura woke me up when breakfast was ready.
“So when are you going to the hospital?” Laura asked after breakfast.
“No time like the present, right?” I answered. “And I’ll be careful, Veronica.” Veronica’s mouth had started to open and snapped closed when I said that. She’s so predictable!
After a quick goodbye I left. I walked over to the same area I ‘disappeared’ yesterday before changing my appearance. This way if someone asked questions to try and track me down, they’d be led to the same area, which is well away from home.
Back as ‘Lisa’, the name I used with Jean, I started off for the hospital. It wasn’t long before I felt the same mind from last night watching me. I pretended that I didn’t know he was there. He stayed back, so I went on into the hospital without any problems. He didn’t come in after me, so I figured he would wait for me to come out. If I read Jean right, he’d have one long wait!
I didn’t bother with invisibility, and made my way up to Jean’s room. She was wide awake, and I guessed that she had been warned that I was coming by her friend. “Good morning Jean.” I called as I entered her room.
“Good morning Lisa.” she answered. “When are you going to tell me how you did that trick yesterday?”
I grinned outwardly, but knew that she didn’t believe it was a trick, or she wouldn’t have someone following me. “How about I teach you how to do it, instead?” I asked.
“And how are you going to do that?” she asked skeptically.
“I can walk you through it; it’s not really that hard. It would help if you could keep an open mind, though.” I answered. I knew she did have an open mind, but I decided to keep that knowledge to myself. The less she knew about what we can do, the better!
I worked with her for a few hours. She was getting it, but was trying to drag her feet, just like I thought she would. Then she said she was tired and needed to sleep and would I come back tomorrow? I mentally gritted my teeth and agreed.
Once outside the hospital I started out for the same area I lost my shadow yesterday. He was following again, of course. What a pain!
I was about halfway there when I felt a strong surge of pain from somewhere nearby. Just great. I thought. Now I’ve got to help someone with my faithful shadow in attendance. What else can go…waaaiit, I don’t think I want to go there!
It wasn’t hard to find the hurt guy. He was in an alley less than a block away. He was pretty busted up. Someone really did a number on him. He looked like someone took a baseball bat to him, someone on steroids! Without my help he would have died, for sure.
I knew my shadow was watching, so I tried to make my healing him look like I was doing normal first aid stuff. Once I was sure he would make it, I made my way out of the alley looking every which way like I was trying to find someone to help. I moved fast enough my shadow didn’t get himself hidden before I could ‘happen’ to spot him. “Hey, call the police. Some guys been beat up pretty bad! I think he’s going to need an ambulance, too.”
My shadow pointed to himself, like he was asking if I was talking to him. I nodded and he pulled out his cell phone and made the call. While his eyes were turned away I legged it.
A couple of blocks later I was sure he wasn’t following, so I dropped my disguise and walked towards home. I saw a police car go whizzing by going back towards where I left my shadow, so I knew the guy in the alley would be taken care of.
The sun was starting to go down by the time I got back. I hoped Veronica or Laura had something going for dinner, I was starving.
As soon as I stepped inside the apartment Veronica grabbed me and dragged me inside to watch as Laura made the first changes to her body. She was making her hair longer and nicer looking. Her brown hair was getting rather reddish, which went pretty well with her green eyes. She was keeping it short by my standards, but the curl she was giving it suited her.
When the changes stopped she opened her eyes and asked, “Did it work?”
Veronica directed her to a mirror we kept in the living room for this reason and Laura spent a while taking in her new look. Between her hair, better clothes, and greater skill with her make-up, she was starting to look pretty decent. If she could just act normal, she’d probably pass okay.
“So, you like?” I asked, grinning. It’s great seeing someone happy, and Laura was beaming!
“Wow! Did I really do that?” Laura asked in awe.
“Yes, yes you did.” Veronica said with pride. I was glad to see Veronica coming out of her shell a bit; she tends to be kind of reserved. Or shy…or something. Laura’s pretty confident, except for her looks, but Veronica isn’t usually. I was hoping training Laura would help with that.
We left Laura to gaze at her altered reflection, we both knew from experience that she’d be at it a while. “So, how did things go this time?” Veronica asked once we were seated at the kitchen table.
“Ugh! That woman is so annoying! She drags everything out and pretends to believe that it’s all some kind of trick. And all the time she’s got her friend shadowing me everywhere I go. We finally managed to get somewhere, so she decides she’s tired and asks me to come back tomorrow. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I had to deal with some poor guy that got beat to hell while her friend was watching! I managed to distract him by getting him to call 911 and split.” I ranted.
“Wait, her friend just watched this guy get beat up?” Veronica asked looking all confused.
I started giggling, and finally managed to get out, “No, he was watching me helping the guy that got beat up. Neither of us saw who did it. I’m pretty sure I managed to hide what I did and make it look like regular first aid, though. While he was making the phone call I ducked out, but I saw a police car go flying past soon after.”
“Oh, okay.” Veronica said. “So I guess you’ll have to go back again tomorrow?”
Sighing, I said, “Yeah, I guess so. If she were a cooperative student, we’d be done by now. As it is, we’ll probably need a couple more days, at least. Which means a couple more days that I’ve got to ditch her friend.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Laura said, as she walked in. Guess she got tired of looking in the mirror.
“So do I.” Veronica agreed. What is this, pick on Melanie day?
“Relax.” I said. “It’s a pain, but that’s it. I’ll have it settled soon and we won’t have to deal with either of them ever again.”
Neither of them looked all that convinced, but they didn’t push it. Instead we cooked up some dinner and relaxed for a while in front of the tube (Kinda weird to call it that, they haven’t used vacuum tubes in ages, but whatever).
Laura made a few other minor changes after dinner, but just little cosmetic things. Mostly stuff to get a better grip on things so she could make the big changes later. She crashed early, though, tired out from all the changes she made.
I gave Veronica a more detailed account of my day. She was still worried, but I assured her I had everything under control. She finally gave up and went to bed, and I did the same.
My last thoughts before falling asleep that night were that Melanie was taking this way too casually. My thoughts took up pretty much where they left off when I woke. This reporter, Jean, could cause us some serious problems. If she managed to identify any of us, it could mean the end of our freedom forever. Maybe Melanie could break free from whatever government lab we ended up in, but I probably couldn’t, and Laura wouldn’t have a chance.
It was bad enough to think of Laura or myself locked up, but to think about Melanie being trapped in a cage was horrible. That girl had had a really hard time of it, and had just started to live her life. Despite her hardships, she was full of life and love. I would do just about anything to keep her from being locked up like that. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to.
I put my dark thoughts aside and got up and made breakfast. Laura was slow moving this morning, no surprise there after a day of training. Melanie wasn’t exactly in a rush, either, but I had a feeling this had more to do with her reluctance to go see Jean again.
After breakfast Melanie took off again, so I helped Laura work on her transformation. She had already taken care of her hair (including body hair) and eyes. She had also cleared up a few imperfections in her skin. I decided she was ready to do more for her skin today.
Laura was really taking to these physical changes easily. She had cleared up all the blemishes, visible veins, acne, old scars, etc. by lunchtime. By the time Melanie returned her skin was fair, soft, smooth, and freckly. Apparently she decided to go with an Irish look. Whether she actually had Irish ancestors or not I wasn’t sure, but whatever makes you happy.
Melanie was a lot less energetic than usual when she returned. If I didn’t know better, I would think she was worried! “What happened, Mel?” I asked.
She glared at me, she hates being called Mel, and said, “We’ve got another complication.” Then she flopped down onto the love seat with her feet over one arm and her head on the other.
Laura looked over at her worriedly, and I asked, “What do you mean? What kind of complication? They haven’t figured out who you are, have they?” Laura was tensing up with every word. Damn! There I go worrying Laura again. I really need to learn to keep my gob shut!
Melanie smiled weakly, “Nah, they haven’t got a clue. Other than playing hide and seek with my shadow, and Jean stretching things out as usual, things went fine there. No, the complication is the guy that beat up that guy in the alley yesterday.”
I frowned, remembering her description of the man nearly beaten to death. “How is he a problem? We don’t even know who he is.”
“We do now.” she explained. “His name is Karl, don’t know his last name, and he didn’t appreciate me saving that guy he beat up. Seems he thinks that guy is a drug dealer, and he’s doing the world a favor by trying to kill the guy. Karl said if I interfere again he’d kill me.”
“Wow, he sure doesn’t know what he’s dealing with!” Laura cackled.
“No, he doesn’t, but I do.” Melanie said soberly. Considering how upbeat, some might even say manic, she usually is, I find this attitude worrying.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“His spirit is awake, and he knows it.” Melanie explained.
“Is he like Ann, then?” Laura asked. I shuddered at the thought. If there was someone out there as powerful as Ann who acted like that, we’d be in really big trouble.
“Oh no!” Melanie exclaimed. “He’s not like that. I think Ann gave him some limited training, probably so he could heal himself. I think he’s homeless, so Ann probably met up with him when she was traveling. She wouldn’t train him fully, I’m sure, since he’s pretty messed up in the head.”
“Oh, great!” Laura groused. “Just what we need! A user who’s mentally unstable.”
“User? What are you on about?” I asked.
“Spirit energy user. I don’t know what else you’d call it, and that’s how I’ve been thinking about it.” Laura explained.
Melanie shrugged. “I guess that’s as good a term as any. I hadn’t really given it any thought. And yeah, him being mentally unstable isn’t a good thing.”
“So what do we do about our mentally unstable rogue user?” I asked.
Melanie shrugged again. “Not much we can do. I haven’t seen him, only heard his voice, and thoughts. I know his name is Karl, but not much else. I can keep a mental ear out, but that’s it. One thing we can do, though, is to not leave here without me. I got a general feeling of his abilities. He’s stronger than you, Veronica, but weaker than Laura. Since Laura’s untrained we have to assume he could take her in a fight. I should be able to handle him, though.”
“What if he knows some kind of martial arts or something?” Laura asked. I had been thinking along the same lines.
“I should be able to boost a whole lot better than him. That should make up for any skill he may have.” Melanie said. She didn’t sound too worried, which just made me worry more.
“Boost? What’s that?” Laura asked.
“It’s a fairly simple technique that increases your strength, endurance, and speed for a while. Melanie’s really good at it, which is why she can move so fast and be so strong. She’s normally no faster or stronger than anyone else.” I explained.
Laura looked bewildered as she asked, “So you didn’t make permanent changes to your body to make yourself stronger? I just assumed that’s what you did.”
“Nope!” Melanie answered. “I’m just a normal human most of the time. I only boost up my strength and speed when I need to. I can keep it up for quite a while, but I’ve never seen the need.”
“Are you sure you’d be able to handle him?” Laura asked fearfully. That’s one thing I was really getting to like about Laura, she really cared about other people.
“Don’t worry!” Melanie admonished. “I’ve got lots of cool tricks up my sleeves. I’ve even got one I came up with myself that I don’t think Ann has tried yet. Even if he’s fully trained, which I doubt, I can handle him. My biggest concern is that I may have to kill him.”
“Kill him!” I exclaimed. “Why would you have to kill him?!” I couldn’t even imagine Melanie killing anyone. Sure she’s strong and fast, and has the ability. But I just couldn’t see her actually doing it.
“I think I understand.” Laura surprised me by saying. “If he’s skilled enough, the police could never handle him. Even if they shot him, he could heal himself pretty fast and be right back in the fight. Or he could play dead and escape later. If he’s too dangerous, our only real choice may be to kill him. Otherwise he would keep hurting, and maybe killing, other people.”
“But…there has to be another way!” I spluttered.
Melanie sighed and said, “If he’s not too strong, the police can handle him. I hope that’s the way it turns out, assuming I ever encounter this guy again. But if he keeps hurting people and he’s too skilled for the police, I’ll have to. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but we can’t leave him loose either.”
I slumped back onto the couch with my chin resting on my chest. “I guess you’re right. I don’t like it, though.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t be an issue?” Laura suggested hopefully.
“Hopefully.” Melanie agreed. “Hey, have you guys eaten yet?”
We agreed we hadn’t, so Melanie popped out to get some take-out. I offered to go, but she didn’t want me out alone. Just in case. That didn’t exactly reassure me.
“I hope you like pizza.” I said to Laura after the door closed.
“That her favorite or something?” Laura asked.
“Yes. She would eat pizza morning, noon, and night if you let her.” I answered.
I was proven right about half an hour later, when Melanie returned with a large pepperoni.
After dinner Laura showed off her new skin, and suggested she might try to make permanent enhancements to her musculature and skeletal structure once she had them shaped right. That way she would be better able to protect herself. I don’t think Melanie saw the appeal, but I could see why Laura would want that. She would never be able to match Melanie’s ability to boost herself, but those enhancements would make up for some of that.
For myself I considered it, but decided to wait and see how things turned out for Laura. She showed a real aptitude for that kind of thing, so I figured that she would be a better pioneer in that area than I.
We talked for a while about different changes we could make and the pros and cons of each. Laura had some really good ideas. Melanie was largely indifferent, content in her ability to boost her abilities as needed. I wasn’t really interested in turning myself into a fighting machine, but I could see some use for some of what Laura suggested.
We finished off the day with a movie and went to bed.
Melanie’s revelation about Karl really worried me, which must have been the reason for those weird dreams. Anyway, when I woke up I was still worried for Melanie, but also looking forward to getting farther with my transformation. I already looked a lot better; I couldn’t wait to see what we could accomplish today!
After breakfast Veronica and I said goodbye to Melanie. We were both a little subdued after that, worrying about Karl. Hopefully Melanie wouldn’t run into him again.
I’d had some interesting ideas yesterday, so I decided to put some of them into practice. The first was about muscles. I knew that becoming female would result in a significant loss of muscle mass. It occurred to me that with our control over our bodies, we didn’t have to be satisfied with normal human physiology. Why not have denser, stronger muscles? They wouldn’t have to be obvious, either.
Veronica was a little worried that I wanted to jump into muscle work so soon, but finally gave in. I changed my muscle shape to resemble a normal females of my size, then made them denser. Basically I was using about three times the muscle mass I would otherwise have (I decided to keep my 5'll" height), but packed into the same size that would be normal for my size. My muscles ended up being a little more defined than they otherwise would be, but it worked!
This took several hours and was very tiring. We took a break for lunch and discussed my progress.
“I’m really impressed with how much you’ve accomplished.” Veronica said. “What you’ve done so far took me much longer. Even Melanie took longer than you are. You have a real knack for this kind of thing.”
“But isn’t training time linked to power?” I asked, referring to the fact that Melanie tended to make quicker progress than Veronica because she has a lot more power to work with.
“Yes and no.” Veronica answered. “There’s definitely a link, but there are other factors, too. For instance, Melanie is really good at boosting. Ann said that she learned it even faster than Ann herself. And Ann is a lot stronger than Melanie. So maybe there’s a specialization issue. If so, then Melanie’s specialization is boosting, and yours would probably be transformations.”
Hmm, interesting idea. “So what’s your specialty?” I asked.
Veronica shrugged. “I don’t think I really have one. I don’t have enough power to do much. It may only really become an issue with spirits as powerful as yours.”
I couldn’t see why Veronica wouldn’t have a specialty as well, but I had to admit I hadn’t seen any sign of one. Not that I had a lot of experience to draw on.
“So how is the new musculature working out for you?” Veronica asked after lunch.
I stretched and felt the pull of my new muscles. “Not quite right. I think I need to fix my skeletal structure next, so they can work together better.”
Veronica nodded and asked, “So are you going to make your bones extra strong as well?”
“Yes, I think I need to. Otherwise I might break my own bones if I exert myself too much.” I answered.
So we spent several more hours working on that. This was made a little more difficult because I had already done the muscles. Seems it works better in the opposite order.
By the time Melanie returned home, once again irritated at Jean, my skeleton was properly female in shape and tough enough to take the kind of stress my new muscles could put on them. My muscles and bones were also working together nicely, now. I felt like I could bench press a car, though I hadn’t made myself that strong.
Melanie was muttering about Jean for several minutes after she got home, so Veronica started talking about my changes to distract her. It took a while, but Melanie was finally sidetracked and started to take an interest. So much so, in fact, that she decided we needed to have an arm wrestling match to see how strong I am now.
“I’ll start off at normal strength, and slowly increase it to see how much power I have to expend to beat you.” Melanie said as we got set up. I was a little worried about hurting her, but she assured me she could handle it. We started and I was easily winning at first. I had her almost down to the table when she started to reverse it. I hadn’t really noticed the increase in strength until the last, when I found I couldn’t move her arm anymore.
“Wow, I had to put some serious energy into that!” Melanie said after slamming my hand down onto the table. Somehow she managed not to break the table in the process. My arm was aching afterwards. “Remember Laura, you can heal yourself.” Melanie reminded me. Oh yeah!
My pain went away very quickly. “So how much did you have to exert yourself, Melanie?” Veronica asked.
“A fair amount.” Melanie answered. “I didn’t think she’d be that strong. Once she learns to boost, the combination of the two will make her really strong.”
