MAU: More Than Meets the Eye - Epilogue

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MAU: More Than Meets the Eye

by Sleethr

~o~O~o~

The wrap up.

~o~O~o~

 

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents
are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright  © 2013 by R. Nelson aka Sleethr
All rights reserved. This story or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.


 

Author's Note: This is it, thanks to everyone who read this monster, helped me write it and edited it.

~o~O~o~


--SEPARATOR--

 

<* Epilogue *>

 

Sadie stood in front of the door to her childhood home and dreaded what might happen next more than anything in the world. She and Michelle were unofficially engaged to each other, but were waiting to tell their parents before making it official. They decided to break the news to Sadie’s parents first, in an attempt to get over the most difficult problem of convincing Sadie’s parents that was their former son.

Michelle believed her parents would be  easier to convince. However; she wasn’t sure how her parents would handle discovering their daughter was sort of a lesbian. Sort of, because she still found men sexually attractive, but Sadie owned her heart and tripped her switches like no other. Sadie felt incredibly lucky to have the love and support of the most beautiful woman in the Universe. Thank god Michelle insisted on them both having a way to interface with each other.

Sadie smiled gratefully at Michelle as she reassured her with a gentle squeeze of her hand. “Thanks for being here.” She glanced over to Hector. He looked almost as nervous as she felt. “You too, Hector. I couldn’t do this without you guys.”  She began to feel lubricant starting to leak from her eyes. She activated her recycling program and her slightly oily tears absorbed back into her body without a trace. She stole a deep, calming breath before giving Hector the go ahead to ring the doorbell.

“Be right there...” Sadie heard her mom yell from somewhere inside the house. 

A few seconds later she opened the door. “Hector!  And, who are these two lovely young ladies? Tell me you’re not dating both of them?” She laughed as Hector squirmed uncomfortably. 

“No, ma’am, but I kind of need to talk to you and Mr. Williamson. Can we come in?” Hector asked.

“Well, perfect timing,young man. We just finished supper and George is in the living room watching the news.” She held the door open for Hector, Michelle and Sadie to enter.

Sadie studied everything in her childhood home very carefully and committed it all to memory because this could be the last time she saw her childhood home.  She had a lot of fond memories of this place and she prayed her parents would accept her.  Michelle held her hand and smiled at her encouragingly as they entered the living room with Sadie’s father. He looked up as Sadie and her friends entered.

“Hi Mr. Williamson.” Hector turned back to the two girls. “This is Sadie and Michelle, umm, she’s Greg’s fiancé-”

“Oh my god!” Mrs. Williamson interrupted Hector and pulled Michelle away from Sadie. “Wow, you’re so beautiful. Did you meet Greg at work? He mentioned he had a girl at his office that he liked, but I never knew. This is all so sudden!” She looked back to Sadie, then to Michelle. “Is Sadie your friend or are you Hector’s new girlfriend?” She asked Sadie.

“No ma’am. I’m not Hector’s girlfriend.” Sadie blushed from embarrassment. Even as a robot, her mom still had a talent for embarrassing her.

“Well, this is certainly a surprise. Right, George?”  Mrs. Williamson glanced over her shoulder at her husband.

“Yes, dear.” Mr. Williamson nodded patiently.

“Where’s Greg?” Mrs. Williamson asked, glancing back and forth between Hector and Michelle.

Hector glanced down. “Oh, he’s nearby, but he kinda needs your help.”

“Is he okay? He didn’t get arrested or something, did he?” Mrs. Williamson nervously laughed.

“No, he didn’t get arrested, but lemme tell you both what happened...” Hector glanced nervously at Sadie.

Mrs. Williamson took a seat on the couch and insisted Michelle sit next to her as Mr. Williamson sat up straighter in his chair to focus his attention on Hector. Sadie squeezed herself in, next to Michelle.

Sadie studied her parent’s faces as Hector started telling the story, beginning with him finding the strange box and how they discovered what it could do. She could tell they weren’t buying it, but wasn’t sure what to do about it.  Hector also noticed their skepticism.  He glanced back to Sadie.

Her dad was into sci-fi. He was also an amateur astronomer. He was 10 years old when the U.S. put a man on the moon and he liked to boast about how everyone in his neighborhood crowded around an old black and white TV to watch the landing. She knew he believed in aliens and was familiar with Star Wars and Star Trek technology. However; he was also very much a realist. All that high tech stuff was nice to dream about, but he knew it wasn’t possible, not yet. “Da-, umm, Mr. Williamson, is it possible for someone’s clothes to turn into a ninja costume, complete with a sword?”

Now both of her parent’s attention was focused on Sadie. Mr. Williamson smile patiently as he slowly shook his head. “No, of course not. To do something like that would be impossible without some sort of nano-tech or an equally impossible Star Trek holodeck.”

“You're absolutely correct Mr. Williamson.” Sadie beamed a triumphant smile at her Dad before turning to Hector. “Show him your costume.”

Her father’s eyes flared with open astonishment as Hector’s Snake Eyes costume, complete with his sword, materialized from nothing until he was completely covered from head to toe.  Sadie still didn’t understand how it did that or what it used for power, but it worked.

Her father stood and hesitantly reached for Hector’s arm. “Can I?” He asked.

Hector nodded his assent. “Yes, sir. Do you want to see the sword, too?”

After touching the material of the suit and inspecting Hector’s sword, Hector willed his costume to retract. His street clothes returned and her father sat down, staring at Hector with an expression that clearly told her that he was amazed and now receptive to the rest of their story. Sadie felt rather pleased by her father’s reaction and knew her mother wasn’t sure what to think, but she could count on her deferring to her father in this situation.

The rest of Hector’s version of the story went much smoother. He told Sadie’s parents how he and Greg experimented with improving their bodies. He showed them his claws and his healing.

