Liam knew where his life was going, or so he thought until an incident at football practice turns into his worst nightmare. And the fun is only beginning.

I want to thank Maggie Finson and all the other authors for creating the Whateley Universe. This story is Fan-fiction and may not conform to Canon rules or timelines. I am only playing in their sandbox. I also want to thank Connected and my wife for all the editing work put in to turn my scratchings into a readable story.

Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been very busy and also having a little trouble deciding where this story is going to end up. This has resulted in a mild case of writer's block, but I hope I'm working through it.

Mother’s Child

Chapter 4

August 13th, 2008

After Lee went upstairs, the Coach sat heavily down, running his hand through his thinning sandy hair. “I guess you suspect there are things I haven’t told Lee yet. Some of his impending changes are going to be hard for him and you to handle, some harder than others”

“Harder than what we’ve already talked about? What kind of changes?” his mother demanded. “He’s not going to become a freak, is he?”

“No, no. Nothing like that … I’m pretty sure not, although Lee may have his doubts.”

For one thing, Doc thinks he the potential to be much stronger and more powerful than most of the mutants out there. That alone is going to be hard enough for him to handle, but he’s a good kid, and from what I’ve seen you have done a good job raising him, with support and training he’ll will adapt to that.”

“Doc is a devisor, and no one except maybe another devisor understands the machines they make and how they do what they do; so I don’t pretend to understand Doc’s machines, but I do know they work and are mostly accurate. The point is they showed us some things that were a little disturbing.” Coach knew he was beating around the bush, but he was dreading this.

“For one thing, his genome is like nothing else we ever saw and there’s no record of anything like it anywhere else in the world.”

“What do you mean?” Tom asked, his face a mask of forced calm.

“Just that, there is nothing like it in the records. He has an extra set of chromosomes with almost double the number of genes of his other chromosomes. Genes that we have no idea what they are doing. I don’t know better how to explain it because I don’t understand it myself.”

Kathleen asked. “Are you saying he is going to be some kind of monster?”

“No, but he’s probably not going to be fully human either, not in the conventional sense anyway.” Kathleen looked stricken. “For one thing, he’s probably going to live for a really, really long time.”

“How long is long?”

“I don’t know, — “hundreds, maybe thousands of years. We don’t really have anything for comparison, but the fairy types are probably the closest thing to Lee genetically, and the oldest known fairy currently in the world is over 350 years old and shows no signs of aging.”

“Oh, Blessed Mary, that’s more a curse rather than a blessing!” Kathleen exclaimed.

“Yes, it could be, but more than that, his long life coupled with the potential power he may have, may make it hard for him to hold onto his humanity. He could easily come to see himself as above mere mortals. Individuals that powerful were once worshiped as gods. Now keep in mind, what I’m telling you is based on some very preliminary results and a lot of guesses.”

Coach stood, and began walking back and forth in front of the couch. His face looked tired.

Kathleen started crying softly into her hands. “My poor boy. No child should have that kind of responsibility laid on them. By the Blessed Virgin, no adult should, either! How can we possibly help him, if he’s going to outlive us so long, and change so much?” Tom wrapped his arm around her shoulders squeezing gently.

“Kathleen, we’re not sure just how much he is going to change. Some of the results were very contradictory. However, you can help him most by doing what I already see you doing. Accepting him, loving him and giving him an anchor for his humanity for as long as possible. I’m hopeful that he will have a long time to grow fully into his powers, maybe a very long time by our standards.” He sighed deeply and went quickly on, “I’m talking about possibly centuries before he comes to his full power. Oh, he’s going to be right powerful pretty dad gum soon, but nothing like as powerful as he may eventually be.”

“Just how much eventual potential are we talking about?” Tom asked nervously.

“Well I don’t really know, maybe just your run of the mill mutant superhero powerful, but how familiar are you with the stories of the Olympians?”

“You’re not talking about athletes, are you?” Tom tried to smile

Coach shook his head. “No, I’m talking Zeus - Hera - Poseiden.”

Tom blanched, “Oh, fuuu——”

“Language, Tom!”, Lee’s mom gave him a dirty look, then giggled at the ridiculous admonition given the circumstances, but it was an instinctive response after 14 years of child rearing.

