Sara paused to readjust the strap of her bag. She turned the corner. A boy coming from the other direction came right at her. Usually he would have slammed into her, but after so much training Sara's reflexes were quick. She sidestepped and let him go by. She saw who it was at once.

He stopped and turned. "Oh, I'm sorry. I almost ran you over."

Sara just dismissed it. "Are you going to the study group?", she asked.

Christopher Adams had just turned 19. He was the product of a Filipino mother and white father. He was perhaps 5'10" and facially a blend of both parents. He had been a really good athlete in high school, but had decided not to play sports in college. Sara saw him from time to time in the gym working out. He kept himself in great shape even if he turned down a couple of coaches who wanted him to walk on to play for them. He and Sara shared a couple of classes. Chris was smart and funny, but to Sara he always seemed awkward. Just like now. He hesitated before he spoke. "Yes", he finally answered. "But I left my notes in my room. I might be a little late."

"Ok, just don't be too late. You might miss all the studying", Sara said with a smile.

Chris smiled back and took off running. Sara watched him for a moment. He was pretty darn fast if what he was doing was a jog for him. Sara went ahead to the student center. She opened her bag and settled in for the group. She sat down next to Brooke Nelson from her class.  Brooke was really nice and she was from Jackson, MS so she and Sara had something in common. Chris came back a few minutes later. He was breathing a little deeper and he had couple beads of sweat, but other than that he looked fine. Sara tried to get Chris to sit next to her, but he had already chosen a seat next to another guy from their class. The group got started.

Later that afternoon all the people interested in track, and the athletes from the year before were on the track. Sara was dressed in the practice gear. She looked around while she warmed up. Sara had never been a member of a sports team, but she had been training hard and the coach wanted her to run the 1600m and 3200m. Sara was almost finished stretching. Jan finally came running up.

"Sorry, but I had to lie and say that I was trying out before they let me trough the gate", Sara's friend Jan Caufield explained. Jan looked the part of a track athlete more than Sara. Jan was just under 6'1" and was always in shape. She was lean and her every body part seemed to flow perfectly into the next. The smile on her face was complete with a sparkle in her deep blues eyes. Sara just laughed and they warmed up together. A few other people they knew came over. A couple guys and girls who were surprised to see Jan there. Sara had been talking about the team for a while, but Jan always said she had no interest.

It was cool out in the November air, but it wasn't too bad since they were going to be working up a sweat. The different athletes met up with the various coaches and trainers and did drills. Near the end of practice Jan, Sara, and some other freshmen friends of theirs were leaning against the fence drinking Gatorade and talking about not much when a group of upperclassmen girls came near. The tallest of the girls, Jenny, was conference champion at shot put and discus. She was nearly as tall as Jan, but she had a bigger build. She had the strong shoulders and legs of a field athlete, but it looked right on her. She was an attractive girl with her blond hair in a pony tale. She was obviously the center of attention for the girls around her. Jan paid no attention at all to what the older girls were talking about, but Sara did.

"You know, sometimes I just get tired of the people around here. They think Atlanta is so much, but you know that's about all the South has to brag about." The girls around Jenny laughed. Jenny made no bones that she was New Yorker through and through, and that any other city was bush league.

Usually Sara wouldn't have done or said anything, but she couldn't sit back and let her get by with that. She stepped away from her group and went closer to the upperclassmen. "I know living in a Southern city takes some getting used to. I mean you had no idea that sidewalks weren't really designed to be public urinals, and storm drains really aren't convenient trash cans set into the street." The girls standing around didn't want to, but they couldn't help but chuckle.

Jenny frowned. "Now who are you exactly? You tryin to be a southern belle or something. Scarlett O'Hara? The movie was supposed to be about 'round here. You and all the other Georgia folk probably worship her."

Sara laughed along with everyone else. "No, a Georgia accent sounds something like this." Sara paused and cleared her throat. "I swear! I swear I'll never go hungry again!", Sara did a perfect Scarlett O'Hara impression. "See, I'm from Mississippi where you can actually take a deep breath without dying of lung failure. In New York, if you drop a dollar bill on the sidewalk you have to seriously ask yourself if its worth the risk of catching some terrible disease to get close to the ground and pick it up."

Jenny's face was getting red. "Don't rack your brain too hard little girl. I know you folks down here aren't known for smarts. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"You better go get your friend", a freshman named D'Andre told Jan.

"What for?", Jan asked with a smile. "I think this is pretty damn funny."

"Don't you see Jenny? She's going to break Sara in half."

"Sara might surprise you."

"Speaking of smarts", Sara began, "When you came down here to Atlanta you looked around and said that you didn't know grass grew that high. Somebody had to tap you on the shoulder and tell you that those are called trees." The group of athletes burst out laughing.

Jenny's face was already getting red, but it got redder. Sara just smiled and turned. She had done her bit to uphold the honor of the south. That's where she was going to leave it. Jenny wasn't going to let this stand. "Hey!" Jenny grabbed Sara's shoulder and spun her around. "I'm not done yet!"

"Hey, lets keep our hands to ourselves", Sara told Jenny. "Besides, I was just joking." Sara reached out her hand. Jenny smacked it away. Sara frowned and pushed Jenny's hand back. Jenny was fighting mad. She knew she shouldn't have been, but this little girl had embarrassed her. Jenny sent a smack at Sara's face.

Jenny's hand came up quickly, but Sara was quicker. She dodged to her right and caught Jenny's wrist with both her smallish hands, and twisted. In one quick motion Jenny's arm started downward. Jenny's body wasn't far behind. Jenny landed butt first on the grass. Sara still held her wrist and stepped over locking the hold.

"I'm sorry you got mad", Sara began. "I was just joking!" Sara dropped Jenny's wrist and stepped away. She looked over at Jan and shrugged her shoulders.

Jenny's shoulder and wrist had been under intense pressure. She couldn't do anything, but fight the pain.

Sara walked over towards the group of people she had been with, and looked back at Jenny who had gotten to her feet. "No hard feelings I hope. Really. I was just kidding around."

Jenny came closer, but the anger was gone from her face. "I have a bad temper sometimes. Especially with you burning on my city like that. I didn't think a girl like you would have it in her."

Sara laughed and drawled in her Mississippi accent, "I'm just full of surprises. And just so you know, I actually like New York."

"You could have fooled me. How did you flip me like that?"

Sara looked up at Jan then back at Jenny. "I learned it from her." Sara hadn't really lied. She and Jan had worked on that move for hours and hours in the past.

Jenny walked up to Jan. The two girls weren't used to being able to look other women in the eye. They shook hands and the situation ended well. Jenny asked if they would teach her a thing or two about flips and holds and stuff. They agreed, and after a few more minutes, the groups broke up. Jan and Sara headed back to the locker area.

"Sara, when did you start talking like that? That was funny stuff. I spit out my drink at that thing about the trees."

Sara smiled. "You asked me a while ago if I knew any blues songs. You don't think I learned those songs hanging around my Daddy's friends do you? In the places I used to go, you have to give as good as you get or you might as well not go inside."

Jan laughed. "I understand exactly. One day I'm going to show you the place where I learned to play the piano."

"I thought you took lessons."

"Mrs. Robbins taught me Chopin, how to interpret Bach, but I don't think she ever showed me a blues bass line. I had to go somewhere else for that."

That night Jan and Sara were in their room in their normal positions. Jan sat at an angle to her desk not far from her bed with her computer on her lap and her legs on the bed. Her head was down and she was working on one of the never ending papers she had to write. Sara had her chair near the tv with her feet propped up on the desk, but the tv was off. A cd played instead. A biography of Andrew Carnegie sat on her lap. She was about a quarter way through it. After a little while longer the cd ended and the girls agreed to turn on the tv to watch the news. For some reason they now had powerful urge to watch the news. They turned it on late and it was mostly the same old things, but then the anchor's face went serious. They reported that 2 women had been raped and murdered the day before. One of them had been north of town and the other had been east of town. The police weren't sure if they were connected or not.

"Did you hear that?", Jan asked Sara who hadn't looked up.

"I sure did. I can't understand people like that. I have no sympathy for people like that. I hope they catch him, or put him in a room alone with me for five minutes."

