My Super-powered Diary Chapter 16 Moving Forward By Amethyst When Maddock Ainsley gets involved in a rescue operation with his unit things go horribly wrong and his life is forever changed. Can the newly minted Merida cope with being a girl and a teenage super hero?

It was a busy afternoon. After a quick and light lunch, Andy and my sisters started packing all of our stuff, with Kendra volunteering to help them as Mom and I left. We didn’t really have a place to move into yet and that concerned me a bit, but with Shu’s improving abilities we wouldn’t have to put our stuff in public storage. All of our stuff, including my motorcycle and car, would be temporarily stored in one of her pocket dimensions until we had a new place to live, meaning that we could travel light. It would also mean no moving trucks and the like, since Shu could just open up her dimensional portals and our things could be easily stored and removed without having to even go outside.

Meanwhile, Mom and I loaded up the SUV with all of the boxes of Maddock’s old stuff while Fawn stayed hidden in my new purse. It was more than a little depressing that we managed to fit all of it in one load, but if I wanted to move on with my life it had to be done. Holding onto stuff from my old life that I wouldn’t need or couldn’t use, just because it was Maddock’s, would only hold me back in my new life and give me reasons not to adjust. I needed to get rid of as much of Maddock as I could. Out with the old and in with the new and all that. Those things that I had decided to keep, I was doing it because they were either useful or were important to me to keep as tributes to my old life without having the potential to hold me back in my new one.

After we had dropped off the boxes at the nearest Goodwill, we made our way to the closest branch of the bank that held Maddock’s accounts. Fortunately it was the same bank that Mom usually did business with, so I figured that we wouldn’t have to do too much running around. It was on our way there that I voiced my concerns about our sudden departure for Costa Verde. “I was wonderin’, when we ge’ tae Costa Verde, where are we goin’ tae be stayin’? We dinnae e’en ‘ave a ‘ouse there yet an’ I cannae exactly stay in a hotel wi’ ma… issues.”

“Andy an’ I will be stayin’ at Alana’s house in one of her guest rooms, an’ you girls will all be stayin’ in yuir dorm rooms until we find a new house,” she replied without much concern in her voice. “Hopefully we can find one before school starts in a few weeks. Until then yuir rooms at the school will be safe fer ya. I was talkin’ with Alana about what you all would all be needin’ while ya were out sortin’ through yuir stuff in the garage.”

I wondered briefly who Alana was, but then I remembered that that was the first name of Dr. Edwards, the school’s headmistress. It wasn’t as relevant as what she had just revealed though, so my mind quickly flew past it and onto the more important matter at hand. “Wot the ‘ell dae ya mean dorm rooms?! I thought we’d be livin’ a’ ‘ome wi’ you an’ Andy. Is this some sort o’ boardin’ school?!”

Mom sighed expansively. “It’s supposed to be a private school Merida, so to non-mutants that’s what it has to look like from the outside. You’ll be livin’ at home durin’ weekends, holidays, an’ when school isn’t in session. That’s what the local kids do, most live there the whole school year though, an’ some year-round. Ya can sleep at home Friday an’ Saturday night’s but ya need to be in the dormitory by the ten o’clock curfew from Sunday to Thursdays, unless there’s holidays. You’ll have to wear school uniforms during school hours or while on field trips as well.”

“Bu’ tha’s no’ faaaair! Tha’s no’ wot I signed up fer!” I was whining, I knew I was whining, and it made me feel as childish as I probably looked.

“Don’t ya be givin’ me tha’ tone young lady,” Mom told me in a tone that would tolerate no backtalk. It seemed that my once-sister was adapting to her new role every bit as much as I seems to be falling into mine, however unwilling it might be on my part. “Ya need trainin’ Merida, an’ that is where yuir goin’ to get it. From what Alana and Kendra said at least you an’ Vanessa will have yuir own rooms in Starfish Dorm. The twins will be sharin’ a room together in Salmon Dorm an’ Tasha will be sharin’ a room wi’ someone in Dolphin Dorm.”

