The stiffness of the bleacher wood beneath my butt served as a stark reminder of the situation I found myself in; between a rock and a hard place. While she’d been able to pick the glass out of my shoulder and take notes about my quirks, Mel hadn’t been able to fix my gym suit. So it laid buried beneath my textbooks within my bookbag until I could figure out a better solution.

Wednesday’s gym unfolded in front of me much the same as it had the previous few days of my first week here, warm-up exercises and a few tests while I worked over what I could do. I’d faked being sick enough today that I couldn’t feasibly be expected to put on my suit, and combined with the notion that Mrs. Bittinboulder still wasn’t aware that I had received my Alter abilities, I was given a free pass. The issue at hand was that I’d ridden that excuse as far as it could take me; gym suits were due in two days for cleaning and I hadn’t yet concocted a plan to get myself out of this bear-trap. A deep sigh escaped my lips, I had no clue what to do.

A hard thump vibrated through the wood next to me, alerting me to the presence of someone else on my right. The neon pink hair clued me in right away.

“Hey Sammy.” I smiled. Anything that would take my mind off this puzzle box of an issue was welcomed dearly; I’d been working it over tirelessly since I’d parted with Kayden the previous night. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did waste a bunch of time listening to hip-hop and playing a city builder game last night, but that’s what I always do to relax.

“Jesus, you always this spacey?” she asked through a smirk. I shrugged, not comprehending what she was getting at. “I was snapping at you, tryin’ to get your attention for, like, a minute there, bud.”

I let out a small laugh. “Yeah, sorry. Just a lot on my mind right now I guess.” She leaned back and made herself comfortable.

“Yeah, I don’t like gym either. Fuckin blows if you want my honest review,” she said with a bored look in her eye.

“Well, yes,” I countered, “but that’s not what’s got me all gummed up. I’m trying to figure out something that I’d really prefer to just not be an issue altogether.”

“No worries, dude, I’ve been in your shoes before. What are you tryin’ to figure out?” she replied.

“Well,” I began before a realization hit me. “Sammy, hold on. You aren’t in this class,” I whispered urgently. “Why are you here? What if Bittinboulder sees you?” Sammy waved dismissively.

“Try not to worry about it. I was making out with ‘Hot Ass’ underneath the bleachers and lost track of time.”

“‘Hot Ass?” I questioned.

Sammy chuckled to herself. “Yeah, not sure what his name is.” She mimed with her hands gesturing above her head. “Tall guy, choice booty. He has a mohawk.”

“Wait, Dirk Gosher?”

She snapped her fingers in reply, a wide smile forming between her cheeks. “Yep! Dirky. Tell you what, that boy’s got some wandering hands on him. Not that I’m judging, I’ve got the same deal.”

I shook my head and laughed. “Noted.” I continued to watch the class while she began to pick at her nails before I heard a loud “Oh!” to my side.

Sammy scooted closer to me with a mischievous look in her eyes.“Gavin, what’re you doing on Friday?”

Beyond being totally fucked by my suit screw-up, I had to admit my calendar was otherwise pretty clear. “Nothing, probably. Why?”

“Well,” she began, her posture winding up as if to begin a sales pitch. Oh no, that’s what this was.

“Wait,” I interrupted her, “you’re not about to try to ask to drag me to a seminar on how to be a student salesperson are you? Let me tell you, I already went through that whole spiel before and there aren’t enough coffee and donuts in the world to watch someone cut a rope with a knife again.” Sammy hesitated for a moment, absorbing what I’d said before bursting into laughter.

“No, dumbass, I was going to invite you to a show I‘m throwing with my band.”

“Your band?”

“Yeah, we’re the Stink Peaches.” Sammy paused, seemingly waiting for a response from me.

“...who?” I questioned.

Sammy groaned. “C’mon, man, the Stink Peaches. It’s a band I’m in with my buds Tinker, Tank, and Fucking Craig.”

“What-ing Craig?” I laughed.

