Magical Chaos!: Aftermath by Lynceus A new day dawns..

Daniel

The Lord of Dreams watched silently as Cosmic Girl reflected Mordru's energies back at his manifestation. He knew that the Chaos-Lord was more stunned than hurt, but regardless, Mordru quit the field.

The heroes had done their duty. And now it was his turn. Reaching into his bag of sand, Daniel caused the City to fall into a peaceful sleep. And from the mind of the Dream Girl, a cloaked figure appeared.

“You have much work to do, Sleepwalker. Go now, and bring peace to the City.”

The Walker-in-Sleep bowed and vanished.

As for Daniel, he had his own task. Donning the helm that served as his badge of office, he entered the dreams of Clara Ann Black. He couldn't fully remove the darkness that had touched her soul, but he could give her peace. Her future was now uncertain; even with her powers mostly dispersed, the child now had a strong affinity for Chaos-magic.

He gathered up the majority of her power, leaving only a bright ember. She would eventually regain her abilities, but better that she have a chance to grow and mature first, and learn the correct way to use her powers.

He spread the magic across the City; wounds healed, that which was damaged became whole. With his power, he undid the transformations that had wracked the City to it's knees, although he knew that, for some, there would be repercussions as a result of the new possibilities forced upon them.

He did his best to give the people peaceful dreams. Tomorrow, everyone would awaken, and most would only remember a wave of mass hysteria, a panic and rioting, which was halted by the City's heroes; the brave men and women who defended it nightly, as well as the shining new champions.

But some would remember the truth.

Into the heroes own dreams, he touched each one. They had all learned something about themselves and each other. In most cases, what had been learned was good, but he sighed as he gazed upon Johanna Constantine, who was tormented by her own demons.

“They will hate you. But perhaps I can give you some small peace, my friend.”

The Lord of Dreams made one last journey before retiring to his fortress; a certain Chaos-Lord would be plagued by nightmares for some time. It was the least he could do.

Jade

It was dawn when we awoke. Something had happened, I could feel it. My Ring silently noted that an Entity had acted on our behalf, healing who it could, and gently removing the worst of the horrors from the people's minds. Although we were allowed to keep our true memories.

I was grateful that no one was hurt, especially Alena. It's funny, really. She looks up to me so much, but to me, she's the real hero. She may not have my will, but I'd never met anyone who cared so much for others. My Ring informed me that she had touched upon a strange power. I remembered seeing the indigo light. But what had it been?

According to the Ring, it wasn't the Star Heart's power, but something else. Something wonderful.

-

Nobody was really happy with Johanna; I knew what she had done, and why, but the others didn't share my perspective. Illyana was particularly hurt and confused; she'd seen Johanna as a mentor and a guide. The apparent betrayal cut into her young heart like a knife.

Even though I knew she was older than she appeared, there was a part of her that had managed to retain some of her innocence. Alison seemed troubled as well, but I think she understood. It was hard to tell with Alena's sister; she seemed so unfocused and carefree, but she was very different than her sister.

I'd have to keep an eye on her.

The City insisted on a ceremony, to thank us for our efforts. I made sure, however, that the real heroes were remembered. The police, in particular, had done the best they could, even as their reality warped around them.

The medal was real gold, and I felt a strange bit of pride looking at it. I hadn't gotten into this wanting accolades or recognition; even the people I had come to admire still didn't know the real me. I hated keeping the secret, but...

It was necessary, for now.

The Ring seemed less than pleased that I'd chosen to deputize more heroes. While I was acting in my authority, and only giving out rings with minor powers, the Ring seemed to feel that my superiors would take a dim view of my initiative. Well to hell with them!

I'm just one person, and I want to be sure, even if something happens to me, or I lose my powers, that Earth will still have heroes.

Dream Girl, Night Girl, Cosmic Girl, Illyana, and Hunter all added something new to the table; it was high time we all met face-to-face. With a real central headquarters, there was very little we couldn't do. Although there were still other heroes I needed to recruit. The Lightning, for example.

Klariann...or Clara Ann, seemed a little confused. She didn't remember many specifics about what had happened, but deep down, she seemed to realize she'd done something terrible. Still, she and her Dad had begun to reconcile. I talked it over with the others, and everyone agreed that there wasn't any point to punishing her; she'd been through enough. Now was the time for her to heal.