I was happy with my new muscles. I looked a little Amazonian with my height and slightly bulkier muscles, but I was actually a lot stronger than I looked. I also learned that I could move faster, as my new muscles acted like tightly coiled springs. I could do some real damage with this!
Now that Melanie was relaxed and we had related my progress for the day (which Melanie said was awesome) I asked, “How did things go with Jean and your shadow today, Melanie?”
Melanie sighed, “Frustrating. She’d probably be done by now if she weren’t spending so much time giving me the third degree. We might be able to finish tomorrow. Her shadow is getting tired of losing me, though.” she finished with a smile.
“So, Laura, do you feel confident enough to leave the apartment yet?” Melanie asked. The quick change of subject left me confused for a moment.
I thought about it, and realized that the change of bone and muscle shape had done me a lot of good. My clothes fit rather loosely now (the extra mass for my muscles and bones had largely come from body fat). On the other hand, having a female bone structure meant that my face needed a lot less work to be passable. Hardly any at all, really.
There was still one problem, though. “Not yet.” I answered. “I still need to fix my voice.”
Melanie nodded. “I thought you might say that. Maybe you can get that sorted in time to go out for dinner tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.
“Let me guess, pizza?” I asked. Veronica giggled and Melanie scowled.
“I’m not that bad!” she protested.
“Yes, you are.” Veronica countered.
“Okay, maybe I am.” Melanie agreed sheepishly. “So, what do you say?”
Veronica and I nodded. “Sure, why not?” Veronica said.
“Good! Pizza is so much better when you don’t get it to go!” Melanie beamed.
“Well, if we’re going to do that, I guess we’d better get to work on your Larynx.” Veronica said to me. I agreed and we got to work while Melanie made dinner. I think she was more interested in not having to cook dinner again than she was in going out. Or maybe I was underestimating how much of a pizza connoisseur she is.
I hadn’t worked on cartilage yet, so this was a new area. The vocal chords are muscles, but I hadn’t gotten to them yet, either. We decided to get the cartilage out of the way first, so I wouldn’t have an Adams apple anymore. It also got me a much cuter nose!
After taking care of the rest, I got down to the vocal chords. This was more a matter of making a change, talking to see how it sounded, rinse and repeat. Veronica recorded my voice each time so I could hear how it sounded to them, as well as what it sounds like to me. It’s amazing how much difference it makes hearing it from a recording.
I still wasn’t entirely satisfied by the time we decided to call it a night. That was okay, since I’d have most of the day to perfect it. Maybe I would even have some time to get some other things done, too?
I was amazed at how much progress Laura had made in just one day. Not only had she changed two major parts of her body (which took me a lot longer), but she had managed to improve on the original while she was at it! I had to agree with Veronica that she had a knack for it. Just imagine what she could do once she had really explored her abilities!
Once again I was out the door after breakfast, making my circuitous route towards the hospital and taking on the guise of Lisa on the way. Much to my surprise, my shadow wasn’t where I was expecting him. In fact, I didn’t encounter him the whole way. Weird! Maybe they had given up? Nah!
Jean was looking a bit better when I arrived, which just reinforced my thoughts that she was trying to hide how much progress she was really making. Not that she had much hope of hiding anything from a mind reader, but she didn’t need to know that!
“Good morning Jean! How are you feeling today?” I asked.
“Better, Lisa. Maybe this weird training of yours is actually working.” Right, like she doesn’t already know that!
To my surprise, Jean only made token efforts to get information out of me. This was even more surprising, since her thoughts told me that she was even more determined to find out more about me. Apparently she was trying to lull me into a false sense of security. Good thing I can read minds, right?
I took advantage of this to get more training done then we had been. We took a break at lunch time, but she didn’t even try to say I should go home for the day, so I came back after lunch. We trained for a few more hours before I declared her done. “You’ve got it, Jean! If you’re not completely cured by the end of the day, it’ll only because you got lazy!”
Jean laughed and assured me she would be getting out of that hospital as soon as she could convince her doctors that she was ready. “Thanks Lisa.” Jean said. “I know I’ve been a pain. You’ve saved my life, and given me the tools to heal myself of any future injuries or illnesses. How can I ever thank you?”
I might have been moved by her sincere sounding words, if I couldn’t hear her plotting in her head. “Just stop trying to find out more about me, and we’re even!” I answered.
Jean laughed and agreed. We talked a bit more and then I said goodbye for the last time.
I kept up my usual precautions on the way home. It was shortly after gratefully dropping the illusion that I once again sensed someone in a lot of pain. It turned out to be another man who had been beaten near death. I stabilized him, noticing as I did that his injuries were a lot like the other man’s. Hopefully Karl wouldn’t be putting in an appearance!
After doing what I could for him, I found someone to call the police for me. I didn’t want to do it myself, because then they’d want to know who I am and I don’t officially exist! After that I high-tailed it home.
As I walked in the apartment I was greeted by two beautiful voices singing Sarah Mclachlan songs. I didn’t recognize either one, so I was a little worried until I got into the room and saw Veronica and Laura. Laura’s voice was now a really nice soprano. It somehow managed to sound like her old voice, without being the least bit masculine. What was really surprising was Veronica’s voice. I didn’t expect her to change it again!
When they were done singing they noticed me watching, or listening I guess. “Sounds great, Laura! I don’t know how you managed to make it sound so good while still sounding like your old voice, but you did great!”
Laura smiled and said, “Thanks! What about Veronica? Doesn’t she sound great, too? She was complaining that she couldn’t sing, so we fixed it!”
I tried to look shocked as I exclaimed, “What, you mean we won’t have to keep replacing the mirror in the bathroom every time she sings in the shower anymore?!” I ducked just in time to avoid the flying pillow. Hey, if you can’t annoy your big sister, who can you?
Veronica and Laura told me all about their day, and I noticed that Laura was looking really good. She’s probably about ready to go all the way I thought.
“So how was your day?” Laura asked.
“Well,” I answered, “my shadow didn’t turn up. Jean hardly gave me any trouble at all, and even apologized for being a pain. If she wasn’t plotting the whole time to find out who I am I might have been impressed.”
“So she was trying to get you to let your guard down?” Veronica asked.
“Yep. Didn’t work, of course, but I didn’t let her know that. I figured she called her shadow off so I would be even more apt to relax.” I answered. I hesitated, knowing they would freak about the guy I healed.
“Something else happen?” Laura asked. Damn! That girl is getting entirely too perceptive.
“Yeah, it did. I found another victim of Karl, I think.” I said.
Veronica groaned and Laura looked alarmed. “I didn’t actually encounter Karl.” I hastened to assure them. “It’s just that his injuries were very similar. It might have been a random mugging, or something.”
“But you don’t think so, do you?” Veronica asked.
“No, not really, but what can we do?” I said.
Veronica answered, “Nothing. I don’t like this. From what you said this victim was a lot closer to home. If Karl finds out where we live we could be in for some real trouble.”
I looked over at Laura and considered her enhancements. “Laura, you still can’t handle this guy, but at least you have a better chance of surviving an encounter. But you,” I turned to Veronica, “are way too vulnerable. You can’t boost well enough to make much of a difference if this guy is as dangerous as I think he is. Maybe you should consider making some of the same changes as Laura.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing.” Laura said. “And if you do, you’ll be a lot more dangerous when you do boost. Maybe even dangerous enough to give this guy a good fight. But what about mass? You don’t have any to spare.” Laura asked, looking at Veronica’s thin 5’6” frame.
I laughed, “You’ve still got a lot to learn! Mass isn’t as much of a barrier for us as you might think. We can convert energy to mass, to some extent. Besides, she can just eat lots of filling foods and use that for the extra mass.”
Veronica looked back and forth between us in deep thought before saying, “I think I will. I don’t want to fight, but I might not get a choice. What about you Melanie?”
I frowned. I really didn’t want to change my look. I could do some stuff, but then I’d be heavier. Or my skin would be rougher. “Nah! I don’t want to change, and I don’t really need to.”
Laura frowned before saying, “I guess I can understand your reluctance, especially since you can compensate by boosting. But there is one change you might want to consider. I haven’t done it myself yet, but I think I know how to do it. You could increase your metabolism and healing rate, so you would heal quickly.”
“Hmm.” I mused. “Yeah, that could be useful. If I were to get hit by surprise and knocked out, I wouldn’t be able to heal myself to get back in the fight quickly. If I naturally heal fast, though, I won’t have to. That sounds promising.”
Veronica agreed, but grumbling stomachs interrupted the conversation. “Maybe we’d better go get that pizza before we continue this conversation.” she suggested.
We agreed and started walking towards my favorite pizza place. To my surprise, they both went along with my pepperoni fetish. What can I say, it’s good!
We kept our conversation on mundane subjects while in public, so it was mostly about the new wardrobe Laura was going to need and what kind of clothes she wanted. With her Amazonian looks I thought she should go with sporty clothes. Veronica suggested, gasp!, corset tops and short skirts! At least my suggestion wasn’t what I wear everyday! (I prefer lightweight long layered skirts, they’re much more fun!)
Laura was undecided and wanted to look at lots of different styles, but only after her changes were complete. She mentioned this as we were leaving. I was so involved in the conversation I almost didn’t notice a familiar mind, Karl!
I stopped suddenly and looked around trying to spot him. It’s usually pretty easy to spot someone when you can hear their thoughts, but this guy was weirdly hard to pin down. Must be something to do with his unhinged mind!
“What’s up Melanie?” Laura asked as she noticed I wasn’t walking with them anymore.
“He’s here.” I answered.
Veronica frowned. “Karl?” she asked.
I nodded. I finally found him, crouched down on the roof of an adjacent building. “There.” I said, pointing him out.
Laura stepped in front of Veronica. “What should we do?” she asked tensely.
I grinned, “Stop trying to play hero, for one. You can’t handle this guy. You two should fade back; find some cover to hide behind. If we separate he might come after you, so don’t go too far.” Just as they started to do as I said I cursed under my breath and said, “Wait! You need to get out of here, now!”
My eyes were glued to Karl, but I could almost see the frown on Veronica’s face as she said, “You just said he might come after us, now you want us to run?”
“He’s not the only one here.” I explained. “My shadow’s back.” I doubted he was watching me specifically, but he was about to see me if he stayed in the area. “He’s probably going to see whatever happens here. You two have identities you don’t want to abandon. I don’t. If I have to disappear I can do it a lot easier than you can. Get out of here.”
I didn’t dare to take my eyes off of Karl, so I had to rely on my senses to know that they were moving away. They weren’t too happy about it, but they were doing as I asked.
Just then Karl jumped off of the roof and landed just ten feet from me. “Well, you look a little different now, don’t you girly?” he said menacingly.
“What do you want, Karl?” I asked.
“So you know my name, too?” he sneered. “You’re just full of surprises. I knew Ann was holding out on me. She probably taught you all sorts of interesting tricks, all the stuff she denied being able to do at all! Tell you what, you teach me how to do all that stuff and I won’t kill you.”
Well, that confirmed that. Couldn’t blame Ann for holding out on this guy. “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I teach you to be a more dangerous crazy person. Right. Not! There’s no way I’m going to help you to hurt people. In fact, I’m not going to let you hurt people anymore at all.” I answered.
He laughed weirdly as he advanced on me. “You won’t *let* me?! What makes you think you can stop me?” he demanded.
“Oh, gee, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m like, way more powerful than you? Or maybe because I’m fully trained? Or maybe it’s because I’m sane?” I replied.
“Oh I’m perfectly sane.” He laughed. “I’m going to clean up this town. Get rid of all the drug dealers and muggers. And you’re going to help me, or you’re going to die.”
“Dude, listen to yourself! You think you’re some super hero or something? You’re just a loony who’s better than most at beating people to death!” I answered.
“So you’re not going to help me?” He asked all weirdly calm.
“No. You have to stop this.” I answered.
He shrugged carelessly. “Oh well, I don’t really need your help, anyway.” With that he took a swing at me, but I was ready for that.
I caught his fist in my hand, but I barely managed to stop it. How was he so strong? He yanked his arm back and tried again. I caught it again, easier this time since I was ready for his strength. “I can keep this up all day, you know.” I said.
“You think so?” he sneered, and spun around, heel leading right for my head.
“Ouch!” I complained, as I picked myself back up off the ground. As I did I realized I was about ten feet away from where I had been. Did he really hit me that far? I realized he’d been holding back, maybe to see what I was capable of. Well, two can play at that game…
“You bitch!” he yelled, as he picked himself up off the ground, after bouncing off the wall. “How did you do that?”
“What, this?” I asked, and blurring forward struck him in the chest with both hands. Once again he flew through the air and crashed into the wall of the building he had been on the roof of. The wall looked like it had been hit by a mortar shell or something.
To my surprise, he got up and brushed himself off as if it was nothing. “Not bad, girlie, but you’ll have to do a lot more than that to get rid of me.” he said as he advanced on me menacingly. He went to punch me again, but when I tried to block I realized too late he was faking and took a heavy blow to the chest. Now it was my turn to go flying again.
I crashed into the wall of the pizza place, but not so hard that the wall took any real damage. I picked myself back up and decided that I was going to have to go all out on my boosting to deal with him. These short bursts of speed and strength weren’t enough. I came at him again, probably faster than his eyes could follow, but he anticipated me with a boot to the stomach.
I crashed right into it and sent us both sprawling. He wasn’t hurt, just knocked down, but my stomach was really hurting. A quick bit of healing took care of that, and I decided that shielding sounded like a really good idea.
While I was distracted he charged me and tried to jump kick me in the head. I used my speed to slide to the side and trip him up. He rolled with the fall and was back on his feet. He came at me and faked a kick, followed up by a real punch. I probably would have been fooled, if I’d bothered to stick around. By the time he realized I’d avoided his attack I was spinning around behind him and slamming the heel of my foot into the back of his head.
We were pretty close to another wall at this point, and my kick drove his head into the wall. I stared in horror, fearing I had killed him. He hung there with his head implanted in the wall, then pulled himself out. “Shit, girlie! That really hurt! I’ll have to pay you back for that one!” he yelled after spitting out a tooth. He grinned then, showing the gap in his teeth which slowly filled in as he re-grew his tooth.
Damn, he’s just going to keep healing all the damage I do to him. I tried to think of a way around this, but I wasn’t having much luck. While I was ruminating he came at me again and caught me by surprise with a flying kick to the chest. It didn’t accomplish much.
“What the hell?!” he exclaimed as he stared in shock at his foot where it had stopped a millimeter from my skin. Ah, shielding, you gotta love it!
“I told you I’m way more powerful than you. You can’t win. Sooner or later I’ll wear you out, and then I’ll call the police and they’ll arrest you.” I said.
He laughed. “Go ahead, girlie!” he said. “I’ll just break out later. Or get shot up and then escape from the hospital like I did before. You can’t stop me!”
“Oh come on!” I exclaimed. “You’re making the case for something I don’t want to do. If the police can’t handle you, and you’re dead set on killing people, you’ll leave me no choice but to kill you!”
He snorted and said, “Yeah, right, like a little girl like you could kill me! I’m invincible! I’ll heal anything you do to me and keep coming. Sooner or later I’ll take you out and then nothing can stop me from cleaning up this town.”
He’s like a demented cross between a comic book super villain and super hero! “Please,” I begged, “give up! I don’t want to kill you!”
“I don’t want to kill you!” he mocked in falsetto. He charged me again and I stopped him with a foot to the groin. He was lifted a couple of feet off the ground by the force of the blow, and didn’t land well.
I didn’t like where this was going. He’s strong, tough, relentless, and can heal himself! He’s no match for me, but he’s more than a match for anyone else but Ann. How do you deal with someone who could probably rip the bars right out of the wall of any jail cell he’s put in? Not to mention being able to take a few bullets and get right back up!
He recovered quickly despite his poor landing and came at me. He never landed another blow on me, but my blows weren’t accomplishing much. He was insanely tough, and healed what little damage I did. He must have figured out how to boost, but concentrated all his efforts on making himself stronger and tougher, without increasing his speed.
This went on for a few minutes before there was a pause as he caught his breath. “This is getting boring.” he finally said with a sneer. “Maybe one of your girlfriends will be more fun to play with.” With that he turned and started running off in the direction that Veronica and Laura went.
I think I actually saw red when he said that, and sped off in pursuit. It only took me a moment to catch up with him, grab his arm, and throw him bodily backwards into that same shell-shocked wall. I calmed down pretty quickly as I realized that he didn’t have a chance of getting past me to get at them. But if I let him go he would probably try to kill them later, when I wasn’t around to protect them.
In that moment I realized that there never really was a choice. If he had been a normal crazy person, I could have handed him over to the cops and they would have taken him to the loony bin and maybe they even would have been able to help him. But with his powers he couldn’t be held in any prison or hospital. The only way to deal with him was to kill him. It was exactly as I’d feared.
“I’m really sorry about this, but you’ve left me no choice.” I said mournfully as he picked himself back up again. His eyes narrowed as he stared at me hatefully just before opening widely as my hand punched right through his chest and out his back. I’d hit him so hard I was up to my elbow before I stopped. I’d hit him right in the heart, which was now all but destroyed.
