Rise and shine. My hand gently turned off the alarm on my phone and I stretched. It was my fourth day waking up as a girl. And I still felt immeasurably happy about it. Still felt the compulsion to smile whenever I found out that, no, none of it was a dream.

However, 'the fourth day waking up as a girl' wasn't anything special to be worth mentioning. No, the special thing about this day was that I would be coming out to almost everyone now. Before today, only Flare, Brock and Sally knew about it. Now, the secret would be going out into the world. To all the teachers and fellow students I knew.

And yet. I felt pretty calm. I didn't care about what they thought about it. If they didn't like it? Too bad, I'm a girl now. Nothing you can do. Enjoy the sight of my tongue sticking out at you.

Although there were two people I was a bit worried about. Elsie and Michelle. The only other people I ever hung around with. Well, they were Flare's friends more than mine, but we still hung around together. Mostly during the lunch break. Those girls were friends. Flare even wanted to try asking Elsie if she would join our hero team. Although I already knew she wouldn't. She liked neither her powers nor the lifestyle of a hero. Too dangerous. Too scary. Elsie was a timid girl.

And so I got up, absent of the morning headaches and grogginess I got so used to over the years and changed into something presentable. Unfortunately, my favorite outfit got blown up by a rude terrorist, so I had to make do with a blue skirt and blouse. Flare said this shade of blue fit me pretty well too. Said she liked how those two pieces looked on me. Although, I wasn't putting them on just for Flare. No, certainly not.

Next up, breakfast. Bacon and eggs were the breakfast of Christopher Dash. For Christina Dash, however, a handmade sandwich has become the standard lately. I could always swap out ingredients, add more tomatoes, forgo the cheese, maybe add ketchup or mayonnaise. I could play with it until it fit my mood for the day. Because my mood was colorful, and not always the plain gray anymore.

I savored my breakfast as I idly thought about the day ahead of me.

First, I had to go to the principal and let him know about my little change. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, since it wasn't uncommon for students to turn into hybrids, thus having to retake a photo in their register. Unless they were stage one hybrids and their appearance didn't change. Well, in my case, I was a stage one hybrid, but I still changed, so there was that. And a tiny alteration of the letter M to F shouldn't be a problem either, right?

I swallowed a mouthful of orange juice and let out an 'mmm' sound before transitioning into 'aah'. And for some reason, it ended up sounding like 'nyaah'. It threw me off of my thoughts for a second. Seriously, did I just accidentally meow like a cat? There was a limit to how much the entire world made fun of me.

Anyway, after the paperwork, I was probably going to have to re-introduce myself to the class. I hoped I didn't muck it up and make an idiot out of myself. But then again, I didn't care what the others thought, so why stress about it?

I threw the last piece of the sandwich into my mouth and chewed on it. People often said that the food you make yourself tasted better. But up until recently, I didn't see it. Food was just food. Something needed to survive. The taste didn't matter. Yet another thing that completely changed for me in those last few days. My DIY sandwiches really did taste better than fast food in a way. They came with this odd sense of satisfaction fast food simply couldn't reproduce.

I swiftly washed the dishes and skipped over to the bathroom. I gave my mirror twin a bright smile and began brushing my teeth. Once that was done, I took a few minutes to carefully brush my hair. Since it was possible for me to look into the mirror and like what I see now, might as well make myself look as good as possible, right?

After that, I headed to my room and grabbed the phone off my desk before putting it into my bag. I also stopped by my wardrobe mirror and looked myself over to fix any wrinkles on my clothes. And then, I was ready. Ready to take on the world.

I skipped out of my flat and locked the door behind me. Took the stairs down, without turning on hybrid form this time, and headed to the bus station. The sun was just barely beginning its day shift. But that was fine, even without it, my world still felt much brighter these days.

On my way, I noticed the same old wrecked buildings and remembered what caused the destruction. But instead of cowering, being all scared and depressed, I thought about how I would go about pacifying those monsters. What I would need to do against the dragon who wrecked the pharmacy. What I needed to do to counter the hydrokinetic that created the 'lake' close to the bus stop.

