Altered Ch. 06

She surprised me by taking off a wig and showing off her almost bald head.

"But if what you say is true, you might have saved me," she said, kissing me on the cheek.

"I am not lying to you. Go get yourself checked out today and see for yourself. And don't forget about that IUD..."

With that I said my goodbyes and apologized, although I don't think ultimately there was any real bad consequences other than them not being given a choice. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any hard feeling and they would forgive me.

Once I returned to the shop, Caterina started treating me coldly. I asked her if I did anything wrong and she said it was nothing and would not acknowledge that she was treating me any different. I didn't know what to do, she was my life line. Without her I would be homeless.

Brooke came by the shop later that night to tell me that the girls decided to go to Rome to have Victoria checked out. Theresa got her skin peel and she was indeed completely cured. She said her breast ached and her bras no longer fit, so that confirmed what I said about her breasts becoming larger. I still had no phone so I told them that if they wanted to contact me they would have to call Caterina's shop, but I got each of their phone numbers before she left.

I finished up logging all of the transactions earlier so I worked on getting her some redundancies. I even got her files backed up to a cloud-based system so that if her computer did fail again she could easily get access to her files. I showed her what I did and she seemed to lighten up a little.

Her computer now synced with her cloud files and her accountancy software had an app that allowed her to access her files using her phone. So, if she needed to, she could do everything over her phone or she could even get a tablet and get rid of her computer all together.

"Thank you so much," she gushed. "This will make things a lot easier."

"Good," I said. "Look, I feel like I have overstayed my welcome. Maybe I should go, you don't need me anymore anyway."

"No! Please, stay!" she said, with desperation.

"I can't... Not unless you tell me what's bothering you."

"I - can't talk about it... that doesn't mean you have to leave."

"Why do you want me here if I am just causing you distress? You helped me, I helped you. Our deal is done, you don't need me anymore and I don't want to be your charity case."

"Don't be silly, where will you go?"

"I don't know, but eventually I will have to leave. I might as well leave now."

"No! Please! At least stay one more night. I want to take you to dinner tonight."

"Take me... as in a date?"

"Yes. If you leave, then how will I contact you? I want to show you my gratitude after all you did. Let me..."

"Yes. The answer was always yes. I was just making sure I heard you right," I said, smiling.

"Good... I know you don't have many clothes so I left you some more clothes in the back."

"Great, when are we leaving?"

"I need to go home and get ready so let's meet here at ten."

After she left around eight, I locked up the store and started to get ready. I took a sponge bath once again and put the new swanky clothes on. I wasn't a big fan of Italian fashion a couple of days ago but it was starting to grown on me.

There was another hour left before Catarina was supposed to be there, when there was a knocking at the door. I peeked out of the storeroom and saw Anna out front in her wheelchair, she must have had it fixed earlier that day. I went to the door and let her in.

"Anna, come in," I said, leaning down, kissing both of her cheeks. "How are you?"

"Mike, you look like you're dressed to kill," she said.

"Yes, well, Caterina wanted to take me out tonight. I'll probably be leaving tomorrow."

"Oh? I hope not... I wanted to talk to you about Genentech Labs."

"You found out something already?"

"Yes. It looks like my lawyers already knew a lot of what was happening. Genentech Labs is already under investigation. Their lab here in Italy was raided, and a lot of people are under arrest. The thing is the big wigs already made their big escape. My lawyers were sent a box load of files but they are in New York."

"So, what's your plan?"

"Interpol has been searching for you for days. It turns out, some of the people that they arrested are talking. That lady who saved you, Emelia Cantonelli, told them about you. She claims that they were experimenting with genetic editing and that you were the first person they were able to alter successfully. She told them where the bodies were buried."

"Do they know about all of my alterations?"

"No, she was brilliant. She made them believe their technology was cosmetic, a new form of plastic surgery. I think they destroyed most of the evidence they had on the nanobot tech. Unless that is what I was sent in that box."

