Staring out the window, I watch the buildings slide past. This is my first time out of the hospital since that day. We’re on the way to my first day of training for my telekinesis. Little do they know, I’ve done quite a bit during the hours of boredom in my room. I spent so much time staring at random objects willing them to move that I was genuinely beginning to question my sanity. Eventually I started to get the hang of it, sort of. I can move things around like a drunk poltergeist, but I still have no idea how much weight I can lift, how many things I can move. Really I have more questions than answers. So I’m mostly looking forward for the chance to see what I can actually do.
Initially I was worried I’d lost my chance with Michelle when they came to get me, but I have a couple more outpatient sessions with her. Hopefully I can manage to work up the nerve to ask her out or something. Just thinking about it gets me all flustered. Maybe I’ll wimp out and just ask to be friends or something.
It isn’t long before we pull up to what I can only describe as a warehouse that had been renovated into some futuristic industrial monstrosity. I hop out of the car and am lead by a non-descript man through the front door.
Inside there is a long corridor with a glass wall on one side. Peering through the glass I find myself looking down into a large open area. I’m confused for a split second because we just came in at the ground level. I just didn’t expect this place to be quite as big as it is, nor did I imagine it continued underground.
Before I move on I notice some movement and look a little closer. I see people in bulky black armor with odd pulsing blue lines running around in mock buildings. I can see odd blue weapon fire being exchanged between a couple of teams. Apparently I’m not the only one being trained at this facility. I’m a little curious about these people though. They’ve got a sort of a creepy shock trooper vibe that I’m just not loving going on.
Behind me I hear an agitated clearing of a throat and see the man who I’m supposed to be following tapping his foot impatiently. Apparently he’s got better things to do. Without a second thought I follow him. Slowly. Playing up my balance issues. He gets a couple steps ahead before realizing I’m not moving that fast, before slowing down with a sigh.
I have no idea why I feel the need to mess with this guy. Well, no I guess I do. He could talk like a human being instead of being a dick. Whatever. I think briefly about trying to use my telekinesis to trip him but decide that would be a bit too much.
He leads me on a long circuitous route through the building. I could swear with all the random turns we’ve made we should have been back out the front door by now. It really probably wasn’t half as far as I figure though, it probably just seems that way because I’m a little nervous. After all, I have no idea what they are actually expecting from me.
Just as soon as I start getting anxious about the whole thing we enter a large room with a table holding some random objects on it. I guess the testing will start with this stuff.
“Please wait here. Staff will be along shortly to begin your training.” The man who lead me here says, before turning and walking back out quickly. Good riddance.
A couple minutes pass as I examine the items on the table. There are things of all shapes, sizes and weights. I pass the time picking up each object with my TK. I’ve already gone through all the items on the table and am attempting to hold as many in the air as I can. I’m up to 14 of them when I hear an excited squeal behind me.
In my shock I spin around quickly. Tail straight up and fluffed, ears back. I can hear everything rain down on the table since I lost track of it all in my surprise. Standing there with their mouths agape in shock are Matt and Jess. As soon as I realize it’s them I bound over in excitement wrapping them in a hug.
“I’m sooo happy to see you! Why didn’t you visit me again?!” I say squeezing them to within an inch of their lives.
“Nice to see you too!” They say in unison before Matt continues. “DRF wouldn’t let us. They said they didn’t want your treatment affected.” Odd, considering how much time I spent sitting around doing not much of anything.
“Huh.”
As I watch them I notice that Jess is really subdued compared to last time. Maybe she just is more professional at work, I must have misjudged her. Matt seems to have slipped into his usual subdued work demeanor as well.
“OK, Maya. It looks like you’ve already been doing a fair amount of practicing. So let’s get to it and see what you can do. We’ll have time to catch up a little this afternoon…” Matt says, glancing around pointedly. I can’t help but wonder if he’s being paranoid. By no means is he a conspiracy theorist, but he has had his fair share of weird ideas as to what DRF is up to behind the scenes. Then again… from where I’m standing nothing seems impossible anymore. From big guy, to little catgirl, to paralyzed, and finally to walking again, let alone the new powers.
With that we get down to proper testing. I’m hopeful that because I know them and that they just saw me holding a pile of items in the air we could have skipped ahead a bit. On the other hand, I know Matt, and should have realized that wouldn’t be the case. They have me pick up each item with my TK in turn. They have me move each item around, rotate it, set it down gently, pick it back up, and then drop it. Then they ask me some basic questions about how much I think each thing weighs, any properties it may have had.
