I stirred as a ray of sunlight settled onto my eyelids. I slowly lifted my head and was greeted with pain as I knocked it against the faucet. Was I still in the bathtub? I felt like I'd been out for ages.

My body was still warm, but no longer trying to contain a raging inferno. My arms were weak and shaky, which made sitting up difficult. I hadn’t felt this drained since the last time I had the flu.

I tried to blink away the blurriness from my eyes but to no success. My glasses must've gotten dirty. I removed them and started to wipe the lenses with my shirt, then stopped. I could see my hands clearly as if I had the glasses on.

I shook my head and held my glasses up to my face, and everything went fuzzy again. I set them down to look around the bathroom. My vision was better than a mere 20/20. The colors were richer, and I could see details I wouldn't have been able to before—like super HD. I waited to start seeing double of things, or for the edges to get blotchy. Any second my bad eyesight would return, right?

I climbed out of the tub to tell Katherine. I had to pass the mirror to get to the door. Even though I'd rather not look, my eyes went to the mirror anyway. I jumped back as I saw a stranger looking at me. There was no way that it was me.

I stepped closer and touched my cheek. The guy in the mirror did the same. I had to work to find any resemblance.

My eyes had gone from dark brown to amber. I could see my jaw line. Some of my features looked like they had rearranged to be unnaturally symmetrical. My skin was scar and acne free. My hair was tousled like the statue of David and had gone from a mud color to a rich brown color.

I glanced down at my body to make sure the mirror wasn't lying to me. I touched my stomach, and the squishy bulge was gone. I could see the veins in my arms and the shapes of my muscles. I took my shirt off and grinned at the faint outline of a six pack.

Man, I looked good! I’d zipped out of the realm of magazine covers and movie posters. Not even elves or vampires were in my league. I wondered what else had changed.

“Enjoying the view?” Katherine asked with a smirk as she leaned against the door frame.

I whipped around. Out of habit, I crossed my arms over my chest; then I realized I didn’t have man boobs anymore. I didn’t have anything to hide. Awkwardly, I lowered my arms. I’d never been shirtless in front of anyone before.

“Um…y-yeah,” I said.

Of course, at that moment, my oversized pants began to free fall. I snatched them, but not before I felt a breeze on my bum. My ears grew hot. Katherine giggled and tossed some clothes at me.

“I figured you would need these,” she said and left me alone to get dressed.

She’d given me a dark gray T-shirt and jeans. They fit snugly which made me uneasy. I had avoided close-fitting clothes like the plague because no one needed to see my gut accentuated. I kept looking in the mirror to remind myself that I could relax about my appearance.

I kept flexing my arms. Was this permanent, or would it go away? I hoped it stayed this way. I felt good enough to stand up tall for once. I didn’t have to feel embarrassed or ashamed if Katherine looked at me.

When I finally emerged, I found her sitting at the dining table. She had a book in one hand while the other tried to dip a celery stick into a bowl of hummus, but she kept missing. Sprawled out in front of her was a feast. There were mountains of sautéed vegetables, steaming loaves of bread, fruit bouquets, potatoes heavy with gravy, and a colorful forest of salad. The aroma hit me all at once and my mouth watered. I became very aware of the gaping chasm in my stomach.

I staggered over to the table like I’d never seen food before. My eyes went back and forth between her and the food. Was I allowed to eat any of it?

“Knock yourself out,” she said.

With an animalistic grunt, I tore into the food. I didn't bother with a plate or fork; I merely grabbed things and shoveled them into my mouth. No matter how much I ate, I couldn't get full. I felt like a bottomless pit.

“What happened to me?” I asked in between a bite of watermelon and a pile of potatoes.

She stared at me with concern. “You’ve been out for two days. Without any food, your body burned through its fat stores. You’ll be hungry until you recover,” she said.

“Buff whaff abouff fuh offur stuff?” I swallowed a chunk of bread. “My teeth were crooked before, how’d they just fix themselves?”

“Didn’t you hear what I said the other night?”

I nodded. “The more I push my body, the better it will get. But I thought that only applied to strength and powers.”

