Fight Like a Girl Read online

  Once again I was powerless as Casey jabbed an even bigger needle in my neck that...

  Chapter 10

  Back

  My eyes fluttered open. Casey was sitting right near me.

  "Please don't...WAIT! What happened to my voice?!"

  "You’re really back," Casey whispered as she brushed something out of my face. Long blonde hair?

  "What's going on with…boobs?" I gasped as I got up and saw my t-shirt was now loose all over, except up top. When I moved, I felt this massive weight on my chest move as blonde hair fell in my face again. I looked even further down and saw my jeans were also baggy. "I'm a…a...girl? How is that..."

  I ceased to speak as I felt her lips on mine. I've never once kissed a girl in my life. This, was well worth the wait. We were lip-locked for a while as I felt her hand softly caress my cheek and playfully brush my hair out of my face. Glad she wasn’t pulling it

  "You're a moron for almost throwing all of this..."

  "I'm sorry. I swear if I knew we were together I never would have..."

  "No! No!" she yelled as she backed away from me and opened the van door. Hey!"

  "What is it?!" Mr. Brigs asked as he came back in the van and quickly put out a cigarette. "Yes. I've been meaning to quit. No judgments. I've just been under a lot of...oh good. Stevie transformed a few minutes earlier than I anticipated.”

  "We got a problem," Casey muttered as she gave Mr. Brigs a hard look while I was silently freaking out. Why the hell am I a girl?!

  "What’s the problem, Casey? Stevie looks..."

  "She doesn't remember anything."

  Chapter 11

  Scan

  "Is this going to turn me back?! Please, just tell me why I’m a girl?!” I yelled, but it didn’t seem to phase them. I was strapped into a seat and had this metal helmet fastened to my head. I felt these tiny needles digging into me. I just want this nightmare to…

  "Just keep still," Mr. Brigs said as he hooked the wire from the helmet to the laptop. "Scanning is almost...there. Done."

  "Can I take this off my..."

  "No!" Casey and Mr. Brigs both shouted at me as they crowded around his laptop.

  "Well?" Casey grumbled as Mr. Brigs started typing.

  "My clinical diagnosis is...I have no clue," Mr. Brigs mumbled as he moved away from his laptop. "I think I need a smoke."

  "Can someone please tell me why I'm a girl?!" I screamed. At this point, I didn't care what else they'd do to me. I just wanted answers. Mr. Brigs was about to jump out of the van, but instead turned around and came over to me.

  "You, my dear are what we in the covert government science department refer to as an anomaly," he said as he removed my helmet. "Hundreds of thousands of mothers received those vitamin injections I told you about. You two are the product of our research."

  "So you're not um a..."

  "I can change genders like you. Yes," Casey snapped as she jumped out of the van. "So what are we doing Brigs?! How the hell are we going to meet the Cook with her like…like this?"

  "Well, her scan showed no abnormalities in the cognitive learning region.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question!” Casey barked. “Can she help me take down the Cook?”

  "Who is the Cook?" I nervously interrupted.

  Neither said a word and just looked at each other.

  Chapter 12

  Red

  "Are you done yet?" Casey grumbled while I tried to shimmy into my skintight red catsuit. It took forever just to squeeze my bottom half in.

  “Why do we have to wear these outfits?!” I grumbled.

  “Trust me, you’ll thank me when you’re fighting. Let’s go.”

  “I’m doing the best I can,” I muttered as I smoothed out the material that hugged my new curves. I looked down and couldn't get over it. This was me now, and I seemed to be sorta okay with it. Maybe my subconscious mind is starting to remember this part of my life. “Wow?”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Just staring at my butt.” It looks so cute. Amazing. I even gave it a little wiggle to…

  "Seriously Stevie?! C’mon!”

  "Hello! First time being a woman here. Well at least the first time I remember being a woman," I muttered as I attempted to pull the skintight material over my rather large chest. As I finally got my arm through the sleeve, I walked out of the bushes doing some lunges. I bet Pete would love to see me in...wait. Why am I thinking about him right...

  "Hey, Super Stevie, your suit is on backwards."

  "Are you serious? It took me forever to..."

  "I'm kidding. Let me zipper you up," she said as she walked over. I glanced in my phone mirror and saw myself for the first time. I’m beautiful. Well, beautiful and fierce. Casey had done me up a bit. I had this wet look for my hair and eyeshadow all around my eyes. She even added a bit of color to my full lips. I looked like those models I’d see on…”Move in a bit more.

  I felt her hand brush against my lower back and then slowly zipper me up. As she did, I could tell she was upset.

  "You used to call me Super Stevie?”

  "Do you remember?"

  “No. But I do remember this,” I whispered as I turned around and we kissed again. I wasn’t lying. Something felt familiar being so close to her. Feeling my hands run through her hair, caressing her cheek and…

  “Stop,” Casey muttered as she backed away and wiped a tear from her eye

  "I'm sorry I ruined whatever you two had,” I whispered as I took her hand, but Casey pulled away again. Now she had this look of zero emotion as she pulled her hair back. "C'mon, let's go catch the Cook."

