I looked down at the golden ring that matched my bracelet so perfectly.  It was a single small dragon curled around a yin-yang symbol.  One press of the symbol and I switched genders.  The only downside was that if I wasn't female at least 4 hours a day the ring would stop working right.  I decided Tora and Ryu both needed some new clothes, so I went to the mall as Tora. After four hours of shopping I brought all the stuff I bought home then went back as Ryu.  Now I no idea why I bought all those clothes, especially so may pairs of shoes.   Dream started following me around almost full time once we realized for some reason no one can notice anything out of the ordinary about it.

"So has Susan replied to your suggestions for investing the money, or did she agree with the note I sent her saying you should just be put in charge of the team's investments.  I mean while no human may understand the stock market, you sure seem to." I say

"Not yet, and as I have said before humans understand the stock market, they are just incapable of analyzing the necessary data fast enough to make the correct choices." Dream says

"So if this plan of yours works what will it do again?"

"It will pay for maintenance costs, and monthly fees for the entire team, and at the same time the investment in the market of that much money will help the economy, at least a little.  However this is a public place and not the time to talk of such matters."

"Oh come on it's not like there is anyone listening, and certainly no super villains around." I say

I was walking down the concourse of the mall and suddenly a door appeared out of thin air a few feet in font of me.  A cold fog came billowing out, followed by three figures.  The cloud got even thicker as the three indistinct figures wandered off in different directions.  I decided I had recognized that door and knew I was once again dealing with the Tenement Twelve, if the three becoming lost in fog of their own making wasn't enough of a clue.  I raised my arm an yelled "It's suit up time."

Once again what I was wearing vanished.  This time my body gained a golden glow.  A felt the now disturbingly familiar sensation of my crotch diving inward, then doing the mambo.  I was utterly shocked when no ponderous weight started growing on my chest, and even more so when I felt myself shrinking.  The freaky sensation of gaining an extra limb on my backside once again occurred, as well as my ears spreading out into large finlike structures.  My hair felt like it was growing, but as it reached my knees I realized it had stayed about the same length while the rest of me shrunk. Small black claws emerged from each fingertip as a white hard plastic suit formed around my body.  I looked back to see a golden tail and blue hair.  I must now look like a ten year old girl in just the cutest outfit.   How the hell does this help me fight evil.

"As you know." Begins a voice.   "I am Devious Doorman, and the creator of this fog is Frigid Fan.  Our third compatriot is Atom Ass, and we are the Tenement..."

I cut him off.  "You can't be serious."

"Stupid name, I can't believe he."   begins the doorman.

A female voice interrupts.  "Well I found him, now lets get rid of this fog, I told you it was a bad idea."

The fog retracts as if being sucked into a vacuum.   First I see the doorman and standing next to him a female looking robot with two fans on her chest, each covered by a rounded metal cage.  I can't decide whether it's more funny or sad, so don't react at all.  Her palms have fans in them as well and she is painted an icy metallic blue.  Finally the third figure becomes visible and I give a sigh of relief.  He's a muscular humanoid donkey with brown fur, wearing nothing more than a loincloth.

In a deep baritone the donkey said. "Why does everyone keep doing that?"

"Maybe because your name suggests something entirely different?" I say

"Huh?" he says

"You are Dragon Warrior X, right." Says doorman

"Yes."

"And you are protecting Ryu right.  I know he's here somewhere, I say him when I fist opened the door."

"Well you sure as heck won't find him if you don't beat me, yea."

"Well little girl I doubt that will be much of a problem." He says

The second he got close enough I kicked him as hard as I could in the stomach.  I was surprised when this sent him flying back about ten feet.  At this point I saw the Fan advancing as well.  Dream was hovering to the left and had changed.  He was now made of some metal covered in white metallic paint.  His features looked a little angular as well, and his mane and the puff on his tail were now made of many tangled wires instead, but other wise looked the same.

"You won't defeat me so easily." She said in a monotone feminine voice.

"She does have a point."  Dream began "She is made of steel, not flesh and blood.  While all your forms have had some degree of enhanced strength, I doubt you could even dent her."

"Hey fan girl, are you really a robot, or do you just look like one?"

