April barely reacted in time to block Amy's soaring fist. The angry cat girl flipped about in midair and landed gracefully on her feet, teeth firmly clenched, ready for more action.

Sue Ellen and April lunged forward, bombarding their foe with powerful kicks and punches. Amy blocked every one of them with feline agility. It was like fighting a cat out of hell. Buster and all the girls and women in the neighborhood stood transfixed, breathlessly witnessing the two-on-one battle.

They had never faced such a strong and quick opponent. April managed to land a few punches, but Amy was clearly concentrating her effort on wearing down Sue Ellen, so as to have only one enemy to contend with. It was working—the younger girl was becoming tired and dizzy, her movements sluggish.

Finally, her face sore and bloody, she groaned and collapsed.

Amy paused and smiled triumphantly at the weary April. "You and me," she said confidently. Despite her age and size advantages, April knew she had no hope against the still-fresh combatant.

Then, as Amy was about to deliver the coup de gras, a presence announced itself in her mind. She was no longer Amy, but Amy and Tegan. Her will to fight vanished.

April helped the battered Sue Ellen to sit up while Tegan, who had regained consciousness with Alan's aid, led the now-pliant Amy by the hand into the mansion.

"Can you stand?" April asked her adopted sister.

"Yes," replied Sue Ellen, straightening her wobbling legs. "No. Yes. No…"

In the palacial Belnap living room, Alan and Tegan held Amy and Buster in mental thrall. They were doing something they had never attempted before. They had no choice.

April's cat ears picked up a loud buzzing in the distance. It grew closer. It reminded her of the swarm of killer bees she had faced in Tanzania.

A siren, she thought.

Tegan switched her barette to the up position. She and Alan looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction. They looked at Amy and Buster.

Amy and Buster looked at themselves. They gasped in shock.

"What…what…" Buster choked out, clutching at his ears.

"Omigosh," exclaimed the dumbfounded Amy. "I'm wearing a dress. And my voice…it's…"

"MIRROR!" the two cried out together.

There was a broad full-size mirror in Amy's bedroom, and they almost fell over each other in their haste to reach it. Alan and Tegan followed them, grinning.

"How did you do this?" shouted Buster/Amy (Amy in Buster's body) as he glared at his reflection.

"How we did it is unimportant," said Tegan calmly. "But we can undo it, if you cooperate."

"I'm a girl," marveled Amy/Buster (Buster in Amy's body), running her fingers through her blond hair. "This is weird, but kinda cool. How'd you switch us? Is it permanent?"

Alan was about to respond, when a chiming sound was heard by all.

"The police!" exclaimed Buster/Amy.

As he led Alan and Tegan toward the entrance, Tegan warned him, "If you want your body back, you'll tell them nothing's wrong."

The door flew open as the cat-girl-turned-rabbit-boy approached it. A cat woman with a blue uniform, cap, and badge stood before them, the dim sun creating a glow around her. Further back, another policewoman was examining the bruises on Sue Ellen's face while April watched.

"What can we do to help?" the cat woman asked in Yordilian.

"We won't be needing your services after all," replied Buster/Amy in the same language. "Two girls had a pretty bad scrap, but as you can see, it's over."

"You speak well for an Earth boy," the officer remarked.

"Thanks," said Buster/Amy, blushing.

The policewomen returned to their white and blue hovercar, and April supported Sue Ellen as she hobbled into the mansion. Together with Alan and Tegan they returned to the bedroom, where they found Amy/Buster in a state of…

"Get dressed, Buster," said Alan, shielding his eyes.

"Hey, wouldn't you look?" said Amy/Buster.

"You made a smart choice," Tegan commended Buster/Amy. "Now if you'll set up a portal, we'll all go to Earth, and you'll be returned to your own body."

"I don't think so," said Buster/Amy with a smirk.

Alan and Tegan fell silent. Amy/Buster froze while trying to put on her dress.

"I think I'll stay like this," Buster/Amy went on. "Being a boy has its advantages. For one thing, I can have any girl I choose."

"Tell me you're joking," said Amy/Buster, startled.

Tegan reached for her barette, but Buster/Amy motioned for her to stop. "Switch us back and I'll call the police again," he threatened.

"Wonderful," April grumbled. "The body switching thing again."

The lady servant stepped into the room, made curious by the earnest nature of the conversation. "Marmel, go and create a portal so my friends can return to Earth," he instructed her in flawless Yordilian.

Marmel stood still, wondering how the rabbit boy had become so fluent and why he thought he could command her. She glanced over at Amy/Buster, who was too terrified to raise any objections. Then she turned on her heel and left the room.

Buster/Amy turned to the others and grinned triumphantly. "What are you all waiting for? You're free. Go home. There's a portal to Earth waiting."

Alan shook his head in incredulous defeat. The others only gaped.

"Go home, or I'll call the police on you," said Buster/Amy more firmly.

Amy/Buster swallowed. Her heart pounded.

She slipped her arms into the sleeves of her dress.

"Come on, guys," she said weakly. "Being a girl isn't so bad. I can live with it."

"Stop talking like that," said Alan sharply.

Marmel entered the room again. "The portal is ready," she informed Buster/Amy.

"You heard the lady," said the rabbit boy sternly. "Now get moving. You have one minute, and then I'm calling the cops."

Seeing no alternative, Alan, Tegan, Sue Ellen, and April shuffled after Amy/Buster and Marmel, heads bowed. April reached up and fastened the zipper on the back of Amy/Buster's dress.

"At least you'll have lots of girls to hang out with," said Sue Ellen as she approached the glowing gateway alongside Amy/Buster.

"And I think you'll enjoy kissing boys," Tegan added.

"Enough talk," Buster/Amy urged them. "Go! Go!"

Amy/Buster stepped up to the portal first, if for no other reason to encourage her friends by her example. She poked a finger through the misty passage, glanced down at her dress, sighed, and wondered what life as a female would be like.

She lifted her foot to take a step, and then an idea struck her. She stopped cold.

"Wait," she said cunningly. "I kinda like it here. I think I'll stay."

Buster/Amy's jaw dropped.

"You can't stay here," Alan snapped at the boy-turned-girl.

"Why not?" said Amy/Buster with a dramatic sweep of her arms. "I own the place, don't I?"

"No more jokes," Buster/Amy ordered.

Amy/Buster gazed seductively at him. "I never realized how cute I am before," she said sweetly. "I understand now why you picked me."

Buster/Amy started to sweat.

"I like being Amy," Amy/Buster told her friends. "The rest of you go ahead—I'm going to stay here and marry Buster."

"You are so not going to marry me!" Buster/Amy shrieked. "Why should I choose a freak like you, when I can have any girl I…"

Only then did he recognize the trap in which he had ensnared himself.

"Because…I'm bound…to you," he mumbled miserably.

Sue Ellen and April tried not to giggle.

"Bloody brilliant," Alan whispered to Amy/Buster.

"So," said Tegan to the morose rabbit boy, "are you coming or not?"

Buster/Amy didn't answer.

"Wait a minute," said Alan suddenly. "I just thought of a solution that should make everybody happy."

----

to be continued