Four-in-one date

"I knooooow a seeeeecreeeeet..." Kelly said in a sing-song voice. Neither Beth nor Ivy could make eye contact with her, turning around almost like they forgot there were other people in the room.

"Oh, come on, you two! It's adorable. I love this story: four people, with average affections, become a dynamo together when condensed into two!"

That statement made Ivy roll her eyes. "Hey, James and I--"

"Kissed a lot and then, did what? Ivy, babe, you are ALWAYS talking about how it was just some kissing and hugging and all that and that you were waiting for school to end when futures were solidified to figure out where to go from there. So what's so different now that you're smushed together into two hotties that made you so impatient?"

Ivy grumbled, while Beth sat down by Kelly. "I mean, it's hard to explain it. James and Beth are combined, yeah. They make... me. I'm both and neither of them, all at once. I've got deep love for Ivy, I've got strong affection and friendship with Luke. I'm comfortable in my body--practically excited to explore the world like this, like I'm seeing everything new. I'm just... in love with every part of this."

"Stop, stop! You're gonna make me cry," Ivy said, wiping a tear from her eye and giggling a little as she also sat down. Even Kelly was misting up a bit upon hearing that. "It's not just all that though," Ivy continued. "I keep my girlish behaviors, but with a mix of guy that gets me confident about myself, because I know I look good! I want to show off myself, not just for myself but for Beth, or James when it's him. So, like, we're talking a whole rebirth here! I like clothes, but I also like games, I want girl talk and then to argue about which superhero could win in a fight. I mean, there's already girls like that, but now I'm one of them. Well, so long as I'm like this."

Kelly sat criss-cross on the couch, pulling from her investigative journalism background. "Okay, two things. First, how did this whole Ascend thing happen? And, you said, 'so long as I'm like this', why wouldn't you be like that? I want to hear more."

"It's pretty simple, in premise. I, as in Lucas, basically can't just do anything on my own right now, and it sucks. I, as in Ivy, needed a grade boost. Principal Iverson said any homework or tests that Lucas takes through Ivy's body count for both so we can both graduate just right. But it got awkward, as you might imagine..." Ivy squirmed a little, as Kelly nodded.

"As in, let me guess. Guy in girl body, guy doesn't know what to do, and needed backup?"

"Bingo," Beth confirmed. "It took both sides of me a bit to be convinced to do this too. Ivy was kind of tricky about it for a while, not lying but... she roped me in with a compelling storyline. I tried it, and now I'm hooked. It sounds weird from an outside perspective, before trying it, that I might want to keep someone else in my head with me, let alone a guy who doesn't know anything about being a girl. But it really feels hard to imagine not having that connection anymore, and it's only been a day for me! Last night was actually really tough, feeling like I'd been broken in two."

"It gets stronger over time, too," Ivy confirmed, adjusting her robe as she pulled her hair out of the towel. "It's been two weeks, and when I'm not in this mix, I feel empty. Like, part of me barely remembers what one of my bodies is like. Part of me misses how effortless some of this knowledge comes to me when it's gone, or just this comfort and confidence in my own form."

Kelly nods, standing up to pace around, tapping her chin and moving some fiery red hair from her face, before looking back to the robed ladies before her. "It's getting clearer now. I'd heard about neuroplasticity, how the brain rearranges itself to compensate for new circumstances in the mind. My guess is, even when your minds are far apart, the mix is literally rewiring your minds from the first moment! It has to be. And that sounds like you're going to be in trouble when this is over. Those transmitters are pretty bulky, right? And those other bodies still need to eat and stuff, otherwise they atrophy and starve and run into health problems, right?"

Ivy leaned forward, resting her arms on her legs. "Something tells me you know all about that already. I know you don't ask questions you don't know the answer to. But if you need that confirmation, that's all true. Lucas is 'lucky', if you can call it that, he's hooked up to an IV and can't eat anything solid for another week. I don't feel the pain that body's enduring right now. I'd much rather be here, but when this is all done, it'll be a lot harder to do this." Ivy looked at the grinning Kelly, seeing that Kelly was trying to hold something in, but Ivy knew better when her friend wanted to impart information. Ivy quirked an eyebrow. "Or, will it be? Spill it, Kell."

Kelly emitted a high-pitched 'eee' sound, until she just blurted out a string of words. "The Ascend V5 has a tether mode using receivers only and you don't need the transmitters at all! I know how to do it, I could even hook you all together with a tether between those two receivers--you could put four people in a body that way, a four-way mix! And with an AI assistant, bodies could be on autopilot, while you are like you are right now. But it's totally fluid, you could be in a different mix, or even different body, every minute if you wanted. Either as moving, just spectating, mixed together or splitting control... it's all just a bunch of settings."

That sounded amazing to both Beth and Ivy, as they looked at each other. They could really do all that? There's a way to keep all the bodies active instead of being bed-bound?

Beth looked back to Kelly, who was still grinning. "And to do this... what do you want out of it? I know prime info from Kelly Laudner has a price."

Kelly steps over by Beth, looking down at her as she crossed her arms. The smile remained, but her eyes were dead serious. "I'd like a date, please."

Faces throughout the room reddened. Ivy's eyes widened, Beth almost sputtered as she looked for words. "W-what? I c... I can't, I mean not like how I am now! I mean, there's Ivy, Ivy and me, and..."

"And you would all be in the same body."

Silence fell across the room for the longest time. Kelly broke the silence. "To elaborate, I'll tether your headsets, adjust the settings, then you'll each have a quarter mix in Beth's body, and you'll take me to a nice dinner. I mean classy, dresses and stuff. I'm gonna be honest here, I'd fantasized about you Beth, but I knew it couldn't ever work. At least, until you had minds in your head that would make you interested in women... your dual-minded selves right now are their own personalities, this four-minded self will be a personality of her own, so you shouldn't worry that it would be like you're cheating on the versions of you that exist now--because I'm gonna win her over."

Ivy and Beth just stared for the longest time, but eventually they looked at each other. "I think we need a moment. Sidebar?"