She looked up as the other teacher started screaming again. "Sweep!", he yelled to his student, and the young woman, a little older than Jan herself, tried. Suzie took the opportunity to slip her left arm behind her opponent's neck and her right arm across the front. "NO! NO!", the other instructor screamed as Suzie rolled her hips from beneath her opponent and leaned back to lock in her choke. The younger girl tapped and Jan rushed onto the mat before the referee even moved in to separate them.

"Great job!", Jan exclaimed to a beaming Suzie. They hugged each other and only settled down when the ref lined them up to raise Suzie's arm. Jan lead Suzie off that mat and towards a chair before handing her a bottle of water. Other students came up to congratulate Suzie on her victory.

Ten year old Timmy Rogers stood on the chair alternating between waves and applauds after the victory. His mother Mary had barred him from running up to Jan after every match like he wanted, so he kept cheering until Jan acknowledged him with a smile and wave of her own. This day was turning out to be awesome. Jan hadn't known that a tournament could make her so happy, but seeing her students compete was making emotions flood out. They'd actually been the ones who had convinced Jan to enter them into them into this tournament in the first place. It was a bigger deal than they realized. Jan had reluctantly made the call to Mark Sims her teacher in Washington DC to get permission, and he'd given her the ok. Mark had won prestigious tournaments all over the world and was one of the most respected jiu-jitsu masters in the whole United States. As his student it was customary for Jan to get his permission to start teaching students of her own, which she'd done, and she certainly had to get permission from Mark to take those students into competition.

Before the phone call Jan had thought Mark might tell her that she had to wait, instead he'd given enthusiastic approval. Jan would have been proud of her students no matter the outcome because some of the biggest dojos in the area were represented at this event, but as it had turned out, Jan's students were 5 and 1 on the day, with that one loss being somewhat controversial. Bradley and Russ from Title Combat Club had shown up to lend their support to Jan's efforts, and while they were keeping their distance, they agreed that the loss was pretty suspect.

Bradley told Jan that it would have been within the rules to dispute the contest, but she chose not to. Instead she'd file away that knowledge for use later. The screaming teacher from Suzie's match had also taught the student who'd given Jan's students their only loss. It felt pretty good to beat him this time. When Jan looked over, she saw him coming towards her and she walked over to meet him halfway. He couldn't make out much of her body beneath the gi, but she had a swagger to her walk and her face was breathtaking even though her only make up was lip gloss.

"Congratulations", he told her although his tone indicated that he hated to say it.

"Thank you", Jan replied as if she hadn't noticed his tone.

"I've never seen you at any of these events before."

"I haven't been to any", Jan replied. "Well not in Georgia."

"I'm Raz Davis"

"Jan Caufield." They shook hands and he realized that aside from the two of them being about the same height, this girl's hands were bigger than his.

"I'm lead jiu-jitsu instructor at the Circle of Arts. We're the largest martial arts academy in the area", he explained after the handshake ended.

"Cool", Jan said but Raz knew she really meant 'So'.

"Teach any guys at your school?"

"Not officially", Jan said with a chuckle thinking about Brian and Timmy. "I started out teaching women a self defense course, and it grew into a real jiu-jitsu class."

"Uh huh. Well good luck", Raz told Jan as the shook hands, but both of them knew that he didn't mean it. Jan went looking for Beth. She was up next.

Jan was down on her knees encouraging Beth, but she hardly needed it. Beth steamrolled her opponent with crisp, perfectly executed techniques. The teachers from the other dojos were taking notice as Teri, another of Jan's students, submitted a student from Circle of Arts with a rear choke. Jan looked over at an exasperated Raz with a little grin. No one had ever heard of the Coelho & Kitsune Dojo before or of its beautiful instructor, but they were learning now. Jan smiled as she thought about the name of her formerly nameless school in the upstairs of a gym. They'd needed a name to join the tournament, and after a few suggestions everyone had agreed on it. Rabbits were quick, hard to pin down, just like the style of jiu-jitsu Jan taught to her students, plus rabbits were cute. Jan liked the idea of foxes too. The double meaning of that hadn't been lost on the class of women although Jan was sure Timmy still had no idea of the other connotation. He'd figure it out one day.

Raz disappeared from the mat after Circle of the Arts' latest defeat and let one of his prized students take over. She was a huge brown belt, taller than Jan and more heavily muscled. While Jan's long body bore athletic cuts giving her a graceful symmetry, this girl had used every inch of her big frame to pack on more muscle. Her facial expression bordered on a scowl as she stole glances at Jan a Circle of the Arts student began to get the upper hand in a match.

"That was a nice win", Jan told the young Circle of the Arts student as she came off the mat.

"Thank you", the woman said with a bow which Jan returned.

With the huge girl coaching and encouraging the students, the Circle students went on a winning streak. Jan kept one eye on their matches as the wins piled up. Raz came out of hiding then, taking over for his large student. It seemed that his confidence had returned.

"Did you get a chance to meet, Veronica?", Raz asked after Jan's student Margie lost to a submission. Jan shook her head. He pointed to the bull muscled young woman. "She's one of my best students. I think she's tired of having that brown belt, but it's so hard to find a woman near her size to compete against." He said then looked Jan up and down.

"I bet", Jan allowed.

"I've had her training against the men for the last year. She's only gotten bigger, stronger, and better."

"She looks like she could hold her own."

"With any brown belt", Raz told Jan with a bit of disdain in his voice.

Jan just smiled and walked towards her students. She was looking around for Raina when she saw two people sitting on the second level of the civic center. A chill went through her and she headed up the stairs, taking three and four at a time. Two men stood up as she approached, but their faces remained neutral. Jan's students all turned to see where she was going. Timmy was especially interested. They saw Jan get close to the two men, stop and bow. "Thank you so much for coming", she gushed. "I…I just didn't know either of you were planning on being here."

Mark Sims had known Jan since she was a little girl and he'd been her instructor since she was twelve. He was one Jan's most important teachers, not just of martial arts but of life itself. Mark had no kids of his own, but he wasn't sure if he could have been prouder of them than he'd been on the day he'd presented Jan with the brown belt that she had around her waist. Seeing her with her students probably topped that though.

Mark bowed then stood up and laughed. "Did you think I'd miss my prized student leading her students in their first competition?" He held open his arms and gave Jan a big hug.

Her smile fell away again when Jan turned to the shorter, older man. She bowed deeply. "It's such an honor Master Furtado."

Mark Sims and Jan's father had both started learning jiu-jitsu at the same time in the early 80's from the same man. Hector Furtado had just gotten to America from Brazil and set up his school in D.C. when two big Americans had shown up eager to learn. Jan's little dojo was an extension of Mark's famed dojo which was an extension of Hecor's world renown dojos which in turn represented a legacy going back a century in Brazil and much longer than that in Japan. Jan knew very well the lineage she and her students were representing with this competition.

"Your students are well prepared", Hector told Jan as he stood up straight. "Your teaching of them honors me and all of my students." Jan felt tears forming in her eyes.

"Thank you", she said without sobbing. "We're all honored that you're here. Come down with me. Let me introduce you to the students!"

"We'll be down in a bit", Mark said. "We're just going to sit up here, watch and enjoy!" Jan smiled then took off down the stairs to find Raina.

"So you study under Master Furtado and Professor Sims", Raz said after Raina had won a close match.

"Yep", Jan replied simply, but her tone said everything else that she wanted to convey.

"And they came? You must be proud."

"It's a big honor", Jan admitted, wondering where he was going with this. Raz didn't say anything else, instead he just walked away.

Mary Roberts, Timmy's mother, was Jan's last match in the first round. Timmy came towards the front row of chairs and stood on one as Jan spoke to his mother. He was enjoying the whole thing as much as anybody. Raz and Veronica were busy prepping their contestant. It didn't matter to Jan that Mary was going up against an opponent from the Circle of the Arts. She wasn't even really keeping score against them.

Mary had learned a lot and she was a diligent student, but Jan didn't really expect Mary to beat this girl from the Circle. The opponent was younger, bigger, in better overall shape and quite serious after her talk with Raz and Veronica who took the spot as lead coach when the match began.

Jan didn't say anything while Veronica barked commands like the student was a puppet. Jan crossed her arms and occasionally rubbed her chin as the match continued. "Breathe", was Jan's first instruction to Mary as she fought from the bottom with her opponent trying relentlessly to gain an advantage. Mary thwarted her at every turn. Veronica was getting frustrated while Jan grinned, realizing that Mary was putting other parts of her training to great use. The other girl was quicker and stronger and also wasting energy faster. Jan had taught Mary this during the self defense training portion of her lessons and here it was being used in competition. Mary seemed content to stay on her back with the other girl trying to break her guard until one little movement changed everything. Jan saw it and her eyes got big. Mark and Hector saw it from their perch. Veronica and Raz saw it too. Mary hooked her foot over the other girl's arm and shifted her hips to the right. Her opponent moved forward to keep her leg from being trapped. Mary grabbed the girl's gi as she spun and reversed their position. Her opponent's arm was still trapped as Mary applied a choke. The other girl kept fighting until her eyelids began to drop. Then she tapped Mary's shoulder.

"Great! Great job!", Jan exclaimed as the referee came to end the match. All of her students were clapping for Mary and when Jan turned around she saw that Hector and Mark were clapping too. "Wonderful match", Jan told the girl who'd lost.

"No it wasn't!", Veronica yelled and roughly grabbed the defeated student by the arm to pull her away.

Jan thought about letting it drop, but she'd done enough of that for one day. "It was a nice match and if you hadn't had her going a hundred miles an hour, she wouldn't have gassed. The match would probably still be going on."

