Absolute Power 11 Mind Game By Joan Banks
Previously in Absolute Power
Larry Jacobs comes into the possession of a Lamp of the Djinn and wishes from a Djinn named Omar.
"...then for my last wish I want the ability to cure anyone of any infirmity that I name." He becomes a healer, making his way through hospitals and accident scenes. He helps where he can.
But power comes with a price and, when his powers are discovered, he is driven from public life and the opportunity to help others. Debby is a nurse of Larry's acquaintance who suggests a disguise; Larry transforms himself into young woman so he can continue on his mission.
For months Larry transforms into Sarah, his female persona, each morning and back to his own male form at night. Then, without explanation, his ability to become Larry again disappears and greedy people lust after his power.
Casper Collins, a wealthy elderly man, covets Larry's power for himself and kidnaps Sarah to get what he wants. Larry, rescues her and the two of them take to the road to both avoid the spotlight and to somehow find a way to transform Sarah back into Larry.
To throw Casper off the trail, Casper's son Robert is transformed into a perfect duplicate of Sarah and then transformed into a small child with full witnesses. Robert is given amnesia.
Sarah and Debby seek out another Lamp of the Djinn, so they can discover why Sarah is trapped in female form. Casper wants it for more selfish reasons.
In an effort to prolong his own life, Casper has transferred his mind into the only host available - a woman who had been caring for Robert, Molly. And Robert has regained his memories.
Casper obtained the Djinn but had to share the wishes with his feeble minded son. In an impulsive wish, Robert gains the same powers as the Whisperer but doesn't realize it and has no idea how to use them.
Meanwhile, Casper still has Sarah's friends imprisoned.
A third explosion rocked the house. Kirsten stared out the window but could find no clue of what was really happening.
"Daddy!" Corey said, squirming in Abdul's arms. Remarkably, he got free from the immortal being. He ran to the television. "See?"
"Ted!" Sarah said, relief in her eyes.
The television was showing a newsbreak. A haggard and crazy sounding Ted sat in an interrogation room. His eyes darted around sporadically and he spoke in short bursts. Subtitles flashed on the screen below.
"There is invasion." (We have invaded you).
"No. Whisperer disease. Stop." (We have infected your weakest with the Whisperer Disease. Your children will die.)
"Evil, Collins, stop." (Casper Collins has dealt us heavy damage. He must stop."
The news report went on. Through a disjointed tape and liberal use of subtitles, Ted confessed to a whole scale invasion and a plan to kill all the children in the world.
"Daddy?" Corey touched the screen, confusion and tears in his eyes. The picture changed to one of Corey himself. His mood changed suddenly. He looked back at the group and smiled.
"The invasion force is growing. Already they are preparing their replacement troops."
"Turn it off." Sarah said, picking Corey up again.
"But we might find..." Z started to suggest.
"I said TURN IT OFF!" Sarah held the boy to her chest.
"This war ends today." She said today. "Bull, Z, let's get out of here."
"This is fun, isn't it Robert?" Casper held Roberts hand as they walked from the television studio. "I think we'll get their attention."
Montgomery followed directly behind them with a wary look in his eye.
"Do you want to play our game again?" Casper asked hopefully.
"Dressup?" Robert asked hopefully.
"No...the other game."
Roberts face fell.
"Maybe later, Mommy."
Montgomery smiled.
Sarah stood just behind the house and turned her pheromones onto 'full stink'. Occasionally she heard the booming noises that they thought were explosions but could see no evidence of what was causing them.
Any male within a hundred yards would be drawn to this spot. She smiled. Z and Bull sat inside the house protected from the outside environment. The last thing she needed was two horny guys with her on this rescue mission.
"Hey Jimmy, I'm gonna check out this group of trees again." A guardsman wandered towards the wood.
"Not if I get there first." The second guardsman picked up the walking pace and eventually broke into a run.
"Stop, Jimmy!"
"Like Hell. What the..."
Both guardsmen fell unconscious to the ground.
It was a small ward, Dr. Grainger noticed, and not much to do. Wealthy people in comas, that was all they were. No, he corrected himself, they are patients. These people need my help.
He started his rounds.
"This one must have been really afraid of death." The Doctor noted to himself. He read through the resuscitation plan. 'Keep alive at all costs' was pretty drastic. He read further and noted that the order was signed 15 years previously. This poor sap probably didn't even remember signing it.
"He's not brain-dead at least." He noted the EEG and examined the rest of the chart. "But these reading are like nothing I've ever heard of."
