Question The Call of the Waters

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 1


May 8th, 1994
The Baker Household
Hastings, Minnesota

LeAnna sat in her room, listening to the radio. She was excited, because tomorrow was her birthday. Momma had promised a party. It wasn’t everyday you turned 14. She was only a freshman, but already she was popular. The blonde girl was very attractive, at 5’6”, with curves most seniors would envy, the boys were all over her for dates. Daddy had said that she couldn’t date until she had turned 14, so the fact that Jeff Pierson had asked her out for next Saturday made her all that more giddy.

Getting up, LeAnna walked over to the mirror that hung on her close door. She placed her hands on her shapely hips, and puffed out her chest to accentuate the fact that she was a solid C cup. LeAnna made little pouty lips at herself then giggled. Tugging on a tank top over her bra, she got out her tight little lycra running shorts. The shorts that she felt showed off what she thought of as a perfect ass.

Running down the stairs, she gave Daddy a kiss on the cheek, and grabbed a banana to go. She was going to go down to the park, some of the other kids were getting together to go shopping. Throwing on a loose hoodie over the top, she grabbed her purse.

As she was about to leave, her father called to her. “LeAnna, don’t forget your glasses.”

AUGHHHHH! She hated her glasses. She didn’t care that she could barely see 5 feet in front of her without them, they made her look like a NERD! Jeff always told her that her eyes were pretty, that the deep blue shade added to her all-American girl next door look. Begrudgingly, she took the glasses out of her bag and put them on. LeAnna gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek, and sprinted out the door.

—————


A few minutes later
A small park near the Hastings Mall.
Hastings, Minnesota


Arriving in the park 5 minutes later, LeAnna looked for her friends. She saw Jenny Richards over by the picnic tables, making out with Russ Olsen. She liked Jenny, but gawd, that girl could be such a slut sometimes. Eventually everyone had gathered, and the small group headed over to the mall. LeAnna and a couple other girls headed towards Daytons department store, while the boys wandered off towards the game stores and sporting goods stores.

Judy Carlson flanked Leanna on the right, and Jenny took up her spot on the right. Judy was on the track team, the willow thin African-American girl was close to 5’11”, and towered over the other two. She ran her fingers through her curly chocolate brown hair, and looked over at LeAnna. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

LeAnna shook it off and said simply, “I guess I’m a little hungry is all, I’ve only had a banana to eat… not like Jenny, who probably had breakfast, in addition to having Jeff’s banana.”

Jenny stuck her tongue out at Leanna. The two were good friends, and the fact that Jenny had been sexually active since she was 12 was common knowledge amongst their little clique. They teased her about it, and she teased back at her friends about being prudes and not having gotten any yet.

Approaching the food court, LeAnna stumbled, and nearly face-planted. Only a quick saving grab on her arm by Judy kept her up. “I really think we need to get some food into you, girl!”, Judy said emphatically.

Jenny looked over at her friend. “Are you sure it’s only hunger? Is it, you know… time?”

LeAnna looked up, the effort caused her vision to swim. She didn’t want to admit that she had yet to have her first period. Given her looks, she wasn’t sure anyone would believe that, anyhow. ”No, I don’ think it’s that.” she said, “I think I just need a little something in my stomach.”

LeAnna watched with a bemused smile as she noticed Judy watching Jenny walk over to the A&W stand. Perhaps walk is not the right word, as everything Jenny does exudes sex. Though Jenny was only about an inch taller than she was, she carried herself in a manner that was more mature, more adult. The Raven-haired girl rivaled herself for curves and bust size, and those dark brown eyes hid a predator on the prowl. She felt sorry for Judy, she knew the poor girl was attracted to Jenny, but Jenny didn’t swing that way.

Jenny came back with a small root beer float and a hotdog. LeAnna ate the hotdog, and washed it down with the float. Unfortunately, it did not stay down for long. Looking at Judy, Jenny gave her a worried look, and told her to go find the boys. With Judy sprinting off, Jenny rubbed the back of the poor girl. For her part, LeAnna didn’t notice any of this. Her head was pounding. A sound like running water was filling her ears. She didn’t feel a thing when Jenny put her hand on her burning forehead.

LeAnna heard the thundering sound of the water in her head, it drown out everything else. There were noises, cries and inhuman song filling her brain. Then she collapsed and heard nothing more.

—————

Later that evening
Regina Hospital
Hastings Minnesota

Paul Baker looked at his daughter with concern. She has seemed normal that morning, cheerful and energetic. Now she lay in a bed in the hospital, tubes feeding IV fluids into her. She was covered in ice packs, after spiking a fever of 102 degrees. She slept quietly, the only sound in the room was the beeping of the monitors that recorded her condition.

He got up and left the room, going into the hallway to try once again to locate the mother of his child. The divorce had been hard, both on him and on LeAnna. To find out that your wife was pregnant by your best friend was terrible, but worse than that was her attitude. She had abandoned her daughter, in favor of the new family she was going to have.

“Come on Beth, pick up.", he pleaded as the phone rang. Upon hearing it go to voicemail, he sighed and left ANOTHER message. He had been trying to reach her, ever since he had learned about his daughter’s collapse nearly 4 hours ago. He shook his head sadly, and walked back in the room.

Doctor Hall was checking in on her, Paul had known Henry Hall for years, the kindly doctor was LeAnna’s pediatrician and godfather.
The doctor noticed Paul had entered. “Henry, how is she? What’s happening?”, Paul said in a father’s frantic voice.

Doctor Hall called Paul closer to the bedside and motioned for him to sit. “Paul, I have examined LeAnna thoroughly, this might be difficult to hear, but what it looks like is that she is undergoing what is called a burnout.”

Mr. Baker didn’t understand. “What’s a burnout?”, he asked.

Henry looked over at his friend. “A burnout is a condition where an individual experiences an overtaxing of their system, causing them to go into a state of cellular overload. This accounts for her fever and other symptoms.”

Paul looked at his friend. “What other symptoms?”

Henry looked at his old friend and sighed, “The thing is that burnouts are almost exclusively unique to mutants.”

Paul looked over at Henry. “Are you saying She’s a … mutant? That’s NOT possible.”

Dr. Hall looked at him, shook his had, and said, “I’m afraid it is.” He motioned to his friend to come closer to his little girl. Once he did, the Doctor carefully reached over and opened the girl's eye. Her normally blue eye had changed, the iris was now a deep blood red.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 2


May 9th, 1994
En route to the Owens residence
Hastings, Minnesota

Paul Baker was livid. LeAnna was sleeping, and Henry had promised to call him if there had been any changes. He muttered to himself as he sped to his destination. Arriving at the house, he got out of his car and marched up to the door. With a determined expression, he banged on the door.

Jim Owens opened the door, and looked at his former friend. “Paul, I don’t want any trouble.”, he said uncertainly.

For his part, Paul looked at the traitor and spoke calmly. “I’m just here to talk to Beth, that’s all. I don’t want to start anything.”

Jim let him in with a look of uncertainty.

“Beth, come out here, I need to talk to you!”, Paul called out.

Coming down the stairs, the very pregnant Beth looked at her former husband with a look of scorn. “Paul, keep it down. Little Emily is trying to sleep.”

Paul dismissed her comments with a snort. “Be that as it may, “ he scowled, “I’m here about LeAnna, you know... your firstborn daughter. You didn’t answer any of my calls.” He was seething, but managing to keep it from showing. The whole problem was of Beth’s creation. After LeAnna was born, Beth had had a hard time of it, and they had agreed that Paul should get a vasectomy. Things had been fine, but with their daughter growing up, Beth had felt those old stirrings again, and she wanted another baby. Unfortunately, the attempt to reverse the surgery had proved unsuccessful, and she had fled into the arms of his friend.

Beth looked at him coldly. “I saw you called, but I deleted the messages. Whatever trouble that girl has gotten herself into, I knew you would handle it.”, came her reply.

Paul shook his head in exasperation, and rubbed his temples, he could feel a headache trying to assert itself. “Ok, the fact that she is in the hospital, and nearly died, doesn’t concern you? I see how it is.” In anger, he left. He had better places to be.


—————

A little while later
Regina Hospital
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna awoke to find ‘Uncle’ Henry sitting at her bedside. He was in casual clothes, meaning that he wasn’t on duty. The girl looked at him and in a hoarse voice managed to ask him a question. “Where’s daddy, Why isn’t he here?”

Henry looked at his god-daughter and frowned, “ I’m afraid he went to see your mother, she didn’t answer any of his calls.”, the kindly man responded.

LeAnna nodded weakly. She was laying here in he hospital. She remembered feeling sick at the mall and throwing up. She knew she passed out. She was sweating and hot, her blankets and clothing were drenched in sweat. She hard the water thundering in her head, and the inhuman songs and cries. It was so loud, so very loud. “Unca Henry, how long have I been asleep? I don’t feel good.”, she rasped.

The man looked at the girl that he loved as a daughter. “I’m afraid you’ve been asleep since yesterday.”, he replied. “You gave us quite a scare. I discussed this with your father last night, and you need to know what happened. What you experienced is a condition known as a burnout, it sometimes happens to a person when they begin to manifest as a mutant. I’m afraid that’s what’s happening.”

LeAnna cried. A Mutant? Her? She shuddered and remembered the stories of what had happened to Judy’s older brother. When he was revealed as a mutant, he was chased out of school, and had needed to be sent away somewhere. Judy never really talked about it, except to tell her on occasion about how she had gotten a letter or a phone call from him, and how he was enjoying his new school out east. She didn’t want to have to go away, she didn’t want to be hated. She had a cute boy interested in her, and had made the cheerleading squad. This was not possible. She had been happy. Why had this happened? Why her?

Placing his hand tenderly on the girl’s back, he tried to soothe her fears the best he could.

LeAnna meekly sobbed out a question to him, “Do… do I look different? Am I a freak?”

From the doorway, a familiar voice spoke up. “ You are my little girl, and I will always love you. Even if you grow tentacles and giant fangs…Which you haven’t.”, Paul quickly added.

“Daddy!”, the girl exclaimed as loud as she was able. She pulled back her bedsheets and sat up, instantly regretting that, as she wobbled unsteadily.

Paul stepped in and gave his little girl a hug. “Sweetie, I love you and all… but you stink.”, he laughed. She blushed at that.

“Unca, is it okay if I take a shower? I feel all sweaty and gross.”, the girl pleaded.

“Hmm, normally I’d suggest a sponge bath, but I think you are well enough to handle it. I will get a nurse to come in and stay in there with you, just in case.”, her god-father said.

When the nurse arrived, both men stepped out into the hall. There was a loud scream, and the nurse called for them to come back in.
LeAnna lay on the floor of the bathroom sobbing. her hospital gown was off, and she was looking at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. Her beautiful blonde hair was going black and white at the root, her eyes were a scary shade of red, and she had lost weight, a lot of weight. Where she had been a very large C cup, her breasts has shrunk, they looked like they weren’t even up to being called an A cup. Her butt was no longer the plump apple-bottom she was so proud of, it was flat and kind of boyish. She seemed shorter too. She was a freak. She curled up on the floor in the fetal position and cried.

The nurse picked up the small, frail girl and after a brief, perfunctory shower the girl was placed back in bed, the sheets having been changed while they were in the bathroom. The men looked at each other, ashamed. They had seen all the changes but somehow had failed to register that they would have such a traumatic effect on the girl. A girl that was proud of her looks and the attention they brought her.

