Angel Wings

Chapter One: New Beginnings

Indicates telepathy

Sunlight streamed in through a window, casting warm shadows over a massive bed where a girl lay sleeping. The light seemed to merge with her golden hair, making it seem like her hair was made of sunlight. A minute later, a woman in a black and white maid's outfit entered the room quietly, and walked up to the girls' bed.

"Miss, time to wake up." The voice caused the lump in the bed to stir slightly.

"Five more minutes," it replied.

"Miss, if you don't get up you will be late for your first day of school." That got a reaction. A blur leapt out of the bed and was in the bathroom before the maid could even hand the girl a towel. Five minutes later, she came out fully dressed and with her hair dry.

"I think I set a new record today Mowata," she said, a little out of breath.

"Indeed Miss Sakura. You beat your time by twenty minutes. If I may ask miss, why are you in such a hurry today?"

"You already told me. It's my first day of school today, and I am not going to be late!"

"Well, breakfast is ready downstairs." With that, Sakura was gone in a flash again.

"Oh, good morning Sakura," her mother said when Sakura arrived at the table.

"Good morning Mother. So, did they accept you?"

"Oh yes. I start next week. I think this one's going to be eight figures!"

"I'm so happy for you! Well, I'm off to school."

The extremely loud peals of the first bell rang through the halls of Sunshine Hills High School, causing most of the students to groan and others to cover their ears. "Are they ever going to change that thing," Chris Clain thought to himself. "I mean, you can hear it if you're five blocks away, but I suppose that's the point." This was his second year at this school. It was good as schools went. Suddenly he spotted his best friend Hannah across the hall.

"Hey Hannah! He called, trying to be heard over the chatter in the halls. She heard him and turned. She was pretty he thought. She was about 5'8 with brown hair that reached down to the middle of her back. She looked at him with a smirk, and her green eyes gleamed.

"Hey Chris, did you have a nice summer?" She asked with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"Mostly, after I got out of summer school." This caused the smirk of Hannah's face to broaden even more.

"Don't give me that look. I told you, Mr. Clark had it in for me!"

"Sure he did. So, you got any good classes this year?" She glanced at her own schedule.

"I got into Art, and it looks like I actually got into auto shop this year. Oh no!"

"What's wrong," asked Hannah.

"I got Mr. Clark for Geometry! I'm dead!"

"No you're not. Just pay attention and do your homework and you'll be fine."

"You don't get it, he's hated me ever since I tripped and broke his printer. It won't matter how hard I work, he's gonna fail me!"

"Well since you didn't ask, I got into Art too, and I'm on the yearbook staff. Pretty cool don't you think?"

"Yep, well I gotta go, my first class is across campus. See ya later!" He called.

To his horror, his first class was geometry. Mr. Clark looked up at his when he entered. "Ah, Mr. Clain, it appears we will be having another year together. I so look forward to it," he said with a hint of malice in his voice. Chris felt his stomach turn. Mr. Clark seemed to sense his dread and gave a rare smile. To Chris it seemed to be announcing his doom. He took a seat as far towards the back of the class as he could. Mr. Clark cleared his throat and began his opening speech.

"Hello and welcome to geometry. I will be your teacher, Mr. Clark. I hope that we can all have a fun year together and come out with new skills that we can apply to the rest of our lives. Now, before I hand out your textbooks, I would like to introduce you to a new student at our school. She just moved here from Japan. Please welcome Sakura Taylor."

"There's a weird name" Chris thought. Then the new student entered the room and stars appeared in all the boys' eyes. The girl who was the newest addition to the class was, to Chris, as close to an angel as anyone could get. She was about 5'11, with golden blond hair that traveled down her back like a waterfall of sunshine. Her eyes were a deep blue-green and seemed to sparkle when the sun struck them. She was dressed in skintight blue jeans and a v-neck blue sleeveless shirt. A large diamond pendent was around her neck, and she had two rings on each hand.

"Sakura's family just moved here from Japan. Please make her feel welcome. Sakura, take your seat please." She gave small bow and took at seat next to Chris. She gave him a smile, causing him to blush.

"Hi, I'm Sakura. What's your name?"

"I'm Chris. Forgive me, but your first and last names seem kinda strange."

"I know. My parents moved to Japan twenty years ago when Dad started up a company there. He and Mom never figured we'd ever move back to the U.S. so they gave me a Japanese name to help me fit in."

"Mr. Clan, Mrs. Taylor, since you obviously know the material well enough to not pay attention, why don't you solve the problems on the board. Mrs. Taylor, you may have the honor of going first."

"All right," she said and walked up to the front of the class looking confident. She took the marker from a smug looking Mr. Clark and Chris saw that he had given her the hardest problems he could. She was doomed. Sakura didn't even blink. She solved one problem after another as fast as she could write. Mr. Clark's eyes were wide open. "Is that the best you can think of?" She taunted. Mr. Clark's face turned red.

"No one speaks to me like that! You just earned yourself three days of detention."

"All right," she said without batting an eye. She walked up to him and whispered something in his ear, causing him to sweat drop. "On the other hand, since you did so well in my class today, I'll let you slide this time." Sakura calmly walked back to her seat. Chris was shocked. He'd never seen anyone get Mr. Clark to back down.

"What did you tell him?' He asked.

"I'll tell you after school. Meet me by the flag pole."

The rest of the day went by in a blur for Chris. When his last period finally let out, he rushed to the flag pole and saw Sakura already waiting for him. He ran up to her, bursting with curiosity.

"Ok, now tell me how you got Mr. Clark to back down today. No one's ever been able to do that before."

"All right, follow me," she said. She led him through the parking lot until they reached a shinny black stretch limo. A man stepped out and opened one of the doors for here."

"There you are Miss Sakura. Oh, have you made a friend already?"

"Yes, and he is coming home with me, if you want," she added.

"Sure." He replied, slightly stunned. The ride lasted about an hour, and Chris was too in awe to speak. He had never been in a limo before. There was a TV, a mini-fridge and was furnished with expensive looking wood and gold fittings. "Wow, you're parents must be super rich to afford a thing like this!" He exclaimed.

"Actually, this is my personal limo. My parents have their own."

"Wow!" He repeated. "How rich are you? Sorry, that was rude of me." He looked down at the plush carpeting.

"It's ok, that sort of thing happens a lot to me. So, I guess I might as well tell you about myself. My Mom is an actress. She was in a lot of movies back in Japan and she's getting offers here too. My Dad runs a company that designs stuff for the military. He won't tell me what though. He uses that old 'If I tell you I'd have to kill you' thing." Suddenly, the intercom buzzed and a voice filled the limo.

"Miss Sakura, we've arrived at the elementary school."

"All right. I hope they're quick, I want to get home." Sakura replied.

"You have younger brothers and sisters?" Shawn asked.

"Yep, three sisters and a brother. I hoped that Mom would pick them up. Get ready for some chaos Chris." A few minutes later the limo's doors opened and four kids a few years younger than Sakura piled in. The boy was about 5'7 with brown hair that was messy and green eyes. He wore a green button-up shirt and brown shorts. Nike shoes were on his feet, and thick rimmed glasses completed the look.

The girls were almost as pretty as their sister. One had purple hair that reached halfway down her back and electric blue eyes that were filled with curiosity. The second had pink hair that was tied into a ponytail and two smaller strands going down over her shoulders, with bangs framing her face. Her eyes were a light shade of purple. She was dressed in a pink vest with a white shirt underneath and a pink skirt that just reached her knees. She kept fidgeting as if she couldn't sit still. The last girl was short, only about 4'11, with orange hair that curled its way down to her shoulders and had a red streak down one side. She wore a white button-up shirt and a green and white checkered skirt that reached the bottom of her thighs.

"Hey sis," they said together politely. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Hello everyone. You don't have to be like that. This guy's not one of Dad's friends." As soon as the words left her mouth, the kids behaved like kids. The girls got into a discussion about make-up, and the boy pulled put an mp3 player and stuck the headphones in his ears to drown out his sisters.

"Chris, meet my family," Sakura breathed. "My brother Shun, and my sisters Myu, Hikaru and Ron."

"Nice to meet all of you," Shawn said, hoping to gain their trust quickly. They each gave him a smile and went back to their activities.

"Don't worry, they like to annoy everyone. Oh, here we are," she announced. The limo was pulling up a large driveway to a house so large it made Chris gasp.

"This is where you live?" He exclaimed.