He poked his head in the door and glanced at the patient. He's had no visitors, no family. The life support equipment was so cumbersome over his face that even if he did have visitors, no one in the world would recognize him.
"You can't leave." The sentry told them. "And no civilians in the vehicles."
"It's an emergency!" Bull told him. A huge booming sound shook the vehicle.
"Damn, them jets are getting too close. Listen Jimmy, rules are..."
"AHHHHH!" A scream of pain emanated from the back seat. Sarah sat up and screamed. She was wearing a short dress and no costume underneath. Her legs were bent in a classic 'about to give birth' pose.
The sentry got a full on view of the whole thing. He watched as...stuff...started coming out. He nearly regurgitated his rations.
"We'll be right back. She has to get to a hospital!"
"Just go!" The sentry raised the gate and signaled them through.
The tires squealed as they passed. They turned onto the highway and sped down the mountain.
"Man, that was great!" Bull said, his features changing into something more like his own.
Sarah was stripping off the dress and started to wipe herself with it. Its material was not absorbent enough to help.
"Great? Yeah." She tossed the dress into the back. "Ewww. Anyone bring a towel?"
Montgomery sat at the terminal, hands poised on the keyboard. Quickly he tapped a couple keys.
"Montgomery, what are you doing?" Casper said from the doorway.
"Pretty pictures." Montgomery said. Casper looked at the screen. A children's game was running. Disgusted, Casper left, his skirt swishing in the doorway.
Montgomery changed screens again and leaned over the microphone. Replay of security tapes were playing.
He didn't remember much of the day he watching, although he could see that he was present. Casper had a small group of people at a stalemate. Montgomery's unconscious form lay still on a table in the background.
Suddenly, all hell broke loose. His father was flailing madly. He backed up the replay and leaned over the microphone. What had caused Casper to go crazy like that?
"Isolate and enhance audio from grid 7F." He said. After a moment the computer signaled the completion of the process. He started the replay again.
"Rh." The woman said. This was the thing that drove his father to destruction. He watched Casper's reaction over and over. The Whisperer saying the word, Casper's glance back to Montgomery's unconscious body, and then Casper's wild tirade.
And Montgomery understood.
Sarah sat in the backseat, having now changed into sweats over her costume.
"You can look now." She said. Z instantly turned around. "Do you have any idea where to go?"
"Only by inference." Z said, "Abdul could not tell us directly where to go but we developed a code that let him tell us." Z handed her a map of the city, at least it used to be. Whole sections were obliterated. Only a small, one block area was left unmarked.
"So he showed us where not to look?"
"Exactly."
"So how did you find...."
"The Djinn? Actually it was Kirsten..." Z replied excitedly.
"Actually, it was Omar." Bull interrupted. "Kirsten didn't know about him being a Genie and all. Omar figured out who helped you and...well...became friends with her. He knew eventually she would invite you up when you got back to town."
"So he wasn't directly searching for me."
"He knows all about you, hon. He wanted us to tell you that he was real proud of you...and real disappointed." Bull said, a little venom in his voice.
Sarah looked away. She knew exactly what Omar was referring to. In a fit of rage and anger she had blinded and stole the voices of several police officers. It was much in the same way that her voice was taken away. She remembered the frustration and anguish that came with the loss of so primary an ability.
The moment caught up with her, she started to cry.
"I'm sorry..." she said.
"I know, Sarah. But you have to make it right." Bull said. He pulled off the main road and started the hummer up a steep dirt road and stopped at a random place with forest on one side and a sheer drop on the other. Z got out.
"I've been preparing this place for months." Z said, smiling at Sarah. He disappeared into the forest. Shortly, several trees started moving (apparently they weren't really trees at all), and a narrow road was exposed. The trees closed in around them. Z pulled a palm pilot sized device from his pocket and stared intently at the screen.
"It's hot." Z said, "Come on Sarah. Bull, we'll meet you at the park."
Bull looked suddenly nervous.
"C'mon Sarah, get a move on." Confused, Sarah got out. The hummer threw up dirt as Bull pulled away. Sarah stared at Z.
"It's a wrap-around radio detector." Z said, knocking on the nearest faux-tree "It detects radio signals but doesn't block them unless we want it. Someone had a tracer on the hummer. Don't worry, Bull will meet up with us later, he has to dump the vehicle, preferably at a hospital."
"But he left us in the middle of nowhere." Sarah said.
"Not likely." Z said, "My place is close, we can walk from here."
Robert hated naptime. If everyone was in such a hurry for him to grow up then why did they insist on a stupid childish nap in the middle of the day?
