She finished up, hitting the stop button on the treadmill and slowly stepping down from it, feeling much better. More in control. She'd never liked working out before, and her face crumpled a little as she looked back at the equipment in the room. She had always forced herself to go to the gym because she had nightmares of gaining inches. Now, it seemed to be giving her a strange sense of confidence. She wondered where it was coming from. It wasn't the first time she'd had a feeling that she wasn't familiar with. Was it a side effect of the trauma she'd experienced? She'd have to ask Kaspar. He would probably know. He was really smart that way.

She made her way back to her new bedroom and smiled when she saw the packages on the bed. She walked over and peered inside them, looking at the clothes that he'd purchased for her. There were a couple of babydoll t-shirts with various strange sayings on them, as well as several pairs of jeans in different sizes, some of them with gaping holes in them. Where the hell did he go? She asked herself as she picked up one of the shirts, a crimson colored shirt with what looked like a black kitten with devil's horns and a forked tail on it. She sighed and dug through the bag, looking for a dress, hoping that he had at least bought her one.

The clothes looked used, but clean, and she wrinkled her nose a little as she pulled out a repulsive looking tartan dress with huge safety pins down the side. She ground her teeth tossed it aside. Not bloody likely, she thought to herself as she began working at pulling a pair of the jeans on. She was appalled to find out that she was now a size ten. She quickly pulled the shirt with the kitten over her head, managing not to rip it in the process, and began placing the rest of the clothing in the chest of drawers provided for her. Padding over from the dresser, she turned to look out the window, enjoying the feel of the sun on her face as she spotted a black squirrel hopping through the grass. She watched as it leapt up in the air, apparently spooked by something it had found in the grass, then giggled as it raced up a tree. 

The yard was large and meticulously manicured. Definitely a good location for a house of this kind. She wanted to go outside and walk in the sun, but was painfully aware that she could hardly do it looking like the Bride of Frankenstein. She didn't want to spook the neighbors. 

It would have to wait. She walked over to the bathroom adjoining the bedroom and checked her reflection out in the mirror. It was the first time in her life that she could remember having curves. Through the entire ordeal, she had glossed over the fact that both her breast size and hip size seemed to have increased dramatically. She was now a d cup, with a nicely sized backside as well. With the right clothes on, she looked downright sexy.

Where the hell did that thought come from?? Her eyes widened, as she realized that there was definitely something wrong here. Almost as if a switch had been flipped, she was horrified at her appearance. It was grotesque. She looked like one of those hideous Rubinesque women that were always frolicking with other chubby women in a pseudo-lesbian environment. She wouldn't cry.

Fucking baby. Why don't you just kill yourself and get it over with? You're obviously not going to appreciate anything in THIS lifetime. Goddamned bubbleheaded models. They're all the same...

Her jaw dropped in horror as she heard the words echo through her head. They sounded like her thoughts, but it was DEFINITELY not her. A small curl of fear coiled in her stomach as she looked back at her reflection. How could she possibly be having these thoughts about herself? Was she going crazy? She had to find Kaspar and ask him what the hell was going on.

She padded over to the door to his basement laboratory, watching his intense expression as he hurried from a whiteboard to a collection of papers on the desk before him. It was actually more like a disorganized pile of random trash. Was he always this messy? She shook her head, and quietly stepped into the room. He turned from the whiteboard and cried out as he spotted her, sending a wave of papers sliding to the floor. He then frowned and sighed loudly, his tone annoyed as he snapped, "Make a noise before you sneak up on me. Christ, you scared the shit out of me."

He tossed the papers back onto the desk and looked over at her, his expression softening a little. For the first time he noticed that he was now very aware of the fact that she was female. And actually very attractive under all the scars and green skin. The thought made him extremely uncomfortable and he turned away from her to sift thorugh his notes before asking, "I see the clothes fit. Was there something you wanted?"

