Sorry for the delay.

Leah is having problems adjusting, but then she meets someone unexpected. Will this meeting help or hurt? Leah's adventures continue.

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.

Please note that all of the categories checked do not apply to all chapters. I appreciate all the encouraging comments and Kudos.

Wednesday
November 28th, 2007

When Leah finished her bathing, she found Jim gone. A part of her had hoped he would be, but another part had hoped he would still be there.

She put her fingers to her lips, remembering the sweet feeling of his lips on hers. She giggled slightly; for someone who was in the depths of despair just yesterday over being changed from a boy to a girl, she had come a long way in a very short time. She realized that she had been as much fighting what she thought she should feel about changing as much as what she actually felt.

As ambivalent as she was about her real father appearing, he had started her on the path to acceptance of her current gender. He told her she would be able to be a boy one day if she so desired. At first, this idea thrilled her, but confused her as well.

It had led her to understand that while being a girl was a shock, it wasn’t all bad. She still had a lot to learn and it was intimidating, and sometimes terrifying. However, most of the bad things that had happened, actually occurred not because she was a girl; but because she was a mutant. Being a girl, though, was something she realized she was actually coming to like. For the first time, when she looked in the mirror, she discovered that she no longer expected to see Lee staring back.

She picked up her brush and began slowly working the tangles out of her long hair. She smiled gently at her reflection. No! It wasn’t all bad at all, especially the touch of Jim’s lips.

—————————

When Jim came out of Leah’s room and said his goodbyes to her family, her mother offered him a ride home saying she was going out anyway and it was on her way. This struck Jim as a little odd, since he lived at the dead end of their subdivision and walking it was only a long block and a half to his house. Realistically though, he was too emotionally, and physically, tired to give it much thought. So without protest, he accepted.

Half way to his house, Kathleen turned onto Cherokee Blvd. He looked at her questioningly.

“Just a little detour,” she responded to his unspoken question. He didn’t respond, although he could tell she had something on her mind.

A few minutes later, she pulled into Riverside Park, found an empty spot and parked the car. She unbuckled the seatbelt, and turned to face Jim.

“Jim, I thought we needed to have a little talk — just you and me.”

He nodded, not really sure where she was headed, but certain that she knew about ‘The Kiss’. He wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Jim, you and Lee,” using his male gender name didn’t seem like a good omen, “have been friends all your lives.”

Jim nodded, not knowing where this was going.

“Lee — Leah is very confused right now. You do realize that, don’t you?”

Jim nodded again, still not sure of the purpose of this talk.

“Her head is telling her she’s still at least part boy. Her body is telling her she’s all girl, and her emotions are all over the place. She’s got hormones running around in her body she has no experience with, and people are trying to kill her.”

Jim felt a little confused and a little frightened himself.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that she is very, very vulnerable right now. I know how much you two have always meant to each other as friends, and now you’re both having to deal with the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing. So take it easy, easy on her and easy both on her and yourself. There will be lots of time for both of you to figure out what your new relationship is going to be. So just take it easy. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, ma’am. I think I do. I had kinda come to the same conclusion myself. That’s why I didn’t wait for her to bathe and change. I guess I’m a little confused about our relationship myself, and need time to think about it.”

Shyly, he added,“You know we kissed, don’t you?”

“No, but I’m not surprised.”

“I would never do anything to hurt Leah.”

“Jim, I know you wouldn’t intentionally, but as vulnerable as she is right now, you could hurt her very badly without meaning to. You do see that don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but you should know I think I’m falling for her as a girl, so I’m going to stay away as much as possible until we can both figure some things out.”

Kathleen stared at Jim for a few infinitely long seconds. “Wow. That’s an amazing mature outlook for someone of your age. I know you, Jim, and I trust you not to do anything that will jeopardize her fragile well-being.”

She started the car and took him home, knowing they both had much to ponder. She sighed, and quietly commented, “Both of you might have a rather rough road ahead.”

—————————

Leah slept fitfully. Dreams disturbed her and woke her more than once.

The night was one for the book, literally. She recorded her dreams in her journal. In her first dream - which she wasn’t sure was a dream at all, she visited Avalon. Usually she remembered her trips to Avalon with crystal clarity, but this was different. The dream felt “out of time”, like she was in the past or maybe the future, or both.

It started out with her viewpoint elevated, as if she was floating above the scene. She saw again the great battle on the plains surrounding Atlantis with its horrific death and destruction. This time her attention was focused on one particular part of the battle. A small knot of elves wielding brilliantly glowing swords and bright silver shields shining in the moonlight along with dwarves in gleaming moon-silver plated armor who brandished massive flaming axes were fighting together in a campact valley just outside the city walls. They were attacking something that looked vaguely like a maggot, but it was the size of three tractor-trailer rigs set end to end. Two mages stood on a small hill overlooking the deep valley, casting their spells, flanked by other armored elves firing arrows seemingly tipped with starlight. Two more dwarves holding six foot tall silver-plated shields and axes stood guard in front them, obviously disgruntled at missing the fight.

The foul creature itself was covered in hundreds of large mouths full of needle-like teeth and a piercing red eye or two for every mouth. Slender fifty-foot long tentacles formed wherever needed to lash out like whips at the attackers. The mouths and eyes would disappear, only to appear somewhere else. The entire creature appeared to be a rubbery sack filled with snot, not the clear healthy snot of someone with a cold, but the sickly yellow, green, and brown snot and pus of someone with massive infections.

“Pay attention, Leah, to the creature.” Gaea whispered in her mind. That was the last thing she wanted to do, but she obeyed. The very sight of the thing was sickening; made her feel dirty and betrayed, and yet she had an urge to join in the fight. The swords of the elves glowed like lightsabers from Star Wars. Frequently, an elf would take advantage of an opening and leap lightly and quickly in to attack before leaping back out, leaving a deep gouge, where ichor that smelled like death flowed sluggishly out. The dwarves protected the elves by severing tentacles lashing at them as they attacked. The arrows of the elves on the hill plunged deep into the creature and immediately detonated causing sometimes dozens of eyes and mouths to wink out of being.

It was obvious that these forces of Light and Order were slowly getting the upper hand in this battle. Great blackened and seared gouges appeared in the “flesh” of the creature where an elf’s sword or arrow struck or a spell drove home, only to heal moments later. But the healing was slowing and more and more rents were made. However, the creature was getting in its own licks. She saw two elves and a dwarf ensnared in the writhing tentacles and dragged to the hungry mouths. She could hear their screams over the noise of the great battle as the creature devoured them. A blob of the creature’s flesh flew out to engulf the head of one of the mages. The mage fell, a blacked stump of a neck was all that was left of his head.

“The creature you see is a shoggoth, one of the lesser servitors of the Great Old Ones. They are extremely difficult to kill, having to be literally rendered into small bits or burned by magics.”

Leah watched as the shoggoth, retreating from the battle, found a small cave into which it oozed. The remaining forces of Order battling it were set upon by other foul creatures, some part human/part animal, others part more nauseating things; allowing the shoggoth to escape into the cavern.

*******

Leah woke shaking from the nightmare - for it could be called nothing else - but she was just as certain the events she just witnessed were real, just not of this time. She shivered, though the room was warm as she reached for her journal. This was one part she knew she would not show to Dr. Bennett or her family, but she might discuss it with Coach and Doc. Doc especially, might be able to come up with some ideas. Once again, she never got back to sleep that night.

The recent events had taken their toll on her emotionally. The only good things to come out of the last couple of days were her growing acceptance of herself as a girl, the changes in her relationship with Jim, and her mixed feelings of meeting her biological father.

Her encounter with the poachers had made her feel stronger, and more confident, while Jim’s reactions had helped her accept that this body was hers now, and would be for the foreseeable future. It might not be the body she thought she wanted but then again, it wasn’t a bad body. It did have its perks.

