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From: J R D <jrdss@pobox.alaska.net>
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Subject: {ASSM} Change of Fate 1
Date: Sun,  2 Dec 2001 02:10:04 -0500
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Had to get a new email, so I'm reposting my old works under the new 
addy to get it out.

Here it is, Change of Fate 1

Now, onto the boring stuff

-------------------------

DISCLAIMERS

-------------------------

This story contains scenes of an erotic and/or controversial nature, 
and is not intended for the perusal of minors.  Further if perusal of 
such material is considered illegal in your area or immoral by your 
religion or personal beliefs, you should likewise bypass this story.

This story remains the property of the author.  Permission is granted 
to download, photocopy, copy and repost so long as any such action 
contains these disclaimers, and no attempt is made to profit from 
this story.

All characters in this story are the creation of the author, and any 
resemblance to real persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental.

This story may contain aspects of fantastic science or magic.  The 
parameters of what this science/magic can accomplish are completely 
at the discretion of me, the author, and, as such, I make no 
apologies for any rules of "real" physics, chemistry, biology, or 
magic that may be broken within the story.

-------------------------

Now onto the fun stuff

-------------------------

CHANGE OF FATE, PART 1

IN OUR UNIVERSE...

Tarina jogged from the airport towards the suburban home of her 
mother.  She knew that the distance was extreme and that Joe probably 
would've recommended a cab, but it had been bad enough that she had 
to fly in one of those stinky airplanes.  She was not going to 
further irritate her nose by riding in a car, not unless she had to. 
It would take a little longer, but she'd be there by mid-afternoon.

A big incentive to move quickly was the stench of the city.  The 
smell of garbage, car exhaust and unwashed bodies was almost enough 
to make her sensitive nose scream in protest.  How could these people 
live in such squalor?

As she ran she heard a scream, and it wasn't her nose doing the 
screaming.  She ran to the source of the sound, amazed at the total 
lack of response from the people.  Back at her home in the Amazon, if 
anyone had screamed like she had just heard, half the tribe would've 
come to the rescue, but these people acted like nothing had happened. 
She ran into the narrow passageway between two buildings, and saw 
three men beating on a much smaller man.  Off to one side, another 
man was holding a woman, keeping her from coming to the aid of the 
man.

Tarina immediately leapt at one man beating on the small guy, kicking 
him into one of his allies.  The other swung at her with a metal 
pipe.  She grabbed his wrist and the pipe.  She wrenched the pipe out 
of his hand, flipped him onto his back, then threw the pipe at the 
man holding the woman, hitting him right in the center of his 
forehead.  The woman, suddenly freed, was too stunned to move.  As 
the two she first knocked down started to rise, Tarina, knowing these 
people were no fighters, yelled, "Take your friend and run!"  The 
woman quickly recovered, ran to the man, then got him up and ran from 
the alley.

Tarina was now alone as she faced the four men.  One of them said, 
"You have no idea who you're fucking with."

"Useless thugs," she replied.

One of the men pulled out a switchblade and, with surprising speed 
for an American, charged her.  She grabbed the blade from his hand, 
spun around him, letting him pass her by and buried the blade in his 
back, stabbing right through to his heart.  The man fell instantly, 
dead before he hit the ground.  Tarina was briefly surprised as the 
man started to dissolve into goo, and in that moment of surprise, 
another man buried a blade in her back.  It wasn't a lethal blow by 
far, and Tarina elbowed him in the head, smashing his face and 
killing him.

As he flew back, he held onto the blade, yanking it from her body. 
Her regenerative capabilities kicked in instantly, and the wound was 
gone almost as quickly as it had been inflicted.  Unfortunately, the 
men saw it.  One raised his hand to his face and said, "We have a 
regenerator.  Special capture team, now."  Tarina knew that the 
people in this world had special devices for talking over long 
distances and figured the man had just called for back-up.

The two rushed at her.  She broke the neck of the first, and then 
threw him into the other.  The last man tried to struggle out from 
under his dissolving comrade, but was unable to before Tarina smashed 
his face in.

She then heard a vehicle pull up to the entrance of the alley she was 
in.  She turned and saw a nondescript, black van.  It's side opened 
and two men in black suits and black sunglasses stepped out.  She was 
about to charge at them when she felt a stinging pain in her rear. 
She turned and saw two more black suits behind her (how had they got 
there?).  She reached down and felt at the pain.  She pulled a 
tranquilizer dart out of her ass and felt the drug that had been 
contained within start to work.  She tried to summon the Rage, the 
gift of Gaia that gave her power, but it was too late.  As she 
slipped from consciousness, her only thought was, "My love, I have 
failed to re-unite you with your family."

************

IN ANOTHER REALITY...

Tarina was now alone as she faced the four men.  One of them said, 
"You have no idea who you're fucking with."

"Useless thugs," she replied.

One of the men pulled out a switchblade and, with surprising speed 
for an American, charged her.  She grabbed the blade from his hand, 
spun around him, letting him pass her by and buried the blade in his 
back, stabbing right through to his heart.  The man fell instantly, 
dead before he hit the ground.  Tarina was briefly surprised as the 
man started to dissolve into goo, and in that moment of surprise, 
another man buried a blade in her back.  It wasn't a lethal blow by 
far, and Tarina elbowed him in the head, smashing his face and 
killing him.  He lost his grip on the blade and flew back.

Tarina spun on the others, yanked the blade from her back and threw 
it into one of the two remaining men, killing him.  The last man 
yanked out a gun and pointed it at her.  Knowing how fast those 
bullets traveled, she shifted into her half-woman, half-panther form. 
She saw the man start to raise his hand to his mouth, but she reacted 
instantly, leaping forward and plunging her clawed hand into his 
chest, destroying his heart.

She shifted back to human form, the magic bracelet Joe had given her 
repairing her torn clothes.  She then returned to her original course 
towards her mother's house.

It was a couple hours later when she approached the house where her 
lover had grown up.  She looked into the driveway and saw that it was 
empty.  From what Joe had told her that meant that mom had probably 
gone out.  She sat down and waited, thinking of her children.

Her father was watching their children while she attempted to reunite 
Joe with mom.  It was one more reason she was thankful that Joe had 
come to her.  Normally, when a member of the tribe married into 
another tribe, he or she was forced to lose contact with their 
family.  Oh, if they ever met with their family again, it'd be 
happiness all around, but the distance between tribes was measured in 
days travel, and that made trips between them something that occurred 
only once a season during the best of times.  But Joe had taken 
special pains to make sure that she and her father remained in close 
contact, even going so far as to make arrangements with those 
arrogant so and so's at the space base to allow either her or dad to 
use the base as a relay point so they could travel cross-continent to 
see each other.

But that was part of the reason she was here.  She saw the flicker of 
jealousy in Joe's eyes every time she and her father were together. 
She also wanted to meet the woman who had given birth to her love. 
She had been asking Joe since the day they were mated to introduce 
her.  It was then that she had learned of the problems between Joe 
and his mom.  Finally, seven years and three children later, she had 
gotten Joe to agree to introduce them.  He had said he'd bring her 
across country himself when he finished with the mission he was on, 
and she had no reason to doubt his word, but she knew Joe to be a 
highly emotional man.  He'd never say no to re-uniting them now that 
he had agreed, but he would probably put it off as long as possible. 
And when you were the world's premier monster fighter you could 
always find an excuse to put anything off.  So Tarina had taken it 
into her own hands and overcome her revulsion at the smell of those 
nasty airplanes and flown from their home in Houston here to New York 
to talk to her mother in an attempt to re-unite her family.

Seeing a large tree in the front yard, Tarina leapt into it, shifted 
into her panther form and waited.  She didn't have to wait long. 
After less than a half hour, mother pulled into the driveway.  Tarina 
shifted back into human form and dropped to the ground.  Julie heard 
nothing.  Tarina walked up behind Julie, who was fishing a bag of 
groceries out of the back seat of the car.  Julie turned and almost 
dropped the groceries when she saw this short, dark-skinned woman 
right behind her.  She didn't even have time to wonder why her 
magical senses hadn't warned her of this stranger's presence when the 
woman asked, "Are you Julie Braumann?"

"Uh, yes.  May I help you, miss...?"

"My name is Tarina, and I'd like to talk to you about re-uniting with 
your son."

