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Betty spent her days reading to the veterans and held their hands as they told her about their adventures. She chaperoned when the local circus came to visit the children’s ward, which was down the hall from her room in the trauma center. She even played chess with former world champion in the cancer ward. With each touch, Betty developed new skills in the area of munitions, acrobatics and strategy. The remainder of her days was spent playing cards with the hospital orderlies. With each touch she learned Taekwondo, Aikido, Jujitsu, Savate and Kung Fu. Soon, Betty was a secret master in both armed and unarmed combat. Each morning Betty spent several hours alone in the hospital gym toning her scarred physique and practicing what she had learned.

Her nights were not as pleasant. Betty struggled to avoid sleeping. She would sneak pots and pots of coffee from the cafeteria and drank it by the gallon. She also tried to use her newfound Martial arts to focus and tune out James Jefferson as she practiced yoga meditation, which worked for the most part. However, she occasionally dozed off or let her concentration lapse with terrible results. The first time, James wrote racial slurs all over the walls with a permanent marker. The second time, Betty woke up in restraints because James had tried to escape and injured an orderly in the process. On a couple of rare occasions, Betty was able to convince Aggie to strap her down to avoid future incidents. Still, Betty tried to sleep as little as possible. Eventually Betty’s lack of sleep began to take its toll as the Latino became wild eyed and unpredictable. She frequently lost her temper.

Betty also had another secret project that Aggie was more than happy to assist with. The nurse provided a sewing machine and whatever material Betty had asked for. Each night Betty would work on her sewing. Each morning, she would place her craftsmanship into a hidden compartment in her footlocker.

By the sixth week, Betty knew she was ready. She sat on the bed in the lotus position and closed her eyes. She took a deep cleansing breath and opened her eyes. She was not surprised to find herself on the farmhouse porch. James sat in the swing. “Oh, now you come see me. Ah was beginning to think you all had forgotten all about little old me.” James said as he carved an apple with a switchblade and swung on the porch.

“You!” Betty yelled. “Mi amigo, we are going to have us a little talk about who sent you to the bodega.”

James stood up, “Ah ain’t got nothing to say and that is that.”

Betty ran up to the swing and kicked James hard in the jaw. The surprised southerner fell to the ground. “You son of a . . .”

But before he could finish, Betty dragged him off the ground and pushed him against up the house. “Tell me about the OWLS!” She punched him. A small trickle of blood formed on the corner of his mouth. Surprisingly, Betty felt a sharp pain the same side of her mouth. She placed her hands around his neck and squeezed.

A frantic James slashed at her with the knife. The blade scratched her arm and she released him. Betty was surprised that she could bleed in her mind. She was even more surprised to see that James’ arm was bleeding too.

“Don’t you get it, witch? We are the same.” He spat out blood. Betty put her hand up to her face and realized her lip was bleeding as well. “You can’t hurt me. Ahm you!”

Betty grabbed James again pulled him closely and spoke slowly, “And you are me. Tell me about the OWLS!” James could feel Betty’s stare as she looked in to his soul. He tried, unsuccessfully, to resist.

Betty could see James’/her memories of his past. He had just been laid off because his/her job was outsourced to Mexico. James/Betty vividly recalled being approached by Lee Sherman, the charismatic grandmaster of the Order of White Loyal Supremacists, the OWLS. James was asked to enroll in their training camp. Betty could feel James’ pride at becoming a knight in the local OWL Chapter. Betty felt nauseated at the vivid memories of the acts necessary to reach knighthood. Betty felt herself getting lost in James’ thoughts. It took all of her efforts to push him away.

James landed hard on the porch. He chuckled, “What’s a matter girlie, too much for yeh?”

Betty stared in shock. “¡El monstruo! You monster! The things you have done!”

James rose to his feet, “I get by.” He turned to walk into the house. Betty began to laugh, which caused James to face her. “You crazy girl, what is so funny?”

Betty moved within a centimeter of James’ face and looked directly into his eyes, “16 Maplewood Court.” The color drained from James’ face. “I got you, you bastard. That is the address of the OWLS compound.”

*****

Betty opened her eyes. She pressed the emergency button to call for Doctor Katinsky. Within minutes, the doctor was in her room. She tried to tell him about the OWLS headquarters. He was more interested in another matter.

“Miss Ortiz, what happened to your arm?” Betty looked down at her blood stained pajamas.

“James’ knife cut me in reality as well.” She put her hand up to her mouth and could feel the dried blood on her lip. Suddenly, Betty realized that Doctor Katinsky had backed away towards the door. “No! Wait. I have to tell you about the OWLS. We have to stop them; to get the police.”

