AP Story "Hero"

[artificer-urza]

A story I wrote some time ago about a girl who wishes for super powers. I think it may qualify as a TF of sorts, But I feel that her body is growing up more than anything, so I put it under AP.

Have you ever wished for something so much? To be noticed, to be loved, to be a hero? If you had the chance to make that wish come true, would you? Remember kiddies, be careful what you wish for.


Hero
By Artificer Urza

Katie Zirman: a fourteen-year-old girl with shoulder length, brown hair, green eyes and glasses. Not especially tall, quite slender, but without any outstanding curves; were she noticed by her peers, she would have been teased for having a rather flat chest. Therein lay her curse or her blessing: she was almost completely unnoticed by everyone, no one paid attention to her, so she was safe from bullying and from any potential good that could come from social interactions. Since the real world apparently wanted nothing to do with her, she had dived into fantasy a long time ago; in particular, the world of comic book super heroes. They, those heroes with powers, fascinated her: Superman, the X-Men, the Teen Titans and Captain Marvel, from both Marvel and DC comics. She often wished she had powers, to do good, to save lives, but more importantly, to be noticed, though if asked, she?d never say she wanted to be noticed. It brings up the saying: ?Be careful what you wish for?, doesn?t it?

Her wish came true one night as she was running home from an anime club movie showing. She was still wearing her high school uniform, a white blouse, red vest and red short skirt, since she hadn?t had time to change before the showing.

?Why did they make these skirts so bloody short?? She wondered as a breeze blew up her skirt.

It was late enough that her mother was going to be worried sick and she really didn?t want that, especially after her father had disappeared. She took a few shortcuts, not exactly the safest strategy especially considering how late and dark it was, but she was more concerned with getting home quickly. She stopped in the park to catch her breath; she still was a way from home.

?God, I wish I had super speed.? She thought as she gasped for breath.

She looked up at the stars and lamented the boring life she lead, the hero-less world she lived in and thought about how much more exciting things would be if there were super heroes. Again, ?be careful what you wish for?.

A noise, a shriek, growing louder with each passing second, screamed through the air. Neither beast nor man could have made such a noise. Katie turned to where the noise was coming from, covering her ears. In the sky a thing, a large metal object was streaking through the night sky. She wondered for a moment if it shouldn?t be on fire coming through the atmosphere like that, before it suddenly changed direction, hurtling straight towards her.

?Oh shit?? She whispered just before diving forward to dodge the UFO.

The great metal thing careened over her head as it came crashing into one of the park?s many gardens. Katie waited, lying on the ground her arms covering her head in protection, waiting for it to blow up or something. When nothing happened, she turned her head to see the wreckage. It seemed perfectly fine, other than several holes in its hull. It was about the size of a minivan and definitely not made by a human. There was a bright red light coming from one of the holes in the UFO?s hull. Any normal person would have probably run away by now, but not Katie. No, she went towards the ship, towards the light to investigate. To her this was new and exciting and had so much potential. She approached it with caution, even though approaching it at all was bound to be extremely dangerous. She climbed up the craft to the hole from whence the light came from, she peered inside and saw that the light emitted from a ruby gem. Something about the gem called out to her and she strained to reach it through the hole. It didn?t even cross her mind that the gem might be radioactive, that it would be too hot for her too pick up or anything like that. Fortunately for her it was none of those things, for she suffered no ill effects as she picked it up. She jumped down from the ship and examined her prize. It was a ruby, about the size of a human fist and was perfectly shaped in appearance, having no flaws, at least, none that she could see. A high-pitched shriek brought her out of her reverie as she turned to face the pilot of the ship. It was a great liquid silver monster. The part of it that had legs was shaped like a centipede; the top part was serpentine in form. At first it was about as tall as she was, but as it approached it got bigger, towering over her. Two bulbs formed on its torso and grew into arms with clawed hands; the creature grabbed her by the wrist and was screeching at her incomprehensibly. It was obvious what it wanted though what the creature wanted: it was after the gem. She tried to pull away, to fight off the creature, but she knew there was no way she could.

?I really, really wish I had super powers.? She thought desperately.

She was panicked, afraid and nervous. As if in response to her desire, the gem glowed brighter and then leapt out of her hand, hovering, spinning in the air between her and the monster. The creature let her go and reached for the gem. The light grew more intense and a corona of red energy burst forth from the gem. Both Katie and the creature were carried/projected away from each other by the light. The creature hit a tree with a wet soggy noise and then slid to the ground, melting into a silver puddle. Katie landed hard on the ground. She now glowed with a red aura, though she didn?t notice it. She groggily got to her feet, rubbing her head as she did so and looked around. The gem was gone; there was not even a red light to indicate its presence.

