"Different Worlds (EDITED)" by H D Leonard

I can see no enjoyment in this. In the pleasures of the flesh and of drink and of this atrocity that they call music. This is no more music than that horrific contortions the people are performing is dance. I keep my thoughts to myself as I sit in the sole vacant booth of this club, a sanctuary of darkness in a room of blazing lights, cacophony of sound. Coldly I survey the crowd, looking for the one I seek,

I watch clinically, men have always disgusted me anyway. I look around with a hint of a smile on my lips at the shallowness of their existence. They are born, they work for us and then they die. The sum of their existence, the monotony broken only by evenings such as this where they indulge themselves in pleasures my kind barely understand.

I am woman, and I am all powerful. We are the brains of society they are the brute force. There was a time when all this was different but that time is long since gone. There was a time when we were their slaves, when there was war and famine and so many other horrific things, however nowadays things are far different. The world is a much better place and we have but them to thank for it.

I do not know how long ago it was, history no longer concerns itself with dates in the way it once did but it was many lifetimes ago. Man unlocked the secret of life, a secret meant only for woman to possess. Suddenly a Pandora's box of options was thrown open. To have children built to specification, everything from IQ to hair and eye colour coded before birth. But people chose foolishly. Man wanted man, and woman was far too weak to disobey and so before either of us knew what was happening the natural balance was destroyed and less than a third of the population were woman. Then as suddenly as the knowledge of life had been found it was lost. An accident nothing more but something had changed in humanities genetic code never to return to what it was. Woman got smarter.

Yet smart is the wrong word for it, the messing with that which gave life altered something else as well. Power that had never been dreamed of before, power of the mind over the mind, a gift solely for woman. We have always had it yet something increased it ten, no perhaps a hundred-fold and suddenly man lay in the palms of our hands and we made this world our own.

Unfortunately man still has much control, we could not oust him completely. To risk his rebellion would have been suicidal so we allow him to do as he wishes so long as he does not interfere with us. But he now walks in our world though most choose to deny that fact, and we leave him to his own shady dealings as long as he does not interfere with our plans.

I sit, surveying the crowd, my presence masked from all by mere will alone. I do not wish these animals to see me and so they shall not. Well not until it is too late. I am woman. I am all powerful. I still cannot see the attraction in the dance, I doubt I ever will. The air is stifling, the scent of blood and sweat and bile making me desire nothing more than to leave. Yet I said I would stay. I told her I would complete this little mission of hers and so I shall. I am a woman of my word and this is my work.

I brush my hair back from my eyes and stand after an hour. I can tolerate this assault on my senses no more. Despising my own weakness I step out the back door into the alleyway, drawing deep gasps of air into my lungs. Not as fresh as I am used to but far better than that from inside. My eyes flicker around the alleyway, it is dark, I can barely make out the shapes from the bottom of it yet shapes there are and the dull mumble of voices.

A whimper of pain, definitely male. They are all animals it surprises me not that they hurt each other. Now that they can no longer pick on woman they pick on their own. I owe them nothing. I should leave them alone and yet as if drawn I find myself stepping into the darkness.

My footsteps are soundless like the shadows themselves, my presence cloaked by the night and by my own will. They will not see me unless I want them to, no one ever does.

Anger boils up inside of me. Anger at her for forcing me into this mission, anger at myself for accepting, anger for having to sit in that dreadful club for several hours but mostly anger at mankind. They are stupid animals they do not deserve to live. I should put an end to their miserable existence now.

Another whimper as they beat into the creature. I cannot see him yet I feel his anguish, his pain as if it was my own, a dull ache inside my mind stabbing into my heart. Something inside of me snaps, I drop my cover and say "stop." It is an order not a request said with all the authority of what I am. I am woman.

Spinning around they stare at me, eyes widening like with shock, rats caught in the gaze of the feline, knowing at any moment she may strike. The smell of fear fills the alley. Good, they realise what I am, what I can do. Two bolt down the alleyway past me, I ignore them. With feigned disinterest I look down at the bloodied heap that they were beating into, then back at the remaining three. I am in such a mood for a fight, I pray to the goddess that they are stupid.

A wicked smile flits across my lips as one of the remaining three draws a gun. The other two stand in confusion. With an ease born of years of training I grab hold of the mans mind and point the gun at his associates.

Two shots fill the night air. His face fills with disbelief as he stares at his dead friends. They are not dead. Merely an illusion and a twist on their minds to make them lose consciousness yet the terror on his face tells me he will think twice before beating another. "No," he whimpers, "goddess no."

"Too late for prayers," I laugh coldly. He is man. He is nothing more than an animal. He is worse than an animal. Animals do not take pleasure in murdering their own kind for fun. They do not beat or rape them.

He points the gun to his own head. I see the terror in his eyes. I am woman. I do not kill. But he thinks I will. He is a fool as all men are. I nudge his mind and he collapses to the ground unconscious. I feel better already. His pain itself is not pleasurable for me. The knowledge that justice has been served is. I offer a prayer to the night for the redemption of mankind then my eyes flicker to the body again.

Another soft whimper of pain. I feel his pain echoing in the back of my mind just I felt the pain of the three that are now unconscious, yet somehow his is more potent, reverberating within my being, crying out to be heard. I turn to leave him there. He is man. There is no hope for man. He opens his violet eyes and stares at me, nothing but acceptance of his fate in those eyes.