Jim had helped her make a fundamental change in how she saw herself. The fact that he knew who and what she was, and was okay with her, made a huge difference. The fact that knowing what he did, he was still attracted to her did wonders for her self-image. It, and Amanda’s continued acceptance and friendship, made embracing who she was so much easier. She had the acceptance and support of her family, which was important, but to have Jim and Amanda’s meant even more right now.

She had read on the internet about the trials and tribulations that transgendered persons faced and even acted out some of them out with Dr. Bennett. She knew that many were rejected by their families as well as their friends. Yet, other than a few nervous moments with her dad, her family had come through like troopers.

Despite Jim being her base friend, she could not take it for granted that he would accept her. But he had, and so had Amanda. She touched her lips with her finger tips and smiled as she remembered Jim’s kiss. She expected it to feel gay, however, there was nothing homosexual about it. In fact, it felt anything but. She might, in the lonely confines of her room, feel despondent about all the lost opportunities and dreams that Lee might have mourned. However, when she was around her family and especially Jim though, she couldn’t take those feelings as much to heart. She did have people who cared deeply about her.

Unfortunately, Chuck certainly didn’t. While she was still in the hospital, he sent her a rather nastily worded note along with a dead rose in a long thin florist box tied with black ribbon in the hospital. If she had any doubts before, she didn’t now. His message was clear. He not only never wanted to talk to her again, she was dead to him. Not because of her gender change, but because she was a mutant. That hurt her deeply. They had been close friends forever, it seemed. Now to have him reject her for something she had no control over, made her doubt if he ever was the friend she thought he was.

She understood that he had reason to distrust mutants, but did he really think that she had changed that much inside, where it counted? Maybe he did. The fact that Jim was a mutant also, almost certainly helped Jim accept her, but she knew there had to be more to it than that.

There was so much she didn’t know or understand. There were others she would never have thought about, who had shown her support. She didn’t know what she would have done without Coach, Doc, or Cantrip.

Amanda’s acceptance came somewhat of a surprise. Leah had been sure that now she was a girl and a mutant, too, Amanda wouldn’t want anything more to do with her. They certainly couldn’t be boyfriend and girlfriend, but Amanda was one of the very few friends her own age who visited her in the hospital.

Yet, Amanda seemed to have few problems with Leah’s changes, and was very supportive after they got past a few awkward moments when she first came in the room and saw Leah in her full glory for the first time.

“Lee? Is that really you?” She sounded as if she wasn’t sure she was in the right room.

“Yeah, it’s all me,” Leah answered a little timidly. “But it’s ‘Leah’, now.”

“Wow! You’re gorgeous!” She ran over to the bed and leaning over gave Leah a quick hug.

Leah blushed at the compliment, and the hug. She still wasn’t used to the way girls got up close and personal.

“I kinda thought that you were heading this way ever since the party,” Amanda said pleasantly. “But this is beyond any ideas I might have had about the way you would look.”

“You knew?”

“Well, let’s say I suspected. Oh, come on! Everyone at school at least suspected it might be a possibility. That story about the designer steroid was pretty lame, but Jim and I talked after the party. Also, if you remember, my aunt used to be my uncle, before he manifested.”

Leah vaguely remembered a conversation about that during one of their dates, but at the time he was too focused on Amanda and not making a fool out of himself to register much of what she was actually talking about.

“You didn’t say anything” Leah was a little bewildered as to where this conversation was going.

“I figured you had enough on your mind, and you would say something if you wanted me to know.”

“It wasn’t so much I didn’t want you to know as not wanting anyone to know. I mean it’s been so embarrassing and baffling. I haven’t known which way was up for months, now.” Leah felt tears beginning to leak again.

Amanda was at her side wrapping her in a hug and as she held Leah, tears were running down both their faces.

“I’m so sorry. I should have seen how hard it was for you. I should have been there. I always liked you a lot as Lee, and I still like you as Leah.”

Leah sniffled a time or two before settling down. After getting past all that they had chatted amicably for over an hour until the nurse ordered her out. They both understood that their relationship was changed, since Amanda was quite heterosexual, and Leah was growing more sure all the time that she was also.

They talked almost daily on the phone and she was coming over tomorrow. Amanda not only accepted her, she offered all kinds of helpful hints about being a girl her age that Leah’s sisters either hadn’t reached or didn’t know yet. Leah was inclined to think the latter. Eve and even Beth had been so wonderful, but being even a little younger at their ages made for a lot of difference in their outlooks when compared to Amanda.

Her biological father had come to try to help her, but that was, at best, a mixed bag. While she was interested in getting to know him, his showing up at this point in her life, raised as many emotional issues as it resolved. His news that she might one day become a man again helped her past her depression, but she was but she was beginning to doubt that she would make that choice even should that day come.

At least, he and her mother had resolved their major issues. Leah knew that Kathleen really liked many things about Liam Sr., but she wasn’t going to completely forgive anytime soon. Leah was pretty sure that her mom would never forget that he had left her without a word, knowing he was leaving her with a baby.

As a girl herself now, she enjoyed a whole new perspective on sexual responsibilities. A father could leave. Only the social contracts entered into by people prevented abandonment. For the first time in her life she was beginning to understand deep in the gut that things weren’t so simple for the female of the species.

Thursday
November 29th, 2007
Outside Doc’s Headquarters

“This is where you’ve been coming for testing?” Kathleen’s voice showed her distrust and disdain of the neighborhood, looking at Leah.

“It’s much nicer once we get inside,” Leah said soothingly. “Besides, who’s going to want to tangle with Golden?” The big cat stroked against Kathleen at Leah’s silent suggestion. A rather large rough-looking man who had been watching them from across the street suddenly discovered he had somewhere else to be as Golden gave a big yawn as only a cat can, showing her large sharp teeth.

Coach chuckled beside them. “Don’t worry, Kathleen. The local wildlife know to give this place and anyone with business here a wide berth. Doc’s been watching us ever since we parked the car. See those odd-looking gargoyles on the building? Well, they conceal force generators that can, and have, knocked out entire gangs of tough guys. Nothing can get within a block of this place without coming into their range, and they are only the first line of defense. As I told Leah the first time I brought her here, Doc used to be kinda paranoid.”

Pressing the button by the door, Leah waited for the buzzer then held open the door on the dilapidated theater for her mother and Coach. She liked showing off her knowledge and familiarity of the place to her mom. Kathleen was still a little edgy as she stepped into the creaky rusting elevator.

Leah took pride in telling her all about the depths to which they were descending. Unfortunately, she was making her mom more nervous. Kathleen had never told her of her claustrophobia.

Just as they reached bottom, Kathleen was reaching her limits. Leah noticed as her mom started gasping for breath. Leah could only watch as Coach, recognized the symptoms, and rushed her out and through the heavy doors into the cavernous room Doc used as his workshop and storeroom for his devises. Once in the colossal, brightly lit room, her breathing eased a bit.

“Kathleen, you should have told us you had trouble with being underground.”

“To be honest, I really didn’t think about it. The last time I was underground was in Mammoth Caverns when I was just a girl. I’d forgotten just how airless it could seem.”

“Are you alright in here?” Coach asked. His voice was full of concern. He had phobias of his own, and knew how debilitating and irrational, they could be. His own worst was of all things, roaches. Just seeing one could send him out of the building. He had two different exterminators under contract and on speed dial.

“This is better, but to tell the truth I don’t think I’ll be alright until we get back to the surface.” Her voice still sounded shaky to Leah who was in a state of shock at seeing her mom’s reaction.

“I’m so sorry, mom. You should have stopped me running on about all this.” Leah felt guilty about her enthusiasm and showing off about this place.

