She walked out of her office and down the hall. Alonzo Reyes was waiting for her when she entered. Lisa held out her hand. "Good afternoon, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Reyes", she greeted him with genuine cheer.

He grinned and stepped closer. "Feliz Navidad a usted también, Señorita Sanchez", Alonzo greeted her and bowed his head.

Lisa shook his hand, smiled and bit her lip on the side. "That accent is definitely Cuban, Mr. Reyes. I was wondering about that", she began in her father's native language. "Let's get to my office. I think we've come up with an advertising campaign you're going to love."

"After you", Alonzo said, switching back to English.

They went back to her office where he produced a box of chocolates. Lisa didn't want to, but she couldn't help but eat some as she talked. Of course she got some caramel on one of the papers she was reading. That didn't stop her from taking another from the box. She was going to regret this later.

After another few minutes, they went to the conference room. Several members of her staff were already there and they went over the campaign they had in mind. Each of them took a piece of chocolate too. Lisa and the team had worked over the weekend and had come up with ideas that even they were surprised had come so quickly. Once the presentation was over, Alonzo was sold. These people were great. He wasn't paying them a fortune either. There were handshakes all around as the staff members filed out of the room. Then it was just Lisa and Alonzo. This was his chance. He had been working up to this.

Lisa turned back around to face Alonzo. "Congratulations. You'll start seeing results not long after these get made and start to air and circulate."

Alonzo didn't respond. He just smiled. "How about you have dinner with me tonight?", he asked.

"What? Excuse me?" Lisa was caught off guard.

"Let's have dinner tonight. We can go to Redwine's. You already know how good the food is."

"Oh come on. You know those tables are booked for weeks."

Alonzo frowned. "You have to do better than that. The owner is my uncle, and I'm his favorite nephew, plus he worships the ground you walk on. You know we can get a table."

Lisa still wanted to say no, but she was tired of saying no. Alonzo's delivery had been good. He seemed to be a gentleman, and not being shallow, he wasn't bad to look at either. "Sure."

"Really!?!"

Lisa frowned. "You're acting like you expected me to say no. Don't loose all your cool points before the date even starts."

Alonzo laughed. "Ok. I'll pick you up at 7."

Alonzo and Lisa got a premiere table at Redwine's that evening. Lisa order the fillet and Alonzo the prime rib. Both were excellent.

"So how long have you been able to pull full size tow trucks back onto the road?", Alonzo asked after taking a sip of some excellent Cabernet.

Lisa smiled. "Not very long. Not quite 2 years now. The rest of my life I thought I was just like everybody else."

Alonzo shook his head. "You are way too beautiful to be like everybody else. I have always wanted to ask a woman like yourself this", he paused and cleared his throat. "What's it like going to through life as gorgeous as an angel from heaven? Don't laugh. I mean that. I've known some attractive women in my day, I won't lie, but you just have that extra something."

Lisa nearly choked. "Thanks for the compliment. I think. Seriously though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I mean some guys wouldn't be attracted to me-"

"Only if they're gay or dead", Alonzo interrupted.

Lisa laughed and ignored him. "I could be too dark, too light, too big, too small." She shrugged her shoulders. "But to answer your question, I learned to live with it a long time ago. Back when I was a freshman in high school, I saw that all the guys treated me really nice when I didn't even talk to half of them."

Alonzo laughed. "Then you went through that awkward teenage period."

Lisa shook her head. "I never really went through that period. It was almost like over a summer I went from a cute kid to a blossoming teenager. I did some modeling when I was in high school, and after a while I figured that I'd use my looks to open the doors and my brains to barge my way inside. Sometimes people think you're nothing but a pretty face. I will admit though that I rebelled one year. I went through most of junior year in high school with no make up, my hair in a pig tails, and wearing nothing but baggy clothes."

"How did that work out for you?" He took another bite of his steak.

Lisa shook her head thinking back. "I was voted junior class homecoming queen and spring festival queen. I gave up after that and went back to wearing regular clothes and make-up."

Alonzo laughed. She seemed upset that she had won. "I bet you get hit on all the time?"

"Not as often as you would think. A lot of guys guess that they would have no chance. They figure that I'm either a stuck up bitch, or date a pro athlete or something. To tell the truth, I haven't had a steady boyfriend in at least 4 years."

"Humph? I just can't believe that."

"Its true. Are you auditioning for the role?"

Alonzo smirked. "Perhaps. How'm I doing?"

Lisa finished swallowing a piece of her fillet. "Not bad so far, but there's still room to crash and burn."

They talked some more and near the end of meal, Cassie came out with two deserts. "Compliments of the house."

"Thanks. Uncle Jeremy doesn't usually comp hand towels in the bathroom. Lisa, have you met my cousin, Cassidy?"

Lisa nodded. "Oh yes, she had her ear to the door the last time I met with her father. We finally let her inside."

Cassie tried to look innocent. "I'm just curious by nature." She proved that by sliding her cousin over and sitting down next to him. "Has Zo been a complete jerk? Tell me all about the night so far."

Lisa was amused. "No, he's been a perfect gentleman."

Cassie twisted her cute little mouth. "Too bad. I wanted to wring his neck later." She leaned closer. "I hate to be nosy, but is it true that you pulled his tow truck back on the road with your bare hands when he had that wreck?"

Lisa was shocked, and felt her face flush. "You told her!", she nearly shouted. "I can't believe you did that. And what about Mr. Redwine? Oh my God---"

Cassie reached across the table and took Lisa by the wrists. "Relax. No, he didn't tell me directly. And don't be so shocked that I know. I have a secret too, my father does, Zo here does, our whole family is gifted. We're used to it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I can project emotions and feelings and that sort of thing. So can Dad, and my brothers and my sister too."

"Let me get this straight. You can make people feel whatever you want them to feel?"

Cassie giggled and nodded, and leaned even closer. "You want to have an orgasm?"

"What?!? Right here?"

"Yeah."

Lisa shook her head.

"What about you, Zo? You want one?" He shook his head as well. "Oh well, suit yourselves. I don't project that much anymore. I'm pretty responsible now. I didn't used to be. Enough about me. You two get back to your love bird stuff. I have work to do."

"Cassie, is a handful", Lisa said after she left.

"Truer words have never been spoken."

Jeremy Redwine came over to the table after a few minutes. All the guest looked at him walk up to the table. They were trying to figure out who was so important that Mr. Redwine himself would talk to them.

"You two enjoying the food?", Jeremy asked.