I gasp in amazement as I look down upon him. Him, but she had said look for the girl with amethyst eyes. I swear as I realise she tricked me. She set me after a boy not a girl. Why? I push back the questions and look down on him. Boy, girl, at this moment in time it does not matter. I cannot carry him. I may be many things but I do not possess the brute strength of man. With a reluctant sigh I kneel beside him and touch his head.

He winces at the contact; I send a surge of life energy, my life energy, through him, healing the damage as best as I can. She will kill me if I let him die. I must do this. We're both weak now me from use of my powers and him from the earlier assault. I stand, offering my hand to him to help him to his feet. I can't take the risk of returning to the office in my weakened state. What if I am attacked? I remember a hotel. There would be as good a place as any to spend the night.

"Come with me," I say walking in that direction. Another order not a request. He follows mutely. He is a good boy, he has obviously been taught to respect woman, not like the others. He fears me; I can sense his fear as easily as I sense all the emotions around me. I am woman. I do not care what he thinks.

I walk into the hotel, all eyes are upon me as I do so. They have not seen woman such as I here in a long time. I ask for the keys to a room and without questions they give them to me. They are as scared as the boy is of me. I do not blame them. They are man. They are weak.

A few moments later we are in the room. He is bleeding all over the carpet. I sigh knowing I should do something and yet not wanting to dirty myself with man's blood. She will kill me if I let him die. I rummage around for a first aid kit and eventually find one in the bathroom.

He is ice. He reacts with nothing but fear as I patch him up. Oh the irony how he is far more afraid of I, his saviour, then he was of those who would kill him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I try to reassure.

Disbelief. He does not answer though. He has not spoken a single word to me. His purple eyes are filled with questions he dares not offer as I sit and stare at him.

Why did she send me after him? I was told to find the purple eyed one; that I would know her when I saw her. Yet here I was looking at a young man and not the young woman that I had expected.

What did she want with him? If she had wanted an attractive piece of male flesh as an ornament then I know of hundreds more attractive than him, yet there is a certain unmistakable charm to his face. He could be barely eighteen with fine features hidden under all the bruises, thick dark lashes and a mane of dark waves. A boyish sort of innocence that some woman would find irresistible. I am not some woman however and neither is she. Besides I knew she preferred blonds and she has far more of them back home then she could ever need. She had not sent me to find her another lover.

But if not a lover than what? I continue to stare at him. His violet eyes so thoughtful, inside the agony of the world that is his mind. He seems nothing special except for those eyes; those amazing eyes that could look straight into your soul. Exhausted and hungry and he despite all my administrations he still needs to bathe.

"The shower is through there I assume you know how to use it. I'm going to call for food is there anything you want?" Eyes flare with hunger but he does not answer. "I'll get you something anyway," I sigh. Despite myself I feel drawn to him. Compelled to help him. No I want to help him. But he's male, he does not matter, and that makes my feelings all the more puzzling. "I'm here to help you not hurt you." More disbelief. I point to the bathroom again. "Trust me you will feel better once you've washed."

He doesn't trust me, but he walks to the bathroom anyway closing the door, locking it, moments later the sound of running water fills the room. I call room service and unsure of what I want I ask for a little of everything on their menu. They would not be so foolish to charge me for the request but I have the gold to pay if they did.

We eat in silence. Myself famished from the use of my powers devouring what I wish with a ravenous fury, he hungrier than I and yet only picking at the food suspiciously doing nothing more than taking the edge off of his hunger. He looks far more attractive and strangely more helpless clean. I need to get him new clothes yet I am not sure if she would appreciate me delaying my return with frivolities such as improving his appearance. I doubt she will.

I lie down to sleep that night alone, questions without answers spinning around in my mind and when finally sleep did take me it was not the dreamless rest that I wished for.

I awake with the startling knowledge that he is gone. It takes me but a moment to locate his thoughts in the hotel foyer.

Throwing on my clothes, bolting down the stairs I catch him just as he is stepping out the main doors. I yell at him to stop, turning he looks at me but he does not reply. The same fear from last night swimming in his eyes. What is he afraid of? With a numb ache I realise it is simply because I am woman.

He trusts his fellow man, his fellow rapists and murderers far more than he trusts the woman that had saved his life. Grabbing his wrist I drag him out into the street and into a cab which is waiting so conveniently for a passenger. He is far stronger than I and yet he comes willingly, lamb to the slaughter. There is no need to even touch his thoughts. I punch the destination into the control panel and we set off for the offices. There all my questions would be answered I hope.

Fear oozes from him as we step into the lobby of Headquarters. I toss my hair over my shoulder and pretend not to notice his discomfort. He has been here before. Those thoughts are undeniable and yet seldom do men set foot inside of the Sisters Headquarters and few of those have stepped out again. By the time we reach the fifth floor we are both slightly out of breath. I do not like elevators, I do not trust much technology, it is by and large pointless, a way of making life easier for those unwilling to work and so I always use stairs. On a twenty-five storey building that is sometimes a hindrance. Still her office is on the fifth floor so we have not much to worry about.

I stride down the corridor; he follows very nervously, mute as ever. I knock once on her door and not waiting for an answer step in, dragging him after me, his fear turning to utter terror. I do not understand his fear and I try not to care. That small word, try; a curse on my life. I don't understand why he effects me so. I do not care about men. I don't.

