Interlude - Thrust

Katherine Ford dashes as she turns the corner. She is in the lead and she isn’t just about to let James take first place at the end of the race. Especially after they went to all the trouble of clearing enough snow to make the race happen in the first place.

She briefly glances at the river running alongside the path with only a thin layer of ice above the freezing cold water. If Katherine fell into that, she doubts she could make it out alive. She would freeze to death before anyone fished her out.

Katherine grins as she spots the massive crowd and the finish line. She is going to win this one for sure.

Then it happens. Katherine missteps and slips on a small patch of ice on the path. She trips and stumbles, falling backwards over the edge.

Horror takes over her face as she realises that she is going to fall into the river. She’s going to die.

Then the world disappears in an instant, so fast that Katherine doesn’t even realise until after it happens. White nothingness now surrounds her as she floats in mid-air.

“Hello?” says Katherine, “Where am I? Anyone here?”

“I am,” replies a genderless, humming voice, “And you are at your Empowerment as it is known in your tongue.”

Katherine spins around to face a glowing humanoid being with its features concealed by its light.

“Who are you? demands Katherine in a wondrous tone, “What do you mean? Am I getting powers?”

“If that is what you wish to call them, then yes,” replies the being, “As for who I am, call me Eden if you wish. It is the name given to me by humans.”

“What are you?” asks Katherine, incredulous.

“First you must answer one of my questions,” the being tells her, “How would you choose you fate?”

“My fate?” repeats Katherine.

“Yes,” says the being.

“What does that mean?” asks Katherine, but the being remains silent, “Hello?”

Eden is still quiet and unresponsive.

“If I remember correctly I was falling to my death, I was going to crash into the river and I wouldn’t get out in time before I died,” Katherine says to herself, “What I need to avoid falling into the river.”

“My fate would be to move myself to safety,” Katherine declares to Eden.

“And thus it is decided,” rumbles the being as it reaches out and clasps a gleaming silver sphere out of itself.

Eden holds the sphere to Katherine and enthralled by it, the young woman reaches out and grabs a hold of it with both hands.

She feels the power rushing through her body as the sphere liquefies and the silver fluid flows into her.

Katherine feels her body, no, her very being changing as she and sphere become one. She can feel an instinctive gasp of her power filling her mind. Katherine can now unleash thrusts of kinetic energy from her body. These thrusts can vary in size, position, duration, force and direction with no limit that she can think.

And that’s not all as Katherine can feel other powers appearing. Enhanced senses and reflexes so she can more effectively use her thrusts, a sense of both physical and mental balance so she can safely user her thrusts without throwing up or feeling sick. She also has a body capable of safely withstanding the high speeds, the sudden tones and lack of breathing that come about as a result of using her power.

Oh how wonderful her new body is.

Katherine looks down at her. Lush, shining black hair going down to her hind while her skin is gleaming and prefect. Her brown eyes are wonderfully bright while figure is so very shapely while remaining extremely slender now.

Just how she imagined her prefect body.

This is wonderful! exclaims Katherine, Hopefully people will still believe I’m still me and I doubt any of my old clothes will fit me now. It will cost a lot to by new ones.

“I am glad you are happy,” says Eden with a smile, “Now it is time for you to return Sphere of Thrust.”

Wait! says Katherine, You still haven’t answered my question!

“I am a being made of power, just one amongst my kin,” replies Eden, “Known as an Entity.”

The world reappears and Katherine blinks. She has her new body. She can tell due to being able to sense every part of her body. She somehow knows it even better than her old one. In fact, Katherine has an instinctive grasp of her how all of her powers work despite only have just getting them.

The world has slowed down around her due to her increased reaction time, an effect of her new superhuman reflexes.

A few small and quick bursts up and forward quickly bring Katherine back to the road as the other joggers catch up with where she was. Several members of the crowd at the finish line have rushed forward to help her and Katherine is certain that her Empowerment as Eden called it was caught on camera.

At least she can prove who is even with her changed body. Otherwise people might not believe that she is who is.

“Kath!” yells her sister, Megan, “Are you okay? What happened to you?”

Katherine tries to reply, but no sounds come out of her mouth. She begins to panic as she tries to speak again, but fails. Has she lost the ability to speak? Because it seems like she has to Katherine.

Katherine unleashes a silent wail as sound continues to refuse to come out of her mouth as she flies forward across. Her power works exactly as Katherine wants it to, without any conscious input.

Katherine grabs a hold of her sister and embraces her in a hug.