"Listen to you, Sara. You've gotten mean all of the sudden. Not saying I don't agree with you, but I'm the one who's supposed to think like that."

Sara looked up. "I don't know. I've seen enough in the last year or so to show me that there are some people who deserve every bad thing that's coming to them. Besides you might be rubbing off on me."

"I've had my eyes opened up in the last year too. I think if I did catch a rapist I wouldn't even torture him. I'd just make sure he knew why, and then I'd shoot him and leave his body on the side of the road."

Sara looked up again from her book. "Torture might not be so bad in this case. You never know what other crimes he might have committed. Could give closure to some other woman or family out there." A random person would have looked at Sara and guessed that she was saying that tongue in cheek, but no she was serious. Sara, Jan, and their friend Alisha von Edder had learned in the last year just how mean the world could be. It seemed strange that they could balance the school life and their secret jobs as easily as they did, but it was the school and college life that made it easier. The school life and time with professors and fellow students helped keep them grounded. It let them know that their lives were normal 80% of the time with short periods of activity that was far from normal. Sara and Jan couldn't have known, but 2 more rapes were happening as they sat in their room talking. One girl just 22 years old would lose her life while the other, 31 years old, would survive, but barely.

"On another subject entirely. I got accepted to the Naviore International Studies Project. I told you about it a while back. It starts the week before Thanksgiving and runs through December 18."

Sara thought back. "Where they have diplomats and what not teach classes about international affairs?"

"Yep. That's the one."

"Well, I'm happy if you're happy, but what are you going to be doing there?"

Jan smiled. "I don't care what they do. Its going to be held at American University."

"Wait. That's in D.C. You're going home for like 2 months. That is very very not fair. We're freshmen. We're supposed to be toughing it out together." Sara laughed then went back to her book.

The next day Jan wasn't at track practice. She had gone to do something else. Sara jogged around the track with another freshman named LaShaunta. She was a 400m girl, but she and Sara hit it off quickly. LaShaunta and Sara talked about all kinds of things. They even mentioned the rapes that had taken place the night before. LaShaunta told Sara that the news said that there had been 2 more today. Sara had never heard anything like it. Just as both girls were promising to each other to be careful, Sara saw Chris Adams jumping hurdles. His head turned as he came over the next to last one. His trail leg clipped the top. Sara just smiled and shook her head.

"You know him?", LaShaunta asked.

"Yeah, that's Chris."

"Oh, I know him. I didn't know if you did."

"Why do ask?"

LaShaunta laughed. "Because he's got it real bad for you, girl."

"You're the second person to say that to me. Jan said the same thing the other day. He just seems awkward to me", Sara said quickly.

"I see him from time to time and he's not awkward when I see him. He's perfectly fine, kinda smooth even. So it seems that he's only awkward around you. Which proves my point." LaShaunta laughed.

Sara smiled and looked over at her. "I think you and Jan have been conspiring against me."

"No, I didn't even know Jan had noticed too. It's just true. Speaking of Jan, why isn't she here?"

Moira Kelly walked down the steps to the basement of her house. One of her students was down there waiting for her. Moira was dressed in workout gear. All her exercise stuff was sleeveless. Moira hadn't grown up with a lot of definition in her arms, but since she started working out in college, her arms had been sculpted. Even a couple years ago when Moira had been the most massively muscled woman in the world, her arms had been perfectly proportioned. Moira was less than half that size now. Which was good because the stairs would have been too narrow.

Moira had never felt nervous going down to the basement in her own house, but she was about to have a training session with a student. This was going to be a role reversal. Jan Caufield was dressed for a workout too, but this was going to be more than a simple workout. Jan handed her chemistry professor a headgear and some 8 ounce sparring gloves. Moira's hands were already taped and ready to go.

"Ok, Miss Kelly. You said that Lisa had been teaching you some ju-jitsu?"

"Yes, but what's with the Miss Kelly stuff?"

Jan smiled. "I'd like to call you Moira, but I'm about to punch you in the face and if you're lucky you're going to punch me back. I need some emotional distance if you know what I mean."

Moira laughed. Jan laughed with her and after stretching they got started. Jan knew first hand just how good Lisa Sanchez was at throws and holds, but she wondered how much she had taught to Moira. Jan didn't have to wait long.

After ten minutes the two women were warmed up and the leather was flying. Both women were covered in a smooth sheen of sweat. Moira held her hands up palms out, while Jan fought from a boxer's stance. Jan had peppered Moira with punches, and Moira had tossed Jan four times. Moira had also thrown a few punches. They would have stung a little, but Jan had watched Moira move her exercise equipment. She had tossed 500 pound weights like most people moved around 20 and 30 pound weights. Moira faked a kick and threw two quick blows to Jan's face. She blocked most of the second one, but the first got through. Jan dropped her gloves and spit the mouthpiece into her palm.

"Something wrong?", Moira asked looking confused.

"Yeah. Look, I came down here to train with someone who can give as good as me. Stop holding back. We won't get anywhere that way."

"Ok. I haven't done this in a while. Here we go."

Jan put her mouthpiece back in. She put her hands up and was ready. Jan was going to make sure Moira didn't back down. Jan threw a few pawing jabs with her left while she loaded up the right arm. Moira was dropping her guard to throw a punch of her own, but Jan's fist was waiting. Jan threw the punch as hard as she could. Jan's big fist slammed into the side of Moira's headgear and cheek. She took a step back. Jan didn't let up. She kicked Moira on her side just below her ribcage. Moria dropped her right arm to cover herself, but Jan threw a left hook that knocked Moira off balance. Jan was about to slow it down a bit. Perhaps she was giving Moira a little too much medicine, but Moira was competitive and she saw an opportunity. Moira waited for Jan's next punch. She twisted and the punch sailed past her head. Moira raised her hands and grabbed Jan's wrist. Jan didn't get a chance to pull her punch back. Moira shifted her weight pulling Jan off balance. Jan tried to counter the move, but it was too late. Moira circled around. She could have hit Jan in the back of the head, but instead she waited the half second it took for Jan to turn around. Moira coiled her right arm back and let the punch fly. It caught Jan in the cheek and jaw. The sound of the impact boomed in the basement knocking dust from the joists above. Jan's hands went to the ground to keep from falling over.

Moira dropped her gloves and smiled broadly. Jan shook her head to clear it. "Was that hard enough for you?"

"Not bad at all."

The sparring session continued. About twenty minutes later, Jan's own strength had manifest itself and Moira was starting to feel the blows more and more. Jan needed emotion before her body started getting stronger. They weren't trying to hurt each other, but one of those punches or kicks would have put a normal person in intensive care. The sparing ended after an hour and a half. Both women were sore all over. Jan's knuckles were sore, but Moria's were sore and swollen. Her face was a little puffy too and she had some bruises. Neither woman wanted to move, but it was time to put the equipment back.

Sweat dripped to the floor as Jan bent down and wrapped her fingers around a 500 pound dumbbell. The handle was thick and rough. She pulled another weight close and took a firm grip with her left hand. Jan carefully stood up holding half a ton. Her body shined as muscles flexed and played under her smooth unblemished skin. Her body was toned and hard. Holding a half a ton only made Jan seem like a Greek goddess as she walked over the rack on the other side of the room with the weights in her hands. These were the last two. For some reason Jan had agreed to move the equipment back. She didn't really know why she had, maybe guilt.

Jan looked at herself in the full length mirror holding those two comically large dumbbells in her hands. They felt good though. Jan turned to face the mirror fully. She smiled and set her feet apart and turned her hands so that her palms faced forward. She rolled her shoulders back and tried to curl the 500 pound weights. Veins criss-crossed under her skin as her biceps bulged obscenely. Her arms were always toned looking, but when she exerted herself her muscles swelled big and hard. Her eyes squinted and her face was twisted in a effort, but the weights started up. A thick rope like vein ran down her left biceps and another ran across her right. The muscles bunched and rose in to peaks as the weights came up to 90 degrees. Jan wanted to make sure her form was good too. Jan brought the weights all the way up and twisted her wrists at the top. She squeezed and then let the weights down slow. This time she alternated. She curled the right arm first. Jan stared down at her arm as she brought the weight up smoothly. Her biceps bunched again making a jagged striated peak. The left was no less impressive. Jan did a few more reps watching her body react to that much weight. Jan dropped the weights and looked in the full length mirror.

