Sorry for the long wait, everyone who's reading this! Just so you know, I definitely will not abandon this story. Seriously, I think that I will go insane if I don't get it out of my head. But there may be large gaps in the time I update, such as this one. I think I've said this before, but I'm a college student now, and term papers take priority over this. Sorry! I wish I could write all the time…

Part III: Getting Revenge

"Holy water cannot help you now.

See, I've had to burn your kingdom down.

And no rivers, no lakes, can put the fire out!

I'm gonna raise the stakes; I'm gonna smoke you out."

-Florence + the Machine, "Seven Devils"

SPECIALS

It was a few weeks before Minerva fully regained consciousness again.

She was vaguely aware of many hands: touching her, poking her, prodding her. But she couldn't speak, couldn't open her eyes, couldn't exactly get to the point where she was able to do something. It was kind of like when she woke up before she wanted to: half asleep, knowing that she should sit up but wasn't ready to yet. Sometimes, a blinding white light would explode across her vision, but she couldn't cry out in pain and shock. Then everything would quickly go black again. Min could feel that she was in a bed, and yet it was like she wasn't there at all.

When Minerva finally did wake up, her mind was assaulted by millions of incoming data at once. She could feel every synthetic fiber of her sheets. She could hear footsteps and conversations from above her, below her, and all around her. She could smell way too many things to even make sense of. It was what she had always known as the hospital smell, yet now she was able to tease apart every distinct odor that contributed to it.

Minerva opened her eyes. She could tell how far away the ceiling was, but it was like looking at it through a magnifying glance. Every pore, every imperfection of the ceiling tiles was visible with startling clarity.

Amongst the din of all the sounds entering her ears, Minerva could pick out a small, insistent beeping. She turned her head to the left and right and saw several blinking monitors. She stirred underneath her covers some, and the rubbing of her skin against the sheets made an unexpected harsh, scraping noise.

She would definitely need to learn to tune some of this out.

When she had moved, Minerva felt a small tugging on her skin in several places on her body. She kicked off her covers and saw what the blinking, beeping monitors were: she was hooked up to them by various sensors and electrodes, ready to alert her surgeons if her body somehow didn't take to the new operation. She sat up with no effort whatsoever, and looked down to see that she was wearing a blue hospital gown.

Presently, the door to her room slid open, revealing several of her doctors, and behind them, eyes wide and hands over her mouth, practically bouncing up and down, was Max. They must have come when they had seen that Min had woken up, since she was undoubtedly under video surveillance.

As the doctors filed into the room, Max pushed past them and sprinted over to Min. She stopped short a few feet away from the edge of the bed, still not saying anything. Minerva, never a master of social graces, didn't know what to say either. She studied her friend's face. It looked exactly the same, even though Min was so different now.

But something was off. When the door had first slid open and Max came running over, she had seemed…relieved, because Min had made it through a risky experiment? Joyful, since they were about to be reunited? But then, Max had frozen dead in her tracks. The look on her face now was different: startled, deer-in-the-headlights eyes, and trembling lips. Her heart, which Min could easily hear, sounded like a jackhammer.

Fear. That's what it was, Min finally realized. Her childhood best friend was afraid of her now.

That didn't feel very good.

"Is it really you, Min?" Max asked tentatively, in a high, squeaky voice. It probably would have been barely audible to anyone else.

"Yes, of course it is, Max," Min answered, and promptly jumped a little at the sound of her new voice, which sent the blinking and beeping machines into a frenzy.

It wasn't her own: the sound had resonated strangely in her nose and throat, coming from deep within her chest. Min had to admit, hearing it for the first time made her own hairs stand on end.

Max gasped out loud at the sound of it, too. A strange whimpering sound was coming from Max, too high for anyone else to hear. Max probably didn't even realize she was doing it. But it was a terrible sound.

One of Min's doctors finally broke the awful silence by clearing his throat. They were all assembled in chairs around her bed, now. At least they weren't afraid of her. They had all seen it before, unlike Max.

"Well, Doctor, first of all, we would like to thank you for your excellent instruction," he said. "The operation itself went quite smoothly. You prepared us well, and your directions could not have been more clear."

"Thank you," Min said, and smiled. Max gasped quite loudly again, then quickly looked down when Min turned towards her. It took a few seconds for Min to realize that it was her teeth, this time. Min bit down on her lower lip a little, feeling their sharp points. She just wanted to get out of the bed and see herself, dammit. But she had to be polite to her surgeons, of course.

"The next few weeks were rather a different story," another doctor continued. "Just to confirm, this is the first time you've regained consciousness, correct?"

"Yes. I think there were some moments where I was partially…aware, but this is the first time I've been able to open my eyes, and the first instance of regained motor control." Her new voice actually hurt somewhat. Like everything else, she would need to get used to it. "It's been a few weeks since my operation?"

