Girl Power Omnibus (Gender Swap Superhero Fiction)

by P. T. Dilloway

  Only now she didn’t see Mommy on the floor. In her place was a little girl Robin’s age clad in a military uniform. Robin squealed with shock. She thrashed around in the blood until she could finally get to her feet. Ahead of her she saw a smear of blue light.

  Robin ran into the light. Hands seized her around the waist again. She was lifted into the air to face the nasty clown. The clown smiled at her and then flashed another crooked yellow smile. “There’s my pretty little girl,” she said.

  “No! Lemme go!”

  “But Robin, it’s me,” the clown said in Mommy’s voice.

  “You’re not my mommy!”

  “Oh, sweetheart, of course I am. And I love you very much.”

  “You’re not Mommy. You’re not,” Robin said, but now when she looked at the woman’s face it was blurry. Robin closed her eyes and rested her head on the woman’s shoulder. The woman ran a hand through Robin’s hair. The warmth of her body and tenderness of her touch were like when Mommy comforted her.

  She opened her eyes to see her mother holding her. Mommy smiled at her. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s go have some fun.”

  ***

  Starla huddled in the back corner of her cell. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious or how long until her “trial” began. She had no idea either what had happened to Kila; perhaps they would end up being tried together.

  When the door opened, she hoped it would be Kila to tell her everything had been a big mistake and she could go back to Earth. It wasn’t the lieutenant. It didn’t appear to be anyone. Had the door malfunctioned? That might be her ticket out of here.

  She got to her feet and then hurried over to the door. She tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. Maybe she should park herself here and wait for the next person to show up—

  “There is no escape, Gor-Bul,” a tiny voice squeaked.

  Starla looked around the room, squinting to find whoever had spoken. “Who said that?” she finally asked.

  In response, she saw a spot of purple light. The spot flitted towards her like a firefly. Starla flattened herself against the wall as the spot of purple light flew towards her. She resisted the urge to try to swat it like a bug. “Are you a Peacekeeper?”

  “I am T’Kell. I have been assigned as your new counsel.”

  The spot of light brightened, becoming larger until Starla saw a sight that nearly made her laugh. It was a tiny winged alien that immediately made her think of Tinkerbell. She knew better than to laugh at the diminutive alien after what she’d already seen in this prison.

  “What happened to Kila?”

  “She is awaiting trial for her crimes.”

  “Are they going to execute her?”

  “That is not your concern.”

  “It is my concern. She was trying to help me.”

  “That is irrelevant. I am here to discuss your case.”

  Starla again had to resist the urge to try to squash the tiny alien. She settled back onto her bed. “Let me guess, I’m already guilty so I should beg them for my life?”

  “It is the only option if you wish to live.”

  “Maybe I don’t wish to live anymore.”

  “That is your decision. If you wish to petition for execution, I will inform the Elders.”

  “That’s it? You’re not going to try to talk me out of it?”

  “It is not my job to interpret your desires.”

  “Don’t any of you have any goddamned feelings? Don’t you care about anything?”

  T’Kell zipped closer to Starla, until she was almost pressed to Starla’s right eye. “I care about protecting the galaxy from dangerous criminals.”

  “I’m not a criminal! On Earth I put criminals in jail like you do.”

  “What you do on your backwater planet is of no concern to the Elders.”

  Starla wished she could have her flame breath back for just a minute; that would be long enough to teach this obnoxious fairy a lesson. Since she didn’t, she said, “Look, I don’t need a counsel. Let me talk to these Elders?”

  “I am obligated to be present, but I will inform Commander Sulfam you wish to speak on your own behalf.”

  “Thanks.”

  T’Kell shrank into a dot again and then sailed from the room. Starla waited for a few moments to make sure she was gone and then returned to her corner to wait for the end.

  Chapter 20

  Melanie’s first visit to the White House had been as an eight-year-old boy. His father had some business in Washington, so he brought the rest of the family. Melanie’s mother had taken him to all the sights, including a tour of the White House.

  Her second visit came as an eighteen-year-old girl in the company of the Super Squad. Melanie actually got to shake the president’s hand and receive congratulations for her help in stopping the robots that had been attacking the city. She had gushed about this to Robin later; Robin only shrugged and rolled her eyes. She had met three different presidents in her career as Midnight Spectre.

  This was the first time she was the leader of a group visiting the White House. She stood in the Oval Office with Paul, Diane, and Garlak behind her. The woman in the big chair behind the desk wouldn’t even be old enough to run for president, but there was nothing in the Constitution about what to do if an alien weapon turned the president into a young woman while in office.

  “This nation can’t thank you all enough for your heroism in defending America,” the president said. When Melanie looked closely, she could still see moisture in the young woman’s hair from being unthawed from a block of ice.

  As the president continued graciously thanking Melanie, her communicator beeped. Melanie almost fainted as the president glared at her. “I’m sorry Mr.—Ms. President,” Melanie said. “Just one second.”

  She hurried out into the hallway to tap the button on her wrist. “This really isn’t a good time,” she told Tonya, whom she’d sent out on patrol in part to make sure the city was safe, but mostly because she was sure Ion Girl would say something embarrassing to the president. Melanie wanted the leader of the free world to take the Super Squad Auxiliary seriously.

