Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

Chapter 2: The Transfer Student

Suzie's mind had been spinning with questions ever since Alex had shown up in her class. It was natural, considering how the two of them had met before the school day had even actually begun. Alex had just shown up out of the blue to save her from a rampaging Digimon, stole her first kiss, and then left. Then later, before Suzie could even fully process what had just happened, Alex had shown up in her class as a new transfer student like nothing had ever happened. The whole thing had been just a little too much for Suzie to take.

Lunchtime had arrived, and Suzie was sitting at her usual table with Miki and Aki. The three of them all had their eyes on a nearby table where Alex was sitting, and the redhead was not sitting there alone. Alex was surrounded by several other girls, many of them from different classes. They were all bombarding Alex with questions about her life, and Alex was more than willing to entertain them. There were even a few boys on the fringe of this gathering, all of them present likely in the hopes of asking Alex out.

"The new girl certainly is popular," Aki remarked. "I mean I know transfer students are always kind of a big deal when they first show up, but everyone's treating her like she's some kind of celebrity."

"Well, she does have kind of a glamorous quality about her," Miki remarked before letting out a heavy sigh. "Of course I'd understand more if she were a guy."

"Will you let it go already? So you have one less boy to chase after. Just go back to chasing the captain of the basketball team, or to gushing over that idol group you're always obsessed with."

"But I thought the person joining our class might be my future husband! Suzie, you're disappointed too that the new girl isn't a guy, right?"

Suzie had hardly heard a word Aki and Miki had been saying. Right after Miki had asked her question, Suzie rose from her chair and walked over to where Alex was holding court with her new legion of admirers. She stood behind Alex and cleared her throat to get the redhead's attention.

"Something I can help you with?" Alex asked.

"I wanna know who the heck you are and what that thing this morning was about," Suzie demanded.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Have we met before?"

"Oh come on! Right before school started, you showed up outta nowhere and saved me from an evil Digimon!"

Alex looked at her for a moment and chuckled. "You certainly have quite the imagination. Now I don't blame a girl like you for wanting to get close to me, but maybe you should come up with a better method than trying to weave me into some strange fantasy of yours? Now if you don't mind, I'm a little busy right now."

Suzie opened her mouth to argue when she noticed all of the members of Alex's entourage were looking at her like she had just sprouted a pair of bunny ears on her head. Upon realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere, Suzie calmly walked back to her table. Miki and Aki were looking at Suzie like she had gone nuts.

"Um, what the hell was that?" Miki asked.

"Don't ask," Suzie responded before turning her head to glare at Alex. "All I'll say is I think that new girl is going to drive me nuts."

Gym class has ended, and Suzie found she was feeling better after having taken a long run out on the track field as part of the class's activities for the day. Most of her classmates had already gone to the showers, but Suzie had volunteered to help put away some of the gym equipment that had been used. She had partly done this out of a desire to be alone for a bit. Once the last of the equipment had been put back, Suzie finally headed to the locker room and undressed to shower off. She entered the large group shower and heard there was water still going.

What Suzie saw in the middle of a cloud of steam and cascading water was Alex, her eyes closed as the water cascaded down around her. Suzie suddenly found herself gazing at Alex. The redhead has the body of a goddess. Her breasts were not too small, yet not to large, and her abs were perfectly toned. There wasn't a mark of a blemish on her porcelain skin, which currently had glittering droplets of water clinging to it.

Alex at last turned off the water and wiped her face with a nearby towel before opening her eyes and noticing Suzie. "Oh! Hi there. See something you like?"

Suzie opened her mouth to respond, but the only sound that came out of her throat was something that didn't sound like any word of any known language.

Smirking, Alex walked up to the pinkette and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "We should talk later."

With those words, Alex continued into the locker area, leaving Suzie to stand alone in the middle of the showers.

Falling to her knees, Suzie groaned and covered her eyes with her hands. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

School had finally ended for the day, and as Suzie made it out to the front steps she found Lopmon waiting for her at the top of the stone railing to her right.

"Hi Suzie," Lopmon greeted. "Have a good day at school?"

