Chapter 11

I looked into Gloria’s eyes, actually at a complete loss for words. And I felt fear that I was going to loose her here and now. “OK Chris, complete truth here. I promise, I have made no firm decisions, but I need to know the truth. I understand Bo, but why did you try to meet me as Chris?”

“Well, it was actually serendipity. If you remember, I never tried to ‘meet you’. I really had decided to get a booth at the fair, and the place where the food and crafts vendors met just happened to be in front of Carl’s. 100% coincidence. I was already considering setting up next to Mark, and it just happened to be there. I was hungry, and remembering the chicken fried steak your uncle made I realized that is what I wanted for lunch. If the place where the food and craft vendors had been next to each other was 2 blocks down, I would probably have gone into the Mexican place for a burrito.

“If you remember, you are the one that really started talking to me. And when you realized I had a craft store and you told me you did hair, I realized that it was something we could complement each other in. But you have to realize this, Chris is not a lesbian. As you see me now, this is the ‘original me’ you might say. I was born as Chris, and lived as Chris for over 22 years. As Chris here, I feel a great affection for you as a friend, but in no way do I feel a sexual or romantic one.

“Now as Bo, how do I say this and not sound insane? Bo in most ways is a completely different person. When I’m Chris, I have absolutely no sexual interest in other girls. In fact, I deeply and passionately love cocks! I love sucking cocks, I love fucking cocks, I almost melt when I think about getting fucked by a guy and having him cum in me.

“When I become Bo, I say I ‘change’. When I change, I mean I completely change from female to male. I become completely and utterly Bo, a heterosexual male. The idea of sucking a cock repulses me as Bohica. I have absolutely no desire to ever be with a male, and all of my attraction is for women. I fought that mentally for 5 years, until you came along. I had actually resigned myself to my life as Bo only doing patrols, and masturbating. I had the hardest time accepting that I could want a boyfriend as Chris, and also a girlfriend as Bo. It is you that finally allowed me to accept this separation.”

I took a sip of water from the bottle on my nightstand. “You really are my first girlfriend. Other than masturbating almost obsessively, Bo had never been touched by a female before. And when I went into Carl’s that day as Chris, I had no idea that we would start talking. It just happened, and thankfully we did end up striking up a friendship. But I did not try to do so, it just happened.”

“Yea, I can see what you mean now. In fact, if you had not owned the craft store and we gotten into the conversation about beads and the like, I likely would have never said much more to you and we likely would never have met again. But now here is the real question, where do we go from here?”

I reached out and took her hand in mine. “Gloria, let me tell you what I would like. As Chris, I want to keep you as my friend. I really do like you, and I think you are a great girl. You are smart, witty, and are trying hard to improve yourself. I saw you working at the fair, and you worked your ass off and everybody that had you do their hair loved it. As Bo, I would want to keep you as my girlfriend. More than a little of my love for you as Bo leaks over to me as Chris. I should not love you almost like a sister right now, but I do because of how strongly Bo feels about you.”

“Wow Chris, that’s actually deep. Well, let’s just see what develops then in the future, OK? But here is the real question, how would we handle a serious relationship?”

“Well, that is the biggest problem. In case they did not explain it to you, the way my power works is that I have to be conscious to be Bo. If I fall asleep or get knocked out, as you saw, I immediately switch to Chris again. This is why Bo never let you stay the night. I actually drifted off once last week, wait, was it the week before now? Anyways, I panicked when I woke up like this in your arms. I changed back real fast and you never noticed. But it was a real scare for me.”

“OK, I can see that. But I hope we can at least sometimes spend the night together. Just so you know, I have slept with girls before. I prefer guys, but sleeping with a girl does not bother me. And I promise that if we were to do that, I will do nothing but hug and hold you.”

“OK Gloria, I can accept that. Hugging and holding a girl does not bother me, I am not homophobic or anything. I am simply not sexually attracted to you as Chris. And it is not you, I am not attracted to any girl. And yes, now that you know I would love for you to spend the night here with me. Just so long as your mother and uncle do not show up with shotguns.”

Gloria crinkled her nose and laughed. “They will not do that, they recognize I am an adult now. And I can accept that. But here is the real question, I assume you still want to date guys?”

“Yea, but it will be a while, Mark there really hurt me, bad. But yes, I want to date guys, and I love sex with guys so much I never want to give it up. And someday I want to marry a guy, and have his kids. And that is the real problem.”

“Well, I can see that in a way. I’m not sure if it is a problem if you can somehow find a guy as accepting as I am. That is willing to share the 2 of you that share a single body with me.”

