Magical Chaos!: Crossing Over-0 by Lynceus List of Characters!

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Characters in order of appearance:

Mordru, Lord of Chaos: a powerful and immortal magician, aligned to the forces of Chaos. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Alison Scott: sister to Alena Scott (Green Lantern II). Shapeshifter, has created another persona, known as The Copycat. First Appearance: Green With Envy.

Alena Scott: the second Green Lantern. Formerly Alan Scott, a young man who became a hero after bonding with the Star Heart, an incredible source of mystic power. First Appearance: Green With Envy.

Johanna Constantine: the Hellblazer. A rogue and expert occultist who is very hard on her friends. First Appearance: Books of Magik

Clara Ann Black: also known as Klariann, the Witch-Girl. A troubled young girl, empowered by Mordru to kill the Sorceress Supreme. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Jack Clark: professional bodyguard, former Army Special Forces. Hired to protect Clara; has become very fond of her. Later turned into a fourteen year-old girl named Jackie. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Gloriana Tenenbaum: a girl who has a grudge against Clara. Klariann's first victim, transformed into a boy. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Vera Hawthorne: formerly one of Clara's teachers; transformed into a small girl. Later, Klariann grants a teenaged girl's wish, making Vera her new daughter. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Illyana Rasputina: a sixteen year-old magician with the body of a little girl. Believed by many to be the Sorceress Supreme. By using the Eye of Agamotto, a powerful artifact, she can merge with Hunter to form Magik, the true Sorceress. First Appearance: Books of Magik

Hunter Rasputina: formerly the Succubus Chantinelle, now Illyana's 'sister'. Having lost her former powers, she now possesses great demonic strength. First Appearance: Books of Magik

Marilith: a young woman named Marion, transformed into a six-armed demoness with the lower body of a serpent. Believed herself to be an actual demon for a time, persuaded to halt her rampage by Stefani. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Tristanoira: a post-operative transsexual, Tristan runs a goth clothing shop in the Las Vegas mall. She was once part of the Cult of Sakkara, and has formed a covenant with Stefani, becoming her high priestess, and vastly increasing her meager magical talents. First Appearance: The Succubus Files

Belasco: doesn't appear in this story, but is mentioned. A real jerk of a Demon Prince. First Appearance: Books of Magik

Stefani Hughes: also known as Purgatori. Formerly a young high school football star transformed against his will into a fourteen year-old girl with the appearance of a Succubus. Her signature powers include very agile flight and the ability to conjure Hellfire. First Appearance: The Succubus Files

Alyssa Conover: Stefani's girlfriend. Was originally mutated against her will, becoming a 7' tall woman with metal skin. Lost her powers, although she retained some increased physical ability and height. Gains new abilities after becoming the host of one of Dream's champions, the Walker-in-Sleep, becoming Dream Girl. First Appearance: The Succubus Files

Matthew: formerly a man, now a raven, and a servant of Dream. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Lucien: Dream's major-domo, a very learned individual. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Daniel: the reincarnation of Morpheus, and the current aspect of Dream, an immortal spirit who rules the dreaming world. Has several siblings, collectively known as The Endless. Death and Delirium are two of his sisters. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

The Walker-in-Sleep: sometimes called The Sleepwalker. A powerful dream-entity, charged with protecting mortal dreamers. By being bound to a host, it can function in the mortal world, but only at night, when it's host, Alyssa Conover, sleeps. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Rick Sheridan: former host of The Sleepwalker, as well as Alyssa's boyfriend in her previous life. Deceased. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Linda St. Joan: former lab assistant and Physics Major, whose metagene activated, turning her into a seventeen year-old girl who possesses superhuman physical abilities in darkness or low-light. Talked into becoming the heroine Night Girl by her lover, Rhea. First Appearance: Momentum Shift!

Rhea Jones: formerly Dr. Erik Ronick, a physicist and sometimes 'mad scientist'. Transported to another dimension by an experiment gone wrong; reformed as a very petite (well under 4' tall) blonde with unusual abilities that seem to be magnetic-based. Is attempting to become a super-hero, calling herself Cosmic Girl. First Appearance: Momentum Shift!

Ellen Roberts: a young film student and part-time model, 'cursed' with brains, beauty, and unusual height for a girl, which intimidates others, especially her boyfriend. Shrunk to half her original size by Klariann's magic. Lives her with mother, Martha. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Terry Sloane: an African-American police officer and single father, transformed into an attractive (and Caucasian!) fifteen year-old girl by Klariann's Chaos magic. Secretly wishes to be a superhero. Currently engaged to be married to his long-suffering girlfriend. Lives with his seventeen year-old son, Chris. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Jade: secretly Jaden Cross, who was chosen to become a Green Lantern, having faced his fears and revealed his desire to live as a woman to his friends and family. Uses his Power Ring to present himself as a young woman. Very charismatic and strong-willed, a true hero and a natural leader. First Appearance: Samplings of the Population

“Sphinxette”: a security guard working for Klariann's father. Accidentally runs into her during a small-scale riot, and is transformed by her wild magic into a living copy of the Casino's guardian Sphinx. Loses the ability to speak or understand English, and can only communicate in Ancient Egyptian. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Nathan Black: Clara Ann's father, and owner of the Sphinx's Lair Hotel and Casino. A powerful man with powerful enemies, who was forced to hide his true feelings regarding his daughter. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Cosmic Boy: a prophesied hero of Order who will one day defeat Mordru. First Appearance: Magical Chaos!

Magical Chaos!: Crossing Over-1 by Lynceus The Fifth Age threatens to tip the balance between Order and Chaos, and Mordru isn't happy about it! But the new Sorceress Supreme is weak, and, if defeated, her mantle would be up for grabs! With this in mind, Mordru creates a new Agent of Chaos, but can even he control- Klariann the Witch Girl?

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Prologue
Beyond the walls of the world, there is a realm of absolute Order, and another of total Chaos. Once, each realm was ruled by several Lords; after eons of struggle, the Fourth Age had closed leaving but a few.

So few, in fact, that only one Lord of Chaos remained; Mordru. Once, it is said, Mordru was a mortal wizard of great power and ambition, who toppled an entire civilization simply because he could. Merciless. Cruel. Calculating. And quite probably insane.

Mordru seethed. The coming of the Star Heart had, initially, been a great coup for Chaos; it's wild magic was destined to disrupt the very fabric of reality. And then, as if some higher power were laughing at him, the power had been claimed by a mortal who wished, not to rule, or dominate others; no, this Alena Scott had become a hero!

The rise of the Titan-spawn, the so-called metahumans, had thrown the world into Chaos, yes, but not nearly by enough. Order was yet dominant. And then, the Sorcerer (Sorceress, he corrected himself) Supreme had been revealed. And once again his hopes were shattered; as she was aligned to neither Order nor Chaos!

Not even the resurrection of Purgatori had gone according to plan; the immortal Nephilim had passed on her legacy to, yet again, a mortal with delusions of heroism! The balance of power was tipping, and not in his favor. Something had to be done!

Of the surviving Agents of Chaos, none would have anything to do with Mordru, which only added to his consternation. He would have to recruit a new Agent to act as his proxy in the mortal world. If he could kill the Sorceress while she was yet weak, then he could claim her mantle of power for the side of Chaos. That would right the balance more to his liking!

But he couldn't choose just anyone. He would need to grant this Agent great power, which meant he needed someone he could control...

Gathering the essence of raw, wild magic, and pure Chaos to his hand, he created a simple wooden box and placed the energy within it. Just as Pandora was given a chest that contained all the evils of the world, he would create his Agent by giving the power of Chaos...to an innocent.

He chuckled to himself as he cast his own Pandora's Box to Earth...

Alison

Alison swung her legs over the side of the hotel bed she shared with her twin, sitting up. She stretched and yawned. The weekend had been pretty hectic, but now it was time to go home. She heard Alena whimper, and she turned to look at her sister.

Alena was curled up in a fetal position, a look of pain on her face. And then Alison noticed the blood-stained sheets. “Al! Al! Wake up!” She shook her twin.

“Ow...fuck...I feel...ow!” Alena winced.

“You're bleeding!”

Alena sat up, looking down at the blood stain between her legs. A matching stain soiled her underwear. “What...what the hell?!”

Alison felt her jaw drop. “Oh shit. Al, you're having your first period!”

Alena Scott became very pale, and promptly threw up.

-

Alison drew a hot bath, and helped Alena into it. “Here hon, this will help.”

Alena winced. “This hurts so bad! Why didn't anyone tell me?”

Alison gently stroked her twin's hair. “It's not always this bad. Just your luck, huh?”

“It's not like this for you?”

Ali shrugged. “Not anymore, I can use my powers to...oops.”

Alena glared at her sister. “That's so unfair!” She looked to her hand, and the green ring on her finger. “Screw this, I'll just..”

Alison grabbed Alena's hand and slid the ring off quickly. “No! I can't let you do that!”

“Give me my ring back!” Alena struggled with her sister, but Alison was a lot stronger.

“No Al, this thing turned you into a girl, who knows what it will do now!”

Another series of cramps took the fight out of Alena, who sunk back into the large tub. “...I hate you!”

“Al...come on, I'm doing this for your own good!”

Her sister's lower lip protruded slightly. Normally, Alison would find the sight of Alena pouting to be adorable, but she knew her twin was miserable. “What's the worst thing that could happen?”

Alison sighed. “Well, let me show you how I get around my cycle.” The familiar molten warmth of her shapeshifting power suffused her body, and she began to shrink in size, her breasts dwindling, and her hips narrowing. Alison's features softened, and within a few minutes, she had become a girl of about ten.

Alena blinked. “Wow. That's awesome!”

“Well, yeah, it kinda is. I'm too young to have to worry about cramps or bleeding. But I can change back, Sis. Could you?” Ali's voice was higher-pitched, to accommodate her reduced age.

“...oh shit. I wasn't thinking.”

“I know, Sis. That's why I took the ring.”

Alena sighed loudly. “I'm sorry. It just hurts so much!”

“I'll go out and get you some Midol, that'll help. Some chocolate too...oh and, um, some pads.”

Her sister frowned. “Fuck. I have to wear tampons?!”

“I'm afraid so. Hey, do you think I can use the ring to clean up the bed?”

“Huh. You should be able to. Give it a go.”

Alison gave her sister a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for trusting me.”

“...well, if I can't trust you, right? Besides, you're really cute right now, how could I say no?”

Ali giggled. “You have a soft spot for little girls, huh? I'll have to remember that. Just stay here, I'll be back.” She paused for a moment, and her now over-sized tee-shirt (and the panties that were threatening to slide down her legs) shimmered, and were replaced by pink tee-shirt with the words 'Bad Girl' over the chest, and a pair of white capri pants.

“Oh sweet, it worked!”

Alena managed a weak chuckle. “You'd be a menace with a costume ring.”

“Mhm! Ok, let's clean up the mess, then.” Aiming the ring at the blood stains, she willed a green bucket into existence. Greenish bubbles could be seen rising up over the rim. Turning it over, green-tinted liquid flowed over the blood stains, making them vanish.

Then, she made the bucket vanish, and instead summoned a hair dryer. Once the water (or whatever it was) had been dried, she let the dryer vanish as well. And immediately felt her legs give out under her. “Oh...crap...”

“Sis?!” Alena called from the bathroom.

“I'm ok...just..really weak all of a sudden. The ring does this to you every time?”

“The Star Heart protects me, I'm sorry, I didn't think about that. You going to be ok?”

Alison managed to stand. “Yeah, but I better not shapeshift for awhile. Hopefully nobody will think it's weird that a girl my age is buying Midol and tampons!”

“...I'm sorry, this is all my fault.” She could hear Alena crying.

“Al..don't worry, I'm going to be fine. And so are you. You're going to have some mood swings for a bit. Just hang tight, I'll be back.”

-

As she left the hotel room, Alison noticed a familiar, trench-coat wearing figure. “Hey, Johanna!”

Johanna Constantine blinked as she saw the cute girl. “Uh...do I know you?”

Ali giggled. “I sure hope so, since you made love to me the other night.”

Johanna's jaw went slack, and her face turned a very bright shade of pink. “Now...wait...just a minute...I.....Alison!?!”

Ali couldn't help but laugh. “Oh man...the look on your face...haha!”

“That's not funny! What's the big idea with the lolita getup?”

“Long story. Hey, I need your help.”

