Hey all! So this is "story" 2 of my Laura's Choice series. Sorry it took so long, but life has been more intense than expected. Anyways, each chapter is going to be a separate leap, almost always following Laura so we won't see much of the project. It's going to take longer for me to update, although I will try to update at the beginning of each month. I think I have eight leaps planned out and one or two of them might be split into multiple chapters. I'm trying to think outside the box and hit a few "controversial" issues as best I can, although I'm not that good. I have a 3rd and 4th story/project to end Laura's series, but I'm probably going to keep this story collection open for a few years in order to add more leaps, so feel free to make suggestions!

DISCLAIMER: I'm not associated with Quantum Leap, Chronicles of Narnia, Psych, or anything else you might recognize. All characters belong to their respective owners. I'm not an expert in any field, especially medicine, and I use google and wikipedia a lot.

WARNINGS: There's mention/descriptions of rape, suicide, depression, and death. There might also be some graphic violence, but probably not. I'll try to put applicable warnings in the beginning of each chapter. This chapter mentions rape and drug use.

I have this listed as T rating, but one or two of the stories will fall under M rating. I will make sure that I label those as such so that people can skip if needed.

Comments/reviews are very much appreciated! I know Quantum Leap doesn't have a very big fanbase, but personally this is my favorite show ever (partly b/c it's not very well known/remembered), I've even been Al as my Halloween costume for a few years!

Enjoy!

Stephanie Thomas - 1997

"You better get in that tub right this minute young lady or you will be in a whole heap of trouble!"

Laura looked around as she adjusted to her new surroundings. She was in a moderately clean bathroom that showed signs of children in the house. Before she could look in the mirror, a woman about 30 years old and carrying a baby appeared in the doorway.

"Stephanie! If you are not in that bathtub by the time I count to 20, you won't get any dessert for a week!"

"But…" Laura started to protest but the woman cut her off.

"The only butt I should see is yours in that tub! 1! 2!"

"Okay, okay!" Laura said as she turned her back and started to take her shirt off. When she noticed she had no bra, Laura covered her breasts.

"What are you doing, Steph?! Just hurry up! I'm already at 8."

Glancing at the mirror, Laura noted that her host looked all of 5 or 6 years old. The awkward situation made more sense. As who was either Stephanie's mom or babysitter continued counting, Laura quickly took the rest of the muddy clothes off and stepped into the tub.

"Thank you. By the time I'm done changing Byron, you better have all that mud off of you."

"Yes mama."

Once the mother left, Laura sighed as she leaned back. "This is going to be an interesting leap." Laura mumbled as she grabbed the bright pink loofah. She was halfway done when she heard the imaging chamber door open. Laura quickly drew her knees up and hugged them, trying to cover herself as much as possible.

"Laura?" Al called as he walked through the wall. "Ah, there you are! Bath time, huh?" He grinned.

"Yes! And I would appreciate it if you didn't look at me right now!" Laura hissed.

"Why?" Al shrugged. "I have 4 daughters and a wife, I know all about the female body."

"Please stop! This is different, and you know it!"

"Maybe so, but remember that you're Stephanie, a 5 year old, meaning that your mom will be back any minute to ask why you're not scrubbing that mud off."

"Uncle Al, can you please just…turn around and not even glance at me? Please?"

Al shrugged as he raised the handlink. "If you're really that uncomfortable, I can leave."

"No, I need information!"

"Alright." Al turned his back to her and started reading off of the handlink. "You are Stephanie Thomas, 5 years old. Mother's name is Alexis, father is Charles, little brother Byron. It's April 17, 1997 and…"

"What day of the week?" Laura frowned as she scrubbed more mud off.

"Huh?"

"What day of the week is it? Sunday, Monday, Tuesday…."

"I'm glad you know your days of the week." Al hit the handlink. "It's, um, it's Thursday."

"Thursday?"

"Yeah."

"This means that tomorrow is Friday."

"Yep, you'll fit right in as a 5 year old." Al grinned.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Which means that Stephanie has school tomorrow."

"Yeah, and?"

Laura sighed, "Some of her classmates might be able to see me as me and not Stephanie."

"Oh, I see. Then you better think of something quick because I think it's bedtime." Al said as they heard Alexis coming down the hall.

