Three Years Later
Chapter 11 [https://www.rellawings.com/superluminal/chapternum/chaphead_11.jpg]
Following a discussion with her Goonie and Quinn after starting her transition, Leona tried to stand by her choice to finish her middle school years at home while her development progressed enough to where no one would question her apparent gender, but they dissuaded her. The elder Ramses’ women encouraged her to see how her current friends would actually react before assuming the worst.
She preferred to not live out in the open, bearing a banner for all transgender children. What Leona craved most was some normalcy—at least as much as was possible. She wanted to be seen as a normal girl, nothing more, nothing less, and yet she agreed to face the music.
Having attended the same public school since before her father’s downfall, Leona was more than ready to make a change beforehand. Her family had wanted to give Leona a place of continuity, a place removed from the rest of the upheaval and mostly, she was grateful.
And while her academics took a pretty significant hit at first, thanks to the time-strapped Goonie’s herculean efforts and Quinn’s helping wherever she could, Leona proved herself to be a decent student. She wasn’t anywhere near the top of her class, in fact closer to the top of the middle, but given the challenges Leona had overcome, Goonie said she couldn’t have been more proud of her for her bravery.
While Leona’s worst fears about living out in the open weren’t fully realized, things didn’t go ideally either. Her school friends at school had been accepting of her transition on the surface, but they didn’t fully seem to understand what it actually meant. They still treated her like the boy she had been before, occasionally asked insensitive questions, teased her about her body from time to time, and so on. So Leona’s decision to make a change firmed.
Leona knew they were just being ignorant rather than hateful, but it still hurt.
With all that in mind, Goonie switched Leona over to a completely different school district to complete her middle school grades once she’d made peace.
Goonie was fairly sure a fresh start was what she needed and that by then Leona was well past most of the risk of her transition exposing her situation. Although everyone knew that the school had made special arrangements for Leona’s sake, such as privacy while changing during gym class, aside from these, there wasn’t really anything for others to be too suspicious about.
On the social front, her affection and interest towards superheroes continued to shine through and earned Leona a few new friends among the fringe groups of her new school. She found that talking about superheroes and villains wasn’t on the popular kids’ agenda, so she had to go to other nerds and fans to vent about the latest news.
None of this surprised or upset Leona though. When the news covered the meta-gifted almost 24/7, they became as commonplace as the weather reports. It took something different to interest many of these people, so Leona ended up talking with like-minded kids about Mistral, Vanguard or the Midnight Avenger for hours on end.
Leona continued to read a lot of comics and posted on forums online discussing rumors about her most favorite heroes, but it was parkour instead that took up a good chunk of her energy these days.
Much like Quinn, Leona was a fairly active person who loved to try new and interesting activities. She tried out all the sports like her cousin had and found that she enjoyed running a lot, but not enough to do it competitively. She was looking for a little more than just going running around the loop or simply hopping over hurdles.
She’d gotten into parkour because it seemed like a lot of fun and there happened to be plenty of others in the old city who were interested and Quinn knew some people who were into the sport.
It involved plenty of running, which Leona already liked, but was way more ‘3D.’ With all the old city buildings San Isidro had on offer, there was always some new place to try out and endless other routes still to discover. She was even pretty good at it after a great deal of practicing.
Some of her new friends poked fun at her, saying that maybe she’d become a non-powered hero some day.
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Leona stared at the opening in an aqueduct's side where water emptied into it, just wide enough to make for a challenging run and jump.
Devin watched the anxious girl with a small smile. “It’s just a small leap. Don’t think about what’s below. When you think about it, after the running and hurdles we’ve had you clear, is this really that big of a deal?” He chuckled at her briefly before bursting into action himself, his sneakers slapping the pavement. “Cut loose and move smoothly. No hesitation!”
Leona watched Devin half twist and flip over the gap to face Leona on the other side. Her jaw dropped.
“Hahaha—don’t worry about flourishes until you’re more confident,” her athletic mentor said.
“Yeah. Just don’t look down. Anyway, even if you fall, we’ve got you covered,” Diana added as she arched her back, stretching.
Leona swallowed some saliva and shook her head, tempted to back out. This gap was just within her jumping range, but if she made a mistake, she’d slam into the wall and end up soaked.
“You’re chained down, girl. You can’t grow wings, if you’re always worried that you’ll get a booboo,” Diana added as she cartwheeled towards the gap, putting Devin’s performance to shame. She shifted her weight flawlessly from wrist to wrist and then to her ankles as she spun, seemingly out of control. Leona winced. She was going too fast.
“Wait, that’s a bit—” Devin exclaimed.
“Shut the hell up!” Diana yelled as she sprang right at the gap. Leona screamed and ran forward. She was sailing right to the edge.