Michelle took over the story and told them how she and Greg turned themselves into Na’vi and became ‘bonded’. She didn’t mention the sex, but she showed them her queue. Sadie’s mom didn’t know what it was, but her dad did.  “After that, we decided to get married. We planned on telling you both after a few months; to make it seem more of a normal courtship versus a sudden Vegas fling, but then we needed to go to the Comic Convention in San Diego.” Michelle sighed heavily and glanced back to Sadie with tears in her eyes. 

Sadie’s mom saw her distress and tried to comfort her. “Thanks Mo-, umm, sorry, Mrs. Williamson, but it’s kinda my fault what happened next.”

Michelle explained how she convinced Greg to turn himself into an Autobot. The one who could turn herself into a motorcycle.  They thought everything would be fine. Greg was a hit at the show, but while they were at the convention; someone broke into their house and stole their stuff, including the MAU.  They ended up working together, tracking it down and almost retrieving it, but now, Greg was stuck as an Autobot.

“So, the Agency people were able to help get Greg a new identity and it just came in today, but we wanted to tell you guys because we both love you and don’t want to lose you.” Michelle finished her part of the story as Mrs. Williamson handed her some tissues for her eyes.

“Oh, honey, I don’t know what to believe or not believe, but I can tell you love our son very much and it wouldn’t matter what happened, we would still love him, no matter what. Okay?” Sadie’s mom smiled at Michelle and gave her a quick hug. “Now, where is this Autobot who is our son?”

Sadie stood. “Right here Mom…” She glanced over to her father. “Dad, umm, tada, it’s a girl!” She stood shyly in the middle of the living room floor and prayed that they would believe this one last impossible fact. 

Her mom gasped. “Oh my,” She glanced over at her husband and saw his shock. She stood and reached out for Sadie and held her hand. “You’re a robot?”

Sadie nodded and willed her other hand to momentarily shift to her robotic and sort of scary clawed Pretender hand.  That display got her dad to stand and as he inspected her hand, she willed it back to human mode.  He turned to Michelle. “I thought you said Greg turned himself into a motorcycle Autobot, umm, Arcee, right?”

Michelle nodded, but Sadie recaptured his attention as she began to speak. “Yes, she did, but I wasn’t sure if they would let me into the convention as a 12 foot tall robot, so I added a Pretender mode so I could look human. Well, like Scarlett from G.I. Joe. See?” Sadie switched her clothes out for her G.I. costume. “And, I can do this...” She activated her shift into motorcycle mode knowing there was plenty of space in the living room.

The changes started slowly with her human shell folding away before the rest of her body began to fold out, expanding into her Arcee shape. It felt so good to stretch out again. Since they weren’t sure if or when the Agents would return with her new ID, she had been forced to stay in Pretender mode for the last few days.  She would have liked to say the constantly full feeling was something she was getting used to, but she wasn’t. 30 seconds later, a bright red Ducati 1199 Panigale R rested on its tires in the middle of her parents living room. 

Sadie activated her rider hologram.  “Michelle likes me in red and Hector convinced me to upgrade to a 1199.” She dryly noted as she tossed her long red hair over her holographic shoulder. “So, how’s this for impossible alien tech?”

Her dad stood and inspected her, running his fingertips over her glossy metal skin. “Amazing, simply amazing, Greg. Now, I am wondering how we are going to explain all this to your sister when she comes up for summer break.”  He chuckled as he continued to ogle at the machine sitting in the middle of his living room.

“Sorry Dad, it’s Sadie now, but I do have a question for Mom.” Sadie reluctantly returned to her human Pretender mode. “Umm, I needed to pick a middle name for my new ID. So, I picked your name. Do you mind?”

Her mom looked like she didn’t know what to say.  She looked completely stunned by the sudden revelation, yet delighted to be asked the question; she forgot all about the fact her son was now a robot woman and simply hugged her new daughter.  “Yes, oh my lord, yes! I would be honored, umm, Sadie.” She took a step back and studied her new daughter’s face with wonder filled eyes. “Wow, Sadie...such a pretty name, I love it!”

Sadie felt so relieved that her parents were taking this so well.  “Thanks, Mom and Dad. I’m sorry. I screwed up, but I’m so glad you two believed us because I don’t know what I would have done without the two of you.”  She began to cry and this time there was no stopping her tears of joy.

Her mom rushed forward and hugged her tightly. “Oh Greg, or Sadie. Your Dad and I love you and your sister so much! I’m just glad you’re okay.  It’s going to take some getting used to the idea of having a second daughter instead of a son, but we’re a family, right?”

Sadie felt so good to simply feel the emotions and be hugged by her Mom. She reached over and motioned for Michelle to join her.  “Thanks Mom, but Michelle has a question for you and Dad and then, we have a final question to ask the two of you, together.”

Michelle glanced nervously to Sadie’s father. “Umm, sir. I realize this is a little crazy.” She giggled. “Okay, a lot, and I know it’s kind of sudden and all, but would you mind if I married your daughter?”

He looked totally flummoxed by her question, but he gamely rallied. “Umm, sure?”

Michelle shrieked with excitement and hugged and kissed her new, soon-to-be father in-law. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You won’t regret it!”

That did it for the poor man. He numbly sat back down in his chair. “I have no idea what to think right now. I think my brain just shut down...”

Sadie chuckled at her Dad’s reaction. “I hope you didn’t break my dad because if you did, you’re fixing him.” Michelle giggled and reached out to hold Sadie’s hand. The two stood side by side and it was clear to both Mr. and Mrs. Williamson that they loved each other.

Sadie simulated taking a deep breath. “Okay, Dad, Mom. Here’s the last surprise question, but I think you two might be happy. Well, Mom will anyway...” Seeing that she had their complete attention, she continued. “So, I’m obviously not human and we can’t have a child together, but when I was in college, I needed some cash for books and I kinda sorta made a donation at a sperm bank.”

Her mom’s eyes begin to leak as she stared at Sadie, giving her all of her attention.

“Umm, Michelle would probably get a kick out of stealing my crown jewels from the bank,” Sadie grinned unrepentantly at Michelle as she pretended be insulted. “But, since you’re my parents and I had to list you two on the donation card; would you be willing to talk to the bank about releasing my sperm so that Michelle and I can eventually have a child together?”