Johanna raised an eyebrow. “Oh...really? Alright, I'll bite, what do you need?”

“Alena is having her first period. And it's really bad.”

“Ugh, makes me glad I only look like a woman! So what do you need me for?”

Alison sighed. “I tried using her ring.” She held up her hand. “It really takes a lot out of me, so I can't shapeshift right now.”

“Oh. Oh! Bollocks, you want me to buy...” Johanna frowned. “Stop looking at me all cute like that! Fine, fine, I'll do it, ye bloody git!”

Alena took the young woman's hand in her own. “Our second date! Fantastic!”

“...ye're really asking for it now. If I'd know how old you were, there wouldn't 'ave been a first date!”

“Was it really that bad for you, Jo?” Alison looked up at the magician.

“Gah! Stop that! Ye're too damn adorable for y'ere own good.” She muttered something to herself about 'bloody kids and animals'. “No. I...really appreciated what you did for me. But we can't...it was a mistake, Ali. I'm a lot older than I look, and people that get close to me get hurt. I don't want that for you.”

Alison leaned against the taller girl. “I understand. I really do. I just wish things could be different. I really like you, Jo.”

“...hey, who said you could call me that? I only let Chanti...Hunter call me that.”

“Can't you make an exception?”

Johanna growled. “Fine. For you. Damn it. Most people don't think I even have a heart. How did you manage to grab hold of it?”

She squeezed Jo's hand. “We were both alone, and needed someone who understood. It's not love...it's something else, but that doesn't make it any less special.”

Johanna squeezed back. “I guess that makes us friends. I'm sorry for that.”

“Shh. I'm making this choice, Jo. I know you're trouble. But so am I. And if I wasn't so short, I'd kiss you right now.”

“Oh wouldn't that be swell, I'd be locked up faster than y' can say Humbert Humbert.”

“Yeah, but it would be worth it.” She grinned up at Johanna.

“...don't tempt me, woman, or I'll have what's left of your innocence for breakfast.”

Alison licked her lips. “That...sounds like it'd be a lot of fun.”

“Argh! Damn it all!”

-

Half an hour later, Johanna followed Alison back to the girl's hotel room, carrying several plastic bags. “I better be getting' something good for this favor! I ain't no pack mule!”

Alison unlocked the door and led Johanna inside. “Just set the stuff down in the kitchenette, please?”

“Fine, fine.”

Alison went into the bathroom; Alena was dozing lightly in the bathtub. “Sis? Hey, wake up.” Her twin didn't respond.

RETURN THE RING TO HER, AND I WILL ROUSE YOUR SISTER.

“Oh...thanks Star.” She slid the ring back on Alena's finger, who immediately stirred.

“Ugh, the water's cold.”

“Come on, let's get you out of here. I got everything we'll need, and breakfast.”

Alena made a face. “I don't think I can eat much.”

“I know, but you need to get something in you.”

Supporting her sister, she helped her put the pad on, and dressed her in a bathrobe. “Hey..how come my clothes didn't change back?”

“Because you used my power ring, those are your clothes now.”

“Wow. Cool. I guess I can use this form more often.”

Alena weakly ruffled her sister's hair. “I like you this way, you're really cute.”

Alison smiled up at her twin. “You just like being the older sister, that's all.”

Her sister looked very sad for some reason, but before she could ask what the problem was, she was interrupted by Johanna.

“Hey 'Lena. Sorry to hear you're not feeling good.”

“Let me guess. No periods for you, either?”

The magician shrugged. “Not woman enough for it, sadly. But look on the bright side, this means you could be a mum one day.”

Alena froze.

“Jo!!!! Quit trying to break my sister's brain!”

“Uh...sorry.”

Alison helped her sister to the couch. “Just sit here, I'll get you some food in a minute.” She then met Johanna at the door. “I should kick you in the shins.”

Johanna knelt down. “I'm sorry. I got this bad habit of saying the wrong thing.”

“Then use your mouth for something else.” Alison threw her arms around Jo's neck and kissed her. And it wasn't a little girl's kiss, either!

Johanna pulled away from the kiss, a stunned look on her face. “...I...uh...”

Alison grinned at the older girl. “That's your reward. Thank you very much.”

A very befuddled sorcerer staggered out of the hotel room without a word.

“God, I love doing that to him!”

---

End of Part One...

Magical Chaos!: Crossing Over-2 by Lynceus The Fifth Age threatens to tip the balance between Order and Chaos, and Mordru isn't happy about it! But the new Sorceress Supreme is weak, and, if defeated, her mantle would be up for grabs! With this in mind, Mordru creates a new Agent of Chaos, but can even he control- Klariann the Witch Girl?

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Clara Ann

My name is Clara Ann Black. I'm nine (and a half!) years old, and I used to be happy. I haven't smiled since Mommy died, almost a year ago. Mommy loved me very much, even though it was just the two of us. Then she got sick, and someone new entered my life.

Father. He doesn't let me call him Daddy. Not even Dad. I don't think he likes me very much. Mommy never talked about him, and the last thing she ever said to me was to try and give him a chance. I'm trying, but it's hard!

Father owns a hotel in Las Vegas; I live there now. Every day, Mr. Clark, my bodyguard (Father is rich, and rich girls get bodyguards) drives me to a private school, St. Viator's. I don't like it there. The other kids don't like me, and the teachers are strict.

One girl hates me, and I don't know why. Her name is Gloriana Tenenbaum. She's taller than me, and I hate that. She pushed me down today, and it hurt. And then she laughed at me, her and her friends!

I ran away, and now I'm hiding in the basement. I wish Mommy was alive. I wish Father cared about me. I wish people liked me. I wish I could punish Gloriana!

I shouldn't think like that, Jesus says I should love others. But how can you love someone who hates you?

I see a light in the darkness. I wonder what it is? I go to it, and it's a wooden box. It looks really nice, so I open it. There's a red light inside, like a star, but it has eight points. I've seen something like it before, but I can't remember where.

“Child, I sense you are in pain. I can make the pain go away, and make it so that no one will ever hurt you again.”

I gasped. “Are you...God?”

“I am not the God you were taught of, but another God, one that will help you. Will you help me?”

“I...” Something told me I shouldn't do this. That the voice was bad. But then I thought about Gloriana. “I want revenge.”

The voice laughed. “And you will have it! Take the symbol you see before you, and press it against your heart.”

I reached for it. It was hot and cold at the same time. I held it, and then pressed it over my heart. The light went inside me, and I felt new thoughts and possibilities opening up before me. Before I had just been a mere child, but now I was something more. Something powerful!

A cold smile formed on my lips. “Master, what would you have of me?”

“Seek out the Sorceress. Destroy her, and take her power for your own. You will become more powerful than any human. You will become like unto a God. Do this, and you will stand at my side, as my Queen.”

I stood up. “I'd like that. Your will be done!”

“Then go, my Chaos-Witch. Cast your old name aside; you are now Klariann, the Sword of Chaos!”

Klariann. Klariann Black. I couldn't help but giggle. This was going to be so much fun!

-

As a Chaos-Witch, I now had the power to grant wishes. But only fun ones! I couldn't just change things, someone else had to give me permission. But that was easy. How often have you said “I wish...”? And usually it's for something selfish. Or silly.

And those were the very best kinds of wishes! I skipped through the halls of my school. I had other powers, of course. My Master made sure I would be protected. He said he wanted me to be his Queen, but I wondered if he would let me call him Daddy?

That would be nice. And then maybe he could find me a new Mommy. And we could be a family. And I would be happy again. I want to be happy.

I waited near Gloriana's locker. I can make myself invisible now, so nobody noticed me. Actually it's better than that; you can see me, but you just ignore me. Unless I want you to pay attention. Gloriana looked upset as she got her books, and I waited, patiently.

You can always tell when someone is about to make a wish.

“Stupid...stupid boy. If I was a boy, I'd beat him up. I wish I was a boy!”

I appeared. “Wish...granted!”

“What the hell?! Clara! Listen you little....” She got a strange look on her face, doubling over in pain as her body started to change. I could have been mean, but I was going to give her exactly what she asked for. That was mean enough. I let her grow a few inches taller, and stronger as well. Girls normally grow faster than boys, of course, but what fun would it be to make her a short boy?

Her hair got shorter, and she gasped in pain as I replaced her girl-part with a boy-part. I made it a little bigger than normal; boys like having big boy-parts. I changed her throat, so it looked like a boy's, and deepened her voice (not that boys our age have deep voices yet, but again, being nice!). But it would never get any deeper, so she better enjoy it while she can!

Though her shorter hair made her more boyish-looking, I didn't change her face. No, she would always have the face of a girl. In that, I wasn't so nice.

Her clothes didn't fit quite right and she looked up at me. “What did you do?!” Then she shrieked. “My voice!”

“I gave you what you wanted. You're a boy now. A pretty boy, but still a boy.”

I kneeled down and flipped up her skirt. “See? A boy-part.” I knew what it was really called, but I didn't like the words boys called their special parts. They sounded dirty. I'm glad I'm not a boy!

“No! I can't be a boy! I can't!”

I smiled at her. “Too bad. But hey, at least you can bully people easier, right?”

She reached for my neck, but my powers protected me, turning her arms into snakes that hissed at her. She screamed, of course, and people started to pay attention to us. I changed her arms back and headed for the door.

A teacher got in my way. “Where do you think you're going?!”

Ah. Ms. Hawthorne. I didn't like her. She hated us because she was old. She was still pretty, but I bet she was really pretty when she was my age! “Ms. Hawthorne. If you could make a wish, any wish, what would it be?”

She glared at me. “I'd wish I didn't have to teach rich brats like you for a living!”

I grinned. “Wish...granted!”

She gasped as her body began to dwindle and shrink. Her clothes soon hung on her rapidly-youthening body as I made her younger. And younger! I stopped when she was several inches shorter than me.

“Oh, you are pretty!” I smiled at her, even as she looked at me, her eyes wide in terror. She glanced at her tiny body.

“No! This is impossible!” I hadn't changed her voice, she still sounded like a grown-up. Because it's more fun that way!

“You got your wish. You should be happy! Now you're pretty, and you don't have to teach us anymore!”

She grabbed my arm. “No! You can't leave me like this! Who will take care of me?! What will happen to me?”

“Not my problem. But I'll tell you what. If someone wishes they were a Mommy or Daddy, I'll be nice.” I brushed her aside; she was too little to be a threat to me.

I walked out to the car. Mr. Clark was smoking a cigarette. “Clara? You should be in school, what's going on?”

Mr. Clark is actually a nice man for a bodyguard. “Mr. Clark, can I ask you a question? Please, it's important, even if it sounds silly.”

“Uh..ok. What is it?”

“If you could; have any wish, what would you wish for?”

“Huh. Any wish?”

I nodded.

“I like you a lot, Clara, but I'd probably wish I didn't have to work for your Dad anymore.”

I beamed at him. “Wish...granted!”

He blinked at me oddly, then smiled. “What can I do for you, Mistress?”

“Who do you work for, Mr. Clark?”

“You, Mistress.”

“What's your first name?”

“Jack.”

“Jack. I like it. Ok Jack, I'm hungry, drive me to a good restaurant, ok?”

He nodded and opened the car door for me, letting me sit up front. “Anything you want, Mistress.”

I got in and buckled up. Oh yes, this was going to be a good day!

-

At the restaurant, I couldn't help but laugh. People were making stupid wishes all over the place! I could pick and choose which ones I wanted to grant!

I waited and, after I ate my dessert, I walked to the door with Jack. I turned. “Wishes...granted!”

There were gasps of surprise, a few screams, and the sound of a crying baby. This was so much fun!

Next, we went to a mall. As I walked past a group of teenaged girls, I heard a few more fun wishes. Silly girls!

“I wish I had a vampire boyfriend, like the girl from Twilight!”

“Screw that, I hate guys. I wish I was a lesbian so I didn't have to like them anymore!”

“That's silly, Gina. How could you have a baby then? I wish I had a little girl of my own.”

“Wishes...granted!” I laughed to myself.

The first girl's skin turned very pale as she grew fangs; she immediately hissed and ran to get away from the sun. Wait until she met her Master...ah....boyfriend later!

The second girl blinked as she suddenly found herself looking at the girls around her. She walked off in a daze, having discovered a whole new world where men no longer mattered.

The third girl became a few years older, and a four year-old girl appeared next to her.

“Mommy?” Ms. Hawthorne asked, her voice still sounding like an adult.