“He’s an ass, the name is well deserved. I’ve been slinging a mixtape from us all over school, you’re tellin’ me Cass didn’t share the good word with ya?” I shook my head and suppressed a laugh. She huffed and turned away. “Well, guess that means by obligation you have to come to our show Friday.” I sighed internally. I honestly would rather just go home and stare at the ceiling then go to a concert, but she was my friend, or wanted to be. I didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship by saying no.

“Yeah, I’ll come,” I agreed. She quickly turned around and embraced me in a very, very tight hug.

“Hell yeah, attaboy. Can’t wait to see you there. Cass is coming too, you should carpool or somethin’.”

“Can’t wait. Though I might not even be able to come. I think I’m going to get in trouble for something that may prevent my coming to your show.” I admitted.

Sammy eyed me suspiciously. “No joshin, right? I don’t want any pity from folks about my music, either come or don’t, y’know.”

I waved my hands to de-escalate the issue. I’d try to be as vague as possible. “No, no. I might actually get busted for, well, breaking something. Thing is, if it’s found out that I broke this… thing, questions are going to be asked about how I could’ve broken it.”

“Oh, so you were in a place you weren’t even supposed to be in?” She leaned in.

“Well, er, yeah. I guess so. And the broken item is probably going to come to light soon and, well, I’ve not been able to think of a way to get out of the issue.”

“Huh.” Sammy put her finger to her lip for a moment, lost in thought. It was a few seconds before she spoke up again. “Why don’t you just swap the thing out with an identical copy? Not like it’s a vase, is it?”

“Well, it’s not that simple. A replacement item isn’t exactly something I can buy, and it’s generally under the watchful eyes of someone so I can’t take one either,” I replied.

Sammy smirked, “Not exactly. Sounds like this thing isn’t always under someone’s watch, right?” I hesitated before nodding. She was right, Bittinboulder wasn’t always in her office. “If that’s the case then all you have to do is get in and out, quick and unseen.”

“Just like that?” I questioned.

“Jus’ like that,” she repeated. I thought for a moment. The quickest I could move was as the other me, my Alter form. Could I really move so quickly that Bittinboulder wouldn’t even see me enter and exit the office though? I exhaled. It was my only shot at this point.

“That just might work, actually. Thanks for the idea, Sammy,” I smiled. She patted me on the back roughly and laughed, perhaps a bit louder than she should have as Bittinboulder turned her attention to us from the other side of the gym.

“Glad to hear it. My only request is you describe me as a beautiful rock goddess when retelling the story.”

“Ms. Sawyer!” came a yell from below. Mrs. Bittinboulder was glaring up at us, tapping on her clipboard. Sammy groaned and stood up.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m leavin’.” She made her way down the steps, stopping her black leather boots all the way before a loud CRUNCH reverberated from the cracked bleacher wood beneath her feet. “Shitty construction,” she mumbled before Bittinboulder ushered her out the gymnasium doors.

Class passed in a blur while I contemplated the inklings of the plan forming in my mind. I would transform into my Alter form, speed into Bittinboulder’s office, grab a replacement gym suit and get out. It wasn’t too hard to nail down the location of said suits, as I could see in a passing glance that a box on her bookshelf in her office contained a familiar plastic-wrapped white peeking out. Anxiety tied my stomach in knots at the thought of what I was planning, but I was able to convince myself that not following through on this would only lead to something worse. Bittinboulder was occupied with shenanigans from Markus and his crew while they were cheering from winning their earlier game in class. I could run in now, but with so many eyes around I doubted I could effectively remain unseen performing such an action. Since class only had five minutes left I decided now would be a good time to head out of the gym and into the hall.

I looked behind me to ensure Bittinboulder wasn’t looking my way and instead caught Cass looking at me curiously. Before she could say anything I was out the door and into the hallway.

The hallways were completely empty and stretched out before me. I made my way slowly from the doors of the gym to my locker, paying close attention to the cameras that sparsely populated the ceiling tiles every fifty feet or so. I counted 4 cameras in total by the time I reached my locker following my usual route. As I checked my phone I noted that I still had a few minutes left before lunch, so I grabbed my books and headed towards the gym on a different path to see if this one had less cameras. To my relief, I found that by travelling closer to the lunchroom I was able to cut at least two cameras out of the total length. I made it halfway to the gym counting only one camera before I was stopped in my tracks.

