Introduction

 

The story you are about to read is the product of two imaginations running rampant.  Together, Enterprise1701_D and Net Wolf came up with a story idea, and decided to run with it.  This isn’t seriousness, it doesn’t apply to any of the involved universes, and it will have no repercussions for the future.  This is, as Enterprise has dubbed it, an ‘insanity fic’.  The rules only apply if and when we say they do, and only in the way we want them to. 

Although this style of story is familiar territory for Enterprise, this will be Net Wolf’s first (and probably last) crossover story.  Included in this story will be elements of Enterprise’s Phalanx series, characters from Coming of Age, and anything else Enterprise feels like throwing in.  From Net Wolf’s writings, characters from both CAMP: Ron’s Journey and the Artifacts universe as a whole will be used.  (There will be Artifacts characters appearing here that have not yet been introduced in official books.  They may or may not occur in the official books in the future.)

Also making appearances in this book are the authors themselves… or at least our fictional representations of ourselves.  The insanity of this book stems from our own crazy imaginations, and we wanted it to be us having all the fun for a change.

So sit back, relax, and we’ll all see where this madness leads us, as Enterprise and Net Wolf take on the world.

 

As an added note, the names that appear in this story (Simon Hawke, Kevin Duchamps, etc) are NOT our real names.

 

Taking On the World

An insanity fic by Enterprise1701_d and Net Wolf

Enterprise1701_d

Kevin Duchamps stretched as he woke up, before finally opening his eyes. They went wide-open, and he grabbed his glasses with all the fearful speed of a startled deer. What he saw made him nearly jump out of his bed, and bolt for the door in search of anything that could be used as a weapon. Kevin’s usual solitude had been interrupted by a bulky stranger, whose very essence seemed to be permeated with so much power it made the air around him quiver. Yet Kevin did not bolt, the stranger seemingly familiar somehow.

“Kevin,” the figure spoke, with a voice laced with so much command presence it made him want to jump up, snap at attention, and bark “Yes, sir!”

“Eh… yes?” Kevin answered meekly.

“My name is Frederic Fromthefield. I think you know me…”

Kevin’s mouth opened wide, taking his entire face with it. His glasses fell, and for a few seconds, Kevin didn’t even notice. He grabbed them, put them back. “Frederic Fromthefield, Phalanx of the Human, Oech-anya and Ketari races, Master Slayer…”

“Commander of the ESMF, Jedi Knight, personal champion to the Gods of the Universe, Universal Savior, inheritor of Hiten Mitsurugi and conqueror of the internal Force,” Frederic completed. “That’s me,” he added with a smile.

Kevin pointed a fearful finger towards Frederic. “That’s impossible! You exist in a story only! You’re not real!”

Frederic smiled wider, and sat down on the bed next to Kevin. “I am real, Kevin. It took me a wile to find you.”

“Me?” Kevin squeaked. “Wh… what would you want with me?”

Frederic smiled, smug. “Well, what do you think, Dad? I’m here to give you what you want.”

“Cool!” Kevin exclaimed, jumping upright. “Money? Power? Or that cool technology you’ve got?”

Frederic smiled secretively. “Better.”

Kevin’s mouth opened. “You’re not talking about…eh…that are you?”

With those eyes that seemed to pierce Kevin’s very soul, Frederic looked at him. “You know I won’t reprogram people. No matter how beautiful an actress she might be in your eyes.”

A little dejected, Kevin nodded. Frederic continued. “No, I was talking about the ‘power’ concept.”

Kevin immediately perked up. “You’re going to empower me? That is so cool!”

Frederic chuckled. “In that case, let’s get started.”

Kevin stopped him. “Could you…you know…make me a Master Slayer? I really want to be able to kick some ass!”

Frederic sighed, and looked at his creator as one would look at an ignorant child. “I can make you a Master Slayer. You’re not 25 yet, so it’s possible. However, I don’t see the point. Besides, when I make you a Master Slayer, you will not ‘kick ass’. Your Instructions File will stop that. It makes sure that no one with my gifts can abuse the powers I bestow. You should know that! You created me!”

Kevin sighed. “Exactly. I know all this. But meeting you… in person… kinda disrupts a person’s view on things, you know? Come on! Please? I swear, I’ll be good! I’ll follow your Instruction File to the letter!”

THIS is my creator? Frederic thought as he looked at Kevin. He sighed. “Oh, well. You’re my creator after all. I’ll make you a Master Slayer. On one condition,” he added when he saw Kevin’s eyes start to glitter.

“Anything!” Kevin shouted.

“I’ll place extra safeguards on your Instructions File.”

“Agreed!” Kevin shouted, grabbing Frederic’s hand. Shaking his head, the Phalanx transported the 22-year-old man to his ship.

 

Two weeks later, Kevin was standing in simulated scenery, created by the holodeck on board Frederic’s ship, the Ortega. He looked different; really different. His body had put on enough muscle mass to make him look impressive. His glasses were gone. The way he stood radiated confidence. The shy and exuberant boy that had come aboard two weeks earlier had disappeared; in his place, stood a man.

Kevin felt different. Extremely powerful, yet not ecstatic because of it. He was no longer capable of feeling those intense emotions. His mind had been dampened, to prevent misuse of his powers. Kevin felt indifferent about his powers, and he felt indifferent about feeling indifferent.

“Kevin,” Frederic said, walking up to his student. “Your studies have been completed. You have unlocked all your abilities. You should be able to continue your training on your own now. We have given you what you requested, namely a computer terminal with bio-neural core, a fusion reactor, and a replicator, without AI units.”

“Yes, Sensei. Thank you,” Kevin answered, bowing his head in respect.

“It is time to complete your training. Join me,” Frederic said, grabbing Kevin’s hand, not really giving him a choice. The next moment, they found themselves on the island of Avalon. Frederic showed Kevin to the Sacred Vaults.

“I am sure you’re familiar with this,” Frederic said as he opened the large doors.

Kevin dipped his head in answer. “I am, Sensei. This is the place where all mythical weapons come after their owner dies. It is also to location of the Fountain of Youth, and the Cup of Christ, known as the Holy Grail.”

Frederic nodded. “I do not do half work, as you know. Even though it’s unlikely you’ll ever need them, I will give you the standard mythical protections any Master Slayer has.” Frederic gave Kevin a ring of protection against magic, and a ring of protection against evil. To Kevin’s surprise, Frederic also gave him a Sword of Destiny, a very potent weapon in the destruction of evil.

“I am surprised these exist in my world,” Kevin replied, taking the sword, and giving some practice swings with it. He sheathed it.

Frederic nodded, and shrugged. “Anything is possible,” Frederic answered, showing Kevin to the back of the Vaults. Knowing what was to come, Kevin had knelt to one knee before Frederic told him to do so. After dunking the Holy Grail in the Fountain of Youth, Frederic held it out.

“Drink, my friend, from the Fountain of Youth, its water contained in the Holy Grail. Take the immortality that is your destiny."

Kevin gulped. Immortality… he opened his mouth, and drank from the cup. His body felt awash with pure power, as his dependence upon food, drink, sleep, and even air were lifted.

Frederic ported Kevin back to the Ortega, where the entire group was waiting for them.

“So, this is where we say good-bye, Kevin,” Frederic said.

“It was great having you here,” Jennifer answered.

Daphnix, Ami, Jessica, and David all said their goodbyes, and Kevin was transported down. Out of his communicator, Kevin heard Frederic’s voice. We won’t leave a probe here. This is your universe. We have no more business here. I just wanted to thank you for everything.

“You’re welcome,” Kevin answered smoothly, hearing the Ortega leave over the channel. Immediately after Frederic and his friends had left, Kevin sat down behind his old computer. He hadn’t yet installed the new system Frederic had given him, and he didn’t have the time to do so. I hope this works! He thought, not really meaning it. He didn’t feel much of anything any more.

“As Frederic left, Kevin felt that there had been some kind of error on Frederic’s part. As soon as the Ortega cleared the quantum tunnel on the other side, the Instructions File installed in Kevin’s head withered away and died, taking every limitation installed in Kevin’s mind with it.”

Immediately, Kevin felt a return to his former self… more or less. His emotions returned full force. He could think straight for the first time in two weeks… and he felt powerful. Immensely powerful!

“It worked!” Kevin shouted, feeling his new abilities churn within him. He could barely contain himself… yet he did so. As Master Slayer, his mind had strengthened. He could exert the will to control his abilities… for the moment. Kevin turned to the new system, the shiny silver-gray devices stacked neatly in an empty corner of his room, and smiled. This will be interesting; VERY interesting.

First thing he did was take out the mobile fusion reactor, a box of reasonable size, which he dumped in a corner that wasn’t used anyway. He cleared the desk that made the corner in question useless, of the old computer that stood on it, and took the bio-neural computer core, artfully disguised as a standard desktop computer-box, complete with useless CD-drive, power light, and power switch. Last thing he did was put the replicator next to the bio-neural core, and started to think about connecting the whole setup.

Frederic had dumped a tremendous load of knowledge into his brain, and even after two weeks his mind was still sorting through it all. It took him a couple of minutes before his mind came up with the data he requested, and Kevin started connecting the setup. The power light on the neural core came on, along with the lights on the replicator.

“Computer?” Kevin asked unsure.

Acknowledged, a male voice answered.

“Uh…Computer, replicate me a squishee,” Kevin told the replicator.

Please state flavor, temperature, consistency, and amount of syrup, the computer replied.

Kevin rubbed his head. “Strawberry flavor. Temperature: chilled. Normal consistency, and normal amount of syrup.”

Instead of replying, the computer beeped, and a cup materialized. Kevin took the cup, and tried the contents. He nodded. “This is good. I am glad I made them stop in that ‘Simpsons’ universe for this drink.”

Kevin sat down in the chair facing his old ‘new’ computer, nurturing the cup with the pink drink he just replicated. The chair gave its squeak; something he had grown used to, but now irritated him. He got up, and put the cup next to the monitor.