Her eyes narrowed a little and she placed her hands on her hips, angry that he was being such an asshole. Her voice was sharp and clipped as she responded, "Yes, actually. Where'd you get them from? The Salvation Army? And exactly why are you being such a cock? It's not MY fault that I'm here inconveniencing you."

Her eyes widened at her own response, again wondering where the words had come from. She wasn't usually this forward with people, usually preferring to sit quietly, looking pretty while other people were being confrontational. Kaspar whirled around, seemingly as shocked at her response as she was, and his mouth worked silently, as if he couldn't find the words to answer her. He quickly mastered himself, and felt heat flush his face as he said, "One: I had no idea what size you wore. It was cheaper to pick stuff up at the Salvation Army so that I could discern your size. I was never very good with..." he waved a dismissive hand at her, continuing, "woman's things. Two: I was never very good at interpersonal communication, so you'll have to forgive me while I figure out how to talk to you without wanting to throw things at you. And THREE:" He actually deflated a little, his voice quiet as he finished, saying, "I know it's not your fault." 

He ground his teeth briefly, then added, "I'm sorry that I'm being...a cock, as you so eloquently put it."

A smug satisfaction played at the edges of her consciousness that didn't show on her face. Something inside her was happy that it had won, or that it perceived his response as a victory of some sort. She took a step back and nodded, her voice small as she said, "Thanks for the clothes. I...really appreciate it." She looked down at the floor briefly, causing Kaspar to cock his head as he looked over at her. Something weird was going on, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He tentatively asked, "What was that all about? It's almost as if you're acting like two different people."

She looked back up at him, her voice a little shaky as she answered, "I was just about to ask you the same thing." He stayed silent as she slowly made her way over to him, "I'm having...feelings that I didn't have before. I don't understand it, and it's frightening me a little." Her eyes were shimmering a little as she stood before him. "Do you think it might be part of the...process?"

He was floored. He blinked several times, then looked away to collect his thoughts for a moment before looking back down at her. His voice was cautious as he replied, "I'm not sure. You're the first..." He wanted to say experiment, "person that I've been able to revive. It doesn't sound normal, but then again, this situation is fairly fucking far from normal."

He watched as something dangerous played behind her eyes before the smoky voice from the speaker around her throat growled at him, "So. Little boy doesn't know what's going on. That's ever so helpful. Why didn't you just let me fucking die?" As soon as she said it, her hands flew up to her mouth, clamping down in horror. Her eyes glittered before returning to that same dull shine he'd grown accustomed to. There was definitely something fucked up going on here, but he'd be damned if he knew what it was.

She turned away from him and hurried back upstairs, leaving him to try to figure out what was wrong with her.

He had absolutely no idea what to say as he watched her skitter away from him. He'd expected anger from her, sure, but this was completely unexpected. There was a viciousness to her words that threw him off kilter. She had been fairly quiet and compliant up to this point and the change in personality was an interesting twist. The really distressing thing was that there was nobody that he could turn to for guidance in this matter. What he had accomplished had never been done before, at least successfully, or in a way that was recognized by the scientific community. He straightened up, positive that he could handle anything that could present iteself. He would have to.

There was no other choice at this point. He'd have to get her to a point where she was at least presentable. He had the distinct feeling that the scientific community wouldn't appreciate his accomplishment as much as they should if his experiment began cursing at them vehemently. He was hoping desperately that this was just a momentary setback.

She sat upstairs in her new accomodations, staring at the window across the room, not wanting to move. Fear roiled in her belly as she watched the clouds make their lazy way through the sky outside. What's happening to me? Her thoughts were of little comfort as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, willing herself to think of something, anything else. Anything but the cold voices and thoughts that seemed to bubble up to the surface when she least expected it. Why hadn't this happened before? Everything seemed to be going ok, or at least as ok as it could be, considering the situation she was in. Now, things were taking a really creepy turn.

She had this strange urge to walk into the bathroom and she knew it was an alien thought. Something wanted her to look at her reflection in the mirror for some reason. A shiver of fear ran up her spine as a voice echoed through her conciousness, warm and reassuring as it purred, We got started off on the wrong foot, honey. Lemme make up for it, ok? She felt the hairs at the back of her neck prickling and a strange sense of comfort began to slide through her.