“Oh George, I’m going to be a grandma!” Sadie’s mom cried tears of joy as she hugged her daughters.

~o~O~o~

It had been a week since Sadie had been introduced to her parents and now that she was sort of, officially a girl, her mom treated her like her sister and called her almost every day. It was kind of crazy, but it felt good to be loved. Wanting to be with Michelle, she had moved into her apartment, but she didn’t really have a lot of stuff to move so it went pretty fast. 

Michelle loved having Sadie living there. One, she liked the fact that Sadie didn’t need to eat or ever use the bathroom and for a woman, the bathroom thing was huge. Two, she loved coming home to Sadie after a hard day at the office because once they interfaced; Sadie gave the best massages on the planet. The sex was great too.  Sadie felt very relieved when she discovered that except for lacking the ability to have a child, she was a fully functional female Pretender bot.  Although, Michelle was the only human she would ever allow to stick anything inside her.

Now, Sadie was back at her old house, Hector’s house, getting the last few things while Michelle was at work. She had just finished loading her generator into the back of Michelle’s jeep when a late model, pearl white BMW coupe pulled next to the curb in front of the house.

She could see a female driver behind the wheel and her systems quickly identified her as Natalie.  It still felt a little strange to think of everything that way, but it was how she thought before; the difference before she turned herself into a Transformer was she wasn’t aware of it. Her human brain kept the details of how it operated hidden from her. 

She connected to her phone and sent a text message to Hector.

>Natalie is here. Action?

While she waited for a response, she turned and waited patiently to see what Natalie was going to do. Her vehicle was still running. It would be easy for her to simply drive away. Sadie could see Natalie’s hesitation and doubt as she looked at the front of the house and her. Natalie wasn’t sure if this was the correct house.  If Hector’s truck or Greg’s car had been parked in the driveway, it may have helped. She decided to seize the initiative by approaching Natalie’s vehicle. The sooner this little problem resolved itself, the better.

“Hello, can I help you?” Sadie smiled at Natalie as she rolled down her window.

“Umm, sorry. I don’t know, but does someone named Jennifer live here, or maybe her cousin, Hector?”

“Hector does, but Jennifer was just visiting.” Sadie debated which path to take. The safest course would be to end it here and let Natalie go away. Natalie was a security risk, but she knew Hector still cared about Natalie. “Are you Natalie?”

Natalie looked surprised. “Yes, how did you know and do I know you?”

“No, you don’t know me, but Jennifer told me about you. She was worried about you and wanted to know if you were okay.”

Natalie’s eyes misted over, causing Sadie’s fusion plant to fluctuate, surprising and reassuring her by her continued ability to have spontaneous emotional responses. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

>OTW! ETA 30

Hector’s reply came back just as Natalie shut off her car, closed her eyes, leaned back in her seat and forced a deep, calming breath. “No, it’s okay, not your fault, but do you know when Jennifer might be coming back?”

Sadie considered the easy answer of, ‘never’, but Hector’s reply and her emotional system immediately dismissed that response.  Natalie was hurting and Hector wouldn’t have wanted that for her. “I don’t think she can come back, but I imagine you have some questions, correct?” She asked, softly.

Natalie’s eyes flared with surprise and hope as she studied Sadie with renewed intensity.  Instead of answering, she slowly nodded her head affirmatively as she worked on a reply.

“Like, how?” Sadie gently probed.

Again, Natalie simply nodded, her eyes wide with a mixture of hope and fear.

Sadie leaned away from Natalie’s car and gestured toward the house. “Hector is on his way home now. He can answer all your questions, but I may be able to answer a few while we wait.”

As Sadie waited, Natalie hesitated for a few seconds before she unbuckled her seatbelt and exited her vehicle.  “Sorry, I’m a little freaked out right now, but umm, I forgot to ask your name.”

Sadie smiled apologetically. “It’s Sadie, and that’s okay. I understand what you’re probably going through right now.” She turned to lead the way into the house.

Natalie quickly caught up and walked at her side. “So, umm, how much do you know about, well, I don’t even know where to start!”  She sobbed with frustration as Sadie showed her into the living room.

Once again, Sadie’s fusion plant fluctuated. She reached out and gave Natalie a quick hug. “I’ll do what I can to help with that.” She pointed to the couch. “Would you like something to drink? Water? Tea?”

“Tea, please...” Natalie wiped the edge of her eye with a fingertip to keep her makeup from running.

Sadie nodded once and entered the kitchen. She filled a cup with water and popped it in the microwave. She watched as Natalie regained her composure and began to study the couch she sat on, followed by the rest of the room. Things had changed a bit since their stuff had been stolen, but Natalie must have found enough key reference points. She nodded to herself a few times as she recognized a feature, confirming to herself that she had been here before.

Sadie set a few different tea options on a platter, along with a cup of sugar and a jar of honey with the hot cup of water.  Natalie intently studied her as she carried it into the living room and set it on the coffee table for her to serve herself.  “There, I hope we, I mean, Hector has a variety you like.”

“You said, we at first. Are you and Hector, dating?” Natalie asked as she reached for her cup.

Sadie smiled at her question. It would be an easy assumption to make now. “No, we were roommates though. I recently got engaged and I’m in the process of moving out.  I was just about to leave when you pulled up.”

Natalie picked the Earl Grey tea and put it in her mug. “Oh, so, what can you tell me about, umm...” Natalie trailed off, at a loss for how to start.

“It’s been, what, two weeks now, right?” Sadie took a seat opposite Natalie, automatically crossed her legs and leaned forward instead of slouching back into the cushions. That was another thing she could thank her Pretender mode for. She was a perfect mimic and could copy a person’s mannerism after only watching them once. She used that ability to learn how to look and act like the woman she appeared to be. It annoyed Michelle a lot once she noticed how Sadie was copying her, but once Sadie had enough samples from other women, she was able to blend them together to make her own.

Natalie nodded. “Yes...” She whispered.