“Let’s see… what was it again?” he asked out loud, pensive. “Oh, yeah!” he outstretched his hand toward the chair, and threw a spell of destruction at it. The chair disappeared. “Now… something new,” he muttered. Keeping his hand outstretched, Kevin pulled up a comfortable leather office chair before his mind’s eye, and muttered the spell. The new chair materialized, and Kevin sat down, feeling like a king.

He couldn’t help himself, and started laughing. “This is SO cool! I can’t believe it… I can actually do stuff!”

After a few minutes, the ecstasy died down, and Kevin sat upright in the chair. “Hmm… what to do next? Let’s see. There is plenty of stuff I want done… but first… I need to take care of something.”

Closing his eyes, Kevin allowed his mind to travel downstairs. He found both his parents there. There had been a simple program installed in their minds, allowing for him to ‘go on a trip’ for the last two weeks. Now Kevin wanted to expand that program, so he entered his mother’s mind.

He appeared in the gallery of cabinets that made up his mother’s emotional and intellectual memories.

Okay. I can do this the brutal or the stylish way, Kevin thought, turning to the ‘slot machine’ that could provide him with a blank entry-book; a book which entries would be assimilated so deeply into the mind that it would take a genius of Fred’s capacity to remove them, IF he could distinguish between artificial and natural instructions first.

I’ll go with style. At least that way, I’m sure everything can be reversed, if I screw up some way. Having decided, Kevin turned his back to the slot machine, and started walking down the mental hall of cabinets. First were gray ones, containing memories and knowledge, Kevin knew this from his writings. About halfway through, the cabinets turned red; indicating emotional and family memories and relations. Ignoring those as well, Kevin walked to the very end of the hall, and turned to his right. A door was visible.

Kevin ignored the black mental cabinet next to the door as he entered. He had no desire to activate the powers of his mother’s mind. The room he was in had had harsh white coloring, and a row of computers facing a huge screen. Kevin resolutely sat down behind the first terminal.

“Well, looks like she’s got a graphical interface,” he said. “Could be worse, like a text-based interface, such as Fred encountered in Sonya’s mind… or Usagi’s Commodore 64,” Kevin said, snickering. Shaking his head, he pulled up an empty file, and named it ‘instructions’. “Poor girl. I really stuck her with it. Oh, well. At least Fred boosted her higher. Now… what will I need?”

Shrugging, Kevin put in some instructions, very simple instructions. He lived at her house when he was home. He ate his meals. For the rest, he was to be left alone, and no attention should be paid if he were to disappear for lengthy periods of time. Nodding to himself, Kevin reviewed the file. Okay. I’ll go with this. He added a couple of links from the instructions to his mother’s personality file, making her reference the separate file rather than incorporate the entire thing into her personality.

“Copy,” Kevin muttered, as he clicked on a couple of icons. The mental disk was ejected form the slot, and Kevin took it. “Now I won’t have to write the entire thing all over again with Dad.” Kevin stood up, and closed his eyes. He retracted fully, and as he had expected, only four seconds had passed. Time moved faster for him when rummaging through minds.

He pushed into his father’s head. This mind was cluttered, the cabinets scattered in a room the size of some town squares. Towns the size of New York. Sighing, Kevin shook his head. This will be the last favor I do for you, he thought, and lashed out with his telekinetic abilities. The cabinets ordered themselves along two lines, something akin to his mother’s mind. In doing so, Kevin had just dumped another couple of IQ points in his father’s mind, but he ignored that fact.

Hurrying, Kevin made his way to the door leading to the mental computer. He sat down, and studied the text-interface. Shaking his head, Kevin put the mental disk in the drive, pulled up the file using an old dos-command, and referenced to it in his father’s mind. He pulled out, and opened his eyes in the real world.

“There. That should keep them off my back. I’m tired of them calling me lazy. Now that I could be King of the World if I wanted to, I don’t take that kind of crap any more.”

Sitting back in the leather chair, Kevin closed his eyes. “Hmm… Peace…” he muttered. “I could use some relaxation, though. I’ve been through a lot lately.” Opening his eyes once again, Kevin sat up, and turned to his computer. Since his old system still worked perfectly, he booted it, and started the browser.

Not really in the mood to do anything except relaxation, Kevin started surfing porn sites. Getting himself off usually calmed him, certainly when he was as wired as he was now. As usual, he first looked for movies starring beautiful Asian actresses dressed in sailor-school uniforms. For some reason, those really turned him on… and right now Kevin didn’t feel like doing a lot of self-exploration. He downloaded a couple of movies using his high-speed cable connection.

Why am I keeping myself down to this… imitation? Kevin asked himself, after getting himself going well. With MY powers, I shouldn’t settle for anything less than the real thing. A smile appeared on Kevin’s face, and he threw a look at the lower-right corner of his monitor, to check the time. Eleven at night. Japan is eight hours ahead of me. Which means… seven in the morning.

Smirking, Kevin got up, and closed his eyes. Immediately, he thought of Japan, and soon found himself a good spot. Kevin muttered the transportation spell, and found himself where he had wanted to be.

Having appeared in a secluded area of the school, Kevin made sure that he couldn’t be seen, by raising the cloaking-shield he had Frederic develop. Unfortunately, his powers were nowhere near Frederic’s in both power and reserves, and Kevin found his brain threatening to melt from the strain. Deciding that he was in no real danger, Kevin dropped the shielding part of the cloaking field, limiting it to invisibility only.

As he had thought from the Japanese work-ethic, he saw some students already trickling into the school building, even though it was still a full hour before classes would start. Kevin studied the male students, and copied their uniform onto himself using a simple magical glamour, an illusion that wouldn’t hold out to scrutiny by a magic-user, but that would more than suffice for any contact with ‘normals’.

Dropping the cloak, Kevin unobtrusively followed a group of female students into the library. He had an instant-hard-on from looking at the sailor outfits. I’m what they would call ‘hentai’… a pervert, Kevin thought to himself, chuckling. He grabbed the first book he came across, a book outlining the basics of optical physics. He opened the book mid-way, and appeared to be studying it. At the same time, his mind, unhindered by something as trivial as some paper, was scanning the area.

I like her… Kevin realized, his mind settling on a very nice looking student. Then… he got the shock of his life. She was looking at him! ‘She’ threw him a smile, said something to her two friends, and walked over to him. His mind retreated hastily, as if ‘she’ could somehow see the mental scrutiny. He scanned the page in front of him, just so he had some idea of what he had been ‘reading’ for the past five minutes.

“Hello,” she said amicably, sitting down in front of him. “You’re new here, right?”

Immediately, Kevin realized two things. One, he could understand and speak Japanese fluently. Not that big a surprise, considering what Frederic had dumped into his brain. And second, his mind had already come up with a dozen scenarios on how to play this so he wouldn’t drop his cover… all in the time it took him to make conclusion number one.

“Yes,” Kevin replied, adding just the appropriate amount of nervousness to his voice. “I…transferred here. I was supposed to start today.”

‘She’ smiled. “Your Japanese is great,” she complimented him. “Have you gotten the tour yet?” she asked, smiling that friendly smile once again.

Kevin smiled, and shook his head. “Not yet…eh…”

‘She’ took the cue. “Mitzy,” she answered. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Kevin,” Kevin replied, almost extending his hand, and catching himself just in time. In Japan, bowing replaced shaking hands. Touching was considered inappropriate. Even though the Japanese were generally aware of this Western custom, Kevin didn’t feel like pressing his luck.

Mitzy hadn’t caught on, since she asked, “Shall I give you the tour of the place?”

Kevin smiled. “Sure,” he replied, getting up, like she was doing. Together, they left the library, after Kevin had replaced his book where he had found it. Mitzy showed him past the classrooms and science labs. Kevin gave her some false data concerning the lessons he was ‘taking’, and Mitzy told him which room he was supposed to go to.

Kevin, meanwhile, filtered out most of what she said. He retained just enough to be able to act interested, and to ask a question every now and then. He was listening to her voice, a voice he found so sexy… just as sexy as seeing that beautiful female body of hers, wrapped in the sailor uniform.

They were walking a lot closer together now than they had started, a fact she didn’t seem to notice… and if she did, she didn’t seem to notice. Gods bless these mental powers, he thought. He noticed a utility room. His mind flashed out. In less than a tenth of a second, Kevin knew the room to be large enough for what he had in mind.

His telekinetic abilities reached out, and unlocked the door, all the while he kept his gaze locked on Mitzy. She was still smiling at him, her trust for him absolute. His mind now reached out. Okay. I did the mental reprogramming on my folks. Let’s see if the mental control works just as well. He reached out. <<You love me.>>

The effect was immediate. She walked even closer to him, almost pressing herself against him. He reached down, and took her hand. He kissed it, making her break out a big smile, and her loving gaze burned into the depths of his soul. Oh, fuck! his mind screamed. That look… <<You want me to make love to you. In that utility room.>>

She pressed herself against him, and kissed him. On the lips. Seeing that this was Kevin’s first kiss from a girl ever, the effect was as drastic as it was immediate. His erection became even harder, and Kevin started to squirm as his entire body felt as if it had been plugged into an electric socket. Her hands, locked behind his head, pulled him gently towards the room. Having no desire to resist, Kevin was like putty in her hands. Even though he was the one with the powers, he would drop off a building if she told him to at this point.

One hand reached behind her, and opened the door. For a moment, a look of surprise crossed her features as she found the door unlocked. Then, a predatory grin spread across her face, she hauled him inside, and slammed the door close behind him.

His hands traveled down her sides, tickling her sides, and making her squirm under his fingers. She continued to kiss him, and their hands were operating blind. She knew not where to stay with her hands, and he could feel them holding on to his shoulders, his chest, his arms, and his ass. He moaned as she squeezed his behind, and she subsequently kept her hands there. Kevin grunted and squirmed, while his hands were holding her breasts, gently massaging them, and making her squirm in return.

For once in his life, Kevin was glad for Internet pornography… it had shown him quite a few useful ways, giving him experience he shouldn’t have normally. His right hand traveled down to her skirt, and started to lift it. Mitzy pressed her self closer to him, indicating she didn’t mind. Her one hand traveled down the brown pants of his illusionary uniform, and opened its zipper. She reached inside, pulling his member free. Her hand started massaging it, and Kevin dropped her skirt as he had to instinctively use both his hands to steady himself. The raw emotion of someone else jerking him off overwhelmed him.