He gasped in pain and gurgled, “Kill you!” He struggled feebly, but I didn’t pull my arm out. I knew if I did, he might be able to repair his heart and this fight would continue forever. So I held my arm there to prevent him from healing himself. His struggles weakened and finally stopped. I watched in horror as his aura faded, flickered, and was gone.
I had to drag Laura away when Melanie told us to run, but she didn’t argue when I told her to double back and watch from a distance so Melanie wouldn’t know we were there. I couldn’t sense her, so I hoped she couldn’t sense us. I didn’t want to distract her, but I wanted to be ready if she needed help.
“If it looks like she’s in trouble, I’ll hit him as fast as I can, then you grab Melanie and we’ll run for it.” I told Laura. She nodded.
We watched tensely as Melanie and Karl talked, then Karl took a swing at Melanie, but she caught it with difficulty. I tensed at that. He must be very strong. He took another swing, but Melanie caught it easily. Karl followed that up with a quick spinning kick that sent Melanie literally flying several feet!
Laura started forward but I grabbed her by the arm, “Not yet.” I said. “She’s tougher than she looks.”
I wasn’t as sure about that as I tried to sound, but I was proven right when Melanie suddenly shot forward so fast I could hardly see her and slammed into Karl with both hands. Karl flew even higher and farther than Melanie had, and slammed into the wall of a building with so much force it cracked!
“Whoa!” Laura whispered beside me. I could only nod; I had never seen Melanie cut loose like that before!
Karl yelled something at Melanie, and she repeated her attack. The wall almost gave way as Karl slammed into it again. It was starting to look like a war zone over there!
I think Laura and I both gasped when Karl seemed unfazed from that hit. Then he took another swing at Melanie, but it was just a feint and his foot connected with her stomach, sending her flying into the opposite wall. It didn’t look as impressive as the flight Karl took, but it still looked painful. Melanie came back with blinding speed, but ran right into his foot and they both took a tumble.
We both tensed, Melanie was obviously hurt, but she straightened up quickly and a change to her aura told me she was shielding now. Well, better late than never, I guess.
Karl came at her again, but Melanie dodged to the side and tripped him up. He rolled back to his feet and tried again with a feint, but Melanie spun around behind him and slammed him face first into another wall! His head went right through and he hung there a moment. Laura and I exchanged an incredulous glance, had she killed him?
He pulled himself free of the wall, obviously hurt, but recovered as quickly as Melanie had. He tried to kick Melanie, but the blow had no effect. This was the first time Laura or I had seen someone shielding during a fight (or Melanie, probably), so we were both shocked at how well it worked. So was Karl.
They yelled back and forth at each for a little while. It didn’t seem to accomplish much, as Karl charged Melanie again, only to get hoisted up in the air with the aid of a kick to the groin. I think Laura and I both winced as he crashed down after that blow. That’s really got to hurt!
Karl still got up quickly and they continued, but Melanie didn’t let Karl land any more blows. Karl must be insanely tough, or heal ridiculously quickly because he recovered quickly from each blow. After a few minutes of this, Karl paused and then said something to Melanie and started running right at us!
Just as Laura and I were getting ready to make a run for it, Melanie blurred forward faster than before, grabbed Karl by the arm, and threw him into the wall! The look on her face was frightening and I was relieved to see it pass rather quickly.
She turned to face Karl and said something in a voice so sad I could hardly believe it was coming out of her mouth. Then she held her hand flat with the fingers together and flew at Karl, burying her arm up to the elbow in his chest!
As horrified as I was that she would do such a thing, I was even more unnerved when she held him like that until he became limp and slid to the ground. My mouth was wide open, but no sound would come out. I turned to look at Laura in shock, but her expression was just as baffling. Instead of being shocked or horrified at what she was seeing, she was crying! Did she feel so strongly for others that his death would affect her so much?
Laura disabused me of that notion when she whispered, “We’d better go to her, she’s going to need our help.” I couldn’t understand why she was worried about Melanie now, when Karl was obviously dead. I turned to look at Melanie just in time to see her faint dead away.
I was so keyed up by the fight that my aura sight was working pretty reliably, unusual for me. When I saw Melanie stab Karl, and hold him until he died, I could see the change in her aura, and knew that killing him hurt her nearly as much as it did him. Just after I said that we should help her, she fainted and lay next to Karl’s corpse.
I sensed that Veronica didn’t understand the situation as well as I did, but she was no slower than I to run to Melanie when she collapsed. We didn’t have to discuss the dangers of anyone finding Melanie there like that. I picked Melanie up, my new muscles coming in handy. Despite her height, she looked like a child as we hurried home with her in my arms.
I knew that Jean’s friend had probably seen all of that, so Veronica and I split up to try and lose him. I soon felt his concentration focus on me, so I knew he was following me. With my newly enhanced muscles, I was able to run very fast, even while carrying Melanie. Especially once I threw her over my shoulder. He slowly fell behind, and my superior strength and endurance soon had us far enough apart for me to be able to lose him.
About fifteen minutes later Veronica and I met up at the apartment and hurried in. It was dark out, so I could only hope that no one saw us carrying Melanie in, or the blood she was covered in.
I laid her down on the couch as Veronica alternated between fussing over her and shying away from her. Her behavior was very strange. “What’s wrong, Veronica? You’re acting strangely.” I asked.
Veronica stopped moving, but was slow to answer. Finally, she said, “I’m worried about Melanie. And I’m worried about Jean’s friend. And…” she paused for several moments and I was about to ask what when she said, “I can’t believe Melanie did that!” This last was said with a weird mixture of incredulity and disgust.
I just knelt there, next to the couch, my mouth gaping. “You sound like you’re ready to disown her!” I exclaimed.
Veronica seemed frustrated as she replied, “Well, you saw what she did! How could she kill him like that? I didn’t think Melanie was capable of something so…cold blooded!”
“Wow! And you’re the lawyer?! I thought you’d be cynical, not naíve!” I said. “I would have thought you’d know by now that anyone is capable of being cold blooded. Besides, she didn’t want to do that!”
“Then why did she do it?” she demanded.
“She felt that she didn’t have a choice. The police couldn’t hold that guy. He would have continued to hurt people as long as he could. Plus, he targeted us. In case you haven’t noticed, Melanie can be very protective, especially of you.” I said pointedly. I really couldn’t see why Veronica had such a big problem about this. I was as unhappy about Melanie having to kill someone as anyone, but I understood her reasons.
Veronica shook her head and started to leave the room, muttering under her breath. “Whether you agree with what she did or not,” I said to her back, “she’s going to need your help. She was very upset about what she did. She looks up to you.” Veronica paused after I said that, then left for her bedroom.
I sighed as I turned back to Melanie. I’d deal with Veronica later.
Melanie was mumbling to herself in her sleep and started thrashing around. “No! Don’t want to…please stop…I’m sorry…I’m sorry!” she cried out, sitting up with her eyes wide open at the last. She didn’t seem to see me at all. She sat there like that, tense but unseeing, for several seconds and then suddenly relaxed and laid back down. Her eyes were closed now, and I was sure she had never woken up.
I decided that Melanie probably wasn’t going to be awake any time soon, so I grabbed Melanie’s cell phone and looked up Ann’s number. I dialed it and hoped she would be awake, I wasn’t sure what the time was where Ann’s at, or even exactly where Ann is.
After a few rings Ann picked up and said, “Hi Melanie! How are you?” Her voice was pretty up beat, so I figured I hadn’t woke her up.
“It’s Laura.” I answered. “Something has happened, and I think Melanie needs your help. Especially since Veronica doesn’t seem so inclined. How soon could you get here, and how long could you stay?”
“What’s happened? Is she hurt? What’s wrong?!” Ann asked rapidly. She was sounding a bit panicked.
“Slow down, Ann. She’s not hurt. At least not physically. She had to do something she really didn’t want to, and I think it’s really hurt her. Veronica seems to have some kind of issue with it, so I don’t think I can count on her help right now.” I explained.
“What? Veronica and Melanie are like sisters, why would Veronica turn her back on Melanie?” Ann asked.
“I really don’t understand it, either, Ann. I think you need to get here as quickly as possible.” I answered.
“Alright. My student is doing well; I should be able to leave for as long as Melanie needs. I’ll be there in the morning.” Ann said. I thanked her and we said goodbye.
“Well Melanie,” I said, “the cavalry is on its way.” I went to my room and changed for bed. Then I collected a pillow and blankets and laid them out next to the couch. I wasn’t about to leave Melanie alone tonight.
I couldn’t sleep, so I whiled away the time tweaking my body. I was running out of things to change. I felt I was ready for changing my reproductive organs, but Melanie and Veronica had insisted that I not try that on my own. Apparently Melanie had almost managed to kill herself when she did it. So I spent the time experimenting.
I fell asleep eventually. I was woken with a start when Melanie started screaming and thrashing around. I jolted upright and grabbed on to her to try and calm her down. I held her to me and stroked her hair while making soothing sounds. She clung to me tightly for a long while, before she finally let go and fell back asleep.
I yawned as I lay back down and hoped Ann would arrive soon.
After leaving the living room I walked into my bedroom and flung myself on my bed. I was feeling so many things at once that I couldn’t make sense of them. How could Melanie kill someone, even a lunatic like Karl, so ruthlessly and watch him die? It made no sense to me. At the same time, I knew she was protecting Laura and I. Which was completely in character for her. After all, hadn’t she prevented me from killing myself twice?
But surely there was another way! Karl could have been helped. Maybe Ann could have done something? Melanie could have incapacitated him and called Ann, and she could have… Well, she would have come up with something! Ann would never condone killing anyone, no matter the situation. But no one, not even Melanie, could have kept him locked up for long. He was insanely strong and persistent. He shook off Melanie’s best hits like they were love taps!
I went on like this for what seemed hours. The next thing I knew, someone was knocking on the door. “Veronica, are you going to have breakfast with us?” was called through the door. Veronica was shocked, that was Ann’s voice!
“Ann! Why are you here?” I asked.
“I’d rather not have a conversation through a door, why don’t you come out for breakfast and we can talk at the table?” she asked. I agreed. I was still wearing the clothes I wore yesterday, so I quickly changed and walked out towards the kitchen. On the way I noticed that someone had slept on the floor by the couch, and that Melanie was still sleeping on it.
Ann and Laura were already eating and a plate was waiting for me. As I sat down I asked, “Did you sleep on the floor, Ann?”
“No, that was Laura. I just got here.” she answered. I glanced over at Laura, but she didn’t look at me.
“Why did you sleep on the floor, Laura?” I asked.
She still didn’t look at me as she answered, “To stay close to Melanie. She started screaming and thrashing around in her sleep more than once. I stayed to calm her down and make sure she didn’t do anything drastic.” Laura’s voice was cold as she said this; she obviously wasn’t too impressed with how I handled things.
Ann looked back and forth between us in confusion. “What exactly happened last night?” she asked.
“We met up with another user, someone you trained. He was unstable and had decided to kill off all the criminals he could find. Melanie had helped a couple of the people he attacked. They fought.” Laura didn’t look up the whole time she was speaking, and seemed reluctant to tell Ann everything that happened.
Ann was clearly upset, but still confused. “Who was this? You three are the only students I’ve had in the US. And why would fighting him upset Melanie so much?” she asked.
I started to answer, but Laura glared at me and said, “He wasn’t fully trained. We figured you must have trained him just enough to heal himself. He complained that you had held out on him. He figured out a few things for himself, so he was really strong and tough, although he didn’t seem to know how to make himself faster like Melanie does.”
I glared back at Laura, why was she holding back? Didn’t she call Ann to begin with? I was about to say something when Ann said, “There were a couple of people like that. I could heal them enough to survive for a while longer, but their injuries or illnesses would still have killed them. So I taught them enough to heal themselves. They were both homeless, and one in particular was a bit strange. What was his name…” she mused aloud.
“It was Karl.” I answered. Laura made shushing motions at me, but I ignored her. “Melanie killed him. She shoved her arm through his heart and held him like that so he couldn’t heal himself and watched him die!” I spat out. Even I was surprised by how angry I was.
Ann sat back in shock. Laura snapped, “Shut *up*, Veronica!” She then turned to Ann and said more calmly, “She didn’t have a choice. He was on some insane crusade and he was too strong for the police. He would have kept coming until he killed someone. She was protecting everyone, especially the ungrateful bitch sitting next to me!”
Ann and I were both shocked at this last outburst. Laura is usually so calm! She never seems to lose her cool or give up. “What is going on between you two?” Ann demanded.
“Veronica seems to think Melanie is some sort of monster! She didn’t want to kill him, she tried everything she could to avoid it! You saw her, her aura turned black when she killed him! I think she hates herself for doing it.” Laura ranted. I looked up in surprise when she talked about Melanie’s aura.
“Her aura turned black? You saw that?” I asked.
Laura looked at me strangely. “Well, of course I saw it! I know my aura sight isn’t usually that reliable, but it was crystal clear that night. Her aura matched how she described yours when you tried to kill yourself.” she said pointedly.
“Are you saying you think Melanie is suicidal?” Ann asked. Laura nodded. “Then I can see why you called me here. I’m a little shocked that Melanie would kill anyone, though. Are you sure there wasn’t any other way?” I couldn’t tell from her tone whether she wanted there to have been or not.
Laura rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure there wasn’t any other way. Unless you know of a way that the police could restrain a user strong enough to throw Melanie ten feet with a single kick?” she asked sarcastically.
Ann blinked owlishly. “Oh, he was that strong?” she asked. We both nodded this time. “Well, I guess she probably did the only thing she could then. This is why I haven’t taught more students, I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t abuse their powers like Karl apparently did. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have trained Karl. This is my fault.” Ann said and hung her head down.
Laura put her hand on Ann’s shoulder comfortingly and said, “Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t know how crazy he’d end up being. You were just trying to help him. We’ll just have to be more selective in the future who we help. We probably shouldn’t have helped that reporter, either. Now her friend has seen Melanie in action, he’s going to be a real problem.”
Ann’s head shot up at that. “Melanie was seen?! Were any pictures or recordings taken?” she asked in a panic.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. There were no flashes from a camera, and it was dark enough that he probably wouldn’t have gotten anything useable even if he had a video camera. The main problem is he saw Melanie without her illusionary disguise.” I explained.
After that we explained everything that had happened with Jean, her friend, and Karl. All the while I was mulling over what Laura had said. Melanie suicidal? Was that possible? She’s usually such an upbeat, positive person; it was hard to imagine her being suicidal. But if she was really that upset, maybe I had misjudged her?
After the explanations were over, we returned to the living room to check on Melanie. She was still sleeping, but fitfully. She was moaning, “I’m sorry.” over and over again. Ann sighed and kneeled next to Melanie.
“You’re right, Laura.” she said after a few moments. “She’s very depressed. We can’t leave her alone until she recovers from this. I think it’s about time we woke her up.”
Laura nodded, then looked over at me angrily, “You’d better leave the room, Veronica, your attitude is just going to make things worse.”
This time it was Ann putting her hand on Laura’s shoulder to calm her. “Veronica understands a little better now. I don’t think she’ll cause a problem, and Melanie will be happier if Veronica’s here when she wakes up.” Ann gave me a look at that, which told me I’d better behave. She rarely acts so aggressively, so I knew she wasn’t happy with me.
Laura looked skeptical, but nodded. Ann shook Melanie awake, which might have been a blessing for Melanie, as she seemed to be having some kind of nightmare. Melanie took a long time to wake up, and an even longer time to really become aware of her surroundings. “What’s up guys?” she finally asked, looking confused and a little concerned.
Had she forgotten what happened last night? She seemed normal, as if it never happened. “I thought we should talk about what happened last night.” Ann said cautiously.
Melanie still looked confused. “What about last night? We went out for pizza and came home. Nothing interesting happened. I had some crazy dreams though.” she answered.
We all exchanged worried glances at that. She was obviously in denial or something. Ann put her hand on Melanie’s and asked, “Honey, were any of your dreams about Karl?”
Melanie’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “How did you know? It was really horrible. I dreamed I fought with him and killed him!” she answered. She seemed horrified at the idea, but tears were streaming out of her eyes.
Laura and I both moved closer and put our hands on Melanie to let her know we were there for her as Ann said sadly, “I’m sorry, honey, but that wasn’t a dream. Karl really is dead.”
Melanie stared at all of us in shock. “I…it was real?” she asked in a small, childlike voice. My heart nearly broke seeing her like this, and I wanted to throttle myself for what I had been thinking before. How could I have thought that Melanie was like that? I should have known better!
Laura glanced at me and I realized she had heard my thoughts. She put her free hand on my shoulder, and I knew that all was forgiven. We returned our attention to Melanie as Ann said, “I’m sorry honey, but it was real. Veronica and Laura have been telling me all about what’s been happening since I left. They saw the fight, they didn’t leave as you told them too, and they doubled back so they could come to your rescue if you needed it.”
Melanie looked horrified. “You…you saw me…do that?” she asked, looking right at me. I nodded mutely. Melanie burst into tears and wailed, “You must hate me now! I’m a monster!” I grabbed onto her and held her as tight as I could.
