Author's Note: A Retroactive Continuity, or Retcon if you will, is the altering of previously known facts in order for the universe to conform to new story lines. This Retcon universe belongs to Lilith Langtree, and I thank her for allowing us to play in her sandbox. Big thanks to Lilith, djkauf, Donjo and enemyoffun for beta reading and editing. This is a retcon of Polaris in the Marvel Comics Universe. Marvel Comics owns the character and all rights associated with him/her/it. All other characters that appear are copyright their creators / re-creators and only used with permission. Image copyright VOC.

Chapter One

“‘we have met the enemy and he is us’ Pogo”

Meta: A prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “after,” “along with,” “beyond,” “among,” “behind,” and productive in English on the Greek model: metacarpus; metagenesis; metalinguistics. (From Dictionary.com)

Once upon a time this was the dictionary definition for Meta, used mostly in medicine, engineering, science and philosophy. It was a prefix, not a noun and you didn’t hear it in everyday speech. That is until Jade turned up and told us about her Green Lantern Corps. She told us how a very small portion of the human race had what she called the Metagene, and how under the right circumstances, it would activate and change the person into a ‘Metahuman’ or super-being.

Lawrence Dane sat in the server room at Wayne Tech and shook his head. His thoughts were wandering again; he sighed and tried to focus his attention to the server diagnostic he was working on. There had been a rash of hard drive problems in the past month and he was chasing down the cause in his job as senior diagnostic technician. Larry had worked hard since he got his job with W.E. at age 21, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else. Even his most diehard friends rarely saw him except online. The fact was, at age 45, Lawrence Dane was a recluse; he went to work in the tech caverns and then went home to his cave in the basement of a low-rise.
Examining the next drive showed the same thing, failure due to massive data corruption. He’d have to send another memo out about why magnets and computers didn’t mix. He also made a mental note to also return the 30Tb drive to Best Buy, as it hadn’t even initialized when he connected it to his home system.

“Cheap junk,” he muttered to himself. With another sigh, he powered down his workstation and forwarded his work line to the company cell phone.

“I’ll have to requisition a new phone from supply as well, this one keeps cutting in and out,” Larry said to no one in particular, as there was no one around at 7:30 in the morning. He left the building, nodding at Al, the day security guard, who was just coming on shift.

“Another hard day’s night Mr. Dane?” Al asked with his perpetually stale joke. Larry forced a dry chuckle and gave his customary rejoinder.

“I should be sleeping like a log, Al.” and left the building for the empty parking lot. That and the occasional “have a nice day” were pretty much the only words he ever said to other humans; everything else was text or email. He stopped at the twenty four hour mini mart and picked up some groceries and a newspaper. Larry was old fashioned that way, preferring his news in print form to the telemedia or online sources. Getting back in his car he turned on the radio and started to drive home.

“…other dustup over the Mojave Desert by several Metas, witnesses are unsure as to who was involved or if any bystanders were hurt. We’ll have more information as it becomes available. 7:55 on Toronto’s morning drive. Weather and traffic are up nex…” Larry switched of the radio’s blather.

“Metas again,” he grunted as he pulled into his parking spot at home and got out of the car. The morning sun was rising over the treetops but very little of it would get into Larry’s Cave, as he sometimes referred to it. He opened the door and tossed his keys into a bowl of change on a door side table.

He headed straight to the bathroom and after getting out of his work clothes, Larry climbed into the shower and adjusted the water to his liking.

“45…balding…loner, spells either loser or assassin, and I haven’t the balls to even cheat on my taxes, so loser,” towelling off, he put on a threadbare bathrobe and walked to his kitchen to make tea.

There was a spark from the outlet that jumped to his forefinger as he plugged the kettle in, but it didn’t hurt so he paid it no mind. Tea made, he sat at his table to read the news.
“Funny thing,” he pondered as he turned the pages, “Metas in Japan, the US, but none in Canada.” He folded the paper and took his now empty cup to the kitchen sink. Yawning, Larry headed to his bedroom and the sweet release of sleep.

Chapter Two

“’Electricity is really just organized lightning.’ George Carlin”

Waking hurt that evening. Larry ached in every bone and muscle and his nerves felt alternately like fire and ice. He sat up and reached for the bottle of pain relievers that were beside the bed. There was a crackling noise and his clock radio died, Larry blinked, what the hell was going on with electronics lately? He popped two tablets and slowly stood up to dress. In the washroom while brushing his teeth he could have sworn his eyes had a greenish tinge to them. He blinked and shook his head. As he left the washroom, the light burned out.

“God, what a weird day, well, it can only get better from here.”

He left his home and went to his car for the drive into work. He clicked the unlock button on the fob, which failed to unlock the car. Grumbling under his breath he unlocked the door with his key. Once inside, he tried to start the car, which made a wheezing, grinding noise before falling silent. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and bit back a string of curses, the ache in his head getting worse while all around him, the lights in the parking lot exploded with showers of glass and sparks. He shoved at the car door pushing it open with greater violence then he intended and half ran, half staggered out of the parking lot of his building and into the street.
His blind headlong run led him through the darkness, through people’s yards into a large field of high tension transmission towers. Arcs of high voltage struck him repeatedly as he fell to his knees and started to glow brighter than the lightning-like bolts hitting him. He curled into a tight ball and passed out.

…

He woke in darkness, deep black like velvet, and the stars were so bright they looked like diamonds scattered across the cloth. He started to uncurl but everything seemed… odd, different but similar. Sitting up, Larry pushed the hair out of his eyes and looked around; everything for miles around was blacked out with screaming sirens shattering the night. He stood up and half staggered, half walked to the nearest sidewalk and headed towards his home. It didn’t take long for a police car to pull up alongside.

“Pardon me miss,” the officer on shotgun started, “are you alright?”

Larry jerked his head around and stared at the officer.

“Excuse me?” he sputtered.

“Well,” the cop replied, “you’re walking naked through a citywide blackout, you look sort of pale and you’re weaving all over the sidewalk. Did someone assault you or did you get hurt?”
Larry stopped suddenly, he realised he was naked and something else. He remembered the breeze on his skin, and he remembered lightning hitting him over and over again. He quite sensibly collapsed into a heap on the sidewalk. The cop’s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly grabbed the radio microphone.

“This is unit 5467; we need a bus at our location immediately, Victoria Park and Eglinton!”

…

Larry regained consciousness two days later with daylight streaming into the window of the hospital room. There was hair in his eyes again and in the sunlight it looked green.

“Weird trick of the light,” he thought and tried to roll over. He couldn’t, as he quickly discovered that he was held down by straps at his wrists and ankles. He started yelling.

“Hey! Hey! God dammit, someone help me!” A nurse ran into the room, followed almost immediately by a doctor.

“It’s ok, miss, we’re here, we’re here!” the nurse tried to calm Larry. The doctor held his legs down as he thrashed and the nurse tried to make sure that the IV needle didn’t break in his arm.
There was a groaning noise like metal twisting and the heart monitor exploded in a shower of sparks, the voices around seemingly receding into the distance as the lights flared. All Larry could think about was being trapped and wanting to escape. There was a sharp tearing noise and his hands were loose, he jumped to the floor in a crouch and caught a glimpse of movement in the mirror. Larry stopped dead in his tracks, the person staring back in shock and fear was not him. The person in the reflection was much younger, had long green hair, green eyes and was female, yet she matched his every movement, every blink. He decided that passing out was a very good option.

...

Waking was easier this time and as expected, he had been strapped down to a bed again. There was a nurse sitting to his right, apparently waiting for Larry to regain consciousness again.

“There you are,” the petite blond chirped with a smile, “Better now?”

Larry cleared his throat and attempted a smile.

“I guess, if you call waking up as an entirely different person ‘Better’,” he replied, grimacing at the alto voice he now possessed.

The nurse nodded.

“We sort of figured that out about the same time you did, Ms. Dane,” she sighed, “we really haven’t any protocols in place to deal with metahumans yet, I am sorry.”

Larry scowled, “Ms. Dane, I suppose I better get used to that,” she turned her head toward the windows and saw the wrecked equipment for the first time.

The hospital bed looked like someone had taken both ends and twisted it and the heart monitor was a small pile of debris on the floor.

“Did I...?” Larry gestured with her chin. The nurse nodded.

“Don’t worry about it Ms. Dane, we think it’s covered.” Larry looked back towards the nurse and noticed her id.

“Next question Ms. Caplin,” she began awkwardly, “who identified me as, well, me?”

Nurse Caplin took something from the table beside the bed and held it in Larry’s line of sight.
“The police officer that found you backtracked you to your...um point of origin and found the charred remnants of your clothes, your melted keys and what was left of your wallet. It was this,” she held up a badly blistered plastic ID, “that allowed us to figure out that Larry Dane was your name and you never looked like this before two days ago.”

Larry scowled again, “So two plus two equals me?” she blew air out between pursed lips, “pardon me for saying, but that’s a crock in this day and age.”

“You’re right... fingerprints and a DNA work up were done, the prints were smaller, but they matched those on file with Wayne Tech security,” the nurse looked nervous, “The DNA wasn’t exactly a match though, more closely matched to a female blood relative.”

Larry closed her eyes and leaned back into the pillow and giggled, “I’m my own goddamned sister, jeez that’s rich!” she started laughing harder, tears running down her face, “The jerk with no family is his own Effing little sister!” the laughter grew ragged and rapidly became sobs of despair as Larry Dane broke down. Nurse Caplin quickly administered a sedative and Larry settled into a troubled sleep.

...

When she awoke next, Larry noticed that Nurse Caplin was not at her side and she could hear a commotion in the hallway. There was a thudding noise against the wall and the door opened to show a young woman in a green and black bodysuit with a white symbol on her chest. A green glow emanated from her right hand as she closed the door behind herself.

“Hello Larry, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” she said with a smile.

“You’ll have to forgive me for not getting up,” Larry responded snidely, “I’m a little tied up at the moment. Now stop me if I’m off base here, but you would be Jade?”

The girl in green smiled and gestured with her ring and the straps at Larry’s wrists and ankles came undone. Larry rubbed his wrists.

“Well thanks for that anyways, they were starting to chafe. Have a seat.” she gestured to a chair. Jade sat down and seemed to be listening to something, then looked directly at Larry.

“We are here to find out what you intend to do with your abilities.” It wasn’t quite a question.

Larry snorted in disbelief. “What I intend to do with my what?” she almost laughed aloud, “my life has been ripped away from me and you want to know how I intend to use my abilities? Oh I don’t know, settle down, raise a family... Jesus!” she glared at the woman in front of her.

Jade struck that odd listening pose again. “Yes, she is using sarcasm as a defence mechanism.”

“Who the fuck are you talking too?” she demanded of Jade. The Green Lantern held up her right hand and pointed at her ring.

“The ring was asking me if you were serious in your answers,” Jade smiled, “Now I’m sorry if I seem brusque, but it seems that your local law enforcement didn’t want you disturbed.”

Larry covered her eyes, “and you took that to mean go right in? Pardon me if I haven’t had a chance to give this,” she waved her hands across her body, “much serious thought. Look kid, if I go on a rampage, feel free to give me a beat-down, but right now, I haven’t got a clue as to my standing as a Canadian, let alone a Meta.”

Jade nodded, responding to the ring, and then looked at Larry with compassion in her eyes.
“Take this, Larry,” a small silver ring materialized in her hand. “When you’re ready, you can just speak my name and I’ll come to you.” The ring floated across the room into Larry’s hand. She looked down at it then looked back up, but Jade had vanished. The door to the room burst open and Nurse Caplin rushed in followed closely by a slightly dishevelled police officer.

“Are you ok Ms. Dane? She didn’t hurt you, did she?” the blond girl asked. Larry looked bemusedly at the ring in her palm, then at the nurse.

“What? Oh no, she wanted to talk. I told her I wasn’t ready,” she sighed, “though I suppose I should expect that sort of thing from now on.”

Chapter Three

“She had that nameless charm, with a strong magnetism, which can only be called, 'It”.
Elinor Glyn

After several conversations between doctors, it was decided to leave Larry unstrapped, which suited her just fine. Lucy Caplin was assigned to his case, much to Larry’s surprise and delight. She had grown fond of the little blond and actually would talk freely to her about all sorts of things. She was slightly less forthcoming with the battalion of Psychiatrists, Psychologists and councillors who were paraded through her room, all wanting to know how Larry was adapting to the sudden sex change.

“Gee, let me think...poorly?” she caustically shut down another dunderhead.

The psychologist was trying to get Larry to admit that this was something she had actually desired. What Larry didn’t admit aloud to anyone was how natural this body felt. She had been walking around the room and caught herself as she moved past the mirror. The reflection was moving exactly as it appeared to be. No clomping around, no truck driver in drag, she seemed to flow as long as Larry didn’t think about it. Lucy noticed right away and Larry admitted to her that the body seemed to be...comfortable.

“I don’t know why Lucy, it’s like cruise control or autopilot,” she said, “as long as I don’t think about it I’m fine.”

“Well, you certainly don’t need poise lessons,” the nurse giggled, “but you will need lots of other help. Oh...I have good news! You’ve been cleared for visitors,” she smiled sunnily.

“You’re really the only person I want to see, Lucy,” Larry replied as they sat at a table that had been brought into the room, “I don’t want to deal with the outside world,” she took a sip from her cup of tea.

“Well, the outside world wants to deal with you Lar,” Lucy countered, “Starting with a passel of lawyer types. Sorry.”

“Not without my own attorney,” Larry replied grimly.

Several phone calls later, Sarah Hallowell was vetted, cleared and secured by three levels of security and law enforcement and got to see her old/new client.

“Good lord! Larry?” she eyed the green haired girl searching for any familiar traces of the man she had known for nearly 15 years. Sarah was tall, slender and fiery, like her hair.

“Right here shyster,” Larry waved her over to the table, “boy will you earn your retainer this time,” She grinned as Sarah came up close and examined her closely.

“There in the jaw line and the ears,” Sarah declared, “smaller and smoother, but defiantly Dane.” she turned to Lucy who had watched the exchange in amazement.

“Sarah Hallowell, I’ve looked after Larry’s legal affairs for some time now,” she explained, “and you get to know certain things about a person after a few years.” She shook Lucy’s hand.

“Oh, sorry, Lucy,” Larry blushed and quickly introduced his nurse to the Attorney, “Sarah Hallowell, this is Lucy Caplin. Lucy has been at my side from day one helping me cope with all,” she waved her hands across her body, “this. She’s kept me relatively sane.”

It was Lucy’s turn to blush. “Don’t believe her Ms. Hallowell. Larry has been amazing, considering the circumstances.”

Sarah watched the byplay with considerable amusement, she had never seen Larry defer to anyone in the time she knew him, let alone show embarrassment, “and perhaps this change was for the better,” she thought.

Larry waved Sarah over to a long table that the hospital had liberated from the cafeteria and pulled out a chair “you can set up here Sarah, I’ll take the middle and Lucy can be on my right.” she said. Sarah nodded, opened her attaché case, pulled out an iPad, and attempted to power it on. The screen remained blank. Larry glanced over.

“You’d better have a legal pad in there Sarah,” she said, “Electronics and I don’t seem to get along anymore.”

Sarah scowled “this is going on my bill if it’s damaged, Dane.” She couldn’t keep a straight face and started grinning.

Larry giggled, then looked downright shocked. “Did I just...” her lawyer and nurse just nodded and smiled. She scowled “ok, send in the clowns,” she said sourly.

Over the next 5 hours there was a seemingly endless parade of government and corporate liaisons all wanting indemnity for the series of events that led up to Larry’s current state and all bearing large settlement cheques to ensure her silence. It seemed to her that she had repeated her statement about the incident at least 70 times. It was coming on 5 pm when the mob thinned to a trickle.

Larry put her head on her crossed arms and sighed. “Are we done mommy?” she snarled.

“Just one more on the list Dane, suck it up,” Sarah smiled, “you are pretty grumpy for someone with several million dollars in settlements and an agreement with Wayne Tech to give you a disability pension.”

Larry turned her head towards her lawyer and looked at her. “I guess, I think the finality is setting in. I’m this me now...forever,” tears rolled down her cheek.

Lucy reached over and dried Larry’s tears. “Hush now... it’s ok... I think both Sarah and I will help you adjust,” the petite blond woman soothed, “we’ve both had practice.”
Larry smiled.

“I think I’ve got a new first name for you Larry,” Sarah said, changing the subject, “Lorna.”
Larry thought for a moment, Lar and Lor were close enough names, “OK,” she said, “I’m Lorna Dane now.”

The room door opened and a very good looking redhead strode in. Her bearing was military, even though she was dressed in an expensive business suit. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lorna, My name is Heather McNeil Hudson, here on behalf of The Canadian Government, Department H.”

End part one
Magnetic Personality

Next Chapter: Lorna is recruited to Department H. The Canadian Government’s covert operation to find and train Metahumans in Canada.

