Dr. Pierce finished looking over his gear with more than a little confusion.  There was nothing wrong with the weapon, he thought.  It’s fully functional – it just didn’t fire when I needed it.  The same for the Jetpack…  Nothing wrong with it, but it fired when I didn’t want it to.  My tech never misfires, so something else must be at work. 

 

                Justin thought about it a bit, and realized what he’d been missing…  She calls herself Virus…  Is it because she can interface with electronics?  That would explain why my fool proof bomb didn’t go off – I used digital detonators.  It also explains why Carnage’s minigun didn’t fire… she turned it off, just like she did my Blaster.  Tricky, tricky girl… I wonder if the press knows you lied about your powers?  He smiled.  Next time I won’t make those mistakes – and just in case you decide to try them again, I’d better put in some ECM to see if I can slow you down.

 

                “Mr. Chips, buddy?  Did you feel something weird when Virus was trying to stop me?”

 

                “Yip!  Yip!  Grrr…”  Mr. Chips definitely had, and had erected a temporary firewall at the time.  It had sort of worked.

 

                “I think she tried to hack you, pal.”  Dr. Pierce replied.  “Configure for maximum ECM next time we meet her.”  (ECM was an acronym for Electronic Counter Measures).   “Maybe that will keep her on her toes.”

 

                “Yip!  Yap!”  Mr. Chips agreed.  He’d already parsed the data he had gained from his scan of Virus, and concluded she was extremely dangerous – but extremely unskilled.  If he could erect a barrier to keep her out of his OS, she shouldn’t be a problem to deal with, even with a greatly reduced arsenal of weaponry.  After all, there was a finite pool of resources Mr. Chips could draw upon, and if most of his assets were keeping her out, then he could only use what little was left to deal with her.

 

                “Yip!”  Mr. Chips exclaimed.

 

                “I know, buddy.  We won’t be here much longer.  I have a few places in mind where we can live after the nasty business with Trask is done.  But until then, we need to stay here with daddy’s tools.  Besides, it’s pretty safe here – remember the bad man Victor and his friends?  They didn’t get to hurt me either.  We’re okay.”

 

                Trask Industrial was still a potential target, but it was way too well guarded at the moment.  They were probably all on high alert now, Justin thought.  Oh well.  “Let’s start on plan B.  Trask Electronics.” 

 

Mr. Chips barked with happiness.  Master always liked playing with his toys! 

 

 

*              *              *

 

                Colby woke to feel Darryl kissing her on the cheek, and couldn’t help but smile.  “Morning, you.”

 

                “Good morning, Colby.”  Darryl replied.  “How did you sleep?”

 

                She grinned naughtily.  “Pretty well, once we got to sleep, I think.  How about you?”

 

                “I slept great.”  He stretched, and Colby watched his lithe muscles move under his skin.  “Any plans for today?”  He asked.

 

                “Yeah.”  Colby answered.  “I’ve got a heroine thing that needs done.  I don’t know how long it will take, but it needs done.  The guy who changed me is killing people and making bombs.  I’ve got to stop him.”

 

                “I know.”  Dar said, smiling sadly.  “I don’t have to like it much though.  Stay safe?”

 

                “I will, but I’m not leaving yet.  I just woke up.  Thanks for taking me to the party last night, by the way.”

 

                “Oh – the party where Laurie and I screwed up and you nearly got attacked?”

 

                “Yeah, doofus.”  She laughed.  “That one.  Up until the end it was a lot of fun.  I think I’d have liked university.”

 

                “Have you thought about going, now that you’re changed?”  Darryl asked.

 

                “Yeah – but I’ll need a place to live first – and then the other stuff can follow.  I’ll sort it out – and I know you’ll help when you can too.  I meant it though, I think I’ll take medicine.”

 

                Darryl nodded.  “I think you’d make a good doctor, even without powers.” 

 

                “Thanks, honey.”  Colby smiled – she still liked the sound of that.