?Wow? what a trip.? She giggled.

She felt dizzy and her vision was growing blurry, but she also felt strange strength and power inside her body. She removed her glasses in order to give her eyes a rest, but the instant she did she noticed that her vision was perfect. She put her glasses back on, her vision grew blurry, took them off, perfect. She also noticed that she was also changing physically. She could feel her breasts growing as her bra began to bite into her skin, just before it gave and she could already feel her breasts pressing up against her blouse about to pop the buttons any second. She could feel her thighs and butt gaining mass, becoming shapelier; she could also feel her panties begin to giver a wedgie as her butt grew.

?W-what?s going on?? She asked.

She put a hand to her throat in surprise; her voice sounded deeper, having a sultrier tone to it. At about that time the buttons on her blouse popped off and her breasts bounced and jiggled forth. The changes, the growth had stopped; she now had long luxurious flaming red hair, large breasts, which couldn?t be contained in her blouse, the curve of her ass was plainly visible because the skirt now looked shorter, even though it was she who had grown. She?d grown a foot taller, to be precise and nothing she was currently wearing fit, even her shoes, though they had not been destroyed by her growth, were now uncomfortably tight. Instead of questioning her growth, what had been done to her, the only thing that crossed her mind was that she couldn?t go home looking like this.

A light swept through the park and Katie new she couldn?t be seen looking like this, so she decided to run for it. She started to run and the world around her blurred, it seemed to stream around her as she ran faster than the speed of sound. She barely saw her house as she was running and she tried to come to a straight halt, but her momentum caused her to trip and tumble for several feet after her house. She didn?t notice if she was injured, didn?t register any pain as she stood and gaped. Under normal circumstances it would have taken her, running as fast as she could, fifteen, maybe twenty minutes to get home from the park, but now, she had run home in under two seconds.

?I have super speed?? She marvelled as she walked up to the front door of her house.

She fished out her keys to the door from her backpack, she wondered at how she still had her backpack and her glasses after all that. She unlocked the door and went inside, locking the door again behind her. She tried to be as quiet as possible, so as not to awaken or disturb her mother; maybe, just maybe, she could get to her bed without incident. Her new body proportions made that a bit difficult, as things were not quite as easy to get around. Something clattered to the ground as she knocked into it accidentally. She held her breath and waited for her mother?s panic stricken voice to cry out. When nothing came she looked around, it wasn?t easy to see anything in the dark, but she did see a light coming from the kitchen. She had assumed her mother was there waiting for her. She went into the kitchen and found no one; there was however a note on the kitchen table.

?Katie, I?m going to be out of town for awhile, so take care of your self. Don?t know when I?ll be back, but you know where to find money in case you need it, Love Mom.? She read aloud.

Her mother went on trips once a year for several months. Katie never knew where she went or why she went only that she was provided for and that she had no way to track her mother.

She let out a breath of relief; she didn?t have to explain anything about her appearance or why she was late and she wouldn?t be grounded. Suddenly it felt like all that energy she had was draining away from her and she felt very tired. She plodded off to her room to sleep.

*******
The site of the alien crash was now swarming with scientist and researchers. The corporation Genutech had been called in by the government, but they had already been on the scene when they had been called, their sensors and technology had already detected the craft as it ad plummeted from the atmosphere. A large truck was being used to haul away the craft and people were examining the surrounding for other debris and such. The head and proprietor of the company, Lena Sung, had also come to examine the wreckage.

She was a young woman of statuesque beauty. She was of Asian descent, with dark eyes and hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail. The business suit she wore hugged every curve of her body, the skirt being just short enough to show off a lot of shapely leg, while being long enough not to violate office dress code. The shirt, open just enough to show a hint of cleavage, just a bit of makeup to accentuate her facial features without being excessive; her look was designed to be physically appealing and professional looking at the same time. She was known for being highly intelligent, cold, cruel and very dangerous to anyone who got in her way. She walked the scene, exuding an aura of authority and power, coming up to several technicians and her advisor who were examining a silver puddle.

?So what do we have?? She asked calmly.

?A craft of unknown origin, of inhuman design. This may or may not have been its pilot; we?re collecting some of it for analysis and testing.? Her advisor replied as he stood.

?Is it dangerous?? She asked kneeling by the puddle.