Taking a couple of shaky breaths, Kevin balanced himself, and threw a smiling look toward Mitzy, who had yet to release her hold of him. Not that she was going to. Smiling, both his hands traveled down, and lifted her skirt, reaching underneath. He felt… silk panties. He broke the one-again lip-lock, and smiled at her as he pulled them down. She obediently stepped out of them. White silk panties. Kevin looked at the garment as if it were made of pure gold-thread. He was holding girl’s panties in his hands… shaking it off, Kevin found a new treasure as he looked up from the kneeling position he was in after removing his first treasure.

A girl’s shaven pussy, bare to his gaze. He looked up at her with a question in his eyes. “I like swimming… and I don’t like it showing,” Mitzy answered, blushing slightly. “You… you don’t like it?” she asked, with a voice so fearful it made Kevin’s heart tremble. A whisper of guilt buried itself in him, but he hurriedly shook it off.

“I love it,” Kevin answered, making her beam at him. The guilt disappeared totally now. A beaming face like that couldn’t be associated with anything bad. Kevin reached up, his eyes seeking her reassurance. She smiled, and that was all the reassurance he needed. His careful fingers touched her outer lips, and she let out a sigh in pleasure.

Smiling now, Kevin continued his journey across her lips, gently spreading them, and probing the more sensitive inner lips. She let out a moan as he did so, and pressed her hips onto his hand. Kevin, really enjoying drawing reactions from her, continued to rub her, when he felt her tense, and stifle a scream. His first reaction was one of fear. Damn! I hurt her! Until he realized that the absolutely ecstatic look on her face could only mean one thing: orgasm.

Smiling, Kevin got up, and captured her lips with his. She responded eagerly, and pressed herself close to him. Kevin guided her back, against the only wall that wasn’t covered in shelving. His one hand snaked between her kegs, and she instantly gathered his meaning. Obediently spreading her legs, she gazed adoringly at him. Smiling, he put his hands under her behind, and lifted her in the air using the considerable power-boost Frederic had given him.

Pushing her skirt up, and out of the way, Kevin guided himself to her treasure. He didn’t have time to ask anything about her being sure, as the moment she felt his tip, she pushed herself on him. Kevin moaned in pleasure as a warm and soft sheath slid over him. He could feel something give way under her weight, something that seemed to make her tense up.

She’s a virgin! His subconscious realized. His conscious ignored it, too focused on the pleasure and absolute ecstasy he was feeling. Since this was his first time, and he had just been under quite a lot of stress, he shot his load right there. She looked at him as if asking, That’s it?

Kevin just smiled as she realized he stayed hard, and was pushing deeper into her. Grunting, she tilted her head back to moan in pleasure as he fully entered her. Keeping her steadied on his hands, he started pumping her with slow and deep strokes. Moaning and groaning, Mitzy wrapped her legs around him, urging him to push deeper, faster.

Kevin looked at her beautiful face, and smiled at her enjoyment. He could feel himself getting close again, and with a groan of animalistic pleasure, he shot deep inside of her. Feeling his hot semen splash deep inside of her pushed Mitzy over the edge, and she came with her lover, moaning in conjunction with him.

Taking deep breaths to calm down, Kevin released the mental hold on his member, allowing it to fall down from its erection. He could have gone for another run… and another one, and another one after that. But he didn’t want to press his luck by keeping Mitzy away on their ‘tour’ for much longer.

“That… was… incredible,” Mitzy breathed.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Love,” Kevin replied, kissing her, before phasing her out. He sighed. Now I need to cover my tracks… and do a good job of it, too! Closing his eyes, Kevin delved into Mitzy’s mind. Pulling up her memories on the computer, he moved everything that had just happened in a separate file. She would forget this ever happened… until such a time he reawakened them. Using the healing powers Frederic had bestowed upon him, Kevin grew her a new hymen. For him, it just wasn’t the same… but it would keep the cover intact. He then dressed her once again, stood her up, and had her walk to the ladies bathroom. Casting a cleaning spell, he removed the evidence of their sexual encounter, before leaving her with the false memory of being in the library, before gong to the bathroom for some business.

In the utility room, Kevin opened his eyes. He reached out, and found, the three people who had seen him in the library. Those memories he just purged. Since they hadn’t talked to him, just about him, this didn’t leave them with inconsistencies. With a final smile at Mitzy’s original panties, Kevin uttered a spell to teleport back home. She wouldn’t even know the panties she was wearing were a duplicate set…

After teleporting back home, Kevin felt great. So great, in fact, that he couldn’t resist the temptation to just ‘show off’ his new power. He opened the trunk Frederic had given him. Inside the trunk was everything a Master Slayer needed, and would ever need. Shedding all his clothes, Kevin dressed in the ESMF uniform, pitch-black save for the golden circled lighting bolt over his heart. He donned the multi-purpose combat boots, and dove into the trunk for the real good stuff. Taking out the utility belt, Kevin snapped it closed around his waist, and started clipping stuff to it.

First came the two quantum-disruptor pistols, followed by the light saber, and added fusion batteries for the guns. He put on the two magical rings, one for protection against magic and one for protection against evil. Finally, he took out his Sword of Destiny, and pulled the sheath on across his back. He ignored the  200-kilo armored battle suit. With a routine motion, he drew the blade, its blue shine reflecting off his eyes.

“I feel like a one-man army,” Kevin grunted. Raising the sword in the air, he shouted, “And I LOVE it!” Without even thinking about it, he dropped into an armed combat-stance, and executed a couple of katas that didn’t require much space. His room didn’t have that much space, after all.

Smiling like a kid who had just bought an entire candy store, Kevin sheathed his Sword, and sat down behind his computer. Half past eight. I wonder who’s on, Kevin wondered, and activated ICQ. Account 36942216, his computer noted. Please enter password for this account.

Kevin typed in his ten-digit password, and soon saw the program connect to the servers. Hmm… Net Wolf’s on. I wonder how Simon would react if I told him… Chuckling to himself, Kevin pulled up a message. I have to tell SOMEONE. I can always wipe him if he goes berserk on me. As he started typing, Kevin shook his head. But knowing NW, I doubt he’ll go too far. He’s pretty level-headed…I think. Kevin chuckled again.

Enterprise1701_d> Hey, NW. Can you keep a secret?

Net Wolf> Sure, E. What’s up? (How was your trip, btw?)

Kevin chuckled. Good old Net Wolf. He knew nothing better than Kevin had been on a trip for two weeks. Little did he know what kind of trip.

Enterprise1701_d> Man, you can never guess what happened on that trip... Imagine putting Ron and Andrew into one body, and you'll pretty much have me...

Net Wolf> Uh…huh? (You been drinkin’, man?)

Kevin burst out laughing, and decided to have a little more fun. He took a pull off the squishee he had just replicated, and decided on telling the truth.

Enterprise1701_d> Nothing but squishee. Listen, I’ll prove it to you. Ask me to do something.

At this point, poor Net Wolf was probably thinking about calling the nuthouse, Kevin was sure of it. Just imagining the face of his poor friend, way across the Atlantic, sent Kevin in another fit of chuckles.

Net Wolf> Okay… like what? What can you do?

Enterprise1701_d> I can move things with my mind, I can do the MC thing (even tried it out <chuckle>), and I can do magic. Teleportation, fireballs, the usual and unusual shit. Listen, I know it sounds crazy. But I'm NOT nuts! It's the truth!

Net Wolf> uh-huh. Okay…um…make my chair move three feet backward, then!

Kevin chuckled. Then grew silent. Simon lived in the United States. That meant across half of Europe, across the Atlantic, and across half of the U.S. Which meant WAAY beyond his telekinetic range. Only Fred could hope to accomplish something like that telekinetically. Okay. Problem. Think, idiot! Kevin snapped his fingers. Of course! Astral projection! Magic works from the Astral Plane!

Enterprise1701_d> <shrugs> Okay. Uh…three feet (is used to metric system, and is busy converting)…okay.

Kevin closed his eyes, and pushed out his mind using the same technique he had Frederic use when contacting his sister over extreme distances. Almost immediately he was in Net Wolf’s living room, where he saw his friend face-to-Astral Projection for the first time. Smiling, he cast a matter displacement spell, and snickered as he saw his friend startle when he chair moved backwards. Simon hurriedly deleted the message, and started typing once more.

Kevin opened his eyes in the real world, feeling his head pound. I HATE Astral Projection. The colors are way off, and it gives me a blasted headache! Kevin complained. But, along with being Master Slayer, Kevin had also received the strength of mind to ignore pain. He noticed a message from Net Wolf flashing.

Net Wolf> DAMMIT! Shit! How the fuck did you do that?

Kevin chuckled. That more or less corresponded with the reaction he had seen from his friend.

Enterprise1701d> Well, first I closed my eyes. Then I astral-projected into your room, and cast a small matter-displacement spell. My telekinetic abilities don't work over such distances, you see.

Net Wolf> Shit. Great. I write about this shit, and YOU end up with the psionic powers. Life isn’t fair. :-P

Kevin chuckled as he read the message, and decided that he would tell the full truth to his friend.

Enterprise1701_d> Well, actually... it's Fred who empowered me... technically, these are powers I wrote about. <chuckles>

Net Wolf> Uh-huh. Right. You were empowered by a fictional character. Uh-huh. SURE.

Entrprise1701_d> Don’t make me move your chair again! :)

Net Wolf> So, you’re telling me that Fred is … real? You’ve what, just been chronicling his life?

Kevin smiled. His friend really was taking this rather well.

Enterprise1701_d> Well, according to him... I created him. He even called me ‘dad’... hehe. So, according to extra-dimensional theory, every time one of us creates a character, or writes a book, there exists a universe where the character, or story, in question actually exists, and is real... and since Fred can travel through dimensions...

Net Wolf> SHIT! You mean, somewhere out there, there's really an Ortega?  And a SpaCECob thing, and even a CAMP?

Enterprise1701_d> Yep. I’ve even been on the Ortega. And, according to Fred, the more 'far out' the story is (that liquid-universe thingy in ST:VOY, for instance), the further away it is from 'ground zero', a reference point which is the universe he originated from.

