Nicole jumped into the belly of the beast, sliding past its fangs and down its frozen, freezing the path down its esophagus with her Holy Light as she went. Even as the tunnel around her froze, she felt a hot, burning sensation emanating from nearby. In another of Leviathan’s heads, her demon burned, and burned, and burned. Nicole knew it, just as she knew herself. They were connected now, and Nicole knew that her demon felt the cold from Nicole’s Holy Light too.

***

Amy gripped Nicole’s hand as her girlfriend laid unconscious in her bed. Behind her, Nicole’s mother paced Nicole’s bedroom so intently Amy swore she was trying to carve a trench in the wooden floor. Amy had carried Nicole’s unconscious body all the way home, all while giving Iris an impromptu flying lesson as she guided them back to the Nygaard residence. Nicole’s father had rushed out the second they landed and grabbed his daughter’s unconscious form and carried her back into the house, and then he’d come back and out and finally registered Iris being there too. After that, Amy followed Peter inside and sat down beside Nicole’s bed.

She’d been here before. Not in this room, in this house, but she’d been by Nicole’s side, holding her hand and praying that she’d wake up. It felt so long ago, even though it was… What, two months ago? Maybe even less than that. So much had happened since then. They’d both changed so much. 

For what felt like the hundred thousandth time, she looked at the room around her. It made sense that Nicole hadn’t been back here since she’d come out- this room didn’t really seem like her. The walls were a stark navy blue, hardly anything at all adorning them- a cross hung from the door, and a shelf to the right-hand side of her bed housed a few basketball trophies and a row of Batgirl and Stargirl and Guardians of the Galaxy and Ms. Marvel comics, but elsewise the room was shockingly devoid of decoration. Even the bedspread itself was a solid black, no patterns or anything on it. No pictures, no mirrors, hardly any colors at all. Not even a carpet on the harsh brown wooden floor. 

Amy knew Nicole’s room at the apartment they shared, quite intimately at this point: the walls were a light, baby blue, with a full-length vanity mirror and makeup stand in the corner and a pink bedspread over the mattress. Two full bookshelves of comics and novels were housed within, and the walls were covered with photos she’d taken of herself with Amy and with the rest of the team and with her family. Some of this was definitely because Nicole had moved and brought her stuff with her, but… 

This whole room just felt… Artificial. Like a shell. 

“Mrs. Nygaard?” Amy asked, not letting go of her girlfriend’s hand. 

“Hm?” Nicole’s mother asked, stopping her pacing at a midpoint in the room. She didn’t look up from the floor, didn’t make eye contact with Amy. 

Amy tried not to take it personally, as was often becoming the case with Nicole’s mother. “Can I ask you something?”

“If you… If you like, Amanda.”

Amy winced. “What was Nicole like growing up?”

Finally, Mrs. Nygaard looked up and met her gaze. She had the same eyes as Iris, a similar but not quite identical shade of blue to Nicole’s ocean eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“I guess I’m just… Curious. About who she was before all this. I didn’t really… I didn’t really know her before she joined our team, before she came out and-”

“And you said all those horrible things to her?” Mrs. Nygaard said. 

The words were each like a short, sharp shock. Amy gulped, then she gave a series of rapid, shallow nods as she tried to keep the guilt down. This isn’t about you, this isn’t about you, this isn’t about you-

“She just wanted everyone to be happy,” Mrs. Nygaard finally answered, when it became clear her words weren’t going to get a rise out of Amy. “Didn’t like it when people made a fuss. Always well-behaved. Even when those awful bullies tried their darndest to get her to fight back she… She just refused to. And she wouldn’t even name the people who hurt her. She wouldn’t even talk about it most of the time. When I tried to get her to, she just said she didn’t want to make things difficult for me. It… It worried me, honestly, like she never thought of herself.”

“That sounds like her, alright,” Amy said. “She’s… She’s gotten a lot better about that, if it helps.”

