"You couldn't get anything useful from that memory stick?", he asked his head technician.

"Nothing. That stick's full of digital noise. The only conclusion is that somewhere along the chain someone got their hands on it. There was never any real data on this stick we have. Never."

Jason shook his head. He had been in the coffee shop in Colorado when Michel had brought in the stick still in the bag Conner had sealed it in. He had been there himself! That's how important it was. To make matters wore some of his agents had gone missing. They weren't arrested, and there was no proof that they had been killed. They had just fallen off the earth. He had put nearly half his fortune and ten years of his life into this project and he wasn't going to let it go so easily. Then there was the pressure he was getting from the European arm of the Organization. They were having more success and even doing operations in America while he couldn't even hope to do anything in Europe.

"We have to reverse our fortunes and quickly. We have to get our science moving in the right direction.", he said.

"What do we do, boss?", Jean the telepath asked.

"We have to track some scientists or researchers. Perhaps their families too. Its always good to give them extra motivation. We need something to kick start us. That information we paid for was supposed to be ten years work by some of the best scientists in country. We need to get some information even if we have to do it more directly this time."

"Everyone had been on us recently. What about the Feds?"

Jason Mallster grinned. "Set loose the Series 3's."

"What?", Jean and the tech exclaimed. "But, boss, they're unstable at best. At worst, they are sub-human beasts, only capable of the most basic thoughts. They'll cause a panic anywhere we send them."

"I'm counting on that. They'll keep the Feds busy while we collect our data. This is a setback, but we'll get back on schedule."

w w w

"You know, Mom, we don't have to drive all the way down to Atlanta", Jan informed her parents for the tenth time in two days.

"We know that, Jan, but how often does your child get to go off to college? In our case just once."

"Besides", her father Jack Caufield began, "Virginia and North Carolina are gorgeous this time of year."

Finally they had all the things Jan was going to take with her stuffed in the back of their black Tahoe. They started down the road. It was a long drive, but they were going to make a two day trip out of it.

Atlanta came out of nowhere. There were trees and suburbs and then all of the sudden big buildings and lots of traffic. They stopped first to check into a hotel north of town. Jan, Sara, and Alisha all arrived on the same day. Sara and her family had driven from Mississippi. Alisha and her family had flown in from California. The three families met at a restaurant in downtown Atlanta.

Sara and Jan were pleased that their families got along so well. It turned out that Jack Caufield and William Hewitt knew some of the same people. Alisha and her parents were late. Karl von Edder had started out as an attorney in Michigan before hitting it big in the movie business as a producer. Cheryl von Edder had actually been a high school math teacher before Karl started making huge money. She made up for coming from an ordinary background by being snooty. Alisha was sort of embarrassed, but in the end things settled down and the families all got along.

The next day Jan saw the Emory campus for the first time. It was really nice. It was strange going to college at a school she had never even visited, but here she was. The campus was gorgeous. It was so green. She knew right away that she would like it. Jan and Sara moved in and then both families went to Georgia Tech's campus, and helped Alisha move in. Things settled down after a couple of days and routine began. Alisha was on Emory's campus all the time and Sara and Jan were at Tech. They worked out together too. They checked in at Fort McPherson with representatives to get their training schedule for their continued training. Their clandestine training wouldn't begin for a couple of months, so they could be regular college freshmen for a while. Jan was actually excited to be in college. It was kinda cool.

Jan was still getting used to having large blocks of time between classes, though. She was went to her next class really early. Intro to Chemistry was the last class of the day. She couldn't wait for it to be over. Science was not Jan's strongest subject. The class was in a lecture hall that was not even half full. Jan didn't know anyone in the class. She had seen a couple of them around campus, but she didn't know any names.

Finally the door opened and the professor walked in. Everyone's head turned, but the guys really looked hard. The professor was tall, almost as tall as Jan. Her strawberry blond hair went past her shapely bare shoulders. She moved with easy confidence. She was athletically lean. She looked really fit and solid. Even from the middle of the room Jan could see the definition in her arms. They weren't totally ripped, but rather sculpted. Relaxed they were easily more than 13 inches of solid muscle.

She turned to face the class with a smile. Jan scanned her face. Her face was beautiful with a squarish jaw, nice lips and beautiful cheekbones, but it was her eyes that made the look complete. She had perfectly clear baby blue eyes. Jan felt a bit of jealously pass through her. She wasn't sure if the professor had better looking eyes that she did, but they were definitely competition.

