A dying man is given a second chance. This story is a fan fiction that takes place in the Whateley Universe.

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I was sitting in the Clinic lobby, absently playing with a long strand of green ribbon. It had been a few hours since I’d discovered the ability to make these things and only a short time less since I’d learned I was turning into a girl. As it was, my body had changed enough that most people who saw me would assume I already was one. When I’d looked into a mirror a short time ago, I’d looked almost exactly like a thirteen year old girl.

I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair, which was now an odd silvery white color and went down to my shoulders. I wasn’t used to having long hair and it felt strange to me, especially whenever it fell down into my eyes or brushed my neck. However, I also felt an odd sense of delight at having a full head of hair again, and even at having so much of it.

Next, I looked down at my clothes, which were just a little loose on me. I’d only put these clothes on about two hours ago, and at the time, they’d been a little too tight. This was yet another reminder of just how quickly my body was changing and just how small I was becoming.

At the moment, I was filled with a nervous anticipation, but it wasn’t actually directed at my body and the way I was changing. Ironically, I felt an almost calm resignation about that. After all, turning into a girl wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to me. In fact, it couldn’t come close to being told my daughter was a mass murderer or that I was dying of cancer. Keeping those things in mind really helped to put my changes into perspective.

What made me nervous was the fear of what my family would say about my changes. Dr. Franklin told me that after I’d been brought to the Clinic for treatment, they’d been keeping Melanie updated on my condition, or at least on the basics. My daughter knew that I’d woken up and was in good health, and even that I’d manifested as a mutant and was changing as a result, but she hadn’t been told the details. And now, Dr. Franklin had finally cleared me for visitors.

I tied the green ribbon into a knot and then dropped it into the chair beside me before suddenly making a bright red ribbon appear in my hands. Whenever I was nervous, I tended to fiddle with whatever was at hand to keep me distracted. In the past, this often meant grabbing a cigar, taking a drink of beer, or just cleaning some of my tools. Since none of that was an option at the moment, I found myself playing with these ribbons instead.

Then Melanie came through the front doors, somehow managing to look both relieved and worried at the same time. She made a beeline straight for the receptionist and announced, “I’m here to see my Dad… Al Morgan…”

I stood up at that and slowly walked towards her, surprised to realize that my daughter was taller than I was. I took a deep breath, then cautiously said, “Hey, Melanie…”

Melanie turned to look at me, showing no signs of recognition on her face. “Do I know you?” she asked, looking a little confused.

I frowned, feeling incredibly self-conscious. “It’s me,” I told her with a forced chuckle. “Your Dad.” Then I weakly joked, “As you can see, I’ve lost a bit of weight.”

Melanie stared at me, her eyes going wide in stunned disbelief. Then she skeptically asked, “Dad?”

“Do you want me to prove it?” I asked with a snort. “Remember the time I had to come pick you up at school because that girl Janine…”

“I believe you,” she interrupted me, turning bright red at the reminder of the incident. Then she gasped, “Oh my God. What happened to you?” She continued to stare at me as she added, “They said Rachael did something…” There was a strong accusatory note in her voice.

I nodded awkwardly, then told her, “Rachael cured my cancer.” Melanie gasped at that while I gestured down at myself and added with a forced chuckle, “But there were side effects…”

“Of course there were,” Melanie responded with a sigh. Then she cautiously asked me, “Are you really cured?”

“The doctors said there ain’t a trace of cancer left,” I assured her with a faint smile. “But on the other hand, I’m turning into a girl. A mutant girl.”

Melanie stared at me as she tried absorbing all this, then she gave me a nervous smile before grabbing me in a hug. “I’m glad you’re all right, Dad,” she blurted out.

“Me too,” I responded with a chuckle, grinning at the fact that I could actually stand on my own two feet and hug my daughter again. For awhile, I’d been pretty sure I’d never be able to do this again.

