《Eyes of Eunos - a Kammi Kettu story》 Chapter 1: Frontal Impact The sound of the car¡¯s engine courses through the otherwise quiet and dark forest, the only things that are listening seem to be the stars themselves. I slam the lever up a gear into fifth, tears beginning to fall down my cheeks. The radio is the only voice nearby, and it was far too busy singing along to itself to pay me any mind. The past and the future don¡¯t matter, the only thing that matters right now is the road and myself. I can try and forget the reality of being suddenly jobless. All of my skills and loyalty meant nothing to politics and money. I can forget my inability to understand people and focus on the thing I understand best, my ability to drive. --- The misery began this afternoon. I had just finished the design for a brand new efficient motor, when all of a sudden I heard my name being called from the entrance of the engineering development offices. I stood, straightened my tie, (always hated the damn things, so uncomfortable) and left to go see what was needed from me. ¡°You Cyrus Sutton?¡± asked a huge man, way taller than I was with excessively broad shoulders. ¡°Uh yeah I am, what''s it to you?, I¡¯ve not seen you around before,¡± I ask, a little annoyed to be taken away from my work. ¡°The boss has said that you¡¯re not necessary anymore, clear up your things and leave your work behind. We¡¯re moving the facility overshores,¡± he responded, clamping a hand down onto my shoulder as if to say I have zero right to object. ¡°But I¡¯ve worked here for years?! This is my dream career!¡± I start to panic, knowing there¡¯s not another place in England that I¡¯d be anywhere remotely as comfortable and pushed to design as good as I am here. I start to break down, but I manage to hold back the tears, just. The nasty piece of work seemingly hired just to show all us redundant workers out the door forcefully spun me 180 degrees and shoved me back towards my desk. ¡°Grovel at home, what the hell is wrong with you man.¡± I so wanted right there and then to tell him to shove his toxic masculinity right up his arse, but one look at his furrowed brow and terse scowl persuaded me otherwise. I slunk back to my desk and gathered my things, at least they can¡¯t take my car and my stash back at home, I think to myself, trying to convince myself that this wasn¡¯t the beginning of a downward spiral in my life.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. --- What little light there was had begun to slip away as it neared 11pm at night, out here in the countryside north of my home town of Hillchester the local bobbies rarely ventured, evidently they figured out that a sleepy small town wasn¡¯t a mass crime central, and that the countryside would be even less so. ¡°Fine by me,¡± I say to no-one in particular, as I race past the 100mph marker point on the speedometer. I look past the edge of the pop-up headlight into the treeline along the way to try and spot the next corner¡­. ¡±There, let''s go for it,¡± braking hard I turn into the corner, and I¡¯m suddenly lit up by the oddly purple tinted headlights of an oncoming car, my sense of self protection stirring me out of my sorrow and self pity. ¡°Shit!¡± I exclaimed yanking the wheel in the opposite direction, I just avoid wrecking completely and manage to skid to a halt just a couple of yards down the road. The car I barely avoided seemed to carry on silently by itself. I exhale loudly and decide to cool down a bit. The atmosphere did seem way more tense than it should, and I can hear thunder in the distance ¡°It was a sunny day today wasn¡¯t it? Hell even half an hour ago I could see the stars. Bloody weather,¡± I exclaimed, again to myself. Talking to myself was an unfortunate running habit of mine, either that or talking to something inanimate like the car, I didn¡¯t really get along with people, being diagnosed with asperger''s syndrome . ¡°Well, at least you¡¯re okay,¡± looking back over the now very muddy vehicle, ¡°Ever since my brother moved out for his army career it¡¯s been just me, you and the occasional visit from Miura, well if there is any dings in you I¡¯ll sort them out tomorrow,¡± The dinging of the door open chime continued to ring unsympathetically at me, begging to be closed and taken home. All of a sudden I hear the thunder grow louder and closest, purple and orange lights appear to bathe the road in their brightness. ¡°That¡¯s...not right, I don¡¯t think I can outrun tha-¡± at this point all I can feel is nasty twisting pain, concentrated in my left arm but then spreading throughout my body, head, crotch, ass chest and all my other limbs are rippling with shock and a grinding metallic noise that only later I realised was caused by the crushing of the gravel I had fallen on. Once the pain had passed I suddenly felt very cold, nothing I was wearing seemed to fit at all and water had gotten all into my clothes. I managed to stagger back to the RX7 and crawl inside Somehow managing to close its door with my foot, lying uncomfortably across the two seats of the compact sports car, gear lever and handbrake rubbing against my soaked abdomen. I pass out face down, wondering in my stupor and pain just why my chest felt so squished in. And there I laid, the only sound around being the radio screaming out loud the music I loved to listen to. Frontal Impact Feel like going nowhere World is turning upside down on me Chapter 2: Burning up the Night I woke slowly from an awfully nasty nightmare. I had been stuck to a singular viewpoint, staring at a road, unable to move or see anything but the occasional vehicle pass. I felt deeply uncomfortable, as if I had slept in a bed made out of hard cold lumpy leather. Then all of a sudden it hit me. ¡°I¡¯m still out in the middle of nowhere in the car!¡± I jolted upright making scraping noises against the roof of my car as my body tried to stand. And I felt a deep shift in balance as something sizable nearly hits me in the face. One hand shot to my chest and the other shot to my head in an awkward cramped version of ¡®Pat your head and rub your belly¡¯ and the penny dropped. I wasn¡¯t a guy anymore...I wasn¡¯t even sure I was human. I reached for the rear view mirror and twisted it in my direction. ¡°Holy shit I¡¯m beautiful¡±. I was certainly female now, my height hadn¡¯t seemed to change much but I¡¯d lost much of the weight that I had as a boy to be very slender. To my tired and shifted view my new boobs looked huge under my now ill fitting black hoodie, and my new ghostly white long hair kept getting in the way. Even stranger than that though my right arm, which I hadn¡¯t leant on whilst I was out for the count, wasn¡¯t even made out of flesh anymore, it didn¡¯t feel particularly heavy, and was seemingly identical in size and proportions to my normal arm, but it was made out of a strange blue metal. Which wasn¡¯t like anything I had ever seen before. That doesn¡¯t even rank at the top of my new quirks and features I gained in that supernatural storm: ¡°I have antennae now?!¡±. I was suddenly a little pleased rather than disappointed that my car had a sunroof now. Seemingly in response to this I hear the recognisable sound of the pop-up headlights flipping down. Pulling the sleeve of my hoodie down I take a look around to see if anything had happened outside of the car, everything seemed to be normal where I was, and the sky had returned to being clear and starry. Sighing, I attempt to turn on the engine using the key but it wouldn¡¯t start. ¡°I really really hope that I haven¡¯t damaged your internals car¡± I curse myself for not being able to turn it off properly before the storm claimed my consciousness. ¡°That freak arse storm turned out really painful. Guess you can¡¯t suddenly shift gender and become a Cyborg without it feeling like it¡¯s ripping your flesh away,¡± I punch myself in the leg with my normal arm. All of a sudden I feel a presence nearing me. I look behind outside the rear clamshell window and see nothing, but I know something is on its way down the road towards me, and then the blue and red flashing lights come into view, I very quickly pull my hood up to hide the antennae, and lay my left metal arm down behind my body, so that when the cop inevitably walks up to the car left strewn in the middle of the road and sees me he isn¡¯t spooked by my new robotic appendages. A ton of thoughts rush through my mind, worries about being taken in to the station for questioning, or instant imprisonment to experiment in case they wish to experiment on me to find out what the arm is made of. I suddenly wish my car would start or at least move, or the cop to just ignore me and drive on, but I know that would be impossible. However, out of the corner of my eye in the mirror I see that my antennae just pulse slightly and weakly, and my car begins to roll forwards a little bit. ¡°I can make you move?¡± I felt the presence of the cop car had been joined by something else in my mind, a very faint feeling of what seemed to be my own vehicle. I willed it on harder and as it picked up speed rolling I twisted the key to attempt a rolling start and with a groan it started up and everything came back to me, headlights, steering feel and full power. I laughed and punched the air, gripping the steering wheel with my metal arm. In my triumph for getting it started I missed the police lights get closer and closer, and all of a sudden the policeman was right behind me. I panicked and in my worry I willed that the car behind would just stop already and leave me alone, I didn¡¯t need another problem in my life right now. And much like my own car had started up. All of a sudden the lights behind me vanished and shut off. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Thanks officer!¡± I squealed out loud, almost missing the next corner in my giddy happiness. *** Officer Jim Birchwood was on his late night shift alone, patrolling the woods in the very north of Hillchester when the night sky was suddenly illuminated by unnatural glowing lights and an intense storm, he pulled over to the side of the road to watch the lightshow in awe. It had been a silent night prior and he hadn¡¯t expected that to change. The storm had done a lot of alleviate his boredom. And then the calls started. ¡°All officers on patrol, it¡¯s been reported that there are currently two people who appear to be dressed in costumes with wolf masks attacking people with what I¡¯m told are claws in a restaurant in south Hillchester¡± His radio buzzed at him, the late night controller sounding like he didn¡¯t even believe his own words. Jim shook his head dismissively. ¡°Fucking teenagers these days, mental¡± Jim presses the response button on his radio ¡°This is Officer Birchwood. I¡¯ve got my stab resistant vest on, I¡¯m on my way to the incident in south Hillchester¡± ¡°Roger Officer, be warned there now appears to be reports that a member of the public is fighting them back with what I¡¯m told to be some kind of taser? Be careful and get there quick¡±. ¡°The storms driven everyone insane, they must think its the apocalypse or a purge, I am going to need many beers later¡± He sighed. Reaching down to his dashboard controls he flips on the lights and the siren and speeds off through the woods, all of a sudden though he catches a glimpse of a light in the road ahead. A sports car of some sort appeared to be stranded in the road, looking like it had a mighty spin with mud draped down its side, as he begun to get nearer the car all of a sudden it shot away from him. His hand shot to his radio. ¡°Control, I¡¯m in pursuit of a dark coloured sports car which has just made off from me, they¡¯re doing well in excess of the speed limit alrea-¡± He exclaimed into the radio only to be cut off when his car suddenly completely cut out and jolted to the right. With all the lights out and the steering unresponsive, Jim could only watch in horror as the trees rushed at his patrol vehicle. It pitches into a ditch, tipping the rear end over in a front-flip with the rear of the vehicle ending up resting against the trunk of a tree. Jim was alive, but heavily injured. The jerk of the wheel has broken his right arm and his leg was trapped under the dash of the car. With his remaining strength before passing out from the pain he presses his panic button. ¡°That¡­ doesn¡¯t¡­ make sense¡­¡± and then his world goes black. *** Despite the horrifying events of the day. I couldn¡¯t really help myself to a little bit of happiness. ¡°Burning up the night, the streets on fire. Burning deep inside, my love¡¯s forever¡± I sang along to myself with my new higher voice, really quite chuffed with the fact I¡¯d managed to shake off the policeman. I pulled into the apartment complex car park and garages as quietly as the car could manage and drove it into my garage. It had seemed I wasn¡¯t the only one who appeared to have something change about them, there were unnatural craters in the walls and the road and I could hear lots more sirens in the distance. After closing the garage door, again as quietly as possible, I quickly shuffled over to my apartment and opened up the door. A few steps into the apartment I realised that the TV was on. Something isn¡¯t right here, I don¡¯t usually leave anything on. ¡°Cyrus? Is that you?¡± Oh shit. Chapter 3: Stop to Give Up My apartment was pretty filled up thanks to my well paid ex-job. I had a fairly widespread gaming setup, some spare car parts and lots and lots of posters, really unfortunately for me right now, my happiness was broken by the fact that my landlord was standing in the middle of it, staring at me, or rather my new figure. I was stunned, what do I say? What do I do?. I panicked and begun to make for the door. ¡°Wait Cyrus! I won¡¯t hurt you, please if that¡¯s you just nod,¡± She reached out and looked at me, pleading with her eyes. I slowly nodded and sunk to my knees. ¡°Miura I don¡¯t know what happened, that storm hit and then all I could feel was pain. Then I woke up and I got chased by the police and I lost him and-mmph,¡± She put a hand over my mouth to stop my verbal diarrhea ¡°Cy its okay. Let¡¯s just get you cleaned up and comfortable okay, no-one is going to hurt you.¡± She leads me into the bathroom, lays out a towel for me and puts the shower on while I sit on the toilet stiff. My focus was on the television and I felt a tingle of its presence. Then suddenly I could hear and even see clearly what is being shown on it. ¡°The storms known as the Emergence have brought about quite a tense atmosphere all over the world. New York is currently under attack by what appears to be a huge dragon, we don¡¯t know quite yet whether a person became the dragon or whether it came with the storm. Our BBC America crew are currently unable to get us any footage of the terrifying beast, hopefully they are safe¡± I suddenly came to the realisation that I may be in a tough spot, but at least I¡¯m not dead. And I begin to wonder what the extent of my powers are. It seems that I could shift an entire car without it even being active, and can currently seemingly use the television while I¡¯m not even remotely in the same room. Oh hang on, they¡¯re just finishing the report on the US.. ¡°In the UK we seem to have gotten off a little bit better than the US. We unfortunately do have to bring you the news that one of the guards at the Houses of Parliament was struck by the Emergence and grew exponentially in size, in the process accidentally destroying the iconic Big Ben bell. A London demolition service has been brought in to try and free the man, who remains a fair bit stuck partially inside the remains of the tower. It doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re planning on prosecuting the man, as he has apologised so sincerely for what he calls ¡°all the fuss.¡± I giggle out loud uncharacteristically and suddenly my concentration is ripped from the TV far away back to my body and I feel very nauseous. ¡°Miura...you might want to¡­.just leave the bathroom for a second¡± I barely get that out before my hands clutch around my thin waist. She gives me a look of pity and quickly steps out of the bathroom and closes the door. I turn to the toilet and start bringing up my lunch. ¡°If you can hear me the shower should be ready by the time you¡¯re done with your business. I¡¯ll go get you some clothes for tomorrow and some pajamas for tonight. Nothing you¡¯ve got here is going to fit you anymore. We¡¯ll have to go shopping tomorrow! I need some new clothes myself as well. I¡¯ll be back in a quarter of an hour ok?¡± I could barely hear her over the sound of the shower and my unwell reaction to being jolted back into my body. Eventually my stomach stopped convulsing and without looking I flushed the toilet and ran to the sink to wash out my mouth. ¡°That felt so gross¡± I muttered, walking over to the shower I begun to strip for the first time since the shift in bodies. The first thing that strikes me is how smooth my skin has become, my old male south was covered in acne scars and marks where injuries and scabs never really healed properly. It now felt like I had never even come within fifteen miles of a scab or a cut. I couldn¡¯t find one anywhere on my left arm, my metallic right arm though, that was another story. In the bathroom light it glinted a very interesting blue. Testing its flexibility I reach up and behind my back to see just how far it can do, and it seems to shift and behave just like a normal human arm, but when I flick it with my normal finger it rings like if you were to flick a very thin metal object, it however doesn¡¯t bend with the impact like skin. ¡°So it appears to be impact resistant? Thats...neat, I wonder how much stronger that arm is?¡± I mused to no-one in particular.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The next inevitable thing to come across was my breasts, they looked so big from this perspective. I could only estimate that I think they were C-cup...possibly even D! I couldn¡¯t deal with that right now. I need the warmth of the shower to calm my aching body. Just before I entered the shower I remembered that I have a speaker with my MP3 player on it in the next room. ¡°Ok Cyr- Cy, you moved a goddamn car. You can turn on a goddamn speaker.¡± Closing my eyes, I try to reach out and feel if I can find it. A very faint electric pulse rises between the antenna on my head and I find I can feel everything right down to the lady¡¯s pacemaker in the apartment downstairs. Finding the speaker¡¯s presence I send a signal that I want it to active and all of a sudden I can hear it start up and the music blares out. ¡°Heh, actually this ability might be of some real good use¡±. I wonder how far I can push it, clearly right now doing it for too long, or at least throwing my mind out like I seemed to for the TV was too much for my body right now. I stepped underneath the showerhead, humming out one of the Eurobeat songs that was playing from the other room. ¡°It just ain''t true I really need you in my life No matter what I have to dooo I¡¯ll wait for youuuu¡± Reaching back I run my hands through my much longer and strangely coloured hair. It was purely white, like the blankets of snow on an especially cold winter''s night, or like my car actually. I think of the white Mazda sitting in its garage outside, waiting patiently for its next trip out. Suddenly feeling immensely cheered up I reach for some shampoo to wash my hair with but stop. I don¡¯t really have suitable products for this, don¡¯t girls like this...like me¡­ It hit me then, all of a sudden, why am I feeling like I should make an effort to present myself now? I used to not much bother; either I was going outside to work on the car or work in general, or I just don¡¯t go out at all. I hadn¡¯t put any consideration into my appearance before, something has definitely seemed to shift in my general attitude since the sudden gender swap. Flashing back to when I escaped that possibly awkward and disastrous police encounter I felt way too happy for having gone through that painful transition, and now I look at myself in the mirror and feel the water running down my body, between all my new extremities and I feel nothing but satisfaction. Sure I could still be emotionally stormy like when Miura discovered me. Maybe I should have always been a girl? I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s too soon to tell. Regardless I just have to make sure of what I¡¯ve got and I scrubbed my hair clean through using the shampoo and conditioner. When I was nearly done I heard the front door¡¯s lock undo and open. ¡°Miura? Good timing¡± I call out. ¡°I¡¯m not quite done drying out so can you put whatever you brought down outside the bathroom thanks¡± ¡°Okay Cy, how¡¯re you feeling, it must be hard having your body change like that, do you think there is a way to go back?¡± Miura responds, leaning against the bathroom door to hear my reply. ¡°I¡¯m...not sure I want to, Miura. Don¡¯t know why but something just feels better.¡± I carefully rub my towel over my head, in between my antennae and in between my boobs. ¡°Plus this new power I have, I think it could be really useful. Watch the TV!¡± I stop scrubbing myself and concentrate out for the TV again, willing it to turn on and change to the news channel, I can just about hear it boot up. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude Cy, but how do I know you don¡¯t just have the remote, if you do have these powers use them to do something useful for yourself and for people perhaps? Don¡¯t just lounge about here all day now you¡¯re unemployed.¡± Miura sighs from the other side of the door. I wrap the towel around my body, careful to place it around my top half instead of just the usual waist position. ¡°I won¡¯t just do that Miura! That¡¯s the other thing, I feel like I can actually go out and do things like this, ever since I left education I only left the house to fiddle with the RX7 and to go work at that fuckin¡¯ company. You mentioned shopping tomorrow? I don¡¯t want people to see my arm and these antenna, do you have a hat or something?¡± I ponder, opening the door a tad and taking the pajamas she brought for me. They were bright pink with little cartoon robots all over them. ¡°A little bit on the nose don¡¯t you think?¡± I hear a stifled giggle from the hallway. ¡°Sorry sorry, I remembered that I had them. And uh to answer that other question I do have a big floppy straw hat you can use. I think that¡¯d fit your head now. And okay, shopping tomorrow indeed. It¡¯s a date! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay. I must leave you and go sleep though, its gone midnight now. I¡¯ll bring the hat tomorrow at 11. Don¡¯t oversleep!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set an alarm! Thanks for everything Miura. I hope whatever that storm is doesn¡¯t break everyone and everything. I don¡¯t want the apocalypse to happen during my lifetime.¡± I pull on the pajamas, blushing when the fabric rubs against my sensitive nipples. ¡°I hope so too Cy, be round later, bye!¡± And with that she leaves the apartment, closing the door and locking it behind her. I leave the bathroom and head down to my bedroom where I see she left a small pile of clothes for me. Crouching down I shift through what was left for me. ¡°I guess she has had to guess my sizes huh¡± I pick up the bra on the top with two fingers as if it was an alien device. I wasn¡¯t sure where to begin with it. Everything else she left me seemed fairly innocuous except for a fairly frilly looking blouse and a quite worn looking pair of flats. I¡¯m not ready for this, sighing I flopped down on my bed and despite leaving the radio on, very quickly sleep claimed its latest victim. ¡°Stop to give up I want to believe Cuz you know Life is going on and on and on¡± Chapter 4: Stormbringer The sound of birdsong and lots of chatter flowed through the open window I had forgotten to close last night, stirring I run my arm through my hair, wincing at how cold the metal is. I sit up and begin to get dressed, taking off the pajamas and pulling on some simple white cotton panties. Then comes the bra, after a short arm wrestling match with the straps I finally get it on. Its certainly tight around my breasts and doesn¡¯t seem to fit all that well. ¡°Miura must be smaller than I am huh¡± Out of the corner of my eye I see my digital clock reads half past 10. Pulling on the blouse, which was also a very neat light purple. Remembering that my computer is in the other room; I reach out for it using my power and manage to turn it on. ¡°I seem to be getting the hang of this¡± as I bring myself slowly back to where I am. I do a little fist bump for the success. The last main article of clothing once I¡¯d got my slightly oversized socks on was a pair of skinny jeans. I pull them up over my thighs, wondering at the new shape of my body and then I¡¯m dressed. I move over to the bathroom to take a look at myself. ¡°Wow¡± The vision in the mirror is to me the epitome of cuteness. I blush, admiring myself in the mirror. Is it too narcissistic to say that about myself? I wonder to no-one in particular. I adjust a bra strap I could see poking out from underneath the collar of the blouse. I¡¯m reminded of the girls I used to admire and hang out with back in school. Then the memories all came flooding back. I had always hung out with girls when I was in school, a lot of the guys I just didn¡¯t jell with too well. They spent all their time taking the piss out of each other and playing mean jokes. The girls were nice to me and I hoped I could fit in. It certainly didn¡¯t do me many good favours with most of the other guys in the school though. *** ¡°So Cyrus, done hanging out with the girls for once?¡± taunted one of the braindead morons who spent way too much time butting heads with the other guys to do his education any good. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that if ya spend too much time hanging out with girls ya might become one yourself¡± one of his equally unintelligent mates chipped in. I hated PE (Physical Education) and especially the changing rooms before and after, they stunk of a underlying horrific teenage body odour, and on top of that the disgusting scent of whatever deodorant is trending amongst them this week. ¡°Very funny guys, leave it will you? We¡¯ve got exams coming up and I¡¯ve got more important things to think about rather than your incessant quips and demeaning jokes¡± I respond without thinking. A few of them laugh which led me to think they might have found that funny and would shut up, but as I take off my school shirt all of a sudden I¡¯m yanked backwards towards the shower. One of them has their tie wrapped around my neck and I see another in the shower ready to soak me, I can hardly breathe¡­. *** I shudder when I think of my time at school. I¡¯m half glad I¡¯m out of education, although I do miss the lunchtimes I spent away from all the bullies and their disgusting attitudes. Brushing a stray bit of white hair out of my face I turn out and walk over to the computer I started up whilst drying myself out. I have a half hour still so I figure I¡¯d check what has happened in the night. All the YouTubers I follow have basically new videos out, some seem to still be pretty normal. I click on More than Computer Mouse¡¯s channel to see what''s up with her, she never showed her face so maybe something happened with her if she¡¯s uploaded a video about this whole storm-emergence thing. ¡°Fate has got a twisted sense of irony huh? It sure does Bridget, it sure does¡± reaching up and poking the antennae on my head that seem to be the outlet for my ability. ¡°Well at least I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not the only one who seems to be pleased with their new body, although it seems like not everyone is¡± I just clicked over to my twitter feed and winced at some of the posts of things that has happened. Geez, that Penrith city in the US has gone all Purge on itself. After a short while scrolling through my YouTube and Twitter feeds I begin to type out a post on twitter. AnRX7Driver @RotaryCy A few seconds ago: Uh Hi people. I¡¯m certainly changed and stuff. That storm did a number on me. I¡¯m okay though. Feeling more sure of myself every moment #Emerged?¡¯ That was it, I didn¡¯t feel like typing more. Cringed a little at the hashtag but posted it anyway. Then I got a knock at the door. Moving swiftly to the door I poke open the mail opening to see who is outside, making a phew noise I open it up to Miura, who immediately throws a sunhat in my face. ¡°Quick put this on and grab one of your coats¡± Miura quickly blurts eyes darting about nervously. This worries me so I do as she says. ¡°What''s going on? Is someone following you?¡± I quickly duck my head outside and look around, doesn¡¯t appear to be anybody out of the normal.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Theres a load of army men about, some were asking about a white sportscar. I told them I saw one last night speeding right through the town to down south. That was obviously a lie, they were also after people like you who changed last night, make sure your arm is hidden¡± ¡°Oh crap thats really bad. Do you have your Fiesta?¡± I look up, thankful with the fact that it was a sunny day today. I can formulate an excuse for the sunhat then. ¡°Yeah its just out the side, lets go¡± She grabs my hand and almost yanks me outside onto the balcony walkway. I lock the door quickly and put my visible metal hand into my pocket. Quietly I follow her down to the archway under which her car was parked, it was a brand new blue Fiesta ST and it already had some modifications. ¡°Girl you¡¯ve always had good taste in cars¡± I look admirably at the small sapphire hatchback. ¡°Well girl you happen to have good taste yourself¡± The extra emphasis on the word girl and the cute tongue poking out at her mouth at me had me stifling a feminine giggle. I sat in the passenger seat and did up my belt as she twisted the key to start it. I had a thought and reached out to see if I could change the radio station without twisting any of the knobs or touching any of the buttons. Got about 3 stations over before Miura tugged hard on my ear. ¡°Owwwwwwww I wasn¡¯t going to break it!¡± to which she tutted back at me. ¡°Neither of us know what you¡¯re capable of right now. I don¡¯t know how badly you could screw up the car and I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t¡± She makes a good point to be fair. ¡°So where are we going to?¡± I asked sincerely, clutching my reddened ear. ¡°I figured we should try the high street, they don¡¯t seem to be paying much attention to the smaller non-chain stores¡± Miura said, checking all the mirrors in a little bit of a nervous, twitchy way. ¡°Look Miura¡± I put my left hand on her shoulder. ¡°I feel great, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d let them take me just like that¡± There was certainly truth to that, I felt more confident than ever, its a shame I have to cover myself like today. She nodded back at me, seeming a bit more sure of herself and me. I turned the radio physically to a station with the local news playing. ¡°Hillchester is under the current command of the local British Army Base. We are ordering all people who have gained new powers from the storm to step forwards for mandatory enlistment¡± ¡°Motherfuckers¡± I growled. It look an awful lot of restraint for me to not punch the radio with my new arm, it would have most certainly voided any warranty if I had. ¡°Those were the words of Colonel Goff, the leader of the newly named Operation Barracuda which; looking through its modus operandi, involves all emerged that they can make use of in some way offensively or defensively to become enlisted properly in the police or army. They seem to be requesting everyone for evaluation. Currently Hillchester has roadblocks at every exit to the town in order for them to try and find everyone. If you¡¯re a person who gained an ability in last nights storm, it...would be best if you didn¡¯t resist¡± There was a nervous hint to that last bit of the message. Almost as if the woman covering the message didn¡¯t really believe in the whole thing, at least thats what it felt like to me. ¡°Fucking bastards¡± I angrily moan out loud again ¡°Mandatory conscription to the military is barbaric, we¡¯ve not practised that legally for well over 70 years. I won¡¯t let them take me, no way. I¡¯ve no reason to fight anyone for anything other than what''s truly important to me¡± I stopped ranting when I noticed Miura giving me a knowing look. ¡°I admire your bravery Cy. Speaking of though, you¡¯re not really a Cy-rus anymore right? What do you think about Cynthia? I can still call you Cy then¡± She smiles, looking really quite proud of it. I blush, Cynthia¡­ Thats such a pretty name. ¡°I love it, Cynthia...Cynthia...Its feels good¡± grinning like an idiot, momentarily forgetting the fucked up position I¡¯m in lifewise. I make a mental note to keep my hand in my pocket and my hat on my head in case I run into any of the soldiers. And if I¡¯m found...maybe I could take them by surprise? ¡°Police are on the lookout for a white older sports car which made off from an accident with a police car last night just after the storms hit. The lone officer in the vehicle is in critical condition. It is assumed that the driver of the car has some kind of telekinetic or psionic ability due to the nature of the incident¡± ¡°Cynthia, was that-¡± ¡°Pull over¡± I interrupt, suddenly feeling really ill. Miura pulls the car to the side of the road, thankfully next to an alley. I get out and run a short way down the alleyway, I needed to be alone with my own thoughts for the moment. I nearly killed someone, that was me. I¡¯m a wanted criminal now, theres no way I am going to get caught. Not a chance. I¡¯m not going to let them imprison me¡± I punch a metal dustbin with my new arm in confused anger. I don¡¯t know who I¡¯m more angry at, myself for thinking I was so innocent, or the bastards running all over normal people¡¯s lives just because some freak arse storm suddenly decides they need some kind of new ability or body or something. My fist completely obliterates the bin, warping its exterior in a very cartoon-ish fist imprint and sending it hurtling towards the wall of some building in the distance down the alley. ¡°Cynthia! Please! Calm down. You¡¯re not alone in this problem. I¡¯m sure some other poor souls are being charged with crimes they didn¡¯t commit out of hatred and meaning. They¡¯re probably just as confused and angered and purely innocent as you!