Valentine Crush by Domoviye

Sedona, Arizona
December 15th, 2016

Jackson talks to his seatmate in English class, Li, about homework. Ooo, Li has a crush on Jackson, it is so obvious. Great, only their parents don't know about her crush on him, awkward.

But her idea of a good time was reading about quantum physics, the layman books, not the actual equations, although she was working her way up to that. The fact she looked like an underfed twelve year old boy didn't help matters.

Ouch, a genius who is railthin for her age, poor girl. Stuck in town for Christmas vacation due to her mother's broken leg, I hope they can still have a good time. Soldier Pass Trail to the Seven Sacred Pools, an actual location, huh. Oh boy, he says they could ask some of the guys to come with them, and the girl's hopes of a 'date' are dashed.

Li Chen sat in her room staring at the picture she'd had a VI art program make for her. It showed a beautiful Chinese woman, large breasts, nice curvy hips, a slim waist, cute dimples, long graceful arms and legs, long black hair, high cheekbones, and a delicate chin, topped off by plump kissable lips. It was everything that she wasn't.

Li, work with what you have, wasting time on a dream like that normally ends in heartbreak. I sympathize with her, looking in the mirror can be hard when it shows someone that feels like a stranger to who you feel you should be.

Taking a jade phoenix her grandma had bought her for her birthday back in October, that was supposed to be good luck, she held it tightly between her hands. “Please let me manifest and become pretty. It doesn't even have to be really beautiful. Just nice enough that Jackson will notice me. Please,” she begged, just like she had been doing every night for over a month.

Her eyes glowed for a moment, did she just begin to manifest as a mutant or does the Jade Phoenix have something to do with it?

December 20th

Oh brother, Marshall, the 10-year-old little brother of Jackson, just has to tease him about Li being his girlfriend. Ooo, Marshall, using a new VI program to do a history presentation for you at school, is all kinds of trouble. In a small city, you can walk or bike to everything to, oh, I miss living in one of those. Palo Verde Art Gallery, I wonder what kind of works are in there.

With tourist season being over, the gallery which sold art of all kind from local artists, was empty except for Li, her mother Ai Chen, and their own mom, Jeanne Anderson.

Sounds like a fun place to visit even if you can't afford to buy anything.

Tourist season, eep, a boon for some places, a bane for others.

“It looked like it was going to come alive and eat someone. If it was from almost anyone other than Etcitty, I wouldn't have taken it.”

“I thought the Olitiau was pretty cool. Who doesn't like a giant flesh-eating bat that looks like it's about to pounce on you when your back is turned?” Jackson said.

A wood carving of that! Jackson is right, they could make a whole horror movie based on that entity.

And the Navajo artist said he'd made the carving from a childhood memory of the flying monster when it had attacked him. He even had two nasty crescent shaped scars on his shoulder that looked like a bite mark.

Considering what else exists in the WAU I believe the artist.

Jackson, she is a girl who thinks no guy will go for her based on her looks, let alone a hunk like you. Give her a break, please. Li, liking all the same things sometimes works in a relationship, but sometimes it just makes it dull. Just be yourself and if it is meant to be it will happen. Marshall needs a lesson on not taking the bratty younger brother stuff too far. A bike ride to the old rock, she wants to watch the stars together, oh boy.

A cold night in a desert with red rocks and a full moon out, now that is atmospheric.

“Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be a mutant?” Li asked.

“Sometimes. Being a superhero would be cool. Actually just being able to fly would be really cool. But there are a few too many drawbacks to make me dream about it. I don't want to worry about the MCO or all of that crap. I'll wait for the jetpack to become safe enough for regular use.”

He has a point, the MCO and hate groups, plus all the potential health issues unique to mutants. Oof, so this is why Li wants to be a mutant, her cousin Mei is an Exemplar 1 who got prettier with red streaks through her hair, Li hopes for something similar.

Jackson winced as his arms and shoulders suddenly cramped up. Rolling his shoulders the pain mostly went away. “Maybe,” he said after a minute. “Or you could end up covered in scales. Or with wires for hair. Turning into something like the Mogollon Monster can't be fun.”

Li describes all that and Jackson suddenly has cramps in his arms and shoulders, what is going on? Li, that is based on partial data and the full nature of what shapes a mutant with the Exemplar trait's BIT is still unknown.

As clueless as he sometimes was, Jackson could see the potential trap being laid. Saying Li was cute and she'd expect to date him. Don't say anything and she'd get upset.

Smart boy, she might not be doing it deliberately, but she phrased it in a way either of those is the wrong answer for him.

“I see you as becoming more like one of the really smart mutants. Creating stuff that makes the world a better place and helps millions of people. You're already a lot smarter than anyone in town, think of what you'd do if you could break reality a little, or figure out how to make things that are only imagined right now. I can see you on Mars, working to get it from the remote outpost it is today, to a proper colony for dumbies like me.”[/quote A Gadgeteer would seem to suit her better, but that isn't always how it works either. Good answer from Jackson on how he looks, I just wish Li could feel that way about herself.

December 23rd

Oh no, those aches and pains Jackson has, it is seeming more and more like he has started to manifest. Slept so bad he felt like he had broken some bones, oh no, please say the Jade Phoenix statue that Li wished on isn't some kind of monkey's paw situation, that the wish Li made is affecting Jackson instead of her. His back feels looser, and mom says he needs a haircut so rapid hair growth, crap.

“I'm going to check out some of the trails and make sure they're in good shape for the winter tourists. This is just volunteer stuff today, want to join me? I heard that a few small boulders fell and I could use the help moving them out of the way.”

His parents sure do a lot to help out the tourist trade. Dad is a forest ranger, now there is a job that requires all physical abilities to be developed, especially endurance. And taught his kids how to bring all the essential gear for safety from Jackson's backpack load. Ah, so there is a place that gets really cold in winter in Arizona, good to know.

Jackson says he will deal with a fallen pine tree, but calls his dad 'old man' in the process.

“Old man!” his dad said. “If you call me that again, we can go for a run tonight and we'll see who is still walking by time we get back.”

Jackson might regret the old man crack later. Dragged the tree off the path and threw it the last few feet! Thinks it was rotten inside, no, he is an Exemplar and his strength has already grown noticeably.

That is a lot of debris for them to clean up between the two of them. A break while they try to figure out how to move something that weighs over a ton, unless Jackson got a lot stronger that is a tough job. Flat on the bottom, that rock needs a lot of power to move. Yikes, go back to town to get a strong ATV from work, but most of the afternoon and evening on this one thing, do it tomorrow even though it will be Christmas Eve, things can never be simple. Jackson talks about it being handy to be a mutant, the talk Li brought up about wanting to be a mutant to change her looks for the better [in her opinion], and Jackson just wishes he had the power to move the rock.

