The lines at Service Ontario were already huge by the time I arrived at 8am – not quite around the block, but long enough.  Arrayed before me were dozens upon dozens of people who had been changed – there were otter folk, catfolk, wolf people, and stranger not-human hybrids.  Some looked like elves and dwarves from fantasy RPGs, while others looked pretty normal.  I wonder if some of them had changed sex like I had?  I sighed at the huge lineup, and took a place at the end of the line, next to a young goat-girl that looked kind of like a female satyr.  She was shorter than average – maybe 5’2” and slender, with a cute mop of red hair on her head and a smattering of freckles.

 

                “Hi.”  She said.  “I’m Barb.  Did you change too?”

 

                I smiled.  “Yeah. I used to be male.  Whatever happened did this.”  I replied, motioning to my body.  “My name is Karen – or it will be once I get my paperwork sorted out.”

 

                She smiled back.  “Karen is a nice name.  Does it feel weird?” 

 

                “Yeah, a bit – but only because I’m not used to it.  I actually like my change a lot.”  Karen replied.

 

                Barb blushed, and bit her lip.  “I like my change too.  It doesn’t feel weird to me either – even having hooves doesn’t feel too weird.  Do you have any idea why that is?”

 

                “Not really.  I don’t think anyone does.  No one knows why this happened.”

 

                “Oh…  I was just curious, I guess.”  Barb looked a bit shy, and lapsed into silence.

 

                It seemed Barb needed some space, so I checked my phone – no texts from Shelly yet.  Darn!  At least the weather wasn’t too bad for late November.  It was cold, but not frigid, and although the sky seemed a bit overcast and threatened snow, it had yet to manifest.  Winter in Canada was long and hard, and it was just about to arrive.  That morning, the rollover news had said to expect six to eight inches of snow in the first storm of the season.  I sincerely hoped they were wrong, but part of me knew it was just wishful thinking.  This would probably be the last morning without snow on the ground until mid April. 

 

                I stood and waited.

 

 

*              *              *

 

 

                “Hey, Girl!”  I heard Shelly call out.

 

                I smiled. “Hey to you too!”  I replied.  I had been waiting with Barb in line for about an hour and a half, and we figured we only had about another 45 minutes before we could get inside and see someone.  The line was moving, but slowly, and some people had come out more than a little disappointed.

 

                “How’s it going?” She asked, stepping up and giving me a hug.  Shelly was short – about 5ft 4 inches, with a slender curvy build that was cute as hell.  She had long light brown hair and blue eyes, and her smile could light up a room. 

 

                “Not bad.”  I said, grinning. 

 

                “Oh my god, look at you!”  Shelly gushed. “You look like a blonde amazon!”

 

                “Yup.”  I replied.  “Minus the amazon powers.”

 

                “I don’t know,” she began. “I think you’d look good dressed up as Wonder Woman.”

 

                I thought of what I might look like in amazon garb, and smiled, blushing fiercely.  I would look crazy hot!  I liked the idea of that, a lot.  “Maybe.”

 

                “No Maybe.  Definitely.”  Shelly asserted.  “You look great!”

 

                “Thanks, Shelly.”  I paused.  “Oh – Shelly,” I began, motioning to Barb.  “This is my friend Barb.  She got changed too, and needs new ID like I do.  We’ve been hanging out in line.”

 

                Barb smiled, and held out her hand.  “Hi.  I’m Barb.  I kinda got turned into a goat girl or something.  At least the photo on my driver’s license looks the same – that may help out a lot.  I guess Karen needs someone to vouch for her?”

 

                “Hi Barb.”  Shelly replied.  “Yeah.  That’s why I’m here – that and moral support.”

 

                “Cool.  It’s nice to meet you.”  Barb replied.

 

                The three of us just chatted about the Emergence, and the government’s response so far to it, until we finally entered the building.  Eventually we made it to the front of the line.

 

                “I guess that’s me next.”  Barb said as the line moved forward.  “It was nice meeting you, Karen – and you as well, Shelly.”

 

                “It was nice meeting you too!”  Karen replied.

 

                Barb went forward, and Karen and Shelly were up next.  By now it was close to 11am, and we were getting both hungry and cranky at standing in line for so long.

 

                My number came up, and I went up to the kiosk window with Shelly beside me.  A male clerk was behind the glass, looking rather frazzled.  “Hello. How can I help you?”

 

                “Um…  I got changed during the Emergence, and I don’t resemble my ID anymore.”  I began.  “I need to reclaim my identity and get new ID.”

 

                “And your name, miss?”  The clerk asked.

 

                “Um… I guess the name on my ID is Kevin Castle.  I used to be a guy.”

 

                “Are you transitioning?”  he asked.