"No, it applies to every part of you. You'll grow immune to disease, have a better memory, and so on." She sipped her tea. "I suppose being more attractive is a bonus."

"So, basically, I'll keep getting better until I'm perfect?"

“Physically, at least. You’ll still be prone to mistakes.”

I tried to conceal my growing smile as the information settled into my mind. How much better was life going to be without getting sick, or forgetting something?

“And these changes are because…?”

She slapped her book against the table. “Still? You still don’t think you have powers?”

I lowered my head. “It’s not that easy to accept, believe it or not.” I chugged down a glass of water. “And you never explained how this all works. How do I have abilities in the first place? It’s impossible.”

"For most people, yes. You see, it all comes down to genetics. People like you and me can evolve to a higher state," she said. "Think of it like…nano technology. Most people are like the first computers with lots of big, clunky equipment that's slow and takes up a whole room. Meanwhile, we have ten times the amount of capabilities in the same amount of space."

“And that’s why you can tear off the roof of a car without looking like the Terminator,” I said.

She laughed. “Exactly.”

"If I can evolve to some new level, how come in gym I was always the slowest runner?"

"It's not enough to just run around and suddenly you'll have super speed. To run faster than a standard human…you'll have to literally run faster. People like us only discover their abilities on their own if they’re Olympic athletes because they're constantly pushing their boundaries," she said. "If you never push yourself that hard, you'll never move faster than the average Joe."

“What about the heat thing?” I said. “Why does my body feel like an oven sometimes?”

“It’s part of the process. We get to a state where we can do things no one thought people could do,” she said. “Me, for example, I’ve always had a strong connection to nature. I could sense when plants were thirsty. I could feel the caves underneath the mountains when I was hiking. When I became a ninja, I started focusing on that power until I could do this…”

She gestured to a decorative plant in the corner. The plant started shriveling like a time lapse video. The leaves changed colors and died. The stem wilted and disintegrated. Just as soon as it had begun to die, it came back to life.

“How’d you do that? With your mind?”

She shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know how we do it if it's our minds, our energy, or our spirit; our scientific understanding is too far behind to be able to explain it," she said.

“It just seems so…out there,” I said. “There’s no way some cells wrapped in skin can manipulate something else like that.”

"I don't think it's too out there. I think God created us to be capable of performing miracles. I mean Jesus could walk on water and heal people. He told his followers that if they believed, they could do even greater things than he did. Superhuman or not, you'll never be able to do something if you don't believe you can," she said.

“You believe God is real and all that?” I waved my hand in the air.

“You don’t survive as much as I have without a little faith.” She tapped a celery stick across the table like it was hopping. “Sometimes impossible things—things that seem like they were only a fantasy or a made up story—stare you right in the face. Even though it’s hard, you just have to believe.” She nudged me with her elbow. “Hint, hint.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, someday I’ll get to that point.”

She stood up and stretched. “Well, you’ve managed to stall your training long enough. Now that you’re up, we shouldn’t waste any more time. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“We’re not going to the terrace again, are we?”

“No, we’re leaving the city,” she said.

I frowned and looked at all of the food I hadn’t gotten to yet. I started sampling the things I hadn’t tasted as she walked towards the door. I slowly got out of my chair, stuffing mounds of buffalo cauliflower bites into my mouth.

“I’m opening the door…” she said.

I didn’t want to leave any of it behind. I took a handful of green beans and walked away. My stomach rumbled at me to take more.

“I’m at the elevator…”

I gave in and grabbed the platter of roast vegetables. I ran to the elevator as the doors were closing. I made it just in time. She hit the button to close the doors while I nibbled at a red pepper. She held her hands behind her back and looked at her feet to hide her smile.

“I’m desperate, don’t judge me,” I said.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

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The elevator opened up to let in a teenage girl dressed for the pool. She stood so close to me our arms were touching. She twisted her hair around her finger.

“You must be pretty hungry,” she said.

“Oh, big time,” I replied. She giggled a little more than necessary.

“You’re funny.” The elevator reached her floor. “This is me.” She moved in slow motion as she made her way out. She turned back and waved. “I hope I see you around.”