"Why would they send that to you though?"

"Ah, well, that's just it. I can't tell you unless you can keep this a secret. I feel badly for what they did to you but this secret will get you killed if you start talking about it."

"My life is in your hands Anna, tell me and I will tell no one else."

"OK, Mike, I am serious about the repercussions, they will hunt you down and kill you... I am part of a secret society called the Illuminati..." she said, letting that sink in and searching my face for belief; after all that I had been through why wouldn't I believe her?

"The Illuminati that is in the history books was seized by a group of the world's wealthiest women. You have to be a multi-billionairess just to be a member. When I got sick, I withdrew from active membership. But, you can never withdraw completely not until death..."

"OK, sounds really 'conspiratorial' and all but what's that got to do with me?"

"Genentech is one of many companies I took control over in order to find a cure. I may not officially be on the board or make the decisions on the specifics of how they went about finding a cure, but they still did follow my orders. If I hadn't had my head in the sand and been wallowing in my own misery waiting to die, then none of this would have happened to you."

"You did kind of tell me that already."

"Yes, but what I didn't tell you was that I was able to retrieve your records. I know all about your history."

"I doubt it, most of my records were destroyed. I don't even remember what happened to me before I was twelve, I think I repressed it and no one has been able to come up with my history. Believe me I hired detectives..."

"Your memories aren't repressed, they were blocked... by a psychic."

"What? Psychic? Come on, psychics aren't real."

"Oh, but they are. As a matter of fact, you are one yourself."

"Please, I can't read minds, predict the future, or move objects with my mind. I think I would have noticed that already."

"Not all psychics have those abilities, and psychic abilities are far wider ranging than those three. Would you like me to explain or are you going to be hard headed and not listen?"

"With all of the things that have happened recently, I'll believe just about anything," I said, making a motion like I was locking my lips and making my ears bigger with hands. "This is me listening."

"You are an alien hybrid..." she said, waiting for that to sink in. "There was a group of aliens called the Ataru that crash landed on Earth over three hundred years ago. Most of the aliens didn't survive the crash. They had neither the resources nor the numbers to survive against the humans on the planet but they did have many abilities that they developed for survival in space. Like the ability to communicate with each other over vast distances without the use of radios. We call them psychic abilities.

"The one that helped them survive most was the ability to change their shape by altering their DNA. They were able to pass as and breed with humans. Thus, over the past three hundred years the children of the Ataru have lived here and their numbers have grown in the tens of thousands.

"The problem is that Ataru have been diluted to the point where their traits are starting to disappear. So, the Ataru have took to science and have been working with us to find a way to preserve their abilities in future generations. Some Ataru are more old-fashioned about it and have took to Inbreeding to preserve their traits."

"OK, that's a fantastic story but what's that got to do with me? Are you saying I am Ataruian?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I am saying. As a matter of fact, it's the only reason you have survived. You see you are a special breed of psychic called a Vampiric. You can drain the life energy from other life forms and heal yourself. You probably have been using that ability subconsciously, because when you were young a psychic placed a block in your mind that would not allow you to use your ability consciously. But, since your records were lost and you were lost in the foster system... People forgot who you were.

"While they had you on drugs, the drugs blocked your conscious mind. That's why you don't remember much about what happened to you at Genentech. But that opened up your subconscious to heal yourself. Those other men that were experimented on never had a chance. It was only a freak chance that it worked on you. If they would have known you were Ataruian they would never have experimented on you in the first place."

"So, what does a Vampiric do? Are they vampires that suck blood, avoid garlic and wooden stakes and turn into bats?"

"Those are all just myths, Vampirics have the abilities to drain and transfer life energy from one life form to another. Most of the time it is used to heal themselves but they can act as a conduit also. The only problem is that the transfer is not efficient, you drain twice as much life as you transfer."

"Is that all they can do?"

