Phoenix Rising

Astronaut John Grey, returning from a routine satellite repair mission, encountered something much more than a total systems malfunction.

John Grey swore, and punched a control panel. “Great” he said. “It’s dead, and so am I”

He was miles above the Earth, after having worked at repairing a satellite for a private company. He had always wanted to be an astronaut, and when NASA had turned him down, he went to the private sector.

“I should have just stayed on the ground” he sighed.

“A simple job, they said. Go up, fix the company’s satellite, ride down in an old Russian capsule, they said”

Everything had gone great with the fix, but as soon as he headed for home, the old machine conked out on him at the worst possible moment. Now he had an uncontrolled re-entry, and in minutes he was going to burn up.

The temperature was already rising inside the capsule, and there was nothing he could do. He started to sweat, and tried flipping switches just to keep busy.

He said out loud to himself, “What about those new super-heroes that had been popping up lately. Could one of them come to my rescue? Especially Jade, isnt she able to go into space?"

“Well, unless she hurries, she is going to be too late.”

He was sweating, as temperature continued to rise. Unlike that shuttle disaster that had been seen around the world, it was unlikely that anyone that he knew was aware of his being up here, much less that he was about to die.

Even the company wouldn’t figure out that something was wrong until he failed to report in at the appointed time. He had less than 2 minutes to live.

I am sorry Karen, he thought, thinking of his girlfriend, You were ready for more, but it took me being out here to figure things out.

I know you deserved better from me. I was too chicken to tell you the truth.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the solar system, the hero known as Jade was searching. She had turned aside an alien armada, and without firing a shot.

Just then she got an alert from her ring saying "Lantern, there is a faint life sign entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Probability indicates a orbital craft is burning up due to an uncontrolled re-entry.”

“Can I get within range before the person is killed?” she demanded.

“Probability indicates negative.”

“Well, I am dam well going to try.” she growled, and flew toward the falling capsule. .

Inside the capsule, the computer system began to spark and smoke, adding to the already unbearable heat. John choked on the smoky overheated air. He was wondering if he would suffocate before he had a chance to burn, when the capsule was completely engulfed in flame.

John was ready to draw his last breath, when suddenly, everything stopped.

The smoke was frozen in the air, even the flames stood still. All was silence, except the beating of his heart. Then the fire began to move again, but instead of surrounding him, it rose and took a shape.

It was the shape of a bird, a bird of fire.

“John Grey” the bird of flame said, “I can save you, if you will join with me.”

John was convinced that he was hallucinating. “I am dying, this cant be happening”

“I am real. I am Fire, I am Life, I am the Phoenix” the creature said, “Join with me, and live, and be more than any other human.”

John thought, “Its got to be better than burning to death.” and said “What do I do?”

“Come to me John Grey. Merge with me, and we will be one. I will transform you into a form of your choosing, and we will both benefit.”

John reached out and touched the flame, fully expecting it to burn him. Instead, it danced on his skin, going up his arm, spreading until his whole body was surrounded by flame. He heard the voice now in his head, saying “You have chosen your form. May it serve you well”

“Chosen? Wait…” John started to say, and then began to feel his body change. Just before he passed out, he wondered if he would have been better off dying…

“What’s happening with that life form” Jade asked.

“It was fading, about to be gone. Then there was a tremendous power surge where the life sign had been.”

“Explain, what about this power surge?”

“Power surge stronger than anything your predecessors encountered.”

“Can you get more information?”

“Searching Oa data banks for further information.”

“Can you at least locate where the life sign landed?“

“Locating.”

John woke, and felt himself laying on grass. The sweet smell of flowers was near, as were the chirping of birds and the soft babble of a stream nearby. He no longer hurt, and in fact felt like every cell was tingling with energy.

For a moment, he wondered if he had been dreaming. Maybe he hadn’t gone into space, been about to die, and rescued by a flaming bird. But then he tried to get up, and felt the weight of what was definitely breasts.
It had really happened. The bird-thing had transformed him into a girl….

The ring was silent for a moment, and then continued, “Life sign found. It has been altered drastically, but enough of former reading remained for 90% certainty”

Jade asked, “How was it changed? And in what way”?

The ring said “Still checking databases for more information. However, two changes are certain.”

“What are those?” asked Jade.

“The life sign is definitely meta-human, the most powerful this ring has encountered.” the ring stated.

“And the other change?” asked Jade.

“The life sign is now female” the ring stated flatly.

“Now?” asked Jade, “It wasn’t before?”

“Initial scans indicated presence of Y chromosome. Y chromosome is no longer present.” said the ring.

“Oh, boy. I better hurry and get to her before she freaks out. If she is as powerful as you say, that could be bad news.”

“Affirmative.” stated the ring, and Jade willed herself to go even faster.