  “Sorry, boss, but we got a big problem.”

  “More radioactive bees?”

  “No, worse. Redoubt City looks like LA after the Rodney King verdict.”

  “What?”

  “Sorry for the dated reference. Rodney King was—”

  “I know who he was. What’s going on in Redoubt City?”

  “It’s pretty much chaos here. People are running around like crazy, setting fires, turning cars over, all that stuff. There wasn’t a Super Bowl or World Series today, was there?”

  “I’m pretty sure there wasn’t.”

  There was a moment of static before Tonya said, “Hang on, I got something. I’m picking up something in the air. Aw, shit.”

  “What is it?”

  “Clown juice.”

  “Oh shit,” Melanie said. When distributed in aerosol form, Clownface’s toxin became as deadly as sarin or mustard gas. “That suit of yours is airtight, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. See what you can do to head things off. We’re on our way.” Melanie tapped the communicator again and then took a deep breath as she tried to think of what to tell the president.

  ***

  In the jetcopter, Melanie went over the rudimentary plan she had devised. “Tonya is going to do what she can, but the only way to stop this is to cure the people.”

  “The Center for Disease Control is the other direction.”

  “They aren’t going to have a cure. Midnight Spectre will. I’ll go down to the bunker to fetch it while the rest of you stay in here.”

  “Me not want stay here,” Garlak muttered.

  “I’m sorry, but we can’t risk you getting infected. This gas is really nasty. It causes hysteria, rage, hallucinations, and eventually—death. I don’t want any of you getting exposed.”

  “We have gas masks in this tub, don�
�t we?” Diane asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t think we have one big enough for Garlak.”

  “You have ones big enough for me and Paul.”

  “I suppose but it’s too dangerous—”

  “We’re supposed to let you and Tonya stick your necks out then? Doesn’t sound very heroic to me, love.”

  Melanie smiled slightly at this. It seemed her team really had become a team over the last couple of days. “All right, if you insist. I’ll drop you two in the city. Garlak and I will go get the cure.” She turned to Garlak. “Don’t smash the place up too much, please?”

  “Me try but no promise,” Garlak huffed.

  Melanie figured that would be the best she’d get. “All right, let’s get to work.”

  She dug out three gas masks from the jetcopter’s emergency stores. She wasn’t sure if she would need one, but it was better to be prepared than not. In theory she was already inoculated against the clown juice; Robin had made sure of that shortly after they began working together. There was always a chance this latest batch might be different than what she was protected against. If so, that would be bad news for her and the rest of Redoubt City.

  In the cockpit, she asked Paul, “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s going to be a madhouse in there.”

  “I don’t see much choice right now. Diane’s right: we can’t leave you and Tonya to do this yourselves.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for what you did with Geiger.”

  “It just came to me, spur of the moment.”

  “Improv seems to be the way we do things around here.” She laughed hollowly to accompany this.

  She shouldn’t have been surprised that Paul wasn’t fooled. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather I go with you? If she’s down there—”

  “She won’t be down there. She’s probably still at sea.”

  “I hope so. Still, you might need a shoulder to cry on. Garlak’s are a little too high up.”

  “I can handle it,” Melanie snapped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

  “It’s all right. I’m sure you can handle it after all we’ve been through.” He winked at her and then went back to talk with the others. Melanie wished she had his confidence in her abilities. She fully expected to dissolve into a sobbing mess the moment she stepped foot on the grounds. But maybe having to shepherd Garlak would help to keep her focused.

  Focus on the work, she told herself. That’s what Robin always said to do when on the job. You had to keep your personal and professional lives separated. Otherwise you could get careless and wind up in deep trouble.

  ***

  Melanie dropped Paul and Diane on the roof of a hotel that seemed relatively quiet. It would be up to them to make their way from there. From what Tonya reported, the heaviest fighting was downtown, in the financial district. There didn’t seem to be any looting, just mindless destruction, the kind Garlak would be proud of.

  The cavewoman rode in the back as Melanie lifted off towards Robin’s estate. That would help to protect Robin’s secret identity, not that Garlak would have much interest in it. She hoped Garlak didn’t run wild and destroy all the valuable antiques and such, most of which were irreplaceable.

  She could have tried to open the bunker’s landing bay and go right in, but she thought it best to set down on the front lawn. If Robin were in the bunker, Melanie didn’t want to get pinned down in the jetcopter. She would much rather have some room to move around. Or at least it would give Garlak more room.

  “Fancy house,” Garlak said as she stomped up the front drive.

  “It is, so let’s try not to break too much of it.” The cavewoman grumbled something under her breath. Melanie ignored it as she went through the pouches of her belt for the lock pick. She doubted it would work on Robin’s front door, not with all the security she had installed. If it didn’t work, then she would have to let Garlak smash the door open; not even Robin’s security could stand up to an enraged cavewoman.

  She didn’t have to use the lock pick or Garlak. As she squatted to pick the lock, the door opened on its own. A trim, well-endowed brunette stood in the doorway. She was probably a decade older than Melanie at most.