"Is that right?", Veronica demanded, stepping closer to Jan who actually had to look up to keep eye contact. "Are you trying to tell us how to teach our students?"

"I know I wouldn't learn anything from that approach. After a couple days I'd just want to punch all of you in the face!", Jan shot back to some laughs.

"Then you'd have to get taught a real lesson", Veronica hissed.

"Not from you I wouldn't", Jan retorted and held her ground as Veronica stepped closer still. "You should come get your student", Jan said to Raz.

"I think she's right", he said and Jan sighed knowing that this argument was going to continue.

"This is supposed to be a nice, friendly competition so our students can gauge their progress, but you're turning it into something else."

"There's nothing friendly about losing", Raz said.

"In a match, somebody's got to lose", Jan replied.

"And your guys have been doing most of that", Timmy yelled from the top of his chair. There were more laughs and Mary looked embarrassed, but Jan just grinned.

"He's right. Winning is sweet. Now if you guys would get out of the way, I've got some ladies to prep for the second round." Jan held her arms out and began shepherding her students off the mat while some clapped and others laughed.

Raz turned to walk away, but Veronica didn't. "You're just lucky!", she exclaimed. "All of you!"

"What did you say?" Jan turned around instantly angry. "I'm not going to let you insult my students that way. They've worked really hard. One match or even two might have been luck, but not 12. Luck had nothing to do with this. I think you should apologize."

"She won't", Raz said for her and Veronica seemed to agree whole heartedly.

"Fine", Jan seemed to relent, then looked over to Raz. "A challenge will settle this. Your school versus mine… since you think we won because of luck. You and me on the mat."

Raz smiled for a number of reasons as he said, "Not me. You don't rate that high, but I think Veronica's been looking for a girl she can dig into, and you're close enough to her size."

Jan could have refused it, but she looked over to a grinning Veronica and said, "Okay. Let's do it." Jan stepped off the mat and quickly began to stretch.

Mark and Hector came down to the floor then, but it was Mark who walked over. "What did she say to piss you off?", he asked with a bit of a chuckle, knowing that sometimes it didn't take much to light Jan's fuse.

"She said we've won because of luck. I asked her to take it back, but… well here we are."

Mark nodded and put his hands on Jan's shoulders. "Normally I'd tell you to bide your time and wait for an opening, but go right at this one. She's mad as hell and you can set the tone early." The other students listened as Mark said some of the same things to Jan that she'd said to them. She'd been happy all afternoon long, but they saw the look of concentration coming over her as Mark let Bradley warm Jan up a little, loosening her shoulders. The only time her students had seen this look on Jan's face was when Jan and Teri's crazy ex-husband had gotten into a real fight. This wasn't like that, but Jan certainly seemed to be taking it seriously.

Across the mat Raz was whipping Veronica into a frothy lather. He'd never heard of that girl Jan before, but she was Mark's Sims' student and after Veronica beat her, Raz would get a banner hung in the dojo to celebrate it. A win like that over a well known dojo would really boost Raz's personal profile.

The referee and the event organizers were trying not to look too excited about this turn of events. All the other competitors from all the other dojos got in place to watch a teacher go at it. There were no handshakes or acknowledgments as they jogged to the center of the mat. Jan simply took a deep breath, cracked her knuckles and then both began to stalk each other. Veronica's gi was wrapped tightly around her bulging muscles as she eyed Jan.

Without warning Jan charged, going low for a single leg takedown. Veronica blocked it and wrapped her torso around Jan's back, not believing how stupid Jan was. Veronica pressed against Jan's back, trying to crush the smaller woman under her muscled bulk, but then Jan pressed the balls of her feet into the mat. Muscles flexed from Jan's calves to her always shapely thighs, to the knotted strands of hip flexors, and her hard round glutes as she straightened her body. Her lats and traps flexed hard as stone beneath Veronica as they rose quickly. The bigger woman started to shift her weight, but Jan reached back and grabbed two handfuls of gi. They rose higher until all at once Jan arched her back, bending against its natural curve. She pressed toes into the mat hard and flexed her entire body to slam her shoulders to the mat as hard as she could. The impact was brutal and loud as Jan drove Veronica back first into the mat, creating a perfect bridge.

Jan heard the air leave Veronica's lungs, but she didn't take a moment to revel. She exploded up through her legs and her insane eight pack abs flexed to their full striated form as she threw her legs up and over, somersaulting from a bridge to land right side up on the other side of the bigger woman without ever letting go of Veronica's gi. People clapped and cheered loudly as Jan jammed her leg between Veronica's legs. A single roll and Jan could have finished the match in seconds, but Veronica gathered herself enough to sit upright on her knees, ruining Jan's position. Jan tried to slide into a side position, but Veronica wasn't having it. She rolled across Jan's position, escaping danger and getting to her feet.

Jan spun to her knees, but didn't stand up right away. Instead she looked up at Veronica, daring the bigger brown belt to come back down. When that didn't happen, Jan stood up to applauds. They clinched in the middle of the mat, both held the other's gi. Veronica snatched forward and Jan finally got to feel the bigger girl's strength. It was impressive, but Jan's balance was tremendous. Veronica snatched again and Jan didn't resist. She charged forward and bent down. This time she was able to use her long arms and grip both of Veronica's ankles. Not many women would have had the upper body strength to snatch the 200 plus pound Veronica off of her feet, but that wasn't a problem for Jan. Her biceps flexed so big they actually forced the usually loose sleeves to expand a bit. Veronica had good balance too. Most people would have ended up on their backs, but she landed on her butt. Jan pressed forward and slipped into Veronica's guard, finally forcing the bigger girl to her back. Jan could have settled into position, but she exploded off the ground and got to Veronica's side, gaining control. Jan moved in for a possible choke, but Veronica grabbed hold of Jan's gi and with a burst of strength from her powerful arms, lifted Jan completely off the mat. Her triceps and pecs swelled thickly as she bench pressed Jan whole body. When she was high enough, Veronica slid her knee beneath Jan's stomach and rolled over. Raz cheered and urged Veronica on once she was on top of Jan who scrambled to wrap her legs around Veronica's body before she could move forward.

The other competitors and coaches wondered if the tables had now turned. Even Jan's own students thought Veronica was gaining the upper hand. Mark knew that Jan actually preferred to work from the bottom. For the next several seconds everyone got to see a master class in hand fighting as Veronica tried a dozen ways to grab hold of Jan's gi while Jan countered every single one of them. With a burst of impressive speed, Jan got a hand on Veronica's sleeve, but couldn't grab hold of it before she snatched it way. Then Veronica tried to pass Jan's guard. She tried to go under it and over it and around it, but Jan's long legs were strong and quick. Jan would have let her back out, but Veronica didn't want to get up, and it was too risky to go forward to try and grab Jan's torso or shoulders, so she gripped Jan's belt. She decided to try something else to break the guard. She extended her elbows outward, painfully pressing them against Jan's inner thighs. There were other ways to break open an opponent's legs, but Veronica wanted to let this girl know who was in control.

Jan just clamped on tighter and Veronica redoubled her efforts. The gi was forced open as Veronica's muscles began to expand. Her pecs pressed out on the sports bra while her lats unfurled like flags in the wind, forcing the already tight shirt stretch around her surging body making every muscle group in Veronica's upper body show. Jan wasn't intimidated. Now she did bide her time, letting the pain build up in her legs and lettings Veronica's elbows get further apart before both of Jan's hands went towards Veronica's left wrist. Veronica knew what Jan was doing so instantly she gripped Jan's gi just below Jan's sternum and pressed down. Her triceps threatened to rip through the back of her sleeves as she held Jan down firmly.

Jan didn't have to look at her teacher to know what he was thinking. She pulled her right leg back and Veronica prepared to have it placed against her hip, but Jan just kept drawing her leg back and back until she could have kicked Veronica in the face. Instead, nearly impossibly she thrust her leg through the gap between Veronica's arms. Jan's contortionist like flexibility caught Veronica off guard, so she was wasn't ready when Jan again went for her wrist. This time she grabbed it. Now it was time for Veronica to get an eye full of female muscle. Jan's core muscles tightened into a rough cobble stoned wall as she shifted their balance. Veronica felt herself being forced backwards so she let go of Jan's gi. The match was over that very moment.

Jan put one hand above and one hand below, trapping Veronica's left arm with her hands while controlling it with her legs. Her technique couldn't have been better, but Jan, of all people, knew that strength was a technique all its own. She was going to have to fight for this win.

Veronica's body flexed as she leaned forward while twisting away. Her biceps and pecs blossomed as she spun, but it was no use. Jan rolled her hips while hooking her ankles beneath Veronica's body. The big girl put her feet on the floor and with a gasping breath forced her body straight with Jan hanging from her left arm. Veronica's body was a sight as her gi came open and showed her muscles bulging and straining through her skin tight shirt. She swung Jan around a quarter turn but nearly fell from the momentum Jan's 170 pounds, but the smaller woman wasn't letting go. If anything, Jan sank her hold in deeper. Veronica's bicep and front deltoid erupted with muscle as she worked to bend her arm against Jan's effort to extend it. She was about to slam Jan down to the mat when Jan's muscles finally flexed to match her opponent's.

Veronica thought that she'd Jan's muscle at full flex, but through Jan's Under Armour shirt she saw her entire upper body swell with eye opening thickness and extreme definition. Veronica howled and sank to her knees. Jan's back hit the mat hard, but she held on like a leopard killing its prey. Veronica's bicep began to spasm while Jan's just bulged. When all its strength finally ran out the pain was too much. She slapped Jan on the side, but she didn't let go. Instead Jan's muscles flexed a bit more, just to show Veronica that the pain could get worse if she wanted it to. This time, with tears of frustration in her eyes, Veronica tapped Jan's leg.