With a sigh, Henry ordered the nurse to give the girl a sedative, and the men went out into the hall to keep a silent vigil.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 3


May 10th, 1994
Regina Hospital
Hastings, Minnesota

LeAnna was awake and crying. The running water and loud cries that were hammering at her brain wouldn’t stop. She rolled over, vomited over the bed rail, and returned to the fetal position. Paul Baker stood in the doorway, upset. His little girl was in a great deal of pain, and he was powerless to stop it. He hard a commotion, and from the corner of his eye, he saw his ex-wife charging into view.

Stepping in front of the door, he tried to block it. It had been a little over two years since the divorce, and the woman had barely made time for her firstborn daughter. Beth had tried to sue for full custody, but when the evidence of her infidelity came to light, the judge had granted minimal custodial rights. Beth had tried using LeAnna as a weapon in the lawsuit, and having failed, she had cast her daughter aside.

“Beth.”, Paul said in a neutral tone, “Now is perhaps not the best time. She is in a lot of pain.”

The very pregnant blonde looked at her ex. “Damn it Paul, what’s going on? What’s wrong with her?”

For his part, Paul Baker sighed, “It’s complicated, apparently she’s gone through something known as a burnout. It’s something that sometimes affects mutants…”

Beth looked incredulously at her former spouse, “You are trying to tell me that my daughter is some sort of… mutant freak? I don’t believe you!”

Pushing past Paul, she entered the room and saw a disturbing image before her. LeAnna had begun to take after her. She had been well on her way to developing an hourglass figure, with the blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes that were a trait amongst the women on her side of the family.
this… creature… on the bed wasn’t LeAnna. No way in Hell. For starters, that thing, was too small. Leanna had been taller than she was, and this whatever it was, was not. It couldn’t weigh more than 90 pounds, soaking wet. Beth knew her daughter was about a 36C cup, and this whatever this was had no visible breasts at all. Its unkept hair was a strange sight. The hair was blonde at the ends, but a mottled, confused mess of black and white towards the roots. There was vomit on the side of its face, and when it turned to look at her… those eyes... those inhuman red eyes.
In revulsion and shock, Beth screamed a a scream of pure terror, and ran off as fast as someone 8 months pregnant possibly could. She was long gone, and didn’t see her daughter hunch up and vomit again before starting to cry hysterically.


—————

That afternoon
Regina Hospital
Hastings, Minnesota


Dr. Henry Hall looked at the sleeping form of his god-daughter and sighed, he hated having to sedate her again, but after the incident with her mother, and the painful noise that she complained about, LeAnna was in a precarious place. He had called in a favor with a friend at the Mayo Clinic, and a specialist in mutant care would be arriving soon. He was grateful, he loved this girl and was saddened by all the pain physically and emotionally that the poor girl had to withstand.

Distracted, Henry had not noticed a rather tall man African-American man in a lab coat and tan khakis walk up behind him. “Excuse me, Dr. Hall, I take it? My name is Jerome Davis, I’m here because you requested help with a mutant patient.”

Henry looked up at the man, who was easily at least 6’10”. “Yes, this way please.”, replied Dr. Hall, as he escorted the man into the room. “Excuse me for asking, but what are your qualifications, in regard to treating mutants? I don’t mean to sound rude, but this little girl is my god-daughter, and is very special to me.”

Dr. Davis shrugged it off and nodded. “I understand perfectly, and no offense taken at all. As for my qualifications, I attended Whateley Academy, which is an exclusive school for mutants. After I graduated, I went to Columbia University, where I majored in medicine and interned at Johns Hopkins, before taking a position at Mayo.” He nodded at Dr. Hill’s realization. “Yes, I am a mutant, in my case I’m classified as an Exemplar 3 and Psi 3. I’m a receptive and projective telepath.”

Henry watched as the other man walked over to the girl and sat down at her bedside. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and gently stroked her forehead. She calmed at his touch and the sobbing stopped.


—————

Inside LeAnna’s mind


Jerome looked about him. He was on the shore of a lake, there was a gentle breeze. He heard the sounds of a mournful wail, the songs of loons filled the air. He was beginning to understand. looking around him, he saw a blonde girl, of perhaps 14 years sitting in the shallows. her hands were clasping her head, as she cried and shook. Every cry seemed to tear at her. She clawed at her head, trying to make it stop. She raked at her skin, at her scalp, tearing skin and hair out in bloody clumps.

Jerome walked over to the bloody girl and offered his hand. “Don’t fight it, let it come to you, let it become a part of you. You will find strength together.”, He said.

She stood up and he helped her up, gently pulling away the pieces of her past self and her past self-image. Before him stood the new LeAnna.

She saw small, but lithe. She no longer had the voluptuous image that she had been holding onto, the large breasts and bottom. This was a body more for grace, flexibility, and agility. Gone was the blonde hair. In its place was was black hair with mottled white, at times shining with an iridescent sheen. She looked herself over with the red eyes that had replaced her now ordinary-seeming shade of blue. This would take getting used to, she mused.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 4


May 10th, 1994
Regina Hospital
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna sat up in bed, Her Father a little ways away watching as the other two men in the room talked. She was groggy, but then again, she never had someone else in her mind before.

Dr. Davis looked over at the girl. “Ah, you are awake. Good. I’m Doctor Davis, your Godfather called me in to help with your case. I’m sorry for the intrusion into your head yesterday, but you were in a lot of pain, and I needed to see if I could find the cause.” the very tall man explained.

LeAnna nodded gently. “ The noise isn’t as loud today. Before it was like there was noise louder than a rock concert in my head, now it’s just a whisper. What did you do?“, she asked.

Dr. Davis smiled. “ It wasn’t me,” he said. “It was you, you accepted your spirit.” He said, as he looked at the confused girl.

Mr. Baker was next to speak. “Spirit? I’m afraid we don’t understand.”

With a nod, the very tall doctor explained. “LeAnna is what’s known as an avatar, meaning she has what is called a hallow. This is a space in which a spirit's life essence can settle into and co-exist with the avatar. Normally a spirit will look for a host that it can bond with, and it will share its powers with the host. In exchange the spirit gets a presence in this world, and a safe place to dwell.”

LeAnna frowned at the thought that some spirit creature had crawled inside her and made itself at home. She shook her head, and listened as the Doctor continued.

“Now the reason that it appears your daughter was having difficulty with her spirit is that the spirit is larger than her hallow. In an effort to fit and make things work for both of you, the spirit had to make some… adjustments…” The doctor stated.

“Adjustments?”, LeAnna shrieked. “Adjustments?” she put her hand on her chest. “That’s what you call having the non-boobs of a 10 year old? That’s why I had to get smaller? That’s why I have freakish red eyes? That’s why my pubes disappeared and I have feathers down there? And really… webbed toes… I mean really? Thanks a lot stupid spirit, thanks ever so much.” The girl crossed her arms and sulked.

“Erm, yes.. well…” The doctor stammered. “I suppose that’s a lot of negatives. But I’m sure that in time you will discover positives. I’ve known a couple avatars, and They tell me that their spirits never did anything bad to them, you may have manifested these…oddities… but the spirit needs you, and it would never do anything to compromise your safety. That would be like it trying to set its house on fire while inside.”

Dr. Hall was next to ask a question. “From my understanding of avatars and spirits, the spirits are often tied to nature, whether they are elementals or animal spirits, or something else. Were you able to determine her spirit when you went into her head?”

D. Davis nodded and answered, “From what I can determine, she seems to be hosting a loon spirit.”

LeAnna rolled her eyes and sarcastically grumbled. ”Great, not only do I become a mutant, but I’m possessed by a fucking duck.”

Paul Baker looked at his daughter. “First of all, language, young lady. Second of all, Loons aren’t ducks.”, he said in that sympathetic, yet disapproving way that only parents can master.

Dr. Davis chimed in. “Actually, you already were an active mutant. From what we can tell, based on your routine physical and the data from before you gained your spirit… you were what is known as an exemplar. Exemplar mutations are physical and mental changes that make a person a little better than a baseline human. A little smarter or stronger or for lack of a better term… ‘ideal’, we estimate you might have been at least an exemplar 2, on the rating scale.“

Dr. Hall spoke up, “That is a lot for LeAnna to take in, I think we should give her a little time alone to comprehend it all.”

He ushered everyone out of the room. After closing the door, Henry looked at his closest friend. “There is something else that we discovered during her tests, something that she probably wouldn’t be able to hear now, on top of everything else, but she will need to know sooner or later.” Henry paused and sighed, “Part of the spirit's changes in her body resulted in the loss of her uterus. I’m afraid LeAnna will never be able to get pregnant.”

— — — — —

A short time later
Inside LeAnna Baker-Smith’s mind

LeAnna sat on a log, overlooking a lake. It was pleasant enough, sunny and warm, a gentle breeze was blowing. Still, she was angry. she knew the troublemaker was out there. She could hear it, laughing at her. Well, maybe not laughing, because that’s what a loon’s cry sounds like, but it was definitely trying to say something to her. She sighed and closed her eyes, the breeze felt good. She did have to admit that. And then the pesky spirit started to call, a somber call, sad and hauntingly beautiful. Unaware of her own tears, LeAnna started to sob inconsolably.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 5


May 15th, 1994
MCO Regional Headquarters
Minneapolis, Minnesota

LeAnna zigged and zagged, the projectiles coming at her ever faster, more and more baring down on her. Her new-found agility and speed helped her dodge, but it would only be a matter of time. She was worn out, all the lifting and running and dodging was taking their toll on her. She turned left, when she should have turned right. She never saw the projectile coming. With a smack, it hit her in the back of the knee, knocking her to the ground. She knelt there as the door opened and the man in the lab coat entered.


“Very good! Very good!”, the man exclaimed, “Definitely an exemplar, I’d say certainly exemplar 3.” The doctor led her out of the test chamber, and back to her father.

At the insistence of her doctors - and her father- LeAnna had begun meditating several days earlier, trying to enter that space where the spirit dwelled. She relaxed and opened her mind to it’s presence. She still resented it, and she was still sulky about being flat-chested, but she was going to have to adjust. There was no going back. During her meditations, she observed the black and white bird as it swam around in her mind space. She learned from it, watching it swim, dive, hunt. She heard the tranquil calls, and tried to mimic them, to varying degrees of success.


For the next test, the doctor led her to a changing room, and ushered her in. She found a plastic bag labeled with her codename, ’Gavia’.

LeAnna’s Dad was a science teacher at the high school, and had explained that the term Gavia was derived from Latin, and was the name of the genus for the common Loon, which was what her spirit evidently was. This testing was done using codenames, to protect her identity. LeAnna had no issue with that, this whole spirit of the loon thing was embarrassing.

LeAnna put on the suit and left the room, meeting with the doctor in the hall. She was escorted to a large set of doors, when she entered, she was surprised that the room contained an olympic-sized swimming pool. LeAnna had been an okay swimmer, but they evidently wished to see if the spirit had enhanced her abilities in water. She dove in, feeling the water around her. Her new form cut through the water like a torpedo. She took several laps, and then climbed out near the doctor.

“Excellent, simply excellent!”, he proclaimed.

She looked at the short, fat, balding man with a questioning look. He apparently picked up on it, because he explained, “I’m sorry. We old fogies sometimes get so wrapped up in our tests and data that we forget there is someone else to explain to. What I was marveling at is amazing. If not for your mutant status making you ineligible, you would have just shattered the qualifying time for the U.S. Olympic team.”