Mrs. Nygaard started pacing again, then sighed and said, “It does. And since her… Her change she’s… Well, she’s back to how she was before middle school. Before puberty. As a little kid she was always happy and excited, just this endless supply of energy. Then… Things changed. Her voice broke, and suddenly she never spoke unless she was spoken to. She started getting taller and taller, and yet she shrunk in on herself, like she was always scared of bumping into someone or hurting someone. The only time I ever saw her get mad was when she caught Z… Caught Iris being mean Monica. Then she would scream and cry, as if the worst thing in the world to her was that her family might be upset. But otherwise… I dunno, she worried me, like she was this empty shell just drifting through life. Went through all of middle and high school without ever once going over to a friend’s house or mentioning a girl she liked or doing much of anything besides homework or basketball or going to church. She even prayed silently, when we said grace at dinner or the Lord’s Prayer during Mass.”

“I see,” Amy said. This… This explained a lot. It was so consistent with the fretful, kindhearted girl Amy had gotten to know over these last few months, like a baby deer learning how to walk for the first time. Seeing her bloom had been amazing, but it hurt her to know how much pain Nicole had been in before. The pain that she’d kept all to herself as it burned her insides and dimmed the bright light of her soul.

“But these last few months have been incredible. It’s been like I got that happy kid back, the one with the smile that lights up a room,” Mrs. Nygaard said, stopping in front of her daughter’s bed and looming over Amy. “And I need you to know that I’ll do anything to protect her. Protect any of them. I’ve been letting my kids take too many blows for too long. That stops now.”

Amy drew in a slow, deep breath through her nose. “You think I’m going to hurt her, don’t you?”

“You already did,” Mrs. Nygaard said. 

“That… Is true,” Amy grimaced. “But do you think I’m going to do it again?”

“I don’t know,” Mrs. Nygaard said, sitting at the foot of Nicole’s bed and facing the door, not looking at Amy once again. 

Amy cringed, and she felt the words she knew she shouldn’t say bubbling up inside her. “That’s not fair.”

“Excuse me?!” Mrs. Nygaard said, whipping her head around and glaring at Amy. 

“What you said isn’t fair, and you know it’s not, because Nicole would agree with me,” Amy said, praying she was able to walk the tonal balance between firm and gentle. “She’d tell you- she has told you- that I’ve changed. I’m not proud of what I said to her. It was wrong, it was downright cruel. I was… I was dealing with my own insecurities when I said that, and I took it out on her, but that’s an explanation, not an excuse. I apologized up and down, and every day I have worked my ass off trying to be someone who deserves her.” 

Mrs. Nygaard stared at her blankly for a full thirty seconds before she said, “Are you in love with my daughter?”

Amy flinched. “I… I don’t know. I can see myself falling in love with her, if we keep going like we have been. But she and I have only been together a short time now, only half the time that we’ve known each other. And I’ve… I’ve been in lots of relationships, at least for someone my age, and there have been times where I’ve thought that same thing, but it didn’t last. Or it just wasn’t really love. So, I don’t think I’m there yet, no. But I absolutely adore her, care for her with all my heart. And I swear to God, I will never hurt her again. I swear to God, I won’t let anyone else hurt her either.”

Mrs. Nygaard cracked a faint smile. “Smart answer. Very responsible.”

“Thank you.”

“But you should know that it would hurt her to hear you say that.”

“What? But doesn’t she realize how quickly we’ve already moved? ‘I love you’ is a really big step-”

“Amanda, I just told you she’s never dated anyone else, that she’s barely ever had any personal life outside her family,” Mrs. Nygaard said. “My daughter is smart, but isn’t she isn’t wise or worldly. Do you really think that she understands how big a step that is?”

“I… I didn’t think of that.”

“Bet you also didn’t think of the fact that she’s already taken that step, at least in her heart,” Mrs. Nygaard said. 

“W-what?” Amy said, eyes bulging, leaning forward in her chair. Her heartbeat tripled, her hands shaking as she held tight to Nicole’s palm. 

“She hasn’t said anything, at least not to me, but she doesn’t have to,” Mrs. Nygaard continued. “The way she looks at you, the way she talks about you… She’s fallen hard for you. She’s in love, or at the very least she thinks she is. And I think we both know from personal experience that when that happens, at least for the first time-”

“It doesn’t matter how fast it happened, or whether or not anyone else thinks it’s real,” Amy finished for her. “Because for you… For her, it’s real.”