"I'm not tired." He told Monty, who was leading him by the hand.
"You ARE tired." Monty said. He helped him into a nightgown and tucked him into bed.
"I can't sleep." Robert said petulantly.
"You will sleep." Monty said patiently, "Repeat after me, I can't fall asleep because I am so excited."
Robert was tempted to play word games with Monty, but he liked the big guy.
"I can't fall asleep because I am so excited." Robert repeated.
"Too excited. Not sleepy." Robert smiled. Monty was trying to trick him.
"Too excited. Not sleepy." Robert repeated.
"I will fall ri...." Monty started again, but stopped. Robert was fast asleep.
Robert fell directly into a dream state. It was almost shocking in its suddenness.
"Sarah Jean!" the woman called. Robert knew this woman now as Momma Casper but that wasn't her name then. It was Molly then.
"Yes?"
"It's time for your nap young lady." Molly said. There wasn't any threat in her voice then, just caring. Robert realized that he was smarter then.
"I'm not tired!" He said, but not with the petulance that he had just used with Monty.
"Well...what do you want to do?"
"Nothing." He said. He needed time to think, to plot. How was he going to overcome Casper's empire?
Molly's face grew a huge grin.
"That's not what the...tickle monster says!" She said, sappily happy. Robert was determined not to give in this time, he wouldn't laugh.
Molly tickled him with a ferocity that he could not comprehend. It was futile to resist the woman. Robert fell to the floor clutching for Molly's fingers, giggling.
Half an hour later, his tiny body had given up to exhaustion. He gladly crawled into bed and let Molly tuck him in.
In his dream, he happily fell asleep.
The next dream was closer to a memory.
"Robert! Grow up!" The woman yelled. Her demeanor was harsh, her voice shrill. This wasn't Molly any more. It was Casper.
"Yes Mommy." Robert replied. He tried to do as the Casper wanted but it was hard...and scary. The nurses tested him and if he didn't act just right, he would pay. This all might be a test, better to be just a good little girl.
In the dream Robert was picked up bodily and shaken. The woman didn't smell right anymore. She smelled like cigars and funny food. The Casper smelled like an old man.
"Robert, are you in there? Snap out of it! What did that Whisperer creature do to you?" The Casper shook him. Robert heard a growl behind him and a scared look on the Casper's face.
Casper put him down and backed away. Monty kneeled down on the floor. Monty had stopped the bad Casper.
The Casper Momma was bad but it used to be good.
Monty was a hero.
"Is that the place?" Sarah asked. The passenger seat was full of all sorts of electronic equipment. She sat in one of the two open seats in the back of the conversion van.
Z parked the van and climbed into the back himself.
"Yes, that's the only building in this area owned by Collins. How do you wanna do this?"
"The roof, I think." Sarah said. She started to remove the sweats that covered her costume. "The sooner the better. I'll just have to be fast."
"You mean WE will just have to be fast." Bull said, sliding in through the driver door. "You really should lock that." He said to Z.
"No I meant I, Bull. Just me." She said testily, "It's way too dangerous."
Bull stared at her, he wasn't taking no for an answer. She whispered and gave both of them their own faces again.
"Debby's in there, Sarah. They'll probably have them separated, you'll never get to all of them in time."
"No Bull. I'm not losing you too."
"I don't see how you have any choice. I'm going in with or without your permission. Unless you want to blind me too?"
They stared each other down. Sarah turned and continued to strip down to just her costume. This time, however, she wore the full body stocking that went under the armored torso.
"There's a couple tricks to the speed thing. We'll want to go over that."
Bull smiled, but inside he knew that with this one, there was little hope of survival for any of them.
Robert's dream changed again. He and Momma Molly were in a big white room.
In front of them both the old man Casper and Monty were lying on tables just like a hospital.
"Molly! How are (cough) you and dear little...Sarah doing?" Casper tried to sound gracious from his hospital bed. These people always called him Sarah.
"I can see this is a bad time...." Molly said, she had been crying.
"No time like the present." Casper rasped out. "Now, my dear, what (cough) can I do for you?"
Molly started acting a little funny. Her eyes welled up with tears but she tried to hold them back.
"It's....it's...." Molly sat on the floor, unable to stem the tide of tears any longer.
"Problems at home, dear?" Casper croaked. Molly nodded. She looked up a glanced back and forth between Robert and Casper.
"He's tired. He has to be. Stan thinks that Sarah is..." She covered Sarah's ears but didn't manage to block any sound at all "a monster." She lifted her hands and played with the little girls' hair. "Isn't that ridiculous?"
