Melanie had imagined the scenario and felt ill. By allowing the American government to have first crack at these machines, she could be ushering in a fascist empire. It had taken every ounce of her resolve to stare down the leader of the free world and the Secret Service agents in the room. “That would be a mistake, sir.”
“Why would that be, Miss Amis?”
She gestured up at the ceiling. “The Peacekeepers are still monitoring us. They’ll see withholding the machines as an act of aggression. I don’t think you’d want to start a war with them.” When the president still looked doubtful, she added, “And they’ll have Apex Girl on their side.”
“You think she would take sides against America?”
“If she thought what you were doing was wrong, yes.”
“Then it’s good we have your team to protect us.”
Melanie barely stifled a laugh. “My team did better than expected against some tough supervillains, but none of them were in the same league as Apex Girl.”
In the end she had scared the government into handing over the machines with only one string attached: each machine would be monitored by a Galactic Peacekeeper to ensure it was used properly. The Peacekeepers were obviously not incorruptible, but they were far more neutral than anyone else.
“Hey, boss,” Tonya called out. She clapped Melanie hard on the shoulder. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“They’re doing awesome. These gals are the best, bar none. We’ll have the rest of these puppies out well ahead of schedule.”
“That’s great.” Melanie swallowed hard. She hated the real reason she had come here. “Is there somewhere private for us to talk?”
“Sure, my office is upstairs.”
Tonya led Melanie into a foreman’s office. There were a bunch of spare parts spread out on the desk with papers piled into a corner. “Just a little homework,” Tonya said. “You want anything to drink? Something to gnosh on?”
“I’m fine.” Melanie sat down and wrung her hands. Tonya seemed in such a good mood that it was a shame she had to do this. “I’ve got some news from the president. I’m afraid it’s bad.”
“What is it? Some criminal up to no good?”
“No, nothing like that.” Melanie forced herself to look Tonya in the eye as she brought the hammer down. “They’re returning the criminals to Gitmo over the next few days now that they have enough guards to watch them. The thing is…they aren’t going to change them back before they’re sent over. The joint chiefs and the attorney general think it will keep them far more docile.”
“That didn’t work on Geiger and the rest, did it?”
“No, but for ordinary prisoners it should work better.”
“They aren’t sending us back are they? I mean, not me, Diane, and Garlak, right?”
“No, they won’t. For what you three did, the president agreed to pardon you.”
“That’s awesome! So why the long face?”
“Your freedom is conditional on you remaining a woman.”
Tonya stared at her in shock. Melanie had never seen her so utterly speechless before. Finally she said, “You mean I can either stay like this or go back to jail?”
“I’m afraid so. I did everything I could to convince them you three wouldn’t be a threat anymore, even as men, but they wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry.”
“They can’t do this! This is America, goddamnit! The government can’t decide what sex I should be!”
“The way they see it, they aren’t deciding that. You still get to choose.”
“Oh, sure, I can choose a vagina or getting fucked up the ass in super maximum prison. Great fucking choice!” Tears bubbled up in Tonya’s eyes. She sounded like a child again as she said, “You promised we could be changed back.”
“I’m sorry, Tonya—”
“Sorry doesn’t give me my penis back.” She wiped furiously at her eyes. “How did Diane take it? I assume you haven’t told Garlak yet. I haven’t heard of downtown Redoubt City being smashed into rubble.”
“You’re the first one I’ve told.”
“Why? You think I’m the easiest? You think I like being this way?”
“No, because you’re the smartest. I figured you’d see the silver lining easier than them. I thought you’d see what this really is: a chance at a fresh start.” Melanie held up a hand before Tonya could say anything. “Tommy Kinney even with a pardon has a lot of baggage attached to him. Tonya Kinney is a hero. Everyone’s seen the things you’ve done. You can parlay that into a new life, a better life.”
Melanie reached into her pocket to take out a business card. “You know about the Stanford Initiative, don’t you?”
“Some kind of genius grant fund, isn’t it?”
“Yes and right now it needs people like you more than ever. People who are smart, who can change the world for the better. Before you became Ion Man, didn’t you ever think of doing something really great? Something to get you in the history books?”
“I mostly thought about getting laid.”
Melanie took this joke as a sign she was getting through. “Why don’t you think it over? If you still want to change yourself back, you can always defect. I wouldn’t hold it against you.”
“You’d just hunt me down and put me in prison, right?”
Melanie shook her head. “I’d never do that. Not to a friend.”
“You still think we’re friends?”
“I hope we can be.” Melanie smiled at Tonya. “I still owe you guys that night on the town.”
“I might have to take a rain check.”
“I understand.” Melanie nodded to Tonya and then started down the steps. She hated to be in this position. Tonya, Diane, and Garlak had risked their lives to save the world when no one else would. If they hadn’t filled the gap left by the Super Squad, far more lives would have been lost when Omega showed up. It wasn’t fair their reward was to be stuck the way they were, making them prisoners in their own bodies. Melanie vowed she would find some way to make it up to them.
