Free Spirit-1 by Lynceus Cathy Webster once only dreamed of being a real woman. Now, her dream has come true, but what will the future hold for Free Spirit?

Chapter Three, Continued:

I woke up feeling a whole lot better. It's a strange thing, to wake up on board a space cruiser, but my life hasn't exactly been devoid of weird stuff lately; after awhile, you just start to go with the flow. I stood up and stretched. I couldn't get over how much I'd changed; I was tall and athletic in a way I'd never imagined I could be!

I got down on the floor and began doing push-ups. I work out a lot, and I normally do fifty push-ups every morning. I barely felt any exertion after the first fifty, so I did another fifty. And another after that. Around 250 push-ups, I realized I could do this for an hour, easily!

The world record for the most push-ups in one hour is something like 1,900. I wasn't sure if I could beat that record, but I was sure I could at least get close to that benchmark! Still, that was enough for now. I still had my kata, the next part of my morning routine.

Not that I had any idea what time it was, mind you. Being in space does that to you, I guess. I flew through my forms, and I felt like I'd improved here as well; I didn't remember it, but there was no doubt in my mind that Deidre had been forcing me to train while I was under her influence.

I carefully re-ran my kata in my mind, and realized I had adopted some new techniques, that I knew weren't considered to be part of my style, the Eight-Step Mantis. I'd been fortunate to find a Mantis instructor not far from the college; what had attracted me most to the style was it's emphasis on movement. The kata I used didn't really showcase that; just like my home, the compartment of the ship didn't have much free space. But when you put it all together, you're almost constantly in motion, using your momentum for attack and defense.

I wasn't really sure how to incorporate my shield into the style, however. I'd seen some Mantis sword demonstrations, but Mantis shield? I'd need some help. But from where? I couldn't really just walk up to Sifu and say: “Hi I'm Cathy, I know, I look totally different now. Hey can I get some pointers?”

Thinking about that made me realize that my life had fundamentally changed. I didn't really resemble my old self enough to convince anyone who I was. Which meant my campus ID was useless. My driver's license as well...

I wasn't Cathy Webster anymore, and I wasn't sure what to do next. Well, take that back. I knew what my next move was. Find the bathroom, get a shower, and then, breakfast!

-

Like any other kind of vessel, fresh water isn't something that you can easily waste, and so I found myself faced by a Sci Fi convention; the sonic shower! I like my showers hot, so it didn't heat up my core temperature the way I like, but on the other hand, it does feel pretty good, like a full-body massage. The effect on my more sensitive anatomy was also quite pleasant; only my inability to figure out how to increase the intensity of the sonic vibrations kept me from my first real orgasm as a woman!

Sadly, I was just left aroused but unsatisfied. But clean, at the least. My skin felt very smooth, and I noticed that, as a side effect, it had neatly removed my body hair. Even in places I would be very leery about shaving, if you get my meaning!

It hadn't done anything to my lashes, brows, or scalp that I noticed. Which was good, full-body baldness probably wouldn't be a good look for me! The shower had to be programmable, and I guess I'd just experienced the 'Jade' setting.

After getting dressed, I stepped out into the corridor, and smelled something really good. Sniffing the air, I followed the aroma, eventually finding the dining room.

“Well look who's up!” Giganta waved to me. Her name was Doris, I recalled. “Pancakes?”

I only recognized a few others in the room American Dream wasn't there, but in addition to Giganta, there was a dark haired girl sitting next to Giganta, and a pair of girls who greatly resembled one another, save that one was a blonde, and the other had dark green hair.

The green-haired girl was wearing a variation of Jade's outfit, and I realized this was the second Green Lantern.

“Um, hi everyone. I'm Cathy.” I sat down, feeling a little nervous at meeting the other girls.

The raven-haired girl smiled. “I'm Lena.”

The blonde seemed to be...I don't know, I think she was checking me out, which was both flattering and a little weird, since she couldn't be much older than 16. “Alison, very pleased to meet you.” She grinned.

