This story takes place after the events in Stone of the Phalanx. For those of you who haven't read it, I would suggest you would, but here is a summary of the events in Stone of the Phalanx. Frederic Fromthefield is a boy genius. He is 15 years old and has lost both his parents in a car crash 2 years before. He lives with his sister, Barbara. His granddad is extremely rich, and helps them out when needed. He has a big company in computer peripherals. Frederic crashed with a plane and fell in a coma, which lasted for 7 weeks. He had a wonderful dream. He found 3 stones which granted him unlimited power. He helped the human race overcome their differences and founded an interdimensional Federation. After an unfortunate encounter with his dark alter ego, which almost killed him, he found an ancient program that gave him the strength to win. He awoke out of the coma when his victory took place. He got mad when it sank in he was back to his former self, without any special powers, and the glass of water beside him cracked. This story picks in where Stone of the Phalanx ended.

Frederic turned around, careful not to disturb any of the tubes that stuck in his body at various places. He finally concluded what his heart had told him the moment he heard the cracking: it was HIM who broke the glass, without touching it! Frederic decided to take another test. He looked at the glass and concentrated on breaking it. After 5 minutes of worthless effort, he was dead tired and quietly slipped into a well-deserved rest.

When he woke up, he found Barbara sitting next to him. He turned his head and said, "Good morning, barbs".

"Good morning little brother. So, how are you feeling?"

"A little weak. I feel like I was hit by a truck or something."

"You were in a plane crash, remember? Being hit by a truck is much less painful." Barbara laughed. Despite his predicament, Frederic laughed too. After maybe 2 or 3 laughs, he started coughing, he bent forward and he gripped his arms around his stomach. Barbara immediately jumped up and ran for the door to get a doctor. "Don't! I'm fine now," Frederic said. A little shaken, Barbara sat back next to Frederic.

"I guess I am not 100% yet, am I? Now, tell me the good news. When am I going home?"

"The doctors want to keep you here for another week. They aren't sure you are going to be fine, and frankly, so am I." Barbara responded.

So Frederic spent another week in the hospital, unable to do anything more then watch TV, read a book and go to the toilet. He was not allowed out of his room. He practiced every night, but was unable to activate his powers once again. Finally, the day of his release was there! He could go home. A little shaken, he walked to the car, Barbara supporting him in his first exercise in a very long time. He would have to get extended physiotherapy for a long time if he ever wanted to get back to his former self.

After a few months of physiotherapy, Frederic was fit enough to return to college. Although it was in the middle of the term, the school had still accepted him because of the extraordinary abilities he had shown during high school. The first day he went, he met up with Daphnix. Frederic told him about his dream, and Daphnix had to laugh. "You dreamt you were omnipotent and united the different Earths from different dimensions? Even if it was possible to travel to other dimensions, how were you going to unite them without even talking to the different Earths?"

"It was all a dream, Daphnix. It wasn't real. I can't help it if it was scientifically incorrect."

"Ok, Ok. I got the point."

Frederic wisely didn't tell his friend of the broken glass. He had tried in vein for several weeks to duplicate the event, but he couldn't even move a feather, let alone break a glass. He had dismissed it as an unexplained phenomenon, a side effect of his coma.

Both boys moved into the building. Both Daphnix and Frederic were majoring in the same: Quantum Physics, Quantum mechanics and computer science. They talked about the lessons Frederic missed while they were waiting for the professor to show up.

"Hey, Dork!" a feminine voice yelled. Daphnix made a sign to Frederic, telling him to ignore it.

"How many times do I have to tell you to answer me when I call you, Dork!" a hand was placed on Daphnix' shoulder and twisted him over. Now, Frederic had a clear sight at the person and he almost fainted when he recognized her: it was Sandra, the girl from his dreams he experimented on. He almost called her at attention, when he realized this was a different Sandra. After all this time, he still had trouble holding reality and dream apart.

"What do you want, Sandra?" he sighed.

"The usual." This short answer was apparently enough for Daphnix as he sighed and nodded his head in response. "Good Dork. I trained you nicely, haven't I?" at this, she turned around and left.

"What was that all about?"

"Sandra is here because she has to from her parents. She doesn't move a finger, makes the smarter people do her homework and makes us let her look at our tests."

"And nobody has caught her?" Frederic sounded perplexed. "Somebody should teach her a lesson."

"Take some advice, don't mess with her. A lot of the teachers are in her hand. One word of her and you are expelled."

The professor finally arrived and the memory of Sandra faded as the lessons moved on.

The next morning, Frederic got up and washed himself. He was putting on his pants when a throbbing pain shot through his head.

Frederic slowly became aware of his surroundings again. He got up from his kneeling position and shook his head, as if he were trying to drive the memory from his coma away. He finished dressing and walked downstairs. He walked to school after a nice breakfast.

"Frederic, have you heard?" Daphnix came running towards him as he approached the building.

"What?"

"Sandra was raped last night. She is being interrogated right now."

Frederic felt sick. He thought he was going to faint as the link between Sandra's rape and the flashback became very obvious.

"How?"

"A friend of her just told me. She didn't have time to give him all the details, tough."

Frederic shook his head again and told himself that the flashback had nothing to do with Sandra's fate. The rest of the day, everything was normal, except for the absence of Sandra.

That evening, Frederic was sitting in front of his computer, surfing the Internet. Frederic had a list of things he was interested in. Tonight, he felt in the words ‘martial arts'. He looked at the various sites, dismissing them as rubbish one by one. Suddenly he found one. The site was displaying various positions in kicking and punching. He looked at them and then moved on to the ‘advanced' section. Here various jump-kick combos were displayed. He looked at the pictures and he read the texts. Frederic spent until 9 o'clock studying the various sites. He felt real tired and went to sleep. Frederic dismissed his tiredness as an exertion of going back to school after a long period of non-activity.

The next day, Wednesday, Frederic and Daphnix went to the library after school, to look up some facts. Neither of them was surprised on the absence of Sandra during the day. It was rather late and they decided to take the subway in staid of walking home. When they stepped off, they saw a thug leaning leisurely against a wall. As they walked past him, he grabbed Daphnix by the arm and puts a knife at his throat. "Gimme yer money, or yer friend gets an extra hole!" he yelled at Frederic.

"I'm sorry, sir. We don't have any money left after buying a ticket."

"Ye'r a lying bastard!" the man yelled

"I can assure you--" Frederic didn't have the time to finish his sentence. The man threw Daphnix away from him and swung his knife-armed arm at Frederic. Frederic swung his arm and stopped the man's in mid-air. Frederic held the hand with his one hand and put his second hand directly below the elbow and twisted. A sickening crunch was audible. The man dropped to his knees, clenching at his broken arm. The man was yelling "Ye Bastard! Ye broke me arm! Ye'll pay for this!" Frederic threw a decent tornado kick at the mans face, who flew backwards and staid still on the subway floor. "You and what army?!" Frederic shouted, outraged. He was trembling beyond belief, his body flooded with adrenaline and anger. Daphnix had crawled up and put his hand on Frederic's shoulder. "He won't be going anywhere. Say, I didn't knew you knew karate?"

"I don't. I studied it recently on the Internet. I know the theory, but practice is far away from theory."

"It looked decent to me."

"Because he was an incompetent fool. If he knew only a little on how to defend himself, I would be dead now."

They proceeded home without talking much. They both were overwhelmed by the experience.

That night, Frederic had trouble sleeping. He kept seeing the man with his knife at Daphnix' throat and the subsequent actions. He wondered how it was possible he knew Karate, simply from reading a few websites. Then the explanation hit him with a clarity that astounded him. He must somehow have memorized the data so thoroughly he could use it like he had done nothing else for years. "Let's take a test" he thought.

Frederic walked over to his desk and took out the first book he could put his hands on. "Quantum mechanics? I really couldn't take anything simpler, could I?" he thought with a lot a lot of sarcasm. He opened the book and started to read where they had left off in class.

His buzzer disturbed him. "What? Time to go to school? I just... O my God! I read through the night!" it was true: the clock displayed a 7.30 am. Frederic closed the book, which was nine tenths finished and grabbed the books for his other classes he had today.

"Frederic, you look like hell!" Daphnix said. Frederic explained what had happened, the flashback and the correlation with Sandra's rape included.

"Have you tried if you know that stuff yet?"

"No, I haven't. It has been a hectic morning, I didn't have the time."

"Let's try it now." Daphnix said.

"No. I have a better idea. What better way to test it than in class?"

"Right!"

That afternoon, last course, Quantum mechanics class. The teacher was the standard 'professor' type: Grey hair, glasses, the works. He had given an assignment to complete for this class.

"Shit! I forgot the exercise he gave us. I hope he doesn't point to me to write it on the blackboard." Frederic nervously said to Daphnix.

"Mr. Fromthefield, write your solution on the blackboard, please."

"Shit!" Frederic yelled inward." He took the assignment and looked at it. "Thank god! I can do this right here, this is easy!" he thought.

After he finished, he turned around and saw everybody's jaw hanging.

"Well done, Mr. Fromthefield. THAT is a textbook assignment, ladies and gentlemen." The professor said. "Thank you, Mr. Alden" Frederic said while taking his place. Daphnix was looking at him like he just saw a ghost.

"You said you hadn't done the assignment?"

"I haven't. It's just so simple, I made it right here."

"No way, man! I slaved three hours on this! Let me see that page." Frederic gave the assignment to Daphnix. His eyes grew even more. "This is just the problem? Where is that shit you wrote there?"

"Told ya, I came up with it when I was standing there."

"I guess reading that book paid off."

"It did? It did! I can't believe it! It actually worked! Tonight, I am going to do that for as many courses as I can! Let's see how much of this I can assimilate!

That night, Frederic finished Quantum mechanics and his courses 'programming languages', 'programming structures' and 'processor basics', all small courses.

The next day, he marveled in his new knowledge. For the next few days, Frederic read day and night, assimilating the knowledge of his course books and the extra's he found on the Internet. He and Daphnix both benefited from this. Frederic made his and Daphnix' assignments and tests weren't a problem either, as he let his friend look at his tests. Over the next few weeks, the teachers started to realize Frederic had a tremendous knowledge and treated him as such, asking him to assist in class, and so on.

Frederic's knowledge deepened with each passing day, as he no longer had problems with working 24 to 48 hours stretch and sleeping for 12 to 16 hours to recuperate. He never had problems staying awake so long, so he thought he long hadn't reached his limits. One day, he was flipping through a book of the third year Quantum mechanics. Suddenly, he looked at the tip of the page. It came up as he put his hand out to flip it! He pulled his hand back and the page dropped back. He played that game a few times. He quickly finished the book, put it aside and dropped flat on his back in bed.

"Assimilation of knowledge. Telekinesis. I am becoming more powerful. My dream is becoming true. First I got the blue Stone, probably symbol for the knowledge. Then the Green Stone, Telekinesis, followed by the Red Stone... I am going to evolve even further. And if my dream is correct, it should follow fairly close to telekinesis." He thought.

Frederic got up and sat at his desk, picked up a pen and put it in front of him, flat, on the desk. He managed to move it fairly easy, using this power was like using a hand. He then decided to try something bigger. He took out the heaviest book he had, a dictionary. He concentrated and lifted it of the desk. After ten seconds it crashed back on the desk and Frederic felt exhausted. "I have overexerted myself. I need sleep." And he did just that.

The next morning, he woke up feeling exhilarated. He felt like he could take on the world. He washed himself and put on his clothes. He wasn't surprised when he realized he was using his newfound telekinetic power to wash his back or put on both his socks at once. He briskly went to school and teamed up with Daphnix.

"Guess what happened to me last night."

"What?"

"Telekinetic power" and he made his bookcase float to prove it.

Daphnix was flabbergasted. "Wow! Cool! How strong are you?"

"I don't know yet. Yesterday, I made a 10-kilogram dictionary float for ten seconds. Today, it seems I have grown stronger. The bookcase weighs more than the dictionary, yet I moved it easier."

"Let's give it a test. Come, we'll go the physics lab."

The two boys went to the lab and upon arrival Daphnix took out a few weights. "1 kilogram, 10 kilograms and 25 kilograms. We can combine them if necessary."

Frederic managed to lift the 1 and 10 kilogram weights without any difficulty, but the 25-kilogram weight was more difficult. His face changed into a straining posture as he summoned all his mental strength. Slowly, the weight lifted. Daphnix was ecstatic. He clapped his hands and yelled, "Yes! It's lifting" the weight crashed back onto the table. Fredric fell backward into a chair, he was panting heavily and erratically.

Daphnix looked at his friend and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yea, just ... tired ... I ... guess" he panted.

"What do you say about trying it again tomorrow?" Daphnix asked.

"Ok. That will ... be fine " Frederic panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Great."

The first 2 courses passed normally. In the afternoon, they had C++. The professor of that course , Ms Jenkings, has had something against Daphnix from the start of the year, and now that Frederic had recovered she had something against him too. She absolutely detested young geniuses. She thought they made her look stupid. She absolutely liked giving the 2 boys extra difficult assignments, forcing them to put as much hours into her course as for half the other courses. Today, she was back at it.