This time, there was no Flare to shake me out of my thoughts, since I was going earlier than usual. But she didn't need to be there to do that anymore. I didn't need to constantly distract myself from my negative thoughts. Those were mostly gone.

Now, that was not to say that I didn't want her to ambush me and embrace me with her cheery aura. Of course, I did. I just didn't need her to survive day to day life anymore.

The bus finally arrived and I boarded it. The driver raised his eyebrows upon seeing me and I gave him a little smile in return. Not sure what that was about.

I seated myself near the front of the bus and watched as it drove off. At this point, Christopher Dash would pull out his phone and fiddle with it or simply close his eyes and ignore the world. Christina Dash, on the other hand, watched the city through the window, thoughts of wonder going through her head. Honestly, I never even realized there was a musical instrument shop this close to my home. Maybe I would pick one up and learn how to play it? A guitar? Drums? No, maybe not. The neighbors wouldn't be happy about that. Although it was quite fun to think about.

My thoughts slowly shifted to hero business. The various villains in the city. And especially, the Liberators. I was the one who punched the lights out of every one of them in that fight. Almost killed the bomber by pulverizing his insides. Would they seek revenge? Come after me specifically? I sighed. I didn't know if they would, but they had no idea who I was in my civilian identity, so they would have to wait till Ink came out if they planned on starting anything. And even then, I would be ready for them. So, unless they took hostages again, I wouldn't lose.

The bus finally arrived at my stop and I disembarked. A few minutes later, I stood at the school gates. It was still about an hour before the first period, so there weren't any students around yet. But luckily, the school building was already unlocked. I just had to explain to the gate guard why I came so early.

"The principal is probably busy." He frowned. "But you can go to the teacher's lounge and find someone there who's free to process you."

I nodded and entered the building. I followed my memory and found my way to the teacher's lounge on the second floor right near the staircase. I knocked on the door and opened it. A couple of teacher’s heads turned as they saw me but immediately went back to stare at some papers in front of them. The only one who kept her attention to me was Ms. Folly.

"Can I help you?" She walked up to me.

"Uh." I realized I had no idea how to even begin describing my situation. "I. Sort of changed. Oh, I'm a student here. But yeah, I changed. So I was hoping to register the new me. Or something."

I just wanted to dig myself into some kind of hole. I should have at least thought about what to say and then, maybe it wouldn't come out as a mess of random words. Good job me. It seemed that while many things have changed, some still stayed the same.

"Oh? Did you get hit in the starstorm? A hybrid?" She inquired.

"Uh. That's not. What my change is about." I neither confirmed nor denied that I was a hybrid. "I, sort of turned into a girl?"

"You. Turned into a girl?" She gave me a frown of disbelief. "What was your name, again?"

"Chris Dash."

"Oh! Christopher Dash! You're in my starstorm class, aren't you?" Her face lit up as she looked me up and down.

"Yeah?"

"Come on in." She ushered me inside and closed the door behind me. "So how did this happen, exactly?"

"Well. A new hybrid used their powers on me by accident. And I ended up as a girl." Which, again, wasn't a lie. I was a new hybrid and it was an accident. Although I would gladly repeat that accident any day.

"Oh, I see. Did you ask to be turned back?"

"No!" I yelled, but immediately caught myself and calmed down. "No. I, uh. Don't want to change back. I like being a girl." I finished nervously.

Why was I so nervous saying that? Didn't I convince myself I didn't care what others thought just an hour ago?

"Oooh. I see." She smiled. "That's quite okay. I understand."

"You do?" I said, widening my eyes.

"I do. I actually used to know this one guy." She paused for a dramatic effect. "But now, I know this one girl." She chuckled.

"I. I see."

"So, I think you're quite lucky with that change. Normally, you have to go through a long transition period."

"Yeah. I read about it." I nodded.

"Alright. There are a few forms you have to fill in. And I also need some kind of identification from you." She sat down at her desk and began shuffling through her papers.