"Of course, its excellent", Lisa answered. Zo nodded in agreement.

"Good good. I just came over here to shake your hand. Cassie tells me, Lisa, that you saved Zo's life, such as it is, when he had that accident some months ago." Lisa frowned and shook his hand. "Also, she tells me that you're one of us. Born with a little something extra."

Lisa nodded. "I didn't know until fairly recently, but I guess I was born with something extra."

His grinned widened. "Too bad this is not the sort of thing people like us share very often. I'm sure we both have good some stories to tell." He chuckled.

"Without a doubt."

"Well, you two enjoy." Jeremy walked away as regally as he had approached. He was in a hurry though. His wife Hayfa had told him that she had felt that Lisa Sanchez was gifted. She was usually right about these things, but Jeremy had doubted her. She had offered to make a wager. He had taken it and lost.

Lisa and Alonzo talked for nearly an hour after Jeremy had left. When they did get ready to leave, Cassie refused to allow the waiter to give them the check. She just paid it and then asked her cousin to drive her home. Lisa, Alonzo, and Cassie left out the back door and walked down the alley towards Alonzo's parked car. The cold wind blew down the alley as the three laughed and got to the end of the alley. They were almost at the end when two dark shapes came from behind a dumpster. The two guys pointed guns at them. Lisa rolled her eyes. This was two times in less than 3 months. She wasn't even in the mood to fight anybody. Turned out that she wouldn't have to.

"You know what time it is", one of the robbers yelled through his ski mask.

Cassie looked at her cousin and then over at Lisa then burst out with a loud laugh. She laughed and laughed. "You two assholes picked the wrong three people to rob."

"Bitch, you wanna die?"

"Go ahead and pull the trigger. I dare you! I double dare you!"

The robber on the left had heard enough and pulled the trigger. The guy to the right did the same an instant later. Nothing happened. The triggers didn't move and the hammers didn't fall. Alonzo's power kept all the parts from moving.

"Let's start you guys off with fear." Cassie's face got serious and her eyes narrowed. The two robbers began to shake and shiver, but it wasn't from the cold. The guns almost fell from their hands. Their pants turned a few shades darker as they both urinated down their legs. "And now, some remorse. You guys should be ashamed of yourself." The two would be robbers began to cry and apologize over and over again. "Ok, you idiots can go now. Run before I make you so depressed you'll go jump in the lake. I don't like having guns pointed at me." The two robbers turned and ran as fast as their legs could carry them, but the guns stayed suspended in the air. Alonzo raised the two guns high up in the air and in a flash they shot towards the lake.

Alonzo shook his head. "Man, Christmas brings out the crazies."

Cassie laughed again. "They're lucky I was here, because Lisa was going to kick their asses."

Lisa smiled. "The thought crossed my mind."

They all piled into Alonzo's green Range Rover and headed north. Everybody was shivering while the heater tried to warm up the space. It was nights like this that made Lisa wonder why she ever moved to Chicago, but it was all forgotten when the vehicle started to warm up.

"I should have known you were gifted", Cassie began. "My mother always told me and my sister that we can feel when someone is gifted. They give off some special energy or something that women in my family can feel."

"Mom used to tell my sisters the same thing", Alonzo said. "I guess we guys get left out."

"That's really interesting. Why didn't you feel me before when we met?", Lisa asked.

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know when it works or not. Mom knew that you were different, but I just can't tell all the time. I mean where I go to school I used to feel it all the time, 24-7. Everybody in the school can't be gifted, but Mom says that there were probably a few powerful people there and I'm not good enough yet to separate them. Like right now, I can feel you and I can feel Zo, but I can't really feel where your power stops and his starts. When I get back to school I'm going to practice."

"Where do you go to school?"

"Oh, its a boarding school in Colorado called Livingston."

Lisa frowned. "I have a client who sent his daughter to a school in Colorado. Could be the same one. You wouldn't happen to know a girl with a last name Caufield?"

Cassie shot forward in the seat. "You must be talking about Jan. Of course I know Jan. She switched schools, but we talk on the phone and send texts, and e-mails and stuff. That is so cool. I think you and Jan would get along well."

Lisa chuckled. "That's what her father said." Although she never remembered Jack saying anything about her changing schools.

"Oh and Zo, you remember the girl I told you about who was flexing alone in the gym?"

"Yeah, I remember." He shot a disapproving look over his shoulder.

"Well that's the one. One day I'm going to have to tell her what really happened, and why she had the a sudden muscle worship urge."

"Hey, whatever happened to Matt?", Alonzo asked his cousin after a while.

"Ugh, don't even mention his name around me. When I got home last week, he came to the house and told me that he'd broken up with me. He's dating Jenny Simmons. He said that I was gone too much. Can you believe that?"

"So what did you say?"

Cassie smiled and sat back in the seat. "I told him that he's lucky he broke up with me this year and not last year, because last year I would have made him sorry that he had ever been born, but this year I just punched him in the mouth."

"You punched him in the mouth!"

Cass grinned. "Yep. Busted both of his lips."

"He didn't tell anybody?"

Cassie laughed. "What's he gonna tell them? That the captain of the football team got two bloody lips from me?"

"I can see your point. You should have punched him again."

Cassie shook her head. "No, once was enough. Punching somebody hurts more than I thought it would."

Lisa laughed. "Tell me about it. But if you ever want to learn ju-jitsu or kickboxing let me know. The classes I take are booked, but I could get you in."

"I might do that, but it'll have to be this summer."

After a little while longer Alonzo entered the very exclusive village of Kenilworth. The streets were quiet as Alonzo pulled to the gates and down the driveway of his cousin's house. The Redwines lived in an expansive lake front mansion that boasted a view to kill for, or at least a view worth paying several million dollars for. They had up Christmas decorations, but they were refined like everything Jeremy Redwine did.

"I don't get up this way much, but its really nice up here", Lisa said as Alonzo pulled around the idle fountain in front of the house.

"Yeah, its great up here. Not too far from town where you get bored. You should buy a house up here. There's one for sale down the street. I know the agent and she---"

"Hold on there, Cassie. I haven't been in business long enough to afford a house up here yet."

Cassie grinned slyly as she opened the door. "That's funny. The way Dad talks about the checks he writes you, I'd have thought you could afford a house right next door." Before Lisa could respond, Cassie slammed the door and waved.