"And, young geniuses, did we do our assignments?" she asked in a patronizing voice.

Frederic had always been a timid student, never provoking any teacher or fellow student, but his new found powers made him feel ... not superior but more confident. "Yes, WE made OUR assignments, Ms Jenkings. Thank you for making it extra easy." Frederic said, barely covering his smirk. This was the first time he had her course since he assimilated her course. Daphnix barely contained himself. "This will be good!" he thought.

"So, a big mouth have we? Give me that disk!" she yelled. She grabbed the disk with the program and put it into her computer and booted the program.

The computer started buzzing an intro melody with the built-in 'doorbell' ringer. "Welcome to the exercise 3.5 program. Please give me the following items:" it displayed. Ms Jenkings face got red and its color deepened until it was almost black. Then she seemingly relaxed. "So, running ahead of class, huh? Let's see if you two still have a big mouth after this one!" she took a sheet of paper and gave it to Frederic. "You have till end of class!" she shouted.

Frederic was mad about how she reacted to his program. Ms Jenkings then reviewed the exercises of he other students, letting Frederic and Daphnix work on their 'special' assignment.

Daphnix looked at the sheet and grunted "I have no idea how to do this! Damn, you got us into trouble this time!" at Frederic.

"Don't worry. I can do this with my eyes closed" Frederic said confidently. "This time I am going to stick to the letter of her assignment" he started typing.

After a few lines of code, he never took his eyes of the screen. "This program is writing itself. It doesn't even feel like I am doing anything." He thought.

Suddenly Daphnix mumbled "You're not touching the keyboard anymore."

Frederic's eyes flashed down and he saw his hands hovering over the keyboard, his fingers floating mere centimeters above the keys.

"Let me try something" he mumbled back. The code on his screen started changing. "Amazing! I can give my orders directly into the computer without using keyboard or mouse." he almost said aloud. He quickly finished the rest of the program.

"Excuse me, Ms Jenkings. We're finished." Frederic said.

She ignored him for a few seconds and said with a sigh, "Let's take a look". This annoyed Frederic even further. After she executed the program SHE was the one annoyed as there was not a single thing out of place. The rest of the class passed normally. So did the last course.

After school, the two friends walked to Frederic's house. While they were under way, they were talking about Frederic's new abilities.

"Your dream is coming true!" Daphnix almost shouted when they were out of hearing range of anyone they knew.

"Yep. First there was the assimilation of knowledge, then the Telekinesis and now direct communication with computers. I wonder..." Frederic abruptly cut off.

"What?" Daphnix queried.

"I wonder if I could make a computer do something it isn't allowed to let me do."

"Crack security systems?"

"Yep." As always, Daphnix followed the same path of thought as Frederic did. 'Great minds think alike' Frederic used to say when they were first notified of this. "Let's try it out."

"OK. I'm in."

"Now, Daphnix, if this works you have to keep absolute secrecy about it. We can't allow anyone to discover about the awesome potential. I also would like you to keep quiet about my Telekinesis and any other powers that may develop in the future. We can't take the risk of the government finding out about this. They would carve me up in a lab or force me to misuse my powers to grant them unlimited power."

Daphnix was taken aback by Frederic's attack of the rest of the human race. He never looked at them that way, but after some thought he found that Frederic was right. They couldn't thrust anyone with the knowledge of the awesome potential of Frederic's powers. "Ok, off course. You are right." Daphnix confirmed.

They reached Frederic's house and they sneaked upstairs. In his room, Frederic underwent a transformation. The shy, quiet boy outside became a self-confident man full off ideas. He sat down and motioned Daphnix to pull up a chair. As Daphnix sat down, Frederic had switched on his computer.

"Please enter password" the computer said with a metallic voice.

"Password delta echo zulu two four six nine"

"Password confirmed, Frederic. Welcome back. Your last entry on this terminal was eighteen hours and fifteen minutes ago"

"Computer, search phonebook gamma twelve for entry 'Pentagon' and dial when found."

"Wow! A verbal interface! But, you are going to hack the pentagon?"

"Why start small?"

"Entry 'Pentagon' found and is currently being dialed." A metallic voice interrupted.

The modem started bleeping and soon the dialog window 'enter Id & password' appeared.

Frederic stared at the screen. Slowly he brought his hands forward, making them again float above the keyboard. The screen disappeared.

'Access Granted'

Both boys were staring at the screen until their eyes hurt. It had worked!

"It worked." Frederic stated matter-of-factly, the best he could do for the moment.

"Yes!!" Daphnix shouted, "It worked! We can do whatever we want and no one can stop us! Yip-pie!"

"Wrong. I can do whatever I want, but I will never, except under a highest duress, use this ability. The consequences are too extreme. Now, while we are in, why not take a look?"

Frederic pressed a key and found himself confronted by a blinking cursor in the right hand corner. A small thought printed out a complete list of commands.

"Incredible! We can do whatever we want in here! Look at this: we can summon data on every offender in the last 25 years. Background, fingerprints, current whereabouts, it's all here! Try 'lst a6+' "

"What does it do?" Frederic asked while entering the command.

A list of programs appeared on the screen. "It displays all programs of alpha-six clearance and above." Daphnix said.

Frederic slowly scrolled the programs. "Genetic enhancement program? Let's try this one"

"Modification of genetic possibilities of subjects in different situations. Different courses of action have been followed. Please specify." Frederic read aloud.

A list of different types appeared. "Which one shall we take?" Frederic asked.

"Take enhanced intelligence."

A list of subjects appeared on the screen. Project numbers accompanied the names. At this time, Frederic excused himself and went to the bathroom. When he came back, Daphnix was staring at the screen with his jaw hanging open, his eyes nailed at the screen, his breath irregular.

"Daphnix? What's wrong? What?"

Slowly, as if it took him al the force he could muster, he raised his hand and pointed at the screen. Frederic blinked. One time, two times, three times. He too had trouble believing it, but there it was:

PROJECT X / 95876548253: Fromthefield, Frederic. Project in enhanced intelligence. Alpha-seven clearance required.

Frederic dumped himself in his chair and shook his head. "That is a mistake, maybe there is someone else with the same name." He tried to convince himself and Daphnix. He selected the entry. He immediately got an answer to his question:

Fromthefield, Frederic. Modified 24th of May 1984 code PHALANX.

A complete page of technical data accompanied this.

"NO!!!" Frederic howled. "That's MY birthday! It really is me!" and burst out crying.

Daphnix burst out of his enchantment and gently put his hand on his friends' shoulder. After a couple of minutes, Frederic straightened himself and nodded at Daphnix, indicating he was all right now.

"Maybe there is more." Frederic whispered. He began searching in his file. He found a tab labeled 'modifications' and he selected it.

Code Phalanx. Modification list. Code verified. Access granted.

This material is for your eyes only.

A list came on.

Frederic and Daphnix gasped. This was incredible!

Phalanx modifications. Subject: Fromthefield Frederic

Enhanced intelligence

Activation of dormant cerebra Alpha 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

Enhancement of muscle tissue

Enhancement of bone structure

Enhancement of immune system

Increased sensitivity and spectrum of senses

Enhanced nervous system

A blinking 'please specify' drew the boys' attention.

Frederic decided to try them all.

" 'Enhanced intelligence'. That sounds serious. He pressed 'enter' and was immediately rewarded with a small book full of specifications of altered DNA sequences, a schematic view of the affected brain parts and so on. Frederic scanned through the page until he had what he was looking for:

'Effects of treatment'.

75% effectiveness. Subject demonstrates enhanced intelligence, but is not considered 'super genius'. The Subject is currently studying Quantum Physics, Quantum mechanics and Computer science. Difficulty of courses: minimal. The Subject is taking the courses, but is not demonstrating enhanced vision in using the assimilated knowledge.

The text went on. Frederic no longer read it. He was just holding 'page down'. He no longer could focus. He quickly ordered the computer to copy his entire directory to his hard drive. He would look at them later.

"Daphnix?"

"Yes?"

"Can I look up your name in this database?"

"Huh? Why?"

"I have a hunch. If it is true, then when are both victims of the government."

"Sure, go ahead".

Frederic ran the search. The outcome was expected and unexpected.

Smith, Daphnix code Sagittarius. Enhanced intelligence. Access denied.

"Huh?" Frederic didn't understand any of this. How is it possible that the access is denied? He could crack any code! Then it hit him: the data wasn't present. To use it, you needed the Programmable ROM card. "It can take forever until someone inputs the PROM card. I'll set up a monitor program to notify me, but I will try to get the data from other sources as well." Frederic said to comfort his friend. It was a shock to both him and Daphnix. Given the changes indicated in Frederic's file, what would Daphnix's file contain to warrant the higher security?

At this point, Frederic disconnected and started browsing his enhancement file. Daphnix was almost not disturbed by the revelations their 'experiment' had brought. He eagerly explored Frederic's file along with his friend. Suddenly he asked:

"Say, where did you get that number?"

"A friend in the hacker/phreaker circuit has helped me establish quite an elaborate phone book of government agencies and secret research institutes. I am not exaggerating if I say I can do anything to anybody, as long as I have their first and last name, and their current address. And even without the address, I am in the possibility of finding them."

"Nice!" Daphnix nodded. "So, what made you chose the Pentagon?"

"I wanted to get in for a couple of months now. It was the only one to have withstood every attempt."

"You mean, you hacked every government agency?"

"Yep. I have seen and copied things you could only dream about. I have been aware of project Phalanx and Sagittarius for some time, and I knew they were about genetic engineering, but I never dreamt they were about US."

Both boys continued to look through the files.

"Daphnix, come quick!" Frederic yelled at his friend, who was getting them both a drink.

Daphnix came storming in and looked at the screen:

Activation of dormant Cerebra. Goal: complete activation of mental abilities. These include: Telekinesis, knowledge absorption, control over fire and water, healing capabilities, telepathy, possibly other specifications: unknown. Current status: complete failure. Subject does not demonstrate any mental abilities as of 08th January 1999

Daphnix gasped at the list. "Exchange with a computer is possibly one of the 'other specifications'" Frederic murmured.

"But, there are a lot of those you don't have, too. Maybe you haven't discovered them yet."

"It is labeled 'complete failure' maybe they only activate after a near-death experience like I have had."

"Possible. But what is this 'Enhanced muscle' and 'enhance senses' and so on stuff?"

"I don't know. Maybe they have to ... " Frederic's voice trailed off.

"What? Frederic what is ... "

Frederic slowly regained consciousness. "Where ..." he righted himself and found himself lying in his bed. Daphnix and Barbara were sitting next to him.

"How long was I off?"

"2 hours. What happened?" Daphnix asked.

"I had another flashback." He said simply. Only Daphnix understood the full potential of this, Barbara just thought he had overexerted himself.

"You have to take it easier, brother. The last few weeks have been a little hectic." Barbara said.

"Sure, sis. I guess I have been overdoing it, haven't I?" he said.

"You sure did. Now, I have to get back to work. Dinner won't cook itself." She said and went downstairs. Daphnix, who was having trouble containing his curiosity, immediately asked:

"What was it?"

"The part were Q first came to me and said he was going to teach me."

"Pff. Is that all? I don't see someone coming in and saying: 'Hello, I am going to teach you' " Daphnix responded to that.

"Don't you see? When Q was training me, my powers were growing exponentially. In less than a couple of weeks, I could take on everything."

Now Daphnix nodded. "I didn't look at it that way. Maybe now all the powers described in your file will awaken."

"Maybe. We shall see. It will probably take some time. In my dream there was quite some time between me finding the three stones and Q's appearance."

"Hm. I think you're right. Anyway, can I have a copy of the file? I want to look at it when I get back to the dorm."

"Why don't you stay here tonight? I can use the company." Frederic asked.

Daphnix thought for a couple of seconds. "OK, If Barbara doesn't object."

"I'm sure she won't. Just ask her to be on the safe side, though." Frederic said.

Daphnix went downstairs and asked Frederic's sister. She had thought for a while and then decided Daphnix could stay. He immediately notified the dorm to let them know he wouldn't be in, and brought Frederic the good news. He went upstairs, opened the door to Frederic's room and went inside. Frederic was sitting upright in his bed, his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap, his eyes closed. A few objects, ranging from a pen to the dictionary he had used during his earlier experiments, were flying through the room. The agility of the objects astounded Daphnix. The heavy book was flying at a killer-rate towards Daphnix' face. He started to duck, but the book came to a dead stop 10 centimeters before Daphnix' nose! He let out a sigh of relief. The book flew backwards, made a 180° turn, and raced to the desk. While all this was happening, a pen was writing on a sheet of paper, floating half a meter above Frederic's head! The dictionary landed in a newly opened drawer, whom closed as soon as the book was put, were it belonged. The pen and the paper landed carefully on the desk. A few CD's, a 144-page manual and a schoolbook were all put back where they belonged, various drawers and closets opened and closed simultaneously.