“Sorry, I’m late.” Doc came running up with a small mace-sized canister with a breathing mask attached. “I saw what was happening, and made a detour to my dispensary.” Leah watched as he handed the canister to Kathleen. “Just put that over your mouth and nose, and hit the button on the top, then take a deep breath. You’ll feel much better.”

“What is it?” Kathleen immediately wanted to know.

“Oh, it’s just a very mild relaxant that interrupts the activity of the adrenergic receptor agonists and antagonists. It’s my own devise and I promise has no side effects. I promise you’ll feel much better almost immediately.”

Leah watched as her mom reluctantly did as he said. She heard the puff of gas as her mother inhaled. Kathleen’s body posture and face immediately relaxed.

“Wow, that’s much better!” She took a deep breath as her respiration returned to normal.

“You’re welcome. I forget that not everyone is as comfortable down here as I am. I must remember to find out before it happens when people are coming here. That should last until well after we’re done here.” Doc was chagrinned. Turning his attention to Leah, he said comfortingly, “I understand that you’ve had quite a lot of adventures since you were last here. You really should learn to carry my bees on you. Do you even have your emergency box and glasses on you now?”

“No,” Leah responded in a small voice.

“They can’t do you any good if you don’t have them with you. You could have easily taken out those red-neck bastards without any trouble with them,” he chided her gently.

“Okay, okay, Doc. I’ll do it,” she said contritely.

She watched as he turned to Golden, and bowed slightly. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, GoldenClaw.” he said formally. “You are very welcome in my home.”

Golden dipped her head regally, returning his greeting.

“Please tell Doc I am very glad to be here, and appreciate his concern for us.” Meaning, of course, her concern for Leah’s well being.

Leah relayed Golden’s words.

“Well, let’s get you ladies tested. After a burnout like that, Leah, I’m sure there have been some changes to your powers, and I understand that GoldenClaw and you together may have some abilities that you, alone, do not have. Kathleen, we’ll start with you, since it will take a little longer than Leah’s retesting will take. Come on in and I’ll introduce you to DPA agent James Allison, who’s going to be certifying your results. By the way, have you chosen a code name yet?”

“Yes, Leah told me I should pick one out so my results will be anonymous. I picked one from a sci-fi story I liked as a little girl, from an old Heinlein story. It’s ‘Mother Thing’.” She looked a little embarrassed.

“Most appropriate, Kathleen, I’m sure.” Coach said with genuine respect.

Leah clapped her hands, giggling with delight. “Oh, Mom, it’s perfect!”

“Very well. If you’ll come this way, Mother Thing, I’ll make the necessary introduction, and we’ll get started.”

————

Kathleen’s results were interesting, and made her choice of code name even more appropriate. She was an Exemplar-1 with a strong BIT, explaining her more youthful appearance. It had also given her more strength than she had ever had, lifting almost 210 pounds and gave her very quick reflexes.

She was a regenerator-2, which was actually less than everyone had expected, given the circumstances of her manifestation, but not so surprisingly, she also tested as a Healer-2. Most surprising, she was a level 3 receiving and sending empath with a highly developed danger sense which seemed to extend to people important to her.

She had sensed every object they had thrown at her no matter how unexpected, and dodged it easily until it became a physical impossibility. They had discovered it extended to others, when Leah was back in the dodgeball room as she liked to call it. Kathleen could sense every ball thrown at Leah. Kathleen was actually able to last a little longer without getting hit than even Leah. Although Leah had much faster reflexes and was more agile, she couldn’t predict where the balls were going to come from nearly as well.

Leah’s results were different.

Doc had hemmed and hawed over her results, studying the outputs from his devises. “Well, Leah most of your ratings haven’t changed, but a few definitely have. Your Exemplar rating has increased to a solid 5, based mostly on your strength, toughness, speed, agility and, of course, looks.

“You probably don’t have to worry much about another accident like the last one doing much damage to you. Your skin would easily deflect low caliber bullets and your bones are now denser and stronger than high alloy steel. Your muscles have greatly increased in strength and the tendons and ligaments that hold you together, appeared to be made of carbon nano-fibers in a biological matrix. What all these changes mean is that although you look slender and delicate, you weigh nearly 300 pounds and can easily lift over 20 tons.

“I don’t think your wizard rating and regeneration ratings have changed per se, but these are, at best, estimates. I’m just not equipped to test anything higher than that. When you get to Whateley, they have much better facilities and resources to evaluate you.

“You should know that your gadgeteering and devisor ratings dropped to a 3 and barely a 2 respectively. Your Esper powers have seemingly disappeared altogether.”

Doc said, “These kinds of changes are not uncommon during severe burnout. However, you are now a level-2 speedster/energizer, and this is seemingly now independent of your magic ability, whereas before this ability was pretty definitely tied to magic, acting almost like a spell, rather than a power.”

The most interesting changes though were when they tested her with GoldenClaw in the room and working as a team. Under those conditions, the Leah/GoldenClaw team was registering as a solid level 4 receiving empath, and a level 2 projecting empath, as well as a Level 2 receiving telepath with people external to the pair. Telepathy between the two of them was level 5 projecting and receiving.

I talked to Cantrip yesterday and another change, according to Cantrip, is that the pair of them are able to manipulate considerably more essence than Leah alone making her judge the team as a solid level Wiz-4+, and possibly Wiz-5. They also seemed to project some sort of PK field around the two of them. Doc and Coach had little idea what kind of effects this field might exhibit. They were not even sure if it was a magical effect or a psychic one. They suspected it was essentially protective.

The DPA agent insisted upon one more change that made Coach or Doc distinctly unhappy and very nervous although Leah and her mom didn’t really understand why. He had wanted to discuss at some length her connection with Danu. Doc had accidentally mentioned it in conversation, and he had picked up on it. After a long discussion, he had insisted that her Wizard rating be changed from Fae Class to Goddess Class.
They had gone off to another part of the lab with the DPA agent, and had a somewhat heated discussion. Doc in particular seemed extremely agitated. Leah could see him getting in the agent’s face. His own usually calm face was bright red with anger. Leah couldn’t understand what was being said even with her augmented hearing, but she knew it wasn’t good.

While they were gone, Leah demonstrated Doc’s coffee maker and made herself and her mother a cup (Kathleen was as amazed by his coffee devise as Leah had been). As they sat drinking the coffee, they discussed the implications of the changes.

Kathleen sipped gently at the strong yet smooth coffee. Looking up at Leah, she spoke, “Leah, I want you to know that I don’t hold you responsible for my changes. You did what you had to do, and I’m glad to be alive.”

“Yeah, but I should have been able to do it without turning you into a mutant!”

“You’re assuming I regret becoming a mutant. I don’t! Oh, it going to require some getting used to, but it’s not all bad. Look at me! I’m younger, stronger, smarter, quicker and prettier than I was before. More than that it helps me understand better what you are going through. I don’t regret what you did for a second.” Kathleen held out her arms to Leah and they embraced, luxuriating in being close, closer that they could ever have been when Leah was Lee.

Coach and Doc came back over as the DPA agent left, both looking sour. “What was that all about? Kathleen asked. The two men looked sheepishly at Leah and Kathleen. “We were trying to talk him out of putting that Goddess Class designation on Leah’s MID, without any luck I might add. Listing her as a goddess class mutant is not a good change,” Coach started off.

Doc started it off. “Basically, ‘my friend’ ,” he said sarcastically, “just painted a large target on your back, Leah, as far as the MCO and H-1 are concerned. Rating you as a Goddess Class Wizard is going to make many of the MCO as well as maybe some in the DPA very nervous, even possibly to the point of automatically presuming that you are a potentially dangerous mutant.”