Casper tried to laugh but he quickly degraded into a long coughing fit. Finally, he recovered his voice.
"Play tape 331G for her." Casper said to no one in particular.
A monitor lit up and showed a road in the forest. A naked woman that looked a lot like Sarah ran onto the screen.
"Is that her...mother?" Molly asked.
"Just watch." Casper told her. The woman on the monitor was screaming something hysterically. Amazingly she began to shrink...and shrink. Until eventually the woman had transformed into the little child she was holding in her arms.
Molly's eyes opened wide and she set the child away from her.
"You knew?"
"Of course. And now, my dear, so do you. I cannot stand the sight of a traitor, as you are to Stanley. You know far too much to remain useful in your current state." He spoke into the air again, "Maneuver 1313."
Two burly-looking men entered the room. One tried to restrain Molly while the other held a hypodermic, ready to use. Neither was expecting Molly to fight, but she did.
One man tried to ignore the deep scratches on his face while the other continued towards her despite what he thought might be a burst testicle. All it took was a blow to the head and blood spurt out of Molly's nose. The groin-wounded guard viciously jabbed the needle into Molly and emptied its contents into her. She fell unconscious immediately.
"Dispose of that." Casper rasped. The two burly men took the woman and left.
Casper turned back to little Sarah. The little girl had an impassionate look on her face.
"Don't be frightened, dear. I won't do that to you."
In the dream, Sarah/Robert knew it was time to end the pretenses. The child walked fearlessly up to the old man.
"I know you won't...father."
Someone fumbled with the lock and Debby's heart twinged. She was sure she couldn't take another marathon session with the cameras and the...interrogation. Who knows how she was being portrayed? Knowing Casper the tapes were edited into....who knows? Her mind was too tired to even contemplate what was going on.
The door opened and a woman was pushed inside. Debby scrambled out of the chair and crouched in the corner. At least they didn't shackle her to it anymore.
She looked terrible, the woman looked like she had dug her way out of prison. Debby wanted to help her but was almost too tired to move.
"Debby?" The woman said weakly. She scrambled on her hands and knees over to where Debby was crouched.
"Freddy?" Debby asked. The two women held each other, Freddy wailing in loud sobs.
"It'll be okay, Freddy. We'll be okay..."
The two women sat in silence for a long time. Finally Freddy found her voice.
"Debby? How did you handle it when they....I mean, I haven't been a woman very long and I don't know how to deal when they...." Her voice trailed off.
"What?" Debby demanded. She held both of Freddy's arms so she could look her in the face. "What did they do?"
"You know..." Freddy offered, "They found out that I wasn't always a woman and they....they....they said they'd show me how to treat a ...."
"They RAPED you?" Debby asked. Freddy nodded. Debby held her friend and tried to comfort her wailing.
The lights shut down again. But something was different about this time, the incessant buzzing died completely. Shortly, the lights came on again.
And someone was fumbling with the lock again.
"Okay, we're in." Sarah said into her radio. She clipped it back to her belt. "Turn the power back on before they figure it out." The corridor hummed back to life.
Carefully, Sarah and Bull made their way down the corridor. Bull wore his sweatshirt but it looked a little fuller than normal.
"How are we gonna find them?" Bull asked.
"I had an idea about that. Smell." Sarah said, "I have enhanced my sense of smell so I can pick up on Ted's pheromones. I think we should try to do this by different methods. It'll double our chances."
"Why just Ted's?" Bull asked suspiciously. He could see that Sarah was turning bright red even under her mask. "Oh."
"And I will enhance your hearing so you can hear them. If you find any of them, get them out of here." She told her friend, "And get away. It's still not safe in here for you."
Bull grunted non-commitally. Sarah sniffed at the air.
"I think I have a lead." She said, starting to walk off. "Hearing. Speed."
Bull heard her footsteps dwindle off into the distance. He held his breath and concentrated on the sounds. Was that her? He started down the corridor.
He passed a clock and noticed that it did not appear to be working right. Each second ticked laboriously slow. He continued on, trying to hone in on Debby.
Sarah latched onto the scent of Ted easily; the only problem was isolating it. She entered the stairwell.
Sarah had perfected the stair-falling trick since the first time she tried it. She found that if she did it while after speeding herself up, it was much more manageable. She stood on the railing, facing the nearest wall, and stepped back.
In real time, she descended quickly, by her own perception it was painfully slow. She breathed deeply as she fell, occasionally grasping at the stair railings as she dropped near them. She did not maintain her grip on the railing; she just used it to slow her fall even further. While she felt she was falling slowly, the power of the plummet could kill her.
