John Martin had turned his successful engineering business over to his kids -- much to their consternation. While camping deep in the national forest, he met a fox hybrid in great need of help.
John Martin had turned his successful engineering business over to his kids -- much to their consternation. While camping deep in the national forest, he met a fox hybrid in great need of help.
sex: 2/10
violence: 6/10
profanity: 3/10
Categories: Hybrid, Elemental, PSI
Timeline: 2068
Chapter One: Interrupted Vacation
The first indication that something was wrong came from a bolt of pain and fear that I felt through my link with Tabatha.
Tabatha is my flying kitty. She's got black wings, silky black fur, and amber eyes. She was given to me by Tina Shepherd, a friend of my kids. She's one of the best gifts I have ever received.
I can't help but smile when I remember when she was first placed in my arms. Tina took that moment to forge a telepathic link between me and Tabby. From that moment, she was my cat, and I was her human. We each feel what the other feels. I can see through her eyes and hear through her ears. I can feel the air flowing over my -- I mean her wings and fur. I can share her empathic and telepathic skills.
Anyhow, I had done a little shopping in the local town, and was on my way back to my camper when the growing unease I had been feeling turned into pain and fear.
When I turned my attention to the problem, I found three other entities keen for the hunt and filled with righteous anger and hate. I recognized the emotional signature of the pures all too easily.
Tabitha, as usual, was flying high enough that she would be easily mistaken for a bird. Still, since she literally has eagle-sharp eyes, she had no problem spotting everyone involved.
There were three men of varying ages chasing a young partial fox hybrid. Every time one would stop to take a shot at her, she would dodge.
I sent her reassurance through Tabatha, and quickly spun my ute around and gave chase.
It turned out that she was a telepath. My wordless reassurance was returned with equally wordless gratitude, and a vague picture of what she was facing.
Her leg collapsed under her just as I was approaching. I saw two people take careful aim, so I pulled out my pistol, flipped on the laser, and snapped off two quick shots.
It isn't as easy when you're under fire as it is at the range, but my many hours of practice allowed me to do a credible job. I hit one a bit low -- in the stomach. The other I got in the shoulder. I fired a few shots at the third person, but he dodged effectively.
But you can't shoot while you're dodging bullets, which is the point. Unfortunately, you can't shoot when you're trying to rescue someone. That's why I got hit.
Fortunately for me and the person I was rescuing, my dear elder brother had made some modifications to my body. The diamond nanothread webbing underneath my skin kept the bullet from penetrating, though it hurt like hell, left a bruise, and bled.
I put her into the passenger seat, slammed the door, and vaulted over the hood. Several bullets hit the armored glass as I drove away.
Yes, the ute that I drive around is armored. I'm an eccentric retired engineer that likes to play with graphene and carbon nanotubes and diamond nanothreads and stuff. So sue me.
I had just turned Martin Engineering over to my children two weeks ago, much to their consternation. They aren't cooperating. They created a new position on the top of the org chart called 'head honcho,' and voted me into that position.
I guess I can offer them sage advice as I drive around the country and veg out. They'll have to call me when I'm in a good mood, though.
Anyhow, once I drove about half a mile, I stopped to assess my patient. She had belted herself into her seat, and seemed alert, though she was also in pain. The bullet that had made her fall didn't break her leg, but it tore up her muscles pretty badly.
"I'll be OK soon enough. Just get us out of here."
So I drove her home. Home sweet home, my grandpa's old Winnebago motor home, slightly modified.
OK, it is heavily modified.
Actually, there is little of the original vehicle left.
I was surprised to see her hop out as soon as I pulled up to the old RV. "I am a bio elemental," she said.
"Well, that's one less thing to worry about," I said. I grabbed a couple of power bars out of the glove compartment and tossed them to her, along with an energy drink that I pulled from the cooler.
I ran inside and quickly straightened a few things out. Then, I retracted the slide outs. That includes the one in the back that retracts into the living area and leaves a small 'garage' in the back. I ran to the ute, drove it into the garage, and pulled the ramp up.
At her quizzical look, I said, "I don't expect your attackers to give up that easily. We need to leave. First things first, though.
I asked her to follow me in, fired up the computer, and made a call.
"State police, sergeant O'Riley speaking."
"Hi. I would like to report an assault and attempted murder. A group of pures attacked a partial fox hybrid."
"OK, let me transfer you to hate crimes."
"Hate crimes division, lieutenant Davison speaking."
"Hi. I'm Esther Newton. I finished morfing yesterday at the Herrington medical clinic. I was attacked by my father, Samson Newton, sheriff Marshall Morton, and my ex boyfriend Tom Morton. All three shot at me. I don't know which one hit me."
She had been holding it together, but she started to lose it. I hugged her as she cried on my shoulder.
"I'm sending the raw footage from my helmet and vehicle cameras now."
I started the transfer, and also gave them access to the cameras mounted on the RV.
"I don't expect the attackers to give up now, especially since I managed to shoot two of them. I'm sending up some drones so that we can get some advanced warning." I turned to Esther. "Can you give them your story? I need to break camp and batten down the hatches."
I pulled my helmet back on and went out to break camp. That consisted of retracting the awning, picking up the lawn furniture, retracting the jacks, pulling in the party lights, and picking up the clutter. I retracted the hose that draws water from the creek, and the other hose that drains gray water into a three foot hole that I had dug in the sand well away from the creek. Then, I filled in the hole.
I listened to their conversation through the headphones in my helmet.
It turns out that Esther had been studying morfs on line -- ostensibly to help her father and the Church of Genetic Purity to fight the morfs menace. In reality, she had planned on moving to Sun City once she finished her course work.
She came down with morfs perhaps a month after finishing her course. She had planned on leaving before that, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. She figured that her father had suspected something, and had been keeping her busy.
When she felt herself getting sick, she went to the clinic just in case. At twenty-six years of age, it wasn't very likely to be morfs, but she wasn't about to take any chances. Unfortunate accidents tended to happen to people who caught morfs in her little hometown.
When she saw her father, his buddy the sheriff, and her ex boyfriend coming to the clinic, she went out the back with nothing but her tablet computer and the clothes on her back. She really had nowhere to run, so she ran out to the national forest. It was a move of desperation, but it worked out in the end.
I drove along the trail to the national forest fire road, and headed away from town.
The drones detected three different groups of cars converging on me. The state police office called the sheriff's office and informed them that there was an arrest warrant issued for Samson Newton, Sheriff Marshall Morton, and Tom Morton. Of course, calling the sheriff's office with an arrest warrant for the sheriff is problematical.
The state police bumped it up to the Department of Homeland Security, since the various pures organizations are registered as domestic terrorist groups.
The state and federal authorities have no real control over the county sheriffs. That is a feature, not a bug. It prevents federal takeovers. The sheriffs can't be ordered to violate the constitution by, for example, collecting everyone's firearms.
On the other hand, the sheriff should not be blocking the execution of an attempted murder warrant. The fact that one of the warrants is against the sheriff himself is a problem, of course.
Just another example of our famous checks and balances. It could as easily work the other way. The sheriff's office in my home county would protect my family from overzealous state or federal officials, should they decide to go after my morfed kids.
But this time, we have a rogue sheriff's office to deal with.
Meanwhile, I had to figure out how to get to the main roads and out of the county without intersecting any of the sheriff's vehicles.
I took a quick glance at the map and saw that all routes were blocked by the posses that the pures had mustered. I had little choice but to head straight to the lake.
"Esther, tell lieutenant Davison that we are going to head to the lake and take refuge on one of the islands."
She looked dubious, but relayed the message. Meanwhile, I went down a side road, very thankful that the active suspension on our big cumbersome rig kept us relatively stable. I braked hard, turned toward the boat launch ramp, and hit the water with a mighty splash. I engaged the propellers and headed for the more distant of the two islands.
Lowering the hydrofoils allowed us to travel the mile or so quickly. I slowed down and retracted the foils as we approached the island. Even with six wheel drive, pulling the heavy vehicle onto the beach was difficult. Fortunately, we didn't get stuck, and I was able to maneuver the old Winnebago so that it was partially hidden by some bushes, but pointing toward the water.
The lake was surrounded mostly by forest and rocky shore, with a few small sandy beaches interspersed. There were a number of good camp sites, but the only part that was accessible by vehicle was the public access site with its boat ramp. Since we were on the back side of the more distant island, there was no way for the mob to see us from the access site. Of course, we weren't the only ones with drones. We hadn't spotted any police drones yet, but it was only a matter of time. Besides, vehicle tracks leading straight down the ramp and into the water would have to be a dead giveaway.
We contacted my family and let them know the situation. We tried not to worry them, but no dice. We checked in with the state police and made sure that all of our security feeds were available to them. We also gave them control of the drones. They told us that they were sending a special unit to us, but that it would take a while. Apparently, they had two morfed police in an airborne unit that specialized in helping morfs.
"Now that we have nothing to do but sit on our hands and wait, it's time that I took a look at that bullet wound," said Esther.
I shrugged and pulled off my shirt. Before I had it even half way off, she was done healing the bullet wound and the minor scratches and bruises that I had acquired in our brief scuffle.
"What's the story? That bullet stopped dead, leaving surface abrasions and some bruising."
I went to the cupboard and grabbed a stand and what looked like a small piece of cloth. I set it white side up on four pegs that supported it by its four corners. I tapped it a couple of times to show that it was stiff, then flipped it over and drooped it over a dowel that was set horizontally on the stand. A white line was drawn across the black side of the cloth. Then, I handed it to her.
She took it, looking puzzled. She found that she couldn't bend it by pressing on the white side. The white side could be made convex to some extent. Also, she could fold it on the line.
I took it from her, extended my arm palm up, and set it in the crease of my elbow. I could bend it the way that my skin naturally bent, but it became stiff when I tried to bend or stretch it beyond what my skin would naturally tolerate. Then, I handed it back and let her try it.
"The cloth that you are holding is a special nanothread weave with aggregated carbon nanorod scales on the white side. I have a similar material under my skin. Inside my skin, actually. The weave is loose enough so that my skin cells grow through it. The only thing above the mesh, aside from a few capillaries, are the cells that grow the part of the skin that is continually shed. The bullet scraped that off, and the shock waves caused some nasty bruising. It hurt like hell, but didn't do any real damage."
"How did you manage that? You don't look like you morfed.
"That would be my big brother, some of my kids, and their friends. They haven't been able to figure out how to induce morfs in older people, but any decent medical bio elemental can make changes. They are developing techniques that make minimal use of our limited supply of MBEs." In essence, they want to cure aging.
She looked at me more carefully. I could tell that she was using her bio vision.
"Hmmm... Interesting... There are cells that create and modify the matrix, sort of like the osteoblasts and osteoclasts in regular bones. It looks like they constantly update the cloth. That would be very useful for people that might morf."
"I'm well beyond that age. I might not look it, but I am sixty-seven years old."
She nodded. "It looks like they did a good job. It'll be interesting to see how quickly you age, and how often you will need a repeat treatment."
"They're hoping never. It remains to be seen, though."
"You look both old and young at the same time. Your perfect hairless skin makes you look like a kid, but your facial features and build make you look older."
"Yeah, that was my idea. I knew that asking them to put wrinkles and age spots on my skin would be futile, but I managed to convince them to leave everything else alone so that I wouldn't look like some young wet-behind-the-ears kid. It really didn't work as well as I had hoped."
She looked some more. "You have more than epidermis on the outside of your sub-dermal armor. Your sweat glands pass through the outer layer. No hair, though. Except your eyebrows, eye lashes, and on your head"
"That would be Amy and Mindy, my daughters. They say that it would be a waste of effort to make me hairy, when modern refined women prefer their men to be clean-shaven. To which I replied that I don't intend on robbing the cradle. To which they replied that no old lady is going to go after a young-un like me. To which I replied..."
"That you're not in the market, anyway." She tapped her head. "I know. Empath, remember? What's wrong with being clean-shaven, anyhow? Do you like being all hairy?"
"In my day," I huffed, "Only women and French men shaved their legs. Besides, not all modern men bother slathering themselves with follicle deadener, and not all women prefer the smooth look."
"It's not your day anymore. Or, rather, it's your new day. You need to get with the times," she smirked. "Go to a dance or three. Hit the singles bars. Take some liberal arts college classes."
I rolled my eyes. "Liberal arts? Just what I need, another dingbat that needs a daddy and not a husband."
I guess some of my old pain came out, because she suddenly got a serious face and asked, "What happened?"
I sighed. "I fell in love with this cute collie morf. She was the sweetest and kindest girl ever. She would do anything to please me, and I did everything that I could do to please her."
"Except?" she asked.
"It turns out... I just didn't understand... She was just so sweet, but..." I sighed. "She's a dog morf. She was the cutest little thing. That fluffy tail. Those curves. Her honest need to please..."
"Yes?" Esther asked.
"She's a submissive. She has a deep need to be controlled, to be dominated. I just didn't see it. And when I did, it was too late. And even if I had seen it in time, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I just don't understand. I'm not a dom. I'm not a sub. I'm more like a cat -- loving, but independent. I don't want to dominate, but I won't dominated. I won't tolerate it. I really can't understand why anyone would want to be pushed around. I accept that they do, but I don't understand it."
She gave me a hug. "I know. I feel the same way. I want to partner that is my equal, but everyone I meet that is my age is immature and stupid and wants to lord over me. And the church tells us that that's the way it's supposed to be."
"Not all churches," I said quietly. "In fact, should you go to a regular Christian church, you'll find that they preach little of the nonsense that the Genetic Purity church preaches. Though it varies from church to church."
She sighed. "I'm sorry I went off on a tangent. I was supposed to be asking about you, not venting my own frustration. I just want to get out of this little podunk town so bad!"
"You're out, and you're not going back. Over my dead body, anyhow.'
She hugged me again, squeezing me tightly. "I forgot to thank you for saving my life! I was so scared! It was like the cavalry rode in to the rescue!" She sniffed. "I just hope I didn't get you killed."
"There's no way I was going to stand by and let an innocent girl get killed. I just couldn't do that. I would rather die than stand by and let you get killed."
I went over to the weapons locker and opened it. I handed her a classic AR-15. "Do you know how to use this?"