"No, there is a side-effect to it that makes you dangerous. When you drain someone's life, you establish a link with that person making them pliable to your will. It is only temporary but Vampirics have been known to continuously drain a person in order to keep them under control. The controlled are called thralls."

"If people know about Vampirics, why was I blocked?"

"From my sources, I found out some history on you. Your mother was raped as a child by her father to produce you. Your father was your mother's father..." she said, letting that sink in.

"Go on," I said, trying to hide the shock and disgust I felt.

"Your father was taken away from your mother and she had no other children by your father, but like in a lot of cases of molestation, the molested became the molester. You and your mother had a great bond, your Vampiric abilities were unusual in that you could establish links with someone - without draining them - through sex. When your mother molested you, your bond grew and soon you and she were inseparable. Your father found out about this and was jealous, he reported your mother to the human authorities. You were taken from your mother. Apparently, he also hired a psychic to block your abilities so you couldn't seek revenge. You don't remember your years before twelve because..."

"They were blocked," I finished.

It all made sense. The flash backs of the women desperate to be with me despite being ass raped by a huge cock. I was like a beast and not concerned with their pleasure, and yet they still desperately wanted me. It wasn't because of anything the lab gave me, it was caused by something I already had naturally.

"Exactly." she said. "I'm sorry."

"Can you help me?" I pled.

"I already have," she answered, she handed me a large envelope. "Here is your new ID, passport, and history. Read it over and memorize it. I'm sorry I cannot give you your old life back, people returning from the dead tend to raise a lot of questions. If people knew what you were capable of, you would be hunted down. The less questions about you the better."

I leaned over and hugged her almost crying with relief.

"Are you still willing to help me? Despite all that I put you through?"

"I gave you my word. You will get my help when you are ready."

"But, I have more to ask of you than sex... It will be mutually beneficial but I need you to think about it."

"Oh?"

"Call me old-fashioned but I cannot have sex out of marriage even if it cost me my life..."

"You want me to marry you?"

"Yes... It does not have to be permanent... You can divorce me in a couple of years... I am a rich woman and before this disease ravaged my body I was once a beautiful woman also. If you marry me, then not only will it honor me but for you... well, not only will you be rich but you will enjoy the protection of the Illuminati."

"What about love. Don't get me wrong, you don't disgust me or anything but we barely know each other. And, I have feelings for someone else... actually many others."

"Well, like with a lot of Italian marriages, having mistresses is very common. I won't mind if you have others on the side as long as you are discreet. Although, there are rules. For example, you cannot take a married woman as a mistress... That would be scandalous. And in two years. You can divorce me without protest."

"It sounds tempting. Are you saying that this would be the only way you would allow me to heal you?"

"I may be dying but at least if I died today, I could be proud of the life I lived. Part of that is upholding our traditions."

"OK, how long do you need?"

"Your new passport will only allow you to stay in this country for a couple of weeks. So, you have until then."

She left soon after that, and Catalina was waiting outside for us to finish. Catalina and Anna traded courtesies and Anna left soon after that.

I wondered why a woman as rich and powerful as Anna, did not have a bodyguard. But, I realized that she lost all hope and at some level wanted to die - that is, before she found out about me.

I did not know what to expect for Catalina, we hadn't known each other very long but I did like her. She was a beautiful woman both inside and out.

She led me to a small 'restaurant' if that's what you want to call it. Although, it was more of someone's home with a scattering of tables outside. We sat down under the eaves of a beautiful Tustin home overlooking the ocean to the right and the mountains to the left. The sun had already set, but there was enough romance in the air with beautiful flowers everywhere, the candle lit tables, and of course the stunningly beautiful Catalina.

I told Catalina how gorgeous she looked before we walked to the restaurant but once we sat down it really started to sink in. I finally got to look her in her eyes, they twinkled and her face was radiant. She was mischievous and touchy feely as we ordered our meals. I found it funny, I could speak Italian fluently but don't remember ever learning it. But I could not read it very well. Luckily it was like Spanish which I did study in college, so I could kind of read it very slowly almost like a child.