Lisa smiled and shook her head. The front door to the house opened before Cassie even walked up the stairs. She waved again over her shoulder and then got in out of the cold. "I bet she was fun to watch grow up."

Alonzo laughed and pulled around the fountain and back down the driveway. "Cassie was always into something, but when she was little she was the kind of child you couldn't stay mad at. That was even before she learned how to use her powers."

Alonzo took a longer route to Lisa's side of town He enjoyed her company and as first dates went this one had gone better than he could have expected. The guys trying to rob them had only added to it in a strange way. Lisa and Zo laughed about it as he pulled his SUV next to her Mercedes in the parking lot. He got out and hurried around the vehicle and opened Lisa's door.

"I enjoyed it tonight, Zo", Lisa said as she pulled her scarf tighter around her neck.

"I did too, Lisa. You're an amazing woman in more ways than I can count." He looked down into her eyes, and she smiled up at him.

Lisa almost kissed him. Almost. She could almost feel his lips on hers. She licked her lips, but no. She never kissed on the first date. Not once in her life had she broken her own rule. Not once. Oh to hell with it. She stretched up and their lips met. He was tentative at first. He didn't want to be forward, but Lisa was starved for it. She put her hands to the back of his head and pulled him forward. He parted her lips with his tongue.

"To be continued at a later date." Lisa broke off the kiss and stepped back.

It took a moment for the blood to flow back to Alonzo's brain. It had been diverted elsewhere. He grinned. "Goodnight", he said. He took a few backwards steps to his SUV. He didn't want to take his eyes off of her. She smiled and finally went inside. She couldn't wait to call her mother. Her mother would be so disappointed that she had kissed on the first date, but rules were meant to be broken anyway. After a conversation with her mother and with Moira, Lisa went to sleep. She needed her rest. The next day it was time to give Moira her Christmas present.

Sweat dripped down Moira's forehead in the early morning as she actually felt a burn from lifting weights for the first time in months. She had been doing cardio training, but there wasn't a weight in a regular gym that could give her a workout, but Lisa Sanchez was taking care of that problem for her. Lisa had been hinting to Moira that she had a special present in mind for her, but Moira had no idea what Lisa had been talking about. Now that Lisa was in the process of delivering that present, Moira saw that it was better than any present she had received in a long time.

Moira turned her head and looked in the mirror. She pumped the dumbbells up and watched her pecs flex out into thick vascular cleavage. It had been a long time since she had seen her muscles pumped like this after a workout. She'd forgotten how much she missed it. Her triceps weren't bad either. She did a couple more presses and then the dumbbells on the ground. She thrust her arms out and flexed her chest. She turned towards the mirror and looked at herself. She curled her right arm and felt her pecs. They were even harder than they looked. Even as a girl her flexed muscles had been harder than they looked, but that was before she had started taking the juice. Moira reached down and picked up one of the smaller dumbbells and put it on her lap. She turned back towards the mirror and put her elbow on the side of her thigh and started doing concentration curls. Her a peaked biceps rose up from her upper arm as she brought up the weight. She pumped it and pumped it. She curled the weight and then held it at the top. She traced her finger over the peak of her biceps feeling the steely hardness and the veins just below her skin. She squeezed the handle of the barbell and flexed her bicep even harder. It thickened and hardened and defined. The peak rose just a little higher. She curled the barbell again and watched as veins popped to the surface. She felt so strong. She switched to the other arm. The left arm needed some love too.

Lisa Sanchez walked back into Moira's two car garage. Moira had her back to Lisa, and Lisa had no intention of distracting her. She seemed to be enjoying herself. Lisa was almost finished. She had a one more dumbbell to make and one more bench. Lisa sat down on a stool, that she had made, and finished downing a glass of water. She took a deep breath and put her mask back on. A moment later, the arc welder was sizzling and the sparks were flying. Lisa took her time as she joined the two pieces of thick steel.

Moira put down her dumbbell and turned to watch the sparks fly as Lisa worked. Lisa's long dark hair was tied in a bun that fit between the straps on her welder's mask. She wore loose fitting blue coveralls that had been in a box in her apartment since the day she had moved to Chicago. Moira watched in silence. She had seen her father and her brothers weld, but watching Lisa Sanchez do it was fascinating. After a little while, the sparks stopped flying. Lisa pulled off her mask and inspected the still glowing metal.

"How was the date?", Moira asked.

"To be honest, it was great. He didn't lay it on too thick and he didn't come off as a dweeb."

Moira laughed. "Dweeb. Haven't heard that one in a while."

Lisa smiled and pulled off her gloves. "I don't know if Alonzo is going to have a second date meltdown, but we'll see."

"Ah ha, so there is going to be a second date."

"I hope so. He's a good guy, and he comes from a family that are all born gifted. I don't even have to hide that part of myself." Lisa paused and thought back to the night before. "He didn't even ask for a demonstration or anything. I didn't have to pick him up or lift the front of his car or anything. He was more interested in me than in what I can do."

"Speaking of what you can do... How did you get into welding?"

Lisa just smiled and glanced down at the cooling metal. "When I was 9, I saw Flashdance, and I thought welding was the coolest thing this side of Prince, jellies, and parachute pants."

Moira laughed thinking back on an era she remembered well. She was a few years older than Lisa. She was a freshman in high school when Flashdance came out. "I just can't believe you know how to do it?", Moira said.

Lisa wiped her forehead. Even in the middle of winter, welding was hot work. "Believe it. I did it for a living for a while. Steelworkers local number 107 and Ironworkers local number 40 back in the Big Apple. I've been a master welder since I was 21." Lisa seemed very pleased with herself.

"My father's been an iron worker all my life and I don't even know how to turn on a welding machine. Who taught Miss Glamour herself how?"

Lisa laughed and wiped her hands. "Well, after I saw Flashdance, I begged a friend of my Dad's to teach me. He was a sergeant in the motor pool and he started showing me. After Dad died, and we moved to Atlanta, I took it in high school. I was the only girl in the class. But later on I was glad I took the class. Cause when I moved to New York for college, I was broke and hungry. No wait, make that broke, hungry, and close to desperate. But since I could weld, I got a job at a body shop in Queens. Pretty soon I was doing structural jobs and all that too. I joined the union and eventually got certified a master welder. I will admit though, the only time I've welded anything in the last three years was at my family reunion in South Carolina. I fixed my uncle's gate."

"So these welds were done by somebody out of practice."

Lisa frowned. "Are you questioning the quality of my welds?"

Moira grinned. "I'm just saying that these welds have to hold a lot of weight."