"Good afternoon everybody. My name is Moira Kelly."

"Ah, a fellow Irishman", a student said with a slight brogue.

The professor laughed. It was a rich throaty laugh. "I'm from Missouri, but I still have relatives in County Tipperary and Limmerick." She took a deep breath. "My colleagues told me not to tell you this, but this is my first time out teaching college. Well first time teaching college since I was in grad school. With a little luck", she paused and winked at the student from Ireland, "We'll get through this together."

The class ended and many of the guys in the class made their way down to the floor to make sure they got a good look at the new professor. Jan stayed for only a while before heading back to her room. She wanted to call her parents.

Jan spoke to her parents almost every day. She didn't want to stay distant from them like she had done the year before. She even spoke to Sara's father and brother quite often. Jan had never felt more accepted and normal in her entire life. She had to remind herself that she was different, but that feeling was receding. Jan was getting a chance to be normal for first time in her life.

Every Saturday Jan went to the fitness center to play a little basketball. She had a regular group, but she was early. She decided to shoot around alone until they showed up. Jan looked around the gym after a while and saw her Chemistry professor Ms. Kelly walk in. She had her hair in a pony tail, and wore a black sleeveless lycra top that showed just a bit of tanned skin at the navel. Jan could understand why she was sleeveless all the time. Aside from the fact that it was still hot in Atlanta, Ms. Kelly really did have wonderful looking arms. Her gold shorts showed that the prof had nice legs on her too. She started shooting around. Jan saw at once that she knew her way around the basketball court. She could dribble better any of the girls on the intramural team and many of the guys.

"Hey, Professor Kelly, you're pretty darn good." Jan yelled after her professor had hit a reverse layup.

Ms. Kelly caught the ball turned and approached. "Thanks", she said through long breaths. "I'm still trying to get my game back. Its been a long time. I'm still a little out of shape."

Jan shook her head. "Looked pretty good to me, Professor Kelly."

The professor wiped her forehead with the sweat band on her wrist. "Please call me Moira when we're not in class." Moira looked Jan up and down. "You're pretty tall. You play any ball?"

Jan smiled. "A little."

"Were you any good?"

Jan's smile broadened. "Pretty good."

They went to an open goal and the game of one on one began. Jan got the ball first and drove around Moira. Jan knew right away that she was quicker. She was going to put Moira away early. She was going to try for a slam. She gripped the ball in her huge hands and took off. Half way up she felt the ball leave her hand. Moira got the steal, dribbled out to the three point line and before Jan could recover had drained a shot.

Jan wasn't going to be outdone. She settled down. She knew she had to play hard. Moira wasn't going to be easy. Jan waited for a chance to psych her professor out. Finally it came. Jan put a good spin on Moira and was open to the basket. She took the ball in both hands and took off. She brought the ball back behind her head as she went up. Everyone in the gym couldn't believe what they were about to see. Jan waited and brought her arms down hard. The backboard shook as she came down. The other people in the gym yelled and screamed. Moira looked unfazed. She scored on her next three possessions, but Jan took better care of the ball and actually took a 19 to 17 lead. They were scoring by one's. Jan only had to score two more points. She took the ball out to the top of the key and drove in on Moira again. Moira stayed in front and slapped the ball from Jan's hand as she went up. Moira went out to three point line again turned and shot. The ball banked high off the backboard and into the hoop. The game was tied.

"I called that!", Moira shouted with a smile.

"I didn't hear it!", Jan yelled back.

"I must have been too busy sucking air. Have to win by two right?"

"Guess so."

Moira dribbled in and took a quick shot. She missed. Jan got the ball, but missed her shot too. Moira took another shot. This one banked in.

"Game point", Moira managed through heavy breaths.

"Yep". Jan was sweating heavily, but she was still had energy to keep going. Working with Yvonne Fordis had Jan's cardio extra good. It took a lot to wear her down.

Moira was breathing heavily, but she still had a trick or two to show her student. Moira dribbled the ball almost lazily with her right hand. She looked at Jan in the eyes. She was waiting. Jan took the bait. Jan was very quick. Her cat like movements usually would have been enough, but Moira had been ready. She tossed the ball around her back and drove to the hoop with her left hand. Moira cradled the ball in her right arm as she got close to the rim and took off. It had been a very long time since she had tried to do this, but it was too late to stop now. She windmilled her arm as she went up. Her slam boomed through the gym. People actually clapped and cheered. It had been fun to watch. Some people had never seen a woman dunk and now they had seen it twice.

