The moment after she swapped someone was one of the best moments. Seeing the realization play out across their face and their body. Swapping people across gender lines was often extra comical. There was the classic dress tugging which the griffon-princess did. The boob grab was also a classic.

Rhia was not expecting Tommy’s reaction. Her date put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her. She wasn’t opposed. She was having a good time and the kiss was a solid power move. No complaints. It did surprise her though. It seemed a little over the top for her just stalling the griffon but the Irish were a strange people.

When Tommy strutted over toward griffon-princess and Amethyst Rhia couldn’t help but smile. Sure it was a little cruel to Amethyst but it was going to help Tommy get his brother to sit still a little longer without deploying those claws. Rhia followed Tommy over so she could see what all the fuss had been about.

>>”awww.... fer **** sakes!”

The words were coming out of her mouth... in her voice... but with Carrick's accent. And attitude. What on earth was happening? Amethyst shook her head, which was not her head, and stared up at herself from the pavement. Something she did not have before - a tail - was hurting, signaling that she had landed wrong.

>>”We got freaky-fridayed.”

"We what...?"

>>”Blondie in there did it. Second time now. Guess she’s just best to be avoided. Take a breath handsome.”

She was in Carrick's body. Carrick was in her body. She stared, her eyes adjusting to... seeing in a different way. Her body tried to help her up from the ground, but she was definitely heavier, and the limbs were still not cooperating.

>>”Look at me, I’m beautiful.”

"That's my body." And dress. Amethyst made an attempt again and finally managed to stand up.

>>”Wings are just like moving yer arms. Keep ‘em down till we can figure out where blondie is. She can change us back.”

Amethyst made an attempt. The wings moved. She was not going to fly any time soon.

FLIGHT!

>>”Ah **** Love, figure out the limbs later! Time to go.”

"I think... you are in my head." she muttered, walking along. It did not go very fast, wings and all.

It seemed Rhia wanted to watch the show, that was fine maybe she would be the one he finally settled down with. She’d swap people, he’d take advantage and torture them. You know the things people look for in a life partner. Tom didn’t mind.

With his brother not behind the wheel of his difficult to deal with shifting powers Tom finally felt like things were finally turning up him. So much so his strut became a little two step as he sauntered over to the pair. His hands shot up as he started to finally talk with his hands. Not in the signing sense but rather as if he was conducting something only he could hear. Tom was in pure ecstasy thinking about what he was about to do to the ‘favorite’ son.

One hand reached an overture then waved quickly to the side as the telekinetic wound up for the strike. Where the two were standing a large gouge of concreate appeared as if something ethereal carved it. Tears started to well up, this might have been the happiest day of his life. Even better than ending the life of Carrick’s mother something only he knew about.

His father was too weak when it came to both Carrick and the bastards mother. Oh the pain it caused Carrick, the sadness that followed, Tom had to saver this feeling. Take things slowly. Another hand wave this time a horizontal slash one that missed it’s targets and sliced through a ‘no parking’ sign. He shrugged and strut after them.

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”Move!” it wasn’t a request this time. She might have been smaller than him but that didn’t seem to matter. He was motivated to keep himself and his girlfriend alive. Where his old body stood seconds ago a large gouge of concreate seemed to be missing where Tom’s power hit. It had been years since he had seen his brothers powers in action. How many nightmares did he have of Tom standing over him with a malicious smile?

”**** off, ya can’t handle me when I’m at me best so ya try to get me when I’m at me worst?” he shouted taunting his brother. In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best method but he knew if he could get Tom flustered they might be able to get some distance.

”You did this ta us Blondie!” Carrick shouted as he dragged his body along. ”Duck!” he saw the hand motion and pushed down quickly on his old head which his girlfriend now inhabited.

”Better in yer head than all over the pavement!” he shouted in his girlfriends voice. He didn’t have time to be as sweet to her as she normally was to him. Life or death situations had a way of making people direct. ”Come on! Making a run fer it! I can’t stop Tom like this!” she was weak now. Her powers of creating gemstones didn’t matter at the moment. They wouldn’t help.