"Yes, Dr. Cable," her main surgeon answered. "You hit a few rough spots where we thought that your new nervous system wasn't taking." He took a deep breath and looked down. "There were some moments where we thought you were completely gone," he said quietly. "But all of our examinations showed that your vital signs were still good, so all we could do was wait and see what happened. We were extremely relieved to hear you speak to Maxamilla for the first time. It would appear that you are still fully yourself." He smiled warmly at her.

"Thank you, you did a wonderful job," Min said softly. She took a moment to ponder how she actually had almost died, and was extremely glad that she didn't. To think, that she had actually wanted that twice before. Min shuddered.

Max, apparently braver now that the shock had worn off, slowly reached out and touched Min's hand, which was resting atop the bedsheet.

"Aaahhh!" Max yelped, and quickly pulled her hand away. "Min, you're burning up!"

"Ah yes," one of the surgeons piped up. "Your super-accelerated metabolism makes it necessary for your body temperature to run higher than normal. It took us a while to figure out how that all would work, without denaturing your proteins, but we did it."

"You are brilliant," Min complimented him, still flinching a bit at her voice.

"And now, I'll leave you alone for a few moments," he said, and the doctors began to stand up and leave, one by one. "But please," he continued, "We would like to have a full physical examination performed on you later today, mainly to test your reflexes. Please ping one of us when you are ready."

"Of course," Min answered, and she and Max were left alone in the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

It was a little more bearable now that Max's initial fear had worn off. But still, she seemed wary.

"It's still me inside, Max," Min said. "I remember everything, right up until the moment the anesthesia set in. I haven't lost anything." Min knew that this all must be a shock for Max, and was trying to comfort her.

"Yeah, except for your voice! And your face!" Max blurted out. She looked about to cry.

Min reached out to touch her friend, then shrank back. She didn't want to make her more upset.

"I know, Max," she said. "To tell you the truth, my voice shocked me a bit at first too. But we'll get used to it. And actually, that face wasn't really me. I hated it, honestly. I miss my real one."

"Yeah, I noticed that…" Max began. "Why did you give yourself such a pointy chin? It's almost just like Ugly days!" Max began to giggle, partly out of nervousness, but some of it was genuine.

"You're right, it kind of is!" Min tried to join in, but she was unable to make the high-pitched, feminine sounds. Instead, it kind of sounded like choking, so she stopped. They had made her voice sound more commanding, downright frightening, even, but Min wondered what other vocal capabilities she had lost. "I actually tried to look a little like my old self, glad you noticed." Of course Max would notice. That was why they were best friends.

Max extended both her arms. Min leaned into them, doing the same.

It was probably the most awkward hug she had ever put up with. But this was Max, the only person who she ever liked hugging! There was a lot of hesitation, and when they finally did embrace, it wasn't warm, solid, and real. They just uncomfortably sat there with their arms draped around each other. Min could smell the soap that Max had used that morning, and the synthetic, chemical scent of her clothes. She could hear Max's heartbeat loud and clear, and feel constant tremors moving through her body. Was Max shaking, or had she just never felt all this before? Max seemed so, so small, and extremely fragile. There had never before been such a size difference between them. Before they pulled apart, Min reflected on how she could have, in that second, crushed Max in her arms and killed her.

After Max left, some orderlies came by to detach Min from the machines (the doctors, after a quick look at her, had determined it safe). Min finally climbed out of the bed. When she did so, she felt completely weightless. Not like she had a hard time getting herself up before. It was just that now, there wasn't even the slightest sense of physical effort involved.

Min put on her interface ring, which someone had kindly left in the room for her, and finally changed the wallscreen into a mirror. She let her gown fall to the floor, and looked at her new self for the first time.

Her new face, exactly as she had created it on the morpho software, looked back at her. Her dull gray eyes with their upward angle, her pointed nose, all of it was perfect. She was quite a bit taller than she ever had been before. Her body was extremely muscular, but not in a way that was big and bulky. She was as lithe and lean as a wildcat, and looked just as deadly, with her sharp fingernails and teeth.

It was odd of her to think this, Minerva knew that. But this was the first time in her life that she really saw herself as beautiful.

After her examination, Min put on some normal clothes and then was discreetly transported out of the hospital. The doctors testing her were all quite astounded by her physical capabilities and reflexes, as was Min herself. It was absolutely a thrill, seeing what exactly what she could do now. Although she had come up with the operation and techniques, Minerva had to admit that her surgeons had done a very nice job. She was pretty much perfect, and that meant that now, she could begin making others like her.

The hovercar she was riding in stopped in front of her old rowhome in the suburbs, a pit stop before she was to move into her new quarters at Special Circumstances Headquarters.

It was odd, being back. Minerva had really only stopped here to salvage whatever personal belongings she might want before she moved out. All of the furniture and rooms seemed painfully small, and Min wondered how she had ever lived here before. The downstairs was all pretty generic; nothing worth saving here. Min wasn't really a sentimental person, and didn't like keeping unnecessary clutter around; hence, an almost lack of personal objects.

She climbed the stairs to her bedroom, with Max, who had come along to help out, right on her heels. Thankfully, Max was more at ease with her now, some of the shock having worn off.

