Nineteen year old Jan Caufield was tall, athletic, beautiful, extremely confident, and attracting the gazes of men young and old as she walked by. She carried herself as if she didn't have a care in the world, but that wasn't even close to the truth. Jan faced the challenges in life as they came. Most of her hard times though had been her fault in some way. From the outside, Jan looked to have a charmed life. Her family was extremely wealthy and she had never known what it was like to go without. Aside from being stunningly beautiful, Jan was a very talented musician and of course a talented athlete, but she had a secret. In the past her secret had been dark, mysterious, and dangerous, but not so much these days. These days Jan had more control over her power and therefore herself. She paused as a police officer with a bomb sniffing dog walked by. Jan smiled at the officer as he passed. The man's eyes lingered on her face and her body just a little longer than he would have liked, but she was used to it. She kept walking with no particular destination in mind. She thought back on what it had taken to gain control of the rage that lived deep inside her and felt a wave of regret. It had taken Jan killing more than a dozen armed men with her bare hands in the hold of a ship to she realized that she controlled her power and not the other way around. Blood had flowed ankle deep and she had licked the salt and iron flavored liquid from her own lips after she had ripped a man in two. That had not been the proudest moment of her life, but she took comfort in the fact that the man had deserved it.

Jan let those heavy thoughts drop and she continued past an Italian restaurant. The pizza smelled great. She was about to keep walking when she heard her name called. She recognized the voice at once. She grinned as she turned. "Dr. Brooster. What are you doing here?"

"I can ask you the same question. And what's with this Dr. Brooster business?" Ian Brooster stood up from his seat and took a step closer to Jan. They hugged and he motioned for her to sit down.

"Sorry about that, Ian. I see someone who's my elder and I instantly want to be polite and proper."

Ian laughed. "You watch it with that elder business. Its hard enough being 33 without you rubbing it in."

"Sorry again. Well anyway, I'm here waiting on Sara. We're going out to LA to spend some time with Alisha. I could have gotten a direct flight, but Sara's flight had a stopover in Chicago, so I decided to meet her here so we can fly out there together."

"Isn't that sweet?", Ian chuckled. "I'm on my way to Dallas to a conference. Lisa dropped me off early because she had a date and didn't want me making her late."

Jan stood up and ordered a slice of deep dish pizza and a large Coke before sitting back down. "Dallas huh? Isn't Moira down in Dallas at the same conference."

"Yeesss, and what are you getting at little girl?"

Jan smiled even though her mouth was full of pizza. "I'm just wondering when you and Moira are going to stop sneaking around like a couple of teenagers and make this official."

"Maybe sooner than you think. But I'm glad you're here. Since you were talking about age earlier... You're aging", Ian stated.

Jan laughed. "Really doc? I mean I look a little different now than when I was a new born. And I think I looked cute my little First Communion dress, but I don't think it would fit me anymore. Ha, I'm aging." Jan shook her head and chuckled to herself.

"You know", Ian began. "There was a theory that because your body keeps itself in perfect working order on a normal basis that it would sustain you at some perpetual state of perfect health."

The smile fell from Jan's face as she understood what he was saying. "Oh my God, that would be horrible. Living and living while everybody around you died. What if I had children..." The enormity of that almost made Jan lose her appetite. She put her fork down and just stared in space lost in thought.

Ian took her by the arm and shook it. "Don't worry. You are aging. So were you born and so surely shall you die. But like everything your body does, it's aging perfectly. So, you'll be the hottest 90 year old at the retirement home."

Jan chuckled and went back to eating. "You shouldn't scare me like that. I'm supposed to be going on vacation not thinking of ways to kill myself."

"I just wanted you to know. Besides that's payback for your elder comment."

Jan grinned and was about to say something when Sara showed up. She did not look happy. Her curly blond hair was pulled back in a hastily tied pony tail, her clothes were wrinkled, and her face wore a frown.

"What happened to you?", Jan asked.

Sara inhaled deeply before she answered. "Security checkpoint guy took me to the side back in Jackson for one of those more thorough screenings. I had to take my shoes off and the whole bit. He almost made me late for my flight. I had to run to the jetway and then when I get on the plane they tell me that my seat was being used by a special passenger. So I had to sit one row from the back of the plane next to the bathroom with a guy afraid of flying to my left and a crying kid to my right. So this day has not started off well."

Jan felt bad that her day had gone so smoothly, and Sara's had sucked. She looked down at her plate and lifted the thick chunk of pizza. "Here want a bite?"

Sara scowled and looked at her watch. "Hurry up and lets go, please. At this point I just want to get to LA.