“Which she is,” Coach broke in. “Just not for the reasons they are going to assume. It is also going to inflame the religious zealots. ‘Have no other gods before me’ and all that.” The MCO is likely as not going to issue a ‘Deadly Force Pre-Authorized’ bulletin at the least provocation — and if they connect you with events from last weekend — ?. Well, suffice it to say, it won’t be pretty.”

“That’s wonderful. Just what I need, more trouble” Leah grumbled. “What does ‘Deadly Force Pre-Authorized’ mean?”

“If you get into any trouble with the law or with the MCO, then any police, MCO, or other governmental agency can shoot first and ask questions later.”

“That just f’ing great! Like I don’t have _enough_ trouble. People have tried to do me harm twice, yet I’m the one who is a danger. Is that about the size of it?”

“Yeah, They haven’t actually don it yet, but that ain’t all. or necessarily even the worst of it,” Coach looked disgusted. “If this gets out, you are likely as not going to find yourself hip deep in acolytes and would-be priests.”

The look of horror on Leah’s face told what she thought of that idea. “Acolytes? Priests? Oh, my sweet Jesus! In other words, I’m going to be inundated with nut cases.

“Yep! It ain’t fair, Leah honey, life isn’t fair, and don’t trust anyone who tells you different because they’re a liar. That’s all the more reason to get you to Whateley as soon as possible.”

“Here are your MID cards. Keep them on you at all times.” Doc handed them their cards. “Leah, I strongly suggest you load up your emergency B-box with mostly knockout or pain bees, but I’d carry at least one explosive bee. It could get you out of a ticklish situation, if someone were to capture you — or you can use it to create a distraction. If I were you, I would get in the habit of wearing the control link all the time. That way people are less likely to question it. I’ve been working on making one that is less obtrusive. It makes a direct neural link to the optic and cochlear nerves eliminating the need for the glasses and gives you the ability to hear what’s going on in the vicinity. They are going to be embedded in a very fashionable hair comb. Keep the sunglasses for emergencies, but people might question sunglasses inside. They should be ready in a few minutes along with a slightly larger emergency carrier for six bees, if you need it.”

Leah saw that her mom was worried. Hell, Leah was worried. These simple changes were going to make life even harder on her and on them. From what her dad said, there was already at least one MCO agent out there trying to stir up trouble in H-1, because he was ticked off by being thwarted by the DPA at her accident scene. The good news was — he only knew her code name and that fuzzy picture taken at the accident scene, before her final changes.

Now the DPA agent had made it easier for them to come after her — or just kill her. Leah’s attention was jerked back as Coach continued.

“Kathleen as much as I hate to say this, I think it’s time you get Leah and yourself out of this town. Too many people know or suspect too much. Those kids who were making trouble at your school, sooner or later are going to enable the MCO or H-1 to connect “Terra” with you.

“Then it’s just a matter of time before one or more of them makes a move against either her directly, or you, or someone else in your family to get to her.” Both worry and regret resonated in Coach’s voice.

“I think you’re absolutely right, Coach. We had planned on leaving Sunday anyway to go to my in-laws until Leah goes to school, but I think I’m going to move that up to tomorrow, if I can. I still have to do some things at my job before I can take off.”

“Kathleen, screw the job! I think you should leave ASAP, and not come back, at least not anytime soon. I think your whole family could be in potential danger. Once Agent Allison gets back to his office and files those MIDs, it’s just a matter of time before the MCO shows up at your door.

Leah stared at her MID. The word Goddess seemed to leap out at her. Danu had referred to her as a goddess, but that was back when she was just starting to change and it didn’t seem real. Now seeing it in black and white was different. Could she really be a goddess?

She really hoped this was the last time her MID would have to be changed. Every time it did, things got worse for her and her family.

“This’s a lot to digest in one sitting. Why did he do that to Leah?” Kathleen was in full mother mode. “Can we appeal his change? What are our options here?”

“Kathleen, I honestly don’t know. I’ve never ran into this before.”

Doc spoke up. “I’d never have thought James would do something like that or I wouldn’t have called him to be here. Obviously, he either saw something that scared him or someone is putting pressure on him from above. I suspect the latter, or he would have at least stayed and explained his reasoning. I’ll try and find out, but for now I agree with Coach.

“Blow this town! Go somewhere that you can blend in with the crowd; not next week, not tomorrow, but TODAY. And get Leah to Whateley ASAP. Also, when you leave, get and use cash, if possible, to make it harder to track you.”

Kathleen looked at Coach, who said, sadly, “If it were me, I’d move, lock, stock, and barrel. Leave here permanently today. Have Tom take care of the moving, and selling your home and you just pack what you and the kids need and go. Tom should be relatively safe, if you and Leah are not there. I’ve told you, I have a little precog, — well right now, it’s going off like crazy. Something bad is coming and you don’t want to be here when it does. You seem to have a strong danger sense; what’s it telling you?”

Leah watched as her mom thought for a minute. Then, Kathleen said, “It says ‘go’. I don’t know if we can get packed in time to leave today or not, but I’m going to try.” Kathleen stared at her MID with a slight air of disbelief, before tucking it into her wallet. Never in her wildest dreams did she think anyone in her family would be a mutant, least of all herself.

“I’m going to miss you, you know. You put yourself on the line for Lee, and I’ll never forget that.” Kathleen had tears in her eyes as she kissed Coach on the cheek. “And you, too.” She said to Doc. “You’ve both gone way over the top for us.”

Leah was crying too as she also hugged them. “I’ll be back.” She said to them both, “when it’s calmed down around here. You guys are important to me, as important as family. Heck, you ARE family.”

Doc looked both embarrassed and insufferably pleased. Coach was wearing a large smile as well, as they rode the elevator back to the surface. Just to be on the safe side, Doc had given Kathleen another inhaler.

“We’d better go,” her mom said. “We’ve got a lot to do. God bless you both.” With that, they turned and left.

————

Leah was an emotional wreck. She knew they were leaving, but she always expected to come back. This was Home. Besides, she had been spending a lot of time together with Jim, since their little adventure on Monday, and they were planning to spend a lot more. She didn’t want to leave him or Amanda behind.

Oh, she knew she would see him at Whateley in a couple of months, but she had hoped for a more leisurely goodbye. She had discovered much to her surprise that she liked being a girl when she was around him. It still felt a little wrong, and she knew her emotions were moving awfully fast for someone who was not even fully a girl yet, but she didn’t care. It was one of the few perks of changing genders; she didn’t want to worry about how it felt. She could just go with it. Now she would be lucky to get to say goodbye in person.

Packing was relatively easy for her, since she had so little clothing and personal items yet. She did pack a number of Lee’s personal mementos, treasures she wasn’t ready to give up yet, but most of those would be coming with the movers. Once she was packed, she went to help Eve and Beth. They were both tearful, and full of trepidation about leaving. She tried to comfort them, but the move was going to be hardest on them emotionally.

Dad had jerked them out of school with a family emergency excuse, and made quick arrangements for them to get their study assignments by email, so they could finish the semester. Now they were going to have to leave without even saying goodbye to their friends.

Coach had come over to help pack. “I think that the whole family except Tom should turn off their current phones before they leave and pull the batteries and SIM cards, so they can’t be traced. Tom, you can turn yours off when you follow. I also recommend changing email addresses and not giving out the new ones until you are a good distance from Knoxville, at least as far as your grandparents. I also suggest establishing several burn email addresses to be used only once, to use in contacting friends, etc. Here is a phony license plate, use it for a few days, to keep them from following via the traffic cameras.” They looked bewildered.

“Isn’t this going a little overboard, Coach?” Kathleen asked skeptically.

“I hope so. -- I certainly hope so, Kathleen, but I’m just afraid we’re not going far enough. _You do NOT want to let Leah fall into MCO hands!_”

The worry in his voice was enough to convince Kathleen. She kissed him on the cheek again with tears in her eyes.