¡± I feel Miura¡¯s arms wrap around my thin waist and hear her sobs. ¡°Please just for today, lets go do what we planned on doing. I know you¡¯re upset and angry and nothing makes sense, but please, for me¡±. I sunk to my knees and my tensed shoulders slumped down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Miura. I don¡¯t know what came over me¡± I looked back at her car at the end of the alley, noticing its doors open and engine still on. She gathers herself together and gives me a hand to my feet. ¡°S-so¡± she sniffles slightly ¡°back to shopping?¡± I nod and stand. Her hand dragging mine along behind her, back to her car. My heart is fluttering along to the beat of the Eurobeat song her radio is playing. ¡°Dead or alive Stormbringer I am the hero in the time You''ll feel in a bad new day Stormbringer My power is ready to fight So every everytime you want¡± Chapter 5: Changes We finally make it to the high street, its a wide mainly pedestrianised piece of road with shops of various sizes and wares. We had parked in a multi-storey car park not too far away, and walked over to the busy road. A cold winter morning combined with it being a monday meant that it was practically deserted. There wasn¡¯t even any of those army soldiers about, thankfully. Miura points in the direction of a small boutique clothing shop. ¡°I know the owner of this one. Lets go in there¡± She puts a hand on my shoulder then turns and leads me towards the store. My need to not be seen by any kind of camera made me very anxious, I look around spotting some CCTV cameras and using my ability I twist them to look away from us. It took a bit of extra concentration to do it as the sunhat touching my antenna seems to interfere with the signal I think it sends. Once I¡¯m confident none of them are focused on me I enter the store. The bell dings and the instantly distinctive smell of a small clothes store hits my nostrils like a freight train. An older woman sits at the checkout point. ¡°Oh Miura! And who is this?¡± she smiles warmly. Miura gives her a small wave. ¡°Hi Debbie, this is Cy-nthia. She is in need of some new clothes and a bra fitting. She kinda...got affected by last nights storm¡± I took that as a cue to slide my arm out of my coat, the azure limb glinting light off of the shop¡¯s lampshades. ¡°I see¡± the woman says, rubbing her chin with her hand, seeming to be deep in thought before looking back at me with a sad look in her eyes. ¡°My son, he became a bit like you. This morning the soldiers knocked on my home and asked to see everyone in the family. They...took him away, he said he¡¯d be fine but I haven¡¯t heard back from him. Young girl keep yourself safe. You can have anything, I won¡¯t charge you¡± She gestured to a fitting room in the back of the store. ¡°Let''s get your measurements¡±. I was livid. How fucking dare they? This time though I managed to control my emotions and nodded to her. I spare a glance at Miura and she seems to be even angrier than I am. ¡°Thank you Mrs-¡± ¡°Woodrow, but you can call me Glenda¡± She looks back at me, her smile back on her face but her eyes were very clearly reddened by the thoughts of her son. I follow her to the back of the store. ¡°Please undress yourself Cynthia. I¡¯ll fetch the tape measure¡± Making sure I couldn¡¯t be seen from the shop and especially the front windows I strip out of the clothes Miura gave me. I liked the blouse and the jeans, but they certainly didn¡¯t fit me well enough to last me forever, the bra was the biggest offender in that regard. I let out a sharp outtake of breath when I finally get it unhooked from my back. It was way too tight, but I imagine better than nothing. ¡°Ok, Mrs Woodro- Glenda. I¡¯m ready¡± She steps into the room with the tape measure in hand and I look away towards one of the posters. I was a little embarrassed to be basically nude in front of another person. I¡¯m sure this is kind of normal for a girl but I have only been a girl for some hours at this point, less than a day! I sigh and let her get on with it, a few minutes later I get the results. ¡°You¡¯re a size 32D, very healthy for a young woman such as yourself, if you don¡¯t mind me asking. Other than the obvious, did your body change last night?¡± I gulped, the question caught me off guard. ¡°I uh, I wasn¡¯t exactly um-¡± I stumbled through the sentence. Glenda shook her head at me. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked. Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ll grab you a bra and panty set that fits you and some spares, any style preferences?¡± ¡°Uh, not really¡± To be honest I didn¡¯t know any of the names of anything when it came to this. A couple of seconds later a light blue set appeared from the curtain and I grabbed them and begun redressing. The bra fit so much better on me, I didn¡¯t feel too strained at all anymore. I put the rest of the borrowed clothes back on. Miura had been around the shop, picking up all sorts of clothes for me. She was currently staring at a very colourful dress, it was light blue, white and pink. She spots me, looks back to the dress, winks at me and adds it to her pile of clothes. I shudder, but I don¡¯t know, I kinda like it as well. I tug at my hat and wander the shop. Then I find it, I pull out a dark red turtleneck I pull it close to my body and turn to Miura and Glenda. ¡°That looks good, it¡¯ll fit you¡± Miura says, giving me a grin that says that she knows I¡¯m actually enjoying this. ¡°Lets make sure everything I¡¯ve got here fits you, you¡¯re gonna look so great in that dress¡± she winks at me again.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! My heart does a roller coaster-like flutter and dive at the same time. *** We leave the clothes store waving goodbye to Glenda. I am now wearing the turtleneck sweater I fell in love with, and some slightly better fitting skinny jeans. I stare at my reflection in the window. The turtleneck accentuates my new figure with the jeans, the only disappointing bit is the fairly ragged flats, but after getting the clothes for free from Glenda I feel reinvigorated. ¡°Hey Miura?¡± I say tentatively. ¡°Yeah Cy?¡± She looks to me, tilting her head like a curious dog. ¡°Can we go get some shoes or something as well? It doesn¡¯t sit right with me, keeping yours¡± I ask whilst tilting my hat down, having seen an olive green truck roll past the end of the pedestrianised zone. ¡°That sounds like an idea for sure, I grabbed those because I figured they¡¯d be easier to wear than trainers or something like that¡± I smiled at her and nodded my thanks and went back to staring at the near abandoned high-street. A lot of the smaller shops were shut and some of the bigger ones were too, citing a lack of worker turn-ups in their notices. There was even a few missing posters knocking about. I¡¯m reminded of the dragon that attacked New York I saw on the news last night, if that storm could give me these metal bits, and turn someone into a giant like that poor guard. It could turn someone into a dragon. Putting two and two together. I gasp and stop. ¡°Cy, you okay?¡± Miura turns to me, looking worried. In a hushed whisper, I tell her my conclusion. ¡°Miu, think about it, these missing people. If that storm could do this to me¡± I gesture to my head and my my arm. ¡°And it can turn someone into a giant. That dragon in New York might have been some poor soul, confused and angry. All these missing people, the army probably captured or kidnapped them, they might be unrecognisable to their families but I¡¯m sure they could communicate somehow. They¡¯re still people, people have rights you know!¡± ¡°Cy, don¡¯t do anything stupid okay¡­¡± She stares at me, looking at me with an odd expression on her face. I couldn¡¯t answer that truthfully. I¡¯ve brought down the tone of the mood to extremely low levels. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Miura, just that frustrates me to no end¡± ¡°Its okay Cy, we can¡¯t do anything about it. Its a shitty situation¡± Miura puts her hand on my shoulder. We end up visiting a shoe shop and I buy a couple of sets of shoes, all just fairly normal attire like a set of trainers, flats and a set of boots. Then we ended up walking back to the car and Miura drove me back to my apartment. I sat with my head leaned against the window, watching the red brick buildings of Hillchester roll past. Hillchester¡¯s main high street was situated at the very bottom of a dip between two hills that were part of a long chain of rises and falls that permeates the country, the town had been around for a long time and has ties leading back to the Roman occupation of most of England. My apartment was on the hillside of the north side of the town, situated not far from the woods where my transformation occurred. The roads out there were quiet and rarely patrolled, so I had a habit of using them as my own private racetrack. Selfish I know, but with no proper tracks anywhere near, it was my only option for looking for thrills in the quiet and dreary town. We pass a couple of new landmarks that had seemingly appeared overnight, All of them quickly fenced off and guarded by soldiers and armed police. Through the chain linked fence I could see that they appeared to be some kind of small ruin, one of them had spawned and seemingly evaporated half of a McDonalds that used to be there. The drive thru signs seemingly pointing right to the entrance of the strange amalgamation of the fast food restaurant and the crumbling columns. About two miles from home my heart sunk, a roadblock had been placed on the road and they were checking every car that was passing. ¡°Miura I¡¯m gonna get out here, they won¡¯t notice. Theres too many cars in front. See you tomorrow ok? I¡¯ll get home fine¡± She nodded ¡°Right, I¡¯ll see you then. Be safe!¡± ¡°I will¡± and with that I opened the door and hopped out onto the pavement, putting my hands in my pockets I turn back and walk to an alley I¡¯d spotted further back up the road. Rounding the corner into the alley I¡¯m greeted by the sight of two chavs. One of them looked distinctly bored and was smoking a cigarette, and the other was engaged in a phone call. The smoker had immediately spotted me and gave me a grin that made me sure he¡¯d try something. I wasn¡¯t wrong as when I tried to pass by them: ¡°Hey bitch, you like what you see? I¡¯m sure you do¡± The shithead stood up and walked alongside me, his disgusting breath and secondhand smoke almost causing me to choke. Keeping my hands in my pockets and my mouth shut, I speed up a bit as I could see the road at the other end of the alley. ¡°You not listening? Slut¡± He spits at the ground and reaches down and puts a hand on my waist. I¡¯ve had enough. I take my right hand out of my pocket and I slam the metal appendage into his stomach. He hunches over, coughing up blood. ¡°You...fucking...bi-¡± before giving into the pain and moaning. His preoccupied friend is staring at me, like he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. He still has his phone to his ear, I quickly reach out for it using my power. ¡°Yep thats it¡± I crank up the volume on his phone and play one of his songs. Making sure to pull my thoughts back to myself safely I see that he is distracted by the music, fumbling about with the phone. I could almost see the cogs turning in his head at what to do. I close the distance between me and him, losing a shoe and my hat in the process, I slam my right fist into his stomach like his friend. ¡°Should be both of you disgusting creatures out for the count¡± I mutter to myself, taking both of their phones and smashing them into pieces against the wall; leaving quite the mark. One of them is still conscious and mumbling incoherently. I felt no remorse for them, and left them there. Once out of the alley I find my MP3 player which I¡¯d tucked into my jeans along with my earphones and plugged them in and hit shuffle on the screen. I walked back to my apartment feeling cheered up, they¡¯ll think twice about hitting on the next random girl they see. Changes into my heart, can''t you feel me Lost in the night, I''m looking for freedom How can I miss you, I don''t resist you Love is all we need Chapter 6: Burning Up For You When I got home I saw the clothes bag sitting inside with a note leaned up against it. Leaning down I pick up the note: Hey Cy. I hope you enjoyed today. I did, I got through the roadblock okay and dropped everything we bought for you here. If you got home okay shoot me a message on Twitter. I¡¯ve gone back home. Keep safe and hidden. Miura I tucked the letter into my jean¡¯s pockets and sat down on the sofa, mentally turning on the TV, forgetting I¡¯d left it on the local news channel. ¡°Two men are gravely injured after being viciously attacked by a superpowered individual they describe as a superpowered female with super strength. One of them described a woman who had bright white hair. They currently remain in A&E for the time being, any attempts to have gotten CCTV footage of the brutal fight has resulted in extreme amounts of visual inference with the cameras, the police have very few leads other than the accounts of the men. If you know anything please step forwards and give your information to the tipline below so the Army or the Police can catch this dangerous individual¡±. It took me a minute to detach myself from the chair. I had been gripping it so tightly in my hands that my tougher fingers had broken the armrest cover. ¡°They were harassing me! They deserved it, they deserve it like everyone who pick on the weak and vulnerable deserve swift punishment¡± I growl to myself. It then strikes me, an idea. I¡¯m going to go and find out where they took Glenda¡¯s son. I can do a good deed for the world, instead of beating up some cretins. I can let her know her son is safe and well. ¡°Yes! Thats it¡± I grabbed my phone from the computer desk, there was someone I needed to contact, and I had a hunch about this power of mine. I looked down at my name in the contact list and made a mental note to ignore it. ¡°I guess...thats my deadname now. I gotta keep the act up though¡±... *** Sylvester had just finished duty for the day when he¡¯d gotten a text from his brother, Cyrus. He had been part of the military since he was of the proper age to enlist and had been in the Cadets since he was 12 year old. He had a decent ranking and was older than his brother by about 5 years. He always thought it was a shame that his brother didn¡¯t follow him into the Cadets and then into the Army, but he had done well for himself to gain that fancy job and enough money to live well for himself. He looked down at his phone and read the text: Cyrus: Hey Syl. I¡¯m sorry for not texting sooner. I¡¯ve had to deal with some friends affected by that storm. Some of them even switched genders! They¡¯ve been through the whole system I saw on TV that the government set up though. I¡¯m fine if you¡¯re asking. It didn¡¯t affect me at all. He sat on the bunk of his room in the base and shot a text back, feeling extremely glad his brother was okay. Sylvester had been worried ever since he hadn¡¯t heard from Cyrus the morning before what the higher ups are calling the Emergence happened.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Sylvester: Cy! I¡¯m so glad to hear from you. I hope everything went well and your friends have returned home. We¡¯ve had¡­.difficulties with some of these emerged. Difficulties was putting it lightly, Sylvester thought. A lot of the ¡®people¡¯ they had discovered and...confiscated had tried to fight back. Sylvester shuddered at the thought of one of his colleagues being run through by a younger one. It would have been him too if he didn¡¯t put his sentimentality aside to do his job, He put that one down himself. The buzz of the phone distracted himself from the grisly memory. Cyrus: Oh man, that sucks. Happy you¡¯re fine and once again I¡¯m so sorry I couldn¡¯t contact you sooner. Sylvester felt his phone warm significantly, but thought nothing of it. Sylvester: Yeah well. I have a job to do. I need to go to bed man. I¡¯m up early in the morning. They want me out searching for this white haired woman. She¡¯s said to be dangerous. Keep safe Bro. And with that he turned the phone off and went to bed. *** I spat in disgust. Not wanting anything to do with that name anymore. It had begun to frustrate me more and more whenever it came up on screen next to my messages. The job was done now. I knew that the army was dealing with the ¡®Emerged¡¯ as Sylvester called them, and therefore they were probably at the base. ¡°Well Bro. Thanks for all that valuable information. Lets cool down and play some video games¡± After about two hours of racing about virtual tracks I noticed the sun had gone down. I turned off the console and stared out of the window at the lights of the town, which lead up to the far away other hilltop. I smirk and wonder what to do. I was bored, and most definitely not prepared to go sneaking around some military base. Then I remembered the car in the garage downstairs. ¡°Right, lets sort that out, if they find that they might connect it to when I...nearly killed that man¡± Shaking my head I tried to put that incident to the back of my mind, maybe fixing the car would help me separate that memory and forget it. I walk into my bedroom and take off my new sweater and jeans, slightly transfixed by the sight in the mirror of myself in lingerie. I was too busy secretly enjoying the shopping trip to remember that I needed some overalls and tougher clothes. Regretfully I had to put on an old T-shirt and some dark overalls that pretty much hid my figure. Good for a disguise, bad for when I wanted to admire who I¡¯ve become. Sighing, I grab all the keys and head outside to fix up the car. I wasn¡¯t planning on making any noise so hopefully I should be able to clean it up without being disturbed, and so the rest of my evening was spent making her look spick and span once again. It had been a second long day and I was utterly spent. Making my way up to the bedroom having gotten the car to a point where I was satisfied with its condition; I had only enough juice left in my batteries to wiggle out of the nasty work-clothes and collapsed into my bed, still in the bra and pantie set that I¡¯d only purchased that morning. The welcoming embrace of sleep claimed me. The next couple of days were spent practising to see how far I could reach with my psionic abilities, turns out that while I could before only really see just a couple of feet away from me now, the trip out with Miura and the short text interactions with my disgusting brother felt like they have expanded the radius tenfold. I also discovered that, a bit like a car antenna mine could grow and retract. I¡¯ll be honest, I had breathed a hefty sigh of relief when I found that out. No more hats to spoil the fun of dressing up. I had also been out managed to pick up a much smaller set of overalls to wear whilst working on the car. There was just one job I had finally decided to do today. I pulled the car around to the stairwell underneath my apartment and opened the boot. I ran up the stairs and grabbed all my old clothing. My old phone and anything related to my old self and shoved it into the back. I then roared off down the road, I had scouted out the place I was going to do this the day beforehand so I knew the way around the roadblocks. Once out into the countryside I pulled off the road down a dirt trail, being slow as to not scrape the bumpers or hurt the wheels, at the end of the trail was a small clearing. I pull the handbrake once at a stop, and almost giddy I emptied the contents of the car¡¯s boot onto the ground a good yard away from the car. Placing the old phone on top I used another new trick I¡¯d learned, my antenna rise and I hear a buzz grow louder. If anybody was watching me they¡¯d see a yellow spark of electricity dance between the two antennae. Feeling very much in the ¡®moment¡¯ I yell out loud ¡°Overload!¡± and the yellow spark darts at my intended target: the old phone. A fizzling sound begins to erupt from the old mobile as its internal cores are riddled by the spark I sent towards it, and suddenly it bursts into flames, the clothes below it catching just a second later and starting the bonfire up. It was time for a new start. A new me, nobody¡¯s punching bag. I¡¯m Cynthia now. Cyrus Sutton is dead. Chapter 7: Eunos It had been a week since I had become Emerged, as the media, internet and basically everyone seemed to be calling it now. I had managed to retrieve all of the money I had out of the banks and snapped and destroyed my credit card. I was pretty much free from my old life. I was Emerged, I didn¡¯t have to live by anyone¡¯s rules. Just my own motives and desires. I had asked Miura the day before today to change my name on the contract I signed with her on the apartment and it seemed she was more than happy that I was moving on with my new identity. ¡°Cynthia Sutton¡­¡± I almost couldn¡¯t believe it. Shaking my head. ¡°Gotta do stuff today!¡± Today was when I start planning to make a move on those Operation Barracuda bastards for stomping all over people, as well as seeing if they have anything I could use. I check my antenna are retracted and get dressed. Checking myself out in the mirror as I always do now I ruffle the sleeves of the blouse and put my phone in the jeans; making a mental note not to eat too unhealthily, as I was impressed with my figure. My first stop was Glenda¡¯s shop. I needed to talk to her more about her son, hopefully not upsetting her too much. I step down the apartment stairwell, glad to have a heavier coat on as the winter chill had well and truly set in. A breeze of cold wind blows my hair all over the place and a stray length falls across my face which I then adjust. Using the remote to open up the garage and unveiling the sleek Mazda. I crouch and admire the car for a few seconds, tracing the outline of its pop-up headlights with my small finger. It was a good car for me, and I had no plans of ever getting rid of it. The Wankel Rotary engine was perfect for my engineering and mechanical skills and knowledge, it was a unique challenge to keep the car going for sure. I climb inside and start the engine, letting it warm up and then beginning the journey into town. It was a regular journey, by now the army had seemingly rounded up most of the local Emerged population, with only me and I imagine some lesser Emerged people flying under the radar. It might have been more kind to the planet if I hadn¡¯t taken the sportscar out for a drive and gotten the bus, but there could only be me in my car, whilst buses had other people who might catch a glimpse of something and give me away, especially since they¡¯re still out for me, according to the morning¡¯s news bulletin. I pull into a parking spot close to the shop and give the parking meter a false positive to get a ticket printed prior to even leaving the car. The ticket firmly placed on view underneath the windscreen I stroll over to the high street and find her shop thankfully open. The plastic surrounded door whines when I open it and the bell dings aboth my head. Glenda is busy dealing with a tall woman dressed in leather motorcycling gear, she has a helmet perched under her arm with an English flag design all over it. Her long brunette hair swept down over either side of her neck. There was something about her I did not like one bit, something about her smile seemed off to me. I make myself look busy browsing the lines of clothes and odd trinkets hung on the walls. The woman thanks Glenda for her help, hands her a business card then leaves with a bag in hand. I then turn, checking to see if she is properly gone and walk up to Glenda ¡°Oh hello...Cynthia was it?¡± I nod to her, an eye still on the entrance. ¡°What can I help you with today?¡± I lean on the counter. ¡°I¡¯d actually like to ask a bit about your son, I think I might be able to help you¡±. Glenda looks at me, slightly faltering and letting down her shopkeeper attitude. ¡°Wha...what¡¯d you like to know?¡± She picked up a coffee cup and took a sip, looking more anxious than before. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking but what sort of ability did he get, did he change much?¡± She nodded. ¡°The storm woke us in the middle of the night as I imagine it did you¡± I momentarily looked away, remembering the painful experience. ¡°Me and my husband was fine, my son¡­. Michael is name is. I could hear his yelling from my bedroom, he was 25 and staying in the guest room as it had been his father¡¯s birthday the day before. I rushed as quickly as I could to his bedroom and found he had turned into this half lizard looking creature. His hands were massive and had huge pads on them. My husband called the police and they came in the morning and took him away in a van, they told me I¡¯d see him again shortly. I tried to argue that he should go to a hospital or something but they said it was for the best he came with them. I still haven¡¯t seen him since¡± Sparks threatened to fly off of my clenched first, the story had only furthered my anger with the police and the bastard cleanup operation being run here. As far as I knew it wasn¡¯t so bad elsewhere. I guess they thought they could stock their forces with Emerged from some no-name town and no-one would notice or take notable exception. Too fucking bad they crossed me. At least I now knew what to look out for, some sort of hybrid Gecko-human. That might be Micheal. I thank Glenda for the information and I purchase a black trenchcoat from her store. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your son Glenda. If I spot him I¡¯ll tell him to return to you soon¡± and with that I leave the store and return to the car. I take off the coat I was wearing, it wasn¡¯t fit for what I had planned; the older coat I chuck in the back of the car behind the passenger seat and I quickly put on the trenchcoat. It goes down and over my waist, it doesn¡¯t hide my curves but at least its a tougher material, plus I didn¡¯t want to ruin the other coat. I pull out onto the road and check my rear view mirror, theres a police van about 100 feet back. I feel the need for a small amount of instant revenge. *** Victoria was in the process of just checking the oil pressure levels on her old Triumph Motorcycle when she heard a metallic impact ring out from across the park. She had just done the rounds on the local high street informing them of her operation which officially will begin in the town tomorrow. She quickly floored it across the park, banging the bike¡¯s small engine off of its rev limiter. The scene was carnage. A police van had careered up the pavement, off of a small bit of railing and into a tree, coming to rest on its side. It had been transporting two newly captured Emerged, which were causing havoc in the street.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. She skidded the bike to a half behind a patrol car that had been following the van. Quickly grabbing her I.D she crouched down beside the officer at the back of the vehicle. Who¡¯d taken cover after the dangerous individuals had broken loose. ¡°What happened?!¡± Victoria asked the woman. ¡°I don¡¯t know, according to the radio the van decided it had a mind of its own, the steering jerked and it accelerated away by itself. Never mind how, we¡¯ve got two of those things on the loose¡± Victoria couldn¡¯t help but think she¡¯d heard of a similar account before. She poked her head out from above the bootlid and regretted it almost immediately, one of the escapees was still nearby and nearly took her head off with a thrown dustbin. Putting her sense of deja vu behind her, she got to work. *** I smiled when I watched the van come to a rest on its side in the rear view mirror. I was certainly getting more used to using my powers now. I drove a few corners away as normal before dropping it down a few gears and disappearing into the hillside. The next part was due to take place tonight, and I need to take a chill period at home. The news starts playing on the radio and I go to turn it off before catching a very quick snippet of information. ¡°Two dangerous emerged individuals are on the loose after a crash in the town centre of Hillchester. One is currently engaging police forces at the accident whilst the other has disappeared into town. Hopefully they capture these two quickly. The missing Emerged looks like a girl with furry creature like attributes. Remember, they are a dangerous unknown entity and you should keep your distance and contact the authorities if you see them¡± I should have known they¡¯d try and villainise someone as cute and awesome sounding as that, they¡¯ve got one hell of a propaganda campaign against us. I shake my head as something brown flashed past my car silently. For a second I think it was a bike until I realised it made no sound. ¡°That must be her!¡± I floored it after the furry bolt of lightning, the rear wheels slipping slightly as I drop the clutch to get going. At 50 miles per hour I was reeling in the tiny missile, but then they darted into a dead end road. Braking lightly I guide the car into the road entrance, making sure to not understeer wide and crash. They¡¯re sitting in the middle of the road looking around nervously. I stop the car and get out. ¡°Get in!¡± I shout ¡°I¡¯ll take you somewhere safe, I promise¡± She looks at me, her head fluttering about, considering her options before she slowly comes over to the car. I sit back in and open up the other door from inside. ¡°Who¡¯re you?¡± she asks, settling into the passenger seat. ¡°Only the one who let you out, don¡¯t thank me or anything¡± I pout selfishly. ¡°When¡¯d they get you?¡± She begins to tear up and I put my hand on her shoulder. ¡°I was on a night out with my friends when the Emergence happened, one of the bouncers grabbed me and wouldn¡¯t let me go home until the police came. They were going to transfer us to the army camp for something. I hope Brad got away, he said he¡¯d distract them whilst I could get away, he''s like this big rock dude, super cool, how¡¯d you get us out?¡± She had gone through a variable rollercoaster of different emotions during that little tirade, I was left reeling and trying to figure out what to say. ¡°Ummm, I kinda remote...controlled it¡± I tip my hood off of my head to show the antenna on my head. ¡°Woah thats neat¡± she reaches out to touch them and I flinch slightly. ¡°I¡¯m like, a Ferret girl now. I think, I can run super quick anyway and I have this tail and sharp gnashers¡± She grins, showing me her maw full of sharp almost canine teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t think the guy who caught me much appreciated the chunk I took out of his arm, was disgusting ya know¡± ¡°I can imagine it was¡± I shudder at the thought of tasting human flesh. ¡°I¡¯m Cynthia, you?¡± ¡°Lewis, but I guess that doesn¡¯t really suit me now¡± She looks down at her body and it dawns on me that she must have changed gender too. ¡°Hey uh, look I was kinda in the same situation as you then¡± I put the car into gear and left the cul-de-sac. ¡°You got your seatbelt on?¡± ¡°Yes, but wait. You changed gender too? You look so confident and feminine!¡± I blush at the compliment. Lewis went on: ¡°I was always too afraid to come out as trans before, I had parents who are like super conservative and stuff, they would have disowned me. Guess they have no choice now. Bollocks to them as far as I¡¯m concerned now¡± I remember how Miura helped me decide on my new name and so I piped up: ¡°Hey uh, how about Louise or something? I don¡¯t know if you want to try and stray further from your deadname or stick close to it¡± She puts a hand to her chin in that adorable pondering pose. ¡°I think the further the better. I like¡­.Sierra¡± ¡°Sierra is cute, I think you should go for it¡± ¡°Sierra, thats it then. I¡¯m Sierra¡± I¡¯m distinctly reminded of my own reaction to my new name, although like turning up the adorable factor by a billion because of her tail. Thats what Sierra was like then. ¡°Sierra, do you have a home, or anywhere you can go?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Right then, I guess I¡¯ll take you to my apartment, its not very big¡± ¡°Sounds fine to me¡± In the corner of my eye I see her eyeing herself in the left hand mirror. She had gotten over her abduction seemingly quickly, although I suspected that her emotional rollercoaster hadn¡¯t exactly coasted into the station. A few minutes later into the drive, and despite the heat leaking into the cabin from the close proximity to the gearbox, or perhaps because of that. She had fallen asleep. I stepped the pace up a notch to get home quicker. 