Morpheus’s Legacy Universe – Part 16

The Knight is a Lady

by

Morpheus

 

"Damn," I cursed as I stood in the middle of my bedroom while completely soaked through. I'd just come in from outside where I'd gotten an unexpected drenching, not due to any sudden downpour or anything like that but due to a water balloon ambush from my sisters.

I grimaced as I quickly stripped off my wet clothes then took a towel to my hair. I silently promised myself revenge for this soaking especially since they'd run off and hid before I could get even. I'd wanted to chase after them but that was undoubtedly what they both expected and wanted. In fact, I strongly suspected that they had another ambush waiting for me somewhere. No, I was going to delay my revenge for awhile until they weren't expecting it.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold," I chuckled evilly, wondering if they'd like a glass of ice water poured over them tonight while they slept.

A minute later I was dressed again in a dry pair of jeans and t-shirt. I ran my hand through my still wet hair, deciding that I'd better comb it. Normally I'd just leave it as it was but there was currently a family gathering going on outside and I had a lot of relatives hanging around.

I went to the bathroom to check my reflection and make sure I didn't have a cow lick or something. I quickly ran a comb through my nearly shoulder length black hair then grinned at my reflection and said, "Joshua Knight...you are one handsome devil."

Of course, I was exaggerating a little bit but not too much. I was sixteen years old with a decently athletic build, the kind girls like. I was also just a hair under six feet tall and if I followed after my dad any more I'd end up with a couple more inches of height before I was done. As it was, I was already getting some attention from the girls at school and looked forward to getting even more.

Then with a shrug I went back to my room grabbed my wet clothes and tossed them into the hamper. I looked around my room...at my own private territory. It was a decent sized room with a bed, dresser, desk, and the usual amount of clutter...though my mom wouldn't let me build it up anymore no matter how hard I tried. And though I didn't usually think about it, I knew this same room had been my dad's bedroom well before it had been mine...back when he'd been a kid.

Our house was a family house built by my grandpa decades ago so he could raise his own kids here. It wasn't quite a mansion though it certainly felt that way at times since it had six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and three floors...though one of them was the secret basement dad used for the family business. As my grandpa had originally intended, we had plenty of room here for the whole family which was why everyone always used our house for these gatherings.

After spending another minute considering what kind of revenge I might take against my sisters, I turned and went back outside to where the family gathering was taking place. My aunt, uncles, and cousins were all scattered about talking and having a good time.

I carefully looked around for any sign of my sisters. When I didn't see them I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. It either meant they were making themselves scarce so I couldn't get back at them...or they were up to more mischief. I was betting on the latter.

Then I looked over at my dad who was standing in front of the barbecue wearing white spandex. That kind of thing might seem weird in most families but not in mine. I was a fairly normal guy but my family was anything but normal. In fact, I come from a family of developed...a family of super heroes.

My dad is a super hero called the White Knight and he was currently still wearing his uniform, a white spandex piece that covered most of his body from the neck down. He was tall, very athletic, and had short cropped black hair. His costume was mostly white, including a long white cape and a white mask which covered a large part of his upper face but there were gold touches to his costume as well. He had a gold metal belt, gold wrist bands, and a pair of gold broaches which held on his cape. At the moment, he had his mask off for the barbecue since everyone here was family.

There was one final touch to my dad's costume, a faint symbol on his chest that was white as well but outlined in gold. It was a symbol that looked like a medieval knight's helmet...our family crest as it were.

"It's pretty stupid wearing white while cooking barbecue," I muttered, shaking my head at my dad's fashion sense. "At least he doesn't wear the underwear on the outside of his costume anymore..."

I chucked as I remembered the old pictures of my dad in his original costume, the one Mom made him change after they got together. That costume was similar to the one he wore now though it had what looked like white underwear on the outside of it. Dad still claimed it had been to help protect his modesty while wearing the spandex though Mom had called it ridiculous and insisted he put his extra support INSIDE the costume. Every once in awhile she still teases him about that.

However, my dad's powers were anything but a joke. He was super strong, could fly, and he could summon a form of energy to create white force field objects up to a few feet away from his body. He could surround all or just parts of his body with armor made out of this white energy and he could...and usually did summon weapons like swords and the like to fight with.

My mom who stood next to my dad was wearing normal civilian clothes which was to be expected since she'd retired from being a hero about ten years ago. Before then, she'd been called Deception and had a psionic power that could make other people see things that weren't there.

"Hey," I called to my parents as I came closer, more to see how close dinner was to being finished than to actually talk to them. I looked at the food on the grill then told Dad, "Good thing you're a better super hero than you are a cook..."

Mom just laughed at that and elbowed dad, "He's got you there..."

"Hey, that's not fair," Dad protested. "I think the chicken looks great..."

"They're half burned," I told Dad with a snicker. "Good thing we've got a lot of potato salad..."

Dad just chuckled, "If this is the thanks I get for saving the world..."

"You've never saved the whole world," Mom pointed out with a smile. "Maybe the country...but never the whole world."

At that, Mom and Dad got into a discussion about whether or not stopping some villains qualified as 'saving the world' or not. Dad forgot all about the chick which was already overdone. I just shook my head and walked away. However, I didn't get far before I saw one of my sisters.

My twelve year old sister Katie was standing back near a tree and snickering as she watched me. Katie was like me in that she hadn't really developed any powers yet either though unlike me she'd once demonstrated a short burst of what looked like super strength. She just hadn't been able to duplicate it since. However, what drew my attention at the moment wasn't just her snicker but the fact that my other sister Evie wasn't with her.

"Damn," I looked around, suddenly feeling paranoid and with good reason.

I carefully examined the area around me though I didn't see any sign of Evie...not that I really expected to. Evie had inherited a version of our mom's powers...but where Mom could make other people see things...Evie could make people NOT see her. It wasn't true invisibility since she didn't bend light around her but it was pretty damn close because she could trick your mind into simply thinking that she wasn't there. That was how she'd earned the code name Figment.

"Damn," I grimaced, annoyed yet again at the unfairness of Evie not only having powers while I didn't but at her having ones that were so damn annoying to me.

I couldn't count the number of times Evie had used her powers to mess with me in one way or another. Since she could make some people in a room not see her while others could, she'd come into the room while I was with my friends, invisible to them but making faces at me. I couldn't chase her out without them all wondering what was going on and why I was acting weird.

Of course, after dealing with Evie's powers so often I'd learned a few tricks about how to work around them. If I concentrated on her hard enough I could break her little mental trick...if I already knew where she was. I looked around, trying hard to focus and pay attention. Then I caught it, a shadow from something that wasn't there. My mind told me to ignore the shadow and not see it as well but it wasn't protected nearly as well as Evie herself.

"I see you," I exclaimed, grabbing a rock from the ground and making as if to throw it right at her.

Evie went to dodge the rock she thought I was throwing at her and lost her concentration. She came back into full view again, looking just like Katie but an eighteen year old version of her. Of course, that wasn't a surprise since in spite of their age difference they were actually twins.

Just six months ago Evie and Katie had been the same age and truly were twins. Then one of Dad's enemies tracked down our family and took her hostage, hiding her in another dimension until Dad met his demands. It only took Dad a couple hours to defeat the villain and get Evie back...only to discover that time passed faster in the other dimension than it does in ours. Only a few hours had passed for us while years had passed for her.

Things have been a little awkward with Evie since she got back because no one was quite sure how to react to her new age. It was extremely strange having a little sister who'd suddenly gone to being my older sister though no less so for Katie who's twin was now older than her.

Evie had to get used to all of us again after not seeing us seeing us for years. I could only imagine how difficult the situation is for her though she does a good job of not showing it or even talking about her time in the other dimension. She's been dealing with the situation by trying to pretend it doesn't exist, by trying to slip back into her comfortable old role of staying close to Katie and playing pranks on me. In some ways, I think its an act for our benefit...that she's doing it more for our sake than her own.

"That's not fair," Evie exclaimed, coming up to me with a scowl. She glared at me, hoping the fact that she was now older than me would intimidate me into backing down.

"And its fair hitting me with water balloons while you're invisible?" I pointed to the balloons she still had in her hands. Then before she could remember to hit me with them I added, "Remember...i know where you sleep..." Then I made a motion as if shaving her head with an electric razor, reminding her of a threat I'd made a few times in the past when she'd gone too far.

Evie continued glaring at me for a moment before snorting, "You're just jealous that I have powers and you don't..." Then she turned and walked away, dropping the water balloons as she did so. I just let out a sigh of relief though I couldn't help but chuckling at the look of disappointment on Katie's face.

I turned to look over all the members of my family, knowing that Evie was right. I normally didn't want to admit it out loud but I was jealous of her. I was jealous of her and everyone else who had powers. It had never seemed right that my kid sister had powers...even back when she'd still been twelve while I was still waiting for mine to develop.

I couldn't help but wondering if this was the way Dad felt...or any of his siblings back when they'd been growing up. After all, living in Grandpa's shadow and seeing your sister and brothers developing powers would have to be a bit like what I was going through.

This whole developed super hero thing which ran in my family had started decades ago with my grandpa after he accidentally got exposed to a lot of radiation. The radiation made him develop powers...giving him super strength, invulnerability, the ability to fly, and the ability to generate a form of golden energy which he could use to shape into things almost like solid objects.

My grandpa could have become rich and powerful...maybe even taking over the world if he wanted. Instead, he chose to become a super hero...one of the very first super heroes in existence. Originally he called himself the Knight and later even went so far as to change his last name to that as well but most of the media started calling him the Golden Knight instead because of his golden energy powers.

I felt a surge of pride as I thought of my grandpa and all his accomplishments. He'd been one of the first super heroes, a founding member of the Protectorate...the first super hero group. And of course, he'd been the leader of Knight Force...a super hero group composed solely of our family members.

But then about ten years ago Grandpa had been killed by a couple of villains who normally wouldn't have been able to pull it off. After his autopsy it was revealed that his entire body had been riddled with cancer...a result from the same radiation which gave him his powers. He would have been dead within months anyway.

I sighed as I looked around my family, remembering that our gathering today was largely to celebrate Grandpa's memory. In fact, everyone was here to honor his birthday as we did every year on this day.

My aunt Gina was standing next to her two kids and drinking her fifth beer though not looking the least bit drunk. She was my dad's older sister though she hardly looked it. She was a beautiful woman with long red hair that came from a bottle and she only looked to be in her mid twenties due to her power. She'd inherited Grandpa's invulnerability and as with him it had slowed her aging process as well as made it very difficult to get drunk.

At the moment, aunt Gina was still dressed in her costume, a white spandex body suit that had a red bulls eye on her chest. That was appropriate since her code name was the Target.

Aunt Gina's power of invulnerability might be a purely defensive one but I knew better than to ever underestimate her. She'd long ago fixed her lack of offensive power by studying martial arts and earning a black belt in Tae-kwon-do. Since she was invulnerable, she could hit someone as hard as she possibly could without fear of ever hurting herself which meant that even without any enhanced strength she could still punch pretty damn hard.

Standing right beside her mom was my cousin Angela. She was nineteen and beautiful with long black hair and a slightly Asian cast to her features, inherited from her own father. She also had a deep scowl and a grim expression which wasn't unusual since she'd officially become a super hero last year.

Angela was called Agony...a name which fit her well. She had a healing power which could heal any injury but didn't stop her from feeling pain when injured. She was also a projective empath who could make people near her feel whatever pain she felt. In fact, she could even store up this pain and then dump all of it into another person in one burst...crippling them with pure agony. The nature of her powers sort of forced her to be a little more masochistic if she wanted to really use them.

And right next to Angela was her brother Ryan. He was a year younger than her but resembled her enough that he was often mistaken as her twin. Like aunt Gina and Dad, Ryan was currently here wearing his costume, a white and black spandex outfit that included a dark green belt that had pouches going all around it. He had similar pouches stored in various places around his costume, each of which contained shuriken throwing stars...hence his code name Shuriken.

Ryan was a tactile telekinetic who could touch a small object and sort of give it a telekinetic charge so that for a short time afterwards he could move it with his mind. Of course, his favorite things to use were all the shuriken he carried with him, letting him send them flying and changing direction in midair at his whim. It also made him damn tough to play basketball with since he liked to cheat.

My uncle Leon was a short distance away, sitting back in a lounge chair with his feet soaking in the wading pool. He was in shorts with sunglasses on and holding a beer in his hand. You'd never guess that Dad's younger brother was a super hero who'd once been part of a group called the Elite.

Uncle Leon could summon energy in several different bright neon colors and make it act like solid objects the same way Dad and Grandpa could though he was a lot more powerful than either of them. He could summon a lot more energy letting him make bigger objects with it and he could project it further away from his body which made him more versatile as well. He used this as Neon, the unofficial super hero of Las Vegas.

And then there was uncle Chris who had rolled his wheelchair over to talk with Mom and Dad. Uncle Chris was missing both his legs from the knees down, the result of a tragic accident with his teleporting powers many years ago. He'd accidentally arrived a little off from where he'd intended and ended up with his feet fused into the ground.

Uncle Chris had tried using high tech prosthetics to walk again but every time he teleported it wiped out everything electronic with him...including the prosthetics. As a result, uncle Chris chose to use his either regular prosthetics or a wheelchair rather than give up the freedom to teleport all over the world.

Uncle Chris hadn't come to the party alone though as he'd brought his wife Marissa and their six year old daughter Natalie as well. Both of them were helping out with the food at the table along with Katie and Evie.

As I looked over my family I couldn't help but wondering what it must have been like seeing them together as Knight Force. Unfortunately, Grandpa's death hit everyone hard and it wasn't long after that before the family team broke up. Sure, Dad, uncle Leon, and aunt Gina continued being heroes but they hadn't really worked together since then.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked around again to decide what I was going to do. Sure, I could mess with Katie and Evie but I was going to let my revenge wait a bit. Instead, I started towards Ryan who I'd always been fairly close to. After all, he's the closest one to my own age in the family.

"Hey, how's the super hero career going?" I asked Ryan.

"Not bad," Ryan grinned back. "I just got offered a spot on Angela's team...but I don't think she's real happy with that though."

I nodded at that, "She probably doesn't want you watching her get shot and injured over and over again..." I shuddered at that, knowing I couldn't handle watching one of my sisters purposely getting hurt all the time.

"What about you?" Ryan asked. "Have you developed anything yet?"

"No," I shook my head, trying to hide my disappointment. "No powers for me..." I let out a sigh at that. "But I'm going to try out for the football team once school starts up again." I gave Ryan a grin. "Being a star player on the team is almost like having the power to get girls..."

Ryan laughed at that. "Why don't we play a little catch? It'll give you some practice."

"Yeah right," I snorted. "You'd just make the ball change direction right before I caught it. I always feel like Charlie Brown when I play with you."

Ryan just grinned. "Okay then, how about darts...?"

I gave Ryan one of those looks and shook my head. "How about video games? At least I know you can't cheat on those..."

"Fine," Ryan rolled his eyes. "Let's get out of here before my sister glares at me one more time..."

"At least your sister doesn't turn invisible and pelt you with water balloons when you can't even see her," I pointed out.

"That might be easier to deal with," Ryan chuckled. "Honestly, I really liked Angela better before her powers kicked in and she started hurting herself to power up... I mean, most of the time anymore she doesn't even bother dodging the villains attacks but lets herself get hit just so she can do that pain blast thing she does." He winced at that. "You know, I really hate seeing her get hurt so much..."

"Yeah," I nodded sympathetically. I didn't like seeing my cousin getting hurt either and knew it would be worse if she'd been my sister.

"I just hope you don't get a power like hers," Ryan shook his head, putting an arm over my shoulder. "The healing factor would be awesome but the whole pain thing..." He shook his head again.

Ryan and I were walking back towards the house for the video games when suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light from behind me followed a moment later by a loud 'BOOM' that knocked me to my knees.

"What the hell?" I demanded, jumping back to my feet and turning around only to see a smoldering crater about five feet across right where the small wading pool had been.

A single glance was enough to reveal that nearly everyone had been knocked to the ground with the exception of uncle Leon who stood there right next to the hole with a grim expression and a glowing violet bubble surrounding him.

"We're under attack," Dad yelled as glowing white energy shoulder and chest armor appeared on him as well as a shield on his left arm and a sword in his right hand.

"Get out of here," Ryan shoved me away and then reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a stack of shuriken. He held onto them for just a moment before releasing them into the air. Each of them began spinning in the air like miniature buzz saws and then they began circling around him. Anyone who got too close to him would end up completely shredded.

"Damn," I exclaimed, backing away from Ryan to give him room while simultaneously looking around for any sign of who was attacking us. My heart raced with simultaneous fear and excitement.

Then I noticed a thick green gas was beginning to pour out of the ground in several places. Uncle Leon immediately reacted, covering the source of gas in one spot with a glowing pink bubble to keep it contained then gesturing at another and sealing the gas with a glowing blue bubble.

Aunt Gina and Angela were caught within the gas as it began pouring from the ground right beside them. Aunt Gina didn't seem to be effected at all though Angela began to stagger and slump over. Aunt Gina grabbed her and let her away from the gas and she immediately started to improve.

The gas also started coming out right near the food...catching uncle Chris, Marissa, and their daughter...along with my two sisters. All five of them immediately collapsed to the ground motionless before uncle Chris even had a chance to teleport away.

Just then, before anyone had a chance to recover from the gas...five figures suddenly appeared, dropping out of the sky and landing in the middle of our party. Three of them were men and two were women but that's about all I could make out since they were wearing identical gray uniforms which covered their entire bodies including their heads. The only thing breaking up the gray were the green lenses over their eyes.

One woman immediately charged straight at uncle Leon, moving at an almost inhuman pace. Uncle Leon gestured at her with a smirk and she suddenly had a glowing green bubble appearing around her as a cage. However, it didn't even slow her down as she continued running right through the side of the bubble as though it wasn't there...causing it to break apart and fade away behind her.

"What the...?" uncle Leon gasped in surprise, trying to hit her with a spear made of of glowing blue energy. The spear hit her in the chest then broke apart and vanished as it touched her too, leaving her completely unharmed.

"Our uniforms are designed to protect us from your powers," the woman exclaimed, easily dodging uncle Leon's punch and then hitting him back right in the throat, dropping him to the ground with a single punch. She dropped to her knees and placed something on his forehead which caused him to suddenly go completely still.

One of the men, a large muscular man went straight towards Dad until the other woman intercepted him, crying, "No... He's mine..."

"But the boss said," the big guy started to argue.

"I don't care what the boss says," she snapped. "He's MINE!"

The big man nodded then changed direction and went straight towards aunt Gina. The woman continued towards Dad, stopping just in front of him. He swung his sword at her, probably trying to force her back but she just stood there without moving. His sword hit her side but then broke apart and vanished the same way uncle Leon's force fields had.

"Let me," Mom exclaimed, gesturing to the woman with a look of concentration on her face. "I know you don't like hitting ladies..." But after a moment, Mom stopped with a look of surprise.

"Our uniforms protect us from your powers too," the woman said, holding up her hand and firing a beam of gold energy at mom.

Mom was suddenly sent flying back where she hit the ground hard. She quickly started getting back to her feet but then one of the other costumed intruders appeared...literally appearing right beside her in a flash of purple light. Before mom even fully registered he was there he grabbed her and slapped a small device onto her forehead. She spasmed for just a second before collapsing completely.

"ELLEN!" Dad called out with an expression of horror at the same time I called out, "MOM!"

I started to run towards her but Ryan grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. "Get out of here," he ordered me, pointing to the woods behind our house, "RUN!"

I started to back away but couldn't bring myself to run away completely. I had to fight back the urge to run in there and try helping my family. However, I was well aware of the fact that I had no super powers nor the special skills necessary to make a difference without them. If I went in there now the rest of my family would be worried about me so I'd end up being a distraction...a liability likely to get them all hurt.

"Damn," I grimaced, clenching my fists in impotent frustration.

The woman facing my dad suddenly had a sword just like his appearing in her hands...though made of golden energy. She swung at him and he blocked with his shield, quickly resummoned his own sword and then swung back. They started to slash back and forth at each other though she didn't bother to defend herself much since his sword couldn't do anything against her.

"I know who you are," Dad gasped with a look of shock on his face. "Jessica... Golden Angel..."

She paused and stepped back for a moment just long enough to reach up and pull off her mask. With the hood removed I could see a beautiful face with shoulder length black hair. "I'm called the Fallen now," she snarled before launching at Dad again with her sword.

"So this is the Black Guild," Dad responded, blocking her attack with a lot more skill than she possessed.

"No," she sneered. "This is something else..."

They continued fighting with her being unable to match my dad's skill while he could get past her defenses but couldn't hurt her. It seemed that they had a bit of a stalemate at the moment.

I looked over at aunt Gina and Angela to see how they were doing. Aunt Gina was fighting the big man who'd originally gone after Dad and she'd apparently taken the time to put her mask back on since her all white mask was covering the top half of her face. He punched her and sent her flying through the wall of our house though she immediately came charging back out, not even hurt by the attack.

"Is that the best you've got," aunt Gina taunted him, doing what she does best...drawing attention away from those who were less invulnerable. It's amazing how many bad guys see the target on her chest and can't resist trying to hit it...which was the whole point. "I barely even felt that..."

Angela was dealing with the last of the attackers, a man who was standing between her and her mom but wasn't doing much more than that. He threw an occasional punch but mostly seemed to be trying to avoid hers. Angela's ability to project her pain might be a nasty power but she'd learned quite well from her mom how to fight without it. As it was, her opponent was on the losing end of their match.

"Bitch," he suddenly called out, glancing towards the woman who'd taken down uncle Leon. "I could use some help here..."

"You useless...," the woman exclaimed with a shake of her head.

The woman then charged straight towards Angela, pulling a pair of pistols from her belt as she did so. She started firing both of them at my cousin's chest and Angela let out a loud gasp of pain before falling backwards and hitting the ground where she stopped moving.

"Don't play dead on me," the woman exclaimed, moving closer to put a bullet through Angela's head. "I know all about your healing power..."

Suddenly Angela lashed out with her leg, catching the woman and knocking her to the ground. Then Angela leapt on her and tore her hood off, revealing a caucasian woman with shoulder length dark brown hair.

"Feel my pain," Angela exclaimed, her eyes suddenly glowing. The woman on the ground began to suddenly scream and thrash around as Angela poured all the pain she'd felt from being shot as well as whatever else she'd stored up. Only then did Angela stand up and grin...a nasty grin. "I thought you'd be protected from my powers too..." She shot a knowing look towards my mom.

But suddenly the man she'd originally been fighting grabbed her from behind and slapped something on her head. She froze and suddenly collapsed to the ground motionless...taken out by the opponent she'd forgotten about.

"The psychics are down," he exclaimed as he reached to up to take off his own hood. "I don't need this anymore..."

I gasped at the sight of the man's face...or lack of a face. Under the hood was just a skull with glowing red eyes...looking as though he'd stepped right out of a horror movie.

"Skull Face," aunt Gina exclaimed in recognition. That just sparked my own recognition of who this was.

Being the son of super heroes I was often given some unusual homework...like reading up on the files of various super villains I might one day have to face. I remember reading Skull Face's file...though only because his power was so much like my mom's. But where she make people see whatever she wanted...he could look them in the eyes and make them see hallucinations of their greatest fears.

Aunt Gina quickly looked away from Skull Face to avoid his powers but her opponent took advantage of her distraction to grab hold of her. Aunt Gina might be invulnerable but she wasn't any stronger than an ordinary athletic woman so there was no way she could break the grim of someone who did have enhanced strength.

Then as aunt Gina struggled in vain to get away, Skull Face exclaimed, "Gotcha..."

A moment later, aunt Gina began screaming and thrashing at imagined horrors while still behind held by her attacker. And while she was both held and distracted, Skull Face was easily able to slap a small device onto her forhead causing her to collapse to the ground motionless as well.

Ryan had been trying to help Dad though the teleporter kept appearing in front of him and taunting him before teleporting away. Ryan kept flinging shuriken at the teleporter but couldn't hit him. Then Ryan saw what had happened to his mom and sister and immediately changed tactics and ran to help them.

I realized that this was not a good situation. Most of my family were already down and there was nothing I could to do help. In fact, I knew that if I stuck around I might be taken hostage and used to force Dad and Ryan to surrender. So with a grimace, I turned and started to run towards the woods, feeling like a coward for doing so. However, I couldn't help but looking back.

Ryan was throwing his shuriken at the large invulnerable man though it didn't seem to do much good other than shredding the man's uniform. He was distracted enough by this that Skull Face caught him with his powers and caused Ryal to start freaking out and attacking things that weren't there as well. A moment later, the teleporter appeared and hit him from behind. Ryan's fight was over just seconds later.

"Get him" Skull Face exclaimed, pointing at me as I ran. "Our employer wants the whole family..."

"Oh no you don't," Dad exclaimed. "I don't want to fight you Jessica but you're not leaving me any choice..."

"No I'm not," she snarled, lunging at Dad again.

The Fallen's uniform protected her from my Dad's energy sword but it didn't do anything against his enhanced strength. He knocked her sword aside then grabbed hold of her, easily picking her up and then throwing her straight at Skull Face.

"RUN Joshua," Dad yelled at me.

Suddenly the teleporter appeared right in front of me and blocked my way. I quickly noticed that each of his hands were holding something. One hand looked like it held a taser while the other held the same kind of small device these guys had been sticking on everyone's heads to knock them out.

"Make this easy on yourself," the teleporter told me.

I didn't have any powers yet and I wasn't trained as a martial artist like aunt Gina...but I wasn't completely helpless either. You can't be part of my family without knowing basic self-defense techniques.

I didn't hesitate before kicking the teleporter in the stomach to knock him back and keep him from using the taser on me. Then while he was distracted I punched him...not in the face which would have limited effect...but in the throat. He dropped to the ground just as fast as uncle Leon had after that one woman had done the same to him. I didn't waste any time before continuing into the cover of the trees, glancing back only long enough to see that the rest of them were all going after Dad.

"Damn," I grimaced as I reached the trees and started running further in, looking for a way to lose them since I knew they were coming after me. My heart raced like crazy but how much of it was from running and how much from the fear I didn't know. All I knew was that I had to find a way to either get away or hide.

Suddenly I felt a surge of pain burst through my body, setting all my nerves on fire. I gasped in terror, knowing that they'd caught me but when I looked around none of them were even close. So with a grimace, I continued trying to run further into the trees, going down a hill and through the brush even though I was starting to really hurt.

I couldn't get very far though as the pain was only getting worse. I had to clench my teeth to keep from screaming out. I couldn't run...not like this. I had to hide. I tried to think logically but it was hard to do so with both the pain and fear distracting me. However, I was able to think clearly enough to remember that I knew this area a lot better than they did. I'd grown up here. A hiding spot came to mind so I started towards it, hoping they didn't find me before I got there.

Just then I felt my leg suddenly crack as though the bone had broken all on its own. I let out a loud grunt of pain as I dropped to my knees, unable to help myself. My eyes teared up as I struggled to keep from screaming. I knew now that there was no way I'd be able to make it to the old tree house I'd made as a kid.

I was about to give up hope of getting away when I saw an old tree that had toppled over years ago. I was staring at the root ball...and the dark hollow beneath the exposed roots that looked almost like an animal burrow. With a grimace I half crawled to the dark hollow, trying to ignore the pain in my desperation to get away.

I crawled down into the darkness under the exposed roots, trying not to think about all the bugs and wet dirt as I squeezed into the dark tight spot and pulled extra dirt and leaves after me to help hide me. I got there just in time because my bones began to crack again. I bit into my hand to keep from screaming out from the pain, absently thinking that Angela would have loved this...or at least the recharge it would have given her powers. As it was, I was desperately wishing I had Evie's powers at the moment.

For several minutes I just lay there motionless, biting my hand to keep quiet from the strange aches and pains that wracked my body. I was feeling hot now...incredibly feverish. However, I didn't dare make a noise no matter how much I just wanted to scream.

Then I heard a voice nearby say, "Sidestep here..." I recognized the teleporters voice though it was rough and he coughed several times. Then he repeated in a weak voice, "Sidestep here..." It took me a moment to realize that he must be talking to the others on a radio. "No...I haven't found the little bastard yet. When I do I'm gonna kill him..."

I winced at that, biting my hand even harder as the bones all over my body began to crack at once. Agony rushed over me and my eyes burned with the tears. But still I remained silent and listened.

"I know...I can't kill him," Sidestep said, sounding disappointed. "Our employer wants the entire family alive... But I can still hurt the prick..." There was a long period of silence before he continued, "I just never thought I'd be working for..." He paused again. "Good.. Now that we've got the White Knight too I just have to find this bastard and we can go. Is the Bitch recovered enough from that pain to help me look...? Damn... I'll keep looking a little longer but you know we don't have much time..."

I could hear the noise he made as he came closer to where I was hiding so I silently prayed that he wouldn't find me. "Please go away," I silently wished. "Please don't see me... Just go away... Don't look for me here..." I continued this for a minute until I couldn't hear rustling through the bushes anymore...then I kept it up for another minute.