Not caring, her new mother knelt down and embraced her daughter. I was about to leave them, but....I couldn't leave them like that. I stuffed the new mother's purse with money. There, that's better!

“Come on Jack, there's more wishes to grant!”

I soon came upon a woman yelling at her teenaged daughter. “You're so horrible! I wish you'd never been born!”

I grinned. “Wish...granted!”

There was a flash of light, and now the mother was a teenaged girl (wearing her daughter's clothing, which I thought was a nice touch). Her belly was distended, as she was now pregnant with her daughter once more.

I heard a muffled girl's voice yelling. “What?! Where am I? What's going on!?”

The mother just stared down at her tummy in shock, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. I took Jack's hand, and squeezed it as we walked away.

-

I wasn't sure if letting the baby keep her old mind and memories had been the right thing to do. On the one hand, erasing someone's mind seemed really mean. But so did forcing a teenaged girl back inside her mother's womb. Oh well. I'm sure they'd be fine.

Ah, arguments, I love those. A young man and his girlfriend.

“You're such a horrible bitch! I wish everyone could see what a monster you are!”

“You're such a child! I wish you'd grow up!”

Hm....he looked pretty grown up to me already. I guess I could make him old, but...nah! The man froze as his skin took on a greenish tint. His hair turned dark green, becoming tangled vines. Roots burst out of his shoes, digging into the ground as he became a plant-man!

And he began to grow, ripping out of his clothing until he was several feet taller. “What's happening to me?!” His voice became deeper.

I frowned, seeing his man-part. Ew! I let him grow some bark to cover himself.

His girlfriend shrieked and jumped back. Hm...so she was a monster, huh? But what kind of monster? She was kind of pretty, so I figured I should turn her into a pretty monster.

“Hey Jack, what's a pretty monster?”

He frowned. “Back in college I used to play Dungeons & Dragons, there was a demon called a Marilith. She looked like a pretty girl, but she was a snake from the waist down, and had six arms.”

“Ooh!” The girl froze as her legs fused together, growing into a massive snake-tail, covered with green scales. Her shirt ripped apart as she grew four more arms. “What do Mariliths do?”

“Uh, they're really good fighters.”

I nodded, as I gave the girl increased strength and agility, as well as the ability to intuitively understand how to use her new body as if she'd been born to it. I made a tiny change to her brain, and soon, instead of worrying about becoming a monster, or what had happened to her boyfriend, she started to slither away, plans of conquest forming in her mind.

I imagined she'd start by conquering the mall.

The plant-man looked at his hands and started to weep. Darn it! Now I felt sorry for him! I snapped my fingers as an idea came to my mind.

A great pod formed on his back, and he groaned at the weight. Within minutes, it swelled and burst, and a naked green-skinned girl with long viny hair burst out of it. She was really tall, but still tiny compared to the man. Seven feet tall, I realized.

The girl immediately hugged the plant man. “I love you so much!” I smiled; she had Mommy's voice.

Confused, but happy, the plant man hugged the...dryad and held her close.

Ok, that wasn't a wish, but I'd caused enough mischief that I figured I could cheat a little. Besides, technically, she'd 'grown up' out of his body, so I say it counts!

-

Soon the mall was filled with confused and frightened people. I chuckled as I skipped along, hand-in-hand with Jack. “Jack, do you love me?”

“Yes, Mistress. More than anything.”

I smiled. “So you'd protect me, no matter what?”

He nodded. “Of course!”

I leaned against him, and he let go of my hand, placing his arm around my shoulders. That felt nice! “Would you like to be my boyfriend, Jack?”

“Yes, very much!”

“Good!” Not that I knew what to do with a boyfriend, but it felt nice to have one!

Leaving the mall, we passed one of those internet cafe's. A girl was crying softly. Curious, I went to her. “What's wrong?”

She looked at me. “I...it's my boyfriend. He's off in college, and he says he wants to break up, because long-distance doesn't work! I wish we were closer!”

“Wish...granted.”

A confused-looking young man appeared behind her. He put his arms around her, and their bodies began to meld together, merging to become a new person. I wasn't sure if they should be a man or a woman...could someone be both? I frowned, thinking of what a man-part looked like, and made them female. She was tall and strong like a man, but pretty at the same time. I melded their clothes together, which looked a little strange, but at least they fit her.

I left the new person, who was giving herself a hug. I felt like I'd done a pretty good thing, now they'd be together forever!

As we walked along, an angry woman was yelling into her phone. “My boss is such a jerk, and he's always hitting on me, or copping a feel! And if I say anything, I'll get fired! The pussy, I wish he knew what it felt like to be me!”

“Wish..granted!”

I had to thank the woman for giving me the idea; I'm kind of uncomfortable using the word, but I know what a pussy is. It's a girl-part. The woman got a strange look on her face as a muffled male voice could be heard yelling from between her legs.

“What the hell is going on here?!”

The woman gasped and pulled down her skirt and panties...in public no less! I made it so people would look away. A pair of eyes had appeared above her girl-part. The eyes looked really frightened! “What's happened to me?” The man yelled.

The woman started to smile. “Why, Jason, hello down there.” She touched herself in a way that made me blush! The man moaned, and he sounded....um...happy!

“So you can feel that, hm? Guess what? You're going to find out a lot of new things!”

“N..no...!!! Someone help me!”

The woman giggled as she pulled up her skirt and ran off, no doubt thinking of new ways to pleas....torture her new part-ner.

I giggled. Get it? Part-ner? Oh..never mind.

-

I hadn't had to change the woman's mind much to make her do that. Some people, I realized, were, well, naughty. It intrigued me a little. I wondered what it would be like to be naughty! “Hey Jack?”

“Yes my love?”

That made me feel really nice! “Mm...how can a girl be naughty?”

“Lots of ways, I guess. She could like boys and girls, or just girls. That's kind of naughty.”

I noticed his man-part seemed to like that kind of naughty. Ew! I felt sorry for Gloriana now; it was icky to be a boy!

Just then, I heard a wish that fell right in line with my thoughts.

“Dude, Vegas sucks. There's not enough cute girls.” A boy grouched.

“I know, I thought it would be, you know, pretty girls everywhere you looked!”

“I know...I wish it was like that!”

“Wish....totally granted!” I laughed as everyone within the boy's line of sight turned into a pretty girl, even his friend! I even changed the girls; I mean, who would mind being prettier? I changed them at random. Some got shorter. Some got taller. Some had red hair. Others blonde. Or brunette.

Even I got prettier, which made me happy.

Oh and Jack? Well, he gasped as he changed into a very pretty teenaged girl. She now had short dark hair with long bangs (I'd seen some older girls with that haircut, and it looked neat!) and she looked at me, quite confused. “...Mistress?”

“You're my girlfriend now. Does that bother you?”

She blinked, then smiled. “No Mistress.”

“Your new name is Jackie. Do you like it?”

She nodded and hugged me. “Very much!”

I should point out that not all the new women were happy with their change of status. There were gasps, screams, cars crashing as their drivers shrank into petite young beauties...you get the idea. This was still fun, but I knew I was going to get bored soon.

I needed some really neat wishes to work with! I glanced at Jackie, who looked really silly trying to hold up her pants; I'd made her a lot shorter, so I wouldn't have to look up as much when I talked to her.

“Come on Jackie, let's get you some new clothes. And then, let's visit Daddy.” I grinned.

Oh yes, this was going to be so much fun!

---

To be continued....

Magical Chaos!: Crossing Over-3 by Lynceus Illyana and Hunter were just going to shop for some clothes, but oh no, there's a demoness trying to take over the mall! And that's just the beginning!

---

Illyana

I woke up to find Hunter sitting up in bed, crying. Not too long ago, I was a clueless (and angry) young man. That person wouldn't have known what to do. Thankfully, I do.

I gave my sister a hug, and she held me tightly until the tears went away. She stroked my hair, a simple gesture, yet one that makes me feel very loved. I hadn't had much love in my life before I met Hunter. Long, cruel years under Belasco's wing had made certain of that.

But now that I had it in my life, I was going to hold on tight.

You see, we'd discovered something about ourselves. Something that, if anything, brought us closer together, but at the same time, was more than a little frightening. The revelation that I wasn't the Sorceress Supreme after all.

But that we were.

Confused? I know I was, when I first woke up in Hunter's arms, with Solomon Grundy cowering in the corner, and Felix Faust turned into a pigeon roost. Because just a few moments ago, I hadn't been me. I'd been another Illyana. Older, stronger, a lot more powerful.

And so had Hunter.

The Eye of Agamotto had revealed our ultimate destiny. We were two halves of the same person. And only by sacrificing our individuality, could that person, the true Sorceress, be born. The Eye would let us join together if the need was great, but I knew that every time we did that, the chance that we'd never be separate again grew.

“Talk to me, Hunter.”

She drew in a ragged breath. Once, my sister had been the Succubus Chantinelle. Daughter of the Succubus Queen. And a seductress so profound, she'd seduced an Angel. Twice!

But then Belasco had forced her to live a life not her own. My life, the one that had been stolen from me. And somehow, Chantinelle had become partly human. And then I shared my soul with her.

“I dreamed about Daddy. I mean...your father.”

“He was your father too, Hunter. He loved you. I know that. And I know you loved him.”

She nodded. “Yes, very much. Why did he have to die, Illyana? It's just so...pointless.”

“I don't know. I didn't ask for this. Neither did you. All we have is each other.”

She kissed my forehead. “We have friends now.”

“Yeah...but...”

She sighed. “I know. What kind of life can we have? Do we even dare try to have one? Knowing that one day, we won't exist anymore? That we'll be...her.”

“But she is us. I mean...we are her.”

“I know Illyana. But we won't be sisters anymore.”

I looked up at her. “You will always be my sister.”

She smiled. “I love you so much, Illyana. I...I don't think being together will be so bad.”

“Maybe not. But...I want my childhood back.” I hadn't really thought about it until now, but I'd had my childhood stolen from me. Now I was a kid again, my whole life ahead of me. I wasn't really in any hurry to grow up. But something told me that I might not have the luxury.

“Then we should do something fun. Today.”

“Johanna isn't here.” I just sort of knew that; even without training, my mystical perceptions were growing by leaps and bounds. And that wasn't including the awesome powers of the amulet I wore around my neck!

“No, she isn't.” Hunter smiled mischievously. “And what she does not know, cannot hurt us.”

“I like the way you think!”

So, after a quick shower and breakfast, we headed for the mall. Shopping was a very girlish thing that I hadn't been able to indulge in up until now. I hoped it was half as much fun as I'd heard!

-

Police cars surrounded the mall, and as we got closer, I was struck by a sense of wrongness...and the stink of Wild Magic. “Holy shit...”

People were being led out of the mall, and the Eye opened, allowing me to see the truth. I saw a pregnant teenaged girl, but her eyes were older, haunted. And inside her womb, another girl's soul was trapped inside an infant body.

Another young mother was led out with her little girl. Except I could see that the mother was really a younger teen, and her daughter had the soul of a grown woman! What in the name of the Limbus was going on here?

And there were others, lives irrevocably altered. I let the Eye close, even as I tried to hold the tears back. “No one should have this kind of power!”

Hunter touched my arm. “There are still people that need help inside.”

I nodded, and I invoked a spell to make us both invisible and incorporeal, like the wind. We slipped past the police, and into the mall.

-

I could hear screams as we emerged from a now-empty store.

“Honey, I'm frightened!”

“Don't worry, I'll protect you.”

I turned and was floored at the sight of a giant man who seemed part plant, comforting a relatively smaller 7' plant-girl.

“Woah. Now there's something you don't see every day!” Hunter sounded impressed.

The plant-guy glared at us. “We just want to be left alone!”

I let the Eye open again. I could see that both the man and the girl were the same person, a young man. The girl was simply a shard of his original soul. And yet...they seemed kind of happy together. I frowned. Undoing this mess was not going to be easy.

“Hey, we're not here to hurt you, we just want to help.” I held my hands up, to show I wasn't a threat. Yeah, right, I'm not even eight yet, how dangerous did I look to begin with?

“Honey? She's just a little girl.”

He frowned. “You can't help us. This is what I am now.”

“I think I can, I mean, you can't stay here!”

He sighed. “I just don't understand any of this. All I know is, I've finally met someone who cares about me.”

The girl smiled and hugged him.

“Ok, well, as crazy as this sounds, you were transformed by magic. Do you remember anything?”

