A SHUDDER BEFORE THE BEAUTIFUL,

Book 1

BY

KAI STORMHAVEN

Chapter 1 - Altered

June 1st, 2010

Lucinda watched her younger sister distastefully. The hefty girl was covered in a thick layer of sweat, with rivulets of perspiration pouring off her chin and onto her already soaking wet shirt. She would have been less disdainful, if she had any confidence in her overweight sister's ability to commit to anything for more than a day. True, Heidi had been keeping up her current workout regime for close to a week now, which was much longer than any other attempt, but it wouldn't last.

Lucinda turned onto her stomach, letting the sun cook her back, which had the bonus of removing the sight of her sister. While she was half Hawaiian, her skin was still extremely light. Their father was a noncommissioned officer at the local base, and she was pretty sure that having an overweight daughter disturbed him almost as much as it disturbed Lucinda.

With a grimace, Lucinda turned the volume of her mp3 player up so that she wouldn't hear the panting grunts from her hopeless sister. At sixteen years old, Lucinda was two years older than her younger and only sibling. Even though Lucinda was in high school, the Junior High was on the same grounds, which meant her cheerleading teammates might realize her unfortunate association to such a creature. Every time she looked at Heidi, it was a reminder of the horror she could become if she let herself go.

The sun continued cooking her back as she lay on the lawn in the backyard of her home, contemplating how long it would be until her sister gave up and started eating ice cream by the gallon again. Summer break had only started a week ago, and Heidi was still holding firm to a workout regime that Lucinda wouldn't have wanted to try to keep up with. Heidi had also switched out her old diet of saturated fat for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Aside from the sheer intensity of Heidi's resolve, Lucinda had noticed a strange feature to her sister's eyes. Though she rarely made eye contact with her overweight sibling, something about Heidi's new sense of presence had drawn Lucinda's eyes to Heidi's gaze the previous day. It had seemed like another presence was staring at her out of her sister's eyes. There wasn't anything particularly menacing about that presence; it had just been piercing in a way that had Lucinda quickly averting her own gaze. Something in that stranger's gaze was filled with such power and wisdom that she had briefly felt like an insect in its presence. She had made a point of not making eye contact ever since. She had almost convinced herself that she had imagined it.

One Month Later

Leilani watched her daughter, Heidi, across the dinner table with worried eyes. Summer vacation had only started a month ago, and in that short time her youngest child looked about half her former size. She had initially been proud of Heidi's commitment to exercise and eat right, but now Leilani worried her daughter was losing weight at an unhealthy pace.

Her daughter's appearance wasn't the only change—Leilani almost felt like she was looking at a stranger when she looked into her daughter's eyes. There was an intensity burning in Heidi's dark-brown eyes that made normal communication uncomfortable.

There had also been a strange altercation that had taken place between her daughters a week ago. Lucinda had accused Heidi of stealing one of her shirts. Heidi had nonchalantly acknowledged the theft and apologized for not asking first. Lucinda had reacted with immediate violence, striking out with a viper-like slap at her younger sister. Without flinching, Heidi had merely moved her head aside slightly to avoid the blow. Enraged, Lucinda launched into a full frontal assault, both arms swinging wildly. Faster than Leilani could follow, Heidi pinned Lucinda to the ground in a painful contorted position, calmly explaining to her older sister that if she attacked her again she would stop being so gentle.

It wasn't just the calm manner in which Heidi had warned her sister to back off—it was the complete certainty in her voice that she was capable of delivering on her promise. After seeing how quick her youngest daughter had moved, Leilani believed it. Where had she learned to fight like that? As far as Leilani knew, Heidi had never taken any self-defense lessons.

Heidi was far more affectionate now as well. She always thanked Leilani for dinner and hugged both parents before going to bed for the evening. Even her stoic husband had begun to thaw towards his formerly reclusive daughter. Heidi had even taken to doing more than her assigned chores in the evening, which gave Leilani a chance to chat with her daughter more than she had in years as she worked alongside her to clean the kitchen.

Some of those conversations were the reason Leilani was worried. Heidi talked about metaphysical ideas completely incomprehensible to Leilani, but somehow she always had a basic understanding of the broader concept by the time Heidi finished. Heidi would discuss subjects that ranged from complex chemistry to quantum physics, tying multiple disciplines together as seamlessly as a conductor conducting an orchestra. Even James, her husband, had started hanging around to listen to Heidi's ideas in fascination.

Occasionally, she would make eye-contact with her daughter, and there was the strangest sense that there was more than one person staring back at her. The other entity did not seem malevolent in any way. In fact, quite the opposite—the new presence radiated benevolence like a beacon in the night.

With a sigh, Leilani shelved her worried thoughts and focused on enjoying the delightful side of her daughter's new personality.

One Month Later

James sat in front of his commander at the base, absently swishing a glass of brandy around in small circles. The two of them had been friends since they were children. That friendship had led them both to enlist at West Point Military Academy, where they were both accepted. When Roger had become Colonel Clegg, James had immediately requested a transfer to work under his command. James had been promoted to Colonel Rockwell shortly after but had declined a commission in favor of working alongside Roger.

"So, she's been showing signs of an altered personality since the start of her summer break?" Roger asked with a contemplative gleam in his sharp eyes.

"Yes, right after her second day away from school," James replied, frowning slightly as he tried to recall anything that might be significant about that date. "I remember she woke up in the middle of the night with a shrill scream. Leilani and I ran to her room to see what was wrong. Her eyes were completely glazed over, and her skin was flushed. When she finally regained focus, she assured us it was just a strange dream, but from that moment on, it was like she was a totally different person."

"That's interesting," Roger murmured, staring down into his own drink as he chewed his lower lip.

"Why?" James asked sharply, suspicion clear on his features.

"I received a memo from Wing Commander Jensen that they were going to be doing some exercises over the Dugway Proving Grounds that involved some JDAMs," Roger replied slowly. "I had Kracke take a squad out to film it, mostly to give them some entertainment. They brought back destroyed electronic equipment. According to Kracke, a fleet of Bones flew over and dropped what looked like flares, except they were about a thousand times brighter. Kracke said they lit up the whole desert like it was daytime. I haven't heard anything official yet, but he said all of the Bone's looked like they almost went down as well, like some kind of EMP took out their engines. That was on the night of May 25th, at 0300 hours."

James sat very still, remembering vividly the red light of his alarm clock showing 0300 on his nightstand after Heidi's screams had awoken him. "Yep, that was the same time she woke up screaming. Any idea what they were dropping?"

Roger shook his head, his face growing even more serious. "Not a clue, but they've been carting a lot of weird stuff back from Egypt, of all places. Some of it went to Los Alamos, but most of it went to Hill."

James grunted. He had been with the military long enough to know that most of the information the public received regarding military activity was heavily sanitized. Military scientists were playing with technology decades ahead of mainstream science.

"This may sound weird, but does she seem to have an altered personality, or does there seem to be more than one personality present?" Roger asked carefully.

James narrowed his eyes. "When I look into her eyes, I feel like I'm being watched by two people. One of them is my daughter. The other is something completely alien, and more than a little intimidating. That's not to say threatening—it just seems to carry a much greater aura of gravity than anyone I've ever met. Why? What are you thinking?"

"I'm not sure," Roger replied pensively. "This is all strictly unrelated to anything I've heard through military channels. You know how my dad kept detailed journals of all his 'hallucinations' as we always called them. He used to warn me that there were certain places in the world where the Ancients could return if the conditions were right. I assumed he was batshit crazy, but he did mention that he had met people under another entity's possession, and that they gave the impression of being two distinct people in one body. Like I said, that's probably just crazy talk, but I thought I would ask."

James nodded thoughtfully. Roger's dad had been a very unique individual. James wasn't the type of person to believe in psychic phenomena, but sometimes Roger's father had an uncanny ability to tell you things about yourself that there was no possible way he could know. He had claimed to see spirits, as well as interact with them. He claimed little signs would appear above some spirits, designating the entity as evil or good. Some of the strange interactions he described in his journals were so bizarre that James wrote them off as drug induced hallucinations. Now he wondered if there was some truth to the visions Roger's father had so vividly detailed in his journals.

Three Weeks Later

Wendy shook her head as she watched the last of her students leave for the day. To say her students sucked would have been too complimentary. She had been teaching Orchestra at the local high school for three years now, and insufficient funding for the fine arts had driven her to spend a good chunk of her trust fund on instruments and studio equipment for the classroom. She had concluded at the end of the last school year that if her students didn't have the proper tools to motivate them to learn more, then they would have no interest in doing so. She had outfitted the classroom with a full complement of orchestral instruments, as well as a sound proof studio for recording tracks on a Mac running Logic Pro.

The students had certainly been excited to see the shiny new instruments, especially the electric guitars. She just hoped that excitement turned into a commitment to master their respective instruments. She surveyed the array of new equipment with satisfaction, pleased with her decision to spend her Trust fund on something worthwhile.

"Excuse me," a voice chimed from the door.

Wendy looked back at the door. A young woman with naturally tan skin and silky black hair stood in the doorway. She must have been at least half Hawaiian. She was easily one of the most beautiful young women Wendy had ever seen, with almond-shaped brown eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips. Wendy found it hard to look away from those captivating eyes. It didn't feel like she was looking into the eyes of a young woman who was probably barely fourteen—there was an ageless wisdom in those eyes that made Wendy feel like the younger woman.

"How can I help you?" Wendy asked curiously.

"I go to the junior high, but I was wondering if I could come in after school to learn how to play some of these instruments?" the young woman asked, her eyes never losing their strange intensity. She held up a small tablet. "I have all the video tutorials already loaded on this tablet, so I won't take anyone's time."

Wendy pursed her lips as she studied the young woman thoughtfully. Normally, she would have declined such a request and suggested using the junior high's music room, but there was something so compelling about this young woman's request that she suppressed her initial reaction. After all, she should welcome any future additions to her orchestra with open arms. The sooner the young woman started learning to play an instrument, the better.

"I suppose that would be okay," Wendy replied slowly. "So long as I can get a signed note from your parents acknowledging your intention to stay here after school."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," the young woman assured her with a small smile.

Wendy nodded, unable to take her eyes from the young woman's riveting gaze. "What's your name?"

"Heidi Rockwell," the young woman answered.

"Well Heidi, feel free to try one of the instruments today, but I'll need that signed note by tomorrow," Wendy informed her.

Heidi nodded wordlessly as she surveyed the room full of instruments. Her eyes fell on one of the cellos and stopped. "Do you mind if I start with the cello?"

"By all means," Wendy gestured toward the cello, watching as Heidi walked over and sat down behind the cello.

Heidi must have already watched a demo on how to arrange the cello, because she handled it perfectly. She set her tablet on the music stand, plugged her headphones in, then started watching videos.

Wendy tried to focus on her own work, but her eyes were continually drawn back to the strange young woman. Heidi was already working on scales with a precision that many of her second year students would have envied. Her technique was impeccable. Heidi must have had at least some prior experience with stringed instruments to catch on so quickly.

Two hours later, Wendy reluctantly arose from her desk and walked over to where Heidi was now playing elements from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Heidi looked up and immediately stopped playing.

"Closing time?" Heidi asked, already placing the cello back on the stand and gathering her tablet.

"I'm afraid so," Wendy answered regretfully. "How long have you been playing stringed instruments?"

Heidi looked over at the clock. "Two hours."

"So, you've never played an instrument before today?" Wendy asked doubtfully.

"Never," Heidi confirmed. "I spent the last few days of summer vacation familiarizing myself with the theory though."

Wendy stared at the young women in bemusement. Could Heidi really have exceeded her best students in less than two hours of touching a cello for the first time? Normally she would have assumed the young woman was lying, but those eyes...there was something so...strange, for lack of a better word, about Heidi's eyes. There was a maturity in Heidi's gaze that made Wendy feel like a child in comparison.

"Well, that was some pretty impressive progress for two hours of work," Wendy praised her.

Heidi tilted her head slightly as she looked back at Wendy. "Was it?"

Wendy blinked, slightly taken aback. "Um, yeah. Definitely. You were playing better than some of my students who have been playing for years."

Heidi paused in surprise. "Oh. Well...it just all seemed to make sense, the way each note flowed from one frequency to the next."

One frequency to the next? Wendy thought with perplexity. Is she visualizing the sounds?

"Thanks a lot for letting me practice in here," Heidi said into the silence. "I really appreciate it. There is something about music that draws me in."

Wendy nodded, understanding the allure of music all too well. "No problem Heidi. How often do you plan on coming in to practice?"

"Daily, if I can," Heidi replied hopefully.

"You'll get no arguments from me," Wendy laughed ruefully. "I'm ecstatic to have someone so interested in music. Most of the other students are drawn to sports and drama. It's hard to find students in this town who are interested in orchestra. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"Have a good evening," Heidi smiled at Wendy warmly as she left the room.

"You too," Wendy replied, a smile on her own face. Hearing Heidi play the cello was more than enough vindication for the personal expense she had incurred on all these instruments..

Three Weeks Later

Autumn tried to focus on what her history teacher was saying in the front of the class, but her eyes kept drifting over to where Heidi sat. At the end of the last school year, Heidi had been at least a hundred pounds heavier. It was incomprehensible that Heidi could have lost so much weight in such a short time. Her once-round face was now thin, with high cheekbones and almond-shaped dark-brown eyes. She had obviously hit a growth spurt over the summer; she was at least five and a half feet tall now. Her chest-length, midnight hair fell over one shoulder, accentuating a long, slender neck that reminded Autumn of a gazelle.

Autumn was at least a hundred pounds heavier than Heidi had been at her heaviest. She tried to ignore her own weight and pretend that it didn't bother her, but she knew that it still weighed on her self-esteem on a subconscious level.

Mrs. Reinich, her history teacher, was drawing illustrations of a pyramid, along with dimensions of individual building blocks. She was barely five feet tall and petite, with shoulder length light-blonde hair. She had to stand on a stool to reach the higher areas of her chalkboard.

"Even today, people who have tried to duplicate the feat of building a pyramid with the same materials have failed," Mrs. Reinich was saying. "Even with all of our technology, we cannot build a structure that a primitive culture built over forty-five hundred years ago."

"Forty-five hundred years ago?" Heidi questioned with a tilt of her head. "You think the pyramids are only forty-five hundred years old?"

Mrs. Reinich raised an eyebrow at Heidi. "That's what our Egyptologists tell us. You have an alternate theory?"

Heidi stared back at her, nonplussed. "Egyptologists? So, are you only referring to the pyramids in Egypt? Even so, they are over twenty-thousand years old. Why do you say their architects were primitive? This civilization is still using finite resources that are toxic to nearly all of the biology inhabiting this world. The last techno-civilization was using clean energy that was symbiotic with the inhabitants of this world."

Mrs. Reinich was staring at Heidi with a puzzled crease to her brow. "Where did you hear such an outlandish idea? Are you suggesting that pyramids were power generating stations?"

"Power harnessing stations," Heidi corrected firmly. "The energy is already generated by the earth's energy grid. The pyramids are merely conduits for directing and stabilizing the energy current broadcasting from within the earth. Of course, they are no longer functional without a proper hydrologic system flowing beneath them, and the energy grid has drifted out of their radius, but they are still remnants of technology that was more sophisticated than anything employed by the extant civilization."

"Just out of curiosity, what website did you read this on?" Mrs. Reinich asked quizzically.

Heidi tilted her head again. "Website? I don't believe this information is on a website at this time."

Autumn could tell that their teacher was starting to get weirded out by this bizarre conversation. There was an effortless confidence to Heidi's assertions that made it difficult to doubt her words. A strange presence had steadily grown as they discussed the pyramids. Heidi's words were accompanied by vivid imagery of a great civilization whose memory had nearly vanished through the annals of time.

With obvious effort, Mrs. Reinich regained some sense of control. "Where did you hear about this theory?"

Heidi blinked several times, and the presence vanished. "What theory?" she asked, confusion in her voice.

"Your theory about the pyramids," Mrs. Reinich prompted, watching her carefully.

"I'm sorry, I must have spaced out," Heidi muttered with a blush. "I'm not sure what you are talking about."

Everyone in the class was now watching Heidi in fascination. A boy several rows away made a cuckoo call while another boy swirled his finger in a crazy spiral at his head.

"That's okay," Mrs. Reinich replied kindly as she turned back to the chalkboard and continued their lesson, albeit with far less confidence than before.

Chapter 2 - Clarity

As soon as the bell for her last class rang, Autumn quickly moved her large body toward the outer doors of the school, looking for Heidi. She didn't spot the thin young woman until she exited the building. Heidi was walking on the path that led to the adjoining high school. Feeling a little bit like a stalker, Autumn kept her distance and followed Heidi.

Heidi's short journey ended in the orchestral classroom inside the high school. Autumn ignored the looks some of the high school students in the halls were giving her and tried to nonchalantly loiter in the hall outside the music room.

"Hello Heidi, how's your day been?" Miss Devons voice asked from inside the classroom.

"Enlightening," Heidi's voice replied in a pensive tone. "I guess I overestimated the collective knowledge of contemporary science."

"What do you mean?" Miss Devons asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Heidi's tone was dismissive. "It just seems like any historical records before five thousand years ago are nonexistent. I know there were Titanic calamities between eras, but it seems like there should still be more records. It's a little depressing that more didn't survive."

Heidi had pronounced Titanic with an odd accent, making it sound capitalized.

"How do you know there were more records before that?" Miss Devons asked interestedly.

"Call it intuition if you like," Heidi replied absently. "Do you mind if I start on guitar today?"

"Sure," Miss Devons answered. "Whatever you like."

Autumn leaned back against the hall wall, playing simple games on her mobile phone as she listened to Heidi play scales on an acoustic guitar. Occasionally, Autumn would walk past the room and glance in before taking up sentry on the other side of the door and resuming her games.

Heidi was sitting in front of a music stand with a tablet, watching what appeared to be guitar tutorials. Miss Devons was sitting at her desk furiously typing at her computer, stopping occasionally to briefly look over at Heidi.

After about an hour of listening to Heidi play increasingly complex chord progressions, Miss Devons suddenly appeared outside of the door, jumping when she saw Autumn.

"Are you waiting on Heidi?" Miss Devons asked, once she had recovered from her shock.

Autumn blushed a sunset. "Um, no, not really. I just heard her playing and decided to listen in."

Miss Devons watched her silently for a moment, pursing her lips. "Do you have any classes with Heidi?"

Autumn nodded, still blushing. "History, math, and earth science."

Looking back into the room briefly, Miss devons closed the door, then gestured to Autumn. "Walk with me for a moment, please."

Autumn reluctantly followed Miss Devons, wondering if she was in trouble.

"What's Heidi like in class?" Miss Devons asked, glancing sideways at Autumn.

Autumn frowned, unsure where this was going. "She's really smart, I guess. Today she told our history teacher that Egyptologists were wrong, and that the pyramids were over twenty-thousand years old. She talked about a lot of technological stuff that made absolutely no sense to me. Something about pyramids being power plants that provided clean energy, or something. She said their civilization was more advanced than we are today."

"How did Stephanie react to that?" Miss Devons asked with a half-smile.

"Who?" Autumn asked in confusion.

"Sorry, Mrs. Reinich," Miss Devons clarified.

"Oh," Autumn said in understanding. "She seemed pretty weirded out by the whole thing. There was sort of a strange moment when everything Heidi was saying created some kind of vision of the past, almost like I was there. I don't know if that happened to anyone else, but I think it did."

"Interesting," Miss Devons murmured. "Curiouser and curiouser."

"Does Heidi practice guitar after school very often?" Autumn asked curiously.

"Not just guitar," Miss Devons replied ruefully. "She had never played an instrument before setting foot in my classroom on the first day of school. She is now competent at playing most stringed, percussion, brass, and woodwind instruments. It takes her about two hours to master any given instrument. Less time if it is similar to an instrument she already mastered. I would guess she'll have the entire orchestra mastered in another month; and I don't mean she can sort of play these instruments. She plays them as well as any professional musician I've met. Her technique is impeccable, and her timing is perfect. I used to hate the word savant, because I didn't believe in true savants before now."

"Do you think she is right about the pyramids?" Autumn asked slowly.

"At this point, I wouldn't ignore anything that Heidi claims to be true," Miss Devons replied thoughtfully. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure," Autumn answered uncertainly.

"Would you let me introduce you to her?" Miss Devons asked carefully. "I'm not sure what her social situation is at school, but someone with this kind of genius needs at least one tether to the world of mortals or they might lose perspective. I don't want you to be a friend to her because I'm asking, but I would like her to have a friend."

"Okay," Autumn nodded, her heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension.

"Do you have any interest in music?" Miss Devons asked with a raised eyebrow.

Autumn shrugged her large shoulders. "I guess. I've always wanted to learn to sing. The guitar would also be cool to learn."

"Perfect," Miss Devons grinned, rubbing her hands together. "I'll introduce you and let her know that you would like to learn to play guitar and sing. I'm curious to see how she'll do in a teaching capacity. What's your name?"

"Autumn Sorenson," she replied around the sudden golf ball sized lump in her throat.

Feeling like a lab rat, Autumn followed Miss Devons back to the classroom. Miss Devons pulled her through the door and guided her over to where Heidi was weaving a complex scale up the fretboard.

Heidi stopped playing and looked up as they drew near. Autumn nearly stepped back as the force of Heidi's gaze settled on her. The air felt alive around Heidi, as if handling an instrument had stimulated even more life into the dark haired woman.

"Heidi, this is Autumn," Miss Devons introduced her. "She has expressed an interest in learning to sing and play guitar. Do you mind if she comes in and practices after school as well?"

The air was suddenly thick, like she was stuck inside of a Jello mold. Heidi's focus intensified as she studied Autumn with eyes that seemed to peer right into her soul. Heidi stood up and walked over to Autumn, then bent down and put her ear next to the large girl's stomach. Autumn blushed in embarrassment but couldn't make herself move a muscle. Heidi's head slowly moved upwards, stopping for a moment every few inches. When she finally finished, a large smile broke out over her face.

"She's perfect," Heidi announced in tones of deepest satisfaction. "Where did you find this gem?"

Miss Devons, who had been watching Heidi in perplexed fascination, shrugged and gestured vaguely toward the door. "Outside."

"What were you planning on learning first?" Heidi asked Autumn intently. "Singing, or guitar? Or both at the same time?"

"Both?" Autumn managed to say, though it sounded more like a question.

"Great, I was just getting ready to start learning to sing as well," Heidi told her enthusiastically. "One key to learning instruments well is both discipline, and dedication. If you plan on composing, endorphins are another critical factor. I have a physical fitness routine I began during summer vacation. Would you be interested in joining me?"

Autumn nodded mutely, wondering if that was how the formerly obese young woman had become so thin. Autumn felt a faint stirring of hope; if Heidi really was a genius, perhaps she had found the secret to losing weight quickly.

"Since you are interested in vocal training, you'll also need to follow a specific diet to allow the proper flow of energy throughout your body," Heidi informed her. "You need a clean energy flow for all music, but especially for singing. It's primarily a fruit and vegetable based diet. If you are amenable, I'll meet you at your house for breakfasts and dinners to help you get used to the new routine."

Autumn nodded again, steeling herself for the painful change in diet.

"What is your schedule like at home after school?" Heidi asked, her large eyes calculating.

"I just kind of make it up as I go," Autumn replied after a moment of awkward silence. She wasn't going to tell Heidi that it usually consisted of sitting down in front of the television and eating, with a little bit of homework thrown in for good measure.

"Will your parents have any objections to me visiting after school?" Heidi asked with a tilt of her head. "Also, would they have any objections to you spending two hours here at the high school after classes get out?"

"It's just my mom and me," Autumn answered, shrugging her large shoulders. "She's out of town a lot for work, so she won't mind."

Heidi nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. "Perfect. I was just getting ready to try my hand at composing, if Miss Devons will let me use the computer in the studio for layering tracks. It will be great to have a second person to sing harmony."

"Of course," Miss Devons said immediately. "Are you familiar with Logic Pro?"

"I skimmed the manual on it last night," Heidi said with a nod. "It seems pretty straightforward."

Miss Devons appeared to be suppressing a smile as she shared a look with Autumn. Autumn guessed rocket science would seem straightforward to Heidi.

What had happened at the end of the last school year? The Heidi that Autumn remembered had not seemed especially intelligent. Had she suffered a head injury? If so, which part of her head, and was it repeatable?

"First things first," Heidi murmured, stepping a little closer until she was in Autumn's personal space.

Autumn barely avoided flinching as Heidi reached up and touched her skin at the point between her eyes with her index finger and thumb pinched together. Before Autumn could feel embarrassed, her vision suddenly blurred, followed by what she could only describe as an inverted boom. She hadn't heard the sound with her ears, but it felt like a subterranean boom had just erupted in her chest, radiating out to the rest of her body. The lights in the room briefly flickered in response to the strange energy discharge.

When Heidi removed her hand, Autumn stared back at her in shock. She felt different. Very different. She couldn't have described what was different, except that everything seemed to be in greater focus. Her vision, hearing, tactile sensitivity, and even smell seemed to be enhanced.

"What was that?" Miss Devons gasped in astonishment. Apparently, she had also felt some of the effects of the shockwave.

Heidi glanced at Miss Devons appraisingly for a moment before answering. "I was just aligning her energy grid. It won't stay aligned for very long without a proper diet and exercise routine."

Miss Devons mouth moved, but no words came out.

Heidi took Miss Devon's lack of articulation in stride, acting like nothing incredible had just happened. "Let's start on the guitar."

Autumn shared a wide-eyed look with Miss Devons as she turned to follow Heidi over to the second acoustic guitar.

Chapter 3 - Synergy

Wendy watched Heidi with interest from her desk as she tutored the larger young woman on the rudiments of guitar. Autumn was an extremely quick learner, no doubt owing to the fact that Heidi was probably the greatest guitar teacher in history. While Autumn was nowhere near the skill level of Heidi by the end of the hour, she was learning basic scales and chords with far more ease than any student Wendy had ever seen. The large young woman was obviously enjoying herself immensely as the guitar came to life in her hands.

A growing sense of synergy filled the room, as if they were all connected on a metaphysical plane, bridged by music. Wendy felt a torrent of experience and knowledge flowing from Heidi into Autumn as the end of the second hour approached. It was difficult to define the intangible connection—it was like intuition, generously mixed with epiphanic waves of inspiration.

Wendy watched Heidi's fingers closely as they flew up and down the fretboard in a melodic blur. Heidi's fingers were extremely long and narrow—Wendy couldn't imagine hands better suited for playing musical instruments.

Looking back at her computer screen, she sighed as Principal Jen Wiley sent her another rain check for dinner. The two of them had met in college and been best friends ever since. Wendy had been trying to pin Jen down for a meeting so that she could tell her about Heidi. Jen had so many projects spinning around that it was almost impossible to see her anymore. Wendy could really use her best friend's counsel right now.

An ascending alto vocal scale pulled Wendy's eyes back to the two young women again. Heidi was singing a simple vocal training scale, obviously having finished guitar. Wendy felt a small shiver go down her spine as Heidi's voice took on a rich timbre that bordered on angelic. The room appeared to subtly vibrate in response to Heidi's glorious voice. Wendy had never heard a voice so full of surface tension. Her voice was like brimming liquid in an open container, pushing the limits of how much emotion a single voice could express without overflowing. There was so much power in her voice, and she was only singing warm up scales. What would she sound like when she actually sang a melody line?

Chapter 4 - Ghosts

Autumn regretfully put the guitar back on its stand. She had never experienced such a sense of connection in her life as when she was playing guitar. If she would have known it was so easy to learn, she would have started playing long ago. A part of her suspected that it wasn't so easy to learn without the presence of Heidi nearby. Whatever Heidi had done to her had left her clearer headed than she had ever been. It was like everything just made sense, and all of the hidden points of logic in a darkened room had been illuminated with a flashlight, making it simple to connect the dots.

"Is your mother home today?" Heidi asked as they prepared to leave.

"No, she's at Fort Bragg today," Autumn replied, waving to a watchful Miss Devons as they left the room.

"How about you come over to my house for dinner?" Heidi suggested thoughtfully.

"Okay," Autumn nodded with more confidence than she felt.

Heidi seemed lost in thought as she led the way to her house. Autumn felt a cold chill as Heidi led her through an old cemetery. She wasn't superstitious, but it felt weird to walk over the top of decades, or even centuries old corpses.

"What's the matter?" Heidi asked curiously, obviously noticing her discomfort.

Autumn met Heidi's penetrating gaze and shrugged awkwardly. "Doesn't it seem disrespectful to walk over the top of dead people?"

Heidi blinked, then looked around at the gravestones around them. "Oh. No, they don't mind. There aren't even echoes left here. It's too far from any grid lines."

"Grid lines?" Autumn repeated uncertainly.

"Lines of energy that bind the planet to three-dimensional space," Heidi explained calmly. "Without grid lines, the planet would snap back into two-dimensional space."

"Oh," Autumn thought for a moment. "Why not one-dimensional space?"

"Because there is no space in one dimension," Heidi replied with a tilt of her head, as if the answer should be obvious.

"Oh," Autumn said again, her cheeks reddening slightly. "So there are echoes of dead people near grid lines?"

Autumn was suddenly aware that she had Heidi's full attention, and it was not a comfortable experience. Heidi's soft brown eyes were flooded with an overpowering presence that made Autumn feel like an insect. This must be what it felt like to have a god look at you. There was so much power and wisdom in Heidi's eyes that Autumn wanted to find a rock to hide under, in case the vast presence accidentally squashed her with an errant thought.

"The force that powers human consciousness retains form after the host stops functioning," Heidi explained, her eyes almost glowing with life-force. "That form dissipates rapidly when a host is not near a grid line. A grid line acts as a gravitational depression that draws remnants of conscious form into the grid line stream. There, the former host's consciousness will remain anchored in its previous form as the planet's grid line reinforces it with nourishment."

"So it just stays there forever?" Autumn whispered in horror.

"Some do," Heidi nodded, frowning slightly. "In the past, most cultures knew that only trained initiates were to be interred near grid lines. Unfortunately, that knowledge was lost throughout the dark ages. Some of these unfortunate and ignorant souls go mad and manifest as haunted areas to the contemporary human. They don't know where they are or how to navigate the dark waters in which they find themselves. It's a myopic nightmare of incomprehensible sensation and confusion."

Autumn wanted to continue questioning her, but they had already reached Heidi's home. The superhuman presence left Heidi's eyes, replaced by a gaze that was merely unsettling.

"Let me introduce you to my parents," Heidi told her with a smile.

Autumn nodded, her palms suddenly covered in sweat.

Chapter 5 - Dinner

Autumn sat next to Heidi at the dinner table, trying to relax as Heidi's mom made small talk with her. Heidi had helped her mother prepare dinner, since she ate a completely different diet than the rest of the family.

"Oh another chunker," Lucinda muttered sarcastically as she joined them at the other side of the table. "How nice. I hope mom made enough food."

Heidi went from warm and pleasant to subzero instantly. The god-like presence that had been dormant suddenly returned with a vengeance—and it was an angry god.

Lucinda blanched as the full force of that presence hit her. She worked her mouth in desperation, but no sound came out. Eyes that had been so full of disgust were now filled with fearful pleading as she felt the intensity of her sister's displeasure. Autumn guessed Lucinda had never felt Heidi's full attention before.

"You will never insult one of my friends again," Heidi stated in a tone that would have made the sun shiver. "Ever."

Lucinda shook her head frantically, stark terror in her eyes.

As quickly as the powerful presence had arrived, it was gone. Heidi's parents both looked shaken at the display of raw power. They both recovered quickly though, with Mrs. Rockwell resuming her barrage of questions about Autumn's mother as if nothing had happened. Clearly, they were aware that something strange was happening with their daughter.

"How long has your mom been in the textiles business?" Mrs. Rockwell asked smoothly, with no sign of her former concern.

"Since before I was born," Autumn replied slowly, trying to adopt the same air of nonchalance the parents exhibited. Lucinda was still white faced and appeared to be staring off into space. "She only started contracting exclusively to the military about ten years ago though."

"What is it that your mom sells?" Mr. Rockwell asked, suddenly curious.

"Flame resistant garments," Autumn answered, trying to swallow a mouthful of surprisingly good fried vegetables. Heidi had expertly seasoned the vegetables with an array of seasonings Autumn had never even heard of before. "Most of her business comes from the Air Force and Navy, but she's trying to get a toehold into the Army market as well."

The remainder of dinner continued smoothly, with the Rockwell parents keeping the conversation light. Mr. Rockwell had been very impressed with her knowledge of her mother's business. It felt good to have the approval of such a solid individual.

She couldn't help but notice the speculative glances the Rockwell couple shared with each other when they didn't think she was looking. They had to be wondering why their obviously extraordinary daughter had befriended her and made a point of bringing her to their home. That thought had certainly crossed her own mind more than once.

After dinner was finished, Autumn helped Heidi and Mrs. Rockwell clean up the kitchen. Once the kitchen was clean, Heidi led Autumn to their back yard to begin her new exercise routine.

Autumn had expected a backyard filled with exercise equipment, but the only thing that stood out of place from the green lawn were two sets of wooden 2x4 boards anchored a few inches above the ground, one broadside and the other narrow. Heidi gestured toward the wider of the pair, watching Autumn with a slight curve to her lips.

"What?" Autumn asked with a raised eyebrow. "You think I'm going to walk on that?"

Heidi nodded, her lips curving even more. "Just today though. Tomorrow, you'll be walking on the narrow one."

"Sorry, but I'm about as graceful as a hippo and as coordinated as a three-legged rhino," Autumn declared, taking a step backward.

"You obviously haven't seen a hippo in water then," Heidi replied, absently grabbing Autumn's arm and guiding her toward the makeshift balance beam. Autumn wanted to resist, but she felt an inexplicable urge to follow wherever Heidi led her, as if her will had been superseded by another force.

Autumn finally gained control of her head and turned to look into Heidi's eyes. "Seriously. I can't balance, not even to save my life."

Heidi's eyes once again took on that otherworldly glow as an overpowering presence pushed at the bounds of reality around her. "SOPHOROSYNETRA."

Heidi's voice had barely been above a whisper, but the force of the word shook Autumn to her core. There was a much louder inverted boom than the one from the orchestral room, followed by the sound of car alarms in the distance.

When the shock wore off, Autumn felt the difference immediately. The thought of walking on a narrow plank no longer seemed impossible or intimidating. She could literally feel the presence of her energy core, giving her a sense of equilibrium the likes of which she had never imagined possible.

Not bothering to question what Heidi had done to her, she stepped up onto the board and easily walked across it without even the smallest of wobbles.

"Well done," Heidi congratulated her with an approving smile. The superhuman presence had once again vanished. "I knew you could do it."

"Well, thanks for... whatever it was you did," Autumn replied as she easily walked back across the board. "Why am I balancing in the first place though?"

"Because balance has to come before anything else," Heidi replied, gesturing at her to continue walking back and forth. "Before you can travel from point A to point B, you must be able to balance on the line that connects the two points. Before we can properly balance our minds, we must learn to balance our bodies. An imbalanced body is a fountain of signal noise to the mind."

"Okay, I suppose that makes sense," Autumn said thoughtfully as she paced back and forth on the board. "Am I supposed to lose weight doing this?"

"Only indirectly," Heidi replied with a shrug. "A proper diet is the most important part of losing weight. Having your head in the right place is the second most important part, so bringing balance to your mind and body will accelerate your ability to lose weight in the long run."

Autumn felt her heart quicken at the thought that she was actually going to lose all of her excess weight. "How long do you think it would take me to drop in weight to your size?"

"Eight months," Heidi replied without hesitation.

Autumn blinked in surprise at the immediate response, then reminded herself that she was dealing with a genius. Heidi could probably work out this kind of math in her sleep.

She spent the next hour walking the plank as Heidi walked next to her on the thinner plank. Making excellent use of their time, Heidi spent the hour discussing their homework. It was obvious that Heidi had no need of the lessons—she knew all of the answers to all of their homework assignments as if it was secondhand knowledge. The constant barrage of questions and dialogue kept her in a semi hypnotic state though, and she barely noticed that she had spent an entire hour pacing back and forth on a four inch plank.

Heidi's mom drove her home afterward. Autumn had never met anyone with such a warm personality as Mrs. Rockwell. She was a native Hawaiian, with large brown eyes and gorgeous tan skin. Her midnight hair was tied back in a ponytail that reached midback.

Heidi had given Autumn a bag of sweet green beans as she left, with instructions to eat one every five minutes until she went to sleep. Supposedly, they would suppress her appetite until Heidi showed up in the morning to prepare breakfast.

Autumn's phone rang with her mother’s video call as soon as walked into her house. She answered her phone with a broad smile, taking her mother by surprise. Her mother was tall, blonde, and extremely fit. Aside from the hair color, she was completely opposite from Autumn in appearance.

"What have you been up to?" her mother asked curiously. "Have you been swimming, or is that sweat?"

"Sweat," Autumn replied with a short laugh. "I've been put on a new diet, as well as an exercise regime."

"By whom?" her mother asked quizzically.

"A girl I met in school," Autumn replied, unable to stop smiling. "Her name is Heidi Rockwell."

"As in Colonel Rockwell's daughter?" her mother asked in surprise.

"Yep," Autumn answered with a nod. "I had dinner with their family. Pretty much just vegetables. Do you know who Heidi is?"

"I think so," her mother replied with a small frown. "She seemed pretty reclusive if I'm thinking of the same girl."

"Oh she was until recently," Autumn agreed with a chuckle. "She was also three times larger last year. I'd be surprised if she is more than ninety pounds now. She lost all of that weight over the summer vacation."

"Oh," her mother said slowly. "So she has you following the same diet now too, huh?"

"It's a lot more than that, mom," Autumn informed her, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what happened over the summer, but she is a completely different person now, and not just physically. She is smarter than anyone I have ever met. The music teacher at the high school, Ms. Devons, thinks she might be a savant. She learned how to play all of the instruments in the orchestra in less than a month. According to Ms. Devons, she is as good as any professional musician on every instrument she touches. It takes her less than two hours to master a new instrument. She started teaching me how to play the guitar, and I simply cannot believe how easy it is. Somehow, the way she teaches turns a light bulb on in your brain, and everything just makes sense."

"Really?" her mother asked with interest. "That is odd. How did you meet her?"

Autumn told her mother about the incident in Mrs. Reinich's class with the pyramids, as well as Miss Devons request for her to befriend Heidi. She didn't mention the supernatural events that had occurred. She didn't want to freak her mother out. When she was finished, her mother was silent for several moments.

"Well, I'm glad you found a good friend," her mother finally said with a cheerful smile. "I'm excited to meet her when I get back."

"Me too," Autumn smiled back. "Love you, Mom."

"Love you back," her mother smiled in farewell.

Autumn didn't even have any food cravings that night as she went to bed, even though it took her several hours to fall asleep. She was excited to see how the next day would turn out.

Chapter 6 - Melee

1 Month Later

Autumn walked into the orchestral room with a sense of eager anticipation. In the past month, she had gone from a novice guitarist to a competent musician. Her vocal training had also enjoyed an accelerated rate of accomplishment. While she was nowhere near the ethereal level of haunting beauty exhibited by Heidi's voice, she was on par with some of the best singers in the high school.

Miss Devons had taken a leave of absence for undisclosed personal reasons the day after Autumn had met her but had left explicit instructions with the substitute that Autumn and Heidi be allowed access to the classroom after hours. Autumn had expected Miss Devons to return after a few weeks, but she was beginning to worry that she wouldn't see her for the rest of the year.

The substitute teacher was always curt and made it clear that he wasn't pleased with the after-hours arrangement. Considering he didn't even have to stay with them, Autumn felt he was acting a little childish. One of the other teachers always stopped by and locked up when they were done.