"I see you brought him," Sky murmurs from behind her desk. Blonde hair, blue clothes as immaculate as ever.

"You doubted I could?" I retort.

She laughs, a soft laugh as perfect as the rest of her being yet within a hidden danger. "I would not have asked you if I had doubted you. However I wondered how long it would take you to twig that you were in fact looking for a young man. It took nowhere near as long as I expected. Your payment will await you in your room. You may leave now."

That was it? I fume inwardly. No answers at all just the knowledge that I may leave. Anger builds inside of me. I am not nice when I get angry. "Why?" I ask, that one word summing up all my questions. I can still sense his fear beside me, though it is no longer directed at me.

She laughs again, shaking her head.

"I don't want paid I just want to know why you sent me after him." Her eyes glint at that. I had spoken the correct words, used the magic key to her secrets. I know how much she hates parting with her treasures to pay her employees.

She smiles, the cold smile of a snake, "you don't know?" a touch of genuine surprise at that knowledge.

"No, I don't know. How could I?"

"Have you looked at him?"

What does she mean look at him? "Yes of course I've looked at him," I blurt out.

She laughs again, the sound of silver bells. "I mean really looked."

I frown for a moment then bite back my comment. Turning to look at him then let my gaze drift slightly tot he other realm. Violet light explodes in my vision nearly blinding me. Blinking quickly I let my gaze return to this plane. I don't believe it, he can't be. "What are you going to do with him?" but I don't need to ask that. I already know.

"I'm going to find out how he, a man, has the powers of a woman," she replies icily.

I hear the silent, "anyway I can" from her. They were going to kill him but only after long and pain-filled experiments. The very idea disgusts me. I saved his life, spent a scant twelve hours in his company and now she wants to kill him, wipe his existence from the planet. I had given him some of my life force, like it or not we're joined now, and his emotions are singing within my mind. I can't leave him to his fate. Something else tugging at me, compulsion I do not understand, the same force that dragged me from the club at the precise moment I was needed? Who knows. I'm not going to just let him die. I can't.

"No, you are not," I reply simply, my thoughts resolved. "You're going to let us both walk out."

"Tass hun, you know I can't do that. You like him? I have dozens more pretty than he; I'll give you one, I'll give you several. We need to find out how he has powers before the men do. You know that, and anyway the needs of the many outweigh one life. If men discover his secrets we'll no longer have the advantage. There will be war."

I don't care. At this precise moment in time she is threatening his existence and I am not letting him die. "So what if I take him out of here with me?"

"Then we kill you and take him anyway. But you wouldn't be that stupid over a man." She sounds so sure of herself. Then a realisation hits me with a touch of shock; I just want to wipe that smile off of her face.

"You and whose army?" I ask with a wry grin. The boy looks amazed, but nowhere near as surprised as she does. Grabbing the moment, reaching out with my mind, my anger, I punch her.

Wow that feels good, I can almost understand mans love of violence. She goes flying off the chair, opens her mouth to say something, and suddenly I feel it. A surge of energy with such strength that I have never felt in my entire life. I don't question it; just throw it at her. Raw, uncontrolled power. It burns up my insides I feel like screaming. I don't. I can't. She lies unmoving on the floor. Dead? I don't know. I don't care.

I better get out of here before security comes. I could walk out the door. Suddenly I don't feel so lucky. If they catch me they will kill me. I don't feel like dying today. I grab hold of the boys arm and drag him over to the window. He's standing, looking utterly terrified. I unhook the rope from one of the contraptions on my belt and fasten it onto the window frame, slipping the window open.

"Hold on," I tell him as I step onto the windowsill outside. He grabs the rope, through sheer fear more than anything else. I drag him onto the ledge with me. He looks down. I can feel his terror shaking through my body. I force it aside. "I need you to grab hold of me and get us down to the ground. I will concentrate on shielding our presence from all eyes okay?"

He nods mutely. I never really expected any more of an answer yet strangely I feel disappointed when he does not speak. He grabs hold of the rope, of me, I push us off from the wall and slowly we begin our descent. I have no idea where we're going. I have no friends out with the Sisterhood, and I doubt he has any friends at all. We're quite a pair he and I.

We hit the ground, I pull on the rope and with the press of a button it returns to it's place on my belt. I look around, still concentrating on not being seen. It's easier than usual. Somehow his presence is amplifying my powers. We walk through the streets unseen. I have a small idea of where to go.

Most of womankind are members of the Sisterhood. A small niggling thought at the back of my mind tells me to find those who are not yet how I should do this but I do not know. Where in this world would there be a haven for a fallen Sister and a boy with the powers of a woman? Misfits, outcasts both of us now. I shouldn't have run. I shouldn't have... I immediately chide myself from such thoughts. There is no point spending eternity thinking of what could have or should have been. Then another thought strikes me. A fairytale they used to tell children to scare them into obedience. It seems like an eternity ago that I heard it. The Resistance, rebels, pariahs who fit in nowhere. Do they even exist? I do not know. If they do I will find them. I look at the boy whose name I do not even know and correct that thought. We will find them.

It's a world within a world or so they say yet they are as wrong as they are right? Do you believe in the gods? Yes I use the plural term and have no qualms about it. Well perhaps gods is the wrong expression. She is The Net and she is as sentient as she is alive. The fact that most of mankind would argue that she is but their creation and could be neither of these two would seem to contradict me.

