Summus Proelium

“See, pretty damn freaky, huh?”

It was later that evening, after dinner but before the sun went down. I was with Izzy and the two of us were standing out in the woods far beyond my family’s property. Far from anyone’s property, really. We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by thick foliage after doing a thorough search of the area to make sure we were alone out here where we could talk. And, of course, where I could show my little sister the new additions to my assortment of paint powers. I’d already gone through most of it, and now we were to the whole becoming a boy thing. Which I had just done, shifting into my male self right in front of her while she watched intently.

Izzy, for her part, tilted her head one way, then the other, examining me with a critical eye. “Uh, okay, so I can tell because you’re wearing normal clothes. I can see the umm… change? But if you were in your normal costume, I don’t think anyone could tell the difference.” Quickly, she added, “Which is a good thing! It means you can go out as, um, actual boy Paintball and people won’t suddenly think there’s someone else in the suit. You’ll just look like you. Because you’re you and that’s who you’re supposed to be, so they’ll know that the you that is the male you is you the you they knew. Uh, yeah. The end.” Her face was pink.

Snickering despite myself, I gave a sage nod. “I’ll be the male me that is the me they knew me to be. I think some monks are chanting that somewhere right now.” With that little bit of teasing out of the way, I turned in a circle. “I’m just gonna say it, I have no idea how boys walk around. It feels weird. I feel off-balance. I feel--uh, exposed.”

“You need practice,” Izzy advised carefully. “And have you thought about telling your--I mean, Simon?” Before I could finish doing a double-take, she amended, “I mean, just about being able to shift your sex. You could tell him you Touched and that was the only power you got.” Even as she said that, the girl was frowning. “That’s probably a bad idea, huh?”

“Worth thinking about,” I allowed with a slight grimace. “But uh, I don’t think I’ll be doing that. I don’t want them to have any idea I have any powers at all. It’ll just make them start thinking that way. Especially since the word that Paintball Touched again is probably gonna get out.”

She was nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. I was just thinking maybe you could be more… um, comfortable as any version of you that you want to be if your family knew you could shift.”

After a brief hesitation to ask myself what I’d done to get such a cool sister, I embraced her. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Just being able to feel what it’s like and shift over to… to the other… version of myself sometimes is gonna help.”

The two of us stayed like that for a moment before Izzy stepped away. “Okay okay, now you’ve gotta show me the other part.”

“You’re sure you really want me to do this? It’s not gonna freak you out too much or anything?” Even as I asked that, I was looking Izzy up and down with a slight wince. “It’s probably weird.”

“It’s Touched stuff, of course it’s weird,” the girl pointed out with a shrug. “Double-so with you, cuz your paint is super-weird. Also you just showed me how you can change into a boy whenever you want. This is nothing.” She paused briefly then before adding with just the slightest touch of nerves, “You said you tried it with the others, right? And it um, it didn’t hurt them or anything.”

“Okay, there are definitely much weirder powers than my paint,” I insisted. “And yeah, I tried it with a few of the others. They said they didn’t really feel anything other than the sticky liquid sensation of the paint hitting them. And it’s not like we were connected after that while I looked like them. You won’t feel what I feel or whatever. We’ll stay completely separate, I promise.”

Offering me a faint smile, Izzy bounced on her feet with obvious eagerness. “Okay! Try it.”

So, I focused on that rainbow paint and pointed that way. It splattered across her, and a second later, I was reforming next to the girl while my old body melted behind me. Izzy was looking that way, grimacing with a little sick noise. “Uh huh, see what I mean? Totally high on the… weird…” She had turned through part of that, ending the sentence while staring at an identical copy of herself. “Oh wow, freaky. You really look like me. But you’re not, um…” Trailing off, she reached out to poke a finger into my forehead, gaping as her finger went through like it was thick water.

Giggling despite myself, I moved my head back and forth so she could see her finger moving through me like that. From what I’d seen when people did that to my arm or anywhere else I could actually look at, it sent ripples through the surrounding area, like a finger moving through any other liquid. Which was even more strange to see when it was happening to someone in a humanoid shape. So yeah, maybe Izzy had a point about my powers being pretty weird.