Jan's body was rock hard and ripped right now. Over an hour of sparing and then thirty more minutes moving tons of weights and equipment had her body pulsing with power. She had never had a workout like this before. Jan pulled up her top. She liked her abs. She crunched down on them. Sweat ran down between her breast and down the center line of her abs. She twisted her hips and watch her muscles flex and move. Her lower abs were as good as her uppers and her obliques were cut to pieces. She twisted and crunched down. Striations ran up and down. Jan put her top back down and pulled down on the neck and flexed her pecs. All the punches she had thrown had pumped those too. There was nice separation in the center of her chest and deep muscle definition. She didn't have pecs like her friend Cass, but not many girls did. Jan's pecs were nice though and really hard. Jan took the two 500 pounds weights over to Moira's special bench. She laid down on her back and started doing presses. Her pecs swelled with each rep. Jan's face burned with the struggle of each rep. Her triceps completed the look of her arm. They were just as impressive or more impressive than her chest with perfect shape and definition. Each rep made them more and more defined. Finally Jan put down the weights. She was tired, and Moira had promised to cook. Jan never turned down an opportunity to eat.

That night after practice Sara had gone over to Alisha's room at Tech. They had started out helping each other study, but ended up joining in for a game of spades. Alisha had never played spades, but Sara had sat with farm workers late in the evening playing spades and bid whiz, especially in the summers. Later that afternoon Alisha's roommate Miranda Bailis left out to get something to eat. Not too many people talked about it, but everyone was a little nervous about the rapes that were happening. There would be four more rapes that night, and two very close to home.

Sara had stayed at Tech a little longer than she normally did. It was dark by the time she left the campus to head to the train station. Several people including Alisha had offered to walk with her to the station, but Sara had turned them down. She didn't want them to have to walk back alone, so she walked by herself.

Vince waited in the shadows not quite knowing what he wanted to do. He had been out on the streets for a few days. He had been with his clique, but they weren't making any money all slingin' on the same corner at the same time. They couldn't even sell drugs right. He had been standing in the shadows for nearly an hour. Each person who walked by looked like more than he wanted to deal with. His gun only had one bullet in it and he wasn't a very good shot. He had a knife too, but he had seen someone cut before. That was even worse than seeing someone get shot. Vince almost gave up. He was ready to leave, but then he saw a shadow. It looked small, like a woman. He saw her approaching out of the corner of his eye. A little blond girl. For some reason blondes always seemed a little more vulnerable. Vince put his head down as she walked by. He didn't want her to be able to see his face. He waited until she passed, and then came out. He pulled his small snub nose from his pocket and started after the girl quickly. She didn't even look around. He felt a strong wave of guilt as he sped up to catch her. He started to jog. She still didn't turn to look. She had to hear him by now. He was getting closer. He started to bring up the pistol, and started to sprint. He was almost there and then he stopped. He was frozen in mid-stride. He couldn't even blink.

Sara took another couple of steps before she stopped. She sighed deeply before turning around. Vince's eyes were opened wide, but he could do nothing. The young woman, his target, started walking towards him. She had a pretty face, a kind face, but she was frowning now. Vince felt fear start from the core his being. He was so scared his mind didn't function for a moment.

Sara shook her head. "You were about to rob me weren't you?", she asked calmly with her aristocratic Mississippi accent.

Vince couldn't answer.

"What would your mother think? I bet she goes to church every Sunday and prays for you. She probably worries about you all the time, praying for God to send her son home."

Sara released the control over his head. Vince looked around. "Leave my Mama out of this, please. I'm sorry, lady! I'm sorry!"

Sara came closer. "I bet you are. The question is, what are you going to do if I let you go? Are you going to rob some other woman who walks by? You weren't raised like that. I can feel it. You're better than this." Sara closed her eyes for a moment. "Vince."

"How do you know my name? Is this a test? Are you an angel or something?" He looked around again, but there was nobody around.

"As far as you're concerned I am. And don't bother looking around. The closest person is over a block away." Sara frowned again before she spoke. "Vince, this is the beginning of your second chance. Do you want a second chance?"

"Oh, yes, please, yes!"

"Vince, I want you to go home. Not to your so called friends. I want you to go home, and do what your mother says. I want you to do the right thing. Will you do that?"

Tears rolled down the 17 year old's face. "Yes, Lord, I will. I've done wrong. I'll live right! I'll live right!"

Sara let the young man down. She expected him to run, but he didn't. He slowly put the gun down on the sidewalk. He looked at Sara and then turned to leave.

"Don't forget the knife too", she called to him.

His eyes shot open again. He had forgotten the knife. "I'm sorry, I forgot the knife. I really did. I wasn't going to..."

Sara held up a hand. He placed the knife at her feet, and then he ran all the way home. Sara watched him until he was out of sight. His mother hugged him for half an hour when he came home. He went back to high school and five years later graduated from college never to be a criminal again.

Sara just hoped she had done the right thing. People were coming to get into the train station. She bent down and quickly put the knife and gun in her pocket. She threw them into a trash can before going into the station and heading back to her dorm.

Sara watched tv again. The news reported that there had been more rapes in the city and surrounding area. Some of the rapes were miles and miles from each other. So far 5 of the women had died. Sara sat on her bed not knowing what to think, but being a little scared. She knew she could defend herself, but what if she was asleep, or what if he somehow drugged the girls he raped? Sara went back to the bathroom to brush her teeth and her hair. After a while she came back in and turned off the main light. Only the lamp near her bed burned. All the rapes had her uneasy. It was a terrible feeling. She felt powerless to help anyone. She went to the lamp about to turn it off, but she paused and looked around the mostly darkened room. She felt someone, or she almost felt someone. Sara could feel all the people on her floor and the ones on other floors. She could feel their minds as clear as day. She searched out a little further and felt some people walking outside near the building.

She shook her head. She was just nervous. She was about to dismiss it, but then she felt it again. It was like feeling the mind of a ghost. Something there and not there at the same time. It felt familiar in a strange way like she should be able to recognize the mind, but it was too faint. When she pressed harder it vanished like blowing on a puff of smoke. Sara had a knot in her stomach, but she laid down. She said a prayer for safety before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

The next day started with shock and horror. Sara left out early just after dawn to get breakfast. There was a little diner just off campus not far from her dorm that served great breakfast. Sara never ate much for breakfast, but everything there tasted great. This morning there was a problem. There were police everywhere. Campus cops, Atlanta police, sheriff deputies, and even a couple of feds were on the scene. Sara couldn't go the way she normally went. Crime tape and a wall of blue shirts blocked her, but they didn't block the entire scene. The few students up and out that early had congregated near the scene. Sara didn't want to be one. She had a notion what this was. Her feelings sank and that feeling of powerlessness came back. Sara didn't want to look as she crossed the street. She didn't want to know. She would find out later, but she turned her head back anyway. She sank down to her knees with a wail. Brooke Nelson's open eyes seemed to stare back at Sara as they put the cover back over her body. Sara wouldn't go to breakfast or to classes that day. The classes would be canceled and all other activities, but the news just got worse.

It had taken Jan a long time to get back to her dorm. Everything was on lockdown. Once she finally got in, it was after 10 am. She and Sara sat watching the news report on what was happening not 200 feet from their dorm room. Sara wiped tears from her eyes. Different emotions flooded her as she watched.

Alisha had called earlier, but she didn't talk too long. She still had classes to go to. She did mention that her roommate didn't come back that night, but that wasn't strange. Miranda did have a boyfriend who lived near Midtown.

That afternoon Alisha called barely able to speak. Miranda had been found in the park. She was holding on to life, but the doctors didn't think she was going to make it. There was a near panic in Atlanta and surrounding areas. Jan and Sara had left their room only to eat. That night Sara felt the same strange sensation she had the night before. She asked Jan if she felt anything weird, but no. Sara knew she was feeling something, but couldn't put her finger on it. She went to sleep nervous and a little scared.

The school had wanted to cancel everything for a week at least, but the city officials had begged them not to. They didn't want a full fledged panic on and they wanted to try to keep things settled down. The school had agreed, but in trade the city had posted police all over the campus. They even had canine units patrolling.

