By
Morpheus
Part 6
I stared into the mirror with a feeling of dread, hating the sight that was reflected back. My face was no longer quite my own, having changed enough that it no longer felt right. It was as though someone else’s face was slowly replacing my own, which was exactly what was happening.
“Damn,” I muttered, closing my eyes and taking several deep breaths as I just tried to stay calm. Then I opened my eyes and faced the mirror again.
My face was still mostly my own, but it had definitely changed. Not only was my hair longer and darker but my eyes, which had always been a nondescript brown, were now green in color. But more than that, there was a new softness had had moved into my features as well, one which made me look younger…or more feminine.
The rest of my body had changed as well, though the changes were subtle and hard to really point out. All in all, the effect was almost as though puberty had begun going in reverse for me, leaving my body softer and less developed. If this continued, I’d probably look like a twelve year old boy by this evening.
I absolutely dreaded the fact that my body would only continue to change from there, transforming me into another clone of Rebecca. As it was, I wanted to scream in outrage and smash my fist into the mirror.
When I was with Rebecca, Dani, and Nicole, it was hard to feel sorry for myself and easier to think of this as actually being a good thing. After all, it was better to be an angel than a demon, and the three of them certainly didn’t make it seem like such a bad thing. But when I was by myself like I was right now, I couldn’t help but remembering that not only was I losing my body, I was also losing my friends, family, and even my very identity.
“What would Cindy say about this?” I muttered bitterly, imagining her mocking me and saying that I wasn’t man enough for her.
Then I imagined Dom saying, “Shit happens kid. You’ve just got to pick up and go on.”
“Easy for you to say,” I spat out. “You’re dead and don’t have to worry about this anymore.”
With that, I turned away from the mirror and started for the showers. I’d already had breakfast and did the whole late morning thing before I finally decided that I needed to clean up. Or more accurately, I thought the hot shower might help ease some of the aches and pains that my body had developed.
Due to the changes my body was going through, everything just felt off. I was uncoordinated and clumsy with muscles that almost felt like jello. Add that to the various aches that were creeping through my body and I just wanted to curl up with a bowl of chicken soup and wait for this all to blow over.
Once I started the shower, the hot water did feel good, making me realize that I probably should have jumped into the hot tub rather than the shower. Maybe I could do that later on. For now, I just washed up quickly, trying to ignore the strange smoothness of my skin and the general oddness of my entire body.
There was one thing that I couldn’t avoid noticing, the fact that my nipples felt tender. This was a clear reminder of what was coming and an indication that my chest was beginning to change.
I was nearly finished with my shower when Dani stepped into the showers, being completely naked and not seeming to care that I was there. She nodded to me and then went to a different shower head to begin her own shower.
“I would have been done in a minute,” I protested, feeling extremely awkward to have her in there with me.
“You don’t have anything I haven’t seen,” Dani answered in amusement. “And I don’t have anything you won’t soon enough.”
“That’s not the point,” I argued, trying to hide my embarrassment. “You know what that kind of thing does to a guy.”
“Of course,” she responded with a grin.
I groaned at that, caught between wanting to stare at her naked body and look away. The fact that she didn’t seem bothered by this at all only encouraged me to keep looking as I told myself that I was merely trying to embarrass her back.
Then I realized that as hot as she was, there was absolutely no reaction at all from downstairs. Nicole had warned me that my changing hormones would probably stop mister happy from working well before he went away and this seemed to prove it.
Without a word, I turned off my own shower and began to leave. Dani exclaimed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to mess with you…” She hurried towards me, not even bothering to turn of the water from her own shower. “Okay, I sort of did,” she admitted, giving me a faint smile. “But I was just trying to take your mind off things and give you something nicer to think about.”
“I appreciate the effort,” I said wryly, trying hard to look her in the face rather than stare at her very shapely naked breasts.
“Things will get better,” Dani assured me, putting her hand on my shoulder. Since we were both completely naked and soaking wet, I was even more aware of the fact that mister happy was no longer working.
“I hope so,” I told her with a sigh before I left the showers to dry off and get dressed.
When I left the showers, I started back to my room, not exactly feeling like socializing at the moment. However, I encountered Rebecca in the hallway and she gave me a concerned look.
“Come on,” Rebecca told me, putting her arm on my shoulder and gently leading me to the rec room where she had me sit in a comfortable recliner. “It looks like it’s finally starting to hit you hard. Relax here and we’ll try making it a little easier for you.”
“Here,” Nicole said, coming over and handing me a glass.
“What is this?” I asked, staring at the nasty looking green liquid that filled the glass.