She checked the safety, pulled back the charging handle, locked the bolt back, pushed the charging handle back in, and eyeballed the chamber. She inserted a thirty round magazine and let the bolt fly forward with a metallic clank. "I usually don't lock and load inside, but it seems appropriate in this situation.
I grabbed a heavier caliber weapon and did the same thing. I think we both felt better being armed.
"So what happened with your wife." she asked.
I went to the computer and pulled up a vid file.
Two dog morfs walked up to the house and entered. The scene shifted to an internal camera. An older/younger looking version of me asked the collie morf, "Who's your friend?"
"I'm her mate," the bulldog morf said. Then he walked around as if he owned the place. "This is a nice place. I'm going to enjoy it."
The older version of me just looked at him mildly. He gave a faint smile, which seemed to infuriate the bulldog.
"That's right! This place is mine! Molly is going to tell the judge about how you abuse her and the kids. Every time you had sex, it was rape."
I looked at Molly. "You know that isn't true. Would you really lie? Would you really betray the love that we have?"
"I... I can't."
"What's wrong, Molly? What have I done to you? I've done everything I could to make you happy!"
She burst into tears. "That's the problem, John! I need a strong man. In don't need some namby-pamby boy that just loooooves me, and won't put me in my place! You... you're too nice! I kept trying to get you to be my master, but you're too stupid and wimpy to do it!"
"But Molly," I said, "If you really need to leave... I'll miss you. But understand that I love you. Don't return my kindness by lying about me!"
The bulldog had been looking around, opening cupboards, turning on the faucets, and things like that. When Molly started to look like she would listen to me, he ran to her and punched her in the face, knocking her to the floor.
In a flash, I pulled out my .44 magnum and aimed it at him. "You are now officially trespassing. Leave now and do not come back."
He looked like he wanted to jump me, so I backed up and pulled back the hammer.
"This isn't over!" he yelled as he fled the house.
I said, "Security lock down. Monitor external camera three."
A view of him walking to his car appeared on the kitchen monitor. Meanwhile, I called the police and an ambulance.
The video file ended.
"What happened next?" asked Esther.
"To make a long story short, she did, in fact, lie to the judge, and he told the judge that I had punched her. His lawyer really should have known that I had entered the security footage as evidence. The fact that I let a court telepath read me was just icing on the cake. I guess he got what he paid for. Anyhow, he ended up in jail for perjury and assault. She ended up with a suspended sentence because a psychologist verified that she had been unable to resist his order due to her morf."
"So, you divorced her?"
"No, she divorced me. The judge wasn't very kind to her. I offered her a small house at the back of the property, and supervised visitation with the kids. The kids were not to see her when she was in the presence of her boyfriend. That's all she got, and it's more than the judge was going to award her."
"She stuck with him?"
I sighed. "Yes. When he got out of jail four years later, she drove over and picked him up. They still live in that house, and she is still trying to get the kids to visit her. They haven't seen her since they grew old enough to have a choice. They haven't forgiven her for lying. They haven't forgiven her for trying to take Martin Engineering and our home away from all of us. They never speak of her. They have friends that know nothing about her, and that just have to accept that asking about their mom is a very bad idea."
"It could be worse," Esther said. "At least she didn't try to kill them."
Now it was my turn to give her a hug. "I seriously can't fathom how a parent can do something like that, but I have seen way too many cases where it has happened. My brother was there when they found a graveyard full of morfed pures kids that had been murdered. I think everyone had nightmares for weeks."
I squeezed her tighter. "Don't worry. We'll get out of here, and I will take you to Sun City, and I'll introduce you to my big brother and his wife and their kids and all the other kids. They'll love you and we'll make sure that you get settled into a life where you won't have to deal with the pures ever again. And I'll have big bro pull some strings and get you a scholarship. The University of Sun City has a scholarship program for people who want to study any subject that relates to their powers."
I was holding her and trying to comfort her, but I had to let her go to keep from sneezing on her.
I got up to get a tissue and blew my nose. I felt weak and dizzy, so I sat down on my bed. "Esther, can you get me the lab rat box? It's in the medical cupboard."
She found an instrument that looked like an extra large version of the familiar home morfs test kit. It had "Lab Rat" scrawled on the top with black marker.
I turned it on and stuck my finger in the hole. I winced when I felt the poke. The machine gave my blood a thorough analysis -- much more thorough than the 'blood work' that was done by a fully equipped lab when I was a kid.
The machine automatically sent the data to my brother. It also sent its proclamation to the video screen near my bed. MORFS.
"Now how the hell did that happen?" I mumbled to myself. "Just like my big brother."
"What?" Esther asked.
"I've got MORFS. Can you believe that? Maybe big bro was right in making sure that all of my alterations could handle a case of MORFS."
She rummaged through the medical cupboard, and came over with two stim packs, a glass of water, and a sleeping pill.
I choked down the stim packs, but told her that we can't afford for me to be unconscious.
"lieutenant Davison told me to give you the pill. They have been in contact with your family. Apparently, your big brother pulls some weight. Big bro wants you treated properly for MORFS." She held up her rifle. "Don't worry. I'm hoping those bastards give me an excuse to take some pot shots at them. By the way, why did you build a motorhome with gun ports?"
"I'm eccentric. What can I say? As it turns out, it was a good idea. It's bulletproof, too, by the way. Nothing short of an antitank round will pierce it."
She handed me the pill and gave me a look that brooked no argument. I meekly took the pill. My awareness was fading rapidly, so I was barely aware as she tucked me in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Tabitha settled in her usual place at my feet.
Chapter Two: Interrupted Flight
I woke up with a bursting bladder. I stumbled into the little bathroom/shower, stripped, and let go.
To save space, I had made a small waterproof cubicle with a toilet and shower head. It's actually more convenient, since the outside of the toilet gets rinsed off every time I take a shower.
I wet myself down, soaped, scrubbed, and shampooed. Then, I turned the water back on and rinsed. That's the standard technique for showering with a limited water supply.
After toweling off and putting on a bath robe, I checked the levels in the tanks. The water tank was almost to the top and filling. That meant that Esther had run the supply hose out to the lake and turned on the filtration system. Smart kid.
The waste tank was almost empty.
Gray water, like what comes from the shower and the kitchen sink, can be simply allowed to drain into absorbent soil away from the lake. Apparently, she had pulled out that line, too.
We might have to leave the hoses behind if we need to make a quick getaway, but it's worth it to be able to use all the water we want.
There were a couple of stim pack bars and some water on the stand next to my bed. I started munching on them. Yum yum. Not.
Esther came back from the front of the vehicle. She was wearing a pair of my shorts and a t-shirt. They didn't fit her very well, but they were better than the dirty, torn, and bloodied sweats that she had been wearing.
"Those two police women in the flying car are wearing out that mob of hoodlums. The telepath knocks 'em out and the strong lady zip ties 'em and throws 'em in the back of the car."
"How many are out there?" I asked.
"Probably a hundred. There were, anyhow. They had all the men of the church out there. Some snuck away when things got hot. The police ladies picked off any that got separated from the mob. The state police ground units have them hemmed in, but are loathe to start a war"
"Anything happen here?" I asked.
"Well, the pastor took the sheriff and a few of his deputies out here to search for us. I managed to put a few holes in his nice shiny fiberglass bass boat. They panicked, hit a rock, and went into the drink."
I snickered. "Did they swim up here and try to arrest us?"
"Well, they wanted to. I kinda discouraged them. The last I saw, they were dragging their soggy asses up on to the shore. I was so tempted to finish them off, but that just wouldn't have been sporting."
"Not to mention the fact that they were no longer a threat," I smirked. "You have a good head on your shoulders. We have to be above reproach if we want to get them all tossed in the slammer where they belong."
She blushed a bit, and changed the subject. "Anyhow, John. How are you feeling?"
"About like you felt a few days ago," I grumbled. "I'll get over it soon enough. Do you see any changes happening?"
She scrutinized me. "Your eyes and ears are changing. I think you're going to have slitted eyes and hexachromatic vision. Your outer ears are moving up and getting a point, so you'll probably have cat, wolf, or fox ears. And the hair that fell out is growing back red. Same color as mine, as a matter of fact. And it has a diamond nanothread weave core, like neosilk."
"Big bro told me that if I had morfed, I would have been a cat hybrid -- like him."
"It looks like you might be a fox hybrid, like me," she said softly. "Who would have thought that MORFS would be transmitted like a blood borne disease?"
"Do you think that's what happened? We'll have to talk to my brother about it. Meanwhile, we had better keep it quiet. We don't need to see morfs supremacist groups and foreign militaries kidnapping kids for their powers."
She nodded seriously. "Well, it looks like you are flagging. You had better get into bed."
I nodded and slipped under the covers. Tabitha curled up next to me. Esther had exchanged the sheets while I was showering. "Thanks."
The next time I woke up, Kim was sitting there studying me.
"Hi Howie," I said.
She rolled her eyes. "It's Kim now, you flake. What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time, little brother?"
I shrugged. "Oh, nothing much. Shot a couple police officers. Aided in the escape of a fugitive. The usual."
She looked at me seriously. "A lot of the local community sees it that way. The state police are playing it very carefully. Meanwhile, I'm here to get you two out of here. Mike and Rodney have volunteered to drive your rig back once the mob leaves."
"How did you get here?"
"Oh, Sara and the kids dropped me off in the Swift. They're over at an airfield in the next county waiting for you to finish morfing so's we can get out of here."
I sighed. "Well, I had better get to work at this changing thing, then. But first, I need to shower and piss. Not necessarily in that order."
So I did my ablutions, scarfed down three stim packs, and crawled between the covers. Tabitha laid on me and purred.
The next time I woke up, I felt great. It took me no time to get cleaned up and dressed, though I did spare a few seconds to frown at my new face. I was ravenous, so the eggs and bacon that some angel had prepared for me while I was showering was most welcome.
Esther glared at me. "You didn't tell me that your 'big brother' is the famous Professor Doctor Martin!"
"You didn't ask me," I smirked. "Besides, I gave you plenty of clues."
She just snorted.
"Time to get a move on," said Kim. "Sara and the kids are on their way."
I was about to throw some extra clothes into a backpack when Kim said, "Don't bother. Your kids packed some clothes for you and they're waiting in the Swift. And you'll be home at your Martin Engineering office in Sun City soon. Just sync up your tablet and take it."
"What about the Martin Engineering compound? It's a lot closer."
Kim said, "Our lawyers recommend that we go to Sun City. That'll make it harder for the local sheriff's office to try to extradite you. Not that they are likely to do that with sheriff Marshall Morton sitting in a federal jail."
"They got him? Great!"
"Yeah," Esther smirked. "The flying duo picked him and his cronies up a little after they dragged themselves out of the drink."
"With them gone, we ought to be able to just drive out of here," I said.
"Nope. You two are heading to Sun City. We have already arranged for a teleconference with you and the state police. Not that they really need anything from you besides an official statement. They are impressed with your drones, and are thinking of ordering a few."
"I'll give them a good discount," I said.
We walked outside in time to see the LBSC Swift swoop down low over the lake and hover ten feet off the water. The side hatch opened and two figures waved at us, then jumped out and landed with a splash.
They quickly swam to shore and came out sputtering. "Aunt Kim, you could have levitated us over!"
"What would be the fun in that?" she asked with a smirk. "Besides, some exercise and a good washing did you good. But I guess I could TK dry you two -- just to keep you from dripping all over your father's rig."
I gave each of the boys a hug.
"Love the ears, Dad," Mike said.
"And the tail," Rod added.
"Not to mention the new face," said Kim. "You can go to the local high school and pick up chicks."
"You're going to have a time getting the store clerk to believe that your ID is real. Maybe you'll have to send one of your employees to buy your beer for you," added Mike.
"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up! Hardy-har-har!"
"You have to admit that it's funny," said Rod. "After all of your efforts to look old and cranky -- I mean dignified, you morf into a sixteen year old."
Kim said, "I haven't heard Esther complaining."
"She's been too busy trying to stay alive," I said. "Besides, girls like to look young and perky. How many billions do the thirty and forty somethings spend trying to reclaim their teenage looks?"
"I'm not that shallow!" she huffed.
"You're not that old," Kim chuckled.
"Actually, the whole fox package makes the kid face seem insignificant," Esther said thoughtfully. "I haven't really thought of the practical aspects. Everything was pretty much overshadowed by my desire to get out of that nasty little podunk town."
"Consider yourself gone," I said with a smile. "You won't ever have to see that town again. Or the people. Except maybe in court, and then only briefly."
She smiled and gave me a hug. "Thank you!"
The swift moved to shore and extended the stairs. My dear sons gave the Swift a sour look. "Why couldn't you have done that before we got out?"
"Because your auntie Kim thought that you could both use a nice swim," came a voice from inside the Swift.
John Martin had turned his successful engineering business over to his kids -- much to their consternation. While camping deep in the national forest, he met a fox hybrid in great need of help.
Note: I added the caution because violence exists in the story. It isn't very graphic, but it is there.
sex: 2/10
violence: 6/10
profanity: 3/10
Categories: Hybrid, Elemental, PSI
Timeline: 2068
Chapter Three: Off Into the Wild Blue Yonder
The three of us boarded, and Tabatha flew in after us, then immediately went to greet her father Gregory and her half-sister Brianna, Tina Shepherd-Wright's and Jerry Wright's flying kitties.
It's appropriate that Tina has a flying kitty for a pet, since she is a flying kitty girl.
As soon as we were on board and seated in the front row of seats, The Swift rose to 44,000 feet and headed for Sun City.
Kim used her eCom to call the state police airborne unit. "State police air unit 232, officer Saouda speaking."
"Hi Connie," Kim answered. "We have the two people of interest on board, and are heading for Sun City. The vehicle is being manned by two uninvolved male morfs."
"Thanks, Kim. We have captured all three of the original perpetrators, along with five verifiable accessories. All are sitting in a federal prison awaiting trial. Several other accessories have been captured, but they are unlikely to be charged. They are learning that being friends with the sheriff won't buy them immunity, though."
"It looks like we might just be able to clean up that little rats' nest, then. Or at least weaken it considerably," Kim replied.
"The crowd is rapidly dispersing. They started leaving as soon as they saw your aircraft leave. Your um, 'uninvolved males' can safely leave soon. The state police will escort them out of the county."