20 minutes later we arrive at the apartment, the sunlight beginning to wilter down into the evening. One or two of the apartments had a Christmas ornament in the window, giving the cheap looking place a touch more colour. I reach across the car once its parked in the garage and give Sierra a couple of taps on the shoulder but she didn¡¯t stir. Sighing, I manage to pick her up out of the seat, my cold metal arm causing a small shiver. Using my foot to shut the door gently but hard enough to close it properly. I rush her up the apartment before anyone sees me and starts asking any questions. Once she was laid out on my couch I mentally reached out to lock the car and close the garage door. I let out a relieved breath. I loaded up the computer and sent a message to Miura on Messenger before I check twitter. I had mainly used my twitter account for artwork and following Car and Motorsports related accounts, thankfully no-one who knew me personally had ever followed it. I need to do some more housekeeping on here. I change my Display name to my new proper name: Cynthia. No surname as I don¡¯t want to associate with my past. I also create another account to taunt the fools in charge and take proper claim for my actions. I chuckle to myself, pleased with the name I gave it. Eunos. Sounded real good to me. I snap a picture of Sierra and responded to a news tweet about the wreck and breakout. Eunos @YesIAmEunos: Oops My life as a villain has begun. Chapter 8: Night Fever Victoria sighed. She had much rather been out there driving the streets, keeping an actual eye out for this Eunos character. But no, she was stuck in a police station meeting room with the disgustingly archaic Colonel Goff, she swore he kept giving her the occasional glance barely seeming to keep his temper together. Sitting at the table was a few top brass police officers, the chief, as well as some of Goff¡¯s closest officers. We were waiting on the equally disgusting Officer Birchwood, who was wheelchair bound after a supposed encounter with what he says must be Eunos. The door slowly swung open and in wheeled Jim Birchwood himself. ¡°Sorry you keep you all waiting¡± he said, the insincerity ringing loudly to Victoria. She mentally shrugged it off as him making the most of his moment in the spotlight. ¡°So what do we have?¡± Victoria spoke first ¡°Lets start with you, Officer Birchwood¡± The officer halted his wheelchair suddenly. Victoria smiled knowing she caught the vile man off-guard. He coughed and turned to the table, an awkward distance from everyone else in the room. ¡°The crash which-¡± ¡°Sorry I can¡¯t hear you from over there, mind wheeling a bit closer?¡± Victoria sneered. The officer muttered what was most definitely an insult and sidled up close to the table. ¡°The crash which happened on the night of this...Emergence storm thing, The mechanics checked all over the vehicle and the road. There was nothing that happened that caused the crash¡± ¡°Other than your own possible incompetence?¡± Victoria jabbed at the wounded officer. ¡°I¡¯ve been in countless pursuits woman. Not a single accident on my record¡± He shrugged. Colonel Goff stepped forward giving us both angry stares ¡°That''s enough you two, that seems to be; taking Officer Birchwood¡¯s word for it, the first incident that is supposedly connected to this Eunos character. The second is the two men that claim to be attacked by a woman who according to one: ¡®Messed with the phone somehow¡¯. Any attempts to find security footage has resulted in static interference or cameras that were not pointed at the direction they were designed for, which matches up with the type of ability this Eunos thing seems to be capable of¡± Victoria kept her mouth shut. He may be a wretched bigot but he was her boss. Goff hit the next button on the remote in his hands and the presentation behind him slid onto an image of the tipped over police van and mugshots of the two escapees. ¡°Thanks to..Victoria here. We managed to recapture the rock creature, but that ferret girl remains at large¡± He clicks the remote again, it slides to a screencap of a tweet by an account named Eunos of the Ferret chick asleep on a couch, there was nothing about the room that especially stood out, other than a poster with a weird looking mechanism labelled and disassembled on it. ¡°This is a tweet uploaded two days ago by this account, it clearly shows someone harbouring an escaped fugitive, and we can only assume that it might have been this person who helped. Unfortunately it seems a lot of the internet has fallen for this disgusting creature¡± Victoria rolls her eyes at the overdramatic Colonel. He continues, not catching her reaction. ¡°According to the men assaulted by her, this Eunos woman has long white hair and some kind of enhanced strength of some kind, they said it felt like being hit by a metal bar. She is clearly dangerous and we must capture her pronto before she can hurt anybody else¡± He seemed very pleased with himself. Everyone filed out of the room, leaving just Goff and I left in the room. ¡°Just so we¡¯re clear Victoria, I don¡¯t like types like you. You¡¯re only here because the higher ups need a mascot. Do not get in the way of this operation¡± Victoria leans on a windowsill. ¡°Whatever Colonel, you don¡¯t have the powers to stop me from protecting this place by myself, the public needs someone like me, America already has notable heroes like Bastion¡± Colonel Goff goes red in the face and almost looks to Victoria like steam should be bursting from his ears. She walks over to the door, pausing as she goes to close it behind her. ¡°See ya later Colonel¡± A few feet further down the hallway, she hears the thump of something getting punched in the room she¡¯d left. *** Sierra had been bugging me because she clearly felt cramped up in my apartment. I¡¯d surrendered my bed to her but she spent most of her time sleeping at the foot of it, it was like having a hot pillow at the end of the bed and I was certainly enjoying it in these winter months. We had spent most of the morning playing video games together, as we did pretty much every day. ¡°Look you go out at night on occasion right, off and away in your sportscar. Can¡¯t you take me with you and let me run around the woods for a bit? My legs ache to be used¡± She pouted, breaking down my resistance towards letting her out. ¡°Alright, just at the first hint that you might run into someone else, rush back to me and the car okay¡± Neither of us were really dressed to go out. I went to my drawer and picked out a long skirt, and my regular comfortable turtleneck. This would be the first time I wear a skirt. I hadn¡¯t realised Miura had even slipped it into the clothing bundle we¡¯d bought a few weeks ago and I¡¯d been unsure about wearing it ever since I discovered it. I wouldn¡¯t likely encounter anyone so I figured today is as good a day as any to wear it. I stepped out of my room to see Sierra wiggling her way into a sweater. ¡°I¡¯ll go bring the car out. I¡¯ll give the horn a short blow and thats your cue to come get in okay?¡± Sierra makes a chirping noise that tells me she heard and I leave her be. I turn to the left to go down the stairs and immediately bump into Miura. I hadn¡¯t told her about Sierra. ¡°Oh, hi Miura!¡± I say, checking the door is closed properly. ¡°Cynthia I was coming to check up on you. I knew the skirt would look good on ya¡± She grinned. ¡°Oh right yeah, everything is good here. I was on my way out for a drive, you good?¡± I began down the stairs, Miura following not far behind. God I hate small talk. ¡°I¡¯m good yeah, um, Cy would you like..to go out sometime. Get away from all these assholes, theres a restaurant in a town over I know of thats super inclusive¡± I pause. ¡°That sounds really good actually, I¡¯m down¡± In the background my garage door opens. ¡°Thanks for the invitation Miura. I kinda threw away my phone so I¡¯m sorry if you were trying to contact me through that, needed to get away from my old identity. This new me is so much...more me, ya know?¡± ¡°I understand Cy, have a good night okay?¡± She jogs off to her Fiesta and drives off, I give her a wave on her way out. I sighed. Miura was great but I didn¡¯t want her to know anything more than the things I had done accidentally, she might not like me then. I pull the car out of the garage, open the passenger door and give the horn a toot, almost like a furry blur Sierra was in the passenger seat only a couple of seconds later. ¡°Did you lock the door¡± I ask her, she winks at me. And so we take off into the night. I rev up the car to 8000 rpm, making a wonderful racket to wake up the neighbours. Once out into the countryside I open up the throttle and vanish down the abandoned roads. *** A Triumph motorcycle barrels down a wooded road, passing the occasional van and travelling well in excess of the speed limit. Victoria was taking a break from patrolling the town and decided to take the bike out for a proper run through the countryside, allowing the machine to stretch its legs for once. The frosty roads are sketchy this time of year, with the occasional patch of black ice, which was practically invisible to the naked eye. It was no problem for her though, she was a very experienced bike rider. All the black ice in the world couldn¡¯t stop her. After a short while the bike¡¯s temperatures began to escalate to dangerous levels so Victoria pulls into a gravel car-park adjacent to a small park. Theres very few other cars in the lot, but one catches her eye as she turns off the bike. A white Mazda RX7, sitting by itself in the middle of nowhere. ¡°This matches the description of the car that was involved in that slimeball¡¯s accident. I better call it in¡± *** It hadn¡¯t been 10 minutes since I parked and let Sierra out when all of a sudden she burst out of the bushes ¡°Cy I found something you gotta see¡± She gestured into the woods. I sigh and climb out of the car, locking it up. I walk over to the bushes and down the trail she made, it''s lined with patches of dandelions and the occasional fern shrub. I nearly step on a poor hedgehog that was busying about its own life. Eventually, Sierra leads me towards a set of concrete steps that look very out of place in between the trees, its'' a bunker.. ¡°There was some angry voices I heard inside, and a young girl crying. I can¡¯t get in but maybe you can?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Good thinking. Let me try something¡± I reached out for anything mechanical or electronic nearby. I could faintly feel my car in the lot but nothing else stands out to me. ¡°Woah you look so cool doing that, your hair stands on end alongside your antenna¡± Sierra is almost bouncing up and down in awe. ¡°I can¡¯t figure out a way in. I¡¯ll have to force the door down¡± I crouch against the metal door. I pull back my metal arm and slam it into the handle, crushing it and causing a dent. ¡°One more¡± I smash it again and the door springs open. Sierra rushes in between my feet and runs in the direction of the voices. I hear a gunshot and I sprint towards it as well. I found a corner and find Sierra clamped onto this old farmer looking dude¡¯s arm. He was holding a shotgun. Seeing his fingers nowhere near the trigger I grabbed for it, my arm crushing the barrel easily. I look around the room once he was dearmed and spot a woman and a girl cowering in the corner. ¡°Its okay, you¡¯re safe now. ¡®Cause I am here¡± I tried to smile at them. Sierra let go of the man and headbutted him in the stomach. ¡°You...fucking...abominations, the lot of you¡± He groaned, sinking to his knees. Sierra retreats back towards me, spitting at the defeated man. ¡°What¡¯d you call us?¡± She growls. ¡°Abominations, mutants, whatever the fuck you are¡± ¡°Says the pathetic person who threatened his family with a gun¡± I drop the ruined weapon on the floor, it wasn¡¯t going to hurt anyone now. Something chinks off of my arm. I turn and the little girl, who couldn¡¯t have been older than 10 is standing there defiantly. ¡°You monsters hurt my daddy¡± The clink turns out to be a small rock that had bounced harmlessly off. The woman, presumably the mother, spoke up then as well. ¡°God has judged us and decided we¡¯re not worthy and sent you to kill us¡± I was utterly flabbergasted by the accusation. ¡°I¡¯ve no intention to harm you or your daughter, we only came because she could hear a commotion from outside¡± I back away from the pair, clearly frightened and angry. ¡°The world''s not ending, you can go out, here I¡¯ll show you¡± I grab the collar of the father and begin to drag him outside. ¡°Where¡¯re you taking daddy!?¡± ¡°Outside¡± I pull him to the top of the steps. The other two not far behind being followed by Sierra. ¡°Here see? The owls are still hooting, the wind is still blowing, and the night sky is clear, move it¡± I shove the man forwards. ¡°Take your family and go back home¡± They shuffle past me and help him to his feet. ¡°You can take your delusions about me and Sierra here and go stuff yourselves, clear off¡± with my words clear they quickly depart down another pathway. ¡°Did I put that too harshly Sierra?¡± The ferret girl shakes her head and cleans her tail. ¡°I don¡¯t think so Cy, we might be able to make use of this bunker though, provided things don¡¯t go..¡± She pokes at my chest with an outstretched hand ¡°..Tits up¡± ¡°You naughty skunk¡± I rustle her hair with my hand. ¡°We may be needing that bunker at some point yeah¡± I was craving some new activity, perhaps moving forwards with investigated Glenda¡¯s missing son might help me. We found our way back to the carpark fairly easily, but I paused when we got there. The blonde lady I saw in the shop was snooping around my car. Sierra pulled me back further into the woods. ¡°Cy thats Victory Victoria, she''s like, a high tier government lackey, we can¡¯t go out there¡± I looked back towards the car, the woman was pacing back and forth besides it, looking like she was having some intense thoughts. ¡°Look Sierra, you run off home, you know the directions right? I¡¯ll deal with this Victoria person¡± She nodded at me. All of a sudden, I don¡¯t know why, I felt confident in my ability to get out of this situation. I looked down at myself, dressed in feminine attire. It gives me the confidence to face the world. Sierra runs off discreetly and I reach out to my car¡­ *** Victoria was startled when the car next to her began to make noises, the engine kicking into life happily, and the exhaust beginning to make the recognisable brapping noise of a rotary. Some bushes a short distance away rustle and a woman steps through them, she had hair that was as white as the snow, antenna that were at least a foot long and I could see the glint of what appeared to be a metal glaive? *** I walked towards the car, looking around the car park to see if anyone else was about, there was only a motorcycle, judging from the blonde¡¯s riding leathers it was probably hers. ¡°Thats an awfully nice bike you got there, would be a shame if something were to happen to it¡± I stop, beckoning the car to move towards me, it begins to crawl towards me; swinging to a halt right in front of me. I lean in the driver¡¯s side of the roof. A glow of green energy begins to emit from Victoria¡¯s hands. ¡°Are you Eunos? You certainly match the description I¡¯ve been given¡± Oh dear, she looks very cross. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so hasty if I were you, do you like that bike? One Thanos snap and I could destroy it¡± I grin, hoping that she loves that bike even a percentage of the amount I like my car. ¡°Oh and yes, I¡¯m most definitely Eunos, you government toadstool¡± Victoria appears to grit her teeth. ¡°Now if you don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m going home now¡± I sit in the car and accelerate off, taking control back to my hands and feet, rather than my mind. I look in the rear view mirror and see her standing there, watching me drive off. I take a right out of the car park which isn¡¯t quite the right direction to my apartment but just to be safe and to not indicate particularly where I live, I crank up the music: Night fever night fever Disco in town is on fire Night fever hi-fever Burning with me ''cause the night''s on fire I giggle to myself, what a tease I am. I reach the apartment 20 minutes later. I see Sierra asleep on the bed and go back into the living room. I grabbed a notepad off of the desk and wrote down what I knew: Whilst doing this I loaded up the computer and asked it for directions to the Hillsborough base. It turns out to be not too far south of town. I could still faintly trace a signal to Sylvester¡¯s phone, which must be there. Once that was sorted my mind starts to slow down in pace and I start to feel really drowsy, I grab for a pillow and settle down on the sofa. Eventually conking out for the night after some time spent staring at the ceiling. I woke with a sneeze to see Sierra¡¯s tail fluttering nearby. ¡°Cynthia, what on earth are you thinking of doing?¡± She looked seriously pissed. Oh crap I forgot to turn off the computer, she probably found the notes too. I stumble with my words. I feel like I have to escape. Sierra will probably catch me though. ¡°You genuinely think you could do this alone? Let me come!¡± She stomps her foot on the ground. Calming a little, ¡°You¡¯re not mad I¡¯m going to go there?¡± I ask tentatively. ¡°Hell no, those cunts kidnapped me. I¡¯m annoyed you were planning on going in there alone, what if you get yourself killed?¡± ¡°I...don¡¯t want to spoil your mood further but I don¡¯t necessarily think taking you with me would increase my chances of survival, plus I wasn¡¯t planning on going in, per-se¡± ¡°So what were you planning on doing?¡± Sierra let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Just kinda sitting outside and causing mayhem, Just Cause style y¡¯know?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have access to a freakin¡¯ grapple hook and infinite parachutes¡± ¡°Look, I don¡¯t plan on doing it now, I don¡¯t want to ruin peoples Christmas¡± I slump down on the sofa, my muffled voice permeating through the soft pillow. ¡°I already came up with a villain name and everything, kinda also took rightful claim of letting you out of that damn van. Check twitter on that computer¡± A few seconds later I hear a gasp from the computer. ¡°You¡¯re gonna want to see this Cy, it kinda blew up¡± I heaved myself off of the sofa, expecting maybe 50 retweets. I peer at the computer screen and my jaw dropped. ¡°500K retweets? You fucking what?¡± I immediately begin typing up a tweet to follow it. Eunos @YesIAmEunos: Her name is Sierra BTW. She¡¯s super sweet and adorable. We think she inherited some Ferret characteristics. I liberated her from the bastards running #OperationBarracuda. They¡¯ve been abducting #Emerged here and I will not stand for it. I¡¯m coming for them. I add a third tweet to the chain Eunos @YesIAmEunos: Hey Emerged of the internet. We can¡¯t let ourselves be controlled by anyone. Your life is yours. Use your powers for yourself. (Helping me would be nice too) ¡°What¡¯d you think of that Sierra?¡± I turned to her, hoping for praise. She giggled and covered her face. ¡°Well you could have asked me first about sharing the image you know. But I like the sounds of this. The power of ourselves and the internet will take down this wretched op!¡± She jumped on the spot and punched the air like a cheerleader. I couldn¡¯t help but feel her enthusiasm, it was totally palpable. ¡°Right! We can¡¯t let them get us down and controlled. Thats not right¡± Sierra stops dancing and looks at me thoughtfully. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a date soon with that Miura lady?¡± ¡°How¡¯d you know about that?¡± I take a step back from the computer, suddenly feeling super nervous again. ¡°I change super quick. I¡¯m pretty sure everyone heard you as well, girl you should go for a makeover. I¡¯m sure Miu would love you¡± ¡°Make-up? I don¡¯t know about that¡± ¡°You¡¯re wearing a skirt right now, you¡¯re a sexy woman. Imagine the sex appeal you¡¯d have if you wore a bit of makeup¡± She blew a kiss at me. ¡°You couldn¡¯t exactly paint your nails though¡± ¡°That hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind¡± I look at my hands, one of which doesn¡¯t even have any distinguishing details like nails or anything, the metal tips of my fingers being blunt. ¡°You don¡¯t even have any posh shoes, but you do have a dress, I kinda went through your wardrobe whilst I was bored one day. The colours are very on point¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t a clue how to walk in heels¡± ¡°Theres time to learn!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just wear some boots, its fine¡± ¡°Your loss sis¡± She smirked at me. I grab one of her ears and tug on it ¡°Owwwww ok I¡¯ll stop teasing, lemme go¡± I let go and she rubs her ear, giving me the stink eye. ¡°My ears are delicate Cy¡± ¡°Well so am I¡± Our small quarrel was interrupted by a knock at the door. ¡°Crap, hide in the cupboard Sierra¡± ¡°On it¡± She darted for the kitchen, I hear the door to the area under the sink close. The door knocks again. ¡°Cyrus?¡± Its Sylvester, crap. What am I going to do? I slide open the lock on the door and open it a small amount only showing my left side, trying to keep my other arm hidden. ¡°Who¡¯re you?¡± I lie, knowing full well who it is. Sylvester was still in his military garb. His hair was shaved right down and his piercing blue eyes were burrowing into me. ¡°Oh uh, sorry miss. Do you know a Cyrus Sutton? I¡¯m told he used to live here¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t. I moved in a week ago¡± ¡°Oh. Nevermind then. Um, he looks a bit like me but skinnier and with longish brown hair. If you see someone like that can you ask him to contact me? My name is Sylvester Sutton, I¡¯m his brother¡± ¡°Sylvester Sutton, got it¡± ¡°You know Miss..¡± He probes for my name. I have to think of one on the spot. ¡°Nova¡± ¡°Miss Nova, you¡¯re awfully pretty¡± Oh god I do not need this right now, my own fucking brother coming onto me. ¡°Sir, don¡¯t you have better things to do than hit on some random woman?¡± I close the door in his face. Disgusted once again by him, I let Sierra out from under the sink. ¡°He knows about the description of me they have. He¡¯ll put two and two together and make four soon. We gotta go ahead with this soon Sierra¡± Her expression hardens ¡°Right, tonight it is then¡± she says. ¡°Yeah, tonight¡± *** Stunned by the reaction to his compliment, Sylvester walked back to his car down the steps. He couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the woman, something was off about her. She seemed very nervous at his presence. He¡¯ll have to come back and ask her some more questions later, he royally fucked that one up. When he got to the car he heard the sound of a louder car entering the car park and saw a small blue Fiesta reversing into a spot a short distance away. He remembered his brother talking about his landlord¡¯s car being one of these Fiestas so he strolled over to the car. A woman was getting out of it. ¡°Hey uh, are you the landlord of these apartments?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Miura Bramble, you interested in one?¡± ¡°No, Miss Bramble I¡¯m looking into what happened to my brother, Cyrus Sutton?¡± ¡°Oh uh, him. He moved out not too long ago, had apparently found out of a upgrade I guess. He not tell you?¡± ¡°No, he hasn¡¯t contacted me for well over a week. I spoke to the woman thats now living in his previous residence¡± Miura stiffened at that. ¡°What¡¯d she say?¡± ¡°She hadn¡¯t heard of him, yet alone seen him, she''s an odd one¡± ¡°She is certainly that, if you don¡¯t mind Sylvester I¡¯ve got a job to do¡± ¡°Alright, tell me if you find anything¡± Sylvester turned back to his car, covering the short distance efficiently, still thinking about this Nova woman. He left the apartment complex more confused than ever. Chapter 9: Fighting About 9 hours later, I parked the car in a multi-storey parking lot 10 minutes walk from the Barracks, turning to Sierra I give her my warnings. ¡°I¡¯m about to cause a huge mess, Sierra. I want you to stay here. I¡¯ll remotely turn the car on if I¡¯m on my way back ok? Just curl up on the seat or something, keep hidden¡± She shook her head and grabs hold of my wrist. ¡°No, I¡¯m not coming halfway with you. Someone¡¯s gotta make sure you¡¯re doing this with the right mindset Cy¡± I can¡¯t say no to her face, especially with her tiny mammalian ears flickering about, so I relent. ¡°Fine, but you¡¯re not fighting anyone¡± ¡°Nor are you, we¡¯re just here to try and set them free, your powers should mean we can do so without fighting anyone ourselves¡± We left the car locked on the 3rd floor. Instinctively I reach out for all the CCTV cameras in the vicinity and turn it away from us, the barracks was in a small part of the town, not far from the high street, next to a few nicely mown and maintained parks, a few children are enjoying the small amount of sunshine that winter is providing. Although a set of clouds on the horizon and the final glints of sun seem set to cut it short. The town was bustling slightly less than normal, there just seemed to be less people about. Every so often an old Defender in woodland camo would trundle past, which we tried to ignore and look inconspicuous. We were walking alongside Indian and Chinese takeaways, plus the occasional deserted betting shop. Football hadn¡¯t ceased due to the Emergence, although some fairly sizable names had gained new attributes, everyone betted online or in apps now, and betting shops were certainly struggling. I notice a group of students, or at least they looked student-like, meandering out of an alleyway. One of them spots me and Sierra and freezes.¡±Thats-¡± My expression hardens ¡°One more word and I¡¯ll smash your phones¡±. I clench my fist in a threatening manner, they move swiftly and silently on. Sierra, who had tucked her tail away under the back of her shirt against the small of her back, whispers up to me. ¡°Bit harsh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to get immediately reported¡± I reply, moving onwards, I round a corner and ahead, up a grassy verge was the chain link fences of the base. Theres a bench nearby which we sit on, it was apparently dedicated to some Veteran of one of the World Wars, probably killed in battle heroically against the Germans. Hell of a funeral present, a bench. ¡°Sierra, ears out okay, if anything happens alert me okay¡± I close my eyes to concentrate and feel out for all the machines in the vicinity, there is an endless amount of mobile phones in the near vicinity, across the chain link fence I could sense a small selection of cars parked in the staff lot. I started turning them on, one by one before setting two off, aimed right at the gates. I could hear yelling and alarms blaring so I set the rest of the cars to accelerate forwards; some of which smash into each other and cease, others clipping walls and chain link fences, one of which strays and plows into a Portaloo sitting at the side of the lot. I could feel Sierra whispering into my ear so I retreat momentarily back to myself, a shiver going down my spine, momentarily making me feel nauseous. ¡°What''s it like, this ability, you close your eyes but what can you see or feel?¡± Sierra asks me, peering up the slope at the bedlam occurring just beyond the fences, phone in hand. ¡°Its like...you know one of those games where you have like, regular out of body experiences? Its a bit like that, the world goes all grey but I can just feel the presence of machines. I¡¯m drawn to them¡± ¡°Have you found where they¡¯re being kept yet?¡± ¡°Nope. I do have an idea though¡± I shut my eyes again. Time to target the security systems of the base. Searching...searching..searching..found it! A lone computer lying in a bunker underneath the main army building, my perspective shifts to the screen and I can¡¯t make heads nor tails of the operating systems, hacking had never been my specialty I suppose. Starting to feel a little bit queasy, I begin to just batter away at the system until it blue screens and I quickly back away from it and return to my body. A roar echoes through the streets. ¡°Its done Sierra, we better make like a tree¡± I shoot upright and stumble, blacking out momentarily. Sierra is trying to hold me up. ¡°You¡¯re very heavy, you know¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I feel awful now. I don¡¯t know why, can you drive?¡± ¡°Yeah, should be able to¡± ¡°Good, because I can barely stand¡± *** Alarms were going off like nobody¡¯s business, Soldiers rushed past the doors to the cell. It had been somewhere between 3 to 4 weeks since Michael had woken up in the middle of the night, riddled with pain, to find out that he had changed. His tongue was now forked and his fingers were flattened and sticky. He could taste and feel the presence of so much more, the heat signatures of his mother and father at the door to the guest bedroom he was staying in were the most prominent. But that was then, now he was incarcerated¡­.somewhere. The cell door trundled open, He expected someone to come by with a gun pointed and perhaps some food, but nobody came. Michael sticks his head out, bemusedly noticing all the other strange people doing the same. A roar permeates the walls of the building. ¡°That must be the tiger-dude down the row. Sensing the presence of only other people like him. He decides to use his ingenuity and climbs the wall to crawl along the ceiling. ¡°Oi Lizard¡± A growling voice distracts him, a dude with skin that looked like rock was glaring at him from below ¡°Sup?¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna get nowhere going that slowly, jump onto my back, we¡¯ll get out of here¡± Michael does as he says and drops down onto the hulking figure, attaching tightly to his shoulders. ¡°Hey Boulder, you have a name?¡± ¡°Brad, although I like that nickname, Boulder¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m Michael, not really a fan of Lizard¡± ¡°Well Mike, hang on tight¡± He raises a fish and obliterates a door. It really begged the question: ¡°Why haven¡¯t you done this already?¡± Michael asks. ¡°They locked me in a really tough room, like thick steel. Couldn¡¯t do too much against it, be damned for trying¡± He shrugs his gigantic shoulders. ¡°How¡¯d they even catch you dude? You¡¯re like, bulletproof¡± ¡°I had like, zero stamina still¡± He shuffles along, moving through door after door ¡°I¡¯ve been working out, jumping jacks and stuff, nothing else to do when you¡¯re stuck here¡± So that explains the constant thumps he could hear, Michael muses to himself. Eventually after clearing through a couple more doors they found themselves in an alleyway behind the main cell system, the fence is only a short distance. Michael looks behind him and sees the flood of Emerged following them. A couple of soldiers round the corner in front of them, guns drawn. ¡°Everyone duck behind me!¡± Brad yells, charging forwards towards them, bullets ping off of his skin, embedding in the building or in the ground. The soldiers have nowhere to go and are steamrollered over, all the Emerged trampling them. One nasty individual stops and stamps on one of their heads until the moaning stops. Brad grabs the chain link fence and pulls it off of it¡¯s supports, leaving a sizable gap for him and everyone to get under. From that point onwards the swarm of Emerged splits up into several small groups, Michael clinging tightly still to Brad¡¯s back. ¡°So what now?¡± He yells over the sound of sirens and car alarms blazing. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± ¡°Fucking useful¡± Michael sighs. A white sports car pulls out of a building ahead of them, a shiny metal arm pokes out of the window, gesturing for them to follow ¡°Well thats as good a sign as any Michael, I¡¯m gonna go with them¡± Michael peers over the hulking man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That white car?¡± ¡°Yeah, thats Eunos, I think¡± ¡°Eunos?¡± Michael had been locked away since the start, He hadn¡¯t a clue what had happened in his absence. ¡°I suspect they¡¯re behind this escape¡± In the car ahead, Sierra was sat behind the wheel whilst I was sitting in the passenger seat, clutching my head, trying to fight off a migraine. ¡°Sierra you¡¯re lucky, under normal circumstances I¡¯d never let anyone else drive her¡± ¡°The car is that special to you huh. I¡¯m so glad to see Brad again, he was a lovely man, just doesn¡¯t much appreciate being contained¡± Sierra smiled at me. ¡°Well I can relate to that¡± I sigh ¡°I need to rest Sierra, thats taken a lot out of me¡± ¡°Thats okay Cy, sleep tight now, I¡¯ll drive to the bunker, Brad can stay there¡± ¡°Sounds good to me¡± I slowly fade into sleep, listening to the rhythmic thump of the footsteps running along behind the car. *** I¡¯m awoken to the sound of the handbrake being pulled, I slowly pull myself up from slumped position. We¡¯re in the gravel lot where I had the encounter with Victoria. A few metres away the big rock dude is conversing with another man, both of them were dressed in grey overalls, and had numbers stitched into them. The younger looking of the two had bright blue reptilian eyes and huge fingers, almost as if- ¡°Hey!