Daphnix stood there, unable to say anything. Frederic opened his eyes and stood up from his bed. "And?"

"How did you do that?"

"No, I mean what did Barbs say?"

"Oh. She said I could stay. Now, how about that little demonstration." Daphnix responded.

"I wanted to see how far I could go. I started with making a pen and a few CD's flying laps around the room. Then I picked up the paper, and navigated it close to the pen. I then opened a drawer and picked up the manual, closed the drawer and opened another at the same time. I took the dictionary and was just about to make it fly laps too, when you came in. I wanted some fun and I scared the shit out of you, didn't I? I then flew the pen and the paper half a meter above my head and practiced writing in mid-air. Not easy, I can tell you. I started to get tired and put it all back were it belonged."

"So, you are just as able with the power as with your hands?"

"With a little practice, I can become better. When I focus on an object, I can move closer and see the energy between the molecules and, even deeper, individual atoms."

"Cool. Does this mean you can change something, atom by atom?"

"Probably, but constructing something atom by atom takes a very long time."

"I guess you're right. And, anything else that's new?"

"My telekinetic strength is growing even faster now. Before, I could move maybe one object, and now I had about 6 flying around, doing al sorts of different things, all at the same time. Maybe the flashback was just to notify me that my powers are going to increase again. The last time, it was when Sandra got raped, and not long after, I got that knowledge thing."

"Maybe. Let's take a look at your file again. Damn, I wish I knew what was in my file." Daphnix said.

"Yes, I'm curious too. No worry, my guardian is active, and it will copy the file when it is available."

Till late at night, both boys gasped at the changed that were made, but it seems that most weren't active. Yet.

The next morning, Saturday. After taking a good breakfast, and helping Sandra was dishes, both boys walked to a nearby park. They sat on a bench near a pond with ducks swimming around, hoping for pieces of bread. Suddenly, Daphnix realized his friend was staring directly in front of him.

"Frederic?" he asked the concern dripped from his voice.

No response. Frederic kept staring. Suddenly, the ducks flew up and got away. Daphnix had noticed the sudden and unexpected departure. Now he was really concerned. The people around them stopped their chatter and ran, like struck by mass panic. Daphnix too was scared shitless. He felt a danger he couldn't identify, like some dark force or something. He tried in vein to move his friend.

He looked one more time at the pond, and now he really was panicking. The water was evaporating, and he could see the boiling parts along the shore. Suddenly, in the middle, the water was moving, like something was rising from the bottom. At this point, Frederic moved for the first time since this all started. He got up and walked towards the water. Daphnix was too stunned to do something.

Frederic put one foot on the boiling surface, like he was stepping on ice for the first time. Then he found his balance and walked briskly towards the middle. As soon as he cleared the edge, huge steam geysers burst out along the shoreline. Daphnix froze in place, he no longer could see his friend, but something compelled him to stay.

Frederic took one last step and halted about a meter and a half from the boiling center. A woman rose up and handed him a long wooden box, but because of an unknown process, the material was hard as steel.

"Finally the world has a new protector. Beware, young phalanx that the Evil One will surely come. If you ever need help, call upon the forces of nature."

"Yes, my mistress. I have questions..."

"You may ask three."

"How will I call upon the forces of nature?"

"Look deep within yourself. In your hart you will find the Ultimate Power. Beware that great power comes with great responsibility, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It will take time for you to be able to handle these powers well."

"What is the source of my power?"

"Your power comes from your heart, your body, your soul and the spirit of nature."

"I don't understand. I thought I was genetically engineered. How come my power has noting to do with that?"

"The engineering program was successful, and because of that, have we decided to grant you the title of Phalanx, the ultimate protector."

The mysterious women sank back into the lake. Frederic was even more confused than when he first met her. He turned around and walked to the shore. The geysers stopped upon his arrival, and the water returned to normal as soon as he cleared it.

"What happened?" Daphnix asked.

"The Gods of the Universe have granted me the title of Phalanx." Frederic responded, like that explained everything.

Daphnix looked quizzically at his friend. He didn't understand!

Frederic began to explain: "The universe has been maintained for billions of years by a very powerful race, known only as the God of the Universe. For each of the sentient races they select a protector, someone who's job it is to fight against evil. The Phalanx dies as he or she destroys the Evil One. There have been 2 so far."

"I see. And they selected you?" Frederic nodded. "And you accepted? You stupid idiot! You'll die!"

"Didn't you listen? I die when I destroy the Evil One. I am forever living until he or she is destroyed. I'll just keep the Evil One weakened and trapped, forever."

"Presuming you win. Now, what is this about there have been 2 so far?"

"There have been 2 Human Phalanxes so far. One of them is completely forgotten in the course of the millennia. You know King Arthur? He was the last one, and he was the most known. The first one was Razan, he was selected over 25,000 years ago, and because of these awesome powers, his tale led to the creation of many gods."

"Cool. So, what's in the box?"

Frederic put the box down and looked at it. "There is no lock, no nails, nor any other external features. It is almost as like it was one massive block of wood." He let his fingers slide gently across the uneven wooden lid. Suddenly, an impression formed, shaped like a human hand. Frederic got the point, put his hand in the impression and a hiss was heard. He jumped up and drew away. The lid rose up then turned open. Frederic and Daphnix were flabbergasted. Inside the box was...

The most beautiful crafted sword both had ever seen! The handle was made of gold, shaped in the form of a dragon's body and his head was at the beginning, 'breathing' the blade out of its beak. Diamonds were its scales and 2 flaming red rubies were its eyes. The blade itself was about one meter long. It was made of stainless steel, but, like the wood used in the box, the metal was harder than anything. It reflected the sunlight so hard, they had to cover their eyes. Frederic picked up the sword and held it high above his head. "This doesn't weigh a thing!" the blade was glowing in a strange green light now. It was like both Frederic and the sword were two halves, now finally making one whole. He put his second hand on the hilt.

"Sword of the Phalanx, Grant me the power!" Frederic shouted, tears of joy and relief welding in his eyes. Notwithstanding the clear day, lightning crashed down and engulfed the sword and Frederic. When the lightning cleared, Frederic was wearing a shining white armor, covering his entire body. It too was beautifully crafted, with diamonds and rubies decorating various spots. His chest wielded a dragon. Identical to the one on the handle of the sword, it was pictured in full, its body covered in gold and diamonds, and 2 brightest rubies they had ever put eyes upon. The helmet completely covered his face, but there were 2 dragon wings on top of it, joining between the 2 completely black eye-armor. Daphnix presumed it was like a one-way mirror. Frederic could look out, but no one could look in. The wings were of gold too with small gems decorating them. Frederic holstered the sword and put his hands to his helmet.

He pushed on 2 special points on each side and a loud hiss broke the silence. Frederic pulled the helmet over his head and put it under his arm.

"So, what do you think? Pretty cool, huh?"

"Un-be-lie-va-ble." Daphnix hissed. "What can it do?"

"I don't know yet. I know it can take a lot of punishment, and pack an impressive amount of firepower, if necessary."

"Impressive."

Frederic deactivated the armor. He then held the sword in front of him and mumbled something Daphnix couldn't make out, while pressing on 2 separate spots. The blade vanished in the dragon's mouth, leaving only the handle to be put away in Frederic's pocket. "This is much easier to handle than a complete sword" he explained.

Both boys started to go home. They were talking vividly about Frederic's powers and the new knowledge they brought with them.

"What more have you learnt?" Daphnix asked.

"It's incredible! I have in-depth knowledge of active and passive offense and defense, and a complete day-by-day history of the human race, dating back from the first ape to walk on 2 legs. You could say I am the ultimate archeologist. But, I have been instructed to make sure that the human race does not know anything they're not ready for. Hell, I took a big risk telling you all this. You can never ..."

"Tell anyone. Yea, yea, I know." Daphnix had heard that before.

Frederic looked around, like he was looking for something. "What is it?" Daphnix asked.

"I don't know. I have a feeling we're being watched." Suddenly, he fell forward on his knees and grabbed his head. "Ahhh! It hurts! Stop it! Stop IT!" he cried.

Frederic raised a primitive shield and composed himself. He felt psychic energy leap around the shield. Daphnix was flabbergasted. He saw some sort of 'cocoon' around his friend, with energy swirling around it. Frederic's face hardened. He walked towards some trees and a woman, in her early twenties, began running.

"Oh. Shit!" she yelled. Frederic raised his right hand above his head and balled it into a fist. "Forget it! You can't defeat me!" he yelled at her. Daphnix could see energy building up around Frederic's fist. A huge bolt of lightning flew up and struck the woman right in her back, sending her to the ground. She got up and walked towards Frederic. She raised her hand and Frederic was too late to prevent her from taking the handle. They tugged for it in mid-air. Frederic could see that the handle-tugging game was using up all her energy. Her shield was concentrated on front, to conserve it. Frederic used a small trail of energy to sneak around her and attack from behind. He knew he was playing dirty, but he didn't have the experience to help him, so he used whatever he could.

The woman cried in pain as Frederic's jolt struck her. Immediately the handle returned. He took it and activated the blade. The dragon's mouth opened and breathed out a trail of blazing lighting, making the blade materialize inside the lightning. Frederic raised it and yelled "Sword of the Phalanx, grant me the Power!"

The same materialization as before took place as the armor activated. The woman's torture had stopped the moment he activated the blade. She stood up, raised her arms to shoulder level and swung bolt after bolt of energy at Frederic. He didn't even try to stop them, as he was testing how much energy the armor could absorb. In a moment he knew: tremendous amounts. The woman's bolts were a gently pressure. He decided it had taken long enough. He holstered the sword and raised his arms to shoulder level. Instead of using bolts, like the woman, he used a continuous beam of energy. In less than 2 seconds, he had drilled through her shields and was now inflicting massive amount of pain. Frederic guessed it was like her nerves were on fire.

He stopped the beam and just held her in a telekinetic shield, making it impossible for her to move or use her powers.

"What should I do?" he asked Daphnix. "Kill her? Torture her? I can't just let her go, she would come back after me."

"I don't know." Daphnix responded. Her looked her over. Nice, good-looking features. Blond hair. Nice, firm breasts. "You could strip her and have some fun." Daphnix said with a wink.

"Hey! That is a GREAT idea!" Frederic said. The woman was looking terrified. She tried to speak but was unable to do so because of Frederic's shield.

Frederic deactivated the armor, removed the blade from the sword and put it in his pocked. He then ripped her clothes. They ripped like paper. The woman was crying while she tried to cover her now naked body. Again, she could not do so.

"You go first, Daphnix. Have fun. I'll hold her for you."

"Thanks." Daphnix responded. He dropped his pants and underpants and freed his cock. It was hard. He took his 15 centimeters and put them at her mouth.

"Suck!" he commanded. She looked at him with a 'please-don't-do-this' stare. Frederic spread her mouth. Daphnix gently eased inside and yelled "Don't bite or he'll kill you!' she closed her mouth and started sucking. She found the taste disgusting and had to hold back so she wouldn't throw up.

"Don't! Please don't!" a gentle plea sounded from the cover of the trees. 6 more women, more like girls actually, came from the protection of the trees.

"Why not?" Frederic asked. "The bitch attacked me, so I am punishing her. Don't worry, I won't kill her."

"If you go on, you could just kill her."

"Why?"

"She is our leader. We are an ancient order, called the Amazons. We are here to help and protect the Phalanx. We lose our powers when we receive male sperm in or on our body." The girl who spoke almost threw up on the word 'sperm'.

"So, if you're here to help me, why did she attack me?"

"To make sure you're worthy."

Frederic seemed to ponder for a moment. "Ok Daphnix. Leave her. I'm going to believe them."

"Come on, look at her. Where are we going to find somebody like her?" Daphnix protested. "Just because she happens to have some brats along, you are going to let her go?"

"Look, I want some answers. And they aren't going to give them if we have fun with their boss."

"Good point. Ok, I guess we can have fun with them later, after we've gotten some answers."

"Right." Frederic concluded. Daphnix got out of the woman's mouth and Frederic released her.

She stood up and immediately covered herself. Frederic grinned sheepishly. Her clothes were torn instead of removed and so she had nothing except her hands to cover herself. Frederic walked towards her and gave her his jacket. "Take this. Look, I'm sorry about all this, but we really thought you were one of the bad guys." He apologized himself and his friend.

"Thanks." She said as he swung his jacket over her shoulders. It was too small, but still covered enough so she could at least remove her arm over her breasts. "Don't worry. At least you didn't kill me. Or worse" and looked angrily at Daphnix. She wouldn't likely forget what he had said about continuing the assault. Daphnix looked embarrassed at the ground.

"So, you think we're brats, right?" Daphnix looked up and saw the six girls standing before him.

"Uh. Y ... I mean n... " He stammered. Frederic grinned. He winked at the leader of the Amazons and together, they turned around to look at how this would work out.

"Hear that, girls? He thinks we're brats. What will we do about this?" the first one asked. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" the other girls yelled. Daphnix panicky looked at Frederic for support. He just raised his hand in a 'go ahead' manner. Daphnix knew the reputation of the Amazons and wasn't really keen on fighting them.