“Yea, that is a real trick. But that is not the real problem.” I took a deep breath, and let it out in a long sigh. “If I ever wanted to have kids, I have to give up being Bo for the entire pregnancy. Say I became pregnant right now. If I became Bo, he has no womb. Any baby I have simply vanishes. So for me to have a child, I would pretty much have to give up ever being Bo for almost a year.”

Gloria looked at me with horror in her eyes. Her hand went in front of her mouth and she gasped. “Oh my god, really? How do you know this?”

“I’m not the only one with what they call an XX-XY chameleon mutation, but there are only a couple of us known. And in each and every case, that is how it always works. Di is an XX-XX Chameleon, so she can change her form and not essentially have a spontaneous abortion. But because there is a significant size difference in her forms she can’t change in her last 3 months. Me, I can never change.”

Gloria gave me a big hug, and kissed my cheek. “Chris, if you ever find yourself falling in love with a guy that you want to marry and have a family with, I promise to step aside. Seek out your happiness, have children, live your life. I want to have whatever Bo can give me. But never ever sacrifice yourself or a family for me. I already swear that I will give Bo up forever, just so long as I can keep Chris as my friend.”

I hugged her back, and wiped away a tear, saying “It’s OK, one good thing about finding out about this is it let me dump my birth control pills. Changing into Bohica is the 100% perfect and foolproof ‘morning after pill’. And there are other benefits as well.”

Gloria held my hand as I explained all of my known powers.

“Well, here is the thing. In case you did not know, we Paladins are ranked based upon what powers we have. Now when I was rated 5 years ago I was a rather low ranked Paladin. Unbreakable bones, impenetrable skin, increased strength and agility, and my strongest power being that I changed forms. But here is the thing, in the last month or so I have realized I have many more powers. They were simply so passive that I was never aware of them. One of the strangest is ‘metabolism control’, which I only recently discovered. And that is not quite what it sounds like.”

“Metabolism control, like you can control your breathing and shit like that?” she asked.

“Oh no, in my case there is no real control at all, although I can hold my breath for almost 10 minutes. No, my metabolism is automatically controlled by my body. I can eat as much as I want, and never gain a pound. I can also not eat for weeks at a time. I can get drunk, but the moment I change form all alcohol instantly leaves my system. Not even a hangover.”

“Wow, that can be pretty handy. That is what happened the other night when we were drinking, right?”

I smiled at her and squeezed her hand, this girl really was sharp. “Yep. I didn’t want you walking home alone, but you are right that I was in no shape to drive. As soon as you left I changed to Bo, and sober as a judge I ran to catch up with you to make sure you made it home safe. But here is the kicker, it will also fight off almost all drugs. And when I was made aware such a power existed I realized it did more. I have been uncomfortable in the rain and cold, but did not realize it really did not affect me. And in the last 5 years I have never been sick. Changing between Bo and Chris seems to kill any bacteria or virus in my system.

“I still need to go back to Control and have that tested, but I am willing to bet I am immune from any kind of infection. And I’m now starting to suspect a few others, but am not sure how they could ever be confirmed.”

“But when you changed that night to walk me home, you made that decision as Chris. You tried to drive me home, and I refused. You then made the choice to become Bo, and walk me home.” I looked into her eyes and nodded.

Gloria hugged me at that, and actually rested her head on my shoulder. “Chris, you are aware what this means, right? It was not Bo that came to walk with me, it was actually you, Chris. You could have just gone to bed, but it was you, Chris that made the conscious decision to throw away that nice buzz we had both gotten just to walk me home. I really think that the two of you are more merged than you realize.”

I rested my hand on her head, lightly stroking her hair as I considered that fact. “Yea, you’re right there. But there are a few other things. How old do you think I am?”

“Well, I know from things we have said you are 28. But you look more like 22 or 23.”

“Yep, metabolism control at work there. It’s still too soon to be sure, but from all evidence collected all that share this mutation do not seem to age. Bo appears to be around 25, which is close enough. And I have actually started to accept the fact that at some time I will have to walk away from my life and everything as Chris.”

“What? Why would you do that? Chris, that makes no sense. Why would you do that?”

“Why? Think it through. Bo never aging, that is not a problem. He is a Paladin, that people can accept that. He is a mutant, and not aging or appear to age is just how some things will be. But Chris, the little craft store owner never aging? I figure I can hide it a bit with makeup, maybe even start to use wigs with gray hair in them. But I can’t even change my hairstyle or dye my hair! Trust me, when I was attacked and first became Bohica, my hair had green streaks in it. When I returned home that night, it was back to my natural color. I once even shaved my head before I became Bo. When I changed back, my hair was the exact same length it was the night of the attack. Even the same part. It is like that is the blueprint now of what Chris would look like, and I always return to it.