Talk about Li, Jackson is trying to let her down nicely, but she isn't taking the hint. Plans to go back to get something to eat, Jackson does a pose out of a martial arts movie.

Punching the rock, his fist stopped a few inches from the boulder. There was a rush of energy through him, and he could feel dozens of rocks and dead wood rise up in the air, coalescing into a dense ball hanging ten feet in the air. A second later it plunged down into the sandstone, hitting it like a cannon ball shattering itself and the boulder.

TK, that had to be either some kind of TK or he just did magic without realizing it. Crap! Shirt and pants bloody from shrapnel, Dad grabs Jackson and rushes to the ATV to rush him back to town for medical help. What a way to find out he has that power.

December 28th

Only sent home 5 days later, still has 4 broken ribs and stitches, you best listen to your mom about taking it slow and easy until you are fully healed.

Dr. Gilbert had said he was healthy enough to go home and rest, but even with the painkillers he hurt a lot. His hair wasn't helping things, it had kept growing until he had thick bangs that kept getting in his eyes. At least it had stopped halfway down his neck.

Oh no, don't tell me healing from his injuries has accelerated his changes. Ooo, having to move slowly just so you don't trigger screams of agony, times like those you wish you could regenerate fast.

No regeneration and is too afraid to test out what else he can do after what happened, Jackson needs a friend he can talk to and just relax with right now. Ack! The ribs are estimated to take until the end of January to heal completely. Go to Phoenix and be tested by the MCO, uh oh. Li is there and was so worried about him, and told she should wait to see him until he was out of the hospital.

Dad told the tale of what happened, Li wants to know when Jackson became a mutant, but he doesn't know. Hair is longer and turning black, nooo! That Jade Phoenix, I still suspect twisted Li's wish and made it where Jackson is becoming her ideal of herself. Get strong and really durable too, I wonder if everything Li says is coming true, but not how she intends for some reason. Tells him to get to sleep and goes to sleep that fast, even with strong pain medicine in that much pain it shouldn't be that fast.

Oh no, another AI picture, showing her future self as pretty, in a superhero suit and Jackson holding her in her arms.

But this Jackson had thick black hair, wearing a stylish super suit and he was really muscular. She was sure that once his powers finished manifesting, he would be super strong and hard to hurt.

“I can't wait until we can be together properly,” she whispered, picture the two of them kissing each other after a day of fighting crime and saving people.

Unknown to her, her eyes glowed faintly.

Be together properly, oh no. She might be warping reality without realizing it, could she be reshaping Jackson based on her AI pictures?

December 30th

2 days, heals that quickly, Jackson is being affected by Li's power she doesn't even know she has, isn't he. An appointment with the MCO soon, eep.

His little brother poked him in the side. “Does this mean we can shoot you and you'll be fine?”

“Marshall! Don't talk about shooting your brother. Or anyone for that matter!”

Marshall needs a swift kick in the rear for even suggesting that.

He let Marshall go, as his pelvis cramped up, it almost felt like someone had punched him in the balls. His testicles didn't hurt, but the painful cramping sensation was almost identical, and he found himself hunched over in pain.

Oh no, my first hunch has clues that is right once again, that he is somehow changing to match the image Li made of her ideal self.

“No idea,” he gasped. “I just got cramps from my knees to the stomach and my hips and ba- crotch really hurt.”

Oh crud. And power testing to figure out what is going on with you, you need to see a doctor and get tests run.

MCO Office,Phoenix Arizona,
January 3rd, 2017

“You went from having four broken ribs, seven cracked ribs, and over twenty deep cuts that required stitches, to some light bruising around your torso in six days after leaving the hospital. And your doctor saw no sign of enhanced healing. That's everything you know, Jackson?”

Oh boy, it was more like as soon as Li visited. A cut on his arm, and no regeneration now. All those changes, the ribs healing that quickly, all match some of Li's ideals about Jackson's superhero self. No BIT! So all the physical changes, everything involved with them, are somehow connected to whatever power Li has or whatever magic the Jade Phoenix imbued her with.

Hi only straightforward power is telekinesis, it all points to Li and that darn statue!

It seemed to work best when he could grab loose objects up to fifty pounds each, turn them into a large ball of debris and smash his target. That had destroyed a truck engine, shattering it into little pieces. But even without debris the TK ball could seriously dent a thick metal plate. It was like his mind was a mini-cannon. He'd also been able to nudge a few small things if he really concentrated, but if he stopped thinking slow, gentle thoughts for a second, whatever he was 'touching' went flying at high speeds.

That kind of TK where if control slips even for a moment...*shudders*

“I'm tentatively putting you as a TK 3, Energizer 1, and Regeneration 3. But I will need you to come back for follow up testing, lets say near the end of February. By then your powers should be a bit more stable, and I'll have a colleague to help figure you out. Let's get your MID and tell your mother. Do you have a codename picked out?”

So not healing fast enough for a higher regen, but still enough to be registered on his MID. This just gets more complicated without all the pieces known yet. Crusher, he used a codename his brother likes calling him, adorable.

January 7th

Jackson trains with his TK while Li times how long he can hold the ball of debris in his control. Almost 10 seconds and a high arc almost a hundred feet up.

“Looks like it came down just a little past the four-hundred yard marker. That's the farthest yet. And you nearly hit ten seconds,” Li told him, sounding impressed.

Improvement in just 4 days and Li is helping, hhm. Aww, Li still wants to manifest and get powers of her own.

Hitting his arm, she smiled up at him. “I don't think I'd get any really dangerous power. And I'm smart enough not to make weapons and play around with them for fun. But an exemplar and a gadgeteer or devisor. That seems like my thing.”

And wants to be an Exemplar, and thinks she will look like the image she made of her future self.

“Yep. I know just what I'll look like when I finally manifest.”

His body chose that moment to get an all over cramp, which had been becoming more and more common in the last week. Wincing, he struggled to make his muscles relax, and tried to stretch it out.

Every time she talks of what she will look like when she manifests Jackson gets those cramps! Dr. Gilbert doesn't know what is going on with him, seems not immediately dangerous, on a list for some tests next month in Phoenix, Jackson is going to be in shock at this rate.

His body was changing, his now thick black hair was the smallest of the changes, and he had no idea why, or what would happen in the end. His power reached out grabbing more stones and gravel slamming them together so hard it sounded like a landslide. A moment later it shot forward like a bullet far faster than any others he'd tried, and hit a boulder sticking out of the ground. They both shattered into pieces.