"Good game", Jan said quickly. Her pride stung anyway. She wasn't used to loosing at anything.

"Right back at you. You're pretty darn good. When I saw you dunk on me, I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew."

"Don't know why. I was all-state back in Maryland junior year and you're better than any girl I ever played against."

Moira laughed. "Thanks. I was All-American in college way back when."

"That makes me feel better. At least I lost to somebody good." Jan made a note to look up her professor's name on the internet. She went back to dorm. She had a paper to write. That would take her mind off loosing.

Moira Kelly had stayed her in small office late working on a plan for her classes for the next week. She had taught before, but it had been a long time. It was hard getting back into regular life after being out of it for so long. She almost cursed herself for being so stupid. She had almost let her life slip away trying to attain something that she was never going to reach. She had to live with what she had done. It was harder than she had thought at first. She had enjoyed that basketball game earlier in the day. She had missed so much. Moira wasn't one to cry often and she didn't now. She tried hard not to feel sorry for herself. She had so much to be thankful for. She had even gone home and seen her family for the first time in more than a decade. Some of her family had figured that she was dead and then one day she walks in the door looking almost like she had when they had seen her last. Then she had gotten the job at Emory. Moira didn't need to work. She had made plenty of money in the last 12 years, but she needed something to do. She actually liked it. These kids reminded her of why she got into chemistry in the first place.

Moira pulled her new Toyota Camary into the driveway of the house she had just bought. It wasn't big, but it had a nice basement. That was important. Moira went down to the basement after changing back into exercise gear. She sat down on a weight room bench, but this bench was heavier and thicker than a normal bench. It had to take massive weights. Moira stretched her shoulders and bent down and picked up the dumbbell sitting on the concrete floor. It dwarfed her hand and arm, but she lifted it easily.

The dumbbell weighed exactly 500 pounds. Moira shifted on the bench, set her elbow and started curling. Her bicep flexed into a tight mound of muscle. Moira loved the shape of her arms. They used to be so much bigger, but this size was good. She weighed just a little more than she did 12 years ago before she ever took the "juice". She pumped out a few more reps before switching to the other arm. Her left arm bulged powerfully too. She did a few reps and then put the weight down. She hardly worked out anymore. She didn't have to. It had been over a year since she had lifted regularly and still the strength remained. She wasn't nearly as strong as she was at her terrible peak, but she didn't want to be. She almost wished the strength would go away, but her friend had told her that it never would. Some consequences stay with you for life. Moira went to the treadmill and started running. Cardio was all Moira did these days. She ran, biked and swam. She looked at her body. It looked like she spent hours maintaining it, but no... not anymore.

Jan and Moira had become fairly close as student and professor went. They ate lunch together some days before class and Moira helped Jan with math. Jan felt close to Moira for some reason. There was something about her that Jan recognized as familiar. After chemistry class one day Moira held up her hands to stop the class from leaving.

"Before you all leave. I want to tell you all that there is going to be a guest speaker on campus a couple days from now. Renown scientist Doctor Ian Brooster is coming to give a talk about organic chemistry. Some of you are wondering what that has to do with you. Well, anyone attending the lecture will receive extra credit, and there are several of you in here who could use it." She smiled. "You know who you are." Jan hurried down to the front of the room, but as usual the guys beat her down. Jan wanted to talk about Ian, but the guys were already talking about something else.

"You know, Professor Kelly, your arm's are jacked", one guy started. "I haven't said anything. Not meaning anything by it, I'm just sayin"

Moira bent her right arm, but didn't really flex it. She looked down at both her arms. "Nice of you all to notice." She flexed her right arm a little. The muscle was already round, but it peaked with hard muscle. The triceps flexed out and her shoulders hardened. "They used to be bigger than this, a lot bigger, but I like 'em this way."

"Were you a bodybuilder?"

"No, I was a more of a power lifter."

"You win any contest?", a student in the back of the group asked.

"Yeah, I won some shows back in the early 90's."

"Early 90's? Where they junior's shows?" The guys looked surprised.

Moira frowned. "What? How old do you think I am?"

"26 or 27"

Moira laughed her rich laugh again. "You guys are just trying to get extra credit. You have to go to the lecture for that." She looked and saw that the people around the desk were serious. "I just turned 35. Sorry to burst any bubbles." She laughed again. Not one of the guys cared that Moira was 35, only one person really did, Jan. She had been beaten at basketball by a 35 year old even if she was former all American.

