Atalanta's Story Chapter 9. I apologize for taking longer than normal to get this chapter done. I have been feeling lazy this past week and found myself day dreaming alot. My thanks go out to William Durr who has really helped me stay on track.

This chapter occurs the summer immediately after the kidnapping in the desert of the last chapter.The end of summer brings on the beginnings of harvest.

Chapter Nine

The excitement of early April faded with time, and the fates of the men waiting trial grew distant. Manny spent more time at our house, more as a friend I think. He continued to train me adding more of his experiences to my routines.
Late summer saw the finish of the clinic and other improvements that Judy had implemented. That was both good and bad.

Mom had a state-of-the-art medical facility on a small scale. Some of the cost was paid by state funds and some from company grants. The monies did come with strings attached that necessitated hiring a physician assistant, a receptionist, and bookkeeper.

Manny’s crew had also added more lodging and a mini dorm to the campus. The stables had been enlarged with additional capacity to hold more horses and Judy had commissioned a larger garage to house the Ranch’s vehicles. Judy updated the facilities for the main draw, the mud baths. Following Manny’s recommendations, she had more outside lighting installed and permanent sheltered locations for the barbecue.

In late July, Manny had dismissed all but a skeleton crew and all that remained was tying up loose ends and landscaping duties that he could have delegated. His announcement came mid-week at our “hen parties” as he called them. Mom and Judy insisted on a get-together each Thursday with me to review what progress I made or plans I had finished.
The knock came as we were sitting at the table to review the week.

“Manny,” I shouted delightedly, “come on in. We are in the kitchen.”

“Kiddo,” he grinned at me, “I need to talk with you three ladies a moment.”

I led the way into the kitchen.

“Mom, Judy, look what the cat drug in.”

“Sit down, you want some coffee?”

“Coffee is fine or a beer is better if you have it.”

I handed Manny a beer.

He wasted little time,“I think the time has come for me to leave. A year is as long as I’ve been at one place in a very long time; the construction is finished and the last few weeks I’ve been doing make-work projects, so much that my boss is threatening to find another project leader. And I’m getting itchy feet to boot.”

Damn hormones, I thought as tears leaked from my eyes and rolled down my cheeks.

“Don’t cry, Kiddo. I’m going to miss you too, but this is not goodbye forever.”

“Manny, the foreman job is still open. I do need someone with multiple skills such as you have to run the physical operations here. But I don’t really have to fill it until next spring.”

That was news to me that Judy had offered Manny a job.

“Judy, I really appreciate that and it is a very generous offer, but I left the military when I did to allow me time enough to re-up if I find civilian life is not for me. I won’t know that unless I try different things and in different places.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Liz, I’ll probably be leaving either Monday or Tuesday of next week. I knew you all would be here tonight so I wanted to tell you together and to ask you ladies to dinner Saturday night.”

“Sure, I know me and Atalanta can make it, what about you Judy. Are you free?”

“Gee, I wish I could but I do have something to do that day.”

Maybe it was time to spill the beans. I didn’t realize I had spoken out loud until I saw the surprised looks from mom and Judy.

“Are you sure sweetheart,” my mom asked.

“No, but I think it is time for Manny to know, anyway.”

“I’m all ears,” he declared grinning. He did have big ears.

“I’m sure you have caught the odd references and occasional slips in the last year,” my mom began the explanation at my nod, “and you’ve probably wondered at our Thursday meetings with Atalanta or that she seems uncomfortable with some things a girl her age should have mastered.”

Manny’s eyes lit up as his memories brought to the surface some of the odd references, “Yeah I remember and I remember you said it was up to Atalanta to reveal it.”

“We moved out here for a second chance. Mom wanted and needed a change after daddy passed away and as for me, I was just drifting like a leaf in the wind with no direction. Manny you remember I told you I wasn’t a good athlete before moving here. I don’t think you believed me.”

“It’s not that I didn’t believe you; it was that I don’t believe you knew how good an athlete you really were.”

We girls looked at each other all smiles.

“That is it, that’s the look I’ve seen before,” Manny declared, “like the cat that swallowed the canary.”

“It’ll make sense when you know the whole story, but believe me back in Philly she was a whole different person and she wasn’t a very good athlete,” Liz replied, still with an enigmatic smile.

“You all are just drawing this out, you’re just teasing me,” he accused.

“That is a woman’s prerogative,” I interjected with my own enigmatic smile.

“You’re well on your way, young lady but you are not a woman yet,” Manny returned smirking.