My entire being was filled with agony, fear, and worry...not just for me but for my now captured family. I had no idea how long I remained hidden in this state before the pain and exhaustion became too much and darkness claimed me.

Darkness. That was what I saw when I opened my eyes again. My whole body ached but it was the ache that came from spending a long period of time in a damp, cramped, and uncomfortable position rather than the raw agony that had filled me earlier. From the fact that it was now night out I knew that I must have been there for a long time...and that my hiding place had obviously worked.

I slowly climbed out from under the tree roots, grimacing in discomfort as I did so. However, this discomfort had never felt so wonderful since it was such a far cry from the bone wracking pain I'd felt before. Then once I was out, I stood up and stretched, feeling even better for doing so.

Only then did I look around me, barely able to see anything in the darkness. The trees blocked most of the light that the moon provided though there was enough for me to make out some vague shapes. Between that and my knowing this area so well I was sure I could get back to the house without much problem. I'd just have to go slow and be careful.

I started to head back to the house but my foot slipped right out of my shoe. I paused to put my shoe back on, gasping in surprise as I found that it was now too large. It was almost as though my shoe...as though both shoes had grown four sizes larger. It was almost like they'd turned into clown shoes while I'd been out of it. However, that just brought my attention to the rest of my clothes which were now too large as well. My pants were nearly falling off me but I'd been too distracted to notice this until now.

"What the hell?" I gasped in confusion.

It was obvious that my clothes hadn't just spontaneously grown. Something had happened to me. My whole body felt wrong though I couldn't quite point out any one thing. Its just that everything felt...wrong.

I didn't have time to dwell on what was happening to me nor the light to actually get a better look so I took a deep breath and tried putting it out of my mind for the moment so I could focus on other priorities...like getting back to the house where it was safe and then getting some help for my family. So with a grim determination, I started back towards the house, trying very hard not to think about the pain, the loose clothes, and what it all meant.

While I was making my way out of the woods I fell several times, lost one of my shoes twice more, and had to hold onto my pants to keep from losing them. But then I made it to the edge of the trees where the moon provided enough light for me to see the house...or what was left of it. The house was in ruins, looking as though it had actually been blown up. I could even smell the scent of smoke in the air which turned my stomach.

"No," I gasped in horror, feeling sick at the sight of my family home destroyed.

I started to move towards the wreckage but then paused after several feet, noticing a figure moving near there. I gulped and moved back to the tree line, staring at the shadowy figure for a moment and fearing the worst. Whoever these people were, they said they wanted the entire family so it looked like one of them stayed behind in case I showed up again.

"Oh shit," I whispered.

For a brief moment I had a fantasy of sneaking up on the person and taking them out from behind...then interrogating them to find out where they'd taken my family. Then reality set in. I had no idea which of the attackers had been left behind but knew that it didn't really matter. They all had powers and on top of that I had no idea what had happened with me. What I did know was that confronting any of those people wasn't a good idea.

"Damn," I grimaced, trying to think of what to do next. "The safe house..."

My dad had set up a safe house not too far from here just for situations like this and anything else related to the family business. It was an emergency meeting place in case our house was ever compromised...and if this didn't count I didn't know what did. That was where I had to go though unfortunately it was two miles away.

The walk to the safe house was the longest and most miserable two miles of my life. I was damp and filthy from spending hours in the hole not to mention cold as well. Add to that the fact that I was tripping over my own clothes and I was more than ready to collapse into sleep again by the time I arrived.

The safe house like my own house was fairly secluded, surrounded by lots of tall trees that would help hide any tired super hero who was flying in for a rest. The house itself was a lot smaller than my own and was actually a large mobile home with an overgrown yard in bad need of a mowing. However, that was all we needed since no one actually lived here normally.

I went around to the back of the house and let myself in using the hidden combination lock that Dad had installed. Only once I was inside with the door locked behind me did I let out a sigh of relief and feel just a little safe.

"Oh yes," I sighed, collapsing onto the cheap couch, not caring if I got it filthy. I just sat there for several minutes before I decided that what I needed more than just a rest at the moment was a hot shower and dry clothes. ""I'll think better then..."

As it was, I spent much of the walk here thinking about who I could call for help without much luck. Under normal circumstances I'd call uncle Leon or aunt Gina but that wasn't an option this time. I briefly considered calling the police but knew there was absolutely nothing they could do against a group of developed kidnappers.

"Who do you call when super heroes need rescuing?" I winced.

With a groan of effort I got back up to my feet and started towards the bathroom and a nice hot shower. However, there was something else I wanted too...something I've been trying hard not to think about for awhile. I wanted to see what the hell happened to me. I wanted to see why my clothes were all nearly falling off me.

I started stripping out of my clothes as I made my way to the bathroom, slipping right out of my shoes and letting my pants drop to the floor and then stepping out of them as well. I was just taking off my shirt and dropping it to the floor when I reached the bathroom and took a look down at myself.

For a moment I just stared down at myself, at the pair of bumps that pushed out from my chest. I immediately thought that they looked like...but then I refused to finish that thought. But then I looked down past my chest and over my entire body, my eyes going wide as I saw that my entire body looked smaller and smoother.

It was only then that I looked up and into the bathroom mirror. My eyes went wide in shock as I saw my reflection. I just stood there for a moment gaping in shock.

"No way," I squeaked out, sure that I'd be panicking if I wasn't already tired and in shock. As it was, I still felt a little surge of adrenaline hit me. "No fucking way..."

My reflection...wasn't mine. The image reflected in the mirror was that of a teenage girl who bore a strong resemblance to Evie, though unlike Evie, the girl in the mirror had pink hair that went down just a little past her shoulders.

I gaped at my reflection for nearly a full minute before I ran a hand over my face to verify that what I was seeing was real. I felt my hair and pulled a little bit of it in front of me so that I could see with my own eyes that it was indeed pink.

Then I held up my hands and stared at them, thinking that they weren't my hands. They were girl hands. I even had girl fingers with oval shaped fingernails that were all pink as well. I used one of my nails to scratch at a nail on my other hand to scrape off some of the polish that seemed to have magically appeared but nothing came off. It didn't seem to be polish but my actual fingernails.

I gulped, staring at my reflection in the mirror and looking almost like a deer caught in the headlights. It was then that I noticed my eyes had a slight violet color in the irises. However, that was hardly the most important detail about my changes.

It was only then that I slowly reached down and cupped both my new breasts. I had boobs...honest to God girl boobs. I gulped as I felt them, guessing that they had to be about B cups. My hands remained where they were as I felt them up, verifying that they were real and not some weird delusion I was having. I could feel them in my hand...solid and slightly jiggly flesh. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing at all erotic about my first time grabbing a girl's boobs.

Only then did I move to the next logical step. I slowly moved my hand down over the smooth skin of my stomach and down to my crotch. I winced when I felt that my dick and balls were gone and there was something else in their place. There was a girl's slit there instead.

"Oh God," I gasped, pulling my hand away.

I grabbed the sink for support since I was starting to feel weak in the knees. I took several deep breaths as I tried to regain my balance both physically and mentally. This was completely unbelievable and way too much to take in.

One thing was obvious though...this wasn't caused by our attackers. There was only one thing that could have caused my change...my powers finally developing. I didn't know if that made this better or worse.

There was one thing that I did know though...I was still cold, tired and dirty. I'd not only feel better once I had a shower but I'd be more relaxed. So whether or not I'd just turned into a girl, I was damn well going to get that shower.

A minute later I was in the shower and standing under the hot water, moaning in relief as it washed over me and drove out the chill and aches. I just stood there for several minutes with my eyes closed, soaking up the warmth and comfort. For just a moment I was able to forget all about the mountain of troubles that were burying me.

After just standing there in the water for awhile I finally started to wash myself. After all, I was dirty as well as cold. I quickly washed my hair then began to slowly run a soapy rag over my body, examining it more closely as I did so. My skin was all so soft and smooth now...girl skin. I also noticed that I didn't have any hair on my body other than what was on my head. There was no sign of even the faintest hair on my legs, any in my arm pits, and not even in my crotch. It was all completely smooth.

I spent a lot longer in the shower than I normally do, partly because I was checking out my body a little more but more than that because I was tired and chilled and the hot water felt so damn good. By the time I finally climbed out of the shower I felt a lot better and also more relaxed.

I felt awkward and self-conscious as I dried myself off, especially as I ran the towel over my chest. I was still stunned by my transformation and hard time believing I actually had boobs. I felt like this was some kind of weird dream though I knew better than that. Still, it just didn't feel real to me yet...which may have been a good thing at the moment.

"I just need to sit down and think," I sighed, grabbing a blanket off of one of the beds and wrapping myself in it before sitting down on the couch. I let back and let out a sigh, yawning loudly and muttering. "I just need to think about this..."

Though I tried thinking about my problems and what I should do next my thoughts kept sliding sideways in odd directions. I kept yawning, feeling more and more tired now that I was finally warm and sitting down. Then before I knew it I'd slipped off into sleep again.

It was nearly noon when I woke up again and though I felt guilty for having spent so much time asleep my body appreciated it. All the residual aches and pains had faded away and I was now fully recharged. However, this meant that I was now clear headed enough to really absorb my situation.

My family had been kidnapped, my home had been completely destroyed, and I had somehow been transformed into a girl. At the moment, I seriously wished for the days when my biggest problems were acne, getting a girl I liked to notice me, and the occasional fear that one of my dad's super villain enemies might discover where we lived.

"They found us all right," I grimaced, shaking my head.

Though I had a lot of problems I knew I had to prioritize them if I wanted to make any sense of what to do about them. Since there was absolutely nothing I could do about my house and not much I could do about my family at the moment I focused on my most immediate problem...my body.

"I can't believe I've got boobs," I grimaced, removing the blanket and poking at them with my fingers. Damn they felt weird. And after I poked at them a few more times I noticed that the nipples were kind of sensitive. It kind hurt a little when I poked them too hard with my now longer nails. "Damn..."

I grimaced then decided to take care of a few more even more immediate problems while I thought about my whole girlification issue. I went to the bathroom to relieve myself, blushing in embarrassment as I did so. I'd relieved myself in the shower last night but I'd been half asleep at the time. Now I was fully awake and just as fully aware of the strange yet familiar sensations of taking a piss.

Once I was done in the bathroom I turned my attention to my other immediate requirement..food. I felt damn near starved. Not only had I missed dinner yesterday because of the attack, I'd also probably burned up a lot of calories during my transformation. Regardless, it had been a full day since I'd last eaten and my stomach was demanding attention.

The safe house didn't exactly have a fully stocked fridge since no one was ever here but we did have cupboards stocked with non perishables like boxes of mac and cheese or cans of soup. I helped myself to some oat meal that only required a little hot water to give me a big bowl of bland but filling goodness.

I wolfed down my oatmeal and then made myself a second bowl, thinking about my situation the entire time. I was sure my turning into a girl had something to do with my own power finally developing though I wasn't sure how. Adrenaline and stress were well known triggers for people who had latent developed powers and I'd had large doses of both.

As for why my powers developing turned me into a girl, I had several ideas. I might be a shapeshifter and in my desperation to hide I might have instinctively changed into a form that they wouldn't recognize. I kind of liked the idea of being a shapeshifter since we didn't have anyone with powers like that in my family so I'd be a bit unique.

I also thought that maybe I might be a skitzomorph...someone with two or more specific forms that they could change back and forth between sort of like a Jeckyll and Hyde thing. Though we didn't have any skitzomorphs in my family either I knew that sometimes they would have extra powers in one of their forms but not in another.

After I'd finished eating I decided to test out my ideas. I took several deep breaths and then focused on turning back to normal. I closed my eyes and intensely concentrated on my body transforming back into my normal male one. However, after ten minutes of this with no effect I tried a different tactic. I tried relaxing instead and thinking that it was safe to go back to normal since I didn't have to hide anymore. Unfortunately, that had no effect either.

I spent more than half an hour trying to change myself back to normal but had absolutely no luck. I didn't feel even the slights tingle or new ache in my body. I finally had to admit that either it was trickier than I'd hoped...or more likely...I was completely wrong about being a skitzomorph or shapeshifter. That idea was kind of scary since it meant that I'd be like this for good.

"Damn," I winced at the idea of spending the rest of my life as a girl. "No way..."

If I wasn't a shapeshifter or skitzomorph then the chances were more likely that I was one of those other kind who changed shape due to their developed powers. Sometimes, a person might suddenly transform when they became developed and never transform back. A man might suddenly become a foot taller and grow muscles like a bodybuilder or a plain Jane woman might suddenly transform into a hot and busty babe. Of course, not all the changes were good ones since people could just as easily transform into freaks or monsters. And if a transformed person wasn't a skitzomorph with the ability to change back into their original selves, they would remain in their new form permanently.

Certain powers ran through my family but absolutely no one was a shapeshifter or skitzomorph of any sort. In fact, we didn't even have anyone besides me who'd transformed physically. Except, I realized, perhaps Grandpa. He was a tall, muscular, and handsome man but I had absolutely no idea if that was all natural or given to him along with his powers. He'd never talked much about who he was before the day his life was changed so for all I knew he might have been physically altered.

"Not that it matters any," I sighed, looking down at the bumps on my chest and shaking my head. Either way, I'd been transformed into a girl and didn't seem to have any way back to normal...at least not yet. "But I might have other powers..."

It was quite possible that my transformation had come with powers, ones other than shape shifting that is. I just had to figure out what they were. With that I set to work testing out any idea I had for a power.

I tried lifting the couch but only proved that I not only didn't have super strength but was physically weaker than I was before. I guess that wasn't too surprising since I was now about five inches shorter than before and lacked a lot of my old muscle. I also tested for invulnerability and got a small bruise for my effort.

"Two powers down and a million more to go," I sighed.

Since certain powers did run through my family in one form or another those were the ones I tried to test for. I couldn't fly, telekinetically move objects, or heal injuries...as my remaining bruise proved. However, after trying to duplicate the energy force field powers that Dad and uncle Leon had I discovered my first bit of luck.

I held out my hand concentrating having energy appear and form into a sword. I felt a faint tingling in my palm and then several pink bubbles of energy appeared from my palm...hovering in the air for just a moment before vanishing. I felt a surge of excitement and tried again though even after a dozen attempts I was still unable to summon more than a few pink bubbles which didn't last more than a few seconds.

"Damn," I grimaced, not sure to be excited to discover that I had some kind of power or disgusted at the realization that it was so weak as to be completely and totally useless. I let out a sigh of disappointment and shook my head.

I stared down at my feminine hands with the pink girly nails and sighed again. I went through all this and I didn't even get a decent power. What I had instead was a super weakened version of my dad's energy power that was so weak that it would only be useful as a party trick.

Then I shook my head and snapped, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself..." I thought about my family and felt guilty for forgetting their problems for even a minute. I had to get them help somehow.

With that, I turned and went to the master bedroom and opened the closet door, staring at the inside of the closet for a moment before reaching in and pulling the hidden latch which unlocked the false wall in the back. The wall opened up as a door, showing stairs which went down into the secret basement Dad built before placing the mobile home on the property. I only hesitated a moment before going down.

The secret basement wasn't some impressive and high tech super hero base like you might imagine from the entrance. Instead, it was basically just a basement full of emergency supplies...albeit a few that Dad didn't want anyone else to find. There was a large first aid kid, two cases of bottled water, and several cases of MREs...Meals Ready to Eat. These were military rations which tasted nasty but could sit for nearly as long as a Twinkie and still be semi-edible. All this filled up a large corner of the basement.

There were other emergency supplies down here as well such as extra clothes for everyone in my family...including spare costumes for those in the family business. The costumes were in small boxes labeled with their code names, the White Knight, Deception, Target, Neon, Agony, and Shuriken. Evie has been trying out various costumes but so far Figment has yet to officially go into the business.

Other than the supplies and shelves lining some of the walls, the basement was cold and gray with cinderblock walls. The only real personal touch or decoration in the entire place was an old picture of Knight Force which hung on one wall. It was a familiar picture that had been taken just shortly after my mom joined them.

Unfortunately, I was pretty sure that the basement didn't have anything in it that would help me find my family or even contact someone who did. There was no phone book with the contact information of all the super heroes nor a hotline phone with a direct link to the Protectorate. Dad didn't leave anything in the safe house that could possibly be used against anyone.

"Our regular basement would," I sighed, thinking of the secure basement under our destroyed house which would have contained that kind of thing.

I knew that there was a decent possibility the secure basement would have survived the destruction of the house but that did little good. If the basement had survived... If the kidnappers weren't still watching the house... If I could clear away all the collapsed house to actually reach the basement entrance... And if I could actually get the door open when everyone who knew the combination had been taken. There were far too many big 'ifs' for me to even think about going that route.

"We have three generations of heroes in my family," I grimaced as I stared at the picture on the wall. "We've got to have some connections..."

I'd thought a great deal about this last night during the long walk to the safe house but hadn't been able to come up with anything useful. However, now that I was rested and a little more clear minded I hoped that I might have more luck. My family depended on it.

Grandpa had been a founding member of the Protectorate and we've even had Vigil the Protectorate's leader over for dinner a couple times. I knew what Vigil looked like without his mask on but I had absolutely no idea how to contact either him or the Protectorate.

Dad helped found a group called the Seven about five years ago and had been with them until only recently. He'd found a young woman with powers very similar to his own and had taken her under his wing and even sponsored her to join the group. Unfortunately, Golden Angel as she called herself had then killed one of their teammates. Dad had been in denial, sure that it was some sort of accident or misunderstanding that would be cleared up...until she came back and killed another member. After that, Dad had been heartbroken and quit the Seven.

I clenched my firsts with silent rage as I thought about Golden Angel and what she'd done to Dad. My now longer nails dug painfully into my palm as I did so. Golden Angel...or the Fallen as she calls herself now had been one of the attackers last night. She'd been the one who went after Dad as though Dad were the one who'd hurt her rather than the other way around.

"The Seven," I muttered, sure that they would be happy to help not only rescue Dad but also take down someone who'd killed two of their own. Unfortunately, as with the Protectorate I had no way of contacting them. That went true for the group Angela belonged to as well.

I tried thinking of any other hero I'd met and suddenly remembered Ms. Miracle, having forgotten all about her last night. Dad brought her home to get cleaned up and fed a few months ago after they had a mission together. She'd seemed like a really nice lady but after she'd left Dad told me she wasn't the real Ms. Miracle but some sort of imposter. He'd been really disappointed and sad when he told me though. I guess Dad would know if she was the real deal or not since he'd had some sort of relationship with the real Ms. Miracle back before he met Mom.

"Ms. Miracle is out," I muttered, not only because I didn't know how to contact her but because I wasn't sure I could even trust her. "Damn..."

I had to fight back the tears of helplessness and frustration though I didn't do a very good job. The tears ran down my cheeks anyway. I wiped them away but more came to replace them.

My entire family was gone and I had absolutely no where to go and no one to turn to for help. I couldn't even turn to Mom's side of the family since she'd been an only child who lost her parents back when I'd been just a baby. Even if they were still alive they wouldn't have been able to do more than give me a roof over my head. Unlike Dad, Mom hadn't been a legacy hero. Her family had all been perfectly normal.

My mom got her powers due to an accident in college when she and another student got caught in a professor's experiment. Both had developed great powers so they decided to become super heroes and work together to fight the bad guys. Their partnership lasted only a year or so until my mom and dad hooked up and then they went their separate directions.

I paused to consider my mom's old partner for a moment but then let out a sigh. Again, I had absolutely no phone number or means of contact. It seemed that absolutely no one made it easy to contact them in emergencies.

"Damn it," I snarled, wiping the tears from my eyes again. "Why the hell can't these guys make it easier to contact them?"

I stared at the picture of my family again and grimaced as I thought about how all of them had been taken. There was Grandpa in the middle, wearing his iconic gold and blue costume. Dad stood beside him with an arm wrapped around Mom. Uncle Leon and aunt Gina were there as well. Even uncle Chris was in the picture though without a costume or code name since he was still underage and not allowed to officially join the family business. However, that hadn't stopped him from constantly being there as a sort of mascot anyway. Of course, that was before the accident which cost him his legs.

And then my eyes went to the last figure in the page and I stared at him for a moment before whispering, "Minute Man..."

Minute Man...uncle Edward was the last member of my family, the one that I and everyone else usually forgot about. I suppose that's to be expected since no one has seen or talked with him in ten years. Uncle Edward disappeared when Knight Force collapsed...right after having some kind of big blow up with my Dad. I still have no idea what their argument was about but Dad won't even say his name now.

In the picture, uncle Edward was dressed in his old costume that was mostly blue with a bit of white and red trim. His power was a little odd in that he had enhanced strength, speed, agility, and reflexes....but he could only use them in short spurts for up to a minute at most. With that in mind his code name Minute Man made perfect sense...though for a teenage boy it was a name worth snickering at. I'd never been able to imagine why any guy would give himself that name when the girls were bound to laugh at him for having it.

I didn't remember uncle Edward very well though I had fond memories of him as the uncle who pulled coins from my ear and who let me stay up late whenever he babysat. But that had been years ago when I'd been just a kid and I didn't remember much more than that.

"Minute Man," I repeated again, feeling a tiny flicker of hope. "Uncle Edward...."

I had no idea where uncle Edward was or how I would find him but he was the last member of my family beside me who was still free. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the one I had to go to for help. This a family issue so he might very well be the only one who could help

"But where is he?" I grimaced, feeling frustrated that I finally realized I wasn't alone...only to know that I had no way of finding him. I might as well just go looking for Vigil or the Seven. In fact, they would probably be a lot easier to find.

Just then I suddenly remembered something, having a flash of memory of a small incident from two years ago came snapping back into my mind with near crystal clarity. I'd been trying to sneak downstairs and out of the house at the time, for what I couldn't quite remember, but then I overheard my parents talking.

I hadn't heard the entire conversation but after two years I could clearly remember the little bit I had heard. Mom had been telling Dad that a friend of hers in the business had been working in a certain city and discovered that uncle Edward was living there. However, Dad hadn't been thrilled by the news and instead insisted that he didn't want to hear anymore.

"I know where he is," I gasped in amazement and relief.

Of course, I only knew which city he was in and nothing more. Trying to just go there and looking for him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack...especially if he was keeping a low profile. But for some reason I was still strangely confident that I could find him. I guess just knowing where to start now got me feeling lot more optimistic and hopeful about this whole situation.

Now that I had a plan or at least a good idea of what I had to do next I felt much better. Of course, this didn't actually fix any of my problems but it did move me a step closer...and at the moment that was the best I could hope for.

I took one more look at the picture then turned to leave the basement. However, I only took several steps before I realized that there was something else down here that I really needed. Clothes. I looked down at my naked body and gulped. I definitely needed clothes.

My first impulse was to go to the box with my name on it but I only took one step towards it before I realized that would be pointless. As I saw last night, my own clothes no longer fit me in the least. I'd gone from being just under six foot to being about five foot six or seven with a completely different build...with a completely different body.

"I can't believe I'm even thinking this," I winced, turning my attention instead to the box with Evie's name. As much as I hated to admit it, Evie's clothes would fit me a hell of a lot better than my own. "I think I'm close to her size..."

I grimaced as I opened the box with Evie's spare clothes and began taking them out. There weren't much, just two pairs of pants, three shirts, and a variety of other odds and ends that Evie would need if she suddenly found herself without anything. My box of spare clothes was much the same.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I grumbled to myself as I pulled out the underwear. They were plain white panties...never been worn fortunately. There were a half dozen pairs of them in the box.

After letting out a deep sigh I decided I might as well get this over with and put the panties on. Next I turned my attention to the bra, hesitating a few seconds as I tried figuring out how to get the damn thing on. Wearing it was about the last thing I wanted to do but I had to be practical. I had boobs now so that meant I had to wear a bra.

It took me several minutes to get the bra on and clasped in the back. It was just a little too snug and uncomfortable but I figured that if real girls could wear these things every day I could handle it for at least a little while without complaint.

The rest of the clothes were a little easier not to mention less embarrassing. Of course, I was less than thrilled by the black T-shirt with a picture of a cartoon kitten on the front but it was better than the pink shirt or the one that said 'hottie' on the front. The clothes weren't a perfect fit and were a bit too snug in places but at least they were close enough to work.

"At least I have clothes to wear," I told myself less than enthusiastically. "But if Katie or Evie find out about this I'll never hear the end of it."

After looking down at myself and shaking my head in disbelief, I made my way back out of the basement. I ended up back in the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror and shaking my head yet again. If I had a hard time believing I was actually wearing girl clothes it was even worse thinking of myself actually being a girl. Unfortunately, I had the boobs to prove it.

My reflection hadn't really changed since the last time I'd looked at it. I still looked like a sixteen year old girl with a pretty face and pink hair. And now that I was dressed in clothes that were appropriate for my body I somehow seemed even more of a girl. I can't say that I was exactly thrilled by that though.

I ran my fingers over my face then ran them through my hair. My hair was a bit messy at the moment and I knew that if I wasn't careful it might tangle up and become a pain in the ass later on. So with a sigh I grabbed a brush from the medicine cabinet and brushed it out. I had to admit that it did look just a little more presentable and screamed 'homeless teen' a little less.

"Change back," I told commanded my reflection, trying to will myself to turn back into my normal male self. I concentrated on it for nearly a full minute to no effect. "Damn."

I hadn't really expected that to work but I had to try again. But since that didn't work I turned my attention to the one power I did have...as weak as it was. I held my hand out and concentrated on trying to summon the energy. Several pink bubbles above my palm and hovered there for several seconds before vanishing.

"Not exactly a sword," I sighed.

I looked down at myself again, poking at the protrusions from my chest and then looking into the mirror with a sigh. I shook my head, wondering why I had to turn into a girl. Why couldn't I have just got powers like Dad instead so I might actually have been able to do something about the kidnappers.

"I just hope uncle Edward can help," I muttered.

So far I had a vague destination in mind and the hope that I could somehow find uncle Edward from there. I also had clothes that fit me so I didn't have to run out the door on my mad quest buck naked or wearing filthy clothes that were far too large for me. However, I knew that I wasn't quite ready to leave just yet. I still had to pick up a few more supplies.

I went back to the basement and quickly looked around for anything else I'd need. I grabbed an empty duffel bag and stuffed it full of the rest of the clothes from Evie's box and then took a hooded gray sweat shirt from Angela's box. It was a little too large for me but that wasn't going to be much of a problem. In fact, with my new curves I kind of preferred it being a little baggy.

There was one other thing I was going to need, something even more important than the spare clothes. Cash. I needed some money if I was going to get anywhere. Fortunately, Dad planned ahead and we had a hidden stash of two thousand dollars in emergency cash which I helped myself to.

"That's about it," I mused, pausing to look around the basement while trying to think of any other additions I might need.

I was about to turn and leave when I thought of one more thing I might possibly need...a costume. I went to where the spare costumes were stored and pulled out the one Evie had left. My sister wasn't officially in the family business yet but she'd been trying out various different costumes over the last few months and had left one of them here. It was a one piece spandex outfit that covered everything from the neck down and was equal parts black and white.

I had no intention of just throwing on a costume, coming up with a code name and then rushing off to rescue my family. It was a great fantasy but I had no useful powers or any illusions about my capabilities and experience. No, I wanted this costume because it was made of a special material that was great insulation and more importantly...bulletproof. The material our family costumes were made out of was like kevlar and could stop small arms fire from a moderate distance. I had no idea what I might be getting into and wanted that kind of protection just in case.

Once I had the costume packed away into my duffel bag I realized that there was still one thing I hadn't considered. What if this was completely unnecessary? My dad wasn't exactly a rookie hero so there was a chance my family might be able to escape on their own. If they did, they'd probably expect me to be here waiting at the safe house.

"But if I'm not here," I whispered, pausing for a moment to second guess my decision to go seek uncle Edward. But then I shook my head. "I can't take that chance... What if they can't escape on their own?"

I thought about it for a minute then decided to leave a note. If Mom and Dad escaped before I could meet up with them then this is where they'd come. I quickly wrote a note detailing my plan to find uncle Edward and then I left it in the basement where they'd be sure to find it.

A few minutes later and I had the basement and house all locked up again and was on my way. I paused just outside the door, taking one long look at the safe house and second guessing my decision one more time. It would be so much easier and safer to just wait here for my family but I knew I couldn't do that. I'd never be able to live with myself if anything happened to them and I hadn't at least tried. So with a sigh I turned and started walking.

I looked around the bus station, feeling extremely nervous and uncomfortable as I did so. This was my first time being out in public as a girl and I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the experience. Intellectually, I knew that I looked just like a girl so no one would know anything different but I still felt extremely self-conscious and kept expecting people to stare at me and wonder why I was dressed up in girl clothes.

"I just hope I don't run into anyone I know," I muttered with a grimace.

Since I was at the bus station in town there was a chance that I actually would run into someone I knew but the idea of doing so kind of freaked me out. What would I say? Hell, they probably wouldn't recognize me but that didn't make much difference to my fears.