Magnetic Personality
By
Moongoddess
Part Two

Author's Note: A Retroactive Continuity, or Retcon if you will, is the altering of previously known facts in order for the universe to conform to new story lines. This Retcon universe belongs to Lilith Langtree, and I thank her for allowing us to play in her sandbox. This is a retcon of Polaris in the Marvel Comics Universe. Marvel Comics owns the character and all rights associated with him/her/it. Captain Canuck is TM Comely Comics. Mr. Canoehead is TM the Frantics and CBC. All other characters that appear are copyright their creators / re-creators and only used with permission. Image copyright VOC. Once again Thanks to Lilith Langtree, EOF, and Donjo, for the invaluable help.

Chapter Four
“’Leadership is not magnetic personality--that can just as well be a glib tongue.’ Peter Drucker”

Sarah Hallowell stood to greet the newcomer, “How can we help the Government Ms. Hudson?”

Heather shook her hand and sat down across from the three, “It’s not so much what your client can do for the Government and more of what we at Department H can do for your client Ms. Hallowell.” Sarah started to reply but Lorna held up her hand.

“Just what can ‘Department H’ do for me Ms. Hudson?” Lorna asked. “So far, no one has even told me my status as a citizen. Everyone else seems to be more interested in covering their asses, so I rather figured the ‘Conservative Government’ would be doing more of the same.”

Heather looked at Lorna and nodded, “Direct. They said you were not the sort to tap dance around. Look Lorna, the government, especially department H, has been on the lookout for talented individuals to aid in protecting the sovereignty of Canada for some time,” she reached into a briefcase and pulled out a thick folder, “there have been stories and rumours of special people for almost as long as we have been a nation and even before.”

Heather opened the folder and placed it so the three women could read it, “They weren’t always stories either. There have been heroes before now. Department H was set up in the 1960’s to track down the superheroes.” she paused and smiled, “They weren’t always called Metas, you know. We offered aid and assistance to anyone wanting it. When Jade made her broadcast we went on high alert and now you are the first Canadian Metahuman we have found.”

Lorna looked at the folder with great interest. Nelvana, Johnny Canuck, and Canada Jack. Her father used to tell her stories of them at bedtime, “Hey, three Captain Canucks?” she asked in astonishment as she read further, “Oh come on! Mr. Canoehead? You can’t be serious.”

“All special talents and all assisted by various arms of the government,” Heather responded, “H was formed to bring all the talents under one roof.”

“And H is offering… what, exactly?” asked Lorna, not even looking up from the file.

“Well, an update to your status as a Canadian citizen for a start,” Heather replied. “Birth Certificate, Passport, Social Insurance, training to control your abilities and find out the range of those abilities, and Government sanction if you choose to take up the activities that so many other Metas have, crime fighting.”

Lorna looked at Lucy then at Sarah, “This may be the best thing for me right now,” she told them, “And it’s not like I have much left to keep me here, the police tell me that I fried pretty much all my electronics, None of the clothing is my size anymore. So why not a fresh start?”

Sarah held up a cautioning finger, “What does the government expect of Lorna? There’s always a quid pro quo attached.”

Heather reached into her briefcase and withdrew another folder, which she handed to Sarah, “This document outlines exactly what the government offers and what it expects in return,” she sighed, “long story short ladies, Canada wants’ its own American Dream. A symbol of the true North; strong and free. And, in the long run, you may want the feds on your side.”

Sarah looked up from the document she was perusing, “Why would that be Ms. Hudson?”

Heather looked Lorna straight in the eyes, “Right now, people don’t know what to make of you, Lorna. Hence the rush to indemnify themselves, but…” she paused for a moment, “what happens when someone files a lawsuit against you, for some perceived ‘injury’ or slight or whatever crosses the mind of someone looking to make a quick buck. Hell, you blacked out a third of south-western Ontario when your Meta turned. You don’t think it’s likely that someone who missed the last half hour of Idol will launch a nuisance lawsuit?”

Lorna covered her eyes, “See why I said I didn’t want to see anyone Lucy? All my adult life I’ve kept my head down and worked hard so I didn’t have to deal with the Idiocrasy. Now it seems that every moron with a petty complaint will be sharpening their knives and aiming them at my back,” tears began to run from under her hands, “I didn’t ask for any of this…” she broke down sobbing.

Lucy wrapped her arms around Lorna protectively, “Ohhh honey…shhhh… I know and I’m here for you.” The little blond rocked Lorna in her arms, “She’s right you know, she didn’t ask for any of this,” Lucy looked at Heather, “Ms. Hudson, if it’s possible and if Lorna wants me along, I’d like to be part of her medical team, if only to give her some sense of continuity in her life and to be a friendly face amongst strangers.”

“You want to stay with me?” Lorna sniffed back tears and looked at Lucy then at Heather, “Can she? Come with me?”

“I’m authorized to negotiate, so I don’t see why not Lorna,” Heather responded, “anything else you would need?”

Sarah looked up from the document again, “Well, aside from no mention of salary, the deal lives up to what Ms. Hudson has said. I’d suggest taking them up on it, but, there should be an exit clause,” she looked directly at Heather, “or was indentured servitude part of the deal?”

Heather looked startled, “I… I wasn’t involved in the drafting of the document… I honestly had no idea…”

Lorna giggled, “Sorry Heather, no offense intended, but you should see your face right now,” she smiled brightly, wiping her face dry, “you see why Sarah has been my attorney for 15 years? She misses very little. So, how do we proceed?”

“First thing we do is I sit down with a government attorney and we fix,” Sarah held up the document like a dead rat, “this, so that both parties are dealt with fairly.”

“I wonder why they never show the lawyers of super heroes in the comic books?” Lucy giggled.

”ƒ
Chapter Five
“‘The essential element in personal magnetism is a consuming sincerity - an overwhelming faith in the importance of the work one has to do.’ Bruce Barton”

It was another three weeks before an agreement was reached and travel arrangements could be made, but Lucy didn’t allow Lorna to be idle during that time. Sarah and Heather had cleared up the matters of identification by mixing Larry’s personal history with Lorna’s, so she didn’t lose any of her qualifications or financial holdings. Now armed with new credit and debit cards Lucy planned to drag Lorna all over Toronto’s shopping and fashion districts to equip her with what Lucy called the ‘essentials’. The ‘essentials’ left Lorna’s head spinning.

“Lorna, I’m sorry, but you can’t just wear a t-shirt and jeans all the time. And what do they have you in? Cheap Wal — Mart underwear?” Lucy shuddered visibly, “Hun, cotton underwear are ok if they’re well made, but you deserve much better, and I hate to keep reminding you of this, but you are a remarkably beautiful woman now.”

Lorna lifted her face from her arms and glared at Lucy, “and I suppose a ‘pretty woman’ shopping montage will allow me to suddenly come to terms with my lurking femininity?” she snorted, “I still have a hard time recognizing myself in the mirror.”

“That’s what I’m hoping to change Lorna,” Lucy took her hand; “I’m hoping to help you reset your self image. I’m not trying to erase your former life; I’m trying to get you to embrace your new one. I can’t help you discover and hone your abilities, but maybe I can help you get comfortable in your skin.”

‘Getting comfortable’ started with a trip to the Toronto Eaton’s Centre. Lucy held on to the cards because Lorna had expressed concern about wiping the mag stripes. “Now Lorna, I’m not asking you to force yourself to enjoy this, but I do want you to try to keep an open mind,” she said as she led the taller woman into the mall.

Lorna’s eyes widened in surprise as she took in the sheer volume of the centre, the place seemed to stretch on forever. “Can’t we just go shop in Sears?” she whispered, glancing at the milling throngs of shoppers, “or better yet, just get a coffee at Starbuck’s and forget this trip?”

Lucy took Lorna’s hand gently but firmly and led her to the last place Lorna wished to go, Victoria’s Secret, “Into the deep end Lor, we start with a good foundation,” Lucy giggled, “so to speak.”

Lorna’s mouth went dry as she saw the racks of lingerie, the stacks of panties, and hangers of intimate items that surrounded her. For a moment she thought that she tasted something metallic, coppery and she seemed to feel an electric tingle in her mouth, like licking a 9 volt battery.

Lucy was busy speaking with a fitter who looked like a playmate centerfold, “Really, she never bothered pampering herself,” she said to the sales woman, “spent almost all her time studying and gaming. A true geekette,” Lucy giggled.

The tall brunette who’s nametag declared her to be Anna glided over to Lorna, who was still as a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car, “Hello dear, don’t worry about anything,” Anna said soothingly, “ we’ll get you fixed up in no time,” and led the limp looking girl towards the dressing rooms gently.

Over the course of then next thirty minutes, Lorna was stripped down to her cotton panties and posed, prodded, measured and generally handled like a side of beef while Anna took notes on a form. She gratefully sat when Anna finally left the room.

There was a gentle knock at the door, “How’s the trial by fire Hun?” Lucy asked, “Having any fun yet?”

Lorna scowled, as if the glare would penetrate the closed door, “well, she’s friendlier than most doctors, but the procedures felt similar,” she grumped.

“It’s ok Lorna, the hard part is done, now the fun begins,” Lucy giggled, “and here comes your fairy godmother with delights for your senses.” Lorna could hear the smile in Lucy’s voice.

“Oh joy,” Lorna snarked.

Anna brought in a large selection of panties, brassieres and other filmy objects Lorna couldn’t identify and had her try them all on in turn, judging them by some criteria that escaped Lorna completely. There were two piles in the room, the reject pile smaller than the sales pile, Anna had gotten Lorna to admit liking several of the combinations and even gotten a small smile from Lorna as she looked in the mirror. She and Anna had finally settled on a pale green satin set to wear, and Anna collected the buy items and left Lorna to get dressed again.

“I have to admit that these do feel better on my skin,” she glanced at herself in the mirror, “and I do look better…” there was a sudden flash of the coppery taste again, followed quickly by a scream from the store and the sound of a firecracker going off. No, not a fire cracker, she realized, a gun!

Lorna’s senses came alive. She could feel the metal around her, but it felt odd, like it was vibrating. Iron, copper, aluminum… steel, straight ahead. She opened the door quietly and moved around the outer wall of the store and felt the steel with even more strength.

“I said get the fuck down on the floor you stupid cows!” the larger of the four masked men screamed as he pointed his gun directly at, “Lucy!” Lorna involuntarily screamed.

Four guns whirled in her direction, “Are you deaf and stupid you bitch?!” the leader bellowed, “Do you want to die?”

Something inside Lorna’s mind clicked into place, “Bitch? Moi?” the air around her crackled with static and she grinned crookedly, “That’s Mistress to you, you pansy!”

Lorna reached out with her left hand and made a grabbing gesture, her eyes glowing green. The handguns were yanked from the resisting hands of the would be robbers. She examined the hardware for a moment before dissembling them and letting the parts fall to the floor. The furthest of the crooks tried to run for the mall entrance, Lorna gestured and a large metal shelving unit fell on him.

“Yes, pansies,” she smiled directly at the leader, “what kind of man would rob a lingerie store?” She gestured with her right hand and the other two henchmen were completely corralled by display racks. The leader chose that moment to pull a knife and charge her, “Really? Are you that stupid?” she asked snidely and plucked the knife from the thugs grasp before he moved 10 feet. Lorna grabbed hold of the man’s studded leather belt with her new found power and lifted him into the air. “You must be that stupid,” she growled, “you pointed a gun at my friend.”

There was a commotion at the door, “Ok Miss, you can put the bad man down now,” Lorna looked towards the voice, finally, the police... with guns drawn and pointed at her. She sighed.

“As you wish, officer,” and let the thug drop to the ground. He bounced, twice.

Lorna ignored the police and ran towards Lucy. “Christ! Are you ok girl?” she looked at the other women, “nobody hurt? Geeze Lucy, can’t leave you alone for a second,” she took the little blonds’ hands and then quietly passed out.

…

Lorna woke up with a wet towel on her forehead and a paramedic checking her pulse. Lucy leaned into her field of vision, “Hey, there you are,” she smiled, “big tough heroine faints.” Lorna blinked, “is that what happened? I suddenly felt very drained and weak,”

She sat bolt upright, “Is everyone ok?”

A cop wandered over, “Well that depends what you mean by ok miss…” he looked at his notes, “Dane, is it? The ringleader had a dislocated shoulder, the one with the shelving unit on him has a broken leg and the other two soiled themselves.” The officer grinned, “We caught the tail end of your act and I’m guessing you’re the Meta that the brief from Ottawa was about?”

Lorna felt the heat rise in her cheeks and swallowed hard, “Right place at the wrong time officer,” she read his tag, “Knapp. When I saw him point that gun at my friend, well he’s lucky I don’t consider killing as an option,” she smiled weakly.

Officer Knapp patted her on the shoulder, “Well from what I saw, you exercised considerable restraint. Now,” he flipped his notepad shut, “we will need a full statement from you, but we can get it at the hospital.” He handed her his card and walked off to interview another witness.

“You impressed the cops, but I see through you Miss Dane,” Lucy smiled and glanced at the card, “Officer Whitman Knapp will have to wait till we do a full check up on you. And this doesn’t get you out of shopping either; you just get a rain delay.” Lucy helped Lorna on to the stretcher and settled her under the orange blanket, walking with the paramedics to the ambulance for the ride back to Sunnybrook.

”ƒ
Chapter Six
“‘A compass in the north is worthless. You got true north and magnetic north and the needle just goes round in circles. It's all dead reckoning’ Paul Eitel”

Lorna slept 12 hours straight and ate a very large breakfast the next day. She was lingering over coffee when Heather walked in, “Well, not quite the controlled introduction to the public that we wanted, but it is dammed good press,” she threw the Toronto Star down on Lorna’s bed table and read from the Sun’s banner, “‘GREEN HAIRED HOTTIE BOPS BAD GUYS!’ ugh, as bad as the New York Post. The Star is a bit better.”

Lorna picked up the paper, “‘NEW CANADIAN META FOILS HIGH END ROBBERY’. Yeah, I always liked the Star,” she read a bit, finding speculation and witness accounts, “Sorry Heather, it all just happened.”

“I’m not here to chew you out Lorna, but I am going to debrief you,” Heather started a digital recorder, safely away from Lorna; “I need to know every detail, no matter how small about the incident.”

‘… I could actually feel the metal around me, but it felt buzzy, like it was vibrating. I… felt the steel in the hand guns and then,” Lorna closed her eyes, “I saw that slug pointing the gun at Lucy and all of a sudden,’ she paused, “everything clicked into focus, I could feel the guns in my grasp, I could feel the sum of their parts. The rest was just like fighting hand to hand, but I was at least 20 to 30 feet away from them all the time.”

“Anything else, anything at all Lorna,” Heather prompted.

“No…Yes! I could sort of see everything around me, even behind me and the people all had …auras, yellow green auras,” Lorna remembered suddenly.

“And around me?” Heather asked.

Lorna squinted, “yeeeess... very faint but there’s an aura or…” she snapped her fingers, “your EM field!”

Heather nodded and tossed a quarter at Lorna’s head. It stopped dead in the air, Heather made a note in her book, “Completely unconsciously defence mechanism,” She smiled at Lorna, “can you manipulate the coin?”

Lorna looked at the coin hovering before her and narrowed her eyes. The coin began to turn on its axis, faster, until it was a silvery blur. It slowed and floated back to Heather.

“I’ll take that as a yes then,” Heather closed her notebook and stopped the recorder, “the police, specifically an officer Whitman Knapp, wants your statement and a blond tornado wants to come in,” she smiled, “your overall performance though? Pretty good for a green recruit,” Heather walked out of the room as Lucy burst in.

She bustled around the room like a nervous cat, tidying, arranging, never quite meeting Lorna’s eyes, “Ohhh you’re ok, Heather looked happy, did you sleep well, how was breakfast?” she trailed off and walked to Lorna’s side.

“What’s wrong Lucy?” she took the young woman’s hand in hers, “You’re very upset, why?”

Lucy silently looked into Lorna’s eyes and decided. She leaned in and kissed Lorna softly on the lips. Lorna was startled but then kissed the nurse back, with rising heat. They broke the kiss a moment later and Lucy looked frightened.

“That was very nice Lucy,” Lorna said softly, “but that wasn’t for just saving you, was it?”

Lucy turned beet red and seemed to want to flee the room, “oh god… um… no,”

Lorna grabbed her hand. “It’s ok Hun…” Lorna soothed the frightened girl, “I think I know, and it’s ok.”

Lucy looked at Lorna with eyes filled with tears and hope, “Really? Ohhh Lorna, I think I’m in love with you and I didn’t know if you were ok with that and my family knows about me but not too many others and are you sure…” the words came tumbling out in a rush that trailed off.

“Ok with it? Little love, I’ve been attracted to you since I opened my eyes here,” Lorna smiled warmly; “you didn’t think I’d be looking at Officer Knapp did you? You have been a source of strength and happiness to me since I woke up as…well me. Lucy, I was a guy… you are so attractive and caring, I couldn’t not love you,” she smiled, “I just never thought that you could love me, so I kept my mouth shut. When that ass aimed his gun at you, well…”

Lucy shut Lorna up with a deeper kiss then before, then looked her in the eyes, “shhhh my love, you’re babbling.”

...

‘It’s easier somehow,’ Lorna thought, ‘knowing someone loves you makes it easier to deal with your fears.” She smiled as she watched Lucy usher officer Knapp out of the room.