"Thanks, Connie! You guys are life savers. I'll let the 'uninvolved males' know."
"You're very welcome, Kim. It's been mostly boring after you left. Perhaps we can meet under better circumstances next time you come this way."
"I'm looking forward to it," said Kim. "Bye."
"Bye"
Kim called Mike and Rodney, then we all went to the back and greeted Sara.
I said, "Esther, this is Professor Doctor Sara Martin. Sara, this is Esther Newton."
"We already know each other," Sara said, giving Esther a hug. "So, how is my favorite pure student of MORFS studies?"
"I'm not pure anymore," Esther said with a grin. "And I haven't swallowed their belief system since I was old enough to think for myself."
"I'm afraid that you missed your ride by about fifteen minutes," Sara said. "Your doctor at the Herrington medical clinic called us just as you were finishing stage one. We sent a local IATE auxiliary member to pick you up, but he got detained. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that."
"Well," she said, "It was bad for a while, but all's well that ends well. And John wouldn't have gotten those cute ears and tail if I had been whisked safely away."
Kim smiled. "You figured it out, eh? I'm sure that you understand that we need to keep it a deep, dark secret, lest we end up with an epidemic of kidnappings."
"And just how long were you planning on keeping me in the dark about this?" I asked.
"Forever," Kim replied. "Or, at least, until you needed to know. Or figured it out yourself. Do you really want to know a dangerous secret that a telepath can pluck from your mind?"
I winced. "Point."
Kim clapped her hands together once. "I think it's time for two post-MORFS inventories. Sara, if you will do the honors with Esther?"
"You have the necessary instrumentation?" asked Esther.
"Yes, right here," Sara said, tapping her head. "The biomedical instrument engineers and manufacturers are less than happy with the rash of AMORFS2-induced bio elementals."
"Not really," I said. "I guess Big Pharma is upset, but Martin Engineering is having a great time designing instrumentation that works hand-in-hand with the new crop of AMORFS2 enhanced doctors."
"One would think that Martin Engineering had some source of inside information," Kim smirked. "Anyhow, it's time to look you over, little brother."
"Yes, darling big brother," I said.
"Why do you keep referring to her as your brother?" Esther asked. "Misgendering can be painfully insulting."
"He was my big brother Howard for far longer than she, or shi, was by big brother/sister Kim," I answered. "Remember that she is as male as she is female. Either pronoun is technically correct, so I use whichever one I feel like at the time. Besides, Kim isn't a normal trans person. She never felt alien in her own body, and never ached to be anything other than she already was."
Kim sighed. "Yeah, little bro can be a flaming dingdong at times, but he is essentially right. I love him anyhow."
"Shay?" Esther asked.
"Shi. That's spelled S-H-I. It's a pronoun that was coined for use with people of indeterminate or unknown gender. It was supposed to replace the singular 'they,' but it never caught on. It's now mostly used for hermaphrodites."
"Anyhow..." Kim said as she scrutinized me. She took her time studying my newly morfed body. Then, I felt her tapping at my mind with her telepathy.
"Let me in, little bro," she said. "You appear to have a nice mental shield going, which is a good thing, considering that you know the Big Secret."
I concentrated on opening the door for her. Telepathy is not new to me, considering my long experience with Tabitha.
"Hmmm... Interesting..." said Kim.
"What?" I asked.
She started dictating into her eCom. "Subject John Martin, D.O.B. April two, two thousand one. finished morfing August twelve, two thousand sixty-eight at the age of sixty-seven. Hair: fox red. Eyes: emerald green, slitted. Height, five foot ten inches. Sex: male, no change from birth. Power rating: four. Threat level: yellow."
"Only yellow? I'm far more dangerous than that!"
Kim snickered. "Do you really want to be flagged as a red? Misuse some of your new powers, and it'll happen."
"New powers?"
"Patience, little brother. I'll get to it in a minute."
She turned the eCom recording mode back on and continued. "Physical Enhancements: Speed, Hearing, Sight (increased sensitivity to light, sees near infrared centered at 750 nanometers + human tetrachromancy [normal RGB with added yellow cones] + UVA centered at 350 nM), Agility, Endurance, Strength, Jump Height, Diamond Nanothread reinforced bones, nails, claws, teeth, hair. Slightly enhanced hearing."
"Wait a minute. Claws?"
I looked at my fingernails and saw a faint dark stripe down the middle, just like on Kim, Sara, and their kids. I concentrated a bit, and my sharp satin-black claws slid out.
Kim sighed. "If I may continue."
I bowed. "Be my guest."
"Fox/Feline Partial Hybrid (Red Fox coloring): Feline/Vulpine Pupils, Feline Ears, Retractable claws on hands and feet, Vulpine Tail. Electrical Elemental, Technopath, Cyberpath, AMORFS2 mark one medical package. Strong mental shield, but the only native telepathic and empathic powers come from the AMORFS2 power set. Telepathy and Empathy can be shared from his flying cat Tabitha."
Kim looked at me. "Please don't experiment with your electrical elemental powers until we land. I would prefer that the Swift stay in the air."
"Tina and I can get you started with your powers," Jerry called from the front.
"Fly the plane, Bird Boy," Kim called.
"I got it," Tina called back.
Sara started dictating. "Subject Esther Newton, DOB: February eleven, twenty forty-two. Morfed august eight, twenty sixty-eight at the age of twenty-six. Hair: Fox Red colored. Eyes: Emerald Green, slitted. Height: five foot, six inches. Sex: Female, no change from birth. Power Rating: four. Threat Level: Yellow."
She continued, "Physical Enhancements: Speed, Hearing, Sight (increased sensitivity to light), Agility, Endurance, Strength, Jump Height, Diamond Nanothread reinforced bones, nails, teeth. Fox Partial Hybrid (Red Fox coloring), Vulpine Pupils, Vulpine Ears, Vulpine Tail. AMORFS2 mark one medical package."
Sara looked at Esther. "It's pretty much as we expected. When you came down with MORFS, we figured that you would enjoy the AMORFS2 enhancements. We have gotten quite creative at finding different vectors to deliver the enhancements. The fox hybrid is part of your original morf, by the way."
Esther asked, "That dog that just had to be my buddy and lick me when I was on the way to the clinic?"
Sara nodded. "You're right. She's a smart one. She doesn't miss much."
I just smiled. "You're not the only ones capable of finding talent in weird places."
Kim said, "Speaking of talent, you two are eligible for some scholarships. Do you want to attend the MBE or the MD program?"
"Esther Newton, MD. Has a nice ring to it."
"I'm retired, remember?" I said.
"Nuh uh, little brother. You're not allowed to retire until I retire, and that's not going to happen for a few centuries."
"If I recall correctly, big bro, Doctor Sanura bribed you with scholarships for your kids and strays," I replied.
"She also pointed out that we would be bored out of our gourd very soon after leaving academia," said Sara. "Wasn't two weeks away from all your projects enough to convince you? Did you really need to go on that little shopping expedition, or were you just getting bored sitting around?"
"I admit nothing."
"You don't have to. Empath, remember?" Esther said, tapping her head.
I folded my arms and sat back.
"He'll take the MD program," Esther said. "He's not one to go half way."
"Someone is awful sure of herself!"
"Empath, remember?" she said with a smirk.
Sara chuckled. "Give it up, John. She's got your number."
"I never give up. Not totally, anyhow. I shall have my pound of flesh."
I looked at Esther. "Do you want to live the idle life of academia, or would you rather have a co-op job helping Martin Engineering design the next generation of biomedical instrumentation with living components?"
Esther just looked at me. I got the distinct impression that she had visions of Doctor Frankenstein.
"It's nothing like that," I said. We managed to create a strain of e. coli that can detect bio fields, and are developing ways to grow it on a carbon nanotube matrix so that it can be read with tiny electrodes. We are trying something similar with another strain that can be used to send information straight to someone's mind telepathically."
"Kinda like a heads-up display," added Kim.
"Also," I said, "We plan on building it into a pair of glasses for blind people. Images from small cameras will be fed to the bacteria, and the blind shall see. The same goes for hearing."
"I'll bet regular people will want them if you put really high quality cameras and microphones on them. I know that I like my enhanced senses," Esther said enthusiastically.
"And the same technology can be used in cars and planes to give the drivers and pilots full three sixty degree vision, plus directly 'see' radar and the like," said Jerry.
"The military is quite interested in the technology," I said. "I believe in giving our fighting men and women the best possible tools, but I'm not going to involve our company in black projects or restrict technology from the general populace."
"And let's not forget the original bio technology that the company was developing. Neosilk, algacotton, drugs, vitamins, natural flavors and colors, adhesives, and all kinds of other chemicals produced by various microbes; healthy Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins mass produced and used to manufacture healthy and tasty food, implants that regulate the blood and supply micronutrients. The world is about to become a much happier and healthier place!" enthused Tina.
Sara smiled. "Grab it, Esther. It's not often that someone gets a personal invitation from the Head Honcho of Martin Engineering."
"Head Honcho? Is that your official job title?" Esther smirked.
"Yes," I sighed. "The kids bestowed it upon me when I turned the company over to them. It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!"
"I gratefully accept your offer, mister head honcho sir."
"Well, that settles that," Kim said, typing on her eCom. "Classes start in two weeks. That'll give you two plenty of time to get used to your powers. You two have identical schedules, by the way. No sense splitting up an effective pair of nerds."
Sara nodded. "You two have managed to defeat the evil alliance of the Church of Genetic Purity and the sheriff's office. Not a bad accomplishment, especially considering that one of you went through a case of MORFS while doing it."
Chapter Four: Home Again
Jerry and Tina started their descent about twenty miles out from Sun City. Instead of landing at the airport, they took us to the Martin Engineering compound a few miles north of the Sun City cliffs.
After landing vertically on the helipad, we taxied into the hangar. A crowd started filing in as soon as the hangar doors closed and the powerful heaters brought the interior up to a comfortable sixty-eight degrees.
Jerry and Tina turned the Swift over to our airframe and powerplant mechanic as soon as they were done with the shutdown checklist.
We were overwhelmed by the people that came to greet us. All of the kids were there -- Mine and Kim and Sara's. The Joneses were there. Some of Esther's on line school mates were there. A good number of my employees were there. Introductions took quite a while.
They had set up a 'welcome home' party in the cafeteria. It's good to be missed.
We took the company tunnel from the compound to the warren of tunnels that reside behind the north cliff of Sun City.
We went in through the back entrance, through a maze of hallways and offices, and out to a comfortably appointed balcony on the face of the North Cliff. "Welcome to Martin Engineering International Headquarters," I said to Esther.
"Wow!" said Esther as she took in the view of Sun City spread about us to the south. "Who would have thought that such a tropical paradise would be found in the frozen north? Why in the world would you want to retire from this?"
"Because he's ornery," said Kim.
"Because I want my kids to fly on their own," I said. "I wasn't about to kick them out of a nest that they helped build, so I left them to maintain the nest."
"I think they have sufficiently proven themselves," added Sara.
"Just because we can fly by ourselves doesn't mean that we want to fly by ourselves," said my daughter Amy. "We're all perfectly content to run a department that is bigger than most private companies."
"I fly fine by myself," Tina said, "But I fly a lot faster and longer when I'm piloting the Swift."
"Okay, okay, you have all made your points," I sighed.
"That's good," my son Phillip said, "because the office of the Head Honcho of Martin Engineering, International is behind that door," he said, pointing to a door. Next to the door was an expansive mirrored window.
The door opened at my touch. It had already been set to my biometrics. Behind the door was a well appointed office, already personalized with everything I had packed away when I vacated my office at the compound back home. It even had a brand new feeding/watering station, scratching post, and automatic litter box for Tabitha. And some potted plants. And a bunch of platforms and cubbyholes for Tabitha.
"Oh goody!" I grinned. "Now I can see who is slacking on the balcony when they should be working."
"As if you couldn't use your telepathic and empathic skills to tell that, anyhow," Sara said.
I tried my best to give them a scowl. "Anyhow, dear children, it would seem that you were assuming much."
They had the extreme lack of grace to laugh.
Carol, my little calico kitty daughter, said, "To tell the truth, we figured it would take you a month or two to come crawling back. Nothing like finding new talent and battling the pures to speed things up."
"Battling? We ran from them."
"I would say that shooting two of them and getting shot in return constitutes a battle. And calling out the cavalry makes you more of a general than a foot soldier," said Mindy, my cream point Siamese kitty daughter.
With all of the selfless volunteers, it took us little time to become adept with our powers. The telepaths were adept at plucking a skill from one mind and transferring it to another. It's kind of like taking the muscle memories from one person and giving them to another. I wonder if the technique can work for things like playing instruments, dancing, sports, and martial arts.
Chapter Five: Two Problems, One Solution
I was back in my old office at the old compound. After attending college for a semester, I had decided that it was time to go home for a while and maybe tie up a few loose ends. One of those loose ends was the german shepherd morf in front of me. I had his employee profile on the desk.
"By all accounts, you are doing a very good job as the head of security. However, I have been hearing complaints that you are too domineering, even to the employees over which you have no authority. Not unkind, just domineering. Unfortunately, the creative types that we employ here don't deal with that very well at all."
"I'm sorry, sir. I'll try to do better."
"I'm sure you will, mister Hanson. Unfortunately, your morf causes you to have a strong need to be dominant. Fortunately, I can tell that you are a kind and fair dom. None of that is my business officially, but I have a proposal for you that will solve both of our problems."
I could feel the pain and humiliation inside as I drove up to the little house that my ex occupied. I broke in and caught Jack in the act of beating her.
I ran up to him, picked him up, and threw him across the room. He gave me a furious look and attacked. "This is my woman, and I'll treat her as I see fit!"
"I could have your ass tossed in jail again, but that didn't work last time. It would just be a waste of taxpayers' money."
"I've been wanting to get you back for having me tossed in jail!" he said as he threw a punch at me. I brushed it aside and kneed him in the groin. He doubled over, but recovered quickly.
Molly was huddled in the corner. "Please don't hurt him! I deserved that beating!"
"No you didn't," I growled. "The fact that he convinced you of that means that he's just too nasty to be allowed around anyone that I love. Or anyone else, for that matter."
Molly whimpered, but didn't say any more.