Net Wolf> <shakes his head> It’s beyond me, man. So, you got all these nifty powers, huh? <whining> I want some!!! :)

Kevin smiled. He had anticipated a reaction like this. For a few seconds, he thought about it, and then decided on going ahead.

Enterprise1701_d> I think that can be arranged. I can hand out powers myself now... although the stupid laws of physics get in the way. I can't make you as strong as me... it's impossible to make someone as strong as yourself. Anyway, I noticed that comfortable-looking couch. Mind if I crash at your place tonight? That way, I can boost you today, and I can show you how things work tomorrow.

Net Wolf> Sure! Uh, how are you gonna get here?

Enterprise1701_d> <smiles> Remember what I said about testing out MC? Well, I tried it out in Japan... found this nice High School with lots of girls in sailor-school outfits... just couldn't help myself. :) To answer your question: I'll teleport, of course! I know where you live, so all I need to do is mutter the spell while thinking of the place to be, and I'm there.

Net Wolf> Gotta beat air travel… but damn, the jet-lag’s gotta be a killer! LOL. Okay… see you in… a few minutes? :)

Enterprise1701_d> Turn around, facing the door, and count to ten. By the way, don’t be surprised at my dress… I was admiring myself in the mirror before we started talking. :)

Kevin closed his eyes, and let the transportation spell do its job. He appeared right in front of his friend, who was looking… well, impressed.

“Hello, Simon. Good to see you in real life... Astral Projection kinda distorts things," Kevin said with a smile. Catching his friend's expression, he asked, "Like the outfit?"

Simon shook his head, smiled slightly, and answered, “Uh... yeah.  Looks a little uncomfortable, though.  Why don't you take a load off?"

Kevin smiled as he shrugged. “All of this isn’t as heavy as it looks, thanks to Fred’s advanced technology,” he replied, looking at the utility belt he was wearing around his waist. “By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be carrying one of your own.”

Simon looks skeptically at the outfit.  He preferred black, yes, but Kevin's outfit seemed to stand out just a bit too much.  "Whatever you say, E... er, Kevin.  Damn, it's gonna be hard not to call you E," Simon laughed.

Kevin chuckled. "You can call me E, Simon. I don't mind. Too bad 'NW' is too hard to pronounce as call-sign," Kevin chuckled as he sat down in the couch he had mentioned in the ICQ conversation. "X used to call me 'E' as well, after all,” Kevin said, a little sad at the memory of an internet friend.

Simon sobered slightly at the mention of their friend.  "Okay.  So... what do we do now?  How does it work?"

Kevin looked up from his own stupor as Simon spoke. Now that he could focus on his powers again, the sadness was replaced by energy once again.

"Well, the first part is a lot of hard work for me, while you get to take a nice, long nap. Basically, I phase you out, so you're unaware of anything that happens. It's like being sedated for an operation, only without medication or side-effects.

"Now, once you're phased out, I go into your mind, and start making changes. I'll activate your mental powers, for one. I'll also be changing your body, restoring it to perfect health. I can't boost it much above normal, since you're over twenty-five, and your puberty has passed. For a third, there will be something called an 'Instruction File' for your training period. It will help you keep your powers balanced. After the two-week training period, the file will be removed, and you'll be able to do what you want with your new abilities," Kevin explained.

"Oh... kay...  Just don't go turning me gay or something, all right?" Simon laughed.  "How long am I gonna be out?"

Kevin chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't touch your personality. I'll just be installing this little file that will dampen your emotions. I'll also be giving you a lot of knowledge... like every language known to man... and a couple that were lost, too. I don't know how long you'll be out. It shouldn't be for more than a couple of hours. After it's done, you'll probably feel very tired, because your mind and body have to adapt to the changes made... you'll probably go right to bed, and have a good ten hours worth of sleep. You'll wake up feeling, and being, a new man,” Kevin said. “I speak from experience.”

Simon smiled at him.  "You dampen my emotions too much further, and I'll be a robot."  The two had a good chuckle.  "Okay, I don't have anything to do this afternoon, so, when do you want to start?"

Kevin looked at his watch, chuckled, and smiled as the digits raced backwards to the time-zone he was in now. "Sorry,” he said, still chuckling. "Time-zones. Ugh!"

The two shared another chuckle. "Anyway, I can do this now, if you want. I'll probably be pretty worn-out after I'm done, so don't be surprised if I just fall asleep... I'm not used to doing this, and I don't have Fred's reserves to keep me going," Kevin replied

"Well, we'll both be asleep for a while, then... and neither of us will be on a normal schedule for here.  Oh well.  That's life," Simon answered.

Kevin chuckled again. "We'll be Mentals, my friend. And if there is one thing a Mental has, it's control. Here's an advanced lesson, free of charge," Kevin said, chuckling. "A Mental's control over his own body is nothing short of astonishing. You know you can tell your body to sleep whenever you want it to? Meaning you can switch time-zones without too much difficulty. Unless you're over-exerting yourself… which would be exactly what I’m planning on doing," Kevin added with a smile.

"Okay.  Well, what're we waiting for?" Simon asked with some excitement, looking forward to being able to actually do some of the things he'd written about over the years.

Kevin chuckled. "Okay. Here we go..." Simon heard nothing more after that.

Kevin dove into his friend's mind, and appeared in the Cabinet Hall of his friend’s mind. Whistling to himself, he started walking to the door leading to the computer. Without even noticing, his good mood caused him to break out into song… something he had never been able to do before, simply because it was so off-key that windows threatened to shatter.

“Okay. Here we go,” Kevin said as he sat down behind the computer, which he noted had a verbal interface. “Computer, retrieve password for the mental cabinet, please.”

Please state your authorization.

Since this was the first time anyone had been here, there hadn’t been a code assigned yet. “Kevin Duchamps,” Kevin said.

Authorization logged, the computer answered dutifully. Access code for cabinet #1is 821973584687. Access code for cabinet #2 is 6718466467374.

Kevin’s eyes went wide. “Huh?”

Please restate request, the computer answered.

“Computer, why are there two cabinets?” Kevin asked, dumbstruck. A person only had one cabinet with mental powers… it’s physically impossible to have two. Or so Kevin thought. What in HELL am I missing?

Please restate request, the computer repeated.  

Kevin grunted, and started typing, trying to find the reason for Simon’s mind to have two cabinets. He had never written anything about two cabinets. Simply because the idea had never occurred to him. Now, why would someone have two cabinets? I can’t look too far… this is based on my fantasy. The reason I come up with is probably the correct one. But Kevin didn’t find a reason, neither in the computer nor in his own mind.

Shaking his head, Kevin decided to first give his friend his enhancements, and then worry about a superfluous mental cabinet. So, Kevin got up, walked out of the computer center, and back into the Cabinet Hall. He opened the first black cabinet, labeled ‘#1’. He entered the code the computer had supplied him, and opened the door. Inside, just as Kevin had written in his stories, was a computer terminal.

Most of the options where ghosted, unable to be activated by him. A couple were indicated in red, showing that he had them, but that he couldn’t activate them in his friend’s mind, for a simple lack of power on his part. “Okay, Simon. You’ll be a level-two instead of a level-three,” Kevin muttered, and activated all the options he could.

Kevin slammed the door shut, and soon wished he hadn’t. Cabinet Hall was lighting up in an angry red light, and the very space he was in seemed to start to shake on its very foundations. Swallowing his fear, Kevin raced to the computer room. While in the process of jumping to the chair, he barked, “Computer, state emergency!”

Second personality is surfacing. Neural stress has exceeded tolerances by 5%. 10%. Neural collapse approaching.

Kevin’s eyes opened, but he forced himself to ignore his surprise. “Computer, what personality? And give me a list of options!” Kevin shouted. I’ve never dealt with this! I never wrote about this! What in HELL is happening?

Personality named ‘Tala’. Suggest removal of second persona.

“TALA? Simon’s imaginary conscience? GREAT!” Kevin barked. “Computer, transfer entire ‘Tala’ personality onto a mental disk, and delete from primary carrier!”

In progress. Warning. Neural stress had exceeded tolerances by 50%. Collapse imminent!

Finally, the disk popped out. Removing persona from primary carrier, the computer noted. As the status bar started progressing, Kevin sighed in relief as the shaking diminished, and the stresses were sinking.

I hope Simon isn’t damaged… Well, problem for later. First I need to get Tala a new home. A mind wasn’t meant to be stored in some unused part of my brain.

Kevin pulled out, but made sure to keep his friend phased out. If he allowed Simon to come around now, without any sort of physical or emotional aid, he could very well rip himself to pieces. Kevin closed his eyes, and started chanting. Pouring Tala’s stored personality into the spell, Kevin allowed her magically-created body to decide its own shape. Kevin knew Net Wolf probably thought everything out.

As soon as the spell ended, Kevin was inside the mind of the construct. She’ll require work, he muttered as he entered the smallest Cabinet Hall he had seen to date. Granted, he hadn’t seen many of them, but he had always envisioned a person’s mind to be huge… not this small space he was in now.

He jogged to the mental cabinet, put in the code he retrieved from Simon’s computer, and activated all the powers he could. He noticed that there were less than in Simon’s mind. Physics don’t let them be screwed over… Kevin thought, chuckling. She’s the second. The construct. She can’t be as powerful as the original.

Kevin slammed the door shut, and jogged to the computer room. This interface was a standard graphical-interface, to be commanded by keyboard and mouse. Kevin created an Instructions File similar to the one Frederic had developed, and implanted it into Tala’s mind. The next thing he did was pull up her personality file. He added everything he thought she would need… including the knowledge on how to live as a human, instead of riding at the back of someone’s mind, and letting him do all the work.

After making sure that she had a chance to live, Kevin pulled up the physical parameters page, and started making his modifications for her body. He boosted her strength, speed, agility, hand-eye-coordination, dexterity, intelligence, and so on. He also made her ambidextrous, which was pretty much the limits of what he could do to her.