¡± I call out to him ¡°is your name Michael perchance?¡± He nods and they walk over to the car. ¡°I am Michael yes¡± he ducks down and looks inside the car at us ¡°this is Brad¡± he gestures to the other man. ¡°Hey Brad its me, uh, Lewis. Although I go by Sierra now¡± Sierra pipes up. ¡°Sierra, like Ford Sierra huh, I like it¡± Brad says, his voice like strained gravel, the irony not lost on him. ¡°I know you Sierra, this must be Eunos¡± I get out of the car and reach out to shake his hand. ¡°I suppose I am Eunos, thats not my real name of course. Call me Cy, or Cynthia please¡± Brad¡¯s grip was immense, but the metal my arm was made out of was equally tough. ¡°Thats one hell of an arm lass, how¡¯d you do it?¡± ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Break us out, both times¡± ¡°I can control and screw around with machines, let me show you, that phone over there is about to start dial someone¡± I had mostly recovered from the headache after some rest so I felt confident in doing this. A disused BT telephone box sits 30 feet away, covered in graffiti. I find the presence of the phone and dial a random number. Brad laughs heartily. ¡°I see indeed, thank you greatly, both of you. So now what?¡± Sierra bounds forwards, her tail fluttering along behind her. ¡°We found a bunker, just beyond here, for you to stay in. Follow me! I¡¯ll lead the way¡± She bellows in her best deep voice impression. Brad shuffles along after her while me and Michael follow along behind. ¡°How¡¯d you know who I am?¡± Michael asks, looking curious. ¡°I met your mum, Glenda. She was so upset about them taking you¡± ¡°Is she okay?¡± I put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Still running her shop, she gave me these¡± I pull at the fabric of my clothes. ¡°I kinda...nevermind¡± I was considering telling him about who I was prior, but I had made a vow to try and forget the old me, and just be the woman I am now. ¡°We¡¯ll take you to see her at some point soon, you gotta lie low ok?¡± ¡°Right, I understand¡± his tongue pokes out. ¡°They¡¯ve gone inside the bunker¡± we near it, I can just about see the beginning of the steps amongst the bushes a few feet away. ¡°So you can like, scent the air and stuff?¡± I ask, becoming suddenly curious about his powers. ¡°Seems so, I can also stick to things, like the ceiling. I travelled here on Brad¡¯s back¡± he puts two hands on the wall and hauls himself up onto the ceiling, attaching both of his bare feet to it as well. ¡°See?¡± He gives me a grin like he has something to prove. I humour him. ¡°Very impressive¡± I stifle a giggle, he looks fairly ridiculous, but I won¡¯t say that out loud. I leave him there and push open the battered door to the bunker. ¡°We ought to fix the door¡± I shout into the bunker. ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡± Brad yells back ¡°should be able to rig it back into working order¡± I heard a thump from behind me and Michael is a heap on the floor. ¡°Ow that really smarts¡± I laugh at him. ¡°Its not funny¡± he groans. ¡°Serves you right for showing off, welcome to your new home away from...everything really, there should be an internet connection, I think I spotted a couple of Ethernet ports about, don¡¯t know precisely why they put them in but I¡¯m glad they did. I¡¯m gonna move a spare computer down here¡± I stretch my arms out as if to welcome a friend into my home. ¡°Sierra, I¡¯m heading home, come on!¡± The crumpled mess on the floor pipes up. ¡°You not staying here too?¡± Michael cooes, sounding disappointed. ¡°In a bunker trapped with two men, hell no. And I¡¯m certainly not leaving Sierra here either, although she¡¯d tear you to pieces if you tried anything on her¡± Sierra pokes her head out from a room further in. ¡°They¡¯ve got enough supplies down here to last them enough time, the previous...occupants left a phone here as well. I¡¯ve written down the number of the apartments phone down for them¡± ¡°Then lets go, I feel a lot better now so I¡¯m back to driving!¡± I do a little fist bump to myself, happy I can get back behind the wheel. ¡°Fine by me, I¡¯m not used to such a powerful vehicle¡± She shivers. I wave goodbye to Michael and to Brad, who¡¯d come out to see us off. Then we set out back to the car. Sierra seemed to like walking on all fours out here. ¡°Whats with walking like that?¡± I ask, pondering if there is any benefit. ¡°It feels more natural, I guess¡± ¡°You do you¡± I shrug to myself. We walked on in silence, I felt pleased with today''s ¡®work¡¯. The vehicular assault on the front had seemingly done a good job distracting them. I hadn¡¯t seen the news so I hope there wasn¡¯t anyone hurt, but if there was. Well, then there was. All in all, a good day I think. We emerge from the bushes, no nasty super-plebs were hovering around my car this time so no need for caution, the moonlight glints off of the car¡¯s white bonnet. I run my hand down the front wing, looking at my reflection in the paint. I love my face, it seems so perfectly smooth and feminine, no nasty facial hair to trim. The car unlocks and we settle in. ¡°Seatbelt, Sierra¡± ¡°Yeah I know¡±. She buckles the seatbelt, the skin on her arm squeaking against the leather seats. I switch on my Mp3 player and bluetooth it to the radio and hit shuffle on the playlist. Pounding in my chest Shattered pieces my heart I am coming after you I am losing my resistance ¡°Right lets go home!¡± I put it into first gear, drop the clutch and roar off into the night. Fighting Going down for fighting Can''t you hear me screaming Fighting through the night Born to be a winner *** Back at the Barracks ¡°What an absolute mess¡± Victoria paces through the path of rubble and wreckage left behind after the breakout at the base. A couple of Soldiers shuffle past carrying a stretcher with a wounded man strewn haphazardly in it, they gave her a couple of looks but hurry on when she returns them a nasty glare. A mottled green Land Rover rolls around the corner, its diesel engine clattering loudly. a hole in the exhaust exasperating the racket. ¡°Oh here we go¡± Victoria groans. Colonel Goff climbs out of the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°A disaster! A titanic fucking disaster!¡± He slams a fist down on the bonnet of the Rover, seeming to wince in pain. ¡°And I wonder who¡¯s fault this is. The security was piss poor, she got in through the computers I reckon¡± Victoria shrugs, sick of the old man¡¯s childish tantrums. ¡°Then how do you explain the gate. No-one was in those cars!¡± He points accusedly at the pile of twisted metal that used to be the entrance. ¡°I ran into the woman herself earlier on today. She moved her car without being in it, I checked, there was no-one behind the wheel. She must be extremely powerful if she can control that many cars at once¡± ¡°Fucking bitch, any dead?¡± ¡°two, some of the psychos she let loose decided to decided to get their own back on the first two men they met¡± She made a silent note to herself to make sure they were caught first. ¡°We¡¯ll make an announcement then, I¡¯ll try and approve a minute¡¯s silence for them. That¡¯ll get the public to back us I reckon, I¡¯ll declare her current public enemy number one. Do we have a photo of her?¡± ¡°No, all CCTV cameras in the vicinity were pointed the opposite way, frozen completely¡± Victoria¡¯s phone buzzes with a notification, she ignores it. ¡°I know what she looks like and a few teenagers saw her, but likewise couldn¡¯t get a photo. She apparently threatened them¡± Her phone buzzes again, she checks it this time. Her twitter account was apparently tagged in something. She opens it and her jaw drops. ¡°Hey Colonel, you¡¯re gonna want to see this¡­¡± Eunos @YesIAmEunos: Hey @Victorious, Hope you don¡¯t mind me letting some friends loose today. *** The tweet immediately takes off, I had seemingly gained quite a lot of followers with the tweet about Sierra. Some nut called Seraph had immediately condemned it from across the Atlantic, not that it matters. It just gave me more of a following. It didn¡¯t take long to get a response from her. Victory Victoria @Victorious: Your stunt cost the lives of two good men. I¡¯ll be seeing you soon. Eunos @YesIAmEunos: Ooooh scary¡­. ¡°Fuck, two dead¡± I turn to Sierra, who was reading the feed alongside me. She looked at me with a hardened expression. ¡°Cy, we knew what we were getting into here, you threw cars at the gates, we¡¯re lucky that didn¡¯t kill anyone. You¡¯d have first handedly killed someone then. Its not your fault they decided to murder the guards¡± She leans over, resting her head on my arm. The computer pings again, another reply. Victory Victoria @Victorious: I¡¯ve been given orders to use any necessary force to bring you in, villain. You better be goddamned terrified. Making a mental note to furnish the bunker. I turn on the TV that sits to the left of the computer. The local news channel is showing an interview with that Goff asshole. ¡°The breakout today was facilitated by an Emerged character by the name of Eunos. Eunos takes the form of a woman with a metal arm, antenna and long white hair. Don¡¯t be fooled by her looks, she is incredibly dangerous.¡± The description angers me greatly, ¡°I am a woman! Not just taking the ¡®form¡¯ of one¡± ¡°the Emerged that she released today have gone to ground, but thankfully we have our own weapon in this fight. Victory Victoria here is under my payroll and she is bent on bringing Eunos to justice. We lost two good men today and that donations for their families will be accepted¡± The screen cuts away back to the news studio. ¡°So Jill? What do you make of this Eunos character?¡± The male news anchor turns to a woman dressed in a light pink suit ¡°Well if they¡¯re capable of this who knows what else they can do¡± I shut off the TV, growing annoyed with it all. I lean back on the chair and ponder what to do next. It was answered for me when I hear the snores of Sierra, who had fallen asleep on my shoulder, the excitement of yesterday had been a lot for her. It was in the early stages of the morning and I could just about see the beginnings of sunlight peeking through the curtains. We had only gotten home an hour ago, and the buzz had just about worn off. I plucked her off of the spare computer seat and placed her on the foot of the bed, before collapsing onto the bed myself. Chapter 10: Welcome to my Christmas Time Christmas came without issue, we had paid a visit to Brad and Michael and brought them a JCB tough mobile phone and a spare laptop I had leftover in a closet, with that they should be able to contact us fine in case of an emergency, we also had left them a crate of beer to keep them going. Brad had fixed the door so it took a few knocks to get in, they thanked us for the beer. I came to an agreement with Sierra that we¡¯d buy each other a present through the internet and not to look at what it was until it came, even paying extra to have it wrapped. I had bought her a cute set of denim girl cut dungarees that I thought would suit her. I hadn¡¯t a clue what she¡¯d got me so when the parcels came through I was kinda excited. Sierra answers the door and brings them in, setting them down on the counter. I was sitting at the computer, headphones on and watching some More than Computer Mouse videos. I was feeling pretty content so I decided to tweet to her. Cynthia @AnRX7Driver: So um @mtcmouse, huge fan. Merry Christmas. Hope you didn¡¯t paintball Saint Nick too badly! Finding Out Who¡¯s Mice @mtcmouse: @AnRX7Driver Saint Nick comes by on the 5th, plus Dare is the one delivering presents this year Sierra abruptly pulled the headphones off of my head and places a box on my lap. I spin the chair around to see her. She¡¯s standing there, wearing a horrific christmas sweater and a short green pleated skirt. ¡°Looking good Sierra¡± I smirk. ¡°Its awful and you know it¡± she giggles, tugging at the wooly sleeve. Her present is on the coffee table, next to a steaming cup of hot chocolate. It hadn¡¯t snowed this Christmas, it almost never does this far down south; but it was very cold and there was little in the way of heating. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you crank the heating up?¡± ¡°The bills are immense, I¡¯m running out of funds¡± I shrug, trying not to think of how much money I¡¯ve got anymore. ¡°Why don¡¯t we rob a bank then miss Villain¡± ¡°Thats not a bad shout, I was thinking an ATM robbery might be easier¡± I snort at the thought of putting a sock on my head and trying to stick up a bank, my hair would probably be a mess. ¡°That¡¯d do it, a bit of Boxing Day crime. No-one''s expect it, but thats not right now, its Christmas Day!¡± She plops herself down on the sofa and grabs her present, ripping the paper to shreds. I stifle a laugh when she pulls them out. ¡°I reckoned you¡¯d look positively adorable in that¡± she rushes off to the bathroom, presumably to change into it. I gaze down at the brightly wrapped box on my lap, giving it a bit of a shake I hear a few seperate things rattle about. ¡°Could be anything really¡± I place it down on the coffee table, waiting to see Sierra in her new outfit. On Christmas Eve I had invited Miura down for a drink, and to introduce her to Sierra; who she hadn¡¯t met yet as I¡¯ve tried to keep her hidden for the most part. Sierra returns from the bathroom, dungarees on. She looked even younger than before. ¡°It really does suit you Sierra¡± She¡¯s grinning ear to ear, seemingly pleased with my present. ¡°Well then, open yours!¡± I tear open the paper to find a very posh looking case. I unzip it and find...make-up. ¡°This is...I¡¯ve no idea how to use any of this¡± ¡°Good thing I¡¯ve been practising. Loads of tutorials online, gonna doll you up for Miura. I look forwards to finally meeting her¡± She springs up and yanks my arm, dragging me back towards the bathroom. I was beginning to feel like I might be in there for some time. About half an hour later. She was done, foundation, eyeliner, mascara. The lot. She grabs a mirror and shows it to me. ¡°Holy crap¡± I looked like a model, a model with a shiny robotic arm yes, but a model nonetheless. ¡°Miura¡¯s gonna love you when she¡¯s over this evening¡± ¡°Do you read my messages?¡± She nods, still grinning like a mad woman, her sharp white teeth glinting in the light. ¡°While you¡¯re sleeping¡± ¡°You cheeky little git¡± I lightly bat her around her head with my normal arm, she ducks it and runs into the living room. I follow her after a couple of moments more admiring myself in the mirror. I straightened the skirt I had decided to wear that day and turned on the TV, switching it to Dave. ¡°They¡¯re running all the Top Gear specials again this year¡± I point out. ¡°Well thats something to pass the time watching¡± Sierra says, crouching behind the small christmas tree I had pulled out of a cupboard. There wasn¡¯t the spare space to have a properly sized one, so a small fake one in the corner would do. I move over to the window, gazing out down over the town, puddles are illuminated by a mixture of chip shop xenon and bright christmas lights, no doubt in what holiday season it was. A gritting lorry trundles along the road outside of the apartment. I wince at the thought of the salt getting caught on the underside of my car, the rust would likely kill the old sports car. It was in good shape but one particularly bad winter could spell the beginning of the end for it. A few hours later the sun sits low on the sky and I¡¯m expecting Miura any moment now. I pick the tree up and place it on the coffee table. ¡°Sierra you found the drinks yet¡± She had ducked into the freezer in the kitchen, could probably fit inside it with how small she was; although I wasn¡¯t planning on making her find out. I hear a thump and a yowl. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°I bashed my head on the top of the freezer, but the good news is that I¡¯ve found your beer, very classy¡± She strolls into the living room, one hand rubbing the top of her head and the other clutching a crate of alcohol.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Then came the knock on the door I was anticipating. ¡°Sierra go into the bedroom. I¡¯ll get her in and introduce you then okay?¡± ¡°Roger¡± she skips off to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. I close my eyes, looking to see whether it was her, searching out for her car. ¡°Yup, Fiesta ST. Its her¡± I attempt to mentally fortify myself, trying not to become a shivering wreck facing her. I was used to Sierra, she was a great friend to me. But Miura was the girl I had a crush on, she was always really nice to me, and she was pretty and liked cars, and now she was here not because she needed to, but because I asked her to be. I was excited and worried all at once. ¡°Calm yourself Cy, its just...two women, well three, friends¡±. I take a deep breath and open up the door. ¡°Good evening, Cy!¡± ¡°Miura! Come on in, Merry Christmas¡± I step back, allowing her to come inside, she takes off her boots and I close the door. ¡°I imagine its bloody cold out there¡± I sit down on the sofa, opening the crate and grabbing two cans out. ¡°It certainly is¡± she hangs her coat on a hook on the door before joining me on the sofa, she peers closely at my face. I pull back a little, feeling uncomfortable about how close she was getting. ¡°Are you wearing makeup? You are!¡± she smiles, picking up a can and cracking it open. ¡°When did you learn how to do yourself up like that then¡± ¡°I kinda didn¡¯t, uh, let me introduce you to Sierra, come on in!¡± Sierra pokes her head out of the bedroom. ¡°Uh hi! I¡¯m Sierra, you must be Miura¡± She edges further into the room. ¡°Cy, how long have you been hiding this extra tenant of yours?¡± Miura asks with a stony look on her lovely face. I begin to panic. ¡°Uh um, since uh, I broke her out¡± Miura gives way into laughter. ¡°I¡¯m only joshing you, its nice to meet you Sierra¡± she puts out her hand for Sierra to shake. Sierra bounds forwards to grasp it ¡°Thank you for letting me stay here Miura, and you Cy, for rescuing me..¡± I don¡¯t necessarily know why, or particularly understand, but Sierra suddenly bursts into tears, hugging each of us in turn and attaching herself to my waist. I pat her on the head until she stops crying and just sits there, snivelling. I wasn¡¯t sure what to say after that. I just sipped at my drink. Miura is the first to bite the bullet. ¡°So Sierra are you the little make-up artist in the making huh?¡± Sierra perks up and lifts her head from my lap. ¡°Yeah, I watched a bunch of tutorials and stuff. Some American called Syren, she''s one of us Emerged too¡± ¡°So by all accounts you¡¯re Eunos then Cynthia?¡± Miura turns her gaze to me. ¡°I-I am, although I¡¯m not out to harm anyone who didn¡¯t deserve it¡± ¡°Those other Emerged you set free killed two people, you know that right?¡± she shook her head, seeming to disapprove of it. Sierra springs up to my defense. ¡°They imprisoned innocent Emerged, people who didn¡¯t want anything more than to just live their lives, now everyone sees them as criminals! As far as I care their lives are forfeit¡± I nod, agreeing with Sierra. ¡°Plus in that breakout we rescued Glenda¡¯s son Miura¡± I put forwards, hoping Miura knowing her would soothe her worries and bring her about. ¡°And my friend Brad. He''s a lovely gentle giant of a man, helped me escape the van when Cy crashed it to get us out¡± Sierra smiles. Miura looked at us both and sighed. ¡°Just please don¡¯t do anything more. You¡¯re already wanted and pushing it. I¡¯m here hanging out with criminals, well when criminals are this cute who can blame me¡± Me and Sierra both break out into blushes, Sierra hiding herself behind a cushion. Miura giggles, downing the rest of her drink. ¡°You¡¯re both so bashful, its positively adorable¡± I nearly do a spit take of my beer. I decide to change the mood by putting on some music, mimicking the album opening. ¡°Everlasting Dance Trax, Everlasting Dance Trax, S-E-B S-E-B S-E-B, Super Super Super, Super Eurobeat¡± Miura, who by this point was a little bit on the tipsy side, starts to bob her head to the music, whilst Sierra grabs a can out of the crate. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bit young to drink Sierra?¡± Miura asks. ¡°I¡¯m actually 20¡± Sierra responds indignantly, looking more like a 15 year old. She stomps her foot, not helping herself very much. ¡°Let her drink Miura, I remember you drinking when you weren¡¯t of age¡± I wink at her. ¡°Fine, but if she claws down the curtains its on you¡± ¡°I would never!¡± Sierra¡¯s tail was standing straight up and she downs an entire can. ¡°I can hold my drink see?¡± She stands up suddenly and nearly trips over the table, she chucks the can towards the bin, missing and somehow managing to land it in the sink instead. I burst out loud laughing. She turns and flicks one of my antenna experimentally, and suddenly my head is invaded by static. I lay back, clutching my head in pain. ¡°Gah that hurts, static is too loud¡± I focus on retracting my antenna and that seems to fix it. Sierra is leaning over me. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Cy, I didn¡¯t know what that would do¡± she winces, looking super guilty. ¡°Nor did I, you¡¯re forgiven, just don¡¯t do it again please¡± We settled down to listen to music and just drink away our troubles. Miura fell asleep on the couch at one point and that just left me and Sierra to drunkenly play Mario Kart together, eventually Sierra passes out, her head resting on my lap. I pause the game and just take in the room. It stinks of beer, cans litter the room. Miura is sprawled on the sofa snoring, whilst Sierra is making preening noises in her sleep. ¡°Must be having a dream of some kind¡± I reach across to grab a pillow and place Sierra¡¯s furry head on it. I bring a blanket out from the bedroom and lay it over Miura. I take the Switch we had been playing Mario Kart on and retreat into my room to play by myself, the party was fun and all but certainly tiring. I lay in the bed and change the cartridge out for a JRPG to play by myself, after some leveling and a few story missions I feel the buzz of alcohol wearing off, and tiredness kicking in, turning the console off and placing it on the bedside drawers I let sleep claim me. The sound of the radio rouses me. I could always hold my drink pretty well so the hangover was thankfully minimal, my tolerances had seemingly remained the same. I had fallen asleep in my clothes and the apartment still reeked of alcohol. I opened a window to air the place our and grabbed a change of clothes. ¡°I need a shower, and bad¡± I felt super icky, never liked sleeping in proper clothes, preferred proper Pajamas. Miura and Sierra were still conked out in the living room. I ducked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Slowly pulling myself out of the sweater I had been wearing I am given a stark reminder of my new proportions. Despite the bra I had worn underneath the extra weight still makes me stumble forward once it was clear of my chest. It was just enough that I had nearly hit my head on a little mirror that extended out from the wall. I twist the bra around and detach it, letting my boobs breathe free. It still gets me when I see them. I glance in the mirror and see my made up face looking back at me, there are makeup wipes in the box with the rest of the stuff on the counter. I feel slightly bad for removing Sierra¡¯s handiwork, but I didn¡¯t want it to all run down my face in the shower. Finally undressing completely I step under the shower and twist the knob to get it going. It comes out freezing cold initially, I bolt out of the way of the onslaught of ice with a little yelp. I slowly tease my hand under the water hoping to feel it warm up, eventually it begins to rise in temperature and I slip under the showerhead. Water falls down and around every curve on my body, going in between my breasts and down the small of my back. I hear the creak of a door opening, and I quickly cover myself with my arms, turning away from the door. ¡°I¡¯m in the shower, can¡¯t this wait?¡± ¡°Nope!¡± a voice replies and jumps me, grabbing hold of my waist. I feel small hands grabbing my flanks and squeezing. ¡°You¡¯re super thin you know¡± Its Miura, who still seems a little tipsy. She looks up at me with a jealous spark in her eyes. ¡°I wish I had your figure¡± she was still dressed and therefore now soaked through. I pushed her away and she steps out of the shower, I could see her bra through her soaked through shirt and I couldn¡¯t help but blush and stare. Both of us standing, slightly embarrassed, but we couldn¡¯t help but admire each other. ¡°Look Miura, you can use the shower after ok, go grab a towel before you expose yourself to Sierra as well¡± She nods, seeming to sober up a bit. A dose of water would do that to you I suppose. She slunk out of the room, wrapping herself in a towel. I get down to the business of washing my hair. A short while later I walk out of the bathroom, dressed in a skirt and a long sleeved v-neck shirt. ¡°Its free Miura¡±. Sierra has roused and is busy brushing her tail, she looks up and sees me. ¡°You two had an encounter in the bathroom I hear, I got all the juicy details Miss Hourglass¡± I blush redder than ever before. ¡°She¡¯s still pretty drunk, you cheeky little minx¡± ¡°Ferret¡± ¡°Mammal, whatever¡± I cross my arms. ¡°Moving on, we need more money. I wasn¡¯t joking about that robbery you know¡± ¡°Oh, I know¡± she winks at me. ¡°I know just where to do it too¡± Chapter 11: Holiday Crime A few hours later we¡¯d seen Miura off using a taxi and had ventured out to Hillchester Town Centre, it was a rainy midday on Boxing Day and a lot of people were out and about, children were excitedly pulling at the mum¡¯s sleeves to spend their Christmas money. I had a hood up on my coat and was strolling along. Sierra was a couple of paces ahead of me leading me somewhere. I take a few quick paces forward and tap her on the shoulder. ¡°So where are you taking me?¡± I take a look around, not spotting anywhere that seemed anything other than innocent. I sidestep an elderly man who was hobbling along with a walking stick, Sierra points to a couple of posters on a noticeboard. ¡°That army dude on the TV was asking for donations right?¡± The poster was some propaganda like stuff, asking for donations and trying to recruit people. ¡°I would hedge my bets that very little of that money is going towards their families like they say, I mean, look at the money they promised to put into healthcare! That went nowhere right?¡± ¡°Right¡± I nod ¡°I still don¡¯t see any of it, you have a clue where this money is then?¡± She gives me a knowing look and keeps on walking. A bus rolls past, its interior lights shining a glow over the mismatched tarmac of the pavement. The clouds above looked glum and show no signs of ceasing the downpour. After 5 minutes more Sierra halts outside a Greggs bakery. ¡°We¡¯re here, lets get something to eat¡± We walk inside, I grab a sandwich and she asks for a sausage roll. We pay and sit down under the awning outside. ¡°They¡¯re taking the donations in that office building opposite¡± she chomps down on her pastry, sharp teeth making quick work of it. ¡°I reckon there will be a security van down at some point today, its been a while and the media buzz has died down a bit hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I could crash the van? Worked previously¡± ¡°As much as I thank you for that, and Brad does as well. You haven¡¯t exactly interacted beyond crashing the van before. I have an idea¡± Crumbs are scattered in her ever-present grin. ¡°I¡¯ll go up to the desk, wiggle my ears, shake my tail. Maybe steal a fiver. You stroll in after I run off distracting them. Threaten the dude behind the grate with whatever you can think of and then bugger off with the money. They won¡¯t catch me¡± ¡°That makes sense, I guess¡± I look at the target building, theres a banner strewn down from the awning on the building opposite us. Otherwise it was a fairly nondescript office building. ¡°You sure they can¡¯t catch you Sierra?¡± ¡°Your sports car can barely catch me. I think some overweight Bobby won¡¯t be able to¡± She takes off her shoes. ¡°Can you put these in your bag? I¡¯d rather run naturally¡± ¡°Uh sure¡± She passes me the trainers and I put them away in my bag. ¡°Once I start it, go in after a minute or so¡± She strolls off, I can¡¯t imagine how uncomfortable walking barefoot on concrete would be. I watch her enter the building, her tail unfolding out just prior. I take a disinterested bite out of the sandwich, my stomach was doing barrel rolls like the inside of the world¡¯s most turbulent washing machine. I was immensely nervous, I don¡¯t know why but all the confidence I had prior was gone. I swallow the chunk with gulp and stand up. I didn¡¯t want to just sit around not doing anything. I begin the short walk over to the building when Sierra bursts back through the door, a 20 pound note clasped between her teeth. She gives me a small nod before vanishing off down the road, A police officer and two men in camouflage trousers come out not a moment later. They charge after Sierra like a trio of arthritic gorilla. ¡°I guess no time like the present¡± Sierra¡¯s nod was inspiring me. I slip in whilst the doors are still moving about, there''s a middle aged woman on the phone to someone. I pull my hood down, revealing the metal prongs on top of my head. I cut the line, she hasn¡¯t noticed me yet, she''s still fiddling with the phone controls. I cough and she finally notices me, her face is processing a mixture of emotions. ¡°Uh Miss...Donation Lady. I¡¯ve come to collect the donation money. Its going to a...worthy cause. You¡¯ll find¡± I grind two of my metal fingers against each other, causing sparks to fly out of my hand. Some land on the ground, becoming embers for the briefest of moments. The woman begins to panic. ¡°Y-y-you¡¯re that woman¡± I sigh, reaching out with my mind and disabling the alarm. ¡°Yes yes, now if you would kindly hand over everything¡± The woman turns around and opens a small safe behind her. She takes out what appears to be a few thousand. I smile politely at her. ¡°Thank you for that, do you have a bag or something? This one is full¡± I gesture to the satchel I was carrying. She picks up a small backpack and dumps the money inside. ¡°Thank you very much. This will keep good people fed for a long time. I¡¯ll see myself out¡± I pull up my hood and exit the building. I get a few feet away before I hear heavy footsteps approaching, one of the men that had gone after Sierra had given up and returned to the donation office. I look behind and see him opening the door and entering it. Quickening my pace I walk towards the crowds in the middle of the pedestrianised zone, crossing it to the other side. I had parked the car in another multi-storey car park which wasn¡¯t too far away, Sierra was waiting for me there. ¡°How much was there?¡± she asks, leaning against one of the concrete pillars that hold up the structure. ¡°A couple of thousand, I think¡± Sierra punches the air in celebration. I unlock the car and climb into the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Get in then¡± Sierra jumps into the passenger seat, her tail wiggling in between the curves of the bucket seats. She pulls out the 20 quid note from her pocket ¡°I think we¡¯ll get a chippy tonight¡± she places the money in a compartment below the radio. I place the bag with the stolen haul in a lockable storage area behind the passenger seat. Then we drove back home. *** ¡°So you say that this Eunos woman simply strolled in here. Snapped her fingers, and you gave her all the donation money?¡± The local officer was saying as Victoria entered the room. The lady that was behind the counter nodded, dabbing at her eyes. ¡°That monster was like a terminator. A metal arm, antenna. I don¡¯t even know whether she had mind control or something¡± Victoria sits at one of the chairs besides a small children¡¯s play set, the type you¡¯d see at a bank or something for the little kiddies to play with while the adults get swindled. She twiddled at one of them, waiting for the policeman to finish interviewing her. She didn¡¯t like working for Operation Barracuda, but it is better, easier, more famed work than being some pathetic secretary like before. The policeman dismisses the woman and she quickly leaves the building, the clacking of her heels reminding her of her previous career. After she had got the job they informed her that she was dressed ¡°inappropriately¡± for it, they wanted taller heels, a skirt. Fucking hell it was an office job not a fashion show! Without even thinking about it she had summoned one of her spears with an ominous thunk. The officer reading his notes nearly jumped out of his skin, he spins around and finally notices me.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Ah, Victory Victoria. Ma¡¯am. What are you in need of?