Identikit

By Prudence Walker

Chapter Two

I felt like someone had kicked me in my guts.  That disk was the only record of my old body.  Without it, I was stuck with this body, as my default form.  Wait a minute, I thought.  It wasn’t that bad, all I needed was a picture of myself.  I knew there was none at the station, but I had a few at my old place, even ones from before my shooting.  I sighed in relief.

“Hello, and who are you?” asked a shaking Misty.

“Hi I’m Christine,” said a very nervous Christine, as she twisted her hands in her skirts.

“She’s been helping me with the Identikit.”  I explained.  “Christine broke into some files to find a load of hidden options the aliens used.  Um Misty, Christine is really Chris from next door.  I hope you don’t hold it against her that’s she’s a guy.”

Misty looked surprised and looked more closely, before giving Christine a reassuring hug.

“Honey, my brother was a transvestite, before he committed suicide after being out-ed by his friends one day.”  She grimaced with the memory.  “I will help you if you want.  Consider it a sort of a debt to Simon.”

“Simon?”  I queried.

“Yes I could have helped Simon had I known, maybe then, he’d still be alive,” she finished with a sob.

“I’m sorry Misty, we didn’t know,” I said giving her a hug.

She smiled somewhat tearfully, and then she stiffened as she recalled her news.

“We need to move…immediately.  Our security could be compromised.”  Misty gasped, looking around in a panic.  “There’s no knowing what they managed to get out of Brian, before they killed him.”

“TORTURED?”  I questioned.

Misty nodded too upset to reply, as fresh tears flowed.  I was shocked.  This wasn’t a game anymore.  No, this was survival.  I took a breath and thought for a minute.

“First, we need a fresh place to stay.”  I stated positively.

“What about my place?”  Christine piped up.

I was about to say that was a stupid idea as we needed to be far away from here, but then thinking more, I decided it was exactly what we needed.  Nobody in his or her right mind would think we would just move next door.  It was a ludicrous idea that just might work.

It took the three of us just 10 minutes to move everything next door.  Clothes went first, and then the goodies like the food and liquor.  Even the dinner I’d prepared went from one oven to the next.  Seeing no suspicious individuals around, we moved things like the TV and stereo and other appliances over as well.  Christine’s place was a mess with everything piled around.  It would take longer to move the things into their proper places.  Christine made us move into the main bedroom with the double bed, saying that it was more appropriate.  While I thought of it, I asked Misty what happened to her car.

“I dumped it down the street, that’s why I was so out of breath when I came in.”  Misty explained.

“Is it in view?  I mean they need to think we are far away,” I said.

“Well with the window down and the keys in it, I guess it was gone…” she looked at her watch.  “5 minutes ago.”

“Damn, what a waste of a cute car,” I said, feeling sorry for Misty.

“It’s not so bad; at least I can eventually collect the insurance after I report it stolen.”  She added wistfully.

“I guess.”  I said, trying to lift her spirits.

Misty and Christine started on the piles of belongings, while I finished off the dinner preparations.  By the time I announced dinner was served, they had returned the unit back into a tidy, if slightly over crowded state.  Both of them appreciated sitting to a hot meal as their appetites had grown with all the hard work.

We left the clearing up for later as we relaxed with several bottles of wine, while we discussed what to do next.

“What do we know about these people?”  I asked Misty.  “More importantly, what do they know about the Identikit or us?  Misty did anyone know about my gender change and what I look like?”

“I know there are security cameras in the lab, but Brian had disabled them prior to your test of the Identikit.  There were a few things that went on, that lead him to suspect that the project was under investigation by persons unknown.”  Misty said quietly, as she recalled her thoughts.

“So what happened exactly in the lab just after the explosion?”  I asked, trying to make sense of it.

Misty looked at me with those large eyes and she gathered her thoughts together.