“But he’s not really going to be that powerful, is he?” Kathleen worried.

“No, No! I — maybe not, but I just don’t know! — at least not for a long time, hopefully a very long time. We just don’t know! Doc’s machine’s have never given such ambiguous results.”

She looked both relieved and sad, and tears ran down her face as she contemplated the burdens Lee was going to have to bear - alone. She said a silent prayer for him, crossing herself. The room went silent for several minutes.

Coach smiled gently at her. “As much as all these things are going to impact his life eventually, what I’m really worried about in the immediate future is his Body Image Template or BIT. Do you know know what a BIT is?”

“Sort of, I guess,” Tom said, “I’ve heard guys at the H-1 meetings talking ‘bout them, but I can’t say I understand it.”

“Well, the simplest analogy I can give is the one I told Lee. It’s a blueprint for his change. But the truth is no one really understands exactly how a BIT works. One of the leading theories is that everyone’s DNA extends through all the 11 dimensions of the multi-dimensional hyper-universe. In other words, it is like the universal soul in all of us, to make a metaphysical analogy. In baselines, that multi-dimensional image corresponds on almost a one-to-one basis with what we get from our 3-dimensional DNA.”

“In mutants, that image can differ considerably in the other dimensions from our simple 3-D DNA template.” The Coach was struggling to explain something he understood only imperfectly. “That is why some mutants come out of their manifestation looking a lot different than they started. Manifesting somehow activates this extra dimensional aspect of their DNA.”

“Okay, I think I get what you are saying,” Kathleen said, sniffling slightly, “even if I don’t fully understand it, but what has this got to do with Lee?” she asked, sounding alarmed.

“Coach, what are you not saying?” Tom asked sternly.

Coach hesitated for a few seconds trying to decide just how much to tell them of what Doc thought about Lee’s BIT. He could feel their heightened emotions beating painfully on his fragile empath shields. Damn! He was really going to have to quit putting off getting some more training himself, if he was going to continue to do things like this.

“The thing is, as best we can tell, Lee’s multi-dimensional BIT is female.”

He sat and let that sink in to their stunned minds. Tom sat back heavily.

“What does that mean?,” Kathleen demanded, fearing what she already suspected, “How can it be female? Lee’s a boy. He’s always been ALL boy!”

“He is now, but if we are right, that’s going to change. It may take weeks, months, or maybe even years to fully happen, but it is inevitable that one day he will be as much a woman as you are, Kathleen. That ’s what I’m worried about, because as you say Lee is all boy. He has a very strong male body image.”

Tom looked stricken. “You’re taking my son?” He murmured almost inaudibly.

“No, Tom. I’m not going to take your son,” Coach said gently, “but this mutation is going to change him. Believe me when I say this, I would do anything to take this burden from Lee and from you, but I can’t.”

Tom looked deflated. “I was there when Lee was born, and I love the girls but Lee is my son. He’s my son! How can I lose him? How?”

“Tom, you aren’t losing him!” Coach said sharply. “He will still be your child! He’s going to need you to be there for him more than he ever has!”

“When he changes, and he almost certainly _will_ change, the very strength of his body image is going to make accepting his change very difficult.” Couch paused.

Anger flashed across Tom’s face, as he thought about what this was going to do to Lee — to him. “Is there anything we can do to change this?”, he asked, fearing he knew the answer.

“No. I’m sorry. I’m afraid not”, Coach said regretfully. “Many people have tried. They’ve tried almost everything including hormones, surgery, and even magic, but no one has ever succeeded. Many of the attempts killed the subject. Surgery combined with hormones for some reason seems to frequently prove fatal.”

“You said, if you were right,” Kathleen asked in a plaintive tone, “does that mean you could be wrong?”

“Maybe. I don’t really think so, but I think we should hold off telling Lee about this part until we must. The kid is going to have enough to digest in the next few weeks with being a mutant, without throwing this at him until we are sure. Either way he’s going to need a lot of love and some therapy to get through this.

“However, his physical form may change much quicker than his powers. Especially, if he overuses his powers or goes into burnout. That seems to speed the physical changes up, especially in a mutant with regeneration.”

“But you could be wrong!” Tom grasped for straws.