Julie got a look on her face that was part shock and part fear. 
"I...  I'm sorry.  You must have me confused with someone else.  I 
only have one daughter."

Tarina was confused.  Checking the street address, she saw it was the 
same that Joe had given her.  "You are Julie Braumann?" she asked 
again.

"Yes."

Not sure what to say, Tarina asked, "You did give birth to a son who 
you named Joe?"

Hearing the name of her son, Julie dropped the bag of groceries she 
had.  Moving in a circle around Tarina, as though the warrior had 
some kind of infectious disease, Julie said, "No, why are you doing 
this to me?  My child is a girl.  She will return to me one day." 
Tarina tried to talk to Julie, but the elder woman just screamed, 
"No!  Leave me alone!" and made a break for the door.

Tarina just watched her as she ran, not wanting to terrify Julie any 
more than she had.  She saw Julie reach into her purse, pull out a 
set of keys, and dash inside after unlocking the door.  After a few 
seconds Julie peeked through the curtains to see what Tarina was 
doing.  Tarina hadn't moved.  Seeing Julie's eyes, Tarina took the 
time to pick up the bag of groceries.  There were some broken eggs 
inside, but most of the food had survived the fall intact.  Tarina 
took the bag and walked towards the door Julie had just walked 
through.  When she got close, Julie ducked inside.  Tarina set the 
bag by Julie's front door, then walked towards a park that Joe had 
told her was nearby.

Joe had told her that her mother was unwilling to accept him for who 
he was, but Tarina had underestimated the almost sheer terror Julie 
had had in response to the existence of her son.  At least she now 
knew that Joe's story about having been a girl for two years of his 
life wasn't just a story.  Imagine that, Steven really had been born 
from his loins.

As Tarina walked away, she decided that she'd have to wait and come 
back tomorrow.  She had to get Joe and mother back together. 
Somehow.  Some way.

************

Bronwyn drove up to Julie's house late that afternoon.  It was too 
bad that Laurie was going to be occupied with her publisher for the 
afternoon before they returned to San Bernardino.  Julie and Laurie 
used to be the best of friends before Laurie moved cross-country to 
birth Jack, but Laurie needed to clear up some things on her latest 
book deal and wouldn't have any time to meet with her old friend. 
Ah, well, such were the vagaries of fate.

Bronwyn knocked on the door and was surprised when she heard from 
inside, "Leave me alone!  Go away!"

She called out, "Julie, it's me, Bronwyn."

The door flew open and Julie looked behind Bronwyn with a terrified 
look on her face.  She then grabbed Bronwyn by the arm and almost 
yanked it off pulling her inside.  As Julie locked the door behind 
them, Bronwyn asked, "Julie, what's wrong?"

Nearly in tears, Julie said, "There was this strange woman.  She 
approached me this afternoon.  She said such nasty things about my 
child."

Bronwyn's heart leapt.  "Joanie?  Did she say anything that would let 
you know where she was?"

"No.  But she did know where Joanie was.  She said...  Bronwyn, she 
let me think I'd never see Joanie again!"

Julie broke down in tears, and Bronwyn wrapped her arms around the 
distraught woman's shoulders.  Bronwyn wanted to say something to 
make it all better, but healing was Laurie's province.  Bronwyn hated 
to interrupt Laurie's business dealings, but Julie needed a healer 
and now.

************

Laurie drove up to Julie's house in her rental.  She had known it was 
serious by Bronwyn's tone of voice, but as soon as she stepped out of 
the car she felt the despair from inside, and ran to the door. 
Bronwyn let her in and she went straight to Julie's side.  "Julie, 
what's wrong?"

"This woman.  This strange woman.  She came.  She said nasty things 
about Joanie."

"Joanie?  What happened to Joanie?"

Bronwyn said, "She disappeared.  After she gave birth, but before she 
was inducted into the Sisterhood, she and Julie had a falling out and 
she walked off.  Then a couple days later, she just... disappeared."

"Didn't you follow her aura trail?"

"Julie and I got together and tried.  We couldn't find a thing.  We 
followed it to a martial arts dojo a few miles away, but after that, 
nothing.  No death traces, nothing."

"Did you ask the people working there about her?"

"They said they remembered... her, but that she left the night before 
with the dojo master and hadn't returned."

Laurie had a flash of suspicion.  Why had Bronwyn paused just then in 
recounting her story?  "What did the dojo master say?"

"Never saw him.  When I went back the next day, the dojo had been 
turned over to the second in command.  The master never returned."

"So she was kidnapped?  Maybe by the Brotherhood?"

"Not by the Brotherhood.  There was definitely NO trace of the dark 
power in the dojo."

"Okay.  Back to the present.  This woman, what did she say?"

"She let me believe I'd never see my Joanie again."

Laurie couldn't help but feel sympathy for Julie's despair, but 
something was wrong.  Julie didn't answer her question, not really, 
and Laurie felt there was something seriously wrong that Julie wasn't 
telling her about.  But before she could pursue the matter, Bronwyn 
asked, "What can we do for you?"

"I just want my Joanie back!"

"We'll go after her.  We'll make her tell us what she knows.  We'll 
make her leave you alone."

"Oh, thank you, Bronwyn.  Just...  Please return my little girl to me."

"We will.  Do you know which way she went?"

"South.  Towards the park.  A dark skinned woman.  Small, but wiry."

"Come on, Laurie."

As Bronwyn walked to the front door, Laurie frowned at her back. 
Something was going on here.  Something that both Bronwyn and Julie 
knew about that they weren't letting her in on.  How was she expected 
to do her job in a vacuum?  For now, she'd follow Bronwyn's lead, but 
by the end of the day, she would get to the bottom of this.

************

Across town, two men in black suits stood over the gooified remains 
of their previous comrades.  One held a small box and passed it over 
the remains.  The other waited patiently until the one said, "Got 
something."  He walked over, stuck his fingers into the remains of 
one thug and pulled out a small piece of black fur.  He set it on the 
front of his box and pressed a button.

After a few seconds, the second asked, "What is it?"

"Unknown.  It shows many of the same quantum traits as a werewolf, 
but seems to be a different species.  Possibly even a different genus 
or family."

"Take a signature trace, then ship it off to the Progenitor base.  We 
need to find who did this.  Anyone capable of eliminating four 
constructs needs to be dealt with."

The one shook his head.  The second had a tendency to state the 
obvious.  It was perhaps a flaw in his programming.  But as long as 
he did his job, it didn't really matter.  They would find the 
person/thing that did this and eliminate him/her/it.

************

Tarina sat on a bench in the park.  The park was a nice place, but a 
little too sculpted, too controlled for her tastes.  It was clear 
that every tree had been carefully placed, every flower specifically 
positioned.  It lacked the wild essence that was representative of 
the power of Gaia.

Well, it was good enough to serve as her sleeping place for tonight. 
It would be fun.  She hadn't slept in a tree since before she had 
come to this country with Joe.  Speaking of which, she should 
probably start looking for a place to sleep.  Most of the trees were 
pretty spindly, but there were a few that should hold her feline 
weight.

She looked around and had just about decided on where she was going 
to sleep when she heard a voice say, "You!"  She turned and saw two 
women striding towards her.  The first seemed to have something 
deliberate on her mind.  The other just seemed to be following.

"May I help you?" Tarina asked.

The first one angrily said, "What do you know about Joanie?"

Joanie?  The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Tarina couldn't place 
it.  "I don't know any Joanie."

Angry and thinking Tarina was lying, Bronwyn said, "Julie's child!"

Tarina was confused.  Joe had never mentioned a sister.  And why 
would they think she knew anything about her?  "I know nothing of any 
Joanie."

Bronwyn screamed, "Liar!" and let loose with a stun blast.

Tarina, using her own spirit magics, managed to counter the worst of 
it, but there was still enough left over to knock her on her butt. 
Damn, this woman was powerful!  Tarina was about to launch a 
counter-attack, but paused.  For being a "peaceful, civilized" 
country, Americans had a tendency to resort to violence far too 
easily.  At home, if you were attacked, you knew it was to the death 
and you could defend yourself with impunity.  Here, resorting to 
lethal force in response to an attack could get you in serious 
trouble.

Laurie saw the dark skinned woman knocked back and wondered what was 
wrong with Bronwyn.  She had never seen her High Priestess so angry, 
so destructive in her life.  Bronwyn seemed determined to force the 
issue as quickly as possible regardless of the consequences.  Now 
Laurie knew something much deeper was going on here.