"Winner!", the referee shouted as Jan's students rushed in to help their teacher up. Mark walked up clapping. "Congratulations. First time I've seen you in competition in a while."

"Thanks!", Jan replied with a huge smile on her face. Timmy had run up and wrapped his arms around her waist while the others just jumped around like Jan had won some sort of championship. Jan turned towards Hector when she saw him clapping and stepped out of the crowd a bit and bowed. Bradley and Russ clapped too, but stayed out of the fray.

Raz didn't bother consoling his sobbing student. He paced some distance away trying to calm his boiling blood. It was Jan who walked over to Veronica. The bigger woman was still on her hands and knees. "Was that a good match?", she asked plainly.

Veronica looked up and wiped her eyes then got the smallest of smiles. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I guess so too", Jan said and extended her hand for Veronica to take.

The taller girl reached for it, but Raz rushed over and pushed it away. "You're some type of ringer coming to disrupt what's normally a well run tournament", Raz raged. "I thought you people do some checking, make sure people are qualified before you let them in the field. This is outrageous!" Several students from the Circle of the Arts academy looked embarrassed while some others joined in behind their teacher. "I demand justice. Nobody comes from nowhere to beat one of my best students!" Jan opened her mouth to replied, but got cut off.

"She's one of my best students!", Mark said and stepped up in Jan's defense. "One of the best I've ever had in my dojo male or female. You're out of line!"

"No", Hector said and stepped onto the mat. The room got quieter when a true master of the art spoke up. "You are a fool and a small man who doesn't understand the meaning of the things that you are supposed to teach. A good match, well and fairly fought is the only thing anybody can ask for in a competition. Your girl was good, but Jan is better."

Raz ran his hands through his hair and looked at Mark and Hector. "Is this your play to muscle into the Atlanta market? You send this ringer down here to beat my people. You pretend she's some brown belt and that those women over there are white belts. They're probably blues or even purples! They look like little damn homemakers, but they're not! I'm sure of it. They're not!"

"I ought to shut you up", Mark threatened. "I've got a gi in the car. Or hell, I don't need one."

"No", Hector pulled rank. "This fool has insulted all of us. Jan, if you aren't too tired would you please take care of this man?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"I'm not going up against this… this woman."

Then Hector stepped up to him. "You will or we'll clear this mat and when I'm finished with you they'll have to wheel you out on a gurney!", he warned, his Brazilian accent always got thicker when he was angry. Raz stared at Jan for a long moment then sighed. "Fine." The tournament directors were just happy that a real fight didn't break out because it looked like it might. They ushered everybody off the mat except for Jan and Raz.

Jan was in a tight spot and for a moment her concentration wavered. This was the very reason she stopped doing competitions. Here she was competing for the honor of her martial arts lineage against a guy she didn't like, and she had to somehow keep her extremely powerful gift in check. Part of her was screaming that there was no way she was going to lose to this guy even if she had to turn every bone in his body to powder, but she remembered Master Furtado's words. This was going to be a fair contest even if that meant she would have to allow herself to lose. She might go pound some limestone into dust afterwards, but if Raz beat her, then she'd have to live with it.

Very early in the match, Jan realized that losing was a very real possibility. For all of Raz's bluster off the mat, he was quite good on it. Jan was on the defensive from the very beginning, barely escaping two choke attempts and an arm bar. She rolled to her feet and put a little distance between she and her opponent. She would have thought that by this point her power would have been pressing to get out of its cage, but it wasn't. She could feel it in there, but maybe it was like LaShaunta said. Maybe she did finally have full control of her gift.

Raz came at her, but she side stepped his takedown and pushed away his attempt to clinch. He rushed in again, and Jan let him come. He didn't go for a takedown and instead grabbed her gi. Jan backpedaled then expertly tossed Raz over her side. Her students cheered at their teacher's first good offensive move. Raz pulled Jan down with him. He landed on his back with Jan between his legs, but she didn't stay there long. She hooked her arm beneath his knee and pulled up. Veins stood out on Jan's straining neck as she brute forced Raz's body to bend. He tried to shift his hips to counter Jan's movement but was too late. She slipped out and stepped over his leg, trapping it between her legs as she dropped a knee into his ribs. She didn't waste time trying to improve her position. She almost covered his entire face with her outstretched hand and pushed Raz's head down to the mat.

Striations sliced across her triceps like razors. Her big hand completely covered his mouth and nose and blocked his vision so he had to reach up and move it before he did anything else. Jan took that opportunity to rotate herself to lie across his body, pressing her shoulder and arm against Raz's neck. She reached for his far shoulder and he pulled his hands in while bucking his hips, trying to move Jan, but she didn't budge. She pressed her knee in harder against his ribs while gaining control of his right arm with her shoulder. Raz tried to push Jan's hips away to lessen the pressure on his ribs, but all she did was sink it in further. He attempted to twist away to free himself, but Jan crawled on her knees faster than he could spin. The pain never really went away. Raz managed to slide his mostly trapped right arm under Jan's body to relieve the pressure on his torso, but all he felt was the cobblestone hardness of Jan's abdominal wall beneath her gi. Those same muscles had stood up to Veronica and that was no easy feat. Raz was plenty strong, but one partially trapped arm wasn't going to be enough to move this woman. His left arm was across Jan's back, so he reached for the collar of her gi. Jan felt Raz's finger tips touch her collar, and all the pressure on his ribs went away instantly.

Jan dropped her head into the center of Raz's stomach while at the same time dropping her armpit right beneath his chin. Raz reached for Jan's head, but she slipped it to his side, almost to the mat while she spun her body round like a long legged spider until the two of them were north and south to each other. Raz's left arm pressed painfully against his own head and neck, but he knew that was just the beginning. It all happened in a split second. Jan slipped her arm beneath his head despite Raz's best efforts to stop her, then put her hand against Raz's hip and used his own movements to sink her choke in deeply. The choke was set and it was in good. Jan didn't even have to squeeze to win this match, but she did anyway.

Raz gagged and tried to sweep to reverse positions, but Jan's long body was fully stretched out and it felt like every ounce of her body was crushing his throat. He tried to pry Jan's arm from around his neck using his free arm, but that just made Jan squeeze and flex harder. If he thought he'd felt her strength, he was mistaken. The peak of Jan's mighty bicep crushed the center of his throat like a bailer crushed a sedan. Raz kept trying and trying to get free and despite great pain, he didn't tap… which was why Jan held the choke until Raz's eyes rolled back in his sockets and he went limp beneath her. The ref came in and separated the two.

She let go and jumped up to her feet as all of her students shouted and rushed to meet her. Timmy had his disposable camera out and snapped the photo as Jan stood up, her gi hanging open and her matchless body pumped and strong. Some strands of her ash brown hair covered her face as her stunningly blue eyes looked down at her fallen adversary. Raz's lids were partially open just like his mouth. Only the whites of his eyes showed and his lips were slack with his head pointing straight towards the ceiling. One of his arms lay across his chest while the other was flat on the mat. Jan's expression wasn't of pure joy like the people around her. She wasn't elated that she'd won; she was satisfied.

The ref checked Raz and several of his students, including Veronica, went to check on him too. He started coming to, but the doctor and the paramedics came over just the same. He was sitting up by the time the ref raised Jan's arm. "Winner!", he declared. The spectators cheered and clapped and Jan waved as she stepped to one side of the mat. That was when she saw Mark and Hector talking, not cheering or clapping. They weren't even looking at her.

Mark parted the way a bit and came towards Jan who had no idea what was going on. Then Hector walked up from behind him and pulled a rolled up black belt from one of the pockets on his coat. "Ohh no!", Jan breathed and covered her mouth with trembling hands. "No way!"

"I always keep one of these with me when one my deserving students is near", Hector explained as he walked up to Jan with a big smile on his face. Tears rolled down Jan's cheeks as Mark began untying her brown belt.

"We both agree Jan. Congratulations!"

The crowd hushed as Hector wrapped the belt around Jan's tight waist then tied it in the front. The moment he stepped back they went wild. Students and even other teachers clapped and whistled. Getting a black belt was always a big deal, but getting one from a legend like Hector Furtado had to be an amazing feeling. None of them had ever seen Jan before but after watching her against Veronica and that loud mouth Raz, they were sure that she deserved it. It didn't hurt that Raz had gotten on the nerves of every other jiu-jitsu teacher in the room at one point or another. Jan turned to Mark, the man who'd been teaching her since she was twelve and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him and crying while Timmy used up all the exposures in his camera.

"Congratulations Jan!", she heard in her head and looked around, finally finding Sara near the top of the arena standing next to LaShaunta, Alisha, and Brian. All of them waved down.

"You were terrific", Alisha gushed.

"We came to see some white belt action and then you get a black belt. Nice job, Jan", Brian conveyed with his thoughts.

"I think you used one of my moves during the set up for that north south choke", LaShaunta thought and Jan laughed.

"Sparring with you Shaunie is like using one of those take a penny leave a penny things at the convenience stores."

LaShaunta looked shocked but couldn't suppress her grin. "No, you didn't!"

Sara elbowed LaShaunta in the ribs. "Come on, we better get back. The meet starts soon."

"Ok, I'll see you guys later", Jan thought and a moment later her friends were gone.