“Instead of getting lunch from the lunch wagon, I went to a deli to get something special for myself and pick up Brian’s usual order.  An accident blocked me into the parking lot, so I was almost an hour late getting back.  Just before entering the Lab, I heard a series of explosions.  I dropped everything, and keyed myself back into the lab.  There was a lot of smoke, but it was being quickly drawn through a huge door sized hole in the lab wall and then through the warehouse wall.  I could see a hole cut out of the chain link fence next to the street.

The place was a wreck, I saw…  Brian,” she sobbed, as she saw it once again, in her mind.  “ He was on the floor with blood all over him, I saw that several of his fingers had been severed.  I checked.  He was dead.  I looked up and saw the safe had been destroyed.  There were things that had been in there, lying around charred.  I searched for the disk, knowing its importance, but saw no sign of it.  It may have been destroyed in the explosion.  I think they over did it and got little information from the safe.”

“Hmmm.  Sounds like amateurs, or they tried to leave that impression.”  I mused, thoughtfully.  “Maybe they wanted to flush us out, to panic us and make us run thereby becoming vulnerable.”

“How did Brian come to get hold of the device in the first place?” asked Christine.

“From what Brian told me, the government investigated the UFO incident and the device that was one of the many that were recovered.  The device had been damaged, and it was the only thing the secret agencies released for the scientists to mess with.  They probably didn’t think anything useful could be made from it.  Brian’s credentials were high enough, that the pencil pushers could claim that outside talent was being used.  He assumed that he got the project because the powers that be figured he was ineffective on any real world project.  The rest of the stuff found is probably in one of those huge secret vaults like in the movie, the ‘Raiders of the Lost Arc,’ where they showed them storing it away in an immense place to be lost forever.”

“Brian managed to get it working and thought of using its power to help fight crime.  He thought that it was under some sort of soft surveillance, just as a precaution.  I’m wondering now, if they had a device that detected the use of the device.  I wonder, did “they” decide to remove it from our hands?”

“That sounds like a possibility.  Give you something with strings attached, just in case you make something useful of it, and then rip it off for their own use.”  I said, disgustedly.  “Christine?  Do you think we can use it safely here, without its energy signature being detected?”

“Oh, I can soon rig up a Faraday cage,” laughed Christine cheerfully.  “That will stop anyone detecting it.”

“What’s a faraway cage?” murmured Misty.

“Faraday, and it’s basically an enclosed metal mesh cage, but a steel vault would do just as well,” explained Christine.

“Right, first I think I should call my boss and see if he can set up some protection for us.  Then I should go to my flat and get a picture so I can change back to my old self.”  I said, feeling a bit more confident.

“Do it in the morning.  I don’t want to be up all night at the police station,” grumbled Misty.  “Oh I forgot, here’s your new ID.”  She said, handing me an envelope.  “Brian had it ready when I arrived this morning.  It has a birth certificate, Driver’s license, and social security card.  There’s also a credit card in your name.”

“Hmm seems rather over the top,” I questioned, examining the documents inside.

We tidied up the dishes, and both Misty and I wanted to get a shower.  Christine suggested we shower together to save the hot water.  I didn’t think it was a good idea, but Misty jumped at the chance, agreeing that as we were both girls, it would be okay.

That shower really opened my eyes.  Misty insisted she wash me and for me to reciprocate by washing her.  I’m not sure any hot water was saved, as I’m sure it took far too long for both of us to get washed.  It was very enjoyable as Misty soaped all my sensitive spots with unerring accuracy.  I experienced my first female orgasm as she lathered up my groin.  I nearly collapsed weak-kneed, as the waves of pleasure from her ministrations, set my body on fire.  I returned the favour, silencing her moans with my mouth on hers.

We went to bed feeling wonderfully relaxed after the tensions of the day.  I didn’t remember any dreams, which I’m sure I regretted, as I’m sure Misty in her naked beauty was bound to be in them somewhere.

=======

“Hello?  Is the chief in?”  I inquired in my seductive voice.

A rather harried voice asked, “Who is this please?”

“I’m a friend of his, a very good friend,” I added for good measure.