“Excuse me, young man?” I looked behind me to find a rotund man with with a brown bushy mustache brandishing a clipboard quickly walking towards me.

“Yeah?” I responded.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Gavin,” I replied. “Who are you?”

“Vice-principal Garrison, last name, please?” He pulled his clipboard out.

“Seriously?” I replied. He looked up at me with a tired glance.

“Yes, and I expect a ‘Sir” in there as well.”

I groaned. “McArthur, ‘sir,’” I replied, emphasising the ‘sir’.

“Well, it’s certainly nice to meet you Gavin. Now, why are you out here? Class doesn’t finish for another two minutes,” he said sternly, emphasising ‘nice’ with equal sarcasm.

“I just had to go to the bathroom. I brought my books in case the bell rung while I was still in the bathroom,” I lied. He eyed me suspiciously.

“What class are you supposed to be in right now?”

“Gym,” I replied.

“Doesn’t the gymnasium have bathroom facilities in both the locker rooms and in outside in the hallway?” he pressed.

“Well, yes,” I countered as I tried to reach for a reason why I hadn’t used those bathrooms, “I uh… I was embarrassed.” His fuzzy brown eyebrow raised in reply. “I really had to go, if you know what I mean.”

“Go?” he asked.

“Like, go, go,” I mumbled. I prayed he was buying this, the only way this could become anymore mortifying was if he didn’t. He flushed behind his mustache as he seemed to realize what I was getting at. His mustache seemed to twitch somewhat.

“Oh. Well then. Take care to get to class and look into your diet, Gavin,” he mumbled and turned the other way and began down the hallway, his stride noticeably stiffer than before. I shook my head and continued on. This path to the gym only seemed to have one camera throughout the whole path, so that might be the best path to take. However it seemed that there weren’t that many areas where I could actually change unnoticed. I thought for a moment. There was a broom closet marked Maintenance closer to my locker. Upon closer inspection it looked like it might be out of range of the cameras. I placed a cautious hand on the door and tested the handle. There was no way it could be-

It was unlocked.

I slipped inside quickly and glanced around the dark, damp, surprisingly spacious room. I couldn’t detect anyone else in the room, just myself and some large piping. There were a bunch of pipes running up the walls around me from the ceiling to the floor. The concrete floor was dry enough and clean enough for me to keep clothes here without any issue. A few shelves lined the walls with cleaning supplies and multiples rows of paper towel. There was even an empty mop bucket in the back, but otherwise the room was pretty empty. This would be perfect. The sound of a muffled bell began to ring behind me, alerting me that my free time was up. I sprinted back into the hall and closed the door just as students began to file out of their classrooms. Nobody seemed to notice what I was just up to so I joined the crowd of students vand continued on to lunch, thoughts abound regarding this impending heist.

A single thought seemed to ring louder than the rest; if I was going to be using my Alter form publicly, I had to get a nice outfit to go along with it.

* * *

Mom was in the midst of dinner preparations when I arrived home from school. I made sure to place my bag upstairs in my room just in case anyone in the house was feeling nosy and headed back downstairs. As I passed the living room the muted television screen caught my eye. It was tuned to a news channel and showcased several news pundits discussing some new villain. I turned the volume up.

“-has been a known presence to the police over the last several months and has been deemed responsible for break-ins at multiple Tungsten Labs locations across the tri-state area. It wasn’t until recently however that he began to confront other known Alters within the city. The villain, known as Hexecute for those just joining, has been defeated or evaded during each of these encounters,” the hosts paused to exchange an uneasy glance. “That is, until last night. At some point during the night, the Alter hero known as Collidus fended off a surprise attack from Hexecute near Fensburg Refinery, but found himself stymied when Hexecute somehow reverted him to his default form without utilizing clelium and blocked him from re-entering his Alter form again. We are receiving reports that this may be due to a blocking of his ability to channel his powers, or as some have speculated, is due to blocked chakra points.” 