“I can tell you,” Liz replied laughing, “she is a lot farther along now than she was back in Philly.”

“A lot more,” I drawled.

“Okay ladies, quit teasing the poor man.”

“The truth is that when I left Philadelphia I had a son named Alan,” Liz replied bluntly.

“Okay. So something happened to Alan?”

Clearly, he had not connected the dots yet.

“Something definitely happened all right. Alan is now my daughter Atalanta.”

Silence filled the room after the spoken declaration. None of the females present had any traces of guile written in their faces. The humming of the refrigerator paused to hear the reply.

Manny’s time spent in the military was in black ops missions and as the leader of his unit he was privy to classified information, training, and schools. He also had close relations within the DOD and DARPA and had seen many raw field reports generated before they were sanitized and released to the press. He knew there was a growing concern about the mutant population inside some military circles and three letter agencies.

The government through discreet and not so discreet methods was cataloging and tracking mutants. The military, taking advantage of mutant interest highlighted their MMID system and its advantages to military families.

He was also aware that mutations left some common markers behind chief among them body changes. The latest mutant theory held that those changes occurred through an internal BIT or body image template. What that theory didn’t explain was why one mutation result GSD or gross structural deformity and others resulted in Exemplars or the beautiful people. Neither was there an explanation for why there were so many male to female changelings.

“I’ve heard of that happening but I’ve had no direct experience with it. I do know the DOD has contingencies guidelines in place. How did it happen?”

“We don’t know; none of us do. I got separated from mom while we were sightseeing on our first day here. I found a canyon, followed it to an old stone structure beside a waterfall, and went to sleep. It was dark when I woke up but somehow I found my way out to within a few hundred yards of where Judy had set up camp for a rescue party. Mom and Judy will have to fill you in on the rest as I was in and out of consciousness over the next two or three days.”

“My family settled and has owned land here for a hundred years and where Atalanta or Alan then, disappeared at and where the rescue party had camped is impossible to get to coming from the direction he came from.” Judy continued. “In other words it is impossible to get from where he/she disappeared at, to where he/she reappeared at.”

Liz added, “Judy and I both noticed subtle changes in him as soon as we got him in the car, changes that accelerated through the night. Daylight saw Judy and me taking him to the Big City where using my medical credentials we set up an ICU in a motel room near the medical center. He made it through but with the changes you see.”

“And that indirectly leads to building the new clinic here and to you,” Judy added. “I saw what Liz was able to accomplish in one night in a motel room and realized calling what we had at that time, a clinic was laughable. That night also drove home two points, first is that we were lucky that nobody needed anything other than first-aid and that Liz is a world class doctor and her talents would be wasted in a first-aid station.”

Manny, his hands clasped and forefingers steepled, measured his words, “That explains how I came to be here. And it helps clear up some odd statements from each of you over the last year. It also explains why,” he confronted me, “you absorbed what I taught so quickly while denying your obvious athletic background.”

He paused looking at his clasped hands before speaking evenly, “You all may have already discussed it but is Atalanta a mutant?”

A mutant? Of course I had heard of mutations. But what did he mean by mutant and was I a mutant? Apparently someone had asked that question.

“I’m surprised you haven’t heard the term before,” Manny began. “Mutants have been around since at least WWII and maybe before, depending on whom you believe. Various laws, agencies, organizations, and movements have sprung up around mutant theory and most have their root in the 60’s and in part stemmed from Hitler’s occultist beliefs.”

Manny paused to drink from his beer before continuing, “Some organizations are neutral, others are beneficial, and a few like the MCO and the Goodkinds are predatory.”

“The MCO,” I asked.

“Mutant Commission Office a semi official quasi government office with a history of “losing” mutants in their custody. The Goodkinds are rumored to have conducted unauthorized and illegal experiments. They are also linked with Humanity First and Knights of Purity and both have dubious records in their dealings with mutants.”

“Why haven’t we heard of any of this until now?” Judy interrupted frowning.

“The government, agencies and all these organizations are good at misdirection and cover-ups for one thing. It is also in their best interests to keep a lid on where superheroes and villains originate. They concoct wild BS stories about UFO’s with little green Martians, the grays, Bigfoot, Yeti, and alien abductions resulting in human hybrids.”

“You mean there aren’t UFO’s and little green men,” I interrupted pouting.

“I didn’t say that kiddo,” Manny replied grinning, “what better way to hide a tree than in a forest. The government is very good at psychological manipulation and they have friends in the press and academia. Suggestions planted here, a word whispered there, and before long witnesses are reluctant to tell what they saw. The general population becomes conditioned to believe that all UFO stories are sensationalism even when they’re not. The press goes along with it because hype sells papers.”