"Stephanie, honey? Who are you talking to?"

"No one."

Al hit the handlink. "Say your invisible friend! Stephanie's 5, she could have one."

"Just my imaginary friend, mama."

Stephanie's mom laughed as she entered the bathroom. "Prince Phillip? I thought he left in August before you started pre-kindergarten."

"He did, but now he's back for a visit."

"He is, huh? Well, what are you two talking about?" Alexis asked as she knelt by the tub and picked up a small bucket.

"That I don't feel good mama, my tummy hurts." Laura tried to put on a sad expression.

Alexis frowned as she filled the bucket with water from the tub and poured it over Laura's hair. "Were you eating mud again? I told you that you can't eat mud pies!"

"Yes, mama. I think it was the mud. My tummy really, really hurts!"

"Maybe I'll call Grandma, see if she can watch you tomorrow."

"What about school?" Laura asked innocently.

"Laura! What are you doing?" Al exclaimed.

Alexis laughed as she grabbed some shampoo. "I think you can miss one day of school, as long as we don't make it habit!"

"Okay, Mama."

Alexis frowned. "Since when did you start calling me Mama?"

"Um…one, one of my friends says it and I thought that I would try it. You don't like it?"

Alexis shook her head. "No, it's fine. I was just wondering when you changed things up, that's all."

"Only today, mommy."

"Okay, sweetie. I think it's time for bed. Lean back and close your eyes." Alexis pinched Laura's nose and kept a hand on her back as she lowered Laura's head underwater. "There, all clean. Come on, time to get out."

"Okay." Laura glanced at Al's back before doing as she was told.

Alexis dried Laura's hair before wrapping the towel around Laura. "I put a clean nightgown and undies on the bed. I'm going to check on Byron before I tuck you in."

"Yes mommy." Laura walked slowly behind Alexis, trying to keep the towel from riding up since it barely covered her.

Al hit the handlink. "We don't have any more info for you, so get a good night's sleep."

Laura turned towards Al but he was already through the Imaging Chamber door. She sighed and went towards the room that had Barbie dolls and stuffed animals on the floor. Double checking that she was really alone, Laura quickly put the clothes on, slightly surprised that they fit her. "Huh, weird." Rubbing the towel through her hair, Laura looked around the bedroom. There was a bookcase filled with various children's books, a dresser, and a toy chest that was propped open. The closet door was open and Laura saw about 20 dresses hung up, including a few tutus. "A girly-girl. So not me." Laura mumbled.

"Stephanie." Alexis said as she stood in the doorway. "Why aren't you in bed yet?"

"Sorry, mommy." Laura said as she climbed onto the bed.

Alexis frowned as she walked over. "Now I know you must be sick. I can't remember the last time that you didn't jump onto the bed." She sat down next to Laura and grabbed the book off of the end table. "I called Grandma, and she'll be more than happy to spend the day with you."

"Okay." Laura said as she tried to get comfortable.

"So, where were we?" Alexis asked as she opened the book. "Ah, here we go: It was nearly three weeks after their landing that the Dawn Treader was towed out of Narrowhaven harbour. Very solemn farewells had been spoken and a great crowd had assembled to see her departure. There had been cheers, and tears too, when Caspian made his last speech to the Lone Islanders and parted from the Duke and his family, but as the ship, her purple sail still flapping idly, drew further from the shore, and the sound of Caspian's trumpet from the poop came fainter across the water, everyone became silent. Then she came into the wind. The sail swelled out, the tug cast off and began rowing back, the first real wave ran up under the Dawn Treader's prow, and she was a live ship again. The men off duty went below, Drinian took the first watch on the poop, and she turned her head eastward round the south of Avra…."

"Hey Laura? Are you going to wake up anytime soon?"

Laura groaned as a voice woke her up. "I'm sleeping."

"Well, you better hurry up so we can talk before Stephanie's mom comes in here and shuffles you off to Grandma's house."

Laura frowned as she recognized the voice, and it wasn't Al's "Ari?"

"Yeah, girl!" Arianna laughed. "Maybe if you got up, we could talk!"

Laura smiled as she sat up and pushed the blanket to her lap. "Ari! What are you doing here?"

"I'm observing, obviously." Arianna grinned as she waved the handlink. "They finally convinced the old man to let someone else help every once in a while and I was the logical choice, especially after Trudy didn't fare so well."

