Arriving home, Cat embraced me in a hug as soon as I stepped through the door.  It felt good.

 

“I’m glad to have you back,” said Cat, finally letting  me loose. “I was so worried about you.”

 

Arey came around to my left.  “I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her.  You don’t need to worry.”

 

“After all,” added Billie.  “What harm could come to her when she has a jötun and a god as her bodyguards?”

 

I smiled.  I might be the target of a vicious god, but, for the first time in my life, I felt like I didn’t have to face my problems alone.

 

“Now, take off those clothes and put on something more appropriate,” said Cat.  “You look like a whore.” Cat’s voice sounded different. I looked closely at her and slowly she began to elongate, stretching upward toward the ceiling.  Even the ceiling seemed to be rising.

 

“You need to look presentable,” added Arey, who also now seemed nine feet tall.

 

“Do as your mother says,” added Billie.  I turned back to see Arey and Cat merging together in some hideous amalgamation that slowly began morphing into my Mom.

 

“I’ll not have my son degrade me in the eyes of the community,” she said.  She reached a clawed hand toward my chest and ripped my shirt off. My breasts went with it.  Underneath was a bland, black suit and tie. It made my shoulders look massive.

 

“Please, Mom, I don’t want to go,” I pleaded.  “I just want to stay home. Don’t drag me to another one of your parties!”

 

“Do as your mother says,” repeated Dad.  “She’s always right, after all.” He grabbed my massive shoulders and turned me around to see a garden party full of pretentious, middle class yuppies who wanted to pretend they were rich.

 

“Make your mother proud.”

 

****

 

“Ah!”

 

I shot bolt upright in the bed in Billie’s guest room, drenched in a cold sweat.  Arey lay snoring next to me. It was just a nightmare.

 

“Just a nightmare,” I whispered to myself out loud, as though the words might reassure me.  At least I didn’t accidentally make any monsters this time. Billie’s apartment was too nice to destroy.  I lay awake the rest of the night, afraid to sleep.

 

****

 

The dwarves brought the suit up that morning while we were having breakfast.  Agni said they even added a heat resistant lining at no extra charge, as though I were paying.  I immediately ran to the guest bedroom to try it on. Apparently, it is incredibly hard to put on a carbon fiber body suit with no zippers.  Want to know how I did it? Trade secret.

 

With that checked out, I borrowed a duffel bag from Billie to pack it up, and we were ready to go.  Arey opened up a portal back to Mile Square and we walked from there. Billie came with us. I guess he really is going to be my personal warrior poet for the time being.

 

When we got to my house, I was surprised to find we had guests.  Cat was sitting at the table with a man I did not know. He looked to be in his early thirties, and stood about 5’8, roughly the same height as me.  Short, brown hair and brown eyes. Possibly latino. He was dressed in a sort of “business casual” attire, with jeans and a nice jacket. You either have to be crazy or professionally required to wear a jacket like that in SoCal.

 

“Oh, um,” said Cat nervously.  “There she is now.” They both stood up.  “Uh, Chris, this is Special Agent Chandler with… um, what agency did you say you work for again?”

 

“The Magic and Artifacts Bureau,” said Agent Chandler.  “MAB for short. Don’t feel offended for never having heard of us.  We’re kind of an open secret.” Agent Chandler flashed a badge. It looked official, but I didn’t recognize the agency seal.  The name read “Ricardo Chandler.” “I’m guessing by the fact you’re currently accompanied by another jötun and a Nordy you know a thing or two about the attack yesterday?”

 

Before I could say anything, Billie whispered to me.  “Careful. MAB is known to us, and we don’t trust them.  They mostly leave us alone, but it IS their job to police anything having to do with magic here in the U.S.  The only thing stopping them from arresting all of us right now is the fact that their jurisdiction doesn’t extend beyond Midgard.”  Musician, clothing designer, AND lawyer, apparently. Anything else he wants to add to his resume?

 

“Um, yeah,” I said, answering Chandler’s question.  “I was attacked by a big-ass wolf.”

 

“So your roommate told me.  Anything you can tell me about the wolf would be helpful.”

 

“We’re not obligated to tell you anything,” interjected Billie.  “This is outside your jurisdiction.”

 

“I kind of suspected as such,” replied Chandler.  “Still, it is MAB’s job to keep informed on the goings on within our jurisdiction, even if we’re not equipped to handle it ourselves.  Any information you can give me could be of help. For instance, is the wolf an ongoing threat we need to be concerned about?”

 

“It’s being handled,” answered Billie.  “The wolf is likely not a direct threat to any mortals here in Midgard.  It has one target, and she happens to be right here.” Billie patted me on the shoulder.  Great. Am I about to be exiled from Earth?