What was Tommy doing? Rhia was stunned when, with a swipe of Tommy’s hand, a large gouge was dug in the concrete. Rhia hoped it was just a threat to make sure griffon-princess listened and complied, but the look on her face was fearful. Fearful like she knew this was more than a threat.

When Rhia saw the griffon-princess have to pull Amethyst down to duck one of Tommy’s slashes she knew Tommy wanted to do more than talk.Rhis hadn’t signed up to be party to fratricide or whatever it was when the brother was in his girlfriend’s body.

Tommy!” Rhia slid herself in front of Tommy to block him. ”You said you wanted to talk to your brother. This is well past talking! Are you trying to kill him?” Rhia glared at Tommy.

>>”Move!”

FLIGHT!

There was too much yelling. Amethyst whined as she was dragged along. Something clashed and crumbled nearby.

>>”**** off, ya can’t handle me when I’m at me best so ya try to get me when I’m at me worst? You did this ta us Blondie!”

Apparently, the brother was trying to kill them. And invisible force slashed things in two. He had powers that could hurt them. Carrick pulled her down just in time to avoid getting cut.

>>”Better in yer head than all over the pavement! Come on! Making a run fer it! I can’t stop Tom like this!”

If she got killed like this, would Carrick die or would she die? It was a fleeting thought as they ducked. Carrick could not fight. How did one fight an invisible force anyway? Why was the brother trying to kill them? Right out there in broad daylight? Amethyst found her balance again. The blonde woman who had swapped their bodies threw herself in front of the brother, yelling something.

"I can't fly." Amethyst panted, looking at herself. Their best chance for getting away would have been flight. But she could barely run as she was.

The pair of targets started to run and Tom was about to give chase when Rhia stepped in between him and his half-brother. Tom glared back after a moment irritated that anyone would be willing to come between him and his brother. How long had he dreamed about being an olnly child. No longer compared to anything about his brother who could fly, sing, perform magic and still gain the attention of their father.

No, this was a long time coming and no one was going to stop him. Not even the one who made it possible.

>>>Are you trying to kill him?

The glare turned into confusion and he raised an eyebrow and threw up his hands. ‘Yeah, what does it look like?’ he took a step forward and that hand raised to Rhia lifting her off the ground with his telekinetic powers and waved her off to the side. He was contemplating killing her but she was a mutant. Like him. If he could use her again at some point it be better not to kill her. He didn't’ focus on how she’d land. He was too busy catching up with his younger brother.

With Rhia no longer blocking him Tommy practically skipped towards the two as the ran into the nearest alley. While he was confident that he’d have no problem with them he was still a little cautious. The main reason Tom hadn’t killed Carrick yet was because of his powers, however he was still an O’Conner and while they might be at a disadvantage no one should ever underestimate an O’Conner.

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”Not asking ya to love, asking ya to run!” she said feeling a bit winded. Carrick didn’t know if it was because he was out of his body or because he was in hers but he suddenly felt fatigued like he was running a marathon. ”How am I already this winded?” he asked pulling his body who was inhabited by his girlfriend.

”Ames, when we get out of this we are gonna start running. Ya got no cardio.” he said looking around for the nearest weapon. Frontal assaults on Tom didn’t work. Carrick always beat him by taking him by surprise. A bottle, a roar, a beast. The former shifter and now true royal looked to his old body and wondered if he should trigger a shift. One that could fight his brother and save them but quickly he decided that was out of the question. Carrick wasn’t worried about himself making it out of here the former Irishman was more concerned about her.

Rhia had given them enough distance, his manicured hands reached to his old face and he grabbed it with both hands. ”I need ya to focus love, my brother is gonna try to kill me. Well, You now. I don’t want ya ta fly I want ya ta run.” Carrick stole an extra second to gaze into his mismatched colored eyes for a sign. A pupil turning to slits, anything that would help her survive. She was the only reason he was still at the mansion trying to finish school. Well that and a promise he already broke once to his mother.

”It’s gonna be fine.” he lied letting go of his old face, ”Ya got me phone? Hand it over, quickly.” he said taking a breath and started to make his way down the alley. Dumpsters, garbage cans and empty cases of beer bottles lined the dimly lit back alley. One thing would have been clear though if he still had his night vision, the alley they turned into stretched almost a block but it was a dead end.

