She got
the idea from two separate classes. In her first class of the morning,
Costuming, Mrs. Ryan started them all on a major project.
“I want
you all to create a distinctive costume,” she said. “Some of you may not end
up using this costume – well, except for Halloween perhaps, but it’s good to
try it. Indulge yourself, even if you never considered yourself part of the
‘spandex set.’ We’ll be tweaking your costume up through winter break, and it
will constitute 60% of your grade.”
It turned
out that Mrs. Ryan had a thing for capes. Not surprising, considering where
she worked. But she was particularly insistent that Jinn’s costume needed a
cape.
“Well,
Dear, you’re really nothing but clothes, are you? So take advantage of
it! One of the main problems with capes is that it’s hard to get them to
billow properly. But you are the cape! You could billow properly no
matter what the wind is like.” She patted Jinn on the shoulder. “Just try it
out, Dear.”
“It
doesn’t work that way,” Jinn tried to explain. “I can come out in two styles –
I’m either the clothes, or the person. If I’m the clothes I can billow and all
that, but it isn’t like I have a body inside. If I’m the person, then
it’s like I have a solid body inside, but I’m just wearing the clothes. I
can’t billow any more than you can.”
Mrs. Ryan
thought about that. “Well, maybe that’s even better! Think of the wonderful
effects you could make. A real person, suddenly going all flat and everything
as you fade into the cape. Billowing and swooping about, before you suddenly
re-materialize as a person. Very spooky. You know, getting the proper effect
is more than half the battle.”
“But I
can’t switch back and forth – I’m just one or the other.”
And
that’s when Mrs. Ryan dropped her bombshell of a question. “Why not?”
Then,
after lunch, Powers Lab was its usual happy chaos. Speedsters were practicing
dodges and intricate start-stop maneuvers, bricks and strong types were
engaging in an egg toss. Several flyers were on the “water track”. This was a
walking course that periodically switched between solid panels and open water.
The object was to walk “normally”, not changing gait as you switched from
walking to (effectively) flying. Other students judged, trying to spot errors.
Jinn was
with several other smaller students at the instrumented nautilus, while Mrs.
Bohn evaluated her strength project.
“Excellent,”
the older woman said. “Keep this calendar up to date as well. I see you have
a measurement of 180 pounds from back in August. What was that?”
“That was
when I had my preliminary evaluation, for getting into Whateley,” Jinn told
her.
“Shame
you don’t have any earlier data. But at least you kept good records for how
long you could stay out before evaporating. We can get a pretty good curve on
that one. From our previous discussions, I’m sure you can identify this type
of curve?”
“Uh,
logarithmic?”
“Asymptotic.
Technically, a hyperbolic tangent, but why quibble? And as you can see, you’ve
pretty well hit your maximum time of sixty-seven minutes and about eighteen
seconds. Right now you’re asymptotically approaching a limit,” she punched it
up on her calculator, “with this data, I see you approaching a maximum time
limit of 67.532 minutes. Do you see?”
Jinn
nodded. “And my strength is the same?”
“Yes,
although I’m not going to run the calculations right now. The data’s too
sparse until you get a better baseline. Keep measuring on the calendar. It
should top out at about 189 pounds, more or less.”
“So those
are my ultimate limits?”
Mrs. Bohn
pursed her lips. “Not necessarily. Often, particularly in the younger
students, this turns out to be the ‘first bloom’. You need some special
challenge or trigger to ‘kick it up a notch’ as my favorite chef says. It’s
hard to predict what that might be, but often some or all of your power will
suddenly be pushed into a new upward power climb. That generally follows an
S-curve, which is another reason to monitor these values. If something kicks
you into a higher power range, we’ll want to study it carefully, to derive
maximum benefit from it.”
Jinn
nodded, although she wasn’t sure she really understood.
“So, are
there any other values you can think to measure numerically about your
condition?”
“Uh,
strength, duration (although I tend to think of it as ‘lifespan’), I don’t know
– quality of my vision? Some sort of eye test?”
“Good,
good. How about some non-numeric elements? According to your assessment file,
you should be able to perform all sorts of interesting maneuvers in your
bound-to-fabric form. I don’t believe I’ve ever actually seen you that way.”
“Uh,
well,” Jinn scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. She didn’t
actually ever get itches, but it was an old habit.
In the
background, a flyer was struggling against a gravity-inducer. She suddenly
crashed down into a padded foam pit, spewing obscenities.
“Language,
Miss Ware!”
“I could
handle this if you’d let me use my broom!”
“The
exercise is to develop your innate levitation skills.”
Mrs. Bohn
turned back to her. “I believe you were explaining why I hadn’t seen your
bound-to-fabric form?”