Heidi had not exhibited any supernatural abilities since supercharging Autumn's equilibrium on the balance beam a month ago. Autumn had almost convinced herself that she had imagined the anomalous incidents. There were enough small reminders that Heidi was extraordinary throughout their daily interactions that Autumn knew she hadn't imagined anything.

In their earth science class, Mr. Lawson had explained the theory of plate tectonics and subduction zones, showing how the continents fit together like puzzle pieces. Autumn had been fascinated by the revelation, but Mr. Lawson had noticed Heidi was slowly shaking her head with a frown.

"Did you have something to add, Miss Rockwell?" Mr. Lawson had asked with a raised eyebrow.

Heidi's head did the classic tilt as she regarded him, much like a bird eyeing a worm. "How do you explain the fact that the plates fit together like a puzzle on the pacific side as well, if Pangea was a concatenation of landmasses between the Atlantic divide?"

"While there are similarities, they clearly do not fit together on the pacific side," Mr. Lawson replied with a shrug.

"Not at the current size of the planet," Heidi agreed with a nod. "When the planet was smaller, the land masses were connected on both sides."

"Are you suggesting the planet is growing?" Mr. Lawson asked politely, with a puzzled crease to his brows.

"All celestial objects are growing," Heidi answered, looking slightly sad at their obvious lack of comprehension. "The energy grid has to maintain a constant increase in extrusion in order to maintain three-dimensional spatial balance. That's why there are overlapping stretch marks on the surface of celestial objects. The evidence is obvious, even in the primitive satellite imagery currently available to scientists."

"Don't believe everything you read on the internet," Mr. Lawson replied after a moment of uncomfortable silence. He proceeded to present the dynamics of continental drift, making an obvious effort to avoid Heidi's gaze.

The event would have been odd enough, given the verbal content of the exchange. The really weird part was the sense of how right it seemed when Heidi spoke of the planets and moons growing. There was something in her voice, a confidence, that made it almost impossible to doubt her.

There was also the incident a week ago with the didgeridoo. The two of them had visited some of the local restaurants that hosted live music. A band had been playing at a pizza shop, with the didgeridoo used as the starring instrument in most of the songs. Heidi had asked Autumn why they were using a medical device for entertainment. When Autumn had asked what she meant, she had clammed up and refused to talk about it anymore, though her eyes stayed fixed on the didgeridoo throughout the hour they spent watching the band play.

After the performance, Heidi had asked the guy playing the didgeridoo if she could try it. He obviously thought he was humoring a young teenybopper as he handed it over with a confident grin. The grin had vanished when Heidi began playing a series of staccato tones that set all of the glass in the building to vibrating, producing an overtone of crystalline harmonics. The air seemed to hum in waves around Heidi as she played it, and Autumn felt like her bones were being slowly liquefied. Heidi abruptly stopped playing and handed it back to the now white-faced young man and told him it was two inches too short and half an inch too wide.

"Are you ready to rock?" Heidi asked as Autumn entered the classroom. It could be a little disorienting, the way Heidi could switch from ultra-mature to excited teenager from one second to the next.

"Ready and willing," Autumn replied with an eager smile.

"Good, I've got a new track laid out that needs a vocalist," Heidi told her, leading her into the recording studio.

Even though Heidi was writing all of the music and had a far better voice than Autumn, she had Autumn provide the vocal lead in over half of the compositions. She seemed to have no sense of self-importance or conceit. When Autumn had asked her why she didn't take the vocal lead in more of her songs, she had explained that it wasn't the kind of song that required her voice. She had even mentioned finding a third person to enlist, insisting they needed at least one more harmony for most of the songs.

They spent the next two hours putting the vocal tracks together with Heidi's latest arrangement. While Autumn had spent a month watching Heidi create an average of two songs a week, replete with dozens of orchestral instruments layered over hundreds of tracks, she was still in awe of the transcendent result. It was like seeing a modern-day Mozart on crack. Heidi would record each track with each instrument once and never have to redo the track. Her timing and technique were flawless.

Autumn sighed as Heidi put the computer to sleep, signaling an end to their recording session. Just like that, two hours was gone.

"So I get to meet your mom tonight," Heidi noted as they left the room.

Autumn smiled suddenly as she remembered that her mother would finally get to meet Heidi today. She was taking them both out shopping, since none of Autumn's clothes fit anymore. In just one month, Autumn had dropped by three sizes. Her mother had been impressed at first, then slightly worried at how quickly she was dropping the pounds. Her worry had been slightly assuaged when Autumn pointed out how healthy Heidi appeared to be after going through the same ordeal. Then there was the fact that Autumn felt healthier and more full of energy than she could ever remember feeling in her entire life. The new diet and exercise regime were only a part of it, according to Heidi. Having her head in the right place was the most important part. Having music as a channel for her inspiration was the driving force to keep her overall motivation levels in high gear. Heidi had told her that a diet without a cause was like a car without a driver.

As they left the building, Heidi's head swiveled to stare at a cluster of older girls several dozen feet away. It looked like the cheerleading squad, with Heidi's sister near the front of the mob. They were following a short red-haired girl, pushing her as they followed closely behind her.

"Nobody likes dykes, bitch," the lead cheerleader said caustically with another rough shove. "Go join the basketball team and see if they can't teach you how to be a girl."

"Yeah, lesbo," another cheerleader sneered. "Maybe if you tried somebody besides your dad you would actually like it."

Autumn cringed as she felt the flare of personality combust next to her. The demigoddess was back, and she was not happy.

Heidi marched over and stood between the cheerleaders and the red-haired girl, standing eye-to-eye with the lead cheerleader. "Touch her again and there will be... repercussions."

Lucinda, standing a few steps behind the leader, immediately turned and started walking away without looking back once. She obviously could learn.

"Look at this," the leader jeered to her friends, leering at Heidi. "Aria's girlfriend is here to protect her."

Heidi's unwavering gaze seemed to suck the light into a concentrated point as she stared silently back at the other young woman. An air of uncertainty rippled through the mob as some unknown sixth sense warned them of impending danger. The leader, trying to hide her sudden unease, barked a laugh and tried to shove Heidi to the ground. A split second later, she was the one on the ground at Heidi's feet. Autumn hadn't even seen Heidi move—just a brief blur of motion.

Taking their leaders example, the remaining mob decided to attack, obviously believing that strength was in numbers. Autumn watched in astonishment as Heidi tore through the dozen girls like a scythe through wheat. Bodies flew through the air, followed by agonized screams and pathetic moans as Heidi spun through the mob like an agent from the Matrix. When she was finished, over a dozen girls lay on the ground in various states of consciousness.

Several teachers came out of the nearest school doors, running toward the moaning pile of cheerleading wreckage in alarm.

"What happened?" One of the teachers asked her as Autumn stood watching the mess from several yards away.

"Um…" Autumn stammered, unsure of where to even begin. "Well, those cheerleaders attacked my friend, and she just defended herself."

The teacher looked over to where Heidi was holding the tearful red-haired girl in a gentle embrace. "Wait a minute," the teacher said with a frown. "Which girl was attacked?"

"Heidi," Autumn replied nodding toward her friend. "The one with the black hair."

"And you're saying she did this to all of these girls?" the teacher asked disbelievingly.

"Yep," Autumn nodded firmly. "All of them. She just told them to stop harassing the red-haired girl, and they attacked her."

"We'll see soon enough," the teacher said evenly. "It should all be on the surveillance system."

Chapter 7 - Enigma

Principal Wiley sat behind her desk watching the surveillance feed for the third consecutive time, still unable to believe that an experienced martial artist, let alone a fourteen-year old girl could do the things she was watching on her computer screen. She knew that three of the girls who were on the cheerleading squad competed in martial arts tournaments, and one of them had even won several regional medals.

Principal Wiley walked over and opened the door to the waiting room. Heidi, the center of the evening's trouble, sat patiently in one of the chairs with a serene expression on her tan face. "Heidi, can you come in here please?"

Heidi nodded and rose gracefully to follow her back into the office. Principal Wiley relaxed back into her chair and studied the youthful girl thoughtfully. She certainly didn't look like the type of girl that attracted trouble. As she met the young woman's eyes, her breath caught in her throat for a moment. She did not feel like she was looking into an adolescent girl's eyes—she felt like she was staring at the wisest woman she had ever known, her grandmother. Heidi's eyes had an ageless quality, like she had seen everything, both good and bad.

Principal Wiley cleared her throat, trying to regain her sense of the moment. "So would you like to explain what all of the brawling was about? I usually deal with that nonsense from the football team, but I expect a slightly different standard from the young women of this school."

"I don't care what age this is," Heidi told her flatly, her patient eyes flashing with anger. "I will never tolerate bigotry of any kind while I stand by and do nothing."

"Bigotry?" Principal Wiley frowned, sitting up straighter. "What do you mean?"

"I mean a gang of bullies picking on a girl because of her sexuality," Heidi replied, her eyes radiating disapproval. "While I would hardly call this world civilized, I would hope that a girl could go to school and not be tormented based on her sexual orientation."

"Tell me exactly what happened," Principal Wiley said, feeling her own ire rise at the thought that such mindless stupidity could be taking place under her nose in her own school.

Principal Wiley's frown deepened as Heidi repeated back verbatim the exchange that had taken place. When Heidi finished, Principal Wiley let out a deep sigh of frustration. "For the love of light, it's 2010, I thought we were past this nonsense."

Heidi watched her thoughtfully, those ageless eyes making her feel like the child. "I'm glad this is an important issue for you."

Principal Wiley felt her face redden slightly at the unspoken knowledge Heidi's gaze portrayed. Damn, It’s like she sees right into your mind.

"I want to thank you for so courageously standing up for Aria," Principal Wiley said, mostly to move past the uncomfortable feeling of a fourteen-year old looking into her soul. "Where did you learn how to fight like that?"

A clouded look crossed Heidi's gaze, and the room seemed to grow colder in response. "That's the wrong question to ask, but I understand what you mean. There have been many times and many places in the cycle of life where learning to defend oneself is necessary. None of the children involved in the conflict today were physically harmed. They just experienced a lot of pain."

She refers to them as children, Principal Wiley noted to herself in bemusement. All of them were several years older than her and she refers to them as children.

Her phone rang, and she absently answered it. "Principal Wiley."

"Her parents are here," her secretary informer her.

"Send them in, please," Principal Wiley said, hanging up the phone.

Heidi's parent's faces were filled with apprehension when they came in—it was even evident on Colonel Rockwell's normally stoic face. There was a tightness of worry to his eyes as she gestured for them to take a seat with Heidi.

"Was anyone hurt?" Mrs. Rockwell asked anxiously, not even looking at Heidi. Somehow, they had already known Heidi would not be hurt and were even terrified that she had done something drastic to the other students.

"No," Principal Wiley replied slowly. "Just their egos for the most part."

The tension seemed to deflate out of the couple as both of them sank back into their chairs in relief. Interesting.

"I want to congratulate both of you on raising such a brave daughter," Principal Wiley told them smoothly. "From what the school counselor has told me, your daughter may have just saved the life of one of our students tonight. The girl she protected has apparently suffered from increasingly frequent suicidal tendencies for the past several months as a result of the harassment she has been subjected to since the beginning of the school year. This afternoon may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, had your daughter not intervened."

"What happened?" Colonel Rockwell asked briskly.

Principal Wiley briefed the Rockwell’s on the incident, noting the look of concern on Colonel Rockwell's face when she mentioned the surveillance video. As she concluded, the Colonel stood up and made a slight head motion to his wife. She immediately stood up as well, taking Heidi by the hand and leaving the room.

"I would see it as a courtesy if you would allow me to remove the surveillance footage from your system, or at least see that it is properly destroyed," Colonel Rockwell told her curtly.

Principal Wiley frowned as she stared back at him cautiously. He hadn't even seen the footage, and he already wanted it destroyed. She felt like she was being pulled into some kind of crazy government conspiracy as she replayed the evening's events in her head. Was Heidi in some kind of military black project? Is that where she had learned to fight? She weighed the options in front of her. Getting on the bad side of the second in command of the local base, let alone a battle with the U.S. military, wasn't a smart move, she was sure.

"The Superintendent may wish to review the video after we file the report," she finally replied after a moment of silence.

"Please refer any inquiries about the video straight to my office," Colonel Rockwell told her calmly. "Please let them know that the military will handle any other inquiries regarding this incident as well.".

Principal Wiley only hesitated a moment before nodding in acquiescence. She turned her monitor slightly so that he could see it and deleted the video file from the system. "It's done."

Colonel Rockwell's eyes relaxed slightly as he nodded. "I appreciate your help."

With another nod, he turned and left the room.

Principal Wiley let out an explosive breath as she sank back into her chair. What a mess. She slowly took her phone out and zoomed in on the copy of the video that she had made before they arrived. She had initially thought the bursts of light around Heidi during the short melee were just lighting artifacts, but as she looked closer it seemed to be more than lens flares. Small pulses of red and green light sparked around Heidi like a high-energy current was creating a localized auroral effect around the young woman.

She blanked her phone and let out another sigh. What the hell is going on? She had a suspicion that the Colonel was as clueless as she was in regard to that question, though it was obvious that he knew something was going on.

With a frown, she guiltily remembered that Wendy had emailed her about wanting to discuss a junior high student who had been visiting her classroom after hours. She had placed the email in her 'later' list, which unfortunately meant never these days. She pulled up the email again, wondering if it had anything to do with Heidi.

'Hi Jen,

I know you're busy, but I have a junior high student that's been visiting after hours to use the studio, and I really need to talk to you about her. You know what a skeptic I am about anything esoteric? Well, I'm feeling a little shaken right now.

Please let me know when we can talk.'

Principal Wiley tapped her table absently as she thought. Wendy had taken her mother to Europe for a cancer treatment that was not available in the USA. She hated to call her old friend about school stuff while she was on a leave of absence, but it sounded like Wendy might understand.

She picked up her mobile and called Wendy, hoping her friend had service in Europe.

"Jen?" Wendy's voice answered, sounding sleepy.

"Crap, sorry," Jen said lamely. "I forgot about the time difference."

"That's okay," Wendy replied, her voice becoming more alert. "What's up?"

"What's the name of the girl that was visiting your classroom after hours?" Jen asked, unconsciously holding her breath as she waited for the answer.

"Heidi," Wendy replied in a concerned tone. "Why, what happened?"

"In your email, you said she was making a mystic out of you," Jen asked, ignoring the question. "What did you mean? What happened?"

"Oh," Wendy replied after a moment of silence, sounding a little embarrassed. "I was probably just overreacting. I'm sure I imagined it."

"Imagined what?" Jen pushed.

"Well, I brought another girl to the classroom, hoping to offer her a friend," Wendy replied slowly. "She's kind of a genius, so I figured she could use a little grounding. She inspected the new girl, Autumn, in a rather strange manner. She stuck her ear next to Autumn's stomach and acted like she was listening to something. Then she did that at several other points until she reached her head. That part was pretty weird, but then she touched Autumn between the eyes with her finger, like she was placing something inside of her head. There was this dull booming noise that made my bones rattle, and Autumn seemed to undergo some kind of mental metamorphosis. It's kind of hard to explain. When you looked into Autumn's eyes before the boom, they were normal adolescent eyes. After the boom, they were much clearer, like a fog that you hadn't even noticed was there was suddenly gone. I'm pretty sure the boom was probably just a coincidental sonic boom from a jet near the base that happened at the same time."

"Interesting," Jen murmured, watching the surveillance video on her phone again. The auroral arcing was definitely not lighting artifacts.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Wendy asked pointedly. "Why are you suddenly asking about her?"

Jen quickly related the events of the evening, then told her about the strange lights dancing around Heidi in the melee.

Wendy was silent for several moments. "Thanks for messing up all of my previous justifications for everything that had happened. I was perfectly content being a skeptic."

Jen laughed, remembering what a Doubting Thomas Wendy had always been regarding all things mystical. In Wendy's view, there was a logical explanation for everything that happened in the universe. While Jen agreed with that view, she also believed those logical explanations could validate a lot of esoteric beliefs.

"How's your mom doing?" Jen asked quietly.

"Not good," Wendy replied with a heavy sigh. "We're still holding out some hope that the treatment will be more effective over time. She doesn't really like being away from her home. If we don't get better results in the next two months, we'll probably return and just try to enjoy what time she has left."

"I'm so sorry, Wendy," Jen said sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, actually," Wendy replied, a small smile in her voice. "Keep an eye on my songbird. I honestly think she needs to skip a grade, if not two. If you get a chance, ask Stephanie about her discussion with Heidi on the pyramids."

"Oh?" Jen asked curiously.

"I don't know the details, but her friend, Autumn, told me that she disagreed with Stephanie about the age and purpose of the pyramids, suggesting they were some kind of power plants," Wendy answered, chuckling softly. "I wish I could have been there to see that exchange."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Jen promised—for her own reasons as well.

Chapter 8 - Assembly

Autumn struggled to find Heidi in the press of bodies moving from the junior high to the high school. In the middle of the first class, the junior high principal had announced an impromptu assembly at the high school auditorium. Autumn was pretty sure she knew what the assembly was going to be about.

She didn't find Heidi until she reached the auditorium. Heidi was sitting next to the red-haired girl she had seen the day before. Autumn waded through the press of students and sat in the seat next to Heidi. Heidi flashed her a welcoming smile as she sat down.

"Autumn, this is Aria," Heidi introduced the other young woman. "Aria, this is Autumn."

Aria made a half-hearted wave at Autumn, avoiding eye contact. Her long red hair hung in a concealing curtain around her face, like she was hiding. Autumn had a feeling that it was her normal mode of behavior.

"It's nice to meet you," Autumn told her with a smile. She looked at Heidi quizzically. "So did you ask her if she is interested in music already?"

Heidi's answering grin was answer enough. "Yeah. She said she would have a look with us after school. I haven't convinced her to try her voice out yet, but I'm sure she'll come around. I really want my third vocalist."

Autumn chuckled wryly. If Heidi wanted it, she would almost definitely get it. "My mom was sad that she didn't get to meet you last night."

"Sorry about that," Heidi replied solemnly. "I like the new outfit."

Autumn beamed at the praise. "Thanks. I still have a long way to go, but at least now I have no doubt that it will happen."

While she had lost a lot of weight overall in the last month, it was most noticeable in her face. Her cheekbones were more defined, and her neck actually separated her head from her body.

She turned to face the front of the auditorium as Principal Wiley called for everyone's attention.

"Good morning, students," Principal Wiley began as the large room filled with silence. "It has come to my attention that certain forms of behavior are believed to be acceptable in this school. I want to make it abundantly clear that this is not the case and never will be while I am principal here. The behavior of which I speak, is what law enforcement refers to as hate crimes. In case there is any ambiguity as to what constitutes a hate crime, I will define it for you. A hate crime is any crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically involving violence. Any student caught assaulting another student based on such criteria will be expelled. Any students caught verbally abusing or bullying another student based on such criteria will be suspended the first time and expelled on any subsequent occurrences. There will be zero tolerance for such behavior, and I mean zero. So before you open your mouth to make a thoughtless comment, take a moment to think about your future and how an expulsion would look on your records. While you're thinking about your academic future, you may also want to think about what having the death of a fellow student on your conscience for the rest of your life will be like. The latest statistics from the Center for Disease Control put the possibility of suicide for LGBT youths at twice the rate of heterosexual students in schools where they do not feel safe. This will not be a school where anyone has to feel that death would be preferable to going to school and interacting with their peers."

Autumn noticed that Aria's shoulders were shaking with silent tears. Heidi put a comforting arm around Aria.

"EUDAIMONIARISCHA," Heidi whispered to the weeping Aria. An arcing halo of light briefly illuminated the two of them, accompanied by a loud boom that shook the large room.

Teachers looked around in alarm as the lights flickered. Half of the students were on their feet, looking around like they expected an earthquake. Principal Wiley didn't look alarmed. She stood calmly, watching Heidi with a keen eye, as if she somehow knew that Heidi was the source of the disturbance.

Aria's shoulders stopped shaking and she absently tucked a wave of hair behind her ear, giving Autumn the first true glimpse of her face. As Aria wiped her tears away, Autumn marveled at how pretty she was beneath that curtain of hair. That anything or anyone could make her want to hide such stunning features was a crime in itself.

The students close to them were all staring at Heidi curiously. Many of them had probably heard the powerful whisper before the event. The younger students who went to the junior high already knew that Heidi was odd. News about Heidi's involvement in the previous day's conflict had yet to circulate among most of the students due to how few of them were still at the school so late in the day. If it became widely known that Heidi had single-handedly taken out half of the cheerleading team, she would stand out even more.

"Did she just use magic?" Autumn heard one of the students whisper.

"That's what it looked like to me," another student replied in a shaken voice. "Did you see them glow?"

"Yeah, I saw that too," a girl said weakly.

Heidi glanced back at them, and Autumn realized that she was in full god mode. All of the students behind them recoiled as her powerful gaze pushed at the bounds of reality. A palpable wave of relief rippled through the row of students as Heidi turned her supercharged gaze away.

The rest of the assembly meeting passed in a blur as Principal Wiley outlined a plan for an LGBT student support group and listed the names of counselors whom students could feel safe confiding in, including herself.

As they left the auditorium, dozens of eyes followed the three of them. Autumn had a feeling that Heidi's supernatural abilities were going to be public knowledge in the not too distant future.

Whatever Heidi had done to Aria certainly had an impact. Aria no longer looked like a beaten dog. When they parted ways, Aria left with her head held high and no trace of fear.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Autumn asked hopefully.

"Undoubtedly," Heidi replied with a smile as the god-like presence finally faded away.

Chapter 9 - Hypnos

Autumn was approached no less than a dozen times throughout the day with questions about Heidi. The other students would only approach her when Heidi was not around. Word had finally filtered through the grapevine about what students were calling the Fall of the Cheerleaders. News of Heidi being the source of the sonic boom in the auditorium had traveled even faster.

"Is Heidi a witch?" one girl asked her in a whisper, looking around surreptitiously. "Like in Harry Potter?"

"Did you see a wand?" Autumn replied dryly. "Of course she's not a witch."

"What did she do to that high school girl?" the girl asked doggedly. "They say she lit up like a Christmas tree after Heidi said some kind of spell or magic word."

"Well, Christmas is only a few months away," Autumn replied flippantly. "Maybe she's just getting a jump on the festivities."

The girl looked at her uncertainly. "You must know something. You two are always together."

"I know that I'm going to be late for class, and so are you," Autumn replied as she veered off down a separate hall, hoping to shake the insistent girl.

"Oh come on," The girl persevered, following her down the hall. "Or has she forbidden you from talking about it?"

Autumn turned to look at the girl, then noticed Heidi had appeared behind the two of them. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

The girl blanched as she jerked around in shock. Heidi was watching her with a raised eyebrow, her wise brown eyes sparkling unnaturally in the fluorescent light. While she didn't appear to be in god mode, there was still a permeating presence of power that was almost palpable.

Without another word, the girl scurried away with an unsteady gait.

"I think you need to dress up as a witch for Halloween," Autumn told Heidi lightly.

"I was thinking of dressing up as a pumpkin, actually," Heidi replied with a slight smile.

Autumn burst out laughing at the incongruous image. Heidi often surprised her with unexpected quips of understated humor. It was a nice balance to the aura of gravity she wore like a second skin.

"How was English?" Autumn asked as they sat down in their earth science class.

"Uncouth, entirely inadequate for exploring the deeper recesses of conscious thought, and filled with more inconsistencies than a presidential race," Heidi replied in a perfect British accent.

Autumn almost fell out of her chair laughing. "Okay, from now on you have to speak in a British accent all of the time."

The students around them were watching the exchange curiously. While Heidi had formerly been considered an eccentric who was slightly off her rocker as a result of her conflicting views with teachers, the students seemed to regard her comments with a lot more weight now. Apparently, a miracle or two was all it took to make people fall in line behind you.

"Okay, settle down," Mr. Lawson said as he entered the classroom from his office.

"No," Heidi said, almost quietly enough to be a whisper. She suddenly stood up, her head cocked to the side like she was listening to something.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Lawson asked with a raised eyebrow.

Heidi didn't reply. She just stood silently next to her desk, as if she were listening to something none of the rest of them could hear. She had the attention of every eye in the classroom.

"HYPNOS!" Heidi suddenly bellowed. The building shook like a leaf and the power flickered and went out.

Autumn had heard Heidi belt it out in the studio, but this shout was so loud that Autumn was worried she may have ruptured an eardrum.

All around her, students suddenly slumped in their desks, as if asleep. Mr. Lawson put a hand to his desk to steady himself, then slowly crumpled to the floor as his eyes closed.

"What's going on?" Autumn asked in alarm.

"Endless forms most stupid," Heidi replied darkly. "Brainwashed zealots, entirely convinced of their moral supremacy over the godless masses."

Autumn stared at Heidi, trying to make sense of what she was saying. Then she heard the sirens. A lot of sirens. She ran to the window and looked out toward the street. Dozens of police cars were streaming up to the curb, along with a SWAT van.

"Heidi, what the hell is going on?" Autumn asked, more urgency in her voice.

"An idiot with a gun decided that his god wanted him to purge the school of the decadent and unprincipled heathens," Heidi replied disgustedly. "Let's go talk to the police. We don't want them accidentally shooting anyone."

"What about the shooter?" Autumn asked uncertainly.

"He's asleep," Heidi replied shortly.

Autumn followed Heidi out of the school to where an army of policemen were converging on the high school with weapons drawn.

"STAND DOWN," Heidi shouted, her voice easily carrying across the grounds.

Autumn felt the breath catch in her throat as dozens of weapons were suddenly trained on the two of them.

Heidi continued walking calmly toward the cluster of policemen. When they finally noticed that the two of them were unarmed, they raised their weapons.

"Everyone is asleep," Heidi told them as they approached. "The boy with the gun is in the principal's office. The principal has a gunshot wound to her shoulder. They are both unconscious."

The SWAT Sergeant nodded and motioned for his men to continue into the building. There was a calm authority to Heidi's voice that made it impossible to ignore her.

The two of them waited with a cluster of officers as the SWAT team investigated. Several officers approached the two of them as an ambulance arrived.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked, looking unnerved by her unwavering gaze. She was in full god mode, radiating power like a tesla ball.

"After learning that bigotry would no longer be tolerated in the school, a boy decided to go on a moral crusade and kill anyone he considered unworthy," Heidi answered disdainfully.

"Be advised, everyone in the school is unconscious," a voice announced on the police radio. "Cause is unknown. They are all breathing and seem healthy."

"They're fine," Heidi told the officers. "They'll be waking up in a few minutes."

"How did they come to be unconscious?" one of the officers asked her with frown.

"An electrical discharge caused a depolarization of the nerve cells in their brains," Heidi replied in an analytical tone.

"Um, what does that mean, exactly?" the officer asked uncertainly.

"The same thing that happens to your electronics when an atomic bomb explodes," Heidi replied with a shrug. "The plasticity of human biology ensures that it is only a temporary state."

Before he could continue questioning her, dozens of army Humvees rolled up behind the police cars. Heidi's father was in the leading Humvee. He quickly exited and came over to where Heidi and Autumn stood in front of the crowd of policeman.

"Everything is fine, dad," Heidi told her father as dozens of soldiers with M16's followed on his heels. "The SWAT team has the shooter in custody."

A second later, the SWAT team announced that they had the suspect in custody. Several officers looked back at Heidi curiously, obviously wondering how she knew the shooter was in custody before it was announced.

"Come on," Heidi's dad gestured to her. "Let's get you home. You too, Autumn."

"Excuse me sir," one of the police officers protested. "We'll need to question these two, since they seem to be the only ones who were awake throughout this ordeal."

"We'll handle any inquiries regarding these two at the base, officer," Colonel Rockwell told him curtly, handing the officer a card.

The officer looked like he wanted to object further, but considering the Colonel was accompanied by dozens of heavily armed soldiers, he seemed to think better of it.

Autumn followed Heidi and her father into one of the Humvees. Colonel Rockwell made a brief head gesture at the troops who had accompanied him, and they left his Humvee to ride with some of the other soldiers. Autumn guessed he didn't want them overhearing anything he might discuss with Heidi.

They passed several news vans while on their way to Heidi's house. None of them spoke, and the silence felt oppressive. Autumn often wondered how much the Colonel knew about Heidi's transformation. She had made a point of never asking Heidi what had happened. She was too grateful for the unexpected friendship to insult Heidi with questions she might not feel comfortable answering. Instead, she tried to be the best friend she could be to the extraordinary young woman she felt fortunate to count as a friend.

She was curious as to why she hadn't fallen asleep with everyone else. Had Heidi somehow blocked her from the...well...whatever it was she had done?

"Sir, we're getting reports of strange auroral lights above the school," a voice announced on the Humvee radio.

"They'll dissipate in another twenty minutes," Heidi said into the silence.

"Copy that," Colonel Rockwell said into the radio mic. "They're just sundogs."

Autumn wondered if the soldiers were used to being told alternate truths and just took it in stride.

When they arrived at Heidi's house, Colonel Rockwell parked the Humvee and sat in silence for several moments. "I've got to get back to the base." He said finally. "We'll talk later."

Heidi reached over and squeezed his hand. "Thanks dad. For everything."

He nodded, his stoic expression softening slightly.

The two of them went into the house as he left. Heidi's mother came out of the kitchen in surprise when she heard them enter the house.

"What are you two doing home so early?" Heidi's mom asked curiously.

"There was an incident at school," Heidi told her mother solemnly. "A kid with a gun shot the principal in the shoulder. Everyone fell asleep before things could escalate."

"Oh my goodness!" Mrs. Rockwell gasped in shock. "What do you mean, fell asleep?"

Heidi stared at her mom, her eyes growing slightly in intensity. "They fell asleep, for their own safety."

Mrs. Rockwell stared at her daughter, then nodded slowly. She obviously understood that Heidi had done something to make them sleep, and like Autumn, didn't ask questions.

"I suppose we won't be going to the studio this afternoon," Autumn sighed regretfully. "I wonder if they'll cancel school tomorrow?"

"They will," Heidi replied confidently. "Let's work on your combat skills for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we can…" Heidi trailed off, her eyes going distant. "Oh. Never mind. You need to call your mom."

Autumn blinked in surprise, then pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was dead. Heidi reached over and touched it for a moment, and it suddenly turned on. There were half a dozen voicemails from her mother, and at least a dozen texts asking where she was and if she was okay. She hurriedly texted her mother that she was at Heidi's and was fine. A moment later, her phone started ringing.

"Autumn, are you okay?" her mother asked hastily.

"I'm fine, mom," Autumn replied placatingly. "I'm with Heidi at her house."

"Oh thank god," her mother sighed with relief. "How did you get there?"

"Her dad picked us up," she replied, glancing at Heidi’s mother. She was watching the two of them with concern in her eyes. "We were never in any danger. The shooter was at the high school."

"Yeah, which is right next to you," her mother said pointedly. "More than close enough for a stray bullet to fly."

"I suppose so," Autumn admitted. "But we're fine."

"The media is reporting that everyone in the school fell asleep," her mother noted in a puzzled tone. "Did you fall asleep too?"

"No," Autumn replied, wondering how to explain it to her mother. She decided to just play dumb. "Neither of us fell asleep."

"Oh," her mother said slowly. "They said the shooter probably would have shot a lot more people if he hadn't passed out along with everyone else."

"Well, I'm glad he did then," Autumn said lamely.

"I've cancelled the rest of my trip here, so I'll be home sometime tonight," her mother informed her gently.

"You don't have to do that, mom," Autumn protested weakly. "You just got there this morning. Really, I'm fine. The crisis is over. You'll just be wasting a bunch of money if you come home now."

"Consider it money well wasted," her mother declared firmly. "I'll see you tonight."

"Okay mom," Autumn replied with a helpless laugh. "See you tonight."

Mrs. Rockwell had turned on the television and was watching the local news station. There were students and parents milling all over the school grounds, mixed with dozens of law enforcement personnel from a variety of agencies. Students and teachers were being examined by emergency service responders while K9 units roamed the grounds looking for explosive devices.

"While nobody is sure what caused everyone at both schools to black out, local geologists showed a spike in seismic readings right before the incident," a news anchor was saying. "An auroral glow was present in the air shortly after the event, reminiscent of other seismically active areas that have displayed strange optical anomalies that geologists believe to be caused by piezoelectric friction deep within the earth. A renowned neurologist has speculated that if there was a strong enough electric discharge from a geologic source, it could have caused a depolarization of nerves in the brain, causing anyone caught in the seismic zone to lose consciousness. The timing of the event was most fortunate. The only victim, Principal Jen Wiley, was taken to the local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries resulting from a gunshot wound to her shoulder. A witness to the incident, who has asked to remain anonymous, claims that the shooter would have probably hit a more critical location had he not passed out before pulling the trigger. For perhaps the first time in history, we can actually thank an earthquake for saving someone's life."

Autumn looked at Heidi with a small smile. "Looks like science has an answer for everything."

Heidi sighed, looking glum. "Just wait."

Chapter 10 - Conspiracies

Autumn didn't have to wait very long to see what Heidi meant. As she sat looking at the news on her phone while she waited for her mom to get home, some of the details that televised news would never report on began to appear online. Dozens of students reported seeing Heidi stand up in class and shout HYPNOS loud enough to crack glass right before everyone passed out. Apparently, Hypnos was Greek for sleep. The fact that neither Autumn nor Heidi were present when everyone else awoke only confirmed their suspicions that Heidi was responsible for the blackout.

Some of the police had even leaked the fact that military vehicles had whisked Heidi and Autumn away before anyone could question them, spawning a host of government conspiracies. Heidi's father was even in some of the pictures, as reporters mobbed the base to try and find out what the military was hiding.

His answer had been simple. He had been there to pick up his daughter after learning that there was an active shooter at the school, which any father could understand.

A whole subreddit had opened up as well, listing all of the oddities that had been witnessed at the school regarding Heidi. From her comment on pyramids to the loud boom in the auditorium, every slightly odd or supernatural incident that had occurred was listed. There were no pictures of Heidi or Autumn though. Apparently, all of the electronics at the school had gotten fried, including the surveillance system.

Electronics getting cooked seemed to be a sign that Heidi was present. Several reporters who had shown up at her house to try and interview her had left with broken electronics and no explanation on how they had stopped working. Several media outlets were offering obscene sums of money for anyone that could produce a picture of Heidi. By the time Autumn's mother arrived home, nobody had been able to produce a picture.

"Okay, what's going on?" her mother asked in a no-nonsense tone as soon as she finished hugging her.

Obviously, her mother had been reading the news on the internet during her flight. Autumn let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't want to freak you out before, so I kind of didn't tell you that Heidi has some supernatural abilities."

"Well guess what?" her mother asked archly. "I'm freaked out. When did this all start?"

"The day I met her," Autumn replied with another sigh. She told her mother about that first day, and how everything had become so clear after Heidi had done her magic on her. She told her everything, including the easily acquired equilibrium, and Heidi's knowledge on physics and history that seemed light years ahead of her contemporaries.

"Since the day I met her, my life has gone from pathetic, to fantastically amazing," Autumn told her mother pointedly. "I've never been so happy, and I've certainly never felt as safe. She is a good person. I hope you don't try to forbid me from being friends with her, because that won't happen."

Her mother smiled sardonically, shaking her head. "I wasn't going to forbid you from being friends with her. From everything you have told me, you are right—she is a good person. That's what is important to me. If you were friends with someone who has this kind of extraordinary power that wasn't good, I would do everything in my power to prevent you from seeing them."

"Thanks mom," Autumn let out a relieved breath. "I wanted to tell you about her, but I was worried you would get all overprotective."

"You think I've got it tough," her mother suddenly laughed. "I can't even imagine the crap storm Colonel Rockwell is dealing with right now. He probably has no idea what is going on either. I can't even imagine how rough this must be for him."

Autumn nodded her agreement. "Yeah, I saw some of the stuff they were saying on the internet. The thing everyone seems to be ignoring is that if she hadn't done something, there would be a lot of dead people right now. I'm sure she didn't want to make her dad's life harder, but that's a pretty tough decision to make. If you have the power to stop something bad from happening and do nothing, are you culpable?"

"My, you have grown wise," her mother smiled, looking impressed. "So are you going to bring Heidi over here so I can finally meet her tomorrow?"

"If I can," Autumn said slowly. "Who knows if she'll even be able to get out of the house tomorrow, with all of the reporters mobbing her house."

"That shouldn't be a problem," her mother said with an amused grin. "I heard through the grapevine that Colonel Clegg sent a platoon of plain clothes soldiers to bully the reporters out of the area."

"Good for him," Autumn said with a grin of her own.

Chapter 11 - Affirmation

James straightened his shoulders and knocked on his daughter's door. He had avoided this conversation for long enough. He needed to know what was going on with his daughter before everything spiraled out of control. He knew Roger was already taking a lot of heat from their superiors demanding answers, of which they had none. It wouldn't be long before a special forces team showed up and tried to forcibly take Heidi in for questioning.

Heidi opened the door, and James stepped back as the full force of his daughter's alternate personality focused on him. He had only witnessed it a few times, and each time he felt like a bug, a worm, unworthy, or perhaps just unable, to comprehend the vast presence confronting him.

"Come in," she said without preamble.

James nodded and entered, noting how tidy his once sloppy daughter's room was. The two of them stood watching each other silently for almost a minute. She seemed to know what he wanted and waited patiently while he tried to frame the right words for the question.

"Are you still my daughter?" he finally asked, feeling more vulnerable than he had since childhood.

Those ancient eyes regarded him thoughtfully, wise beyond measure. "I am. Tell me, what do you believe defines an individual? What makes them unique?"

James thought hard. What did make him the person he thought of as James Rockwell? What defined him as the man he had become? "I suppose the memories, experiences, and my innate personality that guides my decisions based on those memories define me for who I am."

Heidi nodded, a small smile of approval crossing her lips. "And if James Rockwell suddenly gained a host of new memories, would he still be the same person? Have you thought of yourself as a different person than James Rockwell as your store of memories has grown over time?"

He shook his head silently.

"If you acquired a cache of new memories accumulated through many lifetimes, would you still be James Rockwell?" Heidi asked softly.

"I don't know," James admitted doubtfully. "Hypothetically, yes, but if those memories happened to different bodies, to different individuals and were suddenly thrust into my head, I'm not so sure. How much of the daughter I knew is still present in such an ocean of personality? Is she a separate entity entirely, or are you one person?"

Heidi sighed, and a bone weary sadness filled those wise eyes. "We are still separate right now, though that is not entirely accurate. I would never possess another individual and steal their body. We exist as willing partners in an enterprise to become something more than either of us are separately. However, the overall personality of your daughter does not have full access to my memories. I would never push that kind of torture onto such a young mind. Over time, she will gain more access to my memories as she acclimates to the abilities those memories offer. Eventually, once she has gained full mastery, we will be one individual. Until then, I must protect her mind from the horrors of what human nature has wrought throughout the ages. I will never allow harm to come to your daughter's mind. If it brings you any peace of mind, you might think of me as a constant companion to your daughter, a friend and a confident. I am superseding her will right now to have this conversation, at her request. When this conversation is over, your daughter will once again be in full control of this body."

James let out a relieved breath. If she spoke truly, then the situation was better than he had anticipated. He had been sure that another consciousness had completely supplanted his daughter.

"James, you should know that your daughter holds you in the highest esteem," Heidi told him seriously. "She loves you more now than she has ever before. The care and concern you have taken to keep her safe have filled her with more admiration than crude words can define."

James felt tears fill his eyes as he regarded the powerful entity in front of him. No father could ask for greater affirmation from his child. "Thank you."

"I love you dad," Heidi said, and the powerful presence was gone.

James gathered his daughter in a tight embrace, shaking slightly as tears leaked down his face. He had not lost his daughter after all.