“Ouch,” Melanie cried out a moment later. “You’re squeezing too tight…”

I quickly let go of Melanie, feeling guilty at hurting her, though I was relieved to see she didn’t seem to really be hurt by it. “Sorry,” I told with a wince. “Apparently, I’m some kind of exemplar. I guess that means…”

“I know what an exemplar is,” she told me with a faint smile. “I’ve been reading up on mutant powers. Since Rachael is a mutant, I thought there’s a chance Kaylie or Kimberly might be too.” She hesitated a moment, then admitted, “Since Kaylie is about that age, I’ve been keeping a close eye on her for any indications…”

“Good thinking,” I told her in approval. Then Melanie and I went and sat down while I explained what had been happening to me. “The doctor says I’m still changing and she wants to keep me here till I finish, just in case.”

“Good idea,” Melanie said, giving me a worried look. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m a lot better than I was a week ago,” I pointed out, then gave her a broad grin as I added, “And I feel better than I have in ages…if ever.”

Melanie looked relieved at that, then she told me about how Rich and the kids were worried about me. Then she added, “And Rich said he’s going to come by after work.”

I nodded at that, realizing that if I’d been nervous about seeing Melanie, it would probably be worse with Rich. After all, he was my son and I’d taught him how to be a man, but now I looked like anything but one. I had no doubt that seeing him was going to be embarrassing, but I still looked forward to it anyway.

“Thank Kimberly for giving me that good luck ribbon,” I told my daughter with a smile. Then in an almost conspiratorial tone, I added, “Tell her that her grandpa said it worked.”

Melanie laughed at that, then responded, “She’ll be happy to hear that.”

Sitting here with my daughter like this was really putting me in a good mood, so I decided to show off a little. I did a fancy move with my hand, which I hope looked like something a stage magician might do, then I made a bright pink ribbon suddenly appear in my hand. Melanie gasped in surprise.

“Can you give this to Kimberly for me?” I asked her with a grin. “It seems that I’ve got the power to make ribbons appear out of thin air.”

“That’s…impressive,” she said, trying to hold back a snicker.

I just smiled and made another ribbon appear in my hand, this time a black one. Since Kaylie was dressing all in black these days, I thought she’d appreciate this color a little more. I didn’t even need to say who this one was for as I handed it over to my daughter.

We talked for a little longer, than as Melanie was getting ready to leave, she kept giving me hesitant looks. I knew her well enough to know that she wanted to talk about something but wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Her mother had always been better than me about noticing this kind of thing and drawing her out, though fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long before she got to it.

“Rachael,” she finally blurted out, giving me a worried look. “How was she?”

“She seemed healthy,” I answered, though I could see that wasn’t enough. I frowned for a moment as I thought about my reunion with her. “She seemed clear headed…but a bit sad. I think she was having one of her good days.” Then I gave Melanie a gentle smile and added, “Rachael said she misses you...that she misses everyone.”

“Thank you,” Melanie told me, looking as though she might be getting teary eyed.

She gave me a hug, which was very strange since she was now bigger than me. I was careful not to squeeze back very hard since it seemed that the smaller I got, the stronger I became. As corny as the old line was, I really didn’t know my own strength and I didn’t want to risk hurting her.

Once Melanie was gone, I decided to go to the cafeteria for dinner. It was a little early, but I was getting hungry again. Thankfully, they didn’t charge ridiculous prices, and the whole cost went right onto my Clinic tab. I just really hoped my insurance company would cover this whole Clinic visit.

As I looked for an open table, Asset waved to me. I saw that he was sitting with two other people who were wearing costumes. One was an Asian woman with glowing green eyes and a dark green cloak, while the other was a stocky man with a beard, who reminded me a little of myself, or at least the way I used to be.

“You look…younger,” Asset said in surprise as I came over. He looked me over, making me feel a little self-conscious.

“Really?” I responded with a snorted, glancing to the woman and editing my language a little as I added, “I hadn’t fu…freaking noticed.”

“This is Mystery Woman and the Occultist,” Asset introduced his companions to me.