He picked up a knife and lunged at me. I knocked him down and stomped on his hand.
The bulldog hybrid kept attacking, and I kept knocking him back. After about an hour of being knocked down, he stayed down. He was covered with scratches, and had some deep furrows.
I grabbed him by the collar and held him up. In a low growl, too low to be picked up by the security system, I said, "You are out of here. If I see you within a half mile of Molly or this property, I will wipe the floor with you. If I hear of you abusing anyone else, I will wipe the floor with you. If I even suspect that you are abusing someone, I will wipe the floor with you. If I just feel like it, I will wipe the floor with you. Pray that I don't see you some time when I'm in a bad mood. If you see me first, run away. You're welcome to tell all your buddies and even the police, how a nerd kitty wiped the floor with you."
I lowered him to the floor.
Mark Hanson was standing in the open door. "Come on in, Mark," I said.
Mark came and stood over the bulldog.
"Mark, please take out the trash."
Mark picked up the bulldog by the scuff of his neck and the back of his pants, walked outside, and gently laid him in the dirt. He had been well trained in the handling of prisoners.
I used my bio powers to heal him just enough so that he could make good his escape.
"Molly, Mark Hansen is your new master. He will treat you kindly, but will not put up with any disobedience. Understand?"
She nodded meekly.
Mark and I took Molly to the police, along with some security footage of her being beaten. We declined to press charges at the time, but reserved it as a later option. We arranged to get a court order keeping the bulldog away from Molly, Mark, and all Martin International property.
After we got home, I healed Molly, and gave Mark the codes to the security system.
"I wish I could see the kids," whimpered Molly.
"I'll tell them that the asshole is no longer in your life. If you wait a couple weeks and write them all an abject apology, they might get over their anger. Maybe it'll help if I ask the pastor to give a good sermon on the value of forgiveness. Holding in the anger isn't helping the kids. We all need to come clean."
"Are you still mad at me?"
"No," I said. "I still love you, but not romantically. I care about you, or I wouldn't have bothered removing that plague from your life. Just understand that I'm content to love you from a distance."
"You did WHAT?" gasped Kim.
"If you want to communicate with someone, you need to speak their language. I communicated with him using the only language that would penetrate his thick skull. I still feel bad that I allowed him to stay with Molly for so long."
"You realize that what you did is borderline illegal?"
"Real borderline. The house and property, after all, still belong to me. She isn't even leasing the house. She just has permission to occupy it as a guest free of charge. The fact that there are security camera signs all over means that nobody can claim that they didn't know of their existence. I even made it explicit in the divorce agreement that the house belongs to me, and that I can enter it at any time for any reason. I have complete control of who can enter the house. I can even kick her out at any time for any reason."
"I'm surprised that mister bulldog didn't object," said Kim.
"The divorce settlement came after he was cooling his heels in jail. He wasn't there. He didn't have a thing to say about it. In fact, I doubt if he knew about it. Her lawyer was a different story, though."
"I'll bet," said Kim
"He simply didn't have a choice," I said. "It was that, or get absolutely nothing. The judge really was not impressed with Molly. Or her lawyer, for that matter."
"What about the beating that you laid upon him?"
"Self defense, mostly."
Kim made a face. "And the initial attack?"
"He was attacking an innocent. I defended her."
"It could be construed that you interfered in a fight, favoring one combatant over the other."
I had to laugh at that one. "She was cowering and trying to cover herself."
"Well," said Kim, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are nothing if not pragmatic and unconventional. Still, that really isn't like you."
I nodded. "That makes it even more effective. It keeps everyone guessing."
"I wonder what Esther and Sara are up to. Those two are thick as thieves," I commented to Kim.
"Oh, you know... Girl stuff."
I chuckled. "Maybe you can give me a clue. You seem to understand that stuff now."
Kim made a face. "Are you sure you want to know? Some things are best left unknown by mere mortals."
"I guess not," I admitted.
I was in my wonderful new office going over some projects with Esther when the process server showed up. I was summoned to a hearing for my extradition. It seems that mister bulldog accused me of attacking him.
I immediately called my lawyer. He recommended a good criminal lawyer. After paying his retainer, I gave him the security footage and let him handle the details.
According to him, the city attorney had a good laugh about it. They sent the footage to the court that was requesting the extradition. The request was withdrawn.
The next day, I received a call from the district attorney back home. He begged me to press charges because the police department had been receiving reports about the bulldog.
I went ahead and filed charges, and called Mark so that he could have Molly press charges.
Long story short, the deposition that I recorded here in Sun City wasn't enough. I had to interrupt my studies and fly over for his trial. It was worth it, though. He won't be bothering anyone but his fellow prisoners for the next seventy-five years. The judge had presided over his previous trial, so she threw the book at him. Because of the knife, he was charged with attempted murder. That, added to felonious assault, several counts of assault and battery, and several counts of domestic violence, put him behind bars for a long time. The extra security footage of previous beatings did wonders.
Esther came along for moral support, not that I really needed it. Still, it was nice to have her there. We watched the recordings of the classes, then studied together.
The trial for Esther's attackers was not nearly as short. Fortunately for us, it occurred during a break between semesters. The kids had to fly solo for a while. I wasn't worried. The company was in good hands.
We stayed at the compound and commuted every day in one of the company aircars. Mindy stayed with us to take care of Tabitha and offer moral support.
Esther couldn't help but be nervous when we first entered the court. All of the authors of her nightmares were there, staring daggers at her. The fact that we were both hybrids made them hate us even more. As empaths, we could feel the hate. I shut it out as much as I could, and projected love and calmness to Esther. She looked at me gratefully.
The trial was long and convoluted. The lawyer team that they retained specialized in defending pures.
They tried to claim that they shot at Esther because she was resisting arrest. The fact that there was no arrest warrant, no probable cause, and that they never announced to her that she under arrest scuttled that strategy. Still, it it served to waste time and bore the jury.
The defense attorneys tried to subpoena the feeds from the internal security cameras, but we had never turned them on. They loudly wondered why they were left off. "Because I didn't want anyone to watch me get dressed," I answered. That caused some laughter from the jury.
They tried to claim that Esther attacked them when they were trying to arrest her when we were on the island. The footage of them shooting first, the damage to the Winnebago's paint job, and the fact that they, again, had no reason to arrest her, scuttled that.
They wasted an amazing amount of time muddying the water with all of their attempts.
In the end, they were doomed to failure. The jury found them guilty on all counts, including hate crimes. The judge, a wolf morf, threw the book at them. It is unlikely that any of them will ever again see the light of day.
There was some sobbing from the section where the wives and other loved ones of the defendants sat. The stared hatefully at Esther and me, but we just smiled back. That infuriated them even more.
There was a gaggle of reporters outside waiting for us. The pures ranted that God would punish us and the court for repressing the One Pure People.
We gave a short prepared statement and left.
John Martin had turned his successful engineering business over to his kids -- much to their consternation. While camping deep in the national forest, he met a fox hybrid in great need of help.
sex: 2/10
violence: 6/10
profanity: 3/10
Categories: Hybrid, Elemental, PSI
Timeline: 2068
Chapter Six: Back To Sun City
Esther was skiing with some friends from her previous online course when I was invited to Kim's and Sara's home for dinner. They have a lovely place right on the lake.
Sara pointed to a house across the bay. "That house is up for sale. Isn't it about time you stopped living in the company dormitories?"
I nodded. "Thanks. I'll check into it tomorrow."
We had a nice dinner. It reminded me of similar dinners that Molly and I had shared with Howard and Sara, and later, with Kim and Sara.
"You're missing Molly, aren't you?" Kim asked.
"Sort of," I replied. "It's more like I miss the girl that I thought Molly was. Or maybe I miss having someone to share my life with."
"For a genius, you can sure be stupid at times," Kim said.
"I can't help what my heart feels. I'm smart enough to let her go, but that doesn't mean that my heart likes it."
"Nitwit," Sara said. "You have the solution staring you in the face, and you don't have the wit to see it."
"I suppose you are right. I don't have a clue what you are talking about."
Sara stabbed me with her glare. "When are you going to ask that poor girl out?"
"Ask who out? The only people I have been seeing regularly are my fellow students, and my employees."
Sara swatted me on the forehead the way she used to do when I was a kid, they were just recently married, and I had just said something particularly stupid. "Esther, you flaming dingdong!"
"But, she's just a kid!"
"A kid? She's a over quarter of a century old, very mature, and crazy about you!"
"I'm over twice her age!"
"So? You don't look it. You two are so cute together when you forget to be serious and just enjoy her company," said Sara.
I sighed. "That still doesn't change the fact that I'm almost forty-one years older than she is."
"What difference does it make?" Kim asked. "Are people going to look at you and say, 'Look at him! He's robbing the cradle?' Or maybe they will say, 'Look at that that trophy wife he has. I sure envy him!'"
"It's... just not right," I said.
"Why? Why isn't it right?" asked Kim.
I hate it when people ask questions that I can't answer.
"Will it make a difference when you're 1,387 years old, and she's only 1,356?" asked Sara hotly.
"OK, so I'll ask her out in a thousand years," I said flippantly.
Sara just glared at me.
"OK," said Kim. "I'll answer my own questions. It isn't right because the two people involved will have different levels of physical energy, which will interfere with physical intimacy. It isn't right because one will die long before the other, leaving the other lonely. It isn't right because one will be vastly more mature than the other. Some might even say that it isn't right because they look like one could be the parent of the other -- that their difference in age is glaringly apparent to all bystanders. Which of those reasons apply to you and Esther?"
I just stared at her.
"I think you broke him," Sara said.
"Don't you dare say anything about your relative maturity, or I'll swat you upside the head just like I used to do when we were kids," Kim said. "She's mature way beyond her years, and you can be such a flaming dingdong at times."
Then, Sara went for the kill. "There is this guy in her old online class that has the hots for her. He's the one that suggested that they go skiing with the group today."
I couldn't suppress the spike of jealousy that hit me. Nor could my two empathic siblings miss it.
"You have no right to get jealous if you don't intend on asking her out," Sara said.
"OK, OK. You two are absolutely right, as usual. I have been fighting to ignore my feelings for her because I thought that it could never be. I've been so stupid!"
"That's the smartest thing that you said all night," Sara said.
"The part about being stupid?" Kim asked.
"No, the part about us being right, as usual," Sara smirked.
"No, the smartest thing I said is that I am going to ask her out just as soon as I see her."
"You didn't say that," said Kim.
"Yes I did. Just now."
So they sent me off to my lonely dormitory room at the company. The dorms are not intended for long term occupancy. They are luxuriously appointed rooms for customers, visitors, and employees on temporary duty.
I had a quick shower, then put on shorts and a tank top. I have never been vain, but I like the way that the tank top shows off the muscle definition that I gained from MORFS, and improved upon with my workout program.
I was in the cafeteria sipping an herbal tea when she came through. I walked up to her and opened my arms to her. She looked a bit surprised, but gladly hugged me.
"Will you go out with me? Like, on a date?"
She laughed, then threw her arms around me again. "So, you finally got a clue?"
"No. Kim and Sara beat me with a clue stick. Actually, they had to use the whole clue tree. I'll have to make sure to thank them."
"I will too," she laughed. "They are right, you really are a flaming dingdong. It's a good thing you're such a sweetheart. And a genius."
I blushed. "So, how was your ski trip?"
"The skiing part was great! The new physical enhancements make it easy, my tail is great for keeping balanced, and it's great knowing that my bones won't break if I spill. You should have seen me taking the black diamond hill," she said enthusiastically.
I hugged her again. "We'll have to go skiing together soon. And scuba diving in Sun Lake. And sailing."
"Certainly better company than I had today. I mean, most of them were OK, but this one guy just wouldn't leave me alone. Next time I see him, I'll tell him that I already have a boyfriend," she said just before she laid a serious liplock on me.
It had been so long, I almost forgot what to do. Almost.
When we came up for air, I asked, "Would a friendship ring help? I know this one metal elemental..."
"As long as it's not too gaudy."
"Not gaudy. Understated. It'll tell everyone in an understated way that they can't afford you."
"I can see you doing that. I would object to the expense, but I know that it's nothing to you."
"You'll be making that kind of money soon enough. People with your skills can pretty much write their own ticket."
"You just love me for my mind," she said jokingly.
"I love you for your soul, too," I said seriously.
"And my body?"
"And your body. And your sense of humor. And your patience. Thanks for waiting for me to get my head on straight!"
"I think it was worth it," she said as she snuggled up to me.
We were both startled by the sound of applause.
"Yay! Daddy gets the clue award!" said Mindy the cream point.
"You got a real fox this time," said Carol the calico.
"You kids behave yourselves, before I put you over my knee," I replied.
"Seriously, I'm glad to see you live for something besides the company. You've smiled more since you found Esther than you did for all those years after Mother betrayed us all."
I sighed. "Don't be so hard on your mother. She can't help what MORFS did to her. And for all the pain, it was worth it because I got you all." Then I smirked. "Don't forget that you have half her genes."
I turned to Esther. "And getting shot at and all that stuff was worth it to get you."
"Awwwwww!" the kids chorused.
"You didn't just get shot at. You got shot," said Esther.
"Still worth it," I said.
The next day, we went water skiing, then looked at the house that Sara had pointed out to me. It was perfect. I put in an offer. I'll be able to close on it in three months.
The day after, we went to my metal elemental friend. I handed him a wad of cash, some jewels, and some gold. I let Tabitha feed the images I had in my mind to him. In seconds, I had two rings in my hand. I slipped one on to Esther's finger, and she slipped one on mine. They fit perfectly.
Then, we took a day long scuba class, complete with open water training. It took all day, and well into the night, but it was worth it. Already being certified, I didn't actually need to take the class. I took it anyway just to be around Esther and watch her swim around in a bikini.
The day after that, we went sailing. After that, we went skiing with our bio elemental MD class. Esther had been invited to ski with her old classmates again, but she opted to ski with me.
She was right. We foxy people do have an advantage on the slopes. Cat people, too.
The slopes were well attended. Her old class was there, along with a few others. And some tourists.
"Hey, what's he got that I ain't got?" said a rather sturdy looking baseline guy.
"Me!" Esther retorted.
"A tail," I said jokingly.
"My tail," Esther added.
