Shortcuts

A paranormal superhero story with a supernatural twist

Interview with a superhero

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Shortcuts
by Terry Volkirch

Chapter 15

The rest of the week passed by quickly. It couldn't be called uneventful but it was becoming the new normal for Lester. Conversations with Erin never strayed far from makeup and fashion. Lessons in feminine deportment as well as aikido continued. Brian remained obsessed with Golden Girl and criminals started coming out of the woodwork. Lester spent more of his free time as a girl than he did as a boy.

As Crystal, she went out every night, separating vandals from their hammers, baseball bats and cans of spray paint, not bothering to turn them in. They weren't worth the trouble and it was too hard to prove their guilt anyway. She hogtied petty thieves with duct tape and dropped them off at the nearest police station with all of the necessary evidence to make a conviction. Reading about criminal cases on the Internet helped. So did the duct tape. The tape came in handy so she made sure she always carried a roll of it with her in a little belt pouch. She appreciated that most criminals didn't appear in gangs. They mostly went solo and were easily dispatched, and there weren't all that many. She hadn't even used up her first roll of duct tape.

Sarah's sudden mastery of makeup impressed her mother, who had to ask about it that Friday night. Matthew spent that time woodworking in the garage so it was safe to talk. Lester sat on the couch with his mother, half watching the TV with the sound turned down very low.

"I got it the same way I got telekinesis and everything else," was all the boy said. "I still need more help with clothing though. Please."

Susan never felt more needed and fulfilled. She only hoped that her part-time daughter could appreciate it all someday. The reluctant girl left no doubt that she didn't enjoy the lessons in femininity.

Mother and son sat in companionable silence until the news came on, leading with yet another story about Golden Girl. The newscasters practically begged the girl for an interview. The whole world wanted to know more about her. Even if they couldn't realistically expect her to fight crime in every city, they wanted to know if there might possibly be more like her to fill the crime fighting void.

Susan sighed. "What are you going to to about that?" she asked her son.

"What? You mean an interview or finding a way to clone myself?"

She laughed. "Let's just start with the interview."

"I don't know, Mom. I've been a little busy, but I have given it a little thought. I have to be careful about contacting anyone. I can't do it from home or it'll be traced here. That would be bad. Very bad."

She paused a moment and asked, "Why don't you just fly to the local news building while they're live and give a live interview?"

"Mother! That's brilliant!"

The woman smiled. "Just trying to help. And if you leave right now, it might not be too late."

"What?!"

"Just saying, Lester. But may I suggest a little makeup for Crystal? Since she'll be on live television."

Lester let out a very feminine squeak and ran to his bedroom to get ready. He cheated a little, using telekinesis to help remove his clothes and select more at the same time, all while he shapeshifted to become a girl. The new girl dressed, carefully applied a touch of mascara and lip gloss, gave her mother a quick hug and shot out the back, well clear of her father.

Susan went back to the television and anxiously watched as everyone at the television station soon went a little crazy.

"This just in," the woman news anchor said with a slight twinge of excitement in her voice. "A sonic boom was heard and we have reports that Golden Girl has just landed on the roof of this building. We suspect that we're about to get an unscheduled live interview with the world's first and, so far, only superhero."

Less than a minute later, Golden Girl herself came walking into the studio, wearing her black leather jacket outfit. She'd taken off her gloves and held them together in front of her with her hands clasped.

"Golden Girl!" the woman news anchor shouted. "Welcome! Please. Have a seat."

The girl looked around but didn't notice a chair. The studio wasn't set up to interview guests so she improvised, levitating cross-legged to one side of the anchorwoman's desk.

"Someone get her a chair!" the woman shouted.

"Don't bother. I'm good."

"Actually, I think it might be better this way. Wow. You're here. You're actually here."

"Don't go all fan girl on me now," Golden Girl said, smiling to show that she was joking.

"Right! Right." The woman's professionalism kicked in. "I don't have anything prepared but I'm ready. I'll just ask you the same questions that have been on everyone's lips since you first appeared. If that's okay."