Chapter 12 - Security

James sat across from Roger's desk in his office. The two of them had spent the last hour discussing the previous evening's revelations. Roger had been far more willing to believe the full account than James would have been if the situations were reversed.

"So we know that she has some kind of entity that has abilities beyond our understanding helping to protect her," Roger said thoughtfully. "But I think a little caution on our part might be prudent."

"What did you have in mind?" James asked curiously.

"A security detail," Roger said, and raised a hand before James could object. "Not a full time security detail. Just some plain clothes sergeants that know how to keep their mouths shut who can unobtrusively keep an eye on them when they are away from the house. While it might be unnecessary, and this entity may be able to ensure your daughter's safety, why take unnecessary risks? Once things calm down, we can suspend the security detail. You know as well as I do that some idiot in Washington might decide to take matters into their own hands. Let's be prepared for that possibility."

James sighed and nodded. "You're probably right. Thanks for your support in this. I hate to abuse your position. I've already done that enough the last couple of days."

"You know I don't have any children and probably never will," Roger said seriously. "Heidi's always been like a niece to me. I want her safe too."

Chapter 13 - Secret Squirrel

Sergeant Barreto stood with three other members of her squad in Colonel Clegg's office. He sat at his desk studying them silently for almost a minute. He finally sighed and sat up straighter in his chair.

"At ease," he said absently. "As far as the record is concerned, this meeting never happened. Do any of you have a problem with that?"

Sergeant Barreto barely twitched an eyelid. She remained silent, as did the other three women next to her. Colonel Clegg was by far the best commander she had served under. He had earned her loyalty many times over.

"This assignment is classified, and you will report all information to myself or Colonel Rockwell. The four of you will be going outside the wire for this mission. You've all gone secret squirrel before, which is why you are here now. You'll be plain-clothes the whole time, 9-mils only. Your primary mission is to monitor and if necessary, protect Heidi Rockwell. I know there has been a lot of speculation regarding Miss Rockwell after the last couple of days in the media. Ignore anything you've heard. The truth is far far stranger. In addition to your primary mission of protecting Miss Rockwell, you will also be gathering any information you can regarding her activities. Anything that seems odd, or even slightly out of place, you are to include in your report. I am not exaggerating when I tell you this could be the most important mission you will ever embark on. This is not a babysitting mission. Never mistake it for one. There is a good chance that there will be abduction attempts. If such an attempt is made, you will immediately call for backup and do everything in your power to prevent such an attempt from succeeding until backup arrives."

Sergeant Barreto felt a thrill of excitement as Colonel Clegg outlined the parameters of their mission. She had indeed seen the news but had blown it off as media hype. Apparently there was a lot more to it than hype.

Chapter 14 - Clavicle

Jen Wiley lay in a hospital bed staring at the wall across the room blankly. They had her on a morphine drip to help deal with the pain of a shattered clavicle. She had only been on morphine once before, and it had caused her to have vivid hallucinations. This time was no exception. She couldn't tell when a nurse was actually real, or if she was talking to a figment of her drug induced imagination.

At around two in the morning, an extremely tall woman in a Greek toga appeared next to her bed. At least she could tell this one was a hallucination. As she stared at the tall woman, she decided it wasn't quite a Greek toga. It was far more stylish, and definitely far sexier. As she made eye contact with the woman, she blinked in surprise. She had seen those eyes somewhere before. She was pretty certain they belonged to a fourteen-year old girl, not this mature looking giant of a woman. Those eyes stared down at her sorrowfully as the woman sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry I didn't react sooner," the woman said regretfully. "I could have saved you from this pain."

"Thas okay," Jen slurred, blinking up at the woman owlishly. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine," the woman disagreed, reaching down and touching Jen's injured shoulder. Jen expected a wave of pain, but the hand passed right through her, like she was insubstantial.

"Your hand just went through my shoulder," Jen informed the beautiful titan gravely.

"Completely shattered," the woman murmured vaguely. "A few bone shards scraping your artery too."

"Yeah, they're going to remove those in the morning," Jen told her sleepily.

"That won't be necessary," the woman said firmly.

Jen frowned at the odd pronouncement, then gasped as her shoulder turned icy cold, then heated up just below the pain threshold.

"What are you doing?" Jen asked in shock.

"Fixing this mess," the woman replied absently. "Hold still."

Jen complied as the woman's insubstantial hand probed around inside her shoulder, causing small jolts of warmth and cold to shoot around in quick succession. After less than a minute of probing, the woman removed her hand with a satisfied nod.

Jen frowned in confusion when she realized there was no pain at all in her shoulder. Even with the morphine, she had still been able to feel the pain. Now, it was completely gone. She looked up to thank the woman, but there was nobody else in the room.

She hesitantly tested her shoulder, trying to lift her arm and expecting excruciating pain at any moment. The pain never came, and she easily revolved her arm around in a wide circle.

Unsure of whether she was hallucinating, she pushed the red button to call a nurse in.

"Do you need more morphine, honey," the nurse asked with concern as she entered the room.

"No, I think I need less," Jen replied, rotating her arm around in circles. "I don't feel any pain at all. It's like my shoulder is completely healed."

"Uh, you really shouldn't be doing that, honey," the nurse told her worriedly. "You could damage it worse."

"I'm pretty sure it's healed," Jen told the nurse slowly. "Would it be possible to get another x-ray?"

"That's probably just the morphine talking," the nurse told her kindly.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's not the morphine," Jen insisted. "Please, can I get another x-ray?"

"I'll get the doctor," the nurse said doubtfully.

An hour later, the radiologist was staring at the results on the computer screen in disbelief. "There must be some mistake," he said, shaking his head with a frown. "Let me take another scan."

Jen nodded, already knowing there was no mistake.

A few minutes later, the second scan confirmed the results of the first scan. Her clavicle was all in one piece, like it had never been shattered.

"This doesn't make any sense at all," the radiologist declared as he stared at the results in perplexity. "There's no way it could have healed that fast. Let's have a look at your puncture."

He gently unwound the bandage around her shoulder enough to reveal the site where the bullet had entered her skin. There was nothing but unblemished skin, not even the stitches. He gasped in astonishment, then continued unwinding the bandage all of the way.

"I don't understand," he said in bewilderment. "You came in with a gunshot wound, didn't you?"

"Yes," Jen nodded. "A very painful wound."

"Can you hold on for a minute?" He asked in a bemused tone. "I'm just going to contact some of my colleagues."

"I'll be right here," Jen said dryly.

He quickly left the room, looking back at her with a baffled glance as he exited. Jen picked up her phone and noted that she had dozens of text messages from friends and family wanting to know how she was doing. She opened a text from Wendy.

"Call me when you can," Wendy's text read. "Any time, night or day."

Jen called her, glad that it would still be daytime in Germany.

"Jen, are you okay?" Wendy's voice was filled with worry.

"I am now," Jen laughed a little manically. "I wasn't a few hours ago."

"Oh?" Wendy asked anxiously. "What's changed?"

Jen told her about the strange hallucination, as well as the new x-ray results. When she finished, Wendy let out a relieved breath.

"I'm glad you’re better," Wendy told her softly. "I've been freaking out over here, ever since I saw the news. What happened? There are dozens of conflicting reports on the news."

"Well, I think your little song bird saved my life," Jen told her seriously. "I was sitting in my office when Jared Jenkins walked in with a gun and told me I was the reason this country was going to hell in a handbasket. I tried to reason with him, but he was hell bent on cleansing all of the 'sinners' at the school. Just when he started pulling the trigger, I heard Heidi's voice like it was coming out of a megaphone. She said 'hypnos', and Jared passed out. If he hadn't passed out, the bullet would have hit me in the chest. He was only a few feet away. Then I passed out too and woke up in an ambulance with more pain than I've ever experienced before."

"Wow," Wendy whispered after a moment of silence. "Just...wow."

"Yeah," Jen agreed fervently. "Wow."

"So are you leaving the hospital soon?" Wendy asked curiously.

"I don't see why not," Jen replied with a laugh. "There's not much point in a healthy person hanging around here. Oh, I've got to go. It looks like the doctor is back with some friends."

"Okay, take care," Wendy said sincerely.

"You too," Jen responded, ending the call.

The radiologist had one of the doctors who had checked up on her earlier in tow. He came over and inspected her shoulder, shaking his head in disbelief at what he found—or rather, what he didn't find.

"You don't have a twin sister, do you?" the doctor asked hopefully. "This isn't some kind of prank?"

"I'm an only child," Jen replied dryly. "Do I strike you as the kind of person that would play a prank like this?"

"No, you don't," the doctor replied, taking a deep breath. "But I'm out of any ideas to explain what's happened here."

"Well, I'd really like to get some sleep in my own bed," Jen told them hopefully. "Is there any chance of getting discharged tonight?"

"I can't see what else there is we could keep you here for," the doctor replied in a mystified tone. "Apparently, there is nothing wrong with you."

Chapter 15 - Guitar

Autumn awoke to a knock on her bedroom door. She groggily looked at the clock. 7am. Oh yeah. She had turned her alarm clock off since there would be no school today.

"Are you awake, Autumn?" her mother asked, her voice sounding odd.

"I am now," Autumn replied with a sigh. "What's up, mom?"

Her mother came into the room holding the mp3 player Autumn had left on the table, with a pair of headphones in her ears.

"Autumn, is what I'm listening to the music you and Heidi have been making?" her mother asked in an awed voice.

"Well, it's what Heidi has been making, and I have been singing," Autumn corrected her with a whimsical smile.

"This is...amazing," her mother whispered, a faraway look in her eyes. "I've never heard anything so soul riveting."

"That's what I've been telling you," Autumn told her with a wry grin. "Heidi hasn't just been arranging a bunch of garage band material. She is literally a musical genius. I'd like to point out that one of those guitar tracks is actually me playing."

Her mom sat on the edge of her bed, just listening to the music, her eyes entranced. Autumn wasn't surprised to see tears on her mother's face—many of Heidi's songs had elicited a similar reaction from her. They were so powerfully transcendent that they literally overwhelmed the senses.

"Okay, we're going guitar shopping today," her mother announced after almost fifteen minutes of silently listening to Heidi's songs.

"Really?" Autumn sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes shining with excitement.

"I'm so sorry I didn't take you more seriously before," her mother apologized, wiping the remnants of her tears away. "I had no idea. It would be an act of criminal neglect for me not to get you a guitar at this point. And I want to hear that lovely voice of yours around the house, young lady."

Autumn beamed at her mother as she jumped out of bed and hurriedly began getting ready for the day.

Chapter 16 - Performance

Kate Sorensen stared at her daughter, Autumn, in the rear view mirror of their SUV as they drove over to Heidi's house. She had been thrilled at Autumn's newfound motivation for proper eating and exercise, and especially her new friendship. Autumn had always been a loner, more interested in watching television than making friends. It had been like a gift from the gods for her to meet Heidi.

She had definitely underestimated Autumn's description of Heidi as being a genius, chalking it up to her enthusiasm for having a new friend. After hearing the orchestral arrangements mixed with a modern rock ensemble that Heidi had recorded were glaring evidence that Autumn had not exaggerated in the least.

Of course, now there was this supposed supernatural element as well. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. As much as she wanted to call the events all coincidence, it would be blind obstinance at this point to ignore the evidence that something unnatural was going on with Heidi.

As she pulled onto the quiet residential road where Heidi lived, Kate's keen eyes spotted a government issue unmarked car parked unobtrusively down the street from Heidi's house. As she passed it, she glanced at the two ordinary women sitting in the front seats. Kate had been working around soldiers long enough to recognize them whether they were in uniform or not. These two were definitely soldiers, and she had little doubt they were here to keep an eye on Heidi.

As they pulled up to the Rockwell house, Kate felt a small worm of anxiety wriggle through her midsection. Autumn had warned her about what she called Heidi's 'god mode', which was apparently when Heidi performed many of her supernatural feats. She said Heidi could be extremely intimidating when in god mode.

"You okay, mom?" Autumn asked her with a knowing smile.

"I'm fine," she replied, shaking her head ruefully. "Go get your friend and let's go shopping."

"No need," Autumn said, opening the back door. "She's on her way."

Kate watched closely as Heidi exited the house. Autumn was right. This was definitely not the same Heidi that Kate remembered. Heidi seemed to have lost every ounce of fat she had once carried in abundance. She had grown at least half a foot as well. Kate was tall for a woman, and she was probably only a few inches taller than the young woman confidently approaching their SUV. Halfway to the vehicle, Heidi glanced down the street at the covert soldiers, her lips curving slightly. Then she turned back to the SUV and met Kate's curious gaze.

Kate blinked in surprise as ageless eyes full of untold wisdom peered into her soul. Her breath caught as the sense of overpowering intelligence studied every cranny and corner of her being. She felt like a sheet of glass, completely transparent to the young women's probing gaze. Every secret she ever had was inspected and catalogued.

Then Heidi smiled in greeting, and the overpowering presence vanished. "Hello, Ms. Sorenson. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Kate managed to reply weakly. In the rearview mirror, Autumn winked at her and smiled encouragingly.

Okay, she was a believer. It was one thing to hear about how extraordinary Heidi was—it was completely different to actually experience it firsthand.

She noticed the 'covert' soldiers pull out and trail them from a discreet distance. It suddenly occurred to her that if the Colonel was having a security detail watch his daughter, there might actually be a cause for worry when in Heidi's presence. What if some bigshot from DC wanted to take Heidi apart to see how she ticked? Could Autumn get caught in the crossfire?

Heidi's supercharged gaze captured hers in the rearview mirror and Kate had to remind herself how to breathe. Heidi shook her head slightly, as if she knew exactly what Kate was thinking. Considering she had knocked out hundreds of people with some kind of superpower, perhaps Kate should worry more for any poor fools sent to try and take her in. Heidi nodded slightly, as if she was listening to every thought Kate had. Kate couldn't hold back an involuntary shiver as she tried to just focus on driving.

"Do you mind if we pick up one more person?" Heidi asked her, eyes once again those of a normal adolescent—well, mostly.

"Not at all," Kate smiled easily. "Who and where?"

"Aria," Heidi replied, passing her phone up to Kate with a mapping app already open. "She's a little shaken up after the events yesterday, so I thought we could recharge her confidence."

"Oh, nice," Kate smiled again. "So you two have been keeping in contact?"

Autumn's eyes were suddenly staring at her in the mirror full of unsaid meaning as she shook her head slightly.

"Sort of," Heidi replied after a pause.

It took Kate a moment to make sense of the interchange. Oh. She probably has a psychic eye on Aria. God this is getting weird.

When they pulled up to Aria's house, Heidi walked over and rang the doorbell. A short man in a tank top and shorts answered the door. Kate had seen a lot of lushes in her life, and she recognized the signs of a man who spent a lot of time with a bottle in his hand. Kate couldn't hear the exchange, but a moment later the man was cowering and backing away from Heidi with a look of absolute terror in his bloodshot eyes. A dark stain down the front of his shorts was evidence that he had just soiled himself in fear. There was a sudden boom that shook the car, and the engine died. The man collapsed on the ground and convulsed as if he were having a seizure. Heidi stood over his quivering form like an avenging angel, auroral lights arcing around her as she spoke quietly.

The soldiers, who had parked a few hundred feet behind them, were out of their car and watching the exchange uncertainly. They looked ready to rush up the road at a moment's notice.

"What's going on?" Kate asked in alarm.

"If I had to guess," Autumn replied, not sounding very alarmed at all. "I would say that Heidi has discovered that Aria's dad has not been a very good father. She is extremely protective of children."

"What do you mean, 'not been a very good father?'" Kate asked sharply.

"Probably just verbally abusive," Autumn guessed thoughtfully. "I don't think she would leave him alive if he were doing anything more serious than that."

Heidi looked past the semiconscious man into the house and made a beckoning gesture. A moment later, Aria came out of the house, tears staining her cheeks. Heidi put an arm around her and guided her to the SUV. Kate tried to start the engine again as they climbed inside, but it was completely dead.

"Car's dead," she sighed, glancing at Heidi warily.

"Try it again," Heidi instructed, her voice layered with overtones of supreme authority. Yep, she was in full on god mode.

Kate's hands shook slightly as she turned the keys again. The SUV roared to life. Kate glanced back in the mirror, but Heidi's attention was on Aria. Letting out a shaky breath, she continued on toward the guitar store. Several of the neighbors had started coming out of their houses to see what the loud boom was. The soldiers behind them had apparently been far enough away to not have their car stalled, because they pulled out and began following again as she turned the first bend.

By the time they arrived at the guitar store, Aria had stopped crying and was even smiling as Heidi and her daughter bantered with her about what an awesome vocalist she would make.

Kate frowned as they entered the mall where the guitar store was located. She had forgotten about Heidi's notoriety. Hopefully the news media had remained unsuccessful in finding a picture of Heidi. If so, nobody would recognize her.

The soldiers were casually following from a few dozen feet behind as they walked through the sparsely populated hallways. Kate noticed Heidi smiling broadly as they passed the children's play area. There were several mothers with their children playing on the small playground. Autumn was right—Heidi seemed to have a real soft spot for children.

"So which one do I want?" Autumn asked Heidi helplessly as they surveyed row upon row of guitars.

Heidi calmly walked along the row of guitars, plucking one string of each guitar she passed by. She slowly made her way down the aisle of guitars as the bemused clerk watched curiously. About halfway down the aisle she stopped and pulled a Fender down from the rack. She spent a few seconds tuning it, seeming to know the right pitch for every string without any source of reference. Then she began playing a haunting melody that grew steadily more complex, until both of her hands were flying up and down the fretboard. A few of the other people in the shop gathered around to watch in appreciation. Kate marveled at how anyone could make something sound so beautiful from metal and wood.

"This is the one you want," Heidi informed Autumn as the onlookers clapped enthusiastically, some of them calling for more.

"That's pretty expensive," Autumn said when she looked at the price tag.

"No it's not," Kate disagreed, taking the guitar from Heidi and presenting it to the clerk at the counter.

"How about one more performance, before you go?" the clerk asked hopefully. "You're a great advertisement for window shoppers."

"Yeah, let's hear another one," Aria encouraged, her eyes filled with amazement.

"Only if I get my partner," Heidi replied with a smile, arching an eyebrow at Autumn. "Rise of the Serentium?"

Autumn swallowed hard, looking at the small audience that had gathered around. "I'm not sure about playing in front of people…"

"I'll start, you join in," Heidi told her, pulling another guitar from the rack. "It will be just like in the studio."

Kate nodded her head encouragingly, excited to finally see her daughter perform.

Autumn nodded, smiling weakly. "Okay, you start."

Heidi started picking a poignant melody line. A moment later, Autumn began strumming a rhythm in perfect time. After a few rounds of the same melody line, the picking became more complex, and Heidi began singing. It was like time suddenly stood still as everyone in earshot stopped what they were doing to listen to that glorious voice. Kate felt a tear run down her cheek as Autumn's voice began harmonizing with Heidi.

Kate had been to live concerts and heard beautiful music before, but nothing could have prepared her for how soul capturing the music Heidi and her daughter were performing. The word 'transcendent' seemed far too commonplace to describe how spiritually moving their masterpiece of musical genius was.

When they finished, there was a deafening silence as everyone around stared at them in profoundest respect. Then the cheering began as people from all over the mall began gravitating toward the music shop to find the source of the seraphic music.

"Autumn?" a young blonde girl was staring at Autumn from the guitar shop entryway in astonishment. "Was that you?"

"Me and Heidi," Autumn replied with a blush. "Yeah."

The girl's eyes widened as she looked past Autumn to where Heidi was putting the guitar back on the rack. She took an involuntary step back as Heidi's gaze landed on her.

"Hello, Alice," Heidi greeted the young woman with a smile. "How's your head?"

"It's... fine," Alice replied, looking spooked. "It was just a goosebump."

"Sorry about that," Heidi said apologetically.

"This is Heidi?" the store clerk asked, pulling his phone out to take a picture. "As in, the Heidi that's been all over the news?"

"Time to go," Kate said firmly, beckoning the girls to follow her.

Phones were popping up all over as the name Heidi rippled through the crowd like an echo. Everyone wanted a picture of the latest celebrity. The two soldiers seemed to be battling awestruck expressions that threatened to dominate their faces. The crowd parted easily for Heidi as they left the building.

"Well, so much for the media not having a picture of Heidi," Kate muttered sourly.

"That won't be changing anytime soon," Heidi assured her with a steely glint in her eye. She didn't elaborate.

"So are you interested in joining now?" Autumn asked Aria with a grin.

"Hell yeah," Aria replied, laughing in amazement. "I still can't believe that just happened."

"Yeah," Kate told her with a wry grin. "And you only heard them singing with two guitars. You should hear them with their full orchestral arrangement."

"You did pretty good in front of a crowd," Heidi congratulated Autumn cheerfully. "You're a natural."

Autumn blushed at the praise, her eyes shining. "Thanks, that was a lot of fun."

Chapter 17 - Meat Eaters

Sergeant Barreto sat at a table in their room at a small motel trying to write up the report for the day.

"Lynch, how the hell do I tell the Colonel that she magically made some deadbeat dad excrete all of the alcohol out of his system in seconds instead of hours?" Sergeant Barreto asked plaintively. "I'm going to sound like a raving lunatic."

"I'm pretty sure he's expecting crazy shit like this," Sergeant Lynch told her with a shrug. "He did say the truth was far far stranger than anything the media had reported on."

"Do you think I should mention that she seems to know we're following her?" Sergeant Barreto asked doubtfully. "That really makes us sound incompetent."

"You might as well," Sergeant Lynch laughed humorlessly. "He did say he wanted us to report everything. I get the feeling that he won't hold this against us though. I mean, you saw some of the weird shit she did today. It's not like there is a precedent for this kind of thing. We're trailblazing here."

"I still can't believe how weird this whole thing is," Sergeant Barreto muttered with a shake of her head. "I wonder what's really going on here. Do you think she's, like, part of some alien exchange program?"

"Interesting idea, but doubtful," Sergeant Lynch replied with a shake of her head. "They wouldn't be worried about abduction attempts if this was some kind of interstellar exchange program."

"True, I suppose that…" Sergeant Barreto broke off as their emergency pager began beeping.

"Shit!" Sergeant Lynch jumped up and looped her earpiece in as they both ran to the car in the parking lot.

"Talk to me, Stakes," Sergeant Barreto demanded as they jumped into the car and sped out of the parking lot.

"I've got a possible abduction attempt in process," Sergeant Stakes reported tersely. "Spook bird following for the last few minutes."

"Where are you?" Colonel Rockwell's voice barked into the earpiece.

"A few clicks north of the Rockwell residence," Sergeant Stakes replied quickly. "A second bird is approaching."

"Lieutenant Davis," Colonel Rockwell called out loudly. "Page air control and warn those jackasses that they are in military airspace. They have two minutes to leave before they are shot down. Get some escorts up there."

"They're decreasing altitude," Sergeant Stakes reported quickly. "Orders?"

"Backup is on the way," the Colonel reported curtly. "Get over there and shoot anyone that comes out of that bird with a weapon."

There was a sudden boom, then another. A few seconds later, a fireball rose into the air several blocks away, follow by a second moments later.

"Sir, both birds just dropped out the sky," Sergeant Stakes reported, sounding shaken. "It looked like engine failure."

"Damage assessment?" The Colonel asked, sounding relieved.

"They didn't fall straight down," Sergeant Stakes replied, sounding slightly bewildered. "They veered through the air and landed in an open field. Both birds exploded on impact."

Sergeant Baretto stared at the wreckage as they finally came around a corner and met up with Sergeant Stakes and Jones. Both birds were in flames right next to each other, their rotors still spinning slowly.

"Where's the Primary?" Sergeant Baretto asked Sergeant Stakes quickly.

"They just went around the corner," Sergeant Stakes replied, already running back to her car. "You got this?"

"We got this," Sergeant Baretto nodded, walking over to the burning birds with Lynch close behind.

A quick survey of the wreckage revealed half a dozen corpses on each bird. Some of the local residents were tentatively walking into the field to get a closer look.

"Let's get out of here," Sergeant Baretto muttered to Lynch.

Sergeant Lynch nodded and the two of them quickly left just as several police cars arrived.

"Definitely not a babysitting job," Sergeant Lynch noted wryly.

"I'm feeling just a little unnecessary," Sergeant Baretto admitted. "I'm not sure what good any of us are going to be to someone who can bring down aircraft with their mind."

"She has to sleep sometime, right?" Sergeant Lynch pointed out. "We're there to watch her back."

Sergeant Baretto nodded slowly. "Yeah. Good point."

Chapter 18 - Senator

Senator Cornwallus felt his blood boil with anger as he listened to the report. That damn Colonel had the audacity to shoot two of his choppers out of the sky! He would pay, and he would pay dearly. He had been warned to stay out of this.

"You are the one who shall pay," a woman's voice said coldly.

He jerked around, scowling as a some kind of freak show stood watching him like he was a piece of refuse. She wore a long robe that clung tightly to her thighs, and her long dark hair was wrapped in a shiny material that cascaded past her shoulders.

As he looked into her eyes, his scowl vanished, and he hurriedly backed up until he ran into the wall. Those eyes, colder than an Antarctic wind, pinned him to the wall like a bug.

"You cost a dozen men their lives this night," she said in a voice thick with contempt. "Though I can see that is the least of your crimes. Goodbye, Senator."

He had time to scream once before everything exploded in white hot pain. Then everything was gone, including the Senator.

Chapter 19 - Dreams

"Cornwallus vanished last night," General Davis told the Deputy Director for Operations. "Well, that's not entirely accurate," General Davis corrected with a humorless smile. "They found a black spot on the ground we believe may be what's left of him."

"Shit," Garrison growled in annoyance. "He was supposed to keep the Armed Services Committee off my ass." There were large circles under his eyes, and his left eyelid had a nervous tick.

"You have trouble sleeping last night too?" General Davis asked with a raised eyebrow.

Garrison frowned at him. "Yes, why?"

"Apparently, everyone in our little committee had a similar dream," General Davis informed him, feeling a chill as he remembered his own vivid dream. "Some woman showed up and said we could either cease and desist or follow the Senator into oblivion. This was before any of us knew he was missing." He didn't need to mention that the mere presence of the woman had filled him with more terror than he had ever experienced in his life. There had been something so powerful about her presence that he knew she could erase him with a thought. When he had learned of the Senator's demise after waking up, he had nearly had a heart attack.

Garrison was staring at him in shock. "You all had this dream?"

"Yep," General Davis nodded. "I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on becoming a black spot on the floor any time soon. Whatever we are dealing with has us way outclassed here. Somehow she knew exactly who was behind the operation."

"What did the surveillance at the Senator's residence show?" Garrison asked, his face white.

"Just a bright orb of light floating through the house for a split second before the screen went to fuzz," General Davis replied with a shake of his head. "Some kind of noncorporeal entity."

"So what, you want to just leave her alone?" Garrison asked with a frown.

"Does it look like we have a choice?" General Davis asked with another humorless smile. "She's holding all the cards in this deck."

Garrison nodded slowly, his eyes filled with the same haunted look General Davis knew was mirrored in his own. "Okay, we'll suspend this project for now. We can revisit it at a later date. Let's work on getting more intel. We need to know what we're dealing with here."

General Davis nodded his agreement. "Agreed. I'll try and work through military channels to find out what Colonel Rockwell knows, if anything. As you'll recall, I suggested a non-combative approach to begin with."

Garrison snorted at him contemptuously. "Loyalty in the brotherhood and all that jazz, eh?"

"Come back and tell me about trust after you've been out in the field in enemy territory," General Garrison retorted angrily. "You might think of your own assets as disposable, but that's not how we do things over here."

"Fine, fine," Garrison said placatingly, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. I have to get back and brief ops on what happened."

Garrison watched him go with a sneer. He hated that the CIA enrolled civilians. If it were up to him, they would be required to serve time on the front lines and get a little perspective before being in charge of operations where lives were at stake.

Chapter 20 - Enlightenment

Aria stared at herself in the mirror as she prepared for another day at school. For the first time since starting high school, Aria was actually looking forward to school. It was her first year in high school, and so far, it had been the worst year in her life. After another student had found one of her poems that focused on a lesbian romance, it had seemed like the entire school had risen up against her.

Her mother had died during childbirth, leaving her with a father that hadn't even wanted a child to begin with, a fact he pointed out regularly. Of course, he treated her with almost inhuman courtesy now, ever since Heidi had done whatever it was she had done. Her dad couldn't even look at a bottle of alcohol anymore without immediately getting queasy.

Unable to keep an excited smile from her face, she left the house and began the short walk to the school. Today she was going to the studio with Heidi and Autumn after school. Autumn had assured her that regardless of how talentless she might feel, Heidi would flip a switch in her head and turn her into a musical goddess. Aria believed her too—she had witnessed firsthand Heidi's ability to alter the mind on a psychological level. A few days ago, she couldn't overcome her fear of what all of the other students thought of her sexual identity. Then Heidi did something, and suddenly she had no fear. It was like she could see how insignificant and immature the opinions of the other students were, and how amazing her own self-worth was.

A collective transformation had occurred to the social structure at the school. She discovered throughout the day that rather than avoiding her or giving her disparaging looks, many people were seeking her out to ask her questions about Heidi, with no questions at all about her sexuality. It was like she was just another student, a student many of them wanted to befriend.

Heidi was an immediate celebrity, though nobody dared to interact with her directly. Everyone seemed to think Aria and Autumn were their best chances of gaining some kind of association with Heidi. People had learned to stop trying to take pictures of Heidi early on. There were dozens of phones that were good for nothing but paper weights after taking a picture of Heidi. The few remaining owners of working phones had wisely learned that taking her picture was not a good idea.

Principal Wiley was back at school already, with no sign of her gunshot wound. Word had already spread that Heidi had somehow miraculously healed her. Of course, anything even remotely strange was being attributed to Heidi now.

Speculation ran wild on who or what Heidi was. Aria had to admit that she was also curious. In the few minutes of alone time she had with Autumn the previous day, she had asked Autumn what she knew about Heidi's abilities. Autumn had just shrugged and said, "absolutely nothing, and I don't care either. She's my friend, and that's good enough for me."

Aria's admiration for Autumn had immediately leveled up. All of this attention and Autumn didn't care about increasing her own popularity or profiting from her friend's fame in the least. That was a friend Aria would like to have.

The day seemed to fly by unnaturally fast. Normally, Aria counted each second until the end of the day. Now, she could only marvel as she left her final class. Where had the time gone? Is this what school was like for normal people? She hoped so, and she really hoped she continued to be included in the 'normal' demographic.

The substitute music teacher was already packing his accoutrements and preparing to leave when Aria walked in. He looked at her and frowned.

"Can I help you?" he asked, sounding impatient.

"Um, yeah," Aria replied, losing some of her confidence. "I was going to start practicing here after hours with Heidi and Autumn."

"You aren't on the list that Miss Devons left me," he replied shortly. "Sorry."

"Is there a problem with her joining us?" Heidi asked him as she entered the room.

He stiffened as he met her gaze, and the arrogance left his eyes, replaced by sudden uncertainty. Heidi radiated confidence like a nuclear blast. She held his gaze, her eyes boring into him.

"No, I'm sure it will be fine," he replied hastily, shouldering his bag and quickly exiting the room.

"What was his problem?" Autumn muttered as she stared at the door he had just exited.

"He's got a grudge against the world," Heidi replied, shaking her head disdainfully. "A false sense of entitlement has soured his outlook on life. Instead of seeing how good he has it in life, he focuses on what he believes he should have had given to him by his parents, government, etc.…"

"That's a miserable way to live your life," Autumn noted sadly.

"And misery loves company," Heidi agreed. "Hence, his acerbic attitude."

Aria didn't ask how Heidi knew the inner workings of the man's mind. She took her cue from Autumn and just accepted it as part of Heidi's innate makeup.

"Which instrument would you like to learn?" Autumn asked her with a grin.

Aria stared at the room full of instruments blankly, overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. Her eyes settled on the guitars, but she hesitated. Autumn was already specializing in guitar; she didn't want to seem to be mindlessly choosing the same thing.

"If you're unsure, I would suggest guitar or piano," Heidi suggested lightly. "There's plenty of time to learn others if you change your mind."

Aria nodded and pointed to one of the guitars. "How about this one?"

"Sure," Heidi agreed encouragingly. "Now Autumn will have someone besides me to practice with."

Aria picked up the guitar and studied it, feeling a sense of helplessness as she stared at the fretboard. "So you put your fingers on the strings here?"

She looked up, then let out a gasp when she saw Heidi standing inches away from her. Heidi gently touched the skin between her eyes and suddenly everything went blurry. There was an inverted boom that made her feel like her bones had just been liquified. The lights flickered and a flare of auroral discharge danced in the air between the two of them. The sensation only lasted a second before clarity returned. And clarity it was, like nothing she had ever experienced before. The colors in the room were sharper, her hearing keener, and she could feel every minor air current as it moved across her skin.

As she stared at the guitar that had seemed like an incomprehensible math formula, it suddenly all made sense. She could see how pressing the strings against the frets would lock the string to a higher frequency, how the body would resonate with the tone of each strum.

She looked up at Heidi, who was smiling down at her. "Is it really that easy?"

"Told you," Autumn laughed from where she stood behind Heidi. "Let's get started."

Aria sank into a trancelike state as she spent the next two hours learning scales and chords on the acoustic guitar. By the end of two hours, even Heidi was surprised at how quickly she was picking it up. Autumn was beside herself with glee, insisting that she start vocal training the next day.

As they left the school, Aria couldn't stop grinning. This had definitely been the best day ever. It continued to improve as she joined Autumn at Heidi's house for dinner. Heidi's mother was one of the most amazing women she had ever met. She had often fantasized about what it would have been like to have a mother, and judging by the warmth permeating the dinner table as Mrs. Rockwell beamed at the three of them, she had been missing a lot. When Aria revealed that her mother had died during childbirth, Mrs. Rockwell's eyes had filled with tears, and she had impulsively reached out a hand and placed it on Aria's.

It had been a surprising discovery that one of her former tormentors, Lucinda, was Heidi's sister. She sat at the far end of the table avoiding eye contact with anyone. She seemed withdrawn to the point of depression, a feeling Aria knew all too well.

Mr. Rockwell was very engaging as well, asking her about her interests and even surprising her when he revealed his own interest in poetry. She blushed a brilliant shade of red when he asked if she had any of her poetry with her, but Heidi just nodded at her encouragingly. She hesitantly pulled up one of her poems on her phone and handed it to him. She waited nervously as he read it, expecting immediate disapproval when he discovered it was about two women in love with each other. He surprised her when his stoic features broke into a pleased smile, and he handed it back to her.

"I hope you are submitting these to a poetry forum online somewhere," Mr. Rockwell told her, his eyes full of sincerity. "This is far too beautiful to keep to yourself."

Aria blushed a sunset at the praise. She couldn't keep a smile from lighting her face. "Thanks. I think I'm a little too self-conscious for that though."

"They'll be great song material," Heidi declared, her eyes twinkling. "We'll have to play with some of them tomorrow and find a song to match them to."

"Have you heard Heidi's music?" Aria asked the Rockwell couple curiously.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Rockwell asked with a questioningly look at Heidi. "I'll confess, I'm not sure what she's listening to these days."

"No, not what she's listening to," Aria said with a grin. "What she's composing."

"Composing?" her mom repeated in surprise. "I thought you just started learning to play at the start of the school year, Heidi?"

"You haven't shown them any of your songs?" Aria asked Heidi in surprise. "Now that is truly criminal."

"Heidi?" her dad asked with a raised eyebrow. "You've been composing?"

"Well, I was hoping to have a little more mastery over the orchestral elements before sharing it with you," Heidi admitted with a shrug.

"Spoken like a true perfectionist," Autumn chuckled with a playful nudge to Heidi's shoulder. "Your music brought my mom to tears."

"Let's hear it," Mrs. Rockwell said impatiently. "You do have some of it with you I assume?"

"I have a few of the songs on my phone," Autumn answered for Heidi with a grin. "Though it would be best to listen to it on better speakers."

"Plug it into the kitchen dock," Mrs. Rockwell told her. "It's a Bose system and has excellent sound."

Aria watched with interest as Autumn plugged her phone into the dock. She had only heard them perform at the guitar store and had yet to hear any of the full orchestral arrangements.

Mrs. Rockwell gasped as the intro of orchestral instruments made a powerful overture into the main theme of the song. Then Heidi's glorious voice poured out of the speakers like liquid gold, making any other sound mundane in comparison. Autumn's voice joined in with a counter harmony and the song went from fantastical to a deeply moving religious experience. Lucinda sat at the end of the table, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in an almost comical expression. Mr. Rockwell had unshed tears in his eyes as the song pushed at the boundaries of reality. Aria felt tears spilling down her own cheeks as she was caught up in an ageless tale of light and hope. When the song finished the room was deathly silent, as if everyone in the room was afraid to defile the air with common speech after something so sacred.

"It's still a work in progress," Heidi broke the silence with a shrug. "I'm having a hard time giving voice to some of the themes with the instruments available. I could really use a choir."

Aria slowly shook her head in amazement. She found it hard to believe that anything could improve upon what she had just heard.

"I had no idea," Mrs. Rockwell said with a sniff as she wiped at her eyes with a tissue. "Heidi, that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard in my entire life. Where did you learn how to play all of those instruments?"

"YouTube," Heid replied with another shrug. "There are whole channels dedicated to teaching anything and everything you could ever want to learn about music."

"That was beautiful," Lucinda whispered from the far end of the table, her face filled with wonder.

"Thank you," Heidi replied, smiling at Lucinda affectionately. "Your opinion means a lot to me."

Lucinda blushed, looking uncertain of how to respond.

"We need to get you some instruments to play at home," Mr. Rockwell declared firmly. "There is no reason for you to only be able to play at school."

"That would be wonderful, dad," Heidi said, her eyes filled with some kind of hidden meaning. "It helps me adapt to new concepts with a lot greater ease."

He nodded, seeming to understand something that the rest of them did not. "Make a list of what instruments you would like. We'll work on acquiring them throughout the year."

Aria marveled at the change that had come over Lucinda. Music truly was a magical language, capable of transforming a person in ways that language alone could never hope to achieve.

Chapter 21 - Healed

2 Months Later

Autumn broke off her conversation with Aria in mid-sentence as the two of them entered the orchestral room with Heidi. Miss Devons was sitting at her desk, looking tired and defeated. When she saw them enter, her face lit up with a smile.

"Heidi, It's great to see you again," Miss Devons said with true affection. "Who are these two?"

Heidi laughed with a twinkle in her eyes. "This is Aria. I believe you already know Autumn."

"Oh my god, is that you, Autumn?" Miss Devons gasped in shock. "What happened?"

"Good food and stimulating activity," Autumn replied, beaming at the reaction. "It's so good to see you back! I was worried you wouldn't be back for the rest of the year."

In the three months since Autumn had met Heidi, she had dropped to half her former size. While she still felt she had a lot more to go, the reactions of everyone around her were extremely flattering. She had been asked out no less than five times from some of the boys at the junior high, which had done wonders for her self-esteem. Aria had told her she had one of the most beautiful faces she had ever seen, and that if she never lost another pound she would still be a major attraction for any boys in her vicinity.

"Wow," Miss Devons said, shaking her head slowly as she looked Autumn up and down. "I mean really, wow."

Heidi was staring at Miss Devons oddly, her eyes losing their mirth. "How are you doing?"

Miss Devons looked at Heidi and her smile faltered. "I'm okay, Heidi, thanks for asking."

Heidi stared at Miss Devons silently, causing the older woman to shift uncomfortably. Finally, Heidi looked away and muttered something under her breath, looking more irritated than Autumn had ever seen her.

"You two go ahead without me," Heidi instructed, meeting Autumn's eyes with a steely gleam. "I need to take care of something."