“I don’t hate you, Melanie. I know you didn’t want to do it. You’re not a monster.” I told her as I stroked her hair. She continued to cry on my shoulder. Her tears eventually slowed, then stopped. When I pulled away I saw she had fallen asleep again. I laid her back down on the couch and covered her back up with the blanket.
Ann was smiling proudly at me, and Laura was looking pretty happy, too. “You handled that well, Veronica.” Ann said. “Now we should let her rest for a while before we try to talk to her again. Hopefully knowing you’re on her side will help her to recover from this.” We all returned to the kitchen, though we made sure we could see Melanie from where we were sitting.
“Is she any better now?” Laura asked. I realized that Laura’s aura sight was as unreliable as mine. Neither of us had the advantage of being able to feel what Melanie is feeling.
Ann sighed. “A little, but not nearly enough. She’s still in worse shape than when I found her. Laura, why don’t you go to bed and get some sleep, I know you couldn’t have gotten much last night. Veronica and I will watch over Melanie.” Laura reluctantly agreed and went to bed.
Once Laura was gone Ann turned to me. “So,” she started sternly, “what was your problem, anyway?”
I fidgeted, unable to meet Ann’s gaze. “I…I thought…that Melanie wanted to kill Karl.” I admitted softly.
Ann frowned. “Veronica, you should know better than that. Melanie can be a bit rash, but she really cares about people. She doesn’t like to see people get hurt, let alone cause it. How could you think that of her?” Ann asked.
My head hung down as I replied, “I didn’t think Melanie would ever hurt anybody. She’s such a kind, happy person, I just couldn’t imagine it. When she killed Karl, I felt…I felt like she wasn’t what I thought she was. Like she had…deceived me, I guess.” It sounded so ridiculous once I said it out loud. Here I had been thinking that Melanie was a monster, but I was the monster.
Ann nodded as I explained myself. Then, frowning, she said, “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Veronica. You made a mistake, that’s all.”
“I guess.” I answered.
Ann sighed. “Why don’t you try and get some more sleep, too, Veronica? I think you could use it.” she suggested.
I hadn’t slept much and agreed. I went back to bed, but it took me quite a while to get any sleep.
I seemed to be trapped in one long nightmare, where I killed Karl over and over again. Blood was dripping constantly off of me. I kept seeing the life leave Karl, his aura snuffed out. Slowly those horrible images faded away. I began to sense Ann’s presence near me, and her concern.
“Ann?” I mumbled, as I became fully awake and realized I was lying on the couch. Hadn’t I woken here earlier? Oh, yeah. Ann was here then, too.
“Hell Melanie.” she said. “How are you feeling now?”
I thought about the last time I woke up, and remembered. I killed him, didn’t I? I watched him die. It really happened. I suddenly became aware of my blood drenched clothing. “I need a shower.” I mumbled, as I tried to get up. Ann placed a hand on my chest and pushed me back down.
“Relax, Melanie,” she said, “I want to talk to you.”
“Okay.” I said fearfully. She’s going to kick me out, I know it. She’s so caring and loving, how can she tolerate a murderer like me?
“Oh, Melanie!” she cried, and grabbed me in a fierce hug. Huh, why’s she hugging me? “You’re not a murderer. You did what you had to do, that’s all. You’re a good person.” I started bawling at that, and Ann soon joined me. I don’t know how long that lasted, but it seemed like forever.
“I’m sorry, Ann! You taught me all this wonderful stuff, and I used it to kill someone. I don’t deserve all you’ve done for me!” I blubbered.
“No Melanie.” Ann answered firmly. “It’s Karl who misused his powers, and it’s my fault for teaching him. I knew he was unbalanced, but I thought it would be safe so long as I only taught him to heal himself. I should have realized that even that could be misused. And I should have anticipated that he could figure out other abilities on his own. After all, I learned everything I know on my own.”
“But you were just trying to help! You saved his life!” I protested.
“And you were just protecting Laura and Veronica, not to mention untold numbers of other people Karl might have killed if you hadn’t stopped him. You saved their lives. You did more good than I ever did.” Ann answered.
I just gaped at her. How could she believe that? “But I *killed* someone! You heal people all the time. How could what I did do more good than that!” I asked.
“You prevented many people from being injured in the first place. Besides, most of Karl’s victims probably wouldn’t have lived long enough to be saved. I’m sorry that you had to experience this, but you did the right thing.” Ann insisted.
I just couldn’t get my head around what she was saying. How could killing someone be a good thing? And coming from Ann, it was doubling confusing. She’s like the most caring person ever.
Ann sighed in resignation. “Okay, Melanie, why don’t you go ahead and get washed up? Maybe that will help you feel better.” Ann suggested. This reminded me of the fact that I was covered in dried blood, the blood of my victim. I couldn’t get to the bathroom fast enough!
I threw my clothes in the garbage, but I really felt like burning them. I washed and washed. The blood came off, but it didn’t, you know? I just couldn’t get the feeling of it off of me. I knew I’d always be stained with Karl’s blood. I could never forget seeing the life go out of his eyes. Despite Ann’s words, I knew I screwed up, big time. When the water turned cold I just stood under it. I felt like I deserved to be punished. The cold water stung my skin and left me shivering and my teeth chattering, but I still stood under it.
There was a loud banging on the door and Ann’s muffled voice called, “Melanie! I’m coming in!” Then the door opened. I wondered briefly how she’d opened the door, it was locked, but the screwdriver in her hand answered that question. She was holding most of the door knob in her hand as she stepped in. “I called, but you didn’t answer. Are you alright Melanie?” she asked.
“I’m fine, Ann.” I answered. I thought back and vaguely recalled hearing something.
Ann walked over and turned off the water. She stared into my eyes for several seconds before saying, “No, you’re not. You’re freezing! Come on out of there.” She practically dragged me out of the water and wrapped me up in a towel. She dried me off and then wrapped me in a dry towel. “Come on, lets get you dressed.” Ann said as she dragged me out of the bathroom.
Ann led me over to my bedroom and went through my drawers and closet, putting together an outfit for me to wear. I numbly let Ann dress me and lead me back out to the living room. The couch didn’t show any signs of the blood it must have been stained with. I was glad for that as Ann led me to sit on the love seat. She told me to stay there and walked back towards Laura’s room.
I sort of zoned out for a moment and the next thing I knew Ann, Veronica, and Laura were all standing in front of me. “Melanie…Melanie!” Laura was calling, sounding rather agitated.
“What’s up?” I asked.
They all exchanged a glance before Laura said, “We’re going out for lunch.”
“Okay, have fun.” I answered. Why were they bothering me, I wondered.
They all exchanged worried glances again. “You’re coming with us.” Veronica said.
“I’m not hungry.” I said.
“You’re coming anyway.” Ann said. She and Laura each grabbed an arm and hoisted me up. They kept a hold of me and practically dragged me out of the apartment with Veronica opening doors for us. They led me to a Chinese restaurant. Once our food arrived they took turns feeding me. Then they led me back to the apartment. Along the way I sensed Jean’s friend, but it didn’t seem important anymore.
Back at the apartment they all kept asking me questions. I answered them as shortly as I could. I really didn’t want to deal with them right now, but I knew they wouldn’t leave me alone. They kept trying to get me involved in conversation for hours. Finally they gave up and ordered me to stay put while Ann helped Laura complete her transformation and Veronica cooked dinner.
I guess I zoned out again. The next thing I knew was Veronica trying to feed me. I guess I hadn’t been responding, because she seemed relieved when I started eating. She kept an eye on me while I ate, so I made sure to eat it all.
I tried to keep them from hearing when I threw it all up later, but that didn’t work. Veronica was very annoyed with me.
Ann went to sleep on the couch shortly after dinner. Laura and Veronica tried to talk to me again, but I wasn’t paying attention. Finally, they dragged me off to my room and watched to make sure I got changed and into bed. Veronica brought a chair in from the kitchen and sat in it at the foot of my bed while Laura went off to her bed. I laid there on my back for some time before falling asleep.
I was exhausted after spending the whole day trying to get anything out of Melanie. She was like a robot most of the time. I don’t think she even noticed the tears that occasionally dripped down her face. Ann went to sleep after dinner; she’d been up a long time what with flying over from Europe. Veronica and I decided to sleep in shifts to keep an eye on Melanie. From what Ann said, Melanie was definitely suicidal, so we couldn’t leave her alone for a moment.
Veronica took the first shift, and I gratefully went off to bed. Naturally it took me a while to get to sleep. I kept worrying about Melanie. She needed some real help, but who could we turn to? A psychiatrist would have to report a murder, which is how they would see it. Besides, they’d never believe the way that Melanie killed him, anyway. We’d all probably end up in the loony bin.
I did get some sleep before Veronica came in to tell me it was my turn. I sat down at the foot of Melanie’s bed and watched her. She wasn’t sleeping; at least I don’t think she was. Her eyes were staring straight at the ceiling. She was laying flat on her back, her body stiff as a board. I was almost feeling like killing myself before I realized it was Melanie’s feelings I was picking up. While I was glad my extra senses were getting stronger, I really didn’t want to feel that. Both because it was extremely unsettling, and because I didn’t want Melanie to be feeling that way to start with.
After a few hours Ann came and took a turn so I could get a little more rest. I didn’t get much more sleep, but some. After a few hours I gave up on getting any more sleep and got up and dressed. When I came out of my room I found Ann had gotten Melanie dressed and out on the sofa again, while she was working away in the kitchen. Veronica was just coming out of her room. I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and then heard the door close. I looked over and Melanie was gone! Before I could even react the door opened and closed again, and Ann was gone, too.
Veronica and I exchanged glances and wordlessly agreed that there was nothing we could do to catch Melanie, she’s just too fast. Veronica took over in the kitchen and I sat at the table. “Is she going to get over this?” I asked, fearing the answer.
Veronica’s shoulders slumped before she answered, “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her like this. She doesn’t seem to have any will to live left. She hates herself for what she did and won’t listen to anything we say. I wish I knew some way to help her, but I don’t know what to do.” By the time she stopped speaking she was leaning against the counter and her shoulders were shaking. Realizing she was crying I got up and walked over to her and hugged her from behind.
“We’ll figure something out.” I tried to reassure her. I’m not sure if I believed it, but I wanted to.
I helped Veronica get breakfast sorted and then we ate. Melanie and Ann still weren’t back, so we prepared plates for both of them and put them in the refrigerator. We both sat on the couch after that at a total loss of what to do.
Some time later there was a knock at the door. We both jumped and hurried to the door before realizing that it couldn’t be Ann or Melanie, they wouldn’t knock. We glanced at each other and shrugged. I opened the door and there stood Jean and a man that I quickly realized had to be her friend who had been shadowing Melanie.
I gaped for a moment. “Uh, what can I do for you?” I finally asked.
“There’s no point in playing dumb, I know you’re a friend of Lisa’s.” Jean said. “Jon saw you carry her off after that fight. I’d like to talk to her about it, and you.” I was expecting her to be acting like she had all the cards, but she was almost as hesitant as me.
“Why?” was I all could think to say.
Jean smiled sadly. “I don’t want to do a story on her anymore, but we need to understand what happened that night. I think that she probably had good reasons for what she did, but I have to be sure.” Jon snorted at that.
“Like there’s a good reason for murder?” Jon asked sarcastically.
“That wasn’t murder.” I growled at him. My female voice was still sufficiently deep enough to make a decent growl. My height and obvious muscles probably helped to make it more menacing. Either way, he flinched back from me.
“Why don’t we talk about this inside?” Jean suggested hopefully. I glanced back at Veronica and she nodded. Reluctantly I allowed them in and closed the door behind them. We all sat down in the living room.
“You said that you don’t want to do a story on Lisa anymore. Why is that?” Veronica asked politely. I guess she was trying to keep things civil.
“Because after Jon told me about that fight and what Lisa and that man were able to do, I wondered if I could do the same with what Lisa taught me. I didn’t get far, but I quickly realized that in time I could. I quit as soon as I realized this, I didn’t want the responsibility of that kind of power. But I realized that if I did write a story on Lisa it would cause a huge problem for her, and me. Once the public knew that people like her exists, they’d go on a witch hunt. Everyone would want their miracle cures, or to be super strong or fast. And being able to do a little of that myself, I would probably find myself in the same position as Lisa.” Jean answered.
“But how would anyone know that you have the same ability?” Veronica asked.
Jean smiled ruefully. “My miraculous recovery didn’t go unnoticed. Nobody suspects anything supernatural, but they would if Lisa’s abilities became common knowledge. So, you see, I have as much reason to keep this under wraps as she does.” Jean explained.
My nervousness caused my senses to be heightened, so I knew she was being truthful. “So if we can explain that fight to your satisfaction, you’ll just walk away?” I asked.
“Not exactly.” Jean answered. She held her hand up when I started to speak. “If there’s a good explanation, then I want to help her. I can find other people that need her help, and are trustworthy. I can also help to keep her abilities out of the news, or at least warn her if someone has seen something we don’t want them to.” Jean explained.
Once again I could sense that she was being honest. I glanced over at Veronica and she nodded to me. “Okay. What about Jon?” I asked, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He didn’t look to happy.
“Jon,” Jean answered, “is a very good friend of mine. He doesn’t want anything to happen to me, so he’ll keep what he knows to himself. He’s inclined to go to the police about what Lisa did, but I managed to convince him to give her a chance to explain first.”
“Okay,” I began, “I can explain what happened.” I was about to go on when Jean interrupted me.
“I’d like to hear it from Lisa.” she said.
I sighed, this could get difficult. “She’s not here, and I don’t know where she is. She’s very upset over what happened. She ran out of here and a friend of ours is trying to track her down.” I explained.
Jean mulled that over in her mind before comprehension dawned. “She’s not going to hurt herself, is she?” she asked worriedly.
“Not if our friend can help it.” Veronica answered.
Jon was looking pretty confused at this. “I think I know where you’re coming from on this.” Veronica said to Jon. “I assure you that Lisa is not a murderer. She doesn’t like to see anybody in pain. She tried everything she could, but the only way to stop Karl was to kill him.”
Jon scowled, hardly convinced. “Why did she have to stop him, then?” he demanded.
I sighed again. “She had to stop him because he had already tried to kill two people. Then he tried to kill Lisa. When that didn’t work, he decided to go after us. Not only that, but he was on some crazy crusade to rid the city of criminals. He was dead set on killing every criminal in the city. Somehow I doubt only criminals would have been victims of his rampage, though.” I replied.
Jon didn’t look convinced, but Jean put a hand on his arm. “They’re telling the truth, Jon.” she told him. I wondered if her senses were active and reliable enough to hear our thoughts.
Jean glanced over at me and shrugged. “Sometimes they’re there, sometimes they’re not. I find that when I’m stressed they’re more reliable.” she answered my unspoken question.
Jon looked confused again, until Jean explained what had just happened. “So he was insane?” he asked, considerably less hostile.
Veronica nodded. “Yes. He was taught how to heal himself just as Jean was, but he wanted more. He taught himself how to make himself stronger and tougher, and used that to hurt people. He would have killed someone soon enough if Lisa hadn’t stopped him, assuming he hadn’t already. We know he attacked two other people before Lisa ran into him.” Veronica explained.
Jon and Jean nodded, then Jean looked at Veronica sharply. “Lisa isn’t her name, is it?” she asked.
Veronica glanced at me and I shrugged. They already knew more than we wanted them to, including how to find us. “Her name is Melanie.” Veronica answered.
Jean smiled. “Thank you. It’s good to know the real name of the person who saved your life. Now,” she continued, “there’s another reason I came here. I didn’t want to bring it up unless Li…Melanie had a good reason for what she did. I have a friend who is in really bad shape. I suspect she may be suicidal, and I also suspect that Melanie may be able to help her.”
“Why do you think Melanie can help her?” I asked.
“It’s just a feeling, but after gaining all these extra senses, I’ve begun to trust my feelings a lot more. You see, my friend wants to be a guy.” Jean explained.
I was shocked, to say the least. Why would anyone want to be a guy? Oh yeah, for the same reason I wanted to be a girl! I realized my mistake when I saw the shocked look on Jean’s face. I glanced over at Jon and she seemed to get the idea I didn’t want to talk about it, because she relaxed and didn’t say anything. “So, uh, what did you think Melanie could do for her?” I asked.
“Well, my first thought was that she could fix my friends brain so that she could be happy being female.” Jean answered. She was considerably less confident about that idea than she had been, I suspected. I noticed that Veronica was rather upset about that idea.
“You would do that to your friend?” Veronica asked in outrage.
Jean spread her hands helplessly, looking to me beseechingly. “I don’t know, I just want to help her.” she answered.
“Even if Melanie were willing to do something like that, which I seriously doubt, I don’t think your friend would be too happy about it. The better solution might be for her to become male, physically.” I said.
Jean looked shocked despite what she had obviously read from my mind. If this were a cartoon I think Jon’s eyes would be the size of dinner plates and his jaw would be bouncing along the ground right about now! “Th…that’s possible?” Jon gasped.