"Sure. But before we get started, I'd just like to say something."

"Go ahead. The world is listening."

"Hi Mom!"

Back home, Susan blushed and cried proud, happy tears.

The world watched, and although other local television stations seethed with envy, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone got the confirmation they needed. Golden Girl was very real, very down to earth and very American.

The interview went by quickly. It lasted about thirty minutes with Golden Girl divulging only a limited set of her powers, and it ended a little awkwardly when the subject of the girl's personal life came up.

"I know I'm not supposed to divulge my secret identity, and I'm not, not really, but I wanted to be known by a name besides Golden Girl."

"Okay," the news anchor prompted.

"Everyone? Please call me Crystal Lynn Dawn, or just Crystal for short."

The woman pursed her lips. "Seriously, honey? I have to tell you that I don't think it'll stick. I think the world is going to keep calling you Golden Girl. But good luck."

Crystal sighed and the woman added a few last quick questions.

"Are there any more like you out there?"

"I don't think so. Not to my knowledge. But I suppose it's possible. Keep an eye to the sky because you just never know."

The news anchor pasted on her best fake smile then. "Are you going to help out in any other cities? At the speed you fly, you should be able to help out elsewhere easily enough."

The girl paused a second before replying. "That's a good idea, except I've been keeping a little too busy here lately. Perhaps after all the criminals are locked up."

"Oh, honey. You are so precious. That's never going to happen but I like your idealism."

The atmosphere cooled after Crystal gave her name. She didn't like the woman's change of attitude, but she kept quiet about it.

The woman had one last question. "Are you or will you be working with the government?"

Crystal's eyes widened with surprise. "I'm not. I don't think that would be a good idea." She turned to the camera. "Sorry, Uncle Sam."

The news anchor took that moment to wrap things up. Golden Girl said her goodbyes and flew out of the room, anxious to be away from it all. She didn't have a good feeling, not after the government was mentioned. Thanks to Mister Guile, government never left a good taste in her mouth.

* * *

Crystal purposely changed into Sarah when she got home. She laid in bed and let her mother tuck her in.

"I'm sorry, Mom. That interview didn't end very well."

"It's okay, Sarah. I thought it was great. You made me very proud."

"I don't think the news woman liked me."

"She probably doesn't like anyone, not even herself. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Good night, dear." Susan kissed her part-time daughter on the forehead and got up to leave.

Sarah turned the light off with her telekinesis and said one more thing before her mother left and closed the bedroom door. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, daughters and son," she said back. "Sweet dreams."

Sarah's dreams were sweet that night, perhaps too sweet, full of pink kittens and lavender puppies, with everyone singing Christmas songs even though it wasn't even Halloween yet. If most boys had dreams like that, the dreams would've been considered to be nightmares. As it was, she wasn't all boy, neither inside nor out. She actually thought the dreams were refreshingly cute after fighting crime most of the week.

One good side effect of the dreams was that the Dark Librarian stayed away. Sarah didn't feel like dealing with him. However, she was in the mood to learn something. She wandered through the Akashic records again that night, veering near and around the makeup techniques to look for women's fashion. The curious girl didn't find a lot about fashion but every little bit helped and would be gratefully used in her new job. She only had the weekend left to learn all she could before starting her job on Monday.

* * *

Saturday morning came early with incessant buzzing coming from Lester's phone, signaling a phone call from Brian. But Lester wasn't exactly home. It was Sarah who got up and answered without thinking.

"Hello?" she said.

"What?!"

"I said, hello," the girl said, getting a little annoyed.

"Is this Golden Girl?!"

"Shut up, Brian." She finally noticed her feminine voice and corrected him. "It's Sarah."

"Sarah? Oh, yeah. Hi, um, Sarah. Where's Lester?"

"Just talk to me, idiot."

"Dude!"

"What did I tell you about calling me dude?" she half growled the last word.

"You're confusing me. What do you expect?"

"Just go by the voice, Brian. Girls aren't dudes. Okay? Now why are you calling?"

"I saw the interview last night."

"Oh, that."