“Well,”
Jinn tried, “it makes it tough getting back and forth to class. I mean, what
if it was a amber flag day? I don’t look that human if I’m just a bunch of
animated fabric.”
“Why
don’t you just switch from one form to the other in class. Perhaps right now?”
“Uh… I
can’t. When I’m cast, I’m either one way or the other. I can’t switch.”
Mrs. Bohn
frowned. “That doesn’t sound right. It seems like more of a psychological
limit than anything else. I don’t see why you can’t easily switch from one
style to another.”
“Well,
it’s just sort of like how I get cast into a set of stuff. I can’t extend my
influence to cover more ‘stuff’. It’s only when I’m first cast.”
The
teacher was shaking her head. “No, that’s completely different. Material
focus, time of instantiation, there’s plenty of documentation on that type of
phenomena. But you’re nothing more than a psychological collection of
telekinetic forces. You should be able to flip yourself around, or whatever,
without disrupting your bond to the original material.”
Jinn shrugged.
“Well,
work on it. That will be your project for this week. And keep in mind that
initially, it may be easier to go in one direction than the other. Start out
both ways, then try to go to the other state.”
Later,
back at Poe, Jinn thought about it. She certainly wasn’t getting anywhere (as
Jinn) in martial arts. Ito Sensei wouldn’t work with her, since she had no
body and no ki. He kept claiming that he had “nothing to teach her.” Tolman
Sensei seemed more tolerant, but was a bit puzzled on how to craft any tricks
or techniques for the non-physical girl. She kept her practicing the same
maneuvers in different orientations – mid-air, upside down, etc.
If Jinn
could master this, she might be able to open up a larger raft of possibilities.
Of
course, this wasn’t the time to experiment. Everyone was piled into the study
corner, with Jade lying on a blanket-chair in mid-air as she typed on the
laptop, Toni dangling from a foot-loop tied to the ceiling, Tennyo reclining in
mid-air, and Ayla poking halfway through the wall like a mounted trophy. Fey
was missing, having said something about modeling practice, and Hank had
offered to walk her there and back.
Jinn was
taking up the slack. In addition to holding books, tables, pens,
blanket-couches, drinks, and the like, she was also holding desk lamps in
position to provide reading light. Fey usually handled the lighting, and she
was sorely missed.
Jinn had also
taken a subtle hold on Toni’s clothes. The girl had been warned to be
extra-careful of her head this week, but here she was dangling upside down and
hanging by one foot. She’d have to let go if Toni moved more than a few feet
away, but today the hyperactive girl had been unusually subdued. Perhaps it
had something to do with Ito Sensei’s brutal analysis of Toni’s fight, or
whatever had happened when he kept her behind class today.
They
finally met up with Hank and Fey on the way to dinner. The green flag was up,
so Jade decided to practice. For Jinn, she left behind the mask and wig and
used only the black hood, full-body leotard, and gloves.
“Whoa,
looking a bit flat, Jinn,” Hank said, as he strolled up to them. “New look?”
Jade
explained it for her. “We’re trying to learn to switch between being a person,
and being the object.”
“Yeah,”
Jinn added. “There’s a lot I can do in this form that I can’t do as a person.”
“Yeah,
you can look a LOT more skinny,” Toni quipped. “Damn! I’ve never seen such an
effective diet.”
Jinn
floated up to the black girl. “Well… I can do this.” She flopped her arm out
toward Toni, then wrapped the sleeve round-and-round the other girl’s arm.
“Hmmm.”
Toni pulled back against the binding. “Might be a good way to tie someone up,
if they aren’t strong enough to rip lycra.”
Jinn
unwound the sleeve. “I’m going to roam around, while I try to figure this
out.”
The rest
of the team nodded at her.
“Look,”
Toni began, continuing her previous crusade, “I’m just saying that we all
need to have code names.”
“Is she
on that again?” Fey asked, with a bored expression.
“Hey,
it’s fine for you. You already have ‘Fey’, and Billie goes by ‘Tennyo’ half
the time anyway. But what about the rest of us?”
Ayla
spoke up. “Phase. I told you back when we were first introduced.”
“Huh?”
“News to me.” “I don’t remember that.”
Ayla
shrugged, unconcerned. “Maybe I only thought about it. But I definitely
picked it out then. I was sure I mentioned it to someone.”
“Ooookay,”
Toni said. She eyed the selections with dismay. “Anyone notice that Mondays
seem to be the low point on the whole menu biorhythm? I mean, meat loaf?
Cabbage rolls?”
“Hey, do
we have to do a trademark search or something when we come up with a name?” Hank
asked.
“They
recommend it, but you can let that slide for a couple of months. It’s really
only an issue when you start using it in public.”