 

                “Well, no – not medically.  I got changed by the event that happened a few nights ago.”

 

                “Is that the only change that happened – your gender?”

 

                “No.  I got younger too – I figure I’m about 19 to 20 physically.  I used to be 40.”

 

                The clerk thought for a few moments.  “We can go through the identity reclaiming process for you, sir – but I guarantee it will take months.  You’ll also need witnesses and the signature of a lawyer or notary public.  If all you need is updated ID, we can instead treat you like you were transitioning, and get you Name change forms and forms to change your gender marker on your birth certificate.”

 

                “What do I need to do that?”  Karen asked.

 

                “You need a note from your doctor that you’ve seen someone for gender dysphoria, and have been transitioning for a while.  It’ll need to be signed by a notary public too, and there’s a fee for both the ID change and the gender marker change.”

                Shelly looked at Karen, and shook her head.  “You can’t get that stuff, can you?”

 

                “I don’t know.”  I replied.  My psychologist, Janice Wolf was pretty good about things like that, but I wasn’t sure if she would lie to get me ID.  “I’ll begin the process of reclaiming my identity, but I’ll take the papers for my name and gender markers too, okay?”

 

                “Sure.”  The clerk handed me two booklets of forms – several pages each with tons of small print – one for name change, and one for gender marker change, and gave me a plastic ticket with a number 71 on it.  “Go wait in the room over there – they’ll call you when they’re able.”  The clerk wasn’t exactly surly, but he wasn’t exactly friendly either.  Kind of disinterested and harried.

 

                “Thanks.”  I said, taking the forms.  “Let’s go.” 

 

                Shelly and I walked over to the crowded waiting room to find at least three dozen people waiting – from young to old, some alone and others had entire families.  It was a zoo, and I sighed when I saw the number on the digital readout… ‘Now Serving 54.’  It was going to be a long wait.  Barb was here waiting as well, and I waved at her from across the room.  She smiled and waved back, but there was nowhere for us to sit nearby, so Shelly and I grabbed what seats we could and waited.

 

 

*              *              *

 

                Two and a half hours later, the room hadn’t thinned out at all – if anything, there were more people in the waiting room than before – standing or sitting in the aisles since there weren’t enough chairs or room for everyone.  It smelled of unwashed bodies, deodorant, stress and fear.  At least 80% of the people waiting had been physically changed into human-like but not quite human creatures – and the rest (like me) looked like regular people.  The sign now said “Serving 69”, which made me relax somewhat, even though both Shelly and I were cranky, hungry and tired of waiting.  It was now 1:30pm going on 2pm and we were both glad to be near the end of it for now.

 

                “All this for a few forms, huh?”  Shelly asked, drolly.

 

                “Really.”  I agreed. Today’s wait was extremely slow, even for Service Ontario standards.  “You want to go somewhere to eat after we’re done here?”  I asked.

 

                “Oh god, yes!”  Shelly replied, her stomach rumbling.  “I didn’t grab breakfast.  Just a coffee.”

 

                “There’s a good Mexican place nearby – we could get tacos?” 

 

                “Sounds good.  You still buying?” Shelly asked.

 

                “Yeah. It’s the least I can do for making you wait all damn day with me.”

 

                “Awesome.  Thanks, Karen.”

 

                I smiled, and patted her hand.  Barb had gone in a few moments ago, and we were up next.  A few minutes passed, and ‘Now Serving 71’ popped up, and we grabbed our purses and coats and went towards the small office waiting for us. 

 

                A middle ages woman with a name tag that said “Courtney” was waiting for us.  We sat down, and I said “Hello.”

 

                “Hello, ma’am. How can Service Ontario help you today?”  Courtney asked.

 

                “I need to reclaim my identity.  My name is Kevin Castle, and during that event, I changed to look like this.”  I told her.  “I need new ID cards and all that.”

 

                “Of course.  You’ll need to fill out these forms,” she said, handing me three different sets of forms – two of which I already had – the Gender Markers form and the Name Change form – and a third one “Statement of Identity.”  “You’ll need to fill them out, along with any appropriate doctors’ notes, and include two documents from people vouching for your identity.  All three forms will need to be signed and stamped by a lawyer or notary public, and the fee for all three forms to be filed is $565.45.  It will take six to eight weeks to process once you submit the completed forms, and your new ID will be mailed to you at that time.”

 

                “Wait!”  said Shelly.  “I’m here, right now!  Can’t I vouch for her?”

 

                “No ma’am.  We have to have the three notarized documents to begin the identity reclamation process.”

 

                “You do realize that a lot of people won’t be able to come up with nearly $600 in legal fees to do this, don’t you?”  Karen replied.  “This is outrageous!”