“Jeez, Ali.” The Green Lantern sighed. “Please forgive my sister, she's impossible.” She held up her hand, and a green light came from the ring she wore. Using it's power, she glided a plate of food over to me. “Coffee, milk, or orange juice?”

“Milk will be fine, thank you.” It was definitely a novel way to be served!

“I'm Alena, by the way.”

“Please to meet you...are you all heroes?”

Alison laughed. “Oh no hon, I might have powers, but you won't catch me rocking the spandex. Even if I would look good in it.”

Lena shook her head as well, and I noticed she was leaning against Doris, implying that they were very close. “I wish, but no, I'm more-or-less normal.”

“Yeah, her DNA doesn't have powers, it's just evil.” Alison quipped.

“Ali!” Alena frowned, but Lena just giggled.

“Oh lighten up, Sis! Funny, I thought I was the older twin.”

“Older doesn't make you more responsible.”

I smiled, thinking of my own sister, who I hadn't talked to in years. She just hadn't been able to accept her big brother wanting to become a woman. Still, she took it better than Mom had, and, well, I'd never even bothered to tell Dad. No point in it.

Thinking about my family put a damper on my mood.

“Cathy? Are you alright?”

I looked up and noticed Alena was staring at me intently. For the first time I realized her eyes were glowing with light green light. Her expression was deeply concerned.

I blushed. “Can you read my mind or something?”

She shook her head. “No, I just...pick up on things. It's alright if you don't want to talk about it, but you're with friends here.”

“Too bad you missed Dream and Terra though. Although I think Dream's kind of a prude.” Alison, I realized, was the kind of girl who spoke her mind. Always, whether you wanted her to or not. I couldn't help but like her.

Doris chuckled. “It was probably the way you were leering at her. You're just a little aggressive, Alison.”

Lena looked up at the taller girl. “I thought you liked it when girls are aggressive?”

Doris put an arm around Lena, kissing the girl's dark hair. “I do, but I'm also spoken for.”

Alison sighed. “Jeez, you two...”

Alena gave her sister a wry look. "You might want to quit while you're ahead, Sis."

Alison frowned and didn't reply. There was a story there, I was certain of it!

“Wow, there's still food left?” Jade walked into the room.

Doris pushed her plate away. “Sorry. My powers seem to require a lot of calories.”

“You and Alison both! I don't know where you put it!” Alena shook her head in amazement.

Alison patted her (quite flat) tummy. “One of the advantages of being a shapeshifter, Sis. Unlike you, I don't have to eat like a damn bird.”

Alena shrugged. “I just don't need as much food, that's all.”

“I take it you've been introduced to everyone? I don't normally have so many visitors at once, only a few of us are capable of space-flight.” Jade sat down next to me.

"Speaking of which, I better get Ali back to London before you-know-who escapes again."

Alison glared at her sister. "It was just the one time! She promised she'd stay put!"

Her twin shook her head. "Uh-huh. You might be soft in the head, but I'm not..."

The door to the room closed, cutting off the rest of Alena's sentence.

“Nice girls.” I smiled.

“Yeah, they're really good kids, and despite appearances, they do care about each other a lot.” Jade nodded.

“Oh, I know. I have a sister of my own.” I sighed.

“You haven't talked to her in awhile.”

I turned and looked at Lena. “I thought you said you didn't have powers?”

Lena favored me with a soft smile. “Don't need them. I haven't seen my sister in months either.”

“Years, for me. I guess I'll tell you the whole story.”

-

No one interrupted me, which helped; some parts of my story were difficult to talk about, even now. Jade seemed more withdrawn than before, however. Something I'd said had definitely made an impression on the young woman, although I wasn't sure what it could be.

Doris stood up and walked over to me, giving me a hug. I was surprised at first, but then I accepted it. “Thank you, Doris.”

“I'm sorry Amy used you like that. She..she isn't a bad person. I don't know where that anger comes from. That drive to prove she's better than any man.”