She sighed, then slowly began walking towards the bathroom. The closer she got, the more relaxed she began to feel. She frowned a little before stepping over the door threshold and turning to peer into the mirror. She gasped loudly, eyes going wide as she looked into the face of a beautiful, mocha-skinned woman with long, green dreadlocks, deocrated with ornate silver and black beads woven into them. The figure appeared to be standing behind her and off to the side. The woman nodded to her with a secretive smile, her classic beauty somehow unmarred by a small, silver labret and a blue barbell in her left eyebrow. The woman was practically covered in arcane symbols that seemed to shine with a strange, pale light. 

The blond cried out, backpedaling quickly and ending up in the tub with her legs splayed in the air as she cracked her head on the ceramic surface. She winced as she sat up and probed a tender spot on the back of her head. She froze as that same voice rolled through her mind, saying, You OK? I didn't mean to startle you. You really are kinda fragile, aren't ya? A soft laughter echoed through her as she tried to sit up in the large tub. 

Her voice sounded a little high pitched as she shakily replied, "What...what do you want? What are you? What's going on?" Her pulse raced and her feet kicked at the tub as she tried to get away from the voice. 

You're gonna hurt yourself now....I'm not here to cause you harm. Or scare you. You don't have to fear me, Jenni.

That brought her up short. Up until now, she hadn't really been thinking about anything except trying to deal with the agonizing situation she was in. How did this...whatever it was, know the name her mother used to call her? She hadn't gone by that name since she was ten. She had changed it the minute she'd gotten into the modeling industry. She had ended up picking something pretentious that her agent recommended.

"How did you...?" Her voice was tentative as she sat up in the tub.

I know everything about you, Jenni. This is going to be a little hard to accept, but... the voice paused for a moment before continuing, I was assigned to help you across. When you died.

Getting her physical bearing again, she began climbing out of the bathtub, unwilling to listen to any more. She was obviously going crazy. She'd have to ignore the voice as best she could. Her eyes briefly caught the image of the woman again, this time with an annoyed yet somehow patient expression on her face, as she ran out of the bathroom. She'd have to ignore that as well. It wasn't bad enough that some opportunist had pieced her together and brought her back from the dead for no good goddamned reason, now she had to add avoiding apparitions and voices in her head to the list.

Kaspar poked his head into the room, his expression worried as he asked, "You alright? It sounded like you fell."

She quickly looked elsewhere, her tone dismissive as she answered, "I'm fine. I just fell in...the tub."

He frowned as he looked back at her. Seeing that there was no discernable damage to her, he quietly replied, "I see. If you need anything, I'm going back downstairs."

"You do that." Her voice sounded bitter and clipped as she looked back at him with angry eyes.

She was really beginning to dislike him.

She sat in down hard on the bed, an angry frown on her face as she looked over at the window. It just kept getting worse. There was nothing interesting to do in this godforsaken house, and the one thing she wanted so badly, she was unable to do. If only she could go outside. Get away from the reminders of her current state for a little bit. Surely that would help, right? She waited for a moment, wondering if the voices in her head would answer, but they remained strangely mute.

If she stayed here, she'd go crazy. She was bored, and extremely lonely. For some reason, she missed Jared. Sure, they'd only been dating for about six months, and really had nothing in common, but the security of having a boyfriend was heady, taking some of the stress out of her job. Now that she didn't have it anymore, she was feeling the loss and was unsure of what to replace it with. 

She also found herself thinking a great deal more than usual.

Most of the time, she didn't really concentrate on anything other than what shades of color looked best on her, or what pants suit showed off her bonyness to best advantage. She'd been one of the industries 'little darlings'. An 'up and coming' fresh new face, she was used to being pampered and coddled. Now she was practically being assaulted by a variety of new ideas, woes and issues. Things she really didn't want to think about. 