There was a pause and some muffled voices as the officer on the phone handed it over to another.

“I’m afraid the chief is unavailable at this moment,” I heard another voice say.

“Look put Peter on or I’ll have your badge…Sergeant Collins.”  I said forcefully as I recognized the voice.

“Ma-am, I can’t, the chief was in an accident last night.  It’s serious.  He died on the way to hospital.”  The choked voice replied.

I sat back in shock, the phone dropping from my hand.  Misty looked at my pale face and knew something bad had happened.

“He’s dead… the Chief is dead,” I blurted out.

The bad feeling I had had two days ago, now returned.  Its presence was much more foreboding.  First Brian’s death and the disappearance of the disk, and now, the only other person who knew the details of my change, were dead.  I had to get my body back, so I could get the help I needed, to ensure the safety of Misty and myself and prevent the Identikit falling into the wrong hands.

“I need transport to check out my place,” I moaned impatiently

Christine, or rather Chris, now that he had reverted to his male attire, suggested we used his car as long as we filled the tank.  Wondering what sort of piece of junk he had, we were surprised to see a nicely restored 67 Ford Mustang Shelby, in the garage.  It was graphite with sliver stripes, and ran sweetly when I turned it over.  I looked askance at Chris, raising my eyebrow questioningly.

“It used to be my dad’s we both worked on it, before he… left us,” he bit out grimly.

“I’m sorry he left you,” I said, feeling sympathetic.

“Thanks, but it wasn’t his choice.  A drunk ran him over outside our home as he left for work.”  He continued, sadly.

I felt awful, but I couldn’t let it distract me from the situation we found ourselves in.  After a hasty breakfast, we all piled into the Mustang to make a fast run past my old place.  As we neared, I saw with a sinking feeling, orange traffic cones blocking off half the street, and traffic, such as it was, had to slow to allow opposing traffic through.  Getting nearer, I could see a fire engine still damping down hot spots in what remained of my place.  As we passed, I knew that the chances of finding any pictures were gone, as the blackened remains stood testament to the thoroughness’ of the destruction.

Working undercover, I hadn’t been one to hand out photos of myself, even before my injury.  I had removed my pre wounded one from off my desk at work, as it was a constant reminder of my current condition.  Likewise, I had no photos of my body since my injury for the same reason.  No, the only photos I’d had left, were those in my house put away in the shelves.

I sat in a daze, as we circled back and then returned to Chris’s place, without stopping.  Misty pulled me back into the present, giving me a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.  I stumbled back into the lounge and sat on the couch in a semi stupor as my whirling thoughts tried to make headway.

“What now?”  Misty asked, worriedly.

What now indeed, my chances of returning to my old body were almost zero, unless by a miracle, the disk was found undamaged.  My current identity was the only solid thing I had left.  Nobody would believe my story, back at the station.  I mean, I know I wouldn’t, if someone came to me with the same story.  I was stuck as Jan, at least for now.  I saw no point changing back to a guy if I had no identity.  Whatever I was going to do, it was going to be done as Jan; at least we had funds, courtesy of Brian’s forethought.

I asked Chris to continue working on the Identikit, we needed every edge we could get, to beat the odds stacked against us.  I was trying to think of a place that was isolated, could give us a fair chance of avoiding any surveillance, and at the same time, provide us with shielding for the Identikit.  Suddenly, it came to me.

“Chris, can the Identikit work off battery power?”  I said excitedly, interrupting his concentration.

“Yes, of course,” he replied, looking back at the screen.

“Even for the transformations?”  I queried, excitedly.

“Yes, I think so.  It depends on how much time you need to use it for.  I could rig up a couple of those 12-volt lead acid gel cells to the cigarette adapter, which should give you plenty of time.”

“Great!  Then I know just the place to test it.  The old wreck will do fine, it’s made of steel and its buried in the beach, so the salt water will provide an excellent ground continuity.  Moreover, it provides a good lookout for unwanted visitors.  Misty looked blankly at me.