Tears welled up in Amy’s eyes, and she squeezed Nicole’s hand tightly as warm, beautiful agony singing deep within her soul. 

***

Iris sat on the roof, looking out at her driveway, shaking inside her coat as she stared intently and watched for threats. Her father’s spyglass, a silver cylinder of sight, sat on her lap, fully extended. She drummed her gloved fingers on it, gloves that were too big for her now. Her coat was too big as well- it was like a blanket was wrapped around her. Even her old school uniform, the blue button down and brown khakis, was comically large on her now. The knit-cap that covered her head was the only thing that still fit properly. She’d have to get new clothes now. A lot of them. She’d shrunk by a serious amount- Monica was taller than her now, for goodness sake!

“How long has she been up there?” Dad asked as he stood on the ground below. Iris couldn’t see him, but she could hear him. 

“About an hour,” Mark said. Oh, Mark. Sweet, pure, beautiful Mark. She went warm just knowing he was there. 

“You should probably go up and check on her, young man,” Dad said. 

“Are you certain, sir?” Mark asked. 

“Yes. Though it was very polite of you not to climb onto my roof without being asked.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Of course,” Dad said. “She cares about you a lot, you know.”

“I know, I care for her very much as well.”

Iris smiled in spite of herself. 

“I need to get back to Monica, make sure she’s okay,” Dad said. “The ladder is in the shed- I’ll leave you to it.”

Iris knew she should be watching Monica, helping her through what had very clearly been a traumatic experience. But the house was short of a Magical Girl while Nicole was comatose, and demons had just attacked her school. A damn dragon had attacked her school! Right now, she was the only line of defense. She was a superhero now. No going back to the stupid, worthless coward she used to be. No making excuses, no more only caring about herself. She had responsibilities. Her life was going to be a lot different from here on out. 

In more ways than one. 

The thud of the ladder knocking into the side of the house, and the light pound of each of her boyfriend’s steps up (are we using the b-word already, brain? She thought) as his head poked up and he climbed onto the roof. “Hello, beautiful.”

Iris giggled. Nicole had warned her she might find herself doing that more and more often now. Iris wondered if that was something innate to being a girl now, or to having this girly body, or if it was something she was emulating subconsciously. Like she’d seen other girls do it so often that as her body changed to become more like what she wanted, her mind started implementing what it thought of as girly mannerisms and behaviors to help her adjust. Help her… Help her to actually be the person she wanted to be, instead of just looking like her. 

Not that she actually knew what she looked like now, per se. She’d yet to look in a mirror, yet to actually go inside. As soon as she and Amy had gotten Nicole home, and Amy had ushered Nicole into the house, Iris had flown up onto the roof to take watch. She’d un-transformed to save energy, she’d had Dad bring the spyglass and toss it up to her, and she’d been stationed here for the ensuing hour. 

She knew she was shorter now. A LOT shorter, in fact. She knew her hair was apparently Marilyn Monroe blonde, and that was presumably her natural shade now; she also knew it reached down to her shoulders, which themselves were much narrower now. Other… Features of hers had definitely been rearranged, but much like her face, she’d yet to actually take a look at any of that. 

She knew she needed to eventually get acquainted. But right now… Right now, she had bigger problems. 

That said, there was no reason she couldn’t have company. Right? Right. Definitely. 

“Hey,” Iris said, batting her eyelashes. That one was on purpose- she’d seen Cass do it around Matt enough times to know it was a viable technique. 

“Something in your eyes?” Mark asked, tilting his head as he carefully hobbled over to her. 

Dammit, Iris thought to herself. “No, nothing.”

“Good. I was worried they might be strained from looking too hard.”

“Heh, thanks, but I’m fine,” Iris said. 

“Are you sure?” Mark asked as he sat down next to her on the crux of the triangular roof.  

“I… Yeah, yeah I’m good.”

“You are terribly convincing, truly,” Mark said. He put his arm around her and brought her in close. 

Iris’ brain started short-circuiting, her heartbeat ringing like a gong inside her chest, words sparking and fading inside her mind just as quickly. “I uh… Heeheeeheee,” she started stammering. 

