Ecto-Girl 01

Rebooty Call

Bill was the first to wake up. He turned over and saw that Jo was still sleeping. Funny, she was still in her Ecto Girl form, the slightly more muscular, slightly more “well-endowed” heroic body that she used as her super identity. She also used it on other occasions as Bill had found out last night. He was thrilled and excited in equal measure. He’d known Jo before the incident that had destroyed her body, but had left her consciousness intact. When they had started dating he hadn’t realised that the Jo he’d been talking to was actually a phantom body constructed of ectoplasmic matter by a highly advanced alien civilidsation. When she had revealed her secret powers to him he had discovered that Jo could form any body she wanted from this ectoplasm, meaning she could become any creature, person or object she wanted. What’s more, she could dissolve a body in one location, instantaneously transport her essence to anywhere in the world and recreate another body there, effectively teleporting. Or she could make the molecules of her ectoplasmic body become diffuse enough that she could pass through solid matter. Using her powers to disguise herself as a superheroine she regularly fought crime and performed superhuman acts as a member of the Flying Squad, Britain’s premier super hero team. Why someone like that was still with Bill was beyond him. She’d had other chances, but they’d always stuck together. They probably always would. Bill stroked Jo’s fine black hair affectionately, finally causing her to stir.

‘What time is it?’ she asked, still half asleep.

‘Just gone eight,’ replied Bill. ‘Are you going to wear that body all day?’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Jo.

‘You’re still Ecto Girl,’ explained Bill.

‘Huh. Fancy that.’ said Jo. ‘Normally, I’d change back in my sleep. Wonder what happened there? No problem, I’ll just change back now before I forget.’

Jo closed her eyes and formed the mental connection with the matter of her body that allowed her to alter it. She imagined it returning to its ordinary shape, but… it didn’t respond. Jo opened her eyes, aware something was amiss but unable to quite figure out what it was. She closed her eyes again, concentrating harder. Bill looked on worriedly as he saw Jo beginning to get upset.

‘I cant’ change!’ cried Jo. ‘I can’t change at all – nothing’s happening.’

Bill made to put a comforting arm around her but Jo shrugged it off.

‘No, Bill, just a second. I need time to think. And a drink. I’ll get us both a cup of tea.’

She closed her eyes again, through habit, calling upon another aspect of her powers by reflex. Before she opened them she knew something was wrong. She peered cautiously out of the corner of one, tentatively raising an eyelid.

‘I haven’t moved.’ She closed her eye again. ‘I can’t teleport either.’

‘Maybe you’ve been overdoing it,’ suggested Bill. ‘You’ve been pretty non-stop with the hero gig of late.’

‘Shut up, Bill,’ was Jo’s impolite reply. She was deep in thought and was finding Bill an unnecessary distraction. ‘Have I lost all my powers?’ she wondered aloud. She jumped out of bed and stood up straight. She paused, as though preparing for some great task. Then she started jumping up and down, frantically confining her efforts to one spot on the bedroom floor, looking like she was trying to knock part of it out. ‘Completely solid,’ she said, walking over to the wall and pressing the palms of her hands against it. ‘Can’t even pass through walls. This would be a problem at any time, but while I’m stuck in my Ecto Girl identity, well… “Pickle” doesn’t cover it.’

Now out of bed, she thought she might as well try her shape-changing ability one more time. Changing back to normal wasn’t working, so she put her hands on her hips and tried to transform herself into a polar bear. Even growling didn’t seem to help. Suddenly self-conscious, she became aware of Bill, sitting up patiently in bed, waiting for her to finish her train of thought. Jo felt a sudden pang of guilt. ‘Oh, honey, I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to push you aside like that. I just thought, you know, this was more a “super” thing than a boyfriend thing. Sorry.’

Bill held his hands up in acknowledgement. He had a thick skin and he knew Jo well enough to know she hadn’t meant any harm. In fact with no solution presenting itself, Bill felt he could risk making a suggestion.

‘Didn’t you say your body was actually a piece of advanced technology?’ asked Bill. Jo nodded. ‘Is there a way you can reboot it, then?’

‘Do you know what? There is,’ replied Jo. ‘There was no instruction book with this thing when I got it, but the original owner told me all sorts of useful stuff. I scribbled it down and then put it in the drawer downstairs with the council tax and the TV licence so it wouldn’t go missing. Give me a sec, I’ll just go and get it.’

Jo suddenly stood up straight and looked off in to the distance. It was as if she’d finished with the conversation and was waiting for something to happen. Which was precisely what she was doing, only she realised a second later that nothing was going to occur.