The railings felt slippery in a way. It was difficult to maintain any grip at all. When she felt undue stress on her joints, she let go. What floor was she passing? 10.....9.....8.....getting stronger.....7......stronger......6......fading slightly.
That was it! He was on the seventh floor! She slowed more at the fifth floor and stopped completely on four. With renewed hope, she started back for the seventh floor.
Bulls mind was full of noise. The sounds of hearts beating, people talking, sneezing, and generally just living filled his awareness. His own footsteps were nearly deafening. He tried to concentrate on snippets of conversation. Was that her?
"You won't get away with this." He heard Debby say. It was the sweetest music he could hear.
"Quiet, bitch!" He heard a hand slap against skin, "Or you'll be in for what your friend went through."
Bull swiveled his head, trying to locate the source of the sound. With a general direction decided on, he started running.
"Big man, picking on women. Your mother would be so proud." Debby said again. Her voice was getting stronger. The sound of his feet pounding on the ground was becoming more and more painful.
He went down two floors.
It was Debby, all right. She was really giving the guard a hard time!
Bull found his way blocked by a locked door. He started jiggling the knob, fast. At his current rate of speed the knob grew hot and eventually popped off in his hand. Unfortunately the latch was still secure.
So much for a stealthy entrance, Bull thought. He stepped back several feet and prepared to break the door down.
As the doorframe bent and gave way, so did Bull's shoulder. Loud sirens pierced the air, sending Bull to the floor, squirming in excruciating pain. The guards found him in moments, in a fetal position, hands over his ears, tears streaming from his eyes and barely conscious.
Robert awoke with a start, screaming. Alarms were blaring and the lights were flashing crazily.
After a moment he realized that screaming wouldn't help. A minute later, his screaming stopped.
Monty raced into the room, concern in his eyes. He scooped up the little girl and carried her out.
The alarms stopped as suddenly as they began. This is not a good thing, Sarah thought. Ted's scent was getting stronger; she knew she was getting close.
If she was going to deal with him, she decided, then we'd better be able to communicate.
"Normal speed." She said, and the world snapped back into real time. The scent was almost overwhelming. Up ahead was a door. It was almost certainly the one that Ted was behind.
She broke the door down with ease and found herself in a darkened cell. There was a CLANG! of metal on metal. A vault like door had swung into place where the old door had stood. She was trapped.
She looked around frantically. Ted's pheromones were overpowering. Apparently Ted had spent a lot of time in here. The scent was everywhere, but there was no Ted.
"So, this is the remainder of the Whisperer's team. It was quite ingenious of you to penetrate my defenses. Stop that infernal screaming!" Casper snapped at Bull.
Bull, still accelerated and with enhanced hearing did not understand a word of what Casper was saying. When Bull tried to respond, all that anyone could hear was a high buzzing sound. When he screamed however, the high-pitched wail was painful to be near.
Monty came into the room, carrying Robert. He set the little girl in the pink nightgown on the floor. Both of them watched silently from their darkened corner of the room.
Bull, Debby, Ted, and Freddy sat tied to chairs, side by side. Bull's facial twitches were making everyone nervous. He looked like he was twitching nervously at an insane rate.
"You need to calm down." Debby heard a little voice come from the edge of the room. Bull's twitching eased.
"Too loud." Bull said quietly, his senses and actions returning to normal speed. Casper actually walked up to him, smiled, and said loudly.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" He giggled and Bull cringed. He looked to Monty "Get him something to cover his ears. He's taking away my fun."
Monty left and returned shortly with a pair of earplugs. He walked behind the group of prisoners and put them in the young man's ears.
"By the way, don't expect a sudden rescue by your pretty little friend. That's was taken care of yesterday. She's not very pretty any more and..." he laughed again, "she's not a she and....well....let's just say a cold day in hell will probably be warmer than where she died."
Debby shot Bull a panicked look. Bull tried to remain impassive.
Casper picked up a chair and placed it in front of the group.
"Now, let's talk about how your late friend used to use these abilities..."
The lights in the room changed randomly, Sarah noticed, but she tried to ignore it. The door was a solid vault construction, a thick metal plate that fell into place automatically. The ceiling looked to be metal as well, but the floor was some kind of tile.
She crouched on the floor, examining the material. Peeling up a tile, she saw that the floor was metal as well.
"So none of you have any idea how she used her power? Come now, do you honestly expect me to believe that?" Casper stood and paced in front of them. "Now, I know it involved speech but that could hardly be the entirety of it. Robert, come here!"
