Felicia is herself sorta.

Disturbing Implications and Depths (Rough Draft v4)

Josh looked at himself in the mirror before heading out. He felt a ping from AISYS. "I've prepared an outfit that should be suitable for your meeting with Felicia, given the context and the stakes involved."

"Show me," he said, intrigued but also anxious. What he saw projected on the bathroom mirror stunned him. "You've got to be kidding me. I'm supposed to confront her in that?"

AISYS displayed an avatar on Josh's HUD and shifted it into the visage of La Femme Nikita. "Trust me, this will give you the aura of someone who knows secrets—someone both powerful and enigmatic. Perfect for your conversion with her."

Reluctantly, he agreed. Even with his new, more feminine physique, he felt a growing sense of purpose. Exploring his changes would have to take the back seat for now even as he experimentally flicked a nipple, through the bra material AISYS was imitating, watching it become erect enough to poke through and sending a shiver up his spine. He shook his head to banish lust full thoughts and get back on track.

Heading out the door as AISYS finished changing into the clothes they had picked for the day, his hair was tightly pulled back into a sleek bun, secured by hairpins adorned with black pearls and tiny silver skulls. His makeup was a high-definition contrast of smokey eyes against a matte-finish, porcelain complexion. The lips were a dark burgundy. He wore a crisp, tailored white blouse with black lace ruffles at the wrist and collar. The buttons were delicately fashioned, resembling tiny black roses. This he tucked into a high-waisted pencil skirt that fell just below his knees. The black material subtly hinted at a damask design, and a slit in the back gave a playful glimpse of black lace stockings. The stockings themselves were an elegant fishnet, held up by a matching garter belt, and his heels were pointy-toed stilettos in glossy black with silver accents. His accessories included a black lace choker adorned with a discreet silver pendant and a matching set of black pearl earrings. His fingers were adorned with silver rings, featuring onyx stones that caught the light mysteriously. To complete the look, a tailored blazer rested on his shoulders. Its deep purple, silk lining was printed with intricate, black patterns.

He hopped on his bike realizing how over dressed he was for meeting his girlfriend, even if there was a possible confrontation.

"Isn't this a bit much? Its just Felicia, shouldn't I be trying to put her at ease before I spring something like this on her?"

"I assure you, this ensemble has been designed for maximum psychological impact. Felicia won't know what hit her."

With a deep sigh. Remembering AISYS's tendency for overkill and the likely reason for it "AISYS even in a worst case scenario, this is still my girlfriend, I'm not trying to blind side her, I want the truth, not this, this is what we do to enemies, we only suspect she is Voltara." He said steping into a blind spot in the garage to change outfits.

"Acknowledged, Josh. Adjusting outfit parameters to optimize for emotional comfort and relational intimacy," AISYS responded, her form flickering into another fictional character for a brief moment. "Reconfiguring now." Josh noted that she had been showing her avatar much more lately and it had more and more often been taking Fictional Characters forms.

The transformation was near-instantaneous. Gone was the professional, gothic queen ensemble, replaced by something softer yet still with an edge of allure. Josh felt the fabric of his clothing change, hugging his body in different ways. Stepping into the light to catch his reflection in a car window, he found himself truly impressed.

His hair was now styled in relaxed, loose waves, framing his face in a more approachable manner. His makeup had been dialed back to a light smoky eye with a more natural lip shade, giving off a romantic vibe. A fitted, dark-purple velvet camisole replaced the blouse, delicate black lace gracing the neckline, suggestive yet sophisticated. Over it, he wore an open, black cardigan, its fabric soft and slightly sheer. The skirt transformed into a playful, flared mini in a soft suede, adorned with a few whimsical raven and crescent moon patches—just enough flair to say 'cute goth girlfriend needs to be serious.' but not enough to say 'intimidating.'

The lace stockings were replaced by over-the-knee, black cotton socks, and his heels turned into ankle-high leather boots, stylish but far less imposing. His choker remained, but it was now a more delicate piece, featuring a tiny heart-shaped locket. The jewelry toned down to a single, graceful silver ring and small hoop earrings.

"This should be more in line with fostering emotional intimacy," AISYS informed him

"This is a lot better, I had a question though." he said as he climbed onto his motorcycle, its engine purring as if approving of his change in attire. As he sped through the city streets.

"Yes?"

"Why has my outfits today been trending more towards 'eye catching' goth than normal, we used to go with this a bit more casual, even when dressing in styles designed to stick out, unless something was happening."

