[Wednesday, July 8, 5:30pm]
I pulled up to my sister's place with something approaching dread. I could see her car in the driveway, and making my way over, I noticed the tiny dog she'd picked up a while back standing on the inner windowsill, and yapping as I approached.
By the time I made it to the door, she was already opening it up and waving me in. "You don't really look any different, you know."
I rolled my eyes as I pulled off the shoes and made my way into the living room. "I told you I got lucky. Kara's a shapeshifter in the old Marvel game. And my original character concept seems to have influenced what I got." I looked around, a little embarrassed. "You know, this feels really weird discussing a roleplaying character like a real person."
She gave me a Look, and waved in the direction of the tv room. "Do you know I've seen news reports of a guy dressed like Superman with a shield flying away? People at work are sharing YouTube videos of people with superpowers. And word has it that people all over the world are having this happen to them. So really, your becoming a part-time girl is actually pretty easy to handle." She snickered. "Besides, I'm looking forward to having another sister in the family."
I gave her a nonplussed look, which she returned with a huge grin. "So show already! You said you can shapeshift, right? So shift!"
I reached down and twisted the way I'd been taught and held up the armband computer which appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes widened as she took in the demonstration. "This is one of the devices we used in Paragon," I began, taking a bit of a lecturing tone. "It's a portable computer that lets me - among other things - handle the transformations. See, Kara's a lot lighter than I am, and nothing fits. So I have to combine the shift with a transformation to her fighting suit. It's the only thing I've got right now that actually fits her."
I stepped to the sliding door out back, and asked her to hold on to the dog. "I'm not sure how much of the transformation is real and how much is just an optical illusion, but there's electricity involved, and the dog really doesn't want to be that close to me."
She looked nervous. "And the lawn?"
I chuckled. "Kara's memories tell me that stuff around me are okay. It's just being touch-range close that I'm worried about. Ready?" At her nod, I raised my right hand up into the air, and summoned the lightning.
Energy crackled around me, and there was a crack-boom as I shifted form in a flash of light. When it cleared, I checked myself over. Smaller hands, yes. Long coppery-red hair, yes. Breasts protected inside armored bra inside a kevlar-spandex bodysuit, yes.
I paused. I really didn't need to remember that part...
I took a breath and smiled back at my sister, who stared at me with wide eyes. I looked around self-consciously. We'd had a lot of bad weather lately, but I didn't want people noticing the girl in the spandex bodysuit in my sister's backyard. Sure it had a fence, but I didn't want to tempt fate. After a quick gesture and a raised eyebrow she ushered me back inside.
"So..." she touched my arm experimentally. When I didn't vanish, she poked a little more. I yelped and skittered back when she poked my front, eliciting a teasing grin from her. "You have to work on that," she said as I walked back into the living room. "Like it or not, you're a girl at least part of the time now, and you can't afford to give yourself away by reacting like a guy caught peeping in the girl's locker room."
I sighed and sat down. "That's not the hardest part of this, honestly." I gestured outside. "I have memories of being Kara. Two whole lifetimes, in fact. In one, she's a law student who part times as a superheroine to pay the bills. In the other, she's a lawyer who became a member of the SHIELD organization, and was trained as a superspy."
My sister leaned back, a thoughtful smile on her face. "So you're going into law this fall. I think I see why you got this girl. You and she actually have a lot in common, no matter where she came from."
One thing about my sister, she's sharp as a tack. Nothing gets past her. "I guess," I allowed. "But while I have all the memories of Kara, I don't have the confidence of Kara. That's been my biggest falling-down point. I have the training from Paragon Earth which was mostly about controlling low end power. I have some of the most rigorous survival and weapons training imaginable from Marvel Earth, and a lot of training in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism training."
She leaned forward as I said that, a curious look on her face. "So... what exactly were you in the second place? In English this time?"
I smirked and sighed. "Best way to explain it is in context. In the game, our group was responsible for saving the world. But we had to smash several major super villain groups, stop a time traveler with really advanced technology, and destroy the US military infrastructure. The characters were very much considered terrorists before they could clear their names and prove the President had in fact been mind-controlled by a psychic tyrant who called himself the Shadow King. And I have all those memories in here!" I looked up in frustration as my sister's eyes widened as what I was saying finally made sense.
"I remember Soulburner. He was a sadistic creep who went into people's minds and gave them phobias. Anything he wanted. For the sadistic pleasure of it." I looked back at her. "Imagine gaining a phobia about water. Any water. Or a phobia about dry land. Or a phobia about air!" I shuddered as I remembered Soulburner's touch on my mind, and all the work Cassie had put into removing his implanted limits. "It took a long time to get the worst of that crap out of me after he finished interrogating me."
I looked out the window. "When Shin pulled out that plasmacaster and used it to incinerate the creep, all I felt was a tremendous and abiding satisfaction."
"Who?"