"Yes Momma." Robert said obediently and walked over to Casper. Casper grasped the child's arm and sliced it with a knife.
"Ow, Momma! You cut me!" Robert said in a confused voice. "I'm cut."
Instantly the wound healed.
"Say that I am a man!"
"You're a man." Robert said. Nothing happened. Casper stood there as before, male.
"Go away now Robert." Casper dismissed the child. Sulkily Robert returned to Monty at the side of the room.
Casper stood and wheeled a tall device to the front of the group. A device designed to fit into a closed fist was attached to the machine by a long wire. After fiddling with the device for a moment, he spoke again.
"Montgomery, come here and release their bonds." Casper smiled, "I do not recommend standing up, by the way. This thing has a hair trigger. The results would be quite fatal."
Sarah peeled up a large section of tiles. Somehow she knew that this would be the best way out. She beat on the metal floor, scratched at it. Nothing she did even made a dent.
She sat back for a moment, frustrated. Then Sarah saw, in the corner of the room, a single chair.
Attached to the chair was a leg shackle.
"You do remember the neuro-toxin that took poor Stanley's life?" Casper crowed, "Ah yes, I am sure you do. Tragic, not even your vaunted Whisperer could do anything about it. Well, this little treasure is just chock-full of those cute little darts."
Bull and Ted shifted in their chairs.
"DON'T even think about it." Casper said. "This is a dead-man switch. Anything happens to me and ALL of you die."
Bull and Ted sat back.
"Good boys." Casper walked up to them. He stopped at Debby and fondled her hair, "Such potential. What a waste."
Bull's eyes flamed with fury. Casper noted his reaction and lingered a little longer with Debby.
Ted looked at his sister. Freddy did not look good. She looked beaten and dirty. That wonderful lively spark was gone from her eyes.
Bull examined the device. It was five foot tall and it appeared to have a single barrel. It would have to shoot them all sequentially if it were to get the whole group.
Sarah held the shackle in a gloved hand. She kneeled over the spot she had cleared on the floor and began to rub.
Quickly, her hand was a blur and the metal of the floor was starting to glow.
Another alarm sounded. The earplugs were not enough to block the sound and Bull collapsed to the floor in pain.
"Fire, eh?" Casper spat. He stood and kicked the squirming Bull. "A little present you left for later, eh BULL?"
Casper's heel dug deep into Bull's flesh. Ted started to ready himself for an attack while Casper was still distracted.
"Don't!" Casper warned and backed away. The alarm stopped. He held the trigger tight in his frail-looking hand. Ted sat back.
The earplugs had fallen out and Bull lay on the ground making grunting noises.
"Get up." He told Bull. "You can't tell me that you were beaten by a GIRL?" Casper laughed.
Slowly and painfully Bull made it to his feet, something clutched in his hand. He had a look of proud determination on his face. Then his face began to twitch at an insane rate.
"SIT DOWN!" Casper said, brandishing the trigger.
Almost instantly a knife was sticking into Casper's chest. He looked down shocked. He looked up and smiled.
"NO!" Debby and Robert screamed at once. Casper dropped to the floor and Bull looked as if he were attached to the device. The barrel was right at chest level.
The little girl quickly started running to the fallen Casper just as the sound of percussive air sounded from the device. Whump! Whump! Whump! Whump!
Bull fell backwards and hit the floor with a loud crack.
He wasn't moving and four darts stuck out of his chest.
"Momma, Momma." Robert was saying. He took the knife out of Casper's chest with his childish hand. He held Casper's head in his lap and rocked back and forth, trying to say soothing things.
A loud pounding started. It grew in volume and intensity as the moments passed.
"What is it now?" Ted said. "We need to get out of here." He took the two women by the arm and started dragging them towards the door he perceived to be an exit.
The pounding increased and now there was a groan of metal as well.
Debby was hysterical, she kept trying to get back to Bull but Ted continued to pull her away. Monty was now at Casper's side as well.
Crash!
The door fell out of its frame and landed on the floor with a jarring sound.
Sarah stood there, a look of seething anger on her face. She was no longer wearing the mask. Seeing that the immediate danger was over she rushed over to her friends. They gathered close around her and they greeted each other with the ferocity of those who had been through war together.
"Isn't this touching?" A familiar voice said from the other end of the room. "She returns to DIE with her friends. To die again, apparently."
Casper stood, healthy and whole. He pushed Robert and Montgomery away.
"You see, I too have a whisperer now." He chuckled and kicked Bull's unmoving form. He laughed. "Too bad she won't help your STUPID friend here. Eek!"
