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Chapter 3
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That following Saturday was perhaps the strangest day in Paragon history. On most days, either heroes or the occasional villain could be seen soaring across the sky, zipping across the streets, or scoping out the sites from the nearest popsicle stand.

Today, it was just civilians and the sort of traffic anyone might have found in a “normal” city, whatever that was supposed to mean. Jude was sure he’d heard about a small town northeast of Los Angeles with its own frequent fliers and successive speedsters. Today, Jude exited a car with some minor tingling playing in the back of his neck.

“You kids go have fun,” said Henry, “and stay safe. I should be here near the food court when the two of you get back.”

“OK, bye, Dad.” Denise waved. Jude joined her as they walked away. “After your appointment, how would you like to find a skirt or something to wear?”

“It might be a little soon for that, don’t you think?” Jude said. He felt a little embarrassed by Denise speaking of this sort of thing in public, even if she was a little quiet about it.

“How far along are you again?”

“I had my first injection two weeks ago. Today’s supposed to be my check-up and second dosage of estrogen before they give me a prescription to block my testosterone.”

“OK, then maybe we can find you a date too.” She let that sink in for a moment before laughing. “Oh wow, you should see your face right now. Alright, I promise not to force you into awkwardly tripping over a cute guy while carrying your lunch, and, gasp! fall in love with him.”

“Retreating into my shell now.”

“What? No, come on.”

The gargantuan clinic was across the major street from the Steel Canyon Mall. Jude and Denise had to cross one of the pedestrian bridges to get there. They got halfway across it when the sound of something, or someone, flying fast caught their attention, and that of everyone near them.

It was a hero and a villain struggling with one another in the air. Jude knew right away who the hero was.

“Denise.”

“Who the...? Is that who I think it is?”

Rather than watch the hero and villain vanish behind a building, or listen to the ensuing crash, Jude grabbed his friend’s hand and hoped that she could run.

“Come on,” he said to her.

Then they gave chase. Appointment times be damned, this was a rare opportunity to see a major hero up close—their hero.

Skipping elevators, and making every possible guess within reason, Jude let the adrenaline rush take over, and Denise was not far behind while they ran up the stairs of one building. Banging and pounding noises grew louder as they got closer.

Too soon, Jude felt exhausted, though he and his friend stood outside of the door where the pounding seemed to be slowing to a halt.

Denise and Jude nodded to one another, and turned the door knob together. They pushed the door slowly and saw one figure standing over another. The one standing was breathing as hard as the kids were, but she was also shaking.

It was Swan Diva. She turned when she realized that she had visitors.

There was blood on her hands, as well as what remained of the villain’s face. She had killed someone, a major taboo for heroes in Paragon.

“I . . .” Swan Diva began. “This villain was . . . What have I done? What are you doing here? Damn it, no, this is wrong.”

For years, Jude had wondered what he would say to his biggest icon if he ever met her. Even now, he thought about the things we would say. Something about being her biggest fan. Something about always wanting to be just like her.

“I think I hear someone coming,” said Denise, peeking out the same door they entered.

Something about his swimming and her flying. Something about the good she’d done for the world. Some silly question about her favorite hobbies or food. But, his hero had taken a life, which was a taboo among Paragon’s heroes; one of the biggest. And it looked like a brutal act rather than a mere accident.

“Go on. Run.” he said.

Swan Diva looked at Jude. He could not see her face, but he could feel the sadness and confusion behind that mask.

“I said go. We’ll come up with something. Please.”

“Jude’s right,” said Denise. “We’ve already lost one hero. The city needs you.”

“Running would be an admission of guilt,” Swan Diva replied.

“Your hands will scream just as loud. Please, for us. We’ll try to come up with something.”

“Go on, go.” Jude insisted.

Their hero turned her head between the two of them, and exhaled heavily. Jude thought he heard her crying when Swan Diva ran to the hole in the wall. Then, she was gone, leaving the abandoned floor of the office building with one of her signature dives.

Before either of them could asked what now, the door burst open. Some of the people who showed up stared and pointed at the dead villain on the floor, and a few gaped at Jude and Denise as if in surprise to find them there.

The questions came too fast. Jude couldn’t even keep track of who asked what.

“Who are you?” “What happened here?” “I thought I saw Swan Diva; where did she go?”

“I don’t know. She went after—“

“Did Swan Diva do this?” “Where are your parents?”

“We had only just got here, and—“

“Isn’t that Long Slither?” “Which way did she go?” “Do you have any idea what happened?”