Lisa had to take a deep breath before she answered. "There are people living in 30 story apartment buildings who walk over my welds every day. If you want to get on an ironworker's bad side, just question the quality of her welds."

Moira had found a button that she wasn't quite ready to stop pushing. "And what about the weight. These barbells have to be right."

"Just bring the scale over here then."

Moira went to the back wall of her garage and rolled out a surplus commercial scale that she had bought. Lisa put down the torch head and turned the barbell on its side. She leaned over, and after a moment easily lifted the barbell. She slowly curled it and then started turning it one way and then the other. "Welds seem to be holding just fine. No separation whatsoever." She walked over to the scale and set the barbell down slowly. The needle went directly to 500 pounds and stopped. Lisa's beamed. "I even added the exact right amount of material to make it 500 pounds on the nose. Do not ever doubt my mad metal working skills again."

Moira had to admit that the barbell wasn't an ounce heavy or an ounce light. "So what do you have to do now?", she asked changing the subject, and taking her finger off the button.

Lisa had already put her welder's mask back on. It was pink and blue on one side, and it had a Puerto Rican flag on the other. She'd had the mask since her freshman year in high school. She put the arc welder to the side and pulled out a plasma torch. She grinned as she put on her heavy gloves. "I'm going to triangle cut this square tubing to make the bench bottom. Then I'm going to bend it by hand with my mighty super muscles. WELD it, and then I'll be finished. After that, I'm going to meet Ian before I get packed to drive to Atlanta."

Moira put her head down. "You had to mention his name."

Lisa sighed. "He is my friend. I talk to him every day and see him almost every day. I try not to mention him around you, but sometimes his name comes out."

Moira swallowed and nodded her head. Some of her strawberry blond hair flew over her shoulder. "How's he doing?", she asked in a low voice.

"Fine, I guess. I mean he's not moping around like a kid who's puppy just got ran over anymore, but I think he would be happier with you."

"Oh sure! Just stick the knife in me and twist it."

Lisa smirked. "That's for doubting my welds." Lisa bobbed her head and the mask fell into place, and then she started cutting. When she first got the idea to build these weights for Moira, Lisa knew then that she just had to rent a plasma cutter. There is nothing quite like working with super heated gasses moving several times the speed of sound cutting ¾ of an inch of steel as easily as cutting a stick of butter to get a girl's juices flowing early in the morning.

Lisa loved the sound that the molten steel made as the torch cut it. She made two triangle cuts near either end of long tube. She put the cutter down and stood up. She pulled off her mask and laid it down before she unzipped the front of her coveralls. She let them fall down to her waist. It was just too hot to keep them on. For some reason the hvac guy had decided to make the garage the best heated room in the house Moira was renting. After cooling off a little, Lisa put her foot down on the square tubing. She put her gloves back on before leaning down and grabbing the end of the thick tubing. She looked like she was doing a stretch, but she wasn't. She was going to bend the freshly notched steel. The guy at the welding shop had asked her if she wanted a pipe bender for the tubing, but Lisa had told him no. He wondered how she was going to bend it after she cut it. He wouldn't have believed her if she had told him.

Lisa's eyelids fluttered as she felt her strength increasing. All the muscles in her body got stronger, but Lisa was only concentrating on one thing, bending the steel. Her back came alive with flexing muscles as she started to pull upwards and back. The metal whined as it bent. Lisa was careful to keep steady pressure. She didn't want the steel to crease too early. It had to bend where she had cut it. Her calf flexed and relaxed over and over again as she worked to keep the tube stable. Lisa was standing up straight and now she was pulling with only her arms. Her shoulders got into the action in earnest. Lisa's muscles flexed hard with one final burst of strength and the two sides of the cut touched. She leaned over to inspect the bend. She judged it pretty darn good, and she turned around to do the same thing with the other side. Once it was bent, Lisa welded the cuts back together. She welded supports in the middle and then cut the tops off the tubing and used them as the base of the bench. The bases had to be pretty big to distribute all the weight Moira would be pumping With all that done and welded, Lisa added the flat wooden top. Moira was going to add the cushion and covering.

Moira was back in the garage just as Lisa finished. She just couldn't stay away from her new weights. Lisa had made Moira four 500 pound dumbbells, four 1000 pound dumbbells, two 1500 pound dumbbells, plus two extra heavy duty benches to take all that weight.

Lisa pulled her gloves off and leaned back to stretch. "Well I pronounce it done. Merry Christmas, Moira."

Moira smiled and handed Lisa some hot chocolate. "I can't thank you enough. I'm going to get aquatinted with these weights today because I won't be able to use them for a few days."

"You going to Missouri?"

Moira nodded. "Called my mother today to tell them that I'll be down there late this evening. When are you leaving for Atlanta?"

"Tonight. I want to get there on Christmas Eve. And its ten or eleven hours to Atlanta from here."

"Have a nice trip. I'll see you when you get back."

Lisa showered and changed clothes at Moira's house before returning the metal working tools, and then returning the moving truck she had rented to carry all the steel she had bought to make Moira's weights. Lisa met Ian for a late lunch. He seemed normal, but there was an underlying sadness that just wouldn't go away. Lisa felt guilty for building Moira the weights, and for being her friend in general as she sat across from Ian. The guilt passed after a time. Moira certainly cared for Ian, but she wasn't ready yet, or at least in her own head she wasn't ready. Lisa wasn't really all that great at giving advice on this sort of thing. They would have to figure this out on their own. Lisa just had to navigate the minefields of their emotions.

Lisa left her apartment just after 7 pm on the way to Atlanta. A few snow flurries fell, but she made good time. Traffic wasn't terrible, but everything cleared up once she got south of Indianapolis. Lisa was speeding, but just a little bit. The last thing she wanted was to get stopped and have to pay a ticket. She drove straight through the sleeping cities of Nashville and Chattanooga. By 3 am, Lisa was in North Georgia just a little more than an hour from Atlanta. She was still munching on food she had packed back at her apartment although she had downed her last Diet Cherry Coke. Lisa didn't drink sodas much, but she needed to reward herself every now and then.

Lisa's Benz chewed up the asphalt as she traveled south. There wasn't much light out. The moon barely shown and there weren't very many other cars on the road at this early hour. There were some truckers trying to make it home for Christmas, but the roads were pretty much bare. Some flashing yellow lights on the side of the road caught her eye. She could see that an older model Chevy Astro van had a flat tire. The rear passenger side tire was totally flat and the bumper was almost touching the ground. Lisa slowed down to see if they needed help. She pulled behind the van. Lisa normally wouldn't have stopped, but once she pulled behind the van, she was so glad that she did.

