The bed felt luxuriously soft and I moaned softly, nuzzling into the equally soft pillow with a sleepy smile. Shifting my body, I became more aware of my surroundings. The ceiling was definitely different. It was a very light blue as opposed to the cream of my own room, and hanging down was a light fitting that was all glass and metal. Far more modern that the old light fitting that had been in my room.

I tried to move my hand to wipe some of the sleep from my eyes, and found that my hand was otherwise engaged. Weird, why was I holding someone’s hand? Wait… why was there someone in the bed with me? I extracted my hand in a rush and hurriedly turned over to find a drowsily blinking Maddy next to me.

“Maddy?” I squeaked.

She was wearing a cute set of dinosaur bone pajamas that were not at all buttoned up properly. Her hair was messy and everywhere, and it was most definitely her hand I had been holding.

“What… how… where are we? Am I at your house? How did I get here?” I babbled.

She seemed to come to some sort of realisation when her eyes flew wide and she launched herself into my arms squealing, “You’re awake! Oh my god, oh my god!”

“Um… yeah,” I mumbled, catching strands of her hair in my mouth by accident.

“You wouldn’t wake up! It’s only been like sixteen hours or something but you wouldn’t wake up after I got here and…” Maddy bubbled, her voice unable to choose between being upset and being happy.

I was having trouble following her words, in large part due to the fact that she was pressed softly against me from face in my neck to breasts to our hips. I had no idea how to react to this… last I remembered I was using my new weird gravity powers to punt a human bomb into the upper atmosphere. How are you meant to react when a cute girl jumps into your arms?

A snort from the doorway of the moderately sized room caught my attention and I looked over to find… Diana Monahan? The lead of the Design programme?

“I heard a commotion and thought you might be up. Didn’t expect to find this… although maybe I should have, considering how Madeline here turned down the offer of the second guest bedroom,” she chuckled softly.

Popping out from her place against my neck, Maddy said, “I was worried about her!”

“Yeah, I can see why,” Ms Monahan said wryly.

I felt myself turn beet red at her insinuation, and I started to push Maddy off me. Except… I couldn’t. Not because she was holding on to me tightly or anything, but because I couldn’t bring myself to do so. She was excited to see me awake, and the fact she gave a shit felt pretty good.

“How am I here?” I asked instead, deflecting away from the warm ache that her soft curves were instilling in my groin.

“I could ask the same question actually,” Ms Monahan replied, “I found you propped up against my front door after someone knocked on it.”

“Wait really?” I frowned, starting to look down as I always did when I was in thought, only to bury my face in Maddy’s hair. Oh gosh she smelled good. Wait, shit that was creepy wasn’t it?

“Indeed… so tell me young lady, what were you up to last night that required a duffel bag with belongings and ended up in you being unconscious?” she asked mildly.

“U-uhhh,” I mumbled, gathering my thoughts, “I was… kicked out of my house. My parents found out… things. I packed my bags as fast as I could and ran away…”

I paused when I felt Maddy’s arms squeeze me sympathetically. Unable to breath for a second because of the weird positioning of her arms.

I cleared my throat softly and continued, “I was on the way to Maddy’s house to stay the night when the bus I was on got hit by a superpower. Suddenly a bunch of heroes and a villain were duking it out on the street and I got caught up in the middle.”

“That was you?” Maddy asked, exiting the embrace to look at me.

“I mean, not… well yeah kinda. There was a battle… I helped the heroes,” I trailed off, feeling embarrassed about the whole thing.

“Whoa, which ones?” Maddy asked with excitement dancing in her eyes.

“Um… Lavice for most of it, then Mystrix Pallas showed up at the end. The villain was Sunfall,” I grimaced. This was sounding like I was way cooler than I really am.

“Lavice! I heard she was battling last night! Was it awesome? Gosh and Pallas too! That must have been amazing!” Maddy gushed, her eyes filling with an almost obsessed light. She really loved the emergence and all the crazy shit it had brought into the world.

In the corner of my eye I saw Ms Monahan wince and shift awkwardly, “The power still hasn’t come back on you know. Things didn’t work out the best.”

“Yeah but it could have been so much worse! If Lavice and Pallas hadn’t been there to stop Sunfall it would have been way worse!” Maddy frowned, defending the heroes.

“Elsie too by the sounds of things? What exactly did you do to help?” Ms Monahan asked.

“I just… I used my powers to protect Lavice…” I said awkwardly.

“I’m sure she’s grateful for your protection then,” Ms Monahan smiled warmly.

“I don’t know. Mystrix Pallas was the one who turned up and stopped Sunfall. We just slowed him down,” I sighed.

Ms Monahan walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, “Slowing them down is just as important. You reduced civilian casualties.”

“Thanks,” I said with a small smile.

“Now, why don’t you two both get up and get dressed, I’m preparing lunch,” she said standing up and walking towards the door, “We can discuss what’s going on with you over some food.”