Okay, when he gets to Whateley he will need a note on his powers "Don't let him use his TK when angry.".

Li was scared by that, at least Jackson says he is okay.

“Yeah. Sorry. I just... I just got really angry all of a sudden.”

Oh no, don't tell me Li's power is some strange form of projective empathy that can affect emotions and someone's body, I hope I am wrong in this case. Hugs Li tightly, sees her eyes glow, but doesn't care right now and just wants to feel needed, is this his own feeling or Li's?

January 10th

Looking in the mirror he looked different. His hair was mostly black by this point, with only some blonde hair left, the rest had fallen out and been replaced. His skin was splotchy. There was his regular lightly tanned white skin, but there were patches where it was slightly darker. It wasn't a tan or a mole, but a darker shade of white. And his eyes looked narrower, a little sharper at the corners. He still mostly looked like himself, but he was changing.

This indicates he is turning Asian, and the cramps are possibly from internal changes, Li needs to be tested somehow, someway.

Crap! Vomiting, more intense cramps in all those areas of the body, he needs to see a doctor now! Splotches of his normal skin and slightly darker white skin, he should tell his mom about throwing up and avoid going to school right now. Uses his mother's makeup to cover up the discolored skin, he should have shown his parents and told them about what happened in the bathroom.

Tears started streaming down his face, making his face even more of a mess. Sliding to the floor, Jackson sobbed loudly, trying to stop, but his emotions were out of control. He had no idea what was wrong with him, and he wasn't in charge.

And another sign he might be turning into a girl, if only Li realized what she was doing to him. Mom rushes in to see what is wrong and comforts Jackson as he continues to cry.

He just kept sobbing smearing the foundation onto her blouse.

Then he felt normal again. He was embarrassed about crying like a baby, and he realized he was an idiot for putting on foundation, but he wasn't upset anymore. Confusion at his sudden mood swing started warring with the embarrassment.

This is torture for Jackson, I hope he gets answers one way or another soon. Skip class today, and see if she can get Jackson in to see a doctor, his mood swings getting worse, and I'm afraid he won't like the answer.

Dr. Gilbert knows what is going on with his eyes, developing an epicanthic fold. Good doctor to read up on mutants for Jackson's sake, knows about GSD, and believes it is making Jackson look Asian, he needs to do more tests!

“I'm not sure yet, but I do have some suspicions there. First have you been having trouble getting an erection?”

Blushing, he nodded. “Yeah. I haven't had as many and I don't really think about them much anymore. I figured it's just stress from everything.”

Dr. Gilbert nodded. “And the mood swings, are they usually the same emotion?”

He shook his head. “Usually it's either getting angry or sad. But I've had a few where I was just really, really happy, or wanted to hug someone and not let go. They usually last a few minutes than go away as if they never happened.”

All that and he thinks it is hormone imbalance, I wonder how often that happens in mutants and it isn't due to being a changeling.

Not enough information yet to help Jackson out, more testing at the labs for blood work. 1 week to find out, the most stressful week of his life so far. Yes, you can live with that, Jackson. Unless he finds out you are turning into a girl, I wonder how you will handle that. A talk with his mother without Jackson there, I think Dr. Gilbert might already suspect what is happening to Jackson and wants someone who cares for him to prepare him just in case.

January 16th

Great, eating alone since he is a known mutant and changing more by the day even his old friends are avoiding him. Keeping their distance, he gets bumped into and reacts with anger, but controls himself and they think he is a rager, oh brother. Li shows up to eat with him, happy with his changes, even more clingy and happy since he started looking obviously Asian, this won't end well.

The skin has finished changing, and cheekbones and jaw have narrowed a bit, Li likes it, but Jackson wants his old look back.

“I liked you before, and I like you now. You just look different, but inside you're still the same. And you went from being ruggedly handsome to being boy band hot.”

Li, that is sweet, but not what Jackson needs right now. A new AI picture, uh oh.

He glanced at it, and nearly choked on his burger. It was the new him, with more muscles, in a red, white and blue costume and a ball of rocks over his head ready to be thrown. Behind him was a cute girl, he assumed it was Li, in some type of power armour painted in the same style as his costume.

Is the AI art program somehow connected to whatever power Li has?

She wants help coming up with a codename for when she manifests. Crap! More cramps, burning in his shoulders and chest, but at least it passes quickly. Jackson has Li show off the list of potential codenames to distract himself, but his heart isn't into it.

January 19th

Back at Dr. Gilbert's office and time for the verdict.

“Jackson, Jeanne, the lab report has come back, and it's... odd. Jackson, your testosterone levels are a little lower than normal, which should affect your bone density and muscle mass, but as we can see you're actually gaining muscle and have lost almost all of your fat. However that would explain your irritability. It's also relatively easy to fix.”

Uhm, did you check his estrogen levels as well? Crap, low serotonin, depression, and other mood disorders because of it, at least Jackson isn't feeling suicidal. Anxiety, more sleep than normal, it just keeps coming. More estrogen and less progesterone than he should for his age, so the cause of his mood swings, and are the cramps possibly his bones shrinking violently? February 15th, boy, all that testing in one month, Jackson is going to come to hate all forms of medical and powers testing at this rate.

January 25th

Li, even if it were true you just don't ask that kind of thing out of the blue to a guy. Androgenous in dim light, oof. Bench press 200 pounds easily, but on a slim body. Li! Don't suggest that to a guy who is already worried about how he looks. Oh, good, the hormone medicine is working to keep his mood swings at bay. Li still wants to manifest and keeps pushing it, Jackson's response is a little cold, but Li keeps bringing up how he has manifested and she wants to as well.

“Maybe you won't manifest. Most people don't.” He knew as soon as the words left his mouth he'd said the wrong things, but he had no way to take them back, and wasn't sure he wanted to.

She scrubbed at her eyes, and answered in a quiet voice that was on the verge of tears. “I have to manifest. It's th-the only way I'll be pretty.”

Li, some girls are late bloomers, don't give up hope yet. Still sees her as his little sister, good thing she can't read minds. Wait, right as he is about to speak to her he gets hit with intense depression, like an exaggerated version of Li's emotions right now. Li storms out of the house, Jackson is stuck on the bed and cramps like nothing before as his bones crack and his skeleton is wrenched in ways it shouldn't bend, as if Li was mentally lashing out at him or his own guilt and depression turn his TK on his own body.

January 26th

Jackson and his dad both are getting sick of the hospital. Nearly half the bones in his body were fractured and broken by the time the ambulance had gotten him to the hospital, good lord.