Once the doors shut, Katherine pursed her lips and shook her head. “Not even a day and the wolves are descending…” she whispered.

“What?”

“She was trying to flirt with you.”

“Pfft!” I laughed. “No, she wasn’t. She was being friendly.”

We crossed the lobby to the front doors. The car was waiting for us. The valet fumbled to open Katherine’s door and ignored me. He flashed her his best smile.

“You’ve got a nice set of wheels, Ms. Carvosso. If there’s anywhere I could take you, maybe to dinner—?”

“No, I’m all set,” she said as we got in.

“Well, let me give you my number just in case—” She shut the door and sped out to the street.

“You know, most girls would be thrilled to have that kind of attention,” I said.

“I think it’s obvious I’m not most girls,” she said. The car drifted around a corner. “I’m not impressed when people turn into drooling apes.”

“You’re not even flattered?”

“When I first changed, I was. I was never horrible to look at, but I wasn’t anything special. So going from average to spectacular was like a dream come true. Eventually, I realized it wasn’t really me people were attracted to, it was the beautiful face," she said. "But I'm more than my looks. I want to be liked for who I am."

"It's hard to believe that not a single guy has been swept off his feet by you." Though, I wasn't about to complain about that fact. "You're sweet, and you're smart. What more could they want?"

“I could name one thing, and it doesn’t require being nice, or smart,” she said.

“Oh…” I swallowed. The air in the car suddenly felt too warm. I was desperate to change the topic. “Is that why you don’t date?

“It’s one of the reasons.”

“What are the other reasons?”

"It's insane to have a relationship while being a ninja; it's reckless, and it makes you vulnerable. There's no time to worry about someone else when you have to keep yourself alive. I've learned that if I want to save people, it means being alone," she said.

She bit her lip, and her eyes started to water. Written on her face for one brief second was a lifetime of pain. Then she took a deep breath and buried it deep down in the place where she hid her weaknesses.

I didn’t like seeing her so upset because she didn’t deserve it. If anyone could understand that kind of longing to connect with another person, but being unable to, it was me. I puffed out my chest, determined to ensure she never felt that way again.

“Well, you don’t have to be alone anymore—I’ll keep you company,” I said.

“Is that so?”

“I mean, if y-you don’t think I would be too annoying to have around.”

A warm satisfaction filled her eyes. “No, not annoying at all,” she said.

We merged onto the highway. The mountains formed a craggy, blue wall in front of us. The clouds wrapped around their peaks like halos. I stretched my legs out and leaned my head against the seat belt. I watched the concrete city give way to grassy hills and woods. The highway soon condensed to two lanes. The road slanted upwards and snaked into the mountains. My ears popped. Katherine didn't let the sharp curves in the road slow her down—even though one mistake would send us flying off of the mountainside.

For a while, I could see houses poking through the trees, but then they disappeared. Signs marking nearby towns evaporated. Soon we were the only car on the road.

There were no more paved exit ramps, just dirt roads. Katherine drove onto one. It was so steep; I was amazed we didn't slide back down. Once we reached the top, the ground leveled out. The tires kicked up the dirt and formed a cloud behind us.

As we jostled along, we went by a NO TRESPASSING sign. She didn't seem bothered by it, so I didn't worry. Another mile passed, and there was another sign. She looked lost in her thoughts, so I didn't want to bug her with questions. Finally, a gate made of thick steel poles blocked our way. The sign posted on it read: TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT.

“It’s only to scare people. I don’t actually shoot them.” She winked.

She waved her finger through the air. The chain on the gate unlatched and opened. Once we pulled through, it closed itself, and the chain returned to its locked position.

The road dipped down. The trees grew densely around us, blocking most of the view. I couldn’t tell where we were going now, or if there was anything we were heading towards.

We went around a bend and the trees scattered as we entered a valley. The entire basin was carpeted with lush grass and dotted with the kind of trees that people like to read underneath. We passed an expansive, sparkling lake. Surrounding the valley on all sides were pristine peaks tipped with white. I felt like we'd driven into a scenic calendar picture.