Tommy didn’t take kindly to people trying to stop him it seemed. For the crime of trying to stop Tommy from killing his own brother she was psychically lifted from the ground and waved aside. Rhia was thankful that Tommy didn’t hit her with one of those waves that had destroyed a chunk of concrete.

Once Rhia was back on the ground she had to calm her knees. She had just missed death or serious injury by the whim of a guy trying to kill his own brother. Her heart was beating fast as she saw Tommy follow his prey into an alley. Rhia wasn’t a hero usually but she felt like she had set Tommy loose on the griffon-princess and Amethyst. She felt she had to help.

Heels were not stealthy. The sound of the stilettos bounced off the street and the buildings as she hurried after Tommy. ”I didn’t sign up for murder!” Rhia didn’t know what she should do. She knew just enough martial arts to be dangerous and her thighs were tree trunks, but Tommy was a whole different level of destructive.

Stomping down on her fear, Rhia slowed as she approached Tommy, then when her right leg was back she jumped and brought it around in a jumping roundhouse kick aimed for Tommy’s ribs.

They ran into an alley, with the brother pursuing them, throwing invisible blades or whatever else deadly thing he could summon with his powers.

>>”Not asking ya to love, asking ya to run!... How am I already this winded?... Ames, when we get out of this we are gonna start running. Ya got no cardio.”

"What?" she blinked. She was getting the hang of moving now without tripping over, but she was far from confident. And she had not idea what cardio was. Carrick... her own body, held her face.

>>”I need ya to focus love, my brother is gonna try to kill me. Well, You now. I don’t want ya ta fly I want ya ta run. It’s gonna be fine. Ya got me phone? Hand it over, quickly.”

FLIGHT!

Amethyst groaned; in her old body it would have been more of a scared whining sound, but it came out of the gryphon's chest deeper, and more threatening. Run. He wanted her to run. And... leave him? Her? Two of the most important things, her own body, and her boyfriend in it.

FLIGHT!

She fumbled, fishing the phone out of a pocked somehow.

"How do I...how do I do the thing? With... the beast?"

Tom was a fighter, like Carrick even if his half-brother didn’t want to admit it and even if he didn’t want to admit it. He had seen the rage he could get into much like what he could do they were defintly their fathers sons. The only difference though, Tommy had his part to play. Carrick ran from it, so if he managed to kill his half brother... well he’d still have his place in life and in the revolution. His father couldn’t handle the loss of both sons but he’d get by without Carrick.

>>>”I didn’t sign up for murder!”

The heels were his first clue, her announcing she was there didn’t help either. So when she charged him and tried to throw a kick to the ribs he turned and stared in more confusion. ‘I’m done with you today!’ he lifted his hand and Rhia’s kick slowed as she met his telekinetic field around him. Lifting his hand he raised Rhia off the ground then looked to her legs and gave it a slight pat at the calf. ‘Guess you Texas ladies are built different.’

The quite O’Conner then flicked his wrist and sent Rhia flying, harder than before and into a wall hoping that would be enough to keep her down. Now... where was he? Oh yeah, killing his brother’s body! Tommy turned on heel and then started skipping again noticing that a phone was visible. That wouldn’t do at all. Looking for the nearest thing he could throw he found a opened garbage can and launched it to the pair.

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Not only did the princess fumble with his phone but when it was handed over he too fumbled with it.”Why hand it ta me upside down!?!?” he complained as he stared at the phone hoping it would read his face and unlock... it didn’t. He tried his thumb and it didn’t work. ”Ah @@@@ I’m you!” he shouted looking at his reflection. He was in his girlfriends body and she in his. Face recognition or thumbprint wouldn’t work.

”Why would ya want to beast out now? I want ya to run! Ya ain’t ready fer beast form! We got one monster ta deal with!” Carrick turned his head that wasn’t his and eyed the can of garbage flying towards them scattering garbage as it flew through the air. ”Duck!” he shouted trying to tackle his winged body out of the way.