Sara hadn't wanted to go to something so unimportant as track practice, but she knew she needed something to keep her mind busy. Jan had come too, but there was no energy in the practice. There was no spunk in any of the athletes. Sara saw Chris from a distance and even he seemed sluggish. Near the end of practice Jan, Sara and a group of athletes rested near the equipment building drinking water or Gatorade. Sara leaned against the side of the building, but suddenly her face changed. Her eyes narrowed, and her expression darkened. She pushed herself up off the building, and took a step away. She looked to her left. Chris was talking to a friend and walking close by. She felt his mind. She could feel it clearly without the hazy feeling. It was the same as the shadowy feeling she had had the last two nights. She knew who she had been feeling now.

"You!", Sara yelled as she came around the corner. Chris stopped. Surprise was all over his face. Sara took him by the shirt and pushed him against the door of the shed. She leaned in and pressed her forearm into his throat. "You were in my room last night!", Sara hissed through clenched teeth.

Jan stopped leaning on the fence and hurried around the corner. She saw Sara and she saw Chris. He looked shocked and scared, very scared. Jan looked back at Sara and paused. Jan had seen Sara shoot people and even kill, but she had never seen this look in her eyes. Sara's eyes burned with anger, a hot deep anger. Jan realized that she had seen Sara annoyed and even insulted, but perhaps only once before had she seen her friend angry and that had only been for a split second.

"Tell me", Sara demanded pressing her forearm into Chris' throat harder. Just then a wind started to blow, but everyone around could feel that this was no natural breeze. The breeze was warm like from a summer's day. It was constant and swirling all at the same time. People looked around thinking that maybe it was exhaust from something, but one person knew the source. Jan looked at her friend's face and knew this had to stop. No one was getting any closer to Sara and Chris. They didn't know why, but something deep down told everyone around that to get any closer would put them in danger. Jan ignored that feeling as she so often did.

"I don't know what you're talking about", Chris managed.

Jan walked up and grabbed Sara's shoulder. "Sara, stop it. Let him go."

Sara turned to look at Jan. The anger there made Jan understand what Chris was seeing. Sara was already extremely powerful, but angry she was more than just dangerous.

"Sara let him go", Jan repeated strongly. There was a long moment and then as suddenly as it had come, Sara's rage melted away. She let Chris go and took a deep calming breath. Chris didn't wait around. He and his friend took off to the other side of the field. Sara didn't say anything either. She was partly embarrassed and partly still angry. Jan explained to the group that Sara had seen Brooke's body the other day. They all understood. Everybody was under stress. There were even parents pulling their children out of school.

"Sara, what got into you?", Jan asked after the group had broken up.

"He was in our room, Jan. I know it. I probably shouldn't have reacted like that, but he was in our room at least 2 nights in a row."

"Do you think he's the rapist?", Jan asked.

"No. He's not a rapist."

"Then you need to go apologize. You scared him half to death."

"Yeah I guess I should."

Sara caught up with Chris as he was heading off the field. She hollered out to him and at first he didn't stop, but she ran after him.

"Wait, wait please. I just want to say I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." All the sweetness had returned to her voice. It was almost like listening to another person.

Chris didn't want to, but he couldn't help it. He stopped. "Why did you choke me?", he demanded with anger in his own voice. "I've done nothing but be nice to you, and this is how you treat me. There's something wrong in your head!", he yelled.

Sara didn't yell back. She nodded her head and looked down at the ground. "I deserve that, and I'm so sorry. It's just that I knew that you were in my room."

"How? How did you know that I was in your room?", Chris was still angry, but calming.

"So you were in my room! Why?", Sara sounded hurt more than anything else.

Chris swallowed hard. His mouth had suddenly gone dry and his hands shook. "I didn't want anything bad to happen to you, so I got the idea to watch out for you. I've sat up the last two nights. I just couldn't think about anything bad happening to you. I just couldn't."

Sara was stunned. She stammered as she talked trying to get control of her emotions. "You did that?"

"Yeah", it was Chris' turn to be embarrassed. "How did you know I was there?"

"How did you get in?", Sara asked.

"I asked first."

Sara sighed and considered what to say, but decided to tell the truth. "I'm telepathic."

"Like you can read minds?" Chris frowned.

Sara nodded. "And I'm telekinetic."

"Wow. So you can move things too. I always knew you were special, but not like that. How strong are you with it? Can you bend spoons and stuff, or can you lift a person or anything? Make me levitate?"

Sara barely had to concentrate to lift Chris off the ground a few inches before letting him drop. "Ok, now how were you in my room."

Chris nodded and held out his hand. "Take my hand and I'll show you." Sara hesitated. "Come on take it."

Sara slowly reached out. Chris had a sly smile on his face. Sara opened her hand to take his, but she felt only air. She tried again and again. She could see his arm and his hand, but she couldn't touch him. She finally reached out for his chest. Her hand passed through him. She did it again and her hand hit him solidly. She felt the firmness of his chest.

"Pretty cool, huh? I can phase shift", Chris told her. "I can adjust my body so that I can pass through solid things. I got in your room by getting into the wall and working my way up. I stayed in the wall until you fell asleep." He paused. "I didn't see anything! I swear I didn't see anything. I respect you too much for that. I just..."

Sara put her hand on his arm. "I believe you." She smiled up at him. Chris nearly melted. She shook his hand this time. "So I meet a fellow freak."

Chris laughed. "I guess I wasted my time watching out for you."

Sara was in thought before she spoke. She looked up and smiled. "No, I think that was sweet. Kinda creepy I have to admit, but sweet."

The two teenagers walked off together and talked. It was the most words Sara had said to Chris since they had met. They tried to get to know each other.

"So when did you realize that you could walk through walls? Did you try to run into one on purpose and fall through it?", Sara asked with a laugh.

"Almost. I was 13 and I tripped on my little sister's skate going to down the stairs. I was near the top and I remember seeing the floor coming up at me. I really really didn't want to crash down on the floor. I put my hands out to break my fall. Next thing I know I'm in the basement, naked as the day I was born. My clothes were right where I left them at the foot of the steps. It took me months to figure out how to take stuff with me."

"I bet you had fun in the girl's locker rooms at school didn't you?"

Chris laughed. "Believe it or not, but that got old after a while. After I saw all the best looking girls in school with no clothes on all the fun was gone. So I went back to concentrating on sports. That's how you got the girls and kept them. I just stopped playing because its too easy to cheat at most things. Like the hurdles. I've never cheated, but I probably would have. I don't need that temptation. But enough about me. What about you?"

Sara told him about how she had grown up with her powers. They walked around the campus for a while.

"So how strong are you? You lifted me pretty easily."

"With the telekinetic stuff I'm pretty strong."

"Like lift a car strong?"

Sara looked insulted. "A car? Come on. A car is simple."

Chris looked around, and saw a minivan. "Ok a van"

Sara still had the same look. She looked at Chris. Her expression barely changed and van lifted off the ground several inches. She set it back down softly. "I could have lifted it just as easily fully loaded."

"Hmm. Ok what about a bus, a city bus... fully loaded, people, gas and everything, or a tour bus with the kitchen and bathrooms and stuff?"

Sara considered it. "Now that's a good one. I've never tried, but I think I could."

"Damn!", Chris exclaimed. "You are powerful then. Do your friends know, Jan, and the dark haired girl with the huge... I mean do they know?"

Sara laughed. "Her name is Alisha, and yes they both know."

"Are they scared of you? You know a just little bit."

Sara shook her head and smiled. "You've been around Jan. Does she seem scared of anything, especially me?"

Chris thought about it. He had observed them together for weeks. "No, but shouldn't she be? You were pretty scary back there."

"Did she seem scared then?"

"No, but I don't see why not. If you can lift a car and a bus and stuff, then you can tear a person apart."

Sara started to say something, but chose her words carefully. "Chris, there are things that I can't talk about. That I won't talk about. Not yet."

Chris nodded. "I understand. People like us get used to keeping secrets. Can you imagine some of the things I've seen? People say 'If walls could talk?' Well I can become the wall. I've seen a lot of things. Which is why I hardly use my power anymore. I understand now that walls are a great thing. You don't always want to know what's happening on the other side."