I nodded, then realised something. I’d never told Maddy my story… not really. I owed it to her to put the truth on the table, as terrifying as that might be. She’d be fine with it right? She had to be, she was a friend. Friends cared right? I could already feel anxiety welling up within me, taking control and trying to halt my sudden urge to clear the air. My parents hadn’t reacted well… but I’d known they wouldn’t. Ms Monahan was fine with it. She’d even been super helpful about it. I could do this!

“Sure, but I need to talk to Maddy about something first,” I said quietly, unable to meet either set of eyes looking at me.

“Sure. See you out here in a few minutes,” Ms Monahan nodded, then left and closed the door.

Maddy moved into my line of sight and asked, “What do we need to talk about?”

She seemed to also be a bit squirrely about this, which somehow made me feel slightly more confident.

“I um… haven’t been entirely truthful with you about who I am,” I sighed. 

She frowned and created a half foot of distance between us. I felt her absence immediately and wished she would come back. The absence of her warmth highlighting just how badly this could go.

“What do you mean?” she asked, searching my eyes.

“So… I was born Coby Earl Hartley. Assigned male at birth, as the acronym goes,” I told her, forcing each word out like it was made of razor blades.

“You’re… trans?” she gaped, her eyes running up and down my oversized T-Shirt clad body.

“Yes… and not the way you think either,” I breathed, forcing my anxiety down with a vicious effort of will, “I had no idea until the third emergence… the night I met you. I was turned into a girl. This girl. I made the name Elsie up on the spot, although it’s been made official since then.”

“No way…” she mumbled, getting closer again. She reached out with a tentative hand and touched my cheek curiously, “You Emerged into a girl? A really cute one…”

“Yup, and since then I realised I really like being this way. I changed everything to fit better… but my parents are the type to hate this,” I explained sadly.

“How did they react when you went home like this?” she asked breathlessly, her eyes diving into mine.

“I didn’t… I can swap between one and the other,” I cringed, breaking eye contact.

“Wow…”

“Yeah, except it’s even more complicated than that,” I groaned, placing my face in my hands.

“I find that hard to believe, but… we live in a post emergence world,” she laughed softly, placing a hand on my arm.

“My old form, or body… or whatever is changing to match this one. It was getting too hard to hide, and then some family came around for dinner last night and… things escalated. They saw me change. My dad told me never to come home,” I choked, unable to control the mixed emotions surging within me.

I felt a pair of soft arms envelop me again, and I leaned into the embrace with a whimper.

“So that’s why you got kicked out,” she remarked, gently stroking up and down my back with calming fingertips.

Emotions bubbled to the surface as it finally sank in that I had nowhere to live, but that I was free of them. Free of my family and all the hurt they inflicted on me. The tears came out before I realised they were on the way, and suddenly I was clinging to Maddy and sobbing my heart out. How do you recover from a life lived entirely under the thumb of anxiety and pain? Always knowing somewhere deep down that there was something wrong with the person your parents were forcing you to become?

Well I was free of that now. I was never going back, even if I had to live under a bridge somewhere, I was never going back. I’d never have the validity of my own emotions questioned. I’d never have to deal with overt comments on my inadequacy from my father and subtle ones from my mother. There were so many subtle ways my parents had undermined me, it was almost hard to spot them amongst each other. It would be years before I catalogued the damage.

Maddy held me until the outburst subsided, then leaned back and smiled lopsidedly at me, “You need food. Let’s go get food.”

“But… you don’t care?” I asked, my voice small and vulnerable.

“Of course not. You’re a girl, always have been. I am a little surprised, but… yeah,” she said with a shrug.

“You don’t mind that I called myself a lesbian even though I’m not really?” I mumbled.

She frowned and ducked her head a bit to get a better look at my downturned face, “I mean… you’re a girl who likes girls right? By definition that makes you a lesbian. If we even want to use definitions that is.”

“O-oh,” I smiled.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “You’re just as lesbian as me.”

We sat there grinning at each other for a while and I found my eyes roaming over her face. I felt a pang in my chest watching as she watched me. She was so fun, and kind, and caring… and everything. She was an amazing person and I was so glad she was my friend.

My eyes flicked back to hers and I felt the silence change to one that was charged with energy. Staring into my gaze with an open smile, she absently pushed a little wavy lock of hair out of her face. The little gesture sent even more pangs of something through my center and my face bloomed in warmth. What would she look like with that hair in disarray, panting and… Wow, horny much?

“Um, so… um. What you were.. I mean, shit. What are you doing here? In the house I mean?” I asked, stumbling over my words in a terrible attempt to cover for how I was beginning to feel having a cute girl in my bed

“I got a text from your number saying you were hurt and where you were, so I rushed over as soon as I could,” she answered, a hint of a flush on her cheeks.

“Oh. Thank you. That’s really kind,” I smiled, wanting desperately to look away from her freckled face and the hot images my mind was producing.