A mother and her four children were on their way to Augusta, Georgia to reunite with her husband for Christmas. Her two teenaged sons had taken out the spare tire, but there was nothing in the van to change a tire with. They didn't have a cell phone and they were running low on gas so they couldn't run the engine for heat for too long. They didn't know what they were going to do.

"You need some help?", Lisa shouted to the family after opening her door. She could see their frowns turn to looks of hope as they heard her voice.

"Yes, we have a flat tire and no jack!", the lady's oldest son yelled back in a thick Mexican accent.

"I have a jack! Do you have a spare tire?", Lisa asked.

The children nodded. "Si, we have a spare."

Lisa zipped up her hoodie and went to open her trunk. She had to move a few boxes and bags, but she always kept a hydraulic jack in her car and four way lug wrench. Lisa first located her box of thick rubber work gloves. There was no need to get her hands dirty. She then lifted the jack out of the car and sat it on the ground. Those jacks were heavy. Lisa smiled and laughed to herself. She could lift the entire van off the ground, and she was complaining about a sixty pound jack. Lisa brought the jack and the wrench to the van and started taking off the lugs. The family was standing behind her and beside her as she worked. The two boys had offered to help, but Lisa told them that it was ok. They didn't mind not helping. They had other things on their minds. The two boys tapped each other on the shoulders and looked at Lisa as she worked.

Her hoodie was tight enough to show the curve of her body, and the swell of her breasts. She wasn't wearing the hood so she had to repeatedly push her hair back over her shoulder. "I think I'm in love", the younger teen told his older brother in their native Spanish.

The oldest, 16 years old, never took his eyes off of Lisa. "She is way too beautiful to marry you. She needs a real man!" Their mother told them to behave themselves.

"Why, Mama? Its true. Even if she can hear us, she doesn't know what we are saying."

They didn't see the smirk on Lisa's face as she finished tightening the lugs. She let the van back down and pulled her jack from underneath it. "Well that should do it", Lisa said and stood back up. The mother was thanking her over and over again.

"My mother says thank you so much. She wants to know your name and address so that she can pay you for what you have done.", the older boy translated for Lisa.

Lisa just smiled and looked at the boys and then back to their mother. "No payment needed. Think of this as a present. Have a safe trip and a Merry Christmas", she paused and looked over at the two boys who were embarrassed. Their eyes were big and their mouths were open. Lisa laughed looking at them and took a step closer. "And you boys listen to your mother next time. Then maybe you won't be standing there looking like Hungry Hippos." Their little sister laughed, which made them even more embarrassed.

"We're sorry", both the boys said.

"Nothing to be sorry about. Just take it as a lesson. You never know who's listening. But also thank you. A girl never gets tired of compliments. Remember that when you find the right girl and get married."

"But I want to marry you", the younger boy said as he stared up at Lisa.

She shook her head. "I'm a little too old for you. And for your brother." She leaned down and kissed them both on their cheeks. Both boys touched their hands to their faces and then hurried into the van after their mother called them. "I am never going to wash my face again", Lisa heard one of the boys say as the van door closed. Lisa laughed again and waved as the family pulled back onto the highway.

Lisa took the jack in both hands and carried it back to the trunk and shut it quickly. She wanted to get back in her car to warm up. It wasn't as cold as Chicago, but in the early morning it was pretty darn cold. She wasn't complaining though. There was nothing like doing a good deed to warm the soul. Lisa peeled the rubber gloves off her hands and was about to get into her car when she remembered that she had left her lug wrench. She sighed and hurried out in front of her car. Her headlights were still on so she had no trouble finding it. She turned to go back to her car, but stopped instead.

She saw blue lights coming slowly down the empty highway. Lisa looked at the Georgia Highway Patrol car as it pulled off the road, parking between she and her car. The trooper opened the door and started towards her.

"Excuse me, Miss, is that your vehicle back there?", he asked as he got closer. He had his right hand resting on the butt of his pistol.

Lisa frowned and let the lug wrench slip to the ground. "Yes, officer, that's my car."

"Do you have ID and registration?", he asked.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Ma'am, are you refusing to cooperate with me?" The man took another step closer to her.

Lisa backed up a step. "I am cooperating, but there's nothing illegal about pulling to the side of the road." Lisa was confused and a little nervous. Something wasn't right.

"I'm not going to ask you again for that registration."

Lisa folded her arms. "Its in the car. Can I go get it? Or is that a violation too?" She knew she shouldn't have an attitude, but this wasn't her first time being hassled by a cop.

"Oh we have one of those drama queens. Sure go get it."

Lisa reached down and picked up her lug wrench before going towards her car. She walked down the side of the Highway Patrol car and noticed that there was something wrong. This was a police car all right, but all the equipment inside was old. There were no computers and the shield between the rear of the car and the front was the old steel mesh instead of plexiglass like new cars. Lisa shrugged her shoulders and figured that this guy was just the low man on the Totem pole and had gotten the oldest car in the fleet. Once she was past his car, she pushed the button to open her doors.

The man had been walking behind her and as soon as she pushed the button, he jumped forward. He pulled the wrench from her hand and pushed her face against the hood of her car. "You're under arrest."

"For what?!?", Lisa yelled.

"This car came back stolen!"

"That's a lie!"

"Shut up!", he yelled and leaned on her back.

The side of Lisa's face went from cold to hot as he kept her pressed against the hood. He pulled her arms back one by one and slapped on the cuffs. Lisa was in shock. She knew that she could put a stop to all of this, but that could cause all sorts of problems. He pulled her up by her hair and pulled her arms up painfully.

Lisa was totally humiliated as he opened the rear door of the cruiser and shoved her inside. He didn't even bother to push her head down and she bumped it as she went in. She pulled her own legs in and he slammed the door. The man pulled out a cell phone once he had taken a few steps and started smiling and laughing. A minute later Lisa saw a group of headlights coming down the road. Two of them were big cargo vans and the other was another police car, but not a highway patrol car. Lisa squinted in the bad light and saw that the other car with blue lights on top was an old county sheriff department car. Lisa frowned and looked as several men got out of the vans and started looking at her car. They pointed to the car and spoke to the man who had arrested her. She saw another man get out of the old sheriff's car. He wasn't wearing a uniform or anything. No one opened the door to her car until he walked up. Lisa had no idea what was going on. She looked around the cop car and first noticed a smell of mildew. The seats were torn and ripped. This car had been sitting for years. Lisa suddenly got angry when she realized that this was a cop car, but they guy who had 'arrested' her was no cop.

