Dragonfly, Part 2

Printer-friendly version

Tobias felt himself floating as he awoke, memories of his attack came back to him. While keeping his eyes closed he reached up with his hand and felt his chest. He was relieved to find that his chest was whole, he chuckled a little at his unintended pun, marveling slightly at how one added letter changed the entire meaning of a word. Despite himself, he felt incredably calm and peaceful. Slowly, he opened his eyes to find himself in a void. On noticing his surroundings though, the void shifted into a pleasant grassy shoreline to a large pond. It was the kind of setting where one would take a nap beside under the guise of lazily fishing. The sun is warm and the flitting of dragonflies about told Tobias where he is.

This was where he first met the spirit of all dragonflies. This is the ethereal planescape that she had summoned him too and given him his armor and powers.

Looking up behind him, he saw her standing on the small hill above him looking down at him with a warm, but concerned, smile. Just like last time, she appeared to be a human woman in her mid-twenties but the way she carried herself seemed to make her look much older. Clad in only a simple dress, she began walking down and sat down beside him as she took in their surroundings and held a finger out as a dragonfly landed on it briefly before flying off again, her smiling after it.

"It has been a long time since we have met like this," she told him with a guilty look.

"About four years or so, but I've been busy, so I couldn't come to visit anyways," he told her trying to lighten the mood.

She nodded, giving him a wry smile, "I have noticed. You have certainly put the gift I have given you to good use," she said before she grew sad, "I have brought you back here for a reason, Tobias," she said looking apprehensive.

Tobias looked off to the pond, "Does it have to do with my being attacked before coming here?" he inquired, although he already knew the answer.

With a sad smile she nodded her head again, "You were killed in that attack," she admitted, "Your soul would have moved on had it not been for my intervention," she explained as tears fell from her eyes, "There has been so much death at the hands of evil recently and continuously, so many I couldn't stop. So many kind souls perished," she touched Tobias' arm lightly as she looked into his eyes, "You have such a kind soul Tobias,"

Tobias grunted slightly and was about to protest when she put a finger over his lips to stop him from speaking.

"I might not have been able to save any of those that have perished, but I can save you," she told him.

Tobias didn't understand, there wasn't much you could do to fix a hole in the chest, "How?"

She then touched his chest where his injury occurred, "By giving a portion of myself to you. A small fraction of a sliver, any more would overwhelm you and what I gave is already too much," she explained as Tobias felt a warmth spread through his chest to the rest of his body from where she touched it. She smiled at him sadly, "Now, go and live, I can only ask that you forgive me for my selfishness," she said before looking off to the pond.

Tobias was about to ask her what she meant by that when he felt himself fall away from the idyllic scenery and the spirit woman back into darkness.

Copy Cat remained in her workshop next to the armored form of Dragon, Tobias, waiting anxiously for any change. After the armor encompassed Tobias' body, it reformed into a pod-like container. Solid and black, it prevented anyone from the outside from seeing in. And, much to Copy Cat's chargin, immune to the devices she had on hand to scan the internal structure of the pod. It had been eight hours since and Halt had long since left having grown both concerned of Copy Cat's unwavering vigil and bored of the stillness after the armor completed its shift into its current form. As Copy Cat paced around the pod, she'd pause to put an ear to it to hear the muted sounds of something shifting inside before going back to pacing. As she chewed on her nail, she briefly considered using one of her other devices to open it but with her fear of hurting Tobias and a promise she made to Halt to not use any weapons on it, she went back to pacing and chewing on the end of her thumb nail.

She stopped again to think of building a stronger scanning device to penetrate the shell when she heard a cracking sound. She turned to the pod to see a small crack on the top. Something, presumably Tobias, pushed up against the top making the crack slightly bigger.

Copy Cat ran to the door to yell down the hall to tell Halt that something was happening with Tobias' armored pod. Turning back, Copy Cat could see that the crack was large enough to see the Tobias' back. She was thankful that there wasn't any goo of any kind and grateful that from what she could see, Tobias' wound was healed. She wanted to help open the pod for him but wasn't sure what to do. Tobias' armor was magic based, and she long since learned that what's true for science was not true in the realm of magic. So all she could do was fidget and console herself that he seemed to be moving by himself. It was then as the more Tobias pushed out that Copy Cat notice that there wasn't a stich of clothing that she could see so far. So when Halt finally came in, she pushed him back out to get some of Tobias' spare clothes that he kept in the building.

