Dream Girl

Authors Note : This story is set before the tragic events of 9/11. There are a couple of paragraphs that seem to refer to the WTC attacks, but these lines were actually written before it happened, only now they have a lot more meaning. I took a lot of thought and decided to leave these lines in (with a few minor changes) as it captures just how unthinkable such a horrific attack could have taken place on American soil prior to 9/11.

Synopsis of Part III ====================

Michelle and Tina have been separated, with Tina still suffering from a memory loss. Michelle heads on to Las Vegas with Tina wandering aimlessly. Hank has allowed Tina to escape, hoping that she will lead him to Michelle. She doesn't.

Michelle flies to Las Vegas and then finds it hard adjusting as a woman. She befriends a local prostitute, LaDonna, who helps her.

Tina recovers part of her memory, while the people following her lose track of her.

Michelle begins to adjust better as a woman, but is noticed by the local group of witches. They take LaDonna prisoner and mess with her mind, as well as transforming her into a duplicate of Michelle.

Hank, Tina, Sarah and Mary discover Michelle's whereabouts and fly to Las Vegas. As they land, Tina and Michelle finally meet, but immediately decide to leave town. As they do, they are followed.

Reminder of Characters ======================

Since it has been so long since the last part, I have once again produced a quick reminder of who everyone is.

Michelle : The main character. Used to be Michael. Has telekinetic powers. The only person that knows about her abilities is Tina.

Tina : Was saved by Michael. Accidentally transformed Michael into Michelle.

Sarah : Tina's mother. Also saved by Michael.

Mary : Member of the Falcon's leading council. Been generally on Michelle's side since the beginning but bound by the rules of their kind.

Hank : Member of the Falcon's leading council. Had more dubious intentions for Michelle.

Richard : Another member of the Falcons. Has a day job as a police detective.

Gary : Member of the Raven's leading council. Encountered Michelle in Las Vegas

Tanya : Leader of the Raven's

Maria : Also a member of the Raven's. Gary's partner.

Dream Girl 4 ============

Chapter Twenty-Eight ====================

Tina and Michelle pulled up behind a car, which was waiting at a stop sign. They were approaching the town limits of Las Vegas and couldn't wait to get out. They were in danger every minute they were here.

While they were waiting, Michelle decided to ask Tina a burning question that she couldn't get out of her head. It was what happened to her when she had sex with Harry, the telephone engineer. Michelle wanted to know why she had felt the uncontrollable need to please Harry. Was it temporary or a permanent feature of her transformation?

Tina was taken aback by the question. "Well, it's kind of complicated. The thing is, the spell was only designed for short-term use. I don't what the long-term effects are without checking," Tina replied. The question was very much sprung upon her and she didn't know how to respond properly.

Michelle nodded meekly, realizing that Tina didn't have all the answers immediately.

"Look, as soon as we're clear, I can do some checking. But don't worry about it too much. We can always find ways around it," Tina reassured. Tina wanted to put Michelle at some ease, but part of Tina knew that 'ways around it' might mean 'getting used to it'.

Michelle looked ahead and saw that the light was green, yet the car in front hadn't moved on. Feeling impatient, Michelle sounded the horn, thinking the driver in front hadn't realized the lights had changed. The driver still didn't move.

Some movement in the rear view mirror caught Michelle's attention. She saw a car was fast approaching from behind and wasn't slowing down.

Before either of them could act, the car from behind impacted, throwing their car forwards into the back of the car in front of them. Both the driver and passenger airbags exploded in their faces.

By the time Michelle was able to bring herself to her senses, the door was already open and people were tending to her. She slowly slipped into unconsciousness again.

Crystal slowly woke up in her Master's bed. There was a fuzziness in her mind. Gary noticed that his new toy had just woken up and walked over to the bed. He noticed that she was patiently waiting for instructions. Tanya had ordered him to keep most of the LaDonna personality intact in case Tanya wanted to question her further. Although he rarely went along with her wishes, he complied on this occasion, because he was curious as to what made LaDonna tick. She had given him a very tough fight. Few normals had lasted as long as she did under his mental assault.

Gary didn't know what to do with her in the long-term. He could completely re-write her personality and make her into a different person, or he could leave most of her current personality intact and just impose restrictions on how she acted, namely that she would be totally loyal to Gary and the rest of the Raven's.

Even at this early stage, Gary was leaning towards the latter. He could create an obedient slave any time he wanted, but Crystal would be something different. Even in her current state, she still had her own mannerisms and quirks that made her unique. He didn't want to destroy those unless he had to.

Eventually the voices in Crystal's head grew too strong to ignore. She had to know what was happening. "W-what have you done to me?" Crystal cried softly. She didn't raise her voice too much because she knew that Gary was her master and she didn't want to risk infuriating him.

"We've made some changes," he replied to her question, surprised at how forward she was. She was clearly still fighting him. He loved her fighting spirit.

"I-I look like L-Lisa," she blurted out as she examined herself, while remembering what her new image was like after she had been transformed. She still only knew Michelle under the name Lisa.

"You are now," Gary remarked. After they had captured Michelle, he had given them both a much closer examination and compared them. Maria had been close, but not totally exact, so she performed another transformation making her totally identical to Michelle physically, although Gary had to agree to lend Crystal to her from time to time as part of the arrangement.

"B-But why?" Crystal asked.

"Because I can," Gary replied, "Oh come on. Don't try and tell me you don't like it. I can see the look in your eyes. You love your new body, don't you?"

Crystal thought for a moment then replied, "Yes"

There was another pregnant pause, after which Crystal asked, "How long will I have to stay like this?"

"Oh... only the rest of your life. I can turn you back any time I choose. But I won't. You belong to us now... forever. So get used to it."

"What if I don't want to play ball?" Crystal asked feeling slightly more confident.

Gary smiled, "You will, one way or another. You've heard the old saying 'you can do this the easy way or the hard way'. Well that's how it is with you. You WILL do whatever we want you to do. But if you give us any shit at all, we can make your life a living hell."

Crystal said nothing. After all, what could she say? The silence was broken by the sound of a phone ringing by her Master's bed. Gary reached over and answered it.

The person on the other end told him that Tina and the other woman were beginning to wake up. They were about to question them. Gary wanted to be present and had asked to be informed. He was as curious about this mystery blonde woman as the rest of them.

"Wait here until I get back. Stay on the bed and don't make a sound," he ordered. Crystal's programming told her that she had no choice but to obey. She made herself comfortable as Gary left the room.

"On second thoughts they can wait a little longer, give me a blowjob instead," he commanded.

Again, Crystal found that she had to obey. She scurried over to Gary and dropped to her knees in front of him, her hands immediately making their way to his crotch.

Michelle woke up slowly. Her head was pounding. She could feel a strange tightness around her neck and her arms seemed to be completely outstretched. She tried to move her neck, but felt resistance. It felt like she was wearing a neck brace. She remembered being involved in an accident and wondered if she was in hospital. She tried to move her arms, but they wouldn't budge. Her legs seemed equally immobile. She was able to ascertain that she was in a vertical position, but not much else.

As her eyes came into focus, she saw that some of her long hair was draped in front of her face. She shook her head as much as she could, given that her neck movement was restricted, moving the hair partially aside. She looked around and saw that she was in a large darkened room, with several people looking straight at her. They all had a piercing stare.

Michelle looked over to her left and saw Tina unconscious. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw that Tina was strapped in a vertical spread-eagled position to a large metal bondage frame. Tina's arms and ankles were bound by leather restraints and attached to hooks on the four corners of the frame. She also wore a leather belt, which seemed to also be attached to the sides of the frame. Tina was also wearing a leather neck collar which was several inches thick. Apart from that, her body was totally exposed.

From the sensations that Michelle was receiving, she deduced that she was strapped to an identical device. This was no medical institution. She was being held captive. She could feel the cool air on her body, suggesting that she too, was naked. Her arms and legs were strapped in an identical fashion and she was wearing a similar neck collar. Because she was in a vertical position, her arms were totally stretched, basically supporting her.

Tina began to stir and awaken. She also went through the process of examining her surroundings and reached the same conclusion as Michelle. One of the women stepped forward.

"Welcome to our home," she said patronizingly to both of them.

Tina focused on the woman who had just spoken. Michelle could see the fear in her eyes.

"Tanya Davies," Tina said slowly. She immediately recognized the leader of the Ravens from photographs.

"Correct," Tanya replied. "And you're Tina Adams. We haven't met, but we looked you up in our files. You're a bit young to be out here all alone."

Tina said nothing. Tanya turned and walked slowly toward Michelle. "And who do we have here? See it's strange. We don't have a record of a Lisa Trent being part of the Falcons." Tanya was waving Michelle's false identity at her. "We know all the members and you're not one of them. So who are you?"

"She's a new member," Tina interrupted. "You won't have her in your files. We haven't had a chance to tell you yet." Tina was struggling to speak clearly against the neck collar she was wearing. "It's normal to tell the other groups about new members at the time of the Spectacle. That's some time away."

"Good answer," Tanya remarked. "Okay, so who were you BEFORE you were a full member."

"She was – ", Tina started.

"SILENCE," Tanya stopped her, "I want her to answer."

During the exchange, Michelle managed to work out that these people were probably members of the Ravens and they had taken them prisoner. She also knew what Tanya's angle was. The Kithra were only allowed to introduce new members from their own offspring. There were no exceptions.

"Jenny," Michelle replied with the first name she could think of.

"Jenny who?" Tanya demanded, her eyes boring deep into Michelle. Everyone in the room knew Michelle was lying when she said 'Jenny'.

Michelle couldn't answer. She knew that she wasn't able to give a convincing answer.

"You're not on the bloodline are you?" Tanya turned to Tina, "Who was she?"

"I-It was all an accident," Tina said, "It never meant to turn out like this."

"No shit," Tanya replied. "You know the rules. And you should have followed them."

"I-I couldn't. She saved my life. How could I hurt her," Tina cried.

Tanya didn't respond to Tina and walked up to Michelle. "I want to know your real name and I want it now," Tanya demanded in the most menacing voice possible as she threw Michelle's false passport at her.

"M-Michelle's my name now," she responded, stuttering.

"And what was your name before you were transformed? I know you were a man," Tanya stated.

Before Michelle could answer a man walked up to Tanya, apologized for his intrusion. She withdrew as he whispered in her ear. She listened then turned to Michelle and Tina, "We'll continue this later," she laughed and turned to Maria, "Why don't you start 'work' on them", she said.

"With pleasure," Maria replied clapping her hands together sporting a huge grin on her face.

Mary, Sarah, Richard and Hank had begun their search for Tina and Michelle. They were trying to discretely discover if either of them had been seen. This was no easy task.

Hank had split off from the rest of them, claiming he could achieve more working on his own. Mary wasn't totally happy with Hank going solo, but appreciated his position.

Hank began by scouting around for a particular member of the Ravens with whom Hank had sustained an understanding. He wouldn't trust him as far as he could throw him and the feeling was fairly mutual, but they did have a mutual respect for each other. Maybe he could find out some information from him, but he could only do it on his own.

Twenty years ago during the war between the two groups Hank used the same contact to his advantage, although it ultimately resulted in the death of Tina's father.

Tina's father, John was a young member of the group at the time, at least in Kithra terms, but even at his young age he proved to be a great persuader, a talent usually lost in all Kithra members, because if they ever needed something badly enough, they could use mind control magic. John didn't need to use magic though, a skill that could prove invaluable in convincing the other groups to help them.

John was on a mission to enlist help from the other groups. The Ravens had learned about this mission. Although they didn't believe any of the other groups would help, they sent a team to 'intercept him'. Unfortunately for them, their intelligence was slightly wrong. They believed that they were two members of the Falcons on this mission and their 'hit squad' eliminated them both.

After they'd 'taken them out' they quickly learned that the person accompanying John had been one of the Eagles. The Eagles were sympathetic to the Falcons, but were also peace loving and therefore they were unwilling to intervene, but they did come up with a plan.

The plan involved the remaining two groups and if agreed, would mean an end to the fighting. The Eagles wouldn't exactly fight with the Falcons, but all groups would help to protect the Falcons, though not to attack the Ravens.

It was a stupid plan and in reality it would never have worked, but that didn't stop John from trying. The nature of John's mission was to secure the approval and support of all the remaining groups for the Eagle's plan.

Hank knew it was impossible. It had been virtually impossible to get the groups to agree on anything throughout history and gaining agreement from the others would be more difficult than getting a unanimous UN resolution in the middle of the Cold War. John was good, but not that good.

However, the Ravens didn't know the true nature of the mission. They believed that it was two Falcons who were about to strike a deal with the other groups and effectively buy their support. They were not sure how desperate the Falcons were and if they conceded enough, the other groups might be interested. John and his companion were slaughtered in cold blood in an extremely savage attack, even by Raven standards.

The Eagles were totally horrified and enraged at what they saw as an unprovoked attack on what was, for them, a mission of peace. It was the equivalent of Pearl Harbor for them, dragging them into the war. It turned the tide and allowed the Falcons to fight back. Although the war ended with no clear winner, at least the Falcons were still alive, which was seen as a victory for them.

However, there was a tremendous burden that Hank had to carry. It was no accident that the Ravens discovered about the mission. Hank had been the one to inform them and he had used his Raven contact to do it. Twenty years ago, when he met his contact to discuss what amounted to a possible surrender, he knew that his contact would have his hotel room searched while they were meeting.

That is why Hank allowed them to 'find out' certain details about the mission, although the information was very vague, so that they would have to make certain assumptions. Afterwards they would realize they had made the wrong assumptions and would blame themselves for the error. It worked to absolute perfection, but as always with these things, there is a price to be paid.

Tanya was in the corridor just outside the secure room. Her entourage had followed her. She turned to the person who had just interrupted them.

"Okay, so what exactly do we have?" Tanya asked the man.

"A group of Falcons are in town. We think they just arrived on a recent flight and they've been snooping around."

"Co-incidence?" someone suggested.

"Like hell it is," Tanya snorted. "How many?"

"We won't know for sure until we've checked with the airlines, but so far we've sighted three."

"I want them brought here now," Tanya demanded. "Don't force them, just... invite them to somewhere public, say the parking garage."

"And if they refuse?" the man asked.

"They won't," Tanya stated.

Tanya looked back to the secure room where Michelle and Tina were being kept and wondered if she should continue her interrogation. After toying with the idea for a few seconds, she decided not to. Instead she would give Maria a chance to soften them up first.

"Call up everyone. I want every Raven put on alert for now. I want everyone out of town to be recalled unless it's absolutely necessary that they stay away," she barked and various people rushed to carry out her orders.

Back in the large room, Michelle and Tina had been left with Maria and another man. Both Michelle and Tina were trying to plead with Maria, so the first thing she had done was silence them both. She inserted an inflatable gag into their mouths. Michelle, who was first, had resisted initially, but Maria threatened to break her jaw if she had to. Michelle soon relented and opened her mouth

Once the gag was in place, Maria buckled it behind Michelle's head. Then she pumped up the gag, causing it to inflate inside her mouth, filling every crevice. When completed, she moved on to Tina. Michelle tried to speak, but no sound came out at all. She tried harder, but the gag was extremely effective. She could barely make a sound.

After both their gags were in place, Maria returned to the center of the room. She began to arrange some items on a small medical trolley. The man in the room walked up to Tina and studied her. Then he moved toward Michelle, but this time his stare lingered. He began to stare at her breasts.

"Nice rack," he muttered. "Do you mind if I feel."

Michelle tried to protest, but hardly any sound escaped her lips. The man reached up to touch one of Michelle's breasts. She tried to pull back, but her bonds only allowed her to retract an inch or two. She could not stop his hands from making contact with her breast.

She could have used her powers to stop him, but if she had done that, she would have revealed her powers to these people, and she would still have been trapped. Whatever happened, she had to resist using her powers unless absolutely necessary. But how far would this man go? How long would she be able to hold out?

The man cupped her right breast and then started to caress her nipple. It did not take long for her nipple to harden under his touch. He spent the next minute gently working her nipple between his thumb and finger. Michelle tried to struggle to begin with, but knew it was hopeless and guessed that it was exactly the sort of reaction the man was trying to provoke. So she just stood there as motionless as possible.

But after another minute, she began to feel strange feelings. Bizarre sexual thoughts were popping into her head. She tried to dismiss them, but they wouldn't go away. He stopped attacking her right nipple and moved his hand across her chest to her left breast and began to do the same.

The odd feelings, which had begun to dissipate when he stopped on her right breast now returned when he started again on her left breast. The emotions were getting more intense and more explicit. Feelings of wanting to please him. Feelings of wanting to perform for him sexually. Images began running through her mind of this man fucking her hard while she was still bound to the rack.

The feelings were familiar. She experienced them the day before and on that occasion; she ended up having sex with the person. She couldn't allow it to happen again.

She also couldn't allow them to realize that she was getting aroused. She was beginning to get damp below and she prayed he didn't try stray his fingers down there or he would find out very quickly how much she was enjoying this.

