The Witch Seed free porn video

This is the eleventh story in my Legacy Universe, with the previous stories listed below for those who haven't read them. Like the others this is a stand alone story, though it might be helpful to have at least read the second one, A Change of Heart. The Miracle Legacy A Change of Heart Hardshell The Praxis Crossing Mannequin The Vengeance of Lady Hexx Glamour Girl Counterweight Grendel and Beowulf The Dark Legacy The Witch Seed By Morpheus I walked along the side of the street, cold, wet, and miserable in the pouring rain. I was soaked all the way through, a fact made even worse by the knowledge that I wouldn't have been in that situation if I only hadn't been in a fight right after school. Because of that I'd been caught up a few minutes longer than I should have been and arrived to catch my bus home just a little too late. "Now if only I could get mom to buy me a car," I moaned in self pity, thinking about how many other kids at school had their own. But since I didn't have a car yet, nor my license either for that matter, I was stuck having to walk home in the rain. To make matters even worse the whole fight hadn't even been about anything important. Some other guy jumped me from behind, without any apparent reason. Fortunately he liked to brag about why he was going to kick my ass. It turns out his girlfriend hated me because I turned her in when she tried copying one of my test papers, so she told him that I'd been stalking her. Of course he didn't believe my claims of innocence and we had to fight anyway, but neither of us really tried to hurt the other. It was more about pride and making a point anyway. My name is Gideon Lywynn, and I was a fairly normal 16-year-old guy, the kind who gets into fights, chases after girls... or at least fantasizes about them all the time, and occasionally gets stuck walking home in the pouring rain because he's too stubborn to skip a fight in order to catch the bus. I was really beginning to regret that last part at the moment. Just then there was a crack of thunder in the distance and I winced, muttering, "A pop quiz in math, the fight, walking home in the rain, and now this. Things just can't get any worse." Unfortunately I forgot that whenever anyone said that, it usually did get worse. A minute later a man in dirty and tattered clothes came up to me, asking, "Can you spare some change kid?" I stared at the man for a moment, feeling more than a little suspicious. He looked like he was homeless, but from the look in his eyes I was guessing that he was on some kind of drugs too. Hell, he could have just been a bit crazy for all I knew. "I don't have any," I told him, wishing that I did just so I could give him a few quarters and get rid of him. "Gimme yer wallet kid," he demanded, pulling out a knife and waving it at me. I immediately took a step back and reached into my coat pocket, pulling out a small can of pepper spray that I immediately let loose in his face. If they knew I had that at school, it would undoubtedly get me into a lot of trouble, but it was for situations like this that I carried it. The man immediately dropped his knife and began screaming, while I took advantage of that to punch him in the throat, then turned and ran. When I got home I quickly entered the security code on the door and went inside the house, locking the door behind me. I looked around, but relieved that my mom didn't seem to be home yet as I didn't want to explain about the fight and attempted mugging. But at the same time I felt a bit of disappointment too, since she had a trick that would have dried me off a hell of a lot faster than anything else. "At least I can get out of these wet clothes," I sighed in relief as I stripped them off and made my way to the bathroom. Once I'd taken a nice hot shower and got dressed in some dry clothes I was feeling much better. In fact I was even in a good mood, able to forget about all the bad things that had happened today. Now that I was home and dry, everything would be perfectly fine. I was almost smiling as I walked into the study, a room that was normally locked whenever any visitors came over. Of course I'd been in it countless times before. The study wasn't exactly a normal study, with a desk and such, but was used as a place for mom to put things that she didn't want outsiders to see. On the far wall was a photo of my mom, a beautiful woman with shoulder length violet hair. The unusual violet color didn't come out of a bottle, but it wasn't exactly natural either. The wall also contained portraits of a half dozen other women, each of which had the same violet colored hair, except for the one who'd shaved her head bald. These portraits were of my grandma, my great grandma, and some of my other female ancestors. In spite of what one might think, that hair color wasn't inherited, at least not directly. My mom was a witch...or a sorceress. I wasn't sure what the difference was, but I'd heard her use both those terms at one time or another. Her magical powers have been passed down from mother to daughter for generations, each of them receiving the power when their own mother died. It was a long family tradition, and I had no idea how or when it really started. Looking at that long line of my female ancestors and thinking about that tradition suddenly reminded me of my sister Carolynn, whom I hadn't seen in nearly two years. I frowned at the thought, then pushed it out of my mind for the moment, not wanting to think about her. After all I doubt that she'd been thinking about me. I turned away from the portraits with a sigh, then went to the corner that had a large glass display case containing what appeared to be a sexy witch costume for Halloween. The center piece was a long sleeved blue dress, which was cut short like a miniskirt in front, though hung a bit lower in the back. There was a violet sash for around the waist, along with violet stockings, both the same shade as my mom's hair, and a pair of blue shoes. Finishing it off was a blue witches hat, with a wide brim and a slightly floppy cone on top, which also had a violet sash wrapped around the base of the cone. I stared at the outfit for a minute, knowing very well that this wasn't some Halloween costume. Instead this was the real thing. At one time my mom had been a super hero called Ms. Witch, using her magic powers to fight bad guys and save the world. Then about eight years ago she retired, deciding that being a mother was more important than being a hero. Ever since she had been using her magic more subtly, working as a freelance consultant on magic and avoiding the spotlight. "Speaking of which," I mused, turning to look at the clock, "I wonder how late she's going to be tonight." I never knew how long my mom would be at work because being a consultant wasn't exactly a 9 to 5 job. Most of the time though, she was able to work from home. Since I didn't know what time my mom would be getting home tonight, I went to the kitchen to see what I could fix myself for dinner, just in case. I had barely begun my search though when I heard a loud noise coming from the front door. I immediately rushed to go see what was causing it, but just as I reached the door, it came open and my mom stepped in. "Mom," I grinned, glad that she was home. Then I noticed the condition she was in and gasped in shock. There was a large dark wet spot in the middle of her shirt and it looked like it could be blood. No, when I saw drops of the nearly black liquid hitting the floor as she came in, I realized that it WAS blood. At the same time there were some black lines on her face, like veins or something and they seemed to be spreading before my eyes. She staggered inside, about to collapse. "MOM!" I gasped in horror, catching her as she finally did collapse. I pulled her inside and set her on the floor, "I'll call a doctor..." "No doctors," she managed to get out, "wouldn't