  Chapter 13

  Boot

  From the outside, the bar looked like this run down old shack. Motorcycles were lined up in the parking lot. The weathered wooden door was half open. From what I could see, lots of big, burly guys were inside consuming beer and doing shots.

  "ID?" the guy at the door growled as he stared at us. He was this muscle-head in a leather jacket and towered over us. His head was completely shaved, and his arms were covered in tattoos.

  "This sucks," Casey muttered—completely ignoring the man's request.

  "What?"

  "Well if you didn't have amnesia you'd remember we used to fight over who’d get to do this, Stevie."

  "Do what?"

  "Are you chicks gonna give me your...aaahh!" the bouncer screamed as Casey kicked him in the knee and he went down like a stone. He tried to hobble up, but Casey kicked him right in the face with her boot. He was knocked right out.

  "That answer your question, Stevie?"

  Chapter 14

  Cook

  Casey kicked the door open, which smacked one of the guys lunging at us. Before he could move, Casey grabbed the goon and tossed him into a table full of guys. She is so...

  "Casey, watch out!" I yelled as I grabbed a guy with a knife about to stab her. I thought I was going to pry him off, but instead, I slammed him into the wall and kicked him in the side, which knocked him right out. Whoa.

  "That’s my girl," Casey cooed as she reverse-punched a guy sneaking up on her. Like the others, he fell right down. "Gentlemen, and I use that term loosely. We are looking for the Cook! So to avoid any more butt-kicking, just step forward so we can have a nice peaceful chat."

  “How about you sit on my...aaaahhhh!" the muscle-head screamed in pain as Casey grabbed the guy’s hand and twisted it back. "You gonna keep cracking jokes or hand over the Cook?"

  “Owwwww! I don’t know him. Swear!" the guy shrieked.

  "C'mon guys, I can do this all...Stevie! Back door!"

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a guy sprint out the back. I ran right after him. How I could run in these superhero-like boots amazed me. I kicked the back door open, but I couldn’t see where he…

  CLICK!

  I heard the gun cock back and felt the barrel pressed firmly against my head.

  "Just leave me the hell alone. I don’t know...aaaah!"
>
  I swung around and saw the guy being slammed hard against the wall, courtesy of Casey.

  "You’re welcome," Casey snapped at me as she flipped the guy over. "Hi, Cook! Got a name for us?"

  The man said nothing, so Casey responded by pressing her forearm into his neck. His face turned bright red.

  "You're wasting your time, I ain't saying...aaaaahhh!" the Cook screamed as Casey shoved what looked like an antenna with mini spikes in his forehead. She then took out her phone and pushed some app that made the antenna glow.

  "Brigs! I'm ready!" Suddenly the antenna started glowing even brighter. The Cook now had this incredible look of pain. After a few seconds, he passed right out. Casey then pulled the bloody antenna out of his head and helped me up.

  “What the hell just happened?”

  "What happened is we got the name, Stevie. Let's go!"

  Chapter 15

  Classified

  "So you can pop into people's minds with that device?" I asked. I was back in the van. Thankfully, I wasn’t strapped in the seat. As I moved, it felt so weird, but oddly comfortable to be wearing an outfit that conformed to my very tone, female body.

  "Yes, Stephen. That's how I paid a visit to you in class and how we got the name from the Cook," Mr. Brigs muttered as he took a drink from a canister that didn't smell like water.

  “So every time I’d go on these missions you’d make my parents forget?”

  “No comment,” Brigs muttered as he took a generous sip.

  "So who is this mystery person the Cook gave up?"

  "That’s classified. For team members only," Casey snapped as she handed the antenna device to Brigs while barely making eye contact with me.

  "But you saw how I kicked butt in the..."

  "Two more times," Mr. Brigs interrupted. He now had this somber look.

  "Excuse me?" Brigs just responded by turning his laptop towards me. On the screen was my body scan.

  "Casey's adrenal glands naturally produce a chemical that allows her to transform into her female alter ego. You used to be able to produce this chemical Stevie. But now..."

  "I can't?" I muttered feeling surprisingly choked up. Truth is I never felt so alive in my life. And now I screwed it all up. “But how am I still a woman?”

  "Your body still has a bit of this chemical coursing through you which will disappear soon.”

  "So if I can change two more times I can at least help you track…"

  "No. You are now officially relieved of your agent status. Casey, be a dear and fetch the pink solution.”

  "No. Wait. Please! Casey! Mr. Brigs! Let's talk about this. I'm sure there's something I could...ahhhhhh!"

  Chapter 16

  Real

  "Casey?!" I called out as I sat up. I was in my bedroom. Who the hell is…wait…she was in my dream. I was in a bar with her and tossing guys around like they were nothing. It seemed so real and…

  "Stevie! Breakfast!"