She started struggling again, attempting to show that she wasn't enjoying it. But pulling away was becoming more difficult for her to do. Instead of wanting to pull away, she wanted to push her breasts into his hands.

She was now relieved that she had been gagged, for had it not been for the gag, she probably would have groaned several times by now.

It was becoming very difficult to fight the urges that were soaring through her body, but she had to find a way. She couldn't allow herself to slip, no matter what. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the sensations that were bombarding her. She tried to ignore the feelings she was experiencing.

"Okay, that's enough. I've got work to do," Maria interrupted him, causing him to stop. "And you're getting in the way."

The man dropped his hands from Michelle's breasts. Michelle would have sighed in relief had it not been for the gag in her mouth.

"We'll finish this later," he whispered in Michelle's ear. Then he turned away and started walking for the door. "I'll be right outside if you need me," he said to Maria.

"Gee, I feel much safer. I'll call you if they pull any concealed weapons on me," Maria gibed. The man simply gave a faint smile, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

Now that the man was out of the way, Michelle could clearly see the items that Maria had placed on the trolley. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"I'm going to change into something more comfortable. Don't go anywhere," she said as she walked behind a small screen that had been erected in about twenty feet in front of Michelle.

Tina and Michelle exchanged glances. They were both gagged, so any communication was purely limited to facial gestures. Tina had already attempted to contact Michelle telepathically, but the room was magically dampened and prevented her. Even in the best-case scenario it would have been difficult given Michelle's magical inexperience.

Michelle looked away from Tina and took the opportunity to test out her powers now that they were relatively alone. She tested them by attempting to raise her body about an inch. At the same time, she stood on tiptoe in case anyone was still around and watching. To her relief, she found that she was able to lift herself up, but there seemed to be some kind of barrier stopping her powers for having full effect. It felt the same as when she was in the secure room back at the Falcons mansion in Massachusetts.

Michelle deduced that this room had magical dampening properties applied to it, just like the room the Falcons had kept her captive in Massachusetts. Such properties reduced her ability to use her powers, but didn't stop her.

She then turned her attention to her wider predicament and took a chance to study her bonds. The entire rack consisted of two vertical struts that seemed to be bolted into the floor, with an overhead strut bridging the two. All three struts were made of shinning chrome.

She looked up at the wrist restraints. They were tight around her wrists and were tied with small rope to each corner of the overhead strut. They were also half suspending her body. She was only just able to stand without them.

From examining the restraints, Michelle could see that it was going to be awkward to get out of the them, but given enough time and patience, she should be able to do it. All she had to do was free one hand and she would be able to free all her other limbs.

But there was one problem. If she used her powers to free herself, she would clearly reveal her power if anyone was watching from the darkness. Because her arms were wide apart, she would not be able to conceal what she was doing. Using her powers would have to be a last resort.

Michelle could hear Maria behind the screen, but could not see what she was doing. She was gone for a fair time, for which Michelle was very grateful as it allowed her to fully recover from her experience with the Raven man.

Eventually Maria emerged from behind the screen. She made a slightly different sound when she walked. Michelle could see this was because she was wearing black patent knee high stiletto boots.

In fact, as she came into view, Michelle could see that she was no longer wearing her conservative blouse and skirt that she had previously worn. She now wore an outfit more fitting of a dominatrix.

She appeared to be wearing a latex corset, with garters attached to lace-top stockings. She wore black opaque panties, which from a distance seemed to look like rubber.

She walked over to the trolley and picked up a small container and moved toward Michelle. "Now we can begin. You're gonna love this first bit," she giggled.

Maria stopped in front of Michelle and took the top of the container off. It contained a white cream that had a similar appearance to facial moisturizer. Maria scooped a small amount onto one of her fingers.

As soon as Tina saw Maria scoop out the cream, she knew it wasn't any normal cream. She guessed that it was a cream designed to increase sensitivity - and was probably enhanced by magic.

Although Kithra magic could not affect inanimate objects, most creams and ointments contain natural compounds grown from plants. It is possible to use their magic to affect the production of such compounds in nature.

These could then be used to produce extremely powerful stimulants, and also they could affect other Kithra. The underlying result is very similar to the way scientists use genetic engineering to alter the production of fruit and vegetables, except the results are far more effective.

If the cream was as powerful as those the Falcons could produce, it would probably be one hundred times more potent that any natural cream. Applied directly to a woman's clitoris, it would probably make the clitoris about five to ten times more sensitive than normal. Without care, that level of stimulation to the nervous system can cause brain damage. It could also cause severe pain.

It would be bad enough for Tina, knowing what was happening to her. But for Michelle, who would not be able to understand, the effects could be even worse.

Maria brought her finger up to Michelle's chest. She carefully applied a small amount of cream to each of Michelle's nipples and areola. Michelle's nipples once again hardened at the touch of another person's fingers.

Then she kneeled down in front of Michelle. Michelle couldn't see what Maria was doing, but she could feel her cold fingers on her pussy. At that point, her breasts began to feel very strange. The nipples had become extremely engorged. As she looked down at them, she could almost see the capillaries throbbing with blood. She could feel every tiny breath of air upon them.

Maria stood back and studied Michelle. She needed to give the cream time to set in. She returned the container to the trolley and wiped her finger clean with a tissue. Michelle could now feel her clitoris beginning to throb. Every beat of her heart sent a pulse of blood down her aorta and into her groin area.

Michelle looked up at Maria. She was grinning at her. "Now lets see if we can have some fun," Maria said as she reached up and placed her hand on one of Michelle's breasts. She gently stroked her nipple.

Michelle was totally unprepared for the sensations that hit her. It was like an electric charge that shot throughout her body. Her entire body jolted in pleasure as Maria's finger ran across her nipple.

Maria took Michelle's nipple in her thumb and finger and tweaked it several times. Michelle's eyes widened so much, she thought her eyeballs would pop out of her head. The feelings on her breasts were so intense. It was about five times more sensitive than her old cockhead had been.

Maria settled into a rhythm and tweaked a little harder. Michelle threw her head back and groaned loudly against the gag. She thrashed at her restraints, but could barely move against them.

During it all, the thought of using her powers to stop Maria didn't even occur to her. It felt so good that she didn't want Maria to stop.

Maria ran her hand across to Michelle's left breast and began to stroke her left nipple as well.

Then she brought up her left hand to Michelle's right breast and rhythmically kneaded both her nipples at the same time. The stimulation was all too much for Michelle and sent her over the edge. She climaxed and had it not been for the gag, she would have screamed in pleasure.

Maria heard the muffled groan that Michelle made though the gag. She also knew that the inflatable gag virtually silenced the wearer and that for her to hear Michelle moan meant that she must have been screaming internally.

Maria allowed Michelle to come down from her peak and said. "Ah, did I make you come. Bet no-one's made you come so easily before," she laughed as she turned away and headed back to the trolley.

Michelle was still trying to work out what was happening to her. These feelings were different from when the man touched her. She wasn't experiencing any feelings of submission or willingness, just pure unadulterated pleasure on a scale she never knew was possible. If Maria was able to make her orgasm just be stroking each of her nipples, then what could she do if she really got serious.

She glanced over to Tina who could only give a sympathetic look. Tina could only watch as Michelle was made to endure this odd torture.

Now that Maria had given her a break, Michelle was able to deduce that the cream that Maria had applied to her chest had done something to her. It hadn't escaped her notice that Maria had applied the same cream to her genital region, and that area of her body seemed equally sensitive.

Maria turned around and began to walk towards her again. Michelle nearly feinted when she saw what Maria was holding in her hands. It was a large black dildo.

As Maria closed in, and Michelle's eyes were transfixed on the object, she noticed the switch at the end. It wasn't just a dildo, it was a vibrator.

She could barely stand having her nipples stroked. If Maria used the vibrator on her, she wouldn't be able to take it – literally.

Michelle was faced with a decision. She could use her powers and rip the vibrator out of her hand. But if she did that, she would reveal her powers to these people. She looked up at the restraints again. Even with her powers, she would have difficulty in getting out of them. In that time, Maria would probably have a chance to call for help. Her powers were not strong enough to incapacitate them while tied up. As much as she hated it – she had to let Maria do what she wanted.

As Maria kneeled down, Michelle closed her eyes tightly, hoping to try and block out all sensory inputs. Perhaps if she thought about something else, she would be able to withstand it. Maybe if she ran some architectural calculations through her brain, it would take her mind off it.

The first touch of the head of the vibrator on her pussy wiped out all those ideas. Her eyes flew open and visibly bulged. Maria wasted no time in inserting the vibrator into her tight pussy.

The cream had been applied to her whole vaginal region, not just her clitoris. As Maria slowly eased the head of the vibrator into her tight pussy, Michelle whimpered against the gag.

Michelle began to pant furiously. It was the only noise she could make against the gag. The sound of her panting reverberated around the room. As her vaginal muscles constricted around the thick shaft, the volume of her panting increased.

Maria continued to inch the vibrator inside her, deliberately taking her time. Every movement caused Michelle tremendous sensations. She didn't know how much more she could take. It wouldn't take much more to push her over the edge.

Then Maria stopped. Michelle's panting stopped briefly. She opened her eyes and saw Maria standing right in front of her with a smirk on her face. One of her hands was on the vibrator. Michelle knew exactly what was about to happen.

Maria's smile widened as she switched the vibrator on. Michelle climaxed almost instantly.

Richard, Mary and Sarah were making their way to Ravens hotel after receiving their 'invite'. Mary contacted Hank using a cell phone and explained the situation. He hadn't made contact with his acquaintance in town, so he was taking a taxi to the hotel. But Hank would remain hidden and out of sight as a backup in case it was required.

Mary knew that Hank had his faults and there were certain things she would never trust him with, like leaving him alone in room with Michelle. But on other counts, Mary knew Hank was dependable. When the going got tough, he was the best person in the group to have backing you up.

All three had checked their firearms. They had used false police credentials to get them past airport security. It had been a long time since Sarah held a gun. She was one of the more peaceful members of the group. But during the last war, she had fought for the lives of her children and she would do so again without hesitation.

Ever since landing, Mary was also trying to make sense of how Michelle had escaped from their secure room. If she hadn't received help from Sarah and if she didn't pick the locks, then how could she have possibly got out? From the very beginning Mary had an edgy feeling that she'd missed something. She still didn't know what it was, but suspected she would find out shortly.

Chapter Twenty-Nine ====================

Back in the Ravens secure room, Michelle had given up fighting. Her legs had long since given way. She was now hanging by the wrist restraints. She had no idea how long the ordeal had gone on for. It was probably only about ten minutes, but it seemed like hours, with seemingly no possible relief.

The constant stream of orgasms also inhibited her ability to use her telekinetic powers. On several occasions she tried to pull the vibrator out of her pussy. But she couldn't muster the mental strength to do it. Her powers required concentration, which is difficult when you're in the middle of climaxing. Every time she thought she was regaining some composure, she'd be hit with another orgasm.

After several multiple orgasms, she became so mentally drained that she couldn't use her telekinetic powers at all. Without realizing it, Maria had discovered Michelle's Achilles heel. She was totally helpless and unable to do anything about Maria.

Eventually, Maria switched off the vibrator and withdrew it from Michelle. She returned it to the table. Then she turned around and studied Michelle allowing her a brief time to recover.

As Maria studied the look on Michelle's face, she could see that her dosage of the cream had been perfect. Although she had climaxed repeatedly over the previous few minutes, the sensations Michelle was receiving were getting less erotic and more painful.

This was because the cream that she had applied to her was now reaching its maximum potential. Her nipples and clitoris had become too sensitive and the pain was increasing slowly second by second. Now was the time to move on to stage two.

Maria walked up to Michelle and flicked a switch on the gag, causing it to deflate. Then she reached behind Michelle's head and unbuckled the strap partially allowing Michelle to spit out the gag, but leaving it buckled up around her neck.

"What... did you do to me... you bitch," Michelle spat as soon as she could. Her breathing still hadn't recovered properly and she had to take several attempts to get it all out.

"I can see you haven't learned humility yet," Maria said.

Before Michelle could answer, Maria turned and walked slowly back to the table and picked up the container of cream and walked back to Michelle. But this time, Maria walked around her and began spreading the cream all over Michelle's back, this time applying a lot more than she did for her pussy. The cream began to take effect quickly. As Maria finished spreading the cream, Michelle could feel the increased sensitivity where the cream had been deposited.

"I don't have a clit on my back last time I checked," Michelle jibbed. She was recovering quickly. Now that she could concentrate better, she felt her ability to use her telekinetic powers return although at an even more reduced level.

Maria burst out laughing. Her laughing continued for about five seconds, which unnerved Michelle. "In about ten minutes, you'll wish you had. Do you know what this cream does? I'll tell you. This cream increases dermal sensitivity, not just sexual sensitivity, but all kinds. Remember how your clit got so sensitive that it started to hurt. Do you know just how fine the line between pain and pleasure is."

Michelle shook her head, now feeling increasingly uneasy and less confident. Maria had been right. The vibrator had really begun to hurt after a while.

Maria placed the cream on the floor and reached from behind Michelle and cupped her large breasts. She found Michelle's nipples once again and stroked them very lightly. As Michelle wasn't gagged this time, she let out a loud groan and instinctively arched her back pushing her breasts into Maria's hands.

Maria continued her light caresses for twenty seconds. Michele wondered if Maria was going to bring her off again. It felt so good.

"I'll show you how close the line between pain and pleasure is," Maria laughed as she took both Michelle's nipples and squeezed as hard as she could.

Michelle screamed in agony as the pleasure she was feeling was replaced by a searing pain that shot through her chest. The extreme sensitivity that the cream had produced also resulted in excruciating pain.

"That's how close the line is," Maria said as she released her. The pain caused Michelle to collapse, once again hanging by her arm restraints. As Michele was recovering, Maria replaced the inflatable gag in her mouth.

She then walked to the front of Michelle and pumped up the gag, silencing her once more. She then held up the container of cream to her face.

"Now that I've covered your back in this cream, try to imagine how sensitive it will become. I've put on a lot more than on your tits. Now try to imagine how much it would hurt if I were to take a whip to you."

Michelle visibly flinched at the mental picture of being whipped and the pain she would receive. Her nipples were still throbbing in pain from just a single pinch. The pain from a whip would be unimaginable.

Maria continued, "I'll tell you. You'll feel pain like you never imagined. It'll hurt so much you'll pray that you would die. After a couple of strokes you'll beg me to kill you. You'll do anything to make the pain stop... anything."

"Now I'm going to give you ten minutes to think things through. By then the cream will have taken full effect. If you don't tell me everything I want to know when I get back, you'll find out just how sensitive your back is."

She bent down and picked up the container of cream, then walked over to Tina, holding the cream up to her face. Her gag was still fully in place.

"I'm not going to use this on you. But when I'm back if I ask you a question and you don't answer in a way that I believe you, I'll whip her back twice as hard," she said, nodding over to Michelle.

Maria walked back towards the screen. Just as she reached it, she turned to both of them and said, "Oh, by the way. Your gags are staying on for the next fifteen minutes. So you'd better think of ways of telling what I want to know cause I'll be back in ten."

Maria went back behind the screen, sniggering as she did. As soon as she was out of sight, Michelle began struggling, trying to find a way out of her bonds. She had to free herself now, even if it meant revealing her telekinetic powers. She twisted right her arm so that she could see the buckle of the arm restraint properly. This was her only opportunity. Somehow she had to undo the restraint before Maria came back with a whip.

She was able to pull the strap out partially, but the tough part would be undoing the actual buckle. It was like undoing a lock with her mind. It required little actual force, but very concentrated. She needed to pull the strap back far enough and then pull the pin of the buckle back in order to release herself.

On the second attempt, she succeeded. With a few more careful mental movements, she managed to loosen the restraint enough to wiggle her hand out. Having squirmed her right wrist free, she quickly unbuckled her left wrist and then moved to unbuckle the waistband. She then unbuckled the ankle restraints. For now, she left her gag in place.

Tina had been focused on what happened to them. Michelle took a step towards her, but stopped momentarily as she heard a whip crack behind the screen that Maria had disappeared behind.

She could free Tina at any time. The greatest threat was in Maria raising the alarm, so Michelle tiptoed over to the screen that Maria was behind. She could hear Maria behind the screen, but didn't know what she was doing. Michelle heard her moving to the edge of the screen, tracking her by the sound of her stiletto heels clicking on the floor.

Maria stepped out from behind the screen. She just had time to see that Michelle was no longer tied to the rack before she saw Michelle's fist strike her hard across her face.

Michelle gave it everything she had, using as much of her powers as she could muster to give an extra boost. Even given the fact that her powers were at a reduced level, she still packed a mean punch and she sent Maria sprawling across the floor.

Michelle scurried over to Maria as quickly as she could. Maria had landed on her back and was dazed from the blow, but shook her head as if composing herself. All Maria had to do was shout for help and it would all be over.

Michelle dropped to her knees in front of Maria and delivered another swift blow to Maria's chin before she had time to call out. This knocked her unconscious.