With a shake of my head I turned to look at the clock on the bus station wall, mentally noting how long I had until my bus was supposed to depart. I still had a little time before they would start boarding though not a whole lot.

I reached into my pocket to double check my bus ticket again then took another look around the bus station, trying to see if anyone I recognized was here. I didn't recognize anyone much to my relief. Running into someone I went to school with would have been extremely weird.

It was at this point that I decided I should probably go to the bathroom before I got on the bus and no longer had the opportunity. I started towards the bathrooms and began walking towards the men's room until I suddenly froze with the realization that this might not be a good idea.

"Damn," I winced, staring at the men's room door and then looking at the women's room.

The men's room was the one I would feel more comfortable with but going in there looking like this definitely wouldn't be a good idea. I might be all guy on the inside but no one else would know that and I was sure any guys in there would think my being in there was awkward too. Of course, I'd feel out of place in the women's side but as much as I might dislike it that's where my new plumbing said I had to go.

"Damn," I muttered again, slowly turning and going into the women's room.

I blushed as I stepped through the door, feeling extremely self-conscious and awkward. I half expected some woman to suddenly scream at me and call me a pervert or something. However, nothing of the sort passed. One woman stared at me for a moment though her attention seemed to be on my pink hair. I wasn't sure whether to feel relieved at that or depressed.

I was thankful that the women's bathroom was separated into stalls so I could have some privacy. It was still really weird for me to know that there was a woman in the stall right next to me doing her business as well. I did my business as quick as I could, feeling more out of place because of where I was than about my new parts. After all, I might have to sit down to piss now but the process was about the same and it gave the same relief.

Once I was finished with my business, I washed up and hurried out of the bathroom, letting out a sigh of relief once I stepped out the door. I'd always been a little curious about the inside of women's bathrooms and locker rooms but had never imagined I'd be able to see them like this. In all honestly, I'd rather have avoided that particular honor.

Suddenly I froze feeling a cold chill down my spine and a strange certainty that I was in danger. I started to look around but my eyes were almost magnetically drawn to a man and woman who were walking through the bus station.

The man was tall, thin and hispanic with dark hair and a goatee. The woman beside him was wearing black leather pants, a red shirt top that left her stomach open to show her firm abs, and she wore a black leather jacket that was left unzipped in front. However, what I noticed most about her was the fact that I recognized her as one of the people who'd attacked my family. She was the one who'd taken down uncle Leon and then got taken down by Angela

"Oh shit," I gasped, ducking around a corner so they couldn't see me. My heart was racing in fear that they'd caught up with me.

I could hear them talking and I recognized the man's voice. It was the voice of the teleporter who'd chased me into the woods...the voice of the man I was cowering from as I hid in a muddy hole in gut wrenching agony.

"Sidestep," I grimaced as I remembered his name.

"I can't believe that kid got away from you," the woman sneered, her voice oozing with contempt. "Now I have to help you search the town for him. You're fucking useless."

"You know," Sidestep told her, "I don't know anyone whose code name suits them as much as yours does... I mean, it should say something about how big a fucking bitch you are when your code name actually is the Bitch."

"Don't make me tear off your balls," the woman...the Bitch threatened him. "Now focus on looking for that kid. He doesn't have any powers like most of the others but our employer wants the entire family."

The Bitch suddenly stopped and looked around, sniffing air. "I smell someone..."

"What?" Sidestep asked. "You smell the boy...?"

"No," the Bitch shook her head. "Not a boy. I smell a girl...the same girl I smelled where you lost the boy..."

"But we're after the boy," Sidestep reminded her, "Not his girlfriend."

"Are you always this fucking stupid?" the Bitch snarled. "Whoever this girl I smelled is she was with the boy... If we find her she might lead us to him..."

I gulped at that, then carefully moved away from them, hoping that they didn't see me. They had no idea I'd gone through this sexy change and no idea what I looked like now...but they were still after me.

I briefly entertained the idea of trying to ambush them and force them to tell me where my family was but I didn't know how I could possibly do that. Somehow, I don't think my little glowing pink bubble was going to be much of a threat to them.

"Just follow the plan," I told myself with mixed feelings.

With a grimace, I looked back towards the couple and hurried away as quickly as I could. My bus was boarding now so I got on board and made my way to the back, eager to be out of here and on my way before they saw me. The fact that they still didn't know about my change or what I looked like now would probably give me a bit more time.

I was about to sit down in a seat when I suddenly had a bad feeling about it. I wasn't quite sure why but I just knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to sit there. With a shake of my head at my overactive imagination, I sat down in another seat and impatiently waited for the bus to depart.

I carefully watched out the bus window while trying to look as though I wasn't watching, wanting to see if Sidestep and the Bitch got close. She'd talked about smelling me which made me think she might have enhanced senses which might possibly let her track me down like some sort of blood hound. However, even if she was able to do that the bus station was a pretty crowded place and she had no idea what I looked like which would make it harder for her to track me. Still, I didn't want to take any risks.

Other people were continuing to fill into the bus while I tried not to show my impatience. I just wanted to take off already...before Sidestep and the Bitch thought to check in here.

Suddenly, one woman cursed and I looked to see that she was sitting in the seat that I changed my mind about...or at least was trying to. The seat had tilted sideways the moment she sat in it, revealing that it was broken underneath.

"Wow," I gasped, staring in amazement. "I'm lucky I didn't actually sit there..."

I shook my head and turned my attention back to the window, continuing to watch for Sidestep and the Bitch until the bus finally closed the doors and started to move. It was only then that I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed in my seat.

The next few hours were long, slow and boring. I stared out the window for awhile just watching the scenery pass and then I began to find other ways to occupy myself. I crouched down in my seat and held my hands down low so no one could see them then began to practice forming a pink energy bubble in my palms. I concentrated on keeping it, seeing how long I could go before it would pop and vanish. Each time it got just a little longer though it was still hardly anything to be impressed over.

When we finally arrived at the bus station in another town I let out a sigh of relief. We were stopping so a few passengers could get off while others could hop on. For me, it was only a brief rest stop before the bus continued and a chance to empty my bladder.

"Time for the ladies room," I smiled wryly as I made my way off the bus and went looking for the nearest bathrooms.

This time I was a lot less nervous about going into the women's restroom than the last time. Part of that was because I'd already done it once before without problems and part of it was that there was even less chance of running into someone I knew. Of course, there was also the relief I felt from getting away from the people chasing me.

A short time later I was back on the bus and we were taking off again. A few faces on the bus had changed though it didn't really matter to me. None of the new faces belonged to Sidestep or the Bitch and that was all that mattered to me.

I looked over at the broken seat and smiled faintly. It might be a little cruel but I'd actually been hoping one of the new people would sit in it and amuse me with their misfortune. Unfortunately, the woman who'd make the mistake of sitting there the last time doomed me to continued boredom by warning people away from it.

"Not very heroic of me," I admitted to myself. But I knew better than most that super heroes were just people too with all the good and bad that came with that.

It didn't take long before I noticed that one of the newcomers was looking at me quite a bit. He was a teenage boy about my own age, maybe a year or two older than me. I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat, suddenly realizing what kind of thoughts he must be having about me since they'd probably be the same ones I'd have if I was staring at a pretty girl.

"Damn," I muttered, scrunching down in my seat and trying to avoid notice.

I made an effort not to stare back at the boy since I didn't want to give him any ideas. I wished he'd stop looking at me so I could practice forming those little pink energy bubbles of mine. However, that wasn't meant to be.

After a half hour of this I finally lost my patience and snapped at the boy, "Stop staring at me you perv..." He immediately turned his head away, looking embarrassed at being caught.

With a shake of my head I turned to stare out the window at the passing scenery. It had been so creepy having that boy stare at me like that and I couldn't help but wonder if I'd inadvertently done that to girls. I made a mental note that if I ever got back to normal I wasn't ever going to do that creepy stalker stare routine.

For the next hour I kept an eye on the boy though I was careful to not look as though I was. To my relief, he didn't go back to staring at me again. Several times he looked as though he was going to but then thought better of it. I guess I'd embarrassed him enough to discourage him.

"Maybe there is something to that bitch act some girls put on," I mused.

The bus ride was long and slow though the trip was made even more torturous since I knew the total ride would be about three days and so far it's only been half a day. With all this free time on my hands with nothing to do, my mind kept racing.

I kept thinking about what might be happening to my family...about what might happen if I couldn't find uncle Edward. And I kept thinking about what I'd do if I was stuck as a girl for good...for the rest of my life. I felt guilty worrying about myself when my entire family had been captured but that didn't mean I stopped.

I felt weird being a girl...weird and wrong. Sure, most of the important things were still there and worked exactly the same but there were other things that were just different enough. The idea of staying like this was damn scary. I had no idea what I'd do or even who I'd be.

These thoughts filled my mind off and on until the bus came to a stop again, this time for a little longer while the driver refueled the bus and gave all the passengers time to eat. This time we were at a small town that didn't seem to have a real bus station.

I rushed off the bus as soon as the doors open, eager to stretch my legs, empty my bladder, and get something in my stomach. I was more than tired of sitting on the bus and groaned at the thought of just how much longer I'd have to keep riding. Getting back on wasn't going to be easy.

A short time later I was sitting a small diner near the bus stop munching down on a burger and fries. I was relieved that I could still enjoy the burger and that I hadn't suddenly developed some weird craving for a salad or something. However, I did notice that I got full from the burger and fries much sooner than I did before.

"Smaller body," I sighed as I looked down at myself. "Smaller stomach." That didn't really bother me too much though it was another reminder that my body had changed...as if I needed any more reminders.

Once I was done eating I left the diner and started to make my way back to the bus, taking my time as I did so. I still had a good half hour before I had to get on the bus so I was in no hurry. I decided to look around a little while I was here.

I was just turning around one corner when I suddenly had a very bad feeling though I couldn't say why. I quickly looked around but didn't see anything strange. With a shake of my head, I continued walking, feeling a little embarrassed for being so paranoid.

"Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me," I muttered, knowing very well that people were after me. They just weren't here right now.

Suddenly I felt someone grab my upper arm just a moment before I was suddenly pulled around. My heart jumped as I thought of those people catching me so it was almost a relief when I saw it was just the boy who'd been staring at me on the bus. He was staring at me with a hungry look in his eyes that I really didn't like.

"You're so pretty," he said, his voice shaking a little though from nervousness or excitement I didn't know.

"Let me go," I snapped angrily, starting to pull away. However, I didn't have to pull hard as he immediately pulled his hand away. He stared at me with a faint look of confusion in his eyes.

"C'mon," he said, stepping towards me again. "I saw the way you were looking at me on the bus... Gimme a kiss... Just one..."

I felt a surge of disgust and took a step back. However, I was more angry than anything. He was taller then me...probably an inch or two taller than I used to be which meant he damn near towered over me now. I felt small in comparison though that didn't mean I felt helpless. After running from super villains I wasn't exactly intimidated by some horny teenage boy

"Get the hell away from me," I snarled at him, getting ready to hit him if he didn't back away. To my relief, he did back up several feet, looking a but uncertain as he did so. "Don't you dare come near me..."

The boy took another step back and stood there looking as though he wasn't sure what to do. I just stared at him in confusion, wondering what he was up to. For someone who damn near looked as though he wanted to rape me a moment earlier he certainly was giving up easily...not that I minded.

"All I want is a kiss," the boy, still giving me the hungry look though he made no move to get closer to me.

"That's it," I grimaced, clenching my firsts and taking a step towards him. "I'm gonna kick your ass..." To my surprise, he started to step back away from me. "That's it...run."

Then without warning, the boy turned and started running away from me. I just stopped and stared after him with a shake of my head, hardly able to believe how easy that had been. I almost felt kind of disappointed since I was sort of looking forward to kicking his ass and taking out some of my pent up frustration on him.

"What a wussy...," I snorted in disgust.

When the bus took off again a shot time later I was sitting back in my usual seat and noticing that the boy who'd grabbed me hadn't come back. I was pretty sure that this small town wasn't where he meant to get off but I guess I embarrassed him enough that he didn't want to deal with me again. I can't say that I minded that.

I kept thinking about my encounter with the boy though and just how strange it had been. First he'd grabbed me and looked like he wanted to do more than that but then he backed off and even turned tail and ran away just because I snapped at him. It just didn't make sense.... For some reason, I felt a strange certainty that there was more going on than just that.

The whole encounter kept repeating in my mind as I tried to make sense of this and then I started thinking about my earlier encounter with him as well. He'd been staring at me until I told him to stop. He grabbed me until I told him to let go. He backed up and kept away from me when I told him to. And of course, he'd actually turned and run away when I told him to do that as well...all in spite of the fact that he was much larger than me.

Something suddenly dawned on me and I gasped in realization, "He did everything I told him to..."

Suddenly, I was hit with a strange absolute certainty that this was it...that he had to do everything I told him to. It was a huge leap to go from my encounters with the boy to this but I now knew without a doubt that this was my power. I could make him do whatever I wanted...and not just him. This strange insight was overwhelming and left me stunned and dizzy as I tried to absorb it and make sense of why I was so certain of this when I had no real proof.

"I've got mind control," I whispered in amazement and even delight at finally having a real developed power.

This was an absolutely enormous conclusion to jump to and I knew this but I still somehow felt sure of it. I just hoped this was more than an overactive imagination and wishful thinking on my part or I was really going to be disappointed.

Back when I was at the safe house I'd tried every power I could think of to see if that was what I'd gained though I hadn't tried any of the more subtle powers. I couldn't exactly test for powers like my mom's illusions, Evie's invisibility or Angela's ability to share pain. It made sense that my developed powers would be something a little more subtle and difficult to discover on my own. It was also a little disappointing since I'd been hoping for something powerful and glamorous light super strength or flight.

I was relieved to finally know what my developed power was though even if it wasn't the power I would have chosen...assuming it was real and not just my imagination. However, I had the feeling that there was more to my power than that though I couldn't say exactly why any more than I could say why I was so certain my power was mind control.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything strange that had happened around me since I'd changed...anything other than being turned into a chick that is. That one was too obvious and I was looking for something that might indicate a power that had been too subtle for me to notice. Now that I was looking for I could see the pieces of the puzzle and put some sense to them.

When I was at the bus station I'd somehow known that Sidestep and the Bitch were there before I ever saw them. I'd somehow known that the seat on the bus was broken before I ever sat down on it. And I'd even had a bad feeling about being in danger before that boy had ever shown up to grab me. The strange certainty I felt about being able to find uncle Edward when I got close to him and about my mind control power could probably be considered as clues as well.

"I'm some sort of psychic," I frowned thoughtfully. "I think I have some sort of sixth sense..."

That made a sort of sense if I did have mind control powers since they'd both be psychic based abilities. Again, I felt a strange certainty that this was the case though this would be even more difficult to actually prove than the mind control. As it was I couldn't exactly test out either possible power while sitting on the bus.

The next several hours were torture as I was now not only sitting uselessly on the bus while my family was in knew knows what danger...but I was also dying to try out these powers and prove to myself once and for all whether they were real or all in my imagination. And to make it worse, I kept looking at the various other people on the bus and having strange impressions from them such that one woman was pregnant though she certainly didn't show it or that one man was sick somehow. Again, I had no idea if this was really me sensing things from them or if it was my overactive imagination.

When we finally reached the next bus station it was dark out and getting late. I climbed off the bus with a sigh of relief, eager to stretch and get some fresh air not to mention look for a chance to try out my suspected powers. I looked back at the bus knowing that it would only be here for an hour before it departed with a new driver and without me on it. The bus was continuing on its way but not to where I needed to go. I would have to catch another bus which was scheduled to leave tomorrow morning.

I went to the ladies bathroom then paused at the door when I suddenly had a bad feeling about going inside. My instincts were screaming that it was a bad idea to go in there right now. I frowned and backed off, wondering what could be going on in there that I'd get this feeling. I stood back and watched impatiently since I really had to go and hadn't wanted to use the tiny bathroom on the bus.

About two minutes later I was beginning to doubt myself and was about to go into the bathroom anyway when the door opened and a woman came out. She was a rough looking woman with sunken cheeks and sort of blank looking eyes. I didn't even need any psychic power to see that she was on drugs of some sort though I did have a feeling she had a knife on her even though I couldn't see one. Once the woman was gone the feeling I had about the bathroom being dangerous vanished as well so I hurried to take my piss and get out of here.

It was pretty late out and the bus station was getting a bit scary so I didn't want to stay here for very long. I looked around nervously, knowing that I would have been pretty damn uncomfortable hanging around this bus station this late at night back before my change. Now that I was smaller, weaker, and a girl...I knew I'd look like easier prey to some people which only made me more nervous. However, before I left I still wanted to try something.

"Stand right there for a moment," I told one man who didn't look too threatening. He stopped at my command and I felt a tiny surge of excitement. "Do some jumping jacks..."

The man did the jumping jacks as I instructed, acting almost as though this was perfectly normal though after I told him to stop he had a confused look on his face. I imagined he was probably wondering why he'd just done what I asked though I didn't worry about it too much as I went to try one more experiment.

One man who was obviously drunk and who smelled particularly nasty started to come towards me. My new 'Knight sense' started to tingle and warn me he was dangerous but I didn't need any psychic powers to be nervous about him. He gave me a bit of a leer and asked, "What's a cute girl like you doing around here..."

I cringed at that but not just because I was being hit on by some drunk guy who looked homeless. There was also the fact that I was only sixteen and he looked to be in his forties at least which made me wonder what kind of guy that age would be going after possible jailbait. I felt disgusted by him and decided that he'd be the perfect guinea pig for my new power.

"Why don't you go piss on his leg?" I asked the man, pointing to another rough looking man in the corner who looked as though he might be high.

The man in front of me just stared at me blankly for a moment before asking, "What...?"

"Go piss on his leg," I said, rephrasing it as a command. This time he immediately turned and did as I told him. I gasped, "Holy shit," as my guinea pig pissed on the other man.

Of course, the man who'd just been used as a urinal was now p1ssed off as well as p1ssed on and immediately jumped on my guinea pig. The two men fought for a moment while I stared on with a growing feeling of guilt for doing this. Of course, their fighting wasn't very impressive since neither of them was in their right mind but that wasn't the point. They wouldn't be fighting at all if it wasn't for me.

"Stop it," I called out frantically. "Stop fighting..." The two men immediately stopped much to my relief. "Forget you even fought," I instructed them. Then another thought occurred to me and I added, "Forget you ever even saw me..."

I hurried away from these people and the bus station as fast as I could, my heart racing with excitement. There was no longer any doubt at all that I had developed powers...powers that seemed to be a variation of Mom's. She could make people see whatever she wanted and I could make them do whatever I wanted. This was going to be fun getting even with Katie and Evie the next time they tried playing some prank on me... But then I paused, feeling sick to my stomach as I remembered what had happened to them.

I turned my thoughts back to why I was here and what my goal was. The bus that would take me the rest of the way to uncle Edward was scheduled to leave in the morning but I couldn't hang around the bus station or just wander around town until then. I needed a safe place to get some sleep and that meant finding a motel. Fortunately, I had more than enough money to cover that.

Fortunately, there was a motel almost right across from the bus station so I didn't have to go far. It looked cheap but I wasn't in a position to really complain about that at the moment. I didn't care if they had a pool or anything like that as long as I could lock the door and have a relatively safe and comfortable place to stay for the night.

I went into the front office and was relieved to see that there was still someone there. An overweight and balding man sat behind the counter, scowling when he saw me. I got closer and saw that he'd been looking at some magazines which he quickly covered before I could make out any details.

"I'd like to rent a room for the night," I told him, feeling a little awkward but trying hard not to show it.

"What are you...fifteen?" he asked me with a snort.

"Sixteen," I corrected him.

The man pointed to a sign on the wall with the words a little too small for me to read at this distance. "We don't rent to anyone under eighteen..."

I stared at the man for a moment, scowling back as I absorbed that. I sure as hell wasn't going to go back to the bus station and sleep on a bench because I was too young to rent a motel room.

"You believe I'm eighteen," I told him, this time feeling a very faint pushing sensation as I used my power.

The man's eyes sort of blanked for a second before he shook his head. "Okay, you're old enough but I still need to see some ID..."

"You remember already seeing my ID," I pushed again, feeling a little weird to be using the Jedi mind trick on someone for real.

A minute later I paid for my room and was walking away with my room key in hand. I knew that I could have used my new powers to make him give me the key without having to pay him or to make him think that I'd already given him the money but that just felt wrong. If I'd done that It would have been just a little too much like stealing.

My motel room was small and very outdated looking with old furniture that had seen better days. However, it did look pretty clean and wasn't quite as bad as my overactive imagination had feared. At the moment, it was a welcome sight, especially the bed which looked relatively comfortable.

I threw my duffel bag onto the floor then threw myself onto the bed with a sigh of relief. I could easily go to sleep immediately without even getting undressed but this was the first bit of privacy I'd had all day and I didn't want to waste it completely. So after double checking the door locks and making sure the curtains were closed I undressed and stripped to my underwear then sat on the bed and practiced my glowing pink bubbles again.

I practiced this energy bubble power for the next twenty minutes and improved enough so that I could make the bubbles form into cubes or pyramids and stay in that shape for about ten seconds. I felt pleased by this accomplishment though knew it didn't really mean anything. This wasn't my real power but was more like a partly formed version of the one my dad and uncle Leon had. It was like a half formed power that was so weak that it served no real purpose...sort of like an appendix. My ability to summon these pink energy bubbles might be the super powered equivalent of a toy, but it was fun to play with and a great distraction from all my problems.

Once I'd relaxed a little I decided to get ready for bed. I got off the bed and winced a little, reaching over to touch an aching spot on my side. Most of the aches from my transformation had faded away but a few of them had started coming back during the day. I just grimaced and did my best to ignore the aches as I went about doing my business and brushing my teeth.

"I can finally get this damn thing off," I muttered, tossing my bra onto the floor and looking at my reflection in the small mirror that hung in the bathroom. "Joshua Knight...you are one pitiful excuse for a man..." Then with a sigh, I had to admit, "But you do make a very pretty girl." I sighed again, not sure I should feel proud about that but I decided that at least it was a lot better than being turned into an ugly girl.

I stared at myself for just a minute then silently looked over my body again. It was still difficult to absorb that this was really me...that this was now my body. I still held some hope of being able to change back to normal once this was all over but it was slowly fading away. With a sigh, I climbed into bed hoping I could get to sleep. With all the worries that kept running through my mind I wasn't sure that was even possible.

I was dreaming. I was well aware of this fact as the strange visions passed by and left without leaving any clear impact on my memory. They came and went one after another until they finally slowed down and became more clear.

In my dream, I suddenly found myself feeling a strange bulge on my stomach. I looked down at gasped in horror as it pushed out as though I'd swallowed a basketball. I was pregnant...very pregnant. I looked as though I might be ready to give birth at any minute.

My heart suddenly jumped in horror and I was about to scream when I suddenly woke up to the sound of the alarm going off. I lay in bed for a moment, gulping as I remembered the dream. Then I shook myself out of it enough to turn off the alarm.

"I've got to get back to normal," I gasped as I sat up and turned on the light.

I winced, still feeling the aches in my gut and sides. I'd hoped that a good sleep would help them go away again though that doesn't seem to be the case. If anything, they were even worse. I tore the sheets back to climb out of bed then froze and stared in horror.

There was blood on the bed and it looked like it was coming out of...out of me. I gasped in horror, my first thought being that my change must have really screwed up my insides and caused some internal bleeding. However, I had two sisters so another explanation suddenly came to mind as well.

"Oh shit," I gasped, staring down at my blood soaked panties. "No fucking way... I... I'm having a period..."

The whole idea seemed ludicrous and absolutely impossible...though the blood spot and the cramps I was feeling were proof that it was very possible. However, it was also pretty damn unfair. I only just got turned into a girl and I was already having a period.

"Gross," I winced in disgust.

I climbed out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, feeling freaked out by the fact that I was bleeding from an orifice I didn't even have last week. It was all I could do just to keep myself from actually panicking by this latest disaster.

"Damn," I grimaced as I climbed into the shower, feeling absolutely filthy all of a sudden.

The hot water felt good rushing over my skin though I didn't spare any time to really enjoy it. I washed the blood off my thighs and tried to clean up my slit, wincing as I touched myself there. It had been bad enough having girl parts before and now that I was bleeding there...

Once I was finished taking care of the important cleaning I washed the rest of my body as well though it was more of an afterthought. I noticed that my nipples felt a little tender which didn't make me any happier. In fact, I couldn't think of anything to be happy about at all.

Then as I was drying myself off I discovered that I was still bleeding. There were a few drops of blood on my towel after I'd ran it over my slit to dry it off. I felt a surge of fear as I stared at the blood spots though I knew I shouldn't be surprised. This might be my first experience with a monthly visitor but I knew better than to think it was done and over with in a single night.

"Fuck," I shook my head, feeling disgusted yet again. "This is so wrong..."

I knew that I'd be facing a number of problems if I wanted to try helping my family but I can honestly say that a period was the absolute last thing I thought I'd have to deal with. Needless to say, feminine hygiene products weren't something I thought about adding into my duffel bag.

Everything was just so overwhelming that I sat down on the edge of the bed and suddenly began to cry. I never cried this easily but the tears just came out so easily almost as though a faucet had been turned on. The last time I'd cried like this had been when I was a kid and my grandpa had died. Now I cried for myself and everything that was going wrong all at once.

At first it seemed like I was going to just sit there crying forever but then I remembered that I didn't have the luxury of that. I had to catch that bus if I wanted to get to uncle Edward. He was my only chance to rescue my family.

"Damn cry baby," I muttered, wiping away the tears and trying to turn my attention back to business. "I don't have time for this..." However, it wasn't easy to stop the tears especially when I really wanted to just collapse in self pity.

Then I stared at the bloody mess on the sheets and grimaced, knowing I'd have to do something about this. I threw the bloody panties into the garbage and then out of embarrassment I threw newspaper and other things on top to hide them. Then I turned my attention to getting dressed again, putting on a pair of clean panties and then using a motel wash cloth as a pad. It was very uncomfortable but it would work for the moment.

A short time later I left the motel and immediately went to a store just a block down the street. I didn't have a whole lot of time before my bus was scheduled to leave but I did have enough for this. I felt absolutely humiliated as I bought some pads and Midol.

I blushed as I paid the money to the cashier, then on an impulse I pushed with my power and ordered him, "Forget you ever saw me..."

My next stop was the bus station where I made a beeline for the bathroom. I was definitely going to need some privacy for this.

I walked out of the bathroom a short time later feeling relieved yet awkward at the same time. I'd gotten rid of the motel wash cloth and had the much lighter pad packed into my panties to keep the blood under control. I still felt extremely awkward to be wearing it though and kept expecting people to turn and look at me with smirks on their faces.

"Let them try it," I grimaced in a surge of anger, deciding that I'd make anyone who laughed at me punch themselves in the balls. In fact, I almost hoped someone would since I could use a target to take my frustrations out on.

I got my ticket then sat in the bus station feeling almost like I was standing on fence and could easily fall off at any moment. On one side of the fence I'd be crying like a baby and on the other side I'd be going into a pure pissed off rage. My emotions seemed to have a mind of their own and it was all I could do to really keep them under control.

I couldn't believe that I was actually going through this and swore to myself that I'd never tease a girl about having PMS again...not even my sisters. And for the first time in my life, I actually wished that I'd been there when Mom was giving them 'the talk' so I'd know a bit more about what to expect and how to handle it.

Since I didn't want to deal with this at the moment I tried to distract myself by thinking about my new powers instead. I still had a lot of questions about how they worked and decided to try them out a little while I was waiting for the bus.

After a little trial and error I soon discovered several things about my mind control power that I hadn't known before. For one, could concentrate on a person and use my power to mentally push them but I couldn't just make them do whatever I wanted by thinking it. I actually had to tell them what to do. I also discovered that there was a very limited range for my powers since the further I was away from someone the more concentration I had to give to make them do what I told them. My maximum range was just about fifteen yards.

I also discovered one major limit to my mind control power, the fact that it only works on guys. I discovered this by telling a pretty woman to kiss me and only got a look of shock in response. After a few more attempts to control women I found that every woman seemed to be immune.

"So I can only mind control guys," I sighed in disappointment, feeling as though my super power had just been cut in half. I'd thought it would work on everyone but until now I hadn't even tried with women. "That sucks..."

While I was testing the limits of my mind control I also noticed that my sixth sense seemed to be stronger. I wasn't sure this was because I was getting practice actually using it or if it was just because I was finally paying attention. What I did know was that I was now getting a lot more impressions from things around me and that I suddenly 'knew' things.

I looked at one woman and 'knew' without a doubt that she was a lesbian. I looked at a kind looking man who was walking past and had a strong feeling that he was very dangerous and wasn't right in the head. And I even looked at one woman who got off another bus and quickly left, suddenly being certain that she was a developed herself.

