Reroll

Betty just kind of freezes, simply watching my seed slowly seep onto her seat.

Ed and I are both sitting in stunned silence.

“It's only been a day… do you have another scroll this roll?” Betty looks at me hopefully.

I consider, “No… I wasn't planning to need it.”

Ed shakes his head, “...and it doesn't matter anyway; you've died twice in the last day. Nah, I wouldn't use yours even if you had one.  We'd be in the same place shortly.”

I frown and look at him.

“The pill, maybe?” Betty looks hopeful.

Ed dashes that hope, though, “In this area?” he shakes his head, “Requires a doctor's sign off… from your regular doctor, which means signing up with one, getting records from the prior doctor, medical examinations, and a lot of other stuff. I can't imagine the fake IDs will hold up to that.”

I consider, and shake my head, “The electronic entries are there, but if they actually asked for the records, the old doctor would have to sign off on it… and I went with a doctor that still uses actual paper because few will check those records.  They don't exist past which doctor. The jig would be up if we tried that.”

“What about more hacking?” Ed suggests.

“Ooh, right, the pharmacy records are going to still be electronic!” Betty seems happy with that one.

I consider, “I'm not Intelligence based this roll….”

Betty looks crestfallen.

I continue, “...but I can work around that; I have Create Reality, and so can make customized fragile creatures that last for up to seven minutes a few times a day… and what you need shouldn't take that long.”  

Betty brightens up, “Great! Let's get on that! Now!”

I chuckle, “We'll need the computer lab again, and you should get cleaned up….”

She looks down at the seed still dripping out, “Ah… do you have Prestidigitation this time around?”

I shrug, “Close enough…” and clean her up with the Starfinder's Token Spell… which is basically just Prestidigitation with a different name.

Betty says her command word again, and her glammered full plate switches out for a short skirt, bikini top, and a pair of sandals.  Mind you, it still protects and restricts movement like full plate, but it looks and feels like she's barely wearing anything. Magic is weird.

I do something similar, mind: I create very high end Starfinder armor from shadow material, and use a cantrip to make it look like normal clothing. Mine is just a normal illusion, though, and folks can figure it out relatively easily. A lot tougher, but it won't scale further: My armor can't really be enchanted effectively, as it's temporary. Still… it is good armor, and will keep my meatsuit alive for almost three weeks without outside air, blocks a lot of radiation, and handles pressure very well too.

As we walk to school, I check the news online. There are three things I want to look up… okay, so the gang apparently exploded a portable meth lab, I cannot find a single mention of the van I wrecked, and the hospital stunt is EVERYWHERE.  I figured that one would be a little hard to suppress: About four hundred normies mysteriously healed on the same day, with a pair of angel sightings. Lots of folks are talking about it happening… most saying it’s a hoax.  Well… can't say as I blame them: I mean, I'd hardly believe a story like that myself if I hadn't done it… but there's a lot of people talking about it.  “Heh, we made the news twice….”

Ed glances at the headlines on my phone, “No, YOU made the news twice.”

Betty looks too, “They explained the boom as a meth lab explosion, huh? Yeah, what we did is barely a footnote compared to that publicity stunt at the hospital.”

I crinkle my forehead, “What publicity stunt? I just wanted to feel better about myself and these powers.”

Ed chuckles, “That may be why you did it, but… okay, so… if we - or any supernatural, really - want the Inquisition to not hunt us, we have a few options as I see it.  First, run away and hide….”

Betty shakes her head, “Tried that, our contract won't allow it.”

Ed tilts his head, “Yes, but other supernatural people could, in theory, and I'm trying to be complete.  Second, we could forcibly destroy the organization….”

My turn to shake my head, “‘Violence begets violence’, it's certainly necessary occasionally to defend one's self and others, but killing them off - if we could even manage it - would just release the actual threats they're holding back.  Much as I hate them because they're going about it in the wrong way, the work they're doing is necessary, based on Bambi's tale.  If they died, society would quickly replace them, probably with something even worse.”

Ed nods, “Indeed. And that leaves your idiot savant move: Show society at large that the supernatural folks can be the good guys.  There needs to be some follow up, of course, so I'll… need you to volunteer at more hospitals.  Preferably a children's hospital next.  One I name and announce online beforehand.”

I consider, “Won't that let them be ready to try and catch me?”

Ed grimaces, “Yes, yes it will. You'll need to be prepared for resistance: Focus on escape and harmless delay tactics: You cannot be seen as the bad guy.”

Betty’s at bat with the clue-by-four, “But Ed announcing it establishes a couple of things: One, that it's not a random one-off event. Two, that there's an intelligence behind it. Three, that Ed acts as a go-between.”