 

                “You’re welcome, Colby.”  He gave her a kiss on the forehead.  “Is there anything I can help with today?”

 

                Colby scrunched up her nose and thought – it was a silly, cute expression that made Dar laugh, so it was totally worth it.  “Maybe look online for some apartments I can look at to rent?  I know I can’t move in until I get my paperwork – but I can still view the apartment and see if it’s for me, right?  I shouldn’t need my ID until I actually have to apply for the unit.”

 

                Dar nodded.  “I can do that, beautiful.  It’s too bad I don’t have a two bedroom – you could stay here.”

 

                Did he just ask me to move in with him?  No way!  “Maybe I could, Dar – but we’re still sorting things out, and as much as I care for you, I think it would be best if we had our own spaces for at least a few months until we’re sure.  Is that okay?”

 

                “Yeah, hon.  It’s okay.  I was just musing.”  Dar replied.  “I think it might be too soon, too.  It was more a comment than a question.”

 

                “Okay, honey.”  Colby climbed out of bed and stretched.  “Yarrrg” she groaned, stretching.  “Dibs on the shower.”

 

                “Go ahead, stinky.”

 

                “Stinky!  Who are you calling stinky?”  She laughed – but grabbed a pillow all the same.

 

                Darryl grinned, and grabbed her hips.  “You.  I’m calling you stinky.” 

 

                “I’m not stinky; I’m a girl.  I sweat rainbows, kittens and tiny unicorns.”  Colby laughed and bopped Dar with the pillow before heading off to the shower.  “Doofus!” 

 

                “Rainbows and kittens?  Like hell you do!”  Darryl laughed.  I’m going to miss the hell out of her when she finds her own place, he thought.  Why does she keep making me love her so much?  I can’t believe this was Kayden.  How could he keep her inside for so long?  It must have been killing him. 

 

                And what about me?  Darryl wondered.  What’s happening with me?  Am I falling in love with her?  She even admitted last night she might be falling in love with me too… Darryl had to admit he felt pretty nice when he heard her say that – but did he expect it? Never!  How can this happen, and happen so quickly?  Should we take a step back, or push onward, full steam ahead?  I’m so confused.

 

                Pushing his confusion to one side for now, Darryl went to the kitchen and put a pot of his fancy coffee on, and then booted up his laptop.  It was past 9:30am on a Saturday morning, so he didn’t have to rush or actually be anywhere, which was nice.  Maybe I’ll catch the Warden’s game tomorrow afternoon?  That would be cool.  Maybe Colby will watch it with me?  She still likes football, doesn’t she?  Pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee, he headed to the kitchen table and sat down to start looking for a place for Colby.

 

 

*              *              *

 

                Colby smiled as she walked down 7^th Avenue towards the lower east side.  The weather was cool, overcast, and slightly breezy, and Colby found she was enjoying the weather.  There were few people on the streets – many of the shops weren’t even open yet, or were just opening, so the streets were relatively deserted.  She waved at a café owner who was just opening up, and was pleased to see them wave back and smile.  It was strange, she thought.  Ever since I’ve become Colby I’ve been actually happy.  I could really get used to feeling that way.  I should have transitioned years ago – I guess I wasn’t brave enough?  It doesn’t matter.  Colby’s here and I’m not leaving…              

 

                She thought back to last night, when the jock dressed as Captain Patriot had manhandled her.  I can’t fight yet – that’s a serious weakness.  Until I learn to fight, I need to maximize my advantages.  I can control and manipulate Hazard Man’s tech, and maybe Mr. Chips too – but I can’t count on that.  Dr. Pierce is supposed to be a genius – what if he puts in some sort of firewall that can block me?  Maybe I need to concentrate on my other power – the shapeshifting – for now, to get an edge? 