She quickly rushed back to Tina and freed one of her arm restraints. Between the two of them, they freed Tina's remaining restraints. They both deflated their gags, and unbuckled them, virtually ripping them out of their mouths.

The two hugged each other briefly, "Come on, we've got to get out of here," Tina said as she broke the embrace.

They started for the door, but they both stopped as they realized they had no clothes. They moved to back to Maria.

"I'll take these clothes," Tina whispered, motioning to her dominatrix outfit. "You get the one's behind the screen."

Michelle was only too happy to be wearing Maria's normal clothes compared to her dominatrix outfit, so she scurried around the screen. She started with her underwear, pulling up her panties, then strapping her bra on as quickly as she could.

Maria had a generous bust so her bra was a reasonable fit, but her nipples were still extremely sensitive from the cream Maria had applied. As she was stuffing her boobs into the bra, one of her erect nipples rubbed against on one of the straps. The immediate sensation Michelle received was a mixture of pleasure and pain. Her knees buckled slightly under the sensations.

She had to be very careful as she adjusted the bra. Her nipples were still rock erect and the sensation of the bra material on her nipples and areola wasn't helping.

She put on Maria's blouse, being careful with the extra sensitivity on her back and then finished with her skirt. She then attempted to fit Maria's shoes onto her feet. They seemed a bit tight, but the biggest problem was the heels. Although the heels were nowhere near as high as the ones Tina would be wearing, they were still three inches high and had a pointed heel. Michelle still had little practice in wearing them and wouldn't be able to walk very fast.

When she was finished, she saw Tina was almost finished and was in the process of lacing up Maria's boots.

"Okay, I'm ready," Tina whispered. "But I think that guard will be on the other side of the door."

"Leave that to me," Michelle said, flexing her arms. She had a score to settle with that guy.

Tanya made her way down to the parking garage, which was located immediately adjacent to the hotel. The entire hotel was basically a front to their operation in Las Vegas. It was located off the Strip, away from all the main commotion. It was large enough for them to operate, yet not too large as to draw unwanted attention.

Her colleagues had cast a spell over the entire parking lot, which would render them all invisible to any 'normal' eye. Of course, any other Kithra would be able to see them. The security cameras, which could not be affected by their magic, had also been disabled. She was taking the direct elevator from the penthouse suite.

Tanya emerged from the elevator and strode across one of the many walkways that bridged the hotel and the parking lot. The top two floors of the parking lot were designated for the staff of the hotel and the Ravens, so they didn't need to worry about hotel guests getting in the way. The walkway brought them onto the top floor of the parking lot. Tanya walked down a staircase onto the floor below, which was where she had arranged for the meeting to take place.

Tanya walked the short distance to where the Falcons were already waiting. As she approached, she immediately recognized Mary as a member of the Falcon Council. She also recognized Sarah Adams, Tina's mother. She recognized the man, but she couldn't recall his name from memory.

On the way down from the penthouse, she had been informed that the Falcons had agreed to the meet with Tanya in the parking garage, but they made it clear that they were not surrendering to her people and were making their own way there, in their rental car.

This was good enough for Tanya. She didn't want to take them prisoner. She already had the prisoners she needed, but she did want to conduct the meeting on her terms. Tanya posted one person at the exit, who would bring down the steel barriers entrapping them if things didn't go to plan.

She knew that the man was almost certainly carrying a firearm, which he totally refused to hand over. So Tanya counteracted that threat with four of her own top people, plus another six on standby. If the man tried anything, he would be cut to pieces in seconds.

As she approached, Tanya could see that there were a few 'normal' people going about their business, mostly members of staff, but none of them could see or hear what was transpiring.

"Mary, so good to see you again. It's been too long," Tanya said with a highly patronizing flavor.

"We're just passing through," Mary stated.

"Oh, spare the bullshit Mary. We've got them," Tanya said. Mary's face nearly turned white.

"Got who?" Mary said.

"Tina and that other girl. We caught them earlier this evening. If you'd been a bit quicker, you might have got to them first... but you didn't... and now we have them."

There was nothing Mary could say. Tanya had played her killer hand. This was the worst-case scenario.

Michelle and Tina crept down the darkened corridor as quietly as they could considering they were both wearing high heels, for which the sound seemed to reverberate around the entire floor with every step. Michelle eventually slipped them off and decided to walk barefoot, but Tina didn't have that luxury as her boots needing lacing up and couldn't be put back on again in a hurry.

The secure room had been guarded by the man who had fondled Michelle's breasts, but overpowering him had not been too hard. She delivered a quick blow to the back of the neck, with as much extra mental force as she could muster. They hid him in the room that they had been imprisoned in. They restrained both the man and Maria using the same restraints and gags that had been used on themselves, but they knew they didn't have long before someone would check up on them and the alarm would be raised.

As soon as they were out of that room, Michelle felt her telekinetic powers return in full. After sneaking around the floor, they found their way into an office that had a window. They could see that they must have been at least ten floors up. Tina guessed that they must be on the penthouse floor of one of the hotels in Vegas. The Ravens owned a lot of the town and this hotel probably belonged to them.

Michelle checked the windows. They were sealed and couldn't be opened. "Okay, we've got two options. We either go up to the roof, or down to the ground," Michelle whispered.

"What good will going to the roof be?" Tina asked.

"We can jump off and float to the ground," Michelle stated.

"Is that safe?" Tina asked as the gulped. She didn't like heights.

"Well it should be. But I've never tried flying and holding another person. But I should be able to stop us from falling too fast."

"Maybe we'd better make our way to the ground. This hotel is lit up. It could cause a lot of attention," Tina stated firmly, which was also a good excuse to avoid jumping off the top of a tall building.

After some more sneaking around, the pair found an elevator. The elevator was unguarded, but it did not seem to operate. It appeared to require a security card in order to activate it.

Tina rushed back to the secure room and returned shortly with a magnetic card taken from the person guarding their room. She swiped it into the reader beside the elevator. They were both relieved when the elevator responded. As the display above the elevator increased, Tina held out a bunch of keys.

"I found these as well. We can use his car to get out. The keys are for a Mustang. There can't be that many of them in the parking lot."

As Tina finished talking, the elevator signaled its arrival. Michelle braced herself, ready to fight just in case the elevator was occupied. As the doors opened, she was relieved to find it empty. They moved inside, looking for hidden cameras, but couldn't see any. Tina knew that the Ravens probably wouldn't put any cameras in any of their private areas, but couldn't be completely sure.

As the door closed, Michelle asked, "Where to?"

"Errm... better start in the staff garage. Look, its marked on the elevator."

Michelle nodded and pressed the button that indicating the staff- parking garage. The door closed and the elevator began its descent.

"Look, all this was an accident," Mary pleaded. She hadn't given Tanya many details, but she had to concede the fact that they had transformed Michelle. She was appealing to Tanya's humane side, which wasn't easy.

"Yes, that's what Tina said," Tanya remarked. She hadn't had many opportunities to see Mary squirm over the years, so she was enjoying every minute of it.

Although Tanya was playing around with Mary, it was still a very serious matter. The Kithra rules were quite clear about the matter. No-one outside the bloodline should be transformed, period. It was tough and brutal, but absolutely necessary for their society.

Tanya also realized that she had a bargaining chip in the form of Tina. Tanya already had plans for Michelle. Like all the groups, they had done research into magic that could break though a Kithra's magical protection. They were still a long way from achieving it, but having a live specimen on which to experiment would help things greatly. Michelle would do perfectly and Tanya was planning to release Tina unharmed if the Falcons didn't make a fuss about their plans for Michelle.

Mary opened her mouth to speak, then paused as a 'normal' person passed directly between them on the way to her car, totally oblivious to them conversation that was taking place.

Before Mary could respond, Tanya heard a hand radio crackle behind her. She turned round as one of her colleagues answered it. The voice on the radio stated that he had an urgent message for Tanya. He glanced over to Tanya, who nodded her approval.

"Go ahead," he spoke into the radio.

The radio crackled once again, "Those two girls. They're loose. We've got two of our people down."

"You bitch," Tanya hissed at Mary, "You were keeping us distracted while the rest of your team rescued them."

"No, Tanya I swear. There's only us here." It was a slight lie. Hank was around, but he had nothing to do with Michelle and Tina escaping, at least that was what Mary assumed.

"Take them," Tanya ordered as her men closed in. Richard was immediately on the defensive. Although their car was close, they were vastly outnumbered.

Richard slowly started moving his hand to his firearm. His work with the police had made him a sharpshooter, so the odds were not quite a bad as they looked.

"Easy Richard," Mary ordered, anticipating his move. Although she could only see six Ravens including Tanya and Gary, it was obvious that at the first sign of shots, another ten would be there immediately. They were hopelessly outnumbered.

"Tanya, let me guess. You had her imprisoned in a room which has been dampened against magic."

"Of course we did. But then you probably knew that before you rescued her," Tanya sneered back.

"No. You see we had her locked up as well and I don't know how, but she pulled an escape act on us. We had the best security you could get and she still gave us the slip. Sounds like she's done the same to you."

Tanya signaled for her men to pause their advance. Something about Mary's voice was believing. She wanted to hear more and taking them prisoner might not be the best way to extract it – at least not yet.

Chapter Thirty ==============

Michelle and Tina exited the elevator when it reached the destination. After checking outside to see if it was all clear, they crossed the walkway that linked the hotel with the parking garage. Now that they were on hard concrete, Michelle had no choice but to put her heels back on again. They started a search for the Mustang that they had the keys for. They had given themselves five minutes to locate it, otherwise they would just have to try and escape on foot. Unfortunately, the walkway placed them at the top of the garage, but even if they had to make their way out on foot, it would be much safer than attempting to get out through the hotel lobby or casino.

They were walking down the aisles as fast as they could, checking the cars. Although Michelle was wearing the lower heels, she was having a hard time walking at a decent pace. She still wasn't used to a pointed heel, even if it was only a few inches in height.

Having finished their search on the top level, they rounded a corner onto a different level and suddenly stopped in their tracks. They stood, frozen as they saw Richard, Sarah and Mary involved in a stance with several Ravens. They remained perfectly still hoping and praying that no-one would turn and look at them. Almost on cue, virtually every head turned towards them at the same time,

"Get them," Tanya shouted, the first to react.

Chaos erupted as several Ravens turned their guns towards Tina and Michelle. The Ravens were surprised when both Sarah and Mary produced handguns as well. They were only expecting Richard to be armed. No one knows who fired first, but dozens of rounds were exchanged within the following few seconds.

Everyone dived for cover in different directions. When Tanya peered above the car she was using for cover, she saw that two of her men had been shot, one seriously.

Tanya could see two groups of Falcons. Richard and Sarah were shielding behind one car and had managed to pin down her two remaining shooters. The sound of gunfire was ringing through the air.

Meanwhile Mary was grouped behind another car and was exchanging fire with Gary. Tina who had dived for cover in Mary's direction shortly joined her. Tina kept bobbing her head up to see if she could spot Michelle. Tanya couldn't see where Michelle was either.

"Where the fuck is our backup," Tanya shouted to herself. Already it seemed to be taking forever, but they should have been there almost immediately.

Not wanting to wait too long, Tanya decided to take the initiative. She saw that there was a blind spot that Mary wasn't covering. If she maneuvered properly, she'd be able to sneak up on them. She ducked behind car after car and moved closer.

At the same time, Michelle was attempting to get round to Tina. When the firing started, Michelle had followed after Tina, but couldn't move as fast because of her shoes so she was forced to take cover behind a different car. Tina hadn't seen where Michelle had gone and had moved to Mary.

Michelle couldn't follow Tina because it would place her directly in the line of fire. Instead she would have to make her way around, using other cars for cover.

Tanya was closing in on Mary. She had remained hidden from view so far, but for the last few feet she would be out in the open. From his angle, Gary could see what Tanya planning. He loaded another clip and jumped up and fired every round at Mary. This caused Mary and Tina to duck down for cover, allowing Tanya the opportunity to move into position.

Tanya was now ducked down on the other side of the car that Mary and Tina were shielded behind. She was literally a few feet from them but neither Mary nor Tine could see her. She checked her view and neither Sarah nor Richard could see her either.

Unknown to any of them, Michelle could see Tanya having carefully maneuvered around. Michelle began to guess what Tanya was planning. At that moment, about four other men and women came running into view, fully armed. They took up position next to Gary.

"Where the hell have you been," Gary yelled to one of them.

"Fucking ambushed. A damn Falcon pinned us down and stopped us getting here," she replied. "He took out two of us, before we nailed him."

Michelle was trying to get to Tanya to stop her from carrying out her plan, but wasn't close enough. She tried calling out, but the sound of gunfire was deafening. When Tanya saw her backup had arrived, she decided it was time to make her move. She wanted to do this in front of her people, partially as a means of claiming the victory for herself.

She took a deep breath and jumped up, her gun pointing straight at Mary, who was shocked to see Tanya pop up in front of her. Mary tried to aim her gun at Tanya, but Tanya already had the initiative. She was at point blank range and fired three shots into Mary's chest. Mary fell backwards, Tina catching her slightly. Then Tina looked up at Tanya, who was pointing a gun at her.

"Your turn," Tanya said as she aimed her gun at Tina.

"NO," Michelle screamed. She jumped out into the open, so that she could clearly see Tanya. As Tanya spun round and saw her, Michelle reached out with her mind and gripped Tanya by the neck and lifted her up into the air about four feet, her head nearly touching the ceiling.

Suddenly everybody stopped. The ensuing chaos halted abruptly as everybody saw the powerful leader of the Ravens being levitated in the air by an unseen force. The sound of gunfire was replaced by silence. Michelle was standing motionless in the open, with a single hand outstretched. This gesture advertised to everyone that Michelle was the person holding Tanya in the air. No one except Tina knew how, but they all knew Michelle was the person doing it.

Although the Ravens were fully armed with weapons, they all stopped suddenly, completely in awe of what was happening. This was totally unexpected. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. No Kithra could do this.

Tanya also realized that Michelle was somehow holding her by the neck in the air. To her, it felt like huge fingers were gripped tightly around her neck. She struggled to free herself, but her efforts were useless. The grip was too tight. But she still held the gun in her hand. If she couldn't get herself free, then she could at least cut off the source.

Tanya slowly aimed her gun straight at Michelle. Her brain was becoming starved of oxygen and she knew she would quickly pass out. She had one chance to kill Michelle and free herself at the same time.

Michelle saw Tanya begin to aim the gun at her. She squeezed tighter with the powers, attempting to get Tanya to black out. Suddenly there was a snap and Tanya's body went limp. The gun fell down to the floor. Michelle instantly released her hold on Tanya and her body fell to the ground.

Gary rushed out into the open to examine Tanya's body. He simply stood over her and looked up at Michelle, "You killed her."

"No. I-I... ", Michelle stuttered.

Although Tanya had been an archrival, he was consumed with anger that a Falcon had seemingly killed her. He took his gun and aimed it at Michelle.

Before Gary could pull the trigger, Michelle reached out with her mind again, but this time instead of applying force to his neck, she applied as much force as she could to Gary's forearm. He screamed in pain as the bones in his arm cracked under the extreme pressure. He dropped the gun and collapsed to his knees.

"H-How?" Sarah stuttered to Richard, amazed at what she had just seen.

"Kill her," Gary cried out to the others.

Before any of the Ravens could react, Michelle ran to one of the parked cars. In a single bound, she jumped over it, landing on the other side, just as a hail of bullets ripped into the other side of the car.

All the Ravens were now concentrating their efforts on Michelle. This respite allowed Richard and Sarah to get back to their car. Richard drove the car straight towards Tina and Mary, stopping beside them shielding them from any more fire.

At this point a couple of the Ravens turned their fire towards the car, but Gary directed them to concentrate on Michelle again. Gary knew that all the exits to the garage would be closed, so they wouldn't get far in their car. He wanted to make sure that the bitch that crushed his arm was shot to pieces.

As Sarah and Tina dragged Mary into the car, Richard was looking for a way to help Michelle. She was still pinned down and some of the Ravens were circling around her position. Shortly, they'd have her in a crossfire and she wouldn't stand a chance.

Michelle could also see what her attackers were doing. She bobbed her head up and saw that Tina and Sarah were dragging Mary into a car. She considered making a run for the car. It was over thirty feet away, but if she wanted to get out, this was her only chance. Perhaps her powers could help her get there.

Michelle kicked off her shoes, which were only slowing her up. She took a deep breath, and then made a run for the car. As soon as she emerged, all of the Ravens opened fire at her. But with adrenalin coursing through her veins, her telekinetic powers were at top notch. Aided by her powers, she was running faster than Marion Jones, her feet barely touching the ground, as if she was running in the air.

All of the shots missed their target as the Ravens were caught off guard by Michelle's acceleration and speed.

She made it to the car in little over a second, but was still doing about thirty miles per hour as she approached. Her telekinetic powers also give her the ability to bend the laws of gravity and inertia. Despite her incredible speed, she was able to stop in less than a heartbeat and jump into the back seat of the car, alongside a bleeding Mary.