***
When Melanie went to London to deliver the bad news to Diane, she knew the assassin would take it badly. She didn’t think it would be so badly that Melanie was on her back with a knife at her throat. “Diane, please—”
“You lied to us!”
“I did everything I could—”
“No you didn’t. You should have let us use the machines back in the lab when we wanted to. Now look what you’ve done.”
“I’m sorry, Diane, but killing me won’t solve anything.”
“It’ll make me feel better.”
“Will it?” Melanie stared into Diane’s eyes, not an easy feat with the knife pressed to her throat.
The assassin finally climbed off her. With a scream she hurled the knife across the room, where it embedded itself in the navel of a pin-up girl cradling a machine gun. Diane sank onto a ragged plaid armchair. If Melanie hadn’t known better, she would have thought this the home of a college student, not a world-famous assassin; what had Hitter done with all his money?
Melanie got to her feet, but knew better than to approach Diane. She perched on a rickety wooden chair that creaked dangerously. “I suppose that cunt of a prime minister has the same arrangement, yeah?”
“I’m afraid so. Like I told Tonya, you can defect if you want. I won’t go after you. I doubt anyone in the Squad would. The rest of the world’s police agencies would. You’d be a fugitive for the rest of your life.”
“Well, that’s a real great choice you’re giving me then. I should have known better than to get mixed up in this whole business. Heroes. Bah. You lie and cheat as much as us villains.”
“I never lied to you. I did everything I could, but you have to see it from their point of view—”
“I don’t give a damn about their point of view! All I see is this face looking back at me in the mirror. Every single day.”
“I kno
w it’s a big adjustment—”
“Shut up! You think because you and your girlfriend lost your balls that you know what’s best for everyone. All this ‘embrace your femininity’ and ‘baby steps’ nonsense. What do you know? You’re practically still a bloody child.”
Diane got up from the chair. As she did, a pistol appeared in her hand; Melanie had no idea where she’d gotten it from unless she’d hidden it in the chair. The assassin stomped towards her, the barrel of the gun aimed at Melanie’s head. From this range, Melanie knew Diane couldn’t miss. “Get out of my flat. Now!”
The smart thing to do would be to leave now, but there was something in Diane’s eyes, a bit of that madness like when she’d been on the clown juice. “What are you planning to do after I leave?”
“That’s not any of your business, is it?”
“If you’re going to hurt yourself—”
“Get out of here!” Diane jerked the gun to the right to fire a warning shot over Melanie’s shoulder. Melanie stood her ground. It was clear Diane was at the breaking point and it was Melanie’s fault.
“I’m so sorry, Diane. You’re right: I lied to you. I made a promise I didn’t keep. I’ll do everything I can to make it right. Just put the gun down so we can talk about it.”
“I don’t need to talk anymore. You were right: I can’t go back to my old life. Not like this. And if I have to stay this way, then there only seems one thing to do, yeah?” Diane held the pistol up to her temple. “One more body won’t matter after all this.”
“It’ll matter to me,” Melanie said. She wished she could get on her communicator to call for help. Maybe Alan or Sally could sneak in here to take the gun away before Diane could pull the trigger. But she couldn’t call for help; she was alone in a way she hadn’t been, not since the male Hitter had nearly killed her.
“You don’t need me now. We already saved the world and now you’ve got the real heroes back to do the heavy lifting.”
“I don’t care about that. You’re my friend, Diane, whether you want to believe that or not. I care about what happens to you.”
“Then why didn’t you let us change back when we had the chance?”
“I suppose because a part of me knew the governments would do what they did. If you’d changed back, you’d be on your way to Gitmo again.”
“Maybe that’s where I belong.”
“That’s not true. Whatever you did as a man, this you is a good person. She’s done so much to help the world. We’d never have freed the people of Atomic City if it weren’t for you and your honey pot.”
As she spoke, Melanie let one hand drift down to her belt. In a pouch she still had the control for the chips implanted in the necks of Diane, Tonya, and Garlak. Since they had shrunk into little kids and then grown up again, Tonya and Garlak’s chips had been deactivated. Diane had only been hit with clown juice, so hers should still work.
“I didn’t do anything—” Diane’s words cut off with a scream as Melanie hit the button on the control. Diane’s hand trembled and then the gun slipped from her fingers. Melanie dove forward, her hands extended to catch the pistol before it could hit the floor and go off. Her fingers hit the bottom of the gun to tip it back into the air. She caught it on its way back down and flicked the safety on as she rolled across the flat.
Diane lay on the floor, still shivering from the pain. Melanie tapped the button to stop the chip. She set the pistol up on a shelf and then went over to the assassin. The girl looked up at her with red eyes. “You can’t leave me like this. If you’re my friend, don’t leave me like this.”
Melanie knelt down to hold Diane in her arms. “I’m sorry, Diane. We can get you some help.”
Diane shook her head. “You don’t know what it’s like. When I see this face it’s like seeing a ghost. My grandmum always said we looked so much alike we were practically twins. I guess she was right.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Danielle. My sister. She died when we were small. These four Albanian blokes. They were dumping some evidence in an alley and she saw them. Not that she really knew anything. She was only seven years old. And sweeter than a whole candy shop.”