The centerpiece of the valley was an enormous house perched on a hill encircled by well-manicured lawns and gardens. It looked like a mountain lodge on steroids. It had beautiful stone work around the bottom and on the part of the log pillars supporting the roof. Rustic wood paneling and many windows covered the rest of the house.

“Home, sweet home,” she said. We drove onto the cobblestone driveway and into a round-a-bout. She parked in front of the door.

"This is your house?" I asked. It looked more like a high-end mall than a house. What would someone need all of that space for?

“I spend a random night or two here, but really, it’s just for training,” she said and got out. It took a minute for me to move. I couldn’t stop staring.

The front door was at least eight feet high, and two people could pass through it standing side by side. We entered a cavernous space going all the way to the back of the house. The ceiling was two stories above me. In the center of the room was a giant cylindrical fish tank. A staircase leading down to the lower floor wrapped around the tank. Dozens of exotic fish swam happily between the two floors. I couldn’t name half of them. Above the tank was an arched bridge connecting the upper floors of the left wing and the right wing of the house.

Past the aquarium and bridge was a living room. It had a white couch, two chairs, brass lamps that looked like telescopes, and the wall on the left side had a stone fireplace. Petrified branches hung on either side like antlers. All of the furniture was gigantic; I guess to fill up space. The back of the house had to be ninety percent glass, giving a striking view of the outside.

I moved closer to the windows. There was no fence to mark the backyard. It seemed like the entire mountain range was the yard. I could see a massive pool, the kind they had at waterparks and further away was an enormous extreme obstacle course.

“This is where all the ninja train?” I asked.

I heard a refrigerator open. I turned to my right and saw the kitchen. Three wide steps and a rail were all that separated the rooms. Half of Katherine's body was in one of the shiny steel fridges; there were two altogether. The cabinets were chocolate colored, and the counters were granite. Dried spices hung from the ceiling along with pots and pans. The kitchen was large enough to fit a small army.

“Oh, we’d never fit that many people here,” she said and emerged from the fridge with an apple. “I’m supposed to take you guys to train at the base, but it’s miserable there.”

“Why is it miserable?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, trust me.” She walked towards a hallway leading into the left wing of the house. I followed her.

“Why are you supposed to take us there?”

"It's the only place the humans won't accidentally see us," she said. We walked past a staircase leading to the second floor and some doors. I don't know how I was supposed to find my way around. Without her, the house was a maze.

“You make it sound like you aren’t one.”

“Well, not exactly. I can live for a thousand years. They’re lucky if they see eighty,” she said.

My jaw dropped. “Wait, you can live a thousand years?”

"Yeah," she said and paused by a door. "I mean in the right conditions, it could be possible for one of us to live…oh, I dunno…forever." I looked at her from head to toe. I still couldn't tell her real age.

“So…how old are you?”

She grinned. “A woman never reveals her age.”

"My mom says that…" I said. She began to turn the doorknob. "Come on. You can't be that old, right?" She shrugged her shoulders like she had no idea what I was talking about. "You've got to be like eighteen?"

“Nope.”

“You can’t be more than twenty,” I said.

“I’m not going to tell you. You might as well give up.”

“Don’t tell me you’re like a hundred?”

She laughed. “Alright, I’m not that old.”

I sighed with relief. I’d feel very awkward around her if she was older than my grandmother. I had to settle for that answer because she wasn’t going to give me more. Still, the question wiggled around at the back of my mind like a worm.

She finally opened the door and led me into the room. It was a replica of my bedroom at home. Everything was accounted for, right down to my collectible lunch boxes. The only real difference was the quality of the furniture and that everything seemed color coordinated. It was the version of my room if I had a wealthy mother. How in the world did she find all of this stuff?

“You’ll be staying in this room,” she said. “I tried to make it as homey as possible.”

“Yeah, I’d say you did pretty well.”

I opened the closet. The clothes were different because they were sizes that would fit me now. The socks and underwear were all lovingly folded in the drawers. Had she given this amount of attention to the other team members’ rooms as well?

She beckoned me out of the room. “I’ll show you the rest of the house.” We went further down the hall. “There’s the bathroom through that door…that door is Wolf’s room…and the room next to you belongs to Hot Stuff.”