I looked back at her. "Shin Ishiharra. Power armor expert who wound up getting fused with a design he'd built. He wound up with a bit of a Guyver complex afterward. After he got cleaned up, he bought out Yamaha Heavy Industries. He was the guy who provided us with funds and heavy equipment. I smiled at her blank look. "Think of a Japanese Tony Stark with the ability to summon power armor."
She got up and walked around, the dog scampering off to find something else more interesting. "So... you were saying something over the phone about an external viewpoint?"
"Yeah. I mean, I've got these powers. Shouldn't I use them for more than recharging a flashlight now and then?"
She smiled and pulled out a couple grainy photo printouts from a folder on the dining room table. "You're thinking of doing what these people do?"
I looked at the pictures. Most of them had been taken from YouTube videos, based on her statement earlier. A guy dressed surprisingly like Superman with an 'S' shield. I wondered how long before he redecorated his outfit to the standard one. "It's hard not to want to. My memories of Paragon say that I should be doing that every day. My Marvel memories tell me it's not that simple, but I should still be looking for ways to help. Even if they don't know I'm doing it."
"So how do you plan to get around?"
I stood up and toggled the belt. Then I hopped into the air, and stayed there. "This is a start," I said as she looked at me, wide eyed. "The belt lets me hover. But that's really all it does." I shifted midair and drifted around the room. "My other 'donor' form has the ability to generate kinetic force as well as lightning, which means I should be able to duplicate this trick myself. Even actually fly. But I need practice. And there's just nowhere I can do this kind of stuff. Not to mention practice throwing lightning. It's kind of loud," I explained when she looked at me questioningly.
She thought about it for maybe half a second. Remember I said she was fast? She pulled out a few pictures of a large family party we'd had earlier this year at my uncle's. A fifty-acre piece of quiet nowhere over half an hour from Ottawa. "What about here? I think they'd help if we asked. And I'm pretty sure they'd keep it secret too."
I slowly grinned. "That's... That's perfect." I looked uncertain for a moment. "But... you know they're very conservative about some things. Will they handle it?"
She grinned. "Only one way to find out. But before that, we need to do something else. Because you're about a foot taller than I am, and nothing I have will fit."
I felt that dread in my gut return. "You're not serious."
She laughed as she went to get her things. "You need clothes. And you need to practice being seen in public more as a girl. Or you'll never do it convincingly otherwise. C'mon. It's time you and I went on a shopping trip."
I groaned theatrically as she towed me out the door.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.
I pulled up to my sister's place with something approaching dread. I could see her car in the driveway, and making my way over, I noticed the tiny dog she'd picked up a while back standing on the inner windowsill, and yapping as I approached.
By the time I made it to the door, she was already opening it up and waving me in. "You don't really look any different, you know."
I rolled my eyes as I pulled off the shoes and made my way into the living room. "I told you I got lucky. Kara's a shapeshifter in the old Marvel game. And my original character concept seems to have influenced what I got." I looked around, a little embarrassed. "You know, this feels really weird discussing a roleplaying character like a real person."
She gave me a Look, and waved in the direction of the tv room. "Do you know I've seen news reports of a guy dressed like Superman with a shield flying away? People at work are sharing YouTube videos of people with superpowers. And word has it that people all over the world are having this happen to them. So really, your becoming a part-time girl is actually pretty easy to handle." She snickered. "Besides, I'm looking forward to having another sister in the family."
I gave her a nonplussed look, which she returned with a huge grin. "So show already! You said you can shapeshift, right? So shift!"
I reached down and twisted the way I'd been taught and held up the armband computer which appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes widened as she took in the demonstration. "This is one of the devices we used in Paragon," I began, taking a bit of a lecturing tone. "It's a portable computer that lets me - among other things - handle the transformations. See, Kara's a lot lighter than I am, and nothing fits. So I have to combine the shift with a transformation to her fighting suit. It's the only thing I've got right now that actually fits her."
I stepped to the sliding door out back, and asked her to hold on to the dog. "I'm not sure how much of the transformation is real and how much is just an optical illusion, but there's electricity involved, and the dog really doesn't want to be that close to me."
She looked nervous. "And the lawn?"
I chuckled. "Kara's memories tell me that stuff around me are okay. It's just being touch-range close that I'm worried about. Ready?" At her nod, I raised my right hand up into the air, and summoned the lightning.
Energy crackled around me, and there was a crack-boom as I shifted form in a flash of light. When it cleared, I checked myself over. Smaller hands, yes. Long coppery-red hair, yes. Breasts protected inside armored bra inside a kevlar-spandex bodysuit, yes.
I paused. I really didn't need to remember that part...
I took a breath and smiled back at my sister, who stared at me with wide eyes. I looked around self-consciously. We'd had a lot of bad weather lately, but I didn't want people noticing the girl in the spandex bodysuit in my sister's backyard. Sure it had a fence, but I didn't want to tempt fate. After a quick gesture and a raised eyebrow she ushered me back inside.