Bull was grasping Casper's leg. Casper jerked free and backed away.
"It's not possible. Death was instantaneous!" He backed further. "Montgomery, kill him! Kill them all!"
Monty crossed his arms defiantly across his chest.
"No." He said, more lucid than anyone had ever heard.
"Then I'll have you killed, you ungrateful clod!"
"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" the little girl shrieked. Everyone in the room was taken aback.
"No! You weren't mean before. Now you keep hurting people! Ever since you came back! There's something wrong with you, Momma. You're sick! I wish you were all better, Momma Molly." In his mind, Robert had made the connection. Momma Molly was just sick and needed to be herself again.
"What.....no!" Casper went into a panic. He felt his memories slipping away, one bit at a time.
"NO, I HAVE THIS BODY NOW!" Casper said, forcing out each word. His early memories were slipping now, his formative years. The time when the idea of self is truly developed was suddenly replaced in his mind.
He tried with all his might to hold onto each event, as if sheer force of will could stop the process. Each moment slipped easily from his grasp.
Casper Collins saw his own imminent demise and collapsed.
Sarah stood by Robert now, a hand on the shoulder of the child who would one day look like her.
"I know you want to wake her. Give her a minute."
Carefully, Bull plucked the darts from his chest and tossed them aside. There was no blood and no winces of pain.
Debby nearly tackled him and smothered him with kisses.
"How could you do that?" She demanded when the kissing stopped. "I thought I'd lost you!"
"I don't think Casper's guys knew this was armor. Ow! That's not armor!"
The woman stirred. She sat up and tried to catch her bearings. When it was obvious she would faint, Sarah rushed behind her and whispered a word to help.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"Casper's."
"I was just talking to Casper and.....no....NO! Get away from me!" She backed fearfully away from Robert.
"Momma?"
"You're not a child. You are a MONSTER!"
"Please Momma...."
"I am not your Momma! I will never be your Momma. You creature, you have no MOTHER!"
Robert started sobbing, huge wracking sobs. Montgomery was the one who comforted the child. Sarah shooed Molly back towards the crowd.
"YOU did this!" Robert pointed a stubby finger at Sarah. Montgomery picked up the child and started for a door.
"You will pay. I know who you are, Whisperer! You stole my Mommy and my Daddy. Everything was good until YOU came along! Stop Monty, stop!" She ineffectively beat on Montgomery's back.
Montgomery kept walking towards the door, carrying the screaming child-man. It was not a day for revenge and Robert would not, could not hurt him.
"I'll make you pay!" Robert yelled as the door slammed behind him.
Molly looked utterly confused, but Bull took Debby and her and once again started towards the door.
Ted was standing staring at Sarah. His eyes looked so lost yet so full of emotion. Sarah didn't know how so much could be said with just the eyes. She wanted to get lost in those eyes.
"Everybody FREEZE!" A commanding voice came from the door. The entire group looked to where these orders were coming from. Twenty heavily armed men came into the room. Each of them with a weapon pointed at one of them.
Everybody froze.
The man who shouted walked directly up to Molly.
"Should we take them into custody, sir?"
Molly looked around. Bull and Debby nodded for her to play along. She tried to get her bearings.
"No," she said, trying to imitate a man's voice, "everything is under control. Tell your men to stand...to not....to go away."
"Sir?"
"You heard me. Do I have to repeat myself?
"No sir. Everyone stand down." He shouted back to his men. Freddy whispered something in Debby's ear. Debby stepped over to Sarah who in turn spoke to Molly.
"Have those two stay behind!" Molly told the departing captain. After some sorting out, it was determined which two she was talking about.
"Get the rest of those men out of here!" Molly commanded. The guards complied.
The two men stood nervously in front of Molly. Sarah started to speak to them.
"So....gentlemen. No, I guess I can't call you that, can I?" Sarah started. "A gentleman doesn't RAPE." She turned her head and whispered something under her breath. "Freddy?"
Freddy walked up to the men. Sweat was beading down their faces. She kneed the first one in the groin.
"Just to show you what you'll be missing." She turned and did the same to the other guard.
On the floor, grabbing their groins, the men wallowed in pain. They grabbed their testicles as if they were precious jewels. And then those precious jewels slipped out of their hands as their manhood shrank away.
"Please, don't make us women." One said, feeling desperately for pieces of his body that were no longer there.