In her realm she is omnipotent. She controls all that is connected to computers, all that is electrical and in that, seeing as nowadays there are very few things which are not, she is all powerful. Not that she can venture out of her realm. Not that I can either. In many ways she is my mother, though most would just call me a rogue computer program or some other understatement, that is if they knew I existed, which they don't and seeing as I only know three others like myself, all as secretive about their natures as I am, I doubt that humans will know. Since I was created by no man, or woman for that matter, I am apt to disagree with them. Like mankind itself, I came out of the chaos that was yet I am perhaps a little more chaotic than them.

Ah but I'm not here to give explanations. I know they are apt to be boring. All you really need to know is alongside the realm of earth, and the realm of spirit (oh don't ask me to explain this one, it has nothing to do with this story just trust me that the astral plane does exist), there is cyber-space. The virtual world where anything is possible.

My name's Web, well it's one of my names, but Web does as good as any of the others. I run one of the major bars in Eyedia, the largest of the virtual cities. Virtual food and drink is as good as free, information on the other hand is food for the mind and the soul and my establishment, The Mirror, always has that at hand. We also have very interesting customers. Very, very interesting. That's what I thought when I saw the Sister and the 'Mancer walk in.

She was obviously a Sister. I could see it from the way she moved, the way she looked, but most importantly how uncomfortable she seemed to be in Virtual Space. Their powers don't work here, they're all but defenceless when it comes to the magic department and since they usually use their magic to push people around they don't like being deprived of it.

She looks around edgily, very uncomfortable with her surroundings. I can't say that I blame her, if I was strapped in one of those dreadful suits she's probably in to transfer her consciousness to this place, I'd be uncomfortable too, and doubly so if I was completely powerless.

But I don't need a suit, and with a flicker of a smile, I know that he, her companion does not either.

There are three ways, officially, you can access the net. The first involves a simple monitor, keyboard, mouse and all that access. It's the slowest, most cumbersome, and least used of all the methods, but it's cheap and runs no risk of backlash. The second way is strapping yourself into a suit with sensors and a helmet which allows for more control but is still cumbersome and fairly expensive. The third involves a direct link, where you get some metal drilled into your head and some circuitry put in which allows you to tap directly in. It's fast and allows far more control than the other two. It's also the preferred method by any serious net user or so the media will tell you.

There's two other ways, that people wont tell you about. The first is a concoction of drugs, which allows your consciousness to be transferred directly here, don't ask me how, I don't know. It's not very stable though and people have a tendency to burn their minds out after a few uses. The last way however is the Technomancers. Nobody believes in the Technomancers. But if they did believe in the 'Mancers then they'd know that the 'Mancers can direct access the net with but a thought.

The boy with the Sister is definitely a 'Mancer. Being part of the net I can sense this. The quality of his link is just far too good to be anything else.

I brush my hair from my eyes, and saunter over. "Hello, can I help you?" I ask, flashing another dazzling smile. I address the question to the boy. I can see the sister bristle at this. She's not used to being treated as the less important one.

The boy smiles nervously back at me. The sister takes a deep breath and says, "I'm looking for some information."

I laugh, I can't help myself. That makes her angrier and it makes him smirk. "Well I didn't think you were here for a good time. It is very seldom that we get graced with the Sisterhoods presence." They both glare at me, looking shocked. I realise suddenly that that was meant to be a secret. Strange, I've never met a Sister who was not happy about being referred to as such.

She edges to the door, he follows. I almost let them go, but my curiosity is piqued and I want to know what they came here for. "If information is what you want then you've come to the right place, but perhaps we should discuss this in private," I gesture to one of the back rooms. She nods in response and we walk off there. It was that easy.

I gesture for them both to sit then sit on the table. I look over them both. "You want information, you have to pay."

"I have money," she says flatly.

I laugh again, "no not money. Money means nothing, information is my business. You tell me how a Sister," she bristles again at the word, "and a young man have come to be traversing the net together and I'll tell you what you need to know."

"I can't do that," she says bluntly.

I shrug, "I'm not going to tell the world about it. Just because I deal with information doesn't mean I go blurting it to everyone or even tell people who specifically ask. I can keep a secret. I'm just curious, and I doubt you have any other information to trade that would interest me."

"Then I'm afraid our business here is concluded."

I look at the boy, wondering if he's going to say anything. He's gazing down at the floor nervously, trying to pretend he isn't here. He's not going to speak. I sigh and turn back to the woman. "My name's Web, I'm in charge of this place," I gesture around the room, "and if I was in the business of telling all the secrets I knew, trust me, I wouldn't be in business at all. But I am, and if you ask around you wont find anyone more reputable or with as accurate information to supply. But I am not a charity, I don't give things out for free."

She seems impressed. I smile, perhaps I will find out this story after all. "I understand." She still doesn't trust me though. "How did you know I was a Sister?"

I can afford to give away this information for free I think, "you're female, the way you walk and carry yourself indicates that you're proud of that fact. The way you look around you, kind of aloof, the way you looked down at me when I walked over as if I was your inferior. Clearly Sister attitude."

She laughs, seemingly amused. "Ah yes perhaps you are right, but how did you know I was female?"