I swear I saw smoke coming from his head.
"Maturity," said one of his friends, as he put a calming hand on his shoulder.
One of the girls grabbed Esther's wrist and held up her hand. "With a friendship ring like this, I can just imagine what her engagement ring is going to look like." She turned to him with a smirk. "You can't afford her."
"Figures she allowed herself to be bought," he grumbled under his breath.
Esther was in his face in a flash.
"Do you really think that I'm that shallow?" she asked hotly. "If you want to have a good relationship with a worthwhile girl, you're going to have to become a whole lot less judgmental and a whole lot more mature!"
He gave way as Esther advanced.
"For your information, he risked his life to rescue me from radical pures, including the sheriff, my ex boyfriend, and my own father. He took a bullet for me without hesitating. He went through considerable trouble and risk to get me out of that little hate-filled self-righteous podunk town that I grew up in. He is not only loving and supportive himself, but he introduced me to a whole support network of wonderful people. He's a genius, but doesn't lord it over others. It's not his money that I'm after. I can make that on my own. What I want is a soul mate, and I have found it in John Martin!"
Then she shrugged and said more calmly, "But even if I hadn't already fallen for John, I wouldn't have given you the time of day. I'm tired of dating little boys that work hard to be sooooo kewl and sooooo impressive, but don't have the wit to know that some women just don't want to be possessed or lorded over. Do you want an equal, or do you want someone to be your little fifties housewife? If you're looking for a sub, you aren't going to find her in college taking advanced classes."
I have never seen her lambaste someone like that. It looks like she took the aggravation and frustration that she had built up over the years and laid it all upon this poor clueless lad. It was actually quite impressive.
I just chuckled and looked at him. "There is some good advice in her words, if you have the wit to dig it out and implement it. I won't say that she's out of your class, but I will say that you need to learn how to respect others and look at more than their appearance if you want to have a satisfying relationship sometime in the future. Or maybe you would rather be shallow and have some fainting violet worship at your feet."
After receiving that much abuse, he turned and walked away. He was hard to read, but I think he was processing what was said to him. Maybe.
"Martin? Hey! Are you Kim Martin's little brother?"
*See? I'm still living in your shadow!* I sent to Kim
*Only around campus, little bro. Around Martin Engineering, I'm living in your shadow,* Kim replied to all of us.
*Anything you say, big bro,* I sent back with a mental smirk.
Of course, someone had to bring up the whole gender thing again. And I had to explain again about how Kim was my big brother every bit as much as she was my big sister, and that she has been my big brother for a whole lot longer.
A ruggedly handsome and muscular young man commented to me that misgendering can be painful -- a verbal assault, in many cases.
"I know that," I told him. "I would never do that to someone who is genuinely trans gendered, but my dear sibling has never gone through that pain. Her new gender was foisted upon her by MORFS. She never felt felt like an alien in her own body."
He looked like he was holding back tears. I took another look at him. A real look, with my bio, empathic, and telepathic vision.
"I infer that you were coming along well with your transition when MORFS set you back to square one. I'm sorry that my words hurt you."
"More like square negative ten," he -- I mean she replied. "It's not your fault. And it's not my business how you relate to your siblings. It's just... it's just so hard right now."
I gave her a hug and let her cry on my shoulder. I knew it looked funny, but I didn't care. It was easy to ignore the looks of her body when she screamed 'girl!' to all of my other senses.
"I think I know some people who can help you out," I said.
Esther joined us in our hug. "I know for a fact that we can help her out. In more ways than one, too."
Just then, I felt a rush of wind and saw a flash of golden wings. Jerry flared and landed right next to us. Seconds later, there was a second rush of wind and a flash of black wings. Tina landed next to Jerry.
"What brings you here, mister Wright?" asked the girl Esther and I were comforting.
"Suicide watch," he said pointedly. "And away from the classrooms, it's just 'Jerry.'"
She ducked her head down. "I wasn't..."
"You were headed for the black diamond hills along the cliff before you got distracted. I know someone who doesn't care if she lives or dies when I feel her," said Jerry.
"You're an empath? I thought you were a technopath!"
"Yes, I'm a technopath. I'm also an empath, among other things, through my flying kitty Brianna and my wife Tina," he replied. He turned to me. "John, this is Candice Smith. She is one of our prime students in the class that I TA."
A boy of about twelve piped up, "TA? Is that like Tits and A..."
He was interrupted by his mother. She grabbed him by the collar and said, "That's Teacher's Assistant. Get your mind out of the gutter and don't interrupt when adults are speaking!" She turned to us. "Sorry about that."
"No problem. Boys will be boys. He'll eventually grow up and be suitable for polite company. Maybe." Esther said with a chuckle.
"As I was saying," said Jerry, "Candice here has a real passion for engineering. Her morf made her a technopath, but stole all of her progress on her transition. Her soul sings when she's working on a project, but some well-meaning group of people thought that she would be better served by getting her mind off of everything and hitting the slopes."
"Bad Idea," was all Esther could say.
Candice just buried her head in my shoulder and softly wept.
I used Cara's trick to pull some toner from a vial that I keep for just such a purpose and printed on the back of one of my business cards. After heating it with my TK, I handed the card to Candice.
"Take this over to the headquarters of Martin Engineering on the North Cliff. I trust Jerry's judgment enough that you now have a co-op job doing what you love if that's what you want."
"You can do that after your appointment with the Bio Engineering division," Tina said as she joined the hug. "I've arranged things with the Professors Martin. We are going to see about getting your body to match your mind again."
I felt hope stir in Candice, then realization, then joy. She grabbed Tina in a fierce hug. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! When do we start?"
"No time like the present," Tina said. "That is, if we can get John and Esther to help. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until the Professors Martin, their kids, or Amy and Cara are done with their day. In any case, it's happening soon!"
I smiled at Esther. "Shall we? If nothing else, it'll be educational. Besides, we need to take good care of our new employee."
"I recommend putting her in your aviation division. She's crazy about flying."
"Sounds good to me," I said. "But first things first. Where are we going to do this?"
"The same place we upgraded you," Tina said.
Chapter Seven: Changes
Candice was wearing a loose fitting medical gown, and sitting on the treatment table. She looked a bit embarrassed, even knowing that we could all see through her clothes, anyhow.
Jerry started, "Subject is Candice Smith. Attending are Jerry Wright, technician; Tina Shepherd-Wright, John Martin, Esther Newton, bio elementals; Doctor Sara Martin, MD, PHD, via audio/video and telepathic link, attending physician. Candice Smith is to receive the standard health enhancement upgrades, as well as a change of physical gender from male to female. This is complicated by her recent morf."
"I'm all ready," Sara said over the audio link.
"I went through the same thing, Candice. It's painless and very effective. You're in good hands," I said to her.
"We're going to explain the enhancements to you. You may elect to not receive some of them, but there may be complications because some of them work together. Do you understand this?" Tina asked.
Candice nodded.
I handed her a sample of the subdermal armor and explained it to her. Then I explained about the nanothread enhanced bones, nails, hair, and teeth.
"You won't have hair follicles, except for on your head, eye brows, and eye lashes. Is that OK with you?" Esther asked.
Candice smiled and nodded. "I never liked shaving."
"Some people wanted to be hairy, for some obscure reason," Tina commented as she looked pointedly at me.
Candice just giggled. Esther ruffled my hair.
Sara chuckled. "He tried so hard to hang on to his 'grumpy old man' looks. All he succeeded in doing was to look strange and confuse people.
"Hardy-har-har, Sara. It's sooooo funny until you realize what's going to happen at the next sales meeting when I want the customers to respect me and what I am trying to sell them."
"And this from the man who was trying to retire," Sara shot back. "Now you have an excuse to avoid all of those boring meetings and foist them off upon your kids."
I smiled. "That's the best thing I heard yet."
"Anyhow..." Esther said. "I love you just the way you are. All the high school girls are so jealous!"
"Good looks, athletic prowess, and money," Jerry smirked.
"High school stud on the outside, grumpy old fart on the inside," I said, finally feeling OK about my new form.
Tina pulled up a diagram on the monitor. The leaves of visceral fat between various organs were highlighted. "Your visceral fat will be replaced with an organ system that stores minerals and glycogen, filters various toxins out of the blood, produces all of the vitamins and other micronutrients known to man, and even produces all necessary amino and fatty acids. You can live on sugar and mineral supplements if you choose, though we don't recommend it."
Candice studied the screen. "Wow! No more dieting! Or... What happens if I get too many calories?"
Tina smiled. "You'll end up excreting the excess in your urine. Also, you'll know about it. The organ system is hooked into your brain so that you can get a good internal view of what is happening with your body -- similar to what a bio elemental gets. You'll know when you need to top off your mineral stores, and exactly how much energy is stored as fat or glycogen."
I added, "Before I morfed, I had this enhancement set. I still have it. Anyhow, it takes a while to get used to what you are actually sensing, but you soon find it to be really useful. It makes your liver kinda redundant, and gives your kidneys a lot less to do. It takes care of fatigue poisons. You feel good all the time. If you end up drinking too much coffee or hooch, you can have the organ system clean it out of your blood."
"And let's not forget the DNA group 1255C genes for dense, high output muscles," Jerry added.
"What the bird boy is saying," interrupted Tina, "Is that you can be anything from anorexic to rubenesque, and still be strong and healthy. And you can change the amount of fat you carry -- within reason. The 1255c muscles don't take up much room, so you can be strong without being bulky."
Sara asked, "Do you want to be a hermaphrodite? If you go with the 204F DNA group, everything will be tucked away until you will it. You will look like a regular girl in all aspects, even fully nude."
Candice shuddered. "No! I don't want one of those things! I can't stand it! I can't wait to get rid of it!"
She put her hands over her mouth and blushed. "Sorry! I didn't mean..."
"That's OK," I said. "No offense taken. I understand that it's just not compatible with who you are inside."
Sara said, "Sorry. I knew that there wasn't much chance that you would want it, but I would have been remiss if I hadn't offered it to you."
"Moving right along," Tina said dryly, "Do you have any specific requests? A tail, perhaps?"
"Can I have wings?" she asked. "I really want to fly like a bird!"
Before anyone else could say anything, I said, "Yes, but it will cost you." At her somewhat confused look, I said, "Not money or anything like that. Almost all flying morfs do so with the help of some kind of telekinetic, elemental, or gravity power. We can't give you powers, so you would have to fly via muscle power -- and you would be the biggest and heaviest flying animal on Earth. Currently, that is. A pterodactyl called the quetzalcoatlus weighed upwards of around a hundred and fifty pounds, but sported a thirty-five foot wingspan. Wings that big would be rather inconvenient, don't you think?"
She nodded thoughtfully.
"Computer. Load project Pixie Princess. Authorization: John Martin, Head Honcho of Martin Engineering."
"Done," came the computerized voice. A picture of a pixie with dragonfly wings appeared on the screen. The wings were bigger than the standard 'Tinkerbell' archetype, and were spaced a bit further apart -- about the same relative distance as on a real dragonfly.
"This is a project that I have been working on with my favorite co-op student. We want to be able to fly, but don't know of any way to increase our telekinesis or give ourselves gravity powers. It is ready for human testing."
"Are you familiar with the square-cube law," I asked.
She rocked her hand side to side. "So-so"
"OK, so imagine a bird -- a sparrow, or instance. If you double its size, you quadruple its wing area, and increase its volume, and therefore its weight, by a factor of eight. You therefore double the wing loading. Similarly, tripling its size will increase its wing area by a factor of nine and its weight by a factor of twenty-seven -- tripling its wing loading. For any three dimensional object, increasing its size while maintaining the same shape will increase its surface area by the square, and its volume by the cube of its increased size."
Candice nodded. I could see all of the implications dawning upon her.
"And you kid Kim and me about 'professor mode,'" Sara quipped.
"I never claimed that you were the only ones," I said to Sara.
"Anyhow, before I was interrupted..."
Sara blew a raspberry.
"There are implications beyond flight. Mice have dainty skinny legs, while elephants have huge tree trunk legs. Small mammals have to have thick fur to stay warm, while elephants have to be hairless because they have so little skin area compared to their volume."
I pulled up a diagram. "You will have bird lungs because they are more efficient at gas exchange. They have air capillaries instead of alveoli, and the air flows one way through them instead of inflating and partially deflating. You can look up the details later, if you like."
I pointed to the wings themselves. "We developed muscle tissue that's even better than the 1255c muscles. They have carbon nanotubes inside, and diamond nanothreads on the outside to conduct the waste heat away. The wings can rotate about 300 degrees, and can change shape by flexing internal muscles and moving fluid around. In fact, the wings are stiffened with fluid and can be totally retracted by deflating them."
Esther took over. "Bird and bat wings hold the air during the power stroke, but fold up and, in the case of bird wings, spread their feathers during the return stroke. The return stroke is still counterproductive. We eliminated that by going with the dragonfly wings."
Esther stood and moved her arms forward and back, keeping them level with the ground. "Your wings will move like this when hovering in a vertical position -- kind of like treading water. They will tilt to produce the appropriate airfoil on both strokes. When the top wings are moving forward, the bottom wings are moving back, and vice versa. When hovering in a prone position, the wings will be scissoring and doing about the same thing. When flying forward, the motions are combined. Also, you will be able to glide. Most people don't know this, but dragonflies can glide."
"The price you pay," I commented, "is that you might have to get used to people calling you 'short stuff.' Not way off the standard deviation curve, like I initially thought, but short enough. Like, about four feet eight inches tall. Fortunately, you'll be able to fly up and get things out of high cupboards, so it won't be as big of an inconvenience as if you couldn't hover."
"We created a lot of biological enhancements to keep from having to shrink you too much. The new muscles run very well off of fat, which is good because fat is about as energy dense as you can get in a biological system. It's approximately as energy dense as gasoline and jet fuel. Still, your blood glucose level can go well over a thousand milligrams per deciliter -- about ten times normal, and way more than is safe. Your blood vessels will be modified to handle this without a problem. Your blood will be able to carry more oxygen. Your bones will be bigger in diameter, but hollow. This will reduce their weight while allowing better muscle purchase. Your center of mass will be shifted up, which will give you an exaggerated wasp waist."
We waited patiently while Candice studied the engineering details, fascination written all over her face.