His face had gone from androgynous to very feminine. His lips were full, and if he remembered what Li had once said while looking at pictures of famous women, they were shaped like cupids bow. All he knew was that if they weren't on him, he'd want to kiss them. His eyebrows were perfectly formed into thin lines popular with models, long eyelashes, his eyes were bigger, brighter, and even more Asian looking. His nose was small and cute, his mom had called it a button nose, whatever the hell that meant. And his skin was soft and flawless.

That wasn't the only change. His nipples were larger, clearly feminine, even if he didn't have any breasts. His muscles, which he still had fortunately, had been well defined the day before, now they were smoother, covered in a thin layer of fat, making him look more rounded and sleek.

I knew he was turning female, but violent and suddenly changes, he needs to stay in the hospital until he is done changing or he might not survive the next big change.

I know his mom is trying to give Jackson options, but GSD tends to be a lot harder to change than that. Mom is trying to remain strong for you, Jackson, and talking like a doctor, clinical, somewhat detached, is the only way she is keeping her sanity right now. Marshall! That shirt is too far. Oh god, giggling and then laughing, I think Jackson might have snapped from it all finally. It is hysterical laughing! This is bad, sedate Jackson now before he does more harm to his own body.

And then the out of control emotions stopped. Curling into a ball, his body heaving as he filled his lungs with air, tears of pain and fear kept falling from his eyes. His mom hugged him, her own tears joining his.

This is going to get a lot worse before it starts to get even a little better, isn't it?

January 30th

Li shows up with Jackson's homework for today and the notes she took while he was gone. The doctors have no idea if he will just remain a body with a girl face and slightly girlish body, or if he will keep changing into a full girl. Worse mood swings and confusing hormones than before, probably be home-schooled. And Li still wants to help him, but still thinks she will manifest, she doesn't know she might already have. Jackson is getting better control when he goes angry and over his TK.

Li talks about how he looks familiar to her like this, lots of things that make her think she has seen Jackson's new face somewhere. It is your AI picture of your ideal self, Li! Now Jackson is upset and doesn't want to talk about his changes. Ask Li to help him with his homework, after an hour she asks where Marshall is, and he is eating dinner at a friend's house. Li asks if they are alone for at least 2 more hours, Li, just no. I can't believe she said that, trying to manipulate him into having sex with her because it "Might be his only chance if he keeps changing into a girl."" I thought better of her than this until she said that, she is manipulative and expects things from Jackson, when she doesn't get them she gets upset and every time so far since she wished on that statue it seems Jackson changes more to be Li's ideal self when she gets upset at him.

She is like a sister, plus he knows she is a girl, but he isn't attracted to her. Makes reasonable excuses and Li continues to push him to go up to his room to have sex.

“Li. Please just drop it for now. I know I'm a guy and supposed to want sex whenever and wherever, but seriously, I am having so many problems right now that I... it's just really not a good time.”

She looked up at him and he could almost see her heart break. “OK, I'm sorry Jackson,” she said softly, her eyes glistening with tears. “I should, I need to get home.”

He tries to get her to stay and do anything together but that, but she just leaves, ugh.

Jackson lies in bed, he doesn't wish to hurt Li, but he doesn't want to date her either. He thinks about sending her a message, but suddenly he has extreme cramps that started in his chest and pelvis this time. Li is using her AI art program again! She is changing him without even realizing it and doing it out of anger now.

February 10th

A small sports bra, he turned more into a girl when Li got upset at him and worked on her AI art program again. Thinner shoulders and waist, wider hips, and a bigger butt, I wonder if they will figure out the link between Jackson's changes and Li eventually. Goes to the kitchen to eat, stuck in the house alone, this is a horrible situation. Great, emailed his homework to his teachers, there is no escape in the modern age from homework! Cleaning the kitchen and vacuuming to keep busy, a good idea, dwelling on his thoughts right now with no one around to help is a scary idea.

Go back to school, I don't think it would be safe once the guys knew you are now a girl in almost every way physically and a mutant. Arrggh. No therapist in town that can help him out, he needs it, soon. Li skipped school to come see Jackson.

“Hi there!” he said in surprise, his voice soft and airy, which made him blush.

Please say the mood swings are the only mental changes, I don't think Jackson could take that right now. 10 days since she last saw him. Jackson is stuck somewhere between a boy and a girl. Dang, Jackson wishes he could give Li this body.

“With my mixed up hormones, I'm actually not feeling much of anything for anyone. It's a side-effect of my hormone imbalance, my libido is practically dead for right now. But I haven't started looking at guy's butts or anything.”

Jackson doesn't need anything else to worry about right now. Li gets Jackson to do a real smile with teeth and she finally realizes where she has seen Jackson's new face. Li runs off without answering anything Jackson asks like a monster is chasing her, leaving Jackson confused.

February 14th

Valentine's Day and Jackson can't go to the dance, still has something between his legs, and the boys would hit on him with how he looked if they didn't know who he was. Great, depression that bad, Jackson needs a lot of help. Li wants to talk to Jackson outside and says it is important. Going to the backyard, Li wants to talk where no one can overhear and she is in rough shape. Ack! Jackson's voice is airy and high-pitched, he thinks he would be perfect for the idiot bimbo in a movie.

Goes out in the desert, and accuses Jackson of stealing from her, the image she made back in November of her ideal self and she thinks he purposefully stole it from her.

“All I wanted was to be pretty so you would notice me! Why couldn't you let me have my dream? I just wanted to be happy and make you happy too. Did you steal my powers too? Is this some evil fucking game for you? Torture the ugly girl, and laugh at her!”

“NO! I don't even know how I'd steal anything like this!” The near omnipresent depression slammed down hard, and Jackson found himself crying. Getting to his feet he started to stumble away.

“I HATE YOU!” she shrieked.

Crap, this escalated due to her not thinking clearly on the matter. Li's eyes glowing like they are pure energy, Jackson is being twisted in ways no living being should be. Li screaming something at him, not caring what is happening to him, she is nuts! Oh god, being twisted and warped in that way, in such extreme pain, he sees Li on her knees, her eyes glowing, smoke rising from her open mouth, and thinks she is going to kill him. So he uses his TK to form a sphere of debris and bashes her with it until it falls apart. His dad shows up on the ATV.

“What in gods name have you done?” his dad asked.

He couldn't answer, he didn't have the strength. Closing his eyes, he fell into unconsciousness.

They never once questioned if Li was a mutant in this situation, is his father just going to think he murdered Li in cold blood?

Great, wakes in a prison cell in MCO custody.