“The old wreck?” she asked.

“Sorry, I guess I forget you probably haven’t heard of it, but it’s always a trouble spot for the police at night.  We get calls on the weekend, that kids are lighting fires and generally partying on board.  It’s off the point at South Head.”  I explained patiently.

Chris grumbled then cursed under his breath.  “Damn, damn, this encryption is hard to bypass.  It’s almost as if it’s alive.  Every time I get it open, it changes.  I can only open it for a minute, which is about enough time for one transformation.  Each time it takes longer to decrypt it.  As far as I can tell, it’s doubling each time.  If we try it next time, it will be roughly an hour to enable the function.”

“Ok forget that for now, I have a serious question Chris.  Do you want to become Christine for real?  With the Identikit, we could give you a female body.”  I interrupted.

Chris looked thoughtful, as he weighed the offer; finally, he turned to me and asked.

“What about my identity?  I’d need the paperwork to live as a woman.  Otherwise yes, it’s been my dream for as long as I can remember.”

“Well I can help with a driver’s license,” I said.  “I could go into our computer system… on second thoughts, if I give you the password could you set up the necessary electronic paper trail using your own laptop, to renew your license then all you’d need to do is say you lost your license and with a photo you’d be set.”

“I can give you an access number and a password that will help you get a birth certificate and social security number the same way.”  Misty said.

“When do you want to do this?”  Chris asked excitedly, as he saw his dream take several steps closer to reality.

“Why not now?”  I replied, wanting to get the ball rolling.

“No reason at all.”  Chris replied, while connecting his laptop to the phone jack.

Using my access to the Department of Motor Vehicles, Chris changed the information on his Driver’s License file.  While he was at it, he transferred title of the car to the new name.  We used one of my private undercover safe house addresses.  Misty’s access number and password turned loose a worm that would change Chris Hanson, male to Christine Hanson, female.

”Let me pick up a few bits and pieces and we can be off.”  The new Christine said as he stood up.

Misty had thoughtfully made us a picnic lunch to take with us, and soon we were off.  Christine, (Chris had changed into his fem mode) drove while I directed her to the road that led to the bluff, which was the closest you could get to the rusting hulk.  Misty looked at the hulk in distaste, saying she’d get dirty climbing around in that, but I assured her that kids had moved old odds and ends of furniture in there for their parties, and it wasn’t too bad.

We entered the hulk near the stern, where a gaping hole (the reason it was on the beach) allowed us access.  I carried the Identikit, a torch and old faithful, my colt lawmaker .357 magnum.  I had kept it despite the weight and bulk since my transformation in the lab, no policeman or woman, gives up their weapon easily.

Christine was carrying an assortment of wires, adapters, and batteries, while Misty brought the essentials…namely the food.  I led, as I knew the way through the bowels of the vessel.  We climbed up some stairs where the rust had been kept at bay with constant partygoers.  I led them further into a part that had been the galley.  A table was set up and chairs along with some makeshift barbecues set into what once was, the original gas cookers.

I found what I was looking for, and fiddled for a moment, before the room wall lit with several battery powered fluorescent lanterns that were connected to the two truck batteries on the floor.  I set the Identikit down on the table while Christine set up the cords necessary to back up the power of the Identikit.  I fired up the machine and its screen lit with its menu open.

“I guess you want to be a blue eyed blonde,” I said, looking pointedly at her blonde wig.

“No, I don’t,” she said surprising me.  “I’d like to be a brunette with an average figure, with maybe a ‘C’ cup,” she added.  “This,” she indicated to her wig, “was just temporary.”  She keyed in a few strokes, bringing up a figure, which she started adjusting the height and weight factors.  After a few minutes, she had a picture showing a cute 18-year-old with shoulder length hair.  She was slender, with a pleasant attractive face.  I wondered why she wasn’t going for a model’s look, and when I asked, she replied.

