Once outside Eddie’s apartment building, I could see the pleasant streets of Toronto’s East Village.  It was a pretty nice area – but now, with my extended hearing, I could hear screams of fear, police, ambulance and fire sirens, and the ‘pop, pop, pop’ of distant gunfire.  Gunfire is kind of funny – it doesn’t sound like it does in the movies in real life.  It’s a bit like hearing a firework in the distance, with dozens of little sounds, rather than a loud ‘bang!’  I realized I didn’t know where to go next, nor what to do.

 

                I took a moment to try and catalog what I’d already done – what abilities I might have.  Telescopic hearing and sight, infravision, X-ray vision, heat vision.  That’s a ton of new senses, I thought.  I also somehow jumped or flew into the ceiling at work, smashed it, and fell back down – and didn’t get hurt… so maybe super-leaping and toughness?  I thought about it for a moment… leaping would take care of getting around if needed, and the toughness would be good if someone shot me – but I wondered if it would be protection enough to not get hurt?

 

                In the end, my waffling didn’t matter. I heard a popping noise on a nearby rooftop – it was the roof of a dry cleaners down the street, about a block and a half away, followed by a moan of pain that sounded like it came from a young woman.  This popping noise sounded different from the gunfire sounds, so I headed down that way to check it out.  I shuffled at first, to try and control my legs so I didn’t jump accidentally – but as I grew more confident, I began to take steps and then strides.  Yes!  At least I could run again! 

 

                The woman on the roof’s voice grew scared.  I heard her mutter “That’s not good,” and groan in pain.  I ran up to the building – and suddenly, as I was running, I felt something in me click, and time slowed down…  The popping sound of gunfire sounded very slow and drawn out and the sirens of the police and ambulance had gone from warbles to drawn out screams.  I blinked, and tried to stop – and I was at the base of the dry cleaners – over a block away in less than 2 seconds.  “Super speed too?” I muttered to myself.  “What the hell?  How many powers do I have?”

 

                “Hey!”  I called out.  “I can hear you up there.  Are you all right?”  There was no answer.

 

                I’ve got to get to the roof… I guess I’ll have to try jumping.  I thought, wondering just how high I could jump.  Maybe just a teeny jump?  I hopped – hoping it would be the right amount of strength – and went hurtling into the sky!  “Aaaaaah!” I screamed, and I couldn’t believe my eyes, but I soared over 80ft up, paused, and began to fall – this time towards the roof of the dry cleaners.  I could see the whole roof – with furnace vents, air conditioning vents and a young woman lying in a pool of blood.  I winced and began to fall, bracing for impact – and landed with a thump.  I stood there, wild eyed, looking left and right.  I had done it!  I was on the roof! 

I moved over to the wounded girl.  My newfound breasts ached horribly – my button down shirt wasn’t sufficient to contain them.  I was going to need a sports bra, or something similar to hold them down or tonight was going to be miserable.  My wife had possessed large breasts, and she had hated every moment of them.  I could see why, if they caused this much discomfort.

 

                Whatever force or magic had transformed me had done the same to her.  She looked for all the world like a a humanoid otter, but still female, still rather pretty.  She was bleeding from a nasty wound in her stomach, and she recoiled from me in terror, squeaking in fear.

 

                “Stay away!  Please!”  She cried, obviously terrified.

 

                “Hey, hey, I’m not going to hurt you.  I heard you arrive here from down the street. Are you okay?  You look hurt.”

 

                “Some asshole thought I was a monster and shot me.  I’m losing a lot of blood.  I think I need a doctor, but I’m scared they’ll try and hurt me too.”  The otter girl was crying – whether from pain or stress I didn’t know.

 

                “How did you get here?”  I asked, trying to relax and calm the young woman.  “I got changed by that flash of light and thunder – and now I look different and can jump.  I assume something similar happened to you?”

 

                She sniffed, and rubbed some tears out of her eyes.  “Yeah.  The lights happened, and it hurt a lot – and when I came to, I was an otter person.  When I got shot, I got scared – I wanted to get away, and the next thing I knew I was here.  I just want it to stop!  Please, can you make this go away?  Put me back to normal?”

 

                I shook my head.  “I don’t think I can, miss.  I could get you to a hospital, though.  There’s one not too far from here. What’s your name?”

 

                “Will they hurt me?”  She asked, scared.  She was getting weaker by the minute, and was growing colder to my infravision. “My name is Melissa.”