"Don't ask," Suzie responded with a heavy sigh. "Right now I just want to go home, flop face-first onto my bed, and pretend I'm dead."

"Well before you do, I have a message from Kotemon."

"From who?"

"You know. The Digimon partner of that girl who saved us this morning."

Suzie thought back to the end of her encounter with Devitamamon and recalled that Crusadermon had split into Alex and a little reptilian creature in kendo gear that Alex had called Kotemon.

"Anyway, Kotemon said that Alex wanted to meet with you on the roof," Lopmon continued. "We never did thank them properly for saving us, so this would be a good chance to."

After thinking about it for a moment, Suzie nodded. "Yeah. It might be a good time to settle things with her. Let's go."

A few minutes later, Suzie and Lopmon were up on the roof of the school. They found Alex and Kotemon standing by the wire fence at the roof's edge.

"Well hello again," Alex greeted. "I'm guessing you have a few things you want to say to me."

Suzie crossed her arms. "Yeah, and most of the words have four letters."

Still with a smile on her face, Alex raised her hands in surrender. "Okay. You're mad about what happened today at lunch. Sorry, but I don't want the other kids here to know I'm a tamer. It's sort of like how most superheroes have secret identities. That's why I pretended like I didn't know you before."

Suzie's expression softened a little. "Okay, I can understand that. Still, you could've gone about it better."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"Also…thanks. For this morning, I mean. Lopmon and I would probably be dead if you and Kotemon hadn't shown up."

"I'm just glad Kotemon and I were there at the right time."

"By the way, what was it that happened to the area when Devitamamon showed up?" Lopmon suddenly asked. "It was almost like this world and the Digital World just merged together."

"We don't know," Kotemon answered. "It was just as big a surprise to Alex and I as it was to you."

"Hopefully it won't happen again," Alex added. "But if it does, Kotemon and I will be nearby to protect you."

"Thanks," Suzie responded. "There's…just one more thing. Why did you kiss me before?"

Smirking, Alex walked up and stood face to face with Suzie. "Why wouldn't I give a kiss to a girl as cute as you?"

Before Suzie could respond, Alex planted a firm kiss on Suzie's lips. It lasted for only a moment, but the kiss made Suzie feel like the world was spinning.

"Later, cutie," Alex told the pinkette. "Let's go, Kotemon."

Kotemon nodded and trotted after Alex as the redhead walked to the door to the stairs. As Alex and Kotemon left, Suzie fell to her knees. Her world still felt like it was spinning.

"Suzie, are you okay?" Lopmon asked.

"I'm not sure," Suzie responded. "Right now I don't know which way is up."

"Maybe you should go to the nurse's office."

"No, I'm not that messed up," Suzie assured him as she got back to her feet. "But Lopmon? Promise me you won't say a word to this about anyone."

Lopmon nodded. "If that's what you want, fine. No one will find out about Alex from me."

As Alex and Kotemon reached the foot of the stairs, the screen of the redhead's D-Arc began to glow with a crimson light that was bright enough to shine through her pocket. Alex and Kotemon knew what the light meant. Their commander wished to speak with them.

Alex pulled her D-Arc out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "Alex Bradley, reporting."

"I trust your mission is proceeding smoothly," a gentlemanly voice spoke from the screen.

"Yes sir," Alex confirmed. "I've gotten close to the Wong girl, as ordered."

A sinister laugh issued from the device. "Good! It's comforting to know that the sacrifice of a servant like Devitamamon did not go to waste. I had a feeling you were just little Suzie's type."

"If I'm being honest sir, she's my type too."

"Do not forget your mission, Bradley. I placed you there so you could get close to the Tamers, nothing more. I trust you will do what needs to be done when the time is right."

Alex's expression became serious. "Don't worry, sir. I know what my mission is. When you give the order, Kotemon and I will end every single one of the Tamers ourselves."

Suzie was in for yet one more surprise as she and Lopmon passed through the front gates of the school. Waiting for them by a black car was a young man dressed in a tweed blazer with a green polo shirt and grey slacks. Perched on the young man's shoulder was a Digimon that looked like a white and green version of Lopmon with only one horn. The young man was Suzie's older brother, Henry. The Digimon on Henry's shoulder was his partner, Terriermon.