However, the most impressive reaction from my power came not from looking at anyone but from thinking about my family. I was worried about them when I suddenly became certain that they were all unharmed. But more than that, I 'knew' exactly which direction they were in as well as the fact that they were a long distance away.

I gasped in shock at that, staring off in the distance and trying to get more my power though unfortunately that was about all it would tell me. Still, it was a lot more than I knew before. I could tell that my family were in danger, that they were unharmed at the moment, and the direction they were in. Fortunately, it was the same general direction I had to go to find uncle Edward though a bit further away.

When I finally climbed onto my bus I let out a frustrated sigh, wishing that I'd taken an airplane instead of the bus. If I had I would have been at my destination a long time ago and probably even would have found uncle Edward. For all I knew, we would have found my family by now.

"I can't get on a plane without identification," I reminded myself grimly.

Of course, I have no form of identification that I could use especially since my transformation. Dad had created fake IDs for everyone and they were all stored back at the safe house...not that this would have done me any good. I didn't exactly match the picture or details on the one Dad made for me.

"Just a little longer," I tried to keep my hopes up so I could survive the long trip ahead of me on the bus. "I can handle that long..." I just hoped my family could.

I looked around the filthy bus station with mixed feelings, glad to have finally arrived here but eager to get my ass away. After all that time on the bus my ass had gone numb but I was finally at my destination...or at least in the right city.

"I can feel him," I whispered, sensing uncle Edward in the near distance.

I'd spent the last two days trying to get here and was eager to see uncle Edward yet nervous at the same time. What if he didn't remember me? What if he didn't believe that I actually was Joshua...which was a distinct possibility considering my transformation. And what if he was still pissed off at Dad and refused to help me?

"Damn," I muttered, feeling a surge of intense worry that nearly made me want to start cowering. I wasn't sure how much of it was real worry and how much was my hormones going bonkers.

My emotions didn't seem to be quite as erratic as before though I wasn't sure if that was because my hormones were settling down or if I was just getting used to them. I blushed slightly as I considered just how crazy I've been feeling. At one point I'd started crying over something extremely small and at another I told a man who annoyed me to go piss himself. I couldn't help but feeling a little guilty for that one.

"At least I'm here," I told myself, quickly making my way out of the bus station.

My bus had come in a little earlier than I'd expected so I'd arrived in the early hours of the morning when it was still very dark out. I'd tried getting some sleep on the bus but that hadn't been very successful. When I had nodded off I'd had some weird dreams that made me nervous about going back to sleep again. I was tired but kept going on pure adrenaline and energy drinks.

I left the bus station and made a quick stop in a small convenience store across the street, going straight for the energy drinks. I figured I could use one more before going to find uncle Edward. I had a feeling that I was going to need all the liquid energy I could get for the search.

As I walked past the shelves of refrigerated soda I suddenly had a feeling about one bottle in the front. I paused to look at it seeing that it was advertising some contest on the front of the bottle. With a faint smile, I grabbed the bottle and added it to my purchase, sure that it was a winner.

"Let's see what I won," I mused when I opened the bottle outside the store. The inside of the cap indeed said that it was a winner and that I'd won another free soda. "Not as much as I'd hoped for but it was a winner..."

I paused for a moment to realize that if I used my sixth sense right I could probably make a lot of money. It would be so easy winning contests like this when I could tell which one was a winner before I even bought anything. However, at the moment the only thing I really wanted to use that power for was to locate uncle Edward and then the rest of my family.

My emotions started to surge again, rushing through hope and excitement to worry and fear. I grimaced and tried to deal with this emotional roller coaster, hoping that this damn period would just go away. It made me feel like I was losing my mind as well as my body.

"Just count to twenty and don't go crying," I told myself, taking several deep breaths and feeling like an idiot.

Once I was sure I wasn't about to freak out in an emotional meltdown I got back to work looking for uncle Edward. I caught a taxi that was stopping in front of the bus station and just told the driver to take me in the direction I sensed uncle Edward then I had him drop me off about half a block away.

"I can feel him," I whispered, absolutely certainly he was just down the street. I immediately started walking in that direction, not feeling too worried about being out on the street at this time of night. After all, I now had ways of dealing with guys who were a problem. "Just a little more..."

Suddenly I heard a lot of noise coming from just ahead of me and around the corner. There was the sound of crashing and of a window being smashed. And there were voices of two men arguing.

"That won't work on me again," one of the men exclaimed. "This time I've taken precautions..."

I rushed towards the noise and looked around the corner to see two men finishing what appeared to be a fight. They were right in front of a store that was closed for the night but which had the front window shattered. One of the men was on the ground leaning up against the building just below the shattered window. I didn't even need my power to know that it was his body that had been smashed into the window.

My attention went to the other man who was standing over him. He was tall and athletic with long brown hair that went down past his shoulders. This man wore a long black trench coat that seemed to flap a little in the wind. As he shifted angles an turned, I could see that he had wore a pair of goggles with green lenses over his eyes and that underneath the open trench coat he wore some sort of dark blue costume as well as a metal belt full of gray metal tubes and pouches. The final detail I noticed was that he held a semiautomatic pistol with a silencer in his hand and was aiming it straight at the other man.

"Uncle Edward," I whispered, recognizing the uncle I hadn't seen in a decade.

I stared at uncle Edward for a moment then looked at the man on the ground in front of him. The other man looked like an average thirty something year old man who was dressed in normal street clothes. There was absolutely nothing about his appearance that made him look threatening but I felt a cold chill run up my spine at the sight of him. He didn't look very dangerous but my sixth sense was screaming that he was a very dangerous man who'd done a lot of bad things...though my power didn't give me any details only this vague certainty that he was very bad news.

The man on the ground grinned evilly and suddenly uncle Edward staggered for a moment then looked around as if confused for a moment. However, he almost immediately turned his attention back to the man on the ground and snarled, "I see... You used your powers on me again...but this time I'm prepared to deal with you..."

"Please...have mercy," the man begged, then suddenly pointed a gun at uncle Edward that he'd drawn from a hidden ankle holster while uncle Edward had been distracted. The man grinned with a manic glee as he fired several shots straight into uncle Edward's chest.

Uncle Edward staggered back just a little though didn't seem to really be hurt. My sixth sense assured me that he wasn't actually hurt so I assumed he was wearing some sort of kevlar in his costume since invulnerability wasn't one of his powers. Then uncle Edward just snarled, "I don't do mercy," before firing several shots into the man's chest

A moment later, uncle Edward turned ran into a nearby alley at a superhuman pace, using his developed power that could give him short bursts of enhanced strength, speed, agility and reflexes. I was left to just stare with my mouth open, hardly able to believe what I'd just seen. I'd come all this way to find my long lost super hero uncle and the very minute I finally find him it was only to watch him kill someone in cold blood.

"Oh shit," I muttered, my emotions going all over the places as I kept shifting back and forth from shock to horror. This time, I didn't think I could blame my hormones.

As shocked as I was by what I'd just seen I didn't let that keep me from turning and running after uncle Edward to try catching up. I knew I could never keep up with his speed but I knew I couldn't lose him either. I knew exactly which direction to go in order to find him. I ran down a dark alley and then into another one. My power was in hyperdrive because I instinctively knew exactly where to step and where not to...where to dodge something nasty that I didn't want to step in and even where there was a hole in a fence I could climb through...even before I got a decent look at it.

I grimaced as I ran, trying hard to ignore all the questions that demanded answers as well as the nasty cramps in my side caused by my fucking period. My mood grew darker due not only to the aches and shock of what I had seen but also due to my lack of sleep.

I was distracted and lost track of exactly where uncle Edward was though I knew he was still somewhere very close. Then I suddenly knew exactly where he was and turned around just in time to see him dropping from the top of a building and landing on the ground right in front of me with a gun pointed straight at my face.

"Who are you?" he demanded in a grim voice. "Why were you following me girl?"

I gasped and took an instinctive step backward before I just stared at him for a moment. I'd spent so much time worrying about being able to get to uncle Edward that I hadn't even thought about what I would say to him. It suddenly dawned on me that my biggest problem wasn't in finding him but in convincing him of who I really was.

"I...," I gulped nervously, completely unsure of what to say. "I need to talk to you..." Then as I felt a little more daring, I said, "You're not going to shoot me..." This was a statement and not a command though a moment later I did use my power to command him, "Point that thing somewhere else..."

"And why are you so certain I won't shoot you?" he demanded, almost half mockingly as he lowered his gun.

"Because you used to change my diapers," I grimaced in embarrassment.

Uncle Edward gave me a confused look, obviously trying to figure out who I was. Of course, there was no way he'd recognize who I really was. At most, he might think I was Angela but I was a couple years too young for that. Then after a few seconds staring at me suspiciously he demanded, "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Joshua Knight," I said quietly as I stared down at the ground in shame. Then I looked up and met his eyes and forced a weak smile as I added, "Hi uncle Edward..."

Uncle Edward blinked in surprise then stared at me for a moment more with a grim expression before finally responding, "There's one small problem with your claim..."

"You mean these," I grimaced, cupping my boobs which were still quite tender. I felt extremely uncomfortable with this topic and tried to ease my own discomfort by joking, "I fell into a vat of radioactive estrogen."

For a moment he just stared at me with a strange expression including a brief look of surprise. I suppose it says something about my family that he would bother to consider this a real possibility for even half a second.

"Actually," I told him self-consciously, "I was still a guy last week..." I gestured down at myself, then held out my hand and formed a glowing pink ball of energy as a demonstration. "A couple days ago my powers finally kicked in and..." I winced and quietly added, "I had an overnight sex change..."

I grimaced as I remembered that night, remembered the fear of cowering under the tree stump while hiding from Sidestep as well as the intense agony that ripped through my entire body. I began shaking as I remembered that night and the shock of the next morning when I realized just how my body had changed. Tears were about to start flooding out, embarrassing me even further so I struggled to keep it under control though I wasn't very successful.

Uncle Edward didn't seem to notice my discomfort or near emotional breakdown. Instead, he was staring at the glowing energy sphere in my hand. "Leon's powers," he whispered more to himself than to him. Then he finally looked into my face again and added, "And Will's..." I could see in his face that he now believed I was who I claimed to be which was something of a relief. Of course, I was still uncertain about him since I'd seen him kill a man so recently.

"Go home," uncle Edward told me grimly as he turned to leave. "You don't belong here..."

"I can't," I blurted out, the tears finally bursting free of my control. "I can't..." I just stood there sobbing, feeling completely ashamed of myself and humiliated but was unable to help it.

Uncle Edward turned and stared at me for a moment with a hard expression before it softened. "Come on," he said gently. "Let's go somewhere we can talk..."

A short time later uncle Edward had taken me to his secret lair, though his secret lair was actually one of those really old single screen movie theaters that had been condemned. The outside of the building was al boarded up but the inside had been modified to suit his needs. The concession stand and seats had all been torn out along with anything related to actually showing the movies all to make more room for living area, training area, and shelves full of various weapons.

Uncle Edward took me to the part of his lair he'd set up as a personal living area and then he took off his trench coat and goggles. I finally got a good look at the costume he'd been wearing beneath the trench coat and it bore no resemblance to his old Minute Man uniform. It was mostly dark blue with a bit of gray though he also still wore a pair of shoulder holsters both of which held guns with silencers and I could see his belt was covered with metal tubes about the size of quarter rolls. I later learned these were various types of grenades and smoke grenades.

By this time I'd regained control of myself and was no longer crying like a baby though I was still very embarrassed about that. I watched uncle Edward, positive that he wouldn't hurt me though still feeling nervous after what I'd seen him do earlier. He might be my uncle Edward but he certainly wasn't the same easy going uncle I remembered from my childhood.

He saw the way I was looking at him and he gave me a questioning look. "I saw what you did," I told him quietly. "I saw you kill that man..."

For a moment he just stared at me with a grim expression then he finally answered, "He was called Mindwipe..." He gave me a very steady look before he turned away with a grimace and spat out, "He was a serial rapist, known to have raped dozens of women and to have committed at least four murders that I know off...though I have reason to believe there were more."

"What?" I gasped, my eyes going wide as I remembered the feeling of danger and wrongness I'd felt from the man.

"He was a rabid dog that needed to be put down," uncle Edward said grimly.

"You could have just put him in jail," I gasped.

"No," he shook his head then snorted in disgust. "That's been tried..." At my blank look, he explained, "Mindwipe was a developed with the power to erase short term memories and he usually used this on his victims right after her raped them so they didn't even remember the incident. He erased the memories of any potential witnesses...and when someone was finally lucky enough to catch up with him the trial ended up being a joke. The judge and prosecutor kept forgetting what they were doing or what they'd just seen. Every time the jury saw any evidence or testimony he erased their memories of it... In the end, he was able to walk right out the front door a free man...only to rape seven more women and murder three people..."

"Damn," I whispered. "He didn't look like a super villain..."

Uncle Edward just laughed at that though it wasn't a nice laugh. "The worst villains don't wear costumes and most of them don't even have powers..." He shook his head. "There are a lot of bad people in this city...even a lot of developed...and around here most of them don't bother wearing costumes that would make them stand out in a crowd."

Then uncle Edward abruptly changed topics and said, "Now tell me why you're here... What would make you track down the black sheep of the family..." He said that with a look of faint amusement.

I stared down at the floor for a moment then told him about the ambush at the picnic, about my painful transformation as my powers finally developed, and about my decision to come seek him out. I shook a little as I told the story, feeling as though I was about to start crying all over again. I thought I'd gotten my hormone amplified emotions under control but as the last hour proved that was anything but true.

Once I finished telling the story I let out a sigh followed by a loud yawn. Everything was really catching up to me and I was starting to feel exhausted.

"You've been through a lot," uncle Edward told me sympathetically, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I can only imagine what this must be like for you..." I nodded, knowing he was talking about my transformation and not about watching my family being captured. I had a feeling he could imagine that kind of fighting very well.

"So you'll help rescue them?" I asked eagerly, or at least started to as a yawn sort of interrupted my attempt.

"We'll talk about it in the morning," uncle Edward told me. "For now you should go to bed..."

Uncle Edward led me to a bed...the only one I'd seen in this place. This didn't seem to be the sort of place to bring guests so I figured it was the only bed here...that it was his bed he was giving me. However, at the moment I was too tired to care. The stress and long hours had finally caught up to me so much so that even the energy drink I'd downed almost two hours ago wasn't enough to keep me awake. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

--------------------

My dreams were strange and a little disturbing but that was nothing unusual since my transformation. Some of them even had a very strange clarity, though whether this was all due to the physical and phsychological stress I'd been under or due to the influx of new hormones I didn't know. Then my dreams shifted into one of these strangely vivid dreams that somehow seemed far more crisp and real than the usual. I felt almost like I was a ghost watching my surroundings with a clarity of thought that was unusual for a dream though I knew full well that it was just a dream.

In my dream, I saw a half dozen space ships landed on the ground with an army of powerful looking creatures pouring out of them. These creatures looked somewhat like humans though they were all well over seven feet tall with heavy muscles, blue skin, and some boney bumps on their shoulders and spines. Each of them wore black metal pants but little else and they all snarled and charged forward to punch and tear at anything in their way, seeming more like vicious animals than thinking beings.

Most of these brutish creatures were male though there were a small number of females among them. They were nearly as tall as the males and though not nearly as bulky they were still very well muscled. The females like the males wore metalic black clothes that primarily covered their lower bodies and a few more sensitive parts. Unlike the males though, the females seemed much more intelligent and actually appeared to be the ones in charge, giving orders to the otherwise directionless males.

A large number of heroes were gathered to fight these alien invaders, some of whom I recognized like Vigil and Ms. Miracle though there were also some I didn't recognize like a sexy brunette with a skimpy purple costume and a golden staff held in her hand. However, there were two fighting on the side of the heroes who completely baffled me.

There was a monster fighting the aliens right alongside the heroes though he looked very much like one of the invaders except for being even larger and more fearsome looking. He was enormous, standing about twelve feet tall and bulging with muscles. Like the aliens he had blue skin though he also had bone spikes growing from his shoulders, elbows and spine as well as hands that looked almost like claws.

I stared at the creature that looked like a bigger and nastier version of the invaders, more shocked than anything by the fact that I recognized him. I've never seen this monster personally but I've seen him on TV and I've even red his file back when Dad was making me read through some records of various known heroes and villains. This was Grendel...a monster who'd caused massive destruction and had fought numerous heroes before he mysteriously disappeared. I wasn't sure what confused me more, that Grendel was fighting alongside the heroes or that I was dreaming of him at all since no one had even seen him in awhile.

Of course, there was one more piece of the puzzle as well. Grendel wasn't alone. There was a female version of Grendel who was wearing a chain mail bikini and loin cloth, and who like Grendel, was much larger than her equivalent among the invaders. She was over eight feet tall with boobs the size of beach balls. And though there was no sound in my dream she seemed to be telling Grendel what to do and giving him directions.

I was curious to see more of this odd and strangely vivid dream though it seemed that I was only to be given this small glimpse before the dream faded away from me and returned to the usual vague and blurry dreams that usually marked my sleep. Even my sense of awareness faded as I slipped into my normal slumber for the rest of the night.

I woke up with a shake of my head, feeling confused from my dreams. The only dream I could clearly remember at all was the one with Grendel and the alien invaders who looked like smaller versions of him but even that didn't make much sense to me. I couldn't figure out why my subconscious mind would spit that out.

After I sat up and looked around I noticed a small shower stall a short distance away and immediately became interested. I hadn't showered since my stay at that cheap motel two days ago and knew I could really use one. I sniffed at my arm pit and winced, deciding that I definitely needed a shower.

I showered as quickly as I could, ignoring the temptation to just stay in there a little longer to enjoy the hot water against my sensitive skin. Once I was done, I threw on some clean clothes as well as a fresh pad. It was strange to realize just how much I'd come to depend on those things after only a couple days. As much as I disliked how uncomfortable they were I couldn't deny their necessity.

Once I was ready I took a deep breath and tried to steady my nervousness then went to the living area to see uncle Edward. He was already there waiting for me, wearing normal civilian clothes. However, I didn't miss the fact that he had a gun sitting on the table within easy reach. I also noticed that he had Evie's trial costume that I brought with me spread out in front of him. He'd obviously searched my duffel bag and found it. I felt a surge of anger at his intrusion of my privacy though managed to control it with some effort. I knew I couldn't blame him since I'd probably be snooping too in his place. After all, a nephew...or was that niece he hadn't seen in ten years suddenly shows up out of the blue with a strange story.

"I found this in your bag," he said without preamble, gesturing to the costume while giving me a questioning and slightly suspicious look.

"It's one of Evie's," I explained self-consciously. "She made a bunch of different costumes to try finding one she liked so I grabbed one of her castoffs before I left the safe house...just in case I needed something bullet proof."

"So you make a habit of wearing your little sister's castoffs?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, still looking suspicious as he continued. "And why is your little sister's costume your size?"

I stared at him for a moment before giggling, feeling a little embarrassed that it actually came out as a giggle. "Evie isn't exactly my little sister anymore..."

I explained how Evie had grown up in another dimension and had come out of it as my older sister...even though she never acted like it. That led to uncle Edward asking more questions about the family and how much more had changed since he'd left. I told him all about uncle Chris being married and having his daughter Natalie as well as what everyone else was up to. He was obviously very interested though he tried unsuccessfully to keep it from showing.

Then once uncle Edward heard enough to satisfy his curiosity at the moment, he asked me, "And how did you find me?" He gave me that suspicious look again even though I'd already soothed most of his suspicions. "I'm not exactly in the yellow pages..."

"Mom found out where you were two years ago," I told him hesitantly, not sure that I wanted him to know that I'd learned this by eavesdropping. "One of her friends told her she'd seen you here...."

"Radiant," uncle Edward responded with a shake of his head. "Damn..." Then at my blank look he explained. "I ran into Radiant about two years ago when she was chasing some villains into my territory. At the time, I didn't think she recognized me but it seems I was wrong... Radiant and your mom used to be pretty close so I shouldn't be surprised she'd talk..."

I just nodded at that, then paused as I suddenly realized the coincidence of my being able to so clearly remember a conversation from two years ago. It hadn't even really registered in my memory until I needed the information then I was able to remember it with no problem. I couldn't help but wondering if this was another aspect of my sixth sense, reminding me of things I already knew the same way it told me things I didn't.

"And my power helped too," I mused aloud, knowing I'd never have been able to track uncle Edward down so easily without my sixth sense leading me straight to him.

"Your power?" he asked curiously.

I nodded at that. "This isn't very strong," I told him as I make a pink cube appear in the air above my hand. "But I've got other powers now too..." I hesitated a moment, not sure whether I should feel proud or embarrassed by my particular powers. "I've got this sixth sense that tells me things... I just sort of know things...like if I'm in danger or where to find you. And I can mind control people too and make them do what I tell them...but only guys. It doesn't work on girls for some reason."

Uncle Edward stared at me for a moment with a raised eyebrow before he finally said, "So your powers are women's intuition and the ability to wrap men around your finger..." He gave me a wry look before adding, "Congratulations...you have the same powers as every other woman."

"Great," I grimaced, feeling embarrassed again. "I hadn't thought of it that way before..."

I stared down at my body and blushed, annoyed to realize that all of my powers were actually a reminder that I was now a girl. My psychic powers were the punch line of some joke and even the energy I summoned was pink. I shook my head in disgust.

"Why couldn't I get some cool powers?" I demanded in frustration, grabbing my boobs and grimacing, "Why the hell did they have to change me like this? How come I got turned into a girl when no one else in the family did....?"

Uncle Edward just stared at me with an expression of sympathy which only made me more uncomfortable. Then he gently said, "You don't know...do you?"

"What?" I blinked at him in confusion.

"Will never told you?" uncle Edward asked, looking confused for a moment before shaking his head. "Of course not. Your dad probably never knew...."

"What?" I stared at him in confusion. "Didn't tell me what?"

Uncle Edward stared at me yet again before he shook his head. Without a word he got up and went to his small kitchen, coming back with two cups of coffee, one for himself and one that he handed me. I sniffed mine and took a hesitant sip though I didn't like the bitter flavor. Still, I took another sip to be polite. Uncle Edward didn't even seem to notice though as he stared at his own coffee with a thoughtful expression before taking a sip.

"My father was a great man," uncle Edward said slowly. "I have certain disagreements with his methods but I can't deny who he was and what he did. He was one of the first public heroes and one of the founders of the Protectorate. In his way, he was a great man but he was also a very private one. He never talked about his life before the accident which gave him his powers...not even to his own children."

"About a month before his death," uncle Edward said carefully, "there was a night where he was drinking and got quite drunk. I should have realized something was wrong...though I didn't until much later. This was a clear sign of his illness since his own powers would normally have prevented him from ever becoming intoxicated..." Uncle Edward shook his head then took a deep breath. I could see that this was very tough for him to talk about this which only made me wonder why he was. "While he was drunk," uncle Edward continued, "my father told me something he'd never told me before...and as far as I know...he'd never told anyone else." At this point he looked me in the eyes. "He told me that before the accident...he'd been a woman. That the accident had not only given him his powers but had transformed his body and turned him into a man."

"Holy shit," I exclaimed, staring at uncle Edward in disbelief.

"I think my father was embarrassed about this," uncle Edward told him with sigh. "I also think he wanted everyone to accept him for who he currently was...not who he'd been in the past. Whatever his reasons for being so secretive about his past this does explain where you inherited your transformation from."

I leaned back and just sat there, feeling a little dazed from this revelation as well as strangely relieved. There was a strange sense of relief to knowing that I wasn't the only one who'd gone through this...that someone else in my family had gone through the same thing I had. In fact, there was even a faint stirring of excitement to know that I was following in the footsteps of my grandpa who'd been one of the worlds greatest heroes.

Then my thoughts turned to why Grandpa had kept this a secret from everyone including his loved ones. I felt a little hurt that he'd keep this from me but in a way I could understand as well. It might have been nice having some warning that this kind of thing was possible and even ran in the family. It would have made things a whole lot easier for me to know what had happened to me and that I wasn't the only one. It wouldn't have made everything easy on me but I would probably have freaked out a bit less. However, I knew I certainly wouldn't want everyone knowing about my transformation. If I had my choice, I'd have new people just assume I was a real girl and treat me like one rather than know the truth and think of me as some kind of freak. In this particular case, knowledge just make things very awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved.

"I think I understand," I told uncle Edward. I gave him a weak smile, adding, "I'd rather be thought of as a girl than a freak. I guess it would be a lot easier for Grandpa to just live his new life and forget all about the old one..."

Uncle Edward nodded at that while I just felt a little dazed, my mind swirling as I considered what his meant about me and my new life. Since grandpa had remained a man for the rest of his life that gave me a pretty good indication that I could expect my transformation to be permanent as well. That wasn't much of a surprise though as I'd come to believe that was probably the case. However, this did get me thinking about what life as a girl would really be like. Should I do what Grandpa did and embrace my new life completely? I wasn't sure I could do that...nor did I want to think about it at the moment.

"I've got a lot to think about," I said quietly. Then I gave my uncle a determined look. "First I want my family back..."

"Agreed," uncle Edward said with a look of determination. He stood up again and scowled, "Unfortunately, I have no idea where to find them much less whether they're still alive or not..."

"They're that way," I stated, pointing in the direction where I 'knew' they were. "And none of them are seriously hurt yet..."

"How the hell do you know that?" he demanded, looking slightly suspicious again.

I just smirked and tapped my forehead. "Women's intuition."

Uncle Edward rolled his eyes. "Of course..." He scowled thoughtfully as he began looking over his arsenal of weapons. "I'll go see what I can do....though I doubt Will will be happy that I'm the one rescuing them..."

I stared at uncle Edward for a moment, realizing that he intended to leave me behind. It made perfect sense since I was an untrained rookie who didn't even know the full scope of his...or was that her powers. However, after going through everything I had there was no way in hell I was going to stay behind.

"You'll need me to find them," I pointed out, trying to sound reasonable and not like some whiny girl. "My sixth sense can lead me straight to them just the way it led me to you..." He grimaced, looking as though he was going to argue so I told him as firmly as I could, "I AM going."

For a moment he just glared at me then he nodded faintly, apparently realizing that I was right. He would need my help to find them. Then he just grunted, "We'll see..."

I just smiled to myself, knowing that I'd won without even having to use my powers. We were going to rescue my...our family.

I stared across the table at uncle Edward feeling a growing impatience. When he'd agreed to help rescue our family I'd expected to rush out to find them right away. However, uncle Edward had a different idea saying that he had preparations to make and things that he had to take care of before he could leave.

One of the things uncle Edward wanted to do was to get a better idea of exactly what my powers were which is why we'd spent the last hour trying various tests. I sat there staring at a stack of playing cards, trying to concentrate on what the top card was going to be.

"Three of hearts," I said, feeling sure that was the card.

Uncle Edward flipped the card over and revealed the three of hearts. He nodded at that, not at all surprised since I'd been able to tell him what the top card was a dozen times in a row. Each time I did this it seemed to get just a little easier though I was starting to feel just a little bit dizzy from using my power so much.

"I think that's enough for now," uncle Edward said, looking satisfied. "You're basically a clairvoyant..."

I nodded at that, knowing that already from all the tests. We found that I couldn't read his mind and could tell what the top card was even when he didn't know. The tests also revealed that I had no idea what the top card was going to be before I shuffled the deck only after it was already done and sitting there so I wasn't able to see the future only what was there now.

"I bet I could make a fortune playing blackjack in Vegas," I joked earning a faint smile at that.

"Somehow I don't think Leon would enjoy you ripping off casinos in his city," uncle Edward pointed out a moment later.

However, I we still hadn't tested out my mind control power since uncle Edward wasn't willing to be a guinea pig himself. I was a little disappointed at not being able to practice with that power as well but I'd already been able to test it out quite a bit on my own. I was pretty sure I already had a good idea of what the limits for that one were.

"So are we ready to go?" I asked a little impatiently. Then I joked, "So is Minute Man going to be rejoining Knight Force?"

"Absolutely not," uncle Edward snapped, giving me a cold look. Then he softened just a little and grimly told me, "And I haven't been called Minute Man in a very long time..."

"Oh," I responded quietly, wondering yet again what the hell had happened to make him leave. Why did Dad refuse to even talk about him? However, I had a feeling that now wasn't the time to ask about that so I asked, "Then what are you called now?"

Uncle Edward scowled for a moment before he responded, "The Black Sheep..." Then he got up from the table and started to walk away.

I stared after him for a moment and shook my head. "Talk about an appropriate name..."

I watched uncle Edward as he went and started cleaning his guns and working with some other weapons. I felt nervous as I did so, knowing that even though he'd been my favorite uncle as a kid the years had changed him and I didn't know him very well anymore. I had no idea what had happened ten years ago and I certainly wasn't thrilled about the way he'd killed Mindwipe in front of me. Still, he was my uncle and the only one I could turn to for help.