“I want to live in the real world, not in some fantasy world of tits and ass.  People can be put off approaching someone like that, thinking they are up on a sort of pedestal.  Sort of look, but don’t touch.  That’s not for me.  I want to be touched.  I won’t scare them away by being too perfect.”

I thought Christine had a very mature outlook on life.  If it had been me, I’d have probably gone all out, and regretted it later.  Not that I’d thought much on the subject.  I asked if she was going for any of the new options, but she said no.

“For the same reasons if I’m a normal woman without any thing special, then I’ll hardly be a target for anyone.”

She did open the gender preference option and surprised the hell out of me by clicking lesbian.

“Lesbian!”  I exclaimed.

“I may want to be a woman, but that doesn’t mean I want men pawing all over me.”  She explained calmly.

“Okay with me, let’s get started,” I said rather impatiently.

Christine stood up and took up a position within the gun attachment, while I executed the scan function, then the image was altered to her specifications and saved.  I then hit the download key, while she remained the same place.  In seconds, the change started and I got a view of what had happened to me just a day ago.  Christine hurriedly removed her breast forms as her chest threatened to burst out of her bra, as her own real breasts pushed out.

She then removed the blonde wig, allowing her natural brown locks to cascade down around her shoulders.  She shook her head, as she delighted in the feeling of naturally long hair.  Being dressed hid most of the changes from view, and all you saw was a slight reduction in height, and her arms and hands slimming and getting more feminine in appearance, as did her legs.

“Wow!  I feel so different, so--- me.”  She gasped, as she took stock of her new body.  She smiled as she heard her new feminine voice.

Misty and I busied ourselves in the picnic basket, allowing Christine the opportunity to examine herself more intimately, without being embarrassed by our watching.

“Thanks guys, I really owe you one,” Christine said, a few moments later.

=======

“Well after lunch, you can help us with our change,” I smiled in return.

“Not me!  I’m quite happy as I am, thank you,” Misty interjected around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Not even a tweak?”  I asked.  “What about a metabolism change, so you maintain the same weight?”  I teased, encouragingly.

“Well, maybe that, but only that.  You guys…um girls.  You haven’t been girls long enough to rid yourselves of those nasty male thoughts.  I don’t want to end up as some sort of bimbo air head.”  She giggled in response.

“I’m crushed,” I answered her, pulling a long face, and feigning sadness at the lack of trust.  “Would we do that?”

A chorus of ‘YES,’ from the three of us, made us all burst out laughing.  Misty needed to be slapped on the back as she nearly choked on her sandwich.  After recovering, Misty did undergo a slight change.  She had a metabolism boost, which would enable her to overindulge a bit and still not gain weight.  Then it was my turn.  I had felt reasonably comfortable in this body; maybe it was the freedom of pain and the feeling of energetic well being I didn’t care.  For now, I would stick with what I had, especially as I already had a valid identity.

I wanted the extras, that the alien device that had been added to the Identikit would be able to give me.  That included the strength and muscle density increases, the psychic powers, and the energy manipulation ability.  I got ready to be changed, standing in position, while Christine worked on the last encryption to release the hidden ability, mutability.

As the final barrier fell, he pressed the download key.

“Hey!  There’s some sort of flashing icon,” she exclaimed.  “What should I do?”

“What does it say?”  I asked, knowing that time was precious.

“Can’t tell it’s in a code, should I abort?”

‘I thought frantically, the temptation of getting all these abilities over rode my sense of caution.’

“Continue with it,” I urged, feeling time slipping by.

She stabbed down on a key, just before the encryption closed the option off.  Unlike before, where there were physical changes, I felt nothing for a few seconds.  Then, wham, a blinding stab of pain made me stagger, and I started to black out.  I felt Misty grabbing me in her arms as my consciousness faded, and I slumped towards the floor.

Coming to, was a shock.  I could ‘hear’ both Misty and Christine’s thoughts as they tried to bring me round.  It was strange and wonderful, feeling such concern radiating from them.  I gasped and mumbled that I was okay, except that I was going to murder the person who slugged me.  They laughed, and I felt the thoughts change to joy as they realized if I could crack a joke then I must be all right.

