ABX Part 4
by Marknew
Cosmic Energy, Genetic Therapy -- what more does a woman need?


32

Many hours have passed. Lisabeth is on her side across her bed, while Amanda
sits cross-legged with her back against Lisabeth's thigh. "So you've got
Missy's sexiness, Jock's athleticism, Duane's muscle, Jake's brains plus you
can run faster than airplanes, see through walls, pull trees out of the ground
and throw them into orbit? And you get this way by copying the genes of other
people?"

"That's right. It started with you, Amanda, when I kissed you the afternoon
you were doing my makeup. I'd had this urge to get Jock's, um, genetic
material when I was in gym with you. Kissing you, which is another way to do
it, doesn't give me as much to work with as a guy's cum, but it's the only
practical way to get genes from other women. But that made me smarter,
cleverer too, I think and improved my eyesight."

"Yeah, that's me. Clever with good eyes. But I'm not much good at busting
through walls.

"Yeah, I get that. That was from Clark's genes. Combined with the capabilities
I gained even before I acquired his abilities, the enhancements he has given
me have propelled me far beyond him, and he can't absorb traits from other
people like I can, and he can't change other people. And I keep getting new
abilities. Something inside me keeps manipulating my genes, improving me. Like
I can fly. He can't."

[Author's note: This story takes off from the plot line of the television show
"Smallville" in which Clark has not developed or learned to used his flying
power.]

Lisabeth leaves out the part about the voice of ABX inside her.

Amanda is tracing her fingers around Lisabeth's breast. "But Lisabeth, he said
you killed Jennifer. And Mike. Is that true?" She looks up at Lisabeth's face,
into her dazzling eyes, wondering what may emerge from those eyes. Her fingers
continue their soft motions as she waits for the reply. If she is Lisabeth she
won't hurt me, she thinks, but if she is Lisabeth could she have killed the
others? Am I brave or foolish, Amanda wonders? Probably both. But I can't help
being curious, and I love hearing her voice.

"I did. I did. I had to." Lisabeth lay still, knowing she was being judged.

Amanda nods, struggling to reconcile her feelings for her friend with the
awful knowledge that she had killed Jennifer. Right now she was intoxicated
with Lisabeth, but even apart from that, she loved her as a friend, and with
all the changes Lisabeth had been through, she looked into Lisabeth's eyes and
still saw that friend. There was no higher value she needed to answer to.
Besides, Jennifer was dead. There was nothing she could do for her now. "What
else? What else did you do?"

"Nothing like that. You saw Duane."

"Yeah. Anyone else?"

Lisabeth laughs. "Remember Missy?"

"Missy Marshall? Oh my god! It was YOU who made her so ... so GROSS?" Lisabeth
nods. "Fat. Smelly. Hardly able to walk?"

"Yes ... well. It wasn't" She can't say it wasn't her idea. She can't tell
Amanda whose idea it was.

"The others ... well, that's history, and Duane deserves to see life from the
other side, Lisabeth, but Missy? Sure, she was shallow, stuck up, superior,
annoying and too beautiful to bear. But she never did anything especially
unkind to you or to any of us, did she? Does she deserve what you've done to
her?"

Lisabeth remembers the slight she felt when Missy withdrew from her, but, with
her suddenly perfect recollection, realizes Missy wasn't rejecting her -- she
was just afraid. Sympathy washes through her.

[DON'T]

[Shut up. It WAS wrong of me.]

[IT WAS NECESSARY]

[You are inhuman, you know?]

[WE ARE MORE THAN HUMAN]

[No. LESS than human.]

"What is it, Lisabeth? What happens to you, when you just seem to vanish
suddenly?"

"It's nothing. Nothing. Really." She sits up. "Let's find Missy. I can fix
what I've done."

"Really?" Amanda takes her hand. "I love you, Lisabeth."

[DON'T WE MUST NOT]

[It was wrong]

[IT WAS NECESSARY]

[It was not]

[YOU MUST NOT. WE ARE THERE TOO. THERE ARE THINGS WE ... YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND]

[You! This is a first. You always speak of WE]

[WE UNDERSTAND]

[I'm driving]

"Lisabeth!"

"I'm here, Amanda. I'm here. I love you too! Let's go."

They walk quickly together to Missy's room, Amanda taking three skipping steps
with extra catch-ups to each of Lisabeth's two. "You're not bad, Lisabeth. You
aren't. I know that, and I told Clark that," she says breathlessly, marveling
at the good Lisabeth would do. Her power. Her beauty. Their friendship and now
so much more. Everything is possible, so much more than she had ever imagined.
There are things in the universe that are more wonderful than she had
imagined, than anyone would ever believe. She hooks her arm inside Lisabeth's,
proud to be with her. Lisabeth sounds a low, satisfied chuckle. This is new.
Amanda is not afraid of being seen with her. She is so special. She knows that
she has always loved her.

Then Lisabeth's arm stiffens painfully against Amanda's, who cries out.

"Crystal sees us! Crystal!" Lisabeth says simply, watching her run away in
tears. They stop momentarily.

"Do you ... want to go to ... her?" Amanda asks.