John was now crying, and couldn’t seem to stop. He tried to talk to the bird-thing, “I didn’t want to be a girl! Change me back!” he cried.

“This was the form you chose when we bonded, beloved” It whispered in his head, “it is yours now, yours and mine”

Jade saw a woman kneeling in the grass of a city park and realized it could only be the life sign She was dressed from head to toe in a red and green outfit.

It had a yellow triangle on the chest, with a stylized picture of a red bird in the middle of the triangle. It was skin tight, and she was wearing very high heels that seemed part of the costume.

As Jade came closer, she saw that the girl was beautiful, with long red hair and a flawless figure that the costume did nothing to conceal. She also had a beautiful face, except for the tears running down.

She started shouting , “I cant be this! Please! Change me back!” As she shouted, she began to be surrounded by flame.

“Hay! Calm down!” Jade shouted. “You are going to damage something!”

“Recommend caution, Green Lantern.” said her ring, “scan indicates that she is much more powerful than you are.”

Jade flew toward the woman, and considered this. It occurred to her that she had to think outside the box. A blast from her ring would do little, and a punch or a slap would not do much more. But maybe there was a better way…

She flew right up to the woman, hugged her tightly, and began to speak into one ear, “Its okay. I am here, you are going to be ok”

She could feel the flames through her shielding, and the ring said, “Shields will fail in less than one minute.”

She just kept hugging her, saying over and over again “You will be ok, I am here, its all right…”

Suddenly, the flames were gone, the girl collapsed into her arms, and sobbed. The two women held each other for a bit longer, and finally, John said, sniffing, “Than .. Thank you.”

“You are welcome. I’m Jade, by the way.”

John nodded, and said, “I … I recognize you from TV”

Jade was about to reply, when the ring said “Green Lantern, the data from Oa is complete.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere more private to talk about it.” Jade said.

John said, “Can… can I come? I want to know what I have gotten myself into.”

Jade smiled and said, “I was just about to invite you. Take my hand.”

John took her hand, and they flew skyward.

Soon, they were in Jade’s ship, sitting comfortably, drinking tea, while the ring explained. “According to Oan database, the Phoenix is a creature of almost pure energy. It usually resides in a sun, and only rarely is it seen. No data as to why it chose to bond with a human host, or why it transformed its host into a female form.”

John sighed, and said, “I think I can answer both questions now. I have been… communing with it, and I believe it intended to rest in our sun when it scanned our world.
“Suddenly a word occurred to it that it had simply had never thought of before. It realized that it was Lonely”

She took a sip of tea, and continued, “when it saw me about to die, it realized it could cure that problem, and save my life at the same time.”

“And the girl thing? You….you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” said Jade.

John blushed, and said, “I … I always had a strong feminine side. I never figured out what it meant, but instead I tried to fight it, doing as macho a job as I possibly could to try and Man it out of me. I didn’t succeed too well, and the push and pull of it was wrecking my relationship with my girlfriend.”

Jade patted her hand, and said, “It will be ok. I promise.”

John nodded, and concluded, “I guess I always wondered what it would be like if I let myself express that side of me, and the Phoenix picked up on it.”

Jade said, “Well, I think you are going to be great. I have been paying close attention to your body language, and if I hadn’t known you used to be a male, I would not have been able tot tell. You move, speak, and hold yourself like you have been a woman all your life.”

“Thanks, I guess. That’s better than the alternative. So what do I do now?” asked John.

“Well, first we need a female name for you, calling you John would only confuse people.”

John sat and thought about it, and said, “I guess.. I guess you can call me Jean.”

Jade shook her hand, and said, “Nice to meet you, Jean.”

Jean smiled, and said, “now what?”

“Well, a couple of the other meta-humans and I meet when we can. They had invited me over tonight, but I had to leave early to deal with things in space.” Jade said. “I am sure they wouldn’t mind if we dropped in”

“You think they would be ok with me?” asked Jean.

“I know it.”

Soon, they were at the house, and Jade was introducing her to Tarra and to American Dream. The four of them were soon having a blast together, but suddenly, Jean shook, and moved away.

What am I doing? she thought, any of these girls could be my daughter. Now I am giggling with them like a … like a teenage girl?

She sat down, and thought, I wondered and dreamed about being a girl. Now I am one, and I am not sure I wouldn’t go back if I could. Yet I feel comfortable too, far too comfortable for it to have just been some idle thought. What the heck does that mean?

Mia, Terra’s mom came to her, and whispered, “What’s wrong honey?”

Jean continued to shake, and thought, And I haven’t even thought what this means when it comes to sex. I think of Karen, and I still feel attracted to her, but these girls are knockouts, and I am not turned on? Where does that leave me?

“I.. I guess it’s all hitting me a little” she whispered to Mia. I am so confused, I don’t know how to hold it all together, she thought, and sobbed.