 

                I turned strong before, with the car accident – that could be useful.  I might be able to make myself more agile and dexterous – and maybe faster too.  All those would be handy.  It would be neat if I could see in the dark or hear ultrasonic sounds, but I’m not really sure how that works.  Don’t cats have extra cones and rods in their corneas, and rats have some sort of ability to hear ultrasonic sounds?  Maybe if I could see how their physiology works, I could mimic it? 

 

                She decided to head to a local McDonalds, and grab a soda and use their free wifi for her phone.  Seventy-five minutes later, she had a pretty good idea of how rats and dogs could hear ultrasonic frequencies, how cats could see in the dark, how bats could echo-locate, how some insects could navigate by smell or infrared energy, and how porpoises use sonar underwater.  She even learned a little about how gills extract oxygen.  I’m not sure if this will help, but it’s worth a try; anything that gives me an edge is useful.  And hey, if it doesn’t work, at least I learned something new, right?

 

                She groaned and stretched.  These chairs are NOT very comfortable, she thought.  Time to go.  She tossed her trash out, and headed back out into the street.  By now it was close to noon, and shoppers were out in full force.  She tried to stiffen her courage a bit and strode out towards them, hoping she’d be able to let slide any comments directed her way.  Oddly enough, this time there were none, and it gave her some confidence as she headed towards what she hoped would be Hazard Man’s Lair.

 

                As she walked she idly mused about some of Empire city’s other heroes and heroines.  Like where was Fathom and Tesseract during all this excitement?  Did they leave town – or are they just busy?  She chuckled a little bit.  Really, they could be out of town on business, or family matters, or even adventuring on some other planet or dimension.  I guess we start to think they’ll always be here for us, and when they aren’t, it seems odd and wrong.  I wonder how long it takes for people to expect me to always be here too?  It would be nice to meet them… I could use some advice from a pro right now.

 

                Still, she thought, I’m not managing too badly on my own, am I?  I’m still alive – that’s something.  I just have to remember Hazard Man isn’t a pro either – so he’ll be making as many newbie mistakes as I am, or if not as many, at least some.  I think that sort of makes us equal.  Just remember Colby, she told herself.  Always keep your eyes on the little damn dog.  You don’t want him to fry you again.

 

                Colby realized she’d walked all the way from 7^th avenue to 14^th avenue.  She was practically on Hazard Mans’ doorstep.  Time to find some cover and get changed.  As she looked around for a concealed spot to change ID’s, she was struck by  inspiration – what she called “a brainwave’.  I changed a cheap plastic watch into a Rolex, she thought.  Why can’t I turn a pair of sunglasses into telescopic range finders with Infrared sight?  It’s worth a try at least – maybe I can make my own gadgets for heroing, if it works! 

 

                She spied a narrow alley about half a block away from Hazard Man’s warehouse, and ducked inside.  A quick scan with her electronic senses didn’t reveal any cameras, and she didn’t see anyone watching, so she quickly assumed her Virus form, taking a pair of sunglasses from her jacket pocket first.  Let’s see if this works?  She said to herself, and began concentrating on how to change the device…  It was hard, shapeshifting it – the electronics inside were the hard part, but she thought she could do it – if she talked to them first to see if what she was doing was ‘hurting them’.  It took ten minutes and five tries – but in the end she managed to transform the sunglasses into some yellow tinted goggles with a 10x telescopic feature that included range finding and a few other options – the IR and UV functions eluded her, but she did realize something extremely important:  the greater her knowledge about the technology involved, the easier it was to change the stuff… so simple things like brass knuckles or turning a watch into a watch was pretty simple – but turning plastic sunglasses into high tech was not – unless you knew how the tech worked.  Colby knew the telescopic feature because she knew about lenses – she liked those classes in high school – and she knew about range-finding because she read some stuff in a high-tech toy magazine a few months ago about military range finders. 