Nikki had
a thought. “Can we change our code name?”
“You
getting tired of ‘Fey’?”
“No, it’s
just – maybe a girl needs some variety.”
Surprisingly,
it was Jade who answered. “My friend Juanita, from upstairs, is changing her
name. She decided that ‘Quickie’ didn’t convey the image she wanted.”
Hank
started snickering. “Oh, Lord…!”
“She’s
thinking of using ‘Go Go’, but a lot of us weren’t sure that was much better.”
Hank was
laughing now. “Does she have special thigh-high boots? And a miniskirt? Does
she wear really bright polyester?”
“Hank!
I’m serious!”
“So am
I.”
So
automatically that they didn’t consciously think about it, the crew entered the
domed cafeteria and moved to their socially-approved seating.
As
freshmen, the school hierarchy pushed them to get tables around the far edge of
the dome room. This was just as well, since a yelling match erupted in the
center of the dome at least once a week. This time, it was a bunch of the
high-status Alphas yelling at someone that Jade actually recognized. She’d
eaten dinner with Mindbird a week ago, before Tennyo’s big hearing.
She
briefly wished that Jinn were around, so she could see the energies being
gathered up. These sorts of events were usually pretty colorful to Jinn’s
special vision, including both the violent emotions and the mutant energies
that were generated. Instead, she turned back to the conversation.
“I swear,
that Don Sebastiano makes me so sick. I wish Mindbird would just shove her
boot straight down his throat!”
“Naw,
nothing can penetrate his Aura of Smugness.”
Jade
looked quickly around at her companions, but they were as surprised as she
was. It was more of the curious acoustics of the dome. When you sat at the
edge, you sometimes heard conversations from the other side of the dome. There
was no telling who they were hearing.
“Well,”
Toni said, speaking as much to their unseen companions as to the team at the
table, “I think he’s about to be wearing her soda.”
Sure
enough, Mindbird flung her drink in the direction of the large Latino that was
bothering her. But the Latino’s companion, a lithe-looking Frenchman, held his
hands out and immediately conjured a shield. The drink splashed harmlessly
against the shield. While the Latino laughed, Mindbird stalked away in a huff.
“That
makes me want to puke, every time I see it,” the voice came.
“What are
you talking about?” Toni asked the voice.
“Uh… I’ve
probably said too much. If you want to know, ask what happened to Cavalier and
Skybolt. Just don’t ask too loudly. Get my drift?”
“No, I
don’t,” Fey said. “What are you talking about?”
But the
voice was gone.
After
that bit of entertainment and mystery, the group returned to the perennial
favorite of code names.
“Well,”
Jade admitted reluctantly, “I was thinking of something like ‘Clothes Ghost’.
What do you think?”
“You
know,” Tennyo realized, “you’re probably going to need TWO code names. One for
Jinn, and one for Jade.”
“One
for…me?” Jade squeaked. “But, I don’t HAVE any powers! Not without Jinn.”
“Yeah,
but you were on the field with us when we faced the ninjas,” Toni pointed out.
“It’s probably going to be the same in the future. Better get used to it.
Besides, haven’t you been learning anything in martial arts?”
“But…
but… I’m just a normal person.”
Hank
snorted. “So is Ito Sensei – in theory. He sure smacked me around.”
Fey
looked over at the lone guy at the table, as he finished his third helping of
meatloaf. “How about you, Big Guy?”
“Well,
since I’m so tough, someone suggested ‘Dense’.” He glared at Tennyo,
who seemed to be staring out the window so that she could concentrate on her
whistling. “I didn’t like that one, for obvious reasons.”
“Oh,
didn’t want to go with ‘Studmuffin’?” Fey slipped in.
Hank
almost choked on his drink. Jade watched Fey and Tennyo exchange glares. She
wasn’t entirely sure she always understood the other girls.
“How
about you, Toni?” Ayla asked. “You keep bringing it up. Are you settled on
‘Chaka’?”
“Well
let’s run the numbers,” the black girl said. “Whatever I pick, it’s gotta be
cool. That just goes without saying. Something sleek. And it would be
nice if it mixes in martial arts, somehow. And since Chaka is the the Masai
name for the leopard, we got,” she began to tick off points on her fingers, “we
got the cool – ‘cause what’s cooler than the Masai? We got sleek. Are
leopard’s sleek? Betcher ass. And last – big cats ‘n’ martial arts? Hell,
I’m there. Yeah, I’m sticking with Chaka.”
“And
you’ll fit in absolutely perfectly with the Tigers!” Jade suggested. “They
were already pretty impressed by your match. I think they kind of want you to
join them. And once they hear your code name –”
Toni
scowled. “I’m not sure if that’s a plus or a minus.”