Richard was also surprised by Michelle's speed, but wasted no time at all in speeding away when Michelle was inside the car. By this time, most of the Ravens were bundling inside their own cars to give pursuit.

As they sped away, Michelle looked back. They had three pursuing cars, but Richard was a very experienced driver and was able to keep them at bay as he worked his way down the floors to the exit of the parking garage.

As Richard made the final turn for the exit, he could see that a think steel barrier was being mechanically winched down, effectively blocking the exit.

The exit was at the other end of the parking garage and some forty feet away. It was clear that the barrier would be down long before they could reach it. Richard began to ease of the gas, seeing that the barrier was falling too fast and looked for another escape route. But Michelle also noticing the barrier, concentrated hard with her powers. The barrier would be far too heavy for her to lift, but perhaps she could stop it from falling.

"No, I'll hold it open," Michelle called out to Richard, "Floor it."

Richard looked ahead and saw that the barrier had stopped falling. He didn't know how, but didn't really care at that point. He took Michelle's advice and hit the gas pedal to the floor.

Michelle strained with every mental fiber she had. The barrier was still falling, but at a much lower rate. As they neared the exit, her instincts warned her of a greater danger. As an architect, she recognized the type of mechanism used on the barrier. It was purely a lifting mechanism. The barrier was lowered using gravity; with the mechanism making sure that the barrier doesn't fall too fast.

She guessed that the mechanism was still lowering the barrier, whereas she was holding it up. That meant that once she let go of it, the barrier would probably fall straight to the ground, crushing the car in the process if she didn't hold it long enough.

Within a few heartbeats the car was virtually at the exit. Michelle focused hard knowing that above all else she had to keep the barrier up. The car jolted as Richard went over the small ramp at the exit. At that point, Michelle lost sight of the barrier and her hold on it ceased.

She tensed up, fearing that it would come crashing down on top of the car, but Richard had achieved enough momentum. It came crashing down behind them, just clipping the rear bumper. Richard braked hard and turned, losing control of the car. The car spun once, then came to a complete halt. As Richard adjusted the transmission, Michelle glanced back to the parking garage exit.

They heard a screech of brakes, and then a thundering crash as the lead car smashed into the barrier, causing a huge indentation. Then more screeching and crashing sounds as the following cars skidded and crashed into the back of the lead car, pushing the car and the barrier outwards onto the highway.

Richard hit the gas again and sped off before Michelle could get a good look at the wreckage, although it was obvious that no vehicle would be pursuing them from that exit.

Michelle, being the only person present with any experience in Las Vegas, directed Richard off the main highways and into a deserted side street in North Las Vegas.

Gary was still in the parking lot in the hotel, listening to commentary of the pursuit. When they received news of the crash, he threw the radio to the ground with his good arm, smashing it into pieces. He was holding his other, shattered arm to his chest.

"Did you see what that girl did?" he shouted, "She killed Tanya"

Gary slumped to the ground in pain. Adrenalin had been keeping the pain at bay, but it was beginning to catch up to him. His right arm seemed to be broken in several places. The pain was excruciating.

His injuries had already been triaged as not being life-threatening. The practiced healers were therefore concentrating on those with the more serious injuries. Gary used was little healing knowledge he had to take some of the pain away.

When the magic took effect and the pain subsided slightly, he carefully stood up again.

"I want the head of that bitch on my breakfast plate," he cried out.

When Richard was certain that no-one else was pursuing them, he parked up. Everyone's attention was now turned to Mary. Her body was bullet ridden. She seemed to be bleeding from all over her chest. Sarah had been tending to her since they had pulled her into the car but until now, no-one realized just how severe her injuries were. Blood was still pouring out of the entry wounds in the chest.

"Sarah, what are you waiting for?" Richard called, "Heal her," he demanded.

Sarah glanced at Richard, the tears in her eyes telling him everything. "Richard, there's nothing I can do," Sarah cried.

Their magical powers could heal a vast array of injuries, which is why most of them lived very long lives. They could even heal life- threatening injuries, like a burst vein, or something that can lead to death. But no amount of their magic could heal a mortal wound. Mary's injuries were too severe.

"There must be something," Richard said.

Sarah shook her head, "She's taken three shots in the chest. Her pulmonary artery has ruptured. I can't heal it. I'm keeping her alive with magic, but I can't heal her."

"H-how long... does she have?" Richard asked.

"Not long. The spell runs out in about a minute," Sarah cried.

Mary used what strength she had and beckoned Richard closer. He clambered between the front seats until he was closer to Mary.

"I didn't have long anyway. I could have died any day," Mary said, her voice becoming hoarse.

Mary was referring to the fact that once a Kithra reaches the age of one hundred, they basically live a day-to-day existence. Time is always short at their age. Mary was a hundred and four years old. There was no telling how long Mary had left to live. She could have collapsed and died tomorrow, or lived for years.

"No. We don't know that," Richard cried. Mary had been like a mother to him.

Mary glanced over at Michelle, "Did you see what she did?" Mary whispered to Richard, changing the subject.

"Yes, we all did," he replied.

Mary pulled him closer until his ear was right next to her mouth, so that only he could hear her. "She's one of a kind. Protect her? Whatever she has. Whatever she is... don't let it end with her," she whispered into his ear.

Richard pulled back, "Promise me Richard, promise," Mary demanded, now audible to everyone.

"I promise," Richard said.

Mary nodded, accepting his promise, then closed her eyes, never to open them again.

Gary walked into one of the offices on the top floor of the hotel, with the rest of the Raven council following behind. His arm had been partially healed, but it was in a sling across his chest. The bones had been set back into place, but all magic energy was now at a premium. No magic would be wasted while the threat of attack existed.

The Ravens have a smaller leading council than the other groups comprising of just six people, plus one leader making seven.

Their leader, Tanya was obviously not present, plus another one had been seriously injured in the car pursuit. The extent of his injuries were not yet known.

They all took their seats, leaving the two empty ones. They quickly began debating on what should be done. Although it was designed to focus on the Falcons and Michelle, it didn't take long for their selfish nature to shine through and the debate quickly turned into who should replace Tanya as leader.

"I know this isn't the normal procedure. But this isn't a normal situation. We could be attacked any minute. We need someone to lead us into battle," one said.

To any outsider looking in, the process of electing a new leader would appear to be a democratic process, with the members of the group eligible to vote. But the Ravens were far from democratic. The 'election' of a new leader involved little more than alliances, threats, blackmail and bribes. Only Council members were allowed to stand as leader with the rest of the group voting.

After fifteen minutes of bickering, Gary said. "Look we can argue about this all we like. But only one of us has the power to decide. Under our rules, the person who was last appointed to the council is the arbitrator. That person is also ineligible to stand. Kathy, you were last appointed two years ago. That makes you the arbitrator. It's your call."

Kathy thought for several moments, realizing she had the power to decide. "Okay, we can't elect a new leader. It has to be done by the whole group. But we must have someone to lead us now. We need an interim leader. So it's my decision that this council elects one now. But this is only an interim decision until we have clearer heads." Kathy paused. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay, who's gonna go in the ring."

"I will," Simon, one of the other members, said.

There was a slight paused before Gary spoke up, "So will I." He said.

Kathy quickly outlined the rules for the 'election' as she saw it, effectively making them up as she went along. Each of the remaining members would secretly vote for either candidate. Since there were only three of them left eligible to vote, it would be a small electorate. Kathy found a piece of paper and tore it into rough squares.

With a pen, the three secretly cast their vote on the paper, by writing either an 'S' or a 'G'. When they had all cast, Kathy gathered them together.

Kathy turned the first one over. It was a 'S'. Simon was one in front. She glanced up. Both Gary and Simon were emotionless in their face.

She turned over the second piece of paper. She recognized her own handwriting and knew this was her vote. Scribbled in the middle was the letter 'G'. Gary made a very brief smile. He was still in it.

Kathy turned over the last piece of paper. Everyone leaned forward every so slightly to see what was written on it. There was silence as everyone registered the letter 'G' written in a big firm stroke.

Simon didn't show any disappointment, but it was obvious he was. At the same time, Gary didn't show any smugness or gloating, but sat up straight and bold, displaying to everyone that he was now their leader, if only acting leader.

"Okay, that's it," Kathy said as she stood up. "Gary is the interim leader. He is leader for one month. We begin electing a full leader in one week." Kathy sat down, indicating to Gary that it was his turn to speak.

"Good. Thank you," Gary said as he rose to his feet. "Normally this would be the time for a speech. But right now I only have one thing to say. Lets go get the mother-fuckers."

They were already in a combative mood, but Gary's straight talking pushed it over the edge. Even the defeated Simon felt motivated enough to punch the air as they all stood up and left the room to begin the hunt.

Michelle, Sarah, Tina and Richard were all in a somber mood as they were parked up again. They had dumped Mary's body at the roadside and then moved off. Sarah didn't want to simply leave her body lying in the street, insisting that she deserved a proper burial. But Richard explained that they would all be lucky to get out of the town alive anyway. They would never be able to sneak a dead body out of town as well.

Eventually Sarah relented as they left her friend lying on the sidewalk, blood still seeping from her wounds. Sarah was still fighting the urge to burst out crying, although tears were silently running down her cheeks. Even Michelle, who up until now had considered Mary an enemy felt tearful emotions.

After checking that everything was clear, Richard used his cell phone to call the council, who were waiting for an update. Michelle heard bits and pieces of his conversation, "Mary's dead. She was killed by the Raven's. And Tanya Davies is dead as well. She was killed by... Michelle"

Richard spent the next ten minutes detailing the events that had occurred, including Michelle's apparent new power. Michelle glanced over at him several times. He was also having trouble keeping his composure after seeing his mentor being gunned down before him. Eventually he finished his call.

"Are they going to send in help?" Sarah asked.

Richard shook his head, "They can't. We've got some backup available, but if we try and send anyone in, the Ravens will cut them to pieces. They will have the airport covered and all of the highways. We won't be able to get our people in. We have to get out of this town by ourselves," Richard stated.

"Do you have any police contacts?" Tina asked.

"Not here," Richard replied, "All the local police will be under the control of the Ravens, either directly or indirectly. We have to think of another way out."

"Well if the roads and the airport is covered, then how can we get out?" Sarah questioned.

"For the moment we don't. The Council has given me the address of a 'safe-house' here in Vegas. We're to go there now."

"A safe-house," Tina exclaimed.

"Yeah. I never knew the place even existed. It's for emergency use only, which this definitely is."

"Then what?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to lie low for a few days. They can't keep the highways covered for long.

Gary was sitting in the leader's chair of the assembly room of the Raven's. Because of the situation, there was no inauguration ceremony. Sitting down on the floor at his feet was Crystal, formerly LaDonna in her new body as a physical duplicate of the woman that had killed Tanya. She was patiently waiting for her Master to give her an order.

Gary's arm was mostly healed. After being elected interim leader, the other Council members insisted that he had his arm healed enough to take it out of his sling.

No-one wanted to waste magical energy, but they all were quick to point out that for the sake of morale, if they were going into battle, it was important to have a leader that could at least hold a gun. Gary relented and his arm was healed.

Gary now had a full report on the injuries to his people. Two of them were dead. One was shot through the heart by Hank. Another was killed when the car pursing the Falcons smashed into the steel barrier. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and went through the windshield and smashed head first into the barrier.

Another ten sustained injuries, some from bullet wounds and others from the crash. Two of those that were in the lead car were still in a critical state, one of which had only just been cut of the crash and was on his way to hospital.

Because their wounds were so severe, their healing magic was ineffectual, at least until their injuries stabilize. For now they would have to rely on conventional medicine to keep them alive.

After hearing the reports of how the barrier had suddenly stopped, allowing the Falcons to escape before crashing down in front of their pursuers, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the crash was no accident. This woman was more powerful than they thought.

The mystery blonde woman posed the biggest threat to their dominance and that threat had to be eliminated. Plans had been made to ensure that no more Falcons would get into the town.

However, Gary had rescinded his order for Michelle to be killed. Instead he wanted her taken alive. He didn't care what it took. They could shoot her in the legs, tranquillize her or knock her out. But they needed to take her alive."

Although Mary and Tina had told them that this woman was an accident, he didn't believe them. All of the groups had been doing research into new ways of magic that could affect another Kithra, although none of them would admit it. Somehow, the Falcons had achieved it. Perhaps the fact that they tried on an outsider was an accident, or an experiment gone too far, but Gary didn't believe for one minute that the Falcons were not behind this new power.

If the Falcon's were on the verge of this new power, then simply killing the woman would not be enough because it would only be a matter of time before they could transform another person with the same power. Instead, he needed her alive, so he could examine this power, learn it, and then have it for himself. The others... were disposable.

All the thoughts about the woman turned his attention to Crystal. He still hadn't worked out what to do with her. So far, capturing her and transforming her had been of little practical use, but Gary was convinced he could find a use for her, just not at the moment.

Michelle, Tina, Richard and Sarah arrived at the safe house in Las Vegas. The house had its own garage, so they could park the car out of sight.

Once inside, Richard performed a security check. When all was clear, they settled down together in the living room.

Ever since escaping from the Ravens, both Richard and Sarah had a hundred questions to ask Michelle. Now that they were relatively safe, Richard's patience was the first to break. He walked up to Michelle and demanded "Who are you? I mean who are you really? Hell, WHAT are you?"

"Richard, that's not fair," Tina interrupted.

"None of this is fair. Mary died because of her. She's been screwing us around ever since we met. I want some answers. I wanna know what Mary died for."

Michelle's patience finally snapped, "ME. Screwing YOU around," she shouted, "Look at what YOU'VE done to ME," Michelle said as she gestured at her own body. "A week ago I was happy, now look at me."

Sarah interrupted in a calm tone, "Michelle, we're not blaming you for what happened, but one of our best friends just got killed. I think you do owe us an explanation."

Sarah's tone was very diplomatic. She was trying to calm the situation down. Sarah was now acutely aware of the forces that Michelle could command and didn't want to make her too angry.

Michelle sat down and slowly began to recite the story of how she gained her telekinetic powers. She then detailed everything that had happened since her transformation and how she used her powers to escape both from the Falcons and then from the Ravens.

When she had finished, Richard placed another call to the Falcon's council. He made the call extremely brief to avoid the possibility of the phone signal being tri-angulated as they had done with Michelle and Tina. He gave a greatly simplified account of what Michelle had told them, plus receiving some more instructions.

"We have a problem," he said after hanging up. "Hank hasn't checked in with the council."

"Hank?" Michelle asked.

"Yes, he came with us," Richard explained. "Remember back in the garage, they should have had their backup a lot quicker. Plus that barrier should have been down long before we got there. I bet Hank had something to do with that. He bought us the time we needed to escape."

"So where is he now?" Tina asked.

"No-one knows. He could have been captured... or worse," Richard replied.

Gary walked into the secure room at their hotel. He could see a naked Hank tied to the rack where Michelle had been. He seemed totally unconscious. Maria was standing beside him, examining bullet wounds on his body.

"How's the new prisoner?" Gary asked.

"Still unconscious. He got hit several times. The injuries are bad, but not critical. It's going to take time to heal his wounds. I still say we leave the bastard to die," Maria said.

"I know. I feel the same. But we need information. We need him alive," Gary explained.

Maria was aware of this and was simply venting her anger. "Well its gonna take a while before he's healed enough to be tortured, at least until morning. I can't wait to get started on him," she said rubbing her hands. Gary could see that she was deeply embarrassed at having been overpowered by Michelle and wanted to make up for it.

Just in case Hank possessed the same power, Gary had ordered a constant armed guard. There would be at least two extra people present at all times. He didn't think this was likely, believing Michelle to be the only recipient of this power, but didn't want to take the chance. Maria didn't like this, believing it was cramping her style, but after hearing what Michelle did to Tanya, accepted that is was necessary.

"How's the jaw?" Gary asked Maria.

"Oh, fine," she replied, rubbing it. Gary was pleased that Maria hadn't sustained any permanent injuries as a result. She was the only person he felt any connection with and genuinely cared about.

"I take it you were told about her power," Gary asked.

"Yeah. I heard. I can't believe she was able to kill Tanya with it."

"That's what I want to talk to you about. Did she use it in here?"

"Well nothing levitated if that's what you mean," Maria said. "But she did manage to get out of those restraints. I guess she must have used her powers to do that. That must mean this room doesn't stop her power."

"Right," Gary acknowledged. That wasn't good news. He badly wanted to capture her alive, but how could he keep her captive if she was able to escape and kill with such ease. How could they possibly hold her?

"Tell me exactly what happened?" Gary said.

Maria shrugged and recited exactly what she had done and how both of the women reacted, but especially Michelle. Afterwards, they both came to the conclusion that Michelle was holding out on her powers and could have escaped at any time. But faced with the prospect of being whipped, she took her chance to escape.