 

                What if my ability to shapeshift functions the same way? She thought.  What if the more biology I know, the more forms I can change into or the more powers I can simulate?  Oh my god!  Is it that simple?  I just don’t know – but if I make it out alive today I’m going to try and find out.  I think textbooks are going to be very good friends of mine very soon…

 

                She put the goggles on, and they felt pretty good.  The yellow tint on them was a little different, but she noticed it helped to cancel out some of the shadows in the alley and brighten things up.  Interesting.  She altered herself to have powerful legs again, and leapt up to the roof of the building she was next to, and leapt from rooftop to rooftop until she reached Hazard Mans warehouse.  The final jump was easy, and she landed lightly as a cat would land.  Now to look around for a way in.

 

                She approached a skylight, and assumed it would be alarmed.  A gentle touch with her electronic senses showed that it was – and she was able to easily interface with the system and shut it down.  The Skylight was closed, but she had figured it would be – so she had brought a suction cup from the hardware store and a glass cutter from the same, and tried to do what she’d seen in at least a dozen movies.  She was surprised at how easy it was – the glass cut easily, and the suction cup held it from falling – and soon the skylight was open and she was able to climb inside.

 

                A moment later she was standing on a metal beam that formed the upper rafters of the warehouse.  It gave a very good view of the building – and it was plain there were some interesting modifications done to the building.  First, there was unrecognizable tech lying in every available workspace, and strange machines she couldn’t identify occupying the sections of the floor large enough to accommodate them.  She couldn’t see Hazard Man or Mr. Chips – but she could see a pair of dog bowls, one filled with oil and the other with RAM chips, and a cup of coffee on a table, with steam coming off of it.  They must be close.  Suddenly she heard a distinctive “bweeeee!” of something electronic charging up, and she knew she was caught.  Oh Shit, she thought as she leapt off the beam to the warehouse floor, 40 feet below. 

 

                BLAM!  Virus landed in a soft crouch – only to see the spot she’d been standing a moment ago had been blasted by a powerful energy weapon.  The beam she had been standing on was melted through, and cherry red metal was dripping down to the ground below, near Virus, causing sparks when it landed.

 

                “Uh… Hello?”  She asked.  She still couldn’t see Mr. Chips or Hazard Man, and they had undoubtedly seen her.  “I disabled your alarm.  How did you notice me?”

 

                Hazard man laughed.  “I figured out your secret, Virus – the one you don’t want the news knowing.  How you can interface with electronics.”

 

                How in the fucking hell did he figure that out?  Oh crap…  All of a sudden Colby’s plan didn’t seem so great.  She decided to switch to plan B and primarily use the shapeshifting. 

 

                “…You see, Virus, you found the first alarm that was on the network, but I figured you’d be sloppy and miss the second alarm, that was NOT on the network.  The second one that activated the moment the first was turned off, I might add.  Imagine my surprise when it worked perfectly!  Do you still intend to try and stop me from dealing with Trask?  I’ll give you this one chance to leave.  I assure you, I am quite prepared to deal with you.”

 

                “Maybe, maybe not.”  Virus said, angling to see if she could see him.  His blabbermouth yapping had mostly given away his position, but she still couldn’t see him.  “I’ve got a few surprises up my sleeves, too.”  She hid behind some machines… They told her their purpose was to fabricate metals.  She dealt with electronics talking to her a lot lately, so she just tuned it out so she could hear Hazard Man.

 

                “I doubt it.”  Hazard Man quipped.  “If you did, you’d have used them at Trask Industrial.”

 

                There he was!  Virus finally got a glimpse of him, and Mr. Chips as well.  They were quietly walking on a metal catwalk about twenty feet up, looking for her.  I must have fallen out of their line of sight when I jumped, she thought.  They can’t see me!

Colby got a nasty idea and snuck directly under the catwalk.  The two villains kept walking above, looking for her.  She concentrated, and tried to change herself a bit, hoping her idea would work.  She leapt up to the catwalk, and grasped on with all her might – and the sound caused Mr. Chips and Hazard Man to whirl around.  “Surprise!” she said, and let them have it, as she pumped all the electricity her body could hold into the catwalk… “I read about electric eels, dumbass!” 