“I was with Marion, my...ex. We were fighting, she'd...she'd hurt me.” I noticed the girl side of him seemed pretty unhappy at the mention of this Mary. “Then I started to change...into this. And then Mary..she turned into some kind of monster!”

Ugh. Great. “Nothing else?”

“...there was a little girl's voice. I'm pretty sure she said something about granting wishes.”

“Oh fuck, a djinn?” Hunter sounded a little scared. “We're screwed.”

“I never met one, but they can't be much worse than Belasco.”

“No Sis, they can. Belasco is just cruel. Djinn are motivated by something a lot more malicious. Their own amusement.”

I traced runes in the air, hiding the couple. “You'll be safe for now. Which way did Marion go?”

The plan guy pointed. “Thanks, I'll be back, and we'll talk about how I can help. I promise!”

Hunter and I headed off, looking for a monster-girl.

-

“Maybe we should have asked what she looks like now?”

I frowned. “Something tells me we'll know her when we see her.”

The part of the mall we'd come to was pretty empty. Most of the unfortunates we'd passed, the ones that could still move, were fleeing for the exits. And the ones that couldn't, well...I made sure nobody would bother them. My reserves of magic were still pretty slim, but there was a lot of ambient magic around me I could tap into. It reeked of Chaos, but you get used to that sort of stuff in the demon realms. Belasco's Dark Dimension was particularly aligned towards Chaos, as a matter of fact.

Order magic, now that's a different story.

Just then, I heard a voice cry out “Calz Vonpho Sobra Z-Ol Ror I Ta Nazps!”, which was accompanied by a flash of light, and a feminine scream of pain.

“Oh that's not good!” Hunter sped around the corner first, then froze solid. I caught up to her a couple heartbeats later, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

Out in front of a store was a stunningly beautiful redhead, naked, with, um, very nice assets. Except she had six arms, and from the waist down, her body was long and snake-like, like a constrictor of some kind, with green scales. Facing her was another woman, tall and androgynous, who held a ball of flame in her hand.

“I don't know what you are, but leave now, or face the power of my Goddess!” The tall woman's voice was unusually deep for a girl, but still feminine in it's inflection.

“Your magic surprised me, but you too, shall be crushed before me! Goddess or no, none shall stand against Marilith!”

I blinked and turned to Hunter. “What's a Marilith?”

“I have no idea...but that woman used an Enochian spell. Angelic magic.”

I frowned. I knew about such things, many of the Fallen still wield such powers, but...who was this woman?

She blasted the snake-woman-thing again, but this time, Marilith batted the fireball away with two of her arms, then lunged forward. “Hunter!”

My sister sprinted forward. Having long ago lost her Succubus powers, she had, while living a mortal life, developed incredible demonic strength. Leaping up, she grabbed the snake-chick by the waist and the two began to wrestle. I'd seen Hunter best a Pit Fiend in a contest of strength, but something told me that Marilith's snake-like body was nothing but muscle...I would need to do something fast!

Calling upon the powers of the Wind, I flew next to the woman. “We need to get you out of here!”

She looked down at me, confused for a moment, then smiled. “Sorceress, I thank you for your help. But this place is my temple, I cannot abandon it.”

Just then, Marilith convulsed, and threw Hunter free, who went flying and crashed into a wall. Glaring at us malevolently, the snakey bitch slithered close. Frantically, I tried to craft a defensive spell...but it was going to be close...

A ball of flame rocketed out of nowhere, slamming into Marilith's side. She screamed and turned to face the new threat. Which turned out to be...a very young teenaged girl who looked a lot like a Succubus! Her skin was reddish-hued, and she had short, dark hair. Her eyes were yellow and slitted...and currently glowing.

Her small wings somehow held her aloft, even as she called another ball of flame to her hand. “Whoever you are, get away from Tristanoira!”

Marilith snarled. “Who dares?”

The demon-girl grinned. “Call me Purgatori.”

Hunter had, by this point, extricated herself from the wall. “...Sakkara?”

The woman next to me, who I presumed was Tristanoira, seemed quite relieved. “I wasn't sure if you would hear my call, Stefani.”

“Don't worry, 'noira. I'm not letting anyone hurt you.”

Marilith hissed. “You overestimate your power.”

“If you want to call my bluff, go for it. But I have a better idea.” The demon-girl descended to the ground, Marilith watching her warily. “Can't we talk about this?”

Marilith blinked. “Talk? Why?”

“I have no idea who you are, or what you want. Honestly, if you weren't attacking people, I'd have no reason to hurt you. I don't take pleasure in hurting people.”

Marilith sniffed. “I am not a human.”

“Yes, you are. Just like I am. You didn't ask for this, you changed, and now people see you as a monster. They hate and fear you.”

To my amazement, Marilith got a strange look on her face. “I...I don't care about that.”

“Don't you? I know I do. I try to help people, and they attack me for being different. Call me a monster.” The demon-girl (Purgatori? Stefani? I wasn't sure what to call her) walked closer to Marilith. “And you used to be human once, didn't you?”

“Yes, she did, even if she doesn't remember it.” I stepped forward as well. “The Eye of Agamotto will reveal the truth!” The eye opened, and shone it's light on Marilith, who looked at her hands and body.

“No! God, no!” She tried to hide herself with her arms. “Don't look at me!”

“I can help you, Marion.”

She stiffened. “You know who I am?”

“Your ex-boyfriend told me your name.”

“I was so terrible to him, I deserve to be a monster!”

I sighed. “No, you don't. If I can find the person who's doing this, I'm certain I can help you.”

“...I could be human again?” She sounded so frightened!

I nodded. “Yes.”

“...thank you.”

Hunter moved to my side, seemingly no worse for wear, looking rather intently at the demon-girl. “I guess some kind of introductions are in order. I'm Illyana, and this is Hunter, my sister.”

The succubus girl smiled. “Stefani, glad to meet you. Thank you for protecting Tristan.”

“Excuse me.” Hunter spoke up. “Are you...Sakkara?”

Stefani shook her head. “No, I'm not. Sakkara...has left this world, to try and find some peace.”

“Yet she is your priestess?”

Stefani frowned. “Sakkara gave me something before she left. Some part of herself, I'm not sure, really. Tristan was part of her cult, she recognizes me as her Goddess now.”

Hunter slowly nodded. “That explains her magic. She has formed a Covenant with you.”

Stefani scratched the back of her neck, an oddly masculine gesture. “Uh...”

Tristan spoke up. “Yes, when you fed upon me, you gave me new powers.”

I rose an eyebrow. “Fed upon her?”

“Hey! I'm not a vampire or anything!” Stefani held up her hands. “I'm just a metahuman...I think.”

That's when I finally spotted the ring on her finger. “Hey...that's a Green Lantern ring, isn't it?”

“Oh this? No, it's not as powerful as Jade's ring. It's just something that lets us communicate with each other...”

“And provides you with disguises. I know.” I grinned.

“Huh? You know Jade?”

“No, I haven't had the pleasure. But we've met Alena and Alison.”

“Ooh. I haven't met them yet, they're still in Vegas?”

“Yeah, and I think we're going to need their help.”

“Ok...oh hey, what about um...” She looked to Marion.

“If she promises not to attack me, I can keep her safe until you return.” Tristan smiled.

“Tristan, you're the best.” Stefani ran over and gave her...priestess a hug. Strange relationship, that. But it got me wondering. How could a metahuman grant someone magical abilities? When this was over, I was going to have a long talk with her.

Then she stepped back and addressed her ring. “Purgatori reporting in, just ran into a whole mess of trouble at the mall, not sure what's going on, but I have someone named Illyana here who does.”

“...Alena here. Ugh...I just saw it on the news. You can trust Illy. I...I'll be there shortly.” Alena sounded horrible, like she was in pain!

Alison's voice broke in. “She has really bad cramps, I don't know how much use she'll be to you guys.”

“Ali! I can't sit here while people are hurt!”

Stefani frowned and whispered to me. “Do they always fight like this?”

I giggled and Hunter just smiled.

“Ok you two, that's enough. Alena, are you sure you're ok?” Another woman, there was a sort of authority to her tone that commanded respect.

“I hope so, Jade. Are you anywhere nearby?” Alena answered.

“No such luck, but I'll try and get to you as soon as I can. Illyana, was it?”

“Yes, that's right.” God, she was probably going to tell me to stay out of this. I wasn't part of their team, and plus, let's face it. I'm just a kid.

“If you know what's going on, I'd appreciate any help you could give us.”

I wasn't expecting that! I could see now why Jade was their leader! “Yes Ma'am, I'll do my best.”

“Thank you. Good luck, all of you. Jade out.”

I whistled. “Wow, she's good.”

Stefani nodded. “I'll say! I haven't even met her face-to-face yet, but...yeah.”

“Ok, I'm on my way. Alison says she's going to try and find Johanna.” Alena spoke up.

“Good idea, she knows more about magic than anyone I know.”

Stefani frowned. “Who's Johanna?”

Hunter laughed. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

I wasn't so sure. Whoever was doing this didn't seem to care who their hurt. No, this wasn't going to be fun at all.

---

To be continued...

Magical Chaos!: Crossing Over-4 by Lynceus There are other forces in this universe, and as Las Vegas is plunged into Chaos, one of them decides to choose his own champion...

---

Alyssa

I remember Stefani kissing me before she left for the mall. I hadn't slept very well last night, I kept having strange dreams about a man wearing a purple cape. At least, I think it was a man. He looked pretty scary, but for some reason, I wasn't afraid of him. I think he was trying to tell me something, but I didn't understand him.

I was exhausted now, and I just wanted to sleep. And so I did.

-

For some reason, I was naked in my dream. I was sitting on a white rock, the sun shining down on my skin. It felt really good, and I closed my eyes, simply enjoying the warmth and the soft breeze.

“You gonna sit there all day or what?”

I opened my eyes, and looked around. All I saw was a raven perched in a tree branch. That was odd.

“Not much of a talker, are you?”

I blinked. The bird was talking to me? “Am I going crazy?”

“Doubt it. Wrong place for that, this is Dream's domain. Although that sister of his could show up anywhere.”

I blinked. “Dream...oh. This is a dream. I guess I should expect things to be strange.”

“...you don't remember me, do you?”

I frowned. “I don't think so, no.”

“That's too bad, I thought you liked me.”

“I might still like you, once I get to know you. What's your name?”

“Matthew. Pleased to meet you..again.”

“I guess I should be more concerned with why I'm naked.”

The raven chuckled. “Yeah, I gotta say, you sure filled out! But don't worry, I mean, come on, I'm a bird, all I can do is look.”

“You weren't always a bird, were you?”

“So you do remember!”

“No...not really. Just...I knew it, I'm not sure why.”

“Hm. Well, how about I take you to the boss? He might be able to sort this out.”

I leaped off the rock, landing in a crouch. Even though I'd lost my powers, I was still stronger and in better physical condition than I'd ever been before the accident. I was a lot more agile, that's for sure!

“Nice moves!”

“Thanks Matthew.”

“Any time. So, shall we go to the castle?”

“What castle?”

Matthew laughed and pointed a wing. I looked over, and saw a many-spired fortress that pretty much defied description. “That castle!”

“Oh. I feel stupid now, not seeing it before.”

“One thing I know, Alyssa, you're far from stupid. Come on.”

Despite being naked, the ground was soft under my feet, and I didn't feel cold. It was almost as if the very land was welcoming me...home. We reached the great doors of the castle in a surprisingly short time. Before I could even knock, a tall, thin older man wearing glasses opened the door.

“Ah, Miss Conover, good to see you again!” He carefully avoided looking at me. “If I may offer you a robe?” He handed me a white, silken garment. I slipped my arms into it; the material was soft and despite it's sheer nature, it revealed nothing.

“Thank you very much...ah...”

“That's Lucien, Alyssa. She doesn't remember anything.”

Lucien nodded. “Yes, I rather thought she might. But come, the Master will want to see you.”

I followed the two into a great hall. At the far end, I saw a figure on a throne, shrouded in darkness. As I walked closer, I saw that he was slender and handsome. The room brightened, and for some reason, I expected him to have dark hair, but instead, it was white. I frowned. “I...know you...but you're...different.”

He rose, smiling. That also seemed...wrong. “We've both changed a great deal, Alyssa. Please, call me Daniel.”

“..Daniel. Where am I, exactly?”