"I really am a robot thanks to that capitalist pig of man Ryu."

"Okay, thanks."

That was a weird response, but oh well.  If my red dragon form has fire breath I bet gold is close enough to yellow, and that can mean only one thing.  I never tried using a breath weapon yet, but I just concentrate on doing so and succeed easy enough.  I feel the gush of near invisible gas, then the spark as several thousand volts travel out of my cute little mouth. The fan falls to the ground ten feet from me frozen in a running pose.  I then see donkey come toward me.

"So clueless, what exactly is your power?" I ask

"Huh, oh you defeated them, I guess I better stop you."

"What the heck is wrong with you?"

"I will stomp you under foot little girl."

I still didn't feel as if I was actually having a conversation with donkey boy, more like we were both talking but he wasn't listening.   I then saw donkey gain a foot of height, then two, then about ten.  I took cover as he continued growing right through the roof.  He had to be at least 60 feet tall before he stopped.   I can see stars out the hole he made.  Then he walked out of the mall.

"Well that was interesting." Says dream.

"I don't suppose you have any idea how we can stop him?"

"Well I can turn into a heavily armed, fifteen foot humanoid battle tank at the moment, you just need to say the transformation phrase.  That might work."

"Yea it just might.  Why didn't you say something earlier."

"Because you didn't ask, nor did you require any other explanation that would require me to mention it."

"So what do I say?"

"Super Mega Dragon Armor, Transform."

"Oh man that's stupid."

I repeated the stupid phrase and sure enough   dream began to transform. First his chest opened up and his head flipped downward to be replaced by an identical head, then his legs folded out, rotated upwards and back in.  Then the transformation speed up a lot and I could only catch arms folding in and tails folding out and suddenly there was a golden humanoid dragon robot, complete with wings, sitting where dream used to be.  I groaned as I noticed the large and completely unnecessary spheres mounted on the front but otherwise the fifteen foot robot looked sleek and dangerous.  A hatch opened in the chest and a hand, palm up was lowered.  I jumped up on the hand, and into the cockpit without even thinking about it.  I sat in the chair provided and as the hatch closed heard little noises as metal implements from the chair connected with the suit.  Then the screen on the hatch of the cockpit came on and I could see the outside of the armor.

The main control was by though so I just jumped up on top of the mall building, and then jumped down to the massive empty parking lot.   People can get to origin shelters real fast if they try I guess.  I noticed that donkey boy still was nearly four times our size, but supposedly this thing is heavily armed.

"This armor is indeed heavily armed, and if you wish to make a movement in the cockpit to fire a weapon, instead of moving the armor, just think it and it will be so."  Dream's voice says from the speakers in the cockpit.

"So how much weaponry does this thing have?"

"A nearly unlimited amount of missiles, lasers, and numerous other projectiles."

"Well then lets do some serious damage."

I started the jets embedded in the wings and flew up to donkey's eye level. I fired a barrage of wing missiles at him, but he hardly flinched.  Then with one smooth motion he swatted us out of the sky.  The image on the screen clearly showed the speed we were traveling, but I didn't feel a thing.   Then the screen went out and I heard a loud crash.

"Well that could have gone better." Dream says

"Is he wrecking the city looking for us now?"

"Actually he seems to just be standing there thinking about.wait I think he left."

"Left, like he walked away." I say

"No he disappeared from view, shrunk below   the level of my ability to see him over the roof tops."

"Where are we anyway."

"Oh, we landed in the abandoned warehouse district, and this one seems to actually be currently abandoned.  I think a villain was just moving in, there is some kind of large metal something of other in a box here that's half unpacked, but no one's here now."

"Wait, isn't the abandoned warehouse district on the other side of the city?"

"Yes, it is.  I think you might want the help of the rest of the crusaders the next time you fight Atom Ass.  He has proven himself quite dangerous."

"Like I had a choice.  Man this has been quite a day, first the school, now the mall, what next."

"You really shouldn't say that, it's just an invitation for trouble."

"Come on, there aren't enough hours left in the day."

Copyright 2002-2005 Michael Bard.  Please send any comments to him at mwbard@transform.to