"It was cool until the end. I didn't like that news woman but I loved the, 'Hi Mom!' That was nice."

"Thanks. Is that all?"

"Well…."

"Don't tell me. You want to see Crystal."

"Who?"

"Golden Girl!"

"Heh. Yeah."

"You are such an idiot." She hung up on him then but he didn't take the hint and texted her immediately afterward.

"sorry. can't help it. forgive me?" he texted.

"ok," she texted back.

"thx. so?"

"what?"

"can gg come out and play?" He added a heart emoticon to the end of the text.

Sarah did growl then. "Everyone loves Golden Girl," she complained. "Except maybe that news woman last night." She would've added the criminals that she caught, all of whom were young men, but instead she shivered when she thought back to the looks of lust on their faces. "Men," she said with disgust.

She texted back that Golden Girl might make an appearance later that night if Brian was a good boy. 'Or an especially bad boy,' she suddenly thought and giggled. She slapped a hand over her mouth and sighed.

After using clairvoyance to see that her father and his car were gone, she dressed as her girl self and went out to join her mother in the dining room.

"Hi Mom."

"Morning, Sarah. It's nice to see another friendly feminine face."

The girl grunted and went to the kitchen for a small glass of cranberry-cherry juice to try since her current girl self didn't like orange juice. She sipped it and smiled, returning to the dining room with a full glass of the juice.

"I miss my usual orange juice but this stuff is pretty good. It'll do."

"Oh," Susan said. "I'll have to remember to buy more of it then. Your father really loves that juice."

Sarah smiled. "Like father, like daughter."

"So. Ready for more clothing lessons? Your father won't be back for several hours."

The girl groaned.

"Sorry!" Susan said, feeling a little hurt.

"No, I'm sorry, Mom. Let's do it. I'm ready. I am in girl mode after all."

Susan smiled and Sarah suddenly noticed how beautiful her mother's smile looked. The whole room seemed to light up. 'Why haven't I ever noticed that before?'

Mother and daughter had more quality time together, bonding like never before. The surprised girl found herself starting to enjoy herself and found herself smiling more and more. Giggling and laughter came along as well and they were welcomed with open arms by both of them.

Susan had a last project for her daughter with the hour they had left before Matthew was due home. She had the girl remove all of her makeup and then told her to pick out a work outfit, complete with makeup and accessories, all on her own. "You can't wear the outfit that you wore out of the store but everything else is fair game. You've got an hour to get dressed. Go!"

Sarah took her task seriously and put together the best outfit she could. It took her several tries before she was satisfied though. That surprised her until she thought about how often she heard women say how difficult it was to choose what to wear. There were so many combinations, so many choices, and she wanted her first outfit to make a bold statement. She was serious about doing a good job.

With three minutes of the allotted hour to spare, the girl spritzed a light cloud of perfume in front of her and walked through it wearing a dark green and black peplum dress. The perfume had been an afterthought during her last shopping trip but when she applied a little to her wrist, it smelled divine. She couldn't stop herself from begging her mother to buy her a small bottle of the expensive perfume. She couldn't afford it or she would've bought it herself.

Her mother looked at her daughter and gasped. "It's a day early, daughter dear, but I'd say it's time."

"Time for what?" Sarah asked.

"Your graduation. With that awesome display of feminine prowess, you've become a cultured young lady. Happy graduation day, daughter dear!"

Sarah blushed but it was difficult to tell with her makeup. "Thanks, Mom. I couldn't have done it without you." The girl took a long, last look in the mirror at herself and sighed. After all that work, it seemed a shame to go back to being a boy. Her mother noticed her daughter's sadness and had the same thought.

"Hey. Why don't we go out to eat to celebrate? Maybe we could even do a little shopping afterward. Just let me add a little makeup so you don't outshine me too much."

Sarah liked the idea, though she tried not to seem too eager. Her inner boy still felt uncomfortable about it. She agreed and Susan rushed off to get ready.

A few minutes later, knocking at the front door startled the girl, so much so that she didn't think to use her clairvoyance. She thought it was Brian and started building up a little rage to chew him out, but when she opened the door, she saw Erin, looking a little startled herself.