There were probably good things about me not having to share a room and I knew it, still I didn’t like being singled out. I was also worried about not being there if the twins needed me. “Why kin we no’ all be in the same Dorm? ‘Nessa an’ I would be willin’ tae share a room. An’ why the ‘ell are we bein’ singled out? Wot if the twins’ need me? An’ I dinnae like the idea o’ Tasha ‘avin tae share a room wi’ some stranger while ‘Nessa an’ I are bein’ kept alone, it seems…personal.”

“You won’t be alone Merida, I’ll be with you. I’m not going to let anyone keep me away from my best friend. I can keep hidden if I need to, we Fairies know how to hide from humans when we have to,” Fawn assured me in her small voice from her place in my lap.

Another sigh from Mom in response to my comment. “Fawn can stay with ya since she’s safe from yuir powers an’ doesn’t take up much space. It’s no’ personal though Merida. You’ll all have the run o’ the school or be able to leave the grounds when yuir not in classes or until curfew, so yuir no’ prisoners an’ you’ll be able to spend time together when you want to. Salmon Dorm is specifically for the junior high girls, so the twins will be able to make some new friends there, an’ Tasha will be in one of the two dorms for the high school girls. Starfish Dorm isn’t like the other dorms though, it’s special.”

“I kin unnerstan’ no’ wantin’ me roomin’ wi’ someone else, bu’ ‘Nessa? Why kin she no’ room wi’ Tasha?” I asked, crossing my arms stubbornly in front of my chest.

Mom groaned as we entered the parking lot for the bank and she looked for a spot. “Like I said, Starfish Dorm is special. It’s the only coed dorm an’ all of its rooms are single occupant. The students from the other dorms are led to believe tha’ it’s because those who live there have powers tha’ are too dangerous or unpredictable to be aroun’ while sleeping, so their rooms need special modifications. Let’s face it you would be roomed there on tha’ alone, an’ both you an’ Vanessa will be needin’ special beds an’ such. Mostly though, Starfish Dorm is fer students who are different or potential targets for bullying: LGBTQ students, kids who have gone through a gender change, or those with not only dangerous powers, but strange appearances and other issues as well.”

“So, stick all the freaks t’gether huh? Tha’s no’ a dorm it’s a bloody menagerie!” I snapped. It was bad enough that they thought, correctly, that I wasn’t safe to be around, but to keep us away from the general student body like some sort of lepers? The idea pissed me off.

Mom tried to remain calm as she parked the car and turned off the engine, then she turned and faced me, giving me a concerned look. “Merida… yuir force field… calm down please and let me explain.”

In my anger I hadn’t even noticed that both Fawn and I were now bathed in the ruddy light of our force fields and that they were beginning to bubble dangerously. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I tried to calm myself, and counted backwards from ten. Once I had managed to disperse the energy I opened my eyes once again. “Sorry,” I muttered sheepishly as I looked down at Fawn in my lap.

Once she felt that I was sufficiently calmed down Mom began to explain the thinking behind Starfish Dorm. “It’s no’ some sort of zoo Merida, it’s a support system. It’s a chance to be around other students who can accept ya for who ya are. All of the students there are different, even among other Hypers. Yuir still no’ used to being a girl yet, and Vanessa is a mermaid and can’t spend a lot of time with legs, even though her shifting abilities are improving every day. So, even if yuir rooms didn’t need special modifications an’ ya weren’t a Category five with control issues, ya would both have problems rooming with other girls. Don’t see this as a banishment, see it as a chance to make friends who jus’ might be able to understan’ what you’ve gone through, an’ what yuir still goin’ through.”

She’s right Merida,” Fawn said, fluttering up to my shoulder to hug my cheek. “You need to make other friends besides your sisters and us Fairies.”

I gave in with a sigh. “I guess yuir right, bu’ why is Mei no’ bein’ sent tae tha’ dorm too? She’s a Cat five too.”

“Mei is powerful, probably one o’ the mos’ powerful mutants I’ve ever heard of,” Mom pointed out carefully, “and while she may be impulsive, she does seem to have a very good instinctual control over her abilities. She’s no’ the type to summon anythin’ dangerous either unless it’s warranted. She and Shu should be fine, an’ a lot more comfortable mentally, rooming together.”