Mia hugged her, held her tight, and signaled the girl called American Dream over. She said, “Its hard to change genders hon. And becoming a teenager again is less fun than most adults would think. Maybe Dream can be of help.”

Jean looked confused, and said “No offense, but how you help me?”

Dream said, “Because we have more in common than you would think. I was a man once, a military man, no less.”

Jean’s jaw dropped open.

“I guess its not as obvious to you as it was to Mia.” Dream said.

“Obvious?” said Jean, “I had no clue”

Dream nodded, and said, “thanks, I guess that means I have really adapted. And from what I have seen, it won’t take you long either.”

“That mean you don’t see me as some kind of pervert because I had always wondered what being a girl would be like?”

Both Jade and Terra came over, and Jade said “Its only one variation how things go. Believe me, its probably much more common than anybody knows, and its nothing to be ashamed of.”

Jean wiped away tears, and forced herself to be steady. “Ok. Somehow, I am going to get through this.”

“Yes, you will” said Mia,

“We will all help you” Jade added

Then Jean asked, “You guys are wonderful. Do you get a chance to hang out like this often?”

Jade said, “No. between our civilian obligations, emergencies requiring our attention, and training, its pretty rare”

“Speaking of training, we should try and figure out just what I am capable of” said Jean.

“I have an idea about that.” Jade said, and then to the other girls she said, “You guys want to come see my new training digs?”

Both of the other girls said “Sure!”

“Where is it?” asked Tara.

“The moon.” giggled Jade.

“Seriously?” said Dream.

“Yep. I used some alien tech to make an area with an atmosphere on the far side of the moon.”

“Well, I have already been in space twice today, but why not?” said Jean.

Soon, the four girls were on the far side of the moon, and Tara, Dream, and Jean were looking in awe at the huge area that had been domed. Inside the dome, there were trees, grass, a river, and even a selection of living things.

Jean looked up at the sky from within the dome, and said, “Who would have thought of a blue sky seen on the moon? But does anybody on Earth know this is here?”

Jade said, “No, I just finished this, and planned to show the girls tonight. Besides being on the far side from earth, this dome is cloaked as well.”

“Cool. Now how do we figure out what I can do?” asked Jean.

“Ring?” asked Jade, “Any clues on what Jean is capable of?”

“Scans and information from database indicate high levels of telekinesis and telepathy.” said the ring.

“What does that mean?” asked Jean.

“Try and move stuff with your mind, Jean. And then you can try to read my thoughts.” said Jade.

Jean closed her eyes, and then tried to get a nearby rock to move. After a minute, she could make it float. “Look, guys!” she said.

The others came close, and Tara applauded, and said, “Cool!”

The rock settled back down, and Jean said, “I have an idea.” She closed her eyes, and slowly began rise. “Check it out!” she laughed, “I can fly!”

She landed, and then she said, “Ok. So that’s telekinesis. Someone want to volunteer for the mind-reading thing?”

Tara said, “I will.” and the two women closed their eyes.

Can you hear me? thought Jean.

Yes. Can you hear me? thought back Tara.

Both women open their eyes, and Jean said, “That was something else!”

There was a buzzing sound, and Jade said, “Guys, we are going have to cut this short.”

Jean said, “That’s ok. I should figure out what I am going to do with my old life. The company probably thinks I am dead, and frankly, that doesn’t make me unhappy, but I should do something about my girlfriend.”

American Dream said, “If I might make a suggestion, it might be best if you start completely fresh. You could end up putting her in danger if someone finds out she has a connection to a meta-human.”

“Danger?” asked Jean.

“Yes. There are those who would wish to control or harm people like us. A friend or family member might be one way to do that.” said Dream.

“O…okay. I guess I will have to leave John behind entirely.” said Jean.

“We will all help you honey.” said Tara. You can stay with me tonight.”

“And I will help you get a legal identity.” offered Dream.

“Thank you. Thank you all.” said Jean, and hugged the girls.

“You are welcome honey. Now we need to get going.” said Jade.

That night, as Jean got comfortable in a guest room in Tara’s home, she reflected on all that had happened. A couple of hours ago, she was a man, and she was about to die. Now she was alive, a powerful meta-human, and a woman.

She still hadn’t processed it fully, but having met the other girls, she felt like she could handle it. She wasn’t sure that Dream was right about her girlfriend though.

Could she hurt her by letting Karen think she was dead? But if Dream was right, she could be putting Karen in danger by letting her know the truth.

Without making a decision, she fell asleep.

Elsewhere …

A woman all in white, with white hair opened her eyes. “She is here!” she said to herself. She stood up, and went to a phone on a desk beside the pillow she had been sitting on. She dialed a number, and said “It’s me. The moment we have waited for has arrived. Gather the others, we need to move soon.”

Photo Credit: Candra