Amy felt good. Like, really really good.

She felt better than when she beat a previous one-rep max. Better than the first time she'd placed in a 10K run. Even better than the day she graduated from Marine boot camp, or the state police academy.

The strongest runner's high she'd ever experienced couldn't begin to compare to this.

It was as if there were live wires buzzing right beneath her skin, making her nerves vibrate with pent-up energy. An indescribable sense of barely-contained power accompanied every movement she made, like she'd become a speeding locomotive in human form.

Like I've become an unstoppable juggernaut, she thought wonderingly, opening and closing her hands. That's what the man said, isn't it? A juggernaut.

The squad car's radio squawked, startling her out of her introspection.

"7L20, regarding your 10-91, animal control is en route, five minutes out. Uh, they asked us to confirm... you're sure it's a gorilla?"

Amy picked up the handset, taking particular care not to crush it with her newfound strength.

"10-4, dispatch," she said. "I'm looking at him right now, and he is definitely a gorilla."

"Ook, ook," the gorilla added, then let out a grunting huff.

Was it just her, or did he sound insulted?

"Okay, 10-4 7L20," the dispatcher's tinny voice replied. "Do you require any additional assistance?"

"Code 4, dispatch, we just need someone to come pick him up."

"10-4, sit tight."

The speaker beeped twice, then clicked. She returned the microphone to its cradle, and her attention returned to the bizarre transformation that she seemed to have undergone.

Her view of the world was tinted monochromatic green by the visor of the helmet she was wearing. As she turned her head, glowing white icons appeared and disappeared, highlighting any objects her attention lingered on. In the top-left corner of her view, a number was slowly counting down.

117

116

What did it all mean?

She didn't have a clue, but she knew who would.

Without turning around, she spoke into the sudden quiet. "Alright, mister. How about you start by telling me your name, and then we can talk about what just happened."

"That's only fair, I suppose," the man said. In the rearview mirror, she could see his affable, oddly-reassuring smile had returned. "I'm Ryan, Ryan Wright. It's nice to meet you."

"...right. Nice to meet you, Ryan. You can call me Amy."

"Amy. Got it. As for what's going on... would you believe me if I told you there's an alien invasion coming?"

Somehow, the man managed to deliver that absurd line with a straight face. She started to laugh, then hesitated.

"Wait. The blob thing that was trying to reach through the... hole?"

"Portal. And yep, that was a Zorvax. Trust me, they're a lot scarier than they look." He paused, a shadow passing across his face. "What's today's date?"

She told him, and he winced.

"Five fucking years," he muttered, in a low tone that made her suspect she hadn't been intended to overhear it.

The man shook his head, as if he was trying to clear it, then continued.

"The Zorvax Star Empire has been planning their takeover for a while now. A decade, maybe more. I know they've been snatching up animals and people for that long, at least."

"They got here ten years ago?" Amy pointed up at the dark, cloudy sky. "You're telling me they're in orbit above us right now?"

"Technically, they're already here on Earth with us, too. The other side of that portal was a Zorvax outpost somewhere on the planet. But most of their forces are still stationed off-world."

Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the side of her much-abused cruiser. Amy tried her best to avoid staring at his wet, naked, and painfully-handsome form.

From the moment she laid eyes on him, Amy had found the stranger attractive. Not that she'd ever allow something so superficial to influence her in the performance of her duty. It didn't matter that he looked like an underwear model, the man had been disturbing the peace. He was a danger to himself and others, and so she'd taken him into custody without the slightest hesitation.

But he'd proven to be more than just some hot weirdo who needed to spend a night in the drunk tank. That made everything... complicated. She remembered staring up at his broad back as he drew the monster away from her prone form. Now, with the adrenaline from her near-death experience still coursing through her veins, she felt an unaccountable longing.

The first thing she noticed every time she looked at Ryan was how big he was. In every sense of the word. Amy was not a short woman, but she'd need to stretch if she wanted to run her fingers through his dark, artfully-tousled hair. What would it feel like to have those big arms wrapped around her?

Her inspection dropped lower.

What would it feel like...

Biting her lip, she jerked her gaze back up to meet his.

"Okay, fine." She grimaced. "Let's say I believe you."

And the truth was that, despite herself, she was pretty sure that she did. The whole story sounded impossible, like the plot of a bad sci-fi movie, but she couldn't deny what she'd seen. A giant green monster ape had climbed out of a hole in the sky, right there in front of her, and somehow she'd been transformed into a superhero to fight it. Compared to that, the looming threat of an extraterrestrial invasion sounded downright plausible.

"So... alien abductions? Are they trying to develop a disease that they can send through these... portals, or something like that? An army? What's their endgame?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"When they kidnapped me, I wondered the exact same thing. But the Zorvax don't think like that. They don't really have a concept of war, or not as we know it, anyway. And they never take avoidable risks. To them, conquest is... sort of like a game of chess, I suppose. The king sits back, sends out pawns to do the fighting, and once the other king is cornered, the match is over."

"When you say pawns, you're talking about animals like Ook, transformed into monsters?"

"Exactly. If we're sticking to the chess analogy, then a Brute like Ook would be a pawn. As I'm sure you noticed, the Changer made him a lot bigger, stronger, and tougher. That's the cheapest, simplest tool they've got in their toolbox, but it's definitely not the only one."

"Ook!"

"Hey, no offense, buddy."

"...ook."

She considered how much damage a single one of these Brutes had been capable of causing.

"I'm guessing we don't want to meet any of the higher-ranked pieces."

"You're right about that," he agreed.

"There's got to be more to it, though."