“I guess yuir right,” I admitted. “She only summoned Godzilla tha’ one time when we were in danger an’ ‘cause I tol’ her tae summon the biggest an’ scariest thing tha’ she could think o’ creatin’. Most o’ her summons seem tae be more cute an’ cuddly than dangerous. I’m still no’ shoor aboot this school, bu’ I guess I’ll manage.”

Mom added her hug to Fawn’s as she tried to reassure me. “It’ll be fine Merida, you’ll all be going there together and Andy and I will be workin’ there so we’ll be aroun’ if ya need us. Now let’s get in there an’ see about getting’ yuir money into a new account.”

It took nearly half an hour before we got in to see an account manager. Evelyn Chandler was a stiff looking woman in her mid-twenties with glasses, an expensive-looking skirt-suit and her hair held back in a severe bun. Mom and I were dressed somewhat less... expensively. Mom was dressed for comfort in a casual green silk blouse, a pair of jeans, a pair of flats and her hair tied back in a ponytail, since it was going to be a fairly busy day for us preparing for the move and all. I on the other hand was attempting to get used to dressing like a girl and had begun sporting my punk look. I wore my Green Day tour shirt knotted in front to display my midriff, one of my short plaid skirts with artistically ripped black nylon stockings underneath, my combat boots, dog tags, and a black hoodie tied about my hips with the sleeves. I was showing off a bit more skin than I was really comfortable with, but I needed to start getting comfortable dressing like a girl before school started, and I knew that if I didn’t push myself that I’d just keep trying to hide from it. I was very careful to keep my legs together as Tasha and Vanessa had warned me to when wearing a skirt though.

How can I help you ladies today?” the woman asked with a smile that looked somewhat forced to my eyes.

“My brother recently died an’ he left all of his worldly possessions to my daughter,” Mom began, trying to keep tight control over her accent. She reached into her purse and began pulling out the will, identification for both of us, and Maddock’s bank account information. “As executor of his will, I will need to have the contents of his account transferred to an account for her.”

The woman looked over the documents, typed the account information into her computer, and gave another of those hollow smiles as she moved to get up. “Sure, I’ll just get the forms so I can set up a trust fund for her.”

Mom shook her head. “Merida already has a sizable trust fund, I would like this placed in a checking and savings account for her.”

The woman’s jaw dropped and she stared at us for a moment before responding. “You want to put over five hundred thousand dollars in the hands of a child?” I had almost forgotten how much was in that account since my parents’ estate had been settled and divided between Blair and me after their deaths. Since I had lived on base I had never really used the account for much besides basic expenses and the occasional part for restoring Dad’s old Shelby Mustang.

“Merida is very mature an’ responsible for her age, I assure you,” Mom retorted, her eyes narrowing at the woman.

“I’m sure she is,” the woman said, looking down her nose and taking in my clothes, “but this is a sizable account.”

“I realize tha’, but my brother’s will clearly states tha’ all o’ his worldly possessions, including tha’ money, were to be given to my daughter to do with as she wishes, no’ tha’ it be held in trust fer her. As the executor o’ his will an’ his sister I am goin’ to see tha’ it is done as he wished,” Mom said with an edge to her voice as she started to lose the control over her accent.

“Mrs. Ainsley, I would really advise against this. Mature and responsible or not she is a child,” she said giving Mom an intense look. “Anyone could manipulate her into using that money for things that may not be in her best interests, or just to transfer it to another account.” The accusation riled me and I would have said something, but right then it was taking all of the self control that I had to keep my powers from activating.

“Doctor Ainsley,” Mom stated, very clearly. “I’m no’ married an’ I didn’t spend all those years in University earnin’ seven doctorate degrees to be called Mrs. or Miss thank ya very much. I want to see yuir branch manager, right now.”

Several minutes later we were joined by a short paunchy man in a nice suit with a slightly receding hairline who introduced himself as Karl. Mom explained the situation in no uncertain terms and followed up by saying, “Now before you lose several ‘sizable accounts’ from Miss Chandler’s attitude I would like you to have a look at my account. I am expecting a payment from the Hyper Affairs Agency and I would like to make sure that it arrived in my account before I close it, my brother’s account, and the trust funds for all five of my daughters.”