do any good..." She winced in pain, looking at me with eyes that were starting to turn black. "What happened?" I cried, desperate to do something...anything that could help, but not having any idea of what to do. "Attacked," she whispered, closing her eyes, "Ambushed... Darkness... Poison..." Then she spat up a black, oily liquid and remained nearly motionless, struggling just to breath. "NO!" I grabbed her hand tightly, tears pouring down my cheeks. "Get up," I ordered, "you're gonna be all right... Just tell me what to do..." I was desperately, knowing that she was dying right there in my arms and there was nothing I could do. "MOM!" Mom opened her eyes a little, quietly gasping, "Carolynn..." "Carolynn?" I repeated my sister's name in confusion. Carolynn was three years older than me and was my mom's heir, the one who was supposed to inherit her magic upon her death. Mom had taught her about magic and prepared her for the day she would acquire the power and responsibility. She was the one who should have been here and mom knew it. Unfortunately as Carolynn grew older she developed an attitude and became increasingly rebellious. She resented anyone in authority, including mom, refusing to follow rules or do what she was told. Then she began to express her rebellious nature in illegal ways, such as shoplifting and even joyriding in a stolen car. Of course mom was less than happy about Carolynn's increasingly bad behavior, and lectured her about it frequently. Mom and Carolynn argued a lot, and after the joyriding incident, mom angrily told her that she was not worthy of ever inheriting the magic. Carolynn was furious about that and ran away that very night, not to be seen since. "Carolynn isn't here," I told mom quietly, my heart nearly breaking. I didn't know if mom was delusional, forgetting that Carolynn had run away two years ago, or if she was just wishing that things were different between them. "Gid...e...on," mom whispered, so quietly that I could barely hear her. She struggled to look at me though she could not even move her head. "I...choose...you..." And then her eyes went shut and a last bit of air seemed to slip from her. "MOM!" I cried out again, clutching her firmly and trying to shake her awake. But it was no good. Even though I knew it was too late to do anything, I couldn't quite accept it. So I sat there, screaming at her to wake up, crying as I did so. Just then my mom's body began to glow with a violet aura, causing me to jump back in surprise. A few seconds later a glowing sphere of violet light, about the size of a baseball, emerged from my mom's chest, taking the violet glow with it. It remained there for several seconds before suddenly flying straight at me, hitting me in the middle of my chest and vanishing inside of my body. I screamed in pain as my whole body suddenly felt like it was on fire from within. Every fiber of my being was burning, filling me with an indescribable agony. Waves and waves of this burning power rushed through my veins and muscles, threatening to destroy me entirely. Finally it overwhelmed me entirely and I sank into the welcoming relief of darkness. -------------------- My dreams were warm and comforting as I sailed along in a great violet ocean that stretched as far as my eye could see. In the distance the great ocean seemed to melt into the violet sky so that I couldn't even tell where one ended and the other began. There was such a sense of calm and peace. Then reality began to reassert itself, slowly drawing me back to the horror of the waking world. I stirred, blinking my eyes and then cautiously sat up. I felt strange and my body seemed to hum, almost as though I was feeling a buzz from some strange drug. But before I could give this any consideration, I suddenly remembered my mom. "Mom," I gasped, looking at her body which was motionless on the floor where I'd left it. Her skin was extremely pale and sunken, while the blood all over her shirt was dry and crusted. I stared at that in confusion, too shaken by my grief to think clearly but knowing that this meant something. "How long was I out?" I looked at the clock, seeing that it was just after 8:30, which meant it had only been a few hours. But then I noticed the windows and realized that it was far too light to be that late at night. Still it took me another minute put the pieces together and realize that it wasn't 8:37 at night, but in the morning. For a moment I just sat there, stunned by the realization that the entire night had passed me by. But then I shook it off and turned back to my mom's body, crying as I thought about just how horribly she had died. I couldn't believe she was gone. I grabbed her wrist, desperately feeling for a pulse, even though I knew there wouldn't be one. Still, I had to try. I didn't know what else to do. I had no idea how long I sat on the floor beside my mom's body, my emotions swirling between grief and rage. I had just lost my mom, the only family that I had left. But I hadn't just lost her. She had been taken away...murdered. Someone had done this to her. Someone had murdered her, and I didn't even have any idea as to who it had been. She used to be a super hero, so it was probably one of her old super villain enemies, out to settle an old grudge. But she was also a paid advisor, so might have stepped on someone's toes more recently. I had no idea. My mind was a mass of chaos and confusion and I had absolutely no idea of what to do. Should I call 911 and report that my mom had been murdered? What could I tell them? And if I did that, it would only make her death official and seem more real. I wasn't sure that I was ready for that, so I remained where I was, caught in the swirling mass of indecision. Finally I began to go emotionally numb. Perhaps shock was settling in, or perhaps I'd just cried enough that I couldn't cry any more right then. Instead I began to become more aware of the other things that had been blocked from my awareness during my single-minded focus on my mom. One thing kept jumping back to my mind, even though I tried hard not to think about it. That was the violet sphere which had come out of my mom and flew into me. I knew what mom did, or at least I strongly suspected what she was trying to do. Since Carolynn wasn't there to pass the magic to, she had tried giving it to me instead. But as mom had pointed out several times, the magic could only go from mother to daughter, and I was certainly not her daughter. I just sat there, silently staring at my hand as it clutched my mom's cold, dead one. I'd noticed that something wasn't quite right with my hand awhile earlier, but it didn't really soak in until just then. I let go of my mom's hand and stared at my own, noticing that it seemed a little more delicate and that my nails were a bit longer. In fact it almost looked like a girls hand. At that moment I remembered just how strange my entire body felt. That was something that I'd put out of my mind and almost completely forgot about until then. When I thought about it again I realized that I could still feel that faint, almost completely unnoticeable humming that seemed to come from within my body. "What did she do to me?" I whispered, knowing that the violet ball had done something serious. I took a deep breath and looked down at myself, not really seeing anything unusual for a moment. Then I noticed it, that my clothes were a bit loose and my chest was pushing out into two lumps. I cautiously poked at the lumps through my shirt, gulping as I realized that they were my own flesh. Then I shook my head, only to feel my hair tickling my shoulders. But I never kept my hair long enough to touch my shoulders. With a horrible sinking feeling I got up and slowly went to the large mirror, which hung on the living room wall, hesitating a long moment before actually looking into it. I couldn't say that I was extremely surprised to see a teenage girl