“In the place all humans go when they sleep. My realm, the kingdom of Dream. You haven't been here in some time. But please, sit.”

I looked around for a chair, and to my surprise, one had appeared behind me! I sat down. “Thank you, Daniel. I'm really confused. Why am I here?”

He sat down as well. “Because I need to ask you a favor.”

“...I owe you, don't I?”

He nodded. “More accurately, you owed the previous Dream, who was known as Morpheus.”

“You're not him?”

“It's complicated. I am, and I am not.”

“I can't remember why I owe you a favor, but...it was something important.”

“I hate to bring it up, truly. It was, after all, my fault.” He gestured, and a figure came out of the shadows. He was tall, wearing a blue tunic and a purple cloak. His face was shrouded in darkness, all I could see were red-glowing eyes.

I gasped. “You were in my dream!”

“He won't...or can't answer you. He is the Walker-in-Sleep, and I'm afraid he's not what he once was. The Walker is one of my champions, who defends mortals while they sleep from those who would assault their dreams. Many years ago, he entered the dream of a young man, and was trapped there. This allowed him to enter the mortal world while that man slept. He became a hero, of sorts.”

“I don't...”

“Patience, I will explain. This was another life for you. You were the young man's girlfriend. Both he and the Walker were fighting a creature of nightmares. And the monster forced a painful choice on the young man. Let you die, or allow the dreams of an entire city be corrupted.”

I gasped. “I told him to let me go!”

“And he did. But he could not bear the sorrow, and took his own life. The tragedy of the event greatly damaged the Walker.”

“You brought me back.”

He smiled. “There were...extenuating circumstances involving your end. My sister agreed to let you live again. So we gave you a new life, you were born to a new mother.”

I frowned, thinking of my Mother.

“At first, you were happy. You walked these lands as you slept, and were treated like royalty. But, sadly, the nightmare was not truly dead. He slipped into your Mother's mind, and planted a seed. A tiny glimmer of an idea, but one that cost you the happiness you deserved.”

“What was it? What made Mother hate me?” I remembered how she had become colder, and started pushing me, trying to rule my life.

Daniel looked ashamed. “I should have known it, but it was so subtle. The idea that you were not her real daughter.”

I felt stinging tears begin to form. “No...”

“I'm so very sorry. Shortly after that, you stopped coming here, and you forgot us.”

I cried for some time, until I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. “Alyssa. Words cannot express my regret. I had chosen such a different path for you.”

Looking into his eyes, old and ancient and vast...I could see that he too, felt pain. I wiped my eyes. “What was it?”

“I thought you could become a sort of, diplomat, if you will. A liaison between my world and yours.”

“I remember. They called me Dream Girl.”

“Yes. I had hoped you would awaken to your powers when you got older, but you had totally shut off that side of yourself. And then, proud Men and their Science tried to make you into something you were not.”

“It didn't take.”

“No. Which means we have a second chance. There are events happening in the city where you now live. Someone is turning human Dreams against them, creating anguish and chaos. It is too soon for me to act directly in your world, but you, you could help them.”

I smiled. “I could be a hero? Like Stefani?”

“Yes. I suppose you could.”

“What do I have to do?”

He gestured to the Walker. “You must let him enter your dreams. He will live there, a part of you, and grant you his powers in the waking world. And when you sleep, he will patrol the realm of mortals again, safeguarding their dreams.”

“...this isn't going to change me again, is it?”

“Does that frighten you?”

I sighed. “I just...I don't want anything to come between Stef an I. Things have been so hard for us, and I love her with all my heart.”

“I understand. When he is active, he will leave your mind. But you will have to give him a third of your life, during which time you cannot awaken.”

“Don't we spend a third of our lives here, regardless?”

He smiled. “Yes, but he cannot function for long under the sun's light.”

“Ah. So I can't be a night person anymore. Still...I do owe you, and I think I can work around that. Somehow. Even though Stef seems more of a night owl of late...”

“Is the sacrifice too much to ask?”

“No, of course it isn't.” I looked to the Walker. “Come here, big guy.”

The creature didn't so much walk as it glided, and I reached out, taking it's gloved and clawed hand with mine. In that instant, I felt it merge with my being, filling me with strange powers.

“Once again, you are the Dream Girl.”

And I woke up.

-

I could feel the Walker-in-Sleep in my mind. It had lost so much of itself; I felt pity for the once-proud champion. I hoped that, within my dreams, it would heal and become strong again. As for myself, I felt stronger than ever. I only had access to Walker's most basic powers; barely sentient, neither of us could access it's more potent abilities.

But when all you have is a hammer...well you get the idea. I didn't have anything in the way of a costume, but that wasn't important. Alyssa Conover was dead, after all. Opening a window I simply leaped out of it; I couldn't fly, but I could levitate, hover, or glide along the ground. And greatly slow my descent as I fell.

I found my gliding speed was a lot faster than walking anyways, so I sped towards the center of Las Vegas, my feet a few inches above the ground. I got more than my fair share of odd looks, but the closer I got to the Strip, the less worried I was about that fact. I could feel the wrongness, as if someone had unleashed madness itself upon the city!

“I'm coming, Stef, hang in there!”

-

Inside Alyssa's mind, the Walker-in-Sleep rested. The girl was changing, drawing upon it's powers. And it was changing as well. It knew not what form it would eventually take, but soon, very soon, it would be called upon to fight again. Vague memories of it's former host came to it.

It had failed Rick Sheridan. And that failure weighed heavily on it's essence. But Rick had loved Alyssa, and it was because of his sacrifice that Lord Dream had bargained with his sister, Death, to let her live again.

It would not fail her. It would repay it's debt.

---

---

To be continued....

Authors Notes: introducing the Retcon-Sleepwalker (Marvel), and a partial Retcon of Dream Girl (DC)! Guest starring Daniel/Dream (DC), Lucien, and Matthew, from Neil Gaiman's excellent Sandman. Rick Sheridan was the original host of Sleepwalker in Marvel continuity. In this story, Sleepwalker isn't an alien, but a creation of Dream.

Magical Chaos!: Crossing Over-5 by Lynceus Klariann's mischief continues to wreak havoc on Las Vegas, as two new heroines come onto the scene!

---

Klariann

I was bored of the wishing game by the time we got to the department store to buy Jackie some new clothes. People make a lot of dumb wishes, but what bothers me the most is when they always make the same old ones. I really hoped someone would make a really neat wish soon!

Jackie looked really good in the clothes she'd bought. She seemed happier this way, and that made me glad. I found I wanted her to be happy; I think that's what a girlfriend is for. Someone that you can make happy.

I told her how pretty she looked, and she hugged me. That felt good. She held my hand as we left the store, when I heard a fun wish.

“I hate the customers. It's always about what they want, they don't care about anyone else!”

“I wish zombies would come and attack them, that'd be awesome.”

I giggled. “Wish..granted!”

The screaming started a few minutes later.

-

I'd overdone it when I made Jack into Jackie; she was too young to drive now, and even though she remembered how to drive, I'd also made her a short girl. She was still taller than me, but she couldn't reach the pedals with her feet anymore.

That was okay though, I didn't mind walking. I didn't seem to get tired anymore! Unfortunately, Jackie was starting to look a little wore out. So we sat on a bench, and she lay down, her head in my lap. I played with her hair while she napped, which made her smile.

There were a lot of police around, and I knew it was my fault. I'd been naughty, and people had gotten hurt. That made me feel sad, which I didn't like. Maybe if I granted some good wishes I'd feel better!

Whenever someone is about to make a wish, my hearing gets really good. I guess it makes sense for my powers to work that way; what good is granting wishes if you can't hear them? So when I heard a man up the street talking on his cell phone, I paid attention.

“I love her, I really do. I hate that I feel this way! It's my hang-up, it has nothing to do with her. God, she's beautiful, if only I could accept that.” He paused to listen to the person on the phone.

“Well that's just it, she's so much taller than I am. I feel like I'm not enough of a man for her. I just wish she was shorter!”

Well that sounded like a good wish! “Wish...granted!”

Linda

We'd gotten to Las Vegas the night before; by sitting in the back of the bus, Rhea's powers hadn't done any more damage than make the interior lights flicker. I know it bothered her that she couldn't control the power surges, let alone how she was doing it in the first place!

We'd originally chalked it up to EMP, but it was evident that something else was going on; she was actually affecting the electromotive force itself, which causes current to flow. When it sped up, that caused a power surge; when it slowed down, it caused things to stall.

The problem is, this happened whether she was actively using her powers or not, and even when she was, the effect seemed fairly random, which really put a damper on her attempts to master her abilities. My powers were easy; keep me away from sources of bright light, and I got stronger and tougher. All I really had to do was learn how to use my strength correctly, which required a lot less trial-and-error.

We spent the night in a motel, and woke up late in the morning. I'm pretty sluggish during the AM, a side effect of my own metamorphosis; I had adapted to be more nocturnal. Bright light was even starting to hurt my eyes, so I took to wearing sunglasses.

Somehow, Rhea had bought our new house without having to meet anyone face-to-face; we didn't have much furniture yet, but I really liked the place. It was cozy, but just fine for the two of us. Rhea had ordered most of what we needed online, so we'd have to endure deliveries for the next week or so.

As the sun started to go down, I felt more alert, and I decided that Rhea needed a break, she'd been working hard, and fretting over her powers wasn't helping at all.

I couldn't wait for the city to light up, I'd never been to Vegas, but from what I'd seen from watching CSI, the Strip was pretty at night. But as we walked along, I noticed the streets seemed emptier than they should be. People had frightened looks on their faces, and there were more police around.

“Something must be up.” Rhea frowned.

“Yeah, but what?”

“I don't know, but it might be something we can help with.” She seemed to perk up a little at the prospect of actually doing something heroic. I still had my doubts, but I vastly preferred the manic, energetic Rhea to the frustrated, brooding one, so I kept my mouth shut!

Up ahead of us, I saw a really tall, leggy young brunette walking. She was over 6' tall, and absolutely gorgeous. Too bad my metagene hadn't seen fit to make me tall like that! Then again, Rhea was pretty small, so maybe it was for the best.

Rhea grinned. “She's a real looker, huh?”

“Yeah, I'm jealous.”

Rhea leaned against me as we walked. “You shouldn't be.”

God, she was so adorable! I sometimes had problems remembering that, until recently, she'd been a man!

Then we heard a gasp, and the woman tripped and fell. But something...wasn't right. Running up to her, I was stunned to find a tiny girl, her dress hanging loose on her body. No, she wasn't a girl at all, but the woman...shrunk to half her original size!

“What...what's happening to me?!” She wailed, her eyes wide.

“Holy mass displacement!” Rhea gasped.

“Miss, how do you feel?”

The woman looked up at me, and I saw fear in her eyes. Suddenly the world was a large, unknown place, and to her, even I seemed like a giant! “I...feel so strange!” She looked down at herself; her dress had fallen to reveal her well-endowed chest, and she shrieked, covering herself. “Don't look at me!”

Rhea crouched down. “Miss, my name is Rhea, and this is Linda. We want to help you, can you trust us?”

The tiny woman looked near tears, but she nodded. I gently scooped her up in my arms, and Rhea gathered up her now too-large shoes and purse. “What's your name?”

“Ellen...oh God, what's happened to me? I'm so small!”

“I don't know, but we won't leave you until we find out.”

She smiled up at me. “Thank you.”

We came up to a parked police car. Standing outside of it, looking miserable, was a pretty young teen girl wearing an oversized policeman's uniform; it hung baggily on her frame. She looked to us and gasped. “Oh no, another one.”

“What's going on?” Rhea asked.

The girl sighed. “I have no idea. Weird stuff is happening all over town; most of the force doesn't believe it, they think it's mass hysteria.” She poked at her chest. “This doesn't feel like mass hysteria to me.”

My eyes widened. “You mean, you're a man?”

She frowned. “I used to be. I don't know how I'm going to go home after this...” She shook her head. “I'm sorry, you need help, what happened?”

“This is Ellen, she was just walking along, when she, well, shrank! You have no idea what's going on?”

“Not a clue, there was a huge disruption at the Mall earlier. I was helping direct traffic outside when I felt dizzy...the next thing I knew, I looked like this!”

Rhea and I shared a glance. This was unbelievable...and exactly the kind of situation that needed a hero!

“...Linda?” Ellen looked up at me.

“What's up?”

“You can leave me with her...I mean..him. I'll be safe with a police officer.”