" That's because you have accepted your situation more, Unless told otherwise I am to make my user as absolutely beautiful and stunning as possible. It was only your previous discomfort that let me hold back as much as I did. As you get more comfortable my suggestions will be right on the edge of what you are comfortable with. Goth was just the first style we tried since your current level of acceptance, I went with Goth because of how similar it is to your Areia Persona, I thought it would help given your current plan."

"Well damn, so if I'm not paying attention as I accept my 'situation' and let you go on autopilot my clothes will follow a similar trajectory as my body changes, even more and more exaggerated stunning beauty and flair?"

"In short, Yes. The exact atheistic is something I'll adapt to the situation, but unless ordered or directed at the time you will be as magnificent as I can make you in accordance with BioWar's envious vanity and the type of women your data points to as your ideal woman." AISYS explained much to Josh's chagrin.

"That is yet another issue I'm going to have to deal with later, I don't suppose I could give you a standing order to dress with less of a pop? Or convince you my ideal women is different than your assessment?"

"You can leave a standing order but unless it is relatively narrow it will not stick. You can talk with me about your ideal women and I will add it as a date point, but there is a lot of evidence to the conclusion that subroutine came to, and I can't override subroutines at that core level, data goes into it as I observe and the conclusion I must act on comes out. I can see the exact process happening as it analyzes and determines, but if like being able to see your heart on an MRI, you can see the function but you can't normally directly effect its normal operation. "

Josh went silent for the rest of the ride thinking 'We are going to have to figure out exactly what relatively means and what a good description would be to off set its conclusion with it only counting as a few data points'

AS they approached Felicia's apartment josh spoke up again. "AISYS, run and continue to run full scans as we approach and once we enter, let me know if anything important pings. Any signs of Voltara yet?"

"No signs. But be cautious, especially with Felicia. Something doesn't add up, even if its not what the evidence seems to point to." AISYS warned.

"Understood."

Arriving at Felicia's apartment, Josh's heart was pounding as he knocked. The door swung open, and Felicia greeted him with a radiant smile. "Come in!"

The apartment was cozy, filled with the sweet aroma of vanilla candles. Felicia offered him a seat. "Wine?"

"Sure," he said, sitting down.

She returned with two glasses, handing one to him before sitting beside him. "A Toast to a wonderful week." They toasted and took a sip. "So, what brings you here?"

Josh looked into her eyes. "Felicia, I have something to confess. I'm pretty sure I know whats been going on, you don't have to hide it, I'm the hero Ariea."

She stared at him, disbelief turning into realization. "You're Ariea? That explains... Oh my god. So, you were fighting Voltara because of me?"

Josh nodded. "Sort of? I guess if you look at it that way."

Felicia's eyes welled up with tears. "I thought Voltara was trying to take yet another thing from me by fighting you. She's been ruining my life from day one of her career. Everywhere I go, I end up as collateral damage in her schemes. Even when she was getting taken away she somehow was able to cause me to wake up and be stuck in a secure facility, but jokes on her I've gotten good at getting out of those thanks to her."

They were confused by this, but AISYS couldn't detect any deceit, and neither could he. She took your silence as encouragement to keep going.

"Let me show you something," Felicia said, moving towards a bookshelf. She touched a hidden panel, the floor beneath the bed creaked and groaned as it split open, revealing a hidden staircase leading downward to what was supposed to be one of the empty apartments getting renovated on the level beneath Felicia's.

The room below was a veritable war room, covered in articles, photographs, and research. "I've been investigating her, trying to find out who she is. Planning to ruin her life the way she ruined mine."

She walked to a board detailing Voltara's exploits and her own life events side by side. "But now, you've captured her. That's... that's wonderful. Her identity will be revealed, and she'll pay for what she's done."

Felicia took an almost sadistic pleasure recounting how Voltara was taken down so brutally, but Josh noticed her shivering, as if her body was in shock.

He opened his mouth to call her on the clear signs of recovering from that exact event when AISYS piped in his ear. "Josh, I have strong reason to believe Felicia has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Do not, I repeat, do not tell her more. It could trigger a switch."

"Is everything okay?" Felicia looked at him, concerned.

"Yes," Josh **** a smile. "Everything's starting to make sense. I need to go I'm on the nightshift now." he adds trying to make an excuse so he and AISYS can make a plan in light of AISYS's new theory.

Before he can get up to least Felicia puts her hand on his lap and says winking "Is the brave hero really going to leave before he can be rewarded?"

'I could stay and run the risk of setting her off but be able to verify what we suspect is going on or I can make my excuses and regroup.'