"Everything. I want everything," Lisabeth says plaintively, now unsure of
herself. "I've hurt her. But no. I want you!"

[WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT. WE HAVE NO OBLIGATIONS]

[My friends. My life. I can't ignore obligations.]

[JENNIFER REJECTED THEM. WE ARE BEYOND THAT. FROM HER WE WENT BEYOND...]

[You! You tried to change me.]

[WE ARE CHANGING OPTIMIZING ALL THE TIME]

[You tried to make me like Jennifer -- heartless, manipulative, cold]

"Lisabeth! Lisabeth!" Amanda was calling. "Where are you? What's happening?"

[COMPENSATING. FILTERING. OPTIMIZING]

ABXCCTKYTNNCCGTTACA ...

[Stop! Stop! I'm the one driving!]

[I AM THE ENGINE]

[You can't make me. I won't let you]

[OPTIMIZING]

TTCAGGATNOOPTGPPKCGGAT ...

[No!]

[No!]

[LISABETH IS MORE THAN MATERIAL. LISABETH CANNOT BE WHOLLY OPTIMISED. LISABETH
MUST LEARN TO CHANGE]

[Ha! I am Lisabeth! YOU will learn!]

[WE ARE LISABETH. BEING SUB-OPTIMAL IS ... OUR LOSS]

[We'll see!]

Lisabeth won't wait until it tries to change her again. She lifts Amanda and
in half a second they are at Missy's door. She knocks and then when there is
no answer pushes it open. The room stinks. Missy is sitting in a pile of candy
wrappers, pizza boxes, bags of potato chips and beer cans. She is half
dressed. Her large, round, soft stomach juts out of the bottom of her t-shirt
and hangs over her panties, while her floppy breasts stretch out the top,
compressed to the sides of her chest. She belches and looks up at Lisabeth and
Amanda, annoyed at the intrusion. She brushes her greasy hair away from her
oily forehead apathetically. "You! What are YOU doing here?"

"Missy. Missy, I am so sorry."

"Sorry? What do you have to ... if I'd known that after kissing a girl I'd
soon be ugly and disgusting .... Funny thing ... I liked it." She looks
Lisabeth over. "Doesn't look like it hurts you much. Maybe I was right to be
afraid." She farts loudly. "Can't help it. Can't help anything. So I just do
it." She laughs bitterly.

[WE MUST GET OUT. BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE AND YOU WILL LEARN. GET OUT BEFORE YOU
LEARN]

"I can help," Lisabeth says.

"You?"

Lisabeth stares at Missy.

[Something strange. Different.]

[WE MUST NOT]

[I must]

The white light bursts from Lisabeth's eyes and bathes Missy in a white glow
and then she shines brilliantly. Lisabeth staggers slightly. The light grows
more intense. Amanda covers her eyes.

"Lisabeth! What's happening?" Amanda says. "I can't see."

"Can't ... stop ...." Lisabeth says. "There is something more ...."

[WE ARE THERE TOO. THE OFFSHOOT ... BUT NOW ... JOINED. THE SAME. WE ARE
LISABETH. WE ARE MISSY.]

"OOHH!" Lisabeth says, waving her arms unbalanced until the light disappears
and she covers them with her hand. In a few seconds she regains her composure
and looks at Missy searchingly. Missy ignores her, her eyes lost, in another
world.

Amanda runs to Lisabeth and holds her. "Are you all right?" she asks.

Lisabeth nods and bends over slightly to Amanda. "I'm fine. Fine."

"You look the same. The same as before." Amanda turns to Missy. "So does she.
It didn't work on her the way it did on Duane."

Missy locks her eyes on the two others and growls, "Get out. Get out of here.
I don't need you."

"OK. OK." Lisabeth says. "I'm sorry."

Missy glares at her. "Go away! Just go." She turns her back on them and folds
her arms over her chest, trembling. The fat in her upper arms ripples like
shaking jello.

Lisabeth looks down at Amanda, shrugs, and motions to leave. They slip out
quietly, touching.

Missy hears the door lock catch and then walks to the window. She looks at the
dark curtains for a moment and wrinkles her face in annoyance. She throws them
open, spreading her fat arms across the frame, while the sun beats on her
round, exposed stomach. She shivers. Something quivers inside her arm and her
stomach, making the fat vibrate, but she shakes her head firmly, and it stops.
She stands nearly motionless, her eyes closed against the sun for six hours,
turning slightly only to follow it through the sky, blind to the derisive
stares from the students passing by, deaf to the jeers deriding the fat girl
displaying her ugliness for all to see.

The sun sets.

Missy's eyes open.

It's dinner time.

33

Yes, dinner time. Missy walks in to the Student Dining Center by herself, her
presence barely registering on the crowd as bread rolls fly, loud conversation
rises and falls, tables are pushed together and pushed apart, bodies squeeze
in and squeeze out. Two freshmen boys in front of her in the line screw up
their eyes at her beachball-sized bottom and the pouch of fat that hangs over
her pants and move as far away when they detect the strangely disgusting odor
that descends suddenly around them. She moves closer and stretches, raising
her arms high in the air, which unleashes even a stronger odor beneath her
arms and reveals even more of her bulging stomach. The murmuring around her
grows louder.