“And the same with Bo. I have shaved his head also, same thing. He always appears with that tiny afro style he wears. I’m sure I can stay as Chris for at least 15, maybe as long as 20 years or so. But eventually I’m going to have to move on and adapt a new identity. Otherwise people will realize that Chris never ages, and start to connect the two of us.”

“Wow, I never realized that but it makes perfect sense. But will you age, or are you frozen at 22 forever?”

“Honestly, we just don’t know. There are a lot of things that are going to take years or decades to discover. We are all too new, but there is a group at Control that is already trying to solve these questions. We do not even know if our mutations are genetic. Are we going to be the only generation of mutants ever and when we die off we are gone? Or is this genetic, and our kids can have them also?

“You see, mutations only appear after a person reaches puberty. That seems to be the trigger, and there have been a few cases of children on that night started to show mutations once they reached puberty. So it is believed that there may be new mutants appearing for another 10 years or so. And it is going to be another 10 years or more before we discover if others who were born after that night or even conceived after that night become mutants. Nobody knows, and they have not even been able to create any kind of test to detect mutations other than direct observation.”

“Wow, that’s some heavy shit Chris. So you are strong, can not be hurt, can not get sick, and may not age.”

“Well, as you saw I can be hurt. I was also hit in the chest that night, but because the body cavity is an open system my internal organs simply shifted around and I got no further injury. It seems that my skull is a key weak point. It’s a closed bottle essentially, and there was nowhere for the force to go when I was hit there other than into my brain. My skin and bones are unbreakable, but we have learned another limitation because of that. Hydrostatic shock can still injure and even kill me, if a part of my body is hit that can not disperse the shock waves throughout other body tissues and organs.”

I yawned, and Gloria got up and sat on the edge of the bed. “By the way, how are you explaining your being away from work for so long?”

“Oh, that was simple. Carl and my mom know how much of a friend you have become to me in the last few weeks Chris. So when I said I was going to be staying near the hospital to help you out they did not question it.”

“How can you afford that? You have already missed a week from work.”

“It’s OK Chris. I live at home, and have no real expenses. Most of my money has been saved so I can afford going to the Beautician Academy next year, so this will just push it back a month or so. It’s not a problem.”

“OK, how about this instead. Take my keys, and tomorrow you open my store. I will call one of the Knitting Circle to show up and help you learn the cash register and other things and I will pay you for doing that. I hope to be able to go home tomorrow anyways, it just feels funny being here as Chris, and I only have a few of my things here.”

Gloria looked at me, and softly said “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

I looked into her eyes, and moved over and gave her a big hug. “No, not at all! If you want you can stay here tonight, and you can stay with me when I get to my other home. I’m still going to be a bit weak for a few more days, and I would rather have you staying with me than some Control home health care nurse. And there are a few other things I want to talk over with you, but tomorrow.”

Gloria hugged me, and said she would happily help me. I relaxed into my bed and Gloria turned off all the lights and slipped in next to me. I felt her hand in mine and squeezed as I started to drift off to sleep.

The next morning an ambulance showed up and drove me to Control. There I had a complete medical workup, both as Chris and as Bohica. Then interviews with shrinks, then investigators and caseworkers. Finally Doug and Dianna knocked on the door and told me it was time for lunch.

The food was actually typical cafeteria food, but there was plenty of it. I even chuckled when one of the workers came up after we sat down and put a plate of chopped up hamburger in front of Fang. “Dianna, I just gave Fang his plate,” he said, and Di reached down and rested her hand on Fang’s head. “Go ahead, have your lunch too.”

“Bohica, so you know we have identified now 4 more mutants that were pre-pubescent on the Night. At least 1 of them is confirmed Paladin class. And we have been given the case file from Belize of yet another XX-XY Chameleon. We want to send down one of our specialists to examine her, I think you will be particularly interested in following her case.”

“Why is that Di? Because she is XX-XY like me?”

“Well, that and the fact that she is only 14 years old. She is a black girl, Catholic and very scared. She is a prostitute, and when one of the customers started to beat on her she changed. Her other form is of a Native man, about 5 foot 8 but well muscled. He is strong, but not exceptionally strong like you are. We would like for you to go down there for a few days and see if you can help her.”

“Bohica, you do not have to do this,” Doug added. “But the girl really is traumatized. She believes she is cursed by God for having been a whore, but we will cover all expenses and pay you a bonus if you can go and talk to her. Maybe having her meet both of you will help her out.”