A short time later uncle Edward was dressed in his costume again, loaded up with weapons and wearing the trench coat over the top. I was curious about the trench coat since it seemed kind of weird to wear a costume then to cover it all up. That just seemed to defeat the entire purpose to me.

When I asked him about it, he just grunted. "My uniform design is entirely based off of practicality not aesthetics. This is body armor," he gestured to the dark blue costume he wore. "This is for camouflage," he gestured to the black trench coat. At my blank look he explained, "The dark color helps me blend into shadows and avoid notice but since its a coat I can just pull it closed and walk in public without drawing much attention."

"Before we can go," he told me with a grim express, "I have someone I have to stop..."

The dark look on his face told me exactly what he meant by 'stop'. I definitely didn't like that but couldn't resist asking, "Who?"

"He's called the Sinner," uncle Edward told me with a scowl. He showed me a picture of man with dark hair who was wearing a black suit and tie as well as a long red jacket. "He's a very dangerous developed criminal."

I stared at the picture, thinking that the black suit with red overcoat looked a little sinister though it didn't immediately scream 'super villain'. "What kind of powers does he have?"

Uncle Edward nodded slightly as though pleased I was taking this seriously. "He claims he was given his powers from the devil," uncle Edward stated, "though I don't know if there's any truth in that. What I do know is that his powers are based off the seven deadly sins...or at least the ability to overwhelm others with these sins."

I stared blankly, "The seven deadly sins?"

I received a look of annoyance at my ignorance then he sighed. "Anger, pride, gluttony, greed, envy, lust, and sloth. His power is a form of projective empathy, able to make people feel these things. He's an anarchist and his usual goal is to tear down and destroy those who claim to be morally superior. The Sinner arrived in the city last week and has made his presence known twice so far. The night he arrived he overwhelmed a large crowd with anger and caused a riot where three people died and fourteen required medical attention. Two nights ago he hit a church gathering with greed and caused a large number thefts and robberies. There was one death as a result and several injuries."

"Damn," I exclaimed.

"This is just what the Sinner has done since coming to this city," uncle Edward scowled. "He's caused a lot of death and damage in other cities before this. I need to stop him before he can cause more carnage." He gave me a steady look for a moment before asking, "Can you find him with your clairvoyance."

"I...I'll try," I answered. I stared at the picture of the Sinner and tried to concentrate on knowing where he was much in the way I'd concentrated on knowing what card was on the top of the deck. I concentrated so hard that I was starting to feel a little dizzy but I still had no idea where to find him. I finally shook my head, "Nothing..."

"You said you could locate me and the rest of the family," uncle Edward said, not sounding judgemental just disappointed. Then he sighed, "But you've never met the Sinner and maybe you need that to make the connection..."

"I'm sorry," I told him honestly. I certainly didn't want to see uncle Edward kill anyone else but if I could help to catch this Sinner guy after what he's done I certainly would.

Uncle Edward just nodded. "Then I'll have to hit up one of my contacts and see what I can find... I can't leave until he's stopped..." He paused for a moment to look at me and add, "I'll see if I can find anything about the attack on the house too..." His eyes narrowed. "Like who's behind it."

"Okay," I said, following uncle Edward to the door, wondering where we were going.

However, he stopped and held out his hand to stop me. "Wait here," he told me before he left.

"Damn," I grimaced once he was gone, feeling as though I'd just been abandoned even though I knew I shouldn't. I should have known better than to think he'd take me with him. That didn't make me feel better about being left behind though.

With a shake of my head I went back to the table and practiced guessing the cards again. It had become easy to do though I started getting dizzy when I did it too many times in a row. Still, it was a good way to distract myself...at least for the next hour.

By the time I was done, I was feeling a bit dizzy so stopped and closed my eyes for a few minutes which helped the dizziness fade away. I decided that I'd had enough practicing for now. If I kept this up for much longer I'd probably pass out from the dizziness.

Since I had nothing else to do for the moment I started to look around uncle Edward's place though snooping would probably be a more accurate word. There wasn't really much more than I'd already seen though. The whole building was split up with some personal living areas, some training space, and storage for weapons. I don't think he expected anyone to come visiting so he didn't make any effort to hide anything.

I eventually ended up in the bathroom to take a leak and change my pad. I was a little relieved to see that there wasn't as much blood on it this time. My cramps hadn't been quite as bad either so I crossed my fingers in the hope that my damn period was coming to an end.

"This is the last one," I muttered as I put on a new pad. I really hoped I wouldn't need any more though I wasn't about to count on it. I was going to have to go shopping. "Damn," I winced, hating the idea of having to go into the store to buy more pads. It was so embarrassing...

I turned and stared at my reflection in the mirror, letting out a sigh as I did so. I looked a little exotic with my pink hair and the violet color of my eyes but I was also very pretty. As much as I might be embarrassed by it I couldn't deny that I was a girl now. I even had a period to prove it.

I silently stared at myself for several minutes before I sighed, "I'm a girl..." Then with a shake of my head I quietly added, "I need a girl name..." That idea sat in my stomach like a lead weight. I sighed then reluctantly admitted, "I certainly don't look like a Joshua anymore."

This isn't the first time I thought about changing my name to match my transformed body. In fact, I'd thought about it quite a bit during that extremely long bus ride though the idea of actually doing so had felt like I was giving up on ever being able to go back to my old self. I'd been thinking about it even more though since I'd found out the truth about grandpa and now it felt more like just surrendering to reality.

"I can always change my name back when I find a way to reverse this," I thought aloud though silently there was a very large 'if' in there instead of a when.

I turned away from the mirror and made my way back to the living area where I sat down and considered what names I might possibly use. If my name had been Mike or John it would have been easy to just use the girl version Michelle or Joan but that didn't really work with Joshua. There wasn't really a girl version of that so I had to come up with something else.

After considering this for awhile I turned my attention to my sisters for inspiration. "Katie and Evie," I mused aloud. Or if I was going to be technical it was Kaitlyn and Evelyn. I thought about it for a minute more before a name came to me. "Joselyn," I said aloud, thinking that it was at least a little like my real name since it started with the same letters and I could use Josie or even Jos for short.

"My name is Joselyn Knight," I said aloud as I tried out the name.

It had a nice sound to it but it didn't sound quite right. It didn't sound like ME. I had a feeling that would be the case with any new name I tried using...at least until I got used to it and started to think of it as my own. I wondered if that was the way it was for heroes who first started their careers and had to get used to using their code names.

"I'm Josie," I held out my hand and practiced introducing myself. "Call me Jos"

I sighed and shook my head, feeling silly for doing this. But in spite of that my imagination was starting to run a little with the idea of what it would be like being a girl for real. I thought about what it would be like living that way, going to school, and even having guys hit on me.

Then my thoughts drifted a little and I absently wondered what I'd look like in girl clothes...other than the plain ones I was currently wearing. I looked down at myself and tried to imagine my new body in sexy lingerie or even a dress. I bet this body would look good in that stuff.

"Damn," I grimaced, shaking my head to clear out these weird thoughts. I blushed in embarrassment at what I'd been thinking and muttered, "Too much estrogen." Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot I could do about that.

That did however draw my attention back to the biggest reminder of my new feminine situation. My period and the fact I was out of pads. As uncomfortable as they were to wear I'd still rather have one than not at the moment. I didn't want to risk waiting too much longer before buying more.

I wrote a quick letter to uncle Edward saying I was running out for supplies real quick though I neglected to mention exactly what those supplies were. A few minutes later, I snuck out the back door of the movie theater lair and starting looking for the nearest store that might carry what I needed.

Buying feminine hygiene products the second time wasn't any less embarrassing than the first. To make it worse, this time the cashier was a woman so I couldn't make her forget about it. So a few minutes after I'd entered the store I hurried out with a bag in hand and a bright blush on my cheeks.

"Damn," I grimaced. "I sure hope I don't have to do this every month..." I silently prayed to whatever God was listening that I'd never have to go through this whole period thing again. However, I also knew that I'd go through it again every month if it meant my family would come back safe.

As my thoughts shifted to my family, I closed my eyes and tried to sense them. I could still feel them waiting in the distance in the same direction I'd been feeling them. I focused on each of them one at a time and winced as I realized that Dad had been hurt. I didn't know any more than that and even concentrating harder did no good.

"Dad," I whispered, feeling extremely worried. I thought tears would come bubbling up again and I struggled to keep them down.

Then I suddenly became aware that uncle Edward was nearby and was in danger. I snapped around to look in the direction I sensed him from, guessing it was only about two blocks. Though I wasn't sure, I guessed this probably meant he found the Sinner.

I knew that I should probably stay away and let uncle Edward handle this himself. After all, he was an experienced hero who could handle himself while I was...well...I wasn't. However, I was also sick and tired of running and hiding. I don't think I could bear it if one more member of my family got hurt in front of me while I did nothing. Not again.

"This isn't a good idea," I told myself as I began running in towards uncle Edward though at the moment I didn't care.

When I got close to where I felt uncle Edward, I was startled to see the front window of a restaurant smashed in with a bunch of people inside fighting to get behind the counter. Then I looked and saw a hot dog cart on the sidewalk with two cops stuffing their faces with hot dogs, not even bothering to use buns.

"Gluttony," I exclaimed in realization. All these people were going crazy for food.

I didn't stop to watch these people gorge themselves. Instead, I continued towards uncle Edward. I saw him a minute later...along with the Sinner. The Sinner looked just like he did in the picture I'd been shown though he was wearing a pair of those John Lennon sun glasses with round lenses.

At the moment, uncle Edward sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, looking strangely exhausted. One of his guns was on the ground just a short distance away from him while the Sinner stood in front of him with a smirk.

"So you're the infamous Black Sheep," the Sinner grinned down at uncle Edward. "I was warned about you before I came here...though honestly I'm not impressed. Of course, a little sloth takes the wind out of anyone...even self-righteous pricks like you."

Uncle Edward groaned for a moment and looked as though he was starting to slowly reach over for his gun. The Sinner just watched him with a look of amusement then bent down and picked the gun up.

"Did you know," the Sinner mused aloud, "everyone has their own sin...a sin that they are most drawn to. My sin is pride. Yours I would imagine is anger." He paused to stare at uncle Edward for a moment then he shook his head. "While I would love to see you completely succumb to anger, I fear that at the moment I would be the target and I can't have that."

"Don't expect the police to come save you," the Sinner smiled as he started to point the gun at uncle Edward. "When I left the police station a short time ago they were all about as slothful as you are now..." Then he chuckled, "Between that, killing you, and turning the city council meeting into an orgy it's been quite an eventful day." Then he shook his head and added, "Too bad it will all end for you..."

"Stop," I called out, pushing with my powers, "Drop that gun."

The Sinner responded to my command by dropping the gun back to the ground. He stared at me in surprise, looking confused as he probably wondered why he'd just done what I told him. Then he started to grin.

"I see the Black Sheep has a sidekick," the Sinner chuckled. "Is your name Mary by any chance?"

Suddenly a strange and powerful feeling swept over my body. My nipples hardened and began to poke out while my panties began to feel very wet. I let out a gasp of shock as I realized that I was suddenly turned on... No, not just turned on but completely and totally fucking horny. I suddenly felt hornier than I'd ever felt in my entire life. My entire body...no...my entire being craved sex. I wanted...no NEEDED to get fucked NOW.

The part of my mind that was still rational realized that the Sinner was using his power to fill me with lust though the rest of me just didn't care. All thoughts of saving uncle Edward slipped from my mind as I looked for someone to have sex with. There were men and women nearby, coming out of buildings or watching the with morbid fascination that was usually shown at car wrecks.

I nearly ran to a very cute looking young man who was close by, grabbing him and kissing him as passionately as I could. He staggered back, looking shocked as he tried to push me away.

"Kiss me," I ordered him and he began to kiss me back. I moaned in delight, frantically grabbing at his clothes and trying to take them off. I wanted him... I needed him... He was still resisting me so I commanded, "Fuck me..."

The man was starting to tear at my clothes now as well but then he sudden paused with a loud yawn and started to collapse to the ground. He looked as though he had no energy at all now but was still trying to follow my commands.

"I don't think so," the Sinner exclaimed as he grabbed my arm. "This one is mine..." He grinned evilly, licking his lips as he did so.

I didn't care that he was an evil super villain or that he was using his powers on me. All I knew was that I wanted to fuck someone and he had a cock that would work just as well as the other guy. I jumped on the Sinner with the hunger of a starving man who'd just been offered food.

Suddenly the Sinner was knocked back with a loud gasp of pain. An instant later this overwhelming lust receded to just a lot of horniness. I was able to think again and looked to uncle Edward who still looked wiped out though he also had a grimace of determination on his face and a gun in his hand. He'd fought through the power of sloth enough to shoot the Sinner and save me from fucking him.

"Un...," I started, then remembered to use his code name. "Black Sheep..."

"Leave...her...alone," uncle Edward snarled though it obviously took a lot of effort just to get those words out. However, the Sinner's injury had weakened his power over us and uncle Edward was then able to start getting back to his feet as well.

"I don't think so," the Sinner snarled with a furious pain and hate filled expression.

A moment later uncle Edward gasped and staggered, no longer looking completely exhausted but having another expression...a stranger expression. It was almost like a hunger in his eyes as he watched the Sinner.

"Your power," uncle Edward gasped, "I want it..." It took me a moment to realize that uncle Edward was no longer being overwhelmed with sloth but with envy. Then it shifted again and he staggered only to look up with a look of intense lust in his eyes.

"Switching sins like this is stressful," the Sinner grinned through his pain. "Not only on me but on you... I can tear you apart this way..." He winced slightly and suddenly uncle Edward shifted again, this time clutching his stomach and looking as though he were starving. "I can kill you this way..."

"No," I grimaced, still feeling very horny though that was fading more and more as the Sinner turned his full attention on uncle Edward. "NO!"

I barely even thought of what I was doing as I charged the Sinner, calling on my energy power as I did so. He was a short distance away so it only took me a couple steps until I was within reach to slam the pink energy dagger I'd just formed into his stomach.

The Sinner yelled in pain and staggered away from me while the pink dagger faded away. I just stared at my blood covered hand in shock and horror, hardly able to believe what I'd just done.

"You BITCH!" the Sinner snarled as he clutched his stomach where I'd stabbed him. He turned his full attention on me and looked as though he was about to unleash his full powers on me as well.

I braced myself to defend against whatever sin he was about to throw at me but there was no need as uncle Edward was on his feet, armed with his gun in hand, and seemingly free from the Sinner's powers. And at the moment he looked royally pissed.

"This ends now," uncle Edward scowled, firing several shots into the Sinner's chest.

The villain fell to the ground in a spray of blood. "No...," he gasped out weakly, bleeding from his mouth. "Please... Mercy..."

Uncle Edward lowered his gun for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't do mercy," he said grimly, looking at me before adding, "especially not for someone who hurt my niece..." Then he fired one more shot and finished the Sinner.

"My God," I gasped, shaken by what I'd just seen uncle Edward do. He'd been so cold blooded about finishing the Sinner off. I felt sick to my stomach then stared at my own blood covered hand, knowing that I'd done my part to. "What did you do? What did I do?"

"We did what we needed to do," uncle Edward told me sympathetically. "Come on...let's get home..."

I felt numb as we went back to his movie theater lair, tired and confused as well. I was horrified by what I'd seen him do...yet relieved as well. The Sinner had scared the hell out of me and a part of me had wanted him dead...especially after what he did to me...after what he made me feel. That was what freaked me out the most.

Once we arrived at the lair I washed the blood off my hand then sat down on the couch, still shaken by everything that had just happened. Though I was shocked by the cold blooded way uncle Edward had finished off the Sinner I was more concerned about me...about what I'd felt and what I'd done. That man had nearly raped me... No, I told myself, he'd only done that because I ordered him to. The truth was that I'd nearly raped him...

I closed my eyes, shaking a little at the memory of how I'd felt. I'd been so horny...so overcome with lust that I hadn't even been able to think clearly. All I'd wanted was to fuck someone...anyone. My stomach churned at the memory of just how powerful that had been...and what I'd almost done.

My thoughts also turned to that man whom I'd almost forced to fuck me. Would he be blaming himself for what he'd almost done...even though he had no control over it? I felt sick to my stomach at the realization that I'd done to him exactly what the Sinner had done to me. The fact that I hadn't been in my right mind at the time didn't make me feel much better. I knew that I'd have to be very careful about how I used my own powers from now on. It would be far too easy to abuse them and hurt innocent people.

Uncle Edward kept giving me sympathetic looks as he took off his black trench coat then went to the area that served as his kitchen. He came back a minute later and handed me a glass with some scotch in it. There wasn't much in there...only about an inch but it was enough to show that he was attempting to treat me as an adult rather than a kid. I appreciated the effort.

I took a sip of the liquid and winced at the taste. It was the first time I'd ever tried this stuff and I couldn't say I enjoyed the taste. The warm that went down my throat and into my stomach did offer a strange sort of appeal though.

"It wasn't your fault," uncle Edward finally said, sitting down beside me and putting a gentle hand on my knee. He looked tired and a little uncertain of what to do though he was trying. "You couldn't help yourself...no one can. That's why the Sinner was so dangerous. He could make people do things that they'd never do on their own...things that they'd regret for the rest of your life. Don't blame yourself for what he made you feel..."

"But you were able to fight him," I responded quietly.

"I've had practice," he responded gently. "Besides, even the laziest person will respond to the right situation..."

"You shook off Mindwipe's powers too," I pointed out, feeling even worse about my own failure to do the same to the Sinner.

"I was just prepared for him," Uncle Edward told me with a very faint smile. "I'd found him twice before but each time I had he made me forget that I had or why I was there... That last time, I made sure I knew exactly who I was looking for and why well in advance. He could erase my short term memory but not that far back..."

I just stared at the glass in my hand before taking another sip and wincing again. Neither of us said a word for the next minute though I could tell uncle Edward was trying to be as reassuring as he could. It was pretty obvious though that he was well out of practice. From what I could see, he didn't have a lot of people around him. He'd been away from the family from a long time and didn't seem to even have any friends.

"I...what you did to the Sinner," I whispered..."To Mindwipe..." I felt guilty at having mixed feelings over the Sinner's death. Dad had always told us that a real hero never killed intentionally.

"I know you don't approve," uncle Edward said after a short silence. "Heaven knows your father doesn't..." He shook his head and took a sip of his own glass of scotch. "Unfortunately...it was necessary."

"I was about your age when I first became Minute Man and joined the family business," he said quietly. He stared at the glass, looking even more tired. "At first it was incredible... I could beat the bad guys, save the day, and be a hero. Eventually the bad guys would escape from jail and then we'd have a rematch... It was all like a great game."

Then uncle Edward abruptly asked, "Do you remember my girlfriend Jenna?" I scowled, not sure I sure I did. I think I could vaguely remember some girl he was usually with but I couldn't remember any details. He didn't seem to notice my uncertainty as he continued, "We weren't engaged but we had been talking about it...about possibly getting married.

"Oh," I responded, not sure what else to say. I was a little confused about this change of topic.

"There was a villain called the Creep," he continued, talking more to himself than to me now. "He wasn't like the other villains we usually fought... He wasn't after money, power, or even revenge. He was a serial killer. He killed just for pleasure. We'd stopped him several times but he'd just escape and kill more people... Then one of those times, just a couple weeks after my father died he broke out again and killed some kids... In the fight, he fell off the top of a building and would have died...if Will hadn't saved him. The Creep had just murdered children but your father still rushed in to save him..."

Uncle Edward looked a bit shaken and took a large drink from his glass. "That sounds like Dad," I said weakly. Dad was always trying to be the perfect hero...to save people regardless of whether he thought they deserved it or not.

"Three months later," uncle Edward said, his expression going grim again, "the Creep escaped. He went on a killing spree and murdered nine people... He'd also learned our real names and came after us at home...killing Jenna before we could stop him."

"Oh shit," I exclaimed, staring at uncle Edward in horror and sympathy. This time I was the one who put my hand on his knee to try comforting him.

"I realized that we'd been treating this as a game," he said quietly. "It isn't a game... There are lives at stake... If Will had let the Creep die then Jenna and those nine other victims never would have died... If someone had killed the Creep the first time he'd done this instead of just locking him up...then nearly two dozen innocent people would have still been alive."

"I killed him," uncle Edward told me. "Then Will and I had words... I blamed him for the Creep's killings and he called me a murderer. Then we had more than words...we actually fought. Afterwards, I left and haven't seen anyone else from the family until now..."

"Oh," I whispered, feeling a bit shaken from the story. This was why Dad wouldn't even mention his brother's name... This was why my favorite uncle had disappeared without a word. This was the deep dark family secret that no one dared to talk about.

Uncle Edward gave me a steady look and said, "I don't do this because I like killing... I don't... I do this because it's a necessary evil... Too many heroes make the mistake of treating this as a game when its not. There are consequences they don't want to consider. They just lock these monsters up even knowing that they'll eventually escape and kill all over again... People like the Creep...like Mindwipe...and like the Sinner are rabid dogs who will keep killing again and again until they're stopped. When you're dealing with monsters like them you can't afford to treat them with kid gloves just because it makes you feel better. You can't afford to show them mercy...because others will pay the price. I do what I do not because I like killing...and not even for revenge. I do it to save lives."

At this point uncle Edward got up and gave me a sad smile. "I truly wish that I could have stopped the Sinner from doing this to you...that I could have stopped him from hurting everyone else. The only comfort I can really offer is the knowledge that he'll never do that to anyone else again..."

I just stared at uncle Edward, feeling a little confused. He'd started off trying to comfort me and had instead gotten caught up in his own issues. I understood him a lot better now but couldn't help but feeling sorry for him. I suppose his efforts to distract me from my own self pity had worked to a degree, though I don't think he'd originally intended it this way.

"Damn," I muttered, finishing off the scotch in my glass. Now I felt even more confused than ever.

Then uncle Edward called back, "Get some rest while you can. We have a rescue to perform and we're leaving early..."

I just nodded at that, telling myself that I could afford a breakdown and time for some counseling once my family was safe. Until then, I had to keep my head together and remain focused. Unfortunately, my hormone fueled emotions had other ideas.

Once again I was traveling on the road trip from hell though this time I was sitting in the passenger seat of an old Dodge van instead of an uncomfortable bus seat. Uncle Edward sat beside me in the passenger seat, dressed in civilian clothes that just seemed a little off on him. Neither of us had spoken much since we'd begun the trip.

I spent most of the time lost in my own thoughts, thinking about the attack on my family and just how helpless I'd been at the time. I thought about the fear and agony I'd felt cowering under the tree roots while my body was completely reformed. And of course, I thought about what the Sinner had made me feel.

I blushed as I remembered just how horny I'd felt, just how completely overwhelmed I'd been by my own desires. I remembered the way I'd looked at that nameless man whom I'd nearly raped. He'd seemed so attractive to me at the time, so desirable. I could clearly remember just how much I'd wanted him, just how much I'd needed him inside me.

When I was under the influence of the Sinner's powers I knew I would have fucked anyone...but I went after him. There were other people present as well...even a very attractive woman who'd been closer to me than he was. I hadn't gone after the woman though. I'd gone after the man.

I couldn't help but remembering that or the dream I'd had last night. I'd had an erotic dream and had woken up still feeling a bit turned on. And though I couldn't remember many details from the dream I did remember that it had something to do with me kissing a guy. I blushed horribly at that memory, wondering if it was some lingering effect from the Sinner's power or maybe something from my subconscious mind.

Perhaps I would have just accepted that explanation and not given the dream any more thought if it hadn't been for what happened this morning. I felt extremely self-conscious when I remembered the dream but downright embarrassed at what had happened at the gas station.

When we'd stopped at a gas station to fill up the van, I found myself watching a boy around my own age. At first I wasn't sure why he seemed so interesting then I'd been startled to realize I felt attracted to him. I was actually attracted to a boy and even worse...dirty thoughts had started to slip into my mind.

I wanted to blame this all on the Sinner...to assure myself that this was just a residual effect of his power...but I couldn't. Although the idea made me very uncomfortable, I think what the Sinner did was flip a switch inside me...making me aware of something that was already there.

My own sense of self-identity demanded that I stop thinking along these lines but I couldn't. As hard as it was to admit even to myself, I couldn't remember feeling attracted to any girls at all since my transformation. I've seen a couple real hotties since then...and though I'd been aware of how attractive they were I just hadn't felt it.

I closed my eyes, trying to assure myself that I've just been under a lot of stress. I couldn't be expected to think like I normally do when my body had been changed and my family had been kidnapped. However, I knew that this wasn't the case. My sixth sense was tingling and assuring me that I was on the right track...that the truth was simply that I was no longer attracted to women. The truth was...I was now turned on by guys.

My stomach knotted up as I considered this, knowing that I shouldn't be too surprised. My entire body had been twisted and transformed into that of a girl. I had the boobs, slit, and even the damn period to prove it. I now had girl hormones running through my veins and the mood swings that came with them. And though I hadn't done any genetic tests yet, I was certain I now had a pair of X chromosomes under the hood without a Y to be found.

I felt a strange sort of calmness settle over me as I considered what this all meant. For all practical purposes, I was no longer a boy trapped in the body of a girl. I could no longer think of myself as a boy at all. The truth was that whether I liked it or not...I was now a girl.

Then I glanced at uncle Edward, noticing that he was lost in his own thoughts as well. I'd been so caught up in my own drama that I hadn't considered what this would be like for him. The family he'd cut ties with ten years ago had suddenly come back into his life with a vengeance, desperately needing his help. This had to be bringing up a lot of painful old memories.

Uncle Edward looked over at me and may have guessed what I'd been thinking about the whole drive. "So," he asked with a faint smile, "Have you thought of a name for yourself yet?"

"Yeah," I responded quietly, feeling extremely self-conscious as I told him, "Joselyn."

"Joselyn?" he blinked in surrprise. He hesitated a moment before saying, "That's a good name and I guess it suits you now... But what I really meant was have you thought about a code name?"

"Oh," I blushed in embarrassment. "Um...not really."

Uncle Edward just nodded at that. "Since I could use my physical enhancement for approximately a minute, Minute Man seemed like the perfect name." He shook his head slightly and chuckled, "In retrospect it wasn't a very good name but at the time I thought it was cool...that it sounded patriotic."

"I'd imagine you got teased a bit," I grinned.

"Especially by Will," he grinned back. "But my powers have kept growing since them and my bursts of enhancement can last a bit longer. Still, Five Minute Man doesn't sound much better..."

I just chuckled, having an image run through my mind of him rescuing some damsel in distress and then introducing himself as the Minute Man. In my imagination, I saw her staring at him for just a moment before she bursts out laughing, telling him that she was going to invite him home to show her gratitude but that she'd changed her mind.

If uncle Edward had been trying to lighten the mood then he'd succeeded at least a little. In spite of everything that was going on I couldn't resist chuckling at the fictional scene that played out in my mind.

"I haven't really thought about a code name," I told him with a sigh. "I mean, everything is happening so fast..."

"Maybe Pink," uncle Edward told me with a faint smile. "It goes with your hair color and the color of the energy you summon..."

"I guess I really do have a whole pink theme going on," I smiled back.

"You don't have to pick immediately," he told him. "Nor do you have to stick with your first choice. When your dad first started he was calling himself the Squire and he used that name for about two years before changing it to the White Knight."

I nodded at that. I've seen some of the old pictures...even though Dad keeps trying to hide them."

Uncle Edward just chuckled, "I'm not surprised. His original costume was pretty bad."

After this we continued driving in silence for several minutes. My thoughts were once again turning back to my situation and my newly realized girlhood when he interrupted those thoughts again, almost as though he himself were psychic and had done this intentionally.

"I talked to one of my contacts," uncle Edward abruptly announced. He waited a few seconds for me to respond and when I didn't he continued. "I wasn't able to find where they are but I was able to get something..."

"Yeah?" I encouraged him with barely contained excitement.

Uncle Edward nodded and reached beside his seat, pulling out a folder. "From what you told me about who was there I was able to find out who they've been seen with lately. I wasn't able to find out much more than who the actually attackers were." With that he handed me the folder.

I opened the folder and there was a picture of the Bitch, dressed up with black leather pants and a red shirt much as she'd been the last time I saw her at the bus station. There was also a file about what was known about her which wasn't actually a lot. It said she had enhanced reflexes, slightly enhanced strength, enhanced senses, and a bit of a healing factor. It also said she was a mercenary, hated wearing costumes, and had a fondness for guns and knives.

There were files like this for each of the people who'd been at the house during the attack. There was Sidestep, Skull Face, and the Fallen without a lot more information in any of the files than that I already knew. The only thing that was new to me was the file on the last member, the large muscular man who'd been fighting aunt Gina.

"He's called Muscle," I said with a shake of my head. "Are all the good code names taken?"

Uncle Edward just grunted while I read through the file, seeing pictures of him in his regular costume rather than that special uniform they'd all worn when they attacked my family. His file wasn't really very impressive either, revealing that he was a hired thug with super strength and invulnerability. There were a few notes about some of the heroes he'd fought but I only paid half attention to that.