"Doesn't she KNOW?"

"Disgusting."

"There ARE showers in EVERY dorm, you know."

"This shouldn't be ALLOWED."

"Must be some kind of HEALTH risk."

"ESPECIALLY in the Dining Centre."

She moves though the line, oblivious to the remarks, heaping her tray with
macaroni and cheese, multiple glasses of coke and chocolate milk, chocolate
cake and chocolate muffins. She emerges from the food line and surveys the
rows of tables, impressively balancing the food laden tray, then hears a voice
among the crowd and launches herself toward it, her gyrating, wide bottom
occasionally brushing against her fellow students and pushing their chairs
along while she ignores their cries of annoyance and disgust. She sits down,
finally, in an empty chair next to Tina. Her flesh spills sideways, massing
against her neighbor.

There is no room for Tina to move more than two inches away. "Do you MIND?"
Tina says with an angry look. "If you don't fit in at a table you should find
another place!"

Missy shovels several forkfulls into her mouth and burps contentedly.

"You are SO gross, Missy! Do you have ANY idea what you LOOK like?"

Missy continues eating quickly and has almost finished her main course. Some
of the other girls at the table begin to get up, unable to stomach her odor or
watch her eat. Tina starts to stand up, but Missy puts her arm around her and
holds her down. She lifts her foot and shoves the table backwards, pinning it
and the girls behind it against the wall. "Nobody leaves until I'm done!" she
says firmly, her eyes suddenly steely. She looks to her left and right, down
the table. "Understood?" The hint of her old authority surprisingly conquers
the girls. Missy smiles and continues eating. The other girls watch, trying to
ignore the smell.

"You're hurting me," Tina complains, as Missy's arm lays hard on her neck.
Missy ignores her. "Please, Missy," she whines.

"Is my arm too heavy for your slim neck, Tina? Kiss me, and I'll let you go."
She puckers her lips, stained with the cheese sauce of her macaroni.

A few of the girls say, "Ewww!"

"Missy!" Tina whines.

"I promise," Missy says. "One kiss and you're free."

Tina trembles and then leans over and pecks on Missy's cheek. She looks at her
hopefully.

"Uh uh. On the mouth!" Missy waits, her lips primed.

Tina looks pained. Missy squeezes her neck. She nods. "OK! I can't believe
you've gone 'GAY' too!"

At that word, Crystal, sitting by herself behind Missy, sniffling, turns
around and watches.

Tina kisses Missy, intending another brief peck, but she can't bring herself
to let it go. The taste of her mouth is utterly unlike her odor. It is honey,
ambrosia, the nectar of the gods. My goodness! Is she cumming? The kiss goes
on and on. The girls quiet around them, watching curiously, until Missy
herself breaks it off and withdraws her arm.

[NOTHING WE NEED]

[From Tina? Of COURSE not!]

"You're free, Tina."

Tina has not moved. She opens her eyes slowly and stares at Missy. Her lips
quiver.

"I ... I"

"You want something, Tina?" Missy daintily wipes her lips.

The odor at the table has lifted, and honeyed sweetness has descended to take
its place. The girls feel prickly, excited, flushed. They shift in their seats
uncomfortably, nipples hardening, blood pulsing. They look at each other,
confused and embarrassed. Is it obvious? Is it their private scent? Can anyone
tell? They look at Missy, who sits contentedly watching, no longer eating, her
lips pursed prettily. She stands up lazily and takes a brush from her purse
and starts on her hair, each wave of the brush takes out tangled, mottled
curls and leaves the strand of hair, straight, blond and lustrous. Her hair
done, she shakes it out, and pulls her t-shirt down over her large breasts and
then pulls at a drawstring she had expertly sewn into it at the bottom, making
it tight over her narrow waist. She does the same with her shorts, the excess
fabric on each side gathers in neat folds at her hips, and secures it with a
neat bow.

"That's better. Don't you think so?" She turns quickly, side to side
half-turns and then sits down.

The girls are staring. That's Missy? Even more beautiful than the old Missy.
But what happened to the fat, ugly Missy who sat down with them? Crystal has
turned around in her chair, her eyes rapt.

"You're ... you're beautiful again, Missy?" Tina says in awe. "More."

"I am," she says. "Better than ever." She turns and looks at Tina. There's a
flash of light as though someone has snapped a picture. Heads turn looking for
it.

"Oooohhh!" Tina says, laying her head down on the table, suddenly feeling
faint. When she lifts her head she can only see the chocolate on Missy's
plate. She grabs it and begins stuffing it into her mouth. "I get ... so
hungry ... need to --

"You want my dessert, Tina? Go right ahead and eat. If you need to. Oh, but it
looks like you're getting a pimple on that little nose of yours already.
Chocolate won't be the best thing."

Tina shakes her head. "No. But I ... so hungry for ...."

"Your salad?"

Tina scrunches her eyes and shakes her head.

"May I? We can switch trays."