“So
what’s with them?” Fey wondered. “Aren’t the tigers all black? Aren’t they,
like, Afro-centric?”
“Yeah,
none of you melanin-deprived types allowed. Nothing but brothers and sisters.
You got a problem with that?”
“Well,
aren’t tigers native to India, not Africa?”
“Hey, get
off their case, okay? There’s a limited set of good martial arts names.
‘Dragons’ was already taken.”
“Uh huh.”
Dinner
finished with no one (aside from Phase) coming up with a good code name. As
they headed back up the walkway toward Melville and then Poe, Jade pushed
things to a new topic.
“You
know, we’re going to need more than code names. We’re all going to need
costumes, too.”
“Where’d
you hear that?”
“It’s for
the yearbook pictures. You get your picture in your costume.”
“That
isn’t until practically spring!”
“Well,”
Jade defended, “it’s different for me. As Jinn, I mean. My name and my
costume are practically the same thing.”
“Clothes
ghost!” Ayla muttered to herself, snickering.
“I don’t
know if I need a costume,” Tennyo said, rubbing a hand back across her hair.
“After all, no one’s going to be mistaking this beautiful head.”
“Do we
need to learn how to do a quick-change?” Ayla wondered, gruffly.
“Hmm,
maybe I don’t need a costume,” Fey mused. “If I could just sort of glamour
something up…”
“Speaking
of costumes,” Hank said, “isn’t that Jinn, up on the bench? Looks like she
hasn’t figured out how to switch into a girl, she’s still pretty flat looking.”
In fact,
she was completely flat. The full-body leotard had been draped over the bench
as if drying. The slippers and gloves were lying on the ground nearby, and the
hood was quickly located on the ground.
“Weird,”
Fey said. “It’s like she just dropped everything right here.” She lifted up the
empty clothes, which were obviously not inhabited by Jinn. “When did
she come back to you, Jade?”
There was
a quiet sob, and everyone turned to look at the small Asian girl. A girl that
was suddenly shaking and white.
“She
didn’t!” Jade choked out. “She never came back!”
15: She sucks
Back in
the common room, the other girls were trying to comfort Jade.
“She’s
just … gone,” Jade whispered, hoarsely.
Tennyo
awkwardly patted her roommate’s shoulder. “Could she have gone flying off as a
bit of lint or something?”
Jade sat
up abruptly. “Maybe. Maybe!” She looked at her watch. “I always set this
when I charge Jinn. I’ve been timing how long she can be out, and I know the
maximum time is just a bit over sixty-seven minutes. That means we’ve still
got ten minutes left!”
That
cheered everyone up, but the tension mounted as Jade’s watch moved forward.
Finally, the second hand swept toward the magic mark of sixty-seven minutes.
Then it swept past.
“That’s…
impossible!” Jade wailed.
“Maybe
you mis-set your watch,” Fey offered.
Five
minutes later, there were no such excuses, and Jade had retired to her room in
tears. “I’m dead!” she kept saying over and over.
The other
girls looked uncomfortably at each other, but there was nothing they could do.
*****
EARLIER
THAT DAY, things had not been going well for Tansy Walcutt. She was a junior
this year, and the way she figured it, it was about time they started looking
to HER for leadership. After all, wasn’t she beautiful? Wasn’t she charming?
In her own mind she answered the question, “Fucking right I’m charming! I can
out-charm any of you god-dammed bitches all the way to hell and back!”
The other
women in question were trying their first bit of runway work, under the
guidance of ‘Poise’, the nominal leader of Venus, Inc. The “nominal”
part was mostly in Tansy’s mind – everyone else seemed to think that Poise had
the position locked in.
Like
‘Poise’ is such a fucking great code-name. It should be ‘Poison’, which is
what I’d like to do to her and all those other fuck-faces out there.
One young
girl, in particular, was collecting her wrath. A freshman, of all things.
This girl was one of those faerie types. She was an exotic near-human who
practically glowed with beauty. Even worse, this girl seemed to have it all.
Beauty, grace, an excellent figure, and a “sincere personality” (completely
overrated, in Tansy’s opinion). Tansy had thrown a couple of psychic jabs at
the girl, just to get her to stumble on the runway. The girl had
stumbled – the first time. Then she seemed to wave her hand dismissively, and
the jabs didn’t seem to get through to her again. Even worse, her impossibly
wide elven eyes seemed to focus on Tansy briefly.
After
that, Tansy just sat back and sulked. It wasn’t like Whateley needed that many
models throughout the school year. The freshmen were supposed to be gawky and
naïve, not exotic beauties. They were supposed to need her guidance. But
instead of asking her to lead them, all they wanted was help and some tips.