Both Bronwyn and Laurie were surprised when Tarina leapt to her feet, 
almost unaffected by Bronwyn's assault.  "What is your problem?" 
Tarina asked.

Bronwyn yelled, "Where's Joanie?!"

"I don't know any Joanie."

Laurie tried to calm the enraged sorceress down.  She put her hand on 
Bronwyn's shoulder, and said, "Bron."

Bronwyn shrugged her off and yelled, "Don't toy with me!" and 
launched a power blast at Tarina.  Tarina threw up her arms and 
Laurie felt her use some kind of magic as a block, but she was still 
knocked backwards into a tree.

Laurie was surprised.  The power blast was one of the few purely 
physical attacks in the arsenal of spells available to the members of 
the Sisterhood.  It was a blast of purely physical force.  It was 
known only to a few members of the order, and was never supposed to 
be used against a living target, there was too much risk of killing 
them.

Laurie grabbed Bronwyn's arm and spun her around.  "What is wrong 
with you?!  Are you trying to kill her?!"

Bronwyn said nothing.  She was so angry that she wanted to justify 
everything she did, but, deep down, she knew Laurie was right.  She 
was out of control, but she so desperately wanted Joanie back.  Ever 
since Julie had told her that this woman had information that could 
reveal the girl's whereabouts, Bronwyn had the urge to come and 
thrash the information from this stranger.  Bronwyn kept telling 
herself that it was because she wanted to end Julie's separation from 
her child, but, deep down, there was another reason.

 From the ground, Tarina said, "I have had," leapt to her feet, and 
finished with, "ENOUGH!"  Both women were surprised.  The fact that 
Tarina wasn't dead was amazing.  The fact that she was able to so 
quickly rise was simply astounding.  Tarina stood tall and roared to 
the sky.  A metaphysical echo sounded in the Sisters' ears.  To them 
it sounded as though some wild animal, perhaps a lion or tiger, were 
roaring in front of them.  They were forced to steel themselves to 
keep from running in terror.

Tarina brushed her fingers over her bracelet and her clothes 
unraveled and flowed into the jewel on the bracelet.  The Sisters 
were shocked, but no less amazed when Tarina's body suddenly shifted 
into a seven foot tall half-cat woman.  Bronwyn and Laurie were 
shocked with fear as Tarina roared and charged them.

Tarina moved with super-human speed and ran right between them, 
grabbing Bronwyn around the throat and shouldering Laurie to the 
ground.  Tarina moved about ten feet straight behind them and slammed 
Bronwyn into a tree, knocking the wind out of her.  She clenched her 
hand just tight enough to prevent Bronwyn from getting enough breath 
to cast a spell.  She felt Laurie pull together her power, so she 
raised her free hand where Laurie could see it and popped her 
retractable claws.  To Laurie, she said, "I can feel you have great 
power, woman.  But I can also feel it lacks speed.  Dispel your 
power, or I'll rip your friend's face off."

Laurie, who had stood up, was astounded.  She knew Tarina was right, 
the few really effective spells she had of any speed were emergency 
healing spells.  What she didn't know was how this woman knew that. 
But since the few combat spells she had were nowhere near as powerful 
as Bronwyn's, she did the only thing she could.  She dispelled her 
power.

Tarina then asked, "Why did you attack me?"

"Why are you torturing Julie?"

Tarina seemed genuinely confused.  "Torture mother?  I would never."

"Then tell us what you know of Joanie."

"Who is this Joanie you speak of?"

"Joanie is Julie's girl.  Julie said you knew where she was."

"I tell you, I know no Joanie.  Has mother had another child recently?"

"No.  Joanie is her only child.  And why do you keep calling Julie mother?"

"Because she is."

"You hardly seem to be any offspring of hers."

"Not offspring.  I joined her family.  Oh, yes, your country has that 
silly tack-on.  What is it?  In-law.  Julie is my mother-in-law."

Mother-in-law?  Laurie was starting to get a sinking feeling in her 
gut.  "Two women can't marry."

Tarina had a look on her face that Laurie took as a lack of 
understanding.  But a look of understanding crossed the she-cat's 
face and Tarina said, "Now I recall.  Joanie was the name mother gave 
to her son during the years he was transformed.  But I fail to 
understand why you still refer to him with that name.  Joe hasn't 
been Joanie for 11 rainy seasons."

Laurie's stomach dropped into her shoes.  "Joe transformed back? 
Bronwyn, did you know about this?"  Bronwyn tried to say something, 
but couldn't through Tarina's grasp.  Laurie waved her hand at 
Bronwyn.  "Could you let her go?"

"Can you keep her in line?  I have tolerated two attacks.  I will not 
tolerate a third."

"I'll do what I can."

Tarina looked into Bronwyn's eyes, considering it briefly, before 
releasing her and stepping back.  Bronwyn fell to her knees, gasping 
for breath.  As soon as she had collected herself, she started to 
collect energy for a quick attack, but was cut off when Laurie 
sharply said, "Bronwyn!" and glared at her.  Bronwyn stopped 
collecting power, but stood up defiantly.  Laurie asked, "Is it true? 
Did Julie's child decide to transform back?"

Bronwyn stood there stoically for a few seconds before saying, "Yes, she did."

"In the Goddess's name, why are both of you acting like she's still 
out there as a woman?"

"Julie's sure that it was just Joanie's male ego preventing her from 
accepting her femininity.  That eventually she'd come to her senses 
and return and ask to be transformed back into a girl."

"Bronwyn, that doesn't happen and you know it."

"Actually... it has happened.  About twice a century, a girl 
transforms back, then realizes that she made a mistake and asks to be 
returned to womanhood.  Julie was sure that Joanie would be one of 
these."

Laurie was stunned.  She had never heard of such a thing.  She had 
always been taught to believe that only those who were truly male 
would ever choose to go back.  But another question did pop into her 
head.  "How is it that Julie knows about these re-transformations, 
but I don't?"

"I... told her."

"And let me guess, you're not supposed to tell anyone, right?"

"Well, yes.  But Julie just seemed so distraught after Joanie left-"

"Joanie left?!  Damn it, Bronwyn!  You made it sound like they just 
had a little tiff and Joanie disappeared when she took a walk to cool 
off.  You have no idea how badly you've screwed up!"

"What's the big deal?  So I gave Julie a few words to give her some 
hope after her daughter ran off."

"Her son, Bronwyn.  Her son ran off.  And don't you understand?  That 
was exactly the WRONG thing to do!  Of course her son ran off.  Being 
a powerless male, if Julie didn't accept his return, then as long as 
he stayed near her, he ran the risk of being forcibly transformed 
back.  By telling her about the change backs, she'd have an excuse to 
never accept her son's masculinity and he'd NEVER be able to return!"

As Laurie's words sank in, Bronwyn said, "Goddess!  What have I done?"

Tarina shifted back into human form.  She rubbed her bracelet, and 
the jeans and T-shirt she had been wearing before reformed around her 
body.  She then asked, "Why do you say powerless?"

Laurie said, "Those of the Sisterhood who transform back to their 
male selves lose their magical power.  Joe would've been powerless to 
prevent Julie from changing him back to a woman."

Tarina snorted.  "Most of your men may wind up powerless, but after 
Joe had to fight his way back to manhood, he Awakened, and became one 
of the world's most powerful Mages."  Tarina smiled.  "He even 
stomped me in a straight fight."

Laurie and Bronwyn stared at Tarina.  What she was saying was totally 
without precedent in the history of the Sisterhood.  A male with 
power?  Unheard of.  Laurie latched onto another part of Tarina's 
statement.  "What do you mean 'had to fight his way back?'"

As though the women knew what she was talking about, Tarina said, 
"The last spell mother cast on Joe."  When it became clear by the 
looks on their faces that the Sisters had no idea what she was 
talking about, Tarina said, "You really don't know."

"Know what?"

Tarina thought about it.  Finally, she said, "I'm not sure I should 
say.  I seek to reunite our family.  If mother hasn't told you what 
she did, and I betray her, then it may make that impossible."

Laurie said, "Please.  As a healer, if I'm to do my job, I need to 
know what's wrong.  I need to know how deeply the problem runs."