Tina nods desperately and begins wolfing down the remains of Missy's macaroni,
hunching over Missy's food, while Missy delicately chews on Tina's greens. She
stands up. "I've had enough. Any of you want to take a walk with me?" She
pulls the table back one-handedly, freeing the others.

Several of the girls rise with her, including Crystal. "Can we, Missy?" They
look longingly at their unfinished dinners, but to be part of Missy's group is
far more important.

She doesn't answer, but doesn't say no. She leaves her tray at the table and
the girls follow, except for Tina, who is nearly finished with Missy's tray
and starts stealing the sweets off the abandoned trays of the others.

Missy walks through the room, now followed by the eyes of every male and
three-quarters of the females in the room. Mary Elizabeth shyly joins them,
working her way through the crowd until she almost reaches Missy, who stops at
one table. Jock, Bud and Carlos had been wolfing down their usual but have
stopped to look at Missy, while Duane sits hunched over, his thin arms hidden
under the table, swimming in his clothes.

"Duane," Missy says, her sexy voice massaging them. "Duane, stand up."

Embarrassed, he rises slowly, his stick thin body a shocking contrast to her
voluptuousness.

"Awww, did SHE do that to you? That girl has no school spirit. What are we
going to do about Nebraska Saturday without the old Duane?" Her eyes twinkle.
"I think our whole team needs a little pick-me-up!" She looks at Duane and he
is suddenly bathed in a white glow. His muscles begin to thicken, his
shoulders broaden and his chest deepens. There is a murmur at the table. He
looks nearly as large as before and then, in a sudden burst, his muscles bulge
and harden until he is much stronger than he ever was and several inches
taller. Missy's eyes sweep across the table and as they rest on each athlete,
he glows briefly and his muscles grow and harden. "There! I think we have a
GREAT chance now! What do you think, girls?"

They all nod enthusiastically. "Oh, it's perfect!" one of them squeals. Missy
looks more closely at Mary Elizabeth. "Duane'll kill them all!"

Missy smiles. She leans over at Duane and whispers in his ear. He licks his
lips and stands up. He is nearly seven feet tall. His legs have burst through
his pant legs while his chest muscles stretch out his t-shirt.

"It's my old friend Mary Elizabeth!" She beams with the recognition of her
status and moves forward. "Mary Elizabeth," says, hooking her arm around hers.
"Duane's had a hard day. I want you to help him relax before the big game. You
know what I mean?"

Duane excitedly rubs his crotch, the huge bulge evident to all.

Mary Elizabeth looks shocked. She stammers, "B-but Missy. I ... I'm, you know,
still a virg ... I mean, can't I stay with you?"

"I know you've missed me terribly, Mary Elizabeth, but Duane needs a woman to
run through a few moves together, and I know you're just the girl to help him.
He'll have a lot of aggression coming into the big game, so don't expect him
to be gentle, but I'm sure he has a lot to show you. A LOT to show you.
Duane," she says, running her fingers down his chest to his crotch, "Mary
Elizabeth here doesn't have any experience; she doesn't know what's good for
her, or what she likes. She'll just have to be taught. And don't forget, Mary
Elizabeth is a woman, so 'no' means 'yes', 'maybe' means 'yes'. And do you
know what 'yes' means?"

Duane shakes his head.

"It means, "yes," Duane."

She takes Mary Elizabeth's arm and pulls him into Duane. The thin, terrified
girl nearly disappears into Duane's enormous chest, her head barely reaches
his pectorals. He places one meaty hand around her waist. "C'mon M.E. I know
you want it!" He half carries her and half drags her away.

"Old friends," Missy sighs. "I prefer my new friends," she says, looking at
the girls around her. "And just one thing, my 'new' friends can call me
Mixxy."

34

It is Thursday evening. Missy and her new friends are in Starbucks. Marlena
has brought Missy her second three-quarters skinny latté, extra foamy, with a
shot of liquorice. The first was too sweet, and Marlena has tried three
different versions of the second to make sure it meets Missy's approval. Robyn
Saffron and Crystal are sitting with their drinks, but are waiting for Missy's
to arrive before they start, waiting unhappily because theirs are getting cold
and their froth is rapidly subsiding into the coffee.

"You are just too beautiful, Missy -- I mean Mixxy. I don't know how you DO
it!"

"It's genetic, partly, Robyn, but it's also a matter of will. A girl isn't
just beautiful, she has to BE beautiful."

Saffron is nodding enthusiastically. "I know! Because, you know, there are a
couple of other girls who kind of look like you, but they're NOT you, and that
makes all the difference."

Missy turns to her, looking annoyed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Saffron. No one looks like Mixxy! No one could!"

Crystal puts her hand on Missy's to show her solidarity. Missy shakes it off.
"Two girls? I know all about your friend, Lisabeth Collins," she says, her
disdain too hot to be as cold as she wished to show. She turns to Saffron.
"Who exactly is the other?"

"N-n-no one, Missy ... MIXXY!" Saffron stammers. "I know it's not possible
that..."

Missy takes Safron's hand and rubs it lightly with the tips of her fingers; at
the same time she compresses the napkin dispenser on the table with her thumb
and forefinger. "I'm sure I know much more about what's possible than you do
Saffron. Hmmm? Why don't you just tell me all about the second one?"