Karl looked over the account number that Mom provided and had the irritating accounts manager type the relevant information into the computer. Her eyes went wide and her face paled as she looked at the screen. “Y… you received a payment from the Hyper Affairs Agency last night for two point five billion dollars.”

“An’ wha’ does tha’ bring my current balance to?” Mom asked as calmly as if she was asking about the weather. “Feel free to round it down if tha’ makes it easier.

“Three point seven billion dollars,” even I was staring a bit at that point. Blair had said she was only renting our current place until she had found something nice to buy and was ready to open her practice. Government tech contracts had kept her too busy to go house shopping though and apparently those contracts had been very lucrative, especially the adaptive infiltration suit she had just contracted to produce fifty for of for the HAA and had given them exclusive use rights to. Even when Andy had doubled the price the HAA had still jumped at the chance to buy them.

From that point Karl took us to his own office, bent over backwards to ensure that my new account was properly set up, and promised us that Miss Chandler would be properly dealt with for her rudeness. I was given a temporary check book and bank card and was promised that my permanent card and personalized checks would be delivered by courier to Pacific Seaside Academy once they were ready to be issued. As we finally pulled out of the parking lot I looked at Mom with a raised eyebrow. “I didnae ken tha’ ya were doin’ so well fer yuirself.”

She gave a non-committal shrug. “Tech contracts are lucrative. Quite a bit o' the money that I just received is goin' to be goin' into producin' the finished units fer the HAA though, the materials weren't cheap. Still, by doublin' the askin' price I'll make a hefty profit. There would ‘ave been more in my account, but I wanted to make sure that all of my girls get the best education ya can once yuir ready for college or university. So I may have padded all yuir trust funds a wee bit in addition to what ya got from the HAA. Just’ a few hundred thousand each, but with the interest ya should all be set fer a good education.”

“Yuir takin’ this whole ‘Mom’ thing pretty seriously,” I finally said after some thought. We didn’t seem to be heading in the direction of our house so I wondered aloud, “Where are we goin’ now?”

“I need to take care o’ ya Merida, it’s what Mom and Da’ would have wanted, an’ I love ya, whether yuir my brother, sister, or daughter. The girls are good kids an’ I’m startin’ to love them too. They all deserve a family and I promised I’d give ‘em tha’. Besides, I was stuck wi’ a kid brother who’d never let me put him in dresses when we were growin’ up. I always wanted a sister an’ I was hopin’ to have daughters o’ my own one day. I’m no’ goin’ to complain if I get five wonderful girls to fill that role, jus’ because it was a bit sooner than expected.” She turned off toward the very mall that I had visited with my new sisters the day before and shrugged once again. “I need to get you and Vanessa beds fer both yuir dorm rooms an’ fer our new house when we find one. I can find something close to what we’re needin’ fer yuirs in the furniture store at the mall, but fer Vanessa’s I‘ll need to make a few stops for the things I’ll need.”

“This all seems a wee bi’ rushed,” I pressed in concern.

She nodded and sighed, a look of uncertainty on her face. “I know this move is a bit sudden, but you were in the news yesterday fer the second time in the past week, an’ Costa Verde is a lot friendlier to mutants than LA. We need to get out of LA before somethin’ else happens or the HAA decides tha’ yuir more trouble than yuir worth. Agent Smith an’ Andy managed to keep them from deliberately screwin’ ya over last time, but they’ve proven tha’ they’d only be too happy to throw ya under the bus when it suits them. We’re havin’ to rush things, but hopefully we’ll get a new home there soon, we contacted a real estate agency already and they’re looking at places that will suit our needs.”

We stopped at the mall where Mom ordered two queen sized metal framed four poster canopy beds in white. I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea, but she assured me that the frames were important and that at least they looked like beds a normal girl could have. They were bloody princess beds though, with a canopy and sheer white curtains and everything. I only gave in because she insisted that the frames were important and because Fawn, who had been peeking out from my purse, had fallen in love with them. She arranged to have the frames sent without mattresses to our current home later that afternoon and then we were ready to leave when I asked, “Could we… make a few stops first?”