The sun was shining and the breeze was blowing as Jan and Sara walked to the waiting limousine. Alisha leaned against the car with her sunglasses on. She wore an ivory colored halter top that barely covered her very ample bosom and some barely there shorts showing off her fine legs. Her long dark hair blew in the breeze as she stood there waiting. She grinned and was bursting with excitement, but she didn't hurry over to her friends. Instead she waited for them and for the valets to bring their luggage closer. Once they were within 30 feet she walked over to them.

"Alisha!", Jan nearly shouted as they came close. Jan leaned down and wrapped her long arms around her friend.

Sara was less enthusiastic. "Were we walking too slow or something?"

Alisha pulled off her sunglasses. "Oh no. I just have to keep up appearances. You see those people down there? They get paid 10 or 20 grand for a compromising shot of me. I'm not an 'it' girl in paparazzi terms, but being Karl von Edder's daughter makes me a low level target in this town." Alisha smiled but it fell away as she got a closer look at Sara. "Did you get dressed in the dark this morning?"

Sara's face instantly turned red and she looked ready to pop, but Jan patted the shorter girl's shoulder a couple of times. "Calm down, Sara. Alisha say you're sorry. She's had a bad day."

Alisha appraised Sara again with a lopsided smile. "Sorry. But you need to hurry and get in the car. I hope you brought some clothes with you. You can change on the way to my house."

Sara ground her teeth she was so mad, but she hurried into the car anyway. It was going to take nearly and hour to drive from the airport to Alisha's family's house in Malibu with the afternoon traffic. Alisha put up the divider in the limo as Sara changed clothes. Jan and Alisha both took turns fixing Sara's normally pretty blond hair. 45 minutes later she was dressed, and they were finished. Sara wanted to be upset, but she had to admit that she felt better. She looked out the window as the chauffeur drove down Pacific Coast Highway and then on to Carbon Mesa Rd. The view was more than spectacular. Sara hadn't seen anything yet.

"Well we're in Malibu. Steven Spielburg's house over there and Barbra Streisand lives over there. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell live that way." The limo continued further. "Welcome to Carbon Beach. Julie Andrews lives down the street. Here's David Geffen's house." Alisha pointed out the window.

Looking out over the house and to the ocean beyond nearly took Jan and Sara's breath away. The limo continued past Geffen's estate to the estate next door. The abode of the von Edder's was slightly less spread out than Casta de Geffen, but only because they wanted it that way. The limo pulled down the drive towards the front door. Jan and Sara could see that the von Edders were entertaining several dozen of their closest friends.

"Dad's having sort of a mixer. You guys might recognize some of the people inside, but you'll have no idea who most of these people are. Just remember that most of the men in the house are movers and shakers in this town. They're either movie people or maybe television people. Dad's trying to dabble in tv now. Most of the women in there are going to be accessories Don't worry about them. They're supposed be like a necklace: shiny, showy and silent. You'll be able to pick them out right away. The other women, no less glamorous, are the important women. Some of those women can make or break careers. They're going to approach you and expect that you know who they are. When you don't; they'll tell you, because they can't help but tell you. Just sound amazed. After a while they'll leave you alone and move on to another victim."

"Man", Sara began. "This is worse than society folks back home." Sara was looking nervous and feeling very out of her element.

Alisha smiled and thought back on her experience that the Barrel Bottom Ball. She patted Sara's hand. "No, its not worse. Just unlike you, I'm giving you guys the ground rules. When I was in Mississippi, you threw me to the wolves."

Sara blinked and took her eyes off Alisha's house and the fine cars parked in front. She felt a little ashamed and grinned as the limo stopped.

Alisha took a deep breath. "You guys ready? This is going to be great. Oh, and just so you know, I've been talking both of you up all summer. I said that you're both from old money back East and that you're both drop dead gorgeous." Jan smiled but Sara's face just turned red again. "Sara, please stop getting embarrassed when someone mentions your looks. You've been working you ass off to get your body the way you want it. I've seen you looking at yourself in the mirror. You've got it; now fuckin flaunt it."

Sara had to admit that Alisha was right. "Its not that, I just don't like men looking at me like a piece of meat. Attention is one thing, but that just..."

"Stop playing coy. You're a fucking sexy beast we you want to be. All right ladies. Let's do this."