Jack Caufield found out about his daughter's triumph from Mark shortly after he heard it straight from Sara who'd given him a personal blow by blow of everything she'd seen. The people in the Pentagon had no idea why Jack was walking around with a smile on his face, but he was so proud of Jan that he nearly burst. After a while, Sara had to go prepare for a race in St. Louis. That's when Mark had called, telling Jack that he was the father of a new black belt. They spoke on the phone for a couple of minutes and Mark promised video of Jan's two matches. Jack really couldn't wait. He knew why Jan had stopped competing in the first place, and he wasn't sure what had changed her mind. In the end it didn't matter.

Jack had just left a meeting with some of the brass and several operators from SoCom and was pleasantly surprised that they hadn't treated him like an outside interloper. He was still one of them who just happened to be working for their frenemies over at the Agency. That made Jack feel pretty good. He was going to keep doing this job, but if he was going to have to stay in the Army he might start angling to get a position back in the Special Operations Command. He had that thought rolling through his mind as he stood in the midst of a bullpen of desks when he heard a familiar voice say his name. "Mr. Caufield!", Norma called with some shock as he turned around. "Oops, I mean Colonel Caufield."

"Norma", Jack said and came over. She held out her hand to shake, but he gave her thick muscular shoulders a big hug instead. "I haven't seen you in so long." He looked Norma up and down, which didn't take long, as the height challenged soldier stood there in her desert camo ACUs. "The uniform looks good on you."

"You too", Norma replied and managed not to blush. Mr… Colonel Caufield looked like a movie star in his Class Bs with all those ribbons on his chest.

"So what did they drag you up here for?", he asked as they continued into the hallway.

"I had a meeting with some guys from SoCom. It's over now. I'm just about to leave."

"Do you want to get some lunch? It'll be my treat", Jack enticed her knowing that Norma wasn't going to turn him down. There was a family owned restaurant on the way to Fairfax that Jack hadn't been to in a long time, but was pleased to find out that the food was just as good as he remembered. "So you're a Green Beret now", he said to Norma.

"Yes sir. That happened during the meeting there at the Pentagon."

Jack smiled as he sliced up a piece of pepper steak. "Congratulations, and welcome to the club."

Norma laughed and thought about how weird this was. It wasn't the first time she'd had lunch with Jack, but the last time they'd done something like this, she hadn't even known that he used to be in the Army at all. Once the guys in the unit found out that she was from Baltimore, they'd asked if she knew about a former Operator from the area. She told them that she didn't. People from generals to sergeants had told her stories of this guy called the Bear. It wasn't until about a week ago that she finally figured out that this Bear had to be Jack Caufield. Colonel Brallen, an SAS officer said that he'd been on a mission with the Bear in Afghanistan in the mid 80's and gave a description that perfectly matched the man sitting across from her.

"So are they going to let you wear the patch and headgear?", Jack asked, bringing Norma back into the moment.

She shook her head. "No sir, not yet. Not until they officially open the MOS to women. They tell me it's about six months off."

Jack sighed. "And you know six months in Army parlance is more like…"

"Six years", Norma finished then chuckled. "I learned to add some zeros to some things the Army tells me and to take away a few in other places."

"You're quick. It took me a year and a half of turning wrenches underneath deuce and a halfs to get wise to how things worked in the big green machine."

"I've got lots of people telling me stuff. Some of it's helpful and the rest is just noise."

Jack laughed and nodded his head. "You made any friends at work?"

"I'm pretty tight with my team. I didn't know how they would accept me at first, I was so nervous, but they've been really helpful. I don't get bad advice from them."

"You must have showed those guys that you work hard and you do your job. You've probably still got a lot to learn, but those guys respect you. That says a lot."

"Yeah and I've been dabbling on the Intel side too", Norma said and wondered if she should have.

"Oh how so?"

"There's a Brit intel guy who bounces theories and stuff off of me. He says I have a knack for it, but I think I'm just his sounding board."

Jack laughed again. "Be careful Norma. Intel will snatch you in and not let go."

"Yeah", she began with a smile. "I think that's what happened to Sebastian. He started out as a regular soldier and now he gets to wear suits to work." Norma was just about finished with her pork chop when she looked up. "He doesn't say much about what he did before he joined BMI. I don't think he's talked about it at all… well actually I know for a fact he hasn't", she said after quickly going over every single conversation she'd had with Sebastian since they'd met, just like she could have gone over every single time she'd ever spoken to Jack over the years.

"So", Jack began then took a sip from his glass of ice water. "When's the last time to spoke to Jan?" He looked across the table and watched Norma's expression change as she looked down at her plate before taking a bite. It was no accident that Jack hadn't mentioned his daughter until now, until after he'd gotten Norma to open back up to him.

"It's been a while", Norma admitted with regret.

"She got her black belt in jiu-jitsu this morning", Jack announced proudly.

Norma smiled. "She's always been so great."

There was a lull then Jack came out and said, "She doesn't have any bad feelings about what happened with you and her abduction, Norma. None."

The young Army specialist looked up. "But if I delayed her rescue by even five minutes then I'm guilty of something, sir."

"You shouldn't let perceived guilt push you away from someone you've known since you both were kids. Call her up. Better yet, go down to Atlanta and see her while you've got some time. She'd love it. I promise."

Norma seemed to contemplate Jack's words for a moment. "Okay. I've got to go to Fort Benning anyway. I guess I could make a stop in Atlanta."

LaShaunta was so sore that she hated standing up. She should have known that this was going to happen, because not only had she run her normal 400m races, heats, and relays, she'd also run the 200m races because the team's top two girls had gotten hurt and the third girl on the depth chart had to do the heptathlon. Despite potential harm to her ego, LaShaunta had listened to the coach and paced herself. She hadn't won a single preliminary race. She had to pretend like she didn't hear the other girls and some guys talking about how the mythic LaShaunta Turner had lost it and how she just didn't look the same. Others had bragged about how great it had been to finally be able to turn around and see LaShaunta heading towards the finish line behind them. LaShaunta got a little smile on her face as she got out of her bed and slid her tired feet into a pair of pink and white slippers because she'd won both finals, first the 400m and less than an hour later she'd won the 200m by more than half a second. Then she'd anchored both relays, which her team had won too. Yesterday had been so much fun, of course now she was paying for it. She could have simply transported herself from her bedroom to the kitchen, but that would be cutting corners and that wasn't LaShaunta's style.

She probably shouldn't have gone out and celebrated Jan's black belt either, but how could she miss that? Of course there was the red belt and so on, but a person only graduated from student to teacher once. Jan deserved the attention. It was cool too that Master Hector had been there. LaShaunta was ashamed to admit that she'd just about had a martial arts nerd fit meeting him for the first time. Alisha and especially Brian wouldn't allow her to forget it.

She was halfway through the living room when the front door opened. Jan was laughing and talking to somebody that LaShaunta couldn't see. LaShaunta kept going, taking a couple more reluctant steps as Jan came in holding some bags from that boutique she liked so much. Just then she saw the shadow of the other person darken the doorway. Jan moved out of the way, and LaShaunta's eyes got really huge.

Norma was so glad that she'd taken Mr… Colonel Caufield's advice and come down to see Jan. They'd spoken on the phone for a long time which had convinced Norma to make the relatively short drive to Atlanta. In truth Jan had threatened to come to Fort Benning, but Norma had spared them both a boring trip. Jan had taken her shopping, which was something Jan had promised to do a year and a half earlier, but a lot had happened in that time. No matter how hard she tried, Norma couldn't find a grudge inside of Jan. There wasn't a single instant where it seemed like she blamed Norma for anything. After a while, she'd stopped looking and they had simply enjoyed each other's company like in the past. Jan wanted to know all about Norma's time in the military. Norma told some stories that she thought she could get away with, and Jan seemed to enjoy them, but she didn't offer any stories of her own. Then she'd taken Norma to this store and they'd bought all sorts of things. Norma had no idea where Jan was taking her next, but it turned out that she went to her apartment. That's when she saw that damned girl from the mission in Italy.

She was wearing bright orange and white striped pajama bottoms, a skin tight sleeveless t-shirt that clung to every contour of her impressive upper body, and huge bunny slippers. In the light of day it was easy to see why Alain had been so smitten. Her body screamed athletic perfection, feminine, strong, and sleek, without any bulky excess that might have slowed her down. Her face was soft despite the nail hardness of her body with high cheeks, full ripe lips, and dramatic eyes. Her long braided hair, which Norma remembered well, had been woven into a loose rope with its ends hanging just above that perfect ass of hers.

"You!", Norma growled and rushed towards LaShaunta, dropping her bags. LaShaunta frowned and jumped away from the sofa, but didn't retreat. Her muscles tensed up and she brought her hands up to defend herself. Her quads, glutes, and hamstrings protested, but she ignored them.

Norma only made it a couple of strides before Jan caught up, slipped her hand into the back of Norma's pants and lifted her completely off the ground with one arm. Jan's arm flexed, but she was almost strong enough to lift Norma like this anyway so they didn't expand much. The scene would have looked comical with Norma suspended in the air still trying to run if the look on her face had been anything other than a blood rage.

"Put me down!", Norma yelled.

"Not until you cool out."

"She made my guys attack me! That bitch and her asshole friend!"

"Who are you calling a bitch!", LaShaunta screamed. "It was a misunderstanding, you over-muscled munchkin!"

"Jan, let me finish what I started!"

"What you started?!?", LaShaunta yelled with a raised eyebrow. "Last time I laid a hand on you, you were the one on your back and I was the one standing up." That made Norma even madder.

"Shaunie you're not helping", Jan said.

"I'm not trying to! She comes here, where I lay my head and threatens me!! Let her go, Jan. Let's see what happens!"