Tina chuckled. "You nerds are all the same."
"I resemble that remark," smirked Jerry.
Once Candice looked away from the display, Tina asked, "Ready to put together your new appearance?"
Tina started with Candice's pre-morfs appearance, then modified it to fit within the constraints of the 'Pixie Princess' package.
Tina carefully read Candice and flashed different pictures at her -- some with wings, and some without. After a lot of back and forth, and a lot of reading Candice's emotions about the various forms, they came up with a solid choice.
Once the decisions had been made, we went to work.
Because we had three bio elementals, and we were making changes well out of the ordinary, we used our bio power instead of the bio printers to make up the new parts. The changes took a long time, and required a lot of energy, but we were successful.
Laying on the treatment table, looking cute as could be, was a four foot eight inch pixie woman with flowing blond hair, very curvaceous legs and hips, moderate breasts, an elven face, pointed ears, and subtle creases in her back where the wings emerge. Candice had chosen to embrace the pixie image, especially since there would be no way to pretend to be unmorfed.
Jerry picked her up, wrapped her in a blanket, and carried her to a small apartment in the medical wing so that she could sleep it off.
We took a tunnel trolley to the headquarters on the North Cliff. Jerry and Tina jumped off the balcony and flew home. Esther and I went to our dorm room and fell asleep almost as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
John Martin had turned his successful engineering business over to his kids -- much to their consternation. While camping deep in the national forest, he met a fox hybrid in great need of help.
sex: 2/10
violence: 6/10
profanity: 3/10
Categories: Hybrid, Elemental, PSI
Timeline: 2068
Esther and I were at the bottom of the black diamond hill when we saw what looked like a three headed four legged furry careening wildly down the hill. A better look revealed a cat taur carrying an absolute cat morf and an absolute fox morf.
And sure enough, Tabatha was doing aerobatics with three other flying kitties. I couldn't help but smile at Tabatha's delight at seeing Bitsy, Tipsy, and Whiskers, the flying kitties of the three goofballs that were heading down the hill at breakneck speed.
The taur, Graycloud, had a ski on each leg, which gave her unprecedented maneuverability. She was wildly taking the moguls, jumping from side to side and bouncing high into the air. It looked for all the world like she was trying to lose her passengers.
Gleeful maniacal laughter drifted down to us.
When she got to a place where there were no other skiers around or above her, she took a jump and looped high in the air. The three separated, landed several feet from each other, and rolled ass over applecart.
Graycloud put her skis back on, the other two hopped back on her back, and they continued down the hill, none the worse for wear.
Upon reaching the bottom, they headed directly for us. Then, all four skis kicked up a spray of snow. The 'virtual shields' that Cara had taught us to put up guided the snow up and around us.
The golden fox morf ran to me and gave me a tackle hug. "Kitty and Fox! My favorite!"
The other two came and joined in the hug. "I heard that you had morfed," said the bipedal cat. "I have to say that I approve!"
"And your old tired excuse about robbing the cradle is now toast," added the golden fox.
I looked over at my girlfriend. "Esther, these three reprobates are Vickie O'Kelley," I pointed at the golden fox, "Catniss Stein," I indicated the bipedal cat, "And Chakat Graycloud, daughter of Anita and Darren Miller," I pointed to the taur.
"And this is Esther Newton, my girlfriend."
As one, the three of them abandoned me and glomped Esther.
"Girlfriend?" Catniss asked. "More like lifemate."
"Lifemate? Asked Esther.
I chuckled. "With genuine anthropomorphic fur-bearing people around, Furry Fandom has become much more active and real. It's not surprising that some of the terminology has made into popular culture."
"It's not just terminology," said Vicky. "It's real! We're lifemates!" She pointed to Catniss and Graycloud.
"And what does that entail?" asked Esther.
"Just like it sounds, it's a commitment to stay together for life. Denmates share a home and/or cub raising responsibilities. Companions are kinda friends with benefits. None of those commitments promise exclusivity. In fact, these three like to play a game where they seduce and wear out some poor unfortunate young stud."
"Not unfortunate! We make sure that they have fun!" said Vicky.
"You confuse them by not following their rules," I said.
"Hey, we never lie to them," Catniss huffed.
"True enough," I chuckled. "I never said that you did anything wrong. You just catch those poor clueless boys unawares."
"We can't help it if we're too much woman for them," smirked Catniss.
"Too much man, too," said Vicky. "Not me, of course."
"I can see where that would cause them some consternation," said Esther.
"How can they not know?" I asked. "It's not like Graycloud's genitals aren't flapping in the breeze. And Catniss likes to wear some rather daring clothes."
"That's all fine in theory, but when they come face to... eh... face with it," said Catniss with a grin.
"I would pay to see that," chuckled Esther.
"No need to pay!" said Vickie. "No need to limit yourself to watching, either!"
"Um... I'm in an exclusive relationship with John."
"Why?" asked Graycloud.
"Because it's the right thing to do."
"Why? Who said so?" asked Graycloud.
Esther looked to me for help.
"Don't look at me," I told her. "There is nothing inherently wrong with polyamory. It's even Biblical. The Old Testament patriarchs did it. Nowhere did God speak out against it. Monogamy is a cultural norm, not a moral or ethical norm."
She looked a little worried, so I went over and wrapped her in a hug. "Don't worry. I'm not going to cheat on you. Nor am I going to pressure you into goofing around with others."
I kissed her deeply. After we came up for air, I said, "I'm content to love only you."
"For now?" she asked with a grin.
"Who can say what will happen in a thousand years? How will we feel? What will we even look like? I just know that I'll always love you." I gave her another deep kiss.
Catniss, Graycloud, and Vickie hooted and clapped.
This time, when we came up for air, Esther asked, "Will you be my lifemate?"
"Yes!" I said as I kissed her again.
The Three Musketeers, or maybe the Three Stooges, jumped up and down and congratulated us.
Chapter Nine: Awakening
Sara, Kim, Tina, Jerry, Esther, and I were sitting in the cafeteria when we felt the first stirrings of Candice's mind coming to full wakefulness. Tina went in to check on her, unobtrusively using her bio powers to give her a full check-up. After encouraging her to do her morning ablutions and laying some clothes out on her bed, she came back to us.
Candice was all smiles when she came out wearing the cutest little open back dress that bore a vague resemblance to Tinkerbell's. She didn't really look like Tinkerbell, but she was definitely pixiish in shape, though her wings were not out. Her legs were more shapely than Tink's, and her feet were adorned with ballet-style flats. To say that she looked cute would be an understatement.
She curtsied and did a spin. "How do I look?" she asked in a delightfully musical soprano.
"Wonderful!" said Jerry.
"Beautiful," said Tina. "We do good work!"
Kim and Sara went over and sandwich hugged her. "Welcome to the butterflies -- again!"
"Try putting your wings out," Sara said.
She concentrated a bit, and four wings popped out of her back. The top pair were just below her shoulders, and the bottom pair were about half way down her back. They were each about half again as long as her arms, and were shaped like dragonfly wings. She definitely looked like a well-proportioned pixie.
"Go ahead and hover," I said. "Don't think about how to do it. Just do it. Esther and I have practiced for hours in the VR simulator, and have downloaded the skills to you. It should all come automatically if you relax."
She moved her wings experimentally. Then, they started moving fast enough to blur. She laughed as her feet lifted off of the ground. She hovered unsteadily for a bit, but soon got the hang of it.
She zoomed straight up to the fortunately tall ceiling. She experimented with hovering at different angles, moving around, moving to a horizontal position, and finally zooming off to the other side of the room.
She giggled maniacally as she came back, flew upside-down, did some loops, and finally landed daintily among us. Her smile lit the room.
She ran and glomped on to me, hugging me tightly. I could barely feel her weight. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! You gave me everything I ever wanted!" Then she gave a smirk that reminded me somewhat of Esther in one of her more mischievous moods. "I gratefully accept your offer of employment."
"Great!" I said. "Go get yourself something to eat while I set things up. While you're at it, check your internal stores and make sure you have enough of the right kinds of minerals. Also, get acquainted with your coin computer system."
She thought a minute. "Oh, that's right! You installed one of those coins that you developed with the Pentwaters. I used to be so envious of the technopaths that had them. Thanks again!"
"It's more than a single coin. You have sensors about different parts of your body connected with optical fiber. You'll find it quite useful when flying. You also have what is essentially a personal avionics pack built in to your body."
She smiled and flew over to the serving tables. She piled up quite a bit of food, took the tray, and flew back. The tray was a bit large and clumsy, but she handled it without a problem.
I used my own coin computer to find her someone to show her around, set up her employee records, get her a room in the Martin Engineering student dorms, and send a message to the three reprobates. I also consulted with the girls, then had some basic clothing manufactured and sent to her new room.
Esther and I walked Candice to student lounge 3C. Since that's one of the 'anything goes' lounges, there's no telling what might be happening there. I have had people tell me that it's unprofessional to allow such shenanigans to happen on company property, but I am more in favor of happy employees than I am of trying to look so prim and proper. Happy employees are productive employees. Happy employees stick around and don't go looking for greener pastures.
Anyhow, when I said that we walked Candice, I should have said that we walked, and Candice flitted about. She was using up a decent amount of energy, but the muscles that drive her wings don't wear down or feel fatigue. We could see her chest expanding as she took deep rapid breaths, but the only real limitation to her endurance is the amount of fat and glycogen that she can store.
We got to the lounge in time to see Graycloud tackle Vicky to the floor. She laid her lower torso on Vicky so that her feet just barely stuck out. She used her hand paws and arms to pin Vicky's arms and shoulders to the floor.
"Vee haf come for da veel! Ver ist your spinning veel?" she asked with a bad German accent.
"Nooooo! You can't have it!" Vicky replied.
Graycloud used her tail to tickle the bottoms of Vicky's feet. Vicky laughed helplessly. "Ver ist your spinning veel?"
"No! Take the little girl, but leave the wheel."
Graycloud pinned Vicky's arms with hers, and used her hand paws to tickle her underarms. Vicky shrieked. "No! no! no! You can't have it!"
"Agent Catniss!" Graycloud said.
"jawohl, frauline kommandantor!"
"Ze fezzer!"
"At vonce, frauline kommandantor!"
"No, no! Not the feather!" shrieked Vicky.
"Ze fezzer!"
"Noooooooo!"
Catniss pulled out what looked like the shed flight feather of a flying cat. She sat on Vicky's hands to pin them, then lightly stroked Vicky's arm. Vicky shrieked. Catniss then used the feather to lightly tickle her face, arms, upper chest -- any place she could reach. Meanwhile, Graycloud was still tickling her underarms and the soles of her feet.
"You vill tell us ver you haf hidden ze spinning veel!" cackled Graycloud.
Vicky couldn't answer because she was too busy shrieking and laughing.
Candice looked concerned, so I whispered to her, "If they tickle you without mercy, the safeword is 'redlight.'" She looked confused, so I held up my finger and indicated that she should wait and watch.
Vicky was laughing and shrieking and struggling. She started panting and making little barking noises. "ah! ah! ah! ah!" Suddenly, she stiffened and stopped breathing, shaking violently. Then, she went limp and started breathing heavily.
Catniss and Graycloud got off of her and picked her up gently, cradling her between them. Vicky smiled and panted, "Chakats give the best tickles."
There was scattered applause from the rest of the room. The terror trio smiled and bowed.
"Did I just see what I think I just saw?" asked Candice.
"If you thought you saw three close friends role-playing, and tickling Vicky to the point of orgasm, then hugging her warmly, then yes, you saw what you thought you saw."
"You said something about a safeword," Candice said.
"Those three have always loved role playing games. They went from table top RPGs and computer based RPGs to LARPing..."
"LARPing?"
"Live Action Role Playing," I replied. "Usually, people will dress up in medieval or sword and sorcery type costumes and play out stories, but those three have added other games. Games like 'stern headmaster and sexy student' and 'returning lord lost the key to the chastity belt.'"
"And the safe word?"
"If it goes too far -- if someone becomes uncomfortable with what is happening, they can use the safe word. Otherwise, all of the screaming is just part of the story. 'No' doesn't mean 'no' until the safeword is given."
The three, Graycloud still cradling Vicky, walked over.
"You three sure left a good first impression upon our new apprentice," I said. Then I introduced them.
Vicky hopped down and gave her a hug. "Welcome to the changeling club!" she said.
"How did you know?" Candice asked.
Catniss pointed to the four cats sitting on a high shelf that was put there just for them. "Graycloud and I are empathic. Vicky is empathic through her flying kitty. We have felt changelings before, and you have the definite feel of a changeling who is deliriously happy with her change. Congratulations!"
Candice blushed.
Graycloud chuckled. "There is nothing to blush about. All three of us are changelings. Catniss and I met Vicky the day after she changed from Charles. We have been the best of friends ever since, and lifemates soon thereafter."
I could practically see the pieces of the puzzle falling together in Candice's mind. "I'll bet you three are the reason half the campus is reading all those chakat stories."
"And the chakat stories are almost certainly the reason that the three of us morfed the way we did," agreed Graycloud. "Which supports the doctors Martins' theory that our minds can exert some influence over our changes."
"I'm a BBV!" Vicky said, bouncing up and down. "Big boobied vixen! Big boobied vixen!"
Catniss rolled her eyes. "Yes, Vicky is every bit the big breasted vixen, and definitely proud of it."
"And a proud member of the changeling double-dang furry boob club!" Vicky added.
I chuckled. "These three very professional engineering students will be showing you around Martin Engineering. They are near the top of our company's students, and our company only hires top students, so individually, they are the top of the top. As a team, they can't be beat. They work together better and more smoothly and closely than any other engineering team I have ever seen."
I turned to the terror trio. "Candice was recommended by Jerry Wright. She will almost certainly end up in our aviation division. And, she is the first tester of our human flight modifications. Have you heard of project Pixie Princess?"
Candice extended her wings and started flying around like Tinkerbell.
Chapter Ten: Politics
Esther and I were dressed to the nines. She looked lovely in her ball gown. I looked good enough in my tux, but I still looked like a high school kid. Fortunately, the kids were also invited to the mayor's ball. They can do all the shmoozing amongst the movers and shakers.