"So you used it just to try to protect me?"

Chris put his head down and nodded. They walked on a little further. Sara looked at the time.

"I have to go. Alisha's roommate is in the hospital. She was raped. She's in serious condition, but she's getting better."

"Fucking rapists! Pardon my French."

"No, I feel the same way."

"If I found the bastard, I'd reach into chest and pull his heart out and show it to him."

Miranda Bailis had been upgraded to stable condition and the doctors thought the worse was over. Miranda's parents had driven in from Jacksonville, FL and hadn't left their daughter's side. Alisha had gotten to know Miranda's parents well over the last couple of days. Her parents were good hard working people and Miranda had two little brothers and a sister. They all looked up to Miranda who had been beaten badly during the rape. She was the first in her family to go to college and she had been acing it. Now she lay there barely awake for five minutes at a time. Alisha had also pieced together that Miranda's father had lost his job and started a new one, but that the family had no health insurance. The bills were going to be enormous and choices had to be made once she was out of danger. Alisha didn't tell the family, but she had called her father. Alisha was big time movie producer Karl von Edder's only child, and he had only listened to Alisha's plea for a minute before agreeing to pay any medial cost. Alisha wanted to hug her father through the phone. She walked back into the hospital room just as Jan and Sara were getting on the elevator down stairs.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Bailis, I couldn't help but hear that your health insurance isn't going to cover all this."

They both looked up at Alisha from their chairs and a fresh wave a panic came to their faces. They were about to say something, but Alisha spoke first.

"I called my father and he wants all the medical bills sent to him. He knows that there's nothing anyone can do to make this go away, but he wants you to be able to concentrate on healing Miranda."

"Are you for real?"

This moment was awkward, but necessary. "Yes, Ma'am. 100%"

"You didn't have to do that", Mr. Bailis said, rising from his seat.

Alisha nodded. "Yes, I did."

"It could be hundreds of thousands of dollars!"

Alisha smiled. "I know, and so does my father. The people in our neighborhood spend more than that on stupid crap. This is worth it. So please don't worry about the money."

Mrs. Bailis had burst into tears. She stood up and hugged Alisha. The parents had been talking about selling their home and her family's farm land to pay for the bills, but that was over now. Jan and Sara walked into the room. They kept quiet and stayed out of the way. Sara and Jan sat and visited with the Bailis family and Alisha.. They made sure to visit at least once a day. They had gotten to know Miranda too. Her life would now be separated into life before the rape and life after the rape. That shouldn't be, but at least she was going to recover physically, eventually.

Sara and Jan left. Sara went back to the dorm. Jan went to Moira's house for a training session, but neither woman felt like training. Sara had school work to do, but she didn't feel like doing it. After a couple of hours Sara left the dorm. Every building had guards and or police at the doors. Sara had to sneak off of campus. There was no chance they would let a woman leave the campus alone. After leaving the campus, Sara walked down the streets. Her emotions were unsettled. There were hardly any people out. There were no joggers, and there were no people walking their dogs. Husbands went to the grocery store to shop with their wives and older sons went with their mothers. Some of the streets were barely lit hoping somewhere in the back of her mind that she would be attacked. Sara knew that if she were attacked the raping spree would end this night, and it would, just not the way she thought.

Moira had wanted to drive Jan back to the campus, but Jan couldn't go back. Jan was not the type of person to run and hide from anything. She didn't have to. Jan liked to confront her problems directly. She knew she had little to no chance, but perhaps she could get attacked by the rapist she thought. She was walking down a residential road that went past an old railroad depot. The forest that Atlanta was built in and around had years ago reclaimed the rail yard and the buildings around it. The decaying buildings were hardly visible in the low light. Jan had to walk on the grass since there was no sidewalk on this side of the street, and she didn't feel like going to the other side of the road. That was fortunate for a young exchange student from Cameroon.

Jan heard the shout. It was faint and it sounded distant. It was a shout of shear terror. Jan turned to her left and took off through the trees at a full sprint. She had her pistol in her gym bag. She pulled out the big .45 and dropped the bag as she ran. This was it and she knew it. Jan ran towards the shouts. It was dusk and the last rays of light did funny things with the shadows. She tripped on a rail hidden by tall dead grass, but she kept on running.

Detective Marcus Jennings drove down the road heading home, but not heading home at the same time. Somewhere deep down he knew he had to be out there. There was a chance that he could do some good. He thought he had a chance. He saw a woman walking on the road about a half mile a way. She was attractive and young. Usually that was a good thing, but not now. Now it could be a death sentence. She had on black spandex type pants and a light blue jacket. She had nice legs he could see as he got closer. She must work out he thought. This was no place for a pretty woman. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his badge. He was going to make sure that woman got home even if he had to call a patrol car. He slowed down as he got closer. Suddenly the girl took off into the woods. She moved so fast that he barely saw her change direction. Detective Jennings pulled over and started after her.

Jan could hear the shouts. They were echoing now and it was hard to find her. Jan ran around the yard jumping between rails and dodging box cars left there to rot. She slowed down and calmed her breathing. She wished Sara was with her. Sara could have felt the minds, but Jan had to do this the hard way. She came to a building that had long ago collapsed. It used to be a maintenance house for engines and rail cars, but the heavy timbers that had once held up the roof had fallen over and the entire wall had fallen down over the concrete ditch where the men worked on the undercarriages of the cars. That's where the sounds were coming from. Jan looked around to find a way in, but she couldn't find one. The fallen wall, ceiling, and roof covered the entire span of the ditch. Jan put her pistol down and worked her hands under the fallen steel and wood. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her strength would be there. It hadn't failed her yet, and it didn't this time. Jan grit her teeth and with a mighty effort pulled up. Quads and calves thickened as the old material started up. Glass in old windows shattered and steel moved from the place it had been for decades as Jan's muscle overpowered it all. Jan pulled up with everything she had. The massive weight came up to her waist. Jan turned her hands and now she pushed. Her face screwed in concentration and effort. Her back muscles flexed so hard they stretched her top and nearly burst the seams of her jacket. The wall of the building was up. With a burst of pure super powered strength Jan pushed the fallen wall and roof over.

Jan looked down and saw them. The man faced away from her. She could only see the back of his head, but she saw the look on the woman's face. Her smooth chocolate colored skin was covered in sweat even in the cool November air, and she wore a look of absolute terror. Jan didn't waste time. She had thrown off the debris so fast he hadn't even had time to react. He turned quickly, but Jan was quicker. Anger flooded her. She almost couldn't stand it. The rage came over her at once. She had been excited before, but now it was much more. Jan reached down with one long muscled arm and grabbed the rapist by the collar and pulled him from the hole so hard he flew fifteen feet in the air as she let him go over her head.

The girl instinctively pulled her ruined blouse back together to cover herself. Jan got down on her knees and reached out her arm to the woman. She didn't move at first. Her mind was trying to catch up to what had happened. She reached her hand out and took Jan's. Jan stood up and pulled the woman from the hole in one motion. "Run!", Jan yelled.

Jan looked around, but couldn't see the rapist. "RUN!", she yelled louder. The woman looked at Jan one more time and took off. Jan watched her leaving and picked up her gun. She was going to find the bastard. He had to be hurt as hard as she threw him. She looked for blood or any type of trail. She only saw her own path through the hard packed dirt and through the dry grass.

It was getting darker. She could only see shadows and no color. She kept her pistol ready. She thought she saw something to her right. She turned quickly with her pistol ready. She felt the old steel hit the side of her head from behind. Jan tripped on a rail and fell forward onto the tracks knocking the wind from her lungs. She rolled over to see the rapist bringing the bar down at her. She dodged to her right and then rolled to the left using her body weight to pull the bar from the rapist's hands. She took a deep breath filling her lungs and bounded to her feet, but the rapist was gone.

"You fucked up my first score! Now Ty's going to be one up! Nevermind. I'll make you my first score!" Jan turned around in circles to see where the voice was coming from, but it seemed to be coming from all directions at once. "Can't find me?", the rapist taunted. "Here I am!"