A quick trip to Wally World bought them all new cell phones with new numbers. These were virtually untraceable until they made enough calls to establish a pattern that could be recognized as them. Coach recommended changing to a new one at least once a week.

They had left Doc’s at 11 am. It was now almost 4 pm, and they were packing the last of their stuff in the new SUV. Leah told her mom where she was going, and went to see if Jim was home from school yet. Her mom had insisted she be back in 30 minutes.

Jim wasn’t there when she got there, but came in a few minutes later. After a not so quick kiss, she explained what was going on. He was as unhappy about it as she was. After a few more tearful hugs and kisses, it was time to go.

“I’ll see you in a couple of months,” Jim said trying to cheer her up. But it was hard, because he felt as sad about this as she did. They hadn’t realized how much they had been counting on these last few days together. He even stooped to hug Golden after she appeared. After the hug she went invisible again, so as not to excite the neighborhood gossips.

“I know, but——— “ There just didn’t seem to be anything to say, so she tearfully hugged and kissed him again. “You’d better be there, or I’ll have to come hunting you, and you don’t want that.” She threatened with a sly grin, hugging him again”

With those words, she turned and ran from his house, crying by the time she was half way home. How had a boy come to mean so much to her in that kind of way? And so quickly? Oh, you could say they had always been friends, she thought, but this was different. This was more, much more. Sweet Mary, she realized for the first time that Jim was more than her friend, he was her boyfriend. When had that happened? How had that happened?

Leah unexpectedly recognized how far she had come in the last few days toward accepting her new gender. She realized that maybe she could be that girl in the mirror, without losing all of Lee in the process. Lee would always be a part of her, but that didn’t have to preclude her being a girl, too. She knew Jim’s acceptance of her as still being his old friend, Lee, and his new friend, Leah, was the primary foundation for her ability to acknowledge that duality. She didn’t have to be one or the other. She could be both.

By the time she walked into the house she was actually smiling faintly. For the first time in a while, she felt some measure of peace with herself.

Just as she entered the house she heard her mother tell her sisters, “Girls, make sure you haven’t forgotten anything you can’t live without for a few weeks. It’s going to take a while to find a place and get settled.”

They all made one more pass through the house, then loaded everything they’d collected tearfully into the trailer and climbed into the SUV themselves. So as not to raise suspicions, Tom would stay in the house for a few days. He had already arranged to take Family Leave, ostensibly to take care of his injured wife and daughter. He would oversee the movers and get the house ready for sale.

Kathleen had emailed her resignation, citing her injuries and a family crisis. The bank she worked for was very understanding and had sent her a glowing letter of recommendation as well as a very generous severance package, which would greatly help with moving expenses. They not only offered to maintain her insurance coverage for three months or until she was completely healed, they had given her a month’s pay for each of the seventeen years she had worked there. This translated to a tidy nest egg. With some luck they wouldn’t have to touch their 401(k)’s or savings.

Once the gold and gems were sold, some of Leah’s windfall from Danu would help bridge the gap in their finances until they could get settled and find new jobs. Leah knew she could get more if they needed it.

Leah watched as her mom started the vehicle, then sat staring at her home with tears running down her face for a long few minutes, then Kathleen, grabbing a couple of tissues, wiped her eyes and backed out of the driveway. As they pulled away, Leah noticed that Kathleen didn’t look back. Beth and Eve were sobbing inconsolably, especially since they had not even been able to tell their friends they were leaving.

They made one stop on the way out of town to pick up the sapling and for Leah to say a tearful goodbye to Cantrip. The SUV was so full, that they could barely squeeze it into the vehicle. Given how tall it now was, they laid it on its side. Leah didn’t know what Danu had in mind for the small tree, but she knew it was important.

————

As they drove, Mom gave the younger girls more explanation as to why it was necessary to go so quickly. Leah, sitting in the front with her mom occasionally heard the soft complaining and whimpering cries of her sisters. Golden in the back was nuzzling first one then the other, trying to comfort them. Leah looked at them both with their faces buried in her fur.

The trip was more or less quiet for the first hour or so, as they all began in their own way to resign themselves to the fact that they were going and wouldn’t be back. Mom refused to allow them to call any of their friends today. Even with the new phones, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Although, Leah had been there when all this was decided, and she wasn’t sure she understood. Leah and her sisters were still despondent, but were slowly beginning to look forward to seeing their grandparents.

Leah knew it would get worse for them as they missed their friends. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on her outlook at the moment, Leah had only two close to miss, Jim and Amanda, which created some very mixed feelings in Leah.

Leah felt guilty about being the cause of her sisters’ pain. They didn’t really remember living anywhere else other than Knoxville, being barely toddlers when they had moved there from Cincinnati. Now they were leaving the only home they knew, because of Leah.

“Leah! You mustn’t punish yourself. Bad things happen to good people all the time. Your family may be sad to be leaving their home, but they would be more sad to lose a sister they have only just begun to know. Or a mother.” Golden was wiser than her form would lead one to believe. She saw things in simple terms. Family was more important than places.

———————————-

They were almost half way up Jellico Mountain when it started snowing. A little snow on the mountain was nothing unusual for this time of the year, but soon it was sticking on the road and getting slick.

By the time they neared the top, traffic was almost at a standstill. Finally, it stopped altogether, on the last steep stretch before the top. The crest of the mountain was less than 300 yards ahead but a minor accident had blocked both lanes. Both vehicles, although not badly damaged, could not get enough traction to get going again. Several men were out trying to push them to get traffic moving again.

There was already two or three inches of snow on the pavement, with more rapidly falling all the time. The snow which had started as big wet heavy flakes, was turning to smaller, dryer flakes as the temperature continued to drop.

“Mom, I could go help. Heck, I could probably carry those cars, but I’m afraid to try. They would undoubtedly figure out I’m a mutant if I put out even a moderate effort, but if they don’t get them moving though we could be stuck here all night. That snow is falling harder all the time. What do you think?”

“I’m sure that is not a good idea. As much as I would like to get moving, people around here are not known for their tolerance of people who are —different.” Mom was clearly worried.

“Couldn’t you use your magic to move them without anyone knowing?” Beth asked innocently.

“No! I don’t think she should,” Mom replied. “Someone could start looking for a wizard, and that could lead to trouble.”

“Maybe not,” Leah replied thoughtfully. “Not if it didn’t look like magic.” Leah started mumbling and moving her hands down low where no one outside the car could see.

“What are you doing!? Stop that right now! Do you hear me!? You’re not only putting yourself at risk, you’re putting your sisters’ lives and my life at risk! People have been dealing with snow here for generations. They don’t need your help now!” Kathleen’s harsh voice stopped Leah’s casting.

“But I know I can do it so no one will know!” Leah whined.

“How do you know? Do you know if there is an MCO agent out there? A car full of H-1 fanatics? Any one of them might guess that magic was being used, no matter how careful and resourceful you are. Do you want to end up back in the hospital? Or dead, along with your sisters?

“I know you just want to help,” she said more gently, “But you mustn’t do it. You’re just starting to learn how to use your magic. Something might go wrong.” She paused and then asked curiously, “What were you trying to do?”

Leah perked up thinking her mother might let her use her magic. “I was going to try to modify a spell I learned this week from Cantrip to levitate objects, but instead of making them lighter, I was going to reverse it to make the cars heavier so they would get more traction,” she said eagerly.

“So this would be a spell you have never actually cast?”

“Well, yeah but I’m sure I can do it, I’ve been modifying other spells.” She clearly wanted her mother to agree. “So can I try? I’m sure that no one will know!”