Now Norma was really seeing red. "Jan, I could make you let me go", she threatened, and then without warning did the same thing she'd done to Mahan Pahokar. She'd felt the source of his power and choked it. It didn't take long to feel Jan's power, the source of her super human strength, and then Norma went after it. She didn't see Jan's expression change, dropping from a concerned frown into a mask of absolute horror. Norma barged her way into the core of Jan's being. This was the most personal violation that could be imagined. It was like Norma had broken into Jan's very soul and was attempting to kill it. This was the harshest, scariest sensation Jan had ever experienced, including being locked in a box and tortured for nearly two weeks. This was so far worse that there were no words in any human language to describe how it felt. Her strength began to wane, and her shoulder muscles began to fail under the strain of holding Norma up at arm's length. The soldier's feet got closer to the floor, but then to their surprise, in an instant the situation changed completely.

The seal that usually kept Jan's explosive gift bottled up simply evaporated, and all of that white hot power spewed out at once. Jan's gift, almost like a separate entity, attacked Norma's power with a furious assault, pushing it back where it had come from. Now it was Norma's eyes that opened wide. She actually yelped as Jan's gift traveled along the bridge that she herself had created and flooded Norma with mind numbing pain. Every strong emotion flowed into Norma, virtually frying her synapses. Norma felt a level of power that she hadn't known even existed. There was no escape or rest from the pure unfiltered rage that formed the central core of Jan's power. Just like with the linking, both Jan and Norma got to see this mighty gift in its totality, but this wasn't the blissful serenity of the linking. This was a battle to the death.

Norma realized too late that Jan extreme power only bent to the will of its mistress, and even then only reluctantly. It had taken Jan's entire life to learn to control herself and just a couple of seconds for Norma to obliterate those controls. Now both of them were paying the price, although Jan was used to feeling her own gift so it didn't hurt her, but she felt like a child chasing after a ball that kept rolling away faster and faster while Norma felt like her brain was on fire. Just when she thought that she'd felt the worst of it, the pain would increase in new horrible ways. Jan's power lashed out inside of Norma attempting to destroy what it could. Norma's limbs began to tremble and tears of pain rolled down her cheeks as the attack reached some new phase. Jan's lifetime of battling within herself saved Norma when she suddenly corralled her runaway gift and snatched it back then she threw Norma to the other side of the room.

"That was dirty what you did!", Jan's shout was full of furious emotion, but her finger was rock steady as it pointed at Norma. "We don't use our powers against each other like that! EVER!", she screamed so loudly that the curtains fluttered behind Norma's back. Norma had never seen Jan like this. Her body had changed, her sleek muscles had thickened and hardened noticeably. Veins and arteries pulsed with the beating of her powerful heart, but instead of pumping faster. It had slowed down, making her vascular body throb slowly like a bass drum. Her beautiful face scowled menacingly and looked like it had suddenly been shaded by a cloud.

"I brought you here because I figured out that the woman you fought in Italy was probably LaShaunta. I wanted you two to hash it out and get to know each other, because I don't like my friends not getting along. But there's not going to be any fighting in here!" Jan turned to look at LaShaunta, who gave no emotional resistance at all. Norma probably wouldn't have noticed, but Shaunie looked relieved.

Jan turned back to Norma. "What about you!"

"I surrender", she said and smiled to see if Jan was ready to forgive her. It didn't look like it. Her expression became a bit distant as she struggled to stuff to her power back where she kept it. Jan was still in the middle of that process when LaShaunta walked past her and extended her hand to Norma.

"LaShaunta Turner."

"Norma Carlton", the two formally introduced themselves. "I'm sorry I threatened to attack you, and in your own apartment no less."

"Apology accepted. And I'm sorry I got in the way of a military operation. That was never my intention."

"Apology accepted." Norma did feel a weight come off, and she felt incredibly silly for what she'd been trying to do. "I do have one question though?" LaShaunta looked like she really didn't want to hear it, but Norma asked anyway. "Were you planning on fighting me with those shoes on or off?" LaShaunta looked down at her huge bunny slippers and laughed, just a half second before Jan laughed too.

X-424 wasn't sure why, but she enjoyed working out. It was impossible for her to recall her former life as a regular person when she was turned on, but she was sure that working out had been a big part of her former routine. Although she was pretty sure that lifting barbells with cast iron engine blocks welded to either side hadn't been a part of the regimen. Back in Mallster's labs in Texas and Oklahoma there had been exercise areas with proper machines set up to deal with the extreme weights and tensions that super soldiers could deal with, but here in Georgia, they had to make do with whatever was available. Benny hadn't even known that his super soldiers had to work out. It had been explained that they didn't need to work out for strength, but rather to keep up their looks, especially the Femmes. Each woman had been specifically chosen to fit a sexual niche. Some were more heavily muscled while others were quite thin, but could still easily lift a sedan over their heads. X-424 had always been near the top of the muscular scale, and at Benny's urging she'd actually added just a bit more muscle to her already fit frame. She couldn't remember, but the way she looked now was almost identical to the way she'd looked when she'd been a world class swimmer for the Stanford Cardinal. Kristen Washington had held a bright future in the palm of her hand, but the only part of her former life that she still had was her awesomely body and her beautiful face.

She put down the bar with the engine blocks and stepped up to a bar set into a purpose built cradle. It wasn't supposed to be used, but X-424 had never cared much for rules or restrictions. This long barbell had been constructed to test how much X-416's strength had jumped after she'd been super enhanced with a different style strength serum. They'd attached several counterweights from a tall crane to the ends of bar made from a special alloy. Benny's lead engineer Lee was quite proud of his little contraption, but only a third of the Femmes could lift the weight at all. X-424 was one of them.

She wrapped her fingers around the bar and took a deep breath. She looked down at her bent legs admiring the way her stretched out quad heads looked so poised beneath her smooth skin. Unlike the other Femmes, X-424's face showed the effort as she powered upward. Her legs and lats, delts, traps, and forearms all surged as the bar bent slightly as the counterweights came out of the depressions that they sat in. The programming screamed inside X-424's head, demanding her to stop because the load was too massive, but she internally snickered and dug deep within herself. She could get more out of her muscles than the programming ever could. Her body shook for a moment as she got the weight to her waist before she steadied herself. Then just to defy her programming even more and to test the limits of her own strength, she bent her arms. She took a series of quick breaths as the weight finally reached her chest. If Benny had seen X-424's smirk in that moment he'd have wanted to fuck her on the spot, but this wasn't for him. This was for her, and she wasn't finished yet.

She lowered her arms and with body vibrating effort and began to curl this weight again. Her biceps were on fire. Her shoulders and quads had to fire superhumanly fast to stabilize her body as she completed the second rep. Tears stood in her eyes as she fought her programming and willed her body to do more. Her face was twisted in effort and her entire body shook violently as she completed a third rep. She held it up for a moment before slowly letting her arms straighten. When the bottom of the big weights were an inch or so off the ground, X-424 dropped the bar. She leaned down, resting her head on her forearms and her forearms on the cold stone as she caught her breath. Despite the pain, that had been exhilarating. She was trying to figure out what to do next when X-411 came strutting into the workout area with her short girl swaggering strut.

X-424 instantly remembered Morgen Stern saying that he'd searched inside X-417 and had found no will, but she was sure that X-411's stride wasn't just an effect of how she was put together. X-424 wondered if perhaps she was seeing just a little bit of who X-411 used to be before she was murdered by Mallster and his men.

Just like X-424, X-411 was one of the more muscular Femmes, but she was also one of the shorter Femmes. She looked so strong as she stood in front of the bar with the engine blocks on it. She took it in her hands and easily curled the weight of two V6 engines. "See if you can lift this one", X-424 said before she'd even reasoned why. X-411 put down the engine blocks and came over immediately. X-424 had commanded her fellow super soldiers before, and she was curious how far she could push it.

X-424 watched X-411 tight body flex and strain as she deadlifted the massively loaded bar. The huge counterweights shook slightly as X-411's powerful legs straightened. Her thighs weren't sliced to ribbons as they mastered this weight because as heavy as it was, her legs were more than strong enough to have squatted this weight for reps. X-424 was awed by the power of X-411's compact body. "Curl it", X-424 ordered and immediately X-411's arms began to bend. She got the bar about a quarter of the way up and hesitated. "Ignore protocol 7b. Ignore it whenever you want to", X-424 urged and watched X-411's muscles pulse and surge as the weight started moving again. Her biceps were practically glowing red beneath her fair skin. Veins pressed to the surface, fighting for space on her peaked biceps with the cross stria marching across the full muscle bellies of her biceps and deltoids. X-411 got the bar to her chest and took several breaths to feed her suddenly taxed muscles with fresh oxygen. Her face was impassive, neutral even, but her body was anything but. X-424 looked her over from top to bottom and she was pumped, but X-424 didn't think she'd seen all that X-411's body could do. "Curl it again", she ordered and the bar started down.

X-424's eyes were fixated on X-411's stretching biceps as she opened her arms and slowly let the bar get to her waist. X-411 sucked in a breath and the bar came up again. The massive bar shook a little this time as X-411's mighty muscles slowly conquered the load. The sunlight glinted off of the growing bicep peaks as sheen of warm sweat covered X-411's body from top to bottom now. X-424 was breathing heavily as X-411 curled the counterweights again. Her mouth watered more and her nipples were hardening beneath her Nike workout top. She stepped up close to X-411 was the shorter Femme held the weight. X-424 felt the heat coming off of the other Femme's body and she couldn't help but reach out and touch X-411's arms. The muscles were as hard and hot as any she'd felt. X-424 gave a gentle squeeze, but her deep brown eyes were locked on X-411's emotionless gaze.