As Min went through all the stuff in her walk-in closet, most of it went right into the recycler. Her body was completely different now, after all, and none of the clothes would fit anymore. Just like when she moved into New Pretty Town, the only things that Min wanted to keep were all of her sports jerseys, especially the one she had worn when she won that first world championship match. She didn't know what she would ever do with it, just that she could never bear to unceremoniously dump it with everything else.

Soon, Minerva was standing all by herself in the huge empty closest. The sun was streaming in through the closet's one tiny window, and the scene looked extremely desolate, empty and bare, just as her heart was now.

"Min!" Max called from out in the bedroom. "Don't you want to get going? We're all done, right?"

"Yes, just hold on a second…" Min answered. Her Special vision had caught something sparkling in the corner of her closet. What was it? Min walked over and bent down to see.

It was Az's heart pendant. Before she walked out, Min picked it up and slipped it into her pocket.

Her accommodations in the newly completed Special Circumstances Headquarters were located in a secluded corner of the building, as far away from everyone else as possible. Her apartment consisted of a bedroom with a small bathroom attached. That was all she needed: a bed, a dresser, a hole in the wall, a wallscreen, a recycler, and a shower, sink, and toilet. Minerva couldn't stand frivolity. Her room was decorated in muted pastel colors, everything almost white, really. There weren't any windows, since it was underground.

Max helped her unpack everything she had brought with her. Minerva didn't want Max seeing that she had brought the locket. Minerva herself wasn't really sure why she kept it, even. When Max had left, Min tossed the locket into one of her dresser drawers. Soon, it would become buried under everything else, and stay sitting on the bottom for many more years.

Minerva lay on top of her bed, exhausted. She wasn't physically exhausted, of course, just mentally. It had been an event-filled day, after all. And tomorrow wouldn't be any different. There was a lot of Special Circumstances business to be taken care of, mainly, filling the barracks with more Specials. The program was far from established yet.

But there was one more thing she needed to do.

Minerva took a walk to the hangar, and climbed into the cockpit of one of the new Special Circumstances hovercars. She knew the coordinates that she punched into the positioning system by heart.

Her hovercar descended silently onto the grass in front of the rowhome. It was dark out, and warm yellow light poured out of the windows.

After a quick look into the downstairs, Min determined that they must be upstairs. She looked up the length of the outside wall, her eyes focusing on her target: one of the windows. Minerva was wearing a sneaksuit: a rare technology that she had negotiated would now only be used by Special Circumstances. Its scales shifted to match the texture of the house as she climbed. She wasn't going to bother knocking on the door, of course. They would never answer.

Climbing was effortless. Her hollow bones probably were what made the greatest difference. Soon, Minerva was sitting on the outside windowsill. Still invisible in the dark night, she took a deep breath and turned her head to look inside.

Maddy and Az, whom the city interface listed as married now, were sitting together in their room, apparently watching a movie on the wallscreen. The simple scene of contentment, intimacy, and warmth gave Min a nasty sort of pang in her chest. She would never have this, now.

Min pulled off her mask and hood and knocked softly on the windowpane. Az and Maddy jumped right up, spinning around toward the noise, the terror on their faces evident. The look on Min's face said, Let me in right now before I break in.

Az walked over and opened the window. "Oh, Minerva Cable," he said, his voice filled with an annoying, pitying sadness, contrary to his obvious fear. "What have you done to yourself now?"

Minerva climbed into the room, and he shut the window behind her. "I only came here tonight for one reason, Az," she said. "I don't believe we ever said a proper goodbye, and I don't like leaving any unfinished business. Loose ends are one of my greatest pet peeves."

Maddy, who up until this moment was frozen in fear and shock, said in a trembling voice, "So, you actually got it to work? I must admit, Minerva, that I thought you were a complete quack when was listening to your ideas." She laughed a humorless, nervous laugh.

"Oh, Maddy," Minerva said. "When will you ever learn to stop underestimating me?" She smiled widely, showing every one of her pointed teeth. The reaction from Maddy and Az was absolutely perfect.

"All I want to say to you, Az, is this," Min said, turning directly towards him. She was much taller than both of them, now, and it felt good. "I agree with you: maybe we weren't right for each other, after all. But you know what?" she said, her voice growing stronger, the razor in it becoming even more sharp. "I would really have appreciated some honesty from you. We could have worked it out. It didn't have to end like that, Az. You've hurt me more than you could possibly imagine!" she shouted, and strode back over to the window, at a speed no normal human could ever manage.

"Look, Minerva," he said, as she opened the window back up. "I know you've obviously got some serious issues, but—"

Minerva, already on the outside ledge, slammed the window shut, cutting him off. She half-climbed, half-fell back down the wall, then sat down on the grass, panting in anger and frustration. She shivered in the cold night.

A strange burning sensation had come to her eyes. Min blinked them hard a few times, then started rubbing them, but it didn't go away. What was wrong with them?

Then Minerva remembered: it was her own modification idea. How could she have forgotten? Her tear ducts had been significantly inhibited. Specials were designed to show no semblance of weakness.

She had already cried her last tears.