"You got it. Welcome Chris, to the Taylor mansion." Chris simply stared out the window at the manicured lawn, the flower gardens and huge fountain by the entrance. Another butler stood by the stains to the front entrance, and opened the huge double oak doors when the group got to the door. The inside of the mansion was even more extravagant than the outside, and there was definitely a Japanese touch to it. The dominant colors were red and gold. Columns lined the walls and Japanese movie posters hung along the walls.

"This place is amazing Sakura," Chris said astounded. He had only ever seen places like this in movies. Sakura motioned for Chris to fallow her. She led him up to the fourth floor to a double door decorated with posters of Japanese bands and TV shows.

"Come on in," she said. When Chris entered, he was astounded. One entire wall was taken up by a TV screen. A combo DVD VHS drive was barely visible on the bottom. A king sized pink bed occupied another corner, with a huge shelf of movies and DVD's off to one side. A very advanced looking computer set-up occupied most of the space on a desk near a window.

"This room is bigger than my house Sakura!" He exclaimed.

"Thanks. So, you wanna watch a movie, or surf the net? I have an enhanced DSL line."

"What do you usually do?" He asked.

"Do you promise not to tell anyone?" She asked, suddenly serious.

"Sure, I can keep a secret." He wondered why Sakura was so nervous.

"I'm a hacker," she said.

"Really, that is so cool. Have you ever seen the movie Swordfish?"

"Yeah, I own it. I'm better than those guys anyway," she replied. "So, you want a demonstration?"

"Sure, you do know hacking is illegal right?" Sakura gave him a 'duh!' look.

"Please, as if anyone could ever catch me. I've cracked this cites police computers already and I'm working on one of my greatest projects ever. I've been working on it for nearly four years. I'm trying to crack my Dad's company's security system."

"Why is that a problem? I thought you were great." Chris replied.

"You have no idea what kind of codes and firewalls this company has. They're a military company remember? Hey, you wanna help me? I could use an extra hand."

"How can I help? I barely know anything about computer code."

"I just need someone to watch some stuff for me and activate programs. I may be good, but I can't be everywhere at once. So, you in or not?" She looked ah him with an exited gleam in her eyes.

"Ok, but I can't promise I'll be much help," he admitted.

"Great! Here, use this," she said as the fished a laptop out from under the desk. It was blue and pink but Chris took it. Sakura connected a few wires and then she was trying faster than Chris could fallow. He saw a few screens that looked military, then computer code. "Ok Chris, activate Icebreaker program now!" She ordered. Before they had begun, Sakura had brought up a list of programs and readouts of Chris's computer and given his a quick once over so he knew what to do. He typed a command and the codes on Sakura's computer changed from red to blue. "Yes! Were in. Beginning download."

"What! You're stealing military data!"

"Well yeah. Why did you think I wanted to get in here? Don't worry, I'm only copying. I want to find out what Dad does for a living. I'm not going to sell this to anybody if that's what you're thinking. Just keep your eye on the firewalls." Before they'd gone in, Sakura had built five firewalls to distract the military from finding out abut her intrusion. So far they were holding. Suddenly, one dot turned red and a second on went yellow.

"Sakura, wall one is down and two is failing!"

"All right hang on. I've gotten 75...80." Two more dots went red.

"Sakura, we're down to the last wall, disconnect!" Chris was scared now. If the police found his and Sakura…"

"All right," she sighed. With a final shish of her dingers, the connection was terminated. "Well, I got 90 of it. I guess that'll do. So, was that exciting?" She asked.

"Yeah! I can see why you needed my help. That security was good. So, what did you manage to download?" Chris asked. He wanted to know what he'd risked his freedom for.

"It's still encrypted. The computer'll need some time to work on it. Are you hungry? We can order anything you want." Chris's stomach let out a growl that answered for him. He blushed.

"I guess so. How about pizza?"

"Sure, you like Cheese?" Chris gave a nod. At the same time the computer gave a beep. "That was fast. I guess the security on that data wasn't as heavy as I thought. Let's see what we've got!" Chris couldn't understand anything the computer was showing, but Sakura evidently did. "This is incredible."

"What! What did you find?" Chris asked.

"Dad's research journal. It says here that he's been working on a formula based on…I don't believe this. Aliens!"

"Did you say aliens?"

"Yeah, says here that the American government gave Dad's company a sample of tissue from an alien on ice in area 51. Listen to this. The D.N.A shows that this being possessed remarkable mental abilities, as well as enhanced senses and…."

"What, and what?" Chris asked.

"There's a gap in the data. It must have occurred when I disconnected. This makes up for it though! It says here that Dad has a lab right here in the house where he's researching the alien tissue! I wanna see! You in?"

"I've gone this far," Chris replied with a shrug.

Sakura led him down into the mansions basement. It was much darker and colder there. Finally they reached a steel door with an electronic combination lock.

"How are you going to get in?" Chris asked. Sakura smiled and tapped in a nine digit code. The door opened with a creak.

"The combination was in Dad's journal. Come on let's look around!" She pulled him through just as the door swung shut again. The lab, in Chris's mind, was just plain cool. Charts and graphs were piled on a desk. Chemicals were bubbling and lining the walls. A small safe was near the back of the room. Sakura gravitated to the safe and opened it with another stolen code. Inside was a single beaker and a folder. Sakura took the folder and opened in on the desk. "Wow Chris. According to this, that beaker is a formula designed to give a human the abilities of the alien! Oh man, this is intense. Imagine what I could to with the abilities that journal mentioned. I'm gonna try it."

"Wait a minute Sakura! What if it isn't finished yet? It could kill you or something."

"It won't. The folder says that all Dad's waiting for is a test subject."

"But he'll know someone took it when he comes down here."

"No he won't. I'll just switch it with another beaker and he'll think he lost it. That happens all the time to him. Now come on! Mom and Dad'll be back soon." She grabbed the beaker, put another one in the safe, and dragged Chris out of the basement and up to hr room. "Ok, according to the folder, 50 milligrams should do it," Sakura said, pulling a syringe from a drawer by the computer.

"Are you sure about this Sakura? I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Why Chris, you're so sweet," she said, causing Chris to blush. "Yes, I'm sure. Now, here I go," she said and jabbed the needle into a vain in her elbow. She gave a small gasp, then took a cotton swab and used tape to hold it in place. "Well, that was surprisingly easy," she said after a minute.

"Do you feel any different?" Chris asked.

"No, maybe it takes time before the effects activate. Well, its getting dark. I'll have my limo take you home. See you tomorrow at school."

"All right, see ya." During the ride home, Chris thought about what would happen to Sakura. When he walked through the front door, his little sister Ashley immediately jumped onto him.

"You're home! Where were you? I was worried," she said in her fake grown-up voice. She was about the age of Sakura's sisters, with black hair that reached down her back, and blue green eyes. She was always trying to act older than she was.

"I made a new friend today and she took me to her house." He regretted those words as soon as he said them. Ashley's eyes lit up and she began to taunt him.

"Chris has a girlfriend! Chris has a girlfriend!" She sang until Chris clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I DO NOT!" He replied. He was sick of this. Every time he announced he had made a new fiend who was a girl, Ashley started teasing his that he had a girlfriend.

"Chris, are you home?" His Mother called from the kitchen. The smell of pasta sauce told Chris that it was spaghetti for dinner tonight.

"Yeah Mom I'm home."

"How was your first day at school?"

"Chris got a girlfriend!" Ashley cried from behind Chris.

"She's lying Mom, as usual." Ashley made a face and took her place at the dinner table.

"But you did make a new friend?"

"Yes, and Mom, she's rich! I didn't know it when I met her but her Mom's an actress and her Dad works for a military development company. You should see her house!"

"Well, I'm glad honey, but you shouldn't just be friends with this girl because she has money."

"Of course not Mom. I said I made fiends with her before I knew she was rich." By this time he was through with his dinner. He had an innate ability to eat and talk without mixing the two together. He gave a yawn. "Well, I'm going to bed. See you in the mourning."

"Good night," his mother and Ashley replied, Ashley adding "lover boy." He gave a shrug and went upstairs. He brushed his teeth and climbed into bed. He was out like a light.

Chris woke up at precisely 7:10 to the shill ringing of his alarm clock. He gave it the usual overhead smash from his fist then reached and flipped the switch that turned the alarm function off. He got dressed in a simple blue t-shirt and pants. He attached his watch to his right wrist and grabbed his backpack. He slide down the stairs and grabbed a slice of toast from the table. "Bye everyone!" He called.