Well, Tansy decided to herself, if I
can’t run Venus, Inc. then I will god-dammed OWN the Alphas.
But that
had problems of its own. Don Sebastiano’s powers were too much like her own.
Although neither of them were full telepaths, they both had tricks and
techniques they used to control others. A game that Don seemed to be better at
than she was.
Maybe if
she slept with him, distasteful as that thought was.
No. She
needed an edge. She ran through the power structure in her mind. By rights,
Kody should have run the alphas this year. He was the senior. He had
the muscle. No one was going up against Kodiak, if they had more than half a
brain. But The Don had fear on his side. Somehow, he’d pulled a major coup
last Christmas with Cavalier and Skybolt, and now everyone was more likely to
shit their pants than go up against “The Don.”
Abruptly,
she pushed herself upright and went walking away from the stage. As an
experienced member of Venus, Inc., she was supposed to be helping the new
girls, providing them with critique and suggestions to help out their modeling
careers. Well, to hell with that. She had plans to put under way.
*****
She plied
Kody at dinner. At 6’ 6”, the massive senior had a build that spoke of pure
muscle and power. What wasn’t so obvious was the native intelligence lurking
behind those yellow eyes.
“Kod-ie,”
she wheedled, hanging off one of his massive arms, “the alphas would be sooo
much better off if you were in charge.”
He
grunted non-committally, taking another large bite of salad. “Leaving you in
the number two slot, huh?”
“Well,
every king needs his queen.”
“Look,
I’ll be square with you, which is a lot more than you’re doing for me.” He
used his napkin to wipe his lips, apparently not even noticing that he
half-lifted her from her seat as he moved his arm. “I don’t like the way The
Don is handling the alphas. Not at all. When Freya ran things –” he paused
“Well, let’s just say that things have changed, and NOT for the better.
“But
after Cavalier and Skybolt – no one’s going to touch The Don. You remember
last year, before Christmas? She slapped him. She wouldn’t even speak to
him! But after we all came back in January, The Don brought a bunch of us guys
together. We didn’t know what he planned to show us.
“It was
Skybolt. She was looking at him like he was the son of God. He just nodded at
her, that was all, and she dropped to her hands and knees and sucked him off,
right there in front of us. And Cavalier, her boyfriend, watched with a big
smile like it was the finest thing he’d ever seen.”
Tansy
sighed in boredom. “Yada yada yada. You know how many times I’ve heard that
stupid story? He probably paid her off. If so, he certainly got his money’s
worth.”
Privately,
she knew it was more than that, even if the telepathic probes had never turned
up any evidence. Still, she was sure she could accomplish the same, given
enough time to reinforce a few post-hypnotic suggestions.
“With
what I know right now,” Kodiak said carefully, “there’s no way I’m going up
against The Don.”
“Poor
little Kody,” she said, stroking his huge arm, “so scared of The Don’s evil
mind-control.”
“No,” he
said. “I hold the spirit of the Bear. The Bear protects me from that. But
there are others who aren’t protected. Don’t start a war, unless you’re
willing to accept the casualties.”
She
slapped at him flirtatiously. “Silly bear! Why should I be bothered with
casualties?”
*****
She
stopped for a smoke after dinner, going over the conversation in her mind.
“The Bear
protects me from that.”
Hmmm, she mused, maybe that’s the
edge I need over The Don. Tansy didn’t believe in revealing the full
extent of her abilities. She knew she was an avatar, but about the lowest
level you can get. Back before she’d shown any of her other powers, back when
she’d still been an ugly little fat girl, she’d always tried to get away from
things. And Daddy’s summer cottage was about as far away as you could get.
She’d
hiked out on her own, once, trying to get to the “special spot” the
groundskeepers always talked about. A little waterfall and pool that were
supposed to be “something special.”
It had
been special, alright. She’d felt impossibly guilty at the time. With what
she knew now, it was just some dumb nature spirit in its hallow. She’d
stumbled into the spot and inadvertently sucked the spirit of the place into
her. And had it given her any great powers or abilities? Hell no. It gave
her “serenity” and an ability to gather peaceful animals around her.
As her
fury had grown, she could feel the trapped spirit struggling to escape. From
her point of view, it had been monstrously unfair. If she gained super powers,
she was supposed to turn into some sort of beautiful mutant girl, so pretty
that it hurt people to look at her. She wasn’t supposed to gain the power to
charm a bunch of god-dammed game animals.
Looking
back on it, she was sure that it was her anger that clashed against the
spirit’s serenity. It had struggled desperately to be free. Even now, she
wasn’t sure whether it had escaped and returned to its hallow, or whether she
had just shredded the useless thing in her rage. She’d certainly never
returned to the spot. And there’d been even less need, when she finally did
develop the type of powers she was supposed to have.