“Hey, I meant my promise.” Rhea piped up.

“I know, but...you'll take care of me, won't you, Officer?”

The girl nodded. “As best as I can. I'm parked here because it's too much of a pain to drive with these short legs.”

I set Ellen inside the cruiser, on the front seat. “Don't worry Ellen, I'm sure this will all be over soon.”

She managed a tiny smile.

“I appreciate you helping her, Officer.” I turned to girl.

“Call me Terry. Ugh, everyone used to joke that it sounded like a girl's name. Now look at me!”

Impulsively, I gave her a hug. She stiffened, but then relaxed in my arms. “I just don't know what to do...I have a son, and a fiancee...God, my son is older than I am now!”

“Stay strong, Terry. We're going to figure this thing out.” Rhea was back to her confident self.

“No offense, Miss, but...what can you do?”

Rhea didn't reply, she simply rose up a foot into the air.

“Wow...you're superheroes? Like Green Lantern?”

I stepped back. “Sort of, yes.”

She seemed a bit wistful. “I wish I could do what you girls can. Times like this, I feel so helpless.”

“Don't. You're one of the real heroes, Terry. If there weren't people like you, we'd be useless.”

Apparently that was the right thing to say, because Terry just nodded and gave us a thumbs-up. “Get going then!”

“Yessir!”

And we did. With no real reason to hide our powers, Rhea sped on ahead, following some source of metal under the street, while I sprinted after her, getting stronger and faster with each step as the sun descended.

Rhea stopped short, but I couldn't see what had caught her attention. Well, at least, not until I saw a Buick punch out a Dodge.

Yeah, you heard that right. There were a pair of humanoid-shaped cars, looking a lot like the Transformers from the movies, fighting on the street while people ran in terror!

“What the hell?!”

Rhea turned to look at me, her eyes literally shining. “Isn't this the coolest thing ever?!”

I wasn't sure how she managed to make her eyes glow, but apparently it let her see better in the dark. It was also kind of scary for some reason. “Ah...yeah...cool. Shouldn't we stop them?”

“Oh yeah! Duh!” She flew between the two robots. “Hey, break it up!”

They seemed pretty unconcerned with her presence, but when they moved closer to her, they stopped short, repulsed by Rhea's magnetic field! “That's what I thought!”

Nonplussed, one of the robot cars reached for a street lamp and broke it off, no doubt intending on using it as a weapon!

And then the lights on the street came on! Wow, it was even prettier in real life! I hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten, thanks to my nightvision; I whipped off my shades and ran up to the animated machine.

“Hey, big guy!”

It looked down at me.

“Welcome to Vegas!” I punched it's leg, which caved in with the satisfying crunch of metal and plexiglass...well, it was a Buick, after all!

Without having to worry about two opponents, Rhea ducked under the Dodge, and used her field to repel it up into the air, where it waved it's limbs helplessly. She giggled at it, and I would have chuckled myself, but Buick-Bot was trying to punch me!

I held up both hands, effortlessly catching it's giant fist. My reflexes were sharper at night as well, I'd discovered, making this look a lot easier than it had any reason to be! I ripped off it's hand (which was mostly made of upholstery) and then leaped into the air, to deliver a mighty uppercut to it's head, knocking it clean off!

Night Girl-1, Buick-0.

“Hey Linda, catch!” Rhea rose up into the air, and shifted the direction of her field, causing Dodge-Man to fly towards me. I managed to grab it's frame in mid-air, and hurled it at the remains of Buick-Bot, reducing both machines to a pile of inanimate junk.

“Damn...we're good at this!”

“I'll say, that's pretty impressive!”

We both turned to see a pretty girl with ash blonde hair applauding us. She was hovering about a foot off the ground, which really made me jealous. Can every metahuman fly but me?

“Uh..hi?” Rhea waved cutely.

The girl grinned. “Hi yourself. I don't recognize you two, you must be new.”

From above, we heard another voice. “No offense, but I don't recognize you either, Miss.”

Looking up, I gasped. There, surrounded by an aura of green light, was the Green Lantern herself, Jade!

“Oh wow, Jade, I'm glad you're here. We haven't met face-to-face before, I'm Alyssa.”

Jade blinked. “Alyssa Conover? But I thought you lost your powers!”

She shrugged. “I got some new ones. It's a long story.”

“Well, just in time, this city is apparently under some kind of magical attack.” Jade turned to us. “And you are?”

Rhea beamed. “I'm Cosmic Girl, that's Night Girl.”

Jade raised an eyebrow. “I...see. Well, if you want to help, the others are already at a casino up the street, where most of the craziness is. Follow me!” She sped off.

Rhea frowned. “Uh...Night Girl can't fly.”

The blonde girl smiled. “Unless she's a lot heavier than she looks, I can give her a lift.”

“...how embarrasing.” I frowned.

The blonde, Alyssa, she'd said her name was, nodded. “I know how you feel. I can only glide along like this, my girlfriend can really fly. It makes me so jealous.”

“Girlfriend?”

Alyssa blushed, even as she put her arms around my waist, lifting me effortlessly. “Um..well...she used to be a guy..”

I laughed. “There sure is a lot of that going around!”

“You mean...you?”

“No, not me, but Rhea there. Uh, I mean, Cosmic Girl.”

Alyssa lifted us both off the ground as we followed Rhea and Jade. “It's ok. The names sound kind of silly to me too. But when in Rome...”

“Heh, so what's your name?”

“Promise not to laugh?”

“Come on, what's worse than Night Girl?”

“...Dream Girl.” She sounded completely embarrased.

“Well no offense hon, but you at least look like a dream girl!”

“Better not say that around Stef, I'd hate to see her jealous...but thank you.”

I grinned. Being flown around was actually kind of fun! “You're welcome, Dream Girl. So, Stef, huh? What's her codename?”

“Oh she's got a cool one. Purgatori.”

“Huh? That doesn't sound like a very heroic name to me.”

Dream Girl laughed. “Just wait until you see her, it'll make sense.”

Up ahead, I saw a hotel/casino with an Egyptian motif. There were police keeping bystanders away as several young women were fighting a...well..a sphinx!

The Sphinx in question had the upper body of a very attractive and athletic woman (naked, of course). From the waist down, she had the body of a powerful lioness, and a pair of eagle wings sprouted from her back. She was also pretty big; judging from her girl-half, I figured she'd easily top 7'; the whole package, if she were to lay down, would be around 20' long!

I felt my stomach tie itself into a knot. We had to fight that?!

Oh God, we're going to die!

Dream Girl squeezed me gently, and I realized that I'd said that out loud! “Be brave, Night Girl. You can do this.”

I sure hoped she was right!

---

To be continued...

Magical Chaos!: Crossing Over-6 by Lynceus Our heroines converge on The Sphinx's Lair Hotel and Casino, intent on saving the people of Las Vegas! But the true enemy isn't what any of them expected...

---

Stefani

It had turned out to be a very long afternoon, as the other girls and I had done our best to locate the source of the madness that had gripped the city. I'd been briefly introduced to Johanna Constantine, and Alena's sister Alison, a really cute girl a year or two older than Illyana.

Although neither one of them really acted like kids, and I got the impression they were older than they appeared. I could relate to that.

Alena was in pretty bad shape due to her period; was I going to suffer like that? God, I hope not! Illyana immediately deferred to Ms. Constantine, who I gathered was a much more experienced magician. I hoped I'd get a chance to talk to them more later; apparently Tristan had gained increased magical powers as a result of becoming my priestess. Which implied that I was somehow magical myself!

But there wasn't much time for that now. Apparently Alena's powers were magic-based, so Johanna hatched a plan to use her, along with Illyana and myself (since we could all fly) to try and triangulate the source of the 'chaos magic', whatever that was.

I noticed that Illyana's sister, Hunter, kept giving me odd looks. At the mall, I'd thought she'd called me Sakkara. Had she known my predecessor? Hunter looked like a normal teenager, but then again, so did a lot of metahumans, apparently.

It figured that I'd be the one stuck looking like a devil-girl.

It was starting to get dark by the time we reached one of the newer hotel/casinos on the Strip; The Sphinx's Lair. It had an Egyptian theme, not unlike the Luxor, although I liked this one better; the Sphinx out in front was, from the waist up, at least, a very pretty (and topless!) young woman!

We weren't going to enter right away, since Jade was en route, but then people started rushing out the front doors, screaming! A tall man, dressed like a security guard ran out as well, and then he suddenly screamed in pain. As I went to him, he started to grow in size, his clothes ripping away!

Before my eyes, his form started to become that of a giant young woman, even as his body below the waist became covered in tawny fur. He..or she..hissed at me as I got close, and I stopped short, even as she completed her metamorphosis.

Great wings sprouted from her back, and, with the sound of cracking bones, her lower body became that of a four-legged beast...a lioness. Before my very eyes, the hapless security guard had become a lovely young Sphinx that greatly resmembled the one perched out in front of the casino!

And she was pretty big, let me tell you! "Holy shit...hey, are you ok?"

She said something in a language I didn't understand, and pounced forward, so fast I couldn't do anything to avoid her attack. Luckily, I wasn't alone; a green wall of light appeared between us, but it was flickering dangerously; the pain Alena was in made it hard for her to concentrate on her powers.

Still, that was more than enough time for me to take to the air. Sphinx-Girl had wings, but she seemed content to stay on the ground, which suited me just fine!

Illyana created a great gust of wind that checked Sphinxette's forward movement, and I threw a ball of flame at the beast-woman's rear flank. Which she didn't seem to care for one bit!

None of us were really brick material, however. I'd seen for myself that Hunter was really damned strong, but I had no reason to believe she was invincible. I expected Constantine to start chucking spells, but instead, the tall woman pulled out a gun and started shooting!

For all our efforts, we only seemed to annoy the Sphinx, and the instant Alena's force field wavered, she ran right for Illyana!

"Oh no you don't!" I dived in the way, and hurled a ball of flame at Sphinxette; to my horror, however, she batted it away with one hand, and I got smacked by her front paw. The claws ripped right through my clothing and savagely cut into my skin.

It hurt really bad, and the force of the blow sent me flying back; I couldn't even slow my momentum!

But then, someone caught me in their arms, and I heard a familiar voice. "I've got you, baby."

I managed to turn and look at my savior. "...'Lyssa?! But...how?"

She kissed me. "I"ll explain later. How badly are you hurt?" I realized she wasn't standing on the ground, but rather floating several feet in the air. She descended to the ground, examining my wounds.

Already my body was healing. "I think I'll be alright, but my outfit is trashed." I held up the ring Jade had given me, which surrounded me with green light, as I clothed myself. I decided to copy the black Victorian dress Tristan had given me. It may seem like a strange choice, but it's the closest thing to a costume I have!

Oddly, even when I was done, the green light only seemed to get brighter...what the?

A great green (and feminine) hand appeared, and slapped the Sphinx, who was left reeling by the blow. "Take that, you mythical bitch!"

I grinned. Jade was here!

She hadn't come alone, either, a tiny blonde girl thrust her hands forward, and a parked car went hurtling at the Sphinx! I was seriously impressed.

"Night Girl, now!" The blonde called out, and I saw another new face; a raven-haired girl, who charged the Sphinx and, leaping into the air, delivered a nasty flying kick to the beast-woman's torso!

I winced in sympathy. That looked like it had hurt!

To my surprise, Alyssa moved forward as well; she actually glided a few inches off the ground, and really darned fast, too. Hunter seemed to have the same idea, and soon, all three girls were wrestling the Sphinx to the ground.

"I call upon the Winds of Watoomb to bind my foe!" Illyana created 'chains' of rippling air to bind the Sphinx, and then Jade finished the job with a cage of green light.

"That'll hold her for now, let's get inside!"

We all made our way into the casino.

Klariann

When Jackie and I entered the hotel, I was immediately confronted with several greedy wishes. Soon, everyone was winning big, and the slot machines were all paying out; it was a casino owner's nightmare! I giggled, thinking of all the money my Father was going to lose. And he only had himself to blame.

"That's what you get for not loving me, Father." I felt stinging tears form. I tried to blink them away, but it hurt so much! Why didn't he care about me? What had I done wrong?

I clenched my fist. It didn't matter anymore. I didn't need him. I had someone who loved me. I looked to Jackie, expecting a smile. Instead, she was frowning a little.

"Jackie? What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "I...I don't know. This just doesn't seem right."