“If you cooperate we'll get you drink, Crusher. Stand up nice and slow. You're being put in the custody of the MCO, and will be transferred to Phoenix for questioning on the murder of Li Chen. If you don't give us any trouble, we will make sure you get treated nicely.”

He tells them the truth, Li was some form of warper, wizard, or possessed by something that came from the Jade Phoenix and was trying to kill him. Agent Gomez and Agent Martin, new guys, no idea if they are actually trying to be nice or acting nice to manipulate Jackson.

Oh, great, his physical changes might be complete with the kind of figure Jackson has now. Willingly lets them put cuffs on, told he will get a bottle of water on the way to the van, a snack of some sort, and a hot meal once they get to Phoenix and it all sorted out.

“My parents?”

“They've been informed. I can't say anything beyond that right now.”

If his parents abandoned Jackson after all this without hearing his side I will have no respect for them anymore.

“-we're getting rid of that freak. I had to throw up when I saw the poor girl. Hope it gets the chair.”

Poor girl, you don't know what she did nor what she tried to do. Now Jackson is afraid they will murder him and not believe his side of the story, that none of it had been his fault. Over a half hour in the back of the van left with his thoughts. Since he didn't respond to their attempts to talk they sealed up the vent, and now Jackson can't hear what the agents are saying.

Jackson slides the shutter just enough to hear what they are saying.

“Are his parents coming?” Agent Martin asked, presumably after the call ended.

“Nah. His parents are freaked at what he did to the girl. They aren't coming until they have a change of heart,” Agent Gomez said

I knew it! Didn't even wait to hear Jackson's side, to learn the truth, just throw him to the wolves out of fear.

“Yeah. I have no clue what happened there. From the pictures he was definitely a she yesterday, but she looked her age and could pass as a baseline. The testers were confused about her testing last month. They're going to be even more confused now. Probably won't matter much anyways.”

They are setting Jackson up with a jury trial and will show the pictures, even if he tells his side there is no way he will get a fair trial, this is essentially a kangaroo court they are bringing Jackson to.

They were going to kill him. They'd have the trial, ignore everything he said because he didn't have any proof, and execute him as a dangerous mutant. It wasn't fair. He hadn't wanted to do it. It had been self defense. He hadn't done anything to deserve losing his body, going mad, or losing his life. The sadness and depression disappeared replaced by rage.

Welp, seems Jackson is going to break free and go on the run, no way to get a fair trial when your own parents don't even want to hear your side. Giant wrecking ball down in front of the van, the front of the van destroyed as they slam into it. Restrained by the shackles, he shatters them and turns them into more ammo, using them to batter down the door to the back of the van. Still slowed by injuries from Li and the crash, checks on the agents who are alive, but unconscious, and starts running down the highway.

Phoenix, ArizonaFebruary 15th, 2017

Jackson wanders through Phoenix with only his cheap backpack full of her worldly possessions. She got a ride and some money from a scumbag who didn't hear the alert about her yet, just enough for food and clothes. Oh god! She had sex with the guy for money and a ride, Jackson is desperate and needs help. Jackson needs to figure out what to do to avoid doing that ever again.

Great, an awful lot of police cars on the streets, at least she got a baggy hoodie to hide most of her appearance. Sirens erupted behind her and she was off running, good thing she got a bra. Sounds of sirens all around her, she gets angry and makes a debris ball from what is available, and when a cop car comes to a screeching halt a few yards away she smashes the debris ball into its hood hard enough to make it bounce.

Oh god, it is Forte, a girl with black ink-like hair and weird blotchy brown skin, and a big guy in a motorcycle helmet. They ask if she is going to stop them, and Jackson asks if they are after them or her. Forte throws a sonic grenade at the police car as the cops start to free themselves, now they are vomiting. More cop cars show up and Forte yells to run. Jackson just runs with the group and is ignored by the cops who are focused on Forte and her friends.

The girl with the ink-like hair seems to have erebeal magic she speaks something and suddenly the nearest cop car is surrounded by a cloud of pitch black. Rearended by the cop car behind him and the cloud spreads to engulf them both, that is one dangerous spell. The big guy is a size shifter who grows to 15' tall, his gun sounds like it grows with him by the sound it emits when it is fired and it creates a crater in front of the cop car.

I'm sorry, Jackson, your nice, peaceful, sane life got destroyed either by Li being a mutant with a power that warped you or that dam Jade Phoenix twisting her wish to change you instead and use her as a vessel for its power. Basic looking mini-van, Jackson doesn't think they want her to join, but a hand grabs her and pulls her along towards the van, a short and skinny Asian kid who could be a boy or girl. Wait, the trio ignored her and the Asian kid, does that kid have the power to cloak themself and others?

Ouch, Inky slashed her hand and used the blood for a spell that I think either summoned a winged demon woman to distract the cops or an illusion of one for the cops to follow. This is all for a job, Forte says pizza and beer are on her tonight. The big guy is a Latino who is between 18-20 years old. Forte has improved her armor to have it flow off and become a collar on her neck with a sound-based signal. Cutie Pie, that is who the kid is.

Forte's eyes widened. “Who the fuck are you?!”

Raising her hands, Jackson said, “I'm Jackson! I have no idea what the hell is going on!”

“She got rid of that cop car, and she seemed pretty clueless. It didn't seem right to leave her behind,” Cutie Pie said.

Rubbing her temples with a cybernetic hand, Forte said, “Cutie Pie, what have I said about bringing strays home?”

“Nothing,” the Asian kid said, looking confused. “I've never brought home a stray.”

And thus a new rule is established. Boy, Jackson sure summarized the whole shitshow that happened to get her here quick. Forte and the inky girl are surprised.

“That's weird enough that it could be true. OK, if you pass a truth spell by Book, we'll bring you to Outlaw's Tavern. We're going there anyways.”

Ah, it has been so long I didn't recognize Book.

Outlaw's Tavern, Jackson needs a place to hide out until she can contact her parents and explain what happened with Li. Jackson got caught in a shitstorm caused by Li and either her mutant power or that Jade Phoenix statue, she needs friends who can understand that level of crazy. Great, muscle for criminals, I really wish Jackson's life hadn't taken this turn, becoming female and changed by Li's desire for her ideal self was bad enough.

“We all got dealt shit hands, and we need to do our good deed for the year,” Forte said with a shrug. Then she raised her cybernetic hand and jagged claws grew from her fingers. “Of course if you're lying to us, we will have to hurt you a lot. So, last chance to walk away safely if you have any bad intentions. You're sticking to your story?”