It hurt to think too hard.

She took a deep breath and slowly lay back on the bed, focusing her eyes on a spider that was slowly working it's way across the ceiling. She'd never had a fondness for bugs and kept an eye on it more for her own self interest than anything else. She didn't want it dropping down on her. 

It'd be so much easier if you could just go back to being little girl lost, wouldn't it?

She shivered as the voice rolled through her consciousness, closing her eyes against it. It wasn't real, after all. All she had to do was ignore it, and hope that it would go away. That her mind would stop being cruel, and playing tricks on her.

Oh please. What's so wrong with being someone that actually questions their existence? Somebody that looks for something larger than themselves, a meaning of sorts to the madness of life?

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, her face becoming an almost comical mask, contorting as she fought not to listen. 

Everybody needs to wake up sometime, girl. You just happened to do it after you died. That's when most people get the lesson, for all the good it does them afterwards. Once you're dead, the same rules don't apply anymore, so the information is somewhat useless, get it? 

She began humming loudly, an inane Back Street Boys tune that filled the room. She heard faint laughter, then the voice spoke again, 

You're in for a hard time if you keep this up. I really am only here to help you.

That was it. Whoever the voice in her head belonged to, they obviously were not going to leave her alone anytime soon, and she was getting tired of being pushed. The voice from the speaker seemed much louder than she remembered it as it rang out thorugh the room. "Help me?? By insulting me? Bullying me?"

If she was going to respond to this little figment, she might as well go all out. Her voice was sharp and angry as she continued, "I didn't ASK for this, you know!" She sat up and swung her legs stiffly around to the side of the bed, slamming her feet on the floor. "It's not MY FAULT that something killed me and placed me in the hands of some loony FREAK that has absolutely NO fashion sense whatsoEVER," Her hands were shaking as she stood up, staring at the ceiling. "And NOW, everything I've ever WORKED for is GONE!"

Oh, save it for someone who cares. The answering voice was relaxed, almost bored. You're just pissed that you're no longer surrounded by syncophants who do your thinking and feeling for you. Get OVER it, girl. You died just like everybody else does, and now you're feeling sorry for yourself because you have a second chance? Get real.

"Screw you, you soulless bitch! At least if I were still dead, things would be easier. Yeah, everybody else dies, but not everybody else gets brought BACK by some asshole who barely made it through medical school without a criminal record!" Something inside her was getting angry, bringing unbidden words to the surface again. She fairly blazed with self righteous anger at the wrong that had been done her.

Are you so sure of that? The voice chuckled softly in her thoughts and the blonde jerked back and blinked several times before asking, "Sure of what?"

Are you so certain that if you'd remained dead that things would be better? Easier?

A small doubt crept in, causing her to frown a little, her tone tentative as she asked, "Are you saying that they wouldn't be?"

You were a fairly vapid individual during your life, Miss Jenni. I'm not saying you were evil, per se, but you didn't really...learn anything. You just existed. Oh, and you treated the people around you like shit. Your assistant had a breakdown after the first month of working with you, for chrissake.

It took a moment for Jenni to absorb what she'd just heard. Was the voice right? 

You're kidding, right? She heard an audible sigh before the voice continued, it's tone becoming a little angry now, That's right, I forget that you people never see anything but that what affects *you*. Pampered little bitches that never take responsibility for their actions, or take a moment to think about anybody but themselves. Yank your head out of your ass, girl. This is life kickin' you in the ass, here, and you have the choice to either learn from it, or continue on in your same dull, whiny existence. Adversity's a bitch. Suck it up.

Jenni blinked rapidly for a moment, unsure of how to respond as she processed what the voice was saying. Her brow furrowed slightly as her frustration and anger bubbled just beneath the surface of her emotions. Her thoughts whirled as she tried to figure something coherent out. For some reason, she found herself deflating a little, hearing the words ring true as she kept repeating them in her head. Had anybody tried to tell her this before? Had anybody ever dared speak to her like this before? She tried to remember, but was unable to recall anything like it. For the most part people had either tiptoed around her, or been almost painfully flattering when she was still alive. Thinking back on it, she felt a sense of disorientation and disconnection. It didn't feel quite right.