I honestly had not even thought to try to feel properties of things with the TK. It turns out, that’s because I can’t. I can feel the shape of an object, but everything else is a blank. Imagine my shock when they tell me that a metal looking ball about a foot in diameter is actually made of tungsten and is about 300 pounds.
Eventually we move back to holding multiple items. They have me start with two and swirl them about in patterns. As we add items it gets harder and harder to keep track of them all. The more items and the more complex the patterns the harder it gets to keep from dropping things. At one point during this mental gymnastics exercise I do the TK equivalent of dumping a pile of things in one “hand.” Everything clumps together and it my mind becomes one object. This makes it easier to focus on what I’m moving. I find that I can take stuff out of the clump, and if I let go of it everything just falls apart.
Ok, it definitely started out boring but now it’s getting pretty interesting. I’m having a hard time staying on track because I just want to keep experimenting with this whole clumping thing. I feel like I can probably do some really neat stuff with it. It looks like that will have to be another day though.
“Alright Maya. We are about ready to move to the next phase of your testing. Just one more thing to do here before we head to another room. We got a lot farther than we expected already.” Says Jess, still the consummate professional.
“Alright, what’s next then?” I ask. Jess looks over my shoulder and points.
I turn around and sure enough, there’s something flying at my face. I have no idea how I didn’t see this coming. For someone who has a thing for Catgirls Matt sure has no hesitation throwing stuff at me. With a wince I start to duck, ears flattening against my head. I try to grab it with my TK, but it’s moving too fast and I miss it. Braced for whatever it is to hit me, I freeze for what seems like way too long.
Opening my eyes I peek around my arms. It turns out to be a large soft foam ball, which is hovering about 3 feet away from my face. What the hell is going on? I’m not holding that thing up, or at least I’m not conscious of it. I just really didn’t want to get hit.
“What the…” I begin as I straighten up. The ball follows me up, staying in its exact position in relation to my field of view, which surprises the hell out of me. I let out a surprised squeak and take a step back, the ball promptly follows, which freaks me out even more. How do I put this thing down!? My ears are low and pointed to either side, my tail stock still up behind me. I must look completely panicked as Matt and Jess can’t hold in their laughter at this point.
“Oh sure, yuck it up. I don’t know how to get rid of it!” It’s too far to reach out and grab and for some reason I can’t even sense it, let alone grab it with my TK. At first it was just a shock, now I’m flustered about it. I feel like such a spaz! My tail begins to lash back and forth agitatedly.
“Calm down Maya. You’ll figure it out. Just take a deep breath.” Matt says sagely. It’s good advice. Specifically it’s the advice I always used to give him when he was wound up at work. After a small chuckle at the irony I do exactly that. My eyes still closed I hear the ball hit the ground.
Clearly there are some abilities, or maybe modes of operation would be a better way of putting it that I still haven’t begun figuring out yet. For that matter it’s not as if we had an exhaustive list of exactly what the cube in my back could even do in the first place.
“OK, let’s move on to the next series of tests. For the record, it doesn’t seem as though you caught that the same way you pick up other objects?” Says Jess.
“Yeah, I’m not really sure what that was. I just really didn’t want to get hit.”
“Hmmm, alright. Let’s move on for now. We’ll circle back to that another day. We thought you might just catch it.”
They lead me into a much larger area with an assortment of larger stuff from small boulders to some wrecked cars. There are also some smaller metal spheres lined up on a table, from the size of a marble all the way up to a basketball.
The room feels more like a hanger. Just how big IS this place?! The room is about 60 feet wide and must be a couple hundred yards long. At varying distances there are targets scattered about. It doesn’t take much to get an idea for what they have in mind here.
We begin by trying to find out how far my TK extends. After a few tests we find that I can work with small things, or at least things smaller than myself all the way to the back, although it’s really hard to sense them at that range. So it would be really hard for me to grab something at that distance and bring it back to myself. It’s more that if I’m already holding something I won’t drop it.
Before we can continue with that test we switch over to weight. This rapidly becomes my favorite part of the testing. Starting with the smaller boulders I still don’t have any concept of weight, and can easily lift hundreds of pounds. It’s not long before I have one of the cars set in my sights. I lift it without any perceptible effort. Even though I don’t feel like I’m exerting myself, my heart rate increases, and I start panting as though I am expending a great deal of energy. It’s a lot like when you sprint a short distance and then start breathing hard after you’re done. Except in this case it just keeps getting worse. Clearly there’s something at work here that I just can’t sense.