The anchors again shared a look with each other, and for good reason. Clelium was the only known method for subduing an Altered individual’s form against their will outside of those whose ability was specifically power nullification. The issue was that clelium was only effective for a ten minute window after coming into contact with the skin of an Alter, and nullification powers were only effective for an hour after their line of sight on their target broke. I bit at my fingernails nervously. Something about this made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The anchors continued, “Collidus is reportedly in the care of Aorta-Cadabra, Miracle Maiden, and Crescent City’s own Verdant. This story is still developing. In other news three men were arrested last night while attempting to break into a security appliance store. An unknown Alter prevented the trio from getting away with any money from the store...”

The smell of Mom cooking away in the kitchen pulled my attention away from the TV and eased my nerves somewhat. I walked into the kitchen to take a peek at what she was working on.

“Hey, Mom.” I smiled. I leaned over the counter next to her as she continued stirring in a large black pot. It looked like she was making tomato sauce.

“Hey, sweetie. How was school?” she asked happily.

I shrugged. “It was school. Nothing special.”

“You kids always say that. Honey, you literally go to a super-power high school. I don’t think our ‘nothing special’’s are the same,” she laughed.

“Yeah,” I couldn’t help but smirk slightly as I leaned away, “but saying nothing special means I get to stop talking sooner.”

“Well that’s illegal, you’re my child and I want to hear you talk forever.” Her face scrunched up in thought for a moment. “Well, except when you were four and were going through your ‘why’ phase. If I’m being honest sweetie I really would’ve loved if you stopped talking for a little while back then.”

“Why?” I parroted, eager to poke at her.

“Oh God. Not again,” she sighed in mock exasperation. I found myself laughing pretty hard. Mom and I had always been on pretty good terms, more or less, and we were able to get along pretty well too when we, or more specifically I, felt like it. I made my way out of the kitchen when she called out to me. “I’m making your favorite tonight, chicken spaghetti with the homemade vodka sauce. It should be ready when the twins get home.”

I let out an audible ‘mmm’ and licked my lips. “I love your vodka sauce, especially how drunk I get from it.” Mom whipped her head around quickly, her eyebrows furrowed.

“My sauce does not make anyone ‘drunk’, Gavin!” she huffed. I laughed and headed upstairs. My attention turned to Jules’ open bedroom door as I passed by. Mom did say they’d be gone until later, right?

I quietly crept into Jules’ room and pushed the door closer to the door frame without actually latching the handle to obscure the view into the room. Jules’ room was painted in a lavender shade and each wall held up several ripped out posters of rock bands and some girl bands that she had held a passing interest in over the last few years. Magazines were piled up in a neat stack next raising about a foot high next to her white duvet-covered bed. A quick glance at the bindings of the magazines told me they were from an assortment of publishers, from girlish fashion magazine Sixteen to grungy musician focused Arrowmaker. Her clothes were completely scattered around the room, it looked like a tornado had formed for a few seconds within the confines of the small 10’ x 12’ room. It was near impossible to tell what was dirty and what was clean.

“There’s no way I’d have time to sort through all of these,” I muttered out loud, “let alone know what fit-” I stopped myself. I had all the time in the world. I relaxed for a moment and reached within me. The energy, always crackling and fizzing was close and came easily. Within another moment a flash enveloped me. There I stood; older brother turned older sister, standing in my little sister’s room plotting to steal clothes. My life was starting to become something of an ironic punchline, I feared.

My pants started to bunch up around my ankles as I moved, but the additional dexterity this form granted allowed me to disregard that as nothing more than an afterthought. I zipped around the room and quickly examined the clothing I thought might suit me well. I stopped short of her underwear, I might’ve been in need but I wasn’t really comfortable taking something so intimate from my sister. I ended up with a few pairs of jeans, a jacket, a dress, and a few other items in my arms when I approached the door and peeked out. Seeing that the coast was clear, I quickly zipped into my room, placed the armful of clothes on the bed, and closed my door. I heard mom call out from the kitchen.