"Hold on a minute young man," his mother replied. "Why are you leaving so early?"

"Yeah, you never leave this early," Ashley added, appearing from behind her mother.

"Sakura said she'd pick me up today."

"Sakura? Oh you mean your new friend. I'd like to meet her sometime."

"That's her pulling up," Chris said indicating a black stretch limo pulling up to the curb.

"Oh my! She has her own limo?"

"Yep, now I gotta go. See ya later." As soon as he was safely in Sakura's limo he collapsed.

"Are you all right Chris?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just glad to finally get away from my sister. Every time I tell her that a girl asked me to be her friend she thinks they're my girlfriend."

"My sisters annoy me all the time too."

"So, do you feel any different?" Chris asked. He was curious to see if what Sakura had told him last night was true.

"Well, I do feel a little stronger, but that could just be me. Like I said, the effects might take a while." Suddenly she grabbed her head and doubled over. Chris grabbed her before she could fall.

"Sakura, and you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah, I suddenly got this killer headache for a second. I'm all right now though. Hey!"

"What?" Chris asked.

"What do you mean? You just said that my skirt's still too long."

"I didn't say that. I might have accidentally thought it but…Hey! You're telepathic now Sakura!" Chris exclaimed.

"I'm what?" Sakura looked confused.

"You can read people's minds. This is so cool. Hey, try sending thoughts. Say something to me with your mind." Sakura closed her eyes and an instant later Chris heard her say hey.

"Well, did I do it?" She asked. She looked as excited as she had last night.

"Yeah, it worked. Hey, imagine the pranks you could pull of Mr. Clark. You could read his mind and get every kid in his class an A." Sakura smiled thoughtfully.

"Sounds like a plan to me. He deserves it after the way he treated me. I hope I get other powers soon." Suddenly the limo came to a halt.

"Miss Sakura, we have arrived," the driver reported over the intercom.

"Well, I'll see you in Math Chris. I'll send you a message this way if anything else happens." She paused to throw him a wink and disappeared into a crowd of students.

It was two hours later when they finally met up again in Mr. Clark's math class.

"So, anything new yet?" Chris asked.

"You bet," she said inside his head. "Watch Mr. Clark," she said. Mr. Clark was stacking the day's test papers by his desk. He had a steaming cup of coffee on his desk. As he reached for the papers, he nimbly avoided the cup with his elbow, but it fell over anyway. The coffee soaked the test papers. They were ruined. Mr. Clark looked furious but for once he could only blame himself. Chris looked at Sakura and she was smiling.

"Meet me in the plaza at lunch," she said to him. He nodded.

After getting some pizza from the cafeteria, he spotted Sakura. She was waiting with an eager look on her face.

"This is getting so cool Chris! Did you see what I did in math!" She was practically glowing with happiness.

"Yeah, you humiliated him and saved the class from his test. Everyone owes you one."

"What could she possibly do that's so great? She's not even popular," said a snobbish voice from behind them. They turned and found themselves staring a tall redhead with designer jeans and a Bebe t-shirt looking down at them like she owned the place.

"Oh, hello Katie. Didn't see you." Chris replied.

"Obviously. She didn't even bow to me. Isn't what you Japanese do to your superiors?" She asked Sakura.

"Show me a superior and I'll ask them," she replied. She was obviously no stranger to girls like Katie. Katie turned slightly red.

"Don't you talk to me that way! Do you even know who I am?" She asked outraged.

"No, should I know you?" Sakura replied calmly.

"I happen to be Katie Harrison, the most popular girl in school. Captain of the cheerleading squad and the swim team, voted prettiest girl of the year and girlfriend of Captain Jackson of the football team." She read as if from a list.

"Nice, now let me try mine," Sakura replied. "I am Sakura Taylor, daughter of an actress and a business executive. Voted most popular girl two years in a row at Yamazaki Junior High, and better in math than you." Katie was silent for a moment, then simply turned and walked away.

"That was cool Sakura. Not many people dare to stand up to Katie like that. You're brave."

"Thanks, but I think I'll have a little fun with her," Sakura said with a sadistic smile on her face. She glared at Katie and for a moment her eyes glowed blue-green. Katie suddenly stumbled and stumbled into a tree, getting a laugh from the kids around her.

"Nice one Sakura," Chris admitted. "Having a fiend with physic powers is so cool."

"Thanks Chris. It hurts my head every time I get a new power, but it's definitely worth it. Hey, you want to come over to my house today and see if I get any new powers?"

"Sure. I'll meet you in the parking lot after last period. See you then," Chris called as he walked away.

For the rest of the day, all Chris could think about was what a cool new friend he had. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the final bell rang. Chris tore through the halls to the parking lot. Sakura was waiting for him beside her limo.

"Hey Chris," she called. "Guess what? I found out I've got athletic abilities now. The track team and the swim team both wanted me to join."

"That's cool, so did you?"

"Yeah, how could I turn them down? I've never been very athletic, until now. So, let's go to my house. My back's killing me. I think I might have overdone it a little bit at Track."

On the way to her house, Sakura told Chris about her day.

"I was late to third period so I decided to run, and man did I run. One of the track team kids saw me and asked me to join the team. So after school I met the team at the track. We did a race and I won by a mile. To say they were impressed would be an understatement. Their mouths were on the ground! They said that they wanted me to be their new team captain. I said no but that I would join the team. After that, I was swamped by every athletic club in school. I chose the swim team because I swam a lot back in Japan."

"That's so cool. You just might be able to become the most popular girl in school if you keep this up. So, anything new yet?" He asked.

"No, but I've been working on the powers I have. I can read peoples minds a lot easier and I've learned to shut out background noise from people. Also, I can more things with my mind, watch," she said as her eyes began to glow blue-green. A bottle of Coke floated from the fridge surrounded by Sakura's energy. She made a twisting motion with her thumb and index finger and the top flew off into her other hand. Chris was speechless.

"Wow Sakura! That was the coolest thing I have ever seen! I can't wait until your next power comes around."

"Me either. I wonder what's next. Teleportation maybe, or flying. I'm so excited Chris!"

"Ms. Sakura, we've arrived." The voice from the drivers' cabin reported. Chris and Sakura looked out and saw that they had arrived at the mansion. The minute they got to Sakura's room, she lay down on her bed.

"Man, my back's still killing me. Maybe my bones are growing or something."

"Where exactly does it hurt Sakura? My Mom used to work in a massage clinic. Maybe I can help, it couldn't hurt."

"All right," Sakura agreed. "It's right between my shoulder blades. It feels like I'm being pulled of something." Suddenly, she gritted her teeth and gasped.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Chris asked concerned.

"I don't know. It felt like someone stuck a needle in my back. "Ack! There it is again! Chris, take a look would you? Sakura asked, lifting her shirt. Chris turned bright crimson. "Come on! It hurts you know!" Chris managed to beat back his fear and ran his hands along Sakura's spine. It definitely felt strange.

"Sakura, it feels like something's poking out of your spine. Maybe you're starting to change physically as well as mentally." Sakura gave a shudder when Chris said that.

"No! What if I grow a tail or horns or something? I'll be a freak Chris!" She cried.

"Calm down Sakura. Tails are at the bottom of your spine, and horns are on your head. Just relax and breath. I'll get you though this," Chris said, blushing slightly. Sakura gave a nod and another shudder. This time Chris saw the skin between her shoulders move. Sakura had started to sweat heavily and her breathing was fast and shallow. She whimpered as her skin continued to ripple. Chris held her hand and tried to help her control her breathing.

"Come on Sakura. Just breathe deep. I'll help you get thought this," he promised. Suddenly, the skin between Sakura's shoulders started to bulge. Sakura gave a small cry of pain. Suddenly, two white things poked out from her skin.

"Aahhhh!" She cried. The white things continued to grow, turning into beautiful white feathers. More came out, and Sakura continued to cry out in pain. Suddenly, there was a flash of white light and Chris was thrown across the room, ending up on Sakura's bed.

"Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She screamed. Then the light faded, and Chris opened his eyes and stood back up. Sakura was standing as well, and sprouting from her back were two beautiful white wings. They were white as snow and glowed with Sakura's energy. They each had to be at least ten feet across when extended. Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Well, that was different," she said after a minute. "Well Chris, is anything different? You'd better not say that I have a tail!" She warned.

"Uh Sakura, turn your head," Chris replied simply. Sakura slowly tuned her head, afraid she'd see something terrible. Instead, she saw a pure white wing extending from her back. Another was on the opposite side.