The guys finally cleared out. "What's up, Jan?", Moira asked as she was about to leave.

"Do you know Dr. Brooster?", she asked.

"Sure", Moira said. Her face got serious for a moment. "I've known him for about a year and a half. We started out on the wrong foot, but we became friends. He helped me through a very tough spot. How do you know him?"

Jan hesitated. "Sort of the same thing. I met him kinda by accident. I didn't like him at first, but he's a really nice guy."

"Well, say, hi, to him when you see him at the lecture. You are going aren't you?"

"Of course."

Jan left the class excited to be able to see Ian in a couple of days. The last few weeks had been so normal that Jan was starting to get bored. After all the things she had been though over the last year, she was craving a little excitement, for something random to happen. Nothing bad, just random and exciting. She would get her wish.

w w w

"I called my cousin from New Orleans. He suggested this restaurant. He said its the best Creole and Cajun food in Atlanta", Sara told her friends as they walked down the street.

"Since we didn't get to go to New Orleans, I guess this'll have to do for now", Alisha said as they walked up to the building. The building was nothing remarkable, but the smells coming from it were making her mouth water already.

Jan pulled the door open and held it for her friends. They were side by side as they walked up to the greeter. Miss Clara, the owner and namesake of the restaurant had her back turned as the door opened. She had to make sure she had enough place settings to last until the end of the day. She cut her count short to greet her guests.

They girls waited for the lady to turn around. She was a black lady in her late 40's and rather heavyset, but she wore it well. She finally turned. They expected to see her smile and welcome them, but as she turned she gave a yelp of pain, shielded her eyes and doubled over holding onto the table for support.

The girls looked at each other. "Ma'am", Sara called. "Ma'am are you all right?" She started to come around the greeting stand, but the lady waved her back.

"Is there something wrong?" The girls didn't know what to do.

Miss Clara mumbled a few words under her breath before she spoke out loud. "I'm ok." She stood up, but still squinted when she looked in the girls' direction.

"Migraines?", Jan asked.

Miss Clara smiled. "No, power" They still looked confused. Miss Clara leaned in and lowered her voice. She pointed at Jan and Sara. "You two have great power. I can see your aura. It shines like a stage light. It almost blinded me."

"What?", Sara and Jan asked at the same time.

Miss Clara scanned their faces. "I don't know what it is, but you two have power like I have never seen. Every person has an aura. It's like your spirit so to speak. Some people are stronger than others, but you two... You exhibit an aura like I have never seen. It almost overwhelmed me. I'm used to seeing the aura of regular people. Looking at you two is like walking out of a cave into the sunshine."

"How can you see all this?"

"There are things that exist that people want to deny because they cannot be studied or explained away easily. I am interested in those things. It took me many years, but I can see the aura of the people I meet. I have never seen auras like yours."

"Do you want us to leave?", Sara asked still concerned.

"Oh no.!", Miss Clara laughed. "I'm honored to have you all in my restaurant. You two walk on the right path. You're good people. I can see that."

Miss Clara looked at Jan and Sara with a smile of wonder on her face. They wondered what she saw, then her eyes went to Alisha. The smile fell away.

"That bad, huh?", Alisha asked chuckling. "I know I'm normal, but you could at least fake it."

Miss Clara didn't react at all. "Your aura is-- is strange. Like its in flux." She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Alisha frowned, but put it in the back of her mind. They sat down at a round table. The food was great, but Alisha and Jan had to get over watching Sara tear the heads off of crawfish and suck out the guts. Sara looked so content though. Finally she looked at her friends and smiled offering them some. They frowned and declined. After stuffing themselves on some of the best food any of them had ever eaten, they left. Alisha couldn't help, but think about what Miss Clara had said. Sara and Alisha went to Emory, but Jan had to check in at Fort McPherson. She was still team leader and she had paper work to sign that Sara and Alisha didn't.

There was not much to the meeting. Just a status report on school. Jan thought they could do that over the phone or something, but they made her come in anyway. She got tired of sitting after a while and roamed around the room. There were several files on the desk. She wasn't supposed to look, but she couldn't help herself. She leaned over the desk and looked down. Mostly she saw manilla folders and pictures of random people, but one of the black and white photos had a familiar face on it. She knew she wasn't supposed to, but she picked up that file and opened it. Jan frowned and then scowled down at the folder.