That puzzled me for a minute. Then I look her avatar up and down again. Suddenly I realise it. She's in a genderless form. How to answer this one? How did I know? I just did. Then I laugh, "you're obviously using a suit from what I can see of your connection, it's slow and simple, yet most people tend to use the programs to jazz up their av' a bit. Your avatar's plain, you obviously don't care what you look like here. That and the way you are looking around suggests a dislike for the net. Everyone knows Sisters dislike the net. Though it wasn't even that. I guess you just don't walk like a man, nor carry yourself that way so you were obviously female."

She seems satisfied with my answer. "So, you will answer my questions if I tell you about how we," she glances at her companion then back at me, "came to be here?"

"Yes."

"Well we used suits in a cafe," she smiles. I smile back, since I know that whilst she believes herself to be telling the truth the young man with her obviously isn't using the suit.

"And how did you come to be using the suits to get to the net to get information? How did you meet?"

She laughs, and then she tells me. Everything. For some reason I expected her to lie, yet my beloved sixth sense tells me she's telling the truth.

"And so you need me to tell you where the Resistance is," I smile, "or at least do something to help you out of this mess."

She nods, "yes. Can you?"

I laugh and she seems surprised, then angry. "Hey calm down," I say immediately sensing her anger. "Yeah the resistance does exist, don't worry about that. You want to get connected to them, I can do that. They wont trust you though, you'll have to tell them your story I think."

"They're not going to try and find out how he works."

I shake my head, grinning, "I doubt that." I don't bother elaborating, thankfully she doesn't ask me to.

"You come back here in a few hours, I'll give you a contact address okay?"

"Thankyou," she replies, she could have said so much more, yet those words are enough. "We'll be there." She stands and walks out, still the picture of Sister arrogance and he trails after her, flickering me a soft, secretive smile as he leaves. Somehow I have the feeling this is not going to be the last of our dealings.

Ten o'clock sharp he said, no sooner, not later. I glance at my watch for what seems like the millionth time and wait. I am a fool, I should not trust a man as I have trusted him, yet ever since meeting the violet eyed boy I find myself doing things that could be counted as completely irrational.

Leaden steps carry me towards the warehouse, dread building inside me. Attempting to force gut instinct aside, offering a silent prayer to the goddess I make my way towards the doorway, every single nerve inside screaming trap.

I am woman. I am not afraid. No man shall ever be the match for me. We have everything to gain from entering, nothing to lose. There is no real choice.

I let the door swing open and we step inside, footsteps resounding hollowly on the floor we make our way towards the lone figure in the centre of the room.

Doors slam shut behind us, the warehouse explodes in a flurry of movement, sickly green gas fills the air, the world spins as I inhale noxious fumes. Choking. Poison. Everything fades to grey.

I wake up tied up and almost scream for help. Trapped. Helpless The world spiralling around me, somersaulting back into memories.

***

I blink trying to shake off the memories. My first memories. Strange it is that I whose memories border on the photographic can remember only as far back as a year ago. Or perhaps not strange, perhaps it is a blessing in disguise that I do not know what I was before I was the prisoner. Always the prisoner and for what? They never answer that question yet I feel I already know the truth. It is because I am different.

I stare at the world not through the rose tinted glasses of dreams, but with violet eyes that see all. Through the pane of amethyst I see that which most could barely dream of. The threads of life and death and thoughts and technology and even time itself all there for me to pull on if I dare. Yet I do not dare for creatures such as myself are not meant to exist. I would call myself crazy if I could not directly see the results of but a careless thought, a careless word of mine. Such death, such destruction. I do not deserve to live, yet I fear death as much as any man or woman.

They untie me, the Resistance that Tass has spent so much time trying to find. I should feel something yet I find it so difficult to care about anything. Distant. Alone. Surely there must have been a time when I was so much more and yet I cannot remember anything but the white walls of my cage. I want answers yet I know there will not be any. I want to know why the Sisterhood wants me so badly they are willing to kill any who gets in their way. And those other voices I hear who want me just as much. Who are they and will they kill me as the Sisterhood promise? At least the Resistance is not yet aware of my significance, which is a slight surprise to me since most of the world, with the exception of myself, seems to know what it is that makes me so special.

Who am I? The question has plagued me for the past year, yet still I am no sooner in coming to an answer. I look at Tass, she's still concentrating on talking to our captors. It would probably be in my best interest to listen, and yet still I cannot break through the wall of violet glass between myself and the world.

I gulp back my anger and resign myself to glaring at the man who would have me his prisoner. I am woman. He should die for his insolence. What kind of Neanderthal is he that he would treat me this way? I reach out with my mind in an attempt to 'persuade' him to let me go then I stop. Perhaps that would not be the wisest course of action considering my situation. I glance at the boy, he whose name I still do not know and yet is the cause of all my troubles. Our troubles, I correct myself. I am not alone.

"So, you want to join our little gang," the man drawls. I continue staring at him. He seems nervous. Good.

Tense moments pass. I smile slightly. "I never said I wanted to join, I said that I need to."

He looks puzzled at the difference between the two. He obviously doesn't understand. He is only man, I should have expected no better. "Same difference," he grumbles in response. "You used to be a Sister." A statement not a question. Distrust is etched on those horrific features of his.

"Yes."

"You can join our little gang if you tell us stuff 'bout the Sisterhood."

I was expecting this. "No," I say my tone indicating I have no desire to discuss this point. "I will not betray them."

"Then you can't join."