“Gav, I think a window is open upstairs. I just heard a breeze blowing through. Shut the window for me, okay?” I hesitated. I couldn’t respond back in this form. I mean, If I tried I could probably pass my voice off as a thirteen year old boy’s, but not my usual age. I decided to loudly shut a window in my room. “Thanks,” I heard her add. I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasted no time in organizing my selections on the bed and found that, curiously, excitement was pulsating in my chest. My fingertips tingled on end, and my toes curled inside my socks. This was fun. I loved this. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I didn’t let myself look too deeply and instead just shrugged.

“This form is a girl, so I need girl clothes.” I said, a pang of ecstasy registered on the back of my neck. God, I loved this voice. I sounded so eloquent and vivid and nice. In that moment, hidden away there in my bedroom with my prizes, everything was right.

* * *

I walked into school on Thursday with a sweaty, shaky hand resting on my backpack strap. I might’ve looked normal on the outside beyond a little paleness, but within the depths of my backpack lay something that could destroy me if anyone ever found them in my possession. My sister’s clothes. I exhaled heavily and swapped my backpack for a few books in my locker. My first few classes passed without issue, though the clock seemed to drag on for an eternity within the confines of each classroom. All too soon gym approached. Once I entered the gymnasium I headed for Mrs. Bittinboulder as she looked over her notes.

“Hey Mrs. B.,” I said, hoping to project charm as well as weakness into my voice. I don’t think they mixed very well. She looked up from her clipboard.

“That’s Bittinboulder, McArthur,” she replied with a hint of a smile tugging at her cheeks. “Feeling better today?”

“N-no,” I mumbled in a weak inflection, causing her to lose her smile and look up and me suspiciously.

“Listen, McArthur. I know you’re probably feeling sour about not having your Alter form yet, but trust me, it’ll come to you soon.” She rested her hand on my shoulder, the same one that had been ripped up a few nights prior. Her expression was sympathetic but it was clear she was speaking with an authoritative undertone. “It just might be awhile before that happens. I mean, you were speaking with Samantha Sawyer yesterday, right?”

I nodded my head, “Yeah.”

“Well, Samantha arrived here in the middle of the year last year, and she still hasn’t received her form. It’s a waiting game, Gavin. You just have to be willing to play.”

“I mean, yeah, I’m definitely willing to play, but I’m also still sick,” I insisted. Why did she have to choose now to give me a lecture? Mrs. Bittinboulder’s expression lightened.

“Oh. Well, alright then, bench same as yesterday in your civvies,” she said. I smiled and began to head towards the bleachers when she called out again. “McArthur? Remember to think about what I said, okay?”

I smiled. “Okay.” I waited gym out while the class began to move on from the regular games they’d been playing over the last few days to something more akin to strategy-based exercises. She paired each student up with another and stood them in two long parallel lines.

“Okay, today we will be practicing your ability to dodge incoming attacks from other Alters. Each of you has been paired with another partner who best compliments your abilities. Each time I blow my whistle, I want one of you to try and lightly attack your partner with your abilities. Though, this is important, do not try to hurt them. Simply try to touch them, okay?” Mrs. Bittinboulder yelled to the students. Cass was paired with another girl, Maggie Nyugen, who was able to conjure air-based forms and silhouettes out of thin air with her mind that would do whatever she asked them to do. It looked like Markus was paired with Mo, a student who had minior time manipulation abilities. I watched with deep fascination as the drills unfolded with each chirp of Mrs. Bittinboulder’s whistle.

Instead of heading to lunch after gym let out, I quickly walked down the empty hallway to the janitor’s closet I had scoped out earlier. I glanced around to confirm that nobody was watching and gripped the cold metal handle and turned the lock. In a moment, I was inside and the door was shut. The room was just as I’d left it, dark, damp, and perfect for a serial killer to lurk in. I quickly threw my bag down behind one of the large pipes running up the wall and unzipped it. The material of the dress was silky and smooth between my fingers and I pulled it out, and even through the anxiety a flicker of excitement ignited within myself. Was I excited to do this? To be seen as ‘Gabrielle’ by my classmates? I shook my head; no, of course not. I was just excited to get myself out of this predicament. I reached for the electricity within me and in a flash was standing in my Alter form. While I changed I mused about my situation; this may just be the first time I’d actually somewhat followed the rules imposed upon us by the school.

