by P. S. Power
Even if he’d only been hiding Zack from the one being. Xenses, The Defiler. Zack’s dead father.
Smiling, her nephew waved at her. It was a happy seeming thing. Possibly for real, being who was doing it.
“Hey! Keeley and Ravi! Here, join us for a bit, if you have time?” The offer seemed real, since from what she’d picked up, it was break time down the way. Both the bridge service and node transfer portions had shut down for a whole hour, even if they had enough work to keep them busy full time.
Troy simply moved over, getting Barb to do the same. After freezing in place for a few seconds, then she smiled, at Keeley. Given the woman wasn’t her best friend in the whole world and that it was fake, while still seeming kind, she did it back.
“Keeley? I love the new look! Not half as impossible to be in the same room with for the rest of all women as the old one.” The words were a bit snarky, but only a little. Under that was just a sense of honestly meaning it.
Rather than do it back, she winked.
“You should see my new work face. That one looks…” She stopped then, not wanting to seem mean. Then she shrugged. After all it was mainly in how she presented things and the truth was she wasn’t trying to hurt the woman across from her who was actually decently pretty. Not really high end about it. Just about right. No one looking at either of them was going to think it odd that they were with the guys they had with them, in a frozen treat shop. “Really, that one looks a lot like you. Enough that we could claim to be sisters. That’s for my work with Division Six.” She didn't sound proud of her new job. Even if it was decent sounding.
Troy nodded, having met a lot of the people that worked there already, getting them off to different places, since he covered governmental things for free, if you booked in advance, making it both faster and cheaper than flying. A deal that was incredible, now that she thought about it. He refused to use it as a tool of war, but other than that, would take almost anyone official anywhere. Even if you had to pay, it was just about the same as flying.
He reached out and touched her on the arm, gently. There was no familiar tingle of him taking her life. He was alive though, instead of pretending to be a Vampire still. As a Trickster, she didn't doubt that, if his job required it of him, he would have been able to fake being one of her people just as well as he’d done being undead.
The truth was, Human, Vampire and friend, the being had fooled her at every single turn, for over a decade. If he wanted to do it again, it was probably going to simply happen. Which didn’t excuse her getting lazy, mentally.
Holding her arm for a bit, while Ravi cleared his throat like a fifty-year-old college librarian, he spoke gently.
“That’s pretty big. Division Six. I was talking to the man in charge there, a few hours ago. Will Dern?” He checked with Keeley on that, even if he clearly knew that it was correct already.
When there was a nod in return, showing that they’d touched bases that way well enough for polite conversation and that he was allowed to mention things out loud, since he wasn’t being silenced or distracted, he went on.
Then he looked at the others.
“We have two new trainees for the next line walker section. Will himself and Ravi Pendar. Since I’m not stupid, that would be you? Here, we can…” Playfully, the man hopped up, pulled a laughing Ravi by the arm and started speaking as they went to the back. “Inside it isn’t like anything. Just focus on drawing yourself together and you’ll be fine. It will seem like a long time, but only a few seconds will pass here, so don’t worry about that. Zack, do you want to…”
There was standing then, and a flare of magical compulsion, as the two other men moved to the back, where the node was. Before she could do a lot more than stand herself, they were gone.
Zack grinned at her.
“The initial test. They have different sections, but if you can’t stand isolation for a small period of time, a few years, then you can’t really learn the rest of what’s needed. They aren’t back yet, so… This either means they went to another location or things are going well enough.”
Barb came to stand there herself, shifting from foot to foot. Nervously, even if she couldn’t be feeling that at all, being what she was.
“This is how it works, now. We get to stand here, waiting for a minute. Then we’ve either hatched a new line walker trainee or…” She blinked, which seemed real, as Troy came back out. Alone. Followed a moment later by a blank eyed boyfriend.
The Trickster smiled at them, charmingly, as the other man seemed a bit dazed.
“Well, that… Not that he didn't pass. Your man did well here, Keeley. Very much so. We were just in there for a bit longer than I’d planned. About fifteen hundred years. He didn't go insane though, which is the first real step. On the good side, we can move right into the other things. Conceptual thinking and a few other things. After we take him on the first rounds, I mean. Even if I did mess things up a bit.”
Zack made a half-choked sound about it all.
“You already trained him to be a line walker?”
Ravi, still seeming out of it, shook his head.
“Already? I’ve been gone for… Ever. I’m not even really sure who I am…”
Zack nodded then. His face pleasant, if not grinning like a fool.
“That happens. It will fade in a few hours. You’re Ravi Pendar. The Human Line Walker. One of two in this entire world. Welcome home.”
Keeley felt a bit annoyed. Mainly because Troy had kind of ruined her date that night. Not that there wouldn’t be other nights. Still, it was a bit rude of him, taking her new friend away for a millennium and a half. Not that it wasn’t great to find out that her date was moving up in the world.
She glanced his way, since barring everything, she knew he wasn’t an asshole. Troy Lopez was actually a nice guy, over all. Better than she was, at any rate.
“Some kind of Trickster thing? I noticed that he’d gotten into training pretty easily earlier.”
After a moment there was a nod.