"No, she didn't." Laura grimaced. She glanced at the closed door before asking, "How does it feel?"

"To be honest, it's kind of weird. Everything looks so real, but if I try to touch something, my hand goes right through." Arianna demonstrated with the bookcase.

"Well believe me, it is real. At least to me."

Arianna laughed. She looked up at the ceiling and nodded before turning back to Laura. "Dad says that we need to stop fooling around and get back to work."

"I can't see him, is he here?" Laura frowned as she looked around.

"Nah, he's in the control room, talking to me via Ziggy. Something about not confusing you and letting me take the lead." Arianna shrugged and typed on the handlink. "Okay, Ziggy says that the reason you're here is because your babysitter is raped and murdered tonight."

Laura stared at Arianna with shock. "Are, are you sure?"

"Yeah. According to a newspaper article, Alexis and Charles Thomas arrived home around 11:30 tonight. Both children were asleep but the babysitter Tracy McCormick was missing. Her car was parked on the street and when Charles checked, he found Tracy under a blanket in the backseat, already dead." Arianna grimaced.

"So I should convince Alexis and Charles not to go out tonight, right?"

Arianna shook her head. "No. Since there were no signs of a struggle, although she was drugged, it was most likely someone that Tracy knew. Ziggy gives it a 79.3% chance that Tracy will still die tonight if she doesn't come here."

"What am I supposed to do, then?"

"I don't know, but you have about 15 hours to figure it out. According to the autopsy, Tracy's time of death was 10:43pm."

The door opened and Alexis walked in. "Stephanie, honey? How are you feeling today?"

Laura held her stomach and grimaced. "My tummy still hurts. Am I still going to Grandma's?"

"Yes, sweetheart. But we need to hurry up if I'm going to drop you off at Grandma's before taking Byron to daycare."

"Byron's not coming too?"

"No, I figured it can be just you and Grandma today. Think of it as a treat for being such a good girl. Now, do you want to wear a dress or shorts today?" Alexis asked as she went over to the closet.

"Shorts, please." Laura answered quickly.

Arianna giggled, "I know that you never liked dresses, Laur, but some of these are really cute!"

Laura sent a glare at Arianna and mouthed, 'Go away.'

"Alright, I'm going. Remember that you're supposed to be sick; don't start acting better until after lunch or you might end up at school. I know dad did that to me a few times when he realized that I wasn't sick, although I got away with it more times than not." Arianna rolled her eyes and laughed as she looked at the ceiling. "Oh, come on dad! I take after you more than mom, can you really blame me to want to hang out at the project with you than be at boring old school; especially if I had a math test I wasn't prepared for?! Not all of us are as smart as Laura!" Arianna shook her head and smiled at Laura. "I have to go. Dad is pissed even though it happened over 10 years ago! I'll catch you later." Arianna entered the code for the chamber door and exited.

Laura tried to hold in her laughter and Alexis turned to her with an outfit picked out. "What's so funny, Steph?"

"Nothing, just something Prince Phillip said."

"Uh huh. And what did he say?"

Laura shrugged. "Just that …he shouldn't have eaten the mud pies either."

Alexis shook her head as she handed Laura her clothes. "You and your imagination. I need you to hurry up if you want to say goodbye to daddy before he leaves for work."

"Okay, mommy." Laura smiled as she started to get dressed.

Laura sighed as she absentmindedly combed a doll's hair. She did not realize how boring it was to leap into a little kid. Stephanie wasn't old enough to read, her grandma didn't have any kid movies on VHS, and it started raining so Laura was stuck inside with just a small collection of toys to play with. At least if Laura had gone to Stephanie's school, there would have been some work to do, even if it was simple letter recognition and pattern making.

Laura put the doll down and went over to where Stephanie's Grandma Nettie was knitting while listening to a jazz station. "Grandma?"

"Yes, Deary?"

"I'm bored! Can we play a game?"

"I don't have any games, remember? Let's see, what else could we do on a rainy day?" Grandma Nettie rocked in the rocker as she thought. Laura was finding herself growing impatient and was going to ask if she could take a nap when Grandma Nettie finally said, "I know! Do you want to help me bake some cookies?"

"Yes! That sounds like fun." Laura smiled.