 

                Mr. Chips yelped and some circuits sizzled and burnt as the current passed through the iron catwalk – and Hazard Man groaned, and fell to the ground nerveless, as if he had been hit by one or more stun guns.  Virus couldn’t hold on to the catwalk anymore and fell twenty feet to the ground, landing in a catlike crouch that seemed to surprise even her.

 

                Mr. Chips turned his scanners onto his master right away, and he would have sighed with relief if he still had to breathe.  Master was still breathing…  SHE HURT MASTER!  Mr. Chips reconfigured to deal with this unwanted intruder, and his internal systems put a very strong set of ECM up to keep Virus from taking control of him.  NO ONE HURTS MASTER!  He ran to the edge of the catwalk, and leapt off, his jetpack emerging from his chest cavity, and flew towards where he had last seen Virus, his flame thrower powering up.  She wasn’t there – and then his sensors detecting something incoming!

 

                Mr. Chips was hit with a large piece of high-tech machinery – an industrial drill press weighing about a quarter ton.  It impacted with bone and polymer crushing force, and sent the tiny robot dog crashing to the floor, injured.  Mr. Chips was stunned, and by the time his system had reset, Virus was standing over him with a large steel object held in hugely muscled arms – one of the machines in the warehouse – held over her head to smash him with.  He yipped in anger, and Virus brought the heavy machine down on him.  The device smashed against him once, then twice – and then it broke into useless smaller pieces from the force of the beating it had taken, and for a moment Virus was left unarmed. 

 

                Hurt, but not out of the fight, Mr. Chips unleashed with his flamethrower, and caught the newbie heroine full on!  She screamed for a moment – but then regained control of herself, and even though she was still burning, it didn’t seem to be bothering her – other than being a bit less agile than a moment before.  He could tell her wounds were healing as they fought.

 

                “Not so easy, is it puppy?”  Virus asked.  “Like I said, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”  She stared at the dog, and tried to take control of him.  She knew it would be harder than normal, since they were obviously prepared for it, but she wagered it was worth the risk.  Frankly, I don’t dislike the dog, she thought.  He’s just protecting his master.  I don’t want to scrap him.  If I can turn him off or something, that would be much better!

 

                Mr. Chips could feel her infiltrating his firewall, and was surprised she was making headway against it. His processor believed that her hacking skills would have to equal or exceed Master’s to be able to do that, and his tactical assessment showed that there was no natural way she should have that level of skill.  There were only three people in the world at Masters level on the computer – and none of them were female.  It must be a power… So reconfigure to negate powers?  Mr. Chips realized he would have only moments to attempt it.  He reconfigured, and flamed her again.  Again, she burned but didn’t scream or even seem to feel the heat of the fire.  Her healing factor was almost but not quite keeping up with the damage.  He just couldn’t figure out how she was remaining functional.

 

                Meanwhile, Virus probed deeper and deeper into Mr. Chips’ defences, threading past protective codes one by one.  As she took the second flame blast she grew frustrated – it was taking too long!  Still it was the only way to defeat Mr. Chips without destroying his body, and she wasn’t willing to do that. Yet. She probed deeper.

 

                Mr. Chips finished reconfiguring for power negation, and sent the energy radiating at Virus.  It waited expectantly – for her mind probe to stop, for her healing to stop, for her ability to block the pain to stop… and nothing happened.  He yipped in anger and ran a quick subroutine… the negation field was working at 100%.  Why didn’t it affect her?  Mr. growled in frustration.

 

                Virus pushed one more time – and with a mental surge that felt herculean, she broke through Mr. Chips computerized defences.  She could see his mind arrayed in front of her – with memories of him and Justin playing – and crying – together over the years of their relationship.  “You’re a good dog.”  She said, realizing it was true – at least until Justin turned him into a monster.  “Good boy.  Time for a nap.”  She shut him down – and he fell over, like a toy without batteries.  He wasn’t a bad dog, she thought.  He was just helping his master.  Justin, you stupid bastard.  If you hadn’t done this to him, I could have healed Mr. Chips.  Now I don’t think I can.  She knelt next to him.  “Sorry pal.  I guess you’re stuck like this.” 