I doubted that anything uncle Edward had found here was going to do us much good. After all, I'd already seen all the important bits with my own eyes. But for some reason, just having their files right here in front of me made me feel more prepared to encounter them again. For some reason, it made me feel just a little more confident. I definitely needed that extra confidence.

"Most of them are small time," uncle Edward told me, not taking his eyes off the road. "Bank robberies...hired muscle...that sort of thing. The Fallen is the only one who doesn't quite fit. She was a hero...a member of the Seven with Will before she turned murderer... I suppose she does fit in with the rest of them now."

"Dad took it pretty hard when she went bad," I said with a sigh, remembering the look of betrayal on his face when he realized she was his attacker. "He left the Seven because of her..."

Uncle Edward just nodded at that then said, "From what you've told me they were well prepared when they came to the house. They attacked when the entire family was gathered in one place and they had countermeasures for the most dangerous powers. None of these five are capable of setting up something like this. Someone is pulling their strings but I haven't been able to find out who or why."

"Our family has a lot of enemies," I pointed out with a shake of my head. "It could be anyone..."

"Unfortunately, you're right," he agreed. Then he abruptly asked, "What's their current status?"

I pointed in the direction we were heading, sensing my family in that direction. We were getting closer with every mile we traveled. I couldn't tell exactly how far away they were but was fairly sure we'd get there today. Then I closed my eyes and tried to focus on them one at a time. They were all still alive though Dad was still hurt. I didn't know how bad though and that worried me.

For the next few hours we played the game of 'hot' and 'cold' as we got closer to them or started to veer off course. I grew more excited as we got closer, sure that we would finally be able to find and help our family. We were in the middle of nowhere with nothing but scrub brush, tall hills, and the occasional scattered farm when Uncle Edward pulled the van off the road.

"This place is starting to feel familiar," he explained to me with a thoughtful scowl. "Now what direction are they from here...?"

I pointed and he nodded to himself. Uncle Edward went into the back of the van and grabbed his lap top and began working on it while I turned around and watched him from the passenger seat. When he was done, he leaned back and scowled.

"I'll be damned," uncle Edward finally exclaimed. He turned back to me and said, "I think I know where they are..."

"What?" I gasped in surprise.

"There was an old mine about thirty miles that way," he said, pointing in the same direction I could feel my family from. "It used to be a front for one of Lord Dark's operations."

"Lord Dark?" I gulped, wondering just how much trouble my family were actually in. Lord Dark used to be a major villain...world conquest type stuff. I thought he'd died years ago but you never knew for sure with that sort.

"I've been there before," uncle Edward told me with a scowl. "It was about eighteen years ago..." He shook his head then sighed, "The only reason I remember was because I was about your age and it was my second official mission as Minute Man..." For a moment he just at there with a thoughtful look on his face. "Chris was too young to go with us but that never stopped him from following us anyway..." Then he turned to me and smiled faintly, "That was also where Will and your mom met for the first time..."

"Really?" I blinked in surprise.

"We were trying to stop Lord Dark and several other heroes were too," he told me with a faint look of amusement. "Your mom was one of them."

I just sat there for a moment before gulping, "Do you think Lord Dark is behind this?"

"I don't know," uncle Edward told me after a moment of consideration. "But it doesn't seem his style."

"If it is him," I asked carefully, "shouldn't we call for help?"

"From who?" he asked with a snort. "I'm not exactly a member in good standing of the super hero community...not anymore. Most of them would just as soon lock me up as the real slime. No...I don't have any contacts that could help." Then with a sigh, he quietly turned away and said, "It's just you and me."

"Okay," I responded, feeling kind of pleased that he'd included me in that.

Uncle Edward hesitated for a moment then abruptly said, "There's something I want to give you..." He handed me a cardboard box then sat watching me expectantly.

I opened the box then stared in surprise at the spandex costume that I pulled out. It was the same costume I'd brought with me which Evie had originally discarded, but it was different. The costume had been a mix of black and white but all the white parts had now been dyed a bright pink, about the same shade as my hair.

"I thought the changes suited your coloring a bit more," he explained, pulling his own costume out from where he'd hidden it.

"It looks...nice," I told him with mixed emotions. On one hand, I was damn near jumping for joy that he'd do this for me...that he'd customize a costume just for me. On the other hand, I couldn't help but thinking that I already had too much pink in my life as it was. I had to admit though that it did go with my hair and energy power quite well. "Suck it up," I muttered to myself, "You're a fucking girl now so you can handle a little pink."

I stared at the costume for nearly a minute before realizing that there were a few extra additions he'd included in the box. There was a black domino mask as well as a black belt which had a pink knight's helmet symbol on the buckle. My eyes started to tear up as I saw the family logo.

While I was looking over the costume uncle Edward was changing into his own costume in the back of the van. Once he was through, it was my turn to go back there and change. He made sure not to watch but I still felt self-conscious.

I was suddenly even more thankful than before that my period had finally ended last night. This costume was a bit tight and I figured a pad would probably have been even more uncomfortable than before.

The costume felt a bit snug but it felt kind of nice as well. It had built in athletic support for my breasts, a feature I never would have imagined needing in a costume until recently but which now seemed a necessity. I felt a surge of pride as I put my belt on, delighted to finally be wearing the family logo.

The last touch was my mask which had a built in adhesive to keep it stuck to my face. I doubted the mask would actually do much good for keeping my identity secret though since there weren't many girls with bright pink hair. Still, with the costume and mask on I had to admit I was starting to actually feel like a real super hero.

I looked myself over in the small mirror uncle Edward had brought for this very purpose, amazed at how I looked. I had to admit that the pink and black costume looked really good on me. Pink really was my color.

"As if there was any doubt," I mused wryly as I formed a ball of pink energy in my hand.

"Now you look ready," uncle Edward told me with a nod of approval. I just blushed in response.

With our costume change break finished we got back on the road, more energized and ready now that we had an actual destination. We soon turned onto a dirt road and made our way to the mine, stopping the van just a short distance away and making the last hundred yards on foot.

My first view of the mine was a large gravel crater that had a lot dump trucks and mining equipment scattered around, torn to pieces and rusted to hell. It didn't look like this place had actually been used in a very long time.

"It looks about how we left it," uncle Edward scowled as he looked around. "With more rust."

"It's the right place," I said, turning my attention to the large mine shaft at near the bottom of the crater which went even further into the ground. The entrance was large enough for a dump truck to drive through. "There..."

Uncle Edward nodded then looked around. He lowered his goggles and looked more intently, scowling deeply as he did so. "I don't see any security," he finally said.

"What next?" I asked

"You stay here," he told me. "I'll go down and check it out."

"But..," I started.

He held up a hand to stop my protest. "I don't want you getting hurt... I'm not going to put you in any more danger than I absolutely have to."

I grimaced and waited impatiently as he went down into the crater and towards the mine shaft. About fifteen minutes later I suddenly had the impression that he needed me yet I didn't think he was in any immediate danger. I wasn't sure what was going on but I was starting to trust my sixth sense so began following after him.

I made my way down into the mine, sure that my power would warn me if I was in any immediate danger. I didn't have to go down very far before the mine split off to one side. I immediately turned and went down the side split where I found the path blocked with a thick concrete wall that had a metal door.

Uncle Edward stood in front of the door, not looking at all happy. My guess was that he hadn't been able to get it open. Then he noticed me and grimaced even more deeply, reminding me of just how dangerous he could be.

"I thought I told you to stay back there," he told me.

"I thought I could help," I shrugged, turning to look at the wall in front of us.

"The last time we used the other entrance," uncle Edward scowled. "Blew it up pretty good when we left too and collapsed that part of the base..." He stared at the door. "As strong as I am when I'm surging I'm not strong enough to break through this. I was just about to blow the door open..." He held up a small explosive which he carried on his belt. "Unfortunately, this will give away our presence when it goes off..."

"Just a moment," I said, staring at the door and the keypad on the wall beside it. I concentrated on the keypad and smiled as the combination came to me the same way that the top card from the practice deck had. After entering the combination the door opened right up. I just smirked and told uncle Edward, "After you..."

"Show off," he muttered as he drew one of his guns and went through the door. I noticed though that he hadn't told me to stay behind again.

Inside the door was an actual hallway though the walls, floor and ceiling were all dirty looking concrete. I saw no sign of anyone in the hallway nor much sign of this being a heavily used facility.

"Careful," uncle Edward warned me as he cautiously looked around. "There might be a security system..."

"There isn't," I responded almost before I realized it. I looked around and felt absolutely certain that there were no video cameras or other security systems in this hallway. My sixth sense was just a little scary at times with how well it worked.

Uncle Edward just nodded but didn't argue with me. Instead he mused, "This place doesn't look like its been heavily used... They probably thought that being hidden was enough security..."

"Of course they also have at least five people with developed powers," I pointed out. "We are kind of outnumbered and outpowered..." I tried to sound casual about his and not let my nervousness show. The truth was, no matter how outnumbered or outpowered we were...no matter how afraid I was...I wasn't about to turn back now.

We had gone just a short distance further when I suddenly froze, knowing that someone was coming. I didn't hear anything but that didn't matter. My sixth sense said that there was someone there and it hadn't been wrong yet. Uncle Edward saw me stop and paused as well, looking around even more intently.

A moment later I heard noise coming from a doorway just before a large man stepped out into the hallway. He was tall and heavily muscled with a red and black costume which had no arms or mask so his gray colored skin was quite visible. From the man's physique I was able to recognize him as one of the attackers at the party and thanks to the file uncle Edward had given me to read I was able to identify him as the villain called Muscle.

Muscle was surprised when he saw us and exclaimed, "What the hell...?"

Uncle Edward was in motion almost immediately, drawing his second gun and firing both of them right into Muscle's chest though this seemed to have little effect. Since both guns had silencers this was strangely quiet until Muscle yelled in anger and smashed his fist into the side of the wall, causing a large chunk of the concrete to become crushed under his fist. Then he started coming towards us.

"That was stupid of you," Muscle snarled as he threw a punch at uncle Edward.

Uncle Edward dropped his guns and moved with super human reflexes, easily dodging the punch then slamming several of his own into Muscle's sides. He then kicked Muscle and caused Muscle to get knocked back a bit though it certainly hadn't done anything more than that. However, when Muscle came at uncle Edward again, uncle Edward grabbed his arm and used his own momentum to throw him onto the ground with a loud thud that cracked the concrete floor.

"Holy shit," I exclaimed, stepping even further back from this fight since there wasn't much I could do. Then it dawned on me that there was. "Wait," I called to uncle Edward.

However, my warning was too late as uncle Edward had already pulled two grenades which were shaped somewhat like rolls of quarters and had thrown them at Muscle. Then uncle Edward threw me through the doorway Muscle had come out of so I wasn't caught in the explosion which immediately followed.

I stepped out of the room, expecting to see a horrible mess. However, Muscle was getting back to his feet, his costume badly damaged and his skin blistered but he seemed unharmed otherwise. He did looked really pissed though.

"You're gonna die for that," Muscle snarled.

"Damn," uncle Edward grimaced, looking more scary than afraid.

"I don't think so," I exclaimed, glaring at Muscle and pushing with my power as I commanded, "Muscle...don't move a muscle."

Muscle just stood there, glaring at me and uncle Edward without making a move. For a moment, he didn't seem to realize that there was anything unusual then a look of understanding crossed his face. "You did something to me..."

Uncle Edward didn't say a word as he picked up his dropped guns and put the barrel of one of them into Muscle's mouth then fired several shots. The large man fell backwards and hit the ground motionless. The whole thing was done in just seconds with uncle Edward looking grim and cold the entire time.

"You killed him," I gasped, "You didn't have to..."

"I'm not here to play games," he told me grimly. Then he bent over and touched Muscle's neck before snorting. "He's not dead anyway... Pity."

"He's still alive?" I stared down at Muscle, my sixth sense assuring me that he was indeed still alive. However, it didn't tell me what kind of condition he was really in or if he'd even remain that way.

I had a feeling the only reason uncle Edward didn't just shove a grenade down Muscle's throat and finish him was because I was standing there watching. He gave me a softer look before saying, "We've made too much noise and someone is bound to have heard..." He gestured to Muscle. "They know they've got an intruder now...but not how many."

"What do we do?" I asked, trying to remain calm and professional. It wasn't as easy as Dad made it look.

"I distract them and make sure they come after me," he said after a moment. Then he put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. "You have to find everyone and free them."

"You can't take everyone by yourself," I blurted out in horror. "There are at least four developed...maybe more."

Uncle Edward just gave me a faint smile. "Maybe. Maybe not. But I can certainly hold off until you free some extra fire power."

Then without another word he turned and ran down the hallway, leaving me by myself in the middle of a super villain headquarters. I felt a chill of fear run down my spine but knew that it was absolutely nothing compared to what I'd felt while cowering under the tree stump. Reminding myself that I'd not only survived much worse but also now had developed powers of my own was enough to raise my confidence. A reminder of why I was really here was enough to fuel my determination. There was no way in hell I was going to let my family stay here a single minute longer than necessary.

I could sense my family nearby though I could now tell that they weren't all held in quite the same place. When I concentrated on them one at a time I could tell that they were held in different locations. It made sense when I thought about it. If they were kept separated then they could be used as hostages to ensure the others wouldn't attempt anything. Katie and Evie seemed to be together and were the closest to where I currently was so I went towards them first.

I carefully made my way through the halls, feeling nervous yet excited at the same time. I suddenly felt someone coming towards me again and paused to look around for a place to hide. There was a door across from me with another key pad beside it. I grinned as I quickly entered the combination and went inside, hiding in what looked like an old storage room until I felt that it was safe to come out and continue on my way.

There were several more 'stop and hide' incidents though after the first one I was careful to keep a nearby hiding place in mind as I made my way down the hall. I could also feel uncle Edward in danger and the slipping out of it several times. I tried not to worry about him though, knowing that he could take care of himself and that I had people depending on me who couldn't.

Fortunately, in spite of those delays my powers led me almost straight to my sisters. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the metal door and the fact that there were no guards. My heart raced with excitement and I couldn't help but grinning like an idiot. I'd finally found my family...or at least two of them.

There were two pairs of goggles hanging beside the door, the very same kind the attackers had worn at the party. They were obviously meant so that anyone who went in would be able to see Evie, though how they worked with the psychic nature of her powers I don't know. There was also a video screen next to the door showing the inside of the room so my sisters could be checked on without anyone having to go inside.

I stared at the small room, feeling angry at the sight. It was a small room with mattresses set on the floor and what looked like some kind of portable toilet in the corner. It was no wonder everyone was split up if the rooms were all this small. There wouldn't be room for more than a couple people in any one room.

"The bastards," I snarled, furious at anyone who would dare do this to Katie and Evie.

It only took me a moment to get the door code and step inside. Evie and Katie were both wearing the same clothes I'd last seen them in and looked as though they hadn't had a shower since then either. That only stirred my anger even more though I could see I wasn't the only one feeling that way. Katie looked mostly tired but Evie had a dark edge to her eyes that I'd never seen before. Her eyes narrowed as she saw me and she suddenly started to blur.

I immediately realized that Evie was trying to use her powers on me though it didn't have much effect. My powers appeared to be counteracting hers because she looked just a little blurry to me but I could still see her quite easily.

Then I realized that Evie thought I was with the kidnappers and was about to attack me when she thought I couldn't see her. I knew I had to diffuse this fast because the last thing I wanted right now was to get into a fight with my sisters.

"I'm here to rescue you," I exclaimed, holding my hands up to show I was unarmed. Then I turned and looked directly at Evie. "You might as well turn it off because I can still see you."

Evie took several steps to the side as though testing my ability to see her. The fact that I kept watching her convinced her that I could so she dropped her power and no longer looked blurry at all. That was actually a relief since I had the feeling that if I had to keep seeing her like that I would have ended up getting dizzy from pushing my powers.

"Who are you?" Katie demanded suspiciously.

"I'm...," I gulped, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious again. How the hell could I tell them who I really was? I couldn't do that...at least not yet. "Call me Pink...," I said, using the name uncle Edward had suggested since I couldn't think of anything else.

Then I noticed Evie staring at me with a curious expression that turned suspicious again. "Your costume looks a lot like one I came up with once..."

I frowned, definitely wanting to avoid that line of questioning. "We need to get going," I told her, wanting to distract her.

However, it was Katie who suddenly pointed at my belt and exclaimed, "She's wearing our family symbol..." This earned even more curious and suspicious looks from both of my sisters.

"Who are you?" Evie demanded again, looking far more serious than the little sister I was used to dealing with.

"Okay," I sighed with a roll of my eyes. "I'm actually your daughter from a possible future. I came back in time to save your life and make sure I eventually get born..."

"Really?" Evie and Katie exclaimed simultaneously.

"No," I responded, turning and walking out the door. "I'm just fucking with you..."

I could feel them both glaring at my back before Katie muttered, "Now you sound just like my brother..."

I couldn't resist smiling at that and joking, "Then I'll take that as a compliment. Now come on...we have a family to rescue."

Sneaking through a super villain base by myself had been scary though now that I had my sisters with me it was far worse. The two extra bodies would make it much more difficult to hide quickly and there was the fact that if we got caught I wouldn't be the only one to pay the price.

I glanced at Katie, knowing that my first priority was to hide her in a safe place while I freed the rest of the family. I wasn't nearly as concerned about Evie since her invisibility meant she was even less likely to get caught than me. I saw Evie glancing at her younger twin as well, probably thinking the same thing I was.

"We have to get you in a safe place before we can free the others," I told Katie, hoping she wouldn't argue with me too much on this. She had a very determined look on her face that assured me she wasn't going to just go into hiding after everything that had happened. Hopefully Evie would side with me on this.

"Who are you?" Katie demanded, "Why are you so worried about my family?"

"And why are you wearing that costume and symbol?" Evie added. Then she hesitated before telling Katie, "But Pink is right..." She looked almost guilty for saying that.

"I know," Katie reluctantly agreed though she certainly didn't look happy about it.

"Did you come to rescue us by yourself?" Evie asked me.

"No," I shook my head. "I came with someone else..." I hesitated a moment before adding, "I came with un..."

Suddenly I froze as I felt someone nearby. I barely had time to turn before I saw a man in a costume step into the hallway. He was skinny with a purple and black costume with a little gold trim. His entire head was covered with a one piece purple mask. The mask didn't make much difference though because I recognized Sidestep.

"What the...?" he gasped in surprise. Then he sneered, "An escape..." A moment later there was a flash of violet light as Sidestep vanished only to instantly reappear right behind Katie with a knife to her neck.

"Katie," Evie and I both blurted out in horror.

"Don't move," Sidestep ordered, looking at me and snapping, "I don't know who you are but don't you dare move..." Then he looked at Evie and snarled, "Take one step or even turn invisible and I'll slit her throat just like I did your brother..."

"What?" Katie, Evie and I all exclaimed simultaneously. I knew he was lying but they didn't and they both suddenly looked horrified.

"You killed Joshua?" Evie demanded, her expression turning from horror to absolute fury in the blink of an eye. I could see tears starting to come.

"No," I exclaimed, trying to assure her it was a lie. "He..."

Before I could finish, Katie screamed, "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Then she suddenly began to glow with a golden light.

Sidestep backed away in surprise, not expecting her to start glowing. Evie and I were no less surprised. Katie took advantage of Sidestep backing away to turn around and shove him, sending him flying all the way down the hallway. Both Evie and I stared at her in amazement while she then looked own at her glowing hands with a look of surprise as well.

"Enhanced strength," I said, knowing that I shouldn't have been too surprised. Katie had demonstrated enhanced strength once before when she accidentally tore the door off the car. She hadn't been able to duplicate it since then but it seemed that the stress of the situation was enough to make her powers fully develop.

Sidestep got back to his feet and though I couldn't see his face through the mask I could feel him staring at Katie. "Little bitch," he snarled before suddenly teleporting again, this time appearing right behind Katie and stabbing her in the back with his knife.

"Katie," I cried out in horror, only to realize a moment later that the blade had never actually touched her. The golden glow surrounding her body had stopped it cold. "You've got a force field..."

Katie paused with a look of surprise, then she turned and glared at Sidestep with the realization that she was not only super strong but effectively indestructible. She grinned and it was not a nice grin...especially coming from my little sister. "You killed my brother..."

"Now you're going to pay," Evie continued, turning invisible to Sidestep's eyes.

"Drop that knife," I ordered before he could get any more ideas.

Sidestep dropped the knife as I commanded and then backed up nervously, suddenly realizing that he was in deep trouble. "Damn," he snarled before suddenly disappearing in a flash of violet light.

"Oh shit," I grimaced.

"What's wrong?" Katie demanded. "We scared him off..."

"He ran to get help," I pointed out grimly. "Now they'll know I'm here and you two are loose... He'll probably be back with reinforcements."

"Good," Katie snarled, her eyes narrowing dangerously. In fact, her expression suddenly reminded me of uncle Edward. "I'm going to make them pay for killing Joshua..."

I just stared at her, feeling a little touched by their determination to avenge me. I even felt myself starting to tear up though quickly pushed it down. It seemed just a little easier to do since my period was over.

"Sidestep lied," I said quietly making both Evie and Katie both stare at me. "They never caught...Joshua."

"He's alive?" Evie grabbed my arm and stared me in the eyes as it to make sure I wasn't lying to her.''

"No," I said quietly, staring at the ground in embarrassment as I braced myself to tell her...to tell them. "I'm..."

Then my sixth sense tingled again and I suddenly snapped around to look down the hallway. "They're coming..."

"How do you know?" Katie asked.

"That's part of my power," I explained just as the two villains came running into view.

The Bitch was in front with a pair of knives in her hands while Sidestep was right behind her. The Bitch stopped for a moment and looked over the three of us, her eyes locking on me the longest. Then she sniffed the air and scowled.

"You," the Bitch snarled. "I know your scent... You're the one who helped the boy escape from us..."

"You helped Joshua get away too?" Katie stared at me with a look of relief on her face.

"You'll pay for that," the Bitch sneered before she suddenly jumped at me with her knives.

Suddenly, Katie threw herself between us and blocked the attack. The knives hit her and bounced off much to my relief. I'd never forgive myself if Katie got hurt trying to help me. Then Katie grinned and punched the Bitch, sending the woman flying back into a wall.

"You fucking brat," the Bitch snarled as she got back to her feet, only to have one of her knives torn out of her hand by Evie whom she couldn't even see.

While Katie and Evie were busy with the Bitch, I was left to deal with Sidestep. Or at least he decided that he should deal with me...probably because he now realized he couldn't hurt Katie and he couldn't even see Evie. He didn't know what powers I had but seemed to think I'd be an easier one to deal with because he teleported right behind me and hit me, shoving me through an open doorway into a large empty room.

"I don't usually hit little girls," Sidestep said, pulling a new knife from his belt.

"That's funny," I sneered, "That's about all I've seen you do..."

I stared at Sidestep with a mixture of anger and fear. I was absolutely pissed at what he'd tried doing to Katie and couldn't help but remembering that this was the man who'd chased me down into the woods during the attack. This was the man who had me cowering under the tree roots during the worst night of my entire life. Echoes of that fear were stirring again and I didn't like that one bit.

"Drop the knife," I ordered him, grinning evilly as I realized I could order him to just stand there and let me do anything I wanted. There was a large part of me who wanted to do this, to make him feel as scared and helpless as I had. However, a larger part of me insisted that I at least give him a sporting chance at a fair fight.

"I don't need a knife to take you out girl," Sidestep said, acting as though it was his own decision to drop the knife. Perhaps he thought it actually was. Most the people I control act as though whatever I tell them to do is perfectly normal.

Sidestep suddenly disappeared in a flash of violet energy and reappeared beside me, punching me in the face and knocking me back before I'd even fully realized he was there. Then he jumped back laughing while I winced in pain. I clenched my firsts and glared at him, determined that there was no way this slime ball was going to beat me. I refused to be afraid of him any more.

"Come and get me," I spat at him, forming a pink energy dagger in one hand. Then after a moment consideration I formed one in my other hand as well.

"I could wait here for the Bitch to finish your friends and then come help me," Sidestep said, sounding amused. "But where's the fun in that? I think I'll have some fun before I kill you."

Sidestep teleported behind me and shoved me from behind, then as I turned to try slashing at him he teleported again. It was almost like he was dancing around me as he teleported in back of me, to the side, punching and shoving me. I realized that he was playing with me, thinking that a teenage girl couldn't possibly be any kind of a threat. I was damn well gonna prove otherwise.

It was hard to focus with him teleporting around and shoving me but I was still able to concentrate on my sixth sense. I realized I could feel him...I could feel where he was teleporting to just a split second before he did it. It wasn't much but it was all I needed to suddenly drop down and throw an elbow behind me, avoiding Sidestep's punch while catching him in the solar plexus.

"Gotcha," I snarled, snapping around and slashing at him with one of my knives, catching him with a light graze along his side. I'd been horrified at myself the first time I used one of these on the Sinner but now I realized just how useful they were. I made a mental note to get some lessons in knife fighting in case I ever needed to do more of this.

"Little bitch," Sidestep snarled at me as he jumped back and then teleported to the other side of the room. "I'll make you suffer for that..."

"You already did," I snarled furiously, throwing one of my knives at him.

He looked shocked when my knife hit his shoulder though no more shocked than I felt. I hadn't expected to actually hit him since all of Dad's energy constructs vanished when they were more than two feet away from him. Mine didn't fade away until after I hit him. I threw another knife at him but missed this time. I made a mental note to add knife throwing to my list of skills to learn.

"You attacked and kidnapped my family," I spat at him as I rushed forward and kicked him in the stomach, following that up with a knee to his groin and a sweep of his feet. He hit the ground hard and gasped in pain as I kneeled over his chest to pin him down and held a knife blade to his throat. "You kidnapped them... You burned down my home..."

"You're one of them," he gasped out in surprise. "You're a Knight..." Then he frantically exclaimed, "It wasn't personal..."

I just glared at him even harder as I spat, "You... You chased me into the woods..."

"I chased a boy," he responded in confusion as well as a growing fear.

"I hid from you in a muddy hole," I grimaced, spitting out my rage and frustration, "too afraid to make a noise even when my body started tearing itself apart from the inside out... Every bone in my body twisted and broke... You can't imagine the agony of having your body...of having every fucking fiber of it ripped apart and changed... And I was too fucking scared to even whimper... And the whole time," I leaned down and snarled right in his face, "all I could think of was you and what you were doing to my family..."

Sidestep stared at me with a look of definite fear now, realizing that I wasn't just some harmless teenage girl. I was a royally pissed off one who had both the motive and the ability to kill him right then and there.

"But even worse than all that," I pressed my energy blade closed to his throat, close enough for him to feel how sharp my rage was. "Even worse than that...you held a knife to my sister's throat." My eyes narrowed dangerously as I imagined shoving the knife down as hard as I could. I could even hear uncle Edward urging me on in my mind, assuring me that it would keep him from ever doing something like that in the future. "NO ONE HURTS MY SISTER!"

Sidestep gulped and defiantly spat out, "Do you expect me to beg for mercy?"

"No," I scowled, bending down and whispering into his ear before I grinned evilly at him and said, "But one way or another you're never going to hurt anyone like that again..."

"Fuck you," Sidestep exclaimed before he suddenly teleported away from me.

I heard a scream in the distance and winced as my power told me that Sidestep had missed where he was aiming for and had accidentally teleported partially inside a wall. He was still alive but wasn't in any condition to hurt anyone else again. When I'd whispered the command that he no longer remember how to use his powers, I'd thought that would keep him from teleporting at all. I hadn't thought it would only make him forget how to control them. However, I didn't feel the least bit guilty for this.

Suddenly, I realized I wasn't alone and turned to see Evie standing at the doorway staring at me with a wide eyed look of shock. I hadn't noticed her standing there before and knew it hadn't been due to her powers. I'd just been so caught up in dealing with Sidestep.

"I...I came in to help you," Evie stammered. I felt a cold knot in my stomach. "You said... Your sister..." She took several steps toward me, staring at me with a look of confusion and disbelief. "It can't be..." Then she finally gulped "Joshua?"

I gulped then stared at the floor, unable to meet her eyes. I felt too shamed and humiliated. I knew this was coming...that I'd have to tell her and the rest of the family but I hadn't imagined it being like this. I slowly nodded and quietly said, "I...I WAS.."

Evie just stared at me for a moment before gasping, "Oh shit."

I nodded at that then paused to exclaim, "Katie..." I'd gotten so caught up in this that I almost forgot my twelve year old sister was fighting a dangerous super villain.

Evie and I both rushed back into the hallway just in time to see the Bitch tripping Katie and knocking her to the floor. Then she actually picked Katie up and threw her against the wall. Katie hit and slid down, not hurt at all by this impact though just a few seconds later the golden glow around her faded away. I could sense that not only was her force field gone but so was her enhanced strength. She'd used up all her power for the moment.

"Not bad for the first time she used her powers," I muttered to myself. Then I quickly assured Evie, "She's all right..."