“They killed her?”
“Wrung the life right out of her. Left her for dead. I caught a glimpse of them as they left. When I got the chance I settled accounts with them. Not that it made me feel any better. I suppose it’s cosmic justice that I’ve got to wear her face now for the rest of my life.
“I tried to make a go of it. I tried to do all that nonsense you said about embracing it and such. But when I got back here, I knew I couldn’t. I can’t be her.”
“Then don’t be her. Be you. Be whatever you want Diane Giordano to be.”
“I can’t. She’ll always be right there, in the mirror.”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told Tonya: this is your chance to reinvent yourself. Darrien Giordano might have done a lot of bad things, but Diane Giordano hasn’t. Diane is a hero. She helped save the world. Don’t you think your sister would be proud of that?”
“I suppose so.”
“You have to look at this as a great opportunity. You’ve got a second chance. This time you can be someone Danielle would be proud of. And maybe in a way that will help keep her alive, yeah?”
Diane smiled a little at this. “I see your point. She never got to be an adult. I can do all the things she never could.”
“That’s a good way to look at it. What did Danielle want to be when she grew up?”
Diane’s cheeks turned red. She mumbled, “A teacher. We didn’t get much of a chance for school when we were little, so when we did it was always a big deal. She thought the teachers were the mutt’s nuts.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a teacher. The world needs teachers, especially now.”
“It’s not for someone like me. I’m not the school marm type.”
“You could be a great teacher. And if anyone gets out of line, you know how to handle it.”
“I don’t think the headmaster would like that much,” Diane said, but she smiled. The idea must be growing on her. “I’ve never gone to college. I didn’t even finish high school.”
“I’m sure you can get a diploma. If you want to go to college, come over to the States. You could go to MIT. We could share a dorm room.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I would. Then we both wouldn’t be alone.”
“I still have trouble seeing it, but it’s something to think about, I suppose.”
“That’s the spirit.” Melanie’s phone buzzed, but she ignored it. She had come to London not only to meet Diane but also for a NATO summit that had been hastily convened to discuss what to do in the wake of everything that had happened with the alien weapon and then Omega. Melanie was supposed to be a top speaker there, but at the moment she didn’t care. Her friend needed her and that was far more important.
“I shouldn’t keep you.”
“It’s fine. I’ve never been to London before. Maybe you could give me the grand tour?”
“I’m not much in shape for it at the moment.”
“Neither am I, but I think some exercise will do us both good.”
“There’s a thought.”
Melanie helped Diane up. They staggered out of the flat. As she shut the door, Melanie looked over at the shelf where the gun still rested. She would have to dispose of it later. Not that Diane couldn’t find another way; her job had been to kill people.
“You coming?” Diane asked.
“Sure,” Melanie said with a forced smile. They started down the stairs together.
***
Alan attempted to straighten out his necktie. The tie was something he hadn’t needed to bother with in over sixty years, though it was only four years to everyone else’s reckoning. When you were the last man on Earth, fashion didn’t really come into play.
“Let me help you, dear,” his mother said. As she came to stand
beside him, it was disturbing to note she was younger than him right now. Except for the brown hair and less baby fat she looked remarkably similar to how he had as a teenage girl. Her pale, dainty hands expertly worked the fabric of the tie to make it look perfect. “There you go.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he said, still feeling sixteen around her despite that he was more than twice that now. He turned to face her. “What do you think?”
“You look very handsome. My big strong boy.” She collapsed against him in a sobbing hug.
“Mom, come on, you’re going to get makeup all over it.”
“I’m sorry,” she said as she pulled back. She wiped the runny mascara from her eyes. “I’m so happy to see you again.”
“I’m happy to see you too.”
“Oh, I must look such a mess to you.”
“You’re very pretty,” he said and kissed her forehead. He was surprised to realize she would be pretty if she cleaned up and maybe if she did something with her hair. He mentally kicked himself that after all this time he could still think like a girl. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
“I’ll just get in the way. This is your moment.”
“Thanks.”
Despite this, Mom followed him all the way out to the car. She stood in the driveway to wave as he pulled away. She would probably be there for the next hour in case he changed his mind. Now that she was young again, maybe he could find her a man—or woman—so she would have someone else to smother with kindness.
He could have run into Focal City in a couple of seconds, but he didn’t want to show up as Velocity Man. For this he needed to be Dr. Alan Bass. And there was no way the gift in the backseat could have survived at superspeed.
Most of the city didn’t have power, which meant he would have to climb up twenty stories. It would be a test of endurance, but he’d survived a lot worse in his time alone. As he started up the stairs, he wished he could explain all of that to Sally. She couldn’t understand; no one really could. He had lived an entire lifetime in a future he hoped would never happen now. He survived for sixty years with no one to talk to, not even a dog or cat or goldfish. There were only the plants growing wild through the remains of humanity.
Girl Power Omnibus (Gender Swap Superhero Fiction) Page 74