Tarina considered it for a little while longer before explaining. 
"According to his story, on his last day as a woman, he told mom that 
he was going back and returned to his room to cast his spell.  As his 
spell took effect, and his power started to leave him, he felt 
another spell start to take hold.  The spell would've made the 
transformation spell unusable by him and trapped him as a woman 
forever.  He was forced to fight back with everything he had and was 
in order to reclaim his manhood.  He won, but, in the process, blew 
open every channel of magical power he had, including powerful 
magical senses that let him know that it had been mother who cast 
that spell."

Both Laurie and Bronwyn were speechless.  It took Laurie almost half 
a minute to ask, "Bronwyn, did you know...?"

"No, I swear.  I never knew it was this bad."

"We need to talk to Julie.  Now."

Tarina asked, "I'd like to come."

"I think we should all go.  By the way, let me make formal 
introductions.  My name is Laurie and this is Bronwyn."

"I am Tarina."

They started to walk back towards Julie's house when Tarina suddenly 
stopped and sniffed the air.  Laurie asked, "What's wrong?"

Tarina jerked her head around, looking back the way they had come. 
The Sisters looked back and saw a black van pull up to the park.  The 
side of the van opened and two men, dressed in slacks, trench coats, 
glasses, hats, and loafers, all in black, stepped out, and started 
walking towards them.  Tarina growled and said, "M.I.B.'s!"  Then as 
she ran at the men, yelled, "RUN!  Get out of here!"

Laurie and Bronwyn watched as Tarina's clothes disappeared and she 
shifted into her she-cat shape.  They were stunned as she ran between 
the men, literally ripping their sides out.  Tarina continued her 
charge, running right at the van.  They saw a missile fly from the 
van and explode near Tarina, filling the air with a cloud of green 
gas.  Tarina stumbled and fell.  Bronwyn and Laurie ran at the van 
but another missile shot out and filled the air around them with more 
knockout gas.  The two women dropped, unconscious before they hit the 
ground.

Another man stepped from the van and dragged Tarina back into its 
confines.  He left Bronwyn and Laurie alone.  They had shown no 
special talents, and, alone, he would have to act quickly in order to 
get the beast back to base before she woke up.

************

Two hours later, Bronwyn and Laurie fought their way back to 
consciousness.  The first thing Bronwyn did was look around.  Neither 
Tarina nor the black van were anywhere to be seen.  She felt Laurie's 
hands upon her and felt the last of her grogginess dispelled.  "Now 
what?" Laurie asked.

"We need to get Julie.  She's our specialist in information 
gathering.  We're going to need her to deal with whoever these people 
are."

Laurie and Bronwyn walked back to Julie's house.  As soon as they 
walked into the house, Julie asked, "What did you find out?  Where's 
my Joanie?"

Laurie and Bronwyn looked first to each other then to Julie.  Laurie 
stepped forward and said, "Julie, the woman who approached you 
earlier.  She's your... son's wife."

Julie was stunned.  At first, she didn't know what to say, but 
finally she managed to say, "It's...  It's a lesbian relationship. 
Joanie always did prefer other girls."

"Julie, you need to accept your son for who he is."

"NO!  Joanie will realize who she is and return and have me make her 
whole again."

Laurie was about to try another tack when Bronwyn put her hand on the 
healer's shoulder.  The High Priestess whispered, "We need to get 
after Tarina as soon as possible.  We can't afford the time to 
convince Julie of the truth."

Bronwyn stepped forward and said, "Julie, the woman's in trouble. 
She was attacked and taken prisoner by some bad men in the park.  We 
need you to help us find and rescue her."

"Why should I?"

"Because whether it's really a straight relationship or a hidden 
lesbian one, she is your child's lover.  What is your child going to 
say if... "she" returns and finds her lover dead, and you had done 
nothing to prevent it when you could have?"

Julie got a shocked look on her face.  "Goddess, you're right!  She'd 
never forgive me.  She'd hate me forever."  Julie grabbed her purse 
and ran from the house, saying, "Let's go!"

Laurie frowned.  "I don't like giving into her delusion.  That only 
reinforces it."

"I know.  But Tarina is in trouble now.  If we're to save her, we 
have to move now."  Laurie reluctantly nodded her agreement, and the 
two women followed Julie to her car for the drive to the park.

Once there, Julie cast a spell that allowed her to scan for the aura 
traces of Tarina and the men.  When she found them, she got a curious 
look on her face.  "How many men did you say kidnapped this woman?"

"We saw two, and there was at least one other inside a van.  Why?"

"I'm finding only one aura trail, but it's duplicated three times." 
All three women were mystified.  Every living creature had an aura, 
but since every creature was unique, every aura was unique.  Even 
identical twins could have wildly different auras.  There was no 
explanation for what Julie was saying.  But the explanation would 
have to wait.  Getting back in the car (Bronwyn driving so Julie 
could concentrate on the trails), they followed the van to a small 
medical lab on the outskirts of the nearest business district.

They watched the building for a while, seeing who came and went. 
Finally they saw three women leave the building, and made their move. 
They followed them to where they wouldn't be seen and Bronwyn knocked 
them unconscious with low level stun blasts.  Each woman then cast an 
illusion to appear as one of the workers, and entered the building. 
They had a brief bit of worry as they were delayed using their I.D.'s 
on the electronic lock, but were passed on through.

************

In another part of the progenitor base, as they used the stolen 
I.D.'s, a low level security agent alerted his boss.  "Sir, we have 
an anomaly.  Three women whose genetic patterns don't match their 
identification."

The other man stepped up.  "Give me a look at what their genetic 
pattern says they are."  The agent punched some buttons and 
super-powerful computers went to work, giving, in seconds, what the 
three women looked like underneath their illusions.  The holograms 
that the computer projected were idealized versions of the women, 
lacking scars, marks, or even the simple effects of old age that all 
the women had to one degree or another, but it was enough for the man 
to say, "Those two look like the women our agent encountered in the 
park when capturing the were-cat.  Apparently they weren't just 
normal women."

"How do we handle them?"

"They're probably here to free the beast.  Let them get through to 
the lab.  They'll be easier to capture there."

The agent pressed a button, buzzing the Sisters through.

************

Julie looked around, almost thrilling at being in action again.  She 
had only intended to take a few years off to train her daughter then 
return to active duty, but then Joanie had left her, and she just 
couldn't face the other Sisters.  She had almost forgotten how good 
this felt.  The touch of the Goddess's power, as well as the private 
thrill of knowing what no one else knew, even other Sisters.  It was 
why she had gone into information gathering in the first place.  She 
was a nosy, pushy broad.

She almost laughed at the reference.  It was a private, little joke 
amongst the Sisterhood.  Every specialty seemed to reflect a certain 
aspect of femininity, and it was a small joke to refer to members of 
their specialty as if they truly were living examples of their 
aspect.  Information gatherers were nosy, pushy broads.  Healers like 
Laurie were molly-coddling mothers.  Masters of illusion and 
shape-changing like Bronwyn were manipulative bitches.  The names 
were always the most severe references, and always meant in only the 
most jovial way.

It was an in-joke and if anybody outside the Sisterhood had ever used 
it, they'd've been harshly rebuked.  It was the old principle that 
the members of a sub-culture could use terms to describe one another 
that were actually derogatory when used by those outside the 
sub-culture.  Much the same way the term "Nigger" had an entirely 
different meaning when used by a black man and a white man.

But the joke also brought back a wave of nostalgia.  Joanie had been, 
before her transformation, an inquisitive little boy and had chosen 
to specialize that when she was informed of her new status as a 
neophyte Sister.  It was then that Julie had joked that Joanie was a 
nosy, pushy broad.  Joanie had looked up at her with hurt eyes, and 
Julie had finished her jest by saying, "Just like your dear old ma." 
They had shared a hug over that.

The next two years had been great.  After Joanie had gotten over the 
initial resentment of her transformation, that is.  They talked, they 
laughed, they were a real mother-daughter duo.  Then, after Joanie 
gave birth, she had come right out of left field with that statement 
that she planned to go back to being a boy.  Julie managed to 
convince her that it would be better for little Steven to have a 
single mother rather than a father, but Julie also knew that Joanie's 
ego wouldn't give in that easily.

It was only two months later when Joanie had said she couldn't take 
it any more and planned on going back.  But Julie had planned for 
this.  She had taken the same two months to work up a very special 
spell.  In the moments when Joanie had devoted herself to the 
transformation, the spell would strike, diverting Joanie's own 
transformation energies and wrapping them upon her, making it 
impossible for her to ever use the transformation spell on herself 
again.  Joanie would've been upset, but eventually she'd come to 
realize she was happier as a girl.