"You kids are really pissing me off," the Bitch growled at us. "And when I get pissed I become a real bitch..."

The Bitch snarled again and this time I could see her teeth were all very sharp and growing longer and sharper. As I watched, her eyes turned yellow and her ears became pointed. Then she held up one of her hands and watched with obvious delight as her fingernails grew longer and sharper, turning into actual claws.

"Oh shit," I gulped, suddenly having a very bad feeling about this and not just from my power. I took a nervous step back while Evie turned invisible.

The Bitch started to grow larger, causing her clothes to start ripping under the strain. Her face began to stretch out in an unnatural way that made me wince. Then hair began to start sprouting all over her body.

"She's a werewolf," Katie exclaimed in fear.

"No shit," Evie blurted out.

"And I'm all out of silver bullets," I gulped, suddenly realizing that things had become much worse. Uncle Edward's file hadn't said anything about this.

In just seconds, the Bitch had torn out of her clothes entirely and transformed into a creature that was more wolf than human. If she stood straight she'd probably be six and a half feet tall but she wasn't standing straight, she was hunched over as though her body wanted to run on four legs instead of two. She also stared at us all with a very malevolent look in her eyes.

"Run," I gasped, though my sisters needed no urging as they'd already started doing just that.

The bitch didn't chase after us immediately but took the time to actually howl. I didn't know what it was with villains deciding to play with us but I wasn't about to complain. I could use every extra second I could get.

"Damn," I grimaced as we ran down the hallway, wishing uncle Edward would show up with some of his overkill fire power. I wouldn't have been surprised if he carried silver bullets on him just in case. I also silently cursed him for not doing a better job as a distraction.

The Bitch finally came chasing after us, though when we turned a corner she couldn't stop fast enough and slammed into the wall. It was only a small delay but her lack of grace gave me an idea. I just hoped that the Bitch didn't have really good hearing as I explained my plan to Katie and Evie.

We ran back to the room where my sisters had been held prisoner and then went inside, quickly taking our places. I stood right beside the door, crouched down low with a pair of energy knives in my hand. Katie was crouched down beside me, using me as a shield between her and the monster coming through the door.

We barely had time to get in position before the Bitch charged through the door with a loud growl. I waited until she was all the way inside then slammed both of my daggers into her back, right behind the neck. She howled in pain while I formed and threw two more daggers at her as she started to turn.

"Gotcha," I grimaced.

The Bitch tried turning towards me but she suddenly found the invisible Evie dumping the bucket from the portable toilet over her head. The contents smelled absolutely foul and were probably even worse for someone with an enhanced sense of smell. Between that, the bucket blocking her sight and the wounds I'd given her from my daggers, the Bitch was extremely distracted giving all three of us the opportunity to back out of the room.

I let out a sigh as I closed the door, knowing that the key pad on the inside had been disabled so that room could be used to imprison people. I could hear the Bitch snarling, howling, and banging on the thick metal door but there was no chance she was going to get out of there soon.

"We did it," Evie exclaimed, looking almost surprise.

"I can't believe I got to fight a werewolf," Katie grinned, looking just a bit tired. "I can't wait to tell Mom..."

"She'll probably ground you," Evie pointed out. Then she added, "And us for letting you..." Then she turned to me and hesitantly asked, "What now?"

"Now," I took a deep breath and looked in the direction I sensed Dad from, "Now we go and free the rest of our family."

Katie gave me a curious look, "Huh?"

"Later," Evie told her before nodding at me. "Let's go."

We started going towards Dad and I turned down a hallway that seemed like it should be a direct like then paused when my sixth sense told me it wasn't a good idea. I didn't feel like there was any danger down there just that it wasn't the right way to go. Still, I was curious about why not so started going down the hall until I hit a corner and saw that it was collapsed, the roof having fallen in and blocked the path entirely.

"What happened here?" Evie asked.

"Knight Force," I said with a faint smile, remembering what uncle Edward had told me about having blown up half the base the last time they were here. At Katie and Evie's blank looks I added, "It was about eighteen years ago..."

I couldn't help but feeling a little smug at knowing more about this than they did even though I'd only found out a short time ago myself. Then since my curiosity was satisfied about why I couldn't go that way to get to Dad, I turned to find another path feeling confident that my power could lead us to him.

Suddenly there was an explosion in the distance, powerful enough that I could feel the ground shake for a moment. "What was that?" Katie demanded, glowing golden again for just a second before it faded.

"Uncle Edward," I grinned, relieved that he was being a little more obvious in his distractions. Since I didn't feel him in any danger I was pretty confident the explosion was a distraction and not a battle.

"Who?" Katie asked with a blank look.

"The Black Sheep," I added.

"You know," Evie told her, "Dad's brother who no one ever talks about..." Then she turned to me and asked, "Is he really here?" I just nodded at that then gestured for them to follow me.

I tried concentrating on the best way to get to Dad, realizing suddenly that even though Dad was closer to my physically it would be faster getting to Mom. The collapsed passage meant that I'd have to take the long way around to reach dad but I wouldn't have that problem with Mom. That only left me to worry about why they'd been separated.

"This way," I told my sisters.

"How can you be sure?" Evie asked me skeptically.

"Feminine intuition," I told her with a forced smile, earning an odd look.

Evie had already been giving me odd looks since finding out who I really was and was giving me even more now. Katie picked up on this and began giving me more curious looks as well even though she didn't know yet.

A minute later we were close to Mom and I could now hear voices from around the corner. I gestured for my sisters to be quiet as we crept closer. I slowly looked through an open doorway into a very large room that had four people in including my mom.

"Mom," Katie gasped though Evie quickly put a hand over her mouth and gave her a warning look.

Mom looked unharmed though she was wearing the same clothes as the last time I saw her and looked as though she hadn't showered either. I saw a metal collar around her neck that looked kind of high tech. I stared at it intently and suddenly knew that it was keeping her powers turned off.

I immediately recognized two of the people from the attack on the house. One was Skull Face who was now wearing his normal uniform, an outfit that was mostly black with a little white trim. He had a white cape with a pair of skull shaped broaches as well as a belt with a skull shaped buckle.

The other attacker present was the Fallen who was also wearing her usual costume, a red and dark gray spandex suit with gold metal belt, shoulder pads, and wrist bracers. She stood back glaring at Mom as though she had some sort of personal grudge against her.

However, my attention was on the last person present...the man who was obviously in charge since he was giving orders to Skull Face and the Fallen. He was blonde, tall, athletic and handsome in that square jaw manner that reminded me a little of my dad. His costume was blue and white with a stylized F on his chest and included a white cape as well as silver metal shoulders.

I stared at the boss with a cold chill down my spine and what felt like a lump of lead in my stomach. I recognized the boss... Of course, I should since I used to have a poster of him on my bedroom wall. He used to be a hero. He used to be MY hero.

"Force," I gasped in disbelief.

Force used to be a major super hero before he had some sort of breakdown and went a bit crazy. He was a member of the Protectorate...the group my grandpa helped found. He was a member of the Elite alongside my uncle Leon. And more than that, Force used to be Mom's boyfriend and partner before she hooked up with my Dad.

"Force and Deception," I grimaced, remembering that Force and my mom got their powers in the same accident. After she left him for Dad and joined Knight Force he went and joined the Protectorate where he went on to become a great hero...until his fall from grace.

At the moment Mom was glaring at Force though he barely seemed to notice her. He was telling his two subordinates, "We seem to have an intruder and I haven't heard back from the others... Skull Face, I want you to go check on the others. Fallen, I want you to go watch our prisoners. It's likely that this is a rescue attempt." Then he looked at Mom and scowled, "I'll keep Deception here with me."

"I can't believe you Scott," Mom glared at Force. "You were a hero... You were my friend... What happened to you?"

"I AM a hero," Force snapped at my mom. "No one else seems to remember that... The Protectorate betrayed and abandoned me... The Elite betrayed and abandoned me... The whole world betrayed and abandoned me...locking me up in Mount Prometheus as if I were some villain."

"Oh really?" Mom snorted. "And that's why you kidnapped me and my family...? Because you're a hero...? No...what you are is an arrogant bastard who's gone insane. You always had a huge ego but this..."

"You were the first one to betray me, Ellen," Force spat at her angrily. "You were the one who started it all... I was a great hero and lost everything...and all because you pushed the first domino." Then he gestured around the room and added, "And maybe you remember that this was where it happened."

"Is that what this is about?" Mom asked with a raised eyebrow and a carefully controlled voice. "You're trying to win me back so that you'll get everything else back too?"

"Of course not," Force scowled. "You're damaged goods now. I just want you to pay for what you've done..."

"Revenge is such a good motive," Skull Face commented from the side, watching the exchange with amusement. "Personally, I prefer profit but revenge is a real classic."

"Shut up," Force snapped at him.

"My God," Evie whispered from beside me. "That's..." I held up a finger and shushed her, trying to pay attention.

"Then let my family go," Mom said with a sigh of resignation. "If it's me you want...you've got me. There's no need to keep them too..."

"But keeping them hurts you," Force pointed out with a faint smile. "Besides, do you really think I'm stupid enough to let them go knowing that they'll immediately come back for a rescue?"

"So you just hire a bunch of cheap thugs to kidnap my family and hold us prisoner," Mom scowled, obviously having a hard time controlling her voice. "You have gone way over the line Scott..."

"Who are you calling a cheap thug?" Skull Face asked. "I'm a very expensive thug..." He paused for a moment before adding, "You know I'm being paid a LOT if I'm going to be working or the guy who broke both my arms and threw me behind bars."

Force glared at Skull Face, "You're tempting me to do it again."

Skull Face just shrugged, not seeing bothered by the threat. "Of course, the money isn't the only reason I'm here...just the main one." He looked at Force and added, "I wanted to see the great Force being the bad guy for once..."

"I am NOT a bad guy," Force growled.

"Of course not boss," Skull Face quickly said. If he'd had any eyes in his head he'd probably be rolling them right now.

"And you," Mom turned to glare at the Fallen. "You were on the same team as my husband... You were his protege.. How can you justify attacking his family for money?"

"I'm no mercenary," the Fallen scowled, glaring right back. "This isn't about money. This is personal."

"The Fallen and I have much in common," Force said with a smug look. "I'm not paying her to help me...not in money at least. All I gave her was the truth...and revenge."

"Revenge?" Mom gasped in surprise, staring at the Fallen. "For what? You were the one who murdered your teammate then ran off to join the Black Guild."

The Fallen looked as though she was going to answer but Force said, "I gave you two jobs to do... Go do them..."

Skull Face and the Fallen nodded then left through another door. Mom was left along with Force, her former boyfriend and partner turned super villain mastermind. I clenched my fists at the sight, trying to think of what I should do...of what we should do.

"He's alone," Evie whispered to me with a grin. "We can take him out and save mom..."

"No," I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from rushing in. "He's invulnerable..." Then I corrected myself, remembering his actual powers weren't quite what he'd made the public think for all those years. "He has an invisible force field on at all times and he's really powerful...not to mention really experienced." I looked at her then at Katie before shaking my head, "We wouldn't stand a chance against him..."

"But Mom," Katie protested.

"We'll get everyone else first," I grinned. "I have a feeling that Dad will want a word with him..."

"Yeah," Evie nodded agreement. "Dad definitely will...and so will everyone else."

However, Katie was giving me a curious look. "Pink, you called him Dad..."

"Later," Evie told her, apparently deciding my real identity could keep a little longer. "He told the Fallen to go watch the prisoners so I'll follow her right to them..."

"We'll be close behind," I told her. "Just be careful."

Once Evie had crept out of sight I looked at Katie. I wanted to get her into a safe place before she got hurt but knew that was no longer an option. She was safer with me where I could at least try to protect her. Of course, I reminded myself, if she had enough juice to call up her new powers again then she might be the one protecting me.

Katie looked extremely worried, even more so now that she'd seen Force was the one behind everything. I put a hand on her arm and tried to reassure her though I didn't have time to do it very well. Of course, I wasn't feeling very reassured myself at the moment and had to promise myself that everything would be all right once we found where the rest of the family were being held.

Evie had followed the Fallen though Katie and I couldn't do that without walking right past Force. And since he didn't seem to be leaving I had to use my sixth sense to find an alternate route just as I had been earlier. Katie and I had to hide from Skull Face once but other than that we were able to catch up to Evie with no problem.

I peaked around the corner and saw the Fallen standing in the middle of a room with her arms crossed while Evie stood a short distance away unseen. The Fallen was glaring at something while Evie stood there looking nervous and impatient.

One look was enough for me to see that unlike the room my sisters had been locked in this one was actually designed to hold prisoners. I could see four cells, two on each side of the room. Each one had an open front with some sort of glowing transparent wall to keep the prisoners in. I would have thought it was a force field but two of the cells had the windows shattered and pieces of what looked like crystal were scattered all over. The other two cells which were intact were filled with members of my family.

"Two of the cells are broken," I mused, seeing that they looked pretty damaged from the inside and it looked as though it had happened a long time ago. My guess was that it happened eighteen years ago. That was also obviously why my sisters had been locked up in a room that had just been converted to that purpose. "Not enough room for everyone..."

From where I was at I could see Dad, uncle Chris and Ryan in one of the cells, all of them with those power dampener collars around their necks. And though I couldn't see into the second working cell from my position I could sense that it held uncle Leon, aunt Gina, and Angela That just left the question of where were Marissa and Natalie, uncle Chris' wife and daughter. I closed my eyes and concentrated for a moment and I could feel them a short distance away. It took a little more concentration to get that they were in another makeshift cell like the one Evie and Katie had been locked in.

Katie stared at the cells and gasped, looking as though she were going to charge straight at them. I grabbed hold of her to keep her from doing that, hoping she didn't call up her enhanced strength to fight me off. I didn't want to charge in until we had an idea of what we were going to do.

Evie saw me and nodded, then gestured to the Fallen and mimicked hitting her in the head with a baseball bad. I liked the idea but unfortunately there were no baseball bats or anything else around she could use.

Suddenly the Fallen snarled and snapped around, making me grimace with the expectation that we'd been found out. However, instead of looking at us she instead stomped over to the prison cell that held Dad and just glared at him. It seemed her conversation with mom had really pushed her buttons because she was looking pissed.

Dad stood up and faced her with a wince, showing a large bruise on one side of his face. I could feel that he had other bruises all over his body though I didn't know if it was Force or one of the other villains who'd given them to him. He stared at the Fallen not with a look of anger like I would have expected but of sadness and disappointment.

"You could have been a great hero," Dad told her with a shake of his head. "Now look at what you've done...at what you've become. Is this who you want to be?"

"Shut up!" the Fallen snapped angrily at him, forming a sword of golden energy in her hand. "You don't have the right to talk to me like that... You gave that up before I was born..."

"What?" Dad gasped.

"What?" the Fallen sneered with a look of hatred. "You thought I wouldn't find out? Well you thought wrong..."

"Jessica," Dad started gently.

However, the Fallen was having none of that and snapped, "Shut up!" She raised her sword to threaten him with it, not seeming to care that there was a crystal wall between them. "You got my mom knocked up and then left her for that bitch Deception... You abandoned us..."

I gasped in shock at that and certainly wasn't the only one. Uncle Chris and Ryan both stared at Dad in surprise while Katie gasped beside me and whispered, "I have a new sister..."

"Two," I responded absently, only to earn another look of stunned confusion from Katie.

"Mom must have felt honored to be with you," the Fallen spat out bitterly. "After your big breakup with the gorgeous Ms. Miracle you chose to be with someone like her...someone ordinary and without powers. But you were just using her and left as soon as you found someone you thought was better... You didn't want anything to do with me...not until I had powers so you could use me too... She never told me though...never told me about you before she died. I had to find out from Force."

"It's not like that," Dad protested. "I had no idea she was pregnant... I had no idea you even existed. When I heard about a rookie hero running around the town where your mother lived...with similar powers to my own...I realized who you had to be. Afterwards, I tried doing right by you. I tried teaching you what I knew..."

"Right," the Fallen sneered. "You tried doing right by me...which is why you never told me you were my father. You never told me I might actually still have a family... Well you're right...I don't have a father. I don't have a family. I don't have anyone but myself."

"I didn't want to complicate things with my family," Dad admitted, looking ashamed. "I wanted to tell you... I intended to tell you some day but it never seemed the right time... Perhaps that makes me a coward but its the truth."

"Then let me simplify things for you," the Fallen told him with a dangerous look. "I'll simplify your life by removing one cripple..." She glared at uncle Chris who just met her look without flinching. He even looked as though he was daring her.

"You wouldn't...," Dad gasped with a look of anger.

"I killed the man I loved," the Fallen glared at him. "Killing a stranger shouldn't be much of a problem..."

Suddenly, the Fallen swung around and slashed with her sword at the air beside her...just two feet from where Evie had been moving up on her. Evie gasped and jumped back, losing control of her power for a moment and becoming fully visible to the Fallen.

"You can thank your cousin for giving you away," the Fallen smirked at Evie, absently gesturing to Ryan. "He kept staring at you... It's a good thing I knew you'd escaped your cell or I might not have caught it..."

"Evie," Katie exclaimed, breaking free from my grip and charging forward with the golden glow forming around her body again.

"Katie," Dad gasped in shock at the sight of her.

The Fallen grimaced and fired a beam of golden energy from one of her hands, hitting Katie in the chest and knocking her back a little though not hurting her. A moment later Katie was charging forward again, hitting the Fallen and sending her flying back.

By this point, I was in motion as well, cursing myself for letting Katie do what I should have done myself. I formed a pair of pink energy knives in my hands and raced towards my newly discovered sister, wincing as I threw one of them right at her. However, the Fallen suddenly formed a shield of golden energy and blocked my knife.

"Are you okay?" I asked Katie, feeling worried about her after she'd been hit even though my sixth sense told me she was completely unharmed.

"Did Katie just throw that bitch across the room?" Ryan gasped, staring at Katie.

"Her powers finally developed," Dad exclaimed with a look of pride.

"I didn't think you had powers yet," the Fallen scowled at Katie, obviously not happy about this surprise. "Too bad for you...I wouldn't have hurt you before..."

"You're not laying a finger on her," I glared at the Fallen, ready to jump between her and Katie if I had to. I had no idea when Katie's powers might run out again and didn't want to take any chance of her getting hurt. I threw another knife at the Fallen but she was able to knock it aside with her sword.

Then the Fallen abruptly held out her hand and fired another beam of golden energy from her palm, this time aiming at Evie. Suddenly the angry look on her face was replaced by one of shock and pain as she was suddenly thrown back by the force of a gunshot in her chest.

I snapped around to see uncle Edward coming into the room with both of his guns in hand. He looked dangerous and grim as he fired several more shots into the Fallen's chest, sending her flying back and to the ground.

Katie gasped in surprise and backed away from uncle Edward with a look of fear and confusion on her face. It was then that her powers gave out on her again and her force field and strength faded away. That must have made her more afraid since she had no idea if he was a threat to her or not.

"It's okay," I told Katie. "He's with me..."

"Is that..?" Evie asked, staring at uncle Edward cautiously.

"Edward," Dad exclaimed in surprise. Considering the circumstances it was almost a surprise when he didn't actually sound happy to see his brother.

"Will," uncle Edward greeted him then gave a nod to uncle Chris. "Chris."

"Damn," uncle Chris exclaimed. "You're about the last person I expected to see here..."

Uncle Edward nodded, then looked at the other cell and gave a nod to aunt Gina, uncle Leon and Angela He then turned his attention back to the Fallen who was on the ground groaning in pain.

I stared at her, seeing that she was wearing a bullet proof costume that kept her from being killed by uncle Edward's shots. However, she'd still had the wind knocked out of her and was going to be badly bruised. For a brief moment I was afraid that uncle Edward was going to put a bullet between her eyes and finish her off but he looked away instead. I just let out a sigh of relief, not sure if this show of mercy was because he'd overheard that she was part of the family or if he just didn't want to kill anyone in front of someone as young as Katie.

"You suck at distractions," I told him with a glare.

"Sorry," he apologized. "It didn't work out like I planned... They reactivated one of Lord Dark's old robot zombies and I ran into it." Then he looked at the cells again and asked, "Is there a control to open these damn things?"

"Beside the door," Dad said, gesturing to a key pad similar to the ones on the other doors. "You need the code though..."

"Not a problem," I grinned, concentrating for a moment and then entering the code.

A moment later the crystal wall started to melt and flow until a large opening just formed in the middle. Ryan quickly stepped out with a sigh of relief while Dad picked up uncle Chris and carried him out, a task made more difficult than usual since he still had the power neutralizing collar around his neck.

It only took a minute more to get the other cell open as well and then things suddenly became extremely awkward and embarrassing for me. I finally found my family and as fantastic as that was it also meant they could see me and how much I changed. I felt unbelievably self-conscious, knowing at the same time that I'd go through any amount of humiliation if it meant saving my family.

However, it only took me a short time to realize that no one was paying much attention to me. I was getting some looks of curiosity from just about everyone but not a single look of recognition. They were obviously all wondering who I was but were giving most of their attention to uncle Edward.

"Edward," aunt Gina exclaimed, suddenly grabbing him in a hug. "Where have you been...?"

"Edward," uncle Leon nodded with a smile.

"Hey big bro," uncle Chris grinned.

Dad just stared at him for a moment, his expression a bit unreadable. He just grimaced and said, "It's nice to see you...especially now."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed happily. "So you're the long lost uncle Edward..."

Katie stared at him in amazement and curiosity before suddenly asking, "Are you really my uncle?"

"I'm afraid so," he said with a faintly amused smile. He was obviously a bit uncomfortable and feeling awkward at this reunion.

"So," Ryan asked, gesturing at me, "Who's your friend?" He paused for a moment before adding, "She looks kind of familiar..."

"She's Pink," Katie chimed in though no one paid any attention to her.

But at the same time, Dad was asking, "How did you know to come find us?"

"Joshua came and found me," uncle Edward answered carefully.

"He's all right?" Dad asked eagerly, suddenly letting out a sigh of relief. "Did they hurt him at all?"

"He's...alive," uncle Edward said hesitantly, looking to me quickly before adding, "But he's..."

Suddenly uncle Christ blurted out, "Where are Marissa and Natalie?" He looked around, seeing no sign of his wife and daughter. He looked nearly frantic with worry.

I took a deep breath and pointed towards the room's entrance. "They're down the left corridor...near the end."

All eyes immediately turned to me and I squirmed under their curious gazes. Uncle Chris demanded, "How do you know?"

"Feminine intuition," I answered nervously, trying to help boost my confidence with a joke.

"It's what she does," uncle Edward responded with a faint nod. "I haven't seen her be wrong once yet. In fact, she's the one who led me here..."

"The combo for the lock on their door should be zero three five oh one seven," I said, trying to remain focused so I could at least look like I knew what I was doing. "It's the same code they used on the other three cells..."

"Do you happen to have the code to get these damn things off too?" Dad asked tugging on the metal collar around his neck.

I concentrated for a moment then shook my head. "Those require a voice recognition code from Force..."

"Somehow I doubt he'll cooperate by unlocking them for us," aunt Gina said wryly.

"Then we need to get out of here and find someone else to open them," Dad responded grimly. "Then we can deal with Force..."

"I need to get to Natalie and Marissa," uncle Chris insisted.

"We'll go get unlock them," Angela said with an angry look. She grabbed Ryan's arm and started to pull him after her.

"Not without me," uncle Chris insisted.

Neither Ryan or Angela looked happy but they didn't complain. They picked up uncle Chris who had one arm around each of their shoulders so they could carry him to the rescue. It was a bit awkward but since there was no wheelchair available at the moment it was the best they could do.

"What about Ellen?" aunt Gina asked Dad, glancing to uncle Edward and then me.

"Force has been keeping her close," Dad responded while uncle Edward and I nodded agreement.

"We won't be able to get her away from him until we take care of these collars," uncle Leon scowled. Then he shook his head, "Damn, I knew that bastard had an ego but I never imagined he'd go this far..."

While Dad, uncle Leon and aunt Gina were discussing what they'd like to do to Force and the people who worked for him, uncle Edward turned to me and commented, "I ran into Sidestep.... Very messy...and somehow I doubt he teleported into a wall without some help."

I winced at that then asked, "Did you...?" I held my hand up like a gun and pretended to shoot.

"Did I put him out of his misery?" uncle Edward asked with a look of grim amusement. "No...that would have been a mercy."

Then aunt Gina gestured to the Fallen and asked, "What do we do with her?" She was giving dad a steady look.

Dad hesitated for a moment before quietly responding, "Put her in the cell for now..." He gestured to the cell which I'd freed him from. "After the friends she's murdered...the police can have her."

"How long have you known about her?" Evie abruptly demanded of Dad. "How long have you known she was our sister?"

Dad hesitated again before sighing, "Almost two years..."

Evie and Katie both glared at Dad, obviously pissed about his keeping that secret. I felt that way a bit myself but was too overwhelmed with everything else that was going on to worry about it too much at the moment. However, I couldn't help but wondering if the Fallen would have turned bad and murdered her old teammates if Dad had told her when he first found out. If he had, maybe things would have been different and I actually would have had a real older sister.

"What are you going to tell Mom?" Evie asked.

"The truth," Dad sighed. "I should have told the truth from the start."

"This whole drama thing is nice and all," uncle Leon pointed out with a scowl, "but we still have to get out of here before Force realizes we're loose..."

Suddenly a voice boomed out, "You're too late..."

I snapped around and gasped at the sight of Force standing in the doorway with Skull Face beside him. Then I noticed the Bitch coming up from behind, still in her werewolf form and keeping one of her clawed arms on my mom's shoulders. Mom just stood there not looking afraid of the vicious werewolf who held her though she did glare at Force with an expression of hatred I'd never seen from her before.

"None of you are going to leave here," Force said, "You can think of this as your own personal Mount Prometheus...or your new family crypt."

"Do you really think you can get away with this?" Dad demanded.

"I already have," Force commented. "There's nothing you can do..." Then he looked at uncle Edward then me with a thoughtful expression, "I don't know who you two are....though you do look somewhat familiar..." This last was directed at uncle Edward who stood there with a gun in each hand, knowing that they wouldn't do much against someone like Force.

"He's the Black Sheep," Skull Face gasped, sounding just a little afraid. "I've heard about him. He kills guys like me.... But what's he doing here?"

"Didn't you ever wondered what family I'm the black sheep of?" uncle Edward asked with a nasty grin that reminded me of just how scary he could be.

"Oh shit," Skull Face gulped.

"Ah," Force exclaimed, "Minute Man... I had no idea where to find you or you would have been taken as well... I suppose I should thank you for coming to me on your own."

"So what now boss?" Skull Face asked. "You gonna smash them all to dust?" He sounded rather hopeful.

"That won't be necessary," Force smiled, gesturing to his escaped prisoners who nearly all had the power dampener collars around their necks. "They aren't much threat..." Then he pointed to uncle Edward and me, "But I have no idea about these two... Since a leader needs to delegate...take care of them."

"With pleasure," Skull Face exclaimed.

Uncle Edward immediately raised his guns to shoot Skull Face but the villain only had to glare at him and suddenly uncle Edward dropped his guns then dropped to his knees and began screaming. I formed my energy knives in my hand even though I knew it wouldn't do any good. A moment later he turned his gaze on me and reality was suddenly torn away from me.

I found myself back at the family gathering, standing in the back yard and watching my family talking and enjoying themselves. A part of me was absolutely certain that this was reality yet another part of me knew that it wasn't...that it was some sort of dream or hallucination. However, that didn't make the horror any less when my house was suddenly engulfed in flames and the group of villains appeared out of nowhere.

"NO!" I screamed out though nothing came from my mouth. I tried to run to help but realized that I was suddenly wrapped up in chains which held me anchored to where I stood.

I tried yelling a warning to my family but it did not good as they couldn't hear me and none of them seemed to even see the villains that had appeared among them. No one else even seemed to notice when Muscle grabbed my mom by and twisted...snapping her neck with a simple motion and dropping her body motionless to the ground.

"NOOOOO!" I screamed out again, staring in horror and helpless frustration as the villains started to kill my family one at a time.

The Bitch put her gun to uncle Leon's temple and pulled the trigger. Sidestep grabbed my dad and teleported...teleporting half of him away while leaving half behind. Skull Face had Ryan cowering in terror and then pulled out a gun and shot him. The Fallen dropped down from the sky with wings made of golden energy and dripping blood and took out Evie and Katie with a single swipe of her sword.

I screamed and struggled desperately against the chains to no effect. One by one my family was slaughtered in front of me while I was completely and totally helpless to do anything. Then my fear and helplessness started to turn to rage. I reminded myself that this was a dream...a hallucination caused by Skull Face's power. That didn't make it feel any less real though it did make me even angrier. The realization that this very nightmare was about to play itself out all over again in the real world finally pushed me over the edge.

I began to fight back, not against the chains but against hallucination itself. I concentrated and pushed back the same way I did when I fought off Evie's powers in order to see her. Then with a howl of rage I tore through the chains which bound me as though they were nothing.