The clerk came back in. "Hey, you are not authorized", he stopped in mid-sentence when Jan looked up.

"I need to talk to Agent Wills right now", she said.

"Look these are secret files!"

Jan closed the folder, but held out the photo. "This is a photo of Dr. Ian Brooster. This file says that there have been threats against his life. I want to talk to Agent Wills right now. Stop talking to me and go get him, now", Jan never raised her voice as she spoke.

The clerk bristled at the idea of being ordered around by an 18 year old girl, but he left the room to go get his boss. He didn't know everything about the girl in the room, but he knew enough about her to do what she asked.

Agent Wills walked in. He was average height with a lean wiry build and slate gray hair that nearly matched his eyes. He had been around the block a few times so Jan really respected him. Martha Worthington had told her to listen to this man.

"Agent Wills, I know I wasn't supposed to look at these folders, but they were on the desk, and well... I've seen this now. What is this about? I know this man." She held up the photo of Ian.

"Have a seat, Jan" Agent Wills sat down next to her. "You remember that mission you did in Boulder?"

"Of course."

"That was a huge success. Martha had a bright idea that nabbed a quarter of their entire organization. We haven't wiped them out, but we set them back years. That memory stick we gave them had gibberish on it. Anyway, they want to catch up on the research they lost when you and your teams got the real data back. There is no specific threat, but we flagged the name of any person who has knowledge that could help them. Your friend Dr. Brooster is one of them. He's coming through ATL so we have the responsibility to make sure nothing happens to him while he's in this area."

"Does he know about this?"

Agent Wills shook his head. "And we're not going to tell him."

"Can I be assigned to him?"

He shook his head again. "You are and your team are off line and will be for quite a while. You're not even supposed to see this. The clerk should be ashamed of himself for leaving these out. There is nothing in them dangerous, but you shouldn't have seen these."

"I just wanted to know what this was about."

"Now you know." Agent Wills stood up and took Jan by the shoulders. "And take it easy on poor Rodney. He's a good guy. I think you spooked him."

Jan smiled. "I'll tell him I'm sorry before I go."

Jan found out that Ian was already in town staying at an apartment. She couldn't just sit back while her friend was in danger. She was going to warn him at the very least. Jan dressed her black and headed to the apartment complex. She didn't go in right away. She found a perch on a low roof over looking the front of the apartment. She was in the shadows on a moonless night. She just waited. She didn't have to wait long.

A woman wearing dark colors crept up the stairs slowly. She didn't have anything in her hands, but Jan watched as she came to the large concrete landing at the top of the stairs. Jan could see her better now. She was perhaps 5'9" with long dark hair rolled up around a stick like Asian women often did. She looked around and waited for a few moments. She looked back down the stairs and then at the door to the apartment. Jan was sure now. This woman was up to no good. Jan was going to stop her. She felt anger rising in her gut. Why did people always threaten her friends? Jan stood up slowly so the woman would not see. Jan didn't want to kill the assassin, at least not before she got her talk.

Jan took a deep breath as she readied to pounce. The woman started towards the door with intent now. She wasn't going to make it. Jan jumped down from her perch. She reared back and punched as she came down. Jan had tried to hold back, but anger fueled her. She felt her huge fist slam into the woman's head with tremendous force. The woman's head slammed against her own shoulder from the force of the punch. She fell against the steel railings and slipped down to her knees. She shook her head. Jan slowly walked up the woman. Her face twisted and she kicked the woman in the chest. The blow sent the woman flying back against the rail on the other side of the landing. This was going to be easy. Jan could hear the woman gasping for air. She felt no pity though. This woman was going to scream before she was finished with her.

"Want to feel another?", Jan asked with contempt as she approached. Jan reached out her hand to grab the woman and lift her. The woman's head turned quickly towards Jan. Her punch was not far behind. It was so quick Jan could hardly react. Jan tensed her abs, but the punch sent her back a few steps. Jan frowned and looked as the woman stood up slowly. She took a deep breath and charged.

Jan was ready. Punches and kicks flew at a furious pace, but Jan finally got the upper hand. She caught the woman's wrist and squeezed hard. Her muscles bulged and flexed. She heard the woman groan from the pain. Jan bent the woman's hands back. The woman bucked to pull her hands free, but Jan was just getting started. Jan bore down. The woman started to weaken in the knees and go down. Jan already had leverage and this only made it better. Jan was starting to smile, but the woman grunted and shot forward with tremendous force and sent her head into Jan's jaw. Jan fell back again. Maybe it wasn't going to be easy, but it was going to fun.