The area had been cleared for radiation, toxic fumes and potential unknown dangerous substances, but things could always be dangerous without having properties that were inherently so.

?It hasn?t moved so it?s impossible to tell. We?ve gotten multiple samples for latter testing. What do you think it is??

?An opportunity.? She smiled.

?Opportunity??

?Think about it; once we have understood its technology, we?ll have a great advantage over every other company out there. We?ll be able to control how technology will evolve and will be the ones to control the technology itself.?

Suddenly the silver puddle began to bubble the researchers kneeling by it halted in their sample gathering. Lena looked down at the puddle and began to reach out to it. Unexpectedly, a silver blob jumped out from the puddle at Lena. She fell back in surprise as the blob stuck itself to her face, covering her mouth and nose. She clawed at it, trying to get it off, but to no avail. Her eyes rolled in her head as she apparently ran out of air and lost consciousness. The blob had been shrinking, but when it got down to half its original size one could see that it wasn?t, in fact, shrinking; it was actually going into Ms. Sung?s body through her nose and mouth.

The closest technicians rushed to her side, checking for her vitals, others trying to find residue of the creature. It seemed she was breathing normally, her pulse seemed normal, but she was in a coma and completely non-responsive.

The advisor ordered his people to clean up the scene, get as many samples as possible and then return to the labs to analyse what they had found. He barked out orders for Lena to be transported to their own medical facilities for help and finally he threatened to fire anyone who so much as said a single word to the press about it. And he would be watching too, it was his job to keep things like this away from the press and to deal with troublemakers within the company. He was extremely capable and seemed to be a natural leader, but Lena always said it was his lack of vision, of ambition that kept him from direct control of the company. It was true, he had no ambitions on control of the company; he was loyal to her.

********

Light streamed through Katie?s window, right on to her face. She grimaced, scrunched her eyes closed and let out a muffled, half-hearted groan. She blinked sleepily and got up, barely conscious. She walked, half-asleep, to the bathroom. She turned on the tap and let water flow into the sink. She cupped her hands gathering up the water and splashed her face with it. A little more awake now, she glanced in the mirror and cupped her hands for more water. She stopped and then looked into the mirror with shock. There she stood, normal, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, plain and totally unnoticeable Katie. She examined her body and found it completely unchanged, as though last night had never happened. Then the thought occurred to her, what if last night hadn?t happened? What if last night had been a dream? The alien craft, the glowing gem, her body?s sudden growth and most importantly her super speed, had it all been some sort of dream? She then noticed that her clothes were the same ones she?d worn last night, she?d been so tired that she hadn?t changed. Her blouse was a bit torn at the seams around the shoulders and the buttons off the front were gone, as though they?d been popped off, her bra was totally stretched out of shape, useless now. This, to Katie, anyways, was proof that last night hadn?t been a dream.

?So how do I change back?? She wondered.

?Shazam! Egnahc Won! This looks like a job for?? She tried many of the different catch phrases, magic words and such that worked in the comics, without success.

?AWWWW COME ON, DAMMIT! CHANGE!? She cried, growing panicky and afraid.

What if she couldn?t change? What if it had been a one-time thing? It wouldn?t be fair; she?d only tasted the whole super speed bit. Why would she only be given two seconds with a super power and now it was being taken away? That wouldn?t be fair at all. And then she felt it: the change began. She felt and saw her breasts grow, felt her ass, hips and thighs gain mass, her eyesight blurred as she no longer needed her glasses. She took off her glasses and stepped back from the mirror to get a better look at her body. She looked like something out of a comic book, the impossible female ideal that people were always ranting about. She could see that she looked like several impossible female ideals in particular. She could see some of Jean Grey from X-men, a bit of Sara Pezzini from Witchblade, some of Oracle/Barbara Gordon from Batman and some of Power Girl from JSA. And that was only the few she could immediately recognize. Excited thoughts ran through her head as she thought of what these new powers could entail, but she needed to figure out how to control the power and her transformations.

While she was not so good at foreseeing the consequences of her actions, she was good at associating effects with their causes. What had triggered the transformation? What was there in common between this time and the first time? It came to her quickly: anxiety, fear, panic. Those were the emotions she?d been feeling just a moment ago, the same or if not, similar emotions to the first time she transformed. It was an emotional trigger, so then, what was the emotion to trigger a transformation back? How had she felt the other night when she started feeling tired and weak? The answer: relieved. She?d calmed down because her mother wasn?t going to be around. So it could be relief, the feeling of being out of danger? She could always experiment later. Now she was going to test out her super speed and if she was going to be a super hero, she?d need a lot more than practice. She was going to need a heroic identity, a costume and maybe a sidekick or something and of course, crimes to stop and a way to find crimes to stop? In short she was going to need help and she knew exactly who to call.