Then I looked own at myself, noticing that without the chains covering my body I could see that I didn't look the same as I did the last time I was in the back yard. I wasn't Joshua in this dream...I was a girl. I was the new me. I was...me.

"No one hurts my family," I snarled, turning my attention to the villains who stood atop the bodies of my family. Even Force was there, smirking at the sight. That just made me even more furious...even more determined.

I formed a sword of pink energy in my hand...not a dagger but a full sized sword. Then I summoned more of the energy and created a whole suit of pink energy armor around me. Only then did I charge straight at the villains, letting out a howl of rage as I did so.

I cut Muscle in two with a single slash of my sword then turned and cut through Sidestep. The Bitch fired several shots at me but they bounced off my armor and a second later I'd impaled her on my blade. The Fallen drew her own golden energy sword and came charging at me but I didn't even wait to meet her blade. Instead fired a beam of pink energy from my hand which hit her in the chest and sent her flying backwards. Then I turned my attention to Force who was hovering in the air beyond the reach of my blade. However, I just grinned coldly and threw my sword at him the same way I'd thrown my daggers earlier. My sword hit him right in the stomach and impaled him, causing him to drop to the ground motionless.

"Now for you," I scowled, turning to glare at Skull Face.

With one final howl of anger I focused all my concentration and willpower on fighting the dream. I hit with all my rage and determination, knowing that if I failed my family would die again....this time for real. And a moment later the dream shattered around me and I found myself standing back in the real world with a dagger in my hand instead of a sword.

"Now for you," I snarled at Skull Face who was staring at me with a look of shock on his face. "SIT BOY," I commanded as though he were a dog. He dropped to the ground without hesitation. "Stay." Once I was done with Skull Face, I looked at uncle Edward and gave a push of concentration while telling him, "Snap out of it..." He immediately broke free of Skull Face's hallucination though he was still badly shaken.

Then I turned my attention to Force, glaring at him with all my pent up rage and frustration. I definitely had a lot of that build up thanks to everything he and his thugs put me and my family through. He was the one responsible for it all. He was the one who hurt my family.

"Who the hell are you?" Force demanded, obviously surprised by the way I'd dealt with Skull Face and perhaps even by my personal hatred of him.

"My name," I snarled furiously at him, "is Joselyn Knight." This time that name sounded right to me. This time it felt...like me.

There were gasps of surprise and confusion from every member of my family present except uncle Edward and Evie. I'd been afraid of what they would all think of the new me but at the moment I no longer cared. At the moment all that mattered was their safety.

"Open all their collars," I commanded Force, using all my concentration to push the command.

"All collars unlock," Force responded in a loud clear voice. Suddenly the sound of 'click' filled the room as every single collar present became unlocked.

"Now surrender," I ordered.

Force started to raise his hands then paused with a grimace. "No...," he gasped, obviously straining not to obey my order. "I won't surrender to mind control..." And with that he snapped free of my command, much to my surprise since I hadn't realized that someone could do that until now. It seemed that all it took was enough willpower.

Suddenly the Bitch let out a roar and launched herself straight at me with her claws extended. Before she could reach me though, uncle Edward slammed into her side and sent her flying. He then charged right at her in such a rush that he never picked his guns off the floor where he'd dropped them.

This seemed to be the cue that everyone was waiting for as Dad, uncle Leon and aunt Gina all suddenly threw themselves at Force, attacking with nearly everything they had. Aunt Gina hit Force first, kicking him with what was perhaps intended to be a surprise attack to catch him off guard. Force just back handed her and she went flying across the room, hitting the far wall and leaving a dent before she bounced off and was immediately charging back at him again.

Uncle Leon formed a glowing blue energy bubble around Force but Force just sneered and held out his arms and the bubble sort of exploded and vanished while the force knocked uncle Leon back. He grimaced and formed a neon pink energy bubble about the same color as what I make and shot it through the air like a projectile where it hit Force and knocked him back a little though seemed to do little actual damage.

Dad formed his white energy armor around himself and attacked Force with his sword. Force winced as the sword hit him though he didn't seem to actually be hurt by it. He then punched Dad, using an invisible force field around himself like armor similar to what my Dad had. Manipulating this force field and kinetic energy he could simulate the enhanced strength my Dad had for real, hitting with enough force to easily punch through walls. My dad's armor took it though my dad was knocked back from the impact.

I stood back and watched, wanting to see Dad kick his ass but good. Of course, I wanted to get in there as well since I was sick and tired of watching while others did. I saw a grim look on Mom's face that showed she wasn't happy at having to stay hands off at the moment either.

I looked over at uncle Edward, amazed at the way he was fighting the Bitch. He kicked her and sent her flying though she immediately bounced back and charged at him with a growl. He easily moved out of her way, using superhuman reflexes as he turned and hit her again.

"Skull Face," I turned my attention to the villain who was still sitting on the floor where I'd told him to, "Use your powers on the Bitch....and don't use them on anyone in my family."

"Damn," he spat out as he turned to do as I commanded.

A moment later the Bitch howled in terror and began to lash out at some invisible enemy. This completely confused uncle Edward for a moment until she cowered down in fear and began backing away from her hallucinated foe. Then he just hit her as hard as he could and knocked her out.

"Now get Force," I ordered Skull Face.

"I can't," Skull Face responded, "He's just out of my range..."

"Enough of this," Force abruptly yelled.

An instant later the entire room suddenly exploded and a massive green glow flooded over everything. I barely absorbed this when the ceiling completely collapsed, pouring massive stone, dirt and rubble over everything. I gasped in terror, knowing I was going to die at any moment. But then all the dirt and rubble was suddenly thrown away.

"What the...?" I gasped, looking up through a green glow and seeing open sky above me.

Before I could make sense of what was going on I found myself moving, being lifted up in the air. I looked around and saw that I wasn't the only one being moved around, others were floating as well. Then I realized what this green glow was...I was surrounded in one of uncle Leon's energy bubbles and he was pulling me out of the collapsed room.

When the green glow faded away I found that I'd been set down outside, on the empty ground above the base. I wasn't the only one who'd been pulled out as everyone else was scattered around me including Skull Face, the Fallen and the Bitch.

I looked at the large hole in the ground and realized what had happened. Force had tried taking us out in one blow, blasting a whole right through the ceiling and collapsing the base on top of us. Uncle Leon had used his powers to protect us all and pull us out.

"Damn," uncle Leon gasped, looking worn out. "That took a lot out of me..."

"And I'll take out the rest," Force exclaimed from where he hovered in the air above us. He didn't look too surprised that we'd all survived though he did look angry. "If you put out this kind of effort back in the Elite instead of abandoning me when things got tough..."

"You're an arrogant prick," uncle Leon spat at him, looking a little unsteady on his feet. "I should have realized that when you named your team the Elite..."

"I never should have invited you to the Elite," Force snorted. "I mistakenly thought you were..."

Uncle Leon just snorted. "I left because we got beat by a damn fembot... Any one of us could have taken her out on our own but we kept tripping over each other. We all wanted to be the star and take her out and it just doesn't work... I realized you just can't have that many big egos working together...and so did everyone else. That's why we all quit."

"You betrayed me," Force snarled, "You abandoned me...just like everyone else."

"Damn," I muttered, "This guy really has abandonment issues..."

"I'm tired of listening to this," Dad exclaimed, suddenly flying straight at Force and punching him.

Force was sent flying back though his invisible force field protected him from taking any damage. He retaliated by firing a beam of kinetic energy at Dad, causing Dad to go flying back as well though his own energy armor kept him from being hurt.

Dad flew at Force, slashing at him with his sword though Force took the impact and then hit Dad, slamming him straight down to the ground where he smashed right into the ground creating a large indentation. Force followed this up by throwing himself right to the ground where Dad was. Dad threw himself out of the way in time while Force hit the ground with both fists and sent a massive shockwave which created a much larger hole and knocked nearly everyone else off their feet.

For the next few minutes Dad and Force kept attacking and blocking, flying at each other and throwing each other around. Both were very powerful though I knew Force had a edge in that department. Still, Dad was holding his own and making me feel proud to watch him.

I wanted to jump in and help Dad fight that jerk and was frustrated when I couldn't. Of course, I wasn't the only one. Dad and Force were fighting in the air and the only one in the family besides Dad who was capable of fighting in the air was uncle Leon...and he wasn't in any shape to continue at the moment.

Still, uncle Leon wasn't about to just give in. He grimaced and formed a quarterstaff of golden energy in his hand which was about all he had the energy for at the moment. It wouldn't do much good unless Force could get up close but at least he was armed and ready to go.

"Oh no," aunt Gina exclaimed, suddenly looking at the hole with an expression of horror. "Chris... My kids... They were all down there..."

"They're all right," I told her, not taking my eyes from the battle raging above us.

"What?" aunt Gina grabbed my arm to get my full attention. "What do you mean?"

I stared at her for a moment then gestured to the hole. "Force only collapsed the prison and a couple rooms near it. They already have Marissa and Natalie and were heading out the other entrance at the mine..." I concentrated for a moment more and pointed towards the mine, "In fact, they're in the mine crater now..."

Aunt Gina let out a sigh of relief, apparently deciding to believe me. However, she was giving me a strange look, obviously wondering who I was..as was everyone else.

"And who are you Joselyn Knight?" Mom demanded, giving me a suspicious look. "You certainly seem to know a lot..."

Suddenly Dad went flying to the ground again in the direction of the mine crater. I gasped, suddenly sure that he'd reached the end. Force had pushed him too hard and he couldn't keep his force field armor up any longer. Without that he wouldn't be able to stand against the insane former hero.

"Oh shit," I exclaimed, immediately running towards Dad. Everyone else came running right behind me.

I arrived at the edge of the crater in time to look down and see Dad getting back to his feet. However, his armor was already breaking apart and fading away. He still had a look of determination on his face though as he summoned his sword and shield...still having enough energy for that much at least.

As I told aunt Gina a minute ago, Ryan, Angie, uncle Chris, Natalie and Marissa were already in the crater just a short distance away. They all stopped to stare at Dad for just a moment.

Force landed on the ground beside Dad, smirking as he did so. Aunt Gina didn't hesitate to throw herself down the crater where she charged straight at Force. He didn't even touch her before she was suddenly sent flying back with immense force, hitting with an impact that would have killed any normal person. However, she grinned as she got back to her feet. She'd distracted him from Dad just the way she'd intended.

Dad sucker punched Force, knocking the former hero to the ground though not actually hurting him. His force field was too strong to allow an easy victory like that. Then Dad came at him with his sword again.

Ryan, Angie, and uncle Chris were obviously frustrated to watch the battle since they still had their collars on and couldn't use their powers. Though I couldn't hear what they were saying, I was sure uncle Chris was telling his wife and daughter to get as far away as they could. He looked frantic as he was talking to them.

Suddenly, Katie screamed, "You leave my dad alone you jerk..."

My sister ran down into the crater, her golden force field reappearing just as she tripped and rolled down to the bottom. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that if she hadn't had her force field come back up she probably would have broken her neck.

"Katie," I cried out though I wasn't the only one.

I hurried down after Katie as fast as I safely could while Mom, Evie and uncle Edward came behind me. At least uncle Edward started behind me but then jumped the rest of the way down and went straight at Force.

As soon as Katie was closer to the battle she stopped next to the ruins of a large dump truck that had been completely destroyed eighteen years earlier. The engine block was sitting ten feet away from where the front half of the truck had been left to rust. She stared at it for a moment then bent over and actually picked up the engine block.

"Holy shit," I exclaimed as I saw my little sister easily pick up something that heavy, almost as though it were made of styrofoam. "Damn she's strong..."

"Hey jerk face," Katie yelled at Force right before she through the engine block at him. Force turned to look at her just in time to get hit in the face with the heavy metal object.

"You brat," Force snarled.

Uncle Edward threw the last of his grenades at Force, and though the former hero was thrown back and looked a little dishelved he didn't actually appear to be hurt. Nothing we threw at him was having any effect at all. We just couldn't get past his force field.

I stared at Force for a moment, suddenly sure that I was missing something. There was an itch on the edge of my consciousness as my sixth sense warned me to pay more attention. I concentrated and tried to see what I was missing... Then it suddenly came to me.

Though Force's force field was invisible to the eye it wasn't invisible to my sixth sense. If I concentrated I could actually feel his force field... I felt it weakening...leaving big gaps in places as he transferred all the force field's remaining energy into the spots where he was being attacked. That left holes that no one could see but me.

Dad was exhausted but still trying to fight. Then he saw Katie rushing towards them and he screamed out, "No... Stay away..."

"You hurt my Dad," Katie yelled, hitting Force as hard as she could. I could sense his force field strengthening in that spot just before her fist hit. Then I saw it strengthen again around his arm just before he hit her and sent her flying.

"KATIE!" I screamed in horror, feeling a resurgence of my anger.

Katie flew twenty feet before she hit the ground with a massive thud. Her force field flickered and then went out, leaving her unharmed but out of power once again. My sister wasn't hurt but that wasn't the point. Force had tried to hurt her and there was no way in hell I was going to let him get away with that.

I snarled and raced straight towards Force, forming a dagger in each of my hands. I didn't give a damn that he was a lot more powerful than me...that he'd single handedly fought my entire family to a stand still.

"NO ONE HITS MY SISTER!" I screamed at him, throwing one of my daggers right at his chest then another one right at his face. "NO ONE!"

Then with a grimace I drove my dagger right through a weak spot in his force field and right into his side. He gasped in shock and disbelief that I'd actually hurt him...then he backhanded me and knocked me to the ground. However, his force field had dropped from the pain of his injury and he'd only hit me with normal strength not with the extra force of his power. However, he was a lot bigger and stronger than me so it still hurt like hell.

"You hurt him," Dad gasped in shock, staring at me in amazement. Then he gasped, "But who the hell are you?"

Mom grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet, looking at me with a confused and sympathetic expression. "Who are you?"

I took a deep breath, not sure how to answer that or even if this was the best time. However, I didn't have to as Evie blurted out, "She's Joshua..."

"WHAT?" Mom, Dad, and aunt Gina all gasped at the same time. Other family members just stared at me with expressions of stunned disbelief.

"She's right," uncle Edward scowled, reaching for his holsters then wincing as he remembered he'd left his guns in the base. He gave me a sympathetic look and said, "Joshua's powers developed...and changed him."

"Joshua?" Dad gasped, staring at me as though he couldn't possibly believe it.

I blushed brightly and stared at the ground for a moment. Then I took another deep breath then looked him in the eyes and nodded. "Yeah," I responded quietly, feeling too tired to be as ashamed and humiliated as I'd expected. "It's me..."

"But you can't be Joshua," Mom gasped from beside me, taking a nervous step back. "You're..."

"A girl?" I responded, grabbing my boobs and grimacing, "Yeah...I kind of noticed that." Then I looked her in the eyes and said, "Call me Joselyn... I don't look or feel much like a Joshua anymore..."

Katie stared at me with her mouth open, "You're really Joshua..."

"Joselyn," Evie corrected with a wry expression.

"Holy shit," Katie blurted out, only to earn a glare at her profanity from Mom. "In one day I get two new big sisters..."

"Two?" Mom blinked in confusion.

"We need to talk later," Dad said, looking uncomfortable.

"And we need to talk about Dad," Uncle Edward told my Dad. "There's something you should know...something important." Then he gestured to Force, "But first we need to finish this..."

Force was holding his bleeding side, looking pissed. His force field was back on but flickering. "How dare you ignore me," he snarled, glaring furiously at all of us. "I'll kill you all..."

"Shut up Scott," Mom snapped at him with her own cold angry expression. "We're trying to have a family talk..."

Suddenly Force had a strange expression cross over his face and then he burst out laughing. "I'll kill you all..."

Then Force snapped around and punched at the empty air and started laughing again. A moment later he fired a blast of raw kinetic force...away from all of us and towards the side of the crater. He fired several more blasts of force away from us, seemingly quite pleased with the results.

Dad and aunt Gina both braced themselves to fight Force and looked confused for a moment while he ignored them and attacked the thin air instead. I was confused for a few seconds as well until I noticed Mom standing there with a smirk.

"You used your powers on him," I exclaimed in realization. "But he'll fight it off like he did me..."

"He's seeing what he wants to see," Mom explained. "What he expects to see..." She smiled sadly as she added, "He thinks he's killing us. Most people don't question the reality they're expecting."

I nodded and watched Force continue attacking hallucinatory versions of us, launching attack after attack at rocks, the crater wall, and wreckage from old mine equipment. Between that and the blood loss he was quickly running out of energy.

But while I was watching Force, I was well aware that my entire family was watching me. Everyone of them were staring at me and whispering to each other. I tried to ignore them, to let them get it out of their system. Still, it kind of hurt.

Once Force ran out of steam I walked over to him, forming an energy knife in my hand as I did so. I came up behind him, feeling damn tempted to just cut his throat and be done with it. I remembered what uncle Edward told me and suddenly had visions of Force coming back some day and attacking us again for revenge. I could stop that right now... But I couldn't do it. I just couldn't bring myself to kill him.

"But I'm not letting you just walk away," I snarled, glaring at him for a moment before I began pushing with all my concentration. "You have no powers... You lost your powers..."

I had no idea how long my commands would last and if they'd wear off or if he could break them with enough willpower. I hadn't done any long term studies on any of my guinea pigs so could only hope it would last a good long time.

However, I couldn't resist giving him one last command, "You have absolutely no bladder control..."

A moment later I could see the effectiveness of that command as Force began to piss his pants. It was absolutely disgusting but brought a big grin to my face. Maybe that would deflate some of his enormous ego.

Now that Force had been dealt with the entire family began to come up and surround me. Everyone seemed to forget all about the defeated villains and were more interested in staring at me and trying to find out of I really was Joshua or not. This was awkward and the stares made me uncomfortable but I was too tired to run away and too stubborn to show it.

"I...I don't know what to say," Dad said, staring at me with a look of uncertainty that was unusual for him.

"You should be proud of her," uncle Edward said, putting a hand on my shoulder and looking at me with a proud smile. "She got away when all of you got caught... Then she managed to track me down and lead me to you...all while dealing with her new body."

"Very impressive," Dad said a little nervously.

"And you should have seen the way she took out Sidestep and the Bitch," Evie exclaimed.

Then aunt Gina stared at me for a moment more and observed, "You do look a lot like Evie..."

"You can't really be Joshua," Ryan exclaimed, staring at me suspiciously. "She's some kind of impostor."

"I'm not Joshua," I told him quiet. When he began to grin at my admitting that, I told him, "I WAS Joshua... There's a big difference."

Ryan just shook his head, looking extremely uncomfortable himself, "Impossible... You can't be Joshua... I mean, you can't just turn into a girl..."

"Why not?" I demanded, feeling annoyed by this third degree. "I had an overnight sex change...I've got boobs and everything... Hell, I've already even had a period to prove it."

That last statement earned gasps of surprise from just about everyone as well as looks of discomfort. Ryan took an instinctive step backwards with a look of disgust on his face as though I'd become contagious or something. Evie on the other hand was smirking, probably remembering the way I used to tease her about 'girl problems' and thinking this was karma at work.

"This is going to take a little getting used to," Mom told me gently, looking a little uneasy herself.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically, earning a snicker from Katie.

"And we're definitely gonna have to talk about this," she smiled faintly as she gestured at me. I wasn't completely sure if she meant my girl body or the fact that I was wearing a costume and now definitely had powers. Then she gave me a careful hug, being gentle almost as though afraid she might accidentally break me.

Once Mom pulled away Katie threw herself at me and whispered, "I thought that Sidestep guy hurt you..." She hugged me tightly, adding, "It's gonna be weird having you as a sister..."

"Welcome to the club," Evie snickered as she came over and gave me a hug too.

When I pulled away from my sisters a minute later I felt as though I was going to start crying. I hated how little control I had over that kind of thing anymore. However, at least it wasn't as bad as when I was actually having my period.

Then I slowly looked around my family, seeing a lot of uncomfortable and uncertain faces. I knew that it would take awhile for everyone to get used to the new me, to accept me as a girl. Of course, I knew that it would take me awhile to really adjust to it as well. But for now, my family was back again so we'd have that time. And at the moment that was all that mattered.

I knew that I was dreaming, that I was having another of those incredibly vivid dreams I sometimes had since my transformation. Everything around me felt crisp and clear as though it were real though the sound of my dream still left something to be desired. The sounds was mostly either missing or completely blurred so I couldn't make anything out. Only occasionally something in the dream came through so that I could actually hear it as well as I could see it, though never more than a word or two at most.

In my dream I saw myself...or at least a different version of myself. The other me was older and looked to be in her early twenties, looking a little taller and more developed than I was now. Her body was athletic but very sexy looking. She had long pink hair and wore a black and pink costume that was similar to the one I've worn before but just a little more suggestive and with a pink sash around the waist.

The one thing I immediately noticed about this other me was her presence... She radiated a sexy and confident femininity, as though she was not only completely at ease with being a woman but embraced it completely. There was something about this other me that immediately made me feel envious of her.

At the moment, the dream me was in the middle of a battle with a group of villains I didn't know. She stood there with a pink energy whip in her hand, snapping it at one of the villains to force him to keep his distance. Then she suddenly snapped around and caught another villain with the whip around his throat, not even having to look to know he was there and exactly where to hit him.

Then one of the villains raised an energy gun to shoot the other me from behind. The other me immediately started to turn, her whip sort of breaking apart into a bunch of bubbles as she did so. These bubbles then reformed on her arm as a shield which she raised to block the attack without even looking. After several shots, the shield once again broke into pink bubbles. The other me smiled faintly as she formed a dagger in her hand and threw it...hitting the shooter in the shoulder and making him drop his weapon. A moment later, she stood there with a full sized pink energy sword in hand which she used to continue fighting the villains.

It was at this point that the dream came to an end much to my disappointment though not surprise. I was curious to see what would happen next, to see how the other me dealt with these villains. However, these kind of dreams never lasted for very long or gave me more than just a glimpse. I woke up a short time later still thinking about this dream.

"I hate mornings," I groaned as I climbed out of bed, wincing from the cramps that came along with my period. I hated those too.

It was two months since my transformation and this was the third time I've had my period. And though I was getting used to dealing with my monthly visitor I sure as hell didn't like it. In fact, I desperately wished there was a way to put out an unwelcome mat. However, this was a fact of my new life that I knew I'd be dealing with for a long time to come.

I climbed off my bed and looked around my room, letting out a faint sigh. It wasn't as big as my old room had been and all my old stuff had burned up along with the house. However, it was starting to fill up with all the new things I've been given and was starting to feel like my room again...though certainly not anything like my old one. For one thing, my new room was a little more...pink.

Whether I liked it or not my entire life was now surrounded with pink. Thanks to my hair, the color of my energy...and of course the fact that I chose to briefly use the codename Pink, it had now become my color. My curtains, bedding, rug, and half my clothes were all pink. Mom seemed to think it looked great on me while Evie just thought it was funny. Still, I had to admit the color was definitely growing on me.

There were other things around my new room besides just the pink color to indicate it was a girl's room. There were girl clothes, brushes, and even some makeup on the counter. A cute stuffed animal sat in the corner, a gift from uncle Chris who was trying to show that he accepted my new gender. And though no one else knew about it, I even had a poster of a cute boy hidden in my closet.

I looked over my room, feeling sad over the loss of my old room and more so at the loss of my old home. However, it was burned and gone. Even if we could rebuild it there we didn't dare. As Dad said, it's location had been completely compromised and the bad guys could find us there. Fortunately, one of Dad's friends was able to hook us up with a new house to live in though that meant we had to move a long distance away. It was a pretty decent place but just didn't feel like home yet.

Then I paused to look at myself in the full length mirror which now hung from the wall. I was getting used to my new reflection and no longer felt as though I was looking at someone else when I saw it. I wondered how long it would be though before even a part of me stopped expecting to see a boy looking back instead.

"That's never going to happen again," I told myself, not completely sure how I felt about that. I sort of missed being the old me yet there was a growing part that preferred who I was now and who I was becoming. It was just a little confusing at times so I did my best not to think about it and just deal with things as they were now. I smiled at my reflection and mused, "Joselyn Knight, you are a total hottie..."

My mood improved a little at that and I smiled as I grabbed my fluffy pink bathrobe and put it on. I was about to head to the bathroom to take care of my morning business and change my tampon but then paused as my sixth sense warned me of a possible danger. It wasn't actually a real danger, just Katie hiding down the hall and waiting to surprise me with a squirt gun.

"Some things never change," I chuckled to myself, wondering when she'd learn that she couldn't catch me by surprise that easily any more.

Of course, I wasn't really surprised that Katie was trying to ambush me this way again. She's been doing a lot of that kind of thing lately, trying to take revenge on me for 'stealing' Evie away from her.

Things have changed a great deal during the last two months and not just for me. After the kidnapping, Evie decide to drop the whole 'twelve year old' act she'd been doing since coming back from the other dimension and try growing up as well. She's been acting more like her actual age and has been trying to learn exactly what that means. As a result, Evie and I have been trying a lot of new things together like going shopping and learning to use makeup. The fact that she was trying these things for the first time along with me made it less awkward and embarrassing for me and I was sure she felt a similar reassurance with having me there. Evie and I had become much closer through all this and though we tried to include Katie as much as we could she still felt a bit left out.

My new relationship with Evie was a little strange, with her playing the part of older sister half the time and the part of younger sister the other half. I found a great comfort in this relationship as well and knew I wouldn't have been able to adjust to my new gender nearly as well without her help and support. Of course, both of us had gone through drastic changes and needed to find our new roles in the family though she'd been afraid to do so until I joined her.

Of course, Evie was older than me now which meant she could do some things which I still couldn't...like actively join the newly reformed Knight Force. The White Knight, Neon, Target, Shuriken, Agony, and now Figment were the core members of the family team while I've been training with the intention of officially joining when I turned eighteen. Mom decided to stay in retirement with the excuse that she no longer looked good in spandex while uncle Chris refused to get involved in that kind of life again now that he had his own family to look after.

Uncle Edward disappeared again just a few days after the battle with Force. He and Dad had another argument over the best way of dealing with villains then he left in disgust at Dad's 'playing games with lives'. I was sad to see him go though knew that at least this time he wasn't completely gone. Uncle Edward and I have been trading e-mails since...though I've been careful not to let Dad know.

Uncle Edward wasn't the only black sheep of the family though, not since we discovered that the Fallen was my half sister. Mom was upset to say the least though she was far more pissed about the fact Dad kept her a secret than anything else. She could understand his having a relationship before they'd ever met but not the lying. I think she made him pay for several weeks before she forgave him.

I had a hard time thinking of the Fallen as a sister and could only remember the crazed former hero who'd attacked my family. I felt bad for her but not enough to forgive her for what she'd done. It was a real shame though because I couldn't help but wondering how things might have been if we'd known about her...if we had a chance to know her and maybe even help her before she turned bad. It might have been nice having a real older sister to help me out.

Then for some reason I suddenly had an image of Ms. Miracle running through my mind. I shook my head to clear it, wondering why I'd suddenly started thinking about her.

I let out a sigh, knowing that it was pointless to worry about the past and even more so to worry about what might have been. Sure, there were a lot of things I missed about my own old life and about being a guy but I had managed to keep some of the very best things. I still had my family. And of course, my new life had a lot of great things to offer as well...like developed powers and all the great things that came with being a girl. The truth was, I really liked my new life and was looking forward what the future held for me.

Of course, I had a slightly different perspective on the future than most people. It turns out that when I'm having my period, the extra hormones my body produces trigger another power...precognitive dreams. Whenever I have my period I also tend to have dreams about the future...though only very short ones. All I'm given is a brief glimpse...like the one I had last night. I felt a strange comfort at having seen my future and what I become in it. In fact, I was sort of looking forward to becoming that confident and sexy woman from my dreams.

There was a part of me though...the old boy part of me that wasn't completely sure about that future. This was the part that was embarrassed about doing girl things and liking boys though it was a part that seemed to be getting smaller every day. From what I'd seen in my dream that part of me would one day disappear completely.

This certainly hadn't been my first vision of the future though it was one of the very few about myself. This one also had something else unusual...enough sound that I was able to actually make out a couple words. Specifically, I heard what one of the villains called me.

"Lady Knight," I smiled, deciding that I liked that code name. It was a LOT better than Pink and somehow it felt sort of right.

With that I turned to the mirror and smiled at my reflection, feeling quite pleased with what I saw. I adjusted my robe and cupped my boobs then blew a kiss at myself before I turned to leave my room. I still had to let Katie 'surprise' me before I could get to my morning routine. I didn't exactly want to get soaked but it was a small price to pay so Katie could feel like she'd gotten even and we could keep the family peace.

I smiled as I went to meet my fate, feeling quite pleased with myself and my life. Sure I still had problems and even a little awkwardness with my new gender, but I had a great family, developed powers, and a very impressive looking future to look forward to. Life couldn't really be much better for me. After all, I was the Lady Knight...or at least would be one day.

 

THE END