“What are you smiling about Lor?” asked Lucy, “you look like the cat that swallowed the canary.”

“I was just thinking about love, and you, and loving you sweet girl,” Lorna grinned, “I never felt this way before and I like feeling this way.” Lucy got up on the bed beside Lorna and snuggled in close, “Never? Really? In 45 years you never fell in love?” she shook her head, “I know you are pretty snide and sometimes grumpy, but never?”

Lorna kissed the little blond and brushed a lock from her face, “I’m sort of glad you never met the old me, my dearest,” she smiled, “I was a real dork loser, with a side order of arrogance and a huge ego. I… Larry barely tolerated the world and avoided contact with people because he was so much smarter than they were. He worked nights and locked himself into that crummy apartment, going on the internet and arguing about stuff that was really not that important,” she paused to kiss Lucy again, “what I have now is important, not the abilities, but the human contact, and your love.”

Lucy looked into Lorna’s green eyes, “Oh Lor! That’s so sad, if your Meta hadn’t turned…” she trailed off.

“It did, and I’m here with you now,” Lorna smiled happily, “and now being a girl is a bit less scary.”

Lucy smiled brightly, “Being a girl is a blast, you’ll see,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes, “and I don’t mean shopping either.”

“Why Miss Caplin, Whatever could you mean?” Lorna giggled, “Well, I hope you don’t mind breaking in the rookie.”

It was a week later that Lorna and Lucy received a visit from Sarah. She walked over to the work area that they had set up earlier and put down her briefcase, before looking at the other women, “So Dane, interesting week you had. I received a phone call from Columbus, Ohio yesterday,” she paused, “that’s where The Limited head office is... ok, those blank stares are really annoying,” Sarah frowned, “They own Victoria’s Secret... ahh, the dawning light of comprehension.”
“See why she’s been my Attorney for so long Lucy?” Lorna chuckled, “she’s enough of a smartass to hold her own with me.”

Sarah gave an ironic bow and continued, “Well it seems they were very impressed by your ‘timely intervention’ during the attempted robbery and would like to feature you in some of their advertising,” she glanced at her notes, “some PR flack called you the ‘Meta Angel’. Look Lorna,” Sarah smiled at her client and friend, “I really don’t mind fielding a few inquiries for you, but if this keeps up, we have to open a new case file for you.” She put her notes down and looked at the girls, focussing on them for the first time.

Lucy smiled, but Lorna blushed under Sarah’s scrutiny, “You’re about to make things difficult for me, aren’t you?” Sarah snorted, “How long have you been corrupting this sweet young girl, Lorna?”

“It wasn’t Lorna, Sarah,” Lucy spoke up, “Lorna didn’t think that this was even a possibility. I took the initiative Sarah, and well, we’re happy.”

Sarah opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Heather from the doorway, “Well good for you two but I can see we are going to need a pr team on you,” she sounded annoyed, “Ms. Hallowell, I think you and the government will have to work closely together on Ms. Dane’s file from now on... you should get a team together.”

End Part Two
Magnetic Personality

Next time: We meet the team at Department H and Lorna stretches her abilities to their theoretical limits.

Author's Note: A Retroactive Continuity, or Retcon if you will, is the altering of previously known facts in order for the universe to conform to new story lines. This Retcon universe belongs to Lilith Langtree, and I thank her for allowing us to play in her sandbox. Thanks also to Dustin and Maggie for beta reading / editing this. This is a retcon of Polaris in the Marvel Comics Universe. Marvel Comics owns the character and all rights associated with him/her/it. Leonard Hofstader and Sheldon Cooper are copyright Chuck Lorre and CBS. All other characters that appear are copyright their creators / re-creators and only used with permission. Image copyright VOC.

Chapter Seven

“‘There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first... when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.’ Paramahansa Yogananda”

The trip to Ottawa was fairly uneventful and within 5 and a half hours they were pulling up in front of a nondescript federal building. Lorna and Lucy got out of the black SUV that seemed to be Government Issue, like the driver and the security officer. Lorna looked at the sign on the building, Department H, Ministry of Natural Resources, and laughed out loud, “Natural Resources Heather?” she gasped, pointing at the sign, “that is effing brilliant!”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that would appeal to you Lorna,” smiled Heather, “follow me please; the gentlemen can handle the luggage.” The three women walked into the lobby of the granite and glass building and stopped by the security desk. Heather flipped open an ID wallet and presented it to the guard. “Major Hudson, reporting back,” she spoke in clipped tones, “Security processing will be required for these two guests.”

“Yes Ma’am,” the guard almost saluted her, “Photo ID and signature please,” he requested of Lucy and Lorna. Lorna hid her smile well, but Lucy could see the twinkle in her eyes. She could also tell that Lorna was about to say something smartass and pinched her butt…hard. Lorna signed and glared at Lucy who just smiled pleasantly and signed the guard’s book.

Once the three women were in the elevator and the car had begun its decent Heather turned to Lucy, “You mind telling me what that was all about?” she asked softly.

“You might say I forestalled an incident between your guard and an untested, smart mouthed Meta, Heather,” Lucy replied seriously, “I can tell when our girl is going to wise off by now, and I guessed that it wasn’t the time or place.” she looked at Lorna who had the grace to blush slightly and look away.

“I can see that you are going to be an asset to our team Lucy,” Heather nodded, “On to business, as you may have guessed by the long elevator ride, most of H is built underground using techniques similar to those used building the ‘Diefenbunker.” The elevator continued downward, “Unlike the bomb shelter, H continued to grow downwards as well as horizontally, and is continually being upgraded.” The elevator ground to a halt. Heather slipped in a keycard and punched an unmarked button. The elevator continued downward. Lorna raised her eyebrows and was about to speak when Heather continued, “A kilometer Ms. Dane. You might be surprised by what can be done with classified technology and research.” There was a faint smile on Heather’s lips.

The elevator finally came to a stop and the doors opened into another open concept lobby. Lorna gave a low whistle, “A kilometer down…welcome to Department H indeed.” Heather led them to a series of rooms where they were photographed, fingerprinted, scanned retinally, and weighed before they were presented with identification cards with both magstripes and q codes on the reverse, “Is this in case I wipe the magstrip Heather?” Lorna chuckled.

“Actually yes Lorna,” Heather smiled, “There has been a lot of discussion about you here lately, and someone finally realized that the Q code could be easily be read by any camera on base even if a mag reader didn’t work. There’s been a lot of heavy brainstorming going on, but we have the team for it.” she swiped her card and opened a door, “Now, I’ll show you your quarters, the mess hall and then you can meet the team you’ll be working with.”

The floors of the complex were marked with different coloured stripes like in a hospital with a colour code every twenty meters or so. Green was Quarters and Rec facilities, according to the chart map, but even with the stripes, Lorna felt she would very easily get lost in there. She suddenly felt dizzy for a moment then steadied herself by leaning on the wall. Lucy looked alarmed, but Lorna held up a hand. The dizziness passed and Lorna suddenly had her bearings, like a compass spinning to magnetic north.

“O.K. That’s another new one,” she said as she opened her eyes and stood up straight, “I seem to have become a compass. I don’t think I’ll ever look at a map quite the same way again.” She saw Heather’s puzzled look and demonstrated, pointing at a wall, “Magnetic North pole, thataway.” Lorna gestured for Heather to continue taking them to their quarters as if nothing had occurred.

“Don’t think I’m not going to test you on that.” Heather said with a crooked grin. She stopped at a door set into the corridor which lacked any sort of a handle or locking mechanism, “Look into the lens of the camera Lorna.” she pointed upwards to a camera in the ceiling. Lorna glanced upwards and the door slid aside, Lorna gawked, speechless, “That is also keyed to Ms. Caplin.” Heather continued as she waved Lucy into the room. Lucy grabbed Lorna’s hand and pulled her inside.

“So…Freaking…Cool…” Lorna breathed, watching the door snap closed behind them. She looked around, finally taking in the room around them. It was about the size of a largish apartment living room with a kitchen and breakfast bar to one side. A hallway to the left of the door led to the bedroom and bath area and there was a large wall that had curtains pulled across it. A comfortable sofa and two love seats defined the space and faced a large entertainment center on the wall. Lorna looked at the screen and the sound system, and then did a double take, “Where did you…” she trailed off and pointed at the collection of DVDs.

“I got them for you love,” Lucy smiled, “after you decided to come here… after you told me about your past,” she blushed slightly, “I went to your old apartment to see if there was anything that you might want from your old life. I found some photo albums and then your collections.”

“You rescued my collections?” Lorna suddenly grinned brightly and gathered Lucy into a bear hug, “Ohhh you sweetheart! I thought all of that was gone forever. I guess nothing electronic survived though.”

“Probably not, but we’re working on a collection of flash drives that may be recoverable,” Heather said, “and we’re working on ways to keep you from frying all the electronics around you too.” Lucy was exploring the apartment and pulled open the curtains, only to be greeted with a view of the Ottawa valley and river glinting in the late afternoon sunlight. It was her turn to gawk. “Pretty good hologram, wouldn’t you agree Ms. Caplin,” She looked at the river, “live camera feed from the peace tower, best view in the Capital. Now, let’s go to the mess hall and get something to eat.”

Heather led them along the corridors, past the rec rooms and entertainment facilities, pointing them out as she strode along the halls. Squash and racquet sports here, movie room there, bar and club over to the left, finally arriving at a large room that was a cross between a cafeteria and a family restaurant, “The self service area is open 24-7 and can also be used like a convenience store for your kitchenette.” Heather remarked as they sat down at a well set table near the holo window, “The mess itself is open from 8 am to 9pm.” She picked up a menu and started to study it. Lucy did the same and Lorna stopped looking for the window’s projection system and looked at hers.

After the initial shock of seeing a 3 star menu, Lorna decided on pasta carbenera with a side salad and a glass of red wine. A waitress took their orders and returned shortly with the drinks. “So this is my tax dollars at work?” she asked Heather, “top secret facilities with Best Western hotels built in?” Heather nodded.

“Aren’t you glad though?” she grinned, “sure as hell beats the mess at Petawawa.”

“Or Borden,” Lorna laughed in reply while Lucy looked puzzled; “Sorry Hun, Heather and I were reminiscing about Army bases we know and hate. I spent five years in the Forces when I was younger,” a thought crossed her mind,” Heather, please tell me that the MREs have improved in the last twenty years?” Heather shook her head sadly. Their meals arrived before they could continue the conversation.

Dinner wound down and they were lingering over coffee. Heather broke the pleasant silence, “Ok, we will meet the team this evening at 20:00 hours,” Heather looked at her watch, “that gives you two 4 hours to get settled and clean up. It will only be a meet and greet, so casual dress is fine.” she handed them both a single sheet itinerary for the evening; “I hope you can get a handle on your allergy to electronics soon Lorna, this would be much easier with a smart phone or tablet.” Lorna grinned as they stood up. Heather took them back to their quarters and left them alone.

Chapter Eight

“‘The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits’ Albert Einstein”

Shortly before 8 pm, Lucy and Lorna entered the conference room where the meet and greet was supposed to take place. Lucy had picked out a light yellow blouse and jeans for Lorna and wore a violet blouse herself. Getting Lorna to agree to makeup however, had been a different story.

“But why Lucy?” Lorna had whined, “Heather said it was casual…” Lucy took her by the hand and led her to the washroom.

“Casual has a much different meaning than it did for you two months ago dear,” Lucy sat Lorna down on the toilet and looked at her face carefully, “there is guy casual, and girl casual, you are about to learn girl casual.” Lucy set to work with an assortment of different cosmetics and twenty minutes later, let Lorna look in the mirror. It was subtle and you could barely see any cosmetics at all, but Lorna’s face was beautiful. “Close your mouth darling, you look like a pretty carp.” Lucy smiled, “I’ll teach you how to do all of this and more, but this will do for tonight.”

As the women entered, the conversational drone faded to nothing. All eyes were on Lorna and she felt like she wanted to run from the room. She tightened her grip on Lucy’s arm and stopped still in the doorway as the room lights flickered. Heather saw the fear on Lorna’s face and hurried over to greet the two. “Hello Lucy, Lorna,” she smiled, “you both look lovely. Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea?” she led then to their seats as Lorna loosened her grip on Lucy’s arm. Lorna looked up at Heather with thanks in her eyes as the conversations started up again.

“Tea would be…” Lorna cleared her throat, “Tea would be lovely Heather, Thank you.”

“Coffee for me Heather,” Lucy chimed in, “and thanks for…” she nodded towards the door. Heather smiled and walked to the refreshment table as Lorna started to breath normally again. “It’s ok Lorna,” Lucy smiled reassuringly; “they were all looking at the beautiful girl that walked into the room on my arm.” Heather returned with the beverages and took her seat beside them as the rest of the attendees made their way to the conference table. A dapper looking bearded man stood up at the head of the table.

“Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,” he began, “My name is Gary Cody and I am the Minister’s liaison with Department H. On behalf of The Government of Canada, The Prime Minister and the Minister, the Honorable Joseph Oliver, I take great pleasure in welcoming Ms. Lorna Dane and Ms. Lucy Caplin to our home away from home.” There was polite applause from around the table, “now working up the table on the right we have,” Cody pointed to each person in turn, “Doctors Cooper, Hofstadter and Langkowski of the sciences team, Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, physical training, Eugene Judd, martial arts and weapons, Dr. Mike Twoyoungmen, medical, James Macdonald Hudson, team lead and Roger Bochs, mechanical engineering. You are already acquainted with Heather Hudson who is our security chief.” Cody pointed to the empty chair beside himself, “Unfortunately, Dr. Magnus, our computer genius, was called back to the States a few days ago. We’re looking for a replacement. But in a nutshell, this is team alpha.”

“Thought you were gonna come up with a better name, eh?” the man named Judd piped up, causing a ripple of chuckles to move around the table, “Seriously though Ms. Dane, Ms. Caplin, Welcome.” There was a murmur of agreement around the room and Lorna relaxed. James Hudson stood as Cody sat down.

“Yes welcome indeed, thanks Gene,” James cleared his throat, “we’ll have an orientation day tomorrow so that you can both meet the teams in depth and Ms. Caplin can get acquainted with Mike. We’ll begin assessments of your physical abilities as well as your Metahuman abilities over the following days in order to build a training schedule to meet your needs Ms. Dane.” He sat down. Cody spoke again.

“Ok, so as we don’t run late, there is a schedule being sent to your computers, although I would suggest you all get in the habit of hard copies around Ms. Dane for the foreseeable future.“ he looked around the room, “That will be all for tonight people. Its 2030 hours Ms. Dane and you see Mike at 0830. I’d suggest a good night’s rest.” Cody nodded and left the room. The handsome tanned man that had been introduced as Dr. Twoyoungmen approached Lorna and Lucy, as Heather walked over to James and embraced him.

“Well, there goes Mr. Warmth,” Mike smiled, “Hello Lorna, Lucy, I’m Mike and I look forward to working with you both.” He looked at Lucy as if assessing her, “And this is the very impressive Lucy Caplin R.N.” he smiled his white smile again; “Your files are very impressive, welcome to the medical team.” He held out his hand which enveloped Lucy’s completely.

“Thank you Dr…” she paused, “Twoyoungmen?” Mike smiled again.

“Yes, it’s a first nations name, Sacree,” he said, “My grandpa wanted me to be a shaman, like him. He never forgave me for studying what he called the ‘white eyes medicine’. But it saved my wife’s life when she developed breast cancer; early detection and treatment were the key.” Lucy smiled back, and Mike continued, “So 0830 for you Lorna, If you could be in at 0800 Nurse? I’d like to go over Lorna’s files before she comes in, ok?”

“Absolutely Doctor, 0800 it is,” Lucy responded crisply. Mike smiled again, shook Lorna’s hand and left the room.

“Goodness, what a polite man,” Lorna commented, “and what a smile!” Lucy squeezed Lorna’s hand.

“Simmer down my love,” Lucy chuckled, “he’s married, and happily at that. I saw his eyes light up when he talked about his wife. Now deep breath, Here come the scientists.”

It was 10:30 pm when they got back to their quarters. The technical novelties were still exciting to Lorna, but Lucy was starting to get used to them. She led her love by the hand to their bedroom and smiled at her when they saw the queen sized bed. The bedroom door snapped shut behind them.

…

At 8:25 am, Lorna entered the medical center and saw Lucy in her crisp white scrubs. She had to smile as Lucy always managed to exude an air of professionalism while looking incredibly cute. Today was no exception; Lucy’s long blond hair was braided carefully and fell down her back. Lucy saw Lorna staring and smiled brightly, Lorna blushed beet red as she was sure she looked horrible in the yoga pants and tee shirt she was wearing. “How do you do it Lucy?” she asked, “You look fantastic and I look like a schlub.”

“You don’t look like a schlub Lorna,” Lucy countered, “but I didn’t just roll out of bed at 0730 to get here for 0800 either. I was up at 0600 to get myself pulled together. Lesson one in a long series for you I’m afraid love.” she smiled again and led Lorna to the biggest examination room she had ever seen, “Here she is Doctor Twoyoungmen.” Mike looked up from the file he was reading.