Several associations that she had never made before clicked into place, and she found herself quickly sitting up as she came to a realization. She was growing weary of being constantly weak and fearful. It was rapidly becoming clear to her that she would have to rely on herself for things that she usually had others take care of. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

In the end, the only person you can rely on is yourself. People will always let you down, whether they mean to or not. Once you get that, it'll be easier to accept and deal with the rest. The voice was tender now, a quiet purr in the back of her thoughts.

"But, where do I go from here?" Her tone sounded very quiet and small as she wrapped her arms around her legs, wincing slightly as she looked down at her hands and arms. It was hard to get past her new appearance, and she couldn't see herself peacefully accepting it anytime soon.

You LEARN. You GROW. Evolve. Just because you seem to see yourself as a great shambling mass is no reason to stop living...instead of simply existing miserably. The 'good doctor' is going to invite you to a 'gathering' of some sort. No matter how dubious it sounds, go.

"But..."

Just go. Trust me on this. You won't be disappointed.

She could swear she heard a low, quiet chuckling as she made her way back to the exercise room. With a slight frown she steeled herself in order to endure yet another session with the dreaded treadmill.

Kaspar sat staring at the blackboard full of notes, feeling very lost. Emotion wasn't something he was used to dealing with on a regular basis, and his new houseguest seemed to be running the gamut of human emotional experience. He suspected that it might be more than just a 'women's thing' at this point. Could the other body parts have affected her somehow? There had been several movies that he remembered watching in his youth about people that had received eyes, hands and limbs from mass murderers or serial killers, with hilarious (or, in this case, disastrous if this was what was actually occuring) results. This was a tangent that he had not prepared for. It seemed fairly ridiculous, but something very odd was definitely going on.

Unable to work any further, his mind constantly drawn back to her unusual outbursts and behaviour, he sighed and ran his hands over his face, distorting his features momentarily before briefly stretching and heading back upstairs.  \

The burn in her musles was actually beginning to feel good when he walked in, hands in his pockets. He watched her warily as she turned to look at him, stabbing her finger into the stop button. She sighed and reached forward, grabbing a small white towel and began dabbing at her face. 

"Yes?"

He hesitated for a moment, almost wincing before leaning back against the wall and asking, "About these 'feelings that you didn't have before'...," he paused, incredulous that he was even asking this question, before continuing, "Would you say that they seemed like they were coming from a certain..." He shrugged as he lamely finished, "...bodypart?"

She felt her lips curl into a sharptoothed grin as her head wrapped around the words that came out of her mouth, "You must have some good shit down in that lab that you've been knocking back, doc." She laughed harshly, asking, "A certain bodypart?"

He was familiar with the sensation of discomfort, of being out of his element...but that didn't mean he liked it. His tone was a little snippier than he would've liked it to be as he grated, "I'm trying to figure out what's gone wrong with you. The least you could do is cooperate."

The green skinned woman cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowing as she asked, "Wrong? Just because I happen to have a spine now, there's something wrong with me??"

A rhythmic pounding began at the back of his head as he ground his teeth and took a deep breath. "Weren't you the one that was complaining about this abberation earlier? Oh wait, perhaps that was somebody else..." he finished, sarcasm dripping from his lips.

She laughed, an eerie wet chuckling that set the headache to pounding a little harder as she stepped down from the treadmill, her eyes glittering as she playfully growled, "You're such a little shit, Kaspar. You really have no idea what you're dealing with do you?" She paused for a moment, her grin getting wider as she added, "Jesus, what a cliche."

His eyes widened slightly as he realized that she was now having no problem maneouvering as she slowly stalked towards him, her hips swaying gently. She moved with an almost feline grace as she slid her hands over her hips and purred, "What a sick little monkey you are, dear doctor. Wanting to put your filthy little hands all over this body that's riddled with scars." Her grin was predatory as she eyed him, and he shivered slightly, beads of sweat dotting his brow. He was definitely going from discomfited to terrified at this point.