I pulled the dress over my head and chest, feeling my breasts pull into place within the fabric. I was again using an undershirt as I’d found that my nipples had shown through the fabric of the dress material when I’d originally tried the dress on in my bedroom. I chuckled to myself, glad I’d found that out before today, I’d hate to have this face labelled as a slut or worse. The dress came down to just above my knees and was red with white flowers imprinted all over it. I pulled on a distressed jean jacket and slipped a pair of canvas flats onto my feet. They were a bit snug, but I found that they’d do. Good thing Jules and myself were apparently built very similarly. Finally I pulled a small canvas bag I’d packed to stuff the new suit into and slung it over my shoulders. I was glad to finally have a good reason to have shaved my legs for the past year or so, this dress would have looked slightly off-kilter if hairy legs were peeking out the bottom of it.

I hesitated in front of the door and zipped around the room to test my speed. This would be tricky, the flats weren’t tied onto my feet and were liable to fall off if I hustled too quickly. Trusting that I’d gotten a handle on them, I drew in a breath and opened the door. I pulled on the bolts of power running within me, I needed every bit of power and ability at the ready. I zipped down the hallway in an instant, relishing the sight of the white and blue corridors speeding by. The dress billowed behind me, likely giving a glimpse of my underwear to any who could actually see me moving. I passed by a few andrAI on the way but they thankfully ignored my presence. I approached the gym and thanked my lucky stars, another student had just entered the gym, leaving the door open for me to tailgate right on through. The class was occupied with the same exercise Bittinboulder had conducted during our class while I sped over the concrete floor towards her door. A student was in the process of lighting off a large fireball at the other side of the gym, and I could see Bittinboulder was quickly walking, at least from her perspective, over to him with a quite stern expression on her face.

I turned into her office. This door, unlike the main gymnasium doors, was not open. I was forced to slow down and jiggle the handle, but found it locked tightly. Shit! The longer I was slowed down the more easily people would be able to pick me out. It looked like the students out on the floor were becoming quite spirited in their use of powers, one girl thankfully providing me cover behind massive writhing ethereal tendrils. I grabbed a hold the metallic knob and jerked it a few times in desperation, hoping that this hadn’t been for nought. I was surprised to find that with my increased speed the knob was almost vibrating. Before I could stop something inside of the knob seemed to come loose and the door popped ajar. I quickly zipped inside before I could tell if anyone had caught sight of me and closed the door.

I looked around the navy blue-colored office. In front of me sat a large metal desk with backing on it that obscured the owners legs down to the floor, upon which sat a glowing computer monitor and a older looking desktop. There was a large dark metal cabinet over on the far wall to my left, and a few shelves scattered around with various books, trophies, and framed pictures displaying Bittinboulder and who I presumed to be students in celebration. I made my way over to the box where I had previously seen the white material in plastic and opened it. Wait, what? I pulled out a simple white t-shirt folded and wrapped within plastic. This couldn’t be it. I dug through the pile within and found nothing but more T-shirts. I dropped to my knees. This couldn’t be it, could it? No, no, no. I had to find something, they had to be in here. I scanned the office for any other sign of them and found nothing out in the open for me to look through. My attention turned to the cabinet. That was the only other place in the room that would be able to house the suits. I ran over to it and grabbed the handle, only to find this one locked too.Damn it! Was it too much to ask for people to conveniently leave things unlocked every once in a while?

I moved to grab the cabinet handle to open it up before I was interrupted by the sound of Bittinboulder’s voice nearby.

“Sure thing, Luan. It’s in my office,” I heard her voice echo on the hard walls of the gymnasium outside the door. I didn’t have time to think, I dashed underneath the metal desk and held my breath as the door opened. I was surprised I actually fit into the small space beneath the desk. I pulled my legs close to me and cursed under my breath for wearing a dress, my butt was definitely not covered at all with the dress fabric bunched under it.

“Huh. Damn knob’s busted,” She remarked upon walking into the room. I bit my lip. Please please please don’t look under the desk. I could hear her walk over to the desk and grab something off the top of it, a scraping sound audible right above my head from beneath the desk.