"Hi bro," Suzie greeted. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up," Henry explained. "We got a call from Yamaki to come meet him at Hypnos. He wants everyone there for some kind of meeting."

"Oh. Okay," Suzie responded.

Suzie and Lopmon got into the passenger side of the black car belonging to Henry. Once Lopmon and Terriermon were in the back seat, Henry started the car up.

"You were a little late coming out," Henry remarked as he began the drive down the road. "You weren't being chewed out by one of the teachers, were you?"

"No!" Suzie responded. "I…was talking to a new friend and lost track of time."

"A new friend, huh?"

"Yeah. Our class get a transfer student, Alex."

Henry's right eye twitched a little. "So…this new friend of yours is a boy?"

"No. A girl. Alex is short for Alexis."

Henry breathed a small sigh of relief. "Okay. By the way, there's another reason Dad wanted me to come pick you up today. Hypnos picked up some kind of strange digital disturbance near your school. Did you and Lopmon encounter anything strange this morning?"

"Uh, nope! Just another ordinary day," Suzie responded.

Suzie had no intention of telling her brother the truth about her run-in with Devitamamon. Henry had a tendency to be a little overprotective of her. If he knew Suzie had been attacked by a wild Digimon, he'd insist on driving her too and from school and forbid her from leaving the apartment unless absolutely necessary. Her father would be even worse about the whole thing.

Henry side-eyed Suzie with suspicion. "Well, if anything does happen, let me know."

"Don't worry, Henry. If anything happens to Suzie, I can keep her safe," Lopmon assured her.

"Yeah, unless it's from a Digimon stronger than Champion level," Terriermon remarked.

"Hey! Gimme some credit! I was once one of the twelve Devas, you know!"

"Yeah, but that was quite a few years ago. Ever since you've, well…let's just say you've been in kind of a slump."

"Terriermon has a point," Henry agreed. "Lopmon's just not as strong as he used to be. If anything dangerous happens, promise to call me at once."

Suzie let out a heavy sigh. "Fine!"

Upon their arrival at Hypnos, Henry, Suzie and their two Digimon were immediately escorted to a large boardroom. The room was already occupied by a number of people they knew quite well. The first of these individuals was a young man about Henry's age with brown hair, wearing a blue polo shirt with a tan jacket and grey jeans. This was the de-facto leader of the Digimon Tamers, Takato Matsuki. With Takato was a red dragon-like creature with a white underside and a pair of batwing-shaped ears or horns on its head. This of course was Takato's Digimon, Guilmon. Jeri was sitting next to Takato at the large table, wearing a pink t-shirt with black jeans.

Perched on Jeri's shoulder was a small white creature with large green eyes, short arms, large feet with purple toes, and ears with purple triangular ridges. On its forehead was an inverted red triangle surrounded by three smaller black triangles. This was Jeri's Digimon partner, Calumon. In the seat net to Jeri was a young woman wearing a long black jacket, blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a purple heart on the front. This was one of the strongest members of the tamer group, Rika Nonaka. Leaning against the wall behind Rika was a yellow and white bipedal fox with piercing blue eyes and wearing purple elbow-high gloves. This Digimon was Rika's partner, Renamon.

Sitting next to Rika was a young man with brown hair, wearing a grey t-shirt with a black vest and blue jeans. This was Rika's boyfriend and another ace member of the Tamers, Ryo Akiyama. Standing behind Ryo was a humanoid dragon with red wings and a body covered in sleek black armor. The dragon in question was Ryo's Digimon, Cyberdramon. Sitting at the head of the table was a young man with somewhat long wild brown hair, who was wearing sunglasses despite being inside, and was clad in a white t-shirt and faded blue jeans. This was a new member of the group who had joined during the Crimson Plague incident, Parker Nash.