They also discussed how they could prevent her from using her powers if they recaptured her. The only solution Maria could give would be to keep her either unconscious or so high on drugs that she wouldn't know what day it was. Such a tactic of keeping a person conscious, but high on drugs does work with other Kithra as it prevents them from being able to concentrate enough to cast a spell. But Maria was quick to point out that it wasn't a foolproof method and she couldn't guarantee that it would stop Michelle from using her abilities.

Gary left her with Hank, aiming to catch some sleep before morning.

Chapter Thirty-One ==================

T + 8 days

The following morning Richard, Sarah, Tina and Michelle all awoke early. None of them managed to get much sleep. There were three beds, so Tina and Michelle shared a bed. In theory they were supposed to take turns to guard, but they were all exhausted and Tina fell asleep in her shift.

Despite having the air conditioning on full blast, Michelle woke up several times during the night in a cold sweat. Each time she had the image in her mind of Tanya's last moments. She could clearly remember the look on Tanya's face just before she broke her neck and killed her. How long would she be plagued by nightmares?

The house had been equipped with most of the essential items. Basic clothes and tinned foods were available; so they all washed, dressed and sat down to eat breakfast. Michelle had taken a shower and Tina had wrapped her long mane of hair in a towel.

As they turned on the news, one of the leading news items was that authorities were launching a murder hunt after a woman was found shot by the roadside. It became clear that the woman they were referring to way Mary.

"Damn, Ravens," Richard called out. "They're using Mary's death to find us. They've now got the whole of the Clark County police looking for us as well."

"We have to get out of here," Sarah said as Tina made her excuses and left the dining room. She intended to fetch a hairbrush for Michelle now that her hair was drying.

"Well, its not just about getting us out as soon as possible. We need to co-ordinate all our efforts with the group. We might need to stay and fight if it comes to it," Richard said.

"Hey, what do you mean OUR efforts?" Michelle interrupted, "This is your fight, not mine. I just wanna get out of here."

"Michelle, I'm not saying you're responsible, but you killed the leader of the Ravens. Our group is now at war with them. They're gonna do everything the can to wipe us out completely. As of now, every member of the Falcons is a fighter"

"But I'm not part of your group. I never wanted to be and its not like your group has made me feel welcome."

"I know we haven't treated you well, but things have changed," Richard said.

"What, because I have the power to hurt your enemies," Michelle snapped back, annoyed that she was suddenly more valuable just because of her telekinetic powers.

"Okay, I'd been lying if I said that no. But this isn't just because your powers can hurt the Ravens. You see even before we transformed you, you were different from normal people. Whether you like to admit it or not, you're Kithra. Hell, why didn't you tell us you had this power. You'd have been free by now if you had."

"I made a decision at the time to keep quiet. I-I thought you might see me as a threat," Michelle said.

"Maybe, maybe not. But from now on, the Ravens certainly will. You've shown that you have the power to hurt them. They'll hunt you down like a dog. But they won't stop with you. They'll kill us all... me, Sarah... even Tina," Richard said, throwing in Tina's name last to provoke a response.

"Don't play the emotion card, Richard," Michelle snapped recognizing his tactics, "I still haven't forgiven Tina for what she did to me."

At that point, Michelle looked up to see that Tina had just re- entered the room hairbrush in hand, catching the last part of the conversation, especially Michelle's comments. Tina rushed out of the room and virtually ran back to her room.

"Great," Michelle said bitterly to Richard as she left the dining table and followed Tina.

Michelle found Tina back in her room. As she opened the door, Tina was lying on the bed, facing away from door. Michelle could hear sniffles indicating that Tina was already crying.

"You hate me, don't you," Tina cried.

Michelle sat down on the bed. Tina was still facing away.

"I don't hate you Tina," Michelle reassured.

"B-But you're never gonna forgive me, are you?" Tina said.

Michelle was searching her feelings. She meant what she said to Richard, but Tina had heard it in the wrong context, "It's not easy. I don't blame you for what happened and I don't hold it against you."

There was a pause, so Michelle continued, "But there are times when it all comes back to me. When I look in the mirror, when I feel my boobs bounce... and when stupid assholes don't watch what they say," Michelle said, referring to Richard's comments.

Again, Tina was silent, so Michelle poured her heart out. "You DID this to me Tina. I keep asking myself how I can ever truly forgive you for that. But when we were back in Massachusetts, no-one was prepared to help me. I was alone. Sure people were 'on my side', but no-one helped me. I had no-one to turn to... except you. You were there for me when I needed you. I won't forget that. In time, I think I'll forget the pain you caused me, but I'll never forget that you were there when it counted."

Tina turned around and smiled slightly. Michelle continued, "Look, I don't know how this is gonna end up. I mean we might not even live till tomorrow. But whatever happens, I want you to be there."

"Always Michael, always," she said deliberately calling her by her male name.

"Might as well call me Michelle now. I mean, I'm NEVER going back now, am I. I really am stuck like this for life, aren't I?"

Tina nodded, "Yeah, you are."

"Come on, I think Rambo is trying to work out a plan," Michelle said. She took Tina by the hand and led her back to the dining room.

When they returned, Michelle sensed a change in attitude from Richard. While Tina and Michelle were having their heart to heart, Sarah had given Richard a few strict words in diplomacy.

They all sat down together around the dining room table. As they talked, Tina began to brush out Michelle's long hair. Ordinarily, it would have been better for Michelle to begin learning how to do it herself. But now wasn't the time for girly lessons. There would be plenty of time for that later, assuming they got out of this town alive.

"Okay, I've been working on a plan to get us out," Richard said. "But first, I need to know one thing. Michelle, the way you used your powers last night. The way you killed Tanya with your powers. Can you do it again?" Richard asked Michelle.

"I-I don't know if I can," Michelle replied partially taken back by the question. She was still coming to terms with the fact that she had taken another human life. She was vehemently telling herself that she had acted in self-defense. If she hadn't killed Tanya, then both she Tina would have been dead instead.

"I appreciate you don't want to unless it was totally necessary. But if it really came down to it, do you think you could do it?"

Michelle thought carefully. These people were out to kill her and the people she cared about. "Yes. If I really had to, I could," she eventually answered.

"Good. I hope it won't come to that, but I have a plan and it kind of depends on your power."

Richard continued, "You see, the best defense if a good offense. I've checked with my police contacts in Los Angeles. All the highways and airports are covered and somehow they've put restrictions on light aircraft. I don't know how, but they've done it. However, there is one helicopter which has unrestricted access to takeoff and land anywhere."

Richard paused with everyone looking at him, their expressions demanding more. He continued, "On the top of their hotel, the Ravens have their own chopper and helipad. The Ravens don't know this, but I've had pilot training. We can steal their own helicopter."

"But that hotel is their base," Sarah nearly screamed. "There must be more Ravens there than anywhere else in town,"

Richard interrupted, "Except when they're all looking for us."

Sarah was still far from being convinced, "I can't believe you're suggesting it. We're in dire straights, surrounded on all sides, and you want to go to their base and attack them outright. Richard, that's crazy."

"Completely," Michelle interrupted with a smile on her face, appreciating Richard's plan. Over the past week, Michelle had run circles around everyone by using the most unorthodox tactics. Richard was finally speaking Michelle's language. To Michelle, Richard's plan made perfect sense.

Gary examined the various whip marks that Hank had sustained all over his body, but particularly his back. He shivered thinking that the level of pain would have been excruciating. Nobody would have been able to withstand that level of torment.

Maria had started on him at dawn, and she was only just beginning to break him down. It was a miracle that he lasted as long as he did.

Maria walked up to him and greeted him, "So what does he know?" Gary enquired, eager to discover what had been learned from this first session.

"You're not gonna believe this, but he doesn't know anything about those telekinetic powers," Maria stated.

"You mean he wasn't privy to the details," Gary attempted to correct her.

"No. I mean he doesn't know ANYTHING about them. He didn't even know that she had them."

Gary's jaw dropped. "That's impossible. Hank is a member of the Falcon council. He must know something about this."

"I don't think he does. He doesn't believe me when I tell him that she has telekinetic powers. He still doesn't believe that she killed Tanya."

Gary was still reeling from this news. "Do you believe him?" Gary asked.

Maria looked over to Hank. "Yes, so far. I think he's telling the truth.

"So torturing him has been a waste of time then," Gary said.

"Well it's not a disaster. I mean we can still squeeze him dry of other information. I've still got to try drugging him. But I don't think he knows anything about these powers."

"So what does he know about this woman?" Gary enquired

"He said that Michelle saved the life of Tina and her family. According to him, it was Tina that transformed him accidentally when one of her own spells went wrong."

"No. I can't believe that Tina did this," Gary said.

Maria glanced over to Hank, "I still don't think he's lying."

"Then someone must have lied to him. If Tina was a more experienced member of the Falcons, I might believe it. But Tina Adams hasn't been Kithra for very long. She hasn't got the sort of power to be able to pull something like this off. Anyway, keep me informed."

Maria also said that she didn't need an armed guard any more. It was obvious that Hank didn't possess the same power as Michelle, so Gary could use the other two in the hunt for the Falcons.

Gary left Maria to her work and considered the new information. The whole thing was weird to begin with, but now things were getting downright bizarre. If Hank truly didn't know about the woman's telekinetic powers, then they had a lot of catching up to do about Falcon society. Gary was still convinced that Michelle was the product of a deliberate experiment in creating new powers.

Richard, Sarah, Mary and Michelle had finished formulating their plan. Richard made brief calls to the Falcon. He was also able to get partial confirmation that Hank was being held in the Ravens hotel, presumably in their secure room where Michelle and Tina were held.

They spent the next hour finishing off their plan. Because it was assumed that Hank was captured, the mission was also to rescue Hank and then escape with the Raven's helicopter. Ideally, they would not kill anyone. Richard was mindful of the fact that peace between the groups was achievable, as long as no more blood was shed.

Neither Michelle, Tina or Sarah were thrilled about the idea of having to rescue Hank, especially Sarah who still had her own suspicions about Hank's real intentions with Michelle.

But Richard was quick to point out that it had been Hank's actions that gave them the chance to escape and they owed it to Hank to at least try and free him.

They would not be executing the plan until tonight, giving them the extra cover or darkness.

Gary was in his office with several of his lieutenants. They were delivering reports and discussing tactics. The first priority was defense. Three of their number had been killed in a matter of minutes. They needed to make sure that the Falcons couldn't do the same again.

Once they were adequately defended, they would strike back. Nestled in between these two priorities was the problem of Richard, Michelle, Tina and Sarah. They needed to deal with them before they started mounting any attacks.

"We've got the police to set up roadblocks. They think they're looking for the murderers of Mary. We've got a couple of our people at every roadblock. Even if they've changed their appearance, our people should still be able to sense them. They won't get out by road."

"What about aircraft?" Gary asked.

"Our people are at the airport monitoring passengers on scheduled flights. We've got Air Traffic Control and the FAA to put limits on all incoming and outgoing air travel using small planes and helicopters."

"How did you manage that?" someone else asked.

"We sent a tip to the local FBI about a middle-eastern terrorist group attacking the town using rockets fired from light aircraft"

"Bit far fetched isn't it," Gary said cringing, echoing the thoughts around the room. "This ain't Hollywood."

"I know, but it's the best we could do. So far it seems to be working. They're keeping it to themselves but they're taking it serious enough to put limits on things, without closing everything down. We don't want to take things too far or we might risk exposure.

The meeting was interrupted by the sound of Gary's phone ringing on his desk. To save picking it up, he hit the speakerphone button. It was Maria.

"Maria, please tell me some good news," Gary cried in mock despair

"Oh, it's good. It's really good."

Everyone's attention was perked up. "So what is it?" Gary asked.

"The Falcons have a safe house in Las Vegas, known only to members of the Falcon council. Hank's just given me the address."

Maria proceeded to read out the address as given by Hank. "I want a strike team assembled there in ten minutes," he turned to one of his men.

"Great work Maria," Gary said to her, before hanging up the line.

Back in the Falcons safe house, Michelle had approached Tina asking her for more information about the odd feelings she was experiencing when men touched her.

Tina was hesitant at first, but said that the real expert was her mother. She asked Michelle to wait while she consulted with Sarah. Eventually, Michelle was asked to come into the living room. Richard was also present.

She was already feeling embarrassed and she hadn't told them anything yet. As soon as she walked into the room, she felt her face burn. Richard and Sarah now knew that she'd had sex.

"Michelle, Tina's told me roughly what's happened. But I need to hear it from you, in your own words. Explain what happened. And I want to know everything okay, every little detail." Sarah asked.

Michelle explained in detail about the feelings she went through with Harry and also the feelings that occurred at the hands of the Raven man the previous evening. She was extremely embarrassed at having to admit these things. She needed plenty of coaxing and reassurance from Tina.

"So what do you think, mom?" Tina asked. "Do you know what's happened?"

"I think so but to be sure I want to try something out to confirm it. Do you want to try it now?"

Michelle shrugged and nodded. "Okay, stand up in the middle of the room," Sarah requested. Michelle complied and as she did, Sarah also motioned Richard to join them in the middle of the room.

"Right, Michelle, I need you to remain where you are and let Richard do whatever he wants with you."

Michelle shot Sarah a piercing glare. Sarah saw her concern and immediately reassured her, "Don't worry, he's not gonna make out with you right here in front of us. But I need you to have an open mind about this, and I need you to go along with this."

Michelle gave an approving nod and shrugged her acceptance.

"Okay Richard, kiss her," Sarah said.

Richard leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips.

"Not like that Richard, kiss her properly," she ordered.

Richard placed him arm around Michelle's waist and gently pulled her closer. Michelle instinct was to pull away, but she allowed Richard's lips to make contact with hers. She vowed to herself that she would not allow it to go any further.

Gary was in the same street provided by Hank, about a block North, waiting for everyone to converge. Timing was crucial in order to maintain the element of surprise. They may outnumbered and outgun the Falcons, but if they were dug in, then they wouldn't go down without a fight. Also, the telekinetic powers of the blonde woman made things very complicated.

Gary would have like to have stormed the house with about thirty Ravens, but every extra Kithra in the vicinity increased the chances of them being sensed magically.

Detecting the presence of other Kithra is a very patchy ability at best. But the more of them that were close, and the longer they waited, the greater the chance that one of the Falcons would pick up on their presence.

On the other hand, he didn't want to rush in so fast that his men didn't have a chance to prepare adequately. It was a question of striking the right balance

He determined that they would storm the house in two teams. They would proceed as soon as the teams were ready. Their helicopter was in the air, but again holding back to avoid tipping them off. Once the SWAT team moved it, the helicopter would also move in to cover any possible escape.

They put on SWAT flack jackets and prepared their arms. They were all armed with automatic weapons, but also contained a tazor and tranquilizer gun strapped to their belts.

The assault teams were kitted out with mostly police gear. This was to ensure that any neighbors or passers by would assume they were a police SWAT team on a raid.

They were already well prepared so it did not take them long to complete their preparations. Gary walked up to them to give them their final instructions.

"Okay guys, I'd like them all taken alive if possible. But if it really comes down to it, dead will do. Except the guy Richard! We don't need him, so you can kill him now and get it over with."

"Now you've all heard about the blonde woman, Michelle. Some of you have seen what she can do. Whatever you do, we have to take her out, but I still want her alive. So shoot her anywhere she doesn't have a major organ, then tazor her till she's out cold."

Meanwhile Michelle was becoming totally lost. She knew that if she didn't stop him immediately, it would be too late. She could feel her will to resist slipping away and away.

And then, very suddenly, her resistance broke. Michelle could also feel her alter personality took over. Her arms which had been down by her side, worked their way around Richard, caressing his back, her left hand going up to the back of his head.

They could all see the change overtake Michelle. Richard wasn't simply kissing her anymore. She was kissing him back, and she seemed to love it.

After about a minute, Sarah leaned over to Richard and whispered in his ear, "Take off her blouse."

Richard hesitated briefly, aware of Michelle's powers and not wanting to go too far with her. When most women are subjected to unwanted physical advances, they resort to a quick slap to stop the man. But this was no normal woman. She could break his arm with just a blink of an eye.

But as he reached her top button and unfastened it, Michelle showed no hint of displeasure. She continued to kiss him and even seemed to encourage him to carry on unbuttoning her blouse.

The fake SWAT team smashed their way into the safe-house, the first unit though the front door. Almost immediately a second group smashed in through the rear, entering through the kitchen.

"Kitchen clear," Gary heard over the radio, watching from the street. Two snipers had taken up positions at the front and the rear, to catch any escaping Falcons.

"Dining room clear," Gary heard again.

The noise over the radio was virtually continuous as one person after another would open up the microphone and speak. They systematically searched each room.

"Ground floor is clear. Alpha team proceeding upstairs."

"Copy that. Beta team entering the basement."

Gary tensed up slightly. Any moment now, the shooting would start. Gary listened to the talk and crackling over the radio as they searched the house inch by inch, attempting to uncover the Falcons.

"Basement clear," Gary heard over the radio. This wasn't right. Gary knew that his men should have found them by now, unless there wasn't anyone there.

"First floor clear," was the next radio communication, which confirmed Gary's fears.