"Way cool! Wait a minute, this is bad! How am I going to hive these things from everyone? Oh man, when my Dad finds out….." Sakura looked terrified. Suddenly Chris had an idea.

"Hey Sakura, I might have an idea. Your wings appeared in a flash of energy so maybe you can make them disappear the same way," he suggested. Sakura's face lit up again.

"Great idea Chris! It's worth a try I suppose. Now, how do I do this?" She asked.

"Try to feel the energy flowing through your wings and making it go back into your body." Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She remained still for five minutes. Suddenly, her wings started glowing again. "You're doing great Sakura, keep it up," he encouraged. The wings shone like pure energy, then started slowly sliding back into Sakura's skin. After another minute they were gone and Sakura opened her eyes.

"It worked, but it sure felt weird. So, what do you think Chris?" She asked.

"The first time I saw you I thought you looked like an angel. Now you've completed the look." he replied. Sakura blushed. "So, how come everyone didn't come running up here when you screamed?" Chris asked.

"My parents are out for the night and my room's soundproof. It helps when I watch late night movies. So, do you think we should tell my sisters about all this now? I mean they might want to try it to."

"Try what?" A small voice asked. Sakura and Chris both jumped and saw Ron standing in the partly opened doorway, Myu and Hikaru poking their heads above hers. Together they walked into the room full of curiosity. "What are you talking about Sakura?" Ron asked again.

"Well, Chris, do you think I should tell them?" Sakura asked. Chris thought for a minute.

"Why not. If we don't tell them, they'll start spying on us." The girls each gave nod confirming that.

"All right. Stay still Ron," Sakura ordered. Her eyes took on their glow and Ron was lifted into the air in an aura of blue-green light. She gave a squeal of delight.

"This is awesome Sakura! How'd you learn to do this?" She lowered to the ground and Sakura took a deep breath.

"That was nothing, watch this," she said as her wings came out again in a flash of light. The girls gave gasp of amazement.

"Sakura, you're and angel?" They said together, unable to tear their gaze from the wings sprouting from their sisters' back. "Can you fly with them?" Myu asked. Sakura suddenly looked confused.

"I haven't tried yet. I only got these things a few minutes ago," she confessed. "So, do you girls wanna try it too?" Sakura asked. She secretly wanted them to so she wouldn't be alone. The girls looked shocked for a second.

"Really Sakura! You'd let us?" Ron asked with barely contained excitement.

"Sure, if you want to. I have to warn you though; it can be pretty painful, especially when you get your wings. So, are you still sure?" The girls hesitated for a second as they processed this information, then each gave a eager nod. "Ok, let me get everything." Sakura dug the vial out from under her bed and grabbed three syringes from her drawer. "Now hold out your arms," she ordered. She gave them the injections and applied the bandages to their arms. "Ok, it should take a day of two for the effects to start so let me know the minute anything unusual happens to you ok?" The girls gave a nod and ran out of the room in joy. "Also, don't tell anyone about any of this, especially Dad!" She called after them. "Well Chris, now we wait and see what happens," she said as se climbed into her bed. "Man I'm beat. Those wing transformations take a lot of energy. Hey, since it's a Friday, wanna stay the night? My parents won't be back until mourning." Chris gave a small blush.

"I've never stayed over at a girl's house before. Are you sure it'll be all right?"

"Of course, so come on. We can stay up late watching movies and I can practice using my wings. This night's gonna rock!" She said with joy.

The rest of the night Sakura and Chris watched movies. First action, then on a dare they ended with Aliens. Sakura screamed a few times and grabbed Chris, causing him to blush. They fell asleep soon after.

Chris woke up first the next morning. He had used a sleeping bag Sakura had in her closet. He picked up a novel off her bookshelf and quickly became engrossed in it. He glanced over at Sakura and thought how she looked so beautiful while she slept. An hour later she woke with a yawn.

"Morning Chris. Did you have any good dreams last night?" She asked as she headed off to the bathroom.

"Yeah, I had a dream that the aliens from the movie were attacking and you came and saved me," he answered. A minute later he heard the sound of the shower running. He returned to his book. Half an hour later Sakura came out dressed in blue jeans, a red sleeveless shirt and an orange sweater.

"You look great," commented Chris. Sakura gave a slight blush.

"Thanks Chris, so after breakfast you wanna go shopping?" She asked.

"Sure I guess. So what's for breakfast?"

"Let's see, it's Saturday so it'll be pancakes and sausage. That sound good to you?" Sakura asked. Chris gave a nod. "My sisters should be down in a few minutes. I wonder if they've gotten any powers yet. Come on, before it's all gone," she called as she slid down the stair banister while Chris took the steps three at a time to keep up. When they entered the kitchen, the smell of gourmet food entered Chris's nose.

"Man Sakura, your food sure smells good," he commented. Sakura smiled.

"It tastes even better. Come on, sit down," she instructed. The food was the best Chris had ever tasted. A few minutes later Sakura's sisters came in. They each looked very happy.

"Well, what happened," Sakura prompted.

"I knew you were going to say that Sakura," Hikaru replied. The other girls nodded to say they had too. Sakura looked very happy.

"Great, so can you speak with your minds now?"

"You bet," three voices replied in her head in stereo.

"Cool, you can speak in stereo. Can you do anything else yet?" Sakura asked. The girls gave a nod and glanced at their silverware. Myu's eyes glowed pink, Hikaru's violet and Ron's crimson and their forks floated to their hands. Sakura looked extremely impressed. "Very impressive. Were you up practicing all night?" She asked, already knowing the answer. The girls nodded their heads. "Well at least you were doing something useful. So, wanna practice later," she asked. The girls eagerly nodded their heads. Breakfast was over in a few minutes and Sakura and her sisters gathered in the indoor swimming pool area since no one would see them if they tried their powers.

"Ok everybody, our first exercise will be levitation. Concentrate your power on yourself and imagine floating. Watch me," Sakura ordered. Her glow surrounded her and she rose five feet into the air. "Ok, now you girls try it," she ordered. The girls own glows surrounded them. Ron and Myu rose three feet and Hikaru rose five. "Great! You were amazing, especially you Hikaru. Ron, your eyes actually look a bit scary you know. All right, next up is something I just came up with, watch my hand," Sakura said. She closed her eyes and extended her left arm out. Her aura came out and moved to her hand. The energy collected in front of her open hand.

"Psi blast!" She called out and the ball of energy leapt from her hand and flew into the pool, causing a massive eruption of steam and the water came over the side before trickling back in. After the sound had vanished, Sakura glanced at the others. They were in awe. Their mouths were hanging open.

"That was incredible Sakura!" Her sisters said in stereo. Chris nodded, too impressed to do anything more.

"Thanks, I got the idea when I returned my wings. Chris told me to draw the energy into my body. After that I thought about what would happen if I pushed the energy out. Thanks for the idea Chris," she commented. Chris gave another nod.

"So, since your sisters haven't gotten their wings yet, do you think they can do it too?" Chris asked.

"Hmm, good point Chris. Let's find out. Ok girls, give it a try. Remember; focus your energy in your hand and push. Ok go!" She called out. The girls shut their eyes and extended their hands. Their auras appeared around them and as they concentrated it flowed to their hands and coalesced into balls of light.

"Psi blast!" They said in unison and the balls of energy leapt from their hands into the pool, causing an even more massive eruption of steam. The water also reached the wall before receding. The girls looked proud of themselves. They looked at Sakura for approval.

"That was great girls! You're really good with your powers already," Sakura praised.

"Only because you've been teaching us Sakura," Ron commented. Her eyes still glowed a bit with energy.

"Thanks Ron. Now let's practice your levitation some more. Try lifting those weights," She ordered, pointing to a pile of weight disks stacked in piles at the end of the room.

"So is this like psychic weight training?" Myu asked.

"I guess that'd be a good name for it. Let's get started." As the girls walked over to the weights and tried to levitate them, Sakura caught Chris's arm and pulled him over to a pair of slightly wet chairs and sat down. "Chris, I want to say I'm sorry," she said.

"Sorry for what Sakura?" Chris asked. He was confused.

"I never considered giving you one of the injections. I was just so excited and then my sisters found out and…" Chris reached over and took Sakura's hand.

"You don't have to be sorry Sakura. I understand how you feel. If I'd gotten your powers I'd be a little focused on myself too." Sakura's face broke into a big smile.

"Thank you for understanding Chris," she cried, pulling him into a hug. Chris turned bright red at first then started to turn blue.