 

                “I don’t think so, Melissa – they’re doctors.  They’ll try and help you.”

 

                “Please.”

 

                I walked over, and gently picked her up – she must have weighed maybe 140 pounds, but to me her weight barely felt like a feather.  “You’ll be okay, Melissa,” I said.  “I promise.”  With that, I leapt off the roof onto the ground, and ran towards the hospital.  I didn’t know exactly where the hospital was, but I knew the sounds of the emergency room, the ambulances, and the worried patients would direct me there as I got closer.  Again as I ran, I could feel that slowing of things around me – and my speed kicked in.

 

                I have no idea how fast I was going – but to my eyes, it seemed like traffic was virtually standing still, and in maybe 20 seconds I had reached the local hospital.  I pulled myself to a stop just outside the Emergency department entrance, and a gust of wind and windblown debris puffed against my back, as some paramedics startled as I simply ‘appeared’ in front of them.

 

                “Excuse me, gentlemen.”  I said, sounding more confident than I felt, and shouldered past them, inside.  I rushed over to the admitting desk, and called out.  “Help!  She needs some help!”

 

                A few people who had been at the head of the line looked shocked and frightened, although whether it was from all the blood Melissa was losing, or it was from the fact she had changed so dramatically, I couldn’t tell.   A nurse ran out to see her – and stopped in shock, looking at her appearance.

 

                “Is… is she human?” the nurse asked. 

 

                “Yes.” I said, forcefully. “Her name is Melissa.  When those lights appeared in the sky, something happened and it changed her.  She was as human as you or me.  Some idiot shot her thinking she was a monster, and she’s losing a lot of blood.  Please, help!”

 

                The nurse took another look at the otter-girl, and shook her head as her professional reflexes kicked in.  “We’ve got her miss.”  The nurse said, calling for a stretcher which some nurses brought over.  In seconds, the trio of nurses had her on the stretcher, and were taking her immediately to an OR – operating room – where she was going to be treated.  I sighed, thankfully.  To be honest, I had wondered if one of the doctors or nurses would refuse to treat her.  Thank god this is Canada, and not the USA, I thought.

 

                “Excuse me, miss?”  a harried nurse asked.

 

                “Umm…yes?”  I stupidly replied.  I was called ‘miss.’  It made me grin.  I could get used to that.

 

                “That woman… Do you know her full name.  Does she have OHIP?”

 

                “No, sorry.  All she told me was that her name is Melissa – I don’t have a last name.  I assume she has OHIP – but she didn’t have a purse with her when I found her, so I don’t know.”

 

                The nurse nodded. “That’s okay.  We’ll worry about it later, once she pulls through.  Are you a friend?”

 

                “Maybe one day.  I was just a passer-by who found her hurt and needing help.”

 

                “Could I get your name, and a phone number, just in case we need someone to contact?”  She asked.

 

                I stared, confused for a moment.  I needed a new name… but giving it here might out me later.  Ah, hell.  “Karen.  Karen Castle.”  I’d liked the name Karen for a long time – and Karen Castle just had a snappy ring to it.  I just never had thought I’d be brave enough to change my name to it, before yesterday.  Karen.  I liked the sound of that.  I shook out of my momentary reverie and gave the nurse my cell number, too, so they could contact me if anything major developed.

 

                “Thanks, ma’am.”  I said to the nurse.

 

                “You’re welcome.  I hope she pulls through.  Is this happening all over the city?  She’s not the first person whose been changed that we’ve seen.”

 

                “I don’t know.”  I said.  “It might be happening all over the world. I saw on TV it was in the United States, too.”

 

                “Oh god, I hope not. Excuse me…”  She said – and before anything else could be said, two ambulances arrived, and she ran off to aid them.

 

                I guess that’s my cue to leave, I thought, and headed back out into the cool night air.  It was pretty cold, but it didn’t seem to really bother me.  Wearing only the button down shirt and the blazer from work, I should have been cold, but I wasn’t.  I was starting to see a pattern to these abilities.

 

                I mean, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see the pattern.  Super speed, super senses, leaping, toughness.  Was I turned into a frikking Kryptonian?  Like Superman?  I wondered – and at the same time I was scared to death – because if I got these powers, then what did other people get?  What would the government do to people like us? We would be a major threat in their mind, for sure.  Did only a few people get powers?  I didn't know, and it scared me, what might be coming.  A lot of people were going to get hurt tonight, unless someone helped calm all this chaos.

 

                I’d better get to work.