LeAnna gawked at that in pure amazement. Then she frowned, her body was more streamlined now, but she still missed her boobs.

The doctor had her do another test at the pool, she dove in and sat on the bottom of the pool for as long as she could, finally coming up for air. What seemed to her to have been only a couple minutes had actually been over 10 minutes.

After changing again, She was led into a room with all sorts of gizmos and doohickeys on a bench. She was asked if she could make anything out of it, to which she only replied, “A Mess?”.

The doctor checked off another box on the papers he was carrying around. Testing her for magical abilities was likewise fruitless.

After all the runaround, they led her back to her Dad. She ran up and hugged him carefully. After learning she could lift about 600 pounds, she would have to be a lot more careful. The Doctor walked up to a computer and typed something in. A card printer began whirring, and out came an ID card.

He looked at the girl and handed it to her. “This is your mutant ID card. It lists your powers and codename. Carry it on you at all times. You will need it for any aircraft travel you might do, as well as any border crossings.” He went on to explain other benefits of the card, but she was only half-listening.

She looked at the card and read it off. Her powers were classified on it. Exemplar 3, Avatar 2.

—————


That evening
The Baker household
Hastings, Minnesota


Paul Baker was mad. He had called his ex-wife, to fill her in on LeAnna’s condition, and her powers. The woman had refused to come to the phone, she had disowned her own daughter. He sighed, and told Jim Evans a little tidbit he had picked up from the doctors. Jim might want to get Emily screened for the mutant genome, as the mother was usually responsible for transmitting the genes. After hanging up, he smirked. He had loved Beth once, but she had always been a little pretentious and snobbish, due to some vague distant relation to the English Royal Family. That is why she had kept her maiden name during the marriage, and had insisted on LeAnna’s last name being a hyphenated combination of both their last names.


He looked over at LeAnna, she was laying on the couch, with her eyes closed. She was no doubt in her mind-space, swearing at her spirit again. He chuckled at that, and went off to make himself a cup of coffee. As he turned, the phone rang.

“Hello, Paul?”, the voice on the other end of the line said. Paul recognized that voice anywhere.

“Superintendent Dunn, what can I help you with?”, he asked.

Paul’s boss spoke up, “Paul, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. The PTA has called an emergency meeting for tomorrow. It seems as though there has been some concern about your daughter.”

Paul looked over at the meditating girl and frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”, he said.

Dunn cleared his throat and spoke. “Paul, some parents are making a fuss about LeAnna having been on cheer squad while having been an active mutant. Some of them are calling for her to be expelled for rules infractions.”

Paul spoke up, anger in his voice. “ First of all, We were unaware of her status at the time. Second of all, that information was only just discovered. Thirdly, anyone that gained that information did so by looking at supposedly secure confidential records. If they want LeAnna expelled, especially this late in the school year, someone is playing dirty. I intend to fight it, and they had better hope I don’t find out who it was, because they will be facing a LOT of civil and criminal charges.”

Paul looked over at LeAnna, to see if she had heard, but she still sat there deep in meditation.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 6


May 16th, 1994
The Baker household
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna Baker-Smith was pissed. She flung the disposable razor across the bathroom at the mirror. It landed with the other 5 that she had managed to blunt or break. After a stream of words that would have made a drunken sailor blush, she gave up and set off for the garage.

Several minutes later she came back up with a roll of duct tape and pulled off large strips, which she applied to her legs, armpits, and bikini lines. Ripping each one off with a scream, she looked at her legs. They were red and chafed, and had cuts and scrapes all over them. She had finally managed to get rid of the small feathery quills that had been growing in lieu of hair. With a shiver, she reached for the aloe and began to apply it.

Paul Baker saw his daughter come out of her room. He was shocked looking at her. Her legs were all cut up and red, bandages all over them. She could see the concerned look on his face.

“Don’t worry, Daddy.” LeAnna said, “I’m not cutting or anything. But it is damn hard to shave when you have feathers growing all over.” She winced and then made light of it. “At least I didn’t have to use the belt sander.” LeAnna sighed and straightened her skirt. She threw on her blazer and they walked out to the car.

—————

Later that evening
Hastings High School Auditorium
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna and her father sat in the front row, facing the school board. Everyone seemed to be keeping their distance.
The meeting began, and following the reading of the minutes from the prior meeting, her potential suspension was first on the agenda.

Doug Freeman, leader of the PTA stood and addressed the gathering. Doug was a short, fat greasy man with a receding hairline and cheesy mustache.

“Welcome, everyone, today we are gathered to address the situation of LeAnna Grace Baker-Smith, a known mutant, having been on the cheerleading team, a violation of state high school league rules.” Doug went on to read the regulation that prohibited mutant children from participating in any extra-curricular activity in which their powers might give them an unfair advantage. “I have a record of her MCO report, and her medical records. According to the records, she has an unfair advantage, in that she is what is known as an Exemplar. In her MCO testing, she was able to lift 550 pounds and run at a speed of nearly 40 mph. Exemplars are also know for having above average looks, making it even more difficult for any ‘regular’ student to compete with her in what is clearly an activity weighted towards attractiveness.”

LeAnna slid lower in her chair and fumbled with the dark glasses that hid her inhuman looking eyes.

Paul Baker stepped forward. “Chairman, board-members, I object strenuously. You are deciding on whether to expel a girl for doing something she loved, when she was unaware of any infractions. Since her burnout and secondary changes, she has not practiced or competed in any extra-curricular activities. She has not even been allowed back to school. Expulsion when there are only 3 weeks left in school is mighty irregular, and frankly, suspicious. Furthermore, that her sealed records and confidential medical records were obtained without parental consent strikes me as…”

Freeman interrupted, “Mister Baker, we obtained these records WITH full parental consent. We have done nothing wrong.”

LeAnna had a sinking feeling. She looked around he room, and in the back row spotted the person she hoped would not be there.

Paul Baker looked squarely at his ex-wife. “Regardless… that her records are being used to punish her is an egregious travesty. I implore the board to not buckle under to pressure, and to do the right thing.” He sat down, still scowling at his ex.

Doug Freeman looked around. “Does anyone else have anything to say, before we move on?”

LeAnna stood up, and calmly walked up to the front of the room. “I would like to speak. I am sorry. Sorry that there has to be any problem with me having been on the team. I did not know I was a mutant until I started my changes. I thought I was an ordinary girl. If I had known back then, I would have left the team. What you are talking about is unfair. Punishing me for something I didn’t mean to do. It is close to the end of the year. Please just let me finish out the year. Please let me get my credits for this semester. If you do, I.. I promise I will look for another school, I will go elsewhere if you want. You won’t need to worry about me anymore. I’m sorry.” After she finished speaking, LeAnna ran over to her Dad, tears flowing down her cheeks as she threw herself into his arms.

In the back row, Beth Owens-Smith held her little daughter Emily. She impassively watched everything going on, stopping only to stop the child from reaching to play with the Humanity First pin she now wore on her blouse.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 7


May 17th, 1994
The Baker household
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna sat on the couch, reading through her English textbook. Behind closed doors a compromise had been reached with the school board. She would be allowed to complete her freshman year at home, and she could take her finals under teacher supervision after school. She would move on to 10th grade, but not at Hastings High. Her Father would be home late, as things were still being ironed out.

LeAnna had been feeling kind of moody lately, before her changes, she would have thought it was PMS, but when her Dad told her that she would never have another period, she had at first taken it in stride. For a girl her age, thinking of the future and children was not even in the picture. She growled. Jeff Pierson had, of course, cancelled their date last Saturday, and had refused to even pick up when she called. She looked forward to a life of being alone, being the weird ‘bird chick’.

The knocking at the door startled LeAnna out of her introspection. She got up and opened the door, letting Judy in. Through all the problems, Judy and Jenny had been there for her, with calls, e-mails, and the occasional visit. It helped that LeAnna felt she had friends still.

“I brought your assignments.”, Judy casually remarked, sitting next to LeAnna. She smiled at the smaller girl and looked at her briefly.

Misunderstanding the glance, LeAnna got somewhat defensive. “Staring at the freak, Judy?“, she scowled and inched away.

Judy sighed and inched closer. “You are not a freak!” Looking the exotic looking girl in the eyes, she moved closer, getting dangerously close to her ‘personal space’. She stared into those red eyes, and found herself leaning in.

LeAnna panicked at the kiss. It was tender, caring, and very unexpected. She hesitated and pulled away.

“What.. what are you DOING?”, she nervously exclaimed.

Judy frowned and bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I just. I’ve always been attracted to you, and now I feel it more. You are so pretty, so alluring.”

LeAnna looked at her, dazed. “I… I thought you liked Jenny? I mean, I always catch you glancing at her. I mean I knew you liked girls… but I thought you liked her!” LeAnna was confused, so very confused.

With that Judy giggled. “Silly, it wasn’t her I was looking at.” She shook her head and put her hand on LeAnna’s shoulder.

LeAnna smiled and hugged her friend. She was conscious of the feelings of the much taller girl’s chest against her own flat chest. Biting her lip uncertainly, LeAnna felt a mix of curiosity, excitement, and fear. She leaned back in and gave Judy a nervous kiss on the lips, followed by a slightly longer kiss, and in a moment of clarity, a much longer open-mouthed kiss.

Judy felt the excitement and her hand strayed up to the younger girl’s chest. She could feel through the tee that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and that her tiny nipples were excited. She felt her pull away and retreat to the other side of the couch.

LeAnna retreated and began to cry. “I’m a freak, this stupid bird inside me took my femininity from me, I have no breasts, I can’t have kids, I’ve never even had a damn period.”

Judy moved to sit next to the girl yet again, she put her finger under LeAnna’s chin, and lifted her head up. “That’s bull, I think you are damn sexy.” With that said, she kissed the girl again, her hands caressing her cheeks, running through her hair.

LeAnna was confused, afraid, and aroused. When Judy began to nibble on her ear, she moaned. She blushed as the large girl ran her hands over her chest. With a smile, she took the larger girl’s hand and led her up the stairs.

LeAnna had never considered sex with another girl, sure, she knew she had been hot, and that undoubtedly some other girls checked her out when she wasn’t looking. She hadn’t known Judy had been one of them, but now that the older girl had confessed the attraction, she thought about it. Judy was tall and fit, her track-star figure was kinda sexy.

Laying down on the bed, LeAnna pouted cutely in a submissive position, as her long time friend took off her shirt. She closed her eyes as Judy kissed her stomach and worked her way up to her chest. The flicking of the tongue across her tiny tits made her squirm excitedly. Soon both girls were laying together, basking in the afterglow. LeAnna purred as Judy ran her fingers through her feathers.

“Mmm, soooft.”, cooed the taller girl as she snuggled her lover. “I’m just sad that I waited so long to tell you. I mean, I’ll be off to Stanford in the fall.”

LeAnna caressed the soft cocoa skin of her bedmate. “I probably wouldn’t have noticed, I was sort of a narcissistic bitch, you know.”

“Mmm … that is true.”, quipped Judy.

With a laugh, LeAnna bopped her lover with a pillow, and began to kiss her again, contentedly.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 8


May 18th, 1994
The Baker household
Hastings, Minnesota



LeAnna Baker-Smith lay on the couch, supposedly doing her calculus homework, but in all reality her mind was drifting back to the events of the previous evening. Of all the people to lose her virginity to, Judy would never have crossed her mind. LeAnna had been firmly straight. she had never noticed girls in that way, but last night felt right. Didn’t it? She pondered what this meant. It made no sense for the spirit to have done this. It was just a dumb bird. Why would it encourage something that served no reproductive purpose. Sure, it had messed up her chances of having kids anyhow, but she didn’t think this was anything it had done. That meant that it had come from her. She would have to meditate on that.