He shamed himself by making a little squeaking noise as she rushed at him, turning his head to the side as she slammed her hand into the wall beside him. He could hear the drywall crack and buckle slightly as he felt her breath hot against his ear. Her voice was a vicious whisper as she leaned into him, "I'd grind your pelvis to dust, little boy. Best put those thoughts out of your head right...fucking...now."

He was shaking like a leaf when he felt her pull away from him and he slowly ventured a look, opening one eye in a strange squint. Her entire demeanor had changed, and she was once again the little girl lost, tears streaming down her cheeks as she examined her hands and the crack she'd made in the wall. With a choked cry, she stiffened, appearing to struggle with something momentarily before dropping to the floor in a dead faint.

"Sweet zombie jesus...," he whispered, his heart hammering painfully behind his ribs, battering up against them. It took him a moment to catch his breath, angered at the realization that he was so easily intimidated. Granted, she was a scary fucking bitch when she got like this, but still. He had always prided himself on at least appearing relatively unflappable. He was disgusted with himself. He was tweaking like a bitch. Once his breath was under control, he knelt beside her, feeling for a pulse. It was faint, but detectable. He let out a long breath and ran a shaky hand through his hair.

Later, when he had her sleeping soundly on the bed in the guestroom, he collapsed onto the living room sofa, exhausted. Exactly what the fuck was going on? It was a repetitive question, but one that beared answering, so he found himself asking it over and over again. He had no idea if he would get anything resembling a reasonable answer out of her anytime soon. Well, at least not as long as that thing in her was talking through her, or whatever the hell it/she was doing. 

He was getting fairly annoyed at how much of an inconvienience this was getting to be. Granted, medical science was all to him, but this was getting a little crazy. He found himself wondering if this might've been what his ancestor had experienced and wished desperately that there had been more notes on the aftermath of the creature's birth. He grumbled to himself as he rested his head against the back of the couch, his eyes fluttering shut and forcing him to sleep.
 

He woke with a start to find her perched at the other end of the couch, her expression worried and somewhat changrined. 

"I'm...really sorry about what happened earlier. You didn't deserve that." Her voice was quiet, and sounded very small, like a little girl's.

He sat up a little straighter, clearing his throat briefly before answering. "It's ok. It's becoming fairly evident that you don't have control over...whatever happens to you."

She looked over at him, her eyes less dull and cowlike than he remembered them being. "I'm changing, Kaspar. Getting stronger. It's easier to think, and to see things that I didn't before."

"Do you think this is sort of an offset reaction to that...other person that comes out and gives me shit from time to time?"

She thought about it for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly before she answered, "It's possible."

He watched her expression cloud for a moment, tensing as he waited to be lit into again, then relaxing when she seemed to come back to herself. "It's different...but that's definitely a part of it, I think."

She met his gaze, her eyes seeming to look through him as she gave a soft sigh. "Whoever she is, she's dangerous."

Kaspar gave a harsh laugh before nodding and replying, "No shit. Do you think you might eventually be able to control her...it?"

"I have no idea." Her tone was grim as she looked past him, towards the hallway.

Not certain whether he should venture forth with the question or not, but knowing that time was growing short, he said, "I know this is a really shitty time, but there's something I need to talk to you about."

She raised an eyebrow and jerked back into sitting position, reguarding him with a look of caution. "Ok. What is it?"

He winced slightly as he shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "Well, that conference I mentioned before? It's a medical symposium. I'm a presenter. You're..well, you're the topic of discussion."

She blinked twice, slowly, then looked away from him, her voice distant as she responded, "I'll go."

He boggled momentarily, unwilling to believe that it had been that easy. He leaned towards her, his voice careful and low as he asked, "Are you sure?"

She gave him a slightly annoyed look, replying, "Yes, I'm sure."

To Be Continued