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After a short discussion about the fatigue from lifting what turns out to be a four thousand pound car we resume the distance testing. Four thousand pounds!!! After trying things of varying weights at varying distances we find that my maximum distance is an inverse square relationship with the weight of the object. In short, the bigger it is, the shorter the distance at which I can manipulate it.
“Before we continue… I have something I want you to try. It’s not on the list today… but it would be so cool… I want you to try and pick yourself up. I want to know if you can fly!” Says Matt in a sudden burst of enthusiasm. Jess’s professional facade cracks as she breaks into a smile too, nodding exuberantly.
At first I figure it’s absurd, but then again I did keep myself from falling… well, almost. I guess it’s worth a shot. I shrug and think back on what exactly happened then. I don’t think I was holding myself, but the rail of the bed. Maybe if I try to push the floor down?
At first it’s difficult to even sense the floor. That seems ridiculous, but it’s like things that are big enough to be essentially static just don’t seem to exist. More accurately, I’m so aware of every little thing on and around the floor it’s hard to sense it through all the mental chaff created by everything else. After a couple minutes of focus I can sense the ground I’m standing on.
With that I begin to push. I don’t feel anything happening, and I realize that I’ve closed my eyes in concentration. I can still sense the floor, although something is really odd, it no longer feels like it’s in a sensible orientation Clearly, I’ve messed something up and must be focused on the walls, or the ceiling or something
Opening my eyes I’m immediately confused. The view makes no sense. The world is upside down and the ground is about fifteen feet above my head. Matt and Jess, are once again standing there, mouths agape. Oh… I see. It worked… OOOOHHHH MY WHAT DO I DO NOW?! Yes, naturally I panic. It’s not exactly an everyday thing for me, finding myself floating about randomly. Naturally my concentration breaks and gravity reinforces its relentless tyranny.
Dammit. I am NOT falling again! I begin to ineffectively windmill my arms and tail trying to right myself when suddenly the world tilts violently and find myself landing softly on my feet. A sudden blast of wind whips every which way. I have no idea what I just did, but I am not getting hurt falling again. Been there, done that, got the hospital gown to go with it. I’m done with that.
“Ah-hahaa.” I let out a nervous laugh. “I guess I’ll need to practice that too…”
“Haaa! That was SOOO cool!” Jess squeaks out, bouncing on her toes a little with what I assume is her normal enthusiasm. Matt has a big smile on his face too.
“You looked like you were floating off as though you were in space! That was really cool!” Matt exclaims. It looks like the professionalism they’ve been working to maintain has fallen by the wayside. “OK, let’s continue then. Next… Let’s see you break some shit!”
“Is that the official name of this test?”
“It’s what I have on my checklist!” Matt responds.
I can’t help but giggle at this. Yup, that’s Matt alright. Well, this is a test I can get behind!
In short order we start try to figure out what I can do in terms of destruction. How fast can I move things? How far can I throw them? Enquiring minds want to know! Regrettably, this is where things start getting difficult.
As I try to move things faster and faster I have trouble keeping my sense of the item and where I want it to be synchronized in my mind. When I desync the object just drops to the ground ineffectually. Sometimes I’m quick enough to catch it and try again, but most of the time I miss it like a klutz. Attempting to throw things doesn’t go much better. If anything it’s worse. It’s hard enough to get things moving fast enough in the first place, then somehow when I try to release it, it doesn’t seem to want to keep going. Instead everytime I try, the thing I’m trying to throw pretty much tops dead before dropping to the ground.
I don’t actually know how long I practiced for. It seemed like at least a couple hours. After having failed to destroy any of the targets, I decide to take a quick break. As I do I realize that I’m incredibly fatigued. It’s not that I’m tired, per se. It’s more like being drunk, were it can feel similar to tired, but not. Along those lines I realize the world is spinning a little.
“Are you alright?” Asks Matt.
“Yeah, I think I just need to rest. I just feel kinda out of it.”
“Well, we’re all done with testing for today. Jess and I have to go back to the office and document everything. You have an appointment with a tailor? I guess. Supposedly someone will be here soon to pick you up. After that I think they said something about a meeting with you at DRF. In any event once your done for the day they’ll be showing you to an apartment that they have set up for you. We’ll meet you there so we can catch up.” With that they leave the room.
I decide to have a seat while I wait and rest. Within moments I’m nodding off. I could have sworn I wasn’t actually tired… but I guess I was wrong. It’s not long however before I’m being nudged awake by the same impatient guy that led me in earlier.
This time I don’t have to play up my issues. I genuinely am having more trouble walking than I’ve had in days. Next time I’ll have to pay more attention to how I feel, and try to get a sense for how much I can do and what tires me out. If they want me out there fighting baddies, I really don’t want to need to settle down for a catnap in the middle of a fight.