Very calmly and very suavely, everybody looked when the limousine door opened. The people chatted and talked still, but they had at least one eye on that limo door. Alisha had decided that Jan was going to be first. For some reason Jan relished the moment. She was going to milk this for all it was worth. Jan moved over and slowly extended her long, tanned, flawless, shapely left leg out of the car. She pointed her toes as her sandal covered foot touched the ground. She just wanted to show off the shape. Jan had always thought that her legs were her best feature, and at nearly 6'1" she had a lot of leg to show off. She turned and put her other leg out just to let the people get a better look. She wanted them to know that they weren't seeing things, yes her legs really were that long, and yes they really were that nice. She put her sunglasses on and stood up so everybody could get a look at the rest of her. She pretended not to notice that a hundred pairs of eyes were all looking at her at the same time. She just turned back towards the car and Alisha handed her out her small purse. Alisha was out next. She exited with a pleasant smile and then she too turned towards the open door. Sara got out of the car and managed not to trip. Her curly blond locks stuck out beneath her elegant rosegargen hat as she smiled at Alisha and followed her hostess into the house.

The von Edder house was very large and very open. Huge windows allowed a person to see all the way through the top floor of the house and down to the terraces that stepped their way down to one of the nicest most exclusive beaches in California. Jan took in the view as they walked in the house. Her better than perfect eyesight let her see the dolphins in the ocean beyond the beach. Jan took her eyes off the beauty of nature because she had to get ready to mingle. After a few introductions, Jan went off by herself to continue to socialize, but Sara stayed close to Alisha. She had started to relax, but these people were so different it was just weird. A lady came over near Alisha. The woman looked to be in her 40's, which in L.A. might as well have been her 70's. She wore all designer clothes and discrete designer jewelry.

"Mrs. Klaxon, this is my friend Sara who I've been telling you so much about."

"Oh, so nice to finally you meet you."

The woman's smile could have been put on with a paint sprayer, but Sara tried to play it off. She smiled back. "So nice to meet you Mrs. Klaxon. Its nice out here. This is my first trip to Los Angeles", Sara drawled in her southern belle Mississippi accent.

Mrs. Klaxon chuckled. "All this sort of stuff must be so big and new to you. I'm sure things here in Malibu are much different than where you come from." Mrs. Klaxon's smile was so condescending that Sara didn't really know how to react.

Sara was about to speak, but Alisha beat her to it. "We do the best we can out here, but Sara's house back in Mississippi puts this house to shame. We just don't have the room here to build a mansion to rival her Clover Bottom."

"Oh", Mrs. Klaxon uttered before melting back into the crowd.

Sara leaned closer to Alisha. "What are you talking about? This house is beautiful."

"Thanks, but I said that because our house puts her house to shame, and when I said that your house put this house to shame it let her know where she stands."

Sara just shook her head. A few minutes later Mr. and Mrs. von Edder greeted Sara and Jan. They seemed pleasant and Cheryl von Edder was glowing in her eighth month of pregnancy. Both Jan and Sara could tell that there was something in the air when Alisha's parents had spoken to them, but they had no idea what. They would find out the next morning at breakfast.

Jan was up before the sun rose the next morning. She was still on Eastern time, and she had to remind herself that she was on the wrong coast to watch the sun rise over the ocean, but watching it come up over the mountains was almost as good. She had gone out to the terrace and watched other early birds out on the beach. She thought about changing into her workout gear and going for a jog, but instead she opened the copy of the Times and started reading. One of the household staff brought her some freshly squeezed orange juice. Sara came out not long after Jan finished reading all the bad news in the 'world' section of the newspaper. She wasn't very talkative. She just lounged and started out at the ocean. She looked up and down the beach a few times and thought about how unfair it was that this beach was more or less reserved for the very wealthy. She shrugged her shapely bare shoulders. She wasn't one to be thinking like that. Sara's family was one of the richest in the South and had been since before the Civil War. She put her sunglasses on the top of her head and pulled out the only book she had brought with her, It's Not Over Until You Win by Les Brown. Sara had heard him speak at Emory and bought everything with his name on it. Half an hour after she came out, breakfast was served. They ate pleasantly making small talk until Cheryl von Edder got curious.

"So do you girls use your powers much?", she asked suddenly.

"Mom, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to talk about this."

Cheryl sipped some of her latte. "I know, dear, but I'm just curious. I've been wanting to know how this works since the beginning of the year."

Jan and Sara looked at each other. Jan decided to answer first. "Its different for different people. I mean I don't really use my power 99% of the time its just there. "

Sara nodded. "Well my power is mostly active so I actually have to want to use it, but I don't use it often. The only passive part I have is that I can sense strong emotions."

"Really?", Mrs. von Edder began. "So what am I feeling right now?"

Sara looked over at Alisha before she answered. "Resentment", Sara said simply. She sighed and bowed her head a little. "Some hostility and anger, but mostly curiosity."

There was another silence at the table. "Do you look down on other people, Sara, because you can do all these wonderful things?"