*********

?James Howlett?s residence, how may I direct your call?? James said as he answered the phone.

James was a software programmer and general tech head. He had dark hair, grey eyes, wore dark clothes and actually had a pretty decent muscular physique. He worked from his home on a contract basis and generally made enough money to support himself and his pet cat; besides the cat, he lived alone. He also made, generally enough to support his two habits. Habit one: gadgets; he liked getting the new fancy little technological toys that came out on the market or making them himself. Due to his budget constraints, he ended up making a lot of the tech toys he owned. His second little habit was a bit more affordable: he was a comic book lover. That was how he?d met Katie, in a comic shop; they talked and found they had a lot in common and so became very good friends. There was only one thing preventing them from engaging in more intimate relations: he was an adult and she was a minor still so those kinds of relationships were illegal for the time being anyways. Who knows, things could change in four years. The problem was he was sure she had a crush on him and that simply was not helping things.

He?d known it was her calling from the caller id on the phone; he just liked answer his phone that way.

?James, its Katie. Are you busy?? She asked excitedly.

?Katie? Your voice sounds strange are you okay?? He asked in concern.

Her voice sounded deeper, more grown up than it should.

?I?m fine, I?m great. In fact that?s kind of what I have to talk to you about. Can you get to the junkyard as soon as possible?? She asked hurriedly.

?Uh? sure? I guess.? He replied confusedly.

About half an hour later he made it to the aforementioned junkyard. As he entered, he noticed two things; one, there was a bit of wind passing through, but it wasn?t coming from any one direction like should and two, things were disappearing and reappearing in different places, as though someone was moving them really fast. Suddenly a wind gusted past him and it all stopped.

?What took you so long? I was beginning to get bored.? A female voice said from behind him.

He turned and gaped at the figure. It didn?t look like Katie at all, far too mature, but the way she was standing and her voice?

?Katie, is that you?? He asked.

She was wearing spandex shorts and a t-shirt, the only things that could fit her in her ?super-form? as she called it. They were her mother?s clothes, but they were still a bit small on her body now; the shorts were like a second skin and the shirt wasn?t big enough to conceal her mid-drift.

?Yeah its me, James. Isn?t it cool?? She said, zipping behind him.

?What happened? How are you doing that?? He asked turning to face her.

She explained as much she could, as much as she herself knew, adding in her own theories as well as her plans for super heroism. James listened patiently and then at the end just stared at her with a grimace.

?You, want to become a super hero??

She nodded.

?Saving lives, performing feats of daring-do??

Again she nodded.

?Are you out of your mind?? He asked with a deadly calm.

She blinked and stared at him, surprised.

?Being a regular hero is dangerous. Police and firemen risk their lives everyday and you? Despite appearances you?re just a kid, do you have any idea what you?re getting yourself into? It isn?t like the comics, you could get seriously injured or killed.?

?But, I have super speed, I can dodge bullets. I?ve been practicing moving and seeing things at hyper speeds. Everything seems so slow that it doesn?t look like its moving at all to me. Danger will be easy to dodge.? She retorted.

?But what if your speed suddenly stops working? You said you weren?t sure of what happened to you. What if it isn?t permanent or what if you develop new super powers how will you adapt to it? You could kill someone by accident. Do you even know if super speed is the only thing you have? What if you have super strength or invulnerability or laser vision too??

?Uhhh? umm? well? How am I supposed to test super strength??

?See that car over there?? He said pointing to one of the junky wrecks. ?Lift it.?

She walked calmly, fuming with indignation over to the wreck, determined to prove she could handle this. She squatted, getting a firm grip on the underside of the car and hefted it. The car was far lighter to her than she would have imagined. She used far to much strength and thus needed to stop its momentum before it went flying. She was able to grab it in time, but the effort to pull it back caused her to loose her balance and she fell on her back. The car crashed just beyond her, barely missing her fingers. She got up and tried again, this time using only one hand. She carefully and slowly lifted the car. She looked at James with a smug look on her face.

?I guess I have super strength. Now how can we test invulnerability and flight?? She asked eagerly.

?I?m not going to convince you to give up this hero business am I??

?Nope.? She said, putting the car down.