"Mayor Anthony Stevens and Mirabella, his wife, are our latest paying customers for the anti aging process. They decided to go poly -- ostensibly to allow them more freedom to enjoy their new bodies. Most of us know that it's more like a dynastic wedding. They are free to seduce potential allies, and have blackmail material if they happen to seduce married people of power."
"So, can we expect to see them on the prowl at the ball?" Esther asked.
"Mirabella more than Andy, I would guess," I replied. "Since it's his ball, he will have to behave himself. Somewhat, at least."
I handed our invitation to the door guard. He scrutinized it carefully, then let us pass. Usually, I just get waved through. Another thing to get used to with this new body.
We came upon a knot of people. "Ah, I see the Pentwater dynasty is here. This must be an important ball."
I made introductions all the way around. Marvin Senior was there with Gertrude (Trudy) Marie Pentwater. I shook Marvin's hand and gave Trudy a hug. "Lovely as ever, Trudy."
Marvin Junior and the talented and lovely Penelope (Penny) Patricia Pentwater were next.
Penny looked me over and chuckled. "I see you gave up on trying to be a grumpy old fart. I must say that the kitty-fox look suits you well."
"Yep! Now you look younger than I do," Gertrude (Gerty) Pentwater said.
"Almost all growed up, but still a snot," I retorted.
"Hey! I'm seventeen!" she said.
Then I turned to a tall blond and well-muscled young man. "Marvin Pentwater the third, you look ready to carry on your heritage. Are you ready to shmooze all of the ladies of power? You'll have them wrapped around your little finger."
"As long as he comes home with me," said Brenda Pentwater-Orpenheimer, a petite curvy partial fox morf. "I'm not ready to share my lifemate. Give me a few hundred years of so."
Then she turned to Esther. "I see John has good taste. And I have to say I approve of his morf. Some of your genes seem to have rubbed off on him."
*Don't worry. It's just a figure of speech. We encourage it to reinforce the idea that people are likely to get changes similar to those of the people that they hang around,* came a thought from across the room. I looked over and saw Kim and Sara approaching.
More hugs were exchanged.
"I see your family is continuing its tradition of morfing into kids," Marvin senior snarked.
"Three incidents does not a trend make," I retorted.
"And yet, all of the Martins who didn't morf during adolescence morfed into adolescents," Marvin senior replied.
"Unlike little bro, I do not look younger than my kids," Kim said.
Sara turned to me. "So, how is our latest changeling doing?"
I smiled. "She is being oriented by the terror trio. They seem to be getting along well enough."
Kim chuckled. "The terror trio? You matched that poor innocent kid with them? She's come a long way from her fundamentalist upbringing, according to Jerry, but is she really ready for those three?"
"Nothing like starting her with a trial by fire," Sara added.
"You don't know the half of it," I smirked. "They started their 'vee haf come for da veel' skit as soon as we walked into the lounge. I even had to explain the concept of the safe word to her."
I spotted a familiar face, all decked out in his dress blues. "Ah, there's general Hughes. He was expressing some interest in our anti-aging process. I think he likes the idea of soldiers with superhuman endurance and built-in armor."
"He might like it for himself," Esther replied.
"He became less enamored with the idea after it turned me into someone that looks young and old at the same time. He needs to maintain his image as a tough old bird."
Esther chuckled. "It seems to be working for him on the home front. I detect some of the ladies here eyeing him up, and staring daggers at Mirabella. Maybe they think it's unfair of the mayor's wife to monopolize him."
Mirabella was less than subtle. "Tell me, General, when was the last time you had sex?"
"Oh, I would have to guess around twenty forty-five."
"Really?" Mirabella gasped. "That sure was a long time ago!"
"Not really. It's only," He looked at his watch, "twenty-two thirty now."
"Good evening, Jim," I said as I held out my hand. At his confused look, I said, "John Martin."
"Ah, I heard that you had morfed," he said as he shook my hand. "Who's the lovely lady that you have on your arm?"
"Jim, this is my lifemate Esther Newton. Esther, this is Admiral James Nelson."
"Lifemate, eh? Doing the poly thing like the mayor?"
"Nope, I'm not ready to share him yet. Maybe in a thousand years or so," Esther replied with a chuckle.
"We already have a group of three furry reprobates that have called dibs. They are shaping up to be one of our best engineering teams, so I hope to keep them around for a good long time," I said. "Anyhow, I heard you had some business for us. Finally ready to upgrade that body of yours? We have some of our artist types working on a body type that says, 'military top commander.'"
"Not for me, but we might be interested in some upgrades for our commando types -- Navy Seals and the like. We would have to do several dozen in a reasonably short time for a price that won't cause us to have to mortgage a battleship."
I grinned. "We are working on finding a way of storing oxygen inside hollow bones. We need to find just the right compound and just the right biological mechanism to store and extract the oxygen." I thought for a second, then added, "We have a human flyer now. No powers necessary. She flits around quite nicely under muscle power alone."
"Now that I have to see! How cumbersome are the wings?"
"Not at all. They're fully retractable. She can hover and fly at perhaps thirty miles per hour -- we haven't run her through her paces yet."
"I'll have to try to recruit her."
"Not a chance," Esther replied. "She's deliriously happy with her changes, but her passion lies with engineering. She's currently being shown around the company by the terror trio. Anyhow, at four foot eight inches, she isn't exactly military material."
"You might be surprised," he replied. "Dynamite comes in small packages. If she is strong and sturdy, and can handle the weapons, she'll do great."
"You're welcome to try to recruit her, but I can tell you right now that you won't be able to pay her even what she's making as an EIT."
"EIT?"
"Engineer In Training."
"Maybe I can appeal to her patriotism."
I chuckled. "She will do a lot more for our country, and for civilization in general, by coming up with wonderful new flying machines."
Esther said, "You can upgrade your own volunteer if you want to pay us for the conversion. It took three powerful bio elementals about ten hours to do the job, but we should be able to refine the process so that it'll take less time."
Jim sighed. "You always were fond of dangling enticing bait, then telling us that we can't afford it. I see you're training your new beau to do the same thing."
"I didn't figure you were looking for new super sailors, anyhow."
"There are rumors that you are developing a 3D printer type machine that makes its own raw materials and pumps out tasty and nutritious meals. Such a device would be very useful on ships, and especially on submarines."
"Yes, I have heard that the real limit to how long a sub can be deployed is how much food can be stored aboard. I'm sure that your submariners would love staying underwater for even longer," I mused.
"They'll love eating well consistently, and not depending on hard crackers and powdered eggs near the end of a deployment."
"I think we can arrange a demonstration," I said. "And you can meet Candice at the same time."
"Good evening, Andy. You're looking spry and healthy."
"Not surprising, John. It seems that your company does good work." He looked at Esther. "So, who's the lovely lady that is accompanying you?"
"Andy, this is Esther Newton, my lifemate. Esther, this is Mayor Anthony Stevens."
"Going poly?" he asked with a slight smirk.
"Not any time soon," I replied. "Esther is enough woman for me."
He chuckled. "The terror trio will be disappointed."
"Does everyone know about those three?" Esther asked.
"They're kinda hard to miss," I replied. "They're well known around the school and the company due to their talent. They stand out at all the conventions of the geek and furry fandom communities. And their shenanigans tend to attract attention at all of the recreational areas."
"The chief of police is keeping an eye on them, too," Andy commented.
"I don't know why you don't fire that son of a bitch," I said. "His tendency to aggressively go after the hybrids and treat them like second class citizens is making the whole city a less friendly place for them."
"You mean 'us,'" Esther said.
Andy shook his head sadly. "He is just too well connected, and he is very careful to keep his prejudice hidden."
John Martin had turned his successful engineering business over to his kids -- much to their consternation. While camping deep in the national forest, he met a fox hybrid in great need of help.
sex: 2/10
violence: 6/10
profanity: 3/10
Categories: Hybrid, Elemental, PSI
Timeline: 2068
Esther and I were awakened by a strident alert tone from both of our smart phones. The IATE doesn't often use that alert, so we immediately checked our phones.
I used my coin computer to order my personal Swift III prepared for immediate use.
I looked at Esther. "I promised that you would never have to go back to that town. I can handle it if you need me to."
"Not a chance," she said. "I'm gonna get my little sister out of there, and hopefully my mom and little brother."
We both threw on our robes and bedroom slippers, hopped into a ute, and took the tunnels straight to the hangar.
The Swift was ready preflighted when we got there. I double-checked it and hopped into the pilot's seat. Esther went back to the shower.
I set the autopilot to take us high into the stratosphere and go supersonic. When Esther came to relieve me, I went back and took a quick shower. I grabbed my sturdy work clothes and boots and ran back up to the cockpit. Esther was fully trained, but hadn't quite gotten around to taking her check ride, so she technically wasn't supposed to be flying the aircraft by herself.
While we were on our way, the IATE was busy. They managed to get a court order to put Esther's family into protective custody, and sent it with the same pair of morfed state police officers that had given us so much help three months ago. Esther printed a copy for both of us.
As we were approaching Esther's home town, traffic control notified us that there was an aircar with an emergency transponder headed for the same destination -- the Herrington medical clinic.
The intended flight vector of the police aircar came up on our HUD. We landed next to where Bev and Connie intended to land, left the flight control systems on standby, burst out of the Swift, and headed for the front entrance of the clinic.
A man in a sheriff's uniform stood in front of us and drew his weapon, pointing it at my chest. "Stop right there, gene scum!"
"Are we being detained?" I asked mildly. Meanwhile, I used my electric elemental powers to modify the barrel of his weapon, then started working on the weapons of the surrounding mob hidden in the woods.
"Stand down, officer!" Bev ordered.
"You have no authority over me," the cop answered, maintaining a steady bead on me.
"What I see is someone abusing police authority, assaulting a citizen, and making racial slurs. Drop your weapon and get on the ground."
The cop's weapon exploded in his hand. Then he dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. There were several other explosions in the surrounding mob.
Connie started dropping the more distant mob members, while Esther and I did the ones we could reach. The AMORFS2 suite is designed for fine control, not range. Still, we could reach the closer people and drop their blood pressure enough to make them faint.
A larger state police aircar landed next to Bev and Connie's. Six burly officers burst out and started zip tying the prisoners. Connie entered initial charges of assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, assault of an officer, and interference with the execution of a warrant. In the case of the officer, she added resisting arrest.
"It looks like we'll be spending another day or two in court," I sighed.
"Not to mention tons of paperwork," Bev added.
I used my coin to open the cargo hold on the Swift and suggested that they stow the prisoners there. Then Bev, Connie, Esther, and I went into the clinic.
"No, don't shoot my little girl!" wailed a woman's voice.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but that animal must be put down."
Before he could fully raise his weapon, he dropped limply to the floor. Connie zip tied him and called one of the state police outside to take him into custody.
Esther ran to her mom and hugged her tight. Her mom stiffened briefly, but relaxed when she realized that it was her daghter.
"I'm sorry!" she sobbed.
"For what?" Esther asked.
"That you almost got killed. That I stood by while the whole town went after you. That... that I abandoned you."
Esther hugged her tighter. "There was nothing you could do. And I couldn't ask you to abandon the rest of the rest of the family and everyone you know just for me."
"But If I had, you wouldn't have had to come back here. Rachel would be safe."
"Oh Mom, You can't predict the future. And everything worked out for me. And we'll all be safe in Sun City in a few hours."
"No! I won't go to Sin City with a bunch of gene scum!" the twelve year old boy that had been sulking in the corner yelled. He jumped up and ran for the door, only to slump and fall before he got three steps.
"Are you the guardian of this child?" Bev asked.
"Sorry. Yes, I am. My name is Joanne Newton, and Esther, Rachel, and Saul are my children. Esther is of age, and I plan on taking Rachel and Saul with me to Sun City."
Saul was struggling, but his arms and legs wouldn't work. "No! I want to stay with the new preacher! I don't want to go to hell! I know that I'll get morfs if I stay around the gene scum. Esther got it just from taking the online course, and she gave it to Rachel."
I got down on my knees and looked him in the eyes. "It doesn't work that way. Everyone already has morfs, but only some change. Chances are that you will whether you stay here or not. At least in Sun City, nobody will try to kill you the way that officer tried."
"Mom! Don't believe those lies, Mom. The preacher warned us about the devil being in all the gene scum. Let them take Rachel and we can stay with the pure people. Mom! Mom! Don't let them fool you Mom!"
"Now that's enough of that from you, young man! I'll not hear any more of that garbage from you! Your father used to spout that nonsense and look where it got him!"
Bev looked down at him. "You can go peaceful with your family, or you can be cuffed and thrown in with the rest of the prisoners."
Saul struggled, but didn't say anything.
"Well? What will it be, young man? Your family, or jail?"
Saul mumbled something.
"I can't hear you, young man!" Bev said harshly.
"I'll go with Mom," he said with a sulky voice.
The doctor had been waiting patiently by the door. As soon as Connie picked Saul up and set him back on the chair, the doctor examined Rachel and pronounced her stable. He pulled the IV line and installed a forearm mounted portable infusion pump. He shook everyone's hand and wished them luck.
*It looks like we're about to go,* Bev said to Joanne, Esther, and me. *I'll release Saul to you. He's almost sure to do a runner. When he does, just turn off his legs. If you feel like giving him a lesson, increase the transmission of his pain neurons. But I didn't suggest that.*
Bev turned to Saul. "I'm releasing you to your guardian. I expect you to keep your promise."
A nurse came in with discharge instructions and a wheelchair. She pushed Rachel out to the entrance, and I took over from there.
Sure enough, just as soon as we were clear of the building, Saul ran for the woods. He got about five steps, just enough to get up to full speed, when his legs collapsed. He face planted into the gravel. He gritted his teeth against the pain, but refused to give any indication that he was hurt.
Connie went to him. Before he could try to hit Connie and end up with an official charge, I paralyzed his arms. He laid there helpless until Connie easily picked him up and carried him like a baby.
Once we got to the Swift, I strapped him into a seat. I grabbed a cup of water from the bar and threw it at his face. I grabbed the water with my TK before it hit and used it to clean the mud and blood off of his face, upper chest, and hands. I also made sure that there were no pathogens in his wounds. I didn't heal him, though. He needed to keep a reminder of how painful it is to act out.