“Good Morning Lorna,” he said professionally, “come in, strip down and put on the gown.” He went back to his reading. ‘Typical doctor’ Lorna thought as she went behind the screen and disrobed. She had a little trouble with the gown, but Lucy helped her with the ties. She came back out and cleared her throat. Michael looked up from the file, “Did you really crush a hospital bed Lorna?” he looked fascinated. Lorna just blushed and looked uncomfortable. Lucy rescued her.

“She did Doctor,” she answered efficiently, “the psychologists think it was a fight or flight reflex that manifested her early abilities. Lorna has gained a bit more control since then, but she still affects electrical and electronic devices when in a stress situation sir.” Mike made some notes on a pad he was holding. Lorna smiled and relaxed, he was using paper. Mike gave her a standard physical and had Lucy draw about twenty vials of blood.

“Has she has an OB Gyn Nurse?” he asked, “There’s nothing in the files.”

“She hasn’t yet Doctor,” Lucy replied, “the psych team at Sunnybrook didn’t think it wise to rush things.” The doctor made some more notes.

“No time like the present then,” he smiled reassuringly at Lorna, “We have to do what is called a pelvic exam to make sure you are a healthy girl. I won’t promise you it’s going to be sunshine and puppy dogs, but it has to be done. Don’t worry; Lucy is here to hold your hand.”

“Lay down on the exam table and scooch your bum down,” Lucy instructed, then positioned Lorna’s feet in the stirrups, “ This is going to feel really weird Hun, but I’m here, just relax.”

…

Lorna got off the exam table and walked behind the changing screen with a dazed look on her face. Ten minutes later, she reemerged, still looking confused, “That… that …was,” she grasped for the right word and couldn’t find it, “I don’t know.” She flopped down in a chair by the doctor’s desk. Michael looked at her with sympathy.

“Yes, I can only imagine Lorna,” he said, “not too many men out there have gone through what you have. From our estimates, maybe 150 to 200 gender reversals have occurred worldwide and they aren’t always male to female. The New England Journal of Medicine puts their estimate at a sixty forty split in the reversals. Now the good news, weirdness aside, you are a healthy female human being. Your file says you have had at least one menstrual cycle so far, so I assume that Lucy has given you basic instructions on health and hygiene,” he paused, “Lucy and I spoke earlier, so we’ll hold off on the Sex Ed 101.” Lorna blushed crimson, as Michael continued, “We will hold off on the MRI until we can figure out how not to toast a piece of multimillion dollar equipment and we have to wait for the rest of the lab results to get your preliminary baseline readings. That’s about it for me today Lorna… I’ll want to see her in 3 days Nurse.” He turned his attention back to the file folder and began writing.

“Come on Lorna,” Lucy pulled her gently from the room, “he’s done with you and I think the scientists want to see you in about 45 minutes. Go have some breakfast and a cup of coffee, I’ll meet you there.”

“You’re coming with me?” Lorna was happily surprised, “I thought you had to…” she pointed to the door of the exam room. Lucy just shook her head.

“Apparently both Doctor Twoyoungmen and Mr. Hudson think its better that I’m by your side this week,” Lucy grinned, “to keep you calm and ‘protect equipment’.” She giggled, “Now go eat.”

“Yes Mother,” Lorna stuck out her tongue and jogged off in the direction of the mess hall.

Chapter Nine

“‘It all started with a Big Bang’ Ed Robertson”

The physics lab looked nothing like what Lorna expected. It was a fairly large open space the outer wall completely covered with white boards filled with equations. The center of the room held a cage like construct and was surrounded by lab benches and expensive looking equipment. Lucy was already sitting at one of the benches sipping her coffee, so Lorna made a beeline to join her. “What’s going on?” she whispered. Lucy smiled and leaned in to kiss her.

“Mmm, Hello to you too,” she replied in conversational tones, “no need to whisper. I’ve been here 15 minutes and they haven’t even noticed me or ceased their argument about strong and weak nuclear forces or something.” She giggled, which caused the biggest of the three men to look over at them and approach.

“I’m so sorry Ladies,” he said as he got to where they were sitting, “I got caught up in a theoretical discussion and lost track of the time. I’m Walt Langkowski.” He held out his hand to Lorna.

“You don’t look like a physicist Walt,” she replied with a grin, “You look like a football player, Stampeders, wasn’t it?” Walt had the good grace to look embarrassed.

“Yeah, you caught me,” he answered, “you a Calgary fan Lorna?” it was her turn to blush.

“No, Argos to my eternal shame,” she was interrupted by the taller of the two remaining scientists.

“Excuse me Dr. Langkowski,” he spoke in a tone that put Lorna’s teeth on edge, “while this chit chat is pleasant I’m sure, we have work to do.” Lorna looked at him closely, the way he held his hands and his posture reminded her of a praying mantis. The last of the three scientists just looked up at his companion with a sour look on his face. Walter looked over at the two and then back to Lorna and Lucy.

“My apologies Ladies,” he gestured towards the center of the room, “if you’ll follow me, Lucy, you can sit here and Lorna, we need you by the faraday cage.” The shorter of the other two scientists approached Lorna.

“I apologize for Dr. Cooper, Ms. Dane,” He sighed, “I’m Leonard Hofstadter and his name is Sheldon Cooper…” the tall man looked up from the device he was fiddling with.

“Excuse me Leonard,” he interrupted again, “Dr. Sheldon Cooper, thank you very much.” Somehow managing to look more insect like if that was possible, Dr Cooper returned to his work. Leonard just shook his head and sighed.

“Um… anyways,” he looked at the floor, “weneedtoattachtheseelectrodestoyourskin.” He continued to look anywhere but at Lorna, which she found oddly endearing.

Ok Leonard, you tell Lucy where you need them, and she and I will go into the washroom and put them on.” she looked towards Walt who was shaking with laughter as he handed the diagram and supplies to Lucy, “Something funny Bigfoot?,” she quirked an eyebrow at Walt.

He quickly put on a straight face, “Oh no Ma’am, Nothing funny at all. We’ll see you when you’re ready.” He quickly turned away but Lorna could see his broad shoulders shaking.

“C’mon Lucy,” she headed towards the washroom door, “we’ll let the three amigos get ready while you wire me for sight and sound.” Dr. Cooper looked up from his notepad.

“What do you suppose she meant by that?” he looked genuinely puzzled. Leonard shook his head again while Walter dissolved into loud guffaws.

…

Ten minutes later, Lucy led Lorna to the center of the room and sat down again. Walter had composed himself except for a merry twinkle in his eyes. Leonard handed Lorna into the cage, fed the wires through a conduit and closed the door. As he connected the leads to various pieces of equipment, he started to explain, “Um, Lorna, you’re in a sort of reverse faraday cage right now which should contain your electromagnetic field so as not to damage any of the equipment.” Lorna looked around curiously.

“Reverse Faraday cage?” she asked Leonard, but Sheldon interrupted, as usual.

“Yes a reverse faraday cage of my design actually.” he began lecturing, “As you may know, a faraday cage dispels static and electromagnetic energy, protecting equipment inside,” he spoke as one would to a four year old, “What I have created here is the reverse of that, it will keep your energy inside and allow us to get accurate readings, without you damaging equipment.”

Lorna rolled her eyes, “Ok Walter, you give the word and I’ll summon my chi.” she paused and closed her eyes, feeling around her mind for the mental trigger. She tasted copper again and opened her eyes, squinting; she saw the yellow green glow around Lucy, “Ok Docs, ready when you are.”

“Power up slowly please Lorna,” Leonard said from behind a bank of equipment. She concentrated on letting the feeling flow out of her, feeling the metal of the cage ‘tungsten steel alloy’ she thought, but surprisingly, nothing beyond the cage, she glanced over at Sheldon who was hunched over his laptop.

“Congratulations Dr. Cooper,” she smiled, “Your cage works. I can’t sense any metal beyond its perimeter. I can still see your auras though.” He looked up at her with surprise and condescension.

“Well of course it worked Ms. Dane,” he answered with disdain in his west Texas nasal twang, “I had no doubt it would.” He turned his attention back to his laptop dismissively. Lorna got angry.

“Um Lorna?” Leonard sounded alarmed, “Your levels just spiked, uh, try to remain calm please?” he sounded a little frightened now.

Lucy looked up from the EKG and EEC monitors and spoke up, “Lorna hunny, ignore Dr. Cooper and calm down, your eyes are glowing again.” she said soothingly, “Bring it down a notch or two.” Lorna glared at Sheldon, but took several deep breaths. Leonard spoke again.

“Uh can you bring the level back there without being emotional Lorna?” he asked, “Like picturing a rheostat in your mind or something?” Lorna closed her eyes again, still slightly disturbed by the fact her ‘sight’ was limited to the cage. She pictured a dial in her mind and slowly made the needle move. 20%...30%...40%...

“How’s that?” she kept her eyes closed. Leonard looked at his equipment with great interest.

“Where would you say you feel your power level is at Lorna?” he asked. Lorna looked at her ‘gauge’ and replied.

“About 40%, I think.” she heard Walter in the background.

“40%? I have you at about 1000 Megahertz and climbing…” Cooper’s voice cut through the air like a rusty saw.

“What basis are you using for your scale Ms. Dane?” he demanded, “We need accurate measurements, you know.” The gauge in Lorna’s mind buried the needle in the red as static charges began to arc between the cage and her skin and her feet left the ground.

“We’re off the dials here,” yelled Walter, “I lost tracking at a petahertz!” Lorna opened her eyes and glared at Dr. Cooper.

“Why is she staring at me Leonard?” He asked with confusion and trepidation in his voice.

“Oh, I don’t know Sheldon, maybe she likes you.” he answered sarcastically. Lorna looked at the other three people in the lab and saw Lucy and Walter start to laugh, she thought about it and started to laugh as well and slowly began to power down. Her feet touched the bottom of the cage and she pulled the energy back into herself, her mental gauge reaching zero. Sheldon looked up from his computer.

“That was fascinating Ms. Dane,” he attempted a smile which failed miserably, “Do you think you could do that whenever you wanted?” Lorna chuckled as Leonard disconnected the leads from the equipment and fed them back through the conduit.

“I’m certain that I could now.” she smiled at Lucy, “All I have to do is think of you Doctor Cooper.” Walter couldn’t keep his humour suppressed any longer and burst out laughing loudly again. Leonard spoke up.

“Seriously though Ms. Dane,” he looked at her in awe, “these readings are incredible, we honestly can only guess at your upper limits.”

Sheldon looked at Leonard with annoyance, “Well if we guess than it’s not science,” he looked back at his laptop, “it’s hocus pocus.”

Walter shook his head and looked at Lorna in the cage, “Ok. This time we want to see you manipulate different metals and identify them. The samples are all the same size and shape and have been painted white.” He placed the wooden table into the cage with her and closed the door. “… Cameras and recorders all rolling, Go ahead Lorna.”

Lorna focused her attention at the cubes on the table, she felt them with her mind and ‘tasted’ them, “In order then, from the upper right.” she said, “Copper, Iron, Gold, Tin, Lead, Platinum,” she paused, “Mercury, Lithium, Beryllium, Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, Zinc, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Uranium, Chromium and Vanadium.” she reopened her eyes and saw the three doctors slack jawed, “I guess I did ok?” she smiled.

Leonard blinked, “How did you…” he trailed off. Lorna rescued him.

“I have a periodic table of the elements shower curtain,” she told him, “or I used to…”

Walter opened the cage and took the table out and replaced it with another with a single cube of unpainted copper on it, “Uh yeah,” he coughed, “Yes, though I thought calcium would have stumped you. Now… can you move that cube?” Lorna grinned and picked it up in her hand.

“How’s that?” Walter made a rude noise.

“To be clear Ms. Dane,” he spoke again, “Can you move the cube without touching it?”

Lorna looked at the cube in her hand, and then moved her hand away from it. The cube remained in the air, stubbornly refusing to fall. Cooper looked on, amazement and disbelief warring across his face. “That is completely impossible, I refuse to believe it!” he pointed at the hovering cube, “Copper can conduct electromagnetic energy, but cannot be manipulated by it!”

Lorna glared at the thin man again and her anger rose, Leonard and Walter looked at the cube with fascinated expressions on their faces. Lucy looked concerned, “What are you doing Lorna?” she asked. Lorna returned her attention to the cube which was glowing red and giving off heat. It wasn’t even a proper cube anymore.

“Can somebody get a container of water or something?” she asked, “I don’t think I should set this down on a wooden table.” Leonard filled a bucket and brought it over to the cage. He opened the door and Lorna gently lowered the misshapen mass into the bucket, where it hit the water with a hiss. “What did I just do there?” She asked quietly, as she stepped from the cage. Walter fished out the lump of copper and set it on a scale.

“Well, Lorna, it looks like you somehow reduced its mass.” he frowned for the first time that morning, “And unless you vaporized it, then I think you affected the metal on a molecular level. Lucy, you and Lorna go take off those electrodes and go to lunch,” he looked bemusedly at the lump on the scale with Leonard and Sheldon looking over his shoulders, “Gentlemen, we are down the rabbit hole.” Sheldon kept his mouth closed for once.

End of part Three
Magnetic Personality

Coming up in part Four: The Beaubier twins test Lorna’s endurance and Judd tests her patience.

Author's Note: A Retroactive Continuity, or Retcon if you will, is the altering of previously known facts in order for the universe to conform to new story lines. This Retcon universe belongs to Lilith Langtree, and I thank her for allowing us to play in her sandbox. Thanks to Donjo for beta reading and edits and to Misty for her okays on certain elements. This is a retcon of Polaris in the Marvel Comics Universe. Marvel Comics owns the character and all rights associated with him/her/it. All other characters that appear are copyright their creators / re-creators and only used with permission. Image copyright by artist.
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Chapter Ten
“‘Endurance is patience concentrated.’ Thomas Carlyle”

To say that both Lorna and Lucy were a little shaken would be an understatement. They walked to the dining room together in silence, holding hands and exchanging small glances. The corridor between the lab and the mess were empty so they didn’t have to encounter anyone until reaching their destination. They took their seats and gave their lunch orders to the waitress. Lucy waited till Lorna was ready to speak.

“What have I become Lucy?” she began after a shaky inhale, “I could hear them talking, during the experiment as well as after. I know what petahertz means, at least the prefix and Walter was hinting that I somehow broke the molecular bonds in that piece of copper. Am I even human anymore?” a tear rolled down Lorna’s cheek, than another followed.

Lucy came around the table and pulled a chair beside Lorna’s. Taking the table napkin, she began to wipe Lorna’s tears away, “yes you’re human love,” Lucy soothed, “if you weren’t, then your annoyance with Dr. Cooper would have ended very differently.” Lorna smiled a little and sniffled, her eyes still wet with unshed tears. She wiped them with the back of her hand,

“Oh him, He’s lucky his damned cage worked,” Lorna laughed brokenly, “I’ve never met anyone that made me that angry, that quickly, at least not in real life. I used to get mad like that when I was arguing in the online forums but there were no real world consequences.” She took a long sip from her water as her tears started to fall again.

Lucy wiped Lorna’s cheeks and eyes again, “Isn’t that why we came here Lorna? To find your limits and learn to control them?” she smiled, “so you could live a normal life with me?” Lorna wrapped her arms around Lucy and started sobbing into her shoulder. Lucy took the taller woman into her embrace and let her cry. Lorna needed this release.

Presently, Lorna’s sobs became ragged breathing and her trembling eased a little. She lifted her head to look Lucy in the eyes. Lucy wiped Lorna’s face again using a dampened hanky and let her blow her nose. Lorna smiled gratefully and rubbed her eyes to get rid of the sting of her tears, “Thank you Lucy,” she began shakily, “wow, I must look quite the mess… I never cried like that before.” Lucy took Lorna’s hand and held it tightly,

“You needed to cry like that my Darling,” Lucy looked into Lorna’s eyes, “look at what you’ve been through in the past 7 weeks. All that upheaval in your life, changing sex, losing your very identity. Of course you doubt yourself and the abilities you gained, that would cause anyone to wonder about their humanity,”she paused for a moment, “you have been so strong, hiding your fears and pain behind your sarcasm, almost like a little child, afraid to cry. I was worried about you love, keeping it all bottled up might have driven you crazy.” Lucy squeezed Lorna’s hand, “I just found you my love, and I’m not going to lose you now.”

Lorna looked deep into Lucy’s blue eyes and saw only love and truth there, “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, but now I’m with you, I’m not going anywhere,” she leaned in and kissed Lucy softly. An eternal moment later, the two women broke the kiss and the embrace, “I love you Lucy.”

“And I love you too Lor,” Lucy smiled gently, “do you feel more, or less human now?” Lorna giggled and wiped her eyes,

“Ohhh I must look quite the mess after all that.” At that moment, the server decided it was safe to bring the food to the table, Lorna looked at her with a half smile, “timed that well, didn’t you?”

…

The training facility differed from the rec center in that it was echoingly empty and the size of a small aircraft hangar. A running track was laid out along the perimeter and aside from various pieces of weight training and exercise equipment, it seemed unfinished. At the far end of the room was an office and small exam room. Lorna and Lucy headed in that direction as the rest of the space was unoccupied. They were greeted by the two physical trainers Jeanne-Marie and Jean-Paul Beaubier. Jean-Paul was a former Olympic downhill skier and gold medalist and Jeanne-Marie was a sports scientist and physical therapist in Canada’s ‘Own the Podium’ program. Lorna wondered how they had become attached to the Government’s Metahuman project.