After a moment of that, I took a step back and did a quick spin. “See? Complete copy of you. We’re basically twins right now. Too bad I can only make myself solid like this for like a minute.”

“Does that minute have to be all at once,” Izzy asked curiously, “or can you spread it out? I mean, if you make yourself solid just long enough to open a door or shake someone’s hand or something, can you go right back to being intangible and stay in the shapeshifted form? Or does the countdown to changing back happen as soon as you make yourself solid the first time?”

That, of course, was one of the first things Paige had insisted we thoroughly test. Still, the fact that Izzy thought of it too made me smile. “Apparently it’s either sixty seconds as a solid person, or six shifts back and forth, whichever comes first. The countdown only goes on as long as I’m solid in the other form, but as soon as I shift back from liquid to solid the seventh time, the disguise melts and I turn back into my real self. Even if there’s still thirty seconds left on the timer.”

Izzy was nodding as she walked around me, biting her lip thoughtfully. “Oh! What about--uh, you know, costumed people? I mean, is everyone gonna be terrified that you can expose their identities by hitting them with paint, turning into them, and then taking off the mask?”

Boy, would Paige be proud of this girl or what? That was another thing she’d wanted to test. Though the way she had phrased it was that she wanted to know how many paranoid fucks were going to try to kill me to stop me from exposing their secret identities. Still the same idea.

“Wren has this hazmat suit thing,” I explained. “I didn’t look while one of the others got into it, and since they made the front plastic visor thing completely opaque, I had no idea who was inside. I painted them, turned into them, then took off the hood to find out what I looked like under it. Aaand I just looked like me. Oh and it wasn’t Sierra. The point is, apparently when my power doesn’t know what the person in the costume looks like, it only physically changes as much as I can see. Or maybe just the ‘clearly visible portion’ of them or something. No learning secret identities that easily for me. Which, to be honest, I’m kind of relieved about. Cuz like you and Paige said, that’d make a whole lot of people pretty paranoid about me. I really don’t need that kind of pressure to be added on to everything else that's already happening.”

Izzy gave a little nod and while continuing to pace around me to take in my transformed appearance. “You do seem to like racking up lots of problems.”

With a thought, I shifted back to my normal state and shrugged that off. “I mean, I wouldn't say I like it, exactly. It just seems to keep happening regardless of my opinion on the subject. Believe me, I'd love to have some more quiet, boring days.” Absorbing my new sister’s skeptical look, I amended, “Okay, maybe not quiet and boring. I do like exciting things. But physically exciting, like skydiving or base jumping. I could do without all the emotional trauma. And if I could manage to never have to be face to face with anyone like Amanda or Pittman again, that'd be pretty damn fantastic.”

There was a brief pause before Izzy swallowed while meeting my gaze. “You could get away from that, you know. You don't absolutely have to be Paintball. Just because you have powers doesn't mean you’re required to use them. It's not like they're going to track you down and throw you in prison for not going out there every day and risking your life. As if they even could if they tried.”

Hitting a high branch in a nearby tree with a shot of my rainbow paint just so I could immediately transport myself onto it, I watched my old body dissolve before shaking my head. “You're right, that does look freaky. And yeah, I don't have to keep doing this. But if I stopped, I'd feel guilty every single time I saw something bad happen out there. I'd always ask if I could have helped. Besides, the rest of my team, my friends, would be out there. So would you, and Amber. It's not like all of that is going to go away and you'll be perfectly fine forever if I'm not there. I can help. I’m good at this stuff.”

Izzy had soaked herself before floating up to sit on the branch with me. Her arm moved around my waist, testing to make sure I had made myself solid as she smiled. “Yeah, I guess you are. The whole city would fall apart without you. It's been right on the edge of total collapse until you showed up. You are our savior.”

Blushing a little as she giggled, I nudged her a bit. “Ha ha. You know what I mean. Besides, you could've stopped after what you went through with your mom and you didn't. No one would have blamed you for taking a few months off back then.”