 

                Courtney looked annoyed at our anger.  “Look, Mr. Castle, this is the process.  If you don’t like it, please call your local MPP and see if they can do something.  Maybe you can get family or friends to help you pay for it.”

 

                “I can pay for it – that’s not the point!”  Karen replied, equally annoyed.  “What about the people who can’t afford it?”

 

                “I can’t answer for those people.”  Courtney replied.  “Is there anything else?”

 

                Karen sat there, fuming, her frustrations overflowing into anger.  She felt her eyes start to warm up, and she blanched, trying to calm herself down.  NO!  she thought.  Not again!  In her minds eye, she could still see the rays of lambent fire coming from her eyes and cutting into the Precision Telecom building.  She could still see it falling on those poor people.  She closed her eyes, blinking away tears, and got up to leave, grabbing the forms to take with her.  “Fine, ma’am.  I hope you can sleep at night.”  She turned to Shelly and muttered “Let’s go.”

 

                “What happened in there?”  Shelly asked.  “You looked really pissed off – like you were gonna tear a strip off her, when you just went pale and left.  What happened? Are you okay?”

 

                I didn’t talk until we were outside, and well away from the line and people in general.  “No, Shelly.  I’m not okay.”

 

                “Want to talk about it?” She asked, looking concerned.

 

                “Yeah, but not here.  Let’s grab some food and a drink and we’ll talk in private.  I have more to tell you, and I don’t know what to do about it.”  Karen brushed away an errant tear, and rubbed her red eyes.  “That woman was distinctly unhelpful.”

 

                “I know – all that time for three forms?  What a pain in the ass… and now you’ll have to do it all over again once you get the forms filled out.”  Shelly looked as frustrated as Karen did.

 

                “Yeah, I know.  How about we get some food?” Karen asked.

 

                “Definitely.”

 

 

*              *              *

 

 

                A short while later, we were sitting at a table in a Mexican restaurant called ‘Big Fat Burrito,’ with what remained of a nice meal and some sodas in front of us.  The burrito’s had been great – large servings, for a very affordable price, and Shelly had got a laugh or two when I discovered the handsome young man behind the counter had written his phone number on my burrito.  I still blushed a bit, thinking about it.  I guess that’s going to happen now, isn’t it?  I asked myself.  I kind of liked the extra attention.  It felt good.

 

                “Hey, Earth to Karen?” 

 

                “Guh!”  I startled.  “Sorry, Shelly.  I was day dreaming for a moment.  I’m not used to the extra attention.”

 

                She smiled slyly.  “You mean from handsome burrito guy?”  she whispered.  “He looked in to you.”

 

                “Maybe, but I’m not into him.”  I muttered.  “He’s handsome enough, but he’s not… he’s not what I’m looking for.”  I tried for a moment to imagine what I was looking for, and images of Eddie flashed before me.  I couldn’t help but blush.

 

                “Something tells me you have someone in mind, though.”  Shelly pushed.  “Boy or girl, if I might ask?”

 

                “Boy, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”  Karen said, trying to deflect Shelly away from the topic.  “It’s about what happened in the office with that annoying clerk.”

 

                “Oh, okay.”  Shelly replied, getting more serious.  “What about it?”

 

                “I didn’t just change into a girl on the day of the emergence.”  I began.  “I also got superpowers.”

 

                “What!?  That’s awesome, Karen!”

 

                “No, it isn’t.”  I replied, sadly.  “I didn’t know how to control them.  I destroyed the Precision Telecom building.  I accidentally killed people.  Twelve people were crushed by the rubble of the building, and I don’t know how to deal with it.”  Tears began falling down my cheeks.  “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.  I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but by the time I figured out how to shut the power off, the damage was done.”

 

                “Oh my god, honey!”  Shelly replied, and slid over to my side of the booth and gave me a hug.  “It’s okay.  It’s not your fault.”

 

                “It is, and it isn’t.”  I said, tears now streaming down my face, Shelly’s head nestled against my bosom.  “I did it – but I didn’t mean to.  I don’t even know how to begin dealing with it.  I killed people.  I… I did that.”

 

                Shelly looked up at me, and very sternly grabbed my chin and looked into my eyes.  “It. Was. An. Accident.  Period.  Full stop.  It wasn’t your fault.”

 

                I pulled away, trying to deny what she said – but deep down I knew it was true.  It was tragic that those people got crushed – and it was my fault in that a power I had not asked for did the damage that killed them – but in no way did I intend to kill them, nor would I ever have.  I grimaced sadly…  “You know, technically that’s the definition of manslaughter.”