"I think I have all the ingredients for sugar cookies." Grandma Nettie smiled as she set aside her knitting. "I'll pull out everything while you go wash your hands."

"Okay."

Two hours later, Laura was laughing as she brushed the flour off her clothes. She used to bake cookies with her Grandma Abby when they visited and was starting to feel homesick. Grandma Nettie let Laura do all the rolling and shape cutting and somehow Laura got flour everywhere, no matter how hard she tried to keep everything neat. It was like part of her body was the 5 year old she was pretending to be.

Grandma Nettie laughed as she placed the last tray into the oven. "Go upstairs to the bathroom and wash all that flour off of your face, young lady! Your mother should be here in a half hour and she does not need to see how big of a mess you can make."

"Okay, Grandma." Laura smiled as she went upstairs. She jumped when Arianna appeared at the top of the stairs. "Are you trying to scare me?"

Arianna shook her head. "Sorry, it's not my fault! When I opened the Imaging Chamber door, I was outside, so I had Ziggy center me on you. If you want to blame anyone, blame Ziggy."

"I can't exactly talk to her right now, but feel free to pass on my discomfort." Laura said as she entered the bathroom and turned on the water.

"Ziggy says that sometimes it is hard to zero in on a moving target, even if they are only 13 years in the past. And if you want to tweak the program, then you are more than welcomed to leap home and fix it."

"If I could, I would. Although if I leaped home, we probably wouldn't even need the program tweaked."

"You got that right." Arianna mumbled.

"What?" Laura frowned.

"Nothing! Ziggy has more information about the …incident tonight. Apparently the police had suspected Tracy's boyfriend, Bobby, but he had an alibi. And in small towns like this, they'll do almost anything to let the star quarterback keep his precious football scholarship."

Laura nodded as she washed the flour off her face. "So it was the boyfriend?"

"Possibly. The only evidence they found were his prints in the car. Although since they were dating, it made sense. They didn't have any solid evidence, so they had to let him go."

"So I'm supposed to stop a 17 year old boy from drugging, raping, and murdering his girlfriend."

"Yep."

"All while pretending to be a 5 year old girl."

"Pretty much." Arianna shrugged.

Laura sighed as she looked at her reflection. "Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?"

Laura tried to watch 101 Dalmatians as if she was watching it for the first time since Stephanie's mom had just gotten it from the store. Personally, Laura preferred the animated version since the dogs talked, and the live-action one was just a bit too realistic. Byron at least seemed to be enjoying himself and would clap whenever a dog appeared on the screen.

When the doorbell rang, Laura got up and was halfway to the door when Alexis came down the staircase. "Stephanie! What do you think you're doing?!"

Laura cringed. "I want to help."

"Why don't you go back to your movie, honey? You've been begging me for weeks to buy it for you."

"But mommy!"

"Go watch your movie, sweetie! I need to talk to Tracy for a little bit."

"Okay." Laura sighed and headed back to the den. Looking at Byron in the playpen, she mumbled, "At least I'm not you; that would have been worse."

"What would have been worse, Steph?" Charles asked as he checked his coat pockets.

"If the bad lady buy-ded the doggies." Laura tried not to cringe at her phrasing. She had gotten weird looks all day whenever she talked 'too well for a 5 year old'. Arianna had to remind her how regular 5 year olds talk since Laura spoke better than some teenagers by age 5.

"Bought, not buy-ded." Charles laughed and rubbed Laura's hair. "And don't worry, honey. The good guys win, trust me. They always do. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, lots."

"Good. I'll let Tracy know that you can have some ice cream before she puts you to bed."

"Can I wait for you to tuck me in tonight?"

"Aw, honey! We'll be back real late. You need to sleep since we are going to the zoo tomorrow, okay?"

Laura sighed. "Okay, daddy."

"Good." Charles kissed the top of her head before moving to Byron to do the same. "I'll see you both tomorrow. Be good."

Laura just smiled as she watched Charles leave. After a minute, Tracy and Alexis walked into the living room. "Hey squirt!" Tracy smiled.

"Hey Tracy." Laura mumbled as she turned back to the TV.

Alexis sighed, "Stephanie hasn't been feeling well today and seems a bit sluggish. I think that she might need to go to bed early."

"No, mommy! I want to stay up until you get home!" Laura whined.