“Yes it is.” I answered while Veronica smirked at their reaction. “It depends on your friend, though. There are certain conditions that have to be met.”
“What do you mean, conditions?” Jon asked angrily.
“Not the kind of conditions you’re thinking about.” I answered calmly. “If she doesn’t have a strong enough spirit, it can’t be awakened. If it isn’t awakened, she can’t learn even as much as Jean has. Nobody has any control over that, not even your friend.”
“So Melanie might not be able to help?” Jean asked, frowning.
I shrugged and Veronica answered, “She can’t, anyway. But we might.” I was a little surprised that she was revealing the fact that we are similarly skilled, but I guess with Jean reading our minds it was silly to think we could keep any secrets.
Jean and Jon both looked stunned. “You mean you can both do the same things Melanie can do?” Jon asked.
“Not exactly. Veronica can do all of that stuff, but not as well or as much because her spirit is a lot weaker. I haven’t learned a lot of that stuff yet.” I answered.
Just then the door opened and Ann walked in, carrying an unconscious Melanie over her shoulder. I jumped up to help her set Melanie down. “What happened, is she alright?” I asked.
“Not really.” Ann answered. “I had to chase her down and knock her out to get her to come back. I think she was set on killing herself.”
Jean gasped and Ann looked sharply over at her. “Who are you?” she asked.
Veronica and I explained who they were and why they were there. “We were just telling them that Melanie can’t help their friend right now, but we might.” I finished.
Ann stared off into space for a moment before she said, “Actually, I think Melanie can help, and be helped in the process.”
“Uh, Ann, didn’t you just say that Melanie wants to kill herself? We’ll all be busy just keeping her alive. How is she supposed to help anyone else?” I asked incredulously.
Ann smiled to herself and nodded. “Yes, I think that will work. It’s Melanie’s caring for others that led her to kill Karl in the first place. If we can get her to help Jean’s friend, it just might restore her self-worth. Or at least enough so that she won’t be trying to kill herself anymore.” she explained.
“How are you going to get her to help in the first place?” Jon asked cautiously. He was clearly in awe of Ann. Considering what he had seen Melanie do, and the fact that Ann was able to chase her down and knock her out, I could understand why.
Ann frowned at that. “That’s the hard part. I haven’t figured it out yet.” she admitted.
“I think I might have an idea.” Veronica said. “We could guilt her into it.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, like you said, we’ll all be busy just keeping Melanie alive. So we won’t be able to help Jean’s friend. So unless Melanie does it, her friend could end up killing herself or something. She won’t have any choice but to help.” Veronica explained.
Ann and I nodded. “Yeah, that could work.” I agreed.
So, we arranged for Jean to bring her friend over the next day. Jean and Jon left and Veronica, Ann and I spent the rest of the day and night taking turns watching over Melanie. She woke up a few hours after Jean left. She was furious with Ann and tried to get away again, but Ann knocked her right back out. I could tell Ann was really upset about having to do that, but what else could she do?
The next time she woke up she just laid there and stared off into space, refusing to acknowledge any of us. It was really stressful.
None of us got much sleep, as we took turns watching Melanie. She wasn’t responding to any of us. We kept trying to tell her she did what she had to, but she wouldn’t listen. We just had cereal for breakfast, none of us felt like cooking. It was starting to feel like a funeral parlor here. Melanie refused to eat anything.
Thankfully Jean and her friend arrived not too long after we finished eating. After we let them in we all took seats around the kitchen table.
“So, everyone, this is Michelle. We went to school together.” Jean said, and then introduced us to her. Michelle had a palpable aura of sadness around her and wasn’t very responsive. “So, Michelle, the reason I dragged you out here is because these people want to try and help you.” Jean continued after introductions were done.
Michelle frowned and looked at Jean in puzzlement. “Help me with what?” she asked.
“Fixing your birth defect.” Jean explained.
“What are you talking about?!” Michelle growled at her.
“Please don’t be angry with Jean.” I interrupted. “She’s just trying to help you. And you don’t have to worry about us being judgmental, with the exception of Ann we’ve all suffered with a similar birth defect.”
Michelle looked over at me in surprise. “Are you trying to tell me that you three used to be guys?” she asked incredulously, indicating Laura, Melanie and myself.
Laura and I nodded. “Yes, physically.” I answered.
“I guess I could buy the amazon being a guy, but you two couldn’t have been!” she exclaimed, referring to Laura as ‘the Amazon’. She is rather tall and muscular, although not in a body builder sort of way.
Laura bristled at that and said, “I’m not a guy, any more than you are a girl!”
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that!” Michelle backpedaled, “I just meant that it’s believable that you were born male because of your size, that’s all. You’re still too beautiful to be a guy.”
Laura seemed mollified by that. “I’ve been studying your aura,” Ann spoke up suddenly, “and you are a good candidate. We should be able to help you.”
“Aura?!” Michelle exclaimed, “What are you talking about?”
Ann went on to explain about auras, spirits, etc. As usual, a demonstration was necessary to convince her. Then she was only too eager to be trained. That’s where the hard part came in. “We have a problem, though.” Ann said after Michelle agreed to be trained. “The three of us,” she pointed to Laura, me, and herself, “are going to be too busy. The only one who will have time to train you is that lump over on the sofa.” And she pointed out Melanie, who was lying on the sofa gazing at the ceiling as usual.
Michelle frowned over at Melanie, then looked back to us and asked, “What’s her damage?”
I sighed and explained, “She met up with a rogue user,” that term of Laura’s was adopted by everyone by now, “and was forced to kill him to protect Laura and I. We’ve been running a suicide watch on her ever since. She got away once, but Ann managed to drag her back.”
“So you’re telling me that the only reason you can’t help me is because you’re too busy keeping her from offing herself?” Michelle asked incredulously. We all nodded and she got up and started walking towards Melanie, muttering, “We’ll see about that!” as she went. I started to get up to intercept her, but Ann held me back.
I settled back in my chair and we all turned to watch Michelle and Melanie. Michelle was standing in front of the sofa now, tapping one foot impatiently. “I’m not going to let you get in the way of my big chance at happiness!” she growled at Melanie. Melanie didn’t respond, until Michelle slapped her face, hard. “Look at me when I’m talking to you!” she yelled in Melanie’s face.
Melanie seemed shocked for a moment, then turned her gaze to Michelle. “You don’t want to mess with me.” she said in a dead voice. I shivered to hear her talk like that. Whatever happened to the carefree Melanie who laughed all the time?
To my surprise, Michelle laughed in her face. “You think you’re all tough and dangerous because you killed a man?” she asked mockingly. “Destroying things is easy, creating and repairing them, that’s hard. If you have this much trouble with killing one psycho, you probably couldn’t help me if your life depended on it, or something more valuable to you than that.” She dismissed Melanie with a wave and turned back towards us. She was smirking, so I knew she was playing an angle. I just couldn’t see it.
To my surprise Melanie didn’t go back to gazing at the ceiling. There was a spark of life in her eyes as she glared at Michelle’s back. “Shows what you know!” Melanie spat, “I trained Veronica, and helped her train Laura. I’ve healed people; I even saved your friend Jean’s life! You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Melanie was yelling by the end. It was the most emotion she’d shown since Ann brought her back.
Michelle spun around and smirked at her. “That was the old Melanie, I’ve never met her. The new Melanie is a whiny cry baby who couldn’t cross the street on her own. The old Melanie sounds like someone who could help me but she’s gone, right?”
Melanie glared at her silently for several seconds before replying. “We’ll see about that.” she said quietly.
“Oh, you think you can help me then?” Michelle asked mockingly.
“It would be easy.” Melanie stated confidently. “But why should I help a pushy bitch like you?”
Michelle just smiled at that. “Well once I’m all male I won’t be a bitch anymore, will I?” she asked pleasantly.
We were all just watching the conversation go back and forth in awe. Somehow Michelle was getting through to Melanie! I didn’t know how she was doing it, but I couldn’t be more grateful.
Melanie smiled! “Okay, you’re on, Michelle.” she said.
“Alright, Melanie, but call me Michael.”
I just about passed out in relief when I got through to Melanie, but I didn’t dare show it. Challenging her seemed to work, so getting all soft now would be counterproductive. “So what now?” I demanded.
The smile didn’t last long on Melanie’s face, but she didn’t go back to sulking on the couch, either. “First we have to awaken your spirit. Ready to feel worse than you ever have?” she asked with a smirk.
I didn’t like the sound of that, but Ann and the others had warned me about this, so I knew I’d have to go through it.
Considering she’d been almost comatose just a few minutes ago, she was disturbingly accurate with her taunts and insults. The whole awakening thing was disorienting and confusing, not to mention tiring. I crashed on the couch afterwards.
When I woke up Jean was watching me. “How do you feel?” she asked worriedly.
“I’ve been better.” I replied. I still felt kind of wrung out.
“What do you think about all this?” Jean asked.
I shrugged. “It’s great. If it really works, and it sure looks like it does, then I’ll finally be me, the real me.”
“Aren’t you scared?” she asked.
“Huh? Why would I be scared? I already went through the worst part from what they said yesterday.” I answered, confused.
“Well, by the time you’ve learned enough to change your body, you’ll know how to do all kinds of things. You’ll have a lot of power at your disposal. Doesn’t that scare you?” Jean said.
“No. I think it sounds great. It’s only scary in the hands of someone like Karl. Why would you think I’d be scared?” I asked in bewilderment.
Jean wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “It scares me. I experimented just enough to see how powerful I could be. How can anyone deal with that kind of power?” she asked fearfully.
She was really confusing me at this point. We were in the home of four fully trained users. Was she afraid of them? “Do you think this power corrupts, or something? If you do, I don’t understand why you brought me here.” I answered.
“No, yes, I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking about that at the time, I was more worried about what would happen to you if I didn’t.” Jean said.
“Well, I’m glad you brought me here, but it looks to me like you’ve got your own problems when it comes to this stuff. Maybe you’d feel better about it if you learned more about it.” I suggested. I had almost forgotten that Jean had learned a little from Melanie. By all accounts she could be really powerful if she tried.
“Uh, no thanks, I’ll leave that to you.” Jean stammered.
I shrugged, “Okay, whatever. Just don’t be scared of me or them, alright?”
“Oh, I’m not scared of you!” Jean exclaimed.
“But you’re afraid of this power that I’ll have once I’ve completed my training. So you’ll be afraid of me then?” I asked, confused.
“Of course not, I trust you!” Jean replied.
“So what about the others?” I asked, beginning to get an idea of where this was going.
“I wouldn’t have introduced you to them if I didn’t trust them. The fact that Melanie is so bothered by what she did proves she’s a caring person.” Jean answered.
I nodded. “Okay, I get it. It’s you that you don’t trust, then.” I said.
Jean spluttered, “No, I mean, yes! Of course I trust myself!” she tried to say assertively. She didn’t sound nearly as confident as I think she meant to.
“You don’t sound too sure of that. It makes sense, if you don’t trust yourself you wouldn’t want you to have that kind of power. Why don’t you trust yourself, Jean?” I asked. I’d never seen Jean so uncertain. She’s usually very confident and forceful.
Jean threw her hands up in frustration. “I do trust myself!” she answered, and stalked off into the kitchen. I knew I’d hit the mark, now I just had to figure out where this was coming from! Friends can be such a pain, sometimes!
I watched in awe as Michael pushed Melanie out of her funk. I could tell there was still a long way to go, but it was more than we’d accomplished so far.
I don’t think Michael noticed, but tears were streaming down Melanie’s face the entire time she was helping him to awaken his spirit. It always hurt her to do that, but she seemed particularly sensitive now. I wanted to go over and hold her and make her feel better, but I would just get in the way.
Michael slept soon after, as we all did. Melanie went off to her room, so I followed her. I found her silently weeping on her bed. There was nothing to get in the way of, now, so I rushed over to hold her until the tears stopped. She even hugged me back a bit.
“Do you want to rest for a while?” I asked her once she’d calmed down.
“Okay, but…stay here?” she asked plaintively. I was confused by her request at first since I wasn’t going to leave the room anyway and I was sure she knew that. Then I realized that she didn’t want me to leave the bed.
“Sure, Melanie, I’ll stay with you.” I assured her. She quickly nodded off and I tried to get both of us into a little more comfortable position.
I must have nodded off because I awoke when Melanie got out of bed to use the bathroom. She didn’t try to close the door, so I kept an eye on her from where I lay. She seemed a little more energetic now, I noticed. Maybe this would really work!
Melanie wanted to get right back to work with Michael, but I insisted on feeding her first. She grumbled the whole way, but she went with me to the kitchen. Ann and Veronica were already there eating sandwiches.
“Going to eat something?” Veronica asked hopefully. I nodded and prodded Melanie in the ribs with an elbow. She reluctantly nodded, too. “Great! We made some for both of you. They’re on the counter.” she said.
I found the sandwiches on the counter and brought them over to the table. Melanie selected one without being prompted and began eating. She wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about it, but she wasn’t arguing, either.
While we were eating Jean stormed in, fuming. “What’s wrong, Jean?” Ann asked.
“Michelle’s being a jerk, that’s all.” Jean said dismissively. It didn’t seem as insignificant as she made it out to be.
“His name’s Michael.” Melanie muttered. I was so thrilled to hear her speaking up like that!
“Huh?” Jean responded in confusion.
“He asked me to call him Michael, so I think he’d like us all to do so.” Melanie explained. I’d heard that and was already getting used to using Michael and male pronouns, as Melanie obviously had. I wasn’t going to push it if Michael didn’t say anything, but I guess Melanie felt the need to stand up for him. I certainly wasn’t going to argue with that!
“But she’s still a girl.” Jean replied, bewildered.
“He’s not really a girl, that’s why you brought him to us.” Melanie said. I thought I could detect a hint of anger in her voice. It figures that protecting someone else would get her going!
“Oh, okay, I guess.” Jean said. She didn’t sound too convinced. I guess having a transgendered friend doesn’t necessarily mean you understand them.
Melanie grumbled under her breath as she finished eating. I was amazed again at the difference in her. She’d been nearly catatonic, now here she was having a conversation! I’d have to remember to thank Michael for this!
I insisted Melanie eat at least two sandwiches since she'd eaten almost nothing since the fight with Karl. She kept giving me strange looks, but she didn't argue with me. After her third sandwich she announced that she was full. She still wanted to get back to work with Michael right away, so we went into the living room to check on him.
Michael was stretching when we entered. "What's up?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Ready to continue?" Melanie asked.
Michael smiled, then looked confused. "Sure, but what's up with your auras?" he asked.
Melanie and I exchanged wondering glances, her aura looked normal to me, and she didn't seem to see anything either. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, I guess you wouldn't be able to see it. I can see your auras now, which is going to take some getting used to, by the way. Melanie's is this rather Goth violet and black swirl, and Laura's is a deep pink. The weird part is that they're sort of…harmonizing, I guess. Like they're each taking on the traits of the other, a little." He tried to explain.
I looked questioningly at Melanie, but she was just as confused as I. "Ann!" I called out.
Ann came running in. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
Michael explained what he was seeing, and also mentioned that he didn't see the same kind of effect going on with Ann and either of us. "So what is that, or am I just too new to this stuff?" he asked.
Ann stepped over and placed her hand on his head, in order to more easily mesh her senses with his. "No, this isn't about you being new." She said. Then she took a careful look at us herself. "I'm surprised I didn't notice this myself. Your auras are harmonizing somehow. Interesting." She mused aloud, smiling mysteriously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Melanie asked impatiently.
Ann paused a moment before answering. "I'm honestly not sure yet. Only time will tell." She answered.
We both tried to get a more complete answer out of her, but she wouldn't say anymore and returned to the kitchen.
"So…do either of you know what the hell that was about?" Michael asked.
We both shook our heads. "Not a clue. Forget about that for now, lets get back to work." Melanie answered decisively.
I took a seat to watch as they continued Michael's training. It's funny, all this time being trained by her and Veronica, and living with them, and I never really noticed how beautiful Melanie is. I mean, I saw that, but I never fully appreciated it. Her long satiny white hair, silver eyes, and porcelain white skin is a beautiful combination. Unusual, but beautiful.
I was snapped out of my contemplation when Melanie glanced over my way and said, "What are you doing?" She sounded uncertain, and more than a little uncomfortable.
"Uh, just letting my mind wander while I keep an eye on you, why?" I asked defensively. I'm not sure why, but I felt like I'd just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
Melanie tilted her head to the side while she stared at me, like she was trying to figure me out. I was starting to feel very nervous under her gaze. Finally with a strange smile she turned back to continue teaching Michael. She didn't say anything else to me. What was that about? I wondered.
She continued to teach Michael for a few more hours. Every now and then she'd turn to look at me with a speculative look on her face. Each time she smiled and then turned back to Michael. I was thoroughly confused and was grateful when we all took a break for dinner.
When we walked in the kitchen we found that Ann and Veronica had already made dinner. Somehow we'd missed the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen. Michael managed to stay awake long enough to finish his, just. Veronica helped him get to bed; I let him use mine since I was sleeping in Melanie's room anyway. I was surprised to see that Melanie had eaten all of hers without any prompting.