Coach sighed. He didn’t want to encourage this kind of thinking. “I’m afraid it’s very unlikely, but we will know for sure by the time I take Lee back in two months for more testing. His manifestation will be much farther along by then, and we can nail this and some other things down.” He could sense the next question they were going to ask, so continued, “I can’t tell you any more right now, he only started manifesting yesterday after all.” He said, they, like Lee, had more than enough to deal with at one time. Doc’s devises were practically never wrong, even about projected changes that haven’t happened yet. The things that coach thought most uncertain were how fast the changes were going to occur and to a lesser extent the fluctuating readings.

“The thing is that a change like this in a boy as thoroughly male as Lee, who has worked as hard at being a man as he has, well, let’s just say it could have serious long term effects on his mental stability. We are going to have to help him deal with this. More importantly, you are going to have to make him believe that this makes no difference in how you feel about him. That being a girl is just as good as being a boy, if it comes to that, and to do that you are going to have to believe it yourself.” He said looking hard at Tom.

“My poor, poor boy,” Kathleen had tears streaming down her face as she thought of all the implications of what was going to happen to Lee.

“How do we help him, Coach? How do we pretend that all this isn’t going to change everything?” Tom asked.

“You shouldn’t, mustn’t pretend that this doesn’t change things, because he is going to know that it will. What you must do is treat him like he is your child no matter what and that he is no less than he was, just because he is becoming a girl. He must know that he is still your child who you love and who you believe is just as good and just as capable as he was as a boy. His powers will help some with that, but not being able to use them will sometimes negate any positive psychological effects they might have. Try to do the same things with him that you always have. He can be a lot more help to you around here now with all that strength, let him. Using his physical strength shouldn’t have as much effect on the speed of his gender change. Just make sure you’re out of sight of other people when he does.” Looking at Kathleen, “Don’t try to force him into feminine things or activities unless he wants to, at least until it becomes necessary.

“Oh, there will be differences you’ll have to deal with on a regular basis, but just remember that under those changes, and through the angst and anger that all this is going to cause, he’s still Lee. He’s still your child who you love. That’s so important. You both know how hard the teen years can be on kids and their parents, the anger, the rebellion against authority; well, this will be so much worse - for you - for Lee - and maybe many, many others, if it all goes wrong.”

The Cooks looked poleaxed as the implications of all they had heard sank in. He knew he was overwhelming them, but the stakes were just too high not to tell them.

“That’s the real reason I don’t want Lee to go to Whateley right now. While they have a lot of experience in dealing with powerful young teens, they can’t give him the love and one-on-one support that he can get right here. Sure if things start to get out of hand, or the local social pressures become too much, then Whateley will be the best thing for him, not second best. Otherwise, I would like to keep him near you. At least until he is through most of his physical changes. I would also like to recommend a psychiatrist, I know. She’s very good with teens, she is a mutant herself.” He paused, “Look, maybe we’ll get lucky and Doc and I will be wrong. I hope so for Lee’s sake and yours. If that is true, then all these precautions still won’t be for nothing, Lee’s still going to have all the problems of being a mutant, and a teenager to deal with, and brother, believe me, that’s enough.

“I would like to get Lee started with Shrink, that’s her code name, and Cantrip as soon as possible. I will get in touch with both, and let you know what they say.

“Here is my private mobile number. Feel free to call me, day or night. I’m going to tell my wife enough so she won’t be worry, if I have to get up and come out in the middle of the night, but she won’t know who I’m helping. It’s better to keep this as close to the breast as possible for now. It’s going to be hard though, when Lee’s changes start to become evident, especially at school, even if they are just minor physical changes. You should also try to get him back into those aikido classes ASAP, especially if Kuroda Sensei is mutant friendly.

“Tom, I think you should keep going to the H-1 meetings, that way you can keep an eye on the weather gauge of what they know and are planning. Also, it’s good cover for Lee, since you will be able to head off any rumors before they can get any traction.

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that Lee going to the local school is going to be difficult for him, too. It’s critical that he not use his powers or his extraordinary strength at school or in public. After we’ve talked with Cantrip and the psychiatrist, we should sit down and see if we can come up with a cover story for the changes, at least in the early stages. I have already thought of one other possible cover story, but Lee or you may not like it.”

They looked at him skeptically. “Exactly what is this story?” Tom asked.