"Come on, macho man. Teach this brat a lesson" the first one taunted him. Daphnix swung his fist at her. She ducked out of the way, grabbed his fist and the next moment Daphnix was a couple of meters away, on the ground. The Amazons burst out laughing. Frederic just walked over to his friend.

"You okay?"

"Yes, it will be in a while." Daphnix said, rubbing his chin.

Frederic extended his hand. Daphnix grabbed it and felt some surge of power flowing through him. Daphnix thought it was a side effect of the changes Frederic had gone through while being transformed in the Phalanx, or something.

"No permanent damage?"

Daphnix tried his arms and legs. "Nope."

"Go get her champ." He said. "I gave you martial arts skills. They are not permanent, but will last you through this battle" he whispered. "Good luck" he said louder, as not to draw suspicion.

Frederic walked back to the leader and sat down in the grass. She sat down next to him, and the other girls sat down next to him and their leader.

Daphnix calmly walked to his challenger. He bowed. "Good fight." He said, extending his fist. She nodded. "Thanks" she said. She knocked her fist against his.

Daphnix got into a fighting stance. She got into one too. For a moment or two, they circled around each other. The girl finally got tired of this game and launched herself at him, her fist extended. He grabbed it and flung her over. She was thrown of balance and it took a couple of moments to compose her. Daphnix used this and kicked her in the stomach. The girl bent over and Daphnix landed his elbow on her back. She dropped on her knees. Daphnix took her head and raised it. He pulled back his fist and intended to smack her square in the face, when Frederic grabbed it from behind...! He shook his head. "No." Daphnix nodded and released the girl.

"Don't you have anything to tell her?" Frederic pointed at the girl. Daphnix nodded. He walked back over to the girl as she had righted herself and was planning to get back up. He extended his hand. She grabbed it and pulled herself up to her legs.

"Sorry about that. It wasn't really a fair fight. He gave me martial arts skills" Daphnix said, while pointing at his friend.

The Amazons threw Frederic an angry look. No, more of a ' I'll kill you' look really. "I gave him the same skill she has. I scanned her during the initial confrontation and I gave my friend the same skills. If I hadn't, I would have to go visit him in hospital." He explained himself. "So, it was a fair fight. Both parties had the same skills. Only, she was surprised at that was her undoing." Frederic continued, pointing at the girl. "Let that be a lesson, expect the unexpected."

The Amazons calmed down. They knew when someone was right. Daphnix would have been ready for hospital if Frederic hadn't intervened. They stood up.

"So, where do you girls live?" Frederic asked.

"Why?"

"If I require your help, I need to know where to find you."

"Sure, off course. Come." The leader said. She raised her hand and described a perfect circle in mid-air. Her hand let a yellowish trail behind, making the circle. She then pushed both her hands through it, like she was knocking something out of the way. A blue glow filled the circle. One by one, the girls stepped through it and disappeared. Frederic and Daphnix looked at each other, unsure of what to do. "Come on, you two." The leader said. Frederic threw her an angry look and she cringed. He stepped through, immediately followed by Daphnix. The leader concluded the transport, and the portal closed after her.

Frederic and Daphnix looked around. They were in a clearing in an otherwise dense forest. A couple of huts were build around an open space in the middle of the tiny village. "Nice." Frederic said. The girls and the leader walked to their respective homes, leaving Frederic and Daphnix to talk about the resent events.

"I have to contact Barbs to let her know we won't be home for some time." Frederic said.

"How will you do that?" Daphnix said. Frederic sat down in the central clearing and crossed his legs. "Long distance telekinesis."

He folded his hands and closed his eyes. Frederic felt his, now extremely strong, power leave his body to climb higher and higher. He began to recognize curtain features. "Wales, southern region." He now had a place to orient himself and raced towards the USA. He guessed it took him about 10 minutes to reach his home. He flew through the roof and raised to the kitchen. Barbara was defrosting something for dinner. He touched her and she turned around. She screamed as she saw his ghostly image. "Don't worry, Barbs. I am just here to tell you that Daphnix nor I will be in time for dinner. This is just another one of my new powers." The image said.

"When will you... he ... whoever be home?"

"I don't know when we'll be home. And don't worry, this image IS me. It is a reflection of my mental image."

"OK, little bro. Whatever you say. Have fun!"

"Bye!" the image faded. Frederic found returning to his body a lot easier than when he made the voyage in the other direction.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw the Leader, the Amazons and Daphnix stare at him.

"What?" he said, standing up. He was sore of being in the some position for so long.

"You have been away for over half an hour. And we saw you talking to someone. Was it Barbs?"

"Yes. Say, did you know we're in Wales, Great Britain? We're in the southern region. I saw it when I was flying home."

"No, I didn't. They didn't want to tell me, something about 'sworn secrecy' and stuff like that."

"Anything you can tell me, you can tell at my friend here." Frederic addressed the girls. "From now on, he has the same privileges as I do."

They nodded. "I'm glad to see you back in clothes. You gave us quite a run for our money" Frederic said at the Leader. "Say, you never told us your names. I can't keep going around saying 'you' or 'that girl' or something like that"

"You're right. I'm Sonya" the Leader said. "The girl Daphnix fought with is Tina. And these are Nikki, Blossom, Nancy, Jennifer and Mary." Pointing out the different girls. Jennifer immediately caught Frederic's attention. Chestnut brown hair, medium sized breasts, a firm behind and one of the most gorgeous faces he had ever seen. Daphnix still had the hots for Sonya, the leader.

"Do you all have psychic powers?" Frederic asked.

"Yes, although mine are the strongest" Sonya told him.

"So, what do you girls do for fun around here?" Daphnix asked.

"We have sparring competitions."

"You mean, you fight? Every time you have some time off, you fight?"

"Ether that, or go on a survival trip."

Daphnix looked at her, not understanding.

"We go walking in the woods, without anything but the clothes you're wearing. You then try to survive for as long as you can or want."

"Ah. Don't you have electricity here?"

"No. Electric appliances make you soft. Out here, we do everything ourselves. We wash our clothes at the river, we wash our dishes manually and so on."

Daphnix looked a little bewildered at the dismissal of the scientific advances. "You do everything yourselves?"

"Yes. We cultivate the land, farm the animals and repair our homes, all without the aid of machines."

"Commendable." Frederic interjected. "But, we don't mean to intrude on your work schedule. We'll leave, so you can get back to work."

"Actually, thanks to our psychic powers, we only have to work 2 to 3 hours a day. We've already finished."

Frederic and Daphnix laughed. "So THAT is how you do it."

The Amazons laughed too. "So, when is the party?"

"In a couple of hours, when the sun is set. Sparring around a campfire is a lot more fun than during the day."

"I can imagine. OK, I'll stay. What about you, Daphnix?"

"Sure, why not? But, no fighting with me, I can still feel the last time I had ... fun." he said, rubbing his chin.

They all laughed.

A few hours later, they were ready. The fire was burning and crisping happily. They were now roasting a boar, freshly caught. The sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon. Tina was pouring wild herbs on their meal. Frederic and Daphnix were sitting on the riverbank.

"So, what do you think?" Daphnix asked.

"Nice and secluded. Nothing to rush you, just live on the rhythm of nature. I could live here."

"I mean, about the girls?"

"Ah" Frederic said with a snicker in his voice. "Still thinking about Sonya?" his friend nodded. "Give it up, Daphnix. She'll never give up her powers just to get laid."

Daphnix nodded again. "You're right. So, do you have your eye on someone?"

Frederic hesitated. For too long, apparently. Daphnix guessed right. "So you DO have one. Who is it? Tina? Nancy?"

Frederic didn't say a thing, he just looked down at the water.

"Come on, tell me! I told you mine." Daphnix pleaded.

"Ok, OK! Jeez! It's Jennifer."

"Jennifer? She's not really my type. But if you want her, good luck to you buddy."

'Thanks. You too with Sonya."

'Thanks. So, what's the next step? Just hiding somewhere until the Dark One shows up, or what?"

"I have no idea. I could invent something with the tremendous amounts of knowledge I have and live in wealth for the rest of my life."

"And mine." Daphnix interjected.

"And yours." Frederic corrected himself.

"We could do that, but with all these powers, couldn't you do some good for the people? After all, Arthur was a good and just man."

Frederic nodded. "What do you propose? Take over the US? Don't you think that will draw a little attention to me? Us?" he corrected himself in time.

Now it was Daphnix who nodded. "But, how about an underground movement? You know, a secret organization who controls everything behind the scenes?"

"How will we accomplish that? I can't go out in the streets asking people to join, can I?"

"Good point. Let's think it over, I think Nikki is calling us."

"She is, for the last 3 minutes." Frederic said and got up. Daphnix soon followed. The two best friends walked to the village.

Since the weather was rather warm, they ate in the open air. Frederic sat at the head of a long table, with Sonya to his left and Daphnix to his right. The six other Amazons filled the rest of the spaces, letting the chair at the other end of the table free. Tina brought the roasted boar and the vegetables over to the table and sat down. The Amazons stared at Frederic, who was slightly uncomfortable with this.

"I wonder what they want." He whispered in Daphnix' ear.

"I don't know about you, but I am going to eat, I'm starving."

"Good idea. Count me in." Frederic whispered back.

Daphnix cut a piece out of the boar for himself and put his plate back in front of himself.

"Could you pass me the boar, Daphnix?"

"Sure." Daphnix pulled the plate and brought it closer to Frederic, who cut out a piece and put it in front of him.

Daphnix had cut in his piece and started to eat. Frederic could clearly hear some of the Amazons gasping, like something bad had happened. Frederic was looking even more intrigued. Finally, he asked: "What is the matter? Why aren't you eating?"

"It is common table manners to let the Phalanx start to eat first." Sonya said.

"I see. And why where you staring at me?"

"We where waiting for you to thank the Lord for the food."

"I'm sorry, but I'm a scientist. I am not very religious, I'm afraid."

Daphnix chuckled and continued to eat. Frederic followed his example and stared eating too. The Amazons where clearly shocked.

"You don't believe in God?"

"I believe in the Maintainers of the Universe, who blessed me with these powers. I only believe in something that can be proven is there." Frederic said.

Sonya shook her head. She folded her hands and the Amazons followed her example. The thanked the Lord and started eating too. The incident was soon forgotten. Frederic and Daphnix were enjoying themselves. The food was excellent, thanks to Tina's cooking and eating in open air was a new experience. Both Daphnix and Frederic found the Amazons great conversationalists.

"Wow! That was good! I can't eat another bite." Frederic said when he put down his knife and fork. "You are a great cook, Tina." Frederic complemented her. Daphnix backed him at this.

"Thank you." She flustered while bowing her head, she didn't know what to do with the praise.

While Frederic was talking to Daphnix, he suddenly was aware that the Amazons were staring again. "What is the matter? Not hungry anymore?' Frederic said, a smile decorating his lips.

"You stopped eating, so we stop too." Sonya said.

Daphnix didn't care about these rules and continued eating. "Look, it's not because I stopped that you have to stop too. What will you do if I'm sick, or something?"

"Not eat." She said, matter-of-factly.

Frederic and Daphnix burst out laughing. "Look, you have my permission to eat after I've stopped, or begin before I start and so on. I am just an ordinary guy with some gooey powers, nothing more."

Sonya nodded. She picked up her fork and knife. She was shaking a little, like she was unsure of herself. She continued to eat. The Amazons followed her example, as always. Frederic nodded his approval. Only when everybody was filled, did they leave the table and started to clean up. The Amazons were even more surprised when Frederic and Daphnix helped washing dishes! They did this at home, and there was no sense in taking advantage of the hospitality of the Amazons.

When everything was cleaned, they broke up the table and cleared the center. The Amazons sat down in a circle and Frederic and Daphnix did the same.

"Soon it will be dark. When the sun has set, the sparring will begin." Sonya said to Frederic.

"What do we do until then?" Frederic asked back.

"Talk." The curt answer was.

Soon the conversations from the dinner table were resumed. Slowly, the sun disappeared under the horizon. As soon as the sun had completely gone under, Sonya went to one of the huts. She soon came back with a blackboard. She wrote the names of the Amazons on it. "Will you join us?" she asked Frederic.

"What do you think?" he asked Daphnix.

"I can't do it, but you can kick some Amazon butt." he responded.

"So could you, if I gave you some extra skills." Frederic said.

"They don't like that." Daphnix said with a small sign towards the Amazons.

"So, you think I should do it?"

"Yep."

"Ok, I'll do it." Frederic said to Sonya.

"Great!" she said, not hiding her amusement. She wrote down Frederic's name and drew up a grid.

"First round, Tina will fight against Nikki, Blossom versus Nancy, Jennifer will fight against the Phalanx and I will fight against Mary."

"First fight: Tina versus Nikki. Good luck." Sonya concluded.

Frederic looked at Daphnix, who threw his friend a 'Good-luck-you'll-need-it' look. Frederic was disturbed. He couldn't fight someone he had a crush on!