“Doug, Di, of course I will go down there. Let’s arrange it for next week. I will leave on Monday, and let’s figure I return Thursday or Friday. I assume you can make all the arrangements Doug?”

“Not a problem. We will have the Air Force fly you there and back, and put you up in the consulate while you are there.”

“No, put me up in a hotel. A moderately priced one, but with a restaurant. In fact, either get us a 2 room suite, or 2 rooms with a connecting door. I want us to be able to spend the time there together, away from others. I will meet her as Chris, that would be less intimidating for her I think. But also I will have everything I need as Bo also.”

Doug was already on the phone giving orders, and Di smiled. “I wish I could go down there with you, but I think you can do this better than anybody else. Also, offer her immigration and amnesty if she wants to come up here with you. It might be a good way if she wants to escape that old life and start over again.”

I promised her I would, and Doug got off the phone. “OK, all arranged. A 3 star hotel with a 2 room suite. We will have it fully stocked and covert security in the room next door. OK, now that that is done, you and I have an appointment down in Acquisitions, Bo. Honey, see you later?”

Di gave us both a hug and kissed her husband, and grasping Fang’s harness he led her back to her office as Doug took me into the basement.

Once there, he called to somebody across the room and took us into an office. “Bo, this is Scott Scott. He is the one that said he wanted to meet you.”

“Scott Scott?” I asked, shaking his hand.

“Long story, let’s just say my parents had a sense of humor. Anyways, when you got injured I decided that we should see what we can do to help you. Here, let me know what you think.”

He opened a trunk on the floor, and started pulling out packages. And one at a time opened them and laid the contents on the large table in front of us. Black leather coat, black leather pants, and a porkpie hat.

I looked at them all, and said “What, is this a joke? You want me to look like Heisenberg from Breaking Bad, but black? Sorry, I can’t grow a goatee, and shaving my hair is pointless.”

Scott laughed at that. “Nope, not at all. Each of these is made of a ballistic fiber material, essentially they are bulletproof. Inside is a matrix intended to absorb and disperse the impacts. Now I know that your skin is already impervious, but say if there is a repeat of that attack, these will give you additional layers of protection. Like multiple layers of armor on a tank, these will spread out the impact over a wider area before it even reaches your body.”

I nodded my head, that actually made a lot of sense. And looking at them again, I could see that it also was a style that I might actually wear. “OK, but I would like one more thing. The same thing, but a knit cap. That way I do not have to worry about it falling off.”

Scott smiled, and left the room. Less than 2 minutes later he returned and tossed one on the table. “That is actually a common item, we always have some ready to go.”

I tried on the jacket, and it was a perfect fit. As was the hat. I gave it a slight tilt, and when Scott handed me a gym bag I tossed everything inside. Scott laughed, saying “Now you look like a bad motherfucker.”

“Shut your mouth!” I immediately responded, and all 3 of us laughed. I thanked Scott for the clothes, and he said if he thought of anything else he would let me know. We all shook hands again and I decided to take a patrol.

Darktown was quiet, and a lot of people waved as I drove around. Apparently they were glad to see me back in action. After an hour or so it was starting to get dark so I drove home and got everything ready for my trip. I packed everything then went down to the tunnel. I started jogging down the tunnel, having to stoop just a little bit. The track was laid most of the way from end to end, and at the far side I saw a small 4 seat tram sitting on the rail. I stopped to look it over, and the seats could be spun around 180 degrees so people could always be sitting facing forward.

I went into my old Bunker, and stripped down and changed. I then threw on a bra and pulled a dress I had handy and slipped into a pair of flats. Then unlocking the door I entered the shop.

Gloria saw me, and gave me a big smile. “Chris! I didn’t expect you to be home so soon!” She came up and took my hand in hers, giving a small squeeze before letting go again. “I was just about to close out the till for the night and shut everything down. It was quiet, but several people came in asking how you had been. I told them you should be back in a week or so, they were waiting until the migraines were down to a tolerable level.”

“Thanks Gloria. I’m going to stay back here then out of sight, can you finish locking everything up then come back here please?” She said it was not a problem, and 15 minutes later she joined me in my Bunker.

“Here, this is the original Bohica Bunker. This is actually what I worked out of for 5 years. If you can handle a 1/2 mile walk, we can go back to my other home if you like.”

She said that sounded great, and I asked her to hold on a moment. “I’m mostly back to where I was before, but Chris is still a bit weak for a long mile walk. And the headache seems easier to handle as Bo, so give me a minute please.”

She raised her eyebrow as I slipped off the flats, then pulled my dress up over my head. “A bra and no panties? Were you hoping to get lucky or something, Chris?” she laughed.