I frown, “Why is that last one important?”

Ed chuckles, “Because we’ll eventually need to negotiate, whether with the Inquisition or the people that fund them. For that, there needs to be a nice, calm way to contact us.  An UsTube account for the announcement linked to a free and anonymous ChillMail account that we only ever access from the school's wifi will do the job fine.  We don't publish the ChillMail address, so any mail we get will be their message notifications or because they got our address from UsTube.”

I consider, “Okay… I can get behind that.  We're headed there anyway; how do you want to do this, specifically?”

We go through the details of the plan - such as it is - as we walk. We pause well away from the gate, and I smile, “I got this….”

I release my animal companion… noting idly that she does not immediately revert to Tiger form; it seems the Transformation feat produces an effectively permanent effect, huh… later.

Naked, but invisible and incorporeal, I look around for the unmarked van…. there.  The controller should be inside. I walk through the wall… there he is, dark hair, pudgy, looking at four big curved monitors with a headset.  Considering, I don't just blow him up like I did the other guy.

I possess him.

I feel a tingle when I do… and watch as my… er, his, but mine for now… body twists.  My waist pinches in, my jeans feel tight as my hips spread out and tear them, and my chest does the same… not enough to tear my shirt, though. My face feels weird for a bit too.  Checking through my pockets when it's done (just a matter of seconds), I find “my” phone.  I unlock it with my fingerprint, and take a picture… ah.  I get it.  Well… maybe he'll revert when I let him go.  Or not… it doesn't matter much: These guys aren't good people, if he has consequences… sucks to be him… her… whatever, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

I look at the screens… okay, so… Guardians’ perspectives. I'm familiar with the campus… okay.  These guys are at the entrance we're after. So… well, I'm the handler… “Adam, walk to the local pizza parlor, order a king size triple cheese with pineaple, and bring it to me when it's done.” I watch the monitor long enough to confirm Adam is abandoning his post, before moving on to the next.

“Brian, go to the Kitty Kat Korner by the freeway exit, rent some space at the edge of the stage, and give each dancer three random bills from your wallet until you're out of cash.” Again, I watch to confirm he’s leaving his post.

“Carl…” I continue that way, sending Carl off to purchase a car (from a lot ten miles away), and David off to work as a lifeguard for the pool across town.

That done… I strip the idiot I'm wearing down to HER skin (in case there's recording equipment in her gear) and toss her phone and wallet into my Warp Storage so I can take a look at them later.

I then walk her out in public, and wave at Betty, Ed, and the animals, “Should be clear.”

Betty raises an eyebrow, “They had a female handler?”

I shake my head, “They didn't before, no.  Seems the ‘no brothers’ clause applies to possession, too.”

Ed considers, “Will he turn back when you leave?”

I shrug, “Don't know, don't care.  This organization is pretty evil, so if the folks working it have consequences… I'm not going to lose sleep over it.”

Betty purses her lips, “Will he remember?”

THAT gives me pause, and my thoughts race “I… don't think so? The ghost's Malevolence is based on the Magic Jar spell, which has the victim stuck in the jar.  It's… strongly implied you can't see from in there, whether you're the caster or the victim.  We… should be okay.”

Ed bites his lip, and I volunteer, “If you're worried about it, killing the host just sets me loose.”

Betty thinks for a moment, “I don't think I'm that cold.”

Ed let's out a breath, “Me neither. Well… please drop the controller off somewhere awkward and meet us in the computer lab.”

I smile, “I have just the place….” we part ways, and I head to the gym (still nude).  This time I'm visible, even though it isn't me.  My cheeks flush with embarrassment, and my middle starts heating up with each catcall.  Perfect… I walk into the men's locker room, look at three beefy guys, and say, “Mind helping me out with a fantasy?”

They fall over each other saying, “Yes.”

“Great! So I have a fantasy.  I'd like to play out a scenario where I'm cornered in the locker room and raped by some big guys.  How about it?” Yeah, I'm being evil.  But this is far less than what they have done to Bambi, so… eh.

The guys I'm looking at don't suck, though, “Ah… safeword? If it's not what you think, we'll need a way to tell if you're serious that you want us to stop.”

I consider… doesn't matter, as *I* won't be here, “Let’s go with ‘Catfish’.  Oh, and please, one of you record this… I totally want to see it online later.  Please text me the link when it's uploaded…” I give them a fictitious number, which they dutifully record.

I go into the shower, and when one of them grabs me… I release my victim, watching just long enough to confirm he doesn't turn back into a guy, and leave.