Mark chuckled. 

“What the- are you laughing at me?!”

“Leetle bit.”

“Don’t make fun of me, you jerk,” Iris said, laughing and playfully swatting his harm. “I saved your life!”

“Yes, you did,” Mark said. “You deserve reward for your hard work.”

Iris’ eyes went wide. “Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of reward?”

Mark looked deep into her eyes, cupped her cheek in both hands, and brought Iris’ face towards his own. Her heartbeat thundered ever louder as she closed her eyes and felt his lips against hers. 

For a second, she forgot everything that had happened, everything that was still happening, everything that was to come, and just melted into her boyfriend’s embrace. When their lips left each other, she rested her head in the crook of his neck and pressed her weight against him. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Of course.”

“I mean that. I… I don’t deserve you.”

“Let me decide what I deserve,” he said, rubbing his hand on her back. 

“Okay,” she whispered. A delicate smile flowered on her face.

It withered as she realized she was happy, realized she was grateful. Something horrible had happened- her school had been attacked, nearly destroyed; any number of kids, including her own baby sister, had been traumatized; Nicole was in a coma; Boston was probably in shambles right now. But here Iris Nygaard was, having the gall to be happy because she’d gotten the push she’d needed to be herself. 

She didn’t deserve any of that. 

She needed to stay vigilant, needed to make up for who she’d been and what she’d done. If she’d pushed herself harder, maybe none of this would have happened to begin with.  

Her eyes widened as she saw someone approaching her house. She leaned forward and took the spyglass to her eye and looked and saw… Oh, Holy Hannah, Jacob and Evan were approaching. “Fuck,” Iris said. 

“That who I think?” Mark asked. 

“Unfortunately.”

“What are they even doing here?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Iris said, standing up and heading for the ladder. “I’m gonna go punch the demon out of them if I have to. If not… I might just punch them anyway, tbh.”

“Can I come and watch?”

“Oh please do,” Iris said. “Also feel free to point and laugh when they get beat up by a girl.”

“Excellent.”

She climbed down onto the ground, nearly falling off as she realized the rungs weren’t as close to her legs as they used to be. She’d been tempted to fly down, but her secret identity was already a nebulous concept after less than a day on the job, so maybe it was best not to push it any further. Her long, platinum blonde blew about in the wind- she’d neat to get someone to help her put it up, maybe braid it (oooh that would look so cute, twin tail braids… Holy Hannah, Iris, FOCUS)- as she marched over to the two chucklefucks she’d once been stupid enough to call her friends. Mark held her hand as he walked with her, side-by-side. 

“What do you two want?” Iris said. 

“Um, hi?” Jacob said. 

“Well?” Iris said. 

“Really, you’re not even gonna exchange basic pleasantries with us?” Evan said. 

“Did you ever do that with me?” Iris said. 

“Well,” Jacob said, “No, but-”

“But nothing, you didn’t deserve it,” Evan said.

“And you two do?” Iris said. 

“Yes,” Evan said. 

“Evan, stop being a dick,” Jacob said. 

“He doesn’t know how,” Mark said. 

“Shut up, faggot,” Evan said. “We’re talking to your boyfriend, not you-”

Iris wound up a glowing white fist and connected it with Evan’s jaw. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, but no black smoke came out. “What the fuck, Zack?!”

“Her name is Iris,” Mark said as he kicked Evan in the ribs. 

“Gah! FUCK!” Evan shouted. 

“That was to make sure you weren’t possessed again,” Iris said. 

“And because you deadnamed my girlfriend,” Mark said. 

Iris beamed at Mark. He was so… Protective. It was nice. She’d have to thank him for it later. Now, however, she charged up a fist again and aimed it at Jacob. “Hey, Jake, let’s fist-bump.”

“What?” Jacob said. 

“If you’re not a demon, fist-bump me and prove it, you tool,” Iris said. She raised both eyebrows and smirked. “Or are you afraid you’ll catch the trans?” 

Jacob stood there sputtering for ten seconds before he touched his fist to Iris’.

Nothing. 