What’s holding you down? Leona thought about one of Diana’s comments to her, criticizing her timidness considering her interest in the sport of parkour.
Leona thought it over and chewed her lip as she ran to intercept Diana in time, though she wasn’t sure there was enough time for even Devin to do anything.
Life’s about gambling sometimes. That’s how we see how glorious life really is. You could get a high with drugs and waste your life, but why not find a better way to get that buzz? Instead, take your body to its limitations and you’ll feel it.
It was impractical to think that Leona could become a hero. That kind of thing only happened if you were an extremely dedicated person or you hit the jackpot and life dealt you some superpowers through either accident or birth, but despite what her father hoped she could be, that was an impossibility.
Diana landed right on the lip of the precipice to handspring into a spin that would humble many ice skaters. She landed hard, and a foot landed on the other side with a loud scraping noise. Moments later, she planted her other foot and spun low to break her momentum and looked up at Devin with a challenging grin.
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“Shit——wait, Leona!” Devin turned his eyes from Diana to Leona, who’d reached the point of no return, but she was instinctively slowing and that would get her hurt. Having seen Diana land made Leona feel foolish for thinking that her life was in danger, but because of that, she was in trouble.
“Don’t stop now! Pour on the speed! Show me that speed you’ve shown us on the track. Use your instincts.” Devin eyed the intervening space between them and decided that if need be he’d charge at Leona, grab her midair and take her straight down into the water so she wouldn’t eat the pavement. It would still hurt, but less than otherwise.
Leona’s heartbeat sped up as she stared ahead. Remembering their words, she focused on the edge and the goal. She reached it within the next beat and planted her foot as carefully as she could and put all her power into that leg, pushing her body into the air. She sailed, albeit without the style, and panache her teachers already had down pat.
Diana laughed aloud and nodded. “She needed a nudge.”
“Yeah—I guess she couldn’t do it on her own,” Devin said with an answering grin.
Leona came down hard and stumbled as she worked to catch her balance. In a blink Devin reached out to snag Leona’s shirt after kicking off to boost his speed in his effort to intercept the floundering Leona. He swung the girl around and broke her momentum, allowing her to skid to a stop.
“You did good, girl.” Diana nodded. “Think you can handle practicing this baby jump now that you’ve got a taste of it?” she asked as she joined the other two where they rested.
Leona laughed softly under her breath. “I don’t know—”
“You flew. You can do it, you know. Once you make that first jump, it all gets easier. Soon enough you’ll be flipping along fences.”
“Oh, jeez!” Leona laughed softly. She imagined what it’d be like if she could pull moves like that. Who knew? Maybe she’d get good enough to chase an impossible dream.
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Leona attended East San Isidro Junior High until she graduated.
‘Eastside,’ as it was affectionately known, was sufficiently far enough away from her old elementary school, so there was basically nobody that would know her. For those three years, a few rumors circulated about her because of the special treatment she got, but none of it carried much weight, nor was anything ever proven.
The special treatment she received for gym class was strange to many, but she found that her life as a girl was happier, particularly since her chest swelled and she’d developed a somewhat delicate figure. She likely would never be cheerleader material in the looks department, but she could be peppy enough to make a good showing for a while.
As she got older and she grew acclimated to her new self, Leona thought more and more about her father and how she remembered his attitude towards women. Eventually, she began asking some crucial questions to fill in some blanks.
As the hormones really kicked in, Leona cried more because as she became more emotional, she thought about her actual parents, remembering all the details that Goonie had revealed to her when she was younger, wondering about things she hadn’t been told. Goonie held the grittier details close to her heart for when Leona could handle the whole truth and Quinn, for once, seemed to agree, so she didn’t tell Leona anything more than she already remembered and knew. Leona, in fact, cried more than she had in the first few years, but she was still far happier overall.
Then, in one particular instance, Quinn barged into her room while Leona was curled up on her bed, crying.
“Whatcha crying all alone for, squirt?” She didn’t mean to, but Quinn was rubbing it in again. Leona didn’t respond and just sobbed.
Quinn was eighteen now, but it was still amazing how much she had changed. At fifteen Leona had a bit of a growth spurt, but her sister remained a good half a head taller than her. Leona still felt like a fake when compared to Quinn, even though her classmates didn’t openly question her apparent gender. Leona wished so badly to grow taller and become more beautiful.
“Ah, damn it—cheer up. I have good news. Goonie agreed to let me take you to one of the better raves I regularly go to. She trusts me, finally.” Quinn winked.
“One of your raves?” Leona looked at her sister blankly.