Izzy shifted back and forth on the branch while making a thoughtful noise under her breath. Finally, she replied, “Every time I thought about stopping, or even just taking a long break, I just kept picturing someone else like me getting hurt because I wasn't there. I was scared after that… that thing with Handler. Part of me just wanted to hide and never go out there when people like him exist. But if I wasn't there, they'd be able to hurt others, people who can't fight back. I was scared, but it made me think about how scared and helpless I would've been if I didn't have my powers. Monsters like Handler hurt helpless people all the time.”

She fell silent again, arm squeezing my waist while we sat there on the branch together. I could tell she wanted to say something else, but was searching for the right words. I didn't rush her. Eventually, it came. “Besides, I don't want to be like my mom. She only thinks about herself. She only cares about herself. No matter what happens, she always makes herself the victim in her mind. She sold me to a gang to be tortured just so she could have a better life for herself. She's… she’s just selfish. I don't want to be like that. I can't be like that.”

Squeezing the girl closer, I shook my head. “Oh Izzy, you could never be anything like her. But… yeah, I get it. I guess we both feel like we need to be out there helping people as much as we can. And… to be honest, I like it. I mean, I like being able to save people. It's dangerous and terrifying and all that, but I still love being able to be there when someone needs help. Not to mention being able to punch people who deserve it. That's pretty cool too, if I'm being completely honest.”

With an audible giggle, Izzy agreed, “I do kinda like seeing big bad gang guys get all scared when I make them float off the ground. Especially right after they've been hurting innocent people.”

The two of us sat there together like that for another minute before she gave a sudden start as something obviously occurred to her. “Hang on, what about Qwerty or those--um--Cuddles?”

That second part had been a whole conversation on its own before we even got into the rest. She really wanted to go meet those guys, and I had promised to find out if they were okay with that. I had already made certain they were cool with me telling her about them, but actually meeting with them was another step. After hearing about how much everyone back at their home had forced them to do constant meet and greets with fans no matter how they felt about it, I didn't want to make them feel like it was happening again.

Blinking that way, I started to question the abrupt subject change, then realized what she meant. “Oh, the shapeshifting?” When her head gave an almost violently eager nod, I snickered a little despite myself. “We haven't tested that yet. By the time we thought about it, Qwerty and some of the others were resting, and Peyton had to go home. She made us promise to wait and test it when she could be there. So we just decided to hold off until the whole group was ready to see it. Plus Paige had an appointment to visit Irelyn in the hospital and she made me promise specifically not to test turning into anything small like that until she could be around to take notes and help if something bad happens. You know, assuming anything even happens at all. Just because I can shift into other humanoid forms doesn't mean that I can do something that tiny or different.”

Honestly, I couldn't decide if I was more excited or nervous about the prospect of being able to shift into a form as small as Qwerty. Okay, no, that wasn't exactly true. I was definitely more excited, but there was still nervousness in there too. It was a lot to even consider, which was probably why I had allowed myself to be talked into promising to wait. These new powers were a really big deal, and I needed to take my time carefully exploring them.

Even if there was a not-so-small screen in the back of my head to forget what I'd promised Paige and Peyton and just find a bird to paint so I could see if that would let me fly around. Oh god, what would that do to the jokes about Lucent being my dad?

Izzy shifted on the branch to look at me intently. “Hey Cassie? Um, how do you feel about making another promise?”

The obvious implication made me giggle. “Okay, okay, I promise I'll try it when you're around too. But you know what this means, right?”

Izzy’s head moved in a sage nod. “Uh huh.

“You have to call Amber and invite her, or she'll kill both of us.”

*******

So, of course, I did just that. The Cuddles were fine with meeting the two of them, excited even. I had the feeling that, regardless of all their other complicated feelings, they really did miss the members of their team. So meeting a couple members of our Minority was probably pretty exciting.