Up until a few minutes ago Tobias felt like he was floating when he suddenly realised he was stuck curled up and couldn't move. It was so tight that he couldn't move his arms around to feel his surroundings. So he tried to push against his enclosure. He felt it give only slightly but it gave him the incentive to continue to try. Each time he pushed he could feel it give a little more. He kept going and just when he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he heard a crack and cool air flow over his back from where he must have broken it. Spurned by his success, he renewed his efforts and pushed again resting every few seconds. The crack was now large enough that fresh air reached his nose and he breathed in a lungful of fresh air. With a final push, at long last, he was free from his confines. Sitting upright he sucked in more air as he threw his arms to his sides to rid himself of the cluster phobia his confinement brought on.

A gasp drew his attention and he turned his head. Long dark hair fell in his vision, he quickly brushed it aside as he looked at Copy Cat who had a nervous look directed at him. He was about to say something while addressing his longer hair when he saw and felt something on his back. Twisting himself further looking over his shoulder to see a large pair of wings, more specifically, dragonfly wings. Tobias turned and looked over each shoulder and confirmed that the wings were attached to his back. He was further assured when he felt them twitch.

"What the hell?" inquired Tobias as he tried reaching back to feel them.

"Tobias?" Copy Cat asked unsure of who she was looking at.

"Yes," Tobias responded seeing her slowly put her hand in her satchel.

"If it's really you then what's my name? What's my real name?" she asked him. She was trying to hide it but Tobias could see the butt of a weapon she was ready to use just in case.

"Brenda, you're starting to scare me," Tobias said slowly, trying to calm her down.

It seemed to have work but she still had a worried look on her face, "That's really you Tobias?" she asked again as she put her weapon back in her satchel.

Tobias gave her a side-long grin, "I know I seem to have wings now but it's still me. I'm still Dragon. Just with wings, and longer hair now it seems," he said as he pulled at a lock of hair that had gotten in his face again.

"Tobias," Copy Cat started before correcting herself with a pained look, "Dragon, Those aren't the only things that changed on you," she told him cautiously.

"What do you..." Tobias started as he looked down at himself and was rendered speechless by what he saw. It was no longer his body that he saw. whether you could call it fortunate or unfortunate, his clothes had vanish affording him with a clear view of his body. He now had a slim well toned waist, thin feminine limbs, sizable breasts, and a woman's vagina. The only other thing that stood out was a large blue gemstone that was imbedded in his chest sitting in place where Drake's attack struck him.

Tobias' shocking discovery was interrupted when Halt returned muttering something as he opened the door before stopping in his tracks on seeing a naked woman with insect wings sitting in the pod made from Tobias' armor causing his jaw to drop. As Halt stood gaping, Copy Cat, Brenda, walked over to him and in one swift motion, grabbed the clothing he brought and pushed him back out the door and closed it in Halt's protesting face.

Brenda turned to Tobias and as she walked to him she quirked her head in thought before dropping the shirt from the bundle of clothes as she handed him the pants, "I don't think your shirt will fit you anymore, not with those wings of yours now. I suppose I have a tube top I can lend you. Although you're bigger up top than I am but it'll work as a bra till you get a real one," she said snarkly.

Tobias snatched the pants indignantly from her to cover his new bare skin. As he was about to stand up to get his pants on, the armor that made up the pod he was in began to shift. Tobias cried out in a rather girlish scream as he fell back down to his knees to steady himself. The armor then seemed to come alive as it was no longer one solid piece and flowed over Tobias' body like a liquid. It seemed to cover every square inch of his body save for most of his head. It crept up the back of his neck and flowed up behind his ears and over them coming forward where they met covering his forehead. The apparently living armor rippled for a second before solidifying.

Tobias stood up on the table looking down at the reformed armor that now encased his equally new body. As he raised his hands to see the changes he noticed, aside from the slim feminine arms and hands, he took further notice of his armor. It seemed to be even more form-fitting than before as well as having a more angular look. The fingertips of his gauntleted hands ended in deadly points. He checked his waist, getting distracted by his new bust line, and found he still had his throwing knives. When he picked one from its sleeve to test its balance, it felt the same as he remembered but there was something more he could feel, like trying to remember something on the edge of your mind. Replacing the knife back in its sleeve, he turned to Copy Cat who startled when she saw him looking at her.

