Ann scrunched her face up, this had to work. Taking a deep breath she gazed at her appearance for a moment before exhaling. She has 16 and it appeared to have finally stopped.
"Sixteen," she said softly. "Okay, I can deal with that." Loooking at herself, Ann beheld a 16 year old girl dressed in a very ill fitting business suit. Ann's face had rounded, appearing more innocent while her blond hair fell to her shoulders. As she studied her clothing she could see that her suit jacket and blouse were definitely baggy, her bra at least a cup size too big.
Ann's skirt now sagged on her narrower hips, the teen forced to hitch them up to keep them from sliding off. Thankfully the length had remained the same, meaning Ann hadn't gotten shorter. As she looked at her nylons though she frowned. The sheer material sagged and bunched on her obviously skinny legs. Ann hated how thin they made her teenage legs look, quickly pulling them off and standing barefoot in her office. "Guess this will do for now," she sighed. As she now walked back to her desk, she was surprised how ticklish her feet were as she walked across the carpet.
Taking a deep breath, Ann now looked at her computer. Thankfully most of her work was done, meaning she could relax for now. The only question was what to do? Clicking on her computer, Ann now began to web surf. At first the teen focused on news articles and other interests. Those quickly changed as the teen got bored.
Ann now found her way to a music channel, she was bored and frustrated maybe some music would help her relax. Ann's eyes went wide as she made her way towards the rock section as she noticed one of her favorite bands. "Oh sweet Nosferatu!"
Clicking on the band, Ann now leaned back, turning the music up as she placed her feet on the desk. "These guys rock," she thought as she tapped her foot. Gazing at her toes, she frowned. No nail polish, maybe she could do something creative? Paint them black or blue or something that would suit her tastes.
As the music played Ann began to grow thirsty, reaching into her mini fridge she frowned as she looked at the bottle water. "Dang it don't I have any soda?" Ann now squealed as she noticed a lone can of Coke in the back. Grabbing it she quickly cracked it taking a long sip as she returned to her lounging position.
"When Jackie's done we should go out," Ann thought. "Really need to do something with my hair. It could use some color? Also these clothes are like so bleh. So need to go shopping."
"Ms. O'Toole?"
Ann frowned as she looked at her intercom. "Ugh what is it Megan?"
"Your music is a bit loud Ann," Megan stated. Ann felt her face go red in anger. What was it with grown ups and loud music. Didn't they know what it was like to be young, weren't they teenagers once.
"Ann check your desk drawer," Megan stated. Ann rolled her eyes, fine she would check it if it would keep Megan from bugging her. As she opened the drawer she noticed a note in her handwriting. She didn't remember writing this. As she read it her eyes went wide.
Remember Ann, your an adult.
Ann blinked, seeming to come out of a haze. Her mind had slipped, she had believed herself to be a 16 year old girl again. Looking at the soda before looking at her computer, she sighed as she lowered the volume. "Thanks Megan," she said as she hit the intercom. "Slipped for a moment. When you get the opportunity just check on me in case it happens again."
"No problem Ann," Megan responded. Ann sighed as she blushed slightly, hopefully Jackie and Stephanie were doing ok. For now she would sit back and try to relax in her 16 year old body.
*******************************
Hannibal listened intently as Dominique talked with Stephanie and Jackie. The vampire was interested in the supposed research the firm was doing as was his master.
Following the war, Miro had come across Selene. The former lich had escaped from the building, transformed into an elderly witch by the wizards. Before being turned by Miro himself, Selene explained what she was working on, military grade battle suits capable of neutralizing magic. Now Hannibal was tasked with finding out as much as he could about these suits.
As the quartet made their way down to the research level Hannibal observed Stephanie and Jackie's reactions.
Vampires had an ability, one few practiced and even fewer had mastered. Since they fed on blood, they could sense the heart beat of their prey, their blood pressure, the quickening of their pulse, even the subtle changes in the chemical balances fo their bodies. Hannibal had mastered this technique, the hulking vampire could smell and hear the quickening of the women's pulses, the changes in their body chemistry. These two knew something.
As Dominique now pressed Stephanie about what happened to the refurbished research level, Hannibal sensed a quickening in the womans heart rate. She had been here when the accident happened. Perhaps it was her who had destroyed whatever the company had been working on.
Hannibal listened as Stephanie stuck with the company line about an industrial accident. The vampire of course could hear her heart beat, she was lying. Unfortunately the next question dashed an hopes of retrieving the projects the company had worked on.
Stephanie stated that all of the projects the company had been working on had been destroyed. Much to the vampires chagrin he was able to determine Stephanie was not lying. Their was no change in her heart rate, no change in her body chemistry. The woman was telling the truth, the project the vampires desired was gone. Any and all work lost in the explosion.
As Dominique and Stephanie now exchanged pleasantries and information Hannibal simply nodded. While the original item the vampires wanted was gone, there was still money to be made from a joint venture with the company. Miro maybe disappointed with the loss of the suits but the funding that could be made could be used to help the vampire nation. As Dominique and Hannibal made their way to the underground parking garage, he looked forward to telling his master what he had learned.