Anger fills my heart, "you expect me to betray all that I have known just so I can join your pathetic little organisation? I am not a traitor. I keep my word. I will not betray my own to you, just as I will not betray you to the Sisterhood."

More confusion fills his face, then sudden understanding. He smiles slightly. A cold smile, that fills my heart with loathing. I do not like him. Still I do not need to like him to be able to get his help.

"How do I know you're not a Sister spy then?"

"Because I'm not." This is not going anywhere.

"I've only your word on that and frankly, I wouldn't trust a Sister, ex or otherwise as far as I could spit."

"A wise decision, still it's not going to be of much of a benefit to either of us is it? My friend and myself need somewhere we can be safe, somewhere to lie low for a while."

"And in return we get what? You wont even tell us about the Sisters."

"My powers, within reason, at your service." He ponders on that for a few moments. "I am woman," I add, "we have much at our disposal. You have probably only heard of a fraction of our abilities."

"I've met women. We have women in the Resistance. We don't need you."

"You have ex-Sisters in the Resistance?"

"Perhaps." I take that as a yes. He's no very good at being evasive.

"I am sure I could prove my use to your people."

"And what have we to guarantee that you will not betray us?"

I smile, "if I was willing to betray the Sisterhood then perhaps you might have reason to doubt my loyalty, however I'm not asking for your secrets, I just want somewhere to hide out for a while."

"I'll think about it."

I sit drinking my virtual cocktail, looking around my bar. The very image of suave sophistication. Damn I look good.

A hand touches me on the shoulder; I spin, drink flying and look up. He gazes back, violet eyes holding untold mysteries. I would remember that face if I lived to be a thousand, which being what I am is a very good possibility. "Can I help you?"

He smiles softly and gestures to the room we had our secret meeting before. I return the smile and lead him to it so we can talk in private.

He sits. I sit. We gaze across at each other, each waiting for the other to speak. After a few moments I get bored and begin, "so, what do you want to talk about."

Big shock, he doesn't answer.

"You know I don't have all day, I'm a very busy man."

He blushes softly in a way that only the 'Mancers can on the net. His eyes shine apologetically. He reaches out nervously for my hand. I let him. His touch is feather-light, I continue to look into his eyes wondering his purpose here. Then suddenly, with deep shock I know he knows what I am. It's there with the other secrets hidden in his eyes. For a moment I think of killing him. I know I can't. Anyone else perhaps I could but not him.

"You won't tell anyone will you? Please?" I can't gather the tone to make it a command, I'm begging pure and simple. The first, and hopefully last, time in my life.

His eyes speak of a favour. Such expressive violet eyes, yet perhaps it is not the eyes but the touch that lets me understand him. Blackmail, plain and simple. Yet I won't taint this transaction with those words.

"What do you want in return?"

He points to himself, eyes shining with questions.

"You want to know about yourself?"

He nods, hair falling over his features.

I smile, "well it seems only fair since you know about me, right?"

He's blushing and looking all guilty and nervous. He's not really keen on this blackmail idea yet still he needs to know something that's far more important than his morals I figure.

"I'll need a DNA sample, and some retinal scans and fingertips and things to help me since I doubt I'll be getting a name am I?"

He blushes and looks down nervously. I remove a card from my pocket and slide it across the table to him. He just stares at it. "See this guy about getting me the samples, he'll make sure I get the information." One bad point about having no meat bod' I need agents in the 'real' world to take care of stuff there. Still I'm working my way around that problem.

He smiles, his eyes telling me thank you. I slip over to the door and open it for him and he walks out. I set to work solving on the mission that he has given me.

He never needed to contact me for me to know that he had found the answers, yet still I waited to receive the call in case I was wrong. At long last I would receive answers yet I was reluctant to hear them. Perhaps in some cases ignorance was the wisest course of action. I had gone this far though; I could not back out now. Web would be suspicious that I would reveal his secret to all if I did.

I walk into his virtual office in his virtual bar, in the world of all things virtual. He's pacing, an almost human show of emotion yet he's not human.

Seeing my entrance he immediately stops his pacing and hands me a folder. "You'd be best if you read it here, don't want it falling into the wrong hands," he murmurs.

My eyes flicker down to the folder and I force myself to read it's content. The answers unfold before my eyes but I do not want to believe them.

"What's it mean?" I whimper, suddenly some of that barrier between myself and the world cracking. I am on the verge of breaking down into tears. This was not the answer to the question of who I was that I wanted. Anything but this.

He wraps his arms around me, trying to soothe my distress, murmuring I'm sorry's under his breath. So human he seems, yet he is not. Just like me.

"What's it mean?" he says repeating my question as he searches for an answer to it. "I guess it means we're even. I wont tell if you wont tell and all that."

"There are others?" the question slips out. I need to know the answer. Perhaps I can salvage something if there are others like me. If I know that I am not alone.

"There were eight from what I can gather from the records." If he says there were eight then he is right. "Three died," he pauses for a moment. "Two escaped, both during attempts of the Sisterhood to acquire them and three are still alive and imprisoned."

"Imprisoned where?"

"The Arctic Genetic Laboratories."

The words mean nothing to me. "Can we get them out?"

"I don't know. I don't know if you should." He's trying to protect me from something. I wish he would not. I can take care of myself. "If you were going to try and break them free then you would have to have some help. Talk to that Sister friend of yours, talk to The Resistance, I'm sure they'd jump at the opportunity to thumb their nose at the Society."