 

                She got to her feet, and let her healing factor finish healing the damage Mr. Chips’ flame thrower had caused, and used her power to jump up to the catwalk where Hazard Man was still stunned, but was starting to come to.  She touched his neck, below the tinfoil lined helmet, and put him to sleep for at least eight hours.  It’s over.  She thought.  I won.  I won!  Virus started giggling, and pumped her fist in the air.  “Woot!  I fucking beat him!  Yes!” Victory felt good, she thought.  What felt better was that Dr. Justin Pierce wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else for quite some time.  Hopefully he would get the psychiatric care he needed – and if not, she hoped he wouldn’t be out of jail for a very long time.

 

                She pulled out her cheap disposable phone and called Detective Allan Taylor.  Mr. Trask was undoubtedly going to be gigantically pissed off she hadn’t killed Pierce, but that was a problem for another day.  Maybe Trask would have some brains and leave it alone, she wondered.  Nah.  Probably not.

               

                The phone rang once, then twice, and Detective Taylor picked up.  “Hello?”

 

                “Hello, detective Taylor?  It’s your friend, Virus.  I believe I have something that belongs to the ECPD.  Could you stop by and pick him up, please?”

 

                “What do you mean, ma’am?  Did you capture Dr. Pierce?”  Detective Taylor asked.

 

                “Yeah, and his robot dog, too.  I thought you and your partner might want the collar.  He’s at a warehouse on 18^th avenue – but the doors are all trapped and locked.  I’ll open a path for you and your men.  There are a lot of traps here, so be careful.”

 

                Allan looked surprised.  “How about this, miss Virus? Why don’t you bring him out, and the robot dog too, and we’ll send the bomb-squad inside to defuse all the traps.  That way no one gets hurt - Including you, or us.”

 

                “Sounds good.  I’ll see you soon.”  Virus hung up, smirking.  A job well done, she thought.

 

               

*              *              *

 

 

                Detective Taylor turned to his partner, Brian Keller.  “Guess who just took out Hazard Man and his dog, and offered us the collar?”

 

                “I told you Allan, she’s got the hots for you!”  Brian smirked.  “And if we’re lucky we’ll get a big fat raise and Mr. Trask won’t have us killed for you sassing him in his office – when he still had an office.”

 

                “I think we better call the bomb squad on this one – she says the place is booby-trapped.”

 

                “Those aren’t the boobies you’re thinking about, are they my friend?”  Brian joked.

 

                “What?!  No!  What are you, five?”  Detective Taylor protested. 

 

                “Methinks you protest too much.”  Brian replied.  “But I’ll lay off for now.  I still say she was checking you out.”

 

                “Maybe she was, but I wasn’t thinking of her… until you said something.”  Allan sighed.  It was going to be one of those days, wasn’t it?  He turned the car around and they headed towards Hazard Man’s warehouse.  This case was going to produce a prodigious amount of paperwork before it was all over, and Brian’s joking wasn’t going to help.  That must of have been some fight, he thought.  For her to take them on and win, after the beating she took last time must have taken guts.  Detective Taylor couldn’t help but respect Virus for trying – and succeeding.  She’s learning, he thought.  I wonder how powerful she’ll be by the time she actually knows what she’s doing?

 

                He drove for a bit longer.  “I wasn’t thinking of her boobs.”

 

                Brian smirked.  “Uh-huh.  Sure you weren’t.  I know I was – she’s smoking hot!”

 

                “Perv.”

 

                “Hey, I’m not the one she gave her phone number to, am I?”

 

                Detective Taylor didn’t know what to say, so he stayed quiet, and drove.  It was definitely going to be a long day.