The rescue begins

You sit on the edge of Gabrielle's expansive bed, going through the plan again. You waited until Gabby's test was out of the way before taking action, so if you end up leaving her body it won't compromise her grade. Last night her friends went out to celebrate, but you stayed at her comfortable home, plotting and calculating what to do. That's when it hit you.

They can't be everyone you know. And, given how much they seem to know about you, it's likely they will have only replaced those you would try and contact first. That narrows your focus.

Your mom. Trish. Jessica. Nick, in that order. They are your prime suspects. For your plan to work, you'll have to get one of them alone. But, now you know what the pens all do, that won't be a problem.

It's Friday morning, but before you go out, you need to make some adjustments. You pick up the red pen, and activate it. You feel Gabby's skin tighten, then sag. Her rich, highlighted hair begins to fade, grey slipping through. Her breasts lose their pertness, and her thighs widen. Finally her skin changes hue slightly.

Standing in front of you is Gabrielle Rieu has she would be thirty years from now: still a beauty, one who has gracefully settled into middle age. You smile and watch the crow's feet around her eyes spread. Perfect - just old enough to escape suspicion.

*****

You know your mom's routine best, and you're assuming that if she has been replaced, whoever's using her as a disguise will stick to it. That means a session at the local pool, every Friday morning. You get a day pass and linger in the locker room. Sure enough, she turns up for 'her' session swimming lengths. You time it so you're alone together, calmly collect the white pen from your locker, point, and fire. A gash erupts down her back from where you fired - exposing another's skin underneath. By the time the impostor has realized they've been made and spun around, you've fired the black pen.

"Gotcha," Your rich, French-accented voice says.

Slipping in to a changing cubicle, skin in hand, you aim the white pen and, a few strokes later, strip your mother's skin free. You're relieved as it reseals, unharmed, as you set it aside. In front of you is the impostor's skin. It's a woman's - your age, perhaps a little older, and from the flat, deflated face she looks remarkably average. The kind of girl you could pass in the street and never think of again. Perhaps that's the point. You had assumed it would be a guy, but that's a trivial concern. You strip off your clothes, steady the older Gabrielle's leg, and begin to pull the skin on.

Moments later you're looking at the angry, plain face of the impostor. You have no idea who she is, but clearly she's been assigned to wait to see if you would try to make contact with your family. Now the tables are turned. You look down at your current body. Average, in every regard. An average build. An average height. An average face. It's almost as though the organization's agents have used the red pen to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. Well, if that's the case, you're soon going to find out.

If you want to rescue your family, you need to know what your opponents are doing. Fortunately, that's not hard at all.

You point the blue pen at yourself - the pen that gives you the current skin's memories - and fire.

(Author: Collider)