"Curl it again", X-424 said in a low breathy tone. The bar came down again and this time X-411's magnificent body shook with effort as her arms bent. "Dig down and want to do it", X-424 said and dropped to her knees, looking up at X-411's struggle. She saw a twitch at the corner of X-411's eye and then the power packed Femme's lips trembled. "Want it for yourself!", X-424 exclaimed and a nearly silent cry came from X-411's suddenly open mouth. X-424 ran her hands along X-411's tensed thighs and glutes before running her hands to X-411's stomach just to feel the core muscles fire super humanly fast to keep the Femme upright under the massive tonnage. X-424's was looking at X-411's face as she curled the weight again, getting it to her chest. There might have been a trace of satisfaction there, but X-424 wasn't silly enough to fool herself into believing it because she wanted to. She stood up and took in X-411's body one more time, tracing the outline of the other Femme's flexed biceps one more time before saying, "Put the weight back on the cradle."

X-411 hesitated at this order long enough for X-424 to notice. The taller Femme grinned as the weight went back to the cradle and X-411 stood up straight, her muscles still massively pumped even though her burden was gone. "You wanted to try it again?", X-424 asked, but got no response at all. "You are so beautiful", she said to X-411, but once again got no response. X-424 smiled. "Go back to whatever you were coming to do", she said and X-411 headed towards the lighter weights for a cool down since the programming felt that the bulk of the workout had already been completed. X-424 looked back to X-411 just one more time wondering if there might be another Femme with some little touch of sentience inside her, but she wouldn't let herself get hopeful because X-424 knew that would be the most dangerous thing she could possibly do for herself.

Benny was finishing up a message to Gregg White when X-424 came out of the bedroom after a shower and was about to join Benny at their kitchen table when there was a knock at the door. They both looked up to see Morgen Stern standing there. "May I come in?", the German asked and Benny got a wry smile.

"Are you like Count Dracula and can't come in unless I say so?" Morgen chuckled and Benny motioned for him to come to the table.

"I'll see you when you're finished?", X-424 told Benny and started towards another room.

"Won't you stay?", Morgen said and sat down in the chair opposite Benny and his Femme. X-424 sat back down. "You might be the smartest person in this place, no offense Benny."

"None taken I assure you."

"Any council she gives can only help." Morgen grinned and exhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts. "You remember when we spoke about solving your Men of the Revolution problem?"

"I do", Benny said quietly.

Morgen's little grin grew sinister. "I've found a way."

"How?"

"I was waiting so long for this to happen that I wasn't sure if the government was going to be stupid enough to do it, but they've actually put all the sick Revolutionaries together in one hospital, here in Atlanta."

"So we go in there and kill the men in their sickbeds?", Benny asked and Morgen just shook his head.

"No", X-424 said. "You tell Malcolm where his men are then give him the equipment to attack the hospital himself. Only he doesn't know that the other side has already been alerted."

Morgen stood up and clapped. "That, my friend, is why you should keep this woman close by your side at all times."

Benny hated being wrong or shown up, but he couldn't help but look at X-424 and smile. "How do we know this idea would work?", he asked while Morgen retook his seat.

"Because it's already in motion. Don't get angry about me forcing your hand, but I already informed Malcolm of his Men's location. He'll be here soon to petition help from you."

"What kind of help?"

"It doesn't matter", X-424 said. "So long as he doesn't ask for any soldiers. Give him anything that won't trace back to you or your organization. Let his people test out that new armor you got from the European Syndicate a while back, you know the ones that Lee and his people are testing."

"Yes", Morgen Stern said. "You have less need for shoestring research anyhow… after your recent arrangement with Gregg White." The blood drained from Benny's face. He hadn't told Morgen anything about that.

"I was going to tell you when the situation was more concrete", Benny defended himself.

Morgen smiled. "It's okay. As far as I'm concerned it doesn't change our arrangement. Although, I think the both of you might want to know why Gregg White wanted to steal your super soldiers."

"So you found out about that", Benny said while wondering who in his organization was talking.

"It wasn't any of your people", Morgen said as if he was reading Benny's thoughts. "I've been looking heavily into Mr. White, because his men were the ones that attacked X-417 and damaged her. She killed all but one of the men sent by Gregg White to kill her."

"So one man lived?", Benny asked.

"The last one, I killed. That was my way of letting White know that he shouldn't create problems where none exist. Not two days later, his people are in contact with you about buying some of your soldiers."

"That fucking bastard", Benny fumed.

X-424 ran her hand down Benny's arm. "It's okay. You already know you can't trust him. Just get out of him what you can."

Morgen stood up. "I don't have to encourage you to take her advice. Like I said, she's the smartest person in the building." There was a knock. "Ah, that's Mr. Borman. Oh and Benny, I need to borrow one of your Femmes. At least I have the courtesy to ask, unlike Mr. White."

Benny's head was swirling. "You know the way", he told Morgen and prepared to meet his old friend Malcolm, perhaps for the last time.

Morgen went to the door. "Everything should be ready", he told Malcolm. "I've already talked to Benny. He should give you what you need to rescue your people."

"Thank you", Malcolm said and shook Morgen's hand. "I won't forget this."

"Just trying to help", Morgen replied and started down the hall. He was halfway to the lab where the Femmes were stored when X-424 came up from behind him. "Not staying in there to make sure things go smoothly?"

"Benny can handle himself" she replied. "And you don't have to go around proving to him that you're two or three steps ahead of him at all times. He's still learning how to do this job."

"I'm helping to teach him."

X-424 eyed Morgen for a moment. "It's not easy what he's doing in there, betraying a man who helped him when he needed it."

"Betrayal is a tool that any person in the underworld must have in their box", Morgen replied.

"What about you?", X-424 began. "Who are you betraying?"

Morgen opened his mouth to say something then thought better of it. "One of these days I might let you in on the rest of the story."

"Are you going to betray Benny?", she came out and asked.

"No", Morgen replied surprisingly quickly. "Unless his circumstances change."

"Change how?"

Morgen smiled. "I was wrong before. At first I thought Benny was infatuated with you and that you were simply along for the beneficial ride, but you care about him, about his well being. As long as you're by Benny's side, my loyalty is sealed. I think he would be a dangerous adversary, but you X-424 would be a deadly one."

FBI agent Aaron Miles showed his badge and credentials at the front gate of the soon to be closing Fort MacPherson and drove past empty building after empty building making his way towards the turn of the century hospital. It was a massive brick structure near the center of the old military base. There were modern satellite dishes on the roof and there was a helipad off to one side, but if a soldier from a hundred years past suddenly found himself in 2006 he'd recognize the hospital at a glance. Miles saw more soldiers the closer he got to the hospital. The government wasn't completely mad. They knew that putting a whole group of terrorists in one place might cause problems. He wondered if these preparations were going to be enough and very soon he learned that they weren't.

Miles met the senior US Marshal and got an overview of the security measures and a bit later he met with a couple of doctors who attempted to explain the mystery illness that had these terrorists laid up in the first place. Miles was just about to leave and head to headquarters to report to Agent Wills when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered it anyway. "Special Agent Miles."

"Good to hear your voice Special Agent Miles", Morgen mocked lightly and Miles groaned inwardly. "You sound well."

"I was doing fine until you called."

Morgen laughed. "You might be doing better because I have very good news for you."

"You're going to lose my number."

Morgen laughed even harder. "No, I don't think so, but the good news is that The Men of the Revolution are coming to the hospital at the Fort MacPhereson to retrieve their sick brethren. I've heard that they're going to attack with everything they have. I can't say for sure what that means as far as numbers of equipment, but you don't attack an Army base with spitballs. You should probably get in touch with whomever you need to tell, so they'll be ready."

"How do I know you're not bullshitting me?"

"Because you aren't important enough for me to bother bullshitting. We'll talk again later."

Miles was so mad he couldn't stop staring at his phone for nearly a minute. When he finished grinding the enamel off of his teeth, Miles dialed his boss.

Alisha and Sara came home together, both were laughing as Alisha once again illustrated how horrible her date for Valentine's Day had been. The conversation stopped cold when they walked into the apartment. Jan and LaShaunta were in the living room which was normal enough, but their eyes got wide when they saw Norma sitting there with them. Their reaction to seeing Norma had almost been as intense as LaShaunta's had been. There was even an instant when Alisha's fight or flight response kicked in.

"Oh hello", Sara's manners forced her to say. Norma waved somewhat sheepishly.

"Jan", Alisha began then dropped her keys into her pocket. "You tell us Norma was coming to visit."

"It was a surprise", Jan replied with a smile. Despite her hiccup with Norma, her enthusiasm had mostly returned. "She and LaShaunta were getting to know each other a bit, and sort of getting over their animosity."

"Animosity is one way to put it", LaShaunta observed.

"Ok, a couple of months ago Norma tried to kill LaShaunta. I said that they'd been trying to kill each other, but LaShaunta's adamant that if she'd been trying to kill Norma…well…"

"I respectfully disagree", Norma said.

LaShaunta's grin made Norma's eyes narrow. "There's a reason I never bothered to pick up a gun when we were in that apartment. I hope you know I can shoot… quite well."

"Yeah yeah", Norma said instead of pursuing it and getting angry all over again. That seemed to satisfy LaShaunta.

Alisha tossed her coat and laptop bag onto another chair and crossed her arms across her awesome bosom. "I think I know how you feel Norma. I was pretty sure you were trying to kill me when you had your little hands around my throat, but if you'd really been trying to kill me then…"

LaShaunta sat forward and frowned. "Wait, you fought Alisha too! Did you try and choke out Sara too!?!"

"Yeah", Sara answered for her then leaned against the side of a chair. She let out a long breath as she thought back on that day.

"I never actually touched you."