"Sarah?" the redhead asked. "I almost didn't recognize you. You look beautiful!"

"Hi Erin. Thanks. Sorry if I startled you. I didn't expect you. I thought it might have been Brian. He was bugging me earlier."

"Let me guess. He wants to see Golden Girl."

"Her name is Crystal."

"Right. I'm sorry."

Sarah sighed. "Anyway, yes. I think he's falling for her and I'm a little concerned about it."

"Why? Love is beautiful in all it's forms."

"Because she's not real? She's just a persona, a part I play."

"She's you, Sarah. Brian loves you. Accept it. Enjoy it. Return it."

"Okay. That's not happening. This conversation isn't happening." The tall girl started getting a little upset.

Erin looked at her friend with a little sadness. "I'm sorry if it's too much for you, Sarah." She paused and finally realized something. "Oh. I didn't tell you why I showed up unannounced."

Sarah shook her head no, trying not to cry. She didn't want to mess up her makeup.

"I could sense great love coming from your household and I wanted to come and share in it, if I may."

The upset girl fought the tears back but still couldn't bring herself to talk. Susan could speak though. She arrived just at that moment.

"We'd love to have you along, Erin. We were just leaving to celebrate Sarah's graduation to womanhood. Let's go."

The three of them piled into Susan's car and she drove them off to a nice little Chinese restaurant for a late lunch and a pleasant afternoon of shopping afterward. Sarah recovered her composure, though she still found some of the conversation to be a challenge. Some parts of her might never adjust to being a girl, not as long as she had a male brain.

* * *

The three of them stayed out late enough for a late dinner. Susan texted her husband who gave her the green light. He wanted to see a buddy of his anyway.

"We're good to go," Susan told the girls. "Ready for a little supper and another few stores?"

"I am!" Erin shouted, surprising herself.

"Sure," Sarah said, a lot more reserved but sincere. As long as she got a dessert with some chocolate, she'd follow the other two anywhere. She found that her current taste buds developed an instant addiction to chocolate.

After ordering light meals at a conveniently located Vietnamese restaurant, Sarah got a text from Brian. It threatened to spoil her mood.

"hey. i'm w8ing @ the park. still no gg. so cold." The boy added a frowning emoticon.

Sarah almost slapped her forehead in frustration. "Boys!" she cried out.

"What is it, dear?" Susan asked. "What's wrong?"

"Brian wants to meet at the park. I completely forgot about him."

"Did you promise him you'd meet him there tonight?"

"No, I distinctly remember saying that I might meet up with him."

"But he's there now?"

"Yeah," Sarah said. "He's being an idiot. Again."

Susan barely suppressed a smile. "Perhaps we should cut our night short."

"No! I mean, no," she said more quietly. "I'm actually having fun. I'd much rather be here than have Brian moon over me."

"Wait. My daughter did not just tell me that some boy has a crush on her."

Sarah sighed.

"It sure didn't take long, but I did expect it. You're a very pretty young lady."

"Actually, Mom. It's not exactly me that he's crushing on. It's you-know-who."

Susan rolled her eyes. "Could this get any more complicated? Text him and tell him you'll meet him tomorrow night. Problem solved."

"Right," the frustrated girl said. "I'm on it." She texted Brian, telling him to go home and get warm, and that she'd meet him for sure tomorrow night.

The meals were brought to their table and while they ate, Susan couldn't resist prying.

"What exactly do Brian and Crystal get up to in the park at night?" she asked her daughter between bites.

Sarah blushed. "Nothing! All we… they did was fly over the city. The view was awesome." The girl spared Erin a glance as she spoke and noticed a sad, faraway look in her friend's eyes. It made her wonder about something that she'd bring up when they got home later that evening. In the meantime, they had a light meal to eat and a chocolate dessert to get somewhere else after they finished. Sarah called chocolate her rocket fuel and she planned to channel its energy into finding the perfect scarf for Erin. Unbeknownst to the redhead, Sarah had a date planned with her for later that night.