 

*              *              *

 

                I stared in shock at the scene before me…  To be fair, it was NOT what I expected, but given that hundreds, if not thousands of people had been mutated in Toronto tonight, I shouldn’t have been surprised.  A humanoid raccoon, armed with an assault rifle, a kevlar vest, and a bandolier of ammunition, was teamed up with a humanoid rhinoceros who was dressed like a common gangbanger, trashing the area and shooting at the police – and stupidly, the first thing I think of is ‘when did Rocket Raccoon, and Rocksteady from the teenage mutant ninja turtles start working together?’  My stupid haze lasted long enough for ‘Rocksteady’ to ram a police car, nose down, and toss it over his head like so much trash, scattering the four police officers who were using it for cover.  He looked immense – at least 8 feet tall, and covered in muscles and tough hide.

 

                Can I even hurt that guy?  I thought, shaking myself free of my temporary trance.  Worse yet, will the cops start shooting at me?  I might be tough, but am I bullet-proof?  I wasn’t keen to find out, but I wasn’t about to let these two maniacs kill some police officers either, so I gulped down my fear, and ran over to one of the policemen, who had leapt in my direction when ‘Rocksteady’ tossed the police car.

 

                The cop took one look at me, and shouted.  “Get out of here, lady!  These guys are dangerous!”

 

                “You’re damn right we’re dangerous!”  The rhino-man said in a deep voice.  It was rough, gravelly – and very deeply masculine.  It kind of reminded me of Johnny Cash.

 

                “Sir,” I whispered  “I think I can help.  I have powers – I can’t explain how.  I think I can help stop them.  Can you keep your friends from shooting me?”

 

                “You have powers?”  He looked confused.  “If you can help, we really need it.”

 

                I nodded, and stood up.  “Hey!”  I called, as I heard the frightened police officer retreat to cover along with his pals, with my super hearing.  “You two!  Playtime is over!” 

 

                They looked for a moment at me, and both of them burst out laughing.  I didn’t understand at first – then I realized what I must look like – wearing mismatched clothes that didn’t even come close to fitting properly, standing in the street in my sock feet with filthy socks, and a bosom threatening to bust loose from my button-down shirt.  I probably looked like a dork. 

 

                I realized I didn’t really like being laughed at.

 

                “I mean it.”  I said.  “Surrender – or else.”  I did my best to look fierce.  I felt fierce.

 

                The raccoon spoke up next.  “Ima just gonna waste her, Rhino.”  His voice sounded like a skeevy wise guy from an old 1940’s noir film. 

 

                I gulped. This was it – either I was bullet proof, or I was dead. “Hey Trash Panda!”  I called. “Take your best shot!”

 

                “What the fu…?  What the fuck did you just call me?”  Raccoon man asked.

 

                I smiled, and slowly enunciated the words clearly.  “Trash. Panda.”

 

                The raccoon man snarled, and brought his assault rifle to bear, and fired, holding the trigger down and hosing me with a hail of bullets.  Rhino watched avidly, like he was wanting to see the gory results.

 

                I felt stings – like the sting you feel when you’re hit by a paintball, but a little less painful than that – and I grinned.   The bullets bounced off me – although my pants and shirt had seen better days.  How come superman’s costume didn’t shred?  I wondered.  Either way, I was bulletproof!

 

                Suddenly, the hail of bullets ended, and the raccoon man was standing there looking stupid, with his mouth open and his gun pointed at the ground.  “How in the fuck are you still standing?”  he muttered to himself.

 

                I looked at the gun…  Could I use the heat vision like I did at work, but keep it under control?  Maybe.  I concentrated on the gun barrel, near the stock and tried to let the heat out – the light I felt inside me.  At first nothing happened, but then I felt it.  My eyes grew warm – then hot – and then the gun started glowing cherry red and warped, and Raccoon man screamed and dropped the gun to the ground, clutching his burned hand.  I clamped down on the heat, and tried to ‘put it away’ so I wouldn’t accidentally fry someone or something.

 

                I was concentrating so hard, I didn’t exactly see the Rhino charging me – but I heard it – and I tried to get my attention back to him, to brace for his attack, but I didn’t have enough time.  Something rammed into me, hitting like a freight train to my gut, and I folded over his fist as his punch lifted me off the ground and threw me a dozen yards backwards through a plate glass window.