being reflected back at me. She was very pretty, looking a lot like Carolynn did the last time I saw her. However, where my sister's hair wad dark brown, the girl in the mirror had violet hair which went down to her shoulder blades. And of course Carolynn didn't have brilliant violet colored eyes like the girl in the mirror either. "Just like mom's," I whispered, noticing that I now had the same hair and eye color as her and every other woman in the family portrait gallery. I just stood there and stared at my reflection, taking in all of the altered details. I knew that I should be a lot more shocked and horrified, but at the moment I was still too emotionally drained. So instead I just tried to absorb what had happened to me. Of course most of it was quite obvious. "I don't want to be a girl," I gulped, grabbing my new breasts which seemed to be about a B cup. I looked down at myself and then at a familiar bookshelf on the wall, realizing that I'd become shorter as well. I'd lost a few inches of height and was now about 5 foot 6. "Just great..." Then I turned to look back at my mom again, wincing with a near physical pain as I saw her lifeless body, laying on the floor where she died. The very sight only stirred up the darkness and grief that I was trying not to think about. A moment later I went and grabbed a bed sheet, covering her body so that I wouldn't have to keep looking at it. And somehow it also seemed a little more respectful. Once that was done I whispered to my now covered mom, "Why did you do this to me?" Of course I already knew the answer to that question. She was dying and needed to pass her magic on to her successor, and since Carolynn wasn't available, it came to me instead. Unfortunately the magic could only be given to a girl. I wanted to be angry at mom for doing this to me, for changing me against my will, for taking away my gender and identity along with my mother. But I couldn't bring myself to be angry with her, not now. Not after what had just happened. And as much as I disliked what she'd done, I understood why she had done it. As far as she was concerned, trusting me with the magic that had been passed down through the women in my family was an immense gift and honor. "I'm so sorry," I whispered, wiping the tears from my cheeks, though there were still a few more fresh ones to come. After a few more minutes I realized that I would have to do something about mom. I couldn't just ignore that anymore, no matter how much I wanted to. I picked up the phone and was about to dial 911, when I suddenly remembered the 'special' emergency number that she had given me in case anything ever happened to her. It was even written down on the list of emergency numbers next to the phone. When I dialed the number I was disappointed that I didn't get a live person. Instead I was connected to a voice mail box, where some woman said to leave a name, number and describe the emergency. I was bursting with frustration and grief as I left the message, "My mom... Ms. Witch was just murdered. She said to call this number if anything like this ever happened..." And with that I slammed down the phone, not even realizing that I'd forgotten to leave a number and location until after I'd hung up. I wiped the tears again and bitterly spat out, "That was useless." I stood there, thinking that maybe I should call 911 now, then deciding against it. At least not at the moment. After the disappointment of my last call for help, I wasn't sure that I could bring myself to do it again quite yet. Instead I collapsed onto the couch and broke down again, surprised to find just how many more tears I had left. About an hour after I'd made the call the humming inside my body that I'd almost forgotten about suddenly flared up. I gasped in surprise, able to somehow feel something strange happening nearby. I couldn't explain what I was feeling, though I was definitely feeling something. A moment later the very air in the living room began to ripple and churn, making that strangeness I was feeling grow even stronger. Then what seemed to be a doorway made of red light appeared, immediately followed by a man stepping through it. He was tall, dressed almost like an old school private eye from the movies, wearing a dark blue overcoat and fedora. His face, however, was covered with a featureless gold metal mask which had two openings for his eyes, but none for his mouth. "Who are you?" I jumped to my feet and backed away, staring at him in terror. "Are you the one who killed my mom?" At that moment I desperately wished that I had my can of pepper spray on me. "No." The stranger held his hands up, letting me see that they were covered with blue gloves, but where otherwise empty. "I am an old friend of your mother's. I received your message." "The message?" I squeaked, not sure whether to feel nervous about that or relieved. At least the 'special' emergency number wasn't quite as useless as I thought, though I still didn't know if this strange man's presence was a good thing or not. "Is this her?" he asked, looking down at the sheet covered body. I couldn't see his face, but he sounded almost choked up, "Vivian..." I was a little surprised that he knew my mom's name, but it confirmed that he did know her. From the way he was dressed and the way he had appeared in the living room, I guessed that she must have known him from her old Ms. Witch days. And somehow he did seem just a little familiar to me. The stranger knelt down beside mom... beside her body and pulled back the sheet. He let out a gasp, then carefully examined her, seeming especially interested in the strange black lines that had formed on her face. He shook his head sadly, whispering, "Poor Vivian... Who did this to you?" "I don't know," I told him nervously, unable to look him in the face...or in the mask as the case was. I felt a surge of guilt and tried defending myself, "She came home like this and said not to call a doctor... I didn't know what to do..." My voice choked up at that and I couldn't continue. "A doctor wouldn't have done any good," he told me gently, covering my mom up again and coming over to me, "this was done by magic...a magical poison. No doctor could have helped her. It's quite likely that I wouldn't have been able to do anything for her either, even if I had gotten to her immediately. These magics are malicious and spread fast once they take hold. I doubt anyone could have helped her in time, unless they already had the cure prepared beforehand." Then he stared at me for a moment. "This is not your fault. There is nothing you could have done." "Oh," I responded, grateful for his reassurance but still not feeling any better. "I see, Carolynn," the man told me gently, "that you have inherited your mother's power." I blinked in surprise. "I'm not Carolynn." "What?" he gasped, sounding even more surprised, though I couldn't see his expression. I was too embarrassed to look him in the face as I admitted, "My name is Gideon." "Gideon?" he gasped again, staring at me for a moment before carefully commenting, "I see." He was silent for a moment then quietly asked, "Has something happened to your sister? She was supposed to inherit the seed..." "I don't know," I responded quietly, shaking slightly as I told him, "she ran away a couple years ago and we didn't know where she went." I frowned, not sure why I was telling these things to the stranger, but for some reason, I was sure I could trust him. "I see," he said with a tone of disappointment. For a moment I just stared at the man, then finally repeated my earlier question, "Um...who are you?" "What?" he asked in surprise, sounding a little disappointed, "You don't recognize me?" When I shook my head, he let out a loud sigh, "I suppose that is to be expected. It has been a long time since I've seen you. I've kept my distance, at your mother's request, ever since she retired. She wanted to separate herself