Forte at least believes Jackson. Oh boy, Jackson pissed her pants when Forte used the threat. Great, another reason for Jackson to cry, give her a break already and a chance for the truth about what happened with Li to come out! She doesn't deserve this, none of this.

Assuming the "To Be Continued" will be something that isn't a Valentine Crush Part 2. I can't believe how this story started, a girl desperate to be attractive to the boy she likes, the boy trying to hint they will never have a relationship for various reasons without hurting her. And either Li manifested with some messed up power or that Jade Phoenix statue had something in it that possessed her and granted her wish by changing Jackson instead. As he kept changing she became more obsessed with manifesting as a mutant and being with him as she fantasized. And each time he didn't react how she wanted or she said something out loud to him it seemed to trigger her eyes glowing and more cramps, then more and more drastic changes to Jackson.

The more Jackson changed the more I wished it would stop, I saw him going through a nightmare, being forced into a form that wasn't his own. And each time Li seems to point out what she liked about his changes, how she wanted to manifest and change too, to have powers and be pretty. It was finally when she tried to manipulate him into having sex because it might be his only chance as a guy and her reaction upon being rejected I knew, he wasn't a friend to her anymore if he ever was. She saw him as someone to make her feel better about herself by getting him to go out with her, to make her feel like a real girl that she doesn't because of her figure and face, and she stopped caring about his feelings once she couldn't get her way.

The fact she thought he stole what she wanted for herself goes to show how mentally unhinged she is at that point. Either her obsession was always that bad, or whatever was in the Jade Phoenix statue, if there was something in it, drove her to these ends to force her to use the power. The glow from her eyes, the smoke coming from her mouth, I think an entity mistaken as a Phoenix in the past was imprisoned in the Jade Phoenix statue and used Li's wish to possess her, to push to use its power to cause a rebirth in someone else to the point it could be reborn from her. Jackson hopefully killed Li in time to stop its escape, but we don't know. This is all guesswork based on when Li's eyes glowed the first time and everything that happened to Jackson. If I'm far off base let me know.

I didn't expect her to escape after she found out she was being railroaded, nor to meet up with Forte and her crew. Cutie Pie might have something to say about letting Jackson stay at Forte's hideout with them.

I hope the next part of this story of Jackson and how she is adapting to life on the run and as a female will be soon. I can't wait to read more and hope things start to turn around for her.

Oh boy, he says they could ask some of the guys to come with them, and the girl's hopes of a 'date' are dashed.

I didn't want either Li or Jackson coming off as bad. They weren't. Li unfortunately does have a lot of body issues, which at the start are mostly under control.

Li, work with what you have, wasting time on a dream like that normally ends in heartbreak. I sympathize with her, looking in the mirror can be hard when it shows someone that feels like a stranger to who you feel you should be.

Taking a jade phoenix her grandma had bought her for her birthday back in October, that was supposed to be good luck, she held it tightly between her hands. “Please let me manifest and become pretty. It doesn't even have to be really beautiful. Just nice enough that Jackson will notice me. Please,” she begged, just like she had been doing every night for over a month.

Her eyes glowed for a moment, did she just begin to manifest as a mutant or does the Jade Phoenix have something to do with it?

The phoenix is just a pretty piece of jewellery. I hadn't intended it to be a red herring, just something she could focus on for her wish, since Phoenix are good luck in Chinese culture.
Li is actually a pretty strong healer/warper. She can reshape flesh, mostly healing it and adjusting it over a period of time. The longer she works on a person the more radically she can change them, and it can snowball until it's out of control. Unfortunately she can't change her own body.
By focusing on her dream body and Jackson, as well as spending so much time with him, she unintentionally began warping and regenerating him.

Jackson, she is a girl who thinks no guy will go for her based on her looks, let alone a hunk like you. Give her a break, please. Li, liking all the same things sometimes works in a relationship, but sometimes it just makes it dull. Just be yourself and if it is meant to be it will happen.

I really tried to make Jackson as easy on her as possible, while still being a normal teen. And I was trying to show that Li is desperate while not having the confidence to use what she does have. I think it worked.

Oof, so this is why Li wants to be a mutant, her cousin Mei is an Exemplar 1 who got prettier with red streaks through her hair, Li hopes for something similar.

She had the mutant idea come from somewhere, I wanted her to not seem stuck in a bottle. So she sees her cousin, who was likely pretty average become pretty and cool, she sees it as her one hope that doesn't involve a lot of plastic surgery.

Jackson winced as his arms and shoulders suddenly cramped up. Rolling his shoulders the pain mostly went away. “Maybe,” he said after a minute. “Or you could end up covered in scales. Or with wires for hair. Turning into something like the Mogollon Monster can't be fun.”

Li describes all that and Jackson suddenly has cramps in his arms and shoulders, what is going on?

A few days of being affected by her powers. I had Jackson riding faster than his little brother but thinking he was going the normal speed. Her powers were making him stronger, because she was thinking 'mutants = stronger'. Being so close to him and thinking about her dream body, it affected him even more strongly, hence the cramping up as his muscles changed just enough to hurt.
If she could have been stopped right around then, Jackson would have gotten a decent little strength boost and not much else.

His parents sure do a lot to help out the tourist trade. Dad is a forest ranger, now there is a job that requires all physical abilities to be developed, especially endurance. And taught his kids how to bring all the essential gear for safety from Jackson's backpack load. Ah, so there is a place that gets really cold in winter in Arizona, good to know.

Sedona survives on it's tourist trade. Starting in 2017 or 2018 there is actually a community group that keeps the trails neat and in good order. I almost used that, but this story was one year too soon.
And yeah the mountains in Arizona get cold. I wouldn't call it really cold, but I'm in Northern Canada, I think Minnesota has it pretty easy most of the winter.

Talk about Li, Jackson is trying to let her down nicely, but she isn't taking the hint. Plans to go back to get something to eat, Jackson does a pose out of a martial arts movie.

Punching the rock, his fist stopped a few inches from the boulder. There was a rush of energy through him, and he could feel dozens of rocks and dead wood rise up in the air, coalescing into a dense ball hanging ten feet in the air. A second later it plunged down into the sandstone, hitting it like a cannon ball shattering itself and the boulder.

TK, that had to be either some kind of TK or he just did magic without realizing it. Crap! Shirt and pants bloody from shrapnel, Dad grabs Jackson and rushes to the ATV to rush him back to town for medical help. What a way to find out he has that power.

Initially I was thinking of having his TK power show up at the end when he was defending himself, but I realized he'd need to practice with it and other things. So I came up with this and it led to quite a few nice consequences.
Also I'm not sure if he manifested naturally, or if Li messing with his body made him manifest. It's one of those things I idly wonder about.