He kicked her in the back. She only stumbled forward a little, but then a blow came down across her wrists. She grimaced, but didn't drop her gun. She turned in time to see the rapist smiling at her. He was about the same height as she with brownish looking hair and the most sinister look she had ever seen. She raised her pistol to fire. He didn't even try to move. Jan didn't care. She raised the gun to chest level and pulled the trigger. He disappeared before her eyes. The bullets slammed into an old box car behind him. Jan frowned.

"Oops!", he yelled. "I'm over here!" Jan turned and saw him 100 feet away. She raised her gun, but he disappeared again. She felt a wire go around her neck. He pulled it tight. Jan's left hand went up, but she couldn't dig her fingers beneath the thin metal wire. He choked her hard. She went down to a knee.

Det. Jennings had called this in. The young woman from Cameroon had run into him. She had been smacked a couple of times and had a gag put in her mouth, but she hadn't been raped. She was too scared to talk. Det. Jennings wanted to stay with her, but he had heard the gunshots. He ran to the sound of the gunfire. He had his flashlight with him, but he dare not turn it on. That would make him a target until he got closer.

Jan felt the wire biting into her flesh, but that only made her more angry. She put the gun behind her head and pulled the trigger twice. She felt the wire go slack. She rubbed her neck and turned around. The wire fell to the ground, but there was nothing else, no body or anything. Then Jan heard gun shots. She ran towards them. She saw a man with a gun and a flashlight firing. The rapist had been in his sights, but the man missed. The rapist just disappeared. Jan slowed and came closer. The man turned with his flashlight and gun following his eyes. They fell upon Jan.

Det. Jennings knew at once that he was looking at the same woman he had seen on the road. He kept his light in her, but lowered his gun. He paused for a bit when he saw a gun in her hand, but he came closer. Then he saw a shadow off to his left. He turned ready to fire. Then it was gone.

Jan turned too. She didn't turn back quickly enough. The rapist took a six foot long jagged piece of steel and with all the strength in his arms lunged at her. The razor sharp tip went right through the center of Jan's stomach. He kept pressing. The pain made Jan's vision blacken as the rusty rod went through her insides and out her back. She tried to raise her gun, but her arm wasn't working fast enough. She rapist looked down at her with those evil eyes. She dropped her gun and clutched at the rod. He push again and this time twisted the piece of metal. Blood sprayed from Jan's mouth as she reached out to try to get her hands on the man who had just impaled her. He pushed harder and she fell over backwards. Det. Jennings fired. He emptied his pistol, but all the shots missed. The rapist was gone again.

Jan opened her eyes. She turned her head left and right. Off to her right she saw the man with the gun firing, but missing. Then the rapist appeared behind him. Jan raised her arm and tried to yell, but nothing would come out. Jan grabbed the rusty pitted metal sticking from her abdomen and pulled. The pain was worse as the "L" shaped rod came out than it was going in because Jan had to pull it bit by bit. Finally she had it out. She heard the man with the gun yell. She used the blood covered rod to help steady herself as she got to her feet. Her insides felt like paté, but she couldn't wait to heal. This man had tried to save her and she was going to save him. She staggered and nearly fell twice. Blood ran from her mouth and from the hole in her stomach, but she wasn't going to stop. The rapist had his back to her. He was sitting on the other man's chest. He had another piece of steel in his hand. He was about to bring it down. Jan took the rod in both hands and swung for his head, but she lost balance and the swing was low. The rod struck the rapist in the ribs. He gasped in pain. Jan turned the rod over and stabbed it down as hard as she could. The jagged metal sliced a gash in his arm.

He rolled over. His eyes went wide as he saw Jan standing over him. He couldn't believe it. He had stabbed that bitch! It was time to cut his losses. He disappeared again, but this time he wasn't going to attack. There was easier prey to be found somewhere else.

Det. Jennings jumped to his feet, picked up his gun and flashlight. He looked in all directions, but he only saw the woman. Jan took the man by his arm and they started back towards the street. She couldn't run as fast as she normally could. Her body was healing itself, but she had torn everything again when she swung the rod. Finally they made it to the road. Blue lights and red lights were getting closer. Jan leaned against a tree.

"What the hell just happened?", Detective Jennings shouted. "He disappeared? What the hell is that? And you! I saw you stabbed!"

"It wasn't what it looked like", Jan lied. She still couldn't stand up straight, but at least she could talk.

Detective Jennings parted her jacket and saw the bloody top with a raggedy hole in it. "The hell it wasn't. I saw you stabbed and I saw him disappear. Who the fuck are you? And who the fuck was he? You better give me some answers or you're fucking going downtown!"

"I'm Jan Caufield. I'm a Federal Agent with the Treasury Department. That man was the rapist I believe. As for the disappearing, I haven't got a clue." Jan looked up at the cops speeding their way. Then she looked down at her bloody top. "I think we should keep this and the disappearing quiet. Don't you?"

Detective Jennings thought about it for a moment before realizing that they would commit him if he told the truth. He just nodded. Jan went to find her bag. Her cell phone was in it. She had a phone call to make, but it was already ringing.

Twenty minutes earlier, Sara had taken a train and bus to the north side of Atlanta. She just started walking. She had her hands in her pockets. She looked cold and lost. Only half of that was true. She knew exactly where she was. She had her hands in her pockets just feeling the shape of her pistol on her hip. She didn't know if she would get a chance to use it or not, but it felt good there. The street lights stopped after a while. It wasn't long before she felt a presence behind her. Sara smiled just a little. He moved quietly, almost silently. That's how he got his victims. Sara played it cool. She kept on walking. She wondered if he liked the thrill of the chase, but probably not. A man who liked the chase wouldn't be so quiet, so she didn't run. He was close now. He made his move.

Ty usually used an electric stun device before he grabbed his women and teleported with them to some place more secluded, but this place was already empty. This girl was begging him to show her good time. She wanted it as badly as he did. Ty wondered if Shep had scored. This was going to be their last night. They were going to break a record and try to get at least five a piece this night. Ty wasn't sure if he could even get it up five times. He knew Shep could. He wasn't fucking human. Ty smiled as he got close. He was going to have to pace himself with this one. She was so small anyway. He lunged at her. He didn't see her smile. He stopped in mid-air as if stuck in a spider's web. He tried to move, but he felt pressure at every joint. The harder he tried to move the harder the invisible web pressed back. A wave of fear overcame Ty. He could do nothing as the woman turned around.

"So this is what a rapist looks like", Sara quietly stated as she looked Ty over. Ty was perhaps 5'9 with buzzed blond hair and menacing blue eyes. "Not so tough now." She wasn't going to try to get into his mind. The last place she wanted to be was in the mind of a crazy man.

Ty could barely move his eyes, but he could see enough. He could see behind the blond girl. She wasn't normal. She held him in place. She held him so hard he could hardly think, but he had to think. He had to get out, or at least he had to try. He was wasting time and Shep was going to get ahead of him. Ty looked at a space behind Sara and willed himself there. Her power held him as long as he was there, but in a blink, he was gone. Sara gasped. She looked around. She couldn't feel him either.

"Not so sure of yourself now are you?" The voice was squeaky, and had no direction. It was all around her.

Sara turned around and around. Then she felt him behind her. She caught him with her power. She turned in time to see Ty disappear again.

"I've never had someone special like you before. This is going to be fun. I don't care if Shep gets ahead of me in numbers. You're the equal of ten other girls. I'm going to take my time with you." He laughed.

Sara pulled out her pistol. She wasn't sure if it would be any good, but it felt good in her hand. A rock it her in the back of the head just behind the ear. It didn't hit that hard because it had come from very far away, but the distraction was enough. Ty teleported right next to her and snatched at the gun. Sara pushed against him with her power. She pushed him hard. He flew back, but disappeared while he flew.

"That wasn't nice", he said directly in her ear. He grabbed her by the throat at the same time. He wasn't a big man, but he had strong hands like a auto mechanic. His fingers dug into her neck. He threw her to the ground and a moment later, Sara felt the sting of 50,000 volts going into her body.

"Try to use your power now, bitch!", Ty yelled. Sara couldn't yell. Her body shook and spasmed. "You're not so much without your power are you. You're going to feel it just like all the others!"