“I’m confused,” I replied, my brows furrowing, “are UFO’s real or not.”

“Kiddo you haven’t been listening. People generally see what they want to see and unless you have personal experience with UFO’s and mutants, these types of stories fall below your radar.”

“But Liz, he added, “I’m surprised being in the military that you wouldn’t have had some kind of exposure.”

“Not that I remember,” Liz confessed and explained, “But after I had Alan-Atalanta we moved off base. Frank kept his service life separate from our family life.”

“But all that you need to remember is that mutant children of military parents can and should register with the DOD to get their MMID card.”

“MMID card,” Liz asked.

“Military Mutant Identification card, the military MID card exempts you or any mutant dependent child from any other registration requirements and shields you from most all attempts to restrict your freedoms. This is one case where the military takes care of its own.”

“You really think Atalanta is a mutant?”

“I can’t say for sure but when the mutant gene is activated it usually results in body changes and one of the more common changes is male to female. Other markers are Exemplar attributes that usually comes from body image template or BIT and can and often does result in different eye and hair color.

“Then I’m three for three.”

“Make that four for four.”

“Four for four,” I echoed.

"A fourth marker is gaining a talent or skill that you didn’t have which helps explain your progress in the last year. I’m a good teacher but not that good.”

Mom narrowed her gaze, “What do you suggest I do … and what talents?”

“Tracking for one thing and how quickly she learned forms, katas, and theory. What I’d suggest is to do your own research and come to your own decision. But,” Manny opened his wallet and handed us each a laminated card, “My Company’s number is on there as well as my private number, my CO and the name and number of a friend, should you ever need it. Call my old CO if you need any military assistance and mention Hawk.”

Manny left soon after but not until plans were confirmed for Saturday. Soon after Manny leaving, mom followed Judy outside leaving me alone to wonder what future Mutants have. Or what my future held if I was a mutant.

“Well that was a surprise,” mom said after coming back into the kitchen and sitting down.

“What, the dinner invitation or him leaving,” I asked in mock surprise.

“If you put it that way,” she smiled, “Manny was full of surprises this evening. But I was talking about the whole mutant thing. How do you feel about it dear?”

“How-do-I-feel-about-it? The whole sex change thing was odd to start and now finding that I might be a mutant which might be the cause of the whole sex change hasn’t made it any less odd. I was happy enough being a guy and I’m not unhappy as a girl, but I did feel a little creeped out by it when I thought on it so I didn’t think on it much. Besides, I was not given any time for reflection. But now I-we have to think on it.”

“In a way I wish he had kept his suspicions to himself or had told me privately.”

“Well I don’t,” I stated emphatically and continued explaining, “The question in the back of my mind all along has been; Why me? Who did I piss off? People don’t just spontaneously change their sex. I got a partial answer tonight. My mutation or being a mutant is the root cause of that change.”

“What is done is done, “Liz stated.

“What are you going to do, mama?”

“I’ll do like Manny suggested; do my research and then we’ll decide on our next step.”

“I will as well, just in case we decide to not do anything soon it will be helpful for me to know which traits they look for. The big one, the sex change, you have explained away as me being intersex.”

Mom had my birth certificate changed after moving to New Mexico to female citing intersex as the reason. She had done that before we ever heard of mutants except in the wild rants of late night TV show hosts.

“I think it is time to get ready for bed,” mom responded, “you have a big day tomorrow.”

Tomorrow wasn’t any different from any other Friday but I nodded anyway getting to my feet. Mom was tired of talking about the whole mutant thing. Walking over to where she sat I gave her a big hug before retiring to my boudoir (a name I would have never used in the old days) for my nightly ritual of cleansing, moisturizing, and 100 brush strokes.

I paused looking at the girl in the vanity with the hairbrush in hand and remembering a time when a quick trip to the bathroom was sufficient to be ready to slide under the covers. While the time taken wasn’t excessive it was the extra steps that required thought and as a result I was usually more deliberate and thoughtful now. Turning off the lights, I did marvel at the soft, cool, and silken sheets that I slept under contrasted sharply with the flannel nightshirt that I chose.

Friday passed uneventful except that Manny gave me a written guide to follow as he continued to drill into my head the importance of practice, practice, practice. Exasperated, I exclaimed, “Manny, relax will you? I promise to be a good girl and practice every day, just as if you were here standing over me with a whip in hand; threatening me.”