I was tempted to ask her how she was feeling, but I was afraid of breaking the mood. After dinner we all sat in the living room and watched a movie.
After the movie we were all going to go to bed. I was just about to ask whose turn it was to watch Melanie, when she grabbed my hand and led me into her room. "What's going on Melanie?" I asked when she'd finally stopped pulling.
Melanie smiled shyly and said, "I slept a lot better than I have been when you stayed with me, earlier. I was hoping you'd do that again tonight?" she asked hopefully.
She was giving me this adorable, puppy eyes like look that melted all resistance. "Sure." I said with a smile. Once we'd both used the bathroom we climbed into bed. As soon as I'd gotten comfortable Melanie snuggled up behind me. This is nice… I was thinking as I nodded off.
I was pleased with how much more alive Melanie seemed at dinner. She even seemed to be paying attention when we watched a movie afterwards. I thought it would take longer, but it seemed like she was coming along amazingly well already. Still, it was my turn to watch Melanie, so I was all set to go until Melanie suddenly grabbed Laura's hand and dragged her off to her room! What is that about? I wondered.
I looked over at Ann, and she was smiling widely. "Do you know what's going on Ann?" I asked her.
"I believe so." Ann replied. "I'm amazed I didn't see it sooner, actually. It took Michael's newly awakened aura sight to see it."
"What are you talking about Ann?" I asked in confusion. I had to wonder what Michael's aura sight could possibly have to do with it.
"Michael told me earlier that Melanie and Laura's auras were harmonizing. Once he pointed it out, it was obvious. Their auras are taking on aspects of the other, establishing a connection between them." Ann explained.
I looked at Ann in confusion. "So, their forming some sort of bond?" I asked.
Ann nodded. "That's a good way of putting it. It's having a very positive effect on Melanie. So long as Laura doesn't do anything to upset her we shouldn't have to worry about Melanie killing herself anymore."
"It's making that much difference?" I asked in surprise.
"Well, that and teaching Michael." She replied.
"So does this kind of bond form often between users or something?" I asked. I still didn't really understand what this bond was.
"No more often than it does between anyone else. It will have some different effects, though." Ann replied with a knowing smile.
"What kind of effects?" I asked curiously.
Ann got a speculative look as she considered my question. "I suspect they'll be able to draw on each others spiritual energy. I'm sure they'll be able to heal each other. I also suspect they'll be aware of each other from much greater distances." Ann said.
"Wow, all that? That's some bond!" I said in amazement.
Ann nodded. "Yes it is. We're fortunate they're forming the bond now. It will make helping Melanie recover from this a lot easier. I just hope Laura doesn't upset her." Ann said.
I frowned as I thought about all she'd said. "Why is it so important that Laura not upset her? Wouldn't any of us upsetting her be a problem?" I asked.
"Yes and no. Michael upsetting her isn't likely to be a problem; their relationship is rather combative anyway. It would be more of a problem if you upset her; as she sees you as a sister. But sisters fight all the time. She sees me as a substitute mother. However, her experience with her real parents leaves that less of an attachment than it might seem. Laura is an entirely different matter." Ann explained.
I thought about all she had said. At first it still didn't make sense. When I finally put all the pieces together I gasped aloud. "Are you saying they're falling in love?" I asked incredulously.
"It certainly looks that way." Ann replied to my surprise. "You look shocked. Do you have a problem with this?" she asked.
I stopped and thought about that. I remembered how I'd initially reacted to Melanie killing Karl. I didn't want to make a mistake like that again. I'm glad I stopped to think about it, as it quickly became apparent I was being foolish again. Where did I come up with these silly ideas, anyway? I wondered.
"Sorry Ann. I don't know what I was thinking. I seem to have picked up some old fashioned ideas from somewhere. If it makes them happy, and especially if it helps Melanie, then I don't have a problem with it." I answered apologetically.
"Well done!" Ann exclaimed before grabbing me and hugging me hard. "You got over that all on your own this time, I'm proud of you!" she said when she released me.
"You're proud of me? But it bothered me at first! It shouldn't have." I said sadly, thinking about my reaction to Melanie killing Karl again.
"You made a mistake Veronica, and you learned from it. That's the important thing." Ann said soothingly.
"I guess." I replied uncertainly. Then I remembered how we got on this subject in the first place. "Do you think they know what's going on?" I asked curiously.
Ann smiled at my obvious attempt to change the subject. "Melanie is at least partially aware. Laura doesn't have a clue." Ann replied with a laugh.
"Really?" I asked in surprise. "I would have thought it'd be the other way around considering the condition Melanie's been in."
"Yes, but Melanie is a stronger telepath and empath than Laura. She sensed what Laura was feeling. Laura's senses are a lot less developed, and she's so focused on taking care of Melanie that she's not paying any attention to her own feelings." Ann replied.
"Do you think we should say anything to Laura?" I asked.
Ann shook her head. "No, it's better for Laura to concentrate on Melanie for now. She's not asking anything of her except to get better, and Melanie is enjoying all the concern coming from her. Besides, she'll figure it out eventually." Ann replied.
We went to bed after that. We were sharing as we didn't want to use the couch. Ann fell asleep quickly, but I was still thinking about our conversation. I worried about Melanie and Laura, and my own prejudices.
My first day of training was exhausting. You wouldn't think it would be, considering I hardly moved the entire time. I guess spiritual muscles are just like physical ones.
When I got up the next morning I found everyone else already up and sat at the kitchen table. I was pleased to see Melanie doing the cooking. I'd been worried she wouldn't be able to help me because of her guilt over killing that psycho, but she seemed to be coming around alright after all.
As I ate I noticed something weird was going on. Laura was watching Melanie closely, as she had been since I met her. I assumed she was still worried about her. Melanie kept looking over at Laura with a strange smile. I have no idea what that was about. Veronica was watching the two of them with interest, and Ann was just smiling at everyone. What is going on here? I wondered.
After breakfast Melanie got back to training me. According to her we were making good progress. It felt kind of slow to me. Laura was watching us again while Veronica and Ann sat in the kitchen. I wondered what they were doing in there all this time, weren't they supposed to be helping Laura to watch Melanie?
I soon forgot all about that as Melanie worked me hard. I took another nap after lunch I was so tired. Then we got back into it. Melanie seemed tireless. After dinner I managed to get a little more work in before I had to call it a night. Where does she get all that energy, anyway?
Things continued like that for a few days. I progressed slowly, and sometimes noticed the strange interaction going on between these four people. Ann seemed very pleased with how things were going, while Veronica seemed mostly curious and concerned. Laura was watchful and concerned, but also seemed lost in her own observation. Melanie was mostly focused on me, but seemed to keep one eye on Laura most of the time.
"I've got an idea to move your training along a little more quickly." Melanie announced one morning after breakfast. We were all still sitting at the table.
"Oh, what did you have in mind?" Ann asked curiously. I wondered about that, couldn't Ann hear everyone's thoughts all the time? Why even bother asking if you already know the answer?
"I want Michael to link up with Laura and have her make some kind of minor change to herself so Michael can see what's involved. Laura's really good at that, so she can make changes and then reverse them in short order. This way we can focus on the skills that are the most important to Michael right now, instead of having to go through the invisible hospital visits like we did with Veronica and Laura." Melanie explained.
Laura was beaming at Melanie. "That's a great idea! I can do my part easily enough. I know I was really uncomfortable going out to the hospital when I was still in between genders. I doubt Michael would be as self-conscious as I was, but it would still save time if nothing else." Laura said.
The others agreed as well, so that's what we did. I was just as glad for it because I would get closer to my goal sooner. It took me a little while to get the hang of linking up with Laura, but once I did I learned a great deal in a short period of time. I could tell that Laura was a real expert at this stuff, as she did some complex transformations that I couldn't even follow until she broke them down into their component parts.
It wasn't long before I was making changes of my own. My progress was a little slower than I would have liked, because the changes I wanted to make were the complete opposite of the ones Laura had experience with.
I'd been rather short and petite before, so naturally I wanted to be the complete opposite. In fact, a male version of Laura looked like a pretty good idea to me. Laura explained, and demonstrated, the kinds of changes she made to make herself as strong and fast as she is. I wasn't able to make those kinds of changes at first, but I was sure I'd get the hang of them eventually.
Time really flew for me. Before I knew it I'd been living with these girls for a month. I'd lost my last job because of my temper, so I didn't have to worry about that. Money would have been an issue, if Ann hadn't insisted on paying my bills for me until I could do so on my own again. That woman is so helpful it's absurd!
Melanie was really coming out of her shell. I began to get to know the real Melanie. Turns out being an unending well of energy is normal for her! She still wasn't as cheerful as Laura and the others described her as being, but she was obviously on the mend.
My transformation was taking a lot longer than it had for the others, because I was gaining mass instead of shedding it. Apparently my spirit energy could be converted to mass to some degree, but not very efficiently. Which meant that in order to grow the way I wanted, I had to eat ridiculous amounts of food!
It was interesting to watch the interactions of these girls that were helping me. Ann sort of sat back and watched over them all, and me, in a motherly way. Veronica watched Melanie constantly, like a big sister looking out for her ill little sister. I couldn't figure out the relationship between Laura and Melanie for the longest time. When I finally did I realized I'd literally been seeing it the entire time!
That weird harmonizing I saw in their auras was the key. I guess they're both lesbians. It was kind of disappointing to realize, as Melanie and Laura are both very beautiful women. What was endlessly amusing for me, though, was the way Melanie was soaking up everything Laura directed her way, while Laura was completely clueless! How could anyone miss what was going on between those two?
I guess it's different when you're in the middle of it. And to be fair, it did take me a while to figure it out, and I could see it in their auras!
By the time I'd been there three months, I felt confident about going out of the apartment as a man. Being so small had made it all but impossible for me before, but now I was almost as big as Laura. I aimed to be taller and stronger still, but I wasn't there yet.
Melanie decided to celebrate my progress by going out for dinner. I gathered that she likes to do that. She suggested Chinese, because that's Ann's favorite and she wouldn't be there much longer. Her European student would be needing her help and she'd already been gone longer than she'd hoped.
None of us have a car, so we walked. I was trailing behind, planning the next change I'd make, when I noticed a building across the street. There was an alley between it and a pizza place. One of the walls of the building facing the pizza restaurant was smashed in. It looked like it'd been hit by a wrecking ball or something. "I wonder what happened over there." I mused aloud.
I walked right into Laura, who had stopped suddenly for some reason. I looked around trying to figure out why we'd stopped, and I noticed Melanie standing stiffly, staring at the broken wall. I think she was looking paler than usual, but it's hard to tell with that white skin of hers. There were tears flowing down her face, though, and she was shaking.
Oh, that's where she killed Karl! I realized. Laura wrapped her up in her arms and tried to calm her, but it didn't look like it was working. Ann and Veronica moved around to block her view, but she just kept staring in that direction as if they weren't there.
Looks like it's up to me again. I thought with a sigh. "I thought we were done with this melodrama, Melanie." I said with a sneer. It was difficult to do, as I'd come to like Melanie, but I figured I'd get her angry like before. The reaction I got wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
I heard Laura yell, "Shut UP!" just before her fist rammed into my face. I was totally surprised and flew a few feet before my back met the pavement. My head bounced off the cement painfully and my back burned from sliding along the ground; but it was my face that hurt the most. Getting punched by Laura when she's mad is like getting hit by a truck!
As I tried to pick myself back up off the ground I saw a shocked look on Melanie's face as she looked directly into my eyes. Then, she was gone.
I was as shocked as everyone else when I decked Michael. Why did I react like that, I knew he was just trying to provoke a response from Melanie! I thought as I stared at my bloodied fist. Michael's nose was probably broken.
I looked up and saw that Michael was staring at something behind me. I turned just in time to see Melanie disappear. She moved so quickly I had no hope of tracking her. "Melanie!" I screamed, but she didn't return.
Ann put her hand on my shoulder to calm me. "Don't worry, Laura, I'll find her." She said, just before disappearing herself.
Veronica was left looking back and forth between us and the direction that Melanie and Ann left. "What just happened?" she asked.
"I think Melanie was just reliving what happened here, I said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and Laura overreacted. I'm not sure where Melanie's mind is at now, but it's probably not a good place." Michael responded.
I felt something weird and looked behind me, the opposite direction that Melanie and Ann had been headed. "I’m sorry Michael!" I called out as I started running. I hadn't learned to boost like Ann and Melanie yet, but my enhanced musculature allowed me to run faster than an Olympic athlete. And I could keep it up for hours. I could only hope that would be enough to find Melanie before she did something horrible!
"What…are…you…doing?" Veronica panted beside me. She must have been boosting as hard as she could just to keep up with me. Michael had been left far behind.
I slowed a bit to answer. "Melanie must have doubled back. She's this way." I said pointing ahead of us, and resumed my previous pace. Veronica tried to keep up, but she was soon left behind as well.
I don't know how I knew where Melanie was, but I did. I could feel her ahead of me, but a ways off still. It took me several minutes to catch up to her once she'd finally stopped moving. I only hoped she wouldn't do anything to herself before I could get there.
I found Melanie on the roof of an office building. She was standing on the inside of the railing. "Melanie?" I called softly, afraid of startling her.
"Hi Laura." Melanie answered calmly without turning around. She sounded okay, but she was still standing on a rooftop looking over the edge, so I wasn't ready to relax.
"What are you doing here, Melanie?" I asked cautiously.
Melanie turned to face me before answering. "Don't worry." She said with a smile. "I'm not going to kill myself. I admit I was planning to at first, but not anymore."
I sighed in relief before replying. "As glad as I am to hear that, what changed your mind?" I asked curiously.
"You." Melanie answered simply, blushing and looking down at the ground.
"Me?" I asked in surprise. "What do you mean?" I thought Melanie and I got along well, but it was Veronica that she looked up to as a big sister, and Ann that was her surrogate mother. I hadn't even known her all that long!
Melanie frowned cutely before saying, "You know, I really thought it was adorable how oblivious you are, until now."
I was thoroughly confused by this point. "What are you talking about Melanie?" I asked.
Melanie sighed in frustration. "You're really amazing Laura! You've spent the last three months focusing your entire being on taking care of me, and you never once thought to ask why?"
"Because I care about you, obviously!" I answered, annoyed. When was she going to get to the point?
Melanie shook her head and laughed. "You are priceless, you know?" she asked with a smile. I was about to ask what she was talking about, again, when she stepped up to me and put her finger to my lips to stop me. "Let me show you what I mean." She said huskily.
Melanie put her hands on either side of my face and pressed her lips to mine. I was too startled to react at first. Even before I realized what she had been trying to tell me I found myself responding. I melted into her kiss, my body molding itself to hers. It was heavenly!
Eventually Melanie pulled away, both of us out of breath. "Wow! I didn't know it would feel that good!" she said with a glazed look to her eyes. I could only nod numbly. We both looked at the glazed expression on each other's faces and began giggling.
Once we'd both stopped giggling and caught our breaths, again, I realized we were holding hands. "What do we do now?" I asked uncertainly. I'd never even been on a date before, so this was all new to me.
"I guess we just keep doing what we've been doing." She responded uncertainly. I realized she was as inexperienced as I. "Only with more kissing, that was wonderful!" she breathed.
"Yeah," I agreed, "now I finally know what all the fuss is about!" We both broke down laughing at that, tears streaming down our faces. That's when Veronica and Michael burst out of the stair well onto the roof.
They both stopped in their tracks a few steps from the door and looked at us with the most comical expressions of surprise and confusion on their faces. We laughed even harder at that. I plopped down on the ground, it was either that or fall down, and Melanie joined me. We were just starting to get ourselves back under control when Ann arrived. Unlike Veronica and Michael, she seemed to just appear next to them.
Ann smiled when she saw the state we were in. "I see everything is alright here!" she said happily. "Come along Veronica, Michael, lets go get that Chinese food and take it back to the apartment. I'm sure these two will meet us there." Then she turned to leave, grabbing the arms of Veronica and Michael as she went and pulling them along behind her.
They both stumbled after Ann, now even more confused. We lost it again! Or maybe that should be still? Anyway, it was hilarious!
It was a few minutes before we finally stopped laughing. I was wiping the tears off my face and thinking that we should probably head back, when I heard Melanie's thoughts, Yeah, I guess we should. I gaped at her. I had heard her so clearly, I usually have to focus to hear thoughts.
Yeah, I'm hearing you even more clearly than usual, too. Must have something to do with how you found me so easy, and how I knew you would. Melanie thought at me.
Wow, we can have whole conversations this way! Can you talk this way with Ann, I know you two have much better telepathy than I do. I replied.
Nope! It's much more stilted with Ann. It's actually easier to say things out loud. Melanie thought back.
Maybe we should continue this at home. We'll still have some time before they get back, especially with how fast we can move! I thought.
We can move even faster if you boost, too. Melanie replied.
But I don't know how! I reminded her.
I think I can show you. Melanie answered. A moment later I felt a jolt and suddenly I knew how to boost!