Standing next to Parker was a fairly short humanoid figure with brown hair and blue skin wearing a primarily yellow garment with several zippers, along with brown leather boots and gloves that each had a golden crescent moon on the front. He also had on a blue cape with a collar that covered the lower half of his face, and a large conical blue hat with a white skull on the front. This person was Parker's Digimon partner, Wizardmon. Lying in the middle of the large table with his head propped up on his hand was a small black humanoid creature with large pointed ears, a long tail, and a white face with green eyes. He wore red gloves on his hands and a red bandanna around his neck, and on the creature's stomach was a yellow smiley face with fangs. This creature was known as the troublemaker among the Tamers' Digimon, Impmon.

Sitting at the table in front of Impmon was a brother and sister who were a bit younger than Suzie. They both had brown hair, with the boy wearing a red t-shirt with blue jeans, and the girl wearing a simple yellow dress. These two were Impmon's partners, Mako and Ai. Sitting next to Mako was a brown-haired young man about Takato and Henry's age, wearing a black jacket with a grey t-shirt and blue jeans. This was the goofball member of the Tamers, Kenta Kitagawa. Standing behind Kenta was his partner, Guardromon; a clunky brown robot with green eyes and a round hatch on its chest.

In the chair next to Kenta was a dark-haired young man with glasses and wearing a white polo shirt with tan slacks. This was Kenta's partner in crime, Kazu Shioda. Perched on Kenta's shoulder was a small pink fairy-like sea creature with a red heart on the front of its chest. This was Kenta's Digimon MarineAngemon.

"Looks like the gang's all here," Takato remarked as Henry and Suzie entered the room. "Henry, do you have any idea what this is all about?"

"Not a clue," Henry responded as he and Suzie sat down at the table. "I guess Yamaki wants to brief us all at once."

As if on cue, Yamaki entered the room with Janyu and Sato. The three of them stood at the other end of the table to address the group.

"Thank you all for coming," Yamaki began. "The reason you've all been called in is because of a little shakeup here at Hypnos. I'd now like to introduce you to out new director, Colonel Hitomi Sato."

"Thank you, Assistant Director Yamaki," Sato began as she stepped forward and crossed her arms.. "I'll come right to the point. The government put me in charge of this little operation because it's been decided that you all need a little more direct supervision. It's clear these Digimon encounters aren't going to end anytime soon, and the Prime Minister himself feels it's unwise to entrust the security of our nation from these creatures to a ragtag group of kids."

"What exactly are you saying?" Takato asked.

"I'm saying that from this point on, you and your little pets are forbidden to take part in any incidents involving rampaging Digimon. Any further encounters now fall under the jurisdiction of the military. Every single person at this table is a civilian, and is thus unqualified to take part in any military action."

"What about our Digimon?!" Kenta asked. "Are you gonna throw them in prison or something?"

"You can keep the creatures you have as pets," Sato assured them. "Consider it a thank you from our government for helping with the D-Reaper and Crimson Plague incidents. From this point on though, using those pets of yours in battle is now strictly forbidden. Also bare in mind that from now on, you and your pets will be kept under strict hidden surveillance. Step out of line even once, and there will be consequences."

"But what happens if we're there and a hostile Digimon attacks?" Takato asked.

"You are simply to leave and let the proper authorities deal with it," Sato answered bluntly. "The days of you playing hero are over."

"Colonel Sato, you do realize that most of the weapons used by the military don't really work against most Digimon," Henry pointed out. "The reason all of us have 'played hero' is because we've been the only ones who can really help."

Sato nodded. "We realize that. And that's why I'm also using this meeting to offer you all another option. As it is now, you're all forbidden from intervening in any future Digimon encounters, but is a way you can help. I've been authorized to put together a special team to combat future Digimon threats, and this team is going to need tamers like you."

"So…all we have to do is sign up for this team of yours and it's like it has been before?" Kenta asked.

"Don't misunderstand. You'll be authorized to use those pets of yours in battle, but only when I give the green light. I will decide who is deployed to a situation and how, and any orders I give during one of those situations is to be followed to the letter."

"But why do we need you to tell us how to do things?" Takato asked. "We've done pretty good so far."

Sato sighed. "Yes, you have. But only because you've been lucky. In the next incident that occurs, you may not be so lucky. The next battle you're in could lead to casualties. That's why there needs to be oversight, and I am here to provide that oversight. I'll let you all think about that for a while. In the meantime, I'll leave my contact info on the table for anyone who's interested in signing up for the team I'm putting together."