Autumn nodded, feeling more than a little confused. Was she mad at Miss Devons?

"What was that all about?" Miss Devons asked in perplexity after Heidi left.

"I have no idea," Autumn replied in a mystified tone. "I've never seen her get irritated like that before."

"Odd," Miss Devons said, looking a little hurt. "So have the three of you put anything together in the studio yet?"

"You could say that," Aria answered with a wide grin. "Heidi has been trying to turn music into a fifth element."

"Really?" Miss Devons said, her eyes alight with interest. "Do you mind if I listen to some of it?"

"Sure," Autumn replied, grinning with Aria. "But brace yourself—this is not for the faint of heart."

Miss Devons looked at her oddly as she walked over to the studio and turned the Mac on. "That's a lot of songs," she noted as she looked at the folder with all of the source files. "Any suggestions on where I start?"

"The Great Renewal," Autumn asked Aria questioningly.

"Definitely," Aria agreed with a firm nod.

Miss Devons put the headphones on and opened the file. "Wow, that is a lot of tracks."

Autumn and Aria just waited as they watched silently. Miss Devons clicked the play button and sat watching the progress bar move across the tracks. By the end of the track, her hands were shaking as she pressed the stop button. Her eyes were filled with tears as she slowly shook her head over and over.

"How can anything be so beautiful?" Miss Devons asked, shuddering from the overpowering emotion.

"A shudder before the beautiful," Aria said absently, her eyes thoughtful.

The two of them didn't get a chance to do any recording over the next two hours. Miss Devons monopolized the studio, listening to song after song. She finally came out of the studio with a calm resolve on her face.

"I need to speak with Jen," She announced, her eyes far away.

Autumn recognized the first name of the principal as a result of her brief airing on the news several months ago when she had been shot.

Before Miss Devons could leave the room, an older woman entered. There were enough similarities that it was obvious she was Miss Devons' mother.

"Mom!" Miss Devons gasped in shock. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Looking for you, actually," her mother said with a shrug. "I thought I would come see how your first day back at school went."

"How are you even walking?" Miss Devons asked in amazement. "Come over here and sit down."

"I'll do no such thing," her mother declared indignantly. "I've just spent the last six months lying around in bed. It's time to get some exercise into these old legs."

Miss Devons' mouth worked, but no words came out as she stared at her very healthy looking mother.

"Are these the girls you told me about?" her mother asked, studying Aria and Autumn interestedly.

"Two of them," Miss Devons replied in bemusement. "I don't know where Heidi is."

"Heidi?" her mother asked with a frown. "I just met a woman named Heidi. I think I did anyway. It's all kind of fuzzy now. I couldn't understand what she was saying to me anyway—she was speaking a foreign language, and the damn military had a bunch of sonic booms going off that made it hard to concentrate. I thought they were only supposed to break the sound barrier in unpopulated areas."

Miss Devons suddenly clapped her hands to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears as she regarded her mother. "How are you feeling, mom?" she asked in a voice choked with emotion.

"I'm feeling right as rain," her mom replied, studying her daughter with a frown. "What's the matter with you? Why are you crying?"

Miss Devons could only shake her head as tears poured down her cheeks, unable to speak. A moment later, Miss Devons was holding her surprised mother in a tight embrace, sobbing in relief.

"My goodness, Wendy, are you all right?" her mother asked in concern.

"I'm more than all right, mom," Miss Devons sniffed as she finally reigned in her tears. "I'm just overjoyed to see you feeling so well."

"Well, I can tell you that it's good to be feeling this well," her mother said dryly. "I should have ignored the doctors and started walking around more a long time ago. All that lying in bed does is make you feel more ill."

"Shall we leave them to it?" Autumn murmured quietly to Aria.

Aria nodded, and the two of them unobtrusively left the classroom.

"Let me show you something beautiful, Mom," Autumn heard Miss Devons say before they were out of earshot. Autumn shared a glance with Aria and smiled.

Chapter 22 - Plans

Jen looked up in surprise as Wendy walked into her office without knocking, then frowned as she saw the look of intensity in Wendy's eyes.

"What's up?" She asked in concern, closing the lid of her laptop.

"Well, my mom's better," Wendy informed her in a tight voice that Jen knew well. She was barely holding back tears.

"Better?" Jen questioned, lines creasing her brow. "Is the treatment finally having an effect?"

"Nope," Wendy replied with a shaky laugh. "No treatment. Just a fourteen-year old that can apparently heal cancer."

"Oh my god," Jen sat up straighter in her chair. "What happened?"

Jen's eyes grew wide as Wendy recounted the events of the evening. Having experienced Heidi's ability to heal firsthand, she knew this was beyond coincidence.

"So she doesn't know she was healed by Heidi?" Jen asked when Wendy finished the tale.

"No," Wendy shook her head. "And I guess it's probably better that way for now. The media just barely stopped focusing on Heidi a few weeks ago. The last thing we need is another public incident to put her back in the spotlight."

"Wendy, this is fantastic news!" Jen smiled at her oldest friend. "I have been so worried about you for the last couple of months."

"Well, there's more to the story," Wendy said slowly, pulling out an mp3 player and handing it to her. "I've just given you what could probably be considered worth more than all of the gold in the world. Listen to that tonight. Whatever you do, don't listen to it while you're driving—you’ll crash."

"What is it?" Jen asked, feeling a chill.

"Music composed by Heidi," Wendy replied, her eyes filled with a strange light. "It's not something that can be described. You have to experience it. I have some ideas I'd like to run past you, but not until you've listened to that."

"Okay," Jen replied with a nod. "I'll listen to it tonight as soon as I get home."

Wendy nodded and then left without another word. Curious, Jen packed her laptop and left the office. When she got home, she hurriedly ate some dinner and got ready for bed before grabbing some headphones and starting the mp3 player.

She finally looked at the clock and realized three hours had gone by. Without hesitation, she started the first song again and listened through all of the songs until dawn stained the horizon. She debated calling in sick so that she could continue listening to the music over and over. With a regretful sigh, she reluctantly pulled the earbuds out of her sore ears and got ready for the day. Ideas flooded her supercharged mind the entire way to school. There was no way she would waste a resource this valuable. Wendy had been right in making her listen to the music before discussing it.

She went straight to Wendy's classroom when she arrived at the school. Wendy took one look at her bloodshot eyes and laughed.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" Wendy asked wryly.

"Not a wink," Jen answered, closing the door behind her. "We need to talk about Heidi."

"Ya think?" Wendy asked with a grin.

"Actually, I can't stop thinking," Jen replied, shaking her head. "I still can't believe what I just heard. I almost called in sick so that I could keep listening to it."

"So here's one of my ideas," Wendy said without preamble. "I was thinking we could start an after school orchestral club where any of my orchestral students could learn how to play Heidi's songs. Given Heidi's popularity, I'm pretty sure most of my students would leap at the chance to join, especially once they hear what she has created."

"That's kind of what I had in mind too," Jen told her as she walked over and sat down at the piano. "I would also like to plan an end of year concert where they could show the music to the rest of the school. If we could get a few of our local members of congress to join the event, we might even get someone to start funding more fine arts at the schools in this state."

"Brilliant," Wendy told her admiringly. "I've never had much luck with any of the campaigns I've waged for funding with the district, but if we get a lot of attention at the state level we might actually get some positive results."

"Do you think Heidi would be willing to share her music in such a manner?" Jen asked thoughtfully.

"I think so," Wendy replied confidently. "I'm pretty sure she might even help the students learn their instruments more quickly, like she did with Autumn and Aria."

"Let's do it then," Jen said with a smile of anticipation. "I'll definitely be a frequent visitor to see how it sounds live. I would really like to hear her sing in real life. Have you heard her yet?"

"No, just some vocal scales before I went to Germany," Wendy replied with a shake of her head. "Even singing training scales, her voice was riveting. I hope she records some vocal tracks today, because I would also like to hear that voice perform live."

"Do you mind?" Jen asked, nodding at the piano in front of her. "I haven't really played since our band days. Listening to Heidi made my fingers itch to play."

"Please do!" Wendy said enthusiastically. "I really miss your piano playing."

Jen smiled as she began playing one of their old songs from college. Her grin widened as Wendy picked up an electric guitar and joined her. When they finished, several students had entered the room and were watching the two of them in shock.

"We have a really cool principal," one of the boys noted to another student as Jen stood up to leave.

The other students nodded their agreement as she left the classroom. She hadn't felt cool for a long time. She couldn't help smiling to herself as she walked to her office with a skip in her step. Who needed sleep, anyway?

Chapter 23 - Visions

Aria sat in her last class for the day, anxious to get to the studio and start recording. Life had settled down at the school a few weeks after the shooting, aided no doubt by the lack of any supernatural activity from Heidi. People were still extremely curious about her, but time had a way of dulling even the most exciting events. According to Autumn, Heidi hadn't disagreed with any of the teachers regarding history or science in the last two months, much to the relief of the teachers. More than one teacher had been questioned by students regarding Heidi's version of the pyramid timeline and the growing planet. While they told their students that it was just nonsense from the internet, it was obvious that they themselves had a difficult time disregarding anything Heidi claimed to be true. While she was rarely in god mode, the memory of the times she was were extremely poignant. How do you doubt the word of a god when it comes straight from their mouth?

Aria shot out of her chair as soon as the bell rang and walked over to Miss Devons classroom. She stopped in surprise as she entered, staring nonplussed at the dozens of students milling about. They all turned to watch her keenly as she stood in the doorway, their eyes filled with intense curiosity.

"What's going on?" Aria asked an amused Miss Devons uncertainly.

"I showed some of the students what you, Heidi, and Autumn have been working on," Miss Devons informed her with a slight curve of her lips. "I wanted to see if any of the other students would be interested in joining the after school music club."

"Oh," Aria said lamely. She wasn't sure how she felt about having her time studying with Heidi encroached upon. "Heidi mentioned a little while ago that she wished she had a choir to work with."

"Is that so?" Miss Devons asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well, I have a feeling that she's going to get one."

Autumn and Heidi arrived a few minutes later. Autumn stared in surprise, but Heidi looked completely unfazed.

"That's what I'm talking about," Heidi said with a satisfied smile. "Now we can really bring the energy alive."

Heidi wasn't able to get another word out before Miss Devons rushed over and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Miss Devons said fervently, unshed tears in her eyes. "From now on, you'll get whatever you want from me. Just name it."

"From now on, you tell me before you run out of the country with a sick relative," Heidi told her sternly. "I already owe you for more than I could ever repay. I know you don't understand how, but trust me, you have done far more for me than I for you. Before you rush someone off to some primitive medical facility, bring them to me."

Miss Devons nodded through her tears as she released Heidi. "I'll remember that. Sorry."

Heidi shook her head ruefully, repeating the word 'sorry' wearily. "I see we have reinforcements."

The other students had watched the exchange in a reverent silence as they realized what had happened. The expectation in the room was palpable as everyone realized Heidi had not stopped performing her miracles—they just hadn't been witnessed by the masses.

"That we do," Miss Devons replied with a guilty look. "I hope you don't mind, but I shared your music with my classes throughout the day. I was hoping it would entice them to get more involved with music after school."

"I couldn't have asked for more," Heidi assured her with a pleased smile. "Recording to tracks is nice, but a recorded song is only a half-life of the real thing."

"Do you have a preference for how we proceed?" Miss Devons asked, as if Heidi was the teacher.

"Can everyone line up, please?" Heidi asked the anxiously awaiting students.

They made a line, watching Heidi curiously as she walked up to the first student in the line. She reached up and touched his head between the eyes. An inverted boom filled the room and caused the lights to flicker. The kid stumbled a little, but Heidi caught him by the elbow and steadied him. The other students gasped in amazement at the auroral discharge that briefly surrounded the two of them. Then she was moving down the line to the next student, leaving the previous kid staring around at everything in sudden wonder.

It felt like a thunderstorm as a steady stream of inverted booms filled the air. The students were bouncing with excitement as they chattered to each other about how much more alive they felt. Principal Wiley had entered the room at some point and was watching the performance in awe. When Heidi was finished, she sent the students to their respective instruments to warm up.

"Can you give them the notation?" Heidi asked Miss Devons.

Miss Devons didn't ask how she knew it was already printed. She handed out the sheets of music to the students and they quickly settled in to practice the new song.

"Grab your guitars," Heidi instructed her and Autumn as she sat down at the drum set.

As soon as Heidi started the intro, it was like a control net wrapped around all of them, linking their minds. Hearing the song performed live was exalting. She wouldn't have believed that it could sound better, but now there was an energy to it that was raw and wild. They played through the song without a single mistake, leaving Miss Devons gaping in amazement at her formerly third rate orchestral class. Principal Wiley was staring in shock as well. A small crowd of students were clustered outside of the door, drawn in by the amazing music.

"We're going to add the vocals this time," Heidi told the students calmly.

The students all nodded eagerly, their eyes shining with excitement. The energy in the room was electrifying as the group prepared to begin the song again.

Aria started the first verse, with Autumn joining in harmony halfway through. As the chorus arrived, Heidi's glorious voice joined theirs and time seemed to stretch out before them into infinity. Her voice had a golden sheen that carried the song into another dimension where sound became something physical. The song was accompanied by vivid imagery of an ancient civilization that had spanned every part of the globe.

Aria nearly stopped singing as the vivid imagery flooded her mind. This had never happened before. It must have been caused in part by the use of live instruments as opposed to recording it.

When they finished the song, silence reigned. The watching students' eyes were glazed as they slowly returned to the present. The super-civilization slowly receded from thought as the last shimmers of the symbols finally died away.

A loud cheer went up from the students as they regained their senses. Principal Wiley and Miss Devons shared a triumphant glance as the cheering continued. Aria realized she was cheering with rest of the students as an overpowering sense of accomplishment permeated the room. They had just seriously leveled up.

Chapter 24 - Entranced

Autumn and Aria sat at the dinner table with Heidi's family, a nightly tradition now anytime Autumn's mother was out of town. Lucinda had slowly acclimated to the new arrangement, even joining in conversations occasionally. Mrs. Rockwell was overjoyed to have the two of them at her house so often, clucking over them like a mother hen. Mr. Rockwell would often engage with Aria regarding her latest lyrics, occasionally offering a suggestion. It was obvious that Aria had taken to the nightly ritual like a water-starved plant. She soaked up the attention and affection hungrily, and the result was a stark contrast to her former state of lonely solitude. With her bright-red hair and vivacious personality, she was the life of the party wherever they went.

Part way through dinner, Heidi suddenly froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. Her eyes suddenly blazed with intensity, though she remained immobile. Everyone at the table stared at her as she entered full god mode. She just sat there, radiating power as her eyes remained distant.

After almost five minutes of silence, her eyes slowly refocused, and the intensity faded away.

"Sorry, I spaced out," Heidi said as if nothing had happened. "What were you saying?"

"Uh, welcome back?" Aria said with a small smile.

Everyone at the table laughed and the tension in the room deflated. Autumn didn't miss the small nod Heidi directed at her father. She had a feeling he knew more than the rest of them about Heidi's abilities.

Chapter 25 - Apparition

Sergeant Foster cursed as bullets peppered the ground around her squad. They were pinned down in a small town outside Fallujah after raiding a suspected child trafficking house. She was pretty sure it had been a trap. Her squad of mostly women had been nicknamed 'The Sisters of the Light' as a result of their propensity for doing night raids on known child trafficking cartels. They had obviously gained enough attention from disrupting business that someone had lured them into a trap with false information. She cursed again as a grenade landed on the ground behind the car they were hiding behind. Without a second thought, she dove onto the grenade, hoping the act would buy her squad some time to escape.

A deafening boom shook the ground and shattered windows; way too loud to have been the grenade. As she lay on the grenade, hoping for a quick death, another boom shook the ground. After another five seconds of continuing to breathe, she hesitantly rolled off of the grenade. There was nothing there but ash.

"What the freak?" Private Higgs gasped in shock as she stared at the ash pile. "What happened?"

"No idea," Sergeant Foster replied in bewilderment. "What are all of those booms? Do we have air support?"

"Hey!" Private Scott shouted in alarm. "There's a girl walking out in the road!"

Sergeant Foster swore again and ran out into the road, "Give me cover!"

Bullets rained down all around her as she ran toward the dark-haired girl. There was something very strange about the girl. Aside from the flash of gunfire, it was completely dark outside, yet the girl was perfectly visible, as if she was lit by an inner light.

Sergeant Foster froze as dozens of bullets suddenly stopped in the air in front of her, accompanied by another inverted boom. The girl spared her a brief glance and Sergeant Foster took a step back in sudden fear at the raw power in her eyes. The girl turned back to face several dozen militants, the light around her growing brighter. A fourth boom shook the ground and the gunmen finally noticed that reality was taking a lunch break. Their guns suddenly glowed orange in the blackness, followed by shrieks of pain. One final boom, and every militant fell to the ground, unmoving.

The girl turned back to her, the aura around her slowly fading. "Keep up the good work, Sergeant."

Then she vanished.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!" Private Scott breathed fervently. "What the hell just happened?"

Sergeant Foster just shook her head in disbelief as she walked over to the prone bodies. A quick check indicated that all of the gunmen were dead. There were no visible wounds, no indication of how they had died.

"They're all dead," She told her squad. "No idea how. No wounds, aside from burnt hands."

"Did an apparition really just save our asses?" Private Nekervis asked with an excited grin on her tanned face. "That is so freaking cool!"

"You're so freaking weird," Private Freer announced, shaking her head ruefully. "I know that you're obsessed with the paranormal, but seriously?"

"Anything about those booms catch your attention?" Sergeant Foster asked Private Nekervis with a raised eyebrow.

Private Nekervis suddenly smacked her palm to her forehead in astonishment. "Holy freaking monkey diarrhea! It was her! It was, wasn't it?"

Sergeant Foster just shrugged, "Sure. I mean, have you ever heard of anyone else that goes around doing supernatural crap with loud booming noises."

"Care to enlighten the rest of us?" Private Scott asked impatiently.

"Don't you remember all of the hype about that girl named Heidi that knocked a whole school out when a gunman was on the loose?" Private Nekervis asked her. "They said there were loud booming noises every time she did something supernatural."

"Oh yeah," Private Scott recalled with a frown. "How in the name of all that's not holy did she get over to this side of the world? And how did she even know we needed help in the first place?"

"I'm pretty sure that was just a projection," Private Nekervis informed her with an excited gleam in her eyes. "Maybe she's like a goddess or something. You know, omnipresent."

"Hell, I can't even argue with you," Private Scott said in exasperation. "Considering I don't have any other explanations."

"I sort of called out to her," Private Guay said sheepishly. "I was pretty sure we were goners, so I thought to myself, 'wouldn't it be nice if Heidi was here to save our asses'. Then she appeared."

They all turned to stare at her in surprise. "So what, we can pray to her?" Private Scott asked in disbelief.

"I don't think it works like that," Private Guay answered slowly. "My emotions were all over the board. Maybe that has something to do with it. I doubt she would appear just from someone calling her name."

"Hello Heidi!" Private Scott called out loudly, looking only a little disappointed when she didn't appear. "I guess we'll never know, unless we get into another tight spot."

"What did she say to you?" Private Nekervis asked Sergeant Foster curiously.

"She said to keep up the good work," Sergeant Foster said with a wide grin. "Apparently she approves of what we are doing."

"Should we report this to the Lieutenant?" Private Guay asked doubtfully.

"We'll have to," Sergeant Foster said with a heavy sigh. "We have several dozen bodies here with no explanation of how they died. Too many questions will arise if the locals have to clean this mess up."

Sergeant Foster called the Lieutenant and let him know that they had dozens of bodies that would need to be disposed of. The lieutenant had a famous temper, even in the army. Sergeant Foster waited patiently for the string of profanities to run down as Lieutenant Clark shouted into the radio loud enough to almost make the device unnecessary.

"You dumbasses don't move an inch until we get there," he roared into the radio. "And if I find a YouTube video of your squad picking a fight with the locals, I'll have your ass court martialed!"

"Yes sir," Sergeant Foster replied curtly.

"Do you think they'll finally break up our squad?" Private Guay asked apprehensively. "You're not really in danger of getting a Big Chicken Dinner, are you?

"No, of course not," Sergeant Foster scoffed with false confidence. They had become a tight knit group. Private Guay was an orphan and considered the squad her family.

"What the hell were you jumping on that grenade for, anyway?" Private Scott asked her grumpily. "Do you know what they would do to us if we came back without you? It would be better if you just let it take all of us out at once."

Sergeant Foster just chuckled, knowing that was Private Scott's way of thanking her for her willingness to sacrifice herself for the squad. As the oldest member of the squad, many of the soldiers thought of her as an older sister, rather than a commanding officer. She felt like an older sister most of the time. It was a full time job keeping these girls out of trouble inside the wire.

"BOHICA," Private Scott muttered as the rest of the platoon arrived.

The fifteen minute trip from the base had not noticeably improved Lieutenant Clark's temper—if anything, it had let it stew to a higher temperature. Curses littered the air around him as he surveyed the number of dead bodies all over the ground with the rest of the platoon.

"What the hell did you do to their hands?" he demanded as he studied a few of the corpses.

Sergeant Foster took a deep breath, knowing how unbelievable their tale would sound. "Their guns overheated and burned them," she replied levelly.

"You can shove that bullshit flag up your ass," he snorted, searching one of the bodies roughly. "What the hell did you use to kill them?"

"We didn't kill them, sir." Sergeant Foster replied stiffly.

He stalked over until he was inches from her face. "Do I look like I'm in the mood for games, Sergeant?"

"No sir," she replied, holding back a sigh.

"Do you think I want to be out here screwing with corpses instead of enjoying my rack time?" he asked in a growl.

"No sir," she replied curtly.

"Then stop playing games and tell me what in the hell killed them!" he roared into her face.

"We don't know what killed them, sir," Sergeant Foster told him. "One second they were shooting at us, the next they were all dead."

"By the gods, this surpasses all previous fuckups by far from anyone I've ever had in my command," the lieutenant shouted at her. "You expect me to believe they just fell over dead?"

"Sir, it looks like their hearts burst," one of the medics examining the bodies called out. "There are no entry wounds though."

"What the hell made their hearts burst, doc?" Lieutenant Clark demanded as he walked back over to look at the medic's handiwork.

"Not a clue, I've never seen anything like it," the medic replied. He looked up at Sergeant Foster. "You using any special weapons?"

"I wish," she replied fervently. "No, we were pinned down and black on ammo."

"Well it's safe to say this won't happen again," The lieutenant told her darkly. "Tomorrow, your squad is getting reassigned. You've been given way too much leniency."

Sergeant Foster could almost feel Private Guay stiffen in sudden anxiety at the announcement that her family would be broken up tomorrow. She took a deep breath.

"Sir, permission to speak freely?" she asked the lieutenant tightly.

"Negative, Sergeant," he growled irritably. "Now get your asses back to the COP."

BOOM!

The rest of the platoon spun around, looking for the source of the inverted boom. It didn't take long to find. Heidi had once again appeared, this time looking even more solid, and not happy. She was illuminated by some kind of inner glow that chased the remaining shadows away from the street around them.

The few soldiers that weren't paralyzed in sudden fear as the enormous presence of something otherworldly washed over them raised their M16's in shaky hands and took aim at her.

She walked right up to the now white faced lieutenant and glared into his terrified eyes. "I hope I misheard you when you said you were going to break up this squad," she told him in a deadly calm voice. "Because I fully support what these soldiers are doing and will do everything in my considerable power to ensure that they keep doing it. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded quickly, seemingly unable to find his voice.

"Good," Heidi told him with a humorless smile. "Now there will be no need for any...unpleasantness."

She stared into his eyes for a moment longer, then vanished, leaving a faint auroral discharge in the air behind her. The street was cast back into sharply contrasting shadows from Humvee headlights.

"What the hell was that?" Sergeant Kraus asked, his voice shaky.

"That was the person that saved our asses," Sergeant Foster replied calmly. "She appeared while we were pinned down behind the car over there. She killed all of the militants, then vanished."

"Who is she?" Private Almanza asked in awe.

Sergeant Foster shared a look with her squad before shrugging. "Who knows? Maybe some long forgotten goddess that doesn't like children being abused."

"Bullshit," Sergeant Meyer snorted. "That was Heidi Rockwell. I was still stateside when her name was all over the news."

Silence fell across the platoon as they all absorbed the revelation.

"So much for keeping that a secret," Private Scott muttered.

"Isn't she a Colonel's daughter?" Private McElfresh asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Sergeant Meyer nodded his head. "I heard some RUMINT that she did that apparition trick and ghosted a senator after he sent some meat eaters out to pick her up. That's one person I wouldn't care to tangle with."

"Why didn't you just tell us it was Heidi?" Private Almanza asked in annoyance.

"Would you have believed us?" Private Scott asked him archly.

"Good point," he admitted.

"Great GOFO," Sergeant Meyers snorted.

"Shut your pie holes you bloody oxygen thieves, and get these bodies loaded up," Lieutenant Clark snapped, making a visible effort to regain his composure.

Sergeant Foster fist-bumped Private Guay as she walked passed. "Thanks, I owe you one."

Private Guay colored slightly and nodded. Her family wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

Chapter 26 - Simulation

Autumn stared in surprise as she and Heidi entered Miss Devons' classroom. There were twice as many students milling around as there had been the previous day. Word about the supernatural performance had spread like wildfire throughout the day. Apparently, everyone wanted to be a musician now.

Miss Devons looked at Autumn with a wry smile and a shrug. Autumn shook her head ruefully; she was pretty sure Heidi was going to get her choir now.

Principal Wiley came into the classroom behind Autumn and Heidi, with a high school boy and Aria in tow. She took him over to Miss Devons with a helpless expression on her face.

"This is Stefan," Principal Wiley told Miss Devons with a hopeful look. "He's our new German exchange student, but there's currently nobody here that speaks German. Tell me you learned some German while you were in Germany."

"A little," Miss Devons replied doubtfully. "I'm by no means fluent. He doesn't speak English?"

"Apparently there was a mix-up," Principal Wiley said with a sigh. "He speaks French. He was originally supposed to go to Quebec. I have no idea how things got so mixed up that he ended up here. He only speaks a little bit of broken English."

The young man spoke a few German words to Miss Devons with an inquiring look. She stared back at him helplessly, obviously not understanding a word he spoke.

"Sie spricht nicht Deutsch," Heidi told the young man in flawless German. "was brauchst du?"

He turned around to stare at Heidi in surprise, then began speaking to her in German. She replied without hesitation as everyone in the room watched with interest. He broke into a smile and the two of them spoke for over a minute before he nodded and walked over to the piano and sat down.

"You found a piano player, huh?" Autumn said with a grin.

"Uh hu," Heidi said with a satisfied grin. "He sings too. We'll have to do some German lyrics."

"You speak German?" Principal Wiley asked Heidi, staring at her oddly.

"Was it that obvious?" Heidi asked with a small smile.

Principal Wiley colored slightly, then laughed good naturedly. "Okay, that was a stupid question. Where did you learn German?"

"Here and there," Heidi replied vaguely. "Language is a pretty simple communication medium, so once you learn one, the others are easy to pick apart—especially when they stem from the same root."

"Oh absolutely true," Aria nodded with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Languages are easy peasy."

Heidi rolled her eyes at Aria. "Troll."

"Pixie," Aria retorted with a smirk.

Heidi quickly separated the spectators from those truly interested in participating, lining the interested parties up to one side. She then proceeded to 'augment' them, as Autumn thought of it. The room vibrated with small, inverted booms as Heidi made her way down the line, followed by gasps of amazement as the spectators watched in awe.

When she was finished, she asked Miss Devons to take over the orchestral students while she took the choir students to the stage room. Heidi had Autumn and Aria follow her, since they were familiar with the vocals in all of the songs.

After an hour of vocal training, Heidi took the choir back to Miss Devons' classroom. If the previous day's song had stretched the bounds of reality, this one shattered it. Localized discharges of auroral light danced around the members of the orchestra as their minds became part of a single superorganism.

The visions that came this time were so vivid that Autumn felt like she was a part of them. Discs flew through skies that were bluer than anything Autumn had ever seen. There were strange and unfamiliar animals roaming savannahs, including what appeared to be dinosaurs! Feathered dinosaurs, but still, dinosaurs!

There were pyramids all over the world. She viewed the world from hundreds of miles above, yet she could see every detail on the ground beneath her. The continents looked completely different. England was attached to Europe, and New Zealand to Australia. Africa was no longer tenuously connected to Europe and the Middle East—they were one landmass. Greenland was attached to North America, and the Atlantic Ocean was more like the Atlantic Channel.

The oddest part was seeing how narrow the Pacific ocean was as well. It was as if the entire world had shrunk, or an egg that had been cracked was putting itself back together.

As she stared in awe at the super civilization, cracks suddenly rent the earth apart and dozens of titanic beings tore their way out of the crust. With a kind of mechanical savagery, they destroyed every civilized structure they came across. In less than a few hours, they had destroyed a global civilization, leaving a trail of complete and total devastation. Even the flying discs were not safe from the titanic beings. They shot beams of light out of their eyes that incinerated everything they touched. Autumn could feel the stark terror in the populace as everything they had built was destroyed, including the majority of their population.

Once the devastation was complete, the titanic creatures slipped back beneath the crust as if it were quicksand.

The song ended, but the memory took much longer to fade. Finally, one of the students spoke up in a shaky voice.

"What were those creatures?"

"You call them Titans," Heidi replied, her eyes filled with some kind of suppressed emotion.

Everyone in the room was staring at Heidi in reverential silence. If those were Titans, then what about the gods of mythology? Autumn could practically hear the wheels grinding in their heads as they watched Heidi.

"What a bunch of blowhards," Aria broke the silence with a snort. "Good riddance."

A nervous wave of laughter rippled through the room. Principal Wiley and Miss Devons weren't laughing though—they were staring at Heidi with sudden recognition.

"Hayde's" Principal Wiley whispered under her breath.

Heidi's head whipped around to stare at her, eyes firing into full god mode. "Heidi, actually."

Principal Wiley swallowed hard and nodded, her eyes riveted to Heidi's like a mouse staring at a snake.

"LETHE," Heidi said with quiet power.

Everyone blinked, then looked around the room in confusion.

"So are we ready to play?" Miss Devons asked a little impatiently. "Time's a tickin…" she broke off as she looked at the clock on the wall. "What the...it was just four-thirty, wasn't it?"

"Time flies when you're having fun," Heidi told her cheerfully. "Don't worry, we'll all play together tomorrow."

Autumn peeked a glance at Aria, wondering if she had lost her memory as well. She found Aria peeking back at her with the same probing question in her eyes. She couldn't stop a relieved smile from crossing her face when she saw that she wasn't the only one who remembered.

As the three of them began the walk back to Heidi's house, Autumn decided to ask the question that had been on her mind.

"Heidi?" she started hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Heidi looked at her curiously.

"Um, how...well, I guess I mean why did those Titans destroy that civilization?"

Heidi blinked at her and came to an abrupt stop. "What are you talking about?"

Autumn shared a look with Aria, and Aria took over.

"The Titans we just saw wipe out that civilization while we were playing that song," Aria said slowly.

"You two remember?" Heidi asked in shock.

Autumn shared another nervous look with Aria before nodding. "Yeah. We saw you wipe everyone else's memory. I just figured you skipped us on purpose."

Heidi stared at the two of them like they were strange puzzle pieces that didn't fit. "I'm sorry, I didn't want you to have to remember the horrors of the past. I'm not sure why you two were unaffected though."

She went silent for a minute, and her eyes glazed over. When she finally returned, she let out a sigh. "I see. She doesn't want to be alone in her knowledge."

"Who?" Aria asked curiously.

"Never mind," Heidi said with a shake of her head. "Don't worry—I won't try to exclude you two anymore."

"So I was wondering…" Autumn said slowly. "You've said before that the planet is growing because some kind of energy grid is doing something to make our world three-dimensional. Why is it still growing?"

Heidi's eyes blazed to life as her god mode—a term which Autumn realized might just be closer to the truth than she had thought—kicked into high gear. Autumn shivered as the powerful presence flooded the space around her friend.

"I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure exactly how it all started," Heidi replied, sounding slightly annoyed at the admission. "What we believe may be the case, is that celestial objects are artificially created by some unknown entity. They are layered in two-dimensional stacks: plasma, sediment, then ice as the top layer—though that's an extreme oversimplification. An electrical charge is then applied which extrudes the objects into three-dimensional space. The properties and placement of each disk, as well as the voltage induced, vary significantly. We believe the desired result is a world more like Europa, where the layers remain intact. Here on Earth, the energy induction broke the layers, resulting in liquid oceans. The land mass, which was once beneath the ice layer, was extruded too much, resulting in the fractured continents you see today. The plasma beneath the sediment is ignited by the electrical charge, creating the state of superheated magma beneath the sediment. Gas giants like Jupiter are another example of what we believed are failed results. The sediment layer was unable to contain the ignition within the plasma layer, resulting in a complete breach. If the plasma layer were to completely breach Earth's sediment, the planet would immediately expand to many times its current size. Think of how much space a can of compressed air needs, compared to how much space is used once the air escapes. The sediment layer is what keeps the plasma layer compressed beneath the sediment."

"Wait a minute," Aria said with a worried frown. "What would happen if somebody drilled a hole past the sediment into the plasma layer?"

"Depending on the size of the hole, possibly the end of a liquid/solid world," Heidi replied with a shrug. "If the plasma layer ever escaped, it would ignite and vaporize the oceans and land masses. We would become a gas giant like Jupiter."

"That's reassuring," Aria noted with a shiver.

"Trust me, someone drilling through the crust is the least of your worries," Heidi assured her darkly.

"What do you mean?" Aria asked curiously.

"It's too soon to talk about it," Heidi said with a sigh. "She's not ready yet."

Autumn exchanged a look with Aria. Who's not ready?

"So what about Mars?" Aria asked, looking up at the moonlit sky. "It's all one piece. Where did it's ice layer go?"

"What do you mean?" Heidi asked with a frown. "It's ice is very similar to Earth's ice. Frozen at the poles with oceans and land in the middle."

"Oceans?" Aria repeated with a confused look at Autumn. "There aren't any oceans on Mars. It's a dead planet. There's nothing but rock."

Heidi stopped walking, her eyes growing distant. A moment later, she returned to the present. "Curious. They seem to be going to a lot of work to convince people Mars is dead. Too bad they can't rewrite their own history."

"What are you talking about?" Aria asked, a look of growing incredulity on her face. "Are you saying there is water on Mars?"

"Water, fauna, flora, everything we have here on Earth," Heidi nodded. "It looks like the people calling the shots didn't want a committee voting on every decision, so they kept the truth a secret from the rest of the world."

"This day just keeps getting weirder," Aria declared with a manic laugh. "I'm just waiting for you tell me we actually live inside of a computer program like the Matrix."

"We do," Heidi confirmed with a smile. "But this program is using programmable macro-materials as the shell, not a crude binary system processed over silicon substrates. You don't have a physical body in a tank on some physical plain jacked into a program either. You are the sum of your consciousness...sort of."

"Well that clears things up," Aria said dryly. "Do we have robot overlords keeping us imprisoned as well?"

"I doubt they are robots," Heidi answered, her eyes growing cold. "They share too many similarities with humans to be considered robots."

Autumn shivered at the obvious dislike in Heidi's frigid tone. A normal person expressing such dislike could never match the icy intensity that Heidi was able to communicate.

The conversation ended as they reached Heidi's house. As they entered, Autumn suddenly noticed that two women had been following a dozen feet behind them on the sidewalk. Both women had continued walking, but their faces were filled with shock. They must have heard the conversation. Autumn looked at Heidi curiously. She hadn't even glanced back at the women, which was odd, because she was usually aware of everyone in their proximity.

Chapter 27 - Revelations

"What's the matter with you two?" Sergeant Jones asked with a raised eyebrow as Sergeant Barreto and Sergeant Lynch walked into the small hotel room. "You look like someone just walked over your grave."

"You could say that," Sergeant Lynch replied, letting out a long shuddering breath. "This job just keeps getting weirder."

"What happened?" Sergeant Stakes asked, putting down her phone.

"Well, we just discovered that we live in the Matrix," Sergeant Lynch replied, flopping down onto the hard bed.

Sergeant Stakes laughed, then sobered up as she saw the serious expressions on their faces. She looked at Sergeant Barreto. "Seriously?"

"Pretty much," Sergeant Barreto shrugged. "Oh, and by the way, Mars is just like Earth, and there is a good chance Earth will turn into a gas giant if we drill too far into the crust."

"Huh?" Sergeant Jones stared at her, nonplussed. "What are you talking about?"

"We just overheard a conversation Heidi had with Aria and Autumn," Sergeant Barreto explained. "They asked her why the Titan's destroyed civilization, which I can only assume means the legendary titans from Greek mythology, which might not be so mythological after all."

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?" Sergeant Stakes breathed.

"Yeah, it only got weirder from there," Sergeant Lynch said from where she was staring at the ceiling on the bed. "Apparently, the world actually was flat, a long time ago. Then some alien civilization shocked it like Frankenstein, and everything blew up into three-dimensional space like a balloon."

"Wow," Sergeant Jones said, her eyes alight with interest. "So what does that have to do with the Matrix?"

Sergeant Barreto rehearsed the conversation they had heard earlier. When she finished, Sergeant Stakes let out a low whistle of amazement. "So we have people on Mars? And there are lakes and trees and stuff?"

"According to Heidi," Sergeant Barreto nodded. "Sounds like an epic conspiracy theory, but this is Heidi we're talking about."

"You two going to brief the Colonel?" Sergeant Jones asked warily. "It might be dangerous for him to know some of this stuff."

"I seriously doubt he's in any danger as long as Heidi is alive," Sergeant Lynch chuckled. "If he were, he would probably already be dead. You don't think The Powers That Be would have left him alone after the abduction incident, do you?"

"Good point," Sergeant Jones agreed. "I still can't believe we're in some kind of super-matrix."

"Maybe that's how Heidi does the stuff that she does," Sergeant Lynch suggested thoughtfully.

"So have you all ignored the elephant in the room, or have you just not thought of it yet?" Sergeant Stakes asked, looking agitated.

"What?" Sergeant Lynch asked, sitting up.

"If the Ttians are real, doesn't that suggest something a little revealing about who Heidi is?" Sergeant Stakes asked meaningfully.

"Oh my god, you're right!" Sergeant Lynch smacked her head with a stupefied expression. "She really is a goddess, isn't she?"

Silence filled the room as they all stared at each other with wide eyes. Sergeant Barreto finally broke the silence. "Maybe, but perhaps not exactly like they were depicted in mythology. Maybe they just had access to advanced technology. After all, Arthur C. Clark once said that sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic to a lower tech civilization, or something like that. Maybe a former civilization was a lot more advanced than we are today.

Chapter 28 - Thing

Aria stared at Cody's notepad in fascination as their history teacher droned on about the inner workings of Norse clans. As Mr. Evans spoke about a community council called the Thing, Cody drew a picture of an armless hand, middle finger extended. She watched in surprise and no little amusement as he drew in exceptional calligraphy, 'HERE'S YOUR THING'.

"Mr. Gibbons," Mr. Evans snapped as he walked up to Cody's desk and looked down at the drawing. "While I have no doubt you are related to the Adams Family, I would appreciate a little more respect in my class. Feel free to spend the rest of class in detention looking up the meaning of respect."

"I'm sure it will be liberating," Cody drawled. "I'll just slide in there and put my thing down." So saying, he stood up and left, leaving the drawing on the desk.

Aria tried, but she couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her lips.

"Feel free to join him, Miss Slater," Mr. Evans told her coldly.

Aria stared back at him in disbelief. "Why? Because I laughed?"

"Because I told you too," Mr. Evans scowled down at her. "Now. Leave."