"Oh no, ma'am. Sure I can do things that other people can't do, but I can't do math. I struggle with it all the time and my father's a banker. Personally I look up to anybody who can explain to me what trigonometry actually is."

Karl smiled and dove back into his cantaloupe. Cheryl wasn't finished yet even though Alisha was already upset. "And you, Jan. You can't be hurt so do you just go around and do whatever you want."

Jan smiled trying to defuse the lingering tension at the table. "To a certain extent. Fear of bodily harm has never prevented me from doing something that I really wanted to do. I mean I don't go around picking fights just to kick somebody's butt, but sometimes I really want to."

"I'm just trying to get this straight though. You could possibly get mad and kill all the regular people in this house and none of us could stop you?"

Jan opened her mouth and hesitated before she answered. "I just read in the paper that some guy in Long Beach killed his wife, two kids, and his dog before shooting himself in head and he didn't have any special powers. The main thing that prevents me from getting mad and killing everybody in the house is the same thing that prevents most normal people from taking a gun and shooting their wife and children, or anybody else in the head."

"I understand. I'm not trying to insult you and call you a murderer. I'm just asking whether there is anything normal people can do to stop you?"

Jan got serious as she looked across the table at Alisha's mother. "I can't take on the whole world and I'm not immortal. I'm going end up six feet under like everybody else one day. To answer your question about a confrontation, no, there's not to much a regular person could do to me one on one that could prevent me from ending their life. A gunshot or knife in the exact right spots could slow me down or even stop me for a little while, but not for too long."

Cheryl nodded her head slowly, and then rose up quickly. "What about your eyes? I saw a movie once where they plucked out a killer's eye, and---"

"They grow back", Alisha answered quickly. "She's been shot in the eye before, a long time ago. Besides, Mom, please stop being gross. I'm trying to eat."

Cheryl chuckled. "I think you're right. Karl is starting to look a little green."

"I am not. I was just thinking about what a wonderful stunt performer you could be if you ever wanted to go that route in life."

"I thought about it when I was younger, but no. I don't think that's the job for me. Besides you don't need it. Alisha here is a human special effects machine."

Karl laughed and slapped his thigh. "I told her that the same day she revealed to her mother and myself what she could do. She could save me tons of money on my next movie. I told her that. There was a lot of confusion those first few days and weeks after Alisha told us about her power, but we both just figured that it was meant to be. Besides Alisha is happy and that's the most important thing." Cheryl and Karl had almost not allowed Alisha to go back to Georgia Tech, but that had passed and now they even excepted her new ability. Neither of them had ever mentioned it to the other before, but there were old family legends and stories about ancestors with special abilities and powers. This helped explain why Cheryl's ancestors in Hollabrunn in Austria were associated with stupid legends like werewolves.

The conversation veered clear of any more talk of special abilities and towards more normal matters. "So where are you going to take your friends?", Karl asked.

"I don't know. I'll have to take them shopping in Beverly Hills, just so they can go home and show off. We might go to Venice Beach. Jan should get a kick out of that. Then we'll see what we can get into after that."

Karl just shook his head. "I would tell you girls to be careful, but why bother. You three could take on a small army."

The girls just looked at each other and smiled. Alisha's parents still had no idea what the three of them did for the US government. For the time being it was going to remain that way. There was no need to put more on their plate at the moment. After breakfast the girls hopped in Alisha's BMW 645ci convertible and headed to Rodeo Drive for a little shopping. After each girl spent a couple thousand dollars, they changed and headed to Venice's Muscle Beach.

All eyes turned as the three girls strutted down the Venice Beach area side by side. Jan walked in the middle with Alisha to her left and Sara to her right. The men all had something for their tastes. Three beautiful, strong, and confident young women seemed to add to the sun's rays brightening the area as they passed and letting the darkness returning as they left. Jan wore a white and pink striped front tie-up bikini top and a hip hugging skirt bottom that showed off the curve of her ass more than hid it. She did hide her beautiful azure eyes behind her brand new $400 Gianfranco Ferre sunglasses, but that completed her look. Her brown hair just brushed her shoulders as she walked. She knew she looked good and all the guys knew that she knew.

Alisha laughed and told stories as she walked because she knew she didn't have to try to be sexy. She wore a blue and bone white halter top bikini that struggled to hold in her breasts. Her breast were more than large and they always wanted to just stick out from everyone to see. Her cleavage had made many a man stutter. Alisha top covered none of her flat, tanned, and toned stomach. She had worked so hard to lose the baby fat she had carried for most of her life that she never wanted to cover up her sexy midriff these days. There were nights that Alisha had fallen asleep on the floor after doing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of crunches. Even now she still did crunches every night. Her legs were toned too. Alisha just loved the way they looked great from all angles. She knew her legs were getting good when she would get compliments on her legs even when standing next to Jan. Jan's legs still got more attention, but there was so much more leg to look at. Alisha knew that she had a body that made her celery and carrot munching neighbors jealous.