“Don’t you dare! A spell you’ve never cast before, and you’re sure nothing could go wrong.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. Then more gently, she said, “If you’d been casting spells for even a couple of years, I might consider it, but Leah, you’ve only been doing this a few weeks. You’ve learned a few things, sure, and Cantrip tells me she has never seen anyone learn magic as quickly as you, but you’re just starting to learn, and the consequences are just too potentially high. You see that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Leah agreed reluctantly. She knew deep inside she just wanted to show off in front of her mother and sisters.

“Now, here’s what you can do. We don’t know how long it will take to clear the road, so you’re going to get us a couple of warm blankets out of the trailer. I want to turn off the engine, and it’s going to get cold in here. They’re in that big box marked bedroom.”

Two hours later, it was indeed cold in the car. The younger sisters huddled under a down comforter in the back seat with Golden comforting them and helping to keep them warm, while Leah and her mother shared one in the front. They were cool but not cold, under the thermal coverlets.

“The comforters were a good idea, Leah. I’d forgotten about them, much better than blankets.” Leah’s mother was trying to do a couple of things with that statement. First, she truly was glad of the extra warmth, and second, to try and take some of the sting out of her earlier rebuke.

She really was concerned about Leah’s free use of magic when it wasn’t necessary. She knew history and knew that that sort of thing could easily lead to trouble. Maybe not lynching or witch trials in this day and age, but it could be trouble nonetheless. H-1 and those mutant-hating so-called churches would love an excuse to get their hands on Leah. In fact, witch trials might be just the thing to suit their purposes. The fact that they were very unlikely to enjoy the process if they got Leah or Golden riled, made it more dangerous, since that would be all the excuse the MCO needed to do their formidable worst, and she didn’t even want to think about the consequences if they managed to piss off Leah’s father.

When she looked at Leah, it was sometimes hard for Kathleen to remember that she would only be 14 in twelve more days. She looked like she was at least 19 or 20. She still had that early teenager’s sense of immortality, never mind that she might be the next best thing to it. She didn’t have the sense of self-preservation that came with age, and experience that almost everyone developed in their twenties or thirties.

She looked over at Leah staring at the tow vehicles that were beginning to make some progress in clearing the road;
of course, the rapidly accumulating snow woud make things more difficult later. A part of Kathleen wished she had let Leah try, but that part was quickly and firmly quashed by her common sense.

“Leah, you do understand, don’t you why I couldn’t chance you using your magic to help out here, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” she responded in that sulky teenage voice that made Kathleen smile behind her hand.

When Leah acted like this, it made it much easier to remember that the child still lurked behind that grown body. Another part of her worried, because if she had trouble seeing the child in her, then others whom she would meet both in Cincinnati, and at that school would have much more difficulty. It wasn’t fair that one of her children had to grow up so fast. She wished that she had Dr. Bennett there to discuss how to handle this.

“Leah, you know that doing what you wanted would have been very dangerous, right?”

“Yeah, but I still think I could have done it without anyone knowing.” Leah was kinda cranky, and she didn’t feel much like being reasonable.

“Probably!” Kathleen threw her that bone. “But was it worth the potential risk to all of us if something went wrong? You know what they say about magic. Nothing is ever free, there are always unintended consequences, right?”

“Yeeah! Sheesh, you’re starting to sound like Cantrip,” she snipped. “Yeah, it would have been a little reckless. But I know I could have done it.” She sulked, slumping down in her seat. “It’s just what do I have these stupid powers for, if I’m not allowed to use them.”

Eve and Beth, listening from the back seat, pretended they weren’t there. They could understand Leah’s desire to use her powers, but all that had happened in the last few days had scared them. They wouldn’t want to admit it to anyone else, but nearly losing their mother and new sister (twice for Leah) coupled with having to move so quickly, had shaken their confidence badly.

“There’ll come a time after you have enough training, when you will be able to put your powers to good use, but after you know what you are doing and for good reasons, not just to show off. Okay?”

“Okaaay, I guess you’re right. I did just want to show off more than anything, _Mother Thing_!” She said with a sly grin. “We’re never going to be able to get away with anything now that you’re an empath, are we?”

“Were you ever able to pull the wool over my eyes?” Kathleen asked with raised eyebrows.

“No!” Came the chorus as all three of them answered simultaneously. They all laughed. Then the car became quiet again as they all retreated into their own thoughts.

Leah and Kathleen knew how upset the younger girls were with leaving their homes especially without being able to say goodbye.

Their raw emotions beat against Kathleen’s empathy. ‘Hell! I’m upset,’ Kathleen thought. She hadn’t even been able to say ‘bye to Helen (Jim’s mother). She was going to have to talk Coach about learning to shield against all the emotions around her.

Soon the wreckers finished and they were on their way again. By the time they reached Corbin a combination of the road clearing, salting crews and traffic had turned the snow on Interstate 75 to water mixed with slush.

A little later, Kathleen exited onto Highway US-25 that paralleled it. She didn’t know why she did it, but it seemed like the right thing to do, even if there was a little more snow and slush on the road. It was slower, but the snowy scenery was beautiful, and besides it just felt right.

———————

MCO agent McAllister was fuming at his desk. Damn DPA! Who the hell did they think they were dealing with here! He had a feeling in his gut that getting this boy or girl from that wreck the other day was going to be important. He didn’t even have a good picture of her.

The damn U. S. and their fucking privacy laws that wouldn’t let the MCO require the information on the MID that they really needed; like a real name, or address or even a fuckin’ picture. At least, some of the eastern European countries were starting to see the need for these things, but for now all he had was that near worthless MID and a fuzzy picture.

This mutant was newly manifested. He was sure of that much, but to have that much healing power! Now he had just acquired a recently updated MID out of the system for a “Terra” that was a healer, and the DPA even categorized her as a fuckin’ GODDESS class mutant, for Christ’s sake! If that bunch of namby-pambies could recognize that much potential risk, then he was sure he was right about her. She was a dangerous mutant.

He wished he had something to use to justify putting a Deadly Force Preauthorization (DFP) rider on her MID. He thought briefly about making something up, but the DPA would want to see his justification. Damn it to Hell! Couldn’t they see that the MCO was just trying to protect the human race?

“Agent McAllister, sir?” One of his newer agents stuck his head in the door tentatively.

“What is it?” He snapped, annoyed at having his thoughts interrupted.

“Sir, you said you wanted to know about any unusual events in the region. Well, a couple of injured poachers over near Cherokee are babbling about some beautiful chick who messed up their hunt.”

“Did they give a description?”
“Yeah, not that it’s much help. They said she was really tall, and very beautiful with very long hair that seemed to move on it’s own.”

“Anything helpful?”

“No sir, although one was babbling about her turning into a jaguar and attacking him, then healing him.”

“Hummm! Now that might be interesting.” He wondered if he could use this to DFP that mutant he’d gotten so close to near Crossville.

No, he decided reluctantly. He wasn’t even sure if that mutant was a girl, and the word of a couple of poachers wouldn’t go very far if the Justice Department decided to investigate. Besides Cherokee was a long ways from Crossville, although the DPA did take her to the University Hospital in Knoxville. Damn, how dare they post guards to keep him and his agents away from her!

“Anything else?”

“Well, there was one other thing.”

“Yes, yes! Get on with it, man!”

“Well, the computer facial ID software kicked out a possible sighting of that mutant from that Crossville accident, but it was only a 68% probability. They’re not working with a very good picture you know.”

“Where? When?”

“A couple of hours ago on a surveillance camera at a rest stop just across the border into Kentucky.”

Damn all the incompetent jackasses he had working for him! He should have been told as soon as it came up.

“Why the hell wasn’t I notified?” He was standing behind his desk now, his face red. The DPA wasn’t going to stop him from doing his duty, with regards to this girl, but his blundering employees just might.