“Bonjour Mademoiselles,” Jean-Paul greeted them as he rose from the computer he was working at, “it is a pleasure to meet you for longer than five minutes.” He took them by the hands and led them into the exam room. “My sister, Jeanne-Marie and myself will be designing a training and fitness program for you Lorna, to keep you in peak physical form.” Jeanne-Marie stood and greeted them warmly as well.

“That is our goal because, although you may have acquired a nearly perfect body,” She grinned, “I intend to make sure you keep it that way. I hope you don’t mind Lorna, but we have been given some medical files and photos of the …” Jeanne-Marie hesitated so Jean-Paul rescued her.

“As my oh so polite sister is unwilling to say dear, we have seen your old self and Honey, you and exercise were not friends. Though it seems that comfort foods were.” He finished. Lorna blushed crimson and Lucy stepped up to her defense.

“I’m not about to make excuses for Larry, Mister Beaubier,” she said in a frosty tone, “But not everyone in the world can live in Olympic Training Land. Some of us have had real careers and I can tell you, as a Nurse Practioner, it isn’t always easy to watch your diet and get in enough exercise!” Jeanne-Marie covered her eyes and started chuckling, while Jean-Paul started laughing. Jeanne-Marie spoke first.

“She’s got you there brother; it’s different out in the real world,” she stood and took Lucy and Lorna by the hands, “I went from studying Nutritional science and fitness at McGill University to a job at Health Canada and couldn’t understand why Canadians weren’t looking after themselves. It was that I had no real world experience, much like my brother. It wasn’t until I started doing actual field work that I saw how much the daily lives of ordinary people kept them from looking after themselves and when I saw that the worst foods available for human consumption were also the cheapest, well that’s when I resolved to make a change and a difference.” Jeanne-Marie sighed, “However I was one voice, shouting in the wilderness. When I had the opportunity to leave the bureaucracy and join H, I jumped at the chance to work with people who could be role models for ordinary Canadians.” Lorna looked at the raven haired beauty in awe.

“That’s amazing Jeanne-Marie, really!” she pointed at Jean-Paul, “So how did he get in here?” Jean-Paul laughed again.

“My dear sister got me the job of course!” he smiled winningly, “how else would an out of work athlete land a sweet gig like this? Seriously though Lorna, I was being blunt for a reason. As an ex Olympian, I know how easy it is to lose your peak fitness.” Jean-Paul picked up a piece of paper from his desk, “this is Dr. Mike’s preliminary report on you, according to this and the records from Sunnybrook; you haven’t started to drop from your peak.” Jeanne-Marie piped up.

“Though your caloric intake is still very high for a woman of your height and age, but our current theory is that your abilities use a lot of energy. Reports from STAR labs in the United States seem to confirm this, but there is still a lot that is not known about Metahumans in general.” She smiled, “You seem to be disproving a lot of scientific theories by just existing young lady, and you certainly have the hard science team in a tizzy.”

Lorna had to smile as the sibling’s natural good nature seemed infectious, “OK coaches, as you said, exercise and I were never friends. How do you intend to make us BFFs?”

Jean-Paul rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “Therein lies the problem Lorna, to properly design a fitness program for anyone, their level of fitness and endurance must be measured.” He eyed her seriously, “and for you, it is that much more difficult because we have no established upper limit for you. So the next week or so, you are unfortunately going to curse the Beaubier name as we push you to find your baseline and establish the limits of your endurance.” Jeanne-Marie continued the thought as if the twins shared a telepathic link.

“We will be observing all of your physical habits mon petit, I am sorry, but I do mean all of them.” Lorna looked at her blankly for a moment then turned a lovely vermillion and looked pleadingly at Lucy who had turned slightly pink herself.

“I’m sorry Lor, I understand why they need this information for the same reason I told Dr. Mike about us this morning. It doesn’t make me feel any better, but if it keeps you healthy a…and…” Lucy stammered slightly, “and in the long run happy, then we have to do it. We don’t necessarily have to like it though.” Jean-Paul looked at the couple with an air of embarrassment.

“I suspect that none of us is really happy with the intrusive nature of this part of the program.” He sighed heavily, “Ms. Caplin, I would like to request that after the rather intensive nature of these next two weeks, that you join Lorna as her exercise partner, to provide the kind of moral and emotional support that will make her and exercise, how did you put it Lorna?” he quirked an eyebrow and Jeanne-Marie chimed in.

“BFF’s my dear brother, BFF’s”

…

‘It’s a damned good thing’ Lorna thought for the 100th time in the last two and a half hours, ‘that I’m too exhausted to start throwing barbells at those two.’ She was currently on a treadmill running at a steady 40KPH on an uphill grade with a breathing apparatus taped into her mouth and several meters of cables attached to her. This was hour two. The first half hour was involved in prepping her for the torture that had lain ahead. The Beaubiers’ could not believe that she had managed to maintain the pace and grade for a half hour, let alone the two she had run. They finally called it quits and started detaching the breathing tube and cables. Lorna felt winded, but nowhere near the exhaustion that she felt she should have. Lucy was looking at the readouts of Lorna’s heart rate and respiration.

“My goodness Lor, you barely got to a normal exercising heart rate! It looks like you were jogging for twenty minutes not running the equivalent of just under two marathons in two hours, uphill. I’m going to have to take some blood dear… Dr. Mike will want a blood chemistry panel.” she busied herself getting the vials ready.

“What did you think Jean-Paul?” Lorna asked, “Getting a baseline yet? Shouldn’t I be panting and dehydrated by now?” she wiped her face with a towel and grabbed a bottle of spring water, “I feel like I could have gone on under the right circumstances.” Jean-Paul looked up from the notes he was furiously scribbling.

“I would say that your stamina is incredible, but I would be understating things,” he spotted the water bottle in her hand, “no water yet please Lorna,” he handed her a sterile container, “we need another kind of sample as well.” Lorna threw her towel at him and stomped off to the washroom. Jeanne-Marie watched her in amazement.

“Most people who do a half hour can barely walk, let alone stomp. I wonder what her EM field looks like right now. I bet cher Walter would give his right testicule to be able to measure that.” She shook her head, “speaking of which, I wonder why the electronics of the test equipment survived.” She made a note to ask Walter, later over dinner perhaps.

Lorna came out of the washroom and placed the specimen cup gently on the counter. “May I have my water now JP?” she asked sweetly. Jean-Paul looked confused for a moment then grinned.

“Mais naturellement ma fleur,” he tossed Lorna a cold bottle, “refresh yourself, and I thought you would be calling me worse things than JP by now.” She drained the bottle.

“I’ve been thinking those for at least an hour, Mon ami insouciant.” Lorna tapped her head, “I do speak un petit pas en francais.” and then it was Jean-Paul’s turn to blush. Jeanne-Marie saved him.

“Let Lucy take your blood Lorna, then get showered. You have to see Monsieur Judd next,” she said very seriously, “and he will make all this seem pleasant by comparison.” She turned back to her notes.

Chapter Eleven
“‘Nothing is so bitter that a calm mind cannot find comfort in it.’ Seneca”

Lorna approached the closed door to her next appointment with some trepidation. Lucy had told her after her shower that Mr. Judd had asked her not to attend their session in no uncertain terms.

“His exact words were ‘You would be a distraction, eh?’” she smiled, “hand to god, he said ‘eh?’” they both giggled, but now Lorna felt very alone and very exposed in the Lycra workout clothes. As far as she was concerned, anything that wasn’t a sweat suit showed far too much skin. She pressed the door buzzer and the panel snapped out of the way exposing what could have passed for a dojo from a Hollywood movie. She was about to step onto the woven mat on the floor when a voice chided her.

“Please respect the tatami and remove your shoes and socks, eh?” the voice was deep and slightly gravelly, but Lorna did as she was instructed. She stood and went to step onto the ‘tatami’ but was stopped again. “bow.” She flushed.

“Bow? Why?” she looked around for the source of the voice.

“To show respect for that which will be breaking your falls for the foreseeable future girl.” The voice seemed to be first one place, then another. Lorna bowed deeply from the waist. There was a tiny breath of air and the voice was behind her. “Hmmm I see I have my work cut out for me, eh?” She jumped. He walked slowly around her, “no focus, and no discipline.”

Lorna stared; Eugene Milton Judd stood at just less than five feet tall and was built like a professional wrestler, yet he had moved with such stealth and grace, Lorna had not seen him until he decided to be seen. He continued to examine her like a thoroughbred he intended to buy.

“You are in fair physical shape and the twins will maintain that. Your health is excellent according to our medicine man. There is an echo of grace, but you move with great hesitation, as if your yin and yang are tangled. Your mind lacks calmness, serenity and until we fix these things, you will never have the control that will give you full access to your abilities, both natural, and Metahuman.” He looked up at her with bright eyes under thick bushy eyebrows and suddenly grinned, “My sensei used to call me Puck, after the character in the Shakespeare play, for my mischievous nature.” He poked a thick finger at her face, “You will call me Master.”

He led her to the center of the room and pointed at the ground. “Sit and I will attempt to help you unlearn what forty five years of western civilization has taught you.” She hesitated and Judd performed a leg sweep that had her on her ass so quickly, she barely saw him move. “When I tell you to do something, you do it immediately, eh?” she caught her breath.

“Yes Master,” she mumbled. Judd began to handle her like a piece of meat and quickly folded her legs into a lotus seat.

“Lotus Position, remember it. Straighten your spine and neck, hands palm up on your knees.” He forced her into the correct posture, “good… now hold that position. Look at the tip of your nose without focusing. Now I will teach you to breath. Hear only my voice and clear your mind, think of nothing. If a thought crosses your mind, acknowledge it then ignore it. Breathe in… hold…hold…breathe out…hold…hold…breathe in…hold…hold…breathe out…hold…hol…”

…

“Come back Lorna… come back…” the voice seemed incredibly distant, “its ok Lorna, wake.” Her eyelids fluttered open and she saw that she was still sitting in lotus, but it seemed very relaxing to sit that way. Her vision focused on Master Judd, who was seated in a very similar position. He looked at her, “you went very deep, very quickly. How do you feel?”

Lorna looked confused, “what do you mean I went very deep?” he smiled at her.

“Lorna, you were in a deep meditative state for the last two hours. I’ve never seen anyone achieve that as quickly as you did.” He chuckled deep in his throat, a velvety sound. “But I asked you a question, eh?” she blinked slowly.

“Yes…how do I feel…? I feel tranquil, at peace Master” she blinked again, “I haven’t felt this calm in the last two months, I honestly don’t think I’ve felt this good in a long time.” She smiled.

His smile matched hers, “I think that’s enough for one day, chaton. There are many tomorrows ahead. Now scoot home to that lovely lady of yours, I’m sure she thinks I’ve been beating you senseless.” He grinned wickedly, “That comes later.”

She rose to her feet and bowed without thinking. As she was leaving the room she thought she heard ‘there’s hope for that one yet.’

Lorna padded down the hall to the elevator and got on. She punched for the residential floor and leaned back against the wall trying to remember the last two hours. It was blank, like an edit in a movie, a jump cut. The doors opened and she went to her apartment. Lucy wasn’t there yet so Lorna decided another hot shower was in order. She started the water and adjusted it to the temperature she had come to prefer and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She didn’t jump for the first time in two months at her reflection, instead, taking a longer look at the person who now looked back at her. Jeanne-Marie’s comment from earlier in the day echoed through her head… ‘Acquired a nearly perfect body’, she had said. Now Lorna realized that in two months, she had never really looked at herself for longer than she had had to, never really seen who she had become.

She stripped off the exercise outfit she was wearing and tossed it into the hamper and then removed the scrunchie from her hair, letting it fall back down over her shoulders. The woman in the mirror was taller than average with pale skin that reminded Lorna of a Nordic background, the breasts that had seemed huge to her, were perfect for the woman’s frame. Everything about the woman was well proportioned, a cross between an athlete and a model. Even the green hair seemed right somehow, Lorna glanced at the woman’s crotch; the green pubic triangle was cute.

Now the face, the green eyes sparkled like the other was enjoying a joke and the even white teeth between the pink lips were perfect, resting beneath a cute button nose. High cheekbones completed the beautiful oval face. Her face, her body… it wasn’t another person in the mirror, it was her, Lorna Dane. Not a stranger anymore, a woman, a human female and she was… Beautiful.

The shower was very different this time, as she allowed herself to be conscious of all of the sensations that her body was sending her. The softness of her skin was arousing her as was the input from a completely different set of erogenous zones. She had felt something similar when she and Lucy made love, but those times she must have been subconsciously rejecting the new sensations. Lorna moaned as she touched her breasts, truly feeling them for the first time. This was beyond anything she had ever imagined. She was so distracted by the discovery that she almost didn’t notice Lucy’s hands on her skin. Lorna actually purred in her throat.

“Hello my dearest heart,” Lucy greeted her, “you seem very happy…” Lorna interrupted her with a deep kiss, when they broke it Lorna laughingly told Lucy of her awakening at the mirror.

“…She’s me; I mean I’m her… I oh… this is who I am now Lucy! I get it now; something inside me was fighting this… I don’t know if you can understand.” Lucy held her love in her arms under the warm spray of the shower and kissed her again. When she spoke again it was very softly.

“I do understand my sweetest pet; I went through something very similar when I admitted to myself who I was and my brain fought me for a long time until I realized that I was still me. And always would be, oh there were some rocky days along the way, but the thing is I never changed, I just admitted the truth to myself. Pretty much like you did.” she sighed. Lorna noticed the heavy exhalation immediately.

“What’s wrong Lucy?” the smaller girl looked up at Lorna with red eyes, the tears washing away almost before they were shed.

“I just realized that your feelings for me might have changed with your epiphany. It’s selfish, but all I can think of is losing you to… someone else,” she sobbed and buried her face in Lorna’s neck. Lorna held Lucy as her mind raced. Someone else? Like who else… comprehension dawned and she shuddered slightly.

“You think I’m going to leave you for a…a” she couldn’t even say the word… Lucy looked up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“For a man,” Lucy said seriously, “I was…am afraid that you wouldn’t be attracted to me anymore.” Lorna looked slightly ill.

“Oh ick! Now I need mental floss, thanks so much for that image lover!” she managed a smile, “not a chance cowgirl, my heart belongs to you and accepting that I am who I am didn’t change that.” Lucy blinked and got a puzzled look on her face.

“Your heart belongs to me?” she smiled and began to cry again, “good, cause you have owned mine for quite a while now.” They stood under the warm water just holding each other and loving each other without words.

…

“Missed you at dinner last night,” Jim Hudson commented in passing to Lorna as he went to join Heather at their table, “Busy day yesterday?” Lorna smiled and nodded, he probably had all the reports on his tablet by now. Lucy came to the table and pulled out her chair. She was just heading out the door when Lorna had awoken this morning. She leaned in and gave Lorna a quick kiss.

“Hello love, sleep well?” The smile on Lucy’s face was brilliant, “I know I did.” She winked. Lorna grinned at her.

Well, I sure was exhausted by the time I fell asleep last night…wait,” she feigned hesitation, “…no, this morning. Did you see the morning printout? We’re to meet with Roger Bochs, followed by the Hudsons, then lunch, the Twins and I finish up with Master Judd. Wonder why I have to meet the head of engineering?” Lorna looked puzzled by that, Lucy just sipped her coffee.

…

Mechanical Engineering was exactly what it sounded like, one part blacksmiths, one part alchemists and one part mad scientists lab. Roger was in a wheeled chair rolling between worktables, his face half obscured by welding goggles, loud Persian rock music filled the air. The women entered cautiously, afraid to even look at some of the items the wrong way. As ordered as the physics lab had been, this place was its absolute opposite. They made their way carefully towards the rooms only other occupant. Lorna cleared her throat loudly to no avail, as Roger was enraptured by whatever the pink goo sloshing in a tank in front of him was. Lucy gently touched his shoulder and Roger looked up with a start.

“Oh! Good Morning Ladies!” he pulled the goggles up to his forehead, hit a kill switch silencing the music and blinked in the light, “I was just studying these Horton Cells.” Both women gave him blank looks, “Synthetic stem cells? It was in Scientific American last month? No? Anyway, Phineas Horton manages to make these synthetic stem cells and they work well enough to encourage natural cell replacement, but he says this is just the first step in creating a synthetic humanoid, an android if you will.” Roger grinned infectiously, “I think he should just take his kudos for the stem cells personally.”

He rolled over to another workspace, beckoning them to follow him and pointed to a silvery block of a metallic substance, “This is from a friend at Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania; they call it a bio metal. It shows an amazing ability to transmit neuro electric voltages between cell samples. With a bit of work, I think this has some amazing applications for the disabled. Like robotic artificial limbs controlled by the nerve impulses of the wearer… incredible!” Lorna had to grin, Rogers’s enthusiasm was overwhelming.

