Note: This story uses background and concepts from the Teenagers From Outer Space role-playing game, Copyright and Trademarked R. Talsorian Games, Inc. The characters and story are Copyright 2002 Rodford Edmiston Smith.
"And that's when we turned her off," Hub finished, as he morosely spooned Jell-O into his mouth. "Good thing we had the clock speed turned all the way down. She was halfway to the door before I could hit the button."
"That is just bizarre," sighed Freddy, morosely picking at his own food.
"I warned you about that android," said Ramet, fervently. "I think I'll leave before you turn her on again."
"It's dangerous enough that you'd leave the school?" said Bl'fff.
"I mean leave the planet."
"Y'know," said Jim, thoughtfully, "this pretty much proves that there's something weird about Freddy's attraction to this guy."
"Old news," muttered Freddy.
"No, I mean that it has to be something pretty compulsive, or it wouldn't have affected the android that way."
"He has a point," said Hub, thoughtfully. "So, we need to find out what's wrong with Freddy and fix that, before we can turn Yubi on again."
"'Yubi'? asked Jim.
"UB; stands for 'Ultimate Babysitter,'" Hub explained.
"Okay, why are you building an android babysitter?" Jim countered. "Most kids our age don't like babysitters. Think they're redundant, and an impediment to our burgeoning independence."
"Well, that's just following tradition," said the big guy. "The unit was originally intended to be a completely trustworthy and capable babysitter. The basic design is very flexible; even without special programming Model 307-L can do things like substitute teach."
"So what's the big deal about building it?" Jim was quite puzzled.
"I've told you," muttered Ramet. "It destroys civilizations."
"One little android?!"
"Yes," was Ramet's firm reply. "One little android."
"The model has been used successfully," insisted Hub. "The disasters were caused by incomplete programming. Some builders didn't teach her when to stop. So she just kept going until she had babysat the whole planet into submission."
"Okay, can we get back to me?" asked Freddy, impatiently. "I'm the one who A) keeps changing gender, B) is falling in love with an alien prince when I'm a girl and C) have a date with said alien prince, as well as Karen, at the dance this Saturday."
"I've got it!" Said Bl'fff, excitedly. "Freddy, you go triplicate, change one of you to a girl. Then the she-you dates Huron, one of the male yous dates Karen and the other male you is a spare!"
They stared at him for a long moment of stunned silence. Then began shaking their heads.
"And what happens when Karen sees she-Freddy at the dance with Huron?" asked Ramet.
"Wouldn't work anyway," said Freddy. "Even if I could hold it that long. When I'm in three parts I'm still one person. Changing one of me wouldn't work unless it changed all of me."
"Oh." Bl'fff shrugged two pairs of shoulders and went back to sucking up his pre-liquefied food.
"And just how did you find this out?" snickered Ramet.
Freddy flushed and was about to say something, when he heard Huron's voice from a nearby table. Freddy instantly flipped genders, startling both her and her tablemates.
"Quick, Hub," hissed Freddy. "You got your Boy/Girl Gun?"
He had it, indeed, since he was allowed to carry it due to his school science projects with Dr. Sumt'ang. With a smile he whipped it out and zapped Freddy. His smile faded when he notice Freddy continued to fill out her shirt in a most unmanly fashion.
"Well?" said Freddy, impatiently.
Hub tried again. With the same result.
"What the hey..." the big rhino-whale type guy muttered.
He opened a small compartment on the Gun and checked something. Then he zapped Jim, who gave a yelp at being suddenly female. Hub zapped her back to him, then tried Freddy again.
"It working. You're not."
"I'm getting out of here before he sees me," muttered Freddy.
"You, leaving without finishing your lunch?" said Ramet, smirking. "You must be desperate."
"Well, I'm close enough to finished, I can go with you," judged Hub. "Let's go to my lab."
Hub rose, and moved with Freddy to the trash cans in such a way that his bulk shielded her from Huron's gaze. Unfortunately, as they finished dumping their trays they saw that Huron had finished his lunch and was heading for the same trashcan. Freddy knew, logically, she should flee, but her currently all-girl brain refused to cooperate. Instead, she smiled dreamily up at the tall, handsome boy.
"H-hi!" she stammered.
Huron smiled in surprised delight.
"Excellent! I was hoping to see you again before Saturday. Is our date still on?"
"Oh, yes," cooed Freddy.
She impulsively held out her hand, and giggled, blushing delicately, when he kissed it.
"Until next we meet," he murmured, leaning in so close to speak in her ear that Freddy feared/hoped he'd kiss her on the lips this time.
Instead, he smiled, released her hand, turned with a graceful swirl of his cape, and walked away. Freddy sighed and stared after him, entranced, silly smile on her face, until Hub nudged her with an elbow.
"You all right?" Hub asked, as Freddy rose from the floor, more than a body length away.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm used to roughhousing, even as a girl."
"That's not what I meant," Hub countered.
"Oh." Freddy shook herself, as if trying to waken from a bad dream. "Well, no, in that respect I am very much not all right."