“You’ve been to your doctor. You’ve discovered a few things, scientifically impossible things, right?” Sadie clasped her hands around her knee as she studied Natalie’s face.

Natalie gasped and looked up at Sadie’s face, suddenly looking nervous as she halted pouring a spoon of sugar into her mug.

Sadie pressed on. “You want to know how Jennifer cured  your cancer? How your ovaries regenerated themselves and if I'm not mistaken, how you can heal from wounds after only a few minutes, right?”

Natalie’s spoon slipped out of her fingers and clanged against the cup before falling onto the platter.  Sadie’s sensors picked up her increased heart rate as adrenaline flooded her system. She was frozen in place as her fight or flight instincts kicked in. Sadie stood, causing Natalie to jump back with fright.  Sadie turned her back on Natalie and walked back into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Not to drink for sustenance, but to appear more human and give Natalie a way to retreat if she choose to leave.

“Are you, umm, an alien?” Natalie’s voice quaked with fear, but to her credit, she didn’t run.

Sadie found her question humorous and giggle escaped her mouth before she fully considered the question. “Ya know, two weeks ago I would have found that question to be very funny and even a little flattering in a geeky kind of way, but two weeks ago, you didn’t almost die.  There isn’t a simple yes or no answer I can give you to that question. Maybe, is probably the best answer I can give because I am willing to tell you that I wasn’t born looking like this!” She glanced down at her body before looking back at Natalie. “Are you an alien now? Do you feel like an alien?”

Sadie watched as Natalie gave her question some thought before she continued. “I think you are more human than I am, but how about if I answer that question about me a little later, maybe after we have gotten to know each other a little better?“

“Umm, okay?” Natalie slowly forced herself to relax and resume her seat as Sadie waited for her water to finish heating up.

“Excellent!” Sadie turned and smiled at Natalie causing Natalie to relax enough to resume her attempt at prepping her cup of tea. “But the ‘how’ question is going to be a little hard to answer. I think the easier and yet most important question is, why?”

Natalie paused mid-stir. “Why? How is that easier? I don’t even know who you are. I don’t know who the person I thought was my friend was. All I know is that my cancer is gone, without a trace and as if it never existed. I thought I knew a lot of stuff about medicine, but now I don’t. I don’t know anything anymore.” She broke down and began to sob.

Sadie cautiously sat down next to Natalie and gently pulled her unresisting body to her chest. Sadie rocked her slowly back and forth as she started her heartbeat subroutine.  With Natalie’s ear on her chest, not having a heartbeat might freak her out again.  “Yes, why is the easiest question to answer.” She whispered softly. “The person you knew as Jennifer cared, and still cares about you very much. She cared enough to risk everything to save your life and would probably do it again in a heartbeat if she had to.”

Natalie pulled away and studied Sadie’s face. “You’re not Jenna, are you?”

“No, I’m not. Sorry, or maybe congrats, hehe.” Sadie stood and retrieved her steaming cup of water from the microwave.  Her sensors told her it was warm and her thermo-graphic even told her the exact temperature of the water.  It would burn a human’s mouth if they took more than a sip. So, she mimicked Natalie and cautiously took small sips from her cup as she sat back down across from her.

“Are you going to put some tea in there?” Natalie asked.

“No, I don’t wanna waste Hector’s tea, but would you like to know the how, or at least, as much as I understand to be the how?”

Natalie nodded her head. “Yes, please.”

Sadie began the tale with telling her about Hector finding the strange metal box and bringing it home to show Greg, his roommate. She explained how the two used it to give themselves superpowers and how placing her in the device saved her life.  She left out the parts with Hector turning himself into Jennifer and Michelle’s role in their adventure. She explained that she used it to turn herself into the person she sees now, but left out who she was before. Finally, she skipped to the end and told her how the machine had been stolen and how they tried to track it down; only to watch it sink to the bottom of the ocean, lost forever.  She was stuck, but Hector was okay. 

“After that, the Agents gave me a new ID and now, I’m moving in with my fiancé.” Sadie finished.

“So, this miracle machine cured me, got stolen, lost forever and you expect me to believe all that?” Natalie stood and tapped her foot with irritation.

“What would you like to believe happened?” Sadie leaned back in her seat, cradling her mug in her hands.

Natalie threw her arms in frustration. “Oh hell, I don’t know. How about you beamed me aboard the Enterprise and that cranky doctor cured me with a magic pill, or hey, something more believable, how about if you’re a witch and you cast a magic spell?”

“So, you would believe in magic or Star Trek, but not an alien booth?” Sadie laughed at the irony. “How about if I show you what happened that night? Would that help?”

Natalie sat back down. “You can show me? How?”

“Watch...” With a whisper of sound, Sadie’s left eye transformed into a glowing mechanical red lens. 

“Ahh!” Natalie jumped back as Sadie’s eye flickered and a holographic movie materialized in the middle of the room.  Natalie stared, transfixed as the scene showing Jennifer carrying her into the house played out. It was obvious from the quality of the display that she wasn’t breathing and both she and Jennifer were covered in vomit. Also obvious was how desperate Jennifer was to save her. She saw Jennifer carry her into the machine, then exit with her, as her twin. The movie ended and Sadie’s mechanical red lens transformed back into a human eye.

“That’s how it happened, but as to ‘how’ the machine was able to do that; no clue.  It might as well been magic.” Sadie stood as she heard the garage door start to open.

Natalie gulped as she stood and studied Sadie’s face. “How? What?”

“You know how, but what am I? Well, I’m not exactly human anymore, but Hector is home now. He can explain who Jennifer is; if that’s something you still wanna know.” Sadie nodded at Natalie as she turned to leave.

Natalie reached out and grabbed her arm. “Wait, umm...” She paused and glanced down, ashamed. “Thanks for telling me, and, well...” She pulled Sadie into a hug. “Just thanks.”

Sadie nodded once and smiled at Natalie. “Go easy on the big guy...He’s really a teddy bear once you get to know him.” She turned back to leave just as Hector entered the house from the garage. She glanced over her shoulder and pointed her behind with her thumb. “She’s in the living room.”