“This is all very interesting Mr. Bochs and I’m sure all this will change the world,” Lorna gestured vaguely around the room, “but you scheduled this time with Lucy and I and we were sorta wondering why?” Roger jumped up from his chair and shook both their hands at once.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” he dragged one hand down the length of his face, “I totally forgot why I schedded you in. I’ve been brainstorming, trying to figure out a way to get you and electronics to be friends again without locking you in a faraday cage like the physics boys did,” Roger paused again and looked thoughtful, “I think for day to day applications, a sort of garment that basically does the same thing with a slow energy bleed to power it… using your own field to dampen itself.” Lorna looked thoughtful and nodded.

“All well and good for ‘day to day’ as you said, but I think my benefactors here expect me to do some heroics too. I would think that a power damper might interfere with spontaneity.” Lucy looked amused but jumped into the fray.

“Let him explain dearest, I’m sure he was going somewhere with this idea of his.” She smiled sweetly at Roger who managed an incredible range of expressions settling finally on a grin.

“I uh, thank you Lucy, I think,” he shook off his discomfort quickly enough, “well uh, going somewhere, yes and no… I have to bend some actual metal and work out some diagrams, but a memory metal mesh might work something that would spool up into a container of some sort when you needed full access? Like the guyver in reverse…” Lorna put on her best clueless face.

“The Guyver? Richard Dean Anderson?” she asked sweetly and smiled. Roger looked flummoxed and started to explain, but Lucy quickly put a stop to the charade.

“Stop teasing him Lor; you’re as big a geek as he is, if not more,” she smiled and hugged Lorna, “remember, I’ve seen your statue collection.” Roger looked like the existence of god had been revealed to him.

“So cool,” he breathed, “another collector on base! Can I see your collection Ms. Dane? I have some stuff here too and DVDs and…” Lorna joined in the conversation.

Yes and you can show me the shops, cause I’m about 8 weeks behind on my books and…” the two began talking back and forth so quickly, often finishing each other’s sentences. Lucy just perched herself in a chair and watched.

‘I fell in love with a geekette’ she thought, ‘and I guess I wouldn’t change a thing.’

End Part Four
Magnetic Personality
Next time: Lorna meets the bureaucrats for a photo op and a new challenge appears.

Author's Note: This part is dedicated to the Right Honorable Jack G. Layton. The man was a rarity, an honest Politician. You will be missed.
A Retroactive Continuity, or Retcon if you will, is the altering of previously known facts in order for the universe to conform to new story lines. This Retcon universe belongs to Lilith Langtree, and I thank her for allowing us to play in her sandbox. Thanks to Donjo and Lisa for beta reading, thanks Darkice for all the sciency goodness, and Deepest thanks to my Lovely Muse Dani. This is a retcon of Polaris in the Marvel Comics Universe. Marvel Comics owns the character and all rights associated with him/her/it. All other characters that appear are copyright their creators / re-creators and only used with permission. Image copyright by artist.

Chapter Twelve
“‘Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work’ Albert Einstein”

With two hours of very serious geekery and brainstorming behind them, Lucy dragged a very reluctant Lorna from Rogers’s lab. Their schedule allowed for a half hour between appointments and they took advantage of the time to grab a cup of coffee on the way to the administrative level of the complex.

“You look very happy Lor,” Michael commented as they passed him in the cafeteria. Lucy smiled and Lorna laughed.

“More than you know Mike, we’ll talk later.” She smiled as she walked towards what was fast becoming known as their table. Doctor Cooper’s distinctive west Texas twang could be heard in the background.

“… care what the frequency spread she achieved was, where was the wattage coming from?” he demanded of his tablemates, “For that matter the amperage, you saw the char marks in the cage!” Lorna paused behind Sheldon while across from her, Leonard covered his eyes and Walter stood up and offered his hand to her.

“Ahh, um Lorna,” he stammered as she took his hand in greeting. Sheldon whirled in his seat.

“It’s ok Walter; I expect nothing less of Dr. Cooper,” Lorna smiled and shook Walter’s hand, “but what he was saying caught my interest, I sort of thought that this ability of mine was strictly magnetic in nature?”

Walter regained his composure and gestured to two seats at their table. Lucy and Lorna sat and looked at their erstwhile host expectantly.

“Yes and no Lorna,” he paused to think, “electricity and magnetism are really two sides of the same coin… from my current, uh observations, the arcing was caused by your static field becoming a moving field, like a generator,” Walter paused again; Leonard looked at him and sighed.

“Lorna, as simply as we can figure,” the shorter man spoke, “you are tapped into the Earth’s magnetic field like it’s a huge battery. When you got upset with Sheldon, you caused effects we would only expect from a Tesla coil and when you really got upset with him, you caused … well atomic level fusion.” Cooper quickly interrupted Leonard.

“Ms. Dane my colleagues are possibly oversimplifying things,” the tall man attempted a smile which failed miserably, “as you probably already know, magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well as the materials that are attracted to them. However, all materials are influenced to a greater or lesser degree by the presence of a magnetic field. Some are attracted to a magnetic field in a process you might know called paramagnetism; others are repulsed by a magnetic field in what we call diamagnetism and yet others have a much more complex relationship with an applied magnetic field. Substances that are negligibly affected by magnetic fields are known as non-magnetic substances. They include copper, aluminium, gases, and plastic,” Sheldon paused in his lecture, “you seem able to affect them as well however… interesting.” Lucy glanced at Lorna who was actually smirking slightly.

“Whatever you are thinking of doing…” she quickly whispered in Lorna’s ear, “Don’t.”

‘Spoilsport…” Lorna whispered back with a small grin. Walter picked up the reigns of the conversation again.

“I think what we are trying to say Lorna,” he said with a wry smile, “is we don’t know the full extent of your abilities and though we have theories,” he looked at his team, “solid answers will have to wait. Do me a favour though ladies? If anything strange,” Walter made air quotes, “occurs, call me directly? We have to document all of this thoroughly.” Lucy nodded, but Lorna spoke up.

“Would having a feel for magnetic North be classified as strange?” Lorna stood and pointed, “It’s directly there.” She took Lucy’s hand and they walked out of the room to go to the administration complex.

Two levels up and a five minute walk east; the women arrived at James Hudson’s office and were seated quickly by the pretty young receptionist. He looked up from his paperwork and smiled.

“I could make a comment about cats and canaries, but I won’t,” he leaned back in his chair and eased his spine, “so far, all the preliminaries are coming back as we had hoped, but you seem to have set a fox amongst the hens with Walters’s team…” James paused as his receptionist entered and handed him a sheet of paper…

“Thank you Lilli,” he skimmed the information, “Roger has some interesting ideas for you Lorna, and knowing him, we should have a working prototype in under a month...” he changed tracks quickly, “How are you settling in? Any problems?” Lorna looked at him with some interest… this was the head of a super secret organization and he came across like a teacher or guidance councilor.

“I’m ok, a slight problem with Dr. Cooper at first,” she grinned, “but I have my safety valve here to protect me.” Lorna smiled at Lucy. James cleared his throat.

“There has been some grumbling from the Minister about you two; I’ve been trying to keep things calm though…” he began. Lucy interrupted him.

“Grumblings Dr. Hudson? About what precisely?” she looked at him with a flash of anger. Lorna was astounded; Lucy was always the easier going of the two of them. James held up his hands.

“It’s just whispers and I’m putting out the fires as they flair…” he tried to explain. Lorna spoke up.

“What Whispers, What Fires?” she demanded. Lucy kept glaring at James and spoke through a clenched jaw.

“I knew this would happen! Our oh so socially Conservative government has a problem with a) your sexuality and b) our relationship…” she grimaced, “and probably c) your sex change. Tell me I’m wrong Dr. Hudson, go ahead and tell us!” the small blond woman challenged him. He slumped in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I wish I could tell you that Lucy, Lorna…” he sighed heavily, “those bastards… pardon my language… they want you to pretend to be straight Lorna… some idiot from the States,” James grabbed at a folio on his desk, “a Dr. Keith Ablow says it is bad for the children to see a…how did he put it in his report… a ‘Transgendered Lesbian Role Model’.” He threw the folder down. Lorna picked it up and looked at the picture.

“Prick looks like Lex Luthor,” she snorted, “tell them no.” she put the folder down. James’s eyebrows shot up.

“Just tell them no…” he chuckled, “no to what part Lorna?” he laughed. Lorna smirked and ticked the list off on her fingers.

“I can’t help being Transgendered so I won’t pretend otherwise,” she flicked down a finger, “Lucy and I love each other and I won’t pretend otherwise, and as to being a role model… I’m not Miss America or whatever she is calling herself down in the good old god fearing USA… I’m a typical Canadian with atypical abilities.” She grinned. “That means that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms AND the Uniform Code of Justice apply to me and my love.” Lorna finished and took Lucy’s hand in hers. Lucy looked at Lorna and then at James.

“I think the spin doctors for the Government better stop spinning Doctor, Lorna and I are here to stay.” She squeezed Lorna’s hand. James shook his head.

“God help me if I had a whole team of metahumans to ride herd on.” He smiled, “ok… in a few weeks some of Canada’s brightest designers will be here to start work on your costume so I’m giving you a heads up and wanted to know if there were any ideas you might have had to be incorporated?” he smiled, glad that this was a lighter topic. Lorna looked blankly at him.

Chapter 13
“‘I put the costume on and said 'it’s not very comfortable, but it looks amazing,' so it's all good.’ Chris Hemsworth”

“Costume? What costume would this be James?” Lorna said quietly, “I honestly do not recall any discussion about costumes. I just said I’m not American dream, didn’t I?” she reminded him. James sighed.

“This one was actually in the agreement you and your Lawyer approved Lorna,” James pointed to the paragraph in question in the folder which Lorna grabbed from his hand.

‘‘… in the event that the contractor to the Government of Canada decides to undertake missions or begins publicly adventuring while under the terms and sanction of the Government of Canada, the contractor agrees to wear a uniform of the Governments choice and design to identify the contractor as being under sanction of the Government of Canada…” Lorna looked up and met James’s eyes.

“This is a freaking Pin up Clause!” she slammed the file down on James’s desk and put her index finger close to his face. “I signed this, I know… but those dinosaurs are in for a big surprise when their role model hits the public…” Lorna took a deep breath and stood up straight. “I’m sorry for venting on you James, I will give you a list of do not includes…rather long, I’ll warn you but I will approve something in either red or green and gold…” she covered her eyes with one hand, “and we’ll have to cut this short, as I have a killer headache and have to call my lawyer.” She sighed again. James stood up.

“I understand Lorna and I’m not taking it personally,” he said with real compassion, “you should see some of the ideas and requests that have come down the pike from the hill,” he shook his head, “I’m surprised nobody has asked for video of you exercising yet, and you didn’t hear me say that, either of you. Now get going… you have three hours till you have to see Judd.” He sat back down and waved them out. Lucy started to speak, but Lorna placed a finger over her lips and led her out.

They didn’t speak until they got back to their quarters. Lorna pulled Lucy into an embrace and whispered in her ear. Lucy nodded and took off her watch and jewelry then placed her phone casually on the breakfast bar and walked to their room. Lorna kicked off her shoes and followed her in and locked the door. Lucy was lighting candles as Lorna sat on the end of the bed. She closed her eyes; there was a low hum and a cacophony of buzzes and popping noises.

“There, that should take care of any surveillance devices,” she looked at Lucy, “did any of that seem like more than the usual government bullshit, I mean really juvenile?” she was genuinely puzzled, Lucy nodded slowly.

“it’s like a weird email that came from the Privy Council,” she frowned, “asking Mike for naked pictures of you and other women under his care… we sent it to security, but nothing has come back yet. It’s like something is affecting people with connections to H, but not within H properly.” Lucy looked at Lorna with concern, “I’m going to check out the H archives to see if some other super or Meta has been found with mind altering or controlling powers.” Lorna grinned.

“See? This is why I keep you around, to do all the heavy thinking,” she joked as she reached towards her lover and pulled her towards her. “Come on Lucy… we have some quiet time before I have to see Master Judd. Care to help me warm up?”

…

Lorna approached the Tatami barefooted and bowed before stepping on. She walked to the center of the room and took a lotus seat. Judd’s gravelly voice echoed from the shadows.

“You seem different today Lorna… you walk and stand differently… you have begun to accept who you are.” It was a statement, not a question. “It is a good first step, one that frees you from the shackles of a dead past.” She started to reply.

“Dead? But I’m still…” he cut her off.

“Who are you…? Larry Dane or Lorna Dane? Answer!” he snapped from the shadows.

“Lorna, but what...?” she asked again only to be cut off again.

“Then Larry is dead… his memories, experiences live on within you Lorna, but he is dead and you have to accept that fact, or he will rise and trip you when you can least afford it.” Judd sounded a little sad, but continued, “We will work on putting him to rest as we continue on. Now…” the room went black and Lorna was knocked over by a running figure.

She rolled with it and got to her feet. She was back on the mat seconds later. She squinted into the darkness… there… the yellowish glow of Judd’s EM field. She got slowly up and saw him moving quickly towards her. He leapt suddenly and she quickly ducked as he sailed over her. He landed with almost no noise. Judd worked his way behind her again and tried a leg sweep which she avoided as well. She heard his chuckle.

“Using your abilities? Clever girl.” A cloth was thrust into her hands, “put on the blindfold.” He instructed.

“But with the blast shield down I won’t be able to see anything…” she quoted as she tied the cloth across her eyes.

“Then reach out with the force, eh?” he responded, “The object of this lesson and many more to come is to teach you to rely on your other senses. If you were ever in a situation where the use of your Meta abilities was not an option, what would you fall back on?” there was a loose rustling and Judd tossed her over his shoulder. She stood back up quickly and listened, breathing easily. He circled left and grabbed a thin switch of bamboo. She heard a thin whistling noise before the sting against her calf. Lorna bit back a curse and listened. She was starting to notice her environment.

She grabbed suddenly to the right and felt her fingertips graze the switch just before it bit her in the thigh. She heard but couldn’t place his chuckle…

“Almost… it was impressive… you have the endurance the twins reported on, and your reflexes are quicker than I have seen in a beginner,” another leg sweep and Lorna was on the mat again and the lights came up…

“Not bad for a girl in a …” she pulled the cloth from her eyes and saw that he was also blindfolded…

“I believe the word you are searching for is ‘blindfold’, Eh?” he removed his. “I’m not showing off Lorna, there are people out there that can stand in front of your eyes and you won’t see them. So I will train you till you can see with all of your senses, the natural, and the enhanced.” Judd smiled down at her and pulled her to her feet.

“Now we begin your Kata,” he positioned her body, “you will watch and repeat each position until it becomes as automatic to you as breathing, and if you bugger up,” his bamboo switch whistled through the empty air, “I will correct you. We will start with the 54 steps…” he assumed the first position and Lorna attempted to duplicate it. The switch whistled…it would be a long afternoon.

Two and a half hours later, a sore and tired Lorna bowed to her Master and left the dojo. By the end of the session, jus admitted grudgingly that maybe 20 of the 54 were passable and reminded her to practice them before bed and upon waking up. She had responded properly and trudged back to her quarters for a shower. When she arrived, Roger was just leaving. He greeted her.

“Hiya Lorna! Just had to fix the lights in your room.” He grinned his easy grin, “can I ask what happened?” Lorna decided that he really didn’t need to be involved in her possible paranoia, so she fibbed to him.

“Oh ah… we got a little frisky and…” she managed a blush, “well I sorta lost control… don’t tell anyone please Roger? I’m trying to control them… my abilities I mean, but if it happens again, can I count on your discretion? Please?” she smiled prettily. He grinned a bit bigger.

“Ok Lorna, but you owe me next Wednesday evening at the Cave…” he laughed when her eyes widened, “don’t worry, it’s a comic shop.” He turned and walked down the hallway with a naughty twinkle in his eyes. Lorna went into the apartment and relaxed mentally.

‘Good thing I have an ally, even if he doesn’t know why… best he doesn’t know why. It could all be simply my natural caution.’ She thought as she adjusted the shower to her liking and stripped out of her workout clothing and took a long soak under the warm water.

Chapter 14
“‘The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret.’ Salvador Dali”

Lorna had been at Department H for two months now and was feeling that the routine was getting comfortable. The twins had her baseline now and had her working out every other day, interspaced by running. The running was surprisingly easy and relaxing… she didn’t have to think of anything but one foot in front of the other and it let her think about other things she dared only discuss with Lucy…

such as the discovery in the archives of a man named Killgrave who was known in the seventies as the Purple Man. Although he was presumed dead, his power had been mental manipulation through his unusual body chemistry… it sounded right, but he was supposed to be dead.

Master Judd had approved her performance of the 54 forms and moved her onto basic sparring with Jean-Paul, who also trained with him. Jean-Paul spoke of muscle memory and enhanced nerve pathways to explain how Lorna was learning so quickly, Judd just snorted and smiled.

Walter and Leonard were working with her to see if she could find an off switch for her field and also if she could oscillate it at will to generate a plasma effect like she had when she gotten angry at Sheldon, but a controlled effect, without the fury.

Sheldon was trying to find an equation to explain how she could have broken atomic bonds and so far couldn’t. It was driving him madder than usual.