Tina won of Nikki and Nancy had beaten the crap out of Blossom. Now, Frederic's fight was on, and he still hadn't found a solution. He stood up and drew the handle of his sword. He threw it to Daphnix. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and pulled down his pants. He stood there, clad only in his boxers. He threw his clothes to Daphnix, who caught them and put them next to him. Daphnix was amazed at the amount of muscle Frederic had accumulated in resent times. Frederic didn't have the body builder look, but the muscles of his arms and legs were showing clearly, as were his abdominal muscles.

Frederic stood in the fighting ring doing warm-up and stretching exercises. The ring was nothing more than a thick rope that was laying in a circle on the ground.

Jennifer stepped in and bowed. Frederic did the same. Slowly, they started circling each other, unsure of what the other was capable of. Suddenly, Jennifer leapt up and her extended leg caught Frederic hard in his stomach. He was blown back half a meter and grabbed his stomach. "Wow, that hurts." He grunted. Daphnix inhaled sharply and turned his face away. He couldn't watch his friend being slaughtered.

Jennifer took advantage of this and knocked her elbow in Frederic's neck, knocking him to his knees. She kicked at his face and... was stopped! Frederic had raised his hand and had caught her leg. Something had snapped in Frederic's mind. He slowly stood up and gave a hard push on her leg, making her lose her balance. She fell back. Jennifer sprung up and launched herself at Frederic. He stepped out of the way and raised his arm in time to knock her in the face when she raced past him. Again, she was up in no time. She stepped closer to him and lashed out to him with both hands. Frederic easily blocked her attempt to hit him. When she knocked with her right hand against his left for the hundredth time, he kicked her in the lower abdomen. She flew up a couple of centimeters, coming to a hard landing on his knee. She clasped at her abdomen, waggling back as she grunted in pain. "Give up?" he asked. She shook her head 'NO!".

Frederic shrugged his shoulders. "OK." He kicked her square in the face, making her land on her back near the edge of the ring. "Last chance." He said. Again, she shook 'no'. Frederic looked questionably at Sonya. What does he have to do? Kill her? The other girls had surrendered much sooner in their fights.

"The fight is to the death, unless one of the competitors surrenders. Since Jennifer doesn't surrender, you'll have to kill her."

"What? That is barbaric!"

"That is the only rule of the fight."

"You never told me about this! I will not take part in this any longer!" at that time, Jennifer had composed herself again and had grabbed Frederic around the waist and pulled him down. She landed a rain of blows on his head and ribcage. He defended the best he could, but with the girl he loves sitting on top of him, beating the crap out of him, that is a little difficult. Finally, he manages to get her of him. "I surrender" Frederic said. That was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his entire live. He ran to Daphnix. "We're leaving."

Daphnix immediately got up and gave Frederic his clothes. Frederic jumped in them and grabbed his sword and activated it. "Unless you step into the twentieth century, now that it's almost over, I'll never be back." He said. That announcement came as a bombshell to the Amazons.

Frederic raised the sword and opened his mouth, then closed it. He lowered the sword and walked to Jennifer. "This, I wanted to do since the minute I saw you." He said. He grabbed the girl's head and pressed his lips against hers. To his amazement, she opened her mouth and answered his kiss! The amazons, and Daphnix, were looked shocked and surprised. Frederic and Jennifer came up for air after 30 to 35 seconds of tongue wrestling. There was one thing Frederic wanted to know.

"Why?"

Jennifer hesitated. After some encouragement, she spoke. "I thought you didn't answer my feelings. I didn't want to live. I wanted to die by the hand of the man I love."

Frederic grinned sheepishly. "I thought you didn't answer my feelings." They both laughed.

"Now, there is still the matter of the fight to the death. If you use a point system, like boxing, or a three-second pin, like in wrestling, I will not abandon you. If not, I'll leave and you'll never see me again."

"I agree." Jennifer said. Frederic's face cleared. He grabbed the girl and pressed her against his own body. "O God, I love you" he whispered in her ear. She laughed. "I thought you didn't believe in God?"

"After all this, I think I'll have to revise my opinion." He grinned back.

"Now, how about it? No more death fights?" he asked Sonya.

"If you disagree with it, then we'll try to find something else."

"Hey! Don't do something because I say so. Do something because you believe that is how it should be."

They hesitated. Sonya and the remaining Amazons walked a couple of meters away and began discussing the topic. Meanwhile, Frederic stole another kiss from Jennifer. Daphnix stood by, almost jealous.

"How will this affect your powers?" Frederic asked his girlfriend.

"As long as we don't have sex, there will be no effects."

"Good. I can't ask you to give up your powers, so no sex, OK?"

"For now." She smiled.

By now, the Amazons had finished their discussion and walked back towards Frederic, Daphnix and Jennifer.

"We offer a compromise."

"Let's hear it."

"Before each fight, the two contestants have to decide how to fight. Points, three second pin or to the death with surrendering"

Frederic hesitated. "What do you two think?"

"As close as it gets, buddy." Daphnix said.

"I agree. We amazons are very stubborn about our ways. It is amazing they even thought about this topic and agreed on a compromise."

"Ok, It's decided then. That is how it shall be."

The other Amazons sighed in relief. By now it was too late to continue the sparring and they decided to call it a night. Frederic and Daphnix decided to stay and they were given a hut. It was one of the larger ones, with 2 bedrooms and an indoor bathroom.

"Good night." Frederic said, opening the door to his room.

"Good night." Daphnix responded, going to his own room.

Frederic stripped down to his boxers and crawled under the sheets. Because of the exertions during the day he slept in less than 2 minutes.

It wouldn't last long. He was disturbed by a gentle tapping at his door. He jumped upright.

"Who is there?" he bellowed.

"It's me" a girls voice said.

"Jennifer? What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

Frederic's first instinct was to jump into his clothes, before he realized she already saw him in boxers. "Come in, it's open"

She opened the door and put her head behind it, as if to see the condition he was in. Satisfied, the rest of her followed. Frederic's eyes almost fell out. She was wearing a nightgown, cut so deep he could see the top of her breasts. It came only centimeters below he hips, giving not much coverage down there either.

"Wo-how!" he said, before composing himself. "Wha - what is it?"

She smiled. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Huh?" this question took him completely by surprise. He couldn't believe his good luck! "huh, It's a one-person bed I'm afraid."

"That doesn't matter." She said in a husky voice.

"If it doesn't disturb you, it doesn't disturb me. Climb on board. But, no games, all right? I don't want you to loose your powers or anything."

"Sure thing, honey"

"I love it when you say that."

Frederic got in bed and Jennifer cuddled close to him. The warmth and closeness engulfed them. Never in their entire life had they been this content. They just lay there, enjoying each other for a few minutes. Then, fatigue overcame them and they drifted into a well-deserved and quickening sleep.

"Hey, wake up, you lovebirds!"

Frederic opened his eyes and looked directly into Jennifer's. He smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning." She said, smiling. A quick kiss later, they were untangling their limbs. After they managed this, they got up. And jumped back down. Daphnix was standing there, a broad smile on his face. "I hope you two had a pleasant night. I would hurry up, if I were you. Tina is preparing breakfast, and Sonya and the others are looking for Jennifer." He said.

"Thanks. We'll be there. Soon" Frederic said.

Daphnix blinked an eye. "Sure you will." He broke out laughing when he left Frederic's room.

Frederic looked at Jennifer. "So, what will you do? You can't go running around looking like THAT can you?"

Jennifer looked at her sexy nightgown, all tangled up. Her left breast had popped out of the gown. She covered it up, hoping Daphnix didn't see it. "You're right. But, what can I do? Stay in here all day?"

"Now that was an idea!" Frederic thought. "I'll stay with you. We'll barricade the door and have fun all day, by ourselves."

"Be serious!"

"I am. What is wrong with staying here? Am I that unpleasant a company?"

"No, of course not." She said, pressing her lips against his. After breaking the kiss she continued. "The others will be worried when they don't find me."

"So, that leaves one small matter. How will you get clothes without everyone seeing you run around half naked. Not that I'd mind, but..."

She laughed. "They would get the wrong ideas."

"Yep. Hey, let me try something. Which house is yours?"

After she told him, he got dressed. He took the handle and activated the blade. He raised it above his head. He described a circle with it. a yellow circle was visible in front of him. He deactivated the blade and put the handle away. He 'pushed' the center of the circle away, and a familiar bluish color filled it.

"I'll go first, you follow right behind."

"Ok, honey."

He stepped through, immediately followed by Jennifer. After Frederic cleared the portal, he found himself in ... the middle of the village! Jennifer bumped into him as she cleared the portal. After Frederic's appearance, a few Amazons looked up, decided he was trying his new powers and continued looked for Jennifer. After she appeared, they all looked their way. Daphnix burst out laughing.

"You should see the look on your face when you got from that thing! You'd better get her inside, before she catches a cold!" he laughed. The Amazons couldn't contain themselves much longer. They all laughed too. Frederic and Jennifer were looking embarrassed at each other, and decided to take Daphnix 'advice'. They went into Jennifer's hut. Frederic stopped when she entered her bedroom. She made a 'are you coming?' gesture but Frederic declined, saying:

"I wouldn't want to press my luck."

"I see. Well, see you when I'm finished."

When Jennifer finally left her room, Frederic was sitting in the living room, staring into infinity.

She carefully draped herself over his lap. He startled. "Hey! What kind of greeting is that?"

"Mine" she said and kissed him. He eagerly responded.

"We should get outside, before the others get any more wild ideas." He said, after breaking the kiss.

They stood up and walked to the front door. They opened it and stepped into the central clearing.

"Halt."

Frederic and Jennifer stopped dead in their tracks. The slowly turned around. Sonya had apparently been waiting next to the front door, waiting for them to step out.

"I'm glad to see you dressed properly." She said to Jennifer, an angry tone in her voice.

"And you," she said, addressing Frederic "What do you think you're doing?"

"Nothing harmful. A little kissing."

"Then what did she do in your room during the night?"

"Sleeping" Frederic said on a harsh tone. "What's it too you? That is between me and Jennifer."

"Everything that concerns my Amazons is my business. Phalanx or not, I want this relationship stopped. You two will stop this ... relationship... right now."

Jennifer grabbed Frederic's arm. Instinctively, he removed it from her grip and draped it around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"And if we refuse?"

"Then I will have no other choice than to kill her. Nobody ever leaves the Amazons."

"You will do no such thing! I will personally guarantee it. You may be the leader of the Amazons, but I am the Phalanx and I make the rules you follow."

"Not this one. All the amazons agree with this course of action. Break of the relationship or be killed."

Jennifer whispered something in Frederic's ear. "Ok, honey, if that's what you want." She nodded.

"Look, you won't kill nobody around here. But I agree that this relationship ... strains a little with the Amazon way of living. Therefore I suggest you just let her leave, without any other consequences."

"I can't let that happen. Nobody ever left the Amazons. It would be a breach of our traditions."

"Take it or leave it. I will not allow you to do any harm to my or any of my loved ones."

"I'm sorry. That is how is shall be." Sonya said on a decisive tone. She raised her hand and a massive energy discharge flew towards Jennifer.

It never hit. It hit an energy cocoon created by Frederic.

"You asked for it. this time there is no escape." Frederic took out the handle and activated the sword. "Daphnix. Come"

Daphnix had shivers run down his spine at the tone. it was icy cold. He decided it would be best to do as Frederic had commanded.

Frederic removed his arm from Jennifer's shoulder. "Look after her." Frederic said as his friend approached. Daphnix startled as he saw the expression on Frederic's face. Dark as hell and cold as ice it was. He saw nothing but pure hate in Frederic's eyes. Instantly Daphnix realized this time Sonya would not survive, or at least the Sonya he knew. Daphnix gently guided Jennifer away and put his arm in a comforting gesture around her shoulders.

Frederic raised the sword as high as he could. "Sword of the Phalanx, grant me the Power!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Instantly, the transformation process was completed. "Now you die!"

Sonya started circling around Frederic. She raised her arm and flung an energy ball towards him. He easily caught it and made it bounce up and down in his hand. He laughed. "Is that the best you can do? This is how it's done!" he flew it up and multiplied its strength by ten, making the color shift from red to bright white, then launched it towards Sonya. She jumped out of the way, but Frederic also had made the projectile tracking, so it followed her. And hit. Instantly, her energy shield collapsed and the poor woman was screaming in pain. Frederic guessed the sensation was equal to having your nerves on fire. After the pain subsided, she tried to get up, but fell right down after not even getting halfway up. "Will you let Jennifer leave?"

"Yes, I'll let her leave."

"Good. Unfortunately, you inconvenienced us. You owe us an apology."

"I'm sorry."

"Like you mean it."

"I'm sorry. I'll never do it again."

"Good. Now, I want you take of your clothes."

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me. Take of those damn clothes or I'll fucking tear them from your body."

Sonya gasped. She slowly unbuttoned her blouse, taking her time. This was not to Frederic's amusement. He stepped closer. He raised his hand and made a ripping motion. Her blouse and skirt tore away easily. "Take of the bra and panties, slut."