 

                As I lay in the wreckage of what once was a small jewelry shop, I realized that even that blow from the Rhino had sent me flying, but didn’t seriously hurt me.  I felt a bit bruised, and a bit dazed and out of breath.  I grinned, and got to my feet.  Rhino was ignoring me for the moment, and checking on his raccoon man friend, who was still clutching his hand.  Both of them had gone and taken cover from behind the crushed police car Rhino had trashed as I came upon the scene.   

 

                I stepped out of the ruined storefront, and motioned for the police to get back.  I could hear them calling for backup, and hear them reloading their guns.  Neither of the beast-men noticed me as yet.  I wondered if I could hit as hard as Rhino could?  I guess it was time to find out.  I charged, fast – but not as fast as I could go, and slammed into the Rhino in a running tackle, elbowing him right around his right kidney.

               

                The beast-man let out a groan of pain, and staggered back twenty feet, stumbling as he tried to keep his feet – and ended up tripping over the curb as his ungainly stumble reached the far side of the road.  He slammed to the pavement with a groan, clutching his back.  Raccoon man – the one I had dubbed Trash Panda – pulled a wicked looking knife, and brandished at me. 

 

                “Stay back!  I’ll cut ya!”  he cried out, obviously nervous, and favoring his burnt right hand.  The hand that held the knife – his left – was obviously not his dominant hand.

 

                “I can’t do that.”  I replied.  “Either surrender to the police, or I have to subdue you.”

 

                “Why?  Who made you a friggin cop, lady?  What the fuck do you care what I do?”  Trash Panda looked more frustrated and resigned than arrogant – and it was clear the fight was going out of him.

 

                “No one made me a cop.”  I replied.  “But anyone who sees a maniac shooting an assault rifle with no regard for who he hits or whose in the line of fire, needs to act.  You’re a psycho, and a dangerous one at that.”

 

                He could see the cops rallying, beginning to surround him, and he gave up, raising his hands and dropping the knife.  “This aint over, lady”  he muttered in his wise guy voice, and I shrugged.  It was over for now, and the shooting had stopped. 

 

                I looked to see where Rhino had fallen; he was running away as quickly as he could – which was surprisingly fast.  He was already a block away.  I raced after him, catching him in seconds – he was running at a good clip – maybe 50 to 60 kph – so for me to catch him so quickly, I had to be going ridiculously fast.  Damn!

 

                I appeared in front of him – about 60feet away – and he came to a stop. 

 

                “You gonna make this difficult, Blondie?”  He asked.

 

                “Sorry, yes. Unless you want to surrender.”  I said.

 

                “Hell, no!”  He replied.  “I’d rather grind your face with my boot.  Cops are pigs.” 

 

                Before I could react, he charged me – and caught me full on with his lowered horn.  This time, I could feel the impact – and it really hurt – as he slammed into me.  The horn caught me in the belly – and somehow, it didn’t pierce my skin, but it did succeed in ripping my shirt to shreds – along with whatever was left of my dignity.  I whuffed as the air left my lungs, and felt myself flung into the air, seeing stars. My head hit something, and I heard the sound of breaking glass.  It didn’t hurt much, but I did wonder what I hit.  I gasped for breath, wincing at the pain of the beating my poor ribs and guts took, and tried to get my bearings – I think the term ‘ass over teakettle’ fit the bill perfectly.  I fell hard to the ground, and lay there for a moment catching my breath.

 

                “Holy shit, girl, you’ve got an epic rack!”  Rhino called out, following with what sounded like his approximation of a wolf whistle.  “Too bad I’m going to crush you.” He walked over, his booted feet crunching on the debris my ungainly catapulting had created.

 

                I struggled to my knees, my ungainly breasts dangling free of my tattered shirt.  Great, I thought.  It looks like I’m fighting crime au natural today.  I hope to god no one is filming this.  I heard the Rhino walking over.  He was strong, but when he wasn’t charging, he wasn’t fast.  I am.  An idea forms in my head, and I grin.  Let’s show Rhino what fast really means.

 

                Then, he was next to me, looming over me, and ready to stomp.  I looked up – and from my kneeling position, sprinted.  I don’t know how to say it, except I ‘blurred’ I was going so fast.  Rhino was obviously confused by my speed, but I immediately realized the gigantic flaw in my plan… my new boobs, unconstrained, hurt like hell as I ran, and they… they flopped everywhere.  I nearly felt like I took out my own eye!  Clutching them to my chest with one arm, I knew I had to change plans – that my original plan to scoot super fast and punch him down wasn’t going to work.  How do women survive with these things if they hurt like this?  I thought to myself.  Oh my god!