Throughout all of the activity, Lorna and Lucy kept an eye open for anything unusual happening within Department H and finding only the odd memo from the minister and his staff. The really weird stuff seemed like business as usual for a National Capitol.

Lorna almost felt she had been imagining it all, until she did a routine EM sweep of her quarters and found several wireless cameras… they weren’t even government issue, they were commercial rigs and not even particularly well concealed. She called in Heather.

“Honestly Heather, I’m not sure what disturbs me more, that these cameras managed to get into one of the most secure facilities in Canada,” she sighed, “or that the childish bastard didn’t even bother hiding them that well.” She grimaced in distaste. Heather collected the cameras.

“Lorna, you and Lucy rest easy,” she smiled sympathetically, “I’ll get to the bottom of this and get the dipshits who are getting their jollies at your expense.” She strode out of the room and left Lorna with a quandary… how to tell Lucy that their privacy had been compromised.

Lucy took it as well as could be expected, much better than Lorna had thought she would, considering she almost dragged Lorna into the bedroom and did her best to wear out her metahuman lover. afterword Lucy showed her a printout from archives...

"apparently Mr. Killgrave had a family as recently as 1990... in Toronto of all places. Wife's name is Melanie and a daughter, Kara..." Lorna frowned a little.

"so is the Purple Man alive, dead, what?" Lucy scanned the document and sighed...

"It doesn't say Hun," she tossed the papers aside.

The incident was almost forgotten, but certain things seemed … off about H and Team Alpha… nothing you could put your finger on, but there was a certain childishness in the staff, like Heather developing a tendency to giggle or Jean-Marie flirting with every male she saw… even Lucy was acting flakey, very possessive of Lorna and a bit distrustful as well…

it felt a bit like high school. Except Judd, he remained himself, both in and out of the dojo. Lorna decided to talk to him about her suspicions. They sat in lotus across from one another.

“Master, I hesitated to bring this to you but I think something odd is happening in Department H,” she spoke quietly, for his ears only, “people are behaving like teenagers or children, a week ago I found hidden cameras in my bedroom and shower and even Lucy is acting weird… am I imagining all of this? She asked the small man. He smiled gently.

“No, unfortunately you aren’t imagining things.” He went to stand and suddenly pitched face forward to the mat. Lorna was on her feet in a defensive position in a split second, stretching her senses to their limits. The voice from the darkness was no one she recognized.

“Wow, I barely saw you move,” a small projectile ricocheted off of Lorna’s defense field, “And that is very cool… annoying, but cool. I had to use a trank on the short dude there because he wasn’t playing or working well with the others.” The figure who stepped out of the shadows was a young girl of 17. Lorna noticed her hair was a deep violet.

“Who are you kid? You obviously know what’s going on here…” she slowly reached out with her mind to find anything metal she could use as a weapon, “how’d you get down here anyways?” she flipped on all the dojo lights, hoping to dazzle the intruder. The kid looked over the rims of her ray bans and grinned.

“A friend helped me get in…” Lorna noticed that the girl’s skin had a violet tinge to it. The girl moved closer to Lorna. “My name is Kara, but my friends call me Persuasion… be a good girl and go to sleep…” Lorna was unconscious before she hit the floor.

She woke in her apartment on the couch with the strange purple girl sitting across from her.

“Ahh, back in the land of the cave dwellers? Good.” She smiled, “I thought you might be more comfortable here in familiar surroundings, sometimes it makes it easier…” Kara looked at Lorna oddly. Lorna cleared her throat.

“Persuasion huh? So you are Kara Killgrave I’d guess,” Lorna tried to power up but failed, “ok, what did you do to me? It’s cool and all but what the hell are you up to, just a villain with a grudge? Against H maybe?” she was trying hard to keep Kara distracted. Kara grinned.

“Ohhh you figured out my ‘oh so proud’ lineage, did you?” Kara giggled, “reports of my father’s death were greatly exaggerated… he’s been hiding out in Canada for over 30 years or he was… he’s dead now… he raped my mom… and I’m the loving daughter… till I finally told him to go fuck himself… he died trying.”

She giggled and her eyes glittered with certain madness, “but I’m not the villain as you put it… if you want a villain, look at your bosses on Parliament Hill… Apparently you aren’t playing by their rule book so they brought me in to persuade you to be a good little heroine and role model. The Prime Minister was quite explicit… good Christian morals and values… no ‘girlfriends’ and no talking back… he’s in a dress shop right now, trying on gowns…” Kara stood up. Lorna did also and backed away from the purple figure.

“Might as well stay put Lorna dear, I told you to power down till I say otherwise.” The girl kept approaching, Lorna kept backing away, “come on sweetie, I need to touch your skin for the instructions to be permanent, make it easy on yourself…” Kara coaxed her.

Lorna hoped her endurance was as good as the Beaubiers had said it was and took a deep breath. Kara lunged at her. Lorna did a leg sweep that put Kara on her ass, but she recovered quickly and reached out to touch Lorna’s face. Lorna went into a sort of trance state, her body moving through her Kata almost on autopilot. Block…punch…kick…sweep, never letting up and never letting Kara’s skin touch hers. Finally Lorna landed a solid right cross on Kara’s jaw, launching the slight girl across the living room and smashing her head into the coffee table. Kara let out a small sound and was unconscious. Lorna began to breathe again.

She quickly grabbed some tights from her room and secured Kara’s hands and feet with them. When she was done, she ran out of her quarters and straight to the dojo to find her sensei coming around.

“Master Judd, we have a situation. I have subdued the intruder that we had been talking about, but she has some sort of biochemical control over people’s minds.” Judd rubbed his neck and raised his eyebrows but remained quiet, “she calls herself persuasion and she is out cold, but with her pheromones, if she wakes up, we all go back to lala land… help?” Lorna entreated him. Judd smiled.

Sounds like you have a tale or two to tell Lorna, but this isn’t the time or place,” he waved at her to follow him, “c’mon kid… we need a containment suit… properly sealed, she won’t be leaking pheromones.” They ran off to the biomed lab and grabbed the equipment. On the way back to Lorna’s quarters Judd asked, “Why aren’t you floating all this shit Lorna?” Lorna’s lips were a thin line.

“She ‘persuaded’ me not to use them,” she said grimly, “how come she had to trank you?” he chuckled.

“Tai Chi and Chai Tea… mental discipline from years of meditation and training… you may get there someday, if you keep practicing…” he paused outside Lorna’s quarters, “ hold on a tick, you took her down without your abilities? How did you do that?” Lorna blushed.
“i… uh… I held my breath and ran my Kata,” she stammered, “it was like someone else was moving me around and she took a beating… it was so fast, but seemed like slow motion.” Lorna finished. Judd nodded.

“Just so… I will enter first as her pheromone has no effect on me… we will secure her if she is still unconscious, or I will render her unconscious again if necessary.” He instructed as the door snapped open. Kara was awake but still secured but Lucy was desperately trying to undo the purple girl’s bonds.

“Lucy! What are you doing?” Lorna yelled. Lucy looked up with a serene expression on her face.

“Just untying my new playmate Love… you two must have been getting wild… Bondage?” she clucked her tongue. Lorna started to charge into the room, but Judd threw her across the hall and bounded into the apartment. The door snapped shut. Lorna heard Lucy shriek then silence. She was on her feet in a second and moving towards her apartment when the door opened again. Judd stood there for a moment and then shook his head.

“Bring that gear in and let’s secure little Kara there.” He glared at her, “then, we need to talk about following orders and keeping your emotions in check.” He turned and stepped back into the living room, a very subdued Lorna following with the containment equipment.
…
Lorna sat in James Hudson’s office being officially debriefed. She had already been unofficially praised and chewed out by Judd.

“… so this apparently was a reaction to me standing up to the government, though the spin doctors are saying it was rogue elements in the bureaucracy that set this plan in motion. I almost blew it at the finish line though sir.” Lorna sighed heavily, “I didn’t think… I acted on emotion and instinct when I saw Persuasion using Lucy. Master Judd saved us all, not me.” She spread her hands. James nodded, wrote something on the paper in front of him and looked back at her.

“Bullshit… oh, officially your report is the one on file,” he sat back and popped his spine, “but don’t you start believing Gene’s Bull. What you did, any of us but Gene would have done… did he give you his Tai Chi and Chai Tea line?” he laughed, “Lorna, if I saw Heather where Lucy had been, I would have charged without thinking, Mike would have for his wife or daughter… Gene is just a hardass. For your second unofficial combat, you did very well… that is what goes in my report.” He smiled and closed the folder on his laptop. Lorna was flummoxed.

“Thank you sir, I don’t fully understand, but thank you.” She sat there looking confused. James took pity on her.

“You saved our asses Lorna, without your abilities, without guns or fancy equipment,” he grinned, “and when you needed help, you sought it out, in the form of Gene. You did everything a good operative should do in a situation beyond her control. We have established in you a good foundation…” James grinned again, “Now we’re going to make you a spectacular operative. And,” he pointed at the laptop in front of him, “you’re experience has gotten you over some of your ‘Allergies’ to electronics, which I’m sure the staff at H and team Alpha appreciate. You and Lucy take the weekend and have some fun we’ll pick up training where we left off yesterday… now shoo… I have a ream of paperwork to do and a quite upset security chief to calm down.” He went back to his work. Lorna stood to walk out when he looked back up.

“Oh Lorna, one more thing I almost forgot,” he smirked at her, “Your ‘uniforms’ arrived today.”

End of Magnetic Personality part 5

Next Time: a costume drama, and a bigger challenge.

 

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Author's Note: A Retroactive Continuity, or Retcon if you will, is the altering of previously known facts in order for the universe to conform to new story lines. This Retcon universe belongs to Lilith Langtree, and I thank her for allowing us to play in her sandbox. Thanks to Donjo for editing and Lisa, Bailey, Andrea Lena and Salrissa for beta reading. Thanks as always to my lovely Muse Dani. This is a retcon of Polaris in the Marvel Comics Universe. Marvel Comics owns the character and all rights associated with him/her/it. Dream of the Endless is  © DC Comics. All other characters that appear are  © their creators / re-creators and only used with permission.
Image  © by Elizabeth Avis 2011

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~o~O~o~

~o~O~o~

Lorna scroaned, a sound which combined a scream and a groan simultaneously… Mac just did his best to hide a grin playing around the edges of his mouth.

“How bad are they Mac?” she asked through gritted teeth, “American Dream or Flying Wallendas?”

“From what I can tell Lorna, not as bad as you might think,” he met her eyes, “Roger’s tech kept them from being skin tight so they will be form fitting but not obscenely so. Small comfort I’m sure, but better than nothing.” He finished sympathetically.

Mac slid a diagram across the desk; she picked it up and went over it in detail. The suit was more of a metallic looking onesie than spandex, with a Lycra Kevlar covering that was worn over it. Silvery shoulder pads, arm and leg bracers completed the ensemble.

“And once I’m locked inside this miracle of science, how do I get out for oh, I don’t know… washroom breaks?” Lorna handed the sheet back to James.

“Roger managed to get some designs that Stark Industries was developing for NASA for the female astronauts and incorporated it into your uniform. The Boy has been very careful with this design.” Mac smiled, “he’s sort of smitten with you Lorna, in his geekey way.” Lorna broke into a small grin.

“I like him too… he’s like a puppy,” she smiled, “or a kid brother, though I’m not much older than him anymore, am I?”

“Not much Lorna,” he chuckled, “now get down to the lab. Roger wants to make sure the suit works and Walter’s team wants to put you through your paces. Good Luck Kid.”

She wasn’t exactly sure how to take that.

"Roger, I freely admit that I was a bit wary of this rig,” Lorna stretched her arms over her head, “but it is surprisingly comfortable and very non restrictive, even with the Kevlar oversuit.”

Roger smiled and sighed like he had been holding his breath.

“You don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that Lorna,” he sagged in his chair a little, “I knew how much you hated this whole uniform idea.” Roger got a puzzled look on his face.

“What’s the look for Roger?” She asked him with a mock scowl on her face. He blinked and blushed.

“I was just wondering why an obvious fan of comic books and superheroes in general would dislike the idea of a costume so much.” He frowned slightly and pulled at his lower lip.

Lorna’s quick retort died on her lips when she saw how serious Roger was. She thought carefully for a moment before replying.

“Ok Roger, let’s see if I can articulate my unease with the whole costume hero thing,” she picked up a red marker, drew a target on a piece of paper and taped it to Roger’s shirt, “ok, I have green hair which sort of marks me as unique and a target for the growing anti mutant, anti meta nut jobs out there. Now let’s pretend that paper is a uniform. Catch my drift?”

“Sort of, but it’s no different than a police officer or a soldier is it?” he furrowed his brow again, “it attracts attention to you, away from the ‘innocent bystanders’, doesn’t it?”

“I guess,” she sighed, “but I was one of those innocent bystanders not all that long ago and honestly the idea of being a ‘Super Police Officer’ still scares me silly Roger. Cops get injured all the time, but heroes? Heroes die! I’ve read the files,” she ticked on her fingers, “Johnny Canuck? Killed in action. Tom Evans, Captain Canuck 1, Killed in action. Northguard had his arm ripped off. Mr. Canoehead…”she shuddered. Roger held up his hands.

“OK, I’ve read the files too,” Roger looked sad, “but then what, do nothing? Like it or not Lorna, you are a Metahuman. You have proved you are a protector. Would you be able to stand aside and do nothing, Uniform or not? I don’t believe you could, that’s not who you are,” he paused and looked Lorna directly in the eyes, “Not with a large portion of the activated Metahumans turning to crime, to using their gifts for their own gain. That’s not Lorna Dane.” There was a noise from the other side of Roger’s lab.

“You’re right Roger,” Lucy spoke quietly from the doorway, “That’s not Lorna Dane, at least not the Lorna I’ve come to love. That may be a small piece of a former life, when Larry was safe and comfortable and wasn’t part of the world, just an observer. But it’s not Lorna.”

Lorna couldn’t look at Lucy immediately and when she did look up there were tears in her eyes. Lucy moved to her and took the taller woman into her arms as Lorna broke down.

“I… I’m so… so… sorry Love,” she sobbed, “this d…damned COSTUME! It just brought it all h…home. I cou…could go out one day and never,” Lorna gasped for a steady breath, “never see you again!” she began sobbing uncontrollably. Roger looked flummoxed.

“Let it out dearheart, I know you have been so worried,” Lucy held Lorna tightly and eased her to the floor gently, “you have been trying so hard to be brave, but you are still just a little girl and all of this is scary.”

Lorna’s sobs became an inarticulate noise as she tried to breathe, cry and talk at the same time. Lucy looked at Roger and mouthed ‘Call Mike’; he crept to his office to do so.

“You are safe love, safe with me and all your friends,” Lucy was stroking Lorna’s hair and back, trying to break the cycle of sobbing and induce a steady breathing rhythm, “Deep breath for me my brave girl, come on…”

The lab door opened and the Doctor hurried in, looked at the scene before him and prepared a mild sedative. He raised an eyebrow at Lucy and offered the hypo.

“Lorna, Listen to me now hunny,” she said as she took the medicine in hand, “I have something to calm you down, ok sweetie?” she pressed the injector against Lorna’s throat, “little sting, here goes darling.”
There was a hiss of pressurized air and Lorna’s breathing began to steady and slow. She saw Lucy as her eyelids began to droop.

“love you…” she managed before passing out.

“Roger!” Lucy yelled, “Get her out of this thing before I cut it off her! Doc? Is there a gurney?”

~o~O~o~

~o~O~o~

Lorna awakened slowly, aware of the small noises of a hospital room and aware of worried voices speaking in hushed tones nearby. Her tongue felt like sandpaper and her throat was as dry as the Sahara. She made a very small sound and was startled as the door opened almost immediately and Eugene walked in with a cup of ice chips in his hands.

“Back with us, eh Lorna?” he smiled and handed her the cup, “Guess I sorta slipped up on my job as your psychologist huh?” Lorna hastily crunched an ice chip and swallowed to moisten her throat. She tried to speak but managed nothing more than a questioning squeak.

“Yeah, I was head shrinking while we worked out,” Gene smiled sheepishly, “I figured you would be more at ease with me as your sensei than as your shrink. I wish we had talked more but H has been pushing to get you out making public appearances.”

“… not… your… fault” Lorna managed to croak out, “I should have talked to Lucy or anyone.” She coughed and melted another ice chip in her mouth.

“Not the point and you know it kid,” Gene grimaced, “that ends now. I want us to talk, talk about anything you want. None of this has been easy for you and a lot of pressure has been placed on you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re off the duty roster.”

Lorna spat out the ice she had in her mouth.

“But the government…Mac…” she stammered.

“… Both have to defer to my professional judgment,” he grinned, “a person as powerful as you cannot go out in public until I am convinced that you are not a danger to yourself or others. I can and will call in colleagues if needed. Leonard Samson would love to meet you Hun.”

“So…” she murmured, “all I have to do is kick back and talk to you? Quel Dommage!” she smirked.

“I can see you’re all broken up about this, eh?” Gene chuckled, “get some rest, we start head shrinking tomorrow.” He patted her arm and left the room.