After leaving the building I hop into the waiting car and it’s not long before we pull up in front of a place called Custom Fine Tailors. With a name like Custom Fine Tailors, you’d expect the place to be sorta swanky, but it looked like the last time it’d seen any sort of an update must have been in the 90s. The driver sees the skeptical look on my face and chuckles briefly.
“Don’t let the outside fool you. Anybody who’s anybody among the emerged wears Tinker Tailor.”
“Uhhh, Oh.” I say uncertainty.
We walk in and the driver informs a woman behind the counter that we are here for an appointment. I look around at all the suits for a couple minutes while we wait before I hear a voice from behind me.
“Maya, I presume? I’m Tinker Tailor.”
At first I don’t even notice the person as I turn around, mistaking them for a particularly immaculate suit paradoxically dressed on a scarecrow for display. With a little start I realize my error. This is Tinker Tailor.
“Oh, ah, yes. Nice to meet you.” I stammer.
“Please follow me back. we’ll get you measured and go through some of your preferences.”
We go through a doorway I hadn’t previously noticed into a backroom so packed with drawers and supplies that I briefly wonder if I’m picking out a wand rather than discussing clothing.
“OK. Let’s take some quick measurements before we get to our discussion. Your backers are paying handsomely for this and have nearly given me carte blanche with only a few guidelines. I’m genuinely looking forward to this one. Now! Please stay still.”
After removing their gloves what appear to be a writhing mass of threads come from the tips of their fingers. The threads snapping from one pattern to the next to mesmerizing effect. Moments later they are vibrating through the air briefly brushing me all over and before I even react it’s already over.
What follows is a somewhat lengthy discussion about my tastes in casual clothing. I sort of thought that DRF would only be concerned with my super suit and some nice clothing for whatever marketing stuff they had planned, but I guess I’ll be getting some casual clothes too. I’m not about to complain. Towards the end of the conversation I give in to my curiosityand ask what they had in mind.
“Ohhh, I think I’ll keep it a surprise, but I’ll tell you one thing. You will look exquisite, so don’t you worry.” With that I am swept out of the room, and before I know it I’m back in the car on the way to yet another appointment I’m in the dark about.
Before long we are headed down a street I know well. After pulling up at the front entrance of the main DRF office I hop out and am escorted in to a large meeting room. It’s hard to even count how many hours I must have spent in this room, for various staff meetings and presentations. It’s so familiar, and yet so different given my new perspective, being shorter, smaller, and being treated as a guest rather than just another tech with a deadline to meet
I’m introduced to a plethora of people so quickly it’s beyond me to even try to remember their names. The one I do catch is Anthony Sartori. Apparently he’s in charge of the DRF Hero project. Within moments of my arrival he launches into a presentation that is mostly not even directed at me. The one bit that actually matters is that apparently they’ve already decided on my super hero identity.
Evidently some of the marketing team spent all of 12 minutes googling before they found an egyptian cat goddess called Bastet. They seemed to be fairly lacking in the details department which left me with an awkward feeling. I feel like if you are going to take the name of a god you should probably know more about them than, they help the good and punish the evil. I’ll have to do some more research on my own. It’s not like I’m a believer of any sort, but still, it just feels weird.
It does however reveal what little direction they had given Tinker Tailor. Apparently my super suit was to be egyptian themed to match my name. I have a brief burst of anxiety about what the suit would look like before I realized I’m still terrified of the idea of being a hero in the first place. Don’t get me wrong. I think it was a fine trade to be able to walk again, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m more than a little freaked out about the idea of putting myself in harms way.
As I sit considering my future as a hero the meeting comes to an end. I’m assured that once I’m further along in my training we’ll reconvene to strategize. I’m thankful that this is the last thing they had scheduled for the day as after my days lazing away at the hospital I’m beat.
After a short trip in the car I’m shown to a penthouse apartment in a swanky section of town that is apparently mine. Well, I guess I could get used to this. It doesn’t take long before I spot a couch in the living area and plop down to rest for a bit. I haven’t even looked around the whole apartment yet, but this couch seems so cozy. Within minutes I find my eyes drifting closed. I don’t even fight it. It’s been a long day and I could use a little catnap.
Unfortunately a catnap is all I get before I hear what I presume is the the bell for the door. Groggily I get up and retrace my steps to the front door. Answering it I find the smiling faces of Matt and Jess. Gone is the stoicism they tried so hard to project this afternoon as they are now all giggles and excitement.