Narrowly getting beamed with the large aluminum bin Carrick’s green dress billowed out around them as he landed on his old body. ”**** it! Get mad!” he said frantically, ”Ya like me right?” he asked not sure if he wanted an answer. This was the wrong time for more of the relationship talk but that wasn’t what he was going for here. He was trying to appeal to his former ‘beast’ form.

”Tommy is gonna try ta kill me. Take me from you! I’m yers right? Fight! Fight while I call me moms!” he said pushing himself up and pulling the dress back down with phone in hand. Tommy was closer now. The threat was close and the smile on his face made the princess’s body stomach churn.

It was four digits and he was in the phone, hitting most recent he got sent straight to voicemail. ”Hey mom, it’s me. Well kinda me! Carrick! Long story, was at a bar performing and--- **** Duck!” Carrick shouted as another bin launched at his body. ”**** it story doesn’t matter now! Remember how I said me family is a bunch of nut jobs? Well me brother found me. He’s on the Interpol list thing. Could pick him up if ya answer yer phone! Fer **** sakes!” he didn’t hang up but rather took the phone and threw it as Tommy walked past him trying to distract him long enough for the Princess to do something in his body.

The phone struck him in the head and then Tommy turned his attention to him. In the princess’s body Carrick did the only thing he could think of and give the universal sign everyone knew. Carrick flipped Tommy the double bird.

Amethyst watched her body fumble with the phone. Who were they going to call, anyway? The X-men? The school? The police? The brother swung the woman out of the way like she was nothing, and he was throwing and slicing things with his mind.

FLIGHT

>>”Why would ya want to beast out now? I want ya to run! Ya ain’t ready fer beast form! We got one monster ta deal with!... Duck!”

He pushed her out of the way of a large garbage bin, and they both fell. Amethyst landed on her back, and pains hot up one of the wings. She did not have the reflexes to fold them or protect them in a fall. It hurt. Her own body was on top of her, looking distressed.

>>”**** it! Get mad! Ya like me right? Tommy is gonna try ta kill me. Take me from you! I’m yers right? Fight! Fight while I call me moms!”

MATE?

>>”Hey mom, it’s me. Well kinda me! Carrick! Long story, was at a bar performing and--- **** Duck!”

Amethyst managed to get back on her feet, wing still hurting, but another can was already flying at her. She stumbled out of the way and landed on hands and knees again.

FLIGHT

>>”**** it story doesn’t matter now! Remember how I said me family is a bunch of nut jobs? Well me brother found me. He’s on the Interpol list thing. Could pick him up if ya answer yer phone! Fer **** sakes!”

Something - the phone? - flew at the attacker, hitting him in the head. He turned, glaring at the princess. He was here to kill his brother. But was he trying to kill the body, or...?

PROTECT

Amethyst wanted to run. She wanted to be as far from here as possible. But she did not want to leave Carrick behind. Or her body. Carrick was important. She did not want someone to hurt him. And no one was picking up the phone. The brother's attention was on Carrick now.

PROTECT

Amethyst roared. It felt weird. It felt powerful. She was angry. She was also very, very loud.

‘That hurt!’ the mad Irishman turned his head away from his brother’s body to the body of little girlfriend. It had to be Carrick, no one was dumb enough to throw a phone, let alone at him. Tommy turned then smiled with a wave ‘I didn’t forget about you brother.’

Tommy tilted his head to the awkward fawn like movements Carrick’s body was currently going through as it tried to get up from a fall, looking back to the woman’s body he grinned someone ‘I’ll kill you after I play with your body some. Don’t want you going back to it ever again. It's ugly and annoying.’

Raising his hands towards the Princess’s body his brother’s current body he started to will a telekinetic slice into existence. Maybe he’d take a leg off of her and cause some pain. Shame too, the body was beautiful as well. Tommy started to wave his hands but stopped and covered his ears when he heard the ‘roar’ his brother’s roar.

It was painful, his ears rang and his most important sense other than his vision became his own worst enemy. Stopping the ‘slice’ he held his ears and shut his eyes for a moment. Until the ringing stopped.