~o~O~o~

Hector was in the process of going over the calculations for how many tons of cement they were going to need to complete this section of the new bridge when his phone pinged, notifying him of a new message. It was a text from Sadie. He almost dropped his phone when he read the message.

>Natalie is here. Action?

It took him less than a minute to call his boss and tell him he had to rush home. He made up some bullshit story about the cops finding some of their stolen stuff and needing to meet him. Once he cleared it with his boss, he sent a quick reply to let Sadie know he was on his way. He prayed that Natalie didn't leave before he got there, but at the same time, he couldn't help wondering what she wanted. It had been almost two weeks. He kind of expected her to have tried to reach him sooner, but she was pretty upset that night. Maybe it took her a long time to cool down and discover the fixes he made to her.

He made it home in record time by avoiding the worst traffic and by going through all the construction zones. He had is yellow construction worker bubble light on the top of his cab. So, no worries about being pulled over by a cop. Still, he made it a point to slow down, wave and look around like he was inspecting something. Even with taking that extra step, he still shaved over thirty minutes off his drive home.

Michelle’s jeep was still parked in the driveway, along with a nice BMW parked on the curb. It must be Natalie's and it meant she was still there. He pulled into the garage and entered the house. His stomach felt like it had a ball of lead in the middle of it. What if she was still pissed at him, or Jenna? What if she wanted to see Jenna? Was he a fool to even dare hope that Natalie might like him?

As he entered the house, he spotted Sadie. She gestured behind her. “She's in the living room.”

He swallowed his fear and nodded, silently thanking her for staying with Natalie. His phone buzzed and curious, he took a peek.

>I told her about the machine and showed her how Jennifer saved her life. Rest is up to you. Good luck. I like her. :)

“Taking off! Nice meeting you Natalie. Feel free to call me if he gives you a hard time. I'll come kick his butt for ya.” Sadie yelled back into the living room as she made her way out the front door.

Hector entered the living room and there she was, Natalie. She looked absolutely beautiful to him, but he always thought she looked beautiful. More importantly, she was alive.

Natalie anxiously stood and faced him, her face full of doubt, uncertainty and questions. She studied his face intently, paying specific attention to his eyes. “Jenna?”

At a loss for what to do, Hector found himself blushing and filled with embarrassment, he looked away. Instead of answering right away, he headed into the kitchen to get himself a beer. Not that a single beer would do anything for him. It was more of a crutch and a way to break the tension inside him. “Not anymore, sorry...Umm, can I get you something to drink? Water or soda, sorry, I don’t have any diet. OJ?”

“I'm fine, Sadie made me some tea...” Natalie softly replied, almost too low for him to hear her. She followed him into the kitchen area, but stood her ground by keeping herself on the other side of the small breakfast nook.

He knew it probably took a lot of courage for her to come to the house and he felt very grateful that Sadie was here and able to help break the ice. Her continued presence gave him some hope, but what he really longed to do is give her a hug. “So, what’s up?” He asked as he twisted off the top of his beer.

Sensing the tension in the room, Natalie briefly glanced away. “Were you the one who put Jason and his scumbag friends in the hospital last week, and threatened to cut their dicks off and shove them down their throats if you ever heard about them attempting to rape another woman?”

Hector had to smile at that memory. At the time, he thought he would never see Natalie again, but a promise is a promise.  He wore his Snake Eyes costume, snuck into the bastard’s apartment, confirmed his suspicions by finding a baggie of pills labels as “EZ Lay” and took care of him and his scumbag roommate when they returned from a club with a drugged woman in tow. “Sounds like they deserved it...”

Natalie made her way to stand directly in front of him. She looked up to his face and from close range, studied his eyes once again. A hesitant smile graced her face as she stepped into him, causing him to reflexively give her a hug as she nestled herself into his chest.  “Yes, they did and the police have charged them with rape after they were able to connect a few cases together. So, umm, thanks...ya big stupid man.”

“You’re welcome.” Hector kissed her fondly on the top of her head. “Hey!” He took a step back, holding her away from him. “What do ya mean by stupid?  I may not be a smarty pants almost a doctor like you, but I’ll have you know I almost graduated from high school, twice!”

Her laughter rang through the kitchen, scrubbing the depression from his soul. It was so good to hear her laughing again.  “So, what have you been up too and shall we sit on the couch instead of standing in the kitchen?”  Hector gestured toward the living room.

Natalie smiled coyly up at him. “Sure!” 

Hector led the way and after she picked a spot, he sat slightly apart and opposite of her. He didn’t want to crowd her or make her feel uncomfortable.  They both tried to start a conversion, but after a few aborted starts by both of them; Hector decided that the simplest question might be the easiest to start with. “So, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, better than well, actually.” She paused, giving Hector an opening.

“Oh?” He asked.

“Yeah, I saw my doctor last week...” Natalie smiled happily as she watched Hector tense with anxiety.

“And, what did she say?” Hector patiently asked.

“He, and he said it was a miracle. Well, at first he did.  Not only am I now cancer free, but he was at a loss to understand how my ovaries and fallopian tubes regenerated and when he couldn’t find my scar, he actually accused me of being someone else. He was pretty pissed and even threatened to call the police on me...”

“Oh, umm, sorry, but what took you so long to hunt me down?”

“Well, you did make me a redhead.” Natalie smirked mischievously. “So, I was pissed and it took me a few days to calm down enough to even talk to Gina without yelling at her.  At first, I thought maybe you had glued on a real good movie quality prosthetic wig or gave me a cheap dye job, but then, I realized it was my hair and it was naturally this shade of red.” She ran her fingers through her hair, holding it up briefly for display.

Natalie briefly giggled when she spotted Hector’s apologetic expression. “Relax, I like it!” She paused pick up her tea cup and took a sip before continuing. “Anyway, that, plus my missing scar convinced me to visit my doctor and you know how that went. After that, I finally talked to Gina and found out what happened at the party. Sorry that it took me so long to dredge up the courage to try and find your house because once I did start, it took some time because I couldn’t even remember the street name. I spent the last two days driving around trying to spot a familiar landmark and I knocked on a lot of doors in the process.”