¡± ¡°Details Officer, details¡± The Emergence had given her the ability to summon a spear of solid energy. The higher ups, ever so keen to follow after the Americans, had wanted their own ¡®Seraph¡¯ and I jumped at the opportunity, plus the pay was good and there was no dress code. I spent most of my time in riding leathers, as my first love would always be to my bike. I had no time for men, that last job had left a particular distaste for them. ¡°She had an accomplice, we think. A teenager with a tail, apparently she ran like a bat out of hell on four legs. She came in first, stole a portion of money and the guards went after her. This had left here pretty much undefended for Eunos to stroll in and take everything¡± Fast running...teenager...with a tail. Where had she heard that before¡­ ¡°The van crash! That fucker¡¯s powerpoint¡± Of course. We¡¯ve now got confirmation of the two working as a pair, as partners in crime. I can focus on looking for them both together. Two birds with one spear. ¡°Excellent¡± ¡°You look pleased Ma¡¯am. This is nothing to smile about, this is a serious crime¡± She tips the spear in his direction and he shuts up. ¡°I know, I know. Just now I have a slightly better idea of what to look for¡± She reduced the spear back to nothing and stood up. Making her way outside to the police¡¯s cordoned off area, which wasn¡¯t very big. Her bike was parked illegally in the pedestrianised zone, but she was a government employee, the local council can park their little vans here so she should be able to as well. She can see a parking warden peering over at the bike, one sharp glare from her sent him packing. Victoria straddles the bike¡¯s seat, turning it on and checking all the dials are normal. She put on her helmet and pulls down the visor. ¡°Back to the station, time to see what we can do about catching her properly. None of this waiting around for something to happen. Time to be¡­ ...proactive¡± *** We get home in good time, Sierra runs up ahead whilst I park up the RX7 in the garage. The iconic exhaust note braps away as I let the car wind down for the moment. The garage was constructed of simple brick and mortar and contained nothing but a tool kit and a box full of junk. Someone had left a couple of milk crates in the corner of the yard, an odd remnant of the old Milkman trade. Some people still like to have their milk especially ordered I suppose. I jog up the stairs to my apartment and opened door, Sierra was on the computer already, we¡¯d made a stop off and Sierra had recovered her bank account details and put in a small portion of the money we¡¯d stolen. She¡¯d justified it at the time that: ¡°They still don¡¯t know who I am. I didn¡¯t tell them shit, this should be safe enough¡± The rest of the money was still locked safe in my car. With my new powers the car was basically unstealable, I¡¯d sense it was trying to move without my permission and could shut it down. We¡¯d tested it earlier in the week with Sierra. She turns to me as I sit down on the sofa. ¡°So what do we need to order¡± I pick up my Switch and turn it on. ¡°Food primarily, also clothes for Brad and Mike¡± ¡°On it¡± She nods and turns back to the computer screen. ¡°Uh, you have a message from Miura, she says she has a reservation for your date on the 10th¡± ¡°Two weeks away huh¡± I turn off the console and move into my bedroom, beginning to run through the clothes in my drawers, sorting through the assorted clothes and underneath a skirt I catch a glimpse of what I was looking for. Its the striped dress Miura had bought me. I bring it into the living room with me, holding it in front of me. ¡°I think I already know what I¡¯m going to wear¡± Sierra was still browsing the internet, she turns to look at me. ¡°A little on the nose¡± She gives me a wry smile ¡°but I like it!¡±. That gives me the little boost I needed to make my mind up on it. I¡¯m going to go out on a date in a dress! My heart is doing somersaults in a giddy happiness. *** It was New Years Eve, and I was driving to the bunker with Sierra to count down New Years with Brad and Mitch. Since it was countryside roads and it was getting late at night I had put my foot down, speeding well in excess of the speed limit, taking a corner at speed the rear of the car begins to tug away from where it should be, showing hints that any faster could be catastrophic. I was in the mood to drive fast, not to get away, but just to push the car hard. The radio was blaring away a Eurobeat song, sending shivers down my spine. Sierra was grinning wide, her transformation had seemingly given her a need for speed she didn¡¯t know of or understand before, and despite her increased running speed. The car was still much faster than her. Drive away, pull away Just fly away from here There''s nobody to stop you now I will stay There''s no way I''ll let you go from here You and me We''re gonna drive all around and then Ride away to the top of the heavens I tap the brakes and tip it into the next corner, holding the car in a slide. We were only a few turns away from the lot near the bunker so I let off the throttle and return down to normal speeds. I put the car up a gear to give the engine a break from being revved so high. ¡°Damn Cy, you can drive. You should go racing¡± ¡°Even if I¡¯m accepted for who I am. I reckon they¡¯d still be too worried about me cheating with this power¡± I turn the music down a bit as I pull the car off the road and closer to the bunker entrance, there is a small nook around the corner of the car park where I can park the car out of sight from the road. No more encounters with nosey government slaves for me. We close up the car and stroll towards the bunker, the nightly dew soaking the leather boots I was wearing. I brush a low hanging branch out of my face. All I could hear was the late night hooting of owls, I had a box of clothes under my arm whilst Sierra was holding the food supplies. ¡°Sierra watch your feet, there could be an Adder about. Would be nasty if you were to get bit¡± ¡°I know¡± Sierra was a few paces ahead, relishing the wilderness and all its scents. ¡°Ah, Michael!¡± The lizardman had seemingly smelt us coming and was leaning against a tree. ¡°Hello ladies¡± Michael¡¯s forked tongue poked out, testing the air. ¡°No-ones followed you, good, can never be sure that some horny dude didn¡¯t follow you two cuties¡± ¡°I¡¯d know if anyone followed us Michael, everyone has an appliance on them somewhere¡± I jabbed back. ¡°Here, catch!¡± I chuck the box at him, he catches it with his pads but the weight of the box nearly bowls him over. ¡°What was that for?¡± He moans ¡°Your cheek¡± I snap at him. ¡°Now now you two, its New Years!¡± Sierra stamps her foot and pouts ¡°Its time for celebrations and not bickering¡± I shrug. ¡°Sierra I¡¯ll go back to the car and grab the sparklers and stuff, least we can light something up¡± I turn and leave them to bring the boxes into the bunker. The short walk by myself gave me some time alone to reflect on the previous couple of weeks. I don¡¯t really feel anything for the deaths of the soldiers in the breakout anymore. They were...unfortunate sacrifices for what I see to be the greater good. I wish we didn¡¯t have to hide away, I was beginning to despise some regular people for their treatment of us Emerged. The only people currently free from my ill will are those who have treated me with any decency and shown me compassion for us afflicted by that storm. I¡¯d love to be in America right now, running rampant and free, not cowering in some bunker. I sighed, wondering if anyone gained the power to teleport or something. I make it to the car and grab the box of sparklers and small fireworks, double checking that it was locked, I return to the bunker. Closing the now fixed bunker door behind me I smell the scent of cooking sausages. ¡°Smells good¡± I call out. I double check the door. ¡°Brad¡¯s cooking them. We got buns and stuff too. Hot dog time!¡± Sierra¡¯s high pitched yell rings out from down the corridor. I peer into the two foremost rooms, they have turned them into makeshift bedrooms, I spy a dirty magazine lying against the pillow of one the beds inside one room. ¡°Suppose thats probably Mikes¡± I whisper to no-one in particular. I move on to the kitchen, where I can track the scent of the sizzling meat. Brad looks fairly normal, he''s standing over an oven watching them cook intently. Sierra and Mike are sitting at a counter not far behind him, both nearly salivating at the thought of the food. ¡°You two definitely take after your natural instincts eh?¡± I leant against the doorway, crossing my arms having put the box down in the corridor. Sierra nods, still distracted by the oven. ¡°They¡¯re like two puppies smelling meat for the first time I swear¡± Brad laughs. ¡°¡®Cept the only thing truly canine is their teeth¡± ¡°How long until they¡¯re done then¡± I ask. ¡°Not long, notice anything?¡± He turns his body towards me, still keeping an eye on the food. ¡°You¡¯re not particularly stony¡± ¡°Yup, I think I figured out how to control it, if I tense up then I begin to go all Rocky...Balboa¡± I groan at the pun. He flexes one of his huge arms, tensing it up. It begins to lose its shine and his skin splits and becomes jagged. It changes pigment to become more in line with the very granite-like look which I first saw him. He reminded me of a sort of British middle class Korg. ¡°Thats good to see then, you might be able to actually leave the bunker to do your own errands then, unlike Gordon Gecko over there¡± I smile, looking forward to not having to do my own shopping¡± ¡°Oh yeah, on that front, could you do me a favour and give me a list to pick up some of my possessions. I only need a lift there. I¡¯m going to grab my truck and load it¡± ¡°You not going to return home completely?¡± Sierra interjects. ¡°No Sierra, someone¡¯s got to take care of Michael here¡± ¡°Thats right¡± Michael points at himself ¡°I''m useless at cooking¡± I stifle a chuckle and peer at the clock. It was about 5 hours till 2019. Michael points to a stack of boxes on the table ¡°Well we¡¯ve got time to pass until the new year. Board Games anyone?¡± Chapter 12: No Control The day prior to my date with Miura, Sierra and I took a trip out to scout the restaurant in the neighbouring small town of Elfwood Upon Hillchester, it was named as such for the legends that small elf-like creatures inhabited the woodlands surrounding it and for it being plastered on one of the few roads to eventually lead to the bigger town of Hillchester. The restaurant itself turned out to be this faux-American diner establishment set up alongside a couple of Airstream trailers, I didn¡¯t want to be there just with Miura and myself alone so we tour the area the look for where I can leave Sierra to watch the entrance. A short distance down the road we discovered the perfect location, there was an internet cafe, which very much looked like the relic it was in this day and age. But thankfully it did appear to be still open, and checking the times it¡¯d still be open at the time and day. The entrance of the diner was very visible from the cafe which sat just around the corner from it. ¡°Cy can we stop and take a look inside?¡± Sierra had clearly spotted something of interest and was tugging at her seatbelt. I pull the car into a parking bay and check the sign for the parking restrictions. ¡°2 hours free huh, that¡¯ll do¡± I pull the handbrake. And we clamber out of the car, I¡¯m careful not to flash anyone due to the skirt I¡¯m wearing, such is the dangers of owning a car like this. ¡°You go ahead Sierra, I¡¯m going to take a stroll about¡± She gave me a happy look and rushed into the internet cafe. I strolled down the pavement, taking a look at the stores lining the road. It was a wednesday at about midday so there was a lack of people, although most of the stores were still open. One particular store catches my eye, it had fake looking cobwebs hanging from the awning and a sign that read: The Magic Den. I peer in through the windows and I see rows of costumes and odd trinkets inside. I couldn¡¯t help my curiosity so I decide to go inside. A young woman is sitting at the counter, she looks somewhat gothic in dress, with hair as dark as the tarmac on a newly laid road. I shuffle through a few of the costumes before finding something slightly unexpected, a dark purple dress, like a tight fitting witches costume. I wasn¡¯t exactly considering it for my date with Miura, but as a villain costume...it could work. The authorities have an idea of my face so there¡¯s no point in a full on mask, but I did grab a set of fake rimmed glasses because I thought they were pretty. I turn to the woman at the counter, who was fiddling with the cash register. ¡°Do you have a changing room?¡± The woman murmurs and points to a set of green curtains at the back of the store. ¡°Thank you!¡± I quickly make my way into the changing room and strip down. I unzip the dress and pull it up, securing it on me. It had a slight corset to it so when it reached my waist it was slightly uncomfortable at first, after a few minutes though I felt a bit more comfortable. I slowly peered at the mirror, hoping I looked half as decent as how I thought I would¡­ The dress was quite tight fitting and went down to just above my knees, it had quite a lot of ruffles throughout it and it was most definitely the most feminine thing I¡¯d worn since transforming, it didn¡¯t show any open cleavage but certainly accented my bust by tightling fitting my torso. I put on the fake glasses and thus was the look pretty much completed. It was like one of those fantasy shows where there is like sexy Librarian, that¡¯s what I kinda looked like. I loved it. I make a stern look and my reflection was practically bone chilling¡­-ly sexy. I was saddened when I had to change back to my normal clothes. I fold up the dress and tuck the glasses into the arm strap of it. Then I walk through the curtains and up to the counter, placing the dress onto it and then looking away, trying not to make eye contact with the woman. The radio was playing some old 80¡¯s songs and had just gotten to an electric guitar solo, I hummed along with it. ¡°That¡¯d be ¡ê120 Miss¡± I rummage around in my bag for some money, at the bottom is a small stack of bills that would have looked totally suspicious if I¡¯d shown them all, I quickly slipped out enough from it and handed the money to the woman. ¡°Thanks¡± I then picked up the dress and quickly vacate the shop. I spot a small park nearby and venture to find a bench so I can sit down and admire my new purchase. *** Victoria was currently sat in a Police Interrogation room, alongside the ever so repugnant Colonel Goff, they were waiting on the first proper lead to turn up. They¡¯d received an anonymous phone call which they¡¯d actually managed to trace back to a Ms. Miura Bramble. The caller had rather stupidly and seemingly drunkenly said that they knew who Eunos actually was, they would have usually dismissed it but there was relatively little leads. On the other side of the table was a man who went who went by the name of Kaa, who seemed to be very quiet. Then the door swung open and an officer led a woman in cuffs into and she sat on a seat. She was red with tears and looked both angry and upset. She began almost immediately making excuses. ¡°I was drunk, I was joking! I¡¯ve done nothing wrong¡± I summoned my spear and slammed the end of the pole on the floor, shocking the woman in silence. Goff crossed his arms and nodded to Kaa. The ominously silent man claps his hands, causing us all to look at him. His eyes glowed bright blue. Goff quickly looked away and Victoria closes her eyes, having been informed of his powers prior. Miura wasn¡¯t so lucky and her facial expression softened and went blank. Colonel Goff cleared his throat and began the interrogation. ¡°Was there any truth to your phonecall?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Miura responded, no emotion whatsoever resonant in her voice. ¡°So you know who Eunos is, who is she?¡± ¡°One of my tenants, Cyrus Sutton¡± ¡°Cyrus?¡± Victoria was stunned. ¡°She didn¡¯t look like a Cyrus to me, what happened in the Emergence?¡± She queried ¡°She changed genders and gained a metal arm and antenna¡± ¡°What are how powers specifically¡± Goff takes back the reins of the interrogation. ¡°The only thing I know is that she can control machines¡± ¡°Right. Are you meeting her soon?¡± ¡°We¡¯re set to go on a date tomorrow at a restaurant in Elfwood Upon Hillchester¡± Kaa claps and relinquishes control of Miura. She looks confused and Goff stands. ¡°Miss Bramble we¡¯re going to ticket you for wasting police time¡± ¡°What happened? I blacked out for a second there¡± she moans, clutching her head. ¡°This officer will escort you out¡± Goff points to the man in uniform standing by the door. Miura is led out of the room and Goff turns to Victoria. ¡°I want surveillance on her. We¡¯re going to set up a sting operation¡± January 10th looked to be a very busy evening for Victoria¡­ *** I pull the car into a parking bay a few blocks away from the restaurant, Sierra had once again done my make-up and I was wearing the striped dress Miura had bought me in that first visit to Glenda¡¯s shop. I made sure Sierra was settled into the Internet Cafe, she apparently knew the person who ran it so they were more than kind enough to let her stay there. Then I entered the restaurant. Miura was already there, at a reserved table for two. I wave and she gives me a smile and a wave back. ¡°I¡¯m here with her¡± I point to Miura for the greeter. I didn¡¯t think Diner style establishments had that sort of thing but I guess they didn¡¯t want any freeloaders. I sat down at the table, smoothing out the dress as to not have it ride up my thighs. ¡°Evening Miu, you look brilliant¡± She was wearing a black dress that really showed off her lithe figure well, she used to always tell me how she played basketball for an all female team back when she went to school¡± ¡°You look sexy yourself there Cy¡± Miura had a half drunk glass of Gin already with her at the table. I signal the waiter and asked for the same before responding to the compliment.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have known what to wear if you hadn¡¯t bought it for me!¡± I giggle, excited to finally be getting a date with the woman I¡¯d had a crush on for a while. ¡°You know Cy, you always seemed like a lovely person. Definitely good taste in cars, handy with a toolkit and smart. Man Brexit fucking sucks, you seemed to enjoy that job¡± ¡°I did, fuckers fired me because they¡¯re moving overseas, they took my designs too. I probably won¡¯t even be credited¡± ¡°Goddamn them all, bastards¡± Miura takes another swig of her gin. ¡°I better tell you this now, the police took me in. I kinda drunkenly called them the other day¡± My expression hardened and I clenched my fist, causing a slight grinding sound that makes Miura flinch. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell them anything did you?¡± ¡°No, no. I was drunk when the phone call happened and I didn¡¯t say any details, I lied in the interview and stuff too¡± Outside two black saloons rolled into the car park, they looked innocuous enough. The waiter rocks up with the gin and pours it into my glass. ¡°Thats harmless enough then, might have actually thrown them off my scent¡± I raise the glass. ¡°Cheers¡± Miura raises it and they clink together. ¡°Chee-¡± And that was when hell broke loose. A bright green spear rockets between us, catching my lower arm, sending sparks and glass flying through the diner as it grinds off of the metal limb. ¡°What the fuck!¡± I jump up out of my seat, a man¡¯s voice rings out through a loudspeaker. ¡°Eunos, Cyrus Sutton. We know you¡¯re in there and we have the building surrounded!¡± ¡°How the..¡± I am momentarily stunned by the sudden appearance of flashing blue lights from outside, half the car park was cop cars and security vans. I grabbed Miura¡¯s arm and pulled her with me. ¡°We gotta get out of her Miu, I don¡¯t know how they found us. I hope Sierra is okay¡± I jump over the bar table and land in the kitchen area. I try the back door but its locked. ¡°Crap¡± *** 3 Minutes Earlier. Sierra was fiddling around with a computer hoping to get an old game working when she noticed a squadron of black vehicles with blue lights ablaze, she watches them carefully to see whether they pull into the restaurant¡¯s lot. When they do she begins to panic. ¡°They¡¯re going for Cy!¡± she squeals out loud. Sierra considered her options, the police were more than likely armed, they could have powers. And there wasn¡¯t a lot she could do about the sheer amount of them. She¡¯d probably get shot. Then she remembers something Cy was showing her the other day, a YouTuber she watches was talking about how she was expanding her business overseas thanks to Emerged with some kind of portal teleportation powers? Cy had already interacted with her on twitter. Maybe they could help? Sierra quickly pulls up Twitter on the computer and logs into her account, finds the account and pulls up the private messaging menu SpeedySierra @TailedGirl: I need your urgent help please! You know someone who can open portals right? My friend Cy is about to be taken away by the police and theres nothing I can do! Its at the Talladega Nights Diner, in Elfwood Upon Hillchester, England. Please, she''s my only friend. International Mouse of Gadgetry @mtcmouse: Fuck yeah I do know someone I hope he¡¯s available right now, fuck the police. SpeedySierra @TailedGirl: Thank you! I hope they¡¯re quick! I am forever in your debt. International Mouse of Gadgetry @mtcmouse: His name is Clark, he has ram horns, I¡¯m gonna bring her here. Sierra closes the browser and stares worriedly at the scene in front of her, biting her nails in a nervous twitch that she thought she¡¯d stopped doing long ago. ¡°I really hope they get to her in time¡­¡± *** I peeked my head above the counter in the kitchen to look out the front of the Diner, all the people that were in there with me had run out the front door into the arms of the police. They had at least four armoured vans out front and a few unmarked police cars there for good measure. I could hear an odd splintering sound that was like ice cracking. I investigated to see where it was coming from and it seemed to be emanating from in between the rows of tables and stoves in the kitchen. The air was heavy and I could see odd shafts of light poking out of cracks that seemed to float. Miura notices it a few seconds later and gasps. ¡°The fabric of reality appears to be being broken or something¡± I tense up my arm, ready to fight anything that comes out of it. Suddenly it splits apart, revealing a portal. The first thing to come through is an arm that appears to be coming from a dude with horns or something. He looked like the devil was on holiday, he was standing in what looked to be a normal living room. Just behind him was a girl sitting on a sofa with a Nintendo Switch in hand. In a frankly terrible Terminator impression the man says: ¡°Come with me if you want to live!¡± I could hear the slapping of skin and a familiar feminine voice rings out. ¡°She¡¯s the Terminator looking one you Canadian Sheeple¡± I look to Miura, who was terrified and back to the portal, the girl in the back does a little wave. I calculate my options, which I quickly gave up on doing and shrug. ¡°I guess we¡¯re going dimension hopping or something Miura¡± I grab hold of her hand and reach out to the horned dude¡¯s arm and hold his outstretched hand. He tugs us towards the portal with a surprising amount of strength and we tumble through it. I end up face down, smothered in the soft carpet of the room, I sit up and shake my head, trying to reestablish what direction is up and down, the portal leap had done a number on my senses. I catch a familiar face sitting down on a chair that was just out of sight of the portal¡¯s viewpoint. ¡°Are you...Bridget? The mousy tech YouTuber?¡± She smiles and giggles, I mentally take that as a yes. ¡°Oh wow! Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m famous enough to be recognised by random British cyborgs whose asses I save on a friend¡¯s request!¡± She stands and reaches out for a handshake. ¡°Yeah, Bridget Crackspanner, More Than Computer Mouse, the pink haired shark girl playing Celeste is ?¨¢rka, the dude nursing a headache is Clark¡± I sense the presence of a machine and Dare, her pet furry robotic fox dragon enters the room. ¡°And you probably know Dare if you¡¯re a fan¡± I nod. ¡°I sensed her before I saw her. I can kinda control machinery, your house is full of it¡± my antenna, previously hidden, stretch out and I can sense everything in the vicinity. I point at a television and turn it on. It was playing some kind of news channel I couldn¡¯t really understand. ¡°Oh god dammit did you have to flip it to TV Nova? The only worthwhile thing they had was Saturday morning cartoons, and they moved those to Sm¨ªchov.¡± Bridget reaches down and turns it off with the remote. ¡°So um, thanks for rescuing us¡± Miura speaks up, looking at me for reassurance. ¡°Cy do you even know how they knew you were there?¡± I shrug and shake my head simultaneously. ¡°Its a mystery to me,¡± Dare starts singing a tune I don¡¯t recognise ¡°could be anything like a witness or they followed my car¡± I turn back to Bridget and her friends. ¡°Oh I got a DM on Twitter from a SpeedySierra, @TailedGirl. Said the cops were about to grab you and asked me to rescue you. Which reminds me.¡± She takes out her phone and takes a selfie with us presumably in shot. She then types away a message and sends it. Not even two seconds later it bleeps back a response, which Bridget shows to me. ¡°ACAB¡± Bridget says, nonchalantly. The other three repeat it in unison. ¡°ACAB?¡± I say, unsure what they necessarily mean. ¡°All Cops Are Bastards¡± All but one of them say in unison again. The girl lounging on the sofa instead says: ¡°Assigned Cop at Birth¡±. Whilst sticking her tongue out at all of us. Bridget moves to her and ruffles her hair. ¡°Well uh. I guess I should introduce myself. I¡¯m Cy...or Cynthia. I guess, you can call me either, and this is Miura¡± I gesture to her and Miura does a little wave, still quite nervous and checking behind her that the portal had closed properly. ¡°Nice to meet you Cynthia, Miura, sorry about your date, seemed like you were having fun before the cops arrived. What is this, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn?¡± Bridget leaves the room and comes back with another chair whilst...?¨¢rka? I think her name was again, trying to remember the videos I¡¯ve watched on YouTube was difficult. She turned into a dark puddle that followed Bridget, swallowing up another chair before returning and placing the chair underneath me, forcing me to sit in it. Bridget simply places the chair down for Miura and she obliges by sitting as well. ?¨¢rka returns to her spot on the sofa. ¡°Thats some superpower! Huh, so you can go all gooey shadow form. Clark can headbutt through space like a human Palkia and you¡¯re like super smart Bridget¡± I shook my head in almost disbelief. But then again I could do some pretty odd things with my powers too. ¡°I can specifically swim through shadows, including my own if nothing else is available, that¡¯s the puddle. And I can do this.¡± ?¨¢rka¡¯s teeth becomes super sharp and she looks much more imposing and shadowy. She laughs and changes back to her normal form ¡°And I control my own puberty.¡± Bridget gives her a loving look and a thumbs up before turning to me. ¡°Right, should probably get to the bottom of this. Why were the cops after you.¡± All four of them turned to look at me if they weren¡¯t already. I scratch my head, not liking the question or the intense pressure I feel from them. ¡°I...kinda...did some bad things, some accidentally...others less so¡± ¡°I made a Collar that forces you to say the truth and if you try to lie shocks you, as well as shocking you for saying slurs. I then used this collar to blackmail ?¨¢rka¡¯s father into transferring custody over to me.¡± Bridget stands and walks over to me, her face skeptical and serious. ¡°I also snuck into the Maidenburg Ruins to steal stuff there, and brought ?¨¢rka along on the second trip. How Bad are we talking here Cynthia. Theft, Murder, Arson, Unlawful but ultimately good behavior?¡± She puts her hands on my shoulders, gripping as firmly as she could. ¡°Speak or shit letters, Woman. I do not wish to use that on you.¡± I grind two of my fingers together, causing a few sparks to pick up. I think she is bluffing, but because she rescued me I admit at least one of my deeds. ¡°On the night of the Emergence, I kinda nearly killed a cop. I woke up with antenna and this arm and I didn¡¯t know my own strength or powers. I had nearly crashed prior and so a cop rolls up on me, clearly thinking something is up. I crashed his car¡± I look away, not making eye contact with her. I hear the sound of Dare running over and I see her hugging ?¨¢rka. ¡°Alright, Cynthia, anything else besides that?¡± I look to Miura for support but she''s watching Dare and ?¨¢rka. ¡°No¡± I respond curtly, hoping she¡¯d drop the subject. Bridget steps away from me and towards her workshop. She might not have been bluffing after all, my heart sinks. I shake slightly, playing nervously with the ruffles on the dress. A loud bang of fist on desk rings out from the direction Bridget went and I could hear a whole slew of expletives. ¡°THAT GOD WORSHIPPING TRANSPHOBIA SPEWING LESBOPHOBIA DEPLOYING QUEERPHOBIC PIECE OF SHIT. THAT HEARTLESS TORMENTING BITCH. THAT UNBELIEVABLE SHITSTAIN ON MY CHILDHOOD. THAT HEART ATTACK INDUCING FATHER KILLER. MY FUCKING BIRTH GIVER ONLY FUCKING WENT AND STOLE THE GOD FORSAKEN COLLAR USING AN ABUSED TRANS KID.¡± Bridget charged back into the room looking absolutely furious, she gives me a look that sends shivers down my spine. ¡°You¡¯re helping me bust a kid outta Parent Jail. ?¨¢rka, look with Clark for someone who can take them. And you cannot say No, Cynthia. I saved your ass from the cops¡± I nodded, hoping she would forget the indiscrepancies in my story because of her rage, plus I needed to lie low before returning to England anyway, so I guess helping Bridget break out this person is the least I could do for her. Man what a crazy couple of days¡­. Chapter 13: Ram Raid Once the confirmation had come through on Cy and Miura¡¯s safety Sierra thanks the owner of the cafe and rushes off towards the car. Cy had left her a spare key in case of Emergency which she kept in her purse, the car unlocked easily and she adjusted the driver seat for her smaller stature, she twisted the key to start the car and the starter motor stirred and whined but the car didn¡¯t ignite. ¡°Come on car, I know I¡¯m not your owner but thats no excuse to leave me stranded¡± she twists the key again and the compact rotary engine kicks into life, the rhythmic brap of the idle tone was music to her ears. Her first stop was to check on Cy¡¯s apartment, the journey back to Hillchester was for the most part uneventful. All the police and whatnot were still crowded around the restaurant in a ¡®standoff¡¯ with no-one in particular. When Sierra came to that realisation she couldn¡¯t help but laugh. The rescue had definitely foiled them and given Sierra good time to get herself and Cy¡¯s car to safety. She parked the car around the back of a takeaway restaurant near the apartment and made her way across the street to the apartment complex. She needed clothes for both herself and Cy, as well as at least some of the food. She quickly scampers up the stairs and opens up the apartment door, she quickly checks side to side before entering the apartment. Sierra grabs a couple of bags and begins filling them with clothes and belongings, she makes sure to grab the Switch and its charging port too. The moment she zips up the backpack her ears picked up the sound of police sirens. She quickly shoves a desk in front of the door in an attempt to buy herself some time. The sirens cut off but she can feel the vibrations of cars entering the apartment complex¡¯s lot. She piles her small collection of personal effects into a reusable bag along with the makeup she¡¯d bought Cy for Christmas. She takes one more look around the apartment before she hears a knock at the door. ¡°Police! Open up!¡± ¡°Up yours¡± she mutters under her breath, she quickly slides open a window at the back and chucks the bag down before scrambling through the gap. She braves the jump down a storey and rolls over landing on her hands, she quickly clambers over a fence and runs away, taking a detour so as to not look like she came directly from the apartment towards the car. About five minutes of jogging briskly through alleys brought herself back to the car. She opens the boot and places the bags inside before getting in and driving off in the direction of the bunker, careful to try and not crash the older sports car. *** Bridget had passed me a set of gloves which had some controls built into then and looked fairly complicated. ¡°¡°These are shock gloves. They got a dial on the back for intensity. We¡¯re going to hop into my van. We¡¯re going to show up at this address-¡± she shows me a note written in a scrawl, something about someone¡¯s mother and a theft. I assume its to do with this ¡®collar of truth¡¯ or whatever. ¡°And we¡¯re going to go in and bust the kid out. Gonna bring them over here while Clark and ?¨¢rka look for a place for them to stay¡± I pull on the gloves and wonder how they work, the dial is currently set to zero so no current appears to be running through them. ¡°And then we¡¯re going to visit my mother.¡± Bridget continues, moving out of the room. She pokes her head back in ¡°¡°Miura you¡¯re not in as deep shit as Cy is so just hang out here for a sec¡± Miura turns to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. ¡°Cy be careful okay, I¡¯ll probably be fine here but we don¡¯t know really anything about this place¡± She looks worried and a little confused. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine¡± I stand and go to join Bridget, I was very glad I didn¡¯t wear any heels. Although I suppose still going out to raid some house in a dress isn¡¯t exactly the ideal situation. Bridget had a lift system set up in her house, she hits a button and the lift descends down to the ground floor. I just follow her, taking a look around the house. It seemed quite normal for the most part, although there were some odd mechanisms strewn about. She led me to the garage where there was an old Volkswagen Transporter sitting there. I could just about feel the presence of it from upstairs. It was a fairly plain looking old van, it was a light blue colour and had some deteriorating decals stuck to the side of it that seemed to indicate it was some kind of delivery vehicle in the past, although even in a language I could understand it was clear to see it hadn¡¯t been used for that purpose in some time. I climb into the passenger seat of the van and pull on my seatbelt. ¡°Alright Magda, you feeling okay to drive today? You alright with carrying us onto a noble quest to rescue a child?¡± Bridget cooes the van, petting the dashboard. I could feel that the van hadn¡¯t been started in a long time so I try to give the starter motor a helping hand, it starts up and seems to idle steadily. Bridget turns to me ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t talk to your tech miss I Sense Machines¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly have a conversation with my Switch, if thats what you were implying¡± I stifle a giggle. ¡°Your van needs some work done to her I think¡± The paint had kept up well since it was stuck in the garage for so long but irregular use had certainly left the van needing some attention. ¡°Ma¡¯am how dare you suggest sweet Magda isn¡¯t taken care of? Sure I don¡¯t give her as much attention as Grandpa V¨¢clav did, but that¡¯s because she was his. I¡¯m only looking after her for him, now that he can¡¯t.¡± She put her hand over her heart, play acting like she was offended by the advice, she hits a button on a remote she had dug out of the glovebox and opens the garage door. I was used to faster vehicles so the van lurching forwards slowly felt almost unnatural to me, I had to remind myself not to get involved with the van so I tuck away my antenna. Once out on the road Bridget pipes up again, her hand rubbing her chin in thought. ¡°I could probably make a Back to the Future reference with this van. Where we¡¯re going we don¡¯t need roads, ya know?... Okay yeah that¡¯s a genius idea, once I¡¯m done with mom I could use your car expertise to convert her into a hovercar¡± ¡°A hovercar?¡± It was my turn to put my hand to my head in that stereotypical thinking pose. ¡°Thats unlikely to be viable, could certainly help you make her faster and more efficient though!¡± Bridget snickers and pulls out a phone from somewhere in the dash, she unlocks it and hands it to me. ¡°Check the gallery, folder blueprints. Viable isn¡¯t a thing I deal with¡± She had stored a lot of images of blueprints, some of the components that make up Dare, as well as schematics for a Jetpack of all things, it was pretty amazing stuff. ¡°¡°I figure a hovercar is easier than a jetpack¡± ¡°The problem is making it so that one part doesn¡¯t compromise the other, theres a reason amphibious cars are rubbish on the road ya know¡± I shake my head. ¡°Tell you what I¡¯d love a go on the Jetpack though, brings me back to those glorious GTA San Andreas days¡± ¡°Oh I didn¡¯t build it. The moment I finished writing up the thing I realised how dumb it was. I considered the Vulture suit from Spider-Man Homecoming as an option though.¡± Sbe mimicked flicking a pair of glasses down off of her head and pushing them over her eyes. ¡°And did you forget the legendary line I quoted? Roads? Where we¡¯re going, we don¡¯t need roads.¡± ¡°Roads are the best part! Nothing better than challenging a quiet nighttime backroad with all your skill, although I suppose a van wouldn¡¯t be your typical go-to for that huh, Doc Brown turns the DeLorean into a time machine because it was a fairly hopeless sportscar¡± I wink at her, to which she rolls her eyes in response.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it was Zemmecis or a producer who wanted to make the It Looks Like An Airplane joke about the DeLorean. Don¡¯t call it rubbish it has nostalgic and nerdy appeal.¡± The conversation didn¡¯t last much longer after that as we seem to reach the destination, Bridget parks the van neatly on the side of the road ¡°Alright. We¡¯re here¡± She gets out and opens the door for me. I get out, making sure to keep my dignity. Bridget leans in close ¡°Listen. I looked up your description online, I read what you¡¯re accused of. I wanted you to tell me yourself as a sign of trust.¡± My brain immediately halts everything else. She knows what I¡¯ve done, I begin to panic slightly but a few deep breaths and a shoulder rub from Bridget halt the panic attack before it commences. ¡°I..¡± I have no idea how to put it into words. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Everything happened so fast, before I knew it, I was deeply invested into freeing people like me, people like us¡± I look to see what reaction Bridget has and I was surprised to see her smiling. ¡°This falls in the Unlawful but ultimately good category, Cynthia. You did good. I just figured you¡¯d be more open about stuff.¡± I struggled my entire life with answering people and being open, I guess that part of me doesn¡¯t change unlike the dysphoria. She releases me shoulder and walks up the pathway to the house we¡¯d stopped outside. I follow her cautiously, she knocks the door whilst I lean on a small stone wall a metre away. A woman opens the door and I¡¯m instantly reminded of the family I¡¯d kicked out of the bunker, she was staring at us with the same equal mixture of fear and utter disgust that boils my blood. Bridget and the woman speak to each other in their native Czech language, I haven¡¯t a clue whats being said but when Bridget barges inside I follow. I close the door behind me as to try and not let any sound escape the building. Bridget has got the woman subdued, she looks even more pissed than she was when I didn¡¯t tell her what I had done back in England. The woman was blabbering away. She turns to me and says in English: ¡°The kid is upstairs. Be gentle with them, I¡¯m not sure how Mrs. N¨§mec has been treating them.¡± I nod at her, moving past her and up the steep stairs, at the end of the corridor I see what looks to be the parents room, but I stop outside a room with a padlock on, I use the extra strength of my metal arm to crush the padlock, breaking it easily. I open the door and see a kid backed up in the corner, wearing a dress that was barely even rags. Her hair was bedraggled and her eyes sunken in. The room¡¯s windows were boarded up and there was no sunlight peeking in at all, only the artificial glow of the ceiling light. I put on my best ¡®nice person¡¯ face and smile to the child. ¡°Bridget! I¡¯ve found her, shes not in a good way at all¡± I yell softly down the stairwell. I gesture to them to come to me. Bridget appears alongside me, her glove smoking slightly. ¡°It¡¯s them. Yup.¡± She walks over to the frightened child. ¡°Hey Non, I¡¯m Bridget Crackspanner, Aunt Ad¨¦la¡¯s daughter. We¡¯re getting you out.¡± Bridget holds out her hand to Non, they look at Bridget and me with a facial expression I don¡¯t really understand, but she grabs Bridget¡¯s hand so it must have been good. She leads Non out to the van. I wait by the door, not entirely sure what Bridget wants me to do next, she straps Non into the van¡¯s middle seat and returns to the house. ¡°Hey Cynthia, not sure how strong you are but could ya move Mrs. N¨§mec from the floor to her bed? Make it look like she had a bad dream?¡± ¡°I can indeed¡± I turn to the prone woman and hoist her over my shoulder with my arm. It looked almost comical I imagine, a slight woman like me being able to lift another human with ease. I trot up the stairs and lay her down on the bed in the main bedroom. I toss up the sheets a bit to look like she had moved about a lot in her sleep, perhaps taking Bridget¡¯s order a bit too seriously. I then return downstairs and follow Bridget out to the van. I sit down in the van alongside Non and rest my arm against the door. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder at how I ended up here, and the police raid on the restaurant, theres so very few people I told about it. Not even Michael and Brad know about it. That means that...either Sierra or Miura let the police know, I shake my head, trying to dislodge that thought. Theres no way, they must have tracked me down somehow. Before I knew it we were back at Bridget¡¯s house, I got out as to let Non leave the van. Bridget escorts Non to the front door where ?¨¢rka was waiting. I just stand by the van, knowing Bridget probably needs me help with other stuff since the van isn¡¯t in the garage. Bridget comes back to the van, looking thoughtful. ¡°Let me check something first.¡± she gestures for me to follow her and we walk over to the backyard of the house, she picks up an old looking cinder block and places it on top of a pedestal. ¡°Punch it as hard as you can.¡± I look at her curiously, then shrug to myself. I clench my metal fist and pull back my arm before slamming it into the top of the block, shattering it and cracking the pedestal. I wasn¡¯t too surprised by this, I had previously battered the door to the bunker until it opened after all. Suddenly a tinny voice calls out from nowhere. I look around, confused. It didn¡¯t sound like any of Bridget¡¯s crew. I locate the source, there was a tiny little person peering out of a tree. We¡¯re talking real tiny, with wings. Bridget responds in Czech again, and after some moaning and grumbling. At least I think thats what it was, the little fairy-like creature ducks back into the try like it wasn¡¯t even there. ¡°Bridget¡­.what was that?¡± I ask, the entire conversation leaving me confused. ¡°Either I have a dedicated LARPer squatting in a tree, or magic is coming back after like centuries or millennia and magic creatures are waking up.¡± Bridget shrugs. ¡°Either way, her name is Am¨¢lka, which I find funny since that¡¯s the name of a czech cartoon faerie. But, alright, time to go kick my mom¡¯s ass for stealing from me.¡± ¡°I assume you don¡¯t want me to punch her then? I have punched guys with it before, but they were like properly tough looking assholes¡± ¡°Oh my mother is the fucking Devil, you¡¯d need a silver fist to properly hurt her. Wait no, that was rude to Luci. Sorry for likening you to her, Luci.¡± We return to the van. ¡°Luci huh?¡± I picture the devil going through a similar transition as I did. My imagination is boundless. I clamber up into the van. Bridget puts the van in gear and begins driving. ¡°The Devil is Genderfluid, why do you think we¡¯re all going to Hell? They¡¯re having a party there for us and The Cis are not invited.¡± ¡°Makes sense, uh. I...I was actually a guy, before the Emergence happened, not anymore...obviously¡± I put a hand on top of my chest. ¡°Whatever caused the Emergence, I guess it knew something I wasn¡¯t especially aware of. I¡¯m much happier with myself now¡± She reaches out and pats me on the head, a lock of white hair falls over my eye. ¡°I was already post-op when the Emergence hit, so finding myself with mouse ears and no hint of testosterone poisoning on me was nice. Hell, I made a poll on Twitter when I posted my Hey I Emerged video the day it happened. So many eggs cracked from being turned into their true bodies.¡± Bridget had a wry smile on her face before falling quiet. *** 3 Hours earlier back in Hillchester Victoria pushes through the door of the restaurant, They had the entire place surrounded by yellow police tape, there was a chunk of wall completely missing where she¡¯d thrown her warning spear, which had thusly disintegrated. The operation had been a massive disaster, Eunos and Miura had escaped somehow, all they¡¯d heard from outside was the smashing of what sounded like glass. A few scientists from the company Victoria used to work for had been brought down under contract for the government. The logo for DRF International patched onto the back of their uniforms, they had some sort of scanning machine in their hands. The targets had seemingly vanished into the ether, they had the entire building surrounded and no windows or doors were broken or open as to suggest they¡¯d escaped in that way. The only way they could have gone as if someone had teleported them out of there or something, Kaa had turned out to be one of DRF¡¯s agents. Goff had briefed her that DRF had gotten into contact with him after they¡¯d picked her up for employment, they had seemingly been losing out elsewhere and as such had sent some support for the Ministry of Power, this came in the form of Kaa and some other personnel. It was a sketchy looking deal and Victoria wasn¡¯t sure she liked it, but the pay hadn¡¯t changed so she is putting up with it for now. She places the takeaway down on the table and sits down on the leather seat, peering outside at Colonel Goff, who was listening to an employee tell a policeman what had transpired within the restaurant at the time. He looked about to blow his top at the failure of the raid, they¡¯d sent a couple of units down to the residence of this Cyrus Sutton but to no avail, they hadn¡¯t gone there and they found nothing but some electronic stuff like games consoles. They had taken the computer there for analysis though, Victoria loaded up the database to take a glance over the profile of Cyrus. He¡¯d not been in major trouble with the law before, only some speeding violations and a few fix it tickets for various mechanical faults with his vehicles. She scrolled down to the relations and notices something curious, Cyrus has a brother who appeared to be conscripted into the army. She signals Colonel Goff over and he joins her inside the restaurant. ¡°Glad you¡¯re enjoying yourself¡± he scoffs, looking down at her meal. ¡°Its been a long day, sue me. I don¡¯t want to show you my food Colonel, you¡¯re not Instagram¡± She shows him the profile of Cyrus¡¯ brother ¡°Do you know who this is?¡± ¡°Private Sutton, I do¡± ¡°They¡¯re related, Cyrus Sutton, Sylvester Sutton, they¡¯re brothers. He might have an idea why this is happening...and how to catch Eunos¡± Goff looks at her like she¡¯d said where the Ark of the Covenant is. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡± Victoria very nearly answers him. Chapter 14: Raising Hell It was back to the Police Meeting room for Victoria, they¡¯d sent for Sylvester Sutton immediately after she¡¯d figured out their relation, and were currently waiting for him to arrive. Colonel Goff was there along with Kaa who looked positively bedraggled himself, having been asleep when he was summoned and quickly escorted to the station. Goff had bags under his eyes and was nursing a coffee. Victoria had an energy drink placed on the table, she was still buzzing from the raid, and was still a fair bit disappointed it hadn¡¯t resulted in anything. She takes her leather jacket off, she was wearing a navy blue shirt with a Triumph logo stitched into the back. She notices Kaa staring at her and she rolls her eyes, she was reminded of her ex husband, who was a lazy bum and would spend the entirety of their marriage watching TV, drinking beer and not working. Kaa looked a little like him, with his tall skinny frame. She had divorced him and taken all that he was a week prior to the Emergence, just before she received the letter of acceptance to the new job. She was sick of toxic work conditions and relished the freedom offered to her by this new hero business. The first set of publicity rounds was long out of the way. The only real annoyance was being stationed under Goff¡¯s command. She shook the memories away when the door opened and Sylvester Sutton walked in, scruffily dressed in army fatigues and a tank top. He sees Goff and immediately salutes. ¡°Colonel, may I ask why I have been summoned?¡± Goff stands and dismisses his salute. ¡°Sit down Sutton, its to do with your brother¡± Sylvester takes one of the seats, looking relieved. ¡°Have you found him? I went to visit him recently and he¡¯d apparently moved away without telling me. I haven¡¯t seen him since¡± He leaned forwards looking around at us, trying to read our faces. ¡°We have identified that your brother is the villain Eunos¡± Victoria says bluntly ¡°Do you know anything about why he would do this?¡± ¡°Eunos?! My brother?¡± He looked shocked. ¡°The last time he contacted me it was after the Emergence happened¡­¡± he then hits himself in the face. ¡°I saw her, I ran into her, Eunos. Fuck how can I be so stupid¡± Goff stands up suddenly. ¡°You had an encounter with Eunos and you didn¡¯t report it? We could have captured her long ago if you¡¯d reported it!¡± He slams a first down on the table, nearly spilling Victoria¡¯s drink. She gave him a nasty glare. ¡°I didn¡¯t know, I didn¡¯t put two and two together, the details were hazy at the time. So thats...my brother¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask again, do you have any idea why he¡¯d do this?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Cyrus always kept to himself. Fiddling with his car, he was a loner type to me. He worked at a job, in the car factory thats closing. I guess he was fired. He looked happy doing that job, way happier than normal. My brother is one of those...Emerged...disgusting¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± Victoria was shocked. The usually blank faced Kaa looked quite angry too. ¡°You know the Emerged right? Those affronts to humanity, humans don¡¯t have cat ears and tails-¡± He shuts up when I summon the spear and slam it on the floor with a huge thunk. It glowed green in the light. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find I am very much human still thank you, stick to answering the questions and leave your pathetic rants to yourself¡± She stands and makes to leave the room. ¡°I can¡¯t stand to be in the same place as this bigot. I leave the interrogation to you Colonel¡± ¡°Yes yes dismissed, both of you¡± Goff sighs and gestures for Kaa to leave as well, he follows her out. Victoria looks at him, he still hasn''t spoken a word. ¡°Not much of a talker huh¡± Kaa shrugs back at her. ¡°I like that¡± she gives him a smile, trying to lighten the mood. ¡°What a mood killer, I¡¯m going home¡± She pulls on her riding jacket. ¡°See you around Kaa¡± He nods and gives her a small wave, watching her leave. *** We¡¯d been driving for a short while when Bridget suddenly lets out a string of expletives and brings the van to a halt in the middle of nowhere, she slumps down onto the steering wheel, resting her head in its perimeter. ¡°¡°I haven¡¯t spoken with her since Grandpa¡¯s funeral. And she tried to rip the dress I was wearing off of me at it.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to her, family members are always a touchy thing to talk about especially around funerals. Her mum seemed to be really stuck up and bigoted apparently, I¡¯d lost my parents at a young age and only had my hateful brother to deal with. ¡°Bridget, that sounds horrible. We better get this collar thing back though, there must be a reason she stole it¡± Bridget sits up straight with a sigh, rubbing her reddened face. ¡°Yeah. We better get it back. And I¡¯m going to give her a piece of my mind.¡± All of a sudden I sense the movement of something else in the van, the engine chugs up to speed and a tinny voice speaks up from the back of the van. ¡°You know this is why I asked you to give me fire breath.¡± Dare had found a way onto the van when we¡¯d dropped Non off back at the house. I didn¡¯t want to say anything to Bridget about it, Dare might be useful. ¡°So I could roast her verbally and literally.¡± ¡°Thats a point, does Dare have any abilities Bridget?¡± I ask her, ruffling the head of the robot that was now resting on the shoulder of the seat, she jump onto my lap. Bridget shrugs, keeping an eye on the road. ¡°She¡¯s a completely sentient Autonomous Digital Entity, in a body designed for agility and speed, with wings that permit gliding, and connectivity through wi-fi and bluetooth if she so decides.¡± She shoots the fox dragon a glare, clearly not too pleased that she¡¯d snuck on board. ¡°The reason I didn¡¯t give her fire breath is logistical. Also I don¡¯t think flamethrowers are easily hidden, compared to stuff like a shock glove.¡± She takes a hand off the wheel to give Dare a chin scratch as well, I silently keep the van pointed steadily on the road. ¡°Plus I¡¯d effectively need to perform surgery now to upgrade her, and the idea of that is making me queasy.¡± I look down at Dare, her wings folded against her back. I could mentally feel all the joints and bolts and everything holding her together using my power over machinery, I quickly retreat back to myself when I feel her shiver. ¡°So what''s the plan then?¡± I ask Bridget. Dare gives me an odd look and stretches her neck out to investigate my arm. I hear a voice that doesn¡¯t appear to emanate from any particular direction, but I can feel an annoyed vibe coming from Dare on my lap, she naws at the metal arm, making a noise that sounds a little like a sawblade scraping. ¡°Don¡¯t go into my head without permission, Cy. Especially since I¡¯m the only individual you can do this with. Unlike Bridget, I DO bite. Be glad I¡¯m biting the metal arm.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I quickly move my arm away and check it, there material looks slightly duller in sheen but not damaged. I whisper to Dare. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t help it sometimes¡± I look to Bridget who is still giving me a weird stare. ¡°Kl¨¢ra¡¯s waiting outside for us. That¡¯s my younger sister, absolute sweetheart, but completely useless when it comes to dating. The clumsy butch. She¡¯ll then ollie outta there after handing me the keys.¡± She goes back to concentrating on the road ¡°And then I¡¯m walking in, giving my mother severe verbal abuse, and beating the information out of her¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll keep watch outside or something, then... your familial issues aren¡¯t my business¡± I look out the window at the passing countryside, it doesn¡¯t look too much different from home. Just a considerable amount more older looking cars and various odd looking buildings. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t. I want you to punch her in the tit. With your metal arm. Blunt weapon without fingerprints that you¡¯ll be taking out of the crime scene? You think I WOULDN¡¯T use something like that?¡± I was internally worried, the people I¡¯d hit before were men who could probably have taken a punch, and they were seriously hospitalised from the altercation, I don¡¯t want to kill anyone. Bridget pulls the van to a halt near a house, a person with light blue hair and a lot of piercings is waiting outside, I can see the familial resemblance between Bridget and Kl¨¢ra. She walks up to the vehicle and hands Bridget a set of keys. ¡°She went out to Church again for some reason, even though mass already finished. So you can prepare a spook.¡± She pats the van and strolls off down the road. ¡°Bridget shouldn¡¯t we hide the van if this is going to take her by surprise?¡± I take a glance around the road for some hiding spots and I see an abandoned lot full of bushes not too far behind us. ¡°Back there would be good I think¡±, I point to the area, and after a moment of deliberation Bridget puts the van into reverse gear and maneuvers us into the vacant space. I climb out of the van slowly and walk around to where Bridget is standing, Dare perched on her shoulder. ¡°Guess I gotta figure out cloaking tech as well. Hell at this point might as well have you steal a really fancy new van for me to fuck around with, ey miss villain?¡± I look around for a moment to see if anyone had a suitable vehicle before noticing Bridget¡¯s laughter, oh right. Sarcasm. I follow her to the property, checking to see how hidden the van was from view. It was just out of sight beyond some dead looking bushes. I nearly bump into Bridget, who seemed to be hesitating in front of the door. She looks almost like she is regretting what we were about to do, I don¡¯t blame her. I extend my antenna and search for any CCTV cameras or security alarms and when I was satisfied none were nearby, I give Bridget a pat on the back. Hoping that would spurr her into action, I catch the end of her monologue: ¡° Can you imagine her constant toxicity with making it obvious she thinks you¡¯re possessed by the devil?¡± I keep stum, not sure how to react to her tragic home-life and upbringing. She reaches out and unlocks the door, I can hear her breaths quicken. ¡°I¡¯m excited to go to hell, because it won¡¯t be half as bad as this place.¡± The door swings open, revealing not the lair of a supervillain, but that of what appears to be an ordinary home, shoes are lined up inside by a rack of coats. I can see an immediate flight of stairs and a few pictures line the room, some of which appear to have had marker pens taken to them, certain character''s being blocked out. Dare makes some keening noises and nuzzles up to Bridget. There was just something slightly unsettling about the place, mainly down to some of the odd religious trinkets scattered about the place, crosses and segments of the Bible and whatnot. I didn¡¯t like it, it reminded me of the family we kicked out of the bunker. ¡°Let¡¯s play a game to ease the tension. Count the Christs and Crosses.¡± Bridget gives a nervous laugh, clearly trying to make light of the atmosphere. ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen at least 6 in the entry hall alone¡± I adjust a lock of silvery white hair that had fallen down across my face. Bridget moves into what I can assume is the living room ¡°Generally in Czech households you take off your shoes. I do not give two shits about this place though, so don¡¯t bother.¡± She sits down in the chair thats positioned in the middle of the room, Dare scrambles onto her lap. ¡°Please close the door and stand to the side so you¡¯re not visible from the hall. We¡¯re going to Bond her.¡± I do as I¡¯m told, taking a moment to take a look at an open book full of pictures that was strewn on a table nearby, it was covered in notes about recovering her son from the Devil. ¡°Bridget have you seen this? I think she¡¯s gone off the deep end¡± ¡°I thought she had gone off the deep end when she decided HRT was making me lazy, before Grandpa V¨¢clav took me in at 18. Or when she tried to strip me at his funeral because I was in a dress, and she thought I was disrespecting the dead.¡± I sigh, I wish for a world where we¡¯re not being treated as Demonspawn, or as tools of the military and the police. It got me thinking, the time we kicked the religious nutters out of that bunker, and the previous efforts of rescuing Non. Why should they control us? Who gave them the right? I grit my teeth. Bridget says no more and turns the chair around facing away from the entrance and towards the back windows. It only took a few minutes of waiting in silence for us to hear the door open, the locks twisting and unlatching, Bridget signals for me to turn the lights on and I easily do so, a single antenna poking up from my head was all that was necessary. The woman enters the room slowly, clearly not entirely sure what was happening, she doesn¡¯t notice me. Bridget slowly swings the chair around to meet her. ¡°Evening, Mother. I wasn¡¯t aware you had gained a hobby in robbery.¡± She is stroking Dare like a parody Bond villain, she shoots me a glance and I step behind the woman, twisting her arm behind her back and shocking her legs with the shock glaive. She ends up kneeling in front of Bridget, restrained forcefully. I stay silent so Bridget can say what she wants, her mum speaks up first though. ¡°Why are you here Marek-¡± She is interrupted immediately by Bridget. ¡°MY NAME IS BRIDGET. AND IF YOU REFUSE TO USE IT I SWEAR TO YOUR VERSION OF CHRIST I¡¯LL MARTYR YOUR ASS SO FAST HEAVEN AND HELL WILL HAVE A TUG OF WAR FOR YOUR SOUL.¡± I sigh and clamp down harder on her wrists, not enough to break a bone, I think. I¡¯d hate to be deadnamed like that, I can feel Bridget¡¯s rage seething through the room. ¡°Now. What did you do with The Collar. Why¡¯d you use Non to steal it.¡± Bridget leans in close, lifting up a palm with electricity dancing between her fingers. ¡°I took it so His Holiness can replicate it. So that he can make you all confess, that you¡¯re possessed by demons that changed you. Oh Marek, my boy, you shouldn¡¯t be like this, look what they did to you.¡± I give Bridget a panicked look, the Church isn¡¯t exactly poor. This could be horrific for us Emerged. They could enslave us. Bridget headbutts the woman, her cranium knocks back against my thigh. I knee her forwards again, she is certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place. ¡°It¡¯s Bridget. And if demons could change me. If demons could change me, you would have turned me into fucking Cthulhu years ago. You¡¯re poison. You¡¯re a toxin. You¡¯re a cancer and a plague on the minds and bodies of children like me. You fucked me over more than you can imagine. And you don¡¯t even have the balls to admit that it was all you.¡± Bridget let go of her face and slapped her again. ¡°YOUR OWN FAULT. Not a higher calling from God. Not a Divine Purpose. No. You stuck your head up your ass, went to an oldass house, got validated in your preconceived notions, and used that to hurt me. To hurt Kl¨¢ra.¡± She twists a knob on the back of her glove. ¡°Cy I suggest you let go for a second.¡± I let go of her and take a step back. I was going to enjoy this. Bridget grabs her by the neck and lets loose a continuous shock that arcs down her body. ¡°I have a daughter now. Trans like myself. And I suggest you watch how to properly raise a child. You want to know the one holy thing you ever did? You performed a miracle. The miracle that I and Kl¨¢ra didn¡¯t turn out like you, because of how evil you are. Although, I should credit Grandpa V¨¢clav with that one, being a positive influence and all.¡± She lets go of her and takes a step back, I could smell a really unpleasant scent ¡°Cynthia. Please break her nose and arm in such a way it looks like she tripped down the stairs. And then put her in front of the stairs.¡± I look at the woman lying down on the floor, unsure whether I should do this. I know she was pretty evil but going this far, It could damn well kill her. I look at Bridget and see the fire in her eyes. ¡°Okay Bridget, but if the shock kills her...I¡¯m not responsible¡± I kneel down and turn her over, punching her square in the face, breaking her nose and loosening a few teeth. I didn¡¯t punch her at full strength, I think I could have caved in her face if I had done that. I grab her arm and give it a hefty yank before smashing her hand. ¡°That should do it¡± Bridget kneels and gives her one final shock before motioning for me to take her to the stairs. I lift her up and look at Bridget. ¡°Remind me not to get on your bad side...although you don¡¯t exactly have anyone like me...other than me¡± She picks up her phone and I move her mum to the bottom of the stairs. I go into the kitchen to grab some cleaning supplies whilst Bridget deals with the phone call. Can¡¯t frame it like she fell down the stairs if there is blood on the living room. I finish up and return back to Bridget, who was still on the phone. ¡°-Of course I do. Hell, could use an extra pair of hands. I¡¯m gonna be converting the old van into a hovervan.¡± I smile at the plan, that would take some tinkering. I¡¯d me more than ready to do that. I drop the teeth by her prone body and show Bridget the bloody tissues. ¡°We should probably burn these¡± She nods. ¡°Not here though. Come on, time to go. Gonna hang around in the Van until Kl¨¢ra returns.¡± We step outside, I walk over the road to the van, keeping an eye on Bridget behind who is locking the door. I climb into the van and wait for Bridget to join me. A short while later Bridget¡¯s sister reappears, Bridget hands her back the keys and a whole debacle then ensues, she enters the house, yells and screams out loud, very dramatically. It doesn¡¯t take long for the ambulance to arrive and cart the bastard woman off to the infirmary. Kl¨¢ra jogs over to the van and hops inside, she examines me before extending her hand out for me to shake. ¡°I¡¯m Kl¨¢ra. Cool arm, love the hair.¡± I smile uneasily and shake her hand ¡°I like your hair too¡±. ¡°She¡¯s 19 Cy, and I don¡¯t know how old you are, keep it professional.¡± Bridget gives me a harsh stare then starts the van and we take off, headlights beating a bright path ahead of us. Chapter 15: Damn Van Sierra bursts into the bunker clutching the bag, fur still on end after her close encounter with the cops at the apartment, she runs down the hall before running right into Brad, who lays a big hand on her shoulder. ¡°Sierra whats wrong, where is Cynthia?¡± She looks up at the man, peering up through his curly beard at his grey eyes. ¡°She''s...safe, I think. The cops nearly got us¡± A cracking grating noise fills the room as Brad¡¯s fist hardens and becomes rock. ¡°Don¡¯t break anything Brad, we¡¯re good here I think. They didn¡¯t see me¡± ¡°You two need to be more careful, what¡¯ve you got there?