  Chapter 17

  Who

  I slowly walked downstairs. Dad was thumbing through the local paper while mom was dishing out eggs on my plate. It looked like any other morning, but they were part of my dream that seemed so real and...

  “Hey, look who decided to join us this morning,” my dad cheerfully called out as I took a seat. Mom immediately placed a full glass of orange juice in front of me. “So are you all prepared for that big test in…”

  "Mr. Brigs!" I blurted out. Dad stopped talking as my mom shot me an odd glance. So it wasn’t a dream. They know him and…

  "Who's Mr. Brigs?' He a new teacher?" dad asked and then went back to looking at the paper.

  "If he's the gym teacher you should tell him you can’t…”

  "Mr. Brigs! You don't know him?"

  "Does his wife belong to the PTA?" my mom asked as she got out her napkin. "You got a spot on your face, Stevie. Here, let me…”

  "Mom, seriously?”

  "He's a grown boy, Margie. If he wants to go to school dirty, then let him do that.”

  Chapter 18

  Locker

  Eventually, dreams fade away—no matter how real they seem. By the end of the week, mine was beginning to slip from my...

  "Hey, you didn’t forget about t-t-tonight. Right?" Pete called out as caught up with me walking to class.

  "Of course not. We'll pick up pizzas at Little Vincent's tonight. I just have to get the video game first. Prepare to have your zombie body be blown to birthday bits."

  "Birthday bits? What the hell d-d-does that..."

  "Move it, f-f-freak!" Ryan teased as he shoved us both while walking with his football goon friends. That's it.

  "Hey!" I yelled which caused him to stop in his tracks and turn around.

  “Stevie. What the hell are you doing?” Pete whispered. I just ignored him.

  "Yeah Blubber?!" Ryan shouted which caused every student to be silent and focus on us. "Got a problem?"

  "Yeah. It's Pete's birthday today. Why don't you give him a break?!” I shot back. What the hell has gotten into me? Since when do I...

  "Oh, I'm so sorry P-P-Petey. Happy b-b-birthday b-b-bud!" Ryan mockingly said as he slapped his back. “That good enough for you Blubber?!"

  I tried to move, but Ryan shoved me into the locker, hard.

  "Dude, we're gonna be late for..."

  "Trust me, Todd, this won't take long. One hit and he'll be crying all the way home," Ryan said as he pulled back his arm, raised his fist and…

  SLAM!

  Ryan's fist hit the metal locker, which caused him to cry out in pain. I somehow dodged his punch. How the hell did I...

  "Ryan! Stephen! Get to class now!" the assistant principal yelled while walking towards us. Ryan just continued to look at me with this cold hard stare. “I mean it!”

  "No problem,” he cheerfully said to the assistant principal. Then he looked at me again. “I'll catch up with you later, Stevie.”

  He then patted me hard on my shoulder and left.

  Great. I'm a dead man.

  Chapter 19

  Followed

  "That was so amazing!" Pete yelled as we walked to the pizza place. My goal was simple. Get pizza. Hide out in Pete's basement for as long as I could. Then on Sunday, I'd beg my parents to be transferred to another school. "How the hell did you d-d-dodge the punch?"

  "I have no clue. Look, let's just order as fast as we can so we don't have to deal with those football psychos," I muttered as we walked into the pizza place. "What do you want? Meatball? Pepperoni?"

  "B-B-Both. Oh, and don't forget the..." Pete immediately stopped talking and had this look of horror. I turned around just in time to see Ryan and his football and lacrosse friends get out of his car. They followed us? This isn't good. "What are we gonna d-d-do?”

  I just stood there frozen as Ryan, and his gang walked in. I knew they weren't going to do anything in here. But once we stepped outside it'd be a different story.

  "What are the odds?" Ryan called out as he walked towards us with his buddies close behind. "Blubber and P-P-Pete."

  "Look, Ryan, I'm sorry about before."

  "Oh, now you're sorry. Before you were a big man. And now you're just a baby," he said as he gave me a shove.

  "Guys. Take it outside!" Vincent yelled from behind the counter. Not what I wanted to hear.

  "You want that Blubber?" Ryan yelled as he shoved me again. "You want to take it outside? Do you? Answer me! Say something!"

  "I...duck!"

  SMASH!

  Chapter 20

  Syringe

  I managed to push Pete and Ryan to the ground just as something came smashing through the window. I looked and saw these muscle-heads standing right in front of me. The same psychos from the bar in my dream I had fought with…

  "This is the one?!" the bigger guy barked. "He don't look like the girl who..."

  "Just grab him," the other one yelled as they both lunged at me. Without thinking, I ducked down and slid away. I then swung around and s
aw Pete being attacked by another guy. I tried to reach him, but another goon grabbed me and pressed a knife against my neck.