I sat up with their assistance, fully expecting my head to fall off.  (It didn’t, fortunately for me).  Apart from the thoughts coming from Misty and Christine, I felt no different.  I tried to see if I could hear anyone from further away, but I got nothing.  We found out later that it had a limited range of twenty feet.  Less, if I shut my new internal ears as I called them, obviously, the stronger the emotion the ‘louder’ it was.  The other abilities didn’t manifest themselves in any overt way and I guessed that they may take time to master.

“Did you find out what came up just before the change?”  I asked Christine quietly.

“Not yet, we were both more concerned with you,” she answered.

“Please do, I hope I didn’t do something silly with continuing.”  I admitted with a wry grin.

While Christine worked on the Identikit, I went up on deck for a check on our continued privacy.  I saw no one around, a fact that was helped by the threatening weather that was building up.  Just as I was about to call down to say pack up everything and go home, Misty rushed up to me.

“Come quick, Christine has broken the code and its not good news.”

‘Oh oh,’ I thought.  ‘I’ve done it again, taken a needless risk.  Maybe this time, it may kill me.’  My thoughts were racing around in circles as I clambered down to where my fate would be revealed.  I hadn’t picked up any details about the problem from Misty’s mind, so I figured Christine hadn’t told her.  Finally, I got to the room where Christine was looking rather shocked.  Tears were threatening to fall as I ‘heard’ her blaming herself for continuing the change.

“What’s the problem, and how long have I got to live?”  I asked her, wanting to get this over quickly.  Her thoughts were confusing, thoughts of surprise from my words, and the consequence’s of the information she had found.

“Jan, that icon that came up was a warning…” she paused.  “That the activation of the mutability option would prevent further changes by the device.  In other words…”

“I’m stuck as a female,” I filled in for her, as her thoughts came in loud and clear.

“In a nutshell, yes.”    

I sat down in shock, as I contemplated my future as a woman.  I realized it wasn’t the change in sex that bothered me, but the way that people would interact with me, and expect me to interact with them, that gave me pause.

This body felt incredibly flexible, pain free, and full of energy.  I was probably stronger now than I had been as a man, due to the enhancements.  I sighed, and hugged Christine to make her feel better.

Misty, who had followed me down, came over and hugged me too.  We were still like that when we heard voices, and heard the clink, clunk sounds of feet on the metal stairs approaching.  I quickly stepped over to the Identikit and shut it down, disconnecting it from the leads attached.

      I had just folded the alien device down and closed the lid, when four men entered the room.

“Hey what a surprise, the entertainment is already here, guys.”  One of them laughed nastily.

“Hot damn, I get the strawberry blonde,” said another with a biker’s jacket on.

“Sorry not tonight guys,” I said as forcefully as I could.  “We were just leaving,” I added, knowing exactly what their thoughts were.

“Uppity bitch aren’t you?” the biker dude sneered.  “You’re not leaving until we have finished with you, isn’t that right guys?”

An eager chorus of agreement, sent shivers up my back, and Misty and Christine huddled close behind me.  I stepped forward after handing Christine the Identikit, not missing the interested looks the guys had for the computer.

“You’ll have to stop us first,” I growled, taking up a defensive pose.

“Ha, ha, ha, the lady wants to fight us.”  The guys laughed together.

The big one, whom I assumed was the leader, moved forward disregarding my posture to his regret, as I made my first move.  I reached for his grasping hand pulling it forward as I spun round so my hip was against his.  I flipped him over his head as I applied pressure.  It felt like he was as light as a feather as he crashed into a stanchion.  He lay dazed as I moved forward to meet with the next guy.