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”**** that’s loud! Is that what I sound like?” the former shifter now princess of Atlantis saw it coming before Tommy did and covered her ears the best she could. It took a second for the roar to finish but he took this time to run towards Tommy. Carrick wouldn’t get another shot like this, to get a hit in. Not in this body. Despite wanting to take her time beating her older brother to a pulp the former Irishman didn’t want anything to happen to the body he was in. He was... fond of it.

”**** you, ya piece of ****” Carrick shouted winding up a kick and sending it right between Tom’s legs. ”That’s fer blondie!” Tommy’s eye’s opened too late and when he noticed what was happening he was already on the ground holding his wedding tackle.

”****!” she shouted as she ran. The cardio was bad, she was winded again already and only managed to get to his other body. ”Perfect timing love! Ya feeling angry?” the former man looked to his old body and smiled, ”I could kiss ya if it wasn’t fer Tom still being here.” they needed to get out of there though.

Before he could reach down to grab her hand and start running he felt something push him hard enough to knock the former flier off of his now well manicured feet. With the ground going out from under him he bounced off the pavement scraping an elbow, then a knee. ”Owwwww!” Carrick winced looking back to see his body and even further behind him his brother who was still kneeling and praying to whoever for the pain between the legs to end.

”Beat his @$$!” she groaned as she rolled to the side adrenaline numbing the pain. ”I like this dress.”

The roar was satisfying, in a way. Also, apparently, very effective in stopping the assailant in his tracks. She saw her own body cover her ears too, wincing in pain.

>>”**** that’s loud! Is that what I sound like?”

Amethyst, despite her confusion, gave him a level glare. At least now he knew why her ears were ringing for hours after their first time together. Not that they had time to discuss that: she watched her own body run at the brother, and kick him firmly in the testicles. Ow. Effective attack.

>>”Perfect timing love! Ya feeling angry? I could kiss ya if it wasn’t fer Tom still being here.”

Amethyst wondered what it would be like to kiss herself, but the thought was interrupted by another push, throwing Carrick away from her. She watched her body land in an awkward way, rubies clattering onto the pavement. Crap.

PROTECT

>>”Owwwww! Beat his @$$! I like this dress.”

She liked that dress too. Amethyst turned back to the brother and roared again, for good measure. This time, with more confidence. She could feel her nails sharpening, and a shiver run down her body, as she ran a few steps towards him.

If he could talk he would have expressed how much he hated his brother in that moment. Hated everything about him. Even if that was similar to what Tom would have done in the same situation. They were both taught how to fight from their father. There was no fighting fair in a bar fight. It was get home or don’t. Right now Carrick thought him and his little girlfriend would be going home. It was cute.

Carrick wasn’t in his body and couldn’t control his forms so that meant it was the best time to attack. If only he could get up. There was another roar and Tommy managed to glance to his brother’s bodies way. It was looking a bit more grotesque than usual. More feral and then Tom realized what was happening.

‘She think she can control that?’ he didn’t speak but Carrick could read his brother’s gaze and movements as he slowly got off the ground. If he could talk he’d be an octave higher. He couldn’t however so all he had to was manage the pain before the body of his brother turned into that... thing. The thing his father loved more than him. The thing he’d always comment on, ‘that there... is a true O’Conner!’

Tom felt rage surface. Then turned his hands flat for cutting and unleased a flurry of arm movements. ‘Die!’ Tom wanted to toy with them more, play with them however if that thing was going to appear then he had to make things quick.

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The more he thought about this the weirder it was for him. He was in his girlfriends body bleeding, in an alley way being attacked by his brother who he hadn’t seen for years... years for him at least. ”****” eying the rubies nearby Carrick debated swiping some or piling them up but he knew he wouldn’t have time. His brother was still there. He didn’t have time to shift his focus, Amethyst didn’t know how to control the other forms yet. He still could barely control them.

The former Irishman didn’t have time to think about it, she needed help and fast. Tom was getting back up he looked pissed and now the Princess’s claws were starting to show. ”****” throwing his new hands back and pushing Carrick tried lifting his new body the way he would his old one. It didn’t turn out well. It was a different body and he couldn’t move the way he was used to and just ended up throwing himself up and then back down knocking the wind out of his new body.

