Harken warped them to a secluded place near the beach. He looked around to make sure that no one saw them materialize. Fortunately it didn't look like anybody did. Randi looked at him and said "We must be going to the beach."
"Yeah" Harken said. "I figured Stacey would be here. She's one that really needs help."
"You've thought of someone who really needs your help and has a good heart" Randi said smiling. She suddenly grew stern again and said "But you know that you can't change her in front of everyone."
"I know that" Harken said a bit peeved that Randi had to say that when he did know it. "The thing is that I don't know where she lives or when she'll be alone. I figured that if she's here we'd be able to follow her and then I can change her when she's alone."
"Thinking ahead" Randi said with another smile. "You are starting to become a true hero."
"Thanks" Harken said smiling himself.
Randi's smile vanished as she said "You still have a long way to go though."
"What more do I have to do?!" Harken asked exasperated.
"You have to find that out on your own" Randi said. "Now, let me change then we can head down to the beach." She didn't do anything but her purse, book bag, shirt, and skirt started to dematerialize while a beach bag and a white sun dress materialized in their place. There was some red marks on her dress and a cream colored smudge on the front. "Well, let's go."
"Uh... you sure you want to go down to the beach in that dress?" Harken asked.
"What's wrong with it?" Randi asked looking down at her dress. She must have seen the red marks and perhaps the smudge on the front because her eyes widened and she said "You know better than to go into my room Sammy!" There was an annoyed tone in her voice. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds she said "Hi Mom... I'm with Harken down at the beach... The reason I called is that Sammy has been in my room again and she might still be there... My white sun dress has red nail polish and foundation on it... Well I needed it to wear to the beach... Yes I'm going to clean it with my magic... I would have gone down to the beach with it looking like it does now if Harken hadn't pointed it out to me... He did pass. Didn't Petunia tell you?... I'll tell him... I love you too... Bye Mom." She hung up and put her cell phone away.
"What was that about?" Harken asked perplexed. He had thought that no one knew about Randi's magic.
"Oh my little sister was in my room and into my clothes and make-up" Randi said with a heavy sigh. "I've told her numerous times to stay out of my room. Looks like I'll have to punish her again. I think I'll turn her into my tampon this time. I'm due for my period in a couple of days."
"You can turn people into inanimate objects?" Harken asked astounded.
"Yes, and you'll be able to do that too eventually" Randi said.
"So does your whole family know about your powers?" Harken asked.
"Just my sister, mom, and dad" Randi said.
"How old is your sister?" Harken asked.
"She's eight" Randi said. "Now I need to clean this dress before anyone else sees it." She made a quick gesture and said a couple of words. The red marks and smudge disappeared from her dress.
"That's neat" Harken said.
"It's just a simple cleaning spell" Randi said. "Now let's go down to the beach." She headed down to the beach leaving Harken standing there.
Harken hurried to catch up and he finally did when Randi had set her foot on the beach itself and stopped. "You really think that she's here?" she asked turning to him.
"I'm pretty sure" Harken said. "I heard that she likes to lay out in the sun. A nice day and no school, she must be here."
"Well there are many kids from school here" Randi said.
"I think I see her" Harken said pointing to a girl down the beach a bit. There didn't seem to be many people around her and Harken started toward her.
Randi caught up easily and said "We don't want to get too close."
"Afraid people will say that we have AIDS too?" Harken asked with an amused tone in his voice.
"Of course not" Randi said. "It's just that if you want to follow her it would be best that we stay a little ways away from her."
"I wasn't planning on going up to her and saying hi" Harken said. "I want to know more about you and we can't be overheard."
They came to a spot and laid out their beach towels. Randi took off her dress to reveal that she was wearing a pink bikini with red hearts all over it. She sat down on her beach towels and took out a bottle of suntan lotion. She applied it to herself and asked Harken to get her back which he did. She then laid down on her beach towel and closed her eyes. Harken couldn't believe that she was working on her tan and asked "Aren't you going to help me keep an eye on Stacey?"
"I am keeping an eye on her" Randi said. "She's about to turn over."
Harken didn't think that Randi was serious but then he saw Stacey turn over so she was laying on her stomach now. Harken was astounded by this and then he remembered how she had put a finger up to silence him before he spoke before. "How did you know she was going to turn over?" he asked.
"There's a couple of seconds where people build up energy to do something" Randi said. "With practice you can learn what they'll do before they do it. That's how I knew she was going to turn over. You'll be learning this too as it will enhance your chances for survival against stronger creatures."
"How will it help me survive?" Harken asked.
"I just told you" Randi said annoyed. "You'll have a couple seconds advanced warning. That means you can gather your energy to either dodge or block an attack a couple seconds sooner. This can mean the difference between life and death. Get it now?"
"I think so" Harken said. "Why are you a girl now if you were born a boy?"
