Chapter 8

21 September

Alex woke up five minutes before his alarm went off. Despite the large dinner from the night before, he was starving again. His body had been busy during the night repairing damage it hadn’t had the resources to fix. Rubbing the sand out of his eyes, Alex jumped into his brain for a briefing on his condition.

“Hello, Intell.” Intell looked over his shoulder, hearing Alex.

“Hey, boss. Thank you for all the food last night. We were able to fix almost all the damage.”

“Almost?”

“Yeah. We should finish late this morning as long as you get us a big breakfast.”

“How about a six-egg omelet with ham, cheese, bacon, and bell peppers?” Intell nodded.

“That should work, although you should add mushrooms to the omelet. Make sure you have a couple of glasses of milk. Some fruit would be appreciated, although not necessary. Sometime in the next few days, you’ll need to eat a bunch of fruit to boost the vitamin supply.”

“Anything else?” Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Meat and dairy with every meal. Your body needs protein and calcium to begin growing. One inch per month, correct?”

“Yes, I don’t want to try to cover up any unusual growth. Let everyone think it’s natural.”

“Final height of 6’5?”

“For now. I might change that when I get closer.” Intell nodded.

“Guardian wants you to join a mixed martial arts school with a primary focus on combat Krav Maga with some judo and other disciplines thrown in.”

“I’ll look for something today.”

“Anything from the feds regarding my father?”

“We haven’t heard, but then again, we haven’t been looking.” That made sense to Alex since he hadn’t thought of it.

“Start looking as soon as we can hook up to a network. I want to watch him get arrested.”

“Will do, boss. Anything else?”

“Yes. Find my idiot sister and watch over my mother to ensure none of her clients come after her when Dad’s arrested.” Intell gave Alex a look.

“Don’t give me that. I need an adult here so I don’t get thrown into the foster system. The old plan was for when I was going to commit suicide.”

“What about Gretchen?”

“As far as I know, not a legal guardian.”

“Ah. See if you can find something in the law that would give you the house.”

“I’m thirteen.” Alex’s birthday had been while he was in the hospital. “No system in the Western world would allow a thirteen-year-old to own property. Go figure. Five is old enough to “determine” you were born into the wrong body, but you can’t smoke, drink, drive, own a firearm, vote, own property, or even have a fucking bank account until you’re eighteen.” Intell laughed.

“Don’t hold back, boss. Tell us how you really feel.” Alex gave Intell a single-finger salute, which caused Intell to laugh some more.

With nothing more to do, Alex jumped out of his head and got dressed. Checking the house, he found everyone home, the family asleep, and Markus in the kitchen with Gretchen, enjoying some coffee. Alex bounded down the hallway and into the kitchen. He no sooner entered than Gretchen held up a cup of breakfast tea for him.

“Why, thank you, Gretchen.” Alex drank. “Ah, nector of the gods.”

After finishing his tea, Alex got the eggs and other fixings out before pouring himself his first glass of milk. Markus and Gretchen sat at the table, amused by Alex’s cooking such a large breakfast. They knew Tom would be furious with Alex over using so many eggs, but Markus and Gretchen said nothing. They had noticed a change in Alex; he seemed to have developed a backbone.

As he cooked, Alex was dancing to a tune in his head. Markus raised an eyebrow when Alex added large amounts of minced garlic and onion to the eggs. They raised further with the addition of paprika. Alex hadn’t been one for spicy food before.

Finally, Alex finished his omelet and sat down with another glass of milk. Before he started eating, he put some Tabasco sauce on the eggs. Biting into the eggs was heaven for Alex. The recipe he had downloaded was worth it.

Gretchen and Markus could only stare as the pile of eggs rapidly disappeared into Alex’s stomach, along with two tall glasses of milk and his regular morning tea. All told, Alex downed almost a quart of milk, half a dozen eggs, a quarter pound of bacon and ham, and three bell peppers in one sitting. Once finished, he sat back and patted his stomach contentedly. It certainly had been a good breakfast.

Alex had no sooner finished than his mother burst into the kitchen, demanding food. She only wore her panties, stockings, and bra, so when she saw Alex, she screamed.

“Alex! What are you doing home?!?! Why are you looking at me in my underwear?”

“Why are you running around in your underwear?” Alex calmly asked. “Besides, you’re too old for anyone to want to check out. You’re definitely not the classic beauty that Gretchin is.” Alex dropped that gem just as Gretchen drank some orange juice, and most of it came out of her nose.