Aria rolled her eyes and stood up with a long suffering expression, gathered her things, and left.

She came to an abrupt halt as she entered the hallway. Cody was standing just outside the door, scribbling furiously on his notepad. When he finished, he looked up and met her gaze with a smirk, then taped the finished product onto the door. It was a sketch with a pretty good likeness of Mr. Evans trying to pull Thing from the Adams Family away from throttling his neck. His eyes were bulging comically, and his forked tongue was hanging out. Aria doubled over with laughter, putting a hand to the wall to steady herself.

"Apparently, he hasn't read up on the latest science articles that say doodling helps students concentrate," Cody told her as he began walking to detention.

"Apparently not," Aria agreed, falling into step with him.

"Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

"Detention," Aria informed him with a shrug. "I'm not allowed to laugh in class, apparently."

Cody frowned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get you into trouble too."

"No worries," Aria giggled, remembering the artwork. "It was worth it. You're pretty good with a pencil."

"You should see me with a spray paint can," he said modestly.

Aria stared at him, wondering if he was joking. He suddenly grinned, his eyes twinkling. "I'm just kidding, though for Mr. Evans, I'd be willing to give it a try."

As they entered the detention classroom, Mr. Sykes looked up from his desk and grunted when he saw Cody.

"Surprise surprise," Mr. Sykes shook his head disdainfully. "You know the drill, Mr. Gibbons."

Cody saluted Mr. Sykes and clicked his heels together, then marched over to one of the desks and sat at rigid attention.

"Punk," Mr. Sykes muttered in disgust. He looked at Aria with narrowed eyes. "First time here?"

"Yep," Aria nodded, feeling self-conscious.

"Have a seat and start copying from the dictionary," he instructed her curtly. "I'd also advise you to steer clear of that one, if you want to have an academic future." He finished with a nod toward Cody.

Aria glanced at Cody, who was feverishly flipping through pages in the dictionary and whispering to himself like a madman. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she just nodded and found a desk to sit in.

As she sat writing words from the dictionary, she suddenly felt the supernatural presence that often accompanied Heidi. She glanced around, but Heidi wasn't there. She shivered as the presence remained, knowing that just because Heidi wasn't there in physical form didn't mean she wasn't there in some other form. She hoped Heidi wasn't disappointed that she was in detention.

Heidi's presence seemed to be limited to her perception; Mr. Sykes and Cody were oblivious to the superhuman presence observing them.

"Sorry, Heidi," Aria mumbled, feeling like she should say something.

She felt an instant sense of amusement, mixed with a salty determination that was hard to describe.

"No talking!" Mr. Sykes said harshly.

Heidi's presence instantly changed from amused to cold, and it was no longer limited to Aria's perception. Mr. Sykes blinked as the full force of Heidi's presence filled the room. Cody looked up, his eyes calculating as he also felt Heidi's displeasure.

"THIS IS A SCHOOL, NOT A PRISON," Heidi's voice echoed throughout the room like a thunderclap. "MISTREAT THESE CHILDREN AT YOUR OWN PERIL."

Waves of displeasure radiated ominously around the room. It reminded Aria of being alone in the dark as a young child and knowing that some kind of demon was going to come out from under her bed and drag her down to the dungeon dimensions.

Mr. Sykes broke. He fled the room with terror-filled eyes, his hands shaking as he clawed at the door handle.

Heidi's presence vanished as Mr. Sykes left the room.

"Your friend seems a little protective of you," Cody noted, his eyes twinkling again as he stared at the door Mr. Sykes had just vacated.

"That she is," Aria agreed with a warm glow. "She's very protective of kids."

"She's kind of a kid herself," Cody pointed out.

"Not really," Aria disagreed with a frown. "Part of her might be, but a much larger part is a lot older."

Aria was relieved when Cody didn't start pestering her with questions about Heidi. He just nodded thoughtfully.

"So you've got a pretty good singing voice," he said lazily. "I heard you all singing yesterday when I got out of detention. That's some pretty powerful stuff."

"Thanks," Aria smiled shyly. "It's kind of a life changing experience to sing with Heidi."

"I'll bet," he murmured. "I get the feeling that she is just warming up."

Aria studied him closely. It was easy to dismiss someone with a dozen facial piercings and a haircut that looked like Rogue from the Crüxshadows as just another rebel, but Cody exhibited a much greater grasp of social dynamics than most people she had met. He seemed to innately understand how silly the great game of pseudo civilized behavior was and went to great lengths to satirize it.

"What are you doing after school?" Aria asked as a sudden idea formed.

"Detention, of course," he replied, patting the dictionary affectionately.

"What if detention meant writing songs about our homework?" Aria asked suggestively.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking intrigued.

"What if you help me come up with lyrics for songs regarding historical events," Aria explained, feeling more excited as she thought it through. "Lyrics for science, english, math, all of the classes. It could be a lot of fun, if we did it right. And with Heidi putting music to the lyrics, they would be freaking awesome."

He studied her thoughtfully, absently tapping a rhythm on his dictionary. "I'm open to the idea. We would have to do it after detention though."

"I'm pretty sure I can get Principal Wiley to let me take custody of you for the remainder of your incarceration," Aria said confidently. "She's a lot more forward thinking than the rest of these apes."

Chapter 29 - Radical Idea

Aria sat outside Principal Wiley's office, impatiently tapping her feet as she waited her turn to see the Principal. Aria had never realized how busy being a principal was—there was a nonstop flow of traffic in and out of Principal Wiley's office.

"Aria?" Principal Wiley's voice spoke in surprised tones from the open door to her office. "Come on in."

Aria stood up and entered Principal Wiley's office. The principal was watching her curiously as she sat down across the desk

"What can I do for you, Aria?" Principal Wiley asked intently.

"I have kind of a radical idea," Aria said slowly. "I think it could be really effective though, if done right."

"You have my full attention," Principal Wiley said, leaning her chin on her bridged fingers.

"A kid in my history class, Cody Gibbons, was sent to detention today after drawing a picture of a hand making a one finger salute," Aria began, taking a deep breath. "It was a really good drawing, and it was actually in line with what our lesson was about—a Norse clan council called a Thing. When I laughed at a quip Cody made, I was also sent to detention. Heidi made a short, noncorporeal visit, and scared Mr. Sykes away. After talking to Cody for a few minutes, I realized that he was actually really smart. The thought occurred to me that if we could use the same time he spends in detention copying from the dictionary to do something constructive, he might actually be more interested in classes. I asked him if he would like to write lyrics for songs based on our school lessons, and he was very open to the idea. If we were able to write lyrics for stories like Joan of Arc, A Midwinter's Night Tale, and the Salem Witch Trials, Heidi could turn them into masterpieces. I have a feeling that he would be a lot more interested in what we learn in class if he had a reason to be interested in it."

Principal Wiley's eyes had come alight with interest as she listened to Aria lay out her plan. When Aria finished, Principal Wiley's face split into a large smile.

"Aria, that is absolutely brilliant!" Principal Wiley hurriedly scribbled something on a sticky note. "I'll see to it that Mr. Gibbons is sent to Miss Devons classroom for any future detentions. In the meantime, please send a copy to any songs you write to this email address. I would love to see what you come up with."

Aria beamed as she took the sticky note, once again feeling grateful for having such a cool principal.

Chapter 30 - Holiday Performance

Chuck Hagel looked at his watch impatiently as he waited for the school orchestral club to begin the holiday show. His son played the cello, so he felt obligated to join the spectators, but he wasn't a fan of orchestral music—especially amateurs. He was more into sports, but he always supported his son's passions, even if they were completely alien to him.

There were a few dozen parents interspersed throughout the auditorium with the high school students. Very few of the parents attending didn't have a child in the orchestral club. He had recognized the look of resigned boredom on the faces of many of the other parents, which made him feel slightly less guilty about his own less than enthusiastic interest in the night's show.

The lights finally went dark, with a single spotlight illuminating the front of the stage. Principal Wiley stepped into the spotlight, looking far too enthusiastic.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Principal Wiley said with a wide smile. "We hope you enjoy tonight's performance. Please turn off the flashes on your cameras if you plan on taking pictures. I would like to congratulate Miss Devons on the amazing progress she's made with her students this year. Please welcome Miss Devons and her class of talented musicians."

There was a smattering of applause throughout the audience that quickly died out. Chuck let out another sigh as he looked at his watch again. Half an hour to go.

The lights slowly brightened over the orchestra as the cellos and basses made a powerful introduction. Chuck had to admit, it was far more to his liking than he had expected. The rhythm and beat were almost like rock and roll.

As the rock drum kit joined into the mix, Chuck began absently tapping his foot to the beat. A moment later, several electric guitars joined in, adding an edgy power to the orchestral ensemble. Chuck was impressed—he actually really liked this music.

A tall blonde girl playing the guitar began singing in a powerful soprano. Her voice was beautiful and artfully expressive. Her voice took a good song and made it amazing. This was radio quality stuff. A short red-haired girl playing another guitar sang a counterpoint harmony, adding even more depth to the song. When they reached the chorus, a dark-haired girl began singing and Chuck had to remind himself how to breathe. Her voice was so powerful that it commanded immediate respect. He lost track of the half hour as he became fully immersed in the amazing music. While the first two singers were amazing, he found himself looking forward to each moment when the dark-haired girl would add her surreal voice to the melody.

He wasn't sure if it was part of the special effects for the holidays or something else, but there seemed to be some kind of red and green lights arcing throughout the members of the orchestra.

When they finally finished, Chuck was on his feet with the rest of the room, shouting for more. He felt a rush of excitement when they conceded to one more song for the night. He would never underestimate his son's love of music again. This was pure magic.

Chapter 31 - Timothy

Sergeant Barreto sat in front of Colonel Clegg, trying to keep the anxiety off of her face. He was watching her with an unreadable expression as the silence stretched out. After another uncomfortable moment of silently observing her, he let out a sigh and nodded.

"Fine, I'll arrange it," Colonel Clegg said wearily. "You understand that nothing may happen when she sees him though, don't you?"

"Yes sir," Sergeant Barreto nodded as relief flooded her body. "She's his only chance though—the doctors have given up."

"Alright, just make sure he gets out here to the celebration," Colonel Clegg said, standing up. "I'll make sure Colonel Rockwell's family is there."

"Thank you, sir," Sergeant Barreto said as she stood up, unable to keep the emotion out of her voice.

He nodded brusquely, patting her shoulder as he led her out of the office.

"So how did it go?" Sergeant Lynch asked, noting the unshed tears in her eyes. She had been waiting outside of the office.

"He said he'd do it," Sergeant Barreto smiled. "Thanks for talking me into asking."

"Hey, I don't want your brother to die any more than you do," Sergeant Lynch declared with an impish smile. "He's too fun to look at."

"Gross," Sergeant Barreto muttered, but her heart wasn't in it. She was trying to find a way to convince her brother to fly out to the base. He was the most stubborn person she had ever met, which was one reason the doctors claimed he was still alive. He was in the final stage of lung cancer and only had a few weeks at most to live.

"Just tell him they have an experimental treatment out here that the military can't release to the public," Sergeant Lynch suggested, as if reading her thoughts.

"Yeah, that was kind of what I was thinking," Sergeant Barreto agreed. "It's going to be hell getting him out here though."

"I know a flyboy who owes me a favor," Sergeant Lynch told her with a grin. "Do you think he would like to fly in on a pig?"

"Definitely not," Sergeant Barreto chuckled. "No, we'll need to get him out here on a normal plane. Thanks for the offer though."

It took a lot of convincing when she called her brother, Timothy, but she eventually convinced him that it was worth the pain and effort of flying out to the base for a 'special' treatment. He sounded terrible on the phone, constantly wheezing, even with an oxygen tank supplying him with extra oxygen. She hoped the trip didn't kill him before he had a chance to meet Heidi.

Chapter 32 - Pneuma

Autumn stared around the large dining hall with interest as soldiers and the families of soldiers made their way into the large room. Heidi had invited her and Aria to join her family at the base for a holiday dinner. Autumn's mother had been home for Christmas day but had to leave by the next morning.

Colonel Clegg had the room decorated with 2011 banners and a giant Happy New Year stencil hanging from the high ceiling. Autumn had expected a couple hundred people, but there were less than fifty when they closed the doors and began serving the food. Autumn couldn't help the smile that lit her face as she smelled the food filling the table. She hadn't indulged in a normal meal since Heidi had put her on her new diet. Heidi had insisted that she needed to indulge every once in a while or she would snap and start binge eating.

About halfway through the meal, a female soldier who looked vaguely familiar opened the double doors and pushed a man through in a wheelchair. He had an oxygen tank as well as an IV hooked up to him. He looked like he should have been dead several days ago. His eyes had huge dark bruises beneath them, and he was wheezing laboriously as the soldier wheeled him closer to the table.

Heidi took one look at the suffering man and immediately arose and walked over to him. The soldier pushing him was staring at Heidi with a pleading look in her dark brown eyes. Heidi put her ear next to the man's chest, listening intently. After almost a minute of silently listening, she stood back and took a deep breath.

"PNEUMA!" Heidi bellowed into the silence. A brilliant arc of white light burst out of the man's chest, accompanied by a deafening boom. The lights flickered, and then completely went out.

Autumn blinked in the sudden darkness, unable to see a thing.

"What happened?" someone asked nervously.

"PHOS" Heidi muttered, and the hall was suddenly filled with a directionless light that illuminated everything.

The man in the wheelchair was slowly pulling the cannula out of his nose with a stunned expression on his face.

"How do you feel, Tim?" the soldier behind him asked. She walked around to stand in front of him, her eyes shining with hope.

"What happened?" he asked in shock as he slowly stood up.

"You're all better now," the soldier told him, looking at Heidi hopefully. Heidi nodded, and then grunted as the soldier barreled into her, wrapping her in a tight bear hug.

"Thank you so much, Heidi," the soldier said in a tearful voice. "He's the only family I had left."

Autumn watched the exchange curiously. The soldier seemed to know Heidi quite well. Autumn suddenly frowned as she remembered why the soldier looked familiar. She was the woman that had been following them from the school to Heidi's house. Did the Colonel have soldiers following them around? She should have expected it—Colonel Rockwell wasn't the type of man to take chances.

Colonel Clegg was sitting at the head of the table watching Heidi with keen interest. Autumn wondered how much he knew about Heidi's peculiar abilities. She had heard that Colonel Rockwell had been friends with the base commander since they were children.

"Can someone explain what the hell just happened?" a stocky woman with dark hair tied in a bun asked in disbelief. "And where the hell is that weird light coming from?"

Heidi turned to look at the woman, her eyes on fire. The woman shrank back as the powerful gaze pinned her to her seat. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out as she felt the full force of Heidi's presence flood the room. In the presence of something so vast and great, there were simply no words adequate for communication.

Heidi turned back to the man, her eyes still burning with intensity. "No more smoking. If you smoke again, you will die immediately."

The man gulped and nodded vigorously.

Heidi stared into his eyes for a moment and then nodded in satisfaction. She returned to the table across from Autumn and sat down as if nothing had happened.

"Power?" Autumn whispered with a raised eyebrow.

Heidi blinked, then nodded. "ERGON", she murmured, and the power flickered back on.

"Well done," Aria mouthed at Heidi with an approving smile.

"That was pretty cool," a female soldier sitting next to Heidi said conversationally.

"Thanks," Heidi said as the godlike presence vanished. "I have a PHD in coolness, if you ever want lessons."

The soldiers around her laughed and the tension in the room dissipated. Autumn could tell some of the other dinner guests wanted to ask questions, but the soldiers around them steered the conversation clear of anything supernatural as soon as someone looked like they wanted to bring the subject up. Autumn wondered how many soldiers had been following them around, and for how long. She would have to start paying more attention.

Chapter 33 - Illumination

"Okay General Davis, what do we know?" Deputy Director Garrison asked from where he sat across the large conference table. "It's been three months since our last meeting. Tell me we know something."

General Davis watched the Deputy Director with barely concealed amusement. He knew the man had tried to infiltrate the local base with some of his operatives, but Colonel Clegg was no fool. He knew a spook when he saw one, regardless of how much they tried to dress up like a soldier. He guessed that the electronic surveillance the CIA was using to try and spy on Heidi was as ineffective as their own had been. White splotches like lens flares distorted any optical surveillance they tried to use, even from satellite. He knew that one CIA agent that had been trailing Heidi had simply vanished into thin air, only to be found a month later in the Canadian wilderness.

"Don't tell me the vast resources of the CIA haven't found anything," General Davis said blandly.

"Nothing useful," Garrison snapped waspishly. "You're the one that wanted to use people skills to figure her out. Well? What have you learned?"

"Quite a bit, actually," General Davis said smugly. "To put it simply, she's a deity from Greek mythology, and possibly Egyptian as well. It's possible that the Titans from mythology are real as well, and that they may be visiting us soon."

Garrison stared at him coldly. "Do you think this is a joke?"

"There's nothing about these Titans to joke about," General Davis replied gravely. "From what we have been able to learn, they have completely wiped out several civilizations that were even more advanced than we are."

"You're serious?" Garrison asked incredulously. "You actually believe she is a goddess from Greek mythology?"

"No, I think the remnants of the records we have of that civilization were garbled when primitive cultures couldn't understand the descriptions of advanced technology," General Davis answered with a shrug. "It's not like someone from the middle-ages is going to know what a supercomputer is, or a spaceship. They have to deify the historical characters to explain the feats they accomplished with advanced technology."

"So why is she here now?" Garrison asked doubtfully. "Why not a hundred years ago, or a hundred years later?"

"One of my top scholars that we've had studying this new information has a theory about that," General Davis replied, folding his arms. "He thinks the Titans are awoken by advanced technology. Probably not electricity, but things like particle accelerators and quantum computers. He thinks that this 'goddess' found a way to come back before the Titans in order to prepare for them. He thinks the Titans will probably wake up sometime very soon if she's here already."

"What are these 'Titans' supposed to be?" Garrison asked skeptically. "Giant robots?"

"Nothing so primitive," General Davis replied dismissively. "Some kind of artificial construct of alien origin. They are probably several miles tall and pretty much indestructible. They aren't very advanced, because their sole purpose is to go around smashing anything that looks like a civilization."

"And how did your people discover all of this?" Garrison asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's the easy part," General Davis smiled grimly. "We just asked Colonel Clegg politely what he knew and if we needed to be worried. He's shared everything he knows with us since discovering the existence of the Titans. He also mentioned that someone has an outpost on Mars—a Mars that is remarkably similar to Earth."

General Davis saw the corner of Garrison's eyes tighten imperceptibly. Yep, the bastard knew about it.

"You would do well to ignore anything you hear about Mars," Garrison told him coldly. "You might pass that on to Clegg as well."

"I'm not worried about Colonel Clegg," General Davis replied with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure you'll be getting a midnight visit if you try to do anything to someone close to Heidi."

Garrison's eye twitched at the reminder of the warning they had all received from Heidi several months ago in the form of a dream. He knew that she could appear at any moment and burn him to a cinder if he pissed her off.

"So what is it you propose we do with this information?" Garrison asked sarcastically. "I'm certainly not going to tell the Director that a Greek goddess has reappeared to help us fight the Titans."

"I'm not sure there's much we can do," General Davis admitted, rubbing his cheek with a knuckle. "Until Heidi shares more information with us about the technology she knows about, assuming that ever happens, we don't stand a chance against the Titans. This will be her fight. Our job would be to maintain as much order as possible, when the time comes."

"You don't think a couple of nukes would take care of a Titan?" Garrison asked dubiously.

"No, I'm pretty sure plenty of other civilizations tried that already," General Davis shook his head. "You've seen the evidence of a prehistoric nuclear war on the African continent. That was probably against the Titans."

"So we're just here to babysit the population while Heidi does battle with the Titans?" Garrison said discontentedly.

"Unless you boys have any other secret technology you haven't shared with the rest of us that you think would be effective against Titans, then yes," General Davis nodded. "In case you forgot, that's what our job is."

Chapter 34 - Valentine

Aria grinned as she watched Jeff Hills stutteringly ask Marcy Swanson out for Valentine's Day. It was cute, in a way—like watching kittens trying to sneak up on each other and then jumping at shadows. The boys were so nervous that most of them settled for texting instead of asking in person.

She was in her fifth hour English class, learning about epithets. Mrs. Robinson had used Aria as an example, dubbing her Aria the Amazing. Mrs. Robinson was well into her seventies, with steel grey hair tied into a tight bun and a dress that looked like a donation from Anne of Green Gables. She was one of Aria's favorite teachers. She had an understated sense of humor and quick wit that always kept conversations interesting. She was also an amazing wordsmith. Listening to her put a sentence together was like watching an artist effortlessly paint a beautiful landscape.

Aria winced inwardly as Leslie Holmes rejected Timothy Drake's hastily whispered valentine. The poor kid had been working up the nerve to ask her out for days. Leslie was a boy magnet, with long, honey-blonde hair and a lithe, curvy figure that never failed to draw stares. Timothy wasn't bad looking, and he was a decent person as far as Aria had seen. There were rumors that Leslie was from a strict religious household. She claimed she wasn't allowed to date until she was eighteen years old, effectively ending the male competition for her affections before it could begin.

Aria sighed as the bell rang. It was always sad to leave the beautiful world of expertly crafted language that Mrs. Robinson wove. As she gathered her books and walked toward the hall, she noticed Leslie watching her quizzically. As soon as she noticed Aria looking back at her, she hurriedly looked away with a bright blush flooding her cheeks.

Okay, that was weird, Aria thought as she walked into the hall. What is the rumor mill saying about me now?

She met Cody in Miss Devons classroom, and they immediately jumped right into the history lesson for the day. Principal Wiley had both of them studying solo in Miss Devon’s classroom every day now. They would devour the lesson in about a half hour and then spend the remainder of the time writing lyrics for a song based on the history lesson.

"You going to the Valentine dance with anyone?" Cody asked conversationally as he absently drew a comic of Thor smashing Loki's head into a pile of gore.

"Ha ha, very funny," Aria replied with a roll of her eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm the only lesbian in this school."

"Is that so?" Cody murmured, and Aria could see that he was working hard to suppress a smile.

"Is it?" Aria asked dryly.

"Well, some people aren't sure if you and Heidi are a thing," Cody replied, his lips twitching as he tried not to grin.

"Of course not," Aria laughed at the incongruity of the thought. "She's like a sister to me."

"Is that so?" Cody asked again, unable to keep the grin from spreading across his face.

"That's so," Aria confirmed firmly. "Who's asking?"

"Just a girl in one of my classes," Cody replied vaguely. "She wanted to know if someone had already asked you to the dance, like Heidi."

"And what did you tell this mystery woman," Aria asked in amusement. She was pretty sure he was making it all up to make her feel better about not having a date.

"I told her I was pretty sure you were available," Cody shrugged, glancing at her sideways. "She gave me a note to give you if you turned out to be available."

"Did she?" Aria asked wryly, growing more confident that he was pulling one over on her.

"Do you know who Leslie Holmes is?" Cody asked as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper.

Aria felt her mouth go dry as she nodded silently. Could he be serious? She felt her heart begin racing as she reached out a shaky hand and took the note from Cody.

"She's hot," Cody noted, looking supremely satisfied. "You could do a lot worse."

Aria wasn't listening though. She was completely engrossed in the short paragraph of text on the note.

'Aria, I would be honored and delighted if you would go to the Valentine Ball with me.'

Xoxo

Leslie

Aria reread the note several times as blood pounded in her ears. Was it really possible? Or was this an elaborate prank to make fun of the school dyke? She doubted it—the school had changed during the last several months, and almost everyone had accepted her for who she was now.

"It's not a prank," Cody told her confidently. "I could tell she was totally into you."

"What do I say?" Aria asked, feeling short of breath.

"What do you mean, what do you say?" Cody asked in exasperation. "You're a freaking poet. You tell her yes."

"Should I just send the note back to her?" Aria asked anxiously. "Or should I tell her in person?"

"Definitely in person," Cody grinned. "It will cut down on the awkwardness later if you actually talk about it now."

"Okay, this is so freaking weird," Aria muttered distractedly. "I don't even know what to do on a date, let alone how to dance."

"I'm pretty sure Heidi can teach you how to dance in record time," Cody said thoughtfully. "As for the date? You go out to eat and talk about what you like and what you don't like. It's easy—just talk about movies, music, books, yada yada you get the idea."

"Are you two actually getting any work done over here?" Miss Devon's asked lightly as she walked up and looked at Cody's comic with a rueful shake of her head.

"Aria just got asked out to the Valentine Ball," Cody told Miss Devons with a grin.

"Really?" Miss Devons replied with a wide smile. "That's fantastic! Who's the lucky woman?"

"Leslie Holmes," Cody told her with a smirk at Aria. "She's the super-hot blonde with the rockin body."

"Well this is exciting," Miss Devons said enthusiastically, ignoring Cody's assessment. "I noticed she was staring at you a lot during the holiday concert, but everyone else was too, so I didn't pay it any mind."

"Awkward," Aria groaned, putting her face into her hands.

The remainder of class consisted of Miss Devons and Cody giving her dating advice. When the bell rang, Aria bolted from the room before her brain exploded with all of the instructions they had tried to stuff into her head.

Chapter 35 - Toenails

Autumn looked around Miss Devons' crowded classroom for Aria when they entered, but there was no sign of her. She usually beat them here, since she actually went to school in the same building.

"Where do you think Aria is?" Autumn wondered aloud as she continued surveying the room.

"She's talking to her Valentine date," Cody told her with a wide grin as he joined them. His shredded pants and denim jacket looked like they were being held together by a few stray threads of varying colors. He had the bull ring in his nose today, and Autumn's hands twitched to give it a tug.

"She has a date?" Autumn asked in surprise. "Who?"

"Do you know Leslie Holmes?" Cody asked, leering suggestively. "Yeah, she's going for the cream of the crop here."

"You're such a pig," Autumn muttered with a shake of her head. "So how did she take getting asked out?"

"I should have recorded it," Cody laughed evilly. "She thought I was playing a joke on her at first. As soon as she read the note, she started stuttering and shaking like all of the other love struck puppies running around today."

"So what are they doing now?" Autumn asked curiously.

"Aria's telling Leslie that she accepts her invitation," Cody replied with a suggestive grin. "I'm not sure what they're doing after that, but a gentleman never asks about such things."

"I'm pretty sure you don't qualify as a gentle man, regardless of how limber your verbal acrobatics might be," Autumn told him pointedly. "Who are you going with?"

"Huh?" Cody asked, suddenly looking extremely awkward. She had never seen him awkward before.

"Did I stutter?" Autumn asked dryly. "Or was the question a little too difficult for you to understand?"

"He's going with me," Heidi told her with an amused look in her eyes.

"Shut. Up," Autumn scoffed, staring back and forth between them. "Are you serious? You asked Cody out? Cody?"

"Actually, he asked me out," Heidi replied with a wide smile as Cody squirmed uncomfortably. "I thought it was very sweet."

Autumn's mouth moved, but no words came out as she stared back and forth between them. She would have never guessed someone would have the temerity to ask Heidi out. It would have been like asking God out. She couldn't imagine a couple that looked less congruent. Not that Heidi was limited by such primitive thought conventions, but it was still a visually jarring image.

"Who are you going with?" Cody asked Autumn in a clear effort to change the subject.

"I wasn't planning on going," Autumn replied with a shrug. "I'm not really into the whole ballroom dancing thing."

"Excuse me," a thickly accented voice spoke behind her.

Autumn turned around and found Stefan, the German exchange student, watching her with a hopeful grin on his face. "Would you do me the honor of being my date tonight, Fräulein?"

Autumn felt her face flush as she stared back at him with a mouth that was suddenly dry. "Uh, date?"

"Ja, a date," Stefan confirmed with a nod.

Autumn stared back at Stefan wordlessly, still in shock. Stefan was seventeen and one of the most popular boys in the high school. Why would he settle for her over one of the many high school girls?

"She would love to go out with you," Cody answered for her with a chuckle. "She's just a bit tongue-tied right now."

Autumn turned and glared at Cody balefully before turning back to Stefan with a smile. "I would love to be your date, Stefan. Thanks for asking."

"Wonderful," Stefan's grin widened as he stared down at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "I must confess, I'm amazed that a woman of your beauty hasn't already been asked out dozens of times."

"Everyone else has been too intimidated to ask her," Heidi informed him with a wink at Autumn. "You're too pretty for your own good."

Autumn blushed as she stared back at Heidi doubtfully. She and Heidi were about the same height of five feet nine, having grown several inches since the start of the school year. They were both taller than all of the boys at the middle school and many of the boys at the high school. Autumn could no longer be considered even slightly overweight. While she still felt like she could lose a few pounds around the hips and waistline, she was well within the weight ratio for her height. Aria spoke regularly about how striking Autumn's features were, but she was pretty sure that was Aria's way of making her feel better.

"Trust me, it's not an emotional support thing," Heidi told Autumn with a smirk. "She's not exaggerating at all when she says how beautiful you are. If Cody hadn't asked me out, I would have asked you out."

Autumn laughed nervously as her ears burned brighter. "So are we still going to practice today, or are we cancelling it to get ready for the dance?"

"I'm in favor of cancelling it to get ready," Heidi said, glancing at Stefan and Corey. "Any objections?"

"Fine," Corey huffed with a put upon sigh. "We'll just go primp and preen until tonight. Stefan, would you mind doing my hair for me?"

"Only if you'll paint my toenails for me," Stefan replied without missing a beat.

"Alright, let's leave these two comedians to their amusements and go get ready," Heidi suggested with an amused look at the two boys.

Autumn followed Heidi out of the classroom with a swarm of butterflies playing tag in her stomach. This promised to be an interesting night.

Chapter 36 - Athena

"So you actually asked Heidi out?" Stefan asked Cody, looking impressed. "That took some balls."

"Nah," Cody shrugged dismissively. "She's still a person too. I figured nobody else would ask her out and didn't want her left out. Plus, she's freaking hot."

"Wow, you're going to ruin your reputation as a heartless rebel if you're not careful," Stefan warned him with a smirk.

"I never claimed to be heartless," Cody declared airily. "Just a rebel."

"If nothing else, you'll have the best dancer at the school, I'd wager," Stefan noted with an appraising look at Cody. "Do you know how to dance?"

"As it just so happens, I'm a pretty good dancer," Cody replied modestly, buffing one of his many rings on his tattered jacket. "My older sister always made me practice with her when I was younger."

"You're just full of surprises, my friend," Stefan told him with a searching look. "Apparently, appearances really are deceiving."

"Why do you think I chose this persona?" Cody asked archly. "The element of surprise is half of the battle."

"And who, exactly, are you trying to surprise?" Stefan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you keep a secret?" Cody asked, looking around discreetly.

"Not really," Stefan replied with a smirk.

"Fine, neither can I," Cody sighed. "It's more of a challenge than anything else. It's easy enough to breeze through school when you dress and act the part of the properly institutionalized schoolboy. Perhaps it's my towering IQ, but that just seems really boring to me. I've decided to stack the deck against myself and see if I can still come out on top."

"You're such a modest 'schoolboy' too," Stefan chuckled, miming quotes as he said 'schoolboy'.

"Just honest," Cody shrugged nonchalantly. "Any jackass can play the false modesty game, but what's the point? It's just another form of, at best, mild deception, and at worst, a symptom of chronic self-rejection. People should accept their talents with pride, just as they should own up to their shortcomings."

"I need to get my notepad out and start writing some of this stuff down," Stefan said with a grin. "Someday there will be a book of quotes with your name in it."

"Maybe," Cody nodded agreeably. He walked over and sat down behind the drum set. "Fancy a song or two, since we're here?"

Stefan grinned and walked over to the piano. The two of them spent the next hour playing some of Heidi's compositions. It was getting dark when they finally left the school to get ready for the evening.

As they walked into the parking lot, an ultra-low hum suddenly filled the air. Cody stopped and looked around warily as his stomach lurched queasily. A moment later, the ground shifted beneath his feet, and he staggered.

"What the hell is that?" Stefan asked in shock. "An earthquake?"

"The earth is definitely quaking," Cody said nervously. "But I don't think it's a natural earthquake."

The low hum increased in intensity and the ground bucked hard enough to knock the two of them off of their feet. Car alarms blared and windows shattered as birds rocketed up into the evening air. The sky above them began lightening as a tinted green glow emanated across the heavens.

As suddenly as the hum began, it vanished, and the earth stopped shaking.

"Let's go see Heidi," Cody said shakily as he stood back up. "If anyone knows what the hell is going on, she will."

Stefan nodded in agreement as he slowly stood up as well. The two of them got into Cody's 1980 Toyota hatchback and drove toward Heidi's house, accompanied by loud bangs from his car. He had forgotten to put more hydraulic fluid in his clutch reservoir, so he had to pop the shifter into gear based on rpm's. This resulted in a lot of grinding when he wasn't paying attention.

"Doesn't your clutch work?" Stefan asked curiously as they made a rolling stop past an intersection.

"I have a leak in one of the lines," Cody replied as he popped it into third gear without any grinding. "I forgot to refill the reservoir with fluid this morning."

Stefan nodded, grinning slightly. Cody knew Stefan was from an affluent family in Germany and had probably never driven in an old beater car before. When he had first met Stefan, the German exchange student had only spoken a few phrases in English. Then Heidi had done something to him, and a few days later he was speaking fluent English, slang and all. He still had a pronounced accent, and Cody had taken to calling him The Stefanator.

When they pulled onto the street Heidi lived on, there were already two military issue Humvees parked in front of her house. Cody parked behind them and turned the car off but didn't get out.

"Looks like someone else beat us to her," Stefan noted warily as they watched another Humvee arrive across the street.

"Well, I'm her date, so it shouldn't be too weird for me to show up, right?" Cody asked with a confident grin that belied the uncertainty in his eyes.

"Whatever you say, hotrod," Stefan answered doubtfully.

Cody got out of the car and walked up to the Rockwell's front door, followed by a much slower Stefanator. He rang the doorbell and waited anxiously.

Mrs. Rockwell answered the door, looking slightly flustered. "Cody, isn't it? And Stefan? Come on in."

"Good evening, Mrs. Rockwell," Cody said pleasantly. "How are you?"

"Just fine, Cody," Mrs. Rockwell answered, though it was obvious that was not true. Her eyes were filled with anxiety as she led them into the dining room.

As they passed the front room, Cody saw several officers with enough chest candy to make another candy land game standing around a fully powered Heidi. She spared a quick glance at them as she continued speaking to the officers.

"Let me reiterate that there is nothing to worry about yet," Heidi told them, her voice filled with supreme confidence. "There will be many more earthquakes before they wake up. They are just getting restless right now."

"Where are they?" Colonel Clegg asked quietly. "Can we plan for where the earthquakes will be the most severe before they awaken?"

"Follow the hums and booms," Heidi replied cryptically. "It's similar to what you might think of as a heartbeat. Track the locations in the world where unexplained booms and humming noises occur. That is where the Titans sleep."

"I thought that was just locals getting excited about unintended sonic booms," another officer Cody didn't recognize said.

"Some of them might be," Heidi admitted. "But if they happen consistently in a specific location, it is probably more than an inadvertent sonic boom."

As soon as Heidi said the word 'Titan' it was like a floodgate of memories opened in Cody's mind. He suddenly remembered their first full orchestral performance in Miss Devons' classroom, along with the visions of Titan's destroying a super-civilization. He could tell by the stunned expression on Stefan's face that he had also experienced full recall.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Aria drawled as she and Autumn walked into the dining room.

Cody chuckled as Stefan stared slack jawed at Autumn. She looked like she was trying to redefine the term for insanely beautiful. Cody casually slapped the bottom of Stefan's chin.

"Close your mouth before you start drooling," Cody told him with another chuckle.

Stefan snapped out of his daze and color flooded his cheeks. "You look amazing," he told Autumn in a voice close to worship.

Autumn blushed at the reaction but smiled radiantly. "Thank you, Stefan. Though I must say, you two look the same as you did when we left you."

"We haven't been home yet," Cody informed her, growing serious. "We wanted to know what was going on."

"There was an earthquake," Autumn said with a shrug, though her eyes made it clear that she knew there was much more to it than a simple shifting of fault zones.

"Did you two know about the Titans?" Cody asked, narrowing his eyes.

Aria and Autumn shared a startled look before looking back at him.

"You remember?" Aria asked in surprise.

"I do now," Cody nodded, studying the two of them keenly. "Though I suspect you two never forgot."

Autumn took a deep breath that made The Stefanator stop breathing for a moment as she shared another look with Aria. "Well, I suppose there's no point in lying about."

Before Cody could continue questioning the two of them, Stefan's cell phone rang. He snapped out of his latest daze and answered, speaking in German. His eyebrows rose as he listened to whoever was speaking with rapt attention. When he ended the call, he looked at the rest of them with a thoughtful expression.

"That was my brother," Stefan said, playing with his phone. He beckoned them closer as he pulled up the YouTube app. "He just sent me a link to something that was recorded by several people in Denmark. He's been working there for the last two years and knows the people in the video."

They all gathered around Stefan's phone and watched the video. It was a low resolution video, but there was no mistaking what happened. A young girl, perhaps four years old, had wandered away from her mother into the road. A large semi slammed on its brakes, but it was obvious it wouldn't be able to miss the young girl at such close range. There was a sudden blur of movement, and suddenly the semi flipped over into the air and came crashing down almost a hundred feet down the road. Where the small girl had been standing, another teenage girl could be seen crouching with the young girl held protectively in her arms.

The YouTube video had over a hundred thousand views already, though it had only been posted a few hours ago. There were links in the header to other videos showing the same thing from a few other cameras that had caught the anomaly.

"Who the hell was that?" Aria asked in amazement.

"According to my brother, it was just a regular girl that everyone in the local community knows," Stefan said slowly. "He said she started acting strangely about a month ago."

"Heidi," Aria called out, interrupting the impromptu military meeting in the front room. "I think you better come see this."

Heidi came into the dining room, followed by several curious officers. She was in full god mode as she took Stefan's phone and played the video.

When the video finished, Heidi whispered, "Athena, you made it."

"Did you just say Athena?" Stefan asked uncertainly.

Heidi's eyes were filled with elation as she looked back at Stefan. "Did I?" She handed his phone back and walked down the hall. "Come along ladies, we have a dance to get ready for."

"She said Athena, right?" Stefan asked Cody with a stunned expression.

"That's what I heard," one of the officer's replied in a voice that sounded just as stunned.

Colonel Rockwell shared a meaningful look with Colonel Clegg. Colonel Clegg nodded, and the group of military officers left the house.

Cody let out an explosive breath. "This is getting really weird."

Chapter 37 - Hades

"How many other memories do you think we are missing?" Cody asked Stefan thoughtfully as they drove toward the residence where Stefan was staying.

"The better question would be to ask whether she could wipe it again," Stefan replied, still looking shaken. "This is one memory I would be happier without."

"Not me," Cody declared firmly. "Forewarned is forearmed, and if we're about to enter an apocalypse, I would like to know."

"To what end?" Stefan asked with a humorless laugh. "You remember what happened in that vision. That civilization was far superior to ours, and they didn't last twenty-four hours."

"Something tells me they didn't have Heidi either," Cody replied, cursing as he had to come to a full stop at a red light and use both his brake and gas pedal to keep the car idling and ready to go. "Then too, there may be others like Heidi, from the sounds of it."

"You mean like all of the Greek gods of mythology?" Stefan asked with a frown. "Seriously, do we really have a goddess in our midst? One that you just happen to be taking on a date tonight?"

"Hard to say," Cody replied slowly. "I think there's more to the story than the legends tell. I was never happy with all of the human flaws characterized in the legends anyway. The petty things the Greek gods did to each other were just too human. I'm guessing the legends are just history's way of explaining an advanced civilization that primitive cultures couldn't understand."