But when Julie cast the spell, something had happened.  It was almost 
like Joanie herself had flared and fought back.  Julie had tried to 
make her spell work, but it was too much.  Her spell failed and 
back-lashed against her.  She didn't remember much of the next few 
hours, but when she pulled herself together she saw Joanie, now male, 
going through the front door.  Julie had asked where she was going. 
That was when Joanie said she was leaving.  Then the child turned 
and... threatened her.

Julie understood, of course.  Joanie was angry and overly emotional 
(which Julie took as proof that deep down she really was a woman). 
But Julie was sure that Joanie would eventually see that what she had 
done was for the best.  Joanie had left then.  Julie had tried to 
follow, but she was still too weak.  She had been forced to just sit 
on the floor, conserving her energies so she could follow her child's 
aura.

But then, a little more than a day later, Joanie's trail just 
disappeared.  Nothing Julie, the Sisterhood's greatest information 
gathering specialist, could do allowed her to find the girl.  Bronwyn 
had tried to help, but even together it was as though her daughter 
had disappeared off the face of the planet.  Julie was suicidal at 
that point, but Bronwyn had kept her alive.  Bronwyn had even 
explained about the re-transformees.  Julie was sure her daughter 
would be one of them.  For eleven years, Julie had held out the hope 
that her daughter would return to her and ask to be returned to her 
true self.

Then this woman had come to her door, saying that she wanted to 
reunite Julie with her son.  Julie was so shocked that she had just 
run away.  But that had been silly of her.  Of course any 
relationship Joanie had formed would have her as a man.  Until Joanie 
transformed back, the entire world would see her as a man.  But deep 
down Joanie would have to know.  Her relationship with her "wife" was 
really a lesbian relationship.

And now Julie had a chance to get her daughter back.  Julie would 
save this woman, and Joanie would come back to her.  Then Julie could 
convince her daughter of her true self, and Joanie would ask to be 
returned to womanhood.  Julie was even sure that Joanie would get her 
power back.  Bronwyn had told Julie that the re-transformees remained 
powerless, but Julie was sure that the Goddess would understand 
Joanie's impetuousness and bless her once more.

Julie just hoped that this woman wouldn't be upset when her husband 
became a woman.  Julie would hate to destroy a relationship of her 
daughter's, but she had to convince Joanie of her true self.

Julie was, in fact, so focused on her reunion with her daughter, that 
she missed the subtle whir of camera lenses as they focused on the 
three of them.  And when they finally got into the room with Tarina, 
all three missed the subtle click of the door locking behind them.

************

In the security room, the agent watching said, "They're locked in. 
Should I release the knockout gas?"

His boss said, "No.  The progenitor scientists want to test one of 
their new creatures.  We're to stand down unless otherwise notified."

"Is that wise?"

"You're young, so I'll forgive that.  Just remember, ours is not to 
question why..."

The agent finished, "Ours is but to do or die," then shrugged and 
returned to his duties.

************

Inside the lab, the Sisters found Tarina strapped to a table.  She 
was naked and had electrodes strapped to her body.  Every few seconds 
some of the electrodes would send an electric shock through her body, 
and others would measure her responses.  Laurie quickly ran to Tarina 
and ripped off the electrodes.  As she shielded, linked, and started 
healing, Bronwyn prepared to cast a spell that would remove them from 
the building as quickly as possible.

As Laurie quickly finished the basic healing, Tarina whispered, "You 
shouldn't have come."

Laurie just ignored her and said, "Get us out of here."  Laurie and 
Julie both took Bronwyn's hand, and the High Priestess finished the 
teleportation spell.  The women were shocked when absolutely nothing 
happened.  "What's wrong?"

"The spell... was blocked."

 From behind them, they heard, "Of course it was blocked.  Our reality 
hardening shields prevent any such radical deviations."

They turned and saw a man dressed in a doctor's lab coat step out 
from a hidden panel.  Following close behind him was... a thing.  Its 
torso was that of a gorilla's; its arms and legs belonged to a bear; 
and it had the head and wings of an eagle.  Each of the women 
recoiled at its presence.  This thing was a travesty of nature.  A 
forced combination of body parts of various animals forged by 
science.  Behind the creature, three other men in lab coats stepped 
out.

The first man said to his thing, "Take them."

The creature charged forward.  Bronwyn used a power blast against it 
in defense.  Not being even remotely human, Bronwyn had no fear of 
losing her power from killing it, and used her blast at full power. 
And at full power, the power blast could've blown apart a small 
building.  Which made it all the more surprising when the creature 
was only blown backwards a few feet, digging its feet in to keep from 
going back any further.  To all appearances, it was unharmed.

Bronwyn muttered, "I think we're in trouble."

Laurie was surprised when Tarina, still weak from her ordeal, raised 
her head, and, with no trace of fear in her voice, said to the men, 
"You are so dead."

Laurie thought it was false bravado, but when the thing advanced on 
them again, a glowing ball of light came from nowhere, streaking 
through the room like a mini-comet.  It slammed into the thing, 
knocking it backwards into the back wall.  The comet then arcked away 
from the beast, changing shape into the form of a man dressed in a 
blue karate gi with a sword on his back.  When the man landed between 
the thing and the women, they heard Julie whisper, "Joanie."

Laurie (correctly assuming this was Julie's child) wondered what 
Julie was thinking.  At slightly over 6' tall, this man bristled with 
masculine force.  She had no problem seeing him as a man.  She had a 
lot of problem seeing him as a woman.

Joe turned his back on the men as if they weren't there, and went 
straight to Tarina's side.  As soon as he touched his wife, Laurie 
felt healing energies flow into her and Tarina was restored to full 
health.

The first man entering the room told his beast, "What are you waiting 
for?  Get up!  Destroy them!"

The creature shook its head, shaking off the stunning effects of 
Joe's earlier blow.  It pulled itself to its feet, screeched in rage 
and charged the invaders to the base.  Joe looked up, said, "Excuse 
me," and turned and ran at the thing.

The thing took a swipe at him, and was surprised when its target just 
seemed to disappear.  Its animal intellect was so low that it had 
missed Joe ducking down and rolling through its legs.  It heard a 
whistle and turned towards the sound, only to have a freight train in 
the form of Joe's fist slam into the side of its head as Joe sailed 
over its shoulder.  In a smooth motion, Joe rolled on the ground, 
spun, and buried his fist deep into the thing's gut.  A blast of 
power leapt from Joe's hand, blowing the creature's abdomen out its 
backside, killing it instantly.  Joe then reached up and pushed the 
thing onto its back.

The man who had been ordering the beast said, "That won't save you!"

But one of the three men who had yet to speak said, "Wait."  He 
stepped right up to Joe.  "The sword on your back, it is the Soul 
Blade?"

Coldly, Joe replied, "It is."

"That would make you the M.A.N. fighter?"

"Well, duh."

"And these women are relations of yours?"

Joe looked over his shoulder at them and said, "Two of them are." 
Laurie took it as a hopeful sign.  At least he hadn't disowned his 
mother entirely.

The man just turned and said, "Let's go."

Joe said, "Not yet."  Joe unslung the Soul Blade.  "I've got some 
work to do."  He pointed the blade at the first man and a blast of 
light shot out ripping the man's arm off.  The "doctor" grabbed his 
stump.  The women and the Progenitors watched him tremble until a 
bear paw exploded from the doctor's stump.  The women all felt a wave 
of raw evil emanate from the man.  "Time to die, Nephandi."

The Progenitors stepped back as Joe and the doctor rushed at each 
other.  The Sisters all felt an urge to do something, but were unsure 
what.  Tarina then said, "Your purification ritual.  The one you use 
to strip those of the Brotherhood of their power.  Use it on him."

Bronwyn looked at her.  "How do you know it will work?"

"Because that's what it was designed for.  Joe explained to me that 
you and the Brotherhood were designed to fight evil like that.  Your 
ritual was designed to weaken them, so that the Brothers could 
destroy them.  It's use to strip destructive Brothers of their power 
was an incidental effect."

The women looked at Tarina, unsure of whether or not to follow her 
advice, wondering how she or Joe (who had never been more than an 
apprentice) knew more about their purposes than they did.  Finally 
Bronwyn said, "We might as well try."