How did you do that?! I asked incredulously.
I'm not really sure. I just felt that I could, so I gave it a shot. I guess we'll have to ask Ann about this later. But for now, race you home! Melanie said impishly, and disappeared.
I started running after her, and then started boosting. Suddenly I was moving so much faster! It was amazing!
It didn't take long at all to get home. Melanie was waiting patiently when I got there, holding the door open for me. She was breathing a little harder than normal, though, so I knew she hadn't beaten me by too much!
We both sat on the couch facing each other. Neither of us knew where to start. The awkward silence stretched on for a few minutes before I finally said, "So, you really like me, like that?" I asked uncertainly. I know she'd already made that pretty clear, but it was so amazing I was having trouble believing it!
"Yes, and you do, too?" she said, equally uncertain. I nodded. "It took you long enough to realize that!" she said with a laugh.
I blushed and smiled sheepishly. "I know. I guess I just assumed we'd like guys, or something." I said.
"I don't know if I like guys or not, but I know I like you." Melanie said. I felt warm all over when she said that!
"Same here." I replied with a smile.
Melanie kissed me again, and everything else melted away. I was lost in a sea of sensations, and I loved it!
We both jumped and pulled away when we heard Ann clear her throat loudly. "I'm glad to see you two are finally expressing yourselves, but it's time for dinner." She said with amusement. We both blushed and looked away. Then we stood and followed Ann into the kitchen hand in hand.
To our surprise Veronica and Michael were already there. They all saw us! I realized.
Oh man, Veronica's going to be a pain about this, I just know it! Melanie thought back.
You're right, she will! I agreed.
That exchange took so little time that Veronica hadn't even become aware of our presence yet. This telepathy business is pretty cool, our conversations are so much faster! I thought at Melanie.
We sat down and started filling our plates. Yeah, this is pretty cool! We've got to remember to ask Ann about it. Melanie thought back.
I noticed Michael and Veronica looking at us strangely. The look on their faces is priceless! I thought to Melanie.
Yeah, they look like they just realized they stepped into the Twilight Zone and they're looking for the door back! Melanie thought back and we both cracked up.
Veronica looked annoyed at our laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked. We laughed all the harder at that.
Ann was beginning to look puzzled, too. "What is so funny? She asked curiously.
Still gasping I said, "Melanie said something funny, that's all." Before I realized that she'd said it telepathically.
Michael frowned, "When did she do that?" he asked.
"Uh, just now." I admitted.
Veronica looked at me in surprise. "I thought you didn't hear thoughts that reliably!"
I blushed and looked down at the table. "I don't…just Melanie's." I admitted.
"Ah!" Ann exclaimed. "You're speaking telepathically, right?" she asked.
I nodded. Melanie said, "Yep!" with a sheepish grin.
"It must be another effect of their bond." Ann explained to Veronica and Michael.
Bond? What is she talking about? I wondered at Melanie.
I don't know, it's new to me, too. she replied.
"Do you remember when Michael said that your auras were harmonizing?" Ann asked us, seeing our confusion. We nodded. "That bond is the result of your feelings for each other. It's how you were able to find Melanie, Laura. Apparently it also allows you to have private telepathic conversations." She explained.
"Private?" I asked, confused.
"Yes, I couldn't hear what you were thinking when you were communicating with each other." Ann replied.
Cool, they can't hear a word we're saying! Melanie gushed.
This has some interesting potential. I agreed mischievously.
"This is all very interesting but why did you run away, Melanie, and what were you planning on doing?" Veronica demanded.
I squeezed Melanie's hand; I hadn't even realized I was still holding it! "Well, when I saw where I…fought Karl, all the memories of that night came flooding back. I was lost in them at first, but then Laura grabbed me. I was still feeling kind of overwhelmed, but not as bad. But then Michael did his asshole routine again and pissed Laura off. And I felt bad for causing problems, and it got the better of me, I guess." Melanie explained sheepishly.
"What do you mean it got the better of you?" Veronica asked intently.
"You know where you found me, you figure it out!" Melanie snapped.
"Oh." Was all Veronica had to say to that.
"So that's when Laura found you then?" Michael asked.
"No, she didn't catch up with me for a few more minutes." Melanie answered.
Michael looked confused as he said, "But I thought that was where you stopped Veronica from killing herself a couple of times?"
"Yep." Melanie answered.
"So, doesn't that mean that you went there to die?" he asked.
"Yep." She said again.
Michael was looking frustrated as he asked, "So why hadn't you already killed yourself by the time Laura got there?"
This is kind of fun! Melanie thought to me.
They're getting frustrated though, maybe we shouldn't push it? I replied uncertainly.
Yeah, I guess. she said sulkily.
"Because of Laura." Melanie admitted, blushing.
Veronica smirked before saying, "So, my little sister has a girlfriend?"
I knew she'd do this! Melanie thought.
Let me see if I can't nip it in the bud, then! I responded. I leaned towards Veronica threateningly and growled, "Yeah she does, got a problem with that?" Seeing as Veronica is only five feet six inches, and I'm six feet and much more muscular, it probably had a decent effect.
Michael chuckled. "I think you better lay off, Veronica! You're little sister's girlfriend is a lot bigger than you are!"
We all laughed at that, even Veronica. She didn't tease us anymore, either.
We all had a nice dinner, joking around and generally having fun. Laura never let go of my hand, which was nice. We kept having little side conversations telepathically, and sometimes started laughing for no reason that the others could see. But that just made it more fun!
Even I was amazed at how much better I was feeling. I felt so bad before, but getting together with Laura banished all that. It doesn't hurt any that she's a good kisser!
We managed to talk Michael into taking the night off from training and watch a movie with us. I think he regretted it because we ended up watching a romantic movie. I think Laura and I kissed more than the characters in the movie, but I'm not sure because we missed so much of it!
After the movie we all sat around and talked for a while. Michael claimed fatigue and went to bed early. I think he just feels out of place in a room full of girls! I thought.
He must have been in that situation a lot before, though? Laura wondered back.
Not necessarily. I only hung out with girls in school. Maybe he only hung out with guys. I replied.
Good point, I spent all my time with girls, too. Laura thought back.
After a while we all went to bed. After using the bathroom and changing clothes I crawled into bed and waited for Laura. She wasn't far behind, but she seemed a lot more reluctant than she had before. "What's up Laura?" I asked.
"This will probably sound silly, but sleeping in your bed just seems a lot more…significant now." Laura replied sheepishly.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. But it could also be a lot more fun now!" I pointed out impishly.
Laura blushed so red I thought she'd explode! "Melanie!" she gasped. "Don't you think it's a little early to be thinking about that?"
"Well, yeah." I admitted. "But we can still kiss and cuddle, can't we?" I asked hopefully. It still amazed me how wonderful it felt to feel Laura's arms around me or her lips on mine! I shivered just thinking about it!
Laura relaxed at that. "Well, sure, we can still do that!" she agreed heartily. She climbed in and we proceeded to do just that for a while until we were tired enough to sleep. Which took a while. Did I mention that Laura's a good kisser?
Laura woke me with a kiss in the morning, which was awesome by the way! We messed around for a while until Ann knocked lightly on the door to let us know she was making breakfast.
I guess we'd better get up and get dressed Laura thought at me.
Yeah, but I think I want a shower first. I replied.
Good idea. Why don't you go ahead and I'll take one after you. Laura thought.
I have a better idea! We can save time and water and take a shower together! I said.
Laura looked a little overwhelmed by that suggestion, but came back with, That is a better idea!
Needless to say, we messed around some more in the shower. I've never had such an enjoyable shower! Laura agreed.
We managed to make it to the kitchen before breakfast got cold. Everyone gave us knowing smiles as we entered, but we were feeling too good to be bothered by it beyond a blush or two. We kept up our silent conversation through breakfast.
You know it's funny, but my mom was always telling me I should get a girlfriend. Now that I have, I can't tell her about it! Laura thought to me sadly.
Why not? I thought back.
You know why not! Dad would kill me, and I doubt Mom wants anything to do with me, either! Laura replied.
That's not true. I mean, telling your Dad would be bad, but from what you've said your Mom might be alright. Why don't we go pay her a visit? I thought back.
You can't be serious, that has disaster written all over it! Laura thought fearfully, and refused to talk about it anymore.
I wasn't about to leave it at that! "I still think we should go talk to your mother." I said aloud. Laura glared at me for that, but I was determined to see this through.
"What are you talking about Melanie?" Veronica asked.
"We were just talking about Laura's parents. We agreed that we wouldn't want to talk to her father, but her mother might be okay. I want to meet her, and try and get her to accept her daughter. Laura's too afraid to try it, though." I told her.
"Already want to meet the family, huh?" Veronica asked with a grin.
"Well sure, she's already met mine!" I replied.
Veronica nodded, "Good point."
"I think that would be a good idea." Ann said. I gave her a thankful smile. I knew I'd need all the help I could get with this, bond or no bond.
"It would be best to get it over with. At least that way you know how they feel about it." Michael said.
"See, everyone agrees with me!" I told Laura. She was still glowering, but more uncertainly now.
"It is a very bad idea! Especially if my dad's there." She said.
"Laura, he can't hurt you anymore." I said softly. Through our bond I knew that was what I needed to say. This bond business is very handy!
Laura just crumpled when I said that. Tears were streaming down her face and mine as I felt the pain she was feeling very intensely. Since I was already holding her hand I pulled her over into my lap and held her while she wept.
Michael looked confused. "What just happened?" he asked.
Veronica put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it. Laura just needed to deal with her parents reaction to her the last time she saw them. I guess she never really let herself feel it until now."
Michael shook his head and muttered, "Women!" Even Laura gave a little laugh at that.
I was so mad at Melanie for telling the others about our conversation!. But they all agreed with her, and made some good points. I began to think that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea after all? Melanie seemed to know exactly what was bothering me most about it, even before I did! I guess that's the bond at work. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing…
Breaking down like that was kind of embarrassing, but it did make me feel better. Especially with Melanie holding me! How did I not notice how I feel about that girl for so long? Anyway, I was feeling better and my concerns all but evaporated after Michael's "Women!" remark. I was too busy laughing!
I was still very reluctant, but I did agree to give her a chance. I'm not going anywhere near my father, though!
Ann offered to stick around and go with us, but I insisted she go back to her student as planned. I knew I was safe from my father now if he showed up. I could break him in half without boosting if I wanted to!
After we finished eating Melanie turned to Ann, who would be leaving momentarily, and said, "Thanks for coming and keeping me from doing something stupid, Ann!" She hugged Ann fiercely.
"How could I do anything else?" Ann asked once Melanie released her. "You're like a daughter to me; I couldn't let anything happen to you." There was a tear in Ann's eye when she said that.
There was more than one tear in Melanie's eyes when she heard it. "Really?" she asked in a small voice.
"Of course!" Ann replied with a smile. Melanie grabbed her in another hug.
"I'll miss you…Mom!" Melanie said as she pulled back.
"I'll miss you, too…daughter!" With that they hugged again.
"Thank you for coming so quickly Ann." I said once they'd separated again. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to Melanie." There were tears in my eyes, too, as I hugged Ann goodbye.
Veronica hugged her goodbye and said, "Thanks for straightening me out, Ann. I was a fool."
"Don't worry about it, Veronica. So long as you learn from your mistakes you're no fool." Ann reassured her with another hug.
Ann hugged Michael goodbye, much to his embarrassment I noticed, and left with a final wave. A moment later we heard a sonic boom.
I wish I could do that! Melanie thought wistfully to me.
I thought you could fly? I replied.
I can, but not like that! I don't have enough power to fly that fast and stay shielded and invisible. she thought back.
"Do you want me to come with you to your mother's?" Veronica asked.
I shook my head. "No, you go ahead and work with Michael some more. We'll be fine." I replied.
"Yeah, nobody hurts my girl!" Melanie added fiercely.
Michael started laughing at that. "What are you laughing about?" I asked.
"Sorry, just looks funny seeing a scrawny little thing like Melanie saying she'll protect her amazonian girlfriend!" he said and continued laughing.
"Hey, who are you calling scrawny?!" Melanie demanded.
"Yeah, Melanie's not scrawny, she's perfect!" I said with a smile at Melanie. She hopped back on my lap and kissed me.
"Ugh, it's getting entirely too saccharin in here for me. Let's leave the love birds alone, Veronica." Michael said.
"Okay, Michael, we've still got lots of work to do, anyway." Veronica agreed. They went into the living room to continue Michael's training.
Melanie and I cuddled for a while before she stood up and held her hand out for me. "Come on, we can't stay here all day and still meet your mom!" she said.
"Ahh, do I have to?" I whined.
"Yep! Come on, babe, I'll race you!" she replied. I sighed and took her hand. Melanie helped me up and we walked into the living room. We waved at Michael and Veronica and left.
"Ready?" Melanie asked once we were on the sidewalk. I nodded and we both boosted and started running as fast as we could.
I was amazed how fast we got to my parents house. Melanie still beat me, but at least she had to work for it! I don't know how she can go so fast without having the physical enhancements I have, but she obviously can.
I stared at the front door for a long time before Melanie took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "You can do this Laura." She assured me with so much love in her voice I nearly swooned!
I squeezed her hand back, took a deep breath, and stepped forward. I pressed the doorbell and waited anxiously to see who answered it. It wasn't long before the door opened, and there stood my mother. "Hello, what can I do for you?" she asked with no sign of recognition on her face.
I stood there with my mind a total blank. "Hello Mrs. Mason. We're here to talk to you about your son." Melanie said when it became apparent that I wasn't going to say anything.
"Is he alright?" Mom asked worriedly.
"He's fine, Mrs. Mason. Could we come in and talk?" Melanie asked politely.
"Oh, I guess so." Mom said, and let us in. She led us to the kitchen table and asked if we wanted anything to drink. We said no, so she sat down across from us. "So what is going on?" she asked.
"Well, Laura here is the one you really need to talk to." Melanie replied, looking at me and squeezing my hand under the table.
"Okay…wait, did you say Laura?!" she exclaimed and took a closer look at me. "Is that you, Kevin?" she asked in shock. I nodded. "You look a lot better than the last time I saw you! I'm so sorry about the way we reacted!" Mom said and came around the table and hugged me, hard! She was crying and begging my forgiveness.
I didn't know how to react at first, but then I hugged her back and cried right along with her. Melanie just sat there beaming at us.
Eventually we both calmed and sat back down. "Who is your friend?" Mom asked as she tried to pull herself back together and wiped away her tears.
"Mom, this is Melanie." I replied. I looked over at Melanie when I introduced her and was caught for a moment in her eyes. I could stare into those eyes all day!
"Are you two…" Mom said but trailed off before she could finish her question. Melanie pulled my hand she was holding up above the table and nodded happily. "Oh." Mom said.
"Are you okay Mom?" I asked, worried now that she would reject me for being a girl, or for being a lesbian.
She seemed to shake herself and said, "It's a bit much to take in, but I'm alright. Are you happier now?"
"Yes Mom, I'm a lot happier now!" I said with a wide smile.
"Then that's what's important. I'm sorry I tried to hold you back all these years. I was afraid of what would happen to you, and not just at the hands of your father. I should have shared my fears with you, instead of trying to force you to be something you obviously aren't." Mom said with a tear in her eye.
"Really? You're really okay with this?" I asked.
Mom nodded with a smile. "I love you, honey. If this makes you happy, then it makes me happy." Mom said. I jumped up and hugged her.
"Thanks Mom, I was so afraid you wouldn't want anything to do with me." I said through my tears of happiness.
"I would never reject you dear, though I know it must have seemed like I was." She replied.
Melanie was just sitting there throughout, beaming at us both. "So tell me about your girlfriend." Mom said once I'd returned to my seat.
I think we should tell her everything. Melanie thought at me.
I don't know, we've already dropped a lot on her. I thought back uncertainly.
I think she can handle it. And she is your mother, she deserves to know the truth. Melanie replied.
Okay, if you're sure. I thought back. Melanie squeezed my hand reassuringly.
"I'm like Laura, Mrs. Mason. I used to be a guy, too." Melanie started things out by saying. I was a little shocked she was outing herself like that; I didn't really think that was necessary.
"Really?" Mom asked in surprise. I couldn't blame her. While I look (and am) totally female now, I'm still big enough for my having been male to be believable. Melanie's not short, but she's so thin and delicate looking that it's hard to believe she was ever anything but female.
Melanie told Mom her whole story, from when her parents beat her nearly to death, up to being found and trained by Ann. "So that's how I look the way I do." She finished.
Mom sat there with wide eyes after that explanation. "You'd better give her a demonstration before she calls for the men in white coats." I said with a grin.
Melanie nodded and walked behind Mom. With one hand she grabbed Mom's chair and lifted it, and her, up over her head. "How's this?" she asked, grinning.
"Uh, that's fine!" Mom replied hastily. Melanie carefully put her back down and sat back in her chair. "How can someone so delicate be so strong?" she asked in awe.