‘Oh, yeah, no teleporting. Sorry – forgot.’ She kicked her slippers from out under the bed and put them on. They were a bit tight, meant for Jo’s regular feet, rather than the larger pair that belonged to the more impressive stature of Ecto Girl, but they still just about fit. ‘OK, the old fashioned way it is.’

When Jo got back with the paper she was looking for, she wasn’t entirely sure that it would do exactly what she expected.

‘I’m a devil for this – making notes without saying what the notes are for. My phone’s full of stuff like this.’

Bill was trying to make sense of what Jo had scribbled down. ‘It does say “reset” here, but it also says “do not use” right next to it.’

Jo took the scrap of note paper off him. ‘No, I think that relates to this bit near the bottom.’ She pointed out another set of codes to Bill that appeared to be unlabelled. She turned her focus to the other codes with a newfound confidence. ‘I’m sure “reset” is referring to these ones here.’

‘Do you want to give it a try?’ asked Bill.

Jo closed her eyes and gave a little shiver as she attempted to change back to her normal self one last time. Much as expected, nothing happened. ‘It’s not working, Bill. I can’t stay like this forever. What choice do I have?’

Bill puffed out his cheeks. ‘Good luck!’

Jo gave him a quick peck on the lips. She peered at the paper and began to read. ‘7177-Alpha-Alpha-Upsilon-Psi. Er, 01-03-07.’

Jo had barely completed reciting the code, when she disappeared with an audible ‘pop’.

‘Jo!’ cried Bill in alarm.’

‘It’s ok,’ said Jo’s voice from nowhere in particular, ‘I’m still here. Only it appears – or rather it doesn’t appear – I’m in Invisible Mode. It feels different from when I’m usually invisible, though. And -’ She broke off for a second, before giving what sounded like subdued grunt of effort. ‘- I’m still unable to use my powers and become visible again.’

Bill reached out to where Jo had been stood a second ago. He prodded the air carefully, but there was certainly nothing there. ‘I don’t think you’re just invisible. It doesn’t feel like there’s anything here at all.’

‘I’m inclined to agree,’ said Jo. ‘But I’m still here, somehow. I can see you even though I can’t seem to touch anything. It’s like I’m a cloud.’ Jo broke off again. ‘Whoa! Maybe I am. I feel like I’m… raining?’

Bill didn’t know what to make of that. It wasn’t the sort of thing that you usually heard someone say, even someone as extraordinary as Jo. But his confusion didn’t last long, as something began to happen that made sense of Jo’s words.

On the floor, right on the spot where Jo had disappeared, two white footprints appeared. At first they were just two flat white shapes against the biscuit-coloured carpet, but they soon started to thicken and become more solid. The effect was something like a pair of glass containers in the shape of feet and ankles slowly filling up with milk.

‘Is this you, Jo?’ asked Bill, ‘It looks like you’re being downloaded like an old digital photograph, line by line.’

The toes of the disembodied feet began to wriggle.‘It is me,’ said the ethereal Jo. ‘I can actually feel the draught blowing around my ankles. Hopefully, I’ll be completely back soon enough.’

Sure enough, the ‘milk’ continued to fill what soon became clear was the outline of Jo’s body. Legs became solid, followed by hips and pelvis, connecting the two growing pillars of this strange matter. Bill prodded a thigh and elicited a ‘hey!’ from Jo. There still wasn’t a mouth yet for her voice to come from, but it had sounded as clearly as Bill’s own. He apologised to the half-a-body stood before him. Jo’s thigh had felt like ordinary flesh, in warmth and texture, but it was still a stark white with no variation in shade. It was also strangely hairless, no follicles on the legs and no pubic hair below her waist. It might have looked like a mannequin, but as the curves of Jo’s torso and breasts resolved into view there was a clearly organic quality to the body as it began to sway slightly with the expected movement of someone who had been standing still for a while. Twenty minutes had passed when arms started growing from shoulders and five minutes after that hands had formed enough to touch the chin that had just appeared. The rest of the head took a little longer, the process slowing down as if it was taking time over this more detailed part of the body. Mouth pouted, nose scrunched and eyes darted from side to side as they each materialised in turn. Eventually the whole head appeared, but, as before, no hair accompanied it as this peculiar, ghostly bald version of Jo finally completed itself.

At that moment, Jo stumbled forward. She hadn’t been completely frozen during this process, but she had been rooted to the spot and now it was over she found she could move freely again.

Jo patted herself down and gave herself the once-over. ‘This isn’t weird at all,’ she said. ‘This is my original body shape, but it’s a bit – what’s the word?’