“Nice to meetcha,” I said, holding out my hand to the Occultist, who seemed amused as he shook it.

“A polite young lady,” he said, only to earn a glare from me and a snicker from Asset. I quickly reminded myself that I was going to have to get used to that, so I didn’t correct him. After all, it wouldn’t be long before I really was a young lady.

Asset didn’t introduce me, maybe because I didn’t have any kind of codename yet, or maybe because he didn’t want to embarrass himself by admitting that he didn’t even know my name. That was fine by me because I figured that introducing myself as Al would have brought up a few more questions than I felt like answering at the moment.

“Now, where were we again?” the Occultist asked in a deep voice. “Oh yes, discussing theatrical villains…”

“The worst I’ve ever seen personally was the Vaudevillain,” Asset said with a chuckle. “He wasn’t too dangerous but he liked to put on a show while he committed robberies.”

“I would have to go with the Protagonist,” Mystery Woman commented with a faint smile. “He seems to believe that he’s the star in some adventure novel and he always talks about himself in the third person.”

“I’ve heard of him,” the Occultist mused, scratching at his beard. “He and the Narrator got into it and he ended up dead.”

“The Narrator?” I asked, wondering if these clowns were messing with me. “Who the hell comes up with these names?”

“The Narrator is actually quite dangerous,” the Occultist told me with a serious look. “He’s a mind controller who manipulates heroes, villains, and bystanders, making them play out scenes as though they were actors in a movie while he records them.”

They continued their conversation about different villains they’d encountered or heard of while I looked through the menu, deciding on a nice steak. I hadn’t had one of those in a good while. It was just too bad I couldn’t get a beer here to wash it down with.

I’d gotten my steak and was in the middle of eating it when the topic turned to local villains and someone brought up Lady Havoc. I immediately froze at that, though Mystery Woman said, “I’ve met Lady Havoc. She’s a merciless killer without a shred of conscience…”

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I finally spat out, glaring at the woman who didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by my reaction. I was used to people getting a little nervous when a big guy got upset, but I wasn’t a big guy anymore.

“And I suppose you know more about Lady Havoc than I do,” Mystery Woman commented in a patronizing tone.

I gave Mystery Woman a cold look, then stated, “I know that when she was a little girl, she had a pink stuffed elephant that she called Ellie. I know that her favorite color is sapphire blue and her favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. I know that the very first device she every made was a machine to help her mother make breakfast.” I paused at that, then stated, “And I know that in spite of everything she’s done, she still has a good heart.”

With that, I stood up, seeing that all three of the heroes were staring at me in surprise and confusion. I didn’t bother to stick around and answer their questions though, because if I did, I knew that I’d be damn tempted to punch someone, and I had a feeling that wouldn’t be a good idea.

Since my dinner hadn’t worked out quite the way I would have liked, I made my way back to the lobby where I made myself comfortable. I didn’t know when Rich would get her, but I wanted to be here when he did.

Like most lobbies and waiting rooms, this one had a stack of old magazines, most of which didn’t interest me much. There was one on cars, but it was an old issue that I’d seen before. However, there was also a bookshelf that was packed full with all sorts of books. I’d never been a big reader, but I had plenty of time to kill so I grabbed something that looked at least vaguely interesting and began to flip through it.

The book was an autobiography from some super hero whose real identity had been made public by one of his villains. I remembered that they’d made some noise about the book back when it had first come out, and back then, a lot of the Humanity First guys had protested it as mutant propaganda.

I quickly looked over the first page and then went to the next, just glancing over the pages and flipping them one after another in rapid succession. I’d flipped most of the way the way through the book by the time Rich arrived.

Unlike Melanie, Rich stepped into the lobby and almost immediately looked directly at me. “Dad?” he asked awkwardly.

“I see you talked to Melanie,” I responded with a chuckle, knowing that his sister must have warned him about my new appearance.