“Ah, thanks Shan,” I heard a male voice reply. I didn’t recognize it, he must be a teacher I didn’t have. “I really appreciate you holding this for me. I was supposed to pick it up last night but the traffic on the I-101 was fierce last night after they had to divert from the refinery,” he finished. There was a note of sadness in his voice as he spoke however.

“I take it you heard as well?” Mrs. Bittinboulder replied.

“Yeah, kind of hard not to, Shan. It sounds like Collidus got drained, like he doesn’t have his powers anymore-” Luan began.

“No, that can’t be it. Hexecute must have blocked his chakra or energy or something. I refuse to believe we can just be drained of our powers. I flat out refuse, Luan,” Mrs. Bittinboulder cautioned.

“It’s just, Shan, I think we have a problem on our hands. If there’s even the possibility that some whackjob can drain powers, that’s bad news for us. All of the changes we’ve made in the last few decades, political and socially. Those were possible because we predicated our argument on the basis that our physiology was immutable, and unpreventable. If this guy can present a counter argument…” he trailed off.

“He can’t. I know it. You need to trust me, Luan,” Mrs. Bittinboulder insisted.

“Okay, okay. You’re probably right.” I heard him make his way to the door. “Oh, by the way. That speedster girl.” I suppressed a croke and placed my hands over my mouth.

“What about her?” Mrs. Bittinboulder asked in a noticeably lighter tone.

“Any new news about her?” Luan replied.

“No, not that we’ve heard. Since she’s the likely negative charge to Miller’s positive that gives us a few leads.” I shook my head. I’m the negative charge to that dillweed? What was this, opposite day? “Ourselves and the Crescent City Capes have a few irons in the fire based on the assumption that they will eventually attract towards each other as speedsters of the same pair tend to do.”

“What, like, attraction-attraction?” Luan said in a jovial tone. Mrs. Bittinboulder suppressed a laugh.

“No, this isn’t the movies. Same-pair speedsters just tend to interact a lot, is all. Be it friends, enemies, lovers, whatever. Katja did mention that she was pretty adorable though, so who’s to say?” she added. “But she’s definitely young, or at least her Alter form and the clothing she was wearing portrayed her as young so it’s likely she’s a student.” Mrs. Bittinboulder walked away from the desk and over to the cabinet. I felt a blush creeping its way onto my cheeks.

“Well, I hope she comes forward soon, but if she doesn’t maybe a hail-mary will catch her.” She remarked. I heard some keys jingling and the groan of the cabinet door indicated that she’d opened it up. I heard the crinkling of some plastic.

“The gym suits?” Luan said.

“Not them specifically, but what’s in them. They each have a pretty low tech biometric data tracker embedded inside them right on the neck area. They keep tabs on the growth of a students abilities to ensure we can help with any flare-ups or anything. They also can track location data.” She smirked.

“How do we track that?”

“It’s retrieved when the students turn them in on Friday in bags with their names on them.”

“So if this girl is one of ours and she used the suit we’d be able to tell she’s a speedster and we’d be able to see where she’s been going? I mean I like it but, well, isn’t that a bit… you know?” Luan said sounding unsure.

“I know, it’s a pretty underhanded tactic, and I’d really prefer it if she came forward herself instead of us having to resort to this. But she signed the entrance documents, so she’s consented. And why is she hiding her form from us? It’s not like we aren’t all Alters anyways.”

“You know how kids are, Shan. A pimple is the end of the world to them,” Luan joked.

Mrs. Bittinboulder chuckled along with him. I could hear her walking away from the cabinet and out the door with Luan. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Well, tell Lorena hello from myself and Katja. Fondue still on for tomorrow?” I peeked out. The cabinet was still open!

“You bet,” I heard Luan reply as they stepped out. I wasted no time in zipping from the desk to the still-open cabinet and dug around in the box quickly. My hand hesitated over the girls uniform for just a moment before I defaulted to the boys standard and stuffed it into my bag. No, for people who wore these everyday they’d definitely be able to tell. I dashed back to the door and looked out into the gym. Luan had walked out the doors and Bittinboulder was yelling at another student, so I took my chance and ran full speed out of the gym.