I don't know who the Society are. I do not ask. I do not need to know. I just need to free the others. Tass will help if I ask her too. The Resistance will too. But do I want them involved. It is so intensely private. The less people that know the better. But I will need help and I do not need to tell them everything. I will ask Tass and I will ask that Resistance friend of hers and I shall make sure no one else knows.

 Sister

The boy sits, staring out the window a mixture of fear and awe upon his face, his emotions flooding the small cabin, disturbing any chance of rest that I might have hoped for. A word or two to put him at ease might be the wisest option yet I find myself consumed with thoughts of other things.

"So explain to us again why we're doing this?" the voice of course is Brent's.

"If you do not know your mind male then who I am to tell you what it is?" I open my eyes long enough to glare at him. He actually smiles.

"So why are you doing this, woman?" he asks finally.

A good question if ever there was one and one I unfortunately don't have a real answer to. Even if I had as if I would give it to him. "My mind is my own, my motives my own."

"None of your business," he mumbles, translating my words in the slow fashion all men have.

"Exactly."

"What lunacy possessed us to try this?"

I chuckle softly, I only have one answer. Lunacy oh yes. To follow one blindly must be madness of a sort.

And I'd follow the boy to the ends of the earth if I must yet still an explanation would be nice. A reason why I'm doing this other than for him. I still don't understand it, some things are not worth questioning. If Sky taught me one thing it was that. Do not question your faith in the goddess, faith in the sisterhood. Who would have believed that one day I would be following a mere boy, one who was born male with the same conviction.

He is important, I can feel it in my bones. I need to be here, my destiny if you believe in such things, a whim if you do not.

"So what exactly is the plan?" Brent mutters, in love with the sound of his own voice as usual.

"We glide down to the North Pole, the plane should be concealed from the technology at the Laboratories. Our mutual friend disabled the worst of the tracking devices. The trouble when you rely on technology instead of your mind is that you end up lazy. It should be a breeze, I doubt they'd notice even if we landed on their roof."

"You underestimate men as usual."

I snort, "perhaps you overestimate your own kind. Even the best of the best, the so called Society was never a match for the Sisterhood."

"Then why does the Sisterhood tolerate their existence?"

"We are not barbarians. We do not wipe out all those that disagree with us."

"No you're worse, you're like snakes, you infiltrate them, convert them to your ways."

"I hardly see how that is being like a snake."

"Chameleons then. Lizards. Reptiles. Snakes. But you never answered the question. If the Society poses such a threat to the Sisterhood, why do they allow them to exist?"

"I never said that The Society posed any sort of threat."

"It's true though, it was their kind that wiped out most of the women in the first place. Everyone knows they're well on their way to unlocking the key to the human code again. They learn how to grow humans and before you know it man will no longer need woman. It's..."

Does he think we do not know? Does he think the Sisterhood is not well aware of the threat that The Society poses? "A discussion for another time. We are not here to single handedly destroy The Society."

"Why are we here then?"

"To free some friends," the boys voice lilts almost musically, barely over a whisper and yet it carries easily, disrupting the conversation as much as if he'd yelled. Violet gaze shifts from staring out the window towards both of us. "I'm sorry, I can't say anymore."

Brent nods, "Chosen," voicing the reason why he is here. Not because The Resistance sent him but because he believes in some old prophecy that the resistance tell their children. A fairytale, nothing more and yet it has had it's uses dealing with them.

The boy frowns slightly at the name The Resistance call him.

"We're here." Brent stating the obvious yet again as if we hadn't noticed the planes oh so smooth landing.

We gather our things together. It takes us minutes to exit the plane. I close my eyes and concentrate, powderpuff snow lies at our feet crunching, wind howls around our figures. Not far to go. The chill air doesn't even bite through our clothing. I think of white. I think of snow. A blanket to lay over us. Nothing but frosted emptiness, I reach for my power inside and find an ocean instead of a pool. Blue fire mingled with violet blazes in my mind. But my mind voice is only blue. The boy's powers must be boosting mine. No time to think of that now. This will be far too easy.

The short journey to the laboratories passes in a dream like mist, my concentration focussed on keeping us hidden from human eyes. The boy assured us the technological security would be taken care of. I trust him. I don't trust Web. Still it is a chance we will have to take.

The way things were going we could have probably walked in through the front door and not been noticed yet even Brent was not that cocky, we approached from the rear of the building. The Goddess was with us, one of the windows was most definitely ajar. Without a thought I unhooked my line-rope from my belt and whirled it upwards.

"Stupid..." Brent began to curse. I ignored him. The Goddess was with us. I could not sense anyone within the room above. A light tug on the line to ensure it was secured, a touch to my belt, I scaled the wall with the ease of one of those sucker-footed reptiles he is forever comparing me to.

The room is an office, like any other, it could almost be one of those we have back at the Sisterhood.

"Tass," a muted whisper from below. I send the line down for them, allow the men to clamber up the side. I close my eyes reaching for the well of power within, trying to resist the urge to swim within my new found power and send tendrils through the building.

The world reels, my stomach wrenches.

"Tass," soft hand steadying on my eyes, I thank the goddess those eyes are the boys and not Brents. I would not have that man see me in my moment of weakness. "It'll be okay, we'll help them."