LeAnna had been meditating a lot lately. She was still mad at the dumb bird, but that was lessening. She was conflicted about her new body, she sometimes hated it, she sometimes found it intriguing. Sure, having to de-feather with duct tape was painful and no fun, but Judy seemed to have liked the end results. At the thought of Judy, her hand wandered to the waistband of her sweatpants. Between her arousal, and the contemplative mood, her mind was wandering.

That was when the brick flew through the window and snapped her back to attention. LeAnna leapt up and looked towards the window. From her vantage point she could see the angry mob. Moving towards the phone, she got half-way to it when the first bullet whizzed past her, hitting the wall behind her. She was pinned down and couldn’t reach the phone. She crawled towards it, and reached up, carefully picking it up. There was no dial tone. The phone lines had to have been cut.

Getting up and racing to the kitchen, she found the back door was blockaded by more of the mob. She could hear shouts of 'Die Mutie' and 'Kill the mutant'. Circling back to the stairway, she ran up, hoping to escape out the window in her room. Many a time she had snuck out the window and down the large elm tree that was conveniently close to the window. She reached her room, and found the door open, and four men in masks waiting for her. She turned to flee, when one of the men took out a knife and swung at her, slicing a shallow cut down her right shoulder blade. She yelped in surprise, and turned to face the men.

LeAnna felt a calming influence in her mind, the sound of the water and the reassuring cries of her spirit. She realized she could do this, she was strong now, and quick. The knife-wielding man charged her, and she dodged left, grabbing for the umbrella that sat beside the door. she turned and twisted, ducking under another stab, parrying it with the umbrella. She jabbed with it, and using her considerable strength, she managed to impale it into his side. The assailant’s friends stepped around him, one of them stopping to tend to him.

Taking the opportunity, LeAnna ducked down the stairs, running from the men who had invaded her home. She reached the front entryway again, and was greeted by a loud explosion. Someone had pitched a gasoline bomb in through the window, and the floor was already ablaze. She was trapped, and these lunatics were trying to kill her. Worse, in their disorderly mob tactics, they would not only kill her, but their friends upstairs. Correction, their friends that were coming down the stairs. Two of the men charged her, while a third held up the man that she had stabbed.

Looking at the men, she turned and ran forward, through the flames, and dove out the window. Landing on the front lawn, she was met by a group of perhaps 50 or 60 more people. Some were holding protest signs, others holding shotguns, baseball bats, and other weapons.

LeAnna was pinned between the house and the crowd. The police were nowhere to be seen. Surely someone had to have called them? Opening her mouth, LeAnna let out a sorrowful wail, a song of sadness and serenity. some of the approaching crowd stopped and appeared to be lulled into complacency, but there were still more coming up behind the, She had to escape. She turned back to look at the house, by this time, she could see the flames rising in the front room, and up the stair railings.

LeAnna signed and ran, dodging gunfire and makeshift projectiles with an uncanny grace. She sped up, aware that some of the crowd had gotten into trucks and were starting to follow. She would die. They would catch her, and she would die.
Suddenly something happened that she was not expecting. Her spirit called in her mind and she felt pain as bones in her arms contorted and broke, reshaping themselves. Her sleeves bulged and tore as pinions erupted from her skin.

With great uncertainty, she flapped her arms … no… wings… and took off. She flew awkwardly away, bullets still flying past her, she felt an impact in her right leg, then another in her right side. she shakily kept flying. She had escaped. She needed to hide. She felt weak. She knew where she needed to go. She changed direction, and within a few minutes she awkwardly landed in the fenced-in back yard. LeAnna felt her bones cracking and breaking again, reforming into her arms. The pinions that had covered them shrunk and vanished within her skin.

She looked round the empty yard and walked over to the back door of the house, and collapsed, bleeding from the bullet wounds in her thigh and back. Darkness swallowed her completely.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 9


May 18th, 1994
The Carlson household
Hastings, Minnesota


Judy Carlson walked in the front door. She put her school books down and headed for the kitchen. She’d grab a snack, then head over to her girlfriend’s house. She squealed inside when she thought the word ‘girlfriend’. She had long held that crush on LeAnna, but never acted on it. LeAnna had probably been correct, when she said that she would have been too vain to accept… Ok, she used the word ‘narcissistic’, but that was semantics. They had agreed to spend the summer together, and then see where things went from there. She would be off to college in the fall, and who knows where LeAnna would end up now?

Judy put aside her thoughts, as she saw that something… was not right. the back patio door was open, but her folks would still be at work at this time of day. She walked into the kitchen to a shock, Biscuit was whining and licking up something… it appeared to be blood. Startled, Judy pushed past the beagle and looked under the kitchen table. What she saw scared her. It was LeAnna. Her love was laying on the floor, breathing hard, and moaning as she held a towel to her leg.

“Omg! Sweetheart, are you okay? What happened? I’m gonna call the paramedics!”, The frantic girl exclaimed.

“No! No paramedics! No police! If they find out, Mom will find out, and I’m as good as dead! Get Dr. Wells!”, She franticly screamed.

Judy looked at her lover, then she ran into the other room and grabbed the phone and the address book. Looking up Dr. Wells' number, she hurriedly dialed.

On the third ring, Dr. Wells picked up. Judy babbled something to him, he understood enough to discern the words ’emergency’, ’gunshots’, and a desire to avoid police involvement. Grabbing his bag, he ran to the car and peeled out like a bat out of Hell.

Judy rolled over her lover and examined the wounds more carefully. LeAnna had ripped her shirt apart, and had made a tourniquet for her leg. It was the wound on her back that concerned her more. She was still bleeding, although there was a make-shift bandage across her back, this was serious. It wasn’t long before she heard the doorbell. Getting up, she headed into the front entry.

Looking into the peephole, Judy saw Dr. Wells. She unlocked the door and hurried him in. “Doc, it’s LeAnna! She’s in the kitchen, someone shot her. Please, you have to do something! She’s bleeding, and hurt. Please, Doc.”

Dr. Wells walked in, and assessed the situation. LeAnna was biting down hard as she fixed her own tourniquet. Henry looked at the young girl, then over to Judy.

He spoke, “Clear the table and help me get her up here. I would take her to the hospital, but on the way over I passed by the street LeAnna lives on. There were police and fire trucks. It looks as though there is a house on fire. Judging from LeAnna’s condition, I think we can figure out what happened.”

Judy swept everything off the kitchen table and lifted her diminutive lover up, placing her gently on the table. She worried even more. Turning to leave the room, she said, “I’m going to call her Dad.”

Dr. Wells looked up from examining LeAnna, and called back to her, “While you do that, find me alcohol, plenty of towels, some gauze, if you have it.”

Looking down at LeAnna, he sighed. “I’m sorry dear, I would prefer to do this at the hospital, but you’ve lost plenty of blood already. If not for your Exemplar status, you probably would have died already. I’m afraid that I also can’t do more than give you a local anesthetic.”

LeAnna moaned, but looked at the doctor. “I … I understand. I think I might have an idea…”, With that said, LeAnna closed her eyes and concentrated. She slowed her breathing and focused. She could hear it calling. Her awareness of the outside world drifted away, and she found herself once more at the shore. She heard the calming, tranquil song of her spirit, and felt for it. She looked out upon the lake and saw it. The majestic black and white bird was swimming serenely. she watched as it dove, coming back up a couple minutes later with a small fish. She watched her spirit for hours as it swam and fished and sang.


LeAnna rubbed her eyes, she felt like someone was calling to her. Turning from the lake, she focused on the voice. She heard people. Her thoughts focused and she drifted from the calm shore. LeAnna opened her eyes, seeing her father’s worried face over her. Slowly, and with a great deal of pain, she sat up. Judy was there, as was Doctor Wells and Judy’s mother and father. She realized she was laying on the kitchen table, in only her panties. She blushed and shrieked in embarrassment.

“What… what’s going on?”, She wearily asked.

‘Uncle’ Henry spoke up, “You were shot, twice. I removed the bullet from your thigh, there should be no lasting damage. I am more concerned about the other gunshot. You had a perforated kidney. If I hadn’t operated, you could have bled to death. It is fortunate that your father arrived in time for a transfusion. You should be out of the woods for now, but I still recommend bedrest. The Carlsons have agreed to let you stay here for the time being.”

“Daddy, the house?”, she asked.

Paul Baker sadly shook his head. “It’s gone, baby. I’m sorry.” taking his little girl in his arms, he carried her up the stairs to the room Judy had shared with her sister. When Judy’s big sister had moved out, they kept the second bed in the room. Paul laid his little girl on the vacant bed. She was soon fast asleep.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 10


May 24th, 1994
The Carlson household
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna sat on the couch, fighting boredom. She lazily picked up biscuit and was petting him on the head. Granted, she had healed very quickly from the bullet wounds, and the surgery, but even the nightly snuggling and sex with Judy didn’t quite make up for the boredom. Even worse, today Judy would be home late because of a track meet. She sighed and moped and played video games until about 3:30, when there was a knock on the door. Cautiously, LeAnna got up and went to the front door.

“Who is it?”, she hesitantly asked.

“It’s me, Jenny. Open up, please?”, came the reply from her friend.

LeAnna cautiously opened the door, and let her friend in. Jenny came in, and shut the door. She put her books down and handed LeAnna a paper with her assignments on it. LeAnna walked off to the kitchen and came back with a couple bottles of Dr. Pepper.
She eyed her friend, Jenny was still the same Jenny that she had always been. Same height and shape as she once had had. Maybe it was being with Judy now, but LeAnna was gaining a new appreciation of the female form. Jenny was a knockout, her long dark raven hair and those cocoa brown eyes. She shook off the thoughts and handed the bottle of pop to her friend and sat down.

Jenny had noticed the once-over. “You know, I’m happy for you and Judy. I hadn’t expected it, but you two make a cute couple.”

LeAnna fidgeted. “Nobody else knows… right?”, she asked scared. She was already the “mutie freak”, she didn’t want to add to the problem.

Jenny scooted closer to her friend, displacing the beagle. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe. I still think that people haven’t even figured out about Judy, and you haven’t been around… so, no worries.”

LeAnna sighed a sigh of relief, and then the girls changed the topic to ordinary gossip. She laughed when she heard that Jeff Pierson had tried to ask Jenny out, and had received a kick in the nuts for his troubles.

Around 5PM, Leslie Carlson came home and saw the girls sitting on the couch. Looking up, LeAnna smiled at Judy’s mom. She was so nice, letting her stay there. She had waved it off, stating that with her husband out on the road with his freight haul, there was plenty of space.

“Jenny, you are welcome to stay and have dinner if you want. I need to talk to LeAnna alone for a second. Could you take Biscuit out back for a bit?”, The older woman asked. Jenny nodded and called the dog to follow her out into the backyard.

Leslie looked at the girl and smiled. “I know you are bored and restless, what with being cooped up in this house all day. I have an idea. I talked to your Dad, and tomorrow I’m taking the day off, and you and I are driving up to the cities, and doing some shopping. What do you say to that?”, she pleasantly asked.

LeAnna was thrilled. “Of course, I’d love to. Thank you so much.”