“She called you Damon.”

“Yeah. I used to be a man. Kind of.” She chuckled ruefully. “I was born intersexed, and even though I looked more like a girl than a boy, my parents decided to try and make me into a man.”

Ouch. I could relate to that!

“I used to work with Amy, I'm a geneticist and a biochemist, although not as brilliant as she is.”

I put two and two together. “She said I reminded her of you. How did she put it...she said you were the strongest man she had ever known.”

Lena laughed. “Now that's ironic.”

“Ain't it though? I thought she was dead, I had no idea she was building an army!” Doris shook her head.

“I didn't either, and I was working with her all summer. Although she was doing something to me at night. Just to use that shield, she would have had to train me for weeks.”

“Which reminds me, that's kind of why I'm here. If you don't mind, I'd like to draw some blood and run a few tests, to see if I can get a handle on what she did to you.”

I nodded. “I...want to find something out as well.”

Doris squeezed my shoulder. “I know.”

Chapter Four: The New Deal

I was laying on a bed in the starship's medical bay. It wasn't very large, but the equipment was very advanced. Lena seemed to understand how it worked better than anyone; that girl is so smart it makes me dizzy trying to keep up with her!

Doris had me wait a few minutes while she examined her findings. “Ok. I have some good news. Double-X chromosomes, you're definitely female. You also have a uterus and a womb, although it looks a little small. That may change over time, but as your Doctor, I advise you be careful testing out your new equipment.”

I blushed. “I want to be a mother, but not quite yet.”

“Also...” She coughed. “Your vagina is fully formed, including the hymen. You're a virgin, so take that into consideration as well.”

“Ah. Uh, yeah, I will.”

Lena laughed. “Jeez you two, this is perfectly natural, and you're both acting like a couple of boys!”

“Dear, biology aside, we are a couple of boys.”

Lena just chuckled. “At least you're not a virgin anymore.”

“Argh, too much information!” I really did not want to know about their relationship!

“It bothers you, doesn't it?” Doris looked at me.

“I...a little. And that bothers me more, because it shouldn't. It really shouldn't!”

“It bothered me too. Lena's very mature and a bona fide genius, but...I'm like twice her age! Chronologically, at least.”

Lena walked over to stand next to her lover. “It took me awhile to get her over it, it's okay if you don't approve. I was surprised too, really. I thought it was just, you know, infatuation! But...what I feel for her is too deep for that. I can't say that it's love, but I think it is.”

“We try not to be blatant about our relationship in public.”

“I...don't feel that you have to hide from me. You're in love, I can tell that, and it's...a wonderful thing. I wasn't lying when I told Alison I was jealous of you both. I guess even becoming a woman, the hard way, hasn't completely de-programmed me. It's an ideal I've always embraced, the freedom to live the life you want to....well, as long as nobody gets hurt. But I can't see how your relationship has done anything but make you both stronger.” I paused. “Ugh, I must sound pretty pretentious.”

“I don't think so.” I turned to see Jade standing in the doorway. “You have strong beliefs, and you're passionate about them.”

“I don't know how strong they are, if Superia was able to control me like that.”

Jade walked up to me and, after the briefest hesitation, put her hand on my shoulder. We're about the same height, and she looked me dead in the eye. The determination in her eyes was both compelling, and a little scary! But I also felt that she understood me on some level.

I realized her secret then. I wonder if any of the others knew? It wasn't my place to say anything; I hadn't earned her trust yet.

“Cathy, she used your emotions against you. It took her a long time, and it's horrible what she did. You had one impossible dream, and she warped it into a way to control you. But once I added my will to yours, you were yourself again. Think about that for a moment. No residual effects, no psychological damage. You shrugged off her influence, completely freeing your mind, and becoming your own person. Most people wouldn't be able to do that. I know that.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Jade. I guess I knew that, but I feel so ashamed that I let myself be used like that.”

“You know, there was something I noticed.” Doris spoke up.

I looked to her.