"Hey Brenda," he said as he hopped down to the floor, "Can you get me a mirror please? I want to know what I look like."

Copy Cat finally snapped out of her stupor and gave him an annoyed flat look, "What makes you think I even have a mirror in here?" she asked him, crossing her arms.

Tobias raised an eyebrow, "I saw you put a kitchen sink in your satchel once just so you could pull it out for a joke," he said, "If you don't have one, then I'll go to the washroom and use that," he said as he started for the door.

As he passed Copy Cat, she grabbed his arm to stop him, "Wait," she said sounding defeated, "I have a full length mirror, just let me get it out," she said as she reached her hand into the satchel. Within the moment, she did indeed pull out a full length mirror and set it on the floor in front of Tobias.

Tobias stepped in front of the mirror and was immediately taken aback by what he saw. His reflection matched that of the spirit of all dragonflies. He had long straight raven black hair that reached the small of his back. His face was beautiful and youthful while at the same time showed a seductive maturity, the only thing missing was the presence that she projected. He could see that his body was fit even with the armor on. On his chest, just below his breasts (he swore that he'll never get used to referring to "his breasts") was a large blue gemstone. Noticing it from before his armor reformed over him so he could guess that the gemstone was now a part of his new body. His fingertips tingled when he touched it.

"Guess that was the part she was talking about," Tobias mumbled to himself.

"Looks like you're a D-cup," Brenda said as she crossed her arms in annoyance. "How come you get bigger breasts than me? You aren't even a real girl!"

Tobias sensed the jealous tone in her voice and decided to prod it by taking a pose showing off his new chest, "You don't think these are the indication of a real woman?"

Brenda's face swelled with anger, "Shut up!" she shouted turning her head, "And why are you so happy about losing your dick anyways? I thought you macho types would freak out having that happen."

Tobias frowned, "I'm not happy about suddenly transforming into a woman before waking up. It's probably a combination of my SWAT training and shock that's preventing me from freaking out right now. Also, there's this," he said pointing to the gemstone on his chest, "I can't really explain it but I have faith that the spirit of dragonflies meant well in doing this. She even apologised saying that if she did any more for me then I'd lose my soul. Or something to that effect, so if becoming a physical copy of her is all it takes to keep my life and soul, then I'll accept it," he said with a wave.

Brenda wanted to spout another insult but decided against it. At least for now. "So," she started as she Tobias a look up and down, "This is what the "spirit of all dragonflies" really looks like," she paused looking thoughtful, "If she's the spirit of ALL dragonflies then wouldn't that make her a god? Or goddess?"

Tobias smiled at that, "I asked her the same thing when she first introduced herself to me and she laughed at me and said that anyone calling themselves "gods" are full of themselves."

Brenda smiled at that, Tobias thought she was going to let out a smart aleck comment but was surprised when she rushed towards him and threw her arms around him and began sobbing. Tobias didn't know what to say so he just put his arms around her in return and held her gently while she cried.

"I couldn't do anything," Brenda blubbered into Tobias' shoulder, "When we teleported back, I barely notice Drake standing behind you and when he shot you..." she paused to wipe her runny nose, "I frozed. He shot you and I didn't do anything. If Halt wasn't there he would have got me too. I was useless and couldn't even stop him from getting away! What kind of a super hero am I that I let my team mate get killed in front of me and not stop the guy who killed him?" she cried.

Tobias held her more tightly to try and comfort her, "Shh, shh, it's ok. I'm still here see? Just a little different now," he told her gently.

Brenda shook her head, "No. No, it's not ok. I couldn't think of a way to bring you back. If it hadn't been for you spirit woman..." she trailed off into another sob. "I'm sorry," she said quietly holding Tobias tighter.

They stood there for a few minutes just holding each other in silence. A quiet knock on the door followed by Halt opening the door and poking his head in.

"Copy Cat?" he paused when he turned to Tobias giving him a questioning look, "Dragon?" he asked. Tobias nodded. Halt stared a him a moment longer before shaking his head deciding, for the moment, to accept Tobias' answer, "It seems that we made the news," he told them grimly before leaving assuming that they'd follow.