Hector winced at the idea of what she must have gone through because some of the neighborhoods in this area aren't the safest to be driving through, especially for a white lady in a Beamer. “Sorry. I guess I should’ve tried to call and talk to you.”

“That’s okay. I understand.” Natalie laughed and patted the seat next to her. “Sit by me, please. Hector or Jennifer, I want you to tell me who you are. I want to get to know the real you.”

Hector and Natalie spent the next hour simply talking, laughing and getting to know each other. Hector was amazed at how good it felt to be with her. It was almost like they were reforging the connection they started when he was Jenna. Those feelings grew even stronger when she asked him to tell her what it was like being a woman for a night. She laughed so hard, she almost cried at parts of his story and was forced to make a run to the bathroom when he explained what it felt like to wear a skimpy skirt and deal with all the guys wanting to get into his panties.

He didn’t know exactly when it happened, but she leaned into him and kissed him; it felt so good and her lips tasted so sweet. They both felt the connection and at first, it scared them, but after a few more attempts at a conversation neither one were really interested in having, they kissed again.  The temperature in the room rapidly increased for the two of them.

Hector marveled at the delightful curves of her body as they both helped each other out of their clothes.  As he drank in the sight of her naked body, he felt a confusing mixture of raw animal attraction mixed with a hint of jealousy, but all that was quickly set aside as she ran her hands over his chiseled chest and corded arm muscles.  “My god Hector, you’re so fucking sexy!” Natalie smothered him with more kisses.

“So are you, but you’re more than just sexy, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world.” Hector easily lifted and carried her into his room

Thanks to both of their healing powers, it took them over an hour before either of them felt like stopping the course nature intended.  Hector felt rather pleased with his performance and even more pleased by the feeling of Natalie’s body nestled comfortably against his. It felt like the missing part of his soul had finally been found.

“You look pretty happy...” Natalie propped herself up with her elbow as she gently smiled down at him.

Hector brushed aside a lock of her hair. “I am, and at the risk of messing up the moment, I can honestly say, I have never felt happier to be with someone in my life.”

Natalie rewarded him by sitting up and straddling him, her perfect breasts partially hidden by her luxurious red hair. “I know you told me what you did, but did you try, you know?” She glanced down toward her groin.

Hector knew exactly what she was asking. “I know, what?” He smirked.

Natalie pushed back against him, sliding her sex against his penis, teasing him. “You know, don’t play the dumb blonde with me, girlfriend! Did you try having sex?”

“Girlfriend?” Hector looked around her, pretending to be looking for another woman in his room. “That’s funny; the only girl I see here is you...”

“Ya big meanie!” Natalie pouted, causing Hector’s resistance to crumble.

Hector chuckled. “Fine, I’ll tell you. No, I didn't. I was kind of curious, but after what happened to you and everything else; I just wanted to be me again.” He sighed heavily. “I don’t know how to explain it, but in some ways, I think I kinda miss being Jenna, your BFF.”

“Ahh, I see. Well, I have to say, I am very glad Jenna turned out to be you.”  Natalie smirked at Hector’s confused expression. “Yes, because Jenna was driving me crazy!”

Now it was Hector's turn to feel totally confused. “What do ya mean? I was driving you crazy?”

“Yes. I kept looking at you and wanting to kiss you. I’m not talking about a little kiss between friends either.  I found myself getting a little wet, and I know you know what I mean, just thinking about you and it was driving me crazy because it made me think I might be a lesbian.”

Hector chuckled and twisted his hip, driving himself a little bit inside of her, teasing her. “So, are you worried about that now?”

Natalie pushed herself back, causing her eyes to roll up in her head. “Oh. my. god. no.”

The next morning, Natalie awoke pressed against Hector’s strong chest.  She felt so safe in his arms and the strong beat of his heart in her ear made her want to stay like this forever, but sadly, she needed to visit the restroom. Feeling fresher, she returned to Hector’s side and propped herself up so she could fondly study her lover’s face.

Her movement jostled him enough to wake him. He smiled warmly as he returned her gaze. “You’re so beautiful…”

She rewarded him with a soft, gentle kiss that ended when she giggled with delight as she considered how lucky she was to bump into Jenna.  “You know, it is almost a shame she’s gone now.”

“Who?” Hector looked momentarily lost. “Oh, Jenna. Why is that?”

“Well, Gina called me yesterday. She wanted to find out if I knew how to get in touch with Jenna because that producer dude at the party wanted her to be in his next movie.”

Hector lifted himself up, propped himself up against his headboard, and pulled Natalie to him so she could snuggle up against his body. “Oh yeah, that's a shame, but what about you?”

“What do you mean, what about me?” She mumbled, resting her cheek on his chest.

“Well, if I was Jenna, what would you do?”

Natalie’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she looked up at him. “Well, I guess I would just have to be a lesbian!”

Hector twisted away from Natalie. “Seriously?”

“Oh yeah...” Natalie smile dreamily. “Jenna was smoking hot.”

“Well, in that case. Let me try something.” Hector reached back, deep into his mind and flipped a switch he never thought he would need or want to use. 

His body began to feel incredibly strange as it literally started to deflate before Natalie’s eyes.  As his body and skeleton shrank, his hair blossomed and grew an inch every second until it stopped to just above his butt. The muscles in his chest shrank, his skin tightened as his hair absorbed into his body, causing his skin to become baby soft and smooth as Jenna’s breasts began to inflate as the rest of his body shrank into itself.  

It didn’t hurt, but it did feel very strange. He thought it must be how an air mattress felt, if it could feel, as it was deflating.  The most peculiar sensation was the feeling of his scrotum pulling up inside of him, followed by his penis pulling in and being replaced with an unmistakable female labia. He felt a mild jolt of pain as his hips cracked and popped as they expanded.

The complete transformation took just under two minutes, but when Hector finally felt the changes stop, he looked up to an astonished and crying Natalie. “So, did ya miss me?” Jenna asked with a grin.