"You know, trying to catch yourself with your hands when you fall is a good way to break something. Maybe your mom can sign you up for some martial arts classes so that you can learn how to fall properly."
Meanwhile, Bev and Connie took their aircar to Joanne's home and picked up the boxes that she had already packed away in preparation for leaving. She had packed away the kids' yearbooks and baby books, trophies, awards, and other irreplaceable items.
"Your family is now under the protection of the IATE," I told her. "They'll take care of the house, sell it, sell the contents, and ship whatever you want to Sun City."
She shook her head. "I have what can't be replaced. I have the mementos of the good parts of life. The rest of it can just go away."
"What about your wedding dress and all that stuff?" Esther asked.
Joanne made a rude noise. "They can shred it and use it for bedding at a pig farm for all I care. The worst mistake of my life..." Then her face softened and she looked at her kids. "Marrying that man was a mistake, but I got you three out of it, so I can't regret it."
Esther gave her a hug. "It'll all work out. You'll see."
Bev contacted us. *We have the boxes loaded. Is there anything else you want?*
Esther and Joanne discussed it briefly. I commented that we are perfecting a Santa Claus type machine that makes clothes, so there is no reason to bring any. I'll just put everyone down as test subjects.
"Rachel is unlikely to fit her old clothes, anyhow."
"I want my t-shirts!" Saul said.
"Do you really want to take those heretical pures things to Sun City? Think about it, son," Joanne replied.
"I want my baseball stuff! I want my socker ball! I want my football! I want..."
"That'll be enough of that, young man! Maybe I'll get you some new stuff if you act right. Meanwhile, you're grounded."
*I picked up the boy's toys from his room,* Bev said.
*Thanks. It's kind of you, especially considering the way that he treated you,* I said.
"You'll get them back when you learn to act like a human being, and not a bigoted son of a... jerk like your dad."
"Don't talk about Dad that way," he wailed.
"Learn from his mistakes," Esther said. "I stopped swallowing that crap as soon as I could think for myself. And it's a good thing I did!"
I gave Esther a hug and kiss. "I'm glad you did, too."
Saul made retching noises.
Esther went over and kissed him on the forehead. "I still love you, little brother. And I'm looking forward to the day when you're fit for polite company."
He scowled, but still couldn't move his arms or legs.
I walked over and put my arm around Esther. "You know, little brother, both of your sisters morfed. You're next, so I'll give you a word to the wise. If you're wise, you'll heed it."
He scowled at me. "I'm pure!"
"Oh? Like your sisters were? You share their genes, you know. And now you're at just the right age to come down with the change. So don't kid yourself."
I could feel his worry.
"Don't worry, little brother. You'll be living in the city of MORFS. You'll be safe."
"You're not my brother!"
I smirked at him. "I'm Esther's lifemate. That makes me your brother in law." I turned to Joanne. "That means that you and Rachel are family, too. You're all welcome in our home, once it's ready for us to move in. Meanwhile, we have a nice suite for you all at Martin Engineering headquarters, right next to Esther and me."
"I don't want to be a burden..."
Esther made a rude noise. "Burden? Since when is family ever a burden? Besides, John owns the whole company. Well, he did until he passed a share to his kids. He could support a few dozen families without noticing."
"But... I'm finally free of your dad. I need to make my own way."
"Remember what you wanted to do before you married Dad and he decided that you needed to stay home full time?"
"A fashion designer? It's kinda late in my life to start that now!"
I shook my head. "It's never too late! You'll find that the life sciences division of Martin Engineering gives great makeovers. And I don't think that Esther is going to take no for an answer."
"I'm sure that the University of Sun City has some great programs," Esther added.
"And if you really want to do something, and I definitely encourage that, Martin Engineering employs lots of artist types. How would you like to design clothing for Martin Engineering? You'll find that our compensation and fringe benefits package is the best in the world."
"Grab it, Mom! As my sister in law told me, it isn't everyone that gets a personal invitation from the head honcho of Martin Engineering."
Saul continued to sulk.
"Oh yes, that word to the wise," I said, turning to Saul. "MORFS often exhibits a kind of karmic justice. There was this really noisy and obnoxious kid at school that turned into a guinea fowl hybrid. And there was this real rat that turned into a rat hybrid, complete with a naked ugly rat tail."
"Karma is not Christian..." he started.
"Neither is the Church of Genetic Purity," I interrupted. "And the Christian concept that means the same thing is the law of reaping and sowing."
*All of your stuff is stowed, Missus Newton. John, could we prevail upon you to transport the prisoners to the jail? It'll take a couple hours to get a big enough prisoner transport vehicle over here, otherwise.*
*No problem, Bev. And thanks for getting Joanne's stuff.*
*Thanks, John! I'll let you know when the guys get everyone settled and properly manacled. Hey Saul, you sure you don't want to ride with your buddies? We have plenty of manacles.*
Joanne gave him a serious look. "You were headed in that direction, Saul. If you had kept following your father, there might be some manacles in your future."
I recalled the drones. Also, Tabitha, who had been flying several thousand feet up, came down in a steep dive and zoomed in through the open hatch. Like every other housecat in the world, she decided to sit on the lap of the person who least wanted her: Saul.
Joanne was looking at her, so I picked her up and placed her into her arms. Joanne cooed and petted her.
We, along with the two state police aircars, landed in the area near the jail designated for prisoner transfers. The prisoners were efficiently moved to the facility and processed.
We were allowed to stay parked while we all wrote out our official statements. Since we were here at the jail, Joanne decided to visit her soon to be ex. The rest of us went with her -- her kids to see their father, and me to offer moral support and to see the man that was technically my father in law.
The visit went about as well as could be expected. He begged his wife to stay with him, even though he knew that he would likely spend his last days in jail. Saul blubbered and begged his dad to take care of him. I have no idea what the child was thinking. He and Esther just glared coldly at each other. I pointed out to him that the only way he was ever going to see the outside of the jail ever again was to change his attitude about morfs, lose the hate, and have it verified by a telepath. That earned me nothing but a dark glare.
We went back to the Swift. The facility nurse, who had volunteered to watch Rachel, let us know that she was doing fine and walked back to the facility.
Chapter Twelve: Home Sweet Home
The housekeeping staff took Joanne's property from the Swift almost as soon as we set down. The medical staff took Rachel from the Swift and wheeled her to the clinic. Their entire family was given a checkup. The scanner results were converted to clothing sizes.
After conferring with Joanne, I had the nurse put a medical alert bracelet on Saul.
"Since you proved to us that you can't be trusted, you will be monitored. The bracelet will also let us know when you come down with MORFS. That bracelet authorizes you to travel around the public areas of Martin Engineering headquarters."
He scowled, of course.
Rachel got a medical bracelet because she was a patient of the clinic. Joanne got a badge.
We went to their suite and got Rachel settled into her bed, then ordered lunch. While we were waiting, I showed Joanne how to order clothes and food, and how to make designs. She ordered some simple clothing for herself, some large sweats with a tail hole for Rachel, and some standard school and casual clothing for Saul. I suggested to her that she order something nice for herself, but not to fill her closet until she has her makeover.
They found their household items stacked in an extra room. They decided to leave it all there, except for their tablets and phones. That is, Joanne decided to leave it there. Saul wanted his video games and sports equipment. Joanne informed him that he would get it once he proves himself.
The next day, Esther and I gave Joanne and Saul a tour of Martin Engineering. Despite himself, Saul was pretty excited about some of the technology he got to see.
I made sure to pay attention to him and tell him about the stuff that we were working on. I also let him know that he would be able to play with some of it if he didn't give us too much trouble.
I promised him that if he did well in school, I would help him get a college education. Intelligence seems to run in the family, even if it did skip his father.
Rachel's medical bracelet was set to alert Joanne whenever she started to wake up. That meant that Rachel didn't have to wake up alone in an unfamiliar place.
After a couple days of the usual cycles of waking up, using the facilities, eating, and going back to bed, she finally woke up as a partial squirrel hybrid. The fact that her mother welcomed her with open arms greatly eased her transformation.
Once Rachel was settled in and enrolled in school, Joanne went to the clinic for her tune up.
She decided that she wanted some hybrid features as an act of solidarity with her children. Esther and I could tell that she liked the idea of having a tail and ears, and used the solidarity as an excuse.
She chose a fluffy tail that could be considered to be a fox or squirrel tail, squirrel ears, and fox eyes. She remained the same height, and received all of the enhancements that went with the tune-up. She was quite happy with her new timeless looks, hairless body, enhanced vision and hearing, health, sturdiness, and strength.
Saul was a bit miffed at her choice to become a hybrid, but he was having too much fun in the school sports program, all of the recreational opportunities around Sun City, and the really cool technology at Martin Engineering to gripe too much.
The fact that everyone he met was friendly helped ease his fear of hybrids. It was an unusually rapid turnaround, but not really surprising. He got to see first hand that none of what he had heard in his earlier life was true.
And there was a bunny hybrid at school that kinda took a shine to him.
Chapter Thirteen: Pets
I woke up feeling hot desire in parts that I don't have. That didn't surprise me, since I could tell that Tabitha was getting ready to go into heat. Fortunately for the sanity of the owners of flying kitties, they go from zero to fully fertile heat in hours, and drop out just as quickly once mated.
I reached out with my mind for Tina. She felt my gentle inquiry and smirked. *It's time, eh? Why don't you and Esther bring her over. I have a tomcat that would like to meet her.*
When we got to Tina and Jerry's cat ranch, we were mobbed by dozens of flying cats. Most were only visiting, having come over from other nearby houses while their owners were at work of school. Martin Engineering welcomes close pets, but other places of employment are not as accommodating.
We took her to a large cage and let her in with a genetically modified tomcat. He was an ordinary tomcat until Tina modified his testicles to make him compatible with flying cats. She had done that earlier with three female barn cats, Snow Puff, Coal Puff, and Cream Puff.
It didn't take long for them to get down to business. With much hissing and caterwauling, they got the deed done.
Once Tina and I verified that Tabatha was, in fact, pregnant, we let them out of the cage.
Then, Tina led Esther and me into the house and to a box that contained a mother and four kittens.
"They're old enough. What do you think, Esther? Would you like a flying kitty?"
Esther jumped up and hugged Tina tightly. "Thank you! I fell in love with the kitties as soon as I met Tabatha!"
We thought it would be difficult to choose, but a male red point kitten crawled to her just as soon as she reached into the box. She had a beatific smile on her face as soon as she picked up the little six week old ball of fur. It was love at first sight, and Tina sealed the link.
"I think I'll call you Rufus," she said.
Chapter Fourteen: Family Matters
Esther and I accompanied Joanne to the parent/teacher conferences. Her kids had only been there for a couple weeks, but it was enough for the teachers to assess them and start to get them up to speed.
Saul, much to the surprise and delight of his mother, was doing well. Rachel was also quickly catching up.
The teachers noted that Saul was a bit ill at ease with hybrids at first, but got over it quickly. He seemed to be making a concerted effort. He wouldn't tell the teachers what his initial problem was, though. We respected his desire for privacy and told the teachers that he had had some difficult experiences in the past, particularly around the time that his sisters had morfed. It was the literal truth without giving up too much.
"Jenny wants to come over and play games with me." Saul told his mom.
"This is your home. I'm not going to tell you that you can't have guests," I said.
"Jenny's dad wants to meet us all first."
Joanne chuckled. "Protective father? No problem. Just give me his contact information and I'll set it up."
"Oh, Mom! That's so cute! Where did you get it?" Rachel squealed.
"I designed it. Why do you think I have been taking all those online courses?"
Rachel gave her mom a hug. "I'm going to wear it to school tomorrow. The other girls will be soooooo jealous!"
Esther and I had to chuckle. How many teens would be seen dead in something their mom picked out, let alone designed?
Rachel ran into her room and closed the door. A couple minutes later, she ran out with her fluffy tail trailing behind her.
Far from looking like it had been modified to accommodate her tail, the skirt and top looked like they were designed to enhance it. Because they were.
"... And this is my big brother, John Martin," Saul said to his girlfriend Jenny Minstrel and her father Michael.
Michael did a bit of a double take. "Brother, you say?"
I chuckled and put my arm around Esther. "Esther is my lifemate, so that makes Saul my brother in law. I rescued Esther from some radical pures, then we went back and picked up the rest of the set."
Esther and I were in the main reception area when a group of people came out of the pubic lift. Jenny was half dragging, half supporting Saul. She spotted Esther and me and looked relieved.
"Your stubborn little brother wouldn't go to the school nurse," Jenny said. "I had to drag him home or he would have fallen over."
"I can make it," he said weakly.
"Really?" she said, just before she released him.
Esther scooped him up just as he was falling to the floor. "C'mon, Saul, let's get you to the clinic so you can get fitted with a portable infusion pump."
"But I don't have..." he started.
"Just keep telling yourself that," Esther said with a smirk.
"Time to spin your cocoon, little caterpillar," I said. You can't fool a bio elemental, let alone two of them."
Jenny came over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Don't worry, sweetie. You'll be OK."
"But what if I..."
"You'll be OK," Esther assured him. "You do like bunnies, don't you?"
"And you'll get to keep your most prized possession," I reassured him. Even without my empathic senses, I could tell what was on his mind.
He looked relieved. He relaxed and fell asleep in his sister's arms before we went another ten steps.
Esther held him and I kept him asleep and relaxed while the nurse started the IV and installed the portable infusion pump.
As Esther was carrying him back out of the clinic, I put my hand on Jenny's shoulder. "What do you think of hermaphrodites?"
She turned red and stammered a bit.
"Good!" I said.
She blushed and looked confused.
"I didn't lie to Saul when I told him that he would be keeping his most prized possession, but I neglected to tell him that he'll be picking up some new parts. Since you are attracted to halfies, letting him know the next time that you see him will make his change a whole lot easier."
"How did you know?"
"I told Saul that you can't fool two bios. You also can't fool two empaths," I said with a smile. "You two seem to be more attached than most kids your age. It wouldn't hurt to let him know that, too."
We took Saul to his room and put him to bed. His mother fussed over him a bit, then walked out. Jenny gave him a kiss on the cheek and followed Joanne out.
I showed her how to access the data from the infusion pump on her tablet. That way, she would know when he was about to wake up, and could reassure herself that he was doing well.