He pulled out, and immediately switched back to Simon’s mind. He could feel himself growing weaker. Magic, Mental powers, transfers… it was all getting to him. Blinking a couple of times, and bracing himself against the exhaustion, Kevin jogged to the computer room in Simon’s mind.

He added the Instructions File he had created for Tala. As with Frederic, Kevin had made sure that the file was general-purpose, enabling him to put it in with very little to no changes at all. He also copied his knowledge, martial arts or otherwise, into Simon’s mind, and pulled out.

The moment he pulled out, he collapsed on the sofa, exhausted. The last thing spooking through his mind was Good thing we did this in the living room…

 

Simon woke up on the floor, where he had lain so that Kevin could do his work.  He groaned slightly, still feeling groggy, and he felt as if part of him was still asleep.  Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Immediately, he shut them again.  Not only had his world been extremely blurry, but the sensation had sent a massive wave of nausea and pain through his head.  As his brow furrowed hoping to let the discomfort pass, he felt soft hands removing his glasses from his head.

“Sorry, I forgot you wouldn’t need these when you woke up.”  What startled him was that the voice was clearly feminine.  Slowly, unsure of himself, Simon opened his eyes again.

The first thing he noticed was that for the first time in his life, the world was crystal-clear and in focus, without any aid at all.  He could see far better than he had ever been able to, and it astonished him just how much he had been missing before.  It did not, however, take long for him to realize that there was something in the room that he had really been missing before.  It was a girl.  A naked girl.  She had short, jet-black hair that ended just above her shoulders and framed her face nicely.  Her face held two stunning deep, piercing, royal blue eyes, and a small, upturned nose above small, pouty lips.  His eyes automatically continued down her body, to her ample chest, they lingered there for an extra moment before continuing down to see her flat stomach and her toned legs.

The girl, who he would guess was no more than eighteen, if that, leaned over him and smiled.  “Are you okay, boss?”

Boss?  Simon mumbled, “uh-huh,” and sat up.  He looked at her again, and she showed no signs of shyness, no hint of wanting to hide her body from him.  In fact, she seemed to enjoy the way he was staring at her.  “Um,” he started, “who are you?”

She giggled at him.  “I’m Tala, of course.  Don’t you recognize me?”

She had looked familiar.  But that wasn’t possible.  “Yeah, right.  Real funny.  Now who the hell are you?”

The look on her face fell slightly.  “I am Tala.”

“You can’t be.  Tala is a figment of my imagination, she’s a creation in my head, she’s… my inner voice, the personification of my conscience.”

“That’s me.  Glad you remember me,” she smiled.

Simon felt light-headed again, and groaned.  “I’m confused,” he said.

“Well, Kevin was too busy with you when I awoke for him to give me any answers, and he pretty much dropped right out when he was finished with you.  I guess we’ll just have to wait until he wakes up,” she finished, stifling a yawn.

Simon mimicked her, as often happened when he was around someone who yawned.  “Geez, I’m still pretty shot.  What time is it, anyway?”

“Just after six,” she said.  “I think we both need some sleep.  C’mon, let me help you up, boss.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“That’s what you are, my boss.  Hey, I’m your conscience, remember?  I live to serve you.  I exist because you want me to.  I suppose I could call you Master, if you prefer…”

“No, no, ‘boss’ is fine,” he said as she got him to his feet.  Immediately, his pants and underwear fell down.  “Shit,” he said under his breath.

“Nice,” Tala remarked without thinking, causing Simon to blush as he yanked his pants back up.

“I forgot he was going to change my body.  Nothing I have is going to fit.”

He grumbled as Tala led him into the bedroom.  She helped him take off his shirt, while his pants did their tumbling act again.  He was now naked, just like she was.  She helped him into the bed, and then she went around to the other side, climbed in, and snuggled up next to him.

“Good thing I’ve got a double bed,” he muttered just before fading off to sleep again.

 

Several hours later, Simon awoke to hear some noise coming from the living room.  Normally, he would have been concerned, but he remembered that Kevin was visiting.  This thought managed to make its way into his mind before the presence of a soft hand resting against his chest burned its way into his consciousness.  He looked down to see Tala staring up at him.

“Good morning, boss,” she said sweetly.

“Hey, Tala.  How long was I out?”

“Eleven hours, thirty-two minutes.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Simon sputtered.

“Tsk, tsk, boss.  You mean ‘Judges fucking Council, remember?  You’re an Agnostic.”

Simon laughed at her.  “Yeah, that’s what I meant, Tala.  I guess we should get up before E gets bored and goes home.”  Simon climbed out of the bed, which he really didn’t want to do given there was a beautiful naked girl there.  He figured it would be impolite if he just took her while Kevin was still around.  He grabbed his own robe, and put it on.  It was bulky, but not too bad, as his new body was pretty muscular.  He looked at Tala, and thought a second.  Then he reached in his closet and grabbed a T-shirt for her; it was black, of course.

“I’m sure E already got a good look at you, but you’re mine damnit, and I’m not giving him any free peeks!”  She blushed and giggled as she put on the shirt.  It came down nearly to her knees.  She thought for just a moment, and then grabbed his canvas-style belt, which was on the chair.  She wrapped it around her middle and fastened it, thus turning the T-shirt into a reasonable dress for her.  He figured she could go outside dressed like that without rousing attention, if she had to.  He smiled at her, and said, “Okay, let’s go see what else he’s got in store for me.”

Opening the door into the living room, Simon’s yes opened wide. Kevin had apparently decided to do some exercises while his student was out, and was now busy doing… stuff.

An orb floated through the room, shooting laser-beams at a blindfolded Kevin, who, using a light-saber, reflected them back to the floating metal sphere, where they were subsequently reabsorbed.

The orb shot, and Kevin dove over a chair, landed on his left hand, and balanced like that, used the light-saber in his right hand to catch and reflect the beam. The orb caught the beam, and shot a new one, which took Kevin another neck-breaking stint to catch. Kevin suddenly turned his blind-folded head towards Simon, and said something in an alien language.

“Orb, halt.” Simon didn’t know what he should be more surprised about, him being able to understand the totally alien language perfectly, or the fact that his friend was waving a light-saber in front of his face. Kevin deactivated the saber, clipped it to his belt, and removed the blindfold. 

“Good to see you awake, Simon. I wondered what kept you,” Kevin said, smiling. He looked at Tala, and looked her up and down, as if he could look right through the shirt. “Ah, Tala. Sorry I couldn’t talk to you yesterday…I was exhausted. How does the body fit?”

“Yeah, and stop looking at my conscience that way, damnit!!!” Simon replied, playfully angry.

Kevin chuckled. "I was just checking out my handiwork, Simon. So, Tala, tell me. Is there anything uncomfortable? Are you feeling okay? I mean... it's quite a drastic step you've taken, and I didn't exactly have time to double-check," he said, sounding more interested than concerned.

"No, everything feels okay... I guess.  I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to feel.  The only feelings I've known since I was... created... are the way Simon felt, and he was never feeling too well, so...  I don't know."  Tala bowed her head slightly.

Simon added, "Gee, she rambles in real life, too."  Tala blushed as Simon nudged her playfully.

Kevin chuckled as he watched them interact. Happy with himself, Kevin said, smiling, "Glad to hear it. Okay. Now, let's get the two of you to my place, where I can get you some clothes. You won't really need to bring anything, since my replicator can get you pretty much everything you need before we start the tortu.... training sessions."

Simon overlooked the slip, as he knew, or at least hoped, his friend was kidding.  "Replicator?  You have a replicator?"

Kevin winced, then chuckled. "I forgot to tell you about that, huh?" he asked sheepishly. "Well, with all the stuff that's been happening, it kinda slipped my mind. Yeah, I have a replicator. It's being powered by a portable fusion reactor, and is linked to a bio-neural computer core, just a small one of the first type."

Tala placed her hand on Simon's arm, as she could tell he was getting a little overwhelmed.  Trying not to speak out of turn, she said, "Maybe we should just go, so you can show it to us."

Kevin smiled, and dipped his head. "Of course, M'lady Tala," he said, keeping in mind the little 'pet-name' he once developed for Simon's conscience-alter ego. "I'll port you using magic. It might be a little disorienting, but I promise you, nothing will happen. So, ready?"

Tala bowed her head, in acknowledgment of the nickname, and in agreement.  Simon just sort of nodded, a little unfocused already, even before the journey began.

Kevin took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he did so. "Here we go," he said, more to himself than to the others. The next moment, the three found themselves in a whirlpool of different colors, and the very air seemed to thicken. Breathing became more and more labor-intensive.

Then... they were standing in a room, about four meters by four, containing a bed, with a TV-set facing the end of it, and two desks pushed side-by-side against one wall. On the left desk stood a mini-tower computer, with a 19" screen, obviously quite new. On the right desk... stood something that made Simon drool. A real-life replicator stood on the right side of the desk, flanked by what appeared to be a square box with digits, read-outs, and various lights on the left. On the right, next to the desk, stood a larger square box, which hummed contently.

Theatrically, Kevin spread his arms, and whirled around, indicating the space. "Welcome to my humble home for the last 15 years," he said. "This room has everything I own."

Simon barely heard him as he stared at the high technology sitting on the desk.  Tala, doing her job, smacked him on the arm.

"What?" Simon asked irately.

"You're ignoring our host.  Stop ogling his computer and behave!"

Simon rolled his eyes.  "Can you put her back?" he asked Kevin in jest.  Tala smacked him again, but not as hard this time.

Kevin chuckled, and shook his head. "Five minutes. Five minutes, they've been awake, and they're already having a domestic dispute... and I didn't even take out the emotion-dampers yet!"

Shaking his head still, Kevin walked to the replicator. "Computer, clothes. One male, one female. Standard ESMF uniforms... and take their sizes, okay?"

Acknowledged, the male computer voice noted, beeped twice, and materialized two black pieces of cloth in the replication slot. Kevin took the two uniforms, and checked their sizes. He gave the large one to Simon, and the smaller one to Tala.

"The bathroom is right outside, first door on your right," Kevin said. "And please... try not to fight over who gets to change first..."

"Who says we're going to take turns?" Simon quipped instantly.  Tala blushed, but said nothing.