I made sure to avoid as many cameras as I could and slowed down in another blindspot a few corridors away from the janitors closet. I sighed, that was way too fucking close.

First time in this school as a girl and I almost get busted for breaking and entering, I thought.

Wait.

I’m here as a girl. An adorable girl, apparently. I picked at my dress. Should I? I wanted to say I wasn’t sure, but that wasn’t true. I was sure. I really did want to try this. A smile crept its way onto my face as I continued forward, walking at a normal pace. As far as they could tell, I was just any other girl, and I might as well try that mask on while I had the chance. I lazily made my way through the halls, savoring every swish of my skirt and bounce my body sent me. I even leaned into the sway my hips were geared towards. I made my way down the hallway gleefully basking in the warm glow that emanated from my core every time I saw my reflection in the glass of a window or in one of the dome-mirrors positioned in the corners of the hallways.

“Excuse me? Young lady?” came a familiar voice from behind me. I groaned inwardly while my stomach dropped. Didn’t this guy have anything else to do? I turned around to face the same rotund man with with a brown bushy mustache I had faced yesterday, though now he was definitely taller than me. “What’s your name, miss?”

“G-Gabrielle, sir,” I faltered, adding ‘sir’ as he had instructed me last time to be on his good side. I prayed he didn’t ask my last name as I hadn’t had time to think one up. Thankfully, it seemed my plan paid off as his mood lightened considerably.

“Gabrielle, where are you supposed to be right now?” He stepped closer and pulled out his clipboard. The combination of our height differential and him being a hair away from my deepest secret kept me from making any additional comments or groaning like I had yesterday.

“Lunch, sir,” I replied. He smiled down at me.

“It’s always nice to meet youth who still know proper etiquette, Gabrielle. Now the lunch room is the other way, you should head back that way.” He gestured down the hall and began to walk in that direction. “Come on, I’ll take you. I needed to get some food anyways.” I screamed inwardly. Here I was being shepherded by an older Magnum P.I. towards the lunch room packed with my classmates who would surely notice a new redhead at school. I turned towards him.

“Well, you see, I was actually going to the bathroom,” I lied.

“Isn’t there a ladies restroom right next to the lunch room?” he wondered.

“Yes, but that restroom seems to be out of... tampons,” I heavily emphasized ‘tampons’, hoping he’d react like I had when my mom first told me about periods and tampons and how I “needed to know what women go through each month to be a good friend or partner.” Thankfully Mr. Garrison paled just as he had yesterday, and even lost his composure somewhat as brought his clipboard very closely to his chest and coughed roughly.

“O-oh, okay. V-very well then. Be on your way, Gabrielle,” he said in a stilted tongue. I watched as he scampered down the hallway and into the lunchroom. That was easy, I thought. I turned around and smiled as I made my way back towards the janitor’s closet.

I stopped by a water fountain and took a drink, finding that the water, unsurprisingly, tasted a little bit like the metal pipe it was stored in.

However as I drank my attention was grabbed by someone in the window of a classroom just beyond the wall the drinking fountain was attached to. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I would hazard a guess that his did as well. Markus was staring at me through the window, his expression slack-jawed. I could feel it, an undeniable tug at the very center of my being pulling in his direction. My feelings towards him were exactly the same as they always been after the pantsing incident, so I knew it wasn’t attraction. But it felt like something stronger. Something inevitable. Like gravity itself. He dropped a pen from his hands, which I took as a signal to beat it. I dashed away, thankful the camera in this hallway was pointed away from me.

I zipped through the remaining hallways until I reached my sanctuary, the janitor’s closet. I quickly opened and closed the door and blindly ran for my clothes. If he could still feel that pull, could he find me here? I had to get changed back, and fast. In a blur I was out of the dress and back into my old clothes. I let go of the energy and relaxed, feeling my form shift back to normal. Finally, I was safe again.

I heard a light cough from behind me.

I turned to find Cass in her Alter form surrounded by candles, sitting behind another pipe in the middle of a white chalk sigil with many complex shapes interlocking with each other within a winding pattern encircling it on the ground.

“Please don’t tell anyone!” we both screamed in unison.