"There's no-one here," Gary heard someone remark over the crackled radio. He finally lost his patience. He marched up the street at a quick pace.

As he marched, he could see some of the neighbors peering out of their windows, their curiosity burning into them.

In less than a minute, Gary was at the front door of the house. He stepped through what was left of it. As he did, one of the assault team greeted him. She pulled off her ski mask as Gary approached.

"Gary, its empty. And from what I can see, no-one's been here in months."

Gary was furious. He clenched his fist around the radio and in a fit of anger, threw it against the wall. As it struck the wall, it smashed into pieces. That was Gary's second radio in two days.

On the other side of town in the Falcon's second safe house, Michelle was hurriedly putting her blouse back on again. She couldn't believe that she had allowed Richard to take it off. When he was doing it, it seemed so... natural.

After taking her blouse off, Sarah had indicated that they had gone far enough. Richard then stepped back from Michelle. Michelle's initial reaction was to step forward to resume the kiss.

Then in the space of about a second, the realization of what she was doing had hit her. Michelle's face went deep scarlet as she blushed with embarrassment at the things she had done.

"So what's the verdict," Michelle asked Sarah as she finished with the buttons.

Sarah paused, thinking her answer through carefully. She knew exactly what the problem was, but if she phrased it incorrectly, it would look very bad on Tina. She didn't want to lie to Michelle, but at the same time, she wanted to phrase it in a way that Michelle would be able to handle.

"It's a side affect of the transformation. Your body was designed for sex and this is your body's way of ensuring that it carries out its design." This was a slight exaggeration on Sarah's part. She didn't feel it wise to mention that this specific aspect had been engineered by Tina to make sure she would willingly oblige Michael in any sexual act he wanted to do.

"So why didn't it happen with... me and... Tina," Michelle said, being careful with her words, not knowing if Sarah knew that her daughter was bisexual.

Sarah wasn't aware, but wasn't at all surprised. All Kithra have the ability to change their gender for short periods of time, so almost all experiment. Tina wouldn't have been normal if she hadn't tried it at some point.

"I'm not sure, but I'd guess that it only happens with men. That's probably your trigger. When a man... touches you intimately, you... feel a need to please him."

"But, men have... touched me before. I was nearly raped back in California. I didn't feel anything then. And yesterday, some Raven guy groped my tits. I felt it then, but I was able to fight it."

"Michelle, You mustn't think of this as an automatic response. It's not like every time a guy smiles at you, or brushes up against you, you'll become a helpless slut. If you really don't want it, you can fight it. Back in California, how far did the guys actually... go? Did they actually touch you anywhere" Sarah asked.

Michelle shook her head, remembering the fact that they had mostly held her down. Although one of them had placed his hand on her vagina, it was only there for a very short time before she threw them off.

She was already working out that there must be a time element to the trigger. With the Raven yesterday, it took about a minute before she felt the effects, as it did with Richard. The longer she was intimate with someone, the more likely she was to slip.

Michelle also thought back to her encounter with Harry, the telephone engineer. Although she had become affected more quickly, there was one extra variable... she was partially intoxicated. Alcohol clearly made it harder for her to fight the urges. Things were starting to make sense.

"So what can I do about it?" she asked.

"In the short term, absolutely nothing," Sarah said bluntly, believing this to be the best strategy. Surprisingly, Michelle showed little negative reaction. Michelle was appreciative of Sarah candid response. Above all else, she wanted answers and she preferred negative answers to no answers. "All I can suggest is that you don't kiss a guy or let him touch you intimately unless you actually want go all the way with him. Be aware that you might not be able to stop, even if you want to."

"And in the longer term?" Michelle enquired.

"Difficult to say. This... compulsion if you want to call it that is a part of you now... permanently. But there are things that can be done to help, especially if you are able to learn magic. Plus, there are some benefits to it as well."

"Yeah, like what?" Michelle asked.

"Well, if you do want to become bisexual or a heterosexual woman, it'll be much easier for you. You won't have to worry about getting hung up on having sex with guys. All you'll have to do is just let things go naturally and you know you'll enjoy it."

Michelle seemed far from convinced, so Sarah added, "Look, it isn't that strange. There are plenty of women that don't trust themselves around men. You've heard of the description 'melting in a man's arms'. And as a man, do you really think it was any different. If a sexy lady walked up to you and really starting coming on to you real strong, do you really think you would be able to stop yourself."

Michelle didn't say anything, but appeared to be accepting Sarah's logic.

"But the bottom line is, if you don't want it, then don't let guys touch you at all. From what I've just heard and seen, it's physical contact that triggers it. You won't start making out with guys just from being in the same room as them."

Gary and the strike teams were still going through the house they had just stormed.

"There's something odd about the setup of this place. I think this IS a Falcon safe-house," one of them reported to Gary.

"So where are they?" Gary cried.

"I don't know. Maybe they never came here. Maybe they had a second safe house."

"Look for any clues as to where they might be. Rip the place apart if you have to. I'm going back to base. I'll leave you here and take the other team back with me."

Chapter Thirty-Two ==================

Michelle, Richard, Sarah and Tina were making their way to the Raven's hotel in the car that had been left for them at the safe house. Richard revealed his plan as being one that had already been considered by the Falcons some time ago in the event an attack was ever needed. But then plan was shelved due to a strategic loophole in the logic; a loophole that Michelle's powers could well close.

The plan centered on taking control of the surveillance department of the hotel. Although the Ravens had a dislike of video cameras, they still used them for the day to day running of the hotel and this surveillance made an attack on the hotel almost impossible.

As they parked up Tina, Richard and Sarah cast spells upon themselves, transforming their faces. Their bodies were roughly the same, but they now had a vastly different look. Tina was a striking redhead, while Sarah was a brunette and had a much younger appearance.

Michelle did not have the ability to transform herself, so Tina had tied her hair into a bun, allowing some of it to drop down, giving the effect of having shoulder length hair. They also trimmed her fingernails. Adjusting her physical body in such a way would put her Kithra abilities into a state of flux, making it more difficult for her to learn magic in the months to come. But Michelle was having such a hard time with her nails that they decided it was a necessary. It was a relatively minor adjustment. By tomorrow, they will have grown back to the same length.

They thought about dying her hair another color, but decided to leave it blonde, thinking the Ravens would assume that the first thing they would do is dye her hair a different color.

Richard began to repeat the final details of the plan. Getting into the hotel would be fairly easy. After all, it was open to the public. But as soon as they moved outside the public areas, they would be noticed almost immediately because of all the security cameras littering the hotel. So any attack on the hotel centered on being able to take out the surveillance department first.

The plan recognized that the biggest problem was getting inside the surveillance department without the alarm being raised. But the Falcons had discovered that the entrance to surveillance is along a corridor that the cocktail waitresses use to go from the gaming floor from their staff quarters.

Since the surveillance department can only be opened from the inside, the plan was for two Falcons to be disguised as cocktail waitresses and then for one of them to collapse outside the door. Once the door was opened, they could magically disable those inside.

Hidden in the safe house were various items that were of use. Some firearms, tranquilizers, even a few tazor stun-guns. But there were other items of use as well, including several replica uniforms of various staff positions at the hotel, including two cocktail waitress uniforms.

However, this was where the plan became shaky. It might work under normal circumstances, but right now, there would be at least one, maybe two fully armed Ravens inside the surveillance department whom would be immune to their magic. Since the waitress costumes were very skimpy, there would be nowhere to hide any weapons and the Ravens inside would cut them to pieces. The plan simply wouldn't work.

But when Richard saw how effective Michelle's powers were against the Ravens, he decided that this plan had some merit. She didn't need any weapons to incapacitate a Raven. She was the weapon.

However, that meant Michelle would have to be one of those dressed in a sexy skimpy cocktail waitress uniform. They only had two outfits so only one other person would be able to help out. Tactically Richard would have been best to accompany Michelle, but the magical power required to transform himself into a suitable female body for long enough would have expended too much magical energy.

Therefore Sarah would accompany Michelle and would use her magic to incapacitate the normal members of staff in the department, while Michelle would take out the Ravens. Sarah would also use her powers to block any telepathic signals emanating from the room so that the Ravens could not call for help magically.

It was a bold plan, but it had a chance. Certainly, it was better than waiting around at the safe house for them to be found. Sooner or later, the Ravens would find the safe house and every other escape route was covered.

As they left the car, they were all surprised at how Michelle was handling herself. She still didn't totally blend in, but she managed a lot better than they were expecting. When they heard Richard's plan, neither Tina nor Sarah thought Michelle would be able to do it.

Michelle didn't like the idea of dressing up as a cocktail waitress one bit, especially after she saw the outfit. But she'd dressed up as a hooker two days earlier, so it wasn't a totally new experience and it was serving a definite purpose.

The uniform was black velvet with the edges trimmed in gold. It consisted of a top that was little more than a bra and a really short skirt, the hemline of which only just covered her ass cheeks. Her entire midriff was visible as well.

The only two other items were a black thong and black patent stiletto heels. The shoes were not optional part of the uniform either, so Michelle would have to wear them or would look out of place.

Almost all Casino's in Las Vegas insist that cocktail waitresses wear heels of some description although the threat of lawsuits from the damage caused by long-term wear of high heels had softened the stance of some Casino's who were allowing lower cut heels.

However this Casino still insisted on a minimum three-inch stiletto heel as part of the uniform, so Michelle had no choice but to wear them. Fortunately, those left at the safe house were roughly the correct size. Oddly enough, she was beginning to get used to them. Over the top of the uniform, Michelle and Sarah were wearing dresses that would enable them to enter the hotel using the normal entrances.

Richard was listening a radio scanner. He was listening for the radio name of the Ravens helicopter. After half an hour, he heard was he was listening for. The helicopter was heading back to the hotel to refuel. This was their cue to begin.

Michelle took a deep breath before leaving the car. They proceeded as planned, Michelle and Sarah immediately splitting up from Tina and Richard. They would all make their way into the Casino using different entrances. Once inside, Michelle and Sarah will cast away their dresses discreetly, and make their way to surveillance. Richard and Tina will attempt to blend in, and will follow in after exactly five minutes.

In the Ravens secure room, Hank was still furious at himself for divulging the location of the safe house. The Falcons had two safe houses in Las Vegas and each Council member knew the location of one of them, but not both.

Although he guessed that they would be directed to the other safe house that he wasn't aware of, he couldn't be sure, so he tried to hold out.

But the combination of excruciating pain and drugs had been too much for him. He had heard that Maria was an expert at extracting information, but he never knew exactly how good she was, until now.

Maria returned to the room and immediately saw that Hank had regained consciousness. Hank was still naked and strapped to the rack where he had been since the ordeal started. His back was still in agony from the onslaught he had received, although it was a fraction of the pain it had been earlier.

"Well, I gotta hand it to you. You're one piece of work," she said as she approached. She was wearing her second favorite dominatrix uniform, her favorite having been taken by Tina.

"Glad to see I've been a challenge,"

"No, that's not what I mean," Maria said.

There was something about Maria's tone, which unnerved him. She had that 'I know something' look in her eyes.

"What do you mean then?" Hank asked.

"You mean you don't remember what you told me," Maria said. This wasn't unusual as one of the side effects of one of the drugs was short-term memory loss.

"Well have a guess what it was that you told me," Maria asked.

"Ha, nice try," Hank said, thinking that was a trick to getting him to divulge more information. "But I think the drugs are more effective though."

"Oh, they were effective. With the drugs and the pain, you were begging me to stop. And when I wouldn't stop, you begged me to kill you. And finally, when you knew that I wouldn't stop and I wouldn't kill you, you told me everything. You cried like a baby and told me everything... and I mean everything."

A chill ran down Hank's spine. He still couldn't remember the details, but he could remember crying and how Maria was promising it would end if only he told her what she wanted to know. He couldn't remember telling her anything, but the confident look on her face told Hank that he had been very forthcoming.

But Hank didn't know exactly what he had told her, and what, if anything, he had managed to hide.

"I still can't remember," Hank said. "So unless you're going to laugh on your own, you're gonna have to let me in on the joke."

"The joke, yeah it's fucking hilarious. Have you heard the one about the Falcon who set up one of his own people to get killed by the Ravens."

Hank's legs went weak. "Not that," he thought. He was assuming that he had divulged tactical details and current secrets to Maria. But not that secret. No-one had known about that. He had kept it hidden for years.

Maria grabbed Hank's jaw and said, "I mean the way you tipped us off about Jack's mission, so that we'd kill him."

Hank swallowed hard. She knew. How did she manage to extract it from him?

Maria continued, "And you accuse us of being callous..." as she released his jaw.

Hank hung his head low.

In the surveillance room of the Raven's hotel, three operations were going on. The first was the ordinary day-to-day running of the hotel, being carried out by the normal members of staff.

Simon was overseeing the other two operations. Looking out for any signs of a Falcon attack and going through the last week of surveillance tapes, double checking any Falcon presence, especially the mystery woman with the strange powers. He was still pissed at losing out to Gary for leadership of the group, but he did his best to put it behind him.

He had been provided with photographs of the woman to help identify her from the hours of archive footage, as he had not been present, having been out of town while it all blew up, only just arriving back in time to get beaten by Gary.

He studied all of the photographs, but discounted them as they were of little use in looking out for her return, since all the Falcons would use magic to change their appearance. Most of the Ravens naturally assumed that Michelle would have similar magical abilities as the other Falcons, since she already possessed telekinetic abilities.

His concentration was broken by a couple of the men, who had noticed something happening on the camera posted just outside the room. He looked at the monitor and he saw that one of the hotel's cocktail waitresses had slipped over and appeared to have twisted her ankle. The guys in the room were virtually fighting to get out of the room to help the ladies.

Ordinarily it wouldn't have been a problem, but they were on maximum alert. He had to make a quick threat assessment. He checked the other cameras that covered the rest of the corridor and could see nothing untoward. The two waitresses were the only people there.

Then he checked the image of the two waitresses. One had her back to the camera and he didn't recognize the person on the ground who was facing the camera, not that it meant anything. He studied more carefully. They were certainly two real pieces of ass. The waitress uniforms left no room to hide any weapons. His instincts told her that this was exactly as it appeared to be; a couple of bimbo waitresses in distress.

He gave the signal that it was all right for one of the men to go out to them, but only one, and purely to lend assistance. The women were not allowed to come inside. At the same time, he placed a call for some medical assistance, so that the whole thing could be cleared up quickly. At the same time, he checked his firearm as well and prepared a spell, just in case.

Outside the room, Sarah was on the ground feigning injury while she prepared her spell. Timing was critical. They all knew that they would not be invited inside, so it had to be done as soon as the door opened.

As soon as the door opened, Sarah triggered her spell. Michelle moves aside slightly so that Sarah could see clearly. She needed to be able to see inside the room, if only a crack. The effects would have almost instantaneous. Her magic would work through the room, sending everyone to sleep. Basically, anyone left standing would be a Raven, immune to the magic.

After Sarah nodded to Michelle that she had completed her spell, Michelle jumped to her feet and burst into the room, kicking off her high heels as she did. She burst past the man who had opened the door, just as he collapsed.

As soon as she entered the large room, men were collapsing in front of her. She quickly surveyed the room for anyone that wasn't falling asleep. She had to take them out as quickly as possible before they could raise the alarm.

Michelle had been told that the spell would take effect within seconds. She looked around for anyone still standing. One man stood out clearly as being unaffected.

She was expecting him to draw his gun toward her. She had already pre-planned to crush his arm, just like she did with Gary. If there was just the one person to deal with, then holding him should not be a problem until Richard and Tina arrived.

Simon drew his gun and Michelle immediately responded with a crushing force to his forearm. She broke the bones in his arm. Simon cried out in pain as he dropped the gun.

With his arm broken, Simon just took deep breaths and closed his eyes. He appeared to be deeply concentrating. Michelle guessed that he was casting a spell of some sort. Maybe he was trying to cast a spell on her. Since she was immune to their magic, she decided to let the guy try. The longer he took, the less work she would have to do to contain him until the cavalry arrived. She glanced at her watch. With the time spent waiting for the door to be opened, she estimated another ninety seconds before Richard and Tina arrived.

After about two seconds, Michelle noticed a change in the man. He was growing. His whole body was growing, his arms, legs, torso, even his head. All of his clothes became very tight on him.

Then suddenly, he burst out of his clothes like the Incredible Hulk and by the time he had finished growing, he was the same size as the Hulk, except of course, his skin wasn't green.

The whole thing happened in about six or seven seconds, but seemed to take about a minute as Michelle studied it in awe. Also, his right arm appeared to have been healed. It was no longer out of shape.

She decided to execute another attack strategy that she had been preparing. Assisted by her telekinetic powers, she picked a computer monitor off the desk, ripping the cables out of the back and threw it straight at Simon. With the extra force she applied, it went flying straight at his head at high speed.

Seemingly at the last minute, Simon reached up with his left hand and punched the monitor out of the air just like it was a tennis ball. It smashed onto the ground beside Michelle.