"How did you call me?"

"A slut. That is what you'll be after we're through with you."

"WE?"

"It seems my pal here has a crush on you. He'll be the first in that virgin pussy of yours."

Frederic looked at his friend and he saw a broad smile and a grateful nod. Frederic nodded back.

Sonya slowly started to cry and proceeded in removing her bra. Frederic was in a hasty mood and tore the remaining clothes off. Sonya hurriedly covered up.

"Daphnix, if you'll do the honors?"

"Sure thing, pal."

Frederic spread Sonya out on the floor, spread angle. "I suggest you continue were you left off."

"OK." Daphnix said.

He opened his pants and took out his enlarged cock. He positioned it at her mouth. "Open up, slut"

She shook her head. "NO!"

"Tell me if you need anything. She's bound by invisible bars at her hands and feet." Frederic said, walking off with Jennifer. "Before I forget: You'll do nothing to help your leader, or I'll personally do the same to all of you."

The rest of the Amazons gasped and stood back, clearly shocked by what was about to happen to their leader.

Daphnix slapped Sonya hard across her face. The result was what he expected. She screamed. He pressed in and hissed "I'll kill you if you bite, you slut."

Sonya was too shocked by what was happening to bite.

Daphnix slowly pushed in, deepthroating her, effectively cutting of her breath. She started twisting, struggling for breath. Daphnix set into a slow motion, moving in and out very slowly, making sure he would last as long as possible, while have maximum sensation. Every time he pressed into her throat, she struggled for breath, but that never hurried Daphnix. He just liked the stuck-up bitch taking him into her mouth without the means to stop him. Slowly, after 15 minutes, he started speeding up. He moved faster and faster, driving to the inevitable climax. Then, it happened. He pressed in with all his might and came hard down her throat. His hot semen filled her stomach. She felt it burn inside her. He slowly withdrew as she was overcome by violent spasms. He guessed this was the moment of truth. She began glowing in a bright blue light. It slowly dissipated as her powers were ripped away. Her head fell back, exhausted.

Daphnix, on the other hand, wasn't the least bit tired. His cock was still hard. He decided to give her pussy a ride. He pressed against her dry cuntlips. Because of the fair amount of saliva it slid in rather easily. Sonya screamed in agony as Daphnix brutally tore through her hymen. "There goes your virginity, cunt!" he yelled in her face. Sonya was sobbing in pain and humiliation as Daphnix set a fast rhythm, stabbing his 15-centimeter long tool like a knife in her now no longer virgin pussy. Her grunts came along with his stabs. He knew when he was about to cum. He stabbed his cock as deep as he could and fired his second load deep in her pussy. Sonya was grunting "No, oh no!!!" as she felt his cum deep inside her. "You bastard! You came in me! What if I'm pregnant?"

"Your problem, not mine." He said. "It's your own fault. You shouldn't have tried to keep them apart." Daphnix said, pointing at Frederic and Jennifer. Frederic had removed his armor, and they were kissing under a tree. "I've never seen my friend this happy in his entire life. Trying something as stupid as that was bound to have these kind of consequences."

"But, you bastards raped me, took away my virginity AND destroyed my powers at the same time."

"Frederic is loyal as hell. He'd go through Hell itself to make sure his loved ones are safe. You know, it's ironic."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"If you all had treated him like a friend, and not like something to be afraid of, he would do the same for you. But no, ever since we got here, you girls treated us like he's some kind of avenging, grudge-bearing deity, So you can't blame him if he does exactly what you think he'll do."

Sonya bent her head as the truth of these words sunk in. If she only had treated him the way he wanted to be treated: as one of them, then none of this would have happened.

"Frederic, buddy, you can release her now. I'm done."

"And? How was she?"

"Great! Thanks for the opportunity."

"Hey, as my friend there are bound to be perks connected to it."

Daphnix laughed. "I guess it will."

Frederic stood up and he walked towards the still bound Sonya. "Now, what should I do with you?" he asked.

"Let me go?" she asked.

"Yeah, right. Where would you go?"

She didn't have an answer for that.

"You can't stay here, since the rest of the Amazons won't accept you without powers and you can't go home with me, since you'll remind me of what happened."

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Take me home with you."

"Why should I do that? You have no skills, you're arrogant and self-centered. And besides, my sister will never agree to have you live with us."

"I can learn. Please, don't leave me here, they'll kill me!" she sobbed, pointing at the remaining Amazons.

"Killing her is not what I intended. Maybe I should try to convince Barbara to let her stay." Frederic said to Daphnix.

"And what about Jennifer? You know Barbara will never allow two girls with us."

"You're right. The first prerogative is Jennifer. The slut comes later." Frederic said.

"First, I'll try to convince my sister to let Jennifer stay. After that, I'll see what I can do. Maybe the foresight of a slave will convince my sister." Frederic said to Sonya.

"Slave?"

"Slave, person who belongs to another in property." Frederic quoted from the dictionary.

"I know what a slave is, asshole. I'll never be someone slave, and certainly not yours."

Daphnix could see a naughty twinkle in Frederic's eyes. This was just what he had hoped for.

"We'll see, slave. Now, get up and stand behind me." He commanded.

When Sonya didn't move, Frederic grabbed her, pulled her to her feet and lifted her off the floor. He dropped her about half a meter behind him. She fell to the ground and staid there. She couldn't believe he actually was capable of doing something like that!

"Stand up." Frederic said. She didn't move.

He turned around, and an evil expression was on his face. "Don't make me repeat every order, bitch."

She cringed at the icy tone in his voice, then composed herself. "You'll have to do better than that to get me to listen!" and spat in his face.

He rubbed the spit of his face and looked at it. He burst out laughing. Daphnix and the other thought he had lost it. "Valiant one, heh? I'll get that out of you."

He formed an energy sphere. "Remember this? It hurts like hell, and further doesn't do a thing." A flung it towards her. She cried out. "STOP! STOP, PLEASE!"

Frederic released her. "I'll try something else." He said. She cringed back. "No more pain, please! Please! I'll listen! Please don't hurt me any more. I'm sorry! I'll..." her voice trailed off.

Frederic pushed his powers deeper. He tried using his manipulative powers on a mind in staid of ordinary matter. He could see her mind, organized like a library, with huge cabinets of files on both sides of a spacious hallway. He started looking. He really had no idea what was in them, so he opened the first drawer he saw. It was empty. He walked a little further and found one labeled 'Ama '. He opened it. Inside were literally hundredths of cards. All labeled something like 'Amazon training, basic file 0001' and so on.

"Of course, this is her long term memory! I wonder what this one is." He took the card. He looked around. All he saw were file cabinets. Suddenly, he recalled a small slot at the beginning of the hallway, where he first entered. He walked back and put the card in the slot. It started buzzing, and a book appeared. He flipped through it. It was a report of the first Amazon training of Sonya. he found it colored with her personal emotions and thoughts. He put the book back in the machine and it disappeared. He strode further down the hall.

At a certain point, the cabinets changed color. From a normal gray no a more elaborate red. He opened one. These were all labeled something like 'Friends' or 'Family' "Of course, these are her emotional cabinets!" Frederic thought, already getting in the spirit of this cabinet thing.

"I wonder If I can make her do whatever I want?" He went back to the slot machine. He examined it carefully. "Ah here it is. User's guide. "Put reference card in machine and wait for memory file to be created. A new file can be created by pushing red button and writing new orders in blank book that is created. Write label on book, and put back in machine. New file will be implemented immediately."

"Cool. Let's try that." Frederic thought and he pressed the red button. A blank book materialized in the compartment below. He took it and saw that there was a pen next to the machine. He hadn't noticed it, but he didn't think twice. He took it and began writing. He filled a couple of pages in just a few seconds. He wrote 'Slave orders. Disobedience means death' on the label and put it back.

He pulled out of her mind.

"How long was I gone?" he asked Daphnix.

"About half a minute." Daphnix said.

"Amazing. It looks like I have been away hours." Frederic said. He then proceeded to explain how it looked inside someone's mind. After his story, he remembers the Slave Orders.

"Slave?"

"Yes master." Sonya said, bowing her head.

"It worked! O my god, it worked!" he shouted. The Amazons looked suspiciously at him. They still weren't convinced he wasn't nuts.

That day, not much happened, Daphnix, Frederic and Jennifer went for a walk in the woods. Jennifer was glad to be able to show of all her favorite places. Sonya stayed at the village, cleaning the hut were Frederic and Daphnix stayed. She also was instructed to make dinner by 8 o'clock, when Frederic presumed they'd be back. The boys were particularly interested in a small place by the riverbank, isolated from the rest.

Just as Frederic had estimated, by eight they were back in the village.

"I hope Sonya is as good a cook as Tina is. I'm starving!" Daphnix said.

"So do I" Frederic said. "So, what will you do? Join us, or eat with the Amazons?" he asked Jennifer.

"If you don't mind, I would like to join you."

"It doesn't bother you, does it?" Frederic asked Daphnix.

"Of course not." Daphnix said.

As they entered the hut, the immediately realized Sonya had been working real hard. The wooden floor was almost slippery, so hard had she been cleaning it.

"Sonya?" Frederic yelled.

Sonya came running from the kitchen, obviously flustered. She stopped before Frederic and bowed her head. "Yes, master?" she asked with a quiet voice.

"Nice work cleaning the house. I hope dinner is just as satisfactory." Frederic said with a strong voice. This was the first time Daphnix realized how much Frederic had changed. From a quiet, timed boy to a strong-willed, commanding man. He had never heard Frederic command anyone, but as Daphnix looked at Frederic command Sonya, it looked almost natural. Almost.

"Thank you, master" Sonya said. "May I please continue dinner? It will burn."

"You may." Frederic said, after a few seconds, in which Sonya obviously became nervous. Daphnix realized Frederic was enjoying it.

"We need to talk." Daphnix said to Frederic, pulling him towards the bedroom. Jennifer got the point and sat down at the dinner table, which had been nicely set.

"What are you doing?" Daphnix yelled as soon as the door was closed. "We never agreed on this. Giving her a fuck is something entirely different than making her a slave for the rest of her life! It's...", he searched the correct term, "... barbaric!"

Frederic let him rage on. "Finished?" he asked when Daphnix's tirade had stopped.

"Yes."

"Well, first of all, I'm saving her life. If I leave her here, the Amazons will kill her, a powerless Leader doesn't deserve to live. You heard her yourself. If I drop her off in the city, she'll have to beg to get a morsel of food. She won't have a life. At least, when she's my 'slave' She'll have enough to eat and drink and she won't get hurt."

"You were enjoying her being nervous over the food."

"Come on, a little harmless fun!"

"Harmless? The poor woman was scared shitless!"

Frederic was taken aback by this. "She was?" he asked eventually, a whole less sure of himself. "That was never my intention."

"Maybe it wasn't, but she was literally shaking by the time you let her go on with the cooking."

"I guess I made the programming to strong. I'll see what I can do to make her as happy as possible, but still remaining loyal and obedient."

"That would be better." Daphnix said. "Now, let's eat."

"Agreed."

Both boys walked back into the dining room and sat down. "Nice work setting the table, Sonya" Frederic yelled towards the kitchen.

"Thank you, master." Sonya yelled back.

Finally, she brought dinner. Baked potatoes, carrots and peas, and sausages. Not exactly a king's meal, but good.

"Won't you eat?" Frederic asked Sonya, who stood there, waiting for him to give orders.

"I will eat later, when I am allowed, master."

Frederic looked taken aback.

"I'll have to fix that. I really made those orders to strong." He said.

"From now on, you are allowed to eat with the rest of us. So, you'll cook for you too, and you'll set an extra place for yourself."

"Yes, master. Thank you, master."

"And stop that 'master' shit. It gets on my nerves."

"Anything you say, m..., boss."

Everybody laughed, except Sonya.

"Call me Frederic."

"Ok, Frederic." She said, uneasily. "I really have to change her programming." Frederic mumbled. "I took it too serious."

Sonya put an extra plate on the table, sat down and ate with the rest of them, following her instructions. After the meal, Frederic took Sonya to his room.

"I'm going to change her programming." He excused himself to Daphnix and Jennifer.

He closed the door and sat down on his bed. He motioned Sonya to sit next to him. Again his pushed in her mind.

The room of cabinets appeared. He walked to the cabinet marked 'S' and opened it. no 'Slave Orders'. Frederic startled. He searched under the 'O' as well, but no Slave orders. Desperately, he stepped to the slot machine and pressed the button marked 'Inventory'. A think book appeared in the compartment below.

He took it and searched for the 'Slave Orders'. Nothing.

"Shit! What have I done? I ruined her mind! She'll never be normal again! I am a fucking idiot!" he paced the cabinet building, desperately searching for a solution. He walked to the machine and raid the instructions at the side again. . "A new file can be created by pushing red button and writing new orders in blank book that is created. Write label on book, and put back in machine. New file will be implemented immediately."