I reached into my bag and found my wallet. Opened it up and took out my ID card. The old gruff face of Christopher Dash stared at me. I frowned back at him.

"Oh, you didn't get a new ID issued yet?"

"Umm, no."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Right, it wasn't just school. I needed a new ID just in general.

"Well, alright. For now, I'm going to write a few unofficial notes into the documents, as well as prepare the paperwork. And as soon as you have your new ID, we can make it all official, alright?"

"Got it."

She nodded back to me and got to work. It took quite a while before we took care of the papers. Eventually, she had to leave to teach and left me with a different teacher, who wasn’t teaching any classes in the first period. By the time everything was finished, the first period was already starting.

'I don't care what they think.' At some point, that sentence has become my mantra. I kept repeating it in hopes of actually believing it one day. But right now I was nervous, standing in front of the door leading to my biology class. The teacher, Mrs. Kroule, was talking about a new-but-not-really-a-new student. Me, of course. I cursed my enhanced hearing. Now I knew everyone was expecting me.

'I don't care what they think.' Really, who was the fool who so proudly declared that? The same one who said it in the safety of her home. Away from the people in question. When the apparent danger was nowhere near, of course, I felt confident. Now though? There was a part of me that screamed to run away.

A sigh.

I didn't want to delay it any further. If I did, I might end up listening to that part of me and seriously run away. But I couldn't do that. No. I steeled my nerves, lightly knocked on the door, and opened it. I attempted to walk in looking confident. I got down the straight posture part of it pretty well. Unfortunately, my nervous expression and jittering betrayed the entire image.

"Hi," I said after I faced the class. "I'm." My eyes flicked over Flare in the back who had her fists clenched and smiled as if saying 'you can do it!'. "I'm Christina Dash. I. Umm. I used to be Christopher Dash."

Murmurs ran through the class. Some of them threw a glance at me, some widened their eyes and just stared.

"I umm. Had a run-in with a hybrid. And they kinda turned me into a girl." My eyes nervously flicked over the class once again. "So. Now, I’m a girl. Nice to. Uh, meet you?" A terrific finish.

More murmurs. I tried to ignore the way my fellow students looked at me.

"Now then. I'm sure you would love to discuss it all. But for now, let's get back to the biology class, shall we?" The elderly teacher said with a smile.

On her prompt, I walked between the desks and headed for mine located at the back. Heads turned as I passed and whispers surrounded me. Some of them included words like 'girl', 'cute', or even 'gay' for some reason. I continued cursing my enhanced hearing.

Finally, after the short walk of anxiety, I sat in my old spot, next to Flare. She smiled at me. I smiled back with a bit of blush, remembering yesterday.

The teacher began her lesson, but pretty much nobody paid attention. My head was occupied with wrestling the idea that I was in love with Flare while ignoring my classmates' reactions. They, in turn, were whispering to each other and sneaking glances at me. Mrs. Kroule had to warn someone several times throughout the lesson. Seriously, why? What was this all about? It wasn't that rare for a person to become a hybrid, and even those didn't attract as much attention.

I tried my best to remain stoic and ignore the eyes that kept glancing back at me.

After it finally ended, I put the books into my bag and rose from my seat. While the murmurs evolved into hushed conversations, only two brave soldiers actually decided to confront me. Elsie and Michelle.

Elsie was a timid girl with her faded purple hair in a braid and wore glasses over her pink eyes. She was a Fae hybrid but didn't ever use her powers. Flare wanted to ask her to join us as a hero, but I didn't believe she would accept.

Michelle, on the other hand, was still fully human. Spiky brown hair and the everpresent friendly smile were her signature features.

"Hey, are you really Chris? The same gloomy guy? Chris?" Michelle asked disbelievingly.

"No more gloomy guy!" Flare yelled out and put an arm around my shoulders. "A bright girl now!" She grinned back.

I fought very hard to keep the blush off of my face. I didn't win that fight.