?Fine? since I can?t keep you from risking your life, I?ll do my best to see if I can keep you from loosing it. Call me with the measurements of that body and I?ll see what I can do. Err? what would you call yourself anyways??

?How about the ?Crimson Crusader??? She said with a little coy smile.

Several days later, after Katie had provided the necessary information for James, they met once again at his place for her costume fitting. It was made in two pieces; the shorts made out of a spandex like material were almost long enough to cover her knees. The second part, a long-sleeved shirt, which was made of the same spandex material. It attached to a hood/mask piece, which didn?t cover the top of her head and had her hair coming out the back of the mask like a ponytail. The two pieces held together because of the zipper between them. She was also given a belt with various gadgets and things for villain fighting, it also concealed the zipper when worn. She also wore shoes and gloves and the entire ensemble was in red; what else would someone called ?Crimson Crusader? wear?

?I kinda look like Jesse Quick in this.? She giggled as she looked at herself in a mirror.

?Yeah, well, lets hope the costume is different enough so that someone from DC comics doesn?t take it into their heads to sue you for copyright infringement.? James said with a dry tone.

?But why?d you put in the earphones?? She asked tapping the earphones that were hidden beneath the mask.

?So I can keep in touch with when you?re out saving the city. I?ve hacked into the police lines, so I should be able to tell you about crimes happening around the city. I don?t know how well I?ll be able to communicate with you when you?re moving at super speed, but we?ll just have to see.?

Suddenly a light began to flash on his computer. He went over to it, hit a few keys and looked at the map screen, which popped up.

?Okay, the First National Bank is being robbed. You know where it is?? He asked, turning to her.

She was gone in a crimson streak.

?I?ll take that as a ?yes?. It?s show time.? He smiled.

At the bank, four men with guns were holding up the staff and clients. They were standard thugs only interested in money. The police were not going to arrive before one of them lost their temper or patience and shot someone. It truly looked bleak for those hostages.

?Come on, come on. We haven?t got all day. If you don?t hurry it up with that cash somebody?s gonna die.? The leader bellowed.

The staff quivered with fear and did there best to move faster, but it was to no avail.

?Don?t believe me, huh? Fine, he dies first.? The leader said aiming his gun at the security officer of the bank.

The gun fired, the bullet moved towards the officer but then suddenly stopped and clattered to the ground.

?What the fuck?? One of the other thugs muttered.

?Kill ?em all!? The leader bellowed.

The thugs fired off their weapons, but none of the bullets ever reached their marks. They simply stopped and fell to the ground.

?What the hell?? One of the thugs exclaimed.

?You know, I really don?t get it. Why steal money from a bank? Money is only worth anything because you can exchange it for goods and services, but if you steal it like this you can?t exchange it for anything? am I wrong?? The Crimson Crusader asked from her place in a corner.

She?d been moving so fast that the bullets had been barely moving to her perspective. Al she?d had to do was reach out and stop their momentum.

?Who the hell are you?? The leader demanded.

?I?m the Crimson Crusader. I?m the superhero who?s gonna stop you.? She spoke with confidence.

?A superhero? Izzat some kinda joke?? The leader laughed. ?All you?re going to do is die, bitch!?

He fired a shot at her. Now, if she?d been thinking she?d have moved at super speed to avoid it, but considering the heat of the moment and the fact that she was new to this whole hero gig, she did nothing put raise her hand in some kind of defence. She was lucky, very lucky, as the bullet simply bounced off her palm. She stared dumbfounded at the bullet as it clattered on the ground and then at her palm; it was completely unmarked. Then it dawned on her: she was invulnerable. She smiled and walked towards the thugs? leader. He fired of several more shots and they all bounced off her invulnerable body. She smiled as she stood face to face with the thug, took his gun and crushed it. The others began to panic and started to move to run, but she moved faster. Using a thin steal wire, she ran around them, wrapping them all up so they couldn?t get out. The staff and clientele of the bank applauded and cheered and she stood a moment to enjoy the adulation. With her super strength she was easily able to carry the load of thugs out to the police. She didn?t stay long, though she did tell them she was ?working to aid justice and to prevent suffering?. She was hailed as a hero as she ran off and she loved it.

?Excellent performance, I?m surprised you aren?t more popular at school.? James said through the earphones.

?It wasn?t a performance. I only said what I thought was right.? She retorted.

?Well, if you really do want to prevent suffering, there?s some kid about to jump off the top of the Genutech office building downtown.?