With those words, Sato left a stack of business cards on the table and departed from the room. Yamaki and Janyu left before Takato or the others could say anything.

"Well that was intense," Kazu declared.

"I don't believe this!" Takato complained. "What gives her the right to tell us how we can and can't act?!"

"Gotta say, I'm not surprised at all," Parker remarked. "It was only a matter of time before the Man decided us tamers should be put on a leash."

"Do you agree with Colonel Sato's decision, Parker?" Wizardmon asked.

"Hell no! You should know me better than that, Wiz. And I'm not gonna let some uptight military woman tell me I should just sit in a corner. If something bad happens, I'm gonna act."

"I'm with Parker on this," Takato declared. "If another Digimon shows up and attacks the city, I'm not just going to stand by and do nothing."

"But Takato, you could get in serious trouble," Jeri pointed out.

"I don't care! It's not this woman's call whether or not I should try and help someone."

"There is a way you can still help, Takato," Henry told him. "Sign up and join her team."

"Are you nuts?! And let her tell me and Guilmon how we should handle things?!"

"Look, a lot of what Colonel Sato said made a lot of sense. It's not like being a Digimon tamer is a recognized profession. And we're not kids anymore. If we're going to act to stop an attacking Digimon, then we need to be part of some legitimate body."

"But Henry, that woman clearly doesn't know Digimon the way we do. Not every Digimon that attacks does it because it's trying to take over our world. Sometimes it's just because they're lost and afraid. What if Sato orders us to kill one of those Digimon, without even trying to understand it?"

"Then we make her understand. It'd be up to us to be her eyes and ears out there. We can help her learn just what Digimon are really like."

"One problem there, chief. That woman clearly isn't interested in understanding Digimon," Parker pointed out. "She looks at a Digimon and she sees only a potential enemy or just some dumb animal."

"I'm with Takato and Parker on this!" Kenta declared. "There was nothing wrong with the way we did things before."

"Here, here!" Guardromon agreed.

"I dunno. I'm fine with just stepping aside and leaving things to the professionals," Kenta declared. "I mean, it's not like MarineAngemon and I were ever cut out for combat."

"Dude!" Kenta exclaimed.

"Rika, what about you?" Takato asked. "Do you think we should sign up and take orders from this Colonel Sato?"

"No, but…I'm fine with just not getting involved in more battles either," Rika declared.

"Seriously?"

"Look, after what I went through with the Seven Lords in the other world, and with having to fight Myotismon, I'm tired of fighting."

Takato turned to Rika's partner. "Renamon, do you feel the same way?"

"There really is no need to keep fighting," Renamon answered. "In the past I fought to gain strength because I needed strength to survive in the Digital World. But the human world is relatively peaceful, and I'm fine with living a peaceful life."

"I feel the same way," Ryo admitted. "You all have to realize, I've been through a lot more compared to the rest of you. I fought a long war through time and space. All I want now is a peaceful life with Rika."

"Well I'm not gonna let some army lady boss me around!" Impmon declared as he jumped to his feet. "I do whatever I want, whenever I want!"

"Impmon, you have to be more careful now!" Ai told him.

"Yeah! From what that colonel said, if you do anything bad, she'll throw you in the pound or something."

"Doesn't look like we're going to get anywhere with this," Terriermon noted.

Henry sighed and nodded. "Let's just call it a day. We can talk about this when we've all had some time to cool down."

It was dusk by the time Suzie finally returned to her room with Lopmon. Suzie felt like her brain was on the verge of overheating. Far too much had happened to her during the day. First there was her encounter with that strange fortune teller who seemed to know way too much about her life. Right after that, Suzie had been saved by Alex, who also turned out to be a new student in her class. Then as the cherry on top of her messed up day, she and the other Tamers find out that Hypnos is under new management, and that they basically all have to get jobs with the government if they want to keep saving the world whenever they need to. The entire series of events was a little too much for Suzie to take all at once.