With a cough and a curse he exhaled and then inhaled trying to catch his breath. How did she move? Sitting up slowly he looked back to his brother who started slashing at the air in their direction. ”Dodge!” was all he could muster before rolling and running to the nearest thing for cover.

Instinct was taking over. The brother was still fighting, doing whatever he did with his hands to hurt people. He had already hurt Carrick, throwing him in her body, and the princess did not take kindly to damage to her body. Or her boyfriend. But anger turned into rage when another attack was imminent.

PROTECT

>>"Dodge!"

She did. Or rather, the beast inside her did, throwing the bigger, awkward body to the side. Invisible blades sliced through the air, and one clipped a wing that was already hurting. Amethyst roared again.

FIGHT

Pain. Gods, it hurt. Everything hurt. There was blinding, red rage and searing pain, and Amethyst felt confined in the body she was in, trapped in something to small, trying to claw her way out. She wanted it to be over. She wanted all of it to be over. So, she turned her rage at the person who made it all happen in the first place.

If Carrick had not seen the transformation from the outside before, he sure as hell was seeing it now.

FIGHT

After running for cover and finding a dumpster Carrick dropped to the ground and made him as small as possible. There was no telling how strong or how much more precise he had become since the last time seeing him all those years ago. The sound of metal scraping and cutting could be heard as the dumpster above him shifted with each impact.

There was a pause after that and the former flyer exhaled pushing himself up ignoring the puddle he was laying in. She was going to make him bathe again. Carrick heard the roar again ignoring the puddle he was laying, he recognized the anger. The former shifter almost felt it, rage, fear, pain. All the feelings before a shift.

”****” he cursed to himself. Beast form would have been the best possible outcome of the shift. He knew that but why did he feel so bad about it? She was in pain... he should have warned her about it before hand but would she even have done it then? Would he have let her? Guilt started to overcome fear as he looked out and watched as claws dug into his old clothing then his old skin giving way to fur and fang. This was why he always did it when he was alone. Carrick almost had to look away. Everything just added to the guilt he was already feeling.

The thief looked over to Tom who was busy looking horrified. Clearly he wasn’t expecting her to transform like that. Carrick silently wondered how many times he had seen the beast form since they last met from nightmares or the ‘old’ Carrick.

Looking back to the Princess in his body he frowned, then back to Tom. One problem at a time. Carrick’s old body had a time limit on shifts meaning eventually she’d come to her senses if he couldn’t persuade her to before that. Now she just needed to beat the piss out of her brother.... speaking of which... while he was admiring the fear and shock his half brother was now going through he also noticed a wet spot forming on his brothers pants.

If he wasn’t so scared for his girlfriend and his own life Carrick would have done more than just chuckle and taunt his brother, ”Now ya done it! Go on! Run back home to Daddy!”

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Tom slowed his attack feeling the sudden drain of stamina, was he out of shape? No, that couldn’t be it. Looking down for a moment he examined himself. He was in the best shape of his life. Maybe he poured to much power into those strikes? They were slower than he wanted. Somehow he missed both his brother and his girlfriend. Even when they were switched his brother was a pain in the @$$.

Shaking his hands he was about to through some of his powers around but then stopped as he saw the all too familiar transformation take place. It was just as daunting as he remembered. Fear. ‘Run’ he told himself as he watched a creature that stalked him in his nightmares. The only other thing he was afraid of other than his father.

It was the reason he hated his brother so much. The reason why he wanted him dead. It was a constant reminder that he was in fact his fathers son. Tom couldn’t do that. ‘Run!’ he thought again but his legs couldn’t move. His pants felt cold as his knees shook. He had seen that thing that was clawing his way out of his brother take on a small rival gang back home. There were no survivors when the O’Conners came knocking.

Tom heard the laughter despite the roar, despite the fear. Then he heard the taunt. ‘Fight!’ it was what he needed to get his mind on another feeling other than fear. Anger. Tom charged throwing a palm then a fist, the air rippled as he ran towards the beast. He had to kill it before it killed him.