 

Agent Chandler seemed to be satisfied with that response.  “Very well. I’ll have our wizards get in touch with Asgard to open up a dialogue in case there’s anything we can do to assist.

 

“In the mean time, I have another reason I’m here, and I suspect Chris will appreciate this: the status of Chris’s identity.  It’s my understanding that we have a bit of a gender mix-up here?” His question was clearly directed at me.

 

“Uh, yeah,” I said.  “I, um, I was a guy before all this happened.”

 

Arey seemed shocked.  “You what!?!?” I guess she never did get a good look at me before the ritual changed me.

 

“Well, regardless of your gender identity, we’re going to need to update your documents.  Have you considered what you’d like your ID to say?”

 

I hadn’t really thought much about that sort of stuff.  I was sort of preoccupied with… EVERYTHING. But I was kind of liking just not being committed to a gender, and now I’m not sure.  Now that the actual question was put to me, I didn’t know what I should say.

 

“You don’t need to answer right away,” Agent Chandler said, noticing my hesitation.  “But it’s something you’ll have to sort out, and I can help. The Bureau has handled similar cases.”  He pulled a card out from his jacket pocket. “Here’s my card. Call me when you have your answer.”

 

Agent Chandler left after that, leaving Cat scratching the back of her short-haired head awkwardly.  “So, um, who are your friends?”

 

I broke out of my daze then.  “Oh, uh, this is Arey, the jötun I told you about before, and this is Billie, who I guess is now my personal bard-god-poet?”

 

“I wouldn’t describe myself as your personal anything,” corrected Billie.  “Not unless you want to get REALLY personal,” he added with a wink. I don’t think it’s possible for a jötun to actually go pale, but if it were, I probably could have blinded everyone.

 

“Aaaanyway, Arey, Billie, this is my roommate, Cat.”  Arey shook Cat’s hand. Billie lifted said hand and kissed it gently.

 

“Wow,” said Cat.  “An actual GOD? That is crazy.”

 

“Indeed,” nodded Billie.  “Billie, God of Metal, at your service.”

 

“So,” I finally got the courage to ask, “what happened while I was gone?”

 

“Oh boy,” Cat said, with a brief raising of her eyebrows.  “So much. SOOO much. First, after you and that wolf disappeared, all these creepy FBI people showed up.  Or, at least, they said they were FBI. I’m guessing that was just a cover for MAB. Then your dad showed up here looking for you.”

 

“Oh yeah,” I said.  “What did you tell him?”

 

Cat shook her head.  “The truth: that I hadn’t seen you since we were attacked.  I think he believes your story, but I don’t know how he feels about it.  He wanted me to tell you to call him when you get a chance.”

 

Phew.  That brought to mind my nightmare from the previous night.  I’m not sure I’m ready for that conversation yet.

 

“So, what was the deal with the wolf?” Cat asked.

 

****

 

Later that evening, after a lengthy explanation of what we knew about Fenrir and a hearty dinner of tater tots and mini-corn dogs, I found myself alone in my room, pacing back and forth next to my phone, debating with myself whether I should call Dad.  Can I trust him? With what happened at my parents’ house, I’m not sure. Even if his plea is genuine, can I trust him not to give information to Mom that could put me in danger? More danger is definitely what I don’t need right now.

 

On the other hand, he IS my dad.  He’s my family. If I can hold on to even one small piece of my family, isn’t that worth the risk?  I resolved myself to make the phone call.

 

I picked up the phone and selected Dad from my contacts list.  The phone rang. “Chris?” came my father’s whispering voice.

 

“Dad,” I said, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.

 

“I’m so glad to hear from you,” he whispered.  “After that attack, I was worried about you.”

 

“I’m fine,” I assured him.  “Why are you whispering?”

 

“Your mother is in the next room.  She still doesn’t believe you, even after everything that happened.”

 

My heart sank.  He didn’t need to say the rest; I already knew that meant that I was effectively her enemy, whether I wanted to be or not.

 

“Dad,” I began.  “I need you to keep your contact with me quiet from Mom.  Can you do that?”

 

“I think so?”  He didn’t sound too sure.  It was very likely he was feeling conflicted about going behind Mom’s back.

 

“I mean it, Dad.  This is important.  I am already in trouble with Norse gods, I can’t risk having Mom chasing after me, and it could become a danger to you too.”

 

“O-okay,” Dad said shakily.  “Can I see you tomorrow? Maybe we can get lunch?”

 

“I’d like that,” I said before I could think better of it.

 

“Good.  I love you, Chris.  You’ll always be my son.”  Those last words made me wince.

 

“I love you too, Dad.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

 

And I went to bed.  Tomorrow, I had two fights to prepare for.  One with an immortal, psychic Godwolf, and the other was an enemy vastly more terrifying: my mother.