“Well, you know what happened yesterday at practice, and everyone on the team knows how desperate he was to make the team,”

They nodded.

“We could leak the story that Lee had somehow gotten hold of some devisor steroid drug to try and make himself bulk up, but it’s backfired and caused the burst of speed and other ‘side effects’. We could use those side effects to explain a lot of the changes that he’s going to go through at least for the next few weeks or months without letting out that he’s a mutant. As tolerant as most people in this area are, I’m afraid of the mutant hate groups.”

Tom nodded in furious agrrement.

“Yeah, and it’s not just H-1, there’s that evangelical church out on Tazwell Road that preaches that mutants are an abomination and not made in God’s image. Also, I think there’s some more down toward Wartburg.” Tom interjected. “We don’t need them around stirring things up as he is trying to deal with all this.”

“I know school starts in a couple of weeks, but unless Cantrip can get his glamour under control in that time, I think he should stay home sick or something. Do you know a good doctor who’s discrete, who would write him an excuse without a detailed examination?”

Kathleen spoke up, “Dr. Evelyn Sharpe has been my best friend since high school, and is Eve’s godmother and namesake, I think I can count on her to provide Lee with a medical slip for as long as we need. I’ll want her to monitor Lee as he changes anyway.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Kathleen. The fewer, the better, you know.” Coach began, but Kathleen cut him off laughing, waving her hand. “Oh, I don’t think we need to worry about Evelyn.”

Seeing the doubt in his face, she continued, “her father was a founding member of the Savannah Rebels, and her brother is a member of the Atlanta Guardians. You know their brick, Iron Tooth? That’s her brother! Her biggest regret is that she didn’t manifest. I’d trust her with my life and more importantly, Lee’s life. If you’re right, he’s going to need a good doctor, we can trust.”

“Well, if you’re sure. A good dependable doctor with a knowledge of mutants could mean the difference between life and death, if something does go wrong. Well, that’s settled then. Oh, and one other thing - you need to get Lee some colored contact lens that match his eyes and soon, and preferably not from a local optometrist.”

“Contacts? Why?”

“Most mutants develop changes in eye color, often to brilliant and unnatural colors and shades. It’s the thing that gives a lot of mutants away. If we can hide that, with a little luck we can keep this quiet for several weeks, maybe even months yet, and give Lee some much needed time to adjust.

“Okay,” Kathleen said with a grimace, “I guess I can take him Monday to an optometrist in Oak Ridge or Morristown. He’s due an eye appointment anyway. Will that be far enough away?”

“Yeah, but Morristown or Johnson City is probably better. Too many people who work in Oak Ridge live in Knoxville. Fortunately, he doesn’t have any very distinctive or unusual changes to his eyes yet.”

“Well, I’ve done about all the damage I can do to your peace of mind today, so I’m going to go home and make some calls. I meant what I said earlier, I’ll help Lee in any way I can, Feel free to call me anytime for any reason, even if all you want is someone to lend a sympathetic ear.” He stood up, the Cooks rising with him.

Tom decided to ask what had been on his mind for a while now. “Coach, not that I’m not grateful, but why are you doing this? You’re putting your job on the line, calling in favors, all for a boy you only met 2 months ago. Why?” Tom asked, a little suspiciously.

The Coach sighed, but realized he might as well tell them the truth. “Well, first off, I really like Lee, he is one of those kids who are the reason why good teachers teach. He’s a good kid, smart, eager to learn, and who always seems to keep his sense of humor. Lee is about to go through more than anyone his age should have to face, and I want to help, if I can.

“But the real reason is far more personal.” Then he told them about his sister, and how he had failed her. “I vowed to her on her grave that if I could help a kid avoid that, and get through their changes alive and mentally healthy, I would do whatever was necessary to do so. Lee’s the first real chance I’ve had to fulfill that vow, so, there it is. My reason!

“Now don’t get me wrong, I’d like to come out of this with my job intact and with as few people as possible privy to my secrets. Mostly, so I can be there when the next Lee comes along, but I will do whatever necessary to protect Lee from what happened to my sister. I won’t be there every time some SOB is cruel to him - or her.” He waited for that to sink in. “But I can blunt some of the worst of it, and be there with a sympathetic ear when he needs, or just provide a place where he can get away from the rest of the school for a little while. Maybe if my sister would have had that she would be alive today.