Rich nodded at that and just stared at me in disbelief. “I still can’t believe it though…” Then he asked, “How do you feel?”

“Actually,” I answered him honestly. “I feel pretty damn good. This is embarrassing as hell, but I feel so light on my feet and full of energy…” I shrugged at that. “And after what I was going through, this is a hell of a lot better.”

“So Rachael did it,” Rich said, looking impressed. “She really cured you…”

I nodded at that, thinking that it was strange that we’d all been talking so much about Rachael. Over the last few years, we’d barely mentioned her name at all. After what she’d done, it was too painful to think that she was out there hurting people. We never forgot about her, but her name just wasn’t spoken very often.

“She seems to be doing all right,” I added with a sigh. “Considering…”

“Yeah,” Rich said with a bit of a grin.

Rich had never really seen Rachael at her worst, for which I was thankful. But that also meant he didn’t fully understand just how bad she got when she was having an episode, even when it was shown on the news. In fact, he was sure that the news just exaggerated her rampages and the deaths, all as part of some anti-mutant propaganda conspiracy. Even after all these years and everything that Rachael had done, he still looked up to his big sister.

We sat down and talked, much the way I’d talked with Melanie earlier. Rich and I had never been great at having conversations, especially since most of them seemed to turn into arguments, but it was nice seeing him.

“So,” Rich said after a bit, “You’re a mutant now…”

“It seems that way,” I responded with a sigh. “It seems I’m some kind of regenerator, exemplar, manifestor thing…” I shrugged at that, then gave him a brief demonstration by making a ribbon appear in my hands. “Not exactly impressive.”

Rich stared at me with an odd expression, though he’d been giving me odd looks since he came into the lobby. Then he shook his head and admitted, “It’s just hard to believe that you of all people are a mutant. This is so strange…”

“Try it from my perspective,” I pointed out, gesturing down at myself.

“I’m glad you’re alive Dad,” Rich told me, giving me a hug. Then as he pulled back, he said, “Not many people get a second lease on life like this. You should take full advantage of it.”

“You just might be right,” I agreed, thinking that I really was being given a second chance. I just had no idea of what to do with it.

We spent a minute saying goodbye, then when Rich left, I turned my attention back to the book that I’d been flipping through. I absently wondered where I’d left off, until I remembered that it was page 273, at the start of the third paragraph. Wayne Peters, the writer of the autobiography, had just been talking about how he was having problems with his marriage.

“Stupid shmuck,” I said, thinking that the guy had to be an idiot for marrying a girl who’d obviously only been dating him for the excitement. As he said on page 73, she’d only become interested in him after she’d accidentally discovered he was secretly a hero.

I paused for a moment, surprised to realize that I’d picked up a lot more from just flipping through that book than I’d realized. And as I thought about it, I was even more surprised that I remembered the entire thing, including what was on each page. I thought about a page and I could suddenly picture the entire thing in my head, clear as day and word for word.

“Well, ain’t that something,” I muttered with a shake of my head.

I was about to put the book back on the shelf, but then I hesitated. I’d only been flipping through it to kill some time, but since I seemed to have actually picked something up from it, it seemed like a shame not to finish it. With that, I went back to the last page I’d looked at then started to flip through the rest of the pages, a bit more slowly than before. This time, I was aware of the fact that just one look at the page was enough for me to absorb everything on it. In just a few minutes, I’d finished reading through the rest of the book.

“Speed reading,” I said, knowing that it was actually just a little more than that. “I’ll be damned.”

After putting the book back on the shelf, I bent down and rolled my pant legs up again so I wouldn’t trip over them. I tried not to dwell on my increasing loss of size and age, but it wasn’t easy.

Then before I left the lobby and returned to Dr. Franklin for another round of tests, I grabbed a couple more books off the shelf. Since I was still stuck in the Clinic until tomorrow, and I had a lot of time to kill, this seemed like one way to do it. Besides, if I could read through that whole book as easily as that, I wanted to see if I could do it with other ones too.