 

                “Maybe.”  Shelly said, “But I think you could argue that no one on Earth could have been prepared for what happened.  It’s not like you knew what you were doing – and it’s not like it was criminal negligence.  I mean who the hell has superpowers in real life.  It wasn’t your fault.”

 

                I nodded, and brushed away my tears.  “I’m okay, I think.”

 

                “Okay.”  Shelly slipped out of my side of the booth, and back to her seat.  “So if you’re okay, what are you going to do about it?”

 

                “I don’t know.  Not yet anyway.”  I replied. 

 

                “So what powers do you have?”  Shelly asked.  “I mean, you got a power, right?”

 

                “Yeah.  I got several.”

 

                “Several?!  Spill, girl!”

 

                Karen looked around.  There was no one nearby. “I’m basically Power Girl.”  I said quietly.

 

                “You mean Supergirls’ grown up clone from another universe?  For real?” 

 

                “Yup.”  Karen whispered.  “Pretty much.”

 

                “How is that possible?  Does that mean you’re an alien now?”  Shelly whispered back.

 

                “I don’t know.  I could be human but with powers, or the Emergence made me a comic book alien. I don’t know how this works any better than you do.  I don’t think anyone does.”  I replied quietly, a little frustrated.

 

                “Whoa!”  Shelly looked poleaxed.  “You could be an alien?”

 

                “I don’t know… What’s the difference between me being a possible Kryptonian and some of the people we saw today being virtual elves and dwarves and satyrs.  I’d say the distinction between what’s human and what isn’t got a lot fuzzier in the past few days – and it kind of scares me.”

 

                “Why?” 

 

                “Well, you know how rabid the white supremacists are about racial purity, right?  What happens when one twentieth of the population is actually non-human, and possesses dangerous abilities that make them legitimate menaces – even if they would never use these abilities.  The racists might get a LOT more people on their side, simply out of fear of the emerged – except it won’t be whites versus blacks, it’ll be Humans versus Emerged.  That’s why I’m scared.”

 

                “Do you think it could happen in Canada?”  She asked.

 

                “Yeah.  People didn’t think fascism would come to the USA – but look at Trump’s regime, with the kids in concentration camps.  It crept in – and if it can sneak into America, it can creep into Canada too.”  Karen replied.  “It happened in slo-mo in the United States – but it could happen a hell of a lot faster if the wrong people get behind it.  They could have camps for people like me open in less than two weeks – and have us tattooed and imprisoned in about the same time.  Don’t think it couldn’t happen.”

               
                Both the girls were quiet for a few moments afterwards, letting that unhappy thought sink in.

               

                “It’s still cool you’re Power Girl.”  Shelly said quietly.

 

                “Yeah, I know.  I’m thinking about signing up for the Metahuman Response Team the prime minister was talking about yesterday.  It pays well, and I think I could make a difference.  I haven’t decided yet, though.  I wanted to take some time and think it over.”  I replied.

 

                “I think you should totally do it.”  Shelly said.

 

                “What?  Why?”  I asked.

               

                “Because it’s totally you.  You always play big damn heroes when we game, you barely swear except when you’re alone, and you’re a total goody two-shoes.”

 

                “I am not always a goodie two-shoes!”  I argued.  “I can be bad if I want to!”

 

                Shelly laughed out loud.  “Yeah, right!  And you’d be upset and moping for days after trying to be bad.  Face it, Karen, you’re not the bad guy.  It just isn’t in you to be.”

 

                “I’m no heroine.” I replied.  “I’m a crappy person.  I make mistakes.  I accidentally hurt people.  I don’t even know if I should have all the powers I have.  I certainly don’t deserve them.”

 

                “Bullshit.”  Shelly replied, stone faced.  “You’re one of the kindest, nicest people I know and have ever met, and you hate hurting people – which is why that accident hurts you so much.  Yeah you make mistakes – who doesn’t?  But when you do, you try to make sure it never happens again.  You would be so careful with your powers you might be the only person I would trust to have them.  Seriously – it’s like Clark Kent is your Spirit Guide.  You’re a good person, Karen.  Yeah, you’re not perfect – but you don’t have to be.  You’re allowed to be fallible.”

 

                I thought about that a while.  Maybe I could be a heroine.  Maybe I was worthy – at least to try and do my best.  Maybe I would fall – but Shelly was right.  I would get up, figure out  what went wrong, and make sure it never happened again.  “Sorry about the pity party.  I guess I was just feeling down on myself.”

 

                “No problem, honey.  My bill is in the mail.”  She laughed.

 

                “Want to go back to my place to see the stuff I bought yesterday?”  I asked, trying to lift myself from my maudlin mood.

 

                “Hell, yeah!”

 

                We settled our bill, and headed home to my apartment.