"So..." she touched my arm experimentally. When I didn't vanish, she poked a little more. I yelped and skittered back when she poked my front, eliciting a teasing grin from her. "You have to work on that," she said as I walked back into the living room. "Like it or not, you're a girl at least part of the time now, and you can't afford to give yourself away by reacting like a guy caught peeping in the girl's locker room."
I sighed and sat down. "That's not the hardest part of this, honestly." I gestured outside. "I have memories of being Kara. Two whole lifetimes, in fact. In one, she's a law student who part times as a superheroine to pay the bills. In the other, she's a lawyer who became a member of the SHIELD organization, and was trained as a superspy."
My sister leaned back, a thoughtful smile on her face. "So you're going into law this fall. I think I see why you got this girl. You and she actually have a lot in common, no matter where she came from."
One thing about my sister, she's sharp as a tack. Nothing gets past her. "I guess," I allowed. "But while I have all the memories of Kara, I don't have the confidence of Kara. That's been my biggest falling-down point. I have the training from Paragon Earth which was mostly about controlling low end power. I have some of the most rigorous survival and weapons training imaginable from Marvel Earth, and a lot of training in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism training."
She leaned forward as I said that, a curious look on her face. "So... what exactly were you in the second place? In English this time?"
I smirked and sighed. "Best way to explain it is in context. In the game, our group was responsible for saving the world. But we had to smash several major super villain groups, stop a time traveler with really advanced technology, and destroy the US military infrastructure. The characters were very much considered terrorists before they could clear their names and prove the President had in fact been mind-controlled by a psychic tyrant who called himself the Shadow King. And I have all those memories in here!" I looked up in frustration as my sister's eyes widened as what I was saying finally made sense.
"I remember Soulburner. He was a sadistic creep who went into people's minds and gave them phobias. Anything he wanted. For the sadistic pleasure of it." I looked back at her. "Imagine gaining a phobia about water. Any water. Or a phobia about dry land. Or a phobia about air!" I shuddered as I remembered Soulburner's touch on my mind, and all the work Cassie had put into removing his implanted limits. "It took a long time to get the worst of that crap out of me after he finished interrogating me."
I looked out the window. "When Shin pulled out that plasmacaster and used it to incinerate the creep, all I felt was a tremendous and abiding satisfaction."
"Who?"
I looked back at her. "Shin Ishiharra. Power armor expert who wound up getting fused with a design he'd built. He wound up with a bit of a Guyver complex afterward. After he got cleaned up, he bought out Yamaha Heavy Industries. He was the guy who provided us with funds and heavy equipment. I smiled at her blank look. "Think of a Japanese Tony Stark with the ability to summon power armor."
She got up and walked around, the dog scampering off to find something else more interesting. "So... you were saying something over the phone about an external viewpoint?"
"Yeah. I mean, I've got these powers. Shouldn't I use them for more than recharging a flashlight now and then?"
She smiled and pulled out a couple grainy photo printouts from a folder on the dining room table. "You're thinking of doing what these people do?"
I looked at the pictures. Most of them had been taken from YouTube videos, based on her statement earlier. A guy dressed surprisingly like Superman with an 'S' shield. I wondered how long before he redecorated his outfit to the standard one. "It's hard not to want to. My memories of Paragon say that I should be doing that every day. My Marvel memories tell me it's not that simple, but I should still be looking for ways to help. Even if they don't know I'm doing it."
"So how do you plan to get around?"
I stood up and toggled the belt. Then I hopped into the air, and stayed there. "This is a start," I said as she looked at me, wide eyed. "The belt lets me hover. But that's really all it does." I shifted midair and drifted around the room. "My other 'donor' form has the ability to generate kinetic force as well as lightning, which means I should be able to duplicate this trick myself. Even actually fly. But I need practice. And there's just nowhere I can do this kind of stuff. Not to mention practice throwing lightning. It's kind of loud," I explained when she looked at me questioningly.
She thought about it for maybe half a second. Remember I said she was fast? She pulled out a few pictures of a large family party we'd had earlier this year at my uncle's. A fifty-acre piece of quiet nowhere over half an hour from Ottawa. "What about here? I think they'd help if we asked. And I'm pretty sure they'd keep it secret too."
I slowly grinned. "That's... That's perfect." I looked uncertain for a moment. "But... you know they're very conservative about some things. Will they handle it?"
She grinned. "Only one way to find out. But before that, we need to do something else. Because you're about a foot taller than I am, and nothing I have will fit."
I felt that dread in my gut return. "You're not serious."
She laughed as she went to get her things. "You need clothes. And you need to practice being seen in public more as a girl. Or you'll never do it convincingly otherwise. C'mon. It's time you and I went on a shopping trip."
I groaned theatrically as she towed me out the door.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.