?Wait? isn?t Genutech?s office building the tallest skyscraper in the city??

?That?s right, it?s surrounded by firemen right now. The kid is threatening to jump if anyone comes too close. He?s apparently talking to them via cell phone.?

?Great? how am I supposed to get up there??

?Well, stairs and the elevator are out of the question; way too slow. So why don?t you just run up the side of the building??

?Can I do that??

?Well, you seem to be fast enough to defy gravity. All you can do is give it a try, right??

?Fine? but what am I supposed to do if I get up there??

?Talk to the kid. There?s more to being a superhero than beating up petty crooks, you know.?

?I?ll do what I can.? She sighed.

She came up to the rear of the building, where there was no one paying attention and she ran up the side of the building. It wasn?t very hard and she was going to fast to really feel the pull of gravity. She got on to the roof with no problem. She saw the kid, who seemed to be the same age as her, about fourteen or fifteen. He was standing on the ledge of the building and looked ready to jump.

?Is that really the best way to do things?? She queried cautiously.

He turned in surprise, but did not slip or fall.

?Who are you? How?d you get up here? I told them if anybody came up here I?d jump.? He said angrily.

?I?m a superhero? the Crimson Crusader. I ran up the building and weren?t you going to jump anyways??

?And what if I was?? He snarled.

?Well, if you weren?t, then you?re up here for a reason, to get someone to pay attention to you. If you were going to jump, then it wouldn?t have mattered if they?d send someone up, cause you were going to do it anyways.?

?What do you know?? He said angrily.

?Maybe more than you think? wanna talk about it? That might help.?

?No I don?t, stay away!? He stepped back, over the edge.

She hesitated for a brief moment in shock, but then ran towards the edge. She jumped, grabbing him, but at that point there was nothing she could do as they both hurtled towards the ground.

?Great, even if I survive, the kid could still get hurt? What am I gonna do?? She thought desperately.

The kid, for his part was perfectly calm, awaiting the end. An end, which never came as they suddenly halted in mid-air, several feet from the ground. She marvelled at how she was now hovering, flying in the air. She handed off the kid to one of the firemen, telling him that he should talk to someone about his problems and then flew off.

?WHOOOOO! I CAN FLY!? She yelled, exhilarated.

Two knew superpowers, it was truly exciting for her and things would only get better for her, or so she thought.

********

Her exploits and she had done quite a few that day, made it on to the news. She was famous, the Crimson Crusader, the hero of the city, the only superhero in the world who wasn?t fictional. People chanted her name and cheered when she arrived on the scene. She was described as having powers beyond those of normal people and it was the biggest story of the day. However, someone recognized the importance of her sudden appearance and the crash landing of the UFO. Lena Sung was watching the news broadcast from her hospital bed that evening. Or more accurately, her eyes were open, but she wasn?t truly watching at all. Her left eye was now liquid silver, like that creature that had attacked her. In fact the creature, named Znoxx, and she had reached a sort of agreement: he would provide her with the key to that alien technology and she would be his host for as long as he needed to stay here. They were now talking about the girl, though to anyone watching it would only seem like she was watching TV.

?It?s the gem, it has to be.? Znoxx said.

?What?s this ?gem? you keep talking about?? Lena asked.

?The Gem of Cytorka. According to legend it is capable of granting the wish of whoever uses it. Apparently this girl wanted to be a ?superhero?.?

?Ahhh? something beyond valuable to a criminal like you.?

?Criminal? And what makes you think I am a criminal, human??

?You had the gem in your ship, there aren?t any other ship wreckages like that on this planet from that night. From the damage on your ship?s hull, you were running away from something or someone. I think you stole the gem and the authorities were trying to destroy it and you.? She said slyly.

?Clever little primitive aren?t you?? Znoxx snarled.

?You would do well not to underestimate we ?primitives?. Now how does it work?? She demanded.

?I believe it works by absorbing energy, like the one from the reaction of matter colliding with the anti-matter of my ship?s engine core, as I?m sure you noticed, it didn?t blow up. It then uses this energy to alter the fabric of reality to suit the will of the user. That girl must have it, I? I mean we have to get it back.?

?A direct assault at this time would be a bad idea? We need to test this girl?s power and her limits.? Lena said with a wicked smile.

~to be continued

Love the story. Also noticed how you have a character named 'James Howlett'. Homeage to Wolverine? Can't wait for more.

[TGJunkie]

Excellent. Can't wait to see what happen when the other woman "Grows up" too.