Saffron smiles accommodatingly. "Um, er, she's not a student here. But I've
seen her a few times with a guy. I think his name is ... yeah, Clark. She's
very, uh, pretty. He's not bad either, but he's just completely taken with --
where are you going?"

They all stand up.

"No. Wait for me here!" She angrily pushes the door open and knocks part of it
off its hinge.

[How DARE she!]

[WE WORK WITH THE TOOLS WE HAVE]

[I will NOT be USED by her]

[WE OPTIMISE USING THE BEST MATERIALS]

[I don't CARE. This is WAR.]

[WE KNOW IT IS]

[I'll find her. Just WAIT until I find her!]

Missy scans the campus quickly for her double and then breaks into a run,
heedless of the quick destruction of her shoes and of the whirlwind she
creates throwing aside the students in her path. She arrives at Clark's room
seconds later, not even winded, shakes her hair back into shape and knocks
loudly at the door. Inside, she hears embarrassed scrambling and whispers.

"Who could that be?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe they'll go --

"I'm NOT leaving!" Missy announces. "Open it up NOW!" She knocks harder, only
her iron will stops her from breaking through the door ... yet. Still, the
indentations her knuckles make on the metal door are a nicely satisfying
substitute. There is a series of clicks and turns, and Clark appears, looking
disheveled, blocking the way inside. Missy squeezes by him. The girl, even
more dishevelled, is quickly buttoning her shirt.

"Don't bother. I've seen it all before," Missy says tartly, taking in the full
extent of their resemblance. "The nose isn't right, and you'd have a LOT to
learn about how to brush your hair. But there's really no point your learning.
Even if you were a quick study, which I seriously doubt, you won't have much
time to practice."

Clark grabs Missy's arm and spins her around. "Hey! What exactly do you think
you're doing?"

Missy yanks her arm free, throwing him off-balance. "So I guess you're the one
we get it from. I wouldn't have thought you were Lisabeth's type -- or that
she was yours. Not that it matters to me, although I bet you feel much the
same as I do about having your genes stolen. The thing is, unlike me, there's
nothing you can do about it."

"Clark," Chloe says, taking it all in quickly. "She looks just like Lisabeth.
Does she have your powers too?"

Missy turns to her, exasperated. "Let's get something clear, Clonie. It's you
and Lisabeth who look like ME."

"That's 'Chloe'," she says, unnecessarily.

"Oh really? Not that it matters." Missy puts her hands on her hips and looks
Chloe up and down. She then glances at a picture of Chloe in a byline from the
Smallville high school paper and laughs. "I've got all your genetic data
stored in my marvellously brilliant new brain, but I'm just wondering whether
it will be punishment enough simply to put you back the way you were before."

Clark speedily interposes himself between Missy and Chloe. "Don't blame her.
She had nothing to do with it."

"Ooooh! Well, that got a STRONG reaction! Share how THAT makes you feel,
Chloe. He likes you only because you look like ME!"

Clark blushes and looks down, too embarrassed to look Chloe in the eye. "It's
not true, Chloe!" he says unconvincingly.

"Isn't that just like a man! But Clark, unless you want to end up looking just
like Chloe too, and being every bit as 'powerful' as she is, I suggest you
move away smartly."

"You're bluffing. You can't do anything to me!"

"Can't I?"

[I can, right?]

[WE ARE NOT SURE. WE HAVE NEVER TRIED.]

[Well, he IS Lisabeth's enemy, so he may be useful as he is. For now.]

"Y-you'd better do as she says, Clark. I've lived my whole life in my, you
know, usual skin. It's nothing, really. At least ... for one day ... I had --

"This is so-o-o-o touching. So brave, self-sacrificing and noble. I can hardly
stand it. Is this how you people make up for looking so ... ordinary?" Her
eyes flash and bathe Chloe in bright light. Chloe collapses on the ground, her
features revert to their plainer form, while Clark stands aside, his fists
clenched helplessly. "Good. One down, one to go! And then, I'll be the only
one who's, heh, heh, me!"

Chloe's eyes open. One look at Clark tells her the spell she held on him is
broken, and a tear rolls down her cheek. He helps her up and the two of them
stand together facing Missy.

"I think I'll go and leave you to talk. Tough luck, Chlonee. It looks like you
won't be going back to whatever you WERE doing before!" And she disappears.

35

It is nearly seven-thirty. Lisabeth and Amanda are in Lisabeth's room,
intimately entwined, when there is a loud pounding on the door. "Lisabeth!
Lisabeth! Are you there? Damn it! Where ARE they?"

"Valerie!" Lisabeth whispers in Amanda's ear.

"We've got to find them!"

"Vrema," Amanda whispers back.

"I told you they wouldn't answer!"

"But they HAVE to!" Valerie says, pounding harder. "Just say something, if
you're in there!"

Lisabeth and Amanda sigh and look at each other. Lisabeth nods, and an instant
later both are dressed and standing. Amanda wobbles but Lisabeth catches her.
Amanda shakes her head in amazement. Lisabeth is already opening the door.