Jan moved with her cat like quickness next to the assassin, but Jan wasn't quick enough. The woman grabbed Jan's hair and pulled her head back. She dropped two quick elbows directly on Jan's nose. Blood started to run. The woman twisted Jan and dropped down slamming the back of Jan's head down onto her knee. She let Jan slip to the ground. Jan saw the woman stand up and turned towards the door. Jan jumped to her feet. She didn't know who this woman was, but she knew Ian was her target. She wasn't going to get him. She felt her anger rise. She remembered what her father had said. She felt her strength. She could feel it all through her body.

Jan lunged at the woman, and kicked her in the small of her back. She went to her knees and Jan sent another kick to the woman's head. She went down quickly. Jan rushed in. This was her chance to subdue the assassin. Jan pulled the woman up and wrapped her long arms around the woman's upper torso in a reverse bear hug. She wanted to get a choke on, but she didn't have time. Jan knew this worked just as well. She started to squeeze. Her super hard muscles got even harder. Jan could feel the woman's breath against her bare arms as she poured on more and more power. Jan's arms flexed harder and harder. Her muscles throbbed and ached with power. She felt more power deep within her, but she didn't want to kill the woman. She increased the pressure slowly until she felt the fight go out of her. Jan's upper body was something to behold, ripped striated vascular muscle flexing hard for one purpose. Jan's pecs flexed hard as she brought her arms closer and closer squeezing the woman harder.

Jan figured the woman was almost out, but then she started feeling resistance. The woman was fighting back and had enough strength for Jan to feel it. Jan didn't worry. She had much more than this. She closed her eyes and really poured it on. Her biceps flexed into diamond hard peaks and her chest rippled with added power. But the woman kept fighting.

Jan felt the woman's body getting hard. It was getting impossibly hard. She opened her eyes and looked down. The woman's shirt had been form fitting before, but now it was tight. Tears were starting at the seams. The woman's body vibrated with power. Jan could feel her muscles now. Her back muscles were so hard they started digging into Jan as the woman tried to break free. The woman closed her fist and started flexing her arms. Her biceps were perfect rounded and peaked. Her arms were so hard Jan could feel the pain from them digging into her own arm. The woman could take a breath now and she did. Her muscles grew even harder. Her muscles just seemed to grow and swell larger.

Her traps burst the neck of her shirt and her lats tore holes in the sides, but Jan held on. She threw her head back and squeezed even harder. A network of veins showed on Jan's smooth unblemished skin as her muscles demanded more, but the woman's body just got harder and bigger and more shredded. Jan could feel the power growing by the moment. The woman's arms burst through her sleeves leaving strips hanging down.

A low growl started in the woman's throat, and she started bending her arms. Her biceps had been hard and round before, but that was nothing. Her biceps were red and swollen with hot growing muscle. They were like diamond hard balloons inflating under her skin. Thick veins ran all over her upper body from her shoulders to her chest to her arms as her body got bigger and harder every second. Jan poured on more power, but finally she reached her limit. She was squeezing as hard as she could, hard enough to crush a boulder or bend steel pillars.

The woman's arms would not stop. Her arms got to 90 degrees. Jan had to bite her lip from the pain of the woman's muscles cutting into hers. The woman took another breath and started raising her arms. Her delts were inhumanly ripped and striated. You could see the individual muscle fibers flex super fast. Finally the woman gave a grunt and threw her arms open. Jan was forced back a few steps. The woman turned quickly. Her ruined shirt hung to her body like rags. Her body was so defined it could not be real. Every muscle in her body was ultra ripped pulsing with power. She reared back and punched Jan in the stomach. It was the hardest blow Jan had ever felt. She flew in the air a couple of feet before the woman caught her and punched her again the face. The blow was just as hard. Jan blacked out for a moment. Then the woman tossed her. She rolled against the wall. The woman looked at Jan for a long moment before shaking her head and looking around.