“One challenge you are going to have to face quickly, is Lee’s little sisters. They mustn’t tell anyone including their friends what’s going on, but they’re going to have to know. If they can help support him through these changes, and help him learn to cope with being a girl, that could make a huge difference. I also think he would find some of the more embarrassing things about becoming a girl easier to accept coming from someone nearer his own age, at least initially. I think your oldest girl is only a year or so younger than Lee, isn’t she?”

Yes, Eve is twelve and precocious. She already wears a bra and has started her period. She’s both mortified and obscenely proud of both.”

“Will she help?”

“Oh, I’m sure she will, although she may have a little trouble initially accepting his change. She adores her older brother even though she would deny it, if asked.”

“Of course, a lot is going to fall on you, Kathleen, as I’m sure that Eve only has a rudimentary knowledge at her age, but she can help him with some of the more routine things that he would find too embarrassing coming from you, and she can help with things like how to dress and act like a teenage girl.

“But I’m getting ahead of myself, I think it will be at least three or four months before that kind of talk is necessary, hopefully longer. The important thing now is they understand that Lee is a mutant and that they must keep that a secret, no matter what. You’ll have to decide how to tell them and how much, but they must keep his secrets at least for now. I don’t care how mad they are at him, or how close a friend they consider the person they are talking to about him, or even if it’s just talking between themselves, if there is the slightest chance they might be overheard, they must keep his secret.

“You might point out to them that as siblings of a mutant, they could come under harassment, as well, if the secret gets out - guilt through association. I know I did.”

“Tom, you should know from the H-1 meetings, that they will.”

Tom nodded, “They have run more than one family out of the state because one of them was a mutant. I think I can impress on the girls the consequences of spilling the beans, although I’m sure they will want to protect their brother. It’s more a matter of impressing on them just how vital keeping the secret is. You know how teenage girls like to talk.”

“Tom, the best thing you can do is to try and treat him just like you always have. Take him fishing, take him golfing, get him to help you around the house, whatever, you would have done. Treat him like your son, because for a while yet that is what he is, and as he changes, accept those changes but never, ever treat him like he is less than he was. He’s already stronger than both of us put together and he is going to get a lot stronger, even when he starts to look like a delicate young woman.”

Finally, Coach left. Kathleen looked devastated. Tom took her in his arms. “We will get through this. We will get Lee through it.”

She snuggled against him, comforted by his quiet strength.

——————

The family meeting was strange to say the least. Eve and Beth sat together as they often did, kind of curled against each other in the big chair-and-a-half. They had always been close, Eve being only ten months older, they acted more like twins than normal siblings. The girls knew something was up and were understandably nervous. Lee sat close to his mom on the sectional sofa across from Dad’s throne, a fancy leather recliner.

Dad explained to the girls the basics of what Lee already knew, he didn’t bring up the potential gender change. He emphasized the importance of keeping Lee’s secrets and what the consequences could be to all of them if the secrets got out, even to their closest friends. Truthfully, he hoped to scare them just little. Just enough for them to remember.

Eve and Beth looked at Lee a little fearfully. Mom hugged him, which seemed to reassure both him and his sisters.

“He’s not going to turn into a monster,” Kathleen said to the girls softly with an amused twinkle in her eyes. “He’s still going to be your — brother.” She stumbled, remembering that Lee didn’t know about his BIT.

Lee kept his head hung, glancing up occasionally to gauge their reactions. Mostly they just listened.

When his parents were finished, the girls looked at each other intently for a few seconds in silent conversation. Eve slowly got to her feet and gestured to Beth. They both stood and moved to the sofa and sat on either side of Lee, throwing their arms around him and squeezed him between them. Lee sat stunned then relaxed in their arms, sobbing softly at their acceptance.

“You will always be our brother,” they said simultaneously. Eve continued, “We don’t care if you’re a mutant, your secret is safe with us. — Maybe when you learn how to use your magic, you can do some cool tricks for us.” She grinning mischievously.

“Like turning Lydia Wylie’s face green!” Chimed in Beth. The sisters giggled.

Their mother tried to frown warningly at them, but couldn’t keep from breaking into a grin herself. “You girls are going to be the death of me.”