'Even if it's a date as a girl, I'll take it,' Sarah thought.

* * *

Susan drove them all back to the McHenry residence. Sarah insisted that Erin come along, teasing her that her new perfect scarf would come in handy for something and the teasing worked. It kept Erin just curious enough to extend her evening instead of going off to wherever she called home.

A quick check with clairvoyance showed the house to be clear of Matthew and as soon as the got the car in the garage, Sarah dragged Erin towards her bedroom. "Bring your coat and that scarf. We'll be going out just as soon as I can change into you-know-who."

The redhead looked confused. "That's the second time I've heard you mention this you-know-who person. Just who exactly is it?"

Sarah smiled. "It's me! You said it was me and you were right."

"You mean Golden Girl?"

"Her… my name is Crystal!" she said, closing her bedroom door behind them.

The tall girl changed her body into the shorter blonde girl before changing clothes. With telekinesis, she finished the job of undressing until she was wearing only lingerie, and she carefully watched Erin for any reaction to her body while she adjusted her bra straps. There didn't seem to be any. With a sigh, she dressed in her warmer, purple jacket outfit, grabbed her purple hat and gave her friend instructions to meet her out front.

"I'll be invisible, walking right beside you to the park. I have something I want to show you. I think you'll like it."

Erin cocked her head. "Okay. But do you have to be so mysterious?"

"Yep! See you, or not, out front," Crystal said, opening the door to her room. "Don't forget your scarf!"

Erin continued looking confused and Crystal couldn't help laughing. The blonde girl gave her friend a playful swat on the butt, hugged her mother and then turned invisible, slipping out the back door.

"Mrs. McHenry?"

"Yes, Erin?"

"Do you know what's going on?"

"I have my suspicions but I think it'll be better if I keep quiet. You'll be okay. Just go ahead and get to the park."

"Humans!" Erin muttered as she put her coat back on and tied her scarf around her neck. She went out front and walked to the sidewalk, waiting until a voice whispered in her ear.

"I'm here. Let's go."

"Which way?"

"Left."

Erin turned around and started walking the wrong direction.

"Your other left!" Crystal hissed.

"Fine!" Erin reversed direction and the two girls headed towards the park.

"You don't much care for surprises, do you," Crystal whispered next to her.

"I like them well enough, but this one has been going on too long. You've been teasing me ever since you gave me the scarf."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I've never teased a non-human before. Forgive me?"

Erin smiled. "Yes, of course I do. I'm all about forgiveness."

"And love. Don't forget the love."

"I'll never forget that. It's impossible."

The two girls walked in silence the rest of the way to the park. Crystal whispered directions to lead her friend along a narrow paved path until they got near a small stand of fir trees, far from any light.

"Go over to the trees, Erin. That's where the fun starts."

"This isn't some pagan ritual, is it?"

"No! Please. Humor me."

The redhead marched over to the trees and Crystal made herself visible.

"This is good enough," the superheroine said. "Now then. I brought you here to take you on a little flight over the city. I couldn't help noticing your reaction when I talked about taking Brian for a flight."

"What? Really?" Erin shyly looked away. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not? If I can take Brian, I can certainly take you. Now would you like to get started?"

"Yes, please."

The redhead couldn't hide the eagerness in her voice and Crystal smiled as she lifted them both up with her telekinesis. She shielded them both from the wind very well, just as she did with Brian, and they slowly headed towards the bright lights of the city.

Erin looked a little nervous at first, but she soon relaxed and stretched out her arms as if she was an airplane. A large smile spread across her face with her eyes half closed as she simply said a long, drawn out, "Ah."

Sarah took them for a long, lazy circle around and just above the skyscrapers of downtown. Being relatively late, light traffic only half filled the streets below, with an occasional honking horn echoing up to them in the mostly quiet night.

"This is wonderful, Crystal," Erin gushed. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Erin. I thought you'd like it."

The redhead quietly added, "It's almost like being myself again."

Crystal heard her and smiled. She finally had what she considered to be a date with Erin, even if the sentiment wasn't shared.

* * *

© 2015 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.