Kevin raised his eyes to the heavens, and laughed. "Whatever! I am not even going to think about the psychological implications of 'screwing one’s conscience'!" Still laughing, he turned to the couple. "Change!" he ordered playfully.

Simon chuckled as he followed Tala out of the room, but just before leaving, he turned to Kevin and said, "Hey, she's been screwing me over for years, I might as well get even!"  He laughed as he turned and left the room.

Kevin sunk in the leather chair he had whisked up earlier. "What have I gotten myself into? They will drive me INSANE!"

He immediately clamped down, as he realized that their stronger hearing might just be able to detect his words through the walls. Although their ears weren't as enhanced as his, they were still pretty sensitive.

Out in the hall, Simon did, in fact, hear his friend, and chuckled at him.  He had let Tala go first, not because he wanted to, but because the bathroom was too small to fit both of them, and she had, of course, gotten there first.  It wasn't long before she came out of the bathroom, and he admired how the uniform hugged her body so nicely.  She blushed at his attention, but stood aside to allow him to change, which he did, quickly.  Then they both returned to Kevin's bedroom.

"Okay, E.  What's next?  Thanks for the clothes by the way, it was getting a little drafty in the robe."

Kevin smiled. "No problem. Now, let me show you something else Fred gave me..." he walked to the trunk his gear had originally been stored in. "I can't replicate this... yet... but I just wanted to show it off anyway." He turned to the other two as soon as he reached the trunk. "MAN, I feel like a kid in the candy store! My OWN candy store!" chuckling, he turned to the trunk, and opened it.

"This, my friends... is an armored battle suit. Made from a more pliable version of the standard battleship hull alloy, and with all kinds of nifty things built into it. Plasma-flamethrower, visual and audio enhancement systems, a small light-saber, pop-up fighting blades, cloak, PHIS..."

"Excuse me?  PHIS?  What the hell is PHIS?" Simon exclaimed, reminding Kevin that he hadn't exactly read all of the Phalanx series like he promised he would.

Kevin winced. "Oops. Sorry. PHIS stands for Personal Holographic Imaging System. Basically, it can make anyone look like anyone, and that includes voice." He reached into the trunk, and retrieved a box. "This is the suit's black box, containing its major electronic components," Kevin explained as he clipped the box to his utility belt. He pressed button, and closed his eyes. The next moment, Kevin looked like ... Tala.

"See?" Kevin asked, his voice sounding every bit like Tala's.

"Stop that!" Simon said.  "One of her is bad enough!"  Tala swatted him again while he laughed.  "That's cool.  Don't know as I'd want to go around in that gear, anyway, though.  It might be light-weight, but it looks hot as hell."

Kevin deactivated the PHIS, and replaced the black box on the suit. "Well, the battle suit weighs about a hundred fifty to two-hundred kilos. It's impossible to carry, let alone use, without turning on the suit. After that, it feels like any type of martial arts gi," he explained as he straightened out.

Looking at his friend, Kevin got the point. He closed the trunk, and walked back to the desk. "Anyway, I can see you're dying to know more about this little wonder, right?" he asked his friend, grinning mischievously.

Simon just nodded eagerly, his eyes lighting up with interest.  Tala went and sat on the bed, not terribly concerned about the technology.  She knew that whatever she needed to know, she'd pick up on, or Simon would remind her of it.

Kevin decided not to comment on the fact that this was the first time his bed had ever seen a female presence that was different from his mother’s, and focused on Simon instead. He chuckled, still loving every minute of this. "This is just a standard Earth Strategic Mental Forces replicator. It can create anything from food to clothes... as long as it can fit in the slot. The reactor powering it is a Mark V mobile fusion reactor, mainly because I didn't want either a matter-antimatter reactor in my bedroom, and that the Type-25 force field required to protect the Zero-Point reactor would drive me insane if I tried to sleep in the same room. But that's not important," Kevin said, turning his gaze to the computer-box itself.

"This is the heart of the system, a type-1 bio-neural computer processing core, capable of storing up to 100 Terabytes of information, with an average processing speed of about five hundred trillion instructions per second. the schematics for most of Fred's technology is stored in this baby... so that, when I need it, I can just replicate myself a canister of nanoprobes, and have them build me a space-ship, if I wanted to," Kevin exclaimed, laughing.

Simon looked intently at the device, and then over at Tala.  Knowing him as well as she did, she rolled her eyes and said, "Go ahead, ask."

"Can I have one?" Simon asked Kevin eagerly, almost child-like in his exuberance.

Kevin chuckled, then laughed. "After you're done with your training. Since we can't replicate all the stuff in one piece, there will be some construction involved." Kevin thought for a while. "But we'll have to be careful. This thing can replicate everything you want, including money, gems, or pure gold, if you want it to. It can destroy the economy if we're not careful."

"Wouldn't want to do that..." Simon confirmed.  "It'd be nice to not have to cook anymore, though.  Better yet, no clean up after cooking!"  After further thought, he said, "Putting things together, though... um, I hope I'm better at that now than I was before, because I sucked at it before."

Kevin chuckled. "You're about as handy as any ordinary human being can be. Meaning, very handy. Besides, we always have the computer to walk us through it," he said, removing Simon’s doubts.

"I've always been good at following instructions; I was just lousy with a screwdriver.  Okay, so we can do that later.  What do we do now?  Hey, what about your parents, where are they?"

Kevin laughed out loud, apparently happy with what had happened. "Well... let's say that they won't be bothering me any more," he said, enjoying a good laugh.

Simon arched his eyebrows, and looked at Tala, who seemed extremely uncomfortable with the implications of that statement.  Simon turned back to Kevin and said, "O... kay... so, where do we begin, sensei?"

"If you're uncomfortable with that, I'd better not tell you about Mitzy, back in Japan..." Kevin muttered quietly. "Anyway, let's start in the back yard. Training will be quite simple, really. You brain already has all the knowledge it needs. I'll just help you along on your first tries... as a guide, so to speak. I'll help your mind sort out everything I put in it. After those two weeks, you'll know how to access your different powers, and you'll be able to train yourselves from there on."

"Cool.  Well, no time like the present..."   Simon and Tala followed Kevin out to the back yard, to begin their training.

 

Two minutes later, Simon and Tala were standing side-by-side, facing Kevin, who was pacing back and forth in front of them, looking semi-nervous.

“You look tense, E. You forgot to look at your lesson plan?” Simon asked jokingly.

Kevin gave Simon a sour look. “Very funny, Simon. For your information, I was organizing things in my mind, to see how I can best do this, since neither of you is familiar with my writings,” he said, stopping and turning to face them. He nodded to himself, looked up, and continued, “Okay. I think this would be the best way. First, I’ll teach you about your minds, and your mental powers. Then, I’ll go over the martial arts, and the hyper-martial arts.”

“Hyper martial arts?” Simon asked. “What do you mean by that, E?”

Kevin chuckled. “Hyper-martial arts are those types of martial arts that are beyond what any ordinary human could ever hope to accomplish. By manipulating the very life’s energy in his or her body, a higher-class Mental can do some pretty far-out things. But, those are for later,” he told his two students. Guess I’m not so bad after all, he commented to himself when he saw his two listeners nod.

“So, let’s get started on the mind, and its powers. But first, I’ll need for you to forget about your CAMP-related psionic powers,” Kevin said, turning to Simon. “Mental powers in my universe work in a completely different way.”

Simon shrugged, and said with a chuckle, “I figured.  But since I don’t actually know how to do them CAMP-style anyway, it doesn’t make much difference.”

Kevin smiled, dipped his head in acknowledgement, and continued, “The powers we share are based on the mental energy of a person’s mind. Basically, the strength of will is like a reserve of energy. I think you’ll agree with me that a brain, when you see it, is an impressive organ, but in itself doesn’t explain ‘sentience’. We have sentience. Animals do not, yet their brains share similarities with ours. Take dolphins, chimpanzees, and other animals, for instance. Now, a human’s sentience has created something that … well… the best way to explain it would be to say that the human mind extends beyond the brain. It holds a reserve of energy everyone generally calls ‘strength of will’.

“Some people are able to run themselves to death by exerting this force…  think of Marathon, for instance. Basically, what a Mental has, and a normal person doesn’t have, is a reserve of this ‘will-force’, and is able to use this excess energy to make the world around him obey his will. A class-one mental has just enough reserve to be able to read minds, yet not alter them. He or she can also create a very weak mental shield, yet is able to do some pretty impressive telekinetic feats. This due to the fact that mental energy gladly messes with matter, compared to messing with the mental energy of another person.

“A ‘mental shield’ as I call it is basically an oval-shaped dome extending around a person, keeping the mental energy of another person from affecting the person inside. This shield has to be worn down before any alterations can be made. There are no exceptions… no one is able to infiltrate this shield when it is up, and its reserves are dependent solely on the amount of energy that is poured into it, as well as the reserves the person in question has.

“A class-two mental, like you two are, have reserves that are very much larger than a class-one. This means you can easily read minds, manipulate them, or take direct control over them. Telekinesis is second-nature to you, requiring very little effort. And, since you have the energy for it, mental manipulation is not out of the question. Mental manipulation being just that… manipulating stuff with your mind. Be warned… manipulating properties is very energy-intensive. You can create pretty powerful shields for quite a lengthy period of time.

“Now, a class three, which I am, hold as much power as a brain can contain without the need for an external feed, someone like Fred, for instance. Fred’s powers come mostly from the Gods of the Universe… and he boosts his closest friends in the process. Since he’s not here, I am a class three. I can keep a class-ten mental shield up for about thirty seconds. I’ll explain the different characteristics of the shields as we progress… but to ease your curiosity, the highest is level eleven, but that one is gone about as fast as I can lay it out. Level-ten absorbs anything except for light and sound… making your own mental powers useless outside the shell of the shield.”

Simon raised his hand and made a ‘now wait just a minute’ noise.  Kevin smirked and said, “Speak your mind.  I’m going too fast, am I?”

“No, not that,” Simon said. “But these shields… will they stop matter? Say… a bullet?”

Kevin nodded. “Yes. Anything from level three and up will absorb the speed of a bullet, and make it drop harmlessly to the ground without harming you. The amount of bullets you can stop depends entirely upon your total reserve of mental energy.”