Get strong and really durable too, I wonder if everything Li says is coming true, but not how she intends for some reason. Tells him to get to sleep and goes to sleep that fast, even with strong pain medicine in that much pain it shouldn't be that fast.
...
Be together properly, oh no. She might be warping reality without realizing it, could she be reshaping Jackson based on her AI pictures?

The pictures would help her focus on the ideal image. And at this point her powers confuse things a bit. Instead of just being a little stronger, she starts thinking he should be a lot stronger and tougher, not inhumanly strong, but on the upper edges of natural. However it also mingles with her continued ideal image of herself. Which doesn't help Jackson at all other than healing him quickly.
Hello hormone imbalance!

MCO Office,Phoenix Arizona,
January 3rd, 2017
Hi only straightforward power is telekinesis, it all points to Li and that darn statue!
...
That kind of TK where if control slips even for a moment...*shudders*

“I'm tentatively putting you as a TK 3, Energizer 1, and Regeneration 3. But I will need you to come back for follow up testing, lets say near the end of February. By then your powers should be a bit more stable, and I'll have a colleague to help figure you out. Let's get your MID and tell your mother. Do you have a codename picked out?”

So not healing fast enough for a higher regen, but still enough to be registered on his MID. This just gets more complicated without all the pieces known yet. Crusher, he used a codename his brother likes calling him, adorable.

Glad you like the name. I was surprised it wasn't used by a comic book character, so I just needed a good way for Jackson to use it.
And as I was thinking about his powers, I wanted to show that his seeming powers make zero sense when you don't have the knowledge that Li is changing him. I also wanted to show that the MCO in Phoenix can act professional and even nice, when not dealing with heroes or obstinate mutants. Having a mutant come in naively with all their medical records and things, they'll be really nice. Of course if the mutant steps out of line later they'll use all of that good will and info to take them down hard, but they are professionals.

January 7th

Jackson trains with his TK while Li times how long he can hold the ball of debris in his control. Almost 10 seconds and a high arc almost a hundred feet up.
...
And wants to be an Exemplar, and thinks she will look like the image she made of her future self.
...
Every time she talks of what she will look like when she manifests Jackson gets those cramps! [/QUOTE]
Things are starting to snowball with his changes. So every time she really pictures her ideal self he gets affected. If things had been slightly different, Li could have been a real source of good, healing people and fixing a lot of body problems.

Li was scared by that, at least Jackson says he is okay.

“Yeah. Sorry. I just... I just got really angry all of a sudden.”

Oh no, don't tell me Li's power is some strange form of projective empathy that can affect emotions and someone's body, I hope I am wrong in this case. Hugs Li tightly, sees her eyes glow, but doesn't care right now and just wants to feel needed, is this his own feeling or Li's?

Mostly that is Jackson's feelings. Take a pregnant woman and her mood swings, and that's Jackson. But quite unintentionally it came to be that when Li begins another period of using her powers on him, it sends his hormones flying, and he gets a mood swing. I hadn't planned it, and only realized I was doing it when I was almost done.

Uses his mother's makeup to cover up the discolored skin, he should have shown his parents and told them about what happened in the bathroom.

This bathroom scene actually came from my daughter.
I do not do slice of life very well, I find it hard to write and to stay motivated. This story really was kicking me in the ass, and I cut back on a lot of scenes that I saw as annoying filler.
During one period where I had no idea what to write, I was talking about it at supper and Angel said I should have Jackson covering up his weird skin with makeup. That got my muse back into gear and I had an important scene ready to be written by the time supper was over.

Li, even if it were true you just don't ask that kind of thing out of the blue to a guy. Androgenous in dim light, oof. Bench press 200 pounds easily, but on a slim body. Li! Don't suggest that to a guy who is already worried about how he looks. Oh, good, the hormone medicine is working to keep his mood swings at bay. Li still wants to manifest and keeps pushing it, Jackson's response is a little cold, but Li keeps bringing up how he has manifested and she wants to as well.

“Maybe you won't manifest. Most people don't.” He knew as soon as the words left his mouth he'd said the wrong things, but he had no way to take them back, and wasn't sure he wanted to.

She scrubbed at her eyes, and answered in a quiet voice that was on the verge of tears. “I have to manifest. It's th-the only way I'll be pretty.”

Li, some girls are late bloomers, don't give up hope yet. Still sees her as his little sister, good thing she can't read minds. Wait, right as he is about to speak to her he gets hit with intense depression, like an exaggerated version of Li's emotions right now. Li storms out of the house, Jackson is stuck on the bed and cramps like nothing before as his bones crack and his skeleton is wrenched in ways it shouldn't bend, as if Li was mentally lashing out at him or his own guilt and depression turn his TK on his own body.

And here we see Li is starting to lose it. Her body issues are growing as her crush and best friend is looking prettier than she is, and gaining powers while she is still just herself.
So when Li left she wasn't lashing out at him, she was DESPERATELY willing herself to manifest and change, causing him intense pain without even knowing it.

I know his mom is trying to give Jackson options, but GSD tends to be a lot harder to change than that. Mom is trying to remain strong for you, Jackson, and talking like a doctor, clinical, somewhat detached, is the only way she is keeping her sanity right now. Marshall! That shirt is too far. Oh god, giggling and then laughing, I think Jackson might have snapped from it all finally. It is hysterical laughing! This is bad, sedate Jackson now before he does more harm to his own body.

And then the out of control emotions stopped. Curling into a ball, his body heaving as he filled his lungs with air, tears of pain and fear kept falling from his eyes. His mom hugged him, her own tears joining his.

This is going to get a lot worse before it starts to get even a little better, isn't it?

I liked how I showed his family. His dad trying to be stoic and helping. His mom being hopeful and studying up on things looking for a solution. And Marshall being a bit of a brat but trying to keep things light and funny.
And it's one of my stories, "It Get's Worse" is my motto.

Li talks about how he looks familiar to her like this, lots of things that make her think she has seen Jackson's new face somewhere. It is your AI picture of your ideal self, Li! Now Jackson is upset and doesn't want to talk about his changes. Ask Li to help him with his homework, after an hour she asks where Marshall is, and he is eating dinner at a friend's house. Li asks if they are alone for at least 2 more hours, Li, just no. I can't believe she said that, trying to manipulate him into having sex with her because it "Might be his only chance if he keeps changing into a girl."" I thought better of her than this until she said that, she is manipulative and expects things from Jackson, when she doesn't get them she gets upset and every time so far since she wished on that statue it seems Jackson changes more to be Li's ideal self when she gets upset at him.

