Zeronia

Chapter 2: The Boy Who Became A Girl

My body felt as though it collapsed on itself. Then the light disappeared. I did not feel dizzy or sick as one might think someone who has gone through that might feel, but I did not feel right either. Judy and Tak were staring at me.

Tak had a big grin. "Beautiful," she said. "Just beautiful."

Judy's mouth hung open. Then she shook her head in disbelief.

Then I noticed something. Both girls were now taller than me. A few moments ago I was taller than both of them.

Judy shot Tak with an angry look. "What did you do? Where is my brother?" she demanded from her.

Tak gave her an innocent look. "That is your brother," she replied.

Judy turned back to me. "T-Toby, is that you?" she asked.

"Of course it is. Who else would I be?" I realized that I was not talking in my voice. It sounded higher. Like a girl's voice.

I stared at my sister. "Judy, what happened to me?"

Judy reached into her purse and took out a compact mirror, then tossed it to me.

When I gazed into the tiny mirror I nearly choke at what I saw. Instead of my reflection, I saw the face of an extremely cute girl with big purple eyes and long red hair staring back at me.

This had to be a joke, I told myself. I was probably on one of those hidden camera shows and Judy was in on it. The mirror was probably a little monitor and somewhere a girl was looking into a camera.

I gazed down at myself and saw to my horror two firm humps on my chest. I was dressed in slick armor over a purple tunic dress with a short skirt that seemed to hug my now shapely body. I wore high silver boots with a slight heel on them. I gaze at my hands. I was wearing gloves, but they were smaller.

I turned to Tak who was all in awe about my transformation.

"I-I'm a girl." I was not sure if my voice cracked or if I was just not used to my female voice.

"Of course you are," Tak said as though it was no big deal. "The Zeron Crystal only responds to female DNA, so I had to program the wand to reconstruct you as a girl."

(Page from the comic)

"But you told me the Zeron Crystal was calling me!"

"Oh, it was. Your attribute was perfect, but the Zeron Crystal won't work with your DNA as a guy. So, I did the only thing I could think of. rewired the wand to rearrange your DNA."

"You've never told me any of that," I protested.

"You've never given me a chance," Tak shot back. "Besides, you wouldn't have believed me anyway! I mean, you haven't believed anything I told you so far. Why start now?"

"I apologize, now change me back!"

"I can't change you back."

I felt sick."You can't change me back?"

"At least not before I can train you."

"Train me?"

Tak nodded. "There is a race of aliens known as the Crillinarians at this moment heading to Earth. They want to drain the Earth's life force, turning it into a dead rock floating in space. The Zerons, a race of female warriors, fought the Crillinarians for centuries, but our numbers had depleted. I'm probably the last of my kind and I've lost the ability to transform." She gave me a look that could break one's heart. "That's why I came to you, Toby."

"I can't fight aliens," I told her. "I can't fight anyone! I just write comic books."

"I agree with Toby," Judy said. "I don't want my little brother putting himself in danger."

Tak sucked on her lip, then walked over to a dumpster. She turned back to me and said, "Pick it up."

"What?" I cried.

Tak tapped the side of the dumpster with the back of her hand and repeated, "Pick it up."

"I can't pick that up," I told her. "It must weigh at least two-hundred pounds!"

"Pick it up," she repeated for the third time.

I gave in and went over to the dumpster. I crouched down and stuck my hands under the slime-coated bottom. I was so glad I was wearing gloves. To my surprise, I lifted the dumpster easily. It felt as though it weighed practically nothing.

"How did I do that?" I wanted to know.

"As a Zeron Warrior, you have the strength of twenty men," Tak explained.

Even Judy was gasping. "Wow, Toby, you're a powerhouse as a girl."

I lowered the dumpster to the ground and turned to Tak. "What else can I do?" I was so amazed that I was even willing to forgive Tak for turning me into a girl.

"Oh, a lot," Tak replied. "We just have to get..."  She was interrupted by beeping. She gazed at a bracelet she was wearing as a blue light was blinking on it. "No, not now," she murmured. "There weren't supposed to be here this soon!"

"What is it?" Judy and I asked in unison.

Tak looked over at me. "Toby, you know that training I was supposed to give you?"

"Yeah."

"It's going to have to be on-the-job training. The Crillinarians are here!"

(Page from the comic)