She began pacing the room; the person she had arranged to meet her here were ten minutes late. Thoughts of immense panic and fear began to overwhelm her, and she reminded herself that she most remain calm if she is to be able to do the job she has set upon herself which is to be a Liberator, which is someone who helps those with abilities escape prosecution from the government by helping them forge new identities.
"Oh where could he possibly be? I sure as hell hope that Noah didn't find him again." The woman wondered aloud as she continued pacing, wringing her hands frantic with worry. She paced the floor for another fifteen minutes before texting a message to the refugee she was currently trying to help.
She typed out "Where are you? Have they found you? Please call me back….Lady Illusive" with her keypad, then hit the send button, and anxiously waited for a reply from the other end, which came almost immediately. "I'm here, open up please….Curtis" and with that, Sandra quickly ran to the door, but she paused before she opened the door. She turned to the wall on which a full-length mirror hung, and stared into it for a second before waving her hand in front of the mirror, changing her appearance. She now had hair as long as her waist, which was black as coal; her skin was a deep chestnut color, and her eyes were green, and her face was heart-shaped. She looked as if she was of Indian descent. She always changed her appearance before meeting someone new, to ensure that she remained illusive from the government, hence the name Lady Illusive.
She pulled open the door, and there stood a boy of twenty-four, sweat pouring off of him, and he looked very scared and frantic, as if someone had been chasing him for a while. He paused for a second to take in Sandra's appearance, before addressing her, "Are you..." he glanced at his text message for a second before looking back up at her "Lady Illusive?" he finished with a quizzical look on his face. "Yes I am, hurry, come in and sit down before they find us." She replied as she quickly ushered him through the threshold.
"I still don't understand why they are after me?" Curtis said frantically as he took a seat on a threadbare couch. "Because Curtis, you have a power, do you not?" Lady Illusive replied as she began to rifle through some folders on her desk, looking for a particular folder. Then she found the folder marked "Dallas Collins", opened it and began to write on the papers inside it. Once she was finished with those papers, she handed the folder and a new driver's license to Curtis. "I don't understand. How is this folder going to keep me off their radar?" He asked her looking quite perplexed. "Because I've just given you a new life, a new identity, now they won't be able to find you. And now I'm doing to give you a new look." She finished as she stood up, motioning for Curtis to do the same.
"But how, how are you going to give me a new look? Like plastic surgery or something, because I don't have any money to give you." Curtis told her apprehensively. "Oh silly boy, you don't have to worry about money or plastic surgery, because I am like you, only my ability is to give people new identities and looks, which as you can see comes in very handy in my line of work." She replied, smiling at the boy. "Come stand over here in front of the mirror" she said, steering Curtis in the direction of the full length mirror, and now standing behind him, peering over his shoulder, thinking about his new look.
"Okay, so I think I have a new look in mind for you. This will keep you off their face recognition software, and it will make it harder for them to track you. Whatever you do, do not use your ability. Do not draw any unwanted attention to yourself, especially from law enforcement or any government body, because they have infiltrated just about every inch of every government establishment. With that said, it's time for you to leave your old life behind and embrace your new life, Dallas." Sandra finished, as she waved her hand over Curtis, who slowly began to change into Dallas Collins, leaving his old life behind.
Curtis was a short and stocky youth, with flaming red hair that was kind of wiry, with light skin. Now, he slowly began to take on his new appearance. He was now tall and kind of lanky, had long, black hair that was shoulder length, his nose was longer, and his skin was darker. Dallas examined himself in the mirror closely, running his hand over his newly manifested form. He stared into his new eyes for a minute. They were now green, his old ones were blue, and he liked his blue eyes better, but thought if this was to keep him safe, he would embrace it entirely. After he was finished examining his features, he turned back to Lady Illusive smiling from ear to ear at her. "I can't thank you enough ma'am, you've given me a new life, now I can start over, without them finding me." He told her with enthusiasm.