Lisa watched as those guys went through the gifts in her back seat and in her trunk. She leaned down against the seat and put her feet against the door, and started pushing. Her muscles always seemed eager to use the strength that they kept hidden. The door lock started to make noises as did the seat. Once Lisa felt strong enough, she pulled her legs back and kicked out as hard as she could. The door lock shattered and door flew open so hard it broke the hinges.

"What the fuck?", the man in uniform uttered as Lisa squirmed her way out of the car feet first. "I must not have closed the door all the way. Get your ass back in there before I knock your head off!" He pulled out his club.

Lisa wrists were still cuffed as she stood up. "Get out of my car! You guys aren't cops!", she yelled.

The boss looked up. "We were trying to be nice. All we wanted was the car, but you boys have a little fun with this one. Just make sure you save a little bit for me. She's a fine piece of dark meat."

The seven men came forward slowly. Lisa backed up, but two of them had used the shadows and circled around the police car and were behind her. They grabbed her under the shoulders and tossed her over the hood of the car. She rolled down the embankment into the ditch. Her hoodie caught on a jagged piece of steel embedded in the gravel and tore. It scratched against her skin, but didn't draw blood. Her head bumped a rock as she rolled. Her head was spinning as she laid on her back looking up at the sky. The fake trooper jumped on top of her. She saw him, and felt him, but it took a moment for her head to clear. The other six guys were all next to her. Some were on their knees while others were screaming and cursing while the fake trooper tried to unbuckle his gun belt. None of them noticed when Lisa's eyes focused. She could see his smiling face just inches from hers. She could feel his body pressing against hers.

"You're gonna enjoy this, but not as much as me!", the fake trooper yelled into her ear. "Yeah just wait. I bet you're all wet for me already!"

Quick as a blink, Lisa's legs shot up from the ground, and she wrapped them around the fake trooper's waist. She locked her ankles and her muscles jumped to action. The fake trooper gagged on a laugh as Lisa squeezed even tighter.

The guys standing around were still laughing at first, but they stopped when the fake trooper started trying to pry Lisa's legs off of him. He only felt the steely hardness of her quads. She was wearing some tight designer jeans and they showed off every detail of the shape of Lisa's leg muscles. The fake trooper tried to mouth the word help, but a fresh squeeze sent him into convulsions. Lisa could have cut his body in half with her powerful legs, but she was content to make him suffer. She was going to make them all suffer.

"Hey, let go of him, you bitch!", one of them yelled and put his hands on her tights to try to pry her legs loose. The others joined in. Lisa just squeezed even harder. The fake trooper's face was going black.

"How do you like it!?!", Lisa yelled from her back as six grown men were giving all they had to free their friend. Lisa's legs flexed even harder. She concentrated on them and made her thighs get even bigger. Without moving her legs, she squeezed the fake trooper's waist even more. Her expanding muscles were causing the small blood vessels inside his body to burst. He wasn't in danger of dying just yet, but Lisa hadn't made up her mind what she was going to do with him. So just held him there. One of the men picked up the club. He stumbled in the dark and swung at Lisa's head. She dodged the blow.

"Oh, no you don't!", Lisa screamed. Her pecs surged and her delts got bigger and harder as she broke the handcuff chain without even straining. The man had recovered and swung at her head again. This time Lisa didn't dodge it. The man brought the club down as hard as he could. There was a loud smack when the club hit her hand. She wrapped her strong fingers around the barrel and yanked. The man fell forward next to her. She threw the club over her head and grabbed the man by the collar. He was scrambling to get up, but she was too strong. Once he was close enough, Lisa wrapped her arm around his neck and started choking. He pulled on her one arm with both of his, but the choke got tighter with each passing moment.

Her biceps dug into his throat cutting off the air. She could have deprived him of blood, but choking was so much more painful. His legs kicked and thrashed, but Lisa's perfectly peaked biceps dug deeper into the man's throat. He felt like she was squeezing his head off of his body. His eyes rolled back into his head when he felt her already sharp thick bicep peak even more.

Lisa reached out with her right arm and grabbed a guy by his hair. He had been trying to pry her legs a loose. She pulled him over backwards and then wrapped her arm around his neck. He tried to pull his head out and managed to get it almost all the way out, but it did him no good. Lisa's arm wasn't around his neck where she had wanted to put it. Instead it was around his skull. She squeezed hard. Her muscles responded and flexed big and inhumanly hard. The bones of his skull started to grind against each other as the pressure increased. His eyes bulged from his sockets and blood ran from his nose as Lisa squeezed.

"What the fuck is going on down there?", the bossman asked from the road. "We don't have time for all this shit. We need to get out of here before the real police come. Finish the bitch and let's go! Do you hear me!"

The men looked at each other. "Boss we need help down here!", one of the men yelled. It hurt his pride, but he didn't know what else to do.

The boss pulled out his pistol and ran towards them. He looked down the ditch. The only thing he could see was a collection of limbs. He pointed his gun in the air and fired a shot.

Lisa raised her head, but couldn't see where the gun shot had come from. The men trying to pry her legs and arms backed away and Lisa could see the boss standing at the top of the embankment. He was silhouetted against the light from the cars. She could see the pistol in his hands. She released the fake trooper. He fell against her chest, but he wasn't awake to feel it. She looked at the men she was holding in her arms. They were both almost gone. She inhaled and gave them one more sustained squeeze. Her entire upper body expanded with ripped muscle. They both jerked and then were still. Lisa opened her arms and let them fall to the ground. The other guys rushed in to pulled their comrades away from her.

"She nearly killed them, boss! She ain't normal! Her legs were like iron. I ain't never felt nothin like it in all my life!", one of the men yelled.

"You boys sound like a bunch of old fucking women. If that bitch and beaten bloody in the next minute, I'll shoot the lot of you!"