from her old life in order to protect you and your sister." He took off his hat and bowed to me in a formal manner. "I am called the Face," he stated, standing up straight again and adding, "and I am your godfather." This time, I was the one to gasp, "What?" I stared at him in disbelief, sure that he had to be joking. The Face stared at me for a second and I was sure that he was smiling a little under that mask. "As I said, your mother and I are old friends. She asked me to be your godfather when you were born and to take care of you should anything ever happen to her. And tragically," he sighed, shaking his head sadly, "it seems that eventuality has happened. She was a great woman." "What does that mean?" I asked quietly, feeling confused by this. I glanced to my mom's body, fighting back another surge of tears. Then I looked to the man who called himself the Face, not sure of what to think of him. "It means," he said quietly, "that your mother appointed me your legal guardian should this happen." He gently put his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. "If you wish, I can arrange for you to stay here, but I would like it if you came to live with me. I think that would be for the best, especially considering that you just inherited your mother's seed." "Seed?" I blinked in confusion, not sure what to think of his offer. Everything was happening so fast. I just wanted to mourn my mom, not think about what I was going to do next. "You don't know what a seed is?" the Face asked, his tone suddenly turning professional. He gave me an odd look and continued, "How much has your mother taught you about magic?" I was startled by this change of direction and gulped, "Nothing..." "Nothing?" he asked in surprise, as though he couldn't believe it. "But she passed her magic onto you..." "She didn't mean to," I cringed, looking down at myself and wincing as I remembered that my body had been transformed. With everything that had been happening, I'd almost forgotten that little detail. "She taught Carolynn a lot, but she wasn't here when mom..." I winced. "She wasn't here so mom... She never meant to give it to me..." I felt like I was about to burst into tears again, which made me uncomfortable. In spite of how I now looked, I was a guy inside, and guys weren't supposed to cry like this. But at the same time I couldn't seem to help it. "It doesn't work like that," the Face told me gently. "When I say seed, I refer to a seed of magic. That is the source of the magic which has been passed down through your family. That is what your mother gave you." "Oh," I responded, still not sure what he meant. He sighed. "When your mother died, the seed went to the person she willed it to go to. Had she willed it to go to Carolynn, it would have done so...regardless of where she was. The fact that she gave it to you is proof that you were the person she intended to have it." I stared at the Face in surprise, only able to say, "Oh," again. I just wish that I knew what it all meant. "It seems," the Face stated, "that you have been left with great magical power and absolutely no training in how to use it. That is dangerous for you and everyone around you." He gave me a steady look. "Now I am even more certain that you should come with me. I can teach you how to control your new powers." "Powers?" I blinked, not having considered that part of the family legacy. I felt a cold chill as I realized that all of mom's magic now resided inside of me. I had all of her magic powers, even if I had no idea how to use them. "Is that the weird humming I feel inside me?" The Face merely nodded. "Yes. Come with me and you will learn to use it." "But what about my mom?" I gestured to her body on the floor, wincing as I did so. "What about the house?" "I will take care of your mom," he told me sadly. "As for your house, we can decide what to do with it later." "But," I stammered, trying to think of a reason not to go with him. "what about the person who murdered her?" The Face stiffened at that and made an angry growl. "I will find whoever did this," he promised me with fierce determination. "I will find them and make them pay." I just stood there, staring at the Face for a moment, filled with uncertainty. He was a complete stranger... Yet at the same time, I think that I could vaguely remember him from when I was a kid. Somehow I was sure that I could trust him. And of course there was the fact that he was right. I would need to learn how to use this new magic that I had unexpectedly inherited, and he seemed to know a lot about it. "Okay," I said quietly, looking at my mom's body and letting the tears flow. "I'll come with you." He didn't say a word to that, only nodded in response. Then he held out his hand and a strange thing happened. His dark blue clothes all turned gray while his hair and the small bit of skin that was visible just vanished, leaving his golden mask floating in the air. A moment later a glowing red doorway appeared in front of him, exactly like the one he had come through, then he returned to his previous appearance. I remained where I was for several seconds, slowly looking around my home and feeling my heart break as I thought of everything that I had lost. In a matter of hours I had lost absolutely everything that truly mattered. Sure, the house remained, but it was nothing without my mom. Finally I said a silent good-bye, not just to the house but to my old life, which I knew was as dead as my mom. There was no way that I could ever go back to it now. A moment later I followed the Face through the magical doorway and into my new life. The Face's house was very nice, being fairly large and modern as well as miles away from the nearest neighbor. It was built on top of a large hill which overlooked the forest surrounding it, providing a great view from just about any of the windows. The decoration was a little unusual, with the walls and shelves being full of strange items and souvenirs, many of which I couldn't even identify much less guess their origins. I was given a quick tour of the house and even shown several rooms I was instructed not to go into without the Face being present. He didn't specify why, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't say that if it wasn't extremely important. The tour ended with him showing me to a spare bedroom I could use. It was nearly twice the size of my room back home, but considering the circumstances, I wasn't feeling very enthusiastic about either the room or the house. "Make yourself at home," the Face told me when we were done with the tour, "just remember to stay out of those rooms. There are things in there that are extremely dangerous to the untrained." "I'll try not to cause any trouble," I told him quietly. He just nodded. "You will probably be here by yourself quite often while I am away on business." Then he hesitated for a moment before adding, "I am a member of a group known as Faction Zero, and sometimes our missions require me to be away for days at a time." "Faction Zero?" I repeated, "I think I've heard of it before..." I frowned, knowing that the name sounded familiar but not being able to place where. I'd probably seen them on an episode of that TV show Developments before. "You should have," he told me with a slightly amused tone, "your mother was a founding member." I stared at him in surprise. "I didn't know." I gulped, quietly admitting, "Mom doesn't....didn't talk much about her time as Ms. Witch." "I suppose that was Vivian's way of keeping her home and professional lives separate," the Face commented, finally taking off his coat and hat then hanging them on a pair of hooks. However he made no move to remove his mask. "We each have our own manner of doing such." "If I'm going to stay here with you," I asked uncertainly, "does that mean I get to see your face?" The Face absently reached up to touch his mask and shook his head, "I never remove