After greeting them I prepare to give a tour, but I really don’t know much more about this place than they do at this point so we explore the apartment together. The place is well equipped with everything I would need but not much in the way of decoration. I’ll have to spruce the place up a bit. We do find Mr. Snugglekitty has made it from the hospital and currently has the entire bed to himself. I feel like maybe he’s a little lonely. I might need to expand my scant plushie collection. Hell, I’d even had a couple when I was a guy. Now I don’t need to pretend they aren’t adorable… nothing will stand in my way, I will have them ALL!
Once we’d completed the short tour, we head back to the living area which was a large open plan space with the kitchen and dining area. Well stocked though it was, it didn’t have much in the way of food. We quickly ordered pizza and then sat down to have a real chat. I started with what had been on my mind all afternoon.
“Alright, so spill it. You’ve been all spooked about DRF listening in for a while. So what’s going on?”
“OK, well… To be honest I don’t have anything solid. It’s just that there have been people coming and going who aren’t part of DRF and they aren’t the sort we would usually do business with either. A lot of these people have connections with some really shady groups. Now before you ask I’m still digging. I don’t have a lot of details.” Matt says pausing a second before continuing.
“Also is the way they are dealing with you. They seem bound and determined to hide as much from you as they can. This I can give you an example on. They didn’t tell you at the time, but the agreement you signed was actually a settlement. They presented it the way they did to make you think you owe them. Part of that settlement is a large sum of money paid by Flashpoint, the dick who kicked you off a roof, to you. They neatly buried that whole situation in the paperwork. The money is there, but they are trying to keep that hidden from you so they have more leverage to try and get you to do what they want. Honestly the whole thing is insane, and waaaay not legal.”
“So, how do you know all of this exactly?” I ask prompting a laugh from Matt.
“Remember when you told me not to tell you what I did with that virus I wrote a couple years ago?”
“Yeeeaaaaah…” At this point I have a pretty distinct impression where this is going.
“Well, I sat on it for a while, then after a particularly shitty day about 6 months ago I unleashed it in the work network. It didn’t make it everywhere, but even still I get a peek at some of what goes on behind the curtains.”
“Huh… that’s a lot to process… Well, I guess keep digging, but be safe?” At this last Jess nods emphatically. It looks like they’ve gotten closer since I last saw them. They’d make a cute couple so I hope it works out. Before I get a chance to start asking some questions along those lines Jess practically explodes with a question of her own.
“So… Matt said before the emergence you used to be a guy after we first talked?! So what’s it been like? Adjusting to being a girl and all? Do you miss being a guy? Tell me everything!”
“Ohh, well that’s a whole can of worms right there. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, I certainly have. It’s just sorta hard to put into words. Hmmm. I guess, hard as it is to ignore all the crazy shit that has happened to me, being a girl is the realization of a dream I never knew I had. Or maybe more accurately would be that it’s a dream I never wanted to admit. It’s not that I wasn’t aware, it’s that I refused to connect the dots in my own head. As if I didn’t acknowledge it, it wouldn’t be real.”
“I don’t know, it’s still really hard to wrap my head around. To have gone so long ignoring something that in retrospect is painfully obvious. I can’t help but wonder what it would have taken for me to really get it had I not Emerged. Ugghh. It’s so complicated but at the same time it’s the simplest thing in the world.”
“So, to get back to your questions. I was a guy, biologically, but in my head I always knew deep down I was supposed to be a girl. As far as adjusting goes it’s been more about the fact that I keep realizing that I don’t have to suppress all these parts of myself. I feel like I was always wearing a mask. Faking it. Now… I just react. I’m just myself. And to your last question? Not even a little. Even with all the bad shit. I wouldn’t want to go back to living in the dark. Feeling like a passenger in my own life.”
Before I even look up having finished what I had to say Jess is giving me a hug.
“Awwwwww, sweetheart. It’ll be OK now…”
“I’m happy for you Maya. I’m really glad that something good has come of all this… I’ve been really worried about you, you’re one of my few friends, and the thought of everything you’ve been through lately…”
“Thanks, the both of you. I’m really happy that I have the two of you as friends.”
Discussion moves on to lighter topics and shortly after that the pizza arrives. Before I take my first bite I can’t help but think of the last slice I had, not that long ago. I was hypothermic and devastated, the world seemingly falling apart around me. To think that it got even worse from there.
Now though? Now I’m relaxing in a nice apartment sharing some pizza with friends. Sometimes, I guess life is sort of crazy. Now I can’t help but wonder what tomorrow will bring.