"Shit," Michelle thought. This fight wasn't over. Suddenly that ninety seconds was starting to look time an eternity.

She wanted to deal with him now, before he sprang any more surprises. One thing she noticed was the fact that he used his left arm to punch the monitor out of the way. His right arm didn't seem to be completely healed. He must have used enough magic to take the pain away and fuse the bone back together, but he still couldn't use his arm properly.

Taking the initiative again, she took a few steps forward and jumped into the air, and delivered a karate kick to Simon's head. She put a massive amount of energy behind her kick and it did seem to stun him briefly, so she used her powers to remain in the air and deliver kick after kick.

Like a fight scene out of The Matrix, she delivered blow after blow to his head. But she didn't realize that her successive kicks were not delivering anywhere near as much force as her initial strike.

Like an astronaut on a space walk pushing against a heavy satellite, all she was doing was pushing her own body away. She was exerting too much effort keeping herself in the air that she couldn't do any harm to Simon given that he had made himself twice as tough and strong.

Simon reached out and grabbed Michelle's leg as she tried to strike him again. Michelle was still hovering in the air, with Simon's hand firmly gripped around her right ankle.

"Is that the best you've got, bitch," he snarled.

He swung Michelle around, then let go of her leg. He sent her flying across the room toward a bank of monitors. She was able to use her powers to cushion the impact as she hit the monitors, much to Simon's annoyance, who believed it would have caught her unprepared and knocked her out. She fell to the ground, but landed on her feet in a crouched position. This was a real fight now, and Michelle knew it.

"Now it's my turn," he said as he marched towards her.

Michelle straightened herself up and began to concentrate hard. Michelle knew what she had to do. She created a huge force square in front of his chest. It stopped him, so the pushed harder, wanting to stop him for good.

She was expecting to have sent him flying backwards, but he was too big and heavy. All she had done was knock him back about a foot. He resumed his march toward her. She tried again, knocking him back about another foot, but it still didn't stop him and all the time he was closing.

She mustered up all her mental energy, attempting to lift him off the ground, just like she had done with Tanya. But before she could deliver the force, Simon had already reached her.

Her used one hand and grabbed Michelle by the neck. Michelle wasn't prepared for this. She had been relying on her powers to protect her, to stop him from even getting close to her. But now he had her by the neck.

As his huge hands gripped her neck, she immediately began to choke. He lifted her up in the air by her neck. Attempts to use her powers were useless. She just couldn't concentrate under the pressure being applied to her neck. He was strangling her.

"You broke Tanya'a neck. Now I'm gonna break yours," he whispered.

Michelle didn't hear anything else as she passed out.

When Michelle woke up, she wondered if she was still alive. When her senses returned, she opened her eyes. As she remembered back to her fight, she expected to be back in the Ravens secure room with a pissed Maria grinning at her. But as her eyes came into focus, she saw Sarah in front of her.

"Ow," Michelle winced and she strained her neck.

"Hold still. The pain will be gone shortly," Sarah said. Almost immediately, the pain subsided.

"What happened," she said as she twisted her neck.

As Michelle twisted her neck, she saw the Raven lying about three feet away from her. His head was in a pool of blood. Michelle could clearly see an entry wound at the side of his head. He had been shot at close range. He was clearly dead.

He had made himself tougher and stronger, but couldn't do much about a high caliber bullet at point blank range, which was a reminder to Michelle about her own frailty.

"I didn't have any choice," Richard said. "He would have killed you if hadn't shot him."

"Didn't do too well did I," Michelle commented, feeling guilty that she had been unable to avoid bloodshed.

"You did great," Richard reassured. "That guy was Simon. He's one of their leaders and best fighters. Even I try and keep my distance from him... like several zip code distances. I wouldn't have done any better. If I had known he was in here, I would have never let you go near him," Richard said as he helped her to her feet.

"How did he make himself so big?" Michelle asked.

"He transformed himself, making himself bigger and stronger," Richard replied.

"Can't you do that?" Michelle enquired.

"Yes, but increasing your body mass takes massive amounts of magical energy. I'd only be able to maintain it for a few seconds. He must have had a huge amount or magic potential at his disposal," not knowing that Simon had been spending some time relaxing and hadn't used his magical abilities for some weeks.

They all spent the next ten minutes checking the system to work out the best route to take to the roof. Camera data on the roof access and the penthouse floors were a bit shaky as cameras in the Raven areas were very limited. One thing they were able to ascertain was the helipad at the top of the building was occupied by their own helicopter. They couldn't see very clearly from just the one camera, but it appeared as if it was being refueled, probably in preparation to going out again.

Then they needed to disable the room completely. Firstly to prevent anyone from using the cameras when the Ravens eventually realize something is wrong and break in.

The second reason is that Richard suspected that there was a secondary control room somewhere else in the building – probably on the penthouse floor, so the Ravens could look in without going down to surveillance.

His fears were confirmed when he located the patch bay, where all the control and signal lines from all the cameras entered into the room. They had secondary lines going out as well, probably to the secondary control. He took an axe and cut through all the lines.

Before committing themselves to heading for the penthouse floors, Richard reassessed the situation. Sarah had expended a lot of magical energy in taking the surveillance office. Tina, whose powers were not at full strength to begin, was running even lower having been forced to transform her face.

Richard still had plenty of magical energy left, so the mission was still on. They set off for the penthouse elevator, which was only about thirty feet from the entrance to surveillance. Unfortunately he had failed in his attempt to prevent further bloodshed. They had now killed two members of the Raven Council.

Chapter Thirty-Three ====================

Gary, on the penthouse floor, called for the elevator. He had only just got back to his office, when he heard that they had received another lead on the location of the four Falcons still at large. Both assault teams had been scrambled, the one at the hotel and the other one still at the previous house. Gary was now on his way to join them all. He was going there by car and the helicopter would follow after it had refueled. As he waited for the elevator his cell phone rang.

Gary answered the cell phone. It was the leader of the strike team that had been left at the previous house they stormed earlier. "Yeah, we're on our way there now," she said. "We should be there in five minutes. But that's not why I'm calling you. It's about the house we just left."

"Go on," Gary said, still waiting for the elevator.

"Well, we found a hidden compartment in the basement. It was definitely used by the Falcons as a safe house."

"And – " Gary said, sensing there was more.

"You're not gonna believe this. But there was loads of strange stuff there. Plans of our hotel and some of the uniforms. One for a dealer, two for cocktail waitresses and another for a concierge."

Gary already had an edgy feeling, but he couldn't place it. This new information increased his edginess.

"This new address. Do you know where the information came from?"

"Err... I think it came through the police," she replied.

Gary could almost feel something hit him as he realized what was happening. The Ravens might control the local police, but Richard is also a police officer. He knows how the police work.

After thinking about it some more, he knew exactly what was happening. The location they were all converging on was on the far side of town, leaving the hotel vulnerable.

"Pull back. Get back here as soon as you can," Gary ordered.

"What, we're almost there," the woman said, eager not to miss the action.

"I said pull back. Let the other team handle it. I want your team back here, now."

Gary closed the line, then ran down the corridor, leaving the rising elevator.

As soon as Gary was out of sight, the elevator doors opened on the penthouse suite.

Richard, Tina, Sarah and Michelle exited the elevator, each of them covering an angle. When it was all clear, they exited the elevator. Richard used a nearby waste bin to jam the doors open to prevent the elevator from moving off this floor.

This was the point when they had agreed to split up. Michelle and Tina would secure the helicopter, while Richard and Sarah would rescue Hank. None of them liked the idea of splitting up, but time was so precious. They didn't have enough time to do them both as a group.

It was decided that Michelle needed to secure the helicopter in case the keys were locked up and Michelle's abilities would be able to retrieve them, as well as disable the pilot.

Michelle had received some pilot training herself some years ago, but ever followed through and did not possess a license, much like Richard. However Richard clearly had the greater experience, so would pilot the aircraft.

Before leaving the house, Richard had made Michelle promise that if they didn't join them on the roof in fifteen minutes, they would leave them behind and escape in the chopper.

They parted silently, taking their radios with them, telling each other to be careful. Michelle and Tina immediately agreed that there was no way there were going to leave Richard and Sarah behind.

Gary burst into the secure room.

"Gary, I've been looking for you. You're gonna love what I've found out from him."

"Not now, Maria. The Falcons are attacking us, right here in our own hotel," Gary said.

"They wouldn't dare..." Maria said.

"Yes they would. How many of our people do we have here?"

"Errm. Simon in surveillance, us two and one more floating around on the Casino floor. That makes four, including us."

"Then it's just the two of us," Gary retorted.

"Eh."

"There's no answer to surveillance. I've tried all the lines. They must have taken Simon out. They've probably taken out the guy on the floor as well. Shit, I can't believe we left the hotel uncovered."

"Okay, then we've got to be prepared to defend this floor," Maria said.

"Too late for that," came a voice from behind them.

Both Gary and Maria whirled around to face Richard and Sarah about twenty feet from them. Both of them were armed and their guns were trained upon them.

Gary's gun was tucked down the back of his pants. He knew that Richard was a sharpshooter. If he made a move for his gun, Richard would take him out before he could even get his hands on it, let alone aim it at Richard.

"Move away from him," Richard said, referring to Hank who was still tied to the rack, "and put your hands up."

Both Gary and Maria moved away, but not very far. Richard motioned for Sarah to move over and free Hank, while covering both of them. Although he wanted to avoid killing people unless necessary, he would drop them both in a heartbeat if they tried anything.

Gary was fuming, incensed that the Falcons were holding him at gunpoint in his own hotel.

"Nice of you to let us know that there's no-one else here," Richard chided Gary, sensing his frustration.

As Sarah reached the rack, Gary lowered his hands very slightly. Richard immediately noticed this and prompted him to raise them again. Gary complied.

Sarah checked Hank to see if he was still alive. Hank lifted his head. He was very weak from the torture, but was fully aware and conscious of what was happening. He was hanging by the wrist restraints.

"Do you realize what he did?" Maria said to Sarah as she began to release him.

"Right now, I don't care," Sarah replied as she unbuckled his wrists. Hank slumped to the floor with the support of the restraints.

"Oh you will, trust me you will. You'll want to know this," Maria chided.

Gary looked at Maria with a puzzled look on her face, wondering what she was up to. Hank on the other hand lifted his head slightly, knowing exactly what Maria had planned. Sarah unbuckled his left leg.

"He had your husband killed," Maria said.

"What do you mean?" Sarah said as her blood ran cold. She stopped halfway through unbuckling the final restraint.

"Jack. He had him killed," Maria re-iterated.

"No. YOU killed him," Sarah shouted at her.

"Well, if ya wanna get technical about it, then yeah, we did kill him. But have you ever wondered how we got to hear about his mission."

That particular question had been burning on her mind for decades. She assumed it had been down to good intelligence on the part of the Ravens.

"No. You're lying.

"You think I'd lie about something like this. We all know that the best think John did for your group was getting killed. We always knew it was our biggest mistake of the last war. Huh, I never knew that we were set up."

Sarah looked down at Hank who simply didn't say a word, but hung his head low. Sarah stood up and took a few steps back. Emotions were running through her. Her gun was still in her hand and she looked down at it. Part of her wanted to point it at Hank and pull the trigger.

Sarah's thoughts were interrupted by a sound at the far end of the room. A door opened and someone walked through. Richard retrained his gun onto this person. As she walked closer, he could see that it was Michelle, wearing a tight black dress and holding a tray in her hands. What was she doing here? She should be with Tina.

The person was really Crystal. Gary had sent Crystal to get some food for Maria and she was holding it on a tray in front of her. But neither Richard nor Sarah knew about Crystal. Richard and Sarah were both distracted.

This was Gary's opportunity and he took it without hesitation. Gary swiftly dropped his hands and reached behind his back for his gun. Richard didn't even see the movement. In a single motion, he pulled out his gun and aimed it straight at Richard.

By now, Richard had noticed that this person was not the real Michelle, so he refocused his attention on Gary, but it was too late. Richard noticed the movement in the corner of his eye and aimed his gun back at Gary. But Gary now held the advantage, if only by a fraction of a second, which was more than enough.

Gary tightened his finger on the trigger. He was going to be the one to fire first. There was no way he could miss.

Just as Gary fired, Hank nudged into him deflecting the shot slightly. While everyone else had been distracted, Hank had completed freeing himself and had made a run at Gary. He knocked into Gary side, but only a split second before he squeezed the trigger.

The deflection of a fraction of an inch made a difference of several inches by the time the bullet had traveled through the air towards Richard. Instead of hitting Richard in the middle of the chest, it struck Richard in the shoulder. He stumbled back against the wall, dropping his gun in the process.

At the same time, Maria ran at Sarah trying to grab the gun from her hand. They struggled together for the gun, but as she swung her arm, Sarah let go of the gun and it went flying to the end of the room. Maria started to run after it, but Sarah tackled her.

Both Hank and Gary stumbled to their feet. Hank tried to rush Gary again, but this time Gary was prepared for him. He hadn't dropped his gun during the fall and he aimed his gun squarely at Hank and fired, hitting him once in the center of the chest. Hank recoiled against the shot and landed on the floor.

There was a momentary pause as the sound of the shot reverberated throughout the room. Gary noticed that Richard had retrieved his gun and was beginning to aim him at him again, but he was injured and using his left hand. Gary knew that an injured Richard was still formidable

Sarah and Maria were struggling in front of him and to the left, so instead of aiming his gun at Richard, he sidestepped to the left slightly, with Sarah blocking Richard's view. He intercepted the struggle between Sarah and Maria, forcing Sarah to stand in front of him, using her as a shield and as a hostage. The barrel of Gary's gun was resting against Sarah's head.

Maria remained a few feet away from Sarah, not sure what to do. Although she was in the open and a clear target, she wasn't presenting herself as a threat, as long as she didn't make any sudden movements or try and get to the gun. She decided to let Gary continue with the lead.

Crystal also remained still waiting for commands. Gary glanced over at her. She had come in useful after all. In fact she had been crucial. He told her to remain exactly where she was. He returned his attention back to Richard.

"Drop it Richard," Gary demanded.

"Not a chance," Richard replied, blood dripping from his right arm. He was holding the gun in his left hand. His aim was excellent and would normally be able to hit Gary right between the eyes, but not with just he left hand. He could only get a clean shot if there was no-one else in the way.

"I said drop it," Gary repeated.

"Gary, this ain't like the fucking movies. There's no way in hell I'm putting my piece down."

"If you don't put it down right now, she dies," Gary said chillingly.

"If I put it down, she dies anyway. No fucking way."

"We've got ourselves a Mexican standoff here," Gary laughed taking his time. Gary knew that he didn't have to stop Richard. Help was already on its way. All he had to do was keep Richard occupied. He arm was injured and wouldn't attempt a shot with his weak arm.

Gary had a totally smug satisfied look on his face when suddenly; the gun was ripped out of his hand by an unseen force. Gary looked in the direction of where the gun had headed and saw a mean looking Michelle and Tina at the entrance to the room.

Once again, the tables were turned. Sarah began struggling. Gary pushed her forward and ran, with Maria following him. Michelle started to use her powers to stop them, but as Sarah was pushed forward, she stumbled slightly in Michelle's direction, blocking her line of sight.

Richard, however had a clear view, being at a different angle to Michelle. He aimed his gun at Gary. In slow motion, he tracked his movement and pulled the trigger. As the bullet left the gun chamber, Richard's aim had been perfect, but his luck was still lacking. Although heading directly for a moving Gary, at that instant Gary was running past the bondage rack. The path of the bullet on it's way to strike Gary hit one of the metal struts that was bolted into the ground. This caused a slight deflection in its course. It missed Gary and hit the far wall.

Richard aimed again and fired, but Gary was another ten feet further away. Had they been stationary, or Richard's good arm been working, he would have been sure to hit them, but every shot missed its mark. They ran to another door at the far end of the room.

Michelle began to run after them. "No leave them," Richard called. "They're trying to buy time. We need to get out of here, now."

Sarah moved over to Richard, inspecting his arm.

"I'll be okay," Richard assured. He walked over to Hank. He was clearly dead having been shot in the chest.

"I can't believe he did it," Sarah said softly thinking of what Maria had said.

Richard was silent for a few seconds, "Come on, we have to get out of here." He felt like he should have said more, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

Michelle and Tina were pre-occupied with LaDonna. Michelle was amazed to see such an exact duplicate of herself standing in front of her.

"Who are you?" Michelle asked.

"My name is Crystal. I don't remember my last name, Lisa. Master Gary won't let me remember it."

"She called you Lisa," Tina said.

"Yes, that's the false name I used... " Michelle started, but then stopped and looked at Crystal again. Although she was physically the same as herself, Michelle was able to see through the transformation.

"LaDonna, is that you? What have they done to you?" Michelle asked.

Crystal didn't answer, but the expression on her face told Michelle that it was.

"This is the person that helped me. What have they done to her? We have to take her with us," she told Richard. "We can't leave her here with these people."

Richard nodded. There should be space on the helicopter, now that Hank wouldn't be going anywhere. "Okay, but hurry up. We don't have long."