“Was that so hard?” Iris said, eyes narrow. 

“Yes,” Jacob said. 

Evan dragged his sorry ass off the ground and said, “Look, asshole, we’re not here to fight you! We just wanted to tell you not to come back to school.”

“Excuse me?” Iris said. 

“You’re a danger magnet, idiot,” Evan said. 

“Evan, maybe dial it back,” Jacob said. “I actually came here to say thank you for saving our lives-”

“Just don’t come back! Do us all a favor and disappear, you fucking-”

“Oh my God, will you both shut the fuck up already?!” a familiar feminine timbre reached across the driveway. 

Iris groaned as she saw Morgan approaching. The stuck-up bitch sauntered up the driveway, somehow no worse for wear despite the literal Hell she’d been subjected to the past several hours.  

“What do you want?” Mark spat. 

“Oh, just to give you two an update,” Morgan said. 

Iris bunched her fists and gritted her teeth. “Which is?”

“Oh, just that I know who you are. What you are. You fucking freak,” Morgan said. 

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Mark said, aiming his finger at Morgan.

“Yeah, seriously, what’s wrong with you?” Jacob said.

“I could stand to hear a little more,” Evan said. 

“SHUT UP!” Jacob and Mark both bellowed. 

Iris let the words carve up her soul like glass daggers as she lunged for Morgan. Morgan’s eyes went demonic black as she started to dodge, but Iris pivoted and landed a Holy White Light punch to her annoying fucking face. The demon was expelled from her, for the third freaking time. What was the matter with this asshole?

“AH! Stop touching me!” Morgan shrieked. “You fucking tr-”

Whisps of black smoke pooled around Morgan, and she chuckled. “That’s better,” the redhead said. “Come one and possess me!”

“What is wrong with you?” Iris stared blankly as she readied herself for another brawl. This girl WANTED to be possessed? Iris remembered her own possession, the feeling of being stuck in a glass box at the bottom of a freezing ocean while every bad thing she’d ever done screamed inside her skull like a heavy metal concert. It was the single worst experience of her life, and she’d only survived thanks to Nicole and her friends. And this girl… This fucking idiot wanted-

The black smoke pooled around Morgan… But it didn’t settle into her. Instead, it manifested behind her into a single solid shape, an outline of a tall, graceful woman who gradually became more solid until finally, she was there. 

She was of Arabic descent, with long, curly black hair that hung down her back and sharp cheekbones and wide, child-bearing hips. She wore a slinky silver gown that matched her gray eyes, revealing a small peak of cleavage and hugging her hips. 

Morgan stammered, “B-but… But-”

“Oh, get over yourself, girl- you’re not special,” the demon said.

“You guys should all leave now,” Iris said, assuming a fighting stance. “Mark, get inside, tell my parents to get the guns. Bring Amy out here if you can. This seems like a situation.”

Mark nodded and ran into the house, while Jacob grabbed a protesting Evan and a whining Morgan by the wrists and pulled them away. A BMW sat at the bottom of the driveway, driven by an older teenage girl who shepherded Morgan inside and drove away while leaving Jacob and Evan in the dust. 

Leaving Iris alone in front of her house with this demon. She breathed in, transformed, and breathed out. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I need to talk to someone specific,” the demon said. “I’m looking for Amanda Donahue.”

“Well you’ve found her, motherfucker!” Amy screamed as she came flying out of the house on her broomstick, fists drawn back. She closed the gap and swung a left hook, only for the demon to vanish in a puff of smoke then reappear a few feet to her left. 

Iris didn’t wait for an invitation. She drew back a fist and swung, leaping into the fray.

Neither of them managed to land a blow- the demon simply kept vanishing into puffs of black smoke and then manifesting elsewhere. Amy and Iris flew and pivoted and ran and launched blow after blow, but none connected. 

“Believe it or not, I actually just came here to talk,” the demon said. 

“I don’t believe you,” Amy said flatly, closing in on the demon and delivering a roundhouse kick. 

The demon vanished into smoke once more, but Amy pivoted to the left and struck the demon in the stomach with her foot right as the demon solidified. Her kick, charged with White Holy Light, burned the demon and made her screech and fall to the ground. 