"We were just talking," she lies.

"You won't believe this. It was the most amazing thing!" Valerie says. "You
know Missy, how ugly and gross she got? She was at dinner, sitting with people
again, instead of alone at a table with piles and piles of food, like she's
been eating lately, and suddenly the next thing you knew she was more
beautiful than ever before! She just transformed!"

Lisabeth looks concerned. It shouldn't have happened so quickly. "I don't
understand," she says hesitantly.

"What's to understand? She sat down fat and stood up gorgeous again. And
that's just the beginning. She goes up to Jock's table. There's the four of
them, as usual, except that Duane isn't at all like Duane. He's all weedy,
like, like, Jake Toefel." Amanda looks at Lisabeth. "But then seconds later he
is as big as he was before, and then even bigger. Tons bigger. And then so are
the rest of them. They're all giants."

"What do you mean, giants?" Amanda asks. "Like, fifty feet tall or something?"
She laughs.

"No," says Vrema. "That would be an exaggeration. Duane is nearly seven feet
tall, and the others three or four inches smaller than he is."

"See? You know how Vrema is so good at those things."

"Everybody's talking about it!" Valerie exclaims.

"We thought you should know," Vrema says.

[She has Clark's powers too? She's like me now.]

[EXACTLY. EXCEPT WHERE SHE IS DIFFERENT. WE ARE THE SAME, BUT YOU ARE NOT
MISSY.]

[What do you mean? Of course I'm not Missy.]

[NO. WE ARE LIKE MISSY.]

[We are ... what do you mean 'we'? We -- you and I? -- Or we ... I don't know]

[THESE THOUGHTS HAVE NO WORDS]

['We' means you. You and the you in Missy. You're all the same. I'm the one
who's different.]

[MISSY UNDERSTAND WE]

[No! I understand!]

[WE ARE LIKE MISSY, MISSY LIKE WE ARE]

"Lisabeth! Lisabeth!" Amanda is shaking her. Valerie and Vrema watch
helplessly. "She keeps doing this," Amanda explains.

Lisabeth comes back to life. She scans the campus quickly. "She's in
Starbucks! Guys, I have to go!" She runs down the hall and opens the door.

Amanda calls out, "Wait! Wait!" But she has vanished.

"Where did she go?" Valerie asks, more mystified than ever.

"Come on. We've got to get to Starbucks. She may need our help!" Amanda says,
pulling Vreme and Valerie with her.

And Clark is on his way too.

36

Missy is sipping on her drink, the eighth version. "This one is just right,
Marlena. Do you think you'll remember now how I like it?" Marlena nods, trying
desperately to recall exactly which variation she had just received. Was it
less skim milk or more? An extra shot of espresso, or an extra two shots? Or
was this the version with a quarter squirt of chocolate syrup?

Missy glances from girl to girl, thinking about how she'll change them so that
they'll complement her more perfectly. Marlena has a nice shape. A larger bust
will gather more attention, initially to her, of course, but being slightly
out of proportion with her hips will make Missy's own perfect ratio even more
pleasing. Saffron's dark hair is perfect and slightly fuller eyebrows will be
more striking and will highlight Missy's full blond hair. Robyn's glasses will
HAVE to go. Her eyesight will be easy to fix, but she will also need more
muscle tone so she can keep up better. And Crystal, cute little Crystal. Is it
as obvious to everyone else how much of a crush Crystal has on her? Nothing
wrong with a little unrequited adoration, but if Crystal is not simply cute,
but instead spectacularly gorgeous, well, what will that say about Missy!
Knockout Lesbians are very much the rage now. So much to do!

"Missy! What the hell are you're doing?" Lisabeth asks angrily as she enters
Starbucks and pushes her way to Missy's table. "Crystal!" She looks at her in
amazement. Crystal turns red and turns away, embarrassed, but then looks back.

The girls look confused. Should they protect Missy or stand aside and let her
handle it?

Missy looks up. "Well, well, it seems that the little lesbian has grown up.
Where DID you get that hair? And those breasts? Maybe you think I SHOULD be
flattered ... but I'm not. What do you think, girls? Is imitation the
sincerest compliment, or is it just a lack of natural talent ... or
imagination?"

Missy's words sting and Lisabeth's face reddens.

"God! Her mouth is EXACTLY the same! The doctor must have been pretty good --
no scars -- but it's so weird that she'd do that," says Marlena, before
recovering, "um, but not weird that she'd WANT to, you know."

"At least her blush is natural," Saffron tittered.

"Now we know what Mixxy would be like with man muscles. Like, never!" Robyn
says.

Crystal just looks from one to the other, back and forth, her lips red and her
mouth forming a perfect "O".

Lisabeth realizes for the first time the extent of the resemblance. "Missy
..." she starts.

"WE call her Mixxy!" Saffron says in a superior tone.

Lisabeth ignores her. "Missy, I ... I'm sorry if I offended you. I wasn't
trying to ...." Lisabeth's voice trails off. Their eyes lock. "You hurt me ...
before. When you left me."