"What about Athena?" Stefan asked with raised eyebrow. "Do you think she is really the Goddess of War?"

"I doubt it," Cody replied dismissively. "If anything, she was probably a high-ranking general, perhaps the equivalent of the Secretary of Defense."

"I wonder if any others will appear," Stefan said speculatively. "Personally, I always liked the tales of Artemis and Hermes. I wonder who Heidi is supposed to be."

"Don't you remember what Principal Wiley called her?" Cody asked with a raised eyebrow. "She called her Hades."

"I thought Hades was male," Stefan said with a frown.

"Remember, these are legends," Cody pointed out. "For all we know, Zeus is a woman and Artemis is a guy."

"Okay, stop," Stefan held up a hand with a pained expression. "You're going to ruin my fantasy of Artemis as a hot chick with a bow."

Cody laughed, shaking his head. He was still trying to reconcile the fact that his own date was Hades. If he had remembered who she was before his memory was restored, he definitely wouldn't have had the nerve to ask her out.

They pulled up to the suburban house Stefan was staying in, but Stefan remained seated. The family he was staying with had five of their own children. Stefan only had one sibling back in Europe, so the lively household had added another dimension to his culture shock.

"How long do you think it will be before the Titans wake up?" Stefan asked somberly.

"I have no idea," Cody replied with a shrug. "I'll ask Heidi tonight, if you like."

"Um, maybe not," Stefan declared with an involuntary shudder. "I probably don't want to know."

"It might make you feel better to know that she has a plan," Cody said suggestively. "After all, the other civilizations probably had no idea they were about to be attacked. Our military is already aware of the threat and making preparations."

"Maybe," Stefan admitted reluctantly. "I'll tell you what. Go ahead and ask her but lie to me if she says we're doomed."

Cody laughed again and nodded. "Okay, will do. Now go get ready."

As soon as Stefan was gone, Cody let out a long sigh and pulled out onto the road again. He noticed another car pull away from the curb several houses down and begin following him. He frowned as it drove beneath a streetlight. It looked remarkably similar to a car that had been parked near Heidi's house.

He kept on eye on it as he drove to his house, noting that it kept enough distance to avoid looking suspicious, though it followed every turn he made. He decided to go around a block a couple of times to see if it would follow. It did. He finally pulled over and parked, noting that it parked down the street several hundred yards behind him. Shaking his head, he got out of the car and walked down to where it was parked.

There were two women in the front who looked to be in their late twenties. They ignored him as he approached, talking to each other as they played with their phones. It was almost convincing. He stopped next to the passenger door and knocked on the window. The woman in the passenger seat looked out at him and he grinned in satisfaction. No civilian had eyes so penetrating. She rolled down her window but didn't say anything as she observed him stoically.

"I'm Cody," he introduced himself with a smile. "I'm not a big fan of long distance relationships, so I thought we could get acquainted."

"Smartass," the woman in the driver seat muttered loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm not sure what the IQ of my posterior has to do with anything, but I could let you talk to it if you find it that interesting," Cody said with a smirk.

"Just go home and get ready for your dance, punk," the soldier in the passenger seat said acidly.

"I will," Cody assured her. "Just as soon as you tell me why you're following me. Is Colonel Rockwell worried that I'll talk to someone else about the Titans?"

"No, you little shit," she replied with a snort. "Your girlfriend is worried about you."

"Heidi?" Cody asked in surprise. "Why would she be worried about me?"

The woman stared at him silently for a moment, as if she were deciding how much to tell him. "Let's just say she is less than trusting of the company that was at the house tonight. There are those who would rather keep any information about Titans restricted. You're a...security vulnerability...at the moment."

Cody felt a chill at the way she said 'security vulnerability'. It sounded a lot like 'enemy combatant'. He couldn't help looking around the residential street for shadowy threats.

"Lose something?" the woman asked dryly as she noticed him looking around.

"My sense of humor, apparently," Cody replied flippantly, trying to hide his sudden discomfort. "Don't your friends in high places know that pissing Hades off is a bad idea?"

"Hades?" the woman muttered with a frown. "You mean Heidi?"

"You mean you haven't made the connection yet?" Cody asked with a raised eyebrow. "So much for military intelligence."

The woman stared at him in shock for a moment before quickly blanking her face. "Just get a move on, kid. I'm not a very patient babysitter."

Cody made a crisp salute that was slightly spoiled by his sardonic grin, then clicked his heels and walked back to his car.

"Okay, so something else besides Titans to worry about," Cody muttered to himself as his car coughed to life and he lurched back onto the road in second gear.

Chapter 38 - Resurrection

"That punk is too smart for his own good," Sergeant Barreto grumbled as she pulled out behind Cody's Toyota POS, making no pretense to keep her distance.

"I wonder why Heidi has us following him," Sergeant Lynch said thoughtfully. "She's made it pretty obvious in the past that she can monitor people's movements and even intervene when necessary."

"Hard to say," Sergeant Barreto shrugged. "I'm more interested in how big of an ass-chewing we're going to get from the Colonel for taking orders from Heidi."

"I'm pretty sure he'll understand," Sergeant Lynch said dryly. "I'm pretty sure goddess supersedes colonel in rank."

"Do you really think she is Hades?" Sergeant Barreto asked, feeling an almost giddy sense of wonder at the possibility.

"After everything we've witnessed?" Sergeant Lynch laughed. "Yeah, I could definitely believe it."

"I wonder if Colonel Clegg is enjoying all of the brass in town," Sergeant Barreto shook her head slowly. "It's like being back in Afghanistan with all of the generals running around here."

"At least the idiots aren't trying to abduct her anymore," Sergeant Lynch noted grimly. "Do you think she really ghosted that senator?"

"Probably," Sergeant Barreto nodded. "She's probably seen more death in her life than everyone on earth put together. I'd imagine ghosting an asshat like Senator Cornwallis would be like swatting a fly to her."

She frowned as they pulled up to Cody's residence. It was a large two-story house with an immaculate yard. It was not the kind of home she had expected the little rebel to live in.

"Nice place," Sergeant Lynch said in surprise.

Sergeant Barreto scowled as Cody saluted them again after getting out of his car and walking up to his house.

"Shit!" Sergeant Lynch growled, snatching her 9-mil from its holster and jumping out of the car.

Sergeant Barreto immediately followed suit, searching the area for threats. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?"

"That van doesn't belong here," Sergeant Lynch replied as she ran toward the house.

Sergeant Barreto noticed an unmarked white van parked two houses down. There were no windows on the side, but she could make out the dull glow of LCD screens in the back of the van through the front windshield.

With a curse, she followed Sergeant Lynch up to the front door at a dead run. The door was just closing when Sergeant Lynch kicked it back open as several high caliber shots rang out. Two 9-mil shots fired off in quick succession as Sergeant Barreto dove through the door, rolling low.

Sergeant Lynch was standing over two men in black tactical gear. They were lying prone on the floor with blood pooling on the tiled anteroom. Cody was crouching next to the side of the wall, his eyes wide in astonishment. Sergeant Barreto motioned Sergeant Lynch to stay with Cody and then quickly ducked into the adjoining front room. A quick survey revealed it to be empty. There would be at least two more gunmen at the other exits.

She poked her head around the corner into the kitchen before quickly pulling it back. Another merc was standing near an exit at the back of the kitchen, looking at the hallway near him with his gun trained on the opening. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out and shot him in the shoulder between the joints in his body armor. He screamed and dropped his assault rifle, firing a few rounds as it fell. Another man came around the corner, already spraying bullets. She stayed low and shot him in the head, not bothering to try keeping him alive. She already had one alive for questioning.

As the wounded gunmen tried to pull a sidearm from his boot, she shot him in the forearm.

"The next one is for your head," she told him coldly. "Just the four of you?"

She watched his eyes closely as he shook his head. He was lying. She had a talent for recognizing when a person lied.

"Good, let's talk," she said conversationally as she walked closer. "Who's your CO?"

"Fuck you, bitch," he spat, glaring at her with murderous fury.

"Not even if you promise to bathe," she replied dryly. "You're just a worthless merc, aren't you? I suppose there's no point in keeping you alive, since you won't know anything anyway. We'll take this conversation up with your boss."

So saying, she aimed her 9-mil at his head and began to pull the trigger.

"Wait!" the man cried out, all sense of defiance vanishing. "I don't know who placed the order."

"Like I said, I'll take it up with your boss," she said with a cold smile. "If you don't know anything, there's no point in keeping you alive."

"It was from some general that's in town," he said quickly. "I heard my CO mention a general."

"There are a lot of generals in town right now," she said with a sigh. "That's not nearly good enough."

"That's all I know!" the man declared insistently. "Please don't kill me!"

He had been slowly sliding his wounded arm down his other leg. Growling in annoyance, she shot his hand, grazing his leg as well. He howled in pain, littering the air with curses.

"Lynch, get some backup over here," Sergeant Barreto called out, never taking her eyes from the mercenary. "We need to get this mess cleaned up."

"Copy," Sergeant Lynch replied from the anteroom.

"Cody, where is your family?" Sergeant Barreto called out as she kept close watch on the injured man.

"It's just my dad and me," Cody answered in a shaky voice. "He's in Afghanistan."

"Really?" Sergeant Barreto asked in surprise. "Who's your dad?"

"Lieutenant Arty Albright," Cody replied as he slowly came into the room. He stared at the wounded merc in fascination as the man lay groaning on the floor.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Sergeant Barreto muttered.

"Backup's on the way," Sergeant Lynch announced as she joined them. "I think there might be one less general in the world."

"Come again?" Sergeant Barreto asked with a frown.

"I just got a text from Lawsley," Sergeant Lynch said quietly. "He said General Lewdowski spontaneously combusted in front of about fifty witnesses."

"Well, I guess we know who ordered the disposal unit now," Sergeant Barreto declared in satisfaction. "You should feel pretty special, kid, knowing your girlfriend is willing to kill for you."

"I already told you, my name is Cody," Cody grumbled in irritation. "Not kid, punk, tiger, slick, or ace."

"Whatever you say, chief," Sergeant Barreto replied patronizingly.

Cody surprised her when he laughed. She barely avoided letting her gaze leave the merc. "I can live with chief. Anyway, thanks for keeping my chestnuts out of the fire."

"I don't think it was your chestnuts we kept out of the fire," Sergeant Lynch replied dryly. "How did you avoid getting shot when you walked in the door?"

"Quick reflexes and a healthy dose of paranoia," Cody replied, his voice becoming steadier. "I noticed the van across the street, so I was already suspicious. When I saw the two guys waiting for me, I dropped and rolled."

"You've got good instincts, turbo," Sergeant Lynch nodded approvingly.

A few minutes later, backup arrived, including Colonel Clegg. His face was a tightly controlled mask of rage as he observed the dead mercs.

"Good work," he told the two sergeants approvingly when he finished his survey of the mess. "I knew I could count on you."

"Thank you, sir," they both replied, sharing a relieved look. Apparently, he wasn't going to hold them accountable for taking orders from Heidi.

"Cody, I talked to your father's CO on my way over here," Colonel Clegg informed the somber youth, placing a hand on Cody's shoulder. "You'll probably be getting a call soon. I let him know that you are safe."

"Thank you, sir," Cody said, sighing with a resigned expression. "He's probably going to be freaking out anyway."

"He wouldn't deserve the title of father if he wasn't," Colonel Clegg replied with a nod. "I'll see what I can do to get him stateside as soon as possible."

Sergeant Barreto didn't miss the look of excitement that quickly flashed through Cody's eyes. He was obviously close to his father, despite his appearance as a rebel.

"Thank you," Cody said again, this time with a lot more feeling.

Colonel Clegg nodded, patting Cody's shoulder again.

Red and blue flashing lights could be seen in the front room window as the sound of sirens approached.

"Looks like the 5-0 is here," Colonel Clegg said sourly. "This is going to be a bureaucratic nightmare."

"Who called them?" Cody asked in surprise.

"I'm assuming your neighbors did," Colonel Clegg replied as he walked over to the front door to meet the local law enforcement. "Gunshots in a residential neighborhood like this attract a lot of attention from concerned citizens."

The policemen pulled up next to the Humvees and got out of their cars. They didn't draw their weapons, but their hands remained in close proximity as they approached the front door. The front porch was already crowded, with a squad of heavily-armed soldiers standing guard while another squad searched the van across the street.

"Officers," Colonel Clegg said curtly with a nod as the two policemen warily walked up to the front porch.

"We received a report that shots were fired in the area," one of the officers said slowly.

"You were informed correctly," Colonel Clegg told them, swinging the door open wider so that they could see the two dead mercs on the floor. "There is one more corpse in the other room, in addition to one survivor that will require supervised medical attention."

"What the hell happened?" the other officer asked amazement.

"We received credible intelligence that one of our officers in Afghanistan was being targeted by extremists," Colonel Clegg replied blandly. "We assigned a security detail to his son, which turned out to be a good thing."

There were people appearing all over the street as curious neighbors came out to investigate the unusual disturbance in their quiet neighborhood.

"They don't look like extremists," the first officer noted with a raised eyebrow as he studied the dead men in tactical gear as his partner spoke with their dispatch office. "They look like mercs."

"You former military?" Colonel Clegg asked curiously.

"Yep," the officer replied with a nod. "Four years in Iraq. I've seen enough security contractors to recognize a hit team when I see it."

"I'd leave that assessment to your detectives," Colonel Clegg advised him gravely. "This is one mess you don't want to get tangled up in."

"That's a pretty good security detail," the officer said admiringly as he looked closer at the two corpses. "One shot to the head each, and under fire from the looks of it."

"Thanks," Sergeant Lynch said with a nod.

He studied Sergeant Lynch with a look of admiration and then blushed when some of the other soldiers started snickering.

"I don't think you'll be going to the dance tonight," Sergeant Barreto informed Cody as another half dozen police cruisers and an ambulance arrived.

"Did you want to be the one to tell Heidi she needs to find another date?" Cody asked Sergeant Barreto wryly.

"You're Heidi's date tonight?" Colonel Clegg asked Cody in surprise.

"Well...I was," Cody replied slowly, waving his hand at the dead men, "before this party started."

The police officer's gaze lasered in on Cody as soon as Heidi's name was mentioned. Most of the police force was aware that Heidi was capable of superhuman acts, though most of them believed she was involved in some kind of military black project.

Colonel Clegg nodded, then pulled out his cell phone and walked back to the front room.

"What about the general that combusted tonight?" Cody asked Sergeant Lynch curiously. "Heidi isn't going to stop at one-"

"Quiet, mouth," Sergeant Barreto interrupted him with a meaningful glance at the police officers watching them interestedly.

Cody blinked and then blushed. "Sorry."

"That's alright," Sergeant Lynch told him with a soft punch to his shoulder. "You have a right to be a little shaken up tonight."

The former soldier turned policeman was watching the three of them keenly, his eyes calculating. "Trouble inside the wire tonight?"

"Not for us," Sergeant Barreto replied enigmatically with a shrug.

Another Humvee pulled up a moment later and Sergeant Barreto groaned as Heidi and Colonel Rockwell exited the vehicle. "This is turning into a serious clusterfuck."

Two paramedics were in the act of wheeling the lone survivor out of the room when Heidi stopped them.

"Please step aside, young lady. We need to get this man to a hospital," one of the paramedics told Heidi insistently.

Heidi ignored him. A moment later, all eyes turned to Heidi as she transformed into full god mode. Both paramedics backed away nervously as the superhuman presence permeated the area around her. The wounded man was staring at her in abject terror as her overcharged gaze studied him. With an annoyed sigh, Heidi put her hand to his forehead. A loud boom shook the ground and the man gasped, his back arching in a spasm. A moment later, he slowly sat up, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"From now on, you serve me," Heidi told him firmly. "Is that clear?"

The man nodded quickly, his wide eyes filled with a mixture of emotions—confusion, awe and hope.

Heidi walked passed him into the house, surrounded by a dumbfounded silence. She knelt down next to the two corpses in the doorway and placed a hand on each one. There were two more deafening booms that shook the house. Green and red lights arced around the corpses as a static hum filled the silence. The hum grew louder until everyone began covering their ears in an attempt to block out the painful buzz.

The deafening buzz suddenly stopped, and a moment later both men began to stir. Astonished gasps swept through the crowd of spectators as both men sat up. They stared around at the crowd in confusion and then alarm as they felt the full force of Heidi's presence hit them.

"Do you remember where you were?" Heidi asked them intensely.

"It was dark;" one of them mumbled, "dark and cold."

"Do you wish to return?" Heidi asked, her voice as cold as the grave.

"No!" both men shouted at the same time, their voices filled with anxiety.

"Then from this day forth, you will serve me," Heidi told them firmly. "I have brought you back to serve a higher cause than money—don't make me regret it."

"Yes ma'am," they both replied quickly. "Just don't make us go back there again."

"That choice is in your hands now," Heidi told them, standing up and moving toward the back of the house.

Sergeant Barreto stared at Sergeant Lynch and saw the same expression of shock on her partner's face that she knew must be on her own. A moment later there was an additional boom.

"What the hell is going on here?" one of the police officers finally asked in a shaky voice. "Did she just bring those men back from the dead?"

"So it would appear," Colonel Clegg answered, sounding troubled. "I would suggest you and your men write this incident off as a hoax and leave."

"I wish it were that easy," the officer said nervously.

"I'm just making a suggestion," Colonel Clegg said with a shrug. "If you would rather wait for Heidi to come up with a different suggestion, feel free to hang around. I'm pretty sure you won't be going anywhere with the men she just brought back from the dead though."

The officer hesitated for a moment and then nodded when he heard Heidi's voice begin speaking to the last member of the recently-departed hit team. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this kind of shit. I'll let my CO deal with it."

"Wise decision," Colonel Clegg smiled at the policeman. "That goes for the rest of you too. Head back to base."

The stunned looking soldiers snapped out of their trance-like state and saluted before heading back out to their Humvees.

Chapter 39 - Moon

Stefan shuffled his feet nervously as he stood in front of Heidi with an expression of anxious trepidation on his face. Cody shook his head in disgust. The foreign exchange student couldn't get over the fact that they had a goddess in their midst, and he became tongue-tied any time Heidi was around.

"Just ask her already," Cody told him in exasperation. "She's not going to turn you into a newt if she doesn't like the question."

Stefan colored as he shuffled his feet again. "So I was wondering what you thought about setting up a YouTube channel with your music?" he finally asked in a hesitant voice.

Heidi was watching Stefan with no little amusement, a small smile curving the corners of her lips. "I actually hadn't thought about it."

"Oh," Stefan said lamely. Cody raised a sardonic eyebrow at him, and he took a deep breath. "Would you mind if I started a YouTube channel with your compositions? All the credit would go to you, of course."

"Go right ahead," Heidi replied with a shrug. "Just make sure the credit goes to the whole school though, not me."

"Really?" Stefan said in surprise, his eyes brightening.

"Yeah, really," Heidi replied dryly. "Why did you think I would have a problem with that?"

"Well… you don't seem to like your picture taken," Stefan replied slowly. "And some of the uploads might have videos of us performing."

"That's fine," Heidi assured him with another shrug. "They'll only show what I want them to show."

Stefan blinked uncertainly, obviously not understanding what she meant.

"Hey, are we going to go to the dance tonight, or what?" Autumn asked as she and Aria joined them. "It certainly took Heidi long enough to pick the two of you up. We’re already late."

Cody hadn't told Stefan or the others about the attack at his house earlier that evening; why ruin the festive mood for everyone?

Cody shared a look with Heidi and smiled as they began moving toward the front door. Autumn's mother was driving them to the dance. She was talking with Heidi's mother in the kitchen when Autumn interrupted her with a tap at her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I holding you up?" Autumn's mother asked with false concern. "I thought you might all have decided to just have a private dance here."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Autumn told her mother humorlessly

Aria sat in the front passenger seat, which left Cody sitting next to Heidi, and Autumn sitting next to Stefan. Cody felt heat warm his face when Heidi's elbow brushed against his own as Autumn's mother pulled out onto the road. He had never felt self-conscious before, and he decided that he definitely didn't like it.

A glance behind him showed Stefan experiencing the same kind of proximity anxiety.

"Just relax, I don't bite hard," Heidi whispered to him with an amused gleam in her light-brown eyes.

"Easier said than done," Cody replied dryly.

Heidi smiled slightly, though she remained silent. The remainder of the trip to the school was uneventful. Cody breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived. He was pretty sure Heidi could read his mind, and if he spent any more time with their hips touching, his thoughts were going to get him in a lot of trouble.

Principal Wiley was on the stage speaking to the crowded auditorium when they entered. Aria's date, Leslie, joined them as soon as they entered. She looked Aria up and down in obvious admiration. Aria returned the favor, her eyes alight with interest.

Cody felt like he was doing a pretty good job of not gawking at Heidi. She had most of her hair in a complex bun with the remainder cascading over one shoulder. She wore a blood red dress that ended just above the knees and accentuated her curves generously.

"You're going to piss Heidi off if you don't stop staring at her," Stefan told him with a chuckle,

"I wouldn't have spent this much time primping if I didn't want to be admired," Heidi told Stefan archly. "At least he's not drooling like you were."

Stefan's face reddened slightly, because he nearly had been drooling after laying eyes on Autumn. She was in a feminine pink dress that would have looked silly on anyone else. On Autumn, it was ridiculously hot. Her long blonde hair was similar to Heidi's, with a loose bun on top and intricate curls cascading over her shoulder.

A local band began playing a lively tune and Cody turned to find Heidi watching him expectantly. "May I have this dance?" he asked with a grin.

"If I must," Heidi replied with a slight curve to her lips.

He led her out onto the dance floor and the two of them joined the small group of other students who were willing to brave the dance floor.

Stefan had been right about Heidi's skill at dancing—she was amazing. He was good enough to know an exceptional dancer when he danced with one. Heidi was like a feather in his arms, twirling about and smiling as they worked their way across the dance floor.

"Show offs," Aria said as she and Leslie danced near them.

"My old pappy always said, if you're going to do something, best you do it right," Cody replied in a southern drawl.

"Whatever you say, Maverick," Aria said dryly as the two of them danced out of range.

"So I have a question for you," Cody said lightly as she gracefully slipped under his arm and came up behind him.

"Is that so?" Heidi asked conversationally

"That is so," Cody nodded. "Why did you send those soldiers to protect me? You could have killed them without ever leaving your house, couldn't you?"

"Very astute," Heidi murmured with a twirl. "Why do you think I sent the soldiers instead?"

Cody thought hard, frowning in concentration. "You could have done it remotely," Cody began, trying to talk his way through his train of thought. "You must have known the soldiers would kill them, or most of them. You brought them back from the dead in front of quite a few people. The only thing that makes sense to me is that you wanted to put on a show, so to speak. I'm just not sure why you would need the theatrics. All of the people present already knew you could do unusual stuff."

"Very good," Heidi complimented him with an approving smile. "As to the reason for the theatrics…I needed the people around me to understand that death is not an obstacle that cannot be overcome. Some of the soldiers close to me will die in the future, and that will become more obvious as events unfold. I want them to understand that while death may be an end for some people, it will not be the end for them. I will bring them back every time, until they ask me to stop."

"Why would they ask you to stop?" Cody asked curiously.

"Sometimes life gets too heavy to bear," Heidi replied slowly. "That weight grows significantly every time a person dies. After a dozen resurrections, it becomes similar to what Bilbo described in The Lord of the Rings: 'butter scraped over too much toast'. They just want an end to everything, the bad and the good."

They danced in silence for a while, until Stefan butted in and asked Heidi to dance. Cody rolled his eyes and traded Heidi for Autumn.

"So how do you like dancing with a Goddess?" Autumn asked with an impish grin.

"You're pretty good, but I wouldn't call you a goddess," Cody replied critically.

"Not me, you jackass," Autumn retorted exasperatedly. "Heidi."

"Oh, I beg your pardon," Cody said with a complete lack of remorse. "She's pretty good, but I could definitely still teach her quite a bit."

"Yeah, right," Autumn replied dryly as he ducked under her arm.

"Are you having fun with Stefan?" Cody asked, more seriously.

"Yeah, he's a pretty good dancer," Autumn replied with a dimpled smile. "Not as good as you, but pretty good. He's also quite the charmer."

"And with that foreign accent, he's just irresistible, isn't he?" Cody asked with a sly grin.

"Pretty much, yeah," Autumn agreed her green eyes twinkling.

"How's Aria doing?" Cody asked, looking around the room for the redhead.

"She can't take her eyes off of Leslie," Autumn snickered. "They're adorable together. I'm glad someone came out of the closet and asked her out."

"Yeah, that was a surprise," Cody agreed.

"So why did Heidi go over to your house with her dad?" Autumn asked, her eyes suddenly serious.

"She had to bring some mercenaries back from the dead after the body guards she assigned to watch me killed them," Cody replied nonchalantly.

"Wait, what?" Autumn stopped dancing and stared at him in surprise. "What happened?"

"Heidi was worried one of those generals didn't want us knowing about the Titans," Cody answered with a shrug, tugging her back into the dance. "She sent a couple of soldiers to keep an eye on me. When I got home there were two men with assault rifles waiting for me. I ducked the first few shots, then one of Heidi's soldiers kicked the door in and killed them, plus a few more in the back of the house. Heidi showed up a little while later and brought them back to life. She told them that they had to serve her from now on."

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" Autumn asked in exasperation.

"The timing didn't seem quite right," Cody replied dryly. "We were just getting ready to come to the Valentine dance. Not exactly the kind of atmosphere to spoil with talk of death and resurrection."

"She really brought them back from the dead?" Autumn asked in quiet astonishment. "I mean, I knew she could do some amazing stuff, but bringing people back from the dead?"

"Hades, remember?" Cody reminded her with a raised eyebrow. "Lord of the underworld."

"Oh yeah," Autumn muttered thoughtfully. "I'd forgotten about that."

"Looks like Aria's switching partners," Cody noted with a grin as he watched Heidi trade Stefan to Leslie in exchange for Aria.

Autumn's eyes were full of suppressed emotion as she watched Heidi and Aria dance past them. Heidi was smiling as she spoke quietly to Aria, and Aria was grinning in obvious delight.

"What's on your mind?" Cody asked her shrewdly. "You've got a funny look in your eyes."

"Oh nothing," Autumn shrugged his question off airily. "I was just wondering which of them did the leading."

"My guess is Heidi," Cody said as he watched the two women dance. "But I don't think that's what you were wondering about."

"Oh, is that so?" Autumn asked with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't realize we had two psychics in our midst."

"I was trying to keep it a secret," Cody sighed regretfully.

"I'll bet you were, hero," Autumn declared with a chuckle.

"So are you going to tell me what the look was for?" Cody asked persistently.

"Fine, Mr. Nosy," Autumn sighed in exasperation. "I was wondering if people were bigots in the ancient civilizations that Heidi lived through, or if being gay was accepted as normal."

"You should ask her," Cody suggested, unconsciously watching Heidi as she danced with Aria.

"Wow, you're really taken with her, aren't you?" Autumn noted with an appraising look.

"Could be," Cody admitted unabashedly. "What's not to like? She's hot, talented, mysterious, and a freaking genius. It would be hard not to be attracted to a person with those qualifications."

"Switcheroo, you two," Stefan told them as he handed Leslie off to Autumn.

"Seriously?" Cody asked as Stefan started dancing with him.

"I'm not sweet on you," Stefan assured him with a wink. "But I thought it would be a good example for some of the other closet dwellers to see that two guys could dance together as well as two girls."

"Well played, sir," Cody congratulated him. "So how was Leslie doing?"

"Not bad," Stefan shrugged. "With a little more practice she might be good."

"I wasn't asking how her dance moves were," Cody rolled his eyes.

"I know," Stefan replied with a smirk. "She's totally infatuated with Aria. I'm curious to see how that relationship plays out."

"Me too," Cody agreed with a smile.

It wasn't long before Heidi relinquished Aria and reclaimed Cody. Her eyes were sparkling when she pulled him away from Stefan.

"That was rather brave of you," Heidi told him, her eyes filled with warmth.

"It was actually Stefan's idea," Cody admitted.

A slow song started playing and Heidi closed the distance between them. Cody had to swallow hard as her body pressed against his as they began a slow dance.

"Did anyone from one of the past civilizations ever go to the moon?" Cody asked, trying to calm his proximity anxiety.

Heidi stopped dancing for a moment before continuing again. "Yes. We built it."

This time it was Cody who stopped dancing. "You built the moon?"

"More like 'modified' it," Heidi replied, pursing her lips as she started him dancing again. "It was one of Jupiter's moons. We hollowed it out and brought it to earth's orbit."

"Why in the world would you do that," Cody asked in bewilderment. "Pun unintended."

"We needed a large data warehouse close to Earth, while remaining separate," Heidi answered. "Using a moon was the easiest solution."

"So it's just a giant server farm?" Cody asked in amazement.

"You could say that," Heidi nodded. "It's the reason I was able to come back. It's not a computer like what you have today. It's far more complex, and ties fifth dimensional space to this realm. This civilization is still hundreds of years away from that kind of technology."

"So Neil Armstrong wasn't the first person to the moon after all?" Cody asked, shaking his head in wonder.

"Not by a long shot," Heidi replied with a smile.

Chapter 40 - Gamers

The last few months of the school year seemed to fly by at an accelerated rate. Heidi was cranking out two new songs a week, many of them the result of historical stories from students that had trouble learning in the conventional classroom setting. Heidi, Autumn, and Aria would sit down and go over history, English, or science lessons with a student and then have them write lyrics about the lesson. So far, it had been a stunning success, with many of the students transforming their grades from an F to an A. The songs sounded far more interesting when they were based off of academic material as well, instead of incessant love stories.

Stefan had been uploading their music to YouTube for several months now, and they were gathering a sizeable following. At Heidi's request, Stefan made a point of not using Heidi's name anywhere in the uploads, simply assigning credit to the whole group. Heidi didn't want people flocking to the channel as a result of her popularity in the alternative media—she wanted the music to stand on its own merit.

Principal Wiley had an end of year concert scheduled on the last day of school. She had invited several state lawmakers and district officials to watch the students perform.

"So are you ready to perform in front of the whole school again?" Autumn asked Aria with a nervous grin.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Aria shrugged, looking completely unfazed. "It's just like playing in the classroom if you ignore the audience."

"Therein lies the problem," Autumn sighed. "I can't seem to fool myself into thinking I am alone."

"It's going to be fine," Aria told her reassuringly. "Heidi can do something to calm your nerves if you get too frazzled."

The two of them were sitting on a small couch in Heidi's room while Heidi worked in the closed studio that her dad had hired some contractors to build for her after Christmas. They had knocked out the walls in her room and combined it with the room next to hers. She had a large collection of instruments sitting on stands throughout the room. She would come out of the studio every few minutes and exchange instruments as she began a new track in Logic Pro. In addition to the songs she wrote at school, she would write one with her own lyrics every night at home now. Her lyrics were often in foreign languages, and they usually involved stories of ancient civilizations long forgotten, as well as heroic acts of noble individuals nobody had ever heard of.

There had been three more moderate earthquakes since Valentine's Day. Heidi assured them the Titans would not be waking up for several years. Autumn tried not to think about what would happen when they did finally wake up. She fervently hoped that Heidi had a plan to stop them.

Heidi had also started an email dialogue with the girl from Finland that she had called Athena. The young woman was scheduled to visit them on the first week of summer break. Autumn's curiosity had kept her awake many nights as she wondered what Athena would be like. Would she be as overpowering as Heidi?

"So how are things going with Leslie?" Autumn asked curiously. "I expected you to spend a lot more time with her than you have since Valentine's Day."

"We see each other occasionally, but there's really no chemistry between us," Aria answered, fidgeting with her hands. "I mean, I find her physically attractive, but I don't feel any powerful sense of allure. I don't know, maybe people really don't feel that way in relationships—maybe it's just all Hollywood hype."

"I think you just haven't met the right one yet," Autumn told her confidently. "When it is the right one, you'll definitely feel an overpowering desire to be with them all of the time."

"Oh really?" Aria drawled, drawing the word out. "You sound like you're talking from experience. I didn't realize you and Stefan had gotten so close."

"Stefan?" Autumn repeated, her brow creased in puzzlement. "Oh, yeah, Stefan. No, we're just friends."

"Well then who is it?" Aria asked intently.

"It's nobody," Autumn denied with a shrug. "I just have a pretty good imagination, and I'm pretty sure that when the right one comes along, you have no doubt that it is the right one."

"You are so full of crap!" Aria declared, pointing an accusing finger at her. "I saw the look in your eyes. You weren't talking about an imaginary prospect. Now come on, spill."

"I'm totally serious!" Autumn protested her eyes shining with sincerity. "I wish there were someone, but it really is just my imagination."

Aria stared at her suspiciously, arms folded with one finger tapping on her forearm. "I'll be keeping a sharp eye on you from now on, mark my words."

"Sure, sure," Autumn nodded agreeably, smiling when Aria grimaced at the patronizing note in her voice.

"I should just ask Heidi," Aria murmured thoughtfully. "I'll bet she'll know who it is."

Autumn blanched, and Aria grinned. "Ha! That's what I thought! There really is someone!"

"There really is someone what?" Heidi's voice spoke up from behind them, causing both of them to jump. She was like a ninja sometimes.

"Nothing!" Autumn replied firmly. "Aria was just telling me how she wanted to find the right one, and I was telling her that there really was a Miss Right out there somewhere."

Heidi tilted her head slightly as she looked at them, and Autumn groaned inwardly. That look meant she was going to dig deeper.

"I was just noting how Autumn seemed to have a personal understanding of what meeting that special person is like, but she claims it's just an imaginary person," Aria told Heidi with a doubtful look at Autumn. "I don't suppose you know who Autumn's inspiration is?"

Heidi shifted her gaze to Autumn, and the other person in Heidi's body was watching her through Heidi's eyes too. Autumn closed her eyes as her face reddened, wishing she could teleport.

"No idea," Heidi replied after a moment of silence.

Autumn's eyes popped open, and she stared at Heidi in relief. She could tell by the knowing look in Heidi's eyes that she did know, but that she was keeping her secret.

Aria squinted at Heidi suspiciously. "I can't trust either of you. Fine, I'll figure this out myself."

"I'm sure you will," Heidi agreed with a knowing smile.

"Are you finished recording for the night already?" Autumn asked Heidi, hoping to change the subject.

"Yep, it was a short one tonight," Heidi replied with a nod. "I thought we would go out somewhere fun to get your minds off of the concert tomorrow."

"Where did you have in mind?" Aria asked in sudden interest.

"Cody invited us to the game shop where he works," Heidi answered with a wry grin. "He wants us to learn what it's like to kill aliens."

"Nice!" Aria exclaimed, her eyes alight with sudden excitement. "What game are we playing?"

"Seriously?" Autumn asked with a resigned sigh. "Gaming?"

"He wants us to play Destiny," Heidi replied to Aria. She turned to Autumn with a raised eyebrow. "Have you ever played any video games before?"

"Of course not," Autumn snorted. "Talk about a waste of time."

"Since time is imaginary, you can't really waste it," Heidi told her critically. "Why don't you reserve judgement until after you have tried it?"

"Fine," Autumn sighed loudly. "But next time I get to pick the activity."

"Of course," Heidi replied agreeably as Aria nodded.

Aria had won a drawing after donating to a wildlife refuge and had received a Kia Soul as the reward. Autumn had nearly been knocked off of her feet when Aria found out she had won. The fiery haired girl had tackled her in a bear hug, jumping up and down in excitement. Autumn could understand her elation; her father certainly wouldn't have forked out the money for a car, and it would have taken over a year of part time work to afford a cheap used car. Autumn hadn't asked Heidi if she had anything to do with Aria winning the car, even though Heidi had been the one to suggest submitting a ticket to the refuge. Autumn certainly wasn't complaining; it was nice to have a driver besides their mothers to cart them around town.

Heidi never seemed to care whether she was in the front or back seat of the car, so Autumn took the front seat. Aria filled the time to the game shop trying to convince Autumn how fun modern gaming could be. Despite herself, Autumn found some of the descriptions of the digital gaming world fascinating.

The game shop was a lot larger than Autumn had expected. The first part of the game shop was stocked with shelves holding thousands of games and gaming gear. The second part of the shop was filled with recliners and televisions, each of them connected to a game console. As they walked through the store, a steady stream of pimply faces turned to watch them in surprise. They had probably never seen a girl up close before.

"I can't believe you convinced them to try it," Cody told Heidi as he led them back to the lounge.

"Aria didn't take any convincing," Heidi replied with a glance at her excited friend. "She's already a gamer."

"Really?" Cody asked in amazement. "I would have never guessed. Where does she find the time to game? You guys are always making music or running around town watching local bands."

"I haven't really gamed much since meeting Heidi," Aria told him with a shrug. "It used to be all I did. In the game world, I was anonymous, and nobody could judge me by my sexuality."

"Makes sense, I suppose," Cody conceded. "Well let's see if you still have any skillz."

"Have you ever played any video games?" Autumn asked Heidi curiously.

"Nope," Heidi replied with a grin. "That's why I'm excited to try it. I love new experiences."

"If you take to it like you did music, there's going to be a lot of pissed off gamers out there," Aria noted with an evil chuckle.

"That was kind of what I was thinking," Cody agreed with a smirk.

It took Autumn almost five minutes to stop staring at the sky and spinning in circles as she tried to handle the two joysticks.

"Now that you're done with your circle dances, follow me and I'll show you how to kill aliens," Aria's voice spoke into the headset Autumn was wearing.

It took another twenty minutes of cursing and twisting her arms about wildly before she was able to shoot any of the aliens with any accuracy. Once she learned how to use her grenades and switch weapons, she actually started to enjoy the game.

"You're learning pretty quickly," Cody told her, sounding impressed. "It took me a lot longer to get headshots when I first started."

"How's Heidi doing?" Autumn asked absently. She had been so intent on learning how to play that she hadn't even noticed what Heidi was doing in her part of the map.

"Getting bored," Heidi replied dryly. "This seems pretty repetitive. Is there somewhere that offers more variety?"

"Yeah, this was just an easy spot for Autumn to practice," Cody answered reassuringly. "We can go do one of the strikes now."

Cody's gamer tag was G0ds0wner, which had caused an uncomfortable silence to reign when he first logged in and they all saw the snarky name. Heidi had burst out laughing, and Cody had let out a deep breath, glancing at Autumn with a relieved expression. At least his gamer tag hadn't been G0ddess0wner. That might have gotten him in trouble.

The strike was a lot harder, but Cody, Aria, and Heidi kept her alive when the fighting was intense. By the end of the strike, Autumn felt like she was holding her own pretty well. Heidi was taking out the end guys while receiving no damage, and making it look so easy.

"Okay, I think it's time to go play some Player versus Player now," Cody decided as the strike ended.

Several of the other gamers in the store had gathered around to watch them play. They all fit the introverted gamer stereotype so perfectly that Autumn couldn't help smiling every time she looked up at them.

They played Player versus Player for over two hours in the Iron Banner arena. Heidi's gamertag kept getting friend requests from all of the other players they were playing against. It was just one of the store's gamertags, so Heidi accepted all of them. She also received a lot of messages accusing her of cheating. She would walk around a corner and take out a group of players with an open-sight sniper rifle at close range, which was extremely difficult.

All three of them received dozens of messages asking them for pictures, because they sounded freaking hot. Autumn shook her head ruefully as she ignored another message.

"So what did you think?" Aria asked Autumn with an expectant grin as they shut the consoles down.

"Okay, it's pretty fun," Autumn admitted with a small smile. "I guess I can see how people get into video games. I didn't realize they were this social."

"Yeah, gaming has come a long way since the days of Atari's," Cody said with faint smile. "I'm still waiting for full immersion games, like the Matrix, but I'm guessing we're another fifty years away from that kind of technology."