"Well, a lot of this is guesswork on my part. They didn't exactly brief me on their plans while I was in captivity, but I was able to pick some hints up here and there. I'm pretty sure that Earth not having any kind of central government made it an anomaly compared to the other worlds the Zorvax took over before. For most of their conquests, just picking up some big, dangerous examples of the local wildlife, slapping Changers onto them, and then dropping them out of a portal right on top of the planetary capital was more than enough."

"And that didn't work on Earth because we don't have a single capital for them to target."

He nodded.

"They've made attempts. When they first started operations, I think the Zorvax might have tried to take the U.N. hostage, or something like that."

"What? And nobody noticed?"

He gave her a flat look.

"...yeah, okay, that's not too surprising."

"After they realized that wasn't going to work, they switched to a more long-term strategy. Instead of only grabbing animals, they started collecting humans too. That's where I came into the picture. One day I'm out in the woods and next thing you know, poof!" He mimed a figure being pulled up into the air by an invisible force. "I wake up on a Zorvax space frigate. As far as I know, everyone back home thinks I'm missing, or dead... and I wasn't the first one they grabbed, or the last. They're perfecting their recruiting process, building up their forces."

"They're going to conquer us using our own people," she said, throat suddenly dry.

"Exactly. That suit you're wearing? The Zorvax call it a War-Form. From among the people they've taken, the most capable are picked out to become Enforcers, and trained to fight in War-Form. Then the best Enforcers are chosen as Forward-Commanders to lead them."

The power the suit had granted her was incredible. If she wanted to, it would be all too easy to rip one of the car's doors straight off its hinges. She'd almost done it by accident when she went to answer the radio earlier. In fact, she added, I'm probably strong enough right now that I could roll the whole thing over onto its side.

What would it be like to face a dozen opponents, all similarly equipped? What would it be like to face hundreds of them?

"But why? Why would anyone choose to fight for the aliens, against humanity?"

"The Zorvax can be very convincing," he said, his smile turning grim. "Operant conditioning, isolation, psychotropics, that kind of fun stuff. Their most effective approach, though, is that they're willing to share. They make all sorts of promises to the Enforcers and the Forward-Commanders. Swear allegiance, serve well, and when Earth becomes part of the Zorvax Star Empire, you get to rule over a few hundred million of your fellow humans."

"So what's your role in all this? I assume they didn't dump you naked in the middle of downtown during rush hour as part of some nefarious plot."

He chuckled.

"Nah. When they were picking out recruits for their first batch of human Forward-Commanders, I happened to make the cut, but... let's say their evaluation of my loyalty was a little off. I tricked one into letting me out of my cage, and now here I am."

"If they're as dangerous as you say, it couldn't have been that easy."

"I may have glossed over a step or two."

Amy ran through everything he'd said.

"Seeing as you've made it this far, what's the next move? Alert the government?"

"Hell, no. All the world leaders must have known about this for years. We've got to assume that some of them have been compromised by the Zorvax, and the rest are choosing not to go public with the information for their own reasons. Either way, they won't be any help."

She started to reply when a strange shivering sensation rolled up her spine. The number displayed by her visor had dropped into single digits.

10

9

8

Distracted, and vaguely concerned about what the countdown might mean, she said, "Ryan, I'm a government employee. Most of the men and women I work with are good people. I can't just take your word for it that they're covering up an alien invasion, or complicit in it."

2

1

0

The world went white, and when her vision cleared, she was merely human once again. Her limbs had become sluggish and heavy. The sudden absence of the War-Form's overwhelming strength felt like a lead blanket thrown over her, weighing her down. It was as if gravity had doubled, pressing her into the ground.

Save for the Changer belted around her waist, she was naked.

Dimly, she recalled the transformation, her clothes flying apart and bursting into flames as she rose up into the air.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that Changer transformations have a time limit. You know, like Cinderella. When the clock strikes midnight, you turn back into a pumpkin."

Eyes wide, Amy looked over her shoulder. To his credit, Ryan had turned away, rather than stare at her bare body.

How much, she wondered, had he seen?

How much did she want him to have seen?

"Workout clothes," she said tightly, feeling like her cheeks were on fire. "Gym bag in the trunk. Please."

He nodded, stepped away. A moment later he returned, offering her the sweatpants and hoodie while keeping his eyes politely averted.

"Thanks." As she tied off the drawstring, she realized he still had nothing to wear. "Um. Sorry, I don't have a spare set."

Her gaze attempted to wander back down below his waist, and with an effort she wrestled it back.

"I don't think they'd fit you anyway," she added a moment later in a small voice.

She was saved from any further embarrassment by the appearance of the animal control truck. It parked beside her patrol car and a pair of uniformed men hopped out.

Looking around in confusion, the newcomers silently took in her cruiser's broken rear window and dented roof, the twisted wreckage scattered across the street, the cratered pavement, and the waterlogged gorilla sitting at the center of it all.

"Ook."

One of the men raised a questioning eyebrow, and she shrugged.

A few minutes (and one long, awkward explanation) later, they'd left the despondent Ook in the capable hands of the professionals, and were on the road again.

"If you got away, how did the aliens find you?" Amy asked as they waited at a red light.

"They can track those," Ryan replied, pointing at the Changer she was still wearing.

"Oh." With a worried frown, she considered that information. "My... friend has your other Changer. If they're tracking it..."

"As long as we can find her quickly, it shouldn't be a problem. They have to recharge the base's portal generator after every use. The amount of mass they send through the portal and the distance they're sending it both affect how long the wait is before they can use it again. We should have at least two hours to reach her before they can open another one and try again."

"Hold on. You're saying that in two hours, they could come after her?"

"Yeah. But hey, there's another option too."

"What's that?"

"Well, they might decide to come after us, instead."