Eventually, we all met up again just a little after midnight. We weren't at the shop, but in the mostly-empty back lot of what had once been a junk shop before going out of business and being almost entirely picked clean of anything valuable. The only things left out here at the moment were a few remains of cars that were nothing more than metal husks, and a whole lot of garbage. But it did mean that we had privacy for this testing.

I had taken some time earlier to explain all the stuff about my added powers to Amber. She, in turn, had informed me that considering how much trouble I tended to get into, she wasn't surprised at all that whoever was behind the Orbs had decided I needed a little extra help. Boy did I ever wish I could have argued with that.

She had teased me a bit, but mostly she was just excited and made me show her everything I could. Which eventually led us out here with the others. My entire team was here in costume, along with Raindrop, That-A-Way, and the Cuddles. Fred was back at the shop keeping an eye on things, just in case. Not that we expected too much trouble right now given we didn't exactly have Pittman anymore, but still.

After Izzy and Amber had several minutes to meet and introduce themselves to the Cuddles, it was time. The others had all gathered in a circle in the middle of this dirt lot, surrounding me while Qwerty bounded back and forth, jumping from shoulder to shoulder across everyone as he babbled on about wanting to see if I could turn into him.

And speaking of turning into things, I’d decided not to talk about my new… shifting ability in front of everyone just yet. I would, soon, but right now it was about the Cuddles and Qwerty and I didn’t want to distract from that.

Style, standing there in her own costume, gestured back and forth between us. “Well? Let's see what this new one power of yours has got. If you pull off the little guy, I want to see if you can go as small as a bug. Now that could be useful. Imagine how many secrets you could find out by spying on people like that.” Her head shifted sideways to take in the Minority Touched. “I mean, imagine how many people you could save by sneaking past all the guards holding them hostage or whatever.”

Snorting a bit, I decided she was right, at least about not waiting anymore. It was time to see if this would work. So, I asked our little parrot-squirrel friend to hold still for a moment. It was easier said than done for him, considering how excited and amped up he was. But finally, he perched on the ground right in the middle of the circle. “Hit me!” Qwerty called out while standing on his hind legs with his wings and front paws extended.

Obviously, I didn't want to bowl the poor little guy over, or completely drown him in paint. I focused and sent just a very small rainbow spray at him.

It worked. Miracle of miracles, wonder of wonders, it worked. The next thing I knew, I was very small, perched in front of a Qwerty who was suddenly my size and surrounded by giant versions of my companions.

Oh boy was seeing everything from this size and angle a lot to take in. Qwerty looked so different when I was the same size as him. And looking up at all the others in giant mode was a real trip. I had never been that big, so I was accustomed to looking at people. But this was ridiculous. I was basically so small I barely came up to their ankles! I was teeny-tiny!

Everyone started talking and pointing at once, a mix of excitement and shock that this had actually worked running through the whole group. It was pretty apparent that everyone had assumed I wouldn’t actually be able to get this small or change myself to that extent.

As for Qwerty himself, he jumped at me with an excited squeal. Only to laugh as he passed right through me. “A friend!” He was bouncing up and down, wings flapping wildly. “I can have a friend!”

Making myself solid for a moment, I grabbed the TONI with my new paws and hugged him. I felt the wings on my back extend around him as well. “I’m always your friend, no matter what size I am or what I look like. We all are.”

Qwerty seemed completely taken aback by the physical gesture. He made a noise of surprise before hesitantly returning it. His voice was soft and wondrous. “Oh. Oh this is what a hug is like? Oh, that's really nice. I think I like hugs.”

Grinning, a whole new experience with a beak, I leaned back to look at him. “Well, I’m glad, because you're going to get a lot of them. As many as you can handle. Now, why don't you show me how to use this little body?”

In response, he immediately turned and started bounding away, leaping between Amber’s legs before jumping on top of the nearest car husk. “Catch me if you can!”

“Oh it is on!” I called after him before giving chase.

Everyone was blurting questions, but the two of us ignored them for the moment. We would get back to more rigorous scientific testing soon enough. But right now, only one thing mattered.

If that little squirrel-parrot liked hugs, I was going to show him what it was like to be tackled into one.