"Not from lack of trying", Alisha reminded Norma forcefully as the emotions from last year bubbled to the surface. Alisha and Sara had been desperately trying to help Jan only be attacked by Norma and her brothers.

"So is Jan the only person in this room who you haven't tried to beat the crap out of?"

"That was true until a little while ago I guess", Norma said with some regret. "I got carried away."

"I still don't know what happened to make the three of you tussle", LaShaunta said.

Sara sighed again. "After Jan went missing we retraced her steps and ended up at Norma's family's market. We had no idea that a very skilled telepath had already been there and put a telepathic mine inside Mrs. Carlton's brain. As soon as I went in to read her memories it attacked. It nearly killed me. It was pretty much the scariest thing that I've ever been through. Plus it changed Mrs. Carlton's perception, making her suspicious of Alisha and me."

"It was awful what me and my family tried to do", Norma said. "I think about it every day because believe it or not Jan was my best friend growing up, for a long time she was my only friend. I had my mom, Kurt and Kyle my brothers, I had my weights, and Jan. That was my entire life and then I found out that I'd helped the people who'd kidnapped her." Norma paused and tears fell from her eyes. "Those men were going to kill my mother too. I don't want you to feel sorry for me, but what happened, what I did to you two and to you Jan… that was the absolute worst day of my life. And I regret it every single day."

No one said anything as Norma wiped her tears.

"That's why I joined the Army. I wanted to get the hell away and I thought that maybe they'd teach me something so I wouldn't be so fucking naïve and stupid again, but instead of thinking for a half a second when I came in here, I just charge off and tried to attack again. I told you back then that I love Jan like a sister and it's true, but today I attacked her too. I guess I haven't learned anything."

"No, I think you've learned something pretty valuable", LaShaunta said, breaking the silence.

"What's that?"

LaShaunta leaned towards Norma and smiled. "To pick your battles more wisely."

The sun had set and Miles was in a bullet proof vest with FBI on the front and back patrolling their zone of responsibility along with a handful of agents from different agencies under his command. The Army had brought in some armored back up, sending a few Bradley Fighting Vehicles and several of the older m113 armored personnel carriers. Plus they'd sent some armed Humvees and soldiers to man them all. Special Agent Wills had taken up position inside of the command vehicle which was a converted m113 while MacCallum, who had overall command of the operation, was inside the hospital. He wanted to stay close to the prisoners, all the while hoping that Miles' tip was wrong and that there'd be no attack. That optimistic hope became remote when the radio crackled and a soldier reported," Movement at the eastern perimeter, sector 5."

"Check it out", Agent Wills ordered and a squad of soldiers moved closer to the perimeter. In the heyday of this base there would have been thousands and thousands of soldiers there to defend it, but they were going to have to make do today with dozens instead. Miles didn't think much of the movement report until he heard a muffled scream. His head whipped around and then all hell broke loose.

Humvees sped past Miles with serious looking soldiers manning the heavy machineguns mounted to the roofs. Miles could have jumped into a vehicle, but he remained on foot in his zone of responsibility north of the hospital. He listened to reports coming in over the radio until he heard an explosion and felt the ground tremble. He gripped his rifle tightly and motioned for the other agents to follow him. He decided to move his group to the eastern edge of their zone. Fires broke out beyond a line of empty buildings, bathing leafless tree branches in orange light. Miles urged his men pick up the pace as they left their zone and came face to face with the budding carnage. Two Hummers were wrecked and one of them overturned with a soldier trapped inside it. Another soldier fired his machinegun towards the gate while another soldier lay dead next to an exploded Hummer with the dying flames licking near what remained of his left leg. At least he never felt any of it.

Miles looked down the sights of his rifle, but didn't see any targets, only destruction. His head darted back and forth until he saw a dark shape streak across his field of view. "There!" he yelled and his men fired, a couple of them hitting the target, and surprising seeing sparks upon impact.

A Bradley Fighting Vehicle sped past them, using its high tech optics to see target through the darkness. Suddenly a bright flash showed near the wall and a rocket propelled grenade sped towards the Bradley trailing smoke and fire. The impact was tremendous, forcing the agents to shield their faces from the heat. The Bradley itself was still burning, but the wounded soldiers inside managed to turn the turret towards a target that only they could see, and the 25mm cannon began to bark loudly and rapidly. Miles and the other agents looked on with fright when the tracer rounds finally illuminated a barely human looking figure. The Man was dressed in a matte black suit with shinier bits lining arms, legs, torso and head. The cannon rounds hit the shinier armored plates and actually ricocheted sending showers of sparks flying in all directions. The figure in the suit stumbled and nearly fell from the tremendous impacts, but started coming towards the Bradley. Miles raised his M4 carbine and fired, but his bullets were less than gnats to that armor, but finally one of the 25mm rounds penetrated the armor and the Man went down. That was the first kill the defenders had managed, and their last for a while.

Soldiers and agents from other sectors rushed to defend Sector 5, but more attackers kept coming too. No federal agency had been able to accurately guess how many Men of the Revolution there were, and it turned out that all estimates had been low, far too low.

"We need more people at the perimeter wall!", Agent Wills shouted into the radio over the sounds of machinegun fire and explosions.

"I'm send you everything I can", MacCallum promised and ordered two groups of agents and a group of soldiers to leave the hospital area and head to Sector 5. He knew it was risky to take so many people away from the hospital since that's where the Men were heading in the first place, but if the defenders got overrun at the wall then defense of the hospital would be moot anyway. "Wills", MacCallum called over the radio. "Get in there and take control of Sector 5 personally. I know it's going to turn into a zoo quickly."

"On it", Wills said and motioned for the command vehicle driver to move their hunk of aluminum closer to the action.

The booms thundered in his chest as MacCallum looked through a window at the battle unfolding in Sector 5. He couldn't see the distant fighting, but he heard the reports coming over the radio, and the desperate commands coming from agents and soldiers alike. MacCallum sent men from other sectors to the battle, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't doing enough. A company of soldiers were being held in reserve at nearby Fort Gillem, and at first MacCallum thought that the Army was being a little too dramatic, but they'd been right. Those soldiers were ready to move at a moment's notice. MacCallum considered it for a another moment then gave that company of soldiers notice to haul ass to Fort MacPhereson.

Malcolm Boreman wasn't at the fort leading his Men in their opening assault. He'd be there soon, but he had to make sure his Men had a chance for victory, because Atlanta had more than one Army post. Unfortunately for the Army, Malcolm and his Men had plan to deal with this problem. When Morgen had informed him that his sick Men were being held in Fort MacPhereson Malcolm had to contain his glee. Many years earlier Malcolm and his people had done extensive planning and recon for an assault on the old fort, but nothing had come of it. Now though Malcolm used all of that hard work from before to make this assault a masterful one, that's why he knew exactly where to be. "Charges ready?", he asked.

"Primed and awaiting your command", the subordinate replied. It was hard, but Malcolm had to be patient. The timing of this had to just right. "Convoy approaching", a lookout reported and Malcolm's grinned as he picked up the detonator. He waited until the hood of the relief force's lead vehicle was beneath the overpass to squeeze the trigger. The explosives went off perfectly.

The buttresses anchoring this 1970's era overpass to the ground exploded so violently that the span itself lifted more than a foot in the air, tearing itself away from its supports in the middle. Malcolm was no engineer, but he'd taught himself and his people more than enough. The corporal driving the first vehicle had no chance at all to stop. Hundreds of tons of steel and concrete killed every person in the lead vehicle. The second vehicle only lost the soldiers in the two front seats. The rest of the convoy had to stop since the way was blocked. One vehicle stayed behind to help with rescue while the others turned towards their secondary route. Unfortunately the convoy was about to lose three more vehicles, this time as it crossed an overpass. Another explosion dumped every vehicle on the bridge onto the road below. The company commander survived the explosion and the fall, but that was about all he would do for the next six months.

MacCallum could barely comprehend the news coming from Wills. The main relief force had been stopped and broken by dropping two bridges at just the right time. He realized that this wasn't just some desperate rescue attempt. Those terrorist had mapped out the possible routes from Fort Gillem and had stopped those soldiers with ease, which was why it made no sense that the Men of the Revolution had attacked Sector 5 which was nowhere near the hospital. MacCallum wondered aloud why they'd do that and then realized that they wouldn't. As if on cue, he heard glass shatter somewhere along the hospital's first floor and the lights went out. "Get the hospital staff to the safe area in the morgue", he ordered immediately then pulled his service weapon for the first time in a decade. While his men were running down the halls to gather up the doctors and nurses, he took off running towards the stairs.

A series of rapid fire gunshots rang out on the floor below and a soldier dropped. MacCallum turned and fired his weapon at a black clad figure, hitting a Man in the shoulder and barrage of bullets came back towards the agent. MacCallum dove behind the wall and scooted on his belly to get in position to fire another shot even as the bullets kept coming his way. This time MacCallum hit the Man in the center of his chest but the bullet just made a tiny spark at impact. MacCallum's face must have shown his shock because the Man wearing the armored suit looked right at MacCallum and laughed. The senior FBI agent didn't stay on the floor to see what they might choose to do with him. He rolled behind the wall and scrambled to his feet then ran. "Sector 1 is breached!", he said into the radio. "I repeat, the hospital is breached!" This armored Man sent a couple of people to deal with the agent he'd seen, but he took the other twelve men with him. They searched room by room for their comatose brothers.