Alexis smiled as she came over and gently rubbed Laura's hair. "Aw, honey! We're going to be out late and you need your sleep. Please listen to Tracy and go to bed when you're told."

"Yes, mommy." Laura sighed as Alexis kissed her hair.

"Have a good time, Mrs. Thomas." Tracy smiled as she sat next to Laura on the couch.

"Thank you again, Tracy." Alexis smiled as she left the room.

Tracy waved before looking at Byron. "And how is young Bryon tonight?" Byron laughed as he patted his legs. Tracy smiled, "Good, glad to hear it! And how are you, Miss Stephanie?"

Laura shrugged as she looked at the movie. "Okay, I guess."

"Do you still feel sick?"

"No, I'm just tired."

"Little kids are never 'just tired' unless it's bedtime. Is it bedtime?"

Laura looked at Tracy and just shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

Tracy crossed her arms. "No, something is wrong with you. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you've been kidnapped by pirates and someone was impersonating you!"

Laura laughed nervously. "Why would pirates kidnap me?"

"Maybe they've been watching you and thought that you would make a good pirate so they're going to train you."

"They why wouldn't they kidnap Byron, he's younger."

"They don't like dealing with stinky diapers." Tracy held her nose and waved her other hand in front of her face.

Laura laughed and looked back at the movie.

"Having fun?" Al asked as he appeared in the living room. Laura jumped as Byron started to cry. Al frowned as he looked at Byron. "What's his problem? Kids usually love me!"

Tracy got up and went over to Byron and cooed, "Aw, what's wrong By? Did the movie scare you?" She picked him up and held him to her chest.

"Come on buddy! I'm not going to hurt you." Al said as he came closer. Byron just cried louder and turned his face away from Al.

"I'll be in my room." Laura said as she got up.

"Why?" Tracy asked loudly over Byron's crying.

"Cause he's hurting my ears!" Laura held her hands over her ears and quickly left the room.

Al met her at the top of the stairs. "He's got quite the set of lungs on him. I wonder what about me set him off."

"Maybe because you're a stranger." Laura shrugged as she led the way into Stephanie's room and shut the door. "He cried at me this morning but I managed to win him over."

"Kids love me though." Al pouted.

Laura laughed as she sat on the bed. "So, what's up?"

"I wanted to see if you have a plan for tonight?"

Laura sighed. "I tried to convince them to let me stay up until my parents, I mean Stephanie's parents come back, but they shot me down. My bedtime is probably the same as last night at 8:30, so I figured that I could just pretend to be asleep and then sneak downstairs to try to stop anything from happening."

"Not much of plan." Al commented.

"Did Dr. Beckett ever have super detailed plans?"

"No, not really. He kind of just went with the flow."

"And that's what I will do." Laura said as she heard Tracy coming upstairs. "Please be back here by 10 so you can tell me what's going on."

"Got it." Al said as he opened the imaging chamber door.

There was a knock on the bedroom door as Tracy said, "Hey squirt? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Laura responded as she opened the door.

"Good." Tracy smiled as she bounced Byron in her arms. "Hey, how about after I put Byron to bed, we eat some ice cream?"

Laura smiled, "That sounds awesome!"

Tracy frowned at her. "Awesome? Since when have you said awesome?"

"My friend says it." Laura shrugged as she slipped past Tracy and made her way to the staircase.

Laura nervously watched the clock as she laid under the covers. "Come on, Uncle Al! Where are you?" It was 10:18, and he had not shown up yet. Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring. As quietly as she could, Laura got up and made her way to the staircase. Peering around the corner, she watched Tracy open the door.

"Hey Bobby! What are you doing here?"

Bobby grinned as he walked in and wrapped his arms around Tracy's waist. "I thought you could use some company once the kiddies were in bed."

Tracy shook her head. "You know Mrs. Thomas doesn't like you being here."

"I'll be gone before they get back."

"Sorry Bobby, but I don't want to lose Mrs. Thomas' trust. She's one of my regulars and pays me a lot more than anyone else." Tracy tried to pull away from Bobby but he grabbed her wrist. "Bobby, let go! You're hurting me!"

"A women's job is to please her man." Bobby growled as he kissed her.