“Yeah—they’re crazy, loud and a big mess sometimes. What you’re missing in your life right now is a little fun—and you know... I’ll be moving out soon, so we should have some sisterly bonding time while we still can. That’s most of the reason Ma agreed to trust me, fiii-nally. I have some friends to meet, and I’d love to show them my adorable little sister. Pick up the slack and trust me, okay. I promise not to divulge anything too— awkward or embarrassing. You’re my sister and that’s the end of that.” Quinn threw her arms around Leona and started tickling her.
Leona struggled at first, but finally succumbed to laughter. She hadn’t laughed like that in a while. Hearing the truth about her parents had made her grow up quicker than she might have liked, it seemed.
Totems of her childhood, her beloved hero figures, still stood on a shelf across the room though perpetually standing in the same action poses she’d last used to playact epic powered battles as a small child. Nowadays, she limited herself to murals and displays.
“So? Let’s do this! You’re more than ready! You've got everything you need! And you can even protect yourself in a pinch. So get dressed, girl!” Commander Quinn barked.
Leona hopped to as Quinn moved to stand near the bed on the other side of the room and then opening her closet, she rolled her eyes, snapping with a furious blush, “Hey, get out while I change, idiot!”
“We’re sisters!” Quinn teased and grinned. “Ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before. Do I have to come over there and help you?”
In response, Leona rushed her efforts to select some clothes from her closet. Quinn laughed and followed with her tickling fingers extended. Leona leapt into the closet, attempting to hide, but paused mid-movement. After a brief reconsideration, she thought of stepping inside, only to be trapped inside by her overly playful older sister’s antics.
Quinn didn’t stare as Leona stripped, though Leona refused to remove her gaff in front of her sister. Her sibling whistled as she dug through Leona’s clothes and selected the most appropriate pieces for the dance. “These oughta do. Just the right amount of titillation… Have I mentioned you’ve really filled out over the years?” Quinn asked rhetorically as she winked at the furiously blushing Leona.
With a stamp and a pout, Leona turned her back, covering herself to hide from her older sister.
Leona had since grown to become a high B cup. She thought it was probably the most she could hope for, despite having started very early with her hormone replacement regimen. Regular shots of estrogen had seen her through the awkward years; she didn’t want to think about what would have happened had she not gotten them.
She could have cut her hair and still passed, but it was probably her insecurity coupled with her liking the longer-haired look that had her keep it long and luxurious. She wasn’t above tying her locks up in a simple ponytail when she was active, such as when she was practicing parkour she’d learned from some of Quinn’s friends.
Quinn poked her shoulder and held up a tube top and a pair of shorts Leona really liked when running. Next came a pair of intentionally ripped red stockings and a set of fishnet gloves that she’d been gifted but had yet to wear publicly since they seemed a bit much. With that, the makeover started in earnest.
Once dressed, Quinn dragged Leona to the bathroom where she applied a liberal amount of hair coloring spray. By the end, her little sister’s formerly sandy blonde hair matched her own electric blue. It was always difficult to say they weren’t twins instead of cousins, since they looked so similar. But, while Leona’s new hue would wash out with a shower, Quinn routinely scheduled hair appointments, getting hers properly dyed a color every other month. After Quinn’s spraying had completed, she finished Leona’s makeup with a light couple of layers of facial makeup that complemented Leona’s beautiful blue eyes. She’d even accessorized her little sister with a smattering of baubles like cogs on a leather string, glass and LED beads. The footwear chosen was a dirty pink pair of shoes covered in holes and little anime character patches.
Quinn held her sister from behind, hugging her tightly. “What do you think? Wild, but we match.” She winked at her sister with a satisfied smile. Leona smiled back, flushing prettily. Seeing her face like this made her remember another reason she was crying, but she fought it. Quinn would leave her behind someday; soon enough she’d go south to that Media College of hers—while she still had yet to graduate from High School. Even if Quinn messed around a lot, there was no doubt she’d graduate.
Despite being so devil-may-care most of the time, she was serious where it counted.
“You’re a real heart-breaker, my dear,” Quinn murmured as she beheld her handiwork. “I hope you're ready for the upcoming onslaught of unwelcome advances. Remember Goonie’s lessons. We might not always be in the same place because I have a set to play, but I’ll definitely find a way to look out for you.”
Leona gulped, her raw nerves plain to see.
They left the bathroom and met Laguna downstairs, who was patiently waiting with a smile. “You’d best focus on more than your music, Quinn. Always keep an eye out in your sister’s direction. Even if it’s ‘safe’, you can never be too sure.”
Quinn nodded and Goonie sighed exasperatedly before putting an affectionate hand on each of their shoulders. “Get on with it then! Go have some fun!” Her broad grin faintly showed the wrinkles developing in the corners of her mouth. Time comes for us all, eventually.
A couple hours later, the sisters arrived at their destination: an abandoned grocery store in the Dead End District, the part of San Isidro that Gravitas wrecked ten years ago, and it was still in disrepair to this day.
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