Lorna settled down into her pillows and tried to sleep, but all she managed was a restless doze while her mind whirled. Memories from childhood that were and weren’t hers, Images of people and friends long gone. Her childhood had been normal, hadn’t it? Had something happened? Why had she withdrawn so much as a teen and an adult? Something kept nagging at the edge of memory and refused to be grasped. Something happened when she… he was young… ten?

There it was again, like grit in the mind’s eye, blurry with time and tears, a figure, large… someone he was supposed to trust. It slipped again, like it was trying to hide… darkness and restless sleep followed.

The next morning, she woke and called for Eugene immediately. She told him of her dream.

“This figure in my dream seemed to be actively trying to hide, was almost in fear of discovery. I don’t get how that could be?” she asked him between sips of strong tea.

“That would seem to be a visualization of a repressed memory Lorna, actively repressed too, if I understand your description correctly,” he pulled at his lower lip, “I’m going to need to bring in a consultant, with your permission Lorna. She’s like you, a Meta.”

“As long as she’s not like Miss Killgrave, I’m willing,” Lorna grimaced at the memory of her run in with Persuasion.

“No, but she is a telepath and may be able to help you unlock your dream state,” Eugene stated, “Her name is Arlette Truffaut.”

“Like the French film director?” She giggled.

“So she would have you believe,” he snorted, “I’ll make a few calls and get her here as soon as possible. I’ll let Lucy come visit you now and see if Mike will let you rest at home, ok?” he squeezed her fingers and left the room.

Three days later there was a buzz at the door to Lorna’s quarters. Lucy keyed it and was greeted by Gene and a petite young woman who was fussing with her ID badge.

“… ruins the entire line of my outfit. Stop snickering Monsieur Judd,” She looked up at Lucy, “Ah! Bonjour Mam’selle Caplin. I am Arlette and I hope to assist Monsieur Smarty pants ‘ere to help your Lady with her small problem.” She beamed.

“Oh thank you so much Mademoiselle Truffaut,” Lucy breathed, “I have been so worried about Lorna, her nightmares have been getting worse, please come in.” she waved them towards the couch.

“How is she Lucy?” Gene asked as he seated himself.

“Resting with a mild sedative, Michael doesn’t want her on anything too heavy, but the dreams are worst at night…”she sighed heavily, “The dark figure.”

“Dark Figure?” Arlette looked suddenly alert, “has Lorna been able to describe it at all?”

“Very pale, cloaked and dark hair shot through with blue or purple,” Lucy responded, “but it’s just a dream, isn’t it?”

“A dream,” Gene snarled, “or a Nightmare!”

Both women looked at him askance; Gene was usually such a calm person that the vehemence in his tone took them by surprise.

“I’m sorry ladies, can we sit down,” he moved towards the sofa, “I’m afraid Lorna may be under attack again.” Lucy gasped and frowned angrily,

“Attacked? By whom?” she spat out the words as she sat down.

“More of a what I’m afraid,” he nodded to Arlette, “I think you know the what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“Oui, I believe I do ‘appen to know of the creature,” Arlette shivered a bit, “though I ‘ave never encountered ‘im myself.”

“WHO?” Lucy raised her voice, “who or what is Him?”

“Nightmare… that’s what it calls itself,” Gene sighed, “It seems to be an energy creature, years ago, it would have been called a daemon.”

“It is a psychic vampire if you will,” Arlette continued, “it seems to feed off of a victim’s fear and to do that, it enters the dream state of a person and frightens them as much as it can so it can feed.”

“This can’t be real, can it?” Lucy hugged herself tightly, “energy creatures, psychic vampires, Daemons?”

“Lucy, your girlfriend breaks the laws of physics every day,” Gene took her hand soothingly, “you have met other Meta Humans, but you balk at the thought of an energy vampire.”

“Ok, point taken Gene,” she sighed unhappily, “what can be done about it? That thing has to go!”

“Ms. Caplin… Lucy,” Arlette spoke up, “If you will trust me, we can enter Lorna’s dream and convince her that it is just a dream… one she controls. Once the illusion is proved to be just that, she will be able to fight the thing. But it won’t be easy… the creature can manipulate the dream to ‘is liking, even cloak you in an illusion so your lover won’t recognize you. The dreamscape is like nothing you have ever seen.”

“I’m going in with you?” Lucy squeaked, “I’m not a fighter like Gene or a Meta like Lorna and you, Arlette…”
“You have to come Lucy,” Gene cut her off abruptly, “you are Lorna’s rock, her anchor of reality in the weirdness that her life has become, and you will be needed even more in the unreality of the Nightmare controlled dreamscape.”

After discussing their plan with Lorna and Michael, the night found all of them gathered in the medical center to implement it. Lorna had been left in the dark, figuratively speaking, about the presumed identity of the ‘dark figure’ of her dreams so as not to possibly tip the Daemon off and to give the others a better chance to seize control if necessary.

“Don’t worry sweetheart,” Lucy reassured Lorna, “Arlette is going to enter your dream to see if she can find the cause of the nightmares, just like we discussed. All you have to do is sleep and dream.”

“I know Lucy,” she sighed heavily, “I just can’t shake the creeps… Telepathy… and so soon after what Kara put us through…”

“I understand Hun, but that was mind control, not telepathy.” Lucy said calmingly, “besides, Gene, Michael and I are here to monitor the entire procedure.” She squeezed Lorna’s hand.

“Ok Lorna, mild sedative now, just to help you doze off,” Mike stepped up with an injector and pressed it against her neck with a small hiss. Lorna’s eyes closed and she was asleep in moments.

The team quickly moved in two more gurneys and Lucy and Gene settled down onto them. Arlette moved to them and gently touched their foreheads, establishing her mental link with them both. She moved to Lorna, repeated the gentle touch and then lay down as well. Mike administered the sedative to Gene and Lucy. Arlette refused as she needed to be in a trance state to keep the link active.

Lucy woke… somewhere else. It appeared to be a modest post war bungalow furnished tastefully in a somewhat dated style; early 1970’s if she was any judge of tangerine fabric and teakwood. She looked around for the others and was alarmed to find herself alone in the living area of the house. She heard a low groan from the next room and found Gene sitting in a kitchen of avocado and purple arborite.

“Are you ok Gene?” she felt the need to whisper, “Where are we and have you seen anyone else?”

“I just woke up here, eh?” he rubbed his temples and shrugged, “so not much more info than you have, sorry Lucy.” He stood up and looked around warily, “let’s check the rooms, and keep alert, nothing is quite what it seems.”

~A master of understatement, our monsieur Judd~

Lucy heard Arlette’s voice in her head and stifled a squeak. Gene shook his head slightly.

“Where are you Murmur?” he whispered fiercely.

~With you, but hidden. Discretion is the better part of valor. The less of us ‘e is aware of, the greater advantage we possess~

“Guess I can’t argue that,” he replied, “this is far too… ordinary. Hold up, does anyone else hear whimpering?”

Lucy listened carefully and heard what sounded like a frightened child from a bedroom at the end of a hallway. She crept quietly towards the door and heard sobbing and a low masculine voice.

“Such a sweet little girl, aren’t you? In your nightdress and panties, so pure and clean,” there was a creepy giggle and renewed sobbing from a little girl, “and you’re growing up aren’t you? Are you a big girl yet?”

Lucy was aghast and was a heartbeat from kicking in the door.

“Wait, not yet,” Gene hissed in her ear, his hand on her shoulder restraining her, “we don’t have any idea of the full situation!”

~Arlette? Can you hide your presence from it long enough to reconnoiter? ~

~ Oui, but not long, a quick glimpse, no more. ~

An image formed in Lucy’s mind of a young girl’s bedroom. Unicorns and ponies with violet and rose dominant was the major theme throughout. The girl was trembling in the bed with the covers wrapped around her for protection. The bedding was green and white with gold piping.

The dark figure was moving slowly up the length of the bed, his face never the same from second to second.

“Let go of the covers dear,” the figure giggled again, “and let me see what a pretty girl you are.”

“No, I can’t!” she sobbed, “They protect me from bad stuff!”

The figure paused, its mismatched eyes shifting slightly. The image faded from Lucy’s mind.

~ I think ‘e sensed me! ~

“Ok Lucy,” Gene whispered, “I’ll go low and take his knees, and you go to the girl and protect her.”

“Protect her!” Lucy hissed, “Protect her how?!”

~ You know this is the dream state and can control it, ‘e does too but ‘e is bound by rules. The only person ‘oo doesn’t understand the unreality is Lorna. ~

Lucy looked at Gene, who held up five fingers and ticked them down one by one. She grasped the doorknob and turned it, opening the door with her shoulder. Gene crouched and sprang while Lucy ducked right and dove toward Lorna. The figure turned and roared.

“WHO DARES?! OOOooof.” It gasped as Gene struck its midriff in a solid tackle that carried both of them across the room away from the bed. Lucy reached Lorna and wrapped her in a protective embrace.

”ƒ

~o~O~o~

~o~O~o~

“MONSTERS!” Lorna screamed in utter terror.

“Monsters?” Lucy looked around, “Where?”

~ It is as I feared, ‘e is twisting ‘er perceptions. She sees you and Eugene as creatures! ~

Lorna struggled in Lucy’s arms, shrieking in utter terror.

“NO GET AWAY! HELP ME! MOMMMMMY!”

Gene flew across the room, tossed like a ragdoll by the dark figure.

“Who are you? Get away! This one is mine!” it screeched, “I rule here! I am Nightmare!”

Gene got up and produced an AE50 Desert Eagle from nowhere and fired at the pale man in green. Giant holes appeared in his body and disappeared just as quickly. The being gestured, hands grew from the wall and held Gene tightly. Gene flexed his body and the hands crumbled to dust. He bounded across the room and slugged Nightmare, knocking him ass over teakettle.

“You don’t rule me, EH?” he laughed, “I know that this is all fake bub!”

Nightmare pulled himself up, like a marionette on strings, his eyes glowing green like a traffic light.

“You might little man,” he gave another giggle, “but SHE doesn’t, she sees monsters attacking a mother figure, Me. She cannot even understand what you are saying! I control her perceptions, I control her mind!”

Lorna watched as the creature leapt at her mother again, growling and snarling while she struggled in the grip of the hag that held her tightly.

“Nooo! Leave Mommy alone!” she howled, “Let Me Go!”

Lucy thought furiously, she had to get through to Lorna somehow! Then as Gene was tossed across the room again she got an idea!

~ Arlette! Can you link me to Lorna’s mind? ~

~ Oui! But what… ~

Lucy cut her off with a sharp thought.

~ Just do it then! ~

Lucy felt the world shift and found herself in a dark room with a light in the middle. Inside the circle was Lorna, her Lorna, curled up in a fetal position sobbing. She ran to the light but bounced off… she walked to the perimeter and spoke.

“Lorna, Lorna honey,” she said calmingly, “It’s me, it’s Lucy.”

“go ‘way, you’re not real…” she panted weakly, “you’re that thing.”

“No pumpkin, It’s really me,” she soothed, “remember how you saved me? Saved us all two weeks ago?”

“Get outta my head!” Lorna groaned, “She can’t be here!”

“I am honey, and I can prove it,” Lucy said, “think back to when you were ten… were you Lorna or were you Larry?”

Lorna’s eyes snapped open and she stood up slowly. Looking at Lucy she mouthed the words thank you and vanished. Lucy was back in the bedroom where Gene was kneeling on the daemons chest and pounding him mercilessly. Lorna had stopped struggling and looked up at Lucy with a wicked grin. She stood up and her bed sheets writhed around her as she grew rapidly to her own adult size; Lorna stepped off the small bed, clad in her uniform.

“Step aside Gene,” she hissed, “the bastard is mine now!”

Gene ricocheted off of a wall and landed neatly behind Lorna. Nightmare rose to his full height again and screeched.

“Impossible, IMPOSSIBLE!” It pointed directly at Lorna, “You were trapped in my world, and you cannot have broken away!”

Slime covered tentacles raced towards Lorna but evaporated before they got anywhere near her. She blasted back at Nightmare with a plasma bolt which went through him without damaging him. She looked back at Gene and Lucy.

“Energy creature?” she asked

They nodded in unison. Lorna looked back at the glowering figure.

“Hey Emo Boy!” she shouted, “As much as I’d love to trade insults and blast your ass all over the place, I just don’t have time for a second rater like you!”

“Second Rater?!” It spluttered in its rage, “I am NIGHTMARE, Lord of the dreamscapes!”

“Really? I thought that Morpheus of the Endless was Lord of the Dreamscape.” She smiled at it.

“NO! Don’t say that name!” the thing gibbered in terror, “to say his name here…”

Another being appeared, with even whiter skin than Nightmare’s. He was tall and thin, dressed entirely in black with a large red stone hanging from his neck.

“Is to Summon him, little figment?” the voice was cold and dry, like wind through bare tree branches, “I do not recall crafting this dream or assigning you to this one.”

The dream lord looked at Lorna, who nodded respectfully. Gene’s eyes were huge as he took in the scene before him.

“Lorna! How do you know this being?” he whispered.

“Look up Neil Gaiman when we get home,” she whispered back with a smile.

Nightmare was on his knees prostrating himself before his master.

“But how…” he wailed, “How did you slip my grasp woman?!”

“You didn’t do your homework before attacking me daemon,” she replied icily, “I was never a ten year old girl. Look up Metahumans in Lucien’s library, if Lord Dream allows you to.”

She faced Morpheus and bowed her head.

“Milord Dream, will you take this daemon from here please?” she spoke softly, “and may I ask a small boon?”

The being almost smiled.

“I will and you may,” he replied, “for the torment he caused you and your companions.”

“I would ask if Nightmare acted alone,” she said quietly, “or on the instructions of another. I have been attacked twice now and am starting to become annoyed.”

Gene had to stifle a laugh. ‘Annoyed?’ he thought and heard Arlette’s giggle in his mind. Lucy just sat down hard on the bed; slack jawed at the scene playing out before her.

“Answer her, creature.” The dream lord toed the daemon cowering before him.

“I cannot!” it wailed, “The sorcerer of iron placed a geas upon me that I would be bound forever should I speak!”

“You need fear me more than a mere sorcerer!” Dream raised his voice slightly as he produced a small bottle of green glass from his cloak. In less than a millisecond, the creature was sealed within its walls.

The Lord of Dreams nodded slightly towards Lorna.

“This one will bother you no longer, Milady of the North Star’s reaches.” He nodded again and was gone.

Lorna blinked and opened her eyes to the comforting view of the Medical bay she had gone to sleep in. She raised herself up to a sitting position and rubbed her forehead.

“Ow”

“OW?! You just defeated a psychic daemon and all you can say is OW?” Gene goggled at her from the gurney he was resting on.

“Well, my head hurts from all of you guys banging around in there,” she smiled, “you call that psychology?”

She looked around and saw Arlette sleeping peacefully. Lucy snuck up behind Lorna and embraced her fiercely.

“Hi Sweetheart,” Lucy kissed the back of her neck, “that was… you were astounding!”

Lorna turned to kiss her partner.

“I couldn’t have done it without you Lucy,” tears rolled down her cheeks, “I had almost given up fighting that thing, I would have been trapped in my own mind…”

She hugged Lucy tightly and started to sob. Gene tried to get up, but Michael placed a hand on his shoulder.

“No Eugene, she needs this,” he spoke quietly; “she is healing.”

“Always the wise Shaman, eh Mike?” he nodded, “those two need a good night’s sleep in their own space though.”

Lucy watched from the observation booth in the training room as Lorna put her battlesuit through its paces, destroying targets, netting dummies and shielding herself from live ammunitions. Mac joined her, handing her a cup of coffee.

“I just finished reading the mission reports and I must admit, I didn’t fully understand half of it.” He sipped at his mug, “Psychic beings, dreamscapes, a Lord of Dreams?” he shook his head.

“I lived it and I’m not sure I understand it Mac,” she blew on her coffee, “Gene quoted Shakespeare at me ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy’”

“Meaning he didn’t fully get it either.” Mac responded dryly, “and in the end, Lorna’s comic book knowledge saved you all. Quick thinking on her part, I approve. I see she’s accepted the uniform.”

“More than accepted Mac,” Lucy smiled, “in the nightmare, the bed sheets she clung to for protection were those exact colours. She sees them now as what they are, Safety, for herself and for those she defends.”

Arlette wandered into the booth and looked down with a smile of pride.

“She is formidable!” she laughed. “On any plane of existence.”

Lucy set down her coffee and turned to embrace the petite woman.

“Thank you Arlette, for saving her,” she whispered, “I could have lost her.”

“I didn’t save her Lucy,” she chuckled, “you did, I only got the assist. ‘Ang on to that one, she needs you more then you know.” She stepped back and held Lucy by the upper arms, “Now, I must fly to New York to ‘elp a Stephane Strange with something mysterious and maybe find out more about tis ‘Sorcerer of Iron’, fare well Lucy. Be well James.”

Arlette left the room and its occupants to their thoughts.

“She’s ready, isn’t she,” Lucy broke the silence.

“She’s ready,” he agreed as he watched Lorna destroy a three foot thick concrete wall, “and God help anyone who ticks her off.”

Next Time: The Great Mall Tour!