"The technology is already in your head," Heidi told him, tapping on his forehead with a finger. "Your mind can create virtual worlds, and you can explore them just like you would in a game. It's called lucid dreaming."

"I've heard of that, but I've never been able to purposefully have a lucid dream," Cody said with a sigh. "That would be really cool though."

Heidi pursed her lips and then put the fingers of both hands to Cody's temples. There was an inverted boom, causing the lights to briefly flicker. "Now when you go to sleep at night, just say out loud, 'I will remain conscious in my dreams tonight'."

"Really?" Cody's eyes were wide, and an excited grin broke out on his face. "Thank you so much! This is going to be the coolest thing ever!"

"You're welcome," Heidi replied with a half-smile. "Once upon a time, lucid dreaming was the only kind of dreaming."

"What happened to stop people from having lucid dreams?" Autumn asked with a frown.

"A renegade cult that was supposed to be safeguarding the development of human technology after the last Titan awakening," Heidi answered grimly. "The power went to their heads, and they began hoarding knowledge of the astral plane among themselves while purging any record of it from the public. They will pay dearly for their selfishness and stupidity."

Autumn shivered at the icy rage in Heidi's voice. The violent intent behind Heidi's words was almost palpable.

"Heidi!" a boy that looked around ten years old ran up to Heidi, his eyes shining with excitement. "What are you doing here?"

"We were playing video games," Heidi told him, a large smile spreading across her face. "How are you doing, Jordan?"

"Much better, thanks to you," the boy called Jordan replied with a grin. "The nurses didn't believe me when I told them that it was your music that healed me."

"You listened to Heidi's music?" Aria asked in surprise.

"Yep," Jordan nodded vigorously. "She visits the hospital almost every night and sings for us. We were all supposed to die soon, but since Heidi started showing up and singing to us, most of us have gotten better."

"When in the world do you get time to go to the hospital?" Aria asked Heidi in amazement.

"Late at night," Heidi shrugged. "I don't need as much sleep as most people."

A few of the gamers that had been watching them play Destiny were listening to the conversation with interest while trying to pretend not to. Autumn stared at Heidi with something bordering worship. She knew Heidi loved little kids, but she had no idea she had been visiting the children's ward for the terminally ill. She really was a goddess.

Chapter 41 - Hermes

Autumn focused on taking deep, even breaths as they waited for the curtain to open on the stage. Heidi had assured her that she would be fine without any intervention, but she wasn't so confident.

All too soon, the curtain slid open, and the spotlights lit up the stage, illuminating the orchestral band. Miss Devons had finally convinced Heidi that the three main singers should be at the front of the stage. Autumn was the main singer for many of the songs. She felt butterflies fluttering around in her stomach as the crowded auditorium focused their collective attention on them. She was thankful for the blinding spotlight that made it difficult to see anything off of the stage. Miss Devons had informed them at the last minute that there was also a television crew broadcasting the event on Channel 4. No pressure here.

Heidi sang lead vocals in the first song. As Autumn fell under the spell of the music, she forgot about the crowd and gave herself up to the magic of the melody. Emotions ran high in the room as Heidi's music struck powerful chords in the spectators. A huge screen above the stage displayed imagery from the digital media class. The scenes corresponded to critical points in each song, adding a visual element to the powerful melodies. The applause after each song grew steadily louder and more enthusiastic as the entire audience fell under the same spell. There was an air of synergy that filled the large room, inducing a sense of familiarity between strangers. The final song was followed by a deafening cheer that seemed to shake the stage with its intensity.

As they ended the show, Miss Devons walked out onto the stage and took one of the microphones.

"I promised not to do this, but it just feels wrong to accept credit for something so amazing," Miss Devons began nervously, avoiding Heidi's gaze. "I think you all deserve to know that Heidi Rockwell is the person who composed and arranged all of the music you have heard tonight. She'll probably kill me for giving her the credit she deserves, but I can live with that. She's spent countless hours throughout the year composing the music for every instrument in our orchestra. I think I speak for everyone in my class when I offer Heidi my gratitude for being chosen to be involved in something so special. Her music has rekindled the mystery and awe that I have been without since childhood. Thank you, Heidi."

"You're in so much trouble," Heidi told her with a sigh.

The audience laughed good naturedly, applauding louder than before.

As the curtain went down, Autumn couldn't stop smiling. It hadn't been awkward at all, and she hadn't made any mistakes on her guitar or with her vocals. The energy from the crowd had been contagious, and she had felt more alive than any other time in her life.

Aria had been on fire with her leads as well. She had one of the most captivating voices Autumn had ever heard. Heidi's voice had definitely ruled the night though. Her voice was so filled with emotion and power that it was like a tangible force. Heidi had sung a duet with Stefan in German that left most of the audience in tears with its sublime beauty. Cody sang several songs as well, surprising everyone that didn't know him with his amazing voice.

They had an after-event celebration for the orchestral students in the cafeteria, with drinks and food. Shortly after sitting down and relaxing with their classmates, Miss Devons entered the cafeteria with several men in suits. She brought them over to Heidi and introduced one of them as a senator and another as a congressman. The remaining man was the district superintendent.

"That was one amazing show you put together," the senator declared with a wide smile. "I've never really been into music before tonight, but you've changed my outlook."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Heidi replied with a polite smile. "I know we certainly enjoyed putting it together."

"Where did you learn how to make such beautiful music?" the congressman asked curiously.

"From life," Heidi replied with a shrug. "Music is just an expression of our consciousness, and I happen to see a world full of endless beauty and wonder, so my songs reflect that."

"Those are pretty heavy thoughts for a young woman of your age," the senator noted in surprise. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Fifteen," Heidi replied. "You might say that I age differently on the inside though."

"Well I can tell you have a bright future ahead of you," the senator told her cheerfully. "I just wanted to say hello and thank you for the beautiful music."

The congressman and superintendent echoed the senator's sentiments as well before leaving.

"Do you think Miss Devons will get the funding she wants?" Aria asked thoughtfully.

"Probably," Heidi nodded. "I sure hope so. If anyone deserves it, Miss Devons does."

"It looks like people are complaining about the footage taken by Channel 4 tonight," Cody informed them as he sat down across from Heidi. "Apparently, there was some kind of blurry light that blocked the cameras from seeing Heidi's face, no matter where she was on the stage."

"What a coincidence," Aria said dryly. "The same thing seems to happen in the YouTube videos."

"That's why people are complaining so much on Channel 4's forum," Cody said with a short laugh. "They thought we were the one's putting the light blob in front of her face on the YouTube videos, and that they were finally going to get to see what she really looked like tonight."

"Life is full of disappointments," Heidi noted with a shrug.

"Just out of curiosity, why don't you want people to see your face?" their lead violinist, Angela, asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't want people gawking at me any time I go out in public," Heidi replied with a sigh. "Have you ever seen how difficult it is for anyone who becomes famous to go out in public without paparazzi hounding their every step? The last thing I need is the world viewing me under a microscope. I have too much to do before that nonsense can begin."

"So you do anticipate it happening at some point?" Cody asked shrewdly.

"Oh yes, it will definitely happen," Heidi muttered with a grimace. "It's just too soon for it to start right now."

"I think we have another god alert," Stefan announced as he joined them with his phone in front of his face. "Apparently some guy in Brazil just fell off of a massive cliff, but just before he hit the bottom he came to a stop and floated down to the ground. Then he started babbling in what people think is Ancient Greek. It took him almost twenty minutes to remember how to speak his native language again."

Heidi's eyes went distant for a moment. She suddenly smiled as her eyes came back into focus. "It looks like our plan is working."

"Which plan would that be?" Stefan asked curiously.

"The plan to save the world, of course," Heidi replied with an exuberant laugh. "It was a long shot, but it looks like it's working."

"Do you know who he is?" Stefan asked, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"He has many names, but the one you would probably recognize is Hermes," Heidi replied with a chuckle. "We always called him bitch boy, or Sarama."

Everyone stared at Heidi in shock. It wasn't just the revelation of Hermes—none of them had ever heard Heidi use a derogatory term against another person before. It was jarring to hear it come out of her mouth.

"Don't look at me like that," Heidi told them defensively. "It's a rough translation. Besides, you would have to know him to understand what I mean."

"Can I call him bitch boy when we see him?" Cody asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I wouldn't recommend it," Heidi replied firmly. "Not if you enjoy the use of all of your limbs anyway."

"What makes you think we're going to see him?" Aria asked Cody.

"Just a hunch," Cody answered with a glance at Heidi.

Autumn could only agree. With Athena already scheduled to visit later in the week, Autumn was pretty sure Heidi would be summoning Hermes as well.

"How many other gods are going to make an appearance?" Stefan asked Heidi carefully.

"We're not gods," Heidi replied automatically. "A lot more, if we're lucky."

"What's all this talk about gods?" Angela asked uncertainly.

"Lethe," Heidi said absently, and Angela's eyes glazed over. "We don't want talk of gods getting out yet. It's going to cause enough trouble when the world becomes convinced all of the Greek gods are returning. We don't need to start that process any sooner than it will happen naturally."

Miss Devons came back into the room with another woman following. Autumn recognized her from the Channel 4 film crew. Her eyes were pinned on Heidi as they came to a stop in front of their table.

"Heidi, this is Ms. Adams with Channel 4," Miss Devons introduced the woman. "She wanted to know if they could get an interview with you."

Heidi stared back at the woman unblinkingly as the silence began to stretch out uncomfortably. Ms. Adams began to fidget nervously as Heidi's intense gaze began to unnerve her.

"No interviews," Heidi finally responded with a note of finality. "Not now, not ever."

The woman looked taken aback, but when she opened her mouth to protest, Heidi flared into full god mode. The woman gasped and stumbled backward in sudden fear as the overpowering presence focused its displeasure on her. She kept backing up until her back hit the door. She spun around and fled, knocking over another student in her haste to escape.

"That was a little harsh," Miss Devons said disapprovingly.

"That was actually very lenient," Heidi replied coldly. "There is no place for her kind in a civilized world."

"Her kind?" Miss Devons repeated in perplexity. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the kind of people who would sell their own children for their own selfish desires," Heidi answered bleakly. "Beneath the thin veneer of polite behavior that woman harbored the heart of a soulless monster."

The room was silent as everyone stared at Heidi in awe as her overpowering presence made it clear that she was something so much more than a normal girl. She turned her gaze back to Miss Devons and some kind of information seemed to pass between the two of them. Miss Devons gasped, her face blanching as sudden tremors shook her slight frame.

"How could she?" Miss Devons whispered in horror.

"People will do terrible things in the name of personal ambition," Heidi told her quietly. "If I didn't have more important matters to attend to, I would rid this world of her kind."

The silence in the room grew even more pronounced as everyone caught the unveiled threat in Heidi's words. Autumn could tell that some of the students were wondering what more important matters Heidi was referring to. Autumn almost envied them their ignorance.

"Heidi?" Aria spoke hesitantly.

Heidi blinked, and suddenly the overpowering presence vanished. "Yes, Aria?"

"Are you going to finish your chocolate pretzels?" Aria asked with a hint of a smile.

Heidi rolled her eyes and slid the plate of chocolate pretzels down to Aria as nervous laughter rippled through the cafeteria.

Chapter 42 - Hacked

Jordan stared at the empty desert in front of him uneasily. Somewhere, far beneath the surface of the desert, he could feel the enormous automaton stirring restlessly as it sensed the rise of a technological civilization.

Ever since Heidi had brought him and his three squad members back from the dead, he had been able to feel things that weren't there. He could feel the invisible currents of energy coursing through the world in concentric grid lines as he crossed over them, as well as the trapped souls of those who died near them. He knew that he had nearly become one of those trapped souls. The thought of going back to the sightless world of cold and foreign sensation filled him with stark terror. A permanent death would be better than the incomprehensible nightmare that awaited those who died near grid lines. The spark of life Heidi had breathed back into him had forever earned his allegiance.

In addition to the new ability to sense the energy grids, he could also feel what Heidi had told them were fourth and fifth dimensional entities. He would never have imagined just how crowded the world really was, before attaining his heightened senses.

At first, the other entities were just impressions on reality, like lighting artifacts in pictures, but visible all of the time. The more accustomed he became to his new sight, the more form the entities took on. He had never tried LSD, but he imagined that this must be what it was like. There was no set form to any of the entities; they seemed to morph from one moment to the next for reasons Jordan couldn't begin to understand.

There was also a strange—information layer—that seemed to overlay everything in the other dimension. Captions would often appear near the entities, labelling them with titles or descriptions. He often wondered if they were his mind's way of translating information that his subconscious understood on a fundamental level.

As a former data analyst, which was the NSA's word for hacker, he had spent enough time studying the future of augmented reality to suspect that the real world was some kind of complex computer simulation. He knew there were dozens of front corporations with the same belief, and that they spent vast resources trying to hack the source code of the simulation. He who cracked the source code of the simulation would become a god, or so the powers behind the research believed. They had quickly discovered that the limited understanding they had of programming was so primitive that they were like toddlers learning to play with a parent's smartphone, smashing it against the ground to try and understand what made it work.

Only a few groups had moved past smashing the phone to actually exploring the source code through human consciousness experiments. The data Jordan had found on the methods used to explore the boundaries of human consciousness were enough to make even a hardened mercenary empty his stomach. Those methods had, however, provided the most success in accessing new realms, and in some cases, actually changing isolated portions of the source code, sometimes with disastrous results.

It had been nearly a decade since a project he had found on a data farm owned by Bell Innovations had revealed just how destructive some of the mistakes had been. While many people believed the rise in autism and other psychological disorders were due to environmental toxins or vaccines, the truth was far more radical. In their attempt to add some of their own code to the simulation and change some aspects of human history, they had inadvertently changed what they called 'fourth state mappings' which affected tens of millions of individuals who were connected to that particular mapping node. In addition to creating an aberration in the fourth state mapping, they had created what many people in the world thought of as altered timelines as a result of people remembering events differently on a collective scale.

Attempts to remove the inserted code had resulted in even more fractured memories. They had not factored in that the simulation was not regulated by static code, like a computer operating system. It was controlled by artificial intelligences of far greater complexity than anyone could comprehend, pulling their inserted code deep into the simulation and then integrating it throughout with its own nuances added.

With a sigh, Jordan got out of his utility truck and began unloading the large trailer. He had an observatory to set up. There was no point in wasting any more time on the past. In his new life, he saw Heidi as one of the people who must have successfully hacked the source code at some time in the past. Whatever else happened, he would follow her to the end, and hope that she had better answers to offer than the reckless scientists of the twenty-first century.

Chapter 43 - Breakdown

Aria looked at her phone as a shrill scream announced a new text message. It was from Cody.

"Get to Heidi's house now!" the text read.

Aria felt a chill run down her neck as she flipped her car around and changed course to Heidi's house.

"What's up?" Autumn asked in concern.

Aria handed Autumn her phone without speaking.

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good," Autumn said nervously. "He didn't even make a joke."

Aria nodded, a sense of worry gnawing at the pit of her stomach. They had left Heidi's an hour ago to pick up some audio cables at the guitar center. What would have normally taken less than half an hour had taken twice as long as a result of the number of people stopping to snap selfies with the two of them. The school concert from the previous night had hit social media like wildfire, and while Heidi was hidden from cameras by an amorphous blob, Autumn and Aria enjoyed no such anonymity. Everywhere they went people would stop to gawk at them like they were some kind of celebrities.

Cody had stayed to work on a song with Heidi while Aria and Autumn were equipment shopping. Autumn was furiously texting Cody as they drove nearly twice the speed limit.

"He said she is having some kind of breakdown," Autumn informed her worriedly.

Aria increased the speed of her new car even more, noting the ever-present military escort behind them matching their speed. As soon as they pulled up to Heidi's house, she jumped out of the car and ran into Heidi's house, not bothering to knock.

Heidi’s mother and sister were both in Heidi's room with Cody, looking helpless and frightened. Heidi sat on the floor with both arms covering her head as she sobbed uncontrollably, her body heaving with each frantic sob.

"She doesn't seem to be able to hear us," Cody told them quietly. "Every time we try to touch her, she freaks out. We were just in the middle of recording a song when she snapped."

Aria stared at Heidi in shock. She had always thought of Heidi as completely unflappable. To see the powerful goddess in front of her in such a state of hysteria was terrifying.

Autumn pushed through them and knelt down in front of Heidi. She took a deep breath and then shouted in a voice that could probably be heard on the space station, "SNAP OUT OF IT, HEIDI!"

Aria stared at Autumn in amazement. Cody and Mrs. Rockwell were also staring at the tall blonde with shock on their faces.

Heidi flinched at the deafening command, but she did slowly lower her arms and raise her tear-streaked face to stare at Autumn. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, and there was no sense of another presence visible in her gaze. Aria had never seen Heidi without at least a hint of the other entity that shared her body. She almost didn't recognize her.

Autumn leaned forward and pulled Heidi into a comforting embrace. Heidi shuddered, and the tears began pouring down her cheeks in torrents as she clung desperately to Autumn.

"We're here for you, Heidi," Autumn whispered soothingly. "Everything is going to be alright."

It took nearly five more minutes before the storm of weeping began to subside. As Heidi's sobs slowly receded and her breathing evened out, Aria walked over knelt down next to her as well, resting her hand on Heidi's back.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked tenderly.

Heidi shook her head. "No. I don't know if I can do this."

"You don't have to," Autumn told her firmly. "You tell Hades that you're done. Find someone else."

Heidi took a deep shuddering breath. "She can't find someone else. It's too late."

Mr. Rockwell had walked into the room at some point and was watching Heidi in concern.

"Nonsense," Autumn declared firmly. "She's a goddess. She can make it work."

"She's not a goddess," Heidi sniffled. "She wouldn't even be here if there were any other way. She's doing this to save us. All of us."

"Where is she?" Aria asked with a frown.

"I told her to leave me alone," Heidi replied as a few more tears leaked out of her eyes. "She's being as gentle as she can be, but the more I see, the heavier the burden grows. I'm not sure we are worth saving."

"What did you see?" Autumn asked gently. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Heidi shook her head. "No. It's not something I would ever want you to hear about. She tries to use music to help me understand, because there is so much power in music to help buffer the vividness of the memories; but sometimes even the music can't soften the blow enough."

"What can we do to help?" Aria asked, trying to ignore her growing sense of helplessness.

"Exactly what you are doing now," Heidi said with a wan smile. "I'm just overwhelmed right now. So long as you are there for me when I need you, I'll manage."

"We'll always be here for you," Aria told her firmly. A chorus of assenting sentiments echoed around the room from the others watching her.

Heidi took another deep breath, and the life force around her seemed to brighten as she sat up straighter. "Aset, I'm fine now."

As soon as she spoke, the other presence flooded the room and Heidi's eyes lit up with their usual intensity.

"It won't always be like this," Heidi's voice spoke, but it was obvious that it wasn't Heidi speaking. "When this world is safe, things will change. This time it will be different. I will make certain of that."

Aria stared at Heidi in awe as she felt the other entity in the first person for the first time. There was an ageless wisdom of such awesome magnitude that Aria could only marvel at the vastness of it. Within those wise eyes there was an undercurrent of compassion that went beyond her mind's ability to comprehend. She found it impossible to believe there was anything this being was incapable of doing.

"There will be very difficult times ahead for all of us," she spoke softly, her voice filled with determination. "Heidi will depend on all of you to keep her sane and whole. Your love will give her the strength to go on when all hope seems lost and despair threatens to engulf everything she believes in. I chose all of you because of your strength of character, and most of all, the depth of your compassion. You have not disappointed me. Thank you."

The vast presence receded into the background as she finished speaking. Aria took a deep breath, then stood up.

"Who's Aset?" Aria asked curiously.

"She's the Egyptian goddess, Isis," Mr. Rockwell answered in a subdued voice. "One of the oldest Egyptian goddesses. Some say the mother of all of the other gods. Protector of the dead and goddess of children."

"Not a goddess," Heidi said firmly. "Just a scientist. The greatest scientist who's ever lived, but still a scientist."

"I thought she was Hades?" Aria said in confusion.

"She was also known as Hades, in one of her incarnations," Heidi replied with a small smile. "She's lived more lives than you can possibly imagine. She's been fighting in this war since the beginning, but this will be the last battle, if we are lucky."

"So who are these other gods that have been popping up all over the world?" Cody asked.

"Other people who have joined her cause throughout the ages to rid the world of Titans," Heidi replied, her eyes shining with sudden excitement. "It's extremely hard to coordinate the incarnation cycle with compatible hosts, but she was able to make changes to the process last time that would ensure everyone is incarnated this time. We will have an army of all the heroes throughout history to fight the Titans with us."

"Who is everyone?" Cody asked, tilting his head in a manner reminiscent of Heidi. "The Greek gods of mythology?"

"All of the gods of mythology," Heidi answered calmly. "Norse, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Aztec, Sumerian...all of them. Of course, some of them are the same people known by different names throughout history, but you get the idea."

"Sounds like quite the party," Cody breathed, his eyes distant.

"Just wait," Heidi replied, all signs of her breakdown gone. "A gathering the likes of which this world has never seen is about to commence."

Chapter 44 - Ullr

Stefan sat disconsolately in one of the recliners at the game shop where Cody worked, staring into space. He was scheduled to return to Germany in a week, and he was not looking forward to leaving his newfound friends behind. Cody sat next to him, absently killing aliens as they discussed his imminent departure.

"You still going to manage the YouTube channel when you get to Germany?" Cody asked as he stuck a grenade to an alien.

"I don't know," Stefan admitted with a sigh. "I would like to, but it will be kind of hard to manage from Germany. I would have to have someone else upload any new footage. It just wouldn't be the same, not being here to handle it in person."

Cody nodded his understanding. "How's the channel doing anyway?"

"Once the world found out Heidi was the person composing all of the music, it went from fifty-thousand subscribers to several million overnight," Stefan replied with a wry chuckle. "She's still one of the hottest topics in alternative media. Most people think she's an alien."

"I'd imagine some of the songs will only reinforce that belief," Cody laughed. "Especially the one about returning to the stars."

"I've actually had tens of thousands commenters pushing for another concert," Stefan said with a wistful smile. "Everyone in Miss Devons' class that follows the channel said they would be willing to play for another concert, but we really don't have anywhere to play. People from all over the USA are saying they would travel out here to watch her perform in person."

"That explains the text I got from Miss Devons this morning then," Cody said, mowing down a squad of hive aliens. "She said one of the county commissioners wanted to know what she knew about a planned music event involving Heidi and the rest of her class. Apparently, someone is already telling people that we are holding a concert at the fairgrounds here."

"What did Miss Devons tell them?" Stefan asked.

"That she didn't know anything about it," Cody replied with a shrug. "I told her that I hadn't heard anything about it either."

"Weird," Stefan murmured.

"Yeah, but that's what you have to expect from fanatics," Cody declared with a roll of his eyes. "They come in all shapes and sizes, and from all walks of life. I've seen some of the nutjobs posting on that YouTube channel. They make me seem normal in comparison."

"I wouldn't go that far," Stefan said dryly. "But yeah, there are more than enough crazies to go around. I wouldn't put it past one of them to try and start arranging a concert without asking Heidi first."

"She would usually put a stop to that kind of thing before it began," Cody began with a frown, and then stopped. "Oh yeah, I guess things were a little weird yesterday."

"Weird how?" Stefan asked, turning his full attention to Cody as he heard the undercurrent of gravity in his friend's voice.

Cody's avatar died as he lost focus, staring off into the distance. "I'm not sure I'm at liberty to talk about it. Suffice it to say, she was a little preoccupied and might not have been as omniscient as usual yesterday."

"You're seriously going to leave me hanging here?" Stefan asked indignantly. "Come on man, what happened?"

Cody sighed, turning his attention away from the game. "Heidi had a little breakdown yesterday. She's fine now, but apparently she's receiving a slow trickle of memories from Hades' other lives that are extremely disturbing. Hades made a first person appearance that completely blew my mind. Apparently, she was also one of the main Egyptian goddesses long before she was Hades. She told us that all of the gods from every culture's mythology would be making an appearance before the final battle with the Titans."

"Every culture?" Stefan asked, his eyebrows climbing into his hairline. "Like, Thor and the rest of the Asgardians as well?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Cody nodded, ignoring his avatar as it respawned somewhere on the moon. "I'm looking forward to seeing the Trickster, personally. He's a Native American god that I feel a personal affinity to."

"How long until they show up?" Stefan asked intently.

"No idea," Cody shrugged. "Soon, I'm guessing, since the Titan's are already getting restless."

"The Titans are real?" a voice behind them asked incredulously.

Cody scowled as he turned around and found one of the other local gamers standing behind them. "How long have you been standing there, Nicholas?"

Nicholas took a step back when he saw Cody's scowl. He had just graduated that year, and Cody fully expected him to take up permanent residence at the game shop until his parents kicked him out of their house.

"Not long," Nicholas replied placatingly. "I just heard you say something about all of the gods of mythology returning to fight the Titans."

"You better have Heidi wipe his memory," Stefan told Cody gravely. "She's made it pretty clear that she doesn't want the Titans to be common knowledge yet."

"What?" Nicholas took several more steps backward, his face worried. "No, I'm cool! I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

"Would you stake your life on that?" Cody asked, his eyes boring into Nicholas as the air around him grew suddenly cold.

"Easy, tiger," Stefan murmured, watching Cody warily.

Cody blinked and then shook his head as a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him. For a moment, he had felt like someone else was speaking through his mouth. He had felt Heidi's noncorporeal presence before, and it had felt nothing like this.

"You okay?" Stefan asked, his voice thick with concern.

Nicholas was watching him like a mouse watching a snake. His eyes were filled with terror, and there was a wet stain spreading down his jeans.

"I think so," Cody replied slowly. "That was really weird."

"What happened?" Stefan asked, watching him carefully.

"I'm not sure," Cody answered, frowning as he noticed a trace of frost on his controller. "I felt like someone else was speaking through me. It wasn't Heidi."

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Are they still there?"

Cody calmed his mind and focused internally. Silence. "No, I don't think so."

Stefan was watching him thoughtfully with a curious light in his eyes. Cody glared back at him, intuitively grasping where Stefan's thoughts were going.

"Don't even say it," Cody said flatly. "I'm not turning into a god."

A loud gasp reminded both of them that Nicholas was still within earshot. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at Cody as if he had sprouted another head.

"It's time to call Heidi," Stefan declared, pulling out his phone. "We need to get his memory wiped."

"He won't tell anyone," Cody said confidently, the other presence once again filling his voice with an overtone of authority. He looked at Nicholas pointedly. "Isn't that right, Nicholas?"

Nicholas shook his head so fast that Cody worried it might fall off.

"Good man," Cody said in satisfaction. "Now go change your pants."

Nicholas nearly knocked another customer over in his haste to exit the store.

"Back again, I see," Stefan noted clinically as he studied Cody intently.

Cody squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously. "Stop that! This is my body, you jackass!"

The presence receded into the background, though it didn't vanish completely. Cody took a deep breath, then called Heidi's cell phone.

"This is Heidi," Heidi's voice answered after the second ring.

"Do you have time to stop by the game store?" Cody asked, unable to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

"On my way," Heidi replied after a moment of silence.

"Wow," Stefan marveled as he stared at the street where Nicholas was clumsily mounting his bicycle in his haste to leave. "I haven't heard that kind of intensity in a voice from anyone but Heidi."

Cody remained silent as he studied the subtle presence taking up residence in the back of his mind. It was amused. He could discern that much. There were small perturbations in his normally steady thoughts that made him grunt in irritation. Whoever it was, they were rifling through his memories. The subtle presence radiated a sense of antiquity that made Cody feel like a toddler in comparison. Whoever they were, they were ancient beyond his concept of the word.

Turning back to his video game, Cody tried to ignore the invasion of his privacy by killing aliens. Since Heidi had given him the ability to dream lucidly, video games felt more like doodling. The stunning world of visual and auditory sensation he experienced in the worlds of lucid dreaming were so superior to video games that he found it difficult to make himself wake up for real life, where his mind couldn't effortlessly control the rules of reality.

His eyes were drawn to the large windows at the front of the store as Aria's Kia pulled up with Heidi and Autumn. The few customers in the game shop watched the three women enter with a reverence that only hormones could inspire. Cody felt renewed amusement in the back of his mind as the thought crossed his consciousness.

As soon as Heidi laid eyes on him, her face broke out into a wide smile and her eyes sparkled with delight.

"Ullr, I see you found your way back too," Heidi told him warmly. She pulled him into a tight embrace, causing his face to burn as her body pressed firmly against his own.

"Still Cody, actually," Cody mumbled embarrassedly.

Heidi stepped back and stared at him with a small smile. "So you are. You have some extra baggage with you though."

"Yeah, I noticed," Cody grumbled, still flushing from the memory of her closeness. "So who's this Ullr fellow?"

Before Heidi could answer, a sudden burst of memories flooded his mind. He stood on top of an icy mountain, untouched by the cold. At near eye-level, an enormous Titan was destroying everything in its path. With a deafening roar, Ullr hurled a blast of energy at the ground in front of the Titan, causing the enormous creature to fall into the ensuing abyss. With another deafening roar, another wave of energy flowed out of him, wrapping a web of energy around the Titan as it leaped toward the surface with stunning power. As the net wrapped around it, the Titan was pulled back into the crater and pinned to the bottom. The energy net quickly shrank until an inverted popping noise signaled the end of the Titan. Before he had a chance to rejoice, a blast of scorching heat tore through all of his protective energy barriers, severing his consciousness from the ruin of his body as another Titan appeared behind him. His last thought was one of elated triumph; they had successfully defeated one of the Titans for the first time.

"Ullr was one of the most powerful Norse gods," Stefan told him quietly. "He was right up there with Odin."

"So you were able to defeat one of the Titans," Cody said to Heidi brightly. "Well, that's reassuring. I was starting to think we were seriously screwed."

"And that was with only a handful of us," Heidi replied with a wide smile. "We will take care of all of them this time."

Chapter 45 - Antiquity

Stefan tried not to stare at Cody, but it was difficult. He had never met Heidi before the other entity had taken root inside of her, so her intensity just seemed like a part of her personality. Cody, on the other hand, he had known for almost a year. The change from a relaxed rebel teenager to supercharged demigod with eyes that could pin you to the wall was stark. He wasn't sure if Cody was even aware of how different his countenance appeared now.

Autumn and Aria were also watching Cody closely as they tried to adapt to his augmented aura of gravity. Shortly after Heidi's arrival in the game shop, Ullr's presence had grown stronger. The other gamers in the store had stopped staring at the three young women to observe Cody with varying levels of perplexity as their minds tried to come to grips with the sudden change. Heidi appeared to be able to suppress her god mode much better than Ullr when she wasn't doing anything extraordinary.

Heidi seemed to be communicating with Ullr without speaking, if Cody's distracted expression was an accurate gauge. As the silence between the two of them grew, Stefan turned to Aria and Autumn.

"Still human?" he asked them with a raised eyebrow.

Aria's lips curved into an amused smile as she nodded, and Autumn rolled her eyes. He was only half-joking.

Stefan noticed two women with shoulder length hair casually walk into the game shop. They strolled around the store like they were interested in the merchandise, but they spent too much time not looking at anyone else. They looked slightly familiar, as did the car they had parked on the curb in front of the shop.

As soon as the two of them walked back into the arcade area, they came to a dead stop, staring at Cody in shock. He was still carrying on some kind of unspoken communication with Heidi as the two of them watched him warily.

"Hey, Barreto, Lynch," Aria waved at the two of them casually with a friendly smile.

"Aria," the taller of the two women answered with a curt nod. "Is it my imagination, or is there more than one deity in here now?"

Stefan blinked in surprise. They knew?

"Aye, that there do be," Aria replied in a perfect Scottish accent. "And it warms the cockles of me heart to see that ye have finally acknowledged me status, lass."

The woman snorted derisively. "Nice try, shorty. What's up with Cody?"

"He's playing host for Ullr, a Norse god," Autumn told her with an amused look at Aria. "Fair warning; you two could be sharing headspace with a deity of your own at any time. Events seem to be accelerating and there are a lot of deities that need hosts."

Both women frowned, looking distinctly disgruntled. "I'm not sharing headspace with anyone."

"Oh come on, Barreto," Aria made a tsking noise. "I thought soldiers were all about the whole team player thing."

Stefan stared at the two women in sudden recognition. He had seen them parked near Heidi's house more than a few times. He had assumed they lived near her. Were they some kind of bodyguards?

"Do you mind keeping the whole soldier thing to yourself?" Barreto asked with a pained look. "This isn't supposed to be public knowledge, after all."

"Trust me, that will be the least of your concerns," Aria told her smoothly. "People are going to be far more interested in other events soon enough."

Barreto tilted her head, studying Aria intently. "Care to elaborate?"

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise," Aria told her with a cheeky grin.

"Kids," the other woman muttered with a patient sigh.

"Hey, I'm almost seventeen," Aria retorted indignantly.

The two soldiers shared a longsuffering look before turning back to them. "What's up with those two? Why don't they just get a room?" Barreto asked dryly.

"You know how those decadent gods of mythology are," Aria replied with a shrug. "They probably don't understand the meaning of privacy."

Stefan had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as Heidi's withering gaze finally broke away from Cody to glare at Aria.

"Decadent?" Heidi demanded acidly. "Really, Aria?"

"Hey, I'm just going by what the history books say," Aria replied defensively. The innocent act was slightly spoiled as her lips began twitching into a smile.

"Our history really is messed up, isn't it?" Cody said quietly, his face introspective. "I thought we were doing pretty well technologically, but we're barely a step above monkeys playing with sticks."

Stefan stared at his friend, wondering what memories he was receiving from his new tenant. His eyes were wide and unseeing as he stood in front of Heidi.

"Barely," Heidi agreed with a nod. "There is a point of accelerated advancement that occurs once a civilization learns how to harness the power of artificial intelligence, but even that plateaus within a few decades. Most of the people alive today are severely limited in their ability to grow intellectually as a result of a renegade sect of Truth Keepers who were supposed to keep civilization from advancing too quickly. Instead of using the knowledge imparted to them for the protection of humankind, they used it to subjugate and rule over them."

Cody was grimacing in disgust as Heidi spoke, his eyes radiating disapproval. "They need to be dealt with."

"They will be dealt with," Heidi assured him placatingly. "But not yet. I've already let them know that they are living on borrowed time. Their machinations are slowly but surely grinding to a halt. Should they attempt any further interference, they will be dealt with immediately."

Her voice left no doubt as to what being 'dealt with' would entail. Stefan shivered at the icy finality in her tone.

They had acquired a small audience around them as they spoke. The other gamers in the shop had slowly gravitated toward their party while trying to appear uninterested. Heidi gave the room a cursory glance.

"Lethe," she muttered, followed by a small, inverted boom.

The gamers around them blinked in confusion for a moment before wandering away, their eyes glassy.

"How's the water content holding up?" Cody asked Heidi intently.

"Critical," Heidi replied with a sigh. "We arrived just in time. Another decade and the information layer would have collapsed. It's going to take every trick in the book to get this world back into a state of symbiosis. Thanks to the Truth Keepers, this civilization has wreaked more havoc than any other civilization before it. I often wonder if they would have fallen so far if we had given them more information about the higher realms."

"I'm pretty sure we wouldn't even be here if you had given them that much knowledge," Cody replied bleakly. "They would have broken the link and awoken the Titans."

"Quite possibly," Heidi nodded with another sigh. "I can't help but feel responsible, since they were my idea."

"It was a good idea too," Cody assured her. "But adding the human propensity for mischief is a variable nobody can account for, no matter how good the modeling is."

Stefan watched Cody curiously as his friend switched personas with no warning. Hades seemed to have a lot more respect for the host she inhabited than Ullr did. Of course, it might just be that Ullr was new to this. Stefan hadn't been around to see what Heidi was like when she had first been joined by Hades.

"You two know that you're speaking pure gibberish, right?" Aria asked them pointedly.

"Is there any other kind of gibberish?" Heidi asked Aria playfully.

"In your case, bastardized gibberish could work," Aria retorted loftily.

"Touche," Heidi grinned as Hades faded into the background. "So did you have a question, or were you just enjoying the sound of your own voice?"

"Would you hold it against me if I said both?" Aria asked with a smirk.

"I might," Heidi replied dryly.

"What does water have to do with anything?" Autumn inquired quizzically.

"Water is the medium where consciousness binds the world around us to the higher functioning processes of reality," Heidi answered. "The ability for the higher functions that govern reality to work requires the water content to remain relatively untainted. The sheer amount of pollution produced by this civilization has corrupted the water content so severely that the glue holding reality together has begun to crack in some places."

"Crack?" Autumn repeated with a frown. "What does that mean?"

"It means anything could happen," Heidi replied, taking a deep breath. "The laws of physics begin to break down. Gravity might not work properly; people might see things that aren't really there. They might also run into things they can't see that really are there. Sometimes thoughts might become reality. It's only happened once, and it completely destroyed the world. It's what contemporary history knows as the Devonian extinction event."

"Is there any way to stop it," Aria asked, all traces of humor gone.

"Now that I'm back, of course," Heidi replied with a whimsical smile. "It will require a lot of hurricanes and tornados, but we'll get things fixed."

"Hurricanes and tornados are going to fix the polluted water?" Aria asked with a puzzled frown. "How?"

"It's all in the motion of the spiral," Heidi replied cryptically. "The spiral is nature's stabilizer, bringing equilibrium and order to chaos."

Stefan sighed deeply. "So not only do we have to worry about Titan's destroying us, but we also have to worry about reality falling apart. I sure liked living in ignorance."

"Would you like me to wipe your memory?" Heidi asked, her face serious.

"Uh, no, I don't think so," Stefan replied quickly. "I was just being dramatic."

"There's a first," Aria drawled. "Stefan being dramatic."

"So have you heard anything about us putting on a concert at the fairgrounds?" Stefan asked Heidi, ignoring Aria.

"Should I have?" Heidi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently Miss Devons got a call from one of the county commissioners about a planned concert at the fairgrounds," Stefan informed her with a wry smile. "I think some of your fans are trying to set up a concert in hopes that you will show up if they set the stage."

"We don't really have time for this kind of trivial nonsense," Cody scowled irritably. "We have a whole world to defend in a very short time."

"This is important too," Heidi told him seriously. "Remember, a lot of those who are returning are new to the cycle. They aren't going to know how to find us or what to do. A level of global prestige will help them find their way to us."

"So you're going to reveal who you are to the public?" Stefan asked in surprise.

"Of course not," Heidi scoffed. "Those who are looking for me will recognize who I am without a public fanfare. They'll be looking for each other as well. Anyone with unusual abilities will likely be one of us."

"So some of them have never incarnated inside other hosts before?" Aria asked intently.

"Correct," Heidi nodded with a glance at Cody. "Quite a few of them have only done it once or twice. We kept our numbers small in the beginning. The process of capturing a person's consciousness is extremely difficult. I've grown far better at it throughout the ages, but there are less than a hundred of us who have been through more than a dozen incarnations."

"How many have you been through?" Stefan asked tentatively, hoping it wasn't rude to ask.

Heidi stared at him silently for a moment, and the antiquity in her eyes would have been answer enough. "Millions of times."

"Millions?" Stefan gasped disbelievingly. "Humans haven't been around long enough to have incarnated a million times. Have they?" He finished lamely.

"Contemporary historians are far off of the mark on the true history of this world on many levels," Heidi answered with a sigh. "Humans have walked this world for over a billion years."

"A billion?" Stefan blurted, and he wasn't the only one. Both soldiers were staring at Heidi in shock. Aria and Autumn were mirror images of astonishment.

"When you say a billion, do you mean homo-erectus, or do you actually mean modern humans?" the soldier Stefan guessed was Lynch asked with a frown.