Manny grinned as he stopped to run his fingers through his hair, “Sorry for being so pushy today but I feel bad about leaving you just after finding out that you are most likely a mutant.”

“Why don’t you just stay then,” I interjected.

“I’d like to,” he admitted, “but Mr. Franklin has delayed the start of the LA project because of me. For me to bail on him now and this close to the deadline without a project manager wouldn’t be fair or right.”

Pouting I stuck out my tongue at him.

“Excited about tomorrow,” he queried.

“I guess so,” I answered softly.

“Cheer up,” he declared, “You don’t get rid of me that easily. I’ll be around looking in on you kiddo. This gig in LA will be over at Christmas and I’ll see you then.”

“And mom, too?”

“Both of you,” he agreed.

“But Saturday just brings Tuesday that much closer.”

Tuesday came quick and dawned bright and clear. Not a cloud on the horizon and the overnight chill rapidly dissipating, the sun peered over the mountains; it’s purple tendrils quickly absorbing the night air.

Manny was standing outside the driver’s door, letting the engine warm while he looked at the campus that he had helped shape. He had already said goodbye to Judy. He leaned into mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek whispering in her ear before turning to me.

“Kiddo, I really am going to miss you.”

“Then don’t go Manny,” I cried.

“I made a promise to myself when I left the military. What kind of person would I be if I break my promises?”

“You’d be an all right kind of person as long as you didn’t break any to me.”

“That, I can promise.”

“Good,” I stated, “then make me a promise.”

“What do you want me to promise?”

“No, first you have to trust me and then the promise.”

He looked at me intently, probing. An understanding and respect passed between us.

“Okay we are bros under the skin. Well sort of bros. You’ve earned it. I promise,” he replied grinning broadly.

“Now,” I mocked my eyes dancing, “what heinous crimes do I need from my slave. Bw-aha-aha.”

“I’ll crush you like a bug,” he replied digging his fingers into a certain place on my ribs.

“I give-I give,” I giggled squirming away. “Seriously though, promise me you’ll come by and let us know what you decide.”

“That I can do,” he declared holding up his first two fingers together in a mini-salute.

“Not good enough,” I declared stepping forward offering a curled last finger, “Pinky swear.”

“Pinky swear,” he echoed hooking his little finger in mine. I quickly responded by hugging him with a hearty thump to his back.

He reacted, dropping to a knee amidst a round of rough coughing, “Uncle-uncle.”

“Get up you big faker.”

Complying, he answered, “Joking aside, I’ve got your back; you need me you call me and I’ll drop what I’m doing to be there. The same goes for you two ladies. You’re like my family now,” his eyes seemed to linger on my mom.

Was she blushing?

My mind traveled back to Saturday and the trip into the Big City and seeing the sites with two of the most important people in my life. We really did have a good time for different reasons.
The dinner was at an upscale restaurant and the food and drink was delicious. My juice was cold and refreshing and judging from the empty wine bottle, the wine must have been as well. Afterwards we saw an action/kung-fu flick that I spent much of critiquing Hollywood’s version of combat. Not out loud though.

In the theater I watched amused as at first their hands touched, and later holding hands before his arm wrapped around her shoulders which she leaned into. I was unknowingly sulking and mom pointed it out to me in the bathroom.

After the movie we went back to the hotel where they left me in my and mom’s room to go dancing.

“Clubbing,” I teased pouting.

Sometime during that night I dreamed I was awoken by a shadowy figure slipping in from the adjoining room. Was it a dream?

“We’ll remember,” mom promised Manny as he opened the door on his truck to get in the driver’s seat, “and you remember you are always welcome.”

“I’ll remember,” Manny promised closing the driver door,” and as he put the truck into gear added, “that is good to know,” We stood there watching it disappear slowly into the morning sun.

“Nice guy,” Judy noted.

“More than that,” I offered.
“Much more,” Mom hooked her arm around my waist, “We’ve got things to do.”

Judy nodded and turned to her house while mom dragged me behind her to the clinic. She wanted my company.
I leaned into her and whispered teasing, “What did Manny say to you?”

I do hope you enjoy this chapter. I realize it is taking some time to get to Whateley.I hope to post a chapter each week, about mid-week but I lagged behind on this installment. I'm writing the second book while I am posting chapters here and it is this second book that is causing my day dreaming. Because I dream the chapters and then write it out without an outline or character list and I need to do this far enough in advance to reconcile any errors. That is one area where Bill has really helped me.

As usual I'll answer any comments or questions you have and thank you for reading.

Katie