But she
and The Don were pretty evenly matched. What if she had an edge? What if she
had her own spirit, to protect her mind from Sebastiano’s touch?
The
problem was, finding spirits wasn’t that easy. It seemed like a third of the
avatars around hadn’t linked to any spirits yet.
She
wondered if she could buy a spirit off of someone.
While
enjoying that little fantasy, who should come up toward the cafeteria but the
stupid faerie model-girl that had irritated her earlier. Tansy’s eyes almost
popped from their sockets, when she saw who faerie-girl was meeting. It was
Trevor! What was he/she calling itself these days? Ayla, she remembered.
She
suddenly realized that these were the girl from the ninja attack, a couple of
weeks ago. She hadn’t recognized faerie-girl until now. In the daylight, she
looked more filled out and feminine. Probably stuffs her bra, Tansy
decided.
She kept
back in her smoking hole, behind a screen of bushes, watching the girls talk.
The floating clothing was weird, and wrapped its arm around the black girl.
Then the girls headed into the cafeteria, while the clothing floated away.
That
can’t possibly be a spirit, Tansy told herself. There’s no way I’m that lucky.
But
fortune favors the bold, so she sauntered her way up the walk, following the
floating leotard.
“Really,”
Tansy drawled out, “basic black is attractive, but this carries things a bit
too far, don’t you think?”
The
leotard pivoted in mid-air until it was facing her. It hadn’t moved suddenly,
as if startled. This was a smooth pivot, as if it was hesitant.
“I’m
just… practicing.” The clothes had a girl’s voice.
“How
droll. Practicing what?”
“I – I
should be able to, I don’t know, come alive inside the clothes. Fill them out,
as if a normal person was wearing them. I just can’t figure out how to make
the switch.”
“Maybe I
can help,” Tansy offered. “I’m Tansy Walcutt. You’ve probably heard of me.”
She held out her hand.
And empty
sleeve and glove flopped up into her hand. “Uh, sure. I’m Jinn Sinclair. I’m
just a freshman.”
“Hmmm,
fascinating,” Tansy said. She could get a tingle from the glove. She knew
that there was something in the glove, something ticking at her avatar
senses, but she couldn’t quite get a handle on it. The material of the glove
prevented her from making contact with the spirit.
“Uh, can
I have my hand back now?” The clothes-girl was surprisingly strong as she
tugged her arm back.
“Be
patient, damn you!” Tansy hissed back. “I’m trying to figure this out!”
“Oh. I
guess.”
Tansy
pulled the glove away from the sleeve. It stretched, like it was connected by
elastic, even though there was nothing visible between the glove and the
sleeve. But Tansy’s avatar senses were suddenly sensing a thin film of pure
spirit that joined the glove to the rest of the garment.
“Perfect!”
“What?
What are you–?”
Tansy
jabbed the bright-red painted fingernails of her right hand straight into that
film of spirit. Harnessing all the greed in her power, she sucked at those
energies that should rightfully belong to her.
“No!
What are you doing? It hurts!” The clothing girl gave a thin screech of pain,
then utterly collapsed.
Tansy
smiled a predator’s smile, and tossed the empty garment onto a nearby bench.
She could feel the energies crackling over her skin, as they settled into
place. She felt… strong! She reached over to the iron bench, which had to
weigh nearly a hundred pounds. She lifted it in one hand.
Laughing
madly, Tansy stretched her arms out, cruciform. Gathering the power in a way
she couldn’t explain, she lifted off the ground, flying into the sky.
To
hell with The Don,
she exulted. I should have done this AGES ago!
16: Jinn’s
sister
Tansy was
careful to let herself down quickly. So she could fly now? Not as fast as
some, but it was a hell of a lot better than the spirits some people had
gotten. Still, she’d always been one to keep a little reserve hidden away. It
wouldn’t do to share this secret prematurely.
She
wondered if she’d picked up the mental fuzzing that Kody had talked about. Her
roommate should be able to answer that one.
She
practically skipped her way back across campus toward Dickinson. The power
didn’t have to be used to fly – she could just make herself light on her feet.
That meant less effort, added grace, and for once she didn’t mind wearing high
heels.
She was
in such a good mood, she decided to have a little fun with the lower-tier
dweebs she ran across.