Ty was wrong. Sara had much more to use than just her power. She relied on it, but she had something to fall back on. She was going to beat him the old fashioned way. As soon as the tazer stopped Sara kicked Ty in the side of the head as hard as she could from her back. She jumped to her feet and sent another and another at his head. Ty fell back on the ground. Sara attacked him from the side to avoid any of his possible kicks. She jumped in the air and brought her arm back as far as she could. She punched forward as she came down. Her fist slammed into his cheek. She was on him now. She pounded blow after blow into his face. Ty tried to defend himself, but there was no let up. He felt a tooth get knocked from his mouth. He almost choked on it. He bucked and tried to get her off, but that only gave her a better position. Sara rolled to her left onto her back and wrapped her runner's legs around Ty's neck and squeezed. At one time Sara Hewitt had just been skinny, but now she was a strong young woman. Ty was learning that the hard way. Her hard lean quads flexed hard forcing his chin up making it easier for her to choke him. She leaned back and poured on the power. She knew this wouldn't take long. His face was turning all sorts of shades. He was about done. His vision faded in and out quickly. He knew he didn't have much time. He looked at a spot, wanted to be there, and then he was there. Sara scrambled to get to her feet. She didn't even bother to pick up her gun. It was going to be useless. Ty knew he should have left, but he was stubborn. He teleported behind the girl and grabbed her. She went down to a knee and flipped him over her shoulder, but he never hit the ground. While in the air he teleported himself nearly 50 feet into the air, but he took Sara with him. He teleported again as they fell towards the ground. It took Sara a moment to realize where she was. She slowed her decent and landed easily on the ground.

"Got anymore tricks?" She searched with her mind, but as soon as she found him, he was gone. She could only search so far because she had to keep a grasp on her senses. She couldn't do both at the same time.

Ty wasn't much of a fighter, but he was crafty. He teleported in front of her. She sent a punch at his head so fast he almost didn't have time to teleport again, but he did. He went to her right and took her by the arm. This girl was tough, but he was physically stronger. He punched her in the side of the head. He punched her again. He had her. She went to the ground. He put his hands around her throat again and choked. He didn't want to kill her, but he had to make sure she wasn't going to fight him again. It was a trick to stop choking right before they died.

Chris had lost Sara in the shadows as she had walked down the road. He had been looking and looking, but couldn't find her. Then he saw her go up in the air like she had jumped on a huge trampoline. He ran as fast as his legs could take him. He didn't bother running around things. Chris ran through things. He saw Sara on her back with a man choking her. He ran fast. Chris had always been fast. He pulled his leg back in stride. The man finally heard him and looked up. Chris kicked the man in the chest so hard he flew off of Sara. Chris was on him a moment later. He took the man and tried to pound his head into the ground, but Ty squirmed. He pushed Chris off of him and stood up.

"Chris?", Ty yelled with surprise. Ty looked at Sara getting back to her feet and looked at Chris and knew time was up. He looked as far as he could down the street and instantly he was there. He looked farther still and then he was there. In less than a second Ty had moved over 3 miles.

"Are you ok?", Chris asked Sara as he ran close. He tried to touch her, but she pushed him off.

"I'm fine." Her voice was scratchy from the choking and her neck was bruised, but other than that she was fine. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you. I thought you might do something stupid, and I was right."

Sara shook her head to clear it. "He knew your name! Why does he know your name?", Sara demanded with an edge to her voice.

Chris still breathed heavily. "I know him, or I met him." He traced back in his mind where he knew the man from. "I had gone to a baseball game with my dad on a visit to Emory last year. I saw a man disappear while I was in the bathroom. I walked through the wall. Yeah, I walked through the wall and he was there. He told me that he had a new power and could teleport. He said that he either had to see the place or know the space really well. His name is... His name is... Ty! That's his name!"

"Do you know his whole name?"

"No, but I have it written down in my old organizer from high school. He gave me his name and number in case we wanted to have fun together sometimes. I had no idea what he meant until now."

"We have to get back to campus, but first I have to make a call." Sara dialed Jan.

Jan opened her phone. It was Sara. That was just the person she was going to call. "I was just attacked by the rapist!", both girls yelled at the same time.

"What?"

It took them three minutes to figure out that there had to be two. They could both teleport, but they looked different and they couldn't be in two places at once. The girls met back at Emory. They had called ahead to Alisha who was there waiting for them. She was ready for action. She had never wanted to kill anybody until now. She wanted blood, and she was going to have it.

Ty and Shep were roommates and lived in a secluded area outside the city near some hills. The house they shared sat on a property that used to house a Cold War era bunker for government officials. The site had been shut down for years and eventually forgotten, but the two old friends had found it. The ten ton blast doors had been partially open when they found the bunker. It took them months to lube the doors enough to get them to open and close. That had been their sanctuary, but now they didn't need doors. They had closed and sealed the blast doors. They could teleport back and forth. They were there now licking their wounds.

Jan, Sara, and Alisha were not far behind them. Chris had come along. They didn't know it, but Detective Jennings had followed too. He knew there was something going on and he was going to be there. He came from the east as the girls crept their way south towards the bunker.

"Hey, who the fuck are you?", Alisha's voice was full of raw emotion.

"Detective Marcus Jennings."

"How did you find us?", Jan asked.

"I'm a cop. That's what I do. Now where are you going?"

"Those rapists are here. We're going to find them and kill them", Alisha said it like it had already happened.

The cop didn't argue. He fell in with them as they crept closer and closer to the bunker. Sara lead the way. She had felt their minds in a sweep of the area. She wasn't searching for them now. She knew what direction they were in. Finally they came to the bunker. The blast doors were well hidden. They searched around for a way in, but couldn't find another.

"You're telling me that they are in there. That door is welded shut from the outside. How did they get in?", Jennings asked.

"You saw the guy teleport didn't you?"

"I don't know what I saw."

Chris stepped forward. "I can find out."

Det. Jennings nearly lost control of his mind as he watched a young man put his hand into solid steel and then slowly disappear. He just frowned and stared. A couple minutes later Chris came out a few feet from where he went in.

"They're in there. Ty and another guy. There are no doors that open that I could find."

Jan looked at the blast doors and knew that there was no way she could get through those monsters. She knew someone who probably could, but she was in Chicago. "How can we get in then, or do we have to wait for them to come out?"

Chris took a calming breath. "I can take you in. Just hold hands and whatever you do, don't let go of the person you're holding on to." Everybody was reluctant, but they wanted those rapists. Chris went into the wall first. They were surprised at the cold as they slipped into the solid steel. They could see and not see at the same time. Chris lead them out of the steel and into the solid living rock. Finally they entered the thick concrete walls of the bunker. Steel rebar and bolts were all in the concrete. They could feel the different materials, but they just slipped through everything. Chris lead them to a room that the two men barely entered. It reeked of mildew, but it was empty. Chris motioned for everyone else to exit first. They did, one by one. Finally Chris emerged from the wall. His face was pale and sweat dripped down his forehead like he had run a marathon. He leaned against the cool concrete wall and gulped in the stagnate air.

"Great job", Sara whispered to him. Chris managed a weak smile.

The group walked out from the room. They had to surprise the two rapists or they would be gone, and Chris wasn't up to pulling them through the thick wall again. They were going to have to strike and strike quickly. Alisha took a good look around the large room where Ty and Shep had cleaned up and made their headquarters. They had a kerosene heater in the middle of the room and rechargeable lights lit the space. They had newspaper clippings of the rape stories on the wall. Both men were near the center of the large room. They were preparing to leave and try for some scores before the night was over. This was their last night and they still wanted to make it memorable. They wouldn't get the chance. Alisha was ready. Jan reached into her pouch and handed Sara one of the tranquilizer darts they had used many times before, but they didn't have the guns to shoot them. They had to get close.

"What are you going to do?", Det. Jennings asked in a low voice. "If they see us, they'll just disappear again."

"They'll see what she wants them to see", Jan whispered in his ear.

Alisha closed her eyes and when she opened them she nodded. Jan and Sara walked into the room. Detective Jennings had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing aloud. He watched as those two girls had disappeared. They just vanished. He wondered if everybody but him could disappear.

