Thunderfist's Turmoil Ch. 01

"I think she did, yes. We would have been happy either way, of course." I answered, hoping I wasn't hurting Daniel's feelings, but he seemed no more upset than he had been before I said it.

"Somehow the little one sensed it" Marie continued. "And before you ask, I have no idea how she could do that. There are some things neither magic nor science can explain. Somehow, the child growing inside your wife knew she wanted a boy and accommodated her wish."

"But if he could change shape so early in life, why didn't he do it for years after he was born?" I asked.

"She was happy just being a child, so that's all she stayed as" Marie said. "When she started to change shapes, she wasn't discovering her power, she was remembering she had it. That's when I started to understand what little Danielle was and what she'd done to herself."

"Is that why you kept an eye on us?" I wondered aloud.

"At first, yes" Marie admitted. "But in time I came to love your family almost despite myself. The only thing I could do was keep watch on the child and wait until she discovered who she was on her own. I knew she eventually would. No matter how hard people can try to be something they are not, their true nature always wins out in the end. So when she figured it out, I knew right away. Even when she was pretending to be a boy, it was obvious to me Danielle had found herself. All that was left for me to do was to tutor her in the fine art of being female."

"Do I even want to know what that means?" I asked, as much to lighten the mood in the room as for any other reason.

"How to stand" She explained. "How to sit when wearing a skirt. How to shop for clothes. How to present herself. So many little things. And how to walk like a young woman. Mon Dieu, how her walk was terrible when we started."

"I wasn't that bad" Danny interjected.

"You still trod everywhere my dear" Marie chided him. "I'm sorry, but you do. It's very unbecoming."

"Okay, stop for minute" I asked the two. I'd been presented with a lot of information in a very short time, so I took a moment to soak it all in. Another man might have been overwhelmed by all I'd learned in the last few minutes. But in my career as a superhero, I'd run into a lot of strange things and weird people (One of my poker buddies is a demon, for instance). I guess that experience is what allowed me to accept what I'd been presented. My Daniel wasn't who I thought he was. Or, to be more precise, who I thought SHE was. I realized I was going to have to think of her differently from that point onwards.

I got up from my chair and went over to the couch. I took a seat on the other side of Daniel and took the boy's left hand in both of mine, holding it close to my heart. "Danni" I said. "I want you to know that no matter what, you're my child. I love you, and I couldn't be more proud of you if I tried. If you've known for a while that you're a girl, well, you don't have to pretend around me anymore. And when you're ready to be yourself out there in the world, I'll be right behind you to make sure nobody gives you any crap about it."

"Thanks Dad" Danny said as he gave me a hug to hide his tearing up.

While I was still holding him, I took a deep breath and told him "You can turn into your real self now, It's okay."

"Are you sure? He asked me with his head buried in my shoulder.

I knew that, in a very real sense, I was saying goodbye to my son. A lifetime of memories flashed through my eyes in that moment, all of my son. I let the moment pass and said "Yes Danni. Let me meet my daughter."

For a second, nothing happened. And then I felt Danni's head shift lower down my shoulder. I remembered the girl was shorter than the boy. She straightened herself up and looked me in the eyes for the first time since we'd gotten back from the satellite. It allowed me to take a good long look at her. She was still wearing her feminine Were-Kid outfit but the facemask wasn't there. I examined her face for the first time and noticed it was rounder than Daniel's angular features. The cheeks were fuller, the lips a little bit poutier. Her eyelashes seemed longer, and her eyebrows were definitely thinner.

"I see more of your mother in you now" I told her. "Still some of me in there too, I'm sorry to say. I guess the rest is all you. It's a very pretty face."

She smiled at the compliment as she exhaled a breath I hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"I can definitely live with this face" I continued, then scanned over the rest of her. "And this girl. I think she looks just fine. Dunno about the skirt though. I'd rather my daughter not show off her calves."

"Sorry Daddy" she said. "I have, like, six different skits and only two pairs of girl's pants. You better get used to seeing my legs."

Her voice was different now. The pitch was higher. I realized that her vocal cords must be shorter in her new body and marvelled at how thorough she'd been in her designing this form. As to the mention of her legs being on display, I winced in mock pain. "You aren't making this easier on me little girl" I told her. It was amazing how quickly the dynamics of our relationship were changing. "Why don't you run upstairs and change into civilian clothes and I'll get started on dinner."

"Okay" she said, then jumped up and ran up the stairs to our house's second floor. I watched her go and turned back to Marie. "You're right" I said. "She does trod. We'll have to work on that."

Marie laughed and told me "You're a fine man François. Danielle is lucky to have you as a papa. It will take a while, but you'll get used to her. And I'll be here to help you, of course."

The rest of the evening was somewhat surreal, as you might imagine. I'd known Danielle all her life, but I was getting to know her in an all-new way. I was amazed at how "girly" she acted. She seemed to be full of energy, often skipping to and fro as she helped Marie and I cook our meal. When I remarked upon it, she told me she'd felt like she was holding her breath when she'd been a boy around me for the last few years, but now she could breathe freely. Over dinner, we discussed how she'd want to reveal herself to her friends and she said she just wanted to enjoy being a girl around town for now before figuring out how to tell other people besides me and Marie. After dinner, I was treated to a fashion show as Danielle modeled every outfit she'd secretly bought over the last few years (or at least the ones she hadn't grown out of yet). We had our first "no daughter of mine is going out dressed like that" argument over a mini-skirt I felt showed off way more than I was comfortable with. Marie defused the situation by asking Danni to keep that one in the closet until I was more used to having a daughter and maybe I'd change my mind later. Soon after, Danni turned in for the night, Marie said her goodbyes and thus ended the strangest day of my life.