my mask." "Oh," I sighed, a little disappointed. I guess he trusted me enough to let me live with him, just not enough to tell me who he really was. "I guess it's a secret identity thing." "No," he assured me, "it is a magic thing. The magic which binds me is quite different from that which your family possesses and would keep me trapped in another plane of existence. My mask is the only thing which allows me to interact with this plane. Without it I would vanish." "Then how to you eat?" I asked in surprise. "I don't," he sighed, "nor do I drink or even breath, at least not as you do. My mask sustains me without such things." Then he shook his head and admitted, "It has been a very long time since I have tasted food, and you do not know how much I miss such simple things as a scoop of ice cream." "Oh," I responded, not sure what I could say to that. Even with my own problems I couldn't help but feeling sorry for him. I couldn't imagine not being able to ever eat or drink anything. Didn't he get hungry? A few minutes later the Face got a phone call and suddenly had to leave for some super hero emergency. He didn't explain the details, only saying that he might not be back until that night and that I could help myself to anything in the kitchen. So it was that I was left alone in a strange house with nothing to do. In other circumstances I would have taken advantage of the opportunity to snoop through the house, including in the forbidden rooms, and see what I could learn about the Face and the place I now lived. However I wasn't in any mood for such things and I was too emotionally drained for that mischievious curiosity. Instead I spent most of the day mourning my mom, feeling sorry for myself and wondering what was going to happen to me. The Face wasn't back by dinner, so I helped myself to a can of soup I found in the cupboard. Just a few hours after this, he still wasn't back, when I decided to go to bed early. I just didn't have the energy or motivation for anything else. When I got undressed I barely paid any attention to my body. I know that it wasn't normal, that I had turned into a girl and everything, but I was too emotionally drained to care much about it at the moment. I had been like that for most of the day, seeing my body but completely ignoring it at the same time. The fact that I was now completely naked and seeing my new body in the whole for the first time didn't change that. After I climbed into bed and turned off the light, I was surprised to notice a faint violet light in the room, almost like a night light. I was even more surprised to realize that it was coming from me, that the glow seemed to emanate from my own skin. For several minutes I just lay in bed, staring at my faintly glowing hand and wishing that it would go out so I could get to sleep. Then to my amazement the glow did fade away, vanishing to nothing. And when I wanted it to return, it did so, even becoming a little brighter. "Great," I muttered to myself as I closed my eyes, trying to forget about the events of the day and go to sleep, "I've become a human night light..." Even with the glow effect turned off it proved to be extremely difficult for me to get to sleep and I wasn't sure that I actually managed to do so at all. The next day passed much like the previous one, or at least much like the previous one after the point I'd arrived at the Face's house. What was different however was that the Face remained home, though we sort of avoided each other, feeling awkward and unsure of how to react to each other and our new living arrangements. We would both have to make a lot of adjustments. Then somehow the Face began telling me stories about my mom from her time as Ms. Witch. He told me about some of their adventures together, keeping me completely and totally fascinated as he did so. I didn't really know a whole lot about that part of her life, so I was hearing about a whole different side of her. Listening to the Face talk about her not only helped me understand her better, but made me feel closer to her. For a short while I was almost able to forget that she was dead and gone. On the third day my education in magic began. I wasn't sure that I was ready, but the Face seemed to think that it was a good time to start. He set me down at a table and stared at me for a minute before he began his lecture. "There are different types of magic," the Face began, "diferent sources of the power. I possess one type while you now possess another. Magic is scarce in this world, but there other planes where it flows much more freely. Most magic used on Earth is drawn from these other planes in one manner or another, even if only initially. Many types of magic use alternate sources of power that are present here to augment and recharge their magical power." The Face paused for a moment to let me absorb what he had already said and to give me an opportunity to ask any questions I might have. When I only nodded, he continued, "There is a plane that is entirely composed of magic instead of matter, and which is sometimes believed to be the source of all magic, that magic in other realms had spilled over from this one. This plane is occupied by beings which are composed entirely of the very magic which surrounds them. These beings can be called gods, demons, djinn and a number of other names, and are frequently the direct source of a magic users power." "You mean genies really exist?" I gasped, "And gods, like the Greek ones?" "In a manner," the Face told me, "but things are rarely as they are described in legend." "When a sorcerer casts a spell," the Face continued, "they are often calling to one of these beings that they have made a pact with, asking for specific help in that being's own language. To complicate matters, each of these entities uses its own language, so a person who knows how to speak the language of one may not be able to communicate with any others, thereby limiting themselves to the powers and demands of the one they can deal with." "And you've made a deal with one of these beings?" I asked the Face, not sure that I liked the idea of that. I couldn't help but thinking of people selling their souls to one of these beings for power. Of course he had said something about them being gods as well as demons and djinn. "In a manner," the Face sighed, shaking his head. I had a feeling that if I could see his face he would be scowling. "My vanity once led me to making a foolish decision, the consequences of which I never would have imagined. But enough of me." "Okay," I frowned, growing even more curious about this mysterious masked man. Somehow I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get much more about his past out of him than this. "The seeds of magic originate in this other plane," the Face explained, returning to the topic, "and there are perhaps two dozen of them scattered across the world. These are each concentrated masses of magical energy which seek out and require human hosts in order to exist in this dimension. However I have heard of some that use animals, trees and even inanimate objects instead. And of course these seeds provide magical powers to those who host them." "So that's what purple ball that came out of my mom was," I said, wincing slightly as I remembered the way it came straight at me and went inside my very body. The Face merely nodded as he continued, "As far as I understand, each seed starts out the same, nearly identical and with little power. But over time it evolves, becoming more powerful and absorbing new traits and quirks from its environment and hosts. As a result the older a seed is, the more unique it and its powers become. Eventually, if a seed survives long enough, it will become self-aware and sentient, returning to its home dimension and becoming one of those entities I told you about." "This thing is alive?" I gasped, looking down at myself as though expecting to see the