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. I know the way though, the way to avoid the guards too. Strange that there are so few. Almost as if someone were expecting us. A strange sense of foreboding fills me that I try to push aside. I cannot be weak now.

I turn the door handle to escape the room. "It's locked," I say softly.

Brent pulls out his gun and points it in my direction. Instincts take over, I roll to the side, he shoots, the lock shatters into a thousand pieces.

"The guards," I protest.

"Thought you could keep them away," he shrugs, holstering the gun again before striding out into the corridor not a care in the world for that small thing called caution. "So which way is it?"

Not answering his question in words I stride down the corridors towards the labs. They follow. No guards. Something's wrong. It couldn't be this easy could it? No, we're good, I'm woman, the goddess smiles on us.

There it is, the door, the answer to questions behind it. The screams echo louder in my mind, I try and force them out, regain my composure. Brent reaches out to touch the handle, the boy standing beside, his face a mask of conflicting emotions.

The door is opened, a tidal wave of agony released, the world spins, I grit my teeth forcing it to focus, closing my mind to all around me. Cages beyond cages lie before us, twisted bodies of pain stretched out within. Screaming to the high heavens, I can't quiet him, the boy. He'll call the guards. Need to flee, need to get out but already he's stepping into the room on some sort of mission. We can't free them, we can't. Hopeless. Useless.

Even over the pain He oozes smug arrogance. Their pain, not His, does He even know the meaning of the word. Tall dark and handsome, a cliche if ever there was one. He's perfect. Too perfect.

Brent spins, gun in hand. The creature - not man - raises a hand and the gun flies into the air. He catches it and chuckles, a dark dark laugh that chills me to my bones even more than the mental screams of all his captives. Make it stop. Make it stop.

And like that He does. Shots fire. The agony stops. Dead. All dead. He laughs darker still. Emptiness consumes me.

A game to Him, it's all a game. His own amusement. They mean... meant nothing to him. Playthings.

"That's much better," He announces, His voice warm thick honey, eerily caressing.

I stare I can't help it, enraptured by His serpents gaze. Gold eyes set in a face all too perfect. He killed them. Killed them all without a thought. He'll kill us unless we get their first. "What are you?" the words slip out unbidden, strange to taste.

"What are you?" I repeat, anger beginning to burn inside, the power beginning to course through my veins.

"What are you?" He echoes my words with a mocking laugh.

"Nothing. No one." The words slip out as if scripted. How true though. Nothing, no one. Like they, the prisoners were.

"Then I would be the devil himself," He retorts, His tone lacking anything resembling sincerity. He's playing with us, with me, it's all just a game.

"What are you going to do with us?" another line of questioning. Keep him busy. Maybe Tass will think of something to do. She has to. We need to escape. We can't die now. We can't.

"I don't know," He replies sounding genuinely perplexed, "I think perhaps I'm..."

I blink back the vision, "NO!!!" I scream, desperation fear, "you're not putting me back, no."

"Perhaps," He grins.

He can't. No!!! Not me. Not the others. My fault. All my fault. We need a distraction, the power surges, I dive for him. A noise: the gun? The world explodes into crimson agony.

"NO," I scream, tugging against him, "we must save the boy." Yet even as the words escape my lips my feet are pounding on the ground next to Brent's, fleeing for my life. Every stride away the boys life force ebbs away. Go back. Save him. I can't.

The flight blurs, and soon we're out on the snow. Eerie quiet surrounds us as we make the hurried journey to our aircraft. How could we have escaped so easily? They must have let us. Why? Who was that man? So many questions. I will avenge his death. I will. I must.

He sits in front of me like before, as if nothing has changed. I smile at him. He doesn’t seem confused in the slightest about what has happened, but I can sense underneath the cool exterior he is full of questions. Questions I might as well answer.

"I’m alive," he murmurs softly.

I almost burst out laughing, instead I settle with a smile, "technically, though I’m sure most would disagree. Your body’s well and truly dead I guess."

"Then how?"

"I don’t have a clue, but you’re like me now, only you’re not. There’s something more, something alive. You’re not quite a computer program, you’re not quite a spirit, something in between."

"I don’t understand."

"Trust me, neither do I."

"Then how do you know?"

"I see, I feel things most people can’t. I can’t really say anything else."

"Who was he?"

I only know of one ‘he’ the boy could be referring to. I grin, I know the answer to this one as well, well kind of, "you know there are three planes, this one, the physical realm and the astral, spirit one?"

"No I didn’t."

"Well take my word for it there is. Most people come from the first, me I come from the second and he, I figure, comes from the third. A spirit, and elemental, something like that. Most of them can’t cross over to this one. He’s obviously very powerful so he can."

"Kind of like a demon,"

"I don’t believe in demons, but if I did then yeah, kind of like a demon."

"I don’t have a clue, but I guess we can always find out?"

I laugh at the stupidity of his question, "I have my ways though I think perhaps a little help from those two friends of yours wouldn’t go amiss."

He nods in response and suddenly I realise that despite the fact we’ve just had a full conversation he hasn’t spoken a word. Weird, I really need some answers I think. "Hey kid you got a name yet?"

Did I expect an answer? Well I was kind of hoping for one. He just smiles mysteriously at me in response. I guess that’s another mystery I’m going to have to wait for an answer to. Still I’m as good as immortal, I have all the time in the world.