Stories/The Second Nature series/4 How Does It Feel?
From Transsexual Support
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[edit] Off To Battle
I suited up as fast as I could. The new body armor I had designed was just a prototype, but as it was, it would do the job. My abilities to invent anything that came to mind, along with the ability to telepathically communicate with computers was, at this point, an absolute Godsend. \"Here we go,\" I said to myself. I had made alterations to the design to accomodate my new wings, but otherwise had to do very little. It would adapt in size to any body, but would only respond to mine. I left my quarters and happened upon Psyche and Raidra. These two were an item. \"Why are you heading to the front line?\" I asked.
Psyche responded, \"Why are you heading out there?! Last I heard, the shrink gave you a weeklong timeout.\" Raidra soon added, \"Wow. If I didn\'t already have the most beautiful woman in the world, I\'d say you were her.\"
\"Stow it,\" I angrily responded. I saw Tempus, Null, and Phoenix in the distance. \"Tempus? what are you doing out here?\"
\"This threat is extremely powerful. We need every warm body out there,\" he stated calmly. I looked him over... his bodysuit was definitely doing his body justice... damnit! I was thinking that way again. He continued, \"and no offense, but even though you may be really powerful, I have no assurance that it wasn\'t a one-time thing.\"
Smart decision. I didn\'t have time to respond as Crystalline shouted at me. \"Wait up!\"
She was dressed up in old-school fatigues, and was carrying a machine gun. She had 3 more of them strapped to her belt. Despite the fact that conventional weapons in this world were rare, they could still be found, and Crystalline owned most of them.
\"He did say \'every warm body.\' So, I\'m gonna fight as well.\"
I looked at her like she had just said the sky was fuschia. \"You\'re baseline, though! You\'d get eaten alive out there!\"
\"Remember what I said about weakness?\" she asked me. \"Just because you\'re a woman does not make you weak. Just because I show up as baseline doesn\'t mean I don\'t have some surprises.\"
I took her word for it and proceeded to where the computer was saying the intruder was. The others tried to follow were having a hard time keeping up with me, except for Tempus, whose ability to speed up and slow down the speed of molecules was allowing him to match my speed. \"You ready, Tom?\" I asked, knowing full well he couldn\'t respond when he was at high speed. I smiled... until I saw the intruder.
\"We meet again, little brother.\"
[edit] Twilight Collision
\"Necro.\"
\"Yep, little bro. Or should I say little sis? Oh. I see that my words got under your skin.\" He began charging energy. \"Let\'s begin.\"
\"Yeah, let\'s,\" Tempus said. He brought his hands up and Necro\'s form began to shimmer. He was trying to slow his speed to a crawl.
Necro faked a yawn and blasted Tempus to the other end of the corridor. \"Did you really think your antiquated powers would even work on me?\" He raised his hand again, ready to blast him into oblivion.
\"Rolling shield!\" I got in the path in the nick of time, but I was thrown against the wall by the sheer force of the blast. My shield collapsed. He was going to be much tougher than I had thought. I needed all the power I could get, and more. I thought quickly. My armor was cyber-organic, and had a feature to copy the DNA of any person I touched. Without thinking, I touched Tempus and temporarily gained his power. \"Comet!\" I called. This was one of Tempus\'s attacks. It sped up the speed of the air molecules around the target, increasing the heat level to the point where the target would either melt or burn up. No such luck.
\"Black shield.\" A shield similar to mine went up around Necro, blocking the effects of my attack. \"Darkness wake.\" I was hit with a powerful blast of energy. I had the wind knocked out of me. He spoke \"You\'re pathetic. You\'re supposed to be the one to stop my Master from plunging the Mortal Plane into the Underworld? Ha! You\'re nothing to me, little girl. Nothing to me at all.\" He laughed.
\"Spirit Wake!!!\" He teleported behind me and enveloped me in the Black Shield before I could even turn my head.
\"Foolish girl, you really have no clue. I\'m the strongest in this fam-- oh!!!\"
A rain of bullets and lightning cut him short. Crystalline, Null, Psyche, and Raidra were there, attacking with everything they had. Which wasn\'t much.
\"Fools.\" He fired at Crystalline. I couldn\'t move. I closed my eyes.
I heard more bullets. She was not only still alive and firing, but her body had changed. \"I\'ll be damned. She does have a power.\" Her body now looked like it was made out of crystal, and was otherwise completely unharmed.
\"Now, Psyche!!!\" Crystalline yelled, and Psyche\'s eyes rolled back in her head. She was using her abilities to try to wipe Necro\'s mind.
She screamed and jerked backward. She was breathing, and her eyes were open. I scanned her mind.
There was nothing there.