‘Blank?’ suggested Bill.

‘Blank,’ agreed Jo. ‘I don’t feel cold, but I could do with some clothes. Feeling a bit exposed, here.’

Immediately Jo had finished speaking, a grey leotard materialised upon her body.

‘Ah, that’s something,’ she said. ‘This is what I wore when I first got a hold of this body. It looks like the reset has worked. I wonder if my powers are working now.’ Before Bill could react, Jo vanished, but in a noticeably gradual, if still fast, fashion to when she had popped out of existence earlier. Bill was just processing this information when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Jo’s white silhouette now standing behind him.

‘Teleportation’s working now,’ announced Jo. She pinched her nose like someone about to jump into a swimming pool. Then, as if a trap door had opened underneath her, she dropped straight down, out of sight. But there was no opening – Jo had passed through the solid wood of the floor. A second later, she popped back up through it, springing up before landing neatly on the now-solid surface. In her leotard she looked like an acrobat finishing a routine. ‘Phasing’s working too. This is promising. I just need to do something about my appearance.’

Bill was just about to say something when he was interrupted by Jo speaking. Or rather, he was cut off by words coming from Jo’s mouth, but they weren’t said with Jo’s voice.

‘Bitte wählen Sie das Standardbild aus. Sie haben drei Minuten Zeit, um Ihre Wahl zu treffen!’

‘I beg your pardon,’ said Bill.

‘I don’t know,’ replied Jo. ‘It felt like a verbal burp. It just erupted out of me.’

‘It sounded like German. I didn’t know you could speak -’

‘Bitte wählen Sie das Standardbild aus. Sie haben einhundertfünfzig Sekunden Zeit, um Ihre Wahl zu treffen!’ barked Jo.

‘Hang on a mo,’ said Bill. ‘Let me get my phone ready. Let’s see if we can figure out what you’re saying.’ He opened the translation app on his phone and set it to record. As expected, Jo let out another burp of German.

‘Bitte wählen Sie das Standardbild aus. Sie haben zwei Minuten Zeit, um Ihre Wahl zu treffen!’

Bill showed Jo what it said on his phone screen:

Please select default appearance. You have two minutes to make your choice.

‘Two minutes! I don’t want this to be my default appearance! I’ll have to transform. Oh God, what do I usually look like? I just used to revert to normal. I’m not entirely sure what I actually look like. Maybe it’d be better if - Bitte wählen Sie das Standardbild aus. Sie haben neunzig Sekunden Zeit, um Ihre Wahl zu treffen! Arrgh! Quick! What do I look like?’

‘Your body’s more or less the right shape. You just need hair and a bit more colour!’

‘Right! Yes! Hair!’ said Jo. ‘Here goes!’ She closed her eyes and concentrated. Instantly, her entire body sprouted a shaggy brown pelt of fine black hair.

‘Bitte wählen Sie das Standardbild aus. Sie haben eine minute Zeit, um Ihre Wahl zu treffen!’ she burped.

‘No! No, not all over. Just in the usual places, please,’ said Jo. Her body responded, leaving her with shoulder length black hair on her head and small tufts at her crotch and armpits.

‘Oh flip, I don’t have time to tidy that up, it’ll have to do,’ she said. ‘Now a bit more colour in the cheeks.’ She screwed her eyes tightly shut and let out an exaggerated grunt. The merest hint of pink soaked into her skin, offsetting the deathly paleness a little. Since she’d gained her amazing ectoplasmic body, she had never been able to recapture the warm hues of her original skin tone. This rose tint was as good as she’d ever managed before and she was satisfied with it now.

‘Bitte wählen Sie das Standardbild aus. Sie haben dreizig Sekunden Zeit, um Ihre Wahl zu treffen!’

Jo looked a lot more human. ‘I think that’s it,’ she said. ‘Phew! With seconds to spare! I mean, I know I can alter my appearance whenever I want. But I don’t ever want to lose sight of the real me, do I? Although… It would be nice if the real me had a bit more going on around the -’

Jo pulled her shoulders back and her breasts swelled ever so slightly, the intelligent fabric of her leotard stretching to accommodate the extra couple of inches.

‘Nah, that’s silly isn’t it? I should – Standardbild ausgewählt. Vielen Dank für Ihre Teilnahme. Einen schönen Tag noch!’

‘Ah,’ said Jo, looking down at her new chest. ‘Oh well, I suppose I’ll get used to it in time.’

‘Why was the countdown in German?’ asked Bill.