"Nothing new here." He mumbled. He decided to take a walk. He walked down the hall, just to look how long it was. At the end, he found a mysterious black cabinet, about half as wide as the other cabinets. It was locked with an elaborate keypad. He tried in vein to break it. It didn't work. He tried using his computer skills. It worked. He read the code, and opened the cabinet. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his mind. It was as if he was being pushed out.

"Aww!! This hurts!" he struggled to maintain his balance. That worked, but there was still this uncomfortable tugging. He slammed the cabinet close and the keypad locked it. The tugging stopped. "This must be her 'lost' powers. I could restore them." He thought. "But, first I must revoke these damn 'Slave Orders'." He said.

At the end of the hall, next to the black cabinet, a small door was visible. He opened it and walked inside. he was now in a large, half circular room. The flat end was one gigantic computerscreen. He sat down at one of the terminals. "State your order." Appeared on the screen.

"Revoke new memory module called 'Slave Orders'"

"ACCESS DENIED TO FILE 'SLAVE ORDERS'"

"Computer, I implemented that module, I want it revoked"

"ARTIFICIALLY IMPLENTED ORDERS CAN NOT BE REVOKED"

"Computer, show complete personality program."

"PROGRAM IS OVER 15 MILLION LINES LONG. SPECIFY PARTITION"

Frederic thought for a second. "Loyalties and obedience".

"PROCESSING" after a few seconds, a few hundred lines rolled on the screen.

Frederic scanned through them. He could easily pinpoint and remove the lines from his 'Slave Orders'.

"That should do it. She's back to normal. Now, a little obedience."

"Computer, write new program and link to primary personality file"

"STATE NAME OF NEW PROGRAM"

"Loyalty 1".

An empty screen appeared. Frederic rapidly entered a few commands. She would be undependable, but she would have a deep loyalty to Frederic, something like a close friend or a relative.

"Implement program"

"PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED"

Frederic pulled out of Sonya's mind. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, Frederic."

"Good. I'm glad."

"No kidding, you made me a slave," she said on an accusing tone.

"I was experimenting and made the rules to hard. This should be better."

"Yes, I think so too. Now, I can at least do something I want."

Frederic smiled a little sour. "I'm sorry about that. You have to understand that it was the first time I tried something like that. I even had trouble revoking it."

"Well, as long as everything is alright now."

"I think it is. If there is anything that requires a helping hand, I'll modify it."

"Thanks."

"No problem, now that I've modified you, you won't give me any more trouble. You are now part of my family. If you ever require help, come to me and I'll see what I can do."

Sonya nodded gratefully. Frederic stood up and left the room, Sonya followed right behind.

Once in the living room, he found Daphnix and Jennifer discussing religion.

"You must believe in something?" Jennifer asked.

"The power of the human mind." Daphnix responded. "But how can you believe in God when there is so much suffering in the world?" Daphnix responded.

"God can not interfere everywhere. We were rejected from the Garden of Eden after all."

"Come on, you don't really believe that stuff, do you? The Garden of Eden, the world was created in 6 days and so on."

"Don't you guys have anything else to discuss? Let anyone believe what he or she wants to. If not, I could have a fight on my hands, and that is something I really don't want to get involved in." Frederic said.

"We were having a rational conversation. Why should we fight? We respect each other's beliefs, we were only discussing them." Daphnix said.

"Yea, why should we? We are both mature enough to have a rational conversation without fighting." Jennifer backed Daphnix.

"Sorry I said that. Now, we have more important matters to attend to. First of all, Sonya."

"What about her?" Jennifer said. She still hadn't gotten over the part that she wanted to split her and Frederic up.

"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Sonya interjected.

"I removed the Slave Orders and I created an 'obedience' file. It does one thing: she's as loyal as a puppy, will try to make me and the people I love as happy as possible and will try to avoid upsetting me or my loved ones."

"So, she has a mind of her own?"

"Yes. I can tell you one thing: in my ignorance, I almost did irreversible damage to her personality. It took me quite some time to remove all the Slave Orders."

"I can imagine. So, how free is she?" Daphnix asked.

"As free as possible, while maintaining a maximum of loyalty."

"Good. That's a lot better than the slave we had at first." Daphnix said.

"So, how do think our relationship?" Jennifer asked, still not convinced.

"It does not matter what I think. All that counts is your happiness." Sonya said.

Jennifer nodded, she was convinced Sonya would not pose any more threats.

"That brings us to our next issue: if you ever need help or something, come to me and I'll see what I can do. I am beginning to get quite good in programming people." Frederic said.

"Thanks man." Daphnix said. He raised his hand. Frederic slapped it.

Jennifer stood up and came over to the chair Frederic was sitting in. She draped herself over his lap and kissed him passionately. He responded in earnest.

"You're... welcome.... Honey" he said, between kisses. Finally, she put her head on his shoulder, a happy smile on her face. Frederic put his right arm around her. She cuddled herself deeper into him.

"I think I'll turn in. Goodnight, everyone."

"Already? It's just passed nine thirty." Frederic said, looking at his watch.

"Man, I'm tired. I healthy outside air does that to a man." Daphnix said.

"That explains it. Night, Daphnix."

"Goodnight." Daphnix said and closed the door to his room.

"What shall I do?" Sonya asked.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Where shall I spend the night?"

"Ah. You can sleep here, on the couch, if you want. Or you could return to your own house."

"If it's all right with you, I'd like to sleep on the couch." She said.

Both Frederic and Jennifer nodded.

"Great. Thanks you two." Sonya said. Frederic could here there was nothing but sheer joy in her voice.

"I think I'll follow Daphnix's example." Jennifer said.

"Ok. Good night, Jenny. Don't forgot, when you go change into your nightgown to bring some clothes with you. I wouldn't want to get into the same situation like this morning."

Jennifer laughed. "I think you're right."

As soon as Jennifer pulled close the front door of the hut, Frederic began interrogating Sonya. He gave all sorts of situations, and she had to say how she'd react. He soon discovered the well-defined boundaries of her loyalty to him and the rest of 'club', as he called it now.

"I think that is about satisfactory. I will try to reactivate your powers."

"What? You can do that?"

"I touched it on my last visit, but I don't have the experience to deal with it. I'll try to get more info when I'm in."

"Go ahead, Please!" she said.

He did just that. Once again, he found himself in the cabinet hall. He walked to the control center and sat down.

"Computer, display all information on black cabinet."

"ENTER CODE:"

Frederic entered the same code as the keypad on the black cabinet had.

"ACCESS GRANTED"

"So, the black cabinet holds a control booth that controls the mental possibilities of a person. It is protected by a level 5 energy field. So, that's why I ran into that much trouble."

"Computer, deactivate security field in mental cabinet."

"FIELD DEACTIVATED. REACTIVATION IN 5 MINUTES."

The computer started a count down on the main screen.

Frederic ran to the cabinet, opened it and took out the control booth. He activated it. Frederic saw a list of about 150 items. They were all faded. He asked the computer "What was the state of the mental powers 10 days ago?"

The computer began giving a list of items. Frederic selected them all in the booth. All, except one: the ability the read and alter minds. He pressed 'activate', put the booth back into the locker and closed it. it locked automatically. He went back to the control center and sat down at the terminal. He had over a minute and a half to spare.

"Computer, display 'loyalty 1' program."

The list of commands appeared. He changed a little here and there, and added a few. Most of them were to control her powers.

"Implement." He said and pulled back.

"So, that should do it." Frederic said.

Sonya said "Let's try." She lifted a chair from the ground with no problem at all. She began crying as a small child. "Thank you." She sobbed.

"You're welcome. It's the least I could do."

"What's the least you could do?" Jennifer had returned, and now wanted to know what the sobbing was about.

"I managed to give Sonya her powers back." The look on Jennifer's face was one of animal fright.

"Don't worry. She won't use them against us. I made sure of that." Frederic said.

"Oh yeah? Is that so?" Jennifer said.

"Yes, it is. Don't worry. If you want, I can grant you powers that are a 100 times stronger than hers."

Jennifer's eyes lit up. "Do it!"

"You do know that I'll have to install subroutines that will help you control them?"

"Why?"

"Those powers are way powerful, believe me, I know, I'm having problems containing them myself, even though I have been learning control over advanced abilities since I was born."

"I see. What'll happen if you don't mess with my mind?"

"The sudden urge of power will give you a feeling of immortality, although that isn't true. You'll attack anything anybody that is just slightly in your way, until you step on the wrong people's toes."

"Like the Evil One?"

"Or mine, And the last thing I want to do is restrain you and forcibly remove them."

"Ok. Go ahead."

Frederic nodded. "Ok. If that is the way you want it, honey. See you in a short while." He said, and pressed in.

Jennifer's mind was different from Sonya's. Sonya's mind was organized in an effective manner. First memory, then feelings, and last but not least, mental power. Jennifer's mind was chaotic. Everything was stored where the place was available. Frederic used his telekinetic power to reorganize the cabinets. They were literally scattered all over the place. He organized them like Sonya's mind, in 2 lines. He walked to the end and opened the door to the control room. Here too, he saw minor differences with Sonya's mind, but here it was for the better. He sat down at one of the terminals. It lit up and displayed a graphical user interface.

"This is a lot better than the text-based interface in Sonya's mind" Frederic said. He selected 'Advanced' and pressed 'security'.

"Yee-haw! Jackpot!" Frederic exclaimed. "Mental cabinet, memory cabinets, feelings cabinets." He read. "While I'm here, I can at least have a look around."

He selected 'memory cabinets'. "Ah. This one allows me to limit access to her and me. I have a hunch that feelings cabinets does the same."

He went back and pressed 'mental cabinet' and deactivated the security field. This one had a different code, but that posed no problem to his code-breaking abilities.

He went to the black cabinet, took out the booth and activated it. he selected all 150+ items listed there. He pressed 'activated and put the booth back in the cabinet. He walked back to the control room.

'New program'. He wrote a list of directives to help her control her powers. 'Implement'.

He left her mind. "So, that's it. How do you feel?"

"Powerful! This is incredible. I can see... Everything!"

"That is a side-effect of the enhancement powers. If you want, I can teach you."

"That will be necessary if I ever want to control them."

"Hey, If I can learn them by myself, so can you!" he said, after she had kissed him.

"But, man I'm tired. I need sleep." She gaped.

"Going from 'almost-normal' to 'Queen of the Universe' in 10 minutes would even wear me out. Get 12 hours of sleep and you'll feel a lot better."

"I'll do that. Are you coming?" she asked, extending her arm.

"I'm going for a walk. I'll join you as soon as I get back."

"Ok." She said, turned around and disappeared in Frederic's bedroom.

Frederic walked outside. He decided to go to the special place near the river that Jennifer had shown him earlier that day. It was secluded and he had to crawl through some thick bushes to get there. He sat down and just stared out over the water.

He decided to try an experiment. He let his manipulative power loose in the air in front of him. He closed his eyes and shifted his vision from his eyes to the cloud of power in front of him. He turned it around and looked at himself, sitting there, with eyes closed and legs folded, in a sort of meditative position. He pushed his cloud inside his own mind.

"What the..?" he asked. The room he had materialized in, was totally different from the ones he had seen in Jennifer's and Sonya's mind. Gone were the cabinets in different colors. Gone was the door to a control center. The only thing he saw, was a room, filed with conductor lines. He saw flashes of energy flash through them. He walked alongside one line, following the direction he had seen a flash travel in. After some time, he saw a huge tower-like building in the room. As he neared it, he saw that it was glowing in a red, green and blue color. He neared a small door. He walked through it and ...

"Well, at least there is a control center, of what goes through for it." he mumbled. The room resembled in nothing to the centers in Jennifer's and Sonya's mind. It was not the warm beige-colored computer room, but a large, gray ugly place, something like the ground control at NASA.

Frederic sat down at on of the terminals and accessed it. This time, something he had never worked with. Not a text-based interface, not a graphical interface, but a MENTAL interface (MI). It communicated by receiving and transmitting brainwave patterns. "That explains the lack of screens" he said.

After maybe 10 seconds, he found it much easier to use than the other systems. He also got an explanation for the lack of cabinets. The entire memory and feeling library have been stored INSIDE the MI. "much easier than the files in cabinets. That also explains why I am smarter. I can access and store something much easier."

Frederic decided to take a look for his mental file. He was thrown aback at the fact that he didn't have to input a password. Then he realized "Of course, it's my mind! I can do whatever I want!"

The familiar 150+ items appeared in his mind. To his shock, only half of them were active. He activated them all. He also scanned through his personality file. He made some modifications. He would be more even-tempered and so on. He also looked at the file with explanations of the items in the mental file. He was working on three terminals at once, without even noticing. His enhanced brain structure made it possible to do that without any difficulty. He communicated with his personal file, a list of directories to control his new powers and the help file on his new powers.

"WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT! WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT!" it boomed in his brain.

Without even deciding anything, the computer reacted to his brainwaves, and on the main screen Jennifer's face appeared. She looked worried. Frederic saw her yell something, and Daphnix came running too. He too, looked worried.