“Well, sir, it was only a 68% match and with the poor quality of the photo, I didn’t think -“

“I don’t pay you to think! That’s my job. Now I want a projection of how far they could have travelled since the sighting. Do we even know which side of the interstate they were on?

“Yes, sir. Northbound.

I want a dropship with a full power armor response team loaded and ready to lift off in fifteen minutes. You got all that? I also want a full scanning team onboard. We’ll drop by the Interstate ahead of them, and scan every car as they pass. Then By God! I’ll catch it for a proper evaluation and containment. Now GO!”

Something in the back of Agent McAllister’s mind said he wasn’t being fully rational about this — girl? He wasn’t even sure of that; although the Codename on the MID was certainly suggestive, and somehow he was sure it was female.

He hated the damn DPA and he wasn’t about to let them thwart him on this one. ‘She’ was important. He was sure of that. The voices that whispered in his head sometimes, were unusually insistent about this one.

—————

Six hours of fruitless scanning of the cars had turned up absolutely nothing. He knew he had to be ahead of them. They were out there somewhere, he knew it, but his boss was calling every 10 minutes now, insisting that he cut his losses and return. It was expensive to mobilize this much manpower and equipment, and he had nothing to show for it. But the whispering voices from beyond kept insisting he continue. Damn it! How had that bitch escaped him again?

He reluctantly gave the order to return to base. He’d get her or maybe him though. No, sir, he wasn’t giving up yet!

———————

Soon they were pulling into Mammaw’s and Grandpa’s drive and the excitement of seeing them chased their grief away, at least briefly. Mammaw’s big Victorian house was decorated to the nines for Christmas and the big fire in the living room fireplace was so welcoming.

When they arrived at the door, their grandparents were waiting in the foyer when they got to the door, along with an unexpected pleasure. Kathleen’s only living relative, Leah’s Uncle Ben was there too, although his wife and daughters were absent. After hugs all around, Uncle Ben, Kathleen and Leah began bringing the luggage. He was flabbergasted by Leah’s strength as she carried the heaviest trunks and boxes effortlessly.

Kathleen had kept in touch with him the last few months so he knew about Leah’s sex change. He wasn’t prepared though for her incredible beauty, strength and physical maturity.

They hauled all the luggage they would need up to the rooms, Mammaw had ready for them. Then they all gathered in the living room in front of the huge old fireplace and basked in its warmth.

As usual, Mammaw had an enormous natural Christmas tree in the corner furthest from the fireplace. It was covered with lights and ornaments, many of which had been made by Tom and her siblings as they grew up. It smelled wonderful!

Leah loved this old house. Built in the early 1890’s, it was so homey, with its plaster walls, covered in stencils appropriate to the time of its construction. They weren’t original, but after doing a massive restoration about 10 years ago, Mammaw had researched and found stencil patterns to put on the walls. Much of the furniture was original to the house, being handed down from Mammaw’s family who had built the house.

It seemed to Leah to be the perfect home. She always enjoyed her time spent here, exploring the unexpected nooks and crannies so typical of houses from the time period. AND the attic, the attic was huge and filled with the flotsam from the four generations who called this house home. She spent countless happy hours there in the summers, pilfering through the wonderful old castoffs.

But now, she was just happy to be in the bosom of her family, and soak up the love they brought her. For the first time in months, she felt truly safe.

———————

December 8th
Cincinnati

Leah sat in the back seat, tired and grumpy. Mammaw and her Mom had dragged her and her sisters all over town shopping. Beth and Eve loved it. Leah was over it.

She must have tried on a thousand pieces of clothing in the last six hours, and she was sick of it. Now they were heading to yet another mini-mall that specialized in clothes and accessories for young teen girls. Leah just wanted to go home. Her back hurt and she was in a sour mood. She felt if one more cheerful clerk stuck another piece of clothing in a half a dozen sizes and colors in her face, she just might turn her into a frog. Not that she knew how to turn anyone into a frog, but she would improvise.

Golden laid her big head in Leah’s lap. Leah hugged her close. The big cat’s warmth felt good against her tummy. She thanked God and the Goddess for Golden. She needed the steadying effect of her presence.

December 10th
6:30 am
At Mammaw’s house in Cincinnati

Leah awoke with a smile. It was her birthday. She was finally fourteen. This last year had been such a rollercoaster; she said a silent prayer for this one to be calmer. She wriggled under the huge old comforter the made the slightly drafty room cosy. She had a bit of a bellyache this morning and the warmth felt really good. She moved again trying to get comfortable.

As she did so, she felt something odd. The bed felt wet. Had she wet the bed? Her face reddened at the thought. She reached down and touched the sheet. It was definitely wet. When she pulled her hand out, her fingertips were red.

“Momma!” She screamed. “MOMMA!”

When Kathleen arrived a couple of minutes later, followed by Mammaw, Leah was standing by the bed staring at the bloody sheets, hyperventilating. Her face was red with a combination of discomfiture, shock, and embarassment. Tears ran down her face. Her nightgown was also covered in blood. She looked like she wanted to sink through the floor.

Kathleen took one look and knew what was wrong. It took all her self-control to keep from smiling.

“It’s alright, dear! It’s happened to us all at one time or another. It’s perfectly normal.” Kathleen wished she could have bit back that last word.

Leah turned to look at her, shock on her face mixed with anger. “It’s NOT NORMAL! It’s nasty! It’s awful. It’s anything BUT normal!” Her voice rose as she spoke. By this time, Eve and Beth had arrived at the door. Leah glared at them for a second as if it was their fault somehow, before running, crying from her room to the bathroom across the hall and slamming the door.

——————

Kathleen could feel the confusing welter of emotions pouring from the mortified and scared young girl. Although she looked like an adult, at the moment she was a very horrified and frightened teenager betrayed by the realities of a body she still barely recognized as her own.

Kathleen sighed and looked sadly at Mammaw. She heard the shower start in the bathroom, giving her a few minutes respite to gather her wits and also some much needed supplies.

She turned to Eve. “Would you go gather some of your tampons, and pads, please. And please don’t tease her about this, not yet anyway. She didn’t have a lifetime to prepare for this as you did, and you know how hard it was on you. It’s very foreign and frightening to her.”

“Yes, Momma,” Eve answered with a grin on her face. Beth followed her a little sheepishly. Beth was looking forward to becoming a woman, but was still a little frightened and in awe of the whole process.

“I’ll take care of the bed,” Mammaw said. Kathleen nodded gratefully, as she began to gather her thoughts for this, sure to be, less than pleasant lesson for Leah.

—————

Leah was still in the shower scrubbing at her legs, and crotch until they threatened to become raw. Intellectually, she knew what was going on. She knew it was a perfectly normal function for a female body, but that hadn’t prepared her for its reality. It was so nasty, and it smelled! No one had said anything about it stinking.

She knew she had washed enough, but she couldn’t make herself stop. She heard the bathroom door open and close softly. She froze, wishing she could flow down the drain with the blood and water into oblivion.

“Leah, honey. You’ve washed enough. Give your hair a quick shampoo and come out here. We need to talk.”

Her mother’s voice drew her back from the panic and the frantic scrubbing. Sighing softly, she began to do as she was told. When she had finished, she reluctantly turned off the shower and opened the door. Her Mom stood there smiling gently with a huge fluffy towel to wrap her in.

Leah flowed into her mother’s arms as Kathleen wrapped her in the towel. She drew Leah into a deep embrace against her bosom, as Leah began sobbing uncontrollably.

“There, there. It’s going to be alright. You knew this was coming. We had talked about it, didn’t we?”

Leah nodded, afraid to speak.

“But it’s not the same, is it?” Kathleen said softly as she snuggled Leah close.

“NO! It’s not supposed to happen to me! I’m really a boy!” She whimpered.