Judy got home around 7PM, and a lovely dinner was had. Jenny went home shortly after. Judy and LeAnna went up to their room and got to work on their homework, occasionally stopping for some kissing. Settling in for the night, the two lovers spooned together and enjoyed each other, before falling asleep.

—————

May 25th, 1994
The Carlson household
Hastings, Minnesota


Judy Carlson unlocked the door and walked into the house. Her Mom had taken LeAnna up to the cities to do some shopping. She hadn’t expected them to be home. what she really didn’t expect was the strange girl sitting on her couch, petting her dog. She looked at the girl. She was short with long black hair. She had on dark wrap-around glasses and a bright pink v-neck tee that plunged just enough to show off her cleavage. Judy’s gaze lingered on what looked to be B-cup breasts.

The girl turned her head and asked, ”Is someone there? Ah know ah hear someone. Speak up please.” The girl fumbled for the white cane that sat by her side and got up. Judy stepped back a step, as the girl moved toward her, sweeping in front of her with the cane.

“Ah know you are there.”, she said, right as the cane tapped against Judy’s foot. Suddenly the strange girl smiled and started to snort, attempting to contain the building laughing fit. It was a futile attempt, as she burst out laughing. She took the glasses off, revealing her solid black eyes, with the red irises.

“We got you good.” LeAnna said, as Judy’s mother came out of the kitchen laughing.

Judy looked at LeAnna, and then looked down. “How…?”, She managed to stutter.

Leslie chuckled and looked at her daughter. “When we said we were going shopping, we didn’t lie. We did … some … clothing shopping, mostly bras and suitable shirts, but the main thing was hitting the costume shops for the wig, the breast inserts and supplies, the cane, and the glasses.”

LeAnna smirked, “This was a dry run. It’s good that we fooled you, but tomorrow comes the REAL test.”

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 11


May 25th, 1994
Lions Park
Hastings, Minnesota

Judy Carlson sat on a bench near the usual hangout spot. She patted the girl next to her on the back, reassuringly.
The rest of the gang would soon be there. Most of them were in the finals rush, and a chance to blow off steam was always welcome. Judy had finished her finals already, and was to be the valedictorian of the graduating class. She looked at the girl next to her, and smiled. They had the summer before them, and this test would go far towards making it the best summer it could be. Still, she was apprehensive. People did not think well of LeAnna, but if she could pull this off, there was hope.

Looking up, Judy saw Jenny Richards and the gang approaching. She bit her lip. Jeff Pierson was with the group of teens.
How he had snaked his way in after what Jenny had done to him, Judy would likely never understand.

Looking over at the girl next to Judy, Jeff licked his lips and walked over. “So, ‘Muncher. Who is this with you?”, the insensitive prick asked.

It was no secret that Jeff had come out as a bigot after the whole incident with LeAnna. She had known before though, the little jibes and comments about her sexual preference and skin color had pissed her off, but for LeAnna’s sake she had held her tongue. That caused Judy to smirk. She had won, Jeff had lost. And he didn’t know what a prize he had given up.

“Hi, Ah’m Annalee. Ah just moved here from Alabama to stay with my cousin here. I’m pleased as punched to meet y’all.”

Jenny shook her head. “Hi! I’m Jenny Richards. The moron that was just talking is Jeff Pierson, please ignore him, we all do.”

LeAnna, or Annalee as she was passing herself off as, just smiled and held out her hand, offering a shake. Jenny took it and gave it a firm, shake.

Russ Olsen introduced himself, and as he did so, he pinched Jenny’s ass, all the while glancing down the open v-neck of Annalee’s shirt at the subtle hint of cleavage.

Derek Maxwell, the center on the basketball team looked down at the diminutive girl. “You said you are Judy’s cousin, you sure don’t look alike.”

Derek was athletically gifted, but not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

Annalee turned her head in the vague direction of Judy. “Cuz, what’s he mean by that?”, She pondered.

Judy giggled. “I think he means because you are white, and I’m black.”

Annalee’s jaw dropped, and in a clearly shocked voice, she exclaimed. “Wait, ah’m white? Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?”

Derek put his hands behind his back and nervously apologized.

Judy and Annalee both snickered and started to laugh hysterically.

Annalee explained after the laughing fit finally ended. “Judy’s mah cousin by marriage. After mah Poppa died, Momma married Judy’s uncle Bryan.”

Never one to miss the opportunity to put a foot in his mouth, Jeff spoke up. “So, what’s with your eyes? You lose them in an accident, or were you born that way?”

Annalee turned her head vaguely in his direction. “When ah was a baby, mah parents thought that vaccines could make you sick, so ah never got any. Then ah got measles when I was three, and it took mah sight.”

Still not satisfied with his portion of foot in mouth, Jeff continued. “Well at least it’s not because you're a mutie, like that loser that Judy and Jenny used to hang out with.”

Annalee’s head tilted slightly, “Pardon?”

Jeff smirked. “There was this hot blonde chick that we used to hang with, a total babe.”

Russ nodded, then realized Annalee couldn’t see him. “Yeah, she was fine!”

Jeff continued, having totally forgotten the girls, and turning the conversation into locker room banter. “Yeah, she was wild in bed too. But then the bitch up and turns into some mutie freak. I heard she grew to like 7 foot tall and got that mutie disease where you go nuts, and she tried to kill a bunch of cops and she blew up her house and like died in the fire and stuff.”

Annalee frowned. “She sounds scary, Ah reckon. It’s good she died in that fire.” She got up, and pretending to feel her way with her cane, gave Jeff a solid, painful whack in the shin.

“Oh, ah’m sorry. Did ah hit someone?”, she innocently asked.

Judy made a pretense of looking at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. Annalee, it’s almost six. Mom will be expecting us home for dinner. Jenny, you left your sweater at my place the other day. I forgot to bring it. Come home with us, and I’ll grab it for you.”

After leaving the boys, the girls walked slowly back to Judy’s house. Jenny kept looking at Annalee questioningly. The shorter girl gave no indication of being aware of it. The girls reached the house and entered, and Annalee carefully maneuvered over to the couch.

Jenny still looked at the girl uncertainly. “You know, there is something about you that seems familiar, but I just can’t place it.”

Annalee turned her head toward Jenny and smiled. “Ah certainly hope so, ah mean ah’ve known you since we were both knee high to a grasshopper, ya know.”, The girl said with a mischievous grin, right before taking off her dark-tinted sunglasses and revealing those unmistakable black and red eyes.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 12


June 1st, 1994
The Carlson residence
Hastings, Minnesota

Judy Carlson lay in bed, her head on her lover’s stomach, as she idly stroked the soft downy feathers of her nether regions.
They were very discrete, LeAnna would start out in her own bed, but by morning, the two would always be spooned together.
She suspected her mother might know, but if she did, she never gave any indication. lifting her head and kissing her girlfriend on her smooth, flat chest, she smiled and got up. School was over, but now the fun would begin.

“C’mon, my love. Up and at ‘em”, she teased, pulling on her panties and looking around for a clean pair of shorts.

For her part, LeAnna grumbled and heaved a pillow vaguely in the direction of the morning person. “Get stuffed.”, the grumpy girl groused.

“If I wanted that, I’d be attracted to guys.”, her lover quipped back. Judy threw the pillow back at the protesting girl, who reluctantly got up and unwittingly did a very sexy stretch.

LeAnna sat in the chair in front of the mirror, having donned her panties and a pair of shorts. Judy came over to help with her transformation, applying the adhesive to the breast-forms, and helping to correctly situate them. LeAnna closed her eyes and arched her back, aiding Judy in applying the make-up that helped blend them with her skin-tone. After finishing, LeAnna put on her bikini top, and wig. She grabbed her cane and glasses and the girls headed down for breakfast.

Leslie Carlson looked over at the two girls. “Judy, just a reminder, your Dad will be home today. So don’t stay out too late. Oh, and both of you, you might want to not make the goo-goo eyes at each other around him, and I know you two are trying to be quiet… but maybe a little bit more quiet with the um… fun, while he’s here?” The girls both looked at each other, and then at Mrs. Carlson in horror as she smiled mischievously.

“Yes, I know.”, Stated Mrs. Carlson evenly, before looking at LeAnna. “And so does your father, LeAnna. We are both very happy for both of you.” With that bombshell out of the way, the girls hightailed it out of the house to meet up with Jenny.

—————

A short time later
Lake Isabelle
Hastings, Minnesota


Annalee sat under a shaded beach umbrella, Although she could see Jenny and Judy splashing around in the water, she had to keep up the illusion. She closed her eyes and adjusted her sunglasses. Russ and Derek were playing catch a little ways away, and Jeff was there, still oblivious to the fact that he was girl repellant, and that even the guys didn’t like him much. Every now and then Jeff whined for the frisbee, and about how there were no babes around to flirt with.

Jenny looked over from the water at the boy, “It’s not our fault you have the personality of algae.”

Jeff looked at the girl. She was hot, no doubt. Almost as hot as that freak girl had been. But the kick between the legs when he had badmouthed the mutie had kind of soured him on her. The dyke was a lost cause. That left the blind chick.

Jeff slipped under the umbrella next to Annalee. “Yo babe, you are kinda cute. Wanna go see a movie sometime?”, he asked.

The others looked in stunned silence at him, not believing he had actually said that.

Annalee shrugged it off. “Ah would love to see a movie, that would mean ah wasn’t blind anymore!”, she sarcastically responded. “However, if you were asking me out, then in that case, Ah’d have to say no.” She mused to herself about how she couldn’t believe she had been attracted to this bone-head before, hell she had planned on going all the way with him on their date.

Jeff slunk off, dejected. There had to be a girl around here somewhere that wasn’t a cripple, a bitch, or a lezzie.

He looked over towards the playground area, there was some sort of gathering going on. a large group of protestors had gathered and a woman with a bullhorn was saying something. As Jeff got closer, he could hear her. The woman was chanting anti-mutie slogans and making a speech. Anywhere people were gathering, there had to be chicks, he figured as he walked over.

Jenny noticed Jeff slinking off. She smiled as she looked in the direction the dickweed was headed. Then she frowned. There were people gathering with protest signs and a general mob was forming. Cautiously, she walked over to where the diminutive ‘blind’ girl was sitting.

Jenny nudged Annalee, getting her to take off her headphones. Leaning over, she whispered to the girl. “It looks like there’s a group of mutant-haters gathering over by the play area. Maybe we should get out of here.”

Annalee gave a glance over toward the activity going on a few hundred yards away. This was bad. If she got caught here, there would be trouble, just like at the house.

“Judy, Ah think we should go, remember your Daddy should be home this afternoon, and Ah don’t think your Momma would be pleased if we were late.” Having said that, she gave a very subtle head tilt, indicating the activities going on behind her.

The girls gathered their towels and bags and said goodbye to the boys. As they walked past the protestors, Annalee glanced over surreptitiously, what she saw nearly gave her away, but she managed to cover. a woman stood giving a hate-filled speech. She was medium height, with blonde hair. She had on a Humanity First t-shirt, which covered her pregnant belly. LeAnna was looking at her own mother.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 13


June 2nd, 1994
The Apartment of Paul Baker
Hastings, Minnesota


Jim Owens sat on the couch, fiddling nervously with his keys. It was difficult being there, looking at the man whose wife he stole.