“Let’s um… go get food and stuff,” she mumbled, motioning towards the door.

“Yup, definitely,” I nodded, thankful for a way to escape this admittedly very gay moment.

Maddy mumbled something about two disasters, which I didn’t understand, and we got up to get dressed.

 

****

 

Ms Monahan’s house was the opposite of the one I had spent my whole life in. She had an apartment on an upper floor of a building somewhere by the looks of things. At some point it had been a factory or something by the looks of things, but it had long ago been converted for use in other areas. Her apartment was in the corner of the building, and had a large floor to ceiling window in the combined kitchen, dining room and living room.

The kitchen, and the rest of the apartment, was full of glass and stainless steel that gave it a cold modern feeling. The chill had been warmed by persian rugs and several vibrant pieces of furniture. A huge flag in pink and orange lines filled up a wall, while a few pot plants huddled happily under the light from the large window. It was nice, I felt at ease here.

“Took your time you two,” Ms Monahan noted wryly from the kitchen where she sat with three plates full of food.

“Oh um, yeah. I had to tell her the truth about who I am,” I said awkwardly.

“Brave. I see that you took it well Maddy?” she said smiling at the two of us.

“What’s to take? She’s a girl,” Maddy shrugged, nudging me with a hip.

Oh, that was nice.

“Regardless of the gender she was assigned at birth?” Ms Monahan asked, her eyes narrowing slightly to watch Maddy’s reaction.

Maddy turned and pretended to stare inquisitively into my eyes. I shifted awkwardly under eye gaze, her eyes searching mine.

Turning abruptly back to Ms Monahan she said, “Nope, looks like a girl in there. Pretty sure she’s been a girl the whole time.”

Ms Monahan gave us both a grin, “Good answer, now let’s eat.”

“What was my grade?” Maddy chirped.

“A+ my dear,” Ms Monahan laughed.

Maddy laughed a high trilling laugh that made my chest contract again. Damn that was a nice laugh.

I followed Maddy to the table and we got stuck into the food. It was so good! She’d made some stir fry thing with pork, green beans and mushrooms. It had a hint of spiciness without my thoroughly wimpy taste buds being destroyed.

“So the power is still out across New York state, although they say it will be on by nightfall. We’re lucky my stove is gas or our food would have been cold,” our host said after we’d all had a few bites.

“Why is the power out?” I asked.

“Sunfall exploding caused a minor EMP. It wasn’t very strong, but some delicate parts in a few of the more important power waystations blew up.”

“Oh… damn that means it’s kind of my fault…” I grimaced.

“Not at all dear. You helped save the city from far worse,” she frowned, shaking her head.

“Yeah! Imagine if sunfall had kept going…” Maddy nodded, looking a little sick for a moment.

“Hmmmm true,” I hummed, opting to take another bite instead of continuing.

It had been my fault. Sure, he’d already killed a ton of people, and the explosion would have killed a lot more people, but… I was the one who put Sunfall in the upper atmosphere.

“So Eloise, tell me about last night,” Ms Monahan prompted.

Damn… I didn’t want to talk about that. It was too fresh and painful.

“I um… stuff happened when some family came over. They accused me of being gay, then my dad tried to…” I stopped and my breathing hitched.

A gentle hand fell on mine, and I looked up to find Maddy looking kindly back at me.

“You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to Eloise,” Ms Monahan said softly from across the table, “I’m just worried. Being queer is hard, and I’d hate to see you struggle just because of who you are.”

I shrugged, “It’s okay… um. I’ll start at the beginning. My aunt, uncle and cousins came over for dinner. Things were going as well as they ever can with that family, until my cousins started dissing Pride, and I accidentally spoke up. They accused me of being gay, the parents heard us and got all shouty and angry. I ran away to my room. I packed my stuff because I knew things were going to get worse, then tried to leave. My dad tried to stop me… with his fists, and it caused my powers to activate, turning me into a girl in front of all of them. An Emerged girl at that. My dad hates Emerged people almost as much as he hates queer people, and so does the rest of my family. I kinda just barged out of the house and um, my dad yelled after me, telling me not to come back.”

Maddy looked like she wanted to wrap me up in a hug again, and Ms Monahan was glaring daggers at the table. No one said anything for a few moments and I started fidgeting.

Eventually, Ms Monahan coughed, “Not too different to my own experiences then, bar the superpowers. You’re welcome to stay in that guest bedroom until you’ve got your feet under you if you’d like.”

“Wait really?” I squeaked in surprise.

“Yeah. What kind of person would I be if I threw you out the door when I know you have nowhere to go? I can more than pay for letting you stay here. It’s not a problem,” she smiled warmly.

“Thank you so much,” I sighed.

What a relief. The anxiety of not having anywhere to stay hadn’t been something I was thinking of until just now, and having her step in and house me was wonderful. It was strange how all of this had fallen into place, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. On top of that, Maddy was being the best friend I could have wished for. I wonder where Brook had been in all of this...