“Oh, yeah. I just hadn’t realized the time schedule until I saw him walk from the back with you. Anyway, there’s more to do right now. Come on Ravi, we need to hurry. Um, Keeley, if you could…” There was a funny look then, and a glance behind the counter. “How about this, I’ll trade you training your boyfriend how to be a competent line walker, in exchange for you doing Karen?”
She nodded. After all, it was kind of clear that there was a lot of room to play with that one. Doing Karen could be taken a lot of different ways. Which was clearly what Troy meant, saying it that way on purpose. Words that also left her room to be good or evil in what she actually did with the girl behind the counter.
“All right. Hurry back though. One way or the other, this won’t take too long. Bend over Karen, I’m going in dry!”
The words got a laugh. Not from Karen, who simply seemed baffled. Just everyone else there.
Chapter twelve
Instead of putting up a good fight, or running for the door, Karen shrugged at Keeley, then Zack. It was the more manly of them she spoke to, however. The more familiar, as well, no doubt.
“Did you get that? I… Really, if I have to pick one of you, I’m going for the penis having one, if we’re doing it.” The words were playful at least, instead of just insulting.
Keeley smiled, actually feeling happy enough, even if she was being selected out for work without being asked to do it. A fake trade wasn’t one. Then again, if a Trickster just asked you to do things, it was generally better to give it an honest try, instead of balking just because it left you uncomfortable in the moment.
Still the words were waved away.
“Don’t worry, Karen. I can change shape. Though, I’m pretty sure Troy was asking me to do that for you. What do you want to look like? I’m only doing cosmetic things, so no super powers from it or anything. Well, nothing that will get the others worked up. We could possibly arrange for something interesting that way. Just nothing
that will really help you in a fight too much.” She glanced at Zack, who stopped for a second then nodded at her words.
There was a small whistle to follow it.
“I… See. So… That has to be for almost all of us, doesn’t it?”
There was no explanation of the words, and they weren’t needed. It sounded too strange, once you realized that the most evil bad guys had left most of their power on the table for all of history. Probably because reality couldn’t survive if they messed that one up.
Rallying fast enough to be impressive if you knew to look for such things, Zack smiled at the counter girl. The penis having one, to steal the term from her.
“Nifty. Troy just set things up so that you can be a bio-girl now, Karen. Keels can do the work, too. That’s… Kind of big. It won’t be like transitioning, either. I mean, not to be indelicate, but if she does the work, you won’t be a man that became a woman as much as a brand new woman.”
The counter server frowned then.
“That’s still a bit transphobic.”
Keeley shook her head.
“Not really. He’s saying that it will be different than you expect, that’s all. Which… Do you have anything specifically you want to look like? We can do a lot that way.” She didn’t make any suggestions. After all, if Karen had half a brain…
There was a smile on her lightly made up face.
“Can I look like one of the succubi? They’re all, like, really pretty. Being one of them would be… So cool. I mean, they go back and forth, not just being stuck as one thing. I’m gender fluid, you know?”
Too much so, which she could have told the woman. Still, there was power in being good looking, as well as drawbacks. Zack didn’t correct her either, so Keeley thought for a bit, then nodded. After all, the parts of the succubi that made them seem so very incredible were two-fold. One was a psychic resonance that filled the world around them, sharpening when they became aroused. Technically that was a real power. One that would be useful, without actually being something that would easily harm anyone.
The second part was simple enough. They all looked to be about twenty-three when they were women and thirty when they transformed into men. While the ladies tended toward being busty, most having D-cups and perfect hips that signaled they wanted sex constantly, they also had perfect skin and far above average health.
They also needed to feed on sex energy or they’d die. The whole package was difficult to come up with, meaning interesting to work on but nothing that felt too hard for her. Not as a payment for having a Human taught to be a line walker by an ancient Trickster god. It gave her license to do a lot more for Karen than she’d been doing for the others she’d worked on in the last days.
Plus, she was nearly certain that some kind of message had been passed to her about what to do that way, before Troy had left. It wasn’t anything she was picking up on consciously, and yet, boom, it was still right there in her mind.
She didn’t bother with a light show this time, changing Karen to look like she wanted to. Into being what she really desired, which was a lot more than just being a hot girl. That meant a bit of squealing and ripping off of suddenly ill-fitting clothing, leaving the now busty brunette girl who was standing there behind the counter, wearing only a slightly askew green and white apron. She had pubic hair, which was perfectly trimmed. Alede did it that way. They woke up in the morning looking perfectly made up and lovely, since that was the idea of feminine beauty at the moment.
Karen had that now, too.
Really, she’d change over time to match what was considered perfectly beautiful in the area she lived in. At the moment however, the brand new Alede knock off needed clothing. A thing that Keeley simply didn't have for her. Not that would fit. In the space behind her there were some things that she could borrow, of course.
Before she could speak, the noise from Karen growing quiet as she started to feel her new shape with her hands, Zack had his phone out.
“Kait? We need Alede friendly clothing at Yoghurt World, ASAP. Thanks! Roughly your size, of course.” Then he hung up, as if saying only that would be enough. Then again, Kaitlyn was one of that kind of person, so probably thought she understood what had happened.