"Alright. A bright girl now." She conceded. "So were you serious back then? Someone just used their power to turn you into a girl?"

"Um, yeah." I answered.

"Damn! A power that turns people into cute girls?! That's like the power of some generic harem protagonist!" She laughed. Flare joined her.

No, that was my power, and I definitely wasn’t some kind of harem protagonist. Nor did I want to be one.

We didn't get to chat too much because we had to hurry to our next classes. I had my physics class and unfortunately, none of them shared it with me. As the day went on, I re-introduced myself every time in every class, but it was less and less stressful. Mainly because the same students shared some of the classes, so they already knew about me, and also spread the news to those who didn't. Not to mention, I was gradually getting calmer, regaining my confidence. Although Mr. Grendt kept looking at me with a frown during his lesson for some reason. I did my best to ignore it.

After physics, it was history with Mr. Pitter. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to react to my change at all. Although he never seemed to be one to care much about individual students. The type of person to forget about anything work-related as soon as work was over. Not exactly an ideal teacher, but there were worse.

As for the contents of the lesson, it was about Felice Bellow, the first famous Felice hybrid. Her name became a symbol of hope for humanity. So much so that they even named the hybrid type after her. Although it was a little unusual that they chose her first name and not her last name. Maybe it was because Felice almost sounded like feline? Was that the joke?

After history came the lunch break. Me, Flare, Elsie, and Michelle found each other in the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table with our spaghetti and meatballs.

"So, Chris." Michelle addressed me. "Now that you have snatched the title of the cutest girl of our group, how do you feel about it? Being a girl, I mean?"

I snatched nothing. Elsie still held that spot. Although I wondered why she kept on sneaking glances at me without saying anything.

"I. Well. It feels better this way. Yeah."

"Really? Hmm." She locked her eyes on me as she slurped up a spaghetto. "Well, good! That makes us a girl only group, yeah?"

We always have been a girl only group, I wanted to say. But part of me didn't feel like explaining that I have always been a girl inside.

"Sure does! Although Chris is still only a beginner at being a girl." Flare grinned.

"Ooo, we need to teach this newbie girl how things are done in the world of girls." Michelle rubbed her hands together with an evil grin like a stereotypical villain.

Somehow, I didn't like the sound of that. Were there special rules for being a girl? Couldn't I just. Well. Be a girl?

"Hey, I'm just joking!" The villain across the table put up her palms. "But you do need to learn some things about being a girl, you know?"

"Uhh. Okay?" I said a bit meekly.

And so it began. The horror stories filled with blood, pain, and suffering. I honestly completely forgot about this little detail about being a girl. Part of me dreaded it after listening to Flare and Michelle describe it. But some other inexplicable part of me was looking forward to it. Seriously, was I a masochist? Why would I ever look forward to an event that makes me bleed from the most awkward spot possible?

And then there was the third part of me who realized I could probably completely bypass all of it using my power. Yeah, I could cheat my way around it. But then again, I kinda wanted to at least try experiencing it. See what it was like.

"Anyway, Michelle." Flare lowered her voice. "If you ever got powers, would you become a superhero?"

Well, that came out of the blue.

"Uhh, well, depends on what power I would get?" The girl in question asked, bemused at the random question.

"Right." Flare nodded. "What if the rest of us got powers one day? Would you girls want to form a hero team?"

Ah. That's where she was steering the conversation. Not outright outing us, but still indirectly asking Elsie if she would like to be a hero with us.

"Hey, if it would be with you guys, then I would totally be on board!" Michelle grinned.

"No!" Elsie shouted. "No, I. It's dangerous, isn't it? Being a hero." She immediately deflated after the momentary outburst. "And I don't like my powers. I can only hurt people with them."

"Well, you wouldn't need to hurt anyone! Just prod them a bit! Criminals deserve it anyway. And of course, we would protect you! No danger allowed to our princess!"

"Well still. I mean." She eyed me and Flare. "Umm, wait. This is just a what-if, right?"