Mom nodded her head and smiled. “I don’t mind, so long as we get to Home Depot an’ a good swimming pool supply shop before they close for the day. I have been kind of wantin’ us to have some one-on-one time anyway, did ya need somethin’?”

“Aye, well there’s this surf board at a shop tha’ ‘Nessa really wanted tae ge’. I want tae buy it fer her, now tha’ I ‘ave my money again. An’ I was hopin’ tae mebbe ge’ a few… piercin’s,” I reluctantly admitted.

“You want piercings? Ya were seethin’ the whole time we go’ yer studs done las’ week.”

“I was kinda reactin’ bad tae the whole ‘girl thing’ then,” I answered with a sigh. “I’ve been thinkin’ though tha’ I need tae ge’ o’er tha’ an’ try tae push myself tae adjust if I wan’ people to believe I’ve been a girl all my life when we ge’ tae the new school. I’ve been figurin’ tha’ I like the punk look an’ could be comfortable wit’ it. I should look the part though, like it’s a look I’ve been cultivatin’ fer a while. Piercin’s are no’ really too diff’ren’ from tattoos, an’ I ‘ad a lot o’ them afore ma change. They kin always heal o’er if’n I end up no’ likin’ them too, so I figure I should really do this now… afore I lose ma courage an’ start second guessin’.”

“You’ve been thinkin’ a lot about this it seems,” she said while looking me over carefully. Finally she nodded and gave me a relieved smile. “I’m glad yuir startin’ to adjust, let’s find a place to get it done then.”

We found a body piercing shop where I got a second pair of studs in my earlobes, a pair of rings in the upper ears on each side, a ring in my left eyebrow and a short dangly chain in my navel with a little dragon on the end. All of them were in silver in color, though the metal was titanium and thus a bit pricier, but it was also lighter, more durable, and less likely to cause an allergic reaction than actual silver. I made sure to listen carefully as the young woman who did the piercings told me how to care for them until they were properly healed. I was kind of surprised that Mom had allowed the navel and eyebrow piercings, but when I asked about it on the way to the surf shop she just smiled at me and said that despite how old I looked I was old enough to make my own decisions.

I was going to be sore for a while, but it would be worth if it helped me convince people that I had been a girl all my life. Besides, I thought that I might just be a little bit closer to leaving Maddock behind and figuring out exactly who Merida was. I was actually smiling at that thought as we made our way to the surf shop.

Once we got to the surf shop I got the mermaid board that Vanessa had been drooling over, a pair of maintenance and repair kits, a pair of board bags and a second board for myself. I chose a board with an aquamarine dragon spitting flames on it that had captured my attention when I had been browsing with Vanessa. She had offered to teach us to surf and I thought that it would be a nice hobby to pick up once we were in Costa Verde. I would have gotten boards for my other sisters too, but I wanted them to be able to pick out their own once they were ready.

When we were done at the surf shop we left the mall and put the boards and everything else in the back of the SUV and headed to Home Depot where Mom bought some thick sheets of Plexiglas and all the other supplies she would need to build two aquariums; eight feet long by five feet wide and four feet deep. She also bought some various electronics and paid a huge delivery fee as well to make sure that the stuff would all be delivered to our current home before the end of the day. The last stop before we made our way home was a specialty shop for swimming pools where she bought a pair of sea salt pool filtration systems and everything needed to go with them. I helped her to load it all in the SUV and then we were on our way home.

It had been the first time since my change… no, the first time since our parents died that the two of us had been able to spend that much time together, just me and her. Well, Fawn had been there, but she had stayed hidden and quiet for most of that time out of necessity. It had been different than when I had spent time with her alone as Maddock and, even though we really hadn’t been doing anything all that special, I felt closer to her than I had since we were both small children, when we would sit and listen to Mom’s stories and watch her constructs in rapt fascination. She had said it earlier today. She loved me whether I was her brother, sister, or daughter and I knew that she would be there for me, and all of my new sisters, come Hell or high water. As we finally stopped in our driveway I reached out to hug her as tightly as I could. “Thanks Blai… Mom, fer bein’ you.” Fawn seemed to realize that this was just between us though, since she just continued to sit quietly in my lap and let us have our moment.