And
there, a bit ahead of her, were the perfect set of victims. A group of
sophomores, mostly, that had pretensions of being criminal masterminds. The
girl in front, the Asian one, what was her name? Hazard? She was a little too
attractive for Tansy’s liking. She saw no reason to share the spotlight with
anyone. The rest of them were non-entities, completely dismissible. Except of
course, for Jello. She wasn’t sure why a bunch of reasonably good-looking kids
would hang around with that thing. The girl – although it was hard to
tell at times – seemed to be in the process of melting. It was revolting, and
Tansy was under the firm impression that Jello and the rest of the freak-show
crew should take separate classes and separate meals, so that they didn’t
disturb their betters. In fact, it would be better for everyone if there were
just a separate school. One for the normal and attractive kids, and another
for the losers and freaks.
Still,
they did make amusing targets.
She
prepared her favorite ability, the one she called “brain zap.” It didn’t
necessarily make you stumble, or stutter. It just caused a little hiccup in
the thought process. And if you happened to be in the middle of speaking or
taking a step… well, that was too bad, wasn’t it? Like all of life, half the
trick was in the timing.
Strolling
elegantly behind them, she was part of the sparse crowd that wound its way out
of Crystal Hall and through campus on their way back to the cottages. The gas
lights alongside the brick walk were beginning to provide more illumination as
the twilight deepened. Clusters of students walked and talked. Tansy waited
for the proper moment – when Jello had just raised her right foot. ZAP!
And the melting girl stumbled, toppling forward flat onto her face. She was
apparently so confused that she didn’t even have time to put her hands out.
She hit the brick walkway face-first, and splashed. Like a water balloon that
doesn’t burst, the uncontrolled shapeshifter bulged out to the side, before
sucking back into roughly human shape.
Tansy
howled with laughter. Around her, she felt other students joining in, some
with uncomfortable chuckles, but a few bold ones echoing her own mocking howls.
“Oh,
that’s rich!” she chortled. “I’ll bet that made an impression on you! Hey,
I’d heard you were strong, but now you can be a real BRICK!”
Sure
enough, as her friends helped her up, the Jello-girl’s face held a perfect
imprint of the walkway. Tansy howled again as she strode regally past them.
You
did that on purpose, didn’t you?
“What?
Who said that?” The girl, whoever she was, sounded like she was right next to
her.
Why
would anyone be so deliberately cruel?
Tansy
suddenly recognized the voice. She’d last heard it coming from a flat piece of
fabric. She kept walking, until she was out of earshot. “Be quiet, little
spirit. I guess I’m not done digesting you yet.”
You
don’t have the slightest idea what you’re doing, do you?
“I know
more than you do, that’s for damn sure. And look!” She lifted off the ground
briefly. “Guess who’s got your powers now?”
Guess
who’s about to get haunted.
“Don’t
make trouble for me, or you’ll regret it.”
Oh,
sure. What are you going to do? Hit me in the head?
“Hmm.
We’ll see.” And she hurried a bit more, going back to Dickinson.
*****
As
always, it was a relief to get back to her room. For a trendy private school,
it was surprising how shabby most of Whateley was. She’d actually had
to pay out of her own pocket to get her dreary little room fixed up halfway
decently. Even now, she couldn’t get good maid service or plant service – her
people had to contract out with indigent students to do the work for her. It
was solid proof that being a mutant didn’t qualify someone as adequate domestic
help. Still, dreary as this home-away-from-home was, it was a hundred times
better than what most of the other students had to put up with. She always got
a bit of a lift coming back into her own little kingdom of a room.
The
quality of her upgraded room was probably why her creepy roommate spent so much
time there. As she entered, she was unsurprised to see that her girl sitting
on the bed and meditating, or whatever it was that she did. It was weird –
sometimes it almost seemed like Sahar was the only girl on the floor that would
put up with her. Tansy didn’t understand that at all. She was rich and
beautiful – she decided that her other roommates just had a problem dealing
with their jealousy. As for Sahar, she was attractive enough not to offend
Tansy’s sensibilities, and seemed grateful enough (given her terrible
reputation) to have some contact with Venus and the Alphas.
Tansy
breezed into the room, pirouetting on her toes. “Notice anything different
about me, Semi?” In her one burst of amicability, she’d bothered to memorize
Semiramis Vesmarran’s actual name. Like most foreign names, it was a mouthful
of gibberish, so she usually shortened it to the much more convenient “Semi.”
The
olive-skinned girl was sitting in full lotus on her bed. She pulled the curly
black hair away from her face and stared with her creepy eyes. The eyes with a
red ring around the iris. “What, you mean like the spirit you’re carrying?”
“Not
bad. I guess being a mind vampire pays off.”
Sahar
merely made a quick hand gesture. Tansy assumed it was vulgar. Whenever she
translated any of the girl’s Arabic phrases, they turned out to be rude enough
to strip paint.
“What can
you tell me about it?”
Sahar
held out a hand. “One hundred dollars.”