Iris hurried over and pinned the demon down, letting her fists glow with White Light, only for the demon to deliver an uppercut to her chin that sent Iris tumbling back. 

The demon snarled, then let hot streaks of Hellfire jet out of her eyes and hands. 

Iris and Amy both stood their ground, circling the demon. 

A gun cocked behind them, and Iris, in spite of her instincts, looked behind her. Mom stood on the porch with a shotgun. “Get the FUCK off of my property!” she screamed. 

“Mom, you need to get back,” Iris said. 

“You should listen to your daughter, woman,” the demon said, her Hellfire expanding into a column shooting upwards into the sky. 

Another column rose up to join it. Pink Light exploded out of the house and rose through the roof. Deep within her chest, within her heart, within her soul, Iris felt a tingling go through her, a warm feeling of love and joy and righteous purpose. It exploded out in every direction, a hot pink light nearly matching the pastel shade emanating from her roof. Twin columns of pink light reached for the sky, and Iris screamed with rapturous joy and recognition as it happened. 

This had occurred once before, when she was possessed. 

***

The belly of the beast was a warm place, and Nicole filled it with White Light. The warmth was snuffed out rapidly, leaving a frigid cavern inside Leviathan’s chest. She kept herself warm through her Pink Light, letting it pour through her and enhance her vitality, making sure she kept alive and warm. Her White Light sang in the damp dark as the beast’s insides froze, but nearby, Nicole felt a black heat A dark-burning fire that stank of brimstone. Nicole felt it calling out to her, resonating with her own White Light. A Black Light of equal measure and power, an Unholy Magic synchronized with her own Holy Magic. She felt the willpower of her counterpart, and somehow, she knew that her counterpart felt it as well. 

Both of them… Both women exploded with power, and through that power, Nicole saw the other side. Saw her home, her own body lying in bed; her driveway, where her mother and sister and girlfriend all did battle with a demon. And through the resonance, the connection to her counterpart, she recognized that demon as… 

The mother of her demon. Lilith. 

It felt as simple as reaching a hand to a doorknob and twisting. The power, the feedback loop of Holy and Healing Light, and the accompanying crescendo of Unholy Magic, broke through reality itself. 

She reached through, and Pink Healing Light engulfed her. It exploded all around her, washing over her entire house, her entire block, her entire city. She felt her sister’s power resonating with her own, Iris’ Reconstitution washing over Manchester alongside her Healing. Iris power kept pace with Nicole’s and her demon’s, three crescendos of pure magic exploding everywhere in sight. 

Finally, the Light faded, and Nicole woke up her bed, transformed into her pink uniform. Dad sat on a chair next to her bed, balking at the entire situation while gripping a Winchester that rested on his lap. 

Nicole leapt out of bed and hugged him, then said, “Are they still outside?”

Dad nodded. 

“Where’s Monica?”

“In the panic room with Mark,” Dad said, uttering his nickname for their basement. 

“Gotcha,” Nicole said. “Stay safe. I need to get to work.”

Nicole raced down a flight of stairs and through her kitchen and out the front door, where she found her mother on the porch wielding a shotgun, where her sister stood straighter and taller than Nicole had ever seen her as sparks of hot Pink Light continually shot out of her hands, where her girlfriend stood with her hands wreathed in equal parts shadow and light as she held them at the ready to fight with Lilith. 

Lilith, for her part, was in a similar position. 

But at that moment, all eyes were on Nicole. 

“Lilith?” Nicole said. 

“Who’s asking?” the demon in the silver dress replied. 

“I have a message from your daughter,” Nicole said. 

“My what?” Lilith said. 

“Her what?” Amy, Iris, and Mom all said at once. 

“If you want me to explain, snuff out the Hellfire, lower your fists and weapons, power down, and come inside. I think we all need to have a talk,” Nicole said. 

A moment of hideous, angry tension sat heavily in the driveway, before, finally, Iris powered down. Mom lowered her shotgun, Lilith extinguished her Hellfire, and lastly, Amy powered down as well. 

Nicole did the same. “Good. Now let’s all have a nice little chat.”