Natalie launched herself at Jenna. “Oh my god, yes! This is the best day ever! You can change back, right?”

Jenna thought about for a second. The switch was there, sitting in the back of her mind waiting to be mentally pressed. “Yeah, I think so...”

“Awesome! Now I can have a boyfriend to do all the heavy and dirty work around the house while having a girlfriend to go shopping and to the beach with!” She giggled uncontrollably as she bounced giddily to her knees and grabbed Jenna’s hands and sang. “It’s the best of both worlds!”

Jenna began to regret her switch. “Hey! What about the sex part?”

“Oh yeah, that is the best part because, hey...” Natalie mischievously grinned as she reached down and cupped Jenna’s sex. “Technically, aren’t you a virgin?”

“I guess so, why?” Jenna hesitantly answered as she felt herself responding to Natalie’s touch.

“Oh, no reason…” Natalie pounced on Jenna and smothered her with kisses as her fingers worked their magic.

[-- The End --]

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Comments

Excellent Finish

Thank you so very much for this wonderful story

Goddess Bless you

Love Desiree

Nice :) I love it. I think

Nice :) I love it.

I think in the end Hector was smarter than Greg. Hector at least thought to include a way to switch back. Anyway, nice happy end. Now if we only knew why those "Ninjas" tried to steal the Mau...

Thank you for writing this captivating story,
Beyogi

Those darn MAUs

Usually people end up stuck in a shape they don't want. What's makes this one so good is that the bad did happen. I swear MAU's are cursed and that's above and beyond their limited 'trial' period. I think Hector and Natalie might've gotten the best of this since they both have that healing factor that was patterned off Wolverine. Being a comics fan Hector would know Logan is much older than he appears.

Sadie won't age either, but Michelle doesn't have that healing. She will grow older. On the other hand we don't know if Hector and Natalie can have children given their changes.

And we have a tease for someone using Ninjas with high tech weapons stealing MAUs. Ohhh, more stories to come! Yay!

Hugs
Grover

PS: Jorey has a great point. What about Wheelie? Does he appear in the after credits as these ominous glowing 'headlights' in the dark? :)

Michelle's lifespan

Since Greg patterned her off of the Black Widow and Catwoman...

Natalia "Natasha" Alianovna Romanova born circa 1928 and was raised from her youth by a Russian soldier Ivan Petrovich Bezukhov after she was orphaned when enemy soldiers attacked Stalingrad. To save Ivan's life, she accepted a place in the Soviet government's covert "Red Room" facility. While there, she was bio- and psycho-technologically enhanced - granting her an unusually long and lifespan and prolonged youthful appearance.

Source: http://www.comicvine.com/black-widow/4005-3200/

And, everyone knows that cats have nine lives.

-- Sleethr

Wheelie

Great story, but what ever became of Wheelie?

Jorey
.

I knew I was forgetting something...

Sadie and Hector work out a joint custody deal with the little guy to help keep their houses clean.

-- Sleethr

Thank you for this story :)

This is one of the cases where a good author got my interest for a story universe that I otherwise found not so interesting. Similar to the Comics Retcon Universe by Lilith Langtree et al.

This said, a sequel would be nice but more Whisper sounds even better ;-)

Very good story

But I still don't get that a transformer that can scan and change into other motorcycles easily can't scan some of Greg's old pictures and transform into a Greg pretender form.

Scanning...

She needs to have a 3 dimensional object to scan.

For her mechanical forms, she can only scan objects that she has enough mass to change into. IOW, she couldn't scan a car because a car is too big, but she might be able to scan and turn into a very small car, like a Fiat Abarth or Smart Car.

For biological/Pretender forms, I guess there is no logical reason why she can't scan a male body, but she doesn't have her own male body to scan. However; I feel that since Arcee and Alice are female, Sadie's Pretender scanner has a block or filter in place to keep her forms female.

Make sense or am I just making things harder on poor Sadie? :)

-- Sleethr

What about her jet form then?

It was apparently big enough to carry a human in the cockpit. So, realistic size fighter jet, usually larger than a car?

A Bede 6. You've been talking

A Bede 6. You've been talking to Burt Rutan?

I like the ending in regards to Natalie, Hector/Jenna. I feel that Greg got shortchanged.

I think she got shortchanged in the eating department

Eating and tasting is a fun thing and anchors so much of who we are and do. To not truly desire it is a major distancing from her biological origins.

I did note that Sadie will need refueling in 5 years but that is a long time between meals and I wonder what she refuels with, hydrogen?

Kim

as long as

she's linked with Michelle she can taste with her.

refueling...

She uses helium3. Her fake generator makes it for her, but in a pinch she can use h2o. It almost takes more energy to convert it into power...

The link will be what keeps her grounded, but there are other experiences she can use and will enjoy/take pleasure in doing. Flying and riding are two experiences that she will enjoy.

-- Sleethr

RE: What about her jet form then?

Lots of empty space in the engine compartment/housing/nacelle and fuel tanks as the engines are simulated.

Technically

Well, it would be easier to change into a man as there is more mass and less 'conpression' needed. And there is enough software already to convert any 2D picture in 3D objects.

The argument that Arcee (and the decepticon pretender mode) is female and rejects male pretender modes is more logical. It works best for a TG story :)

Wow effect

Wow, really good story Sleether! I´ll go as far as to say this is one of two, best MAU stories, I´ve read. Sorry, Elrodw, but it´s right. XD
So MAU and Jade skirt ended, what now? Second book of Whisper? Please, pretty please.

Very Enjoyable

terrynaut's picture

Thanks very much for this story. I enjoyed every chapter.

Thanks and kudos.

- Terry

very nice!

so how complete was Natalie's wolverine adaption, if Jenna/Hector shows her how, can she pop claws? will they breed true?
this was a great ride, thanks

would love to see a sequel after Whisper book 2.

No claws...

Hector/Jenna was in a rush to save her life and he was mostly worried about giving her the healing factor, and red hair. :)

Natalie probably is a bit stronger and fit than the average human, but only peak human levels of fitness. She won't have any problems running a marathon or a triathlon.