“Paul, I know you have no reason to trust me, and if you kick me out, I would understand. But I need help. I did as you asked, I took Emily to get screened and she has the gene. I’m scared of what Beth will do. Ever since LeAnna manifested, she’s been irrational, she refuses to acknowledge that she’s her daughter. She’s joined Humanity First, and is speaking out against mutants. I’m afraid of what she’ll do to Emily or the baby.”

Paul looked at his former friend, he couldn’t entirely forgive him, but he did slightly. Additionally, if Beth had gone this crazy, at least he wasn’t still with her to take the brunt of it.

“Jim, all I can say is that once the baby is born… get out. take them both, file for divorce, get them to safety, and don’t look back.”

Paul looked at his former friend and frowned.

—————

At that same moment
The Carlson residence
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna lounged on the bed, trying to look at brochures, a task not made easy by the fact that Judy was currently kissing that spot on the back of her knee that drove her wild.

“Stooop it.”, She halfheartedly complained. “I need to look these over and make a choice, since I can’t go back to school here.”

Judy picked up the brochure LeAnna was looking at. “Whateley Academy?”, she asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”

LeAnna looked over at her lover and smiled. “Apparently it’s a top-secret school for mutants. They teach regular classes, but also have an entire curriculum for learning to use your powers.”

Judy scoffed. “Riiiiight. If you come back a redhead with the power to manifest a giant firebird aura, I don’t know you.”

LeAnna sighed and got up. “I swear, how did you get into Stanford again?” She turned around and blew her love a raspberry, which ended up in the much taller Judy walking over and picking her up and carrying her back to the bed. A little while later, both girls were laying cuddled in the afterglow of their morning romp.

—————

Meanwhile
The Owens residence
Hastings, Minnesota

Beth Owens-Smith watched Emily waddling around, examining her surroundings. She shed a single tear.

“It’s a shame your sister is dead to you. She went and had to spite me by becoming that thing.”, She ruefully snarled. “ I’ll make sure you and your little sister aren’t contaminated by that filth. It’s all Paul’s fault, I know it is…. I… I know it.” Angrily, she scooped up Emily and dropped her unceremoniously into the playpen and started to make phone calls.

There was work to be done. She didn’t believe the rumor that LeAnna had been in the fire, or that she was in some secure room at the Mayo Clinic. She had to be somewhere. Beth had watched Paul’s new apartment. There had been no indication of the freak anywhere. She would be patient, her daughter… no, that’s not right… the thing that had taken her daughter from her… was out there somewhere. She would find it and it would pay for embarrassing her.

—————

Later that day
Target department store
Hastings, Minnesota

Annalee walked down the aisle, her cane feeling around in front of her, she craned her head around randomly. Judy was off in the music department, looking for the latest Mariah Carey CD, and Jenny was probably looking for the closest thing that Target had to ’slutty’. Momentarily distracted, Annalee backed up and accidentally bumped into someone.

“Watch it, what are you blind?”, The angry voice said.

“Actually, Ma’am Ah am. Ah’m terribly sorry.” Annalee said, while turning around. She looked at the woman she had bumped into and panicked. It was her. She was here. She was talking to her. Swallowing, Annalee repeated her apologies, and turned and walked off, trying to look nonchalant.

Meeting up with Judy, she swallowed hard and still fighting off a panic attack, begged her girlfriend to go. She didn’t want to run into her mother again.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 14


June 2nd, 1994
The Apartment of Paul Baker
Hastings, Minnesota

LeAnna sat on the couch, fussing with the wig that sat beside her. “Daddy, I just don’t understand. I ran into her. She didn’t recognize me. I know the disguise is pretty convincing, but I thought she would recognize me. She didn’t. I’m so confused. Why has she gotten so hateful?”

Paul hugged his little girl. “Dear, it’s time I tell you a secret, it involves your mother. And I honestly don’t think she remembers it.”

—————

Many years prior
The Smith household
Davenport, Iowa

Beth sat in the kitchen, frowning. The toaster was broken again. Dad was too cheap to buy a new one. He had always been handy with tools, and some of that rubbed off on Beth. Not deciding to wait, she sighed and grabbed the toaster and went over to the kitchen table. She quickly dug into the junk drawer and pulled out various tools. A Few minutes later, she was finishing putting the last screw back in.

Carrie walked in as her big sister was putting the toaster back on the counter and plugging it back in. She looked over at Beth, and stuck out her tongue, as little sisters do.

“I wanna waffle, is the toaster working?”, she asked those big puppy dog eyes pointed squarely at her big sister. Carrie was 8, and could get away with the cute brat routine. Beth smiled and came over, tussling her hair and getting out the frozen waffles. She pushed the lever for the toaster to start, and it began to spark. It flew across the room and blew up. Fire quickly engulfed the kitchen.

—————

Beth woke up in a strange bed. She tried to get up, but something across her chest wasn’t allowing it. She heard a beeping and looked over at the monitors that she was hooked up to. A nurse came in the room and looked at her, before quickly rushing back out the door. A Few minutes later, her mother entered the room with a doctor.

“M… mom, what happened? I don’t feel too good. Why am I strapped down?” There was fear in her voice. Beth’s mother looked from her to her doctor. The doctor nodded grimly.

“Honey, there was an accident. That defective toaster started a fire. You and your sister were caught in the middle of it. If your Father hadn’t been running late to work, we would have lost you both.”

Beth looked at her mother. “Carrie?”, she said in a questioning voice.

Mrs. Smith looked away and her head dropped, her shoulders sagged. She couldn’t look at Beth.

“I.. I see.”, Beth said without any hint of emotion. Deep inside though, a rage was building. A rage that she could barely contain.

“Dear, there’s more… Do… do you remember the last month? “

“Yeah, we went out to Uncle Pete’s farm, and stayed for a week, then we came home and got ready for school.”, Beth said uncertainly.

“No dear, that was August. It’s almost October. After the… incident, the doctors ran tests on you. You are what’s known as a Devisor. A person that can build things, things that don’t make sense to the laws of physics. During one of their tests, you had an… incident. You started screaming and getting angry, you were uncontrollable. They tried to sedate you, but you did something. Something bad.” Beth’s mom stopped speaking and she cast her gaze downward.

So, it was her fault that Carrie was dead. A mutant killed her. Sweet, innocent Carrie. Beth would find the mutant and stop her, unlike last time. This time the mutant would pay. Beth began to laugh, at first softly to herself, then it turned into the raving hysterics of someone out of her mind. She laughed so hard that she wore herself out. Soon she was sleeping.

Grace Smith looked at her sleeping daughter, it never got easier. Next time she woke, she would have to tell Beth all over again. This was the ninth time Beth had been told of the fire, and of Carrie’s death.

—————

June 2nd, 1994
The Apartment of Paul Baker
Hastings, Minnesota

Paul looked at LeAnna, her eyes were wide.

“Mom is a mutant?”, she said, dumbfounded.

“Yes. Eventually your Grandmother stopped telling Beth about her sister, and soon your mother forgot all about her having had a sister. She forgot her powers existed. Do you remember when we were together, and your mother would have manic bouts of hyperactivity? Like the time she took up quilting?”

LeAnna nodded. Yeah?”

“The doctors think that was your mother’s subconscious trying to use her powers, and reconcile them with her everyday life. The problem was that your Mother had another issue. One that was brought on by her powers. Back when she first manifested, they didn’t know as much about mutation as they do now.“

LeAnna nodded, She had been doing reading about mutants, in response to everything that was going on in her life lately.

She hung her head and said one word. “Deidrick’s.”

Paul hugged his little girl and nodded solemnly.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 15


June 9th, 1994
Regina Hospital
Hastings, Minnesota

The pain was intense, but she refused the epidural, she refused any and all medications. That’s how they stole LeAnna, and substituted that monster. She would bare this pain, bare it and her new child would be perfect. She suspected they had taken Emily too, but she couldn’t prove it. The pain came in thunderous waves, and she pushed, willing herself through it.
It had been 19 hours so far, and there was no end in sight. She willed herself to be strong. Beth squeezed her husband’s hand. She was almost convinced he wasn’t part of the plot. had he experimented on her? Had he been plotting with that traitorous ex of hers? She didn’t know. She would take the new child and leave as soon as she could, that was her plan.

Jim Owens felt his wife squeeze his hand as the next contraction hit. He was worried, she had refused medication, the epidural, and any pain relievers. Her face was contorted in pain and she was as red as a radish. Sweat was dripping through her hair, running down her face. She screamed and swore and threatened as she pushed. It was clear that she was dricking out, He had to get the children away from her as soon as the baby would be ready to leave the hospital. His aunt had offered him and the children a place on her farm in Montana, and he was going to take her up on it.


————
Same day
Lions Park
Hastings, Minnesota

Tossing her short, black hair casually, Annalee tapped her cane in front of her, walking along the paved path. She Looked up and saw the flying disc coming straight at her, but maintaining her cover, she let it hit her in the face. Closing her eyes, she fumbled around, feeling on the ground for her fallen glasses. That’s when Jeff ran up.

“Sorry, it kind of got away from me, you know?”, he sheepishly said.

“It’’s okay, no harm done. Ah should have been watching where ah was goin’.”, she said in a playful voice, as she picked up her shades.

Jeff looked at her confused. “ I don’t understand. I thought you couldn’t see?”

“Ah can’t, that’s why it’s a joke.” Annalee said, in a pleasant voice that hid her thoughts of him being an absolute idiot.

“Oh, oh, I get it!” Jeff said, he really didn’t. “Would… would you like to go out?”

“Sorry, Ah really don’t date. Last guy I considered dating turned out to be kind of … a bigot.”

Annalee rolled her eyes behind the thick, dark glasses. the fact that the guy she was talking about WAS Jeff, only emphasized the sad nature of things. Having recovered the glasses, she turned to leave, when she felt his hand on her arm.

“That hurts, let go!”, she demanded.

When he didn’t let go, she turned and threw a punch, breaking his nose and laying him on the ground.

Damn that cripple bitch, his nose was pouring blood. He held it and walked back to where Russ Olsen had been waiting to receive the frisbee.

“Smooth moves, Sherlock.”

Jeff was incensed. “Dumb little gimp bitch, She’ll get what’s coming to her. Just like that mutie whore did.”

Russ shook his head. Jeff was dumb, but lately he had been angry. Russ made a mental note to call Judy Carlson and warn her that Jeff was gunning for her cousin.

—————

Later that night
the Carlson residence
Hastings, Minnesota

Judy picked up the phone. It was Mr. Baker on the other end. She quickly took the information down and hung up. LeAnna was in the shower, and as much as Judy wished she could join her lover, Her mother was home. After about 15 minutes, LeAnna came out of the bathroom. She walked into the room they shared, and did a sexy little reveal, slowly stripping out of the robe and towels that she wore.

Judy bit her lip. “Mmm… as sexy as that little dance was, I have some news for you. Your dad called. Mr. Owens called him a short time ago. You have another little sister! Her name is Jordan Amelia, and she is 7 pounds, 8 ounces! Congrats, big sis!”

LeAnna sat on the bed and hugged her girlfriend. “It’s not like I’ll ever get to meet her, not now.” She looked down and began to cry, her larger girlfriend holding her tight to her chest. The diminutive girl was wracked by sobs.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 16

June 15th, 1994
The Carlson household
Hastings, Minnesota

LeAnna sat on the edge of the bed, crying. Things were going downhill, and fast. Jim Owens had gotten a court document committing her mother to the mental hospital. Things had gone badly after the delivery. Beth had tried to abduct Jordan from the neo-natal ICU. She had to be restrained by 5 security guards, and had stolen one’s taser.