"You were using me, weren't you? Like you are now." Missy says, surprised by
the confession.

"Yes. No! I wanted you, really."

Missy nearly replies, 'who doesn't?' but something stops her. Is it Lisabeth's
surprising honesty about her feelings? Or maybe the resemblance to herself
mixed with Lisabeth's residual traits and her height and muscle has some
appeal. Still ... there is Lisabeth's power to consider. It's a clear threat
to her own supremacy. She could like Lisabeth better if she knew she would be
the one in control.

The door opens suddenly in a rush of wind and someone new appears at the
table. "The two of you! Together?" It is Clark. "Now listen to me. I don't
know how or where you've gained your special meteor powers, but powers like
yours must be used responsibly or not at all. Your misuse of your abilities is
going to end. Right here. Right now!"

"Meteor powers?" Crystal says, her eyes wide as she looks carefully at Missy
and Lisabeth. She licks her lips. "What are those?"

Lisabeth looks down at him disdainfully. "I can't believe this, Clarkie. Are
you really THIS fickle? Don't tell me you're tired of Chloe already?"

"Oh, I took care that clone!" replies Missy. "She's not not herself anymore,"
she sneers.

Lisabeth whirls around at Missy. "You WHAT? That was supposed to keep HIM busy
and out of my hair!"

"Not with MY body!"

"It wasn't YOUR body. It was hers, tailored for HIM!"

"It was close enough!"

The eyes of each girl in Missy's new retinue are bouncing back and forth
between their idol and Lisabeth and then to the handsome Clark. Being Mixxy's
friend is so exciting!

Clark folds his arms across his chest, pleased that even though Lisabeth and
the other girl looked as though they could be sisters, they clearly were not
allies. The other girl did not look as strong as Lisabeth, but he would still
have to be cautious. Still, if they were fighting each other too it would make
it much easier for him to defeat them both, and then find a way to remove
their powers. He would have to play this exactly right.

"She can't be trusted, can she," he says.

"No she can't!" Missy says. "Not as long as she can make clones of me."

"Not as long as she selfishly interferes with ME!" Lisabeth replies.

The two girls glare at each other, their hands on their hips. Clark grins
expectantly.

The white light blazes out of Missy's eyes first, followed by Lisabeth. They
groan and stagger but can't stop. The beams meet in the middle, the light
bursting into a rainbow of colors where they collide.

[Take away]

[No more power]

[IT WON'T]

[WORK]

[Harder]

[More]

{WE ARE]

[ONE]

[NOT TWO WHEN]

[CONNECTED MUST BE]

[MUST BE CONNECTED]

[Pervert]

[Bitch]

[Freak]

[CONNECTED]

[CONNECTED]

[Oooooooooh lovely]

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah delicious]

[LIKE BEGINNING]

[Sister]

[Sister]

[ONENESS]

Their eyes half close and they seem to relax; the beams are more focused but
start shifting in intensity.

"Look at them!" Saffron says.

"What's going on?" Robyn asks.

"It's not good!" Marlena says. "She's hurting Mixxy!"

"They're hurting each other!" Crystal says, and runs between them to stop
them.

"No!" Clark says, grabbing her waist to prevent her from getting in the path
of the beams.

"Let me go!" she yells. "Let me GO!", she says even more loudly and slaps him.
"Owwww!" she screams as her hand slams into his steel-hard cheek.

Distracted, Missy and Lisabeth turn to see what is happening. The connection
of the beams is broken; instead, they converge on Clark.

[Still a threat]

[So annoying!]

[Take them away]

[No more power]

"Hey! Stop!" he cries, holding his hands up against the white beams.

[Take them all away]

[OH YES]

[No more]

[Can't be trusted]

[Won't need to be]

[OH YES]

"Done!" Missy says out loud, her eyes open, shining blue.

"All done!" Lisabeth concurs.

Clark looks from Missy to Lisabeth, suddenly uncertain at the shift in the
mood.

Lisabeth winks at Crystal, who slowly begins to smile through her tears and
glances at Missy, who nods. "Let me see that hand, Cryssie." Crystal shows her
the hand and Lisabeth kisses it in several places. "There, there, all better.
It wasn't broken. Why don't you try it out? On that nasty boy over there."

Crystal giggles. "But I'm not angry anymore."

"Do it, Crystal," Missy urges. "For me."

"For us!" Lisabeth says.

Are you sure?" she asks. Lisabeth and Missy nod. "Well ... if you BOTH say
so!"

"Hey, come on!" Clark protests. "She's going to get hurt again." He holds her
by the shoulder, keeping her at arms length.

"Don't you TOUCH me!" she says in her high-pitched girlish voice. She
struggles unsuccessfully to get free, and then digs her nails into his hand.

"Ouch!" he says, dots of blood appearing on his skin. His eyes grow wider.
Crystal seizes the opportunity and slaps him hard, turning his head. "Hey!" he
exclaims, shocked at the pain, his skin reddening. He looks furious and turns
to her, hands clenched.

"Nice, Cryssie!" Lisabeth says.