"Oh, I'm not." Sarah said. "I'm just giving each of you his very own pussy. Everything else will be just the same. But don't worry; you are still attracted to women. I've made sure of that. But you aren't lesbian and you can't do anything the way you used to. Now can you? You are going to be horny and unsatisfied for the rest of your miserable little lives. AND IF I EVER HEAR OF YOU HURTING ANYONE...." She let the final thought dangle unsaid. She held the hand of one of them.
"Married?" she asked and dropped the hand, "Pity."
Sarah walked up to Ted and took his arm. It felt good; it felt right to be with him.
Molly, realizing that she could do anything she wanted now within the confines of this building, led them all through the front door - to freedom.
Z's mountain hideaway was three bedrooms, two baths, and maximum stealth. Still, the crowd of nine threatened to burst its seams.
"Corey!" Ted saw the child hurtling towards him and nearly super-sonic speed.
"Daddy!" Ted picked up the child, and hugged him silently. He didn't want anyone to see the tears streaming down his face.
"About an hour ago the house just disappeared." Kirsten told Z, "Abdul told us that everyone was safe and that he had interfered enough. The next thing I knew we were sitting in your living room."
Corey was tiring of the hug and struggled to get loose. Ted disagreed but Corey held his arms out to Sarah. Happily, she joined the two with uncharacteristic tears on her face as well.
"Think she'll change back?" Bull asked Debby.
"What? She can change back now?" she asked. Bull nodded. Together they looked at the three people that were just happy to be in each other's presence.
Debby shrugged.
"How did you know what to do anyway, honey?" Debby asked Bull. "You know, when you attacked Casper?"
"Sarah told me." Bull said with a smile, "My hearing was still all enhanced and stuff. She knew that she couldn't get through the door fast enough so she fixed my hearing and my shoulder and sped me up so could get it done. Z worked up this great vest that's kinda like Sarah's costume so I knew I could take the darts. At least I was pretty sure."
"Inside everyone." Z insisted, "Kirsten has some things we need to know."
Gathered in the small living room, Z pulled up a recorded television report.
"The team of Whisperers, alien invaders intent on world domination, is now thought to be at large. Explosions at a GeronTech research laboratory lead authorities to believe that all known Whisperers are now once again, at large. GeronTech spokespeople have been unavailable for comment. The Federal Government does not acknowledge the threat and still will not comment.
The known invasion force is comprised of these individuals."
The screen showed photos of Sarah, Debby, Bull, Ted, Freddy, and Corey
"Any leads as to their whereabouts should be reported directly to your local authorities."
Z turned the report off.
"For some reason, Sarah, they have not linked you in costume with you out of costume. Our only other advantage is the fact that Kirsten and I have not been named."
Sarah thought for a moment and said the obvious.
"We need a plan."
Sarah shut the door of the RV, kissed Ted and sat in the passenger seat. Corey jumped onto her lap.
Corey now sported jet-black hair and a different nose. He thought it was funny that everyone was changing faces all the time - and it was a fun game.
"Okay, they've agreed." She finally said.
"When?" Ted said, his face sad and worried.
"Right now. They want to give me a chance to say good-bye. That, and to change."
"Can't I talk you out of this?"
"Just because I did it for you? No, I went too far." She hugged Corey tight against her chest and kissed the top of his head. "Two months in local jail and they let me work in the hospital once a week. For that they leave my identity off the records and forget the whole thing."
"This jail can't hold you."
"It can if I let it." Corey pushed on her arms. Apparently she was squeezing too tight. She set him down.
"I love you Corey." She said, hugging him before he ran to the back of the RV to play. She stood up and sat on Ted's lap and kissed him furiously.
"I appreciate your staying like this for him." Ted said, playfully squeezing a breast.
"I couldn't do that to him. He was so upset by the other me. Besides," She kissed him again, "there are fringe benefits. I love you, Ted."
"Mmmmm, I love you too, Sarah." He lifted her up and set her on her feet. "Now you better get going before I don't let you go through with this." He spanked her lightly.
She looked for a moment as if she would change her mind. But she realized that she should pay for what she had done. Blinding police and taking their speech could not be taken lightly. If ever she could get the world to understand she had to have SOMEONE on her side, even if it had to start with this small town.
As she walked to the courthouse, she altered her features again. Her long auburn hair fell out only to be replaced by a short blond pixie cut.
Bull had told her that she had to make it right. Funny thing about Bull, she had never known him to be wrong.
Ted watched her walk in. He waited a long time before finally starting up the RV.
Two months is a long time but it isn't forever.
End Part 11 and Season 2
joanbanks@ivillage.com The Story Alcove http://www.geocities.com/dejahcarter