Lisa laughed, as she pulled off her ruined hoodie. Her always beautiful body was even more beautiful as she stood there. Every muscle in her body was sculpted perfection. She didn't even mind the cold. It just added to excitement. "Hey, old man. I bet you that in one minute's time these guys will be more afraid of me than they are of you!" She lunged quickly and caught a man by the back of his pants. He kicked and cursed, but she lifted him over her head easily. Her triceps and shoulders barely registered his weight. She threw the man at two his partners. The three of them fell over. The other two men turned to react, but they were too slow. Lisa kicked one of them in the chest so hard he flew back several feet. He landed with a thud and clawed at the air trying to find a breath. The last one threw a punch at her head. Lisa slipped his punch and hit him with one of her own. She didn't hit him too hard, just hard enough to break his nose flat against his face and drop him to his knees. Lisa looked down at him. Blood poured from his nose. His hands went to his face, but his movements were slow and uncoordinated.

"Hey, boss man! One of your guys is bleeding. You might need to take him to the doctor!." Lisa lifted the man up with one arm. His feet dangled several inches off the ground. She pulled her arm back a little and chucked him forward. He flew up the embankment and landed at the bosses feet. The man moaned and coughed up blood.

"I'll be damned", the boss uttered. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. Lisa had figured that he would do that. She had already turned and run into the trees behind her. The rest of his men scrambled out of the ditch. They ran right past the boss towards their vans. Lisa knew where they were going. Hidden by the brush and the darkness, Lisa hurried that way and ran up the embankment. Two men jumped in one van, started it up and slammed on the gas. The engine whined and strained, but they didn't move. The tires were squealing, but the big cargo van didn't move an inch. One of the men stuck his head out and looked behind them. He couldn't believe what he saw.

Lisa was behind the van. With one hand, she held the reinforced bumper of the van, and with the other she held onto the guardrail. White smoke billowed from the tires, but the van couldn't move. The big engine roared and roared as the driver pushed the pedal to the floor. Lisa loved the feeling of power, but she was getting tired of the smoke. She started to curl her left arm, and the van started going backwards. Lisa's bicep already looked swollen to the point of bursting, but she was only getting started. It flexed harder and thicker and with crazy definition as the van went back until her elbow was at a ninety degree angle. She spun her hand and changed her grip. The rear of the van vibrated and shook. Lisa tried to stay out of the smoke from the tires, but she was going to make sure that the smoke stopped. With her grip changed, Lisa started pushing down on the rear bumper. The rear of the van depressed like under a heavy load. The shocks and struts popped and tried to resist, but there was no resistance to her strength.

The tires fared even worse. Lisa was pulling up with her right arm at the same time she was pushing down with her left, all the while, the 300 horsepower engine was trying to pull the van away from her. Lisa grimaced in concentration and pushed down more. The tires slowed until there was no more smoke. Lisa was pushing down so hard that the engine no longer had the power to make the tires spin. Strange noises came from beneath the van. Lisa grunted and her muscles swelled with fresh power. Vascular ultra shredded muscle burst and split under her skin. The harder her muscles flexed, the lower van went. The tires couldn't take it. Both of them blew out in succession. The wheels were able to spin again. But only for a moment. Sparks flew out from the rims as they spun against the pavement. The hot sparks were hitting Lisa mostly in the pants, but some of them hit against her bare skin.

"Enough messing around!" Lisa's triceps throbbed and exploded with power as she sent the rear of the van all the way to the ground. The axle snapped in two and the engine over heated. The two men jumped out and tried to make a run for it. Lisa waited until they were both in front of the van and then she pushed it forward. The smoking front of the van hit them and knocked them both down. She hurried around and grabbed both of their heads. She wanted to hurt them, but she still had more people to deal with. She just bashed their heads together hard and then stood up.

The boss and his last two goons saw the smoking wreck of the van and knew that they were in over their heads. They didn't try to help their friends as Lisa bashed their heads together. They tried to make it to their own vehicles and get away.

Lisa heard the engine of the boss' car start up and at the same time she heard the engine of the other van try to turn over. She was lucky and the van wouldn't start right away. The boss tried to drive past her, but there wasn't enough room between the destroyed van and the back of her car. He was going to slam into her car to get away. Lisa ran towards the speeding car leaned forward and put out her hands. The boss couldn't believe his eyes. He gunned his engine and the car accelerated. He was nearly thrown through the windshield when he hit her.

Lisa grunted again as her super shredded muscles absorbed the power of the police cruiser. Her calves flexed so hard they tore the cuff of her jeans and her thighs bulged obscenely and tore the seams of her jeans. She didn't care. She would gladly trade some pants for her car.

The boss' head hit the steering wheel and the engine stalled. He was dazed and bloody. Lisa looked over her shoulder as the other van's engine finally started. She cursed under her breath. She reached down and put her right arm under the pushed in front bumper of the boss' car and lifted. The front of the car came off the ground easily. Lisa's throbbing biceps expanded again. She threw her arm up and the front of the car went with it. The big cruiser flipped over and landed on its roof. The boss was knocked out completely.

She ran around the ruined van in time to see the other van speeding away. Lisa only had a spit second to react. She knew she didn't have the leverage to stop it like she had done the other van, and she couldn't get in front of it. Instead she raised her leg and kicked like she had learned in kickboxing class, except this kick was harder than any kick she ever threw in the class. This kick exploded against the front quarter panel of the van like it had been hit by a semi. The engine broke loose from its mounts and slammed against the opposite side of the compartment and the van itself spun like a helicopter. Lisa ran up and looked inside, but there was no need to hurry. The two men inside were both knocked senseless. It was too bad. Her muscles were itching for more action, but all eight men were in various stages of debilitation. She turned and calmly walked back to her car to call the real cops when she stopped and looked around again. She frowned at the mess she had made. There was no way she could explain this. She sighed and put her hands on her hips, but then she got an idea. It was like making a commercial. She only had to set the scene and then the cops would believe what she wanted them to believe. It looked like her muscles were going to get more work after all.

Lisa checked on the unconscious men. One or two were pretty close to waking up, but she didn't have time to deal with that. She was in a hurry. First she ran to the van that she had kicked. She worked her hands under the bottom of the big van and stood up straight. She held the van out in front of her and carried it across the road quickly. She set the van down just to the rear of the van with the broken axle. She put it down so that the damage to the front of the van matched up with the damage to the rear of the other van. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.

She ran to the overturned cruiser. The boss had started to wake up. He opened his eyes and tried to get his bearings. He turned his head to the left and his eyes met Lisa's. She wanted to reach inside and wring his neck, but she saw that there was no need. She could almost taste his fear. She could most certainly smell it. She took the car by the side and tilted it until she could get under it and then she lifted the entire car over her head. The boss looked on as the muscles in her arms and back expanded. He craned his neck and looked down her body. Every muscle was perfect and super humanly hard and defined. He couldn't take it. His eyes rolled and he fainted. Lisa dropped the upside down cruiser in front of the van with the broken axle. She dusted off her hands and stepped back. Not bad for a couple minutes of work. She went to her car and dialed 911. The dispatcher assured her that real cops were on the way.