"Uh Sakura, I can't breathe," he choked out. Sakura let go quickly.

"Oh my! I'm sorry Chris. I guess I don't know my own strength yet," she said, holding one hand behind her head.

"It's all right. So, now that you've realized you left me out, are you gonna let me try it?" He asked.

"Oh, sure. Come on, we'll do it right now. Girls, I'm going to give Chris his injection. Why don't you go get your swim suits on and see if you're any better at swimming yet," she called. The girls gave a nod and skipped out of the room. Sakura took a glance at how much they'd managed to lift. Ron's pile was at ten pounds, Myu's was seven and Hikaru's was fifteen. "Pretty good for a first try," she said to herself. When she and Chris arrived at her room she turned to him. "Are you sure about this Chris? The effects might be different because you're a boy," she said.

"Don't worry about me Sakura; I'm sure I'll be fine. Now let's get this over with. I really hate needles," he added when Sakura gave him a look. Sakura pulled out the needle and filled it up. Chris noticed that the vial was only half full now. "So, how come your brother hasn't been around the past few days?" Chris asked when the needle had come out.

"Oh, he's off at some science camp and he won't be back for about a week or so," she replied. "When he does come back I don't think we should tell him about all this."

"Why not Sakura, he is your brother?"

"You don't know my brother. Not only can he not keep a secret, he'd probably want to analyze us and see what made our powers work. Not to mention the commotion he'd cause when he told Dad."

"Are you sure about all that Sakura? He didn't seem all that bad when I first met him."

"That was after school. He's always calm after school. But this one time I got a new computer and he took it apart. Another time I was sick and he was convinced I had some rare desiease and he spent every free minute he could get poking and prodding me and always, always asking me questions. You beginning to get the idea? Now imagine what he'd do if he found out about my powers. He'd probably want to dissect me and he'd probably tell Dad everything, and that's when the trouble would really start."

"I'm starting to get what you're saying. I guess we should keep quiet, at least until we see if he can be trusted. So, what do you say we get back to the pool and see how the other girls are doing? You said you got on a swim team."

"Good idea, I'll get in some practice too. You go on down, I'll be there in a minute."

"Ok, don't take to long," Chris called as he closed the door.

When Chris got back to the pool, he took a seat in the same chair he'd been in before. The girls were already swimming laps. They were pretty fast he admitted to himself. They were in matching blue one piece suits. Ron had a slight lead in the race, but Hikaru was closing in. It ended in a tie. Chris clapped, causing the girls to glance up, realizing that he was there.

"You girls are great. You swim way faster than the other kids your age," he praised. They gave him happy smiles and asked him if he wanted to join in.

"I would, but I didn't bring my suit," he replied. The doors opened at the far end of the room and Sakura entered. She wore a white two piece bikini. Chris blushed and the girls laughed.

"What do you think Chris?" She asked. Chris looked at her again. He blushed but didn't turn away.

"You look beautiful," he replied. "So, think you can beat your sisters? They've gotten pretty good," he warned.

"Oh don't worry," she replied with a mischievous smile on her face. She took a running leap at the pool diving board, and jumped seven feet into the air. She did a triple back flip before landing in the water with a small splash. She broke the surface a moment later. "Hey, don't give me that look," she said when they stared at her. "I did tell you I was on the swim team didn't I? You think they don't have practice? So come on girls, let's race," she called out. The girls eagerly took their starting places at the end of the pool. Chris clapped once to signal the start. The girls took off like rockets. Hikaru pulled ahead for a minute, but Sakura blazed past the others in the final few meters.

"Sakura is the winner!" Chris announced when everyone had finished. "You were awesome Sakura," he added. The girls sat down in some chairs. The race had apparently taken a lot out of them.

"Thanks Chris. Well I think that's enough practice for today. Let's go up to my room and watch movies," she suggested. Everyone cheered at the idea.

After everyone had changed, they gathered in front of Sakura's TV wall.

"So, what should we watch first?" She asked to a blur of voices. Everyone wanted something different. "Well, since it's my room, I get to pick," she said to a room full of disappointed groans. "Let's see. How about Barbie?" Everyone turned white.

"Gotcha! As if I even own stuff that babyish. I can't believe you actually fell for that," she said in between laughs. "I choose Pirates of the Caribbean." That choice was greeted with cheers as she stuck the DVD into the slot below the screen. They all had fun relaxing after the training. Sakura had the servants bring up snacks as the marathon went on. The next movie was Planet of the apes, fallowed by Battlefield Earth and Men in Black. By that time it was already dark and Sakura heard the door open downstairs as her parents came inside. Everyone went down to greet them.

"Welcome home," they said together.

"Thank you, it was a tough day at the office. So, who wants dinner?" He asked. Five hands went up. "All right, let's see what's on the menu tonight."

The 'menu' that night consisted of spaghetti, garlic bread, steamed vegetables and corn. Everyone ate all they could. After dinner, it was strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

"My, that was certainly an excellent meal," Mrs. Taylor announced.

"You should come home more often Mom, that way you could eat like this every day," Sakura countered.

"Oh Sakura, you shouldn't tempt me like that. You know it's always very busy on the set. I'd like to have dinner with all of you every night but my schedule simply won't allow it. Plus I have to watch my figure you know." After they'd left the table, Mrs. Taylor came up to Chris.

"Hello there. You must be Sakura's new friend Chris. I'm her mother, Caroline Taylor."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Taylor," Chris responded, giving a slight bow.

"Oh now, you don't have to bow to me. We aren't in Japan anymore. Believe me I got enough bows from my fans back there. So, what do you think of my daughter?" She asked out of the blue.

"Ohm uh, well, that is...I think she's a very pretty and smart girl," he stammered. Mrs. Taylor smiled in amusement.

"Oh now don't worry, I was just having some fun with you." Chris visibly relaxed.

"Chris come on. We're starting another movie up here," Sakura called down from her room.

"I'll be right there." He replied. "Excuse me," he said to Mrs. Taylor before swiftly ascending the stairs.

"So what did you think of my parents Chris?" Sakura asked as soon as Chris had sat down on his sleeping bag.

"Well your mom seems nice. She also has a slightly weird sense of humor. I didn't really get a chance to talk with your dad but he seems nice."

"That's good. He's nice pretty much all the time, unless something happens at work. So, we're watching Episode One next. Have you ever seen it?" Sakura asked.

"Of course. I own all the Star Wars movies," he replied. During the movie, Chris tried to see if his powers had started working. He put a tennis ball on his stomach and tried to move it. He tried and tried but couldn't get it to budge. After the movie ended everyone started getting ready for bed. As Chris lay in his sleeping bag he tried one more time to get the ball to move. It refused to give and inch.

"Still at it Chris?" Sakura asked coming out of the bathroom. Chris gave a nod.

"You bet. I can't even get this stupid ball to move."

"Don't worry, it takes a day or so for the effects to start remember. Just remember not to do anything around my Dad. He'd freak and I'd be grounded for the next twenty years."

"You know I'd never do anything like that Sakura. Well, good night."

"Night Chris, sweet dreams," she replied.

When Chris woke up the next morning, Sakura was already in the shower. He picked up the book he'd been reading a few days ago and read until Sakura was ready.

"Well Chris, how are you feeling?" She asked.

"All right I guess. So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well I was thinking that we could all go shopping. What do you think?"

"I guess that'd be ok. I've never gone shopping with girls before."

"Oh don't worry, my brother's coming back today so he'll be with us. Don't worry, we won't force you to go to girly stores." Chris blushed.

"I wasn't thinking about that!" He protested, but Sakura touched her finger to his head.

"Remember Chris, I can read your mind so I know when you're lying."

"Actually, I forgot about that. I guess I'll come. You're going to buy me everything I want right?" He said, joking of course. Sakura just smiled.

"You'll find out when we get there Chris."

Half an hour later everyone was in Sakura's limo and on the way to the mall. The girls were all chatting about what cloths they were going to buy. Shun slid into the seat next to Chris.

"Hey, I'm Shun. I don't think we've spoken since that time when you and Sakura picked me and the girls up from school."

"We didn't speak then either," Chris replied in a joking tone.

"No I don't suppose we did. So, what do you think of the Taylor family so far?"

"Well your sisters are fun to be around. They seem to not trust you very much though." Chris was hoping to get something from Shun that would explain to Chris why Sakura and the others didn't like him very much.

"Oh yeah. They haven't trusted me ever since I told on them for cheating on a test they took."

"Really? That seems like a pretty small thing to hold a grudge for."