[edit] Innocence Lost
\"NECRO!!!!!\" I screamed. I had never been this enraged in my life. My power seemed almost to be exploding out of me at this point. Something had gone wrong when Psyche tried to wipe Necro\'s mind. That something was obvious to me, since my telepathy was passive, where Psyche\'s was active. Necro had the power to reflect any telepathic attack back to its user. Psyche was brain-dead. Nothing could be done. I spoke in a cold manner. \"Crystalline. Take Psyche\'s body to Phoenix. Get everyone to evacuate Base. Null. Come here.\" Null approached me cautiously as I touched his bare flesh. I now had the ability to weaken ED powers. He slumped to the floor. \"Get him out of here too.\" She looked at me, scared. \"Go.\"
\"Matrix?\"
\"I\'m going to bring Base down on his head if I have to! GO! NOW!!!\"
she quickly complied. I turned back towards my brother. \"You are going to pay for this. I will personally see to it that you suffer a fate worse than death.\"
\"Talk is cheap,\" he said.
\"Then how about actions?!?\" In the middle of the sentence I moved in the blink of an eye and punched him in the jaw. I also packed a Spirit Wake into the punch. He actually staggered.
\"Oh. The girl has some spunk. Bring it on.\"
I complied. I was like a machine at this point. I wanted to kill him so bad. I just started to punch and wasn\'t stopping. My punches were breaking the sound barrier. Base was beginning to shatter further with each blow.
Outside Base, Crystalline gathered everyone a safe distance from Base. Tempus was unconscious, as was Null, and Phoenix could do nothing for Psyche. She was brain-dead, not dead dead. Raidra thought up a plan.
\"Matrix. Listen to me. Do not kill him. Just destroy his body.\"
what was Raidra saying?! Necro had to die. He killed Psyche. He\'s beyond forgiveness. This was all I could think. Necro must die.
\"I have a way to save Psyche. You must keep Necro\'s brain intact.\"
Necro must die.
\"Please.\" I could feel his sorrow. He knew her mind was gone, but he didn\'t want to lose her. In a way, what he was thinking was genious, in the way of suitable revenge.
I projected out a \"Fine\" to him. Then I charged up my power to its maximum. The walls were collapsing around me. This was the only way.
\"Nova requiem.\"
I said the words almost silently, but the explosion was tremendous.
[edit] Misery Loves Family
\"Matrix? Wake up, love!\"
\"Shut up, pervert.\" I opened my eyes. Base was total rubble. Necro lay about 10 feet from me. He was missing both legs, his lower torso, and an arm. He was dying a slow death. I got up. \"Take him to the med-truck, Phoenix. Keep his brain alive at all costs.\"
\"Why?\"
\"Just do it. No questions.\" I found Crystalline, who had reverted to her human form. she was also naked. \"How\'s Tempus?\"
\"He\'s awake, and wanting to know what happened. Damn, Rachel, that was one HELL of a bout of PMS.\"
\"I need him in scrubs. You too.\"
\"Why?\"
\"We\'re going to perform a brain transplant. Necro\'s mind in Psyche\'s body.\" I walked away, but I could feel her contempt. I didn\'t care. I walked over to Raidra, and spoke. \"I heard you, and I kept him alive.\"
He looked at me, and mouthed a silent \"thank you.\"
\"I hope this plan of yours works. If not, then you\'re going to suffer Necro\'s fate.\" I walked to the med-truck and looked at Psyche\'s body. She had a look of horror on her face, frozen there. \"You\'ll have a second chance. I\'ll assure you that.\"
\"I know I will, Anthony.\"
\"what?\" I turned around, and Psyche\'s spirit was standing there, looking down at her own body.
\"I know yours and Jake\'s plan. I just wanted to say that I hope it works. If it does, I will live again. I\'m... I was pregnant.\"
I was stunned.
\"We had just found out before the alarm sounded. When I realized what was happening, I transferred my spirit into my unborn child. I will be reborn.\"
\"I understand. I... I\'m sorry.\"
\"Don\'t be. Once I\'m reborn, Tempus can accelerate my body to an adult age and I\'ll be able to stand by your side again. Do not blame yourself. Please.\" She faded away. Tempus walked in.
\"Well?\"
\"Psyche\'s body has to be given a chance, so Psyche herself can be reborn. Prepare for surgery.\"
I waited outside, anxious.
\"Guess what, love?\" Phoenix asked me.
\"Cut the crap. Was it successful?\"
\"Yer damned right it was successful, love. You\'ve got a sister.\"
I walked in. Necro was already awake in Psyche\'s former body. I signaled for everyone to leave. Well, well, well, brother. The tables have turned.
\'\'Contributed by Melissa (9/30/2004)\'\'