Sara was enjoying herself as she strolled, but she had almost not left the house. She had ordered a bikini off the internet before the trip, and hadn't tried it on when it had come in the mail; she wished she had. She hadn't wanted to show Jan and Alisha, but Alisha had walked in before Sara had had time to take it off. They had begged and pleaded that she wear it. So she did. Sara's own breasts filled her tight stringy little top making the straps strain just a bit, but it was the bottom that Sara had hated. After a couple years of working out and a year running track, her lower body had filled out and the bottom of her round ass cheeks stuck out of her bikini bottoms. She had borrowed a cute shear wrap from Alisha, but there was no hiding the rising and falling of Sara nice ass as she walked down the street. It tightened and firmed as her leg hit the ground and then wiggled as she stepped with the other leg. Just that little bit of a shake was more than enough to make pulses quicken as she passed. After a while Sara got used to it. She realized that she had never felt so sexy in her life.

The girls stopped for a smoothie when Jan looked over her shoulder and saw a sign hung between two poles on the beach. She smiled and paid for her small smoothie. "Hey guys, I think I'm going to enter that arm-wrestling contest over there."

Sara frowned. "Why?"

"Because I think I can win", Jan responded quickly.'

"Of course you can win. You can rip their arms off and crush their bones."

Jan scoffed. "Oh come on. Give me more credit than that. I know how to keep my extra strength bottled up. I spar with you two and I haven't ever once used my strength against you. Even when one of you guys get me in a hold and beat me sparring."

Sara and Alisha had to look at each and agreed. Jan was pretty good at keeping her power in check these days.

Alisha sighed. "Well good luck. And if you do something like the scene from The Fly then I'll deny that I ever knew you."

Jan shook her head and walked over towards the registration table. She could see the bodybuilders working out in the pen at Venice's Muscle Beach and the armwrestling tournament was going to take place just up the beach. Jan could see the tables laid out and some of the competitors getting warmed up. She walked up to a guy with a clipboard. He looked to be in his early 50's balding just a bit. He didn't look like he worked out which was rather strange for this area, but he looked like the guy to talk to.

"Excuse me, sir", Jan got his attention. The man turned around. "I'm interested in joining the armwrestling tourney."

The man looked her up and down twice before answering. "We don't have a woman's bracket", he said to dismiss her.

Jan reached out and tapped him on the shoulder as he turned away from her. "I know", she began, "but it says that this is an open tournament."

Irvin held his clipboard to his chest and looked her over again. She had a fine shape and he could tell that she worked out, but she didn't look like she could last 5 seconds in this tourney. "Miss, please don't waist my time. I'm sure you work out hard, but you don't have the muscle to contend with a 130 pound guy let alone a 170 to 180 pound man." Irvin turned to walk away. Again he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Jan raised her right arm and held it out straight. Then she bent it 90 degrees. Irvin's face dropped as Jan's biceps rose. Her arm was shapely, but not normally spectacular. It was different when she flexed. Jan's muscle bunched up slowly and looked to the world like the birth of a a mountain on her upper arm complete with a jagged peak and striations like valleys. Her triceps dropped down like the half moon and filled it out. Jan frowned and looked at Irvin with mock disappointment on her face. "Oh my. This flex was cold. I can do a lot better. Hold on a second." Jan stared at her arm and extended it out before curling it up agonizingly slow. Her muscle fibers contracted and flexed producing an even tighter harder peak. Jan's arm shook as she really poured strength into this flex. Veins popped to her skin and the striations deepened and defined even more as she squeezed her fist tighter. Her peak rose again her dual headed biceps seemed ready for another burst of expansion.

"How's this for enough muscle?"

"Whe- Where did that muscle come from?"

Jan put her arm down and the mound of muscle seemed to meld back into her shapely arm. "So can I enter the contest?"

Irvin wiped a little sweat from his brow before he answered with a gesture. He extended his clipboard out for her to sign. Jan warmed up with Alisha and Sara while she waited for her first match. Jan's first match was against a guy named Nate, who was not much older than she. He was taller than she and skinny. He had blond highlights in his spiked hair. He was trying to be cool and impress her, but Jan had to fight hard not to laugh.

The set down opposite each other and got themselves ready. It had been a while since Jan had armwrestled. She had been really good back in her high school in Maryland, but she had stopped because she couldn't control her powers. Well now she could. Besides, this guy actually made her feel sorry for him. Oh well it was time to get started. The ref made sure the grip was fair and yelled "Go!" as he released their hands.