"Humans as we are now, though the word modern is certainly not accurate," Heidi replied with a wry smile. "While subtle changes have occurred, most of it has been superficial, like skin color, eye color, stature, and other less obvious attributes."

"How could we possibly not change more in such a vast amount of time?" Lynch asked in perplexity.

"You can thank the Titans for that," Heidi replied dourly. "Humans typically control nature enough that they do not need to adapt to it. However, before they have a chance to develop beyond their current state, the Titans awaken and reset their progress."

"Where are all of the remnants of these former civilizations?" Lynch inquired, studying Heidi curiously.

"Destroyed by the Titans," Heidi shrugged. "They don't just smash things. That's just the initial phase of destruction. There is more than one kind of Titan. They don't want humans picking up the pieces of their former civilization and rebuilding it in a hundred years. Some Titans specialize in seeking out and destroying any kind of record that would lead to another advanced civilization. That's one of the reasons it has taken me so long to defeat them. Cataloging all of the Titan classes before my host is destroyed was my primary goal for the first half of my extended life. The last half has been finding the weakness in each class of Titan."

"How old are the other...um...demigods?" Lynch asked, obviously hesitating to refer to them as gods. "The older ones, that is."

"The rest of us are babes in comparison," Cody answered with a grin. "We've only been around for a few million years."

They were all staring at Heidi in awe. While she might claim she wasn't a goddess, she was the closest thing to it that humanity had ever seen.

Chapter 46 – Headaches

Commissioner Lewis scowled in irritation as he hung up on yet another person trying to book an event at the fairgrounds for Heidi Rockwell and her class to perform at. The office had been flooded with calls almost nonstop throughout the week from people either asking if there was an event or trying to schedule one themselves. He had already spoken with their IT department to try and get an auto-attendant menu set up on their phone system to begin screening calls, but apparently their phone system was from the stone ages and didn't have that kind of functionality. Either that or their IT department just didn't know how to set it up.

Miss Devons had already assured him that she had no plans of holding a concert at the fairgrounds with her class. The problem had been upgraded from an annoyance to a serious headache when thousands of fans had begun arriving in town the previous day, intent on watching a concert at the fairgrounds. All of the hotels and campgrounds were sold out, and people had begun setting up camps all around the town. While the local business owners were ecstatic about the unexpected influx of business, local law enforcement had been forced to call in reinforcements from the surrounding counties to help monitor the quickly growing mob of determined fans.

Margaret, the Director of Facilities Management, had stopped accepting calls from any numbers from out of state, which had resulted in people calling the commissioner's office directly.

Commissioner Lewis groaned when he saw the caller ID for the governor's office show up on his phone.

"Commissioner Lewis," he answered, trying to keep the resignation out of his voice.

"Good morning, Commissioner Lewis, this is Governor Halberd," the governor spoke in a jovial tone.

"Good morning, Governor Halberd," he replied, suppressing a sigh.

"I've got a bit of a problem I was hoping you could help me out with, Commissioner," Governor Halberd said in the same cheerful voice.

"Of course," he answered in a neutral tone.

"The Chamber of Commerce tells me we have a flood of paying tourists hoping for an unplanned concert at your fairgrounds, but that nobody at the county offices is willing to work with them to arrange for a safe environment," the governor said cheerfully. "I assured them that our county commissioners were the kind of people who could get things done when unexpected challenges arose. I hope I wasn't mistaken in my assessment of your office's abilities."

"Of course not, governor," he replied, unable to keep the resignation out of his voice.

"Glad to hear it!" he declared jubilantly. "I was planning on flying down to watch the concert as well, so please save me a seat."

"Yes sir," Commissioner Lewis agreed with a sigh. "It would be our pleasure."

"Fantastic," the governor enthused. "I knew I could count on you. See you tomorrow night then."

Commissioner Lewis groaned as he hung up the phone. What a nightmare. He picked the phone back up and began placing calls, all of them met with varying degrees of consternation. Somehow, it made him feel better that he wasn't the only one having a bad day.

Chapter 47 - Analysts

Anna tried not to stare at the passenger in the seat next to her, but it was difficult. She had seen the young woman's face on social media after the girl had saved a young child from a semi-truck a few months ago. Nadia Lund. She remembered the girl's name clearly.

It was easy to believe Nadia had performed such a miraculous feat—there was a powerful presence permeating the space around her that a blind person would have noticed.

She wasn't the only one trying not to stare. Half of the passengers on the plane had recognized Nadia, resulting in a steady wave of turning heads throughout the airplane cabin.

They were nearly halfway across the Atlantic and many of the passengers were asleep. Anna would have tried to sleep as well, but sitting right next to the supercharged young woman made sleep impossible.

Nadia had been silent throughout the entire flight, staring straight ahead, her eyes far away. She looked like she was in some kind of trance. She was tall, nearly two meters, with brilliant blonde hair and crystal blue eyes.

Anna gripped the armrests tightly as the plane suddenly bucked on a pocket of turbulence. A small whimper escaped her mouth as increasingly violent turbulence caused the plane to lurch around the sky like a malformed kite. She was terrified of flying.

As the intensity of the turbulence increased, the flight attendants hurriedly buckled themselves to their seats. The captain's voice warned everyone to remain buckled in their seats as bolts of lightning began flickering through the skies around them. Where had the storm come from? It had been clear skies just moments ago.

"They're here," Nadia suddenly muttered, her eyes suddenly glowing with intensity.

Anna nearly forgot her fear of flying as she felt the sudden influx of ethereal power charge the young woman next to her. Small green and red arcs of light danced around Nadia as she turned to stare out the window.

Anna let out a small scream as the oxygen masks suddenly popped out of the ceiling and the plane began a deep dive.

"PAUE!" Nadia bellowed in a voice of ultimate authority.

The plane suddenly came to a complete stop, dangling in the middle of the air in complete defiance of gravity. There was a deafening shriek of metal tearing as the roof peeled away from the plane and soared away into the raging storm. Without the roof blocking the sky, Anna could see a host of glowing orbs rotating counterclockwise in a giant vortex.

Nadia raised her arms to the sky and a stream of complete darkness shot out of her hands, striking the vortex with a deafening roar. White light surged around the darkness and undulated toward the plane like a liquid blob.

"I see the Analysts have arrived," a voice from behind her spoke conversationally.

Anna jerked her head around and found a tall young woman with dark hair standing in the aisle next to her.

"So it appears," Nadia agreed in a voice tight with concentration. "Care to lend me a hand?"

"Of course," the tall stranger answered in a cheerful voice.

Anna clapped her hands over her ears as a deafening static buzz charged the air around them. The sky above suddenly burst into bright auroral colors as some kind of pressure began pushing away from the new arrival, wrapping itself around the glowing orbs. The orbs began shrinking as the buzzing intensified, until a sudden popping noise signaled their destruction.

As soon as the orbs vanished, the howling gale dissipated, leaving the floating plane in an eerie silence.

The buzzing had stopped as soon as the orbs vanished. Before Anna could survey their surroundings, everything blurred out of focus. A moment later, everything came back into focus. She blinked in astonishment. The plane was sitting on the tarmac at an airport somewhere.

Anna stared at the other passengers around her in shock as she heard emergency vehicles approach. Everyone was watching Nadia and the young woman who had materialized out of nowhere.

"The Destroyers are a lot easier to take down, aren't they?" Nadia noted thoughtfully. "These Analysts are a lot tougher."

"That they are," the other woman agreed. "They have to be—the Destroyers don't know what they are dealing with until they get all of the intel back from the Analysts. The Scouts are a lot worse, but they won't be out in force for a little while yet. You ready to go?"

"More than ready," Nadia replied with an amused glance at the shell-shocked passengers.

There was a deafening inverted boom, and the two young women vanished.

A man several rows in front of her suddenly clutched at his chest and began spasming. As he fell to the floor, the guy next to him jumped up and began performing chest compressions while shouting for someone to call an ambulance.

There was another inverted boom, and the dark haired young woman reappeared. She plunged an insubstantial hand into his chest, and he gasped. He stopped convulsing and slowly sat up, panting heavily as he stared at her in astonishment.

Boom. She was gone.

"What the fuck just happened!" a guy across the aisle demanded in a shaky voice.

"Who was that other person?" a woman asked weakly.

"Thousand buck says that was Heidi Rockwell," a stocky man with a goatee declared confidently.

Everyone recognized the name. Heidi had been all over world news for weeks after allegedly putting an entire school to sleep to prevent a mass killing. While the mainstream news had lost interest in the story, Heidi was still one of the number one topics in alternative media.

Anna shook herself as the first wave of emergency crews arrived. The next hour was a blur as the passengers exited on a stair-car and were inspected by emergency service responders. They were bussed to an empty terminal and instructed to wait while authorities began debriefing them.

"Where are we?" she asked one of the emergency responders.

"Salt Lake City," the man replied, watching her curiously. "Any idea how you got here?"

"No," Anna shook her head slowly.

"We got teleported here by that Heidi Rockwell girl," the man with the goatee informed the emergency responder. "She and that other girl from Denmark, Nadia Lund."

"Seriously?" the EM asked, his eyes wide. "What happened to the plane?"

"No idea, man," goatee man shrugged. "We hit a pocket of turbulence over the Atlantic, and then some kind of cyclone with glowing lights appeared. Nadia and Heidi destroyed whatever it was, and then we were teleported here."

"That's odd," the EM said with a frown. "I thought Heidi was playing at a concert tonight."

"Considering she can apparently teleport, she might still be," goatee man said with a shrug.

Before anyone else could say anything, dozens of soldiers entered the terminal, led by several officers and men in suits. The soldiers all lined up, forming a blockade to prevent anyone from leaving the terminal. Anna swallowed, feeling a growing sense of unease.

"My name is General Frankfurt," the most highly decorated officer announced loudly. "This incident has been deemed a matter of national security. Acting in accordance with article four of the ICCPR, everyone in this terminal is forbidden to discuss any of the events that transpired on flight 1192 today. Anyone found leaking information regarding the events of this incident will be dealt with harshly."

Anna shook her head at the stupidity of the injunction. The majority of the people present had already sent out texts, videos, and other communications to dozens of parties. There was no putting the cat back in this bag.

Chapter 48 - Fairgrounds

Jared sat on one of the front bleachers at the fairgrounds hoping Heidi would actually show up at the impromptu concert. It looked like everyone in the orchestral class was present. They were spread out around a large stage that had been erected in the middle of the surrounding bleachers. There was an empty space in the center of the stage where Heidi would presumably perform. So far, only Autumn and Aria were present. Jared raised his cheap binoculars to his eyes to get a better look.

Autumn and Aria were sharing uncertain looks with each other as the crowd began chanting Heidi's name. Cody, the drummer that seemed to play a pivotal role in the band and was rumored to be close friends with Heidi, walked up to the stage with an effortless confidence that set him apart from the other musicians. He walked up to Aria and Autumn and spoke for a moment before putting a headset on his head and sitting behind his large drum set.

Jared found it difficult to take his eyes away from Cody. There was a sense of power surrounding the young man that singled him out from his peers. As Jared looked at the people around him, he could tell that he wasn't the only one watching Cody curiously.

They had apparently decided to play whether Heidi showed up or not. Cody nodded at Miss Devons, and she whipped her conductor's baton up with a flourish. A deep hum pervaded the fairgrounds as all of the bass instruments began an edgy overture.

The crowd began cheering excitedly as the power instruments joined the orchestra. Even without Heidi, the music was powerful enough to stand on its own.

Jared blinked in surprise when Cody, rather than Aria or Autumn, began singing. The intensity in his voice rivaled all of the other instruments put together. The bass voices of the choir gave the song an ominous air as Cody sang of a world torn by war and savagery.

Jared sat watching silently, unwilling to make any sound that would impede the amazing music blasting off the stage. The spell spread throughout the crowd as well. There were thousands of spectators outside of the fairgrounds watching the performance on a series of large screens that someone had erected for the enormous overflow crowd to watch.

As the second song ended, there was a deafening boom and all of the lights momentarily flickered. Two young women had materialized out of thin air in the center of the stage. The dark haired newcomer picked up an electric guitar and donned a headset as if nothing unusual had happened. She casually handed another headset to the light haired woman who had appeared with her. Both Aria and Autumn were staring at the light haired woman in fascination as she slipped the headset onto her head.

"Sorry for the wait," the woman Jared assumed must be Heidi told the rest of the band apologetically. "Nadia's flight had some problems."

Nadia. The Danish girl who had stopped the semi-truck in Denmark. The anticipation in the audience was reaching a fever pitch as everyone stared at the late arrivals in awe. Talk about an entrance.

Heidi nodded at Miss Devons, and they immediately jumped right into a new song. Jared felt like bolts of lightning were blasting through him as Heidi's voice threatened to destroy his understanding of music. He had heard her music on YouTube, but it was nothing like the real thing. The entire audience was staring with wide eyes at the stage as the concert took on something akin to a powerful religious experience.

As soon as the first song with Heidi ended, it was like an earthquake shook the arena as thousands of voices cheered and stomped on the bleachers. Jared felt a wistful pang of sadness as the next song began. How would he ever appreciate any other music after tonight?

Chapter 49 - Teleportation

Autumn glanced at her phone and blinked in surprise. It was three am. Surely they hadn't been playing for so long? It felt like a couple hours at most.

She had never felt so energized, surrounded by thousands of people eager to listen to them perform. And perform they had, like never before. The power of the music had gripped the audience like a vice, synchronizing the mass of people into a single collective mind. The choir had been joined by thousands of voices, even though they had never heard the songs before—Heidi never replayed songs from before. It was always new content. The skies above them had lit up like a Christmas tree, with red and green lights undulating across the sky.

Despite a loud protest from the crowd, Heidi had announced that the concert was over. The auroras illuminating the skies above slowly faded as the energy in the crowd dissipated. Autumn unstrapped the electric guitar and began rubbing her sore shoulder as she placed the instrument onto a stand. Without the intense energy that accompanied the music flowing through her, bone deep weariness washed over her.

She yawned widely, trying not to stare at Nadia. The young Danish woman was grinning broadly as Cody sauntered up to her with a grin of his own.

"Did you enjoy your flight?" Cody asked dryly as he engulfed her in a bear hug.

"It was a nice little warm up exercise," Nadia answered with shrug.

"So you got your ass handed to you," Cody guessed with a snort.

"Pretty much," Nadia admitted with a small blush. "I've never fought an Analyst before."

"You'll get plenty of practice in the coming months," Heidi assured her with a grim smile. "They've been popping up sporadically for the last seventy years, but their frequency has increased significantly in the last decade."

"What woke them up?" Nadia asked curiously.

"The Truth Seekers," Heidi replied in disgust. "When they started playing around with teleportation it triggered the startup sequence."

"They can teleport?" Aria asked in surprise. "You mean, like jump through a portal from one place to another?"

"To put it crudely, yes," Heidi nodded.

"How does that work?" Aria asked in fascination. "Is that what they are doing with those particle accelerators?"

"Particle accelerators?" Heidi frowned. "No, teleportation doesn't require anything so complex. Anyone can do it."

"Is that a fact?" Nadia asked sarcastically.

"Well, with enough training, anyone can do it," Heidi amended with a smirk.

"When she says enough training, she means thousands of years of training," Nadia told Aria pointedly. "I've been trying to do it for a long time, and I still can't do it unaided by technology."

"How does it work?" Aria asked curiously. "In lay terms, please."

"It's simple," Heidi shrugged. "Consciousness is generated in fifth dimensional space. One of the rules that governs this reality is that higher dimensions trump the information layer of lower dimensions. If your consciousness claims you are in Buenos Aires, reality overrules third-dimensional space and accommodates fifth-dimensional data."

"So I just tell myself I'm in Buenos Aires and I'll suddenly be there?" Aria demanded incredulously.

"Yep," Heidi nodded with a small smile. "That's all there is to it."

"Yeah, that and learning how to trick the system that governs consciousness that your individual interpretation is correct and that the collective view is incorrect," Nadia drawled with a wry smile.

"That too," Heidi agreed blandly.

"How do you do that?" Aria asked expectantly.

"You just have to separate your consciousness from the collective field that binds you to everyone else," Heidi answered simply. "Once you leave the club of collective consciousness, the rules of the collective no longer apply to you."

"How do I leave the club?" Aria asked with a frown.

"With a lot of patience, and a hell of a lot of mental discipline," Nadia informed her with a resigned shake of her head. "Or you can take the easy way and use a device that temporarily jams your connection to the collective."

"I see," Aria said thoughtfully. "And where do I get one of these devices?"

"I haven't created any yet," Heidi replied easily. "Using a device to teleport acts like a beacon to the Titans. Right now, they think there are only a few people teleporting around. The more widespread the beacons, the sooner they awaken. As we get closer to the end, I'll make sure the world has all of the teleporters they need to move people out of harm's way while we do battle."

"Are you the only one that can teleport without technology?" Autumn asked with a glance at Cody.

"Cody and a few others can as well," Heidi replied with a nod at Cody. "Nadia can too, just not consistently. She is more skilled in other areas."

"So why have we been driving everywhere in a freaking car if we could have been teleporting?" Aria growled in irritation.

"You mean skip the journey?" Heidi asked with a raised eyebrow. "Would you rather watch a movie, or slide shows? Teleporting everywhere you go is a great way to miss out on life."

Aria tilted her head thoughtfully as she pondered Heidi's words. "Okay, I suppose that makes sense, oh wise one."

"I like this one," Nadia told Heidi with a grin at Aria. "She's feisty."

"She's a regular pain in the ass," Cody observed with an obnoxious grin.

"You're going to have a pain in your ass if you don't wipe that grin off your face," Aria told him sweetly.

"So what are the particle accelerators for?" Autumn asked uncertainly. "Aren't they for smashing atoms or something?"

"Ostensibly, yes," Heidi answered after sharing an amused look with Cody. "In reality they were first used for harnessing what contemporary physicists call zero point energy. With larger conduits, more current can flow through."

"For a moment, pretend that I'm a complete idiot, and just tell me what the hell zero point energy is," Aria said with a pained expression.

"I won't need to pretend," Cody told her with a grin.

Aria glared at him as Heidi shook her head ruefully.

"It would help if you were familiar with how electricity works," Heidi begin after taking a deep breath. "Energy always tries to find a state of equilibrium. When two bodies come into contact with each other, their electrical current will equalize across the joined bodies. When someone shocks you with static electricity, it is the difference in electrical charges that creates the exchange of current. Zero point energy is the same way, except that they are tapping into dimensional timelines that have a different charge than ours. Even the most inept of scientists should understand what kind of danger this kind of energy manipulation can cause. Think of a U shaped water pipe. Imagine connecting the two pipes with a small straw to pull some of the opposing current into the other pipe. Each tap lessens the flow of current in the pipe. Not only does it diminish the current, but it also risks a breach in the system if the straw is ruptured."

"What happens if the current stops?" Autumn asked uneasily.

"The same thing that happens to you when your blood stops flowing," Heidi replied grimly. "This reality dies. Fortunately, these pipes have natural capillaries to repair breaches in the structure. However, a large enough breach will do the same thing that a large tear in your flesh will do to a human. The capillaries are unable to overcome the pressure pushing out of the breach."

"Is there any technology our civilization is playing with that isn't on the verge of destroying the universe?" Stefan asked in exasperation.

"Not very many," Heidi replied without a trace of levity.

Chapter 50 - Soul Crusher

Aria sighed as her car passed the border into Nevada. They had been driving for over an hour and still had several more hours to go. Heidi was intent on inspecting one of the suspected locations of the Titans in the Nevada desert. The hit squad that Heidi had resurrected had been scouring the country for Titans for several months, using some kind of specialized technology that Heidi had created for them.

Cody and Nadia had stayed behind to speak with the generals in greater detail about what they were up against. The appearance of the Analyst over the Atlantic Ocean had prompted Heidi to speed up her preparations for the arrival of the Destroyers.

Aria had slept through most of the previous day, exhausted from the extended performance at the fairgrounds. Heidi sat in the rear seat, occasionally glancing up from a tablet she was studying with unnerving intensity.

"X on exit!" Autumn shouted triumphantly from the passenger seat as she pointed at a green sign in the distance.

"There is no way that you can see the x from here," Aria declared indignantly.

"Prove it," Autumn challenged smugly.

"Okay, what are the numbers on the sign?" Aria asked with a raised eyebrow.

Autumn blinked, glancing back up the road as her confidence deflated. "Oh that's easy."

"Stop stalling," Aria commanded firmly, letting her foot off the accelerator to slow the car down. "Numbers?"

Autumn peered at the sign in the distance and then grinned. "Four."

Aria sped up again, watching Autumn suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. She seemed very confident.

Aria frowned as they finally came close enough to reveal the number four on the exit. She glared at Autumn as she realized what the blonde had done. "We just passed the border. That was just a lucky guess."

"Prove it," Autumn grinned impudently, her eyes gleeful.

Aria swore under her breath as she glanced at a passing car. It was a minivan full of children, and the back of the vehicle was covered in bumper stickers.

"VWXYZ, I win!" Aria shouted, pressing her brake to quickly slow down.

"What?" Autumn jerked forward, peering at the quickly receding minivan. "You liar!"

"Prove it," Aria retorted loftily.

"Get back up there!" Autumn demanded, gesturing at the distant minivan.

"Oh, look at that, we're getting low on fuel," Aria announced with feigned chagrin. "I better take the next exit."

"You still have a quarter of a tank," Autumn growled accusingly.

"Yeah, but this is Nevada," Aria replied in a reasonable tone, her eyes shining with sincerity. "You never know where the next fuel station will be."

Autumn's mouth worked, but no words came out. Aria noticed Heidi shaking with laughter in the back and grinned at her with a wink.

"This isn't over yet," Autumn told her malevolently. "We'll probably run into that minivan again somewhere, and you had better pray that it has a vwxyz on it."

"I have a feeling that we won't be running into them again," Aria smirked at Autumn. "Not that I'll be avoiding them or anything like that."

"God, I can't wait to get my license," Autumn sighed morosely.

Aria just chuckled as she took the next exit. She pulled into a small fuel station a mile away from the interstate and popped the hatch on her fuel door near her seat. She waved at their ever present security detail as Barreto and Lynch pulled up to the fuel pump behind them.

She glanced across the street at an old house sitting on an a few acres of land. There was a weather-faded barn behind the house and broken down tractors littered the weedy yard. She frowned when she noticed a middle-aged man with a long goatee and shaggy black hair watching her from the front porch of the house. She was overcome by an involuntary shiver as some kind of sixth sense warned her of unknown danger.

As soon as the feeling washed across her, Heidi came flying out of the car, sprinting toward the disparate house at inhuman speeds. She didn't bother going around the few cars that were waiting at the light—she leaped over them as if the law of gravity was more of a guideline.

The man on the porch jerked out of his state of shock and ran back into his house. Heidi cleared the distance in a few seconds. There was an inverted boom as the door blew off of its hinges. The loud blast of a shotgun was followed a moment later by another inverted boom. The man came crashing out of the front window like a rag doll to land on the weedy ground in a bloody heap.

Lynch and Barreto were running toward the house with weapons drawn as another inverted boom rattled the glass in the fuel station windows.

"What the hell is going on?" Autumn asked as she jumped out of the car and began running toward the rundown house.

Aria followed her, leaving the fuel pump in her car. By the time the two of them had reached the other side of the street, Heidi was coming back out of the front door. The front of her shirt had a large hole in it, revealing undamaged tan skin. Her face was a mask of grim rage as she stalked back down the porch, ignoring Lynch and Barreto as they tried to get information from her.

Aria and the other three women followed the angry goddess as she walked around the house toward the barn. A heavy padlock hung from the large sliding doors. Heidi tore it off the door, brackets and all, then slid the door open with a deafening crash. There was a large cargo container inside the barn. Heidi ripped two more locks off of the container as if they were paper and swung the doors open.

Aria nearly gagged as the smell of human waste poured out of the container in waves. She gasped in horror as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. There were over a dozen children with collars chaining them to the sides of the cargo container. Several of them looked like they had been dead for several days. The survivors stared at them in stark terror, pulling back into the container as far as their chains would allow.

"Oh my god," Lynch breathed in dismay.

Heidi said something Aria couldn't understand, and suddenly the children's eyes went blank. A moment later, the collars fell from their necks. Heidi gestured at them, and they began to follow her mechanically, their eyes still devoid of life.

"Call it in," Heidi told Barreto hollowly.

Barreto swallowed and nodded, pulling out her cell phone.

Heidi led the children out into the weed-covered lot. There were over a dozen spectators on the shoulder of the road watching the nightmare, their phones held high.

"Bring blankets, if you have them," Heidi told the spectators grimly. She hadn't raised her voice, but the sheer power of her command communicated itself to them. Several people opened their car trunks, producing blankets and other articles of clothing.

Heidi guided the children onto a large patchwork of blankets and clothing as emergency responders began to arrive. The children's tattered clothing was covered in a mixture of blood and human waste. Heidi instructed them all to lay down.

Aria wiped her cheeks, noticing for the first time that her eyes were streaming with tears. What kind of monster could do this to children?

Heidi dismissed a man claiming to be a doctor, then knelt down next to the first child in the row, a small boy, and laid her hands to his temples. She was in full god mode, and nobody was going to argue with her.

There was an inverted boom. The child blinked, then sat up and looked around in confusion. Heidi moved on to the next one as Autumn gathered the fragrant child in her arms and murmured words of comfort to him.

"What are you doing?" Aria asked her in concern as she noticed Heidi growing weaker.

"Taking their memories," Heidi replied wearily.

Aria watched her worriedly as she reached the last child. She was shaking like a leaf as her trembling hands grasped the little girl's head. There was a final inverted boom, and the little girl's eyes came back to life.

Heidi tried to stand up, but she stumbled and fell back to her knees. Aria rushed over to help her, catching her just in time as she fell backward. Her eyes closed for a moment. When they opened again, there was no trace of Hades in her eyes.

Heidi's eyes grew wider, and she began screaming in a voice of such soul-crushing despair that Aria had to clamp her hands over her ears, desperate to shut the horror out. The scream went on and on until Heidi began convulsing on the ground.

Aria knelt down next to her, trying to keep her sanity as the despairing wail shattered the air around her. She helplessly gathered Heidi in her arms, trying to calm her.

"Cody, help us!" Aria cried out in desperation.

There was a sudden shimmer in the air, and Cody materialized in front of her. He took in the scene with a quick glance and then placed a hand on Heidi's forehead. She instantly calmed, falling into a catatonic state.

"What's the matter with her?" Aria asked through her tears. "Where is Hades?"

"Neural overload," Cody grunted, his eyes flashing with anger as he studied the children around them. "She shouldn't have tried to do this alone. Her host couldn't handle it."

"What can we do?" Aria asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Cody replied curtly. "She'll just need time to recover."

Heidi's eyes suddenly flew open, and she sat up. Aria could tell that Hades was back, but it wasn't the Hades she remembered. There was a darkness in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Aria felt a powerful sense of foreboding as she stared into Heidi's smoldering eyes.

"They will pay," Heidi said from between clenched teeth. "They will all pay."

Then she vanished.

"Where did she go?" Aria asked Cody in alarm.

"Home," Cody said briefly. "Go get in your car. I'll take you home."

"I can drive," Aria told him, wiping at her eyes.

"We won't be driving," Cody informed her, ignoring the growing crowd of concerned citizens.

"Oh," Aria glanced at Autumn nervously. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of teleporting. What if she reappeared with her head on backward?

Autumn had maintained her composure throughout the ordeal, but as they sat back down in the car, she broke down and began sobbing like a broken-hearted child.

Chapter 51 - Darkness

Jared stared at the YouTube video in shock. For the first time, Heidi's face was not covered by an amorphous blob on the video. For the first time, the whole world could put a face to the young woman who had taken center stage in alternative media. He had seen her at the concert a few days previous, but it was still shocking to see her face in a video.

Even more shocking was the content of the video. Human trafficking near the Nevada border, a border that Jared lived less than an hour away from. He knew human trafficking existed, he had just always assumed it was in distant third world countries. As he watched Heidi let out a scream of untold horror, he felt his blood boil with rage. Whoever was responsible for making this amazing creature suffer such torment needed to pay.

His suspicions that Cody was more than he appeared were confirmed when the young rebel materialized out of thin air and did something to calm Heidi down. The video ended after Aria, Autumn, and Cody entered a Kia, which vanished a moment later.

The video had been uploaded almost twenty-hours ago. He clicked over to Heidi's YouTube channel to see if there was anything new. He blinked in surprise when he saw a new song on the channel. Eagerly, he pressed play and listened intently.

An involuntary shiver racked his body as a song of utter darkness blasted into his headphones. While Heidi's songs could evoke a sense of sadness and even melancholy, he would never have described them as dark. Her voice seemed completely devoid of life. Whatever she had endured had translated into a song of such bleak rage that he almost felt a small pang of sympathy for the poor fools she would undoubtedly unleash her fury on.

He clicked over to Google News to see what the mainstream media had to say about the event. The entire headline section was covered with Heidi's face. He clicked on the first headline, dreading what he would read, but too fascinated to stop himself.

CHILD TRAFFICKING RING BUSTED BY...MUTANTS?

The mystery that has surrounded Heidi Rockwell for almost a year has reached a fever pitch as reports of a child trafficking ring near the Nevada border was single-handedly crushed by the enigmatic adolescent. Several videos purportedly show evidence of supernatural abilities, not only by Heidi, but also by one of her peers, Cody Albright. After apparently removing the memories of the young victims, Heidi suffered some kind of breakdown. Within seconds, Cody Albright materialized out of thin air right next to her. Heidi then vanished, followed a short time later by Cody and Heidi's travelling companions, Aria Slater and Autumn Sorenson.

Unverified sources have claimed the small group reappeared at Heidi's home moments later. The FBI is eager to speak with Heidi to find out what else she knows about the child trafficking operation. A source in the Justice Department, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation, claims that Heidi is wanted for questioning in regard to the two men who were killed during the incident. According to the autopsies, both men died of heart failure after their hearts exploded out of their chests.

As of the time of this writing, there are reports of similar deaths all around the world. Thousands of people are dying from sudden heart failure in what was initially thought to be a biological agent unleashed by terrorists. Several journalists investigating the deaths have presented evidence that at least some of the victims were tied to human trafficking rings. Surveillance of the victims has revealed a brief flash of light immediately before their deaths. Rank and nationality seem to offer no protection from the onslaught. World leaders in almost every country have watched helplessly as their numbers dwindle.

While many people find it hard to sympathize with anyone involved in such a repugnant crime, law experts are alarmed at the lack of due process as the death toll continues to climb. The entire block surrounding Heidi's residence has been sealed off by military personnel, allowing only local residents to pass through the blockade. The White House Press Secretary announced a presidential address at seven pm Eastern Time to discuss the events.

A tweet from one of Heidi's peers presented a chilling message to any child traffickers: There's nowhere you can hide from what's about to happen, you pieces of sh-.

Jared smiled grimly as he imagined the stark terror that was washing through the world of child traffickers. It was about time someone cleansed the world of their filth, due process be damned.

Chapter 52 - Cleansing

"Somebody has to put a stop to this bloodbath!" Director Lagrange growled in exasperation. "Has anyone been able to catch any of these vigilantes?"

Special Agent Marks shared a look with Special Agent Deirte. The Director of the FBI refused to accept that Heidi had access to extraordinary powers. He insisted that the death of several million people worldwide was the result of Heidi's fans turning vigilante after witnessing her victory over the child trafficking ring in Nevada.

"Just what we have already seen on all of the surveillance footage," Special Agent Marks replied into the uncomfortable silence. "A brief flash of light, then the person dies after their heart explodes."

"This sounds like some kind of directed energy weapon," Director Lagrange declared with a scowl. "There must be blueprints on how to make one online somewhere in order for so many people to have access to them."

"We've scoured the web, including all of our Tor nodes," Special Agent Marks informed him. "Unless they are using a new information exchange mechanism, it's not on the web."

"Sir, why don't we just bring Heidi Rockwell in for questioning?" Agent Skellig inquired with a puzzled crease to his brow. "Surely she would have the answers we need."

"I've tried," Director Lagrange snapped in disgust. "Both the CIA and Pentagon have marked her untouchable. I can't even get an agent into the house to verify she is really there."

Special Agent Marks shared another resigned look with Special Agent Deirte. If the CIA and Pentagon had marked her untouchable, it seemed pretty obvious that there was a lot more to the story than fanatical vigilantes.

"What about her friends?" Agent Skellig asked thoughtfully. "The one called Cody seemed pretty close to her. Perhaps he would know something. There's also the Danish girl, Nadia, who was involved with Flight 1192. She is reportedly staying at the Rockwell residence as well. We could have someone pick her up while she is away from the house."

"Make it happen," the Director told Agent Skellig with an approving nod. "I'm not about to tell the President that some kind of Xman is responsible for a third of the deaths in our congress. I need real answers, not fables."

Flight 1192 was another example of Director Lagrange's ability to ignore the obvious. He was convinced that there had been a glitch in the air traffic control systems and that the plane had been damaged while landing at the wrong airport. He had a way of ignoring facts that contrasted with his view of events, such as the impossibility of a flight from Denmark flying all the way to Salt Lake City without refueling. According to the Director, the passengers who claimed they were attacked by flying orbs were merely suffering from mass hysteria or some kind of hallucinogen brought on by a leak in the fuel system.

As they filed out of the room, Special Agent Deirte made a head gesture for him to follow her into a small conference room. He nodded and followed her in, closing the door behind him.

"Do you think he really believes it's vigilantes responsible for these deaths?" Special Agent Deirte asked him doubtfully. "Or do you think he is just trying to find scapegoats to pin this on so that we have something to tell the media?"

"It's hard to say with Director Lagrange," Special Agent Marks replied carefully. "He's a religious man, so I get the feeling that he has personal reasons for not accepting the facts. He might also be looking for an excuse to present the media, but I think he is less close-minded than he pretends to be. At some level, he probably understands that this is more than vigilantes with DIY microwave guns."

"So he's just looking for scapegoats," Special Agent Deirte repeated sourly. "I'm far more interested in how she is killing people remotely all over the world."

"Ask your buddy in the CIA," Special Agent Marks told her with a rueful shake of his head. "They're the ones that spent millions of dollars on remote viewing and remote assassinations. If anyone understands what she is doing, it would be them."

"I'd forgotten about that," Special Agent Deirte murmured thoughtfully. "How do you think she is identifying child traffickers? Do you think any innocents are getting caught up in the bloodbath?"

"No, I'm pretty sure she is only killing the guilty parties," Special Agent Marks answered with a bleak smile. "Assuming she wipes all of them out, I'm curious to see if she'll continue targeting any future traffickers as they arise."

"It really is hard to sympathize with those sick bastards, isn't it?" Special Agent Deirte noted with a smirk.

"Indeed it is," Special Agent Marks agreed with a half-smile. "That's half the reason we aren't making any headway with local law enforcement offices. Most of them are content to let the cleansing continue without interference. I'll tell you one thing though."

"Oh?" Special Agent Deirte asked with a raised eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"Life is going to suck for whichever agent is unlucky enough to get tasked with picking up Cody and Nadia," Special Agent answered with a humorless smile.

Chapter 53 - Awake

Aria sat opposite from Autumn on the small couch in Heidi's room. Cody and Nadia had left over an hour ago to finish Heidi's investigation of the suspected Titan location. Mrs. Rockwell had been popping into the room every hour to see if Heidi was awake yet. She had been asleep for almost two weeks, and nothing they could do would awaken her.

Cody had assured them that she was fine, and that she would wake up after taking care of some business. He had been very vague about what kind of business, but it hadn't taken long for Aria and Autumn to figure it out. When initial reports of a possible biological weapon being used around the world began circulating on the mainstream media, Aria had suspected that it had something to do with Heidi. As the staggering death toll quickly escalated and CCTV cameras began showing the flashes of light that occurred right before someone died, Aria was sure it was Heidi.

"Do you think she'll be okay after she wakes up?" Autumn asked with a troubled glance at Heidi.

"Probably, with some time," Aria nodded with a more confidence than she felt. "She's tough. She'll be back to her new old self in no time."

"I sure hope so," Autumn sighed, then glanced at her hand of cards. "I swear you are dealing off of the bottom."

"What can I say?" Aria grinned impishly. "The gods love me."

"Oh, very droll," Autumn rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you liked it," Aria replied with a self-congratulatory smirk.

Aria glanced down at her phone as a text from Cody flashed on her phone.

Going to be delayed. Trouble with feds.

"Well that was vague," Aria muttered with a frown.

"What?" Autumn asked, leaning closer to look at Aria's phone.

"Nice try," Aria snorted, pulling her cards back from Autumn's view.

"What did Cody want?" Autumn asked, ignoring Aria's accusing stare.

"He said they're having trouble with some Feds," Aria shrugged. "They're probably trying to figure out how to stop Heidi's moral crusade."

"Boy did they pick the wrong people to stop," Autumn smiled. "They should have an interesting story for us when they get back."

They both froze when they heard Heidi take a deep indrawn breath. Aria was next to Heidi's bed in a flash, with Autumn right behind her.

"Heidi?" Aria asked tentatively. "Are you awake?"

Heidi's eyelids fluttered, and a moment later she was regarding the two of them with her soft brown eyes. She slowly sat up and looked around.

"How are you feeling?" Aria asked softly.

Heidi grimaced and slid out of bed. "Dirty. I need a shower."

"Are you finished with...well...you know?" Autumn asked delicately.

"For now," Heidi nodded grimly. "We'll see if the rest of humanity gets the message."

The two of them silently watched Heidi leave the room before exchanging glances.

"So what was the latest death toll?" Autumn asked quietly.

"Eight million as of this morning," Aria replied calmly. She knew she should feel some kind of horror, but all she felt was satisfaction.

"It's hard to believe there were actually that many people capable of such depravity," Autumn said sadly.

"I'm sure that was just the worst offenders," Aria said darkly. "I'm sure there were a lot more people involved that enabled such atrocities to happen."

Aria texted Cody that Heidi was awake. He responded instantly.

Good. Tell her to stop by DC and have a talk with the FBI Director. He needs to back off before I lose my patience.

Aria was sure that Cody could have stopped the Director himself. He must have been making an effort at diplomacy for Heidi's sake.

Heidi returned to the room an hour later. Her eyes were shadowed, as if the magnitude of what she had experienced had been dark enough to dim even her brilliant spark. Aria felt an overpowering rage briefly engulf her at the thought of what it would take to suppress such a beacon of light.

"Cody said to tell you the FBI Director is pissing him off," Aria told her carefully. "I think some agents harassed them on their visit to the Titan site."

Heidi scowled, then muttered something under her breath. There was an inverted boom, and then a man in a suit appeared in front of them. His eyes were bulging as he stared around the room in astonishment.

Heidi glared at him, the air around her flickering with auroral sparks. "What do you want?"

He gaped at her as the full power of her presence washed over him.

"Snap out of it," Heidi snapped impatiently.

The man flinched at the heat in her voice. "How did I get here?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"I teleported you here," Heidi replied coldly. "Your agents are wasting my time. You will order them to stay away from us, or you will suffer the consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded quickly, his eyes filled with a fear. There was another inverted boom, and he vanished.

"Well that was easy," Aria noted dryly.

"How are you doing?" Autumn asked Heidi tentatively.

Heidi sighed deeply, the charged air around her dissipating. "I was hoping to take care of the Titans before dealing with any social issues, but after seeing the horrors those children experienced, I simply couldn't wait. I'm afraid I've moved our timetable with Titans forward by several years. I made a lot of noise that is certain to awaken them."

"How long do we have?" Autumn asked nervously.

"A few months, if we're lucky." Heidi replied with another sigh. "It's time to gather everyone and start making preparations."

"Are you going to let the rest of the world know what is happening?" Aria asked slowly.

"Yes," Heidi answered with a nod. "It's time."