She squeals and runs back to them, standing between Lisabeth and Missy,
holding their hands, feeling safe and happily secure. Clark is about to follow
but then hesitates and stays where he is. They have powers. And now, he
doesn't.

Crystal sticks out her tongue at him and wiggles her hips to say "nyah-nyah".

The door opens, and Chloe rushes in, followed closely by Amanda and Vrema.
Valerie, red-faced and out of breath, is a block behind them.

"What's happening?" Amanda says.

"You missed it! It was great!" Crystal says, tightening her grip on both Missy
and Lisabeth. "And now everybody's friends!"

"Clark!" Chloe says, instantly seeing the blood on his hand and his blotchy
face.

"Except him!" Crystal adds. She rotates her hips again for emphasis.

"Chloe!" Clark says. "They've taken my ... I mean, I'm not ... special. We've
got to go to the caves. Maybe there Jor-El can ...."

Chloe looks at him, then at Lisabeth and Missy. She sees her plain features in
the glass window and then looks back at Clark. She sets her jaw firmly and
whirls her arm around, slapping him in the face. He spins and falls. "You can
fucking go there by yourSELF!" She storms out.

The girls look shocked for a moment, and then laugh.

Missy looks at Marlena. A brief flash of light and her 36C bra is woefully
undersized. Lisabeth assists with a burst of heat vision, severing the bra
straps and freeing Marlena's bust. "Thanks!" Missy says. Lisabeth winks.

Valerie makes it through the door and collapses on a chair, breathing hard.
"What was the rush? Where are --

Lisabeth looks at her, thinks a moment and then bathes her in light. When she
stops, Valerie's figure has gone from 32-35-36 to 35-22-35 and she rises
refreshed and full of energy. "Hey!" Missy adds some blond highlights.

"Nice touch!" Lisabeth says. Missy blows her a kiss and then quickly fixes
Robyn's eyes and Saffron's eyebrows as she had planned.

They both look down at Crystal and in unison focus their beams on her. When
they are done, she is still the girl next door, but with dazzling blond hair,
a slender waist and bewitching green eyes. "Oooooooh. I LOVE it! Can I have a
little bit of muscle too?"

"Of course!" they say, happy to oblige.

"OOOOH!" she squeals. "More than enough! But they're really cute!" She
clenches her fists, makes her muscles jump and growls at Clark threateningly.
"RROOOWWF!"

Amanda looks at Lisabeth and the way she looks at Crystal and Missy. She
shrugs. Lisabeth was an experience. Clark is still cute, and she is still
straight. She sidles over to him and bends down. "Bad day?" He nods, unable to
believe just how much. "It doesn't have to be ALL bad," she says, giving him a
hand and helping him up. "We're all special, in our own way." He looks at her
blankly and she tried another tack. "Hey, Clark, do you like cappuccino? Or
maybe something stronger?" She guides him to the opposite corner of the shop
and quickly orders something to restore his soul.

Lisabeth turns to Vrema, who shakes her head. "Well, if you change your mind,
Vrema."

"I won't. I like me the way I am. But thanks," she says simply.

Finally Lisabeth closes her eyes. Her hair darkens slightly to its original
shade, her nose sharpens and her lips become a little less full. She looks at
herself in the mirror and then at Missy, who nods approvingly. "It's you,"
Missy says, "and it's really good."

"I know, and I feel good about myself. That's what I always really wanted,"
Lisabeth replies. "And not feeling so vulnerable against guys is a real plus,"
she grins.

Missy rolls her eyes. "Guys are NOTHING to be afraid of. I could teach you so
much, if you were interested."

Lisabeth laughs. "Well, I don't know. I'm just glad I can do this." She
directs a torrent of air at Clark, spraying him with the frappuccino Amanda
just brought him, lifting him out of his seat, and pinning him high against
the wall until, with Amanda's disapproving eyes on her, she stops the flow of
air and lets him crash to the floor.

"Whoops!" Crystal giggles.

"Though maybe there are a few other things I could learn about them," Lisabeth
admits, her eyes roving around the coffee shop and settling on two men eyeing
her.

"They DO have their uses," Missy maintains, "if you keep them in their place."

Lisabeth glances at Clark on the floor, with Amanda bending over him. "Yeah, I
can see that."

Missy and Lisabeth are relaxed, happy, surrounded by their friends in
Starbucks, and now, also, rulers of the universe.

"It's been a long day," Missy says. "But a really good day."

"We've got some planning to do, and right now, I could use some sun."

"Me too, but it's night time, Lisabeth."

Lisabeth shrugs. "I know a place where it's always sunny. Come with me." After
a few moments Missy relents and they walk outside into the dark. Lisabeth
takes Missy's hand. "Let me show you." Lisabeth rises off the ground, pulling
Missy into the air. Seconds later, Missy is rising too under her own power,
faster and faster. They speed off together, racing each other.

Two hours later they are deep inside the sun, fusion reactions in tumult
around them.

"What a rush!" Missy says, mouthing the words.

"So much power!" Lisabeth mouths back.

"No limits!" They both say, laughing, shining their white beams, more
brilliant now than the heart of the sun, at each other.

[HOME AT LAST]

THE END