-- Sleethr

Well that would certainly be

Well that would certainly be uncomfortable....

Oh by the way, great job Sleethr. I become busy with family for a few weeks and you go and finish it on me! Sorry I wasn't around all that much to give input, but it looks like you did fine without me. ;)

That...

That would just be mean and also falls under the TMI category. :-P

-- Sleethr

Not necessarily

Lesbian sex does not have to involve sex toy use for penetration. And it is hardly TMI considering the intimate descriptions already in the story. And it can't be too bad considering how painful having claws come through skin must be.

Kim

Perhaps not...

But...

As fast as Hector/Jenna heals, having a regenerating hymen could prove "distracting".

I'm just going to assume that even though Jenna is technically a virgin, Hector wouldn't have thought to envision himself and her as a virgin.

I do try to not get into graphic sex scenes and let the reader's imagination fill in the details. I think the readers probably have a better imagination on that front than I do. :)

Although, I once write a shower scene with my Mystique character after only 3-4 hours of sleep. It got a tad steamy and sometimes, I wish I hadn't deleted it after I caught up on my sleep.

sigh

-- Sleethr

What happened to

The other branch of the MAU transformation family. I can't see our other people at the ranch not tracking the progress of the other MAU enhanced members of this growing branch of occupants of the planet. Any thoughts of a updating ark to connect the arks already running. May be in the form of a progress report.

Loved this story because of the intense emotional interaction and human reactions to other worldly situations. Does the switch in Hectors bag of tricks make him truly TS, Bi gendered, Pan gendered what???????? Just Curious

Huggles
Michele

With those with open eyes the world reads like a book

celtgirl_0.gif

Tricky...

Including the other branch of the MAU transformation family is up to Elrod.

To date, there are only two known "hacked" MAU units. The one held by Dani of the Collective and the other held by the Star Wars folks. ( can't remember their names )

However; based on the "rules", I think it would be very easy for a person to get one working on a semi-regular basis.

It will be capable of being reactivated if 3 conditions occur:
1) the device must have moved at least 300 miles from the point of its activation,
2) at least 3 months of time must have passed
3) it can never be reactivated by the original user.

I think the distance is too small and should be more like 3,000 miles, because the Agency could have a lot ( or only a few ) MAU's sitting in their storage area just waiting for an Agent to touch it.

Anyway, if a MAU fell into the hands of a foreign power ( government or organized crime ) and they somehow figured these little rules out...I don't think it would be hard for them to do a little creative boosting every three months. They would probably want another MAU to help them out too...

Well, Hector in his male form is 100% male. Jenna is 100% female. DNA tests would show XY for Hector and XX for Jenna. How their chromosomes can swap out like that is a mystery. If I had to guess, I would guess that the "switch" is a collection of nano-bots that swarm through Hector's body and flip a few switches in his DNA or is it the RNA? I dunno...any science sufficiently advanced looks like magic to someone who doesn't understand it, or something like that, right? :-P

-- Sleethr

300 mile limit, and general comments

I enjoyed the epilogue; it has satisfying and plausible closure for both Hector and Sadie. And I greatly enjoyed the story as a whole; I agree with some earlier posters that it's one of the best MAU stories overall, better than all but a few of Elrod's MAU stories.

I think I commented, when Elrod posted the revised MAU universe rules to the tg_fiction list, that the 300 mile limit only made sense if the Agency has lots of storage areas scattered around the country, most of them less than 300 miles apart, and that newly discovered units are always taken to the nearest base. That seems implausible, given the implied size of the agency, and if there aren't so many bases, it seems almost certain that the Agency would reactivate some units by accident sooner or later, and then would gradually figure out by trial and error about the 300 mile/3 month limit.

The MAU universe overall is one where many of the individual stories make sense and are enjoyable in themselves, but if you put them all together -- or even only the "canonical" ones -- the pile-up of coincidences becomes more and more implausible and suspension of disbelief is broken.

TY

Thank you for this very entertaining and well written story, you continue to impress me, I look forward to further stores from your talented imagination.

The nature of Monkey is - Irrepressible!!!

An amusing story

I enjoyed the story and am glad that Hector was able to reconnect with Natalie.

The waking world is but a dream.

*Applause*

Tas's picture

Well done! I like the MAU universe when it's done well, and this is certainly an example of that! I had a lot of fun reading this story, and I'm glad Hector had the foresight to build in a way to swap back and forth, very interesting idea.

Anyway, on to the next part! Woo!

-Tas

Awesomely wonderful story

Jamie Lee's picture

This story was a joy to read, and nicely written.

It's the type of story which starts out slowly but builds with each chapter. And as each chapter is added, it gets harder not to read the next chapter.

It was good to see Greg's parents accept the changes, instead of freaking and calling every freak squad. It's also good to see Michelle stand by him.

Natalie coming to terms with her improvements and wanting to be with Hector helps not only her but him as well. And, she gets both a boyfriend and girlfriend. Such luck.

This is a must read to understand the other MAU stories dealing with these characters. A story which is a hoot to read.

Others have feelings too.

What an awesome ending to the story.

WillowD's picture

I thought it was a real shame that Natalie had disappeared from the story. I liked her very much. But I'm glad these two wound up getting together again. Thanks for writing this.

Loved it!

Aine Sabine's picture

Okay, I just read this and since it was all done I decided to wait until I read the whole thing to comment. I loved this story! I actually read Robots in Disguise first. Fortunately it wasn't required to read this one first. I hope you finish RiD at some point as I would like to see how it ends. As for this one, one thing I think you forgot with the Epilogue is having Michelle remember why she recognized the Sadie form. I assume it was from there joining while as Na'vi and maybe during the scene where Greg saw his two kids but from Michelle's point of view. That is the problem with having read RiD first since I know about the kids. Any ways thanks for sharing this wonderful story and can't wait for more. Guess it's time to read Wolf in Sheep's Clothing!

Wil

Aine