“You focused your attacks on Dream, who is very hard to hurt. You could have helped Amy beat me, for example, but you never even gave her a second glance. I think on some level, you were trying not to hurt anyone.”

I frowned. “I don't know...I didn't know what Dream's powers were. And Superia put me in that costume just to taunt Dream, right?” What I was saying was logical, but I wasn't so sure. Maybe there was something to what Doris had said. “I'll have to think about it. I just want to know that I can be trusted. I mean, in the comics, people get brainwashed all the time, but this is real life...I think.”

I laughed. “It's hard to be sure anymore, I mean, in real life, people don't have superpowers.”

“Those powers will just make your life more difficult. Trust me on that.” Jade spoke again.

“She's not lying, I can vouch for that.” Doris nodded.

“I know. I can already see how it's going to be hard for me. The person I was doesn't exist anymore. I don't look anything like Cathy Webster. I don't have a job, so I'll lose my place, I can't pay my student loans...and, well, I can't even attend classes now!”

“I can help with that, Cathy.”

I smiled at Jade. “Thanks, but it's alright. I can make a clean break this way, and try to build a new life for myself. I still want my Ph.D, but it can wait. I'm a teenager again, so it's not like I don't have time, right?”

“So what do you want to do?”

“I want to help people. Now, not some day off in the future. And I can do that now, with the powers I have. Even Superia couldn't change who and what I am, and I think she knew that. Why else give me a shield, and not a sword? A shield is used to protect people, and that's what I want to do now.”

Jade nodded slowly. “That won't be easy, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I know. But you made that choice. And so did you, Doris. And Terra, and Alena, and all the others. I could be selfish with what I've been given, but...I wanted to be a mother. And a parent, a good one, has to be able to put her family, the people she cares about, above her own life. Or his life.”

I shrugged. “Yes, I want to be a hero. I guess you could say you've inspired me. But I'm not just blindly following your lead. I want to inspire people too! Because I used to live in fear, not knowing who and what I was. I sacrificed so much to be free, to be the person I wanted to be. To live the life I wanted to live. If I can show other people that it's possible, that dreams can come true, if you're willing to fight for them, then I can make the world a better place. The kind of world I'd want to raise a family in.”

I stopped, but I realized no one was saying anything. I'd gotten up on my soapbox again. Great. But before I could apologize, Lena started to clap.

And then Doris joined her. Jade just smiled, and gave me a thumbs up. “That's the kind of hero this world needs, Cathy. More than anything.” She then held out her hand, palm up, holding a ring that looked a lot like the one she herself wore. “I want you to have this. It will let us all stay in contact with one another, and, as a side effect, it can disguise your appearance. Create costumes, clothing, and even let you be Cathy Webster again. Although I will warn you, it can only do so much about your height.”

I slowly took it from her hand, and slid it on my finger. “How does it work?”

“Just will the changes, and they'll happen.”

I concentrated, and changed my clothing, until I was wearing the costume Superia had given me. Although, this one was a lot more comfortable. “Free Spirit, reporting for duty, Ma'am.”

Jade grinned. “You don't have to be a soldier. Honestly, I don't think you'd be a very good one. And that's fine. I don't need someone who follows orders blindly. With the kind of powers we all have, it's easy to fall into a trap, thinking you're a God and can do no wrong. I know that you'll keep us honest.”

“I'll do my best.”

“That's all I will ever ask.”

-

Jade was able to use her ring to alter some of my records. My Driver's license, for example, now has my correct height and weight, and a new picture. I dropped my classes, and gave my landlord notice; it was time to move, and make a new life for myself.

Lena even gave me a loan. Well, she tried to make it a gift, but I will pay her back one day. Somehow. I'm not sure where I'll go yet, or what I'll do when I get there. For now, I realize there's something I need to do.

As much as I talked about making a clean break, I need closure. Which meant it was time to go home again, if only long enough to confront my family. It's the only way I'll ever be free.

And from here on, freedom is what I'm all about.

To be continued...