“Protein shake,” Rebecca told me. “Mixed with some vitamins and nutrients. It may not taste very good, but it’s just what your body needs while it’s changing. Hopefully, this should make it smoother for you.”
“We mixed up a bunch of it in the fridge,” Nicole added with a shrug. “I know a lot of the energy for your change will come from your excess body mass, but this will help too.”
I took a drink of the nasty looking green stuff and winced. Rebecca was right when she said it didn’t taste very good. Still, I downed it all as quickly as I could, then exclaimed, “Oh yummy.”
“Maybe this can kill the taste,” Rebecca said as she handed me a can of soda.
For the next few hours, I remained in the recliner while all three of the girls took turns looking after me. They brought me another of those foul drinks every hour, but between then I was also given things to eat and drink. I was a bit uncomfortable with all this attention, though it reminded me of the way my mom used to pamper me when I was sick.
“You don’t need to do this for me,” I protested after Dani brought me a bowl of chicken soup.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dani told me with a smile. “We’ve all been here.”
Then a strange alarm suddenly began going off and Rebecca blurted out, “Not now…”
“Shit,” Dani exclaimed with a scowl.
“What’s going on?” I asked, climbing out of the chair, only to have Nicole gently push me back into it.
“Demon alarm,” Rebecca told med with a sigh. “There’s a demon attack and we have to go deal with it.”
“Oh shit,” I blurted out, remembering the terrifying demon that had killed Dom in front of me. I stared at all three girls who were going to actually face another one of those things. Now that I actually knew them, I couldn’t help but feeling worried.
“I wish we could stay here with you,” Rebecca told me with a shake of her head. “But we can’t.”
Nicole put a hand on my shoulder and said, “There’s more food and protein drink in the fridge. Please be careful and don’t try to overdo anything.”
“Yeah,” Dani added, giving me a gentle smile. “Don’t push yourself right now.”
As they began to leave, Rebecca told me, “I don’t know when we’ll be back but I’ll have someone come and check in on you in case you need anything.”
“Just be careful,” I responded. Then I looked to Nicole and said, “And don’t you dare get hurt like that again.”
“I won’t,” Nicole promised, giving me a grin before leaving.
A moment later, all three girls were gone and I was left in Heaven all by myself. If I was still interested in escaping, this was definitely the time to do it. However, I’d already given that up as a bad idea. Whether I liked it or not, I’d already accepted that I had nowhere else to go.
Comments
becoming a stranger
that's not an easy thing. And now, with the others gone, he wont have anyone to distract him ...
I will say one thing. Gender
I will say one thing. Gender Dysphoria or not (which might be hard to hang on to, if it's truly a genetic/structural disorder), the team probably desperately needs an EMT that isn't vulnerable to their blood -or to the demon Harkon B strain.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Dani
Is Dani naturally an a** or did she take lessons? Everything I've seen in the last couple of chapters makes me dislike her more and more. If she can't be supportive she could at least be neutral. Just stay out of the way until Jarrod's changes are complete, give him a chance to make his own accommodations with what is happening. Instead she seems to be going out of her way to be a divisive element in the group. Were I Jarrod I'd be building up a strong dislike for Dani, and the other two would be on probation. Yeah I get that we are only getting 1 POV here, but putting myself in Jarrod's shoes means I share Jarrod's POV. It's not like we know enough about the other three's goals and agendas to promote them to Good Guy status, their actions with Jarrod so far have been neutral or negative.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
I would use a different term
like Bitch. And then the half-assed attempt at an apology? I could see Jerrod, when the change is complete, trying to kick the shit out of Dani just because she was a first-class a--hole. And where are the other two? Letting Dani get away with it? Jerrod might have been better off like Dom.
Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein
Douche
I'm starting to see Dani as Douche. Walking into the shower without concern for the guy. Sure he's starting to change but to tease him like that has no shame. And what of the other two? I have to agree with some of the comments. Are they too blind to see what's been going on? Is there no control over the three itself?
Questions
This virus that leads one infected to turn into a demon. Could it be countered somewhat if the infected person was given a dose of the angel strain soon after coming in contact with the demon strain.
Probably not a good idea
If that worked, then the world would be full of Angel clones, all of whom are infectious when they're injured or through body fluids. No sex - unless you want to be exposed and become infected with the Angel virus. It wouldn't take long for humanity to die out for lack of males - even if all the men started ... donating ... to sperm banks at a furious pace to continue males. Would the Angel virus infect and transform a fetus through the placenta? Could be rough on a baby if it survived, and then it would be an Angel clone.
I think this was addressed earlier, but I'd have to double-check - once you get the demon strain, you're screwed.
Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein
Guy humor
I see Dani's actions as that rough guy humor where they harass and challenge each other. While bitch might work very well for her, it is all too clear Dani's male personality is still there.
As for the virus, like I've said before I would be very surprised somebody somewhere wasn't still doing research. It would be criminally stupid not too since the Demon virus is obviously spreading although we don't know how. It might have a long incubation time or some other set of triggers to make it go active.
It would make a truly nasty bio-weapon if it does have triggers that could be induced. Infect an unknowing population and just push a button to create hell on Earth.
While the A strain might be too expensive for a super army, it is just about perfect to make super-special forces teams. To go further and you have super-spies. Hell, the demon killer team proves that! A college girl, receptionist, and a security guard are turned into an elite demon killer team.
The best way to stop this virus sounds like a blank carrier with no DNA instructions so that it can serve as a vaccine. It being very infectious is actually an advantage. That would be one way to stop the Demons.
I'm also concerned that there is much more going on than we can see. Are there Demons out there who are smart and they are spreading their virus? Is this Demon alert real or just a ploy to get the team away from our hero while he is his most vulnerable. As a walking A strain carrier, he could be a very valuable asset, and with the only people that can defend him away ...
Great Stuff!
hugs
Grover
I agree on the "guy humor" part
That's definitely what Dani' actions came off as to me as well.
I actually find it very comforting to see how distinct the three girls' personalities really are, because that helps to prove that even though their physical selves are identical, the virus did little or nothing to change their core personalities, which is a very good thing to me. There is some inference that it guarantees a hetero- sexuality, but that's again just inference so far.
Yes, Dani's being an ass. But it's not through actual cruelty; Dani is trying to do the male-male buddy thing rather than the female-bonding-caring thing, but her body is getting in the way of that working right.
All three of the angels are trying to pull the main character through with their individual interpretations of the whole "make the best of a bad situation" attitude, and it really does emphasize their different personalities. Dani's being a dick, but in a way that helps to show Jarrod things he's going to have to deal with, and much too soon to ease him into it all, as well as some of the good things about the change -- like the increased hand-eye coordination and reflexes. Nicole has already proclaimed she was a bit ditzy before the change, and that combined with her sense of "owing" Jarrod for saving her led her to a more physical method of interaction to start with. Rebecca is obviously more analytical, and has taken on almost a caretaker's role for the time being, obviously emotionally distancing herself somewhat from their newest arrival until they're sure about his-soon-to-be-her attitudes and personality.
I think it's obvious that they're all decent sorts, just dealing with not only their own situation but helping another through it in vastly different ways.
Melanie E.
Shape of things to come
Dani's approach of shock and awe may be a bit harsh but Dani is playing he part in this "translation" of J into a different form of them selves. It is a case of seeing who you are versus who you were. I am not trying to be hard and nasty but this virus does that job,
Michele
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
I don't buy that for a second
Any competent doctor with even a modicum of psychological training would understand that, in losing a core part of his fundamental identity, Jerrod would be very prone to depression, anger, and even suicide. Since a lot of other things have involved medical personnel, one could reasonably conclude that Jerrod's entire transition is also being closely supervised. Thus, Dani's 'games' would be judged as adverse to a healthy psychological outcome for Jerrod, and should be stopped. Jerrod is an ass.
Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein
Huh?
"Jerrod is an ass." How so?
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Oops
DANI is the ass.
Sometimes my mind gets too far ahead of my fingers and I screw up.
Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein
I kinda like Dani
She's different than the rest, but I don't agree with the people calling her a bitch. I think she's really trying to help J, but just isn't all that good at it. Maybe it's the type of thing she'd have liked when she was changing - distractions, challenges, someone pointing out the better coordination awaiting her, and she's trying to give it to him. We know Danny was a flirt, but not how good he was - maybe he was awkward at that too, and all but the admittedly bimboish Nicole were turned off by him.
I wonder what J is going to get up to while left alone. Enjoying this so far,
Titania
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
I don't normally
read science fiction as it is generally woefully lacking in the science part. However Morpheous's work is always a satisfying read, and this is definitely not an exception. Really quite exceptional!
As to Dani, I can definitely see the Gay behavior thing, but he also behaves like my straight male friends when I'm in my male disguise. To me it seems like nothing more than leftover male behavior. If so it gives the lie to the idea that such behavior is caused by excess testosterone.
I have a question for those that have transitioned, if they would be so kind to as enlighten my ignorant self. In magical or fantasy transition stories, the heroines hair suddenly starts to grow at a much faster rate. Do GGs or those receiving HR therapy have increased hair growth on their heads? Enquiring monds want to know!
Liz