"Well, I also have a habit of telling Dad when they do something wrong. They don't seem to understand that I'm only doing that for their own good." Finally Chris was getting somewhere. Now he understood why Sakura had told him not to tell Shun anything. If he found out, he would certainly tell Sakura's dad, and that would not be pleasant. Suddenly, the limo came to a halt and Chris saw they had arrived at the mall.

"Everyone, we're here," he called to the girls. Everyone piled out of the limo and headed for the mammoth main gate.

"Well, this is certainly better than the malls back in Japan," Sakura commented as the gang entered.

"What do you mean Sakura?" Chris asked.

"Well, back in Japan there would probably be ten times as many people here. It would be impossible to get anything new and we'd probably be pick-pocketed."

"Wow, I bet you're glad you came here."

"You bet. Now let's get down to business. What does everyone want to get?" Sakura asked to the bouncing girls and the nervous boys.

"Let's go to the J.Jill store. I heard they got a new shipment of designer skirts," Hikaru stated. The other girls nodded their heads in agreement. The boys let out groans of protest.

"Oh come on boys. It won't be that bad. My sisters never buy more than a dozen things at a time."

"You call that a little?" Both boys asked at the same time, each giving the other a surprised look. The girls gave them a look and walked off, knowing the boys would follow.

"Man, I'm beat," Chris said three hours later.

"How can you be tired? All you boys did was sit on the benches outside the stores." Sakura replied. After the J.Jill store, the girls had gone around the mall looking for new cloths to wear now that they were in America. They had been wearing their Japanese cloths mostly up until then. After that they had taken a break at the food court. Finally, they had stopped and told the boys it was their turn.

"So, does that mean that you boys don't want a chance to drag us girls all over the mall?" Sakura asked in a voice suggesting she already knew the answer.

"Fine but Max'll be the only one buying anything." Chris stated. Sakura looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and shock.

"What are you talking about Chris? I'd think that this mall would have at least one thing you'd like."

"It's not that Sakura. The problem is that most of the stuff I want is way out of my price range." Immediately after Chris finished his sentence, Sakura and the girls started laughing. Chris was confused.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"It's the fact that you think you don't have any money Chris. Didn't you think of me? If you want something, just ask me."

"What? Are you saying you'll but me anything I ask for?" Chris said in disbelief. Sakura gave another smile.

"Now what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you out when you're low on cash?" Sakura asked. "Now don't get any ideas. I may be rich but I'm not going to go buy you a car or anything, but I'd be happy to get you some computer games or a computer and things like that." Chris was speechless.

"Wow! I've never had a girl offer to but ME something before. That drew another laugh from the girls.

"Well Chris, what do you wanna buy today?"

"How about some movies?" He replied timidly.

"Sure, let's go."

After two more hours, everyone was loaded down with purchases, and Sakura called for her limo. On the way home, Sakura asked Chris if he'd gotten any powers. She spoke in his mind so Shun wouldn't hear him.

"I'm not sure. I can hear your thoughts, but it could be because you're reading my mind. I'd try something, but your brother's in the car and you said we shouldn't show him anything." Sakura gave a barely perceptible nod.

Half an hour later, they arrived back at Sakura's mansion. Shun went to his room to listen to some music he'd bought. Chris and the girls went into Sakura's room to see how far along Chris was.

"Well Chris, try saying something with your mind," Sakura ordered. Chris closed his eyes and a moment later the girls him say 'anything yet?'

"Great job Chris," Sakura said when he opened his eyes. "Now, try moving something with your mind." Chris looked at Sakura's bed and a pillow flew off and whacked her in the head.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" Sakura asked. Chris looked embarrassed.

"Sorry about that Sakura. I was trying to make it fly to my hand. Guess I'll have to work on my aim," he replied with a hint of mischief in his voice. Sakura most have sensed it, because she gave him the same smile. "Well, should I try to make my wings come out now, or is it too dangerous?" Chris asked. Sakura walked over to her door, shut it, and then pushed a button on the wall. A faint whooshing sound was heard for a moment.

"It's safe now Chris. I lowered the sound proof insulation. So go ahead and give it a try."

Chris closed his eyes and tried to feel for something in his back. There! A warm feeling between his shoulders. The exact place where Sakura's wings appeared. He concentrated on that feeling and it became warmer. Then a pain washed over his back and he fell to his knees. Sakura rushed to his side with the other girls.

"Are you all right Chris? It hurts doesn't it?" Chris gave a nod.

"Well just like you told me, hang in there. I'll get you through this." She said while squeezing his hand. "Hang on a second," Sakura said while she reached down and removed his shirt. "Wouldn't want your shirt to get shredded would you?'" She said when Chris tried to stop her.

A minute later, white feathers began to poke out of Chris's back. He gave a gasp. Then, the wings started to grow in and he screamed. Then came the flash of light and the girls were thrown across the room. When they got back up and rubbed the spots from their eyes, Chris was standing up, wings glowing with the same colored energy as Sakura's.

"Well, what does everyone think?" Chris asked after a minute.

"You look fantastic Chris. Now you're one of the angels. Your wings are a little bigger than mine though," Sakura noted when Chris gave his wings a test flap. They were a foot or so longer than the girls wings. Chris grinned.

"Cool. Do you thing that means I'm more powerful than you?" He asked. Sakura and the girls gave him an annoyed look.

"Let's find out tomorrow Chris. Our school has a holiday tomorrow, but Max's school doesn't."

"But don't your sisters have school tomorrow?' Chris asked.

"Yeah, but their classes are going on a field trip tomorrow, and Dad never got their permission slips," Sakura said with a grin on her face. Chris understood. They'd sacrificed their trip to watch him.

"Thanks girls," he said to them with his mind. They just grinned.

"No problem," they replied in stereo mind speak. "It was to the Zoo anyway. We can go there anytime."

The next day Chris and the girls gathered at the swimming pool. They had Chris run through the standard levitation test.

"All right Chris, try a Psi Blast." Sakura ordered. Chris extended his arm and the energy collected into a perfect sphere.

"Psi Blast!" He called out, and the ball leapt from his hand and landed in the pool, causing the usual blast of steam and wave of water. "Well, did I do all right?" Chris asked. Sakura ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"You did great Chris! Now that you've become one of us, I think you're ready to be my boyfriend. What do you say Chris?" Sakura asked expectantly. Chris looked shocked.

"Uh, well, I, that is I mean…sure. Sorry, but I haven't had many girls ask ME to be their boyfriend." He replied.

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Chris gave a blush. "So, are you ready for some more training?" Sakura asked. Chris gave a nod.

"All right, now do another Psi Blast, but this time instead of shooting it, try changing its shape."

Chris held out his hand and the blast formed. He slowly started closing his hand, and the ball of energy changed into an arrow shape. He turned towards a concrete block that Sakura had brought in. "Psionic Arrow!" He called, and the arrow flew into the block and shattered it. He turned back to the girls who were amazed.

"That was awesome Chris! How'd you do that?" Sakura asked.

"I pushed at the energy but I didn't let it go, so it got longer and thinner. It started to burn me so I fired it. It looks like its blast's more focused than the regular Psi Blast. Ok, now you girls try it. Oh wait; we don't have any more targets. Well I'm tired after that, let's go watch some movies in Sakura's room," Chris suggested. Everyone agreed.

Meanwhile, Shun had just gotten out of school. As usual a limo was waiting to pick him up. But inside the limo was his dad, a rare thing, His father almost never picked him up unless he had something important to tell him. His father seemed to sense his curiosity.

"So Shun, I get you're curious as to why I'm here." Shun nodded.

"I know that you're the most responsible child in this family, so I've decided to tell you a secret, but you cannot tell anyone else without first asking me, do you understand?" Again Shun gave a serious nod. "All right. Five years ago I was contacted by the U.S government. They were doing tests on an alien they had discovered but they were having trouble getting enough funding without raising suspicion, so they came to me. They knew my company had the technology and connections to do the research they couldn't." Shun looked impressed.

"Awesome Dad! So have you made any breakthroughs?"

"Oh yes. A few months ago we developed a serum that could give humans some of the enhanced abilities the alien possessed. Unfortunately, I somehow misplaced the vial of the serum. It took these last three moths to develop more. Now I'm ready to begin the experiment, but I need a test subject." Shun now looked excited and anxious.

"You want me to test the experiment for you! I would be honored Father," he replied.

"Excellent, I'm very proud of you Shun. When we get home, I'll take you to the lab I keep in the basement and we'll get started."