“Wolf and Hot Stuff? What kind of names are those?”

“Code names. Everyone keeps their true identity a secret. Only I know everyone’s real name,” she said then held up a finger. “Speaking of which, you’ll need to come up with a name. When the team gets back, you’ll have to wear a mask, too.”

“Why?”

“If any one of you is kidnapped and tortured, you won’t be able to give the enemy any names or identify faces,” she said.

“Oh.” My throat constricted. “Does that happen a lot?”

“Fortunately, no.” She smiled and went towards the direction of the living room. I glanced back. There were a set of double doors at the end of the hall she hadn’t said anything about.

“What’s through there?” I asked.

When she saw what I was looking at, her body locked up. “Nothing—it’s just my room.” She spun around and walked away at a faster pace. I stayed put.

“Can I see it?”

She squeaked. “No!”

“You’ve seen my room—”

"A girl's room is different!" Her cheeks flushed. She tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to calm down. "It's private."

“Hey! A guy’s room is private, too! I could’ve had my underwear on the floor when you snuck in there or something,” I said. She rolled her eyes, resisted laughing, and kept moving.

We took the stairs winding around the fish tank to the basement level and ended up in a second living room. This one had squishy carpet, a semi-circular black couch, a large TV, and a minibar. Glossy wood paneled the walls. The lights were shaped like lanterns and set to dim. It was a walk-out basement so I could see a patio with a fire pit snuggled up to the back of the house.

"There are a theater and game room on that side, but you'll be spending most of your time over here," she said and went to the left.

We made our way down a hall and through a dark gray door into a full sized gym. It wasn't like any gym I'd seen before, though. The treadmills went up to speeds like two hundred miles-per-hour. The smallest dumbbell weighed seventy pounds. Beside them were giant blocks that looked like they belonged on a pyramid.

“These bad babies weigh one to three tons,” she said as she patted one of the blocks. I pointed to the big pots filled with sand, rocks, and cement bricks.

“What are those for?”

"To toughen the fists," she said and demonstrated by punching into the bricks. They busted, and a plume of dust rose from the pot. I expected her knuckles to be bloody or broken, but they were fine.

“You’re insane!”

“I never said this would be easy.”

She approached a cabinet in the corner. I could see all sorts of knives, throwing stars, and practice swords inside it. She opened an antique chest covered in symbols and pulled out a black cloth.

“You’ll be needing this,” she said as she came over to me.

I took it and turned the flimsy material over. It had a gold band across the top and a gold symbol on one side, similar to Japanese, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. It had no straps or strings to tie it to my head.

Curious, I pressed it to my face. The mask molded to my features and held on comfortably, hiding everything below my eyes. Breathing was a little difficult, but nothing I couldn’t get used to. I felt a creeping sensation running down my neck like a million bugs were crawling over me. I looked down to see the fibers of the mask were stretching outward and morphing into a ninja uniform.

When the material settled, I had on a black long-sleeved shirt with a white one underneath. They were folded over like a karate uniform. A black cloth belt hung around my waist, and black pants clung to my legs. Wrapped around my shins like a mummy was white cloth. My shoes had changed into ninja slippers. The soles were cushy, and it felt like a Jell-O hug all around my feet. The black gloves on my hands had thousands of rubbery grippers on the palm and fingertips

“How’d it do that?!” I said.

"It's made out of some fancy nanite fabric that the Science Division invented. It's thin enough to be lightweight, strong enough to resist tearing, it breathes in the heat, and thickens in the cold. It also absorbs perspiration. The best feature, though, is that it doesn't need dry-cleaning."

"How do I take it off? Do you just…?" I peeled the mask off, and the uniform got sucked back into the mask. I stared at the cloth. "Crazy." I stuffed it into my pocket.

“Do not lose it. Treat it like your life depends on it,” she said. I nodded. “I mean it. Without your mask, you’re useless.”

I held my hands up. “I got it. I won’t lose it.”

Then I heard the front door burst open. Boisterous shouting echoed around the house. Footsteps thundered across the floor. We both looked up at the ceiling. Did we just get invaded by the zoo?

“The others are here.” She pointed to my pocket. “Put that back on.”