Although I suspected her powers weren't completely gone. She would need guidance, and training.

But I'd done enough for now. I think it's high time I took a day off.

Clara Ann

I don't really remember what I did. But I know I did something bad. And it hurts inside. Mr. Clark wouldn't even look at me, he told Daddy that he needed personal time. And for some reason, that made me cry.

I don't want to be a crybaby, but I feel so horrible. I asked Daddy about it, but he told me it was alright. It wasn't my fault; I'd been hurting, and a bad man took advantage of me. I remember the man's voice. I'd get him some day.

Daddy and I had a long talk. He explained some things; he said he was sorry for not telling me everything sooner. He was afraid I wasn't old enough.

Daddy has some bad people who want to hurt him. They tried to hurt Mommy when I was still a baby; Mommy left Daddy because she was afraid that I would get hurt. And Daddy didn't stop her. He felt bad about that, but if we were out of his life, then maybe we'd be safe.

Until Mommy died. He didn't know what to do; he thought if he pretended not to care, they'd leave me alone. And put Mr. Clark in charge of me, someone he trusted. But he'd hurt me, and that made him very sad. And then I'd hurt other people because of it.

I told him I'd rather have a Daddy than be safe, and he hugged me. And told me that I could call him Daddy from now on. That made the hurt go away a little.

-

I went back to school a few days later. Gloriana didn't remember what had happened, but she was afraid of me now. I can't say the other kids are friendlier, but nobody wants to make me upset. So that's a good thing.

As I was heading to lunch, I heard someone crying. I walked into the bathroom, and found Ms. Hawthorne staring at her reflection in the mirror, in tears. I walked up and gave her a hug, and she hugged me back.

Finally, she was able to talk. When she was a little girl, her Daddy had been bad, and hurt her and her Mommy. She was afraid for a long time, and she never felt loved. It made her jealous of the other kids, because so many of them had parents that loved them.

She'd had a dream the other night, that she was a little girl again, and that she had a Mommy that loved her again. It was the happiest dream ever, but now that she was awake, she was very sad.

She told me she wished the dream was real. It would be nice if she could get her wish. After she took me to the Teacher's Lounge to get me something to eat (we'd missed lunch), she escorted me back to class.

As she walked away, I smiled and whispered something to myself. “Wish...granted.”

-

The next day, Ms. Hawthorne was gone, something about a leave of absence. I was sad for a little bit, but then a new girl came to class. She was very pretty, and she took the seat behind mine. She told me she liked my hair, because it was really long and pretty.

I let her touch it, which felt nice. We're friends now. Her name is Vera. Which was Ms. Hawthorne's name too. I don't feel so sad now.

-

Mr. Clark was waiting for me after school. He took me to the park, and we talked. He explained that he liked me a lot. But that it wasn't right for a man to like someone my age like that. He'd left not because of anything I'd done, but because he didn't want to hurt me.

I hugged him and told him he could never hurt me, but I could see he didn't believe me. He said he wished things were different, that he could love me without hurting me. After he left, I felt sad again, but then I smiled. “Wish...granted.”

-

The next day, I met another new girl. Her name is Jackie. I like her a lot. She doesn't let anyone push her around, but she's really very gentle. I like holding hands with her. It's good to have friends. And I don't think Mr. Clark is sad anymore.

Terry

I go through the motions of my day. Nobody but me remembers what really happened, when the City went crazy, and the heroes came. My son asked me what was wrong, and I didn't know what to tell him.

Last night I broke off my engagement to Dana. I no longer felt like the same person. She deserved someone better, I think.

That night, in my squad car, I was afraid. I didn't know what I was going to do. My body was all wrong. I was going to lose Dana. Lose my son. Lose my job. But I pushed that aside, to be strong for Ellen.

God, she was so beautiful, sitting there next to me, no bigger than a child. Her features were so delicate, I was afraid to touch her. I didn't want to break her! We talked for a long time. She told me how people treated her. How even her boyfriend couldn't look past her height.

She thought that was ironic, now. Being so small made her frightened, and she asked me to hold her. So I set her in my lap and we just, talked.

Finally, the City seemed to change. The madness faded. Even though it was hard with my shorter legs, I drove us to her Mother's. Her Mom had inherited a building from her brother, which had been divided into two apartments. So her Mother lived in one, and Ellen lived in the other while she was going to college. She was majoring in film studies; she said she wanted to be a director one day.