Knowing the language did not give me the comprehension of their dishes, so after a while I gave up and asked her opinion. She gave me her order and suggested what I should try. And when the waitress came by, it was expected that I order for the both of us. A very machismo-based culture, although even in America I usually ended up paying for my date's meal no matter how feminist she claimed to be.

We made a lot of small talk, and from what I understood of Italian culture, the women were still very traditional there and wanted to be wooed. Italian women rarely would sleep with you unless you were 'dating' for many months. Although they were more modern than ever, it was still frowned on to have sex before marriage. It happened but usually it was with someone that they might marry someday. However, Catalina was giving off vibes bespeaking a woman in lust. I guess in a way she was already 'shamed' since she was an unwed mother of two, so maybe she was over it.

I was feeling guilty and conflicted, on the one hand, I was considering marrying her ex-step-mother, yet on the other hand it was originally her suggestion that I have sex with Anna to test out my healing abilities.

"What do you have in the envelope?" she asked.

"Your mother gave it to me..." I said, taking out the papers revealing a lot of official documents - birth certificate, passport book and passport ID amongst other things.

I had no idea how she got a photo of me, I'm guessing they had them in Genentech. My name was Michael Anderson (very American), and there were some notes on my history. According to the notes, my ID was sold by a loner whom was dying and just wanted to spend the rest of his life having fun.

Michael Anderson was never married, had no family and not many friends. Anyway, the name was common enough that if I were to run into someone he knew it wouldn't turn too many heads. Michael had a degree in Math, so it wasn't too far off of my own major (I minored in math) that I couldn't work with it.

Apparently, Michael didn't have a big online present, never had a Facebook or Twitter account. So that would make it easy for me to ease into his personality. I also apparently had a bank account with 100 thousand euros in it, courtesy of Anna I guessed.

"Wow, so it looks like you got your life back, that's great!" she said, enthusiastically but the look on her face belied it.

"Someone else's life anyway."

"Can't you stay here... I have an extra room; my daughter can sleep with me?" she asked but already knew the answer.

"There is nothing I'd like more, but my passport is only good for two weeks," I said, wanting to tell her more, but there was only so much I could say without talking about the Illuminati. "There is a way I could stay..."

"Really?" she said, perking up.

"Yes, but you wouldn't like it and honestly I don't think I could go through with it."

"What? If you could stay, why not?"

"Your mother, asked me to marry her."

"What?" she asked, thinking about it. "But why?"

"She refuses to have sex with anyone but her husband and... Well, she said I could have mistresses, and even divorce her in a couple of years if I wanted to but..."

"You are a romantic, yet you want to help her... I love my mother. She has always been there for me. I never knew my birth mother. She died when I was a baby," she said, in thought then she seemed to make up her mind. "You should do it."

"I am tempted to, but no. I don't love her... I don't love you either but I am at least infatuated with you; I could see myself in love with you soon enough. I don't have even THOSE feelings for her. I could never do that, for me marriage is a serious commitment. One I would only take with someone I would want to have a family with. With your mother... I couldn't do that AND look you in the eye ever again."

"But, you will save her life... Surely, you won't let her die!"

"No! I would never consider such a thing... I have been thinking about it and I have a solution where I can leave her conscious clean and still give her what she needs to be healed."

"But what about us? Do you feel what I feel for you or was it just me?" she asked with a worried tone.

"I do. But, I have some things I have to take care of first. I have to find my mother... It's already been four years since the detective found her she may be dead now, but I have to save her if I can..."

"I see... Yes, you should do that, but... will you come back and see me?"

I grabbed her hand assuring her and stroked her face with the other.

"I can promise you I will come back and see you, but I cannot promise I can stay... But if I can get a Visa... maybe. Unless of course you would consider staying with me in America?"

"I would love to live with you but this is my home... It's where I was raised and I love it here. I want my daughter to grow up here and besides my son lives here, also," she answered, sadly.