Lee smiled feeling happy for the first time since all this had started. Maybe it would be okay. He wrapped his arms gently around his wiggling sisters.

Lee’s mother looked silently at Tom, their eyes meeting with understanding. She said a silent prayer for Lee and the girls as well.

————

August 14, 2008

Sunday, they had gone to Mass as usual, although making confession was strange to say the least. Lee confessed to lying by omission since the Father decided that Lee was truly penitent, he reluctantly allowed Lee to take communion, but strongly suggested Lee pray for guidance.

After Mass and Sunday lunch, Lee was in his room playing video games, when he heard the doorbell; a chill run up his back, and he had a strange frisson of impending danger. Then there was a knock on his door.

With a lot of trepidation he put down his controller and went to the door, hesitating with his hand on the knob. He jumped as the knocking came again louder, then jerked the door open.

It was Chuck. Oh, crap, he really wasn’t ready to face his friends.

Chuck entered the room before Lee could make an excuse to send him away. “Hey, dude, where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you since Friday. I was getting worried.”

“Been busy,” Lee muttered as he shuffled back to his video game controller, which he picked up and proceeded to fumble with it, not looking at Chuck.

“Lee, come on, this is me you’re talking to, what’s going on? There’s all kind of crazy rumors going around the team.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Everything from you doing drugs to you being arrested for something. Fred even thinks you’re a mutant!” Chuck laughed. Lee gave a half-hearted chuckle at that. Fred saw mutants everywhere.

Lee fidgeted for a while, finally deciding to try out the cover story the coach and his parents had worked out, “You know how bad I wanted on the team? Well, I did something stupid. A friend of my cousin knew how to get in touch with this bio-devisor.” He paused searching for the right words to make this lie believable. “Well, he got me this stupid devisor steroid analog drug. It was supposed to kick start puberty and make me bulk up in a hurry, and be undetectable in drug tests.” Lee kept his head down so his friend wouldn’t see the lie in his eyes.

“Is that how you were able to run so fast during practice?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t supposed to do that. The guy claimed it would make me grow and be able to compete to so I’d get on the team. Now, the coach may have to kick me off the team altogether.”

“What? Why!?” Anger and shock tinged Chuck’s voice. “He can’t do that. Can’t they just wait until it’s out of your system and let you at least try for the second string?”

“Maybe, but maybe not, because the drug may have long lasting effects. Devisor drugs are weird. I should never have taken it, but I wanted to make the team so bad, and all you guys were getting bigger and stronger, and nothing was happening to me.” Lee was shouting now, angry at the lie but more angry at the truth.

Chuck could tell Lee was upset. “Dude, it will work out, somehow.”

“Yeah, right,” Bitterness lay heavy in Lee’s voice.

Chuck felt helpless. Quickly, he changed the subject, relaying some gossip about one of the girls in their class, but he could tell that Lee wasn’t really listening. After a few minutes, he said he had to go help his dad with something and left.

Lee sat on the bed in his room as tears began rolling down his face. Just two days ago, he had known where he stood, had known what he was going to do, now everything was all screwed up.

His mother found him there crying. She sat down beside him, putting her arm around his shoulders as his soft tears became sobbing. He turn and buried his face in her shoulder and cried like he hadn’t cried since he was a toddler. She held him, stroking his hair, making soft soothing sounds, as tears ran down her own face. After a while, he cried himself to sleep. Even then, she held him against her for a long time.

Jim came over the day after Chuck, and received essentially the same story, but Jim had looked at him oddly as he told the story. Lee was pretty sure Jim didn’t believed him, but he didn’t openly question Lee’s story. In fact, unlike Chuck, Jim just treated Lee like he always had. He was unhappy that Lee probably wasn’t going to be able to be on the team, but they both knew that Lee’s chances of being a first team starter had never been good. Somehow, talking about that with Jim felt okay.

Unlike Chuck, Jim had stayed and they had chatted about the upcoming start of school, girls and other very normal things, then they played GEO for a couple of hours, at the end of which Lee had felt almost normal again. He was grateful to Jim for that. He hadn’t cried after Jim left, because somehow he knew that their friendship would survive what was coming, surviving even the lies he had told today.

————