Lisa walked back over her staged scene. Everything looked ok. It looked like the van she had kicked had really slammed into the van with the broken axle and that the van with the broken axle had hit the police cruiser and turned it over. That was going to be her story anyway, except she had one problem. The van with the broken axle didn't have any damage on the front. She went towards it to get a closer look. Just then she saw red and blue lights on the horizon.

Lisa didn't have much time. She went to the front right corner of the van and leaned against it. She stretched out her arms like she was hugging the side of the hood. Then she started bringing her arms together. Her hot shredded muscles steamed in the cool air as Lisa crushed the front of the van. Her already swollen pecs grew in thickness and separation. They just flexed harder and thicker as Lisa's arms closed in. She felt resistance from the harder steel of the engine, but she needed this to look real. She closed her eyes and called on more strength. Like always her muscles responded. Her arms just got even more harder and even more ripped. The engine shifted again and yielded to her power. Lisa backed away and looked at the damage. That would have to do.

She ran to the back of her car, popped the trunk and pulled out a coat. It barely fit over her blood engorged muscles, but with a few tugs she got it on. The fire trucks were pulling up. Lisa looked down at her wrists and saw the two handcuff bracelets still there. There was no way she could explain how she broken them. She turned them enough so she could get a finger beneath it. She pulled. Her muscles were still swollen and ready for action. The lock stripped. She quickly yanked off the other bracelet and threw them both into the woods just as the a fireman ran up to her. The police came a couple of ticks later. Soon the highway was shut down completely from all the emergency vehicles. Lisa was in the back of an ambulance warming up. One of the paramedics had poured Lisa a hot cup of French Vanilla coffee from his thermos. It felt so good going down. She looked out the window and couldn't help but smile as the paramedics revived the bad guys only for the cops to read them their rights and arrest them. They were trying to play it tough as the cops slapped the cuffs on them. She stepped out of the back of the ambulance to get a better look.

Some of the men Lisa had beat up were struggling against the cops, they stopped when Lisa came into view. They cowered and jumped back. "Keep her away from me!", one of the guys yelled. "She's some sort of freak. She's got huge muscles and she's stronger than all of us put together! She's crazy!"

The cops looked at Lisa and then at the crooks and threw them in the back of the squad cars. These guys had obviously taken some really hard hits to the head.

Lisa leaned up against the side of the ambulance, drank her coffee, and tried to stay out of the way of the real cops as they worked. She had already given a statement. She mostly told the truth just like last time she had given a police statement. She hated that she had to lie to the cops, but there was no way around that.

The tow trucks appeared after half an hour to retrieve crooks vehicles. Lisa knew pictures had been taken, but the sooner they moved them the better she would feel. Plus she was ready to go. She still had an hour more to get to Atlanta. She glanced over her shoulder to find a cop to ask if it was ok to leave. She saw a cop writing some stuff down to her left. A smile spread on her face.

"Robby!", she called out. "Robert Gentry!"

Deputy Sheriff Gentry turned his head when he heard his name. He had been pissed to be out here on Christmas Eve, but his face brightened when he looked. "Lisa!" They walked up to each other. Lisa and Robert had been friends in high school. She had actually had a crush on him. He hadn't been the best looking guy in school, but he had been a great athlete. He was super popular in those days, and he still managed to be a good guy to even the ordinary students. Lisa opened her arms and they hugged. "They didn't tell me that you were the victim here." He looked around. "Well let me change that. I think these guys got the worse end of this one."

"Who are these guys?"

Robby shook his head. "These guys are big time. They're wanted for auto theft, rapes, assaults, the whole nine yards. These guys have jacked cars in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Carolinas. They usually go after the high end cars." He looked at Lisa's Benz. "Looks like you did pretty good for yourself." He smiled at her. This was just too weird he thought to himself. He and Lisa had been friends all during high school. She had been beautiful back then, and if anything she was even better looking now.

"So how did you get to be a deputy way up here? This isn't like East Point back in ATL."

He laughed. "No its not. I married a country girl. After I tore my knee up at Georgia, they let me finish school on the scholarship. I met my wife that last year. Anyway we got married and I joined the police in Atlanta, but she didn't want to raise the kids in the city so we moved up here and I got this job."

"You have kids?"

He reached in his wallet. "Yep, two little girls." He flipped out their pictures.

Lisa's heart melted. "They are so cute! Give me their names. I'm going to get them a present. Oh and give me your number so I can stay in touch."

Robby chuckled again. "After all these years, you're the one who has the guts to ask for my phone number."

Lisa laughed. "Robby, you already had my phone number. You just never asked me out."

He handed Lisa a sheet of paper he had torn out from his notebook. "You're right. Besides it never would have worked out." He got the okay from the sheriff and he started walking Lisa to her car. "You were always too straight laced to sleep with me anyway."

Lisa looked up at him with a lopsided grin as she slipped inside her car and started the engine. "Hmm.. I'm not so sure about that, but I guess we'll never know will we."

Robby slapped his thigh and laughed again. "You haven't changed a bit! Still the biggest tease in the world. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Lisa bit her lip and laughed again. "Ok I no argument there. Take care, Robby, and Merry Christmas. I better get going before my Mom starts to worry."

"Merry Christmas", he said. "Tell your mother I said hello."

"Will do." Lisa pulled out slowly and then got up to speed. She unzipped her jacket after the car warmed up, and she turned off the radio. She didn't want to hear anything. She was alone with her own thoughts. The world was crazy, she thought to herself and a dangerous place. She was just glad that she had her secret. She ran her hand under her top. She felt her tight toned stomach. Her body had gone back to looking normal, but Lisa was so glad that she wasn't normal. She ran her hand over her stomach again and tightened her abs. They hardened. She could feel the muscles under her skin, but then she concentrated and the muscles came to life again. Thick ridges of muscles defined on her midsection and she traced them with her finger as she drove. She could feel all her muscles starting to surge with power again. Yep, her body hid her powers well. She just wondered how she had lived so long without them. One of these days she was going to have to tell her mother, but not today.

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

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

More coming!! Be on the lookout!!!