Doctor Katinsky gave her a sad look. “I’m sorry. I thought we were making progress. But, if you are hurting yourself again. .” Doctor Katinsky left the room. Betty could hear him turn the deadbolt locks on the door. Betty knew that he would be right back with the orderlies. She did not have much time. She looked around the room with wild eyes.

James laughed in her head. “Should have known that nobody would have believed a psychotic chippie like you. I bet they restrain you again. Stupid girl.” Betty wasn’t worry about being restrained. She was more worried that they would sedate her and James would be running the show. James taunted. “No one will ever believe you. The righteous crusade of the OWLS will live on forever.”

Betty propped several pillows under the covers of her bed to make it appear that she was sleeping in it and raced over to her footlocker, “¡dios mío! If you start singing Dixie, I’m going to vomit. I did not expect anyone to believe me.” Betty opened the false bottom to her footlocker and removed the blue bundle. “So I made alternate arrangements.” She removed the electric blue fabric from the hidden panel of the footlocker.

Seconds later, Betty was dressed. She examined herself in the full-length mirror. She had worked for several weeks on a costume that would hide her identity and yet allow her easy access to touch people and access their abilities. She decided on an electric blue body suit that would cover her scars with slits along the arms and legs to permit skin-to-skin contact if necessary. A full facemask hid her identity.

“What the hell are you supposed to be?” James hissed. “Some kind of superhera?”

Betty moved towards the window and forced it open. “You said it yourself. They think I am psychotic. Then that is who I will be: Psi-kotic.” She climbed out on to the ledge and, using circus acrobat skill, she shimmied down the drainpipe to the street below.

*****

Across town, Psi-kotic hid in the bushes in front of 16 Maplewood Court. She could see two men with rifles positioned on the porch. James recognized them as Jeb and Jed. With near lightning speed, Psi-kotic ran up the steps. Before the men could react, she knocked Jed out with a karate chop, while wrapping her legs around Jeb’s neck in a scissor hold until he, too, slumped into unconsciousness from a lack of oxygen. Psi-kotic searched the men on the steps for weapons. She dumped their knives and guns into the bushes. Moments later, she climbed up the side of the building into a second story window.

Psi-kotic looked around and noticed that she had entered a very fancy home office. The desk was made of a dark cherry wood and the red rug was plush. There was a prominently displaced picture of a bearded strong man in a straight jacket posing with a small boy in front of a circus tent. There were also several large marquees that advertised The Rios Circus. On the far wall was a rack with several sets of keys. Judging by the quality of the key chains that advertised Mercedes, Porsche, and Lamborghini, Psi-kotic concluded that the hate business must pay pretty well.

She immediately noticed a manila folder sitting on the center of the desk that labeled “St. Margaret’s.”

Before she could pick up the folder, the door to the room swung opened and Psi-Kotic came face to face with Lee Sherman, the Grand Master of the OWLS. Before she could react, he hit a red button by the door and ran down the hallway. Alarms blared throughout the house.

“James, how many people are here?” Psi-kotic asked as she moved after Lee.

“Ah ain’t telling you nothing, girlie.” James said with a snarl. “I hope they kick your butt all the way back to Porter Ricas.”

Three large men approached from the far end of the hall, each carried a baseball bat. A Savate kick disable the first man. Psi-kotic followed through with a backhand to the man’s throat that dropped him to the floor gasping for air. The second man swung his bat at full force. Psi-kotic tucked into a backbend and could feel the change in air current as the bat whizzed above her and hit the third man, knocking him over the railing. She leaned further back and kicked the bat-swinging attacker in the groin. After he doubled over, a nerve pinch sent him into oblivion. The heroine taunted the unconscious men. “Psi-kotic has smited you evil doers.” Under her mask, she winced at her declaration.

She could feel James’ apprehension. “Stop it girlie, before you kills someone.” James yelled in her mind. Psi-kotic attempted to block the southerner out. James had a plan. “At least Ah can distract ya!” James began to sing Dixie at the top of his lungs.

Psi-kotic was so focused on James’ annoying rendition of the Southern Anthem that she failed to notice that Lee Sherman had snuck up behind her. In fact, she did not sense his presence until he placed the chloroform soaked rag over her face. The surprise caused her to inhale sharply, and breathe in the noxious fumes. Even through her full-faced mask, Psi-kotic could smell the sweat fumes of the chloroform as it soaked through the fabric and into her lungs. A wave of dizziness overcame her. Her legs buckled as she felt herself being dragged towards the office door. Her last thought as the darkness overcame her was how much she hated the song that James was singing.