"My Master says if I do what he wants, he'll make me his Queen. I'm hoping he'll be my new Daddy. Then we'll be happy, together."

But first, I was going to bring Father's world crashing down. I moved forward, and I felt my powers growing. No longer did someone have to make a wish; I could 'hear' their thoughts, their secret desires. With a smile, I began granting those desires.

You'd think that people would be happy to have their wildest dreams come true. But I was growing used to the screams. People began to flee the casino, and ordinarily, a small person like myself would be trampled by the crowd.

Instead, flashes of wild magic struck anyone who got too close, which evoked even more screams of horror.

I smiled, but deep down, a part of me was sad. Was this all my powers were good for?

A security guard ran into me, knocking me down. "Ow!" That had hurt! He didn't look so good himself, however, as his bones began to make cracking sounds, and his flesh began to warp. He ran past me, alien thoughts overtaking his mind.

My new power tried to read his heart, but he was no longer thinking in English, but instead in a language that hadn't been spoken in centuries.

Jackie crouched down, picking up the guard's fallen gun. Even though she was smaller now, she was just as strong as she had been as Jack, so she lifted the gun with ease.

"Time to finish this." I walked towards the elevator that would take us to the top floor...and my Father.

"Where are you going? The Sorceress is here!"

I turned, feeling her even as I heard the Master's voice. A group of girls entered the casino, united by a single purpose. They were here for me! And among them was a girl younger than myself, wearing a gold medallion on a chain.

We made eye contact, and her eyes widened. "It's her! She's the one causing this!" She pointed at me.

A girl with reddish skin, wearing black dress, came flying at me. I wasn't afraid, my powers would protect me. But to my surprise, Jackie jumped in front of me, and opened fire. "Don't you touch her!"

The bullets pierced the girl's flesh, but she didn't seem fazed; she punched Jackie, who fell back, the gun spinning away.

"Jackie!" I gasped. "You...you hurt her!" I felt anger rising inside of me. Jackie was the only person who loved me...and now...

Hunter

I heard Illyana gasp the minute she saw the blonde girl. I didn't have her magical perception, but I knew that was no ordinary child.

"It's her, she's the one causing this!" Illy pointed at the girl. Before I could move, Stefani, the girl who claimed to be Sakkara's chosen successor, flew forward to grab the kid.

Only to have her companion, a pretty teen, step in her path and open fire. Stefani was hurt, but with a snarl of rage, she punched the gunslinger, who flew backwards, landing on the floor. My blood ran cold; up until this point, Stefani had seemed nothing like Sakkara.

But that anger...it was unmistakable.

The blonde girl began to shake, and her eyes began to glow with harsh red light. "I'll kill you all! Sword of Chaos!" She made a slashing motion with her hand, and I pushed Illyana back, even as a blade of ruby light cut into my back.

"Hunter!"

"...I'll be ok...just nicked me."

The attack had been so sudden, and savage, that the others hadn't quite gotten out of the way. Thankfully, being composed of pure Chaos-aligned energy, the blade didn't cut anyone badly, but it didn't really need to. I felt feverish as the magic tried to warp my body, turning it against me.

"...you hurt my friends. All these people. It stops now." I turned my head, hearing Alena's voice. Emerald flames were rising off of her body.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about being hurt! Nobody cares about me! Nobody loves me! Only Jackie, and you hurt her! I wish you were all dead!" The girl held out her hand, and tiny knives of ruby light darted forward, intent on slashing us all to ribbons!

Alena flew in the path of the lancing energies, which pierced her flesh. She didn't scream. She didn't even whimper, her body shielding us from the attack. She wasn't glowing green anymore; instead, she was surrounded by an aura of indigo light. "...stop this...you don't have to..."

And then Alena fell.

For a heartbeat, no one moved, and then I heard Jade's voice. "Attack!"

Everyone rushed forward, but before anyone could harm the girl, wild magic burst out of her body in all directions.

I managed to sit up, and to my horror, I saw that everyone had been turned to stone.

"No...NO!"

I thought it was my voice, but then I realized it wasn't; it was Illyana's. "Take my strength, sister. Let's end this."

She took my hand and squeezed it tightly. We were both afraid of joining; what if we couldn't come back afterwards? But too many people had been hurt. We had no choice.

The Eye of Agamotto opened, and there was a great light...

The Sorceress

I was born again. It felt wonderful to be alive, to exist! I can't begin to explain it, the sensation of being, when moments before, you were nothing. My two halves were afraid of me; why couldn't they see the truth? That we were one, and I was their true self?

But I knew why. And I understood. They had lost so much of their own lives; in a way, they had barely lived at all! It seemed so unfair. For me to have a chance at life, they had to forfeit theirs.

The Chaos-Witch seemed uncertain now that I had revealed myself. She was just a child; truly a child. An innocent, her mind warped and twisted.

"Child, you know not who you serve. Stop this battle now, and I can free you."

So much pain in her young heart. It blinded her. "No! I'll kill you and be happy!"

Even as my heart ached for her, I knew I could not falter. She attacked me with her Sword of Chaos, but I called forth the Shield of Law. The irresistible force met the immovable object, and their energies were cancelled out.

My allies were restored to flesh, but they were still wounded and dazed. Only Jade was able to rise to her knees; the sheer will of the Green Lantern was staggering.

The Witch-Girl fell to her hands and knees. She glared up at me, pure hatred in her eyes. "That won't stop me!" She slowly stood. "You have no idea who you're up against! I'm Klariann! Bum, bum, bum...The Witch-Girl!"

She struck a defiant pose, grinning at me.

Not good. The chaos she'd caused in the city had increased her power to near-Godlike levels! And, for whatever reason, the Lords of Order were unable to respond. But I'm the Sorceress Supreme, after all. I knew I couldn't attack her directly; those wild magic bursts weren't random, but a powerful defensive maneuver.

There was more than one way to skin a familiar, however. "Gaol!" The air surrounding Klariann transformed into a solid; a crystal that was practically indestructible. That should keep her out of trouble!

"My God! Clara! Let her go!"

I blinked, and looked past the girl. A man in his late 30's was aiming a rather impressive-looking rifle at me. "She's hurting people, I have to stop her!"

"She's just a child! Let her go or I'll kill you!"

A green light shot out and crumpled the rifle like it was a cheap toy. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black. But your daughter isn't herself." Jade stood slowly. Daughter? Oh hell.

"Damn you! Let my little girl go!"

Just then, I heard deep laughter. Things had just gone from bad to worse.

"You think you can stand against my Klariann? Kill them all, my servant!"

My gaol spell was shattered like so much cheap glass, and Klariann was free. She blasted Jade with a bolt of chaos energy. I started chanting another spell, but...oh no. My time was up!

I felt myself being ripped apart...I....no...

Johanna

Some people might call me a coward. Me? I prefer to think of myself as a survivor. I'd held back up until this point, trying to figure out an angle. The frontal assault had gone about as well as I'd expected.

I figured that once pressed, Klariann's master would make his/her/it's presence known. And I'd been right. Too bad it turned out to be Mordru! The old bastard had his claws sunk deep into the girl's soul; magic wasn't going to free her. Not my magic, anyways.

I watched as the girl's father walked up to her. "Clara, what's going on?"

She hissed at him. "You! Stay away! I hate you!"

The man stiffened. You could have slapped him and it would have had about the same effect. "...Clara...I'm so sorry..."

"Shut up! Shut up! You don't care about me! You never cared! You didn't care about Mommy or me! You treat me like I'm nothing but a nuisance! You don't love me! You won't even let me call you Daddy!"

Good, her attention was on her Da. I got Illy and Hunter out of harm's way. If they got killed, Mikhail would rip my soul apart. And then he'd get serious about torturing me!

I heard a faint moan. "...alena..."

Every instinct I had was telling me to get the girls the hell out of Dodge. But I recognized that voice. It was Alison.

I tried to tell myself I didn't care. That anyone who liked me was damned anyways. But I couldn't do it. I'm no hero. Anyone who knows me would laugh if you suggested that I was anything other than a self-serving bastard.

But, as usual, my damn heart is my undoing. I cared about the girl. A lot more than I should. So I turned back, and lit a cigarette. It's a simple action, but it never fails to get people's attention. As Freddy Mercury would say, it's a kind of magic.

Klariann looks to me. "Stay out of this."

"Who, me? Heck, if you wanna kill your Da, be my guest. He sounds like a bastard anyways. Let me guess; your Mum died, and he took you in. Forced you to live in a palace. Gave you everything, put you in a good school. And you're pissed about it."

She glared at me. "Go to hell!"

I laughed at her. "Been there. Lucifer kicked me out; said I was a bad influence."

She was so angry she couldn't even attack me, she just shook her little fist. "He didn't give me everything! He didn't give me what I wanted!"

"What? Love? Stupid girl, love's a lie. Nobody loves anyone, if someone says they love you, they just want to use you and stab you in the back."

"You're wrong! Jackie loves me!"

"What, the girl laying there, probably dead? If she loves you, she's an idiot, you don't care about her. Hell, you don't care about anyone but yourself!"

"Don't talk about my daughter like that!" The man looked pissed. Fuck me, but he did care! I knew how to win now. I also knew that, after this, no one here would be able to stand the sight of me. Ah well.

"Why not? She's right, you don't love her. Wouldn't even let her call you Daddy. Have you ever even hugged her?"

"I..." Yep, that took the wind out of his sails.

"Enough! I tire of this. Kill the Sorceress!" It must be killing Mordru that he can't come here and do it himself.

"Shut up! I'll kill her when I want to, you can't tell me what to do!" Klariann surprised me; apparently she was made of stubborn stuff.

"Arrogant whelp! I gave you power, and you defy me? So be it!" Red lightning arced from above and struck the girl's father, who screamed in pain.

"No...Daddy!" She ran to him.

"Clara...so...sorry...love...you..." His eyes closed.

"Daddy!" God. Hearing her cry out like that. Even I felt bad for the kid. She looked upwards. "I hate you! I hate you! I'll never do what you want! Never!"

I knew what Mordru's answer would be, and I already had my counterspell ready. The red lightning came down, and I grounded it. "I call upon the Four Winds, to scatter your power to the Pillars of the Earth!"

"Constantine." A pair of great, red-glowing eyes appeared, glaring down at me. "You will pay dearly for this."

"This is for Daddy!" Klariann surprised me again. "Sword of Chaos!" She attacked the manifestation with her full power. Unfortunately, it was pretty futile.

"Pathetic. You invoke my own power to attack me?" Mordru laughed.

"Yeah, that's like asking him nicely to help you kill him, git."

Another arc of red lightning lashed out at the girl. Aw fuck, my counterspell wouldn't...

One of the heroes, a really petite blonde, barely bigger than a kid herself, rose shakily into the air. The bolt of energy simply arced off of her, and struck back at it's source.

"Magic or not, it looks like electricity, it acts like electricity, I can stop it. I can stop you!"

I heard Mordru scream in pain. "Who dares assault Mordru, the Lord of Chaos?"

"I'm Cosmic Girl! Remember that name!"

I figured he'd blast her apart for that bit of bravado, but instead...I actually heard the old wizard gasp. And just like that, his presence was gone.

"Well...that was unexpected."

Mordru

I stared at the crystal before me, now dark, the connection closed. Cosmic Girl? Cosmic Girl? Long ago, I had sought immortality. Before I was ever Lord of Chaos, I consulted an Oracle, to learn how I could achieve my goal.

The Oracle told me what I needed to know, and I stabbed her in the heart, so that no one else could ever learn the secret. But with her dying breath, she told me this.

"You will live for a long time, Mordru. And you will come into the fullness of your power long after the death of Christ; 30 centuries after he was nailed to the tree! But then you will be struck low, by the one who bears the power of κόσμος, the antithesis of your khaos."

For years, I'd attempted to learn more. Finally, a divination showed me the face of my enemy. A dark-haired young man wearing strange garb. And he would be known as Cosmic Boy.

But now, I had been vexed by a Cosmic Girl, a thousand years too soon! What could it mean? Was she a champion of Order? Until I knew for certain, I dared not strike again.

I had failed, but in that failure, I had grasped at a glimmer of success. I had learned, and next time, I would be prepared.

---

Next: Aftermath.

Magical Chaos!: Aftermath by Lynceus A new day dawns..

---

Daniel

The Lord of Dreams watched silently as Cosmic Girl reflected Mordru's energies back at his manifestation. He knew that the Chaos-Lord was more stunned than hurt, but regardless, Mordru quit the field.