As far as the situation with Hypnos and Colonel Sato went, Suzie wasn't sure what to make of it. The one thing she was sure of was that Henry and her father were likely going to forbid her from signing up to join the special team Sato was going to put together to fight Digimon threats. She also knew that Takato and most of the others would object to her signing up as well. The fact was for the last few years, Suzie had been treated like the baby of the group, even though she wasn't even the youngest. Ai and Mako were treated with more respect when it came to combat situations because Impmon could evolve to his Mega form.

Lopmon yawned as he climbed into his basket. "What a crazy day. I don't know about you, but I'm beat. I'm gonna go ahead and turn in."

"Okay," Suzie responded as she sat down at her desk. "Goodnight Lopmon."

Suzie decided that she should check her email before doing anything else. She wasn't expecting anything major to be in her inbox. Mostly all she got in her email were messages from Aki and Miki and ads from stores she normally shopped at. When Suzie opened her inbox though, the message at the very top immediately caught her eye. The sender was listed as Mirei Mikagura, the fortune teller she had encountered earlier that she had encountered earlier that morning. As for the subject of the message, it simply read, "HAVE A LOOK AT THIS!"

The email was beyond sketchy. For one thing, Suzie had no idea how Mirei could've gotten her email. Suzie's common sense told her not to even click on the email, but her curiosity overrode her better judgment. She opened the email. The body of the message was only a simple link that read as the following:

CLICK ME. ;)

Everything Suzie had been taught about online security told her that she absolutely should not click the link. Yet once again, Suzie's curiosity and mental fatigue overrode her common sense. She clicked on the link, and a new window opened up to a video sharing sight. A video loaded and instantly began to play. What Suzie saw shocked and astounded her. The video was of the human-like Digimon, Angewomon having sex with her opposite number, LadyDevimon.

Suzie found that she couldn't look away from the video. As scandalous as it was, it was also very fascinating. Her eyes were practically glue to the screen, and as the video continued, Suzie found she was very turned on. In fact as she watched, Suzie's hand almost unconsciously went underneath her skirt. Before she fully realized it, Suzie had started pleasuring herself as she watched the video play. She climaxed by the time the video had reached its conclusion.

Once the video ended and she came down from her orgasm, Suzie was overcome with a massive wave of guilt and shame. She closed her laptop and looked up at the ceiling almost in a daze.

Suzie covered her eyes with her left wrist. "Why the hell am I so screwed up?"

Suzie found herself suddenly standing naked in the middle of a steam-filled room, with the sound of running water coming from all around her. She realized she was in the school showers, but the space was five times bigger than it normally was. Some instinct compelled Suzie to walk forward, and after an uncertain amount of time the steam cleared. She saw Alex standing completely naked under a waterfall, her divine body glistening with droplets.

Alex saw Suzie standing before her and smirked. She sauntered over to the pinkette and pulled her close. They gazed into one another's eyes for several moments before Alex kissed her on the lips. Suzie couldn't help but return the kiss, and before she knew it Alex's tongue was exploring her mouth. When they finally broke apart for air, Alex guided Suzie over to a nearby wall and turned her around.

The redhead began fondling Suzie's breasts, sending waves of pleasure throughout her body. Suzie felt like she was burning up, and that most of the steam inside the room was coming from her.

Alex leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Now I'm going to really make you feel good."

Realizing what Alex meant, Suzie braced herself as Alex's right hand moved towards her crotch.

Suzie's eyes snapped open to a view of her bedroom ceiling. She groaned as she sat up, inwardly curing herself for her dirty mind. Suzie glanced over at Lopmon's basket and found that the rabbit was still sound asleep. She also realized that the inside of her pants felt like Niagara Falls. The pink-haired girl flopped back onto her bed and covered her eyes with her right wrist.

"Well, I guess I might as well face it," Suzie whispered. "I'm attracted to girls."

Author's Note: The little subplot I have going with Colonel Sato and Hypnos was inspired heavy by Captain America: Civil War. Those of you reading can probably guess which character is going to fill the role of Tony Stark and which is going to be playing the Steve Rogers role. I thought the idea of the Tamers suddenly needing government oversight would be interesting to explore, and it sort of continues with some of the themes I touched briefly on in Child of Darkness.