Brenda seemed to agree with his assessment and left her workshop and Tobias followed after, thankful that his new armor didn't come with a pair of heels like he'd known some of the lady hero's had with their uniforms. A minute later, they were in the control room where they were when the day started. Halt was sitting at a computer with a web page from a local news station pulled up, a paused video of a newscast was in the middle of the screen. Halt turned around to see if they were all there, on seeing them both looking over his shoulders he turned back and hit the play button.

The image of a male newscaster came to life, "Our top story today: This morning, after a notorious criminal "Princess" caused a riot at the local public mall. Turning patrons in the area into her willing subjects to pillage the establishments in the mall causing moderate property damage as well as minor injuries of those she took under her control. Half an hour later, Team Valiant arrived and made short work in subduing and capturing the villain. Unfortunately, it seems this may have been ruse as before this broadcast we have received an amateur video taken of team Valiant returning and being attacked by the equally notorious criminal "Drake". We will now play this unaltered," he said as the image switched over to a video taken by a low grade camera phone but was still good enough that you could tell who was who.

The video blurred a bit as the camera moved sharply before coming into focus on the helipad at the roof of the building. A lone figure could be seen standing on the opposite side of the helipad away from the roof access door.

The three instantly recognised the figure as Drake.

A second later, on the helipad, a cross fade wipe effect happened and the team appeared on the helipad. In the video, Halt instantly made his way to the roof access door. It was when Halt was halfway there that Drake raised his arm which had a weird cannon strapped to it and fired hitting Tobias' unarmored body in the back.

Tobias felt a twinge of pain in his chest when he saw that, he wasn't sure if it was real or just psychosomatic but he had his hand where the gemstone was anyway to massage the worry away.

Copy Cat screamed and fortunately, due to the crappy quality of the phone, you couldn't hear her scream out Tobias' name as she caught Dragon as he fell.

Brenda flinched and grabbed hold onto Tobias' arm when she saw that part.

Halt jumped in front of the two showing his back to Drake who fired again. The effect of Halt's power made it seem like the video was switched to reverse as the beam of energy reversed its flow and pulled back into the cannon and exploded, throwing Drake back and to the ground. Drake got up quickly and left on his Chinese dragon construct as Copy Cat got up and began shooting at Drake who quickly left afterwards. A second later, the video stopped playing and the male newscaster's face reappeared.

"Shortly after this video was sent in, we received a call from someone claiming to be Drake saying that he had killed the hero known as Dragon who is a member of team Valiant. Our experts have yet to identify the man who was killed in the video and our inquiries to the team have gone unanswered. Our next story, surviving officials of Boston have come under fire for deciding to cancel the Boston marathon in consideration for the attack on the city by Baron Nevermore. Both surviving residents and recurring attendees as well as a growing community have protested this decision and have stated that they will hold the marathon regardless of official's decision to cancel. We have approached some heroes on this matter and they responded that they will attend the Boston marathon should it continue as originally scheduled. A proponent for the marathon has said that they will not allow the attacks of super villains or terrorists sway them and will continue to attend the marathon as a sign of solidarity and remembrance to all those who've lost their lives."

Tobias stood back as he looked to Halt, "Ok, Drake was waiting for us, and?"

Halt just shushed him, saying that there was more in the video.

The male newscaster suddenly paused in mid-sentence, "This just in, the police transport carrying the earlier stated captured criminal, Princess, was attacked by Drake. Our sources say that after severely injuring several police officers, Drake freed Princess before leaving the area. Two of the five officers at the scene are now in critical condition in hospital."

Halt stopped the video and pushed back in his chair before turning to the two behind him, "We were set up. Princess was a diversion while Drake got set up to ambush us when we got back."

"That can't be right," Brenda protested, "If anyone tries to get in or on the building then they'd trip the security system."

"Either way," Tobias said while clenching his fists, "Someone's put a hit out on us and we need to find out who and why."

up
218 users have voted.
If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos! Click the "Thumbs Up!" button above to leave a Kudos

Comments

back on his/her feet

but with a LOT of adjusting to do ...

DogSig.png

Relief

Podracer's picture

- there is a chapter 2...
I hope there will be a 3 and more :)

"Reach for the sun."

Dragonfly

Betcha she's a lot more capable!! That blue jem???

alissa

Well she can't go around

Well she can't go around using the name Tobias any longer can she? Just doesn't sound like it belongs to a beautiful woman as she apparently is now.
Hmmm, wondering if the Blue jewel just might give her some additional power?