The heroes had done their duty. And now it was his turn. Reaching into his bag of sand, Daniel caused the City to fall into a peaceful sleep. And from the mind of the Dream Girl, a cloaked figure appeared.

“You have much work to do, Sleepwalker. Go now, and bring peace to the City.”

The Walker-in-Sleep bowed and vanished.

As for Daniel, he had his own task. Donning the helm that served as his badge of office, he entered the dreams of Clara Ann Black. He couldn't fully remove the darkness that had touched her soul, but he could give her peace. Her future was now uncertain; even with her powers mostly dispersed, the child now had a strong affinity for Chaos-magic.

He gathered up the majority of her power, leaving only a bright ember. She would eventually regain her abilities, but better that she have a chance to grow and mature first, and learn the correct way to use her powers.

He spread the magic across the City; wounds healed, that which was damaged became whole. With his power, he undid the transformations that had wracked the City to it's knees, although he knew that, for some, there would be repercussions as a result of the new possibilities forced upon them.

He did his best to give the people peaceful dreams. Tomorrow, everyone would awaken, and most would only remember a wave of mass hysteria, a panic and rioting, which was halted by the City's heroes; the brave men and women who defended it nightly, as well as the shining new champions.

But some would remember the truth.

Into the heroes own dreams, he touched each one. They had all learned something about themselves and each other. In most cases, what had been learned was good, but he sighed as he gazed upon Johanna Constantine, who was tormented by her own demons.

“They will hate you. But perhaps I can give you some small peace, my friend.”

The Lord of Dreams made one last journey before retiring to his fortress; a certain Chaos-Lord would be plagued by nightmares for some time. It was the least he could do.

Jade

It was dawn when we awoke. Something had happened, I could feel it. My Ring silently noted that an Entity had acted on our behalf, healing who it could, and gently removing the worst of the horrors from the people's minds. Although we were allowed to keep our true memories.

I was grateful that no one was hurt, especially Alena. It's funny, really. She looks up to me so much, but to me, she's the real hero. She may not have my will, but I'd never met anyone who cared so much for others. My Ring informed me that she had touched upon a strange power. I remembered seeing the indigo light. But what had it been?

According to the Ring, it wasn't the Star Heart's power, but something else. Something wonderful.

-

Nobody was really happy with Johanna; I knew what she had done, and why, but the others didn't share my perspective. Illyana was particularly hurt and confused; she'd seen Johanna as a mentor and a guide. The apparent betrayal cut into her young heart like a knife.

Even though I knew she was older than she appeared, there was a part of her that had managed to retain some of her innocence. Alison seemed troubled as well, but I think she understood. It was hard to tell with Alena's sister; she seemed so unfocused and carefree, but she was very different than her sister.

I'd have to keep an eye on her.

The City insisted on a ceremony, to thank us for our efforts. I made sure, however, that the real heroes were remembered. The police, in particular, had done the best they could, even as their reality warped around them.

The medal was real gold, and I felt a strange bit of pride looking at it. I hadn't gotten into this wanting accolades or recognition; even the people I had come to admire still didn't know the real me. I hated keeping the secret, but...

It was necessary, for now.

The Ring seemed less than pleased that I'd chosen to deputize more heroes. While I was acting in my authority, and only giving out rings with minor powers, the Ring seemed to feel that my superiors would take a dim view of my initiative. Well to hell with them!

I'm just one person, and I want to be sure, even if something happens to me, or I lose my powers, that Earth will still have heroes.

Dream Girl, Night Girl, Cosmic Girl, Illyana, and Hunter all added something new to the table; it was high time we all met face-to-face. With a real central headquarters, there was very little we couldn't do. Although there were still other heroes I needed to recruit. The Lightning, for example.

Klariann...or Clara Ann, seemed a little confused. She didn't remember many specifics about what had happened, but deep down, she seemed to realize she'd done something terrible. Still, she and her Dad had begun to reconcile. I talked it over with the others, and everyone agreed that there wasn't any point to punishing her; she'd been through enough. Now was the time for her to heal.

Although I suspected her powers weren't completely gone. She would need guidance, and training.

But I'd done enough for now. I think it's high time I took a day off.

Clara Ann

I don't really remember what I did. But I know I did something bad. And it hurts inside. Mr. Clark wouldn't even look at me, he told Daddy that he needed personal time. And for some reason, that made me cry.

I don't want to be a crybaby, but I feel so horrible. I asked Daddy about it, but he told me it was alright. It wasn't my fault; I'd been hurting, and a bad man took advantage of me. I remember the man's voice. I'd get him some day.

Daddy and I had a long talk. He explained some things; he said he was sorry for not telling me everything sooner. He was afraid I wasn't old enough.

Daddy has some bad people who want to hurt him. They tried to hurt Mommy when I was still a baby; Mommy left Daddy because she was afraid that I would get hurt. And Daddy didn't stop her. He felt bad about that, but if we were out of his life, then maybe we'd be safe.

Until Mommy died. He didn't know what to do; he thought if he pretended not to care, they'd leave me alone. And put Mr. Clark in charge of me, someone he trusted. But he'd hurt me, and that made him very sad. And then I'd hurt other people because of it.

I told him I'd rather have a Daddy than be safe, and he hugged me. And told me that I could call him Daddy from now on. That made the hurt go away a little.

-

I went back to school a few days later. Gloriana didn't remember what had happened, but she was afraid of me now. I can't say the other kids are friendlier, but nobody wants to make me upset. So that's a good thing.

As I was heading to lunch, I heard someone crying. I walked into the bathroom, and found Ms. Hawthorne staring at her reflection in the mirror, in tears. I walked up and gave her a hug, and she hugged me back.

Finally, she was able to talk. When she was a little girl, her Daddy had been bad, and hurt her and her Mommy. She was afraid for a long time, and she never felt loved. It made her jealous of the other kids, because so many of them had parents that loved them.

She'd had a dream the other night, that she was a little girl again, and that she had a Mommy that loved her again. It was the happiest dream ever, but now that she was awake, she was very sad.

She told me she wished the dream was real. It would be nice if she could get her wish. After she took me to the Teacher's Lounge to get me something to eat (we'd missed lunch), she escorted me back to class.

As she walked away, I smiled and whispered something to myself. “Wish...granted.”

-

The next day, Ms. Hawthorne was gone, something about a leave of absence. I was sad for a little bit, but then a new girl came to class. She was very pretty, and she took the seat behind mine. She told me she liked my hair, because it was really long and pretty.

I let her touch it, which felt nice. We're friends now. Her name is Vera. Which was Ms. Hawthorne's name too. I don't feel so sad now.

-

Mr. Clark was waiting for me after school. He took me to the park, and we talked. He explained that he liked me a lot. But that it wasn't right for a man to like someone my age like that. He'd left not because of anything I'd done, but because he didn't want to hurt me.

I hugged him and told him he could never hurt me, but I could see he didn't believe me. He said he wished things were different, that he could love me without hurting me. After he left, I felt sad again, but then I smiled. “Wish...granted.”

-

The next day, I met another new girl. Her name is Jackie. I like her a lot. She doesn't let anyone push her around, but she's really very gentle. I like holding hands with her. It's good to have friends. And I don't think Mr. Clark is sad anymore.

Terry

I go through the motions of my day. Nobody but me remembers what really happened, when the City went crazy, and the heroes came. My son asked me what was wrong, and I didn't know what to tell him.

Last night I broke off my engagement to Dana. I no longer felt like the same person. She deserved someone better, I think.

That night, in my squad car, I was afraid. I didn't know what I was going to do. My body was all wrong. I was going to lose Dana. Lose my son. Lose my job. But I pushed that aside, to be strong for Ellen.

God, she was so beautiful, sitting there next to me, no bigger than a child. Her features were so delicate, I was afraid to touch her. I didn't want to break her! We talked for a long time. She told me how people treated her. How even her boyfriend couldn't look past her height.

She thought that was ironic, now. Being so small made her frightened, and she asked me to hold her. So I set her in my lap and we just, talked.

Finally, the City seemed to change. The madness faded. Even though it was hard with my shorter legs, I drove us to her Mother's. Her Mom had inherited a building from her brother, which had been divided into two apartments. So her Mother lived in one, and Ellen lived in the other while she was going to college. She was majoring in film studies; she said she wanted to be a director one day.

She asked me to stay, and I did. I don't know why.

Her Mother was apparently out of town for the month.

“We're all alone here. Terry...I think in the morning, this is all going to be over. I'm going to be tall again, you're going to be a man again. I'll go back to my boyfriend, and you'll go back to your fiancee and your boy. But tonight, tonight is magic. And tonight, I want to be with you.”

I tried to protest, but she dropped the last bit of her clothing, and stood naked. God, she was so perfect; not a child at all, but a miniature Goddess. She asked me again, and I couldn't say no.

She had me lay on her bed, as she straddled me. My body felt so alien, but then she took my nipple in her mouth, and it felt so good! She showed me what pleasure felt like for a woman. I'd never felt so amazing. So vulnerable. A slave to my own body.

We made love until it was almost bright outside. I fell asleep with her tiny body in my arms; we were both sated. She told me she loved me. I told her I loved her.

-

We woke up, and it was just as she said. There wasn't much to say. She kissed me goodbye, and I left her. She was taller than me, but I didn't care. She was beautiful. But the dream was over.

All week, I haven't been able to focus. I just want to talk to her again. But she's so young...

I hate my body. I no longer feel like a man. When she gave me my first orgasm as a girl, something broke inside of me. Or maybe something was fixed, I don't know. All I can say for sure is, I don't want to be a man. I want to be a girl again.

I want to be with her.

Stupid, I know. She probably doesn't even like girls. It was just a one-time thing.

-

I had a dream. A pale-haired young man was talking to me, telling me that I had choices. That I could be happy again. But that it would take me far from home. As I took my morning shower, I tried to imagine what it would feel like, to have the warm water running along my skin as a girl.

It would feel very nice, I decided. It wasn't until I found myself making soft moans of pleasure that my eyes opened and I realized I had changed...I was that girl again!

I remembered something from my dream; the man had said I could change into this form, that I would have the power to be a hero. But one day, I'd change, and I wouldn't be able to become a man ever again.

I just hoped when that day came, Chris was all grown.

-

I turned back into a man, and drove to Ellen's. I rang her doorbell. She answered, and looked happy to see me. We sat down and talked; she'd broken up with her boyfriend. I told her that I'd broken things off with Dana.

We sat in silence, and then she told me about this dream she'd had. It sounded a lot like mine had!

“And in the dream, the man said that I could be happy again. That I could even be a hero. And when I woke up...”

She smiled at me, and before my eyes, she began to shrink. Not as small as before, but small enough that her clothing hung on her loosely. “You're the only one I knew that would believe me!”

I then told her about my dream, and transformed in front of her. She gasped. I looked at her, and she smiled softly. “Terry...I meant it. What I said that night. I do love you.”

“I haven't been able to think about anyone but you.”

We held each other. And later, we made love on her couch.

-

I talked to Chris later that night. I told him I'd met someone new. He seemed happy for me, even when I admitted she was a lot younger than me. “Dayum Dad, you dawg! Is she hot?”

I admitted that she was very hot. Then I told him I was considering a transfer to Boston. He thought about it for a few minutes.

“Will she be there?”

I nodded. “Yes, she wants to move in with us...if that's alright with you.”

“I never liked Vegas anyway. Too hot. Let me meet her.”

So I brought her home the next day. He seemed to like her, and later, he came up to me.

“Dad, I gotta say it. That girl is amazing. I...I don't know if I really want to move, but...you deserve to be happy, Dad. I know Mom would want you to be happy. And Ellen...she's perfect for you. So much better than Dana ever could be.”

I did something I hadn't done in years. I hugged my son. And he let me.

-

We're leaving tomorrow. Martha, Ellen's mother, has some mixed feelings. But she told me that she could tell that I was a good man. And that Ellen and I loved each other deeply. She was partly right.

I'm not a man at all. Not anymore. And when we get to Boston, I'm going to become someone wonderful. Teriffic.

Ellen tells me that she's thinking of calling herself Doll Girl. We found out that she can shrink so about a foot tall, so the name fits.

We're going to be quite the pair. Look out world, your new heroes have arrived!

Daniel

In his castle, the Lord of Dreams rested. And smiled. Because sometimes, even the most impossible dreams can come true.

Finis.