She asked me to stay, and I did. I don't know why.

Her Mother was apparently out of town for the month.

“We're all alone here. Terry...I think in the morning, this is all going to be over. I'm going to be tall again, you're going to be a man again. I'll go back to my boyfriend, and you'll go back to your fiancee and your boy. But tonight, tonight is magic. And tonight, I want to be with you.”

I tried to protest, but she dropped the last bit of her clothing, and stood naked. God, she was so perfect; not a child at all, but a miniature Goddess. She asked me again, and I couldn't say no.

She had me lay on her bed, as she straddled me. My body felt so alien, but then she took my nipple in her mouth, and it felt so good! She showed me what pleasure felt like for a woman. I'd never felt so amazing. So vulnerable. A slave to my own body.

We made love until it was almost bright outside. I fell asleep with her tiny body in my arms; we were both sated. She told me she loved me. I told her I loved her.

-

We woke up, and it was just as she said. There wasn't much to say. She kissed me goodbye, and I left her. She was taller than me, but I didn't care. She was beautiful. But the dream was over.

All week, I haven't been able to focus. I just want to talk to her again. But she's so young...

I hate my body. I no longer feel like a man. When she gave me my first orgasm as a girl, something broke inside of me. Or maybe something was fixed, I don't know. All I can say for sure is, I don't want to be a man. I want to be a girl again.

I want to be with her.

Stupid, I know. She probably doesn't even like girls. It was just a one-time thing.

-

I had a dream. A pale-haired young man was talking to me, telling me that I had choices. That I could be happy again. But that it would take me far from home. As I took my morning shower, I tried to imagine what it would feel like, to have the warm water running along my skin as a girl.

It would feel very nice, I decided. It wasn't until I found myself making soft moans of pleasure that my eyes opened and I realized I had changed...I was that girl again!

I remembered something from my dream; the man had said I could change into this form, that I would have the power to be a hero. But one day, I'd change, and I wouldn't be able to become a man ever again.

I just hoped when that day came, Chris was all grown.

-

I turned back into a man, and drove to Ellen's. I rang her doorbell. She answered, and looked happy to see me. We sat down and talked; she'd broken up with her boyfriend. I told her that I'd broken things off with Dana.

We sat in silence, and then she told me about this dream she'd had. It sounded a lot like mine had!

“And in the dream, the man said that I could be happy again. That I could even be a hero. And when I woke up...”

She smiled at me, and before my eyes, she began to shrink. Not as small as before, but small enough that her clothing hung on her loosely. “You're the only one I knew that would believe me!”

I then told her about my dream, and transformed in front of her. She gasped. I looked at her, and she smiled softly. “Terry...I meant it. What I said that night. I do love you.”

“I haven't been able to think about anyone but you.”

We held each other. And later, we made love on her couch.

-

I talked to Chris later that night. I told him I'd met someone new. He seemed happy for me, even when I admitted she was a lot younger than me. “Dayum Dad, you dawg! Is she hot?”

I admitted that she was very hot. Then I told him I was considering a transfer to Boston. He thought about it for a few minutes.

“Will she be there?”

I nodded. “Yes, she wants to move in with us...if that's alright with you.”

“I never liked Vegas anyway. Too hot. Let me meet her.”

So I brought her home the next day. He seemed to like her, and later, he came up to me.

“Dad, I gotta say it. That girl is amazing. I...I don't know if I really want to move, but...you deserve to be happy, Dad. I know Mom would want you to be happy. And Ellen...she's perfect for you. So much better than Dana ever could be.”

I did something I hadn't done in years. I hugged my son. And he let me.

-

We're leaving tomorrow. Martha, Ellen's mother, has some mixed feelings. But she told me that she could tell that I was a good man. And that Ellen and I loved each other deeply. She was partly right.

I'm not a man at all. Not anymore. And when we get to Boston, I'm going to become someone wonderful. Teriffic.

Ellen tells me that she's thinking of calling herself Doll Girl. We found out that she can shrink so about a foot tall, so the name fits.

We're going to be quite the pair. Look out world, your new heroes have arrived!

Daniel

In his castle, the Lord of Dreams rested. And smiled. Because sometimes, even the most impossible dreams can come true.

Finis.