Maxine slammed onto the edge of the open dumpster, shattering seven ribs and driving most of them into her lungs. The impact severed her spine and instantly she lost all feeling in her legs, smallest of mercies. Her head, however, completely failed to hit anything solid so when she slumped off the dumpster she was fully conscious as her lungs filled up with blood. 

 

She lay on the pavement in a dark alley, unable to move or make a sound, convinced that this is where she'd die. A small moment of pain in her chest that wasn't organ damage when she realised she'd be buried in a suit and the wrong name would be on her tombstone. She closed her eyes and utterly failed to drift off and die. 

 

There was a horrible tearing sound as her spine ground back into place, her nerve endings reattached themselves, and the shrapnel in her chest became ribs again. The pain was… Well it was well and truly awful but the human body is a weird little thing and no matter how painful, bleeding internally until you die in an alley is worse, especially if you've just found some joy in your life. She was sore all over. She noticed the bruises on her arms didn't fade. That her legs weren't going to be functional vehicles for a while. 

 

“Penumbra?”

 

Mrrr 

 

Definitely not awake. Weird. She sat up next to the dumpster, her ribs cracked but intact, her breathing labored but free of liquid and just sat there for a second. This had been A Day. An Interesting Day.

 

She took stock. An alien had picked her as its host. It had given her the body she always should have had (She felt) and then, when it became clear that this was too much of a strain, took that away again. She'd jumped off a roof. The Alien inside her could come out and make her tall and powerful. She also probably couldn't be permanently hurt. Not badly. 

 

Some people do things because they seem like a good idea at the time despite being terrible ideas but they do them because they're scared that, if they don't do them, and do them right away, they'll regret everything in their life up to that point. That is why Maxine took a broken beer bottle and shoved it into her thigh 

 

“Ow”, she said. 

 

Compared to the previous twenty minutes this wasn't so bad, she thought, as she observed the wound. And what she thought -and hoped- would happen, did. Through the torn fabric of her jeans she saw the wound closing, leaving behind a dark crescent ring in her leg. 

 

So she couldn't be hurt. Well, definitely hurt. But not damaged. She wondered why. So Penumbra had taken her to… Oh shit. The girl. There had been a girl. Well, woman. Late twenties woman person. Who had been really cute. 

 

Maxine tried to sit up and the check engine light in her head blinked a few times then caught fire. “All right, all right”, she murmured to nobody in particular. She remembered the phone in her pocket and fished it out. It was still intact. Her internal organs had broken her fall. It wasn't locked, and it must have been brand new. No mom or dad numbers, no social media apps installed. The only number in there with a number belonged to “Victoria”. Desperately hoping it wasn't the number to a lingerie shop, she dialed it. 

 

The phone was picked up after a few seconds. “Hlo?”

 

“Victoria?”

 

“Whoizthis?”

 

“I don't know if you remember me, we met last night…”

 

“You’ve got,” the voice swallowed, there was rustling and then a stifled yawn, “some nerve calling at this hour, Max.”

 

“I'm so sorry. I wasn't… I wasn't myself last night. I… I had an accident and I didn't know who to call.” That was true for the most part. There was actually a list of people she knew to call and none of them were on this phone. And she wasn't going to call an ambulance. “Are you okay?” “Yes actually, I can't physically die, I don't think, but I just fell off a roof and my legs are donezo, my man.” No, she just needed a ride. Thankfully, Victoria seemed to be the good hearted person she'd seemed last night, instantly shifting from “mildly scorned” to “protective mama bear” in a heartbeat. 

 

“Where are you?”

 

Maxine gave her the address as best she could figure from her alleyway. As Victoria made her way toward her, growing only more concerned when finding out that she  was lying next to a dumpster in an alley, Maxine realised that she didn't look like, well, herself. Victoria refused to let her get off the line -bless her heart- and Maxine saw no other recourse than to prepare her. 

 

“Hey Victoria?”

 

“I'm here, Max. What's up? I'll be there in a few minutes.”

 

“Listen I… I'm not… Like you think I am.”

 

“Go on?”

 

“I'm trans.”

 

“Oh. Oh honey. That's not a problem. Trust m-”

 

“No, listen. Last night I didn't… I didn't look like I usually do. It's hard to explain but… When you get here I need you to believe that I'm the girl you met yesterday.”

 

“O-kay? I'm coming up now. Explain it to me when I get there because I'm not sure I follow.”

 

A brown sedan stopped in front of the alleyway and Maxine managed to raise her hand in a half-hearted wave. Victoria leapt out of the car and ran towards her. Maxine got a good look at her in daylight. She was just as beautiful as the night before, tall and muscular, like a swimmer, her physique obvious even in the pajamas she was wearing. It was all topped off with a head full of big, curly hair. The closer she got, however, the slower she walked. 

 

“Max?”

 

“Hey,” Max smiled weakly. 

 

“Well… This is… New. What happened?”

 

“Can I tell you when I'm somewhere safer?”

 

“Like a hospital?” Victoria crossed her arms with a dangerous amount of sass. It made her biceps look attractive in a very distracting way, Maxine thought. 

 

“No I… I'll explain. Just take me… Please take me home. I'll explain, or try to.”

 

Victoria chewed on her tongue for a second. 

 

“Fuck, you're weird. But you're not boring. Can you walk?”

 

Maxine shook her head no. Victoria sighed knelt next to her, and picked her up like it was nothing. Maxine was simply too tired to be surprised and after only a second of this safety her brain finally hit the off-switch and she fell asleep. 

 

With feigned annoyance, Victoria carried her to the car and put her in the back seat. “Told you it wasn't a problem. I'll show you my tattoo when you wake up, weirdo.”