Tracy managed to break the kiss and tried to put some distance between them, even with Bobby holding her wrist. "Please Bobby, I promise that we can hang out tomorrow. I don't want the kids to wake up."

"No, I'm not waiting." Bobby snapped back as he suddenly pulled a syringe out of his pocket and plunged it into Tracy's arm.

"What the hell?!" Tracy protested as she stumbled into the wall.

"Just a sedative I swiped from my dad's medicine bag. You'll be fine in a few hours." Bobby smiled as he pulled an unsteady Tracy out the door.

Laura was about to run down the stairs when she heard someone behind her.

"Laura! Wait!" Arianna yelled as she tried to catch her breath.

"I can't, Ari! I have to stop him." Laura yelled as she raced down the stairs.

Arianna re-centered at the bottom of the stairs and said, "You need to call an ambulance! The main cause of death was an overdose from the sedative. The stress from being raped made the affects more severe."

Laura nodded as she ran to the phone and dialed. "Hello? 911? Yes, I need help! My babysitter is being attacked! I just saw her boyfriend dru-stick something in her arm and take her outside! My address?" Laura looked around and found some mail nearby. She read the address off to the operator and said, "Please hurry!" She hung the phone back up and ran into the kitchen.

"Laura? What are you doing?" Arianna asked as she followed her.

"Well," Laura replied as she started looking through drawers and cupboards. "Bobby is big so I'm going to need something to defend myself with." She climbed up onto the counter and opened the cupboards. "Ah-ha!" She exclaimed as she located the knives.

"You better be careful, Laur. You can just as easily hurt yourself with that." Arianna warned as she checked the handlink. "Ziggy says that you need to act now!"

Laura carefully climbed down and ran out of the house. There was a car parked on the street and Laura hurried towards it. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and froze at what she saw. Tracy was starring unseeingly at the ceiling, her breath coming in short burst as tears trickled down her cheeks. Bobby was on top of her, panting and sweating. He looked up and glared at her. "Stephanie? What are you doing outside?"

"I, I." Laura swallowed past the lump in her throat and stepped closer, raising the knife. "Get off of Tracy! Now!"

"Little kids aren't supposed to play with knives, Stephanie. You need to go inside and put the knife away. Then go back to bed."

"NO!" Laura shouted. "GET OFF OF HER!"

"Stop yelling, Stephanie. You'll attract the neighbors." Bobby whispered nervously as he started to get off of Tracy.

"GOOD!" Laura yelled as she backed away from Bobby. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP! TRACY IS HURT!"

"You little bitch!" Bobby growled as he crawled out of the car and came after Laura.

"HELP!" Laura screamed as she ran down the street.

"HEY! What's happening?!" One of the neighbors yelled as they stepped outside.

"Crap." Bobby whispered as he changed directions and fled down the street.

Arianna checked on Tracy and yelled, "LAURA! Tracy stopped breathing!"

Once Laura was sure Bobby wouldn't come after her anymore, she dropped the knife and ran back to Tracy. "HELP! WE NEED HELP!" She quickly checked Tracy's pulse and whispered to Arianna, "Her pulse is slow, where's the ambulance?"

Arianna checked the handlink, "3 minutes away."

"We don't have that long." Laura mumbled as a couple joined them.

"Oh dear, what happened?!" The wife asked as the husband knelt down and checked Tracy over.

"Bobby stick-ded Tracy with sumthing and dragged-ded her outside." Laura cringed at her words as she moved out of the way.

The wife knelt in front of Laura and asked, "Why don't we go inside and wait for your parents to come home?"

Laura shook her head, "No, I wanna stay with Tracy!"

"Douglas is taking care of her, dear. Where's your brother?"

"Sleeping." Laura replied as she looked back at the car. Douglas was giving Tracy rescue breaths while a couple other neighbors joined to help. "I wanna stay."

"I hear the ambulance, sweetie. Everything is going to be fine." The wife said as she gently led Laura towards the house.

Laura looked at Arianna who was typing away on the handlink. "You did it, Laura! Tracy survives and after spending a week in the hospital, is released. Bobby is arrested and charged with attempted murder and rape, sentenced to 20 years in prison. Stephanie is given a medal and a $5,000 scholarship from the city for her bravery. And she decides to become a police officer."

Laura smiled as the blue light engulfed her and she leaped.