Melanie shrugged. "I'm not, really. It's what we call boosting. I flood my body with spirit energy and it makes me stronger, faster, tougher, and so on. Laura's different. She could do that without boosting."
Mom looked at me more closely and nodded her head. "Looking at you, I can believe it. But why is Laura different?" she asked Melanie.
"Laura's really good at physical transformations. I guess I have a knack for the energy manipulation stuff, like boosting. Laura has a knack for the physical stuff. She practically rebuilt her body from scratch. Her muscles, bones, skin, even hair, are very different from ours. She designed them to be stronger and tougher than they normally would be. That makes her very strong, tough, and fast. She can boost, though, so when she combines the two she's really something!" Melanie explained.
"I'm still not as fast or as strong as you are when you get going, though." I reminded Melanie. "You're so fast the human eye can't even follow your movements!"
"So you're both fully female now?" Mom asked.
"Yep! We can get pregnant and everything!" Melanie said.
Mom nodded and looked thoughtful. "Do you want to talk to your father?" she finally asked.
I shuddered a bit at that idea. "No, I don't think that would be wise." I replied.
"What about George?" Mom asked.
I shook my head. "He's too afraid of Dad."
Mom looked sad and said nothing for several minutes. I wonder what she's thinking? I thought to Melanie.
I think she's finally realizing what your Dad did to your family. Maybe she'll stand up to him? She thought back.
I hope you're wrong; I don't want to see her get hurt. I replied.
Maybe it's time to face him, for all of you. If you do it together, nobody will get hurt. she said.
He'll go berserk! I protested.
We can take care of him, easy. she replied.
"I'm tired of being afraid of that man!" Mom declared suddenly.
"Mom?" I asked worriedly. It sounded like Melanie got it right.
"I'm going to give your father one last chance to accept you for yourself. If he can't do that, I'm leaving!" Mom declared resolutely.
"Mom, I really don't think that's a good idea." I said.
"I'll wait until you've left if you prefer, but I'm doing it. He's done too much damage to this family already, and I've let him!" Mom replied sadly.
"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?" I said.
"No, you're not." She replied.
You were right. I guess we're going to talk to my Dad after all. I thought to Melanie.
So you'll stay here for this? Melanie asked.
Of course! I can't let Mom face Dad alone. I replied.
"Okay, Mrs. Mason, when are we doing this?" Melanie asked Mom.
"What about you Laura?" Mom asked hopefully.
"Oh, she already agreed. We've got this bond thing that lets us have telepathic conversations." Melanie replied for me.
"Really?" Mom replied. I nodded. "That must come in handy." Mom looked at the clock, it was only eleven o'clock. "Your father won't be home until five. Why don't you stay until then and we can catch up?" she suggested. Melanie and I agreed gladly.
I was amazed at the difference in Melanie, and Laura for that matter. They seemed so happy now that they'd admitted their feelings for each other. And Melanie seemed almost completely over the incident with Karl now. Michael complained about them being too sweet, but I think he was happy for them, too.
After Ann left we left Laura and Melanie in the kitchen and went back to training. Soon after we got back to work Laura and Melanie left to visit Laura's mother. I worried about what would happen if Laura's mother rejected her, but I would just have to rely on Melanie to take care of her.
I worked with Michael for a few hours until we took a break for lunch. "I don't suppose you have any insights into why Jean is so adamant about not learning any more, do you?" Michael asked me while we were making sandwiches.
I shook my head, "No, I don't. I've wondered about that, too."
"I guess I'll have to work on her myself, then." Michael replied.
By the time we took a break for dinner Michael was all but done in his transformation. I was surprised that Laura and Melanie hadn't returned yet. I called Laura's cell and she told me they were waiting to talk to her father. "Do you want me to come over?" I asked. I wouldn't have thought that Laura would be willing to talk to her father, but I figured Melanie probably had something to do with that. She can be like a force of nature sometimes.
"No, we'll be okay. Sorry I forgot to call. I'll let you know when we're going to be back." Laura replied. I said goodbye and hung up.
"Everything okay?" Michael asked.
"I think so. They're going to talk to Laura's father." I replied.
"Good, better she get that over with now then worry about it." Michael replied.
We went back to Michael's training after that. He was ecstatic that we were able to complete his transformation. He was now even taller and more muscular looking than Laura, though I doubt he's any stronger than she is. "Tomorrow I'll start teaching you how to boost if you want." I told Michael after we'd finished training for the day.
"Sure, that could come in handy some time." Michael agreed. "I'm beat, I think I'll go ahead and get some sleep now." I nodded and he went off to bed. I got settled on the couch and waited for Laura and Melanie to call, or come home.
We had a nice chat with Laura's mother while we waited for her father. She insisted I call her Mary. She told me about the times Laura had insisted she was a girl, and kept apologizing to Laura for trying to talk her out of it. I think Laura finally convinced her that she forgave her; at least I hope she did! Mary turned out to be rather nice, actually. I think the worst of her behavior was due to her fear of her husband. That man had a lot to answer for!
When he got home we were in the living room sitting on the couch. "Mary, who are these lovely ladies?" he asked when he saw us. It was hard not to laugh when he said that as I was sure he'd have an entirely different opinion if he knew about us!
"Hello Chris, this is our daughter Laura and her girlfriend Melanie." Mary said as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. He didn't seem to catch that at first, and then he stopped and stared at her.
"We don't have a daughter." He said, confused.
"Of course we do. You chased her out of here not so long ago, remember? She came back to visit with me and introduce me to her girlfriend." Mary said calmly but with a hard edge to her voice.
He got red in the face as he said, "We do NOT have a daughter! Where is Kevin, I'll set him straight!" He started looking around like he expected to find his son hiding behind the couch or something.
"The name's Laura now, Dad. I'm right here." Laura said. She managed to keep her voice steady but I could feel her unease and fear. I held her left hand between both of mine and stroked the back of it to try and calm and reassure her. She turned to me with a quick smile before facing her father again.
"Mary, what's going on here?!" Laura's dad growled. "This obviously isn't Kevin. Where is he?"
"She's right there." Mary answered sternly, pointing at Laura. "It's time you accepted that you have a son and a daughter, not two sons, as I have."
He took a close look at Laura and paled. "Kevin, is that really you?!" he asked in shock. Unlike Veronica and me, Laura didn't change her appearance drastically. She's totally female, but she looks like Kevin's twin sister. My parents wouldn't have a chance of recognizing me, if I'd ever let them see me that is.
"Yes, Dad, it's me, but it's Laura." Laura replied firmly.
"How could you do that to yourself, boy?" He yelled angrily.
Do you mind if I say something? I thought to Laura.
Go ahead. she replied.
"My girlfriend is no boy!" I growled back at him.
"You shut up!" He yelled back at me. "And you," he yelled at Laura, "get out of those damn clothes! No son of mine is going to go around dressed like a woman!"
Laura stood angrily and walked right up to her father, who I noticed with some amusement was actually a little bit shorter than she is. "You will not talk to my girlfriend like that!" she growled at him. She didn't speak loudly, but there was plenty of menace there!
"I suggest you apologize to your daughter, Chris, she's very protective of her girlfriend." Mary said with her hands on her hips.
Laura's father looked at Mary with anger. "What is this?! Why are you encouraging him?" he demanded.
"Oh get over yourself, Chris! Laura's known she was a girl since she was a child. It's past time that you accepted her for what she is." Mary replied angrily.
"Kevin is not a girl! I'll settle this once and for all!" He yelled and rounded on Laura. He took a swing at her. Mary gasped, but Laura caught his fist in one hand and started squeezing. There was a popping sound, like he'd cracked every knuckle at once, and he collapsed to his knees and grunted in pain. "H-how…are you…doing this?!" he gasped out haltingly.
"That's not important, Dad. What is important is that you accept that I'm a girl, always have been." Laura replied calmly, still squeezing.
"I suggest you do as she says, otherwise you'll end up with a broken hand and I'll leave you." Mary added determinedly.
Laura released his hand and stepped back a little. "What'll it be?" she asked.
He knelt on the floor and cradled his hand. A tear of pain trickled down his face and he angrily wiped it away. "Leave me?! You'd leave me because of this freak?!" he asked in disbelief.
Mary stepped forward quickly and slapped his face. "Laura is no freak, she's your daughter!" she said angrily. "You've been bullying this whole family for far too long. You're going to change your ways or you're going to be alone!"
I tensed up when Mary slapped him, expecting trouble, and I wasn't disappointed. He rose and punched out at Mary in one swift movement. Mary and Laura were surprised, but I was there and caught his fist as Laura had earlier. It was even the same fist. I almost felt sorry for him as I began to crush his hand. "I think you'd better go somewhere and cool off, don't you?" I asked sweetly.
He was back on his knees at this point, grunting in pain. After giving his hand another good squeeze I released him and stepped back next to Laura. She put her arm around my waist and squeezed appreciatively.
Thanks, I should have expected that. she thought to me.
No need to thank me, I've been wanting to do that! I giggled back to her.
"I think Melanie's right, Chris; you should go somewhere to think things through." Mary said. He stood slowly and turned towards the door and walked out. "I'm sorry Laura; I should have known he'd be like that." She said apologetically.
Laura shrugged. "It's not your fault. He's the one with the problem. I should be thanking you, actually. I don't feel any fear of him anymore." Laura replied with a small smile.
I smiled and wrapped my arm around her. I'm glad, I was hoping that would happen! I thought to her.
It seems silly to have been afraid of him, now. she thought back.
It's like your mother said, he's been bullying your family for a long time. You've been conditioned to fear him. You had to break that conditioning, and now you have! So has your mother, I think. Now we just have to work on your brother. I replied.
That could be harder. He takes after Dad a lot. she thought back.
"I'm glad to hear that. Would you two like to stay for dinner?" Mary asked.
"Sure!" I answered for both of us.
"Would you like some help?" Laura asked.
Mary accepted and we both helped her make dinner. While we were working she asked, "Do you still not want to talk to George?"
"Maybe I should. Who knows what kinds of ideas he'll get if he hears about me from Dad." Laura mused. I smiled, thinking that maybe this family was finally going to come together.
Mom called George while Melanie and I watched dinner. The phone was in the far side of the living room, so I couldn't hear what she said. She returned a few minutes later. "He'll be here in time for dinner." She said.
"What about Dad, do you think he'll be back tonight?" I asked. I wasn't afraid of him anymore, but I worried about him coming back after we left and hurting Mom.
"I don't know Laura. I'm not even sure if I want him to." Mom said sadly.
This is my fault, isn't it? I thought to Melanie.
Don't be silly! He did this to himself. If he's smart he'll come back and apologize, but I doubt he's going to be smart about this. Melanie thought back.
That's what I was afraid of. My parents are going to break up because of me! I replied.
Stop that! If your parents break up it will be because of your father's bullying ways and intolerance, not because of you! she said sternly.
Dinner was ready before George got there, so we put everything on warm and set the table. I was fretting so much Melanie dragged me over to the table and sat me down, then sat on my lap. Mom smiled at that. "She really watches out for you, doesn't she?"
"No more than she watches out for me." Melanie replied.
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Melanie insisted on answering it, not that Mom or I could get to it before she could! It was George, so she let him in and closed the door.
"Hi George, I'm Melanie. Your mom and sister are in the kitchen." I heard her greet him.
"Sister?! Oh great, Dad's going to blow a gasket again!" George groused as he walked into the kitchen. He glanced around the room and passed right over me. "Where's Kevin?"
"Didn't I tell you I'm Laura now?" I said. He spun around to look at me again and frowned.
"Kevin? No way that's you!" he exclaimed.
"Her name is Laura, George, remember it!" Melanie said sharply before sitting back on my lap and wrapping an arm around my waist.
George looked at Mom incredulously. "You can't really believe this is Kevin!"
Melanie growled in annoyance. Hopping off my lap she strode over to George, grabbed his shirt in one hand and lifted him off his feet, and carried him over to the kitchen table and dropped him onto a chair. "Her…name…is…Laura!" she enunciated clearly and forcefully. "If you call her Kevin again I'm going to get angry!"
Mom chuckled. "You'd better listen to her George, she's very protective of her girlfriend."
George looked stunned and didn't take in what Mom said at first. He shook himself and looked at me and then Melanie. "Girlfriend?" he said incredulously.
Wait a minute, didn't George refuse to let you stay with him after your dad ran you out? Melanie asked me.
Yeah. He said I had to come as Kevin or not at all, though I told him I'd gotten rid of all my male clothes already. I replied.
"Yes George, girlfriend! We've had a lot of time to get to know each other since she moved in with me. I guess I should thank you for not letting her stay with you, we might not have met otherwise." Melanie said, but she didn't sound very thankful!
Mom looked furious on hearing that. "George! Did you refuse to let your sister stay with you?" Mom asked angrily.
Poor George was surrounded and out gunned, and he knew it! "Mom, Dad would have killed me if he knew I let her stay with me dressed like that! He'd say I was encouraging her!" he protested.
Mom frowned and said, "Well, at least you're finally getting the pronouns right. You don't need to worry about your father, he's going to clean up his act or else!"
"You told Dad that?!" George exclaimed. Mom nodded. "How did he react?"
"He tried to hit me, but Melanie stopped him. Laura's girlfriend is very fast and strong when she wants to be." Mom replied with a smile for Melanie.
"How could you stop Dad?" George asked incredulously.
"The same way I picked you up and carried you." Melanie replied.
Time for another demonstration? I asked Melanie.
Sounds like a plan. Why don't we use levitation this time. she replied.
I don't really know how to levitate. I reminded her. Almost as soon as the thoughts were sent I felt a rush of images and ideas from Melanie. Okay, I guess I do know how to levitate. I said ruefully. I could feel the smirk in Melanie's mind!
In unison, Melanie and I levitated until we were halfway to the ceiling. "As you can see, Melanie has taught me a few tricks." I said with a smile. The look on George's face was priceless!
Even Mom looked stunned. "How did you do that?" George asked in awe.
"The same way Melanie picked you up. She taught me how to use our spirit's energy to effect the physical world. We can strengthen ourselves, move faster, levitate, and change our bodies." I replied.
"Is that how you look like you do?" George asked. I nodded. "How much are you able to change your body?"
I smiled. "Let's put it this way, if I'd been here a couple of weeks ago I could have answered that with a bloody tampon."
He grimaced at that. "Eew! Too much information!"
"You did ask." Mom pointed out with a smirk.
"This is too weird!" George said.
While George stewed over all the new information we'd given him, Mom went and turned up the stove. A few minutes later we were filling up our plates. We ate in silence. When we were done George volunteered to wash the dishes and I helped him gather them up.
"I'm worried about Mom." I said as we were setting the dishes down. "If we don't deal with Dad now, he might come back and hurt her. He already tried once."
George shook his head in wonder, "I still can't believe that Mom stood up to him like that! I've always thought she should, but at the same time I was afraid she would. Now that she has I'm proud of her, but worried, too. Are you and Melanie really that strong?"
"Yes, we are. We can deal with Dad without breaking a sweat, believe me! But we can't guard Mom all the time. Do you think he'll be back tonight?" I replied.
George took a moment to think about that before replying, "I'm not sure. It doesn't sound like he took any clothes with him, so I guess he will be back tonight or tomorrow morning. Can you stay that long?"
I nodded, "Yeah, we can stay that long if we need to. I'm certainly not going to leave Mom alone until this is settled!"
"Good." George replied. "That does make me feel a little better about this. Although it feels weird to be relying on my sister who used to be my brother and her girlfriend to protect my mother from my father! Man, that's a mouthful!"
I laughed, "Yeah, I guess it is. So how do you feel about having a sister?" After our last conversation, I wasn't too hopeful, but I had to know!
"I…I guess I'm okay with it. It's not like it's a new idea, or anything. It's only Dad that made it a problem before. I'm not looking forward to seeing him in the state he's likely to be in, though!" George said thoughtfully.
I agreed and left him to finish washing the dishes while I put away everything else. Afterward I found Mom and Melanie talking in the living room.
"You don't have to stay here if Chris doesn't come back tonight. I can deal with him on my own." Mom was saying.
"Oh no you don't!" Melanie exclaimed. "Laura and I aren't going to let you face your husband alone! He's too dangerous."
"That's right Mom." I agreed as I took a seat next to Melanie. "Dad's already tried to hit you once today. We're not going to let him touch you!"
Mom shook her head in wonder, "We did such a lousy job raising you, and you're still such a good, caring person! I'm so proud of you Laura!"
"Really?" I said in surprise. Mom nodded and before I knew it we were hugging the stuffing out of each other. Fortunately I remembered to take it easy on her, or I might have broken some ribs!
"It's a Kodak moment." George quipped as he walked in from the kitchen. He took a seat next to Mom and I sat back down with Melanie. We spent a while filling in the blanks for George, who was understandably amazed at everything that had happened to me since I'd last talked to him. I was just telling him about Veronica when the front door burst open.
Authors Note: Sorry for the super long delay on this one, and its relatively short length. Every time I tried to go beyond this point it just didn't work. This is where this part wanted to end, so I finally decided to let it. I'll try not to have such a long break before the next chapter, which shouldn't be hard!