More signs of Li getting unstable. She's pushing herself and Jackson into things she normally wouldn't, trying to feel like she's worth something, and more desperate than ever for Jackson's love. Also when she gets angry she, so far, focuses the anger on herself, thinking if she was her 'real self' Jackson would love her and everything would be all right.

Jackson doesn't need anything else to worry about right now. Li gets Jackson to do a real smile with teeth and she finally realizes where she has seen Jackson's new face. Li runs off without answering anything Jackson asks like a monster is chasing her, leaving Jackson confused.

And here we see Li finally break.

Valentine's Day and Jackson can't go to the dance, still has something between his legs, and the boys would hit on him with how he looked if they didn't know who he was. Great, depression that bad, Jackson needs a lot of help. Li wants to talk to Jackson outside and says it is important. Going to the backyard, Li wants to talk where no one can overhear and she is in rough shape. Ack! Jackson's voice is airy and high-pitched, he thinks he would be perfect for the idiot bimbo in a movie.
...
Crap, this escalated due to her not thinking clearly on the matter. Li's eyes glowing like they are pure energy, Jackson is being twisted in ways no living being should be. Li screaming something at him, not caring what is happening to him, she is nuts! Oh god, being twisted and warped in that way, in such extreme pain, he sees Li on her knees, her eyes glowing, smoke rising from her open mouth, and thinks she is going to kill him.

And Li has her psychotic break. She actually wasn't violent. She still has no clue about her power, and doesn't realize that she was killing Jackson. But her rational thoughts have gone bye bye, leading to burnout.
She pushed her powers too far in her mental breakdown and was burning herself out, the smoke coming from her mouth. She was a dead woman before the rock hit her.

Great, wakes in a prison cell in MCO custody.

“If you cooperate we'll get you drink, Crusher. Stand up nice and slow. You're being put in the custody of the MCO, and will be transferred to Phoenix for questioning on the murder of Li Chen. If you don't give us any trouble, we will make sure you get treated nicely.”

He tells them the truth, Li was some form of warper, wizard, or possessed by something that came from the Jade Phoenix and was trying to kill him. Agent Gomez and Agent Martin, new guys, no idea if they are actually trying to be nice or acting nice to manipulate Jackson.

The MCO agents are playing things smart. If they can get Jackson to come peacefully, it means no one has to die. If they thought they were in danger, they'd put a bullet in his head, but getting him into a proper containment cell and letting things go normally is safest and easiest.
They have a mutant who has medical reports of violent mood swings, a dead girl who no one knew was a mutant and was his best friend, and the mutant's father saw the rocks being used to turn the dead girl into a pulp. It's an open and shut case.

Jackson wanders through Phoenix with only his cheap backpack full of her worldly possessions. She got a ride and some money from a scumbag who didn't hear the alert about her yet, just enough for food and clothes. Oh god! She had sex with the guy for money and a ride, Jackson is desperate and needs help. Jackson needs to figure out what to do to avoid doing that ever again.

I was tempted to show Jackson getting the ride and negotiating for money along with the ride, but I thought that would be a bit too disturbing. Still Jackson not being a virgin will come up in the future.

Oh god, it is Forte, a girl with black ink-like hair and weird blotchy brown skin, and a big guy in a motorcycle helmet. They ask if she is going to stop them, and Jackson asks if they are after them or her. Forte throws a sonic grenade at the police car as the cops start to free themselves, now they are vomiting. More cop cars show up and Forte yells to run. Jackson just runs with the group and is ignored by the cops who are focused on Forte and her friends.

I only thought of Crusher in November or December at Rose's suggestion, but I realized she'd fit nicely in Forte's growing crew (we'll see all of them in the upcoming Forte/Fanak story). So I came up with the Valentine's Day story to introduce her in an appropriate way. If I didn't have a place for Jackson in another larger story arc, I wouldn't have made the story.

The big guy is a size shifter who grows to 15' tall, his gun sounds like it grows with him by the sound it emits when it is fired and it creates a crater in front of the cop car.

Size warpers don't use guns enough. Even if something returns to it's normal size in a second, that gives a bullet enough time to hit and do a lot of damage.

Asian kid who could be a boy or girl. Wait, the trio ignored her and the Asian kid, does that kid have the power to cloak themself and others?

Cutie Pie is going to be a fun character to use.

Forte's eyes widened. “Who the fuck are you?!”

Raising her hands, Jackson said, “I'm Jackson! I have no idea what the hell is going on!”

“She got rid of that cop car, and she seemed pretty clueless. It didn't seem right to leave her behind,” Cutie Pie said.

Rubbing her temples with a cybernetic hand, Forte said, “Cutie Pie, what have I said about bringing strays home?”

“Nothing,” the Asian kid said, looking confused. “I've never brought home a stray.”

This was fun to write. I liked how Forte treated her like a stray dog, it was the cherry on top of Jackson's terrible,horrible, very bad month.

Great, muscle for criminals, I really wish Jackson's life hadn't taken this turn, becoming female and changed by Li's desire for her ideal self was bad enough.

Don't worry things are going to get worse for Jackson. But at least she'll have some friends to help her out. Between the screaming, blood, horror, and attempts on their lives.

“We all got dealt shit hands, and we need to do our good deed for the year,” Forte said with a shrug. Then she raised her cybernetic hand and jagged claws grew from her fingers. “Of course if you're lying to us, we will have to hurt you a lot. So, last chance to walk away safely if you have any bad intentions. You're sticking to your story?”

Forte at least believes Jackson. Oh boy, Jackson pissed her pants when Forte used the threat. Great, another reason for Jackson to cry, give her a break already and a chance for the truth about what happened with Li to come out! She doesn't deserve this, none of this.[/QUOTE]
I'm a firm believer in making characters earn their happy endings. She'll have a chance at it, and potentially living a very long and interesting life.

This is all guesswork based on when Li's eyes glowed the first time and everything that happened to Jackson. If I'm far off base let me know.

Pretty good guesswork. Too much emphasis on the Phoenix charm, but otherwise spot on.
She really was his friend, but her deteriorating mental health destroyed that by the end.

I didn't expect her to escape after she found out she was being railroaded, nor to meet up with Forte and her crew. Cutie Pie might have something to say about letting Jackson stay at Forte's hideout with them.

I hope the next part of this story of Jackson and how she is adapting to life on the run and as a female will be soon. I can't wait to read more and hope things start to turn around for her.

It will be a few stories before I get back to Jackson. I need to catch Forte and Fanak up to February. But they are my main focus right now for Whateley. So fairly soon there will be a story focusing on Book and Jackson, which shouldn't have any body horror.