I didn’t bother with any fancy moves; I just punched him in the stomach.  His surprise at my besting the leader had left him unguarded.  My hand sank deep into his solar plexus, causing him to double over in time to meet my knee with his nose.  He collapsed unconscious, putting him out of the action.  The third guy had rushed towards me threateningly; I was ready for him, as his thoughts telegraphed his move.  When I attempted a reverse spinning heel kick to the head, I found my balance was a bit off, due to my change in gender.  I managed to complete the move with enough force, to burst his nose open, and a shower of blood sprayed out and sent him crashing heavily to the floor.

I felt the power of my body surging in excitement, as adrenaline poured through it.  The last man was puzzled, and didn’t know whether to join in or flee.  Fortunately, as I yipped in a manner heard only in the kung-fu movies, and stood in the crane position, he decided to flee.  This suited me, as all I wanted to do, was to get out of here.

We all scrambled quickly to the breach in the hull and made our way to the car, while keeping an eye out for the other member of the group.  We saw nobody as we drove away, so I made a call on my cell phone to the local police, mentioning the three injured men.  I never mentioned to the girls, the fate we would have met at the brute’s hands.  Not after I’d read their minds.  I shuddered at the recollections, feeling somewhat soiled by the mental contact.

We stopped at a small eatery I knew of, and ordered a bacon burger each.  I stopped any protests that it was a saturated fat loaded meal, by pointing out that we didn’t need to worry about that, since we all had the enhancements to combat weight gain.  Misty in particular grinned at that, having fought against that all her life with eating sensibly.  I grinned at the sight of her with a mouthful of burger, with juices oozing down her chin.  I used to be able to eat the works burger with room for fries, as a man, but found myself struggling to eat it all now.  Lucky, I didn’t order the fries.

We had to clean ourselves up in the ladies and fix our faces.  The others assisted me, as both their experience exceeded mine.  Presentable once again, we paid and left, with Misty vowing to return sometime soon.

Arriving back at Christine’s place, I felt something was wrong and I tried to back out, but found it was too late.  I felt myself going numb and I collapsed to the floor hearing the others fall as well, as I blacked out.

======

I awoke to voices and a stinging slap across my face as I felt my senses awaken.

“So the lady is back with us again?” a male voice said coldly.

“Whaa,” I groaned, as I tested my limbs, only to find them secured to a wooden framed chair.  I opened my eyes to see I was still in Christine’s place and that the others were similarly restrained in the wooden dinning room chairs.  A man was aiming a light in my face and I could not make out any facial details.

He started to slap me around and my head rocked under his blows.  I think he felt he was softening me up as he asked no questions, but all I felt was stinging and a sensation of heat on my skin from his assault.  I cried out as if in pain, figuring he might try something more deadly if he saw no effects.

He stopped after a few minutes and I let my head hang down, managing to produce a few tears.  I could hear his thoughts going over the questions he was planning on asking.  I was surprised that he meant us no permanent harm as long as the information he got was going to lead him to the others.  As he thought of ‘them,’ I could sense an intense hatred.  Images of ‘them’ made me shudder.  Thoughts of aliens with mind numbing powers and weird shapes were circulating in his head.

“Now, tell me the truth.  Are you working for the others?” he demanded.

“The others?”  I whimpered slowly, hoping he’d open up more.

“The one’s from the crash… the alien’s.  Don’t be stupid girl, I know who you are and what you’re doing,” he added, impatiently.

‘This guy is a nut,’ I thought to myself.  I could see the girls struggling with their bonds, trying to free themselves.  I looked up at Misty catching her eye.  I winked at her, hiding it from the man, with the hair that had fallen forward around my lowered head.  She stopped trying to struggle and passed my message on to Christine with a nod towards me, and winking.

I saw them relax, as they waited for me to make my move.  I hoped I could come up with one in time.  I wondered how he had found out where we were.  I needed that information if we were to escape and stay out of his clutches.  I flexed my arms, testing the tape he’d used to bind me.

“I’m dizzy,” I hedged, trying for more time.

“Don’t worry, the effects of the gas will pass soon,” he assured me.