When Judy walked in, she saw her love slumped over. Putting her arm around her girlfriend, Judy rubbed her back gently. LeAnna slumped over and rested her head against her lover’s chest and the tears kept flowing.

—————

That same day
Regina Hospital
Hastings, Minnesota

Beth did not belong there, that was clear. It was clearly a plot by her husband and that traitorous ex of hers. They were stealing her children. They had started by taking LeAnna, replacing her with that monster that killed her. It was too late to save Emily, she had probably already been replaced. Jordan was in danger, They may have injected her with monster DNA, and created the abomination, but she could find a cure. Clutching the fork she had stolen off her tray at lunch, Beth carefully stood up on her cot and examined the grille over the light fixture. Smiling, she carefully worked out the screws, leaving them loose, but not quite ready to come out. Reaching in, she found the wires and started to pull them loose. the shocks were painful, but she didn’t care. she would soon be free.

—————

That same day
U.S. Interstate 94
Outside Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Jim Owens pulled over to examine the engine. Smoke was pouring from the front of the car. He popped the hood, and took a look. It looked like a fan belt had slipped and blown out. Walking back to the car, he looked in the open window.

“Paul, looks like a belt broke loose. I’ll call Triple A, but late as it is, we might have to get a room somewhere and stay.”, he said to his traveling companion.

Paul Baker had agreed to help him get the girls to safety They still had issues, but he knew LeAnna would want him to help make sure her little sisters were safe. Holding the not-quite one week old, he checked on Emily, as she sat in the carseat.

“Nothing we can do then, we passed a motel back about a half-mile back. Once the car is fixed, let’s head back there. There was a restaurant too, from what I recall.”

Thirty minutes later, a tow truck pulled up, the mechanic replaced the belt and followed them back to the motel, to make sure they arrived safely. Paul watched the girls, while Jim went over to the truck stop. He returned with some take-out burgers and fries, and a couple Dr. Peppers. Paul changed Emily while Jim gave Jordan her bottle.

Jim looked over at Paul. “Thank you for your help. I know I don’t deserve it. I did the worst thing possible to you, and yet you are here helping me.”

Paul looked over at his former friend. “I know how Beth can be. She won’t stop until she gets what she wants. It’s part of her illness. her mother told me about how things went when she manifested, and how her illness came on. She became a whole ‘nother person.”

“Manifested?”, Jim asked, confused.

“You don’t know?”, Paul asked, shocked. “Beth is a mutant. A Devisor. She has Deidrick’s syndrome.”

“Beth’s mother never talks to me. I think she hated me for taking her from you and LeAnna.”, Jim stated in a sad voice.

“I see, then you don’t know the whole story. When Beth was young, and her powers had manifested, she would try to fix things. One day she attempted to fix a broken appliance, and it exploded. Her sister died in the fire. After that, Beth’s illness got progressively worse. Eventually, she buried all memories of her sister, and of her powers. The doctors say that subconsciously that turned into a pathological hatred for mutants.” Paul sighed and walked over and put his hand on Jim’s shoulder.

The rest of the night passed in relative silence between them.

—————

June 16th
Lions Park
Hastings, Minnesota

Jeff Pierson was hanging out, scoping for babes. He hadn’t gotten a date in weeks, He was sure that blind bitch had sabotaged his rep with all the local chicks. He looked around, and none of the girls showed any interest, not even when he took off his shirt and pretended to stretch. In fact, they all seemed to be walking away. He glanced over and saw the reason. That gimp bitch was there, playing with a dog. He felt his hate building as the hot girls ignored him to go talk to that cripple.
He made up his mind then and there that she had to pay for breaking his nose and humiliating him.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 17

June 15th, 1994
Regina Hospital
Hastings, Minnesota

Beth wandered the halls of the psyche ward, the taser she had stolen in hand. Sure she had upped the voltage to fatal levels, but in her eyes the people here were mutant sympathizers. They deserved it for kidnapping her and locking her in here. It had been a simple task to short out the door lock with the fork and the wires from the light fixture. In the chaos she would escape, in the chaos she would be free to find the traitors that had put her in here.

The guard’s uniform didn’t fit her exactly, but it was close enough. She passed the desk, and made for the stairwell. With the power out, the magnetic locks were down as well. Making her way out into the parking lot, she looked around, finding a car parked off to the side of the building, where it would be easy to break in undetected.

It was not difficult for Beth to hot-wire the old station wagon and get it running. She had always seemed to have a knack for machines. Whatever the reason, it certainly came in handy. She drove back to the house, intent on confronting that traitor Jim.

Beth skillfully picked the lock and went inside. She flipped the switch, but the light didn’t turn on. Feeling her way over to the picture window, she pulled back the curtains for some light. What she saw startled her. Everything was gone. The furniture was missing, even the pictures had been taken. Nothing remained of her life here. She walked around the house, finding more of the same. Jim had packed up everything and left. She dropped to her knees and let out a cry of grief and sorrow and hate. If Jim had left, He couldn’t have done it alone. He had to have had help. And there was only one person she could think of that it could have been. She would go and make Paul tell her where her children were.

—————

At that same moment
The apartment of Paul Baker
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna took off her wig and glasses and looked through the fridge. With her mother locked up, the surveillance of her dad’s place had stopped. She could come and go again freely, but she still missed her old house and her old room. Very little had survived the fire. She was saddened by this, all the family photos were gone, The pictures from the family vacation to Uncle Ralph’s place in Nevada, the time she dressed up as Cinderella for Halloween when she was six, the pictures of her mom teaching her to ride her bike. All of it was gone.

LeAnna sat down on the couch with her ham sandwich and flipped on the TV. The news was talking about a power outage at the hospital where her mother was being held. She hoped her mother was okay, it was difficult to think of her being in a secured room in the dark. She must be scared and confused.

LeAnna heard a pounding at the door. She turned her head and looked over. Quickly, she grabbed her wig and glasses and put them on. She got up to go to the door, when suddenly it exploded off its hinges. Standing there over the door she had just kicked in was her mother!

“Who’s there?”, LeAnna said, deciding it best to go with her cover of being blind.

Beth looked at the stranger. “YOU! You were at the store that day! Who are you, and what is your connection to Paul?”

LeAnna was grateful that her mother had not seen through the disguise. “Ma’am, Ah’m just here to house-sit while Mr. Baker is out of town for a teacher’s convention. If you leave now, I won’t call the police. Ah mean it.”

Beth looked at the short girl. Something wasn’t right. It was too coincidental that she would run into this girl at the store, and then again here. Deciding to test her theory, Beth charged at the girl, and tackled her.

LeAnna struggled with her mother, she was strong, but her mother was no slouch in that department either. Had she been an exemplar all this time? Her dad hadn’t mentioned it, but it seemed possible. She was having a hard time fending off her mother’s punches,

Beth struggled with the girl, she was strong. Perhaps too strong. She reached for the girl’s hair, intending to grab it and slam her head into the floor. Surprisingly, it came off in her hands. She tossed aside the wig and looked at the girl’s real hair, a peculiar mixture of black and white mottled pattern.

“MUTIE!”, screamed Beth, punching at the stranger. “You are the one that killed my LeAnna! YOU will die for that!”

Beth landed a fist solidly to the girl’s chin, twisting her head back, and knocking off her glasses.

The girl was crying. “Mom! It’s me! I AM LeAnna! Please, stop… please?” LeAnna implored her mother to listen, but it was no use.

Beth’s hand went to her waistband, reaching for the amped up taser. She leveled it at the monster before her. LeAnna saw the weapon and grabbed her mother’s wrist. The two of them struggled, falling to the ground. Beth tried to aim, but the girl was strong. They struggled on the floor, each wrestling for control. That’s when the loud bang echoed through the apartment, followed by silence.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 18

June 19th, 1994
The grounds of St. Boniface
Hastings, Minnesota


LeAnna sat down and looked ahead of her at where her mother was. “Mom, you know I love you. Nothing could ever change the fact that I love you. I know you did some bad things, but that’s over now. You can rest. Don’t worry about all the bad things, that is in the past. You and I had good times. You helped me so much when I was little and I will remember that always. Whether it was learning to ride my bike, of taking me to my first day of school, or all the little things. I’ll never forget them. Why did you have to get sick?”


She wanted answers, but none were forthcoming, the stone in front of her could only tell her what was written on it.

Beth Owens-Smith
1962-1994.
Beloved daughter and mother.
May you at long last rest in peace.

—————

June 15th. 1994
The apartment of Paul Baker
Hastings, Minnesota


There was a loud bang, as the taser fired. The electrodes hit Beth square in the chest. There was a bright spark, and both women fell to the floor. LeAnna crawled over, dazed from the contact shock she received. Beth was breathing hard, her clothes burned and charred. She looked up at LeAnna, the fog cleared from her mind. She saw not an imposter, not a freak, she saw her daughter, beautiful in her new appearance. A tear trickled down her cheek.

There was a raspy moan, and Beth spoke. “ L…LeAnna… What have I done? I.. I remember, Why? Why did I…? I’m so sorry, my precious girl, I’m so sorry. F..f…find your ..s..sisters, keep them s…safe. Carrie? Carrie.. I’m coming… wait for me, okay?”

Those were the last words Beth ever spoke. She closed her eyes, and her head rolled lifelessly to the side. LeAnna begged and pleaded with her to stay, when the police arrived, they found the frantic girl still attempting CPR.

—————

June 20th, 1994
The Carlson residence
Hastings, Minnesota

LeAnna lay on her bed. Her father hadn’t been able to make it back in time for the funeral. She, of course was not allowed to attend. There had been fears that Humanity First members might be there, and that it would not be safe. In the end though, none of them had attended. Somehow, information had gotten out to the local chapter that their most vocal supporter had been a mentally ill mutant that had hidden among them. In the end, Beth was silently buried in a funeral ceremony that nobody attended.

Turning from her thoughts, LeAnna heard the hesitant knock on the door, she turned and invited the person in. Her father walked in and hugged his little girl. They both sat there overwhelmed with grief, silently reassuring each other.

“LeAnna, I have more bad news. I spoke to the police, someone sent a letter to the newspaper, they made death threats against you. Whoever it was, they know you are alive, but they don’t seem to know you are AnnaLee. You can’t come home, at least not yet. You need to stay here for your own safety”.

She looked at her dad, and nodded solemnly. She wanted this whole nightmare to go away. Once she was at her new school she would have a chance to start over. That was still a couple months away yet. For now, she resolved to keep her head down and not cause a scene. After a while, her father left. LeAnna sat in the dark, hugging her pillow. When Judy came home that afternoon, she found LeAnna curled up in a ball, asleep.

—————
The same day
The Pierson residence

Jeff sat on the couch, watching TV. It wasn’t fair. He was a cool guy, why couldn’t all the chicks see it? Word had gotten around that he had tried to rough up that blind skank, that had to be it. Worse, she made a fool out of him, his nose was swollen and the doctors had to re-set it, which fucking hurt. That Carlson dyke and her whore cousin would have to pay some how. Jeff sat and thought about it. An idea began to form in his mind, one that would restore his reputation, and maybe get him some into that chick’s pants. He smiled a wicked smile, and got up to work on it.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 19

July 1st
The Pierson residence
Hastings, Minnesota


Jeff Pierson woke up groggy. He had been feeling sick the week before, a slight case of summer flu, but it hadn’t seemed to have gone away until now. He dragged himself to the bathroom, darting in front of his little sister. Andy was 6, and in the ‘brat’ phase. As Jeff went about his business, she pounded on the door, shouting about how she had to go. At one point she threw herself against the door with a thud that startled Jeff, and made him cut himself as he shaved. Angrily, Jeff opened the door and looked at Andrea. She tried to slip past him, but he wasn’t having it.