Well, that charade didn't last long.

"Uhm, yeah. Just a what if!" My hero partner darted her eyes around.

Good job playing it off, Flare. Completely inconspicuous.

The two girls seated opposite of us shared a glance, Michelle raising her eyebrow. They both then turned to us again.

"You know, Flare. We were graciously ignoring it, but your hair does have a bit more vibrant of a color to it than it used to. And your eyes seem different too."

Oh yeah. Vibrant hair color. One of the typical traits for Rega hybrids. Since Flare was stage two, it didn't look that different in her human form. But if you knew her, you would have noticed pretty easily.

I probably already got used to her hair and eye changes and didn’t question it. Elsie and Michelle were a different story though.

"Uhhh, I dyed my hair?"

I sighed. It was pretty rare for her to get flustered. She probably didn't want to out us since we already established that the fewer people knew about it, the better. But at this point, they pretty much knew something was up. And keeping up that lie would have been even worse than just telling them.

"We're hybrids." I stopped for a second. "We're. Uhh. We made a hero team."

"Wait, seriously?!" Michelle smacked the table with her arms while half-rising from her seat.

I quickly looked around to see whether someone took notice. A few people did, but those merely glanced our way for a second and then went on with their day.

"Uh, sorry." Our hotheaded friend sat down again. "But, seriously? You two are heroes now?"

"Well, yeah." Flare showed them the screen of her phone she pulled out at some point. "Look at this."

"Team BlackBird. Phoenix and Ink," Elsie slowly read out loud. "That's you two?" She asked in mild astonishment.

"Mhm, that's us!"

Michelle sat with her arms crossed while Elsie continued to look astonished.

"So why are you telling us?" A raised eyebrow. "Were you trying to get Elsie to join you?"

"Eeh. Well. I wanted to ask if she would join us without outing the two of us." Flare sighed. "But kind of failed there. Heh." She then looked at the timid girl in question.

"I. Well, no. Sorry. But I don't want to be a hero." Her face adapted a pained look. "Even if it's with you two. I just. No, sorry." She shook her head.

In theory, Elsie wouldn't even have to come with us on those patrols to join us. Just place her proxy onto one of us and then leisurely walk back home. But it would still mean she would be part of it. Which she probably didn't want.

"It's okay. We kind of expected it. But still had to ask." Flare smiled.

"Umm, but are you two gonna be alright?" The girl's eyes darted from Flare to me and back. "It's dangerous."

"I. Well, yeah it is dangerous." Flare half-hugged me. "We already had a close call, actually." A grimace.

A moment of uncomfortable silence.

"But I think we can do it!" Flare beamed again. "We're an awesome team! It would be great if you joined too, Elsie. But even with just the two of us, I think we can manage!"

"Well, I'll be sure to stalk every thread made about you on the forums then!" Michelle laughed.

Elsie, on the other hand, still looked pensive, worried.

"Do you." She spoke up. "Do you go out and patrol? Or do you only go when something is happening?"

"Well, first, we just happened to walk by when some villains decided to rob a bank, so we went ahead and helped." Flare shrugged. "And yesterday, we had our first patrol around the city. Although nothing happened."

"Nothing?"

"Nope. Nothing. It was more like a peaceful stroll than anything."

Elsie seemed to think hard about something as she stared at the table.

"Man, that's so unfair. I'm the odd one out now! The puny human without superpowers!" Michelle complained.

"Better be a puny human than a mindless monster." Flare pointed at her with a fork.

"Ugh. Yeah, You're right." The puny human grimaced.

"Will you be going on a patrol again after school?" Elsie finally spoke up.

"Umm, I guess?" Flare looked at me.

I nodded at first, but then remembered something. "Uhh, I need to get a new ID first. Because, you know. I had a bit of a makeover."

"Oh right. But after that's done, we can do a patrol right?"

"Yeah, we could." I nodded.

"Then. I could umm. Maybe." Elsie looked like she was straining quite hard, but then she finally let a deep sigh and slumped down. "No. I'm sorry. I really won't be joining you after all." She looked guilty.