“I should
have known!” Tansy flounced over to her purse and pulled out a pair of
fifties. “I want everything you can figure out. Especially whether this
fuzzes my mind out, or protects me from telepaths.”
Sahar
peered at her and did her creepy mental thing for a moment. “First, it’s not a
spirit, it’s a human girl. I would say a human soul. And you call me a
vampire? I’m not sure how it’s going to affect either you or her, if you keep
holding her. For all I know, she could end up taking YOU over.”
She
peered a little longer. “She does provide some shielding. Your thoughts and
hers are too close together. It’s hard to pick either one apart. Maybe with
practice. It’s not like a real shield, but it does confuse things. Yeah,
‘fuzzing’ the mind is pretty accurate.”
*****
Jinn had
looked to the roommate as a possible rescuer. The girl had spotted her right
away!
But then
she took Tansy’s money and began probing at her. It was technically
interesting to watch the probes happen. Sahar had a mass of ultra-violet that
covered her head like an Afro hair-do. Periodically, a laser-line of
ultra-violet would snap out from her head and pierce through Jinn. After a
couple of those, Jinn tried to communicate.
Hello?
Can you hear me?
Slightly.
You are strangely hard to hear – it’s like your frequency is interfering with
Solange’s. And I can only hear what you send, not what you’re simply thinking.
Can
you contact my roommate, Tennyo, or my…uh…my sister, Jade?
Perhaps.
What would you offer me? One hundred dollars?
That was
as much as she earned in a week! Let me think on that. They’ve over at Poe
Cottage.
I’m
afraid I cannot help you. I would not be welcome at Poe. And contact ceased.
*****
Sahar
sighed. She’d agreed to report everything. “She claims to have a sister, and
a roommate. I presume she’ll be missed in her classes tomorrow, if not
sooner.”
“Oh,
right. Like I’d be so much better off if I just let her go. I don’t think
so. Watch this!” And with a negligent wave of her arm, Tansy floated up to
the ceiling. “Pretty impressive, huh? I’m strong, too.” She reached over and
hefted their mini-fridge. “Spirit-girl is staying right where she is. And
that hundred bought your silence, too. Right?”
Sahar
reluctantly nodded. “That is our arrangement.”
“Maybe if
I have any trouble, I’ll pay you to give my little passenger the old evil eye,
and shut her up permanently.”
Sahar
sighed again. Life with Tansy Walcutt continued to be educational. And Tansy
was effectively immune to her powers. Sahar could learn skills from those she
was extremely close to, but Tansy had nothing worth learning. And Sahar had
the ability to discern hidden secrets and weaknesses. Again Tansy foiled her.
Her flaws and weaknesses were so transparent that practically everyone already
knew them.
But most
of all, it was Tansy herself who was educational. Here was a woman with
beauty, power, and more wealth than she could possibly spend. And inside, she
was so vacuous and immoral that she put to shame most of the pimps and thieves
Sahar had known in the streets of Beirut.
As a
telepath, she was well suited to judge inner beauty.
She
contemplated her own life, and felt nothing but sorrow.
*****
Jinn
discovered that she didn’t sleep. She was somehow an unwilling
passenger in Tansy’s body.
This had
some unusual benefits. She’d wondered what it felt like to be a real girl.
She was swiftly finding out. Bound as she was to Tansy’s body, she apparently
shared in all the girl’s sensory nerve endings. So she knew exactly what it
felt like as the girl undressed and slipped into her negligee. Jinn might even
have felt guilty at the voyeurism, if it had been anyone other than Tansy.
After the
girl fell asleep, though, Jinn was in a quandary. She could feel
everything the girl felt, but she couldn’t move so much as a muscle.
Plainly,
she was cast in her human-body form, with her spirit-body stretched to exactly
match Tansy’s physical body. If it were true that she was a body image
template, what effect would it have if she continued to inhabit Tansy’s body?
Would Tansy begin to look more and more Japanese? Would her blonde hair turn
black? Would her 17-year-old figure slim down to match Jinn’s 14-year-old
figure?
Then she
realized something vital. She was in her “body” form!
When
Tansy had absorbed her, she’d been in her flattened “cloth” form.
Which
meant that she could change, without being re-cast. And somehow, this
possession technique required her to be in spirit-body form. If she could
alter herself, perhaps to flow along Tansy’s skin, perhaps she could break
free!
Ignoring
the sleeping and lightly snoring girl that held her captive, she got to work.
*****
Jade’s
alarm clock went off at the usual time. As she’d trained herself to do, she
rolled over and slapped the gloves. It causes the usual small burst of
fatigue. Suddenly, Jade sat up in bed, utterly, totally awake.