The three Sisters formed a triangle pointed at the doctor with 
Bronwyn at its point.  They summoned forth the Goddess's power and 
blasted the doctor with Her glowing light.  They heard the doctor 
shriek in pain, and, in his moment of shock, Joe drove the Soul Blade 
deep into his gut.  Struck on both the physical and spiritual level, 
the doctor exploded in a fiery blast, his pieces disintegrating 
before they struck anyone.

After the room settled down, the man who had stepped up before asked, 
"Is there anything else?"

Joe gave him a sidelong glance.  "That depends on you and your subordinates."

The man turned and started to walk from the room.  He told his 
subordinates, "Let's go."

One of the lesser men said, "Go?  We're not just going to-"

The leader grasped him around his throat.  "I have given you an 
order.  Disobey me and I will personally rip you apart and feed you 
to the pit beasts.  Understand?"  The subordinate, unable to speak, 
just nodded.  The leader dropped him and walked from the room, his 
two men quickly following.

Bronwyn, somewhat stunned at the quick resolution, asked, "Is that it?"

Joe lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, and suddenly, they were 
outside by Julie's car.  "That's it.  At least as far as the 
Progenitors go."

Joe turned and faced them.  Tarina stepped up into his arms.  He 
kissed her deeply and smiled.  "My love, you should not have come 
here without me."

"You knew I wasn't a patient woman when you married me."

He slid out of her grasp, then stepped up to Bronwyn.  Coldly, he 
said, "Bronwyn Llewellyn."  It was almost as much a statement as it 
was a greeting. Bronwyn, not sure of what to say, gave an assenting 
shrug.  He then stepped up to Laurie.  "I don't know you."

Laurie tentatively extended her hand.  "Laurie Donovan."

He took her hand and in a most gentlemanly way, kissed it. 
"Charmed."  He then stepped up to Julie.  Laurie felt a mix of 
guarded reserve and hopeful expectation emanate from him.  "Hello, 
mother."

Julie gave him a hopeful look, and said, "Hello, Joanie."

Joe clenched his eyes shut and Laurie felt a spike of pain and sorrow 
from him.  How could Julie not feel that?  But Laurie had an answer 
almost as soon as she thought the question.  Julie didn't feel it 
because she wouldn't let herself feel it, wouldn't let herself feel 
anything that meant she was wrong and Joe wasn't really Joanie deep 
down.

Joe wouldn't let his pain show, instead letting it come out as anger. 
"Aaggh!  I told you she wouldn't accept me!"  He turned and strode 
towards Tarina.  Angrily he said in an almost growl, "Let's go home."

Tarina said, "No!" and bolted past him to Julie.  She grasped Julie's 
hands.  "Please, mother!  Your son is a good man, a good provider, a 
good protector, a good father.  He is strong, kind, compassionate. 
With Steven, we have four children who need their grandmother.  But 
it took me 7 years to convince him to let me try to reunite you." 
With a plaintive tone, she added, "If you reject him now, I may never 
be able to convince him again."

Julie stood there, unsure of what to say.  Joe had remained utterly 
silent throughout Tarina's speech, neither encouraging, nor 
disrupting.  Laurie could feel both his pain and his desire.  She 
felt he wanted a reunion with his mother, but was afraid to approach 
her for fear of being rejected again.  Laurie said, "Julie, open your 
heart.  Can't you feel the pain your son suffers?  Is having a 
daughter so important that you would so willingly hurt him like you 
are?"

Laurie felt Julie's walls come down from within.  For the first time 
in a long time, Julie felt, seeing things as they were.  With tears 
in her eyes she said, "Joe, I'm sorry.  I never meant to hurt you. 
Please forgive me."

They all felt the private war raging inside of him.  His desire for 
his mother clashed with the history he had experienced already. 
Finally a decision was made and Joe said, "We have to go home." 
Julie almost broke down, thinking her son was rejecting her, but Joe 
allayed her fears, saying, "but we'll be back tomorrow.  We'll talk. 
You should bring your healer friend."  Then to Tarina, he said, "Your 
father had to go home early.  Steven's at home with the girls."

Tarina kissed Julie on the cheek.  "Worry not, mother.  Joe's word is 
his bond.  If he says we'll be back tomorrow, then we will be back 
tomorrow."  Tarina then ran to Joe and took his hand.  They took a 
few steps and were gone.

Julie stared after them, too frightened to do much.  Finally she 
turned to Laurie and said, "You will come?  He said you should come."

"Yes, I'll come.  I'll need to use your phone and give Jack a call, 
but I think he's mature enough to handle a couple more days alone at 
home."

Bronwyn said, "Do you think Joe will mind if I come along?"

Laurie gave her friend a curious look.  "He didn't say no.  The worst 
that can happen is that you show up and he asks you to leave."

Bronwyn seemed to consider that, then nodded.  They got into the car 
and drove back to Julie's home.  When they went inside, Julie seemed 
to get a burst of manic need and started cleaning the house.  Laurie 
convinced her to take five minutes to rest, and used a bit of her 
power to put Julie into a restful sleep.  She then went into the 
kitchen to talk to Bronwyn.  She sat across from her friend and 
asked, "So what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've almost been as bad as Julie.  You've been emotional, 
irrational, and almost manic.  I'm just wondering what's going on 
inside your pretty head."

Bronwyn considered it.  "I can't help remembering the few times I met Joanie."

"Don't you mean Joe?"

"I mean Joe when he was Joanie."

"Okay.  Just so we're sure of who we're talking about.  Who he really 
is.  One mistake and Julie might lose her son forever."

"I know.  I realize how wrong she...  How wrong I was."

"You?  What did you do?"

"Nothing.  And I think that was the problem."

"I don't understand."

"I only met Joanie a few times before her... his transformation. 
Part of me always liked him.  He was nice, personable, and fun to be 
around.  But he was also a young boy and always running off to be 
with his friends.  Despite that, part of me always wanted him around. 
Then Julie surprised me with an early transformation."

"Early transformation?"

"Yeah.  She originally wanted to transform her after his graduation. 
She said she wanted to minimize the disruption in his life.  Then she 
transformed him on his sixteenth birthday."

"Why?"

"She never told me exactly.  She just said that she was forced to 
revise her decision as to when the right time to transform him was. 
And since that decision is ultimately up to the mother, I took her 
word for it.  But on that first visit, I should've pushed harder."

"What do you mean?"

"I sensed his pain.  I tried to question him about it, but he 
wouldn't open up to me.  I even revealed who I was to him, but that 
just caused him to close up even further.  I asked Julie about it. 
She told me that he was just having problems adjusting to his new 
womanhood, and that he was feeling a little resentful of her.  It 
sounded right, and he made such a beautiful, powerful Sister.  I 
guess I didn't want to hear about anything that would mean his return 
to manhood.  Now I can't help wondering; if I'd've pushed a little 
harder, dug a little deeper, could I have prevented all this?"

"Water under the bridge, my love."

"I suppose so."

"But is that all there is?  Your reaction to this still seems a 
little intense for just a regretted decision."

Bronwyn thought about it for a while.  "I cried when she left us, 
Laurie.  When Julie called me, so distraught over her return to 
manhood and walking out on her, I cried.  I told myself it was 
because I felt for Julie's loss, and that we had lost so powerful a 
Sister."

"But that wasn't it, was it?"

"No."  Tears came to Bronwyn's eyes.  "Laurie, I think I'm in love 
with a married man."  Laurie took her hand comfortingly.  After a few 
seconds, Bronwyn wiped the tears from her eyes, and asked, "Have you 
called Jack, yet?"

"Thanks for reminding me."  Laurie got up, called her home, and told 
her son about her decision to remain in New York for a while longer. 
She then sat back down, a contemplative look on her face.

"You're thinking about Jack's transformation, aren't you?"

"You're surprised?"

"No.  You're not considering... not transforming him, are you?"

"Yes, I am.  I've been looking forward to the joy of sharing with 
Jack all the joys I shared with my mom, but then I see how Joe 
reacted.  Bronwyn, I don't think I could stand it if he reacted even 
half as badly.  And I know I couldn't stand to lose him for over a 
decade."

"So you won't make the mistakes she did.  Laurie, we're going to need 
Jacqueline's power.  All of our information gatherers say that 
something big is going to happen in the next few years."