"Hey, it's fine! As I said, you don't need to join us. All cool!"

"But. You two are going out. Risking your lives." She looked at me. "Even Chris. You were always so withdrawn and silent. And now you're a hero!" And then she slumped once again. "And then there's me. Not doing anything despite having powers."

Was that why she kept glancing at me? Comparing herself to me?

"Like I said! It's fine! Really!" Flare gently smiled at her. "We can manage. And if you ever change your mind, or heck, even just want to join us on one patrol to see what's like, just say the word!"

"Alright." A sigh. "Maybe. Maybe next time."

"Sure!" Flare beamed.

Our discussion has gotten a bit too long and the bell rang just as we finished our meals. We had to hurry to our next class. For me, it was an English class with Mrs. Rudolf. This one, I actually shared with Elsie. She still kept sneaking glances at me throughout the lesson, looking guilty. I felt like I should say something encouraging to her, but I had no idea what.

And then, finally the last subject of the day. The one I always used to dread so much. Now, I also dreaded it, but for a very different reason.

"You were a guy before! Don't you dare come to the girls' changing room!" Said one of the girls as she pushed me away and slammed the door shut.

The gesture hurt more than I imagined it would. So far, people have been very accepting of me being a girl now. Flare, Brock and Sally, Elsie and Michelle. But I couldn't expect the same reaction from everyone.

So. What was I supposed to do now? Go to the boys' changing room? Hell. No. Not in a million years would I go there again. Especially not looking like this. But at the same time, I wasn't welcome at the girls' side. So what were my options? Change at the toilet? I probably had no other choice.

Or I didn't. Until Michelle noticed me standing there and kidnapped me inside. I had no say in the matter. She dragged me by my hand even as I insisted that I wasn't welcome in there.

It was quite bizarre seeing her verbally defend me from the other girls. Honestly, I could fight a bunch of murderous terrorists, and come out on top. But teenage girls? Those were too much. Too strong. Too intimidating. I was lucky Michelle was there.

The two of us never talked that much in the past. For her, I was probably just a 'gloomy guy who tags along with Flare'. But for some reason, today, she acted quite differently. Chatting with me, standing up for me now. Maybe she finally saw a person in me, instead of that empty shell I used to be. Or maybe there was something more to it? Maybe now that she saw the real me, she fell in love at first sight? No no, shut up brain. Just because I finally started to ponder the concept last night, didn't mean that everything was about love now!

The ball slammed into our opponent's side and bounced off. Nobody caught it. The sound of a whistle resounded from the teacher. A point for us.

"Miss Dash?" The teacher addressed me.

"Uh. Ye. Yes?" I stammered out, startled.

"Are you using superpowers?"

"Wh. What?"

"That was an unnaturally strong spike for someone of your build." She looked me up and down.

Ah, crap. I completely forgot about the whole reinforced body deal. I didn't even realize that I was cheating.

"Uh, sorry. I. well." I scrambled my head to think of what to say. "The hybrid. Who changed me. Also kind of reinforced my body. I think."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really now?" I nodded and she sighed. "So, you're saying you can't help but cheat?"

"Um. I'll try not to?"

She shook her head. "Well, for now, you can stay here, but we'll need to reassign you to a different class again later. One for physically enhanced hybrids." I opened my mouth to protest. "Even if you aren't one." That shut me up. I simply nodded to confirm.

That whole situation only made the girls from earlier glare at me harder though. A filthy cheater was in their ranks, after all. Although, in theory, I could also weaken myself back to regular human standards using my power. But, for one, it was too late, and also, I wouldn't weaken myself on purpose if I could help it.

The game went on. Although it was blatantly obvious our opponents kept smacking the ball in the exact opposite direction of where I was standing for the rest of the match. And couldn't blame them for that. But it sure got boring for me from then on.

I felt a bit sad. After all the paperwork to reassign me to the girls' class, I would have to go through it again.

Things were never simple.