"When I was ten something was attacking the girls at summer camp" Randi said. "It attacked during the night when the girls were sleeping and the boys were forbidden to be anywhere near the girl's cabins at night so I couldn't stop it. I had learned how to transform myself by that time so one day I snuck off by myself and transformed into a girl. Since no one saw me transform people accepted me as a girl and I was able to sleep in the girl's cabin. The first few attacks had occurred in the first few days and then quit for just about the rest of the summer. It was the day before we were to go home when it finally attacked again. It had entered the cabin I was sleeping in, the only cabin that it had attacked. I had been waiting for it to show so when it came up to me I was ready. I sat up and silently disposed of it. By that time though I had gotten used to being a girl and decided to remain one."
"What was it that was attacking the girls and what did it do?" Harken asked.
"It was a Drowsema" Randi replied. "They trap people in their dreams leaving the victim in a coma. Most of the cases of people in comas are actually caused by a Drowsema. Of course when a Drowsema is defeated it's victims wake up from their comas."
"Why does a Drowsema do that?" Harken asked.
"They do it for different reasons" Randi said. "I found out that this one was having sex with the girls in their dreams from a girl named Sadie who was the first one to be attacked. We were friends before I became a girl and after she felt that she could trust me not to laugh when she told me what had happened. The other girls adamantly said that they didn't dream or remember anything. They were lying of course but I couldn't tell them that without having them wonder how I knew."
"When did your parents find out you could use magic?" Harken asked.
"The first day that I could" Randi said. "When I got home after summer camp they wanted to know what had happened that I felt I needed to become a girl. I told them of course and also told them that I was going to stay a girl."
"I bet they were happy about that" Harken said jokingly.
"My dad was a little sad that I had decided to stay a girl but he respected my wish and wanted me to be happy" Randi said. "My mom however was thrilled that she had a daughter she could take shopping for pretty dresses. They had bought me a Venus Flytrap the next day and encouraged me to give it a name."
"That's how you got Petunia huh" Harken said.
"I didn't know that Petunia was a Vensurm at the time" Randi said. "I had just thought that she was a regular Venus Flytrap."
"There are more creatures like Petunia out there?" Harken asked stunned.
"Well of course" Randi said a little exasperated. "Where did you think she came from? Don't answer that. You don't have to worry about Vensurm though. Most of them stay in their Venus Flytrap forms as they don't require much food in those forms. Those that do remain in their true form stay in remote areas far away from most humans. They don't see humans as prey but they will eat a human who threatens them."
"Well that puts my mind at ease" Harken said sarcastically.
"It's true" Randi said evidently detecting the sarcasm in Harken's voice. "Not all of the creatures you'll run into are evil. Some are quite peaceful despite their appearance."
Harkin had been wondering something so he asked "Would I be able to change my sex?"
"You could do it right now if you wanted to" Randi said. "You could even change your age. Though what reason would you have?"
"I was just curious" Harken said.
"You better not be thinking about changing your sex to get into the girl's locker room just so you can see naked girls" Randi said sternly.
"My powers would punish me for something like that" Harken said. "I get it already."
"Though since you brought it up you have a choice to make soon" Randi said.
"What choice is that?" Harken asked wondering what she was getting at.
"You need to make the choice whether or not to stay male" Randi said.
"Why would I need to make that choice?" Harken asked confused.
"Think about it" Randi said. "What did your body look like just yesterday?"
"Well I looked like a flat chested girl" Harken said. Suddenly something clicked in his head and he asked "You mean I was supposed to be a girl?"
"Yes and no" Randi said. "While you were born a boy your body was more suited to be a girl. That usually happens when the person's soul is the opposite sex of the body. The soul influences the body's development. In your case your soul is female so it influenced your body to develop a more feminine form while still maintaining male characteristics. This is why you looked like you did. Now your power is slowly pushing your body to become more masculine. You have to decide if you want that to continue or if you want your body to be the same sex as your soul."
"But I wouldn't look like a hero if I was a girl" Harken said.
"You still have much to learn" Randi said. "A girl can be a hero too you know. Besides, if you want to look like a masculine hero you can still do that even if you're a girl."
"How would I do that?" Harken asked.
"Easy... just transform your body from female to male when you need to fight" Randi said. "That's what I do at times when I need to get physical with a creature and also when there's witnesses around. It's a great secrete identity."
"I'll have to think about it" Harken said.
"You need to decide before you change Stacey" Randi said. "If you don't your body will be changed too much into a masculine hero to live like a girl. It's your choice though."
"What do you think I should do?" Harken asked hoping for a little guidance.
"It's your decision" Randi said. "The only thing I can tell you is to search your heart."
Harken fell silent for quite awhile pondering what he should do. If his soul really was female then it would make sense to have a female body. Though this may be another test that Randi thought up of. In that case he should stay male. Of course there was the matter of Infel. She was female and she lived in his head. Maybe she was what Harken was supposed to be. He had needed glasses when he was younger but he hadn't needed them for quite awhile now. What was he supposed to decide? After looking into his heart he had the answer.