glowing ball peaking out from my skin. "In a way," the Face answered slowly, "though yours is young enough that it is not yet sentient and will probably not become so for at least another century." "You said if they survive," I started to ask, my mind filled with questions. "Does that mean they can be killed?" "They can be destroyed," the Face said with a faint nod, "it can be done with strong magic, even by the magic of more powerful seeds." "And what about this?" I demanded, grabbing at my violet hair and gesturing down at myself, at my female body, "Why did it do this to me?" The Face was silent for a moment before he carefully answered, "I told you that the seeds pick up quirks and traits from their hosts. This seed has only been hosted by the women of your family, so when they came to believe it could only be hosted by women and that it could only be passed from mother to daughter, these beliefs were likely imprinted on the seed, creating a self fulfilling limitation. It is also likely that it instinctively transformed you into a form more similar to the hosts it was familiar with. And it is even possible that Vivian...that your own mother influenced this transformation in the belief that it was the only way you would be able to host the seed." "Just great," I grimaced, not really caring too much about the reasons for my transformation, only about how I might be able to reverse it. "I don't think that's possible at this time," the Face told me after a minute of consideration. "I can't be absolutely certain, but since the seed transformed you into this shape while merging with you, that would indicate that it considers THIS your natural shape. If so, any attempt to change you back into your male form would mean actively fighting against your own powers, and anything powerful enough to break through them could very well damage the seed itself." I just sat there and listened with a sinking feeling as the Face continued to describe the problem in increasingly technical terms which quickly had me lost. It all came down to him saying that I would probably be female for the rest of my life, and that any attempt that was powerful enough to change this could also prove extremely dangerous to both my seed and myself. However he did offer me the hope that if I became powerful and skilled enough, one day I might POSSIBLY be able to manipulate my own powers into changing me back. I wasn't about to hold my breath on that small hope though. In fact none of this was too much of a surprise since I had the feeling that I would eventually have to get used to my new body. For the next several hours I listened to a long and detailed lecture about the nature of magic, specifically about the seeds themselves. I paid close attention, even when I had to struggle with boredom. Eventually though he came to the part that truly interested me, how to perform magic myself. "Your mother told me that the three keys to her magic were moonlight, meditation, and mantra," the Face told me with a light chuckle, "or the three M's as she referred to them." "The three M's," I repeated, then asked, "you said that you used a different type of magic, so how can you teach me about mine?" The Face just stared at me for a moment before answering, "I use a different type of magic, but I have a great understanding of the magic that your mother used. And since I am more objective about the seed magic, I may be able to teach you things that she would not consider and took for granted." I winced at that, "Sorry..." "Moonlight," my instructor stated, acting as though I had never questioned his teaching credentials. "Many seeds develop the ability to draw extra power from outside sources such as fear, anger, death, life, nature and the sun. Your particular seed draws further energy from the moon, which means that moonlight will be an invaluable source of power for you. You can not only use moonlight to quickly recharge your energies, but you can also store it for later use. Because of this your power level will wax and wane with the moon." "Really?" I blinked, a little skeptical about this since I'd never heard a word of this from my mom. "Yes," the Face nodded. "You should not tell others about this source of power lightly, because your enemies could use the knowledge against you. They could attack you during the new moon when you are at your weakest." "But I don't have any enemies," I pointed out nervously, wondering who'd want to hurt me. "You do not know that," he told me quietly, almost sadly. "You may have inherited some of your mother's enemies along with her power. Whoever murdered her may try to come after you next." When I gasped at that, he quickly reassured me, "You are safe as long as you are in my home, but you can't remain here forever. This is why you must learn to master your new powers." I just stared at the Face, feeling afraid. Up until now I'd been afraid of my future and what that would hold now that my entire life had been shaken up and turned upside down. However I hadn't been afraid of any actual physical danger. I grimaced as I thought of the person who killed my mom coming after me, feeling a surge of mixed terror and anger at the same time. "You said something about meditation and mantra too," I encouraged the Face to continue, suddenly more determined to learn magic. "Meditation and mantra," he agreed, then continued, "Mantra was your mother's name for it, though I always thought that the word trigger was more accurate. This refers to the words, phrases and gestures that a magic user of your type uses to unleash their magic." "Their spells," I said in realization. "Spells indicate that the words and phrases in themselves have power," the Face told me, "but in your case this is inaccurate. In fact this is inaccurate in the case of a great many magic users." "I don't understand." I blinked in confusion. The Face paused for a minute to consider this, then he carefully tried to explain, "A spell is a form or ritualized prayer, ceremony or even a sort of mathematical equation which calls upon an outside force or entity to perform a specific act. Your magic is internal and is shaped by your own willpower and imagination, as well as the specific abilities and limitations that your unique seed possesses. Your specific seed is not the most powerful, but it is quite versatile, which you will discover." "I still don't understand," I frowned, "I mean, what is the difference between a spell and a mantra then?" Even though I couldn't see his face, I could still feel my would be teacher's exasperation and impatience, though he tried to cover it up. He thought for a minute, then tried to explain it again. "The main difference is," he said thoughtfully, "you can assign the mantra to the magic. When you are first practicing a specific magical effect, you choose a word, phrase or series of gestures to use, ensuring that you have chosen something that you can memorize but will not use accidentally. It would be a good idea to use a language that is no longer in use. You tap into the magic of your seed, concentrate intensely on the magical effect you wish to accomplish and then use this trigger phrase. This begins to associate that specific magical effect with that particular phrase." "What do you mean by associate?" I asked. "You could think of this as training your magic as you would a dog," the Face told me. "You must train your magic if you wish to control it. Each time you practice a specific effect you use the same phrase, and eventually, all you have to do is use the trigger phrase to activate that effect. This requires much less concentration and mental effort than you would otherwise need, so your magic is much faster and more efficient." "I don't know any of the trigger phrases my mom used," I told him, trying hard to think about how she would cast her spells. She usually said things in a strange language that I couldn't understand, but