Jan's mind wandered as Nate's entire body shook from his effort. Jan looked in the boy's eyes and he looked back. She could almost see the wind leave his sails as he realized that she wasn't even trying. Her arm wasn't even fully flexed. She decided that she wasn't going to try to humiliate him. He struggled with everything he had for about six or seven seconds before Jan very calmly pressed his arm to the table. She didn't even slam it down.

"Winner!", the ref yelled and held up Jan's arm.

Alisha and Sara cheered and clapped. The rest of the guys looked annoyed that there was a girl in the contest. The fact that she had won made it even worse. There were some pretty hardcore armwrestlers there. They all gave Jan and the other girls a good looking at, but they couldn't wait for someone to knock her out of the tournament.

Jan's next opponent, Burton, looked a little more formidable. He was about 5'11" with long brown hair that nearly fell to the middle of his back. Jan wondered why guys always got the naturally good hair and the woman had to work for it. She sat down opposite him and readied herself. She probably wasn't going to be able to daydream her way through this match. "GO!"

Jan's arm sprung to life as she pressed against Burton. His own arm was pretty impressive. Blood flowed through the thick vein on his biceps and his tanned skin was the picture of youthful energy, health, and strength, but there was one problem. Jan's bicep was even better and bigger. Burton's mouth hung open as he watch her muscle fibers flex faster and faster under her perfect skin. He grimaced as he felt his arm going down. He fought hard and finally closed his eyes and bore down with everything he had. His upper arm was turning purple, but he still tried. Jan's eyes narrowed just a tad as she pressed his hand down. His body twisted against her and she felt him muster a little more strength, but it was much too little. She slammed his arm down with a boom. She didn't wait for the ref. Jan raised her own arms in the air.

The other competitors shook their heads in disbelief. This very nice looking, but slim girl was on to the third round. They talked amongst themselves and looked at the bracket. The felt better when they saw that she was going up against Joseph. He was a regular here on the beach and should be strong enough to take this girl down. Joe was about 5'8" with thick muscular build. Joe had his shirt off and was showing off his thick shoulders and his big chest and arms. Joe's lats were wide enough that his arms hung out away from his body as he approached and sat down. Jan smiled at him as he got ready, but he didn't smile back. She shrugged and got mentally ready. Once again the ref yelled "GO!"

Joe's already thick arms grew several inches as he poured all his power into a burst of strength. Jan's reaction had been slow. She hadn't been ready. Only a supreme effort kept her hand off the soft felt of the table. Jan's face was contorted into a mask of pain and effort as she fought to get her arm back up. Jan's face turned red as Joe poured on even more power going in for the kill. Cords stood out on his thick neck as he pressed harder and harder. Jan's eyes were narrowed to slits as she fought against Joe. The other guys in the tourney slowly walked closer to watch this girl go down. They were going to be disappointed, but they would get a show.

Jan growled low and deep within her throat as she started fighting back. She could hear Alisha and Sara cheering her own, but she had all the motivation she needed. The other men watched as this 19 year old's arm erupted with muscle. Veins spread all over her tanned skin spreading and feeding the muscle beneath. Her bicep was stretched from Joe's assault, but it was still thick and ripped as her arm started back up. Jan took another deep breath her muscle hardened and defined even more. She half grunted and half moaned as her arm was back up to vertical. The men started shouting at Joe now. Sweat poured down his forehead as he tried to get her arm back down. He took a deep whooshing breath and squeezed her hand tighter and pushed. His arm flexed with everything he had. All the muscles in his impressive upper body were flexed hard trying to get the much smaller girl's arm to go down. It did go backwards about three or four inches but that was all. Joe's muscle started to spasm, but he kept pushing he still put everything he had into it. Jan biceps was a sight to behold as she held back all of the strength in Joe's much bigger arm. She felt his strength start to leave him, but he wouldn't give up. It was time for this to end. Jan set her jaw hard and narrowed her eyes and started pressing him down. Her pecs got into the action as definition spread across her chest. Her shoulders were in the action too as she pressed Joe's arm down. He screamed in frustration as his arm wouldn't stop. Finally with a bestial yell, Joe found strength he didn't know he had. He refused to loose to this girl. His already swollen arm got even bigger and harder. He yelled as he called on all his strength. His decent stopped. He was 20 degrees from being beaten, but he was holding. Or so he thought. Jan took a few breaths and then closed her eyes. With one finally burst of strength from her massively pumped arm, Joe's hand went down. Joe whimpered as his hand finally hit the table. He released his grip and fell down rolling in the sand clutching his right arm. Jan threw her arms in the air. She only celebrated for a moment before going around the table and bending down and putting her hands on Joe's shoulders.