Shun was barely able to sit still the entire ride home. When they reached the mansion, they quickly entered the basement level and soon reached a steel door. Mr. Taylor typed in a code and the door slowly opened. Inside, Shun was confronted by a scientists dream. Medical instruments covered tables and computers lined one of the walls. Shun and his father made their way to the back of the lab where Mr. Taylor opened a safe. Inside were a folder and a vial of greed liquid.

"This is the serum." Mr. Taylor said. "Now, the procedure can only be done with a needle, so be brave." Shun made a stern face and extended his arm. His father filled a syringe with the serum and injected it into Shun's arm. He experienced a brief burning sensation, and then he was fine. His father bandaged the wound and together they left the laboratory.

"Now remember Shun, if anything starts to happen to you, come and tell me right away. I'm going to keep you home from school for a few days so we can monitor you." Shun looked annoyed. He didn't like to miss school, but he knew his father was right and gave a small nod. "Don't worry; I'll have your sisters get your homework." That brought a smile out of Shun. He had always prided himself on never turning in an assignment late. On the way to his room, he saw the other children leaving the pool area slightly rusty. That was odd, he thought. How could anyone get dusty in a pool?

"Hey Sakura," he called out to get her attention. "How come you're all dusty?" He asked.

"Oh, we were moving this concrete block that was in the way and we dropped it. We put it in the trash." Shun looked satisfied, but still slightly suspicious. He dismissed it for the time and continued up to his room.

"That was a close one," Chris exclaimed when Sakura had secured the room. "Do you think he suspects anything?"

"Maybe, but I doubt he could guess the truth. After all he doesn't even know about the serum. Still, we've got to be more careful from now on. If he catches a glimpse of us in Angel Form, we'll be in so much trouble. Unfortunately this means we'll have to cut back on our training." Everyone get out a sigh of regret. "We can still practice in my room but we won't be able to practice our attacks. I know, I'm bummed too, but it's better than Dad finding out about us." The gang nodded their heads in agreement. "So, how about we get out of this sad fest and have another movie marathon. We did after all get fifteen new movies." That thought lifted everyone's spirits and soon they were laughing and screaming again.

The next day, Shun woke up with a monster headache. He headed to his parents room and caught his father just as he was getting ready to leave for work.

"Father, when I woke up this mourning I hade a huge headache. I thought you might like to know."

"Thank you for telling me Shun. The headache might be the first indication that your powers are beginning to develop. Listen, why don't you come to work with me today and we'll find out if anything has happened to you yet." Shun's face lit up.

"Thank you Father! I've always wanted to see the place you work."

"Remember, everything you see and hear there is classified, understand." Shun gave a serious nod.

When they arrived at Mr. Taylor's company, they were ushered into an underground entrance. After parking, they got into an elevator and soon arrived at a testing lab.

"Well Shun, let's see what you can do."

"I'm ready Father," he replied. They had him lift things with his mind. Then they made him levitate himself. Shun's father looked immensely proud of his son.

"You're doing fantastic Shun! Keep this up and we'll be famous!"

"What do you want me to do now Father?" Shun asked. He was fascinated at the things he could do now. "Imagine what the girls will think when I show them what I'm capable on now. If that's all right with you Father of course."

"We'll see. I don't know if we can trust the girls not to talk about it with their friends at school." Shun smiled.

"Oh I don't think they will. I have several secrets that they'd kill to keep secret from their friends."

"Very well then Shun. Now back to the exercises." Suddenly Shun doubled over as if in pain. "Shun, What's wrong!"

"I don't know Father. Suddenly I have this intense pain in my back." He let out a gasp of pain.

"Get him to the observation room. We have to find out what's wrong with my son." Several scientists entered the room and picked up Shun's twitching body. They hurried him to a room with a large metal table and several lights. They took his shirt of and began to examine him.

"Sir, I think you may want to see this," one of the doctors said. Mr. Taylor hurried over and saw that Shun's back was beginning to bulge in two places between his shoulder blades. He let out more cries of pain.

"I'm so sorry Shun. I had no idea that anything like this would happen. Forgive me." Shun managed to turn his head so he could see his father.

"It's all right Father. This must be another stage in my development. I don't blame you. After this is finished, I think you will most likely be astonished." Suddenly, two white feathers began to poke out from Shun's back. Mr. Taylor could only watch as more feathers began coming out. Blood began trickling down Shun's back where the feathers were growing. Suddenly, there was a huge flash of white light and Shin let out a massive scream of pain. Mr. Taylor and the doctors were thrown against the walls. When Mr. Taylor picked himself up, rubbing his head, his jaw dropped. Shun was standing. And protruding from his back were two ten foot white wings. They glowed with Cobalt blue energy. Slowly, Shun opened his eyes, which were glowing the same color as his wings. "I believe the transformation is complete Father. Are you pleased with the results?" He asked in a very scientific voice. All Mr. Taylor could do was gape. Finally he managed to pull himself together.

"Yes Shun, I am very pleased. This is a development I didn't expect. Well, let us see what you can do with these wings of yours. Try moving something again Shun." Shin jumped down from the table and stared at it. The table began to glow with Shun's energy and slowly lifted off the ground. "Excellent Shun. I believe you have now reached your full potential. Let's go home and we'll come back tomorrow." Shun gave a nod.

"I agree Father. I am tired. I believe I could use the rest."

"I am still very proud of you. Now, we have to come up with some way to hide your wings"

"Why don't you simply throw a coat over them," Shun suggested, moving his wings so they closed around him. With the coat around his body he looked completely normal. "Father, can I show the girls and their friend my wings when we get home?" He asked.

"Very well. Their friend seems trustworthy." It took the limo forty-five minutes to reach the Taylor mansion. By that time Shun could hardly sit still. Plus the fact that his wings had really started to itch from the coat. When they passed through the front door Shun immediately ran for Sakura's room. He knocked on the door and a minute later Ron opened it.

"Oh it's you Shun," she said with distain. "What do you want?"

"I have something to show everyone," he replied.

"You mean your new fashion statement," she replied with humor in her voice.

"Something like that," he said to her surprise.

"Fine come in," she said. "Hey everybody, Shun's got an important announcement," she said with boredom. The other girls and Chris gathered around, trying to hide their smirks at Shun's choice of clothing.

"Well to begin, let me tell you that what I have to show you will shock and amaze you."

"Please, if we wanted to hear that kind of stuff we'd turn to the magic channel," Hikaru said. Shun shot her a look and she said nothing more.

"Now, to make this short, let me introduce the new me," he said as he threw his coat away and his wings extended to their full length. Everyone in the room except Shun gaped and stared wide eyed at the sight of their brother with angel wings. "So, are you impressed?" He asked.

"How could this have happened?" Sakura said to everyone in mind speak.

"Did you say something Sakura?"

"No. How did this happen Shun?"

"Well you see, Father has been doing research on an alien specimen the U.S government has kept on ice. He created a serum that could give a human the enhanced abilities the alien possessed. The wings were an unexpected side effect. Besides them, I can more things and speak with my mind. Pretty awesome wouldn't you say?" He asked.

"You bet. You look tired bro. I think you should probably go and lie down," Myu said.

"I agree. Well I just wanted to show you. Oh, one other thing. If any of you tell your friends at school about this, you will regret it." With that said Shun walked out of the room. As soon as he'd closed the door, Sakura lowered the sound proof insulation.

"Ok, this was totally unexpected." She said. Everyone nodded their heads.

"What are we going to do Sakura," Chris said. "Pretty soon he'll be able to read our minds and then he'll know all about us!"

"Don't panic Chris. We've learned to keep other peoples' thoughts out of our minds. I think we can do the same with Shun. When you're around him, just think about something other than your powers and try to block any scans he sends at you. With any luck he hasn't developed his powers enough to detect that."

"Yeah but what'll happen when he does Sakura? I mean your Dad's probably got his entire company working on developing his powers. We may have had them longer that Shun, but we didn't have team of scientists to help us develop our powers. We're going to need a miracle."

Little did they know that they would soon get a miracle, but not of the kind they were hoping for. For at Mr. Taylor's company, one f the scientists who had worked on the serum was working late. He had been one of the doctors who had seen Shun grow his wings and he knew what he had to do. He reached down deep into his desk and withdrew a silver-gray orb about three inches wide. He pressed his thumb to it and felt a sting as it took a DNA sample. It buzzed for a moment, and then projected a beam of light into the air. It widened to form a holographic screen shaped like an inverted triangle. Gradually a face covered in shadows appeared. The only discernable feature was a mouth and chin with gray skin and sharp teeth.