which made me think of Latin. "That is not necessary," my teacher shrugged. "In fact it might be for the best that you don't." Then he explained, "Your mother probably learned the mantras she used from her mother, who probably learned them from her mother before her and so on. Over the generations, using the same phrases would have made the magic respond more easily when you are first learning to use it, but your predecessors became complacent. They forgot the origin of those words and their true purpose. Your mother could perform any magic that had been taught to her by her own mother, but she could not do anything new. She would not believe that she could. Because you will use new trigger words, new mantras that don't have the power of repetition and tradition behind them, this will make it a little more difficult for you to learn each new effect. However, in the long run, this will also make you much more versatile and much more powerful." I just sat there for a minute, trying to absorb everything he told me. The idea of becoming even more powerful at magic than my mom was something that I'd never considered, but it was interesting. I was beginning to feel a stirring of excitement for learning magic, though that was still dulled by the sad knowledge of why I would be able to learn it in the first place. "Meditation," the Face abruptly started, interrupting my thoughts. "Meditation is the key to controlling your powers. It will build the mental discipline necessary, allow you to consolidate your magical energies and speed their recharging, as well as associate your mantras to their effects much more efficiently." Since the Face had gone on in great detail about everything else, I had expected him to do so with the lecture about meditation as well. When he stopped there and seemed to be done, I was a little surprised. However I soon discovered that the reason he ended the lecturing part about meditation was because he wanted to move onto the practical. My mysterious teacher spend the next two hours teaching me how to relax, focus my mind and feel the magical energies inside of me. I surprised him a little but just how easily I was able to feel the energies that hummed within me, though being able to focus and stay focused was a lot harder than I would have thought, especially when I had so many things to think about. I spent most of the day sitting on the floor and practicing my meditation. Eventually the Face came in and told me, "That's enough for now. Dinner is just about ready." As we walked towards the kitchen we went past some pictures that were hanging on the wall. I wouldn't have paid them much attention except that I noticed one of them had a picture of my mom in it, with her dressed in her old Ms. Witch costume. She looked a lot younger and was standing beside the Face and several other people in costumes. "The original members of Faction Zero," the Face told me with a long sigh. "Sadly, your mother is not the only one who is no longer with us." I nodded, then noticed another picture of my mom standing by herself. She was smiling, looking happy. The sight brought tears to my eyes but I continued to stare anyway. There were pictures of other people in costumes on the wall as well, most of whom I didn't recognize. However there were a few of them that I remembered seeing on the news and in the papers. There was a picture of Vigil, of Force, and even one with the Face and Ms. Miracle. Then I noticed that he was staring at one picture of woman with black hair, who was wearing a tan and red costume. "This was Wildcat," he told me when I saw me looking at the photo, "she was a friend and teammate. Ironically, after all the dangers she faced and all the villains she defeated, she ended up dying in a one in a million car accident. Sometimes life is like that." I just grunted and nodded my agreement. I guess that the same thing applied to my mom. She spent years as a super villain, fighting bad guys and saving the world. She survived all that, only to be murdered years after she retired. It just wasn't fair. "Do you think we'll find who did it?" I asked the Face quietly. He looked a little confused for a moment until he noticed that I was staring at my mom's picture. He nodded, "Yes..." His voice was filled with determination, "I swear that I will do everything I can to find the person responsible." After this I didn't feel like looking at pictures anymore so we went to eat dinner. Or at least I ate dinner while the Face sat back and watched in envy since he wasn't even able to eat. "I hope it's all right," he told me apologetically, "since I can't eat myself, I fear that my cooking skills have badly deteriorated over the years." "It's all right," I grunted halfheartedly, thinking that I would probably have to do the cooking myself from now on. I appreciated his attempts at cooking, but not enough to eat it all the time. "There are several things I need to talk to you about," he told me once I was done eating. After I nodded, he continued, "Your mother's funeral... I've arranged for it to be in three days." "Oh," I responded without much enthusiasm. I didn't really want to go to her funeral, I only wanted her back. Of course that wasn't likely to happen. "Wait," I said with a surge of hope, "Ms. Miracle came back from the dead, so maybe my mom can..." The Face shook his head sadly. "Strange things happen in our line of work, but even the most powerful of us can't bring the dead back on command. I'm afraid that she is gone, no matter how much either of us wishes it were otherwise." I only nodded silently, knowing that he was right but not liking it. After all if other people could come back, why couldn't she? Unfortunately I knew that it was like winning some great lottery. I might see it happen to other people on the news, but I would probably go my entire life without ever seeing it happen to anyone I knew. "The other thing I wanted to talk to you about," the Face said after a minute, "is your name." At my blank look he said, "Now that you've turned female, you might want to consider taking a new name." "Oh," I gulped, realizing that he had a point. "I guess I don't look much like a Gideon anymore..." I let out a sigh and tried thinking about it for a minute, but I couldn't really imagine being called another name, especially not a girl's name. "You don't have to decide right away," he assured me, "though we will need a name soon so I can arrange some new legal paperwork." He stared at me for a few seconds, then added, "Might I suggest Gwendolyn?" "Gwendolyn?" I blinked in surprise. "That's...that was my mom's middle name." "I know," he responded with a slight nod of his head. "Maybe," I said quietly, my voice choking a bit. If I had to have a girl's name, that one would be a good one to use. "Okay... I think I can handle that..." "Are you sure?" the Face asked. I thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Yeah... I'm sure." The Face stared at me for a few seconds, then nodded. "Very well Gwendolyn." "Just call me Gwen." I forced a smile, trying out my new name. "Very well...Gwen," he chuckled lightly, "I will take care of making it official." When the Face left the room a minute later to take care of things, I carefully said, "Gwendolyn Lywynn. My name is Gwen Lywynn." Then I shook my head and muttered, "That's going to take awhile to get used to." -------------------- I took a long, slow, deep breath, careful to keep my eyes closed as I felt the energy within my body. It hummed just under the surface, tingling my senses and flowing at my command. There was a sense of power in being able to manipulate this energy, being able to make it surge at will and then settle back down. If it felt this good to just move the energy around inside of my body, I could only imagine what it would be like to actually use it. After an hour of performing the meditation that I had learned yesterday, I slowly