¡± ¡°Some of the important things from the apartment, its busted wide open, they raided it¡± She places the bags on the floor, collapsing to her knees. She was utterly spent, the running about trying not to lead the police anywhere on top of driving Cy¡¯s powerful analogue car had exhausted her. Brad picks up the bag and leads Sierra further into the bunker. ¡°You can sit down, have a coffee and tell us what happened¡± checks to see the door has been closed properly before walking into the kitchen, Sierra sits down at the table whilst Brad quickly puts together a coffee for her. Mike is snoring on the couch a few metres away. After a few minutes Brad sets down a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. ¡°Drink up¡± She picks up the cup and takes a swig, feeling a little more energised. ¡°So what happened¡± Brad asks, scratching his beard¡­. ¡°Well¡­¡± *** ¡­¡±Right, well that is certainly not good, we better lie low for the moment, they have some kind of intelligence on us, and I don¡¯t believe its from any of us. What''s this Miura person like?¡± Brad looks like he is suffering from a headache from all the information, and Mike is still dead asleep on the couch. ¡°Shes Cy¡¯s landlady, she seemed nice enough when I met her, and Cy is smitten for her. She could have given us away. She didn¡¯t meet me until Christmas, she didn¡¯t know Cy had taken me in, and she still doesn¡¯t know about this¡± Sierra gestures to bunker and Brad and Mike. Brad¡¯s brow furrows. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can trust her then. We¡¯ll have to try and let Cy know she can¡¯t be trusted, but for now lets lie low and keep out of trouble, we¡¯ve got enough food and supplies to last for a few months¡± Sierra nods. ¡°We¡¯ll hope Cy can get back whenever she can¡± *** It was the next day, me and Miura had slept on a sofa bed in Bridget¡¯s living room, it was a little embarrassing to be sharing a bed with a person who I was very much attracted to, but it had been one long previous day and tiredness had given way to sleep before I could even consider anything remotely lewd. In the morning Bridget had given me a set of overalls and brought me into the garage. ¡°Right, I need to deconstruct her first so I know how everything fits together before I use her as a base.¡± Bridget pats the van on the bonnet, clearly very fond of the vehicle. I understood that immensely. ¡°Do you have any stands or will I have to do the heavy lifting?¡± I look around the garage for heavy tools, Bridget facepalms, going red in the face. ¡°I knew I was forgetting something! Those are in the shed out back. Let me get the transport shark to move them. Thank fuck she hasn¡¯t gone to school yet.¡± She scampers off. I leave the garage and use the elevator up to the living room finding Miura there, sipping a drink. ¡°Hey Miu, could you text Sierra and tell her I¡¯m ok and that I may be indisposed for a couple of days?¡± I make a mental note to ask Bridget to send Miu back today. Miura takes out a phone from her handbag and begins typing away. ¡°On it¡± I nod a thanks and return to the garage, to which I find the van lifted up in the air on a set of stands courtesy of ?¨¢rka. ¡°Right, lets get to work. I¡¯ll leave the hover engines or whatnot to your creation Bridget. Pass me a wrench and I¡¯ll begin disassembling the undercarriage¡± She gave me an odd look, perhaps confused at the request. ¡°I might be a super inventor, but I still need to know how ALL the pieces of the van fit together. I need to get the engine block and the internals out first, before I can take apart the chassis to check on it and work off of that.¡± She passes me a wrench and opens the bonnet using the latch in the interior. The engine looked its age, for sure. But certainly not in especially bad condition. ¡°Well in that case we have to first disconnect all the electronics, shouldn¡¯t be hard, and then all the mechanical connections and engine mounts. Then she¡¯ll come out easily¡± she gives me a nod. I love older cars, they¡¯re so simple to work with. ¡°Well that¡¯ll be easy, the only electronics she¡¯s got is the radio, and that¡¯s just got two speakes right next to it in there. God this is gonna be such a sight. Move over Mr. Weasley, there¡¯s a new last century flying car around.¡± I giggled, the Ford Anglia she was referring to was quite an important vehicle back home. I pull up the overalls and got down underneath the van. ¡°I¡¯ll disconnect the driveshaft, and then we¡¯ll be in the air in no time¡± And as such we got to work removing the engine. It was relatively easy going for me, the Volkswagen Transporter of this period was a very simple machine and my new arm made the heavy lifting much easier, we soon had the engine and gearbox out of the van and lying on the drive outside. This got me a small telling off from Bridget. ¡°Cynthia please keep the important pieces in the garage I mean against all odds there IS snow outside.¡± I shrug and heave the engine towards the inside of the garage. ¡°So now what?¡± I look at her for answers, creating a hover car isn¡¯t exactly a common thing to do so I was relying on her. ¡°I need to know how much of the chassis can be disconnected, and how much is just stuck together. Need to check the wheels and axles as well. And once I have all that information-¡± she knocks the side of her head lightly with a fist. ¡°-I¡¯ll let this little shit do her work on how to proceed through the adapting. So come on, hop to it Cynthia, we¡¯re completely disassembling a car.¡± She looked super excited at the prospect.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Well the good news¡­¡± I crouch down ¡°Is that since this is an older vehicle I can take apart pretty much all of it. The entire body can come off of the frame pretty much. We are going to need more power than its standard engine to be able to lift it, and well...a method of lifting it into the air and controlling it would be necessary¡± I peer underneath the van. ¡°Your Gramps did a good job of keeping her rust free for the most part, its a difficult thing to do when you live in a place which gets a considerable amount of snow per year¡± Bridget seems happy at my observations. ¡°And according to him we used to get a lot more snow 40 years ago. You¡¯ve seen my blueprints. I can figure that stuff easily. As far as juice goes.¡± She pulls a box from a shelf and takes out this weird looking cube, it was about the size of a Rubik¡¯s cube and was an odd white colour with lines and script decorating it. Something about it peaked my curiosity. ¡°I grabbed this baby from the nearby ruin. It¡¯s got so much fucking juice in it it¡¯s ridiculous. And I got four of them.¡± ¡°May I take a look at that Bridget?¡± I reach out my metal arm, palm outstretched. She hesitates. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if grabbing it with your cyborg arm is the safest option. Even Dare has a layer of skin covering her metal bits.¡± She chucks it towards me, I catch it in my normal hand. There was something about the cube I was drawn to. I look closely at it, peering over the odd patterning on it, all of a sudden a small jolt of electricity passes between my antenna and the cube. It felt like an immense amount of energy was packed into such a tiny cramped space, like an overloaded battery. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re not wrong about the energy packed into this thing. Theres something about it thats...odd. Its certainly not man-made¡± my arm was tingling, I don¡¯t know why. She swipes it out of my hand. ¡°You say that, but the ruins it was in looked like Athena got an interest in Art Deco and built Athens like that. Still obviously ancient greek, but also¡­ more. I don¡¯t think it was aliens that did it¡± she places it back in the box and on top of the shelf. She quickly types some notes into a laptop she had nearby. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get to it then.¡± *** Later that day Clark opened a portal for Miura to go home, I thought it would be way too selfish to keep her here not doing anything whilst I work on this project. I waved goodbye to her and asked her to be wary of the police. They shouldn¡¯t in theory be after her too much. Bridget at work was an amazing thing to witness, once we had gotten the van disassembled I sort of became mostly irrelevant, and spent a lot of time just observing Bridget go. When ?¨¢rka was home she helped out loads with the heavy lifting, as well as Kl¨¢ra helping out as well. Then it was down to Bridget to design it, it didn¡¯t take too long before she invited us over to see the design. ¡°Ladies, sister. Behold the hovervan. Now to just get the pieces in. And do some surgery on the pieces we already got here. It¡¯s saturday tomorrow meaning you two¡± she points at ?¨¢rka and Kl¨¢ra ¡°can be here all day to help. If you want to.¡± Her enthusiasm falters, she scratches at her desk with a nail. ¡°How¡¯s mom doing, Kl¨¢ra?¡± I had almost forgotten about the assault on her Mum. I feel the guilt creeping in that I did most of the damage in that instance. ¡°The hospital is keeping her for a couple of days more. I think I might be able to get her institutionalised for a month, under a pretense of getting her out of a cult mentality.¡± Kl¨¢ra responds nonchalantly, clearly not too worried about it. I peer in closer at the blueprint for the van. ¡°I have no words Bridget, no words. I hope it works¡± I smile, imagining an Amazon van just descending down with parcels and whatnot. ¡°Imagine if you let companies use this tech, you¡¯d revolutionise mass delivery¡± She blows as raspberry at me, dismissively. ¡°Cynthia you got your ass moved here by a kid that shatters reality by headbutting it to make portals. I doubt a fucking hovervan is more effective than a collective of folks like that.¡± This much was true, but I couldn¡¯t help but think about how many people share his ability. ¡°But Bridget, how many people like Clark exist? Surely from a business perspective you¡¯d want to have more than one delivery person for your entire company, efficiency and stuff¡± I suddenly feel a bit down, this was the type of situation I¡¯d live for as an engineer. I wish I still had that job. Then I look down at my body and let out a sigh, at least I finally feel right. ¡°Probably yeah, but I¡¯m not going to sell this shit to companies until Jeff Bezos gets launched into orbit for his behavior. The whole lot of them, truth be told. Anyways, I¡¯m gonna assign pages from the blueprints to each of you to work on. And then we¡¯re gonna put Magda together.¡± Bridget shuts the laptop screen down and puts it under her arm, taking it upstairs to where I assume her printer is. I sit down on a stool in the garage, sipping at a drink of water, a tissue surrounding the cup due to my grubby slender fingers. It didn¡¯t take long for her to return with a bunch of paper blueprints. I place my cup down on the counter and rub my hands together, shivering at the touch of the cold metal. I guess its time to work. *** It took us about 6 days to get the van back in working order. I had been put in charge of most of the normal mechanical bits and pieces as well as reinforcing the structure of the van. I¡¯d used extra metal piping to stiffen the chassis so it doesn¡¯t flex in flight. The van had been entirely redesigned with a new engine and stronger undercarriage, as well as an entirely new paint job which Bridget absolutely adored. Long gone was the past identity of an old delivery van with aging paint, now it looked good as new in a More than Computer Mouse livery. I grab an old flannel and wipe the grime off of my hands. ¡°You should turn it on for the first time Bridget, its your van after all¡± I give her a thumbs up as the go ahead. She leaped into the cabin, almost bouncing off of the new seats, she twists the key and the new VW sourced engine started right up. It was no Wankel Rotary motor, but it did sound good, for a van. She edged the van out of the garage. I walked after it, the van suddenly goes light on its suspension and the wheels retract inwards. We were treated to a glorious aerial display, we cheered and waved as she zoomed about. After a short while she brought the van to a halt back down on the driveway. Bridget opens the door and yells out loud: ¡°Hell. Fucking. Yes. FUCK the police I drive wherever I want!!!¡± she raises her arms in the air excitedly, jumping out of the van and running towards me, suddenly jumping and wrapping her arms around me ¡°Oh thank you, you wonderful cyborg lady, couldn¡¯t have done it without your help.¡± I blush, she was crushing my chest a little. ¡°No problem Bridget, it was the least I could do. You saved my ass¡± ¡°I mean, how could I NOT save such a masterpiece. Blessed by whateverthefuck caused the emergence that behind is.¡± She lets go and I blush even harder, covering my rear with my hands. She steps back and turned around, admiring the handiwork. ¡°Right, I¡¯m gonna need your permission for appearing in the video. That¡¯s gonna be released friday of the project. I think it¡¯ll make the channel blow up¡± I look away, not entirely sure whether I should. I am a wanted criminal after all. ¡°I don¡¯t know Bridget, I¡¯m a wanted criminal. Would it be healthy for your channel if I¡¯m here?¡± She puts a hand on my shoulder reassuringly, it had become a regular action these past few days whenever I had started feeling down. My emotions aren''t entirely under my control anymore. I used to be able to suppress any sadness or regret, but ever since the Emergence first changed me its become harder and harder. ¡°Cynthia. You¡¯re a gorgeous looking cyborg lady. Whose crimes are freeing wrongfully jailed Emerged. And leaving a dude paralysed, but he¡¯s a cop. People are gonna ask when the next time we work together will be if you show up in the vid.¡± She lets go of my shoulder and clambers back into the van, parking it back into the garage. I walk in with it, peering at the fixed bodywork. She jumps back out and we resume our conversation. ¡°Your choice though.¡± I take a deep breath in order to try and gather myself. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll appear in the video. They might wonder how you managed some of the more heavy lifting if I¡¯m not in it¡± I smile slightly, honestly I felt that weird combination of happy-sad. Where you¡¯re not unhappy but still feel like you should be crying. She patted me on the head gently and carefully between the antenna, twanging my antenna causes huge headaches, or so it seems. ¡°Which means I¡¯ll need to record an end explanation bit with you now, and then we can party up the finished project I guess.¡± she gestured for me to follow her and we went up to her bedroom where she had her computer for editing and filming purposes. We very quickly shot the video, I was kinda bashful so I didn¡¯t speak up too much, I just introduced myself and my part in the project. After that was done Bridget broke out the wine and we celebrated the completion of the Hovervan. She sent ?¨¢rka off to bed since she had school the day after, her sister was pretty much out of it, lying on the floor. I was sipping at a glass, enjoying the wine. I was never a huge binge drinker so I was still on my first glass, and only a tiny bit drunk. My mind wandered and I found myself accidentally turning on the TV. Bridget¡¯s attention is caught by something outside, odd flashes of light were peering through the windows. I suddenly sobered up. ¡°Bridget is that what I think it is?¡± She nods ¡°Fuck me running, not again.¡± Oh fuck no, a second Emergence? This is not fucking good, I need to get back to England to make sure they¡¯re all safe. Its going to be chaos. ¡°Bridget! I need to go back, Miura and everyone might be in danger¡± She was already halfway to her phone. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get you back home.¡± I really hope everyone¡¯s gotten to safety, and then the thought hits me..what if Miura emerges¡­ Chapter 16: Raging Rangie I said goodbye and stepped through the portal, landing in the car park of the diner, the glowing lights amongst the clouds were waning in intensity and there were the sounds of moaning and yelling coming from all over the place. It was a busy Thursday evening and there were various nightclubs open I could see various people collapsed down the pavement, anyone who wasn¡¯t had their attentions half distracted by the sky and by anyone close to them being affected by it. Then came a noise which sent shivers down my spine¡­ a revving engine. A black Range Rover was hurtling down the road. Most certainly going too quickly to make the corner ahead of it, my brain instantly flashes back to my near accident at the first Emergence, and to ?¨¢rka¡¯s reaction when I talked about the cop crash. I made up my mind in that instance that I had to stop the car, it was never going to get stopped on the damp tarmac using its own brakes so I leapt into the road, putting my metal arm forward and hoping I can stop the car. All the muscles in my legs tense up as I face the metal beast bearing down on me and the crowd of people behind, its V8 engine roaring like a lion, and then it hit me. The grinding of metal on metal. The dropping engine note. The rear end of the 4x4 lifted up in order to overtake the front which was currently grinding against the shield that my arm had become. I was shocked, not only could my arm take impacts it could also shift form! My feet were scraping against the rain sodden tarmac. I couldn¡¯t hold it, the car was starting to flip and it slips beyond my grasp, gaining air and going end over end. I could only watch as it misses the cluster of people and instead ends up on the roof of a shop, bursting into flames. I sink to my knees, the metal shield returning back to its original form. I couldn¡¯t do it, I couldn¡¯t stop it from killing anyone. Tears flow freely from my eyes, mingling with the puddles around me like the world¡¯s saddest party. I punch the tarmac in anger and sadness, causing a small crater in the road. I can only watch and cry as the wreck of the Rangie burns like an emblem of my failure. Suddenly I hear a voice coming from the pavement. ¡°Put your hands up villain¡± A small town police officer had a taser drawn and pointed at me. My anger flared up. ¡°Fuck off, can¡¯t you see I¡¯m having a moment here¡± All my sadness and anger boiled over and now I wasn¡¯t having any of this. I stand up and my shield forms just in time as he pulls the trigger, sending many volts coursing through it. It begins to glow an even brighter blue as my antenna grow to their full length and sparks dart in between them. For a few seconds the electricity builds up before it gets directed right back at him. He goes down like a sack of spuds and I feel no guilt at all. A couple of non-Emerged people who were watching us screamed and ran away. I felt a kind of rush from that, they¡¯re...scared of me. It makes me feel powerful. I shake my head before gasping ¡°I need to get home¡± I look around and see a Ford Focus with a door open. A man with horns lying prone half out of it, I march over to the car and drag him out onto the pavement before sitting in the driver''s seat. I turn the key hoping for it to start up and after a little coaxing it growls into life. I quickly speed off, my attempt to be heroic burning in the rear view mirror behind me. In that moment I felt like Mad Max, being alone behind the wheel. I take solace in that I will soon be reunited with my friends and my car. I eventually get to the edge of town and park the Focus in an alley where it won¡¯t be discovered for some time and make my way into the woods. ¡°I¡¯m coming, I just hope nothing bad has happened¡­¡± *** Elfwood was always a slightly eerie place, the trees are tall and blackened, covered in lichen. My Granddad used to take me out to collect them for his model railway. Lichen and other natural fawna is often used in that hobby, but never mind that. Those are old memories of someone else. I look around, being careful where I step. Theres nothing strictly dangerous about wildlife in the UK. There exists only one specific type of venomous snake after all, what we call the Adder. Elfwood has a small population of them that live in the rocky areas of the forest, the bite is known to be painful but very rarely fatal, nonetheless I was keeping an eye out for where I place my feet. I was tracing the road in order to not become lost and find my way back, but it was curvy and long so it was taking a long amount of time. Occasionally a set of headlights would flash past and I¡¯d duck in the bushes, not wanting to be seen. Half an hour into the journey I spot static lights through the undergrowth. I didn¡¯t remember anything being built in this area to my knowledge. I push through the overgrown plants and come across another set of ruins, which have been surrounded by floodlights and a chain link fence, there is a line of plastic strung around the fence with a logo on it. ¡°Yelmorn Industries?¡± I was trying to rack my brain as to where I¡¯d heard of that name from. Whoever they are, they¡¯ve certainly got their dibs on this place, keeping to the bushes I walk around the exterior. The place seems to be unmanned, and from what I can sense. There are minimal CCTV cameras about. I twist them all in the opposite direction before scaling the fence, I jog over to the ruin entrance, by which sits a group of crates. Most of them are empty but in one I found a cube, similar in design to the Energy cube Bridget had. I quickly pocketed it and quickly made my escape. Back in the safety of the forest I got out the cube and inspected it. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Bridget hadn¡¯t wanted me to fiddle around too much with her cubes so I was really curious about them. I knew her ones contained a lot of Energy of some kind but these I could tell were different. There was no energy signal that emitted from it, I suspect it has another purpose. I place it back in my pocket and carry on towards the bunker. It was another hour and a half before I eventually make it to the gravel lot, and at the back I spy a familiar shape, breaking out in a sprint I run right over to my beautiful car. It was a little dirty so that would need to be sorted soon, but it was just as I remembered it. I patted the headlight cover ¡°Good girl, I missed you¡±. Parked next to it was a white Volkswagen Amarok, of which I can only assume was Brad¡¯s truck. After giving my car the once over I walked back into the forest towards the bunker. *** Victora chips the black ball into a pocket and fist bumps the air, picking up a beer she chugs it down and settles back into a seat not far away, she was off duty after a long week of patrolling the roads, even since the raid on the diner which went so poorly there had been neither head nor tails seen of Eunos, there had been traces of odd supernatural activity detected in the diner where she had disappeared. They could only assume someone with a teleport or ¡°rift¡± ability had managed to step in and rescue them. It was frustrating but there was little the police could do. She throws the bottle at the bin in the corner of the room and admires her play-room., the extra money she was being paid as a fairly high profile hero meant she had managed to get herself a really nice home, and had immediately gone out and furnished it with a bunch of table games such as the pool table she¡¯d been playing it. An old song from the 80¡¯s was playing on the jukebox and her Triumph sat on the tarmac outside, lit by the streetlamp outside. The sun had faded a while ago, and she was looking forward to a night of playing to herself. ¡°I''ll take my chances...I forgot how nice romance is¡­ I haven''t been there for the longest time¡­¡± she sings to herself, standing in preparation to change the song, then an odd light catches the corner of her sight, a purple flash glints off the black paint of her bike, and then an orange one. Immediately her phone goes off which she quickly answers, it was Colonel Goff. ¡°Victoria, another Emergence is happening. We need you out there, weapons free¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gathered that, You better pay me overtime¡± Victoria sighs, she had hoped it would be a one-off situation, she remembers how painful the experience was, and how she nearly impaled herself with her newfound ability. ¡°If you had any morals you¡¯d be out there doing this for free¡± The tinny voice rings out from her phone, sounding very annoyed. ¡°Fuck off¡± She hits disconnect and rushes over to the front door, quickly swiping her jacket and keys off of a hook on the wall. She hops onto the bike, turns on her police radio and sets off, waiting to go after the first big call that comes in. It doesn¡¯t take long. ¡°We¡¯ve got calls of an Emerged with steam and smoke powers raiding shops and setting fires in the street in downtown Hillchester¡± Victoria presses a button on the radio to transmit a response. ¡°Roger, this is Victory, I am en route¡± *** I knock on the door of the bunker and sit on the step outside. I was really excited and anxious to see everyone, but I was also worried about the leak. I would have to talk to Sierra. The locks on the door slowly clunked open and the door cracked open. A big hand appeared from the game and pulled it open slightly wider. It was Brad. ¡°Cynthia? You¡¯re back!¡± I give him a small smile ¡°Sierra! Cynthia is here!¡± He calls back towards the interior of the bunker. I hear a yelp and the sound feet and hands skittering towards us. She bursts out of the door and glomps down on my shoulders. ¡°Had fun abroad? I saw the video!¡± She is preening and chirping with happiness. I give her a small pat on the head and I get to my feet. ¡°I did, Bridget was really fun to be around. She''s so clever, I wish I had my designs with me¡­¡± my shoulders slump a bit. I was very proud of the advancements I made at the factory, to get no credit fucking sucks. I make a mental note to go fuck with the Production Plant at some point as revenge. ¡°Um, Sierra, Brad. Lets go inside, I want to talk about something¡± I duck into the bunker and entered the kitchen-living area. Being winter, the bunker was a pretty cold place to be, as there was little in the way of heating, just a few small radiators which were heated from the outside, as such Michael, the very cold blooded lizard man. He was pretty much attached to them. He pokes his head out of a pile of blankets when I enter. ¡°Oh, Cynthia...you¡¯re back. Its good to see you¡± ¡°Its good to see you again, you know you should probably bask in the sunlight?¡± He snorts and ducks back under his soft fortress. Brad and Sierra step into the kitchen behind me. ¡°Ignore him, he''s just cranky because nothing gets him warm anymore, not like being warm blooded eh?¡± Sierra curls her tail around her body and runs her hand down it. ¡°So Cynthia¡± Brad scratches his beard thoughtfully ¡°What is it you want to talk to us about?¡± ¡°I was almost taken by the army a week ago, How do you all reckon that happened?¡± ¡°Miura¡± all three of them say in unison, including the muffled voice by the radiator. Sierra carries on: ¡°I sent for your rescue and she was the only other person who knew about the date beforehand was her¡± I didn¡¯t want to believe them but deep down, It was the only thing that makes sense. I start tearing up. ¡°I trusted her, she escaped with me. She seemed as surprised as I was!¡± Brad shrugs his massive shoulders. ¡°She is one hell of an actress then. I don¡¯t know¡± Sierra pipes in again. ¡°Theres no way it could have been anyone else in the restaurant. It was definitely a sting operation¡± she looks tearful and sad as well. I look between the two of them, Brad has a remorseful look on his face too. I sink to my knees, I was tired, upset and I just wanted affection. Sierra seems to catch on to that and crouches down with me, putting her arms around my shoulders and resting her tail around my ankle. Brad places one of his big hands over mine and Mike even shuffles his pile of softness closer. We stay like that until eventually sleep overwhelms me and I fall into unconsciousness, the pillow I rested my head on stained dark with my tears. Chapter 17: Esprite A couple of hours passed before I woke, my neck in agony from the terrible position which I slept in. I shift my head from side to side, cracking my neck muscles. I look around and see Sierra is the only person still here, she''s curled up on the sofa nearby, still snoring. I stand up, arms outstretched and yawning. The clock on the table tells me that its 10am, theres also a note on the table. I pick it up and read it: Hey Girls Me and Michael have gone out to see what we can do to help people. We heard about the second Emergence on the radio. Cynthia your keys are on the desk. Brad I smile at the piece of paper, being correctly gendered and being told where my keys are bringing me unparalleled joy, I made a mental note to check whether the RX7 was still running and smoothly as I¡¯d left it, but first things first was a nice relaxing shower. I walk out of the living room area and close the door softly to not wake Sierra up from her sleep. I take a slight detour to pick up some clothes from my room and check my laptop, I see a tab for local news on my home page and I shudder, no doubt it will be full of stories about Emerged and possibly me. I close the laptop down, not wanting to think much about the world at the moment, everyone here was safe, thats all that mattered to me. I shut the door to the bathroom behind me and slid the locking mechanism into place before stripping down. I was still wearing the borrowed overalls from Bridget, it had a few stains here and there from oil. I chuck it into a washing up bin sitting in the corner, I then unlatch the bra and let my chest bare free. I was straight prior to the Emergence and my preferences very much hadn¡¯t changed, so my boobs were fascinating to me, the way my centre of gravity had shifted much higher was something I was still getting used to. Seeing Sierra so happy to be herself had made me feel much more brazen than previously, so in the spurr of the moment I ran a hand over my chest, just touching my breasts ¡°Ooo-hoof¡± The feeling of my soft hands caressing my nipples was almost painfully erotic. I was wary of going the full way and going down there though so I left it at that. I step out of my panties and under the showerhead. I twist the temperature knob up and relax into the shower, letting it pour down over my long white hair, my bangs settling over my breasts. I rub shampoo throughout the snowy locks. I love my hair, I don¡¯t know why it turned this colour but I loved it. I always loved girls with long flowing hair and I¡¯m glad I now joined that not very exclusive club of women with hair that stretches down to their waist. After about 20 minutes in the shower I finish up washing and turn it off. I step out of the shower and get dressed, pulling on a blouse and skinny jeans. Exiting the bathroom I bump into Sierra, who was too busy yawning to notice I¡¯d stepped out in front of her. ¡°Mmph, sorry Cy¡± Sierra yelps, taking a few short steps back, and nearly bumping into a radiator. I laugh, her brown locks was seriously messed up from sleeping so awkwardly, she had one hell of a cowlick. Her face lights up suddenly as if she had remembered something. ¡°Oh right! Cy, I managed to rescue some of your stuff, we put it in your room¡± I put a hand on her head, messing up her hair further. ¡°Thanks Sierra, I appreciate it. I¡¯m gonna take the Mazda for a drive, try and see the aftermath of this second Emergence¡± and go see what Miura has to say for herself, but I don¡¯t say that out loud. ¡°Can I come with? I haven¡¯t been out for a while¡± She springs closer, looking hopeful. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯d rather go by myself. I haven¡¯t driven her for so long¡± I could have sworn her nose twitched. She looked sad for a moment before perking back up again. ¡°Never mind then, I¡¯ll go for a run through the forest once someone is back to watch over the place, See ya later then Cy¡± She hops past and heads into the bathroom. I linger for a moment, just looking at the doorway she went through, wondering if I had hurt her feelings a bit. Never mind that though, I have a reunion date to get on with. I jog into the room and grab the keys from the desk and make my way outside. I jingled the keys on my finger, admiring the keyring I had on it, a chibi version of one of my favourite anime characters. The sunlight filtering down onto the thin pathway, my knees pushing aside the ferns that grow everywhere in this part of the country, my attention is then drawn to some rustling bushes nearby, it was a still day with minimal wind so it could have only been some kind of small creature. I wasn¡¯t particularly worried about it being anything dangerous, worse comes to worse could be just a fox. I shrug to no-one in particular and go over to investigate, Foxes can¡¯t be all that dangerous right? I crouch over the bush, still rustling away. I had approached as quietly as possible as to not disturb the creature. I could see something through the leaves moving about skittishly. I then strike, using my normal hand to quickly snatch it, to my shock it wasn¡¯t furry, and then it spoke. ¡°Foul beast! Let me go!¡± I unfurled me hand, keeping the thing pinched in my fingers. It looked like a very very tiny human, with a pointed nose and ears. It looked to be wearing an old crisp packet. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re human! Or at least partly. You should be capable of understanding Anglish right¡± ¡°Anglish? Don¡¯t you mean English?¡± I look at the little humanoid in confusion, then I remembered the Fae in Bridget¡¯s gardan. ¡°Are you a fairy¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be caught dead with those poncey twits. I am a Pixie, look how I am dressed is that not obvious?¡± they gesture proudly to the Salt and Vinegar label on the front of the packet. ¡°I found this here in the forest, fashioned it into a glorious garment for me to wear¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Thats a crisp packet¡± I was barely containing my bemusement at this point. ¡°A what now?¡± It looked at me, confused. ¡°A crisp packet, for potato snacks, thats a salt and vinegar flavoured one¡± ¡°So that was the meal I found with it. I thought it tasted odd¡± The little thing shrugged its shoulders. ¡°Anyway, now I¡¯ve found out you¡¯re not a savage wanting to consume me. Let me go. I won¡¯t run¡± I warily place the pixie on the leaf of a fern nearby. ¡°So, human, what''s your name?¡± ¡°Cynthia, uh. Yours?¡± They raise their arms to their chest and snap their fingers, causing a glittery effect. ¡°I am Esprit, nice to meet you!¡± it stretches out a tiny hand for a handshake. I take it with my metal hand and get a little static shock that runs up my arm and through my antenna. ¡°Now your arm is curious, you humans are an inventive bunch for sure. How long was I out for?¡± ¡°What¡¯d you mean?¡± ¡°All the magic root things, the leylines I think? They were dying and all us creatures that rely on them had to hibernate¡± ¡°Right¡± all this new information was giving me a headache, or perhaps it was the shock they gave me. ¡°Well its the year 2019 AD¡± ¡°Oh my, then I have been out for a long time. Still a monarchy?¡± ¡°Sort of, they don¡¯t have an awful lot of power anymore though, mainly the government¡± I shrug. ¡°Never much liked the Kings and Queens much myself¡± ¡°Well Esprit. I have to get going, we have a bunker nearby if you want to meet some more of us, they¡¯re nice people. You¡¯re lucky in fact, a lot of people would quite like to catch you and do bad stuff to you. Much the same as me¡± I stand up to my full height, which certainly dwarfs the diminutive pixie. ¡°Right¡± they say ¡°I¡¯ll see you later Cynthia, you seem like a nice woman, I might take up your offer, I¡¯ve always enjoyed the company of humans in the past. I¡¯m a bit of an outcast from my own kind, unfortunately¡± I sigh and say ¡°tell me about it¡± under my breath. I wave goodbye to Esprit and carry on through the forest, eventually stepping out into the car park. I walk over to the RX7 and twist the key in the door, it unlocks quickly and I duck into the driver''s seat. My antennae rise up as high as the roofline will allow and I feel the presence of the car. I close my eyes and twist the key in the ignition. The engine lights up nearly instantly, I can feel the rotors spin within the block, and everything seems all in order. I leave it running a couple of minutes before shutting it down and checking the oil. Its a little low so I fetch a can I keep in the boot as a spare. Its the proper non-synthetic stuff as well, nothing but the best for my baby. Once filled up on oil to a suitable level I return the can to the boot and step back behind the wheel. ¡°Time to go out for your first good run in a while. Don¡¯t be mad you had to sit for a while¡± I cooed to the steering wheel. Anyone watching would probably think me mad. Meanwhile, back at the bunker. Wrapping a towel around her lithe figure, Sierra peeks out of the bathroom, she didn¡¯t hear anyone return so she wasn¡¯t worried about being essentially nude out there. She trots down the hallway keeping a hand on the end of the towel covering her when all of a sudden she freezes, sitting on the door handle to the bedroom was a tiny little creature, and the creature spoke. ¡°Cynthia pointed me towards this bunker. I see you¡¯re also only partly human. Is this a new fashion style?¡± Sierra blushes and grabs the bottom of the towel with her other hand. ¡°Give me a second okay! Whatever you are¡± The creature hops off the doorknob and lets her past. She quickly rushes in and grabs the first thing she can find in her bundle of clothes, which turns out to be a tank top and short skirt. Once dressed she warily opens the door to find the little creature resting on a radiator. ¡°This is warm, I wonder how¡± Sierra shakes her head in disbelief ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°Well-¡± *** ¡°So let me get this straight, you¡¯re saying magic is coming?¡± Sierra was pouring a cup of coffee for herself in the kitchen, whilst Esprit sips at a spoon of milk. ¡°Yes, the leylines seem to be returning, although I¡¯m no expert, my attitude to schooling was poor, to say the least¡± ¡°But magic did not do this?¡± she gestures to her ears and tail. ¡°No, or at least I don¡¯t think so. Something else caused it, I believe it might have something to do with magic returning as well¡± Esprit shrugs its shoulders. ¡°A lot has happened whilst I was out cold. The technology you humans have created is impressive¡± the pixie looks in the direction of the radio and the radiator. ¡°Well if you think thats impressive you should see some of the stuff we¡¯ve built! We¡¯ve gone to the moon as well¡± Sierra¡¯s face lights up with a grin. Being basically a representative for humanity would do that to you. ¡°Anything up there?¡± Esprit¡¯s nose twitches, Sierra shrugs her small shoulders. ¡°Not really, wasn¡¯t made out of cheese like we suspected. You hungry Esprit?¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask¡± *** It didn¡¯t take long to drive into town, there seemed to be much less carnage this time, only a few small craters, barely bigger than the normal potholes, that I had to steer the car around. Thankfully British politeness meant that the lane priorities stayed the same, and people stopped to let you through. One peculiar crater was sort of foot shaped. Like some truly big creature had passed through. I could only assume one had. I was surprised at the lack of police and army out and about. Emerged seem to be becoming something more normalised. There were a few obviously Emerged wandering the streets and not being harassed, just being given a wary eye by the people they pass. It brings a smile to my face knowing that they¡¯ve not been instantly imprisoned like last time. I pull into the carpark of a small city centre park, some people are playing tennis in the courts a couple of yards away. One of them looked to have a small set of wings mounted at their waist, using the wings to gain a bit of height when the ball bounces high. I twist the key and shut the car down. Climbing out, I catch a whiff of a chip shop from across the road, pulling on a hoodie to cover my arm. I decide to fetch something for me and Sierra to eat. A little predator like her could probably destroy a bit of fish. I shudder at the thought of her sharp teeth. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to get on the bad side of her¡± I muttered out loud to no-one in particular. ¡°Of who Misssss?¡± A voice rings out from behind me, it carried an almost reptilian quality, a bit like a snake. I turn to see a man with shaggy hair and skin that was interlaced occasionally with scales, much like Michael, a reptilian tongue skates around his lips. He was wearing a jumper and a set of jogging bottoms. ¡°A friend of mine, she has a real sharp bite¡± I give the man an awkward smile, he was a little creepy. But I¡¯m not one to judge, he just looked like it. ¡°Sounds like an interesting friendship¡± The man nods, checking his watch. ¡°Well uh, if you don¡¯t mind I gotta get going¡± He was making me real uneasy, he gave me a nod and jogged off. I turn back to the road looking either way before crossing it, tracking the scent of fatty chips and battered cod. Chapter 18: Hyper Super Power 3 cylinder growls reverberate off of the concrete and red brick alleys and streets, the midday sun just about peeks through the grey winter skies above. Victoria squeezes the brake pedal on the bike and slowly comes to a halt in a parking spot for bikes. Kaa had just hit in that he had an encounter with Eunos, and had radioed for assistance. The skinny man rises from a bench by the side of the road whilst she takes off her helmet. ¡°I got here as fast as possible, where is she?¡± She growls. Victoria had been itching to find Eunos for some time, especially after escaping from the restaurant. She had been driven ragged by the second Emergence, a new load of Emerged roaming the street, some violent, others peaceful. The violent ones were the real headache, causing stacks upon stacks of property damage, and the police needing her help to subdue them. At least there had been nothing truly horrific like some of the things she hears about on the news from America. She kicks the stand down on the Triumph and dismounts. ¡°Chip shop, street over¡± Kaa says, ever a man of few words. Victoria holds a hand out in the air and her spear materialises with a gust of wind and a clunk, frightening away a few people that were loitering about nearby. ¡°I¡¯m on it¡± She hoists the spear over her shoulder and starts off towards the area Eunos was spotted in. *** I had just handed over the change to the teen behind the counter and was about to leave when my gut feeling told me danger might be close, I hurriedly opened the door of the shop, tingling the bell that hung by it. I looked around the street, scanning for anything out of the ordinary when I saw her, Victoria. She was standing by my car, much like she had before, watching me like a hawk. She already had one of her bright shining spears to hand. I signal her with a wave, trying to bluff that I wasn¡¯t nervous by her presence. A fight is most likely inevitable, I walk towards her, unlocking my car¡¯s doors. ¡°Mind if I put this away Victoria? Don¡¯t want to spoil good food, I¡¯m sure you understand¡± I gesture towards the bag cheerily, trying to calm my nerves. She grunts with a shrug ¡°Why not, although I doubt you¡¯ll be having any of it murderer¡± I cringe a little, closing my eyes and remembering the speeding car. I take a deep breath and recompose myself. I know I shouldn''t have tried being a hero. I was never very good at it, I didn¡¯t have the courage to stand up to bullies, to try and protect other people, not before I emerged. And even when I did, my attempts to do some form of good to people has lead to others getting hurt. I must admit though, that robbery was fun. I place the bag in the car and lock it back up again. Then I turn back to Victoria. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never been good at being...good I must admit. I have attempted to be! To be fair¡± I shrug and her face darkens. ¡°Well your freedom ends tonight, scu-¡± ¡°-hang on a sec, if we¡¯re gonna have a fight let me get at least slightly prepared¡± I point at my car and roll down a window, turning the stereo on and the volume to full. Then I focus on my arm and form the shield. ¡°You gotta have music to a fight scene!¡± I giggle. The beginning of Hyper Super Power rings out. ¡°Graah, you¡¯re so annoying!¡± Victoria hefts her spear into the air and chucks it at me, I shift my shield to direct the spear upwards and it hits, staggering me slightly. The few people who hadn¡¯t noticed us most definitely had now. Those closest screamed and ran to what they perceived was a safe distance. The spear chinked off of the shield as expected and I launch my body forwards, hoping to force her back to a more ideal position away from my car. She hadn¡¯t expected me to charge forwards and so my shield collides heavily with her outstretched arm, which had followed through with the spear prior. The sound of metal against bone felt pretty agonising in my ears, and I wasn¡¯t even the one feeling the pain. I hit her with enough force that she stumbled backwards and went head over heels a few meters up the street. I check from side to side to see if there were any cars parked in an ideal position and I lucked out. I start one up on the further side of the road and rev its engine, as she begins to get up on her feet I send the car accelerating towards her, just in time she manages to summon another spear and uses the momentum of the car to pole vault her way over it. The tiny hatchback clatters over a kerb and into the front window of a bank where it comes to rest. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re good. I guess you trained your powers and your acrobatics and stuff?¡± I reckoned if I kept talking, she¡¯d might not attack sensibly. I¡¯d get into her head a little. Victoria snorted derisively. ¡°I don¡¯t converse with criminals¡± She lobs two spears in quick succession, I block the first which twangs sideways and embeds itself in a Nissan Juke¡¯s boot lid. The second hits the shield directly in the middle, driving me back a few metres. I start up two more and send them towards her one after another, she dodges the first but is clipped and sent spinning off by the second. I charge forwards again and catch her in the chin whilst she was dazed. ¡°Too bad¡± I tut, looking down at her. My jeans were stained black by rubbing against the tarmac on the road. Whilst she¡¯s down I turn on another car, carefully selecting one with tall enough suspension, and move it to park on top of her, trapping her under the vehicle. I crouch down to look at her underneath ¡°You know, Victoria. If you came at me with an open mind and not insulting me and presuming I am a cold blooded killer, then maybe you might have experienced my nice side, I¡¯ll be seeing you¡± I left her there, moaning and groaning in pain. She¡¯ll be fine, seemed tough enough.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. As I was walking away, I couldn¡¯t help but suddenly notice how my body aches all over and I seem to have developed a limp during the fight, all that adrenaline from the fight was slowly wearing off and I became hyper aware that my body was not built for extended melee duels. I pull open the door to my car and settle down in the seat, I don¡¯t have the energy to drive the car physically, so I use my already extended antenna to pilot the car back home remotely. Little did I know I had a tail, and not a furry kind although I must admit having one of those sounded pretty cool, as my RX7 navigated its way out of Hillchester¡¯s outer suburbs a lithe figure could be seen from below skating along the rooftops, leaping from terraced house to terraced house. I was too busy nursing my twisted ankle to notice anything like that, both eyes on the road but my hands were free to massage the worn muscles. It was only when I¡¯d gotten out of town and into the forests near the bunker when I noticed a figure hopping along the road to the right of the car. I switch the hazards on and pull over on the next layby at the side of the road. I opened the door, pushing it all the way with my finger tips. The hooded figure approached with a noticeable bounce in their step, they¡¯re wearing a maroon hoodie and grey jeans. I must admit the jeans looked like they barely fit. I could see that her legs were immensely toned and muscled. The figure pulled down their hood, revealing a set of ears right out of one of a Playboy cover. It was a young woman, who looked in her early twenties for sure. She had a huge grin on her face, which was accentuated by her cute nose that twitches like Sierra¡¯s does. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to meet you for so long, you¡¯re Eunos right? I watched that whole fight, you¡¯re so cool. I love your hair¡± Her mouth went a mile a minute, which was an admirable speed, if hard to understand. ¡°Calm down there Buggs, what¡¯s your name?¡± I shake my hand in the air dismissively, trying to get the word vomit to cool off a bit, she looks a bit shocked at my blase response. But then she straightens up a bit and resumes. ¡°The name¡¯s Connie, Connie Watts¡± She gives me a wink and I bite back a remark about the cliche nature of her introduction. ¡°You helped my brother escape from the army barracks, he was telling me how they were trying to indoctrinate them into the army, I¡¯m so thankful for that!¡± My hand twitches a little at the mention of the breakout, and the consequences of it. I give her a slight smile and nod, at least partially glad I¡¯d helped someone else out too. ¡°So, um, Eunos. I found a curious tidbit of information that you might be interested in. According to my brother, they were planning on moving people to a site further south, a cliffside place near Dover, that might be worth checking out¡± I should have known this wouldn¡¯t be the only instance of this crap happening. I stamp a foot down, and the horn of my car goes off in frustration. ¡°Bastards, I was too hopeful that this would be the only case. I¡¯ll have to investigate¡± They have no damned right to imprison Emerged. ¡°They¡¯re scared of us you know? They¡¯re frightened that we look strange and can do miraculous things they can¡¯t¡± To emphasize my point I click my fingers and lower and raise the pop up headlights of my car, revving the engine at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m going to show them they¡¯re right, they should be afraid, bunch of wankers¡± I growl. Connie itches one of her long furry ears. ¡°Well uh, if you need help I¡¯m up for it! I was a kickboxer you know, they wouldn¡¯t allow me to fight after I emerged¡± She does a few small punches and then does a jump kick in the air, I can feel the air pressure of the kick from where I stand a few metres away, my hair blows about a bit, strands flicking over my face. ¡°Very impressive, I¡¯ll get in touch. I must get back home though, I¡¯ve got food to deliver¡± Connie nods back and gives me a salute, I step back into the car and close the door. I shuffle through my Mp3 player and select another song, the news had seriously pissed me off and now I wanted nothing more than to relieve some of that anger on the tarmac. I place the car into gear, give Connie a wave and set off, dropping the clutch and spinning up the rear wheels and vanishing back into the depths of the forest. *** In no time short I ended up back at the bunker, clutching the still warm bag. I pull open the door and venture inside, the light is on so I assume everything is alright, inside the living room I find Sierra gazing into a mirror, with Esprit standing on her shoulders running a hand through her hair. It made me a little self conscious of my now incredibly messed up white locks, which were straying all over the place after the fight with Victoria. ¡°You took your time Cy, whats up?¡± Sierra asks, still preening in the mirror. I sigh and limp up to the counter by the kitchen. ¡°Nothing Sierra, carry on. I¡¯ll grab some plates and serve it up¡± I make sure to stay out of sight of the mirror. I move around the corner and grab two big plates and a small one. I empty the chips onto the plates and put one or two on the small one for Esprit. Then I place the battered Cod on one and a pair of sausages on the other for me. ¡°I¡¯m done Sierra, Esprit¡± I pick up the small plate and pass it on to Esprit, who had hopped from furniture to furniture to get to the counter. ¡°Oh what is it Cynthia? It smells good!¡± The tiny creature sniffs at the food and takes a chunk to bite. ¡°Tastes good too!¡± They¡¯re chips, I hope thats not too much for you¡± I smile halfheartedly at Esprit, she gives me an odd look momentarily then returns to munching down, Sierra comes up to the counter and grabs her plate, before returning to the sofa and switching on the laptop, which she and Mike have rigged to an old projector they found in a storage closet in the back, she loads up a TV catchup website and yadda yaddas the TV license warnings away. I leaned against the counter, picking at my food a little, resting my foot on a pillow I¡¯d kicked across. Out of the blue Sierra boots up a local news site and squeaks. Right up front is a photo of me, deflecting one of Victoria¡¯s spears. The headline reads: ¡°Despicable Eunos defeats Victory Victoria!¡± With the sub-line: ¡°property damage at an all time high thanks to brawl in Hillchester suburb¡± She looks back at me, mouth hanging open. Her eyes searching my body from head to toe, you could almost see her brain working. She springs out of her seat and rushes forward to hug me. ¡°Cy! You must be exhausted! Are you injured?¡± She tugs at my blouse, threatening to stretch a rip in the side of it wider. I patted her on the head, hoping she doesn¡¯t accidentally rip me a crop top. ¡°I¡¯m alright, I think. I rolled my ankle though, so I have a bit of a limp¡± I wince as she pokes my midriff ¡°Alright maybe a bit bruised¡± Esprit hops up, using my pocket as a hand hold and begins to poke around the rips in my clothing. ¡°I should be able to repair this, although I wouldn¡¯t recommend fighting in such flimsy clothing. I may have not paid much attention when I was being taught my history but I was super good and designing and making stuff!¡± The diminutive Pixie pulls up a sleeve and flexes an arm ¡°What would you like me to make for you?¡± Esprit was offering to make me like a super suit? They were certainly right, my clothes had taken an absolute battering and it was going to be expensive to keep replacing them, also the risk of a wardrobe malfunction is a big no. I reach out my hand. ¡°I¡¯ll take your offer on that Esprit!¡± Esprit grabs my finger and shakes it, creating a pact which I at this point didn¡¯t know would lead me down a very curious path indeed... Chapter 19: Magic and Rich Shorties ¡°Right¡± Esprit says, peeking out from behind the shower curtain. ¡°I¡¯m going to get to work making your outfit. If you have any special requirements please let me know soon. I have an idea what would look great on you!¡± I shudder, they had just used some glowy magic stuff to measure my sizes and I felt a little violated. ¡°You could have told me you were going to do that!¡± I growl, blushing slightly. ¡°Trust me I ain¡¯t telling anyone, not into humans either for your information¡± The Pixie giggles. ¡°Anyway let me work¡± I sigh and leave Esprit be. I walk into the living room where Sierra is busy finishing off the food, I decide I ought to give Bridget a message. I wonder what sorta gadget she¡¯d cook up for a super suit for someone like me. I set myself down on the computer desk and boot it up, listening to the radio in the background blasting out some nondescript pop music. The computer boots up quick and I load up the twitter browser and open my PMs with Bridget. Eunos @YesIAmEunos: ¡®Hey Bridget, long story short, got back alright. There was ...some carnage, but all in all everything is relatively okay here. I met a creature like Amalka here though, told me something about leylines? Anyway, Esprit (the creature, apparently a Pixie) is making me some kinda costume? I have no ideas what sorta things would help me though. Oh! And I discovered my arm can become a shield¡¯ I omitted the specifics of the accident outside the diner with the Range Rover, I didn¡¯t want to think about it Eunos @YesIAmEunos: ¡®Oh, sorry for the word vomit. I hope everything is going on alright there. Did you get back your machine?¡¯ I lent back on the seat rest, looking at the messages I sent feeling slightly anxious. I¡¯ve never been good at contacting people out of the blue. It felt wrong and rude, even if I¡¯m asked to keep in touch. I stand and push the chair back under the desk, leaving the computer on and walk towards the kitchen, making sure the dressing gown I was wearing was tied tightly. I reach into the fridge and pull out a cool bottle of water and undo the lid, taking a swig before screwing the top back on and taking the bottle with me. Pretty much the moment I get back to the computer it dings with a response from Bridget. Mouseio Auditore @mtcmouse: ¡®Well that confirms the thing with Am¨¢lka. Not hyped for the dragons. And well, how about you look up news on the Pope from yesterday to answer that question. Gadgets wise, you¡¯re a technopath, can control stuff and such. I¡¯ll make you a couple tiny drones for surveillance you can put on your belt and pilot. On the house, since you helped me with Magda¡¯ I open up a search engine tab and do a quick search for news surrounding the Vatican. ¡°Damn Bridget, I best remember not to get on your bad side¡± She was gonna use that machine on me, geez. Eunos @YesIAmEunos: ¡®Oh my, you really did a number on him. Those drones will be helpful thank you. Give ?¨¢rka and Non and everyone my regards, and make sure you top up Magda¡¯s oil! I sip at the water again. ¡°Drones huh¡± That sounded like fun, I¡¯d only ever flown in a hot air balloon and a plane once before. ¡°What did you say Cy?¡± Sierra turns to look at me. ¡°Bridget is sending me some drones for me to control, I forgot to tell you by the way. But I met a girl who told me about another Emerged containment site, further down south¡± Sierra jumps to her feet, snarling. ¡°Well we can¡¯t let that stay too long! We shouldn¡¯t be imprisoned or contained!¡± ¡°Damn right, and I plan on doing something about it soon. But we got to be prepared¡± I nod thoughtfully, hoping she calms down. ¡°Plus that fight with that twat Victoria took a lot out of me¡± Its true, my legs were bruised all over. Actually¡­ ¡°I have an idea!¡± I snap my metal fingers, sending small sparks fluttering about the place. ¡°I wonder if Esprit can like, enchant some impact damage reduction stuff into the legs of it¡± Sierra blinks, looking slightly confused. ¡°Do you reckon that can be done?¡± She asks, understandably. ¡°I haven¡¯t a clue, but I hope so. My legs can only handle so much¡± I laugh nervously. I limp out to the bathroom and knock on the door. ¡°I have some ideas now Esprit!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Come on in then¡± a tinny little voice rings out. I open the door and they¡¯re sitting on the top of the sink, chewing on a bit of a biscuit. ¡°This is very very tasty, what did you call it again?¡± ¡°A Rich Shortie, Esprit¡± ¡°Rich Shortie, it certainly makes me feel rich and ready to go¡± They did a navy style salute and stood up, perched on the rim of the sink with impeccable balance. ¡°So what do you need?¡± ¡°I need everything to be able to withstand heavy impacts and stuff like that, do you know how you can do that?¡± ¡°Should be able to enchant stuff, but our magic is...unpredictable. We didn¡¯t master it quite like people used to. We had to sort of rig stuff together out in the wilds¡± ¡°Really? People used to use magic?¡± ¡°Not you people. Another type, I think. Anyway, I finished the first part of your outfit¡± I pull the curtain aside and there is a long skirt hanging on a rail behind it. Deep pink-ish red with a black stripe of a different material intersected through it. ¡°Looking through your wardrobe and looking at your hair gave me a good idea as to your style. I was thinking of a black sweater with a purple E sewn into it, E for Eunos, done in a similar shade to the skirt, you could wear a blouse underneath it too¡± This sounded really promising, I liked the colour scheme. Esprit taps her nose, definitely seeming pleased with themselves. ¡°Now¡± She continues, ¡°In order to be able to enchant these with what you want. I am going to have to collect some things from outside and build a site to do it on. I may need your help in doing it quickly. It used to be something that¡¯d take a lot of us collectively to build, as we¡¯re so small. With your help..¡± she points at me. ¡°...It¡¯ll be an autumnal breeze to do¡± ¡°Right, tell me when I¡¯m needed then ok?¡±I close the door, leaving Esprit to do her stuff and create it. I hear the locks of the bunker door sliding open so I lean against the concrete wall, waiting to greet Mike and Brad. Mike is first in, jittering from foot to foot. ¡°You look like you have good news?¡± I ask. ¡°Was it so obvious?¡± He asks, looking quite sheepish. ¡°Tell her, Mike¡± A booming voice comes from the top of the steps, Brad¡¯s shadow looms down from above, he is carrying a few reusable bags I guess full of supplies. ¡°Well I think I can go home! I went to my mum¡¯s shop and they¡¯re moving abroad, to a place in the US. They said you all can come visit!¡± ¡°Thats wonderful news!¡± I exclaim, embracing him in a hug. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll be seeing you then¡± Brad edges down the steps, careful not to drop the bags. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking him back this evening, oh right. I heard about the fight Cy. You alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m healing, she got off worse, what¡¯ve you got there? I spy a baguette¡± I¡¯m almost salivating, bread is like the best thing. Especially when warm. Brad gives me an even warmer smile. ¡°Food shopping, everything we need for a while. Although I did get less due to Mike leaving¡± ¡°Mike¡¯s leaving?!¡± Sierra sprints out from the living room, running up and glomping onto his leg. ¡°I¡¯ll miss ya¡±. Brad raises one of his huge arms and his laugh booms down the hallway. ¡°Well! Lets throw him a going away party then!¡± ¡°Agreed!¡± I clap my hands together, grinning ear to ear ¡°We still have some leftover chips from the chip shop I can stick in the microwave¡± ¡°Sounds great to me!¡± says Mike, patting Sierra on the head. And so thats what we spent the afternoon doing, Brad designated himself the driver to take him home so the rest of us drunk whilst he sat there sipping orange juice. Mike at one point was trying to stick to the ceiling giggling like a schoolgirl. I think I passed out sometime after that, I had forgotten how much of a lightweight I was. *** It took half an hour to extract Victoria from underneath the SUV, in which time she had slipped in and out of consciousness a few times, in her dazed state she barely recognised Colonel Goff when he leant over her. ¡°You¡¯ve caused a right mess Victoria! charging in by yourself! What were you thinking?!¡± She closes her eyes, knowing he was right. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to bring in reinforcements I think¡± Victoria flinches, she had taken a hefty hit to the head and had concussion so could barely understand him. He disappeared and was replaced by the harsh lights on the inside of the ambulance. It was just blackness and harsh white one after another and then she went under properly as the anaesthetic kicks in. She had always hated hospitals, there was something about the sterilised nature, the odd smell and the general atmosphere of the places that gave her the creeps. She woke up with a shock, sitting bolt upright. A set of hands settled down on her shoulders and gently pushed her back down onto the bed. ¡°Calm down Miss, you¡¯re alright now¡± A male nurse was attending to her. ¡°I¡¯ll let everyone know you¡¯ve woken up¡± Her hands were covered in bandages from scraping along the ground and her neck was in a brace. ¡°I told you this would happen Victoria¡± Victoria groans, her mum has shown up. She was a banker and quite well off and wanted her to go into a nice business job. Her short heels clacked across the hard floor towards her bed. ¡°You threw away a nice job because of a few poxy rules and this Emergence happens and you decide to be a hero? I knew I shouldn¡¯t have let you read those ghastly comic books when you were younger¡± Victoria rolls her eyes and stays silent for now, she was used to this sort of admonishment from her mum. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t get off worse, the newspapers are having a fit over this Eunos character. At least its a distraction from Brexit anyhow¡± At this point Colonel Goff decided to make his grand entrance, with a great hulking creature not far behind him. He looked a bit like one of those fantasy orcs, with giant lower canines. Although he had kept a normal skin tone, very little about him looked normal, he had abnormally large shoulders for instance that lead to tree trunk sized arms. He definitely was a security guard or a bouncer or something before. ¡°Victoria!¡± Goff near enough shouts ¡°Meet Burt ¡®Barricade¡¯ Nichols, he shall be your replacement for the time being and will also be out patrolling the streets are part of Operation Barracuda, he should be able to smash through that shield of Eunos I imagine¡± He chuckles at that for no particular reason. ¡°Also! Barricade here is the first of a few new faces you¡¯ll find yourself to be acquainted to, we¡¯re expanding the Operation up and down the country as requested by the brass, so expect a whole load of teammates for you to call on soon¡± He seemed really pleased with himself, this annoyed Victoria greatly although she didn¡¯t let it show. She looked over to her mum who was busy filing her nails, not paying much attention at all. ¡°Right!¡± Goff continues ¡°We shall be off, Barricade here has work to do¡± Barricade grunts a response and turns for the door. ¡°Oh, and one more thing Victoria before I go. You¡¯re moving down south to overlook a site where we¡¯re training some new recruits, so heal up quick¡± and with that he ducks out the door after Barricade. ¡°Down south?! but Eunos is here! I can¡¯t bring her to justice from down south!¡± Victoria splutters, speaking through the pain in her jaw when she moves it. ¡°You should have thought of that before rushing in by yourself you useless girl¡± Her mum tuts unsympathically. ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have paid for those martial arts classes, you¡¯re delusional¡­.¡±