"That would explain why you were deliberately standing in a way which emphasized your feminine assets," said Hub, sounding both amused and bemused.
"You're kidding," was Freddy's dismayed reaction.
"Nope. You threw your shoulders back, tossed your head to arrange your hair, cocked your hips and tipped your head a bit to one side as you smiled at him. You even got those cute, multiple highlights you get in your eyes sometimes."
"I can't take much more of this," sobbed Freddy, suddenly afraid she was going to break down and cry right there in the cafeteria.
"Then let's get to the lab."
* * *
"Watch this," said Hub, playing back the recording he'd just made of Freddy being zapped.
In the display, f-Freddy was standing against one of the lab walls, scowling. Hub was only partly visible, the hand holding the Boy/Girl Gun coming in from off-camera. Hub advanced to just before the trigger was pulled, then stepped through frame by frame. Freddy shifted to male form, stayed that way for three frames, then was back to being female in the next.
"The Gun's working," he explained. "In fact, it's working on you. You're just changing back immediately, too quickly for most organic eyes to see. I had to use a special, high frame rate camera to catch this. It's that fast."
"AARRGGHH!!" was Freddy's anguished analysis.
Hub absently drummed his peg-like fingers on the work bench, causing vibrations which registered at the two nearest seismograph stations.
"I suggest you go see the Nurse," he announced, finally. "This isn't an equipment problem; it's something biological or psychological. I'm only fair with biology, and poor with psychology."
"I'm gonna change clothes, first," sighed Freddy. "This boy shirt is rubbing my nip... uh, sensitive parts."
"It does look rather uncomfortably tight," Hub judged.
Unfortunately, just about then the end-of-period bell rang. With another groan Freddy hurried off to the girls' locker room.
"What, you here, again?" one of the girls teased.
"Be nice to me. I'm having a hard time."
Freddy opened her locker, and proceeded strip naked except for her socks (no way was she going to wear hose, and she shaved for cheerleader practice, anyway, so she didn't need them), draping her boy clothes over a bench. Panties and bra went on first, then a nice white top with lace trim, followed by a modest plaid skirt. Then her shoes.
"That's convenient, being able to wear the same shoes," another girl commented.
"Yeah. Well, my feet are narrower as a girl, but with lace-ups that's not really a problem."
Freddy checked herself in the mirror, and nodded. She bundled her boy clothes into a gym bag and zipped it closed.
"No makeup?" asked the second girl.
"Not on your life," Freddy muttered. "Besides the fact that I don't want to look any more attractive to boys, how would it look if I changed back and had makeup on my boy face? Bad enough I have to wear it when I'm cheerleading."
"Okay, two things," said the first girl, coming over to Freddy, looking a bit peeved. "Not all girls wear heavy makeup, some boys wear makeup, and a bit of foundation and some minor touch-ups wouldn't even be noticeable, boy or girl."
"That's three things," said Freddy, rolling her eyes. "And if it wouldn't be noticeable, why bother?"
"And people say girls are bad at math," a third girl giggled. "And it can not be noticeable and still improve your appearance. Here, I'll show you..."
She and four other girls gave Freddy a quick coating, despite her vigorous protests. Freddy, being raised as a boy and taught not to fight girls, was at a serious disadvantage in such situations. "See?" she said, as they led Freddy to a mirror. Freddy, realizing the force of nature she was up against and running out of time quickly and enthusiastically agreed that she looked both wonderful and completely natural. She finished dressing and hurried to class.Freddy entered class after the bell but before the teacher started taking role. She timidly went up to the desk and quietly explained that she needed to go see the Nurse.
"What's wrong?" asked Mrs. Tessmocker.
"I'm a girl," whispered Freddy.
The teacher needed a moment to parse that, but after she did she scowled at Freddy.
"We're covering material important to the mid-semester standardized tests. You can wait until after class."
Freddy sighed and took her seat, unconsciously smoothing her skirt.
* * *
When Freddy entered the Nurse's office that worthy wasn't there. Wondering if she'd had an emergency or just a need to use the restroom, Freddy sat and waited patiently. The bell for the beginning of the next class rang, but Freddy ignored it. She'd just explain to the teacher later and hope it was all right. For now, she wanted to find out what was wrong with her and, more importantly, how to fix it.
Nearly twenty minutes after Freddy entered, the Nurse returned, looking worried, harried and exasperated.
"There you are! Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"
"I did tell..."
"Never mind that," she huffed, moving to sit at her desk. She showed Freddy the portable display she was carrying. "The results of your tests came in. It doesn't look good."
"It doesn't?" squeaked Freddy, nervously playing with the end of a strand of her short, blond hair.
"You have been given an implanted compulsion," said the Nurse. "The only way to get rid of it is to fulfill its conditions."
"What conditions?!"
"You have to marry Huron, love him as a wife and bear his children."
End Part Twenty
This story is Copyright 2002 Rodford Edmiston Smith. Anyone wishing to reprint or repost it must have permission from the author, who can be reached at: stickmaker@usa.net