“Go fuck yourself!”, he shouted at the girl, who looked blankly at him. Slowly, she got up and walked off toward her bedroom. After a shower, Jeff walked to his room, passing Andrea’s room. He heard muffled squeals and whimpers coming from the room. His curiosity piqued, Jeff looked in. There he saw his sister frantically touching herself, with much frustration. He was shocked and ordered her to stop, which she immediately did. Closing the door, he walked back to his room.


—————

Later that day
Target department store
Hastings, Minnesota


Jeff wandered about aimlessly, He grabbed a bottle of Sprite and walked towards the electronics department. As he did so, He happened to notice Lisa Cooper in the women’s department, looking at bras. Lisa was a stone-cold fox, in Jeff’s opinion. She was Tall, at nearly 5’9”, had ample breasts, and long brown hair. Her eyes were a deep blue, and she had a small beauty mark in her right cheek, just below her eye.

Jeff called out to Lisa, as she was standing there holding a lacy black bra. “Ooh Babe, I’d love to see you in that”, he said in a lecherous tone. Lisa turned her head to yell at him, but when she did, she caught a look into his eyes and was lost in them. Without knowing what she was doing, Lisa began to absent-mindedly remove her shirt and her own bra. Taking the black one, she adjusted it and put it on, giving Jeff quite a show.

Jeff stared, not believing what had happened. He thought about it, and remembered the incident with his sister, she she had looked him in the face earlier. Something was going on, girls were listening to him. Better yet, they were obeying him. He would have to test this out. An Idea hit him. He picked up a second Sprite and walked over to the registers. There was a short line at the express lane, but for this test, he opted to go to a different lane, one with a male cashier.

As the cashier rang up his purchase, Jeff tested his power, trying to convince the cashier that the bottles of pop were in fact, buy one get one free. It didn’t work. Walking out with his drinks, Jeff waited around. Lisa was walking out of the store, she seemed slightly confused.

“Lisa, hi!” Jeff said in a smooth manner. “Are you okay? I was kind of startled you suddenly took your top off and tried that bra on in the middle of the store! I couldn’t believe it!”

Lisa looked at him uncertainly. “I… I don’t know what happened, I heard you, then when I saw you there, I just felt like I had to show you how it looked. I don’t know what came over me”. Lisa began to sniffle.

“Lisa, babe, Don’t worry about it. We all get crazy thoughts and ideas sometimes. Say, do you want to come over to my place? My mom and sister are home, but I think I can convince them to go see a movie or something.” Jeff said with a grin.

Lisa looked at him, she felt doubts, but when she looked him in the eye, her resolve seemed to melt away. “I…I’d like that.”


—————

Earlier
Target department store
Hastings, Minnesota

Judy Carlson was looking through a rack of tank tops, when she saw Lisa Cooper browsing through the racks of undergarments. Judy knew Lisa casually from school, they hadn’t been close friends or anything. Judy turned and was about to greet her, when she saw Jeff Pierson slinking past. He didn’t seem to notice her, rather he had his eye on Lisa. She heard Jeff call out to the girl, and then Judy stood in wonder as the girl stripped her top off and revealed her breasts to the pervert. After a few seconds of ogling, he turned and walked off.
Lisa sat there with a confused look on her face. Judy went to approach her, but the girl seemed to snap out of it and come to her senses. She retreated to the dressing room. A few moments later, Lisa came out, back in her original clothing. She took the bra and put it back on the rack, and high-tailed it out of the store.

At this point Judy was very curious, and she followed Lisa at a distance. Outside, she saw Jeff waiting. He walked up to Lisa and casually began to talk to her. Judy could see the uncertainty on her face replaced by a blank look. The blank look quickly faded, replaced by an eager one. Judy didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but she would find out.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 20

July 4th
Lions Park
Hastings, Minnesota

Judy Carlson sat at the picnic table, looking over Annalee’s shoulder at the scene playing out behind her. Jeff Pierson was talking to a woman, perhaps 24-25 years old, she was laughing and had her hand on his arm. The woman was gorgeous, tall, and blonde, with a healthy runner’s physique. Slim and slender and lithe, this woman was amazing, Judy knew the type from her track days at the school. this was the epitome of what she could become if she kept up her training.
To see her get up with Jeff and walk off was surprising… and suspicious.

Judy turned to her disguised sweetie. “Something strange is going on with Jeff… The other day she talked Lisa Cooper into a weird striptease at Target, then walked off with her after. Now he’s picking up adult women in the park… I’m wondering if he’s a mutant.”

Annalee cocked her head to the side and frowned. “Ah’m sure that’s not the case. With all the hate he has for me, he would have tried something.”

Judy shook her off. “You might be right, but he hates both of your identities, so I’m sure he’ll come after you eventually.”

Annalee nodded and thought about it. “Unless… there is a reason he thinks he can’t come after me directly. You said before that Lisa looked at him and it was like she blanked for a second. What if he needs to make eye contact? Since he thinks I’m blind, he might be holding back because of that. I mean if he has this power to seduce women, and it needs eye contact… then a blind girl would be immune.”

Having finished their food, the two cleaned up the trash, and threw it away in a nearby can. Taking a folded up blanket, Judy led them to a nice, shady spot where the two spread their blanket and relaxed.

—————


Jeff had met the woman at the park, she fell under his charms, like he knew she would. It took no effort to get her to take him to her place, where they had sex all afternoon. Feeling tired of her, he told her to “forget about him, and go get lost”. He helped himself to her money, and some small valuables. It was almost too easy. He hadn’t bothered to ask her name, but she had given it. It was ‘L” something.. Liz? Lacy? Lana? He didn’t care. He had her bank card and her PIN number, it was time to go have fun.

Walking back to the mall, Jeff stopped at Target, where he scored a free Dr. Pepper. He remembered to not try his trick with anything too big, that would attract attention. A pop here and there, nobody would be the wiser. After hitting the ATM, he took out a couple hundred. Enough for a little fun this evening. The park was a good place to pick up chicks, so why not go back?

It took a few minutes to get back to the park, but he saw something he didn’t want to see. The Bitch and her cousin were there. Actually, that might work out for him… If they had a big blow-up in the park, he could get her cousin to beat the snot out of her.

Jeff walked over and looked at the two. The Bitch had on her normal dark glasses, and a v-neck tank top that showed off her ample cleavage, her sexy legs were shown off due to the short denim cut-offs she had on. The other had on sunglasses, a long sleeve tee, and capris that hid her legs. That didn’t really matter to him, he didn’t want the colored girl anyhow.

“Ladies, I see you are alone. May I join you?”, he said, looking Judy square in the eyes.

She shook her head and replied. “We wouldn’t sit with you if the rest of the park were lava, and you were on the only safe spot”

Jeff mused. Damn, it didn’t work. But why? he looked at her. Of course! The sunglasses. Something about them blocked his power somehow. He spun around, and slapped the shades off Judy’s face, and grabbed them. Looking her in the eyes, he laughed.

“Guess what bitch? you are going to love me.. you will listen to me. you can’t help but look me in the eyes when I tell you. you will do what I want! And what I want is for you to beat the shit out of your gimp cousin!”

Judy turned and looked at Annalee, and she couldn’t help it. rage was building in her. Slights based on LeAnna’s cover popped into her brain, unbidden. They were fabrications, she knew that. But she was bound to them, fictional memories bubbled up of all sorts of unintended hurt. Lashing out at the girl beside, her, she knocked off the dark glasses.

Jeff cursed as he saw her eyes, those same evil black eyes with the blood-red Irises. “You! You monster!”, he cried.

The Call of the Waters
A Whateley Universe story.
Part 21

July 4th
Lions Park
Hastings, Minnesota

Judy Carlson threw a punch, a punch backed by fake pain and humiliation that had never happened. She knew Jeff had told her to hate her ‘cousin’, and suddenly all sorts of fake memories had flooded her mind. It was fortunate that LeAnna was an Exemplar, she could dodge and outmaneuver Judy easily. It hurt to do so, not physically, but emotionally. Her lover, her girlfriend, her best friend was there, yet not.

LeAnna decided to put some distance between her and Judy, and she backed off. Circling around, she managed to put Jeff between them. He thought it an opportunity to strike, throwing punches of his own. LeAnna could avoid them both, with her edge. Whatever else Jeff was, it appeared he wasn’t an Exemplar. She could use that. She looked up, and Jeff caught her gaze. He smiled, he had made eye contact. Now all he needed were a few words, and it would all be over.

“LeAnna, you slut-freak. give up. You have lost. I think I’ll have you beat your girl to death. Having the MCO on your tail should be good. Pity Minnesota doesn’t have the death penalty.” He smirked and then suddenly frowned. It hadn’t worked. She wasn’t attacking Carlson. She was still dodging and weaving.

LeAnna smirked. She had accidentally looked Jeff in the eye, and nothing happened. She had seen the pulsing patterns in his eyes, and the rhythmic pattern that his pupil dilated repeatedly. But it didn’t do anything to her. She grinned and clenched her teeth as she evaded blows. She never thought that her strange new eyes would have benefits like this. Sure, when she went swimming, she could see clearly in deep and murky water. She did miss the colors though, her vision was more sensitive to the blue and green portion of the spectrum, and she could no longer see reds and oranges the same. They all appeared to be brown to her.

LeAnna dodged more blows from Judy and spun around, backhanding Jeff and knocking him to the ground. She went to tackle him, but out of nowhere as seeming crowd of women had appeared. Jeff had planned for this. In case he ended up losing, he had compelled the women around him to rush in and act as a cover. LeAnna sighed. she couldn’t take on a crowd of over a dozen. Backing off, she let out a melodious call, soothing and peaceful, haunting and beautiful. The women stopped and looked around confused. Judy pulled back a punch that had been aimed at the back of LeAnna’s head. LeAnna looked around, but Jeff had left.

The Sheriff’s office and the MCO were quick to respond to the scene. Based on the reports from the still recovering women, LeAnna was absolved of any wrong doing. Furthermore, an investigation was opened on Jeff Pierson. His rape of Lisa Cooper, and at least 5 other women was uncovered and investigated. ATM footage had revealed Jeff using the cards he had stolen from one of his victims. When that same woman was found in her car in the river, murder charges were filed and Jeff was added to the fugitive list.

—————

August 23rd
Boundary Waters National Park
Northern Minnesota

LeAnna had left after giving her deposition. Judy had broken things off with her due to the horrific false memories she had concocted under Jeff’s sway. Deciding to commune with her spirit, LeAnna had come up here and camped out. She used the retreat to reflect and meditate. It was funny how the summer had started, she had been a typical teen, crushing on boys and wanting the latest fashions. Now she was someone else entirely. She got up and took down her tent. packing up her gear, she hiked back to the ranger station. There, she waited until her father arrived. In silence they drove on, until they got to Duluth. There Paul Baker said his goodbyes. He gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek and waved as his little girl got on the plane.

—————

LeAnna Baker-Smith looked out the window of the small plane. Her old life was behind her, and at Whateley, a new one was bound to begin. Turning from the window, she smiled and looked forward.


The end?