Things had been torn off as sex took place, since that kind of thing happened. Still, a slightly different looking brunette jogged into the place, not two minutes later, holding what looked like sweat bottoms and a t-shirt in her hand, not being at all out of breath from having run from down the way.
Karen was still fondling herself, while hiding behind the counter near the back well enough to prevent anyone outside in the hallway from easily getting a free show. Keeley waved in her direction, getting Kait to float further back, so she could see the new girl.
Which got a smile and a nod.
“Well, hello! I didn't know that any of our people would be willing to work here. Even for a one time show, that’s pretty brave of you. Not that you should fear the Vampires here. Zack called. Your clothing got trashed?” What she had in her hands were held out. The smile on her face was kind, sympathetic and also a bit judging.
From how she looked, it seemed Karen was being judged acceptable. Then, Alede liked people in general. Even ugly people were kind of cool in their book. They were harshest with their own people that way.
Rather than trying to explain for them, Keeley got to wait, as Karen spoke coherently for the first time.
“Um… Kait? It’s me… Karen? The one that works here? This… Keeley changed me? This is… Perfect! Do you like it? I don’t know if I get to keep it or if it’s even real… It feels real… Here, try it.” That took getting Kait behind the counter. At which point Karen let herself be felt up enough that it certainly seemed that girl her was going to at least be bi, regardless of her previous preferences.
Which made sense. Men and women were biologically different. When their brains changed, their likes, dislikes and predilections would also do so.
Zack watched, his gaze nearly sweet, as Karen started to cry, being happy about the new shape she found herself in.
Keels winked at Kaitlyn.
“This is real and permanent, sort of. She can change shape, and become a guy as well. The same as before, but a bit better looking. Not so much that she’ll need a new driver’s license.”
The work was fairly good, though it needed to be tested, eventually.
Zack tilted his head, a thing that looked cute on him, in an adult and manly way.
“You made an Alede?”
Those words got a reaction from Kaitlyn, who was helping the naked hottie behind the counter get dressed. There was no bra, but like an Alede, she wasn’t going to need one. Her large breasts nearly floated, being supported from the inside more than a Human woman would be able to hope for.
“Not really. She won’t need to feed, for instance. She, or he, will have the attraction powers, or something kind of similar. Those will take practice to learn to control. The shape changing is… Essentially, Karen is a Shifter now, not an Alede. Her animal form is just a guy, that’s all. Troy is trading me work for her in exchange for training my boyfriend Ravi to be a line walker.”
The Alede line walker seemed pleased enough to hear about it all and understood, less than half a second later, when a strange man came into the back of the shop, followed by Troy. Ravi still seemed out of it, though he did notice that Karen was different and flashing her pink nipples at the room as she struggled to get her borrowed clothing on. It was a good show, though her boyfriend only glanced that way, then looked over at her.
“This… Is not the best date ever, is it? After last night… We might not be very good at this part of things, you know that?” His words were a bit drifty sounding, even if the problem was his intense focus distracting him. Troy moved into the room, seeming relaxed, and moved into the booth next to Barb, who faked a clearing of her throat.
Then she shook her head a bit, almost sadly.
“I think Keeley was just abo
ut to make me better looking? Not that she has any reason to. I’m just the least attractive girl here now, so it only seems fair.” She mock sulked, since she wasn’t actually lacking in the looks department by all that much. A solid seven.
At least if she had good make-up on. A part of that was simply due to the fact that even fifty years before, Vampires had been chosen for their ability to blend in, not look pretty. At least part of the time. Some of them had been brought over to keep exotic traits around. Strange natural hair and eye colors, unusual size, large or small. Other things that were interesting, rather than useful to the Vampire in particular.
Reaching out, Keeley touched the Vampire on the arm, changing her without fanfare. Her breasts were left a bit higher and a little fuller. Her chest a bit larger and with the same basic floating quality that Karen had going on now. The big difference was that her face was redesigned to look the same only with as if she wore good makeup on perfect skin. Just a bit of greater facial symmetry. A thing that made her into a high eight, rolling out of bed. Possibly a nine, depending on who was looking at her, since opinions varied that way.
Not that the woman slept. She was a Master Vampire, after all. Part of that whole discipline, was about not going down during the day like the weaker members of her race did.
Zack rolled his eyes, managing to be playful about it, with Troy grinning suddenly. It was enough for Barb to make a face at the men. People she felt far more comfortable with than Keeley.
“What? I know it sounds vain… I guess I shouldn’t whine. I’ll work on being an adult about it, I promise.” There was a bit of hurt in her voice, as if they were being mean and teasing her about being ugly, which she wasn’t and hadn’t been.
Zack shook his head.
“You probably want to go and look in the mirror. It’s hilarious. You can’t blame us for it. Only Keeley. It was all her fault.”
There was a scowl then, since Vampires had attitudes. It wasn’t just a rule, it was a way of life for them, particularly the young. Barb was only about sixty years dead, which wasn’t exactly ancient for her kind. Getting up, the woman moved into the back of the space, where there was a small bathroom that seldom got used by the staff there. Vampires didn’t need it, after all.