Jan opened her eyes, but found it hard to focus. She saw the woman hurry towards the door. Her eyes focused hard. She raced towards the woman and wrapped her arm around the woman's neck and her legs around her middle. Jan reared back and squeezed as hard as she could. Her biceps cut into the woman's neck like steel crushers. Jan didn't let up. The woman wobbled and went to a knee. Jan had her, she knew it. The woman put her hand down on the concrete. This was the end, Jan knew it. The woman's super hard body flexed hard again. Jan had to fight to keep her grip. The woman's body swelled even larger than before, but instead of it continuing to swell with hard muscle, the woman relaxed giving the room she needed. She twisted getting her shoulder to Jan into stomach. The women reached up and pulled Jan over hard. Jan's legs hit the railings so hard they tore through the metal and actually chipped the cement. The woman couldn't hold her though. Jan jumped up ready to attack again.

Just then the door to the apartment flew open and Ian ran out. He was wearing pajama bottoms and no shirt. "What the hell is going on here!?!", he yelled.

The two women turned to look at him. "Dr. Brooster go back inside! This woman is trying to kill you!", Jan yelled.

"What?", Ian and the woman yelled at the same time.

"Quick go back inside!", Jan yelled again wondering why the doctor wouldn't listen. The woman was closer to him than she. As strong as the woman was, she could kill Ian in an instant. Jan didn't know what to do. She prepared herself to attack the woman to give Ian time to run.

"Jan is that you? Stop this right now!", Ian yelled.

"Ian, you know her?", the woman Jan had been fighting asked without taking her eyes off of Jan.

Ian laughed as he came forward from the light of the doorway into the shadows of the landing. "Yeah I know her. Back down there she-hulk. And you too Jan. What do you think you're doing?"

"I heard that you were in danger. I came here to keep an eye out, and then I saw her creeping up the stairs. I guessed that she was the one sent to get you."

Ian walked up and hugged Jan even though she was dirty and bloody. "That was really nice of you. I really don't know what to say that you would do that for me." He looked at Jan who felt so confused and foolish. Ian raised her head and smiled. "Jan let me introduce you to my best friend in the world, Lisa Sanchez."

Jan felt so stupid. She extended her hand. Lisa took it slowly. "And Lisa, meet Jan Caufield. She's the indestructible girl I couldn't tell you about, that I told you some about anyway."

"I'd like to say nice to meet you, but I'm not sure it was."

Jan wiped at a tear in the corner of her eye. "I'm so sorry." She tried not to sob, but failed. "I don't know what to say. I should be going."

"Oh stop that", Ian said.

Jan shook her head. "You don't understand. I was totally wrong. I attacked an innocent person and tried to kill her. If she had been normal, she's be dead."

"Well I'm not normal, and neither are you." Lisa walked over and took Jan by the shoulders before embracing her too. "I'm just glad to know that I'm not alone in this world. You're the first person I've met that was born different like me. Besides, Ian's my buddy. He's like the brother I'm glad I never had. I'm just happy he has people like you who can kick butt looking out for him, because he gets in more trouble..."

"You're not mad?", Jan asked still wiping at her eyes.

"Not now", Lisa laughed. "If you had asked my that question a couple minutes ago, you might have gotten a different answer."

"Why were you creeping though?", Jan asked.

Just then a familiar voice came from the open apartment door. "Ian, are you coming back inside or not?" Professor Kelly walked out onto the landing wearing nothing but a white men's button down shirt. She stood there barefoot with her hair a mess. Her shape looked even more sensual silhouetted against the door like that. Her quads down to her calves down to her toes was just perfect. She saw Ian standing there, she saw Lisa, but then her eyes bucked. She put her hand over her mouth and hurried back inside when she saw Jan.

Lisa tapped Jan on the shoulder. "That's why I was creeping."

Alisha walked down the street. She had tried to put the words out of her mind, but they just kept coming back to her. What was an aura, and why was her's in flux? She had to know. She walked into the restaurant. Miss Clara was standing there.

"Hello, my name is Alisha von Edder. I was here earlier today with my friends."

Miss Clara smiled. "Yes, yes, I remember you, of course. I was hoping you would come back."

Alisha was shaken. She was scared. "Is there something wrong with me?", she asked finally.

Miss Clara's smile broadened. "Quite the contrary, young lady. Quite the contrary. Come back here. There's something I want you to see."

to be continued...

Be on on the lookout for the next chapter where Jan tries to understand  what happened and Alisha finds out what's happening to her!

Want to find out more about Moira? Or who Lisa Sanchez is? Or how did Ian Brooster get to be an expert?  Check out my first story Coping with Power!            Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5
                                                                                                                                                      Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9   Part 10