"That's why I am here, Dallas. To help those like us, who are being hunted just because they are different from those in power." She replied as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Hurry, grab your things, I must get you out of here before anyone shows up. If that happens, your new identity is lost." She told him, ushering him to get his things, then she walked him to the door. "Remember what I told you. Be safe, be careful, and above all, do not use your powers. Under any circumstances, we don't know who's working for them anymore." She told him, staring at him with a kind of motherly look in her eyes. The longer she stared at Dallas, she was reminded of her own daughter, who she once had to do this for to help protect her from those in power. Ever since that first time she had to change someone's appearance since she obtained her ability, she vowed to help every different soul that came to her door, to keep them safe from him.
Holding back tears, she straightened his jacket collar, and smoothed the shoulders of his jacket. "Well, we had better be getting you out of here before anyone shows up." She told him, her voice strained a little. She opened the door, and was startled by a man with horn rimmed glasses standing there, an evil smirk stretched across his face. "Hello….Sandra." He replied, removing his glasses to clean them off. "Hurry, run!" Sandra yelled to Dallas as she pushed him passed Noah, her former husband.
Dallas ran down the hall, running as fast as he could, not looking back to see the man who had caused his savor so much panic and fear, for he knew if he went back to help, his disguise would be lost and it would have all been for nothing. He paused at the end of the hallway and watched the man and the woman who he called "Sandra", wondering what was going to happen next. "Come now Sandra, you should've known that we would have found you eventually. Even with your newly acquired powers. We will always find you. No matter what." Noah said with a satisfying tone in his voice.
He began to advance toward Sandra, forcing her back into the apartment. "Noah, you know even though you have found me now, that don't mean that you'll be able to find me again. I'll change my appearance again, and keep running. Helping those you hunt for now reason, especially when your own daughter is own of them." She told Noah, with a look of distain on her face. "And you know Sandra, I will always be there to hunt them, no matter what you say." He told her, as he continued to advance on her, and now he began to wreck the apartment. "What? Are you going to make this look like a home invasion gone wrong or something, like you've done to so many before me, then drag me off in one of your little black bags?" Sandra asked Noah with great dislike in her voice. "Well I've got news for you, I've learned a few tricks since our divorce." She finished, smiling for a second.
Noah reached for a stun gun in his coat pocket, but Sandra was too quick for him. She jumped and grabbed one of the rafters in the apartment, swung backwards, then forwards again, kicking him square in the face, sending him flying backwards into her table with the folders sitting on it, smashing the table into pieces. Noah lay crumpled on the ground for a moment, before coming to, staring at Sandra in disbelief. "And where did you learn that from?" Noah questioned her intrigued by her new found skills of martial arts. "Remember Monica Dawson?" She asked him, as she advanced on him now, and put her foot to his throat, keeping him on the ground.
"Ah yes, the muscle mimic, I remember her. Too bad she was smart enough to learn how to dodge a bullet." He replied with a sense of laughter in his voice. "Well, she came and saw me before she died, I helped her, and so she showed me a few tricks." She replied, as she dug her heel deeper into his throat. "You know all the years of the lies and the deceit with our family, I'll never understand why you did it, why you hunted those who were different. Those who were like your own daughter!" Sandra yelled at him, staring at him with a great rage in her eyes.
"She wasn't my daughter!" Noah bellowed back, slightly choking from the pressure of Sandra's heel on his throat. "Yes, no matter what you say now, she was your daughter. You raised her from a baby, and even though the Company told you not to get attached, you still loved her as your own. You even tried to protect her, but in the end, you turned on her, and hunted her and her kind. I don't even know you anymore Noah, the lies and deceit have finally caught up you and destroyed you from the inside out." She removed her heel from his throat, turned around and walked away from him. Noah got up and pulled the stun gun from his pocket, aimed the gun, and was getting ready to fire, but once again she was too quick for him.
Sandra turned around, and hit Noah with a roundhouse kick to the hand, sending his gun flying out of his hand. She saw her chance for escape and took it. She ran out the door, and down three flights of stairs, out onto the busy sidewalk of a Costa Verde street. Once she was under the cover of many different people, she changed her looks again and disappeared into the crowd. Noah came running out of the main door, fuming, looking up and down the street for Sandra, but she was gone. Lost in the sea of people, her appearance changed, undetectable to the eye, and lost from Noah's grip….for now anyways.
TO BE CONTINUED…..