"Damn the portents, Bronwyn.  I won't risk my son.  Even if it means 
losing the daughter I've dreamed of all my life."

"Even if it means risking the Sisterhood?"

"Are the portents really that bad?"

"All the Sisters I've talked to say yes.  It looks bad enough that if 
we even wait to Jack's eighteenth birthday to transform him, it may 
be too late."

"What does Julie say?"

"Julie retired from active duty.  She still helps coordinate the 
gatherers, but she hasn't actually performed the rituals since 
before... you know."

"Well...  We'll see after tomorrow."

************

The next day Julie woke up early.  She complained a bit, but 
eventually thanked Laurie for helping her relax.  Laurie then asked, 
"Julie, how long has it been since you performed a self-purification 
ritual?  Asked the Goddess into your heart to help heal your inner 
strife?"

"It...  It was a couple years after Joanie... Joe disappeared.  I 
performed the ritual, asking to be reunited with my child.  Then I 
felt this overwhelming... male... presence.  Oh, Goddess!  What did I 
do?!"

"What's wrong?"

"When I last performed the ritual, I asked the Goddess to bring my 
child back to me.  I felt something that I thought was her, but it 
was just so male, that I rejected it and the Goddess out of hand. 
But... what if that really was my son?  Oh, Goddess, no wonder he 
hates me so.  I rejected him completely."  Julie broke down in tears.

Laurie and Bronwyn sat beside her and wrapped their arms around her. 
Laurie said, "Oh, hun, he doesn't hate you."

Tears in her eyes, Julie asked, "Are you sure?"

"Would I lie to you?  When I sensed him earlier, I sensed pain, 
anguish, and a longing to be with you.  But I did not sense hate."

"Thanks, Laurie."

"But now, more than ever, you need to spend some time in prayer.  Go 
upstairs and spend some time alone, doing what you know you must."

Julie nodded, then went upstairs.  She opened the drawer where she 
kept the crystals she used for her morning ablutions, amazed at how 
much dust had collected on them.  She took out a rag and carefully 
wiped each clean as she set it in its proper place for her morning 
rituals.  As she started her personal song that would help her touch 
the Goddess, she worried that she wouldn't be accepted back after 
rejecting Her so completely.  But as she felt wrapped in the 
Goddess's loving presence, she swore she heard Her voice say, 
"Welcome back, my child."

Almost two hours later, Laurie heard a knock on the door.  Since 
Julie still had yet to finish upstairs, Laurie took it upon herself 
to answer it.  As she opened the door, Julie rushed down the steps to 
stand beside her.  Outside was Joe and Tarina.  On Joe's shoulder was 
a small girl.  Behind him were two twin girls and a preteen boy.  Joe 
said, "Hi, mom.  Tarina insisted we bring the kids.  I hope you don't 
mind."

Julie was stunned.  Never would she have hoped that she would have a 
chance of meeting her grandchildren so quickly.  "No, I don't mind. 
Have them come on in."

With that, one of the twins burst away and dashed into the house. 
The boy yelled, "Tasha!" and started after her.  He braked abruptly 
in front of Julie, took her hand and shook it lightly.  "Sorry.  I'm 
Steven, your grandson.  Be right back."  He then took off after his 
little sister, yelling, "Tasha, this place isn't you-proofed yet!"

Joe sighed.  With a smile, he said, "38 seconds standing still.  I 
think that's a new record for her.  That little bundle of energy was 
Tasha, a true handful.  The young boy, as he said, was your grandson, 
Steven.  This shy one behind my legs is Inya."  Joe gently pushed 
Inya out into the open where she gave a tentative curtsy.  "And this 
toddler on my shoulder is Norma."

Joe stepped into the house and surprised Julie by handing Norma to 
her.  Julie held her youngest grandchild for minute, lost in bliss as 
Norma ran her little fingers over her face.  Then all the Sisters 
were surprised when they heard in their minds, "Pretty, but 'fraid." 
Norma then turned her head to Joe and asked, "Da-da, why Gramma 
'fraid?"

Joe inclined his head towards his mother.  "Ask her."

Norma turned back to Julie.  "Why Gramma 'fraid?  Do I scare you?"

Julie smiled.  "No, little one.  Your grandmother is scared because 
she's afraid of hurting someone very dear to her."

"Why Gramma 'fraid of hurting da-da?"

Julie was shocked.  "How did you know I was speaking of your father?"

"Hear it in Gramma head."

Joe said, "That's enough, Norma."  Joe took Norma and put her on the 
floor.  "Inya, take your sister and play with her."  Inya took her 
sister's hand and led her over to the couch.  Joe explained, "Norma's 
a natural telepath.  And she's so good at it that so far I'm the only 
one who can block her out."  Steven returned from the kitchen with 
Tasha slung over his shoulder.  Despite her position, Tasha didn't 
seem miffed in the slightest.  Steven set her down, and she ran over 
to the couch with her sisters.  Joe said, "Shall we adjourn to the 
kitchen?"

Bronwyn came downstairs.  "Hello, Joe.  I hope you don't mind me 
being here.  I can leave if you want."

"No, I don't mind.  But I think this talk should be just mom, Laurie, and me."

"I understand."

Julie, Laurie, and Joe went into the kitchen.  Shortly thereafter, 
Norma went to her mother and Tarina picked her up.  Bronwyn asked 
her, "I'm curious.  Why did you bring your kids?"

"Leverage.  If mother sees what she will lose by refusing Joe, then 
she will be less likely to refuse him.  And if his children form an 
attachment with her, Joe will make a greater effort at reunion."

"Kind of... manipulative, isn't it?"

"Yes.  But I will do anything to heal my family."

Bronwyn was impressed with the woman's devotion.  She knew what she 
wanted and went after it.  Bronwyn was also impressed with the 
woman's mix of feminine grace and raw, primal energy.  When fighting, 
she was a savage force of nature, but as a mother, she was as loving 
and nurturing as a woman could be.

It was a couple hours later, and Steven had just pulled Tasha from an 
antique cabinet the youngster was determined to climb.  Tasha smiled 
happily as she went back with her sister.  It all seemed to be just 
one big game to her.  Bronwyn decided to talk with the young boy.  If 
tradition was followed he should undergo the Transformation in about 
6 to 8 years.  But this family was anything but traditional, and if 
Joe had told him too much of what he had gone through, it would make 
Steven a lost cause.

"Hey, youngster, mind if we talk?"

Steven smiled up at her.  "Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

"You seem to be a mature young man, and I was wondering, do you know 
why you're here?  Why your family is here?"

"Because grandma made a mistake with dad's Transformation, so dad 
walked out on her, and now mom is trying to bring them back together."

"So your father has told you about the Transformation?"

"About the Transformation, and about the Birth Rites."

"Birth Rites?  What about the Birth Rites?"

Steven started, "That they're-"

But Tarina interrupted with a reproachful, "Steven!" shaking her head 
in a negatory way.

Steven shrugged and said, "I guess you'll have to ask dad."

Bronwyn looked back and forth between Steven and Tarina, and knew she 
wasn't going to get anything out of either of them.  Pressing on, she 
asked, "What has your father told you about the Transformation?"

"Not a lot, really.  He just explained that, as a male descendant of 
the Sisterhood, I could undergo a Transformation into a woman, and, 
after learning what it was like to be female, I could join the 
Sisterhood if I wanted."

"Has he said when or if he is going to transform you?"

"He said that's up to me.  It's my choice when or even if I become a 
girl.  Excuse me."  Steven leapt off the couch and went over to pull 
Tasha off the cabinet again.

Bronwyn was a bit stunned.  Steven knew about the Transformation and 
his father had left it up to him?  It was rare enough that a child 
was told about the Sisterhood or the Transformation before actually 
being exposed to it, but to leave it up to the child?  Such a thing 
had never been done before.  It was felt that with the anti-female 
undertones in male socialization that a child never would willingly 
undergo the ritual.  How could you expect a boy who had spent the 
better part of his life avoiding girls because they had "cooties" to 
actually want to try living as a female?  Bronwyn felt that Joe had 
made a mistake, and her wheels started turning, thinking of a way to 
trick Steven into accepting the Transformation.