“I also heard you mention a ‘Master Slayer’,” Simon said. “What’s the difference between a Mental and a Master Slayer?”

“Good question,” Kevin said, nodding. “A Master Slayer is a warrior, basically. Anyone under the age of 25, or as long as puberty hasn’t ended, can be transformed into a Master Slayer, a process that gives a total physical and mental make-over. A Master Slayer can master any weapon within minutes, an hour tops. Speed, stamina, dexterity, agility, strength, it’s all boosted to as high as the human genome can handle without actually growing new things. Their minds and bodies are aligned so perfectly that they act as a single whole… when the body’s enhanced strength fails, the telekinetic powers will automatically add in, without the Master Slayer to think about it. In addition, a Master Slayer, at the end of his training, is made Immortal by Frederic, handed a mystical weapon called a ‘Sword of Destiny’, as well as two magical rings of protection: one against evil, and one against magic. A Master Slayer’s primary job is to fight vampires, demons, dark mages, and other nasties.” To prove his words, Kevin drew the sword slung across his back. The Sword of Destiny glowed blue.

Simon arched his eyebrows and pursed his lips. “Impressive,” he said, feeling Tala tense in awe next to him.

Sometime later that day, Kevin, Simon, and Tala appeared in the Hall of Cabinets of Kevin’s mother. “Okay, this is my mother’s mind,” Kevin said, motioning for their surroundings.

“I thought you said that altering a mind was just manipulating energy?” Simon asked.

“This is some sort of hallucination, if you can call it that, created by your own mental reserves so your consciousness has something familiar. All of this is a mere representation. The gray cabinets contain knowledge, and memories related to that knowledge. The red ones are emotional ties and memories, for things like family and friends. The black cabinet is the one accessing the mental reserves of a person directly, enabling you do boost him. The only drawback is that you can’t boost someone to your level. As such, I can create class-twos but not class threes. You two can create class-ones… and that’s it,” Kevin explained.

The two others nodded in understanding, as Kevin preceded them to the computer room.

 

“Magic,” Kevin said, standing smartly in front of his two students on the second day of their training. “Magic is a very intricate form of ethereal energy that’s omnipresent in the universe. But, in order for it to be useful, you need to first build a reserve of it within yourself. This reserve of magic, mana, is what fuels the spells you cast. I, as Master Slayer, am a class-one mage, meaning my reserves are pretty damn big. You are class fours… your bodies just can’t be converted to sustain anything higher than that. Now,” Kevin said, seeing the look on Simon’s face, “don’t get dejected on me, it still means that you’re still able to do some pretty impressive things.

“Now, yesterday, you had it easy. I walked you through mental shields, mental alterations, and direct mental control. I showed you how to use your telekinetic powers, and how to form balls of mental energy you can throw at your enemies. That’s kid stuff. For the next four days, I will keep you awake, with very little food and drink. Today, we do White Magic, the arts of nature, and so forth. Then you’ll get your last full four hours of double-sleep.

“Starting then, we go into the Realm of Darkness. You will learn Hell, its intricacies, its devils, demons, and vampires, and the spells to summon those demons and devils to do your bidding. Since the darkness is extremely powerful, sleep will be minimized to lessen the risk of possession. Food and drink will only be allowed during certain rest-periods.

“Believe me, I speak from experience… there is never enough time to eat and drink. You will always be hungry and thirsty. I will always go hungry, thirsty, and sleepy with you, since I, as your teacher, am required to stay with you.”

Simon and Tala looked at each other, their concern for themselves and each other communicated clearly.

 

Kevin stretched out as he awakened from his eight hours of double-sleep, counting for sixteen hours of rest normal-time.  His min drifted out, and detected the patterns of his two friends, still in the throes of double-sleep. Smiling slightly, he got up and walked to the replicator.  “Computer, one portable gravity enhancer.”

The computer beeped, and a rectangular box with one dial and one readout appeared. Kevin took the box, opened his window, and jumped. Not bothering to catch himself after a four-and-a-half meter drop, he landed on the ground with a dull thud. He barely felt the impact, his body used to working under intense gravities.

He walked to the middle of his backyard, and put the box on the ground, and turned the dial until the readout read ‘55’.

“Fifty-five gravities,” Kevin muttered, feeling the very air thickening around his skin. Grunting, he dropped into the combat crouch. His mind gripped for the ball of warrior spirit inside of him. An orange-red glow appeared around his body, extending not very far. Kevin resisted the urge to growl in pain against the tremendous gravity.

He was very much aware of how little this was compared to Fred’s ability to train in over fifteen hundred gravities, an awareness that filled him with fury. Everything he did was useless compared to Fred’s abilities. His own creation was a hundred thousand times more powerful than he was, and Kevin really didn’t like that.

He lifted the crouch, and got in the Divine Speed attack pose. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and charged. Suddenly, he accelerated tremendously, and shot up in the air. He halted himself immediately.

“Damn. That generator really does have a small range. I’ll need to build me a holodeck, so I can increase the gravity easier,” he muttered as he got down. Well, he started to. The moment he drifted back in the ‘gravity-bubble’, Kevin feel like a brick, his entire telekinetic strength needed to keep him from being smeared over the surface of the Earth.

Kevin turned the dial, resetting the generator to 1 G. His mind drifted out, and awoke his two companions.

“Okay,” Kevin said as soon as Simon and Tala joined him. “Today, I will teach you how to really use the power of mind, spirit, body, and soul. I will unite the energies coursing through your bodies, and I will teach you how to tap into those powers.”

“Cool,” Simon said.

Kevin smiled. “It will enable you to do things like this,” he said, squatting, and balling his fists, his arms lifted slightly, so they were at shoulder level. “This is the ‘power-up’ pose. It minimizes the pain and stress,” Kevin explained. Before his mind’s eye he started to summon pain, and misery. Power comes from a need, not a desire. Rage is the catalyst, he thought as he summoned more painful images. His parents telling him he was lazy. His grandmother telling him he would never amount to anything. Never being accepted in school.

His mouth opened, and Kevin howled, distorting his entire face to something less-than-human. His eyes, although wide-open were unseeing. His mind gripped for the warrior spirit. His ki, life-force, exploded. Orange-red flames appeared around his body, casting strangely dancing shadows throughout the backyard. Kevin’s muscles, under the influence of the influx of energy, expanded. Simon and Tala could see Kevin’s veins swell as well as the enlargement of his muscles.

The ground beneath them trembled, and the two trainees could see that loose pebbles were starting to lift into the air. Kevin sunk to his knees, the flames and the shaking of the ground dying out violently, and the pebbles dropping back with dull thuds. His muscles and veins returned to normal.

Kevin chuckled. “You’ll be able to do similar things,” Kevin said, getting up. “This is what’s called a power-up. Normally, under combat conditions, you can use a power-up to enhance either speed, strength, or both, if you’re really good. I just went overboard, went as high as I could, and thus cut my endurance to zero, hence the sudden drop.”

Simon and Tala stood in awe. They had seen their teacher do some strange things before, but never before anything like this.

“Now, let me explain just what I’ll be teaching you,” Kevin said. “In the universe exists a life-force of sorts. This Force links every living thing together, and it can be used to manipulate space and time. Inside of every living thing also exists a life-force. This life-force is known as ‘ki’, and can be used to push the physical body further and harder. First, I’ll be teaching you how to contact this ‘ki’ within yourself, as well as how to use it.

“Now. Ki-blasts. A Mental can summon the very life energy out of his body, form it into a bolt, or beam, and fling it at his enemies. It’s a very potent weapon. Now, since that knowledge is already there, it just needs to be activated. Close your eyes, and empty your mind. Feel your way deep within your mind and body, to the place that gives you the very energy to sustain life…”

After a couple of minutes, thanks to the knowledge-transfer, both Simon and Tala found the ‘sphere’ of power that many different cultures had given many different names. Continuing on his gentle hypnotic tone so he wouldn’t break his friends’ concentration, Kevin said, “Good. Now, make it expand. Feel yourself touching it. Feel it expand as you touch it. Feel its emotions.”

Kevin went on and on, explaining to his friends that soon, they could just summon their life-force without the need of meditation.

“But, before you’ll be able to blast away at someone with ki-blasts, you first need to expand your reserves of Ki, or you’d kill yourself. Flinging your life-force at someone when you have just enough to survive is not a very wise thing to do,” Kevin said, chuckling. His two friends chuckled as well.

“Now, in order to build reserves, Fred’s teachers came up with a very ingenious solution. Increased-gravity training,” Kevin said, reaching for the box, and turning the dial until it read ‘3’. Immediately, Simon and Tala could feel their bodies weighing three times more than usual. They could barely move at all.

“Since your bodies aren’t Immortal, they won’t adapt automatically, like mine,” Kevin said. “Use your mental energy to coax your body into adapting. Remember… Mental energy wants to perfect everything it touches.”

Simon and Tala, both sweating from just standing in three times gravity, nodded a single time, before grunting when their neck-muscles threatened to jump down and kick their asses. Then, they seemed to relax, and Kevin was glad to see that they were suing their powers to coax their bodies, not using their telekinetic powers to lift some of the burden.

“Okay, here we go…” Kevin said, beginning his martial arts lessons, to help their bodies get used to higher gravities. It would not only create a stronger life-force, but their bodies would increase tremendously as well.

 

Simon and Tala walked up to Kevin who was performing Tai Chi routines in mid-air.

“Hey, E! Forget to set your timer?” Simon asked. “You actually gave us more than four hours of sleep, you know!”

Kevin finished the routine he was performing, and dropped to the ground, his telekinetic abilities reaching out and turning off the gravity amplifier. “That’s because you’re finished,” Kevin said.

Simon and Tala’s eyes open a little wider.

“And we didn’t know this because…” Simon asked.

Kevin smirked. “Because there’s just a final test, if you want to call it that. More of a test for yourselves, to actually have a chance to test everything you’ve learned.”