opened my eyes, ready to face the world again. I smiled, thinking about how much easier the whole meditation had been after a full nights sleep. Of course the focusing and concentrating part still needed some work, but I had made some definite improvement. "I just wonder when he's going to teach me how to actually do something with it," I muttered as I stood up and stretched. A minute later I went back to my new bedroom, deciding that I'd had enough of morning meditation for the moment. Of course I had a feeling that the Face would have me practice a lot more since he said that it was important to learning magic. But when I reached my room and saw my reflection in the small mirror that hung from the back of the door, I paused and stared in surprise. "I look like a mess," I muttered, realizing for the first time how little I'd taken care of myself over the last few days. In fact I'd actually done a very good job of ignoring my body and everything that came with it. That might have kept me from going into shock and having to deal with my new body, but it also meant that my personal hygiene had gone downhill. I was a little surprised that my host hadn't said something about it yet, though I figured he was probably giving me a little room to deal with things in my own way. I stared at myself in silence, feeling more dirty and gross with every passing moment. Then I hesitantly sniffed under my arm, wincing slightly at the smell and deciding that I had to take a shower immediately. I don't know how I was able to ignore all this for four days, but I wasn't about to ignore it any longer. Mere seconds later I was in the private bathroom I had been given, haphazardly tossing my clothes to the floor. The instant I was in the shower with the hot water spraying all over me I let out a sigh of relief, feeling cleaner already. Still I would have a bit of scrubbing to feel totally clean, but there was plenty of soap and shampoo available. At first I began to scrub hard, though I quickly discovered that my skin was not only a lot smoother than before, it was a lot softer and more sensitive as well. After this I became a lot more gentle as I washed my body. I couldn't help noticing all the changes I had gone through, even though I had been struggling to ignore them for four days. My perky B cup breasts stuck out prominently, making it very difficult to ignore them while I was washing myself. And as I ran my hands over them, I couldn't help but noticing just how nice they felt, though I quickly pushed that thought down and went back to cleaning the rest of my body. My missing male equipment should have been the most shocking sight to look at, though it wasn't. I'd already seen and even touched my new genitals dozens of times since my transformation. Of course I'd had little choice since I had to go to the bathroom, regardless of my gender. A single glance at my groin was enough to reveal that my violet colored hair was natural, or supernatural as the case may be. "Just great," I sighed, turning my attention to the rest of my body as I carefully washed it. Once I was done with my shower I dried off, got dressed in some of the clothes that the Face had provided for me, then brushed my hair. I felt more than a little awkward getting ready as a girl and dealing with my long hair, but I had to admit that I did feel better as well now that I was clean. "I think this thing can wait till later," I scowled, holding up one of the bras that the Face had left me in my closet and shaking my head before dropping it. I hadn't worn one yet and saw no reason to start now, at least not until I looked down and saw my nipples visibly through the front of my shirt. "Damn." I scowled and took off my shirt, staring at the bra again for a minute before reluctantly putting it on. The damn thing was a pain in the ass and I had to struggle with it for nearly fifteen minutes, but I finally figured it out and managed to get it on right. Unfortunately it was a bit uncomfortable, though I didn't think I could do anything about that at the moment short of taking it off again. "At least I'm clean again," I reminded myself when I left the bedroom. When I encountered the Face a short time later, he took a long look at me before muttering, "Finally." "What?" I demanded, daring him to make something of my slight change in behavior. However, he ignored my push and told me, "Come. I have something to show you." The Face took me to a table that had an unlit candle sitting in the middle of it. To the side, there was a brown leather book and a pen. When I opened the book out of curiosity I saw that all of the pages were completely blank, with the only writing being on the inside cover which had Gwendolyn Lywynn printed on it. "This is to be your grimoire," the Face explained the book to me, "You can use it to write down the trigger phrases or mantras you learn so that you don't forget them." "Um...thanks," I responded, looking through the blank pages. "We are going to start working on your ability to shape the magic," the Face said, gesturing to the candle. "We will start with a simple effect like lighting a candle and work up from there. I would normally not start the practical application of your magic so soon, but the circumstances are not normal." He didn't go into details on why the circumstance weren't normal, but he didn't need to. He'd already told me about the fact that I might have inherited some of my mom's enemies so I would need to be able to defend myself if it came to that. I just desperately hoped that it didn't. "To start with, you should select a trigger phrase, or a mantra to use your mother's term," the Face told me. "It should be something that you should never say normally, yet something that you can remember." Then he paused for a moment before chuckling, "I know a seed mage like yourself who chose to use normal words for his, ones from his own language. Now he doesn't dare to have a simple conversation in his native language or he would accidentally unleash his magics." "Really?" I chuckled, imagining someone getting themselves into that situation. The Face nodded, then reached for several books on a shelf, handing me one that said Greek to English Dictionary. "I would suggest that you use words from another language that you don't speak. You could use the Greek word for fire as your trigger word..." "No thanks," I winced, backing away from the book. The other book that he'd pulled down looked to be the same kind of thing but for a language I'd never even heard of. "I don't want to use something like that... I'll never remember it. Besides," I joked, "it's all Greek to me." "I suppose we could go to your house and look for your family grimoire," the Face mused, as though thinking of it for the first time. "It wouldn't do any good," I told him with a sigh, then explained, "Carolynn took it with her when she ran away." He just sighed. "Then I suppose we shall have to find a mantra you will feel comfortable using. You could simply recite the words backwards..." I just shook my head and gave a self-conscious smile, "I just came up with something..." My teacher looked at me skeptically for a moment, then he nodded and continued with my lesson. He carefully described the entire process of how I was to light the candle with my magic. It was actually surprisingly simple, though he told me not to get too confident because of that. The most important thing at the moment, he told me, was concentrating and remaining focused on my goal. I stared at the candle, carefully picturing it lighting in my mind and concentrating intensely on that image. Then I spoke my mantra, "Irefay," as I gave it the push of energy and willpower that the Face described. To my delight the candle lit and had a small flame dancing on the wick. "It worked," I exclaimed in delight, surprised at just how much energy that took. I actually felt the energy inside of me being drained becau