He saved and implemented his work in a single thought. He tagged this place, so the next time he'd enter his own mind, he'd come here directly. Then he pulled out. He found his vision back into the could of power, just in front of him. He deactivated the cloud and opened his eyes.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have to sleep?" he said. Then he realized, it was light!

"Thank god, you're alright!" Jennifer yelled, and flew around his neck.

"What time is it?" he finally asked.

"It's ten thirty" Daphnix said, with a look on his watch.

"WHAT? I have been away that long? Time really does fly when you're having fun." Frederic said.

"Fun? FUN? We were scared the hell something had happened to you, and you say you were having FUN?" Jennifer said with a mock angry tone in her voice.

"I took a look in my own mind. I made some modifications. I activated all the brainpower I could." He collapsed, his hands pressed against his head.

"NO. NO! GET AWAY FROM US! I MEAN IT! GET AWAY!" he howled. "I TOLD YOU!" he shouted. In a blast of fire, Frederic blasted high into the air and flew of.

"What the hell is that all about?" Daphnix asked.

"My new powers haven't developed far enough to even comprehend what he is doing." Jennifer said.

"If I were you, I'd hurry to my books and study until my eyes are red." Daphnix said. "I think He'll be able to use it."

Just as soon as he had disappeared, Frederic reappeared, looked pale and he was shaking on his legs.

"What was all that about?"

"I... just killed somebody."

Jennifer and Daphnix were taken aback. "Who?" Daphnix finally asked.

"I killed everybody who ever hurt us." Frederic managed to throw out.

"You did what?" Daphnix said.

"I didn't have time to complete the directories fore my new powers. I can't control them. They control me." He managed. "I have to finish them."

And he blanked out.

Frederic materialized, exactly as he had wanted, in the control center. He immediately called up the directives and started working on them. In less than 2 minutes he had something that would be sufficient. He pulled up his personal file and the help file of his new powers. He improved the directives to make sure he would have maximum control when needed. When that was finished, he leaned back into the comfortable chair of the terminal and closed his eyes.

"I took care of that. Let's see what there is more in here." He immediately got a complete list of whatever else was possible. He started improving the file structure of his memory files and his feeling files. He also made the file management program self-adaptable, so it would improve the structure on its own accord.

He scanned through his emotion files, to make sure he didn't carry any more grudges that could extract such a reaction. The combination of being almost omnipotent and the long-present emotional scars of always being picked on had made him lose control like that.

He found no more grudges. At first he was happy, then he realized he had just killed over 20 people whose only crime was that they had picked on him. Frederic broke down. "What have I done? I wish I could bring them back!" he gasped.

"MEDICAL POWERS ARE PRESENT. REANIMATION OF DECESED SUBJECTS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED TILL 8 HOURS AFTER TIME OF DEATH."

"That's it. Thank you computer!" he jumped up from the chair and heard a faint "... welcome". He had broken contact, and the computer had obviously tried communicating.

He pulled out, deactivated the cloud and said, "I'm fine. I am going to correct some damage." To Daphnix and Jennifer, who were sitting next to him. He blasted off and, like before he disappeared rapidly into the sky.

After a small hour, Frederic returned.

"I'm sorry about leaving so soon, but I had to repair the damage I had done."

"What do you mean?" Jennifer looked strangely at him.

"I reanimated them." Frederic said, with a growing pride in his voice. "I'm just glad I found medical powers in my mental base."

"Don't you never scare me like that again, mister!" Jennifer said with a now not so mock angry tone in her voice.

"I'm sorry." Frederic simply said, bowing his head. He felt awful. "I should be feeling awful. I killed 20 human beings. Ok, I revived them, but it should never have happened in the first place!"

"As long as you are now in complete control over your powers, everything is alright." Jennifer said.

"Everything is not alright! It is too dangerous to mess with these powers! If I were just a little less strong-minded, I could have lost it completely."

"But it didn't. Accidents like these are bound to happen, and as long as you're able to correct them, there is no problem."

"Yea! Listen to her, man. She's right. The only thing you did was teaching those bastards a lesson. Ok, killing them was a little harsh, but they'll be alright now, won't they?" Daphnix said.

"Yes. They'll be all right, although I have doubts that their mental state will be just as all right. Being dead is not something you get over lightly."

"That's for the better. Now they won't bother us anymore." Daphnix said.

"You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right." Daphnix said. "I'm always right."

All three of them laughed.

"You know, I learned something else." Frederic said.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"A new power. Ok, before you say anything. I know that there are a lot of them., but this one is particularly interesting. I now have the ability to directly take control over another human's body."

"You mean, you can do whatever you want to anybody, and they are powerless to stop you?"

"Yep, as long as they don't have psychic powers of there own. If they do, I have to break through their defenses and then take control."

"I see. Come on, I'm beginning to get hungry." Daphnix said.

As they were walking home, Jennifer asked Frederic about a hundred questions. He answered them the best he could. Finally, he stopped her.

"After lunch, I'll transfer my knowledge to you. You sort them out afterwards."

"Great idea!" Daphnix said. He was bored with long explanations of powers that he thought weren't useful at all.

"We'll do that." Jennifer said.

Just before they entered the guest hut, Daphnix gave Frederic a bump in his side and made a 'come here' gesture with his head. Jennifer got the point and got inside.

"Could you give me such power too?"

"I can try. I don't know if it'll work on you, since you don't have any psychic powers at all."

"Just try. If it doesn't work, no sweat. I just don't want to go around not knowing if I could be like you and Jennifer."

"Hey, if you want, I could reprogram Sonya for you."

"Meaning?"

"I could make her just as crazy about you as Jennifer is about me."

Daphnix seemed to ponder that for a moment. "No, thanks," he said, "It wouldn't be real."

"As you want. Maybe I could take a look after I'm done with Jennifer."

"That'll be great." Daphnix said.

"Ok, now can we go eat? I'm starving."

"Yep, me too." Daphnix said. They did just that.

After lunch, deliciously prepared by Sonya, Frederic sat to work on Jennifer.

He went into the control room and activated the terminal. He proceeded by going into his own mind. And transferred all his knowledge of mental powers to a mental disk (MD). He left his own mind, returned to Jennifer's and put the mental disk in the reader's slot. He transferred the knowledge to her long-term memory. He also removed the program that would deactivate her powers on contact with sperm and deactivated the terminal. He left Jennifer's mind. The whole procedure had taken 5 minutes.

"And?" Frederic asked.

"One moment, please" Jennifer said. Shivers ran down Frederic's spine. She sounded ... artificial. It was as if she was a computer or something. Frederic decided to wait.

"Here I am. It took some time to get used to ... this" Jennifer said. She raised her hand, and a small fireball appeared.

"So, how do you feel?"

"Powerful! I can't even comprehend how powerful I am! The feeling is unbelievable."

"Believe me, I know. And don't forget, my powers are stronger than yours. Thanks to the sword and the genetic engineering."

"You mean, you're even stronger than this?" she asked, hurling the fireball towards Frederic.

He caught it easily and bounced it up and down in his hand, as tough it was a simple rubber ball. "Yep." He dematerialized it. "Now, let's see what I can do about Daphnix." Frederic added, turning towards his friend, who had watched the entire thing.

"Still want me to go through with it?" he asked

"Go ahead." Daphnix said. Frederic could clearly hear the nerves in his voice.

"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." Frederic reassured him. "It will take longer than 5 minutes with you, since I'll have to activate your mental powers, if I can." Frederic said. He explained the rest of the procedure, so Daphnix would exactly know what was being done to him.

"Do it." Daphnix faded out.

Frederic materialized in a room similar to his own mind, with flashes running around the place. He could clearly see that Daphnix's mind was superior to his. The thought processing was increased with a 10% over his, Frederic estimated. He walked to the control room and tagged it, just as he had done with his and Jennifer's.

He looked for a mental file and wasn't surprised when there was none. He looked at a general overlay of Daphnix' brain structure. He found the dormant regions of the brain that contained the mental powers. He tried activating them. It didn't work. Frederic was almost beginning to think about giving up, when he found something labeled 'Sagittarius 001'.

He activated the file. Immediately, Daphnix' control center changed. The lighting dimmed, and a dark red glow took over. A piercing whistle was heard. On the main screen 'CODE SAGITTARIUD ACTIVATED ---- ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS. COMPLETE ACTIVATION IN 5 SECONDS' appeared. The countdown proceeded.

As the counter reached zero, it was like Daphnix's entire neural structure was being rewritten. Frederic could feel the shudder as the enhancements kicked in.

Frederic braced himself, as the shudder became a genuine earthquake. The entire command center shook on its foundations as the Sagittarius program continued.

As suddenly as it started, the quaking stopped. Frederic accessed the computer, and a list of modifications had appeared. As Frederic read it, he realized he had stumbled upon something potentially disastrous. Daphnix, like Frederic, had gotten some serious mental modifications. Frederic immediately realized that Daphnix's powers were concentrated solely on the military aspect. Only one type of energy bolt, only one type of shield and an enhanced tactical view, but these were pushed to a pathetic high level. It was pushed so far that they could threaten even Frederic, and he had an extra armor! Now he realized why Daphnix's powers were dormant: with a single thought, the Entire Earth could be in jeopardy!

Frederic looked for a mental file, and sure thing, now there was one. He lowered Daphnix's sole attack and defense, and activated the other powers in the file, so they were all roughly the same strength. He downloaded the MD list of powers into Daphnix's memory and wrote a list of directives to follow, to make sure Daphnix would be able to control them. As he finished the list, he made one extra addition: when needed, Daphnix could be returned to the original 'Sagittarius' state by a simple mental code: 'Restore Sagittarius Alpha-1'. He stood up and realized that Daphnix could never know about this. Frederic would keep this to himself, to make misuse impossible.

Frederic pulled out. "That is that."

"Any problems?"

"I had some difficulty locating the mental file, but everything is all right now. I also found out what genetic modifications were made."

"Really? What are they?"

"You are extremely dangerous to every tactician in the world. Your tactical strength is off the scale. I tell you, Napoleon and consorts were mere schoolboys compared to what you could do."

"Really?

"Yes. The reason you never found out about it is because it was dormant. Apparently, the government wanted to make sure you never used them without their permission. Don't worry, I already activated it."

"Way cool! I can beat anyone?"

"In whatever tactical scenario possible. Chess, checkers, war simulations, full-blown war, whatever."

"Great! And, how about fighting?"

"Tactics aren't extremely useful in hand-to-hand combat, but it makes a good support."

"I should have known that for the good part it would not be useful."

They all laughed. "Don't you worry, you have the same power and knowledge as Jennifer does. How you develop them is entirely up to you." Frederic said.

"Could I have a word with Jenny?" Frederic asked Daphnix.

"Sure, pal." Daphnix said and winked. "Have fun" he whispered in Frederic's ear as he passed.

Frederic pulled Jennifer close to him. "And? Any noticeable changes?"

"Yes. I am now familiar with all my powers. I know how they work in theory, but I don't have the skill to use them to their maximum extent."

"Anything else? Something ... physical?" Frederic specifically targeted the removed sex-inhibitor.

"No?" she said, questionably, not knowing what he was trying to go.

"I removed the sex-inhibitor." He said.

"What? You removed the inhibitor? You mean, we can have sex?" she exclaimed.

"Yes." He said, a little unsure of himself. He hadn't thought she would be this exhilarated. "I can put it back in." He added with a grin on his face.

"NO! I mean, no let it out. So, tonight is the big night?"

"Big night?" he asked, before realizing what she meant. "Oh! Tonight, I am going back home. Tomorrow I have school. Unless you would like to go with me?"

"Sure I want to go with you. But, what will I do when you are at school? I can't sit around the house all day."

"You could go to the local high school, or you could go with me to college. Or you could stay home."

"School? Don't you see? I never had a day's education in my entire life! I can hardly read or write!"

This announcement was like a bombshell. "You never ...?" his voice trailed off. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. If you want, I can get you ready for whatever you want."

"You mean, knowledge transfer?"

"That is exactly what I mean."

"Ok." Frederic copied the entire contends of his memory to a MD and downloaded it into Jennifer's mind. "Why bother giving her little bits? Let's just give her the entire package." He thought.

"That's it.," he said. Now that he was doing this stuff regularly, he was becoming good at this. It took him less than 30 seconds to copy his memory, download it and pull out.

"This is... incredible! These... this..." she struggled with her own words. Frederic could imagine how she must feel. He had experienced it too when his knowledge absorption had first activated.

"Calm down. Breathe in... and out. Take some time to order your thoughts." He said, taking her hand to comfort her.

After a few minutes, she had composed herself enough to speak.

"Thank you. This is incredible! I know stuff about subjects I never knew existed 10 minutes ago! I never realized how much there is to know that hasn't something to do with fighting."

"I'm glad you like it. now, have you decided what you want to do?"

"I need some time to think about it. I hope you don't mind if I staid here tonight?"

He made a 'whatever sign with his hands. "Anything you say. I'll come for your answer tomorrow evening, let's say around 8 PM?"

"Ok. That's fine."

"Great! Now, you'll have to excuse me and my friend, we have to get ba