As Steven returned to the couch, Bronwyn shook her head.  What was 
she doing?  This was a family matter, between Steven, Joe, and Julie. 
If she interfered, it might wind up ensuring Steven's rejection of 
the Transformation.  Bronwyn looked at the young boy and asked, "So 
what do you think about the Transformation?  Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know.  I mean, I see how all the female manipulation and 
betrayal have hurt dad and it's not a big plus, but then I see 
Tarina's honest, straight-forward attitude, and I know that if I do 
decide to try changing, then I can be the girl I want to be.  I tell 
you this, though.  If I do become a girl, then I'm not going to be 
one of those ultra-feminine frou-frou types."

This was getting curious.  Not only was Steven not rejecting the 
Transformation outright, he was actually considering what kind of 
woman he was going to be.  "What kind of woman do you think you'd be?"

Steven considered it.  "I'd be part Tarina.  A little bit of grandma. 
A good part Tasha, with her zest for life.  A little bit of Inya's 
artistry.  And maybe just a little bit of you."

"Me?  You barely know me."

"But I know you're interested in making sure that the Sisterhood 
remains strong.  After all, that is why you're questioning me, isn't 
it?   To see if it's okay for me to join the Sisterhood?"

Bronwyn was amazed.  Looking into his eyes, she saw that there was no 
use denying it.  "You're a very perceptive young man, Steven."

Steven smiled.  "Thanks."  He then bolted from the couch and plucked 
Tasha off the cabinet again.  "Kiddo," he said, "there's a big tree 
in the front yard.  Why don't you go climb that?"

Confirming what Bronwyn thought, Tasha said, "'Cause this is more fun."

Tarina said, "Tasha, outside."

Tasha smiled, said, "Yes, mother," and ran outside.

A couple hours later, in the kitchen, after much talking and more 
than a few tears, Laurie said, "Okay, I think we've made more than a 
few steps here.  We're not done entirely, but we're finished for the 
day."

Joe and Julie stood up.  Julie asked, "Could I get a hug?"

"Yes, mom.  I'd like that."

Julie wrapped her arms around Joe and hugged him.  She wanted the hug 
to go on forever, but she was afraid of imposing herself too much on 
Joe, so after what she considered to be far too short a time, she 
tried to let go and separate from him.  She was surprised when Joe 
refused to let her go and pulled her closer to him.  She almost broke 
down in tears when she heard him whisper, "I missed you, mom."

************

Later that day Bronwyn and Laurie were arguing in the kitchen when 
Julie, carrying Norma, walked in.  They went silent, but when Julie 
and Norma sat down, Norma said, "I think Laurie is right."

Bronwyn and Laurie just looked away as Bronwyn said, "I forgot how 
powerful a telepath she was."

Julie reached over to a nearby cookie jar and fished a cookie out and 
gave it to Norma.  "Here.  Now go run and play with your sisters 
while your Gramma talks with her friends."  She then set Norma on the 
floor and the two year old ran back to the living room.  "Now what 
are you arguing about?  Maybe I can help."

Bronwyn said, "Laurie's thinking of not transforming her son."

Laurie replied, "Surely you can understand that after all that's gone on."

Julie thought about it for a bit before saying, "To be honest, I 
don't know what to think.  Yes, I made serious mistakes in dealing 
with my son.  I admit that.  But, also, I wouldn't give up the time 
we had together as mother and daughter for anything.  My real mistake 
was assuming that my son would want his womanhood as much as I wanted 
mine."

Bronwyn said, "See, Laurie.  Give it a chance.  Don't just assume 
your son will react like Joe did.  With the portents like they are, 
we will need Jacqueline's power."

Laurie considered Bronwyn's words, while Julie asked, "What portents?"

"Other information gatherers have been detecting upcoming portents of 
something dire in our immediate future.  I'd assume you would've 
detected something if you had been more active in your role as a 
gatherer, and been performing the regular morning rituals."

"But I performed them this morning after refreshing myself with the 
Goddess.  I detected no portents of anything dire."

Bronwyn was stunned.  "Are you sure?  All the info gatherers have 
agreed that something BIG is coming in the next few years."

"Well, I detected nothing this morning."

Laurie said, "Perhaps you should contact some of the other girls and 
see what they say is going on."

Bronwyn nodded.  Using Julie's phone, she made a few calls then came 
back to the table mystified.  "All the girls say the same thing. 
They performed their morning rituals and all the portents were gone. 
Just gone."

"Well, that settles it," Laurie said.  "IF I transform my child, it 
definitely won't be early."

"But I don't understand.  What happened to change things?"

Julie said, "I don't know exactly, but I think I can find out." 
Julie got up and went to the door leading to the living room. 
Sticking her head through, she asked Joe to join them.  When he came 
in, she quickly explained things and asked, "When we were in that 
lab, that scientist called you the... man-fighter.  He seemed... 
impressed by that.  What is a man-fighter and could it have had an 
effect on the Sisterhood?"

"M.A.N.-fighter.  The first three letters are an acronym for Marauder 
And Nephandi, two very powerful classes of dangerous magi.  It's 
basically a fancy title for the wielder of that blade you saw me with 
the other day.  Those scientists were also very powerful mages. 
Their leaders as well as my group's leaders recognize the importance 
of the M.A.N.-fighter, so he's allowed a little more latitude in his 
actions.  A while back, I also did a service for the leaders of the 
Syndicate, the money controllers for the Technocracy, the group to 
which those scientists belonged.  In return I demanded that my family 
be placed off-limits to their machinations.  Since I claimed two of 
you in their base, that put mom, as well as the Sisterhood 
off-limits."

Bronwyn asked, "And if this... Technocracy, for whatever reason, had 
their eyes on us, our being placed off-limits could explain the 
portents disappearing?"

"More than possible.  But it's a complicated universe.  It's possible 
that anything might've changed those portents.  Is there anything 
else?"

Bronwyn said, "No, and thank you."  After Joe left, Bronwyn asked, "I 
wonder what did change things?"

************

On the other side of the world, five men, the leaders of the 
Technocracy, got together to discuss world events.  After discussing 
many other things, the leader of the Progenitors said, "We must now 
discuss the plan to infiltrate the Brotherhood.  After a review of 
certain conditions, I must recommend that the plan be terminated 
immediately."

There was a bit of murmuring amongst the others before the leader of 
the Syndicate, the man who controlled the Technocracy's purse 
strings, said, "We have not committed so many resources to the plan 
that we cannot afford to stop, but I am curious as to why you have 
decided to end the plan."

"Two reasons.  The first, and actually lesser reason is that it 
appears that the M.A.N.-fighter has relatives within their parallel 
organization, the Sisterhood.  And although our information is 
somewhat sketchy, most willworkers agree that the two organizations 
are inextricably linked.  Since, by the deal with the Syndicate, we 
cannot touch the relatives of the M.A.N.-fighter, that places both 
organizations off limits."

"And the second reason?"

"It appears that the plan was constructed and master-minded by... a 
Nephandi."  There were murmurs of concern amongst the others. 
"Luckily, the demon worshiper was destroyed so suddenly that he 
wasn't able to cover his tracks.  It turns out that the information 
that he used to convince us that the Brotherhood was a growing danger 
was totally fabricated.  The Brotherhood, far from being a threat, 
is, in fact, becoming more reliant on technology.  Furthermore, we 
have direct evidence that the Sisterhood's power is directly harmful 
to the worshipers of Those Beyond.  If the Brotherhood's power is 
half as effective as their sister organization, than the two 
organizations could be an effective force against the corrupted ones."

The leader of Iteration X, a half-man, half-machine cyborg, said, 
"Are you saying we should leave these... deviants alone?"

"I'm saying we don't have to do anything more than we have been. 
These are lesser mages, not willworkers.  When we own the hearts and 
minds of the Sleepers, then their magics will disappear the same as 
all the other.  Until then, we let them be the tool against the 
Nephandi they're supposed to be."

The Syndicate leader asked, "Would you recommend bringing about a 
reunification of the two groups?"

"No.  Although the two organizations would be more effective 
together, they might also go mainstream, showing that Sleepers of the 
potentials of a non-scientific belief system, weakening our hold on 
the masses.  Each organization fights the Dark Ones in their own way, 
but as long as each believes the other to be a potential threat, they 
remain underground."

"So we leave them alone, but keep them separate, getting involved 
only if they show signs of reconciliation.  All agreed?"

There were five ayes.
-- 
"This is reality, not T.V.  Can't you tell the difference?"
"Sure.  I just like T.V. better."

J R D
jrdss@pobox.alaska.net

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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