Kathleen smiled up gently at her. “Not anymore, baby. This makes it official. You’re fully a woman! A beautiful adorable woman! This is as almost as official as it gets.”

“Almost?” Leah looked confused.

“Well, there are one or two other steps that may be even more finally official, but I don’t think you will be ready to go there for some time. The good news is, if you are careful you get to pick when those come.”

Leah’s eyes went wide, as she realized what her mother meant. “Oh, sweet Jesus, this means I can get pregnant, doesn’t it? She was beginning to hyperventilate again. Kathleen pulled her closer. “Shhhh! It’s okay. That’s a step that you don’t have to take until you are ready.”

Leah snorted. “I don’t think I’m ever likely to be ready for that one!”

“Never say ‘never’,” her mother cautioned her. “You were quite the surprise, but if you are careful, it can be your choice.” Kathleen rubbed her neck. It was getting stiff from looking up at her nervous, newly initiated daughter. “Hurry up and dry off, so we can sit down and talk. I’m getting a crick in my neck looking up at you.

As Leah slowly regained control of her emotions, Kathleen handed her a towel to wrap around herself and then Leah took another towel to begin drying her hair, before wrapping it up turban-style on top of her head. Leah could feel its weight. Leah grinned slightly, "I’m glad my neck muscles are as strong as the rest of me. This wet hair is heavy.”

“Now, let’s get you squared away.” Kathleen said as she reached to the counter behind her for the sanitary supplies Eve had provided.

Leah blanched briefly, before resigning herself to the ritual that would be a part of her life for a very long time. She watched and listened as her mother explained again how to use the various products.

Finally, a red-faced and slightly uncomfortable girl stepped out into the hall, to find her sisters there waiting for her. She reddened even more as they rushed up to wrap their arms around her.

“Happy birthday, Leah!”

“Humph, some birthday present.”

Eve laughed. “Yeah, well just remember the hard time you gave me when I started! Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it.”

Kathleen jumped in. “You watch your language, young lady! You still aren’t too big for a paddling.”

Slightly chagrinned, Eve apologized, but the devilish grin on her face told Leah she was in for a long few days. Her well-endowed chest heaved as she resigned herself to the payback she knew she richly deserved.

—————

Agent McAllister stared at the map on his wall. 'How had he missed that mutant?’ More and more, he was sure that the girl from the rest stop was the mutant he was hunting. At least he had a decent picture this time.

He knew that Agents weren’t supposed to get so personally invested in the mutants they were tracking, unless they did something violent, but he couldn’t stop himself. Somewhere out there was a mutant that the voices said he had to find, and destroy, and they weren’t going to give him any peace until he did.

She must have gotten off the Interstate, he decided, but where? and in what direction? She hadn’t been on I-75 just south of London, KY but that left at least 3 major state and federal routes, as well as dozens of smaller county routes. After some thought, he decided he could eliminate the county routes. As hard as it was snowing that day, they would have been the next best thing to impassable. That left State Routes 90 and 119, and U. S. Route 25W, but which one?

Damn it, if he just knew who it was! He would have to go back to basics. If he could figure out who it was, he could make a better guess where it might go. What did he know? He knew it was a recently manifested mutant, and that meant more than likely a junior high school or high school student, probably female. He scribbled furiously on his white board.

Their vehicle had been totaled in that wreck, so they would need a new one. Since that one was a SUV, they would probably buy another SUV. That also meant a claim on their insurance. He kept scribbling.

Going back to the map, he stuck a pin where the accident took place. Since they took it to Knoxville, it seemed likely that it lived near there, but that was also the location of the regional triage hospital, so he didn’t want to make too many assumptions based on that. Nashville wasn’t that far from the accident site either. Finally he took a piece of string and wrapped it around the pin and stretched it to the far side of Nashville, making a loop there, he stuck a pencil in it and proceeded to draw a large circle on the map that encompassed Nashville, Knoxville, and a large number of smaller cities and towns. He was reasonably sure “it” lived in that circle. If only the voices would be more specific, he was sure they knew, but it seemed there was only so much they would or could do to help him.

Finally, he was sure she was running. That meant they would probably pull it out of whatever school it had gone to. If they could locate that school, someone there would know who it was!

“JENKINS! Get in here, now!” He bellowed. He was confident at last he had a scheme that would enable him to find “it”.

————

As Agent Jenkins stuck his head in the door, he grimaced. He had seen that look before. McAllister was determined to find and kill another mutant. Agent Jenkins hated this, but as a junior agent in the office, he had little choice but to follow orders.

Maybe it was time to think about sending an anonymous letter to that new Internal Affairs Division the MCO had established in the Seattle office. For now though, he resigned himself to following Agent McAllister’s directions.

—————

“Alright, listen up. See this map and this circle?”

Jenkins nodded.

“Good! Now I want a list of every SUV sold or leased inside that circle between November 25th and December 5th. I, also, want a list of every insurance claim for a totaled SUV; every junior high school or high school student who was pulled out of the school they had been attending, and every home that was sold or listed for sale between those dates inside this circle. Then I want those lists cross-referenced and two new lists generated. One with all the names and addresses of all the families that appear on all those lists and a separate list for all the families that appear on three out of the four lists. Got that?”

“Yes sir, but sir this is going to take a lot of time. I can get the cars sold from the DMV, but rentals are going to require calling every rental agency in that circle, and what about the houses that are listed for sale by owner or on Craigslist or similar listings?

“I will probably have to have a court order to get access to the school records, also. What am I supposed to use to justify getting court orders for those schools? It will require a separate order for every school district before a different judge in each district. That alone will be a massive effort.”

McAllister cut him off. Standing behind his desk looking like he was going to burst a blood vessel at any moment he began bellowing. “I want those lists by this time next week or you’ll be looking for a new job. Pull any of the other agents in the office to help! Hell fire, pull ALL of them! I want those damn lists yesterday!

“Make up something for the judges, I don’t care what. Just get that damn information! Now why the hell are you still standing there? Now get your ass moving or I’ll move it for you!”

McAllister went back to staring at the map, and thinking. Maybe he could lean on that H-1 prick whose wife was a nurse at the hospital where they took it, and get a name that way. There had to be some way to find out.

—————

“Yes sir. Whatever you say, sir.” Jenkins knew that the other agents were going to balk at being pulled off whatever they were working on. Some of those jobs were time sensitive, too, but he started to leave the office, notepad in hand, when he remembered the information he just received.

“Oh, by the way, Sir. We just got a notice of some strange things happening in Knox and Morgan counties. It seems several prominent people have disappeared, including the Sheriff, the head of the local H-1 group, and the preacher at the Pentecostal Church of Genetic Purity, among others.”

“What why didn’t you tell me this earlier? This could be the lead we need, you nitwit!”

“Sir, I just got the information when you called me in here.”

“Alright. Alright. Focus our efforts on these counties. I have to know who this mutant is, damn it! Now get moving.

He’d do the best he could. There was no way this was authorized by the Department Head, or the regional office, but since he was a very junior agent, he would have to do as he was told; at least within limits.

He didn’t care what Agent McAllister said there was no way, he was committing perjury before those judges. He decided he would send that letter to Seattle tonight, — but after he left the office.

—————

McAllister muttered to himself as he stared at the map. “I know those school records are the key to catching up with the mutant, but that wimp Jenkins won’t push it hard enough. He hasn’t got the balls.”

After locking his office door and pulling the shade, he sat down behind his desk and pulling out his file drawer, reached into the space behind it. The folder taped there he wasn’t supposed to have, but it occasionally was necessary. Removing the file, he opened it. In it was information that could be damaging to several important people in the state. One of them would be the key to getting him the name he needed, or they would be very sorry.

Flipping through several pages, he selected one, and picked up his phone. After pressing several buttons to ensure privacy, he began dialing.

—————