The cab suddenly went dark, and the poor cab driver found himself momentarily paralyzed.
Vanessa shot Tim a worried glance, but the demoness simply whispered: “I'm controlling the cab. Just watch the
show!”
Vanessa turned her attention back to the driver, who still looked frozen in place in his seat. Then a strange
transformation began to sweep across his body. He began to shrink in both height and weight, until he had
become a short, petite framed version of himself. Most of his body hair softly melted away, while the hair
atop his head grew out thicker and more luxurious than before, become shoulder length, shiny, and
conservatively styled. Simultaneously, the man's facial features began to soften and grow more feminine. His
eyes seemed wider, his nose thinner, his lips more full, and his cheekbones higher and more defined.
Then the poor man's clothing suddenly underwent a transformation of its own. His dirty, stained shirt was
instantly clean and gleamingly white, crisp, and proper looking. A small, navy colored girls tie appeared at
the carefully buttoned top of the shirt, which had now become a long-sleeved girls blouse. At the same time,
the man's pant legs had fused together and begun to creep up his exposed legs becoming a modest, knee-length
skirt with a dark plaid, navy colored pattern on it. His socks lengthened, rising up his now smooth, feminine
legs becoming matching, navy blue cable-knit uniform socks. At the same time, his shoes became shiny, black
leather flats. Finally, a clean white headband appeared across the top of his hair.
For all intents and purposes, the cab driver was now a teenage girl – no older than fourteen or fifteen at
most – dressed in the uniform of a local Catholic girls school.
“You are released,” said Tim softly. “Please stop at this next intersection. We shall be getting out now.”
“Wha– What did you do to me?” squeaked the terrified man in a tiny, high pitched voice. He continued to drive
the car, for the moment unable to resist the order of the dark passenger in the back seat.
“You are now Mary Katherine Shannon,” said Tim calmly. “You'll find your school book bag sitting on the seat
next to you. Inside it is your new address and everything you'll need to fill in the obvious holes in your
memory. Should you attempt to tell anyone about your prior identity, you'll discover they don't believe you,
for Mary Kate, as you are known to your friends now, has a reputation for creating wildly improbable stories.
You read far too much fantasy and science-fiction – most inappropriate for a young lady – and you often
exaggerate or even outright lie in order to make things seem more exciting.”
“I... I... I am Mary Katherine Shannon,” said the cabbie, struggling in vain to assert his original identity.
“Stop the car here, please,” commanded Tim. “Enjoy your new life, Mary Kate.”
With that, Tim and Vanessa exited the taxi cab and began walking the remainder of the way to their
destination.
Meanwhile in the front seat of the taxi, a young teenage girl wept with a mixture of fear and confusion over
what had just happened.
What next?