"You have something to report?" It asked in a low and malevolent voice that could curdle milk.

"Yes master. They have used His DNA in an experiment and created some sort of hybrid." The voice suddenly emitted a sharp hiss.

"How dare they! They will pay for using my own family in such a disgusting way. I will be there shortly."

"You mean that you are coming to Earth Master? I thought it was forbidden."

"Silence!" The voice boomed. "I will have my revenge for what they have done! Prepare for my arrival." It ordered before vanishing back into the orb. After it was gone and doctor collapsed back into his chair.

"I pity the poor fools who have angered my master. They will regret what they have done. I wish I could do something, but that would mean my death as well. I prey they have mercy on you Mr. Taylor. I prey." He packed up and let the office for home, where he dreamt nightmares about when his master would come.

The next morning everyone woke up early. They had breakfast and then went swimming to work off some of their nervous energy. Shun had visited home and brought a plain green swim suit with him. They were swimming laps when Shun walked in dressed in a bathing suit identical to Chris's.

"Good morning everyone." He said. "I thought I'd test my athletic abilities today. Would any on you care to race me?" He challenged.

"Ok, do you think if any of us race him he'll suspect us?" Chris asked.

"I don't think so if I race him. He knows I'm on the swim team and he's never been much of an athlete. Besides, when he's concentrating on swimming I can take a look inside his mind and see how his powers are developing," Sakura replied.

"Sounds like a plan. Go for it Sakura," Chris encouraged.

Sakura and Shun took their starting places at the far end of the pool. Shun looked confident. He knew his sister was a good swimmer and that she was on a swimming team but with his new powers he was confident he could win.

"Ready, get set, GO!" Chris shouted. Shun and Sakura both leapt into the pool and started dashing through the water. Shun had a lead for most of the race. Chris knew Sakura was probing his mind while at the same time making him think he was winning. Shun was fast though, and it took some effort for Sakura to keep up with him. As they neared the finish line Sakura did the same thing she had done when she'd raced her sisters. She put all her energy into one burst and blew past Shun and won. Shun looked angry. He never liked losing at anything.

"How could you beat me! I'm the one with the powers. You shouldn't even have been able to keep up with me!" Shun vented.

"Well, I am on the swim team you know." Sakura replied. She had gotten a good look at Shun's mind and when he'd left she would tell the others. "I was saving up my energy for the final sprint. That and your wings might have been slowing you down," she added. Shun's wings were dripping wet where they met his back.

"Well, as soon as I get stronger, we'll have a re-match and then I'll beat the pants off you!" Shun vented.

"Uh Shun, we don't wear pants when he swim," Sakura responded. Shun turned red and stomped off.

"Well, that went better than I expected." Sakura said a moment later. "At least he didn't throw us into the pool."

"So, what did you find out Sakura," Ron asked.

"Well, he can lift things and levitate, and he has wings. Dad's going to take him back to the lab for some more training tomorrow. I suggest that we all meet here after school and do some intense training. We have to keep up with whatever Shun learns in case he ever tried to make us his slaves like he always says he will."

"We're in," the others said with their minds.

The next day after school everyone met at Sakura's house after her dad and Shun left for the lab.

"Ok, first we'll all try copying Chris's Psionic Arrow attack. I've set up concrete blocks over there," she said indicating a row of ten blocks set up across the pool. "All right, charge up and fire!" Everyone, including Chris, began creating their energy spheres. Then they slowly began to close their hands until the balls changed into cylinders with points at one end.

"Psionic Arrow!" They all called out as they launched. The arrows impacted against five of the blocks and blew them to pieces. When the dust cleared everyone gave a cheer.

"It worked! We can all do it!" Hikaru called out.

"That's great. Now, let's go on to the hard stuff," Sakura said. "Now we're going to try creating an energy shield to deflect our attacks." Everyone began to get nervous.

"So we're going to be shooting our energy at each other," Ron asked.

"Yes but don't worry. We won't try that trick until we've perfected our shield techniques. Now, let's get started. Begin by forming a Psi Blast." Everyone created their spheres of energy. "Now, instead of compacting them, try making then wider. Let go of the edges but hold on to the center." Everyone's balls began looking like circles. "Great! Now try pushing the outer and inner edges together." The gang began to sweat from the strain of keeping a hold of their energy for so long. Finally the balls looked like large circular shields.

"Can we let go now Sakura?" My asked. She was breathing heavily.

"All right, fire your energy into the water." The girls let their energy shoot into the water and caused a huge cloud of steam but there was no wave this time. "Great. Now let's-" She stopped when Myu, Hikaru and Ron suddenly doubled over. "What's wrong?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"My back," they answered.

"Chris, quick help me get the girls up to my room. Their wings are starting to come in," she said as she picked up Ron and Myu. Chris tossed Hikaru over his shoulder and together they quickly took the girls down a hall and up the stairs to Sakura's room. As soon as she set the girls down on her bed she closed her door and activated the sound proof insulation. Chris set Hikaru down by Ron, ad saw that they were sweating and breathing quickly.

"Sakura, I think it's time," he said. Sakura came up by Chris and arranged the girls so they were lying side by side on their stomachs. She removed their shirts so they wouldn't be shredded when their wings emerged. "Chris, go and get some towels from the bathroom," she ordered, and Chris hurried off. By the time he got back, the girls backs were already beginning to bulge. Suddenly, white feathers poked through their skin.

"It hurts Sakura," Myu said in between gasps. Sakura and Chris were using the towels to mop up the blood that was trickling down the girls' backs from the tears in their skin.

"I told you it would hurt when you got your wings. Don't worry, you'll be fine in just a few minutes," Sakura said, hoping to calm her down. More feathers poked out. "Chris, I think we should back up a little," she said, remembering the burst of energy that always marked the final stage of the wing emergence. She and Chris backed up and took cover behind her dresser. When the wave came it was more powerful because there were three of them at once. Sakura hair blew as if in a breeze and the comforter of her bed flew across the room. After the wave and wind vanished, Sakura and Chris stood up and looked over at the bed. The girls were standing up, and their wings were proudly flowing from their backs. Their energy flowed through their wings in gentle waves.

"You look magnificent girls," Sakura praised. "So, do you feel any different?"

"I feel a bit heavier," Ron commented, experimentally flapping her wings in a gentle rhythm.

"That's probably because you just grew two ten foot wings," Sakura said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Ok, now we're going to see if you can conceal your wings," Sakura said, not adding that if they couldn't they would be in a huge amount on trouble. "Feel the energy in your wings and draw it into yourself. I know you can do it," she encouraged.

The girls closed their eyes and breathed slow deep breathes. The glows of energy on their wings began to shine more brightly. Suddenly, their wings flashed and became pure energy and slowly slid back into their skin. When their wings were completely gone, they collapsed back onto Sakura's bed.

"We're all right Sakura," Hikaru replied in a whisper. "We're just tired. Returning our wings really took a lot out of us."

"I know," Sakura replied. "Why don't you girls get your shirts back on and we'll watch some movies." The girls looked pleased with the idea. They disappeared into the bathroom and came out fully dressed and plopped themselves on Sakura's bed. They each grabbed a pillow and they all pulled the pink comforter that Chris had retrieved for them.

Sakura kept the movies quiet and calm. Chris looked a bit down when Sakura said they weren't going to watch Episode Two, but he managed not to make a scene. Sakura put on the Parent Trap, a movie about twin girls who try to get their divorced parents back together. The girls fell asleep about halfway through, leaving Chris and Sakura the only ones awake.

"Well Chris, I guess we should get to bed too," Sakura suggested.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So I guess you're taking me to school tomorrow," Shun replied.

"I guess. Well sweet dreams Chris," Sakura said before falling to sleep alongside her sisters.

"Hey Sakura, do you think your brother will find out about our power?" Chris asked

"I hope not. If he does, I'll tell Dad first. At least that way I can try and make him understand. Still, if it happens," Sakura gave a small shudder. Chris put his arm around her shoulder.

"If it does happen, I'll be by your side Sakura," Chris said, giving Sakura a small kiss. They both blushed.

"Thanks Chris, you're the best friend I've ever had," Sakura replied. "Well, goodnight."

"Night Sakura," Chris replied as he and Sakura both fell asleep, where they dreamed of the bond they now shared.

Stay tuned for the next chapter and see what happens to Chris and the girls.