                I didn’t know what to do for a moment, so I stopped behind him, kind of aiming him towards the parked car he had charged me into, and I kicked him in the butt as hard as I could.  The kick was a bit ungainly – with most of my womanly bits flopping about, but it served its purpose.  I caught him completely by surprise, and he yelled in pain as he was propelled by my kick into the wreck of the damaged car.

 

                Much to my surprise, the car exploded in a kind of aluminum and steel confetti, and Rhino went through the aluminum and steel debris into the stone wall of the building behind it – it looked like one of those places that bought and sold used gold and silver.  The wall collapsed, leaving a hole, and looking inside, I could see Rhino lying unconscious.  A quick scan with my X-ray vision showed me he didn’t have any broken bones – but it was obvious he was down for the count.

 

                I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and dragged him slowly back to the cops, slowly growing more and mortified at my current state of undress.  This is really embarrassing!  I thought.  As I came back into sight, I saw what looked like a SWAT van trying to take Trash Panda into custody, and I was greeted to the unwelcome sight of eight very scared police officers pointing guns at me.

 

                “Umm… Please don’t shoot me.”  I said.  “I’m trying to help.  I think this guy belongs to you.”  As I said that, I held up Rhino’s unconscious body, and dropped him at their feet.  I waited to see what they would do.

 

                One of the cops – the guy I had first talked to when I came on the scene, spoke up.  “Hey guys, she’s legit.  She’s been trying to help us since the fight began.”  He turned to me, looking concerned.  “Are you okay, ma’am?”

 

                I grinned.  Ma’am.  I liked being called Ma’am.  “I’m sore and bruised,” I replied.  “But what I really need is some clothes, and one or more sports bras, or I won’t be helping anyone else tonight.”

 

                There were some chuckles, and some knowing looks, especially from some of the female cops present.  They knew my pain.

 

                One of the lady cops nodded.  “I’ll give you a hand, ma’am.”  She said.  “I can whip you over to Wal-Mart and grab you some sweats or something, and a sports bra or two.”

 

                Thank god, I thought!  “That would be really nice, miss…?”

 

                “Police constable Jessica Forrest.”  She replied, smirking.

 

                One of the more senior cops – a man in his late thirties - motioned for the others to stand down, and I sighed with relief as the guns went away.  “Ma’am.” He began.  “How is it you can do what you did?  Do you have any idea what in the hell is going on tonight?”

 

                I tried to put on a reassuring face, and nodded.  “I don’t know what caused it, exactly – but there was a huge lightning strike and flash of light earlier today.  When the lights flashed, a bunch of people got changed.  Some mutated into animal men, like Trash Panda and Rhino there,” I said pointing at the two criminals.  “But other people changed, and got… well I know it sounds stupid, but some people got superpowers, like me.”

 

                He nodded – apparently I had confirmed what he thought.  “And do you have any sort of police training, miss…?”

 

                I blushed.  I don’t have a name… I can’t use my own.  Shit!  I thought furiously, and the obvious – Supergirl or Power Girl, caused potential lawsuits to dance before my eyes.  I stuttered for a moment, then stood a bit taller.  “Call me Guardian, for now, Sir.  I’d really like to keep my identity private.”

 

                “Well, I’m not sure how you can keep it private without a mask, Miss Guardian, but okay. We could really use your help tonight, if you’re willing.  A lot of these superhumans are causing damage, and attacking people.  There are a dozen fires all over the city and the Fire department is having difficulty manning all the blazes.  Paramedics are overloaded, and the hospital emergency rooms are all overflowing.  Anything you can do would be a help.”

 

                “I’m not sure what I can do yet,” I said.  “I’m still working it out as I go.  I’ll do what I can.  Can you call your precinct or station and let them know I’m helping, so I don’t get arrested or shot?”

 

                “Can do, Miss Guardian.”  The man said.

 

                “Thank you.”  I sighed. Maybe tonight was going to be alright.  “Constable Forrest, could we go get those clothes now?”

 

                She nodded. “Sure thing.  Hop in the back.”

 

                I did, and a few moments later, had a blanket thrust at me by my constable friend.  She looked at me, and smiled.  “So you’re not baring all when we go into Wal-Mart, Guardian.”

 

                “Thanks, Constable.”  I replied as she climbed into the driver’s seat.

 

                “Call me Jessica,” she said, throwing the police car into gear, and driving off towards the nearest Wal-mart.

 

                “Jessica it is.”  I said.