Chapter Thirty-Four ===================

Tina, Michelle, Richard and Sarah ran down the hotel corridors towards the roof. Tina was leading the way. Michelle was helping LaDonna who was being very resistant as she was being taken away from her Master, especially after he told her to stay where she was.

Once they were onto the roof, Richard proceeded straight to the helicopter, while Sarah and Michelle barricaded the door to prevent any Ravens from following them.

Richard reached the helicopter and sat down in the pilot's seat. He immediately started the engines. They whined loudly as the main rotor began to rotate. He flexed his left arm. Although Sarah had healed it as much as she could, there was still some pain. He used some of his own magic to ease the pain further, so that he could fly the chopper unhindered.

Shortly afterwards, he saw Michelle, Tina and Sarah emerge from the other side of the roof access door. Michelle was still assisting LaDonna. As they stepped onto the large helicopter landing pad, Richard noticed a huge problem.

He leaned out of the door and signaled for them to stop. Both Michelle and LaDonna's long hair were in real danger of being dragged up into the rotors. Although Tina had earlier tied up Michelle's hair, it had come undone during the scuffle with Simon.

Richard shouted to make himself understood over the noise of the rotors. Michelle and Tina couldn't hear Richard, but from his hand gestures, they were able to work out what he was trying to say.

"Here, you take her," Michelle shouted to Tina. Tina gathered together LaDonna's long blonde hair and walked her to the helicopter.

Michelle tried to do the same for herself, but gathering her own hair was a lot harder. She couldn't seem to get hold of all of it. Michelle took several steps back from the helicopter and crouched down so that she could grasp all of her flowing hair. By this time, Tina and Sarah had helped LaDonna into the helicopter.

Just as Michelle had finished gathering her hair, something caught her eye to the left. She glanced over as was amazed to see both Gary and Maria crouched down. They were about ten feet in front of the chopper. This time they were both armed and their weapons were drawn.

Either they had pre-empted the attempt to steal the helicopter or there was another access to the roof that they didn't know about.

Simultaneously, Richard also noticed them and began to draw his gun. But this time Maria and Gary held a clear advantage. Their primary aim was to take out Michelle first, but they couldn't get a clear shot at her because she had crouched down to pick up her hair. Now that Richard had noticed them, he became the primary threat. They aimed their weapons straight at him.

Richard didn't even try to get a round off. Instead He had to duck down into the co-pilots seat to avoid being hit by the hail of bullets that ripped through the chopper. Tina and Sarah also ducked down, pulling LaDonna down as well.

Richard tried to return fire, but because Gary and Maria were in front of the chopper, they covered both of the doors. Richard, Sarah and Tina were completely pinned down within it. If they tried to get out, they would be sitting ducks.

With those in the helicopter pinned down, Gary and Maria turned their attention to Michelle who had begun to run for cover at the rear of the helicopter.

Michelle's first instinct had been to dive for some proper cover. She wanted to use her powers to try to disarm them, but she couldn't do it in the open area. She might be able to stop one of them from killing her, but not both.

Maria saw that Michelle was running to the rear of the chopper and immediately ran after her. She knew that she couldn't allow Michelle to find cover and use her powers against them.

Michelle quickly glanced over her shoulder and saw Maria pursuing her. At the rear of the helicopter pad was a metal railing that surrounded the entire pad. As she reached the end, she jumped over it.

Maria ran after Michelle, gun in hand. She jumped over the railing in exactly the same fashion as Michelle had. As soon as she launched herself into the air, she realized her mistake.

The helicopter pad was raised off the top of the roof. The edge of the building was just beyond the railing, which was one reason why the railing was there.

Michelle had actually jumped off the edge of the building when she hurdled the railing, but was using her ability to fly to get back up. Maria went straight past her and started to fall to the ground.

Michelle instinctively reached out and caught her with her mind. Maria screamed as she fell. Michelle struggled to keep herself stationary as she steadied Maria.

After about two seconds, Michelle brought Maria to a complete stop about fifteen feet from the top of the building. Michelle was about a foot from the edge of the building herself and Maria was held suspended in the air fifteen feet lower.

She was holding two people in the air. It took every single ounce of concentration to hold them both there. She'd never even tried it before. She was straining to hold them both here.

She slowly turned her head towards the building so the she could aim her hand towards one of the railings so that she could pull herself up. She turned very slowly in order to maintain concentration both on herself and Maria.

As she turned, she saw Gary standing right over her. He was aiming a gun straight at her head. The shock of this nearly broke the concentration holding Maria in place.

"Put her down," Gary said threatening.

"You want her to go down?" Michelle asked sarcastically, still straining to keep her concentration. Even talking was making her ability to concentrate harder.

"You know what I fucking mean," Gary brought the barrel of the gun closer to Michelle.

"If you shoot me then she falls," Michelle said. She examined the gun in Gary's hands. Perhaps she could use her powers to rip it out of his hands. If she did that, then both Michelle and Maria would fall. Michelle would easily be able to stop herself from hitting the ground, but Maria would certainly perish.

Maria glanced over her shoulder and saw the ground a couple of hundred feet below her. She could feel a force around her waist holding her in place. But she knew that without that force, she would fall to a certain death.

She was racking her brain to think of a spell that could help her. The only one she could think of was a spell to turn herself into an animal like a bird. But transforming into an animal was extremely difficult. In fact she had never achieved it before.

Gary glanced to Maria "Say I don't care what happens to her," Gary said.

Then would have already shot me," Michelle replied quickly. "I didn't push her off. She fell off the edge. But I'm the only one that can help her."

Gary was so pre-occupied with Maria that he didn't notice that Tina had maneuvered behind him. Michelle didn't notice either, all her concentration focused on holding Maria and herself in place.

Tina held her gun in her hands. Seeing what was happening, she knew that she couldn't afford to give Gary any warning, but didn't want to disturb Michelle's concentration with the sound of a gunshot in case she couldn't refocus before she reached the ground. Instead, she used what little magical energy she had left to make herself stronger and then she silently raised the gun and brought it down hard onto Gary's neck as hard as she could. Gary collapsed under the blow, dropping his gun over the side of the building.

As Gary collapsed towards Michelle, her concentration was broken. The forces holding both herself and Maria ceased. Maria suddenly began to fall. She screamed once more as she accelerated towards the ground. All attempts at using her magic failed.

Michelle was just able to maintain enough concentration to prevent herself from falling. She reached out and grabbed one of the railings. In a single motion she jumped over it.

Then she quickly looked down and saw that Maria was already half way down to the ground. She focused as much power as she could to bring her to a halt.

Michelle couldn't stop her in time, but she strained with all her mental might to cushion Maria's fall as much as she could.

Maria landed on the grass below with a bump, but with little more than the force she would have received had she jumped out of a second floor window. Carefully, she picked herself up as people ran to her assistance. She checked herself over and could find no damage to herself.

She glanced up at the top of the hotel, realizing just how far she had fallen, amazed that she not injured herself. As she studied the top of the hotel, Maria realized that Michelle had somehow cushioned her fall.

Gary, on his stomach, watched from the top of the building as he saw Maria slowly get to her feet. He didn't bother getting to his feet. He was unarmed and knew that he was no match for Michelle's powers.

"You saved her. Why?"

"To show you what I am capable of. You've seen what harm I can do with my powers. But it doesn't have to be that way. I can help as well. We don't have to fight over this," Michelle said.

"I wish it was that easy. But you know that I can't let you live," Gary said.

"You don't have a choice," Michelle snapped, then stopped herself. Although, she hardly knew Gary, she knew his type and knew the kind of language he would understand.

"Actually, you do have a choice. You can let me live in peace. I promise that if you leave me alone, you will never hear from me again.

"But if you try anything against me or my friends. If you lay one hand on any of us. I'll come back here and finish you off one by one," Michelle said as she took Tina's hand and held it tightly.

"And if you think you can protect yourself, you're wrong. I can break your neck from a hundred yards away, or crush your skull to the size of a tennis ball, or break apart your ribcage and skewer your heart on your own ribs."

The words were flowing freely from Michelle, who was getting increasingly descriptive with each method that she could kill the Ravens by. She was also starting to wildly over exaggerate her abilities, but Gary didn't know that. He believed everything Michelle told him.

At that point, Sarah called over to them, but the sound of rotors prevented anything from being heard. Tina left briefly to re-assure her mother that everything was under control.

Michelle continued, "The point is, it'll be over before it starts. You won't even see it coming. "That's the choice you have. You can either leave me alone and survive, or be killed."

Gary seemed to think about what she was saying, "But when the rest of the Falcons learn how to do this, they'll be back to kill us anyway, now that they've succeeded in giving you this power."

"Hah, don't you get it, the Falcons didn't give me this power. I was able to do this long before I even met up with you guys. My power has nothing to do with your magic. I had this ability long before I was turned into a woman. I got this power as a result of a massive head injury. If you want a fucking head injury, I can give you one."

Gary was silent as he seemed to be thinking about things.

"So you're not really a member of the Falcons then," he eventually said.

"Hell no, after the way they treated me, I'm just as pissed with the Falcons as a group as I am with you guys." Michelle was careful to add the words 'as a group' to emphasize that she her argument was with the group of Falcons who had refused to help her, not with Tina.

Michelle saw that Gary was thinking carefully, when Tina returned and called out, "Michelle, we've got to go... NOW,"

Before Michelle left, Gary interrupted, "Okay look, you did me a favor when you killed Tanya, and you just saved the one person I care about. No promises but if you stay right out of our way, and if you don't help the Falcons, I might, just might be convinced that you're not a threat. But don't ever show your face to us again, or I swear we will hunt you down."

"I can live with that. We have a deal then. You leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone," Michelle responded.

Both Michelle and Tina turned around and ran towards the open door of the helicopter.

As soon as they were inside, Michelle closed the door. Richard didn't waste a second, and lifted the chopper off the pad as soon as he could. Just as he was pulling away, several Ravens broke through the barricaded door. They trained their guns onto the helicopter and fired their rounds, although none of them did any damage to the helicopter.

Epilogue --------

Michelle checked herself in the mirror. She noticed that her lipstick needed retouching and took the tube out of her purse and carefully re-applied it.

It had been two months since that night in Las Vegas. The events were still seared in her memory.

As soon as Richard had cleared Las Vegas, he switched off all the external strobes and descended to less than a hundred feet above the ground. It was scary to fly at that height, but Richard explained that Nellis Air Force base was only ten miles North.

He didn't know if the Ravens had any influence over the military there, but he couldn't take any chances. Richard had flown the chopper as fast as he dared at that height. After about ten minutes, air traffic control attempted to raise them on the radio and asked them for their position.

It hadn't taken the Ravens long to use their influence. Richard ignored the radio calls. They landed the chopper near a town and used a cell phone to contact the rest of the Falcons. They had a team there within half an hour and were immediately whisked away and into safety

They then made their way to a secret location in Wyoming known only to a few members of the group for a full debrief. They couldn't take the risk of bringing Michelle back to Massachusetts in case of a Raven attack.

As her part of the agreement with Gary on the rooftop of their hotel, Michelle decided that she did not want to become part of the Falcons and wanted this point conveyed quite clearly to the Ravens, nor would she pledge her support for the Falcons.

However, she also made it clear that if the Ravens threatened the people she cared about, she would do whatever it took to protect them. This effectively meant that she wouldn't fight for the Falcons, but would help defend them if attacked.

Through unofficial channels, they received word that the Ravens accepted the position as it stood. However none of them, including Michelle, knew if the Ravens would stick to it, so it was agreed that Michelle would have to remain in hiding, possibly for life.

Her general stance had a mixed reception within the Falcons. Some were expecting her to fight for them, feeling she owed it to them after Hank and Mary were killed.

However, other parts of the Falcons respected her decision and found it very wise, realizing that Michelle owed them nothing, especially they had been the ones to transform her in the first place.

One thing she did agree with the Falcons on, was the suggestion that she should remain hidden. If the Ravens were to discover her location, they may well assassinate her to prevent any chance of her helping the Falcons.

Michelle had made herself into a formidable opponent over the last few months, fine tuning her abilities even more in the area of combat. They would find her a very tough adversary even against the likes of people like Simon.

But Michelle was also realistic. If the Ravens did discover her location, then an all out attack would probably be the last thing that would happen. A surprise attack would be more likely and as tough as Michelle is, there is not much she can do about a snipers round fired four hundred yards away.

Because she refused to officially become a member of the Falcons, it has restricted her ability to develop her Kithra abilities, not having access to all of the normal teaching. Tina had been doing her best, but progress had been extremely slow

There are doubts as to if she will ever gain the power to transform herself, even on a temporary basis as all the other Kithra can.

The past two months had not been easy on her adapting to be a woman either. Her short, sharp lessons in Las Vegas had taught her that she should not attempt to hide her body in jeans and t-shirts because no matter how hard she tried, it simply didn't match her appearance.

Eventually she was forced to admit that she simply didn't look right unless she was wearing a dress and heels. She actually began to feel more at ease wearing feminine clothes. They just seemed to suit her better.

Now two months later, she found she could relax when she was wearing a skirt and blouse a lot more than pants and a shirt. She still dressed down frequently, but about half her time was spent in women's clothes.

There was a service held in memory of Hank and Mary. In terms of Hank, there was a lot of soul searching within the entire group, now that his secret was out. Michelle felt genuine sorrow for Mary. Only now could she realize that she was trying the help Michelle as much as she could.

Sexually, Michelle was still having a problem. She shared a bed with Tina and they often made love. But a couple of weeks ago, Tina asked Michelle if would like it if she turned herself into a guy for an hour.

When Tina transformed herself into well-muscled male, Michelle felt her pussy tingle in anticipation. She told herself that she was really making to love Tina and that what why she was getting excited, but there was something a little extra.

Tina took Michelle into her arms and kissed her. The change happened very quickly. She melted in a matter of seconds and was soon ripping off her blouse, virtually begging Tina for it. Tina obliged her, and they had hot passionate sex for the entire hour. Michelle came several times and much harder than she had ever done before.

They tried it again the following week when Tina's magic energy had recovered, but this time Tina just transformed her pussy into a cock. They made love and Michelle enjoyed it, but it wasn't quite the same. Afterwards, Tina used what energy she had left to transform the rest of her body. This had the intended effect. Michelle then rode her cock and had a monster orgasm. It wasn't just a cock that Michelle's body wanted, it was a man.

From that point on, they both knew of the problems. No-one could deny the fact that although Michelle herself preferred women, her body definitely preferred men. Although she still enjoyed sex with a woman, it clearly paled in comparison to sex with a man. Tina shed a few tears on her own, realizing that she might not be able to satisfy Michelle for much longer and that she could lose Michelle as a lover. But for now she decided that she just had to enjoy as much time as she could.

There was one final loose end, LaDonna. Despite Michelle's refusal to join the Falcons, they still helped to remove LaDonna's conditioning implanted by Gary. It had taken the Falcons several weeks to completely free her of the mental conditioning that Gary had placed upon her. Actually, they didn't remove all of it. They left the parts in which made it impossible to tell anyone about the Kithra, plus a few other safeguards.

Neither LaDonna nor Michelle was happy about it, but the Falcons wouldn't budge on this point. They said it was absolutely essential to maintain their secrecy. They had no desire to enslave LaDonna and as far as they were concerned, she could go free, but they were not going to remove those specific restrictions that Gary had included. Eventually LaDonna relented. It was far better than the alternative.

However, she was still a physical duplicate of Michelle and everyone agreed that she couldn't stay like that, especially since Michelle was a potential target for the Ravens and LaDonna had no way to defend herself, so Tina offered to transform her into someone else.

Since she had to have her body transformed anyway, Tina offered her a free choice. It was purely a bodily transformation, she wouldn't be transformed into Kithra, but she would be given a total free reign in body selection. She could have any body she chooses. Any race, gender, hair color, anything.

She decided that she didn't want to go back to her old body, so she took her time picking the person she would be. In the end, she choose to be black once more. "Hey, being a busty blonde white girl aint all what people make it," she had said to Michelle after making her choice.

"Tell me about it," Michelle had replied. However, despite choosing to be black again, LaDonna didn't pass up the chance to be a stunner. Her new body was one hot lady. She was much taller and much more athletic.

Also for Ladonna, they were at least able to make a dream come true. She could never go back to Las Vegas, even as someone else, so instead she settled in New York. The Falcons helped her set up an apartment and provide some new identity.

Once she was settled, she decided to try again to accomplish her lifelong ambition to become a dancer. Last week, she secured a dancing role in a top Broadway musical, finally fulfilling her dream. Michelle smiled to herself. At some good had come out of it all.

As she left her room to go downstairs, she knew that many challenges still faced her. It had been a painful experience for her and there had been some bloodshed along the way. But for the first time in several years, she felt a warmth in her smile and a spring in her step. She prayed it would not end again.

This is the end of the story as far as I am concerned. If any other authors wish to take the story further, then please contact me.

Phil Stevens Phil_stevens@bigfoot.com