MacCallum ordered the soldiers and agents to pull back and regroup. There was no need in them being picked off piecemeal. Several couldn't pull back and put a spirited if doomed fight. MacCallum came down a hall when suddenly the wall next to him exploded towards him, knocking him against the far wall. He slid down the wall dazed as light spilled out from the emergency bulbs in the now exposed room. A Man stepped out towards MacCallum, his hands still covered in dust from where he'd punched a hole in the wall using his enhanced strength. He smirked down at the bleeding FBI agent, but didn't move fast enough. MacCallum brought his gun around and fired a shot that hit this Man above his left eye. He dropped to the ground. MacCallum let out a held breath as he got to his feet then looked up when he heard people moving around in the room. MacCallum took off running again. The two Men came through the new opening to find their comrade dead. Their glares held daggers as MacCallum looked over his shoulder as they stood over the dead body. "You better run!", they warned but didn't chase him. They had orders to find the comatose Men, not hunt down single agents.

"Call Special Programs!", MacCallum yelled into his radio as he ran up another set of hospital steps, tripping twice as he did so. "Wills! Tell them to hurry!" Agent Wills heard the desperation in his friend's voice and wondered if he'd ever talk to MacCallum again. He set aside his emotions and contacted the helicopters stationed at Fort Benning and ordered an emergency recall of all Special Programs personnel in the region.

It was already too late. The Men found their sick brethren lying in now unguarded beds with convenient IVs in their arms. The search team administered stage one of the antidote. The Men began to stir in less than a minute. That was when they injected stage two into the IVs and almost instantly each patients' eyes opened. The Men in the beds started feeling better and better until they felt stronger and more capable than they'd ever been before. It was like their weeks and weeks in the beds hadn't happened at all. Now it was time for them to join the fight.

The battle intensified as more Men flooded into the old fort. Malcolm, fresh off of his victories with the bridges, rode into the battle in the passenger seat of a big rig pulling a long white trailer that burst through the already toppled gates of the fort. Five more tractor trailers pulled in along with him. His first wave had pushed the defenders back enough to allow the Men room to set up, and that's what he did. His strongest, best trained Men got the honor of wearing the special armored suits that Benny had graciously given him. Malcolm had already gotten reports of how well they were holding up. Just to screw with the fucking sheep here in the fort, Malcolm let loose a dozen more of his extra armored Men and gave them orders to raise as much hell as they could until their captured brethren were freed.

Those extra strong Men broke through every barrier put up to stop them without even slowing down and they were joined by Men wearing lighter, regular body armor who were nearly as strong as the ones in the special armor. Their strength was combined with good solid tactics, decent training, and lots of weapons. Nothing the defenders tried was working. Two hospital gown clad Men ran towards one of the big rigs at a super human rate, but they slowed to a stop when they saw an m113 attempting to hide behind some trees, but an 8 foot tall vehicles with a bunch of antennae wasn't easy to conceal, despite the driver's best efforts. Two more Men joined the first two and attacked the command vehicle.

The gunner in the command vehicle knew that their cover was blown so he opened up with the 7.62mm machine gun since that was the biggest weapon this vehicle had. The Men spread out forcing him to attempt to hit a single man at a time. "Incoming on foot!", the gunner yelled when it was clear he wouldn't be able to stop them. The four Men worked their hands beneath the side of the vehicle and strained with their newfound strength.

"Go! Go!", Wills yelled. "Get us moving!" The driver tried, but that just hastened the m113's fall onto its side. The three people inside were shaking and bashed around but unhurt. Wills mind raced for any solution to his problems which got worse when he heard frantic pounding and noticed small dents appearing in the vehicle's floor. It got worse still when one of the armored Men came up and lent his strength to the effort. Then big dents started appearing. Wills knew the old armor wasn't going to last too much longer.

He shifted and pushed buttons on the radios, but they'd been damaged either by the fall of by the men falling against them. He got nothing but static. He looked at the two men in the vehicle with him knowing that as the senior man they were looking to him to save them, but Wills had no idea who was going to save him, and then suddenly he reached into his pocket and snatched out his cellphone. He held it up to see if he could get a signal.

"Now I'm just wondering", LaShaunta began. "How were you even able to fight Alisha? I saw her in action and she can make the entire world disappear, never mind herself."

"That doesn't work on me", Norma replied and took a sip from her can of soda. She had no idea how much she'd missed Dr. Pepper.

"Yeah, Norma was the first person my illusions didn't work on. They sort of did for a moment or two, but not for long. Norma's the reason I automatically test every person I meet to see if my illusions work on them. So far Norma's still the only one who's immune."

"Test 'em how?", Sara asked.

Alisha shook her head. "I can't believe I haven't mentioned this before. I give people little eye floaters and if they follow the movement, I know my illusions work. Like that!", she exclaimed just as Jan's eyes went up and to the left. "I tried on Norma a moment ago and nothing. I'm trying again right now."

"Nothing", Norma confirmed.

Then LaShaunta sat forward on the sofa, mischief already on her pretty face. "So if you can see through Alisha's illusions, tell me something."

"What?"

"Are these boobs real?", LaShaunta asked and squeezed the bottom of Alisha's exquisite left breast.

Everybody except Alisha erupted in laughter. "Yes they're real!", Alisha squealed and slapped LaShaunta's hand away. "You met me before I even knew how to make illusions!"

"That doesn't matter", LaShaunta managed between laughs. One more look at Alisha's face made her laugh hard all over again.

"They look pretty real to me", Norma said and Alisha blushed. Jan laughed too, but deep down she was just happy that most of the tension from earlier was gone. She wasn't dumb enough to think that her roommates would become as good of friends with Norma as she was, but at least they weren't at each other's throats anymore.

Over the sound of laughs and shouted retorts, Jan heard her phone ringing. Without a word she got up, stepped over the sofa with her long legs and headed to her bedroom, glancing at the name then quickly picking up her phone. "Hey Agent Wills", she answered with a smile that fell away as soon as the muffled sounds of battle made it to her ear.

"Jan, there's an attack at Ford MacPhereson. We're in bad shape and need help. It might be too late. I should have called you guys before, but we need all of you. The roads are cut off, but we're on the east side of the…" The phone fell from Agent Will's hands when a particularly hard punch hit the bottom of the command vehicle.

"Agent Wills", Jan screamed into her phone, but got no response. "Harry, can you hear me!?!", she yelled, but got no response. Then there was an explosion. Jan rushed out of her room, turning the corner towards the living room to see that the laughing was over. Sara and Alisha were on their feet.

"There's an attack going on at Fort MacPhereson and Agent Wills needs our help. Sara and Alisha didn't ask a single question, they just rushed into their rooms and pulled out the gear they had left over from their Special Programs days.

"I'll help!", LaShaunta yelled and jumped over the arm of the sofa then disappeared.

Norma stood up as the room emptied. She felt the rush of battle, but had no direction or idea what to she could do. Jan, Sara, and Alisha came out of the rooms almost back to back to back wearing custom fitted urban assault uniforms. Each had tactical vest, with extra ballistics plates front and back that read Federal Agent. Their sleeves had blacked out US flags on them and a spots for other things. Sara and Alisha wore regular issue boots, but Jan's boots were straight from DARPA and while they looked like regular boots had been made out of some of the strongest space age materials known to man.

Alisha slid the same Glock that she'd once pointed at Norma into its holster while Sara donned her SigSauer. Jan's sidearm of choice was a full framed Springfield 1911 style 45 caliber pistol that she'd just cleaned after a day at the range the week before. Just then LaShaunta reappeared wearing her own custom made tactical uniform, but this one wasn't government issued. It had been made by the same people who used to make Caeda's suits. It nearly eliminated a person's heat signature and masked any biomechanical processes and was so silent that dogs could barely hear when the material rubbed against itself. This time though, unlike on her mission with Caeda, LaShaunta stuffed her long braided hair into the back of the uniform. She laid a big duffle bag on the floor. "I thought we might need some ordnance", she said as she unzipped the bag to reveal spotless M4 carbines. Her roommates smiled as LaShaunta handed each one a carbine and a bandolier holding five magazines of ammo before she grabbed one for herself.

"Wait guys", Norma called from the other side of the room then rushed over. "Let me help."

LaShaunta smiled and pulled a fifth carbine from the bag. "I figured you might say that." Norma got a big smile on her face. "And I think this'll fit", she said and pulled a black jumpsuit out. "You might have to roll up the legs though."

Norma didn't seem to whether the suit fit her or not. She would have gone into battle naked if she had to. Instead she pulled off the threads that she'd just gotten that day, quickly getting down to her skivvies. Sara and Alisha were reminded of just how impossibly muscular Norma had been when they'd fought her, and now if anything she was even more ripped than she'd been that day. The Army life had leaned the already painfully lean Norma down to the point where veins and striations showed on her massive muscles even when they weren't doing much at all. She stood on one foot to slip on the jumpsuit which caused monumental flexing from her glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves. Her movements seemed to show off the inner workings of a human body as each dense muscle fiber tightened and relaxed beneath her skin. Even her breathing caused her midsection to throb and flex with definition so deep a rock climber could have easily used one of Norma's ab bricks as a handhold. It looked as if Norma's body was in a state of constant flexing, but it wasn't. This was her relaxed. A real flex from Norma would have destroyed the jumpsuit.

Practice in the Army had also taught Norma how to get dressed really really fast and she was ready in no time. She accepted an M4 carbine from LaShaunta and got her mind ready for battle. "Link hands", LaShaunta instructed.

"East side of Fort MacPhereson is all I know", Jan told LaShaunta who nodded. She looked down the line at the group then they disappeared, only to reappear just a few feet away. "What the hell!", Jan screamed and looked down to LaShaunta.

"I had to make sure this worked with her", LaShaunta replied pointing at Norma. Then they disappeared again.

Pick Your Battles

to be continued...

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