Jan and Sara casually walked up to their targets. Jan went next to Shep and Sara had the pleasure of stabbing Ty with the needle. They stood right next to both men, but neither man even looked in their direction. To them everything in the room was as it should be. Jan looked at Sara and at the same time they stabbed both men in the neck.

Detective Jennings watched as those two men fell to the floor. He couldn't see what had happened, but then everything blurred and the two girls appeared. Alisha rushed in and Detective Jennings wasn't far behind. They handcuffed the pair, bound their ankles, and blindfolded them.

Everyone stood around now looking down at the two helpless men. Each one of them was alone with their own thoughts. Each one had thoughts of just killing them or mutilating them and then killing them.

"I can't arrest these two", Det. Jennings said after several minutes thought. "No jail could hold them."

"We could kill them." Alisha still couldn't get the image of Miranda from her head. "We could shoot them and leave their bodies here and no one would ever know.

Detective Jennings spoke up before this went any further. "If yall are Feds like you told me, then you swore to uphold the law not become it."

It was true. As much hate as each of those girls felt for those men murder was a line they were not willing to cross even if these two had it coming. They sat and thought some more. They thought for a really long time. People had ideas, but none of them were any good. It turned out that it didn't matter. It was getting near dawn, and this dawn was special to Ty and Shep.

"Please let us go", Shep pleaded after waking suddenly.

"Shut the fuck up!", Alisha yelled. She ran over and kicked him in the ribs several times. "Shut up before I shoot you myself."

"You don't understand...", Ty tried to speak but a wave of pain made him stop. Everyone got closer to the two men. They were squirming now. They tried to get their hands free. They had both rolled over to their backs.

"We must call...", Shep grunted through waves of pain. "We must call... These powers aren't ours!"

"What are you talking about", Jan demanded.

The two men were really in pain now. A trickle of blood came from their noses and some more blood, dark blood ran from their ears. "We must call! We have no choice. He's a fair man", Shep grunted. "It hurts! It hurts. Let us call. He'll give us more time!"

"Who!?!", Jan demanded. "Who will give you more time!?!"

Blood ran from their mouths now, and their bodies were covered in sweat. "The Broker", Shep managed. "We must... Ahhh!" The two men bucked and thrashed on the floor. They became so violent that everyone stepped back. Blood was going every which way. Blood poured from every opening in their bodies. It soaked their clothes and smeared on the floors. The two rapists yelled, but the screams turned into the blood choked gurgles. Finally they stopped. Ty exhaled one last time and was still. Det. Jennings went in close. He felt for a pulse. There was none.

"They're dead."

"Are you sure?", Alisha asked.

"Pretty damn sure. What do want me to do, put a bullet in their skulls?"

"Maybe yeah I do. I'll do it myself."

"No need", Jan began. "Unless these two guys have an extra gallon of blood they're both dead."

"What the hell just happened? And who's the Broker?"

"I don't know."

"I have seen more weird shit today than I have seen in the rest of my life", Det. Jennings said.

"We know some people who can cloud these memories over if you don't want to remember. The memories will be there, but you won't have any references to them in your mind."

"No thanks."

"So what do we do now?", Chris asked.

Detective Jennings looked down at the bodies again. "We have to report this. If these are the rapists then we have to report it and get the DNA to confirm."

"We have to get out here first. We have to find another way out of here", Jan said. "We can't ask Chris to bring them in. We have to find another way out so we can say we went in that way." Everybody agreed that Jan was right. They fanned out and started searching for another exit.

Jan went out with a flash light and tried to find a door, but she came back before the rest did. She found Sara still standing there. Sara had never left. She just stared at the door deep in thought.

"You think you can open it?", Jan asked.

"Not sure. That door is heavy, welded, and locked. I'm just trying to figure out how to attack it if I was going to try."

Jan looked at the door again. "The direct approach usually works best." Jan went up to the locking wheel located near the handle of the massive door. The wheel hadn't been used in a while. The late Shep and Ty had cleaned the handles though. Jan grabbed the handles and leaned back. Jan's forearms hardened and sharpened as she squeezed to turn the wheel. She had to use regular muscle power. Her super strength wasn't there, and she didn't think she needed it for this. She was right. The wheel squeaked and protested, but it turned. She spun it faster now. She could hear the 4 inch thick carbon steel locking bars sliding inside the door. She turned it until it stopped.

"That wasn't so hard."

"Ok here I go." Sara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She gathered herself. Then she was ready.

Jan stepped away from the door. She could feel the pressure around it building. It made her ears pop. Jan just looked at her friend. She hadn't even started pushing against the door, but already Jan could feel her power. Sara was so deceptive. She was usually quiet, but not shy. She wasn't too tall and only recently did she really start to look fit and strong physically, her outside hid her power well. Jan took another step back as her ears popped again. It was like a gathering storm. Finally Sara unleashed her power against the door. The sound was hollow and deep. Jan put her hands over her ears. She had been standing too close. She saw a little blood on her fingers from her ears. She was glad no one else was near.

Sara stood statue still in the center of the room. Dust and rust shook loose from the door, but could not fall to the ground. Sara's power held everything in place. Jan always loved to watch it when Sara really used her power.

The door didn't want to move too far. It had moved a couple of inches, but no further. Jan frowned. There was no way a wield was that strong. Jan didn't know, but the locking wheel had broken and the 3 locking bars hadn't totally retracted. Several inches still stuck out. Jan realized what was happening a moment later.

Sara took another breath and pressed even harder. Deep down she liked the idea of being able to use this much power on something, but she wondered if she had bitten off more than she could chew. She tried harder. It felt like her head was going to explode. Jan felt another wave of pressure build, and then cracks in the concrete radiated out from the frame around the blast door. Concrete chipped and broke, but none of it hit the floor. Sara tried harder and harder. Harder than ever before. She was using power she had never used in her life. Sara was only dimly aware of the world around her. It took all of her mind to use her power and she was almost totally cut off from her senses. She couldn't hear or see really. She had to focus on what she was doing, and she was doing a lot. The massive door creaked and was actually misshapen a little under the pressure. Inch wide cracks radiated out from the wall, but the door was still not opening. There was a sound like a shotgun and another as the locking bars broke through the hardened slots they were designed to slide in and out of. The door slid another few inches before it stopped again.

Jan looked over at Sara. A couple drops of blood had run from her nose onto her lip, but she stood perfectly still. Jan looked back at the door. She could see a sliver of daylight. Sara would have probably gotten the door open, but there was no reason to have an aneurysm in the process. Jan took a deep breath and went to the door. Jan could feel Sara's push against the door. It wasn't like a wind, but more like a steady pressure. It was probably much worse higher up. Jan put her hands on the door. It was warm. She put her shoulder on the flat back of the door and pushed. Jan's strength wasn't full bore, but was enough. Jan dug in and her back and legs swelled with muscle. The separation in Jan's always gorgeous legs was impressive. There was a loud grinding sound and then several big booms. Jan fell on her face after the last boom as the door slammed open with both of them pushing.

Jan rolled over and just laid on her back to catch her breath. Sara went down to a knee and finally wiped her upper lip. "Thanks for the help", she said after she could.

Jan sat up. "Yeah I didn't want you to burst a blood vessel or something."

Sara laughed. "No, I was about to stop and rest until you started pushing. I figured I'd go ahead and finish after you jumped in."

The two girls looked at the side of the wall where the locks had been. Concrete and rebar hung all over the place and some of the natural stone around the bunker had been broken off too. There were some large chunks of rock laying by the door, but most was small pebble sized pieces that had broken away from the awesome power of the two teenagers. After catching their breath they called out to the rest of the group. Detective Jennings started to ask how they got the door open, but guessed it was better if he didn't know.

The police showed up half an hour later. DNA test later confirmed that those two men had committed every one of the rapes in the Atlanta area. They even tested positive for some rapes in Tennessee and Alabama. Jan, Sara, and Alisha didn't get any credit on the official report for this bust, but they didn't care. They were just happy it was over. Two days later Miranda was able to stay awake for several hours. It was time for the healing to begin.

This is a chapter in the ongoing story "Power and Fury"!  Check out the earlier chapters here:

Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter  8 -- Chapter 9

Much more to come!  New stories, new characters, new powers, and new challenges.