  “Hello, Miss Amis. Won’t you and your friend come inside?”

  Melanie’s mouth worked for a moment without producing any sound. Finally she managed to say, “Jasper?”

  “Indeed, Miss Amis. I’ll put a kettle on if you’d like some refreshment.”

  “Oh, um, sure,” Melanie said.

  “And would your friend like anything?”

  “Meat,” Garlak said. Melanie hoped it meant she wanted some meat, not that she thought of Jasper as meat.

  “Ah, yes, we should still have something in the freezer.”

  Melanie followed Jasper into the house. She should have known Jasper would be affected like everyone else, but she had never thought about it. It hadn’t seemed possible to her that Jasper could be anything but the kind old man who was more like Robin’s father than her butler.

  In the kitchen, the situation got even worse. A young woman sat at the table. She looked almost like Melanie’s twin. The reason for this became obvious when the woman pushed away from the table and threw herself against Melanie. “Oh, my baby!” she said, sobbing into Melanie’s shoulder. “You’re finally home.”

  “Hi, Mom.”

  Chapter 21

  The most disturbing part of her mother’s transformation was that her mother was wearing Melanie’s clothes. As they sat at the kitchen table, Melanie made a note to destroy that outfit should everything ever get back to normal. That was if they could find a way to stop all this insanity so maybe a way to change things back could be found.

  “I was on the phone with Mrs. McCafferty,” Mom said. “There was this flash of light and I fell to the floor. I thought I was having a heart attack or stroke. Once the pain stopped, I got up and saw I was like this. I ran over here and found Jasper like that.”

  Melanie tried not to look too hard at Jasper’s female body. While Mom was clad in Melanie’s clothes, Jasper wore an old sweater, blouse, and skirt from Robin’s mother’s wardrobe. If Robin saw her in that, she would probably have a conniption. She still kept her parents’ old clothes in their closets, as if they might come back to life at any moment.

  “I suppose the question is why nothing happened to you,” Jasper said.

  “I was underwater, in an escape pod,” Melanie said.

  “And the…woman who came with you—?”

  “Garlak used to be a man called Neanderthal.”

  “I see. And what’s become of Mistress Robin?”

  “I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me. Has she come back here?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. I’ve checked the bunker on several occasions, but there is no sign of her.”

  “I guess that’s good news,” Melanie said.

  “What bunker? Is that like a panic room?” Mom asked. “And how did you get underwater in an escape pod? For that matter, why are you dressed like that?”

  “I’m the Outcast, Mom. I’m a superhero.”

  “I don’t see why you have to go around in a slinky outfit like that. Are you wearing a bra under there?”

  Melanie’s cheeks turned warm. Even though she and Mom were practically the same age right now, Mom still had a way of making her feel like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. “Yes, Mom. I’ve been doing this for four years now. Robin’s been doing it even longer. She’s Midnight Spectre.”

  “That nasty girl who killed the police captain? How could you date someone like that?”

  “Could we focus on what’s important? I need to go down there to find the clown juice antidote.”

  “Of course, Miss Amis. You’re welcome to anything down there.”

  “Thanks. I need you two to keep Garlak entertained while I’m down there.”

  They’d left the cavewoman in the sitting room with a couple of boxes of crackers to scarf down.
Melanie doubted those would last long. Once Garlak got restless, things were liable to get broken. “We’ll do our best,” Jasper said.

  “She likes shiny things, so maybe show her the suits of armor or something.”

  “We’ll think of something, I’m sure.”

  “Thanks.” Melanie got up and then leaned down to hug her mother. “I’m glad you’re all right. I should have called.”

  “It’s all right, honey. You were saving the world.” Mom patted her hand. “I’m very proud of you. Just be careful with this ‘clown juice’ and such.”

  “I will.”

  Melanie went through the entrance behind a bookcase in the library to the bunker. She paused at the bottom of the steps to take out her Taser. She peered around a corner to see if Robin were down here. She didn’t see anyone; that didn’t mean much with Midnight Spectre.

  Before she felt safe enough to sit down at the computer, Melanie swept the entire bunker. She checked inside every vehicle to be absolutely certain. There was no trace of Robin. In a way it was disappointing because she would have liked to finally get a chance to talk about what had happened. Robin couldn’t be the monster the others claimed she was, could she?

  Melanie pushed these thoughts out of her mind as she searched the computer for the clown juice cure. Robin had encountered it early in her career as Midnight Spectre, the first time she had run up against Clownface. Apparently the need for a cure had brought together Robin and Dr. Alan Bass for the first time. It seemed Allison had done most of the chemistry to make the cure while Robin had done the legwork of obtaining a live victim for study and then administering the cure to the general population.

  There was a sample of the cure in a storage vault. Melanie searched through racks of vials to find it. It was bright red like Hawaiian Punch; she hoped it would be more effective than fruit juice. There was a second vial behind the first; Melanie took this to administer to Garlak. She wasn’t looking forward to injecting that into the cavewoman. An ordinary needle wouldn’t work; she would need the tranquilizer gun that could in theory penetrate the hide of a charging rhino, not that they had many charging rhinos in Redoubt City.