Thanks in part to the emotional inhibition of the Instructions File, neither Simon nor Tala gave a very exuberant reaction, and Kevin continued. “We’ll be going to Las Vegas, so let’s get dressed suitably,” he said, snapping his fingers. A flash of light later, Kevin was dressed in an impeccable tuxedo.

Simon and Tala looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. Their entire reserve of magic went up in the creation of the clothing: slacks and a dressy shirt for Simon, and a blue dress for Tala. Kevin couldn’t help himself and let his eyes dart over the beautiful figure. He was smart enough to make sure to look away before Simon would make a snide comment.

“Very good. Okay… here we go,” Kevin said, closing his eyes, and doing the teleportation spell. The threesome found themselves in an empty hotel room.

“Now we won’t attract suspicion,” Kevin stated as he walked to the door of the room. “People will think we rented this room.”

Simon and Tala just shook their heads, and played ‘follow the leader’. “Okay, this is what I want you to do. First, sweep everyone in the casino so they’ll see us as normal. Just in case something happens. Then, I want you to set up a field so that everyone new to the casino gets the same program, and that everyone who leaves gets it removed,” Kevin requested. “Then, we’ll have real fun.”

Simon and Tala looked at each other once again, shrugged, and smiled. Simon closed his eyes, and Kevin felt his shields rise instinctively. He could feel Tala’s doing the same. Sweeping, although not dangerous, could be very painful for unshielded Mentals. Simon did as he had been shown. First, he created the mental program he wanted installed, in this case an ‘everything is fine’ super-suggestion. Then, he created a beam of mental power, and made it sweep around him, like a beam of light from a lighthouse. The beam lashed out in a perfect circle, not penetrating the outer walls of the casino, but going around corners if so required. The beam did its job, and Simon shut it off when it had reached full circle.

“Okay. Done,” Simon said, not looking in the least bit affected. Kevin and Tala rubbed their foreheads to remove the lingering headache.

“My turn,” Tala said with a smile. She too, closed her eyes for added concentration. She set up a mental ‘dome’ over the casino, with a mimicking ‘everything’s fine’ super-suggestion. In the opposite direction, she put a program to remove the suggestion, basically a mental virus-scanner, similar to the ones used on the computer.

Kevin nodded. “Well done. Okay,” he said, rubbing his hands. “Let’s have fun!” really enjoying this, Kevin showed his two companions to a roulette table that had less-than-full occupation.

<<Here we go,>> he sent to his two companions. <<First, look at the ball, see how it falls. Try to predict where it will fall.>>

Simon and Tala nodded in response, looking at the tiny white ball. So not to attract attention, Kevin placed token bets on red or black while his two friends figured out the laws of prediction and the laws of physics involved with the wheel.

<<Got it?>> Kevin asked. He got two positives in response, and could help but smile slightly. Immediately, he took $100 worth of chips, and placed them on number fifteen. <<Try to make fifteen get out on top,>> he said as challenge.

Simon and Tala looked at each other, eyebrows raised slightly. Kevin saw them communicate telepathically. Obviously trying to figure out who will do it, Kevin thought to himself.

Apparently, Tala got out on top, as she looked intently at the wheel as the croupier set the ball in motion. Immediately, she realized that she didn’t have enough time to work out the entire physical equation. Not consciously, she thought. This is like Mnemonic Storage. Don’t think. Let it come. Mnemonic storage was the state of mind in which a Mental can absorb whatever he or she wishes to store within her mind. It can be knowledge from a book, or a conversation. In the latter, a Mental’s memories were as accurate as a tape-recording.

Tala stopped thinking. She let her subconscious work it out. On instinct, she gave the ball a small nudge. Not enough to appear out of line with physics. She gave it another nudge. The ball bounced around, and landed… in the slot that read ‘15’.

Immediately, she smiled as she broke her concentration. Simon hugged her, while Kevin just congratulated her… mentally, of course.

Kevin whistled. “Thirty-five hundred dollars for my one hundred,” he said. <<Easy money,>> he added as the trio walked away from the roulette. <<Next. Craps. How to manipulate dice.>>

 

They appeared in Kevin’s back yard. “Well done, both of you! You’re now ready to face the real world… without Instruction Files.”

“Okay,” Simon replied. “So what are you waiting for?” he added, rather impatiently.

Kevin smiled, shook his head, and fazed them out. The programs were easily cleaned out, and five seconds later, both Simon and Tala blinked.

“Whoa!” Tala shouted.

Simon nodded in agreement. “So much power! Now I understand why you need those files… even with training, it’s still a pretty big experience!”

Kevin chuckled. “I know. My first thought, after removing the file, was something along the lines of ‘I feel so damned strong I feel like I can take over the world’.”

"Hmm," Simon mused for a moment.  "We could, you know."

Kevin chuckled. "Sure we can, Simon. And then what? Have all the crap of the world dumped on our heads?" he asked, still chuckling. “I don’t think so.”

"No, hear me out, E.  We've both got the ability to control people now.  We set up our own version of a government.  You know, one that works.  We can get rid of all the fucking troublemakers; we can get things to run right for once!" Simon started pacing, suddenly energized by the thought.

Tala stirred, and Simon saw her.  "What?" he asked.

"How would you treat the people?" she asked.

"As long as they follow the rules there wouldn't be a problem.  Right, E?"

Kevin was chuckling, and had matched Simon's pace. "You're right, Simon. We assemble the greatest rulers the world has to offer, and draft them. We could use an example... like Rome, for instance. Rome had a single ruler, and he didn't have to do much of the every-day crap.

"As to the people... Well, we can follow Islamic rule. Steal something, off with the hand. And the real big bastards can be executed... publicly, like in Rome."

Kevin looked at his two companions, and their stares. "Sorry, I always liked Rome. Can't help myself."

"Hmm," Simon considered.  "Yeah, Greece kicked off the whole 'democracy' thing, and we see how well that has worked out.  Yeah, I think what the world needs is a single ruler.  Hey, the Caesars managed the Pax Romana, the longest period of peace in history.  We can start the Pax... something or other..." Simon chuckled at himself.  He finally managed to get Tala to smile at the thought.  "And," he added for Tala's benefit, "It would reduce the violence in the long run, once people stopped disobeying us."

"Hehe," Kevin chuckled, struck by a sudden thought. Ever since reading of Rome, he had wondered how it would have been like to be an emperor. Now he couldn’t help himself. "The Pax Kevinica. Kevin's peace."

Simon looked at him askance for a second.  "You wanna be the emperor, eh?  Well, that's fine with me.  I've always been a behind-the-scenes kinda guy, anyway.  So... Emperor Kevin?  It doesn't have a ring to it, man."

Kevin looked at his friend. "Since I'm Immortal, I can rule for a long time...," Kevin said, chuckling. "And you're right. Emperor Kevin just doesn't ring right. Let's see... Rome started with Augustus. How about Emperor Augustus?"

"Nah, you don't want to be repetitive, do you?  People will talk."

Tala looked up, as if she had a thought.  Simon motioned her to speak up.  "If you... I mean if we can really take over the world, we'd have to be pretty invincible, right?  What about Emperor Invictus?"

Kevin looked at Simon. "Emperor Invictus. Has a nice ring to it," Kevin mused. "Now a first name..." Both his friends looked at him. "Hey, I want to be complete, okay? Besides, Kevin Invictus just doesn't have the same quality." After a few seconds, he said, "How about Sol? Sol Invictus... Invincible Sun."

"Hmm," Simon considered, then nodded.  "And that would make your reign the Pax Invictus: Invincible Peace."  Tala nodded agreement.  "So, Emperor, what does that make me, and her?"

Kevin chuckled. "I was just thinking the same thing." Kevin thought for a few seconds. "The greatest powers in ancient Rome... let's see... the Senate," he dismissed that idea as he saw Simon shake his head. Kevin knew his friend wasn't a politician. "That means Governor of some territory or other is out as well... Oh! I've got it! The perfect job for you!"

"And what would that be?" Simon asked with interest.

"Legate!" Kevin said exuberantly. "A Legate is a special emissary of the Emperor. A Legate is dispatched to investigate things among the aristocracy and ruling class, and wields the power of the Emperor. When a Legate speaks, his words are those of the Emperor, and have to be obeyed. Basically, you'd be tasked with traveling the world, see if everybody is doing a good job, and shit on their heads if they're not."

"Oh.  Well, gee, I guess somebody has to do it," Simon said with a mischievous grin.  "Hmm.  Travel around and make people do things the right way... yeah, I think I could get the hang of that.  What about Tala?"

Immediately, Tala spoke up, "I can be your assistant, or chief advisor.  I don't need more of a job than that.  I don't want to be split up from you."

Simon just looked at Kevin and shrugged.  "Guess that takes care of all three of us, then."

Kevin nodded. "Now all we need to do is write ourselves a book of law, the structure of power, so I don't have to actually take care of every little thing that happens, and a plan of action on how to actually make this happen."

"Right," Simon agreed, then paused.  "And how the fuck do we do that?"

"Ehh..." Kevin said, eyes wide. "Good point." After a few seconds, he said, "Teleportation. We can teleport to all those different places. I showed you how to cloak... that way, we're not seen. We just need to install the right programs into the right people's minds... so that, when we give the code, they'll switch, and be under our control. We just need to develop the right programs for the right people.

"Let's see... what will we need? A council of Ministers, directly below the Emperor, to take care of the big shit. A Senate, to oversee everything, and a whole bunch of governors ruling the individual provinces.

"That leaves me free of any duties... unless I really WANT to butt in," Kevin said, chuckling. "All we need now is the law, and the programs for the different people." He hoped to the Gods that Simon wouldn’t figure out that Kevin had, in fact, been giving this some thought before. But he had always put it off, thinking that it would be impossible for one man, alone, no matter what kind of power he had.

"Uh, yeah.  Sure," Simon replied dubiously, not sure if he believed his friend, and he was certain it wouldn't be that easy.  He had lived his life by Finagle's Law, usually misnamed Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.  Simon fully expected things to go wrong, but he was prepared to help his friend.  It had, after all, been his idea.

"So, let's work up that book of laws now.  Tala, can you take notes?"  She nodded, and began the book in her mind using Mnemonic Storage. The trio then began to outline the rules of the Pax Invictus.