‘Ah… so that’s how he did it,’ I thought.  I looked around to see if the Identikit was still here.  I did see it still lying on the floor, apparently discarded as unimportant.

“You have the wrong people, we know nothing of these ‘others,’ that you seem to think we do.”  I gasped out.

“Liar, I know you’re involved.  I knew there were alien devices being used in the lab you both worked in.” he growled.  “Luckily I had bugged all the cars the employees used so I kept track of every vehicle on my GPS tracking computer.”

“Did you murder Brian?  The chief researcher.”  I asked, not informing him of his mistake.

“No, that was the others I’m after,” he muttered.  “I came on the scene too late to stop them recovering the device.”  He said, grinding his teeth.  “I did see the VW leaving just as I got there.  You were just another one on my list of suspects.  Cute trick of swapping apartments, but I lucked out when I recognized you yesterday, as I was staked out in the area.”

I felt a sense of relief, that he was working alone, and hadn’t told anyone of our whereabouts.  He knew nothing of the Identikit; having thought the devices had been removed by the other/aliens.  I scanned his thoughts gaining some knowledge, but most of it was based on theory’s not facts.  His obviously faulty knowledge about us proved that.

“We did see the device, but were never allowed to handle it,” I lied.  “The one device we did see, looked like a gun,” I embellished.  “Ask Misty, she’ll confirm what I’m saying.”

He looked over to see Misty nod an affirmation.

“Misty was scared for her life, but she thought it was some secret agency like the old Russian KGB or something, not aliens.”  I added.  “She thought they might come and kill us; that’s why we moved into Christine’s place.”

I felt his thoughts dismiss us as potential sources of information.  I had used his preconceived ideas to feed him a story he would swallow without a doubt.  Unfortunately, his thoughts turned to ways of putting us out of the picture.  From first thinking of just leaving us tied, his thoughts turned instead to setting up a delayed incendiary device.

‘Enough,’ I thought, as I started to get angry.  My fury built, as his callous disregard of human life made my blood boil.  While he started assembling a timer with detonator set amongst several bottles of what looked like mentholated spirits, I started to meditate, reaching deep within for my chi. My training with my sensei had taught me to reach within for the inner power we all possess, but few achieve.

Whether it was the determination or the meditation, I don’t know, but suddenly things went weird.  I could see fields of energy flowing around me.  I wondered, if this was the energy manipulation option that was finally making itself felt.  I could sense the energy in the device the man had assembled.  He set the timer and turned to leave, I felt the sudden urge to brain him with the piece of statuary that was on the corner shelf.

As I concentrated, I saw the statue wobble.  Somehow, my heightened senses were enabling me to activate the telekinesis option.  I tried visualizing a fist around the statue and bringing it against the man’s head.  I was as surprised as the girls, when it flew from the shelf and crashed solidly with a dull thud against the guy’s head.  He slumped, like a sack of potatoes, managing to knock down a plant stand as he fell unconscious.  I started to exert pressure against me bonds until I realised the timer was running and there was less than a minute remaining.  I looked at the battery intently, until I could see the energy fields again.  I focused on trying to stop the power from setting the detonator off.  I could feel my head pound, from all this unaccustomed effort, but I could see the energy draining as I channelled it away.  Hopefully, it was enough, as the timer just then activated.  I opened my eyes thankfully, to see indeed, it was.

I couldn’t collapse like my body and mind was demanding I do, I still needed to get free.  Focusing my weakened reserves, I sought my Chi again and flexed my arms.  The chairs arms were made of oaken construction, sturdy and strong.  My muscles strained to their utmost.  I could hear the wood creaking under my assault.  The pain in my arms was blinding as I loosed a primal scream and transcended my body for an instant as the chair exploded apart.  My body flew across the floor because of the released energy.  I lay stunned and dazed at the cessation of the pain from my effort.  Somehow, I crawled to Misty and painstakingly untapped one of her hands from the chair, before blacking out.

To be continued.

Since 8/31/04