“Everyone please!” The room fell silent when one man called out. “I’m sure these kids don’t even need to be here. This is a matter for the police. Now, run along, you two. Go, get somewhere safe.”

The man hurried Jude and Denise through the crowd and out the door. They fled with some effort and squeezing through more people trying to get a look at what happened from the hallway. Jude wanted to say something, but couldn't after all.

Jude and Denise had barely managed to get to his doctor’s office within seconds of the appointed time. Given that patients still had to wait an unknown amount of time whenever they had an appointment, Jude thought himself early.

His friend agreed to sit in the tiny waiting room and check out the magazines while Jude went in and waited another few minutes for the doctor to enter the room. The doctor eventually did so to set this time aside for him.

“Hello, Julian,” said the doctor.

Jude had already begun to get comfortable with another name it seemed, because his response was more hesitant than usual. “Hello.”

“How are you today?”

“It’s been a crazy day or two.”

“I bet. So, you’ve gone a couple weeks with estrogen in your system now. Have you felt anything? Any bloating, discomfort?”

“There were a couple times at school when I thought I might come out of the pool with big boobs but not a top, but that didn’t happen.”

“No, of course not. These changes do take time, even as young as you are. If nothing’s gone wrong, then I see nothing wrong with giving you your next injection and prescribing the rest, both the estrogen shots and the anti-androgens. I’ll have a script for progesterone too if you feel that you’re up for it.”

“Sounds good, Doctor.”

“OK, very good. Let me grab the syringe we’ve prepared for you, if you could please pull down for pants for me.”

Jude did as instructed. Truth be told, he hated shots—who in their right mind didn’t—but they were supposed to be more effective than pills without as much of a hazard risk to the liver, not that there was much of one anyway.

His pants folded and scrunched at the knees while Jude sat upright. He turned his head and thought happy thoughts with a deep breath, or three. Somewhere around the seventh one, he felt something strike and pinch the side of the right leg, the one opposite of what was used a couple weeks ago, and Jude lost count of the deep breaths then.

It was over, for now.

He tried standing so he could pull up his pants, but Jude immediately felt dizzy. His whole body felt strange.

“You might want to take it slowly this time,” said the doctor. “Not to worry, this sort of thing happens with a lot of patients when they receive injections. Just wait it off for a moment before trying to move again.”

“Strange that it didn’t happen last time. I hope it doesn’t become a regular occurrence or anything,” said Jude.

Jude spent a moment getting his pants back on while remaining seated.

There was a knock on the door. A nurse walked in mentioning to the doctor that they had a problem. Jude couldn’t hear them properly, but he was starting to feel nervous in addition to the strange sensations running through his veins.

Still, he caught something about the wrong room, a deal with another patient, and the syringe. At the same time, the lights flickered around the room. They caught the attention of the doctor and the nurse too, albeit briefly, and the flickering lights made Jude feel more nervous, enough so that he swore he felt his neck tingle for a third time today.

Then a man burst out in anger in another room.

“What do you mean it’s gone? We had a deal! Do you know who I am? I’m going to tear this place apart until I get what I came for.”

Jude could see some of the office beyond the room he was in, so he caught a glimpse of the man who’d charged out of the next room over. The man was vaguely familiar, but certainly not a known supervillain. Jude tried to place him when the nurse closed the door after the doctor had run out to meet him.

The nurse tried her best to barricade the door with her body, but it did nothing to shield Jude’s ears from the sounds of yelling and crashing.

“Is it in here?” the man yelled.

“What is he after?” asked Jude. “Hormones? Drugs?”

The nurse’s facial expression read panic, which did nothing to help Jude. Lights flickered again. Jude’s heart flickered again, and the back of his neck tingled some more. All he could do was stand and shake while everything was going on.

Something, or someone, rammed against the door. It happened thrice before the nurse pulled away from the door, apparently too frightened. Less than a moment later, the door busted open, revealing the man from before.

“I’m not leaving until you give me my power! Now where is it?” he shouted.

Jude was speechless. Lights were going crazy across the whole office now. The nurse glanced at Jude and back at the enraged man.

“Give it to me, you little shit!” the man yelled before charging at Jude.

Jude had heard his friend Denise shout his name when Jude held up his hands in a pathetic attempt to block someone over three times his size. Just then, his world exploded in a thunderous flash.

Sound, for the most part, was the first to go. Then his vision, though he could have sworn he saw Denise running toward him; sideways like everything else. She shouted his name once more, and then there was only a surreal blur of nothingness and everything all at once.