"Are you all right?", she asked him with genuine concern.

"Yeah", he managed through tight lips. She helped him to his feet. He held his extra sore right arm at an angle. "You've got a lot of strength hidden inside that body of yours. Congratulations on the win." Joe's pride was hurt, but he excepted that he had been beaten. He reached out with his left hand and raised her arm up over her head. "Here's the champion right here. Which ever one of you losers beats my girl Jan here gets free beers from me!"

Jan just smiled and walked over Alisha and Sara who were giddy. "You're in the semis!", Alisha squealed.

"How's your arm?", Sara asked.

Jan shook her right arm. "A little sore, but I think I have enough for two more matches. I'm going to be sore tonight though."

Jan looked back at the other three people left in the tournament. They eyed her, but they still didn't respect her with stuck in Jan's craw. They had no idea that she was doing this with one arm tied behind her back. Jan could lift tons of weight, and she could bend tempered steel easily, but not today. Today she wasn't using any special powers. Without her super strength, she was this strong. After a little rest it was time to go.

Jan's next opponent was a guy who had won this same tournament before. Beau was in his mid 30's with a hairline in retreat and a body packed with muscle. His body seemed to be one muscle stacked on top of each other. He was confident and ready. Jan's mind went to work because there was no way she was going to be able to over power this guy. He could probably curl more than her weight with one arm. Jan was a little nervous as she got ready. His arms were even more impressive up close. She put her arm up and Beau's thick hand met her big hands and they were ready. Jan knew she only had one shot at this. The ref checked their grip and yelled, "GO!"

Jan's right bicep roared to life and flexed to its max before the ref's mouth closed. Thick veins and arteries spread across Jan's skin as her jagged peak rose up tight, hot, and hard. Jan's forearms were a corded mass as she squeezed Beau's hand in hers. With one massive burst of energy, Jan pushed down. Beau's arm sped towards the table in a blur. His mighty muscles bulged and flexed, but it was too late. Jan slammed his hand to the table so hard the side of the table actually cracked. She cheered and threw her arms up. The ref reached up and grabbed her wrist. "Winner!"

"What the fuck!", Beau yelled. His face was beet red and his muscles were starting to pulse as anger gripped him. "She cheated! I demand a do over! Put your fucking arm back on this table and let's go!"

The ref looked at Beau and shook his head. "It was a clean match and she's the winner. It happens. Better luck next time."

"It HAPPENS!', Beau yelled and grabbed the ref by the collar. He easily lifted the smaller man up. The ref stared down at Beau's enraged face.

"Hey, put him down!", Jan yelled.

Beau turned to face her and dropped the ref. He reached out with his thick right arm, but Jan moved away from his grasp. There was no way she was going to let him get a hold of her skimpy bikini top and tear it off. But Jan saw that there was real rage on this man's face. She couldn't believe it. It was just a game. Some people took things too far. Beau lunged and reached for Jan again. She slid to her right and took Beau's right wrist in both her hands. With quickness and precision honed by countless repetitions, Jan twisted Beau's wrist and bent his hand so that his fingers were pointing at the ground. He tried to twist to get the leverage back, but never got a chance. Jan stuck out her right leg and put her ankle behind his leg and swept his leg off the ground. A push sent Beau to his back. She was on him. She dropped her left knee directly onto the exposed shoulder joint of Beau's right arm as she still held onto his wrist. He reached across his thick body with his left arm, but a simple twist of his wrist sent waves of pain through his body.

"Calm down, or I'll break it." Jan punctuated her warning by bending his wrist to the very edge of injury. Then she moved her weight forward and let her knee cap dig into his shoulder just a little. "I'm going to let you go. Now you behave yourself or I'll have to hurt you for real. You're a big strong guy, but strength's not always enough to win a fight. It takes skill. I have that and you don't."

Beau looked up at her and nodded. She released his wrist and hurried back to her feet. Beau was up a moment later. He really thought hard about charging this uppity little bitch, but a couple of police officers had come closer and he thought better of it. He would just go watch the last match. Devon was going to tear her arm to pieces.

Jan rested and watched Devon psyching himself up for the match. Devon's dark brown skin shined with sweat under the summer sun. His muscular athletic body was as perfect a male physique as Jan had seen in a while. He wasn't as big as a bodybuilder, but when flexed his muscles held their own against his bodybuilding friends. After the rest, they were ready. This match was for the championship and all eyes were on them.

Jan put her hand up to the table and was all business as Devon put his hand up and wiggled his fingers. They both got a good grip. The ref double checked everything then the match began.

Jan's face twisted in effort as her arm once again went to work. She leaned in and went for it with everything. Her impressive muscle bulged and flexed just as hard as before and the power in it had not waned. Devon's arm went backwards. His own proud muscle straining and flexing. It was a shock that this teenage girl was beating him. He fought hard, but he could not get over how strong she was. He looked at her body as she worked against him and was really in awe. There were no flaws that he could see and that was impressive because Devon had discriminating taste. Jan grunted and increased her power. Her arm was as pumped as it had been in her life. Her ultra peaked bicep was almost glowing red from all the blood. It was so shredded as she poured more power into Devon's arm. It went down some more. Jan could feel the fatigue coming on though. Her biceps and her shoulders and even her pecs and forearms all burned. She could get past the pain, but she knew it wouldn't be long before something would cramp. Jan rarely used her muscles this much without kicking in her super strength and her muscles were starting to protest. She felt the lid start to come off. Deep down she wanted to use her super strength. Her own body was urging her to use her special ability, but she wouldn't do it. She wasn't going to cheat even a little bit. Not long after that, the cramp started. She could feel her bicep flexing involuntarily. She looked over at Devon to see if she could slam his hand before her cramp got any worse. Sweat poured down his face and his arm shook from the strain, but he was holding at about 20 degrees from vertical. His own muscles burned and burned, but he was holding. The question was who could hold out the longest.

Jan felt her super strength itching to kick in. It would have made her muscles ten times harder and even more defined and she would have more strength than all the men in the tournament, but again she buried the thought. She felt her muscle started to knot. It was now or never. She took a deep breath and increased the pressure again. Devon's arm started going down. Slowly, inch by painful inch Jan was winning, but it was too slow. Jan's bicep cramped completely and Devon's arm, just moments away from failure itself powered Jan's arm back over and down. Her hand hit the table weakly, but it hit the table nonetheless. Jan squeezed and rubbed her biceps while Devon put his head on the table and gasped for air. The ref declared the winner. Devon got the biggest trophy and Jan's was somewhat smaller, but she was proud.

Devon walked over to her after they had handed out the trophies and extended his right hand. Jan took it. "I just wanted to say that you have got to be one of the strongest girls I have ever met. If you hadn't cramped, I think you would have had me."

Jan just smiled. "Yeah, but I did. I should have had an extra banana this morning. Anyway, good job."

Alisha and Sara came over after they finished talking. They congratulated Devon before the three girls continued down the beach. Jan's arm was bruised and sore, but of course that wouldn't last long. She held her trophy in her left arm as they walked. The sun would be setting soon, and she was getting hungry.

"You know, Jan", Sara began. "You could have cheated just a little. No one would have ever known."

"Oh come on, Sara. I would have known. With that kind of talk I'm starting to wonder about you. You've been winning quite a bit recently at cards. Are you reading our minds while we're playing?"

"No! I was just sayin. You could have won."

"Yeah, I could have won, but I feel pretty good about second place. That means that without the super strength, I'm still pretty damn strong. I don't spend all that time in the gym for nothing."

They passed a tattoo parlor as they walked. Sara stopped the group. "Hey, lets get some ink. I think I want a tattoo."

Jan and Alisha looked at each other. They couldn't believe it. "You want to get a tattoo?", the both asked at the same time.

"Yeah, lets all get one."

Jan shook her head. "I can't get a tattoo. I tried to get one once. It got all red and swollen and the ink started to bleed back out of my skin. It ruined several blouses. After a few days it was all gone."

Sara turned to Alisha. "You want to get one then? I wonder where I should put it. My ankle or maybe my wrist. Ohh I know; I'll get it on the small of my back!"

Alisha grimaced. " You want to get a do-me tattoo?"

"Maybe, I'm surprised you don't have one already?"

Alisha's smile dropped and a frown replaced it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean it that way."

Alisha eyed Sara hard. "I sure hope not. Besides why would I need a tattoo?" Alisha held out her arm so Sara could see, and a tattoo of a snake and sword appeared on her forearm. Then the image changed again and again until Alisha was cycling through them like a slide show. "I could pretty much have whatever tattoo I want... and change it every hour if I wanted to."

"Whatever. Let's just forget about it."

Jan just shook her head as the girls started walking again. She wondered why Sara and Alisha would say stuff to each other that they knew would make the other one mad. Jan had no idea that the bickering had just begun, and events would take a turn for the worse; she was being followed.

This is a chapter in the ongoing story "Power and Fury"!  Check out the earlier chapters here.  The chapters in BOLD ITALICS are the beginnings of a story arc (good places to start).  The chapters with asterisks (*) are stand alone chapters (what I like to call good reads without the commitment).  Enjoy!

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